Masked

(6) Thoughts

Draco got off the train and pushed through the mass of students until he reached the carriages. He distantly heard Pansy and Blaise shouting his name, trying to find him. Draco didn't reply to their calls. He didn't want to sit with them at the moment; he just wanted to be alone. Pansy and Blaise were his friends, but Draco just wanted to get out of this impossibly crowded place and lie on his bed, in his dorm. He wanted to be alone with his thoughts, his very confusing thoughts:

'Does Potter like me? Will he ever like me? Do I like him? Is he my mate? I think so, but how can I be sure? This is impossible! I'll figure it out... maybe... but definitely not now. Yeah... I'll think about it later. But what if he doesn't like me? What would he think of my tail? Will he call me a freak?'

Draco managed to get to the carriages before anyone else and got a ride to Hogwarts by himself. At this point Draco didn't care if the other students saw him as a loner because he was too far gone in his head. His mind was spinning and one thought chased another away, but thoughts of the great Harry Potter never strayed far.

Harry sighed and rolled his eyes, seeing Hermione do the same. The two friends were sitting in a carriage on either side of Ron, who wouldn't shut up. He just kept going on and on about Malfoy and what a git he is and Harry and Hermione were over it a long time ago. Harry hadn't joined in on the Malfoy name-calling, but Ron and Hermione hadn't truly expected him too with the way he had defended Malfoy back on the train.

Hermione had actually started to suspect something. She wasn't sure what, but it was a bit weird that Harry didn't even complain about being pinned to the ground, in fact, she noticed the boy blushing slightly and avoiding all eye contact whenever Ron repeated that part of his ongoing rant. Plus, Malfoy hadn't really tried to stop Ron from dragging Harry away.

Hermione and Harry were both trying to recall the exact details of the event, but for different reasons, when the carriage stopped. They both breathed a sigh of relief as Ron's ranting stopped as well. The trio made their way up the stairs and through the Entrance Hall, pushed along by the throng of chatting students.

As soon as he passed through the doors to the Great Hall, the first thing Harry did was look towards the Slytherin table. He was surprised to find that Malfoy hadn't planned a fashionably late grand entrance, but was instead one of the few people already sitting down, ready to eat. Well, ready to watch the sorting, hear a speech, and then eat.

Harry's stomach grumbled in hunger right as Draco looked up and made eye contact with him.