til we bleed

Mind filled with clouds

September 1996, Hogwarts

The Great Hall, with its four long house tables and its staff table set at the top of the room, was decorated as usual with floating candles that made the plates below glitter and glow.

After the Sorting of the new first years, Slytherin table was the calmest of all. Draco wasn't strutting around as usual and couldn't find the point of telling how he'd beaten Potter on the train. None of his friends tried to talk it out of him either, the atmosphere was tense. Draco didn't notice Potter entering the Great Hall, Pansy however looked away towards the Gryffindor table, looking at Potter, more specifically at his nose, still bleeding on one side. "Look at his face, miserable as always." she shouted.

"Why is he so late? Wasn't he in the train like the rest of us, I saw him at Slughorn's little meeting." said Blaise, clearly interested in Potter's whereabouts.

"We might have crossed ways," mumbled Draco

But, before his friends could interpret what he just said, Dumbledore got to his feet at the staff table. The talk and laughter echoing around the Hall died almost instantly.

"The very best of evenings to you!" he said, smiling broadly, his arms opened wide as though to embrace the whole room.

As he spoke a few whispers came across the room about how his hand looked. Dumbledore said a few words to assure everything was okay before welcoming the new and old students. Then he came to introduce the new professor, Slughorn, as the new Potions Master.
The word "potions" echoed all over the Hall as people wondered whether they had heard right.

"Professor Snape meanwhile", said Dumbeldore, raising his voice, "will be taking over the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

At the Slytherin table students couldn't be happier and showed their recognition by applauding. 

"This year is going to be the most interesting of all, classes-wise of course." said Pansy, she usually hated DADA classes and was happy to see the head of her house take over the position.

Then what was supposed to happen, happened, the name of Lord Voldemort was enunciated by the director. Draco's all body shivered at the sound of his name, as if dementors at taken control over the room. He couldn't look at Dumbledore, too busy making his fork hover in midair with his wand. Soon he couldn't hear anything, as if everyone had left the Great Gall, leaving him alone and his thoughts, as gloomy as they were, going back and forth in his mind.

A few minutes later Draco had to come back to reality, Blaise took his arm, gently, telling him it was time to move. Draco looked around him and saw the hundreds of students beginning to file out of the Great Hall.
He stood up, Blaise let go of his arm and they left in silence.
Once in the dungeons, the prefects were giving the password to the first years, then the crowd seperated ways inside the common room, some headed to their dorm, others stayed to enjoy shared space. The common room had lots of low backed black and dark green button tufted, leather sofas; skulls; and dark wood cupboards. One of the wooden tables had a Wizard's Chess set on it. It was decorated with tapestries featuring the adventures of famous Medieval Slytherins. It had quite a grand atmoshpere, but also quite a cold one. The trio took place at their usual spot, near one of the window, that showed nothing else than the dusty dark blue colour of the deep water of the lake.

"So, about what you said earlier, what do you mean by 'crossed ways'?" asked Pansy, suddenly.

"Y'know how he has that cape that allows him to be invisible? The one Snape warned my family about? Well, that bastard used it to spy on us in the train."

"He did not!" Pansy shouted

"Shush Pansy, one sneak is enough, I don't want the entire common room to here about it. But anyway, what I said wasn't that important, he doesn't know anything."

"Yet he thinks he does, he could use that against you, against us." argued Pansy.

Draco chose to ignore her, there was not fighting Pansy's overthinking. He turned to Blaise, in hope of turning the conversation around.

"The Slughorn club thing, will you still go to it?"

"I think so, Slughorn seems interesting, and weirdly interested in us too."

"I can't believe he didn't ask us to join his stupid club". Pansy, bitter as ever, threw a thew paper balls to some first years exploring the room.

Blaise tried to stop her, causing her to lose control of her levitation spell and all of the paper balls fell on her.

"Even a first year could hold that spell longer Pansy, sure you're ready for your exams?" 

In response she threw a pillow at his face. Draco wasn't much interested in their bickering, he stood up, let out a small "goodnight", and left towards his dorm.