Strong [Draco Malfoy] - ON HOLD

one

Arabella

          The Great Hall was bustling with students. Couples and best friends found each other and embraced, younger students gushed about the new and exciting classes they would be taking this new term. Hundreds and hundreds of white candles floated magically above the sea of students seated underneath. Professor Dumbledore had explained to me that each candle represented a student at Hogwarts. That fact made me smile. I studied each detail of the Great Hall intensely—each teacher sat patiently at a long, rectangular table at the front of the room. I recognized one named Horace Slughorn; my father had quite a few pictures of the two of them together in my living room. Professor Snape, a tall, rigid looking man, sat beside him. He had the same hard look on his face when I met him earlier this evening. The fires along the sides of the walls and the candles illuminated the room, and when I looked up even further, I noticed that the moon and stars seemed to be inside the Great Hall.

          Eventually, Professor McGonagall led a group of terrified looking first years down to where they would be sorted into their houses.

          "Gregory Bones..."

          "GRYFFINDOR!"

          "Hailey Dundercuff..."

          "HUFFLEPUFF!"

          "Joanne Tickinson..."

          "SLYTHERIN!"

          The sorting seemed to pass by in seconds. Seconds after the sorting had ended, dozens upon dozens of plates of food appeared on each of the four house tables. Turkey, chicken, baked potatoes, multiple types of puddings, pastries, and an assortment of juices. As students ate their dinners, I sat, not even touching my food. I was too occupied with my nerves and thoughts. I was absolutely convinced that the Slytherin students around me were in fact staring. I knew they were. I felt a particular person's attention fixed upon me and couldn't help glancing up. Met with a pair of piercingly grey eyes, my insides did a flip. Pressingly my lips together, I tucked my black hair behind my ear and tried hard to look away—the blonde-haired boy held my gaze, though.

          "The very best of evenings to you!" The headmaster eventually spoke. "First off, please join me in welcoming one of the newest members of our staff, Horace Slughorn..." Dumbledore's voice boomed over the now silent room of students and teachers. "Professor Slughorn, I'm happy to say, has agreed to resume his old post of Potions master. Meanwhile the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts will be assumed by Professor Snape."

          An almost silent gasp could be heard two tables away, and I finally tore my eyes away from the blonde boy to see none other than Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived shared a glance with the brunette girl next to him, then shook his head slightly, stunned.

          "In addition to Professor Slughorn, we also have Genevieve Partridge. Professor Partridge will be taking over Astronomy for Professor Sinistra. Now, as you know, each and every one of you was searched upon your arrival tonight. You have a right to know why."

          I shifted in my seat, and once again, the boy has his eyes locked on me. I wanted to say something to him, to tell him that staring wasn't nice, but I decided against doing so. You're a new student, Arabella. Make yourself seem likable.

          "Once there was a young man who, like you, sat in this very Hall. Walked this castle's corridors. Slept beneath its roof. He seemed, to all the world, a student like any other. His name? Tom Riddle."

          An new, eerie silence fell over the room.

          "Today, of course, the world knows
him by another name."