It's you and me, right? Bad Influence

Chapter 3

"I'll see you later", I said and hugged Megan as we got to Hogwarts and entered the great hall.

"You chose divination, right?"

"Yes", I sighed. "And you chose magical creatures?"

"Well, we probably won't have it together anyway so–"

"So?"

"I chose muggles studies."

"Muggle studies? I could have told you everything about that myself! How could you? I hate moon faces, stars and everything that touches divination."

"Miss Jones, Miss Zeller please take your seats."

Professor McGonagall pushed us gently in our separate directions towards our tables. I looked over the shoulder and glanced at Megan who hugged another Hufflepuff girl on her way to sit down. I found an empty seat between Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson. Neville sat down on the other side, next to Lee Jordan and with Dean on the other side.

"There is the guy from the train", Dean said and pointed towards the main table.

"Did he pass your cabin as well?" Katie asked and Neville nodded. "Lupin right?"

"Yes. I don't know how I feel about him."

"What do you mean Zeller?"

Lee left his earlier conversation with some other fifth year boys and smirked at me.

"I don't know. First Quirrell and now dementors come aboard the train and a new teacher is walking around like it's nothing? I just have a bad feeling about him."

"He just assured us that everything was fine", Dean replied and fixed his crooked tie.

"Or maybe you really did break something when you fell?" Lee and the boys laughed.

"Shut up Jordan", Angelina ordered and aggressively raised her eyebrows. "I'm already tired of him", she whispered close to my ear.

"It's just a joke! I wouldn't joke about it if she actually got hurt. You get that, right Zeller?"

I pretended that I didn't hear him and answered Dean instead:

"I know. As I said, it was just a feeling."

"It was scary right? I felt so cold and scared, drained in a way."

"I agree. It was awful", Neville answered and Katie went on talking about how she hoped that the food trolley lady was okay.

"Welcome beloved students", Dumbledore said and his voice echoed across the great hall.

"This is so boring when you're here for the fifth time, you'll see. It's the same thing he says every year", whispered Angelina a bit too loud, so Dean turned his head against her with an annoyed face expression.

I barely spoke to Angelina, but that time; when Dumbledore held his speech she couldn't stop talking. Maybe it's just at the right place at the right time, or wrong place at the wrong time, I thought and felt how Angelina started to play with the tips of my hair. Maybe she saw me as a cute younger student, like a doll. The thought of my mother slipped through my mind, and I shook my head to make the thought of her disappear.

"Sorry, did it hurt?" she asked.

"No, sorry."

"So, our gatekeeper Hagrid will take the place as teacher in taking care of magical creatures", Dumbledore continued, and Hagrid stood up so fast that the table almost flipped.

People cheered, Lee whistled, and his friends Fred and George joined him.

After the sorting hat, Dumbledore's speech and a dinner that filled every part of my body, almost like I had chicken all the way through my veins and fingertips, the students went to bed.