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Aurora Areli
WHEN HARRY, RON AND I entered the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning, I had to try hard not to laugh. Malfoy was sitting with his usual posse at the Slytherin table, gawking at us as though he couldn't believe that we were still enrolled at school.
Harry looked at me questioningly, so I nodded my head in the direction of the blond-haired boy. At the sight, he and Ron exchanged smug looks.
I plopped down in the seat next to Harry as he explained to Ron and me about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and that he thought that was what the Cerberus was guarding.
"Why would it need that much protection though?" I asked as I buttered a piece of toast.
"Probably because it's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron.
"Or both," said Harry.
I nodded, but was still unsure.
All we knew for certain was that Harry had seen that it was about two inches long, which didn't help us much. We needed more clues.
Hermione was walking past us along the Gryffindor table, so I tried to wave at her. However, instead of returning the gesture, she just pretended not to see me. I knew she was pretending because I was practically right in front of her. That meant she was now refusing to speak to me like with Harry and Ron.
I frowned, disheartened that she no longer wanted anything to do with me. There was a small pang in my chest, and I turned back to my plate in silence.
"I don't know why you're so bothered," Ron said when he noticed Hermione ignore me. "She's such a know-it-all, you should be happy she's finally left us alone."
I saw Harry frantically shake his head at Ron when he thought I wasn't looking, but I didn't care about that very much.
"She might be to you, but I happened to consider her a friend, Ronald," I informed him, huffing, before stabbing my toast with a knife.
I didn't know exactly why (it was probably the combination of sleep deprivation, sadness from Hermione not talking to me, and homesickness), but I felt my eyes fill with tears.
Not wanting to cry in front of them, I blinked rapidly, but to no avail.
"Are you crying?" said Ron, sounding shocked. He then turned to Harry, "What's she crying for?"
"I'm not," I said quickly, wiping my watery eyes.
Luckily, the boys didn't have time to say anything else because the mail arrived, and everybody's attention was caught by a long, thin package that was being carried by six large screech owls.
