Shy Girl
She always sat in the same cushioned chair in the corner of the library. Sometimes piece's of paper and long scrolls of parchment would litter the table in front of her. Other times she simply sat and looked out the window.
Hermione first noticed her a couple of weeks into the new school year. She was always already in the library when Hermione arrived and the girl was usually there when she went to leave. No one ever sat with her, or came in looking for her, or even said hi when passing by.
Even though they had never spoken, a quiet bond had grown between the two of them. It was one of the mornings Viktor Krum had wandered into the library, his possie of fangirls close behind him.
The girls had tried to take refuge in the stranger's corner, not noticing the girl. She clearly thought they were obnoxious too because as soon as they got close to her, her face twisted into a sour frown. Her eyes then shot to Hermione, who made a similar face, as if to say I feel your pain.
The next thing that happened was strange. The girl smiled as if Hermione's agreement settled it and then turned back to the girls focusing her eyes on them. The girls went rigid, and the giggles stopped. A few of them clutched their arms at their sides. Worry and discomfort contorted their faces and just like that they got up and left.
Hermione bolted up straight her mouth agape. Did she just perform non-verbal magic?! The girl must have seen Hermione's face because she turned pink and looked down at her feet. Then before Hermione could say or do anything she swiped up her things and darted out of the library.
It wasn't until about a week later that the girl had shown her face again. She had walked straight up to Hermione, dropped four sickles into her S.p.e.w tin. Hermione looked up from her book to meet the girl's fierce eyes. She nodded once to say this makes us even and then marched over to her seat.
And that had been the beginning of their strange friendship, if only they had known what was in store for them.
