1994
John Robert Smith, twelve year old Hufflepuff. It was his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and he was loving it all the more - if that was even possible. The classes he had seemed a bit harder than last year, which made him worry only ever so slightly about the years to come. What would it be like in his seventh year? He shook his head, clearing his mind of such thoughts. It would all work out fine, he told himself over and over again. No need to look into the future so soon.
“Johnnnnnny!” a young voice called. It sounded almost feminine, but was really the voice of a prepubescent male. Bounding up to John was his best friend, Max. Once he reached John, he leaned over, huffing and puffing. “I was chasing you for what seemed like ages. Didn’t ya hear me callin’ to ya?”
“Ah, no, I’m sorry Max, I didn’t,” John replied simply, still trying to focus on the here-and-now.
“I swear, your head is always up in the clouds, ain’t it?” Max giggled. John playfully stuck his tongue out at the fellow Hufflepuff. Yeah, he always tended to be somewhere else. Mentally, of course, because it would be impossible for him to be physically somewhere else if he was still in that one spot. Unless he made a clone of himself; was that even possible? He’d have to look into that. What would the be filed under in the library? He pursed his lips in thought.
“JOHN!” Max semi-yelled, causing John to jump. He looked around wildly, his hazel eyes wide in surprise.
“What? What did I do?” John asked worriedly. Max chuckled.
“You were doing it again. C’mon, we’re going to be late for lunch,” Max shook his head and skipped a head of John a bit. John rolled his eyes before hurrying after him. Max was the kind of kid who almost always thought about his stomach, making John curious as to how he hadn’t landed himself in Gryffindor.
When they got to the Great Hall, Max and John made their way over to the Hufflepuff table and sat down with a few of their other friends. John wasn’t that hungry; he didn’t seem to be hungry a lot, which could possibly be why he was so skinny. His grandmother always did tell him to get some more meat on his bones, but he never truly listened. Actually, it wasn’t that he didn’t listen to her advice, it was just that he didn’t listen at all. Quite like right now, as his friend Jenny was asking him a question.
“Sometimes I wonder why we bother. Johnny. Johnnnnny. John. Jooooohn. Oh, for the love of Merlin. JOHN!” Jenny yelled over to her friend, waving her arms around like a maniac. A few people from other tables looked over, amused and curious by the crazy third year Hufflepuff girl.
“Huh, what?” John asked, looking over at her with curious eyes. She sighed and slapped her forehead.
“Oh nevermind, I forgot what I was going to say anyway. But really, John, you need to listen to people. You can’t just go off like that. One day...” but that was all he heard. Everything seemed to melt away when she walked into the Great Hall.
She was a vision of beauty, so overwhelming that John could only focus on her. She was walking with a group of people, but she hardly seemed to pay any attention to them. She held her head high and proud. Her pale skin almost glowing in the light of the floating candles and her long black hair falling perfectly into place.
He blinked and was afraid that she would disappear when he opened his eyes back up, but alas she was still there. He could tell from her tie that she was a Slytherin, that and the fact that she was walking to the Slytherin table - two tables away from his. He should have felt a little discouraged, and maybe he did (but only ever so slightly) because she was a Slytherin and he was merely a Hufflepuff (no one liked Hufflepuffs, it seemed. Though, they were practically good finders!). It wasn’t only that, but she was two years older than he was.
He leaned forward, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. It was difficult to see her from where he was standing, seeing as there were so many kids between them, but he managed. It wasn’t until he let out a sigh that Jenny realized he wasn’t listening... again.
“Ugh, John, seriously? You weren’t even listening,” Jenny groaned. John shook his head to clear his thoughts, looking at Jenny.
“What? No, no I was. Something about... needing... to listen... more...” he kept trailing off, trying to see her through the crowds of people. If only that stupid Ravenclaw table wasn’t in between Slytherin and Hufflepuff, he’d be able to see her a lot better. “Uh, hey, I’m going to go... need to study... Transfiguration or something...”
John jumped up from the table, not caring about his uneaten plate; Max would probably eat it anyway. He walked away from the table and towards the door, the whole while stealing glances at the Slytherin table.
That was the first time he had ever seen her. He felt like his heart was going to beat right out of his chest, and his palms felt clammy. He had never felt like this before, what was it? Love? He was too young to be in love, far, far too young. The only way to describe it would be a schoolboy’s crush. And he didn’t even know her name.
[this was a fan-fic I wrote back on the old site for John and Vanessa. This was when John first laid eyes on her. This was going to be the first of a line of fan-fics, but I lost my muse and then I forgot what else I was going to write - oops! D: Anyway, yeah. This also features Max and Jenny, two of John's best friends at school. They'll be referred to quite often, just so you know who they are, haha. Anyway, yeah, there it is~]
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