Collision

Oliver smiled at the three of them. It sent shivers down Harper's spine. In the light from the window, he looked absolutely gorgeous. His pearly teeth glimmered and his dark eyes sparkled from the sun. For a second, Harper felt as if her heart had stopped beating.

"Harper!"

Harper shook herself out of staring at Oliver and turned to George who was grinning.

"You alright over there?" George asked her.

"Yeah," Harper replied.

"Did you have a nice summer, Harper?" Oliver asked her kindly.

"Y-yeah, it was nice," Harper stuttered.

"I hope you'll try out for Quidditch again this year, you were a great addition last year," Oliver said.

"Oh, yes, I'll be trying out again," she said.

Oliver smiled at her for a long second, then said goodbye to the three and walked down the hallway. Fred shut the door to the compartment and began pulling out all sorts of new tricks he and George had created. Somehow, Harper knew this would be an eventful year.

After a few hours on the train, the train arrived at Hogwarts. The sun had vanished , cloaking the forest in darkness. Lee joined George, Harper, and Fred as they got into one of the self-pulling carriages. As they began to ride away, Harper noticed Oliver hopping into one of the other carriages with all of his friends. They grinned and hugged him, all laughing loudly.

"Have you seen Harry yet?" Lee asked Fred.

"Yeah, he had stayed the night at the Leaky Cauldron, and Dad took us up there to meet him," Fred replied.

"How's he?" Lee asked.

"Good," George said.

Harper was barely listening to their conversation, however. She was staring up at the beautiful castle ahead of her that she called her home. Little lights were visible through the windows. She grinned as she looked at the windows to the Great Hall. A great feast was waiting for them inside of the Hall. Harper felt her stomach rumbling and knew she would be eating as much as she could.

Her house elf was a horrible cook.

The Great Hall looked magnificent that night. Little candles floated above the tables and the sky on the roof was dotted with little stars, shooting stars sometimes streaking across it.

"Everyone take a seat," Dumbledore ordered as soon as everyone was in the Great Hall.

All of the students quickly took their seats and looked towards the front. Dumbledore gave off such a great energy, that barely anyone could frown or glare. Well, except the Slytherin table.

"Welcome to another year of Hogwarts! I do have some things to tell you before we enjoy our excellent feast!" Dumbledore paused and cleared his throat. "This year, our school will be playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban. No students are to leave school without permission.

"On a happier note, I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our school this year. Firstly, Professor Lupin will be filling the post of Defense Against The Dark Arts. And second, Rubeus Hagrid will be filling the position of Care of Magical Creatures."

The room cheered happily, but the Gryffindor table was by far the loudest at the news of Hagrid being a teacher. He wiped at his eyes with a table cloth, grinning like a little boy.

"And now, we may feast!"

Food soon appeared all along the tables, ranging from chicken, pastas, and potatoes of all sorts. Harper began piling potatoes and pork onto her plate, her mouth watering at the sight of it. Fred and George were already digging in, filling their mouths as full as they could. Harper swallowed her potatoes and looked around the table and noticed Harry, Hermione, and Ron all piling food onto their own golden plates.

"Harry, Hermione, Ron!" Harper called out.

The three turned to her, grinning and waving back at her. She smiled and took a sip of water out of the goblet in front of her.

"Are you going to be trying out for Quidditch again this year, Harry?" Harper asked the dark-haired boy.

"Of course," Harry replied, smiling.

"Good, you were great these past two years," Harper complimented.

"Look at those fools," Hermione said, staring at Fred and George. Both were stuffing their faces with Chicken Pot Pie.

Harper turned back to Hermione and giggled, noticing Ron right beside her, doing the same exact thing. Hermione rolled her eyes and took a polite bite of her steak, but a little smile crept on her lips.

After dessert, all of the students headed up to their dormitories to get some shut eye. The Gryffindor common room was just as cozy and welcoming as Harper had remembered it. She ran her hand over the back of the plush red couch and then began to head over to the staircase to her room. As she began to walk up the stairs, she noticed a pair of eyes glued on her.

She turned her head to see Oliver looking right back at her, a small smile placed on his face. The fire cast a warm glow to his dark eyes.

Harper gave him a small wave before walking up the staircase, her lips spread in a wide grin of her own.