Harry walked back up to his dorm, and admittedly got very little sleep that night, if any, not that he had been sleeping lately. He decided at about two in the morning that he would do something productive, so he responded to Sirius' last letter.
Dear Padfoot,
How are you? Everything is fine here as usual. Hermione and Ron still have no clue about each other and it's driving me mad to be honest. I still haven't been able to sleep which is quite frustrating, I've taken to walking around the castle at night. It's quite calming, and don't worry, I stay inthe castle. I'm sure Snape would love to give me a detention if he caught me, but I know where he has his rounds and I avoid those places most of the time.
Write soon,
Harry
He gave the letter to Hedwig who chirped happily at him sending her for some exercise. He smiled fondly as his owl flew into the night, and closed his eyes.
He was awoken to Ron shaking his shoulders and yelling at him that he was hungry and breakfast was the most important meal of the day. He wondered distantly as he got dressed if last night had been nothing but a strange dream.
He ambled down to the Great Hall with Ron and Hermione, as usual, flanking him. They sat in their usual spot, with Ron stuffing his weights worth of toast, jam, and eggs. Hermione was reading the Daily Prophetas usual. Harry looked across the Hall and caught the eye of Draco Malfoy, who immediately looked away. To anyone Draco would've looked the same as he always had. Primped blond hair, perfectly pressed school robes, that discriminatory smirk, but to Harry he was different. Or perhaps it was Harry who saw Draco in a different light now. He knew his smirk and his glare was an act, he needed help, he wanted help.
He watched as Blaise Zabini leaned close to Draco and whispered something in his ear. Draco visibly tensed and Blaise sat back and laughed. Draco stood quickly, grabbed his school bag and left the Great Hall, amidst peels of jeers and laughter from the Slytherin table, the loudest were Zabini and Parkinson. Harry walked soberly to Charms, not even remotely paying attention to Ron and Hermione next to him. His mind was practically buzzing with thought. So the Slytherin's know of Draco's plight, some friends they are. I wonder if he's okay...Harry was snapped back from his thoughts by a sharp pain in his butt. He hadn't even registered himself falling before it was too late. He looked up to see someone looming over him. Cool steely grey eyes looked down at him, an expression of great displeasure on the pale face.
"Potter-"
"Leave him alone Malfoy, what's he done to you!?" Harry could hear Ron from above him. He gingerly picked himself up and looked at Draco again, just in time to see him roll his eyes. Hermione quietly asked him if he was alright, he nodded his head irritably, and told her to go on ahead before she was late for Arithmacy.
"Besides almost knock me on my arse with his clumsy idiocy you mean?"
"Perhaps if you were watching where you were going ferret this might not have happened," Ron said seething. Harry tried pulling him away, but Ron was rather a lot taller and stronger, he wasn't budging.
"First off weasel he bumped into me. Second-"
"Oh that's rich! I saw the whole thing Malfoy, you purposefully pushed Harry over."
"Ron-" Harry tried to say but he was ignored.
"Are you as blind as you are poor Weasley?" That did it; Ron launched himself at Draco, who looked at him in surprise. Harry could see the utter terror in the blond's eyes and wondered why he looked so far away at that moment. Before Harry had even had time to react, Ron had punched Draco in the abdomen, and again in the face, shattering his nose. Harry quickly grabbed Ron's robes and tried to pull him off of the placid blond. Wait...placid...why wasn't he fighting back?
"Ron get OFF him!" Harry yelled finally tugging the red head from the Slytherin.
"What in Merlin's name is going on here?" A very Irate Professor Snape demanded, stopping just short of the group.
"Malfoy pushed Harry down, and then proceeded to insult me." Ron said in a rush, shrugging free of Harry's grasp.
Snape turned to Harry. "Is that true Mister Potter?" He asked checking Draco over and snarling.
"No sir, I wasn't paying attention, and I almost knocked Malfoy over, it was my fault Professor." Ron looked at him incredulously. Harry tried to send him and apologetic look, before Snape helped Draco to his feet and rounded on the red head.
"Fifty points from Gryffindor I think Mr. Weasley, and a month's worth of detention with Filch every Saturday." Ron groaned, and was about to protest before Snape stormed away; Draco walking behind him at his heels. Harry did not miss when Draco looked back at him calculatingly.
"No good lousy fucking ferret!" Ron fumed.
"Ron just leave it. We're already late for Charms and you don't want more detentions do you?" Harry asked pleading with his best mate to just drop it.
"I guess you're right. He just gets me so angry; he's just like his father, down to the last." And with that Ron stalked off, and Harry followed. He doesn't know how wrong he is.
Harry sat morose through most of his classes, thinking back to the look of surprise of Draco's face. He was scared, but he didn't fight back; which bothered the Gryffindor greatly. Soon lunch rolled around and there was no sign of the Slytherin. Harry was beginning to get worried.
"Care of Magical Creatures is next. I wonder what potentially deadly thing Hagrid'll show us today." Hermione said, packing away her quill and a text book.
"Probably something brilliant like he always does," Ron mumbled with a mouth bursting with food.
Hermione gave him a disgusted look."Oh honestly Ronald, could you at least make the semblance of having manners?"
"Sem-what?" Ron asked stupidly. Hermione just huffed and turned away. They walked down the ground to Hagrid's hut, and Harry's eyes immediately scanned the crowd, looking for a crop of blond hair. He was gratified when he saw it. Draco was brooding in a back corner of the pack near a decaying tree. He was farther away from the rest of the throng, even his fellow Slytherins. His pose looked menacing as did his 'death-glare' but Harry thought that had more to do with his hurt pride, than anything else.
"Good mornin' kids. Today we'll be learnin' about some of the deadlier magical creatures." Harry heard Draco snort and mumble something under his breath. "Right now who can tell me 'bout th' Hydra?" Hermione's hand shot up, but so –surprisingly- did Draco's. "Hermione," Hagrid said completely ignoring Draco.
"The Hydra was a large snake-"
"Actually Granger the Hydra was a sea serpent with, and this depends on the myth, at least nine heads. Each time a head was severed it sprouted two more. It could not be killed by any known weapon at the time, unless of course you believe in the Wonder Boy Hercules." He said with an eye roll.
Harry starred at him. Not once in the four years they had been taking this class had Draco ever answered a question or participated of his own free will. Not to mention he had corrected Hermione, who was blushing madly. Ron looked pissed.
"Very good Mr. Malfoy ten points ter Slytherin. Now let's move on to..."
"Hey Harry wonder what Malfoy's playing at answering questions all of a sudden." Ron whispered loudly to Harry. Hagrid seemed to be oblivious, but Harry could see they had caught Malfoy's attention.
Before Harry could say anything however Hermione stepped in. "Of course Ron, it must be the Slytherin plot to answer questions in class for their own nefarious purposes," she said sarcastically.
Draco chuckled humorlessly from behind them. "Ever the voice of reason Granger," he said under his breath, but Harry heard him.
"Maybe Mr. Malfoy can tell us," Hagrid said, standing much closer to them now than he was before.
"Tell you what exactly?"
"What a Jaculus is." Ron looked at him snidely, and Draco merely scoffed.
"A Jaculus is a large serpent with wings, and often two tails which look almost like medieval flails. They aren't very courageous creatures, often hiding in trees and attacking from behind. They would await their pray and then jump on them, biting them in the neck and injecting their venom."
"Sounds like someone we know," Ron muttered to Harry.
"Something to say, Weasel?" Draco asked venomously, crossing his arms.
"Not at all not at all ferret. Just saying that Jaculus sounds a lot like a certain blond Slytherin we have the misfortune of knowing. Attacking other from behind like a coward." Before Ron could utter another word, Draco had his wand pressed against his throat.
"Don't call me coward Weasley." The sheer hatred in his eyes was astounding, and a little breath taking. He was roughly pulled away by Hagrid within moments of his outburst. Of course the whole class had gone quiet.
"Mr. Malfoy, I do not take to threats in my class. Twenty points from Slytherin." Malfoy forcefully tore himself away from the giant's grasp, and began to walk away. "Malfoy get back here until you've been dismissed!" Hagrid yelled.
"I don't need this fucking shit right now." Harry heard Draco say before he strode back up to the castle.
News of Draco's explosion in Magical Creatures was around the school like wild fire. The stories of how it happened kept getting more and more ridiculous. Ron was not helping any; one might say he was adding kerosene to the fire. "I didn't even say anything to the git, and he pressed his wand into my throat! I swear that ferret should be locked up! He's stark raving mad!"
"Ron you insulted him, and then called him a coward. I would've threatened you too," Harry said, unimpressed with his best friends way of exaggerating things. "I don't know what's going on with Dra-Malfoy, but he hasn't confronted us once this year without being provoked," he sent a scathing look at Ron, "perhaps we should just back off."
"Harry don't tell me you're actually defending the bastard after all him and his father have done!" Ron sounded scandalized, and Harry let out a heavy sigh, praying for patience.
"His father is an evil prick, yes, but why do we have to lump him in with his father? Snape does it to me and I absolutely hate it. We shouldn't judge someone based on their parents. Sure Malfoy's a winey little snake, but he is nowhere near the evil fucker his father is. So just shut up already!" Harry stormed off leaving a very confused Ron in his wake.
His thoughts were swirling, and once again he was not paying attention to where he was walking. For the second time that day he felt a sharp pain in his derrière. Once again he looked up into stormy grey eyes, this time a hand was thrust in front of his face, and he gladly took it.
"You really should watch where you're going Potter, you might actually hurt someone." Draco eye brow was raised as Harry was still holding his hand. He let it go quickly and felt the warmth of blush on his cheeks. "You okay?" Draco asked trying to make the question sound nonchalant.
"Nothing hurt but my pride," he chuckled feebly.
"You Gryffindors have that?" Draco asked with a smirk.
"Depends on the Gryffindor," Harry retorted with a small smile.
"You must be special then, because most Gryffindors I know don't." Harry gave him a small chuckle, and Draco smiled, actually smiled genuinely, and Harry wanted nothing more at that moment than to have him continue to smile at him like that.
But alas all good things must come to an end. Then ending of this happy moment came in the form of Snape. "Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter, why aren't you waiting by the door of my classroom with the rest of your classmates? I hope Potter here wasn't causing you any trouble Mr. Malfoy." Snape looked like he would happily give Harry a year's worth of detention upon Draco's word. Draco despite himself chuckled and rolled his eyes.
"No professor, Potter was just being a clumsy oaf as usual and fell down, again." Harry pouted slightly at the word oaf, but didn't let it bother him too much.
"How valiant of you to help him up Mr. Malfoy, ten points to Slytherin for helping a fellow student. Now would you kindly get into the classroom so I may start my lesson?" He said tartly, and his tone left no room for disobedience, not that they would anyway. This was Snape after all. No one crossed him and lived to tell the tale.
There was only one table at the front of the class and Harry groaned inwardly. Draco seemed to be shunned by the Slytherins and Harry imagined Ron was still not happy with him for standing up for the blond. So they sat together at the front of the class. Snape strode into the room, looking down at all of them. They actually worked well together on their bruise salve, but Snape somehow still managed to chastise Harry for one thing or another. One hour and thirty points form Gryffindor later found Harry packing up his belongings to go to dinner.
"Mr. Malfoy will you please stay after class?" Snape said not looking up from his grading. Draco nodded, and Harry walked out the door, which shut deftly behind him. He pulled his invisibility cloak out of his bag and put it on. He quietly walked back into the potion's room. Draco and Snape were gone; they must've gone to Snape's private quarters. He entered Snape's quarters and saw Draco sitting in the chair Harry sat in for much of his fifth year during Occlumency lessons. Draco's back was hunched over with his head in his hands; his shoulders were shaking with sobs.
"I'm so sorry Draco," Snape said somberly. Draco looked up at him, pure anguish etched in lines on his face.
"She wasn't even a Death Eater! He did it to punish me, and my Father! I hate him, I hate him!" Power sparked from the air around Draco and broke every glass jar that was on the shelves around the room. The cloak protected Harry from the shards of glass cascading down upon him. Luckily Snape and Draco were too distracted to notice the space of air that the glass seemed to completely miss. Snape waved his wand and everything was righted.
"Draco I understand your sorrow but please do not take it out on my personal ingredients. If you do not wish to go back-"
"He'll kill my Father if his play-thingdoesn't return." Draco spat. Harry suddenly felt compelled to take off his cloak and comfort him, or decapitate Voldemort and burn his head with dark fire. Well more than he usually wanted to, but again he decided to give Draco his privacy, and leave, hopefully neither Slytherin noticed his departure. Harry went back up to the common room, but could not focus at all. His thoughts were once again all on Draco. Why had Voldemort killed his mother? Was it like Draco said? For revenge? He wouldn't put it past Voldemort. He wondered if Draco would be in the room again, and decided to check it out tonight.
----
A/N: This chapter was considerably longer than the last, and I had fun writing it. Isn't Draco deliciously snarky and full of angst? I think so *hugs Draco* I swear I didn't want to kill Cissy, I love Cissy, but she needed to die...perhaps we'll see dear old Lucius later on, won't that be fun? Next chapter will be a bit brighter I promise you.
