"Draco, are you coming?" the blonde boy lifted his head form his studies and saw Harry and Ron headed out somewhere. Him and Hermione were sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace doing their homework. "Where to?" he inquired, glancing over at Hermione. It had been about a month since he had had to deal with the fact that he was now a Gryffindor. And after the first couple weeks, it stopped being a bad thing. He wasn't quite sure how, but he had managed to become friends with Ron, Hermione, and Harry, who protected him from the kids who would rather see him tortured or dead because of his last name.
The young blonde boy had also found that everything his father had told him about Gryffindors was false. Well, most of it. Most of them had accepted him into their House without problem, once he had become friends with he Weasleys. Percy Weasley was kind of really annoying, but he was Head Boy, so there wasn't much Draco could do about that. Fred and George were quite fun, though. And Ron was a good match for him at chess. Over the course of a month, Draco Malfoy had discovered that the Weasleys were not who he was taught they were. They were very friendly and kind, and accepting. And he actually liked them. The twins protected him from any sneaky attacks coming from either Gryffindor or Slytherin, and it felt like he had actual friends, instead of people hanging around him because of what his name was. And it felt...good. Really good.
"Dunno yet. Gonna explore. Coming?" Ron spoke before Harry could again. Draco thought about it for a moment, but he would much rather be here finishing his homework. Also, it was Wednesday, so they had Astronomy at midnight tonight. Looking back at the boys, Draco shook his head. "No, I'm going to finish my homework and probably get some sleep before Astronomy class tonight. See you guys later," he waved slightly and returned to the Potions essay he was writing. As Severus was his Godfather, he had already learned quite a bit about Potions, and he enjoyed the subject. This was probably the easiest of his homework, and the most enjoyable, so he had saved it for last.
"So, Draco, how are you?" Hermione paused in whatever she was doing and looked over at him. Draco was getting used to the motherliness of the girl, but it still surprised him most of the time. He shrugged. "I'm fine. Almost done with my Potions essay," he told her, smirking. Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed. "That's not what I meant and you know it. Have you been having any more problems lately?" she asked, giving him a look. He sighed. "Of course. I'm a bloody disgrace. A blood traitor. I'm a Malfoy that got sorted into a house other than Slytherin. In fact, the complete rival of Slytherin! I'm a bloody Gryffindor!" his voice had risen to somewhat of a hysteric note as he had described just what he was feeling. He got a few looks from some of the other Gryffindors in the room, but none of them said anything. Most had accepted it would be like this for a while. The little blonde boy wasn't supposed to be here, they knew. But he was. The grey-eyed boy sighed and hung his head. "Sorry," he muttered, most likely about the insult to the House of Gryffindor.
Hermione truly did not understand, but she tried her best to comfort him anyways. Her and Harry had no idea what it was like in this world. They were completely clueless about pretty much everything to do with the Wizarding World. They had both come from Muggle households and had no prior knowledge of magic. But Draco -and Ron- had been raised in this world. So, she usually left this sort of stuff to Ronald. But, as he had just left with Harry, she tried her best to console Draco. "It can't be that bad, can it? You have friends here, and that's all that matters," she tried, but by the look on his face, she knew she'd failed.
"It isn't like that, Hermione. You wouldn't understand. It's something only Purebloods could understand," Draco stated, albeit a bit harsher than he had meant to. He had a bad habit of that -being too harsh or rude with his words at times. He didn't mean to, really. It was just the way he had been raised. When he saw Hermione's face, he sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that the way it sounded. I just...I'm sorry," he sighed and looked away, ashamed that he had a habit of making his friends feel bad. His friends...such an odd thing to call a bunch of Gryffindors. But, it was true. These other students had become his friends. And I keep making them upset and I keep screwing up. The should-be-Slytherin decided to go back to focusing on his Potions essay. At least he knew he could be successful at that.
"Draco, I know you didn't mean it. I can understand that much. I can understand that this is different than what you're used to, at least. I know that feeling. A month ago, I didn't even know there was such thing as magic, and now I'm going to a school for it!" She smiled warmly at him and rested her hand on his arm for a moment. Giving him a light squeeze, she then went back to her work. He attempted to smile in return, thankful for the real friendship he was experiencing. I mean, this is still so weird and new, but I do like it. I like feeling like I have real friends. Not just the kids of my father's "friends" or associates. Draco looked over at Hermione and sighed. "Wake me up when it's time for Astronomy, will you?" he asked Hermione as he stood and put away his work. Then, he returned to their spot near the fireplace and stretched out. He had also retrieved a pillow form one of the couches. "Sure, Draco,"Hermione smiled and continued her work. She would make sure no one bothered Draco while he rested. Plopping down, he laid out next to Hermione and closed his eyes. He was laying on his back, and drifted off soon enough.
- - - - - - - -
"Wake up Snake!" Draco felt something hard hit his ribs and his eyes flashed open. Glancing over, he saw that Hermione had fallen asleep beside him. The young blonde had no idea what time it was and that wasn't really the first thing on his mind. Above him stood a Sixth Year with a vile expression on his face. This happened often enough when he let his guard down in the Common Room. His father was Lucius Malfoy, a known supporter of the Dark Lord. As such, he was feared and hated by a lot of people. Including his own son, not that Draco would ever flat out admit that.
"Hey! There will be none of that in my House!" The Head Boy had come into the Common Room, it seemed. He glared at the Sixth year who dare abuse another House member. The Head Boy was very aware of who he was protecting, but the rules were the rules and he had to make sure they were followed. Without another look at the blonde First Year, he shooed the older student away and then left the scene. Others may have accepted the young Malfoy, but he was still suspicious. The kid was a Malfoy after all.
Draco held a hand to his ribs and the touch made him wince. Another trip to the Hospital wing, most likely. "Oh, Draco! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let myself fall asleep!" Suddenly Hermione was all over him, her face contorted with worry. He sighed, wincing again at the pain that caused. "I'm fine. Just a bruise," he bit out. Breathing hurt. Moving to stand, he pushed himself up and looked around. It was probably almost time for Astronomy class. "I'll just go down to the Hospital wing and get it fixed. I'll meet you in the Tower," he told the bushy-haired girl. "Oh no you don't. You aren't going anywhere alone," she told him sternly. Anger over took him then. He still wasn't used to people actually caring about him, and it caused him to get defensive. "I'm fine, Granger! Get over it!" Draco snapped at her, glaring. The young girl flinched at his words and he regretted saying them. His eyes softened slightly. "I, I'm...I'm sorry," he whispered, head down and eyes on the floor. The young Malfoy boy was still very unused to feeling sorry for something, or having someone who was genuinely concerned for him. Being a Malfoy, Draco was raised to be above everyone else, and to not trust anyone. In his upbringing, he had been taught that those of Pureblood status were the only people deserving of respect and also, only those who were good enough for his father. He had realized that meant Dark Wizards pretty early on. But Hermione Granger was none of those things. She was a Mudblood -no, he shouldn't use that word anymore. She was a Muggle-born. And she was a Gryffindor -though, so was he, which was why he was being subject to all of this abuse. He was in the wrong House.
He was brought out of his head when a hand touched his arm. He immediately flinched and the hand disappeared. Then, he felt it again and looked up. Hermione was standing in front of him, her hand on his arm. "I forgive you, Draco. From what I've seen and heard, I know this is probably very hard for you," young Hermione may have been a crazy know-it-all sometimes -which amused Draco a lot- but she was also a really good friend, he was coming to realize. He gave her a small smile. Not his smirk that he used with a lot of people, but a real smile. She returned the smile. "Let's go find George or Fred to go with us down to the Hospital Wing," she looked around and had no idea where to look for the twins. They were some of the only older students she knew, and there was no way she would ask someone she didn't know. It was almost time for their Astronomy class, so that meant around 11:30 probably. The young witch cast a quick "Tempus", having taught it to herself, just like a few other spells she had deemed necessary.
Draco stared at her in surprise. This eleven year old Muggle-born was learning spells they weren't even being taught? Though, he had seen her homework, and had come to the conclusion that they would be vying for the title of having top marks, he hadn't expected her to be that knowledgeable about things they weren't being taught. "What?" she raised an eyebrow at him and realized he was still staring. "Where'd you learn that? How did you learn it?" she smiled at his questions. "I looked in the library. I figured I'd get ahead for the game, obviously. why wouldn't I learn it?" she smiled and then waved her wand and the time disappeared. Before Draco could reply, she tugged at his arm. "Come on. We have to get you to the Hospital Wing. I guess we'll have to chance going by ourselves," she told him. It was after Curfew, but she figured an injury would be a good excuse.
As soon as they were out of the room, they were caught. "Miss Granger, Mister Malfoy, what, may I ask, are you doing out after Curfew?" they turned to see their Head of House striding towards them. She looked very stern as she usually did, as well as curious to their answer. It was Hermione that spoke up."Professor, one of the older students kicked Draco in the ribs and I thought he should go see Madam Pomfrey to make sure nothing got broken," she explained boldly. McGonagall didn't scare her, really. She was quite fond of the older witch, actually. The professor was very protective of Harry, she had noticed, and she was curious as to why. She knew on the train, Ron had been talking to Harry about how famous he was, but as she was not raised in the society, she didn't quite understand.
"Hmm, this is the fifth time in two weeks, Malfoy, if I remember correctly. Come along, then," Minerva sighed and escorted them through the castle to the infirmary. She felt sorry for the Malfoy boy. Lucius Malfoy no doubt knew of his son's House by now. That would a glorious disaster soon enough. The poor boy was picked on by practically everyone, though somehow had become friends with Harry Potter. That had some sway over things, she had seen. Harry's friends were kind to Draco and the Weasley twins protected him as well. But, they were all so young, the older student who chose to pick on the blonde-haired boy found it easy since most of the Sixth and Seventh Years didn't care about what happened to the should-be Slytherin. Minerva did her best to protect the boy, as she believed the Sorting Hat had placed him in her House for a reason. But what that reason is, I've no clue. Poor boy, she thought sadly. The boy was admitted to Poppy Pomfrey's care at least twice a week. The Slytherins did worse to him than the Gryffindors, usually attempting to use dangerous curses and spells to harm the boy. So far, they had been caught before they succeeded in doing such harm, but Minerva feared there would be one who wasn't caught in time.
"Again, young Malfoy?" Poppy Pomfrey appeared from her office as they entered the infirmary. Draco stood as straight as he could, but walking all the way down here had hurt his ribs. Hermione had a hand on his arm in a protective gesture, looking at the two adults cautiously. She trusted them, but she knew Draco probably didn't. Not yet.
Draco simply nodded. "What happened this time?" Madam Pomfrey motioned for him to sit on one of the empty beds and Hermione followed him closely. Just then, the doors slammed open and Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley ran into the infirmary.
"Malfoy!" "Draco!"
"Mister Weasley! Five points from Gryffindor for your language!" Minerva scolded. She glared at the boy and then returned her gaze to Malfoy.
"Madam Pomfrey, Draco got kicked in the ribs by one of the Sixth Years. I was afraid something might have been broken, so I made him come down here," Hermione had turned away from the boys and was explaining the situation to Madam Pomfrey. The Matron nodded and cast a spell to check Draco's injuries. "Nothing broken dear, just some bruised ribs. Drink this and you'll be fine," Pomfrey handed the boy a potion to drink. Draco gagged at the taste, but forced it down. He felt the effects almost immediately. "Thank you," he said quietly. Such words on his tongue still felt very weird, but he understood he should say them.
"Alright, you four. Up to the Astronomy Tower for you class, then straight to bed for you. you are dismissed," Minerva told them, motioning toward the door. The foursome all headed for the door. Harry was in the lead, Ron next to Malfoy, and Hermione following in the back. They surrounded Malfoy in a protective way, but made it seem almost like they were just walking, not guarding him. But the old witches knew better. The could see they were guarding the young Malfoy boy.
"I've never heard of or seen such a thing, Minerva," Poppy commented, nodding her head to the door the children had just left out of. Minerva nodded."Yes, Poppy, nor have I. Nor has a Malfoy ever been placed in any other house but Slytherin. But, he was placed in my house for a reason, albeit one I still must figure out," Minerva smiled a bit sadly, and then let out a small laugh. "I can just see Molly's face when she finds out her boys are friends with a Malfoy," Minerva smiled at the thought. Molly Weasley was one of the kindest witches she knew, but she also knew that the Weasleys and the Malfoys were very much enemies. Poppy chuckled at that. "Ah yes, Molly won't know what to do at first," she nodded.
"Well, Goodnight, Poppy." "Goodnight, Minerva."