Disclaimer: I'm getting tired of this… But yea, they don't belong to me. Only the plot and my OCs :P
A/N: Okay, I said graduation, but seeing how that's way too much stuff for one chapter, I'm separating. So it would be the next one where Harry moves in with Snape. Sorry guys! x-x
I should totally be updating my Snarry, but an idea popped up and I had to do this story first. ;x
School sucks. That's why my updates are so slow :(
Chapter 4: Old Adversary
The day of the accident happened in late May. It was now nearing mid-June, three weeks since Harry was devoid the aid of his eyes. There wasn't much happening for the seventh years--such as Harry--at Hogwarts. Exams were over with; classes were nothing but almost free time for the students. Even some Professors, such as Professor Flitwick, Sprout, and Trelawney, let their students do whatever they wanted.
Just as long they did not destroy the classroom and in Professor Sprout's case, the greenhouse.
In this particular warm June Saturday morning, Harry was lazily lying on his bed, lounging. He was waiting for Ron to come out from the bathroom. The redhead had spent at least thirty minutes in the showers, and Harry was getting impatient.
The seventh years had to gather in the Great Hall; they were to have their second graduation practice. All seventh year students will gather everyday until the day of the real ceremony. Harry had told Ron that he can get to the Great Hall by himself, but the redhead had insisted that he would walk by Harry's side, just in case anything happened.
"Ron did you drown in there?" Harry called out; he heard a clatter from inside the bathroom, "Even I shower faster than you! And I have this untamable mop of hair plus I can't see."
Harry smirked when he heard the bathroom door opened. The soft pattering of feet indicated that Ron was barefooted. The brunet pushed himself up from the bed and threw his legs over the edge. Harry cocked his head to the side and gave Ron a grin.
"Are you dressed?" Harry asked.
"I was brushing my hair when you yelled," Ron answered, "And yes, I'm dressed."
Ron gave his head one last pat with the towel and then threw the semi-wet towel at Harry's face. Harry screamed as the wet towel hit his face with a 'smack'. Ron chuckled and walked over to his bed; he bent down to retrieve his trainers and placed them on.
"Ready to go mate?" Ron asked; he walked over to the door and waited for Harry to come over.
"You know Hermione's going to kill you right?" Harry said cheekily, "We were supposed to go down fifteen minutes ago."
Ron groaned, "Aww… She's going to give us a lecture all the way down to the Great Hall!"
"Well it's your fault for taking so bloody long in the bath!" Harry grinned; he didn't mind Hermione's chastising, he was use to it. "Now let's get down there before we're twenty minutes late." Harry pushed off his bed and went over to Ron.
Ron opened the door and followed Harry out, "Why don't you walk in front of me and I'll hide behind you?"
"It won't work Ron; you're way too tall."
Ron groaned and both boys went down the stairs to the common room.
As Ron had predicted, Hermione yelled at both of them about being prompt. She chided Harry for not telling her that Ron was taking a shower. Harry blushed and apologized to the agitated girl. Ron was apologizing profusely; he never liked Hermione yelling at him. With one last huff, Hermione and the other two walked into the Great Hall.
The buzz of activity was apparent. Students from all four houses were gathered there. The Heads of House were telling their own students what to do and where to sit. Hermione flapped her hand at Harry and Ron and told them to follow her. They stood with the other Gryffindors and waited for Professor McGonagall to give them their instructions. The Head of Gryffindor walked briskly to the large group of Gryffindors; she stood in the middle of the crowd and looked at each of them with narrowed eyes.
"I expect each and every one of you to be on your best behavior," McGonagall said, "We cannot afford any misbehaving." She nodded at the group, "Do you all understand?"
"Yes Professor McGonagall." The Gryffindors chorused.
"Good. Follow me," McGonagall said; she pivoted and the group of students followed her to the far left side of the Great Hall.
"These chairs will be set up the same way on the day of the ceremony." The witch explained, "The Slytherins will be sitting to our right," she waved her arm at the rows of chairs to the right, "And you will be the first ones to be called up to receive your diplomas. Understand?"
All the Gryffindors nodded.
"Now, when everybody has settled into their chairs, the practice will begin." McGonagall looked at her group of Gryffindors until she spotted Harry, "Mr. Potter can you come with me please?"
The group of Gryffindors parted as Harry made his way to his Transfiguration professor. As usual, his arm was lifted in front of him so that he can 'see' what was in front. McGonagall smiled gently and reached out to take Potter's hand. Both professor and student walked until they were at the first row of chairs for the Gryffindors.
"Mr. Potter, your seat will be the very first one in the front row, near the aisle," McGonagall told the teen, "On the back of the chair, your initials are carved. That way, you can find your chair during practice and on the real ceremony. Since we didn't do the seating yesterday, I just want you to know."
Harry nodded, "Professor, how many rows are behind mine?" Harry asked the Transfiguration teacher, "I can count the rows so I wouldn't walk past my chair or something stupid."
McGonagall chuckled, "There are eight rows behind yours Harry. Since you are going to walk up from the back, just count eight and your chair should come right after."
"Oh, okay. Thanks Professor." Harry tilted his head up and smiled at Minerva.
"Go walk back to the group Harry, we'll be starting soon. Do you remember what we did yesterday?"
"Yup, I'll just go back now." Harry waved at his professor and slowly made his way back to the Gryffindors.
The lions were situated right next to the Slytherins. When McGonagall gave the signal all the Gryffindors lined up in a single line in alphabetical order by their last names. Snape then also ordered his snakes to form a single line.
Harry was behind a girl named Lucy Martel. On their first day of practice, Harry took note of the fragrance Lucy gave off, which was a sweet, lavender scent. When Harry asked her what gave off that smell, Lucy nicely told him that it was her body wash. Harry was red with embarrassment when he told her that he would use the flowery scent to recognize her. All Lucy did was laugh good-naturedly and told Harry it was okay, she didn't mind.
"You really like lavenders don't you Lucy?" Harry asked; they were just standing in line and were waiting for the graduation music to go on.
Lucy turned her head slightly and looked at the boy behind her, "Mmm… I've been using this body wash ever since I started Hogwarts. It's good for my skin; smells nice doesn't it?"
Harry grinned and nodded in agreement; Lucy giggled and turned back to face the front. By now, all students were in line. Harry heard Snape barking at his snakes, telling them to stand straight, stop talking, and pay attention. Harry snorted and covered his mouth so others around him couldn't hear it. Then the green eyed teen heard a faint cough; it was McGonagall clearing her throat, the cue for the music to start. Right after, the music floated around the Great Hall and students began to shift forward.
One by one, they walked up, pausing at a line on the ground. Of course, Harry couldn't see the line so he only approximated. He walked up to where Lucy once stood a few seconds ago. They were told to wait at the line at least ten seconds before walking. Harry counted in his head and started walking on ten; he paced himself, not too slow, not too fast. The brunet didn't know who was walking beside him.
Draco watched on the side as Harry nodded his head slightly in count. He smiled, secretly, so that nobody could see, and turned his attention away from Potter. When it was their turn to walk, the blond shifted his eyes and saw Harry walking a bit slower than he was, so Draco slowed his own pace to accommodate Harry. The blond watched from the corner of his eyes how Harry had his left hand out, touching the first chair of each row as he passed by them. He also became aware of how Harry was walking closer to the chair legs with each passing step.
When they both reached the front row (Draco also sat in the first chair by the aisle), Harry's foot got caught with his chair and stumbled forward. With Seeker reflexes, Draco was by Potter's side and his hand flew out to steady the brunet. Harry let out a huge breath of relief and straightened himself up. He turned his face to his rescuer and smiled.
"Thanks…" Harry said; he lips formed a small pout and Harry moved closer as if scrutinizing the person in front of him. "You feel… familiar. The way you smell…" Harry's face flushed as he trailed off.
Draco almost laughed out loud, but didn't. Harry would recognize him if he did. Instead, he just let go of Harry and stood away. The blond walked to his chair, sat down, and did not say a word to Harry. He simply didn't want the Gryffindor to know it was him that helped him out.
Harry stood there, confused, as the person that helped him didn't say a word. He heard footsteps walking away and knew the person, whoever it was, had walked to his or her chair. Harry frowned and sat in his own chair. The thought of how the person felt so familiar to him never left Harry's mind.
'Just who in Slytherin would help…?'
The rest of the day passed by with the seventh years of Hogwarts sitting in their chairs, listening to the Headmaster drone on and on with his speeches, and last but not least, going up the set-up stage as their names were called. Harry sat through the whole practice with half of his brain shut off. He dozed off once or twice and had to be wakened up by Dean, who was sitting next to Harry.
"Come on Harry, just three more days of practice and it's done," Dean chuckled; he had just elbowed Harry to wake the brunet up, "Then all we have to do is wait for the real ceremony and it's all over with!"
"Yeah, no more boring speeches…" Harry rolled his eyes, "Dumbledore recited his speech four times today!"
"Well, this is our last time, and then we have the day off. No classes for us you know."
Harry laughed; he cocked his head. Professor Sprout was up on the stage reading names from her list of Hufflepuffs.
"That's the best thing about practices, we don't have class." Harry grinned at his dark skinned friend.
An hour later, the graduation practice was done and Harry happily jumped out of his chair and started his trip to leave the Great Hall. On his way, he passed by Hermione, who hooked her arms with his and walked together with him.
"I saw you Harry. You fell asleep," Hermione said.
"Can't really blame me 'Mione, the speeches were long and dull."
"Hmm…" Hermione hummed, "I guess."
They were almost near where Ron was chatting with Seamus when Hermione whispered into Harry's ear.
"Oh yeah… Why did Draco grab your arm when you were walking to your chair when we just started practice?" Hermione asked her green eyed friend.
Harry stopped abruptly which caused Hermione to stop as well.
"What do you mean he grabbed me?" Harry frowned at Hermione; her eyebrows shot up and looked at Harry with surprise.
"When you were by your chair… Draco was at your side in a flash and held your arm. Didn't you know it was him?"
"How do I know it was him when I can't see Hermione?!" Harry hissed; Hermione cringed at the tone of Harry's voice. He felt Hermione back away a bit and immediately apologized.
"No… I'm sorry. Nobody told you who your partner was Harry," Hermione said softly, "I just thought Draco would've said something to you…"
"No he didn't. In fact, he didn't speak when he held me up," Harry told Hermione, "I kicked my foot against the chair leg and stumbled. I didn't know who it was then… But I told him he… smelled familiar." Harry blushed pink.
"You told Draco he smelt familiar?" Hermione giggled but stopped when Harry gave her a half hearted glare, "Sorry… So how does he smell like?"
"Oh you know… cologne, vanilla, and something that's just Malfoy." Harry answered; Hermione clamped her mouth shut to prevent sudden laughter. "I sat next to him in Potions enough times to remember how he smells like."
"Oh I'm sure you do Harry," Hermione said, clearing her throat to disguise her oncoming giggle, "You don't have to hide it, I know you fancy Draco."
Harry felt heat rising up his cheeks and he smiled shyly, "It's that obvious?"
"Yes," Hermione chirped, "So how long have you liked him?"
Harry had told his two best friends his orientation during their sixth year. When he and Ginny broke up, Ron was upset and demanded an explanation from Harry. Not wanting to lie and understood that Ron was protective of his little sister, Harry told both Hermione and Ron the truth. Ron was really reluctant to accept the fact Harry preferred males while Hermione was happy Harry finally realized what gender he liked. Both Harry and Ron were flabbergasted and Hermione went on to explain she did not care whether Harry liked females or males, just as long he's happy then it was fine. Then Hermione had went on, telling Ron that he should be happy for Harry and that Harry had actually told Ginny about it before their relationship got too far. Ron, after three days' time, finally stated that he was happy for his brunet friend. On that day, Harry was glad he had such great friends with great understanding.
"Well, just the start of this year actually… There's just something about him I like," Harry said meekly, "Also, ever since he said he was fighting on the Light side of the war at the end of sixth year, he changed a lot Hermione. I'm sure you've noticed."
"Yes, I did notice." Hermione agreed, "Like that day when he defended you and told Cheval to back off. I turned around to look at him; he was staring at you Harry. Maybe he…"
"No, I-I'm sure he doesn't like me," Harry smiled thinly, "He's just probably a bit nicer since we're on the same side and all. He sacrificed a lot… I don't know what made him changed sides; he's fighting against his parents now."
"We should give him more credit," Hermione said; she pulled at Harry's arm and they started walking again, "He's not as bad we think he is."
"I know Hermione, I know."
"Practices are the worst thing ever!" Ron groaned.
The trio had just arrived at the common room. Ron flopped down onto the couch while Harry sat in an armchair. Hermione sat on the other end of the couch Ron occupied.
Hermione clucked her tongue disapprovingly, "Worse than exams Ronald?"
Ron turned and looked at Hermione sheepishly, "No, exams are first in the list, then practices."
Harry laughed, "Just three more times Ron then it's all over."
"Yeah…" Ron nodded his head, "Anyways, what did the ferret do when he was at your side Harry?" Ron asked suddenly; his eyes were narrowed dangerously but Harry couldn't see it.
Harry sighed exasperatedly, "Did everyone see what Malfoy did?"
Ron opened his mouth to say something but Hermione slapped him on his arm. The redhead cleared his throat while rubbing his forearm.
"Well, it's just that he went up to you so quickly I thought he--"
"He prevented me from falling that's all," Harry said, "I didn't know it was him to begin with."
"Malfoy actually helped you?" Ron asked; his eyes widened with shock, "The ferret actually didn't watch you fall on your face."
"Ron shut up already," Hermione grounded, "Draco helped Harry, which is a good thing or else Harry would've had a broken nose or something."
Ron puffed out his chest and glared at the bushy haired witch, "It's just hard for me to believe Malfoy would do something nice."
"He did okay?!" Harry yelled; his fists were curled on the armrest, "Just drop it Ron." Harry stood up and walked to the stairway without faltering his steps.
Ron watched with stunned silence as Harry stomped up the stairs and went in the boys' dormitory. Hermione rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She glared at Ron heatedly.
"That was very stupid of you Ron," Hermione chided; Ron gulped and slowly looked at her. "You know how Harry thinks of Draco; he's not the same anymore Ron, you know that."
"I-I just… It's hard to believe 'Mione," Ron said quietly, "I was acting stupidly wasn't I? I know Malfoy's on our side and all, but still, I can't really accept the fact he's changed for the better."
"Well, he did," Hermione snapped; she stood up as well, "Have some faith in Draco. Think of how much he gave up fighting for the Light." She walked around the couch and had one foot on the stairs when she turned around to look at Ron, "He practically gave up everything Ron, just so you know." Hermione continued her way up the stairs and turned a corner to the girl dormitory.
When Ron reached the boys' room, he found Harry lying on his stomach in his bed; his head resting on his arms, his eyes were closed. Ron walked quietly towards the bed; Harry heard shuffling of feet and slowly opened his eyes, not that it mattered.
"Came to tell me more about how Draco is a sadistic bastard?" Harry asked pointedly, his green eyes flashed with anger; Ron shook his head, his red hair flying into his eyes.
"No… Nothing like that," Ron said hurriedly; Harry's expression softened but did not sit up on his bed. Ron timidly sat down next to his friend. "I came to… apologize for the way I acted downstairs. I was being a total jerk. I'm sorry."
Harry closed his eyes and sighed. He rolled on his back and sat, his legs crossed under him.
"It's alright Ron, I know it's hard to believe Malfoy turned to the good side," Harry began, "When he first came and told us in secret that he's on our side, I thought he was lying, too." Harry then laid his hand on Ron's shoulder and gave it a pat; he dropped it afterwards, "But then I realized how much he was sacrificing, and how much he had changed. I gave Malfoy a chance Ron, maybe you should, too."
Ron scratched the back of his head absently, "I guess… It's not going to be easy though," Ron then let out a defeated sigh, "I know how you feel towards the fer—Malfoy," Harry, as if on cue, started to blush; Ron continued, "I'm not as oblivious as you think I am, and I don't need Hermione to tell me either. I know you… sort of like him I guess?"
Harry nodded mutely, telling Ron that his assumption was correct.
'Am I really that transparent?' Harry asked himself. He was brought back to reality when Ron shifted on his bed.
"Well, if he does anything to you, he'll be answering to my fists," Ron exclaimed; he cracked his knuckles for emphasis, "Other than that, I'm fine with him being around, just as long he doesn't get on my nerves."
"Not much to worry there Ron," Harry said softly, "After this year, me and Malfoy will never see each other again. Well, in my case, I can't see him no matter what. We'll go our separate ways after school is over."
"Maybe you'll bump into him somehow," Ron suggested; Harry shrugged uncaringly.
"Mabye."
A/N: I'm sorry!! College is preventing me from updating my stories often. T-T I'll update my other two as soon as possible so please bear with me! –bows down apologetically- Thanks for reading:D