Chapter 7: A Study Buddy
Story: Three Lords War
Author: Ladyfallsalot/Jaclyn

Beta: Lady Rachel Lupin
(Rachel: ily!)
Beta/Note: Dude, I know I was behind on updating for the poor girl, but give her a break. 32 people on the alert list and 18 reviews? Where's the love people? It takes all of 10 second and it'll make LadyFallsALot happy. Well, these are all the chapters I'll have. You'll have to wait til at least Tuesday when she's back in commission. Bye lovies.

Harry was pulled harshly from his blissful mood by Hex.

"Well, boy, don't count your thesrals. There's a whole lot we have to do to get there, and before we do, we need to get you trained."

Harry nodded in agreement and Hex went on.

"Now, you're not going to like this, believe you me, you won't like this, but I've got you a partner. A partner who will learn, along with you, and apply the knowledge you learn so you can compete."

"In the years I've watched you, I've learned many things. One of the most pertinent is that you are much more formidable if you are competing or in a dangerous situation. I do not intend to create dangerous situations every time I wish to teach you, so instead, I've got Draco."

At that name, all sound shut down for Harry. Draco. Draco Malfoy: the bane of my existence Draco Malfoy?

Harry couldn't think. He didn't even know how to voice what he was thinking, so instead he asked a question. "Why?" he asked. "Why choose my enemy? Why choose someone who will surely report back to Voldemort? And why choose the kid that you know I'll never get along with?" he asked reasonably.

"Because," Hex explained, "That's someone I can be sure you will give your all in front of, someone who you won't want to look like a fool before. You'll never let Draco see you at anything other than your best, and I'm counting on that."

Harry knew the man was being reasonable, but protested anyways. "He's reporting to Voldemort! Do you really want my opponent to have an active update on what I'm learning?"

"Who," Hex asked, looking pleased that Harry had asked, "said that Draco Malfoy supported Voldemort?"

Harry rolled his eyes. This man had obviously spent all his time watching Harry and none in society. It was known that the Malfoys were all death eaters.

"Every Malfoy is a death eater." Harry said, pleased to be teaching Hex something rather than the other way around.

"Right," Hex said sarcastically, "Just like every parslemouth is evil, right? Wrong. Draco doesn't live with his father anymore. He has his own home and lives by his own rules. He stopped supporting Voldemort last summer when he ordered the murder of his mother, Narcissa."

Harry's eyes widened. So Draco's mother was dead. He hadn't heard that. He felt sad for Draco, and realized that this made them kindred spirits.

He no longer doubted Draco's loyalty. After Voldemort killed your parents, no matter how high the offer there was no supporting him. Harry had given it some serious thought the summer after every time the evil man offered to switch sides, but as much as some things appealed to him, the man killed his parents. That sealed the deal.

"Are you absolutely sure that it wasn't a feigned murder?" he asked skeptically.

Hex smiled and patted Harry on the shoulder. "'Atta boy! Now you're thinking like you should be." He sobered, "But yes, sadly, she truly is dead. At least her death served a purpose though. Draco is now ready to join us."

Harry felt bad for Draco but almost laughed, "Join us? You'll be lucky if I can get him to talk to me, much less train with me. You fail to understand how much that boy hates me. You should probably find someone else, because this will not work."

Hex smirked, "Well, he's meeting us today in Diagon Alley, and I'm almost one hundred per cent sure he'll come to our side, so long as you're not horrible."

Harry gave Hex a look between amusement and distain, "I'll be good, but don't expect anything less than ice from the ice prince of Slytherin."

Hex, without a word, began walking out of the room and into the alley toward Diagon.

Harry shook his head in amusement, "Draco Malfoy," he said to himself, "Draco-freaking-Malfoy…"

Draco sat in the Leaky Cauldron sipping at the Bloody Mary he had only just ordered. It doesn't matter where you are, dark or light alley, you can always pay off a bartender. This was something Draco counted on.

He tried, failingly, to stop thinking about the upcoming meeting. He knew that he would meet Harry Potter and his mysterious trainer Hex, and wasn't sure how he felt about it.

He knew that Voldemort was out of the picture, but chances were, Harry would be either intent on having Draco arrested, or bringing him over to the 'light' side. Neither would do. Draco no longer wanted to fight in a war against dark and light. He wanted to simply get revenge on his mother and let this all be over.

Even as he knew that Potter was most likely going to do something stupid, he couldn't help be curious. Any possibilities he could come up with as to what would happen in this meeting were all ridiculous.

Harry hated the ministry, so chances of him getting Draco arrested? Very little he reasoned. And he was a smart kid; he knew Draco would never do anything to get himself in trouble in public, so why meet here?

As far as getting him to join Dumbledore, this was ridiculous as well. The last thing Potter would ever wish for was a chance to work with Draco Malfoy.

The only thing Draco had to work with was a short and mysterious note he found on his bed post only nights before:

Draco Malfoy,

Be at the Leaky Cauldron on Monday at four o'clock.

Harry Potter has a few propositions for you that you will surely find interesting.

If you are not there when I and my student arrive, we will leave.

-Hex

Since then, the note and the meeting were the only things on Draco's mind. He looked at his watch for what felt like the twentieth time in the last hour and watched the minute hand hit the three. They were fifteen minutes late.

He looked up to the door as he had every thirty seconds since four and finally saw two people walking in, one surprisingly tall with dark brown hair and deep green eyes, and the other a stern looking old man who walked with tall pride looking around the room.

When the old man's eyes found Draco, he walked toward him without a second glance at the boy he entered with. He found the seat at the table and seconds after so did the boy.

"Draco Malfoy, I presume?" the old man asked eloquently.

"Yes," Draco said with a nod, "and you are…"

"Hex." The man said, losing all eloquence in his voice, "And that's the only name you'll ever know. And you two, I believe, know each other." He said with a fake smile that signified just how well he knew they knew each other.

"Draco," Harry said with a nod, neither friendly nor hostile.

"Potter," Draco said with the same indifference.

"Okay, am I right in suspecting that was the best I could possibly expect from the two of you?" he received a look from Harry that told him it was true, "All right, then let's get down to business."

"Draco Abraxas Malfoy. Am I correct in that you are neither loyal to Lord Voldemort nor Albus Dumbledore?" his tone revealed a distinct business aura.

Draco was confused but decided to tell the truth. It wasn't as though he hadn't already gone public with the information. "You are," he said with the same businessy tone. "What are you getting at?"

"I would like to make a proposition for you." Hex said with the same tone and face.

"I'm listening," Draco said. He was getting annoyed with these niceties. He wanted to hear the proposition, and he wanted to hear it now.

"I would like you to train with Mr. Potter here." He paused to smirk at the gaping coming from Draco. This was obviously not what he was expecting. "In payment for helping me teach him, you will learn branches of magic that you have never even imagined. You might say enough to avenge your mother."

Draco's face hardened at the last part. He would have done it either way, a chance to work with Potter? A chance to prove that he was no longer the dark wizard he knew people still said he was, and most importantly, a chance to avenge his mother. This was too good an opportunity to pass up.

He couldn't be too obvious. "What, exactly, would we be learning?" he asked in a businessy tone that matched Hex's.

Hex smiled as though he had been hoping he would be asked this question. "Deeper dark and light magic, illusionating, conjuring, aparating, legilimacy, occlumacy, patronus, many more. Mr. Potter will learn some parsletongue spells that of course you won't be working on, but in that time, you may request almost anything. You will find me a very skilled teacher I'm sure."

"And how long will this be lasting?" Draco asked, still all business.

"All through winter break, periodically through out the school year, and next summer. We may have to go into next school year, but in reality, I highly doubt that will be necessary."

"What makes you think I will accept?" Draco learned through his father that this was always a good question to ask, because people tended to get nervous and offer more.

"I have already told you; a much greater understanding of magic that you would never be able to dream of otherwise and a chance to avenge your mother. Anything else that may come of it is by chance only."

"All right then, I expect you will give me some time to put my current affairs in order?" he said as more of a question than a statement.

"You will be given the rest of the day. Harry is staying at the Knockturn hotel in room 108. I expect you there by at least six thirty in the morning. You may come and spend the night there if you wish as it is where you will be staying for the remainder of your Christmas break. I'll see both of you then, good day."

With that he walked away leaving Harry and Draco to sit by them selves.

"Well… Erm…" Harry searched for something to say to the pale blonde boy.

Draco broke the awkward moment, "So you and me, working together. This should be… interesting. Think we should truce?"

"Truce," Harry said, grateful that he wasn't the one who had to say it first. "Well… we don't have to be friends or anything, right?"

"Most definitely not!" Draco said, secretly disappointed. "But I guess I'd better get going if I'm going to go get everything done today. That man is going to be tough isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is. But, if you wanted me to, I could help you out today. Pretty much the only plans I have for the rest of vacation revolve around Hex's, and if he has nothing, I'll just be sitting around." Harry said, hoping Draco wouldn't be mean.

Draco was definitely surprised. Golden boy Harry Potter is going to help him? "All right, let me finish my drink and we can go."

Harry smirked and they sat in silence for the next five minutes until Draco stood up.

"You ready to go?" he asked.

Harry shrugged. He hadn't even ordered a drink. What did Draco think he was going to say? No? "Yeah, let's get going. Where do you live anyways?"

He had a hard time imagining the Malfoy mansion, but when he did, he imagined it as cold, heartless, grandeur. High ceilings and grumpy paintings, despite this, he was very excited to see the manor.

So Draco…
He's here.

Sorry about the shortness of this, but it felt done to me
I didn't really like it per se, but I couldn't rewrite it well enough
So I left it how it is
Hope you disagreed with me

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