Chapter Nine
A/N: Thanks to stephanmc for the great encouragement.
Another term had passed, and life was now much better for Merida than it had been before. Her friends were supportive, she was no longer in trouble, bar the occasional incident, and she was completely content with her identity.
The only problem lately was something that was constantly bothering the girl, following her through the shadows and plaguing her with guilt. No, not something. Someone.
Over the past few weeks, even months, Draco Malfoy had been attempting to regain friendship with the young McGonagall, though he did not know her by such a name, as hardly anyone in the school did. And for the entirety of the term, Merida had been attempting to avoid the boy, for fear that he may succeed in doing so.
However, as the times went on and the pressure of their schoolwork grew, in anticipation of their OWL exams the next year, the redhead found it increasingly difficult to avoid the blonde, as due to the amount of homework being received by fourth and fifth years, both of them spent the majority of their free time in the school library, reading books and writing essays until they were thrown out by Madam Pince, because the clock had struck eleven without their noticing. And all the while, the two former best friends had not exchanged a single word.
However, that did not mean that they did not share glances. Every time Merida looked up from the old tome she was studying, most likely for History of Magic, as Professor Binns often gave them a mountain of homework to do, she caught Draco quickly look down at his parchment, knowing that he had been looking at her. Every time the boy glanced up, he felt exactly the same way.
By chance, one day, both glanced up at precisely the same time, their gaze meeting immediately. The first instinct of each of them was to turn away, but both found that they could not do it, as the other had not done. They held the gaze for a good few minutes, and could easily read the emotions in each other's eyes. In Draco's eyes, the young woman could see guilt, pleading, sorrow. In her's, he could only see disappointment and sadness, the very things that he had caused her to feel, though he had not committed the actions she had accused him of, and had a clear idea who had, a Ravenclaw named Marietta Edgecombe, something that the blonde was sure his former friend now knew. 'So why is she still holding it against me?' he thought.
On the table opposite, Merida was thinking of the same situation, wondering if it truly had been nothing to do with him in the end. 'After all,' she told herself. 'They had Marietta with them, and she has those scars on her face that say sneak. Perhaps Draco had nothing to do with it. Maybe he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened.'
Something deep within her heart, so deep that she could not control it, was telling her to go over to him, to accept his apology and to rekindle their friendship, but her mind was telling her not to do so, as if her common sense told her not to trust him, though whether this was due to the fact she had felt betrayed by him, or the prejudices that had been imbedded into her as a child growing up in a Gryffindor household, she was not quite sure. Still, she trusted her instincts and not her heart, as she found that in most cases, it was the most sensible course of actions, with minimal opportunity for further damage.
Her common sense taking over her mind, the young woman stood from her chair, bundling the pile of books under her arms and exiting the library, casting only a single glance towards the boy as she did so, one which he hardly had any time to respond to before she was out of the doorway and on her way back to the common room, the only place she could be certain that she would not be found by Draco.
However, as she ascended the cold stone steps of the Gryffindor tower, Merida's concentration slipped and the books slipped from her arms, tumbling down the staircase with a loud crack. She turned swiftly to catch them, a little too swiftly, as she lost her balance as well, and was a moment away from tumbling down the staircase.
But when she felt herself begin to fall, crying out in fear at what would happen, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her from above, encircling her and keeping her from the fate that surely would have befallen her had the figure not been behind her. She turned her head to thank the young man, as she could feel from the musculature of his chest that it was a male who was her saviour, but paused immediately. She had half a mind to even move away from him, as her sense once again told her to do. But, for once in her life, she did not listen to herself.
"Be careful." her knight in shining armour told her, though Merida cringed at the thought of her addressing him as such, even if just in her own mind. She was no damsel in distress, after all. "These steps are dangerous, even for a born Gryffindor."
"Well, born Gryffindors don't need saving." she shot back, determined not to let her point go unnoticed.
"Perhaps they do not, but Slytherins always jump in where they are not needed, so that they can take all the glory. It's just the way we are." he replied to her, his signature smirk appearing on his chiselled features.
"I know that." she told him immediately, though with none of the harshness that had previously been a part of her tone when speaking to him, and before long, a smile appeared on her face to rival his own.
Perhaps snakes and lions could overcome prejudices and be friends, and perhaps they could not, but it was an idea that Draco and Merida were once again determined to prove.
A/N: Aww, rekindled friendship. Please review!
