Chapter Ten
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
1996
After Harry had doggedly reigned in his turbulent emotions he had allowed Ron to lead the way from the headmaster's office, gazing around the familiar corridors and laying his eyes over the moving portraits he had walked past so many times in his childhood. His heart swelled a little bit to see the castle had not changed one bit, retaining the same image that he had harboured during his three year absence.
After his initial greeting, Ron seemed to be at a loss with what to say to the boy he had grown up with, casting numerous glances back at Harry, his blue eyes lingering on his foster brother's silver collar. He opened his mouth many times as though about to strike up a conversation but every time he allowed his jaw to shut.
Unable to handle the awkward and uncomfortable silence Harry jumped to fill in the blank space between them. He loved Ron like a brother and it hurt that the two of them couldn't find anything to say after so long separated.
'So…what's been happening while I've been…away,' Harry began tentatively, inwardly wincing at his hesitant tone. However seeing Ron's look of relief at being given a safe topic to talk about made up for it a bit.
'Not much really mate. I mean, the biggest thing that happened after you left was when Gin was picked as a Birther.' Ron's face tightened with fury and Harry noticed the clenching of his fists as the taller boy struggled to govern his anger.
Harry had already know the fifteen-year-old redhead had been sent to Damara House thanks to his communication with Hermione, but seeing the hurt and helpless ire on Ron's face just highlighted the terrible situation.
Casting about for some way to soothe his friend's mounting anger Harry quickly asked, 'How have everyone been back here? Are the twins still pranking?'
He gave a quiet sigh of relief when some of the tension drained out of Ron and the boy launched into a detailed and slightly envious description of the twins' elaborate and yet effective pranks on the habitants of Hogwarts. The eighteen-year-olds were masters of avoiding blame for the many "unfortunate" mishaps that occurred around the school, taking particular delight in targeting the sour caretaker, Filch.
Despite the previous dark topic Harry found himself laughing at an account of the prank the twins had done a few months back, apparently having formulated some sort of sweet from stolen magical ingredients that caused the one whom ingested it to break out in hideous boils. Filch was the unlucky receiver of a box of these treats and had been covered in unsightly sores for a number of weeks.
As the two boys bonded once more over laughter and discussion of the moments Harry had missed while he was learning the ways of the Courtesan, they descended deeper into Hogwarts, past the old Slytherin dormitories and into the painfully familiar network of corridors in the deepest section of the castle.
As they turned a corner Harry only had time to hastily place Hedwig's cage on the ground before he was bowled over by the two redheaded menaces that he and Ron had been discussing only moments before. With twin cries of, 'Harry!' he was unceremoniously knocked to the ground with their combined weight and pinned with two grinning faces hovering above his own.
Ron watched on with amusement as his old friend was suffocated in a hug from each of his twin brothers. Eventually the raven-haired boy was let up, a little breathless after being nearly squeezed to death by Fred and George.
'It's great to see you both,' Harry said warmly, feeling his spirits lightening even further by merely being in the presence of the two boisterous pranksters. Then he added with a grin, 'I hear you've been keeping Hogwarts on its toes.'
He was rewarded with sly grins from the older boys whom then shared a meaningful glance with one another. Fred reached into his grey Menial tunic and appeared to touch something in his pocket as though checking it was still there. Harry hoped it wasn't a volatile prank lurking in there but he simply caught a flash of yellowed parchment and nothing more.
'Perhaps we'll show you the secret to our success later on Harry,' George promised, ignoring Ron's splutter of indignation. 'You'll be attending school after all and we always wanted an inside man.'
Throwing an arm each around Harry, with Fred grabbing Hedwig's cage, the twins escorted their foster-brother down the corridor towards the kitchen where the Weasley family and their extended adopted children worked.
Ron was still spluttering behind the trio, muttering something about prats not sharing their secrets to their success with their own little brother.
When they entered the kitchen the twins moved aside to let Harry be engulfed in a warm hug from the matriarch of the Weasley family whom clung to Harry like she was drowning and he was a piece of driftwood. But Harry was not complaining, pressing himself nearer to the closest person he had ever had to a mother and allowing some of his burdens to slide away.
When at last Molly Weasley pulled back she scrutinised his face much like Angelina had, searching for signs of abuse or depression. With softness in her warm brown eyes she brushed his black fringe back tenderly and scoured his features as though memorising every detail she saw there.
At last she proclaimed into the silence with a slightly tremulous smile, 'You're much too skinny, Harry dear,' and the Courtesan knew everything was the same, Mrs Weasley still being the protective mother hen.
Or at least almost the same. The woman had dark shadows under her eyes as though the combined loss of Harry, Hermione and Lavender then her own daughter by blood, Ginny, had drained away some of the life in her. There were tired lines on her face where there had only ever been supple skin and Harry noticed a few strands of silver in her hair.
'It's good to be home,' Harry murmured softly and was swept into another tight hug. At this rate his ribs would give out before the end of the day. And it was only morning!
After being forcibly sat down Harry watched in bemusement as Mrs Weasley bustled about the kitchen throwing together a meal for him, insisting that he couldn't leave so soon without her trying to fatten him up a bit more because he was apparently so frightfully skinny.
Ron, Fred and George had left sometime as he was being welcomed home by Mrs Weasley, obviously wanting to give Harry some privacy with his foster mother.
So engrossed in watching the familiar movements of the woman, he missed the pair of silvery blue eyes that stared unblinkingly at him from a seat in the corner of the room. Feeling goosebumps break out over the back of his neck Harry reached up to rub the skin, frowning slightly.
Casting his gaze around the kitchen, Harry's attention landed on an odd looking girl staring unflinchingly at him. Her intense eyes were fixed on him unnervingly, a pale and pointed face framed by equally pale hair. The light blonde locks fell in an unkempt and tangled mess to her mid-back. She looked a bit younger than him, perhaps around Ginny's age and Harry initially thought she was a new Menial. Then he saw the black robes with the Hogwarts crest and an un-collared neck and realised whoever this girl was, she was a student at the school.
Who was she?
Mrs Weasley seemed to realise Harry's attention had shifted and glanced up from where she was busily chopping vegetables.
'Ah I see you've spotted Luna,' she told Harry with a fond smile. Then she directed her focus on the strange girl and said, 'This is the boy I told you about dear, Harry Potter.'
Luna rose from her seat and wandered over to where Harry was sitting, plopping herself down beside him. She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and Harry noticed she was wearing radish shaped earrings of all things.
Distracted by her odd choice of ear jewellery, Harry almost missed the dreamy smile she gave him and the calm voice that stated, 'I'm Luna Lovegood.'
'Nice to meet you Luna,' Harry said politely and extended his hand for her to shake.
Luna stared down at the offered appendage but did not take it, a look of interest on her face as though she was staring at a specimen of some sort. Harry's cheeks flushed and he retracted his hand, looking over Luna's face to see if she had any malicious intent.
Instead she gave him another dreamy sort of smile and said in her voice, which carried a faint accent, 'It is nice to meet you too, Harry Potter.' Then she promptly focused on a crack, which ran along the ceiling and tilted her head to one side in a bird-like fashion as she contemplated it.
Completely and utterly at a loss with how to act around this odd girl Harry looked helplessly towards Mrs Weasley who gave him a rueful smile as though assuring him this was normal Luna behaviour.
Thankfully Neville and Dean chose that moment to enter and Harry was happily reunited with the two boys from his childhood. Luna remained focused on the crack in the ceiling and Mrs Weasley was humming under her breath as she prepared his welcoming home meal creating cover for the question he wanted to ask. Taking the opportunity, Harry questioned Neville and Dean discreetly as to what Luna was doing in the Menial kitchens and why she was so…strange.
'It was about a year after you and the others left, Harry, she just found her way down here. She's been visiting ever since. Doesn't say very much and her quirks are as odd as hell but she's a sweet person when you get to know her,' Neville informed him, blushing slightly after describing her as sweet.
Dean elbowed Neville playfully and informed Harry with a grin, 'Neville here has a crush on Luna.'
Poor Neville's cheeks flamed and he gave Dean a look of horrified mortification, eyes flicking hastily to the blonde-haired girl to see if she had heard. Luna was no longer staring at the crack in the ceiling; instead she had somehow procured a magazine and was reading it upside down.
The quirks of this girl never ended.
After getting permission from Mrs Weasley to go and find Mr Weasley and the remainder of Harry's foster-brothers that he had yet to see, the trio left the kitchen and found their way back outside, towards the old gamekeeper hut, which had apparently once been the home of a good man by the name of Rubeus Hagrid. A member of the Order, he had managed to retreat in hiding with other fugitive followers.
Now his old home had been converted into a workshop owned by Mr Weasley whom used it to create handy gadgets from old materials. It was here that Harry hoped to find his foster-father tinkering away.
They crested a grassy knoll and the massive Quidditch pitch came into view bringing forth Harry's old memories of sitting on top of the Astrology Tower and watching the games with a pair of binoculars. With a surge of sudden excitement Harry wondered if he would be able to fly on a broomstick now that he was an official student. He might even be able to try out for a team.
Elation blossomed inside of him at that thought, and his eyes hungrily tracked the distant figures that were having a flying class by the looks of it. He was interrupted from watching the people zooming around the field by an exuberant Charlie that started him by hugging him from behind.
Laughing, Harry turned around and hugged Charlie properly, missing the stocky older man's cheerful and easy-going personality. Percy stood beside his older brother, waiting patiently to hug Harry in a much more sedate fashion than the more animated man.
After hugging the prim twenty-one-year-old who offered him a rather formal welcoming back after three entire years of absence, Harry asked the two older men where Bill and Mr Weasley were. He was directed to the workshop, which had been he, Neville and Dean's original target. Percy and Charlie had to leave to go complete a stock report on the plants in the Herbology greenhouses so the three younger boys were left to go and say hello alone.
Inside the home-turned-workshop, Bill was holding a piece of wire steady with a pair of pliers whilst Mr Weasley threaded it through a small contraption. Rather than interrupt the two and risk startling them, the three waited. Harry watched with a fond smile on his face as he remembered all the times he had had to walk out to Mr Weasley's workshop to give the man a plate of dinner or lunch after he hadn't shown up, so engrossed in his latest invention.
At last with a cry of success Mr Weasley held up the completed gizmo and beamed towards his eldest son. Glancing at the watch on his wrist, a Muggle item he had restored a few years back, Mr Weasley gave yet another cry, this time in shock.
'The blasted watch's gone and stopped working again! Harry's probably home by now!'
Rapidly wiping his oily hands on an available cloth the frazzled man turned only to catch sight of his three foster-sons, a smiling Harry in the middle. After striding over and tugging the green-eyed boy into his arms, Harry breathed in his smell of freshly cut grass and machine oil. Just like it always was.
A calloused hand held his head to his foster-father's shoulder and a voice whispered next to his year, 'You don't know how happy I am so see you, Harry. Molly took your absence, all of your absences, very hard. You've been sorely missed.'
To have verbal confirmation of the hardships Molly had faced caused Harry to have to push away the sudden burn of tears that stung his eyes. Pulling away he turned to Bill and gave the man a hug and accepted his words of welcome a little distractedly.
All Harry could think of was the pain Mrs Weasley had been through losing four children, and the difficulties and fears Hermione, Ginny and Lavender, not to mention Angelina, Katie and Alicia, could very well be facing today. It was all because of a stupid set of laws that had created the Servile caste.
A set of laws that Harry's contractor and the man that had given him more freedom than he had ever experienced before had set in place.
How could he still tolerate, and dare he think it, feel attracted to, the man whom had caused so much pain in the lives of his family and friends and thousands of others?
After a delicious hot meal from Mrs Weasley, Harry was feeling full and content once more, his dark thoughts from earlier banished for now. With his adopted family and the girl from earlier, Luna, gathered around him he enjoyed the present and ignored his growing apprehension about what would happen when he moved into his dormitory and met his fellow sixth year students.
He was scheduled to meet his year-mates during the lunch break, his contractor informing him that it had been arranged to happen in the sixth year common room. Each of the year levels had their own communal chamber where both genders could interact and form study groups. There were separate male and female dormitories branching off from the common room. Harry knew that there were two or three people to a dorm room now that there were nearly half the number of students that used to attend Hogwarts.
Harry wondered idly whom he would be sharing his room with and fervently hoped that whoever it was, they would be at least be tolerant of him and his status.
As the lunch break drew nearer Harry distracted himself by releasing Hedwig from her cage and feeding her a few strips of bacon from his late breakfast. He glanced up in time to hear Mrs Weasley say, 'Ron, I just remembered I needed you to go to the potions classroom, Professor Slughorn required assistance labelling his new stock of ingredients.'
Ron instantly protested with his trademark whine saying, 'But mum, I wanted to take Harry to his dorm to look around with him.'
Whilst the Menials were familiar with almost every nook and cranny in the school, they were not permitted in the actual dormitories of the students. Only the house elves handled the daily cleaning of the private rooms. Ron obviously wished to poke around and see the sort of standards his friend would be enjoying.
Mrs Weasley was having none of Ron's attempts to get out of his chore. 'Now Ronald,' she commanded curtly and with a huff Ron slipped off his chair and offered Harry a goodbye, extracting a promise for Harry to come visit him in the kitchens.
Once Ron had left Mrs Weasley turned to Harry and said gently, 'You should be heading up dear. Your year-mates will be arriving soon to meet you.'
Swallowing heavily Harry stood and waited while Hedwig fluttered up to perch on his shoulder. Grabbing her empty cage and brushing his fingers against his shrunken trunk to make sure it was still securely in his pocket, Harry faced his foster family. Fred and George rose and stood to be beside him. Fred assured him, 'We'll come with you to your dorm room Harry.'
'You'll do no such thing. Ron is not the only one with chores,' Mrs Weasley admonished with an apologetic look towards Harry.
'Then who's going to accompany him?' George argued.
'I'll take him,' a quiet voice stated.
Harry turned towards the source and found those odd silvery blue eyes staring at him again. There was an awkward pause before Mrs Weasley spoke once more saying, 'Thank you for offering Luna, dear. That's very kind of you.'
The girl sprung up from her chair and wandered over to Harry, the boy noting happily that she was an inch shorter than him. Surprisingly enough, Hedwig abandoned Harry's shoulder in favour of Luna's settling on the girl and giving her hair and affectionate preen.
Luna did not seem startled by this in the slightest, turning slightly to stroke Hedwig's snowy feathers. She must have sensed the entire family staring at her and looked up, focusing her gaze on Harry.
'Well are we going to head off?'
Coming to his senses Harry gave another quick round of hugs, even though he knew he was going to be seeing a lot of his family. Leaving behind the Weasley's kitchen he walked along beside Luna who was now crooning softly to Hedwig.
They ascended the levels at a good pace and Harry discovered that whilst the silence between them was filling, it was neither oppressive nor uncomfortable. There was something soothing about the younger girl that set Harry's mind at ease. Although she was admittedly strange, Harry could begin to feel a liking towards her. He had Hedwig's approval about the girl at least.
Wanting to know more about her, Harry asked curiously, 'What year are you in?'
'I am in my fifth year,' Luna replied in that dreamy voice, absently continuing to stroke Hedwig's soft feathers.
'Do you have any siblings?' He questioned.
'It is just my father and me. My mother died in an accident when I was nine,' she said in a matter-of-fact tone as though discussing the weather.
'I'm sorry for you loss,' Harry said sincerely, thinking of his own mother that he would never meet.
Luna turned so she could look at Harry's face and read his emotions over his features quite efficiently. Whatever she saw on his face pleased her because she smiled serenely and announced to him, 'I can tell we're going to great friends Harry Potter.'
Harry vaguely remembered the way to the sixth year common room from his time living at Hogwarts but he had only ever been in the communal chamber and never beyond. He and Luna reached a portrait of a regal looking woman dressed in fine silk; her auburn curls piled high on her head. She looked down on her nose at the two youngsters, taking in Luna's bedraggled hair and Harry's silver Courtesan collar.
'Password?' she demanded imperiously.
Harry froze as he realised he had no idea what the password was. Usually Mrs Weasley or the twins would know the common room's daily passwords, but it had slipped everyone's minds in the excitement of Harry being home. The lady guarding the sixth year dorms was getting more and more smug as she observed Harry's flustered state.
'Draconis,' Luna piped up and the superior smile was wiped off the aristocratic lady's face. With a decidedly less attractive sneer she swung open to reveal a darkened hallway.
'Thank you,' Harry told Luna in relief as they entered and the portrait slammed shut behind them, secretly wondering how she knew what the password was.
After a very brief walk in darkness they entered the large chamber where the entire sixth year communed. It was just as Harry remembered, large vaulted windows giving a view of the lake and the surrounding mountains.
Comfy and yet elegant chairs were grouped together around sturdy worktables, done in tasteful colours of cream and pastel shades. A massive fireplace dominated one wall, merrily crackling away to keep the warmth in the room. An expensive rug covered the flagstone floor to keep the chill at bay.
Harry noted two staircases, which obviously led to the different gender dormitories.
'I have to leave now,' Luna informed him as he took in the room. She nudged Hedwig who returned to Harry's shoulder. 'Lunch is starting downstairs and they have my favourite pudding.'
She turned to go but Harry felt he owed her for getting him in the room and offering to take him in the first place. 'Wait Luna,' he said causing her to pause and look back with her head cocked to one side in the bird-like way of hers. 'Would you like to catch up sometime- to study maybe?' He didn't know what students did in their spare time but he assumed they did their homework.
A huge beaming smile took precedence on the girl's face and she told him, 'I would love to, Harry.'
Then she skipped from the room, radish earrings swinging to and fro with her movement, one hand raised over her head in a goodbye.
Harry watched her exit in bemusement before turning and contemplating the stairs. He tried the one on the right and managed to get up about three steps before the surface below him turned sleek and smooth and he was deposited in a heap at the bottom, Hedwig having hastily left his shoulder just in time to avoid going down with him.
Flushed in embarrassment, realising the stairs were charmed so that no males attempted to get into what he now realised were the female dorms, Harry turned to the left set of stairs and tentatively climbed. Hedwig flew back to to his shoulder, giving his ear a reprimanding nip for giving her a fright. Relieved when the ground didn't give way beneath him, Harry quickly got to the next level and took in the corridor lined with doors for the first time.
There were five doors in total and Harry walked forward and opened the one closest. It was fully furnished with three king sized beds and individual wardrobes for the inhabitants. Closing that door, as it was obviously full, he checked each and every door. A couple of the rooms contained only two beds whilst the rest had three.
Finally he reached the end of the hallway, frantically worried about the time and when his year-mates would arrive, and pulled it open to reveal two beds. However the difference was that the bed furthest from the door was in neutral shades and grey and white and that the bedside table and wardrobe were bare of any personal effects. The bed beside it was black and Irish green and as Harry entered the room, which could only be his, he looked over at his dorm-mate's bedside table. He saw a grinning boy in one of the moving photographs standing beside a woman that could only be his mother. They were waving at the camera and standing in front of an ancient Celtic burial mound by the looks of it.
Pulling out his trunk Harry enlarged it with surge of wandless magic and placed the weightless luggage on top of the neutral bed.
Not wanting to snoop, but curious as to who he would be sharing with, Harry looked over the many framed photos that littered the other boy's bedside table and wardrobe. Taking in the same familiar face that appeared Harry deduced that he would be sharing his room with him. The boy looked tall to Harry's disappointment but friendly enough, with sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes.
About to start unpacking, Harry froze when he heard the faint hum of laughter from down below and realised that his year-mates had arrived. Encouraging Hedwig to perch on his bedside table and assuring the owl that he would come up later to feed her again, he looked in the handy mirror against he wall and straightened his robes and hair.
Two nervous emerald eyes looked back at him and he attempted a shaky smile that ended up looking like more of a grimace. Harry hated being in the spotlight.
Drawing up his courage he left the room and walked back down the corridor, slowly descending the steps to enter the common room. As soon as he came into view, all conversation stopped and Harry was instantly pierced with many curious and evaluating eyes. He noticed every pair lingered on his silver collar, some in interest and others with derision.
Harry made a quick count of heads and discovered there were nineteen people in the sixth year, now an even twenty with him attending. Swallowing heavily Harry offered a smile to the assembled students and said softly, 'Hello, my name is Harry Potter.'
There was a pregnant pause in which some of the people in the room exchanged raised eyebrows to one another. Harry knew the Potter name was a well-recognised title, pureblooded as it was. He also knew most if not all of his year-mates would have had no idea who the Dark Lord's only Courtesan was. Now they would know it was the last of the Potter line, the scion of the once-noble house, now sullied by his status as one of the Servile caste.
Just when Harry began seriously fearing no one would step forward to welcome him or just say something, a tall boy with familiar silvery blonde hair stepped forward. Grey eyes appraised him as the boy walked up to where he was hovering by the steps and Harry finally remembered where he had seen that colour of hair. This must be Lucius Malfoy's son and heir; the young man was practically a carbon copy of his father minus the longer hair. Harry also noted the boy's magical core was quite substantial, not up to Harry's par, but a strong wizard nonetheless.
A pale hand was offered to Harry and he nearly stopped breathing in shock. This was probably the most influential student at the school, having a father whom was in the Dark Lord's Inner Circle. He should not be associating with the likes of him, a Servile and not even a pureblood to boot.
Harry took the hand, half-fearing a trick, but the other boy had seemingly honest intentions. He shook his hand lightly and said in a cultured and articulate voice, 'My name is Draco Malfoy. I wish to formally welcome you here to Hogwarts, Harry Potter.'
As the boy, Draco, spoke Harry noticed that instantly all the other students began re-evaluating him, shrewd eyes deciding where he stood socially within their ranks. Harry himself was wondering the same thing.
After Draco had retracted his hand Harry was then inundated with other members of the sixth year, all eager now to greet him after their unofficial leader had given his approval of the new boy. As Harry shook hands or kissed them in the case of the females as his etiquette mistress back at Aphrodite's had taught him was the pureblood way, Harry took stock of the different cliques in the year.
The children of Death Eaters and the richest of purebloods surrounded Draco, and they stood apart from the rest of the year. There were eight of them including two hulking young men who seemed to be bodyguards of some sort for Draco. They didn't look particularly bright.
Hovering near the eight 'elite' students were six other students that seemed pureblooded from the way they greeted him, but perhaps not rich or influential enough to earn themselves a place in the most popular group.
Finally Harry scrutinised the last clump of people who were probably the lowest in the social ladder. Harry could only assume these were the half bloods. There were five of them, now six including him.
One of the boys in the outcast group was the figure seen in the photographs in Harry's new room and so he decided that he must he his new dorm mate. When he shook hands with the taller boy, he introduced himself with a strong Irish accent as Seamus Finnigan.
The name didn't appear important nor familiar so Harry presumed the boy was a half-blood most likely with a Muggle or Muggleborn father. After meeting all of his year-mates, most of their names going over his head except for Draco's and Seamus', Harry was then graciously offered a tour from one of the pureblooded friends of Draco's.
Harry was forced to explain that he was already familiar with Hogwarts as he grew up here working as a Menial. That had caused a stir, with many eyes flickering to Draco to see his reaction to that statement.
Draco simply offered a small smile and smoothly changed the topic to that of the curriculum, distracting his peers effortlessly. Harry found himself somehow sitting with the elite circle, on Draco's right hand side no less, whilst the other students scattered around the room to talk in small huddles, casting longing and envious glances to where Harry was enjoying his privileged spot.
'So Harry, what classes will you be taking this year?' one of the girls asked, with honey blonde hair and hazel eyes. Harry remembered her name to be Daphne Greengrass.
'I am taking the required subjects of Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Duelling and Theory of Dark Magic,' he began and then added, 'I have also selected the Curse Breaking, Healing and Ancient Runes classes.'
Daphne's eyes lit up slightly and she said, 'I'm taking Healing and Curse Breaking as well. I used to be the only person from our year in the Healing classes, I'm glad to know I will now have someone to talk to,' she informed him.
Offering her a smile in return Harry settled back to listen to the purebloods talk about this or that social function. His interest was perked when he heard something about a tournament mentioned. The darker-skinned Italian boy, Blaise Zabini, was saying, '…Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are due to arrive next week. I wonder who is going to represent Hogwarts for the Tri-Wizard Tournament?'
'Draco you should try for it,' one of the girls simpered. She had short brown hair and brown eyes of the same shade, her face faintly resembling that of a pug. 'I'm sure you would become the Hogwarts Champion.'
Draco gave her a cool smile but turned slightly to Harry to discreetly roll his eyes at the girl's advances on him. Once again Harry was shocked, confused as to why Draco was showing him so much trust, so soon in their relationship.
'Pansy I would put my name in, but if you had been paying attention you would know that only seventh years are allowed to place their names in the Cup,' Draco said dryly, causing Daphne to smirk and the other dark haired girl's eyes to crinkle in hidden amusement.
Pansy blushed in humiliation and turned to glare at Daphne and the other girl whom Harry recalled was named Millicent. If looks could kill, those two would have already keeled over.
The ringing of a bell that signalled the end of lunch and the beginning of the third period classes heralded the end of Harry's meeting with his year-mates. It had all gone surprisingly smoothly.
Whilst they were now heading back to class, Harry was unsure as to what he was meant to do. He supposed he could unpack, but then what? He wasn't expected in classes until the next day.
When Draco moved to leave Harry awkwardly placed his hand on the other boy's shoulder. He wanted to ask him about why he had broken the social norm and had treated him as one of the elitist purebloods.
Draco turned back, one pale eyebrow raised as he stared down at the hand gently restraining him from going to class. Harry quickly moved his hand back and ignored the stares aimed at them from the trailing students.
'Draco I was wondering whether I could ask you something,' Harry began.
'Go on,' the grey-eyed boy encouraged when Harry trailed off.
Waiting until the last student had left, Harry met Draco's eyes and said simply, 'Why are you being so nice and…well welcoming? Not that I'm complaining. I really appreciate it. But, why?'
Draco seemed to think before answering, Harry could practically see the thinking going on behind the pureblood mask he had in place. At last he seemingly found a satisfying enough answer and replied, 'You are no ordinary Courtesan. The Dark Lord himself has taught you, has given you permission to buy a wand and attend school. If you hadn't been anyone important to him, then you would not have been given all of the privileges you have experienced. It would be a political and social blunder on my part if I alienated you.'
Feeling disappointed, Harry asked him, 'So you only want to be my friend because it is advantageous to you?' He had been beginning to like the cool and mature attitude the pureblood exuded.
'Well of course it is advantageous to me. I do not yet know you well enough, but I am confident in time we could perhaps be friends,' was Draco's response.
Knowing he wasn't going to get a better answer out of him, Harry smiled wryly and decided that he would be satisfied with that, at least for now.
'I won't keep you any longer. Sorry if I made you late for class.'
Draco swept from the room with a distinct presence, nowhere near the level that the Dark Lord excreted but enough to apparently make him the most popular boy in the year, if not the school.
Harry began wondering if this year was going to be so bad after all.
Author Note: I'm sorry that I promised there would be classes/Rabastan in this update, but I got carried away writing! This is probably the longest chapter I've written. I will try my best to update again soon. I do head back to work next Monday so if I can't get in another chapter before then it will be later on next week or the week after.
I hope you have all enjoyed the way I have written Luna and Draco. Or at least that you don't mind them.
Drops of Nightshade x