Chapter Ten: Phoenix Song

It was rare to find Harry alone. Older students were impressed with his creativity with magic and often discussed with him about his ideas. Students in his year hung around him in the hopes of seeing the same power that slayed the troll.

So when Hermione found Harry alone in the common room, she wasn't about to waste the opportunity.

"Harry?"

Harry looked up from practicing the wand movement for the Unlocking Charm. "Oh, hi, Hermione."

Hermione sat down next to him, looking cautiously around for eavesdroppers, "Harry, I want to ask you about the other day. Halloween."

Harry put down his wand and closed his book to give her his full attention. "What is it?"

"The phoenix. I've read all about phoenixes. You can't just get one from the Magical Menagerie." She gave him a significant look as though expecting him to answer the implied question. Harry, however, waited for a direct question. "How did you find one, let alone have one as your familiar?"

"I didn't find her. She found me." He looked thoughtful. "I don't really know her reason for choosing me, although I have my suspicions."

Hermione's eyes shone, eager to learn. "What's your theory?"

"It's a bit of a long story." Seeing her disappointment, he stood up, clearly wanting her to follow him. "Sorry – I would prefer a more private place." Then he led her out to the lake. "Phoenixes are wonderful creatures though not much is known about them. To be honest, even though Aurora and I are together, I don't know much about her. Aurora, come to me."

A burst of fire signaled her appearance above the lake, and Aurora swooped down towards them, landing gracefully on Harry's shoulder. She cocked her head curiously at Hermione, who stared back at her in awe.

Harry leaned his head against Aurora's side. "Many wizards think that when phoenixes die, they don't really die. But that's not true. Anyone who has looked a phoenix in the eye on its Burning Day would know this. They know they're about to die, and they accept it. Then in death, they are born again. It is through this process that they can live for so long – possibly forever. It is my theory that they bond to humans most like them."

Hermione gave him a confused look. "Harry, humans can't do that."

"You would be right if you're talking about a physical death. But I'm talking about a different kind of dying. I'm talking about dying in the heart. You accept death to yourself and then live for others so that their happiness becomes your own." He suddenly looked self-conscious. "I mean, I can never be certain as to why Aurora chose me. But that is my best guess, given the circumstances."

"Harry, you're only eleven. What does it even mean for you to live for others?"

"Even if I'm only eleven, I can still live for those I see every day."

Hermione pondered his words for a while before understanding. Neville didn't expect Harry to help him, but he did so anyway, even though everyone else thought it was a lost cause. Hermione didn't expect Harry to search her out in the girls' bathroom, but he did so anyway, even though his friends discouraged the idea. His words struck a chord within her, her heart aching and swelling with bittersweet admiration. She took a deep breath. "I didn't have many friends before coming to Hogwarts. And certainly not one who cares so much about me that he would fight a troll for me. I was always the odd one, my nose always stuck in a book. I was teased terribly before coming here..." She really didn't want to cry, but her vision was blurring.

Arms wrapped themselves around her. A beautiful melodious sound could be heard from the phoenix on Harry's shoulder, and the song strengthened her.

Hermione closed her eyes, relaxing. "You were the only one to come to me that day. People came in and out of the bathroom and knew I was there, but they were excited about the Halloween feast and didn't want to bother with me at the time. I didn't mean to insult Ron in Charms that day – I just wanted to show him that muggleborns can be good at magic." She had never told anyone about her insecurities, not even her parents. But her trust in the boy before her had grown so much that she poured out her soul to him.

Harry rubbed her back. "Ron isn't someone who cares about blood status. And you don't have to show anyone anything. If you do well, people will know. And even if they don't, you do, which is all that really matters, isn't it?"

Hermione only clutched at his robes more tightly. From that day on, even her love of books and knowledge couldn't outmatch her loyalty and dedication to the boy who not only saved her from a troll but gave her pride and confidence in herself, no matter the rest of the world.

…

"How do you feel?"

Harry grinned. "Excited."

Wood nodded approvingly. "Expected nothing less from you, Potter. Most people would be nervous rather than excited."

"I am nervous." As the door opened to the Quidditch Pitch, he smirked. "But I've been waiting to play Quidditch for years." He swung his leg over his broom and shot off before any of his teammates even mounted their brooms. As the wind blew around him, he let out a whoop of exhilaration. This…this was freedom. His excitement must have been infectious because the other Gryffindors answered in even louder cheers.

Wood and Flint shook hands, glaring at each other before the Quaffle was released.

At the very beginning, it was clear that the Slytherins had no intention of playing fairly. A few times, Harry had seen and rushed towards the Snitch, only to be blocked by Flint and almost knocked off his broom. He was ready to ram into Flint the next time it happened, bugger the consequences, when his broom, his trusty broom for years, started bucking wildly. "What the - ?"

In the crowd below, Ron was panicking. "What's happening? Harry's never lost control of his broom before…"

Draco wasn't faring much better. There was no way Harry lost control of his broom. His friend's control was pinpoint, if his dives during practice were anything to go off of. "Someone is cursing it!" he hissed. "It has to be Dark Magic!"

"It's Snape!" Hermione whispered furiously beside him.

"What are you talking about, Granger…?"

"You've seen how Snape treats him in class! He hates him! And look! He's not taking his eyes off of him! Snape's cursing Harry's broom!" She shoved binoculars into his hands and pointed towards the teachers' stand.

Draco shook his head in vehement denial. "No, it can't be him!"

Ron shoved Draco aside. "Shove it, Malfoy. There's no one else that it could be." Turning to Hermione, he said, "What do we do?"

"I'll take care of it." With that, she ran off towards the teachers' stand.

"I'm telling you!" Draco growled. "It's not him!"

"Then explain why Snape isn't blinking, you tosser!" Ron demanded, glaring at him.

Draco fell silent. He didn't have an answer for him. Snape was a close family friend and his favorite teacher. Even though he was in Gryffindor, Snape still treated him as he always did. And he knew that Snape would never do something like this. He just knew.

Disgusted, Ron asked, "Whose side are you on anyway? With all the time you've spent with Harry, I thought maybe you were his friend, even if you hate the rest of us. But now I see. You spend time with him because he's the only one in Gryffindor naïve enough to trust you. I can't believe you'd rather have Slytherin win than save his life!"

"That's not true," Draco said softly, shaken. Several other Gryffindors who had been listening in were also glaring at him suspiciously. Overwhelmed, he ran out from the stand. Away from the crowds, he kicked a nearby wall. "I hate Gryffindors," he muttered harshly. "Weasley, Granger, the whole lot. Harry probably doesn't like me either." But even as he said it, he knew, just as he knew Snape wasn't the one cursing Harry's broom, that it wasn't true. If he wasn't fooling himself, he would actually say Harry seemed to like him more than he liked even Ron.

Draco sat down, hugging his knees. "I hate Gryffindors. Except for Harry."

Suddenly a soft song could be heard, sounding as though it came from within him.

Confused, Draco looked around. "Where is that coming from?" The song continued, and for an unknown reason, Draco felt braver, more determined.

"What's this? Saint Harry Potter studying curses? I didn't think you're one for Dark Magic, Harry." Draco sat down on Harry's bed across from him.

"I have to do something to make up for falling asleep so often in Quirrell's class. And you can't defend yourself against the Dark Arts if you don't know anything about them." Harry flipped a page.

"Is Dumbledore running out of people to teach the class? How did he end up with Quirrell anyway? Even if you could stay awake, you wouldn't have learned anything anyway. The man's afraid of his own subject."

Harry chuckled. "Who knows? This is interesting though."

"What?"

"Certain curses, jinxes, hexes, and their counterspells require solid eye contact on the target to cast. Meaning no blinking allowed. Those sound rather inconvenient to cast to me."

"Maybe they're more powerful?" Draco suggested, only half-interested.

"Doesn't matter how powerful they are if you can't finish the spell. If the opponent just casts a simple 'Lumos Maxima', unless you have eyes of steel, the spell won't work."

"Lumos Maxima?"

"Mhmm. You already know Lumos. 'Maxima' means 'very great' or 'greatest.' So very great light…"

Draco's breath hitched as realization dawned upon him. "Professor Snape must have been muttering a counterspell. Oh, Merlin, Granger…" Now that he understood what was happening, panic began to seep in. "What do I do?" Hermione had too much of a head start for him to stop her.

"Harry, what are we doing?" Draco huffed. It was midnight and definitely past curfew.

"Shh…Watch." Harry flicked his wand twice. "Lumos Maxima."

"Gahhh!" The light coming from Harry's wand was so bright, it was blinding. "Shut that thing off!" Suddenly, he saw the light being thrown off into the Great Lake. His eyes widened. The light going beneath the water illuminated the lake, causing it to glow green, and he could see the silhouettes of grindylows, the merpeople, even the Giant Squid… The scene was beautiful.

Draco was still gaping when the light dimmed.

Harry grinned. "C'mon. I wouldn't recommend you do this often. It might annoy the merpeople living down there. I had to ask them in advance about tonight. I was so excited to try this out…"

Harry had thrown the light into the lake. Maybe Draco could throw the light into the air to blind everyone indiscriminately? He didn't know who was casting the curse in the first place… "How did he cast it?" It occurred to Draco that he didn't really know what was involved in casting it. How different could it be from casting Lumos? "Lumos maxima!" he said loudly, flicking his wand twice like he remembered Harry doing. A bright light appeared at the end of his wand but disappeared almost immediately.

He could hear the crowds and hoped Harry hadn't fallen. "Lumos maxima!" he tried again. This time, the light was dimmer and disappeared just as fast as before. Draco clenched his jaw in frustration and stress. Oh, how he wished for there to be someone to help him! But the Gryffindors didn't seem to be in the mood to listen to him, and the teachers were too far away.

"How are you getting these spells so fast?" Draco asked when Harry once again successfully casted a Transfiguration spell after only a few tries.

"You have to believe in your own words. Spells aren't just gibberish, you know. They are commands. You have to believe that your command will be carried out."

Draco briefly wondered why and how he was able to remember all this, as stressed out as he was. The memories came just as he needed them. He could almost hear Harry telling him, Because you listen. You really, really listen. He took a deep breath and said, with a confidence he never knew he possessed, "Lumos maxima!" To his glee and chagrin, the light that appeared at the end of his wand was so bright, it blinded him until he cried out, "Nox! Nox! Nox!"

With that, he ran out to the entrance to the pitch just in time to see Hermione successfully setting Snape's robes on fire. To Draco's horror, as Snape broke eye contact, Harry's broom went completely out of control, its rider holding on for dear life. Licking his lips, Draco said loudly, "Lumos maxima!" Trusting Harry to hold on, he whipped his wand in Harry's direction, throwing the ball of light into the air before turning away from the brightness.

A few minutes later, the light darkened, and Draco could see the result of his efforts.

Harry's broom had stopped bucking, and Harry was seated firmly upon it, rubbing his eyes.

"Mr. Malfoy!"

Draco's relief was short-lived. He turned to see McGonagall looking livid, almost incoherent with anger. It terrified him.

"How-how could you? Your friend…He was your friend…Do you hate Gryffindor that much?"

"I-I was…"

"You will go to Professor Dumbledore's office. You will explain what you did. And you can start packing tonight." With that, she began to lead him towards the castle.

Draco wanted to tear out his hair. Instead, he only replied tiredly, "Yes, Professor." He wished he could talk to Harry before going. Harry would listen to him. Harry would give him a chance to explain what he had done. Harry would trust him. Even if no one else did.

…

Harry held up the Snitch above his head in victory. He grinned as his teammates cheered. Turning, he saw Ron and Hermione rushing towards him. "Where's Draco?" he asked amidst the congratulations.

Ron and Hermione shared a look before Ron nudged her. Hermione avoided Harry's eyes as she said, "He had to leave early."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "That's not like him," he said thoughtfully. "Who casted the Lumos Maxima spell anyway?" His confusion only grew when Ron and Hermione shared another look.

"I know you might not like to hear this, mate, but if you mean the bright light thing, that was Malfoy," Ron said.

Harry blinked before laughing. "Why would I not want to hear about my friend trying to save my life? Did he say where he was going? I need to thank him…"

"Harry, are you mad?" Ron asked, incredulous. "He just tried to kill you!"

"Ron," Harry began patiently. "Draco would never try to kill me."

"He blinded everyone while your broom was going out of control, Harry! You could have fallen, and no one would have even known!"

"I was about to fall anyway had he not done that. And he did the right thing. Someone was cursing my broom, and not knowing who it was, he broke everyone's eye contact on me…"

Hermione interrupted him, "But, Harry, we do know who was cursing your broom. It was Snape."

Harry frowned. "And how would you know that?"

"He was completely focused on you, not blinking at all…"

Harry shook his head. "You can't tell by that alone. Counterspells also require intense focus. Distracting Snape could have saved me, had he been uttering the curse itself, but it could very well have been the final straw to cause me to fall, had he been uttering the countercurse."

Ron and Hermione shared a guilty look. Sighing, Hermione said softly, "We weren't the only ones who thought Malfoy was trying to kill you, Harry. McGonagall saw what he did and wasn't too happy about it. We saw her taking him to the castle. Oh, Harry, she's probably going to try to expel him!"

Shocked, Harry pushed his way through the crowds. "Excuse me! Sorry, I need to get through!"

By the time Ron and Hermione also escaped the crowds, Harry was gone.

…

Draco's thoughts had spiraled downwards on their way to Dumbledore's office. Did Harry even notice he was gone? Or was he too busy celebrating? He probably caught the Snitch by now. Did Weasley and Granger tell Harry about his "betrayal"? Calm down, Malfoy. You're his best friend. He wouldn't listen to them without hearing you out first. Draco kept telling himself that as they approached the gargoyle keeping guard of Dumbledore's office.

"Cauldron cakes," McGonagall said, and the gargoyle got out of the way to reveal a door. "Go on, Malfoy," she said tightly.

Draco swallowed and entered.

"…the lemon curd you got me goes quite well with these biscuits I must say."

"I'm glad you like it, Sir."

Draco's heart skipped a beat. How did Harry get there so fast?

"It appears we have a guest. Why don't you welcome him in while I pour out another cup of tea for him, Harry?"

"Yes, Sir."

Draco gawked when he saw Harry walking down the stairs, still in his Quidditch uniform. "How did you get here so fast?" Draco asked, in a mix of awe and confusion.

Harry shrugged. "I took a shortcut." He laid a hand on Draco's shoulder. "Ron and Hermione told me what happened…"

"It's not true! Any of it!" Draco screamed, the buildup of frustration at everyone suspecting him and no one listening to him bursting forth.

"So you didn't cast the Lumos Maxima spell at me?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. "So you're not the person I'm supposed to be thanking then?"

"No…yes…I did, I mean…What?" Draco blinked, confused.

Harry laughed. "C'mon. Have some tea with us. You can explain everything if you'd like. But I already know you were trying to save my life, and I explained that to Professor Dumbledore."

"How?" Draco asked weakly.

"I know you and I trust you. I can see other possible motivations for your actions besides you wanting to kill me. Come on. I'm sure Dumbledore won't mind letting you try some of the lemon curd I got him."

And with that, Draco's frustrated heart was soothed. And his sweet tooth was satisfied to boot.

…...

"I don't want to go back."

"Draco, McGonagall apologized, and I'm sure everyone else will, too, once they learn what happened…"

"They thought I would rather have you dead than have Gryffindor win a Quidditch match against Slytherin!"

Harry sighed. It was close to dinner time, and Draco was remaining stubbornly by the lake. After tea with Dumbledore ("Maybe Dumbledore isn't as bad as I thought he was – that lemon curd was good!"), they had taken a walk around the lake, during which Draco described the song that he had heard after his argument with Ron. Harry had made no comment, only listening with a fond smile. "Well, what are you going to do if you're not going to go back?"

"I don't know," Draco said petulantly. "You can go back if you want, you know. Don't let me hold you up. They're probably going to throw a party in your honor for winning the match…"

Harry waited for Draco to finish his rant. He had become rather used to these rants, amazingly enough. And he had found that when the rants happened, it usually didn't take much for Draco to give in. His friend simply wanted reassurance but was too proud to outright ask for it. When Draco finished, Harry said calmly, "Draco, you know full well that I'm not going to leave you here by yourself. I am just a bit hungry…"

"Then go eat then! Go on!" Draco said angrily.

Harry plopped himself down beside him. "I don't think it's proper for commoners to eat before their prince," he said simply. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore his rumbling stomach.

"Fine, starve then."

"As you command." Harry began counting down inside his head. Five. Four. Three. Two. One…

Draco let out a dramatic sigh. "Let's go, commoner."

Harry hid his smirk. "As my prince commands."

"Shut up, Harry." And with that, both of them burst into laughter as they got up to go to the castle. As they neared the Great Hall, it was clear Draco was having second thoughts – his pale face had a slight green tinge to it.

"Draco, remember they're the ones who are wrong, not you."

Draco nodded, still looking sick.

As they entered and sat down at one end of the Gryffindor table, Ron came over, looking extremely uncomfortable and almost as sick as Draco did. "Er, hi," he muttered.

Harry, as always, smiled and said, "Hi, Ron. Care to sit with us?"

Ron looked even sicker as he sat down beside Harry, across from Draco.

Harry, unlike both of his friends, was quite enjoying himself and the discomfort between the two. "Potatoes?" he asked cheerfully.

"Malfoy, I, uh…" Ron looked as though he was about to puke. Finally, he cleared his throat and said, "I guess I owe you an apology."

Draco glared at him. "Yeah you do."

Ron returned the glare, and as simple as that, everything returned to normal.

Harry was only slightly disappointed – he was expecting something a little more dramatic.

"I'm surprised you aren't demanding Hermione to apologize like you did last time," Ron commented.

"That was because she was at fault for ramming into me last time," Draco replied coolly. "She didn't do anything to me this time. All she did was set Snape's robes on fire. She didn't accuse me of valuing a Slytherin win over my best friend's life." Seeing Ron's ears turn red, he muttered, as though it physically pained him to say so, "But I forgive you, Weasley. This time."

Harry took another bite of his steak.

"Thanks," Ron returned, sounding as though he would rather have stabbed himself with a fork. "Er…I don't know about everyone else though. You've never been exactly popular in Gryffindor, Malfoy…"

Draco huffed. "The one who saved Harry was me. What were they doing at the time? Right, as if staring was supposed to help. So I'm supposed to give a rat's fat ass what they think? Like I said before, Gryffindors aren't known for their brains. But I have to say, they take it a step further than that – they not only lack brain usage, but they also hate it when others use theirs."

The rest of dinner passed in silence between the three of them.

…

"I don't know how you put up with him, Harry." Ron watched as Harry practiced his wand movements. Draco was in the shower.

"I wouldn't say I put up with him," Harry said lightly. "Reparo!" The ripped pieces of parchment on his desk came together. "I actually very much enjoy his company."

"You're joking, right?" Ron gawked.

Harry put his wand down and turned to look at him. "Ron, I know you don't like him. And to be completely honest with you, I can see where you're coming from. But if you can see him from my point of view, you would understand."

"What do you see in him?" Ron asked, sincere.

"…I was just thinking how I hated all Gryffindors except for you, and this song suddenly started playing out of nowhere, like it's inside of me. And it calmed me down so that I could focus…"

"Loyalty."

"…I kept telling myself that you would listen to me, that you would give me a chance to explain, even if no one else does…"

"Trust."

"…I don't know how I managed to recall all the right memories of you telling me things just as I needed them to do that spell. I was stressed out as hell…"

"He values our friendship." Harry smiled. "Whatever his faults may be, I can barely see them in light of these virtues."

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