The next day went rather slowly for Harry as he just wanted to get to the Room of Requirement and start on the lesson. Luckily, since there was no Quidditch this year, they were able to set their meetings for just after lunchtime. So, not wanting to have to sit through the dirty looks from his schoolmates, he decided to have his meal in the Room of Requirement instead.
Making his way to the seventh-floor corridor, he ran into Draco, Blaise, and Pansy. Upon seeing Harry, the three made their way over.
"Where are you off to, Harry?" Pansy immediately asked, getting a glare from the blond beside her.
"Oh, um. I was just thinking about heading up to the R.O.R. early in order to get there before everyone else." He replied, trying and failing to ignore the intense look Draco was shooting him.
"Well, how about some company?" Pansy offered, stepping away from the other Slytherins in order to loop her arm through his.
"That would be great, thanks!" he said, smiling gratefully. He really hadn't wanted to eat yet another meal by himself.
"Actually, Pans," Blaise started, "we have to be in the Great Hall today to talk to that Ravenclaw about the Ancient Runes homework."
"Why can't you tell me about it after? Why do I have to be there too?" Pansy whined, reminding Harry slightly of Dudley.
"Because, Pans. I'm not letting you have me do all of the work again." Blaise said sternly.
Harry sighed to himself, disappointed that he'd be left to eat alone once again. Pansy seemed to take note of this, as she said, "But we can't leave Harry all alone!"
"But he won't be alone," Blaise responded, looking as though he was trying extremely hard not to smirk, "Draco will be with him."
Throughout the entire exchange, the blond had been oddly quiet, opting to simply send well-placed glares at the female Slytherin. At Blaise's words, however, his gaze moved to look at his friend.
"I will? I mean... I will, yes. Of course." Draco said, for once seeming to not have the right words to say.
Harry smiled as Blaise rolled his eyes at the blond's actions, "See, Harry, he doesn't need any help with his Ancient Runes, so he's completely free to eat lunch with you."
With that, the dark-skinned Slytherin tore Pansy away from Harry's arm, much to her chagrin. Harry laughed to himself as he watched the two friends make their way to the Great Hall, arguing the entire way. He then turned back to the blond, only to find him staring intently.
"Are they always like that?" Harry asked.
"Pretty much, yeah," Draco answered, a light smile playing across his features.
"I like them. Especially Blaise." He said, now walking in tandem with the blond. After Harry's comment, though, he seemed to miss a step before catching up again.
"Oh?" the other boy said, trepidation evident in his voice, "You like Blaise better?"
"I mean, don't tell Pansy or anything, but I'm kinda glad Blaise got her away from me just then."
"Ah, I see." Draco sounded relieved, "Yes, Pans can be a lot to handle sometimes."
"You two seem to have some sort of feud or something going on. What's that all about?" he asked, stepping off of yet another staircase.
"What do you mean?" the blond asked, blushing slightly.
His reaction told Harry that Draco knew exactly what he'd been talking about, but he couldn't fathom why he'd be blushing.
"I meant, that you two are constantly shooting each other glares, but I can't figure out why."
The other boy smiled brightly then, before saying, "Well, well... There's something the Great Harry Potter can't figure out? Even with that giant head of yours?"
"Hush, you." He replied, lightly shoving Draco with his shoulder.
Finally, they reached the seventh-floor corridor, Harry promptly walking past three times before the door appeared. The room was the same training room as before, only with a table and two chairs sitting off to the side.
Once they were seated, Harry was about to call Dobby, when he had an idea.
"Why don't you call Dobby, Draco?"
"Me?" the blond asked, wide-eyed.
"Yes, I'm sure he'd love to hear from you again. If I were to call him, he'd be in and out too quickly to speak to him properly."
"A-alright." Draco stuttered before taking a breath and calling the House Elf.
"Master Draco Malfoy, Sir!" Dobby squeaked out upon his arrival, "What is Dobby be doing for you, Sir?"
"Oh, um..." was Draco's eloquent reply.
"I believe what he means to say, Dobby," Harry began, catching the Elf's attention, "is: could you please get us some lunch?"
"Oh! Master Harry is beings here too!" the small creature said, enthusiastically bouncing up and down, "Dobby will beings right back, Masters!"
With that, the House Elf was gone - presumably to get the pair some food. When the Elf popped back in, Draco stopped him before he could leave once again.
"Dobby," he started, "why are you calling me 'Master'?"
"You're Master Harry's friend, Sir." The Elf replied, as if that were the only response needed.
"But..." the blond began, confused, "my family was horrible to you, Dobby."
Much to Harry's amusement, the House Elf looked to him, rolling his eyes at Draco's statement.
"Yes, Sir. They was. But you was not. You was always kind to Dobby. And now you is being Master Harry's friend, too."
The blond looked towards Harry then, seeing amusement flashing across his features.
"I... well... thank you, Dobby," Draco stated, still a little stunned by the Elf's acceptance of him.
"If you be needing anythings, Master Draco Malfoy, yous is only be asking, okay?"
"Of course, Dobby." The blond stated. Before the Elf could pop away, though, he called, "And Dobby? Just 'Draco' is fine."
Both teenagers smiled as the Elf started bouncing in excitement while trying to remain professional.
"Of course, Master Draco. Dobby would be honoured. Have a good lunch, Sirs."
Once Dobby had gone, the two boys burst out laughing.
"Oh, wow." Draco said, "He hasn't changed at all, has he? Well, I suppose he's happier now, but still!"
Harry simply smiled and began eating the food, enjoying the genuine smile and laughter the blond was providing. He couldn't help but wish that Draco was this carefree all of the time.
"So," Draco started, effectively snapping Harry out of his musings, "How many do you think will be able to move on to the next spell in today's lesson?"
"Quite a few, actually." Harry replied, "I've found a fair few of them practising in abandoned classrooms, so I'm confident that most will be ready to move on."
"Oh, yeah... that's great." Draco said unenthusiastically.
Harry could tell by his friend's expression, however, that the blond was not entirely happy about this development. Harry watched as the blond started to put food on his plate, only to push it around rather than eat it.
Reaching over, Harry placed his hand gently on top of Draco's, causing the other teen to look up sharply. Maintaining eye contact, he squeezed the blond's hand, causing the other's face to flush brightly.
"You know that I don't think any less of you just because you don't have a happy enough memory, right?"
"It's just..." the blond said, head down but refusing to let go of Harry's hand, "there are bloody first years doing these spells. And here I am, not even able to get the beginnings of the spell."
Harry stood up then, taking his hand out of the blond's, rather strong, grasp. He noticed Draco slump further into his chair at the loss of contact. Not wanting the other teen to be upset any longer, Harry rushed over to the blond's side of the table, kneeling before the other's chair. He then cast a non-verbal spell, causing the chair and its occupant to turn towards him. Still, Draco refused to look up.
Harry sighed internally, before reaching forward and gently pushing the blond's head up by grasping the boy's chin between his thumb and forefinger. He placed his other hand on the blond's knee in a show of support as he waited for the boy to calm down a little from the shock.
"You are not weak, Draco," Harry said with conviction, yet to release the blond's chin, "You have more than enough power to cast it. I wasn't lying that first lesson when I told you that you were the most powerful there, aside from myself."
Harry smiled at the pink tinge to the blond's usually pale complexion. Unconsciously, the raven-haired teen began lightly brushing his thumb across Draco's jawline. He only realized his actions when the other teen smiled slightly and leaned into the touch.
Both surprised and confused at their own actions, Harry finally released Draco and went back to his previously vacated seat. When he looked back towards the blond, he found the other boy smiling widely, causing Harry himself to blush and a slight flutter in the pit of his stomach to be felt. This only confused him even more, completely unsure of why he was reacting to his friend in such a new way.
"Ahem...Yes, well..." Harry started, now unable to remember where they'd left off in their previous conversation. He was saved, however, by Blaise and Pansy entering, "Oh, look! They're arriving."
Harry took the opportunity given to him and rose from his chair in order to start greeting the Slytherins as they came in. Unbeknownst to Harry, behind him, the blond watched with a wide grin on his face and a hopeful look in his eyes.
He did, however, hear Blaise ask in a smug and slightly disbelieving tone, "Everything alright there, Draco?"
"Yes, of course. Why do you ask?" Harry heard the other teen reply.
The question confused Harry slightly since, to him, Draco seemed happy. His confusion was squashed, though, by Blaise's next statement.
"I just don't think I've ever seen you look this happy, is all. I was merely wondering if someone had cast a spell on you in my absence."
Harry looked back towards the pair then, only to find them watching him as well. He took in the blond's smile, unable to stop his own from matching it before his attention was stolen away by a first-year entering the room.
"Something like that." He heard Draco quietly say to Blaise.
Not understanding what the blond meant by that, he decided to file it away for later. He then proceeded to start the lesson for that day. He started by having everyone show him how they'd progressed with the Patronus Charm. He was pleasantly surprised to find that nearly all of the students had been able to provide a corporeal Patronus, even if just for a short amount of time.
Figuring that they could practice the longevity of the spell on their own, he decided to move on to the next spell. Before he could move on, however, he was side-tracked by someone calling him. Turning, he found himself faced with a fully corporeal Patronus in the shape of a golden eagle. Behind the beautiful bird was a startled looking Theodore Nott.
Harry looked at the confused face of Theo with his own confusion before remembering that Theo's Patronus was not a bird at the last lesson.
"It... It changed..." Theo finally spluttered out, his Patronus disappearing suddenly, "How?"
"I'm assuming you used a different memory this time around?" Harry questioned, smiling to himself at the other's blush.
"Well... yes." Theo coughed, face now burning a bright red, "But why would that change its form?"
"The Patronus is only formed through the memory we choose to use for it. It is, therefore, possible for the form to change depending on who or what is making you happy in the memory." Harry explained, "For example, the memory I use involves my parents and since my father's animagus form was a stag, my Patronus reflects that. However, if I were to use a memory that did not involve my parents, then the form is likely to change to better reflect that memory."
"So, his Patronus changed because he was thinking of something else this time around?" asked one of the curious first years.
"Precisely," Harry said, smiling as he remembered someone else's Patronus had changed tonight as well. "Daphne?" Harry called, Theo turning even redder, something Harry hadn't thought possible.
"Yes, Harry?" she said happily, obviously already aware where he was taking this.
"Why don't you show everyone your Patronus?"
"What?" Theo asked, obviously confused at where this was all going.
Harry noticed Draco sending him a questioning look as well, but merely smiled at him before turning to look at the Patronus Daphne had created.
"It's an eagle as well!" Harry heard some people say, others gasping and smiling at the implications behind the change.
"Yes," he said loudly, effectively calming everyone down, "a Crowned Eagle, if I am not mistaken."
"What does that mean, though?" the same first year from before asked.
"It's been known for those who care a great deal for each other, to have complimentary Patroni. This means they may have the same species, or family of species, as a protector. This is what we are seeing here today. Congratulations, Theo and Daphne."
Harry smiled, watching the two Slytherins involved smiling at each other and holding hands while the others congratulated them.
"Now," Harry eventually said, bringing everyone's attention back to himself, "let us get back to the lesson!"