Learning As We go: First Steps
Chapter 10
Confrontations.
Tonks found herself standing before the portrait, which led to Severus' rooms not long after she left Harry on the Astronomy tower. Knocking she got no answer even though Salazar insisted that the 'boy' as he called him was indeed with in. Knocking once more she stood there impatiently for a few moments and was about to knock again when the portrait swung open revealing a tired and irritable looking Severus Snape. "What is it? I am in no mood for...."
"Will you shut up for five seconds and let me in." She said pushing passed him entering the rooms. Taking a seat on one of his couches, she waited for him to start ranting at her. He didn't, instead he sat down on the other couch and let his fall back in an almost exhausted fashion.
"Are you going to tell me why you are here or have taken to invading other people's privacy?" He asked pinching the bridge of his nose. 'Like your irritating cousin.' He added mentally
"What's wrong Severus?"
"Nothing."
"My ass. Harry's worried about you." Severus looked at her, but if he had any reaction, she had missed it.
"If Mr. Potter is so worried why are you here and he is not?" He sneered.
"Because he is afraid of angering you by asking." She replied in a soft voice. "He thinks that if he try's to help you things will go back to the way they where before..."
"....and it scares him." Snape finished for her quietly. "He wasn't supposed to get attached..."
"It gets worse..." Snape raised an eyebrow. "Draco caught, him watching you today with a worried expression on his face."
"Dimmitt." Snape cursed. "As if I didn't have enough problems with Draco at the moment."
"Tell me what happened maybe I can help." Snape sighed and handed her the note.
Meanwhile Harry was sitting on the wall of the Astronomy tower. Hearing a noise behind him, he got down and stepped into a defensive stance. "Hello Potter!" A drawling voice cut through a brisk wind. Harry clenched his jaw; he really didn't want to deal with Malfoy.
Draco Malfoy watched from the shadows of the tower until Potter noticed his presence. It would have been so easy to push him off the pediments, but Draco was curious as to what the look Potter gave Professor Snape meant.
"Hello Draco." Potter answered a slight touch of malice in his voice. Walking towards the raven-haired boy, he managed to back him against one of the higher walls on the tower. "What do you want?"
Harry watched as the blond stalked toward him there was nowhere for him to go Malfoy stood between him and the door. Finding himself against the wall, he asked what the boy wanted, and fixed him with what he hoped was a calculating glare.
Then with one quick movement, Harry was pinned against the wall, Draco's arm across his chest and his wand at his throat. "What do I want Potter?" A malicious smile crossed the blondes face, causing Harry to shiver. "At the moment I want to know why you were so concerned with Professor Snape at lunch."
"Who says I was concerned Malfoy." Harry spat hoping that his anger would deter the other boy.
"Your face gives you away Potter, so just answer before I lose my patience and hex you." Potter closed his eyes in what Draco assumed to be defeat when the other boys head was leaned back against the wall.
"You'll do it any way..." Harry said softly.
"What?" Draco asked in confusion, sad emerald eyes opened and met his.
"You'll hex me anyway, so why should I say anything if I'll be punished either way?" This confused Draco. Normally he and Potter would have a hexing match in a situation like this. Yet here he was pinning the 'boy who lived' against a wall and that said boy wasn't even willing to put up a fight.
"What happened to you?" Draco asked releasing Potter watching as he slide down the wall before sitting beside him.
"Why would you care?" Harry asked cynically.
"When my school rival starts acting strange I think I have the right to worry." Draco said watching the other boy.
"Didn't know you cared..." Harry replied almost too quietly to be herd and added as an after thought. "You've answered your own question." Looking at Draco, he found a confused look on his the pale face. "He was fine when he left to get you."
"You're worried because he had a mood swing?" Draco raised and eye brow.
"How long have you known Professor Snape?"
"That's none of your business Potter!"
"We've both known him at least since we started school; in that time has he ever had a mood swing without a reason?" Draco raised his eyebrow again. "Other than the fact that there were students around Malfoy." Slowly Draco shook his head.
"What do you think is wrong?" Draco asked in a low voice, not quite believing that he was sitting here having a civil conversation with Potter.
"I think it may have some thing to do with you." Harry replied, wondering why Draco was acting as he was.
"Me?"
"It's the only viable reason. There was nothing bothering him before he left."
"How would you know?"
Harry blinked he had let out to much information. What was he supposed to tell Malfoy now? "I was helping him with something. Dumbledore has some lame brain idea that if he forces me to spend time with Snape we might actually start getting along."
Draco looked at him incredulously but let it be. He knew it was a lie by how fast Potter had said it, but figured he wouldn't get any where with it if he pressed. Standing up he moved towards the stairs.
"Hey Potter want to go flying?" He threw over he shoulder as he reached the door. He honestly had no idea why he was being nice to the bloody 'boy who lived' but they weren't in school and he really didn't have any discrepancies with him. The truth was he envied Potter. Potter had friends that cared for him, and people who would be there for him regardless. Draco didn't have that; Crabbe and Goyle were his friends purely in name because of his father's status and no one would care if anything happened to him.
"Why are you being so nice?" Potter questioned braking through his thoughts and turned to find him standing just behind him.
Locking his cool blue gray eyes with green he answered truthfully. "Not all Slytherins are as evil as you Gryffindors like to believe Potter."
"I never said I believed that they were Malfoy. I was solely asking about you."
"People act differently in different circumstances; you of all people should know that." Draco queried. "Do you want to come or not?" Potter nodded.
"Let me change and get my broom." Draco nodded and they headed down the stairs together neither one sure what was going on. Both on their guard but not willing to question the unspoken truce that seemed to be forming between them.
When Harry entered his rooms, he found Hedwig sitting on his bed. Changing his clothes, he got his broom. Asking if she would like to go flying with him, he offered her a perch on his shoulder as he headed down for the main hall.
Draco entered his godfather's rooms to retrieve his broom. He was surprised to find the purple haired young woman from lunch sitting on the couch across from the man. "Ah Draco. There you are." Snape said greeting him when he entered the room. Draco nodded to his godfather and looked curiously at the young woman. "This is Nymphodora Tonks."
"Oh god Severus not you to." The woman moaned, getting up to greet Draco. "Its Tonks, a pleasure to meet you Draco." Draco shook her hand and looked at his godfather.
"I'm going flying down on the pitch." Not waiting for an answer, he went to get his broom. Severus came to his door leaning against the frame.
"I don't think it's a good idea for you to go flying by yourself Draco."
"I'll be alright Severus." The older man fixed him with a 'do not question me' gaze. "Potter is going with me."
Severus had to force his face to stay schooled. "What are you up to Draco?" He asked in a no nonsense tone
"Nothing sir." Snape raised a brow. "Seriously Severus I'm not up to anything."
"You just asked Potter to go flying with you and he said yes?"
"Yeah, he is the only person here my age after all." Draco got up and walked out of Snape's rooms nodding to Tonks on the way out. Severus returned to the room fixing the young woman with a questioning gaze and she just shrugged.
When Draco reached the main hall he found Potter, waiting with his Owl perched on his shoulder. "I didn't know we were bringing pets Potter or I would have brought my hawk."
"She wouldn't leave so I brought her with me." Harry tilted his head at Draco, when the other boy just shrugged; they made their way down to the Quidditch Pitch.