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Chapter Thirteen

Beaver Face

Ron didn't really understand what was going on with Harry. He seemed… different somehow, not in a bad way really, just different. When they had met up with him in Diagon Alley, Ron had been shocked to see Harry no longer wearing his fat cousin's hand-me-downs, but wizarding robes, and expensive looking ones at that.

"Where did you get those?" It had been the first thing out of Ron's mouth when he had met up with his best friend. Harry's response had been to frown slightly and sigh.

"I got them before you all got here," was his only response.

Ron knew Harry had money, but he didn't think he was the type to flaunt it like that. Then again, if he could afford robes like that, he would be showing them off too. He had also noticed Harry had on a ring. On closer inspection, he noticed it was a signet ring made of a square onyx stone, four small diamonds embedded in each corner, a P engraved with silver in the center. Harry said it had been in his vault, but for some reason Ron didn't believe him.

As they boarded the train and settled into a compartment, Ron's mind had wondered back to their trip to Diagon Alley, or more specifically Flourish and Blotts. While watching Crabbe and Goyle beat the snot out of each other was fun, he thought about Malfoy's reaction to it all. He just stood there; in fact he seemed kind of bored with it all. Ron had thought those two oafs were supposed to be his friends but he just let them go at it. Then again, he was a Slytherin; they didn't care about anyone but themselves. He probably just didn't want to worry about getting in trouble, the git.

"Hey Ron," The redhead looked up at Harry who was smiling and holding a stack of Exploding Snap cards, "Wanna play?"

Ron shrugged, "Sure."

XXX

For the first time in his second life, Draco was seriously considering skiving on class. He had almost forgotten how useless of a teacher Lockhart truly was. Did Dumbledore actually expect them to learn anything from this hack? The Cornish Pixie incident repeated itself once again. Though this time Draco helped Hermione and Harry get the annoying little creatures back into their cage, and Ron stood by and 'supervised'.

It was later that evening, when Draco had gone to visit his Godfather, that the blonde Slytherin expressed his dislike for the, in his opinion, grossly under qualified, new DADA teacher.

"He didn't teach us a bloody thing, Severus. He had us answer a bunch of personal questions about himself and then set lose a cage of pissed off Cornish Pixies."

Severus snorted through his nose as he took another bite of his sugar quill. He couldn't have agreed more with his godson; unfortunately there wasn't a single thing anyone could do about it. The ponce had signed a one-year contract and short of committing an actual crime, there simply wasn't a way to get the man removed from his post.

"I understand your frustration, Draco, believe me." There is nothing he would have liked more then to take those piles of fiction he calls biographies and shove him up his frilly little ass. "I did notice he seemed to taken an interest in Mr. Potter."

Draco watched his godfather's lips pull into a smirk; a menacing glint filled his dark eyes. Draco hadn't outright told Severus that he and Harry had been becoming…well, friends. In truth he was having a hard time believing it himself. The Potions Master had mentioned to his godson that he noticed Draco 'around' Potter more often, though he never outright asked him why. Draco thought perhaps he was in denial about his budding friendship with Harry, but he understood why. Draco knew how James Potter had treated him in school, that he had bullied and belittled him thought his entire seven years and that it was because of his antics that Severus forever lost his friendship with the only girl he ever truly loved.

But Harry Potter was not his father.

"I know," Draco replied, "Harry's been trying to avoid him as much as possible, but Lockhart seems to have some sort of radar on the poor bloke."

Severus huffed, rolling his eyes, "Come, now Draco. Don't pretend Potter doesn't enjoy the attention. He's an egotistical brat, just like his-"

"Father?" Draco finished his godfather's sentence.

"Yes, exactly."

Shaking his head Draco stood from the couch, grabbing his bag which lay near a side table. "I've got to go. I promised I'd meet Hermione in the library to study Transfiguration at seven." Pulling his watch from his pocket he saw that it was already a quarter 'till.

"Very well." Severus smiled softly at his godson, "thank you for the visit, I always welcome your company."

"As do I."

Draco had just turned to leave but was halted by the sound of Severus calling his name. "Draco, did your father happen to mention anything to you about the Weasley's before you left for school, particularly Generva Weasley?"

Draco's brow rose in curiosity? Had he known of his father's plans as well? No, he was pretty sure he didn't, he hadn't during his first life…had he? No, he remembered him and Lucius having an argument about it shortly after his return for the summer during his first life. He had never seen his godfather so angry.

"What if it had been Draco, Lucius, what if he just so happen to be walking by Miss. Granger when the Basalisk attacked her. He could have been killed! Was your son's life worth your desired to discredit Arthur Weasley! Was it?"

Severus' face was red with angry, his fists clenched at his sides.

"I had no idea what it was." Lucius had said weakly, his face pale and filled with guilt. He would never wish to harm his son, his only heir.

"But you knew it had belonged to Our Lord, and you knew it was dark, potentially fatal. You would have risked the life of an innocent, eleven-year-old girl. A pureblood child!"

"Blood traitor." He said his voice stronger than before, his confidence returning to his cold, grey eyes.

Severus took a long deep breath, shaking his head in unbelief. He had gone too far in his hatred for the Weasley's, but he also knew there was no way of convincing him otherwise. Instead, he took a step closer to the man that he called his friend, his dark eyes boring into him. Lucius gave an inward shutter. Severus could be quite unnerving at times.

"Draco is everything to me. He is the closest thing I will ever have to a child of my own, and if you put his life in danger again, believe me, Lucius, you will suffer the consequences."

"Draco, are you alright?"

The young Slytherin was once again pulled from his thoughts at the sound of his godfather's voice. "Oh, uh…sorry, my mind drifted for a moment."

Severus gave Draco a concerned look, placing his hand gently on the boys shoulder. "Did you hear my question?"

"Oh, um, yes. He…he said something about finally putting Arthur Weasley in his proper place, but that's all. He didn't mention Ginny."

"Okay."

Draco could tell Severus wasn't buying it, he knew he knew something, which of course he did. But he didn't press the subject, at least not at that point.

XXX

Draco made it to the library on time, but after waiting for nearly a half an hour for Hermione he was about to give up and head back to his dorm room. He knew it wasn't like her to forget a designated study meeting, so he assumed she had lost track of time studying another subject. However just as he got up from the table, he saw a bush of curly brown hair.

"There you are." Draco smiled as he made his way closer to his friend, his grin however quickly faltered when he grew closer enough to see her soft brown eyes, which were currently red and puffy. She had been crying. "Mione, what's wrong."

She simply sniffled and shook her head, "I don't want to talk about it," and walked past him and towards the nearest table. Draco followed.

"Hermione," he said softly taking the seat besides her, "why were you crying?"

"It's doesn't matter. Can we just get to studying please?" As she turned to look at Draco, a tear she was unable to fight back began to slowly roll down her cheek.

"Hermione, you're still, crying," Draco gently wiped away the tear that had fallen with his fingertip.

"I'm f-

"Do not say that you are fine, because you know you're not."

With a deep sigh, Hermione gently leaned her head on the shoulder of her best friend. "Why does he have to be so mean?"

"Who?" Draco asked.

"Ron. I just don't understand him. One minute he's inviting me to play chess and the next he's calling me beaver face."

Draco knew how Ron Weasley was at this age: immature, insecure, and jealous of most everyone for one thing or another. With Harry, it was his fame and fortune. With Hermione, her intellect. He knew he would mature over time; though Hermione, even after thirty years of marriage, still called the man an overgrown child.

"It's not my fault I have a large overbite." She added, rubbing her watery eyes with the palm of her hand.

"No, it's not."

A pain of guilt struck Draco as a memory resurfaced of their fourth year when he had cast the Densaugeo spell at Potter which he blocked and then reflected onto Hermione, causing her teeth to grow at a raid rate. He had thought it hilarious at the time, and he hadn't even gotten in trouble for it. Severus had told him to stop being so brazen when it came to his animosity to Potter, and reminded him that he would not always be there to get him out of trouble, nor would his father.

"You know, there is a spell that can help."

Lifting her head from his shoulder, she looked up at him. "What spell?"

"It's a shrinking charm. Would you like me to do it?"

Nodding, a small smile pulled to her lips, "Please", she said.

Pulling his wand from his pocket he pointed it at her mouth. "Smile." She gave a small laugh before giving a bright smile showing her pearly white, and aside from her overbite, perfect teeth. He said the spell, which worked immediately, canceling it as soon as her front two teeth were even with the rest. Pulling a small mirror from his rucksack, he handed it to his friend who wasted no time in checking out her new and very un-beaver-like smile.

"Draco it's perfect, thank you so much." She then wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "I don't know what to do to thank you."

"Your happiness is thanks enough," he said putting his hand mirror back in his bag. "Though I wouldn't mind hexing Weasley for making you cry."

Hermione laughed, but shook her head. "No, leave the git alone. He's not worth your effort."

Draco just shrugged, "If you say so."

"So, do you always carry a mirror around with you?" She asked as they began to pull out their books.

"Of course. Why?"

"I don't know, it seems sort of…girly." She said, unable to hold back a giggle.

"Yeah," he said giving a small laugh of his own, "I suppose it does, but it's necessary. The humidity in the castle messes with my hair, so I need the mirror to be able to see that I comb it right."

Hermione bit her lip forcing herself not to laugh. He sounded just like Lavender, though she wouldn't dare tell him that. She knew he couldn't stand her, and truthfully neither could she.

XXX

Ron looked up from his Quidditch magazine at the sound of the doom room door opening. "Oh, hey mate," he said giving Harry a small smile.

"Hey, Ron," he gave a small smile in return, though it soon vanished. He wasn't exactly happy with his best friend at the moment.

He tried not to interfere when he and Hermione squabbled; only if it got out of hand did he say anything. When he had talk to his family's portraits over the summer and they had asked him about how he was settling in at Hogwarts and if he had made any friends, he had of course mentioned Ron and Hermione. Harry had mentioned that it was kind of annoying how they were always bickering and that he felt like he should do something, but he honestly didn't know what. He didn't like to take one friend's side over the other because then the other friend would be mad at him. Many of the portraits gave him advice, though it was something his grandfather Charles said that really made him think.

I know firsthand how difficult it can be when people you care about argue, and sometimes it's best just to let them work it out for themselves, but Harry, there are times when you simply have to say what you know in your heart is right, even if that means one of your mates is going to be upset at you for a while.

He had been there when Ron had made fun of Hermione's teeth and he watched her run out of the portrait hole, desperately trying to hide the tears that had begun to well up in her eyes. And then he had watched Ron, who rolled his eyes, call her mental and huffed as he stomped up the stairs to their room. Harry had decided he needed to clear his head and so he took a walk down by the Black Lake, and as he did, the words of his grandfather played in his mind.

He knew what he needed to do.

"Ron, we need to talk."

Seeing the worry in his friend eyes, Ron asked, "Is something wrong, Harry?"

Harry nodded as he sat down on the edge of Ron's bed. "It's Hermione."

Ron laughed and rolled his eyes, "What is it now? Is she getting onto you about setting a study schedule too?"

Harry shook his head, his eyes drifting to his lap briefly, but with a long deep breath, they rose back to his friends. "You have got to stop tormenting her, Ron. You made her cry, again."

"Oh come on, Harry. She's a bloody nuisance, and it's not my fault she can't take a joke."

"She is not a nuisance," his voice rose slightly, though he was doing his best to stay calm. He didn't want to yell, or be yelled at; he got enough of that at the Dursley's. "Hermione is my friend, Ron. She helped us out a lot last year. She even risked her friendship with Draco to help us out, and that's saying a lot."

"Draco's a git. I honestly don't know why she's still hanging out with him anyway," he said scooping up his pet rat Scabbers off his lap, placing him delicately on the floor.

"Draco is not a git. He's a nice guy, and he's been a hell of a lot kinder to Hermione then you have. Seriously Ron, it's like you look for things to fight with her about."

"I do not."

"Oh, is that so? Then what was the little comment about her teeth? Are you saying she did something to deserve that?" He stated adamantly his arms now crossed firmly over his chest.

"Really Harry, it was just a joke."

"A joke huh? Do you think it's just a joke when someone makes fun of your wand because it's so old and worn that there're feathers poking out the wood? Or that your robes are faded and too short because they once belonged to your brothers? Do you find that amusing, Ron?"

Ron paled, he didn't like where this was going.

"It's not her fault that she has an overbite, just like it's not your fault your parents couldn't afford you a new wand. It's just the way things are, no it's not fair, but that's life and we deal with it; but that doesn't mean we like having our deficiencies pointed out to us on a regular basis."

Ron's head drooped, his eyes now focused on his hand which rested in his lap, "You don't understand what it's like to be poor," he said quietly.

"Oh yes I do, Ron. Before I came to Hogwarts, I lived in second hand clothes too. I may have money in the wizarding world but I sure didn't living with Muggles. And do you think I liked it when people pointed out that my pants were three sizes too big for me, or that my trainers had duct tape around them to keep the sole from coming loose? Believe me, Ron I understand. It hurts, emotionally; it hurt me, it hurts you, and it hurts Hermione. I know you two don't agree on everything, and that's fine, but every time you're about to lose an argument you get insulting, and to be completely honest, it just makes you look stupid."

Ron took a long deep breath, his eyes once again meeting his friends, "Am I really that bad?"

Harry nodded. "You have a wicked sense of humor Ron, and I like that about you, but you got to lay off on the insults, at least when it comes to Hermione. Even if you don't consider her a friend, I do, and I don't like it when people pick on my friends."

Ron gave a small smile and nodded. Harry had defended him a few times since they started school and he had always greatly appreciated it.

"Alright, Harry, I'll do my best to keep my mouth shut around her."

Harry gave a small laugh though his nose before clapping his friend on the shoulder, "Thanks mate."

"No problem. So, fancy a game of chess."

"Oh Ron, no, I'm tired of losing."

Ron laughed, "Okay, exploding Snap?"

"I'll get my deck."

XXX

A/N: Okay so hope you enjoyed the nice long chapter. Please, as always let me know what you think.