Funestus

Funestus

A/N. Ummmm, let me see, read pleeeeeeeeeeeease!!!!!:}

Chapter Six:

'A girls toilet!' he exclaimed, sitting on a loo, 'And I thought you four couldn't get any worse!'

'No one's forcing you to talk, Malfoy!' said Ron, through gritted teeth.

Malfoy opened his mouth, probably to snap something back, but then realised they were trying to help him, so he swallowed instead.

'I just…need someone to talk to,' he repeated, shakily.

'But what about Crabbe and Goyle?' asked Hermione.

Malfoy snorted.

'Them? Me talk about my feelings to them? Are you out of your tiny, Muggle-born mind Granger?'

'Shut up Malfoy! We are trying to help you, you know!' said Ron, angrily.

'Sorry,' said Malfoy, 'force of habit!' He gave them a weak smile, unlike his usual sneer, before turning to Jenny;

'How do you know about my mother? Do you know where she's gone?'

'It's a long story, Draco…but, if you don't know why she's gone…' Jenny faltered.

How was she going to explain, thought Harry, that his own father had led to his mother's disappearance?

Somehow she managed it but when she had finished Malfoy leant back on the toilet and closed his eyes.

Harry and Ron exchanged bemused glances. This was not normal Malfoy behavior!

'He's been brainwashing me, hasn't he?' said Malfoy finally, sitting up and opening his eyes.

'What?'

'Those things I've said to you lot! All the things I've done! I've only done them to please my father, you know! And now the git's letting my mother take his punishment! That's it! I've had enough! He never loved me, he only keeps me alive to be his heir! I won't do another thing for him! I hate the damn man!' said Malfoy, almost yelling.

He, like Jenny, had bottled up his emotions and had finally said what he'd felt all these years.

'There! I said it! Are you lot happy now?' said Malfoy and he practically ran from the bathroom.

'Wow! He was almost crying!' said Ron, after a minute of shocked silence, 'Who'd have thought…'

The next day anyone who knew Harry and Malfoy would have found this scene very unfamiliar. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Jenny and Malfoy were sitting close together in the library, talking quietly. They were discussing ways of finding out where Narcissa was and of rescuing her.

'I still don't see why we don't leave it to the Ministry,' complained Ron for the fifth time.

'Because Wea…uh, Ron, the Ministry are useless and don't have a clue what they are doing,' came Malfoy's reply.

'Well, neither do we!' muttered Ron.

Malfoy chose not to comment.

Ever since Malfoy's out burst yesterday, he had become slightly warmer to them, though they still weren't entirely friends. Well, apart from Jenny, thought Harry, bitterly. Jenny and Malfoy had been getting on well and Harry couldn't miss the looks he kept giving her.

Just then, Vipereus slid out of Harry's pocket onto the table.

'I'm bored!' she hissed, 'And whatss he looking at?' she finished, seeing Malfoy staring at her in shock.

Harry grinned, grabbed Vipereus and whispered to her in Parseltongue;

'You can go for a walk…I mean a slither if you want to. Just be careful!'

'Thank you masster,' and with that she glided off behind a bookcase.

Harry chuckled before turning back to Malfoy's shocked face.

'I am a Parselmouth, you know!'

The next few days, they and Malfoy spent quite a lot of time together. Malfoy had lost the unfeeling sneer and cold look in his eyes and had become quite friendly to them, (although sometimes he would switch back to his old ways) much to the amazement of the teachers.

'Malfoy friends with Potter and Co.!' Professor McGonagall could be heard telling Professor Lupin, 'They must have all gone mad! Never before have they ever had a nice word to say to each other!'

'People change, Minerva. I think young Draco must have broken free from his father's influence,' Lupin had replied to her.

Snape had apparently noticed this too, and, although he sat with the Slytherin's in his lessons, Snape began to criticize Malfoy more than he had done before.

They had begun to call each by their first names although sometimes they'd snap insults at each other, out of habit, but nothing too hurtful.

Malfoy was being teased terribly by the other Slytherin's but he had told them he didn't care a jot. If the other Gryffindor's had found their 'friendship' odd they hadn't said a word and were still being perfectly friendly towards them.

One night Harry was woken up by a soft rustling. It seemed every noise awoke him now seeing as he hadn't been able to sleep soundly since the third task. Harry turned to the window where he could see a silhouette blocking most of the light. He got up and walked over to it quietly, able to recognise the slender figure.

'Hey,' he said quietly, touching Jenny gently on the back, making her jump slightly, 'Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you but what are you doing in here? Are you alright?'

She was silent for a moment.

'I can see the stars better from this window.'

'Oh,' was all Harry could say to this rather confusing statement.

'Well, I suppose the Astronomy Tower would be the best but I daren't go up there now. I don't want what happened to you and Hermione happening to me!'

Harry grinned guiltily, though sill confused.

'I used to look at the stars with my parents when I was small,' she explained, 'We used to join them up and see what shapes we could make. Silly really,' she laughed quietly but was then serious again, 'I feel closer to them when I look at the stars. Do you understand what I mean, or am I just being stupid?'

She turned to him as though yearning to be told that she wasn't the only one who felt this way.

'You're not stupid,' he replied confidently, still keeping his voice low so not to wake the others.

'Thanks Haz. Well goodnight,' she said, walking past him to go back to her dormitory. Harry stood there for a minute, then climbed back into his bed and fell asleep, a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach.

A/N. Awww, could it be that Harry has feelings for Jen-Jen???!!!! What do you people think????!!!! Can anyone see a slight hint of romance with two other characters???? ( Before you say it, it is not Sirius and Remus!!!!) Next chappy will be up soon!!!!:}

Disclaimer: I own Jen and Vipereus.