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Friday morning found Harry
and Ron unwittingly with Draco, hunting on the edge of Hogwarts
property for fowl. At Dumbledore's suggestion Ron and Harry had
made plans to go hunting. Draco had all the appearance of a well-bred
gentleman and so it seemed incongruous to Hermione's statement
that Draco was a better shot than Harry or Ron. Male pride and
Hermione's suggestion, or rather, insistance, had forced them
to invite Draco along. To the surprise of both men, he had accepted.
The trio wandered the border of the forest, guns at the ready.
Draco led, after Ron had insisted. He had whispered to Harry
that he did not trust Draco behind him with a gun, the very idea
made him nervous. Harry had agreed to walk in the middle, keeping
Draco and Ron as separate as possible. He was not able to stop
the verbal sparring that inevitably accompanied Weasley and Malfoy
being near one another.
Ron chatted animatedly with Harry about his latest fight with
Miss Granger, "And THEN Hermione said-"
"Will you shut up, Weasley? You're going to scare the game
away." Draco interjected, scathingly.
"-That I'd been right after all. Erm, what was that, Malfoy?"
Ron blinked, looking up from his conversation with Harry.
Draco glared, annoyance plain on his features... "It matters
not since the ridiculous brightness of your hair would scare
the game away before we even got within hearing distance."
"You prat!" Ron thundered. "At least I'm not ferret
faced."
"Excuse me, Weasel, but did you just call me a ferret?"
Draco's voice turned to ice.
Ron, fearless, replied haughtily. "Don't make me insult
your hearing as well."
Harry cleared his throat. "Well, shall we continue?"
He moved past the quarrelling couple. "Dumbledore
mentioned some lovely game to be found on those hills over there."
He pointed in the direction of the forest.
Draco was easily swayed by this distraction, as he was rather
excited to have an opportunity to walk behind Potter, enabling
him to subtly examine his backside as presented in rather snug
breeches. Ron ran ahead to walk with Harry and resumed the prior
conversation.
"So then, Hermione and I . . ."
By mid-morning they had a fair amount of birds between the three
of them. Malfoy had the most, in fact, which made Ron rather
irritable. Draco, of course, took every opportunity to rub it
in.
"Well, would you look at that? Even with my 'ferret face'
I seem to have bagged more birds."
"They probably fainted dead away at the sight of you."
Ron retorted.
Draco seemed to lose his patience. "Do not try me, Weasley.
I am here on Hermione's behest not my own. Otherwise you and
I should never have met."
Ron narrowed his eyes "It is a pity Hermione could not have
traveled by herself."
"It is a pity Hermione had to travel at all. I'm beginning
to believe I should have prevented it."
Ron looked somewhat surprised at that. "Prevented it? How?
What are you playing, Malfoy?"
"Hemione is my friend, Weasley, and she knows that I could
never love her the way she deserves to be loved." Draco
paused at this admission, his eyes narrowing as he looked at
the red head. "However, had I known she was going to sink
to the depths of society, I rather think I should have married
her regardless."
Harry interjected at this point, placing an arm on Ron's to keep
him grounded. "That's unfair, Malfoy. You talk as if you
were several hundred degrees above the Weasleys, which isn't
the case."
"Isn't it?" Draco sneered. "Compared with the
blood of a Malfoy, the blood of a Weasley might as well be mud...
considering their limited connections."
Ron exploded. "Why you smarmy little bastard-" At this
point Ron launched himself at Draco. Harry moved quickly,
placing himself in front of Ron in an attempt to prevent his
friend from physically reaching Malfoy. Unfortunately, Ron was
so enraged that he failed to notice Harry in front of him and
collided with his friend. Harry was then thrust forward into
Draco who, understandably surprised, lost his balance and fell
backwards. Rather unfortunately for all parties, this altercation
took place at the top of a rather large and steep hill.
As Draco fell backwards, Harry fell on top of him and the pair
began rolling with alarming speed towards the bottom of the embankment.
Harry did not remember exactly what happened on the way down,
but he remembered the sensation of being alternatingly pressed
against hard rock and the more forgiving hardness of Draco's
body. He knew at some point his flailing limbs had been gently
enfolded between them, the other boy's arms tight around his
own as momentum conveyed them rather roughly to the bottom of
the hill. When they came to a stop, Harry was on top of the other
boy, his head cushioned gently on Draco's shoulder. He could
feel Draco panting beneath him, chest heaving. Everything hurt,
Harry knew he was going to have bruises for days to come. He
opened his eyes, and made a small groaning sound. Looking up,
his gaze locked with Malfoy's, the blue eyes gazing up at him,
incredibly bright.
"Alright, Potter?" Draco gasped, looking as disoriented
as Harry himself felt.
Harry swallowed, "I believe so." He felt some residual
dizziness, amplified by looking down at Draco's face. His normally
pale cheeks were attractively flushed pink from exertion. He
knew his own were likely stained as well, and growing darker
as he realized just how intimately they had landed. Their bodies
were entangled almost obscenely, Harry's leg wedged firmly between
Draco's thighs. Draco's hands rested lightly on his shoulders,
and Harry's own were resting on Malfoy's chest. Harry tore his
gaze away from the other man's face only at Ron's shout from
above.
"HOLD HIM DOWN, HARRY!" Ron was making his way down
the hill carefully, the anger he was feeling showing plainly.
Harry looked back down at Draco, noting the other's expression
was almost comically incredulous. Draco met his gaze again, a
smirk forming at the corners of his mouth as he chuckled. "Oh
yes, Potter. Please do 'hold me down.' I am such a danger to
us all."
Harry flushed, Draco shifted beneath him and Harry was acutely
conscious of the hard lines of muscle he could feel underneath
Draco's clothes. "You shouldn't have said that, Malfoy."
"What? Regarding your hold on me?"
Harry's tongue appeared, whetting his lips. "No. Regarding
Miss Granger."
The blue eyes darkened. "He deserved it. And I'll thank
you not to intrude in matters that don't concern you. This is
between Weasley and myself."
The coolness of Draco's gaze acted like a bucket of ice water,
bringing Harry back to his senses painfully quick. "Ron
is my friend. And I'll thank you not to insult his family
in my presence." Hands that had been loosely pressed against
Draco's coat tightened their hold, pressing the boy back into
the ground as Harry maneuvered their bodies to a far less obscene
and more obviously antagonistic position just as Ron made it
to the bottom of the hill.
"Let me at him, Harry!"
Harry gave Draco a rather intense glare before getting up. Malfoy
had proven himself an ass in every sense of the word, the pride
and arrogance that had seemed a deceptive façade proved
shockingly real. Harry was embarrassed at having fallen for what
was obviously a game to Malfoy. He staggered to his feet, hands
brushing at his clothing. "He's not worth it, Ron. Hold
yourself, man." Harry insisted.
Draco turned his narrow gaze on Harry, looking deceptively vulnerable
from his position on his back "Not worth it, am I?"
He asked, obviously surprised.
"No," Harry began calmly. "And your consequent
behavior merely spared me the concern I might have felt, had
you behaved in a more gentleman like manner."
The accusation was painful and left Draco somewhat stunned. The
pale blond looked confused and betrayed, his mouth open as if
he wanted to respond.
Ron chose that moment to add his two cents, his eyes still flashing
dangerously. His fists clenched and unclenched tightly as he
stared down at Malfoy with contempt. "If you ever
try to speak with my sister again, Malfoy, I shall be most obliged
to beat you into a bloody pulp!"
Draco's mouth closed tightly, shock disappearing behind a cold
mask of indifference. He stood, slowly, eyeing both men with
equal amounts of disdain as he turned away, walking in the direction
of the forest with a determined gait. Harry and Ron stood at
the base of the hill, watching Malfoy's progress towards the
forbidding forest.
"I cannot believe him." Ron said softly, glancing at
Harry.
His friend sighed, readjusting the gold-framed glasses that had
gotten jostled en route. "He's just as you said, Ron-An
arrogant prat. I can't imagine how Miss Granger ever befriended
one such as him."
The redhead touched his shoulder lightly, starting to make his
way back up the hill where their guns and game lay forgotten.
"I cannot either." He paused for a moment before continuing,
"Well, shall we return home? Dumbledore has promised us
a right feast in honor of our going-away tomorrow. I know that
Fred, George and Charlie are bringing up gentlemen from the Regiment
to join us." Ron grinned, his good humor somewhat restored
as he tried to cheer his friend. "We shall have a lively
night of cards, at least."
~_~_~
The rest of the day passed blissfully without Malfoy's company.
He, in fact, did not make an appearance until that evening's
party. He showed up, resplendent in a dark brown coat over a
cream colored shirt that gave him a somewhat softer appear than
his usual dramatic style, and made Harry feel almost regretful
of the harsh words that had passed between them. That was, until
Draco very coolly ignored both himself and Ron all throughout
the meal, concentrating his energies on Miss Granger and Miss
Weasley. Ginny was, of course, extremely flattered by the undivided
attention.
Harry's face was devoid of emotion, choosing to smile indulgently
at Ginny's admiration, contenting himself with the fact that
Draco, like the Weasleys, Miss Granger, and himself, were leaving
Hogwarts the next day. Malfoy, unlike the rest of the party,
was heading for Lambton while the others journeyed to the Burrow
to make preparations for the wedding between Ron and Miss Granger.
"Oi, Harry! Come and join us!" Fred (or was it George?)
bellowed from the card tables.
"Yeah, Come on, Harry. You need to lose a bit of money tonight."
Lieutenant Lee Jordon added. Harry allowed himself to be swept
away by the twins and Lt. Jordan, watching with amusement as
they blatantly cheated in front of him. Out of the corner of
his eye he saw Malfoy watching him, engaged in conversation with
Miss Granger, softly. Hermione caught his eye, smiling once at
him before returning to the matter at hand.
"A Toast, A Toast!" Dumbledore cried out. He stood
up from his place at a small corner table, engaged in a chess
game with one Severus Snape, chemist. The black haired man scowled
before lifting his glass with the rest of the party. "To
the happiness of Miss Granger and Mister Weasley!" Ron flushed
with pride.
"Hip Hip, Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray!" The crowd responded.
Fred and George started singing a rather bawdy tune of the time,
causing Hermione to flush with embarrassment. Malfoy seemed both
shocked and horrified by this, which made Harry smirk. Malfoy
would never fit in with the Weasleys, even if he tried for Miss
Granger's benefit. The Weasleys may not have been as high class
as the Malfoys but they enjoyed life with a vigor that Harry
could only dream of. Harry was filled with the resentful pride
of one who has had what is most dear to them insulted. The Weasleys,
ever since his school days, had been his surrogate family.
As the night grew later, the wine flowed more freely (along with
the toasts and drunken renditions of popular songs). Harry noted
Malfoy sipping tea, the usual look of bored arrogance in place
even at the late hour. He looked up, slightly tipsy, from his
conversation with Bill Weasley to notice Fred and George whispering
beside Malfoy. He watched, with almost morbid attention, as one
of the twins approached him, offering a glass of wine. The cool
blond looked up, but declined. The other twin, with Draco distracted,
tipped a small vial into the abandoned teacup before vanishing.
The rejected twin seemed non-plussed, drinking the proffered
wine himself before rejoining his brother. Harry blinked.
The blond scowled, reaching for his teacup and taking a long
draught. Hermione chose that moment to abandon her future husband
for the time being and chat up her neglected friend. Malfoy smiled
broadly at her and Harry lost it. He sputtered mid-sentence and
tried to stifle a laugh. Fred and George were in near hysterics
across the room. Hermione looked shocked and amused at the same
time. Draco's perfect teeth were stained an atrocious black.
Draco seemed to notice something was wrong, frowning and looking
around the room with an accusing eye. Hermione tactfully whispered
to Draco the issue and he blushed, cheeks tinged pink as he rose
and quickly made his excuses to Miss Granger and Miss Weasley.
His pale blue gaze met Potter's as he exited. Harry laughed mirthlessly,
grinning like an idiot with Fred and George snickering in the
corner. Draco returned the gaze coolly, noble features taut with
suppressed emotion.
Harry smiled, satisfaction flowing through him. Malfoy was gone
and Harry was where he belonged. Thank God for the Weasley twins.
Harry reminded himself to thank them personally, later. There
would be no questioning gazes from the blond that night. No more
midnight waltzes, no more billiards interrogations. His feelings
could return to what they had been previously, before Malfoy
and midnight and music. And, most importantly, Ginny was safe
from Malfoy's handsome looks and persuasive charms. As Malfoy
left, Ron came up to Harry, grinning madly. "Did you see?
Harry! Did you see?" He laughed heartily. "I never
thought I'd be glad to see the day I had two pranksters for brothers."
Harry grinned back. "I remember when they did the same prank
to me-that first vacation away from university." Harry shook
his head. "My teeth were black for a fortnight, I swear."
"You know what, though?" Ron asked slyly.
"What?"
"I don't think Malfoy's ever looked better."
~_~_~
The next day dawned overcast. Ron staggered down the main walk,
rubbing his temples and groaning with the effects of too many
celebratory toasts. Harry smiled at that as he packed, helping
direct the loading of the carriages the family would be taking
to The Burrow. Bill and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were taking one
carriage, leaving Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny with the second
carriage.
As the carriages were loading, Malfoy's arrived. The blond brusquely
moved past Harry to oversee the loading of his individual trunk,
Miss Granger at his elbow. They embraced once, Malfoy's face
a cool mask. Hermione seemed somewhat concerned but he brushed
her worries away with a careless hand, whispering something in
her ear as he glanced in Harry's direction. She blinked, but
nodded, glancing at Harry himself with questioning eyes. "I
shall see you at your wedding, Miss Granger." He said formally,
and departed swiftly thereafter.
Miss Granger watched him go with sadness in her eyes. She turned
towards Harry and offered a hesitant smile. "He is like
a brother to me, you see." She said softly, and moved past
Harry to her future husband's side, fussing over him and his
headache.
Dumbledore ambled up to him, a letter in his hand, which he pressed
into Harry's. "Someone left this for you, Mr. Potter."
The aged eyes twinkled merrily at him. Noting the confusion on
the young man's face, Dumbledore smiled kindly. "There are
some rather lovely gardens near the lake that are good for walking
in when one has something to think about." Harry nodded,
taking the letter and making his excuses from his host and walking
towards the lake.
The letter, addressed
in an elegant hand, was to Mr. Harry Potter. He turned the parchment
over carefully and noted the Malfoy crest impressed in green
wax. He stared at the letter for a long moment before opening
it carefully.
Be not alarmed, Sir, that this letter contains any renewal
of those sentiments that are so offensive to you. I hope that
you will do me the honor or reading this letter, so that I may
explain the nature of the relationship between Miss Granger and
myself.
Miss Granger and myself grew up in the same small village, as
you are aware I am sure. We spent our summers running wild and
swimming in trout streams. She, unlike other peers of my acquaintance,
was not intimidated by my name. My father, however, found out
of our friendship and disapproved, sending me to boarding school.
Our acquaintance was maintained through corrospondence throughout
the school year and secret meetings during the summer.
When Miss Granger came of age she was presented in London through
my sponsorship. It was there that she met Mr. Weasley. At this
same time I was involved with some gentleman in the seedier areas
of London. My father knew nothing of this. One night my father
came to visit me. I came home, very intoxicated, and reeking
of the gaming houses. Rather than explain to my father what I
was doing in Knockturn Alley and face disownment, Hermione took
the blame for my state. As she said, there was no possible way
my father could think any less of her in any case.
For the truth of everything here related, I can appeal to the
testimony of Miss Granger herself. She is sworn to secrecy but
will, at my urging, confirm all I have revealed. I have nothing
more to say, except God Bless you.
Draco Malfoy
Harry let out a deep, shuddering breath, trying to compose himself.
Draco's tale, however brief, did explain the deep attachment
he felt towards Miss Granger, as well as his reasons for being
separate from her. Knockturn Alley was a well-known haunt of
mollies, or male prostitutes. He hardly knew what to make of
Draco's confession. He himself had never ventured to Knockturn
Alley, but knew of it through acquaintances of his. Harry puzzled
over his tittilated reaction, the memory of Draco's smoldering
eyes making him shiver.
He gently refolded the letter, placing it in his pocket. He stared
at the lake for a long moment at once admiring of Draco's bravery
and at the same time completely dumbstruck by the amount of confidence
and trust Malfoy must hold in him to have confessed such a thing
to begin with.
"Harry?"
Miss Granger's voice broke through his thoughts and he turned,
surprised.
"Miss Granger."
She smiled. "You've read his letter, I presume?" At
Harry's nod, she continued. "He has a prodigious faith in
people, despite what he's been through. And quite contrary to
his upbringing."
"I . . . that is, I am not . . ." Harry stammered,
his cheeks flushing as he skittered delicately around the subject.
Hermione merely shrugged, taking his arm and leading him back
towards the carriages where their party was waiting. "Draco
would not ask of you anything you are not willing to give, Harry."
She said simply. "But do not allow yourself to be blinded
by prejudice."
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