Disclaimer: Blah blah, Potter not mine. I shouldn't bother with this, JKR encourages fanfics.
Chapter three, in which Harry solves his current problems.
My sleep was troubled, images of Hagrid and Dra... I mean Malfoy flashed through my dreams. I woke up at a ridiculous hour of the morning and couldn't get back to sleep. I got dressed and went down to the common room. I sat in front of the embers of the dying fire and forced myself to sort this mess out. What was I going to do about Hagrid? It was to be Care of Magical Creatures tommorrow, well, today... What was I going to do? How could I cope? Maybe, maybe I could ask Drac... I mean Malfoy, to help... I pondered this thought, unsure of what to do.
I wondered how many other young people Hagrid had had his evil way with. Whether many people had suffered his abuse in silence. I felt angry, angry and appalled. I felt the need to express my feelings, but how? I felt the same familiar tug at the back of my mind. The voice was mischievous and teasing. It kept murmuring
"Draco..."
I silently yelled at the voice. There was no way I was going to talk to him, he was my arch enemy. You don't go to your arch enemy for a friendly natter in the middle of the night. It just isn't done.
The voice persisted. I needed to get out of there, to do something to take my mind off this torture. Suddenly someone crawled through the portrait hole. I gaped at the familiar blonde head.
"Malfoy?" I spat in disbelief "What on earth are you doing in here? This is meant to be private. You're a Slytherin! Have free reign of the castle, I suppose do you?"
Malfoy smiled a small secret smile, which made me feel slightly more comfortable. I didn't know he smiled genuinely.
"Do I need to remind you that father is a governor?"
I hadn't thought that being the child of a governor would bring such privileges. I wondered why Malfoy hadn't done worse things, he could easily get to our dorm. I brushed these thoughts aside as he began to speak.
"Harry," he said. I marvelled quietly that he called me Harry, but didn't say anything, I wanted to know what he had to say. "Harry, we have Care of Magical Creatures tommorrow."
"Today" I corrected.
He grinned again. Malfoy smiling genuinely was a strange experience. I grew serious again.
"Oh god Malfoy, I don't know what I'm going to do. How will I handle it? It makes me shudder just to think about it."
He flopped down into the chair next to me, sighing heavily. He looked very confused. As though it were a great trial, he said to me,
"Harry, I'll... I'll be there if you, if um, if you need to talk. Maybe... maybe we could be friends... or something" he finished lamely. This seemed to take such an effort for him to say that he lost all of his usual eloquence. I stared at him for a few seconds. His eyes looked so tender, they were mesmorising. I gulped.
"I'd... I'd like that." And smiled ruefully at him.
We were staring at each other, green on silver "The colours of Slytherin" I thought, absently. I leaned in to get a closer look at his hypnotic eyes. They drew me in, it was futile to struggle, like I had been hooked onto a fishing line. My breathing quickened as I realised how close we were, but not wanting to ruin the moment I didn't back away. Suddenly, the fire I thought dead crackled extra loudly, snapping us out of doing something very stupid. I concentrated on the floor. I felt the heat of the fire forming beads of sweat on my brow; my palms perspired. I trembled. I wondered if Draco was feeling this way too.
Draco slowly opened his mouth and ran his tongue over his lips. I wanted him to lick mine too. I gaped, disgusted at what I was thinking. I couldn't understand my feelings, especially as they were for Malfoy. I scarcely recognised these, except for the fact that they were vaguely similar to those I'd felt for Cho Chang. Suddenly I felt uncomfortable, the heat of the fire was making me feel drowsy, and I could feel Draco's eyes penetrating my heated features. I glanced at him, taking in his long, delicate eyelashes and perfect bone structure.
"Are you okay?" he asked. "You look flushed."
"I'm fine!" I blurted out. "Look, we'd better go" Light was pouring in one of the windows, highlighting Draco's silvery hair.
He glanced outside, nodded in a businesslike manner and said
"Yes, I'll go now. But I'll be there for you in CoMC, don't worry. I'll be there."
I felt so grateful to him. I stammered my thanks and he got up and walked towards the portrait hole. When he reached the hole, he turned round and said
"You called me Draco." He grinned and made his exit. I went up to my dorm and got dressed. I headed down to breakfast with the other Gryffindor boys, in a considerably better mood than I had been since... well since the incident. This explained what I was feeling then. Draco was my friend. I was starting to care about him as a friend! I felt content.
I sat with my back to the Slytherin table, yet I could feel his eyes boring into my back. I began to tremble, hoping that nobody would notice my present state. Hagrid had just strode in. His steps were large, swaggering and arrogant. When he got to the staff table he sat down, and stared at me, smirking. He noticed how unnerved I was. He looked far from concerned. The pervert was finding my state arousing.
The day flew by, as if someone had magically sabotaged time itself. Soon enough I found myself bracing myself to walk down the long, menacing path to Hagrid's hut, for CoMC. I was glad Hermione and Ron weren't here, I felt the need for space. The closer I got to his hut, the slower my steps became. I heard quick footsteps behind me and turned to see Draco behind me. At once I felt reassured, almost calmed by his solitary presence. He put out a hand and squeezed my shoulder. I felt an odd sensation occur like fluttering in my stomach. I didn't want him to let go, time seemed to stop for us.
"Alright, Potter?"
He seemed genuinely concerned. I was used to concern, I had Mrs. Weasly for that. I had the whole wizarding population! I was the Boy-Who-Lived. This, though, was special. Draco actually cared how I was feeling, and this made me feel important. I felt ready for anything, even Hagrid now that Draco and I were friends. We were a team. Unstoppable, The King of Darkness and the Boy Who Lived. It made me feel... special.
We walked down to the hut together, earning a lot of odd looks from both Slytherins and Gryffindors. It was then that I realised how odd this must look, two mortal enemies accompanying one another to lessons. Could our friendship continue with the pressure from both sides? Draco seemed to sense what I was thinking, and sneered
"Okay Potter? Can walk from here? Not going to faint again? I could swear I saw a nasty old dementor lurking in those trees."
His Slytherins chuckled appreciatively. I knew what he was doing, and I was pleased that we were thinking along the same lines. The comments still stung though.
I stared at him, witheringly.
"Along with a Hippogriff I should imagine, you big trouser wetting sissy."
I winced at how utterly pathetic the insults were, but the Gryffindors still guffawed at them.
Hagrid strode out of his hut. I felt sick to the bone that he was still loose, and not locked away in Azkaban.
"Today we're going ter be learnin' abou'..." Hagrid's deep voice started. I couldn't bear to hear it. I wasn't listening to what he was saying. His loud voice echoed throughout the clearing. I wondered how Hagrid could stand there, teaching me, as if nothing had happened. Hagrid didn't seem ashamed or worried at all, and this really angered me.
"Yeh'll need the followin' objects..." continued Hagrid. I couldn't bear his easy attitude any longer. I found myself standing up, everyone was looking at me. Hagrid was cut short as I shouted:
"You rapist! You think you can get away with sexually abusing young boys! You make me sick! You disgust us!"
The clearing was silent. Everyone was staring at me, their mouths hanging open and a shocked expression on their faces. Hagrid gulped.
Draco stood up and said,
"We won't take it any more you know, you fiend."
I suddenly realised what Draco's personal vendetta against Hagrid had been about. It was because Hagrid had raped him. Things fell into place. The voice was back, asking who could blame Hagrid, Draco was gorgeous. I pushed the voice away but for once didn't argue with it.
Seamus stood up and declared his agreement, as did Dean and Blaise Zabini. The girls stared at Hagrid, disgusted. Hagrid looked petrified to see a swarm of angry Seventh year students, who had more magical training than he'd ever completed, who were rounding in on him with looks of absolute hatred embedded in their faces, I was amongst them, hating him more than I'd ever hated anything. He realised that he was in trouble and bellowed; and ran past us into the forest. We were all silent. Nobody could think of anything to say.
Draco smirked.
"Maybe we'll learn how to take care of real magical creatures now that the oaf has gone."
Despite my usual surge of anger at these comments, I grinned. Parvati Patel looked at me and smiled, assuringly. I knew I had the support of my Gryffindor classmates. I felt happier than I had since Ron and Hermione had left me alone. I hadn't realised how lonely I was, I was glad I had Draco and the other Gryffindors now. A great weight had been taken off my shoulders. I could smile properly now.
Author's Notes: I just noticed that I've been skipping tenses. It's in the past tense first person from now. I'm quite proud of this story so far. I love my reviewers! I love the people that review! You make writing this worthwhile. I can make a promise, this is gonna be an epic!