Chapter 12 ~ Straining Toward Friendship
Harry and Draco, feeling a bit weary from the night's excitement, left the hospital wing, eyeing one another warily. Neither one really knew what to say, so they kept quiet. Finally they reached the staircase that led to the Slytherin dungeon Common room, and Draco made to go.
"Er, Malfoy?" Harry started, suddenly thinking an unpleasant thought.
"Yeah?" Draco turned, wondering what insult Harry had finally decided to throw at him.
"Did anyone else in your house stay over Christmas?" Harry looked uncomfortable now, and glanced apprehensively down the staircase.
"Yeah, one fourth year I don't know and Crabbe, why?"
"Well, isn't it possible that they've had an owl by now from their parents about," he paused, lowering his voice, "about what you did tonight? I mean, if you go down there, and they already know - " He didn't finish his sentence, but Draco had caught his meaning.
Could Potter really be concerned about his safety, or was he implying that Draco couldn't take care of himself? He felt the old familiar pride welling up inside him. He'd just apprehended two of the worst Death Eaters anyone knew of, and he wasn't going to stand here and let Potter imply that he couldn't handle Crabbe! But as he looked back up at Harry, he decided to squelch his nasty retort. Instead he walked back up to the hallway. He noticed that Harry looked relieved. 'Saint Potter probably thought he'd have to come down there and save me,' Draco thought scathingly to himself. He was just on the point of turning back around to go to his common room when Harry spoke.
"That really was something - catching Professor Snape and your dad." Harry sounded like he was really impressed. "How'd you do it, anyway?"
"Well," Draco drawled, pleased to finally get to tell the whole story, "When Siri – er - Professor Black and Professor Deesia appeared in the hospital ward, and I heard her say that Snape was the only person who knew the counter curse, I borrowed their port key. Then I left the grounds and apparated home." Here he gave Harry a sidelong grin. "Father taught me how years ago, even though I won't be able to take the test until the end of the year. When I went into the house, someone was screaming. I'm not sure who that would have been, but it didn't look like it was either of them. They were talking in a corner of the study when I found them, and Father's back was to me, so I stunned him." Draco paused here, thoughtful.
"I thought for a moment that I'd missed, because he turned most of the way around and looked at me before he fell over. Then I just had to worry about Snape. He didn't seem to have gotten his wand out very fast, so I was able to disarm him pretty easily. Then I just summoned both their wands and tied them up with vines. I forced them both to touch the port key at once, and we all ended up back in the hospital wing."
Harry had remained quiet throughout this story. He thought he knew why Lucius had turned around before being stunned, but decided again that he wasn't really sure he trusted Malfoy with that information. So instead he said, "Wow, that was really good thinking, grabbing the port key. Otherwise I guess you would've had to drag them both all the way across the grounds!"
Draco didn't get a chance to answer because at that moment Ron and Hermione came running around the corner, looking worried. They stopped short when they saw Harry and Draco. "Alright, Harry?" Ron asked.
"Alright, Ron," Harry answered. "Draco was just telling me how he saved Professor Deesia," Harry looked expectantly at Ron and Hermione, who were both polite enough to realize what he wanted them to say.
"Er, yes, Sirius told us. How did you do it, Malf – er – Draco?" Ron did his best to sound friendly. Draco looked from Ron and Hermione to Harry and back again. Then he launched into the story again, suppressing the urge to add interesting details that hadn't occurred to him the first time. By the time he'd finished, they were most of the way back to the Hospital Ward, where Hermione and Ron had been directing them.
"Found them," Hermione said, as they entered. Sirius was still with Professor Deesia, who'd fallen back to sleep. The ward was bustling around them with injured wizards and witches whom Harry guessed had just arrived from the Order of Phoenix headquarters. Harry went to check on Percy. He had left with Fred and George earlier that night to keep tabs on another of Voldemort's intended targets and apparently got hexed for his trouble. Now he was surrounded by Weasleys and looking rather sheepish. Harry stepped away, feeling like Percy should make up with his family in private. Instead, he joined Sirius.
Draco, left for the moment with Ron and Hermione, was not sure where he should be. They found a quiet corner and sat down against the wall, watching Madam Pomfrey bustling to and fro among the injured. "What happened to all these people?" He asked finally.
Ron and Hermione exchanged a significant look. "Well, we, er – that is, the Order of the Phoenix, had some information that You-Know-Who was going to kidnap some people, so they had other wizards trailing them. I guess they had some pretty rough duels trying to save them. It looks like most of them are going to be alright, though."
"I imagine You-Know-Who isn't very happy about how things have gone tonight," Hermione added smugly. "I'm pretty sure they managed to protect everyone they knew about." At these words, Draco cringed, remembering the screams he'd heard when he was at the Malfoy mansion. Ron noticed.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Well, it's just that while I was home, I heard someone scream once or twice. It's possible that - "
Hermione cut him off, shrilly. "You mean Voldemort was there when you fought with Lucius and Snape?" Draco and Ron cringed, and several of the wizards nearby were looking at them, horrified.
"It sure seems like he might have been." Draco mumbled, feeling distinctly uncomfortable again, with all these eyes on him. 'Funny,' he thought to himself, 'that used to be what I wanted.'
"Sirius had a really good idea," Harry said suddenly from right in front of Draco, who looked up again quickly. "Since we three are the only Gryffindors here, and Draco can't very well stay in Slytherin's dormitory, he said we should go and ask Firenze if we can camp out in the Divination classroom!" Draco felt his spirits lift slightly at the thought that he wouldn't have to go back down to the dungeons. Then Harry added, "Professor Sn - " he stopped abruptly, then said, "Er, one of the professors will bring your trunk up for you." Draco could see that Hermione and Ron were giving Harry a dirty look, but Harry shrugged it off, and just said, "You can come up with us while we get our stuff from Gryffindor tower."
Draco, Ron and Hermione scrambled up from the floor to follow Harry. Draco saw him give Sirius a thumbs-up sign before they headed back downstairs, and felt a little jealous. He hadn't had much chance to talk with Sirius during the first term. "You guys are on a first name basis with the new Potions Master already?" He spoke in his usual condescending tone, and Ron and Hermione exchanged a glance. Comments like that were usually followed by insults, and Harry wouldn't be easy to restrain if Malfoy started insulting Sirius. Ron winced when he added. "I guess that makes him either a mudblood or a blood traitor. Pity, he really seems to know his stuff."
Hermione was about to speak up, but Harry threw her a warning glance and she closed her mouth. "He's a blood traitor, then," he answered quietly, "just like you." Draco and Harry both stopped walking, and Draco turned slowly toward him, his eyes cold. He smirked when he saw that Ron had already drawn his wand.
"You can put that away, Weasel," he sneered. "I can't very well be mad at Potty when he's right, can I?"
"Never stopped you before," Hermione muttered under her breath. Draco pretended not to hear her and turned back toward Firenze's classroom, leaving three surprised and relieved Gryffindors to follow him. He stopped outside the classroom door and knocked politely. Lucius hated centaurs, but Draco had always thought Firenze was interesting. He hadn't been foolish enough to say so, however, nor had he insulted him by asking if Hagrid had 'bred' him, so he got along with their professor better than most of the students.
The door opened, and he walked into the wood, the moss springing under his shoes. Firenze was lying in the grass, a book held up to his face. A cauldron of water and basil was boiling over a campfire and it made the whole room smell sweet. Draco waited until Firenze had lowered his book, glad that at least the Gryffindor idiots had the sense to let him do the talking.
"Sorry to disturb you Professor," he began. "Would it be possible for us to camp here in your classroom until school is back in session? There have been a few complications that prevent me from staying in my own dormitory, and the hospital wing is full."
Firenze watched humorlessly as Ron, Hermione and Harry exchanged confused looks. They hadn't known that Malfoy was capable of being so polite. Of course, when Harry thought about it, he remembered that Draco had always been that way with Snape, and lately Professor Deesia as well.
The centaur gracefully regained his feet and set his book on a tree stump. "It is finished, then, and I correctly interpreted the herbs. You have indeed chosen to join us. You are welcome to stay in my classroom for as long as you feel it necessary." Draco was the only one who didn't look surprised.
"I have chosen. Thank you. We'll go now to get our things." He could feel the heat of their stares on the back of his neck as he turned and led them out of the classroom, which Firenze had already begun to enlarge to accommodate both classes and campers if necessary. Draco smirked, thinking how enraged Umbridge would have been at the sight of a centaur with a wand. Technically, that was illegal.
"So that's it?" Ron asked, as the classroom door fell shut behind them. "You've changed sides just like that?" He was glaring at Malfoy as if he'd done something disgusting.
"No, Weasley," Draco corrected, sounding weary. "I didn't change sides. I just finally came to a decision which side I was on." He turned to look at Ron. "Don't make me regret it already," he growled. He was amused to see that Harry had a restraining hand on Ron's arm to prevent him from drawing his wand. He smirked at the red head and turned back around. "Which way is Gryffindor tower?" he asked innocently.
Harry and Draco, feeling a bit weary from the night's excitement, left the hospital wing, eyeing one another warily. Neither one really knew what to say, so they kept quiet. Finally they reached the staircase that led to the Slytherin dungeon Common room, and Draco made to go.
"Er, Malfoy?" Harry started, suddenly thinking an unpleasant thought.
"Yeah?" Draco turned, wondering what insult Harry had finally decided to throw at him.
"Did anyone else in your house stay over Christmas?" Harry looked uncomfortable now, and glanced apprehensively down the staircase.
"Yeah, one fourth year I don't know and Crabbe, why?"
"Well, isn't it possible that they've had an owl by now from their parents about," he paused, lowering his voice, "about what you did tonight? I mean, if you go down there, and they already know - " He didn't finish his sentence, but Draco had caught his meaning.
Could Potter really be concerned about his safety, or was he implying that Draco couldn't take care of himself? He felt the old familiar pride welling up inside him. He'd just apprehended two of the worst Death Eaters anyone knew of, and he wasn't going to stand here and let Potter imply that he couldn't handle Crabbe! But as he looked back up at Harry, he decided to squelch his nasty retort. Instead he walked back up to the hallway. He noticed that Harry looked relieved. 'Saint Potter probably thought he'd have to come down there and save me,' Draco thought scathingly to himself. He was just on the point of turning back around to go to his common room when Harry spoke.
"That really was something - catching Professor Snape and your dad." Harry sounded like he was really impressed. "How'd you do it, anyway?"
"Well," Draco drawled, pleased to finally get to tell the whole story, "When Siri – er - Professor Black and Professor Deesia appeared in the hospital ward, and I heard her say that Snape was the only person who knew the counter curse, I borrowed their port key. Then I left the grounds and apparated home." Here he gave Harry a sidelong grin. "Father taught me how years ago, even though I won't be able to take the test until the end of the year. When I went into the house, someone was screaming. I'm not sure who that would have been, but it didn't look like it was either of them. They were talking in a corner of the study when I found them, and Father's back was to me, so I stunned him." Draco paused here, thoughtful.
"I thought for a moment that I'd missed, because he turned most of the way around and looked at me before he fell over. Then I just had to worry about Snape. He didn't seem to have gotten his wand out very fast, so I was able to disarm him pretty easily. Then I just summoned both their wands and tied them up with vines. I forced them both to touch the port key at once, and we all ended up back in the hospital wing."
Harry had remained quiet throughout this story. He thought he knew why Lucius had turned around before being stunned, but decided again that he wasn't really sure he trusted Malfoy with that information. So instead he said, "Wow, that was really good thinking, grabbing the port key. Otherwise I guess you would've had to drag them both all the way across the grounds!"
Draco didn't get a chance to answer because at that moment Ron and Hermione came running around the corner, looking worried. They stopped short when they saw Harry and Draco. "Alright, Harry?" Ron asked.
"Alright, Ron," Harry answered. "Draco was just telling me how he saved Professor Deesia," Harry looked expectantly at Ron and Hermione, who were both polite enough to realize what he wanted them to say.
"Er, yes, Sirius told us. How did you do it, Malf – er – Draco?" Ron did his best to sound friendly. Draco looked from Ron and Hermione to Harry and back again. Then he launched into the story again, suppressing the urge to add interesting details that hadn't occurred to him the first time. By the time he'd finished, they were most of the way back to the Hospital Ward, where Hermione and Ron had been directing them.
"Found them," Hermione said, as they entered. Sirius was still with Professor Deesia, who'd fallen back to sleep. The ward was bustling around them with injured wizards and witches whom Harry guessed had just arrived from the Order of Phoenix headquarters. Harry went to check on Percy. He had left with Fred and George earlier that night to keep tabs on another of Voldemort's intended targets and apparently got hexed for his trouble. Now he was surrounded by Weasleys and looking rather sheepish. Harry stepped away, feeling like Percy should make up with his family in private. Instead, he joined Sirius.
Draco, left for the moment with Ron and Hermione, was not sure where he should be. They found a quiet corner and sat down against the wall, watching Madam Pomfrey bustling to and fro among the injured. "What happened to all these people?" He asked finally.
Ron and Hermione exchanged a significant look. "Well, we, er – that is, the Order of the Phoenix, had some information that You-Know-Who was going to kidnap some people, so they had other wizards trailing them. I guess they had some pretty rough duels trying to save them. It looks like most of them are going to be alright, though."
"I imagine You-Know-Who isn't very happy about how things have gone tonight," Hermione added smugly. "I'm pretty sure they managed to protect everyone they knew about." At these words, Draco cringed, remembering the screams he'd heard when he was at the Malfoy mansion. Ron noticed.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Well, it's just that while I was home, I heard someone scream once or twice. It's possible that - "
Hermione cut him off, shrilly. "You mean Voldemort was there when you fought with Lucius and Snape?" Draco and Ron cringed, and several of the wizards nearby were looking at them, horrified.
"It sure seems like he might have been." Draco mumbled, feeling distinctly uncomfortable again, with all these eyes on him. 'Funny,' he thought to himself, 'that used to be what I wanted.'
"Sirius had a really good idea," Harry said suddenly from right in front of Draco, who looked up again quickly. "Since we three are the only Gryffindors here, and Draco can't very well stay in Slytherin's dormitory, he said we should go and ask Firenze if we can camp out in the Divination classroom!" Draco felt his spirits lift slightly at the thought that he wouldn't have to go back down to the dungeons. Then Harry added, "Professor Sn - " he stopped abruptly, then said, "Er, one of the professors will bring your trunk up for you." Draco could see that Hermione and Ron were giving Harry a dirty look, but Harry shrugged it off, and just said, "You can come up with us while we get our stuff from Gryffindor tower."
Draco, Ron and Hermione scrambled up from the floor to follow Harry. Draco saw him give Sirius a thumbs-up sign before they headed back downstairs, and felt a little jealous. He hadn't had much chance to talk with Sirius during the first term. "You guys are on a first name basis with the new Potions Master already?" He spoke in his usual condescending tone, and Ron and Hermione exchanged a glance. Comments like that were usually followed by insults, and Harry wouldn't be easy to restrain if Malfoy started insulting Sirius. Ron winced when he added. "I guess that makes him either a mudblood or a blood traitor. Pity, he really seems to know his stuff."
Hermione was about to speak up, but Harry threw her a warning glance and she closed her mouth. "He's a blood traitor, then," he answered quietly, "just like you." Draco and Harry both stopped walking, and Draco turned slowly toward him, his eyes cold. He smirked when he saw that Ron had already drawn his wand.
"You can put that away, Weasel," he sneered. "I can't very well be mad at Potty when he's right, can I?"
"Never stopped you before," Hermione muttered under her breath. Draco pretended not to hear her and turned back toward Firenze's classroom, leaving three surprised and relieved Gryffindors to follow him. He stopped outside the classroom door and knocked politely. Lucius hated centaurs, but Draco had always thought Firenze was interesting. He hadn't been foolish enough to say so, however, nor had he insulted him by asking if Hagrid had 'bred' him, so he got along with their professor better than most of the students.
The door opened, and he walked into the wood, the moss springing under his shoes. Firenze was lying in the grass, a book held up to his face. A cauldron of water and basil was boiling over a campfire and it made the whole room smell sweet. Draco waited until Firenze had lowered his book, glad that at least the Gryffindor idiots had the sense to let him do the talking.
"Sorry to disturb you Professor," he began. "Would it be possible for us to camp here in your classroom until school is back in session? There have been a few complications that prevent me from staying in my own dormitory, and the hospital wing is full."
Firenze watched humorlessly as Ron, Hermione and Harry exchanged confused looks. They hadn't known that Malfoy was capable of being so polite. Of course, when Harry thought about it, he remembered that Draco had always been that way with Snape, and lately Professor Deesia as well.
The centaur gracefully regained his feet and set his book on a tree stump. "It is finished, then, and I correctly interpreted the herbs. You have indeed chosen to join us. You are welcome to stay in my classroom for as long as you feel it necessary." Draco was the only one who didn't look surprised.
"I have chosen. Thank you. We'll go now to get our things." He could feel the heat of their stares on the back of his neck as he turned and led them out of the classroom, which Firenze had already begun to enlarge to accommodate both classes and campers if necessary. Draco smirked, thinking how enraged Umbridge would have been at the sight of a centaur with a wand. Technically, that was illegal.
"So that's it?" Ron asked, as the classroom door fell shut behind them. "You've changed sides just like that?" He was glaring at Malfoy as if he'd done something disgusting.
"No, Weasley," Draco corrected, sounding weary. "I didn't change sides. I just finally came to a decision which side I was on." He turned to look at Ron. "Don't make me regret it already," he growled. He was amused to see that Harry had a restraining hand on Ron's arm to prevent him from drawing his wand. He smirked at the red head and turned back around. "Which way is Gryffindor tower?" he asked innocently.