Feel
By: Lady DeathAngel
Disclaimer: not mine, not profiting, 'nuff said.
Warnings: none! Shock.
A/N: finally, after much time spent angsting over what the next chapter would be, I present to you the newest addition of the Feel 'arc' (don't think its quite long enough to qualify, but the way its growing it will be soon enough). Compared to the previous chapter, it's a rather lighthearted fare, but it'll pick up where the angst left off next chapter. And just for time-line references, this chapter takes place the weekend after their visit to Diagon Alley (which was on a Wednesday, this chapter taking place on a Saturday). Snape's internal musings took place some time between Wednesday and Saturday. Just in case that helps. I'd like to apologize for the waits between chapters. School is time consuming as is the fact that my computer had a bit of an episode recently and I've been offline for over a week. Thanks, though, for your patience and continued love of my fic. I appreciate it more than you'll ever know! Love you all, and as always, please read, enjoy and review!
The twins thought it was hilarious. He'd been able to hear their laughter the minute they'd walked into the kitchen and gave up trying to relax, stepping over a napping Nyx and going to see what was so funny.
"It's not at all funny," Hermione was saying.
"Yeah it is," said one of the twins, possibly George given the slightly milder tone of voice.
"The little bugger's finally getting what he deserves, isn't he?" the other answered.
"Mum! Tell them to stop laughing," he heard Ron say.
"Now, now," she answered. "What's all this? He's made your life miserable for years, Ron. And while I don't condone making light of the situation," She paused and he could just imagine the look she shot at the twins who were still chuckling. "I don't see why you're so offended over this."
"What's going on?" he asked, stepping into the kitchen and running a hand through his hair.
"Welcome back. Your," George consulted the paper before him. "'Reentrance onto front and center stage of the modern conflict' took a while didn't it?"
"Had us all waiting with bated breath, you did," Fred added with a smirk.
"What are they on about?"
Ron shook his head.
"It's nothing," he answered just as Hermione yanked the paper from George and thrust it into his hands with a loud, "I told you so!"
He looked down and saw a picture of Draco Malfoy blinking up at him. It was recent, the look too much like that of the Malfoy he'd run into on Wednesday and not enough like that of the Malfoy he'd grown up with. The caption read in large letters, 'Son of High Ranking Death Eater Makes Dirty Deal with Boy who Lived'.
"What?!"
"Keep reading," Fred said. "It gets loads better."
He sighed but continued on.
After spending the beginning of the summer sequestered away from the Wizarding World, Harry Potter, age 16, finds himself thrust back into the limelight and the rapidly brewing war.
This past Wednesday found Potter, with friends Hermione Granger and the Weasley family, shopping for supplies for their upcoming school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Harry will be entering his Sixth year).
"They didn't look like they was expectin' trouble," said Mary Day who was shopping nearby. "Of course," she continued. "Everyone were staring at him somethin' awful and mutterin' things. Me own best friend kept lookin' over her shoulder like You-Know-Who 'imself were waitin' around the corner to kill us all."
But it wasn't You-Know-Who that young Potter found himself face-to-face with on that crowded street. Instead he was confronted by Draco Malfoy.
"We'll, they've never gotten along," said Justin Finch-Fletchley, a year-mate of Potter and Malfoy's.
According to Justin they've gotten into countless fist-fights and verbal battles, but it's been harmless. Until now.
As the son of a Death Eater who is currently serving a life-sentence in Azkaban, there is reason to believe he was acting on higher orders than his own. Though no one has been able to say exactly what transpired between the two boys in the Leaky Cauldron, speculation as well as the past actions of Malfoy lead us to believe he was attempting to strike some kind of deal or even lure Potter to the Dark Lord's side.
Whether or not he succeeded has yet to be seen, but Tim Fellows, who was having a cup of tea with his fiancee the day of the incident, says they shook hands, "Like old friends."
"It was a bit unnerving to see a Malfoy and a Potter shaking hands like that," he said. "Never woulda caught James and Lucius doing it, that's for sure!"
So, what really happened between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy? We've yet to see the results of that fateful meeting, but one thing is for certain: Potter's Reentrance onto front and center stage of the modern conflict will leave us all with questions about his safety and his loyalty.
"Are they serious?" he asked once he finished reading the article.
"As an Unforgivable," Ron assured him.
"Now, we aren't making light of the fact that, once again, you might possibly be meeting in secret with You-Know-Who," George hastened to assure him.
"But," Fred said. "Malfoy's been getting it from all sides for daring to lay a finger on our savior."
"What are you talking about?"
Hermione sighed.
"There's a bit in there about it," she told him. "He's being questioned by all sorts of authorities who think he was trying to bring you over to Voldemort's side or kill you or something awful like that."
"Which," Ron added. "I'd have believed in a heartbeat a few weeks ago."
"I don't know what's changed," Mrs. Weasley said.
He thought back to the look on Malfoy's face when he'd called the truce, remembered what he'd said about his mum. It was hard to keep on hating someone after seeing them so vulnerable and honest. It made him wonder why he'd never seen that Malfoy before. It made him wonder why he'd been so quick to judge. He didn't know how many times he, Ron and Hermione had talked about it, how many times they had to grudgingly admit they'd done their fair share of not helping the situation. They'd talked about this new Malfoy and wondered if he was really so new at all. Maybe they were just growing up. Maybe it was about damn time that they did grow up.
"A lot," he said softly. "A lot has changed."