Summery: Draco decides to stay away from Harry for their last year at Hogwarts. But being separated from him finally makes Draco realize how much he cares for the depressed Gryffindor.

Disclaimer: As much as I would love too, I do not own anything that has been previously mentioned in The Harry Potter Books, which is very unfortunate for me.

The Tale of a Dragon
Ch8: Easier Said Then Done

Harry, Neville and the rest of the seventh year Gryffindor population (as well as a fair few Slytherins) turned to look at Draco's smirking face.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Neville spat back.

"You have potions after lunch don't you?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. It sounded way too innocent.

"Why?"

"I just thought you might like some pointers."

'This is not going to end well' thought Harry. He knew that look in Draco's eyes; he was begging to get into a fight. It definitely seemed like he was setting a fight up up, but was being much more cautious with what he was saying then he normally was.

"And I'm sure they'd be great pointers too." Neville mumbled sarcastically under his breath.

"What was that Longbottom?"

"Nothing."

"You know. If you don't want my help you'd better get a head start kissing Snape's arse. But then again, you might enjoy that knowing you… On the other hand your mouth has probably already been around that area of Snape, just, you know, around the front." He indicated his crotch area.

Draco appeared to be deep in thought about the subject. When he noticed Neville's face he smirked again. "By the look on your face I'd say you agree." Draco winked suggestively.

Neville, who had been standing with his mouth open in shock, quickly closed it and scowled very uncharacteristically. Neville didn't reach for his wand until Draco made his next comment.

"I suppose that sort of thing must run in the family."

With his wand pointed at Draco's heart he finally retorted, "You'd know all about that wouldn't you."

Slowly and menacingly Draco rose from his seat, but didn't reach for his wand, a little voice in his head was telling Draco it would be much more satisfying if he used his own bare hands to inflict pain on the boy standing five rows in front of him.

It took all Draco's willpower not to lash out. He was too busy controlling his temper to hear the first spell coming in his direction. He dodged it just in time and sent one back. It was an advanced spell and Neville's 'Protego' didn't do anything. He was sent across the room and collapsed into a heap behind Fable's desk.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" Fable stood in the doorway with a murderous look on her face. Most of the class gulped, and Draco couldn't help thinking,

'She is a bloody brilliant actor!'

She moved over behind her desk and gently roused the unconscious Gryffindor.

"You'll be ok won't you?"

"Yeah, I s-should be. T-Thank you." He plodded back to his seat and Draco leaned back as he had done before.

"Alright. I'm going to give the guilty person only one chance… Come forward and admit to attacking Mr Longbottom and I will not force you to clean out the school's septic tank."

The students didn't know wether she was joking or not, by her tone they guessed she was serious. A few of them chuckled nervously, but no one said anything else.

"Fine then, " she raised her voice slightly. "Who want's to rat the person out?" she commanded more then asked. Hermione decided to speak up while comforting a shaking Neville.

"It was Malfoy, Professor."

Fable rounded on Draco, "Come." She picked him up by the back of his robes and dragged his out and said in whisper loud enough for the entire room to hear. "I was gone for no more then three minutes and you knock someone unconscious."

Neither of them spoke until just outside Dumbledore's office. "Oh, by the way, nice spell." She smiled at him and spoke the password.


The whole room started talking as soon as Fable left. Harry looked down at his parchment (which was blank) and decided that it was best if he copied off Hermione while Fable was out of the room. But she was sitting in the row behind him… next to Ron.

He turned his chair around and directed his attention on Hermione while deliberately avoiding looking the read head next to her.

"Hermione, can I copy your work please?"

"You should be doing your own work," She held he head a little higher, a sure sign she was going to go into lecture mode. Harry butted in before she could tell him off.

"Please. I can't concentrate with this damn cold and I keep thinking about that dream I had." He rested his forehead in his hand. "You can't expect me to work with a headache this bad."

Hermione frowned and lifted his head up gently and felt his forehead. She bit her lip in concentration but was distracted by Ron clearing his throat meaningfully.

"Harry. Um. I'm. Ur… Argh, this was so much bloody easier when I rehearsed it in front of the mirror this morning."

"I think he's trying to apologise." Put in Hermione.

"Yeah I am, so…Yeah."

Harry chuckled. He didn't dare laugh properly because he was bound to end up coughing again if he did. The whole lesson he had been not to cough and to trying to hide his sneezes, but every time he suppressed one his body would shudder, and he was paranoid people had noticed.

"Here." Hermione surrendered her work over to Harry who took very little time to copy it down. When he had finished he looked up at Ron.

"So you're ok with my sexuality?"

"Yeah sort of. It'll take a while to get used to it. It's weird. You understand what I'm saying don't ya?"

"Yeah."


Draco sat in the newly conjured chair in between Fable and Snape, who was sitting in Dumbledore's office when they had arrived.

"Now, Mr Malfoy." Dumbledore lent over his desk slightly, his weight pushing onto his elbows, which were on the desk. "Enlighten me as to why Professor Fable had to pull you out of class to see me.

Draco shifted slightly and did his best at occlumency so only certain parts of his memories and thoughts were inaccessible, but not all. He didn't want it to look too suspicious. By Fable's blank look he guessed she was doing the same thing. And Snape… Well…Snape always looked like that.

"I got in a fight, sir. But Longbottom started it."

"I suggest," butted in Fable, "it'd be better for Malfoy here, to have his Head Boy duties taken off him. He clearly can't control himself." Her tone was full of indifference.

Dumbledore nodded in agreement.

"Also," she continued, "I think maybe he should eat with the Gryffindors."

Snape blanched at the thought.

"It would promote house unity and when he can finally act civil he can be… reinstated."

"Excellent idea Katherine. Draco you may go, and for breakfast, lunch and dinner until I say otherwise, you will be dining with your fellow class mates in Gryffindor house." He looked over his glasses. "Mr Malfoy. Is there anything you wish to tell me?"

Draco shook his head and walked out with his back straight, seemingly unfazed. Fable followed.

"And Professor Fable will be staying here with us." Said Snape. "So tell her class they are dismissed."

"Yes sir."

Draco didn't think of anything while he was slowly going down the revolving staircase. Fables decision was really not what he expected, but, then again, he had no idea what she was going to do, so anything would have been a surprise.

On the way back to the classroom he tried to convince himself it was a good thing, but wasn't doing a very good job of it.

'The Slytherins will get suspicious… But there's no silver cutlery… I'm going to have to talk with the Golden Trio… But there's good cutlery… It might be awkward with Harry being there… But then again… The cutlery… And did Dumbledore know something?'

Draco shook his head slightly to clear his head and opened the classroom door. He stood importantly in the doorframe.

"Professor Fable will not be joining us, so you are all free to go to lunch early, with her permission." He used the same tone of voice he had picked up from his father.

Everyone jumped up as fast as they could and desperately tried to push everyone out of the way to get to the door. Draco took it easy and packed his stuff away slowly, he didn't notice Hermione standing in front of him on the other side of the table.

"Umm, Draco?"

Draco could see her hands fidgeting nervously, before she suddenly slammed her hand down on the table, Draco assumed it was to get his attention, but when she took her hand away, there was a silver fork on the table.

"I know." She said quietly. Draco straightened so he was his full hight and he towered over her. She cowered, not just because of his hight, but because his eyes were slowly turning a yellowish colour.

"How?" he snarled.

"Harry took it from your room and asked me to analyse it. It had skin on it, which had been burnt off. Your skin, the skin of a werewolf."

Draco face twitched as he felt hot anger bubbling up inside him as well as a strange feeling of being betrayed.

"Draco. Just, calm down. I won't tell anybody. But you should tell Professor Dumbledore about it."

He ignored her last comment. "As much as that relieves me mud-blood, it's not what I'm angry about."

"He didn't want me to tell you that I knew why he was there. He said you'd be angry at me for knowing."

Draco closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Hermione looked like she was going to cry, and he couldn't stand watching people cry.

"I'm not angry at you." He mumbled. "So, don't worry."

He opened his eyes, (which weren't burning anymore, so he knew they had returned to blue) and looked at Hermione, she was still scared.

Draco sigher heavily and looked down at the table again. "You're afraid of me aren't you?"

"I'm sorry Draco. Really I am. But you were dangerous enough before, and now…" She trailed off. "Sorry."

"It's ok. I suppose I have to get used to it" For some reason he couldn't bring his voice above a whisper. He didn't dare do so anyway, out of fear his voice would break, due to the tears he was forcing back. "We should go to lunch." He walked out and Hermione followed silently.


Harry watched as Draco came over and sat at the Gryffindor table, despite looking longingly at the Slytherins he sat by himself as close to the exit as he could.

"Mia, why isn't Malfoy sitting with the Slytherins?" Ron asked Hermione, using his pet name for her.

"How am I supposed to know Ronald." She answered, using his full name as a pet name. "I don't know everything." Her tone was light but there was worry and fear in her eyes.

Harry took a bite of his sandwich, but was unable to taste it, so he put it back down and decided to observe Draco instead. He found he couldn't take his eyes off the blonde until McGonagall promptly tapped her glass with her fork and Dumbledore rose; the Hall fell silent.

"As some of you may have noticed, one of out Slytherin students had changed tables." Many ugly looks were cast in Draco's direction. "Earlier today he started a fight with someone of in another house. As punishment for his actions he has been stripped of his Head Boy title and will be sitting with the Gryffindors until he can conduct himself in an orderly manner. As such, the new Head Boy for this year will be… Terry Boot."

The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables burst into applause, as the Gryffindors and Slytherins clapped about three times each, still trying to digest the information about Draco. When The Headmaster sat down everyone started talking.

"He can't do that! I refuse to sit at the same table as that snake! He'll poison the food! He'll make out goblets portkeys and transport us to You-Know-Who…"

"His name is Lord Voldemort, Ron."

"Whatever. The point is he can't do that!"

"Leave him alone Ron. He hasn't done anything yet."

"Why are you defending him?"

"Stop. You two only just made up. You can't go back to fighting so quickly."

"Sorry Mia."

"Yeah, sorry Hermione."

Harry dropped his head to his plate after casting a glance in Draco's direction. He was holding one of the golden forks and was staring at it intensively with his eyebrows together slightly.

'Why does he look like he's never seen a fork before?"

"Harry? Are you ok?"

He snapped his head up to look at Ron fiercely. "I'm fine. Just not hungry. That's all."

'I'm going to have to talk to Draco' he thought, 'It should be easy enough. I can't just ignore that I saw him crying. Or that he came in my dorm.'

"Harry?"

"Yeah. What?"

"Something's wrong. Do you want to talk about it? Is it about Snuffles?"

"Hermione. I don't want to talk about anything. Why can't you understand that? I just want to forget everything. To just push it as far down inside me as I can. And no it's not about Snuffles!"

Harry stood up and desperately biting his lip, he fought his tears and left the hall. He didn't noticed Draco following him.


Harry ran as fast as he could into the nearest bathroom and locked himself in a cubicle. He sat down and burst into tears. Draco could hear him when he entered the bathroom too. He cast a silencing spell around the walls and locked the door.

"I know you're here." He said clearly to the locked door that Harry was on the other side of.

"G-Go away M-Malfoy." By the sound of things Harry had stopped the sudden burst of waterworks until Draco left.

But he wasn't going anywhere, and he told Harry just that.

"I'm coming under." He added and lay down on the ground and slid into the cubicle. Harry was sitting on the toilet (with his pants up) shivering slightly.

Draco stood. "You know, a bathroom isn't the warmest of places, and I don't thing your cold appreciates being somewhere so…cold."

"Shut up. I'm s-staying here." Harry swallowed and tried to stop his breathing from being so jerky. Draco pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and offered it to Harry, who blew his nose.

Then Draco the first thing he could think of. He pulled Harry to his feet and wrapped his arms around him again. Harry stooped over a bit and buried his head in Draco's chest. He started crying again and he wrapped his arms around Draco as well. Draco patted the back of Harry's head and whispered things in his ear.

"Shhh. Everything's going to be ok, Harry."