Title: Like A Fairytale
Author: Stardrops
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG 13: Some violence and slash, precautions only.
Summary: Faced with difficult decisions about his future, Draco forms some unlikely friendships. A passionate romance is sparked – but is not as secret as he supposed. Someone is stalking Draco at Hogwarts – suddenly, keeping himself and Harry safe is more complicated than he imagined.
Chapter Three: The Kitchens, The Cupboards and The Teacher
Waking the next morning, Draco rolled over in bed and attempted to open his eyes. Embracing the new day wasn't a hard task for Draco; he'd always liked morning and night better than the actual day.
He'd found it rather awkward last night when he'd had to get to sleep, seeing as how all the other boys in Slytherin with whom he shared a room were not incredibly pleased to see him. They were convinced he'd gone over to Dumbledore's side, when in reality, nothing of the sort had happened. He'd simply not agreed to become a Death Eater.
Gritting his teeth in frustration, he decided stewing over things by himself was not really the smartest move he could make. There was still one person in Hogwarts who Draco could trust with any secret – his godfather.
Dressing quickly, he made his way silently out of the dormitory so as not to wake any of his sleeping classmates, and headed down the corridor from the Slytherin Common Room to the Potions Dungeons where he knew Severus Snape had a private room to himself.
He didn't even need to go to the room, as he entered the Potions classroom, Severus was already awake and preparing his classes for that day. When he saw his godson enter the room, he couldn't stop a smile from spreading over his face. Striding across the room, he clapped a hand on Draco's shoulder in greeting.
"Draco! What brings you here?" he said in a fatherly tone that he always used when it was he and Draco together alone.
Draco smiled up at his godfather – the last remaining person on the planet, it seemed, who cared at all about what happened to him. "I – Well, I'm actually – finding it rather hard to be at Hogwarts this year," Draco stammered, realizing how hard it was for him to admit that he was friendless, disowned and homeless.
Snape nodded slowly and returned to the tables where he was placing handfuls of paper, evidently the second years were going to be writing for their first class of the year.
"Is this about what happened in August? Your father kicking you out?" Snape asked suddenly.
Draco was taken aback. "I didn't think you knew about it."
Snape snorted. "Please, Draco, don't think I didn't see you at Grimmauld Place. I spent time watching you when you were unconscious, and I knew from Lucius, he told me the day after that you'd been thrown out and disowned."
Draco frowned indignantly. "You spy on me?"
Snape considered this. "No, I make good use of my contacts." He abruptly changed his tone to a more businesslike one. "Now, I know you didn't come here to talk about how I know what you're up to. What is bothering you exactly?"
Draco looked down at the floor. "Well, it's nothing you or anyone can fix really – but it would be helpful to talk to someone about it."
Snape nodded again. "And the problem is?"
Draco looked slightly embarrassed. "The entire Slytherin house hates me. I am now a complete social pariah."
Snape sank into a chair and beckoned to Draco to follow suit. When they were comfortably seated, Snape leaned forward to talk more softly.
"Draco, you cannot expect them to welcome you back when they think that you have betrayed their side. You must work your way back into their trust if you want to be one of them again. I don't believe you completely renounced your allegiance to the Dark Lord, am I right?"
Draco nodded. "I never said that I wouldn't be happy to be on their side, I just told him that I did not want to become a Death Eater at the present time."
Snape leaned back thoughtfully. "I can try talking to the Slytherin house as a group and try to get them to accept you again."
Draco shook his head abruptly. "That's just going to make me seem cowardly and pathetic, having run to a teacher because my friends hate me."
"Well, the only other thing I can suggest is for you to go to them and talk it through. You may yet salvage some friendships."
Draco nodded. "Right."
Snape rose from the chair and clapped Draco's shoulder again. "I think it's time for breakfast, and then I shall see you second period, correct?"
Draco nodded again, and upon receiving a smile and wave from his beloved godfather, he left the dungeons to go back to the common room.
Pansy Parkinson was sitting alone on a couch, curled with her feet beneath her, reading a magazine with a handsome man on the front. Draco spotted her, and, since she was such an influential member of the house, he decided it would be a good idea to start with her.
"Parkinson?" he said, sitting down with her. She looked at him briefly over the top of her magazine and then lifted it to block him from her view.
"If you've come to try and weasel your way back into my graces, you may as well not bother," she said, turning the page and lifting a quill to do a quiz.
Draco snatched the magazine and quill from her and placed them on the table out of her reach. She looked at him, annoyed. "What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to make you pay attention." Draco sat forward on the couch. "Just listen to me, all right?"
She huffed and sighed in a very putout manner, but stayed seated.
"Look, you know I've always considered you the best friend I had out of the Slytherin house, right?"
This caught Pansy's attention. "What? I thought you and Crabbe and Goyle were the inseparable three?"
Draco smirked. "Yeah, but they're not beautiful and brainy."
Pansy had the humility to blush and smile at him then. Realizing she was giving into him, she quickly changed her tune.
"Don't think flattery and flirting is going to change my opinion of you."
"Why did you change your opinion of me in the first place?" Draco asked, leaning back with a bit of his old arrogance, sensing weakness in her resolve.
She looked up at him questioningly. "Are you really that thick?" she asked incredulously. "You know why, we told you on the train."
"You decided to hate me because my father took something I said the wrong way?"
Pansy felt her determination weakening further. "Well – it wasn't just that, it was because you said you didn't want to be one of us."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "One of you? You're not a Death Eater yet anyway, and you won't be for a while because I'm the oldest out of nearly everyone in the Slytherin house seventh years. Besides which, how can you say I refused to be one of you when I never refused anything except to be marked right away?"
Pansy pointed her finger at him. "There, see? You did refuse to become one of us!"
"But not forever!" Draco pointed out. "I only said I didn't want to do it right away."
Pansy considered this for a long moment. Gruffly, she replied, "I suppose..."
"Besides, you always loved me more than to chuck me because of something a pathetic adult said, right?"
Pansy's resolve disappeared completely. "Yeah, I guess. Sorry Draco. I'll talk to the others for you if you like."
He patted her thigh in appreciation and handed her magazine back with her quill on top. "See you later then?"
"Yeah, okay."
By breakfast time, most of the Slytherins were back on Draco's side. He had regained his position as their Prince, and after recounting his tale of the three days he'd been out in the wild; he was also regarded as somewhat of a hero. He did, however, tend to glass over the part of the tale that involved Harry Potter, as he realized that would not earn him credibility to have been with them. He told them only that he was found by Dumbledore who nursed him back to health, which was, in reality, sort of true.
On his way to his first class, he found himself walking alone for the first time since the morning. He'd had his old group of followers around him since then, but for some reason, they'd all gone back to the common room for a while.
"Draco!"
Someone was calling his name. He turned to see Hermione running towards him.
"Draco, what's happened? Everyone is singing your praises again. You must have done something great!"
Draco smirked. "Yeah, I'm back to where I was before. Eternally grateful for your help, too. Muchly appreciated. I'll see you around, I guess."
Hermione frowned. "And just like that, you're going to dismiss us?"
Draco thought for a moment. "I believe so. Pass my thanks along to Potter and Weasley, and remind them that I shan't need their help again. Thanks, Granger."
He continued along his way, leaving a confused but fuming Hermione behind him.
Hermione had evidently passed on the message already to Ron and Harry by the time Potions began, because he'd received a killer glare from Ron as soon as he entered the room. Harry had simply looked at him and then looked away, and Hermione shook her head as if she thought he was being a typical male prat.
Severus Snape looked up when Draco entered, watching. Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle had saved him a seat at their bench of four, and as he went to sit down, he caught a wink from his godfather. He acknowledged him with a grin, and sat.
The lesson went quickly, and when it finished, Draco went to put away some of the ingredients they'd not completely used. He turned to see a very angry looking Ron Weasley standing behind him.
"You are an arsehole."
Draco blinked, rather amused. "I beg your pardon?"
"You used Hermione and Harry. You made them feel sorry for you and all the time you were playing on their sympathy so you wouldn't look like a loner for the short time it took to get your old friends back."
Draco paused and then nodded. "And?"
"I swear to god, if you ever come near them again, or me, I will hurt you. I will not hesitate to bash the crap through you. Especially if you use or hurt one of them. I will kill you."
Draco grinned. "Ooooh, I'm really frightened now. Weasel threats. Watch me tremble."
He threw a smirk in Ron's direction before exiting.
At dinner that night, he sat between Crabbe and Goyle once again. Everyone seemed eager to please him, as though they wanted to work their way back into his good books after treating him like a recluse for the previous day. Draco, of course, sat back casually, graciously accepting all apologies and flirting with all the girls. It was surprisingly easy to get back into his post as the Prince of Slytherin in this situation, considering they'd been so bitchy the day before. Then, he supposed, Slytherins weren't particularly brainy.
But every time someone said something about how brave he was for surviving being thrown out and everything, he couldn't help thinking about Harry. Harry had told him what he'd been through, and it made Draco seem like a spoiled, pampered child. Which, he supposed, he had been.
He brushed this thought from his mind, and continued to accept compliments from his fellow housemates.
It wasn't until he'd gone to bed that night that he thought again about Harry. He couldn't believe that he was feeling – possibly – guilty about what he'd done. Harry and Hermione hadn't done anything bad to him since he'd shown up – instead, they had helped him. Ron was another story; he could tell Ron was only being nice for the sake of Harry and Hermione. He shook his head, trying to clear it, but couldn't get to sleep anyway. He got up and decided to go for a walk around the colder parts of the castle.
He drew on his cloak and slippers, running fingers through his messy hair. His striped pajamas were not the most fashionable items he'd ever worn, but then, it was night and everyone was asleep, so it wouldn't matter.
He left the common room, padding as silently as a fox. Wandering the corridors at night was one of his favourite pastimes, and although he frequently ran into Filch and Mrs Norris, since he was one of Filch's favourites, he could get away with not being in bed.
He made his way towards the Great Hall, he was a little peckish and thought he might try to get into the kitchens. He knew there was a secret way, but he'd not yet figured out how to enter.
The passage was easy to find, the pictures were very unique – of food, obviously. He wandered here and then, lifting portraits to find the hidden door, but to no avail. It was very well hidden.
A soft patter brought Draco back to earth. He froze, thinking one of the teachers had heard him, and was preparing to run, but a shadow began to creep down the passage, nearly as softly as he'd done. The shadow was magnified by the moonlight, but Draco could see it belonged to a small person, probably a student. It was too small to be any of the teachers, and too tall to be Professor Flitwick.
The shadow moved closer. It came into full view and Draco stifled a groan. The last person he wanted to see.
"Potter."
Harry started, it was clear he'd not seen Draco lurking in the shadows. He nodded in greeting. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
Draco rolled his eyes. "Lurking for no apparent reason."
Harry gave a sarcastic smile. "Ha. Ha. Ha. Seriously, what are you doing?"
"I could ask you the same question. And – better yet – why are you carrying that crumpled old parchment?"
Harry was clutching the Marauders Map – his secret weapon. He quickly hid it in his cloak pocket. "I'm going to the kitchens to get some food."
"Ah."
"And you?"
"Well.........yeah, the same."
Harry cocked his head. "Right, well – you first."
Draco thought fast. "Why, don't you know how to get into the kitchens?"
"Of course I do. Don't you?"
Draco snorted. "I'm a Malfoy. Of course I know."
"Then show me."
"Ha! Knew it! You don't know." Of course, Draco knew perfectly well that Harry did know how to get into the kitchens, because rumours were constantly going around that Harry and Dobby paid each other regular visits. He just did not want to lose face in front of the Gryffindor Head Boy.
Harry pulled himself up to full height, which, Draco noticed, was exactly the same as his own.
"You've grown."
"Well, duh. I wasn't going to stay the shrimpy height I always was, right?"
Draco resisted the urge to retort. "Go on, then, if you know how to get into the kitchens, show me."
Harry sighed and stepped up to a painting of a fruit bowl. Draco watched carefully as Harry tickled the pear which wriggled and chuckled before disappearing. In its place, a green handle appeared and Harry used it to swing the portrait forward in the manner of a door. Draco nodded. "I take it back. You do know how."
Harry stepped into the kitchens first. Dobby the house elf came running up to greet him, but stopped short at the sight of Draco. Throwing himself onto the floor, Dobby stammered, "M-m-master! S-so good to s-s-see you."
Harry looked at Draco who was staring at the house elf with an indescribable expression. "I'm not your master anymore, Dobby." Draco looked awkwardly at the kitchens. "But I am hungry."
Dobby jumped to his feet eagerly. Several other house elves jumped to help as well.
"Certainly. What would Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy like?"
Harry was led off to an enormous refrigerator by about two dozen elves which Draco was escorted by Dobby and another twenty elves towards the biggest oven he'd ever seen in his life.
"This is our fresh baking, Master Malfoy," Dobby squeaked. "P-please, take anything!"
Draco nodded at the house elf and took a croissant and some deliciously flaky pastries from a huge tray sitting atop the hotplates.
He turned to see Harry walking towards the door, laden with cakes and pastries as well. He was startled to feel elf hands pushing against his back suddenly. "Quick! Quick!" they squeaked. Dobby ran around to the front. "You and Harry Potter must leave, Master Malfoy!" Dobby whispered urgently. "Professor McGonagall is coming!"
Harry's face was panicked, and he was clutching the parchment again, staring at the writing and lines drawn all over it. "Why the bloody hell didn't I bring my cloak?" he whispered furiously to himself.
Meanwhile Draco turned to the elves. "You can't just throw us out," he hissed. "Dobby! Is there a room or cupboard or something we can hide in?"
Dobby jumped at the fierce tone of Draco's voice, and immediately nodded as fast as he could. "Yes! Yes! Please, hurry! It's this way!"
He and Harry were pulled off towards the storeroom at the other end of the gigantic kitchen. Draco grabbed a scrumptious looking scone off a chopping board where it was being spread with jam as he went.
The elves showed them into a tall, narrow, empty closet. Harry looked at it in despair. "There's not room for the both of us."
Dobby's eyes widened at the sound of another person entering the kitchen. "Quickly!" he moaned.
Draco gave Harry a huge shove so Harry was forced into the closet, and Draco quickly followed. The elves shut the door and locked it, then scuttled off. They could be heard in the other room, running about nervously to serve the Professor.
In the closet, it was an extremely tight fit. Harry's back was crushed up against the wall, and his shoulder smushed into a corner. Draco was no better off, his foot was uncomfortably jammed at an angle between the door and the wall, and there was no where to move it.
"Well, this kinda sucks," Draco muttered.
"Shut up, Malfoy."
"Your elbow is dangerously close to my eye. Would you like to move it?" Draco asked.
"If I could, I would. And I would ask you to move your knee because it is sticking into my thigh, but I know you can't move it anywhere else."
"True."
There was a silence in the closet. It sounded like Minerva was having supper in the kitchen instead of taking it out. By the relaxation of the elves they could hear, it sounded like a regular occurrence.
"How long do you think she'll be here?" breathed Harry. Draco felt Harry's warm breath on his shoulder.
"Probably a while," he answered, trying to move. He was deeply uncomfortable being so close to Harry.
"Ouch! Shit, Malfoy, keep still will you?"
"Sorry," muttered Draco.
There was another short silence.
"Look, I really can't stand your elbow there. Would you move the damn thing?"
"To where? You want me to wrap my arm around your neck?"
Draco exhaled impatiently. "I don't really care, I am so uncomfortable right now, and I really need to move my shoulder."
"Fine. Wait one moment." The sounds of Harry struggling to move rose to Draco as he realized Harry was now crouching on the floor. The absence of contact with Harry made Draco realize just how cold it was that night.
"Okay, get comfortable, cos I can't crouch for much longer."
Draco obliged, and stood firmly with his hands by his side. Harry rose slowly, and with difficulty.
"Dammit, do you know how hard it is to kneel in such a small place?"
Draco smirked. "I have some idea, yes." Harry was now half-standing, half- crouching.
"Jeez, this is good training for the quads."
"The whats?"
"Quads. Quadriceps. The muscles at the front of your thigh."
"Ah. Of course." Draco was immeasurably more comfortable. However, Harry was fighting to keep up straight without buckling.
"God, I don't think I can do this much longer."
Draco sucked in his stomach. "Look, try to stand; you're making too much freaking noise. McGonagall is going to hear us."
Harry slid further up the closet and relaxed. "Ahh. That's better."
"Ouch! No it's not! Why has your hip rotated?"
"Because the only way I can stand is directly facing you?"
"Oh."
Another silence. Draco's teeth were starting to chatter. It was really rather cold in the kitchens. He didn't know how house elves could stand it with their tiny cloths for clothing.
Harry noticed Draco's shivering and teeth chattering. "Are you cold?"
"No." Draco's tone was incredibly sarcastic.
Harry shuddered too. "I think we're right next to the freezer, which is why it's so cold." He moved closer to Draco (which was hard considering they were almost completely crushed together.)
"What are you doing?!" Draco yelped, feeling more and more claustrophobic by the second.
"Look, its fucking cold, all right? We can share body heat and conserve heat by being closer together."
"I want my own body heat thank you. Bugger off."
"Get a life, Malfoy."
"Fine." He hated to admit it, but Harry was right, with his torso right next to Harry's, he was feeling warmer.
"How much longer is that woman going to take?" he grumbled, not liking to seem like he was enjoying being in such close contact with his sworn enemy.
"Probably not too much longer."
"Ouch!" Draco yelped again. "You just scratched me!"
"Shhh," Harry said suddenly. Draco froze. "Shit, can you hear something?"
Footsteps were heading into the kitchen's storeroom. Heavy footsteps. Too heavy to be an elf's.
"Oh, holy shit," breathed Harry, almost inaudibly.
A key was turning in the lock, and the door swung open. Draco tumbled out and Harry landed on top of him. Towering over them was the intimidating figure of Professor McGonagall.
"Good morning, Potter and Malfoy."
"G-good morning?" Malfoy tried.
"I hope you have extremely good reasons for being out of bed at three in the morning on a school night, in the kitchens, hiding together in an extremely small closet."
"Er – well – about that........."
Professor McGonagall glared at them both. "I thought not." She pulled them both to their feet. "I shall see you both at eight o'clock sharp for detention every night this week."
"Every – wait, what about Quidditch practise?" said Harry, horrified.
"You should have thought of that. Now you'll be getting up extra early to practise instead. I expected better from the Head Boy, Potter."
She took the pair of them out to the hall and said, "Both of you get back to bed immediately. If I find you've been gallivanting around the school further tonight – or any night, for that matter, you'll receive a lot worse than detention."
TBC
A/N: Okay. That was really random. That did not actually come up in any of my chapter plans, but it sorta makes more sense than what I'd originally planned. Well, hope everyone enjoyed, please continue to read and review it! It really makes my day to read your comments about my story, so please comment!
Thank you so incredibly much to everyone who has reviewed, you have no idea how wonderful you all are. Your comments mean so much to me, and they really keep me going. And special thanks to Cat Mint, who reviewed both chapters of this story, and several chapters of other stories!
Also thanks to:
Katfay: thank you. I think its interesting! I hope you like how it turns out.
Yuki Kurai: Oooh! Thank you! I like compliments! :D
Marsky: Here, this is for you hands Marsky a new chapter and a pretty sparkly thing for his/her wonderful review thank you so much for your comment!
Hp Azn: Well, thank you! Glad you like it! Please keep reading, stick with me!
Author: Stardrops
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG 13: Some violence and slash, precautions only.
Summary: Faced with difficult decisions about his future, Draco forms some unlikely friendships. A passionate romance is sparked – but is not as secret as he supposed. Someone is stalking Draco at Hogwarts – suddenly, keeping himself and Harry safe is more complicated than he imagined.
Chapter Three: The Kitchens, The Cupboards and The Teacher
Waking the next morning, Draco rolled over in bed and attempted to open his eyes. Embracing the new day wasn't a hard task for Draco; he'd always liked morning and night better than the actual day.
He'd found it rather awkward last night when he'd had to get to sleep, seeing as how all the other boys in Slytherin with whom he shared a room were not incredibly pleased to see him. They were convinced he'd gone over to Dumbledore's side, when in reality, nothing of the sort had happened. He'd simply not agreed to become a Death Eater.
Gritting his teeth in frustration, he decided stewing over things by himself was not really the smartest move he could make. There was still one person in Hogwarts who Draco could trust with any secret – his godfather.
Dressing quickly, he made his way silently out of the dormitory so as not to wake any of his sleeping classmates, and headed down the corridor from the Slytherin Common Room to the Potions Dungeons where he knew Severus Snape had a private room to himself.
He didn't even need to go to the room, as he entered the Potions classroom, Severus was already awake and preparing his classes for that day. When he saw his godson enter the room, he couldn't stop a smile from spreading over his face. Striding across the room, he clapped a hand on Draco's shoulder in greeting.
"Draco! What brings you here?" he said in a fatherly tone that he always used when it was he and Draco together alone.
Draco smiled up at his godfather – the last remaining person on the planet, it seemed, who cared at all about what happened to him. "I – Well, I'm actually – finding it rather hard to be at Hogwarts this year," Draco stammered, realizing how hard it was for him to admit that he was friendless, disowned and homeless.
Snape nodded slowly and returned to the tables where he was placing handfuls of paper, evidently the second years were going to be writing for their first class of the year.
"Is this about what happened in August? Your father kicking you out?" Snape asked suddenly.
Draco was taken aback. "I didn't think you knew about it."
Snape snorted. "Please, Draco, don't think I didn't see you at Grimmauld Place. I spent time watching you when you were unconscious, and I knew from Lucius, he told me the day after that you'd been thrown out and disowned."
Draco frowned indignantly. "You spy on me?"
Snape considered this. "No, I make good use of my contacts." He abruptly changed his tone to a more businesslike one. "Now, I know you didn't come here to talk about how I know what you're up to. What is bothering you exactly?"
Draco looked down at the floor. "Well, it's nothing you or anyone can fix really – but it would be helpful to talk to someone about it."
Snape nodded again. "And the problem is?"
Draco looked slightly embarrassed. "The entire Slytherin house hates me. I am now a complete social pariah."
Snape sank into a chair and beckoned to Draco to follow suit. When they were comfortably seated, Snape leaned forward to talk more softly.
"Draco, you cannot expect them to welcome you back when they think that you have betrayed their side. You must work your way back into their trust if you want to be one of them again. I don't believe you completely renounced your allegiance to the Dark Lord, am I right?"
Draco nodded. "I never said that I wouldn't be happy to be on their side, I just told him that I did not want to become a Death Eater at the present time."
Snape leaned back thoughtfully. "I can try talking to the Slytherin house as a group and try to get them to accept you again."
Draco shook his head abruptly. "That's just going to make me seem cowardly and pathetic, having run to a teacher because my friends hate me."
"Well, the only other thing I can suggest is for you to go to them and talk it through. You may yet salvage some friendships."
Draco nodded. "Right."
Snape rose from the chair and clapped Draco's shoulder again. "I think it's time for breakfast, and then I shall see you second period, correct?"
Draco nodded again, and upon receiving a smile and wave from his beloved godfather, he left the dungeons to go back to the common room.
Pansy Parkinson was sitting alone on a couch, curled with her feet beneath her, reading a magazine with a handsome man on the front. Draco spotted her, and, since she was such an influential member of the house, he decided it would be a good idea to start with her.
"Parkinson?" he said, sitting down with her. She looked at him briefly over the top of her magazine and then lifted it to block him from her view.
"If you've come to try and weasel your way back into my graces, you may as well not bother," she said, turning the page and lifting a quill to do a quiz.
Draco snatched the magazine and quill from her and placed them on the table out of her reach. She looked at him, annoyed. "What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to make you pay attention." Draco sat forward on the couch. "Just listen to me, all right?"
She huffed and sighed in a very putout manner, but stayed seated.
"Look, you know I've always considered you the best friend I had out of the Slytherin house, right?"
This caught Pansy's attention. "What? I thought you and Crabbe and Goyle were the inseparable three?"
Draco smirked. "Yeah, but they're not beautiful and brainy."
Pansy had the humility to blush and smile at him then. Realizing she was giving into him, she quickly changed her tune.
"Don't think flattery and flirting is going to change my opinion of you."
"Why did you change your opinion of me in the first place?" Draco asked, leaning back with a bit of his old arrogance, sensing weakness in her resolve.
She looked up at him questioningly. "Are you really that thick?" she asked incredulously. "You know why, we told you on the train."
"You decided to hate me because my father took something I said the wrong way?"
Pansy felt her determination weakening further. "Well – it wasn't just that, it was because you said you didn't want to be one of us."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "One of you? You're not a Death Eater yet anyway, and you won't be for a while because I'm the oldest out of nearly everyone in the Slytherin house seventh years. Besides which, how can you say I refused to be one of you when I never refused anything except to be marked right away?"
Pansy pointed her finger at him. "There, see? You did refuse to become one of us!"
"But not forever!" Draco pointed out. "I only said I didn't want to do it right away."
Pansy considered this for a long moment. Gruffly, she replied, "I suppose..."
"Besides, you always loved me more than to chuck me because of something a pathetic adult said, right?"
Pansy's resolve disappeared completely. "Yeah, I guess. Sorry Draco. I'll talk to the others for you if you like."
He patted her thigh in appreciation and handed her magazine back with her quill on top. "See you later then?"
"Yeah, okay."
By breakfast time, most of the Slytherins were back on Draco's side. He had regained his position as their Prince, and after recounting his tale of the three days he'd been out in the wild; he was also regarded as somewhat of a hero. He did, however, tend to glass over the part of the tale that involved Harry Potter, as he realized that would not earn him credibility to have been with them. He told them only that he was found by Dumbledore who nursed him back to health, which was, in reality, sort of true.
On his way to his first class, he found himself walking alone for the first time since the morning. He'd had his old group of followers around him since then, but for some reason, they'd all gone back to the common room for a while.
"Draco!"
Someone was calling his name. He turned to see Hermione running towards him.
"Draco, what's happened? Everyone is singing your praises again. You must have done something great!"
Draco smirked. "Yeah, I'm back to where I was before. Eternally grateful for your help, too. Muchly appreciated. I'll see you around, I guess."
Hermione frowned. "And just like that, you're going to dismiss us?"
Draco thought for a moment. "I believe so. Pass my thanks along to Potter and Weasley, and remind them that I shan't need their help again. Thanks, Granger."
He continued along his way, leaving a confused but fuming Hermione behind him.
Hermione had evidently passed on the message already to Ron and Harry by the time Potions began, because he'd received a killer glare from Ron as soon as he entered the room. Harry had simply looked at him and then looked away, and Hermione shook her head as if she thought he was being a typical male prat.
Severus Snape looked up when Draco entered, watching. Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle had saved him a seat at their bench of four, and as he went to sit down, he caught a wink from his godfather. He acknowledged him with a grin, and sat.
The lesson went quickly, and when it finished, Draco went to put away some of the ingredients they'd not completely used. He turned to see a very angry looking Ron Weasley standing behind him.
"You are an arsehole."
Draco blinked, rather amused. "I beg your pardon?"
"You used Hermione and Harry. You made them feel sorry for you and all the time you were playing on their sympathy so you wouldn't look like a loner for the short time it took to get your old friends back."
Draco paused and then nodded. "And?"
"I swear to god, if you ever come near them again, or me, I will hurt you. I will not hesitate to bash the crap through you. Especially if you use or hurt one of them. I will kill you."
Draco grinned. "Ooooh, I'm really frightened now. Weasel threats. Watch me tremble."
He threw a smirk in Ron's direction before exiting.
At dinner that night, he sat between Crabbe and Goyle once again. Everyone seemed eager to please him, as though they wanted to work their way back into his good books after treating him like a recluse for the previous day. Draco, of course, sat back casually, graciously accepting all apologies and flirting with all the girls. It was surprisingly easy to get back into his post as the Prince of Slytherin in this situation, considering they'd been so bitchy the day before. Then, he supposed, Slytherins weren't particularly brainy.
But every time someone said something about how brave he was for surviving being thrown out and everything, he couldn't help thinking about Harry. Harry had told him what he'd been through, and it made Draco seem like a spoiled, pampered child. Which, he supposed, he had been.
He brushed this thought from his mind, and continued to accept compliments from his fellow housemates.
It wasn't until he'd gone to bed that night that he thought again about Harry. He couldn't believe that he was feeling – possibly – guilty about what he'd done. Harry and Hermione hadn't done anything bad to him since he'd shown up – instead, they had helped him. Ron was another story; he could tell Ron was only being nice for the sake of Harry and Hermione. He shook his head, trying to clear it, but couldn't get to sleep anyway. He got up and decided to go for a walk around the colder parts of the castle.
He drew on his cloak and slippers, running fingers through his messy hair. His striped pajamas were not the most fashionable items he'd ever worn, but then, it was night and everyone was asleep, so it wouldn't matter.
He left the common room, padding as silently as a fox. Wandering the corridors at night was one of his favourite pastimes, and although he frequently ran into Filch and Mrs Norris, since he was one of Filch's favourites, he could get away with not being in bed.
He made his way towards the Great Hall, he was a little peckish and thought he might try to get into the kitchens. He knew there was a secret way, but he'd not yet figured out how to enter.
The passage was easy to find, the pictures were very unique – of food, obviously. He wandered here and then, lifting portraits to find the hidden door, but to no avail. It was very well hidden.
A soft patter brought Draco back to earth. He froze, thinking one of the teachers had heard him, and was preparing to run, but a shadow began to creep down the passage, nearly as softly as he'd done. The shadow was magnified by the moonlight, but Draco could see it belonged to a small person, probably a student. It was too small to be any of the teachers, and too tall to be Professor Flitwick.
The shadow moved closer. It came into full view and Draco stifled a groan. The last person he wanted to see.
"Potter."
Harry started, it was clear he'd not seen Draco lurking in the shadows. He nodded in greeting. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
Draco rolled his eyes. "Lurking for no apparent reason."
Harry gave a sarcastic smile. "Ha. Ha. Ha. Seriously, what are you doing?"
"I could ask you the same question. And – better yet – why are you carrying that crumpled old parchment?"
Harry was clutching the Marauders Map – his secret weapon. He quickly hid it in his cloak pocket. "I'm going to the kitchens to get some food."
"Ah."
"And you?"
"Well.........yeah, the same."
Harry cocked his head. "Right, well – you first."
Draco thought fast. "Why, don't you know how to get into the kitchens?"
"Of course I do. Don't you?"
Draco snorted. "I'm a Malfoy. Of course I know."
"Then show me."
"Ha! Knew it! You don't know." Of course, Draco knew perfectly well that Harry did know how to get into the kitchens, because rumours were constantly going around that Harry and Dobby paid each other regular visits. He just did not want to lose face in front of the Gryffindor Head Boy.
Harry pulled himself up to full height, which, Draco noticed, was exactly the same as his own.
"You've grown."
"Well, duh. I wasn't going to stay the shrimpy height I always was, right?"
Draco resisted the urge to retort. "Go on, then, if you know how to get into the kitchens, show me."
Harry sighed and stepped up to a painting of a fruit bowl. Draco watched carefully as Harry tickled the pear which wriggled and chuckled before disappearing. In its place, a green handle appeared and Harry used it to swing the portrait forward in the manner of a door. Draco nodded. "I take it back. You do know how."
Harry stepped into the kitchens first. Dobby the house elf came running up to greet him, but stopped short at the sight of Draco. Throwing himself onto the floor, Dobby stammered, "M-m-master! S-so good to s-s-see you."
Harry looked at Draco who was staring at the house elf with an indescribable expression. "I'm not your master anymore, Dobby." Draco looked awkwardly at the kitchens. "But I am hungry."
Dobby jumped to his feet eagerly. Several other house elves jumped to help as well.
"Certainly. What would Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy like?"
Harry was led off to an enormous refrigerator by about two dozen elves which Draco was escorted by Dobby and another twenty elves towards the biggest oven he'd ever seen in his life.
"This is our fresh baking, Master Malfoy," Dobby squeaked. "P-please, take anything!"
Draco nodded at the house elf and took a croissant and some deliciously flaky pastries from a huge tray sitting atop the hotplates.
He turned to see Harry walking towards the door, laden with cakes and pastries as well. He was startled to feel elf hands pushing against his back suddenly. "Quick! Quick!" they squeaked. Dobby ran around to the front. "You and Harry Potter must leave, Master Malfoy!" Dobby whispered urgently. "Professor McGonagall is coming!"
Harry's face was panicked, and he was clutching the parchment again, staring at the writing and lines drawn all over it. "Why the bloody hell didn't I bring my cloak?" he whispered furiously to himself.
Meanwhile Draco turned to the elves. "You can't just throw us out," he hissed. "Dobby! Is there a room or cupboard or something we can hide in?"
Dobby jumped at the fierce tone of Draco's voice, and immediately nodded as fast as he could. "Yes! Yes! Please, hurry! It's this way!"
He and Harry were pulled off towards the storeroom at the other end of the gigantic kitchen. Draco grabbed a scrumptious looking scone off a chopping board where it was being spread with jam as he went.
The elves showed them into a tall, narrow, empty closet. Harry looked at it in despair. "There's not room for the both of us."
Dobby's eyes widened at the sound of another person entering the kitchen. "Quickly!" he moaned.
Draco gave Harry a huge shove so Harry was forced into the closet, and Draco quickly followed. The elves shut the door and locked it, then scuttled off. They could be heard in the other room, running about nervously to serve the Professor.
In the closet, it was an extremely tight fit. Harry's back was crushed up against the wall, and his shoulder smushed into a corner. Draco was no better off, his foot was uncomfortably jammed at an angle between the door and the wall, and there was no where to move it.
"Well, this kinda sucks," Draco muttered.
"Shut up, Malfoy."
"Your elbow is dangerously close to my eye. Would you like to move it?" Draco asked.
"If I could, I would. And I would ask you to move your knee because it is sticking into my thigh, but I know you can't move it anywhere else."
"True."
There was a silence in the closet. It sounded like Minerva was having supper in the kitchen instead of taking it out. By the relaxation of the elves they could hear, it sounded like a regular occurrence.
"How long do you think she'll be here?" breathed Harry. Draco felt Harry's warm breath on his shoulder.
"Probably a while," he answered, trying to move. He was deeply uncomfortable being so close to Harry.
"Ouch! Shit, Malfoy, keep still will you?"
"Sorry," muttered Draco.
There was another short silence.
"Look, I really can't stand your elbow there. Would you move the damn thing?"
"To where? You want me to wrap my arm around your neck?"
Draco exhaled impatiently. "I don't really care, I am so uncomfortable right now, and I really need to move my shoulder."
"Fine. Wait one moment." The sounds of Harry struggling to move rose to Draco as he realized Harry was now crouching on the floor. The absence of contact with Harry made Draco realize just how cold it was that night.
"Okay, get comfortable, cos I can't crouch for much longer."
Draco obliged, and stood firmly with his hands by his side. Harry rose slowly, and with difficulty.
"Dammit, do you know how hard it is to kneel in such a small place?"
Draco smirked. "I have some idea, yes." Harry was now half-standing, half- crouching.
"Jeez, this is good training for the quads."
"The whats?"
"Quads. Quadriceps. The muscles at the front of your thigh."
"Ah. Of course." Draco was immeasurably more comfortable. However, Harry was fighting to keep up straight without buckling.
"God, I don't think I can do this much longer."
Draco sucked in his stomach. "Look, try to stand; you're making too much freaking noise. McGonagall is going to hear us."
Harry slid further up the closet and relaxed. "Ahh. That's better."
"Ouch! No it's not! Why has your hip rotated?"
"Because the only way I can stand is directly facing you?"
"Oh."
Another silence. Draco's teeth were starting to chatter. It was really rather cold in the kitchens. He didn't know how house elves could stand it with their tiny cloths for clothing.
Harry noticed Draco's shivering and teeth chattering. "Are you cold?"
"No." Draco's tone was incredibly sarcastic.
Harry shuddered too. "I think we're right next to the freezer, which is why it's so cold." He moved closer to Draco (which was hard considering they were almost completely crushed together.)
"What are you doing?!" Draco yelped, feeling more and more claustrophobic by the second.
"Look, its fucking cold, all right? We can share body heat and conserve heat by being closer together."
"I want my own body heat thank you. Bugger off."
"Get a life, Malfoy."
"Fine." He hated to admit it, but Harry was right, with his torso right next to Harry's, he was feeling warmer.
"How much longer is that woman going to take?" he grumbled, not liking to seem like he was enjoying being in such close contact with his sworn enemy.
"Probably not too much longer."
"Ouch!" Draco yelped again. "You just scratched me!"
"Shhh," Harry said suddenly. Draco froze. "Shit, can you hear something?"
Footsteps were heading into the kitchen's storeroom. Heavy footsteps. Too heavy to be an elf's.
"Oh, holy shit," breathed Harry, almost inaudibly.
A key was turning in the lock, and the door swung open. Draco tumbled out and Harry landed on top of him. Towering over them was the intimidating figure of Professor McGonagall.
"Good morning, Potter and Malfoy."
"G-good morning?" Malfoy tried.
"I hope you have extremely good reasons for being out of bed at three in the morning on a school night, in the kitchens, hiding together in an extremely small closet."
"Er – well – about that........."
Professor McGonagall glared at them both. "I thought not." She pulled them both to their feet. "I shall see you both at eight o'clock sharp for detention every night this week."
"Every – wait, what about Quidditch practise?" said Harry, horrified.
"You should have thought of that. Now you'll be getting up extra early to practise instead. I expected better from the Head Boy, Potter."
She took the pair of them out to the hall and said, "Both of you get back to bed immediately. If I find you've been gallivanting around the school further tonight – or any night, for that matter, you'll receive a lot worse than detention."
TBC
A/N: Okay. That was really random. That did not actually come up in any of my chapter plans, but it sorta makes more sense than what I'd originally planned. Well, hope everyone enjoyed, please continue to read and review it! It really makes my day to read your comments about my story, so please comment!
Thank you so incredibly much to everyone who has reviewed, you have no idea how wonderful you all are. Your comments mean so much to me, and they really keep me going. And special thanks to Cat Mint, who reviewed both chapters of this story, and several chapters of other stories!
Also thanks to:
Katfay: thank you. I think its interesting! I hope you like how it turns out.
Yuki Kurai: Oooh! Thank you! I like compliments! :D
Marsky: Here, this is for you hands Marsky a new chapter and a pretty sparkly thing for his/her wonderful review thank you so much for your comment!
Hp Azn: Well, thank you! Glad you like it! Please keep reading, stick with me!
