Tru had been wanting to visit Draco all afternoon. She had told Harry, Ron, and Hermione about the Pansy/Gregory incident and they wanted to tag along. They had all been waiting for a chance to go and visit him but none had ever come up for them. They sat together in the hall at dinner finishing their food so they could go and see him.
Tru seemed particularly eager to see him for some reason. It was almost like she hadn't seen him in a few years. Their new friendship meant something to her, something mysteriously hidden in the deeper parts of her heart that she couldn't understand. She kept looking around the hall at everyone else, laughing and joking with one another. She just smiled thinking of her time in the hospital wing with Draco.
Harry had been observing her for quite a while noticing that she was acting peculiar. Staring off into space.
"Tru, do you want to go on ahead and we'll catch up?" he asked her. She jumped and smiled at him. "Yah, I'll go on, I'm done eating anyway. I'll see you guys in a few minutes. -K?" she hopped up out of her seat and bounded out of the Great Hall. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared after her.
"Harry, why'd you tell her that?" Ron asked. "Well isn't it obvious Ron, she likes him."
Ron and Hermione laughed out loud. "Harry," Hermione chuckled. "They haven't been good friends for more than three weeks, they don't know one another well enough to like each other in that particular fashion." "That doesn't matter," Harry said. "It doesn't matter how long you've known a person, that kind of thing just HAPPENS when you least expect it and it seems to have happened to our dear friend and our newly made friend. Either that or she was just talking about him all day saying how much she wanted to see him just because she wanted to give him that plate of crumpets we all made."
Harry raised an eyebrow and smirked at them both. Ron and Hermione seemed to have finally dawned on these facts. Tru DID talk about Draco a whole lot. It was only a little bit strange. It could just be a small crush that hadn't exactly dawned on Tru herself. They came to this conclusion and laughed about it before they left to follow Tru to the Hospital Wing.
Tru knocked lightly on the doors of the wing. Madam Pomfrey had returned and opened the door. "Good evening, Miss Lupin. I expect you are here to visit Mr. Malfoy?" she said, beckoning her in. "Yes. How was your trip Madam Pomfrey?"
Madam Pomfrey blushed and smiled saying "Oh..it was a splendid trip. My new husband and I went to the dragon races in Dublin, Ireland together. It was marvelous." she smiled and Tru smiled back as she walked up to Draco's bed. Draco was sitting up swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. "My leg is healed now." he said smiling. Tru smiled at him. "That's great! How do you feel?"
Draco jumped off the bed and spun around landing in a kneel in front of her and getting up. Tru laughed and sat in the bed that she had been in for two weeks. They spoke for a long time, laughing and joking like they did when they became friends. Things were so much better on Draco's behalf. He was planning a visit to Dumbledore to be resorted. Or at least he HOPED to be. The burden of returning to the Slytherin common room and possibly being beaten to a pulp by them all wasn't exactly a pleasent contemplation.
As well as knowing he wasn't going home to his horrid mother and mansion and living in the Leaky Cauldron as he did, he couldn't possibly be any happier than he was. And now, he had trustworthy friends to top the cake. One of which, he believed was becoming the best friend that he had ever had in his life. And here he was, talking to her like they'd known one another for years. He never thought he'd ever smile this much. Especially around her.
Harry, Ron and Hermione finally arrived and he told them all about his plan to be resorted.
"That's marvelous Draco!" Tru shouted giving him a pat on the back, making him smile softly and blush.
"That is good old chap! Good show! When are you gonna do it?" Harry chimed in.
"I was hoping to speak to him at dinner but Madam Pomfrey didn't arrive until a little later after dinner had started."
"That's wonderful!" Hermione smiled.
"It's amazing this whole turn of consience of yours, Draco." Ron said to him. Draco smiled at him.
"Why did you change everything in the first place?" Ron asked. Draco's brow furrowed. He still didn't feel like mentioning how he felt about his father, though he didn't know why. He knew he could trust them, but still...he just couldn't bring himself to tell them about it yet.
"Oh...I don't know...just sick of how snobbish I was that's all."
"Oh that can't be ALL Draco." Ron chuckled patting him.
"And why can't that be all?" Draco said quite forcefully.
"Oh well, it just came up so suddenly like around the middle of the year from the beginning I don't know. Did something happen over the summer or something?" Hermione said.
Draco by now was trying not to get irritated. "I just felt like changing and becoming a better person is that so bad?" he snapped. Ron and Hermione took this as a cue to quiet up. They had been walking back to the Great Hall to find Dumbledore and were stopped in the middle of the hall by Pansy Parkinson and Gregory Berns.
"Malfoy. Potter. Weasley. Granger. Lupin." Pansy said coldly to each of them passing them by.
They watched them pass by and continued on. Draco glared ahead. Trying to ignore the fact that they had even been there. He felt someone take his arm and he looked. Tru smiled at him and she pat his shoulder. "Don't worry about them, they aren't worth it." he stared down at her and smiled. She was right. They walked on and met Professor Dumbledore coming out of the hall speaking to the new Transfiguration substitute. "Professor Dumbledore," Harry said.
Dumbledore bid farewell to Miss McGonnagall and stepped aside to them. His smile twinkled down on them and he asked "Yes? What can I do for you 5?"
"Draco wants to ask you something." Tru said slightly giving Draco a shove toward him.
"Well then Mister Malfoy, if you would follow me." he began to walk on and Draco gave him a look. He looked at the others and they nodded telling him to follow. And so, he followed Dumbledore. He felt odd walking beside this great man he had so insulted for these many years. He felt somewhat guilty at the same time as well.
"So Mr. Malfoy, tell me the reason you want to switch houses."
Draco gasped. How did he know? Well...he might as well tell him. "Well sir...it starts out like this..."
