Chapter 6 – Fallin'

The fire in the Gryffindor was warm and comforting as Harry sat beside it, not bothering with a chair. Beside him Ron was sitting in a sofa with Hermione sitting on the floor between his legs.

"I never would have thought…" Ron muttered for the umpteenth time that night, "Malfoy gay." It was a revelation that had shocked everyone in the year, the fact that Malfoy had gone out and gotten himself so drunk he had to be carried up to the castle would normally have been something that many students would have admired, but by bringing another wizard with him and to be caught in that kind of situation he had made himself hated in the eyes of many students. Harry couldn't understand why the revelation that he was gay was such a bombshell to the school, Ron had said something about it being frowned upon by the older "pure blood" families and to others…Ron and faded off and mumbled so quietly that Harry had only managed to pick up the word, "disgusting."

"Oh for goodness sake Ron!" Hermione snapped, barely glancing up from the book in her lap, "what does it matter if Malfoy is…" she trailed off, "granted nobody expected it but he's still Malfoy."

Ron looked indignant, "Yeah but…"

Harry tore his eyes away from the fire and looked up at his friend, "why is everyone acting like it's the end of the world?" he said it a bit harsher than he meant to, but Ron didn't seem to notice, Ron opened his mouth but no words came out, instead Hermione spoke,

"Because he is the only person in Hogwarts who is known to be that way inclined," Harry noted that even Hermione who seemed to be the only one defending him still avoided saying the word 'gay' if she could help it, "apart from that Ravenclaw guy but he came out so long ago no one pays any attention to him besides he's so camp most people find him funny. Malfoy was probably the last person in the world anyone thought would turn out like this."

"Oh for God's sake," Harry snapped, this voice betraying the anger that he felt, firstly because just as Harry was seeing a different side to Malfoy, the school had seen one too and was now persecuting him relentlessly, secondly his two best friends were blind to whatever had happened to Harry during his final fight with Voldemort, the way it had left him empty and emotionless but were now noting things about Malfoy's odd behaviour, "You're talking about it like it's some kind of disease, what the hell does it matter how he chooses to live his life or who he chooses to live it with." With that, not knowing why he should suddenly come to Malfoy's defence like that, he rose from his seat and retired early to bed.

The following day in potions Harry saw Malfoy's ordeal at its worse. The group of friends who surrounded him now moved as far away from him as they could, even Snape seemed to act differently towards his former star pupil, he was too subtle to make it obvious but it was still there. When the time came for them to begin making their potion the class chose to cramp themselves together rather than set up beside Malfoy. Still feeling the anger from the night before, Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione who were ignoring the situation, Ron especially had found it a little too odd that Harry had taken offence for wither Malfoy or gays or both and was finding it awkward with Harry for the moment. Picking up his cauldron Harry moved from his usual space and went to the back row setting up deliberately next to Malfoy who was looking up at him with a bewildered and slightly touched expression. Even so Harry still found it difficult to speak or look at Malfoy as a friend, he was there out of sympathy having experienced much of the same thing many times in the past than of a desire to become best friends. The result was silence between the two of them save for the comments Malfoy kept muttering under his breath to Harry so that his potion wouldn't be too disastrous.

By the end of the lesson they had at least forged a rocky working relationship and found themselves leaving the class together when they were all dismissed .The class filed out quickly, hoping to make the most of their break leaving the two to follow behind, even Ron and Hermione had hurried off. They said very little to each other, both of them were unwilling it seemed to make the first step that would bury years of enmity beneath a newfound friendship. They muttered pleasantries to each other which came to a stop when a student muttered, "Your father didn't hit you hard enough," as he passed. Malfoy scowled but ignored it, he could have given the boy detention and taken a million points off his house but he knew that that would just encourage hatred for him at the moment. He carried on walking but found that Harry had stopped dead in his tracks, turning he saw that Harry was standing stock still, looking at Malfoy as if Malfoy had just cursed him into oblivion, "Your father?" Harry managed to say the words, though they seemed to choke him. Malfoy clicked that Harry obviously assumed that the bruises that Malfoy were the result of other students rather than the hand of his father. "He's out?" Harry murmured and then Malfoy understood what had angered him so, the release of a prominent supporter of a man Harry had killed. Without saying another word, Harry pushed his way past Malfoy and left him in the corridor looking as though he could kill him in a moment.

Students filed into the corridor, noticing Malfoy and the hall was filled with whispered curses and mutterings as they passed him. The anger boiled within Draco and he cried out as he punched the wall behind him, those around him laughed and more malicious cursed were called out. Malfoy stood there with his fist still against the wall, feeling his face burning and the first of the tears coming though he was determined not to cry, nevertheless he couldn't help it. He could only have imagined what would have happened if a strong arm had come around him to lead him away and a voice bark at the students, "Detention to everyone in this corridor," the person leading him away shouted and when someone swore loudly he felt her turn slightly, "call me that again and I'll curse you Dettler!"

Malfoy let Professor Black steer him into her office where she immediately sent word for the headmaster to come and join them at his next convenient moment. She sat him down and handed him a tissue to wipe his eyes, "Are you alright?" she asked kindly, placing a hand on his shoulder, Malfoy had to smile inwardly that Black's reputation for helping anyone who needed it was becoming of her. He nodded and wiped his eyes, then he looked up at her to find her sitting opposite him looking genuinely concerned, something Malfoy rarely saw in people. Malfoy raised his eyebrow and asked, not unkindly but curiously, "why do you care?"

Black's eyes darted for a moment to a picture on her desk which Malfoy saw as one of her with a young man who he assumed to be her boyfriend, "Firstly because I care about everyone here, secondly because I could quite happily murder those who insist on making other people feel like crap and thirdly because I've been exactly where you are twice and know what it feels like."

"You're?" Malfoy raised his eyebrows suggestively, but she laughed and waved a hand,

"No no, not entirely the same situation, the first time though I did fall in love with someone the school didn't approve of and went through exactly what you're going through now…then of course after Sirius was tried and put in Azkaban, well things got far worse…a lot worse…" she broke off, staring back at the picture as if she might draw comfort from it.

"What happened?" Malfoy asked, but she looked up at him like she didn't ever want to speak of that part of her life to anyone, "between you and the guy they didn't like you going out with?"

Black's face split into the warmest smile he had ever seen, "We've been together for ten years and now that I can go out in public again we're planning to marry in the summer."

Malfoy couldn't help but smile, she seemed to have this uncanny ability to make everyone around her happy even when they are as low as Malfoy felt right there and then. Their conversation was interrupted by a soft knock on the door and Dumbledore entered. He looked pleasantly from Black to Malfoy and smiled, "Ah, Draco, I thought I would be seeing you soon."

Malfoy emerged from the office unsure of how he felt, he knew that there was nothing Dumbledore could do to stop the endless abuse, still deep down he had dared to hope that he could have left the office and be free of the open hostility, instead he had to wait for it all to die down in silence, unless of course Professor Black happened to be passing which caused the halls to descend into a silence for a moment. Despite these few moments of peace Malfoy was still forced to endure the whispers and the torments, yet far worse was Harry who now obviously avoided him as if rubbing it in Malfoy's face that the only person who was unfazed by the revelation of Malfoy's sexuality was now rejecting him for something completely different, once again leaving Malfoy alone in a school full of people most of whom at one point were envious of those who could claim to be Draco Malfoy's friend.

TBC