A/N: I have to say, I simply love writing the way 13 years old Werewolf!Draco is thinking, I have a great deal of fun doing it and I hope I'm amusing you sometimes.
Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter, thanks for the comments and everything!
Just so you know, I changed the timeline a little bit, since Snape is supposed to give the lesson just before Christmas and not in November like he's doing in this chapter (from what I recall) but whatever, I needed it to add what happens next before Christmas.
"And you really couldn't see his arm?" Hermione asked the next morning. The three friends were in the Great Hall to have breakfast and they were trying to talk about Draco without anyone noticing. Harry had waited almost all night to tell them, he had wanted to wake Ron up and he had barely slept himself; his mind couldn't stop trying to find out what was going on. As soon as they had sat down to eat, he had started to talk about it, telling them the whole story.
He finally shook his head. No, he hadn't seen Malfoy's arm, unfortunately. He had told them how cold Snape had been, how Draco hadn't wanted to talk about all of this, he had mentioned his arm and that he "had never been around another one before". Also, that McGonagall was obviously aware of what was going on, so were probably at least some of the other teachers, and that he had hurt whoever or whatever he had been with at that moment.
"Well, that doesn't really help, it's just really shady," Ron said before taking another bite of his toast. Harry glanced at him, then at Hermione. She was looking like she was lost in her thoughts, probably trying to find a way to discover what Draco and Snape had been talking about. Then, he looked at the staff table. Lupin wasn't there. Malfoy had come back only that morning but not Lupin. In September, they had come back the same day and in October, Malfoy had come back a day after Lupin. And now, it was apparently the opposite.
"Still, I'm really curious," Hermione said, looking at Harry. "Did he say anything else? About Professor Lupin maybe?" Harry didn't answer right away, he was looking at Snape out of the corner of his eyes. His Potion teacher seemed to be staring at the Slytherin table and Harry was sure that he was looking at Malfoy. When Harry glanced at Draco, though, he just seemed to be in an animated conversation with some other Slytherins including Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy. He looked very different, suddenly. He was making them laugh loudly and he seemed to be feeling really good himself, even though he was moving only one of his arm. Harry didn't even care, this time, if Draco was mocking him, he was way too focused on what had happened the night before. He finally looked at Hermione.
"Er- I think that was it..." Harry said, thinking hard to remember everything Draco had said. Then, it hit him. "Wait, he was about to leave when he asked Snape if he had heard about... Umbridge? Is that possible?" Harry asked, having no clue what Draco had been talking about and not really knowing if it was relevant. Ron and Hermione suddenly shared the same expression. They were staring at Harry, not because he was the only one not knowing, but because they were both trying to remember where they had heard that name before. "It didn't sound like it had anything to do with his arm or what happened, it's like he remembered it at the last moment and decided to talk about it."
"I'm sure it's not the first time I've heard this name," Ron said, trying to focus.
"What did he say exactly?" Hermione asked, sure that she had heard that name not so long ago.
"It was something along the lines of "my father told me something happened but I shouldn't worry given my situation but I still thinks it sucks", something like that," Harry summed up, looking at his friends. Hermione frowned and Ron stared at his plate, still thinking.
"If his father told him about it, it probably has something to do with the Ministry, don't you think?" Hermione asked Harry. "Isn't he hardly out of there?" Harry shrugged but it seemed like it had made something click in Ron's mind.
"The Ministry, of course! I know where I heard the name before, my dad told us about her!"
"Oh so it's a woman?" Harry asked, tilting his head a bit.
"Yeah, I think her name's Dolores Umbridge, or whatever. She's the Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office, he only mentioned her because of... What happened with the car last year," Ron said, talking about the inquiry his father had had to face because of him and Harry. Still, Ron was glad to be able to bring new information, hoping it would help. "It's a division of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Ron said, "the largest and probably the most important Department of the Ministry," he added when he saw Harry's expression. Harry had actually already heard of the Improper Use of Magic Office when Dobby had used magic back at Privet Drive, when the house-elf had been trying to get him to be expelled from Hogwarts. Hermione was still thinking hard before she suddenly stood up, making Ron spill half his pumpkin juice on his robes.
"Watch what you're do-"
"I need to check something before the class starts, I see you then," she said, leaving quickly without paying any attention to Ron.
"Ugh, I hate when she does that!" Ron said, frowning as he looked down at his robes. "So irritating, really," he kept on mumbling. But Harry wasn't paying attention, he was following Hermione with his eyes, stopping on Malfoy who looked at Hermione when she walked very fast past his table. It seemed like she had caught his attention and he didn't look away until she wasn't in sight anymore, his eyes narrowed. Then, he looked at his friends again, apparently telling them something really funny. Except that Pansy didn't seem to laugh as much as the others. Harry frowned, almost certain he was mocking Hermione. He finally looked back at Ron.
"Do you know if Malfoy is staying for Christmas?" He asked. Ron shrugged.
"I hope he doesn't, I don't need him to ruin it," he said. Harry pursed his lips for a second, glancing at Draco.
"I don't know, maybe we could try to find out more about all of this if he stays here," he said. Ron didn't really answer, he mumbled something and started to eat again. Harry understood that he probably didn't want to talk about Malfoy anymore and he started to eat too. They only left the Great Hall when the bell rang.
.
Not only Harry got late to the Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson because Wood had stopped him to talk about the upcoming Quidditch match against Hufflepuff, but Snape was giving the lesson. That's when he remembered that Lupin was not back yet. Then, they started the lesson about werewolves, which was a bit weird.
They were far from talking about werewolves with Lupin but Snape didn't care. He took pleasure in taking points from Gryffindor, not only because Harry had been late and then asked about Lupin, but also because Hermione had answered without him asking her to. Not before Malfoy had started to put up his show, though. As soon as Hermione had mentioned the howls of the werewolves, he had produced himself a long howl, making his friends laugh. Hermione had glared at him, annoyed, as Harry was staring at Snape. He didn't missed his expression. Obviously, it was alright when the Slytherins were disturbing the lesson, it wasn't a surprise. Still, Snape didn't really show his amusement, his lips just curled up for a second before he spoke again.
"Thank you, Mr Malfoy," he said coolly as their eyes met for one brief second and again, Harry noticed. Then, Snape started to talk to Hermione, reminding her that she had spoken out of turn and that she was an "insufferable know-it-all", which amused only the Slytherins, as he took five other points from Gryffindor. The rest of the class glared at him. It was alright when they were calling her a know-it-all, not when Snape was doing it. Harry didn't listen to Ron when he took the matter in his own hands and got detention, distracted by Malfoy who had made a piece of paper fly towards him. It was about the Quidditch match. The weather was dreadful and Malfoy made him understand that he hoped he would get hurt.
At that point, Harry hoped that whatever Malfoy had was deadly and that he would succumb soon.
When he looked at Draco, he was even more annoyed by his smugly expression and didn't pay attention to him at all during the rest of the hour. The whole class was actually silent, if it wasn't for Draco who, for some reason, didn't care at all about the lesson. Snape wasn't saying anything, though, if it wasn't for his criticism when it came to Lupin's work. All the Gryffindors were relieved when they heard the bell, even if they were annoyed about the essay they had to write. They left the class quickly, except for Ron who had to stay behind to talk about his detention.
Waiting for him in the hallway, Harry turned to Hermione as they talked about Snape and Lupin. After a moment, something came back in Harry's mind.
"So, did you find what you were looking for?" He asked. She looked around for a second before she shook her head.
"Um, I'm not sure about what I found. It seems weird so... I'm going to keep looking and I'll tell you if I find anything," she said, making Harry even more curious.
"Are you alright?" He asked. Hermione wasn't directly looking at him, she seemed a bit anxious, actually.
"Yeah, I just have a lot of work," she said. Harry frowned a little.
"Wait, is it because of what Snape said? You know that you shouldn't pay attention to him," he said and Hermione smiled.
"Don't worry, I know," she said before she turned her head towards the door when Ron got out of the classroom, explaining he had to clean the bedpans in the hospital without using any magic as a detention and they left as he was insulting Snape.
.
Hermione had found what she was looking for alright, but couldn't say anything for now. She had to do more researches. As soon as they got a break, she went in the library with her books, parchments, a quill and a copy of the Daily Prophet. It wasn't the one of that day, though, it was a copy from the week before and it had taken some time for her to find it. When Ron had mentioned that Umbridge was working for the Ministry, she had remembered something that she had read about some new legislation. She sat down, putting her books in front of her and looking around. There was no sign of Malfoy in the room, this time, but there were plenty of students working on their homework. She hadn't had the time to read the article before, since she had to be on time in class but now, she did it very seriously, reading every line of what was the new anti-werewolf legislation.
When she was done, she looked around her again, almost hoping to see that Malfoy had arrived to catch up on his work.
He didn't show up.
She looked down at the paper in front of her, concerned. It couldn't be what Draco was talking about, it was absurd. It had nothing to do with him, his father had probably just mentioned it because he was always at the Ministry. But why would he be annoyed by it? Hermione was actually surprised, she thought it would have amused Malfoy. She couldn't accept what it might mean.
Then, she thought of the first feast and what had happened with Snape, Draco and Lupin. How their new teacher and Draco were sick at the same time. If only she could tell if it had been during moon cycles, she would have her answer. She thought about how Draco seemed to dislike Lupin without even knowing him that much. She thought about the conversation he had had with Snape the day before and what might have been on his arm, about who, or what he had hurt too. How he had never "been around another one before". Then, she shook her head, refusing to believe it.
And then, she thought about the lesson they had had that morning. Why would Snape choose werewolves out of all the creatures they still had to study? He seemed to hate Lupin, for some reason, was it... Again, Hermione shook her head, closing her eyes, hoping she was wrong. She heard the howl Malfoy had made during the lesson in her head, she remembered how uninterested he had looked... She took one of her book, deciding to work on Snape's essay, maybe it would help her understand, maybe it would show her that she was wrong. She had to be.
When she came back in the common room later that day, she was looking deathly pale.
"Are you feeling alright, Hermione?" Harry asked her again, and she muttered that she still had work to do before she sat at the table. She had a lot of work, but that very day, she couldn't focus. She hadn't been able to focus at all during her other lessons either. Ron and Harry looked at each other but didn't say anything, they just sat to try and do their homework too.
.
The next day, when Hermione left Arithmancy to go the the library, the first thing she saw was Malfoy, apparently struggling with the wrapper of a lollipop. She couldn't tell if it was something that had been in the package his mother had sent him or if he had bought it at Hogsmeade, he just didn't seem able to open it. He wasn't using his right hand, since his arm was injured and Hermione's heart skipped a beat. She knew. She knew that he had been hurt and that it was probably by Lupin. She knew what was under the bands, she knew that this time, he wasn't putting up a show. He kept claiming that he was hurt because of Buckbeak but now, she knew why he was keeping the bands on for so long. It had to heal, and an injury given by a werewolf would never disappear. He would always have the scar. She frowned when she found herself wondering if it was fangs marks or claws marks, under the bands. She shook her head and walked towards the table, putting her books on it, still staring. Malfoy glanced at her and looked almost offended, but more surprised than anything else.
"What are you doing?" He asked vehemently. She didn't care about his tone, she just glanced at the lollipop.
"Need help with that?" She heard herself ask. Any other day, she would have just found this funny, she would have watched him struggle with this stupid little thing before saying that he should stop faking his pain if he wanted to eat sweets but that day, she couldn't. No one was around, it wasn't even like he was trying to show people that he couldn't open it for them to feel sympathy for him, he just couldn't do it. She wondered if his injury was hurting him so bad, if he wasn't even using his arm that much. Malfoy frowned before he made a face, looking at his lollipop again.
"No thanks," he said shortly and she knew why. He wouldn't let a Mudblood touch his precious sweets. She rolled her eyes, maybe she shouldn't have shown him any sympathy. Maybe he had deserved what had happened? What if he had wanted to impress people, once again, and that he had ended up badly injured by a werewolf? What if it had been all his fault?
But then, she thought about the way he had already been disappearing during his first year at Hogwarts and she doubted he would have been showing off this way when he was that young. She glanced at Malfoy again, wondering when it had happened. Had he been really young? Where did it happen? How? She even wondered where he had been bitten. And how a child had survived it. She couldn't help but stare again when she saw him remove the paper with his teeth instead. She quickly looked down when he turned his head towards her and she gritted her teeth, her heart bumping hard in her chest. She wondered if he could hear it, it seemed to be so loud as she was trying to stop thinking about him biting in anything, but it looked like he wasn't paying that much attention to her, instead, he glanced at his book again. Had he bitten Lupin, that night? He said that he had hurt the other one, but had they really fought in their other forms? Wouldn't he be way more injured if it was the case?
Hermione heard Madam Pince walking towards them and Malfoy hid the lollipop under the table, acting like he was really focused on his reading. Madam Pince glanced at the book Malfoy was reading. He had probably taken it from one of the shelves and Madam Pince always hated when students were touching her books. Hermione always wondered what was the point of her being a librarian if she couldn't stand people taking her precious books but at the same time, she could understand why she was so afraid for them.
For once, Draco didn't move, he didn't demand that Hermione choose another seat and he didn't go sit at another table, despite her presence. Since she had worked a big part of the night on her homework, she thought she would take this time to work on Buckbeak's trial and she stood up to find some books that would help her do that. As she walked between the shelves, she found herself glancing a lot at Malfoy. Now that she knew, it seemed like it was obvious. Like they had been stupid not to have seen what was going on before and she wondered if his friends knew. How couldn't they? And at the same time, they were pretty thick, so it wouldn't be a surprise if they didn't know. Who knew, maybe that was why Malfoy was hanging out with such stupid people, when himself was smart.
And she ended up wondering if he had been the victim of a lot of discrimination. Probably, even if it wasn't said directly to him, he had just to hear about the new legislation to feel bad about his condition.
Maybe that's what had made him become so mean.
Now, she could understand why his father had told him that he didn't have to worry. Lucius Malfoy had a lot of influence so Draco would be able to find a job, she was sure of that. But even if he wasn't working, they were ridiculously rich, he could probably live without having to work anyway.
The same question that had been in her head since she had written her essay came back in her mind. Should she tell Harry and Ron? She was pretty sure that one of them would probably tell him that they knew out of anger if provoked, maybe in front of other people, and she knew that Draco had a lot of reasons for keeping his condition secret. But then, should she talk to him about it? Tell him that she knew but that his secret was safe? What was the point of doing that? Malfoy would be better off not knowing that anyone was aware of his secret. She decided not to tell anything to anyone for now and she sat on her seat again, only talking after a few moments.
"I don't believe in those things anyway," she said, glancing at Malfoy. This one looked up, raising an eyebrow. What was she even talking about? "The Grim," she said like they had never stopped talking about it since the last time they both were in the library. Draco stared at her during a few seconds, saying nothing.
"Good for you..." He finally mumbled before he blinked, still taken aback.
"Trelawney is just a crazy lunatic," Hermione added and Malfoy tilted his head, frowning a little.
"Since when do you talk like that about a professor, Granger?" He asked. Hermione smirked and shook her head, looking at her book. And since when was she talking to him like that anyway?
"Since I found out Divination was the stupidest class I could attend," she told him. Draco almost snorted, then he remembered who he was talking to.
"Well, too bad it it's not true," he said shortly.
"Do you really want him to die?" She asked absent-mindedly. Draco stared at her until she looked at him too, waiting for his answer. Their eyes met and it was a few seconds before he finally shrugged, not really understanding what was going on. Hermione kept looking at him for a few seconds before she looked at her book again, looking for the sentence she had been reading before she had started to talk a minute before. Draco kept staring for a moment before he did the same, not really able to focus again. Well, that had been weird. Again, they worked in silence during a moment, only interrupted by Malfoy breaking his lollipop between his teeth. When the bell rang, he closed his book, knowing that he hadn't worked a lot. His mind had wandered off during the rest of the hour without him even noticing.
"So, was it difficult?" He heard Hermione ask. He looked at her as she was putting her parchments in her bag full of books.
"What?" He asked, taken aback once again.
"Having a civilized conversation, was it that difficult?" She said as she looked at him again. She wasn't smiling but she didn't seem to ask that to annoy him either, it was just a bit ironic. Draco narrowed his eyes and he shrugged once again before he quickly left the library. Hermione smiled and shook her head as she closed her book, a bit amused by Draco's reaction. Still, they didn't talk again for a while. Hermione was way too busy and they didn't end up alone in the library. She was often working in the common room and everytime Draco had finished catching up on his work, he wasn't going there often until the next cycle.
.
And this next cycle was approaching very fast. Draco didn't know if it was because of the holidays coming or just because of what was happening with Lupin, but it seemed like the time was flying. He wasn't going back to the Manor for Christmas, that year. The cycle was happening on that day, unfortunately, and his father was working a lot, he would barely see him. He would have liked to be with his mother at that time and they discussed it by letter. In the end, they had decided that it was better for him to stay at Hogwarts, since he would be sick during almost half the holidays. Narcissa wanted for him to be in a comfortable place and didn't want to make him travel too much if he was too tired. As always, she was making sure that Draco had the best settings for the cycle and Draco knew that it was for his own good, even if he was a bit annoyed. He didn't tell her.
He didn't think too much about the "civilized conversation" he had had with Granger, he kept being insufferable with Harry and his friends, as always, and soon, the last Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson before the holidays came. They were done with the subject they were studying before the end of the lesson and Lupin joined his hands behind his back, smiling at the students.
"So, since we still have some time left, what about having another go with a Boggart?" He asked. Murmurs of approval could be heard in the room and he kept smiling. "I wanted you to have some fun before the holidays, you seemed to enjoy the first lesson with it. Since I found another one, I thought we might use it today, given that not everyone had a chance to try the spell."
They all left the classroom to walk towards the one they had used during their very first lesson with Lupin, and they found themselves in front of the same cupboard that had been holding the first Boggart they had faced. The cupboard suddenly moved after Lupin had closed the door, making some students jump with surprise. Lupin smiled at this and walked towards it. Harry wondered if he would have a chance to face it, this time, but he doubted it.
"It is only fair to let different students win points for their house, don't you think?" Lupin asked before he looked at some Slytherins students. Seamus whispered something about them in Dean's ear, which made the boy laugh.
"Why don't we begin with you, Miss Bullstrode?" He asked to a Slythering girl. Millicent walked in front of the crowd and Lupin let out the Boggart. The fun began, Lupin calling students one after another, switching between Slytherins and Gryffindors. After some time, the Boggart suddenly went into the cupboard again, to everyone's surprise. Lupin smiled.
"Well, I guess it's time to finish him off, why don't we?" He said. "Mr. Malfoy, would you do us the honor?" He asked. Excitement rose in Harry and Ron's bodies, while anxiety took Hermione by surprise. Draco didn't move right away, he stared at Lupin for a few seconds. His teacher was still smiling, but Draco didn't find it to be a very good idea. He only moved when he felt Pansy's hand on his shoulder as she got way closer. He turned his head to look at her.
"What are you waiting for?" She asked, smiling, and he moved quietly forwards. He was a bit dizzy, he could feel his heart beating at an alarming speed and he wanted to loosen his tie, he felt like he couldn't breathe properly. He gave another glance at Lupin, who was still looking at him. What was he playing at? Didn't he know that it would change into a moon? That it wasn't funny? And what was he smiling about? Draco narrowed his eyes a bit. Was it a revenge because of his behavior towards him? He suddenly felt a strong urge to thump him. He didn't know why, he just wanted to keep walking towards him and hit him as hard as he could. He felt like biting him as his body temperature rose dangerously. His jaw clenched as hard as it could, he even thought that he might just do that during their next transformation. That's when he realized where his thoughts were converging and he looked at the cupboard, swallowing with great difficulty. He couldn't think about this kind of things. He couldn't think about hurting someone this way, he couldn't let the beast gain the upper hand. He couldn't let it drive him.
Lupin's words during the first cycle of this school year came back in his head; "Don't let it get to you, don't let it win". He suddenly felt ashamed as he stopped in front of everyone, facing the cupboard. He could feel the stares. They were all going to know what he was fearing the most. They were all going to see a full moon and they were all going to figure it out. Or they were going to mock him, thinking he was afraid of the night, of the dark, or something like that. He bit his cheeks from the inside of his mouth. Or maybe, maybe they would be all too stupid for that. Well, Granger wouldn't be. Granger was smart. Yeah, she was definitely smart. An iron but good taste came in his mouth, as well as a hot liquid and he stopped biting his cheeks. But still, maybe they would all be like Lavender, not being able to make the difference between the moon and a crystal ball. Maybe they were all going to say that it was why he hadn't chosen Divination that year, because he was afraid of... Stupid crystal balls. Maybe it was all going to be alright. Maybe they would think that it was ridiculous, but at least no one would think too much of his fear. Wasn't it a common fear, crystal balls? Maybe he could use one to hit Lupin hard on the head.
Draco took his wand out of his cloak and he slowly raised his hand to point it at the cupboard, waiting for Lupin to open it again. He took a deep breath and clenched his fist hard around his wand when he felt his hand slightly shaking. Lupin turned towards the cupboard, raised his wand and waved it. The lock slowly moved and they waited. The door wasn't opening and Draco thought for a second that the Boggart wasn't going to come back. Maybe it had disappeared once inside? Draco kept feeding himself with hopes before the door suddenly burst open, making everyone jump with surprise. Even Draco took a step back, feeling his hand trembling again. He tried to hold his wand more tightly, staring at the cupboard. Nothing was coming out, it was totally dark inside and they waited, Draco being the most anxious in the room.
A/N: I'd like to add a few details about the way I'm working, because of the next chapter.
First, and it has just to do with the entire story, I try to mainly follow what's in the books rather than the movies, even if I use some things from them, but I also prefer the appearance werewolves have in the movies rather than in the books (were they are mostly looking like real wolves), so in my story, they look like in the movies.
And secondly, I use Pottermore or the Harry Potter Wiki when I need information for the story (like with the Ministry and stuff, to be sure of what I'm saying), and it's the same for the creatures I'm talking about in this story. I'm saying this mainly because of the Boggart, you'll see why next chapter, I use the knowledge I have of them thanks to the books and those websites, but feel free to tell me if I make any mistake about anything, it would only help.