Draco sat next to Pansy in the Great Hall, totally soaked because of the storm outside. He sighed as he ran his fingers through his wet hair, looking at his clothes. At least, now, they were inside, and they would eat soon. They just had to wait for the Sorting Ceremony. When he looked at the staff table, he noticed that McGonagall was already outside of the room, probably waiting for the first years who had to cross the lake. And he couldn't help but glance at the seat Lupin had been using during the last year. It was empty and he vaguely wondered who would replace him, but most of all, he was craving his reassuring presence.
He had nothing to worry about, that year, not really, but seeing his friend up there would have been nice. They had exchanged letters during the summer, they had talked a lot and he knew they still would during the year, but having him by his side would have been... Better, probably. He didn't know. He had had a nice summer, but the first cycle spent at home had reminded him how much he needed the man by his side. It was suddenly weird to be alone during the full moon. Which was weird, since he had spent the first three years without anyone there with him. But one year with Lupin and things had changed. But he knew he couldn't do anything about it anyway. He pursed his lips and his gaze drifted right next to the seat, on Snape's face. He met his eyes, because his teacher was already looking at him. Draco's expression suddenly became cold and he turned to look at the empty plates on the table.
He still hadn't followed his father's advice and he didn't know if he would. He had seen Snape during the summer, but he would have preferred seeing Lupin instead. He couldn't even take the potion anymore... During a split second of pure madness, Draco had had the idea of not taking his potion either, but he didn't follow it, knowing better. So, he had seen Snape every evening during a week, totally ignoring him, drinking his potion and leaving Snape alone with his parents. Very rude of him, he knew, he didn't need his mother to tell him this, but he didn't mind. Snape was eating with them during the entire week he had to take the potion and Draco had been making himself as discreet as possible, eating and taking his potion before locking himself in his room. At the same time, he was mentally thanking his father for not talking to him about it anymore and act like nothing was going on.
He blinked when the students clapped. The Hat had finished its song and he joined the others, clapping with them as he glanced at Pansy who smiled at him. Then, the Sorting Ceremony began.
The first first year joining the Slytherin House was a boy called Malcolm Baddock. On the stool, he looked a bit worried but the table cheered as he was sorted and he seemed a bit more confident already. Draco clapped, smiling at the boy as he came to join the table, sitting near him. As the noise was slowly dying out, a few students noticed that Fred and George Weasley were hissing the boy. Draco narrowed his eyes and leaned behind the prefect who was sitting next to him before he gave Malcolm a little tap on the back, still cheering. The boy smiled at Draco, like he had needed this, and they looked at the rest of the ceremony.
During the feast, the only thing who caught his attention for a while was Hermione. She was talking with the Gryffindor ghost and seemed angry. Of course, he had no idea she was talking about the house-elves working in the castle and he just saw her pushing her plate away, looking very offended. He then glanced at Ron. During the Sorting, he had seemed, to Draco's delight, to still be in a pretty bad mood but food seemed to have some effect on him, as he was now smiling. Fool.
When Dumbledore stood up again, Draco elbowed Pansy and they smirked. He glanced at Crabbe and Goyle, who were smiling stupidly at him. They knew what was coming. He would probably talk about the tournament. But first, he reminded that they were allowed to go to Hogsmeade as long as they were at least in their third year and Draco couldn't help but think about a visit of Hogsmeade with Hermione. It sounded really, extremely tempting, but he also knew it wouldn't be possible. They wouldn't be able to find a place where they could be just the both of them and even if they could, the possibility of escaping their friends for that was very unlikely.
Then, he couldn't help but glance at Potter when Dumbledore announced they wouldn't play Quidditch that year. Draco knew already, so he wasn't too disturbed by the announcement. Seeing the shock on Harry's face was just what he needed that day after what had happened in the train. He was having such a good day, he hoped it would continue during the year.
Just as Dumbledore was about to finally tell them about the tournament, a loud sound filled the Great Hall. The storm was worse than ever and the fake sky above their head was full of lightning. The doors opened and a dark shape entered. Now, the room was only filled with silence from the students and the teachers and the sound of the rain against the windows. The man walked between the tables, a loud clunk being made by one of his legs every other step. He stopped next to Dumbledore, talking to him, and again, a lighting filled the room with light, showing the man's face. Draco couldn't help but grimace. Oh, he knew who this man was. Alastor Moody, Mad-Eye. He was intimidating. Draco was disturbed by this damaged face and this eye moving freely in its socket. Then, he finally moved again. Draco wrinkled his nose as he saw him sitting on the very particular chair Lupin had been using the year before. And he felt even more bad when Dumbledore announced that he was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. No one clapped, actually, besides Dumbledore and Hagrid. Draco was staring at his plate, resting his head on his hands, not really happy about the man.
He only looked up when he heard Fred and George shout "You're joking!" at Dumbledore, noticing that the Headmaster was talking about the tournament. Dumbledore gave them the last information they needed to know, saying the other schools would come in October and that the champions would be chosen for Halloween. Then, they could leave the Great Hall.
As he walked through the big doors with Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle, Draco noticed Hermione. She and her friends were still near the stairs, discussing the tournament with the Weasley twins. He looked at her, hoping she would notice him and when she turned her head, he couldn't help but mouth "library tomorrow". He tried to see if she had understood, or at least seen what he had wanted to say and, thinking he had seen her nod, he focused on his friends again, like nothing had happened. They walked down the stairs leading to the dungeons.
"Mr. Malfoy," he heard a cold and familiar voice call him. He stopped, and so did his friends, and he glanced at Snape, who was in his office's doorway. He was tempted to ignore the man, but he knew he couldn't disrespect him this way in front of everyone. "In my office."
Draco sighed and rolled his eyes as Snape disappeared in. He shook his head.
"I see you later," he muttered to Pansy before he walked towards the office, disappearing inside too. Crabbe and Goyle stared at Pansy, like they were waiting to know what to do and she rolled her eyes too before she walked towards the wall leading to the common room. "What do you want?" Draco asked, coldly and rudely. Snape didn't react, he just stared at him for a few seconds.
"I think it is time for us to have a conversation."
"I don't share this opinion," Draco said but as he was about to turn around, Snape snapped his fingers, closing the door. Draco clenched his jaw as he glared at his professor.
"Please, I insist." Draco gave him a very strained smile that was looking more like a grimace before he looked away when he saw Snape's lips curling up and he walked towards the desk. "Your father is concerned... that our disagreement is going to cause problems."
"It worked during the summer, didn't it? So you can tell him it's fine."
"Watch your tone, Draco," Snape said, barely moving his lips. "I am neither Crabbe or Goyle, even less Potter. Maybe they can tolerate your condescension but I do not."
"What do you want me to say? That I understand how bad you must feel, and that I don't care anymore? Well, it's too bad because I sure as hell am not going to shake your hand and laugh with you at the end of this conversation."
"How about that you understand why I did what I did?" Snape asked.
"But I don't. I can't. All I know is that you did that to feel better, you didn't care about Lupin's situation, you didn't care about me!" Draco said, speaking a bit louder. Snape narrowed his eyes for a second, examining Draco. "Don't look at me like that!" Draco said as he looked away. Slowly, Snape walked past his desk to get closer to Draco, who was still not looking at him. "I don't have to explain anything to you. But you..." Draco said through gritted teeth as he forced himself to meet Snape's eyes again. "Why did you do that? Why did you tell everyone? And if you tell me it's because you didn't like him or... Because of his stupid friends... It's not going to be good enough."
"I wasn't going to look into-"
"Yes, you were about to look into my mind!"
"I wasn't."
"And what do I know, after all? I feel like you're just... Like you were just lying this whole time. As soon as something's an inconvenience for you, you're the only one that matters."
"That is not true," Snape said. He was still cold but he was also still looking at Draco with the same expression as before. Draco had been sure he was about to use Legilimency to look into his mind but now, he didn't know. "And me not caring about you is not true either."
"But you-"
"Silence!" Snape snapped, even though he wasn't speaking much louder. It was cold enough for Draco to shut up anyway. "I do not appreciate being called a betrayer, Draco. I might give little care about what's happening to your new friend," he said as he couldn't help but grimace at the thought, "But do not tell me I don't care about you. I wouldn't be there today and I wouldn't make you your potion if I didn't."
"It doesn't change anything... You're doing it for my parents, not for me."
"And what do you know?" Snape asked. Draco frowned, narrowing his eyes. "You don't know anything about that. Like you don't know anything about my past with Remus. Did he tell you? Did your good friend care enough to tell you what happened?"
"I didn't... He would have told me. I was... too mad about what you had done to listen."
Snape slightly shook his head, not convinced.
"He told me there was history between you, I didn't care."
"So why do you, now?"
Draco clenched his jaw again. Snape was missing the point. But he wouldn't say anything, not as long as he didn't know about them. Snape turned around and walked behind his desk again.
"Do you know who were his friends at Hogwarts?" He asked. Draco didn't answer. Snape lips curled up. That was surely going to please him.
"Peter Pettigrew," he began. Draco narrowed his eyes. He knew who he was, of course, what had happened. Destroyed, apparently. "Your mother's cousin, Sirius Black," Snape continued. Draco frowned. "And James Potter."
This time, Draco turned his face. Snape kept smiling coldly.
"Inseparable. And they were so funny. Really funny. So funny that it seemed they were entitled to do whatever they wanted. Strut, gloat, prank people. How do you think I felt when Sirius Black sent me under the Whomping Willow during a full moon?"
Draco looked at him again.
"Hilarious, wasn't it?" Snape muttered. "Your great friend would have killed me, if it wasn't for this insolent..." He didn't finish his sentence, staring at Draco. "This is the kind of humor Remus and his friends had, every day."
"I'm sure he wasn't aware of what Sirius did!" Draco said defensively.
"I myself doubt he was, of course," Snape said, waving his hand. "It didn't stop him, the other days... I'm sure you would have been good friends with them, actually. You were so alike." Draco wanted to tell him to shut up, but he didn't. His hands turned into fists. "Why would I be nice with him now, tell me? He deserved to leave this place."
"He did not..." Draco muttered. "He can't do anything anymore right now, and you know it... I talked to you about it. But you didn't care. You'd rather have him die of hunger than having him around."
"And that is between Remus and I, not between you and me."
"By doing what you did, you put me in danger. I'm sure my father would have been really happy to learn I had to leave the school because of you. Because you couldn't keep your mouth shut."
"They don't know, do they?"
"Well, that's a relief!" Draco said louder as he looked at Snape again with an amused face. It was fake, of course. He wasn't amused at all. "Then, all is forgiven! Because they don't know. So why would I be worried anymore? That was stupid of me, you're right. I should have listened to him, then? I shouldn't be angry at you, Lupin was right, is that it?" Snape narrowed his eyes. "Too bad I still am, isn't it?"
"This is not what's bothering you, is it?"
"You wouldn't know, would you? You don't realize. You think it's just about... You and him."
Draco shook his head and turned around, ready to leave.
"Draco."
"You promised!" Draco shouted as he turned around once more. "You promised..." He said quieter. "You said... You would come and get me first thing in the morning."
Since Snape didn't seem to be about to say anything, Draco kept staring at him for a few seconds. He didn't have much hope, but he still asked something he had been wondering all summer long.
"Did you at least look for me? Did you... At least stepped out of the castle, wondering where I was? If I was hurt?" Again, no answer for a while. As Draco was about to open his mouth again, he heard Snape's cold voice, but it didn't seem like he could get the words, like he could understand them.
"I didn't."
Draco blinked as he turned his head, looking at the shelves.
"You didn't..." Draco repeated. He kept moving his lips for a few seconds but Snape couldn't hear what he was whispering. He was apparently talking to himself, and Snape wondered if he wasn't hearing him repeating "he didn't" a few times.
"I was with the Minister and the Headmaster. I couldn't leave. Sirius B-"
"You didn't," Draco said coldly as he glanced at Snape again. "You promised. But you didn't. That's all I needed to hear."
.
As he walked in the common room again, he noticed that it was empty. He frowned. He hadn't taken that much time in Snape's office and still, everyone seemed to be in their dorms. Maybe it was because he had wasted most of that time on the way between the office and the common room. But he thought he had only leaned against that wall during five minutes, just to empty his mind for a while... He sighed and walked towards his dorm. He quietly opened the door, closing it behind him. He could hear Crabbe's snore and he glanced at his friend's bed. The curtains were closed, as were Goyle's. His weren't, though, and he looked at the two other beds. The other two guys had their curtains closed too but he could see some light behind Theo's. Blaise was probably asleep, though.
He was never talking to those two, and he knew they weren't talking to each other either. They seemed to be the lonely type. But he also knew that Blaise didn't consider the others worthy of his attention and Theo... Well, Theo was a bit too accepting for most of the Slytherin's students, but he didn't seem to mind spending his time alone. That's also why Draco hadn't really been talking to him since he had met him, because he didn't want to have the same image as Theo. Now, he was wondering what it would be like. It seemed like the students had got bored of annoying him for that.
If Theo wanted to go out with a Muggle-born girl from Gryffindor, he wouldn't mind walking around the castle holding her hand, he wouldn't mind talking to her in front of people, he wouldn't mind kissing her in public, it wouldn't matter what the other Slytherins might do to him... But Draco... He didn't have the courage. He wasn't like that. No yet. He needed time.
As he sat on his bed, he glanced at Theo's bed again. Yeah, they were different.
"What are you grinning for?" Pansy asked Draco as she glanced at him. They had just received their timetables from McGonagall and they were discovering their classes. Draco couldn't help but feel better. The conversation he had had with Snape had left his mind as he had discovered he would have Study of Ancient Runes with Hermione, that year, unlike the last one.
"Nothing," he said to Pansy, still staring at the timetable. His friend raised an eyebrow and glanced at his timetable.
"Ugh, did you see, we have it with the Gryffindors," she said.
"What?" He asked quickly, looking at her.
"Care of Magical Creatures." She frowned a little as she met his eyes.
"Oh, yeah... Well, maybe this year we will actually have the oaf sacked," he said as he glanced at Hagrid at the staff table and Pansy sniggered. As she looked at Hagrid, Draco couldn't help but glance at Hermione from across the Hall. She seemed to be eating again, looking at her timetable. Had she seen? He waited a few seconds and then, he saw her smile before she looked up, meeting his eyes.
They were both distracted as the owls came in the Great Hall. Draco's owl landed on his shoulder, giving him his usual supply of sweets and cakes. Smiling, he opened his package. That day would probably be good.
.
Having Herbology at first, the Gryffindors were pretty quick to reach Hagrid's hut. But the Slytherins were still inside and they had to wait for them. Hagrid didn't waste any time and started to tell them which creatures they were going to study. Blast-Ended Skrewts. The Slytherins had made their way unnoticed by the rest of the group and Draco heard Hagrid saying they would raise those weird creatures. Draco narrowed his eyes as he saw what Hagrid was showing in the box. He liked magical creatures but those things were looking horrible and disgusting, he wasn't sure he even wanted to touch them. He wrinkled his nose before looking at Hagrid.
"Why woud we want to raise them?" He asked coldly, capturing the attention of the entire class. Crabbe and Goyle were chuckling behind him and Pansy just looked a bit disgusted at the sight of the creatures, which Harry quite understood. Not receiving any answer, Draco tried not to sigh as he continued. "I mean, what do they do? What is the point of them?" He didn't like having to do things that were useless. And actually, Harry and Ron couldn't help but exchange a glance, not really happy to be agreeing with him. Hagrid, with the excuse of "that's for the next lesson, Malfoy" never answered him and Draco rolled his eyes as he sighed a bit dramatically, making Pansy smile a little, amused. They stayed behind as the students were starting to take their skrewts. They were observing, wanting to know what they were walking into before actually walking into it.
Hearing the different exclamations from the other students, Draco couldn't help but add sarcastically: "Well, I can certainly see why we're trying to keep them alive. Who wouldn't want pets that can burn, sting and bite all at once?"
Hermione, not exactly amused by his behavior, interrupted his friends who were laughing.
"It's not because they're not very pretty that they're not useful," she said a bit coldly. She hated when Draco was making fun of Hagrid and she was sure he knew it. He should remember clearly the slap she had given him the year before for the same reason. He frowned a little as he looked at her. He didn't really mind, though, he knew that it wasn't because they were together that she would suddenly approve of his behavior, but he was still a bit taken aback. "Dragon blood's amazingly magical, but you wouldn't want them as a pet, would you?" She asked. Malfoy only grimaced at her and she shook her head, turning around. He tried not to smirk, actually more amused than anything else, as his eyes went from the back of her head to her feet before coming back on her head. He liked her. He really, really liked her.
Besides, Hermione was actually agreeing with him, she just wanted him to stop attacking Hagrid, as she told Harry and Ron later. She was expecting those creatures to turn into not so friendly and very big beasts and said that they actually should kill them before being attacked.
.
At lunch, Draco started to eat pretty quickly, as well as Hermione. They both surprised their respective friends and Hermione got up as soon as she was done, ready to go to the library.
Ron was astounded, since it was only their first day of school.
"See you at dinner!" Hermione said after she had shrugged, leaving the Great Hall in a hurry. Draco didn't follow right away. He took a bit more time to finish his lunch, to be sure he wasn't raising any suspicion.
"Where are you going, now?" Pansy asked, already a bit disturbed by the way he had been eating. Clearly, he was feeling better than the year before, when he was either not eating, either eating really slowly, not showing a lot of interest in his food. He had become thinner because of that, but he had seemed to regain some normal weight during the holidays. He also seemed to be feeling better morally. But that... It was now a bit weird.
"Library," he only said as he took his bag from the floor. Was he mental?
"Draco, what the hell?" Pansy asked, raising an eyebrow. She knew he fancied books but... She narrowed her eyes and glanced at the Gryffindor table. "Draco! No!" She said as she looked at him again. He smiled, winked, and he turned around. Pansy rolled her eyes, shaking her head.
He almost ran in the stairs to go to the fourth floor. Panting as he arrived in front of the library door, he took a few seconds to be sure he was well dressed and not looking like he had just run a marathon. He felt himself touching his own hair to make sure they were looking good and he walked in the library. It was empty, he only glanced at Madam Pince and nodded to her to greet her. She didn't return the gesture, she just stared at him as he disappeared behind some bookcases. And there she was, at the same table as usual. He couldn't help but smile as he approached. She only noticed him when he leaned next to her and before she could say anything, she felt his soft lips against her cheek. She smiled as she blushed a little, looking at him.
"Hi there..." He said, happy to finally be able to spend some time with her. No one was in the library, since, like Hermione's friends had noted, it was the first day and they were all having lunch. They had just planned on seeing each other, but Hermione actually seemed to be pretty busy. She leaned to give him a peck on the lips and he forgot that he was about to ask her what she was doing as he looked at her, smiling a little. "Not angry at me?" He asked. She smirked as she looked at her work again.
"I don't know, Draco, I'll be every time you'll be mean to Hagrid," she said.
"I wasn't that mean," He said as he rolled his eyes, still a bit amused.
"At least respect him, he's your teacher and he is really nice," she said, shaking her head. "You didn't choose that subject for nothing, did you? Why don't you just follow the lesson without annoying him?" Draco pouted, still looking at her. She seemed to be much more concerned by what she was doing than she was by him.
"I chose it before knowing he would be the teacher... Should have broken my leg instead," he mumbled and he finally got Hermione to stare at him, so he smiled a little again. "Come on, I'm only joking."
"It's not really funny," Hermione said even though she was smiling a little.
"You don't know what's funny, then," Draco said as he finally took another glance at what she was doing. She was apparently very busy designing something. She had a roll of parchment with some words crossed out and some abbreviations. "What are you up to anyway?" He asked, blinking as he thought he could read "Stop the Outrageous Abuse of Our Fellow Magical Creatures and Campaign for a Change in Their Legal Status", but that idea had been crossed out too, apparently, as well as its abbreviation next to it, "S.O.A.O.F.M.C.C.C.T.L.S." Draco narrowed his eyes. Hermione turned her head to look at her boyfriend, looking sorry.
"I don't think you'd understand," she said. Draco raised his eyebrows.
"How nice," he said.
"No- I didn't mean that, you idiot," she said as she shook her head. Draco chuckled as he tilted his head. "It's just... I know you have... In your house..." she started to say, not sure she should talk about it. But now, Draco was more than curious, he frowned a little as he glanced at the parchment again.
"We have?"
"House-elves, Draco!" Hermione finally said, outraged. Draco wasn't expecting that. "Let me tell you, this is disgusting, because I know how you former house-elf was treated!" She said as she narrowed her eyes.
"So what? Of course we have an house-elf, you don't expect us to waste time cooking or cleaning an entire Manor now, do you?" He asked. Clearly, it was the wrong question. "I mean, we have more important things to do and they're there for that," Draco said, not sure he had got the point. Hermione narrowed her eyes even more. She knew how to throw shades.
"Well, I'm simply saying, it's not fair. They help you and you punish them! Dobby was constantly beating himself up!" Draco, still not sure to comprehend, frowned even more.
"He's an house-elf, he doesn't care," he said as he shrugged. Hermione looked utterly shocked and Draco bit his lip before he gave her a smile. "Come on... It's not so bad. They live to serve people. I'm telling you, they don't mind. Dobby was simply a nutter, elves don't really want freedom," he said. He actually had been pretty annoyed when they had lost Dobby, even though he wasn't the best elf, they always had to punish him. He wasn't always doing what he was asked to do properly because of his stupid desire of freedom. Draco had suggested his parents to exchange him for a normal house-elf when he was younger because it stopped being funny after a while, he even had to learn how to punish himself because he was making too many mistakes for them to bother anymore. Well, sure, Draco might have pushed one or two glasses and vases -or maybe ten- from their furniture to blame him after when he was eight, but even that stopped being funny after a while.
"They have feelings! I'm just not ok with it! It's like the ones working here! Poor elves, forced to cook all the time for hundreds of students..."
"Ah, now, those are efficient!" Draco said with a smile that he lost when he saw Hermione's expression.
"But do they get paid? Do they have vacations or sick leaves? No! It's totally unfair!" Hermione said.
"I don't think they want to get paid. You know that, right?"
"That's what you guys are all saying but I'm not so sure about it!" Hermione said, still totally baffled by Draco's words.
"See, if everyone tells you..." Draco said.
"Oh, you are agreeing with Harry and Ron, now?" Hermione asked. Draco narrowed his eyes.
"Don't trap me like that," he said and Hermione gave him a little smile before she shook her head.
"Even Nearly Headless-Nick says stuff like that, you guys are so insensitive."
Draco blinked.
"Wait... Is that why you seemed so angry at the feast yesterday?" Hermione looked at him again. "You stopped eating." Hermione felt her cheeks becoming warmer again, she hadn't even noticed he had been looking at her during the feast. She felt a warm feeling in her body.
"Well, yeah. I didn't want to eat food made by slaves."
"But you ate today," Draco added, trying not to smile, amused by her behavior.
"Oh, shut up," Hermione said as she grimaced and Draco chuckled. He got a bit closer, passing an arm around her waist as he kissed her cheek once again.
"Come on, don't be mad at me," he said playfully. She had never expected him to have so much physical contacts with her. Every time they were together, he was either holding her hand, or playing with her fingers, or had to be close. She had wondered if it was just because they were together, or if it was just a need he had with people he was close with, because he was often standing close to Pansy. Or was Pansy standing close to him? And he always seemed so cold that he was always surprising her when he was acting like that. And she couldn't help but blush again.
"I'm not mad at you... I just think you're a jerk, it's different," she said and he chuckled again. She smiled and turned her head to look at him. "Also... I wanted to talk to you... About Ron." Draco rolled his eyes but didn't remove his arm from where it was, he just looked away. "Are you ok?"
He blinked again before he looked at her. He had been sure she was about to scold him because of what had happened in the train.
"What do you mean?"
"Because of what he told you..." She said, almost in a whisper. Draco almost looked down but didn't totally, because he didn't want to show to Hermione that yes, he was still thinking about it and he was still hurt. But Hermione had seen his expression change a little.
"I thought you were going to tell me to stop bothering him, because of what I did in the train," he said, trying to change the subject onto that, to make it more subtle.
"Well, that'd be nice, because from where I stand right now, it looks like you two are just going to be at each other's throat until one of you actually kill the other," Hermione said and Draco slightly smirked as he looked down for a moment, this time. "But I told him that he shouldn't have been surprised you did that... And that he had no right to tell you stuff like that," she said.
"Why would you do that?" Draco asked as he looked at her again. Then, he sighed. He didn't want for his affliction to be the source of any problem she could have with her friends. She didn't have to get in trouble to defend him. Especially with those two, it was just probably very weird.
"Because that's what I was thinking, that's what I still think, he has no right to talk about this and about what your parents might think of you this way," she said. Draco narrowed his eyes as he looked at her again.
"I don't get you," he said. Hermione raised an eyebrow. "I-" he began but stopped, looking away again as he searched after the right words. Hermione waited patiently, knowing that he wasn't the best with those. Maybe that's why it was easier for him to touch people. Because he could use the words well when it came to really hurt someone, but he was a bit less talented with them when it came down to express his own feelings. "I did that to you..."
"Yes, but it doesn't affect me the way it affects you. Because I know that whatever you might say, I'm great," Hermione said and she was glad to hear him chuckle.
"I know I'm great too," Draco said as he shrugged, still not looking at her though.
"I don't doubt you know what you're worth. But you seem to forget it a lot when it comes to that."
Again, Draco shrugged.
"No, I don't," he said, still quietly. Hermione pursed her lips. Yes, he did. He hated his condition, of course it had been horrible for him to hear those words.
"You know that he was just angry, right? Because you were mean with me."
"Yeah but I didn't mean to," he said, finally turning his head to face her as he frowned a little.
"And I know that, but he doesn't. Because he's used to hear you say this kind of things to me. It came out... naturally, he didn't get what you were doing," Hermione said. Draco stayed silent for a few seconds, apparently trying to find something in her eyes. But he couldn't see any hatred. He didn't understand. Because she was right, they were all used to hear him say that to her. And for what? For a blood-status he didn't even really have himself? How could she be so kind with him? It seemed a little absurd, now that he came to think of it. How could she forgive him this way? "Like I told you, it doesn't affect me," she said like she had read his mind.
"Was he really just angry?" Draco asked. Hermione thought about what Ron had said in the train and she shrugged.
"Well... He meant to hurt you. He really, really wanted to hurt you because... Well, he wanted to defend me. And I think that deep down, he just knew what would hurt you the most. I don't think he even thought it would make that big of an impact, he just wanted you to stop and knew where to hit. And yeah, I think it's just because he was angry. I never heard him disrespect... werewolves... I mean, he's not like that," she said. Draco had looked away as soon as he had heard the word "werewolves", too uncomfortable about that. He sighed and gave her a strained smile.
"So what, do I need to stop making him angry or he might say stuff like that to me again?" Draco asked. Hermione shook her head.
"I think I made my point with him, I'm not sure he will do it again..."
"He also promised not to tell anything about it and yet, he was screaming that at me in the woods, I mean-"
"He's not going to tell anything to anyone, Draco. If he does, I'll stab him myself anyway."
Again, Draco chuckled and Hermione smiled.
"Do you want to talk about it?" She then asked. She had been curious to know what he was thinking about what Ron had said. She wanted him to be able to confide in her. She was sure he had told Pansy what had happened but she wondered if he had told her how he was feeling because of that. He looked down and sighed.
"I don't know, I- I'm not... I don't like talking about all of this," he muttered. Hermione nodded.
"I get it," she directly said before she pursed her lips. "But you know... If you need to talk..."
"Yeah, I know," he said quickly as he nodded a little, looking at her again. She smiled and he just looked at her, knowing that he could trust her.
"You were a bit hard on him on the train, though," she then added as she tilted her head and Draco snorted.
"It was Pansy's idea, actually, but I have to say, I had fun."
"I bet you had fun, jerk," she said as she shook her head, taking her quill again. "Are you still angry at him or was that enough?"
"I'll see. It will depend if he can behave," he said, amused.
"More like if you can behave, I'd say."
Smiling, Draco removed his arm from around her. She didn't mind as she saw him put his head on his arms on the table and he looked at her quill moving on her parchment. She wondered if he was still tired from the last cycle. Probably, it was still visible on his face and he was blinking a bit slowly.
"I can wake you up for our next class," she said, staring at her parchment. S.P.E.W. should do it. They had Study or Ancient Runes together before Hermione would have to head to her Arithmancy class, her favorite subject.
"I'm not tired," Draco said, still staring at her quill. Oh, he was tired. Sleeping all day after a full moon wasn't usually helping, he just couldn't help but sleep, but it wasn't enough. It was never enough. Since he didn't sleep much in the train and that he just had the night to get some more energy after their long day, he was still tired. But he wouldn't admit it. Hermione smiled as she glanced at him and she didn't contradict him, she just stayed silent in case he would actually fall asleep. Which he did.
At some point, and as she thought she was hearing voices at the entrance of the library, she leaned to put the hood of his cloak on his head, just to be sure that no one would see his face or his hair, which would be enough to identify him. She only woke him up when she heard the bell ring. Two Ravenclaws walked behind her and as soon as they were far enough, she put a hand on Draco's arm, shaking him slightly.
"Draco, come on, it's time to go..." She whispered as he opened his eyes, blinking a few times. At first, Hermione was blurry but then, he could make out her face and he straightened up.
"I'm not tired," he repeated. Hermione gave him a little smile, amused, and she removed the hood that was still on his head before she stood up, putting her belongings in her bag.
"Alright, Sleeping Beauty, it's still time to go to class," she said. Draco frowned a little and stood up, taking his bag, mistaking Hermione's words for a compliment. "Just..." She added as she turned around.
"I know. I'll wait for you to be gone to get out," he said with a weak smile. Hermione nodded, almost left but finally turned around again. She took a few quick steps towards Draco and timidly kissed him before finally leaving.
They saw each other ten minutes later, when Draco entered the classroom of Ancient Runes but they couldn't interact. And they were separated again after that, when they both left for their last class of the day. It's only when Draco got out of this one with Pansy that she handed him the Daily Prophet.
"There's something here that should interest you. I would have given you this earlier but you were too... distracted," she said and Draco gave her a strained smile, which she gave him back, before he took the newspaper as they went down the stairs to go to the Great Hall for dinner.
"This is too good," Draco said as he sneered. When he looked at Pansy again, he saw that she had the same smile on her face and they both looked around. "Weasley!" Draco called, some students looking at him. He raised the hand he was using to hold the newspaper, waving it as Ron, Harry and Hermione turned to look at him. "You're dad's in the paper!"
After that, everything happened pretty fast. Draco read the article out loud for everyone to hear, mocking Ron as he noticed that they didn't even get Arthur's name right. Then, after making fun of his parents and his house, Ron had to be stopped by Harry and Hermione again. Next thing he knew, Potter was insulting his mother. Draco felt some anger, and some embarrassment as well. No one could talk about his mother this way. He took his wand but missed Harry before feeling weird. He heard a man shouting before finding himself on the ground.
He couldn't move properly. It seemed like he couldn't get up either, and everyone was looking down at him. As he saw Moody approaching, he just knew that he had to run. That's how he realized that it was wrong, that he wasn't himself anymore. But even before he was able to reach the dungeons, he left the floor, before meeting it again. Violently. He couldn't help but squeal with pain as he felt himself fly once again. And he kept on going, and Draco knew he was going higher every time. And people were looking, and his body was hurting. What was wrong with this guy? A complete nutter. He wanted to leave but he couldn't, he couldn't escape what Mad-Eye was doing to him. He flew once again into the air. He could hear him talk, but he wasn't listening, it was hurting too much.
Draco hit the stone floor once again, squealed once again and heard another voice as he flew in the air, once again. He thought he could recognize McGonagall, but he wasn't even sure as he hit the floor again.
And then, he was himself, on the floor, his eyes filled with water because of the pain. His face was red and his hair were a mess as he stood up with difficulty, wincing. He was barely listening to what McGonagall and Moody were talking about. His body was hurting all over and he put his cloak properly as he staggered. Pansy made a movement to catch him just in case he was falling but he didn't need her help, he managed to stay on his feet. He muttered something, glaring at Moody. He thought that a good sharp shock should do it, then? A good sharp shock? What the hell was wrong with him? Draco blinked, still a bit dizzy as he heard that Moody would talk to Snape. Draco wanted to laugh but he didn't, he couldn't.
"My father will hear about this, you nutter..." He mumbled as he took another heavy breath. Moody, not impressed, approached and grabbed Draco's upper arm to go to the dungeons.
He barely listened to Moody as he "talked" with Snape. It even took him a few seconds to notice that the man, more like the monster, had left the room and he found himself in front of Snape, who was staring at him. Draco didn't know if he was actually waiting for him to leave, or if he was waiting for him to talk.
"Do you hear me?" Snape asked. Draco blinked, the buzzing finally leaving his ear as he focused on what was happening again.
"Y-yeah..." he mumbled.
"Sit down," Snape said coolly.
"I'm fine. I think I'm going to... Go and... Lay down for a while..."
"Draco. Sit down," Snape said yet again as he approached his student. Draco looked at him before he walked slowly towards a chair, finally sitting down. He felt better already.
He felt two cold hands on both side of his face and he met Snape's eyes. He didn't look away. His teacher was looking worried and Draco knew he was just checking on him to see if he had any injury and if he was responding properly.
"You know... I'm going to survive," Draco said as he smiled a little. Snape didn't really looked amused. But they both knew that he wasn't probably hurt that much, more stunned than anything really. Werewolves were resistant, even more than wizards.
Still, they kept staring at each other for a while before Snape finally let go of him.