10 – What Friends Are For
HALEY
Why was Malfoy insisting on leaving first? Was this a trap? No. She was being stupid.
After what felt like at least five minutes, Haley looked over to the school grounds one last time, before entering the castle. She had assumed it would be easier to make sense of her thoughts once Malfoy wasn't directly in front of her anymore. It was easier. At least a bit. Now that she didn't have to wonder how she was supposed to behave around him anymore. Or what it all meant that the boy was doing and saying. She could focus on the important things again. Like getting back to her common room.
There weren't many students in the halls. Either everyone was still in the Great Hall for dinner or… it was already over and they had all gone to their common rooms.
Haley wished she knew how late it was. She was almost up the stairs toward Gryffindor tower. Maybe she was lucky and Ron and Hermione hadn't returned from Hogsmeade yet. Or perhaps they were still in the Great Hall. But would that be better? Probably not…
She had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady now. There was no other way. She couldn't run away from this. She didn't feel like sleeping in the corridor.
"Mimbulus Mimbletonia," Haley said, causing the portrait to swing open. She only had to tip-toe quietly through the common room and up the stairs to the girls dormitories. That shouldn't be too difficult.
"Haley, there you are!" Ron cheerfully called her over. Him and Hermione were seated in their favourite armchairs near the fireplace. Haley grimaced. While she walked over to her friends she tried not to appear like someone who was hiding something.
"Hi!" She greeted them nonchalantly, plopping down on one of the armchairs.
"Are you feeling better?" Hermione asked, shortly glancing up from a long scroll, she was furiously scribbling on. What was she talking about?
"I – um… uh – actually – I – uh..." What? Now she couldn't even form a proper sentence? Well, too bad, she hadn't been able to come up with a good excuse.
Hermione put down her quill and looked at her. "Are you okay?" She asked, looking something between confused and worried.
"Is it the butterbeer, still?" Ron asked. He was trying to take a look at Hermione's scroll, while she was distracted. If Haley didn't feel like she was being interrogated she would have grinned. But wait. Butterbeer? Butterbeer... Of course, the butterbeer! It seemed so long ago that Luna Lovegood had told them that story about old pixy dust in butterbeer but it had actually only been several hours.
"Oh! Yes! I – um… that butterbeer – I… well…" Haley stuttered, what the hell was wrong with her? She simply didn't know what she was supposed to tell them. How in Merlin's name was she going to get out of this?
"Don't worry, Luna already filled us in," Hermione said, with a reassuring half-smile, as she picked up her quill again and pulled the scroll away from Ron's curious eyes.
Haley didn't understand. What did that mean?
"Yeah, she told us that you'd started to feel better soon after we left the Hog's Head," Ron informed her, "And then she wanted to show you some special shop about magical creatures but you couldn't find the shop and lost your way. How did you manage to do that?" He laughed. "I mean, Hogsmeade isn't that big, is it?"
"Um..." Haley was confused, to say the least. What did Luna have to do with all of this? Why had she covered for her? Did she know about her and Malfoy?
"She also mentioned that you wanted to stop by the kitchens before heading up. Is that why you took so long?"
"Uh..." This was weird. It almost seemed as if she had forgotten how to talk.
Then she remembered the package she had got from Malfoy.
"Yeah, that's… why it took me so long," she offered.
Ron grinned at her, obviously believing her story. She grinned back in relief. Then Ron took a closer look at the package.
"What's that?" He asked, sounding curious.
She followed his gaze. Why was Ron looking at the handkerchief? There was a stitched design in one corner of it. She hadn't spotted it in the dark. But now she saw something that looked suspiciously like an M.
"I..." There were no words. How was she going to get out of this? And to make matters worse, now even Hermione was looking up from her letter and glancing in the direction of the handkerchief. Haley's heart beat like it was trying to jump out of her chest. They were going to find out. She closed her eyes. No. They couldn't find out. Not like this.
She tried to subtly hide the embroidery behind her fingers and looked at her two friends.
"Look, I'm a bit tired. I think I'm going to head to bed."
"Already?" Ron asked.
"What about your homework?" Hermione questioned in an almost accusing tone of voice.
Haley bit her lips to keep herself from saying something rude. She was tired of the questions.
"They'll have to wait until tomorrow," she said, stifling a yawn, that came right on time.
"G'night," Haley added with a tiny smile and turned to walk toward the stairs, leading to the dorms before either of her friends had the chance to say anything else.
…
Haley tossed. And turned. And turned again. Then she sighed for the hundredth time. This was insane! Why couldn't she fall asleep, for Merlin's sake!
The curtains to her bed drew open all of a sudden.
"You're not having nightmares again, are you?" Hermione whispered worriedly.
Haley shook her head. "No," she whispered as soon as she had calmed down from the shock of her friend's sudden appearance.
"What is it then?" Hermione asked curiously, crawling onto the bed beside her. Haley sat up and rubbed her face.
"I..." she shook her head. As much as she wanted to she couldn't tell Hermione about the thing that kept her thoughts occupied. She had gone on a date with Draco Malfoy! She had kissed him! Well, technically he had kissed her but it came down to the same thing. Merlin! Why had she done it? What was she doing?
"Haley?"
Startled, she looked at her friend with wide eyes.
"Did something happen?" Hermione asked, worry evident in her voice now. Haley looked at her for a silent moment, contemplatively. Maybe she could voice her thoughts without dropping Malfoy's name.
"I always wondered..." she began, "You and Viktor… what was it like?"
Hermione frowned slightly. She probably hadn't expected that.
"You mean…" She trailed off. They had never really talked much about what had happened at the Yule Ball after all.
"I mean… Kissing him. What was it like? Why did you do it?" How did you know it was the right thing? She wanted to add, but she felt like that would have been too revealing.
"Oh. Um..." Hermione seemed to think about the questions. Replaying memories in her mind that only she could see. "There was no reason why I shouldn't have, I guess," she answered thoughtfully.
Well, that helped Haley's case a lot. There were probably a thousand reasons why she shouldn't have let Malfoy kiss her.
"Did you do it because you liked him? Because you had feelings for him? Or was it just attraction? Or because he's a famous Quidditch player?"
"Haley!" Hermione exclaimed, forgetting to whisper. Haley noticed that her friend's cheeks were turning pink.
"That's not – Merlin, what do you take me for? It just… felt right. There was this... atmosphere, you know," she added with a shrug. For a moment, Haley contemplated those words.
"He smiled at me," she continued with a glint in her eyes, "He has a really cute smile. There is a dimple on his right cheek." Hermione whispered fondly. Haley smiled at her friend. She got the feeling Hermione had been wanting to share those memories with her for some time.
Hermione bit her lips. The curious expression on her face told Haley that she was burning with questions of her own.
"So, you kissed him because of his cute smile?" Haley asked half-teasingly.
"Obviously not," Hermione protested, "Well, in part, maybe." She chuckled. It was nice to see her that carefree for once. Suddenly Haley felt sad for her.
"You must miss him," she offered in a sympathetic voice.
Hermione shook her head slowly, looking at her hands. "I – It's fine. We were never… I mean we definitely had a good time together but… it's been months since I last saw him and it's not like a few kisses made me believe we were in love or something."
There she was again. Hermione Granger, ever the rationalist. But… wait, what had she said just now?
"Was he bad at kissing?" Haley questioned, slightly confused.
Hermione chuckled. "Merlin, no. Kissing him was really nice, actually... It's just," she sighed, "Falling in love… it's not that easy," she concluded.
"But if you liked kissing him–"
"A lot of people kiss others just for the sake of it," she interrupted her almost harshly, "Kissing is something that just feels good, I guess. You don't need to be in love to enjoy it."
Haley simply watched her, surprised over her strong reaction.
"I'm not saying it always has to be like this," she conceded, "I'm sure there are also cases where a kiss is based on mutual affection." There was a wistful smile on her lips. Haley didn't know what made her talk this way. Did it have something to do with Viktor? But Haley couldn't imagine that.
"I think..." she began. "I think that Viktor genuinely liked you. He positively adored you. It was obvious just from the way he looked at you."
"Maybe," Hermione whispered non-committally. The hopeful tint of her smile made Haley almost ignore the sting of guilt she felt toward Ron.
It was quiet for a moment. Each of the girls caught up in her own thoughts. Then Hermione turned to her with a hesitant expression on her face.
"Haley," she said in a tone that implied she had been wanting to say this the whole time, "Why are you asking me all this?" Haley swallowed nervously. Of course she had known this was going to come from the moment she had asked her first question. That didn't mean she knew how to answer, though.
"I – I… uh," she stuttered. That was going well.
Hermione ended her pathetic stammering by taking hold of her hands. There was a slight pout on her face. Haley had the feeling it was due to the fact that she was being kept in the dark.
"It's okay," Hermione said encouragingly, "I won't judge you."
You wouldn't say that, if you knew who I went on a date with today, Haley thought. But what she said was a simple, "I know."
Hermione nodded impatiently, the expression on her face practically saying, So? Get on with it. I'm waiting. Spill.
Haley's heart was beating with a force that was almost she trust Hermione? Of course she could trust her! But was she ready for the accusations? The judging looks that were bound to follow her confession?
"I was… curious," she answered, trying for a casual tone. Hermione rolled her eyes in disbelief.
"Obviously," she stated, "And what's the reason for your curiousity? Does it have something to do with what you really did in Hogsmeade today?"
Haley froze. So, Hermione hadn't believed Luna's story after all. This was bad.
"What… do you mean?" She asked cautiously.
"Oh come on, Haley. Do you expect me to believe you've been wandering around Hogsmeade all day looking for some shop that Loony Lovegood obviously made up?"
"I… Don't call her that," she said almost as an afterthought, "How do you even know it's made up?"
Hermione rolled her eyes once more. "Even if there was such a shop, not even you would spend a whole day looking around for it."
"We… didn't go around looking for it all day," Haley offered, not quite lying, "There were… other things."
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Other things? What kind of other things?"
Haley shrugged. "The usual. There's not all that much you can do in Hogsmeade." Except for having a picnic with your former enemy. Or falling asleep beside your former enemy. Or kissing your former enemy. She felt heat rush to her cheeks at the thought. Hopefully it was too dark for Hermione to notice.
Hermione sighed. "Fine, I can't force you to tell me. I'll be here, when you're ready."
Haley heard the disappointment in her voice. She hated disappointing her. Hermione let go of her hands and turned to draw open the curtains, surrounding Haley's bed. Before she could draw them open completely Haley reflexively reached out a hand to stop her. It hadn't even been a conscious action.
"Wait," she whispered, causing her friend to turn back around.
Yes? Said the expression on her face.
Haley took a deep breath. "I really want to tell you, I do," she began. Hermione waited silently for the rest.
"But I hope you'll understand… that I can't."
"I – what?"
"At least not yet," she added. Hermione watched her silently for a moment.
"Why not?" She finally asked, her voice quiet. There was the pout again.
"I need to..." Haley chewed on her lower lip, looking for the right words, "I need to make sure first. That it's not a mistake. That I'm doing the right thing." It was hard to imagine a scenario where dating Malfoy would seem likethe right thing. Still, she was determined to figure it all out... Somehow. She needed to understand what this thing between the Slytherin and her meant. Whether it was worth the risk of ruining her friendship with Hermione and Ron over. She would tell them then. As soon as she had made sense of it all.
Hermione frowned. "What do you mean by 'mistake'?"
"I – It's just… it's complicated," Haley shrugged, "It might be a mistake… liking that person."
"Who said that? Who made you think it was a mistake?" She asked, sounding indignant.
Haley shook her head. "No one did. It wasn't necessary. I've known it from the start."
"Haley, I," Hermione paused, biting her lips, "I'm sure it's not. You know I never got why you were so caught up with Michael Corner but... this seems different. Whoever it is you're going through all that trouble for surely is not a mistake. If it's someone who genuinely likes you and makes you happy I wouldn't care if you dated Crabbe or Goyle or – I don't know... Moaning Myrtle."
Haley raised an eyebrow at that.
"Well, I'd be happy if it was someone with more brains and... well, alive," she conceded with a chuckle.
"So, as long as they are somewhat intelligent and not a ghost, you'll approve?" Haley asked only half-jokingly.
"Probably. And I also hope it's more than just attraction like it was with Michael."
"That wasn't just attraction!" Haley protested. But Hermione didn't seem to believe her.
"Sure," she said with an eye-roll, causing Haley to hit her playfully. Hermione evaded her attack with a grin.
"Seriously though," she whispered, "Are you happy?"
"I..." The truth was she didn't know. And she didn't want to lie either. "That's… what I'm trying to figure out," she admitted quietly.
Hermione watched her for a moment, before nodding once.
"Right. I hope it will work out for you. You deserve some happiness," she gave her hand a squeeze, "And don't forget to tell me once you've figured it all out."
"I will," Haley promised. Would she be able to keep that promise?
"All right. You should try to get some sleep. There's a mountain of homework waiting for you."
Haley groaned. Hermione drew the curtains open but before she could slip through them, Haley stopped her by calling her name.
"Hermione?"
"Hm?"
"Thank you," Haley whispered almost soundlessly, "For listening and… understanding."
Hermione smiled at her. "Of course. That's what friends are for, right?"
Haley nodded, smiling as well. Then she turned around and vanished through the curtains.
Haley was just starting to get comfortable, when her friend's head reappeared between the curtains.
There was a cheeky grin on her face. "I wonder who you're going to dream about tonight," she said mockingly, wiggling her eyebrows in a suggestive way.
"Hermione," Haley groaned, burying her face that was rapidly flaming up in her pillow.
With a last amused chuckle Hermione's face vanished once more and Haley heard her lying down in her own bed.
Yeah, that's what friends are for, she thought to herself, as she felt some of the anxiousness leave her. Maybe it was that easy. Maybe it would all work out in the end. And if not… well... she would cross that bridge when she came to it.
…
DRACO
Just thinking about her filled him with joy. It made him so happy that he almost forgot he already missed spending time with her. Looking at her, holding her hand. Kissing her. That was kind of what he missed most but he would never admit it to anyone. Ever.
"Here," said someone with a rather high-pitched voice and simultaneously placed a roll of parchment in front of him.
"What's that?" Draco drawled in a bored tone.
"It's my potions essay," Pansy Parkinson informed him. "You promised, you'd look over it," she added in an accusing tone. Draco frowned. He didn't remember that.
"I did?" He asked sceptically, glancing at the essay quickly.
"Yes," Pansy stressed, pouting at him. "I really need my grades to be decent this year. Dad threatened to take away my collection of..."
Draco stopped listening. He couldn't care less about whatever it was that Pansy's father was threatening to take away from her. On the breakfast table beside her potion essay he had spotted a familiar name. Haley Potter. He shifted the essay slightly to the side to see what the words belonged to.
Witch Weekly. They were printed onto the front page of a copy of Witch Weekly. Well in the left corner of the front page anyway. The full title was: Haley Potter reveals: My ideal wizard.
What was that? Draco would lie if he said he wasn't the tiniest bit curious. He made sure Pansy wasn't looking – she was spreading jam on a slice of toast – and slipped the potions essay along with the magazine beneath it into his bag.
"I'll look over it before dinner," he told the girl as he reached for his cup of tea. A cup of Earl Gray was the best way to start the day.
"Thank you, Draco!" Pansy squealed and impulsively threw herself at him.
"Pansy! Are you daft? My tea!" Draco exclaimed, barely keeping the hot fluid from spilling all over them.
"Oops, sorry," the girl retorted – she didn't sound sorry at all – and extracted herself from him.
He glared at her in annoyance, before finally taking that first sip of his favourite morning drink.
He almost dropped the cup, shuddering at the bitter taste. He had allowed Pansy to distract him and forgotten to add sugar.
…
The article was located somewhere in the middle of the magazine, between hair styling tips and rules about what not to do on the first date. It was a tiny article that hardly justified an announcement on the front page. Draco glanced around left and right, making sure there was no student lurking behind one of the numerous bookshelves. He didn't want anyone to catch him reading Witch Weekly. Once he was sure he was alone, he giggled to himself in anticipation. Then he started to read.
Haley Potter reveals: My ideal wizard
In our exclusive interview with the famous Gryffindor, Haley Potter told us one or the other thing she secretly looks for in a guy.
Q: Gryffindor or Ravenclaw?
A: Ravenclaw.
Q: Brave or clever?
A: … Clever.
Q: Blue eyes or brown eyes?
A: … Brown.
Q: Hair gel or off-the-broomstick style?
A: Definitely off-the-broomstick style.
What kind of questions were those? The expression on Draco's face got darker with each answer he read. The questions seemed to be aimed at a particular Ravenclaw that Draco would love to never hear about or see again.
Q: Gentle or funny?
A: (chuckles) Both?
Q: Rich or poor?
"What are you reading that for?" An all too familiar voice asked, while the article vanished from his sight.
"Hey, I was reading that," he argued mildly annoyed with the blonde girl that had found her way toward his table once again.
Luna Lovegood held the magazine in front of her face sceptically.
"Daddy says the people working for Witch Weekly are not real journalists. They're getting paid for making up stories." She tilted her head to the side. "I thought everyone knew that."
"I do know that," Draco answered haughtily, snatching back the magazine and shoving it carelessly into his bag. He did know he shouldn't believe any of it. In theory… But some parts of the 'interview' just wouldn't leave his mind. Like the parts about Potter's preferred hair style. It couldn't be completely made up, right?
Lovegood trained her round, blue eyes on him like she always did.
"Well, then," she said, pulling out the chair in front of her and sinking into the seat. Then she proceeded to ignore him, busying herself with whatever she had come here for.
Draco drummed his fingers on the table impatiently. He wanted to tell someone about his date with Haley the day before. And who was there to tell beside the girl currently ignoring him? But he didn't want to be the first to bring up the topic. He wanted her to ask him about it. He wasn't going to give in. No, he wasn't going to cave. He was going to stand his ground until she begged him to stop with his drumming and give her all of the details. Only then he would graciously save her from dying of curiosity.
"You seem a little restless," Lovegood noted after a while.
Draco waited for her to say more but she seemed to be finished talking for the moment. He audibly cleared his throat to give her a subtle hint.
"Huh?" the girl looked up at him, seeming as if she had just woken up from a dream or something.
Draco sighed. It almost looked as though he would have to be the first to address the topic after all.
"So...Hogsmeade," he started, lifting an eyebrow meaningfully.
"Yes?" The blonde tilted her head to the side again.
He squinted his eyes at her. Was she doing this on purpose? She had to know exactly what he was hinting at. She wasn't that daft. He would give her another chance to ask him on her own.
"Your little meeting with Potter and her friends," he said, waving his hand dismissively, "was it good?"
Lovegood smiled absently. "Yes. It was… nice. They were all very… friendly. Well, most of them."
"And?" Draco asked impatiently.
Lovegood fixed her blue eyes on him once more. "I still can't tell you more about it. Sorry," she said in an apologetic tone. She sounded sincere at least. But the conversation was still not where he he wanted it to be.
"Why don't you ask the Lion Princess herself? I'm surprised you didn't ask her yesterday," she said in her usually dreamy voice. Draco almost didn't notice her subtle hinting at the date. He grinned triumphantly. Finally she had given in.
"Or perhaps," she added thoughtfully, "you weren't using your time for talking?"
Draco cursed his fair complexion as he felt heat rush to his face. Was she implying what he thought she was? But the girl always seemed so innocent, almost childishly so.
He opened his mouth, gaping in a way that was not at all appropriate for a Malfoy.
"It seems your date went well," Lovegood said, chuckling in amusement. The cheerful expression on her face really suited her well, Draco observed. Most of the time she seemed like she was far away, drawn into her own little world but the way her face crinkled up in amusement was really sweet. He had never really had a friend like her. All observant and a little quirky. If he was honest he had never had a real friend period.
But wait. Had he just referred to Luna Lovegood as a friend? When had his life started to turn upside down like this?
"So, when are you seeing her again?" Luna asked, there was a gleam in her eyes that seemed right-down smug.
"I… uh," he was at a loss of words. "Soon."
Lovegood raised an eyebrow at that. "You forgot to ask her?" She wondered.
"Of course I asked her! We simply haven't agreed on a day yet."
"I see," Lovegood said with a sceptical undertone.
Draco frowned. "Well, it's not like I can just go up to her and ask, is it?" He burst out in frustration. Lovegood tapped her chin thoughtfully, completely unfazed by his outburst. "You could write her a note," she suggested, "I could get it to her, if you want."
Draco considered her idea for a moment. He had already thought of something similar himself.
"Or I don't know you could hide it somewhere. Maybe inside a book? Or send a school owl?" Luna shrugged.
She was really trying to help him. Draco found that he appreciated that, although he wasn't sure he liked her ideas. Well, they were a hundred times better than anything Crabbe or Goyle would have come up with. He sighed, letting his forehead sink against his palm.
"Fine," he agreed, "What shall I write?" He looked at the Ravenclaw expectantly. But to his immense disappointment she gave him a look that clearly said, 'I'm not your personal love letter writing house elf'. Or something along those lines anyway. What did he know? With an eyeroll he tore a page out of his journal, picked up his quill and started to write.
…
HALEY
"This doesn't make any sense without Hermione. What's taking her so long anyway?" Ron mumbled, as he frustratedly shoved his assignment for History of Magic away from him.
"It hasn't even been five minutes," Haley answered, "We could at least try to solve these questions without her." She stared down onto the blank parchment, quill in hand and willed the answers to pop up in her head. The first question was: How many kings did Melisandre, the Red Woman, bewitch and why did she fail each time? Name her most favoured area of magic.
Ron glanced over toward her parchment sceptically. "Yeah? Did you take notes? Were you even listening to Binns?" He asked.
Haley looked away sheepishly. She hadn't been able to focus much today at all. She could barely stop herself from blushing at the thought of the person that had been wandering all over her mind.
She put her quill down and rested her chin in her palm. "Fine. Let's wait."
They had barely started on their assignments, when Hermione had declared she couldn't answer one of the questions without looking up a date Binns had mentioned in their fourth year. And being Hermione, she had of course kept her notes from all of their previous years and brought them with her to Hogwarts. It hadn't been more than five minutes since she had left to fetch her notes from their dorms. Naturally that resulted in Ron, dozing off on the table and Haley absently doodling on the margin of the parchment.
"Wouldn't sleeping in your beds be more comfortable?" Asked somebody curiously. The Gryffindors looked up almost at the same time. Luna Lovegood took a seat next to Haley and placed a huge pile of books on top of the table. The lowest was a book about… dragons? She could only see the last part of the title. Well, it didn't matter anyway.
"What are you doing here?" Ron asked with a slight frown.
Luna looked at him for a second. Perhaps she was wondering how a person could be this impolite.
"You've got some drool on your chin," she informed him, not unkindly, before turning her eyes to Haley. "Did you find a room yet?" She asked, "For our secret organization?" She whispered the words 'secret organization' like they referred to an exciting mystery.
"It's not a secret organization," Ron said, sounding sort of disgruntled as he subtly rubbed over the corners of his mouth with his shirt sleeve.
"What is it then?" Luna asked, still sounding more curious than anything else.
Her direct question and her boring eyes seemed to startle him. "Uh, well…" He scratched his neck and his features turned into a boyish grin.
"Haley?" Ron turned to her for help. Haley shrugged. She didn't really care about the correct term for their little defence group at the moment. She was much more concerned with Luna's presence at their table. She liked Luna. She really did. But she didn't want her to still be here once Hermione came back. Not when Haley still didn't know how much the Ravenclaw knew about her and Malfoy. Or why she had decided to help her out yesterday. Regardless of the fact that her help had possibly made Hermione even more suspicious than she had been before.
"We haven't found a room yet," Haley answered Luna's earlier question, "We're still looking but we'll let you know as soon as we find something, okay?" While she was trying not to sound too dismissive, she kept looking toward the entrance of the library in case Hermione returned. She bit her lips nervously.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to steal your time. I'll wait for your message," Luna replied with a dreamy smile. She knew it. She had been too harsh.
Haley shook her head. "No-" she began to say but it was Ron, who continued her sentence.
"Don't worry. We're just lazing about anyway," he said with an easy grin.
"I can see that," Luna said, the beginning of a smile tugging at her lips. Haley's eyes flickered to the entrance once more. There was no sight of Hermione still. But this time Luna followed her gaze as well. She got up from the table and reached for her pile of books. "Good luck with your assignments," she encouraged them cheerfully and walked toward the back of the library. Haley sighed in relief. She really needed to have a talk with Luna. Without either of her two best friends present preferably.
"Didn't you say we should be nice to her?" Ron asked, slightly frowning at her. She… vaguely remembered saying something like that.
"I…did?" Haley offered. Since when did he remember things like these?
"You did," Ron insisted, nodding, "Ginny told me how her house mates treat her. It's not right. At least we, as members of the same secret organization, shouldn't treat her like that."
"Definitely," Haley agreed, nodding her head enthusiastically.
"You weren't exactly friendly though," Ron argued. What even? He was such a hypocrite!
"I'll be more friendly next time, promise," she said, trying to hide her exasperation. Why couldn't he let it go already? Hermione could be back any second now.
Her redheaded friend regarded her for a few seconds. Then he nodded once. "Okay," he said just as Haley spotted a mane of hazelnut brown hair make its way toward them.
"I found the notes I was looking for!" Hermione declared, "How far did you get?"
Her gaze wandered from Haley to Ron and finally lingered on their blank parchments. She rolled her eyes and sighed. "I see. This really shouldn't be that surprising," she muttered taking the seat Luna had vacated only minutes before and spread out her notes over the table. Working on the assignment wasn't any more fun than it had been before but with Hermione present they at least got something done. Hours later, after the last questions had been sufficiently answered, they finally set down their quills and closed the last book.
"Will you put these back," Hermione asked tiredly, nodding toward the books that were still left on the table.
"Sure," Haley answered. Hermione had done most of the brain work. It was only fair that Ron and her at least got rid of the books.
Hermione was piling up all of her notes in front of her when her eyes landed on something strange.
"What did you need that for?" She asked in a sceptical tone, gesturing toward a lone book on the opposite side of the table. The Princess and the Dragon: Letters written in Fire, said the title. What was that? Then Haley noticed something between the pages that didn't seem to belong there. A note. Then she remembered. It was one of the books Luna had brought with her. A picture made out of several little pieces slowly began to take form in her mind.
Almost instinctively she realised that Luna hadn't come to their table solely to find out whether they had found a room yet. She had left the book on the table deliberately. She was somehow connected to Malfoy. Dragon stood for Draco and the subtitle was Letters written in Fire. He was trying to send her a message. Through that book. And now Hermione had noticed, too! Why hadn't she noticed the book sooner?
"Oh. Wasn't that already here, when we arrived?" Haley asked innocently, as she grabbed the book and put it on top of her pile.
"Was it?" Hermione frowned, "Well, it doesn't matter anyway," She yawned, stretching her arms above her head. "It's really time to go to bed now."
Phew. She hadn't seen the note. Haley was about to turn when Ron's voice called back, "Wait. There's something stuck between the pages."
Damn it. "What?" She almost squeaked.
"There," Ron repeated, pointing toward the suspicious book. Why was he this observant today? What was wrong with him?
"Oh that?" Haley said, trying to sound surprised. She balanced the pile of books against her hip and fished out the note with her free hand. At least it was folded. With slightly shaking fingers she opened the note and let her eyes flick over it quickly. She recognised the writing at once. But there was no time to go over the meaning now. First she needed to convince her friends that it wasn't anything important.
"It's just some note. Seems like the person jotted down their thoughts while reading or something," she mumbled, in a hopefully convincing tone. Clearing her throat nervously, she slipped the note back between the pages and finally turned around. The skeptical gazes she felt on her back, while marching further into the library, were positively burning a hole through her skin. She put the books back into their shelves at record speed, not daring to linger longer than necessary as not to raise her friends' suspicions. With the note hidden inside her sleeve she quickly returned to their table. On their way back to Gryffindor Tower no one mentioned the book or the piece of paper again.
…
Thanks to Dobby, they had finally found a room for their defence meetings. Now, the question was when they were going to meet.
"I really don't see any other option. That's the only evening, where none of the houses have Quidditch or any other clubs," Hermione was telling Haley and Ron in a hushed voice as they exited the green house. It was a rainy Wednesday and Angelina had cancelled their Quidditch training due to the bad weather. Haley frowned. Wednesday…
"We should quickly inform everyone that we're going to have the first meeting today," Hemione continued, "Or are you not okay with that? Is there something else you wanted to do tonight?" She asked Haley curiously. Actually… there was something else. The image of the note she had found inside The Princess and the Dragon was floating before her inner eye.
If you're free on Wednesday, meet me at the old willow by the lake after dinner.
There had been no address, no signature. Less suspicious, Haley thought. It was a good thing, she was able to recognise Malfoy's writing by now. She had meant to tell him that she had Quidditch training on Wednesday but she hadn't been able to think of a way that was discreet enough. After Angelina had cancelled their training she had thought for a short moment that she would be able to make it after all. But looking at the way Hermione was reasoning there really was nothing she could do or say.
"No, it's fine. Let's do it today," Haley agreed. She was actually kind of looking forward to their first real meeting. And like Hermione said it was important that they learned to defend themselves. Still, she somehow had to let Malfoy know that she couldn't meet him tonight. Then she saw it. A blond head of hair emerging from one of the other green houses. Luna Lovegood.
"Isn't that Luna?" Ron asked, obviously having spotted the girl as well, "We can go over and tell her about the meeting!"
"Wait. Don't you think it would look suspicious if all of us headed over there at once?" Hermione argued. That was Haley's chance!
"I'll do it," she volunteered.
"But-" she heard Ron protest, but she had already started to walk in the direction of the other green house.
"Hi Luna," the Gryffindor greeted cheerfully, "How was Herbology?"
"Oh! Hello, Haley!" The blonde said with a smile, "We learned about Singing Grass today. It was really interesting! Did you know that there is a flute made of Singing Grass that produces a sound similar to the human voice if you play it?"
"Really? I didn't know that. That's fascinating. But – uhm… so I wanted to ask you something," Haley said, trying to steer the conversation toward the topic she wanted to talk about.
"What is it?" Luna asked, her big blue eyes shining with curiosity.
How did she start? She cleared her throat nervously. "Uhm.. so.. The Princess and the Dragon… You didn't leave that book on our table by accident, did you?"
"No, I didn't," she answered without hesitating. Haley waited for her to say more but it seemed Luna was doing the same.
Haley cleared her throat again. "So… uhm there was… a note inside the book..."
Luna nodded.
"Do you know… who it's from?"
She nodded again. There was no judgement in her eyes. Haley again wondered how she was related to Malfoy.
"Could – could you – uhm – I mean… could you tell him something… from me?" Why was she this nervous all of a sudden? Perhaps it was because Luna knew… something at least.
Luna smiled at that. "Of course," she answered cheerfully. The girl's honest enthusiasm made it hard for Haley not to trust her. And she really didn't have a reason to doubt her. She was a member of her defence group after all. And she was friends with Ginny. And she was one of the few people that believed her story about Voldemort's return. It was highly unlikely that it was all an evil ploy to... well to what? Sabotage her? Harm her? Gain her trust and then betray her? The more she thought about it the more ridiculous it sounded in her head.
"I won't be able to make it tonight," she said, "But I'm free tomorrow night so if that's okay with him, we could meet then." Haley was sure she was blushing furiously. She felt weirdly exposed, saying all that. "Could you… tell him that?"
"Sure," the Ravenclaw answered, still smiling softly.
"Okay." Haley audibly exhaled in relief. "Well then..." Now that she had done what she had come here for she didn't know what else to say.
"I think your friends are waiting for you," Luna informed her. Haley suppressed the urge to turn around and check for herself. It would seem rather suspicious if she did that.
"Right! I should-" then she remembered about their meeting tonight, "Oh, I almost forgot. We're having our first meeting tonight!"
"Oh!" Luna's eyes lit up with excitement over the news, "You found a room?"
"Yeah, actually. Uhm, do you know the tapestry of that wizard who's trying to teach trolls ballet? It's on the seventh floor and there's a room on the opposite side of it."
"Oh, yes, I know that room. But why do we need a room full of shoes? It's not even a big room."
"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll all fit in there," she said with a chuckle, "Some people call it the Room of Requirement or the Come and Go Room."
"That's the Come and Go Room?" Luna asked, recognition in her voice.
"You've heard of it before?"
"Mum used to tell me all about it when I was younger," there was a faraway look on the girl's face, "But she never got to tell me where it was."
Haley felt a sudden rush of sympathy for Luna. She was able to see the Thestrals, too.
"So, you know where to find it?" She asked softly.
Luna nodded.
"Great. See you at eight then," she said, sending her a half-smile. She turned to go but Luna's voice made her turn back around.
"Haley?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you for trusting me," she said, reaching for Haley's hand and squeezing her fingers gently.
A warm feeling surfaced within her at the sight of Luna's happy face. She had done the right thing after all.
"Of course," she answered, her voice sounding unusually sincere. Somehow she felt like she had just made a friend.
"Did you tell her?" Hermione asked as soon as she had arrived back at her friends' side.
Haley nodded, leading the way toward the castle. "How many more to go?"
As Hermione went through the people that had signed their list on Saturday, Haley noticed Ron staring at her from the side. Huh?
"I was perfectly friendly today, don't worry," she told him.
"Right," he muttered but his eyebrows were knitted together as if he was pondering something. She looked at Hermione, who had a thoughtful expression on her face but didn't say anything more either. Had she missed something? Were they fighting over something again? She really hoped it wasn't anything major that would end up with her two best friends ignoring each other for weeks again.
She decided not to worry about it for now. She was nervous enough about their first real defence-against-useless-Umbridge meeting tonight. And tomorrow… she had a date. She didn't even try to fight the smile that was slowly beginning to form on her face.
…
A/N: Hey everyone! So, this chapter was all about friendship! I originally wanted to also include the date but the chapter just went on and on and on so... you'll get the date next time. And let me tell you... it will start to get a bit angsty... I kind of feel like Luna is trying to take over this fic. Or is that just me?
As always, thank you for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts :)
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