The following morning, Draco found himself in the Potions classroom, as usual working alongside Hermione. They made a competent duo, their potions earning them high grades and a good few points to the Gryffindor House.

"Just stir anticlockwise three times and we're done," Hermione said.

Draco nodded and stirred their potion with a confident hand. He gave Hermione a little smile and they both relaxed. They still had a few minutes before the class ended and most of their peers were still working.

Draco spaced out, thinking about his friends. Lately, Ron and Hermione were mostly keeping to themselves, and the blond boy noticed that they slowly drifted apart, no longer talking or hanging out as much. Harry was still as impossible to talk to as before, however to Draco's surprise, he seemed more stressed the last few days. Perhaps even a Dark Lord gets tired sometimes.

His newest friend, Neville, seemed to be in a good mood. The chubby boy was trying his best not to make any mistakes with his potion, but Snape's constant stares and comments made it a difficult task.

Crabbe was failing miserably which wasn't surprising as the boy had to work alone. Goyle was in the hospital wing after he tried to eat a potion ingredient that looked a bit like chocolate. It wasn't chocolate and Snape didn't approve of the boy's explanation ("I was hungry sir!") and sent the boy to Madam Pomfrey.

"Draco," someone called and the blond boy's thoughts were interrupted. "Will you take our potion to Professor Snape?" Hermione asked.

"Sure," Draco said and carefully took the vial with their potion to the front of the classroom where his uncle was standing.

"Draco," Snape said as he glanced at their potion. "Stay after the class, I want to talk to you."

"Okay," the blond boy said. He expected a talk after he was found in the Forbidden Forest.

A few minutes later, the students slowly left and only Draco and his uncle remained in the classroom, standing opposite each other, both not knowing quite what to say.

"I'm sorry for going into the Forbidden Forest uncle," the boy started, his eyes fixated on the floor.

"You should be," the Potions Professor said coldly. After a moment of silence, he sighed heavily. "I don't know what is going on with you Draco," he said. "You look sad, and I understand that being in the House of morons and halfwits would make anyone sad, but it is really painful to see you like this."

Draco's eyes got a little bit teary. Hearing his uncle like this was something that Draco never wanted to experience.

"I wrote to your father yesterday," Snape said. "I expect he should send you a letter soon. I know that it is difficult for you in your circumstances. But you mustn't give up. Find some friends Draco, even if they are Gryffindors," he continued.

Draco nodded slightly. Uncle must think I'm depressed. "I'll try uncle," he said. The boy didn't know how the Potions Professor interpreted his walk in the forest, but he didn't dare to try to explain more. It seemed like whatever interpretation his uncle thought to be true, meant that Draco wasn't going to be punished.

"Meanwhile, drink this," Snape said and handed a glass of something to Draco.

"What is it?" Draco asked as he sniffed the liquid.

"Magical blackberry juice. It should lift your spirits."

Draco smiled at that, Neville told him about this just the day before. "Did you get the right amount uncle? I wouldn't want any blackberries growing out of my ears," he said.

Snape raised his eyebrows. "I didn't expect you would know about that," he said. "And of course I got the right amount, drink it all," he continued, sounding a bit irritated that Draco would doubt his measuring skills.

"Thank you uncle," Draco said and drank the juice. It was tasty and his mood was immediately lifted. He also felt that his legs were a bit stronger than normally, but that might have been his imagination.

After a quick goodbye, Draco left the Potions classroom and walked to his next class, Transfiguration.

I hope nobody will try to pet Professor McGonagall in her cat form this time.

"Why do I always end up in Azkaban?" Neville asked with a good-humoured sigh.

Draco chuckled. The two boys were playing Aurors vs Dark Wizards vs Giant Squid, a new board game that was quickly gaining popularity in the wizarding world.

"You should try to be more careful next time, it was obvious that my Aurors would catch you if you tried to kidnap the Minister during the day," Draco said.

"Exactly, way too obvious," a miniature Auror said from the board.

"Ghttglglglgl," the Giant Squid offered from its place.

"Be quiet would you," Draco said and the boys packed the pieces back into the box, not minding their loud protests.

They were in the Gryffindor common room, the day after their little Forbidden Forest adventure.

"How did it go?" Draco asked, taking a sip of warm cocoa.

"What?" Neville asked.

"The picnic," the blond boy said. "How was it?"

Neville's cheeks reddened a little. "It was nice, I'm glad that I decided to go. We ate some cookies and sandwiches, talked, and played a few rounds of Exploding Snap."

Draco smiled at his friend. "So you became friends?"

Neville shrugged. "I think so," he said. "But she seemed a bit irritated at me because I won most of the Exploding Snap games. She doesn't seem to accept defeat well. But maybe she was more irritated cause the cards exploded in her face a few times," the boy continued.

"That might have been it," Draco said, thinking hard. "But who knows, girls are weird."

As it turned out, his uncle had told him the truth, and the very next morning, Draco found himself getting a letter from his father. With a curious expression, the boy opened the letter and read its contents.

Dear Draco,

I'm writing this letter because your uncle has recently contacted me with some worrying news. From what I understood, you are sad and seek risky dangerous adventures in order to feel some excitement because you think that that will make you happy. I don't know the reason for your unhappiness as you are a fantastic person in the best House of the best magical school there is. And, of course, you are the best son of the best father in the world. So really, you should be quite happy and proud. However, my only concern is your happiness, and if you think that these risky adventures will make you happy, then I will generously help you with your risky adventures. Included you will find a few books that I think might help you out and a special surprise gift from your incredible father. Open it when you're alone.

Good luck and be happy, love you, Lucius

Draco eyed the package curiously. His father seemed to have misinterpreted the events once again, but that was really to be expected. However, the letter still brought a smile to his face, and with the package in one hand and a piece of toast in the other, Draco left the Great Hall in order to find a private place.

Once he made sure that nobody could see him, he unwrapped the package. There were a few books inside, but the really interesting thing was the surprise gift.

Draco gasped as he read what it was. It was an invisibility cloak, the package looking a bit shady, but seeming to be of very high quality. Father must have bought it in the Knockturn Alley.

Still, the boy found himself hiding the cloak carefully. It opened a lot of possibilities for him, and the boy couldn't hide his excitement as he walked in the direction of the Gryffindor common room.

With this, even spying on the Dark Lord might be possible.