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"Hey, isn't that Hedwig?" said Hermione suddenly.
"Oh, it is. We'd better let her in. Don't want him asking us why we didn't if he sees her out there, else he'll start suspecting us, and that's the last thing we need."
Harry heard movement, and was suddenly assaulted by the smell of sweat and meat, meaning Ron had neared him. The redhead called the owl in, and quickly put her in her cage with a muttered curse. Harry found that he wanted to strangle Ron for even touching Hedwig after everything he had just heard. Shifting a little, he noticed that the mundane conversation Ron and Hermione had started stopped quickly, but went on when it seemed that he didn't wake.
"Oh great," said Ron after a few moments, tone sounding annoyed. "It's Toad-Boy and Loony."
Harry forced himself not to frown. Clearly Neville and Luna were not part of this...betrayal. That made him strangely happy. He didn't react as the compartment door opened, or when Luna sat down next to him-Neville across her.
"Is Harry alright?" said Neville after the required pleasantries had been exchanged.
"He's just napping," said Hermione. "Oh, look Ron, it's time for our rounds. We're Prefects, remember?"
"Ugh, fine," said Ron with an explosive sigh.
They left immediately after, and Harry had barely finished the thought of telling Neville and Luna about what had just happened, when a dreamy voice broke the silence.
"You can stop pretending to be asleep now, Harry."
Harry opened his eyes with a smile, not at all surprised that it would be Luna of all people to realize what he was doing. "Neville, Luna," greeted Harry. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you right now. How've you guys been?"
Though clearly confused about the whole pretending to sleep thing, Neville was the first to respond. "It was good," he said. "More than, actually. Gran said she was really proud of me for everything that happened in June, and that I really am my dad's son." He beamed happily. "She even bought me a new wand!"
Harry smiled, trying not to think about last June. "That's great, Nev!" he said, genuinely happy for his friend. He looked at Luna, who was seated next to him. "How about you, Luna?"
"Oh summer was amazing," she replied, expression and tone both filled with their usual dreamy quality. "Daddy and I went away for a while, and we found a Crumpled Horn Snorkack! It was amazing."
Crumpled Horned Snorewhat? Harry just chuckled instead. "I'm glad you had fun, Luna."
"How was your summer, Harry?" asked Neville.
Harry froze, and while the other boy looked at him in confusion, Luna's eyes lost their dreamy quality for but a second as she looked at him carefully. Harry wracked his brain for a way to play off his summer vacation as boring with nothing special occurring, but before he could-
"The Nargles told me you would be needing these, Harry," said Luna, rummaging in her bag. She pulled out a vial and a small container, showing them to him.
Harry stared as he quickly recognized what both were: a Pain Relief potion and Bruise Salve. "Luna," he said slowly, "if I could, I would seriously hug you right now." He accepted both items and was trying to pull the stopper out of the Pain Reliever, when the compartment door suddenly slid open. Harry looked up quickly, not wanting anyone to see him taking the potion, least of all Ron and Hermione. Standing in the doorway however, was Draco Malfoy, no doubt here to pay his yearly train visit. Surprisingly, he was alone. Harry began thinking quickly.
"Well well, if it isn't Potter, Longbottom, and Lovegood. What, Weasley and Granger aren't good enough for you anymore?" questioned Malfoy mockingly.
Harry smirked. "No, they aren't." Malfoy and Neville both stared. "Now, I swear this isn't an ambush of any kind, so could you please come in and close the door?"
Draco continued to stare in a very unMalfoy like manner. He seemed to realize that though, for he shut the door and, grey eyes narrowed in suspicion, took a seat directly across Harry. "What's this about, Potter?" he questioned. While he didn't have his wand in hand at the moment, he seemed to be awfully close to pulling it out.
Harry sighed. "Do you know any good privacy spells?"
Malfoy inclined his head and, understanding what it was that Harry wasn't saying, took out his wand and cast them. "They're basic," he said at Harry's questioning look. "No one outside the compartment can see or hear anything."
Harry nodded. "Perfect."
"What's going on here, Potter?" Malfoy practically demanded to know.
"I want to call a truce," said Harry sans hesitation.
There was a long silence.
"W-what?" Malfoy looked more than a little confused, and he wasn't the only one.
"I want to call a truce," Harry repeated calmly.
"Why?" The question was asked curtly.
Running fingers through his hair, Harry said, "Because I'm tired of fighting with you. Because you're not an enemy of mine, at least, not any more."
Malfoy's eyes widened. "Are you going Dark, Potter!?"
"H-Harry...?" said Neville in a soft voice that held a hint of fear.
Only Luna didn't react, but knowing her, it was probably because she already knew the answer. She always did, that Luna. Or maybe it was just that she was incredibly perceptive.
Harry couldn't help but smirk. "Not exactly. More...neutral. For now that is." Smirk vanishing, he sighed. "I regret turning you away first year, Draco, and I'm truly sorry for that. Besides, something tells me you'd have made a far better friend than Ron Weasley," he ended with the barest hint of a sneer. Harry laughed upon seeing the uncharacteristic shock in those grey eyes, then hissed in pain.
That seemed to bring Luna out of whatever reverie she was in. "You should take the potions Harry. Oh, but mending the broken bones should be done first." She paused. "I don't know any spells that can check for injuries though," she added thoughtfully. "Would you mind helping, Draco?"
Perhaps it was because some random Ravenclaw he'd probably never really even spoken to had just called him by his first name, but Draco was quick to spring into action. "I have no idea why I'm doing this," he muttered, mostly to himself, before casting a spell that Harry easily recognized as being a simple diagnostic one.
"Where did you learn this spell?" he asked curiously. It wasn't as if they taught it in school or anything, not unless you took an optional NEWT in Healing, and he'd been pretty tempted to try to learn it somehow.
"My mother," said Draco absently. "She's a Healer, and taught me all the basic spells since she's a little overprotective and whatnot. What the hell happened to you...?" he said in a murmur.
"What's wrong with him?" asked Neville, who was both watching the proceedings and keeping an eye on the door, looking a little nervous.
Not even registering who exactly had spoken to him, Draco answered in a voice coloured with shock. "The fore and ring fingers of your left hand are broken, left wrist is completely shattered, the shoulder of the same arm is dislocated, you have two broken ribs, you're nose is broken, and your right ankle is sprained." He looked at Harry and yeah, the unMalfoy like stare was back.
Harry, unsure of what to say, stared back, eyes widening when he was told to drop his glamour and strip so that he could be healed better. Fighting with himself, Harry closed his eyes. "I'm trusting that none of this leaves the compartment." And he reluctantly allowed the glamour to vanish, while Draco used a disrobing spell, leaving him in nothing but a pair of dark boxers that, luckily, belonged to him and not his overweight cousin.
"Holy Salazar..."
Harry kept his eyes closed, not even wanting to see the expressions on the others' faces. If his eyes had been open, he would have seen Neville's shock, Luna's seriousness, and Draco's anger.
"Let me see your back," Draco all but demanded.
Sighing, somehow aware the Slytherin would force him to show his back whether he agreed or not, Harry just turned around in his seat, wincing at the painful jolt sent through his ribs. There was a sharp intake of breath and Harry knew why. His entire back was marred with scars. Barely an inch of skin had been left unmarked. The scars were all made by either a belt or a whip; Uncle Vernon's preferred choice of weapon.
"You can lie down," said Draco in a surprisingly soft voice.
Fighting to keep his magic under control, Harry did so. "Can you heal all that?"
Draco took a moment to answer, and there was a hint of fury in his voice when he did. "A simple spell will fix everything except your shoulder and wrist. The former I can set in place myself, but the latter will require a Skele-Grow."
Upon hearing that, Luna dug into her bag once more, this time pulling out a vial of the bone regrowing potion. "Here."
Shaking his head in what seemed to be exasperated amusement, Draco had her hang on to it for the moment. "I'm going to mend your bones first," he told Harry. When he got a nod, he placed the tip of his wand to Harry's nose, and in a clear voice, said, "Episkey."
Harry fought back a flinch at the feel of his nose mending, and didn't react at all when Draco fixed the rest of his bones. It hurt far more when they had been broken anyway.
"Your shoulder's next," said Draco.
Harry just nodded, remaining still when Draco gripped his arm and shoulder. He bit down on his lip, but didn't cry out as his dislocated shoulder was set back in place. Releasing a breath, he fought back a flinch when Luna began applying the Bruise Salve. He wouldn't have been able to do it himself what with his wrist and all. When Draco was done, he spelled Harry's clothes back on and told Luna to give him the Skele-Grow in order to fix his shattered wrist.
Harry choked at the disgusting taste, but forced the potion down his throat. He knew that it began working immediately, because his wrist began tingling. Suddenly feeling utterly exhausted, he slumped in his seat, and jolted when Luna pulled him down so his head was resting in her lap. Careful not to move his mending wrist, he sighed in content when his friend's fingers began running through his dark hair. Luna was the only one who could touch him like this. He always shied away when it was anyone else.
Draco and Neville also settled down, still across them, and all four were quiet for many long moments. Dark clouds started rolling in and it began drizzling out. It looked as if a large storm was approaching, and Harry smiled inwardly at how the weather seemed to be reflecting his current mood.
That's it for now. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!