Note: Aren't you glad I updated???
I am soooo happy! I love getting such nice reviews! Thanks to all!
LittleWhisper found another de-aged Harry fic today (thanks for that!) and I've read about half. Luckily it isn't anything like this one, but I thought I should remind people that I have finished writing this fic without having read any other de-aged Harry fics! So I'm not plagiarizing!
Thanks to my beta: Rokkis! (I'm beta-ing your fic right after this! It's going to be great! I loooove it! Write more this second! ;-)
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"Draco, darling! Are you ok? Was it horrible to spend the entire day with those Gryffindors?" The last word was said with clear disdain as Pansy came towards Draco in the common room the next morning. Draco cringed inwardly, but didn't let it show. Everyone thought it was only a matter of time before they got together. They were practically betrothed, but although Draco kept up appearances and didn't openly reject her, he still had no intention on letting things go too far. He knew she was one of the prettiest girls in Hogwarts, but unfortunately (or fortunately perhaps) Draco was immune to her. That, and the fact that she was the personification of the term "annoying bitch" made sure Draco wanted nothing to do with her.
"Don't worry about me, Pansy, I will live. A Slytherin can handle any situation after all," he said with a smirk. Pansy smirked back, making her decidedly less pretty. He sidestepped her when she advanced on him and he made a quick exit. It was Saturday and so he technically had the day off from babysitting Harry. He wandered aimlessly through the corridors and out onto the grounds. He usually didn't go anywhere without his bodyguards, but he had too much to think about to bother to wake them up. He walked slowly down to the lake, thinking about everything and nothing.
In the end his thoughts drifted to his father and he sighed. When his father had been put in Azkaban it had been a huge blow to Draco. Despite the fact that Lucius could be downright cruel to his son it didn't mean Draco didn't still love the man. At first Draco had blamed Harry and the Ministry, but then he had gotten to thinking over the summer. Nobody got sent to Azkaban if they hadn't done something really bad. Draco hadn't given his father's work for the Dark Lord much thought, but now, with his father in the worst prison imaginable for it, he had realised a few things. Things were much more serious than he had ever suspected. What exactly was he expected to do if he followed his father? Things that could land him in Azkaban? The idea seemed crazy and not a little scary to Draco. War is coming, Draco thought fearfully, do I really want to fight? His father was in prison for fighting for something he believed in. Didn't that justify Draco questioning his father's view?
"Stop it. You'll be cursed if you think like that," he muttered to himself. That was a good point as well actually: The fact that the he could get killed if he didn't do what was expected of him. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the blasphemous thoughts.
"Malfoy!" a voice called and Draco spun around to see Ron of all people running towards him. The redhead stopped and tried to catch his breath. Draco was about to ask how the Gryffindor had found him when Ron spoke again. "Could you come up to the Gryffindor Tower?" he asked, looking at him pleadingly.
"What?" Draco asked.
"Harry can't seem to shut up about you. He keeps asking where you are. He's happy playing with Hermione, but he just wants you there too. I think he wants to make sure we're all friends or something. Could you just come and sit there for a while?"
"I don't think that's wise," Draco began, but Ron cut him off.
"Look, I'll take the notes for Harry in his next class alright? Just come. He deserves to be happy and see his friends surrounding him." Draco eyed the redhead sceptically for a while.
"Promise that neither you nor any other of the Gryffindors will hex me?" Draco asked, narrowing his eyes at Ron, who sighed impatiently.
"Of course. Hermione would kill us if we did. She's much scarier than you, trust me." Draco wanted to comment on this, but instead smirked.
"Well, if the Boy Who Lived can't live without me, I suppose I'll just have to give the Golden Boy what he wants," he drawled, making Ron sigh impatiently again.
"You have way too many nicknames for him," Ron said as they fell into step beside each other towards the castle.
"Aw, are you jealous? Don't worry, I have a few for you as well. I'll even make a new one right now…" Draco put his finger to the side of his chin in mock-concentration. Ron chuckled.
"Isn't Weasley King enough?" he asked innocently.
"Ah, but that turned against us didn't it? What with you actually managing to keep the Quaffle out of the hoops," Draco drawled, smirking. Ron stopped short and looked at Draco oddly.
"Did you just compliment me?" he asked incredulously. Draco's eyes widened as he realised what he had done.
"Well… don't let it go to your head. I expect it doesn't happen to you often, if at all," he said. Yes, that was better. Ron rolled his eyes and started walking again. The silence that ensued was tense.
"How about Mother Weasley? Because of you babysitting Scarhead?" Draco asked suddenly, breaking the silence as they reached the corridor leading to the portrait. Ron snorted.
"How about just Mrs. Weasley? My Mum mothers Harry well enough."
"She does?"
"Oh, yeah, he's practically a member of the family."
"Well, that's good," Draco said without thinking. Again Ron stopped short in front of the entrance to the common room. Draco had meant it in the sense that he was glad Harry had someone to mother him now, but it had come out sounding like a compliment to the entire Weasley family, which was frankly freaking Draco out! and Ron too for that matter. He opened his mouth to explain, but his minds seemed to come to a standstill. Ron was gaping at him.
"What are you on about, Malfoy?" he asked suddenly, his eyes narrowing.
"I, eh," Draco stuttered, completely unsure of himself for once in his life. "Look, I just meant that everybody needs a mother, alright? Even a Slytherin can appreciate that… even if Harry has to deal with your relatives." The last insult was thrown in half-heartedly, and Ron seemed to realise this. He shrugged and turned to the portrait to whisper the password. Draco thanked Merlin that was over. Silently he wished he could have someone to mother him, instead of just having the house elves send him sweets all the time. Oh, yes, he knew she didn't bother with them herself.
"Draco!" Harry called, running over to the Slytherin the moment they entered the common room. Draco knelt down and before he knew it, his rival was hugging him. It took him a while to regain his senses and hug back. When they parted Harry dragged Draco over to the seating group by the fire where Hermione was waiting.
"What have you been doing?" Draco asked Harry as he sat down in the couch. Harry immediately grabbed a little dragon that had been moving across the table.
"It's a dragon! And it moves!" Harry said, holding it out so Draco could see it. It was the small Hungarian Horntail Harry had had to battle in forth year (Merlin, that's a lot of H's).
"That's nice, Harry." Draco looked up at Hermione sitting opposite him on another couch.
"I spelled the teeth away," she answered his unasked question. Draco nodded and watched as Harry crawled under the couch to play with it. "He likes being in closed spaces I think. He sleeps with the curtains drawn on the bed as well," Hermione mused aloud and Draco nodded again. Ron suddenly sat down on one of the chairs by the chess set that was set up on a little table directly in front of the fire. He stared at the pieces a little wistfully.
"Ron, there's no point in just sitting there," Hermione said. "Do some homework."
"I want to work out my strategy. Me and Harry are going to finish our game when he ages," Ron said, his eyes never leaving the board. Hermione huffed.
"It's not like you don't know who's going to win," she reminded him. Draco smirked.
"Golden Boy been beating you then?" he asked conversationally.
"Actually I don't think Harry has beaten Ron in chess, ever," Hermione said thoughtfully. Draco raised one eyebrow as Ron smirked at him.
"Don't tell me Mrs. Weasley is good at chess?" he asked. Ron's smirk widened into a grin. Hermione frowned at the nickname that had been said playfully instead of hurtfully.
"Care to try your luck, Malfoy? Or are you afraid?" Draco immediately got up and sat down on the opposite chair.
"Malfoys are never afraid when it comes to games of pure skill," he said matter-of-factly. Ron smirked at him and ordered the pieces back to their original positions.
"Boys," they heard Hermione sigh, but they ignored her.
"You can be white if you want, Weasley. I prefer black," Draco drawled. Ron accepted and they started playing. After a while Harry came over and started watching them intently, giggling every time one of the chess pieces attacked or even moved. It was a pretty even game and Draco was glad he had finally found a worthy opponent, though he would never say so aloud. In the end it actually came to a draw, but they were unable to play another game because Harry was getting restless so they decided to go and show him around the school.
xxx
"'Mione?"
"Yes, Ron?"
"I think we need to talk about Malfoy." Ron and Hermione were the first ones up on Sunday morning, the latter dragging the other out of bed because Harry had taken so much of their study time.
"What exactly do you mean?" Hermione asked, though she could pretty easily guess. Without their knowledge the portrait swung open and in stepped Draco. With his Slytherin ears he had heard Ron mutter the password yesterday, and now he was going to give Harry a present without Ron finding out. He was of course making every effort not to think about what he was doing and not analyzing his motives. He found the exercise to be very Gryffindor, but not all that bad, considering the alternative. He stopped short when he heard the redhead speak.
"I know he's up to something," Ron said, the conviction in his voice clear.
"What could he possibly be up to, Ron?" Hermione said a little impatiently.
"I don't know, but he's Malfoy for Merlin's sake! He's probably going to find out as much as he can about Harry and then use it against him! We can't trust him!"
"I know that, Ron! But you seemed to be perfectly fine with our arrangement yesterday."
"Yeah, but that was chess!" Hermione sighed exasperatedly. "I was just doing it because Harry was there! I was being civil, like you told me to, nothing more!"
"I think you were doing more than being civil," Hermione said evenly.
"'Mione! You hate him as much as I do!"
"I don't hate him." Ron stared at her incredulously. "Ok, maybe I do a little, but what about you and that nickname? That seemed to me like more than being civil."
"Hermione, he's a Malfoy! I was just playing along for Harry!"
"So you keep saying."
"We can't trust him with Harry."
Draco was suddenly very angry, standing in the small archway by the portrait hole, fists clenched. He abruptly stalked out of his hiding place and over to the two sitting on the couch, both jumping up when they spotted him.
"Malfoy!" They both exclaimed. Draco sneered at them.
"Of course you can't trust me, Weasel! The only way to make you trust someone is to save the entire wizarding world as a baby! And of course the muggle-born wouldn't know any better," he spat. Nobody noted the fact that Draco hadn't used the more offensive term for muggle-born, but they didn't care. Ron and Hermione both glared at him. Draco didn't know why he was so angry with them. What did it matter? It was only for a week. And why did he care about Harry? Yes, he did feel for the boy because of his childhood horrors. Did his original pity somehow morph into something else? The boy was adorable to the point of melting even a Malfoy's heart. And yes, he had been attracted to the sixteen-year-old. Did he hope to change things when Harry returned to normal? He had no idea. And even less of an idea what this had to do with Ron and Hermione. It didn't have anything to do with it, he realised, but he was a little too busy for soul-searching at the moment.
"I don't know what you're planning, Malfoy, but stay away from Harry!" Ron yelled, pointing a warning finger at Draco.
"You think you have it all figured out don't you Weasel? Well, let me enlighten you! You are just as pathetic and dim-witted as the day I met you!" They glared at each other, their wand hands twitching.
"What's going on?" came a small voice from the stairs. They all turned to see Harry standing on the last step in his pyjamas, looking at them fearfully.
"Oh, Harry," Hermione said, coming towards him, but he shied away from her, moving towards Draco.
"Draco?" The Slytherin knelt down as the little boy approached. "Are you angry with me?"
"No, of course not, Harry. I could never be angry with you," Draco said softly, giving the boy a small hug.
"Harry, get away from him," Ron said sternly, still glaring at Draco from across the room. Harry turned around as Draco rose and looked at Ron oddly.
"Why?"
"Because he's evil, Harry. You can't trust him. Come here."
"Shut up, Weasley! You don't know a thing!"
"I know enough! Any moment your probably going to steal Harry away and turn him in to You-Know-Who like the good little wannabe Death Eater you are!"
"Fuck you, Weasley!" Draco growled. Harry was watching the exchanged with wide eyes that were starting to tear up.
"Harry, trust me, he's evil. You need to get away from him," Ron said, reaching out a hand for Harry. "He's only taking care of you because it's his punishment."
"Punishment?" Harry asked, looking to Draco as tears started spilling down his face. Draco felt his own tears starting to form, but kept them at bay.
"Harry, you've got to understand… it's my fault your like this. It was my… spell that made you young, by accident. They told me to take care of you because of that, but that doesn't mean I didn't want to take care of you," Draco said, silently pleading that Harry would understand. He had understood a great deal, after all.
"He's evil Harry," Ron repeated.
"No!" Harry yelled turning to Ron again. "He's my first friend ever! He said he wouldn't let Uncle Vernon hit me anymore! He said I'm free and then he was nice to me and said I could ask him anything!" Draco knelt down again as Harry ran and threw his arms around the Slytherin's neck. Draco hugged back before gripping Harry's shoulders softly and looking straight into the green eyes of his rival. "You'll protect me," Harry said softly and with conviction that amazed Draco.
"Yes, Harry. I'm not letting the Dursleys anywhere near you ever again. I know what it's like when someone who's supposed to love you hits you instead. It's wrong and it's never your fault. You remember that. You're not a freak." Draco didn't even care that Ron and Hermione were in the room, but he heard them gasp softly.
"You're my friend," Harry said, smiling through his tears.
"No, Harry," Ron suddenly spoke up again. "He's not. He was mean to you on your first day of school. You just don't remember!" Harry had turned to face Ron again with a frown on his face. He looked back and forth between Ron and Draco. The Slytherin sighed.
"He's right, Harry. I was mean to both you and Ron, and there's no excuse." Ron and Hermione gaped at him.
"But… but you're nice now," Harry said, his voice unsure.
"Yes, and I promise you I'm not going to be mean anymore." Suddenly Harry beamed at him and turned to Ron.
"See! He's promised. And when people promise they get a second chance!" Draco marvelled at Harry's words. Was this kid ever really a child?
"Bloody hell, Malfoy! What have you done to him!?" Ron took a step forward in his anger, but Harry stepped forward as well, a fierce expression on his face no one would have believed a five-year-old could produce.
"Don't hurt Draco! I wont let you!" he cried. Ron gaped at Harry. A small part of Draco's mind wondered if Harry had always had a hero complex. Ron seemed at a loss of what to say.
"Ron, I think maybe we should listen to Harry," Hermione said quietly, placing a hand on Ron's shoulder. Ron's shocked gaze shifted to her. "I don't think Malfoy has any intention to betray Harry," she stated. Ron's eyes went wider then previously thought possible. She stared at him, a strange look in her eyes. Draco didn't know exactly what was passing between them, but he thought it was taking a hell of a long time for Ron to get it. "I think you need to trust Harry, even as a five-year-old." Ron frowned in thought.
"Fine," he said, causing Draco to raise his eyebrows. Harry smiled and hugged Draco again. When they parted Harry looked at him curiously.
"What's a Death Eater?" he asked. Draco frowned.
"That's something neither of us are going to worry about anymore." Hermione and Ron exchanged shocked glances. "Oh, I almost forgot!" Draco reached inside his pocked at produced a small dragon. "I spelled the teeth away like your other one, along with the flames. It's a Chinese fireball. My favourite. I hope you like it." Harry took the small dragon and stared at it in awe.
"No one's ever given me a present like this before!" he exclaimed. "Thank you!" He flung his arms around Draco's neck again and the Slytherin lifted him up. He hugged him tightly for a long moment, willing away the slight fear that was beginning to grow in him.
"You're quite welcome, Harry. Why don't you go upstairs and get dressed." Harry nodded and ran upstairs, leaving a very tense silence behind him. Draco's fear was mounting with each second. He hadn't meant to say that about Death Eaters. Sure, he had become increasingly sceptical of them since his father had been sent to Azkaban, but outright refusing would bring a whole other set of problems. Draco closed his eyes and wished for one moment he could take it back so Hermione and Ron had never heard him. He could feel their eyes on him. I'll probably die no matter which side I'm on, he thought angrily. Then he remembered Harry's words, saying he would protect his rival. Draco doubted Harry would still mean that when he turned sixteen, but it gave Draco a small comfort to know that the leader on this side of the war had given him a second chance. When he opened his eyes Ron and Hermione were still gazing at him, eyebrows raised. He sighed and turned to leave.
"Wait, Malfoy." Draco turned back, surprised that Ron had spoken.
"Yes, Weasley," he said tiredly.
"I… you're… you're not who I thought you were," Ron said finally, looking surprised himself.
"You're not who I thought you were either," Draco said.
"Are you-" Ron began, but Draco cut him off, raising a hand to silence him.
"Listen, could we not talk about that? Let's just… get along for Harry's sake. It'll be easier for all of us."
"Ok," Ron said calmly. "So… you want to play chess? It's still a while before breakfast." Draco chuckled softly, shaking his head at the absurdity of the situation. Harry wasn't even there so they really didn't have an excuse to get along at the moment. Draco did like playing chess though, and he liked the way Ron could take a good teasing without starting to scheme something much worse to do to Draco. No doubt from all the siblings. Draco realised that he had been completely comfortable sitting in the Gryffindor common room yesterday. No reason to keep track of the house politics. No constantly looking over your shoulder. Just light banter. Merlin, what was happening to him? Enjoying the company of Gryffindors!? Well, if he really wasn't going to follow in his father's footsteps (to Azkaban, he added in mind) then he might as well get used to it.
"Sure, why not?" he said and the two boys sat themselves down. Hermione shook her head at them in a motherly fashion, disappearing up the stairs to check on Harry.
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Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Please review. Next update will be in a couple of days at the most.