Ch.4: Insomnia

Harry, Ron, and Draco stood awkwardly near the table.

Ron shuffled his feet, intently examining his shoelaces.

Harry cleared his throat before turning to look desperately at Hermione.

Draco stood up straighter raising his eyebrows.

"Nice…weather we're having!" Ron exclaimed triumphantly.

Harry and Draco nodded enthusiastically, murmuring their agreement.

"Oh honestly!" Hermione exclaimed, rolling her eyes, "You lot are complete dunderheads. It's raining out! Now, if you please, let's all take a seat, thank you!"

The boys blinked in surprise as Hermione flicked her wand and muttered under her breath. Four comfortable chairs had appeared scattered around where Draco's homework once lay.

"HEY! You changed my homework into CHAIRS?" Draco exclaimed at the same time as Ron said,

"Blimey, how'd you do that Hermione?!"

"Yes, yes I did, your assignment will be fine Draco. And Ron, seriously, we learned that spell in Transfiguration AGES ago. Accio Chairs!"

Hermione sat primly in a purple armchair and looked at the boys expectantly.

They sat down, and continued to stare awkwardly at the clock, bookcases, the fireplace, anywhere but the other boys.

"Now." Said Hermione, "Would someone care the explain to me those Quidditch moves that Harry was blathering about earlier today?"

She rolled her eyes as the three boys sprung into animated chatter. Seriously, she thought, what is so hard about talking to a person decently.

One only had to come up with a proper topic of conversation.

888888888

"Are you a complete IDIOT Ron? The Chudley Cannons couldn't hold their own against Puddlemere United!!" Draco roared.

Harry stiffened at the expression of outrage on Ron's face. Ron reddened, and then slowly grinned.

"Well, Draco, I suppose you have a point, but they beat out Bulgaria by a long shot."

Draco looked thoughtful before conceding, "Well, I supposed without Krum, the team would be rather useless."

Harry looked over at Hermione, who had pulled out a book about five minutes into the conversation. An hour later, she had slumped over in the chair; book in lap, breathing quietly.

"Looks as though someone has had a long day" Harry announced.

The other two looked over at Hermione, rather aghast that someone could fall asleep in the middle of a heated Quidditch debate.

"Well," Harry said, "I think we all best take a cue from Hermione, and get to bed. We've got Potions at 9 tomorrow."

He shook the sleeping girl awake gently, and she smiled at the boys.

"I see you all didn't kill each other." She murmured sleepily.

With that, she got up, closed her book, and staggered sleepily up the stairs, closing the door before flopping onto her bed.

88888888

Hermione couldn't sleep.

Blast! She thought to herself this always happens when I take any kind of nap. It takes me HOURS to get back to sleep, if I do at all.

However, the day had been productive, and she had managed to get Ron, Harry, and Mal-Draco into the same room without serious consequences.

It made her smile to think of the cheerful banter that she had drifted off too several hours earlier.

The boys, it seemed, had more in common than she had thought.

8888888888

Next door, Draco was scowling at his ceiling.

He had spent an evening in the company of the very three people he never imagined himself being around.

Disturbingly, he had experienced what could only be titled as a decent-no, fun- evening.

It was one of the few times Draco actually felt content as he entered his room.

Usually, his evenings were spent studying at a wooden table in the Slytherin common room, ignoring the whispers of younger students who did not want to catch Draco in a foul mood.

Then, he would sit on a bench and listen to Crabbe and Goyle discuss how many sweets they had snitched from dinner.

Once the common room cleared out, Draco usually slept on a bench in the Common Room.

If Draco had the power to command respect and fear, his roommate Blaise had certainly claimed the good looks and charm, and while Crabbe and Goyle seemed oblivious to the noises of Blaise's romantic conquests, it made Draco simply ill.

And so, he would sleep for several hours in the cold common room, and be up studying before anyone realizes that he, Prince of Slytherin, did not sleep in his own bed.

But that had all changed. Now, as Head Boy, he had his own room. And, being disowned, he certainly was not looked up to as the Prince of Slytherin any longer.

Not that anyone looked down on him. While many of his housemates believed in the Dark Lord's power, Slytherins were smart. They knew that, faced with the task Draco had been put before, they would not have been able to follow through either.

Now, however, he was not sure what his housemates would think. He had spoken with the enemy and enjoyed it.

Not the enemy, he reminded himself. We're on the same side now.

It hadn't been easy, coming to terms with the fact that he, a Malfoy, no longer needed to believe all the things drilled into his mind from birth.

It had been difficult to go to Dumbledore and ask for guidance

And it was even harder to make amends with the three Gryffindors.

At least they had been civil, almost welcoming, to him. That had never really happened before, and Draco wondered what it must be like to be one of the Trio. They always seemed happy to be together, one of the reasons that their presence had always irked him so much.

And yet now that he had been in their company, it was easy to see that good cheer was second nature to the lot of them.

I will become part of that group, he said firmly to himself. I need to in order to survive this war.

88888888888888

Harry and Ron looked at each other in disbelief as they slipped under the covers. The other boys around them were already snoring, and so the two whispered.

"Harry, did that really just happen?"

"What, mate?"

"You know." Ron said, raising his eyebrows

"Oh yeah, you mean the bit where Malfoy just had a civil conversation with us?" Harry grinned.

"It's Draco, seriously Harry!" Ron said, in perfect imitation of Hermione's "frustrated" expression.

The two boys laughed softly.

"But really Ron, I did have a good time tonight." Harry said.

"Yeah, me too mate. It's just odd to think of."

The two were silent for a moment.

"Hey Harry?"

"Yeah Ron?"

"Do you think that Mal-I mean Draco is really going to help us?"

"Well, Dumbledore seems to believe him."

"Dumbledore trusts Snape." Ron returned.

"But Hermione seems to think he's alright too. She's a good judge of these things, and after all, she is the one who heard his full story. I think we ought to give him a second chance." Harry replied after a pause.

"Yeah, I suppose so. Well, sleep well Harry."

"Night, Ron."

The two turned away from each other, and moments later, Harry heard Ron's snore.

His fingers lightly touched the scar on his forehead, but there was no pain. He knew, deep down, that he would learn to trust Draco, but he was not sure what help Voldemort's former supporter would really bring to the War.

Then again, Malfoy was very smart, and the Order could use all the help it could muster.

With that though, Harry closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Thanks for the reviews, hope you enjoy this next bit!

If you have and comments or questions about the story, just let me know!
Elizabeth