Chapter 8: Not-So-Secret Secrets
I went to the Great Hall for breakfast. No one even really noticed anything out of the ordinary at first. Nothing happened until Dean said "Hey, Harry, would you pass the-" and then began choking when he realized who he was speaking to. Then, of course, all hell broke loose.
There was shouting and people were jumping up to get a glimpse of me. It was a bit annoying really. I stood up.
"Would all of you just shut the hell up?"
I had not spoken that loudly, but everyone definitely heard me. Dumbledore stood up, a disapproving expression of his face. It appeared I had made him mad.
"That's ten points from Gryffindor for language, Mr. Potter."
That just made everyone become more frenzied as they realized that it really was their 'dead' savior standing in front of them. The shouting resumed, only now it was all directed at me. I caught a glimpse of Malfoy over at the Slytherin table. He smirked at me, and I countered with a glare that could kill. The noise level reaching ear-piercing pitch, I turned my attention back to the crowd.
"Yes. It's me. Now shut up, will you? I'm trying to eat my breakfast. If you have questions, I sure as hell don't feel like answering them now. Talk to Dumbledore if you're so desperate for answers."
I sat back down andbegan eating a piece of toast. Everybody stared. Dumbledore sighed, and began speaking again.
"A further ten points, Mr Potter. I do not want to hear you speaking like that again." He looked more amused than angry, really. "As for the rest of you, we felt that the best way to keep Mr. Potter safe from Voldemort was to fake his death. Unfortunately, it did not seem to work, so we gave up on that plan."
I snorted. The students, who were more fixated on me than the Headmaster, looked at him in disbelief. He merely smiled obliviously and sat down. Almost immediately the Gryffindors started shouting questions at me, and the other houses started making their way toward my table, ready to plague me with endless questioning. I got up, muttered a goodbye to Ron and Hermione, and rushed out of the hall.
BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK
I sat through my classes, barely hearing what was being said, only responding when specifically addressed. Potions was by far the worst, though. Snape used every chance to belittle and criticize me, as if he were trying to make up for lost time. I was ready to curse him through the wall by the time class was over.
Finally, at the end of the day, I headed to my room, glad to be away from the prying eyes of the world. I was just getting started on my homework when my door opened. I ignored it, assuming it was Ron or Hermione coming to see if I was okay.
"Hey."
Not the voice I was expecting, but welcome all the same. I looked up and smirked at Malfoy.
"I wasn't expecting you to come so soon."
I got up from the desk I had conjured earlier that afternoon and walked over to him. We met somewhere in the center of the room and kissed. It was just getting heated when I vaguely registered the sound of the door opening again.
"WHAT the HELL is going on?"
It was Ron. Of course.
We drew apart quickly and tried for a moment to look as though we had not been doing anything. Needless to say, it didn't work.
"Harry, what were you and Malfoy just doing? What's he doing here in the first place?"
It was better than I expected. At least he was giving me a chance to talk. Malfoy, however, saw it as a chance to excape. "I'll just be leaving..."
I grabbed Malfoy by the back of his shirt. "You are not going anywhere, Malfoy. You are especially not going to leave me here all alone to explain all this to Ron."
Malfoy smirked. "Oh, of course not. Because he's so much more likely to listen to me."
Ron gaped. "I will ask this one more time: What the hellis going on?"
I sighed. "Where's Hermione? She'll want to hear this."
"I'm right here." Hermione came into the room, shutting the door behind her. "I followed the sound of Ron shouting."
I shot a grin at Malfoy. "Shall we tell them then?"
He grinned back. "I suppose so."