I'm back! And thank you to ToLazyToTry for loving this so much! it means a lot:)
Chapter 4
November 15th dawned blustery and clod. The snow was already brushing up the sides of the wall, so the students had long since abandoned cutting through courtyards and sitting in the trees. The same courtyard where he had first met River now looked to Draco like a frozen winter scene on a cake from his mother's birthday party a few years back. Everything seemed so peaceful and serene.
When you looked outside, of course. Inside was another matter entirely.
He was back in River's cozy little hideaway, which wasn't nearly so cozy with 30 other students packed inside, chatting loudly and lounging on the tables. When these people had shown up at the marble staircase earlier, Birdie had lead them up here, shouting at them to take notice of where they were going. She was no one's babysitter, she said. If you can't find your own way back, good luck making it to class on Monday.
Draco himself had put a lot of effort into looking disinterested in the proceedings. He was one of the last to show up, his hair sticking straight up and yawning as if he had just rolled out of bed. He had dragged Crabbe and Goyle along just for show; neither of them had showed even the slightest interest when the poster advertising the club "mysteriously" appeared on the bulletin board. At this moment, they were slumped in the corner, asleep. Draco sighed. Typical. No sense of purpose. At least he didn't really need them; there was no sign of Potter, Weasley, or Granger. Probably thought they were too good to grace it with their presence.
A complete contrast to the snoring lumps, River was spinning around the room like a whirling dervish, trying to calm everyone down. She had of course noticed him earlier, but only acknowledged him with a sly wink before moving on.
It had been agreed on by both that their friendship should remain secret. Rumors had a way of growing out of proportion at Hogwarts; if it was even insinuated that they were friends, perfect strangers would start patting them on the back and asking if they were planning a spring wedding. Draco had his own reasons, though. If the other Slytherins knew he was on speaking terms with a Gryffindor, he would be kicked out of the cliques and left to sleep outside in the dungeons. Worse, if his parents found out the new friend was a Mud…Muggle-born, he didn't even want to imagine how much trouble they would both be in. He knew Birdie wouldn't suffer much at school (she was already invisible, right?), but his father's connections could make the rest of her life a living hell.
River stood up on top of the table and started waving her hands around to get attention. When that failed, she reached under the front of her robes to produce a long silver chain with a bunch of small things hanging off it. She selected a small shiny object and put it too her lips. By the time Draco realized it was a whistle, it was too late.
The shrill shriek caused everyone in the room to bend over and hold their ears. Grudgingly, they looked up at the strange little girl that had just pierced their eardrums with varying degrees of malice.
"Everyone all settled in? Excellent. Then let's begin. I'm River Dowel and this is the Projects Club. If this is news to you, you might want to consider leaving at this point."
No one moved. Either everyone knew why they were here, or those who didn't were already under River's spell. Draco knew from experience that she sometimes gave off this absolute feeling of …well, sunlight was the best word he had, that froze you in place. He'd only been around her for about a month, and he'd been frozen by light more times than he could count.
"All right." River clapped her hands together. "I should probably also say this, since several of you have already expressed some of your concerns. No, I am not a professor in disguise trying to egg you into doing your work. No, I will not be giving you homework. No, this isn't a study hall. Just a club. As for your concerns about yours truly, let me say this: I am a third-year, a Gryffindor, and a Muggle-born. If you have any objection to any of these things, I advise you to take this opportunity to leave the room."
Several older Slytherins in the back huffed and walked out, a newly awakened Crabbe and Goyle on their heels. Most gave Birdie dirty looks as they walked by, and she returned their gaze with her own startling intensity. Draco shook his head at them before realizing he would have done the same a few weeks ago. Thanking the power that be for this change of heart, he looked back up at his new friend.
"Don't let the door hit you on the way out!" she shouted after the retreating figures. She then jumped down from the table and faced her greatly reduced audience.
"Okay, then. For those of you that actually want to be here, welcome. I will start by explaining that I have no idea what we are going to do in her at all. That's right," she said over the groans and angry protests. "No idea. That, dear colleges in crime, is for you to decide."
"I decided to name this club the Projects Club because that is essentially what it is. A club where everyone is allowed to experiment, research, and discover answers to whatever questions press most heavily on your mind. It's really more of a learning experience. Because that, my friends, if the way the rest of the world works. You take what you learn and apply it. Try, fail, succeed. Nothing gets handed to you on a silver platter, and it's up to you and you alone to make sense of it all. Sure, you've got your friends and family, but when it really comes down to it, you're on your own." As she spoke, her voice became increasingly venomous and spiteful, until even Draco recoiled from the front of the room. As he'd also experienced, that sunlight had it's occasional eclipse.
Seeing the reaction of her classmates, River shook her head and smiled. "Sorry, I get carried away sometimes. That's why I hoped there was more people here who think the same way I do. This way I can have someone to vent at. All this is just as much your benefit too, of course. As I already touched on, you will be much better prepared for life after school then most of your classmates, especially the Neanderthals that just left, am I right?" The tension in the room broke as everyone laughed.
"Now, as to what we will actually do. You each will find a question that interests you and research it. If it's a problem, see if you can solve it. In groups or on your own, doesn't matter. It can be on practically anything you're interested in, or," she smiled coyly in Draco's direction, "anything that's interested in you. At the end of each month, each group or person will present what they have been working on these past meets to the rest of us. The others will ask questions and offer their impute. After that, it will be your choice whether to continue or find a different subject." The dragon smile returned. "If you choose not to present, I will assume you did nothing for a month but talk with your mates, and you can do that just as well outside of these walls. Catch that? Good."
"There will, of course, be some ground rules, because if there were no rules, I suspect many people would end up in the hospital wing, and not just those in here." After glancing scathingly at the remaining Slytherins, she waved her wand. A piece of chalk hovered above a chalkboard behind her that Draco had helped her "borrow" from the Defense Against the Dark Arts for today's meeting.
"Rule #1," the hovering chalk started to write, "I should warn you that this will be the most important rule, as I demonstrated earlier. You will leave your racism, bias, parentage, Houses, and social positions at the door. In other words, should I hear you belittling any student or their work based on these things, I will not invite you to return to our little club. We are all people here, and you WILL treat each other with respect and courtesy."
"Rule #2: this little club must remain within the confines of this room, because I'm quite sure that many of your experiment would…hm, how to put this lightly…be frowned upon by the professors. I should say, though, that stealing and experimentation with other students should be limited to the smallest amount nessacery. We don't want to start something that will get us in too much trouble or that we can't finish, so please be very careful. And absolutely no killing."
"And finally, Rule #3: be kind. The experiments and research of others, however odd it may seem to you, may be very important to them. It also may not work out they way they plan, just as yours could fail. Instead of insults, try to help them figure out what's wrong. That is the benefit of doing this as a group: support and a second opinion."
"Well, I think that covers just about everything. Any question? Things I haven't covered?"
A scrawny Hufflepuff raised his hand. "When will meetings be, mam?" he whispered.
"Oh yes, thank you. Official meetings will be every Saturday at this same time, but this room will always be open if you have a free period or want to get some work done. Anything else?"
No one spoke. It was like River's brazen attitude had stolen their voices. Or their wills.
"Okay then." River picked up the box full of textbooks they had collected from the library on the table, and slyly turned her gaze directly to Draco. "Come with me, then, and let's discover what in this world is truly impossible."
vvvvvv
"Great balls of everlasting fire!" Draco shrieked. "That was the most amazing thing I've ever heard!"
It was almost midnight, but the meeting had only adjourned half an hour ago. Not a single person had wanted to leave. Mostly all they'd done was read the books, but many people already had ideas, and a group in the corner had already started discussing plans to brew a memory-restoring potion. Draco had lingered until everyone else had left, presumable because he had fallen asleep in his chair, and was helping River tidy up.
River was back to her basically normal self. She smiled sheepishly. "Come on, I was shaking in my shoes."
"So? No one could have noticed. Riv, you were so confident! It was inspirational and informative but also terrifying in a good way. And what amazes me the most is that you can do that after people barely acknowledging that you exist for years. How did you do it?"
River blushed, reaching into her pockets and pulling out a long sheath of parchment. "A total of 18 hours practicing in front of a mirror. I'm really glad it went so well. If you don't get respect within five minutes of being in charge, odds are you'll never get it."
"You've defiantly got it, at least from me." Draco thumped his friend on the back. "You could be some kind of politician, or an Auror, easy."
"Thanks." She continued to smile radiantly as they shoved textbooks back into the box. "Does this mean you'll be staying? You really didn't look that into it."
"Of course I'm staying. This club was founded because of me; it would be a shame if I didn't get anything out of it."
She huffed. "Typical Slytherin arrogance." Quickly, she clamped a hand over her mouth. "Opps. I guess I really should practice what I preach." Sighing happily, she looked around her new clubhouse. "Well, Mr. Malfoy, I believe we're done for now. I'll see you…hey, what's wrong?" Draco's smile had faded when she said his name. He looked away from her, crossing his arms.
"I…I really don't like it when people call me by my last name."
Birdie looked confused. "But everyone calls you that. Even your friends."
He huffed. "Everyone ignores you; that doesn't mean you like it. Every time someone calls me that, I think of my father. He was always 'Mr. Malfoy' while I'm just the little Master. He…he lords everything over me, never lets me make my own decisions…Riv, he runs my entire existence." Draco sat on the floor and hugged his knees. "I've never done a thing on my own. He even picks who I'm allowed to be friends with."
After a moment, River knelt next to him. He looked into her eyes, and saw the sympathy he'd always hated. But also something more: a flash of pain. Her own, not his. It was gone in a moment, but he was sure it had been there. "Birdie," he whispered, "you're the first real friend I've ever had, one that I picked for myself because I liked them and not because they are pureblood and have money."
"That's…that's awful." River leaned against her hand, thinking hard. "My family…they've always been supportive, let me do what I wanted as long as it wasn't dangerous and I did my chores. To me, what you're describing sounds like prison."
"Yeah. You wouldn't survive in my house. I'm not even sure I'm surviving."
River looked back at him, one glistening tear dripping down her cheek. "Hey," she said, putting her hand on Draco's shoulder, "just because they tell you what to do doesn't give them license to tell you how to think. I guess being here will help you far more than the others. And from now on," she hugged him hard enough to crack a frozen soul, "to me, you're Draco."
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