The only reason Draco had agreed to the do this volunteering was because of Theo. Though the same went for Blaise and Draco knew it. Theo had convinced most of the 7th year Slytherin's that if they volunteered to do something for the school it seemed less likely that they were there to cause mayhem. Though from the way Longbottom and Weasley kept glaring at them all, Draco wasn't so sure that volunteering would be worth it. No doubt they had been forced to by their pathetic Granger.
Draco's eyes hardened at the thought of the girl. She had been looking at him early that evening. That look on her face. Such disgust. She hated him, good. He deserved to be hated, especially by her. After owling Harry a few times over the course of a year and a half, Draco hadn't had a change of heart exactly but, he'd had time to sit down and think hard about things. Mainly about the way he was living his life. Bullying people, calling them names, even if they happened to be of unpure blood. It didn't make him a better person. God forbid he ever tell his Father that though.
Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Draco almost jumped. He'd been trained long ago though, not to show surprise when someone randomly touched you. If the dark Lord thought that you were surprised, chances of him laughing, good-naturedly about it were slim. His eyes flickered after the pale hand that touched him, was removed immediately, though not because of fright, simply because Harry didn't want to touch him that much.
"Don't worry." Harry didn't bother to sound too polite. "They won't be bothering you much, just you know, old habits die-hard." With that he walked away. Though they had corresponded, Draco and Harry were by no means friends. They had come to a sort of understanding, and Harry despite his best efforts, had been able to forgive Draco. Ginny liked to tell people who it was because he was maturing. That wasn't what Harry had told Ron though, when Ron had cornered him, demanding to know why the hell he'd been contacting the ferret.
Harry had laid it out simply for Ron. When the time came and they had to go out in public, become the adults they were deemed to become, he wanted to be the one to say he was the bigger man. He wanted to be able to tell people when they asked. Yes, they would indeed ask. Whether or not he could forgive his enemies. He wanted to be able to tell them honestly. He forgave Draco Malfoy. Ron had liked that, he'd liked that a lot.
Professor Langdon, along Slughorn, cleared his throat looking at the boys warningly. Already he could see that if any of them drank from the same goblet there would be trouble. McGonagall had informed him that as a muggle raised half-born, Harry was not against physical altrication, having gone after Malfoy once before, along with the Weasley twins. He rose an eyebrow, his lips pursed, as they silenced.
"Now before you all, you will see that there are six different goblet's each with a different liquid in it, this liquid is indeed identifiable by the color inside. Though they each have a different smell, as well as a taste. You can each drink from the same goblet if you'd like." The disgruntled look on the boys face almost made Allistair chuckle. Of course they wouldn't want to drink from the same goblet's. It remained ingrained in boys not to share, even if they didn't know that's what they would be doing. Something inside of them, something knew, they didn't want to share.
"I ask only that you choose the most appealing goblet to yourself, and drink from it." Allistair added watching carefully as the men stepped closer to the table, standing over it, each of them looking at the goblet's. Harry immediately grabbed one, for him there was no other choice. The crystal blue goblet was perfect for him. Bringing it to his lips, he enhaled deeply. Spicy cinnamon and honeysuckle. It reminded him of Ginny, he took no hesitation in drinking down the entire thing, immediately he felt alive, full of energy. His eyes bright, alive with the taste in his mouth.
Draco watched as Theo peered over a sunflower yellow liquid. His face seemed lit with it, as if the goblet radiated it's own light of sunshine. Theo's dark eyes, almost black, lit up as he picked up the goblet, drinking from it deeply.
He shook his head at Theo, unsure why he would choose such a bright one. His brow furrowed finally looking down at the other goblet's. The two in front of him he had no interest in. One, a dark red, the other a bright pink. Across the table though, a honeyed brown one with a vivid green swirl through it, exhumed curls of fragrance. Draco could almost smell it already. Ignorning that Weasley also had his eye on it, Draco picked up the goblet carefully.
It smelled of vanilla, honey, almonds, something that Draco couldn't quite place. It was intoxicating. The smell alone drove him mad, pulling the goblet to his lips, Draco took a long drink, though didn't consume it all. The taste was sweet, warm, though not over powering. Draco felt as if he could drink from the goblet forever. As he finished it, Draco put the goblet down, looking across the table to see Weasley's eyes on him. Draco felt unsettled by the dark look on his face, though he was far from afraid of it. In fact the glare Weasley shot him angered Draco. Why the hell was he so mad? Because he'd gotten to the goblet first? In his own hand Weasley held the red liquid, and he was drinking from it greedily.
"Once you have chosen your goblet, and drank from it," Though Langdon didn't need to encourage the young men to drink. It appeared that they had each left their goblet's empty. ", you are quite welcome to join the girls back in the Great Hall, I believe the Headmistress still has a few thing's she'd wish to say to the Head Boy and Girl." Landgon opened the door, for them a smile on his face as he looked to Slughorn. Slughorn of course didn't know which goblet belonged to which student, but he knew the circumstances in which the potion worked. He was the Potions master after all.
The boys left the room one by one, each of them drawn to the Great Hall. Though none of them knew why. The girls, already having been dismissed from the Great Hall already by McGonagall, each of them with explicit instructions. They weren't to tell the boys of which goblet they drank from. Each week, on their specified day, they were to visit Professor Langdon for another dosage of their potion. As the boys filtered into the Great Hall, McGonagall could see the looks on their faces, that the potion had slowly, begun to take its desired effect. As they all stood before her, McGonagall gave them each the same instructions, giving them each a day.
"Now, the rest of you are dismissed. Return to your houses at once. Professor Slughorn and Professor Langdon will escort you." The boys broke off from their groups immediately. Theo, Draco, and Blaise all standing beside Slughorn, who had took up his position as head of Slytherin house from so many years ago. "Mr. Longbottom, Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter, I would like the three of you to remain." McGonagall added as they turned to leave. Draco knew immediately why Longbottom was staying, the once clumsy, forgetful, awkward dolt had become Head Boy. Though, he couldn't fathom the reason McGonagall would want to speak with him.
"Now, Mr. Longbottom, I trust that you have informed Mr. Potter of your decision to make him your Deputy Head?" McGonagall asked looking at the boys as the other's exited the Great Hall. As she spoke Draco became more confused. If the conversation consisted of Head Boy/Girl duties, why the hell had he been asked to stay?
"Yes ma'am, I told Harry a little while before I told you." Longbottom said, there was no hesitation in his voice. It remained strong, confident, surprising Draco. McGonagall smiled, though it remained small. She knew for a fact that her choice of Head Boy was the correct one. He would make the right decisions, would be firm with the students but not over bearingly so. His Grandmother was proud, positive her Grandson would go on to do great things.
"Very good, I trust you two will make me, as well as Gryffindor very proud." McGonagall's voice lay almost dismissive as the two of the nodded, confirming that they would indeed make her proud.
"Excuse me Headmistress, I don't mean to be rude but, why is Malfoy here? We aren't allowed to have second Deputies and," Neville's voice waned for a moment as he looked at Draco. ", I wouldn't have chosen him. Sorry mate, just I doubted you'd want to be involved in all of this after everything." Neville admitted, he didn't want Draco to think he wouldn't have chosen him out of spite.
"I am well aware of both of those things Mr. Longbottom. You didn't have to choose him. Miss Granger has taken Mr. Malfoy as her second. She wanted to be fairest to the school. As Mr. Malfoy is the only appointed 7th year prefect, she had no other choice. Now, gentlemen, I bid you all goodnight. Classes start at 8 and if any of you are late, I'll see to it that regret it. After all, some of the prefects are rather. . .talkative."
With that threat looming over them the boys hurried out of the Great Hall. Draco heading towards the dungeons, Harry and Neville towards Gryffindor tower. Though Draco couldn't let it escape him, Granger had chosen him. Why in the hell, had Granger chosen him?