Chapter 3
He could feel where Harry was gripping his arm, and curiously, Draco was glad of the contact. It was strange, the way fate kept colliding him and Potter together recently, but Draco couldn't really say he was complaining.
As soon as Harry step foot into the common room the following morning, bleary eyed and groggy, he was pounced upon by the youngest Weasley, who demanded to know where he had been yesterday night. Ginny stood in front of him, arms folded and wearing an expression she must have inherited from Mrs Weasley.
"I just went for a stroll," said Harry, trying to get rid of her. It was like being followed by an extremely persistent, annoying gnat and all he wanted to do was to swat it.
"Who is she, Harry?" asked Ginny, almost in tears. "Why won't you tell me?"
She stamped her foot angrily, before marching out of the common room, flanked by her posse of admirers and supporters, leaving a bemused Harry behind.
It was at that moment when Ron appeared from the dormitories, also looking as if he hadn't slept much. Harry immediately tensed; he wasn't sure where he and Ron stood, but he relaxed when Ron smiled a small, embarrassed smile and walked over to him.
"I'm sorry about giving you such a hard time over Malfoy," he said. "It is Dumbledore's orders after all, it's not like you've got any choice in the matter. And -"
"Yes?"
"I think Malfoy needs your help," finished Ron, flushing ever so slightly.
Harry smiled thankfully, and the two best friends hugged. Hermione chose that moment to appear, grinning at the sight of Ron and Harry reconciled.
"About time, you two," she said, shaking her head in Hermione-like exasperation.
The trio made their slow way down to the Great Hall for breakfast, ready for a day of Potions, Charms and Defence against the Dark Arts. Only Hermione had completed the Potions essay, but she reluctantly agreed to let Ron and Harry copy it in breakfast, as long as they did it by themselves the next time. Harry and Ron, lying through their teeth, grinned appreciatively, crossed their fingers behind their backs and agreed solemnly.
"Ginny's not very pleased with you," said Hermione, skirting around Mrs Norris, who had just turned the corner. "She was complaining to me about you last night, something about you having a secret girlfriend?"
Ron have Harry a look of mock horror. "Harry!" he gasped, clutching his chest. "You're cheating on me!"
Harry gave a look of pure evil to Hermione. "Hermione, no one was supposed to know about us!"
Hermione was no use at play-acting; she burst into hysterical laughter and was soon joined by the boys as they made there way to the Great Hall. However, their laughter was soon cut short when they saw the scene which was unfolding in the Entrance Hall.
There was a Ravenclaw student, a seventh year Harry was sure was called Julian Donivy, or something like that. He was very tall, and looked extremely strong, and Harry remembered someone telling him that he was the biggest catch in Ravenclaw. In fact, some Hufflepuff and Gryffindor girls went insane over him. No Slytherin girls did though, as Julian was Muggle-Born.
This Ravenclaw was threatening someone, and a large crowd had formed around the pair, most of them cheering on Julian as he advanced, extremely red in the face. There were no teachers in sight.
"What's happening?" asked Hermione to Neville, who had just appeared.
"It's that Julian Donivy," replied Neville. "He's having a go at -"
Harry could see perfectly well who Julian was shouting at, as the crowd had moved slightly – giving him a perfect view of Draco Malfoy. Draco looked ridiculously thin and fragile next to the stocky Julian, but if it had been a battle of stares Malfoy would have won hands down, because he was giving Donivy the most intense glare Harry had ever seen.
"Why?" asked Ron to Neville, glancing at Harry. "What's Malfoy done?"
"Nothing, I don't think to provoke him," said Neville. "But Donivy accused him of being a Death Eater, so Malfoy called him a Mudblood I think -"
The crowd were suddenly noticeably noisier, and Harry saw that the two wizards had drawn their wands. The crowd was screaming for Donivy, and Malfoy looked paler than normal, but he was gritting his teeth as he pointed his wand at his opponent.
"Expelliarmus!" shouted a student from the back of the crowd, and Draco's wand went shooting off into the air, over the catcalling students to land quite near Harry. Draco hadn't expected someone from the crowd to disarm him, and he had been caught unawares. Now, he was wandless and Donivy was approaching menacingly, flanked by some of his equally as well-built friends. Harry had had enough; he picked up Draco's wand and marched over to the battle scene.
He pushed his way to the front of the crowd; people jumped out of his way when they realised that Harry Potter had arrived, their faces split into expressions of glee. Harry Potter, famous enemy of Draco Malfoy, would surely turn this fight into something they had never seen before. However, they were disappointed.
Julian's smiling face which he had worn when he saw Harry approaching was wiped off his face when Harry disarmed him and his friends. Draco looked at Harry in shock, but there was definitely an expression of thanks there as well, when Harry gave Draco back his wand.
"What the hell are you doing?" spat Donivy, surveying the scene with shock. The crowd's catcalling had died down now, and you could have heard a pin drop. Harry could see Ron and Hermione in the background, and Neville – Neville looked as shocked as everyone else in the Entrance Hall did.
"I could ask you the same thing," retorted Harry, positioning himself so that he was immediately to Draco's left.
"That piece of scum had just called me a Mudblood!" hissed Donivy, rolling back his sleeves. "So I was going to teach him a lesson!"
"Yes, but you called him a Death Eater first," snapped Harry. "Calling someone a Mudblood is offensive, but you should be proud of being a Muggle-Born. Calling someone a Death Eater, that's about as low as you can get."
Harry could feel Draco fidgeting slightly next to him, but he focused his attention on Donivy.
"It's the truth!" spat Julian. "Everyone knows what Malfoy is."
"You have no proof," said Harry, summoning as much venom as he could muster into his voice. "So leave Malfoy alone."
Julian laughed a laugh completely lacking in humour at all. "Have we stumbled upon a secret love affair here?"
There were a few scattered laughs here and there in the crowd, but mostly it remained quiet. No one wanted to anger Harry Potter, the famous Chosen One. Then, Draco spoke for the first time and Harry realised that he was still a novice in the art of injecting venom into your voice.
"Fuck off," hissed Draco.
Donivy walked towards Draco, and the entire crowd held its breath. Harry stood closer to Draco, and held his arm reassuringly.
"I'd just watch your back if I were you, Malfoy," hissed Donivy, smiling slightly. "Potter won't always be around to watch your back."
"Oh I will," said Harry, gripping Draco's arm tighter. "So maybe you should watch your back."
It was an entirely surreal situation to Draco, and he felt almost half-dazed as he looked at the scene around him. One minute it had been about fifty to one, with Donivy calling him a Death Eater, and the whole crowd agreeing with him. Draco knew that he shouldn't have retaliated, but at moments like these, he could definitely be his father's son.
And then Potter had stepped out of the crowd and had disarmed that prat Donivy, and had defended him. If Draco hadn't have already pinched himself quite a number of times, he would have been convinced that this was a particularly bizarre dream.
He could feel where Harry was gripping his arm, and curiously, Draco was glad of the contact. It was strange, the way fate kept colliding him and Potter together recently, but Draco couldn't really say he was complaining.
He looked up, and saw Blaise and Daphne behind the crowd, looking at the scene in front of them in confusion. It was obvious that they had only just arrived at the scene, but when they saw Harry holding onto his arm, Draco could have sworn that they both grinned identically.
When Harry had said that he would always be around to protect him, Draco felt a flush of pleasure hurtle through him. Blaise and Daphne had said the same thing pretty much previously, but when Harry said it, the words were electrifying and Draco could feel a pink tinge lighting up his cheeks.
Finally, the crowd was dispersing, and Donivy was reluctantly being dragged away by his friends. The scene was over, and the onlookers hadn't seen at all what they had been expecting. As people walked past, skirting a large path around Malfoy, he could hear snatches of their conversation.
"Why the hell did Potter defend Malfoy?"
"I thought they were enemies!"
"Since when did you stop fighting?"
"Maybe there is a love affair!" giggled two Hufflepuff second-years as they entered the Great Hall.
"Are you alright?" asked a voice from Draco's left. Draco turned around and saw a blushing Harry Potter smiling uncertainly.
"Potter – I -" Draco stopped and swallowed his pride. "Thank you," he mumbled.
"No problem, Malfoy. After all, everyone deserves a second chance," he said, looking earnestly at Malfoy, before going to join his friends Weasley and Granger.
Daphne and Blaise chose that point to run over, loudly demanding explanations as to what the hell had just happened. Quickly, Draco related everything to his two best friends, and was vaguely annoyed when he saw an identical knowing smirk grace their features.
"Potter saved you again?" asked Daphne, doing a very poor job at using a "couldn't-care-less" voice.
"I don't know what you're getting at," started Draco, even though he had a good idea what was going through the perverted minds of his friends.
"Potter has a crush on you!" shrieked Daphne, causing a great deal of passers-by to stare.
"No he doesn't!" retorted Draco, immediately blushing a fiery red.
"Whether he does or doesn't," said Blaise, his stomach rumbling loudly. "Can we go into the Great Hall and get something to eat?"
The three Slytherins walked into the hall, Blaise determinedly leading the way, leaving a squabbling Daphne and Draco to follow in his wake.
Ron and Hermione weren't sure what to say to Harry, as they tucked into their breakfast. He was blushing slightly, and had been like that since he had saved Draco from Julian Donivy. Ron was choosing to ignore the blush and was instead concentrating on copying as much of Hermione's Potions essay as possible, while Hermione couldn't help but smile knowingly every once in a while. Harry was supposed to be copying her essay as well, but every so often he would stare into space, chewing his pen in thought.
Ginny interpreted this behaviour as him daydreaming about his secret girlfriend, and turned her back moodily on the Golden Trio. Neville was gazing at Harry in shock, still not quite over how Harry had defended the very teenager who had tried his best to make all their lives hell for the past five years.
"Harry," said Hermione, unable to hide the squeak in her voice. "He's coming over."
Harry had been in a particularly pleasant daydream, and Hermione's words caused him to jump violently, dropping the pen to the floor.
"What, Hermione?" he asked. "Who's coming over?"
"Draco Malfoy!" she squealed.
Ron immediately looked up, and something very like a scowl passed over his face when he saw the approaching Slytherin. Harry turned around so fiercely, he cricked his neck, and he rubbed it as he scoured the room. Then he saw him, the solemn, pale Slytherin was indeed picking his way around the house tables, earning looks of distrust and hatred wherever he went.
"Why the hell is he coming over?" moaned Ron, blotting his essay accidentally. "Can't he stay over in Slytherin?"
Hermione shushed Ron impatiently, and eagerly watched the scene as it was about to unfold. Harry had his back to Draco, facing determinedly forward as if he hadn't noticed the Slytherin's approach at all.
"Potter?" asked the familiar drawling voice.
Harry turned around, and nearly fell off his chair when he realised how close Draco was to him.
"What's wrong, Malfoy?"
Malfoy visibly hesitated, and noticed how inhospitable the rest of Gryffindor house was being. Neville had quickly hurried away from the table as soon as he had noticed the white-blonde Slytherin approaching, and the other Gryffindor boys were sending him glares and fierce looks across the table. The Gryffindor girls, such as Lavender and Parvati, were all firmly looking away from him. Ron was pretending to not notice him, and was resolutely carrying on scribbling his essay, while Hermione was pretending to read an Ancient Runes book, but her eyes kept appearing over the pages, looking eagerly at him and Harry.
"I was wondering, if I could talk to you," asked Malfoy, looking directly at Harry.
Harry could feel himself becoming slightly light-headed under the gaze of Draco Malfoy. "What, do you mean now?"
Draco shook his head, so that strands of silky white blonde hair fell over his eyes. Draco didn't move them, but Harry, for an odd second, felt the urge to push them out of his face himself.
"In potions?" asked Harry; sure that Professor Snape wouldn't deny himself the pleasure of watching his students suffer with their partners of the previous lesson.
Once again, Draco shook his head. "Could we talk, later on? After lessons, maybe in the library?"
Harry nodded in what he hoped was a completely relaxed, self-controlled way. Draco nodded once, and after a brief look into Harry's green eyes once more, he walked off again.
Harry faced Ron and Hermione, puzzled. "I wonder what Draco wants to talk about?" he wondered, trying to think of a possible reason.
Hermione shrugged, apparently unable to wipe the smirk of her face. "I don't know, maybe he wants to talk about all the help you've been giving him?" she guessed. "I bet it's pretty confusing for him. Anyway, are you going to tell him about what Dumbledore ordered you to do?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, are you going to tell Malfoy that you're only trying to be his friend because Dumbledore asked you to? Or are you going to lie?" asked Hermione severely. "I think he's really counting on this friendship, Harry, and if he finds out it's all due to orders..."
"He won't find out," said Ron abruptly. "How could he possibly? Only us three and Dumbledore know about it."
Yet, Hermione still look worried.
Harry's guess had been correct; Snape did indeed put them with the same partners as before. Only he and Draco looked mildly happy with this arrangement, everyone else in the class moaned at the same time, before dragging themselves to their assigned seats.
"Today," said Snape loudly over the grumbling. "We shall be brewing an extraordinary potion, a potion straight from the roots of potion-making. I will expect all of you in here to do it justice, and anyone not doing so will get detention with me. Not that I expect any to be perfect; after all, not one of you could even brew the simple Agility Potion. Has anyone in here heard of the Desire Potion?"
A few Slytherin girls at the front of the classroom giggled; Snape ignored them.
Only Hermione's hand was in the air, as per usual – Snape took a long time waiting for someone else to answer, before his gaze settled on Hermione. "Very well?"
"It is a potion which allows someone to see a person's very deepest desire," rattled off Hermione without taking a breath. "It is a potion only two people can see the effects of; the drinker and their partner."
Snape nodded, but did nothing else to reward the answer that any other teacher would have awarded House Points to.
"The Desire Potion is not as simple as the Agility Potion, but still easily and well in the bounds of a normal sixth year class. As for this sixth year class..." Snape sneered, but didn't finish the sentence.
"After you have brewed the potion, I want you to drink it, and then your deepest desire will be shown to your partner."
There was a deafening uproar at this, as the students in the classroom realised Snape's plan all along. The Gryffindor students were about to show their deepest, most intense desires to their hated Slytherin enemies, and vice versa. However, Snape stopped the uproar by lifting one hand in the air.
"You may begin," he sneered. "Anyone who purposely brews the wrong potion, or fails to finish it, will be subject to half a years worth of detentions with me. And trust me, they will not be pleasant detentions..." he trailed off, leaving the rest to everyone's imaginations.
With bad grace did Harry start to brew his potion. He didn't want Draco to try his potion; he preferred to keep his utmost desires to himself, and even though Draco was better than the old Malfoy, Harry wouldn't have even showed Ron his most private thoughts.
He chopped his caterpillars hurriedly, and added a few dead spiders into the bubbling mixture. Trust Snape, he really was growing more evil by the second. Harry glanced at Malfoy, and saw that he too looked rather nervous, and was shaking slightly as he stripped the bark off a plant he was clutching.
"Malfoy," he muttered, although the bubbling noises from all the cauldrons in the classroom covered up any whispers.
"Potter?" replied Malfoy, frowning slightly.
"Offence not intended," began Harry, "But I don't really want you to see my desires."
"Mutual feeling, Potter," said Malfoy, throwing the bark into his own cauldron. "Do you have an idea?"
"We can just pretend to drink it, and then make up some rubbish?" suggested Harry, collecting dead caterpillar heads into his gloved hands, ready to tip into the now sluggish green mixture.
"Make up some rubbish?" repeated Malfoy.
"Sure, the old Divination stand-by," said Harry, putting the lid on his cauldron, so that the potion could "simmer for ten minutes."
Malfoy smirked. "Sometimes, Potter, I don't know why you're not in Slytherin."
"Well, the Sorting Hat did consider putting me in Slytherin," Harry confided. "But in the end in settled on Gryffindor."
"It considered you for Slytherin?" gasped Draco, almost dropping his wand on the floor. "Why on earth did it put you in Gryffindor?"
"I asked it to," said Harry, avoiding Draco's eyes. "Because of you."
"What do you mean, because of me?" asked Draco, unaware that his potion was now smoking.
"Your potion's smoking," said Harry pointing hastily. "Well, after our little argument on the train, and what people had said about Slytherin...I just didn't particularly want to be sorted into it."
"I was an arrogant bastard," admitted Malfoy, after a slight pause, stirring his potion anti-clockwise.
Harry's jaw nearly reached the floor. Yes, he knew that Malfoy had changed slightly, but actually admitting that he used to be a bastard? That was something Harry never thought Malfoy would do in a million years.
"And I still am," carried on Malfoy, in a flat, emotionless voice.
"No you're not," stuttered Harry, unaware of what he was saying. "You're not a bastard anymore, Malfoy."
Malfoy looked up at Harry, disbelief written all over his face. Harry continued, choosing his words more carefully.
"You've changed, and it's definitely for the better."
Then, Malfoy smiled, and it took Harry's breath away.
He had never seen Malfoy genuinely smile before. It had all been smirks in the past, and even recently Malfoy had only managed weak, uncertain smiles. This was definitely not one of those, this smile lit up Malfoy's face so much, it struck Harry forcibly in the stomach and it took all his strength to keep his balance.
"Thanks Potter," he muttered.
It had been nice to smile again, and it had been Potter who had done it. When Harry had said those words though, blushing ever so slightly, Draco had found it impossible not to grin. Maybe there was hope for him after all, maybe he could change...
The two teenage boys, aware that they had spilled a lot of their emotions to the other, had hastily got on with their potions and filling in their results on scrap pieces of parchment. However, Malfoy was sure that Potter glanced more times than necessary over at him, and once their eyes met at the same time – before they both returned to their work quickly.
Finally, it was time for the potions to be tasted, and every student filled a small vial with their own potion. Draco was interested to see that everyone's potions were a different colour; his own was a deep blue, Harry's was a red, Daphne's was purple...
"Right," said Snape, smiling nastily. "I want the Slytherins to see what secret desires the Gryffindors have, first."
Draco immediately saw what Snape was doing. Once again, he was favouring his own house. All the Gryffindors would have to reveal their desires to the Slytherins, but Draco knew that there wouldn't be enough time for vice versa.
Harry passed a vial of red potion to Draco, smiling slightly as he did so. For one wild moment, Draco considered drinking it anyway; he was deeply curious to find out what Harry's secret desire was. But when he saw Harry's trusting face, Draco knew that he couldn't do that. God, he really was turning into a Hufflepuff.
"3, 2, 1..." counted down Snape, softly, and at the same time all the Slytherins gulped back that tiny vial of potion, except Draco. He quickly pulled out an empty vial from his sleeve, and put the full vial back in his pocket. Then, he copied the after-effects the rest of his housemates were apparently experiencing – dizziness and some nervous giggling.
Daphne Greengrass immediately squawked with laughter; and Blaise too followed suit. Ron and Hermione looked terrified, and both blushed to their roots when Daphne pointed at Ron and Blaise pointed at Hermione. Hermione burst into tears and ran out of the classroom, followed hurriedly by Ron. One by one, each Gryffindor student underwent deep embarrassment, as the Slytherins howled with laughter. Finally, it was Harry's turn and Snape was watching with an eagerness to see Harry humiliated which even he couldn't conceal.
"Well, Draco," said Snape. "What is the Boy-Who-Lived's hidden desire?"
"He wants to be a Quidditch player," said Draco. "He wants to be the captain of the Chuddley Cannons."
A few people snorted, but most looked simply disappointed at nothing more interesting being said. Snape looked murderous, especially when he saw Harry's too-innocent smile.
"Not that I blame you, Mr Malfoy," he whispered angrily. "But to just satisfy my curiosity, drink another vial."
Draco visibly hesitated.
"He's told you my desire!" said Harry angrily. "Why should he have to do it again?"
"Don't challenge me," hissed Snape, eyes glinting menacingly. "Mr. Malfoy, you heard what I said."
Draco tried to communicate with Harry via his eyes that he wouldn't tell the class what was really his desire. But, he couldn't help but feel slightly glad that he was about to see it. His curiosity was burning him. Harry handed him another vial full of the red liquid, Draco took the stopper off, and gulped it back in front of the whole potions class.
It was as if liquid fire was coursing through him, and Draco sub-consciously doubled up as the fire wound its way down his body. Then, all of a sudden, as if there was an explosion inside of him – he felt surging energy coursing around him, all the way to his fingertips. He felt extremely light-headed, and had to grip onto the desk in front of him to avoid toppling over. And then, his suddenly went pitch black. A face was starting to materialise in front of him, then a body. His heart quickened as the face started to focus, so he could actually distinguish features...
The whole potions class was waiting with bated breath, watching Draco's expression intently. Harry was terrified, he was sure that Malfoy wouldn't reveal his desire, or at least he hoped so – but he didn't particularly want Malfoy to see anything which was in his brain.
Suddenly, Malfoy's eyes flew open. He looked at Harry with complete and utter shock, his eyes opened as wide as they could go, before he crumpled to the ground in a dead faint. The class immediately descended into chaos, with a circle forming around the motionless Slytherin, who wasn't moving at all.
"Out of my way!" commanded Snape, and people immediately let him through, until he was standing right over the pale Slytherin on the floor. However, he seemed to be coming round, his arm moved and then we was groggily sitting up, moaning slightly and clutching his head.
"Mr Zabini, Miss Greengrass, take Mr Malfoy to the hospital wing," ordered Snape. Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass nodded, before they both helped Malfoy to stand up shakily. He seemed to have lost all his balance, and he held onto their arms for dear life. Slowly, very slowly, they managed to transport him out of the classroom, amidst the buzzing of the rest of the class, who were trying to work out what had happened.
"Get out of my sight," spat Snape to the class, but mostly to Harry. The class wasted no time in clearing up their cauldrons, and then hurrying out of the classroom, Harry with them. He didn't know exactly what Draco had seen in his vision, but he had an idea, and if he was correct – things were about to get interesting. Hurriedly, he overtook most of his classmates and raced off to find Hermione and Ron.
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