Draco woke early on Saturday. Truth be told, he'd hardly slept. He still couldn't believe that he would be going on a date that afternoon. A date. With Harry Potter. His vision started to go fuzzy, and he held his breath, trying to slow his racing heart. It wasn't a big deal. Ginny and Luna would be there, after all. And they weren't telling anyone it was a date, since none of them were ready to come out. So… it wasn't a real date, exactly. Just…
He'd never been on a date before. What was he supposed to say? What was he supposed to do? Oh, Salazar. What was he supposed to wear?
OK. Calm down. Get a grip.
He had hours before they were supposed to meet. He couldn't just sit here - he'd go mad. So. Right. He'd pick out his outfit now, so he could avoid stressing about it later, and do what he always did now when he got anxious.
Twenty minutes later, he stood outside Hagrid's door, hand poised to knock. He was vibrating with nervous energy - he needed this, but… while Hagrid was used to him stopping by at odd hours, he'd never visited this early before. Would he even be awake? The sun hadn't even properly risen - the world was a silent watercolor, washed in pale dawn light. Draco felt paralyzed by indecision. He didn't want to wake Hagrid, didn't want to jeopardize his welcome here, and the one anxiety relief he had found, but he couldn't imagine walking back to the castle now.
A shrill whistle shattered the preternatural stillness, and Draco jumped.
"Oi! Malfoy!" He turned, the tense line of his shoulders slowly relaxing, to see Hagrid striding out of the forest.
"Hagrid." He nodded, the energy fizzing and crackling along his nerves making the movement jerky.
Hagrid squinted down at him as he approached. "You all right there, Malfoy? Yer looking' a bit peaky-like."
Draco snorted. "You could say that."
"Well, don't just stand there, lad - the door's not gonna open itself, and I'm a wee bit tied up over here."
"What do you —" Draco frowned, suddenly noticing the awkward bundle in Hagrid's arms. He was about to ask what was in it when the bundle started thrashing wildly. He jumped.
"The door, lad," Hagrid grunted, as he struggled to keep his hold on the bundle. "The faster we get 'er settled the better."
"Right." Draco hastily opened the door, stepping back and holding it wide for Hagrid, who nodded his thanks as he shuffled through the clutter that filled his small hut - more chaotic even than usual - and plopped the bundle down onto a pile of rags in the corner. Hagrid sighed as he fastened the latch on one of the cages Draco had helped him build over the past several weeks - the largest one, Draco noted apprehensively. The bundle was bigger than he'd realized, now that it wasn't cradled against Hagrid's oversized chest. Hagrid straightened up with a groan and an audible crack, then pulled a grimy rag from his pocket and mopped his brow.
"Well, now, Malfoy - now that's done, care for a spot o' tea? I've some scones here - fresh-baked; picked 'em up this morning."
Draco smiled. Hagrid, he had discovered, always kept a steady supply of sweets and pastries, and they were always delicious. Whenever Draco asked where he got them, he just smiled mysteriously and said "from the kitchen, lad - where else?"
Dubious origins or no, he'd never been able to turn down pastries, and scones were his favorite.
"D'you have cherry?" he asked, peering interestedly into the tin Hagrid kept in the center of his table.
"'Course I do," Hagrid said, looking wounded. "Can't have scones without cherry, now can you? What sort of tea'll you be wanting today?"
Draco eyed the tea cupboard. He only recognized a few of the packages, and many lacked labels entirely. Hagrid selected a small unmarked tin, scooped a generous amount of the contents into a battered yellow mug, and poured boiling water over the odd, lumpy…things, leaning over the mug to breathe in the steam and sighing happily. Draco wasn't entirely certain that was technically "tea." He wrinkled his nose as he caught a whiff of the steam, resolving to breathe shallowly, and picked a box mostly at random, lest Hagrid mistake his horrified fascination for interest. It wasn't anything fancy - just plain black tea, and an inferior one at that. He delicately plucked a teabag from the box and deposited it in the least-chipped mug. Inferior - but recognizable - tea was still better than… whatever Hagrid was drinking.
The scones, as usual, were delicious. Curled into Hagrid's spare chair, long fingers wrapped around his mug, plate of scones balanced on his knee, Draco felt himself start to relax. Hagrid asked after his week, listening with interest as Draco related Harry's misadventures in Potions and the tricky but fascinating transfiguration problem McGonagall had set him. By the time he got to Luna's bizarre proposition, the tea and butter and sugar had done their work.
Hagrid snorted out a laugh as he finished. "Better you than me, Malfoy," he said, eyes crinkling at the edges. "Now," he added, as he heaved himself to his feet, "I expect you'd like to visit your friends while you're here?"
"If you don't mind," he said. "If I've time, that is." He twisted in his chair to look at Hagrid's clock, and was relieved to see that he still had a few hours before he was to meet the others. "Er, Hagrid," he added, as he helped clear away the tea things, "I didn't mean to keep you from your project…" he trailed off, glancing warily at the bundle in the corner. It had quieted down while they talked, and now seemed deceptively docile.
Hagrid shook his head. "Thank you, but no. She'll be all right for now, I think. Just needed a warm, dry place to rest."
Draco took a step toward the cage in the corner. "In that case, hadn't you better unwrap…er…her for a bit?"
"No!" Hagrid said, alarm seeping into his voice, and Draco stilled instantly. If Hagrid was nervous about whatever-it-was, he had no intention of getting anywhere near it. 'That is," Hagrid said, "she's not dangerous. Exactly. But it's probably best to leave her be for now."
Draco mentally ran down a list of dangerous creatures that Hagrid seemed likely to call "not dangerous - exactly." It was a very short list.
"Right." Hagrid clapped his hands together decisively. "Come on, then, Malfoy. Oh, and grab that basket on your way out - I found some treats for 'em the other day. I saved 'em 'specially for your visit - thought you might like to be the one to give 'em out."
Draco peeked warily into the basket, smiling when he realized what was inside. "Thank you," he said.
Hagrid waved his thanks away. "Don't mention it. Crabapples is their favorite, is all, and I've not much use for 'em, else."
Hagrid stopped at the gate to the enclosure, tucked away in a small clearing in the Forbidden Forest, and raised two meaty fingers to his lips and whistled. Then he turned back the way they'd come. "I'd better get back," he said, "Just drop the basket by my door on your way out."
Draco nodded absently, attention fixed on the sky, where a handful of black shapes were floating gracefully down. He leaned on the fence, pillowing his head on his arms, as he watched the thestrals drift gently down, landing without making a sound. His favorite, the leader of this herd, approached him first, whickering in his ear and then nuzzling up against his arms. He laughed, reaching out to oblige her by scratching her leathery muzzle. "Hello, old girl. How are you this fine morning?" He glanced around, then leaned in conspiratorially to whisper "I've brought you a treat today." Her ears perked up with interest, and he laughed again, light and free. "Can I come inside?"
She nodded and stepped back, giving him room to open the gate.
"Thank you," he said, bowing politely. Then he pulled the basket from behind his back and opened it with a flourish. The thestrals crowded around, making interested noises and completely ignoring his presence. He moved back to lean on the fence, sliding down to the grass and making himself comfortable. For the next hour, he let all his worries and anxiety drift away, attention solely on the thestrals dancing and playing in the shafts of morning light.
"I'm sorry I called you ugly the other day," he said softly, thinking of his transfigured teacup, which McGonagall had insisted on keeping, just the way it was. "You're not ugly, are you? You're beautiful. You just have to look a little closer to see it, is all."
The lead thestral turned from watching the young ones prance, staring deep into his eyes for a moment. Draco held his breath, feeling as if his soul were being weighed. Then she bowed her head in a deep, graceful nod and turned away, calling out to her herd. The mournful, bell-like notes echoed around the small clearing as the herd spun in graceful circles and rose into the air.
Draco shaded his eyes with his hand and watched them until they disappeared from his sight, folded once more into one of the secret pockets of the Forbidden Forest. That was his theory, anyway. He'd asked Hagrid, after his first accidental encounter with them, where they went when they weren't in the clearing.
"Oh, you, know, around," was as much as he'd gotten in response. He still wasn't sure if Hagrid didn't know where they went, or simply didn't want to say, but after some time spent with the man, he was inclined to think that it was the former. Hagrid couldn't keep a secret if his life depended on it - especially if he had a drink or two in him - and he had a reverent respect for the Forest - one that had bled into Draco, somehow, over the past months of visits.
He brushed the grass off his robes, slung the basket over his arm, and wandered back toward the castle, feeling lighter than he had in days.
He realized, by the time he got back to his room, that he'd spent more time with the thestrals than he'd intended, and he would now have to hurry to get ready in time to meet the others. It worked out, though, in the end, he decided, as he took the stairs two-at-a-time toward the courtyard where they'd agreed to meet - he'd not had time to second-guess his outfit or restyle his hair. As a result, the anxiety that had pooled so heavily in his bones earlier, making his feet feel leaden, hadn't had time to settle back into him.
He almost collided with Harry and Ginny when he got to the courtyard, since they were rushing just as much, but from the opposite direction. Luna sat serenely by the fountain, sketchbook open on her lap and quill inexplicably holding back her hair. She raised her eyes from the drawing she'd been studying. "Ah, Draco, Harry, Ginny. There you are. I was beginning to wonder if I'd got the day wrong. It is Saturday, isn't it?"
Draco smiled. "Yes, it's Saturday. We're just all late, apparently. What are you drawing?"
Luna turned silver blue eyes up to him, startling him as always with the sharpness of her gaze. "Mmm. I was trying to draw a water nymph, but she was being a tease. So I really didn't get very far." She closed the sketchbook with a snap and vanished it somewhere in her robes. "But now that you're here, we should go get tea. And then… ice cream? She licked a finger, holding it up and frowning. Hmm. Perhaps not." Her pale brows drew together in a frown. "And I was so looking forward to it." Then her face cleared and she said brightly "Oh well. There's always hot chocolate!"
Draco shook his head, biting back a grin, and held out his arm, years of pureblood training taking over. "My lady. Shall we?"
She grinned up at him, eyes sparkling as she dipped into an elegant curtsey and then slipped her arm through his. "But of course, kind sir. I would be honored."
Harry looked helplessly at Ginny and she rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand, dragging him unceremoniously toward the gate. "Come on, idiot."
Draco glanced at Luna, eyebrows raised, and found her wearing a similar expression. Then she dissolved in giggles and skipped after Harry, dragging Draco with her as he desperately tried not to laugh.
