By the next day, Draco's unusually chipper mood had settled back into his normal snarkiness. The high-pitched squeals coming from the terrified first years as he stormed past them gave the Slytherin a twisted sense of pleasure. Just like old times, he thought almost fondly before remembering why his mood had soured in the first place.
Stupid She-Weasel, getting me to actually laugh and smile. I'm not some kind of puppet whose strings she can pull to produce the desired effect, he snarled to himself.
In truth, the blond was embarrassed and confused by his earlier actions. He had never felt as carefree as he had in the greenhouse with Ginny. It was an unsettling feeling. He had acted without thinking and that was why he was now avoiding everyone wearing red and gold. Though it was unlikely they would cross paths since they did not share any classes together, Draco was taking no chances.
Contrary to his thoughts, Ginny had in fact realized that he was avoiding her. It struck her as strange that he would feel the need to do so simply because of one afternoon of talking, but then it hit her that Draco would not view it as merely socializing. Most likely he thought that he was dishonoring everything he believed in by acting friendly towards her.
Silly Malfoy, she thought with an exasperated shake of her head. Not everyone is out to get you. If she was being honest with herself, she felt kind of sorry for him. He had no friends to talk to, no one to confide in.
Maybe that was why he had asked her what her favorite color was. Maybe he was trying to act like a normal teenager for once, not like a former Death Eater. Whatever the reason, the Gryffindor was determined to make it happen again.
During her free period, Ginny went to the library to drop off the books she had checked out the night before. There she found a familiar face sitting at one of the desks, studying hard with a look of absolute confusion on her face. "Hey, it's Pami right? Mind if I sit here?" Ginny asked hesitantly, setting her bag down on the table.
Pami looked up and smiled brightly in response. "Oh! Hi. Sure you can sit with me. You're Ginny, from Potions class. Thanks for helping me get the potion right, by the way. Slughorn was really impressed," the blue-eyed girl chatted happily as she pushed aside a thick tome to make room for Ginny.
Waving off the praise with an unconcerned air, Ginny settled into the chair and drug out her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay from the recesses of her book bag. Professor Blackhurst had begun the year by giving a short review of the lessons they were taught by previous teachers but now he had moved on to new topics. The current lesson Ginny was on was about Dementors and other such high-level beasts.
"So, what're you working on? Ahh, Blackhurst. Yeah, I'm having trouble with that too. Do you know what he means by 'and please define the classification of beast vs. being in your fourth paragraph using references to Stump's speech on Beast Division,' because I certainly don't," Pami said with an eye-roll. Her feelings on the matter were clear; it could not get any more boring without becoming a subtopic for History of Magic.
Ginny leaned across the table and strained her eyes to read what Pami had already written down on her paper. "Well, I think he's talking about Minister of Magic Grogan Stump. He's the one who defined the classification 'Beast' in 1811 and created the Beast Division as part of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Halfway through his term, he made a speech about it and stated that there were, in fact, three divisions of creatures: Being, Beast, and...aha! Spirit Divisions," Ginny explained in satisfaction, proud that she actually remembered her lessons in History of Magic.
Scribbling madly, Pami nodded in acknowledgement of the red-haired girl's words, a tiny frown of concentration appearing between her eyebrows. "Three divisions...Beast...Minister of Magic...aaaaand done! Thank you so, so, so, so, so much! You're amazing, really you are. How in the world did you remember all that? Surely Blackhurst didn't tell us that. Or maybe he did and I just wasn't listening," the blond murmured half to herself. Snapping back to the present, Pami beamed across the table at Ginny. "So, is there anything you need my help for? I can't offer much in the way of Potions or Transfiguration, but I might be able to help a little in Herbology."
Ginny's free period blew by, her time happily filled with the constant chatter of her fellow Gryffindor. She could tell that she had made a great friend, one that would actually talk to her instead of staring in wide-eyed awe. Just because she had fought in the War did not mean she was some kind of hero. No, Ginny left that particular occupation for Harry, Hermione, and Ron. They were the real heroes. All she had done was defend her classmates. There was nothing special about that.
Meanwhile, while Ginny was studying alongside her new friend, Draco was enduring another one of Professor Blackhurst's lessons. It was not that he disliked the man, per se, but the class was not one of his favorites by definition. Too many bad memories were stored within the topics discussed.
"Alright, everyone settled down now. Can anyone tell me what we learned yesterday? Yes, Ms. Davis," Blackhurst nodded towards the brunette. Tracey Davis smiled, pleased with gaining his attention. "You told us about Thestrals and how they earned the danger classification XXXX. You also briefly highlighted on Grogan Stump who was...um...Minister of Magic! He created the Beast, Being, and Spirit classification."
Draco rolled his eyes and slumped down further in his chair as he tried to force his thoughts out of the classroom. Is this a Defense Against the Dark Arts class or Care of Magical Creatures class? he thought with a snort.
Blaise noticed the disdainful expression on his Housemate's face and, leaning across the aisle, whispered, "So, when are you planning to have tryouts? We don't have long, you know."
After shooting a glare at the too-interested girl sitting next to him, Draco casually shifted in his seat, resting his hands behind his head. "Oh, I don't know. This Saturday maybe? Father sent me a letter the other day and I might have to return home soon. For a day only," he added, seeing Blaise's narrowed eyes. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to schedule try outs before that happens. Do you honestly think that I'm going to let my one and only year as Quidditch Captain go by with missing tryouts?" Draco asked with a smirk, feeling less assured of himself than he let on.
What if he was not any good at leading the team? What if no one listened to him? His reputation and respect levels had already taken a nose-dive after the War, and now many did not fear the consequences of going against him. Without his name and two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, to back him up, Draco was left feeling like he had been dumped in a strange forest...at night...by himself...with no food...and no wand. All he could do was play it by ear and see how it went. Maybe he would not make a complete fool out of himself. Then again, with his current luck he would most likely come out of it feeling like Ron Weasley after his N.E.W.T.s tests.
Blaise raised an eyebrow in vague amusement. "Well, I honestly don't know anymore. You weren't very...active at Quidditch the past two years. What's to say that's changed?" he inquired seriously, his dark eyes revealing nothing.
Something hard and sharp dropped to the bottom of Draco's stomach as he stared back at his Housemate. He had never really liked Blaise, but because of their families' close ties, they were expected to get along. So the two had struck up a sort of truce. As long as Blaise respected Draco's leadership, Draco would let him get away with most of his comments in a way no one else could. However, that truce ended the moment the War for Hogwarts began, or at least it did in Draco's mind. He could never be quite sure with Blaise. One moment the dark-skinned young man was coolly polite, the next he was plotting his roommate's death.
"Don't worry," Draco repeated coldly, "I'll be there. The question is, will you?"
Blaise nodded in apparent satisfaction and turned back towards the front of the room. However, he could not resist scoring one more point against his Housemate. "Oh, and Draco? You do remember how to ride a broom don't you? I know you didn't get much practice living under the Dark Lord and all, but do try to not make a fool out of yourself. I aim to win this year, and I'm not going to let anything get in the way of that. Not even you."
"Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Zabini, would you two are to enlighten us to your discussion. No? Well then, pay attention or you'll be copying pages ninety through two hundred out of the textbook in detention. Without wands, of course," Blackhurst added with a small smile, seeing the hardened expressions on the two young men's faces.
Merlin, I love being a teacher.
Just to clarify about the Beast vs. Being part, a Beast is one of the three classifications used by the Ministry of Magic to catalogue the various magical creatures that inhabit the wizarding world. Loosely defined, a Beast is a magical creature that does not have sufficient intelligence to understand the laws of the magical community nor bear part of the responsibility in shaping those laws. The current definition was laid down by Minister for Magic Grogan Stump in 1811, and the Beast Division was formed as part of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
Also, XXXX is not supposed to stand for some randome number. It's the actual classification.
