He's really have seen it all at this point; the Lindsay Heir by some miracle brought along fabric and embroidery materials to the school! Well, suppose having a Bag of Holding had some hand in it; but that wasn't the point, the point was that the heir to a family of old money was sitting in the courtyard with an embroidery hoop! Out in the open, where other students could see a Slytherin doing mundane muggle things! Draco really wanted to drag him back to the Slytherin common room for this alone! According to Goyle, Lindsay was making a handkerchief for one of the Gryffindor students, that's an even worse sin than working on a simple muggle hobby. Still, at least from this angle of the corridor and leaning out of the window ever slightly, he could at least watch the boy work.
A dark crimson handkerchief was being made, no doubt about that; the center was a flower in the making, closer inspection showed him it was chamomile, wasn't that usually found in tea? Why would he be embroidering that? First it was those strange cornflower pins that his muggle mother gave him, Potter, and Weasley, and now he's embroidering another flower? Now that he thought about it, flowers did seem to popup everywhere on the quilts at the family shop along with music undertones, what exactly was with that family and botany? And why was he using this particular flower for that Gryffindor?
"Patience in adversity. Energy in adversity, Ready to embark on bold new ventures." Recited a familiar voice. "Looks like he's making s courage charm."
Draco had to fight the urge to roll his eyes as he turned to the familiar girl beside him. "I don't believe I've asked you for botany lessons, what do you want anyway? Don't you have that new shy badger in your house to play guard dog with?"
Cora gave a dry laugh as she lightly elbowed him. "She's in herbology right now, cousin." She smirked. "And you do need the lessons, how else will you know how to flirt with genuine feelings?"
Draco scoffed. "Why would I need the lessons? I know how to flirt perfectly fine, unlike you, I bet. And honestly, what nonsense are you talking about? Genuine feelings, what genuine feelings?"
"Your definition of flirting involves stalking and strongarming people." Cora snapped lightly. "I know what you did in potions class and if you keep doing stupid stuff like that, you're not going to win Lindsay or Potter over!"
Draco glared at her. "Oh like you know what I'm trying to do. If you're so smart, go ahead and tell me what it is and what I'm supposedly doing wrong. Not like I'll ever take your advice, so why not waste your useless breath?" He snapped back.
That got Cora to hold him by the tie. "Do not test me, cousin dear, I am giving you advice and you are going to take them even if I have to drag you around to do this!" She hissed. Letting him go she pulled back and straightened up with a calm expression. "So, let's state the obvious; you have some form of feelings for Potter and Lindsay, correct?" she watched him nod. "And you want them in your social circle." Another nod. "First thing's first, you're going to apologize to them for what happened in Potions – and I mean a heartfelt apology. Do that and we'll move onto the next step."
Draco scowled at her then looked outside the window to where Chrysanthos was sitting. The boy was making progress with that little 'courage' charm his cousin called it. He knew he didn't really have time to lose right now and he knew that his cousin probably wouldn't let him live it down. A rock and a hard place it seemed, he wasn't too thrilled to do this; why did he have to apologize? Lindsay said he'd rather burn and he just honored that request! Draco pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at his cousin, who looked back at him pointedly. He groaned and stood up, brushing past Cora and knocking her shoulder with his as he did so.
"Fine. But just so you know, he said he'd rather burn, and I only honored his request, so if this goes wrong, I'm solely blaming you because it was your idea." He grumbled, heading on his way to the courtyard before turning his head to look back at Cora. "Well? Are you coming to watch everything go wrong or are you going to stay up here and watch from afar like an idiot?"
Cora just grinned at him. "Bold of you to assume I won't step in even if I'm far away." She patted his shoulder. "Go get 'im, Ferret!"
He really hated that name. He also really hated when she nudged her way into his affairs! Draco shook his head and straightened up his robes as he made his way down the hall and descended the stairs to the courtyard. Before him, sitting under a tree was Chrysanthos who was lost in his own little world and humming a tune as he made the chamomile flower. One look to the window where Cora was and all he received was a thumbs up in encouragement, he was going to prove to her that he didn't need her help; he could apologize with sincerity and from there he was going to do things his way.
"Lindsay, a word if you will?"
Chrys paused and looked up at Draco. "Yes, Malfoy?" He replied, not taking his hazel eyes off him.
Okay, maybe this would be harder than he thought. The words just weren't coming to him like he thought they would. Draco groaned softly and shook his head, taking a deep breath and standing as straight as he could. "Look. About what happened in Potions...I'm..I'm sorry. And I mean it, in the most sincere way I could possibly get it." There, he said it. He silently questioned himself on why it was so hard, and why he actually did genuinely mean the apology. He would ponder this later.
Those hazel eyes didn't seem to leave him, Draco could feel the nerves starting to rise to the point he found himself looking to where Cora was. She wasn't moving, he knew she could hear everything so he was doing something right? Right! He was definitely doing something right.
"Well, uh…thanks for the apology." Chrys turned to his needle work and finished it off. "By the way…your potion turned out the best in the room, and I'm not saying that as a fellow Slytherin."
Draco looked over at him and felt himself puff up a little in pride. "Well, it's an easy potion to brew I don't know why the others were struggling." He looked at Chrys. "You're decent too, and…I guess you know your herbs enough to make an okay boil removal potion." He fell silent for a few minutes. "So, what are you making?"
"Just something to give a new friend some courage." Chrys replied. "I promised I'd make him something so he could go into his next potions class with confidence."
"I still don't get why you're doing this for a Gryffindor, let alone one who lets nerves get the best of him." Draco scoffed, he looked over at Chrys who was tying off his project and winced. "What I mean to say, there's worse wizards than the Professor so there's no reason for him to be scared of him." Still silence and watching Chrys snip the thread. "What do you want me to say, Lindsay!?"
Chrys just smiled softly at him. "You're trying so hard, it's somewhat endearing."
Draco stared at him for a minute and then huffed, turning away and pointedly ignoring the light flush of heat across his pale cheeks. "I am not trying too hard. And what's so endearing about it?"
This was pointless. Honestly, he grumbled to himself. Why was he still here? He came to apologize, he apologized, and Chrys accepted it. End of story. So why was he still standing here like an idiot? And what the hell did Chrys mean he was trying too hard?! He most certainly was not! At least he thought so. He glanced at the window where Cora was. She was still there smiling down at him.
A light giggle came from Chrys, he got up and put everything back into his bag. "You're alright, Draco…maybe rough around the edges." He gently elbowed him on the way. "Just uh…seriously, enough with the stalking, it's getting pretty creepy and I'd like to go about my day without having to look over my shoulder."
*
Herbology was something else. Even though they were discussing plants, Harry actually felt like his brain was fried; he knew what some poisonous plants were, but the details in them left him in a confused daze. Still, he wasn't going to lie; the whole class was fun, after the lecture they were actually gardening some of the non-poisonous stuff and he got to work with a Hufflepuff in potting some dandelions! She was a quiet girl, a strange one as well, but Harry didn't mind, the entire school was strange and so was the wizarding world in general; what could be strange to him was probably normal for her and everyone else.
She had a pink ribbon on that looked like rabbit ears, she only spoke to him through body language – such as gently taking his hand to keep him from grabbing the wrong tools. It was only after class that she spoke to him for the first time. Harry had come back to thank her for helping him a bit and she squeaked upon seeing him standing behind her. "Oh, sorry. Did I scare you?" He asked, giving her an awkward, apologetic smile.
The girl, jeez he needed to learn her name. He thinks her last name was, Hanako? Yeah, that sounded right. Hanako simply held her things close to her chest, not saying anything for a minute before softly nodding her head. "Sorry about that. Um, I guess I just wanted to say thanks for the help during the gardening. I probably would have grabbed the wrong tools if you hadn't stopped me." Okay, maybe he was crazy but Harry swore he saw something underneath her ribbon move. Maybe it was just his imagination.
"とんでもない (Tondemonai).." Huh? Did..she say something?
"Sorry?" Harry asked, wondering if he heard that correctly. It sounded foreign too. He heard her give a soft squeak.
"S-Sorry..." Oh, so she did speak. "I-I said um, Tondemonai. I-In Japan, it's u-used as an informal w-way of saying You're Welcome. I-It's also used to indicate that 'I-It's nothing' in casual c-conversation..." Her voice was very soft and quiet with a light stutter, and she acted like a shy bunny rather than a honey badger, which was the Hufflepuff mascot.
Oh! Harry nodded at that, he just learned something new today. "Why did you move to England, if you don't mind me asking?"
"W-Well, my family got a transfer for their job…" she trailed off. "I-I'm still getting used to everything…"
"It's okay." He assured her. "I know how scary it can be being in a new environment, I had a hard time getting adjusted to my first night at the school…actually, I'm still having a hard time with the magic community…" he watched her tilt her head in curiosity, even tentatively poking him like she was investigating him.
"You…never used magic before?" she asked, her red eyes widening as he shook his head. "W-What were you d-doing instead?"
Living under the stairs. "Living life as a muggle, it wasn't so bad…I mean, I've made a friend before and after coming here, I think you might like him; his name is Chrys and he's from a tailoring family and his family's really sweet." Her eyes seemed to sparkle and she gave a shy giggle. Yeah, Harry thought, she was definitely more like a bunny than a honey badger.
"I-If he does embroidery t-then we'll get along f-fine. Oh! G-Goodness the time, I-I need to go. Um, b-bye!" She seemed to jolt a little and rush past him but Harry called out to her.
"Wait! Um, before you go, what's your name?" He asked, catching up to her. His friends were in the same direction and waiting for him a little ways ahead so it was fine.
"I-It's Izanami. Izanami Hanako, b-but you can call me I-Iza or something else if y-you'd like. Now I reallyneedtogoanditwasnicetalktingtoyoubutIhavesomewheretobe! B-ByePotter!" Her last sentences were definitely rushed as she hurried away from him but he, somehow, managed to figure out what she said.
"Call me Harry!" He shouted after her, garnering some attention and a rushed and squeaky, "O-Okay!" back from Izanami. I think it now goes without saying, as Harry made his way to Hermione and Ron, that he had both just made a possible new friend and had the urge to protect said new friend.
Izanami was always one to believe in fate, and fate was a funny thing. She was clutching a small bouquet of flowers and hurried to the medical wing of the school – it took a while to get used to the moving staircases but she managed to get there without any difficulties! And she was glad she did, she entered the room and went over to where the Gryffindor student was.
Round-faced, covered in healing boils and short black hair framing his face, Izanami approached and set the flowers in the vase next to him as she sat next to him. "H-H-Hey…" she greeted. "How are you…doing?"
Neville was surprised to say the least, he smiled at her and nodded in greeting. "I'm doing a little better, Nurse Pomfrey said I should be good in another hour or two and I'll be able to return to classes before the day's over."
"That's wonderful news." She quietly clapped her hands, she took her bag out and dug out her notes and set them on the table next to him. "Y-You probably need these, T-They're herbology notes."
"Thank you, you're the second lifesaver I know!"
She blinked. "S-Second? Who was the first, i-if you don't mind me asking?"
As she had mentioned to herself earlier, Fate was a funny thing. For the moment she had asked that, she was greeted to a boy with auburn hair and hazel eyes, a small set of freckles on his pale cheekbones and adorned in Slytherin robes. Wait, Slytherin robes? Izanami felt her heart going as she watched the Slytherin student walk into the room, he didn't really look like the typical Slytherin; there was no sneer on his face, his eyes seemed warm and he wasn't staring at her with a devious glint like most snakes would. No, instead he moved to the other side of the bed next to Neville and took out a dark red fabric from his breast pocket and handed it to Neville.
"And here we are." The Slytherin bestowed the gift to him. "One charm of confidence for future potion classes."
Neville took it and looked it over. "It's…a handkerchief, how does this work? Is there a spell I need to recite in order to activate the charm?"
"Just keep it on your person." He explained. "The material's cotton, so it's ideal for if you need to wipe off any sweat, so you'll be rubbing the charm on you for extra confidence boost."
Izanami just kind of sat there for a moment in stunned silence. Did a Slytherin really just bestow a gift to a Gryffindor? A gift that looked like it was freshly made and embroidered, and a confidence charm on top of that? She mentally smacked herself. She should know better than to judge someone based off of house or rumors about said house. Merlin knows she's dealt with something similar enough herself back home in Japan.
She supposed this must have been the first lifesaver that Neville mentioned a moment before. He...didn't seem scary, and her sixth sense in the back of her brain was telling her that he could be trusted so...why not trust it? She's never been mislead before, after all. She hesitantly leaned over a little, catching the attention of both boys as she looked at the flower embroidered on the handkerchiefs.
"A-A chamomile flower...h-how pretty. S-Symbolizing patience in adversity, e-energy in adversity, ready to embark on b-bold new ventures. That's a l-lovely courage charm to make. Did you um...e-embroider it yourself?" She asked quietly, looking at the Slytherin sitting across from her.
The Slytherin looked up at her and smiled. "Oh! You're familiar with the language of flowers as well?" he leaned on his right hand, the smile not fading. "I did indeed embroider it myself, comes with the perks of growing up in a tailoring family."
That got her ears to stick up with her ribbon, eyes were now shining bright. Oh! This must be the friend that Harry had mentioned to her! And if Harry confirms that he's a good friend – heck, Neville said that this Slytherin was a lifesaver, she could definitely trust him!
"W-Well, I only know a handful o-of things when it comes to flowers...you must be the f-friend that Harry mentioned! Chrys, right? Well, I worked with Harry um...in Herbology, a-and we talked a little after. He mentioned you and s-said that he think we'd get along. I um...I said that if you d-did embroidery then we would g-get along just fine. I just uh..I-I didn't expect you to be a S-Slytherin, but you seem really nice a-and I get the feeling that I can t-trust you. Even Neville-san s-said that you were a l-lifesaver, so that helped too!"
Neville and Chrys didn't think she realized that she was bouncing a little in her chair or that she was purring softly...was that normal for her? Neville suddenly blinked.
"N-Neville-san..?" He repeated with a light stutter, confused on how she had addressed him just a moment ago.
Izanami paused and blinked twice before letting out a soft squeak and covering her mouth with her hands. Bunny, Chrys and Neville thought to themselves. She's like a bunny and I want to protect her.
"O-Oops! Um, sorry, I-I'm from Japan and we have s-specific terms for different people...The one I-I used for you is -san, which is more for general use, f-friends, equals, strangers, a-and acquaintances. It's also gender neutral, s-so it also works as Mr, Miss, Ms, and Mrs." She explained, hiding behind her hair as her ears went down with her ribbon. Luckily the two boys seemed not to notice this.
Chrys nodded slowly at that. "I'm slightly familiar with those terms…Dad had a Quidditch match down in Japan one year so I only picked up a few words…not enough for a conversation I'm afraid." He watched the girl's eyes light up at that statement, if there was one thing Chrys knew…the girl was ready to jump at some opportunity.
"I…well, if you can teach me more about flowers…I could teach you Japanese?" she offered.
"Only if you wish." Chrys smiled softly at her. "And if you're comfortable with it."
"Does…that offer extend to me too?" Neville asked, softly.
"Of course it does!" Izanami smiled at him. "I…if you want to learn too, Neville…"
"I would love to!"
Izanami didn't even think the last bit was needed, as Neville had quickly agreed to the offer. She was very excited to be able to share her language and tell about her culture and traditions to her newfound friends. And after properly introducing herself to Chrys, who returned it, she spent the next 30 minutes before she and Chrys had to leave giving them a brief rundown on the writing system of Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Of course, it was a way to pass the time before having to go their separate ways to class but not before Chrys gave her a familiar cornflower pin symbolizing their new friendship.
*
It was by lunchtime that Neville had been released from the Hospital Wing, and all the students exited the classrooms and headed to the Great Hall to pick up some food that could be taken outside with them; Once the small group consisting of Harry, Ron, Chrys, Neville, Izanami, and Cor grabbed enough that they could safely bag, they made their way outside; joining them at the last minute were Hermione, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle. The group weren't certain on the why, but they weren't going to complain, after all they were going to enjoy the nice weather outside with Hagrid with the impromptu picnic.
The autumn breeze felt amazing, Chrys couldn't help but to lay in the grass and watching as Fang, Hagrid's dog, laid his head on Harry's lap, getting dog drool on the robes. Despite the pleasant atmosphere, Draco's presence did set Izanami off, she found herself trying to press closer to Cora or Neville at the sight of him. Unlike Chrys, Draco had the standard Slytherin expression on his face.
Neville took notice and decided to break any forming tension by telling everyone about the charm that Chrys had made and even showcased the handkerchief to everyone at the table. Naturally, Draco took the time to explain how he knew Chrysanthos could make anything enchanting with his needlework, Chrysanthos was the son of a tailoring family after all! Well, the tailoring muggle family that is, but a noble profession – even among muggles – regardless.
"I wouldn't really call it magic." Chrys laughed lightly. "Really, it's more of a blessing."
Hagrid looked over as he handed a plate of rock cakes to Ron. "Still could be considered 'Muggle Magic'." He pointed out. "Ye see, Muggles an' Wizards aren' so much different, we 'ave our words an' spells but the one thing that ties it all is intent. No intent, no magic."
Harry paused in grabbing one of the cakes before tilting his head. "Does that include things like curses?"
"Aye." Hagrid nodded. "There was a woman from the witch trials o'er in the states, Sarah Good, she was innocent but of course no-one believed it, she said to them judges 'I'm no more a witch than you are a wizard, if you hang me, god'll give you blood to drink.' Twenty-five years after 'er death, Ol' judge Noyes died from choking on 'is own blood."
"But that's just a story." Hermione stressed out. "I mean, the trial and everything about her are true but Judge Noyes dying from choking on his own blood? That part is just rumor and speculation!"
"Listen, Granger." Draco narrowed his eyes at her. "There's a thread of truth within every story, choking on your blood is a medical condition; hemoptysis, or pulmonary hemorrhage. Mother's family, the House of Black have vast medical knowledge even if they're not in the profession." He spat out. "So guess what, even if Sarah didn't really curse the man, he may have had one of the two conditions I just mentioned."
"Break it up, you two." Hagrid scolded. "We're not 'ere to discuss what is or is not a curse."
That still didn't stop Hermione from making another jab about the two worlds towards the Malfoy heir. "You know we're going to be learning how to make real charms, right?" Hermione had asked.
Oh, it took every bit of nerves for Draco to not go after her for that remark. Not that he could, Cora was holding him in place through a side hug. He still had a functioning mouth, and he was going to use it to tell this little brat off!
"Clearly you underestimate the Lindsay Family's charm making." He sneered at her. "Every stitch in their creation is magic in its own right, that little handkerchief Chrysanthos made is indeed magical and you're just too blind to see."
"Are you telling me, that the noble pureblood Lindsay Family, makes magical clothing? We all know that Alister is a Quidditch player, not a tailor." She retorted back. "And that he took his wife's name."
"'Ere we go again." Hagrid shook his head. "I swear ye two be acting like a married couple." That got Hermione and Draco to back off from each other with a look of disgust.
Chrys had set his teacup down with a sigh. "Can we not use my family to one-up each other?" He rolled his eyes. "And for the record, my father's former last name was Gauthier we don't have ties to any ancient and noble household despite what the Daily Prophet says."
Draco honed in on Chrys. "That's cute considering you passed our house test on night one and now have a room in Salazar Slytherin's suite." He thought for a bit. "You may have ties to an ancient family that you're not aware of, the question is, which family."
Chrys went back to his lunch, a simple peanut butter sandwich. "Well, even then, I doubt I'll be welcomed among the elite; my grandfather told my dad to do whatever to upset the family they were from so…we're probably cut off from that family."
"Your grandfather caused you and your father to be disowned?" Harry asked incredulously.
Ron winced and nodded. "It…sounds like it…sadly it's not uncommon for pureblood families to cut off members who stray from the mold." He looked down as he said this. "Especially older families, if they suspect anyone's a blood traitor they'll cut them off."
"I just still don't understand something." Hermione said. "Maybe it's because I'm a muggleborn, but what's the deal with blood purity?"
Draco opened his mouth to answer then slowly closed it. "Honestly, my parents have explained it, but I'm not sure I get it either."
"The practice of blood purity started with the Sacred 28's, families who believed they were the purest of the pure." Hagrid started to explain. "Blood status meant everything to those folk, they'd do everything to keep the line free of muggle from their midst. In fact," he looked at Neville, Cora, Draco, and Ron. "We 'ave some members of those families sitting with us."
That got their auburn friend, Chrys to look over with a slight annoyed expression on his face. "Look, just call it what it is; glorified incest. It's like any old family and the Victorian nobles were notorious for this as well and this can also be dated to the days of the Pharaohs; incest to keep the noble blood pure."
His statement alone got most of the group choking to some degree, even looking at him with a look of shock and disbelief. Both Harry, Draco, and Ron were hitting their chests to get the air back in their lungs, Izanami and Nevil were covering their mouths in disbelief, Hermione looked like she was going to be sick, and Cora…even though she was laughing horror didn't leave her eyes, Hagrid just stared with widened eyes. The boy wasn't wrong but he still didn't need to say it like that!
The group fell into silence and it stayed like that for a while until the familiar flapping of an owl's wings interrupted them from their thoughts. Everyone looked up to see various owls swooping down and dropping off parcels or letters for the strange misfit group of lions, snakes, and badgers. Among the mail was the Daily Prophet, the headline alone got everyone's attention as they moved together as Harry read it for the group;
Gringotts Break-In Latest
Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown. Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day.
"But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon
"You know what they say about coincidences." Cora spoke up as she took a bite out of the stale rock cake. "A break-in on your birthday, talk about timing."
"Take it from me." Hagrid started off. "The item in question is safe, Dumbledore had me retrieve it, in case somethin' like this happens, Hogwarts Business you kids don' need to fret about. Now then, some of ye have packages from home to get to."
Deflecting much? Maybe it was best not to press further for now, at least not around Hagrid that is. Harry stared at a small box in front of him, it was from Lindsay's Tailoring; strange, he didn't remember ordering anything from the store, nor could he think about who would send them to him. He silently looked over to Chrys who had a similar box who upon opening it Chrys had dark green gloves with silver trim and letting curiosity getting the best of Harry, he opened his to find red gloves with gold trim! Not only that, they were leather -and he did mean leather, he knew the Lindsay's store always went above and beyond in their creations.
"Now those are quality gloves." Draco praised. "Only the best for those of our status."
Cora nudged him as she opened her letter from home. "Be nice, Ferret."
"I am being nice!" Draco huffed. "In fact, I'm so nice that I'm letting Potter and Lindsay have the first choice." He opened his package to show fine chocolates that…probably costed an arm and a leg even if it was after Valentine's day. "Well, go on, it's an assortment box I'm sure you'll find something you'll like."
There was hesitance in their eyes. Both Chrys and Harry looked at each other and then to the box, they did look good and Draco had a point that they would find something they would like. Chrys made the first move and grabbed one of the white chocolate truffles while Harry grabbed one of the milk chocolates, the looked their respective piece over for a few seconds before Harry took the first bite. The taste of milk chocolate with a bit of a caramel-like under taste, there was also…strawberry in it? He hummed and nodded with a thumbs up before eating the rest of the piece.
"See?" Draco grinned. "What do you think?"
"Didn't think caramel, strawberry, and chocolate could blend so well…"
"Oh, that's not caramel; that's actually Dulce de Leche." Draco informed. "And of course they'd go well if the chocolate is only 45% milk chocolate." He looked at Chrys. "Well? What are you waiting for?"
Chrys looked up at him, then at the piece in hand; white chocolate with…gold flakes on it. He had a feeling this was actual edible gold, shrugging he just took a bite; it was what anyone would expect with white chocolate, nuts inside and…wait what's that orange taste he was getting? It was pretty strong and it wasn't the kind of strong that came from the fruit itself! Swallowing it, Chrys looked at the truffle then at Draco before polishing it off. The strong taste was there but this time it was a little more bearable than the first bite.
"Okay, Draco…" Chrys took a drink of water. "What exactly did I just eat? What was in the chocolate with the gold flakes?"
He grabbed the card and looked at it. "Okay, you had Ambrosia which was Australian macadamia nuts, 36% white chocolate, 23-karat gold leaves and…Cointreau."
"What…the hell is Cointreau?"
"Orange liqueur." Draco said simply, ignoring Chrys' eyes widening.
"Oh, don't give us that look! There's not enough in the chocolate to get ye tipsy, yer fine!" Hagrid laughed.
Draco ignored Chrys' reaction before he moved the box to the rest of the group. "Well, don't just gawk, help yourself."
Ron shook his head. "Nuh uh, I'm familiar with those truffles and I know one of them has wasabi in it. I'm not playing Russian roulette with that."
"For your information, it would be overpowered by the ginger, dark chocolate, and matcha." Draco scoffed
"That's even worse." Neville paled. "Dark chocolate is nothing but bitter tears."
Chrys pointed to Neville and nodded in agreement. "Finally, someone who agrees with me on that flavor!"
"Oh, now you're being cute, Lindsay." He huffed and looked at Hermione and Izanami. "I'm sure these two will happily try one."
With a soft squeak, Izanami reached out and grabbed one of the milk chocolate ones; to her, it looked safe enough, it had little flowers on it! Taking a bite, she felt her eyes shine at the taste of the chocolate and the candied flowers, her nose was twitching a little bit as she took the second and final bite with a happy hum in response! She actually looked over the box to see if there was another one like that, there wasn't and she pouted lightly at that. Draco made the mental note to have their finest chefs make a similar batch of those chocolates and violets just for her.
Hermione shrugged, well, if Draco was offering…she wasn't going to argue. Like with Harry, she grabbed a milk chocolate piece and took a bite, the caramel was a little bitter tasting but it was covered with the taste of the pecan. She hummed and nodded, giving her own thumbs up at that.
"That was…actually pretty good." Hermione praised.
Draco just had a prideful grin on his face. "Of course, they're good! These are one of the finest chocolates out there, you'd have to be a complete idiot to not enjoy these every chance you get!" He looked at the two boys with a light sneer, slightly jabbing at them for their choices. He looked up at the Groundskeeper who shook his head saying how he preferred regular chocolates instead of the fancy stuff.
The small chocolate fest ended when Neville took out a glass ball. Wait…was that…no. No, how often did this boy…
"Is…Is that a Remembrall?" Ron asked Neville, noticing the glass ball in his hand.
"A what?" Harry looked over.
Hermione's eyes lit up. "Oh, I know of those! It'll fill with red smoke when you forget something!"
And filled with red smoke it did. Neville shrugged and looked at the group, claiming he had no idea what he'd forgotten. That was when Draco noticed it, he didn't at the start because they were just relaxing with their lunch and talking about this and that but now that he got a better look at the Longbottom boy…The robes. This lion forgot his robes in the medical wing!
Draco grinned and gently nudged Chrys with his shoe before shaking his head, placing a finger by his lips and silently telling Chrys not to tell him anything. It took a while for his fellow snake to catch on, but when Chrys did notice the same thing as Draco did, he covered his mouth to keep from laughing. The grin was still in his eyes as he immediately tapped Harry's shoulder and mouthed to him; 'Don't. Tell'.
It was a chain reaction with the boys; just silently telling each other not to tell Neville about the missing robes. They did their best to keep up a good poker face whenever Neville would look over at them and wondering what it was that they were snickering about and for the longest time it worked…until Hermione ended the fun and flat out told him what he forgot. The boys were not happy about their little fun being cut short like that, it could be because of the 'goody Gryffindor' trait, but, Draco had made up his mind about this Granger girl; he did not like her one bit.
Chrys, he wasn't on the same boat with Draco, but he sure wasn't entirely impressed with her in the slightest; and if he had to be completely honest with himself, he did worry about that girl's overinflated pride and cockiness. It was going to come back and bite her back, he just hoped she'd catch herself first before it got too bad.