"Oh, are we doing this again, then? How trite."
Draco didn't even flinch at Pansy's snark. Nor did he blink. He just stood there with his hand outstretched.
Waiting.
"Are you having a laugh, Malfoy?"
Harry was staring at Draco as if he'd never before seen the bloke in front of him. Laughter bubbled up in Hermione's throat as she took in Harry's confusion.
"Never been more serious in my life, Potter."
Slowly, as if afraid this was a prank, Harry extended his hand and clasped the blond Slytherin's. Other than his eyes widening slightly, nothing happened when their skin touched. No hex, nor anny other form of subterfuge.
Hermione saw Harry's shoulders relax slightly. His grip shifting to that of a proper handshake.
He smirked.
"Potter. Harry Potter. Some call me the boy-who-lived or other such rot. I'd prefer just Harry."
He squinted, looking like he was chewing on something, then continued. "I knew a bloke, beyond dramatic, and prone to making the absolute worst decisions. A bloke who had his nose so far up his father's backside that he couldn't tell where his own ideals and those he was raised with began and ended. But, sounds like he's finally figured it out."
He coughed, releasing Draco's hand, shoving them deep into his pockets while continuing to stare at him. "I'd like to get to know that bloke. The one who knows his own mind."
The grin that spread across Draco's face dazed Hermione in its brilliance.
Theo's nose twitched, but otherwise he remained aloof. Pansy rolled her eyes. Hermione smothered a giggle.
"Now you've gone and done it Potter." Theo said, grinning ruefully.
"Huh?" Harry ran his hand through his hair, scratching the back of his head and making the strands stand up worse than usual.
"We've had one week potter-free. Now you've gone and opened up that sac again. Our ears will never forgive you."
"I'm sorry, but you are?" Harry lifted a brow imperiously, flicking his gaze to Hermione with a smirk.
She swotted his arm. "You berk, you know who this is."
"I'm Theo Nott. Heir to the noble house of Nott. A pleasure." He nodded his head, a slight bow of one was looking hard enough. "A simple thank you isn't enough, isn't adequate appreciation for releasing those of us that had no choice."
The two shook hands, the contact significantly less than the handshake between Draco and Harry,
"I know what it's like to have no choice." Harry said simply. "No thanks necessary, I did what any wizard would do."
"That's where you're wrong." Theo said, "Not any would."
Awkward silence descended upon them all, until Harry said. "I'm assuming since Hermione here deems you adequate company, you're not a tosser like your father then?"
Theo grinned, flashing teeth, the corners of his mouth dimpling. Hermione felt flutters dancing in her chest as she took in the tableau in front of her.
"Tosser is a polite term for what my father was, Potter. No need to mince words on my account."
"It's Harry."
Theo inclined his head in acknowledgment.
Harry turned to Pansy. The witch was glancing between them all, chewing on her lip. Despite her bravado earlier regarding wanting words with Harry, now that she was under his direct stare, she paled.
Hermione raised wide eyes to Theo, who gave a minute shake of his head. This was something they had to let the two of them figure out on their own.
As if sensing her wariness, Harry approached Pansy as one would a mooncalf. Slowly, softly.
"Hi, I'm Harry Potter. Were you another who didn't have a choice?"
He didn't put out his hand, rather, let it hang loosely at his side as he seemed to take in the witch in front of him. Hermione was ready, to cast a shield charm or yank her friend away. Whatever was needed.
She shouldn't have worried.
Pansy straightened from where she'd leaned against the wall.
"Choices are something very few have had the privilege of indulging in." She held his gaze, chin jutted out. Pride above all, even when staring down that which could cast her away like yesterday's trash.
"I, like Draco, made mistakes in the course of operating under those lack of choices. Some more publicly, more… regrettable, than others."
She looked down then, and her voice softened as she raised her raw gaze to meet Harry's once more. "If permitted, a blank slate seems appropriate given the new dawn rising upon wizarding society."
"I'd be open to that." Said Harry. Pansy nodded, then rolled her eyes.
"Fine, I'll join in on this ridiculous introduction method." She held out her hand, her gaze all but demanding he take it. Which he did.
"I'm Pansy Parkinson, heir to the family line despite my father's disgust. Considering he'll be occupying Azkaban for the remainder of his life, I'll be able to do some good with it now. Make it worthy of being spoken of again."
"We've all done things we wish we could take back in the course of the past years. Especially with the war." Said Harry, nodding. "Who am I to hold one accountable to what their fathers did? Mine wasn't perfect, and others paid the price of his actions."
Hermione's heart hurt hearing him speak those words, knowing how seeing that memory back in fifth year cut him deep. Still to this day, the scar of that knowledge remained.
"I'd like to wipe the slate clean and get to know the new head of house Parkinson."
At his words, Pansy let out a breath, and a smile—a blink and you'd miss it twist of her lips—appeared.
"Hail fellow heir, well-met," said Pansy, bestowing a slight bow of her head.
Harry's eyebrows raised, and even Hermione didn't know what Pansy was on about.
"What… what does that mean?"
"It's custom to acknowledge another heir as such, in… well, in wizarding culture." Draco was standing straight, tense, the apple dangling all but forgotten in his hand. "I didn't use it myself, as I didn't want to scare you off by doing so right after you acknowledged my existence. In a non-antagonistic way, I mean."
"Nor did I," said Theo.
"How come I've never heard of this before? It's not like I haven't been in wizarding culture since turning eleven years old. I've never overheard that phrase, or seen anyone bow to each other. Sirius never said…"
He looked baffled, and Hermione noticed the twitch of the corner of his mouth. He was hurt. Another thing hidden from him. Kept him in the dark about.
"Sirius hated anything to do with pureblood or traditional wizarding customs, Harry. He wouldn't have said anything to you that even brushed alongside that which he'd grown up with."
"So it's a pureblood thing then?"
"It's a wizarding thing." Said Theo. "Just happens that unfortunately, it seems only purebloods carry out the greeting, as half bloods are more influenced I'd assume, by muggle culture."
"Theo and I have an arrangement to educate one another on our respective cultures this year Harry. Muggle, and wizard." Hermione broke in, wanting to dispel the storm clouds brewing behind Harry's gaze.
Theo shot her a look, which had her adding with a sigh. "Not just overall wizarding culture, but also pureblood. Their customs and traditions."
Harry whipped his head to look over at Theo. Hermione tensed, ready for her hot-headed friend to lose it, as he usually did when talks of blood purity or status came about.
"I want in."
Her mouth fell open, Draco blinked, Pansy raised a hand to her mouth, and Theo. Theo cackled.
"You're all right Potter."
Harry opened his mouth but Theo waved him off. "Apologies. Harry. Bit of a habit after years of listening to this one," he jerked a thumb over at Draco, "spit out your surname every second word."
Draco's ears turned pink, and two spots appeared on his cheeks.
"You'd want to learn? Truly?" Hermione asked, forcing Harry's attention away from Draco where he'd looked at him a mixture of confused and exasperated. "You're not just going to start a row about it all?"
"There's been so much kept from me Hermione. So much that I still don't know…" he crossed his arms, digging his toe into the ground, avoiding eye contact.
"Well, the first lesson was to be on our Hogsmede outing." Theo said, and Hermione's stomach dropped as the private date she'd envisioned became a group hang out.
"I'll be in training." Harry grimaced, appearing unaware of Hermione's sudden rush of relief at his words.
"You can owl me."
Those softly spoken words came from Draco. He was looking at Harry as if he was a puzzle Draco couldn't wait to unravel.
"Owl you what? Questions?" Harry scoffed, his jaw twitching.
"Yeah you git." Draco rolled his eyes. Apparently a newly formed acquaintance couldn't stop him for taunting Harry as per usual. It just lacked the bite of yesteryear. "Questions. I'll answer as able, and maybe ask some of my own. It's not like I've had a realistic upbringing when it comes to anything muggle."
"Not like I did either." Muttered Harry, low enough that only Hermione heard.
Her heart clenched. Those fucking horrible muggles that he grew up with. She wished she could meet them, give them a piece of her mind.
"I think that's a great idea." She said instead. "I'll have Theo's knowledge, you'll have Draco's, and we can compare and contrast to bolster our collective understanding."
"And there she is!" Harry grinned at her, linking his arm through hers. "I wondered when you'd try and wrangle me into your studies somehow."
She laughed.
"This seems worth it though, yeah?"
He nodded and tilted his head down to rest against hers before drawing back to look at her.
"Do you think… wouldn't Ron also have pureblood knowledge? We could always ask him too."
A cough came from Pansy.
"Apologies, but, seeing as the Weasleys have been blood traitors for generations, the chances of him knowing proper pureblood customs and traditions is slim to none."
"Knowing what, Parkinson?"
The five of them had been so entrenched in their conversation they'd missed the approach of Ron and Ginny.
"Heya Draco. Theo. Pansy."
"Greetings Little Red." Nodded Pansy, earning herself a blush and eye roll from Ginny.
"Ginny." Draco nodded. Harry and Ron's eyes bulged.
"You're on a first name basis with this… this… pillock?" Ron sputtered.
"Do catch up Weasley. While you and Ginny here were elsewhere, we've all be burying hatchets and wiping slates clean." Draco's eyes twinkled with mirth.
"Remember that our slate still needs some wandwork to clear away some angst induced cobwebs, Draco." Ginny said sweetly, her eyes blazing at the blond despite her smile. He winced.
"Send the owl, I'll be there."
"I'm gone for all of half an hour and the worlds gone mental it has." Ron said, shaking his head.