SURPRISE! Here's my Christmas present to you, chapter 52 in advance! I hope you like it!
Merry Christmas to you all! Enjoy your family and friends!
.
.
tw : Pansy suffers from eating disorder in this chapter
.
.
Draco
.
.
"Troll?! Troll? TROLL?!" gasped Theo, taking the paper in his hands, his eyes bulging.
"Theo, I-"
"It must be a mistake, it can't be..." stammered Theo, paying no attention to Draco beside him. "Troll? I've never had a Troll in my life, it's..."
"Are you sure it's not a T like Theodore?" attempted Draco.
Theo's wide eyes rested for a second on Draco's face, looking outraged.
"Why would she write the first letter of my first name on my fucking paper?!"
"Okay, Theo, calm down." urged Draco as the other students turned to face them. "You're going out of your mind here. Calm down, stop getting all worked up."
"'All worked up?!" repeated Theo, his hands still clutching his paper. "I've just had a Troll, Malfoy, it's worse than Crabbe and Goyle!"
"Right, we'll resume the lesson on divinatory numerology..." continued Vector, who had not heard Theo's panicked complaints.
Draco was forced to remain silent and turn to the teacher. From time to time, he glanced at Theo, who still had the same scandalised face and still held his parchment in his hands. He had gone pale.
He had no idea what to say or do to comfort Theo. Draco had always loved competition, but that was nothing compared to Theo's will to study. Draco had long since given up trying to outdo him in the school rankings: Theo always got excellent marks, approaching Granger's perfection. He could write three different essays and get Outstanding marks on each of them. He was always reading, or writing at full speed on his parchments, with three opened pots of ink around him.
Draco knew that Theo was a hard worker, and he and Blaise had often made fun of him, saying that he deserved to be at Hufflepuff. He'd always been like that, ever since the first week of first year. But this was the first time Draco had been confronted with a failure on his part, and he had no idea how to react. He didn't really understand why Theo was putting so much stock in it, and if he was honest with himself, he thought it was a slightly disproportionate reaction, but he had a feeling that if he told Theo about it, he might get himself Transfigured back into a ferret.
He turned his head discreetly towards Granger. She was writing Vector's lesson, but she didn't look as determined as usual, and kept casting worried glances at Theo. She must have heard his disastrous mark. Usually, when she was better than someone else, she would flash an annoyingly proud little smile. Today, however, she seemed almost pitiful.
Draco had never understood the bizarre rivalry between the two of them, except that it motivated both of them. So he had no idea why Granger wasn't happy about Theo's failure.
By the end of class, Theo's shoulders were so hunched that his face almost disappeared down his neck. He put his things away sadly, without having written anything on his lesson scroll.
"Theo?" Draco called softly.
The boy did not look up, nor did he give the slightest sign that he had just heard Draco. Drago continued:
"Are you all right, mate?
"What do you think?" Theo asked curtly.
He slung his bag around his neck and approached Professor Vector's desk, the paper still clutched in his fist. From a distance, Draco saw Professor Vector shake her head several times with a sympathetic smile. Theo returned to him a few seconds later, looking more miserable than ever.
"Well?" asked Draco.
"She says I didn't understand the method." he grumbled as he left the classroom, mingling with the crowd of students in the corridors. "And that I had to study Arithmancy with "oneirism and spiritualism.""
"What does that mean?"
"I have no idea." he said flatly.
"Theo... It's just one bad mark, everyone gets them."
"Have you ever had a Troll?" asked Theo coldly, turning to Draco.
"Hmm... Well, no, not really, but it could happen to me..." he replied, with the impression that he was getting a little lost for words.
"A Troll." said Theo, his eyes now fixed on the ground. "I'm no less than Crabbe and Goyle..."
"Hi guys!" interrupted Pansy as she came to meet them.
They had arrived in the Transfiguration courtyard, the place where they always met after Arithmancy and Divination class. This time, Blaise had actually gone to class, something he hardly ever did at that time of day, because he claimed he could make up predictions and get away with it every time without going to class.
Seeing Theo's face, Pansy and Blaise frowned:
"What's the matter with you, Theo?"
He muttered something that no one heard. Draco spoke up instead:
"He got a Troll in Arithmancy."
Pansy and Blaise both had the same reaction: a grimace of surprise. On seeing this, Theo lamented even more:
"A Troll! It's an absolute disgrace! I don't understand a thing about this subject! And now my mark's going to be shown in the rankings, and I'm going to drop at least ten places!"
"Oh, Theo, don't you think you're exaggerating a bit?" said Blaise.
"No, I'm not!" he exclaimed immediately.
Just then, Crabbe and Goyle came up behind the group of friends. Goyle was holding Hagrid's newspaper article in his hand: Draco had completely forgotten about it, too preoccupied with Theo's grade. Seeing the two approaching, Theo whimpered, turned on his heels and fled inside the Castle in a second.
"Hi guys!" greeted Crabbe cheerfully, totally oblivious to Theo's departure, or Pansy's annoyed sigh at the appellation. "Well done on the article, it's going to piss Potter off big time! How did you come up with the idea?"
"We simply ran into Skeeter in Hogsmeade." Draco explained. "She asked us about Hagrid."
The five of them walked towards Charms class, where Theo was already settled. He moped through the class and the rest of the day. None of them really dared to talk to him to comfort him, and he spent all their break time with an Arithmancy book in his hand, his mouth twisted by concentration.
At the beginning of the Care of Magical Creatures class, Hagrid wasn't there. Instead, there was a grey-haired woman with a stony face standing at the door of the hut. Draco saw the Gryffindors in front of her in the distance, including Potter who had a face of incomprehension. Crabbe chuckled.
Draco was amazed that not one Gryffindor had read the Hagrid article all day. He was both relieved to know that Granger wasn't upset with him yet, and displeased at the thought that she might become so when she saw her favourite gamekeeper missing.
"This way, please." the teacher said as they headed towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
They walked for about ten minutes, behind the class group. Draco could hear Theo's muffled complaints through his scarf, which he had pulled far too tightly around his neck. Granger was tense, until they finally arrived and she discovered the subject of the class: a unicorn, which was tied to a tree. She opened her eyes wide and let out an admiring "ohhh".
The unicorn was a sparkling pearly white, so white that it contrasted with the snow on the ground. Its hooves were all golden, and it had a long pink horn in the middle of its forehead.
"Boys, stay back!" warned teacher Grubbly-Plank when they had gathered around the tree. She held her arms out to restrain the boys, hitting Potter full force in the chest, which made Crabbe and Goyle laugh.
"Unicorns prefer feminine delicacy." continued Grubbly-Plank. "Girls, move to the front of the line, and be careful when approaching her..."
The girls broke away from the group to get closer to the creature, while the boys stayed behind. Blaise had to grab Goyle's arm because he hadn't understood the instructions and had taken a few steps forward.
Pansy hurried on. Draco had heard a lot about unicorns, but he'd never seen one (apart from the unicorn that died during his detention in first year, but he was really trying to forget that moment), and he had to admit that he found these creatures particularly cool, deep down. Of course, he'd never admit it to anyone.
While the girls were discovering the unicorn, Draco heard Potter and Weasley whispering next to him:
"What could have happened to him?" asked Potter, concerned. "Do you think a Skrewt could have...?"
"Oh, nobody attacked him, Potter, if that's what you think." Draco interrupted, a victorious smile on his lips as he guessed he was referring to Hagrid. "He's just too ashamed to show his big, ugly face."
He discreetly looked to see if Granger was far enough away that she wouldn't hear him. He was dying to see Potter and Weasley's reaction to having their half-giant's secret revealed, but he didn't want Granger to catch him showing them the article.
"What do you mean?" asked Potter, who had to be decidedly the stupidest boy at Hogwarts, because Draco thought it was obvious.
"Here." he said with a sly laugh. "Sorry to break it to you, Potter..."
He watched the group of Gryffindor boys read the article, while glancing towards Granger to check she couldn't see, but she was busy stroking the unicorn's muzzle with a skittish hand.
At the end of his reading, Potter looked up and exchanged a sentence in a low voice with Weasley, before addressing Draco with angry black eyes:
"What do you mean "We all hate Hagrid"?" And what's all this rubbish about him (he pointed at Crabbe) being bitten by a Flobberworm? Flobberworms don't even have teeth!"
Crabbe continued his evil sneer. Theo and Blaise had both wandered off, uninterested in the exchange between Potter and Draco.
"Well, I think that should put an end to that oaf's teaching career." Draco said slyly. "A half-giant... And here I thought he'd just swallowed a bottle of Skele-Gro when he was a kid... Parents aren't going to like that at all, they'll be worried he'll eat their kids!"
Potter's face twitched in hatred:
"You..." he began threateningly.
He had taken a few steps closer to him, and Goyle pushed Draco slightly to face Potter.
"Are you paying attention over there?" called Grubbly-Plank.
Potter backed away reluctantly. The teacher began to list the properties of unicorns and Draco listened to the list, watching Granger from the side. She was now enjoying feeding magnolia to the unicorn, and laughing with twin Patil as it licked her palm. She also managed to get ten points for Gryffindor by giving the exact composition of the unicorn's horn.
At the end of the lesson, Draco stood back a little and saw Potter hand the article to Granger, who read it with a closed face. All trace of amusement faded, replaced by concern for Hagrid. Draco really didn't understand the strange connection between Granger and the gamekeeper. Ever since first year, she'd been really determined to help him, even when he was harbouring a fucking dragon, or breeding far too dangerous hippogriffs. How could a sensible girl like Granger feel sorry for that raving lunatic?
Dinner was tense and silent. Theo was as grumpy as ever after his Arithmancy mark and hadn't said a word since. It didn't help that Pansy and Leo were sitting next to him, kissing between mouthfuls. And when Goyle innocently asked if he could write him his Herbology essay, Theo clutched his fork tightly without answering. Draco wondered if he was going to start crying.
They returned to the Common Room just after eating. Draco was tempted to sneak off to the Library, but Granger had apparently decided to visit Hagrid, so he let it go.
In the Common Room, there was another party. Draco had decided to stop wondering whether there was going to be a party or not: apparently, every night was a party night now. Pansy was always the one who organised them, and even if sometimes the themes or the alcohol changed, it was still relatively the same atmosphere. Draco took a seat on his usual sofa, between Daphne and Pansy, who was smoking and chatting with Leo.
"Come on, Theo, come on!" shouted Blaise at Theo, who was taking a seat at one of the Common Room study tables. "Don't sulk and enjoy the evening!"
"No thanks, I have to study." Theo grumbled.
"Arithmancy?" guessed Draco.
He nodded gravely and put his textbook down on the table. Blaise insisted a second time:
"Relax a bit, you're not going to understand the exercise now anyway..."
"I've got to understand it, because I've got Troll, and I've got to make up for it." Theo said dryly.
"Theo, it's really not that bad." said Pansy, spitting out her cigarette smoke. "I mean, don't you think you're being a little... dramatic?"
Theo looked up sharply, his eyes round.
"Dramatic? Dramatic?!" he repeated, flabbergasted.
Before Pansy could explain, he grabbed his books, his inkpot, his quill and his bag, and left the Common Room.
.
.
Hermione
.
.
On the Tuesday evening after dinner, Hermione hurried to the Library before Viktor went too. It wasn't that she was avoiding him, not at all, it was just that she was confused enough to discuss things with him. So, she went in quickly, greeted Madam Pince, and went to hide behind the big shelves at the table she shared with Malfoy.
He was already sitting there, reading a large Potions book. When he heard her coming up behind him, he raised his head slowly to watch her sit down. And when he opened his mouth to greet her, she cut him off by fiercely placing the newspaper article on the table, which she read aloud:
""An alarmingly large and ferocious-looking man, Hagrid has been using his newfound authority to terrify the students in his care with a succession of horrific creatures.""
He winced as he heard her quote the article. He opened his mouth again, but Hermione hadn't finished reading and continued in a voice that was far too high-pitched:
""While Dumbledore turns a blind eye, Hagrid has maimed several pupils during a series of lessons that many admit to being "very frightening." "I was attacked by a hippogriff, and my friend Vincent Crabbe got a bad bite off a flobberworm," says Draco Malfoy, a fourth-year student. "We all hate Hagrid, but we're just too scared to say anything.""
Hermione finished her tirade in a brittle tone and finally looked up at Malfoy, silently urging him to explain. He swallowed with difficulty and put both hands in front of him, palms facing her:
"Listen, Granger. Don't get upset."
"I already am." she said dryly.
"You know Skeeter, she'll do anything to please her readers, even when it's not true. I hardly said anything."
"Why did you talk to that awful woman in the first place?!"
"Pansy is a huge fan! She reads her articles every day, and her horoscope, she's her idol! And we ran into her, completely by accident, in Hogsmeade, and she asked about you, so I changed the subject and talked about Hagrid instead!" spouted Malfoy.
This explanation lessened Hermione's anger, only for it to be replaced by a profound lack of understanding.
"Her idol? How on Earth can Rita Skeeter be her idol? I'm sorry Malfoy, but I'll never understand Pansy Parkinson."
"What?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowed and his hands still in the air. "I just told you that Skeeter, the most famous journalist in the Wizarding World, asked me about you, and you're talking to me about Pansy?"
Hermione dismissed his words with a wave of her hand:
"I'm Harry Potter's best friend, I already knew that people would be digging up dirt on me to find out juicy things to say about Harry."
"And that doesn't worry you?" asked Malfoy, scandalised. "Everyone reads the Daily Prophet, Granger! If it were to tarnish your reputation..."
"My parents don't read the papers, and I don't care what that woman says." Hermione shot back. "You should have had her write about me instead of Hagrid! He obviously cares what she says in the paper!"
Malfoy suddenly seemed at a loss for words. He put his hands on the table and continued to stare at Granger as if she suddenly had an extra head.
"Granger, did you read the whole article? Hagrid is a half-giant!"
"So?" she asked imperiously. "Is that a reason to humiliate him?"
"... Yes?" he replied in dismay. "Giants are monstrous creatures, and ferocious, and savage!"
"And Hagrid has nothing to do with that!" she contested immediately.
"Maybe, but his family is!" insisted Malfoy, who was losing more and more patience. "I know you feel sorry for lesser creatures like house elves, but you can't set up associations for every degenerate around here."
"Hagrid is not a degenerate, and you know that very well." she said, pointing to the picture of Hagrid on the newspaper. "If he was dangerous, we'd know it by now, and he certainly wouldn't be a gamekeeper at Hogwarts! I've spent hours with him, he's perfectly normal!"
"He raised a dragon illegally in his wooden hut." Malfoy listed, counting on his fingers. "He's taken eleven-year-olds into the Forbidden Forest for detention. He got himself expelled from school without anyone knowing why. He introduces dangerous creatures in lessons, including one that nearly rip my arm off last year!"
Hermione rolled her eyes as she sighed:
"He didn't nearly rip your arm off, it was you who upset him. I'm sure you know perfectly well that Hagrid has never done anything wrong. He's just a bit... eccentric."
"Eccentric?" repeated Draco with a bitter laugh. "He's completely mad. And you don't like him as a teacher, you told me so last time, when you were doing research here. Admit it, you liked the unicorn lecture yesterday!"
Hermione had to admit that she did. She had loved that class on those intriguing creatures, but she would never admit it to Malfoy for fear he would use it as an argument. So she shook her head:
"Hagrid is a very good teacher. And besides, how did you know he was a half-giant?"
Malfoy's eyes widened.
"What? I just said I didn't like his lessons, I'm not the one who told Skeeter. How was I supposed to know he was a giant? Did you?!"
Hermione nodded evasively.
"Merlin, I'll never understand the bond between you two." Malfoy huffed.
"He is a friend. I know the concept may be foreign to you, but it's possible to be friends with different people. And that's not why they're 'inferior' to us!"
"If you say so, Granger."
"So, are you going to apologize?" she asked, pointing to the paper.
"Certainly not." he snapped. "I have nothing to apologize for. I don't like Hagrid, I've said that since day one. You can't stop me from hating him. Just because we've become 'friends' doesn't mean I'm going to spend my evenings in Hagrid's old hut, Merlin!"
Hermione wanted to retort, but realised he was a bit right. She definitely couldn't force him to like anyone. She herself would be incapable of becoming friends with Pansy Parkinson.
She looked at the paper again. If Malfoy was telling the truth, and he didn't know that Hagrid was a half-giant, he hadn't been the one to find out and report it to her. She had no idea how this Skeeter could have known, but in any case, it wasn't Malfoy. He'd simply complained, and Skeeter had probably changed everything he'd said.
"I don't understand how you can hate Hagrid." she said to end the conversation. "You've obviously never tried to be friendly with him, he's very nice."
"And I don't understand how you can like him. It's been beyond me since the day I first saw you talking to him. Just like Potter, or Weasley, or Longbottom." admitted Malfoy, much calmer. "We'll just have to agree that we'll never agree with the company the other keeps."
Hermione shrugged. She put the paper away and Malfoy resumed his reading: he was in the middle of a paragraph on the effects of vitality potions. There were actually a lot of things she and Malfoy would never agree on, and reading Potions books for pleasure was definitely one of them.
Hermione was in the process of laying out her fifty or so books on the table when Malfoy raised his head, looking suddenly worried.
"By the way..." he said, still deep in thought. "Speaking of Hagrid..."
"What now?"
"What did you do about the hippogriff?" he asked.
Hermione couldn't contain her surprised reaction.
"What do you mean?" she squeaked uncontrollably.
"My father told me that it was miraculously released before its execution. They never found it." Malfoy explained, his eyes now slitted with distrust. "I always thought Hagrid had managed to link all three of his neurons to free his bloody pigeon without risking anything, but..."
He watched Hermione for a long moment, thinking intently. She held his gaze, but said nothing, afraid of revealing something suspicious.
"It was you, wasn't it?" he finally asked. "I don't know how, but it was you who managed to free the hippogriff."
"What makes you say that?" questioned Hermione as innocently as possible.
"You would never have spoken to me if I had been the cause of the unfair execution of some poor creature in distress." he said.
"So you finally admit it was unfair?"
Malfoy rolled his eyes, though a small smile played on his lips.
"Admit that you set it free."
"Admit it was unfair."
Malfoy looked at her, and the electric current that ran through her when he had that look of defiance gave her goosebumps. Their stares were as intense as their words: Hermione was almost breathless.
"All right." he finally said. "I admit I went a bit overboard to piss off that idiot Hagrid."
Hermione was very surprised to hear him agree like that.
"Your turn, Granger." Draco commanded with the shadow of his smirk.
She hesitated, then confessed in turn:
"I admit that Buckbeak is on the loose." she said softly.
They stared at each other for a long time, their eyes locked in each other's for long seconds. The colour of Malfoy's eyes often changed according to the light, and this time, they were ocean blue.
He finally looked away with a chuckle:
"Merlin, Granger, the number of things you must have done without my knowledge terrifies me."
Hermione smiled proudly at this.
.
.
Drago
.
.
They didn't see Theo for 3 days.
He still went to lessons, and he still slept in the dormitory, but apart from that, Theo was nowhere to be seen. He didn't eat with them any more, and always found a way of being in bed when Blaise and Draco came into the dormitory.
They all thought he was sulking after Pansy suggested he was being a bit dramatic (which confirmed that he was), but it turned out he was simply immersed in his studies. He hadn't quite got over his Troll in Arithmancy and seemed determined to understand the subject. So, he spent all his free time at the Library, from opening to closing. When he walked between classes, he had his nose in an Arithmancy textbook. And in the evenings, when the Library was closed, he would sit on one of the farthest study tables in the Common Room to work.
This rhythm continued until the first Friday of the new term. Draco hadn't been back to the library since Tuesday, not wanting to meet up with a hard-working Theo.
At breakfast on Friday morning, Pansy arrived at the table with a relieved sigh:
"Oh, perfect, Leo hasn't arrived yet."
She sat down quickly and piled several pieces of toast onto her plate. Blaise looked up from the Prophet with an arched eyebrow and an amused smile:
"What? You mean you're not having the perfect love affair with Leo Hills?"
Pansy hastily spread honey on her toast without looking at Blaise:
"Let's just say he can be... a bit clingy."
"No, you think?" asked Blaise sarcastically. "We haven't noticed a thing."
Draco chuckled. Leo and Pansy were constantly glued together, and it didn't take long to work out who was the more enterprising of the two. Pansy sighed heavily and changed the subject, sweeping her eyes across the table:
"Still no Theo?"
"No." replied Blaise. "I managed to intercept him this morning, after his shower. He told me he was going to the Library to study. You know he got up at 5am?"
Draco rolled his eyes, accompanied by Pansy in sync. Blaise wanted to continue talking, but stopped himself with a muffled grunt and grabbed the newspaper with both hands to hide behind it. Draco understood why: Leo had just arrived. He walked over to the Slytherin table and stood behind Pansy, who hadn't seen him yet.
"Hello my cream puff!" he said with a big smile.
Pansy gasped as she felt his hands on her shoulders. She had a brief flash of unease on her face before pulling herself together and attempting a pale smile:
"Hello... Leo." she said, without much enthusiasm.
Draco shifted to make room for him on the bench, trying with all his might not to burst out laughing after hearing him call Pansy "my cream puff." Leo sat down, greeted Draco and Blaise (who didn't even reply), and began to talk excitedly to Pansy, who listened without saying a word.
If Theo had been there, he too would have burst out laughing at the nickname. Draco regretted his absence. He felt as if he hadn't seen his friend for several weeks.
He looked at Pansy. This was the first time she had officially been "in a relationship". He had seen her kiss several boys before, some of them before Hogwarts. But this was the first time she'd been in a "relationship", false as it was. Leo seemed completely obsessed by her, and when he spoke to her, he had stars in his eyes. He kept telling her that she was beautiful and funny and that he was lucky to have her.
But he must not have known her well enough, because Draco knew very well that Pansy hated affectionate nicknames. If someone called her that, she'd grimace, and if Draco ever called her "my cream puff", she'd probably throw the first thing at his face. She was the least morning person in the world, needing on average a good hour, a decent breakfast and a cigarette to be awake. She didn't talk much and hated public displays of affection.
At least, that's what Draco thought. But since she had announced that she was officially in a relationship with Leo, everything had changed. An outsider might have thought she'd changed her ways because she'd fallen for Leo. However, Draco and Blaise knew very well that she was annoyed by him, and that she was staying in a relationship with him to distract attention from her true feelings.
"Where's your mate, Theo?" asked Leo suddenly, snapping Draco out of his thoughts. "Haven't seen him in a while."
"Busy studying." said Blaise, still concealed by the newspaper.
"Oh." replied Leo, clearly surprised that he could be working at such an early hour. "Don't you have class this morning?"
"Yes, Charms." said Pansy, who finished the last of her toast quickly. "In fact, shouldn't we be going?"
The two boys stood up immediately. Leo leaned towards Pansy:
"Alright, see you afterwards for lunch?"
This had been the case every day since they announced they were going out, but Pansy nodded anyway and kissed him briefly on the mouth by way of goodbye. Then the three of them walked out of the Great Hall.
"Where are we going? We don't have class for another half hour." Blaise asked.
"Smoke. I'm dying to." replied Pansy as they hurried towards the Transfiguration courtyard.
It was empty, all the students were still eating or sleeping for a few extra minutes. Pansy lit herself a cigarette and sat down on the bench next to Blaise, who had taken his newspaper with him. Draco sat down next to them and observed the small courtyard. The fountain in the centre, with its magnificent mermaids carved in stone, was no longer frozen and the last of the winter snow had melted away.
Draco enjoyed the tranquillity of the place, far from the noisy voices of the Great Hall. He listened to the lapping of the water in the fountain, the rustling of the pages of Blaise's newspaper, and Pansy's inspirations as she practised forming 'O's with the smoke.
.
.
.
.
Theo slipped in next to Draco at the start of Potions class, the last of the day. He was obviously exhausted: dark circles were deepening on his face and he was struggling to keep his red eyes open. Draco didn't have time to speak to him before Snape entered the room and silenced all conversation.
As the recipe for the day's potion wrote itself on the blackboard, Draco glanced at Granger. Her hair was tied back, as it often was when she was in the dungeons, probably because of the humidity. She was reading the instructions as they were written, mumbling what she read in a low voice without realising it. Potter and Weasley were next to her, not paying any attention to the lesson: Potter was looking at Snape with a glint of hatred in his eyes, and Weasley was looking for the right page in his textbook.
Draco looked at the board and recognised the potion in seconds. He prepared his cauldron, which he shared with Theo, who still hadn't said a word. Not because he was sulking, but more because he was about to fall asleep standing up.
"I want that potion perfectly made by the end of class." Snape said, and his deep voice echoed against the dungeon walls. "If it's not orange, you don't even have to show it to me, you've failed, and you'll automatically get a Troll. Is that understood, Longbottom?"
Crabbe, Goyle and Draco sniggered at the jab at Longbottom, but Draco felt Theo tense up beside him. Hearing the mark gave him a burst of energy and he hurried to light the fire under the cauldron to start the potion.
They worked in silence. Without consulting each other, they established their roles: Theo would gather the ingredients according to the recipe, and Draco would prepare them and pour them into the potion. Whenever he could, he looked at Granger to see if she was keeping up with him, and was amazed to see that she was doing the same steps as him at the same time, even without the help of Potter and Weasley.
To his right, Pansy and Blaise were both working on their potion. Or rather, Blaise was working on the potion while Pansy watched him without a word. There was no sound in the classroom apart from the crackle of flames, Snape's footsteps and the rustle of his cloak on the floor. At one point, Longbottom dropped a flask on the floor, which exploded into a thousand pieces, and received a warning from the Professor. Draco saw Granger helping him pick up the pieces afterwards.
There must have been about twenty minutes of class left when Pansy made a strange movement beside Draco. He turned to his right, thinking she'd tripped trying to sit on the stool, but saw to his horror that she was actually falling. She collapsed on top of him, her eyes closed and her skin pale. He caught her just before her head hit the floor.
"Blaise!" called Draco mechanically.
Blaise rushed towards her. She had fainted. He bent down and took her face between his two fingers, and gently patted her cheek to wake her up:
"Pans'? Pans'?" he called urgently.
"She's unconscious." Draco said in a panicked whisper. "We need to get her to the hospital wing."
Blaise nodded and put his arm under the young woman's knees, then the other behind her neck, and lifted her into the air. He pressed her against his chest and didn't seem to have the slightest difficulty in carrying Pansy's inert body. Blaise's face froze in an unfamiliar panic.
Snape, seeing the commotion they had caused, approached with a worried look on his face:
"Zabini?"
"She's not feeling well, sir." intervened Theo, whose presence Draco had momentarily forgotten to his left.
Snape waltzed his gaze between Blaise, Pansy, Draco, and Theo, before nodding quietly:
"Take her to the hospital wing, Zabini. I want a report on her condition afterwards."
Blaise nodded and didn't wait for Snape to finish his sentence before making his way between the desks to leave the classroom. Pansy was still unconscious, judging by her closed eyes. Blaise tightened his grip on her so that her head rested against his chest and hurried out of the room.
Draco automatically turned back to his potion. Snape had continued his way through the rows, as if nothing had happened. All the students were still working, so much that Draco wondered if people had noticed Blaise and Pansy's departure. He realised that he was still holding an Augurey's quill, although he had no memory of what he was supposed to do with it. His heart beat hard against his ribs.
"I warned her!" hissed Theo through his teeth.
Draco turned to him in surprise. It was the first time he'd heard him address him directly since last Tuesday.
"What?"
"Pansy!" said Theo, crushing the porcupine scales a little too violently. "I told her to stop drinking, but she wouldn't listen, as usual!"
Theo was really pissed off now. Little red spots were forming on his cheeks and neck. Draco didn't really understand what he meant.
"What are you talking about?"
Theo turned to him, a spark of cruelty in his eyes that was so unlike him.
"Are you going to tell me you didn't notice? You really are blind, Draco."
"Didn't notice what?" pressed Draco.
"Pansy's behaviour!" he spat, not caring about the prying ears around them. "Ever since she started going out with that Leo guy, it's like she's made a bet with herself to get as drunk as possible every night. She says she does it to distract herself, but I'm sure she wants to avoid talking to him, so she makes herself sick to avoid him!"
"Do you really believe that?" asked Draco, shocked.
"Of course I do! Anyone can tell she has no desire to be with him. So she drinks to forget she's there, with him, and in the morning she does her bloody anti-hangover Charms on herself." said Theo in his disapproving tone. "Except she doesn't eat any more, and she doesn't sleep well, so she was bound to faint at some point."
Draco thought back over the last few days as he looked at the potion without seeing it. He had noticed that Pansy had been drinking more than usual, but he had simply thought that she wanted to have fun and forget the reason for her problems. He hadn't made the connection with Leo. And she'd eaten her toast this morning... hadn't she?
"I'd noticed she was drinking more than before." Draco observed in a low voice, which earned him a bitter laugh from Theo. "I didn't think it was for that reason."
"Why do you think I always study on the tables in the Common Room? For the peace and quiet?" asked Theo, acerbically. "I stay there to check on her. And she's not fine."
They continued with their potion, with much less enthusiasm. Theo kept turning his head towards the classroom door, as if he hoped they would return any minute. Draco thought about what he'd just said and asked:
"Has she not been eating for a long time?"
Theo looked at him. He was still angry, but another emotion marked his face: sadness? fear?
"Yeah. She skips meals, and only eats three or four bites when she does show up. She has one coffee and one cigarette after another. I'm almost surprised that her body is only giving out on her now."
The bell for the end of class rang as Draco swirled the potion one last time. She had a beautiful orange complexion, but not as deep as Granger's. Snape had no choice but to give her a good mark after inspecting hers, and she gave Potter and Weasley a proud little smile.
As soon as they were free, Draco and Theo headed for the hospital wing. They had difficulty reaching the first floor of the right wing because of the buzzing staircases full of students leaving classes at the same time. When they finally reached the hospital wing corridor, Blaise was waiting for them in front of it.
"She regained consciousness just before Pomfrey kicked me out." he said before they even opened their mouths. "But she didn't look too good. Pomfrey says she's going to have to stay the night."
"She didn't ask why she was like that?" asked Theo.
"No. She said she must be exhausted, or she'd been working too hard, and she needed a rest."
They nodded. All three of them knew that Pansy was tired, but certainly not because she'd been working too hard. Draco thought back to his best friend dancing in the crowd the night before. How long had it been since he'd seen her without a drink in her hand?
Since they weren't allowed back in the hospital wing until the next morning, they decided to split up: Theo to the Library, Blaise to the Common Room to catch up with Daphne, and Draco outside to rest on his bench before dinner.
The fresh air hit his face as he passed through the doors and he enjoyed the feeling it gave him, like a whiplash. He forced himself to clench and unclench his fists in an attempt to de-stress. He hadn't been able to calm the frenetic rhythm of his heart since Pansy had passed out next to him.
He went to his bench and took deep breaths to calm himself. Seeing Pansy fall like that had reminded him of the moment when Theo had arrived in Blaise's fireplace, and this brutal memory sent cold sweat down his spine. He calmed his breathing as he gazed at the front of the Castle, the soothing sight he now knew so well.
He hesitated to go to the Library after dinner, to think about something else. Selfishly, he was dying to see Granger, and get back to that bubble of tranquillity. But he felt it was unfair to Pansy, as if the idea of him thinking about something else was an insult to her, when she had to sleep alone in the hospital wing.
Draco was thinking about what to do when he saw her. Granger. She was coming out of the Castle through the great doors, her face hidden by her Gryffindor scarf. He could recognize her easily with her curls escaping from her bun. She was accompanied, and when Draco slid his gaze to the person next to her, his blood ran cold for a second time: Viktor Krum.
He was wearing nothing but a black jumper, unlike Granger, who looked like a snowman because she was so covered in layers of clothing. Krum smiled as he watched her speak. Draco watched them move on and was saddened to see that Granger didn't even look at the bench to see if it was occupied. They simply walked towards the Black Lake and sat down in front of the flat surface of the water.
Draco suspected that their 'bond' had not suddenly stopped since the Ball. He suspected they were still seeing each other. But that didn't stop the vision of them together stinging. Taking someone to a lake for a chat looked like a date. It only took Draco a few days without going to the Library for that idiot Krum to rush off and talk to Granger. He felt a wave of hatred for the Quidditch player that burned through his skin like wildfire.
He watched them talk, far too far away to make out what they were saying. He was relieved to see that they weren't physically very close; there was a respectable gap between them that suggested they'd never gone further than chatting. But Krum seemed to be doing something about it: he was moving closer and closer to her without her noticing.
He wondered what she thought of him. They hadn't spoken about Krum since the Ball, and their argument in the classroom. They'd both avoided the subject so as not to bring up Draco's sudden jealousy which had come to light. Draco wondered: did Granger have feelings for him, or was she only talking to him out of curiosity? Had they planned to meet there? Did Weasley know, or was she seeing him in secret?
He was tempted to get up and go towards them. To shout at Krum, maybe even punch him in the face. Blaise had taught him how to fight when they were younger, so he knew exactly where to aim to hurt him as much as possible. He imagined Krum's broken nose, the look of adoration on Granger's face as she stood in awe of Draco's strength.
But it was a completely stupid vision. Granger would never be happy when she saw that, she'd probably say that violence solved nothing. Besides, he had absolutely no reason to go and interrupt them. Granger didn't belong to him. If she wanted to go out with Krum, she had every right to, even if the thought made Draco sick. He was unable to look away from them, however, despite his best efforts. He saw Granger take out one of her jars of blue flames and show it to Krum, explaining how she'd managed to get them in there, and Krum nodding as if interested, even though Draco was sure he wasn't listening to a word she was saying.
After what seemed like hours, Granger finally stood up. Draco felt a panic grip him by the throat as he thought they were going to kiss, but fortunately, they only greeted each other politely. Krum returned to his stupid ship, and Granger went back to the Castle, looking rather cold. Draco took the same path to go to dinner.
Theo and Blaise had not yet arrived. Draco sat down next to Crabbe and ate, watching Granger sit at the Gryffindors' table between Weasley and Dean Thomas. She chatted to Weasley, but she must not have told him about Krum, because they were smiling. And Draco was sure Weasley wouldn't be smiling if he'd seen what Draco had just seen down by the Lake. She dined normally, perfectly serene, exchanging a few sentences with Longbottom, Potter and Weasley. For someone who couldn't tell a lie, she was very good at keeping secrets.
Daphne came to dinner opposite Draco to ask him about Pansy's condition, and he was forced to focus on her rather than Granger. Blaise and Theo eventually arrived too, Theo suddenly more willing to talk to them than in previous days. Several Slytherins approached to ask about Pansy, and Draco was once again reminded how popular his best friend was.
"By the way, where's Leo?" asked Daphne, searching for the boy with her eyes. "Did anyone remember to warn him?"
Draco shook his head.
"Tracey warned him." Theo replied with a teasing smile. "I saw him outside the hospital wing on my way back from the Library. He's been waiting outside the door since the end of lessons."
Blaise laughed mockingly. This guy really was a pain in the ass. They continued talking about Pansy and finished dinner. Since Pansy was the one who organised all the parties, there was no party planned in the Common Room, which hadn't happened for a very long time. Theo was delighted at this news and hurried off to study there. Blaise went to read on a sofa, and Draco took his bag and went to the Library discreetly.
Neither Theo nor Blaise saw him leave the Common Room. It was only two hours before the Library closed, but Draco was sure Granger would be there. She usually went there on Friday evenings to read or work on the S.P.E.W., but Draco was terrified that she was sitting with Krum.
He entered the Library out of breath: he had climbed the steps too quickly in his haste. Madam Pince gave him an incensed look and he moved silently between the tables. He felt an immense wave of relief when he saw Krum sitting alone. He didn't know if it was in his imagination, but he had the vivid impression that the Quidditch player was looking at him unkindly. He continued on his way to the end of the room. No tables were occupied in the central part of the Library.
When he reached the large windows, he turned left and found himself in the Charms section, then the Hogwarts section, then the hidden Library table. Granger was already seated there, and his heart leapt happily in his chest as he saw her sitting there. She hadn't sat with Krum, she'd sat there.
He approached and she quickly raised her head. They exchanged a glance and he hesitated to tell her. That he'd seen her with Krum. He wanted to ask her if she loved him, if they were already secretly dating. He wanted to see the look on her face that would give her away: the red cheeks that would confirm his worst fears. He wanted to know what Weasley thought, if she felt anything for either of them, he wanted to know everything.
But instead, he simply gave her his usual "Good evening, Granger" and took a seat opposite her.
.
.
.
.
Pansy came out of the hospital wing the day after her fall, during lunch on Saturday. She told everyone that she was fine, that she'd just had a bout of tiredness and was feeling much better. But Draco was sure that she wasn't. Pansy hated sleeping alone, so he wasn't surprised to see that she didn't look like she'd slept at all. She was already very pale under normal circumstances, but now her skin was so pale that she looked like the Bloody Baron.
In short, she didn't look rested at all, which made Draco worry that she might faint again.
Leo had become unbearable. He kept cajoling her, telling her that she was fine, that she should eat, and all sorts of stupid advice that Draco didn't listen to any more. Blaise seemed on the verge of punching him in the face every time he spoke to Pansy in his honeyed voice. And Pansy remained silent, sniffing a few times to show that she had heard him.
The atmosphere at lunch was therefore particularly atrocious. Draco had tried to chat with Crabbe and Goyle to avoid hearing Leo, but he soon found himself having to wait impatiently for lunch to end.
"Where's Theodore?" asked Leo suddenly (Blaise, Draco and Pansy winced simultaneously at hearing his full first name, which no one had used since second year). "He could have come to comfort Pansy!"
"Don't worry, I'll see him later." said Pansy.
"Even so!" insisted Leo. "He's one of your best friends, isn't he? He should be there to check on you."
Blaise, who couldn't stand it when anyone spoke badly of one of his friends, clenched his fist at this comment. Draco thought back to what Theo had said, about him always staying close to her to check she wasn't drinking too much. He realised that Leo probably had no idea of the friendship between the two of them.
"I'll see him later." said Pansy to end the conversation before Blaise got angry. "By the way, where is he?"
"Where do you think?" scoffed Blaise. "Studying, obviously. That damned Arithmancy."
"Again?!" exclaimed Pansy. "Hasn't he finished yet? He'll end up mastering the subject better than the teacher, at this rate."
"Or abandon all the others." commented Blaise. "I'm convinced I heard him mumble a formula from the lesson in his sleep last night. He's going to go mad if he keeps this up."
"He still hasn't understood the lesson?" asked Draco.
Blaise shook his head with a sigh. Draco thought about Theo's insistence on this subject while Leo began a long explanation of the science of Arithmancy, which everyone ignored.
He still couldn't understand why Theo was so determined to understand this subject. If he were in his place, he would simply have dropped it in favour of something else. But Theo had always had this desire to surpass others, like Granger. So, Draco made a decision.
"I'll be right back." he said as he stood up, garnering surprised looks from the Slytherins.
He walked away, hearing Leo comment on his departure behind his back. He climbed the stairs to the Great Hall and reached the first floor, then turned towards the Library wing. When he entered, Longbottom was on his way out. Granger was tidying up the table they had just used for their Saturday work session.
He walked past her, giving her a pointed look to make her join him at the secluded table. He sat down, and a few seconds later, Granger arrived in turn:
"Malfoy? What are you doing here so early?" she asked in a whisper.
He smiled a little as he heard her whisper, as if they didn't talk out loud every day since they first sat there.
"I'm not allowed to come to the Library on a Saturday afternoon? Afraid I'll join your study group?" he said, mimicking her whisper.
Granger crossed her arms over her chest.
"Very funny. Stop making fun of my study sessions with Neville, or I'll stop helping you with your homework." she warned. "I'm going to lunch."
"Wait! Granger, I need you." said Draco.
She raised her eyebrows, clearly surprised by the phrasing of his sentence. Draco Malfoy rarely asked for help in his life, especially so bluntly. He clarified:
"A favour, more like. Please."
He could see Granger's brain heating up from where he stood. She was probably torn between her original (and probably perfectly planned to the minute) plan, and curiosity. She bit her lip, looked behind her, then gave in:
"What do you want, Malfoy?"
"Did you hear the mark on Theo's Arithmancy paper last Monday?"
Draco expected Granger to display a sneer, to gloat a little as she remembered beating Theo. At least, that's what he would have done. Instead, the corners of her lips drooped a little in sympathy.
"Yes... How does he feel about it?"
"Er... Badly. He keeps studying."
Granger nodded, as if this behaviour was completely understandable.
"So, I wanted to ask you a favour," Draco continued. "I'd like you to teach me everything you know about Arithmancy."
"Why?" asked Granger, suddenly suspicious. "So you can get better marks than him and humiliate him more?"
"What? No, I'm not. Theo's one of my best friends, I want to help him."
"Oh." she said, clearly taken aback. "Oh, I see."
"Well, will you? Just explain the theory to me, so I can explain it back to him afterwards. I'm a quick learner, I promise."
He wanted to add, "It'll be a change from Longbottom," but he had a feeling that making fun of one of her closest friends wouldn't really help him right now. Granger hesitated a little, then gave in and sat down opposite Draco.
"Well, all right. I'll help you."
She pulled out a piece of parchment, a pot of ink, a quill, her Arithmancy textbook she already had in her bag for no reason, and bent down to write:
"Let's start with the definition of Arithmancy, so he understands what it means..."
An hour and a half later, Draco stretched against the back of his chair. He was exhausted, but at least he was sure he could help Theo now. Granger put away her textbook and charts, which she had spread out on the table as she had explained.
"Thank you." he said sincerely, and she looked surprised at his words. "Thanks to you I'm really going to be able to help Theo now. I owe you one, Granger."
She nodded, inwardly noting her debt.
"You're welcome, Malfoy."
She gave him a small smile and turned on her heels to leave the Library. He suddenly remembered why the Library was so empty: there was an outing to Hogsmeade this afternoon. He wondered if Granger should go.
He looked out of the large window and knew he'd got it right when he saw Potter and Weasley waiting by the Castle stairs, bundled up in their Gryffindor cloaks. About ten minutes later, Granger arrived, also dressed in her cloak. She took something from Potter's hands as he handed it to her, a sort of sandwich, which she ate as she walked towards the gate. Draco watched the figures get further and further away, before disappearing.
Finally, he put his quill back in his bag and left the Library quickly, then went down the Castle steps to the dungeons.
In the Common Room, there was no one left, apart from a few first and second year students, and Theo, in a corner of the room, at a study table. His desk was littered with crumpled balls of parchment.
Draco pushed everything onto a corner of the table to set his bag down, making Theo jump violently in the process.
"Oh! What the hell are you doing?!" cried the dark-haired boy with a squeak.
"I'm gonna help you." said Draco, pulling out his own scrolls.
"I don't need any help." Theo grumbled as he picked up his scraps of paper again.
"Remember when I got the letter from my father? When I left it on the desk for days, and I couldn't sleep?" said Draco, taking a chair and placing it next to Theo.
"Er... Yeah?"
"I told you I didn't need help either, even though I did. And you made the choice not to listen to me and help me anyway. And it worked. So I thank you by helping you in turn."
"How?" asked Theo, half-suspicious, half-interested.
"By teaching you Arithmancy."
So Draco began. He used Granger's words to explain to Theo everything he didn't understand. He quickly realised that Granger was right, and that Theo hadn't understood the basics of the subject. He gave him a description of the matter, showed him examples of charts in the textbook, told him several times that Arithmancy was a divinatory science, and that it was no less rational for that, and Theo finally understood.
They spent a long hour on the theory, which Draco tried to copy from the one Granger had just given him in the Library. They did exercises together, all of which Theo did perfectly. Every time he got the answer right, his face lit up with joy.
"I've got it! I've got it!" he exclaimed when he managed a particularly complex sequence of numbers after two hours of hard work.
Draco congratulated him. He had just predicted that it would rain the next day. Draco didn't want to spoil his best friend's joy by reminding him that they were in the middle of Scotland and that it rained every other day.
"How did you manage to learn all that?" asked Theo.
"I studied." lied Draco.
"You're a liar. You were never able to teach me that, even when you tried at the beginning of the year. Did you sleep with Vector or something?"
Draco winced. For a second, he was tempted to confess everything to Theo. The meetings at the Library, the new friendship he had with Granger, even the attraction he had for her that grew stronger with each passing day. But he didn't, perhaps because he didn't want anyone else to know the secret that was so sacred to him.
"In any case, thank you Draco. You don't know how much better I feel." Theo assured him.
Yet he could see it easily, as if a huge weight had just been lifted from his shoulders. He received a smile from Theo, a sincere, pure smile. He was grateful and this feeling was foreign to Draco. He had never helped anyone without getting something in return.
He watched Theo continue his exercises, his face taut with concentration. He felt a pleasant sense of duty done. Of gratitude. It burned through his skin like a warm, satisfying flame. And he understood a little better, at that moment, why Granger helped so much those who didn't deserve it.