Thanks for the reviews and the birthday wishes :)

Anon: thanks for telling me about "anyways", I won't use it in the future and when I go over earlier chapters again I will change it. I am not a native speaker, so I appreciate it if people tell me about mistakes I make.

Read, enjoy and review :)

Draco got up late the next day. Everyone else did as well. The students seemed rather deflated. The Yule Ball, the biggest event of the year, was over, and most students realized that sooner or later they would have to tackle the homework they had neglected so far.

Draco, however, felt wonderful. He couldn't remember ever feeling better. All his worries that Astoria might not like him had been unfounded. She liked him, a lot, and had even kissed him.

When he trotted into the common room he found Cassius Warrington sitting on the sofa, seemingly waiting for him.

"Morning," Draco yawned.

"Morning," the other boy mumbled. "Listen, Malfoy, I know the tip about the dragons came from Potter... and I really hate to owe anyone, least of all a Gryffindor. Could you, if you see him anywhere, tell him that he should open the egg under water?"

For a second Draco was confused, but then he remembered that the hint for the second task was a golden egg. Warrington had opened it in the common room right after the first task and Draco had been suffering from a tinnitus for days after that.

"Alright."

Warrington nodded his head and left the room.

"Good morning," Theo greeted, walking into the common room and grinning.

"Morning," replied Draco. "How was your night?"

"Absolutely brilliant."

Draco couldn't help but grin as well.

On the way to the Great Hall, they filled each other in on the last night's events. Apparently, things had gone well for Johanna and Theo.

But once they were in the Great Hall, Draco immediately noticed that something wasn't right. For perhaps the first time since Draco had started attending Hogwarts, the focus of attention was neither him, nor Potter or any of the other champions.

Draco and Theo sat down next to Daphne, who was sitting alone at one end of the Slytherin table.

"Hey, there," Theo greeted her. "Everything alright? People are staring at you?"

"Really?" she hissed. "Haven't noticed."

"Woah, sorry for asking," Theo muttered, glancing at Draco who just shrugged his shoulders. He had barely noticed any other people at the ball but he had had the impression that Neville and Daphne had had a good time.

Daphne dropped her shoulders. "No, I'm sorry. It's not your fault everyone is a little barmy today."

"What's wrong?" asked Draco, grabbing a piece of toast.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" drawled a voice from behind them. "Two more fraternizing with the enemy."

Daphne rolled her eyes.

"What do you want, Pansy?" asked Theo. "And since when is Daphne "the enemy"?"

"Oh, don't pretend like you don't know. I really thought better of you two, boys." Pansy wrinkled her nose at them.

"Just leave us alone," growled Daphne.

"No worries. It's not like I would want to spend any time with you," she spat the last word with as much venom as she could and left them to sit somewhere else.

Daphne sighed.

"Wow, what's gotten her wand in a twist?" asked Theo, sipping his tea.

"It's not just her," moaned Daphne. "It's everyone, really."

"Is this because you went to the ball with Neville?" asked Draco. "Pansy seemed to get along fine with him during our study sessions."

"Apparently, Slytherins are not allowed to go on dates with Gryffindors. But I think she's just pissed because you didn't go to the ball with her and she had to go with Crabbe," she shrugged her shoulders. "She'll get over it. But with the rest of the house, I'm not so sure. They - well, most of them - weren't all too happy with our behavior even before the ball. But now?" She had a worried look on her face.

"So, I take it things went well yesterday?" asked Draco.

Daphne smiled wistfully. "Things were perfect. Well, until I woke up this morning and everyone's decided I am public enemy number one."

"I'm sure things will blow over soon," said Theo. "I mean – half of our house is still not talking to me, but at least they stopped being such assholes about it."

"Wow," Draco groaned, "ever thought of writing motivational speeches, Theo?"

Daphne smiled. "It's okay, at least he's trying. I guess I'll just have to get used to this because I sure as hell won't let anyone dictate who I go out with."

Draco smiled at her. He wanted to say something but yelling from the other side of the hall stopped him.

"You are such an arse, Ronald Weasley!"

That sounded like Granger. Apparently, Slytherin was not the only house in disarray after the previous night's events.

"Me?! What about him?" they heard Weasley yell.

Draco and Daphne looked at each other. They must have thought the same thing - Neville - as they both jumped up and ran towards the commotion.

"Oh, look," spat Weasley once he saw them approaching, "there is the root of all evil."

"Are you talking about me?" growled Draco.

"Obviously! You've been infiltrating-"

"Infiltrating what?" Draco snapped.

"Ever since last year you have been trying to drive a wedge between us!"

"Oh, you've done a fine job of that yourself, Ron," yelled Granger.

"Are you blind?" countered Weasley, "I'm not the one who stole Neville's remembrall in first year! I'm not the one who called him stupid! I am also not the one who asked Harry for a duel and then chickened out, tried to get him into trouble every chance I could, and hoped he would die. And I am most definitely not the one who called you a "mudblood"!"

Hermione flinched.

"Guys," interrupted Neville, "can't we all just calm down and-"

"Shut it, you traitor!" barked Weasley.

"Don't talk to him like that!" yelled Daphne.

"Oh great, now she's here as well," moaned Seamus Finnigan, rolling his eyes and apparently siding with Weasley. "Don't you all see what they are doing? They are tearing our house apart!"

"We're not tearing anything apart!" that was Theo, who had followed his friends.

"Do we look stupid, or what? We can recognize an evil plan when we see one," growled Seamus.

Apparently not, thought Draco. Out loud he said, "stupid? Finnigan, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something."

Draco did not know who had said what and who had first drawn his wand after that, but the situation quickly escalated. In the end, Daphne had been hit with a nasty bat-bogey hex and Hermione was a sobbing mess on the ground, hit again, unsurprisingly, by a Densaugeo. Crabbe and Goyle had at some point joined the fight, apparently thinking it was a "Gryffindor VS Slytherin" thing, having been disarmed, then went about it muggle style and were currently on the ground wrestling with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. Theo was covered in boils. Potter was looking rather pale. And Neville had left the scene altogether.

Now, Snape and McGonagall were there. Scolding. Deducting points. Giving them all detention.

Draco patiently waited until all of it was over, accepting whatever punishment they felt he deserved - not that he had done anything. Once the professors were done and accompanied the injured to the infirmary, Draco set off to find Neville, but ran into Astoria on his way out of the Great Hall.

"Hey, Draco," she beamed.

"Hey," Draco smiled, momentarily forgetting that he wanted to talk to Neville.

"Yesterday was..." she began.

"I know," he smiled.

"Do you want to do something like that again?"

"Most definitely."

"How about tonight?" Astoria asked, looking hopeful.

Draco frowned. "I'm sorry. Detention. But let's meet in the library tomorrow. And I thought..." he took a deep breath, "Slughorn's throwing a New Year's party. Would you... would you like to be my date?"

"Yes," she smiled at him.

He smiled back but then remembered Neville. "I got to go look for Neville. Can you talk to your sister?"

"Are the others giving them a hard time?"

Draco nodded his head.

Astoria nodded and agreed to look after Daphne. "See you later."

They smiled at each other for a little while longer, before Astoria went on a search for her sister and Draco for Neville.

He found him where he had suspected him: In the Room of Requirement.

There he sat on the ground, looking quite miserable.

Draco walked over to him and sank down to the ground next to him.

"Rough morning?" Draco asked sympathetically.

Neville snorted, "you can say that again. Yesterday was magnificent... and today..." he shook his head.

"I'm sorry," Draco mumbled.

"Whatever for?"

"Well, Weasley is kind of right. It is my fault that you don't get along with your own house anymore. And I did do all of those things..."

"Oh Draco," Neville laughed, "it's not your fault. And I can't really blame you for things that you did thirty years ago."

"But they didn't happen thirty years ago! Not for you and the others. For them I am just a huge git who made their first two years at Hogwarts miserable and then all of a sudden wants to be friends and forget all about it. Without an apology. I don't have the right-"

"Draco," Neville interrupted, "stop beating yourself up over it. You do have the right to change your mind and have friends."

They both remained silent for a few seconds. "I still think that you can blame me for all that happened, and you probably should. It was still me who did all of it, no matter how long ago. I just want you to know, I am sorry for everything I did to you. I don't think you're stupid, at least not anymore. You are a great friend and I really don't deserve you."

Neville smiled at Draco. "Thanks. But I really don't blame you for anything that's going on right now. Say whatever you want, but I know that I never really had any close friends in the other timeline. I know that because I didn't really have any in this one before we became friends. I mean, I get along fine with the others, but... you know... They don't usually include me when they do anything. They don't tell me what's going on..." Neville smiled a sad smile.

"I know what you mean," whispered Draco. Neville's thoughts painfully mirrored his own. He had also never been disliked by his own house, but he had also never felt like he had any true friends in it.

"I have never had any close friends, not until we became friends. And I'd take this reality, in which we are friends, and in which Astoria, Daphne, Theo and Sirius are my friends, in which someone like Daphne would ask someone like me out on a date, over that one in which we hated each other any day. The others will just have to get used to this new reality. They haven't really been there for me before, so what right do they have to tell me who to be friends with now?"

Draco smiled. They sat in companionable silence until Draco said, "so you and Daphne, huh?"

Neville laughed, "we've just been on one date!"

"A pretty good one, by what I've gathered."

Neville shrugged his shoulders, but couldn't hide his grin. "We thought about meeting again, tonight."

"Oh, you will meet her tonight."

Neville raised an eyebrow.

"We all got detention," Draco explained. "You, I, Daphne and Theo... And Potter, Granger... Ron and Ginny Weasley, Finnigan, Thomas, Crabbe-"

Neville began to laugh. "So the whole school, basically?"

"Pretty much."

"Wow," Neville sighed. "You go on one date and suddenly the whole world is turned upside down."

"Well, it doesn't happen often that a lion and a snake go on a date."

Neville shrugged his shoulders. "Any ideas what I can do about it?"

"No. But I'll talk to your roommates. Maybe that will help. And I think you should go and talk to Daphne."

After lunch and much internal debate, he managed to catch the golden trio on their own.

"What do you want?" growled Weasley. "Haven't you already caused enough trouble for one day?"

Draco raised his hands. "I'm just here to talk."

"Well, we don't want to talk to you!"

"Ron!" hissed Hermione.

"I understand that," started Draco, "I really do. You are completely right, with everything you have said today. And that's why I'm here..." he took a deep breath. "I want to apologize."

"You- what?"

"I want to apologize. To all of you. For everything I did."

"You don't have to," muttered Potter.

Draco smirked but then glanced at Weasley. "Apparently, I do. But never mind that, I should have apologized to you ages ago. I've been a git. I know that now. I believed everything my parents told me and thought I was better than everyone else just because I was born a Malfoy. I don't believe that anymore. If it comes to a war again, I will be on your side." Draco took a deep breath, turning to Hermione. "Granger, I am sorry I called you a... a mudblood. I shouldn't have done it and it won't happen again."

Granger opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again.

"Potter... I don't even know where to begin. I have called you names, ratted you out to teachers, got you into trouble and wished for your death... I can't undo the past," at least not anymore, he added mentally, "I can only make sure it won't happen again in the future."

"Th-thanks, Draco," stammered Harry. "I'm sorry as well for what role I played in our- uhm - rivalry."

Draco smiled. Potter was so forgiving, it was astonishing. But he should have known, considering how he had defended him after the war and would one day name one of his sons after his most hated teacher.

Draco turned to Weasley, who had a look of defiance on his face. He was the hardest to apologize to. But if he wanted to help Neville, he had to do it.

"Weasley... I'm sorry I called you poor and stupid and a blood traitor-" Draco stopped abruptly because listing all the insults he had used against him did not seem to pacify the red-head. "I'm sorry. You are a great friend to those two and I can respect that. I know we probably won't become friends anytime soon... Just please don't let Neville suffer because of it. He didn't do anything wrong. And neither did Daphne."

Ron just nodded his head, not looking at Draco. It was probably the best he could have hoped for, so Draco turned around to leave.

"Wait," called Harry, "will you ever tell us what made you change your mind?"

Draco smiled and turned back to look at them. "Perhaps. But not today." He thought about leaving, before he remembered something. "Open the egg underwater," he finally said.

"What?"

"The golden egg. Warrington told me to tell you to open in underwater." And with that, he left. He didn't know whether his apology would change anything, but it really was something that just had to be said.

TBC

Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates Easter. I'm busy with studying and writing my thesis, and for some reason I still thought it would be a good idea to travel to Rome next week.

What did you guys think of this chapter? Let me know :)

My story suggestions:

1.) How to become an Animagus by princegeorge - A hilarious story in which McGonagall teaches Snape how to become an Animagus. (complete)

2.) George Weasley and the Computational Error by pisoprano – George travels through time to save his brother. (complete)