"Thank you Hermione, dear." Mrs. Weasley said as she placed a roast chicken on the table in the dinning room. "Just set those potatoes next to the salad."
Luna came in through the kitchen door next with a jug of Pumpkin juice and Ginny was at her heels holding a tower of glass cups.
Harry and Ron sat in their seats, watching the procession of savory dishes entering the room, some warm and letting off small silky strands of steam. Harry looked up at the chandelier of the high ceilinged room. He noticed that all the rooms in the house had high cielings, and as his eyes met the wooden paneled cieling above, he realized Ron's room was right above them, and Draco was in the room now. Doing what? Harry wondered silently.
Ron poked Harry with his spoon saying, "Eat slugs, Harry!"
Hermione, who had sat down after relieving herself of the platter of potatos snickered and said, "Ron, that was your finest moment was it?"
Ron remembered all too well how he had tried to curse Malfoy and how it backfired, causing him to burp up slugs all day. He also remembered that it was because Draco had called Hermione a "Mudblood" which was highly insulting. He immediately dropped the subject.
Mr. Weasley came in through the door leading off to the entrance hall; he sat down without saying anything, obviously pondering some matter.
Mrs. Weasley had cooked a large, delicious meal again (as she did every night without fail), and everyone was sitting down, looking eagerly at the dishes of food spread out on the long table, half of which was empty owing to its immense size.
Arthur sat at the end of the table with Molly at his left, along with Ginny and Luna and Hermione. Harry and Ron sat to Arthur's right, facing the girls, who they weren't looking at because the food was much more interesting to them.
Ron grabbed a fork and poked at a roast potato, but Mrs. Weasley asked, "Where is Draco?"
Ron lowered his fork in disappointment, and looked uneasily at Harry. Harry spoke, "He hasn't said a single word actually." His words were true, yet sounded oddly dramatic. "We told him dinner would be ready…" Harry looked at Hermione, who was watching him closely. "But he said he wasn't hungry."
This was a lie, as Harry and Ron had exchanged no more words than Draco had. Hermione gave Harry a disbelieving look; Harry knew she wanted to say, "You just didn't try hard enough."
Mrs. Weasley just clicked her tongue with sympathy. "The poor dear. I guess he wouldn't have much of an appetite."
Ron nodded in agreement, his wide eyes surveying the feast before him.
Arthur Tucked a napkin in his collar and announced, "Well, no reason to starve ourselves! Dig in everyone!" He smiled jovially at Molly, but she lifted an eyebrow in warning.
Arthur knew that she didn't approve of being unkind, even in the slightest to Draco, regardless of him being Lucius' son.
They sat and ate through plate after plate. Harry had gotten used to Molly's cooking and he wondered how he ever managed at the Dursley's. The dinner had vanished almost like magic, and everyone sat around the table, several conversations being tossed about. Arthur cleared his throat and slowly the talking died down so that he could speak. "Now, I know that you know that the Malfoy family aren't our best friends…"
He seemed to be forcing the next part out, his ears reddening. "But Draco is still a guest in our home, and he is in an discomfited situation, so…"
His moral seemed to be surfacing. "Make sure that you make his stay comfortable." Ron made a grunting noise and Arthur turned towards him and Harry. "I mean it! Ron, Harry. I don't care if you never say more than five words to him- pretend he's an illusion of your imagination if you like! But do not make things harder for that boy. Do you hear?"
Everyone at the table nodded.
A wake of silence followed this, so that each person seemed to be staring in a different part of the room, not speaking.
Mrs. Weasley clapped her hands together and said, "Well, now that everyone's had their fill, it's off to your rooms to get ready for bed."
Hermione and Ginny began picking up the plates and cups but Mrs. Weasley stopped them. "Oh, no thank you dears! I'll be getting along with those. Just run upstairs, all of you."
Ginny looked suspiciously at her parents as they seemed to want privacy to speak about something.
They obeyed and walked upstairs, thanking Molly for dinner and saying their good nights.
When they all reached the top of the stairs, Ron pulled out the Earwig and held it up. Harry was close to Ron, listening as the girls stood near, waiting to be told what was being said.
Ron opened his mouth, his eyes glazed as he listened. Then he said, "They say Dumbledore's cracked the riddle…"
Hermione gave a disgruntled look, possibly at not being first to solve the conundrum. Ron continued. "They say that he isn't going back to Cold Castle like they thought, but that he's following another lead somewhere."
Luna nodded, "Cold Castle, that's where we saw Voldemort."
Hermione had apparently not deduced this either and she gave another look of defeat, sighing quietly.
Ron lowered the earwig. "That's all. They're talking about Draco's dad or something."
"He's still in Azkaban." Hermione said, finally having answered something correctly.
Ron yawned. "Yeah, and I don't think he's flown the coop."
Ginny walked over to her room and Hermione and Luna followed, saying "good night" and such. Their door closed and Harry and Ron were left in the dark Ballroom.
They walked silently towards Ron's room, dreading the silence that they would have to endure that night owing to Draco's presence.
"The git." Ron said. "Sharing his family problems with us."
Harry laughed halfheartedly, understanding Ron's motives for anger. For some reason, Harry wasn't quite sure why, but he had felt very little animosity or anger towards Draco since he arrived. He was, after all, Harry's enemy, but Harry couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Draco.
They reached the door and opened it. Harry expected to see Draco lying in bed, pretending to be asleep. He hadn't expected to walk in on Draco looking out the window, neither would he have imagined he would find him crying.