Chapter 16
‘Priceless’ was a perfect way to describe the looks that Harry, Draco, Ron and Hermione got while eating their lunch at the Three Broomsticks.
Since many of their friends had gotten their letters at the same time that they had, many familiar faces walked by. Ginny had been ‘released’ from the Burrow to join her brother and friends for lunch after shopping with her mother. She approached the table and gave each of them a hug as a greeting, including a very shocked Malfoy.
Scowling, Harry elbowed Draco and whispered, “You’d better watch out for that one.”
As he speared a lettuce leaf with his fork, Draco nodded and mumbled, “I know you fancy her, Potter.” Then in a bored voice he added, “Besides, she’s really not my type.”
Ron looked in the direction of the conversation which his best friend was a part of, eyes as large as saucers. He was sitting next to Harry with Hermione on his other side, half listening to what his best friend was telling the Slytherin.
“My sister?” His jaw fell in shock. “Please tell me I heard wrong.”
Hermione looked at Ron, patted his leg under the table and explained quietly enough so only they would hear, “Harry fancies Ginny, Ronald. She could have done a lot worse, don’t you think?”
Upon hearing this, Ron almost choked on his drink.
Looking around to assure herself there were no wandering ears, Hermione added, “At least, if they do get together, you’ll always know where she is.”
Ron continued to gape at his girlfriend with a look of utter astonishment. “How long have you known?”
Harry looked from Draco to Hermione and added in a fierce whisper, “Yeah, who told either of you I fancied her?”
She bit her lower lip, “Well, Harry, you have never told me outright but it’s been fairly obvious.”
Draco put his fork down and faced Ron. “Honestly, Weasley. I am in a completely different House at school and even I knew Harry liked Ginny! And that was before all of this,” he said, motioning to the group of them, “came about. Potter has always… ugh . . .” Draco made a few random gestures as if trying to explain something and not getting his point across, “what do they call that, Granger?”
Hermione quickly finished his thought. “Harry wears his heart on his sleeve. That’s why he had ‘Remedial Potions’ last year with Professor Snape.”
Harry looked up while Hermione continued to talk to Ron and noticed Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood walking towards their table. He waved them over, thankful for the distraction. Harry laughed silently when he saw the look of apprehension on Neville’s face upon seeing Draco Malfoy sitting with them.
“It’s all right, Neville,” Harry laughed politely as to not offend his friend. “Malfoy won’t bite; He’s with us.” Upon hearing his name, Draco looked up towards the commotion.
“I could always make an exception, Longbottom,” added Draco with a mischievous grin and a twinkle in his eyes.
Harry proceeded to hit Draco on the back of his head to prove his original point. Neville flinched, ready for a fight to ensue but opened his eyes wide when he heard Harry speak.
“Quit acting smart, Malfoy.” He looked over to Neville and said, “See? If he was the old Malfoy, he would have promptly hexed me right there, don’t you think?”
Luna’s eyes got wide and she quickly squealed, “Ooh! Can I be next? I’ve always wanted to take a whack at him!”
Neville smiled and started towards the door, taking Luna’s hand. “We just wanted to stop by and ask how your summer was but we really need to get going.” Glancing briefly at the table, he muttered, “Um, we’ll see you at school.” Luna was practically dragged out the door by her boyfriend.
Harry and Ron waved as they left. Ron grinned, leaning over to Draco, “Oh, this could be fun.”
They sat at their table for a while longer before paying for their meals, and were back within the safe walls of Hogwarts within the hour.
The Gryffindor common room was quiet with the four students reading their new textbooks. They had a handful of classes together. Harry and Ron had identical class lists and they shared Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms and Herbology with Hermione and Draco. Draco and Hermione also shared Ancient Runes and Muggle Studies.
Draco looked over to Hermione with a gleam of fascination in his eyes. Ron noticed this and was quick to make a comment.
“Hey ferret, care to share the reasons behind you staring at my girlfriend or do we have to take this outside?”
Malfoy weighed his options but decided to just tell the truth.
“I was just realizing that she would make an excellent study partner for Muggle Studies, that’s all.”
She nodded in agreement which shocked the Slytherin as well as her boyfriend. She spoke up quickly. “I have a proposition for you, though.”
Draco groaned, lifting a finger up as if he was about to object but he seemed to change his mind and motioned her to continue.
“I happen to know that you are not far behind me as far as grades go.”
Malfoy threw his head back, hitting the edge of the sofa in frustration. “Why, thanks for the reminder, Hermione!” he said sarcastically. “It’s not as if I wasn’t getting enough letters from my father about that fact.” Sensing something he didn’t think he would agree to he waved his hand at her. “Go on. What do you want?”
Hermione sat upright and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I want you to help me tutor the younger students this year. I think you would be an asset. It would also be a way for them to see where you stand as far as not being such a pain in the…”
He interrupted her. “I think I get it, Granger! No need to get graphic. So what’s in it for me?”
Hermione looked at him thoughtfully. “If you lighten my tutoring load, you can pick my brain anytime you want to for Muggle Studies.”
He seemed to be putting a great deal of thought into his decision, never taking his eyes off of hers. He was never one to compromise, especially when it came to giving up his free time. After what seemed to be an eternity, he snapped out of his reverie and stood up.
“Deal.”
Harry and Ron looked up. They both looked at Draco and replied, “Seriously?”
Malfoy nodded and, after noticing the time said to Harry, “Come on, Potter. You’re my first victim. Start clearing your mind on the way to the dungeons.”
Ron looked a bit confused and realized what they were about to work on.
“Wait, Malfoy is teaching you Occlumency?” He followed them towards the Fat Lady’s portrait, still trying to grasp what they were about to do. “Are you insane?”
Draco laughed, having heard him and responded, “We established that years ago, Weasley. He survived Professor Snape. Surely I’m not that bad, am I? Tonight should be like a walk in the park.”
With that they walked out of the common room towards the Slytherin dungeons.
One of the first things Harry noticed about the room he and Draco had entered for his Occlumency lesson was how much warmer it was compared to the rest of the dungeons. The light from the candles had a softer glow than he was used to seeing in Snape’s classroom. Malfoy seemed to sense his uncertainty and commented on it.
“Professor Snape allowed me to design a room for myself and a few others which made studying and other activities a bit more comfortable.”
At the phrase “other activities”, Harry looked closely at him, trying to get a better idea of the implication but decided to just drop it for the moment.
The candlelight gave way to large plush cushions scattered on the floor “ their colours representing Slytherin; a deep hunter green, silver, black and also gray. Harry looked at Draco with a look of shock. Malfoy ignored it and continued.
“This place gives me a relaxed environment to clear my mind which is not easy to do when all of your classmates are worrying about their OWLS. Not many people know about the room so if you would keep this between us, I would appreciate it.”
Draco walked over to the pillows and arranged the room to better accommodate their needs. Harry nodded and placed his jumper in the corner as he sat across from the Slytherin.
“I don’t blame you for keeping this place quiet.” Harry seemed to debate his next question. “Oh, and I must ask . . . have you ever considered interior decorating?”
Draco glared at Harry and rolled his eyes. Instead of coming back with a sarcastic retort, however, he simply smirked with his wand raised.
“Legillimens!”
Safe Haven by NikkiSue
Chapter Notes: Holy bananas. I apologize for this dry spell I have been experiencing as far as writing ANYTHING. I hope to remedy this. This chapter has our gang of misfits revealing secrets and tampering with Harry's mind. It's been rewritten sveral times. Hopefully the final draft will suffice.
Chapter Endnotes: Things are about to get really complicated, but not in a confusing way. Lots of twists and turns in the upcoming chapters!