Chapter 21 “ Calm, Cool and Collected
It had been a long and restless night. After many drawn out yawns and a few good stretches, Draco rolled out of his bed. He placed his bare feet on the cold stone floor of the Slytherin boy’s dormitory. A few muffled groans indicated his dorm mates were also trying to pull themselves away from dream land.
Standing up and allowing himself one final stretch, Draco tried to remember why he didn’t feel more refreshed. He heard Blaise in the bed next to him mutter, “Another year to torture first years, hey Draco?”
And then it dawned on him - It’s the first day of classes. His mind worked a hundred times a minute while his outer appearance showed nothing but the calm he would normally be feeling. Time for the truth to be seen by everyone . . . but how?
He rummaged through his wardrobe, looking for a watching pair of socks, losing his balance as he tried to put them on while still standing.
Do I enter each class greeting my fellow students or be a little more subtle?
He finished adjusting his Slytherin tie and made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast, Crabbe and Goyle not far behind him, per tradition. As he walked, he looked to his left and saw Ginny try to catch up. She was doing something between a jog and a trot as she approached him.
He sighed. At least it wasn’t Granger. It would be hard enough to let the new Draco out in the open as it was.
“Hey Draco, wait a second!”
Several students, mostly Slytherin, turned to look at Draco and the youngest Weasley with an expression of utter shock. They seemed to be watching in anticipation to see what Draco would do. How dare a Weasley “ not to mention a Gryffindor “ be so casual towards a Malfoy!
Draco glanced back at Ginny and slowed down so she could catch up. Crabbe and Goyle stayed behind with their friend but Malfoy brushed them off.
“Guys, I’ll just meet you at the table.”
Ginny smirked; Malfoy saw it and did the same after the boys walked away looking more than mildly confused. He turned to address Ginny.
“I’m rubbing off on you.” Draco pointed at her, barely making contact with her shoulder with his finger. She was still watching the rejected Slytherins walk into the Great Hall.
“Did you see the looks on their faces? It was priceless! I can get used to this.” Ginny’s face was flushed with amusement. She was practically glowing.
Following her gaze, Draco sobered a bit and gave a weak laugh. “I’m glad it amuses you, Weasley.” Eager to change the subject, he added in a low voice, “By the way, how is your leg?”
He was watching the two cronies with a look of apprehension, only half paying attention to the girl in front of him. Ginny seemed to understand his discomfort and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “You know, there is a bright side to all of this madness.”
Draco huffed in disbelief, “Please enlighten me.”
Doing exactly that, she said, “You are, in all respects, one of us now. You’ll learn quickly that we stand behind our own no matter how sticky it gets.”
With a slight look that would have resembled confusion at best, he asked her, “And your point is?”
Ginny looked Draco square in the eye. “We’re not going anywhere. You’re about to learn what it’s like to have real friends.”
With that final thought, Ginny kissed him on the cheek and he saw her do the same thing to her close Gryffindor friends as she sat down for breakfast. Draco stood between the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables, briefly placing his hand over the spot where Ginny had just kissed him. He glanced in the direction of his roommates and saw Crabbe and Goyle looking at him in shock. He looked at the seat next to them and then looked directly at Pansy. He swore he saw fire in her eyes.
Draco, having suddenly lost his appetite, turned around and headed for Professor McGonagall’s room.
Harry’s cheek grew warm where Ginny had planted one of her famous morning kisses. He felt so giddy that morning that he was even able to ignore the fact that Malfoy had gotten one as well.
Harry felt slightly guilty at the reason behind his good mood. Although the blonde Slytherin had come far in righting his wrongs, he and Ron were eager to see the looks of shock from Draco’s house mates that morning. Besides, reasoned Harry, Malfoy made their lives hell for five years. A little drama wouldn’t hurt him.
Harry and Ron looked up as Draco jogged out of the breakfast hall. Hermione looked at the two boys in front of her and opened her mouth to say something but she was interrupted by Ginny.
“No, Hermione, just leave him alone for a few minutes. He probably needs time to sort through his thoughts.”
This put Hermione on the defensive. “I don’t care where the ferret goes; serves him right, missing breakfast.”
Ginny saw right through her best friend’s comments. “Please spare me the bitterness, Hermione. We all know you and Malfoy formed some sort of weird bond. Merlin knows how, seeing as he used to be especially hostel towards you.”
Watching the two girls bicker back and forth, Ron and Harry slowly and stealthily slid off the bench and disappeared out of the Great Hall.
Draco was pacing inside of the empty Transfiguration classroom. He spun around when he heard the door open but relaxed slightly when he noticed it was just Potter and Weasley.
Turning his back to them, he said, “Are you having fun yet? I’m sure what happened this morning was just the tip of the iceberg.”
Ron cleared his throat. “Malfoy, if you are done wallowing in self pity, we nicked you some food.”
Draco turned around and faced the two Gryffindors in front of him. This made Harry snicker. “I think we got his attention. Did you see how quickly he turned around when food was mentioned, Ron? You two have more in common every day!”
Without skipping a beat, Draco and Ron both replied, “Shut up, Harry!”
Laughing again, Harry commented quickly, “Just like an old married couple.”
At that moment their classmates began to file in and find their seats. Draco took one last bite of bacon and gracefully sat in the front row on the far left side. He did a poor job of hiding his shock when Hermione sat in the seat next to him leaving Harry and more importantly Ron to sit elsewhere.
He couldn’t help himself. “I’m not complaining, Granger, but shouldn’t you be sitting with your boyfriend?”
With an unattractive, “Hmph!” she scoffed at his question. “Those two can fend for themselves.”
Draco gave her a confused look. He looked back and forth between the three of them and saw the boys avoiding any eye contact with the girl.
“Trouble in the Golden Trio’s paradise? You and Weasley break up already? Wow, I had my galleons on at least a month or two into the relationship before you saw the light and came running to the handsome Slytherin… Ow! What was that for?”
Hermione rolled her eyes. “Do I honestly have to sit you down and explain to you that I care for Ron very much and you will never be more than a friend? I thought that point was already clear.”
Standing up, Draco put his hands in front of him effectively pushing Hermione away from him. “Whoa, relax! A girl is the very last thing that I want complicating my life right now, Hermione. I’ve just found myself in more of a big brother position with you, that’s all. I watch out for my own.”
He looked down at her when he was finished speaking, internally questioning what her reaction might be.
“Oh.” She looked up to her friend and then over his shoulder to the door.
At that time, Professor McGonagall walked to the front of the room commanding the attention of the students.
“Good morning, everyone. I trust you got some well-deserved rest during your holiday and if not, well, this year will be a draining one to say the least.”
There was a collective groan and some awkward shifting. Professor McGonagall tapped her wand on the chalkboard.
“We will be working in pairs this morning. I decided it might be beneficial to review last term’s materials. The pairs are listed on the board.” She held up a sheet of parchment. “I have summaries of what has been covered so far and I will pass them out as well. You may begin.”
There was a second or two of silence as the students appeared to be gathering their thoughts. A quick dash to their respective partners followed.
Harry and Ron looked at the board.
Potter “ Patil
Malfoy “ Parkinson
Weasley “ Granger
Goyle “ Finnegan
Crabbe “ Brown
The list went on but they saw what they were trying to find. Pansy Parkinson snickered in satisfaction. No one else had quite the same reaction, however Ron and Hermione acted cool and collected when they met at their table. Ron’s face turned red when he heard Malfoy whisper, “Don’t blow anything up, Weasley.”
That only made Pansy laugh harder.
Professor McGonagall looked in the direction of the laughter and cleared her throat. “I apologise class, but I seem to have slipped when I organised today’s pairings. Please note a couple of changes.”
Two pairs appeared on the board:
Malfoy “ Weasley
Granger “ Parkinson
Ron and Hermione cringed and glanced in Harry and Padma’s direction for pity. Draco shrugged at Pansy who suppressed a look of disgust and walked with poise to Hermione’s table.
Looking at Ron, Draco said, “My comment I made earlier still stands “ Don’t blow anything up because this time instead of just worrying about embarrassing yourself in front of your girlfriend, it’s my grade on the line.”
Ron groaned and spoke his mind. “This isn’t potions, Malfoy. We’re not likely to be playing with fire.”
Draco leaned in and commented under his breath, “You’d think that was obvious but I know from your sister that you already destroyed one wand. I’m not taking any chances and I’m also keeping my distance.” He began taking notes on what was on the summaries before Ron could say anything more.
On the other side of the room, Pansy was trying her best, it seemed, to keep polite conversation flowing.
“Did you have a nice summer, Grang “ erm, Hermione?” The words looked to be like poison to her and she turned red in the face as she spoke them.
The Gryffindor looked at the Slytherin with an expression of shock. “Er, uh, sure, I guess?”
Pansy smiled (almost too wide) so Hermione continued the politeness. She was on her guard but knew harm could not come to her by simply speaking words to one another.
“And how was your summer, Pansy?” She gave a dazzling smile that just spilled out sarcasm and hatred. “Did you spend a lot of time with your family?”
Pansy looked up and Hermione cringed. “I’m sorry, that came out wrong.” She wanted to do some damage control before things got too hectic.
Pansy did an outstanding job of covering up any sort of emotion and answered quickly, “No, it’s quite all right. Actually, my parents and I spent some time in France.” She was gathering notes and checking her wand for blemishes as she spoke.
Hermione tried to hide her interest. Harry and Padma watched in shock as the conversation unfolded in front of them. Harry shrugged. “Maybe this was all part of McGonagall’s plan.”
Padma almost snorted and said, “Plan or not, Harry, you just transfigured your quill into a turtle.” She grabbed his wand from his hand and placed it flat on the desk. “Pay attention, will you?”
Safe Haven by NikkiSue
Chapter Notes: I'm getting a little better at this updating thing.
This chapter shows the first day of school in full swing. No romance in this one (sorry), but we get to see a little Pansy and Hermione chat and Draco giving Ron an ultimatum of sorts. Enjoy!
The characters and use of the Harry Potter world as a whole is borrowed temporarily from the genius that is JK Rowling.