𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒

Chapter 11

Draco became more and more irate as the morning dragged on. Madam Pomfrey, true to her word, had released him after breakfast and she had even escorted him to his first class. The problem now was that every teacher seemed to want to hover over him, asking him if he was alright in whispers that they didn't think the other students would overhear.

They were all trying to be so careful not to upset the young Malfoy that it was actually making Draco quite nervous and definitely driving him to distraction, even under the influence of a cheering potion. By the time lunch rolled around he was in a foul mood as he stomped off to the Great Hall with one of his teachers in tow.

By the time lunch was nearly over, it seemed every student in Hogwarts seemed to know, or think they knew, what had happened, as the gossip from overhearing the teachers circulated around the room. Even his own house mates weren't sure what to do about him. Most were just trying to avoid him to ally their feelings of awkwardness, but some seemed outright angry at him.

When a young Hufflepuff girl suddenly found herself in front of him as the students filed out to afternoon classes, she looked at him with such pity as she sidestepped away from him that Draco lost it.

"Suicide's not contagious, you know," he shot at her loudly, causing the other teens that were around him to stop and stare at the blonde. Before Draco could get a head of steam up and start hexing everyone, Professor Cox stepped forward.

"Off to classes, please," the Scot instructed the others. "Mr. Malfoy, I believe you have Defence against the Dark Arts with me. You may accompany me."

Draco clicked his mouth shut, his face blushing as he saw the other students flash him looks of condolence, pity or stares of outright disdain. He noticed Harry standing off with his two Gryffindor friends, looking like he wanted to say something and Draco gave his head a small shake of negation. The blonde dutifully followed his Professor with his head down and his visage scowling.

"He really did try to kill himself," Ron stated in amazement after the retreating forms of Professor Cox and Draco Malfoy. "He just admitted to it."

"Remember, Ron, we promised not to aggravate him," Hermione insisted.

Harry said nothing, but feelings of guilt at allowing Draco to go though this without setting everyone straight were gnawing at his insides. He hoped to be able to speak with the Slytherin after classes and Harry decided he'd try to get the blonde to at least confess that he had had some kind of accident and hadn't really tried to commit suicide, that all this was just a big misunderstanding.

XXX

Harry waited outside Draco's last class of the day for the blonde teen. He had snuck out of his own class in order to meet the Slytherin. Soon the door to the classroom opened and students began pouring out. "Draco," Harry hissed from around the corner as the blonde walked by.

Harry waved his hand to get the boy to come over. Draco looked around and then slipped into the adjacent corridor with the dark haired boy. "We need to tell everyone something else," he stated. "Maybe you could say you had an accident and that the professors just took it wrong."

"Are you kidding?" Draco quipped crossly. "If I try to deny it now it will make it look more like I really did try to commit suicide. No one will believe me." Draco took a step closer and lowered his voice. "You still have the book, right?"

"Yeah, it's in my trunk in my room."

"We have to figure out a way to practice those spells away from prying eyes," the blonde mused out loud.

"Why don't we just forget about it for now?" Harry questioned. "Let all this stuff die down." "I suppose we don't have much choice," Draco responded irritably, his grey eyes clouding.

"You're still planning on going, aren't you?" Harry questioned, surprised that the blonde leaving was really beginning to bother him.

"I don't know," Draco replied honestly. He looked up into the other boys amazing green eyes. "Looks like I can't leave right now anyways with all the teachers keeping watch. I'm just really concerned my father's going to find out about this," Draco admitted.

"Do you think he'd do anything?" Harry questioned, reaching out and taking Draco's hand to lend him some moral support.

Draco was surprised at the gesture, but he didn't remove his hand. "I don't know, he's so unpredictable, he may not even care at all." The blonde Slytherin felt a knot of emotion begin to form in his throat and he swallowed hard to get it to go away.

Harry felt a pang of sympathy for his now friend as he saw the pained expression flicker across his face. Harry squeezed the slim hand in an attempt at comfort, the two boys unconsciously moving closer together.

"Everything will settle down soon and when it does, we'll practice the spells. If you decide to leave then you'll be prepared and if you decide to stay, then we'll both be ready to fight Voldemort." Harry smiled confidently, his grin widening when Draco returned it with a small one of his own.

"You're not going to give up on that, are you?" Draco questioned, feeling glad that someone wanted him around.

"Nope," Harry continued to grin, stepping even closer to the blonde so that their foreheads were almost touching, gazing into those oh-so-stormy grey eyes.

"Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter," Snape called out. He had been a bit late to meet with Draco after his last class and was more than surprised at the sight that greeted him when he had heard voices coming from this corridor. It almost looked like the two were about to engage in a kiss, much to Snape's horror, but surely that couldn't be right.

The two boys shot away from each other like an arrow flying from a tautly strung bow, both their faces flushing crimson at being caught by none other than the stoic Potions Professor.

Snape raised an eyebrow at the pair, resisting the urge to ridicule them for fear of depressing his godson. "We're going to dinner," he drawled, turning in a swirl of black robes, his manner stated that he expected the boys to follow.

The Potions Master decided on the way to the great hall that he needed to have a good stern talk with the Potter boy about this. He was not going to let anyone upset Draco, no matter if it was well intentioned or not.

Severus did not suspect Potter of machination against the blonde. More than likely it was that annoying Gryffindor desire to genuinely help another that was causing this transformation in the two boy's previously non-existent relationship. Irregardless, his godson was in a sensitive and exposed frame of mind at the moment and he wouldn't have The-Boy-Who-Lived taking advantage of that.

Severus wondered if the old Headmaster had prodded Harry to become friends with Draco so they could get information about Lucius and the Death Eaters. He wouldn't put it past the scheming old fart. The more he thought about it the more plausible the idea became until he had basically decided that Harry and Draco being friends was in no way going to proceed any further if he had any say in the matter.

XXX

At the same time that dinner was almost finished in the Great Hall, Lucius Malfoy, after talking to the senior Crabbe, stormed from his private den, a murderous cloud of shamed anger whipping around him. Grabbing his cloak, and with an expression that would have melted though the toughest metal, he apparated out with a loud crack. Destination...Hogwarts.