Drarry oneshots because WHY NOT

The Raven and the Snake

In an au where the Triwizard Tournament never happens, and Harry has a relatively normal fourth year. This one may get heated ;-;

Harry never really enjoyed his birthdays. For the first eleven years of his life, he had never received a proper gift from anybody. Sure, he would sometimes have someone at school to call a 'friend' but it never lasted, since Dudley always made them think that Harry was some kind of freak who couldn't be trusted. He never got any birthday cards--and the only thing the Dursleys would give him (if they remembered his birthday at all) was a new box of tissues to put on the shelf of the cupboard where he slept. He supposed it was practical.

His first birthday after knowing Ron and Hermione was candy. He was almost scared to eat the little cupcake Hermione had sent, and he spent hours in his small room wondering if he could preserve it with magic. He sent a thank you letter to both of them, trying not to seem too desperate for their friendship in his writing.

It was July 30th, 11:30pm. Harry waited at his window, for it had become a tradition for Ron and Hermione to send gifts the moment the clock struck midnight. He wondered how they could properly estimate the time it took for the owls to fly over to Surrey.

Errol arrived at 12:01, with Hermione's rented owl coming only a couple minutes later. Ron's present consisted of a small parcel with a chocolate frog and some random candies he supposed were from Fred and George. Hermione's owl held a large package on its talon, and inside was an entire cake. I know they don't feed you enough over there, Harry. Please eat something so you don't have to stuff your face full of food on the first day of term! -Hermione.

He ate a few bites of the cake then, and hid the rest of it under the floorboards. Dudley was on a new diet, and if any of the Dursleys knew that he wasn't following it as well, he wouldn't be allowed to sit at the dining room table for weeks. Not that he wasn't used to it.

The Hogwarts Express ride was as exciting as ever. While the ride itself was boring, Harry couldn't help but feel giddy at the thought of being truly home again. Ron and Hermione sat across from him, while he looked at the vast fields flying by.

"Come on Hermione, just one, please?" Ron said, holding out a box of Every Flavour Beans.

"No, Ronald--I've had them before and it was petrol-flavoured!" Hermione sighed, exasperated. This wasn't the first time Ron had tried to get Hermione to try the beans.

Ron rolled his eyes. "What even is petrol? Some kind of potion ingredient?"

"It's fuel for muggle cars, Ron," Harry chimed in, screwing up his face in disgust. He didn't want to know what petrol tasted like, and Hermione seemed pleased to know that he was on her side.

Just as Ron tried convincing her one last time, Harry's eyes were drawn to the door as Draco Malfoy walked past. He was taller than last year, and while his hair was still a pale blond, it was falling over his forehead now, instead of being slicked back as it usually was. Crabbe and Goyle followed him, and Harry caught a bit of their conversation.

"Professor Snape taught me potions over the summer so I'd be ahead of everyone else. I suppose that's just the benefits of having a father with so many connections!" Malfoy drawled, boasting to his friends, who just agreed without real emotion.

Snape was tutoring Malfoy? Great, now Hermione was going to have even more competition with him this year. Every year, Malfoy and Hermione fought for the top mark in potions. Of course, Snape didn't want Hermione to win, but there was only so much he could do in terms of marking.

To make things worse, Snape often paired him and Malfoy together, as if they wouldn't try to hex each other to death every class. Harry could never understand what was going through Snape's head whenever he wrote their names down side-by-side on the chalkboard. Hermione and Ron were always paired together! Now that Malfoy had some extra teachings, Harry prepared himself for even more teasing and insults. He was never really that gifted at potions in the first place.