Golden Flower of Hogwarts

Philosopher's 8

With classes finally over, it was time for lunch! Harry, Ron, and Dudley went to collect Neville from the hospital wing and gave him notes to help him catch up with Transfiguration. On the way down to the Great Hall, Harry noticed the red handkerchief that Neville was clutching the entire time; he recognized the stitch work belonging to Chrys. He wasn't surprised, but he was curious about it and its story to which Neville was happy to explain that it was a confidence charm, even going as far as to show the carefully stitched chamomile flower.

"It's been radiating this calming energy ever since he gave it to me!" Neville exclaimed happily.

"No surprise, chamomiles are often used in calming teas." Harry pointed out in agreement.

As it was agreed to meet with Hagrid during lunch; the small group of Gryffindors had met with the Slytherins and some Hufflepuffs in the Great Hall to collect what they could safely bag before making their way outside. As it turned out, Cora Black was Draco Malfoy's cousin and she was pretty insistent on bringing in some new friends to the fold - and also to pick on her cousin for his 'adorable crush' that Draco would swear up and down that nothing of that sort was happening.

It wasn't just Cora that was joining them, she had brought along another first year with her; Izanami Hanako, the little bunny girl that helped in Herbology and had visited Neville - and also the very one that Draco recalled hearing a fellow snake talk about in the dorms. Izanami was doing all she could to hide away from the other snakes that the only thing anyone could see of her was her red bow that was sticking out behind Cora. They were hoping that once they made it to Hagrid's place she would be able to relax more around them.

The autumn breeze felt amazing, Chrys couldn't help but to lay in the grass and watch as Fang, Hagrid's dog, laid his head on Harry's lap, getting dog drool on the robes. Despite the pleasant atmosphere, Draco's presence did set Izanami off, she found herself trying to press closer to Cora or Neville at the sight of him. Unlike Chrys, Draco had the standard Slytherin expression on his face. Even if Draco was the living embodiment of what a Slytherin was down to a T, he knew his limits - to an extent; he was mostly bothering Chrys who later took out the embroidering hoop from his bag and another fabric square.

Izanami watched with interest as Chrys laid there on the grass. Now Draco was just staring in disbelief, He's really seen it all at this point; out in the open, where other students could see a Slytherin doing mundane muggle things! Draco really wanted to drag him back to the Slytherin common room for this alone!

"Ferret..." Cora had a warning tone in her voice. "Remember what we talked about."

Draco scowled at her before looking at Harry and Chrys. "Out here in the open?"

"Do it." She ordered.

"Fine. But just so you know, Chrys said he'd rather burn, and I only honored his request, so if this goes wrong, I'm solely blaming you because it was your idea." He grumbled.

Cora just grinned at him and patted his shoulder. "Go get 'em, Ferret!"

He really hated that name. He also really hated when she nudged her way into his affairs! Draco shook his head and straightened up his robes before turning to Chrys, he got a better look at the embroidery project; a yellow square with a pink rose. Looking at Harry, he saw that the Boy Who Lived himself was absentmindedly nibbling on a turkey sandwich while spacing out.

"Lindsay, Potter, a word?" Draco called out to them, bringing their attention to him.

Chrys paused and looked up at Draco. "Yes, Malfoy?" He replied, not taking his hazel eyes off him.

Draco sighed softly and shook his head, taking a deep breath and standing as straight as he could. "Look, about what happened in Potions...I'm...I'm sorry. And I mean it, in the most sincere way I could possibly get it." There, he said it. He silently questioned himself on why it was so hard, and why he actually did genuinely mean the apology. He would ponder this later.