Drarry

Discovery

Harry awoke, still feeling the residual waves of anger settled into his bones. He had a feeling that they would be there for a while.

"Harry, mate! Get up!" Ron shook Harry's shoulders and Harry slapped his hand away.

"I'm awake," he said abruptly and Ron sighed.

"You weren't ten seconds ago," he muttered and grabbed his wand from his bedside table to tuck into his robes. "Breakfast in ten."

Harry jumped out of bed and dressed, breaking his all time record for the quickest dressing. He ran down to the Great Hall, taking the stairs three at a time. He arrived in the hall in time to see the cloud of owls pour into the room bearing mail for the students. Harry found a seat at the Gryffindor table, wedged between Ron and Seamus who was holding hands with Dean. Harry tore into a piece of toast as his new owl, Dobby landed among the plates. Eager to see who would be writing to him as his main correspondents were dead, Harry carefully detached the letter and slit it open with a butter knife.

"Dear Mr Potter,
Following the recent events in regards to the fall of Lord Voldemort, we at the Auror Office would be delighted to begin training days whenever you feel obliged to attend. We understand that you have just begun your final year at Hogwarts and probably will not have time to attend this year, however, we thought it wise to make our offer known to you.
Please let us know shortly what your decision will be.
Yours truly,
Alastor Moody,
Head of Auror Office
The Ministry of Magic
London."

Harry dropped the letter in his pumpkin juice. But Moody was dead! Taken out by Death Eaters. Harry had a feeling that this was some cruel joke. He scanned the teachers table and saw that the DADA teacher was observing him closely. Frowning, Harry passed the letter to Ron who read it and said, "But he's dead. Moody, I mean."

"I know," Harry said quietly. It was a trick, and a mean one too. Perhaps, he blinked as a though struck him. Perhaps it was Ginny getting back at him. No, she wasn't that vindictive, was she?
Harry scanned his timetable and saw that he had to wait several periods before DADA. So he made up his mind. He would corner the new DADA teacher and demand to know who he was. And he'd ask Ginny about this letter.

Draco scanned the flock of owls for his owl and sure enough it was there, gliding down to him. Following close behind was another owl, a jet black one. Draco grabbed the letter off his owl and read it quickly. It was his mother, asking how everything was going. The second owl carried a letter from his father. It demanded to know why Draco had disobeyed him and returned to Hogwarts. Furious, Draco yanked some parchment, a bottle of ink and a quill from his bag and penned a reply.

"To Father,
I'm not your toy anymore, not the perfect Slytherin you wanted. I wanted to go back to school and besides, what can you do? You're in prison. You can't stop me doing what I want now. I can go where I want. I'm not going to listen to you devotedly. I'm not going to be your shadow anymore. You're a bad man and I've already screwed stuff up for me but I don't want to ruin anymore chances I have at a normal life. I may bear the mark of evil but I don't have to be evil. I don't have to be an asshole anymore. So don't bother sending anymore angry letters. I'm not listening anymore.
Good bye,
Draco Malfoy
Hogwarts."

Feeling only fractionally better, Draco attached the letter to the black owl and pushed it away, taking a swig of pumpkin juice. What he wouldn't give to punch his stupid father right in his pale face. Fuming, Draco gave up trying to eat and strode from the Great Hall. And promptly walked right into Harry Potter.

Harry had left the Great Hall when he saw the DADA teacher leave. He'd been just about to leap around the corner and demand to know who the teacher was when someone had slammed into him. He whirled around, his breath leaving him. It was Draco Malfoy. Harry frowned and pushed the bemused Slytherin off him.

"Merlins most saggy Y fronts! What the hell are you up to?" Harry said abruptly.

"Nothing. Why do you always think I'm up to something?" Malfoy said resentfully. "Seriously. Like, you seem to think that I do everything to get at you. Let me tell you something Potter. I don't. I'm not always an asshole. I can be a nice guy. If you just give me a god damn chance."

And with that, the blonde turned and tore down the hallway in the direction of the Slytherin common room. Harry could hear the sobs. He frowned. Draco crying? What was wrong with him? And Harry give him a chance? Draco was the one who'd tormented him! Not the other way around! Harry was still standing in the hall when the first bell rang and he remembered what he'd actually left early for. He swore and made his way to Transfiguration.