Chrysalis

Chapter 9

They heard nothing more about Lucius before Draco's next test, and Harry seemed to be worrying about whatever Draco's father might be up to enough to bother Snape again the night before they went to the Ministry again. Snape's visit helped not at all, though. He'd learned nothing about what Lucius was currently up to.

"He has appealed his sentence, but the Wizengamot turned his plea down flat." Harry had relaxed a bit at that, but Severus had scowled at him. "Don't think that will be the end of it," Snape told them. Harry hadn't at all been pleased with the idea that Lucius might try something else, but Snape had refused to tell him anything more. "If you don't mind, I'd rather visit with my 'godson,' Potter," he'd smirked. Snape had been quite amused by the idea that the Ministry believed he was Draco's godfather, and brought it up often, usually to Harry's displeasure.

Snape had ignored Harry for the rest of the evening, and Draco, feeling a bit guilty at the treatment Harry was getting from Snape, decided he would make it up to Harry later that night.

After Snape left, he hurried into the kitchen, and began pulling out food for dinner.

"Draco?" Draco turned to look at Harry, who stood at the door, looking at him oddly. "What are you doing?"

"Making dinner, of course," he smiled, turning back to the vegetables he'd pulled out. He was proficient enough in cooking now that he was able to make a passable enough meal for the two of them himself. In fact, he took a great of pride in his new talents. It wasn't really much like Potions, but it wasn't so far from it as to be utterly foreign to him either. He actually found the process rather calming, to be honest.

Harry sat at the table that night while Draco prepared dinner, even setting the table himself, now that he could reach the cabinets on his own. It felt wonderful to be so self-sufficient. And Harry seemed pleased with the results as well. It ended up being a very nice evening, and when Draco settled to sleep that night, he was sure that he couldn't imagine things being too much better than they were right at that moment.

Waking up after a growth spurt was something Draco was becoming accustomed to, though it was never a particularly comfortable thing. It always left his muscles feeling rather like what he expected taffy felt like—wobbly and weak. Not to mention achy.

When he stretched out that morning, trying to relieve some of the pain, he found that remembering the night before helped take away some of the ache from the sudden growth. Harry appearing in the door with a breakfast tray made things even better.

"Morning, Draco," he grinned, setting the tray in front of him. There was a mild pain potion on the tray along with his breakfast, and Draco couldn't help but be pleased at Harry's thoughtfulness. Really, Harry wasn't such a bad bloke, once you got to know him. Sure, they hadn't gotten along well as kids, but even so, they seemed to have gotten over that little hurdle.

"Thank you," he said to Harry after downing the potion, and sighing with relief. "That really does help."

"Snape said it would. I'm glad he was right. You ready for this today?"

Draco nodded. "Can't be any worse than the last time, can it?"

Harry looked a bit worried though. "Actually, Draco..."

"What? What's wrong?" A spike of fear went through him. Had Harry figured out what his father was up to? Or had the Ministry decided to discontinue the experiment?

"It's okay, Draco. I didn't mean to upset you. It's just that, well, if you all pass today, the program's going to start full-force. They've already chosen a new set of candidates. So the reporters will probably be out en masse."