Blue [DRARRY]

Chapter 9

"You're going to what?" Pansy spluttered.

"Shut your mouth," Draco hissed, "you heard me well enough."

"Damn right I did. How, may I ask, are you planning to pull that off without drawing attention to yourself?"

"I'm not. I'm actually expecting the attention."

"Of course you are."

Draco huffed, realising, only way to late, that telling Pansy this was absolutely the worst idea he could have possibly had. He would have been better off leaving her to observe with the rest of the student body. But he too just couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Well, if you need the practise again..." Pansy waggled her eyebrows.

"Thanks Pans, but there's this slight issue where you're not a guy."

"You raging homosexual."

"Exactly. Look, it's not that I want the attention like that, I don't. I'd actually much prefer this part of the plan if I could do it without drawing attention to it, but it wouldn't work at all that way. Especially since," he pulled a crumpled letter out of his robes, "My dead father is coming to Hogwarts. He'll be on the staff table tomorrow evening."

"You're doing it then?"

"Apparently so."

"You're insane Draco."

"Don't I know it," he hummed distractedly, then suddenly stood, much to Pansy's confusion, and hurried towards the doors to the Great Hall, where students were entering in spatters. "Luna! Hey, Luna."

The whimsical blonde turned, offering a dreamy smile as Draco dug in his pockets.

"You wouldn't happen to have a copy of the Quibbler on you would you?" he held out a few coins to her, and she smiled just a little wider, pulling a copy from a thick pile she had stuffed in her bag.

"You don't have to pay me for it Draco Malfoy."

"I want to." he returned, taking the tabloid, and pressing the coins into her palm.

"I don't really care if people are still confused. You are different."

And with that she turned to enter the Great Hall, and Draco turned, smile on face, to go back over to sit beside Pansy on the staircase outside.

"You're joking. The Quibbler?"

"Ah-" he raised an eyebrow, "Supporting fellow students on one side. And on the other side, don't knock it til you try it. You'll find it doesn't deserve the whack it gets from people. And it's interesting."

"I'll take your word for it. Look, what are we even doing here right now? We could be eating."

Draco rolled his eyes cracking open the paper, and scanning the contents, leaving those about creatures for now, and looking mostly for the more serious things. The things that the Prophet had decided they weren't going to report on. He flicked through a couple of articles, but upon finding nothing of much interest, he closed it, and set it on his lap.

"We could be. But I need to talk to someone."

"Who?"

And just at that moment, the Gryffindor trio came round the corner, jabbering away about something or other. Or at least, Ron and Hermione were, Harry was strangely quiet.

"Hey, Weasley."

Ron turned with a momentary flash of anger, before obviously remembering himself.

"Draco," he greeted curtly.

"I just wanted to say, about anything I said before about my dad-"

"I already sent a letter to my dad." he interrupted sharply, clearly thinking Draco was trying to back away.