The Hufflepuff (Draco Malfoy)

11

"Alright, everyone smile!" Sophie grinned from behind the camera.

She quickly snapped the photo before her rambunctious friends began to move again.

"Can we be done yet? You've been making us sit here for over an hour, Soph," Hannah groaned.

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead. But don't come crying to me when you don't have any pictures to look back on to remember your time here; I won't want to hear it."

Sophie sat down on a bench while her friends made their way back under the tree in the courtyard they had deemed "theirs" partway through their first year. She smiled at the small group of Hufflepuffs. Susan was entwining small wildflowers into Hannah's braid. Ernie sat against the tree next to the two girls. And while Sophie couldn't hear what he was saying, she had to smile at the way his mouth never stopped moving. Out of the corner of her eye Sophie could just make out Justin's feet dangling from the lowest branch.

Scanning the rest of the courtyard, Sophie laughed at two fifth year Gryffindors swinging from the branches of a tree. And she couldn't help but grin at the sight of Hermione Granger sitting below them with a book in her lap, scowling up at the two boys, threatening to hex them if they didn't stop making so much noise above her. Continuing her observation, Sophie noticed a girl sitting on the ground in the very corner of the courtyard, her knees tucked toward her body with a book propped on top. She didn't know what compelled her to approach, but Sophie found herself walking toward the girl.

She looked to be about Sophie's age with blonde hair and was adorned in Slytherin robes. She stood above the girl, nervously fiddling with her hands in front of her.

"Hey," Sophie began. "I'm Sophie." The girl looked up at Sophie with a curious look in her blue eyes.

"I'm Grace," the girl introduced herself. The thoughtful look didn't leave the girl's features; and, if anything, only intensified as Sophie sat herself in the grass beside the girl. "I don't mean to be rude, but do you need something?"

"No, not really. You just looked like you could use a friend," Sophie crossed her legs and shrugged her shoulders. "What're you reading?"

"A book on herbology and its medicinal purposes," Grace responded simply. Although Sophie didn't particularly enjoy herbology, she was interested in why this Slytherin girl was casually reading up on it in her spare time.

"How is it?"

"Oh, wonderful. There are so many things in here that Sprout probably won't teach until at least Fifth Year. Like, did you know snow drops can help in people who have lost their memory in one way or another? Muggles even use them to treat some of their diseases as well. And dittany, a plant we work with in our Fourth Year, is said to be a skin growing aide, making a wound seem days old after application. And­– oh, sorry. I'm rambling, aren't I?" Grace blushed.

"No, no, it's okay. It's very interesting, actually. I'm not the biggest fan of herbology, but many cures in magical medicine are achieved through potions, something right up my alley," Sophie reassured the girl, attempting to keep the conversation going.

"Oh, I love potions! See, I want to be a matron of sorts when I'm older. Maybe here at Hogwarts; I truly admire Madam Pomfrey. But my dream is St. Mungos, where all the action is!" The girl's eyes immediately lit up.

"Sophie, what're you doing talking to this loser?" Sophie looked up to find Draco sneering down at her new companion.

"We're just talking. And Grace isn't a loser." Sophie stood up to try and get to Draco's eye level, but to her surprise, he had grown over the summer as well, at least to Ernie's height, if not taller.

"Yes, she is. She's been in Slytherin for the past three years and has been a complete shitshow. Can you believe last year she told Millicent Bulstrode she was actually ashamed of her Pureblood status? You've got to admit that's strange, even for you, Soph." After Draco's rant, Sophie turned to look at Grace who held fire in her eyes, but kept her head low.

"Draco, just drop it." Sophie almost pleaded.

"I will if you come hangout with me," he lifted his brows and smirked at her. Sophie rolled back her eyes and turned to Grace once more.

"Grace, some friends and I have a study group if you'd like to join. Hermione Granger is a part of it, and while she may know a lot, I'm sure we could use some more help in Herbology. I know I could at least," the blonde girl looked up at Sophie and nodded her head. "We meet on Thursday nights after dinner in the very back of the library. We'd love to have you there." She turned back to Draco and patted his back. "And for you, Mr. Malfoy, let's get you out of here before you cause a scene."

"Me? Never." The two laughed as they strode out of the courtyard together and toward the lake. The pair sat down at the edge of the water, Draco watching the water lap against the rocks while Sophie leaned on a nearby tree, looking at the pictures she had just taken of her friends. "So, why haven't you ever invited me to your little study group?"

"Because it's with Hermione and a couple other non Purebloods. I never thought you would even want to." Sophie lifted her camera toward him.

"Good point," he chuckled, glancing back at her. He wore a soft smile on his face as she clicked the picture. "Hey! Get rid of that!"

"No! It's nice," Sophie smiled down at it.

"Do you really think so?" Draco shifted closer and Sophie let her eyes flit from the picture in her hand up to his eyes. They were warmer than normal with a glint of something Sophie couldn't quite place. He took the picture from her hands and laid down next to her.

"I do. I've noticed you've stopped slicking your hair back." Sophie couldn't help but run a hand through his platinum locks. As soon as her fingers touched his forehead, Draco closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. "I like it. Makes you look more relaxed; more like yourself." Sophie rested her hand at her side again.

"Thanks." The right side of Draco's mouth quirked up and his eyes remained closed. "You don't have to stop playing with my hair, Soph," he said as he opened one eye to look up at her while squinting the other.

"Okay," Sophie whispered and smiled down at him. She tangled her hand back in his soft, feathery hair.

"I want to study with you," he quipped after a few moments of silence.

"Why's that?"

"I'm not doing great in Potions this term since I don't have it with you. I thought that maybe since we've done so good together in the past, we could at least do our homework together."

"I find it hard to believe you're doing that bad in Potions, Draco. Remember First Year when you pretty much said you were a potion making god," Sophie giggled.

"Okay, so maybe I'm not failing Potions and I just want to spend more time with my best friend. Is that too much to ask?"

"Best friend, eh? Well, we'll be spending a lot of time together on the Quidditch Pitch this Saturday when we kick your butts." Sophie stood up with a challenging smirk on her face. Draco sat up on his knees, Sophie still barely having the upper hand in height.

"Ha! Don't kid yourself, Soph! Hufflepuff hasn't beat Slytherin in the past decade! What makes you think it'll happen now?"

"I'm on the team now, remember? With Ced and I there's no way we'll lose," she beamed confidently with her hands on her hips.

"You think Diggory will catch the snitch before I do?" Sophie nodded her head with a teasing smile on her face.

"No doubt in my mind, Malfoy."

"Care to bet on it, Abbott," he challenged.

Sophie slung her arms on Draco's shoulders and leaned down so her face was an inch from his. "Whatcha got, Slytherin?"

"You don't know what you do to me, Soph," he shakily exhaled before regaining his composure. "I think that if Slytherin wins, you come to the Slytherin afterparty, but if Hufflepuff wins, I have to go to your party; where there'll probably be a nice fruit punch and cookies." He finally stood to his feet but Sophie kept her arms on his shoulders.

"Oh, you're so on, Draco Malfoy." She leaned up and kissed his cheek before turning and jogging away.