{Half A Hero} Hufflepuff!Reader

Chapter 2: Old friends

Hogwarts has been a very interesting school, it never ceased to amaze you. The staircases moved, a giant squid lived in the lake, you had to tickle a pear on a painting to enter the kitchen if you weren't entering through the common room door entrance.

You stuck around Starfire most of the time, the both of you haf most of the classes together. She was amazing, a truly good person that made friends whenever she breathed. Alas, she was busy tutoring her Gryffindor friend, Roy Harper, in herbology. The boy was in the same year as you, not knowing how to keep a plant alive for two minutes in his care.

As much as you'd like to see Starfire get a little frazzled at her friends lack of green thumb, you had a Herbology essay to finish.

You set up your work space in the library in an empty aisle where other students wouldn't bother you. You nodded to yourself, going into another aisle for a herbology encyclopedia.

A group of Slytherin fifth years were draped over chairs, only one of them seeming to be actually focused on his studies.

Unfortunately, the book you needed was near the group.

Your footsteps could have been interpreted as tip-toe if you were a little louder. You took the book and stayed near the platinum blond as you checked to make sure that this was the book Jason Todd, a Ravenclaw friend of Star's, had referenced.

"Get away from Draco, Hufflepuff." A girl glared from two seats away.

"Who?"

The plat-blond sighed and turned his head to you, about to say something but stopped. You blinked, a grin broke across your face. He lost all of his puppy fat, but he was still the crybaby you knew.

"Dragon?"

"Slizard?" He stood up.

"You're taller than me now." You grumbled. "How's your parents?"

"Good. Yours?"

"Good."

"What the fu-" The girl's expletive was interrupted by the Librarian shushing.

"Why are you talking to a Hufflepuff?" She whispered. "A foreign Hufflepuff, even."

"This school is a bit too mixed to be xenophobic, don't you think?"

Draco snorted at your retort, then reluctantly introduced you to his 'Friends'.

"So," Blaise started, uncertain if he was allowed to talk to you. "You know his parents?"

"His father loves me. Sends me gifts every Christmas."

This shocked Draco. His father hadn't divulged this bit of information. It was strange, you regarded Mr. Malfoy as a second father. Despite how your father and Mr. Malfoy argued politics, having very different views on the world, They usually worked very well in the field. When they had to work together. 

You decided to make an excuse to escape, then realized it wasn't an excuse. You really did have a lot of work to do...

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"Draco Malfoy?" Raven asked, taking a seat on the grass with Starfire. "He's the school's bully."

"He is rude to everyone around him, especially Harry Potter."

"I made him cry so many times." You muttered "Unintentionally, mostly."

The three of you were lazing in the open. A cold breeze would sweep whatever warmth the sun had gifted you. Most of your homework had been finished. Most...

You heard footsteps prance over to you. You squinted an eye to spy who had the audacity- It was Draco. He snorted, as if gearing up for an insult. 

"Aw, poor baby." You cooed. "All alone? Shame, poor thing. All lost and alone."

"You're still so mean." He accused. 

Star's hospitality took over her brain before she could control it. She offered him a plot of grass to rest his weary bones. He reluctantly thanked her, dropping to your side. Everything seemed reluctant about him now. 

"Aren't you suppose to hate anyone out of Slytherin?"

"Yeah."

You waited for him to continue.

Another icy gush of wind attacked, it wounded Starfire the most. Her hair dimmed a little. You shrugged off your coat and draped it over her shoulders. She pulled it tighter around her. Starfire fell against Raven, startling the obvious Ravenclaw.

Draco had no intention of saying anything more. You ripped a fistful of grass in sprinkled it on his gelled hair. You reveled in his outraged squeals. 

"How do you know each other?" Raven asked.

"Our fathers had to collaborate on something with the British ministry and ours."

Draco was clear against clarifying. You went more in depth.

"I remember that it had something to do with magical creature trafficking. The smugglers were using some really dark magic, that's why Mr. Malfoy had been assigned. Mr. Malfoy always had these imported sweets that I can never find. It's so ridiculous. My father and I still look for it, even in Non-Magical stores."

Starfire whined for you to continue, not the spiraling mess of nonsense she could see happening.

"Alright. So, I came into work with my dad, and there was a eight year old Draco. Puffing out his chest trying to act impressive. He looked like a kitten. Like those fluffy pampered rude ones. Okay, fine leave, Draco." You said. He sat again, his grimace deepening with each sentence. "My dad let me explore the office, Draco toddled behind me the whole time, I had to act as tour guide."

"Tour guide? You took me to all the out of bounds areas. We almost died twice."

"Yeah." You reminisced. "We were friends for the whole summer. Codename, secret handshakes, the works. It's a shame none of the girls like you."

"What do you mean?" He relcutantly asked.

"Why else would you act like delinquent. A fake one at that. It's because, my dear mentally tortoise paced friend, if you cant get the girls, you gotta chase them away."

"Girls love me."

"That's what all the loveless fools say."

"What do you even know about me? We were around each other for three months. Doesn't mean we're best friends."

"I know," You defended. "But I wasn't the one who cried when we had to say good bye."

Jason yelled for Raven and Starfire, waving the both of them over. You told them you wanted to enjoy the lake view, saying that you'll catch up later. You conjured rosy pink chains to hold your jacket against the still shivering Star that tried to return it. Raven made you promise to show her how you did that. They left before you could say it was Hereditary. 

The trio disappeared over a hill. you made the chains fade as well. Draco sighed, resting his chin on his crossed arms. The squid did a big splashing dive in the distance. 

"You could've wrote." He muttered.

"You didn't tell me your address. You could've too. Write, I mean. We had a sleep over at my place, so I thought you didn't remember my address..."

"My dad didn't like yours..."

"Same." You looked into his eyes. "Your father's a fucking purest. My dad married a... But 'sins of the father', Dragon. We can be friends now, if you want."

He held your meaningful stare, before shaking his head. 

"I don't think we can. Not like before."

"I thought we weren't friends."

"I'm serious.  A lot of shit's happened Y/N, I've become a person you would hate. I can't break out."

You both returned your sorrowful gazes to the lake, silence consumed the atmosphere. The confession felt true, it felt like Draco has never spoken this freely in years, and it hurt you to your very core.