Cuts Run Deep

Partners

~Harry's POV~

After Transfiguration, I walk to my second class after saying goodbye to Draco.

"Harry, wait up." I hear a familiar voice come up behind me. I turn around just as Ron stops right in front of me.

"What do you want?" I know I sounded a bit cold, but I couldn't forget about what he said to Draco earlier. Ron could have at least given him a chance to speak.

"I just want to talk..." he looks at me expectantly. I can't stay mad at him forever. We've had fights before and we always make up after a while. I can't lose Ron right now.

"Alright," I say shortly, "we can walk and talk." Ron looks relieved. I turn around and he matches pace with me. Neither of us talks for a bit. I don't know what to say. I wait for Ron to start talking, but he seems to be thinking the same thing as me. We walk down the hall in silence. As soon as we turn the corner, Ron speaks up.

"Look, I'm sorry. What I did was messed up. Malfoy didn't deserve that. Really. I just don't know any other side of him than the jerk who was horrible to us for seven years. And maybe he's changed. I think it will just take a while for me to get used to that." I take a deep breath and consider what he said. He looks at me with pleading eyes. I can't blame him for what he did, but Draco really has changed. Once I gather my thoughts, I reply.

"Okay, I believe you." He lets out a relieved sigh, but I'm not done yet. "I believe you, but you still have to apologize to Draco AND give him at least a chance." Ron hesitates. After a moment, he agrees. We walk the rest of the way exchanging small conversation. I'll admit it was still a bit awkward, but it was better than not talking at all.

~

After class we went to lunch. Ron apologized and explained to Hermione. She lectured him but eventually forgave him too. We talked for a while and eventually, the awkwardness was gone. Everything seemed normal again. Ron started to do horrible impressions of some of our professors. I almost spit out my pumpkin juice at one point. It was all going good.

Of course, all good things come to an end.

While we were laughing at a joke Hermione made, someone walked past me and dropped a note in my lap. There were several people up and down the aisle, so I'm not exactly sure who this was from. I decide to open it later where it's not so crowded. I slip the small piece of parchment into the pocket of my robes. 

I enjoy the rest of lunch, but I felt a little more reserved after receiving the note. When we're done eating, Hermione and I say goodbye to Ron and leave for our next class, Potions. Walking down the hallway, Hermione spots someone and starts towards them. I follow her to find Draco and Pansy Parkinson. She immediately starts talking to them while I just kind of stand there smiling. Draco notices and slips behind Hermione.

"Hi Potter." He says smirking. "On your way to Potions?" I forgot. I have this class with Draco too. Apparently pansy is in the class to because she starts walking away with Hermione. I follow them with Draco beside me.

"Indeed I am Draco. I suppose you are as well?" I reply in an overly formal accent. He chuckles a bit and answers with a simple yes. As we're walking, I remember my talk with Ron. Draco has the last class of the day with both of us. I decide to get them to talk then. "By the way, Ron has something he'd like to tell you during Defense Against the Dark Arts." He probably knows what I mean, so I don't elaborate on the details.

~

In Potions, Hermione decides to sit with Pansy, so I turn to Draco.

"Mind if I sit by you again?" I ask while already setting my things down. Something falls out of my pocket onto the floor. The note. I stuff it back into my pocket and sit down next to Draco. 

"Yes, I do mind. Very much actually. Go find another open spot." I roll my eyes and gesture around the room. All the other seats are taken. Draco shakes his head and takes a quill out while trying to hide a smile. I laugh softly and do the same just as Slughorn walks to the front of the classroom.

"Settle down, settle down. Alright students. Today we will be brewing Sleeping Draught. I want you to all get in pairs, grab a cauldron and your books, and we'll begin."

I stand up along with Draco. "I guess we're partners then." I say grinning.

We grab our materials and I open the textbook to page 54.

"Alright Potter, what do we need?" Draco asks.

"I'll tell you if you call me by my first name." I reply like a child. Draco rolls his eyes. He does that a lot. It's kind of cute. Never mind...

"Fine Harry. Will you tell me what we need to brew this potion. I don't know about you, but I would like to actually pass this class." I laugh and read the list of ingredients.  While he was working, Draco was serious. There were a lot of specific directions, so I let Draco take the lead. I'm not the best at directions. I did help whenever he asked for it though. 

While he was working, I noticed things Draco I wouldn't normally notice about a person. His perfectly neat hair swept over his forehead when he peered into the cauldron. His eyes narrowed and he bit his lip when he concentrated on something. I smiled thinking about those little things that made me blush. I even cracked jokes throughout the class just to make Draco smile. Every time I succeeded, a warm feeling spread through me. It was nice to see him happy and it made me happy too.

After the last ingredients were added and the potion was stirred, Draco  declared it finished. I laugh happily and helped clean up. Once everything was put away, class was almost over. Slughorn was going around the classroom collecting samples of each potion so that he could grade them. I could have sworn I saw Draco grab a vial of it before Slughorn got to us. It was probably nothing.

Professor Slughorn dismisses us. I gather my things and wait for Draco.

"You ready to go?" I ask once he's got all of his things in hand.

"I'm good to go he says." I smile and we walk out of the class to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

~~~~~~~~~

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Have a good day.

❤- Fanon_is_better