Then Comes a Mist and a Weeping Rain (A Drarry Fanfic)

Chapter 5

The next day started well. The house-elves served Draco breakfast and as he ate a slice of chocolate gateau, he contemplated the familiar wisp of silvery mist he had glimpsed this morning when he had woken up. He was sure he knew what it was and who had been sending it every night; he was almost positive he had spotted a pair of regal antlers as the mist dissolved.

"You seem cheerful this morning, Draco."

Draco realised he had been smiling to himself. He looked up at Pomfrey, abashed, but then frowned. She had called him Draco. She never did that before. He greeted her, waiting apprehensively. She had some bad news to impart; he was sure.

Pomfrey sat on the chair opposite Draco, the one Goyle usually occupied. "I think it's time to face the truth, Draco. I can't cure you."

Draco stared at her. "You're giving up?"

"I didn't say you can't be cured; I said that I can't do it. You'll have to do it yourself."

"Myself?" The air around Draco turned chilly. Heavy drops of rain hit his cloak.

"The cloud is not the source of your troubles. It's merely a side-effect."

Draco took a deep breath. "I realise it's reflecting my moods, but it's not like it disappears when I feel better. So how exactly can I help myself? What are you suggesting? Should I try to be happy all the time and accept a giant cloud will forever follow me around?"

Pomfrey looked sympathetic. "Once your mood stabilises, so will your condition. It might not happen quickly, but it will. With a little effort on your part, it might happen sooner than you think." She reached over to pat his knee. Draco glared at her. The cloud threatened to cover her as well, but she promptly moved her hand. "First of all, I think it's time for you to return to your dormitory. I don't think isolation is doing you any good; you should be with your friends."

"My friends? I have only one." Draco temporarily forgot he didn't really want people to know that.

Pomfrey's eyes widened. "And which one would that be? I'm afraid I can't tell whom you're referring to. Mr Goyle, who spends all his free time keeping you company? Miss Granger, who brings you special notes so you can study? Mr Potter, who . . . brings you very special notes, too, apparently. Or Miss Bulstrode, who likes to ambush me the moment I leave the hospital wing and demands to know when will I cure you? She hasn't been the only one to ask. You gave your classmates quite a fright when you took that Calming Draught. They are worried about you."

"Worried about themselves, you mean," Draco said, even though he was surprised to hear his classmates had been asking about him. "They're afraid my condition is contagious."

Pomfrey smiled a little. "In some ways it is. But I think they're more likely to have a positive influence on you, than you having a negative influence on them."

Draco looked at her, miserable. "You're really evicting me? But look at this!" He waved his hands, pointing at the rain swirling all around him.

Pomfrey stood up and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Draco. But I wouldn't do this if I didn't think it's for the best. You've been discharged. Please return to your common room and do not attempt to skip your classes, or fail to write your homework."

"But—"

Pomfrey raised her hand. "If the rain won't let you write it, find someone to assist you." She turned as though to leave but then added, "I believe you've already found someone to help you with your History of Magic homework."

Draco glared at her back as she left. He considered ignoring her completely and forcing her to bodily throw him out of the hospital wing, but he abandoned that foolish plan the moment he thought of it. He checked the time and concluded everyone would soon go down to the Great Hall to have breakfast. That meant he could at least avoid them for a bit longer.

Of course, he should have known that wouldn't be so easy. Nothing ever went as planned.

"I'll do it today, or later I'll pay," Draco swore to the centaur and stormed into the common room. Stormed quite literally, since the cloud had gone wild, spitting rain and rumbling threateningly.

"Argh!" cried Ernie when he saw him. Corn flew everywhere and Draco nearly slipped and fell, but he regained his balance on time.

"What the hell are you doing with corn?" Draco asked but then spotted the peacock and realised Ernie had been feeding it. Both Ernie and the peacock glared at Draco. Millie, however, smiled at him. The three of them — Ernie, Millie and Grumpy — were sitting on the floor in the otherwise empty common room. "Are you all eating corn?" Draco asked. "I hear there's actual food in the Great Hall."

"We have to feed Grumpy first," Millie said. "Or he'll get grumpier."

Ernie gathered the corn with a spell and offered it to Grumpy. The peacock turned its head and refused to eat it. Draco felt vaguely proud.

"I charmed it clean. It's fine," Ernie said, but the peacock remained unimpressed.

"I don't think that peacock likes you very much, Ernie," Draco said smugly.

To his surprise, Ernie smiled. "Oh, yes, he does. He's just stubborn. But clever, too. I confess, he didn't like me at first. He gave me quite a fright when I first found him; he ran at me like a bull. But he had merely been scared and had sensed weakness. He's really quite a cuddly creature when he's content."

Draco scowled.

"He's probably not hungry anymore," Ernie concluded and stood up. "I'll go fetch my school supplies," he told Millie and leaned down to kiss her. The peacock made a pathetic sound and Millie and Ernie split up, laughing. "I love you, too, Grumpy." Ernie patted the peacock's head and then must have realised what he had just said because his cheeks coloured. He mumbled something incomprehensible and ran upstairs.

Millie shook her head, still laughing.

"That peacock's Conjured, you know that, right?" Draco told her. "It comes with an expiration date."

Millie shrugged. "What doesn't?"

Draco stared at her smiling face. "I can't believe you actually like him."

"Grumpy or Ernie?"

"Both."

Millie eyed the peacock and then looked back at Draco. "You know, they're very much alike."

"How so?" Draco asked, affronted.

"They're both pompous arses," she said and grinned. "But quite cuddly when they're content."

Ernie bounded down the stairs. "Coming with us?" he asked Draco, eyeing the cloud warily. "I hear there's actual food at the Great Hall," he added snottily.

"I ate," Draco said.

Millie paused next to him on her way out. "I thought you were getting better," she said, looking worried.

"I am," Draco insisted. "The cloud merely has a negative reaction to Ernie's presence."

Ernie scowled. "I'm flattered. Truly, I am. Though . . ." His mouth twitched. "I presume Harry is even more flattered. I must say, the cloud has a very curious reaction to his presence."

Ernie and Millie fled — both of them giggling — before Draco could say something clever or at least hex them. Annoyed, he turned around only to see the peacock had settled itself comfortably onto Potter's chair. It did look quite cuddly.

Draco stomped off to his dormitory.