Out of the Woods •• Sequel To Cabin Fever

T W O

hello sweet bbys 💗🦋 enjoy!

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The first few days of classes were rather unproductive. They slowly covered each subject's curriculum, the classrooms were consistently quiet. Even Hermione refrained from raising her hand during the rare forced class discussions.

"Feels weird, doesn't it?" Ron observed on the third day as the made their way to Charms.

"Definitely." Harry agreed.

"Well, what do you expect?" Hermione asked. "We're not the only ones who fought in that war."

"Thanks, Hermione. I had no idea." Harry said in a monotone voice. Charms passed like it had before, nobody speaking a word as they read the ten pages in their textbooks that had been assigned. Next was Defence Against the Dark Arts, which Harry feared would be his least favourite class.

It had nothing to do with the new Professor, Professir Woodwick, a jovial old man who was a retired Auror. He was pleasant enough and had a warm smile. No, the person who made Harry dread walking into that classroom was Draco. Gryffindors shared this class with the Slytherins, which meant that for three days now Harry had to endure an hour of trying to get Draco's attention, only for the blonde to coldly ignore him the entire time. He would stare at him until he noticed, whispered his name whenever he had the opportunity, even floated tightly folded notes to him when Woodwick wasn't looking. Draco would pluck these notes out of the air and immediately tear them apart.

When they were dismissed from class, Harry tapped Ron on the shoulder and gave him a minuscule nod in Draco's direction.

"Good luck, mate." Ron said, taking Hermione's hand and leading her down the hallway.

"Draco!" Harry called out, tearing through the sea of students towards the gleaming blonde hair. He grabbed Draco by the arm and dragged him to the wall.

"What the fuck, Potter? Get off of me." Draco wrenched his arm out of Harry's grasp and took a hurried step back.

"What is going on with you?" Harry demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Now if you don't mind, I have a class to attend." Draco snapped before he stormed off. Harry leaned against the wall and sighed deeply. He was too numb to feel the pain of Draco's rejection. Nothing ever seemed to go right for Harry, and his love life was proving to be no different. He slowly headed to the dungeons, not caring that he would be 15 minutes late to Potions, which they now shared with the Ravenclaws. Harry was used to the feeling of inadequancy in that class, but Hermione's frustration grew with every passing minute.

"I don't understand why they make us feel so inferior! I know I'm probably still getting better grades than most of them, but they're so cocky about their intelligence!" Hermione vented while they approached the Great Hall for supper.

"Now you know how we feel." Harry joked.

"Shut up, Harry. I was never that bad."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Ron said in a singsong voice, kissing her cheek.

"You're a tosser, the both of you." She scolded, a repressed laugh escaping her lips.

Fortunately, Harry's appetite had returned. He knew that he had to fuel his body, despite how low he felt. In between bites of roast chicken, he was startled by a small note that zoomed under the tables and landed in his lap. He unfolded it gently, keeping it out of view from the others. His heart raced as he read the words over and over.

Meet me in the Room of Requirement, 10pm.
-DM

Harry's mind buzzed with anxiety. He had no idea what would be waiting for him in a few short hours. He tucked the note in the pocket of his robes, lifting his head to rejoin the conversation about house elves that his friends were currently engaged in.