Possessiveness and Other Such Oddities

Incipient

a/n: hi!! votes and comments feed my soul, so i really appreciate everyone who's done so already! fair warning, there's mild blood and major creepiness from our favorite minister. this chapter also a lot shorter than the previous one, but it came to a natural close.

The next morning Harry yawned and stretched, ready to start the day. Michael was already up, but Terry was the furthest thing from a morning person, and it would take quite a few charms and creative techniques perfected over the years to wake him up. It sounded like Michael had taken on the "waking up Terry in the morning" task, so Harry cast tempus. He had 30 minutes to get to the Great Hall, so he reluctantly left his cocoon of blankets and got ready for the day.

Hermione was already waiting for him (like she always was), but Draco was still in his dorm, probably styling his hair (like he always was). Harry and Hermione waited for him, though, like good friends, and not 10 minutes later, he was out of his room, a little breathless, like he fought someone for mirror rights (he had). Anthony, his roommate, was just as vain as he was, and they constantly battled for the vanity. It was a strange situation, but they had lived together for seven years, so they made it work and refused to switch rooms or add another mirror.

"C'mon! Let's go!" Draco called, linking his arms in Harry and Hermione's, and walking to the Great Hall with his friends. None of them would admit it sober or during the day, but they all had very lonely childhoods and found great comfort in each other and the easy, undemanding relationship.

Harry, Hermione, and Draco sat down next to Luna, Cho, and a very lost first-year Gryffindor. They quickly showed the youngster (Viktoria Rowe) where she should be, and she thanked them profusely, skipping off to join her house. Harry served himself oatmeal, dusting brown sugar over it, as the rest of the students who were not naturally early risers stumbled into the Great Hall. Harry took note of who was here: the Slytherins were mostly all here, as were the Hufflepuffs. Only about half Gryffindors and Ravenclaws were there, and all the teachers were present, including a very deranged looking Minister.

O-okay, that was weird. Harry decided to ignore the usually composed man who was currently angrily stabbing his eggs and sausages with a dark sort of glee -- what had gotten the man so worked up that he was like this? Harry was not the only one to have noticed; he should be worried about his public image. People were sure to write home about that. Oh, and whatever last night was. That reminded him that he had to write to Uncle Moony and Uncle Sirius. Harry made a mental note of that and started listening to Luna explaining what heliopaths are to Cho, in a very roundabout and musical way that annoyed the straightforward and no-nonsense Cho. He snorted and joined Luna's side, lightheartedly teasing Cho.

Once Michael, Terry, and Anthony sat down and began serving themselves, Draco commented to the group, "If I have Double Potions first thing in the morning, I'm dropping out and going home."

Everybody laughed, and Hermione replied after swallowing a bite of scrambled eggs, "I think it's inevitable that you'll have Double Potions if you want to be a healer. And, you know how Professor Black feels about having his NEWTS class early in the morning."

Draco groaned and took an angry bite of toast.

"Hey, Healer Malfoy!" Harry heckled, "My throat's swollen, wanna kiss it better?"

Draco rolled his eyes and deadpanned, "Asphyxiate."

That brought out some laughter from their peers as they all continued to eat. Professor Flitwick walked over once everyone was more or less there (except for Rebecca Dawlish, who was always late to absolutely everything). He went down the table with a clipboard and the stack of schedules. Professor Flitwick could have easily charmed them all to each student, but he liked to catch up with his Ravenclaws and discuss their programs.