Begin Again (George Weasley/Draco Malfoy)

Two.

I sent my owl Puddles to my mum that night, and I told her the news and I asked her what she thinks I should do. She told me she'd love to see me have a relationship with my father but it was up to me to decide, and she would support me either way. I was now confused. I didn’t want to decide. I wanted her to tell me what to do. Yes or no, but instead she left it up to me.
   
I didn’t know what to do. I guess I trust my mum, and if she says it’s okay, and she is encouraging me to do this, then I should give him a chance. If I change my mind about him later I can always tell him to get out of my life again, right? I had my first new subject today, Arithmancy, followed by Transfiguration while the rest of my friends were excited to start Divination. I decided I wanted to actually challenge my mind and not pretend to see things in tea leaves and crystal balls full of fog.
   
Apparently, while in Divination, they found out that Harry was going to die, he had something called The Grim in his tea leaves. Hermione was going on about how awful it was, but she was in Arithmancy with me at the time they were in Divination, so how could she have been in Divination class? I had no idea, and she certainly wouldn’t tell me. Apparently these two Gryffindor girls Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil were all into it, which didn’t really surprise me because they’re kind of dimwitted and don’t like to challenge themselves.
   
Ron and Hermione got into a bit of a little rift as we walked to our first Care of Magical Creatures lesson after lunch that first day. It was Hagrid’s first lesson for us and we were excited to see him teach it. I stood in the back of the crowd so I could take my book out without disturbing the lesson. Hagrid made us buy this book that was a literal monster. You had to rub the spine in order for it to not bite or attack you.
   
Draco Malfoy is at my side in an instant. Leaning up against the tree not looking at me, keeping his grey eyes forward, but he speaks to me in the most hushed tone he could speak in. “Meet me in the library later?”
   
“Of course,” I say back.
   
“After dinner okay?”
   
“Sounds perfect.”
   
“Good, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”
   
“Really? There’s something that I’ve been meaning to tell you, too.”
   
“I’ll see you after dinner then,” he says and then walks away. My eyes are on him as he does. He isn’t wearing his hair slicked back like he usually does, instead it’s in a new style. It was parted to the left and free flowing not stuck to his scalp anymore. He had also grown a few inches over the summer Holidays. Puberty had just hit all of us in our year so hard this past summer. It was insane.
   
I watch as Draco teases Harry about fainting in the presence of a Dementor on the train. I walk over to Jude as Hermione breaks it up, telling Draco to shut up and leave him alone. Hagrid starts his class, introducing us to another year of Care of Magical Creatures. The first creature he chose to show us is Buckbeak the Hippogriff. When no one wanted to mount him, we stepped back while Hagrid had his back turned, and Harry didn’t seem to get the memo and he ended up having to greet the giant bird.
   
He bowed to him, because you have to bow to a Hippogriff and let them decide if they will let you approach them or not. Buckbeak let him approach and mount him, and then Hagrid gave Buckbeak a swift pat on the rear end and he took off flying with Harry on his back.
   
Hagrid spat out some more facts about Hippogriffs when Harry had come back from his little trip around the castle. Everyone was cheering, well, everyone except for Crabbe, Goyle, and Draco. Hagrid cheered him on as he got off the bird. “Good work, Harry!” he looked around the class, “Anyone else want a go?”
   
The class all started to go up to the other Hippogriffs as Hagrid untied them one by one. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle had taken over Buckbeak. He bowed to Malfoy, who was now petting his beak, looking disdainful. “This is very easy,” he drawled, loud enough so the whole class heard. “I knew it must have been, if Potter could do it…I bet you’re not dangerous at all, are you? Are you, you great ugly brute.”
   
It happened in a flash of steely talons; Draco let out a high-pitched scream and the next moment, Hagrid was wrestling Buckbeak back into his collar as he strained to get at Malfoy, who lay curled in the grass, blood blossoming from his robes.
   
“I’m dying!” he called out, “I’m dying, look at me! It’s killed me!”
   
“Yer not dyin’,” says Hagrid. “Someone help me – gotta get him outta here.”
   
Hermione ran to hold open the gate as Hagrid lifted Draco up easily. As they passed, I saw there was a long, deep gash in his forearm, and blood was splattering the grass. We all gathered our things and left the class then. The Slytherin students were shouting about how Hagrid should be fired for this, and Dean Thomas, a Gryffindor boy, shouted back that it was Draco’s fault. Pansy Parkinson made a point to let everyone know that she was going to make sure Draco was okay. I wanted to follow her, to do the same thing, but I couldn’t.
   
I took my opportunity during dinner. I skipped the last two courses of pudding and dessert and after making sure all of Draco’s friends were still eating when I left for the hospital wing. Draco was lying in a bed, spooning himself some pudding as I entered the room. He looked up at me as I approached him and he smiled. Since it was the very first day we were the only ones here right now. Madam Pomfrey was eating her dinner in her office.
   
“What are you doing here?” He asks as I sit down in the chair next to his bed. I slid my robes off, because I was hot from climbing the stairs to get here, and I crossed my leg over the other.
   
“We had plans to meet after dinner,” I remind him.
   
He holds up the arm that’s in a sling, “Yeah, I think I’m going to have to miss our first study date of the year, Axinite.”
   
“No need to worry, Moonstone, we will just chat for a bit and then I will leave. There was something that I wanted to tell you, anyways.”
   
“Oh right,” he says, shifting himself up in his seat, “you can go first.”
   
“Right,” I pause, taking in a breath. “You know how I’ve never known my father before, well, I finally met him.”
   
He reads my expression before he talks again. “Is this something that you’re excited about? I get the feeling it didn’t go well.”
   
“No, no, it went great, actually,” I say, giving the best smile that I could at the moment. “He’s actually really easy to talk to, and he told me he would like to be in my life now that I’m older if I want him to.”
   
“And do you want him to?” He asks, eyeing my expression again, studying them hard.
   
“I don’t know,” I say, honestly, admitting it for the first time. “Like I said he seems like a great guy.”
   
“Can’t be that great if he walked out on his child,” scoffs Draco.
   
“He has a condition,” I tell him, “It’s nothing dangerous or contagious, but he has a condition he was scared he was going to pass down to me, but he didn’t. He realizes he’s made a mistake and he wants to do better by me now. And my mum is all for me having a relationship with him, but, the thing is, I don’t know him. I don’t know if he’s the kind of person that I want in my life, you know?”
   
“Yeah, I understand,” he says nodding, “You’re worried he might let you down again, and that’s a totally valid thing for you to feel towards him.”
   
“Exactly,” I say, breathily. “See, you just, get me. You know that, Draco? You just get me sometimes.”
   
He smiles at that.
   
Draco asks the question I’m surprised he hasn’t asked yet, “So, who is he, you told me you didn’t even know his name, and now you’ve met him, so tell me who he is.”
   
“Alright, but you can’t tell anyone yet, okay?” I tell him, eyeing him down. “I’ve only told one other person this. Professor Lupin is my dad.”
   
“What?” He gasps, “The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is your father?”
   
“I know,” I say, flailing my arms slightly, exasperated. “I was surprised, too!”
   
“Wow,” he breathes. “That’s insane. Well, since you’re going to be his student, you should give him a chance. Get to know him and decide for yourself that way. If you decide that you don’t want him in your life so what, at least you found out and there won’t be that what if.”
   
I shrug, “You do have a point there.” I pause for a moment and look at him, “So, what did you want to tell me?”
   
“Oh, that,” he says looking down at his lap. “I, um, not so much tell you something, more like I actually wanted to ask you something.”
   
“Well, what did you want to ask me, then?”
   
“Right,” he looks down again and then right back up. “God I didn’t picture doing this here,” he paused and rubbed his temples with his good arm’s hand. “Your letters really helped me this summer, knowing that I have someone in my life that knows the actual me is something that I find true comfort in, honestly. I’ve grown very fond of you, and since you didn’t recoil away when I kissed you in June I think I can assume you feel the same way, right?”
   
“Right,” I say, nodding.
   
He smiles lightly as he continues talking, “So, I have been thinking, and if you are up for it, I was wondering if maybe you’d want to be my girlfriend officially.”
   
“Oh,” I say, and the biggest smile is on my face now. “You really want to?”
   
“Yes, I do. More than anything,” he says, his eyes on me intently.
   
“I do, too,” I admit, “Yes, Draco. I will be your girlfriend.”
   
“I’d hug you but I’m not allowed to leave the bed yet.”
   
“Oh, right,” I say and I stand up and take him into a hug. He grabs me with his good arm. After a good moment I stand back, cup my hands around his face, and pull him in for a soft kiss on his lips. His hand reaches up to my neck, and we kiss for a good second before I pull away.
   
This was it, he was going to tell everyone about us. He has to, right? He was certainly not going to keep us a secret now that we’re official. I am so happy I am nearly glowing as I take my seat again. My high doesn’t last very long though. I guess I wasn’t the only person who thought about checking on Draco tonight.
   
“What is she doing here?” Asks the voice of Pansy Parkinson.
   
It was time for Draco to stand up and tell her the truth. I was ready for him to tell her what was up.
   
“She was just telling me what happened in Ancient Ruins today,” he says, rather quickly. My smile fades fast. Of course he wouldn’t tell her the truth.
   
“Right, Ancient Ruins,” I repeat, sheepishly. “Actually, I was just leaving. I want to get to the library before we have to be back in our dorms.” I stand up again and slide my robes back on. I give Draco a hard look, “Get some rest, Draco.”
   
“Since when are you friends with that Hufflepuff,” sneers Pansy as I am walking out of the Hospital Wing.
   
“She’s not my friend,” I hear Draco say, “She’s just the smartest in the class, and she’s nice.”
 
Draco didn’t return back to classes until late Thursday afternoon when we were almost through with our double potions lesson. Draco set his cauldron up next to mine, as he usually did. He swaggered into the dungeons with bandages covering his right arm and it was bound in a sling.
   
“How is it, Draco?” Asks Pansy. “Does it hurt much?”
   
“Yeah,” says Malfoy, putting on a sort of brave grimace. But I watched him as he winked at Crabbe and Goyle.
   
Since Draco only had one working arm, he asked Professor Snape if he could get some assistance from someone, and Professor Snape saw that I was finished with my potion and made me do it. I didn’t mind, however. I stood at the table with Draco, just the two of us, and I began cutting up things for him to toss into his cauldron. He was quiet as he spoke to me. “I’m sorry for Pansy’s words the other night. I know you heard her comments as you left.”
   
“It’s fine,” I say, not looking at him, but at the cutting board in front of me. “I was kind of under the impression that since we’re an official thing now that you’d want to start being honest with your friends, but if that’s not the case then that’s fine.”
   
“I can see how you would think that,” he says, nodding. “I think we should just keep it between us for now, just for now, while it’s still new, and we can go public later, sound good?”
   
“That’s totally fine,” I say as I chop the daisy roots some more.
   
“I just really like how things are between us and I don’t want to spoil anything.”
   
“I said it’s fine, Draco,” I say more curtly, and in a louder tone. I was speaking normally. I noticed Jude looking at us, but she quickly adverts her bright blue eyes back to her potion. “Here, add these to your potion, can you handle that much?”
   
“I can, yes,” he says softly and takes the tray with the shredded daisy roots and dumps them into his cauldron. Pansy is giving me the stink eye, staring me down hard. She’s jealous that she didn’t get chosen to help Draco and I did. Draco was quiet as the rest of the class went on, and as soon as he didn’t need anything cut up anymore I helped him sir his potion since his one arm got tired. We had to stand very close to each other for this. As I was stirring his potion, he knelt down to my ear and whispered, “You look beautiful today.”
   
His voice was so quiet that I hardly heard him say anything.
   
“Thank you,” I whisper back. He was a git sometimes. A stupid, brainless, thickheaded git. But he was my git now, and I loved that fact. Even if it was just between us two, I didn’t care. I had him, he was mine, and nothing was going to change that.
   
It was then that Seamus Finnigan, a Gryffindor boy, asked Harry if he had read today’s Daily Prophet, because Sirius Black has been spotted.
   
“Where?” Asked Harry.
   
“Not too far from here,” says Seamus.
   
“Not too far from here?” repeated Ron. He turned and saw Draco was watching him, “What, Malfoy?”
   
“Thinking of trying to catch Black single handed, Potter?” Asks Draco, sounding maniacal.
   
Harry’s comment was offhanded. “Yeah, that’s right.” Draco’s response is him saying that he wouldn’t be at school if he were Harry, he’d be out looking for him, which made Harry ask, “What are you talking about, Malfoy?”
   
“Don’t you know, Potter?” Draco asks, eyeing him now. When Harry didn’t respond, he let out a searing laugh. “Maybe you’d rather not risk your neck. Want to leave it to the Dementors, do you? But if it were me, I’d want revenge. I’d hunt him down myself.”
   
“What are you talking about, Draco?” Harry asked, angrily, but Draco didn’t get to answer, because Professor Snape began giving instructions again. Harry and Ron walk away from their stations to go wash their hands then, and I slap Draco’s good arm.
    
“What on Earth is wrong with you?” I hiss at him, being as quiet as I can. “He doesn’t know. I haven’t had the chance to tell him yet.”
   
“You should get on that then,” says Draco, but his tone is actually one of seriousness. “Really, you should. If Black comes anywhere near this school, he’s coming for Harry. Everyone here knows it.”

_________________
Here's part 2!

What's this? Draco being a sweetheart? Oh shucks.

He's an ass but a sweetie at the same time. Kill me now!

-Emily Winchester.