Chapter Text
The silence was palpable and oppressive in the fifth-year Gryffindor boys’ dorm as they all packed their trunks for their journeys. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry spotted Seamus and Dean shooting him wary glances every few minutes.
The next time Seamus did it, Harry lost his temper and threw the books that he was holding down onto his bed. “What have I done this time? Did I breathe wrong in your direction? You already know the memories of my first year are true – what possible reason could you have for looking at me as if I am already dead?”
A loud thud punctuated the end of Harry’s sentence and without looking behind him, Harry knew that Ron had dropped Pig’s empty cage. Harry knew his best friend well enough to know that Ron was prepared to step in if he thought the conversation was going to escalate into a fight. Neville’s eyes flicked between Seamus and Harry and the fifth year took a large step forward as if he wanted to stand in between Seamus and Harry because he thought the two of them would come to blows. Dean was standing as stiff as a board and he was not attempting to hide his interest in the conversation.
Seamus looked as if he’d rather be anywhere else than he after Harry finished his tirade but the Irish teenager swallowed and squared his shoulders, “I want to apologise for what I said the first night back. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named snuck into Hogwarts attached to Quirrell and you had to face him when you were eleven years old. Hogwarts is supposed to be the safest place for magical teenagers and it hasn’t been safe for you. There’s always been a challenge for you at the end of every one of your school years.”
Harry licked his lips, feeling some of his anger melt away, “I didn’t overcome the challenges by myself. I never would have got as far as I did if it’d just been me fighting him.”
Seamus didn’t probe for more details about any of Harry, Ron and Hermione’s adventures and Harry was grateful for the boy’s tact. Wanting to change the topic, Harry asked the room at large what they knew about Luna’s godmother.
Neville moved back to his original position, “I haven’t had much to do with her but she’s always been polite and friendly to me when I’ve visited Luna and she’s been at the Rookery.”
Harry frowned at the unfamiliar name until he realised the Rookery was the name of the place where Luna lived. Ron ducked his head, “Once I overheard Dad telling Mum that (Name) was the first on the scene after Luna’s mum had her potions accident. The godchild/godmother bond activated and (Name) made it just in time to stop Luna from walking into the potions lab but Luna still saw her mum’s body.”
Despair washed over Harry and he dropped his gaze to the bedspread as he fought to push the tears that gathered in the corners of his eyes away. “That’s horrible.” He managed to say with a watery voice.
“Ma mentioned that because she stayed to look after Luna and Xenophilius a lot of adult wizards refused to entertain the thought of Courting or dating her.”
Harry’s head shot up, “She was taking care of a widower and his young daughter! If anything, that demonstrated her character!”
Dean shook his head, “It doesn’t work that way, Harry. Think of the Muggle world; many people are put off dating single parents and that’s essentially what (Name) was for a time because Xenophilius retreated so deep into himself that if (Name) hadn’t been there, there wouldn’t have been anyone to take care of Luna and her father.”
“And here we have another example of bias in Wizarding Britain,” Neville curled his lip in disgust. The expression on his face seemed out of place for the usually gentle teen, “Malfoy Senior hasn’t endured any of this behaviour since he and Narcissa divorced because the Malfoys and the Blacks are members of the Sacred 28 and they’re practically royalty in Wizarding Britain.”
With a sweep of his arm, Harry pushed the books on his bed to the side and sat down heavily, “What-what do I do when I’m at the Malfoys? It can’t be worse than living with the Dursleys.” He croaked.
Ron inhaled sharply and Neville pursed his lips much like Professor McGonagall did when she was angry. Dean opened his mouth to answer when Hermione burst into the dorm clutching an armful of books.
Seamus let out a yelp, “Hermione, for Merlin’s sake! There’s a thing called knocking – try it! What if I was naked?”
Hermione suddenly became very interested in the books she was carrying, “I just wanted to give these to Harry since we’re not taking the Hogwarts Express back and I won’t see him during the forced closure.” She murmured as some of her bushy brown hair fell in a curtain across her face.
Taking pity on his friend, Harry moved over to her and accepted the books. “They’re books about wizarding traditions.” He breathed, “Thank you, Hermione.”
She smiled in response even though she was clearly still flustered by Seamus’ comment, “They’re all written by Muggleborn authors and really easy to understand. I bought them when I went to Diagon Alley with Professor McGonagall. I think she thought that I’d overdone it slightly but I wanted to have all the information about wizarding traditions before I came here.”
“I’ll send them back when I finish with them,” Harry promised.
Hermione shook her head, “Give them back to me in person when you see me. You living with the Malfoys isn’t permanent.”
The sound of footsteps on the staircase and loud echoing voices floating up from the Gryffindor Common Room jolted the fifth-years back to reality. “It’s time,” Neville commented, zipping up his trunk and taking it off of his bed before placing it on the floor and checking that he hadn’t forgotten anything.
Hermione bit her lip, fighting back tears and threw her arms around Harry’s neck. “I’ll see you soon.” She swore. Hermione unwound herself from Harry only to throw her arms around Ron while Harry sped back to his bed and frantically crammed the rest of his belongings into his trunk. He dropped to his knees to check that he hadn’t left anything underneath his bed (he had the bad habit of shoving past assignments under there especially if he hadn’t done very well on them). Finding it clean, he climbed back to his feet just in time to see Seamus spread his arms and ask Hermione if he could have a hug too.
Hermione appeared unsure about whether he was being serious or not and she bit her lip before shaking her head and bolting down the stairs. Seamus let his arms fall to his sides and busied himself with zipping up his trunk.
Feeling a little awkward, Harry said goodbye to his dorm mates and lugged his trunk out of the dorm and down the stairs. When he reached the foot of the stairs, the air in the common room grew still and multiple pairs of eyes landed on Harry. He grimaced and pretended not to notice everyone staring as he pulled his trunk behind him and out of the portrait hole. He wasn’t expecting to see Malfoy on the other side of the portrait hole, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited.
“Finally Potter. Don’t you have the ability to cast a Tempus?”
Harry rolled his eyes, “I didn’t want to have to explain to your father that I forgot something important in the boys’ dorms.”
“I’ve forgotten things before,” Draco remarked nonchalantly. “If that happens, just ask a Malfoy elf to fetch it for you. It’s their job.”
The words shot out of Harry’s mouth before he could stop them, “You sound a lot like my uncle right now.”
Malfoy stiffened, “I am nothing like that Muggle.” He spat.
“From where I’m standing, you and your father are exactly like him.”
The Slytherin clenched his jaw and Harry readied himself to be on the receiving end of a venomous insult but the blond teen pivoted on his heel and dragged his trunk behind him as he strode away from Harry.