Draco did not appear in class until Thursday morning.
Without the influence of the Horcrux, he slept soundly for the first time in a long while... the persistent fatigue that had been weighing on his body and mind finally dissipated.
This was a Potions class, a joint class for Gryffindor and Slytherin students. The students, who had arrived early, were chattering amongst themselves around the tables in the underground classroom, preparing the potion ingredients for the upcoming lesson. When Draco appeared in the doorway, the classroom fell suspiciously silent for three seconds.
He calmly glanced at the strange-looking Gryffindors... who quickly looked away guiltily and resumed their lively discussion... and casually walked to an empty workbench.
Hermione ran towards him from the other end of the classroom, as if she wanted to hug him.
Draco calmly extended his hand, waiting for her to rush into his arms; but finally, she came to an abrupt halt in front of him. She stopped, hesitated, and tentatively reached out to shake his hand.
He raised an eyebrow, not understanding why she had suddenly become so reserved, but still obligingly shook her hand in return.
A subtle current surged between their palms.
Hermione had thought that a handshake would avoid the strange feeling of a hug; but to her dismay, it did nothing of the sort... her heart rate was fluctuating again.
Suppressing her turbulent emotions, she tried to smile at the seemingly innocent culprit. "Draco, you are here!"
Draco had no idea what she was thinking; he just thought she was acting strangely today.
The boy, having had a good night's sleep, was in a good mood, so he let her unusual behaviour go and simply nodded at her with a smile.
Hermione relaxed, lightly put her hands behind her back, hiding the slightly trembling hand that had been inexplicably struck by that electric shock, and said to him, "Then I shall go back."
She prepared to return to her workbench.
"Why do you not come over and join me? There is no one next to me," he said cheerfully.
"Oh, I am sorry, Draco, I have to help Neville out... he has been struggling with these last two lessons... he is really afraid of being punished by Professor Snape," Hermione said, glancing at him discreetly.
"He has to learn properly on his own. I can say with certainty that there is no benefit to giving him cheat sheets like this. Professor Snape will not buy it." Draco squinted at Longbottom, who was frantically knocking over potion ingredients in the distance, and felt something inside him also being stirred up.
Hermione did not budge.
She smiled at him, then walked back with light steps.
Neville Longbottom... that troublesome idiot. Draco thought blankly, watching her swaying hair.
"Thank Merlin!" Ron squeezed next to him and patted him on the shoulder with a beaming smile. "I knew you would be all right!"
"What is going on here?" Draco glanced at his hand and asked arrogantly. "Why do the Gryffindors look at me as if they have seen a ghost?"
"You did not come to class all day yesterday, and the rumours are going around like mad! People are saying you were kidnapped by Peter Pettigrew, and some are saying it was the Dementors... George and Fred even put up a betting pool in the Gryffindor common room, with odds of you coming back alive being five to one." Ron looked at his increasingly sour face, and his tone inevitably changed from excited to hesitant.
"Should I feel honoured by this?" Draco gave him a sharp look, sensing something suspicious in his unusual enthusiasm. "Did you buy in?"
"Oh, I only bought a little, just to join in the fun, you know that," Ron said, blinking.
"Did you win?" He rolled his eyes at Ron.
"Of course," Ron said, beaming.
"Should I thank you for your faith in me?" Draco snorted irritably.
"Do not be angry. We were all worried about you. We bought in because we could not stand them spreading rumours, so we stood up to them," Ron explained. "It is not just me doing something stupid. Hermione even argued with Lavender yesterday after hearing the rumours, because Lavender thinks you are the one Professor Trelawney said would 'leave us forever.'"
"What?" Draco asked in surprise.
He turned his head and glanced at her. Through the gaps in the crowd, he saw her busy fiddling with a brass scale, helping the helpless Longbottom weigh potion ingredients, her lips pursed, looking very focused.
It is hard to imagine that someone as peaceful as her could argue with anyone... except perhaps him in his past life.
In his past life, Hermione Granger had always come to settle scores with him because he had bullied those around her. She was always cold and sarcastic towards him, even though he never provoked her.
She always tried to tenderly protect the oddballs under her wing... Potter, Weasley, more Weasleys, Longbottom, Hagrid, house-elves, and even hippogriffs... and for that reason she was fierce towards him and constantly argued with him.
What? Does that mean he is now a special being worth getting angry at and protecting?
Has he also been brought under her wing, becoming one of the oddballs in her protective circle?
Draco looked at her... who was casually picking up a hairpin to tie up her thick hair... and suddenly felt a little happy.
She was probably quite angry at the time.
Draco knew, of course, that Hermione Granger was always friendly and rarely got into arguments.
But she broke this rule for him.
This gave him a strange sense of pleasure. Although reason told him that he ought not feel happy because she was angry.
"Is she all right?" Draco asked, his gaze fixed on her as he peered through the crowd. The way her hair was casually tied up gave her an air of elegance.
"Oh, after Lavender apologised, they made up quickly. She is doing fine, still out early and back late as always; I wonder what she is busy with." Ron waved his hand dismissively.
Draco stared at her. She had just finished weighing the potion ingredients and was thoughtfully fiddling with a slender pendant chain around her neck... the chain gleaming with a hint of gold.
"Hey, snap out of it!" Ron waved his hand in front of him, which successfully drew his attention back and also made him look slightly annoyed.
"What do you want?" he asked impatiently.
"Let us get down to business! Harry told us quietly! Yesterday morning, Fawkes grabbed him by the collar of his pyjamas and brought him to the Headmaster's office, then he spoke Parseltongue to some locket..." Ron looked around and whispered to Draco. His freckles flushed with excitement.
"Oh yes, thanks to Harry," Draco interrupted him. "Speaking of which, where has Harry gone?"
"He went to the Hospital Wing... you know, to see his godfather again," Ron said matter-of-factly.
Draco understood.
Sirius Black appeared to have been seriously injured in the process of destroying the golden cup.
Harry must have been very worried about him, because he visited him every now and then.
"Do you know what that is?" Ron asked furtively, his face showing a look of eager curiosity.
"Just some Dark Magic item from Grimmauld Place. They sorted through a lot of similar things during the holidays. I think Harry's godfather was injured because of this," Draco said casually, without telling him the truth.
"Sirius said the same thing. I thought I could get some inside information from you!" Ron clicked his tongue regretfully.
Really? Draco was slightly surprised.
Unexpectedly, Sirius Black had thought the same thing as him, and they both chose to brush it off, giving the exact same reason.
He was quite tight-lipped, managing to keep the secret and not reveal a single word to his godson.
As class time approached, more silver-green and gold-red hues converged into a torrent, surging into the Potions classroom.
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