thirteenth lotus leaf

November had arrived, and the weather was turning colder and colder. The dungeons, as always, felt even colder than outside. Draco had wrapped his mother's knitted wool scarf around his neck and tucked it into his school robes. He was lounging on the couch in the common room, his head resting on Pansy's shoulder, who had a butterfly clip in her hair. His feet were propped up on Daphne, who was working on her homework, while she was aiming to poke holes in his bright green socks with the tip of her feather.

"Draco, someone's here to see you," said Marin, a sweet second-year.

"Who is it, Marin?"

"I don't care, I'm not your owl," she replied, though she was usually quite sweet, I suppose.

Draco reluctantly got up from where he was lying and went to the Slytherin common room door. The serpent-shaped handle turned, and there she was, with bushy hair, her arms full of books, and a jar of jam with a blue flame at the top. looked very warm.

"Hermione?"

"Draco!" she grinned.

"I came to ask if you wanted to come to the garden with us," she said, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Don't you think it's a bit cold?"

"We have a heater," she said, pointing to the flame in her hand.

"Draco, Pansy wants to know if you're coming," said Theo, who had been sitting on the leather couch since morning, checking his own and Crabbe and Goyle's homework. Incredible.

"Oh, Theo, hello. This is Hermione," said Draco.

Theo rubbed his eyes. "Theodor Nott. You must be the girl Draco invited." He extended his hand.

"Hermione Granger. Invited to where?" she asked, shaking his hand.

"Oh, He haven't invited you yet," Hermione looked at him, puzzled.

"Ahem, Theo, thanks. I'll be right back," said Draco.

"We were hoping you'd join us," Hermione said, looking disappointed.

"Join us for what? He hasn't even finished his Herbology homework yet," Theo turned to Draco, slightly blushing.

"Theo, come on..."

"We were planning on going to the garden, uh, maybe you'd like to join?"

"No," Theo replied quickly, turned around, and left the room.

"He's like that sometimes..."

"No problem..."

"I would invite you in, but..."

"It's fine..."

Someone else came through the door.

"You should have told me you were going out," Pansy said, her wand appearing next to her.

"It's cold outside, darling, and I don't want your pale skin to freeze. I've added a Slytherin-patterned scarf to the one you already have." She waved her wand, and a thick coat appeared behind her.

"I couldn't find your winter coat, you really need to take out your winter clothes. If you get sick at Christmas, neither I nor your mother will forgive you. So I borrowed one of Gregory's smaller coats. He said it was fine, it's lined with wool..."

She continued to talk as she dressed him up in the hallway, like a real mother. She helped him put on the big coat. "Look at the state of your hair, your butterfly braid is all messed up. That's terrible." She immediately ran her fingers through his hair, undoing the braid and redoing it.
"You can't go on a date looking like that, darling. I thought I taught you better."

"This isn't a date and you're the one who messed up my hair in the first place."

"Lower your ego, you inflated brat. I'm just helping you out." She added a small butterfly clip to the end of the braid.

"Don't catch a cold. I'll ask Blaise to make you hot chocolate when you get back." After checking him one last time, she finally noticed Hermione. She cleared her throat and turned to the girl. "Granger, Pansy Parkinson. Pleased to meet you," she said, not extending her hand like Theo had.

"Hermione, well, you know..."

Then Pansy wrinkled her nose as if she had smelled something bad. Draco braced himself for the worst.

"What are you wearing?" Hermione looked a bit surprised and hurt. Draco was ready to step in. This reminded him of the first timeline when he made fun of Weasley's financial situation.

"You're going to freeze," She said, taking off the silver-sparkly scarf around his own neck. She quickly wrapped it around Hermione's neck and adjusted the end with the snake pattern. "Better. Now you look more like one of us."

Hermione gently touched the scarf. Her hair was falling over her face. Draco couldn't see her face clearly. "But we just met, why?" her voice trembled.

"Don't be silly, darling. Draco's friend is our friend. In the dungeons, a snake's friends are always snakes. We're like a family. If one accepts it, we all accept it. And if you accept one you accept us all, it comes as a package. Get used to the Slytherin thing," Pansy shrugged.

Hermione, with a Gryffindor spirit, stepped forward. "W-would you like to join us, Parkin-Pansy?"

"Are you asking me to sit in the garden with you, just you and me?" Pansy's eyes sparkled. Even Hermione took a step back.

"And me," Draco added.

"And Draco," Pansy continued.

"And Weasley and Potter."

"We get it, Draco," Pansy said, her smile fading but her gaze still fixed on Hermione. She seemed eager for Hermione's answer. Draco felt a shiver down his spine.
"Y-yes!" Hermione exclaimed.

Pansy jumped up and down. "Fantastic!" She kissed Draco on the cheek and ran inside. "Theo, you can shove your homework up your-"

Draco and Hermione looked at each other.

"Well, that was..."

"I didn't expect that..."

"She's usually better, I'm sure..."

"Actually, I kind of like her..."

"What?"

"What?"

Hermione avoided eye contact and played with the fire in the jam jar. Draco looked back at her, trying to figure out if she really meant what she said.

Pansy was a little late. She had put her hair in a bun at the sides, securing it with a butterfly clip that looked very much like her mother's. It was clear she had put a lot of effort into it, and even though it was a bit crooked, she wouldn't let even Draco touch it. They had missed the moving stairs because of Pansy's delay. However, he couldn't be angry with her; she was talking to Hermione about which classes they liked. Draco felt like he had to keep an eye on the two sweet girls. They were only twelve years old after all.

After a while, they approached the garden. Weasley and Potter were waiting for them.
After a brief greeting, they set off. Harry immediately went over to Draco.

"This is Pansy, she's my friend."

"Bonjour."

Pansy put her arm around Draco and pulled him towards her. Harry watched them carefully.

"No more snakes," Weasley complained jokingly. However, it was clear he was still wary of Pansy.

"Hermione and I have become very close friends, Weasley, is there a problem?" Pansy seemed to be looking for a fight.

"Just now," Draco added.

"Yes, just now," Pansy agreed.

"Well, then we're friends too," Weasley said nonchalantly and scratched his nose.

"So, since Pansy and Draco accept their friend's friend, then Ron is a snake now," she said.

"Hermione, don't talk to me like that," Weasley looked at the girl fearfully. Pansy and Hermione were laughing as if they had an inside joke. Harry was still watching Draco.

"If your friend's friend is your friend, does that mean we're friends now?"

Draco was taken aback by Potter's question. He hadn't expected the boy to be so invested in this.

"I don't think so, Potter." Harry's hopeful face fell. Pansy's smile grew even wider, as if it were impossible.

"Potter, you're the famous one Draco was talking about," she said.

Harry turned to Pansy excitedly. "He's talking about me?"

"Well... no," she said, then realized how sad Harry was. "But if you want to be my friend, Draco can too."

Hermione nodded. "The whole Slytherin thing," she added.

Draco was speechless. Potter was now looking at him again. Draco was starting to regret getting so close to Hermione.

"So, I'm glad we're not friends, aren't we?" Draco grinned nervously.

"Don't celebrate so soon, DroDro," Pansy teased.

Draco laughed mockingly at her nickname and pushed Pansy away. Harry didn't look very happy, but not in the way Draco had hoped. There was a fire in the boy's eyes. He was looking at Draco with all his attention.

Draco quickly changed the subject and found a staircase they could sit on. They all sat down in a row. Hermione gave Draco and Ron books. Pansy took out the magazines she always carried with her. Even Potter had a book with him, 'Quidditch Through the Ages'. Draco chuckled slightly. He had read that book to shreds before starting school.

They sat in silence on the stairs until Professor Severus Snape arrived. The man limped, but that didn't stop him from picking on Potter.

"What's that in your hand, Potter?" Harry pointed at the book mockingly.
"You can't take things out of the library, give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor." Snape acted as if he hadn't noticed Draco and Pansy. The man snatched the book and limped away.

Draco felt like throwing up at the smell of sausages next to his friends who were whispering excitedly about the Quidditch match that day. He didn't feel hungry at all today. Since he had traveled through time, he had gotten better, and he could now bring himself to eat.

When he went down to watch the Quidditch match at 10:30, Potter cornered him and told him how Snape had acted when he wanted to get his book back, so he listened to Snape's theories about what had happened to his leg.
He didn't give the boy a proper answer and dismissed him. He seemed tense enough already because of the match.

"Potter,"

"Yes, Draco?"

"Good luck."

The boy's worried face lit up in a cute way. As he walked backwards, he bumped into his impatient captain who was waiting for him. Oliver Wood dragged Potter away.

It was 11:00. The match began. Draco's eyes kept straying to the constantly color-changing sign the Weasleys were holding that read, "Our Presidential Candidate, Potter." Draco couldn't help but laugh. In the past, it would have really annoyed him.

The match went exactly the same as last time. Lee Jordan's commentary, Potter's enchanted broom. It was all there. Draco was a little disappointed. He was used to Potter catching the Snitch with his mouth, and he even thought Potter might not join the Quidditch team.

Draco finally caught Hermione alone in the library and told her about the party. At first, she was scared, but then she got really excited. Time flew by. Draco was talking to Pansy and Daphne about decorations but they couldn't agree on anything. Hannah had agreed to come and said she would make a big cake as a thank you. Draco knew the girl from the 4th-year parties; she made very good desserts. Theo had already cracked the codes. He wasn't showing anyone yet because he was still in the testing phase.

....

December had arrived, and everything was covered in snow. The Gryffindor common room was packed with students.

"Have you found anything?"

"No," Ron replied wearily. They had been searching for information about Nicolas Flamel for two weeks, but they hadn't found anything. Hermione was getting increasingly frustrated.

"I wish we could ask someone."

"Why don't you ask your parents at Christmas?"

"Yes, Ronald, they'll be so helpful, they're dentists," Hermione said sarcastically.

"And what do dentists know?"

Hermione looked like she was about to give him a lecture on what a dentist does.

"Besides, I'm not going home."
Harry looked up from his book.
"Didn't you say you were going?"

"That was about a month ago," Harry was happy that Hermione would be joining them.

"What changed your mind?" Ron asked indifferently.

"Draco-"

"Draco?" Harry cut her off. His stomach began to churn. Hermione seemed suddenly enlightened.

"Draco"

"Draco what?" Anger began to creep into Harry's voice. Hermione quickly gathered her books.

"He must be in the library right now, we can ask him,"

"Why didn't we think of that? Draco Malfoy is the only other bookworm we know," Ron nodded, convinced.

But Harry thought they were missing something. Had Hermione agreed to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because of Draco? Were they planning to spend Christmas together? Harry clenched his fists. The more he thought about it, the tighter he clenched.

Shortly after, led by Hermione, they arrived at the library. Her eyes immediately caught sight of his whitish hair. Draco was reading a black book. They sat down right in front of him. Draco looked up when he noticed them. He looked at them questioningly.

"Draco, we have a question for you?"

"Of course," he closed the book with an incredibly delicate level of care and put it on the table. Harry couldn't help but watch him with all his being.

"After cornering Hagrid, we started looking for what the three-headed dog was guarding. He mentioned the name Nicolas Flamel, but we couldn't find any information about him."

"The alchemist?" Draco looked up with raised eyebrows. Hermione practically sparkled.

"You would know, of course, you're amazing, Draco." A slight blush crept onto Draco's cheeks. Harry found it very cute.

"It's not that big a deal."

"So, who is this guy?" Ron leaned forward curiously. Draco immediately switched into teaching mode. He began to explain with a finger in the air.

"Flamel attended Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in France in the 14th century. At one point in his career in alchemy, Flamel created the Philosopher's Stone. The Philosopher's Stone is a magical stone; it can turn metals into gold and produce a substance called the Elixir of Life."

The children's eyes were as big as saucers. Could this be? The Philosopher's Stone? Was the three-headed dog guarding it?

"That was amazing, mate," Hermione nodded immediately, agreeing with Ron.

"How could I be so stupid, I know I read about it somewhere. I just couldn't remember."

"I'm sure you did, Hermione," Draco smiled sincerely at her.

"It was also on a Chocolate Frog card," Draco took a card out of his pocket. He put it on the table and pushed it towards them. The children laughed. Ron glared at the pincer.
Harry felt a bit silly. He had gotten a Nicolas Flamel card on the train.

They chatted with Draco for a little while longer, whispering. Finally, Harry couldn't hold back and asked, "Hermione is going to stay here for Christmas?"

Draco raised an eyebrow at the question.

"What's it to you?" Harry asked, a little annoyed. He was getting more and more tense with no answer.

"I invited her to my Christmas party," Draco paused when he saw the sparkle in the boy's eyes, "I said you could come too, though?" He looked at Hermione with the question.
The girl's cheeks immediately turned red. She turned to her friends guiltily and said, "The Slytherins are hosting the party, and I was afraid you wouldn't want to go, or even try to stop me, so I didn't tell you."

Harry started drawing lines on the table with his hand. Ron was just standing there, shocked.

"I've never been to a party except for the holidays I spent with my family."

"It's no big deal, Weasley, it's not a masquerade ball, and besides, we'll have food too?" Draco had somewhat lifted the pressure on the girl.
Harry pointed his finger at Hermione's eye as if to poke it.
"We'll talk about this later." The girl smiled understandingly and jokingly. She pulled the pouting boy's index finger away from her face.

"Of course, Harry."
Draco gestured for them to be quiet.

"If you're all done, now scram, I have to study."

"And I have the utmost respect for that, come on boys," She tooks Harry and Ron's hand.

"See you later, owling" Draco waved to them one last time.
Pince's gaze still managed to annoy him after all this time.