Ma Chérie

Harry is pulled abruptly from his worries of what to do about his fear of Dementors, moping by himself in an empty Hogwarts courtyard, by the bright flash of a muggle camera. It takes him a few blinks to see the smirking blond behind the camera.

“Bloody hell, Malfoy! I thought you were Colin Creevey!”

Malfoy grins and gives Harry a wink, before saying in a bored voice,

“Profanity, Potter.”

“What’re you gonna do with that photo? Make prints and sell them to my many fans for a few galleons each?”

Draco scoffs, silver eyes glittering, but doesn’t respond.
Harry hasn’t had a chance to speak to Malfoy yet this year- and it’s already the third day of term.
He wonders where Draco’s been.

“Have you been avoiding me, Blondie?”

It’s a nickname he gave Malfoy in his head over the summer, and he’s gratified to see Draco blush all the way to his ears and look away when Harry says this.
It’s kind of fun finding ways to get the blond to blush, Harry thinks. (He looks so adorable when his ears go red- although Harry knows it’s dangerous to attach the word ‘adorable’ to Malfoy, who would kill him if he knew Harry thought this).

“Of-of course not. I do have other hobbies than annoying you, thank you very much.”

“You wouldn’t think it”
Harry gestures to the camera. Then he looks at Draco again and notices how tall the other boy is. And how his hair is wavier and longer this year, going to just below his ears- it suits him.

“So, Potter, did you really blow up your aunt?”

Harry laughs,

“Maybe. How do you know about that?”

“Oh, I had a quick chess game with Ronald yesterday and he told me.”

Harry narrows his eyes in annoyance. It seemed like Malfoy was avoiding him then, if he’d hung out with Ron before him, and..

“What! You’re calling Ron by his first name now?? Why am I still Potter?”

Draco rolls his eyes perfectly. Harry is sure Draco has had eye rolling classes from Snape or at least some tips.

Draco glares at Harry and drawls,

“I’m only calling him Ronald because he hates it. It’s not as if I’m going to call him Ron. Its like if I were to call you Harold..”

Harry huffs at this.

“Well, it would be better than Potter. So why don’t you.”

Draco’s eyes widen,

“Don’t be ridiculous Potter.”

Harry doesn’t say anything, but crosses his arms.
Draco gives in, surprising Harry.

“Okay. Fine, I shall call you Harold- sometimes. Only because everyone will think I’m just insulting you as usual. But you’ll regret it,.. Harold.”

Harry smiles.

“Then I’m calling you Draco. Considering I did save you from a basilisk last year.”

Draco splutters as Harry says this, but can’t seem to think of a counter argument. A speechless Draco Malfoy is certainly an interesting oddity.
The massive Hogwarts clock suddenly clangs- it’s the 3rd lesson of the day.
Harry smiles at Draco before rushing off to Charms, waving,

“Later, Draco!”

*

Professor Lupin’s first lesson of DADA is Harry’s most enjoyable class he’s ever had at Hogwarts other than Potions, even when his boggart turns out to be a dementor, Lupin forcing it back into the box.

He lingers behind after the lesson, telling Ron and Hermione to go on ahead, so that he can talk to Lupin. The professor seems to know his stuff, and Harry’s hoping he’ll say yes to teaching him the charm to repel dementors.

Lupin notices him and smiles, the scar across his nose curving as he does so.
Harry thinks the professor’s scars are pretty cool. He assumes that Lupin got them from duelling or some cool battle during the bad years before Harry (sort of) got rid of Voldemort.

“Hi Sir, I was just wondering what spell you used against that dementor on the train, and if I can learn it. I mean, you saw how my boggart was one of them…”

Lupin sighs, looking at least ten years older as he does so. He trails a hand tiredly through his hair and says to Harry,

“I did see, Harry, and I understand you wanting to learn the Patronus, but it’s very hard to master- most skilled adult wizards aren’t able to produce a full one.”

Harry’s eyes widen.

“So it’s called a Patronus then, Sir?”

Lupin smiles, looking at Harry seeming to consider him.

Harry adds,

“I just don’t want to be afraid anymore, Sir. I keep having nightmares about the woman I heard screaming.. I think it was my mum.”

He’s not sure why he tells Professor Lupin this last part, except that it is true, and he really wants the teacher to understand how much he wants to learn the Patronus.

Harry is surprised to see pain shoot through Lupin’s eyes, the professor looking very sad all of a sudden. Lupin nods though,

“Your greatest fear is fear itself- this is very wise, Harry. Okay, then. You make a good case. I’ll teach you the Patronus charm- we can meet here next Monday at 5.”

Harry can’t wait for Monday. He grins, unable to hide his excitement.

“Thanks so much, Sir! I’ll be here then.”

*

With Snape’s extra Potions lessons twice a week and Lupin’s Patronus ones every Monday, Quidditch practice on Saturday and Friday, and the insane amount of homework set this year, Harry has barely any time to think this first term.

The first lesson with Lupin didn’t go that great- Harry had fainted again (although this did mean he got chocolate from Lupin), and on the second try was only able to produce some bluish mist.
Professor Lupin had been shocked at the production of the mist, praising Harry as apparently it was really impressive to be able to produce an incorporeal Patronus on only the second go. Harry had thought Lupin was just trying to make him feel better.

Quidditch in particular has been exhausting Harry even more than all of his other extracurricular activities.
Oliver Wood is crazy about winning the cup this year, even though they did win it the year before and the one before that.
Apparently he wants a three year streak of Gryffindor winning the Quidditch Cup- he had being banging on to the team that ‘Gryffindor hasn’t had a streak of winning more than two years in a row since Dumbledore went to Hogwarts!’.
While Wood meant this to be encouragement, it just increased the stress on all of the players.

With all this going on in Harry’s life, he has no idea how Hermione is surviving- she’s taking every optional subject as she said she would, and Harry and Ron aren’t sure how she’s getting to all of her classes- some even overlap.
She seems to be managing though and Harry hopes she’s okay- he’s taken to bringing her chocolate or cups of tea whenever he sees her studying or doing homework, as these are Lupin’s methods for feeling calmer.
She also regularly has a random white cat with black paws purring on her lap as she studies, which only goes near their library study table when Draco (and Crookshanks) isn’t around. Ron had enjoyed telling Draco this, that the cat doesn’t like him, to which the blond had replied, ‘I’m not really a cat person either’.

Hermione’s studying so much these days that even Malfoy complains, sounding like Ron, for instance, ‘But ‘Mione, you’ve been in the library all day, why don’t we go for a walk to the lake or something’.

Normally if it’s Draco trying to distract Hermione from studying, he succeeds, as he is quite persuasive. Also he will literally not stop begging until he gets what he wants. It’s quite funny to watch.

*

Harry’s annoyed at Draco, not for the first time, and again, not for the first time, he’s worried about the blond.

Yesterday had been the first Care of Magical creatures lesson, and the first three quarters of it were amazing (if a bit scary), Harry riding a hippogriff, skating the Great Lake and circling the tall Astronomy tower.
Then it hadn’t been so amazing, when Malfoy had tried to stroke the hippogriff (Buckbeak) without bowing first or anything, laughing at some joke of Blaise’s as he did so. Buckbeak had reared up, Harry shouted, ‘No!’, and Pansy screamed.

Draco’s arm hadn’t actually been broken, but it had been pretty torn up, and since the wounds are magical, he has to wait for them to heal normally.
Hermione, ever the Draco-defender, kept saying afterwards that Draco didn’t mean it to happen, he just was being a bit of an idiot and trying to show off. However, Harry knew she was also upset at the whole incident, especially with Hagrid ‘under review’ now, and Buckbeak awaiting trial.

Harry had visited Malfoy every one of the three nights that he was in the hospital wing, but always under the invisibility cloak the whole time, not wanting to wake the blond or make him think Harry cares too much. Draco looks so innocent when he’s asleep, Harry discovers during these visits. No usual smirk or scowl.

Still, Draco has been avoiding him as much as ever since getting out of the Hospital Wing, and only really explained himself to Hermione and Ron a few weeks ago. Apparently he’d had a massive fight with his father about not pressing charges against either Hagrid or Buckbeak. In the end, his father still hadn’t backed down, so Harry didn’t particularly feel sorry for Draco’s apparent attempt at reconciliation.

*

During the fourth Patronus lesson with Lupin, Harry finds out that his professor knew his parents. Was good friends with them, in fact.

Harry learns that he has his mother’s eyes, but looks like his father. He already sort of knew this from the picture of them Hagrid had given him at the end of last year, but it’s nice to hear it from someone else who knew them.

Lupin seems sad as he tells Harry about the Potters, but still smiles when answering his questions.
Harry also learns that: his mum was the best at Charms and joint best at Potions, his dad was top of the class in Transfiguration (he couldn’t wait to boast about that to Draco), his mum was the kindest person Lupin ever met, his dad loved pumpkin pasties and was a troublemaker- but always thought of the best pranks.

Lupin’s eyes start to well up as he talks about Lily and James Potter, and Harry decides he can ask more about his parents some other day, as he doesn’t want his professor to literally start crying in front of him.

*

After this interesting Patronus lesson Harry’s walking back to the Gryffindor tower, and who does he run into but Draco, flanked by a few Slytherins Harry doesn’t know the names of. He wonders where Pansy is.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Saint Potter. Where’s your fan club?”

Draco says this sneering, with a smirk, the Slytherins around him sniggering. Harry fixes Draco with a steely gaze and the blond flinches slightly, an almost unnoticeable reaction. While Draco insists on acting like this in public, for ‘appearance’s sake’, it still unnerves Harry, compared to how they are in private.

“Yeah yeah, Malfoy. I’m the awful, self-centred Chosen One with my head up my own arse. Excuse me.”

He pushes through the throng of Slytherins, not waiting for Draco’s (probably witty) response.

He heads down the corridor and into a quiet area of the Astronomy tower to wait for Draco to come find him. He knows the blond inevitably will, as he had given Harry their secret signal for ‘I need to talk to you’- a tap on the chin, unnoticeable to anyone watching.

*

He doesn’t have to wait long in the unused Astronomy corridor, tapestries on the wall behind him glittering with white and blue constellations.

The blond boy appears, looking a bit ruffled. His face relaxes from his normal cold, detached look to smile at Harry.
Harry can’t help but smile softly back, even though he’s kind of annoyed at Malfoy ambushing him with all those Slytherins.

Malfoy has been hanging out with more large groups of Slytherins recently, Harry has noticed. He seems to be using them as a sort of human shield to avoid running into Harry alone, or with Pansy- who knows about their friendship and seems to enjoy grilling Harry about muggle pop culture and make up.
Draco’s been avoiding him a bit (a lot) since the start of the year, and Harry still doesn’t know why. When he asked Hermione a few weeks ago, she had given him her knowing look and said Harry should ask Draco himself. So that was no help.

“Had to escape those other Slytherins. So clingy, honestly.”,
Draco tells Harry as he smooths down his bright blond hair.

Harry purses his lips.

“Mm. They find you hilarious though, so perhaps it’s worth it.”

Draco absently waves a hand about,

“Please don’t be annoyed, Harold. It’s just an act- it doesn’t mean anything.”

Harry doesn't say anything. Draco sighs and starts to talk again, finally telling Harry what happened with Buckbeak, which he seems to have noticed the Gryffindor’s annoyed about.
"Look, I really am sorry about the whole hippogriff thing- I honestly just wanted to stroke Buckbeak, I wasn't thinking... And my father, I did try to stand up to him, but you don't know what it's like. He cast 'Langlock' on me when I kept arguing with him. You haven't heard of it, probably because it's dark magic- sticks the tongue to the base of the mouth, and only the caster can remove it."

Harry continues giving Draco his steely look, nodding slightly at the blond's words- he does get what the other boy's saying, and feels bad for his annoyance towards Draco recently. Although this doesn’t really explain why Draco’s been avoiding him.

The blond smirks and adds,

“You do have your head up your arse a lot of the time though, you’re right.”

Harry lets out a laugh in shock. He has never heard Draco say the word ‘arse’, and never thought he would.
Harry decides they’re just going to argue again if the conversation continues like this, so he says,

“Anyway, what did you want to talk about?”

Draco puts on a hurt look.

“What, I can’t spend time with you simply for the pleasure of your company?”

They both know Draco hasn’t been spending much time at all around Harry lately, at least, not alone.
Harry won’t ask Draco about it though- he doesn’t want the blond to think, god forbid, that he misses him.
Draco does still enjoy teasing Harry in Potions though, so at least they still have that.

Harry says,
“Really?”

“Okay, fine Potter. I actually wanted to ask why you’re having private lessons with Lupin now. Isn’t Snape enough? Or do you prefer spending all your free time with your teachers…?”

Draco is smirking now, although Harry chuckles,

“I know you’re jealous, mate.”

“Come on, Potter. Is Lupin teaching you something embarrassing like hair care- although you are in dire need of it, I doubt Lupin is the best teacher to go to for-“

Harry interrupts Draco now, annoyed at the insult to his hair, which was a touchy subject (as Draco very well knew).

“No, okay. And my hair’s fine- Hermione actually said it looks like this one muggle rockstar, not that you’d know about that. Lupin’s just teaching me the Patronus charm, you know, against the dementors cause they affect me weirdly.”

Draco seems a bit shocked at this, but collects himself and looks at Harry closely before responding.

“Really? That’s meant to be a super complicated spell, you have to think of a really happy memory…”

Draco trails off, seeming to be thinking hard about something else. Harry wonders what. Maybe Draco’s worried he doesn’t have enough happy memories. Harry is worried about that himself, as he hasn’t found one strong enough yet to produce a corporeal Patronus.

“Yeah, it’s going okay, but I haven’t produced a full Patronus yet. Lupin said they look like an animal, representing your soul. I bet yours would be a dragon.”

Draco seems embarrassed by this suggestion and says, glancing at the wall,

“Er yeah, a dragon, definitely. Not something small or ..err.. fluffy. Obviously.”

He looks up at Harry and seems to notice the thoughtful look on the Gryffindor’s face (he’s wondering why Draco is being so defensive over what form his Patronus will take).
Quickly, Draco tells Harry,

“Good luck with the Patronus then, Potter. Don’t want you fainting again. Let me know what form it is, especially if it’s something embarrassing, like, um, a cat.”

With this, Draco fondly ruffles Harry’s hair, making it even messier, Harry feeling oddly warm at this action. The blond likes to mess up Harry’s hair to distract him from certain conversation topics, Harry’s noticed. Draco strides out of the room and away, looking as poised and catlike as ever.

Catlike... No way.

Harry suddenly realises something. Something very interesting to do with a black-pawed white cat. He decides he won’t let on to Draco that he knows, instead having some fun with this new information.

*

When Fred and George pull Harry into an abandoned stairway and give him the Marauder’s Map, he is eternally grateful. It’s brilliant- he can sneak into Hogsmeade as well as follow Malfoy’s whereabouts and sneak up on him. Not to mention the endless possibilities of Midnight Feasts from the kitchens.

The map cheers him up, as he’s been feeling a bit down recently, with him fainting in Quidditch and his broomstick being broken by the Whomping Willow. ...And Sirius Black being sighted only a few villages away from Hogwarts.

Hermione and Ron are already in Hogsmeade, so Harry thanks Fred and George with a grin (not able to tell one from the other), before rushing off down the secret passageway, which is behind a statue of a one-eyed witch. After getting his invisibility cloak from his room, of course.

It’s snowing when Harry gets to Hogsmeade and he has a lot of fun invisibly throwing snowballs at Malfoy, who he spots just outside the village, standing looking bored as Blaise has a go at Neville. Crabbe and Goyle were there too, a little behind Blaise, who had been floating neville upside down with his wand.
Harry was immediately annoyed when he saw Draco standing by (eating a green apple) and letting Blaise bully Neville, who is Harry’s friend and would never hurt a fly. He can’t really help but throw snowballs at the blond and Blaise.
Blaise runs off, as do his two goons and- in the opposite direction- a confused Neville. Draco pretends to be scared till the other Slytherins have disappeared out of sight, and then he brushes off the snow, looking annoyed.

“Hello, Potter.”

Harry pulls off his cloak, putting it in his bag before glancing up at Draco. The blond has a thick white scarf wrapped around his neck, a fluffy green bobble hat on his white hair. Even a stranger could tell Malfoy gets cold easily.

“You could’ve done something to defend Neville, Malfoy.”

Draco chews on his lip.

“Neville was fine. If I defend him from Blaise then he’s never going to learn to stand up for himself. Also, last time I tried to stop Blaise treating Longbottom like this, he hexed my nose off. I don’t fancy experiencing that again. Super inconvenient.”

Harry still has his eyes narrowed at Draco. This year, the blond has been even more confusing than ever.

“Hm”, is all Harry says, reaching for some snow to throw at Draco again.

“Okay- I’ll try harder to get Blaise to leave Longbottom alone, alright? And if you’re planning to do what I think you are with that snow, I will hex your hair pink.”

Harry grins mischievously at this, ultimately forgiving Draco as he does so. He doesn’t drop the snow though.

“Who says I don’t want pink hair? Where’s Pansy?”

Draco shrugs,

“Her, Theo and Millicent went ahead to Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Emporium. Dreadful place. Far too much lace everywhere, I will never set foot in there.”

Harry bursts into laughter- he’s never heard of this Tea Emporium but he’s imagining Draco wearing frills and drinking pink tea.
Draco takes advantage of Harry’s laughter to grab some snow himself and throw it. Right at Harry’s head… What a Slytherin.

After throwing snowballs at each other until Draco starts shivering (Harry wonders at how the blond gets cold so easily), they continue down the path to Hogsmeade, bumping into Ron and Hermione on the way.
Harry’s two best friends seem grateful for his and Draco’s arrival, even if they’re shocked to see Harry. It seems as though the conversation was a bit awkward between Ron and ‘Mione, especially with how much they’ve been arguing lately about Crookshanks supposedly trying to kill Ron’s rat.
Hermione warns Harry to keep his cloak on in Hogsmeade, as he’ll be in trouble otherwise.

As the four of them walk towards the village, Harry smirks and asks Draco,

“Where are those pink mittens Pansy got you, Draco? I’m sure she would want you to be wearing them.” -He pokes one of Draco’s hands- “See, your hands are so cold.”

Draco reddens (even more than he already is from the cold), and Ron and Hermione, both laughing, turn and start begging the blond to put on his mittens.
Draco shoots him a betrayed look, but Harry just smiles even wider.

*

After hearing Mcgonagall and Fudge talking outside the Four Broomsticks about Sirius Black, Harry sneaks into the pub after them both, ignoring the other three’s shouts after him.
He’s wearing the cloak, so can slip into the private room that Mcgonagall, Rosmerta and Fudge are in. What he hears is bad enough, stuff about Black betraying his parents by telling Voldemort their safe house and then killing some man called Peter Pettigrew, but it gets worse when Mcgonagall says,

“And it’s even more shocking, considering Black was James Potter’s best friend! Poor Harry, with Black as his godfather-“

At this, Harry hadn’t waited to hear more. He was out of the Four Broimsticks, stomping down the road and away from Hogsmeade, barely able to think. He vaguely hears Ron, Hermione and Draco running after him and calling his name. They must see his footprints in the snow.

Harry stops on the path back to Hogwarts, by the Shrieking Shack, sitting on a log, his cloak still on.
He’s crying when his three friends appear, panting and red, and notice his footprints leading to the log.

Hermione and Ron hang back as Draco hesitatingly walks towards Harry, gently pulling his invisibility cloak off and murmuring,

“Harry. What happened?”

Harry looks up at the blond boy and then at the other two, tears streaking his face, finding that he doesn’t mind telling the three of them. They’re his three closest friends, he realises.

“Sirius Black- he- he betrayed them! My parents. He was their friend… HE WAS THEIR FRIEND.”

Harry shouts the last bit, before bursting into fresh tears. He doesn’t know what to do.

He’s surprised when he smells green apple and lilac, Draco hugging him, blond hair tickling Harry’s nose. Ron and Hermione join in, holding Harry until he stops crying.

He’s going to kill Black, when he comes for him. He tells the three of them so, and they just look at him silently with serious faces, nodding.

He’s going to kill Sirius Black.