The Rule
8th year was a fresh start, students were invited back to Hogwarts to retake their 7th year and graduate properly. With the exception that only a few handfuls of students from each house can be back, since there was already 7 other years continuing schooling there. Fortunately, for Harry and Draco they were among those few. Unfortunately, for everyone else their little rivalry was as strong as ever.
So, the year went, and a muggle tradition soon approached. Halloween. And bloody Potter hadn’t stop chatting his grotesque head off about the little holiday.
“I was thinking we could go as a trio,” Potter spouted to his friends, “Something cool, like, … like … you know!”
“Harry, I can assure you we don’t,” The Redhead replied, Granger nodded with her nose in a book, not listening.
“Oh, I’ll come up with it. Don’t worry.”
He couldn’t listen to anymore of this, especially in his favorite class – Potions. He was sure Slughorn would allow him to skip one measly class. He stood up and started for the exit.
Thump
“Watch where you’re going, Potter,” Draco said when Harry stood up to grab some more fire seeds from the back of the class room for the Pepper-up potion the class was currently working on in pairs.
“How about you watch it, Malfoy ,” Harry retorted half-heartedly, not wanting to get in a fight.
“Merlin, bugger off, will you?”
“You’re such a prat, can we not do this right now, I’m kind of busy.”
“Busy with what? Planning your little dress up holiday?” Draco was in a mood; he wasn’t even mad at Potter. He just so happened to be the first person to test him today.
“So, I like to have a little fun, not all of use can be a stuck up prick all the time.”
“Well, your-,” Draco go cut off by a bustling Slughorn.
“Both of you, McGonagall’s office! Now!” He said trying not to draw much attention but failing, the whole class was looking at them now.
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“Take a seat,” McGonagall’s voice was low and she rarely raised it but right now it sounded tired and strained. “Who would like to tell me what this little visit is about?”
“Well-”
“It was his-,” They both started at the same time.
“One at a time. Harry, you first,” McGonagall suggested. Draco bit his tounge to keep himself from rolling his eyes. Oh, yes! Harry Potter going first! What a surprise.
“It wasn’t my fault-,” Harry started.
“I don’t care whose fault it was. I just want to know what happened.”
“Er- all I was doing was standing up to grab some more Fire Seeds for the Pepper-up potion we were brewing and Malfoy was walking full speed down the aisle to do Merlin knows what and he bumped into me-,” Harry tells the Professor.
“I was only walking that fast to get away from you and your nonsensical chatter that doesn’t belong in a school room,” Draco defended, turning his body to Potter’s.
“Well, for Merlin’s sake we were waiting for the change in color of the potion its not like I’m going to sit there in complete silence like a lunatic,” Harry steamed, doing the same.
“Sure, Potter-,” Draco began.
“ Malfoy ,” Harry taunted.
“ENOUGH! Both of you! Will you quiet down for FIVE seconds!” McGonagall shouted.
Both their heads snaped up to her where she was standing, leaning over her desk, looking down on them.
“I think I’ve come up with a solution, 15 points from both houses,” They both groaned as she set the punishment, “And from now on I want a little more Inter-House Unity.”
The two boys looked confused as they looked from their professor to each other.
“That will mean that for the remainder of the term, you will not call each other by your last names.”
Draco looked stunned, while Harry took a second to catch up, once he did his head snapped to the blonde’s.
“What?” Potter – Harry – asked rhetorically.
It felt wrong, calling the boy who he has rivaled by his first name. Harry… Harry… Harry. No way! It just felt wrong.
“Give it a try because you better get used to it,” McGonagall offered – unhelpfully.
“Draco...” Harry tried, Draco’s stomach doing a bit of a weird flip, the name sounding funny when he voiced it, “Nope. Can’t do it! Too bloody weird.”
“Oh, thank Merlin and Morgana both,” Draco exclaimed.
“Well, you can call each other whatever you’d like as long as it isn’t your last name or a crude word of any kind,” McGonagall finalized, “Else, 20 points from each house every time.”
Fuck this was going to be a long term.