“But.. but you are Harry Potter.” Harry raised his eyebrow at the blond in front of him.
“Uh.. well spotted, Malfoy.”
“I am a death ea..”
“..were”
“Don’t interrupt me.”
“Then, stop rambling.”
“I am not rambling.”
“Yes, you are.”
“No, I am not.”
“Yes!”
“No!”
“Malfoy!”
“Potter!”
“Just answer the damn question.”
“You rejected me in the first year.”
“You were a jerk. And I apologised.” Harry glared at Malfoy who huffed and turned his face away in anger.
“Merlin, why do you have to be so difficult? Just say yes or no. Do you want to be my friend or not?” Harry asked in exasperation. They were finally back to Hogwarts to complete their seventh year without fearing for their lives.
The wizarding world was recovering from the horror and loss faced during the war. It, sort of, united the people in a twisted way. While a lot of them held anger and vengeance against the dark, hardly was anyone brave enough to extract a revenge. The war had just ended and the idea of facing blood and gore was terrifying to them. So, they left the revenge part in the hands of the Ministry. The culprits were facing trials and were being sentenced based on their crimes. Search for a couple of absconded death eaters was in the wild but hopeful.
It was around such a time that Harry had been notified by Luna of Malfoy's trial. The news shocked him. Yes, he knew that Malfoy had reluctantly joined Voldemort but it slipped his mind that Malfoy would be facing a trial too. After extracting as much information as he could and with the help of Professor Lupin, he had strode inside the Wizengamot as a witness for Draco Malfoy and Narcissa Malfoy neè Black. Lucius Malfoy had taken his last breath on the battlefield while he helped his wife and his son to escape and was caught by Amycus Carrow. Harry did not feel sorry for his death but the sorry state of Narcissa and Draco definitely made him pity them at their loss. No one deserved to lose their family irrespective of whether they belonged to the light or the dark.
Narcissa, who hadn’t taken a dark mark, was discharged of all the charges against her. The ministry had returned the Malfoy estate and fortune back to her after a thorough audit for dark objects inside the manor and vaults. Draco, however, was given no choice but to attend the repeat year at Hogwarts where his academic and social behaviour would be scrutinised before they allowed him to walk free of charges. Draco couldn’t have been more thankful of Potter for defending him amidst the Wizengamot because just the thought of Azkaban was enough to send chills down his spine. The day of the trial was the last Harry had seen of Malfoy, before facing each other at the platform to take the train to Hogwarts.
There were very few from his year who had returned for their seventh (or, rather eighth) year. Most of the students belonged to Hufflepuff followed by Gryffindor and Ravenclaw while Slytherin had only four students returning making a total of fifty-one students for the eighth year.
Harry had observed Malfoy being shunned by others except for the other three Slytherins in their year. Malfoy did not mind the lack of attention and kept his head low, finding a seat in an empty compartment. Harry hated to admit it but he missed Malfoy’s sneer and quirk from the past. He did not even react when he bumped into Harry and just walked away mumbling something incoherent to Harry.
Harry had tried ignoring Malfoy’s changed attitude but found himself failing miserably. Hence, the Gryffindor Golden Boy found himself extending a hand of friendship towards the Slytherin Ice Prince. Malfoy definitely over-thought Harry’s actions and ignored his attempts waiting for Harry to give up on the nasty prank. But Harry wasn’t just hot-headed. He was thick-headed too, to not take Malfoy’s jibe at heart and poke him around until Malfoy accepted his hand.
“Earth to Potter.” Malfoy sneered.
“So?”
“So, what?”
“Argh!” Harry closed his eyes frustrated at the blond Slytherin. “Yes or no! This is the last time I am asking you, Malfoy.”
“Oh! Giving up already, Potter? How will you handle being my friend with such a low level of patience?” Malfoy taunted, comically widening his eyes at Harry.
Harry groaned at Malfoy and was about to walk off before he realised what Malfoy said.
“Handle being your friend, huh?” Harry smirked as he stepped a foot closer to Malfoy. “Does that mean you accept my friendship?”
Malfoy rolled his eyes, “Just giving you a chance. Don’t want the Golden Boy to have a list of something he failed at.”
“Oh, I never realised the Slytherin Ice Prince could be so generous. Thank you!” Harry mocked. “Have a good day, Draco!” Harry walked off with a sprint leaving behind a shocked Draco at Harry’s use of his first name.
“Good day, Po—Harry!” Draco whispered back, making Harry smile widely.
This wasn’t a new page in the book. It was the start of a new book in Harry’s life. And he was determined to fill the book with positivity and endless adventures. And having Draco Malfoy as a friend was definitely going to be a great adventure that he was already looking forward to.