Rescuing the Dragon

This one\'s a little short, but that\'s where it chose to end. Everyone will be all together soon . . . and *then* the fun can start. ::smirk::

Thank you everyone that reviewed! : ) Y\'all made my day.


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Chapter Five
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Harry was quiet as he and his friends made their way back to Hogwarts. To say the day had been . . . strange, would have been putting it mildly. He had been dreading it since the moment Ginny had issued her very surprising invitation. Of course, he\'d be lying if he said he hadn\'t been feeling a bit sorry for Malfoy. No matter how much he hated the git, being on the receiving end of being ostracized was hard on anyone -- and Malfoy was getting it worse than either he or Ginny had. At least the two of them\'d had friends that stood by them. As far as Harry could tell, Malfoy seemed to have no one. Add to that the *very* surprising -- try shocking -- fact that Draco Malfoy, pureblood elitist, hater of all things muggle, was obviously not intending on taking the dark mark, and Harry was left seriously confused.

Still, as much as Harry sympathised, he had expected this Hogsmeade trip to be nothing short of a disaster. Ron\'s angry and resentful muttering aside, it had turned out astonishingly . . . pleasant. He frowned. Even the prat\'s attentions to Ginny had made him laugh. Ron\'s reactions to them had been overdone enough that Harry had been able to put his own discomfort into perspective, and he was extremely grateful he managed not to make as much of an idiot out of himself as his friend had. He *did* suspect -- as Hermione had so mockingly pointed out -- that at least part of Malfoy\'s apparent interest was solely to egg Ron on. It *was* rather obvious in hindsight.

What Harry didn\'t get, was whether Malfoy wanted to taunt Ron into a fight -- as per usual -- or whether the git had actually been *teasing*. It had almost seemed like it today, for the first time ever. He\'d never before been confused where Malfoy was concerned, and it didn\'t sit well that he was now. There was already too much confusion in his life. He didn\'t need any more. He really didn\'t.

\"Harry!\" Ron shouted.

\"What?\" Harry snapped back, his head whipping around to stare at his friend.

\"Where were you?\"

\"What do you mean? I\'m right here.\"

Ron laughed, shaking his head. \"Your body was, but your head sure wasn\'t. I\'ve been trying to get your attention for the last 5 minutes.\"

\"Yeah,\" Ginny agreed, \"you were seriously trancing out.\"

\"What had you so lost in thought?\" Hermione added quietly.

Harry sighed, taking only a moment to consider whether it was a good idea to confide in his friends. \"Malfoy.\"

Ron groaned, snorting in disgust. \"The prat!\"

Ginny and Hermione, however, didn\'t react as he would expect them

\"What about him?\" Hermione asked gently, her words overlapping Ginny\'s, \"he\'s so . . . sad.\"

Harry stared at the two girls, startled. Not that he didn\'t agree with Ginny, but it was still surprising to hear it out loud from someone else.

\"The git deserves it!\" Ron spat angrily.

\"Ronald Weasely!\" Ginny snapped, her voice sounding suspiciously like her mother\'s about to go on a tear.

Ron flinched automatically, but straightened immediately, stubborn defiance hardening his expression. \"Come off it, Ginny!\" he protested vehemently. \"I know you\'re a *girl*, and feeling all *sorry* for him, but he\'s been an arrogant arse since day one, and you know it! He\'s getting his come uppence!\"

Harry fully understood the way Ron felt. He had felt that way too . . . until today. Something was different, and he couldn\'t help but feel guilty about the vindictive glee he\'d felt at Malfoy\'s sudden fall from grace. He turned to face his best friend suddenly, cutting off both Ginny and Hermione\'s continued protests. \"That\'s how Malfoy would gloat if it happened to you,\" he said quietly.

Silence surrounded him abruptly as all three of his companions stared at him with a rather startling range of expressions. Ginny\'s was by far the kindest. She was looking at him with a pleased sort of awe. Hermione was simply surprised, her mouth parted slightly. Ron, eyes wide with shock, was glaring at him with betrayal.

\"I knew you\'d understand,\" Ginny breathed.

\"I never thought I\'d see the day you would take Malfoy\'s side over me!\" Ron protested angrily, striding off ahead of them.

\"I didn\'t mean it that way, Ron,\" Harry denied, chasing after his friend. \"Ron! Wait. Please.\"

Shoulders slumping Ron stopped slo slowly turned.

Harry was shocked to see tears welling up in the redhead\'s eyes.

\"How else *could* you mean it, Harry? Telling me I\'m as bad as he is.\"

Harry sighed, dropping his gaze to the ground. \"Until today,\" he began slowly, \"if anyone would have asked me, I\'d have said the exact same thing you did about it.\"

\"Then why--\"

Snapping his head up, a touch of anger flashing through him, Harry continued as if Ron hadn\'t interrupted, the redhead\'s words falling off at his look. \"When you said it just bald like that, it hit me. That\'s the way I\'d felt until today, and it sounded bad, really bad, out loud like that. And . . . I didn\'t like the way it made me feel about myself.\" Harry shifted uncomfortably under Ron\'s intense stare, hoping he hadn\'t totally bollocksed up the best friendship he\'d ever had.

\"I still don\'t trust the git,\" Ron said defiantly, his look daring Harry to argue with him.

Grinning crookedly, Harry shook his head. \"Of course not,\" he replied. \"You\'re stubborn, not stupid.\"

\"So,\" Hermione asked as she and Ginny caught up with them, \"what are we going to do about it?\"

\"Do?\" Ron asked.

\"I\'m not sure,\" Harry replied, \"it\'s not like Malfoy\'s going to be all good and stuff suddenly.\"

\"Well,\" Ginny said cautiously, \"he did prove we were wrong about him already.\"

\"How?\" Ron demanded instantly.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but Ginny beat her to a reply. \"We all thought he\'d follow his father and go with Voldemort. Obviously, he didn\'t, or he wouldn\'t be here now.\"

\"All that proves,\" Ron denied, digging in stubbornly, \"is that he\'s Slytherin. He\'s smart enough not to openly back the losing side.\"

Harry almost laughed as Ginny growled at Ron . . . *actually* growled.

With a half-smile, HarrHarry could tell Hermione was trying to hide, she squared her shoulders and gave them each a look. \"I we we take it one day at a time and see what happens. We take the first step, and *try* to be nice to him.\"

Ginny grinned brightly. \"I\'m game,\" she replied.

\"Me too,\" Harry said softly. \"I mean, I kinda know what the guy\'s going through -- having his world turned upside down. It\'s not easy.\"

Ron wilted, his gaze steady at Harry. \"Alright,\" he muttered reluctantly, \"but I\'m just gonna stop insulting him. I\'m *not* going out of my way to be . . . *nice*.\" Ron paused, grinning at them all crookedly. \"And I reserve the right to say \'I told you so\', when he turns out to be the same old prat.\"

\"Deal,\" Harry murmured, grabbing hold of his friend\'s hand, giving it a firm shake before the red-head could backtrack.

All four ed sed skeptical looks, three shaded with hope, as they climbed into one of the waiting carriages.


TBC
Kiristeen
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