Third Place - Drama

(Monday Morning)

Monday rolled around and I turned into my mother. In theory, of course, not like I actually turned into my mother.

I remember on my first day of tutoring, eons ago, my mother got me up early to get me �ready�. Getting me ready seemed to entail fussing over me until I wanted nothing more than to run from her and hide in a closet. A dark, deep closet where she couldn�t find me to straighten my tie or smooth my hair or tell me for the nth time to mind my manners.

I�m pretty sure Harry was channeling me.

Only he didn�t hide in the closet. He was much smarter than I. He found an ally...in Pansy. After two hours of dragging Harry out from behind her robes every time I remembered �just one more thing� he needed to do, she finally snapped. She screeched at me as though she were some plebian fisherwife, chastising me in front of the other Slytherins and worse...Harry.

I couldn�t very well continue to pester him after being scolded in front of him for it. So I did what any decent Malfoy would do. I sulked. I sulked until Harry came to me, head down and looking severely saddened that he�d gotten me in trouble. Had it been anyone but Harry, I would have crowed my triumph. But it was Harry. And he was upset. And so I caved.

I hugged him close and told him it was all right. I wasn�t mad at him. I was just going to miss him very much and was trying to spend every last second I had that morning with him. That seemed to cheer him up. Of course, realizing that it was the truth did the opposite of cheering for me. Acknowledging that I needed him apparently loosened the last bit of dignity I possessed. Thusly, it was I who initiated holding hands with Harry on the way up to the Great Hall.

I needed him. I could already feel the Harry sized hole next to me and I hadn�t even made it to the damn breakfast table. Pathetic. When we entered the Great Hall, I absently glanced toward the Slytherin table, noting who had made it to breakfast before me. And I nearly froze on the spot. Ginny Weasley sat, pretty as you please, right next to Pansy.

Pansy looked up, probably feeling my eyes on her, and flushed a lovely shade of pink. I couldn�t help the smirk. But then Ginny sent my signature smirk right back at me! The nerve! And as she did, she lifted her and Pansy�s clasped hands and set them on the table in full view of any who bothered to look. I couldn�t help but grin at the sheer audacity.

Still grinning, I seated myself next to Neville, placing Harry on my other side next to Granger. Predictably, she began chattering at him. Harry animatedly joined in, answering her in a piping voice.

"And are you ready to spend your first day with Dobby?" Granger asked as she buttered her toast. Harry�s enthusiasm seemed to wane.

"Yeah," he said, nodding slowly. "I guess so."

I hated the woebegone look on his face. More than that, I hated that I had a hand in putting it there. I set my fork down on the side of my plate and eased my arm around his thin shoulders. I leaned in to whisper in his ear. "I still expect to see a picture waiting for me at lunch, you know," I smiled. "Otherwise, I might believe that you didn�t think of me!"

Harry looked horrified. Oops. I rolled my eyes and chucked him under the chin with my other hand. "Stop that," I chided. "It�s all right. If you get busy and don�t have time, that�s okay. I just want you to have fun today." Harry was still giving me the wary eye. I leaned even further in and bumped our foreheads together. That did it. His smile came out like sunshine and he nodded happily. Silly twit.

He went back to eating and chatting with Granger and I took a moment to glance about the Gryffindor table. I was still amazed, every time, that I was allowed to sit here. It�s astonishing what admitting affection for Harry Potter will accord you. As my eyes roved the table, I noted Parvati Patil eating alone again. She was sitting in the fourth year section, surrounded by a huge empty space on all sides.

It�s possible that she didn�t even notice. Her head never came up from her chest. It was only because her hair was pulled back into a plain ponytail that one could see her swollen eyes and the bruised patches beneath them that spoke of a sleepless night. She aimlessly pushed her food around on her plate, never bothering to actually place any on her fork to consume. I sighed.

"I feel rather badly for her, too," a quiet voice spoke at my elbow.

I stiffened immediately. Dammit. Caught in a moment of weakness. "I didn�t say I felt badly for her," I returned pompously.

Neville snorted and sent me a smirk. I absently thought how annoying it was that my signature looks were being stolen by any number of bloody Gryffindors. "You didn�t say it, no," Neville agreed. "However, the look and the sigh spoke volumes."

"About what, exactly?" I demanded under my breath, not particularly wanting to get into an attention getting conversation about this topic.

"That you feel sorry for her because the only friend she had was expelled this morning."

I perked up a bit. "Expelled? Truly?"

Neville nodded. "I thought you knew. Yeah, she was expelled and sent to counseling. Apparently, Dumbledore poked around in her mind a bit more and found out that her actions were out of sheer stupidity and not any �true intent to hurt�, so he advised against Auror action."

I ground my teeth together, suddenly furious. "And is that supposed to excuse her? That she was just too bloody stupid to know better as opposed to being a pedophilic molester?"

Neville sighed and shrugged. "Dunno. She has a restraining order against her. Not allowed to come within 500 paces of Harry or you for that matter." He grinned. "Though I think that was more for her safety than yours." I rolled my eyes. "Anyway, pointedly moving away from the volatile Lavender issue and back to what we were discussing, Parvati really hasn�t anyone left in the school save her sister. Her brainy, more interested in academics than blusher sister."

I snorted again. "And what do you want me to do about it? Go chat her up over eyeliner?"

Neville sighed. "No, of course not. I don�t expect you to do anything. Certainly not make an attempt to show the school that, regardless of what her best friend did, she shouldn�t be treated like a pariah." With that, Neville turned back to his breakfast. I sat quietly for long minutes, taking careful, deliberate bites of my breakfast whilst I desperately attempted to curb my inner Gryffindor.

Fuck.

I stood with a growl, knowing full well that Neville was feeling bloody well pleased with himself. Harry jumped a bit and I leaned down absently to kiss him on the top of his head. "It�s okay, pet," I muttered. "I have to talk to someone. I�ll be back in a moment." And then inspiration. "Why don�t you tell Neville how you want to grow up and play Quidditch?"

Ha, Longbottom! Take that! Harry could go on for hours about that. It was only fitting that Longbottom suffers for what he had practically twisted my arm to do. But, he just sat there, smiling benignly as Harry�s face lit up. He patted the now empty spot left in my absence and Harry grinned, moving over. I took a deep breath and ignored the curious looks the other Gryffindors threw at me as I regally made my way down the table to Parvati�s side.

She didn�t move as I drew near. She didn�t even look to see who I was until I had settled myself next to her on the bench. Then, when she recognized me, her eyes grew huge and her fork slipped out of her hand to clatter loudly onto her plate. I rolled my eyes at the excessive drama and forced what I hoped was a kindly smile on my face. Not that I was all that familiar with kindly. Most probably, I looked as though I was about to devour her. At least her reaction seemed to say I did.

"Good morning, Parvati," I drawled.

Her face paled and she managed to stammer out, "D-Draco," before falling silent again.

"I just wanted to tell you that the actions of your...friend have in no way tarnished my opinion of you," I offered graciously. She blinked rapidly and I saw a small glimmer of hope come to her eye. Ridiculous, really. "I think you�re a vain, vapid Gryffindor twit who hasn�t the likelihood of success after Hogwarts in any magical industry." What? Honesty is the best policy and all, right? I continued in that vein. "Your only hope is to trap a rich husband into marriage and then browbeat him into purchasing you your own business and filling out your clientele with his pompous arsed friends."

The hope began to die in her gaze. Usually, that was when it became the most amusing. Oddly enough, that wasn�t happening right now. I still got a brief rush from her obvious distress, but the overwhelming glee just wasn�t making an appearance. That was when I noticed that her face vaguely resembled Harry�s when he thought I was angry with him. Well, fuck.

I sighed. "But I thought that of you before the whole Brown incident," I finished. "So, what I�m trying to say is that I don�t like you. But then, I never liked you. I don�t expect the occurrences of this past weekend to change our relationship in the slightest. Understand?" I thought I was being remarkably magnanimous, but then she blinked again and looked down at her hands. I watched a teardrop fall onto her browned skin. Bloody hell. "What?" I growled. "What is it? What do you want from me?"

She shook her head. "Nothing," she squeaked out.

I sighed again. I really hated Gryffindors. "I�m sorry, all right? I was rude and I�m sorry. I�m not exactly a people person, you know," I pointed out. "I�m not a hugger or even a backslapper. If you want fluffy bunnies, you�ll have to look elsewhere."

"I just want to not be afraid to walk down the corridors," she whispered.

I frowned. What the hell? "Why are you afraid to walk down a corridor?" I demanded.

"News travels fast, even when it�s not me or L-Lavender spreading it," she said wryly, with only the slightest of hitches in her voice. "Everyone knows that Lavender was expelled for doing something to Harry. No one is sure just what it is, but they all think that I know. Maybe that I helped her do it. Cause we were friends. I�m...I�m afraid," she finished with a slight shudder.

I angrily looked around us, searching for the bastards who were spreading rumors about my Harry, and I noted for the first time all the stares and eager expressions looking back at me. Suddenly, my anger wasn�t just for Harry anymore. "What the hell are you looking at, you vultures?" I snapped loudly. "Piss off! No blood today!" All eyes shot back to their plates and the murmurings began.

I snarled a final time and then directed my gaze back to Parvati. "This is bloody stupid, Patil," I grumbled. "Pack your arse up. We�re moving down the table." She stared up at me with slightly scared eyes and I noted that the hope had returned. I stood and held out my hand. She looked from my hand up to my face and back to my hand again. I smirked and waved my fingers in her face. She cautiously reached out, ever the brave Gryffindor, and laid her hand in mine.

With all the grace of royalty, I escorted her down to the 7th year Gryffindor area and settled her in across from Granger, in between Finnegan and Weasel. The latter two just stared at me like idiotic cows, but they moved to allow Patil in anyway.

Granger had a ridiculous proud look as though I were her bloody child taking his first step or something. And Neville, the little bastard, didn�t even look at me. He kept talking to Harry, who wasn�t aware of the huge event that had just occurred. I knew better, though. He had a pleased air about him, rather an �I got my way. I knew you�d do the right thing� air.

Disgusted, I turned my attention to the rest of the Hall. Pansy and Ginny were smirking at me from Slytherin. Bloody little Gryffindor bitch showed Pansy, of all people, how to do my smirk! At the Ravenclaw table, Padma Patil watched me with an odd smile on her face and turned back to her food, blinking back tears. The HugglePouf table wasn�t even trying to hold back tears; several of then had degenerated into sobs. Great Merlin.

The teacher�s table was no better. Snape gave a single nod of approval before returning to his morning tea while Dumbledore beamed his approval down to me, twinkly eyes and all. I rolled my eyes one last time. "Show�s over, all," I said in irritation. "Eat your bloody breakfast."

Retreat - Chapter 12

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