Drarry - The Boggart

THIRTY ONE

Crabbe and Goyle were stood waiting outside of the Gryffindor common room when Harry came back from dinner. They looked like two adults guarding the entrance. Harry knew they meant no harm and were only there to take him through to the Slytherin common rooms to learn about how to act around Death Eaters, but still he felt skittish and nervous in their presence. Almost like he thought they were there to beat him up. But this was the old Crabbe and Goyle he was remembering. They'd never actually been evil or anything, just as much as Draco hadn't been.

But old habits die hard, and unless there are special circumstances (Falling in love, for example) its hard to change how you think about someone. 

Once Harry walked into the Slytherin common rooms, even though it wasn't the first time Harry had been there, it felt unfamiliar. He knew instantly that this would be different than any other common room he went to in preparation for Draco's birthday. Because this was Draco's common room.

There were plenty of kids of all years there. Most of them were sitting on the dark leather couches and studying, some were chatting by the fire place (Which was lit with green flames), and others were eating and gossiping at the tables. All was pretty quiet and calm - almost eerily - until they slowly noticed that Harry had entered the room. A hush fell over the crowd. Head turned. Harry, for the first time in a while, felt truly uncomfortable with the acknowledgment of his being in a room. He wasn't really sure what to do, so he just stood still as he could between the lumbering Crabbe and Goyle.

"Well, this is Harry. Most of your parents probably hate him, but he is dating Draco so be considerate." Crabbe said after what felt like an eternity of silence. The words didn't comfort Harry much. He knew that no one could hurt him with Crabbe and Goyle's protection, but it still felt like they way they said it they expected people to pummel him.

No one moved, until Goodwin Switch stood up and strode right up to Harry. He started to raise his hand, but just before Harry had time to flinch, Goodwin took hold of his hand and shook it once with force.

"Pleasure to meet you. If Draco has agreed to date you, then we accept you here."

~~~ 

"So, how'd it go?!?" Seamus Finnegan was asking Harry as soon as they sat down by the lake at lunch the next day. "Did they all hate you? Did they not care? Were they nice? Were they mean? What about Blaise and Pansy?"

"No, no, yes, no, and Blaise and Pansy are both staying at Draco's house until the party, to help with preparations over at the manor." Harry answered swiftly.

"Well.... elaborate!" Requested a Hufflepuff who always was the one to speak up in class.

"Ok, ok!" Harry took a swig of his pumpkin juice and started explaining.

"The vibe was kind of weird, like they weren't used to me - which, of course they weren't. But they definitely had good intentions. I mean, it was very much that anyone who could actually get Draco to like them enough to date was worth befriending. They talked about how he'd never had a crush before, and they'd know if he had because he instantly started acting weird when we became friends. Of course they hadn't picked up on what that meant until later, but nonetheless. It was kind of fun towards the end when we all started getting to know each other better. We all talked about Draco a lot, just little things. And most of them, when speaking about Death Eater parents or family members, seemed to hold strong resentment. None of them actually want to be Death Eaters. The few that had had the dark mark had been forced into it. They're just... kids. And they all seemed very impressed by me dating Draco, which was a plus." Harry explained. It was all true. He'd had a nice time there. He learned a lot about how Death Eaters thought. And they'd all just started talking like old friends by the end of his time there. Harrys favorite was how they described Draco during halloween. Apparently, thought he pretends he doesn't care, its his favorite holiday. Its not even celebrated much in England and Harry thought the Malfoy's would be the last to celebrate such a thing, but apparently Draco would get really excited. He'd try to hide it, but it never worked, according to his friends there in Slytherin.

"Did they have a lot of questions?" A Ravenclaw girl asked. Harry shrugged, recalling how they were acting with questions.

"No. Not really. It was kind of like they all just... knew. Knew everything. Like they didn't need to ask, they understood the answers already." He answered to the best of his ability. The girl nodded, still looking confused, but seeming like she was trying to figure the rest out on her own. That was how Ravenclaws tended to be.

~~~

"So the Slytherins were all cool?" Neville asked, catching up to Harry after Herbology.

"Yeah." He nodded, trying to get to rush to potions while not going ahead of Neville (Who was walking exceptionally slow today).

"And Pansy wasn't there?" He sounded disinterested in the answer. Harry shook his head. Neville nodded. "And Blaise wasn't either?" He sounded a little curious. Harry shook his head again. He was a little confused by the questions but didn't think much of it.

"No, they're both at Malfoy Manor with Draco. Apparently, since their families are so close, its a tradition that they get to hang out with him for those weeks he misses from school before his birthday." Harry recited.

"Oh. Kinda sucks that you don't get to be there, I guess." Neville commented. Harry kind of wished he hadn't said that, because now he was going to be thinking even more about how he wished he was with Draco, plus how unfair it was that he didn't get to be there now.

"Yeah. I guess." He said goodbye to Neville when they parted ways, them sped to Potions. Usually he'd be sitting close to Draco in this class. But instead, the seat next to him was left empty. There were no assigned seats, and where people sat changed daily, so Harry was sire it was out of respect. But really he just wanted Draco to be sitting there. And since that couldn't happen, he wished a friend could sit there to distract him.

He felt the annoying little ache in his heart grow a little every time he turned to say something witty to Draco and remembered he wasn't there. His favorite thing was to make Draco laugh, because he knew no one else could do it except for Blaise and Pansy, but even they weren't as good at that as Harry.

He missed his boyfriend. But he knew he couldn't send an owl or else Draco's parents would see it and wonder who it was. None of Draco's friends had snowy owls, and his parents noticed that stuff. Especially his dad. He'd notice if suddenly a pale owl came flying through the permanent darkness engulfing Malfoy Manor. Draco had been sure that Harry understood this before he left for home. But Harry hated that that was Draco's home right now. He hated that he had to be there at all. And he couldn't wait for him to be back.

But for now he'd have to settle with re-reading that letter that Draco had sent him the other night and reminding himself that he had Blaise and Pansy.

(A/N: Hey dudes! I've been feelings really depressed and stressed lately ((Hey that rhymed)) so, I'm sorry this chapter is so short! But basically, as a result of my feeling like trash I'm going to not update this for one week. I'M SO SORRY! Now, this doesn't mean I'm not going to write for the whole week and then I'll start writing in one week, but I'm just not going to update until next Saturday. But it'll be a long chapter, so hopefully thats ok! Not saying this for pity, and don't worry about me I'm seeing a therapist so it's all good. But just a heads up, please don't comment stuff on this chapter like "Update soon!" because honestly it'll scare me - as many things do. Usually I'm totally fine with people commenting that stuff but just not this chapter please? Love you guys! Hope you liked this chapter! ((Also, I'll be updating my story "Social Media - Harry Potter - Next Generation - 2", just gotta sneak that self-promo in there!)))