𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓 𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐅𝐎𝐘

Chapter 6

I was surprised in spite of myself. How could she doubt the purity of my intentions? "Granger, I don't want to hurt Harry. Maybe I really like him. Maybe I think we'd be good together. Maybe--"

"Don't give me that crap," she interrupted officiously. "I know you're up to something, Malfoy. And I'm here to tell you that if you ever hurt my friend, I will hunt you down and kick your ass."

She had a murderous glint in her eye, but I was too pissed off to be wary. I folded my arms and looked down my nose at her imperiously. "Just where do you get off on telling me what to do? I'll do whatever I want as far as Harry's concerned, whether you like it or not. You have no right to just assume that I want to hurt him. Frankly, I think you're an annoying little bint who delights in nothing more that sticking your over-large head into other people's business. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to be going. I'm afraid that if I spend any more time in such close proximity to you, your hair will eat me. Good day to you!" And with that I stalked off.

Who the hell does she think she is? Stupid Granger, trying to get in between me and Harry. I bet Harry will be really pissed off with her when I tell him. That's if I ever get the chance to see him alone, now that I have Little Miss Know-it-all breathing down my neck.

Saturday 9th January.

Dear Diary,

Well, I've spoken to Harry. I still can't work out how well it went. Safe to say that it's going to be more difficult than I'd anticipated to develop our romance.

Gryffindor had Quidditch practice tonight, and I went down to spy on them, hoping to catch a moment alone with Harry. Fortunately, as they were leaving the pitch I overheard him telling Weasley and the others to go back up to the castle without him, because he wanted to work on planning some new Chaser tactics he'd read about. I quietly slipped into the changing rooms without him noticing. He was sitting on one of the benches, poring over a sheet of parchment. He looked so good – he'd just got out of the shower and his hair was still wet. Unfortunately, he'd had the poor judgement to get dressed. A small white towel would have perfected the image.

I called his name softly and he jumped. "Oh! Er... hi, Malfoy."

I grinned. "Hello. You can call me Draco, you know."

He smiled nervously. "Right. Um, what are you doing here?"

He didn't seem nearly as pleased to see me as I would have liked, and I couldn't help but feel a little hurt. I pouted. "I wanted to talk to you. Since when has that been a problem? Harry, is there something wrong?"

He got up and started to pace the room nervously. "I just... I don't know if it's a good idea if we keep meeting up with each other, that's all. I mean, I'm glad that we're no longer at each other's throats, but... I still don't know if I can really trust you." He turned to look at me appealingly.

"You've been talking to Granger, haven't you?" I said flatly.

"Well, yes, as it happens! She says you were really rude to her yesterday."

"Only because she was sticking her nose into my business! She was getting in my face, accusing me of trying to trick you into a friendship! She wouldn't believe me when I said that I didn't want to hurt you."

"And can you blame her?" he cut in. "We don't exactly have the best history, you know."

"But I want to make a change!" I cried petulantly. "I like you, Harry! I'm not trying to hurt you or deceive you. What kind of right does she have to stick her nose in?"

Harry frowned at me. "She's one of my best friends! We look out for each other, you know? And she's right – how can I possibly trust you after everything you've done in the past?"