Black Rose (Draco Malfoy)

Attempting Progress

Chapter 7: Attempting Progress

The next Saturday was an organized trip to Hogsmeade, the only all-wizard village in Great Britain. By then I had had a few more chances to talk to Crabbe and Goyle. They agreed to join me on the Hogsmeade trip; they seemed excited that someone had asked them. I found they weren't that bad once they were away from the other Slytherins. We arrived at Hogsmeade safely. We hadn't gotten far into the village when we heard a voice behind us.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Draco growled.

I spun around and smiled at him brightly. "Hey, Draco! We were just heading to the Three Broomsticks. Wanna come?" I figured he was included in the Slytherins was going to be nice to. Even if he didn't want to give me a chance, I would give him one. Something inside of me really wanted to be his friend.

Draco glared at me. "No, I don't want to come. Crabbe, Goyle, what are you doing with her?"

"We like her," Goyle said. "She's nice to us. She wants to be our friend."

"I forbid you to be friends with her," Draco snarled.

I rolled my eyes. Why did he have to be so bossy and commanding? It wasn't attractive. "You can't just boss people around, Draco." I turned to the other two Slytherins. "Don't let him tell you what to do. Think for yourselves. Do you two, as Vincent and Gregory, have any reason not to like me?"

Vincent and Gregory shook their heads slowly.

I smiled at Draco. "See? You could learn a thing or two from them."

Draco gritted his teeth, obviously seething with anger.

"Come on, Malfoy," Vincent said. "She's not that bad. Come with us."

I heard Draco following us silently as Gregory and I followed Vincent into the Three Broomsticks. It was a nice place. I sat at the counter in between my two new friends. Draco sat next to Gregory, but he scooted his chair a little bit away from us.

"Four butterbeers, please," I said to the bartender. I took out my coin purse and started counting out the money.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Draco asked icily.

I blinked. "I'm buying butterbeer for us."

"I could buy more butterbeer than you could ever dream of," Draco growled. "I don't need your charity."

I couldn't help but laugh. "It's not charity, Draco. I'm doing something nice. It's what friends do for each other."

"We are not and never will be friends," Draco spat.

"But she's a Gryffindor who likes us," Gregory said happily, taking the butterbeer that had been placed in front of him.

"Just give her a chance," Vincent said. "She's giving you one."

Draco narrowed his eyes at me. "But she's a Gryffindor."

I raised my eyebrows. "I'm different from the other Gryffindors. You know that, don't you?"

Draco looked away. "You don't really want to be my friend," he said more softly now. "You just want to use me to prove your stupid point. You don't care about me."

I frowned. So, that's what he thought? He had it all wrong. I did like him... "That's not true, Draco," I said just as softly. I cared about him more than what was probably safe. I wasn't even sure why. I had liked him from the beginning, even when everyone else had warned me away.