stars • d.m

1.5

Days had passed and Padma was no longer protesting about Estella's truce with Draco, but she still did not agree with it. Not much had happened between Estella and Draco either when it came to 'becoming friends'.

One day, Estella was in the library reading a book on Billywigs for her Care of Magical Creatures class. She was sitting alone, lost in the pages when a soft, "Hello," made her jump. She turned to see Draco standing there with a half smile on his face.

"I didn't mean to startle you," he said sheepishly.

"It's fine, really," Estella replied.

Pulling a chair out to sit down, Draco looked at the book she was reading.

"Billywigs huh?"

"Yeah, when Hagrid was giving a lesson on them he showed them off more than he talked about what they actually are. So I figured I'd do some light reading on them," Estella said smiling.

Draco shook his head and slightly smirked, "It's a wonder Hagrid still has his job."

Estella's gaze shifted as her smile fell.

"Yeah..." she trailed off.

"What?" Draco asked, noticing Estella's change in mood.

Estella hesitated answering. She did not want to start an argument with him, but she also did not want to let that go.

"It's just, I think Hagrid is a great professor. He's made mistakes, yes, but he's also learning from those mistakes," Estella answered.

"Don't you recall when that bloody bird almost took my arm off?" Draco shot back with a scoff.

Estella looked at the boy without saying anything. Draco sighed, knowing he could no longer fool Estella nor did he want to.

"I will admit that I have learned a lot more than I probably would have with Professor Kettleburn," Draco spoke up.

"Remember last year when the Weasley twins stole a salamander from Professor Kettleburn and fed it fireworks?" Estella asked, starting to laugh.

"The look on his face is what I'll always remember him for," Draco said laughing as well.

A few "shh's" came from other students walking by. One stepped back to get a good look at the two before whispering to their friend. Both Estella and Draco noticed this and let their laughs die down quickly. They understood the reason for the stares and whispers. Estella noticed that it seemed to bother Draco more than it did her.

"So are you going to be cheering on Gryffindor at the next meet?" Estella asked to lighten to mood.

Draco looked up to meet the girl's eyes then answered with a smile, "Of everything I've done or could do, that's the last thing to happen."

Estella smiled at the boy. She had never seen this side of him, and she almost felt honored to be the one to see it.

A/N: I couldn't resist the urge to talk about a "fantastic beast". Everyone have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow! (if you celebrate it of course) I hope you enjoyed and continue reading :)