The Malfoy Diaries (A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction)

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Although Aria undoubtedly had her qualms about being back at Hogwarts, she found comfort in the fact that at least she had her friends. Hermione had joined her in the Hufflepuff common room and the two of them were presently eating colourful Bertie Bott's every flavour beans, while Hermione told Aria all about the cup. She and Ron had managed to destroy it entirely, which meant that there were only a few more Horcruxes to go. At least, Aria really hoped so. She was sure that Voldemort's return left a bad feeling in everyone's stomach and a bad taste in everyone's mouth, too. Nobody really wanted to talk about him and yet he was the one subject that everyone wanted to talk about.

Aria had thought that some thoughts were like bad itches. No matter how much you tried to get rid of them, they somehow remained. Aria considered that Malfoy was definitely one of these thoughts.

Hermione, who sensed there was a lot on her friend's mind, went to sit beside her with a sympathetic smile upon her face.

Aria liked being in the presence of Hermione. The two girls had similar heights which was comfortable when she had previously been in the presence of Malfoy, who was far taller than her in comparison. Malfoy had bullied Aria for her small height ever since the two had got to Hogwarts. Aria thought, fairly decisively, that as long as Malfoy could find something to make fun of someone for, he would do it.

"It will be alright," Hermione said with warmth, as she smoothed down her uniform over her figure. While Hermione was fairly slender, Aria had always had curves that she didn't have a clue what to do with. In all of her years at Hogwarts, she had been overlooked as a subject of both male and female attention. Hermione had always thought that her friend was incredibly beautiful, though.

As Aria thought on it, she realised that Malfoy was one of the only boys, aside from the members of the Golden Trio, who actually paid her any attention. She didn't know whether to blush or frown at the thought of it, and so she did both.

Aria managed to find her voice after a few moments of being lost in thought. "I really hope you're right, Hermione," she said.

Soon enough, Aria sensed that there was someone at the doors of the Hufflepuff common room, and so she went to tap on the barrels to let their guest in. She was worried that a familiar Malfoy had come along to play a nasty trick on them, but she was relieved when she found Ginny Weasley standing there.

"Hey!" Ginny said, as she rushed forward and grabbed her two best friends into a warm hug. "I saw Malfoy earlier. What in Godric's name is he doing here?" she asked.

Hermione released a gentle chuckle at that, which caused Ginny to raise an eyebrow at her friend in her inquisitiveness.

"Harry said the same thing," Hermione explained. It figured that Ginny would have said something similar, of course. It was no secret that Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter had been incredibly close ever since he had helped to rescue her from the Chamber of Secrets in their second year. Ever since then, Hermione had believed that Harry and Ginny were entirely infatuated with each other. It was sweet, but she couldn't help feeling a little jealous as she wondered when she would get so lucky.

"Oh," Ginny replied, as a faint pink glow worked its way onto her cheeks. Ginny was a bold and confident girl, who rarely ever showed signs of shyness. That all went out of the metaphorical window, of course, as soon as one boy by the name of Harry Potter was mentioned. "Well, I wanted to come and talk to you all. With many of the Hogwarts professors out fighting against Death Eaters, I took up an idea with McGonagall. I believe that it would be a good idea for us seventh years to help tutor the other students that are still here, even if it is only for a little while. After all, we may as well do something to occupy our time."

Hermione and Aria considered Ginny's proposition for a moment, before they smiled back at her with some newfound optimism. Hermione was just relieved that this tuition plan would mean that she would be able to take her thoughts off the war for some time.

"I think it's a good idea," a sing-song voice spoke then, which caused Aria and the others to jump a little, as they were taken by surprise. They soon turned to the entrance of the Hufflepuff common room to find that one white-blonde individual by the name of Luna Lovegood was making her way towards them. She had a small smile on her face and Aria took great comfort in the fact that at least somebody was able to look remotely happy during this terrible, terrible time.

"Thank you, Luna," Ginny said, as a warm smile made its way onto her face. While Ginny had often found Luna a little peculiar, she admired how great of a friend she was to the others. The girls had often considered Luna far wiser than they had initially given her credit for when Harry had introduced them to her during their fifth year of Hogwarts.

"Of course," Luna replied, as she lifted a slender arm up and ran her fingers through her hair. "I know that this war is taking its toll on everyone," she added thoughtfully, as her expression took on a whimsical tone for a second. "I care about you all and want to do whatever I can to help," she added decisively, as she moved her long blonde waves over her shoulders. Luna had taken the time to adapt ever since they had witnessed Sirius' death during fifth year. She had always taken exceptional care to be sensitive of her friends' feelings because she knew that she would want them to do the same for her.

"Alright then, Luna. Hands in," Ginny said, as she placed her hand in the centre of the girls' circle. Soon enough, Hermione, Luna and Aria all placed their hands on top of hers. "For Hogwarts," Ginny said, with a determined glint in her gaze, as she pulled her hand back again along with the others.