The Boy Who

Twelve

I took my time walking to the Quidditch arena. I could see Harry, Hermione, and Ron standing in a triangle and jogged over to them. Hermione still seemed annoyed and once I got there, she left to find us a seat.

"How long do you think she'll be angry?" Ron asked.

"She'll get over it eventually. You go be a rockstar out there!" I gave him a high five, "You guys nervous?"

"Psh, not anymore, I feel great!" Ron explained, raising two fists into the air, happily.

"Ron's confidence takes the worries away," Harry smiled.

I gave them both a quick hug, "I'll go find Hermione. Good luck guys."

Ron laughed at my unplanned joke, "Good one."

"I'm a natural," I winked at them. I walked away while moving my hand in a saluting motion and went up to the bleachers. Some people gave weird stares, others waved with a smile, and there was Pansy Parkinson who didn't seem too excited to see me. It was always rumored she had a thing for Malfoy, and quite honestly, it slipped my mind. I almost felt bad, considering she's spent all her years at Hogwarts by his side. I continued walking, ignoring any little remarks from people as best as I could. I saw Hermione with her hand up so I could find her and Luna and Neville were by her. I sat to the left of Hermione whose mood seemed to be lifted by our two new friends.

"Hey Juniper," Neville brought himself to say.

"Hello Mr. Longbottom."

He looked down shyly, he was starting to open up and I didn't realize how him and I have never really spoken to each other. I was proud of him though, the new confidence that's building up in him is incredible. Everyone always had a feeling that Neville was a lot stronger than he allowed himself to be. Soon the crowd of students and staff began to cheer as the Gryffindor team walked out onto the field. Ginny, Ron, and Harry were in the front of the group and they looked like superheroes. Hermione let out a loud cheer and I clapped my hands in excitement. Soon Slytherin's team walked out and the crowd bursted into another cheer. 

"How come Malfoy isn't playing this year?" Neville asked, "The team couldn't possibly do as well without him."

"Better for Gryffindor," Luna shrugged in her soft, almost angelic voice. "Supposedly he's busy this year so he won't be playing in any of the games."

"He seems to be very busy this year," I whispered and they looked at me. "Sorry, I guess I never realized how little I know about what's got him so preoccupied."

Hermione put her hand on my knee and the game started. Ron was certainly doing well and Hermione seemed both happy and angry about it. I was hoping Harry would let them both know that he didn't actually lace Ron's drink and that this was all just one big placebo effect. The Slytherin team was actually doing really bad without Draco. It was crazy how one player being gone could really mess up the whole team. Seeing them made me think of the Ravenclaw team, maybe that's why they were upset about me not trying out this year. It was rumored that I would've been the captain, and as great as it seemed, it just didn't feel like something I wanted responsibility of this year.

One of the players on the Slytherin team got hurt so the game was stopped for a few minutes. The injuries didn't seem fatal, the normal falling off the broom incident. Hermione turned her body slightly towards me as we waited for the game to presume.

"I'm really sorry for yesterday."

"I know, I read your letter."

She sighed, "I'm a terrible friend. I'm the reason the whole school knows. I shouldn't have acted the way I did. I feel disgusted with myself."

I shook my head, "It's okay. I get why you're angry, and honestly.. I even question how safe my relationship is with him. I know he would never hurt me or let anyone hurt me, and he swears he's not a death eater. So I believe him.. but sometimes the thought of him lying comes back to me. What Ron said about him using me to find out about Harry, that comes to my head every now and then. But Draco never asks about Harry, never asks about all of us as a group, or our plans. When we're together.. it's just me and him."

Her eyes looked pitiful and sad, she took my hand firmly in hers. "No matter what happens, you have me."

"I know you may never understand why, of all people, Malfoy. I ask myself that too. He's not your favorite person, definitely not, but he's not what you think. He's incredibly kind, and caring, and gentle."

The smallest curve of a smile formed at the corners of her lips, "Are you sure you're talking about Malfoy?"

"I'm talking about Draco."

"I believe you. I'll be there when you tell the boys. I'll be there whenever you need me to be."

I leaned my head on her shoulder and she wrapped her arm around mine. The game ended with Ron as the star of the show. Gryffindor beat Slytherin big time and it was all because of Ron. Harry made sure to let Ron and Hermione know that they didn't actually cheat and she was so relieved. We left with the entire Gryffindor student body. They were lifting Ron and chanting his name, going back to their common room. I laughed and walked with them, it was easy to sneak in with everyone in the way. Inside of the common room, it was all cheerful energy. Harry was finally able to reach us and I gave him a tight hug.

"I can't believe it was all a fake," Hermione explained.

Harry laughed, "No cheating here."

We watched the crowd and Lavender Brown was quick to go to Ron's feet. She appeared to have the biggest crush on Ron since the start of the schoolyear. Nobody was prepared to see her and Ron get into a huge snogging session. Everyone fell into a wave of 'oo's' and 'ah's'. I looked back to see Hermione was gone and Harry was walking after her. I looked back to Ron and Lavender and shook my head in disappointment. I went after Hermione as well, finding her and Harry sitting by some stairs. Hermione's cheeks were tear stained as she looked to me. I sat on the other side of her, rubbing her back.

"It'll be okay," I whispered.

She continued to cry as Harry tried to calm her down. Once her breathing slowed, we heard people laughing and to our surprise, Ron and Lavender had walked into the room.

"Oops.. I think this room is taken," Lavender said and tugged at Ron's arm to leave.

Ron seemed surprised and Hermione's expression changed from sad to hateful. Harry and I looked at each other, we hadn't seen her so angry before. The last time she was angry was when she punched Draco in the face, and this time she was even more annoyed. She stood, not saying a word. Within seconds, a halo of yellow, twittering birds were headed straight towards Ron. Luckily, he was able to dodge them and they hit the wall just beside him. He ran away and she came back to us.

"I'm fine," Her voice cracked as tears filled her eyes again.

Harry and I ran to her, embracing her in a group hug. The rest of the day was off, Draco wasn't to be seen and Snape neither. Hermione was in no mood to talk so we let her have some time to herself. Harry and I stuck together for some time, walking the halls and talking. I wanted to tell him about Malfoy, but with how things were, it didn't feel right. Eventually, he left to find Ron and I went back to my common room. Luna and Cho were playing cards and asked me to join them, and the rest of the day went by slowly.

-

Author's Note:

If there's little differences from the movies/books, I had to make those changes for the stories sake. It is a fanfiction after all, however, I am trying to stay close to how the books/movies unfold. There is going to be some changes though either way. Thank you for reading though! From what it seems like there will be about 20-30 chapters in this story, just cause I don't want to rush and take too much time either with the plotline. I hope you're enjoying though. Comment, vote, and share if you'd like. Feedback is always appreciated. Thank you! :))