*The picture is by CelticBotan on Deviantart
Date: October 25th, 1991/ Hogsmead Weekend
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Harry trailed through the aisles in the library, trying to find something to read; it seemed as if that's all he wanted to do lately. Just curl up in a loveseat in an abandoned corner of the library with a good, compelling story and maybe a strong cup of tea, and get away from his friends for a little while. It wasn't that he didn't want to hang out with them, but ever since the Marauder's Map was introduced to them, the twins and Ron had been doing some research- along with copious amounts of pranks on the unsuspecting student body- and Harry wasn't ready to open up that can of worms.
He hummed in thought as his fingers brushed against the spines of the old tomes, grimacing when none really interested him.
"If you're looking for something interesting to read, I would suggest Igor Simonov's Book of Runes, or The Practical Guide to Animagus Transfiguration, or Fundamentals of the Healing Arts." A voice spoke up behind him. Harry jumped slightly, turning around to see a familiar looking girl with hair almost as crazy as his, light brown eyes, and teeth that were just a little bit too big for her face. She smiled gently and held out her hand. "Hermione Granger, First Year Ravenclaw."
Harry's eyes widened in recognition. He cracked his own smile and shook her hand. "Hadrian Graemark. And thanks, I was looking for a bit of a distraction."
Her eyes crinkled mischievously and she smirked at him. "I could tell, you've been wandering the shelves for almost an hour and have yet to pick a single book." She crossed her arms and Harry rolled his eyes playfully.
"It's hard to find something I haven't read before. My mother was a Ravenclaw when she went to school and her library is full of all kinds of books." He replied, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. "She made sure I practiced everything I read and then more."
Hermione looked at him, a little jealous of him. "That sounds like a dream come true, if I'm being honest. I have a thirst for knowledge." She had a dreamy look in her gaze as her mind drifted off at the thought of piles and piles of books around her and warm fireplaces. Harry chuckled at his new friend, finding her passion for books mildly amusing.
"I can tell, wouldn't be a good Ravenclaw if you weren't scholarly." He commented, leaning against the study table. He smirked softly at her when she snorted and shook her head at him.
"Okay, Mr. Slytherin, I wouldn't talk to me about being a Ravenclaw, seeing as you practically grew up a Ravenclaw. How did you end up in the house you're in, being as studious as you are? I know that your roommate- Ronald was it?- isn't nearly as serious about his studies as you are." She argued back. She tilted her head to the side, eying him with blanent curiosity. Hermione's stance was defensive, in that she definitely would debate with Hadrian Graemark about the importance of gathering and storing information and that it wasn't stupid to be prepared for anything.
Harry held up his hands in surrender, noicing the sudden change in atmosphere. He simply shrugged and answered her question, "I simply have more ambition than my mother," He tucked his hands into the pockets of his slacks. "She's already the Headmaster where she works and is content with where she is at for the time being. I, on the other hand, want adventure! I want to seek out new things and study magic and travel the world one day. There's a lot out there and I want to see it all." He grinned widely at her wide-eyed expression.
"Plus, it'll give me time to plan out how to take over the world of course." He added on, mostly for her amusement. Hermione gasped incredulously and punched him lightly on the shoulder, giggling when he shook it off and smiled harder, eyes crinkling happily.
"You little twit! Such bad behavior for a pureblood. Are you sure you're not a Gryffindor?" Hermione asked, wrinkling her nose at the thought of the Lion's House.
It was Harry's turn to gasp incredulously. "How dare you, Madame! I may be brave, but I'm not daft! The audacity!" He replied dramatically. He pressed a hand to his forehead and pretended to faint, closing his eyes as he leaned backwards. Hermione snorted and he cracked an eye to see her clutching her stomach as she burst out laughing. He quickly sprung back up, shushing her.
"You don't want to attract the librarian over here, I heard that she's got quite a sharp tongue." Hermione quieted down, stifling her laughter behind her hand. She took a deep breath and shook her head at the dark haired boy. How ridiculous!
"You are a riot, Hadrian Graemark, a riot I say!" She said, wrinkling her nose again.
"Did I hear someone say Hadrian Graemark?" Draco asked, coming out from behind an aisle in front of them. "Hadrian, I see this is where you've run off to." He gave Hermione a cursory glance and frowned slightly. "Playing with First Gens, are you?"
Harry elbowed his snobby best friend as Hermione gave out an indigent noise. "Draco, you ponce, stop being such a priss. Hermione is my new friend and is surprisingly brilliant, like Mom."
Draco looked the witch up and down and cocked an eyebrow at her. "Well, if she's anything like your mother then I suppose she won't be much a nuisance. She's a Ravenclaw too, props to her." He muttered the last part to himself and turned his head slightly to look at her from a different angle.
Hermione put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "I'm surprised Harry would hang out with the likes of you, Malfoy."
Harry chuckled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Draco's not half-bad either, Hermione, he's actually got extensive knowledge on the Dark Arts, as well as Potions, and is a rather good debater, you know, when his head isn't up with his own arse." Draco cuffed the back of Harry's head and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Don't let Uncle Severus hear you speak like that, or you'll be in serious trouble." He commented, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I'll just serve detention with him, like usual." Harry replied, waving the concern off.
A sudden, and loud, tolling of bells sounded over them, signaling their next period. Hermione straightened up immediately, fixing her tie and brushing a hand over her hair- not that either of those things really fixed anything- and picked up a stack of books and her bag.
"Well boys, I best be off. I've got Herbology next and I'm not really looking forward to it." She waved goodbye as she rounded the corner, leaving Harry to Draco's interrogation.
The blond aristocrat turned to Hadrian with a questioning gaze; his signature sneer plastered onto his face.
"So, making friends with know-it-all Ravenclaws, are you?" He asked, lips twisting even more. "Where have you been for the past couple of periods? Professor Flitwick was very upset when you didn't show for class, as well as Professor Sinistra. And don't even get me started on that tit, Ron Weasley."
Harry waved him off, turning back to the books on the shelves; he might as well take up Hermione's suggested ones and try to find them. He sighed softly and shrugged his shoulders when Draco made an upset huffing noise behind him.
"I just needed some space, Draco. You should know that I never feel great around this time of year." He replied, absentmindedly picking up a copy of 'Handbook of Proper and Improper Rituals and the Time to do Them' by Bouigras Veres.
Draco's brows rose to his hairline, a concerned look schooling his features; he pressed his hand to Harry's shoulder, turning his best friend around to face him.
"Are you going to be okay?" He implored, lips pressing together in general upset. He knew that Hadrian was, despite being raised by three loving parental figures, going to be in a bad mood this weekend over the death of his birth parents.
"It's going to be the first Samhain I'll be celebrating without my mother there to help me with the rituals." Harry said, after a few moments of silence. "She also tells me stories throughout the night about them so that I won't forget."
Draco hummed thoughtfully. "Hogsmead's this weekend, why don't we make a detour to the Ministry to see her? I'll round up some fellow students to help out with Samhain," He clasped Harry's shoulder and smiled softly. "There are other students who follow the old ways and would like to try and contact their own people. I'm sure they'd be more than willing to join you, Harry."
The ebony haired boy nodded, lips stretching in a shy smile; he was glad that he met Draco, he hadn't really had a friend like him before and it was nice to be able to rely on someone other than his own mother or one of his pseudo-uncles. "I think I'd like that. Who'd you have in mind?"
"Theo, Blaise, Pansy, Daphne and Astoria, Marcus would want to be there as well," Draco listed, pinching his lip as he rattled off the names.
Harry's brow lifted. "Are these all going to be Slytherin students?" He interrupted. Draco paused and glanced at him in surprise.
"I could probably invite a couple more people from the other houses, how many do you think we will need?" Draco asked, leaning against the table. Harry shrugged unsurely.
"I don't know, something within a multiple of three, I'll check with my mother when we see her this weekend. She'll probably have some idea as to how many would be a good number." He glanced up at him. "Thank you, Draco, for being there for me."
Draco smiled briefly, before he slipped into his customary smirk- something that he adopted quickly over the month that they'd been here, secretly in order to piss off Ron, but also as a defense mechanism for when people talked badly about his father- and cuffed the back of Harry's head.
"We are eleven years old, Hadrian!" He sniffed and turned his head away, closing his eyes in fake disgust. "Far too young to be acting like a bunch of old ninnies!" He cracked open an eye to see Harry's shoulders shaking with quiet laughter; Draco joined him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and leading him out of the library.
TBC...