𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐨

chapter thirty nine

March 1st, 1999

He dreaded knowing that that morning when they walked down to the Great Hall, Potter and Weasley might be sitting in waiting to torture him at gryffindor table, forks and knives placed forcefully between their tight fists.

He heaved a sigh of relief when they walked in hand in hand to find no sign of his round glasses and the other's red hair, the only fiery Weasley being Ginny, sitting at her now usual spot at Slytherin table surrounded by the rest of their friends.

Hermione seemed to relax her shoulders at that sight too, and they settled into breakfast with his hand on her thigh beneath the table.

"I know you've warned em', Granger, but Potter might just throw a hissy fit if he walked in and saw this," Theodore chuckled, wiping a bit of crumb from the side of Pansy's mouth, "Still can't understand what they're getting out of coming back in the first place. What're they gonna be here for, three months tops?"

"I've been thinking about it too," Hermione's eyebrows furrowed as she placed her silverware on her empty plate, "Harry seemed strange when I spoke with him last, which I thought was because of... well, you know... But the more I thought the more I realized something was off. Something that wasn't just about Draco."

Pansy leaned in closer, glancing about the room as if she were being let in on something secretive, "How do you mean?"

"He gets this face when he's guilty of doing something behind my back," she scrunched her nose, "When he's hiding something from me."

Draco tensed. People were still investigating him, and Potter was now in allegiance with the Ministry. He was of high enough status to be put in the field, despite his age. There was no denying his talent, and his reputation would allow for an easy climb towards higher government power. It made him itch, thinking he might be plotting.

Whenever was he not?

"What do you think it could be?"

"Draco has brought it to my attention before, and I'm beginning to agree," Hermione said with furrowed brows, taking his hand, "Harry's job at the Ministry, in Auror work. What reason to return to school other than to investigate a younger generation of previous death eaters?"

The table fell quiet, as they all knew Draco was right. Harry had completed his education. This was an assignment for him. He was a terrible liar, for an Auror.

"And of my brother?" Ginny questioned, shoving another bite of egg in her mouth, "Ronald is bright, as much as it pains me to say it, but nobody in the Ministry cares about him. His internship will end, and he'll go get a job  somewhere else."

The bell clung from the clock tower, and they rose from the table to go to their first classes. It felt strange, and he was paranoid walking alone to charms without Hermione. He thought Weasley and Potter might jump out from a hidden corner and ambush him.

Charms was quiet, as was muggle studies, where Luna had begun to sit at his side as his partner. He was used to working alone, but ever since they'd begun to collaborate, a large weight had seemed to lift off of his shoulders.

He was beginning to itch by lunchtime. None of them in the group had even a sighting of the two, let alone an interaction.

"He said they'd be here," Ginny shook her head anxiously, glancing about the great hall with a face of worry, "It's been hours. Did they even arrive?"

Draco couldn't eat; the anticipation was gnawing at him. Their last interaction had been far from friendly, and he hoped that this next one would be more civil, without hidden plot. He hoped they wouldn't interact with him at all.