Pariah: The Other Malfoy

Chapter 3: Belonging

Nothing much happened over the next few weeks, apart from Harry becoming the youngest seeker in Hogwarts Quidditch history! He had stopped my brother from bullying another Gryffindor during flying lessons, while I ashamedly stood by and watched, and caught a flying object in front of McGonagall's window. She came down and, while we all thought he'd be expelled, he came back and told us he was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team!

I was over the moon for him! I loved Quidditch personally, so it would be awesome to see a friend playing for the house.

After some awkward explanations and apologies on my part, the rest of the house had also welcomed me with open arms. I was officially part of the Gryffindor family, and it was as though nothing had happened before. My afternoons were spent joking with Harry and Ron between doing homework with Hermione, and I also helped Harry out with Quidditch practise when the team members were too busy.

"You're pretty good yourself, Malfoy," Wood, captain of the Quidditch team, said one day after he had caught me helping Harry out.

"I dabble sometimes, me and my brother always-" I trailed off, sighing slightly, "Yeah, I used to like playing."

"Harry was obviously a special case, but try out for Chaser next year," he said with a smile, "We have a Chaser leaving, so there's a spot up for grabs. It could well be yours."

"Thank you," I grinned before turning to Harry, "Good luck with practice, Potter! I'll see you later!"

Hallowe'en came quicker than expected, the excitement of being at Hogwarts and having this new family making time move quickly. I slipped up often, accidentally saying mudblood in casual conversation, almost making derisory comments about mudbloods, but my friends were patient. They didn't let it pass, they commented whenever I did it, but never got angry at me - and the more they picked me up on it, the less often it seemed to happen.

After another long day of lessons, it was time for the Hallowe'en Feast.

When we got in, the food was already there. It was shaped as lots of different creepy characters and instead of Pumpkin Juice it was 'blood'! I had rarely seen so much food in my life, and the house elves had certainly gone all out with the presentation. It was like a rainbow laid out on the table and many of the dishes had been enchanted to give you a Hallowe'en surprise. For example, Ron took a spoon of mashed potatoes only to have a hand pop out and grab him before slinking back into the mash. Ron had screamed so loud that several people turned to look at him in concern, only to see me and Harry doubled over with laughter and Ron red in the face.

I noticed Hermione was missing, but Ron and Harry just looked sheepish when I questioned them. I wasn't able to say anything further when Professor Quirrell, the Defence teacher, burst in yelling about a troll.

We were all told to return to the common rooms, and when I turned to say something to the two boys, they had disappeared. I cursed them out loud, knowing exactly what they were doing. They should have told me, I would have helped as well! If they were going up against a troll to find Hermione, three wands were better than two! But it was too late at that point.

I was right about where they had gone, and they returned with Hermione, the three of them suddenly much better friends than when I had last seen them. Harry and Ron had saved Hermione from the troll, earning points for Gryffindor in the process, though almost being beaten to death as well.

But when the two boys admitted why Hermione was in the troll's way, I hit them both in frustration, causing Hermione to laugh at their offended faces.

"We deserved that," Harry shrugged.

"You did," I laughed slightly, "Come on, Hermione. Let's leave these two dunderheads to clean themselves up, and get some rest ourselves."

The troll incident caused my three friends to become good friends with one another, my two groups forming into one. I was happy, though still frustrated at Ron's words to Hermione originally. Not that I had much room to talk, given my words to her long before that. Though the others never mentioned it or seemed to care, I was still ashamed of my previous beliefs.

The first match of the Quidditch season was not long after, and Harry caught the Snitch, winning the game! His broom was seemingly hexed, however, and they all suspected Snape. It didn't matter how much I tried to convince them otherwise, they had it in their minds that he was evil.

They also confided in me a discovery they had made before I really became good friends with them. They had found themselves on the third floor, a forbidden area of the school, and stumbled upon a huge three-headed dog that was guarding something.

It had happened when my brother challenged Harry to a duel after the incident with Neville, a fact they hid from me because they didn't want me to get in trouble from my parents if I was involved. My brother had, unsurprisingly, tricked them and not turned up, and they ended up having to run from Filch. They hid on the forbidden third-floor corridor and ended up face to face with the beast.

They found out from Hagrid that the dog was his, and after telling him they believed Snape was after what it was guarding - their suspicion of Snape the main reason they didn't confide in me - Hagrid let slip that the item belonged to Nicolas Flamel.

"You don't know the name, do you?" Hermione questioned.

"It sounds familiar," I hummed, "I'll check when I'm home for Christmas, I'm sure our library will have something. But I promise you, it's not Snape who wants whatever is hidden. I bet you anything he's trying to stop someone stealing it!"

"We'll agree to disagree," Ron rolled his eyes at me and I sighed.

"I know he seems like a bad guy, and he doesn't do much to dissuade that view of him, but I've known him since I was born," I laughed slightly, "He isn't evil!"

"You're the only Gryffindor he likes, it's easy for you to say!" Ron cried and I laughed.

"Anyway, if I get the chance, I'll check at home over the holidays," I frowned slightly, "Well... I don't know what's going to happen at home, so I might not have a chance."

"You can come to mine for Christmas instead," Hermione said, looking at me with concern as the train neared the station.

"Thanks, Mione," I smiled, "But that'll just make summer worse. I'm better off getting it over with."

"If you need somewhere to stay, send me an owl," she said seriously, "Or Ron or Harry, they can tell a teacher and get you back to Hogwarts early."

"I know, thanks," I said, "They won't do anything to hurt me though. I'm sure they've calmed down."