Chapter Text
First year, part V
To be honest, for a second I considered not taking his hand, because if there was one thing I had learned during my time here at Hogwarts, it was that nothing good could come from associating with a Gryffindor, but this didn't last long as I immediately remembered that the person in front of me had gone so far as to harass me and my friends just to talk to me and I don't want to even imagine what he could do if I refused right now.
I have enough to deal with the weirdos of my friends that I don't want to add a Gryffindor with stalker tendencies to my daily life, maybe with a bit of luck my encounters with Creevey will be limited to just a few lessons on basic stuff and nothing more.
Feeling already resigned to having to submit to being in the company of the blond Gryffindor in my immediate future, I let out a last sigh before signing my sentence by giving his hand a firm squeeze."Tell me Creevey, what exactly do you need me to help you with?"
The look of utter surprise on Creevey's face confused me a little, since considering what the boy had done to get close to me, one would think that he was sure of getting a positive response, but upon observing his reaction, the mental image that I had built of him up until that moment had completely crumbled."Oh well...just things like how to use my quill correctly and things like that, whatever you consider to be basic things that everyone should know…"
Releasing his hand, I return to Kiran's side while making a mental list of what I taught Kiran to give me a slight idea of what I will teach Creevey."Mmm...I guess I could help you with that, but only if you promise to stop following us everywhere and spying on us." Before I forget it, I remember making it clear that while I was willing to help him adapt better to the magical world, I wouldn't do it without receiving something in return. In this case, what I want is for my friends and I to be able to walk through the halls of the castle without having to look over our shoulders waiting for a possible attack.
"Oh really?! Thanks so much for your help...wait what do you mean I was spying on you?" Upon hearing my words, his expression brightened considerably, but almost instantly his features contracted as he looked at me as if I had lost my mind, which is funny since I am not exactly the one with somewhat questionable tendencies.
Apparently I wasn't the only one who found his reaction strange, since everyone else had been staring at Creevey as if he were a weirdo. After all, how could he say he hadn't been spying on us when he had clearly just been caught in the act?
To the surprise of absolutely no one, the first to lose his patience was Asher, who at first glance was clearly making a monumental effort not to tackle the Gryffindor to the ground again, although in his defense he did not seem to be the only one, if the way Thomas clenched his hands into fists and Luna seemed to be clenching her teeth indicated something."Come on Creevey, don't try to make us look stupid. We know you've been spying on us during mealtimes and also that you've been following us around the castle for the past two weeks."
With every word that came out of Asher's mouth Creevey's face seemed to grow paler and paler as his eyes darted from face to face in an almost manic manner. I wouldn't be surprised if from one second to the next he started spraying foam from his mouth and attacked us like a wild animal. At least if that happened, the first to fall would be Asher or Thomas, so the rest of us would have a chance to escape.
Maybe.
Creevey was visibly upset as he began fiddling with the sleeves of his sweater while trying to speak, although if opening and closing his mouth without making a sound told us anything, it was that it wasn't coming easy to him at the moment."What? B-but I've only been watching you when we were in the Great Hall. Today is the first time I've had the courage to approach you and talk to you…" Great, Creevey looked like he was on the verge of tears and the fact that his voice sounded so unsteady only made it more obvious.
"Please, for the love of God, tell me this is a fucking joke." At this point I was afraid Kiran would start banging his head against the wall or something, I mean, if he did something like that I wouldn't blame him, it's not like I was much better off than him at this point, I was even surprised that I hadn't lost my patience, even taking into account that with every second we spent in this conversation I felt like I was losing years of life.
"I'm telling you the truth, I would never do something like that." Normally I would call Creevey out for insisting on maintaining something that is obviously a vile lie, but even I don't have the heart to do such a thing after seeing the more than clear desperation that emanates from Creevey's entire being.
On one side of Creevey, I see how Fionn, who mostly remained silent observing the whole exchange, takes a couple of steps until he is flanking the other side of Kiran and taking me by surprise begins to speak, totally ignoring our blonde company. "Well, I guess that means we're completely and utterly screwed...what do we do now?"
This time the next to speak is Thomas, who also comes closer to where the rest of us are standing, dragging Asher along with him, leaving us all facing Creevey, who seems to be struggling between desperation to be believed and confusion at not understanding what is happening."For now I think it would be best if we waited in the common room instead of staying here where we are completely exposed."
Considering that we once again had to be on the lookout for our mysterious stalker and that our group seemed to be attracting the attention of other students, Thomas' idea seemed to be the most ideal for the moment. "Good idea, let's go"
Before I can even make a move to head inside with the others, I find myself caught in the firm grip Creevey suddenly has on my arm, momentarily stopping me. "Wait Malfoy, when are you going to help me?"
Oh right, I had forgotten that already.
"Hmm I don't know, tomorrow when classes end let's meet in the library to talk about what I'm going to teach you and then we'll arrange which days to see each other." The truth is that maybe the best thing would be to tell him about starting tomorrow, but I need a little more time to process all this, and the fact that I still don't know who is stalking us is disturbing me more than usual.
Well, I'll have time tomorrow to regret this.
"Okay, see you tomorrow" After saying goodbye, Creevey walked away from us towards the garden in a hurry without turning in our direction at any time.
I absentmindedly let my eyes follow Creevey's figure as he walked away, so I was the first to notice the unwanted presence of Potter and his friends a few meters from where we were standing. From where I was, I could see the exact moment when Creevey approached Potter and company, although due to the distance between us I couldn't hear what he was saying. I did see Potter's reaction and his clear intentions to flee the place as soon as possible.
Up to that point everything seemed quite funny to me but my little moment of happiness vanished as soon as I saw that no one but Lockhart had appeared on the scene and was approaching Potter's group, just at the moment when I looked away from Lockhart and looked back at where Creevey was I had the bad luck to cross glances with Potter.
If I were someone else, I might be excited to have this little interaction with the boy who lived, but unfortunately for the world, I wasn't like all those bootlickers who think that Potter is some kind of entity that must be revered just for breathing. Also, let's not forget that after our happy encounter at the beginning of the year, he only further ruined the impression I had of him. So when I saw that Potter seemed to have every intention of approaching me, my natural reaction was to run away as if my life depended on it.
Fortunately for me, I was not the only one to have that same idea.
"Oh hell, we better get out of here right away. From here I can see Potter and if my eyes don't deceive me, a little further away is the insufferable Lockhart trying to get attention as usual." Sometimes I forget that while Asher is the equivalent of being the black sheep of our group, the rest of us are not far behind, that is why hearing Fionn speak with a certain hint of disgust when referring to those two confused me for a couple of seconds until I reacted and took Luna and Kiran by the arm to head to our common room where we would be safe from Potter and Lockhart for the moment.
Following my example, Fionn took Thomas by the arm while he held Asher by the collar of his uniform. In the distance, I could make out Lockhart's voice saying something about taking some pictures and... giving autographs? Despite wanting to get out of the place before Lockhart noticed we were there, I couldn't help but turn around to see what in Merlin's name was happening now. When I turned my head to see what was happening, I found Lockhart posing next to Potter while Creevey was taking pictures of them. For a moment, my eyes met again with some green ones that seemed to be fixed on my person. The intensity with which Potter was looking at me was beginning to make me nervous, especially because for a second it seemed like he was trying to call me.
When I felt that I was no longer able to hold his gaze, I looked forward again and began to walk faster while still feeling the weight of Potter's gaze on me. At my side, Luna seemed to notice that I was a little upset, so she removed her arm from my grip to replace it with her hand, with which she gave my hand a light squeeze that made me turn to look at her.
"Don't worry Draco, we will find a solution to all this, we just have to be patient and trust that Mother Magic will help us." Contrary to what I was expecting to find, Luna was not watching me but seemed to be more concerned with looking where we were walking, although I could still tell that she was taking the matter seriously.
The truth is that although my mother had instructed me in all that are our most ancient customs, I did not expect someone to speak so freely about them as Luna was doing at this moment, after all, many of those customs and beliefs had been left aside even by families that claim to be purebloods that defend their legacy. Even in the books it is mentioned briefly without delving into them, it really is a shame that a large part of the magical community considers these customs as something dark and barbaric when in reality it is a way to celebrate and understand the very essence of magic.
In a poor attempt to not get lost in that train of thought, I leaned a little closer to Luna, making our hands partially hidden by the rest of our bodies so I could speak quietly enough for only her to hear me."Do you really think Mother Magic will help us with something like this?"
Apparently I said something inappropriate, although I didn't understand what exactly it was, since she stared at me abruptly in such a way that for a second I feared she had hurt her neck by turning her head so quickly, in contrast to the icy look she was giving me, her voice somehow sounded more fragile than usual, leaving me feeling an uncomfortable emptiness in my stomach."Draco, you better than anyone should know that we can always trust that Mother Magic will protect us, even if it has to be from one of her other children."
Even with this uncomfortable feeling inside me that seemed to become more and more noticeable with each passing second, I decided that the best thing I could do at this moment was to give in since it was quite clear that this was important to her.
"Okay, if you believe that Mother Magic will take care of us, I can only trust your judgment." With one last smile from Luna directed in my direction we continued our way in silence until we reached the common room, where as usual we headed to the same old sofa to collapse on top of each other in a pile of bodies.
After spending a few minutes in the same position I could feel one of my arms starting to fall asleep from the weight of Thomas' head, which had somehow managed to be on top of the pile we had formed on the couch. To be honest I wasn't exactly a fan of the tingling sensation that came when a limb fell asleep, so knowing that the only one affected would be Thomas I raised my other arm to push my friend to the floor and then got up, ignoring what was surely a string of insults directed at me, and I dropped into one of the nearest armchairs, waiting for the rest to settle in.
From where I was I saw Thomas rolling like a log on the ground until he was face up to point at me accusingly while shaking his head slightly."Just for that you are no longer my favorite, I hope you know that."
Hearing this I couldn't do anything but arch one of my eyebrows as I looked at him dubiously, after all it's not every day that one of your friends lies so blatantly to your face. I'm sure anyone who knows Thomas knew of his obvious favoritism towards Fionn, you'd have to be blind not to see it, that or not have any useful brain cells.
Almost as if he had read my mind Kiran, who was now standing next to Asher, said what was probably already a universal truth for everyone in Ravenclaw."Hahaha...who are you trying to fool? Everyone knows that Fionn is your favorite."
To my delight and that of others, we witnessed one of the few occasions when Thomas-I-am-peace-incarnate-Morris turned into a tomato while looking at us as if he were a bewildered kitten."That 's not true!"
Just when everything seemed like it was going to get out of control and Thomas was going to go for our jugular, Luna cleared her throat softly as she knelt down next to Thomas' body, placing one of her hands on his shoulder and giving him a couple of light pats.
Once it was noticeable that Thomas had calmed down a bit she looked him straight in the eyes before delivering the final blow."Thomas...it is not good to lie to yourself."
"Luna?! you too?!" Seeing the look of betrayal on Thomas' face, coupled with the unusually high-pitched tone in which he spoke, was so funny that I couldn't help but burst out laughing along with Asher and Kiran, who were practically rolling on the floor laughing their heads off as tears escaped from their eyes.
"Dude, seriously you should just give up."As if Thomas' situation wasn't hilarious enough, our laughter was compounded by the fact that Fionn himself seemed to see our friend with a certain degree of pity, which only caused even Luna to laugh this time at Thomas and the pitiful image he was giving us, lying in a fetal position on the floor while looking at us with his eyes half-closed.
✴️
Once our fits of laughter had calmed down and Thomas had stopped throwing a tantrum on the floor, we all settled down in such a way that we formed a circle with some of us on the couch and others sitting on the floor.
"So, did any of you manage to get the castle ghosts to help us with our little problem?" Upon hearing my question, the first to react were Luna and Fionn, although judging by the lack of enthusiasm they showed about the subject compared to a few hours ago, they had not had much luck in their task.
"Oh right, about that... the Grey Lady ignored us completely and the Fat Friar told us that he didn't like to meddle in disputes that didn't concern him." As Fionn spoke, he kept rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, something that indicated how frustrated he really felt. After all, the only times he falls back into that habit of his is when he is struggling with one of the essays left in class.
Even though Luna seemed quite calm, compared to Fionn, one could clearly see that she was disappointed with the actions of both ghosts, especially considering that she had been the one in charge of convincing everyone to follow her plan."The Fat Friar also told us that maybe we were dealing with someone shy and that we should not be so quick to judge people without knowing them."
"So in summary asking for help from those two was a waste of time. And how did it go for you two?" Even though he was the least excited about this plan, Kiran seemed quite upset with the whole situation, something that could be seen in the way his face twisted as if he had just sucked a lemon.
An expression that only deepened when he saw, like the rest of us, the way Thomas and Asher exchanged a nervous glance as if they were debating what to say, and coming from those two I have no doubt that it will definitely cause us problems in the future. If the way Asher began to play with his hands on his lap was indicative of something, the way Thomas looked down at the floor while making invisible figures with his index finger on the carpet he was lying on only confirmed what I suspected.
Both idiots had managed to get into trouble.
Before he started speaking, Asher made a sad attempt to meet our eyes, but ended up staring at the ground, gulping audibly. "Well...Thomas declared war on Nearly Headless Nick after he referred to our house as the know-it-all chickens and I managed to get the Bloody Baron to help us, although I'm still not entirely sure how I did it…" If it weren't for the fact that I already knew that my friend was quite nervous about our possible reaction, I would most likely be demanding that he speak clearly or else I would personally make sure that he had a good reason for not being able to speak like a decent human being.
Ah…Who would have thought?
Maybe spending so much time with Asher and Thomas had affected me more than I had imagined.
"I can't believe I'm saying this but, you did a really good job Asher." Considering that he was the only one who got good results and that, unlike Thomas, he didn't technically get into trouble, the least I could do is give him a compliment.
"You know, it never ceases to amaze me how much faith you have in me." From my seat I saw Asher glaring at me while tapping the ground with his index finger faster and faster. Considering how much fun it is to tease him, I couldn't help but tease him a little more, so I couldn't think of anything better than to smile at him mockingly and then stick my tongue out at him.
While Asher and I continued to glare at each other and make offensive gestures towards each other, the others remained wrapped in a tense silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
But this atmosphere was broken by Fionn who, without even blinking, approached both of us to slap us on the head while reprimanding us with his gaze. "Don't you think we should worry a little more about why the Bloody Baron agreed to help us?" If it weren't for the fact that I knew that this new situation left us in an even more delicate position than we were already in, I'm sure that both Asher and I would have retaliated against Fionn, but I knew that this was neither the time nor the place to behave like idiots, at least not for now.
Before Fionn could continue to reprimand us for our lack of seriousness on the subject, Thomas drew our attention by clearing his throat in an exaggerated manner while glaring at us with the coldest look in his repertoire. "Why do you think that Fionn?"
Still looking at us out of the corner of his eyes, Fionn shrugged his shoulders listlessly. "Well, no matter if he's a ghost, he's still a Slytherin and they don't do favors without asking for anything in return, they're smarter than that." Seeing the bitter expression that Fionn had at that very moment ended up diffusing the playful air that had surrounded Asher and me until now. It was good that we tried to take things a little lightly, but it lost a little importance in the face of the concern that the others were feeling.
I guess it's for that same reason that Asher now seems to be trying to convey a bit of confidence to the others with the way he corrected his posture and the serenity he shows on his face when talking about the matter again. "You're right, although he hasn't asked me for anything in return yet, he did mention that he would let me know soon."
"Just be careful and tell us when you know what it is, we will help you if necessary." Without wasting time, Luna took charge as always of ensuring that we are all willing to help our friend even without knowing what we are exposing ourselves to.
"Don't worry, as soon as I know I'll tell you." With one last smile directed towards all of us, Asher seemed to settle the subject as he dropped down next to me on the couch.
With that we all put the topic to rest for the moment and set out to kill time until dinner time. That's why after a couple of minutes I found myself sitting on the couch next to Asher showing him the correct way to braid the hair of a very calm Luna who was telling Fionn and Kiran about her father's new research. A little further away from us was Thomas writing the weekly letter to his brothers while occasionally making fun of Asher's poor motor skills and asking questions about the new creature Luna was talking about.
What had started as a relaxing moment with just our usual group in our designated space ended up being a mini reunion where the Quidditch team along with some older students dragged Kiran, Fionn and Thomas into a game of Exploding Snap while on the other hand some girls, including Penelope and Cho, along with a couple of boys decided to follow my example and began to practice and show each other different hairstyles.
This atmosphere of tranquility continued for the rest of the night, even during dinner. Even though it was clear that everyone was sporadically looking over their shoulders, it was quite noticeable that the House of the Eagles was at peace for the first time this school year, and it was with this same feeling of calm that we all went to rest that night.
It's a shame it only lasted for that night.