Work Text:
Things had changed.
That, of course, was an obvious fact. Of course things had changed. The Dark Lord had been defeated and his followers had been punished. Severely.
Draco didn't know what to think when Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, the Chosen One, had defended him (and his mother, of course, Narcissa had saved the boy's life) in court.
He supposed it must have been that Gryffindor side of him that made him do it. Draco knew that he never would have had the guts to do what Potter had done, and the realisation had made him sick.
Harry Potter didn't defend Lucius Malfoy. How could he? Lucius had done nothing to redeem himself in the eyes of Potter, or the court. Narcissa had saved Potter's life, and possibly the Wizarding World, while risking her own. Potter defended her because it was the right thing to do.
But what about Draco? He and Potter had always had a rivalry. Potter had already saved his life, why did he have to make a show of doing it again? But then Draco remembered the horror tales of Azkaban and was glad that at least Potter realised that Draco Malfoy didn't deserve that.
Only he did. He'd tortured people, not that he'd enjoyed it. He had tried to kill Albus Dumbledore, nearly killing Katie Bell and Ron Weasley in the process. But Potter had saved him from Azkaban.
So now, Draco Malfoy watched what he said about Potter; he still didn't like the man, but he owed him his life.
That had certainly changed things.