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Chapter Text

Harry fidgeted in his seat. He loved his friends but the concerned and pitying looks on his friends’ faces was starting to drive him crazy. He knew they were worried about him after everything that happened the previous year and with Cedric, but he didn’t want any more sympathy.

His eyes fixed on the Slytherin table; they wouldn’t throw concerned looks at him. They might throw curses at him instead, but that was something he could counter. In fact, he wouldn’t mind a fight to be honest.

He jumped up from the Gryffindor table, “You guys stay here. I’ll see you after lunch,” he called to Ron and Hermione.

Then, he made a beeline to the Slytherin table, plopping down into an open spot next to Draco Malfoy. He grabbed a plate and started filling it with food.

“Uh Potter? What the fuck are you doing?” Draco asked.

“I’m eating,” Harry replied with his mouth full.

“Obviously,” drawled Blaise Zabini, “but I believe my housemate meant, why are you eating here?”

Harry paused, in hindsight, he couldn’t fight the entire table. Oh well, he’d just have to use a new strategy. “I’ve decided we should be friends.”

Pansy Parkinson raised a delicate eyebrow, “And what if we don’t want to be friends with you?”

Harry gave her a charming smile, “Then I’ll win you over with my incredible charisma! Plus, I’m the boy-who-lived why wouldn’t you want to be friends with me?”

Harry could of sworn he heard someone mutter ‘cocky prat’ but he couldn’t be sure because Theodore Nott suddenly started coughing very loudly.

“And what gave you this idea in the first place?” Draco gritted.

“Well, I’m just taking you up om your offer from first year,” Harry said casually, “You’re not going back on your word, are you Draco?”

Draco stiffened. “Of course not, but I didn’t give you permission to call me by my first name,” Draco said stiffly.

“Well, if we’re going to be friends shouldn’t we call each other by our first names?” Harry reasoned.

“He makes a good point, Draco,” Theodore Nott said from across the table. Harry flashed a grin at the other boy, he didn’t realize that the Slytherins could be fun.

Daphne Greengrass sniffed daintily, “I wouldn’t mind becoming friends with the boy-who-lived, what about you Pansy?”

Pansy clasped her hands together, “Yes, I think it would be a splendid opportunity!”

Harry wondered if it was too late to back out, as the two girls were looking at him like he was a snack they were going to eat. Hopefully, they would go for his head first so it would be a quick death.

Blaise hummed, “It will certainly be interesting to eat lunch every day with the infamous golden boy.”

Draco sighed, “You can’t be serious.”

Theodore gave Harry a sharp grin, “And what will we get out of being friends with you?”

Harry pretended to think hard, “Well…your reputation is rather important to you isn’t it? Any friend of mine will have an instant reputation boost.” Harry admittedly didn’t know much about Slytherins, but one of the only things he did know was that they are prideful and care greatly about appearances.

“More important than that,” Pansy interjected, “What will you get out of being friends with us?”

Harry imitated Dumbledore’s voice, “Ah young Harry is so kind and unbiased that he is even willing to try and befriend the Slytherins who have bullied him since his first year.”

“I don’t think you of all people need a reputation boost though,” Blaise mused. Harry grinned; he wasn’t sure if they would understand his meaning, but he supposes he underestimated them.

“Not on my side, but I’m sure there are many on yours that think I’m a stuck-up prat who thinks he’s better than them,” Harry answered seriously. He didn’t come here to make friends, but he was having a surprisingly fun time teasing Draco, and there would be benefits to being friends with them. Voldemort is back, if someone does intervene then these Slytherins are going to be the next generation of Death Eater.

“Well, I’m willing to give you a test run,” Daphne said.

“I second that!” Pansy said quickly. The two girls exchanged small smirks.

“Third,” Theodore added.

“Fourth,” Blaise said lazily.

Harry looked over at Draco who was gradually turning red and was repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fist. “And what do you say Draco?”

The blond boy sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“Fine, we can do a test run,” he muttered reluctantly.

Harry slung an arm around Draco’s shoulders and whooped, “This is going to be fun!”

Chapter Text

Harry walked into the Gryffindor common room to find several of his friends, along with the quidditch team, waiting for him. He approached them cautiously, worried that something bad happened.

"Hey, uh…what's going on?" he asked uneasily.

"Oh, Harry! Please sit down." Hermione scooted over to make room for him in the center of the sofa.

"Did something bad happen? You all look like someone died," Harry joked. When no one said anything, he got worried.

"Oh shit, did someone actually die? I was just making a joke."

"No, don't worry Harry everyone is fine," Hermione assured him. Harry squinted at her in confusion.

"Well, that's good, but why is everyone so somber then?"

"The thing is Harry…we're just a little worried about you," Hermione said cautiously.

"Worried? About what?" Harry was truly lost now, he couldn't think of anything dangerous he'd done in the last few days.

"Because you've been eating with the Slytherins for the last week!" Ron burst out. Suddenly, Harry realized what was going on.

"Wait, is this a bloody intervention?" Harry asked in shock.

"Yes," Hermione admitted. "We're just concerned."

"Why do you want to eat with those stuck up pricks anyways?" Ron asked.

Harry's mind raced. He couldn't tell them it was because he was tired of getting pitying looks from them, that would hurt their feelings. He needed another reason, plus his plan clearly backfired because now his friends are holding an intervention.

"Because if I get close enough, I can get information about Voldemort out of them!" Harry said quickly.

"Oh Harry, you shouldn't worry about that. Just leave it to Dumbledore," Hermione scolded.

"For once, I agree," Ron added. "Sitting through a meal with them must be torture, that's not worth for only the possibility of information."

"Well...they're actually pretty funny," Harry said. "Isn't that wild?"

"Bloody hell, they've brainwashed him!" Ron exclaimed.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Saying that eating with them isn't a miserable affair doesn't mean I've been brainwashed. I'm just eating there, it's not like I'm going to make play-dates with them."

Harry sighed and leaned back. This is not something he expected to happen. Still, he understood why they were worried. If one of them randomly started eating with Slytherin then he would be worried too.

"I understand why you're worried, but just trust me on this one, please. I'll even let you drug test me if you want," Harry offered.

"Oh lovely, speaking of drugs, I happen to have a poison detecting ring here. It would make me feel infinitely better if you wore it," Hermione said happily.

Harry suppressed a smile, of course Hermione 'just happened to have' a rare magical object. Still, he took the ring and slipped it on. It was better to be safe than sorry.

"Thanks Hermione, I appreciate it."

"Of course, Harry, we're your friends. We care about your well-being and…we missing seeing you at meals."

"Oh," Harry felt like an idiot. He didn't even consider that his friends might miss eating with him. "How about I eat dinner with both of you tonight?"

"We would like that."

Chapter Text

Surprisingly, and to Harry's disappointment, his first two weeks of having lunch with the Slytherins was rather calm. Sure, there were two separate attempted poisoning incidents, a fire, and several curses shot his way, but the conversations were dull, so Harry was bored.

So, when he arrived at lunch to hear slight raised voices, he was ready to cause some chaos.

Pansy and Draco were arguing about Care of Magical Creatures. They had apparently made a bet about which creatures would be shown this year.

"Just give up Pansy, Hagrid is never going to show us Unicorns. The oaf only cares about animals that can eat you," Draco said smugly. Harry chose, in that moment, to side with Pansy, for now.

"Well, that's just not true," Harry said smoothly as he slid into the open space between Draco and Blaise that had become 'his spot'. "Don't you remember his reaction in first year? When we found that dead unicorn? He was really torn up about it."

"And I'm sure if it had been a three-headed-dog, we found then he would have been three times as upset," Draco retorted quickly.

"I don't know, I don't think you could measure one's love for something like that," Harry mused.

"Indeed, for example, Draco, I'm sure you would be equally upset if either your green formal robes or your silver formal robes were ruined," Pansy said.

"T-that's a terrible comparison!" Draco protested.

Blaise smirked at Harry before joining the conversation, "Truly, you cannot compare the death of a living creature to the destruction of an inanimate object," Blaise argued.

"Sure, you can," Harry replied, "Saying otherwise would mean there's a limit to how much you can love something."

"Which we know is false," Pansy added, "because there's are various levels of intensity in spells powered by love."

"Oh, of course the girl, believes in the power of love," Draco sneered. "There have been no definitive studies that prove that one's emotions influence the intensity of a spell."

"Well, of course not," Harry said at the same time as Pansy burst out, "Girl? Are you saying only girls believe in a studied phenomenon. Don't be ridiculous Draco!"

Draco and Pansy snarked back and forth with petty comments, while Blaise turned to Harry in interest.

"What were you about to say Harry?"

"Oh, just that it makes sense that there have been no definitive studies because it's hard to create a strong enough emotion in a controlled environment," Harry explained.

"Huh," Theodore muttered from across the table.

"What?"

"It's just that…I didn't realize that you were smart," Theodore said quietly.

"What!" Draco exclaimed, distracted from his argument with Pansy. "How could you not realize that? Are you that daft Nott?"

"Hey, Theodore made a valid point!" Pansy said. "Harry never raises his hand in class, often does his homework just before class, and always has Granger read over it."

"All of those things can also be the traits of a genius! Do you really think that I would pick a rival who didn't challenge my own great intelligence?"

Harry snorted quietly, but luckily Draco didn't hear.

"You both are missing a key factor," Blaise interjected. "Harry is neither a genius not stupid. He's simply lazy," Blaise declared.

"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner," Harry called.

"And that is why you were put in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin," Draco said haughtily.

"No, I'm in Gryffindor because I asked the hat not to put me in Slytherin," Harry said nonchalantly.

The fifth year Slytherins all turned to look at him in shock.

"Harry, do you mean to say that you would have been sorted into Slytherin had you not asked to be put elsewhere," Blaise asked slowly.

"Yeah, I suppose I would have," Harry said thoughtfully.

"Why ever would you ask to be placed in a different house?" Pansy asked, she seemed almost affronted by the thought of Harry not wanting to be in Slytherin.

Harry thought for a moment. He didn't want to start a real argument so he would have to answer carefully.

"Well, a certain someone gave me a bad impression of the house," Harry answered.

"Good going Draco, you scared away the boy-who-lived!" Theodore crowed.

Draco started to turn red as he stuttered, "I-I did not!"

Harry's amusement turned to sympathy as he watched Draco. He had to admit, even though they weren't really friends, he didn't want to hurt his feelings. So, there was only one thing to do.

"Actually, I was talking about Snape," Harry interjected.

Harry wasn't sure if they believed him, but they all nodded in understanding, and Draco looked relieved. Theodore and Blaise, however, seemed disappointed.

"Oh Harry, we could have had such a fun argument if you had played along," Theodore moped.

Harry shrugged, while Daphne spoke up for the first time, "Something all Slytherins should remember, not everyone is going to play your devil's advocate. Next time, plan accordingly."

Chapter Text

The Slytherin table was oddly empty today, which disappointed Harry because it meant he was less likely to get to watch an interesting argument.

The only fifth years at the table were Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass. They looked surprised when Harry sat down across from them, as if they expected him not to sit with Slytherin since most were gone.

"Snape is giving a special potions class for the fifth years, so most of our year is there," Daphne answered before Harry could open his mouth.

"So why aren't you two there?" Harry asked.

"We don't need it," Pansy answered. "I invented all of my skin and hair care potions and-"

"I simply excel at everything I do," Daphne interjected coolly.

They ate in silence after that. Harry was, for once, at a loss for words, and couldn't figure out how to restart a conversation. How do people usually bond? Harry sat up straighter as an idea hit him.

"Pansy, Daphne, tell me a secret!"

"No," Daphne said flatly.

"Why?" Pansy asked curiously, nudging her friend to play along.

"It part of the Secrets game. You have one real secret and you make up two fake secrets, then we have to guess which one is the real secret," Harry explained.

The two girls looked interested, so Harry continued, "I'll go first. I once pulled the sword of Godric Gryffindor out of the sorting hat, I once walked past Peeves without getting pranked, and I accidentally set Hagrid's cottage on fire. Now, which one do you think is true?"

"Well, it's definitely not the second one. That's just plain impossible," Pansy said. Daphne nodded in agreement.

"Yes. I'm leaning towards the third options because it was the only one that didn't contain the phrase 'I once' which makes me think it is more likely to be true," Daphne analyzed.

"And Hagrid's cottage did catch on fire once!" Pansy exclaimed

Harry suppressed a grin, "So, what's your final choice?"

"Number three," the girls said in unison.

Harry grinned, "Wrong. It was actually number one."

"What? When-how?" Pansy stuttered.

"Second year, when I fought that basilisk. Fawkes flew in with the sorting hat, and I pulled the sword out of it and stabbed the snake through its mouth," Harry explained.

"So that's what happened," Daphne mumbled to herself. She then sat up straighter, "I will go next. I was almost betrothed to Draco Malfoy. I opened my own personal Gringotts account at age five. First year, I cursed one of the upperclassmen with acne after he ridiculed my family."

Daphne said all of this in an even tone with a straight face. Harry frowned; this would require some thought.

Pansy was apparently, of the opposite reaction as she immediately exclaimed, "Three!"

"You don't think it could be one?" Harry asked. It seemed plausible to him. Pansy made a disgusted face.

"Of course not! Everyone knows that the Greengrasses and the Malfoys are on bad terms."

That was an interesting piece of information. Harry ruled out one, but he wasn't convinced that it was three either. Daphne had a glint of victory shining in her eyes that made him think it wasn't three.

"I'm going to go with two."

Daphne raised an eyebrow in surprise, "What gave me away?"

"You looked victorious after Pansy chose the wrong number," Harry told her. Daphne frowned to herself and pulled out a mirror to examine her face.

"There's time for that later, it's my turn now," Pansy said as she pried the mirror from Daphne's hands.

Pansy didn't pause to think at all, "My cousin owns a unicorn farm, my parents opened a trust fund for me before I was even conceived, and I was voted as 'the cutest baby' in the October 1981 volume of Witch Weekly."

Harry was stumped, any one of the three could be true as far as he knew.

"Number one is out," Daphne decided quickly. "If your cousin owned a unicorn farm you would never shut up about it. My guess is number two, it is the most logical."

Pansy pouted. "It could be true," she said, hiding a growing smirk by forcing herself to frown. Harry smiled to himself, finally figuring out which one it was.

"I believe Pansy," Harry said theatrically. "I'll choose number one!"

Pansy sighed, "Damn it, how did you know?" she and Daphne spoke in unison.

Harry grinned, "Well, you said it was true."

"That was supposed to be a trick! It was supposed to make you think it wasn't true!" Pansy cried.

"What's not true?" Draco asked as he sat down next to Harry. The fifth years had apparently been released by Snape

The two girls gave Harry a devilish grin.

"Oh, it's just about this game Harry taught us," Daphne said airily.

Pansy nodded. "You probably wouldn't be interested."

Draco scowled, "Says who? Tell me how to play!"

"First, you need to give us three galleons," Harry said, grinning back at the girls.

The three of them moved up and down the table teaching the scam version of the game to the other Slytherins and making quite a bit of cash.

Chapter Text

Harry watched as Theodore Nott got up and left the Great Hall. He glanced down at his watch and started keeping time.

"You know, Theo thinks he's going crazy," Blaise said conversationally.

"Oh really?" Harry asked with mild curiosity.

"Yeah, he says he keeps seeing you everywhere. He thinks he's hallucinating seeing you all the time since you started eating with us."

"Hmm, interesting theory," Harry hummed, eyes on his watch. The minute hand passed twelve, signaling that it had been a full minute. Harry got up casually and left the Great Hall. He left just in time to see Theo going up the stairs and turning the corner. He was obviously headed to the boy's loo.

Harry took a seat down the hall from the restroom and pulled out the same book he had at lunch, pretending to read. He predicted that Theo would head to the library next as they had a free period and Harry was in the perfect spot to be seen out of Theo's peripheral. He smothered a grin as he saw Theo walk by and do a double take after seeing Harry.

Harry waited until Theo's footsteps faded and then ran to a secret passage to the moving stairs. He positioned himself to be leaning against the railing, pretending to read the same book. Theo started up the staircase next to Harry and froze when he saw him, then began quickly walking up the stairs.

Harry sprinted to his next spot; he could squeeze one more in before Theo made it to the library. He half sat half leaned on the pedestal of a statue and pulled out the same book again. The route he had taken was much shorter than the one Theo was going so he was able to catch his breath. This time when Theo saw him, he started running. Harry couldn't stop himself from grinning anymore. He usually wasn't a big prankster, but he was enjoying himself.

The last step was the most important. He had to make it to the library before Theo. Luckily, with his knowledge of secret passages, it was easy for Harry to be sitting at one of the first tables in the library by the time Theo arrived. Theo set his eyes on a table in the back of the room and stomped there, determinatedly not looking at Harry.

Harry quietly slipped out the table he was at, careful not to be seen moving by Theo, and moved to the Potions section in the library. He settled on the floor and waited for Theo to come looking for a book to help with the potions essay Snape assigned. Sure, enough, after a few minutes Theo arrived. The Slytherin boy huffed angrily and Harry heard a muttered, "Fuck this." Before the other boy step on Harry's foot, hard.

"Ow!" Harry exclaimed.

Theo stumbled back, "Wait, you're real?"

"Obviously!" Harry said, rubbing his foot.

"Wait, so, are you following me, or do we just end up at the same places on accident?" Theo asked in confusion.

"Oh, it has to be a coincidence. I'm always reading in random spots around the castle, I am the boy-who-reads after all. That's what they call me," Harry said sarcastically.

Theo rolled his eyes and pulled out his wand. "Tell me why you were following me and I'll heal your foot."

"Honestly, I just felt like messing with you," Harry said. "You haven't spoken much at lunch, so I thought this would be a good icebreaker for us," he joked.

"Well, I guess it worked," Theo mumbled, squatting down and waving his wand over Harry's foot. "We might as well be on a first name basis now. You can call me Theo."

"Oh, that's good, because I've already been calling you that in my head!"

Theo rolled his eyes again, but this time there was a feeling of friendliness to it.

"Now, I don't suppose you've seen the book we need for the potions essay, have you?" Theo asked.

Harry shook his head sadly, "I'm disappointed in you Theo, you've seen me how may times since lunch? And you never even looked at the book I was fake reading?"

Theo looked down at the potions book on Harry's lap and sighed heavily. "I can't believe someone as devious as you was sorted into Gryffindor."

Harry laughed loudly, and handed the book to Theo.

"Don't judge a book by its cover, I suppose."

Chapter Text

The Slytherins were up to something, that much Harry could tell from the looks they kept giving each other. Harry wasn't sure what they were going to do, but was on red alert nonetheless. While they had been getting along well, Harry knew most of it was a farce for them to save face. They weren't truly friends, not yet of course, after all he'd only been eating with them for a little over two weeks.

The conversation was slow and stilted, until Malfoy finally sighed and blurted out, "So, have you given up on hanging out with Weasley and the mudblood?"

Harry stilled, shocked that Draco would call Hermione that to his face. He clenched his fist under the table. Still, there was something strange about the way Draco said it. It was like he had to force himself to say it.

"The only reason I haven't hexed you yet Draco is because we're supposed to be friends now. But, if you say it again, I won't hold back," Harry warned. "To answer your question, no, I'm still very good friends with both Ron and Hermione."

Harry could see the Slytherins sending looks towards Draco, he wasn't positive about their meaning, but he guessed they had picked Draco as their spokesperson for whatever message they had for Harry.

Draco swallowed and continued, "Why? You've made better friends now. Just ditch them, they're dragging you down."

"Yeah," Theo added half-heartedly. "Weasley's a prat and Granger's a know-it-all, you don't need them anymore."

Harry looked around the table in confusion. They other Slytherins were nodding in agreement and muttering vague insults about Ron and Hermione but none of them seemed to really believe what they were saying.

"You know, Ron and Hermione don't approve of me sitting with you," Harry said casually.

"Exactly!" Draco jumped in again. "Who are they to pick your friends? You've found the right sort now."

"But," Harry continued, ignoring Draco. "I still don't let them insult you guys. So, if you guys insist on insulting my other friends then, well, I'll just take my lunch and leave."

Harry moved to get up and go back to the Gryffindor table, but was quickly stopped by someone calling his name.

"Stop," Pansy said quickly. "It was a test."

Harry nodded and sat back down. He knew something was going on, but there was anger still inside of him because of what they said about his friends, even if they didn't mean it.

"What were you testing?" Harry asked, unable to stop his curiosity.

"Whether you really are Harry Potter," Daphne answered.

Harry looked around at them, confused. His anger dissipated as his confusion and curiosity took over. They made fun of his friends to make sure he wasn't a fake Harry? Why would they even test that?

"Uh…why?"

"The real Harry would never ditch his friends to have lunch with Slytherins," Blaise answered, "but, the real Harry also wouldn't stand to let someone insult his friends"

"O-kay, that's still a weird test."

"It was also to see if you had changed," Draco added.

"Explain more."

"Obviously, before sitting with us, we didn't know what your personality was really like," Theo started, "deciding to sit with us was a surprise and we were wondering if it was because you're genuinely a nice guy or because you decided to become a dark wizard."

Harry choked on his juice, they thought he decided to sit with them because he wanted to become a dark lord? Maybe he overestimated how smart they are.

"Oh yes, of course, my true motivation is to be the next Voldemort," Harry said sarcastically. The Slytherins rolled their eyes at him and ignored the joke.

"Anyways, now we know that you were sincere when you said you sat with us with the intention of becoming friends," Pansy concluded happily.

"Well…actually, that's not entirely true," Harry admitted. The Slytherins looked at him in surprise. "To be honest, I first sat over here because I was tired of the Gryffindors giving me pitying looks. I figured you lot wouldn't do the same, so I decided to try sitting here."

Harry was surprised to see that the Slytherins looked disappointed, even though they were obviously trying to hide it. "But after the first day, I really did want to try and be friends," he added quickly.

"Oh, well, that's good," Theo said awkwardly.

The other Slytherins nodded and lunch continued in a strange silence. Everyone was consumed by their own thoughts. Harry wondered when he started to care so much about the Slytherins liking him, little did he know, the Slytherins were wondering the same about him.

Chapter Text

Harry plodded into the Great Hall shoeless, soaking wet, and smelling strongly of rubbing alcohol. He sat down at the Slytherin table with a heavy sigh. Blaise and Theo, who he sat between, scooted away so they wouldn't be dripped on. When no one asked about his disheveled appearance, Harry sighed again, even more dramatically this time.

Draco rolled his eyes and indulged the Gryffindor, "Alright, Harry, why are you all wet?"

"And where are your shoes?" Blaise asked, curling his lip.

"And could you really have not sprayed some cologne before approaching us?" Pansy asked pinching her nose.

Harry gaped at them in shock, "Were you not in Potions class with me? How can you act like you don't know?"

The Slytherins shrugged at each other, in their eyes it was a normal potions class.

"I'm afraid our focus on our work obstructed our observation skills, please enlighten us to what occurred," Theo said dramatically.

"Yes, and we beg your forgiveness," Daphne added sarcastically.

Harry nodded cordially. "Your apology is noted."

Then, with a theatrical air, he began his story. "It all started when I was late to Potions this morning. I was paired with Draco as punishment, but we're friends now…" Harry looked away dramatically, "Little did I know, Draco would betray me!" Pansy and Theo gasped in fake surprise. Harry nodded thankfully to them for playing along.

"Draco," Harry pointed at the blond boy accusingly, "ruined our potion!"

"I DID NOT!" Draco exclaimed at the same time that Pansy gasped a, "No!", Theo shook his head in despair, and Blaise tsked. Even Daphne played along and gave Draco a critical look.

"He did!" Harry cried. "Our potion exploded! And I took the blame for Draco's grave error, it pains me greatly that my dear friend cannot even admit to his missteps." Harry wiped away a fake tear while Draco rolled his eyes.

Theo patted Harry on the back while Pansy reached across the table and grasped his hands, murmuring, "We're here for you Harry, be strong."

Blaise crossed his arms and shook his head at Draco, "I'm so disappointed in you, Malfoy."

Draco was turning red as he stuttered about his innocence. Daphne appeared to be holding back a laugh.

"Do you know what happened next?" Harry whispered in mock horror.

Pansy clasped her hands over her ears, "I don't know if I can listen to this!" Daphne finally gave in and played along by prying Pansy's hands off her ears.

"Keep it together Pansy! You have to be strong, and witness Harry's testimony," she declared dramatically.

Harry nodded at her, "Thank you Daphne, I am gratified by all of your support." His voice dropped back to a whisper as he continued his tale, "The potion…It spilled everywhere. and guess who had to clean it up? That's right, me! It was harrowing, the smell made me gag and the potion was so acidic that it melted my shoes! Then, it got worse. Since it was a dangerous liquid, Snape sprayed me down with some sort of counteractive water, soaking me to the bone."

Harry shook his head sadly, "I was so, so cold." The Slytherins commiserated and scolded Draco for causing Harry such pain. Draco sighed; it was clear Harry wouldn't stop until the blond played along.

Draco placed his hand over his heart, "Harry, my dear, kind, friend. It tears at my heart to hear of your struggles. I curse the name of Severus Snape for giving you such a trial. You have my deepest apologies, if I could, I would take your place in a heartbeat."

Harry grinned at Draco cheerfully, "Oh lovely, because Snape counteracted the dangerous properties of the potion, so someone still needs to clean it up. I'm so glad to hear you'll do it!"

Draco gaped at Harry, "Y-you, you trickster!"

The others burst into laughter. Theo cried, "Ah, I knew Harry was up to something!"

"Up to something?" Harry said in dismay, "I am only interested in justice!"

"Spoken like a true Gryffindor," Daphne said.

"Yet, enacted like a Slytherin," Blaise mused.

Harry opted to ignore the two in order to focus on Pansy pointing her wand at him.

Harry put his hands up, "Woah, Pansy, I'm innocent, I swear."

Pansy rolled her eyes, "Do you want to be dry or not?"

Harry paused to think, "Well, everything is more dramatic when you're wet…"

"Is that why you entered the hall soaking wet?" Theo asked.

"No, he did that so he could trick me!" Draco fumed.

Harry ignored Draco and turned to Theo. "I did it for the aesthetic. If I wasn't soaked then you all wouldn't have been nearly as interested in my story."

"I'll do you for the aesthetic," Draco muttered.

"Well, that came out of no where!" Blaise exclaimed at the same time that Harry sputtered, "Excuse me? You'll do what?"

Draco turned red, "I-I didn't mean it like that!"

"That explains why he's been obsessed with Harry for so long," Daphne said.

"I'm sorry Draco, but I'm afraid there's someone else I'm interested in," Harry said apologetically.

Pansy patted Draco's back, "No wonder he messed up the potion."

Harry gasped, having an epiphany, "I WAS NOT BETRAYED! Draco was simply distracted by my presence, my windswept hair, my luminous eyes, and my handsome face! "

Theo's eyes widened, "Of course! It all makes sense, that is what caused the accident!"

Harry placed his hand over his heart, "Draco, I'm so deeply sorry for the pain I must have caused you by accusing you of something as cruel as a betrayal to your love."

Draco was completely red. The blond took a deep breath, stood gracefully, and walked away. Harry was impressed that he didn't run or move quickly at all. Everyone deflated slightly as their fun was abruptly ended.

"Well, now that Draco's gone I suppose there's no point to me being wet anymore. Pansy, is that offer of a drying spell still open?" Harry asked, reverting back to acting like normal.

"As long as I can spray you with some cologne."

"Will it get me wet again?"

"What? No, it's just cologne."

"Oh…then in that case, I accept."

A much dryer Harry was ready to dig into his meal when he was interrupted by Pansy once again.

"We must do something about your shoes."

Harry looked down at his feet; he had forgotten he was barefoot.

"Never fear Pansy! I have spares in my bag."

Harry pulled out the comfortable muggle shoes he had stored in his bag. Daphne and Blaise both made faces of disgust, Theo looked vaguely interested, and Pansy was covering her face in horror.

"Crocs? Who hurt you so much?" Pansy said in disgust.

"Were you not listening? Draco did!" Harry exclaimed.

"Didn't we determine that it wasn't a betrayal?" Blaise asked.

"That does not erase the pain of thinking you have been betrayed!" Harry declared passionately.

"Then you must work on forgiving Draco, he was simply overwhelmed by his love," Blaise argued.

"Blaise Zabini! Cease your lies and slander!" Draco said, reappearing at the table and slamming his hands down. Everyone blinked in surprise at his sudden reappearance.

"Draco? How did sneak up on us like that?" Theo asked in confusion.

Draco sniffed haughtily, "A true Slytherin has mastered the art of subterfuge and…sneakiness."

Daphne raised a delicate eyebrow, "The art of sneakiness?"

"Never mind that!" Draco pointed a finger at Harry, "I'm here to clear the air."

Draco paused dramatically before declaring, in a slightly hysterical voice, "I did betray you! I was acting on feelings of dislike, not of love!"

Harry gasped, but quickly composed himself. He cocked his head to the side and a simple question.

"Well, why not?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why don't you have a crush on me? I'm a totally catch."

"Yeah, Draco, Harry's the savior of the wizarding world, " Theo added.

"How can you not have a crush on him?" Pansy asked.

"W-well, I could say the same for all of you!" Draco stuttered

"We're his friends, it would be overbearing for us to have feelings for Harry and vice-versa," Daphne explained in a dull voice.

"Harry and I are friends too."

"No, we're not. You admitted to the betrayal, so obviously we aren't friends," Harry said crossing his arms over his chest

"Well, then let's become friends."

Harry struggled to hide his grin before saying, "Friendship requires trust, and I can't trust someone who has betrayed me."

"Well…he could do something to prove his trustworthiness…" Blaise said slowly.

"I suppose, but what?"

"That's easy, Draco can trade shoes with Harry!" Pansy chirped. Harry perked up, a grin slowly forming.

"Yeah! Draco, give me your shoes!"

Draco scoffed, "You want to me to trade shoes in order to prove how trustworthy I am? How childish, but fine, I'll do it."

Pansy clapped excitedly. Daphne smirked and leaned towards Harry, "Show him your shoes first, before trading."

Harry lifted the firetruck red shoes up and had a front row seat to see Draco's soul leaving his body.

"M-muggle! Muggle shoes? You want me to wear that? I refuse!"

Harry wiped away a nonexistent tear, "Would you really throw away the opportunity of our friendship so quickly?"

Draco scowled, "How can this possibly prove my trustworthiness?"

Blaise leaned in to explain, "Harry is practically a muggleborn since he grew up in the muggle world, by wearing these shoes you're showing acceptance for the muggle world and therefore, acceptance of Harry."

Draco sighed before sitting down and pulling off his shoes, "Do they really need to be such a garish shade of red though?"

"Are you saying that you don't accept Harry's Gryffindor heritage?" Theo asked in a scolding manner.

Draco shook his head and muttered, "I shouldn't have come back."

Harry laughed out loud, and smugly put Draco's shoes on, surprised, that they fit. He decided not to tease Draco too much because the glint in the other boy's eyes promised revenge.