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After that night on the Astronomy Tower, Draco and Harry could hardly be called close.
Still, there was a kind of understanding between them that belonged to no one else.
The war had left their year far behind in their studies. After Voldemort’s defeat, Minerva McGonagall took over as Headmistress. While overseeing the reconstruction of Hogwarts, she also recruited new professors to fill the gaps left by the war.
Draco stared down at the letter in his hands.
The start of term notice.
His head was lowered, pale bangs shadowing his eyes.
Should he go back?
Under the current circumstances, returning was probably the worst choice for people like them. Former followers of Voldemort would attract attention no matter where they went.
But Harry had written to him.
In the letter, Harry said he hoped they would meet again on the Hogwarts Express.
Draco knew he should stay away.
Yet he wanted to see those green eyes again.
Their relationship had finally begun to improve.
And he…
He had to admit it.
He wanted to try one more time.
Even if they never became that kind of something.
Even if Harry never returned his feelings.
Draco still wanted a place in Harry’s heart.
No matter how small.
*
Everyone had seen him run back to Voldemort’s side during the final battle.
Everyone had seen Pansy Parkinson suggest handing Harry over in exchange for survival.
Most of the pure blood Slytherins had paid dearly after the war.
Many of their parents ended up in Azkaban.
Others escaped with lighter sentences only after paying enormous fines.
Because Narcissa had saved Harry’s life, Lucius Malfoy’s trial had been postponed. The Ministry had delayed its final judgment, meaning he avoided the Dementor’s Kiss, but he remained imprisoned in Azkaban while awaiting sentencing.
Other Death Eater families suffered consequences of one kind or another.
The Malfoys, however, received comparatively lenient treatment.
They had money.
A great deal of it.
Narcissa bore no Dark Mark and was sentenced to three months of house arrest at Malfoy Manor.
Harry testified that Draco had acted under coercion and had been a minor at the time. As a result, Draco was placed under Auror supervision for one year. If no issues arose, the restrictions would be lifted.
Now all they could do was wait for Lucius’s final sentence.
Among the former Death Eaters, the Malfoys had escaped with the lightest punishment.
That fact made them a target.
No one dared challenge them openly.
But resentment had a way of finding quieter paths.
People poured their bitterness, jealousy, and anger onto Draco and Narcissa.
Narcissa was beyond reach inside Malfoy Manor.
So Draco became the easier target.
*
Relations between Slytherin and the other three Houses had never been particularly warm.
After the war, they became even worse.
Isolation gradually turned into bullying.
There had never been many Slytherins to begin with.
Most transferred to Durmstrang rather than return to Hogwarts.
The pure blood students who stayed behind could be counted on one hand.
Draco.
Pansy.
Blaise.
Nott.
Goyle.
The six person group they once had was gone.
Crabbe had died in Fiendfyre.
Only five remained.
Draco was grateful for the friends who stayed.
He knew they had returned because of him.
Their friendship might have begun as a matter of family interests and social expectations.
But time changed things.
Didn’t it?
*
The rhythmic roar of the train echoed through the carriage.
Draco sat beside the window, watching the scenery blur past outside.
Most of his thoughts were occupied by the hostility awaiting them at school.
But beneath that anxiety was something else.
Something lighter.
Something brighter.
He was going to see Harry again.
Even though their new schedules shared only one class, Astronomy, the only course attended by all four Houses together, Draco still found himself looking forward to it.
Things between them had begun to thaw.
Maybe they could become friends.
And if he allowed himself to be greedy…
Maybe even good friends.
The way Gryffindors treated the people they cared about was impossible to miss.
Anyone who had seen Harry with Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley knew that much.
Gryffindor friendship was very different from Slytherin friendship.
They were open.
Warm.
Straightforward.
Sometimes recklessly so.
Draco still considered them loud and impulsive.
But there were moments when he found himself envying that honesty.
*
They did not encounter Harry and his friends until they stepped off the train.
Ron opened his mouth as though preparing to say something.
Hermione tugged on his sleeve.
With a disgruntled snort, Ron turned his face away.
Hermione glanced toward Harry.
Harry lowered his eyes slightly and walked forward first, passing Draco without a word.
Ron and Hermione followed.
Draco maintained a carefully neutral expression as he brushed past them.
But as Harry crossed by, he secretly hooked his little finger around Draco’s for the briefest moment.
The touch lasted less than a second.
It was enough.
Draco nearly smiled.
A small burst of happiness bloomed inside his chest.
Beside him, Pansy noticed the sudden change in his mood.
She glanced toward the Gryffindor trio.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione continued chatting and laughing as they walked away.
Nothing seemed unusual.
Yet a strange sense of unease settled over her.
Call it intuition.
Something had changed between Harry and Draco.
Something important.
And somehow, that worried her.
A moment later she tossed her hair back and dismissed the thought.
Harry Potter was a Gryffindor.
A stubbornly decent one.
Surely he would never hurt Draco.
Even so, the feeling lingered.
*
Life at Hogwarts settled back into its old rhythm.
For the handful of Slytherins who had returned, especially the eighth years repeating their final year, things were considerably more difficult.
Minerva McGonagall proved to be an excellent Headmistress.
She had always been fair as Head of Gryffindor, and that had not changed. She treated the students equally and, more importantly, genuinely cared about every student at Hogwarts.
After the Sorting Ceremony for the new first years, she stood and addressed the school.
“The war is over. Those responsible have faced the consequences of their actions. Hogwarts belongs to every witch and wizard. It will always be your home and your refuge.
“I hope the four Houses can stand together once again and protect the place we all share. You are the future of the wizarding world. As long as you are here, Hogwarts will continue to thrive, and so will our world.”
Thunderous applause filled the Great Hall.
For a moment, Draco felt as though he had been transported back to his very first day at Hogwarts.
Dumbledore…
The memory of the old wizard’s gentle smile made his eyes sting.
You are a good boy.
You are not like them.
Dumbledore had believed him.
He had believed Draco had been forced into an impossible situation.
He had been the first person to tell Draco he trusted him.
And Draco had still been unable to save him.
In the end, his Head of House had stained his own hands with blood to spare Draco from doing it.
Draco lowered his eyes.
His hawthorn wand had never cast a single Dark curse.
The unicorn hair core had always betrayed the weakness of his heart.
A bitter laugh echoed silently in his mind.
A unicorn hair core.
Why had a wand like that chosen him?
Hawthorn wood. Unicorn hair.
And yet he was a Slytherin.
A Malfoy.
The youngest Death Eater.
Through the crowd, Draco’s gaze found Harry.
Ginny stood pressed against his side, her arm looped comfortably through his. Harry looked down at her, and she smiled back.
The happiness between them was impossible to miss.
Anyone who saw them together would think they were made for each other.
A perfect match.
Draco felt a familiar ache settle in his chest.
No matter how many times he told himself to stop caring, it still hurt.
Quietly, he lowered his head.
He stopped looking.
Instead, he focused on the food in front of him and said nothing more.