Harry was surprised by Pansy, he had honestly believed the mask she portrayed, but then again he had believed Draco's in his last life as well.
"I think I will get on with your friends, but why do you have to pretend to be underestimated?"
"Everybody expects Slytherins to be evil, to automatically be Death Eaters. The other Houses exclude us and bully us, we have to act this way to protect ourselves. Even the teachers to an extent treat us differently and sure some of them try not to, but it's still there. We're automatically viewed as being Dark, so we act to be underestimated; that way, if we ever are bullied or attacked, then we can surprise them. I'm not going to lie: we are sneaky and cunning, we cheat and manipulate, but we're not evil," Draco explained.
Harry nodded. "The hat was torn between Ravenclaw and Slytherin for me. I picked Ravenclaw because I knew Dumbledore wouldn't leave me alone if I went green."
Draco's eyes went wide. "So the Light's golden boy was almost a snake?"
"Yes, the hat thought me very cunning."
Draco laughed. "You would have been good in Slytherin, but I suppose Ravenclaw is okay." He knew not to dismiss Gryffindor and Hufflepuff now and, having met the rest of Harry's, and now his, friends, he could see the benefits of the other houses - even Gryffindor.
Harry was pleased Draco was learning and no longer thought the other Houses were automatically jokes. Now he just had to work on his muggle views….
"It's stupid - what people think about Slytherins. You're not all bad. Judging you just because the Dark Lord was in Slytherin and a lot of his Death Eaters came from there is ridiculous. I mean, come on! Look at that rat Pettigrew, he was in Gryffindor." "I know, but everybody just sees a Slytherin and thinks evil. Dumbledore doesn't help; I mean, he goes on about the greater good and so called fairness but he never does anything to actually help," Draco ranted.
Harry was surprised noticed - or perhaps listening to Lucius rant.
the blond had he had been
"Hopefully Dumbledore will not be around for much longer or, at least, his influence on the world will start to crumble," Harry said, hoping that everything he had brought to light and was planning on bringing to light would be enough to destroy the old man.
Draco saw Harry's dark look and hid his shudder. His sometimes.
friend
could
be
scary
Eventually the topic was dropped and the two went back to playing catch the snitch. A game which Harry won eight out of ten times, losing only because he started to lose interest. He still loved flying but his passion for it was not the same anymore.
~
Harry eventually persuaded Draco to stop flying and he instead was lead to the boy's room, which was more like a suite than anything else: It had a bathroom, dressing room, and small sitting room attached. "Nice," Harry said, looking around and actually finding he liked the style. The room had white walls with one wall painted a midnight blue and a pale blue fluffy carpet. The furnishings all matched and were a dark mahogany wood. The bed spread was dark blue and pale green and the throw pillows were green. It was slightly mature for a twelve year old Harry supposed, but it was very nice. It was also quite relaxed with slouchy looking sofas and knickknacks around. Harry even spotted a few soft toys from when Draco was younger hidden among the rest.
"It's the Heir suite," Draco said as an explanation for the size.
Harry nodded and went to the bookshelf to see what types of books Draco had. There were the usual ones you would expect to find in a magical child's room: fairytales, encyclopaedias, and quidditch books. However, what drew Harry's attention was the number of magical animal books and even more potion guides.
Seeing the number of potion books, Harry smiled. "You actually enjoy Potions, don't you?"
Draco shrugged and looked slightly self-conscious. "They're alright," he mumbled, shocking Harry as he had never seen the Malfoy heir mumble.
"I think that's cool. I'm okay at the subject but for some reason I just can't feel the passion, you know?" Draco suddenly looked much happier. "Really? I think that they're fascinating; I mean, you can do almost anything with potions."
Harry smiled at Draco's enthusiasm. "I remember - Snape's speech from the start of year said the same."
"Severus is right. I mean, I doubt I could do half of those things but he could. He's a Potions genius," Draco said, the familiarity and happiness in which he said Severus' name reminding him that they were close.
"You know Professor Snape from before school?" he asked. "He's my godfather. He and father were friends in school and, well, you know the war and everything," Draco said, looking slightly awkward.
"I didn't know that, but I do like Severus. He helped me last year; he brewed potions for me and he even helped out at my trial by giving evidence. He's a good man, even if he does scare the magic out of Neville and make people cry," Harry joked before he acknowledged the rest of Draco's sentence. "Also, Dray, you should know I don't care about the last war. I mean, I do, but I don't hold it against people. It's time to move on; most people did what they thought best for themselves and their families, f or the Wizarding world."
"Well said, Harrison." Harry turned and saw Lucius standing in the doorway. The aristocrat's mask was firmly in place, revealing nothing of what he felt about what he had heard.
"Father, what are you doing here?" Draco asked.
"It's almost time for lunch and as I was passing by, I thought I should collect you myself instead of sending an elf. I believe your mother wants to eat outside on the terrace," Lucius said.
Harry nodded. "It is a lovely day."
"Indeed. Come along then, boys," Lucius said. Following Draco, Harry felt more than saw Lucius staring at him and wondered what he had done this time to garner his attention.
"Do you really feel that way, Harrison?" Lucius asked softly as they walked.
"Yes, I tend not to say things I don't mean," Harry replied.
"It's a rare few who are willing to move on so easily. Many hold grudges; it would not be shocking if you yourself did, as you lost a lot in the war."
"Yes, but holding onto the grudges would only make it impossible for me to move forward. I also do not believe in hating those who have done nothing to me personally; many people may have fought in the war, either directly or indirectly, and for many different reasons - who am I to judge them? I only hold grudges against those who stand against me and my plans, who try to do me or my loved ones harm."
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