Father

Year Five

Another summer, another two weeks with Sirius, another half-hearted attempt to distract Draco from the Muggle-born, but they're out of threats and almost resigned to it now. Lucius and Narcissa must hope he'll out grow it somehow. They don't know Harry's guiltily thinking of her too. Draco's only thinking about making up for a years worth of missed Quidditch practices. He wants Ron and Ginny over at every chance to practice with them. He talks his father into letting him visit the Burrow, so they can practice with the twins too.

Happy news. Draco and Harry both prefects. Lucius could not be prouder. Hermione and Pansy prefects too. Narcissa sighs, at least she's intelligent.

Back at school, fourteen and fifteen have given way to fifteen and sixteen. And held hands and butterbeers have given way to kisses and cuddles. And Harry Potter thinks Draco Malfoy kisses Hermione Granger only to torment him. His insides are all claws and chasms. But he can do nothing but endure it.

Pansy still hangs on his arm, and Lucius approves of her, so Harry lets her. She's been a loyal friend at least. He tries to look at her the way Draco looks at Hermione, but he can't. Pansy tries too hard, giggles too much, and when he talks to her he feels he may as well be talking to himself. She never disagrees with him, which makes conversations easy but boring. Still appearances must be preserved; Lucius taught him that.

Dumbledore has been running out of people willing to risk teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, and the Minister suggests Dolores Umbridge. She is tried. Professor Umbridge believes in a theoretical approach. But...we won't be doing magic?! It's our O.W.L. year! How will we pass? Theory, Umbridge insists, to understand the theory is to understand the spell.

Uncle Snape, what do we do? Can't you get her out? Can't you expose her? But what can Snape do? There is no tension between the Minister and the Headmaster. Umbridge is strict and unreasonable, but she simpers over Harry. She dare not give Lucius Malfoy's son trouble. So she crosses no lines, breaks no rules. Unfortunately, Hogwarts allows professors a free hand with teaching their subjects.

A club maybe? A defense club? No, better a dueling club! Would you supervise, sir? Of course.

The club is established, despite much humphing and 'hem, hem's from Umbridge. Everyone wants in. Snape is happy as anyone has ever seen him. Dumbledore watches with curiosity. He's still contemplating diaries and wondering if Sirius will break Lucius's hold over Harry.

The Gryffindor Quidditch team gains another Weasley. Ron's the new keeper. Ginny made a good showing at the try outs, but more experienced players win out, so she's sitting in the stands at games with Neville and is far happier about this than she lets on.

Harry snags the snitch from Hufflepuff. Draco loses it to Ravenclaw but gets a consolation kiss, so Harry still feels like he lost. He can work out some frustrations in the dueling club. There at least he's doing well, though Hermione is learning spells faster and disarming him too easily.

He comes home at Christmas full of grumblings about Draco's uppity girlfriend, and Lucius is sympathetic. But Narcissa listens to him complain and complain about Hermione and hears something Lucius misses. She must hide her smile. When Harry goes up to his room, she follows, all full of sympathy. " Have you fallen for her too, Harry?" And Harry's sniffs and confessions, glad Narcissa can read his thoughts, yet ashamed too. He doesn't want to start another round of arguments over Durmstrang

Narcissa consoles and coddles. "Harry, darling, it's quite natural for you. Your mother was Muggle-born. Perhaps Lucius and I have been too harsh, but you must understand how we were raised. The pressures were put on us that we put on Draco. The Malfoys have always been expected to marry well, keep the blood pure, but the Potters married for love and you're half-blood already. And maybe that's better." Oh, Narcissa's words are as sweet as honey. "I'm not sure Draco really loves the girl. He's just been in your shadow so long and wanted attention. And bless Lucius, he certainly got it. But if you love her, Harry, really love her, you must tell her."

Harry's surprised, but feeling less guilt and more gratitude. "But Draco?"

"He'll whine and cry and thoroughly enjoy the drama," sooths Narcissa. "But the girl can't choose unless you offer her a choice. Otherwise she may be with my son, because he's the only one to show an interest. And how empty that would be."

While Narcissa is upstairs schooling Harry on courtship to save her own son from an undesirable match, Draco is downstairs freeing the house-elves. Watching Sirius abuse Kreacher has convinced him of Hermione's cause, and now that's he's convinced her to change S.P.E.W. to S.E.E. he's happy to wear a badge.

But the house-elves don't want freeing. What did we do? Where will we go? Oh the SHAME! The dishonor! All, except for Dobby, who's all skips and bounces and disbelief and gratitude.

"You're free to stay," says Draco, trying to console the sobbing elves. "No one has to know you've been freed. If you want to work, you're free to do that too. I'd be delighted to have you stay. You've been doing an excellent job. Keep up the good work." And at length, the sobs fade away and the elves get back to work.

Later in the week, Lucius notices new tea towels and that Dobby is missing and asks an elf about it. Free to lie, the elf tells him Dobby is dead, sir, and Lucius shrugs and finishes his tea.

Back to Hogwarts, Harry with a plan and Draco with words for Hermione. Harry is encouraged to overhear a bit of their first fight. And the next day, he presents Hermione with flowers. Hermione is confused, Draco is enraged, and Pansy is dumbstruck.

Alliances and friendships crumble, gossip explodes, everyone has an opinion. How dare he? That's so romantic. I wish Harry Potter would send me flowers. What's wrong with her? Who'd stay with Malfoy when they could have Potter? I would. Do you think she's cheating? Is he cheating? Don't they live together? I thought they were bothers. And Pansy can't reason with Harry, so she's spreading poison about Hermione. You realize what kind of girl she is? I think she brewed a love potion. Only explanation, she's not that pretty. What a greedy, viscous girl, wanting both!

But Hermione's wanting none of it.

Between twelve class and Quidditch and defending his girlfriend and trying to keep his girlfriend and hating his brother, Draco's coiled tight and ready to snap. And Harry's never been rejected before, so he doesn't know what to do when Hermione says no. And Narcissa's letters urge him to keep trying, so he does, though he rather bungles through it.

Finally in Dueling Club one day the tension boils over and curses fly. It's the best Snape can do to rush the other children out of the room. Hermione tries to stop them. This is getting dangerous. A stray curse, and it's hard to tell who threw it, bounces off an old shield and hits her, and Draco screams as though it hit him, and Harry stops cold.

Ron and Neville rush her to the hospital wing, while Snape the reams the boys over the coals. They've never seen him this angry. Draco doesn't hear him, but Harry feels every word like a punch to his gut. Lucius is called, and he can't understand what's happened to his boys. Draco's inconsolable until he's allowed to attend Hermione's bedside and there he's sobs and apologies. Harry retreats so far inside himself that Lucius can't reach him and all he will say is that he didn't mean to. And Ginny and Pansy won't talk to either of them.

There's talk of suspensions and expulsions, but no one really wants that, so it's settled with detentions and bans from Quidditch.

Hermione recovers after a fortnight, angry at having missed two weeks of classes. But Draco's so tearful and pitiful she has to forgive him. As long as this nonsense stops! Harry apologizes by avoiding her and his ex-brother-friend. He can't avoid Pansy, so he gives her the gold locket with the green S for her birthday and all is forgiven.

Ginny takes over as seeker. Blaise gets a turn on the Slytherin team. Gryffindor wins for a change.

Things are cold between Gryffindor and Slytherin now. But exams demand more attention than hurt feelings.

And as heartache and disappointment at fifteen being a rather normal experience, even for a wizard, Harry did indeed have a normal year.