Shifting Perspectives

Chapter Three

He had been playing chess with Ron, and losing as badly as usual when Hermione broached the subject. "Harry," she spoke up suddenly, interrupting Ron's victory cries, "what do you think of doing something for inter-house unity?"

"Maybe with the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs," Harry said, considering.

"Yeah, the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs are pretty decent," Ron agreed.

"What about the Slytherins?" Hermione pressed. "Shouldn't we include them as well?"

"No," Harry stated flatly. He looked to Ron for support.

"Harry's right," Ron said to Hermione. "Remember how Malfoy was like after Cedric died? 'Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers first!' Those were his exact words!"

"And after we got back from the Department of Mysteries, he was furious," Harry remembered.

"He was? What happened?" Ron asked with interest.

Harry described his altercation with Malfoy at the end of last year. "Malfoy came up to me and began telling me how he was going to make me pay for putting his father in prison. I was about to hex him, but Snape appeared and gave me detention. Then McGonagall appeared and gave us all those points back," he finished.

"You should have hexed him, since Snape gave you the detention anyway."

"Ron!" Hermione chastised sharply.

"You heard what Harry said--Malfoy threatened him. How can you defend him?" Ron demanded.

Hermione bit her lip. "I know what awful things he has done, but Harry did put his father in prison. I'm not saying what he did was right," she added quickly. "It definitely wasn't right. But maybe it was understandable. He cared about his father so much, and then you put Lucius in prison--"

"Are you sympathizing with Malfoy?" Ron questioned in disgust. "What Malfoy has done over the years is plain wrong. He called you a you-know-what, remember?"

"And remember the times Malfoy tried to get Hagrid sacked? Or all those times he tried to get us in trouble?"

"I know what he's done," Hermione said quietly, twisting her hands in her lap. "I'm just asking that you consider things from his perspective. How would you feel if Malfoy got Mr. Weasley in prison?"

"I would wring his little neck," Ron replied emphatically. "But that's different."

"How so?"

"Dad would be innocent. Lucius is an evil, conniving bastard who deserves to be sent to Azkaban."

"I was simply making an example," Hermione said, sighing. "I'm just asking you to put yourself in his place. What about you, Harry? Don't you want revenge on Bellatrix?"

Ron made loud shushing noises.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Harry--I didn't mean to remind you of what happened," Hermione apologized.

Harry clenched his fists involuntarily, and then realized that they were staring at him. "It's fine," he said, forcing a smile. "Really."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Hermione," Harry said irritably. "There's no need to mother me or treat me like I'm made out of glass."

"Okay then," Hermione said after a moment. "So what do you think of trying to get along with the Slytherins?"

"Sorry, Hermione, but I agree with Ron. You can't trust a Slytherin."

"Could you just try to get along with them?" Hermione pleaded.

"I always try to get along with them. They're the ones that pick fights!"

"Well, then could you try not to let them provoke you? Just ignore them."

"I'll try," Harry said. "But no promises."

"Ron?"

"All right," Ron said grumpily.

Hermione beamed.

* * *

Draco was deep in conversation with Theodore when Pansy found him in the common room. Or, rather, Draco was talking and Theodore was listening, as Theodore rarely spoke. Pansy thought she could guess the subject of his lecture. Draco was lit with an inner fire, speaking quickly and at length, as he always did when Arithmancy was the topic. "Hello, Pansy," he said, just noticing her presence. "We were just discussing Arithmancy."

"Draco? Could I speak to you for a moment?"

Theodore seized the interruption as an opportunity to escape and backed away. "I'll let you two talk privately," he said.

"What did you want to say?"

Pansy took a deep breath. "What do you think of trying to get along with the Gryffindors?" she said very fast.

Draco goggled at her for a moment. Then he said, "Could you repeat that again?"

"What do you think of trying to get along with the Gryffindors?" Pansy reiterated more slowly.

"You know," Draco said very calmly, "I could have just sworn that you said we should try to get along with the Gryffindors. I really must wash out my ears."

Pansy winced. "I did say that, actually."

"That's not funny, Pansy."

"I'm not joking, Draco."

"Since when do you suck up to Dumbledore?" Draco said nastily.

"I'm not doing this for Dumbledore," Pansy snapped. "I don't support the Dark Lord or Dumbledore. I'm neutral."

"Neutral means that you sell out your fellow Slytherins to Gryffindors?"

"I'm not selling you out! I'm making a suggestion that is in your best interest."

"Pansy, why would I want to get along with the Gryffindors? They put my father in prison! I can't allow them to get away with that."

"He'll break out soon anyway," Pansy pointed out. "Anyway, aren't you
relieved since you won't have to become a Death Eater?"

"A bit," Draco admitted. "But he's my father, and one disagreement doesn't change that."

"So no matter what he does, you'll be loyal to him? That's rather risky, Draco."

"My father is a great man," Draco said passionately. "If he does something, there's a reason for it. He will break out, and when the Dark Lord takes over the wizarding world, he will be the Dark Lord's right hand man."

"How do you know the Dark Lord will succeed in taking over the wizarding world?"

"My father is helping the Dark Lord."

"Draco, your father isn't infallible. What if he's wrong?"

"He isn't."

"You can't just assume he will always be right! You can't depend on what your father thinks for the rest of your life! You have to think for yourself!"

"I don't think for myself? Is that what you think?" Draco didn't wait for an answer. "I don't have to listen to this." He grabbed his bag and stormed out of the common room. Pansy hurried after him.

"Draco, wait!" she panted when she reached him. "Draco, be reasonable. We've been friends for years; you can't just throw that way because of one argument!"

"Now you know how I feel about my father."

"That's not the same thing! Just because he is your father doesn't mean you have to listen to everything he says."

"Just because you're my best friend doesn't mean I have to listen to everything you say," Draco countered.

"I know you don't. I'm just asking you to consider it."

Draco was silent for a moment. Pansy could see the conflicting thoughts clearly projected on his face; Draco had always been bad at hiding his feelings. "I'll think about it," he said finally.

Pansy knew that was as far as she could push Draco. She could expect no more from him. "Thank you, Draco. When do you think you'll be able to make a decision?"

"I really have to go to Arithmancy now, Pansy. We can talk about this later." Draco turned away from her and disappeared around the corner, not looking back.

Pansy stared at the empty corridor. She couldn't decide whether that had just gone well or badly.

* * *

Pansy ambled into the library. She smiled sweetly at Madam Pince as she passed, dropping the smile the second she was out of sight. She reached out and stroked the dusty tomes as she looked for a specific book. She found a copy and pulled it out excitedly.

Granger read aloud the title, clearly disapproving. "All About Psychotropic Spells."

Pansy dropped her book in surprise. "Granger," she said, bending down to pick up the book. "I was just looking at it," she lied.

Granger was unconvinced. "I'm not stupid, Parkinson. What are you doing with a book about spells to affect the mind? I hope you weren't planning on using any; they are illegal, you know."

"It was just going to be a bit of light reading," Pansy protested. She stuffed the book back on the shelf, not particularly caring whether she put it back in the correct location.

"I'm sure," Granger said, regarding Pansy with suspicion. "I don't know what that book is doing here; it ought to be in the Restricted Section. I'll take it to Madam Pince later." She plucked the book from the shelf. "Have you spoken to the Slytherins yet?"

"I brought up the idea of inter-house unity with Draco," Pansy replied.

"And?" Granger asked eagerly.

Pansy shrugged. "Draco said that he would think about it. I haven't had the opportunity to speak to anyone else about it."

"Well, if he supports it, the other Slytherins probably will agree," Granger muttered, her brow creased with thought.

"Not necessarily," Pansy warned. "If he supports it, he may simply be ostracized. We need more support."

"Isn't Draco the most important Slytherin, though?"

"Actually, Adrian is. Draco isn't that powerful with his father in Azkaban," Pansy explained. "How did it go with the Gryffindors?"

"Harry and Ron agreed to try not to be provoked by the Slytherins, but they wouldn't promise anything more. It's a good start, though."

"I suppose," Pansy said dubiously. This was going to take a while. She glanced longingly at the book in Granger's hand. With that book, she could get things to work much faster, but there was no way she could get it now. "Granger? Could you do me a favor?"

"I'm not giving you back this book," Granger said firmly.

"Can you get back the handkerchief for me?"

"Handkerchief?"

"I stuffed it into Potter's mouth. It was white silk with a dragon on it."

"Isn't that Draco's handkerchief? What were you doing with it?"

"Draco dropped it somewhere and I picked it up."

"That's it?"

"That's it," Pansy reassured Granger. "It's not a romantic token of his love, if that's what you're worried about."

"Oh. I'll ask Harry about it."

"Thanks, Granger."