Of Silver and Green

Ch. 12 Consorting with the Enemy

She needn't have worried. It seemed Potter and company had everything all planned out. When they were released from Transfiguration (which Brynne had found insanely easy as usual), Brynne collected her books into her bag. Draco had then lifted her bag to his shoulder and offered his arm. She had grinned at him and taken it.

But then, as they had left the room they had seen the Three Musketeers standing in the middle of the hallway, standing in a wide circle talking, and effectively blocking their way. "Um, excuse me," Brynne said, catching Potter's eye. If they had a plan, here was their chance to spring it.

"Hello Malfoy," Weasley said snidely.

Draco ignored him, focusing on Potter. "I'm fairly certain that I heard her politely ask you to move."

"Since when have you cared about little things like manners, Malfoy? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were whipped!" Weasley exclaimed gleefully.

Draco made a low growl and turned to face the taller redhead, stepping forward menacingly. He dropped Brynne's arm and her bag. Granger stepped in to try to prevent the unavoidable clash. Brynne stepped quietly to Potter's side. "When?" she asked, not looking at him.

"Tonight, after dinner," he replied, watching Hermione soothe Ron as Malfoy egged him on, now fully wanting to fight.

"Can't," she said. He glanced at her quickly. "I'll explain later. How about midnight? Can you sneak out and meet me in the dungeons? Do you know where the entrance to the Slytherin common room is?"

"Yes to all three," Potter replied. "We better step in before these two kill each other," he said, glancing at her sidelong with his typical grin on his face. With that, they parted and each took to soothing the combatants who, at this point, had only thrown words and not punches.

Brynne only managed to pull Draco away by, under the pretenses of whispering to him, running her tongue along the edge of his ear. He shuddered visibly, but allowed her to lead him away. He stooped to pick up Brynne's bag and shouldered it. Then, he turned back to the Three Stooges and, noting how close in color Weasley's face and hair were, smirked at them patronizingly. Before they could respond, however, he had taken Brynne's hand and had headed for the dungeons.

The rest of the day passed rather uneventfully. Draco, ever the aristocrat, completely ignored the glares he was receiving from Weasley, Goyle, and Pansy. Brynne had taken to calling them "Avada Kedavra" looks in her head, because if looks could kill, then surely Draco would have exploded.

Unfortunately, Brynne's schedule was so hectic, they had not had any time to talk. Draco had wanted to discuss what had happened with Brynne the night before. He approached her before dinner, but Brynne absolutely refused to be late, so it would have to wait.

Brynne hadn't wanted a repeat performance of her "anxiety attack", so when Draco had wanted to talk to her five minutes before dinner, she had refused, telling him it could wait until they got there. She had not been pleased at the prospect if walking into the Great Hall late, and having all their eyes on her. Brynne was quite relieved when only one or two faces turned their way when she and Draco arrived. Draco, instead of taking the place of honor at the center of the table, had led her to the end of the table closest to the professor's table. Once people realized there would be no drama from that area of the room, they eventually stopped glancing their way. Even Goyle and Weasley stopped glaring.

But Brynne could feel one pair of eyes following her every move. She looked up and, noticing the perplexed look in Potter's bright green eyes, idly reflected on what he could possibly want to talk to her about. She hadn't even realized she was frowning until she felt Draco reach across the table and smooth out her eyebrows. She smiled, looking away from Potter quickly. Luckily, Draco couldn't tell whom she had been staring at.

"So are you going to tell me what happened yesterday?" he asked.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure, but I think it has something to do with the fact that I don't like attention. It bothers me to be stared at. So when everyone was just sitting there staring at us, I guess I just panicked."

"Well, if I'd known that you were going to react that way, I wouldn't have done what I did. It only called more attention to us when I moved Goyle and sat in his seat." Draco looked her in the eyes. "The next time you feel that nervous, just tell me, and we'll leave, alright?"

It was a pity he didn't show anyone else this side of himself. He might have had some real friends and not just the phonies who had been using him. It wasn't his fault though. His father had ingrained in Draco at a young age a pride so extreme that it prevented him from consorting with anyone but Slytherins and highborn purebloods. And of these only those his father approved of.

Now there was a truly evil man: Lucius Malfoy. She couldn't imagine growing up with a father like that. Her own father was so caring and affectionate. It had been her father's idea to begin training her to be an animagus. The first time she had seen her mother transfigure, she had begged them to teach her. Now it was the same with Draco.

She wondered what Lucius would think when he found out, as it was inevitable that he would find out. Lucius would probably see it as a threat to his own power. She sneered at the thought.

Draco noticed the change in her facial expression. "What are you thinking?" he asked.

"What do you think your father will think?"

Draco sat back and reflected. Tough question. He never really knew what to expect from his father anymore. "Of what exactly?" he asked, trying to buy himself more time as he thought.

"Of us? Of the fact that you've abandoned the "friends" he chose for you? Of the animagus training?" The last question was whispered.

"Well, let's see," he replied. "You're highborn of a respectable lineage, so he can't have any objection there. I know he won't approve of me forsaking my friends, but he'll have to get over that. I have no idea about the training though, which is why I don't intend to inform him about it. None of the Malfoys has ever been capable of becoming an animagus though, so even with the training, I may not be able to do it."

"Well, that's because none of them ever had an amazing, intelligent, beautiful and talented instructor like you've got," she replied with a smile.

"And her modesty astounds us all," Draco said, leaning across the table to kiss Brynne's hand.