The Marks We Bear

Chapter 5
Tuesday 30th Sept

Harry got up early that morning instead of sleeping in. He was worried about Draco, it seemed like he'd been avoiding him yesterday and while he could understand that the other boy might be embarassed about what had happened Harry still wanted to make sure he was okay. Besides he'd promised Ron he'd hang out with him in the hospital wing during his free periods. So he headed down to breakfast early hoping to catch Draco before the rush.

His luck was in, when he arrived in the Great Hall Draco was sitting alone at the Slytherin table and there were only a few other people around. Not srprising since it was only a quarter to eight and breakfast didn't officially start for another fifteen minutes.

Last night at the lake Draco had spent a fair amount of time considering how to deal with the 'Harry situation' as he thought of it. He couldn't just ignore what had happened, he knew that unless he completely backed out of the friendship Harry would never let it lie. He had to handle it somehow. Acknowledge it and yet get them past it. He really didn't want to talk about it.

He saw Harry coming over to him and wasn't really surprised, the only patience a Gryffindor understood was the card game and even then they got bored half way through. He took a deep breath and managed a less brooding expression.

"Morning," said Harry, sitting down next to him and drawing a few frowns from those who noticed. "You... ah... feeling better today?"

//Straight to the point,// sighed Draco to himself. "I'm fine, Potter. I was just... having a stressful weekend."

"Uh-huh." Harry fiddled with his cutlery. "You... um.... I... "

"Potter, don't worry about it. I'm fine, really. I know you're worried but you really don't have to be, I can deal with this."

Harry looked him in the eye with a gleam of determination that made something inside Draco ache a little. "You weren't dealing with it very well last time we spoke, Malfoy. Look..." Harry's voice was low to avoid them being over-heard, "I know you don't want to talk about it. We all have... stuff we don't want to talk about. I just want you to know that you can, if you change your mind... and that you don't have to do... that... anymore." He gazed earnestly at Draco for a moment and then seemed to feel the weight of the emotional intensity between them. He broke eye contact and said fliply, "I mean for Gods sake if it makes you feel any better you can always ask me or Ron to punch you in the face instead!"

"I'm sure he'd be more than happy to oblige," remarked Draco dryly, relieved that Harry seemed to be done saying his piece. "Speaking of which, I have to go apologise to him after lunch. Should be fun."

Harry nodded, seeming to become aware of the other students filing into the hall and giving him dirty looks for sitting at the Slytherin table. "I should probably go sit at the Gryffindor table, I get the feeling people don't approve of me being here. Besides, Hermione'll be down soon. Unless you want me to stay? I don't mind."

"Don't be an idiot," said Draco. "Just because no-one likes me doesn't mean you should try and inspire the same feelings in them."

"That's not true..." started Harry, looking concerned that Draco might be in need of support.

Draco waved him back. "Scat, Potter. Shoo before the rest of the Slytherin's get here and decide to have you for breakfast. I'll see you later in Defence Against the Dark Arts and you can hear all about my delightful meeting with Weasley."

"Okay then. See you later." Harry headed over to the Gryffindor table and left a rather cheerier Malfoy behind him than he had found.

Harry sat down at the Gryffindor table where, thankfully, none of his friends were down yet to quiz him about talking to Draco. //Draco...// It was getting really difficult to remember to call him Malfoy but Harry wasn't yet ready to cross that line verbally. For some reason it seemed like an important step that shouldn't be rushed.

While he was pondering that Hermione came in with Ginny and sat down next to him. The older Ginny got the closer she and Hermione seemed to become. Harry figured it was because Hermione didn't get on that well with the other Gryffindor girls in her year or maybe just cause they had spent so much time together over the summer. Hermione had stayed with the Weasley's for a whole month.

"Morning," he said.

"Morning," Hermione answered, but for some reason Ginny was just staring at him without speaking. She didn't seem to realise she was doing it. He was about to put it down to her having a crush on him still when Hermione elbowed her in the ribs and a look passed between them.

A feeling like ice being poured down his back shot through Harry as he realised what was going on. Hermione had told Ginny. Hermione had told Ginny! He could feel himself going bright red with a mixture of embarassment and anger. How dare she? He'd told her again and again that it wasn't true and not only had she refused to believe him she had started blabbing her stupid ideas to their friends. He turned and stared furiously at her, she was flushed too. There was nothing to say, not here in front of everyone. Finally he stood up and hissed at her, "Excuse me, I think I'm going to go and sit with the people who whisper lies about me in front of my face instead of behind my back. At least I know what to expect from them." Then he stalked back over to the Slytherin table and threw himself onto the bench next to Draco.

"What the hell are you doing back here?" Draco whispered.

"I don't want to talk about it," ground Harry, glaring daggers at Hermione. "So can I sit with you?"

Draco shrugged. "It's your funeral. They already think I'm insane."

"That's because you are."

"Hey, Potter," shouted Pansy Parkinson from further up the table. "Finally cracked and forgotten which House you're in?"

"Actually," drawled Harry, in a fair impersonation of the old Draco Malfoy. "I'm just here to experience the slimy underbelly of Hogwarts. Slumming it's in this season."

Draco snorted, "That wasn't half bad, we'll make a Slytherin of you yet."

"Say that again," Harry growled, "And I will punch you."

Draco shook his head. "So you're just going to sit there and take your temper out on me are you?"

"Yup," said Harry. "Aren't you glad we're such good friends."

"Ecstatic." Draco went back to eating his breakfast. Actually it was rather nice to have Harry next to him, even if he was in a bad mood. He had sat alone all term, refusing to converse with the rest of his House on the grounds that they were all insufferably petty and repetitive. Plus it made him want to stab them with his fork when they started whispering about how exciting the rise of the Dark Lord was. Exciting! Morons. Give him five minutes with them back home and he'd show them how fucking exciting it was. Okay, now he was putting himself in a bad mood too. He turned his attention back to Harry. "So what did Granger say to you?"

"She didn't say anything."

"Well what did she do then?"

"Look, you don't want to talk about the other day and I don't want to talk about this so just drop it!"

"Fine."

"Fine."

"So... I started my detention last night."

"Oh?"

"Every evening for a month! And that's not even the worst of it."

"Mmm?"

"Every Monday I have to spend two hours talking to Dumbledore so he can pump me for information about my father and You-Know-Who."

That did get Harry's attention. "What did you tell him?"

"I told him I don't know where You-Know-Who is," Draco answered coldly, wishing he hadn't mentioned it.

"Why do you call him that anyway?" asked Harry. "You-Know-Who. I would've thought..."

"It's just habit," said Draco. "People get all jumpy when you say Voldemort."

There was an air of revulsion in his voice when he said the name and it leant Harry an added level of comfort that it didn't seem faked. "You really don't believe that stuff anymore?" he asked softly. "You don't support him?"

Draco poked his eggs. "No," he answered, equally softly. "I don't."

"How come?"

"I... " he smiled and looked at Harry with an expression that almost touched on affection. "I don't want to talk about it," he said.

Harry smiled back, it was kind of funny. At this rate they'd never be able to have a decent conversation. Then he asked, "But it's something to do with what happened this summer?"

Draco looked introspective and slightly sad. "Yes, this summer."

Harry had a sudden and irrational urge to burst into Summer Nights from Grease but restrained himself. "You're going to have to tell me what happened eventually."

"Why?" asked Draco.

"Because... I dunno. Because I think eventually you'll want to."

"Maybe. Maybe if you tell me why you're mad at Granger." He gave Harry a challenging look.

"She said these robes made my bum look big," Harry answered in a martyred tone.

Draco laughed. "Liar."

"So what happened this summer?"

"I watched all 5 seasons of Babylon 5 back to back and realised I wanted to join the Army of Light."

"I have no idea what you're talking about you know."

"It's a Muggle TV show."

"Since when do you watch Muggle tv?"

"You'd be surprised what I get up to. So you've never seen Babylon 5? You don't know what you're missing, Potter."

"So why don't you tell me?"

Which led to Draco spending the rest of breakfast telling him the entire plot of the show along with suitably impressive gestures and fake voices. Which didn't half lead to them getting some strange looks.

Once breakfast was over Harry headed up to the hospital wing to hang out with Ron wondering what they would talk about. Harry wasn't used to finding it hard to talk to Ron but all Ron seemed to want to talk about these days was Draco and Hermione... though not in the same way. When he wasn't planning painful revenge on Draco he was babbling on about something Hermione had said to him or asking Harry what she'd been doing. Whereas Harry found himself in the opposite situation, planning painful revenge on Hermione and feeling the urge to babble on about Draco. Thank the Gods he'd thought to bring some cards and Ron's wizarding chess set with him.

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Three long hours later Harry headed down to the Great Hall for lunch, wondering whether he should make up with Hermione or not. He both wanted to and didn't want to, he just wished she had kept her mouth shut so he didn't have to be mad at her. He should probably just go and sit with Draco again, the damage was already done on that front and he might be feeling nervous about apologising to Ron after lunch. Maybe Harry could give him some advice on what to say.

When he entered the hall everyone at the Gryffindor table turned round and gave him looks ranging from curious to worried to downright angry. //Definitely the Slytherin table,// he thought and headed over there. Draco was already sat there with a long suffering expression on his face.

"You're such a Gryffindor," he said as Harry sat down.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked, not sure whether to be offended or not.

"Too pig-headed to make up with Granger and too stupid to sit at your own table."

"I'd rather sit here."

At that point Hermione entered the hall and saw where he was sitting. She stopped in her tracks and he could see her trying to decide what to do. Finally she said, "Oh for pity's sake!" and stomped over to the Slytherin table. She sat down next to Harry amid catcalls from the Slytherins.

"Hey, Granger! Take your boyfriend and fuck off back to your own table."

"Yeah, he smells funny. It's putting me off my lunch."

Hermione hissed at Harry, "Don't think you can hide from me over here."

"Why don't you go join the Gryffindor's, Malfoy, you..." the words died in Blaise Zabini's throat as Draco stood up and turned to stare with deadly intent at him.

"Did you have something to say to us, Zabini?" he asked in a tone that sent fear through even Harry despite the fact he knew Draco had no wand. It was so.... there was a depth of darkness to it that Harry had never heard from Draco before.

Zabini went pale and sat down. "Nothing," he stammered. "I just... it was nothing."

Draco sat back down and turned his back on the crowded end of the table.

Harry stared at him in shock.

"What?" he asked.

"It was just... you sounded so..."

"Scary," said Hermione.

"Yeah," agreed Harry.

Draco shrugged, "It's something I picked up..."

"Over the summer," finished Harry.

"I was going to say from my father," corrected Draco, "But, I suppose you're right. It never worked so well before this summer. I didn't even pull my wand and he still backed down."

"I thought you didn't have your wand," said Harry.

"I don't," answered Draco. "But he probably doesn't know that and he still nearly pissed himself."

"I don't blame him," said Hermione shakily. "It sounded like you would kill him as soon as look at him." She looked at Harry pleadingly. "Come on, Harry. Come back to the Gryffindor table. This is silly."

"How many of them have you told?" asked Harry coldly.

"Only Ginny, Harry. I swear. And I know you're mad about it but she needed to know."

"Know what?" asked Draco curiously.

"Nothing," answered Harry. "Hermione's just got some stupid idea in her head about me that isn't true and now she's decided she needs to start informing other people about it."

Draco gave Hermione and Harry both a very interested look then said casually, "So if it isn't true why don't you just tell me what it is?"

Hermione caught Malfoy's eye, realising that he might not know *what* it was but he certainly realised that it was probably true. On the other hand the last person she wanted on her side was Malfoy, especially after that little display. The guy scared her even without a wand and she wished Harry would stop hanging about with him.

Harry shot him a look that Hermione couldn't see and said, "Why don't *you* tell me what happened this summer?"

"Oh no you don't," answered Draco. "Not the same thing at all... unless what Granger thinks is true and that's why you won't tell me."

"All I know is I told Hermione it wasn't true and she wouldn't believe me, how do I know you won't think the same thing? So drop it," he turned back to Hermione, "both of you." He started eating. "You should go, Hermione. I'm not really in the mood to talk to you just yet. Go back to the Gryffindor table and if you want to stay my friend you better tell Ginny you were wrong."

Hermione looked at him in frustration for a minute then stood up and left for the Gryffindor table. Draco watched her go and wondered what it was that she had found out that was making Harry so defensive. Well, he'd find out eventually.

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After lunch Draco trudged up to the hospital wing with the air of a condemned man. On the bright side, without a wand he couldn't cock things up too badly, on the other hand he suspected Ron was probably going to try and hit him again. Harry had recommended he keep at least arms length away at all times and if in doubt, duck. Draco wasn't a coward, really, he just despised being hit in the face. It was his all time least favourite place to get hit and he still had the remains of a black eye from last time. Besides, physical violence was just so... tacky. Trust Weasley to resort to it instead of using his wand like a proper wizard.

Dumbledore was waiting for him at the end of the corridor, talking to Madame Pomfrey. She gave him the evil eye as he approached them.

"Mr Malfoy, right on time."

Draco sucked in a sarcastic comment, there was no need to let his nerves get the better of him.

"Are you ready to go in?"

Draco nodded. "Let's get it over with."

When they entered Weasley was out of his bed and wearing school robes rather than the pyjamas Draco had expected. He stood in the middle of the floor with his arms crossed and a buzz of righteous indignation humming around him. He said nothing to them but narrowed his gaze to glare at Draco.

"Right," said Dumbledore, cheerfully ignoring the tension. "Mr Weasley, since you threw the first punch why don't you go first?"

He could see Weasley grinding his teeth, it looked as if he might spontaneously combust. Instead he began to speak in a very forced tone, "I'm... sorry... " his look demanded Draco accept that as a lie "... that I... hit you." He bit off the end of the sentence with a snap and stuck out his jaw in a stubborn determination not to look at all sorry.

Next to him Dumbledore sighed. "Mr Malfoy?"

Draco suddenly realised how to completely get one over on Weasley, stifling a grin he put on his most penitent face. "I don't blame you at all for what happened, Ron," he said in a martyred tone, purposefully using Weasley's first name. "I've treated you dreadfully in the past and I can't apologise enough for what I did, for everything I've done to you and to Hermione..."

"Don't you dare say her name like you care!" Weasley yelled, infuriated.

"Mr Weasley!" said Dumbledore sternly. Then he turned to Draco, "I think that will be quite enough, Mr Malfoy," he told him in a tone that implied he was not born yesterday thank-you-very-much.

Draco nodded his acceptance at being caught at it, it didn't matter if Dumbledore knew since it was Weasley that he was successfully winding up. Childish, yes... but if anyone could bring that out in him it was Weasley.

"Mr Weasley," continued Dumbledore. "You will start your detention tonight with Mr Malfoy, every evening until Monday. Professor McGonagall will meet you after dinner to arrange it.

Weasley glowered and nodded.

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Draco arrived at Defence Against the Dark Arts a little behind Hermione and Ron. Harry was already there, sitting innocuously in the middle of the room with plenty of empty seats around him. He was a little at a loss as to what to do now that Ron was back in classes with them. He couldn't sit with Ron without sitting with Hermione and he couldn't sit with Draco without falling out with Ron. So he had decided to let everyone else make the decisions for him and arrived early.

Ron made a beeline for Harry and Hermione followed uncertainly, behind them Harry could see Draco pause to observe them. Harry smiled at Ron as he sat down next to him and pointedly ignored Hermione who slipped into the seat on the other side of Ron. At the door Draco started to move toward a seat at the back of the room when Seamus Finnegan came in behind him and caught sight of Harry sitting next to Ron.

"Hey, Ron," he called. "What'cher doin' sittin' with the enemy? Didn't Hermione tell you who his new best pal is?"

Ron looked confused and turned to Hermione. "What's he mean."

Seamus came over and stood over Harry. "Go on, Harry. Why don't you go join your new House?" he gestured to where Draco was sitting at the back of the room.

Harry had been half expecting this after the looks he'd got in Transfiguration earlier, but he had hoped his house-mates would keep it to dirty looks. So much for that idea. "Seamus..." he started in a conciliatory tone.

"Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?" Ron butted in.

Before Harry or Hermione could get a word in Seamus had. "Harry's decided he prefers sitting with Malfoy and the Slytherin's than with us. Guess he thought Malfoy's attempt to kill you wasn't so awful after all."

Ron turned to Harry. "What's he talking about? You've not been hanging out with that... that..." Words failed him.

>From the other side of Ron, Hermione cast him an 'I told you so' look.

Harry tried to calm things down and promptly made thhings worse. "He didn't mean what happened, it was just an accident..."

"An accident!" roared Ron.

"It's not like you didn't punch him first," retorted Harry before he could think better of it.

Hermione grabbed Ron by the arm, afraid he might punch Harry next. "Please," she whispered. "Don't fight. Can't you just not fight about it?"

Harry stood there akwardly. "I don't want to fight," he said. "But I won't stop talking to someone just because Ron doesn't like it. It's... not right."

"Harry, please," pleaded Hermione.

"No," he said stubbornly.

"Then I think you better find somewhere else to sit," said Ron coldly. "Because I don't hang out with Slytherins or their friends."

"Ron, don't be..." Harry tried.

"I mean it," he said and turned his back on Harry.

"You heard him," added Seamus. "Go sit with Malfoy."

Harry picked up his bag and went quietly to the empty seat next to Draco, trying not to let it show that he really felt like crying. Even when half the school had thought he was the Heir of Gryffindor, even when he and Ron fell out over the Tri-Wizard championship, his own house-mates had never been so outright cold to him. And it was so stupid, just because Draco was a Slytherin. He sat down and surreptitiously rubbed at his eye with the hem of his sleeve. "Don't say it," he said to Draco as he felt the other boy turn to him.

"I didn't think I needed to. You are an idiot though."

"I know. Let's just..."

"Not talk about it," finished Draco.

They spent the rest of the class pretty silently.

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Wednesday 1st October

Harry spent the next day in a deep funk. He sat at the Slytherin table for all his meals, Draco was a small comfort for the way most of his house was acting toward him. You would have thought he'd walked into class with a Dark Mark on his arm and showed them all a signed contract selling his soul to Voldemort. He semi-made up with Hermione in Spell Creation since she at least thought he was just misguided rather than evil incarnate and was logical enough to understand where he was coming from even if she didn't agree with him. Plus this added stress seemed to have convinced her to stop bringing up her theories as to his sexuality. A very small blessing.

That afternoon he went to visit Hagrid in his free periods so he could explain to him why things had been so strained in Care of Magical Creatures that morning. He wasn't exactly understanding but at least he wasn't going to fall out with him over it... though there had been a few tearful moments over Buckbeak.

At dinner Draco told him that Hermione seemed to be lightening up a bit. She had spoken to him in History and Astronomy to ask him about what was going on.

"What did you say?"

"I told her that you were an idiot and that you were far too stubborn to back out of this now. She seemed to agree."

"I don't know whether to be pleased the two of you are speaking or pissed off that your taking the opportunity to slag me off."

"If it makes you feel any better we agreed that Weasley was a stubborn idiot too."

"Hermione said Ron was being an idiot?"

"Well... not in so many words. But it was implied."

"Hmmm, you're not just making that up to make me feel better are you?"

"I swear on... um... something important anyway... that Granger implied Weasley was an idiot."

"Don't suppose she said Seamus was an idiot too did she?"

"Not as such, but it goes without saying."

"Hmph. Looking forward to detention tonight?" Harry asked, deciding to spread the misery out a bit.

"Very funny."

"What're you doing anyway?"

"Filing in the library," Draco answered. "So I guess I'll end up doing most of the work since Weasley probably can't read without Granger to help him with the big words."

Harry stifled a snort of laughter. "Cut it out. Just cause he's being an asshole doesn't mean he's not still my friend."

"Ever the loyal Gryffindor."

"I thought it was the Hufflepuffs that were loyal."

"Nah, you're getting loyal confused with boring."

"Is there anyone you actually like?"

"Aside from you, you mean?"

Harry felt a sudden flush across his cheeks and lowered his head to his food to hide it. "Yeah, well, who doesn't like me. I'm so charming after all."

"And with those boyish good looks," Draco remarked. "Who could resist."

Harry blushed even more, was Draco flirting with him? Oh Gods, did he want him to be?

"Are you blushing?" asked Draco.

"No," coughed Harry, choking on a green bean. "I'm suffocating."

"Oh, really," said Draco in exasperation and whacked him hard on the back. "Don't you think that's taking modesty a little too far?"

Harry recovered. "You seem in an awfully good mood today."

Draco shrugged. "Life's too short to waste time being morose about things that you can't change. My new philosophy is grin and ignore it, maybe it'll go away."

"Do you think it'll work?"

"Probably not but I'm sticking with it anyway."

"So you're going to be shiny, happy Malfoy."

Draco grimaced. "Let's not rush things. How about off-white, mildly-amused Malfoy."

"Okay, but only if I get to be dull grey, slightly-sulky Potter."

"We are grey, we stand between the candle and the star," Draco remarked, apropos of nothing.

"You what?" asked Harry.

"You have got to watch Babylon 5, Potter. Write it on the top of your 'Things I Have To Do Before I Die' list."

"What, above lose my virginity and win the Quidditch World Cup?"

"Like either of those are going to happen soon," Draco scoffed.

"Sooner than you could manage," Harry returned.

"In your dreams."

Harry had a sudden flash of what, or rather who, he'd dreamt about last night and went bright red again. "Shut up," he managed lamely.

Draco gave him a funny look but didn't ask him why he was blushing again.

Harry scraped up the last of his potatoes. "So... I'll see you tomorrow. Assuming you make it through detention in one piece."

"See you tomorrow, Potter."

Harry made his escape wondering if there was a potion or charm that made you blush invisibly.

Harry spent that evening alone... again. The only person in his house that was still speaking to him was Hermione and she was studying which was never any fun. He found himself wishing he and Draco were in the same house so they could hang out together more. It was almost wierd how well they seemed to be getting on. Draco was different to be with than Ron and Hermione and his edgier personality rather suited Harry's current disposition. He was quick like Hermione but argumentative like Ron and just the thought that he was the only person Draco really cared to spend time with sent a thrill through him that he hadn't felt before. It made him feel special in a way that all of the fame and attention of previous years never had. All of that had been despite him, Draco didn't give a damn that he was The Boy Who Lived. He just liked him. Draco liked him. He liked Draco. All of a sudden life didn't seem too bad at all.

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tbc... please send reviews, insults and comments...