Epitome of a Soldier - What it is to be Necessary

Hi everyone :)

Many thanks for all the reviews as always :D Here come the replies:

Snivelly
Oh man, if someone ever broke an ice-cube before talking to me, I'd have to ask them if they'd read this story XD
So you're liking Millie hmm? Veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery intereting :D Why is it interesting? I ain't sayin' XD

kati-chan
Yeah, in the end, Remus and Sirius love Harry and they only want to be a part of his life and help make him happy ^_^

DTDY
I do wish I could've put Snape in this but it really wasn't realistic to let him get off scott free after what he had done. He has a big part in my current story though so that makes me feel better :D

thrnbrooke
Eager for a bit of Pansy torture then? XD

Kuromei
Of course bad stuff is gonna happen; Harry can't catch a break in his canon nor in our fanfiction after all XD *hugs Kuromei-chan*

flipping pages
When I first wrote this, I feared that I'd hurried Harry's progression into emotion. Still makes me feel better when people assure me I haven't :D

And with nothing more to say, let us begin :)

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6th October 1997: Midday

Harry's first month of Hogwarts was officially over. He had attended all his lessons, completed all his assignments and handed them in on time, he had watched Draco during Quidditch practices, he had spent his alone time in the library, and the time he spent with Draco was spent doing a lot of different things, though the blond's favourite one seemed to be retreating to their dorm room and cuddling on his bed. He still knew no one outside his professors and the small group of Seventh Year Slytherins, mostly because no one from the rest of the school had ever approached him and Harry didn't care enough to make the effort himself.

At that moment, he had been called away from Draco and the other Seventh Year Slytherins in order to have lunch with Professor McGonagall. The headmistress had requested Harry's presence in her office when they had passed each other in a corridor earlier that day. Upon arriving, the dark haired youth had discovered that the elderly woman wanted nothing more than a friendly chat and to make enquiries as to how his first month had gone.

"Having spoken to your teachers I must say I'm impressed, Potter; you've had perfect marks in everything so far. Are you finding the classes too easy?" McGonagall questioned from behind her desk.

"The classes are satisfactory." Harry assured in his usual monotone. He sat in a heavily-stuffed armchair opposite to the headmistress, his posture perfect as always and with a cup and saucer resting on his right knee, steadied by his right hand.

"Oh good, well as long as you don't find yourself getting bored..."

Now, he hadn't said that. In all honesty, Harry was terribly bored. His life seemed to have taken on a meaningless pattern which frustrated him and made him restless (or as frustrated and restless as someone such as Harry could be). He didn't understand why he felt as he did so he hadn't spoken to anyone about it, though he also saw little point in doing so anyway. It was doubtful that anyone would be able to do anything about it and he had to admit that it did sound awfully childish, sort of like a toddler whining to its mother that it was bored and needed to be entertained.

"...Glad to help." McGonagall's voice registered to Harry once more and he realised the woman had continued to talk while he pondered his situation. "Something else I wanted to ask about was your social skills. How are you getting along with the other Slytherins?"

"Well." Was Harry's one word answer to that.

"Good, and what about students from the other Houses?"

"None have approached me."

"Have you approached them?" The headmistress asked.

"For what purpose?"

"To make friends."

"To make friends is unnecessary."

"Oh? Why do you think that?"

"Friendship is a distraction."

"A distraction from what?"

Any answer Harry may have spoken died in his throat as that question struck a chord in him. A distraction from what...? Indeed, what did he have to be distracted from? Friendships were a distraction, he knew that for a fact, his friendship with Draco was more than enough proof, but there no longer seemed to be anything in his life to be distracted away from. His school work wasn't an issue, he barely ever listened in class and he still got perfect marks because it was all stuff he already knew. There was no search for Horcruxes, he was surely safe from stray Death Eaters in Hogwarts and he had just admitted to himself that he was terribly bored. Perhaps more friends, new friends, would bring some purpose back into his life.

It was a definite possibility and one he would consider at length later on. But at that moment, he had a lunch to eat and a series of questions to answer.

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6th October 1997: Evening

"So what was it McGonagall wanted?"

Harry paused in his reading to glace up at Draco, expecting his gaze to meet with grey eyes but instead he saw the blond staring up at the canopy above. Dinner had been and gone and now the students had their free time before curfew. As had become usual for the couple, Harry and Draco had returned to their dorm room and promptly settled themselves on the Malfoy's bed. Draco laid on his back, his head on his pillow, while Harry was curled up near the bottom of the bed, a book open beside him. They had been enjoying an easy silence, until Draco's question had broken it of course.

"She enquired as to how my first month here has been." Harry replied in a murmur, his eyes falling back to his book.

"To which you said...?" Draco asked in a lazy manner though there was a hint of something else in there, something Harry didn't quite recognise or understand.

"That it has been satisfactory."

"Was it just a general question or did she ask for specifics?"

Harry, then, got the distinct impression that this was going somewhere but he couldn't for the life of him figure out where exactly. "She specified my academic achievements and my relationship with the rest of the school's population. I told her that the classes are satisfactory and I have not yet had much contact with those outside of the Slytherin Seventh Years."

"What did she think of that?" Draco continued to question in the same lazy manner his other question had been asked in.

"She encouraged me to attempt to form relationships with others. I told her that to do so was unnecessary and would simply result in further distraction."

"Yes, that sounds like you." The blond said and Harry didn't need to look at him to know the Malfoy was now smiling or at least smirking. The mattress shifted then as Draco moved and the next time the dark haired teenager looked up from his book, he found his best friend now face to face with him. "You know, it's just occurred to me, but I haven't given you a decent kiss in days."

Harry thought on that for a moment and realised that it had, indeed, been a little over a week since he and Draco had shared an actual kiss. The Malfoy had pecked his lips or his cheek or his forehead plenty of times but there had been no lingering kisses, no laying or sitting with the intent of a prolonged kiss. It wasn't because they hadn't been spending time together. Although they weren't able to spend every second of every day together, they were still in each other's company at every available moment and more often than not. They just hadn't had the time for any intimacy and it suddenly occurred to Harry that he had actually missed it. He had missed the feel of Draco's lips on his, he had missed the gentle touches from the slender hands, he had missed the warmth of the intimacy. Now, with the anticipation of once again experiencing it, the stoic youth definitely felt a small flutter in his stomach.

Unintentionally making himself look demur, Harry peered up at Draco through his lashes. "Perhaps that is something you should fix before I start to feel neglected."

Draco's expression turned to one of surprise then before he grinned and leaned down slightly so his lips hovered a breath away from Harry's. "It's another date to remember: the sixth of October, 1997; Harry not only asks for a kiss, he does it teasingly." The blond said happily before closing the gap and connecting their lips.

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9th October 1997: Afternoon

It was a cloudy Thursday afternoon in October when Harry was spoken to by the first stranger since he had met Professor Trelawney. It was during a free-period of his, one that he shared with none of the other Seventh Year Slytherins, and he was in the library doing some reading until it was time to go to the Quidditch field to watch Draco and the Slytherin team practice. He hadn't actually realised just how deeply involved in his reading he was until he was broken out of state of concentration by a voice speaking just beside him.

"Is this seat taken?"

Green eyes had shot upwards in an instant and came to rest on the form of a girl standing behind the chair next to Harry. Her tie was the colour of Gryffindor and the rest of her uniform was perfect, much like Harry's own, with the buttons of the robe done up all the way to the top. Her hair was a light-ish brown and slightly dishevelled though it was more to do with the fact her hair was rather frizzy than it actually being messy like Harry's always seemed to be (no matter how hard Draco tried to tame it). The smile on her face was small and a little shy and the girl was obviously nervous.

After he had finished studying her, Harry dropped his eyes back onto his book. "No." Was all he said, in answer to her question.

The girl said nothing more and he did not look at her again. Once the sound of her movement as she sat had ended, the silence of the library returned and remained undisrupted. Harry took up his reading again but never quite managed to return to the deep state of concentration he had previously been in, the fact that he could feel the girl's stare on him several times made sure of that. But not once did the stranger say anything or do anything other than sneak a peek at him every few seconds or so.

An hour of that, and nothing more than that, passed and then it was time for Harry to gather his book and his bag and make his way outside to watch the Slytherins practice. He felt the girl's stare suddenly return to him with his movement though she still said nothing as she watched him close his book before leaning to the side of grab his bag and then putting the book away inside. With that done, Harry stood from his seat and began to leave the library. He neither looked at nor spoke to the girl again but he could feel her eyes on him even he walked away. It was only when he turned a corner and left the library behind him completely that he felt the stare leave him.

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10th October 1997: Morning

Harry had two free periods in a row straight after breakfast. The first free period he had on his own, the second he would be able to share with Draco. So, as usual, he had gone to the library to read. He had only just settled and was just in the process of pulling a book out of his bag when he felt a presence come to stand beside him and a familiar voice spoke.

"Is this seat taken?"

Harry glanced up and saw the same girl from the day before, the same slightly shy smile on her face. Once again, he turned his gaze away and spoke a soft, "no". The girl took that as an invitation to sit and so that was what she did. From then on, the hour of Harry's free period passed much the same as it had the day before. Neither Harry nor the girl spoke to each other and although the dark haired saviour often felt the girl's gaze on him, it wasn't as frequent as it had been the previous day.

Harry idly pondered over the strangeness of the situation and how it made him feel. It occurred to him that despite the fact he didn't know this girl's name and that they had only ever spoken a few words to each other, her presence was...A comfort? No, that wasn't the right word, that implied that he had been lonely before and he knew that wasn't the case. It was hard for him to describe, he felt he didn't have the words for it. Her presence...She seemed to be providing a sense of companionship for Harry despite their lack of real communication. The mere presence of another human being was...Nice. Yes, he supposed that was as good a word as any to describe it.

The words in the book open on the table Harry sat at began to lose their importance as he thought on the situation more and more. Perhaps this girl could be a friend. Could males be friends with females? He wasn't sure. He tried to think to what he had seen around him in his first month at Hogwarts, whether he had seen boys and girls being friends with each other. Alas, all he could seem to recall was males and females only being together in an intimate manner, kissing in the hallways or walking together side by side, holding hands. He did not want that, not with anyone other than Draco anyway. But then, that was a point; the way boys and girls acted towards each other was how he and Draco acted towards each other. So, perhaps that meant that a relationship with a girl would also be different for him...

"Harry?"

The voice of Draco dragged Harry from his thoughts and he lifted his eyes to see the blond standing just beside him. Idly, he noticed the girl he was sharing the table with was eagerly keeping her eyes fixed on her book and her quill moving across a sheet of parchment. At first, Harry wondered what his best friend was doing in the library until common sense told him that the first period of the day must have already have ended.

"Are you okay? You looked completely out of it." Draco continued not a moment later.

"I am fine." Harry assured simply as he closed his book and reached for his bag. "Shall we leave?"

"All right." The Malfoy agreed and stepped back to allow the dark haired youth to sort himself out. A minute later, the two Slytherins were making their way out of the library, leaving behind the table and the girl and when they were a sufficient distance away, the blond spoke again. "Why were you sitting at a table with Granger?"

"Should I not have been?" Harry asked quietly, thinking over the new information in his head; so the girl's last name was Granger...

Draco gave a sigh at that and took Harry's hand in a familiar gesture, linking their fingers together intimately. "No, I suppose it doesn't really matter, I was just a bit surprised, that's all."

Harry gave no answer to that. Instead, he concentrated on the sensation of the girl's eyes staring into their backs.

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16th October 1997: Afternoon
The silent encounters had continued for the rest of that week. Every free period Harry spent by himself was indirectly spent with the Granger girl, someone who he had begun to notice increasingly around the school: when in corridors; when in the Great Hall; even in lessons as she was in both his Potions and DADA classes. Each time, he would arrive and sit first and then not moments later would be approached by the girl. She would ask the same question, he would give the same one word answer, she would sit, they would do their own thing in silence, and then Harry would be the first one to leave.

But apparently, it was all about to change.

"Is that our Potions assignment you're working on?"

The quiet question was asked quite out of the blue and if there had been anyone else around, Harry would've been sure it wasn't a question directed at him. However, he and Granger were the only ones in the immediate area and so he knew the question was, indeed, for him. His writing hand paused for a moment though he did not lift his head. Slowly, he began to write again and although he still didn't lift his head, he did answer the question: "No, this is an assignment for Divination."

"Oh, you take Divination?" The girl replied immediately and her tone was filled with too many emotions to even list. Harry could hear the relief in there, no doubt from the fact he hadn't ignored her; he could hear the surprise that he had actually answered; he could hear the excitement, no doubt born from the fact she was talking to the actual Harry Potter; and he could hear the distaste in there.

Harry felt a slight amusement bubble inside though it wasn't enough to prompt a smile. Instead, he continued writing and the conversation. "You are one who is sceptical of the art of Divination?"

"Um, uh, well..." The girl started to stammer, obviously afraid she had just insulted the stoic boy.

Harry took pity on the girl and cut off her rambling. "If so, I find myself inclined to agree with you. I merely chose the subject as it was the one I was least familiar with. I am beginning to wonder if I have wasted my time."

"Perhaps you should consider dropping the class and taking up something else then." She suggested. "For an every day student it probably wouldn't be the best idea but for someone like you..." She trailed off awkwardly, obviously unsure of how, exactly, to finish that sentence off.

Harry's eyes flickered onto her for a mere moment before they returned to his parchment just in time to watch his hand manipulate the quill it held into movement. "I made a commitment and I shall stick with it. Now, if you will excuse me," he murmured, finishing off what he was writing and carelessly dropping his quill into his open bag beside his feet. "I have a previous engagement I must attend." Which was not just an excuse he was giving to get away; Draco's Qudditch practice was due to start in a matter of minutes.

The dark haired savour quickly and efficiently packed away his things, not once looking at the Granger girl as he did. Heaving his bag onto his shoulder, he intended to leave without further word, if only because he, himself, didn't know what to say. He felt the girl's eyes on him the entire way out but when he reached the library's entrance, the girl once again decided to take the initiative and speak.

"My name's Hermione Granger." She practically yelled after him, standing from her seat abruptly as she did.

Harry paused in his step and turned to look at the girl again. "It was a pleasure to speak with you Miss Granger." He replied with an inclination of his head before he turned and began to walk away again.

As with the first time they had met, he felt her eyes on his back until he turned a corner and the wall broke the girl's stare.

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23rd October 1997: Afternoon

Another week passed and Harry and Hermione continued to meet in the library but instead of sitting in silence, they now conversed about school work, never anything else, and they were always rather short conversations as well though at least two or three could occur every time. The focus switched between the two of them, sometimes focussing on Harry's progress, sometimes focussing on Hermione's. As seemed to have become the norm for Thursdays however, the meeting on that day was to mark yet another change, another progression in the steadily growing friendship of the Slytherin and the Gryffindor.

"I always thought Professor Snape was a rather good teacher. Not a particularly nice person but a rather good teacher. He knew what he was talking about and he explained things well." Hermione revealed as she gently fanned her length of parchment in front of her with her hand to dry the ink. Opposite her, Harry was also writing an essay and seemed to be concentrating on that more than he was on what Hermione was saying. "I have to admit, despite what I had heard other students say in the past, I was personally rather surprised to learn that he was a Death Eater, he never seemed to be in the least biased to students just because of their blood. After all, he only ever criticised me for answering all the questions all the time and for being a Gryffindor, he never once made a comment on my background."

That last bit seemed to grab Harry's attention and he lifted his gaze to look at her. "You are Muggle-born."

It was a statement, not a question though Hermione answered all the same. "Yes, that's right."

Harry said nothing for what seemed like the longest time before quietly, almost silently, he spoke again. "My mother...Was Muggle-born."

"Yes, I know, I read it in a book."

"What is life like in the Muggle world?" Harry asked, his voice still quiet which gave it a wistful quality.

"Not much different from the wizarding one to be completely honest. People may not have access to magic but there is electricity and science and the such to make things easier. Both world's have their positive parts and their negative parts and I personally think that they're each as good as the other, though I know plenty of people would disagree with me."

"Is that why you are always alone?"

Hermione immediately stopped talking then and a pink blush coloured her cheeks as she looked down at the edge of the table. "What do you mean?"

"Since we met, I have been noticing you and you are always alone, even at meal times." He paused then and tilted his head to the side in an attempt to catch a glimpse of her face but it was sufficiently curtained by her thick hair. "Do people disagree with you? Is that why you have no one close to you?"

"I..." She tried to say but stopped almost straight after, Harry watched curiously as the girl lifted her head and gave a forced little laugh, one which was supposed to disguise the sadness she now felt. "I don't think that's why I don't have any friends here. I've never been good at fitting in, even at my Primary school before I came here. I tend to focus more on my studies and such, I don't really have time for friends."

"That is a lie." His words sounded harsh, even to him, but they left him before he could properly think about it.

Hermione gave another light, forced chuckle. "Yes, I suppose it is, isn't it? You're very good at reading people, aren't you?" She lifted her head then and smiled. "I suppose I would like some friends, but it's our last year, I doubt it will happen now."

"I often say the same thing myself, but Sirius and Remus hold the opposite opinion." Harry revealed.

"They're your parents's friends right? The ones you live with." Hermione inquired with obvious interest.

"Yes, my godfather Sirius Black and his lover Remus Lupin."

"How is it?"

"Living with them is...Difficult." The dark haired teenager admitted. "Sirius chooses to ignore the obvious and so treats me as the carbon copy of my father he believes I should be. Remus does not seem to know how best to react to me and so he settles on tip-toeing around me, remaining kind but formally polite as though I would not and cannot understand anything different."

"That's terrible, Harry." Hermione sympathised.

"It is to be expected."

"Your friendship with Draco Malfoy seems to be strong and healthy though."

"Draco is..." Harry paused here, unsure of how, exactly, to express just what the blond Slytherin meant to him. "He is the only one who understands." Is what he settled on saying eventually.

"I'm sure it's a great comfort to you, to know you have at least one person who knows who you really are."

"It is." The dark haired boy paused once again and sent an almost shy look in Hermione's direction. "You are an extremely easy person to talk to Miss Granger."

"Oh please, no need to be so formal, feel free to call me Hermione." She invited him brightly.

Harry hesitated, he knew he did, but he couldn't help it. He was on first name basis with only three people, two of which only because they had looked about ready to burst into tears when he had addressed them by their last names one time. To call someone by their first name...It was a big deal, wasn't it? Draco didn't even call Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle by their first names and they were supposedly his best friends. But in spite of all that, Harry knew he wanted to call this girl by her first name, he wanted to treat her with familiarity, he wanted her as a friend. And so, he took a big step forward, another step towards "normality", as he spoke three simple words:

"Very well, Hermione."

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27th October 1997: Midday

Harry and Hermione made their way to the Great Hall in a companionable silence, neither feeling the need to speak. They were on their way to lunch having just spent an extra free period together as Draco had to use his to work on a Arithmancy project he was doing with a group of other students in his class. The blond had invited Harry along to sit with them but both teenagers knew that the presence of the Wizarding world's saviour would distract and unsettle the other group members so when the dark haired youth declined, no real fight was put up. So, instead of Harry and Draco going off together as they usually did on a Monday morning, Harry and Hermione met up in their usual haunt; the library. They had chatted, they had read and then when they had got hungry, they began their journey to the Great Hall together.

"What lesson do you have after lunch?" Hermione asked quite abruptly as they entered the Great Hall.

"Divination."

"Ah yes, that's right, I remember now. Oh well," she sighed as they came to a stop. "I'll see you tomorrow in Potions I suppose."

"Indeed." Harry murmured before giving a small nod. "Good day, Hermione."

Hermione nodded back but also beamed a smile to him. "Have a nice day, Harry."

And without further word, the two turned from each other and made their way towards their respective tables. Upon reaching the Slytherin table, Harry found that, as seemed to be the norm, Millicent Bulstrode was the only Seventh Year present at that moment. Only, instead of happily eating her lunch regardless of her lack of company, she was now staring at Harry openly, her expression one between shock and horror. Harry planned on ignoring her but unfortunately, that was not in her plan. The moment he was sitting down, she was immediately upon him with questions.

"Why were you talking to Granger?"

"She asked me a question, I was answering her."

"Why did she ask you a question?"

"Because she wished to know which lesson I have after lunch."

"Why is that any of her business?"

"I assume it is because she wondered when we would have the opportunity to spend time with each other again."

"Spend time with each other again!" Millicent echoed in aghast disbelief.

"Is that not what friends do? Spend time together?" Harry murmured, his eyes staying on his task of pouring himself some tea.

"You're friends with her?" The Slytherin girl gasped.

"Yes."

"Does Draco know you're friends with Granger?" Millicent asked, clearly still struggling to get her mind around the situation.

"If he does, he did not learn from me." Harry answered, not looking up at her as he reached to take a cuccumber sandwich from the plate in the middle of the table.

"He's not going to be happy." She warned him.

Those words finally made the dark haired saviour put his full attention on her. He paused what he was doing and looked at her carefully. "Why do you say that?"

"Because she's a..." Whatever the end of that sentence was going to be was never revealed as Millicent closed her mouth and looked off to the side awkwardly.

When it became clear the girl wasn't going to say anything more, Harry felt the need to prompt her: "Because she is a...?"

"Well...Uh, because..." Millicent struggled for several moments before inspiration seemed to strike her. "Because she's a Gryffindor! You know how Draco is about Gryffindors, he's not going to like the fact you've made friends with one."

Harry studied the girl in front of him very carefully for several seconds. She was lying, that much was painfully obvious to him, and he was no idiot. There was little doubt in his mind about what she had been about to say. Mud-blood. Bulstrode thought Draco would have a problem with Harry being friends with Hermione because she was a Muggle-born. Was that a truth? Surely Draco was better than that, right? He wouldn't discriminate against someone simply because they were Muggle-born. Yes, okay, Harry knew all about the blond's past and knew that, at one point, that was exactly what he had done but Draco had been a child then, a child who'd had Lucius Malfoy as a father and role-model. Draco was better now, he no longer believed such blind, bigoted prejudices...

...Right?

"I see you two have already started." The sneering voice of Pansy Parkinson broke into Harry's thoughts then and he lifted his gaze just enough to look at the rather unpleasant girl as she took her seat beside Millicent. "So what are we talking about?"

"Nothing." Harry answered her immediately, before Bulstrode could even think of saying anything. Both girls looked at him, slightly stunned that he had been the one to answer. He simply ignored them both, instead concentrating on his lunch.

Over the month and a half he had been at Hogwarts, Harry had come to the conclusion that whereas Bulstrode was rather harmless, Parkinson was a poisonous snake who hid in the undergrowth until some hapless, unsuspecting creature came along which she could sink her teeth into and shred of its life. Unfortunately, the blonde girl's next target seemed to be Draco. It was clear to the dark haired youth that Parkinson held a certain affection for the Malfoy and any chance she had to poison Draco against Harry would be seized and held on to at all costs. The saviour could only imagine how the girl would be able to twist his friendship with Hermione into something that would drive a wedge between him and the Malfoy and that was something he wanted to avoid, not because he thought it would drive Draco away completely, more because it would be an annoying inconvenience he could do without.

"I see Draco isn't here yet." Parkinson drawled lazily and Harry felt her turn her eyes onto him. "Where is he?"

"No doubt he is still working on his Arithmancy project with the other members of his group." Harry revealed in his usual monotone before he brought his tea cup up to his lips to sip at the liquid inside.

"Aww, did Potty have to spend his free period all alone? Did he get all lonely?" The blonde girl sneered.

Harry completely ignored her. He would not react to taunts or jeers and it was none of her business what he did with his free periods. So, he remained silent and that silence lasted all the way up until the end of the lunch break as Draco had failed to arrive to have anything to eat. Idly, as he pulled his bag onto his shoulder and stood from his seat without a word to either of the girls in front of him, Harry wondered if the slight heaviness he now felt in his chest was something to be concerned about.

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27th October 1997: Night

"You were awfully quiet during dinner."

Harry paused in his reading though he didn't look over to where he knew Draco was sitting on the edge of his bed. The dark haired youth said nothing; what could be said after all? Draco's statement had been completely accurate and there was no reason to either dispute it or confirm it as a fact. He had been quiet since his sort-of discussion with Bulstrode about the possibility of Draco reacting badly to his new friendship with Hermione Granger. Not that he was worried or anything of the sort, he simply wondered if, in the past, the Malfoy heir really would have minded, because there was no way the Draco Malfoy Harry knew could be that bigoted.

"I mean, I know you're always quiet but you were more so today than usual." Draco continued to speak as he shuffled further up the bed so he was closer to Harry. "Is there something on your mind?"

"No, nothing. Except..." Harry paused, wondering exactly how to phrase the confession. "I have...Made a friend." He settled on eventually, turning his gaze away from the book and onto his best friend.

"Really? Harry, that's great!" The blond congratulated enthusiastically. "Is it anyone I know?"

"I am not sure."

"Well come on then, don't keep me in suspense, who is it?"

"Hermione Granger."

There was a short pause then, perhaps as the news registered in Draco's mind. However, after only a second, the blond grinned slightly and gave a wise nod. "Ah, I see."

"You do not seem too surprised." Harry noted quietly.

"I'm not really, you've spent a lot of your free periods with her after all." Draco reasoned with a shrug as he moved to lay next to Harry on the bed.

"Millicent Bulstrode seemed to be of the opinion that you would take the news badly." The dark haired youth said, watching the other's movements very carefully and trying to read his expression.

"Oh yes, because Bulstrode is an expert on my opinions and such." Draco smirked before laying back lazily, resting against the head-board of the bed with the pillow cushioning him. "I don't mind in the least." He assured, bringing a hand forward to trace lazy circles on the top part of Harry's right arm.

Harry glanced at the blond before slowly turning away again. The words Draco spoke, they were words of acceptance, they were nonchalant. Yet, the dark haired youth couldn't shake the feeling that something was off and his friend wasn't as fine about the situation as he claimed to be and he hoped dearly that it was simply his imagination.