Harry Potter The Long Lost Malfoy

Harry rubbed his forehead as they sat down in the train compartment. Draco immediately leaned forwards and stared at him expectantly. "Headache?" he asked softly. "Or vision?" He aimed a Locking Spell at the compartment door.

Harry sighed and leaned back. He'd wanted to tell Draco to leave exceptions for Ron and Hermione in that spell, but he wasn't sure whether Hermione would even want to sit with them. "Vision last night. Headache today."

"Why didn't you take the Headache Cure at breakfast?"

"Mother wouldn't let me have it. I thought I was going to be sick to my stomach, and you can't take the potion—"

"Without something lining your stomach, yes, of course I know that, Henry."

Harry had to smile. Draco's pompousness was endearing by now. He watched from half-closed eyes as Draco dug a Chocolate Frog out of his pocket and a pair of capped potions vials out of the other.

"Father thought you might be able to eat by the time you actually got on the train," Draco murmured, and held out the vials. "Anti-Nausea Potion in the first one, Headache Cure in the second. Come on, eat, then drink."

Harry gave him a more grateful smile and ate the Chocolate Frog slowly. Then he knocked back the Anti-Nausea Potion and reached for the Headache Cure just as the compartment door shuddered under someone's knock. Draco sighed and released the Locking Charm.

"Wotcher, Harry!"

Harry swallowed the Headache Cure, but his stomach was fluttering for a reason that had nothing to do with the headache that was already beginning to recede or the lack of food from earlier. "Hey, Tonks!"

"Are you still going to be at the school, then?" Draco asked, moving to the side to make room for their cousin.

Tonks plopped down in between them, beaming indiscriminately at them both and changing the color of her hair to an eye-watering green with purple flecks. "Yeah. Dumbledore made some noises at me, but I think that Auror training isn't for me anymore. Curse-Breaking is much more my thing, and I think—"

"Harry!"

Draco muttered something that had the word "Henry" in it, but Harry was rising to his feet, too glad to see both Ron and Hermione standing in the door of the compartment to care about his brother's conniption. "Hey, you lot!"

"Hey, mate." Ron came up and clapped Harry on the shoulder. He was obviously trying to indicate with his eyebrows and flickering glance that Hermione was still angry. Harry nodded. He'd expected that, when he'd sent her a letter the last week of the summer holiday and she hadn't responded.

"Hermione," Harry said.

"Granger," Draco said, coiled tight on his seat in a way that would only be obvious to someone who knew him as well as Harry did.

"Malfoy," Hermione said, but even though her voice was as cool as if she was talking to Draco, her eyes lingered on Harry. "I'm surprised that your protective parents let you come back to Hogwarts at all."

"We discussed me staying away," Harry said, and watched Hermione's eyes widen a little. He wondered if she hadn't thought they would, or if she was just surprised Harry was admitting it to her. "But I really wanted to go back to Hogwarts." He smiled tentatively at her.

"And your parents don't mind you associating with Mudbloods and blood traitors?"

"I don't think those things—"

"But you're perfectly happy with people that do!"

Hermione's magic was making her hair spark and lifting it off her shoulders. Harry caught a glimpse of Draco opening his mouth from the corner of his eye, and fired off a sharp volley of sparks from his wand. Draco shut his mouth, and Harry turned back and faced Hermione, but not before he got a glimpse of Tonks's wide eyes.

"Father thought those things," he agreed. He was never going to pretend to believe the lie of Lucius being under the Imperius, not in front of his friends. "But he's changed his tune now. He's giving money to Minister Fudge to support Muggleborn education programs and extending appropriate invitations to them."

"I suppose that wouldn't include Professor McGonagall, who came and introduced me?"

"Yes, but she barely has the time, what with being Deputy Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor House and our Transfiguration professor, too. Surely it would help if there were more people who could introduce Muggleborns who had birthdays in the middle of the term instead of just all of them waiting for the summer?"

Hermione hesitated. Then she said, "It doesn't count if he's doing it just for you, instead of for the principle of the thing."

....

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