693Chapter 12: He's Only Eleven
Author's notes:
I made a couple of edits to the story, though nothing drastic. The biggest is I re-wrote the Prologue. I've been meaning to do this since I wrote the damn thing because I hated it. If you don't want to re-read it, nothing really important changes, it's just…written better.
Some minor changes were that, apparently, in Chapter 2 I spelled Narcissa's nickname as "Sissy". This was incorrect and it is "Cissy". Eventually, I will get this fixed, but apologies for the mistake. I have also clarified a part of Chapter 3 where I talked about Quidditch teams that apparently made it sound like Draco's favorite Qudditch team was the Chudley Cannons. Hopefully this is cleared up, if not let me know and I'll probably re-write that whole paragraph.
Despite the paranoia of Harry, Ron and Hermione, the Quidditch match with Snape as referee went off without a hitch. They attributed this to Dumbledore's presence protecting Harry from any hexes and not that Snape was never out to get Harry in the first place. Draco hoped that winning the match – spectacularly, as a matter of fact – would keep their minds off his mentor and off the Sorcerer's Stone altogether. He knew that, eventually, the Golden Trio would go off in a misguided attempt to save the stone, but he also knew it was later in the year and, frankly, he was tired of fighting about all of it.
Unfortunately, the argument only got worse.
Harry disappeared after the Quidditch match and, when they found him again, he told an insane story about Snape and Quirrell meeting in the Forbidden Forest to discuss the Sorcerer's Stone. Insane because Draco couldn't believe Snape, Quirrell or the Dark Lord hadn't noticed him hovering on his broom. Peace had clearly made the lot of them soft.
"So we were right, it is the Sorcerer's Stone, and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it. He asked if he knew how to get past Fluffy – and he said something about Quirrell's hocus pocus—I reckon there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to break through-"
"So you mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" Hermione interrupted, clearly alarmed.
"It'll be gone by next Tuesday," said Ron
"Do you believe me now?" Harry demanded, glaring at Draco.
Crossing his arms, Draco shook his head, "No. There's got to be another explanation. Like," Draco took a deep breath and dove in, "Like maybe it's Quirrell trying to get the Stone and Snape is trying to see how far he's come on his own so he can pass the information along. Dumbledore trusts Snape and-
"Dumbledore trusts Quirrell, too!" Harry interrupted. "Why can't you see how evil he is? What does he have to do to make you believe it? Actually killed me?"
"He's not going to kill you, Potter," Draco scoffed. "He had plenty of opportunities to create an accident, especially with how hopeless you are in potions and Neville existing."
Harry lost it.
"You should have been sorted into Slytherin," he shouted. "That's the same kind of mean thing Crabbe says to Neville and you're just as much a bully as he is! You just hide it better around people you think you like."
The truth of the words, from an eleven year old no less, struck at the core of what Draco was trying to change about himself. He should have walked away; he didn't. "You're right, I should have been sorted into Slytherin," he snapped, "Then I wouldn't have to deal with all these stupid heroics. You actually think Dumbledore can keep the Sorcerer's Stone safer than you can? He's the greatest wizard in the world and you can't even transfigure a sock."
"Just because I'm not some genius at magic like you doesn't mean I can't take care of myself."
"Like you did with the troll?" Draco retorted. "Sheer dumb luck. We're not because you got lucky. It won't last forever! We should all be dead because Weasley's brain to mouth filter broke down again and Granger couldn't keep her big mouth shut."
The instant the words left his mouth, Draco regretted them. Hermione gasped, eyes reflecting her hurt, and Ron looked like he wanted to pummel Draco himself.
"See?" Harry said quietly, green eyes unfriendly and distant. "Just a bully. Come on," he said to the other two as he turned away. "We'll deal with Snape ourselves."
Hermione turned away without a word, though Ron looked like he was going to say something. In the end, the redhead just shook his head and walked away with the others, leaving Draco alone.
Once again, Draco and Harry weren't talking. This time was worse, however, because Ron and Hermione wouldn't talk to him either. Draco spent his evenings in the common room alone, eating his meals alone, and alone. To his surprise, it wasn't as easy as it had been when he was sixteen. He had grown use to the company of the Golden Trio, their banter, and Hermione's insightful comments about their school work.
There was only one upside: Because of the fight, Draco wasn't around when Hagrid hatched his pet dragon, Norbert. He wasn't there when Harry and Hermione helped send the dangerous creature to Ron's brother Charlie as he was studying in the common room for Dumbledore's next lessen. The morning after, when the Gryffindors had lost a hundred and fifty points and were in dead last place for the House cup, no one was angry with him. They only hated Harry, Hermione, and Neville.
Despite hardly anyone to be friendly to him, Harry still didn't want Draco around. Thankfully Ron and Hermione had finally accepted his fourth apology and would talk to him when Harry wasn't about. Both, however, told him they weren't going to include him in any more conversations about the Sorcerer's Stone, or choose him over Harry. Mostly that was fine with Draco; he wanted the two to be where they were supposed to be over being with him anyways. It didn't mean he didn't miss them when they weren't around.
Eventually, the rest of the Gryffindors noticed he was on the outs with the Boy Who Lived, but at this point it only made him more popular with his new House. After dropping Gryffindor out of the running for the House Cup, Harry was the least popular person in the entire school. George, Fred and Lee Jordan even took it upon themselves to take Draco under their wing after a time. Since he was in none of their classes they could only hang out in the evening and at meals, but it was enough. Most importantly, it was a welcome distraction to Harry's continued anger.
While Draco had always liked the twins, it didn't take them long to get curious as to what he had done to piss off the Boy Who Lived.
"So what'd you do, anyways?" George asked one day during a game of exploding snap. Draco had finally learned how to tell them apart, so he was pretty sure it was George, anyways.
"What do you mean?" Draco asked, looking up from the game of exploding snap they were playing.
"To piss off Harry so badly," Fred clarified.
"Potter?" Draco replied, eyebrows raised. "I…" he paused before telling an outright lie, thinking maybe they could help. The first time around, he had learned the hard way that the twins were very insightful. It wouldn't hurt nearly as bad if they decided to hate him as well, so there wasn't much to loose.
"He thinks Snape tried to knock him off his broom at that one Quidditch match," Draco offered a half-truth. "Snape is a family friend. I've taken Summer lessons with him and I look up to him."
"So you're fighting over whether or not Snape is a jerk?" Lee Jordan interrupted.
"Yes and no, because he is a jerk," Draco laughed. "We're arguing about whether or not he's a murderer."
The other boys fell silent as they finished their game without any cards exploding. Draco was just starting to think there would be no advice forthcoming when George spoke up and Lee shuffled. Carefully.
"I get that Snape is a family friend, but I don't think that he needs anyone to stick up for him. Harry, while the Savior of the Wizarding world, does not exactly have any family."
Fred said, "And we're not saying Harry isn't a git-"
"Because he is," George supplied.
"- or that he should have loads of friends -"
"Because he shouldn't."
"- but he's a kid from a muggle family whose parents are dead and is picked on by the biggest gits in the school. Then he almost dies thinking one of those gits tried to kill him and his best friend doesn't pick his side."
"Probably piss us off, too, when we think about it."
"If someone tried to kill us, we mean," Fred clarified.
"Yeah, no one's tried to kill us so you can like Snape all you like," George said, dealing out another hand of snap.
The conversation replayed again and again in Draco's mind over the next few days. The realization that Snape probably didn't desire an eleven year old friend, or any friend at all, also wasn't helping his own case. If Severus wanted to be disliked, why should Draco defend him? Sure, the Professor had stopped bullying Harry the last few months, but he wasn't trying to get on his good side either. Not to mention that Severus didn't need Draco and he was fairly certain that Harry did. After all, he had died in Draco's arms and the former werewolf was the only person who could keep it from happening again.
It was after Harry had served his detention that Draco finally convinced himself he was in the wrong. Even if he wasn't going to ever agree that Snape tried to kill his friend - because he didn't - he wasn't going to try to convince Harry of that. He could hate the Potions Master as much as he wanted until he found out the hard way that he was wrong. Considering his issues with changing the timeline, it shocked Draco it had taken him this long to come to the decision. Then again, he had a soft spot for people who cared about him after his sixth year.
Maybe it was exam week looming or something else, but Harry didn't agree with Draco's ideas of reconciliation.
"Can we talk?" Draco ventured the last free evening they had before the start of exams. They were in the boy's dormitory, but with the other First Year boys studying in the common room with Hermione they had the room to themselves.
When Harry didn't answer, Draco took it as ascent and sat down on the other boy's bed. "I'm sorry, about Snape, and not taking you more seriously," he began, "I never should have taken his side."
"Except you disagree with me."
That Harry was talking to him at all lifted Draco's spirits. "That's all I was thinking about," he agreed, "that I disagreed, not that he had wronged you, because I know he has Harry, or that he doesn't need me to stick up for him and you shouldn't need to tell me to."
"No, I shouldn't, because that's what friends do."
"What if I'm not used to having friends?"
"You took his side again after I told you," Harry didn't finish his sentence, but Draco heard the unspoken it hurt my feelings anyways.
"What if Snape is my friend, too?"
"Then I refuse to be your friend."
"Harry, don't be like that. I promise, I won't take his side over yours again. You deserve my friendship, my loyalty, more than he does."
The book Harry was reading slammed shut and he got to his feet. "I will not be friends with anyone who thinks that...that Severus Snape," he said the name like a curse, "isn't the evil bastard that he is."
Harry stormed off and Draco, finally, realized he wasn't dealing with an adult. Fortunately, he could be stubborn when he wanted to be.