Chapter Thirty Six - Founders

Chapter Thirty Six – Founders

 

            Hermione picked up the coin from the floor and looked after Draco in dismay.  She wondered what had brought on that outburst.  Draco had been acting so strangely, lately.  She sighed and traced the coin with her fingers as she pondered his words.  Was she really trying to turn Draco into ‘a pale shadow of Harry Potter?’  She scowled.  Why did he have to be so damned complicated?  He was completely infuriating and prickly as a hedgehog today.  Even in the hospital wing he’d been avoiding her, until she’d apparently annoyed him by calling him Malfoy.

            I don’t belong in there.

            His words touched a nerve.  Would Draco always feel like an outcast?  She heard footsteps approach and then Harry stood beside her.

            “Is Malfoy okay?” he asked.

            She looked at him seriously and shook her head.  “I don’t think so.  He stormed off to the Slytherin common room.”

            “Are you going to go talk to him?”

            “He doesn’t seem to want me around.  I wish he would tell me what is really bothering him.”

            “Susan Bones just accused him of being a Death Eater and murdering Dumbledore,” Harry commented.  She considered that for a moment and then rejected it as the cause of Draco’s distress.

            “He hears that all the time.  Moody still wants to turn him into a Christmas pudding.  He’s never been bothered by insults, before.  Except yours.”

            “No, I think he actually likes my insults.  They give him a good excuse to retaliate.”

            Hermione sighed.  “I think the strain is getting to him.  He’s out of his element.  We all have each other and he feels that he has no one.  He’s used to being perceived as an insufferable bully and now that we see him as a fellow human being, he’s not sure how to react.”

            “So he lashes out in typical Malfoy fashion.”

            “Yes.  I think he desperately wants to let down his guard, but he’s terrified of being hurt.”

            Harry looked at her in amazement.  “How do girls even think of things like that?  I thought he was just pissed because he can’t snarl vile insults and make himself feel superior.”

            “That is so typically male,” Hermione said and rolled her eyes.  “Besides, he doesn’t really have to restrain himself if he wants to insult someone.  There is always Ron.”

            “Yeah, there is always Ron,” Harry repeated, but something in his tone made her look at him sharply.

            “What?”

            Harry shrugged and said, “Nothing,” but his green eyes slid away from hers.  She put her hands on her hips.

            “Harry James Potter, if you know something about all of this, you’d better spill it right now.”

            He looked decidedly guilty.

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Chapter Thirty Six - Founders

Chapter Thirty Six – Founders

 

            Hermione picked up the coin from the floor and looked after Draco in dismay.  She wondered what had brought on that outburst.  Draco had been acting so strangely, lately.  She sighed and traced the coin with her fingers as she pondered his words.  Was she really trying to turn Draco into ‘a pale shadow of Harry Potter?’  She scowled.  Why did he have to be so damned complicated?  He was completely infuriating and prickly as a hedgehog today.  Even in the hospital wing he’d been avoiding her, until she’d apparently annoyed him by calling him Malfoy.

            I don’t belong in there.

            His words touched a nerve.  Would Draco always feel like an outcast?  She heard footsteps approach and then Harry stood beside her.

            “Is Malfoy okay?” he asked.

            She looked at him seriously and shook her head.  “I don’t think so.  He stormed off to the Slytherin common room.”

            “Are you going to go talk to him?”

            “He doesn’t seem to want me around.  I wish he would tell me what is really bothering him.”

            “Susan Bones just accused him of being a Death Eater and murdering Dumbledore,” Harry commented.  She considered that for a moment and then rejected it as the cause of Draco’s distress.

            “He hears that all the time.  Moody still wants to turn him into a Christmas pudding.  He’s never been bothered by insults, before.  Except yours.”

            “No, I think he actually likes my insults.  They give him a good excuse to retaliate.”

            Hermione sighed.  “I think the strain is getting to him.  He’s out of his element.  We all have each other and he feels that he has no one.  He’s used to being perceived as an insufferable bully and now that we see him as a fellow human being, he’s not sure how to react.”

            “So he lashes out in typical Malfoy fashion.”

            “Yes.  I think he desperately wants to let down his guard, but he’s terrified of being hurt.”

            Harry looked at her in amazement.  “How do girls even think of things like that?  I thought he was just pissed because he can’t snarl vile insults and make himself feel superior.”

            “That is so typically male,” Hermione said and rolled her eyes.  “Besides, he doesn’t really have to restrain himself if he wants to insult someone.  There is always Ron.”

            “Yeah, there is always Ron,” Harry repeated, but something in his tone made her look at him sharply.

            “What?”

            Harry shrugged and said, “Nothing,” but his green eyes slid away from hers.  She put her hands on her hips.

            “Harry James Potter, if you know something about all of this, you’d better spill it right now.”

            He looked decidedly guilty.

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