𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑

Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Survival Instincts

Harry awoke the next morning to find Ron already gone. Seamus, Dean, and Neville nodded at him lethargically, all in various states of undress as they got ready for their day. He sat on his bed and wondered at how they could be so accepting of him after what happened the day before, but he decided that he didn't want to press the issue. So he merely nodded to them in return before getting up to go to the bathroom. Today, he knew he would have to come out of hiding and face the masses.

He was surprised to find Hermione waiting for them in the common room. Although, when she realized that Ron wasn't present she muttered exasperatedly about her boyfriend being impossible. As they all made their way down to the great hall, Seamus, Dean, and Neville flanked Harry like body guards. This both pleased and embarrassed him as the inevitable whispers and stares broke out in the crowds of students they wove through.

However, the attention only grew worse once he entered the Great Hall, students turning around in their seats and craning their heads to get a better look at him, and he was more than a little frustrated to see that Ron wasn't at the Gryffindor table either. He worked to keep any hurt or irritation from showing on his face as he sat down and picked up his fork, determined to eat quickly and get out of there with as much of his dignity intact as he could possibly maintain.

He was just on his second forkful of eggs when the doors opened again and the murmurs in the hall grew hushed. Harry whipped his head round and saw Draco making his way stoically to the Slytherin table. The boy completely ignored the cold sneers he was receiving from his housemates as he sat down at his usual seat between Pansy and Blaise. Pansy openly glared at Draco and scooted away, but Blaise seemed perfectly aloof to the tension, continuing to read his copy of the Daily Prophet and biting into a piece of toast. Harry stared at Draco, relief washing over him, but then he noticed most of the eyes in the Great Hall darting from Draco to him and he turned away, back to his plate.

He could feel Hermione, Seamus, Neville, and Dean watching him, but he didn't look up and stuffed eggs into his mouth. Despite the hollow feeling that watching Draco elicited in him, Harry felt good to know that Draco was safe, and dealing with his housemates as best he could. Draco was always good at hiding his inner turmoil when he wanted to, and this instance was no exception.

Suddenly, Hedwig landed on the table in front of Harry and he noticed more than a few letters attached to her leg. With a certain sense of dread, Harry fed her a bit of his toast and untied the letters from her talons.

Hermione sent him a concerned look, and with no amount of surprise, Harry noticed that the first letter was from Mrs. Weasley. He opened it carefully, deciding not to prolong the inevitable by reading it later that night.

He could just imagine how angry Mrs. Weasley was, and he was sure she had written a long letter just to tell him off. With this gloomy mindset, he unfolded the parchment and read, only to find, to his surprise that the tone of the letter was far from accusatory. In fact, it was more concerned for his well-being than anything. She did ask more than once throughout the body of it if the photograph was, in fact, real and if he was, in fact, snogging Draco Malfoy. Although, each time, she would take pains to reassure him that she wouldn't hold that against him, even though the nature of his relationship with Draco concerned her. She ended it by asking if he was planning to visit the Burrow for Christmas.

Feeling greatly relieved and touched, Harry, his hands shaking, unfolded the next letter from Remus. It carried much the same sentiments, and encouraged him to let Remus know if he needed any advice or someone to talk to.

The next letter was oddly from George and Fred Weasley, informing him of just how much of the profit from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Harry was entitled to for that quarter. Although there was a postscript at the end in which they fit in a number of light-hearted wise-cracks about his 'lurid, secret relationship' with that 'dastardly, no-good, son-of-a-death-eater Draco Malfoy'.