His love for Potions I ✔

Chapter 21: Draco's hate for muggles

Harry's second attempt at luring Sirius Black into trying to murder him, sneaking out to Hogsmeade weekend, led to nothing except a lot more detail about the murderer who betrayed his parents. On the one hand, it was nice to be able to share it with Hermione and Ron, but on the other, he really didn't want to talk about it. He didn't know what he wanted to do about Sirius Black, and extra time to try to decide hadn't brought him anything but more nightmares. And Hermione and Ron meant well, but neither of them felt it the same way.

Even if he never talked to Professor Snape about it again, he wouldn't forget the feverish light in his eyes as explained about Sirius Black.

#

Going to visit Hagrid wasn't an attempt to lure Sirius Black out of hiding, but it did give Harry an idea how he wanted to use his blackmail with Draco.

Draco had other ideas.

"It isn't as if you have any proof, Potter," he said, sticking his nose in the air.

"Professor McGonnegall said at the beginning of term that there's a registry animagi have to be on," Harry said helpfully. "A public one. I bet it'd be pretty easy for me to get a copy. The ministry likes me this year."

"...it is your fault, you know," Draco said, after a sullen silence. "You and your talk about me being a dragon animagus."

Since Harry wanted Draco's help, he kept a straight face.

"Look, all you have to do is say Buckbeak's not that bad, it was a mistake, you were mucking about."

"Oh, yes, and how would that look to the panel."

"It'd be fine. My uncle lets my cousin Dudley get away with way worse than insulting a hippogriff, I'm sure your father would understand."

"You did not just compare my father to your horrible muggle uncle."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it."

His uncle Vernon didn't try to murder children, for one thing. Harry tried to make his face look diplomatic.

"My father," Draco plowed on, "Loves me. Everything he does is to better our family and preserve our greatness. What does your uncle do for you? I know he doesn't want you, any idiot could see that." Draco perked up and asked with cheerful curiosity, "Does he hit you?"

Harry stared at him.

"He does, doesn't he. You really should give over about muggles, they're really awful. I've only met a few, of course, but father's told me all about them and I've read the histories."

"Not every muggle is like my uncle," Harry said, fighting the urge to rush to Uncle Vernon's defense. 'He's never managed to hit me because I dodge' was not a ringing endorsement of mugglekind, really.

"Well, it's the ones that are like your uncle that I want to keep an eye on."

"You mean murder."

"That's a compromise, isn't it? Just dealing with the bad ones."

Harry kept his eyes on Draco as he fumbled in his bag, pulled out his headache potion, and downed a whole jar of it.

It didn't really help. Draco Malfoy being the person to notice there was something really wrong with the Dursleys was going to stick in Harry's mind for a long time. Which, actually-

Draco watched him curiously, giving the impression of a cat at rest at a mousehole.

"It's not as if you even like fighting," Harry said, because he was trying to visualize Draco Malfoy murdering people (and not think about the Dursleys).

"Did you just call me a coward, Potter?"

Diplomacy, blast it.

"That's not what I meant and you know it. Just - wouldn't you rather arrange for two of your enemies to stab each other in an alley somewhere, while you were having a nice cup of tea across town?"

"I suppose it would cut down on bloodstains," Draco said more cheerfully.

"They're hell to get out of robes," Harry agreed, relieved. The trick to having a civil conversation with Draco Malfoy, he thought, was to assume Draco had only a passing relationship with the reality everyone else lived in. The reality Draco lived in meant people relaxed while talking about blood and were offended if someone suggested they weren't a natural born murderer.

Why he wanted to have a civil conversation with Draco was still a good question, but Harry thought it had something to do with the way Draco was continually, endlessly unimpressed by him. It was a nice change from Colin and even Ron, who tended to accept Harry's place as the Boy Who Lived as Harry's due. At least, it was a nice change in small doses. Harry wouldn't actually want to talk to Malfoy for more than a couple minutes every few months. He might accidentally suggest Draco wouldn't murder a toddler with his own two hands or something horrible like that.

"I'll think about my testimony at the beast's trial," Draco said. "Don't get your hopes up."

Harry nodded, and escaped the conversation before Draco could realize that more than anything in the world, Harry didn't want Draco thinking too long about Harry's muggle relatives.