Black Truth [READ DESCRIPTION]

chapter thirty-eight

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Division

Hermione worriedly scanned the Great Hall one more time for the seemingly only missing students for breakfast that morning. Next to her Ron was not nearly as worried, chatting with Seamus and Dean about some Quidditch related topic.

"Harry and Malfoy still aren't here!" Hermione hissed in his ear.

"Relax Hermione," Ron grinned. "They're probably just sleeping in."

"But the articles!"

The grin dropped off Ron's face. "What? That's today!"

Hermione nodded.

The redhead groaned and turned back to his eggs as if to look for solace by doing so. "Well, at least they're putting out a united front then."

"What?"

"They're both skipping the publicity."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "That won't help them! It will just make it look worse!"

As owls began to swoop through the rafters of the hall Ron smiled wryly. "Well, there's nothing we can do about it now, Hermione."

Harry sighed and nestled his face deeper into his pillow. When that pillow moaned at the action Harry didn't think twice about it, already drifting back into dreams. But when Draco suddenly bolted upright, throwing Harry completely off of where he had been draped over his torso, Harry protested.

"Shut it Harry, we've missed breakfast!"

"Wha'r you talking…" Harry trailed off into a yawn. Maybe sleeping on the cold floor wouldn't be so bad…

"Get UP Harry!"

Harry was pulled off the floor and pushed towards his trunk with a shove.

"We have five minutes before classes start!"

"Classes?"

"Divination for you, Harry. You'll have to run."

Draco appeared next to Harry, fully dressed in his school uniform – how did he manage to do that so fast anyway! – and groaned at Harry's state of undress.

"You can't go to class in your nightshirt, Potter! Move it!"

It was perhaps the use of his last name that finally jolted Harry out of his sleepy stupor. "Fine, Draco, I'm going! Look, just go to class. Trelawney won't miss me if I'm not there for the first few minutes."

The blond hovered for a moment, as if making sure Harry did indeed begin to get ready for class, before leaving at a run.

Harry entered the incense-laden room as quietly as he could, but he'd forgotten that one of the floorboards near the door squeaked.

"Ah! Harry my dear!" Harry jumped as Trelawney seemed to materialize beside him. "It is so good to see you did not take the shortcut through the fourth floor corridor! Had you done so I foresaw that you would have met your utter demise." She fixed him with a dreamy smile that reminded him strangely of the look Luna normally wore. "Your inner eye must be expanding for you to have begun to realize the workings of fate so well!"

Harry nodded mutely, trying to ignore the sniggers coming from one corner of the room that were undeniably Ron's.

"Take your seat dear, your classmates will fill you in on what they are working on."

"Harry sit over here!"

Harry looked over to see Padma waving him over toward where she and almost the entirety of the female population of the Divination class were sitting. There was one empty chair. Harry looked over at Ron with a pleading gesture but his friend could only shrug sympathetically as Trelawney shooed him over to the girls.