Diamonds

6. No Shame

"I can't believe you actually managed to fall off the broom, Neville. Seriously. Weren't you holding on at all? She even showed you how to hold it properly."

"Really? Draco, she never showed me. She spent a while showing you, though. And after you were saying how often-"

"Shut up." Draco's cheeks turned pink while Hermione laughed, raising a spoonful of the soup they had brought up from the Great Hall for Neville to her own lips.

"Well, I have to thank you both for getting me out of that."

Draco smirked, unable to resist the temptation of the moment provided. "Oh? Is the great Hermione Granger relieved to have missed a chance to learn something?"

"It's not that! It's just that I would-I'm of the opinion that human beings should keep both feet firmly on the ground. It would be-it just makes more sense. If human beings were meant to fly, evolution would have provided us with wings."

"Evo-what?" Both Neville and Draco looked at her in confusion.

"It's a muggle theory-"

"That says humans today are designed by nature to survive."

"That's ridiculous."

"I didn't say that. Don't look at me like I did, Draco- though that is what it is, more or less."

"You didn't?"

"I'd think the male voice would be a dead giveaway, Malfoy."

At this, the three of them looked towards the door of the hospital wing. Harry Potter stood there, pushing his glasses back up his nose. For the first time since they had started at Hogwarts, he was alone. "You lose the Weasel somewhere, Potter?"

"Shut it. No. He's down at dinner. I wanted to check on Neville."

"We didn't ask why you're here, Harry," Hermione pointed out. She stood up, intending to leave Neville and Harry alone. When Draco didn't move, she paused. "Draco?"

"I refuse to leave because Potter's in the room. He doesn't really need that much space; he can put up with my presence for a few minutes." He had developed a habit of leaving the room whenever his father came in while the two of them were staying at the Manor, in an attempt to avoid a strong feeling he was too young to understand. Potter wasn't his father; he would not treat the so-called 'Boy Who Lived' the same way Lucius Malfoy demanded to be treated.

Hermione was quietly impressed with Draco's choice of words. Neville flinched. Harry, on the other hand, stared at him for a long moment before he shrugged. "Whatever you say, Malfoy. I'm just checking on Neville. You okay, mate?"

Neville blinked blankly at him until Hermione nudged him. At that point, he nodded, cleared his throat, and nodded again. "I'm fine, Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute. She told me to stay here and rest, though, and Hermione and Draco came to visit."

"Did they really?"

""Neville is my friend, Harry," Hermione snapped. "Besides, we brought food. See?" She raised the bowl of soup.

"Neville's your friend," he echoed, seeming reluctant. "Really?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Calm down, Draco. He just means that I'm unlikable and have no friends because of it. I've heard Ron Weasley say it more than once- he's not as quiet as he seems to believe he is. Honestly, half the time he seems to be yelling. I'd say it's a wonder nobody has jinxed him, but we haven't learned enough for that to be a real possibility. Not yet, at least."