Drarry || One Shots

Patronuses And Presumptions

   Summary
*When Harry finds out Draco can't produce a patronus, he takes it upon himself to help him, but his efforts are in vain. Draco does not want to hear a word on the topic, and it's from a very different reason than what everyone seems to think.*

Harry tried not to pay attention to it, he really did, but it was related to Draco Malfoy and when exactly was he able to ignore anything about the git? The fact that they were now sort of friends didn't change anything.

He easily noticed how he only ate certain kinds of food, not the most sophisticated ones, despite what people would have expected from him, but a select few nonetheless. He knew Draco could only ever drink coffee in the morning and maybe eat a slice of toast, how rainy days always put him in a sour mood, how he couldn't stand heat for the life of him but loved the sun, how he couldn't hear absolutely anything going on around him when brewing a potion and things as such. Now, people would say he should feel at least a little bit embarrassed for how obsessive he was, but he could not find it in himself to do so.

Especially when he caught a fragment of conversation between the blond and Pansy about patronuses. The girl insisted that it was nothing wrong with not being able to cast one and even went as far as to propose asking Harry for help. He had gotten so many fifth years to do it, surely working with Draco would be a piece of cake. Malfoy, in return, had gotten extremely defensive and spurred insults Harry was sure he never heard in his life again.

From that point on, he couldn't help but notice how Draco almost unnoticeably tensed when anyone cast a patronus in his vicinity or even when the subject was being discussed. So now Harry found he wanted to help Draco, who would have thought, am I right?, or at least let him know it really wasn't that big a deal. The Patronus charm was a highly complex one that required much more than just raw skill.

"Harry!" Hermione snapped him out of his thoughts, much like she needed to do very often lately. "Were you even listening? I need your help on this matter, as well."

Harry made a physically painful effort not to roll his eyes as his bushy haired friend resumed her ramble about S.P.E.W, her little organisation occupying almost as much of her time as homework now that the war was over and she didn't need to worry about staying alive every second of the day.

Harry and Ron actually thought she would wind down on it after what they've all been through, but she vehemently repeated that house elf neglecting was just as bad as pure-blood supremacy and it would lead to another war. Harry highly doubted it. Sure, the house elves would be better off without humans, but they are born into servitude and nothing people do or say can strip them of their stone set ideals. Winky was living proof of that. Surely, such creatures wouldn't start a war over the beings they believe they were born to serve.

"That doesn't mean we have to put them to such labour", Hermione would always reply when Harry brought the idea up.

And that's how all discussions on the matter ended, only for them to continue the next day.

"I swear to Merlin, mate, I love her, but right now I'd be much happier with spurting slugs out of my mouth than to listen to this again", muttered Ron in his ear, and Harry couldn't help the snicker that left his throat.

"Laugh all you want", Hermione, who apparently had three sets of ears, said. "But don't come telling me when one day the dinner plates won't refill by themselves."

Harry and Ron just let out deep sighs as the three of them entered the Great Hall for lunch.

×××

Harry and Ron, thank Godric, had a free period next, so they headed for the common room after lunch, but not before Harry threw a glance at the Slytherin table only to be disappointed that Draco still hadn't come. He was a bit worried, since the blond seemed to have developed the habit of skipping meals sometimes.