He's Just a Phase, Right? (A Draco Malfoy Story)

He's Just a Phase, Right? [Innocent]

When the Sorting Hat put the last first year in his house, the empty plates lining the tables magically filled with delicious food. You piled some salad on your plate and took a small bite. Ron looked at you from across the table like you were crazy.

"What?" you asked after swallowing.

"You have all this amazing food sitting in front of you and you go for the salad?!" he asked, picking up two drumsticks and taking a big bite out of one.

"Well, unlike you, Ronald, I am not a pig. Plus, I have to work to keep this amazing figure," you said, taking another bite. He rolled his eyes and went back to his food. You looked around the Great Hall and spotted Draco looking bored while Pansy went on and on to him about God knows what. His eyes met yours and he gave you a quick wink. You couldn’t help but smile inside. When you turned your attention back toward the Gryffindor table, you found Harry staring at you.

"It's not polite to stare," you said, pushing your plate back and resting your head in your hands.

"Can I talk to you?" Harry said, getting up and motioning for the door.

"Er... sure." Harry took your arm and pulled you out. You felt all the eyes in the Great Hall watching the two of you.

"What was that?!" he asked, rather loudly, as soon as the door to the Great Hall closed.

"What was what?" you turned away from him and began walking to the staircase.

"Malfoy! He winked at you! I saw!" Harry said, coming up next to you and grabbing your arm, forcing you to stop.

"What if he did? Why do you care?" you asked, curious to his anger.

"Because he's MALFOY! We hate him, remember?" he said, looking you straight in the eyes. You looked down at your feet, like a child being scolded.

"Please tell me he didn't give you that!" he asked pointing at your neck. You knew that Harry was thinking about Draco's reputation for getting girls. You didn't know why, but in the past 4 years you never lied to him once. Which is why it killed you when the next sentence came out of your mouth.

"Of course not!" you said, rather convincingly. You had the whole summer to practice the art of lying with your dad. Harry seemed to believe you.

"Look, he saw me on the train and he made a move on me. I rejected him but I'm sure he's gonna keep trying," you said smoothly. Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Why would he ask out a Gryffindor?" he asked.

"Well, why do you think?" you asked, gesturing toward your body. His anger dissipated at the joke and two of you spent the rest of the walk up to the Gryffindor common room discussing Harry’s summer. Upon arriving at the portrait of the fat lady, you realized you didn't have the password.

"Crap! Now we have to wait," you said, sitting down and leaning your back against the wall. Harry did the same.

"So, what about your summer. Something interesting must've happened?" he asked. You knew this would come after side-stepping all the questions he asked you on the way up here.

"Like I've told you before, absolutely nothing happened. I spent some time catching up with the family but that's it," you said.

"Fine. If you don't want to tell me, I guess I'll just have to force it out of you," he said.

"Oh, really? And how do you plan on doing that?" you asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Torture." he said simply. And without hesitation he pounced on you. Harry being one of your closest friends, you talked to him about almost everything (until recently). You accidentally let slip that you were ticklish a few years ago. He tickled you without mercy.

"Harry.... STOP!" you shouted in between laughter. He wasn't showing any signs of stopping, but you were not going to give in. You laughed harder than ever and your stomach began to hurt.

"Harry.... stomach... please!" you said, not as loud this time due to the fact that you were running out of breath.

"Not until you talk!" Harry laughed.

"Never!" you yelled. You squirmed to get away. He straddled you, pinning you down. "Harry!" you got out through your gasps for air. It wasn’t until you both heard a quiet and uncomfortable ‘Ahem!’ from behind you that Harry ceased his attack. You both looked up to find the entire Gryffindor house staring at you. Harry got off you quickly and you sat up.

"Er... we were just waiting for the password and..." he said, pulling you up. You smoothed out your skirt and nodded.

"Right." said the Head Boy. He said the password and you and Harry entered the common room. The two of you managed to hold a straight face all the way to the fireplace, but as soon as you sat on the couch you both burst out into embarrassed laughter. Hermione and Ron came up next to you, eyebrows raised.

"Hrm?" you asked. They rolled their eyes and sat in the two armchairs next to the couch.

"What happened to you guys?" Ron asked.

"We just needed to talk is all," Harry said. Then he stretched and gave a fake yawn.

"I'm kinda tired. I'm just gonna... go," he said, and with that he headed up the stairs to the boys dormatories. You snorted and got up.

"Me too," you said. You looked back to see Hermione and Ron looking rather confused. You went up to your room and found your trunk at the bed next to the window. You took in the view of the grounds, and the moon, glowing a bright orange in the dark sky. Lifting the old wooden latch, you pushed the glass outward, allowing the cool night air to drift into the dormitory. Returning to your trunk, you lifted your clothes and school things to reveal your hidden stash. Bottles of pills and metal tins littered the bottom of your trunk. You opened one of the small tins, pulled out a joint, then covered it all again. You walked over to the window and opened it, then sat on the sill and took out your wand, placing the joint in between your lips.

"Lacarnum Inflamarae," you whispered. A bluebell flame shot from your wand tip into your open palm. You juggled it between your hands for a moment, delighted by the tingling sensation of it against your skin. You held it steady in front of your face until the end of your joint lit up, then snuffed it out with a wave of your wand and returned your attention to the view of the trees of the forest. You had only managed a few puffs before you heard footsteps. You dropped the joint and stepped on it, inwardly peeved at what a waste it was as Hermione walked in.

"Hey," you said innocently.

"So, that thing with you and Harry?" Hermione asked, taking her pajamas out of her trunk.

"One hundred percent innocent. Honest," you said, liking how you didn't have to lie this time. She smiled and walked to the bathroom door.

"You should go to sleep. We have classes tomorrow!" Hermione called from the bathroom, a little too happy for your liking. You grabbed the joint from the floor and threw it into your trunk, then changed quickly into a pair of shorts and a tank top for bed.

"Goodnight!” She said, bouncing happily onto her bed and pulling her covers over her. With a wave of her wand, the lights in the room went out.

“Goodnight,” you said. You lay staring up at the ceiling. The other girls in the dormitory shuffled around as they filtered in to go to bed. After about an hour, you sighed. You had tried several times recently to get to sleep without using your sleeping pills, but to no avail. Your mind kept you up, and often drifted toward the more unpleasant memories of the summer. The one time you had been able to go to sleep without pills, you had horrible nightmares. At least with the pills, you knew you wouldn’t dream. You checked to your right. Hermione let out slow, steady breaths, her eyes flickering slightly in her sleep. You crept out of bed silently, reaching into your trunk for your pills. You tipped two into your hand and dry swallowed them, not having any water nearby. Climbing back into bed, you faced away from Hermione, looking instead toward the window. You imagined your mom up there somewhere.

“I miss you, mom,” you whispered quietly, a tear escaping your eye and sliding down your cheek.