you raise me up || harry potter

chapter 22

»»————-　song:　————-««

as i lay me down

★ by sophie b. hawkins ★

❝  in the courtyard,
 birds were singing your praise

i'm still recalling things you said
to make me feel alright

i carried them with me today.❞

♢ ♢ ♢

When Harry finally returned to the Slytherin dorms, he was surprised to have the wind knocked out of him as someone barreled into him.

"Oof," he grunted. A second later, he realized it was a hug.

"Draco?"

Draco stepped back. "You're okay, aren't you?" he said anxiously.

"Yeah, I am," Harry said awkwardly. They hadn't properly talked to each other in weeks.

Draco wrung his hands. He wasn't normally this flustered or emotional. "So... you killed the basilisk?"

"Yeah. Reckon that must have been a right disappointment for you." Harry turned away to adjust something in his trunk, unable to meet Draco's eyes. "What with the Muggleborns not dying anymore."

"Harry—"

"My mum was a Muggleborn, Draco," Harry said, slamming the lid of his trunk shut. "You wanted her to die, too? Well, she is dead, so hooray for you. Who's next? Me? You want me dead, Draco?"

"No!" Draco cried, looking anguished. "No—"

"Then what was with all the "I wish I could help the Heir of Slytherin" and the "Purifying Hogwarts" rubbish you spewed all over the place this year?"

"I... I didn't mean it!"

"Right," Harry said. "I believe you."

"No, really," Draco insisted. "Do you have any idea what my father would do if he found out I wasn't saying all those things? I'm a pureblood, Harry! There are certain things I have to say, things I have to do. I know you don't understand pureblood politics but—"

"Don't try to act superior to me just because I'm not a rich bigoted prick."

"I tried to warn you," Draco interrupted. "I tried. I slipped a page about basilisks into Granger's bag months ago, hoping she would get the hint, but you two never even seemed to notice."

Harry froze. The piece of paper that had been in Hermione's hand—he had thought it was strange that she would rip out a page from a library book, considering how much she valued them. "That was you?"

"My father was the one who slipped the diary into Weasley's textbook. He was going on and on about it to my mother," Draco said dejectedly. "I certainly didn't like the idea of a great big snake slithering about the place, and I know Granger is your friend—" he scrunched his nose a little at that, "—so I tried. I tried to get my house elf to warn you, too, but you didn't seem to care at all. You weren't supposed to know it was me. But I didn't know it would almost get you killed!"

Harry was speechless for a few moments. He hadn't known Draco would go to such lengths to protect him, although in the end they were all counterproductive. A wave of gratitude washed over him.