"You're kidding," Harry gasped, torn between outrage and laughter.
"Am I?" Draco lifted a hand and casually studied his fingernails.
"Snape will just do it for me later, you know."
"Yes, I know," Draco stressed. "Severus knows what I think of snakes, but he will no doubt, once again, put your interests above mine. Why not? You're the hero who will save us all! You could take this as a chance to admit you're not so effing perfect despite all that, you know. But no, you'll just lord it over me instead, and wait for Severus--"
"Draco, I apologize for my rude behavior earlier," Harry sighed.
"I apologize too," Draco said, stunning him. He drew his wand and softly whispered the spell, then backed away when Sals began to stir.
"Hi there," Harry murmured down into his palm, his finger stroking along Sals' head and back. "Remember me? I missed you a lot."
Dudley's jaw dropped. "Wh- what is he doing?"
"Oh, that's parseltongue," Draco remarked, shuddering. "Snake-language. Harry there can talk to snakes. Disgusting, isn't it?"
"It's.... awful," Dudley moaned. "Oh, I feel sick, it sounds so... it's like a great long ugly hiss..."
Sals lifted her head and swayed it from side to side, finding her bearings. Delighted, Harry bent further over his palm and dropped a little kiss on her head.
"Oh, my God!" Dudley exclaimed, just as Draco groaned, "Dear Merlin."
Harry grinned, and looked up from Sals, his gaze studying the way both Draco and Dudley were keeping to the far side of the room. "Looks like you two have something in common," he said, and laughed.
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Coming Soon in A Year Like None Other:
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Three Wizards and a Muggle
Comments very welcome,
Aspen in the Sunlight
Chapter 37: Three Wizards and a Muggle
http://archive.skyehawke.com/story.php?no=5036&chapter=37
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A Year Like None Other
by Aspen in the Sunlight
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Chapter Thirty-Seven: Three Wizards and a Muggle
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Harry was sitting with Sals curled around his neck as he watched Draco showing Dudley magic tricks. Dudley was nothing short of fascinated, his fear of magic continuing to diminish, but then again, Draco wasn't demonstrating anything terribly threatening. It had started off with floating feathers, and rapidly proceeded to Draco making some Bertie's Every Flavor Beans waltz across the tabletop. Now he was seeing how many pairs he could make spin at once.
He'd even seen fit to warn Dudley that every flavor meant exactly that, and not to be surprised if the dark brown one ended up tasting like dirt--or worse--instead of chocolate.
Dudley had just shaken his head and said was off sweets, anyway.
"So what about you, Harry?" Dudley asked when Draco finally let the beans fall. Harry noticed a greenish one that was sort of panting from exertion. He almost laughed.
"Me?"
"Yeah. What tricks can you do?"
"Magic isn't about silly tricks, Dudley," Harry sighed. "Remember the Dementors? For me, it's about survival."
"What he means to say," Draco lightly sneered, tossing jelly beans into his mouth in between words, "is that he's chicken. He can do all the silly tricks he likes, but they might mean someone expects him to do something real. And it's so much easier just to hide in here and let Severus protect him--"
"You stop talking about Harry that way!" Dudley shouted, lurching to his feet. "He's not chicken, he's not! Don't you know it takes a whole lot more guts sometimes to do nothing? Harry could have hexed me a whole bunch of times, and I'd've deserved it, too, but he was brave enough to restrain himself so he wouldn't get expelled from school! And then to protect me from those demon things, he did do some hex or something, and he almost did get expelled! And that was brave, it was!"
"I didn't think you knew about me getting in big trouble for that," Harry murmured, a little shocked by the impassioned defense.
"Mrs. Figg told me. When I said you must not l- l- love me after all, 'cause you didn't show after Dad died, and never even called me, but she said you almost got kicked out of school for me! And I know how year after year school is all you had to look forward to," Dudley cried, wiping his eyes. After a moment of blubbering, he rounded on Draco again, actually stepping forward and jabbing a pudgy finger into the Slytherin boy's chest. "So don't you dare call Harry a coward! Don't you dare, ever! He's not! He's just not!"
Horrified, Harry surged to his feet, yanked Dudley away from Draco, and planted himself between them. "Don't curse him!" he yelled.
Draco could say more with an eyebrow, Harry thought, than most people could say with an entire face. "Curse your cousin?" he scoffed. "When he's the only way of warding this place properly? You're either really stupid to assume I'd do a thing like that, or you truly do think I'm evil. In which case, I'd like to point out, you have to believe Severus is stupid for trusting me. And if you think Severus is stupid, then you definitely are."
"Don't you call Harry stupid!" Dudley shouted out, just as Harry was furiously erupting, "What are you angling for, Draco? It's like you're trying to provoke Dudley!"
"I'm trying to provoke you, you twit!" Draco grated, shoving Harry away with one hand. "Why do you think Severus insults his students? He's giving them a chance to prove him wrong!"
Harry stumbled, then righted himself and glared. "So you thought if you called me a coward, and in front of Dudley, too, I'd suddenly realize I could do magic after all?"
"I thought it was worth a try," Draco sneered. "Well, at least we know why the headmaster sorted your cousin into Hufflepuff. Loyalty personified. But if he hadn't jumped to your defense, you just might be hexing me by now!"
"And you were just going to stand there and let yourself get hexed!"
"Yes, I was!" Draco shouted, planting his feet more firmly.
"Really?" Harry blinked. It felt like the world had just flipped upside-down. Black is white, war is peace, enemies are friends...
"I think I can stand a little jelly-legs if it would help you get your confidence back," Draco stated, sounding completely sincere. "And anyway, I doubt you'd let me suffer for long, what with your cousin watching. But Harry..." He gave a deep sigh. "You didn't even think of magic. You jumped up and put yourself between us. A Muggle response."
"Well, you shoved me," Harry retorted. "What sort of response is that?"
"A restrained one," Draco pointed out. "I won't hex you even when I'm irritated as hell. But you, not even realizing magic is an option... it's very worrisome. Your instinct should be to go straight for your wand."
"It all happened so fast--"
"What about your snake then?" Draco inquired, his gaze going to Harry's neck where Sals still sat wrapped. He shook his head. "You needed an enervation spell, were obviously desperate for one. Did you even think once of trying one, yourself?"