First year Quidditch and Halloween

Harriet Potter had just recovered from the adrenaline rush that had taken over her due to her having to risk her life in order to rescue Ron.

She was aware they weren't as close as they had been since they first met, but she didn't want to watch him get seriously hurt… or worse.

Ron did a one-eighty from a playful boy who had been very friendly towards her (someone he had just met), to become so rash and immature as soon as he met Draco.

Who has continuously proven to be a complete gentleman.

She would've understood if Draco became unfriendly towards Ron, but he kept his dignity and merely pointed out how foolish the unfounded accusations were.

Despite hearing so much from Ron of how the Malfoys hate muggles, Harriet had witnessed Draco going out of his way to befriend Hermione.

Even Draco's childhood friends had spoken about how he was against the prejudice that muggle-borns suffered.

The cherry on top was seeing how instinctively he joined her to rescue Ron from getting hurt.

He definitely didn't need to prove himself, but that made it even more meaningful to her.

As she waited for Draco to discuss some matters with Professor Snape, Harriet made up her mind about Draco.

He was her friend.

Probably the first she had made.

After Hagrid of course.

But still…

As the door of Snape's office was opened, she saw Draco leaving.

Come to think of it, Harriet couldn't deny how charming he was as he smiled at her.

"So… Harriet…" He said approaching her. "You've heard about Quidditch, right?"

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As Hogwarts' students walked past the corridors, rumors were rapidly spreading that Slytherin was going to have two first years joining their Quidditch team.

Harriet as the Seeker and Draco as one of the Chasers.

"We all should do a toast!" Proclaimed Pansy with a loud cheer alongside the other Slytherins.

To everyone it was clear that she was intentionally doing that to show off to the other houses.

Harriet wasn't saying anything, but seeing her face one could easily tell that she was happy.

The other houses gave a toast to them, the Gryffindors being the least enthusiastic amongst all.

As Ron walked in and sat down on a faraway bench, Draco could see him scowling.

Marcus Flint was still explaining everything that Harriet should know about Quidditch, and pointing to her some of their strategies.

But before they could speak any longer, Draco signaled for Crabbe and Goyle, and the two whistled loud enough to draw attention.

The cheering stopped momentarily as everyone looked at what was going on, seeing both boys crossing their arms in a gesture of authority.

Draco looked at his fellow Slytherins as he stood up. "I have a gift for the Slytherin's Quidditch team."

His announcement was aimed at his house table, but that didn't stop other houses from listening to what he had to say.

"As a sign of gratitude for my friend and I being accepted as the youngest players in more than a century, The Malfoy family is proud to provide everyone of the Slytherin Quidditch team with a Nimbus 2000."

Everyone was shocked.

Nimbus 2000 was a very expensive broom and to give it to all the people on the team, it was simply inconceivable to most students.

Students of other houses got nervous and envious since with better brooms there would be a better chance to win as well.

Everyone on the Slytherin Quidditch team was extremely happy, even those that weren't content with losing their places to two first years now forgot all about it and welcomed them.

"Spending so extravagantly, huh!" Theodore said smugly. "Now I feel bad for not going after that damn Weasley."

"Don't be my friend." Draco replied with the same joking tone. "We both know you would've ended up as another victim for me and Potter to rescue."

Theodore simply snorted and shrugged his shoulders as the nearby students laughed loudly.

There was only one gloomy person in the Slytherin table today and that person was none other than Ron Weasley.

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Everyone had a good time that night.

Almost all of the Slytherin students were in a great mood.

After saying goodbye to his seniors, he and his group started walking outside the great hall.

"Thank you, Draco." Harriet said again, still convinced that he was the one responsible for getting them both accepted into their house's Quidditch team.

Technically, she was half-right.

"I said it already…" Draco replied calmly before Harriet interrupted him.

"Don't say thank you." Harriet said, repeating the young Malfoy's previous words. "I know, but I still want to say it. Today feels like the best day of my life."

Before Draco had a chance to say anything in response, a voice suddenly came from behind them.

"Having fun are you?"

They turned back to look at the lonely Ron Weasley.

"Weasley, don't cross the line." Pansy said gnashing her teeth as both Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles.

All of them seemed to have already had enough of the red-headed prick, with even Harriet giving him an annoyed look.

"I don't know what you did to my broom, Malfoy." Ron said with an ugly face. "But I know that you manage to break the rules by paying your way to join the Quidditch team. You can pretend as much as you like, but I know your kind. You can't stay away from the spotlight for one second, can you?"

"Back off, Ron." Harriet said. "We don't want to have any problems!"

But obviously, Ron didn't take her warning seriously.

"Malfoy, I challenge you to a wizard's duel! Wands only! No contact! How about it?" Ron all but shouted.

Draco tilted his head in complete confusion.

"What happened? Afraid, are you?" Ron said. "You won't get me distracted like you did today."

Theodore, Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other and started laughing.

"Did you hear what he just said?" Theodore said, wiping his tears.

"Hahaha… I th-I think he said that he wants to… Haha… challenge Draco to a duel." Pansy said, holding her stomach.

Both Crabbe and Goyle were unable to hold their laughter as well. Their case being special since they had already experienced the dreadful experience that was dueling with Draco.

Even without considering magic, he packs a hell of a punch.

Ron, on the other hand, was trembling with anger. "See Harriet, they look down on people like us."

However, Draco wasn't laughing.

And neither was Harriet.

"Mr. Weasley, I wasn't expecting any sort of gratitude for helping with saving your life." Draco began. "But being accused without evidence and then threatened to accept a duel is certainly uncalled-for."

"Don't play games with me, Malfoy." Ron said. "Don't think that I don't know what you are! You may act tough and polite all the time, but when the time comes, I'm sure you will go running back to your parents after committing vile acts like your father."

"Enough!" Said Draco, rushing towards the redhead, choking him against the wall with ease. "I can tolerate you rudely insulting me, but I won't stand your filthy mouth slandering my family."

Harriet was shocked by the sudden development of things, despite having suspected that things could've escalated with Ron acting so stupidly, she had never seen Draco like that.

She didn't even blame Draco for the heated response, probably because she felt she would do the same if she was in his place.

All her life she had heard that her parents were scum, and she hadn't argued back since she knew no better.

But since she met Hagrid for the first time, Harriet understood the injustice that was being made by her uncle and aunt.

Ron was coughing hard, unable to free himself from Draco's hold around his throat.

He wasn't expecting to be attacked by the Malfoy.

Ron was sure that he would send his minions or simply threaten him.

The Weasley took his wand in a desperate effort to spook his aggressor to back off, but Draco had everything under his control.

"Expelliarmus." Draco said swiftly and had Ron's wand yanked from his hands while not taking his hands off him.

Weasley's wand landed far away.

He was about to give up fighting when he heard Draco sighing. "You are not even worthy of getting angry at." After finally being released by his attacker, he heard. "Accio." Draco returned his wand and turned away to leave. "Get out of my sight, Weasley. At least until you learn some manners or how to fight properly."

Then Draco's group quickly moved to Slytherin's common room, with Harriet not once looking back to check on Ron.

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At their house common room, Draco heard Daphne calling for him. "Draco, wait!"

Before Pansy had the chance to get annoyed, Harriet distracted her with something else and took her to the girls dormitory.

Even Theodore, after witnessing Draco's mood, was smart enough to leave alongside Vincent and Gregory.

"Hello there, Ms. Greengrass." Draco greeted her as she approached him.

"Why haven't you waited for me?" She asked, a little angry. "And please, I already told you to call me Daphne."

Draco smiled casually. "Sorry Daphne, we were just distracted with today's events."

"Ah, yes. Congratulations by the way." She said, noticeably more calm than before. Perhaps a little embarrassed too.

"Thanks." Draco replied shortly.

"Draco, are we friends?" Daphne finally asked, with a serious expression.

The young Malfoy nodded in agreement. "Of course we are."

"But you keep ignoring me." She remarked sadly. "Why? Is it because I don't talk to that mud… er… muggle-born nicely?"

Draco looked at her and sighed as he held her hands. "I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. You see… I don't appreciate rudeness… regardless to whom it is being aimed at. It speaks more badly of those being ill-mannered." Draco said, squeezing her hands a little. "I can see you getting annoyed whenever Ms. Granger shows up, so I believe you are the one distancing yourself from us."

Daphne held his hands tightly, since she couldn't continue to stare at his eyes, she looked away.

"I won't ask you to be friends with those you don't want to. But at least behave yourself with grace and decency around me, that's all I ask." Draco told her before motioning to leave. "Wish you a good night, Daphne."

The girl could only nod since she had so much to think about.

All her life she had been taught about blood purity and how she was better than mud-bloods.

But she had also grown learning of how to behave regardless of how she viewed her fellow pure bloods.

Dignity being just as important as purity.

Perhaps Draco had found the perfect balance.

Perhaps Hermione had indeed bewitched him with a love potion.

Or maybe there was something else.

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Next morning, during breakfast, Ron approached Harriet again (when Draco and his friends weren't around) and started telling her about a room in the restricted section of the third floor.

"So after that snake attacked me, I wandered around the castle until I heard Filch's voice approaching me, so I hid in the closest room I found. At first I suspected that Malfoy had snitched me out, but after I heard that squib and his cat moving on I assumed otherwise. I was about to sigh in relief before being surprised by a huge three headed dog. I-it tried to attack me, but this time I was ready, so I hit it with a big spell and-and… I decided to leave without hurting it any further."

Ron stuttered a little in the end, making Harriet suspicious but not enough to not believe him.

"So you're telling me that you had a better time fighting a huge dog than you did against Draco?"

"I-I… of course! That snake got me by surprise! I was challenging him for a fair duel without physical contact." Ron defended himself, not willing to admit that the Cerberus was sleeping when he found it.

"Sure, whatever you say." Replied Harriet, not sure if she should be even talking to him after last time.

"It's true Harriet! The dog was even guarding some sort of trap door!" Ron added.

That finally caught her attention.

"Protecting something in the castle?" She muttered more to herself in realization. "What could it be?"

"Don't know." Ron shrugged before getting startled by Draco sneaking up on them.

"Perhaps some creepy dark magic artifact." Draco remarked nonchalantly while ignoring Ron's presence.

"It seems to be the case." Harriet said, recalling Draco's first guess back at their first night at Hogwarts.

Meanwhile, Draco was struggling to not grin like a maniac. His house-elves had performed their task flawlessly. From faking Filch's sound to unlocking the door guarding the Cerberus and playing a song for it to be asleep before Ron arrived.

Despite his lack of booksmart, the little Weasley did have a keen sense for foul play. He might've guessed wrongly that Draco had caused it, but the young Malfoy's little agents were also involved with Ron's freak accident with his broomstick.

"So, are you busy?" Draco asked Harriet, still not bothering to look at Ron.

The young Potter understood the meaning behind his words and, before momentarily glimpsing at Ron, turned to Draco and replied. "Not at all."

"Har-Harriet!" Ron called her name, but noticing she was giving him the cold shoulder, he left. "Bloody hell!"

Briefly after Ron's departure, Draco shifted towards Harriet, this time displaying a more serious expression. "Was he bothering you?"

"Like I said…" Harriet began, adjusting her glasses. "...Not at all."

As soon as she replied, dozens of owls flew in carrying long parcels, all of them landing on the Slytherin's table.

The parcels landed next to each Slytherin team player. They opened the parcels to see brand new Nimbus 2000s.

Harriet, seeing that, quickly opened the parcel that landed in front of her as well.

She squeaked excitedly. "Thank you, Draco!"

Draco didn't say anything and just smiled, the other Slytherin members came and thanked him as well, to which he just responded with some nods.

—————————————————————

Days passed smoothly in Hogwarts, Draco had shared his time to still give the proper attention to his projects inside his suitcase, sharpened his skills with broom riding alongside Harriet and spent some time in the library with Hermione.

Draco had talked to his godmother about the permission slips for the library, which he got without much hassle.

Having basically read through all the books in the Malfoy manor library, Draco welcomed the out of ordinary collection of books that Hogwarts had.

Some new spells, history studies and even the opportunity to act as a charming guide for the ladies that frequently visited the library.

Though some of them Draco noticed weren't that much interested in studying like they pretended to.

It probably didn't help that Draco recalled great stories about fantasy from his past life, prompting him to consider writing a few books.

—————————————————————

Halloween morning they woke to the smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors.

Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects levitate, something they all had been dying to try.

Theodore rolled his eyes seeing people getting excited over such easy things.

"Seriously, most of them came from Wizarding families! To get thrilled about a simple levitation charm…" He muttered.

"Someone is in a bad mood." Pansy pointed humorously.

The short professor separated the class into pairs to practice.

Draco's partner was Theodore, Pansy's partner was Daphne, Gregory joined Vincent and Harriet partnered up with Tracey Davis.

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" Squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magical words properly is important too! Never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' while performing a spell and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."

Draco chuckled and casually flicked his wand. "Wingardium Leviosa."

The feather started floating around over the class before graciously landing on his desk.

"Masterfully done Mr. Malfoy!" Complimented the Professor.

Theodore succeeded in making the feather levitate, but not to the extent Draco had in either height or grace.

But to Theodore's surprise, he wasn't the only one who had succeeded in his first try.

Both Gregory and Vincent managed to produce acceptable results.

With Gregory surpassing his feather height and Vincent making its movements appear natural as if a strong wind had carried it away, although barely a few inches above his desk.

"Not bad." Theodore told them after turning his back to them, prompting Draco to grin.

The young Malfoy was somewhat pleased at how far he had managed to push both of his underlings.

Their first attempt success, however, wasn't shared by the rest of the class.

The Slytherin girls were still struggling to move their feathers by even an inch.

Actually, the fifth student to succeed was from Ravenclaw.

Hermione Granger, to be more precise.

Though Draco didn't have the opportunity to glance at her and express his support, he was busy enough having to aid his house classmates.

After potion class, Draco had amassed a considerable size of followers from his house that enjoyed more his teachings compared to their teachers.

He showed repertoire from studying with his father and grandfather while still making it easy for first years to comprehend.

Blaise Zabini and Millicent Bulstrode were finally making some effort to befriend him and his group.

During Herbology class, Draco finally noticed Hermione's absence. And by taking a sneak peek of his magical map, he found her at the girls bathroom.

After speaking with Padma Patil, the one Draco noticed had partnered up with Hermione, he confirmed his theory.

Despite them not being from the same house, and Draco's efforts to make her more sociable than her canonical counterpart, Ron had still managed to mess with her confidence.

Shooting death glares at the red headed fool during class, he made sure to make him aware that he wasn't pleased.

Crabbe and Goyle were instructed to make it crystal clear to him.

Kindness wasn't part of his order.

As soon as class was over, Draco left Theodore and the other students behind before quickly walking to the girls bathroom.

He didn't really care for the troll, his house-elves could easily deal with it before Quirrell even had the chance to reach the main hall screaming.

Draco's main concern was what Ron used to affect Hermione.

Granger was still bossy, but amongst other Ravenclaws, she wouldn't feel isolated nor ignored.

Actually, Hermione didn't try to teach Ron how to cast the levitation spell like in canon. This time, he was the one that was bossing around.

The young Malfoy turned the corner and found who exactly he was looking for, thanks to his magical map.

Parvati Patil, Padma's sister, was the closest girl he could find near the bathroom.

She liked him before, like many other girls in her dorm did. But after a while with him constantly impressing her sister during classes, her liking of him went up a notch or two.

Despite their houses' historical feud, she had no reason to not be friendly and respectful towards him.

"Hi Draco." She smiled at him before asking. "Can I help you?"

"Greetings Ms. Patil." Draco smiled back, oozing his usual charm. "Actually, there is. Professor Snape is calling for Hermione. Something about her absence during her class today. But she is in the bathroom."

The young Gryffindor cringed at the mention of missing class with a teacher like Snape. "Ah, I see. I'll see what I can do."

"Much appreciated." He replied.

Parvati went in, leaving Draco waiting in the corner of the corridor.

After a while, she came out of the bathroom and approached him.

"S-she isn't feeling well at the moment. So it might take a while for her to come out." Parvati revealed with an awkward expression.

"Understood, thanks for the help." He replied politely.

"Don't mention it." She winked at him before walking away. "See you around, Draco."

The young Malfoy nodded in response.

—————————————————————

Nearly 10 minutes later, Hermione finally came out.

Her face was wet, signaling that she had just washed it, and her eyes were slightly red and puffy.

She clearly wasn't expecting him, proven by how she almost did a one-eighty and returned to the bathroom.

"D-draco?!" Hermione said with a minor stutter. "What are you doing here? Did Professor Snape send you to complain about something else?"

The young Malfoy shook his head. "Actually, she asked me about your absence. She was worried that something might've happened to you since you didn't show up for her class."

"She did? She's usually so mean to me and—" She stopped herself from continuing talking, assuming that it wasn't wise to complain about the head of house Slytherin to Draco. "I-I wasn't feeling well, probably something I ate." Hermione quickly replied, looking around to see if he was with anyone else.

"You are lying Ms. Granger." Draco said with a serious expression, prompting her to get startled. "I won't bother you with subjects you don't feel comfortable talking about. I just came to check out on you and see if you needed my help."

Hermione was feeling happy that he was worried about her, but recalling why she cried she stared directly at his eyes for a brief moment before asking. "Draco, why are you so nice to me?"

Draco blinked once or twice, faking surprise, and answered. "Because you gave me no reason not to."

"I-I… but you are the heir of a pure-blood family. Why would you tarnish your reputation by associating with me?"

"Hermione, why are you asking these things to me?" Draco told her, with concern in his tone. "I associate with you because we are friends."

"But I'm a mud—" Hermione began, tears threatening to emerge again, but Draco stopped her by placing a finger over her lips.

"Don't you dare call yourself that!" He told her while staring her in the eyes. "There isn't a wizard or witch alive today that's not half-blood or less. Their only difference is how honest they are about it."

"B-but…" Hermione attempted to speak, but Draco's finger still blocked her lips.

"No buts Ms. Granger." Draco told her. "I've already told you about the historical feud between wizards and muggles. Both sides have plenty of bad examples, but I won't allow them to define the rest."

He removed his finger from her lips and wiped the tears from her eyes.

The young girl rushed to hug him.

"It's alright." He said, patting her back. As he placed both hands around her face, Draco asked. "Who's the one responsible for making you doubt yourself? It was that Weasley, wasn't it?"

Hermione shook her head. "No Draco, it wasn't his fault. He was trying to convince me that you weren't being genuine with me and that the other Slytherins were laughing about how foolish I was to believe we could be friends… I'm really sorry for doubting you, after how nice you've been to me."

"Don't mention it." Draco told her. "Come, let's go somewhere else."

"I'm sorry Draco, I don't feel ready to go to the hall."

"Who said anything about going to the hall?" He smiled.

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(10/06/2021)

*Hey there! Thanks for reading my work! I hope this chapter is of your liking. I tried develop the MC's relationships and take advantage of the Quidditch plot point.

Sorry if you expected more of it. 😅

Any ideas for powers, adventure arcs and girls are more than welcomed. I might not use anything, but you will have my gratitude for trying.

If this chapter is a mess of grammatical errors, please wait that I'll promptly try to fix it. But for that I need your feedback.

Thanks as always for your time, hope you have a fantastic day and please stay safe.

Bye.