"What are you waving at Evans for with that goofy grin on your face?" asked Pansy now that she had her boyfriend's, or at least she thought he was her boyfriend, attention. Pansy knew that, compared to Evans, she wasn't as shapely, nor was she as smart if the last few weeks of classes were anything to go by. About the only thing she had going for her was that, unlike the assumed half-blood or mudblood status of Evans, she, Pansy Parkinson, was a pureblood witch.
"Just trying to be nice," said Draco, the redness of the blush fading quickly from his cheeks. "And why'd you have to punch me? I thought that we were above such muggle-worthy antics as physical violence?"
"So now that Evans has caught your eye, I'm suddenly 'muggle-worthy'?" asked Pansy.
Draco cringed, and quickly backpedaled (though he didn't know enough about muggle culture to know the reference to bicycles), "Of course not. I'm just trying to make Rose feel welcome at Hogwarts outside of her House," he said, beginning to weave a web of lies, half-truths, and facts to distract his ex-girlfriend.
"And why would you want to do that?" asked Pansy. "She's a Gryffindork, and if she's not a mudblood, she's at least a half-blood, as no self-respecting pureblood would emigrate to the opposite side of the planet, let alone come back and admit it."
"It's just, well, a bit of perspective," said Draco. "I mean, Potter's gone now, and that's a good thing, but five years ago, we'd just met on the Express, and had I not insulted Wealsey, he'd likely as not had been friendly with me, allowing me to position myself next to one of the, if not the, most powerful wizards of our generation. I could have allowed him to see how important it was for scions of Ancient Houses, like we both are, to be friendly with each other, so that when we come into our inheritance we can properly guide our world. Instead, he was pulled closer into the blood-traitor camp, and his best friend's either an idiotic blood-traitor who gives the mudblood claims of inbreeding a perfect example, or a headstrong mudblood who, for all her intelligence, can't be bothered to ask the important questions about the world she'd suddenly found herself forced into."
"Wait, when did this become about Potter, Weasley, and Granger?" asked Pansy.
"Come now, even you've noticed that Rose is easily one of the strongest witches in our year, and is almost as skilled as Potter was in Defense. She's better than Potter ever was at potions, excepting his lucky first few weeks before his absence a week ago. She's strong willed, she's already gathered the sixth year Lions around her better than Potter ever did, and is even pulling some of the fifth years, both in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, to her circle," explained Draco. "She might be just an immigrant from the opposite side of the world, but in the week she's been here she's already amassed as much influence as I have in five years."
"So it's a power play?" asked Pansy.
"It's said that the truest Slytherins aren't sorted there, instead convincing the Hat to place them where nobody would suspect, such as Gryffindor," said Draco. "So, yes, it's a power play. If I can become friends with Rose, then I'll be connected with all four houses, giving me he opportunity to be seen as a leader by all of Hogwarts, not just Slytherin, and turning my reputation from being a foil for Potter to being a power to be reckoned with."
"Ambitious," said Pansy with a nod. She then added, "Though, perhaps she's trying the same with you, as you'll allow her to gain access to our House, and establish herself as the Queen of Hogwarts less than a month after arriving."
"It's a risk," admitted Draco, "but even then I'd be the power behind the throne."
"And what about the Dark Lord?" asked Pansy.
Draco paused, briefly forgetting his web of lies for the cold hard truths of his life. His father was currently forfeit, as was his mother, all dependent of securing the death of the Headmaster. Should he fail it wouldn't matter how powerful he'd become at Hogwarts, for the Dark Lord would surely end the Malfoy line with three swift curses. Or rather, three swift curses after untold hours, days, weeks, or even years of constant torture.
"Draco?" asked Pansy.
"I've not forgotten about the Dark Lord," said Draco flatly, the emotion he'd had when speaking of the possibilities of power lost. Before Pansy could ask more, Professor Snape opened the door to the Defense classroom and the assembled sixth year Lions and Snakes filed in.
After class was up, and the Lions and Snakes began to file towards the door, Draco caught Rose's eye, and with a nod towards the front of the classroom, implored her to delay. With a quiet word to Pansy, within moments Rose and Draco were left alone, even Snape having left out of the door at the front into his office.
"You wanted to talk?" asked Rose, walking over to Draco.
"My question from Monday, to get you settled here at Hogwarts, it's still open," said Draco.
"Well, I'm pretty much settled in," said Rose.
"Oh," sighed Draco.
"Though, I'd be willing to try friendship," offered Rose. "That is, if you're okay with me being friends with Potter's old group. They sort of latched onto me as soon as I showed up, seems that without their Boy-Who-Lived around, they needed someone else to lead them," said Rose, telling a bit of a lie that she figured would cover for how she'd lazily kept her pre-Rose friends.
"I'd suspected as much, not a lot of natural leaders in the house of the Lions, and as much as they like to brag, especially Weasley, it's the female lions who hold the true power in the pride," admitted Draco. "And yes, I'd be willing to be friends. And as long as your pride doesn't mind the viper in their midst, I promise not to bite any of them."
"Animal allusions aside," said Rose, "how would we do this? I mean, it's not like we can meet in either of our common rooms to talk over essays."
"The Library?" offered Draco.
"Tonight, after supper?" asked Rose.
Draco thought for a moment, thinking of the project he'd begun inside of the Room of Requirement. He had planned on working on it, but he guessed that a few hours work wouldn't be missed in the long run, since he'd surely have it done quickly, with loads of time before the Dark Lord's plan required it.
"Unless you have something more important than the friendship that you offered?" asked Rose.
"No, no, tonight is fine, I'm working on a long term project, and just trying to figure out if I can spare a few hours away. I can, since I've got more time to complete it than I need," said Draco. "I'll meet you in the Library, don't forget to bring your books."
"Of course," said Rose with a smile.
"Where were you last night after supper?" asked Ron over breakfast and around a forkful of eggs.
"I was studying," said Rose, telling a half truth.
"Studying where? I mean, we were in the Common Room until just before curfew," said Ron, gesturing to Hermione, Neville, and his sister. "And who were you studying with?"
"In the Library," said Rose. "And if you really want to know, I was studying with Draco."
"Draco!" shouted Ron. "Why'd you study with him?" He then leaned close and spoke softly, though being Ron, it wasn't exactly a whisper, though luckily everyone within earshot knew Rose's secret, "I mean, he did curse you."
"Ron, until Madam Promfrey and Professor Snape figure out how to reverse the curse, I'm stuck as a witch," said Rose. "And on Saturday, during tryouts, I realized that I'm still acting too much like I did as Harry. I mean, I showed up, seemingly out of nowhere, and suddenly I'm best friends with all of Harry's friends."
"Rose, you are Harry," said Ron.
"I know that Ron, but unless I want everyone else to know, and unless I want Voldemort to know, I have to differentiate myself as Rose from who I was as Harry," explained Rose.
"Was?" asked Ron.
"Was, am, will be, the words matter not," sniped Rose. "If I don't do things differently, I can't keep this weakness a secret. And what's more different from what I did as Harry than befriending Draco?"
"I guess," said Ron hesitantly.
"Plus, I think Draco might be up to something for Voldemort, so the more I distract him, the less he can do for Riddle and the more we slow old Snake Face's plans," said Rose.
With that, Ron's argument lost its weight, and the Griffindors resumed their Saturday breakfast, Rose remembering that it'd been just over a week since she'd awoken as a witch.
While Rose spent the weekend with her oldest Gryffindor friends, as well as her new ones in Parvati and Lavender, mostly watching the Lions practice Quidditch or lounging in the common room, come morning she continued her quest for Draco's friendship. The two met again in the Library, and since they'd just had the one days worth of work to complete, they spent the rest of their time before curfew talking and getting to know each other.
"How are you enjoying you second week at Hogwarts?" asked Draco.
Rose chuckled, "Well, it's been just a day of my second week, but I think I'm doing fine."
"You're doing quite well in Defense and Potions," pointed out Draco. "I mean, you're practically top of our class in Professor Snape's course, and Professor Slughorn has already invited you to his Slug Club," said Draco, nodding to the purple envelope that Rose had received from the portly potions professor on their way to the Library. "I mean, I've been here nearly a month longer than you have, and I've not been invited."
"I'm not sure if I'll go," said Rose. "I mean, what's the point? As soon as I'm done here at Hogwarts I'm just going to go back to Auckland."
"Auckland?" asked Draco.
"It's New Zealand's largest city, a bit larger than Birmingham, but smaller than London, of course," said Rose, thanking Hermione's Encylopædia Britannica for that useful tidbit, which she'd collected along with other trivia over the last week to flesh out the history of her assumed identity.
"Ah, sorry, not a big call for foreign geography among purebloods," admitted Draco.
"Not a problem, if Britain wasn't the home of the old Empire, I'd doubt most of his Kiwis would know much more than a general outline," said Rose, another lie to explain her knowledge of Britain she gained in Primary School. "And that's just from the muggle side of things."
"So you were raised muggle?" asked Draco.
"Mum was a muggleborn," said Rose, revealing more of her assumed history. "She's British, even went to Hogwarts, that's why she had me come here for my NEWTs."
"Is that why Professor Snape is so protective of you?" asked Draco. "Because he knew your mother when she went here?"
Rose paused, Draco's question falling so far beyond the prepared false history that she didn't know what to say, "Professor Snape?"
"Yeah, I mean, the day you showed up he pulled me aside, and told me to treat you well, like you were his niece. You're not his niece are you?" he frantically asked.
Rose chuckled, "No, we're not related." She then thought for a moment, ad-libbing a bit of shared history between Rose Evans and Harry Potter, "Though, he did know my mum, was friends with her here at Hogwarts at least, though they had a falling out when it become too difficult for him to be friends with a muggleborn, or as he called her, a mudblood. She really didn't have anything to do with him after that, though I suspect that he still feels something for her, even now, and since I look so much like her, he's likely seeing me as a chance to do better. He probably sees a bit of himself in you, as he see my mum in me, and said that so you'd not make the same mistake he made."
Draco didn't know what to day after that, and neither did Rose, so the two fell into silence for a bit.
"So, potions," said Draco, finally remembering what had brought on their digression. "I mean, you're scary good, and I've noticed, you're not exactly following the standard recipe, though you're still getting to the same end product, though a little quicker and seemingly a bit easier."
"I'd love to take credit for it," said Rose. She then leaned over and pulled out the worn version of Advanced Potion-Making, to show to Draco. "But this here is the real secret to my success."
"Really?" asked Draco, surprised at the honesty shown by Rose, having built up a duplicitous image of her in his mind that she was slowly eroding away with her frankness.
"Well, not quite all of it," said Rose with a blush. "You see, I lost most of my luggage when I got here, including my mother's copy of Advanced Potion-Making from when she attended. Instead I received this one from Professor Slughorn before I started." She opened the dog-eared textbook and showed Draco the handwritten marginalia, "These notes, they present a side of potioneering that I'd not had back in New Zealand, and from what Ron tells me, is better than what Professor Snape did when he taught, though perhaps it was Professor Snape's difficulty with Harry Potter and Gryffindor that colored Ron's impressing of his teaching. I mean, he's been great in Defense."
"He was a bit critical with the Gryffindors before you showed up," admitted Draco. "But you say this is why you're doing so well?"
"Exactly, I mean, the notes in here are better than what Professor Slughorn provides, whomever had this last, he was brilliant at potions, and even more, he was brilliant at spellcraft too."
"Spellcraft?" asked Draco.
Rose quickly flipped through the book, revealing one of her favorite spells, "Here, take this for instance, Muffliato, it prevents eavesdropping by filling the ears of those nearby with an odd buzzing noise, allowing conversations in private." She showed the handwritten notes to Draco. "And that's just one of the many useful charms, and hexes, in here. Along with the potions notes, and this is likely the best bit of charity I've ever received."
Draco took the textbook, comparing it in his mind to the one he had purchased during the summer. It was an older edition, the second to his own fourth, and had obviously been well-used during it's time with it's first owner, a so-called 'Half-Blood Prince'. After giving it back to Rose, Draco commented, "I'm surprised you haven't shared this with Weasley and Granger."
"Well, Ron likes it, but since we can't work together, and Ron's not good on taking notes, he's not getting much out of it besides the useful charms," said Rose.
"And Granger?" asked Draco.
Rose sighed, "She doesn't like it, thinks it's cheating."
"You were given the book, weren't you, didn't steal it?"
"Of course not," said Rose defensively. "And that's my entire point. It's a resource, and yes, it would probably be better if I tested the potions first before using them in class, just in case they're no good, but since the first one I used, and the potions I did for Professor Slughorn to make up for the weeks I missed at the start of term, they've each worked perfectly."
"Well, if you want, we can try some of them out beforehand. I mean, sure, we'll have to use one of the potions labs, but I'm sure I can convince Professor Snape, and I'm sure Professor Slughorn would love to allow you to use one," said Draco. He saw this as a chance to both ingratiate himself with Rose, as well as provide himself with Rose's seemingly lucky find without difficulty. "Plus, it'll allow you to prove to Granger, or rather, Hermione, that the potions are safe, and then you'll have less difficulty with her about the book."
Rose nodded, "Sounds good." She then placed the textbook back in her bag, a nice leather satchel Professor McGonagall had suggested she use rather than the rather ratty and patched together one she'd used as Harry. As she did so, she caught sight of the clock, and noticed how late it was getting. "Oh dear, it's almost curfew. I'm not sure we'll make it back in time."
"Relax Rose, I'm a Prefect, I'll just escort you to Gryffindor Tower, and then make my way back to Slytherin," said Draco.
Rose smiled, "Thanks Draco, you're a lifesaver."
The two friends then made their way to the portrait of the Fat Lady outside the Gryffindor common room.
"I guess this is goodnight," said Rose, not knowing what to say with Draco there.
Draco too didn't know what to day, "That it is." He then paused, and with a rush of impulse, reached out and gave Rose a hug, before stepping back, wishing her a hurried, "Goodnight", and dashing away back to the dungeons.
Rose stood there for a few minutes before the Fat Lady cleared her throat, "You coming through dear?"