A/N: Hey readers! PLease don't hate me! *hides behind tree* my Harry and Draco muses needed a break. I know lame excuse. But I can promise my next update will be sooner than this! Happy August everyone- I hope you had a wonderful July 31st celebrating Neville, Harry, and J.K Rowling's Birthdays! xD Which brings me to my disclaimer. . .

DISCLAIMER: All canon characters and the Harry Potter-verse belong to J K Rowling, and all "Malfoy Ambition" related things belong to Goddess Blue, as well as all "Unorthodox Matchmakers" related things belong to Phoenix Soar. Everything else belongs to me; it's really a very simple concept to grasp. (;

WARNINGS: Female Harry, Draco/Harry pairing, spoilers from possibly all the Harry Potter books, slight OOCness, cliches, and a bit of coarse language that will appear here and there.

FIGHTING SHACKLES
CHAPTER FIVE: FALLING FOR HIM?

Blaise Zabini was one of the few people that Draco actually considered a friend. He was a new found friend, but that did not make a difference. He was a true friend, with opinions and morals who could keep an intelligent conversation. Not much could be said for Crabbe and Goyle, his two former friends. Crabbe had died in the fiendfyre that he had created himself; and though Draco had not cared for either of his "bodyguards" much, his death had affected him. Although, not as much as it affected Goyle who had been much closer to Crabbe. Eventually, Draco and Goyle had drifted apart. Draco had been all alone, without so much as a bodyguard or a mere acquaintance, other than Pansy . . . until he found the Zabinis.

Of course he had always known the Zabinis. They had been in the same Hogwarts house and they talked time from time, but he was never before considered a friend. In the war they had stood natural, blending into the shadows waiting for the outcome; careful not to upset the light or dark so they could claim loyalty to the victorious side. When the Light had won the war, they had duly pledged their allegiance to that side, thus anchoring their safety. This showed cleverness and cunning skill, traits for a Slytherin and a strong ally.

Once the Malfoys had changed allegiances, the Zabini had come to stand by them, recognizing them to be useful. An acquaintanceship had been formed between the two wizarding families that had slowly morphed into something deeper which turned into a friendship. Draco had learned to trust Blaise like no one else he had met. Soon, Blaise had turned from a mere fellow-Slytherin-with-whom-I-share-my-dormitory with to a true friend.

They understood each other.

This was the reason to why Draco was currently telling Blaise everything concerning his engagement in great detail and also trying to explain why he was so eager to find his fiancée as they trudged through the corridors of the train which had stopped at Hogsmeade Station.

"It's strange; at first, the very thought of marrying so young was so . . . revolting. But after some time I've become rather taken up with the idea. It wouldn't be so bad, and it is not like we have to marry each other right away. We can get to know each other, after all that is what the rings about."

"I figured that much, Draco. But what I cannot understand is how one can one change their mind so suddenly?"

Draco flushed a light pink, feeling a little embarrassed, but he answered nevertheless. Dropping his voice so that the students around them, most of who had taken up making doe-eyes at him, would not over hear his next words."

"Ever since I began to see that the Dark Lord was out of his right mind and my ideas about blood and power began to change, it's like as if all the other ideas and views I've had of this world changed too. Money, power, status, blood and everything else, they did not seem so important. And the surprising thing is that I think my parents' views of them have also changed just like mine. I know it sounds cheesy, but it is true."

Blaise raised his eyebrows at him in question as they squeezed past a group of nervous 'new' first years as they continued to make their way towards the crowded doorway.

"That still does not answer my question."

"How do I explain it? I suppose that you could say that before my change of heart, if I had to find a girl, I would want no one less than drop dead gorgeous, with a lot of money and status, a Slytherin and also who is pure-blooded. But after my views turned the exact opposite, I've always wondered what it would be like to be with someone who I actually care about, who would truly love me, with whom I could be happy as opposed to being with a beautiful, wealthy girl only to boost my status. Someone who I would truly like to spend the rest of my life with. Someone who chose me, and I chose out of love."

"And I'm guessing that is exactly what you wished upon the ring for, right? To find such a girl, did you?" Blaise grinned rather mischievously.

"Yes," muttered Draco, his pale cheeks going pink once again, "I did. And now that the ring has found her, I really want to know who she is; I want to find the girl who is exactly the sort of person that I really want . . . and claim her as my own."

Draco realized with a start that he had once again made quite a sappy speech; his brain seriously needed some bleach if he were to stop spouting such rubbish! He quickly glanced at Blaise and was not surprised to see the smirk that was curling his lips. Draco scowled out of embarrassment.

"Don't you dare think about mocking me, Zabini; else I'll personally make sure that you regret it."

Blaise chuckled warmly as they finally reached the doorway that opened to a dark, chilly night. "Alright; it's just that I did not expect you to be such a romantic under that cool Malfoy exterior."

Draco glared at him before turning his back and descending from the Hogwarts Express. "I will have you know, Blaise, that I am most certainly not a rom –"

"Draco, watch out!"

Startled, the young Slytherin turned to ask what Blaise was shouting about. But he could not even get a single word out before he heard a series of loud crashes. A pained yell and a warning shout called to him, and then something crashed right on top of him. His instincts kicked in at once and Draco took a step back with his right leg to keep his balance. His arms automatically went around what had fallen on him – or rather, who.

His eyes, which had closed preparing for impact, shot open and Draco felt his next breath catch in his throat. His own eyes were staring straight into a pair of captivating, sparkling emerald green ones.

"Unreal, isn't it," muttered Ron as they made their way through all the students to get off the train, "to return to Hogwarts?"

"What'd you mean, Ron?" asked Ginny, throwing her brother a confused look.

"I dunno . . . it's just- I mean we're back, but it doesn't feel like coming back to Hogwarts; I can't explain it."

Harry personally did not need Ron to explain what he meant; she knew. Before, coming to Hogwarts had always been pleasant and filled with happy memories . . . and now, everything had changed. There was no Dumbledore, so many former students had been killed in the war including a few under-aged ones, and the place would be filled with the memories of that bittersweet night when they had fought Voldemort from dusk till dawn. So many things had happened . . . Ron was right; it felt strange, perturbing even.

No one else said anything to Ron's words (except for Luna who hummed a song Harry remember from when the Weird Sisters had sang at the Yule Ball under her breath) when they got the gist of what he was saying; there really was nothing that one could say to that.

In an obvious effort to change the topic, Neville piped up.

"Wonder if McGonagall is going to continue teaching Transfiguration now that she's been made headmistress? Or do you think that they've found a new teacher for that?"

"I don't know," Hermione answering thoughtfully. "I haven't really heard of anyone doing that."

Silence fell upon them again, but it was comfortably so. Soon, they were within sight of the door that was, as always, crowded with students. Harry led the way, 'politely' pushing her way through everyone, eager to leave the suffocative atmosphere of the mobbed train. She was almost at the door when she heard Ron and Neville both shout out at her in alarmed, warning tones.

More than a little surprised, she turned her head back to see what was happening while her body reacted instinctively and moved to get out of the way of anything that could harm her but – too late. On first turning her head, Harry had already seen the girl slip and fall forward, the heavy stack of books she was carrying falling to the ground with many a crash, and her arms flailing wildly to regain her balance. She now saw the girl crash against another girl who happened to be right behind Harry, making her fall forwards too –

Next thing Harry knew, something slammed heavily against her back making her cry out with pain and she experienced a sensation of flying as the impact sent her hurtling forward out of the train. Harry squeezed her eyes shut, expecting to feel the hard roughness of the ground against her front at any moment, but that moment never came. Instead, she felt something warm and lean cushion her fall; there was a winded grunt and she felt arms going around her and she realized with heightened embarrassment that she had fallen not on the ground, but onto someone.

She opened her eyes, ready to apologies, but saw that the other person had his eyes closed and she worried at once that her fall had injured the person. Harry leaned her head back slightly so as to properly see the blurred features of the one who had broken her fall, but it was completely unnecessary. Next moment, the eyes had opened and Harry found herself gazing with shock into liquid mercury orbs that she could recognize anywhere.

Oh no, not him! Anyone, anyone but him.

Time seemed to come to a standstill and everything else blurred and paled into an insignificance background as Harry and Malfoy stared at each other, both of them speechless. She could feel shivers running down her back when the realization of how close they were came to her as Malfoy's warm breath blew over her flushed face.

They were mere centimeters apart from one another.

Harry also grew vaguely aware that her arms had become looped about his neck, probably when she had fallen on him, and her cheeks grew redder. Malfoy was still holding her up and she was pressed flush against him; Harry could easily feel the heat radiating off him through the fabric of their robes.

Growing very self-conscious of herself, and of how much she was blushing, Harry tried to look away from him but it was impossible; her eyes were drawn to his, like the pull of a magnet. She had always known they had been a gleaming greyish in color, much like Sirius' eyes (no wonders, there; they were from the same family), but Harry had never really bothered to look; which was probably why she had never noticed the soft shades of silver in the irises and the light, granite grey that outlined them. She had heard girls giggling and gossiping about Malfoy's dreamy eyes but Harry had always walked away with a scoff and an eye-roll. Harry gazed deeply into his eyes which seemed almost immeasurable, marveling at the beauty she had never bothered to notice before. They were almost like sparkling diamonds . . . Just like the hidden diamond that rested on her finger right now.

The diamond . . .

. . . diamond engagement ring . . .

. . . She was engaged to Draco Malfoy . . .

. . . Draco Malfoy . . .

His Fiancé.

And she abruptly came to her senses and full realization of the kind of position she was in. The impact hit her like a clichéd ton of bricks – not to mention what the scene would look like to watchful eyes around them. Speaking of which . . .

Someone had just called out a wolf-whistled and a few giggles were heard, and all the background scenes and noises that had seemingly disappeared from around them both were brought into focus. A quick glance showed that many students had stopped to watch them, eager to see what would happen next; it was not every day that one got to see two top rivals, who hated each other with a passion, fall into a very suggestive – not to mention ever so romantic – position. Harry cursed inwardly for her never relenting bad luck.

Her eyes returned to Malfoy who, too, had noticed the small crowd gathered around them. He gave her an unreadable look and Harry almost expected him to drop her; but, to her immense surprise, he set her down rather gently. She quickly dropped her arms from his neck and he removed his from her waist. A sudden blast of cold air enveloped her as he stepped back, taking the warmth of his body away from her. For a second, she almost wished that she was back in his arms again, but next moment, she scolded herself for even thinking such thoughts. This was bloody Malfoy! She had no right to wish that she was in Draco Malfoy's arms, not even if she had his bloody engagement ring!

Oh bloody no, the ring!

Harry immediately slipped her left hand into the folds of her robes so he would not see the ring, conveniently forgetting that it was already hidden by the façade bandage.

Malfoy stared at her for a moment longer before turning to walk away, followed by a smirking Blaise Zabini who Harry had not noticed up until that point. And Harry, being Harry, called a soft, almost unbearable "Sorry" after her rival, recalling with mortification the way in which she had nearly crushed the life out of him. She immediately regretted apologizing, though. Knowing Malfoy, he would probably just ignore her or more likely sneer at her and make her feel like a fool for apologizing. But her arch-enemy shocked her for a second time that night by actually pausing and turning around to give her a curt nod to acknowledge her apology before hurrying away down the hall. Harry gaped after him.

How many more shocks could she take in one day?

With a shake of her head, Harry turned back to the train, pointedly ignoring the hushed whispers and heated stares that were still emitting from the on looking crowd. Her eyes were met with the site of Ginny who was biting down on her finger to stifle her laughter, Ron looking somewhere between clubbed in the head and ready to hurl, Hermione smirking at her with a knowing look in her brown eyes, Luna busy counting the stars in the night sky and Neville looking downright confused.

Harry glared at them in annoyance.

"What?" she snapped and headed back towards her destination.

"I don't want to hear a word, Zabini," Draco growled warningly, "not one word."

Blaise chuckled in amusement, but thankfully did not comment on that little 'moment' he just shared with Potter. But knowing Blaise Zabini, his silence on the topic would not last forever; Draco would have to face the questions and/or comments later on and there would be no turning them away. Blaise was extremely . . . persuasive.

Draco hugged his cloak closer about his body as he hurried towards the school carriages, trying to force his own mind not to dwell on what had just taken place. Of all the people that could have fallen on top of him, it just had to be Harry Potter against all odds! Not that he knew why he was feeling so bothered about that; Potter fell on him, he put her down, he walked away, end of story. So, why were those few, but seemingly long moments lingering on in his mind? Why was it that Potter always manage to mess him up?

Only, during that time when he had seen those jade green eyes of hers so close, he had completely forgotten about hating her. Her orbs had been so mesmerizing. Harriett Potter's eyes were the most brilliant shade of green. They were enchanting and possessed a sort of haunting elegance. Even through the very obvious surprise and embarrassment in her eyes, he had been able to see her fiery, charismatic nature in them, along with a beautiful innocence that seemed to speak of uncountable terrors that had plagued a pure heart. Draco had almost drowned in it – until the on looking crowd had interrupted the moment. He was not sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"We're here," said Blaise, pulling Draco out of his thoughts. With a shake of his head, Draco pushed away all thoughts of Harry Potter out of his mind and tried to concentrate on the present. He realized that they had finally reached the carriages. Spying an empty one, he made to lead Blaise to it when he suddenly noticed what was pulling it and stopped dead in his tracks. The other boy behind him barely managed to halt his steps to prevent walking right into the Malfoy heir.

"What is it, Draco?" Blaise asked, looking puzzled with a hint of concern.

Draco was silent for several seconds before he whispered, "So, that's what they look like!"

"What are you- who's they?"

Draco answered this time, but continued to stare straight ahead at the creature that was harnessed to the carriage he had been about to enter. For the very first time, Draco Malfoy was seeing a Thestral.

It was strange to look at what with the flesh-less black skin clinging to every bone of the horse-like body, yet the creature was hauntingly beautiful at second glance. The Thestral had an innocent, and calming look. The pupil-less eyes glowed white in the darkness, the strong wings were folded close about its body and the tail and mane were of messy black hair that gleamed in the moonlight . . . much like the messy black hair of a certain Gryffindor that had just taken a nasty fall on top of Draco.

"It's a Thestral, am I right?" Blaise's voice shook him from his thoughts.

Draco gave his head a light shake before nodding mutely.

"You can see them now?" his friend asked in what could almost be called an awed whisper.

"I saw the former Muggle Studies teacher being murdered by the Dark Lord," Draco answered shortly.

Blaise looked at him expressionlessly, but did not answer. What did one say to another who just admitted to witnessing a murder?

Draco sighed. "Let's go," he muttered and stepped into the carriage, tearing his eyes away from the magical creature. Blaise followed in silence.

As the carriage began to move, the blond leaned his head back against the carriage wall and allowed his eyes to close, willing away all unpleasant memories from his mind. At the present, Draco Malfoy only wanted to concentrate on making his life take a turn for the better – such as finally finding his elusive fiancée.

Just where could she be?

After his fiancé had not come out for three months Draco was beginning to be worried. His worries fell upon the one thing that he had never thought of as a disadvantage- his looks.

Draco was not usually a self-conscious person. He had always known he was good looking and used his incredible charm to get though tough ordeals his whole life. He stood tall at six foot-one and had striking eyes. His hair, which Pansy always seemed to have a comment for, was a light platinum and extremely soft to the touch. Not like Draco would ever say it out loud but he loved it when people would stroke his hair. It made him feel calm. He could defiantly do with some calm right now.

Maybe the girl has not shown herself because she doesn't like my appearance.

Draco tried to let that thought slip. It was never a problem before. Actually his looks had been a problem . . . but that was merely because too many girls were swooning over him. How ironic would it be if his future wife would not come out because she did not like his appearance? Draco shook himself out of his own insecure thoughts and gazed up at the castle ahead.

Soon enough the castle was towering over Draco, and he leapt out of the carriage and made his way through the crowd with Blaise trailing only a step behind him.

"Whoa whoa, am I hearing this right?" Neville exclaimed. "You actually got his ring? Harry Potter? Malfoy's ring? Malfoy's engagement ring?!"

"Merlin, Neville! Why don't you climb to the top of the North Tower and shout a little louder?" suggested Harry in a sarcastic hiss as they climbed the steps to the Entrance Hall of Hogwarts. Not surprisingly, the whole engagement deal had been revealed to Neville and Luna during the carriage ride to Hogwarts. It was not like Harry didn't trust the two of them; they were very loyal and wonderful people. She just wanted as little people to know about this as possible.

"Sorry," mumbled Neville, flushing slightly, "but, it's just that . . . well, I know how those weird rings work, finding the person of your dreams and everything; but how in the world did you get Malfoy's ring?"

"Neville," Ron said seriously, slinging a confidential arm around the other boy's shoulder, "that's what we'd all like to know."

"Oh, honestly, you three!" said Hermione as they entered the Hall. "It's not the end of the world! We have dealt with much worse! In fact, I think it's rather cute."

Harry, who had been busy eyeing around the Entrance Hall which looked the same as it ever did without any signs of the damage caused in the battle that had taken place inside it just months ago, took a few seconds to fully register what Hermione had just said.

"Cute?" Harry stared at the bushy-haired girl in mild surprise. "And just what do you mean by cute?"

Hermione flushed slightly. She had obviously not meant for Harry to hear those words.

"Oh, it's nothing."

"Mione . . ." Harry looked at her with suspicious narrowed eyes. Hermione looked back at her innocently with a modest smile on her face.

Ginny exchanged a glance with the brown-eyed girl and began to giggle.

"Oh, I give up!" Ron, who had been watching with raised eyebrows, threw up his hands and almost knocked over a passing third year, who quickly scrambled out of the way. "It's been eight years with you lot and still don't understand girls! What the bloody hell are you two sniggering about?"

"Nothing," Ginny and Hermione replied simultaneously and giggled yet again.

Harry stared at them, flummoxed. To be honest, she was more concerned about Hermione's odd behavior than what her words meant; giggling girlishly and saying the word 'cute' was about as un-Hermione-like as one could get.

"Are you alright?" she asked earnestly concerned for her friend.

"And what's cute?" added Neville with a frown. Even Luna, who had been trying to swat away invisible Nargels the entire time, had begun to look interested in their conversation.

"Nothing!"

Harry sighed.

"I don't think I even want to know," she muttered before heading to the large doors that opened into the magnificent Great Hall which was lit, as usual, by thousands of floating candles. Her friends followed, Hermione and Ginny still giggling like love struck schoolgirls much to her chagrin.

Heads turned to follow Harry and her present company as they made their way to the Gryffindor table on the far side of the Hall. She ignored the hushed whispers and clamors that broke out in her wake and gave her Gryffindor friends a brilliant smile when she got to the table. With a vague wave, Luna broke away from them to join her fellow Ravenclaws.

The Great Hall looked almost exactly like it had before the battle. All the tables were restored; the mess had been cleaned up. It was like nothing traumatic here had even happened. But, Harry doubted anyone would ever forget what took place in this room. She could not forget. It was just a little to her left that she and Voldemort had had their final duel once and for all.

Harry gave a shudder and turned back to her friends letting the memory be pushed to the far back of her mind.

"Hey, guys," a sandy-haired boy grinned at them, "it's great to see ya back here!"

"Thanks Seamus," Ron answered before plopping down on Harry's other side as she sat down beside the Irishman.

Seamus immediately turned to his best friend, Dean Thomas, who was seated next to him.

"They came! Pay up, man."

Dean grimaced before reluctantly handing over a considerable amount of silver Sickles to the beaming Irishman. Harry, Neville and the two Weasleys watched the exchange with amusement while Hermione pursed her lips in disapproval.

"You were betting on whether we would come back or not?" Ron asked with a grin as Ginny laughed.

"You bet we were," Seamus said while grinning at his own play on words.

Dean frowned irately at him and rolled his eyes. "Since all three of you are big heroes now and everything, we wondered if you'd come back to your little friends." He winked good-humoredly at them.

With an amused shake of her head, Harry turned away from him to observe the High Table. The sight of familiar faces greeted her: Professors Flitwick, Vector, Slughorn, even Trelawney was present, as well as others whose names she still did not know. So was Professor McGonagall, only she was seated in the very center. The sight startled Harry slightly before she remembered that McGonagall was the headmistress now. She frowned slightly; it was peculiar to see her Transfiguration teacher sitting in the headmistress' chair and it made her chest clench painfully when she reminded herself that she would never again see the majestic figure of Albus Dumbledore sitting in the center of the High Table.

Emotional pain shot through her heart at the thought. Harry had seen Dumbledore being thrown off the Astronomy Tower with her own eyes and she had attended his funeral; but it was the picture of McGonagall in the chair that Dumbledore used to occupy that truly seemed to make his death feel real.

He's really gone.

She was shaken from her gloomy thoughts and memories by the sound of the doors being opened. Turning her head, Harry saw the new batch of first years being lead into the Great Hall by the Herbology teacher, Professor Sprout. A quick glance showed her that Professor Flitwick had already set the three-legged stool with the old, patched and dirty-looking Sorting Hat on it before the High Table, and that Hagrid, the first friend she had ever made, was sitting down in his chair; obviously his job of escorting the newcomers to the school over the lake had been completed. With a smile, Harry waved at his giant form and he waved back enthusiastically when he saw her, winking at her at the same time.

In next to no time, the new first years were assembled before the Sorting Hat; the looks on their faces varied from nervous to 'Oh-my-God-I'm-going-to-die'. Silence reigned in the Great Hall for a few seconds as every eye focused on the frayed Hat on the little stool; and then, a mouth opened near the brim of the Hat and it began to sing.

Harry would never remember the exact words of the song for her brain felt as if it had been stunned into paralysis when the Hat had finished, such was her surprise; but she would never forget the message the song had given.

The Hat unabashedly sang of their recent victory over the Dark and about the many lives lost. It sang in detail about the battle that had taken place right inside the walls of Hogwarts and how the fall of Voldemort had been brought about (Harry was extremely glad that the Hat did not mention her name; however, many students turned to look at her during that part of the song). Then it sang of the qualities of the four houses, the brave and courageous lions, the loyal and faithful badgers, the wise and intellectual ravens, and the cunning and ambitious snakes. However, it was the next part of the song that surprised most of the students into silence. It was the part that would forever stick with Harry.

The Hat sang of how each and every student in the Hall were exactly the same despite their differences; that they were all equal to one another in every aspect of the word; how every wizard and witch were human and in no way were superior to another; how unity was the only way to overcome evil; and finally, it sang of the importance of friendship to exist between the Houses, emphasizing that Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin were nothing but names that were indications of their abilities, but not of who they were. 'Stand united, my friends,' the Hat sang exuberantly, 'and peace shall never end.'

The silence that followed the song was one of the longest in all of Hogwarts' history. The students only began to applaud when the teachers started, and even they looked more than a little taken aback at the topic of the song and the bluntness with which the Hat had sung it. It was a bit much to take in, but it was needed to be said. After all, the non-acceptance of differences was what had started the last war.

"Overkill," Ron muttered as he clapped slowly, still staring at the Sorting Hat.

The rest of his friends murmured their agreement except for Harry who was lost in thought. She was thinking about the part of the song where the Hat had sung about their Houses being only an indication of their abilities, but not of who they were. The words brought back a memory from long ago, back when she had been in second year and had saved Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets; she remembered with vivid clarity the words Albus Dumbledore had said to her in his office that frightful night:

"It's not our abilities that show what we truly are; it is our choices."

This also brought about memories of her godfather. Over Christmas break fifth year when he was explaining the Black family tree to her she confessed that thought she was turning bad. Sirius had wrapped her in a hug and said:

"We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are."

Harry shook her head slightly. Only now, after having made many hard choices and witnessing others doing the same, could she appreciate the wisdom and truth of those words. People had been led to believe that the brave and courageous Gryffindors were the ultimate good guys while the cunning and ambitious Slytherins were the big bad snakes. And yet, look at Peter Pettigrew, who had been in Gryffindor but had had the cold heart to betray his best friends to Voldemort, all for power and protection. And look at Regulus Black, a Slytherin, who had tried to stop Voldemort at the cost of his own life. In the end, it had been their choices that had shown their true colors. Look at Severus Snape.

Gryffindor and Slytherin, along with other two, were only just names, Harry realized; they were nothing to judge a person with.

And it took me seven long years to finally see it, Harry thought rather sorrowfully, recalling the scorn and mistrust with which she had treated Slytherins for a very long time.

"So, should we get all matey-matey with the good ole' snakes?" Seamus suddenly asked with a shit-eating grin on his face as he gazed at the Slytherin table, which noticeably had the fewest number of students present.

Harry turned back to her friends.

"What?" spluttered Ron, shocked. "Are you serious mate?"

Seamus shrugged, still leering at the Slytherins. "Well, the singing Hat just said so, didn't it?"

"I think it's a good idea," Hermione said crisply. "We could do with some inter-house unity around here. All this anger and fights just because we have some absurd idea that all Slytherins are bad and them hating us in return because of a millennium old grudge is pointless! We should all try to accept a person for what they are and be friends without judging them first."

"Hermione –!" Ron began to protest but the girl cut him off.

"Honestly, Ronald, face it! Every time a Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin comes up, someone gets hurt! Just because that person happened to be a Slytherin or a Gryffindor! And to think that Quidditch games were introduced to Hogwarts for the sole reason of encouraging friendly relations between Houses! Seems kind of pointless when you consider the fact that Quidditch only seems to encourage rivalry between the Houses, don't you think?"

Ron scowled, but her words rang with too much truth for him to argue back.

"She's right," Ginny murmured thoughtfully. "In fact, I think that if the rest of the Houses hadn't shunned Slytherin so much before, maybe we might not have lost so many Slytherins to the Dark Side during the War. A lot of them might 'ave been on our side."

"I guess," muttered Dean, watching the table on the other side of the Hall keenly. Neville nodded in agreement.

Ron was still frowning. Apparently, the idea of being all buddy-buddy with Slytherin snakes was not something easy for him to get used to.

"Harry, what do you think?" he finally asked, looking around at Harry desperately.

The raven-haired girl looked down at the table, tracing the outline of her golden goblet with a finger. It was a long moment before she finally spoke.

"I think that, after the war, we've found out that not all Slytherins are bad, just like not all Gryffindors or Ravenclaws or even Hufflepuffs are good."

Ron's eyes widened. "So you agree with them? We should be chums with the Slytherins?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at the red-head, but made no comment.

There was another moment of silence as Harry continued to finger her goblet thoughtfully. "We should stop fighting with them, at least," she muttered finally. "I guess they could be useful allies if we befriend them . . . even they deserve a second chance."

"Well said Harry!" Grinning, Seamus nudged Harry with his elbow.

Ron still looked slightly skeptical, but Hermione leaned over and breathed in his ear, loud enough for Harry to hear, "Think of it this way, Ron, being friends with Slytherins can be a really good thing right now."

Ron frowned clearly perplexed. "How?"

Hermione looked pointedly at Harry and Harry looked back at her, puzzled. Ron looked between them for a few seconds with a confused look on his face before he understood.

"Oh, I get it! Yeah, it's because Harry is Malfoy's fia - !"

Harry's eyes widened dramatically when she realized what her best friend was about to say and smacked him upside the head to shut him up.

"Not so loud, Ron, damn it!"

"Sorry," he whispered, rubbing the back of his head tenderly.

"And don't call me his fiancée," she added in a rather petulant voice.

"Take it easy, mate."

Harry shook her head irritably at him before scowling at Hermione.

"And what do you mean that being friendly with the Slytherins will be a good thing now?"

Hermione smiled prettily at her. "I meant, what with you being Malfoy's . . . you-know-what" – Harry narrowed her eyes at her best friend warningly – "it would be much better and easier for us if we were on good terms with the Slytherin if . . . you know . . ."

Harry stared at her in disbelief. "You mean . . . if I end up - married to him?"

"Exactly," Hermione grinned, looking relieved that her friend had understood immediately. "That way, there will be no hostility between us all and it wouldn't feel awkward to have Malfoy around and you being Mrs. Malfoy and – "

"Hermione," Harry hissed angrily, ignoring Ron who looked positively sick at the idea of his best friend being 'Mrs. Malfoy', "that is not going to happen!"

"You never know, Harry, you can never know."

The green-eyed girl was about to open her mouth to retort when the plates before them filled with food and drink. She blinked in surprise, distracted from the mild argument as she stared at the delicacies in front of her. Beside her, Ron and Hermione were in similar states.

"What – what happened to the Sorting?" Ron stammered.

Seamus peeked around Harry at the red-head. "What are you talking about, mate? It's over!"

Ron blinked. "Over?"

Hermione chuckled amusedly. "I guess we got so caught up in our conversation that we didn't even notice the Sorting taking place."

Seamus leered at them. "That must have been one intense conversation then!"

Harry flushed slightly, thinking about what she, Ron and Hermione had been talking about.

Intense it was.

Beside her, Seamus laughed.

"I can't believe you missed the entire thing! I mean, yeah even we" – he gestured at Dean, Neville, Ginny and himself – "missed the first half, but to miss the whole Sorting -ha!"

"We had a lot of important things to discuss, Seamus," Hermione cut in smoothly as she helped herself to mashed potatoes.

The Irishman raised his eyebrows at her.

"Hermione, the War is over! Normal life has started! How can there still be 'important things to discuss' anymore?"

As Hermione answered her year-mate, Harry tuned out the conversation and frowned down at her plate of food. Normal life? Harry Potter's life was anything but normal.

And it doesn't look like that's about to change anytime soon

She glanced at her hand where the ring was hidden underneath the black glove. In fact, her life was so not-normal that the not-normal things that incessantly happened to her could actually be considered 'normal'. She laughed dryly at the irony of that thought, ignoring the questioning looks her friends shot at her.

Oh, yes, what a normal life I have!

A/N: *bangs head into computer* I fell to the gushing over Draco Malfoy's eyes clichés! But to be fair, I did warn you about clichés! HAHA xD

The next chapter is sort of like Part 2 of this one because it takes place in the same night. I'll post the next one soon. Not in the next five minutes, but still SOON, okay? Definitely shorter than this update which I very much apologize for! (:

Also, looking back on the previous chapters, I wanted to make sure it was clear . . . so be warned: this fic will be a slow romance, so please be patient. I will throw in Draco/Harry interactions here and there though because they are fun to write!

As always comments! What would YOU like to see? Thanks!

ALSO GO VOTE ON MY POLL RIGHT NOW PLEASE. xD

A/N: *bangs head into computer* I fell to the gushing over Draco Malfoy's eyes clichés! But to be fair, I did warn you about clichés! HAHA xD

The next chapter is sort of like Part 2 of this one because it takes place in the same night. I'll post the next one soon. Not in the next five minutes, but still SOON, okay? Definitely shorter than this update which I very much apologize for! (:

Also, looking back on the previous chapters, I wanted to make sure it was clear . . . so be warned: this fic will be a slow romance, so please be patient. I will throw in Draco/Harry interactions here and there though because they are fun to write!

As always comments! What would YOU like to see? Thanks!

ALSO GO VOTE ON MY POLL RIGHT NOW PLEASE. xD