I sat eating in peace as the other Gryffindors began to arrive, each sitting as far from me as the table would allow. "Locate Potter." I mumbled, closing my eyes and immediately felt Harry's presence. He was headed for the Great Hall. I opened my eyes, canceling the spell, and saw Harry, Ron and Hermione enter.
Harry and Hermione were busily exchanging words, but it seemed as though Ron had little to say. My spell had worked. As they approached the table, both Hermione and Ron glared at me with fury in their eyes. I ignored them and locked eyes with Harry, and I felt a pang of guilt.
Harry and Ron sat across from me and Hermione took the seat next to mine.
"What did you do to Ron?" Harry demanded.
"What did Ron do to me, last night?" I retorted.
Hermione looked from Harry to Ron. "You started this?"
I avoided looking at Hermione as she questioned Ron.
Ron was unable to talk and therefore unable to defend himself. He just looked into his bowl as if to escape from his predicament.
Harry jumped to Ron's defense. "Malfoy was smarting off again and he just pushed Ron too far."
Continuing to eat, I mumbled an apology into my bowl, my head bent low. When I looked up again, the three of them were looking at me as though I had sprouted a second head.
"What was that, Malfoy? I thought I heard you say that you were sorry."
My green eyed god had no idea what effect he was having on my mind. I was divided between jumping across the table and kissing him until he begged for more, and slapping Ron across the side of his head. In the end, my self control won out and I looked at the three of them.
"I said that I was sorry, but only to Harry, not to Ron!" I pulled out a glass jar and set it on the table, readying it for the owl post. Ron was livid. I know that if he had had a voice that I would have learned a few new words. I grinned at him as he assaulted me with unspoken words.
"What's that for?" asked Hermione, attempting to change the subject.
"The Screamer that I am bound to get." I said as coldly as I could muster.
"What do you mean that you're sorry to me and not to Ron?" Sometimes Harry could be so slow!
"I'm sorry that I had to mute your little friend so that he couldn't cast any more of his viscous spells on me. I looked up in time to see a piece of red mail making it's way towards me. "The spell will fade after twelve hours or if the owner of the wand used to perform the curse, casts the counter." I grabbed the letter, opened the jar and sealed the jar tight, setting it in front of me.
"Then remove the spell, Draco!" Harry demanded, then realizing that I didn't have my wand with me, looked over at Ron.
"I can't do that," I smiled at him. "And neither can any of the professors." I looked over at Ron and offered him a smug grin.
"Only Ron can remove the curse, and since he can't talk......" I let the rest hang.
Shifting my gaze back to Harry caused me to wipe the smug grin from my face. I mentally cussed myself for hexing Harry's best friend, Ron.
"What is he supposed to do in class if he can't speak?" Harry asked, still protesting.
"He should have thought about that last night before he hexed me." I replied.
Hermione was watching the screamer explode inside the glass jar that sat in front of me, the bright red and green sparks slamming harmlessly against the unbreakable glass.
"Are you going to open that?" she asked.
"Should I?"
I looked down at the jar. The letter was obviously from my father and probably had something to do with the changing of the houses, although, it could also concern the theft of his money. I would wait to open it when I was alone.
I returned my attention to Ron, who was still drilling holes in my head with his eyes. I had many insults to throw at him, but I glanced over at Harry and renewed my self control.
I stood up. "If you don't mind, I need to collect my books and wand for class."
Professor McGonagall was handing out assignments and schedules and I collected mine from her.
"Double potions with the Slytherins. Great!"