SAROS AND LUNA WEREN'T ALWAYS AT DRACO'S SIDE and he was always reminded in the worst way. Since turning his back on the beliefs of his family, Draco had never felt more alone unless Saros or Luna were in his company. When they weren't, he often found himself ignored. Whether it was by those he had grown up with or those that he had left a bad impression on, it seemed he couldn't catch a break. And he felt especially isolated as he walked along outside to join the Care of Magical Creatures class, completely alone.

Of course, as he arrived, he was surrounded by familiar faces. Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, and other Slytherin students only stood a few lengths away but kept their heads turned away from him, making it quite obvious that they were ignoring his existence on purpose. And then, there were the likes of Harry Potter and his friends that eyed him from afar. Without his usual crew at his side, Draco felt small under their stares, only adding to his nerves.

Thankfully, Professor Grubby Plank decided to interrupt the awkwardness by getting the class underway.

"Everyone here?" she called to her students. "Let's crack on then—who can tell me what these things are called?"

As the lesson concerning bowtruckles continued, Draco found his gaze travelling towards the castle every so often. How he so desperately wanted to just run off and find someone that wished to be around him. It didn't help that he was clearly sitting by himself at one of the tethered tables outside, only bring more attention to himself. He felt as though he had taken the centred stage and everyone in the audience was only there to judge him.

Saros had told him it would take time for the others to see that he was making a genuine effort towards changing for the better, but just how long was Draco expected to wait?

Suddenly, he could hear the conversation taking place around him as Pansy had taken it upon herself to taunt Harry and his friends, filling the shoes that Draco had left behind. The conversation revolved around Hagrid and his clear absence from the school, leaving Draco to nearly break into a sweat when his own father was mentioned.

"Mr Malfoy just told my father the other day that the Ministry is determined to crack down on the substandard teaching around here," Pansy said, " said he heard it from the Minister himself. And who's surprised at the big oaf being the first to get the boot? The next time you see him, he'll be packing his things. Make sure you all make him a nice farewell card."

Draco could suddenly feel it, all the eyes that settled on him once more. He wanted nothing more than Pansy to become woodlice so she could be eaten alive by the bowtruckle currently resting in his hand.

Say something, you coward,  he told himself, tell her that it's not true. Tell her to shut up. Just say something.

But his nerves got the best of him as Draco remained silent, pretending to be involved in the lesson as he carried on. Was it true, he wondered. Had Hagrid lost his teaching position?

Just thinking about it reminded Draco of the time where he had foolishly challenge the hippogriff in Hagrid's class and had been attacked by the creature for being disrespectful. Not wishing to look like a fool, Draco could only play up the theatrics that the creature was dangerous and Hagrid was nothing more than an incompetent professor. He wondered if Lucius had brought it up in conversation with the Minister of Magic, suspending Hagrid from the position until further notice.

And if one thing Draco had learned very early on, Harry was quite close with the groundskeeper of Hogwarts, so if something happened to Hagrid and the Malfoy name was attached to it at all, he would more than likely take on the blame as well.

Guilty by association.

When the class had finally come to an end, Draco couldn't thank the gods enough to be free from his awkward entrapment. As they were dismissed, he quickly gathered his things and started making his way to the castle. And as if she were able to read his thoughts from afar, Luna appeared as he walked inside the school.

"Did you have a nice class?" she asked him. He opened his mouth, ready to deliver a sharp reply of "hell no" but he could hear Saros' voice in the back of his head, threatening to beat his arse if he dared to talk to Luna in such a manner.

"I-" he stopped as he spotted Harry enter with Ron and Hermione trailing behind him. He appeared to be still irritated from what Pansy had told him during class.

"Hello!" Luna called out to them.

Before Draco could dodge out of sight, the three turned around, leaving him wanting to die on the spot. He attempted once more to leave but Luna grabbed him by the back of the robes and Merlin, she was strong as she held him in place.

"Let me go!" he demanded in a harsh whisper. "Unhand me, right n-"

Luna obliged to his request, immediately letting go of his robes as Draco pulled with all of his might. He went crashing down at the feet of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and for a moment, he didn't bring himself to move. No one dared to help him right away but eventually, Draco pushed himself up and swallowed as he came face to face with Harry.

For years, taunting the likes of Potter had come with such ease but currently, Draco couldn't even bring himself to make eye contact as he spoke.

"Look, about what Pansy said back in class-"

"I'm sure you agree with her-"

"No, I don't!" Draco replied quickly. "I didn't know about it. I didn't know about my father's involvement-"

Harry didn't want to hear it as he brushed by Draco and continued on his way, only wishing Luna a good day before he and his friends carried on.

Since the return of all of his memories, Saros felt at peace with the world, even if he knew it was only temporary. But to have some of his most treasured moments returned to him, made Saros feel like he needed to appreciate more of the little things life had to offer. Whether it was helping Fred and George sell their pranking products on the grounds, rather than reprimanding them, or stealing some time in between classes to sit with Angelina outside, Saros liked living in his little pretend world.

Outside of his little perfect world, he knew his father was still an active Death Eater, Voldemort had returned, Dumbledore was of no help, and Umbridge actually existed.

But there was always the reminder of the reality he was truly living in. Especially when word got out about Harry's confrontation involving Professor Umbridge. If anything, Saros supported Harry's outburst because he had said similar things, only Harry had managed to land himself in detention.

And that didn't settle well with Angelina.

Word had gotten out about Harry's detention with Umbridge, including the time and date. Once Angelina heard it, Saros swore he saw his girlfriend's eyes turn red. She growled under her breath, discussing how stupid Harry was for getting into trouble so early on into the term, especially with Gryffindor's Quidditch tryouts coming up.

"Wait until I see that little git," Angelina huffed as she walked ahead of Saros towards the Great Hall. It was nearing dinner time and for the last hour they had been in the library, he had shared in the joy of listening to Angelina rant about her seeker.

"While I do enjoy the look of you all fired up," Saros called after her, "don't you think you're overreacting, just a bit? I mean, we all know that Umbridge is a rightful cow, can you blame Harry?"

"I wouldn't have cared if Harry ended up stabbing her in the arse with a flaming spear in the middle of class,  as long as he did it after tryouts...I just...OY! POTTER!"

Target spotted.

Harry, who looked rightfully exhausted, was just about to head into the Great Hall when Angelina caught sight of him. She immediately hastened her step and approached him.

"What now?" Harry sighed.

"I'll tell you what now," she growled, poking Harry hard enough in the chest that Saros flinched for him. "How come you've landed yourself in detention for five o'clock on Friday?"

"What? Why... oh yeah, Keeper tryouts!"

"Now he remembers! Didn't I tell you I wanted to do a tryout with the whole team, and find someone who fitted in with everyone? Didn't I tell you I'd booked the Quidditch pitch specially? And now you've decided you're not going to be there!"

Harry frowned at the accusation. "I didn't decide not to be there! I got detention from that Umbridge woman, just because I told her the truth about You-Know-Who—"

"Well, you can just go straight to her and ask her to let you off on Friday and I don't care how you do it, tell her You-Know-Who's a figment of your imagination if you like, just make sure you're there!"

"Alright, that's enough," Saros intervened. Before Angelina or Harry could say anything, Saros lifted Angelina into his arms and placed her over his shoulder. "Harry, enjoy your dinner. Angelina, can I see you in my office?"

"You don't have an office!"

Angelina was well aware that she had nearly bitten Harry's head off and Saros had only intervened before she said something stupid. Obviously the stress of everything was getting to her and between the responsibilities of being Head Girl and the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, it wasn't making things easier for her by any means. She had wanted Harry there because he was one of the best players on the team and trusted his judgement. She wanted to choose someone that the entire team would be comfortable with and to hear that Harry had detention, she was furious.

Only, deep down, she knew she wasn't angry with Harry, but with Umbridge. She wasn't joking when she said she wouldn't mind if Harry stabbed the woman in the arse with a flaming spear. After all, having Professor Umbridge in the castle wasn't making anyone's life easier.

"Alright, alright, I'm calm now," she called to Saros, "you can put me down now?"

"And lose the opportunity of this glorious view," he said, tapping his hand light against her thigh, " I think not!"

"Saros!" Angelina laughed. "Since when are you actually capable of carrying me around anyways? Isn't usually the other way around? Have you been working out?"

"Oh yes, between the time of trauma and amenesia, I decided to bulk up."

"I doubt that, you're still quite boney back here!" she said as she slapped at his arse.

"Hey, hey, easy back there!" Saros cried out as he nearly dropped her as he became startled. He turned around, although foolishly, since he still couldn't see her. "I'll have you know you're slapping some precious cargo. Insured for hundred and thousands of galleons."

"Oh, reall-"

Suddenly, the clearing of a throat caused the two to freeze and fall silent. Angelina slipped out of Saros' hold, gently falling to the floor where she quickly pushed herself up. Straightening her robes, she noticed it was Draco and Luna standing before them, Luna wearing a smile, while Draco shook his head at his brother.

"It's only you two," Angelina sighed in relief, " how long have you two been standing here?"

"Long enough to hear that my brother's arse is insured for hundreds of galleons," Draco scoffed with an eyeroll.

"That was hundreds and thousands of galleons," Saros corrected, " I know my worth. Now, if you would all excuse me, I'm taking this fine arse to dinner."

Turning on his heel, Saros strutted off back in the direction of the Great Hall while Draco shook his head in disappointment at his big brother. But when he looked over, he could see that Angelina was still standing beside him.

"Aren't you going to dinner too?" he asked her.

"In just a moment, I just love to watch him walk away."

A/N: Happy Birthday, Saros!