Chapter V

“EEEEEEEEEE!!”

Draco Malfoy screeched. A huge grin spread across his face as he turned to his parents.

“I GOT IN!” The tall, gangly pre-teen boy exclaimed, aggressively waving a crisp piece of parchment above his head as he jumped up and down.

His Father scoffed, allowing himself a small smile. 

“Of course you did, Draco. You’re an 11-year-old Malfoy. You were practically guaranteed a spot at Hogwarts.”

The tall boy’s Mother beamed down at him. 

“Of course, your extreme academic prowess didn’t hurt a wee bit.” She smiled, regarding her son with soft blue eyes that were filled with a strange mixture of pride and sorrow.

Draco’s smile widened even more. Suddenly, his joyful expression was wiped off of his face as he realised he had another person to tell. 

“UH… I gotta go!!” Draco blurted.

He dashed out the door, his parents calling halfheartedly after their son, knowing there was no stopping him once he’d gotten an idea in his head. Lucius shook his head and started back towards his office. His Mother, however, seemed to be feeling awfully melancholy. A small smile brushed across her cherry-red lips as Draco waved goodbye, grinning as his favourite magenta blouse billowed in the warm summer breeze.

Draco continued along the path down to the woods, making his way to the clearing where his Faery Village still resided, now twice as large and lit up by the glow of the small green berries dangling off of the thick red vines that were strung across the dainty rooftops. 

Draco and Halper had made many an improvement to the little group of houses, adding more buildings, planting magical plants, and reenforcing walls as they learned more and more about architecture. Draco probably shouldn’t have performed magic in front of a Muggle, but… he honestly didn’t care. Halper just got him, and it turned out that there were more magical folk in their little town than the young Malfoy had thought, so the shorter boy had already seen magical happenings around his neighbourhood. 

As usual, Halper was in his favourite waiting spot, leaning against a large oak tree, ripping up a blade of emerald fern while awaiting Draco’s arrival.

Draco burst through the brush and into the sunlit clearing, panting and grinning like a golden retriever. 

“HALPER!!” He screeched, skidding to a stop in front of a very alarmed preteen boy.

Halper smiled, confused.

“Draco, are you okay..?”

Draco grinned down at the shorter boy as he straightened to his full height.

“I AM MUCH MORE THAN OKAY-!” Draco exclaimed, shoving the letter in his hands toward Halper.

Halper fumbled with the envelope, glancing up at Draco with a puzzled expression on his face before reading the letter to himself, his lips forming words only he could hear. 

As the news slowly sunk in, the edges of Halper’s mouth began to turn up in a wide, gap-toothed grin. 

“OHMYGOD!! YOU GOT IN!!!” Halper yelped, nearly falling backwards from the force of the realisation.

The two boys grabbed each other’s arms, jumping up and down while squealing and howling at each other in excitement. 

Draco pulled back from the hug, a shocked expression flashing across his face. 

“Wh- wait, I’ll have to… I’ll have to leave!!”

Halper stared blankly at the distressed blonde.

“Draco,” Halper sighed, grabbing Draco’s shoulders.

“Did you not consider that before agreeing to attend??”

Draco sighed, staring down at his shoes.

“I guess… I guess I didn’t think about what I’d have to leave behind.” Draco’s lip trembled.

Halper sighed again, gazing at Draco sympathetically. 

He patted Draco on the shoulder, shaking his head.

“You should begin thinking about what you’re gonna bring! You’re leaving in about a month, right? Two?”

Halper had shifted into planning mode and there was no way of stopping it, so Draco simply decided to go with it.

“-You’ll need those wizard-y robes, and- OOOH! Bring the scarf I made you, okay??” 

Draco chuckled. The younger boy was getting way too invested in this. 

The tall blonde nodded along to Halper’s musings, noting them down with an animated quill and a piece of levitating parchment, which didn’t even phase Draco’s enthusiastic friend.

When Draco finally got everything down and had packed his things away, he bade farewell to Halper and promised to meet him again the next day.

He trotted toward the gates of his home, mulling over his plans for the future. 

It seemed like with his family, everything was always about planning for the future… but for once, he didn’t really mind. 

He was prepared for this - the only thing he was afraid of was the possibility of him not being able to make friends. 

Luckily, he could write Halper any time, he thought. A smile crossed his face. He finally had a best friend.

Note from the Author

Hi again, guys! 

I am doing much better and I have finally got a new chapter up for you all! 

I hope you love this chapter, even if it is a little short.

I love you all so much! Have an amazing weekend.

Love,

~ Gwen