Draco, who had shown up at Harry and Ron's compartment, took one look at the red haired boy sitting beside Harry and was clearly in a worse mood.
"...Hey. Long time no see, Potter."
"Yeah, long time no see, Draco. Since Madam Malkin's, I guess."
"Yeah. I haven't introduced the two behind me yet, have I? On the left is Crabbe, and on the right is Goyle. Just like me and you, they'll probably be in Slytherin."
"...Huh?"
When Harry greeted Draco like that, Ron looked at Harry in confusion.
Draco's family, just like Draco himself had bragged to Harry, was one of the richest in the wizarding world. They owned land in both the wizarding world and the Muggle world, and as shareholders in multiple major companies, they had a lot of stable assets.
If that was all, Draco's family would have just been obnoxious rich people. But there was more.
Draco's father, as the right hand of Voldemort, the worst Dark wizard in history, had harmed countless witches and wizards and innocent Muggles, sometimes killing them cruelly. Even though he was a vile monster of a man, he had kept on living freely to this day without punishment, using flimsy excuses, just because he was rich and had connections with powerful people.
When Ron let out a sound that could have been disgust or mockery at Draco openly boasting, Draco turned an insulting attitude on Ron.
"I don't need an introduction for that one. Potter, if I were you, I'd be careful about who I spend my time with. I wouldn't associate with a family like the Weasleys, with too many kids and a fallen name, a bunch of poor people who reek of it. Being stuck here with them must have been miserable for you, right? Come to my compartment. Slytherin will welcome you."
Draco told his father about meeting Harry at Madam Malkin's. He also told him that Harry held hostility toward Muggles.
With that information, Lucius thought of Severus Snape, one of his juniors, and decided Harry might be usable the way Snape had been.
Normally, there was no way a wizard who was not even pureblood would be accepted by Slytherin, a house that prized purebloods. Especially not a child whose parents had been killed by someone from that very house. But even if a child had Muggle blood mixed in, if they hated Muggles, they could lean into pureblood ideology as a way to deny their own origins.
That was true of Snape, who was now the Head of Slytherin House, and even of the Dark Lord himself, Lucius's master. Plenty of wizards, trying to fit into the wizarding world, ended up reaching into evil.
(Potter is useful.)
He could get Harry close as Draco's friend, give him favors, and raise him into a Dark wizard. Snape had become an extremely convenient friend for Lucius because Lucius had made him owe him once, and Harry would eventually be the same. A child who had survived the Dark Lord was worth propping up.
And if the Dark Lord returned, offering Harry up to him would keep the Malfoy family safe. Just by possessing Harry, they could stand on the side of good or the side of evil.
Hoping for that convenient future, Draco's father pushed Draco to become friends with Harry.
Draco, who had been raised with plenty of his parents' teaching and love, wanted to become Harry's friend no matter what. But Draco did not have much experience with relationships he could call equal friendship.
Kids his age like Theodore Nott were friends made through Lucius's connections. Maybe because Theodore's father had escaped trouble thanks to Lucius, Theodore sometimes showed consideration toward Draco, but Draco never considered Theodore's feelings in return. Draco was a king, and he was lonely.
Born blessed and always on the side of the haves, Draco could not understand how Harry felt when Ron, one of the have nots, was insulted. Harry had been born on the side of the haves, but his circumstances had been those of a have not.
"...No, sorry. Draco, I decide for myself who I want to be friends with. Just because it's Slytherin doesn't mean I have to treat Ron like he's dirt."
After a brief hesitation, Harry refused the hand Draco held out.
A sharp whistle came from Ron.
What Draco had said to Ron was a clear insult to Ron's family. Ron's prejudice against Slytherin was something that made Harry uneasy, but if they talked, if they exchanged opinions and argued, there was room for it.
But Harry had learned over ten years at the Dursleys' that insults and abuse never got you anything.
And insulting Ron for being poor indirectly stabbed straight into Harry, too.
Crabbe and Goyle stared at Harry with their mouths hanging open. Up until now, no kid had ever spoken to Draco that plainly.
"I'll let you pretend I misheard you, Potter. Or do you want to follow the same path as your rotten parents?"
Harry was not going to stay quiet when Draco insulted his parents.
"Draco. I think it's impressive that you're social and you have a sense of humor. But I hate how you can hurt people out of malice and act like it's nothing."
Harry did not have a great impression of Draco, but he did not think Draco had no virtues at all. The fact that Draco already had two human friends meant Draco had social skills equal to Harry's, or slightly better.
That was why Harry did not want Draco insulting people. It reminded him of Dudley, it stirred up Harry's disgust toward Draco, and it made Draco's good points harder to see.
"The only people you need to get along with are pureblood wizards, Potter."
"I don't think so."
While Ron and Crabbe held their breath and watched, Harry and Draco stayed still, glaring into each other's eyes.
The one who backed down first was Draco.
(What do I do... I told Father I'm friends with Potter. If this keeps going, Father will scold me...)
Draco pictured Lucius's disappointed face. Wanting praise, Draco had exaggerated and told his father he had gotten close with Potter.
(If I make Potter my enemy here, what will Father say to me?)
But Draco could not bring his raised fist back down. If he did that, and on top of it he did it to a Weasley, there was no telling what Crabbe and Goyle would say.
Draco knew, at least vaguely, that Crabbe and Goyle followed him out of loyalty to their parents. If he made up with a Weasley here, he would not be able to face those two.
The one who broke the awkward silence was Goyle.
"I'm hungry. You've got candy left, right? Give me some."
"Huh? Candy? Sure. What do you want?"
The big boy standing behind Draco, Gregory Goyle, did not care about house pride, Draco's conflict, or anything like that. The only thing that mattered to him was satisfying his hunger.
Harry had only bought the sweets as a way to have something to do while talking with Ron. He did not care about candy at all. Just as Harry was about to hand some over to Goyle, something swept past Harry like a gust.