rumours spread like wildfire
(for @potterprideweek Thursday: Community. @rowle I hope you enjoy.)
It all started with a rumour. It wasn’t even true - not exactly, at least.
Apparently, or so it was told, Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter had broken up due to the fact that the latter had wanted to come out openly with their relationship, while the former was scared of the fallout and possible rejection by magical society and thus refused.
Of course, it was also possible that it was in fact Harry who had refused to come out openly, a holdover from the horrible Muggles he had been raised with, poor magical child.
Still, regardless of which version the student body believed, something had to be done. The star couple of Hogwarts could not break up - not if the rest of Hogwarts had something to say about it.
At first it was just two or three people, huddled in a corner here and there, whispering frantically to each other about possible ideas, methods, and means to achieve their goals. Eventually the groups grew to four or five, then swelled to over ten. Finally, they just made a club about it.
The SMH Club - Save Malfoy and Harry (They tried to use Draco’s first name as well, but nothing seemed to fit. This was the best they could do on such short notice. The Purple Unicorn was quickly vetoed as a possibility.)
After a long and lengthy discussion over what the goals of the club actually were (no, we are not trying to get them to have a threesome, Karen-) it was eventually decided that in order for the couple to truly feel comfortable here at Hogwarts and beyond, something had to be done in order to make clear the thoughts of the student body and official staff towards the thought of… (there was some more difficulty thinking of the proper terms to use) not straight relationships.
Then came the question of what could actually be done to show this?
Soon, The Fifth Common Room came into being. Unaffiliated with any particular house, anyone of all houses and years could come into the Lounge, as it came to be called unofficially. Situated somewhere near the library, yet also close by to the Great Hall and the kitchens simultaneously, it was readily accessible and quickly became the go to spot to hang out during one’s free time.
However, that wasn’t all that set the Lounge apart from the other common rooms in the castle.
The Lounge was a safe space. For everyone.
Economic status wasn’t picked on. Blood statuses weren’t insulted. Dark and light were merely lamp settings. And no one was criticized for their preferences in sexual or romantic relationships.
It became such a safe space that when little Sally Ann Perks stood up and shyly told the room that she had used to be a boy, but liked ballet and skirts and the color pink and thus became a girl, that (despite the fact that purebloods had never heard of such a thing and muggleborns knew their parents despised it) no one brought it up in a mean or insulting way.
The teachers rarely showed up in the Lounge. It was meant for the students, after all. But sometimes, after curfew, several of them would sit in the comfortable armchairs, light up a small fire, and relax in the welcoming atmosphere of the first Safe Space in the school’s history.
Of course, then it turned out that Draco was with Blaise, and Harry only joined them occasionally as they wanted, and in reality was currently enjoying the attention of Fred and George Weasley. Ginny stopped dating boys after the fifth failed relationship and turned her sights onto Luna, who quite eagerly let herself get caught and soon the two were going steady. Hermione Granger hooked up for a passionate one off with Pansy Parkinson, but they decided that they were better off friends and instead Hermione went out with Theodore Nott, her tastes going both ways in that regard. Pansy winked at Lavander, only to find that Lavender and Parvati were quite happily in love and most eager to accept a third between them.
Everyone loved the Lounge. And it all started with a single rumour.
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