Drarry Potions AU

Chapter Four

Draco still wasn't sure what Pansy gave him.

It's been in almost two hours since she gave me that potion---he's sure that it was a potion (though he wouldn't have drank it if he'd realized beforehand)---but nothing had been out of the ordinary since he had drunken it.

He didn't feel any different, so it couldn't have affected his emotions. If it were a truth serum, Pansy would have immediately started grilling him with personal questions.

I am thinking about Potter a lot, he mused. However, that was more of a normal occurrence than he'd care to admit. And perhaps it was also due to the added paranoia that Pansy had given him something that even remotely regarded his crush.

Nothing was seeming distinctively contrast to whenever else he'd been studying and working on his schoolwork.

Perhaps it was just brewed incorrectly? Draco pondered. But that didn't make a whole lot of sense, either---Pansy was almost as masterful at potions as he and Snape were.

Almost.

"Is there something troubling you, Draco?" Pansy asked, and he definitely didn't miss the sly Slytherin-y smile she had to cover up with concern. "You look tense. Is there something in the homework that's causing you stress?"

"Yes," he said, thinking fast. "I have a lot on my mind. Perhaps I'll go for a walk around the castle to clear my head." I stood, beginning to walk for the door. "I'll be back."

"Might I come with you?" Pansy practically begged, jumping to her feet to follow.

"No, Pansy. The whole process of clearing one's head is fueled by having no distractions." And you never shutting your damned mouth is definitely counted as distracting. "As you were." He waved a hand over his shoulder dismissively as he stepped out of the common room and wound aimlessly through the corridors.

Draco knew Pansy was following him, but it didn't take much to lose her, and when he was sure she'd lost track of him, he hid in the very back shelves of the library where most other students never ventured.

He peered through spaces between books until he saw Pansy flounce in, huff in frustration when she didn't see Draco, and then sashay out again.

Draco let out a sigh of relief knowing he'd be free to think for a little while longer without her always stepping on his heels (both literally and metaphorically).

"Hiding from your girlfriend, are you Malfoy?" someone asked behind him.

Potter. . , Draco thought, almost wistfully before turning with a sneer across his face.

"She's not my girlfriend, Potter," he spat. "My standards are much too high for anyone to meet."

Except you. This time the thought was wistful, rushing through his mind like a gust of cold air on a hot summer day. But it was also sad, like it had whipped away a piece of Draco's heart in the process, because there was no way Potter could ever fall for Draco like Draco had fallen for him.

"But you are hiding from her," Harry clarified.

"That's not really your business, is it? You always were sticking your ugly nose where it doesn't belong, haven't you?" Draco said.

"At least it's not always stuck in the air like the snooty ferret you are," Harry countered.

Draco studied him, starting with his beautifully tanned skin and ending with the greenest eyes he'd ever seen, which were staring right back at him in a hard glare.

Draco suddenly had the fierce desire to kiss him---but that wasn't new. So he did what he always had instead: he suppressed his love and the desire of lip-on-lip and settled on a disdainful scowl instead.

"So you obviously know why I'm here, Potter. Care to share your side of the story? Hiding from someone as well? That Ravenclaw girl you kissed last year, perhaps?"

Harry scowled. "And you say I'm the one always getting into others' business."

"I never said I didn't, scar face," Draco scoffed. "Only that you do the same."

"If you insist on being a bloody prick then I'll tell you---I've been trying to get away from Ron and Hermione. All they ever do is talk about each other."

Draco smirked at his exasperation. "Looks like we're both having problems with insufferable friends."

"I wouldn't go as far as insufferable---"

Draco cut him off. "I swear to Merlin Pansy never leaves me alone! She's like a goddamn puppy dog."

Harry laughed.

Harry had never laughed because of Draco before---not unless he was laughing at the platinum-haired Slytherin. Draco decided he enjoyed the mirthful sound. He wondered if he could cause such a pleasant sound again. . .

"There you are, mate!" Ron said, coming around the corner of the shelves and clapping Harry on the shoulder. Then he spotted Malfoy, and his jubilant face twisted until he was left with a scowl. "What're you doing with him?"

"Calm down, Ron; we just happened to bump into each other. It's no big deal."

"Right then," he said, looking at Draco as if daring him to start a fight. "Let's go. Almost lunchtime!"

Draco still couldn't believe how much that weasel could eat.

Nonetheless, he said nothing as the redhead led his best friend out of the library, only able to stare at the back of the brunette's head as the two of them disappeared from his view.