Sleepless nights

11 - Chicken or treacle tart?

Sneaking into his dorm in the early hours of the morning, Draco got changed into his pyjamas with a swish of his wand. He finally got it back after Parkinson revealed that he had left it there. (Of course, the ravenette failed to mention that in actuality she had nicked (stole) it from him to help with the plan.) Slipping under his covers, Malfoy was pleasantly surprised when Ron joined him in only a matter of seconds.

"Sorry if we went too far. Didn't mean to scare you off," The ginger whispered while already feeling himself nodding off.

Smiling at his concern, Draco answered, "It's fine."

A couple of hours later, both Gryffindors were woken up by a gush of freezing water. Yelling at the laughing Slytherin about it, neither boy could honestly find themselves to be angry. They finally got Malfoy back, and they weren't about to mess this up. "Hurry up, Gryffindorks! I'm starving," The blonde complained, already ready and waiting for them by the door.

"My apologies, your highness. We'll pick up the pace so you can get some breakfast," Harry joked, rolling his eyes.

Smirking, Draco swung his arm around the shorter boy, and leaning close to his ear, in the most seductive tone he could manage, he whispered, "Good. You should be honoured that a king like me is waiting on peasants like you." Unsurprisingly, Potter's face now matched his uniform colour. At that moment, Ron came out of the bathroom and Harry rushed in to avoid any more embarrassment.

"What's up with him?" Weasley asked, noticing Malfoy's ever-growing smile. Shrugging, Draco didn't bother replying. It was payback for what they did to him yesterday.

Soon enough, Harry was out, and the trio walked to the Great Hall. The conversation was mostly non-existent, as all three men were too focused on getting some sort of fuel into their body. However, the students who passed them were very pleased that they were back to normal. The teen angst that followed those three around for the past couple of weeks was unbearable. It didn't help that the year was drawing to a close and exams were looming in the air.

"Oh, thank Merlin! So you're back to normal?" Blaise asked once he saw them. His exaggerated question drew Neville's, Ginny's, Luna's and Hermione's attention, all of them (minus Hermione) cheering that their group got back the three idiots.

"Haha, very funny," Malfoy commented, tugging his Slytherin friend away from his boyfriend so they could get breakfast. 

The days passed by rather uneventfully, with the tension growing with every class they had. The N.E.W.Ts were coming up, and every teacher felt its pressure. This, consequentially, meant that the pupils were under constant surveillance during the day. Even though all of the Slytherins and most of the Gryffindors (along with the only Ravenclaw) in our favourite group had studied meticulously throughout the year, the nerves were getting to them as well.

"Incorrect. 10 points from Ravenclaw for not listening," Snape snapped, sadistically sneering when the pupil burst into tears. All the added stress along with the stupidly high academic expectations that are placed on their House must have been too much.

After that, the class passed by even tenser, but eventually - at long last - the school day was finished. Sluggishly trudging through the corridors, their shoulders weighed down by the sheer amount of books and homework they received, Ron and Harry weren't looking forward to seeing their favourite Slytherin. As much as they loved Draco, the blonde had become completely engrossed in his studies. He was either in the library or at the dorm, his nose deep in a random book. This, of course, caused him to need complete silence, which was not something the Gryffindors excelled in.

"Hey, Draco, we're back!" Called Harry when they walked through the dorm door. Surprisingly, the man wasn't currently studying or doing a task equally as boring. He was on the ground and concentrating on piecing a puzzle together.