〘 chapter vii: POTIONS PARTNERS〙
"Potter and Malfoy." Everyone in the room stiffened except for the Professor. She carried on down the list as if nothing had occurred. She had to know about the rivalry between the two boys right? She is a new Professor but there was no way that she shouldn't have known.
Harry looked to Draco now who appeared bored with the idea instead of angry. When the professor told the class to sit with their new partners, Harry stood, gathered his things and walked to Draco's table. He sat down at the stool and Draco sighed. "She's trying to kill me."
"What?"
"The Professor. She must know I despise you. She's doing this on purpose." Draco said with a frown.
"I don't think she knows." Harry said.
"Than what other reason can you fathom for this horrible pairing?" Draco said, sitting up and half glaring at Harry. Draco watched him run one hand through his hair. God did he ever use a comb? Did he know what a comb was? Not that Draco could really talk. As of late, he's kept his hair long and in his face.
"I cant think of one." Draco rolled his eyes, spinning his wand between his fingers. "You're not gonna try and hex me right?" Draco didn't seem amused by Harry's comment.
"Are you gonna drag my grade down?" Harry tried not to blush. "I'm fairly certain that's why the Professor put us together." Draco said, looking away. "I'm the best in the class and you're the worst."
"I'm not the worst."
"You used notes from a book to complete all your positions in sixth year." Draco said. Harry frowned. How did Draco know that?
"Keeping tabs on me?"
"Always. Don't act like you don't." Draco was right of course. Harry had been keeping tabs, that's why he knew that Draco sometimes left the castle late at night. Harry had seen him once, roaming the halls and at first he thought Draco was heading towards the tower but then he veered sharply to the left and before Harry could catch up to him, Draco had exited the castle and was heading towards the Forbidden Forest. Harry wanted to ask Draco about it but he didn't know how to without sounding accusatory.
"Perhaps." Draco snorted.
"Don't come to the tower tonight. I would like to be alone." The two boys had never really established a schedule of who should get the tower when. And even though Draco had seemed pretty adamant that he didn't want to share it with Harry, he had been constantly telling him when he wasn't allowed up there the past week
"Bummer. What if I intend to have a bad dream tonight?"
"Well don't intend to have a bad dream Potter." Draco said with a sigh. Harry smiled.
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"Have you been... Talking to Malfoy?" Hermione asked slowly at dinner. Everyone looked to Harry who shrugged lightly.
"Once or twice. We're partners in potions now. We kind of have to talk."
"You could tell him to fuck the absolute hell off." Ron said. Harry said nothing. Ron's mood had been... Sour ever since the party. Nobody really knew how to help or what to say. No matter what they did, everything seemed to set Ron off.
"I'll tell him. He probably won't say anything though." Harry said, stealing a glance across the dining hall. Draco was pushing his food around on his plate as Blaise and Pansy talked around him. Harry pursed his lips, wondering if he should abide by Draco's warning to not go to the tower tonight. Harry wasn't sure why but... Every time he talked to Draco he got this weird rush of adrenaline. It was that same rush he used to get when they would fight but somehow... This felt different. In a good way.
Draco looked up and locked eyes with Harry across the dining hall. He wanted to flip the dark haired boy off but if he did, that would have only attracted the attention of Blaise and Pansy and he was trying very hard to fly under their radar, under everyone's radar. Draco held Harry's gaze for a second too long and he watched Harry slowly blush and look away, pretending as if he hadn't been staring. Draco smirked lightly.
"Heard you got saddled with Potter by the way Draco." Blaise said suddenly.
"Unfortunately." Draco said with a grimace.
"I don't see why you won't let us just..." Pansy scoffed and shook her head.
"We're trying not to be complete prats remember? We all agreed in the common room."
"Yeah, I agreed before I remembered what absolute fucking bastards the lot of them all. They act as if we're the ones... I mean it's not our fault Voldemort was from our house. Just because we're Slytherin doesn't mean we're bad." Pansy said. Blaise snickered.
"You are kind of a bad person though Pans." Blaise said. Pansy scowled at him.
"Only because that's how they wanted us to be. That's what I became because it's what they expected. How could we be anything but? I never had a bloody choice in the matter." Draco swallowed hard, knowing where she was coming from. He had known he would be a Slytherin long before he had even been accepted at Hogwarts. It was just... A given.
Draco used to be proud to be a Slytherin. He used to wear his colors with pride, all the other house be damned. Now though, the green and silver felt like the marks of traitors, liars, deceivers. The marks of monsters. Pansy was right to some extent. Everyone pinned the Slytherin House as evil. So how could they be anything else?
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"I thought we agreed that tonight was my night Potter." Draco said, hearing the door behind him creak open. Draco didn't dare look back at him. He probably had bed head or would be wearing those same ridiculous Gryffindor pajamas under his robe again.
"Well I have a question for you."
"Oh good, questions." Draco said with a sigh. "I'm ill with excitement." Draco heard Harry snicker. Has it always been this easy to make Harry laugh? Draco couldn't tell. He had never really tried to make Harry laugh. He had always just tried to make him mad.
"Will you show me how to do that spell you used on me?" Draco arched an eyebrow at Harry who was indeed wearing red and gold pajamas. Draco sighed.
"Why would I show you how to use the one thing I'm better at than you?" Harry cocked his head, confused.
"You're better at me in loads of things."
"Is that a compliment?" Harry blushed red. Draco pretended not to notice.
"No. It's a fact."
"Well, I'm taking it as a compliment." Draco picked himself up off the side of the wall and walked forward. "I'm a rubbish teacher."
"I know that."
"You don't know shit." Harry laughed as Draco rolled his eyes. "Where's your cruddy wand?" Harry produced it and Draco took out his own. "The spell I used was simple. It's sine sensu. All you have to do is say those words loudly in your head. Almost as if you're speaking them out loud. Your inner voice is just as commanding as your actual voice. Your wand should recognize this." Draco said.
"Sine sensu." Harry said. Draco wrinkled his nose and Harry knew he had said it wrong.
"That was horrendous. This is a bad idea. You're going to hurt yourself."
"Well at least you can laugh at me if I do." Harry said with a smirk. Draco seemed to think on this for a moment before he nodded.
"Yes, it would be funny. Now repeat after me." For the next minute, Draco and Harry mimicked one another in the pronunciation of sine sensu. When Draco was satisfied with how Harry said it, then he showed him the appropriate hand gesture needed to complete the spell. "Almost like a swish and flick but with a longer flourish." Draco said, demonstrating.
"Like this?" Draco wore a dead expression.
"I mean, sure. If you want to paralyze someone's whole body. Honestly Potter, you taught people Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Harry snickered. He didn't know how Draco was able to make him laugh. Sometimes even his friends couldn't do that.
"I did."
"Well it's a wonder any of them learned anything. Do it again." The motion took longer for Harry to grasp but eventually Draco was satisfied. He stepped closer to the green eyed boy and held out his hand that wasn't holding his wand. "Alright, try it then and please don't paralyze my whole body unless you're going to stop me from falling."
"I'll try not to Professor." Draco rolled his eyes and Harry took a deep breath, holding his wand over Draco's outstretched palm. He moved his wrist, practically shouting sine sensu in his head. Draco's hand remained up. Harry pursed his lips and tried again. Still nothing.
"Need a reminder of the spell Potter."
"No I'm good. I can do this." Harry said as Draco studied the look of concentration on his face. His nose was scrunched up, eyes narrowed slightly. Harry licked his lips, repeating the motion and the spell several times in his head. Eventually, he watched Draco flex his fingers. And pull back his wrist. "Did it work?"
"My fingers are numb which is a good start." Draco held his wand over his hand, muttering an undoing spell. "Try again." So Harry tried again and by what Draco assumed was the hundredth time, his hand finally felt completely numb and went limp against his wrist.
"I did it!" Harry said excitedly.
"Well don't jump for joy. Fix my hand Potter." Harry laughed.
"Fasciculos." He said, touching Draco's hand lightly with his wand. Draco regained the feeling in is hand and tightly closed it into a fist a couple of times.
"I would say I'm impressed but I'm not. Twelve year old Americans can learn that spell in their sleep." Harry snorted.
"Oh come on. How long did it take you to learn that spell?"
"Less time than it took you." Harry rolled his eyes and put his wand back into the pocket of his fleece pants. "Are we done here then? Are you satisfied with my lesson Potter?"
"Yes." Harry said with a smirk.
"Good." Draco said, turning away. "Now leave me alone." Harry chuckled and headed for the door.
"See you in potions, partner." Draco nearly blushed as he stared put the window.
"I'll see you in Charms first you idiot."
"Yeah, I know. Bye Draco." Draco half raised his hand in a goodbye gesture, not bothering to turn around. When he heard the tower door close, he exhaled quickly, the tension in his shoulders dropping. He hadn't realized he had been holding his breath. And as Harry headed down the stairs, he tried to figure out why exactly his heart was racing in his chest. It used to be because Draco was a big anxiety to him but Harry had gotten over that feeling. This must have been something else. Shaking his head, Harry chalked it up to the excitement of learning a new spell.