Chapter 2
Harry Potter had precisely three problems.
One: He was dating Draco Malfoy in secret.
Two: Professor Snape definitely knew.
Three: Draco Malfoy was terrible at being subtle.
“You cannot keep looking at me like that,” Draco hissed as they walked out of the library, whispering behind his textbook.
Harry blinked. “Like what?”
Draco stopped in his tracks and mimicked Harry’s expression—a dazed, slightly lovestruck, completely obvious stare. It was deeply offensive.
“I do not look like that,” Harry whispered, scandalized.
Draco sighed. “Potter, if you were any more obvious, you’d be wearing a ‘I Heart Draco Malfoy’ badge.”
Harry grinned. “Do those exist?”
“They better not,” Draco grumbled.
Unfortunately, their conversation was abruptly interrupted by the absolute worst thing imaginable.
Ron Weasley.
“Oi, Harry! Malfoy.”
Draco tensed immediately, his entire body stiffening like he’d just been Petrificus Totalus-ed. Harry tried to play it cool, which was difficult because Ron had the keen observational skills of a half-asleep troll but also an eerie sixth sense when something was off.
Ron’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked between them. “What were you two whispering about?”
Harry, under extreme pressure, answered in the most suspicious way possible. “Nothing!”
Draco physically winced.
Ron folded his arms. “Right. Because I definitely didn’t just see you both huddled together, whispering like—like—” He gestured wildly. “Like two people who are up to something.”
Harry forced a laugh. “Pfft. Huddled? Us? No. We were, um, arguing.”
Ron gave him a skeptical look. “Oh yeah? About what?”
Draco, still frozen in panic, blurted out the worst possible answer.
“Cauldrons.”
Ron squinted. “Cauldrons.”
“Yes,” Draco said, straightening. “Potter thinks pewter is superior, but obviously, that’s ridiculous.”
Harry jumped in. “Yeah! And Malfoy thinks—uh—”
Draco’s brain seemed to catch up. “—Copper is better.”
Ron just stared.
“Which is absurd,” Harry said quickly.
“Because pewter melts,” Draco added.
“Which is—bad?”
“Yes,” Draco agreed. “Very bad.”
There was a long silence.
Ron finally shrugged. “Alright. Weird conversation, but whatever. Anyway, Hermione’s looking for you, Harry. Something about Transfiguration.”
Harry nodded quickly, desperate to escape. “Right, yeah, I’ll—I’ll go find her.”
As soon as Ron walked away, Draco groaned, rubbing his temples. “Cauldrons? Really?”
“You said it first!”
Draco sighed. “This is an unmitigated disaster.”
Harry nudged him. “Oh, come on, it’s fine. Ron doesn’t suspect anything.”
And that was, of course, the exact moment when Hermione Granger rounded the corner, arms crossed, wearing her patented I Know Something Is Up expression.
“I knew it.”
Harry jumped about a foot in the air. “Knew what?”
Hermione’s eyes gleamed. “You and Malfoy.”
Harry’s stomach dropped. “What—what about me and Malfoy?”
“I knew something was off when Ron said you two were arguing about cauldrons,” Hermione said. “That’s the worst cover story I’ve ever heard.”
“Rude,” Draco muttered.
Hermione ignored him. “I put the pieces together—Malfoy dragging you into empty classrooms, Snape giving you both weird looks, you being extra jumpy whenever his name comes up—”
Harry groaned. “You’re too observant.”
Hermione smirked. “And you’re too obvious.”
Draco crossed his arms. “So. What now? You gonna tell Weasley?”
Hermione gave him an unimpressed look. “Of course not.”
Both boys blinked.
Hermione sighed. “Honestly, give me some credit. I’m not Ron.”
Draco exhaled dramatically. “Thank Merlin.”
Harry frowned. “Hey.”
Hermione ignored them both and lowered her voice. “But you do need a better cover story.”
Draco scoffed. “Like what?”
Hermione tapped her chin. “You could pretend you’re training together for some inter-House dueling competition—”
Draco perked up. “Oh, I like that.”
Harry gave him a look. “Of course you do.”
“Or,” Hermione continued, “you could pretend to be working on a Potions project together.”
Draco immediately gagged. “Ugh, absolutely not.”
Harry smirked. “What, scared of spending extra time with me, Malfoy?”
Draco glared. “I spend too much time with you as it is.”
Hermione sighed. “Fine. The dueling excuse it is.”
Harry rubbed his temples. “This is so much work just to snog you in peace.”
Draco smirked. “Didn’t realize I was worth all that effort, Potter.”
Harry sighed dramatically. “The worst part is—you really are.”
Draco blinked. His smirk faltered for just a second before he quickly covered it up with a scoff. “You’re so sappy, it’s unbearable.”
Hermione groaned. “You two are insufferable.”
Harry grinned. “And yet, here you are, helping us.”
Hermione rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Just try not to get caught again.”
With that, she walked off, leaving them standing in the corridor.
Harry turned to Draco. “Well. That went better than expected.”
Draco huffed. “For you, maybe. I have to pretend to duel you now.”
Harry smirked. “Oh, don’t worry, Malfoy. I’ll go easy on you.”
Draco narrowed his eyes. “Potter. If you so much as suggest I’m bad at dueling, I will hex you.”
Harry grinned. “Sounds romantic.”
Draco groaned, but his ears were pink.
And honestly, that was victory enough for Harry.