The Plan
Draco immediately got the sense that something was off when Maeve was sitting at the Slytherin table for breakfast, whispering and giggling with Pansy. Maeve was actually sitting directly across from where Draco usually sat, so he took his seat with caution after Pansy shot him a sneaky smile.
“And what do I owe this pleasure to?” Nott slid in beside Maeve, practically sitting on top of her.
“I- uh… Good morning, Theo!” Maeve choked, turning scarlet. Draco hid his annoyance in a large bite of eggs and watched the two like a burning building.
“What brings you to Slytherin this morning?” Draco asked, hoping to get the jump on Nott. Nott raised his eyebrow but if he had something to say, he ignored it to butter his toast.
“Pansy and I had to finish an assignment. The Durmstrang boy we got partnered up with has no idea what he’s doing,” Maeve sighed, scooting a little bit closer to Pansy to avoid the imposing boy beside her. Draco grinned into his cup of orange juice.
“Speaking of assignments, do you mind helping me with planting that new dittany Sprout assigned us? My blasted plant keeps dying,” Nott handed Maeve a scone as an offering.
“Hm… I’m not sure you can afford my tutoring rate,” Maeve said jokingly, taking a large bite of her scone. Nott was not used to rejection, evident by the perplexed biting of his lip.
“How about I pay you back with a night at the Three Broomsticks?” Nott smirked, causing Maeve to almost spit out her drink. Pansy giggled at the interaction and handed Maeve a napkin. Draco clenched his jaw, trying his best not to let Nott know about the elaborate murder that Draco was planning in his head. Nott noticed Draco’s icy glare and simply leaned across the table to wait for Maeve’s answer.
“I- A night- A-“ Maeve stuttered, avoiding Nott’s stare.
“Not like that Prewett,” Nott laughed. Draco couldn’t believe that his friend’s simple words was spinning Maeve out of focus. “I didn’t realize you had such a dirty mind. I just meant a round of butterbeers. I-”
“You’re gonna leave me high and dry for the first Defense Against Arts duel? You promised me a practice round after I finished that assignment for you,” Draco butted in, starting to feel nauseous. It was only a partial lie. She did owe him for the assignment but Draco never said what. Maeve whipped her head around to look at Draco, closing her mouth after trying to find words for Nott’s proposal. Draco tried to act as cool as possible, but his mind was screaming and at this point of his imaginary murder, he was figuring out where to hide Nott’s body. Maeve flexed her fingers with a sigh.
“Yeah, I’m sorry, Ted. I can’t do Friday night,” Maeve glanced over at Draco, but he couldn’t figure out what she was trying to tell him. Hopefully a “thank you.” Nott furrowed his eyebrows. Maeve gnawed on her bottom lip, which made Draco’s heart race a little. She had a guilty and apologetic look on his face that made Draco nervous. “Mmm, how about Saturday?”
“Deal,” Nott smirked again and Draco decided to leave before he could attack the boy. Maeve was an infamous people pleaser and maybe Draco had a chance if he’d just tried. He didn’t think he’d ever be bold as his housemate was though. He’d just have to interfere with this little date before Saturday.
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For the rest of the day, Draco couldn’t focus on any of his classes but he was able to come up with half of a plan to divert Maeve and “Ted’s” little date. He had three days to get the plan in the effect. So far, Draco settled on landing him and Maeve into detention on Saturday. He still had no idea how he would attempt that but he figured it couldn’t be that hard. Maeve did have a penchant for talking herself out of trouble with professors.
Draco was skittish the entire day because of the new DADA professor who gave him the creeps. He wasn’t a stranger to the Dark Arts but he felt deeply unsettled after seeing the Unforgivables performed right before his eyes. Imperio was probably the curse he hated the most. When Draco was young, sometime in grade school, he could’ve sworn he witnessed the curse at one of his father’s closed off meetings. Draco was hiding behind a pillar before his mother caught him and swept him up into his room. He never pressed on the issue further but he couldn’t get the image of green sparks and green eyes out of his mind. It didn’t help that Professor Moody was dangling a spider above his head, turning him into a clown show for the class.
Luckily, Maeve didn’t find the situation very funny either. He heard her detesting the curse with Pansy and Hermione after class, a rather odd trio in Draco’s opinion. Pansy and Maeve quickly left class, but not before a not-so-discreet look from the both of them towards Draco and a series of laughter. They were finally on their lunch break, but Draco still felt sick to his stomach. He wanted to press further into what Pansy and Maeve were talking about, paranoia still lingering from this morning’s meal.
“Hey! Pansy,” Draco managed to grab Pansy before she entered the final doors of the Great Hall.
“Woah! Stalker much,” Pansy yelped. She smoothed down her bangs and waved her hand to signal Draco to go on.
“What were you and Maeve laughing about in DADA? I saw you look at me,” Draco asked as casually as possible. Pansy tried to hold back a laugh but couldn’t help herself and Draco sighed, rolling his eyes. Why did he bother?
“I should’ve known it was about Maeve. Godric, the look you were giving Theodore this morning was priceless. I can’t believe she’s so clueless you’re so obvious-“ Pansy smiled, obviously relishing in Draco’s mortification.
“Forget I asked,” Draco shook his and started to make his way towards the door.
“She thinks you’re cute!” Pansy called out, making Draco hesitate his step. He spun around on his heel and tried his best to stop the smile creeping across his face. He disguised it as a click of his jaw and walked back towards Pansy. “Yeah, I thought that would make you turn around. She thinks you saving her from Theodore was cute. She might’ve mentioned that she needs some help getting her out of the date on Saturday.”
“Did she really?” Draco couldn’t hide his smirk this time.
“Excited?” Pansy pressed, turning Draco’s amusement into a frown.
“I just like collecting favors,” Draco shrugged. Draco and Pansy were interrupted by the swing of the first set of Great Hall doors and the two people that Draco wanted to see the least walked through. Maeve and Nott were so close that they could’ve been walking hand-in-hand and to add insult to injury, she was laughing at something that Nott had said. In the five years that Draco had known the boy, there was simply nothing that he could have said that warranted that kind of reaction from her.
“Oh, hey, Pans,” Maeve smiled. “And hey, Draco. Actually, can I talk to you real quick? I’ll meet you inside, Ted.”
“You need something?” Draco asked, bewildered. Pansy ducked out, thankfully taking Nott with her into the Great Hall.
“Yeah, I… I need your help with…” Maeve said nervously, leaning in closer to Draco. He could smell her vanilla perfume and minty gum that she was anxiously chewing. Draco bit his lip in anticipation. He had never seen her this worried since their first year. “Can you help me land detention on Saturday?”
“Detention?” Draco let out a laugh, unable to hide his amusement. “Does the idea of hanging out with Nott scare you that much? You two seemed pretty cozy just now.”
“It’s not that, it’s just… Look, I feel like I don’t have to explain myself. You got me out of Friday and I can’t thank you enough. I’ll do anything you want. I was thinking Potions. Shouldn’t be hard. Snape hates me as much as anyone but he seems to adore you.”
“Yeah, sure. Looks like you have thought it all out and I like to keep a running tab. Do I have to be there with you? It’ll be a little bit more expensive if you want me to spend my entire Saturday with you, Prewett,” Draco couldn’t believe this was real. He shrouded his giddiness behind his taunting but now he understood why girls squealed.
“Isn’t a lock-in with me all Saturday like, your dream?” Maeve asked innocently, tilting her head jokingly. Draco felt his heart start to race, but he ignored it by taking a deep breath and adjusting one of his rings.
“Hmm, I think you have me mixed up with ‘Ted,’” Draco replied tauntingly. “I better not regret this.”
“You’re the best, Draco,” Maeve leapt into a hug that caught Draco off guard. Time started to slow down as Maeve’s body heat enveloped him, nearly pushing him over the edge of delirium. Draco stumbled backwards into the wall, making Maeve laugh. She released her embrace much too quickly and Draco mindlessly put his hand on his chest as if he was trying to prevent it from beating out of his chest.
“Y-yeah. Don’t you forget it,” Draco said weakly, following Maeve into the Great Hall. Eyes shot up from both the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables, but Maeve was happily humming her way to her housemates. She bid Draco goodbye with a wink that almost sent him into cardiac arrest. He was sure he was going to spiral into insanity.
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Finishing the last scribble of his thoughts for the day, Draco flipped his journal shut and decided it was finally time for bed. The adrenaline hadn’t stopped pumping through his body, and it didn’t help that all Maeve could talk about on their patrol was her ideas for getting detention. Draco was weighing the pros and cons of tarnishing his perfect track record for a detention with Maeve. Two highly regarded prefects doing something so mischievous that they needed an entire day to learn about the consequences. He wondered why she would ruin her stellar reputation with professors instead of going on a date with Nott, but it wasn’t like Draco would argue. He decided to bring it up in conversation for the next night’s patrol. With satisfaction, Draco settled into his bed, a little reluctant to end such a day.