The Implementation
When Draco felt the same shaking on his shoulder that he experienced in his dream, he decided to ignore it and choose the peace of sleep instead. Except this time, the shaking was incessant and rattling his brain. He heard Maeve’s familiar voice calling his name and he didn’t want to open his eyes to see her in some compromised position. He cursed himself for even imagining what kind of “compromised positions” that he could find Maeve in.
“Any luck waking him up, dear?” Another voice, much older, interrupted Maeve’s. Draco opened one of his eyes in curiosity and was blinded by the brightness of the entire room. He was laying down in rough cotton sheets and the smell of disinfectant was confirmation that he was in the hospital wing. Maeve was sitting at the chair next to his bed, pouring out a cup of water. Madam Pomfrey was at the foot of his bed, curating a spread of sandwiches and sweets on a tray table.
“Draco, finally,” Maeve said exasperated. She thrust a sandwich into his hands as he was trying to sit up. “When’s the last time you ate? You’re a fool. I can’t believe I had to miss class because of you.”
“What? What happened?” Draco took the sandwich, taking a small bite out of its corner. He didn’t realize how hungry he was and practically inhaled the sandwich.
“You passed out from hunger, Mr. Malfoy,” Madam Pomfrey handed Draco another sandwich. She also handed him a phial containing a clear liquid. “This should fix you right up.”
“Like I said, a fool,” Maeve took the phial out of Draco’s hand and mixed it into a cup of tea that she forced him to drink. Draco realized that he hadn’t eaten since yesterday’s breakfast and he had a rather emotionally tumultuous past twenty-four hours. He didn’t think he drank anything either except for orange juice yesterday morning.
“When can I leave?” Draco swung his legs over the side of the hospital bed and took another sandwich off of the bedside table. Maeve checked her watch impatiently.
“Once you finish all the food in front of you. A growing boy requires nutrition,” Madam Pomfrey scolded.
“Eat. We have Potions next and I actually need you for that. You have fifteen minutes,” Maeve chided, handing him one of the cauldron cakes from the table. Maeve reached over and grazed her hand over Draco’s cheek like in Charms, causing him to choke on the cake. “Yeah, you’re back to your usual clammy self.”
“I’m not clammy. I think it’s your sweaty hands,” Draco huffed, wrapping the last scone on the table and stood up. Maeve rolled her eyes, but he caught her wiping off her palms on her robe out of the corner of his eye. Draco felt a lot stronger than he did in the last twenty-four hours, so maybe all the mess with Maeve was truly just a delusion. He was amazed how powerful a simple sandwich could be. Maeve handed Draco his schoolbag and called over Madam Pomfrey for her approval on releasing him. Within minutes, the two were on their way to the dungeons. Students were giving whispering looks to the two on their way to class, which unnerved Draco greatly. In the Central Hall, Draco was quickly pounced on by his Slytherin housemates, who were buzzing with questions and quips. Maeve kept walking to the Potions classroom, refusing to be late but Draco wanted answers.
“Blimey, Draco. You should’ve seen the way she tried to carry you out,” Pansy remarked with a huge grin. Draco tried to stop his mouth from dropping open.
“Yeah, I had to come and help her. What happened?” Nott laughed, patting Draco on the shoulder enough for him to feel it in his bones. Draco was mortified at the idea of Maeve and Nott dragging his lifeless body all the way from the Charms classroom to the Hospital Wing. He imagined them sharing jokes as Nott carried him and shivered at the thought.
“You dragged me all the way from the Charms classroom?” Draco asked in disbelief, causing everyone to laugh. Draco sucked his teeth, feeling his face heat up.
“No, mate. You’re heavy, so she ran to get Madam Pomfrey and her magical cot thing,” Nott explained. “We’re going to be late to Potions. We’ll just revel in your misery after dinner.”
Draco rolled his eyes and followed the boy towards the dungeon doors. The first thing he noticed was the loud laughter coming from the Potions classroom, especially since this was the class that most students dreaded. Inside, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were crowded around Maeve, laughing hysterically. Harry was leaning against Draco’s usual seat, which made Draco’s jaw clench.
“Lost, Potter?” Draco walked up to the quartet, stopping the group mid-laughter.
“Not at all,” Harry wiped his mouth with a grin. “I do hope you’re feeling better.”
Harry got up, giving Draco a slight shove. Was Maeve making fun of him with the group? What were they laughing about? Draco’s mind was still reeling when he shoved Harry back, causing the other boy to almost topple. Harry whipped his head around, rearing up to hit Draco back when Hermione and Maeve scrambled to stop the two.
“Got something to say, Potter?” Draco was trapped behind Maeve who told him it wasn’t worth it. “Maeve’s right, you aren’t worth my time.”
“She comes to your rescue, yet again,” Harry laughed, earning a smack from Hermione. Draco scoffed and tried to lunge at Harry but was interrupted by Professor Snape entering the classroom.
“I have enough grief creating lesson plans for you insolent fools and you can’t even control your teenage hormones to not fight each other. I am not your babysitter. Points from both houses,” Snape barked, silencing the entire class. Maeve shot Draco a dirty look and he sat down in his seat without protest. Snape started to write down the instructions for the day’s potion, explaining flatly as he wrote. Maeve wasn’t listening, instead lining up her ingredients. Without a doubt, she had read the lesson the previous night, but Snape was an infamous stickler for those not paying attention to his lectures. In the first year, there was a rumor that the professor had eyes in the back of his head or an enchantment that increased his hearing.
“Put your things away,” Draco whispered, hoping to push a few buttons to land Maeve the detention she wanted. Not paying attention wouldn’t be enough.
“Don’t tell me what to do. I read the lesson last night and-“ Maeve whispered back, uncorking one of the phials.
“Malfoy, Prewett. Chat on your own time. If your sudden outburst were for my attention, you’ve got it, Malfoy,” Snape snapped, his back still to the class. Draco poked Maeve with the end of his quill, giving her a look of raised eyebrows, tilting his head towards Snape. Draco decided to copy Maeve, peering over to her set-up and setting up his station not-so-discreetly.
“What were you and Potter talking about?” Draco moved his stool closer to Maeve. She squinted at him, like she was trying to figure out if he was being serious.
“Christmas holiday. We’re going to the Weasley’s,” Maeve replied without looking up. She flipped through her textbook rather loudly and Draco was surprised that Snape didn’t turn around.
“I guess that is pretty hysterical,” Draco reached for his textbook in his bag, but accidentally knocked over his cup of Fwooper feathers. The crash of the porcelain dish reverberated in the silent classroom and Snape stopped his chalk mid-letter to turn around.
“Is today’s lesson boring the two of you? Or do you just like defying my authority?” Snape finished the last sentence on the chalkboard and walked towards Maeve and Draco’s station. “And the two of you weren’t even paying attention. I expected this kind of behavior from Potter and Granger, but not the two of you. Perhaps your other professors have been too light on punishments because of your academic records, but you don’t fool me. Since the both of you like to line up your ingredients instead of listening, the two of you can reorganize my ingredients cupboard this weekend.”
“But Professor Snape, Saturday night I-“ Maeve protested, mouth agape. She looked towards Draco and he swore he saw her eyes twinkle.
“I couldn’t care less about what your Saturday night plans consist of, Ms. Prewett. I was going to be nice and require your afternoon, but I’ll gladly take your night’s plans,” Snape rapped his wand against the desk space between Maeve and Draco, making her fall silent. Draco turned towards Nott to catch his reaction and he could see the anger in the boy’s closed fists. Draco turned back towards Maeve, who was hiding a smile in her robe sleeve but was wiping at her eyes like she was crying. “Save your tears, Ms. Prewett.”
“Thanks a lot, Draco,” Maeve said sarcastically, but she smiled at him genuinely. Draco shook his head, holding back a smile himself. The two started to brew their potions and the classroom started to fill with frustrated chatter from the other students that was so loud that Draco was able to hum happily to himself as he stirred his concoction. Maeve reached over and tickled his neck with her quill to get his attention. Draco swatted her away.
“You don’t think you’ve landed enough trouble? Stop messing around,” Draco raised his eyebrows. Maeve waved her quill happily.
“I just wanted to say I’ll make detention Saturday night worth your time,” Maeve smirked, making Draco’s stomach flip.
“Yeah, you better,” Draco quipped, earning them another remark from Snape. Maeve raised her hand tauntingly, claiming her finished potion when Draco hadn’t even started his last section yet. Draco rolled his eyes and started on the last section, trying to hide his excitement for the weekend.