Study Guides
The walk back to the castle was quiet.
Harry hadn’t said a word since they started walking. All Draco could feel was guilt. Perhaps he pushed him too far.
It had grown cold, far too cold for his liking. He had whispered himself a warmth charm when he finally remembered the spell, hesitating before whispering one for Harry too.
The Gryffindor kept walking.
Draco’s heartbeat was in his head. He was more than worried he had crossed a boundary line. And he was getting along with Harry so well. He’d simply ruined it.
Maybe it was for the best. The two couldn’t be friends for that long, could they? They were overlooking years of hatred towards one another. Neither had really apologized for it. It didn’t seem necessary. But there was always an itch in the back of Draco’s mind telling him he was letting himself get far too close to Harry. He’d tried to ignore it but it kept coming after him. The relationship they were pursuing seemed unsafe.
Not to mention that Draco couldn’t help but feel Harry was becoming more than just a friend.
Not a best friend, but a lover.
It scared Draco. He couldn’t face the fact he was questioning how he felt for the savior of the Wizarding World.
It felt wrong.
When they reached the entrance of the Eighth Year common room, Harry didn’t bother nodding to Draco before whisking off somewhere.
Draco was left alone.
He watched Harry walk off without a word. He felt gutted, like it was his fault. He couldn’t very well cry now, it wasn’t as if he had the right to.
So he retreated to his dorm to study for his upcoming spell test in Slughorn’s class. He had finished practicing transfiguration spells and had finally completed a successful fire conjuring.
A knock on his door made Draco jump from his bed. He rushed to the door, hoping Harry would be on the other side.
He was greeted by bushy brown hair and a ginger. “Is Harry here?” Hermione asked.
“I’m afraid not, I haven’t seen him since we got back,” Draco admitted. He still had guilt swimming in his stomach.
“He’s probably taking a bath in the Prefects Bathroom, he does that when he’s stressed,” Ron said.
“Can we come in?” Hermione asked. She and Ron were both holding study guides and text books in their hands.
Draco wanted to say no. He wanted to wallow in his pity alone. But these were two people Draco recently desired to be friends with the most.
“Of course.”
An hour swung by, and then another, and the three had breezed through most of the test material, now sprawled out on the dorm floor laughing their asses off.
“Do you remember when Luna died Goyle’s hair blue in fifth year?” Ron jeered.
Draco could barely feel his stomach through his laughter, “He would have crucified her if he was given the chance!”
They contained giggling over old drama through their years at Hogwarts, and Draco had never felt more happy to connect with them the way he was now. He’d never realized just how smart Ron was, he just never had the motivation to try until now. And he already knew Hermione was the most skilled wizard in their year, but it was surprising to see just how skilled she was in muggle learning. She knew more math than Draco ever had, and was enthused by Shakespeare. Ron over exaggerated his yawns when they got deep into the discussion of Romeo and Juliet.
“I’m beat, I think I’m gonna head in for the night,” Ron mumbled through another yawn, rubbing his eyes.
Hermione collected her things, “This is his code for saying he wants to lie with me for an hour before snoring all night.”
Draco chuckled, “Alright, well this was fun, we should do it again when Harry’s here.”
He paused.
“If you see him, please tell him I’m looking for him.”
The couple exchanged a worried look. “We will,” Hermione said, rubbing his shoulder. They clearly knew there was something up with their best friend and the Slytherin.
After a few ‘good night’s, Draco was left alone to finish studying. He skimmed through his notes on the protective circle spell and tried to conjure a protronus, to no avail.
Onto the detection spell.
Seated atop his bed, Draco read over the few notes he had written down. ‘A red glare of light will appear at the sign of weapons or contraband.’
He was quick to perform the spell for himself.
In an instant, the ditch weed Luna had gifted him as an early Christmas present was covered in a bright red glow. So was the left over booze bottles shoved in the corner of his side of the room. That didn’t surprise him much.
Something caught his attention, something out of the corner of his eye. A sliver of red light glowing from underneath Potters bed frame.
Probably just some weed of his own, Draco thought. But the more he stared at the light, the more his curiosity clawed at him.
Oh what the hell.
Draco had gotten up from his bed in an instant, and was trying to find whatever contraband was creating the vibrant glare.
It wasn’t under Harry’s bed, but rather shoved in between the bed frame and the mattress. A wave of strength came over him, and he lifted the mattress with ease.
He expected to find some shady alcohol Harry was keeping hidden, or moonshine from Luna.
What he didn’t expect to find was a bottle Cyanide.