Potions Partner (Admittedly by Force)
Harry dropped his books onto the desk beside Malfoy, ignoring the way the other boy’s head swivelled to him in astonishment. Following Snape’s barked instructions, he carefully turned the pages of his potions textbook trying not to balk at the steely grey stare levelled at him.
As if the silence was almost too much to bare, Malfoy finally burst out, “What in the devil do you think you’re doing, Potter ?”
“Unpacking my ingredients for the Wit-Sharpening Potion, didn’t you hear Professor Snape, Malfoy ? That’s what we’re doing today,” he asked innocently, as he set a jar of lacewing flies down.
“What are you doing here, you nitwit ? At my desk ?”
“Our desk,” Harry said easily, “Hermione and Ron are driving me insane with their fighting. Anything Durmstrang has become quite taboo in our group. Besides you don’t have a partner.”
Malfoy sniffed derisively, “Parkinson, the utter idiot, managed to fracture her wrist, but she’ll be back tomorrow to claim her spot. So beat it."
“And I’ll leave tomorrow,” Harry assured him, although he did not intend on relinquishing his new partner. These little moments spent tormenting Malfoy were the few bright sparks in his otherwise listless and worry-filled days. With the Third Task steadily creeping up on him, Harry found himself in desperate need of a distraction. Malfoy was a good distraction indeed.
Malfoy opened his mouth to protest but was cut off by a drawling Snape.
“Ten points from Gryffindor and Slytherin each, seeing that Malfoy and Potter are enraptured by each other rather than my lesson.”
A hoot went through the class as gazes turned to the two boys. Malfoy, cursing under his breath, bent his head low and began to chop his ingredients with a vigour that had Harry biting back a satisfied smirk. There was that temper he’d been looking for.
The double lesson went on, Harry struggling to keep up, fumbling his way through the instructions as Malfoy resolutely refused to acknowledge him. As Karkaroff entered the classroom, Harry’s already racing mind got further distracted. He completely ignored his potion, straining forward as he tried to make sense of the two older men’s whispers at the front of the classroom. Karkaroff was up to something, Harry was itching to know what it was. If he strained just a little bit further—
“Stir your useless excuse of a potion, Potter,” Malfoy snapped beside him and Harry started, attention snapping back to the scowling boy beside him.
“Huh ?” he said intelligently.
“For Merlin’s sake,” Malfoy reached out, hand closing around Harry’s own as he stirred the potion counter clockwise. Harry stared at him, throat throbbing for some odd reason. “There, perhaps it won’t be an utter failure now.”
Giving him a look, Malfoy let go of his hand and turned back to bottling his perfectly made potion. Harry spent the rest of the lesson, head fuzzy and only remembered he was supposed to be eavesdropping on Karkaroff and Snape when the bell rang jostling him from his thoughts.
As Malfoy began to stack his books, a letter fluttered from the back of his textbook. Harry’s hand shot out to catch it before the blonde could notice it. The words on the paper jumped out at him.
LEAVE HARRY ALONE, DRACO MALFOY OR ELSE YOU’LL WISH FOR DEATH!
“What’s this ?” he asked voice impossibly sharp and Malfoy’s shoulders tensed up.
“What’s what Potter ?”
“This,” Harry hissed and Malfoy finally turned to face him.
His face twisted as he caught sight of the letter and rolling his eyes, he reached to snatch it away from him. Harry resisted.
“It’s meant to be a death threat Potter, but it comes of rather pathetic, don’t you think ?” finally managing to grab the letter, he crumpled it in his fist, “I’ve been receiving hoards of them since Skeeter’s latest. Some of them are actually quite entertaining.”
Harry’s gut twisted. He’d seen Rita Skeeter’s newest article, some absurd piece stating that he was in love with Malfoy but he had ignored it as he had ignored the ones about Hermione. Romance was the last thing he had on his mind and if his only choices of romance were either with his best friend or his nemesis, Harry would rather remain single. Thank you very much.
“Why—why didn’t you tell me ?”
Another roll of the eyes. “So you could play hero again ? I can handle a few mean words, Potter, don’t you worry.”
But Harry wasn’t worried, he knew Malfoy could hold his own. He was angry. Who did these people think they were threatening Malfoy ? They didn’t know the insufferable git. They didn’t get to send him any hate.
He caught Malfoy’s wrist, squeezing it for a second before he forced his hand away. Harry chalked his sudden compassion for the boy as guilt, it was his fault after all. All those crazy fanatics out there that were obsessed with him.
“I’ll fix it. I promise.”
“Focus on not letting yourself get killed for the next task,” Malfoy muttered, as he shouldered his satchel, “I assure you I’m quite fine.”
He disappeared out the door leaving Harry with an anger he could not quite control. Shaking his thoughts away, he made to join Hermione and Ron who lingered at their desk waiting for him when a sharp voice snapped out.
“Potter! Come here.”
Cautiously, he approached Snape’s desk, eagle eyes tracking him all the way. “Yes, Professor ?”
The older man’s eyes were stern but than again Snape was always stern. “You’ve been stealing from my stores.”
Instantly, Harry began to protest but the man simply held out the palm of his hand.
“Save the lies, if I catch you again I shall have Flinch string you up by the toes, am I clear ?” He waited for Harry to nod before he continued, rather icily, “Now, tell me exactly what are your intentions with Draco ?”
“I’m s—sorry ?”
“Draco ? My godson ? You seem to be unnaturally attached to him as of late.”
“Simply trying to end our rivalry, Professor.”
“Hmm,” Snape eyed him for a few seconds and then waved him away. “Out of my sight Potter, another infraction and you’ll be sorry.”
And so Harry joined his friends head swimming with a thousand thoughts he couldn’t quite control.