The Quidditch World Cup - Friend or Foe
It didn't take long for Potter to fall back next to Draco, smiling at him, as he always did. Already having the others attention, Draco gave in and looked the other over too.
Other then the clothes, Draco realized the change in hair. It was longer now.
"You trying to follow your godfathers footsteps?"
Potter looked at him with confusion.
"Your hair. It's gotten longer. Like Black's."
Salazar, why did Draco sound like a dumbass all of a sudden? Was it because his parents were only a few steps away, begrudgingly conversing with a blood traitor?
- well Lucius looked hateful; Narcissa on the other hand seemed to very much enjoy their unusual company.-
Draco wasn't sure wether they knew about Lupin's lycanthropie, but a halfblood wasn't their ideal conversation partner either way.
"I liked last years hair better."
Draco said just to say something. He heard an uncomfortable chuckle from next to him.
"Yeah totally. Sirius wanted to cut it for me before school starts anyway."
Draco enjoyed how squirmy Potter had become already. Compliments and remarks about his appearance seemed to do the trick rather well. So he went on just like before.
"I like the clothes though. New?"
Instead of turning red like before, Potter's face changed into excitement.
"Yes. It's the first time I've ever owned clothes that fit me and didn't belong to anyone else."
Draco raised an eyebrow.
"Did you hex your little Muggle family to finally treat you properly?"
Potter chuckled, shaking his head.
"I don't live with them anymore."
He proclaimed proudly.
Oh yes. Of course he didn't anymore, given the magical quality of his clothing. How had Draco missed that?
"You live with Black?"
The vampire asked curiously.
"Yeah. And Remus. Dumbledore didn't want me to leave the Dursleys but he couldn't really stop Sirius from taking custody. He is my godfather after all. And since the charges were dropped..."
Potter trailed off, gaze wandering up towards his guardian.
"It's all thanks to you, you know? If you hadn't caught Pettigrew..."
Draco didn't want to hear all this again. Of course he always liked taking credit for everything. Since he did earn it most of the time anyway. But catching Pettigrew had been an embarrassing situation, he didn't really like to be reminded of.
If Potter had been only a tid bit smarter, he definitely would've found out about Draco's secret. And that was, of course, unacceptable. It was a reminder of Draco's inattentiveness.
So, to change the subject to anything else, he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.
"I'm gonna join the Quidditch team this year."
To Draco's amusement, Potter's eyes lit up immediately, everything else forgotten.
"Really? That's so cool! What position are you aiming for?"
"Seeker of course. The most important."
Draco's lips drew up into a proud smile.
"Doesn't Slytherin already have a good Seeker? That sixth year. What was his name a..."
"Timothee Rowell you mean? You can't call that halfblood scum a good seeker when he's lost against not only you, but also that Hufflepuff Diggory. He's caught one out of three snitches. Ridiculous."
Potter seemed a bit uncomfortable when Draco brought up the boys' blood status, but brushed it off rather quickly.
"Well, nobody's really lost to me yet. You can't blame him for only being human."
Draco looked at Potter astonished. The grin on the others face was proud and a little mischievous as well. Finally the ego was starting to fit the name. And Draco had to admit, he rather liked a cocky Potter. Instead of basking in his fame, he only gleamed over his talents.
"Well I won't! Your a mere fly I'm going to crush with my exceptional skills."
Potter chuckled.
"I'd like to see you try. I've never even seen you on a broom. Didn't you skip Flying lessons in first year? How can I be sure you even know the basics?"
Was Potter really teasing him? This was new. And maybe a little exciting too. Nobody other then Blaise and Theo really teased him. And they still had too much respect of him to insult his skills.
"I didn't SKIP flying lessons. Professor Snape merely freed me from the lessons because I was already better than everyone else, and I couldn't bother to spend my time with a bunch of idiot kids who didn't know what a broom even is."
This time Potter full out laughed.
"You sound just like Snape sometimes, you know?"
Draco wasn't sure whether Potter had meant that as a compliment or an insult. But, nonetheless, it made Draco proud.
"Severus Snape is the ideal picture of a man. I would be proud to grow up to be just like him!"
Potter couldn't stop himself from doubling over laughing, wheezing like a train coming to a stop, clinging to Draco's shoulder like it was the only thing keeping him up.
"Snape! The...the picture of a man!"
The Chosen One could barely string together the sentence, between all the wheezing and laughing.
"You can't be serious!"
Draco drew his arm away, letting the other's hand fall from his shoulder. With nothing to hold him up, Potter swayed for a few seconds before falling over. His laughter still filling the air.
Draco didn't look back at the Half Blood, and instead hurried to catch up with his parents and the others, leaving a still cackling Potter behind in the mud.
Perhaps, if Potter hadn't insulted his godfather, Draco would have waited. Maybe laughed along a little. Only to seem like a decent human being to the people around, of course. But now thise people around were the only reason Draco didn't hex the Chosen One right then and there.
Nobody lived to insult Severus Snape, as long as Draco Malfoy was alive.