FRIENDS
“Oh ouch!” Draco hissed under his breath and squeezed his eyes shut. Harry immediately turned with a concerned frown and leaned close to see what was wrong.
“What happened, Draco?” Merlin how she hated the way the name rolled off Potter.
“I don’t know - shit! - Something - went into my eye I think.”
“Oh, c'mere, let me see….” And then he shifted closer than before to gently blow at the poor eye, careful fingers holding the eyelids open.
Pansy rolled her eyes and rested her chin on her palm to watch their sheer drama.
“Does it feel better?” Potter asked quietly, his thumb making soft circles under the suffering eye and lips close enough to touch Draco’s flushed skin. "Hmm, yeah, thanks.“
Pansy took a long sip of her butterbeer to prevent herself from gagging at the atrociously sappy smile on Draco’s face.
She caught Hermione’s eyes beside her and both shared an exasperated look of pure torture.
Potter smiled back just as sweetly and went back to his drink which he had to snatch back from Draco’s hand with a knock on the shoulder. Was there even space to knock shoulders? There was hardly space for even air to pass between them!
"Hey Harry! You free this evening?” A seventh year Gryffindor - Samuel, was he? - came over to their booth and asked, placing a casual hand on Potter’s shoulder. A sigh escaped her lips at the way Draco’s jaw clenched as he glared at that hand.
“Um, no, I’m sorry Shawn -” Aah Shawn it was - “I have a study date with Draco this evening.“ Potter replied with a shrug, smoothly dislocating the hand on his shoulder in the process.
Shawn looked heavily disappointed which was just stupid of him, really. Any living thing with eyes could see what a useless endeavor it would be ask Potter out.
"Wasn’t that something you had yesterday too? Your ”study date“? Ron asked making air quotes, something he’d definitely learned from Hermione.
"We wish to pass our N.E.W.Ts with flying colours, Weasley. Unlike you,” Draco drawled and shared a loud - holy Salazar - high five with Potter. Weasley spluttered and tossed a thoroughly betrayed look at his unrepentantly grinning friend.
“Take it easyyyy, Weas - leyyy!” Potter called in a sing song voice. Merlin he was such a lightweight; drunk on just two butterbeers. He then fished out a small muggle camera from somewhere inside his baggy coat and asked everyone to gather around for a group photo. Pansy made a bored face and squeezed next to Hermione. She grimaced at the foolish expressions some were making but then her eyes fell on Draco who was trying very hard to copy a certain sign Potter had made with his middle and forefinger. He smirked triumphantly once he got it right and moved his long fingers so that they were touching Potter’s, making an imperfectly perfect heart….
Potter, who had been waiting for Draco, went, “WHAT KEEPS DRACO’S HAIR IN PLACE??”
“SLEEKEAZYYYY’S!!!” cried the entire group without a beat and the camera flashed brightly.
////
“You sure it was the right method?” Pansy asked Draco who was walking alongside her on their way from Arithmancy to Potions. He nodded absently and then suddenly his eyes fixed on something a little further ahead. Pansy groaned inwardly and had the crazy urge to stamp her foot and cry.
Draco was on one knee before Potter in less than a minute and bending down to…. tie the laces of the git’s awful sneakers.
Potter halted in his tracks too and blinked down with such soft eyes it was nauseating, biting his lips and clutching his book bag tight to his chest.
Hermione couldn’t keep the small smile off her face either and Weasley looked ready to cry right along with Pansy.
“There,” Draco muttered, standing up. “Are you two blind or something?” He scowled, turning to the other two members of the trio. “He could have tripped!"
Potter had the decency to wince and look sheepish as he steered Draco away with him to Potions.
"Disgusting,” Blaise announced solemnly when the two “friends” had left.
“The audacity right?! I know!” Weasley threw his hands in the air.
“No. The fact that they are dim enough to call themselves friends.”
Hermione nodded fervently at the ceiling with an expression of utter longing on her face.
/////
“Look what I’ve got!”
Ugh, here we go, Pansy scowled mentally.
Potter plonked down next to Draco and flashed his trademark goofy grin. Either Draco was denser than she had known him to be or he was the biggest coward she had ever seen in her short life.
The Gryffindors had been distributing ugly friendship bands all around Hogwarts and as if that hadn’t been getting on her nerves already - which had nothing to do with Hermione tying one on her wrist this afternoon - but now she had to endure this too. She really did deserve a medal for her endurance level.
It was with a shy smile that Potter hesitantly took Drcao’s wrist in his hand and all the while staring at him from beneath his lashes, tied the glittering –literally glittering fucking hell - red and gold friendship band that even much to her horror had a little lion roaring away on the front.
Draco - the traitor to the whole of Slytherin community, fuck you, you twit - actually beamed at Potter and offered a grin of his own, bringing his wrist close to his face to examine the sorry accessory. “You made this?” he asked warmly and slung an arm around Potter’s shoulders. Potter instantly snuggled close and nodded with a cheeky smile.
“You like it, right?” he asked, tucking a blond strand behind his pink ear.
“I love it,” Draco answered and pinched Potter’s flushed cheek. What even….Ew! Just ew!
“This simply should not be allowed…” she whispered, head shaking furiously in absolute disbelief. They can’t keep getting away with this.
/////
“Truth or dare? Pansy asked in a put upon cheerful voice. She saw Blaise massage his temple from the corner of her eyes. They were all waiting because the subject of her question was too busy matching the size of his hand with Potter’s. THE SIZE OF HIS GODDAMN HAND….!? What the fuck. Like - what the actual fuck. She would never, ever forgive Potter for doing whatever it was that he had done to his nice and cold Slytherin friend.
"TRUTH OR DARE?!” Weasley screamed.
It was Potter who jerked out of their little bubble first. “Huh? Wha-? What happened?”
“Must you be so loud?” Draco sneered, “We aren’t deaf!"
"Supremely dumb, though, ” Hermione mumbled next to her.
“Since you made us wait, you won’t get the chance to choose. I dare you to be so kind as to PLEASE for the love of all that’s merciful, get us all out of this misery and KISS POTTER FOR FUCK’S SAKE!“
Draco gaped at her in the wake of her outburst and unconsciously shifted a little away from Potter where he had been practically squished together despite the ample space. Potter’s eyes widened comically and a blush stained his entire face.
"We - what the fuck Pans?! Why would you dare me to do that? You know we’re friends!”
The entire common room scoffed at that, loudly, and Draco’s ears went as red as his maroon jumper which wasn’t even his by the way. Seeing how it fit him better than it had fit Potter.
“You’ve never backed away from a dare, Draco. What will people think….” She crooned in mock sympathy. He looked terribly conflicted while Potter made it a mission to eat away his entire lower lip. Poor thing anyway didn’t eat properly. Draco was a shit friend to not do something about that.
“Besides, you’re friends right? Friends do such stuff, right Hermione?” She gave an easy smile and bent down to peck Hermione on her lips that the other girl returned readily, gripping her chin to eke it out a bit longer. Pansy sucked and flicked her tongue between Hermione's grape flavor glossed lips and moved closer. Hermione made a pleased sound and opened her mouth to welcome her tongue, kissing back just as deeply and enthusiastically.
“Mmm.” She rested her parted mouth against hers and inhaled her hot chocolate scented breath before pulling away and turning at those two idiots.
“You see?” She addressed them with half lidded eyes, “Just like that.”
Potter swallowed audibly and flicked his gaze at the man next to him who had been watching with his jaw hanging open.
Draco was still in shock when a hand reached out to gently slot his jaw back up. He blinked and focused his gaze on Potter who licked his lips, his green eyes dark and riveted on Draco’s mouth.
The tension was so thick the entire room could wrap it around themselves like a blanket.
She watched with a growing smirk as the two forgot the gathering, their eyes locked with the other as Potter leaned closer. Draco looked pathetically starved all of a sudden with his chest heaving and the subtle sheen of sweat on his temples.
It was a violent mash of lips after that to be accurate.
Desperate, loud and filthy.
It was a sight she didn’t know she’d see. Not them kissing. Oh no, she had anticipated that for ages now. It was the sight of Potter’s hair getting messier than it already was with Draco’s hands gripping the strands hard enough to look almost painful but Potter clearly wasn’t complaining as he moaned and wound his arms tighter around Draco’s neck. And now that they were finally kissing…. they didn’t look anywhere close to pulling apart, their tongues battling sloppily and filling the pin drop silent common room with lewd wet noises. It was insanely arousing.
Potter, after what felt like hours, pulled away first only to dive in with a low groan and nibble on Draco’s swollen lip. Draco gasped and nuzzled his cheek, placing a trail of lazy, open mouthed kisses down to his jaw.
“Ugh, stop, Merlin!”
“You asked for it….” Potter, the smug bastard, turned away from Draco only to shrug at a scandalized Weasley and went back to snogging his waiting friend.