Charmed

Unfortunately though, it didn’t make her plan any less idiotic.

“I am in no way clumsy, I’m literally a seeker - I'm supposed to have superb reflexes,” Draco moaned.  

The common room was empty save for Blaise, Pansy and him.  The afternoon was peaceful and quiet with most students in class, they could discuss their scheming in privacy.

“We know Draco, but you need to appear clumsy, give him a chance to be a hero,” Blaise explained, moving his arms around as he’s briefing Draco like it’s the most important mission of his life.

“That’s stupid, why would he ever catch me?  Plus we’re nearly the same height, it isn’t practical.  And if I bump into him and drop my books, he’ll think I’m bullying him or something,” Draco reasoned, face twisted into a scowl. 

“Okay stop,” Pansy help her palm up in front of his face.

He looked at her, eyes questioning. 

“Stop that ugly grimace you have going on, Potter wouldn’t wanna snog that,” she explained, eyebrows raised and lips pursed.

“This is literally my face you tw-“

“OKAY.  Expression etiquette can be done later.  First, we need to get Harry to notice Draco,” Blaise interrupted.

“What do you mean notice me?  He literally turned me into a ferret!” 

“Well, he technically didn’t-“

“Okay stop, this isn’t working.  This is a stupid idea.  Harry and I will always be rivals, it’s been that way from the start,” Draco announced, trying to mask his dejected tone.  Clearly his friends didn’t pick up on it, both smirking at each other knowingly.  

“What?” He questioned, looking between them. 

“So it’s Harry now, is it?” Pansy teased before snorting, Blaise was already giggling and punching her shoulder.

Draco sighed, exasperated at their behavior.

“You two are ridiculous,” he mumbled, standing up to head back to his room.

“Maybe, but Harry isn’t now, is he Draco?”

More laughter from them, more eye rolls from Draco.

Maybe he ought to turn them into ferrets, that way they’d speak less. 

-

Draco was furious.  No, furious was an understatement.  He was absolutely fucking livid.  

All he wanted to do was go to the great hall, eat a nice warm dinner, and go back to his room to study potions.  

Pansy and Blaise had other plans for him.  

Apparently involving him ending up in the infirmary.

"We're so sorry Draco, but it's just too funny," Pansy managed to choke out between laughs, wiping a tear from her eye.

Blaise hadn't said a word for the last ten minutes, he looked like he was struggling with some kind of asthma attack, a noiseless laugh shaking his entire body in a chair that he was bound to fall out of soon.

Draco's scowl was so rotten, he was sure that if there were flowers next to him, they would wilt.  

It also didn't help that right across their bed, Granger and Weasley were also wheezing with laughter as an angry, impatient Harry wearing a sling glared at them.

"You are unbelievable, I cannot believe I allowed this friendship to progress thus far.  From tomorrow, we do not know each other," he muttered angrily, glaring at both of them.  

It only fuelled their howling laughter.

.

The walk to the Great Hall was brisk, Pansy and Blaise trailed behind Draco in a totally inconspicuous manner.  Draco kept rambling on and on about his new potions discovery, Blaise and Pansy tuned it out the second they left the common room.

"Say, what do you think he speaks about more, Potions?  Or Potter?" Pansy whispered.

"Hmm... interesting question.  Now that you bring it up, I'm finding Draco to be quite the copy of Snape, think he'd be happy to hear that?" 

Pansy snorted, mouth pulled up into a smile.

Then, they saw it.  

Fate.

The Golden Trio rounding the corner at the same time as them.  Harry walking in front of Ron and Hermione.

Blaise and Pansy looked at each other wide eyed before looking back at Draco in front of them.  The same thought passed through their heads.  

Push.  

What was not anticipated was the force of the push with their combined strength, or that Draco was still a tad bit too far from Potter to be caught.  But, Potter made the dive anyway.

Unfortunately, his heroic moment was destroyed when his foot caught on to the end of his robe.

It happened in slow motion.  

Draco's horrified look, betrayal of the highest measure.  He opened his mouth in a very unnecessary and very shrill scream, arms flailing for purchase.  

Potter's robe was the first thing in his grip.  

Harry watched Draco fall and his first instinct was to dive forward.  Quite stupid of him.

Within a second, his foot got tangled up into his robe.  Then, Draco's death grip on said robe only pulled him down further.

Harry ended up hitting the ground first, his shoe twisted in fabric, his ego bruised.  Finally, he heard the scream, just as Draco Malfoy's full weight came down on to his outstretched arm.  

Harry swears he heard a crack.  

Maybe that was just Malfoy's forehead coming into contact with the floor.  

-

"I think that just made my entire year," Blaise commented, still trying to shake off his giggles.

"God, did you hear the scream?  And the sound your head made when it smacked against the floor?"

"Yes, I'm sure half the Great Hall heard it too," Draco snarked in response.  

"That was legendary," Pansy replied to Blaise, completely ignoring Draco.

"Why did you have to push me so hard?  I weigh less than your dog!" Draco complained.

Pansy rolled her eyes.

"Yes little ballerina, we know.  We just weren't expecting you to fall that ha-" she cut herself off with another hearty laugh.

-

On the other side of the room, Ron was recovering from the coughing fit he had after laughing too hard.

"I don't understand why you tried to save him.  He was literally ten feet away from you, what were you thinking?" He questioned, tone still breathy.

"I wasn't thinking, that's the point.  It's my reflexes," Harry reasoned, mouth pulled down in a frown.

"Mate, I know you're a seeker and all, but last week when I tossed you my snow globe, you put your hand out after the entire floor was covered in glass,"

"What?  Why on earth would you throw him a snow globe?" Hermione questioned, absolutely perplexed.

"That doesn't matter," Ron brushed her off, "what does matter is that his reflexes went into god mode as soon as Draco Malfoy was in distress," Ron's exaggerated eyebrow movement and smirk made Harry want to punch him.

 Hermione tutted impatiently and reached over to Harry to smack him over the head.

"Ow!  What was that for?" He exclaimed.  

"Please just acknowledge your stupidly massive crush on Malfoy so we can just move on," Hermione begged and Ron nodded in agreement. 

"I do no-"

"Harry,"

"What, I swear I don-"

"Harry,"

"I'm telling yo-"

"Harry,"

"Fine, yes.  I want to punch Malfoy and then snog him right after.  Happy?" He snapped, huffing in annoyance. 

"Finally!  Now we can actually do something about it," Granger moaned, throwing herself over Ron to express how relieved she was.

"No, we are not doing anything," Harry immediately dismissed the idea stubbornly.

"Mate, you just made a ten foot dive and broke your arm for him.  I think you need our help," Ron deadpanned.

"I said it was reflexes!"

-

Draco thinks that this is probably his worst birthday by far.

His father remembered, but sent him a peanut and cashew cake.  Draco is allergic to peanuts.  

Also, who would send someone a peanut and cashew cake for their birthday?

"Father of the year," Draco mumbled.  He levitated the cake with his wand, too afraid to go near it.

First getting kicked out of the library, then ending up in the infirmary, and now this stupid cake.  Draco just wanted to go to sleep and forget all about it.

However, in an empty classroom, a secret meeting was taking place.

"Ron SHUSH, I'm standing right here, you don't need to yell," Hermione whispered heatedly, glancing around to make sure no one was in the room with them.

"Well where the hell are they?  They were supposed to be here!" Ron exclaimed, trying to keep his volume hushed.  

"Just wait, they'll come," 

Sure enough, two minutes later, Pansy and Blaise tiptoed into the dark classroom.

"Okay, let's get this over with," Pansy started, looking between the two Gryffindors.  

"I can't believe you pushed him so hard!" Ron started, grin already forming.  Pansy giggled and nodded, claiming it was an accident.  

"Well at least we know Potter would try to catch him regardless," Blaise shrugged, the other three nodded in agreement.  

"So, what's next?" Hermione asked.  They all paused for a moment, wracking their brains for ideas.  

"Well..." Pansy started, eyes darting back and forth.  "I have an idea, but I don't know if it's going to work..."

-

"You're 18!  You cannot be going to bed this early," Blaise protested, dragging Draco's body out from under his covers.

Draco looked like an angry, frazzled cat - face contorted into his normal ugly grimace and eyes stony cold.  

"The last time I trusted you I almost got a concussion," he shot back, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away from his pleading friend.  

"We promise we wont do anything dumb, I just want to give you your birthday gift.  It's in the library," Blaise reasoned. 

Draco cocked his eyebrow up, he was very clearly sceptical.

The library?  A birthday gift?  At midnight?

"Why would my birthday gift be at the library now?" 

Blaise sighed deeply, as if it pained him to reveal any further information.

Then, he made piercing eye contact with Draco, staring him down.

"Look..." he began, turning away for a moment as if to collect himself.  "Pansy and I got together to find your birthday gift, it took us months.  It'll help you with your potion, and we had to hide it in the library because Snape almost caught us with it once.  It was the least suspicious place," 

Draco paused to think, Blaise waited patiently.  

He did sound very genuine about the whole thing, Draco thought to himself. 

"So it's a book?" he questioned, trying to pry out a little more information.  

Blaise just gave an unsatisfactory shrug causing Draco to roll his eyes.  

"Merlin, this is stupid." he sighed, "Okay.  Take me to the library," 

-

"Please, please, please," Hermione begged.

"You and Ron could go!  Why do you need me to come along?" Harry whined.  

"Because!  Ron needs to be the lookout, you and I can search for it together, it'll save time," she replied, Ron nodded enthusiastically.  

Harry pinched the space between his brows and sighed.  

"Why do you need this book so urgently?" he questioned, peering up at her curiously.  

"Because, unlike you two, I actually care about N.E.W.Ts and I know this book has what I'm looking for," she explained.

"God, I can't believe we're breaking into the library again, that's the lamest thing ever," Harry muttered whilst nodding his head in agreement. 

He also missed the subtle fist high five that Ron and Hermione exchanged.