Unconditional

Draco didn’t know what to expect from Potter. He knew it would be something, though. Probably something horrible. Black was his godfather’s name, after all. And Draco’s father had just been directly responsible for the man’s death. But even so, Draco wasn’t sure what to expect.

What he didn’t expect was Potter coming over to him, lightly pushing Padma aside and asking in a polite, if slightly strangled tone of voice, if Draco wanted to be his Charms partner.

Did he? He supposed he didn’t really. He wanted to continue to smirk at Padma until she threw herself at him. Plus, Charms partners were for all year. It was said that there were people who had switched, but no one knew any of them personally. A common joke was that Charms partners mated for life. And yet Potter was asking him.

But then Draco thought, wouldn’t his father have been pleased if he had managed to get this close to Potter last year? Easy to hex or poison when you were working together. Or to play the long game, find out little details, gain trust. Well, his father could just bugger off because he wouldn’t be getting any benefit from this.

“Yeah, alright.”

Padma looked slightly put off and went to go work with her sister.

They set down their books and opened up to the chapter that was written on the board. A piece of parchment slid across the table. It read, Why Black?

Draco wrote back. Why what?

I meant, why BLACK?

It was my mother’s maiden name.

I know but… wasn’t there anything else you could have chosen?

No. Why did you ask me to be partners, Potter?

I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to ask you about this.

You could have asked me any time. You asked to be partners. Yanno, charms partners mate for life.

It seemed Potter didn’t have a response for that other than turning a bit pink. He began taking notes on the different kinds of invisibility and cloaking charms.

Up at the front of the classroom, Professor Flitwick held in a grin. Though the circumstances were drastically different from what he or anyone else thought they would be, he knew a certain Minerva McGonagall who owed him five sickles. There in front of him, again, sat a Black and a Potter, passing notes in class, not even trying to hide it.

---

Draco was surprised at how quietly Charms was going. Granted, they were just reading, so they hadn’t spoken to each other besides the note-passing. But even so, usually just being in such a close radius to each other provoked fighting. Draco wasn’t as happy about it as he thought he would be. Sure, he loved doing things his father would hate, but this was just too far. He couldn’t sit next to Potter for a whole period and not get a reaction out of him. He reached over and grabbed the parchment back from Potter. It was under his elbow and when Draco pulled on it Potter’s arm, and the head that had been resting on it, slammed to the desk. Draco sniggered. He had meant to scribble an insult on the parchment, but this worked just as well.

“What the bloody—Malmmfmm!”

Draco laughed louder as Potter tried to call him by his former surname and failed.

Potter glared at him. “Can’t we just put all this stuff behind us?”

“Quiet back there!” Professor Flitwick yelled in his squeaky voice. “It’s reading time!”

Draco grabbed the parchment.

Why would I want to put it behind us? Torturing you is such fun.

Harry rolled his eyes at the statement. You’re mad. I know you ran away. I know you renounced your family and Voldemort. Why do you still want to mess with me?

Dumbledore knew everything. His father knew everything. Potter, however, was not supposed to know everything. Because it’s fun, Potty. I hate you for you, not for anyone else.

Potter frowned. Then why’d you agree to be my Charms partner? We’re mated for life, as you said.

Draco looked at the parchment for a while. He figured he might as well tell the truth. Because I hate my father, Potty. He would have loved me to be partners with you earlier, but I knew you wouldn’t because you hated me so much. But now you ask me to get closer to you. It’s an opportunity he would have loved, but now he can’t profit from it.

… that’s stupid. Will he even know that we’re partners? Are you going to tell him?

Eh, whatever. He might. He might not. Sometimes rumors are passed from child to parent.

You’re weird… I don’t even know what to call you anymore.

Call me Black.

I won’t.

Well, I’ve only got one more name.

Call you Draco? That’d be weird. Almost… wrong.

Draco chuckled. I suppose you’re right. And besides, if you called me Draco, I’d have to call you Harry, and then where would we be? First-name basis.

Creepy.

Quite.

Ferret-face.

Scarhead.

---

Annoying Potter hadn’t gone quite as well as planned. Draco assumed he was in a transitioning phase and he’d get it back next week. He was in the library when,

“Hey, Ferret-face!” disturbed his reading. He looked up to see Potter, with his two cronies lingering back, clearly uncomfortable.

“What is it, Scarhead?”

“You left your Charms notes in class earlier.” Potter held out the aforementioned notes.

Draco took them cautiously. “And you brought them to me?”

Potter shrugged. “Yeah.”

Draco shook his head. “This will not do.” Harry looked confused. Draco hit him with a bat bogey hex.