Draco prided himself on his perceptiveness, it was what gave him such knack for getting what he wanted. He could always tell just what people wanted to hear or see or feel to make them happy. Draco's gift for understanding people coupled with his determination made him a master manipulator. So he was very vexed when he decided that he wanted Harry Potter but couldn't quite figure out how to go about it. Potter's unattainability was a huge thorn in Draco's paw, and he had no intention of letting it stay there.

Draco's brow was furrowed as he glared at the Gryffindor table. Potter was so oblivious to everything, Draco had long since surmised that Ron had some sort of infatuation with Potter, and he wandered if perhaps Potter was also aware of the fact but chose not to acknowledge the it. But if Potter knew he wouldn't do so many obviously insensitive things like... ignoring him. Gryffindors were thick, but they weren't mean by any stretch, so if Harry was acting as if he didn't notice Ron then Draco guessed that he probably didn't. Draco wondered what Potter would do about it if he found out, would he try to brush it off, be uncomfortable and distance himself from the Weasley, or would he wait till they were alone, and changing one day after Quidditch practice... A little shudder went through Draco's body as he imagined Potter's body pressing against another maybe biting lightly at someone's neck.

"What do you keep staring at?" Pansy asked, sounding annoyed.

Draco just turned back to his food and poked at it angrily.

"If you know what's good for you you'll keep your head down this year Dray."

Pansy sort of had a point, it would probably be advisable to keep a low profile with the rising war and so many things in flux. But Pansy didn't really know what she was talking about, not to mention it being none of her business anyways. Pansy had actually become one of Draco's only real friends, but friends or not, he didn't like being told what to do by anyone.

"I haven't done any thing." Draco said sulkily. Not yet.

"I can tell you're up to something, just because I don't know exactly what it is doesn't mean I can't see that something is going on. I know you're going to do whatever you want regardless of the consequences," She sounded bitter, "but..."

"Just drop it." Draco cut her off, and glared at her before getting up to leave.

Draco's frustration was peaking, he'd been watching Potter for nearly a month, and had found so little to work with. Potter had an annoyingly good relationship with Dumbledore, he wanted to be an Auror, his best friend was in love with him, he excelled at Quidditch... Draco shook his head, he was tired of going over of a list of useless facts that didn't get him any closer to what he wanted.

Harry glanced at Ron who was looking somber. He had really taken to moping around lately.

"What's with you?" Harry asked Ron for the tenth time that week. "There's a Quidditch game today, you should be excited! I can see you being all sulky when Hermione went out with that bloke last week, but honestly I don't think she really cares about him, and there are more important things to worry about right now! Like Quidditch!"

Ron's face went even darker at the mention of Hermione.

"Oh if you would just get over yourself and ask her out things would be so much easier." Harry rolled his eyes.

"I don't want to ask her out." Ron said as he pushed his plate away and got up to leave.

Harry rolled his eyes again. "Whatever you say."

Harry choked down the rest of his breakfast, and went to get his things for the game, he wanted to be early and get a sense of the conditions.

It was really a perfect day to fly, the breeze was mild and slightly cool. It was bright but with cloud cover so no blinding sun. It was almost a shame it couldn't be the Slytherin match, but Harry supposed it would be best to get in more practice for that anyways. Hufflepuff would be easy to beat and start the season off in the right direction.

[insert quidditch game here]

After the game Harry went with the rest of the Gryffindors to the common room to celebrate. All except Ron, who had insisted on taking a bath and couldn't be convinced otherwise. Harry supposed he would want to make the most of being a prefect too if he had been given the opportunity, and he knew from experience that the prefects bathroom was worth taking advantage of. He didn't see Ron till the partying had completely died down, and most everyone had gone to bed.

"Took you long enough!" Harry said when Ron finally returned. "I thought maybe you drowned in there. What were you doing."

"I had some notes for finish up for Potions, so I just worked on that when I got done, didn't feel much like having a party."

Harry shook his head in disbelief. "Somethings's going on, and I'm going to find out eventually, I mean, it it's a girl you can just tell me..."

"Will you leave me alone if I let you use my key?" Ron snapped.

Harry grinned, he had been a bit jealous of Ron's four hours of relaxation and alone time. "...maybe."

Ron rolled his eyes and tossed him the key to the prefects bathroom. "It should be empty, I think everyone's gone to sleep by now."

When Harry got to the bathroom he opened the door quietly, and poked his head in to make sure no one was there, he didn't want to get Ron in trouble for sharing his privileges. After he had drawn his bath he he pulled his robes over his head and left them in a heap by the wall. The water was hot and soothing on his aching muscles, and he sweet smell of the bubbles put him at ease. But he hadn't been in the water 5 minutes before he heard a rustling, and a key turn in the lock of the door.

Harry froze, he didn't have time to get out of the water. But the room was dimly lit and steamy... maybe the person had just left something and come to pick up. Harry ducked down as low as he could go in the water and still breath, his back to the door.

The door opened and someone stepped in side. "Hello?" An all too familiar voice called out. The door clicked shut.

Harry couldn't imagine anyone he would less like to be caught by. Draco would definitely try to get as many people in trouble as possible. Maybe he could convince him that he had borrowed the key with out Ron's permission. At least then he would be the only one in trouble.

Draco didn't seem to have any intention of leaving. But he hadn't seen Harry yet either. He walked around the room once glancing about, but didn't seem to notice anything. Draco pulled his robes over his head. He was wearing a white t-shirt and black slacks.

Harry's chest tightened suddenly and his next breath came short as Draco pulled the plain white t-shirt up and over his head, revealing a narrow, muscular back. Harry hadn't taken off his glasses yet and what little light there was in the room was framings Draco's form. His eyes traveled up Draco's back to the nape of his neck where his silky, platinum blond hair began. Draco's hands went to his belt then, his head bent forward and Harry had the very strong sense that the point of no return was reaching and that he had better say something soon before Draco removed any more clothing. If he made his presence known before it was too late, before Draco was naked, he would probably throw a little fit about Harry being in the bathroom and how it was against the rules, and he would lose some house points. The longer he waited the worse it was gong to be, yet for some inexplicable reason Harry didn't want to say anything, he didn't want to tell Draco to stop undressing. Something that must have been akin to curiosity had a very strong hold of Harry, and he couldn't bring him self to say a word.

Draco took longer than he needed to with his belt. He could feel the tension in the room as he took his time undressing.

All this time Draco had spent trying to figure out a way to get Harry's attention or make some kind of move and this had fallen right into his lap. He had been on his way back from the library when he had chanced upon Harry sneaking into the prefects bathroom. It hadn't technically been part of his plan but Draco was nothing if not an opportunist, so he had waited outside, strategizing and planning exactly what he would do, till he was sure Harry had enough time to undress and submerge himself. He was pleased when no one had replied to his 'hello?' that was just how he was hoping it would go. He had walked around till he was in Harry's line of sight. At least he was pretty sure that's where he was, it was a little too dark to tell exactly where Harry was located.

Draco pulled down his slacks and stepped out of them. Harry hadn't made his presence known yet and Draco doubted he would at this point. Once Draco was completely unclothed he turned around to face the huge bath tub. He was careful to keep his gaze down in front of him, he couldn't risk making eye contact and ruining the atmosphere of the moment. Draco lowered himself slowly into the water and sighed with pleasure as the warmth enveloped him. He let himself soak for a moment, enjoying the mix of fear and fascination he was getting from the second inhabitant of the bath. Then he positioned himself in the corner of the tub, so his head could rest back on the ledge, he closed his eyes and leaned back.

The room was completely quiet, the magically lit lamp on one wall offered no sound, and most of the castle was asleep by this time. The only sound Draco could hear was the pounding of his heart against his chest. He would not describe himself as a self conscience person, but what he was planning to do took some courage. He thought briefly about not going through with it, no one would ever know the difference, but what were the chances he would get to be naked in a hot bath with Potter again? For all his contemplating about how to get Potter fantasizing about him sweaty and tangled in sheets he'd come up with virtually nothing. Thinking about being sweaty and tangled in sheets was getting him back in the right mood though, and he let his hand travel down and grasp his already pulsing erection. The light touch of his own hand caused Draco to shutter and groan from the pleasure. He wasn't sure but he thought he heard a quick intake of breath from a few yards away. Draco's head rolled back and his brow furrowed as he worked.

The feeling of Harry's eyes on him was almost too much for Draco and he had to slow down considerably to keep from finishing right then. Draco wanted nothing more in the world than to just be on the other side of the bath at that moment. He wanted their bodies to press against each other, he wanted the other boys hands on his cock. The thought nearly send him over the edge again, and he forced himself to slow his breathing and clear his mind.

Draco's tried to focus on the smell of the perfumed water and the sensation of ripples lapping against his body, but he was flooded with images of Potter again; pressed against the wall of the bath, messy black hair tangled in his fingers, teeth nipping at his neck and chest. This time he let the picture stay, he let go and allowed it to consume him and forgot everything else. One final image came to mind of Potter's mouth wrapping around his cock and sliding down, then all he saw was white for a time as waves of pleasure washed over him and he convulsed under the water, toes curling, one hand on his still pulsing cock and the other on the ledge to steady his body. He felt heavy in the water, heart still pounding and breaths coming deep. It took a tremendous amount of will power to keep from looking, to keep from searching Potter out with his eyes to see his reaction. He would be able to tell what Potter thought soon enough, he just had to bide his time for a bit.

He wished he could stay for another hour and float amongst the bubbles, but he had already taken up at least a quarter hour of Harry's time, and that was quite a while to sit perfectly still and barely breath. Draco forced himself onto his feet and pulled himself out of the water. He ran his hands through his hair and stood, collecting himself before locating a towel and drying off enough to slip back into his cloths.