Written for the QLFC Season 5 - Round 12
Tutshill Tornados - Chaser 2
Prompt: Write about two characters in a colleagues relationship - [Draco Mafoy & Harry Potter]
Optional Prompts:
[4] Name (word)
[8] "Move away from the door and let me at him!" (dialogue)
[12] A man is known by the company he keeps (phrase)
This is a Muggle!AU
Word Count: 1,910
Tap tap tap tap tap.
Tap tap tap tap tap.
Tap tap tap tap tap.
Every single day was the same. All that could be heard was the constant bloody tapping of his co-worker's bloody fingers on their stupid bloody keyboards. Sometimes, one of their annoying little voices would interrupt the relentless silence which was worse than the constant tapping. Even worse than that, sometimes his co-workers would try and make a conversation with him, as if he cared one way or another about the colour of Susan's new front door and whether she wanted clear or stained glass.
As he glanced around at his co-workers at that moment in time his opinion of them dropped even lower. Luna Lovegood was talking to and gently stroking the printer which had broken the previous week, convinced that 'kindness' and 'good vibes' would magically fix it. Zachary Smith had his finger rooting around his nostril; though disgusting, it was a welcome change from him constantly scratching his balls. The crème de la crème though was Alastor Moody who was currently playing a very intense game of monopoly by himself.
Exasperated, Harry ran one hand through his messy, dark hair and grabbed his 'World's #1 Dad' mug. He hurried into the break room and slumped down into one of the less broken chairs. As he waited for the kettle to boil he once again thought bitterly about the person he had used to be, the dreams he had given up on, and the job he would be stuck in for the rest of his life. Never before had he been so irritable, in fact, he'd been a rather nice person fifteen years ago and funny too. Now all he thought about was the missed opportunities and constantly felt nothing but resentment.
"Knock, knock!" said a voice from the doorway.
Harry looked up to see the only co-worker he liked and best friend standing there with his own mug.
"Alright, Ron?"
"Yeah mate, not too bad. Jesus Christ, have you seen what Loony's doing?"
"Mhmm."
"Fucking hell, she's off her fucking trolley that one. How's the Mrs?"
"By 'the Mrs' do you mean your sister?"
"Shut-up," said Ron, throwing a custard cream at him.
Harry chuckled. "Yeah, she's fine. How's Hermione? Need to have you two over for dinner soon. I haven't spoken to her in a while."
"Well, she's busy with the campaign so doesn't have much time for her friends now." Harry ignored that, his two friends were always bickering and it was best not to get involved. "And she's got me on this new low-cholesterol, no-sugar diet thing." He heaped two spoonful's of sugar into his tea. "It's a nightmare."
"Diet looks like it's going well."
"What she doesn't know can't hurt her, eh?"
Harry rolled his eyes.
"Oh! Almost forgot. Have you seen the new guy?" said Ron.
"No, what new guy?"
Ron pulled him towards the open door and pointed the new guy out. Harry could only make out the back of his head and all he could see was slicked-back white-blond hair.
"What's his name?" asked Harry.
"Get this; Draco Malfoy," said Ron, sniggering. "What a fucking awful name."
"Jesus."
"Let's go introduce ourselves!"
"What for?"
Ron shrugged. "Maybe I just want a mate with a weird as fuck name. Now come on!"
He let Ron pull him towards the new guy's desk; partly out of curiosity but partly because he wanted to put off actually doing any work for as long as possible. Draco was taller than Harry had first thought him and had a sort of pointed face but seemed quite normal at first.
"Hi," said Ron, holding out his hand to Draco. "I'm Ron, Ron Weasley and this is Harry Potter. We just wanted to welcome you to the building."
"Draco," said the new guy introducing himself.
He had gripped Ron's hand with the tips of his fingers for the briefest of moments before grabbing the anti-bac gel on his desk and dousing his hands with it. Harry and Ron shared a look that said 'what the fuck!' before Ron tried a conversation once again.
"Nice," said Ron. He had picked up one of the frames on Draco's desk which held the photograph of an incredibly beautiful woman. "Who's this?"
Draco's cheeks turned slightly pink and he snatched the frame out of Ron's hands.
"My girlfriend, if you must know."
Harry choked on his mouthful of tea. There was no way in hell that woman was this guy's girlfriend. It looked as though he'd printed out a picture of a model from the internet at home. This opinion was furthered by the other frames on his desk.
"And those are?" said Harry.
"My cats."
"You own twenty cats?"
"Twelve cats," Draco corrected. "Do you want to hear their names?"
"Oh no," said Ron. "Bit busy right now, er, got some work to do. But we should definitely take you out for a pint sometime."
Harry looked at his friend in horror when their boss sauntered up to them before he could say anything.
"Harry, good to see you!" said Ludo Bagman.
"Hello, Mr. Bagman."
"I see you've already met Draco. Excellent."
"Sir?"
"Yes, I want you to mentor him. Make sure he knows what he's doing. Have him shadow you for a few weeks and be available for any questions he might have. Here at Lockhart and Sons, we're one big family."
"But I-"
"Oh, and all of you remember that the big boss is supposed to be coming in at some point over the next few weeks so get ready. Need to be on our best behaviour!"
With that Ludo walked back into his office for what would presumably be his afternoon nap. Harry sighed and turned back towards Draco who was looking around like he could smell something disgusting. Ron smirked and bid Harry good luck under his breath as he walked around him to his own desk.
"So," said Harry. "I suppose I'll give you the tour. C'mon."
He led Draco around the building, occasionally pointing out important things but mostly walking in silence. It didn't take too long but it felt as though it had been an age. Then Draco sat with him at his desk and watched him work which was shit because it meant that he had to actually do some work. They mostly sat in silence but Harry tried to make pointless conversation a few times. Draco didn't seem to want to give much about himself away but what he did say Harry didn't like at all. Apparently, he still lives with his parents, belongs to a country club, and owns three cars courtesy of mummy and daddy – perhaps the girlfriend was real after all. He doesn't even look after his own cats; he has a special cat nanny for them, whatever the hell that is.
"Fancy a tea?" Harry muttered.
"No, thank-you."
"Alright, be back in a minute."
Harry shook his head in disbelief. Was this guy for real?
~P~
A few months had passed since Draco Malfoy had joined their company and Harry's opinion towards him hadn't changed one bit. He was pretentious and rude and Harry didn't have time for him. To be fair, he didn't have time for anybody there except Ron and their boss, and the latter was only out of pure necessity. Begrudgingly, Harry had to admit that the guy was a good worker and if he could be bothered to actually do any work ever he'd probably be trying to be better than Draco as soon as possible.
At that moment Alastor moody began banging on the supply room door. Harry's interest was piqued and he looked up to see what the commotion was.
"Move away from the door and let me at him!" Alastor screamed.
Luna was stood in his way and her flowery voice carried over to him.
"What's the matter? Why are you so angry? Let it go and you'll feel much better."
"He STOLE my sandwich."
"Who did?"
Harry turned them out then as the comedic value began to decline. Over at his own desk, Draco was staring daggers at the commotion. For some unknown reason, he seemed to really care about his job and hadn't yet figured out that it was, in fact, completely pointless. Harry thought that if Draco got any angrier little puffs of smoke would soon be coming out of his ears. Then the most marvellous thing in the world happened.
"GET OUT HERE NOW!"
Alastor was banging his fists against the door.
"WHAT is this racket?" said Ludo.
"He STOLE my sandwich."
"Who?"
"THE GUY!"
Ludo looked as though he were going to tear his hair out when another voice joined the mix.
"My my, Ludo. What a welcome."
Gilderoy Lockhart was standing in the centre of the room, his perfectly white teeth showing with that famous smile. Draco was up like a shot, as per usual.
"Hello, Mr. Lockhart, sir."
"Hello, there. And who might you be?"
"I'm Draco Malfoy. You know my father, I believe?"
"Ah yes! Great man."
Harry looked away, utterly repulsed. At least now he knew how Draco had actually gotten the job.
"I am so sorry about this, Mr. Lockhart," said Ludo.
"Not to worry. I found it rather amusing."
"Shall we head into my office?"
"Lead the way."
As soon as the door snapped shut an instant buzz of conversation started up. Draco, as per usual, didn't speak another word to anyone else. In fact, he kept his eyes focused entirely on Bagman's office door. Pansy Parkinson began to laugh shrilly, causing Draco to stare at her instead and he didn't look happy. He stood up abruptly and began to shout.
"Will you be quiet and get back to work. All of you are acting like children. Be professional for once."
The entire room was instantly silent for a few moments.
"Oh, piss off!" yelled Ron.
"Excuse me?" said Draco.
"He said 'piss off'," said Harry.
"How DARE you speak to me like that. Do you know who I am?"
"A stuck-up dickhead?"
Draco seemed to have turned red with rage but Harry's own blood was boiling and he wasn't having any of it.
"At the end of the day, you aren't the boss of us. You're a colleague. That's it. You have seniority over nobody. So stop trying to tell everyone what to do and fuck off because we aren't your trained monkeys."
"Yeah!" yelled Ron as he fist-pumped the air.
The door of the office swung open again and Bagman and Lockhart came walking out, seemingly oblivious to the shouting match.
"… and as my dad used to say 'A man is known by the company he keeps'. Remember that," said Lockhart.
"I'll keep that in mind, sir."
"Alright, well. This has been great. See you at the next one!"
Lockhart swept out of the building, not noticing or ignoring Draco's attempts to get his attention. Draco glared at Harry who smirked in reply.
"Ok, guys," said Bagman. "Let's get back to work!"
Draco slowly lowered himself back into his desk chair and began diligently tapping away on his keyboard. Harry turned back to his own screen with a small triumphant smile on his lips. He had gotten one over on Douchey Malfoy and it felt great.
After all, Harry didn't have to like the guy he just had to work with him.