Summary: H/D SLASH -- Scheming to at least be able to briefly taste the forbidden fruit that is the one and only Draco Malfoy, Harry comes up with a seemingly fool-proof plan that involves Pansy Parkinson, Polyjuice Potion, and Draco's bedroom. Things never go according to plan, though, do they? *grin*
Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any part of the Harry Potter universe…that privilege is reserved for J.K. Rowlings.
Rating: PG13
Warning: This story contains SLASH. If you are not comfortable with male/male relationships, please hit the "back" button.
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DEPERATE MEASURES
Harry stared down in exasperation at the viscous deep purple liquid burbling away in the caldron in front of him. Had he added too much pixie wing powder? Did he not chop the Whomping Willow bark finely enough? He was sure the color was wrong. Rifling through his barely legible notes, he found the short description of the finished potion.
Proloqui Potion is thick, opaque, odorless and lavender in color.
Damn it! He had promised himself that he wouldn't be distracted by a certain blond Slytherin, but obviously he had not paid enough attention to his potion. Snape was sure to have a scathing comment when he turned in his less-than-perfect attempt of today's assignment, since it was too late to start remaking it from scratch.
As he poured a sample of his proloqui potion into a vial, he shot a brief glare at the boy two rows in front of him that had stolen his concentration. For over a year now, Draco Malfoy had haunted him, waking and sleeping. Still, he had to admit that it was an improvement over worrying about Voldemort's next attack and nightmares spawned by his evil activities. Voldemort's defeat at the beginning of last year had been a huge weight off of Harry's shoulders and he had suddenly felt like he could live again, plan for the future, just be a normal teenager.
Harry snorted at the thought. It turned out he still wasn't normal…his crush on Malfoy proved that. Every time Harry saw the Slytherin in class, in the halls, or at the Quidditch pitch, he was compelled to interact with him even if it was only to sling insults and barbed witticisms. It had been during one of their frequent fights when Harry had first realized his attraction to Malfoy as he had stood toe-to-toe with the blond. Malfoy's quicksilver eyes had been bright with anger, his normally pale skin flushed pink, his lips parted as he panted in agitation and his body stance screamed of coiled violence. Harry had no idea why it had been that particular moment that he had viewed Malfoy in a different light, but suddenly his rage had been replaced by lust and the proximity of the angry Slytherin provoked a very physical response. Needless to say, Harry had been horrified by his reaction and abruptly left a confused Malfoy standing in the hall as he practically fled back to the Gryffindor tower. Ron and Hermione had been confused at Harry's uncharacteristic retreat as well, and trailing after him, asked in concerned tones what was wrong. He had not been forthcoming with any answers and finally his friends had to concede defeat and let the matter rest.
Harry had not been able to let the matter rest, however. He spent several weeks denying his attraction and he had been particularly antagonistic toward Malfoy in an effort to prove to himself that he did indeed hate him and that nothing had changed. All he had proven, though, was yes, he did hate Malfoy, but he also wanted to snog him senseless. Now he provoked Malfoy just to see his eyes flash and his color heighten. Harry knew the sensible course would be to ignore Malfoy entirely and search for a healthy relationship to help him forget about the sexy Slytherin, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he obsessed over Malfoy and in his spare time during the summer break he had come up with a plan that should satisfy at least his short-term goal of finding out how Malfoy tasted…
Harry reined in his wayward thoughts as he continued to sneak glances at his obsession. Malfoy was currently holding up a dark brown bottle and frowning as he swirled the contents. Uncorking the bottle he took a wary sniff, then shook his head and said something to Pansy, who was stirring her cauldron with bored look on her face. She shrugged and gave a short reply. Malfoy cast her a disdainful look, re-corked the bottle, stood up and headed back to the supply room.
Harry gasped at the serendipity. This was it! If he acted quickly, he would have a chance to implement the plan that he had spent weeks concocting. There wasn't a moment to loose.
Quickly sealing his vial, he slid out of his seat and headed up to Snape's desk. As he passed Pansy, who was luckily sitting on the aisle, he pretended to stumble and dropped his potion sample, which he promptly kicked under her chair. Pansy jumped in surprise.
"Clumsy git!" she snapped, drawing away from him as he leaned down to pick up his vial by her feet. Before straightening up, Harry raised his eyes to hers and flashed her a small smirk.
"I know something about your boyfriend that you would find very interesting," he said in a hushed undertone. "If you want to find out what it is, meet me at 7:00 tonight in the 5th floor hallway."
"What?" Pansy gaped at him in astonishment. Harry glanced back to the storeroom and saw Malfoy heading back to his seat. "Just don't be late, Parkinson," he told her, then winked at her as he stood up and resumed his interrupted trek to Snape's desk.
As he turned in his assignment, his mind was so caught up with what could potentially happen that very evening he didn't even register Snape's derogatory remark about his potion-making prowess. Would Pansy take the bait? Everything hinged on her. He hoped that he had stirred enough curiosity to prompt her to meet him without telling Malfoy about it. Even if she doubted that he knew anything interesting about Malfoy, she should still want to talk to him about his audacity to flirt with her, however mildly.
On his way back to his seat he glanced briefly at Pansy and was delighted to see a speculative gleam in her eye as she stared at him. It looked like this whole desperate plan of his might just actually work…
TBC
A/N - Hope you like it so far! Reviews would be greatly appreciated. *hint hint* :) Sorry there has been no Harry/Draco interaction yet, but there will be soon, I promise! ^_~. In the next chapter Harry springs his trap on Pansy as his plan proceeds apace.