Hello hello hello! It has taken me quite some time to update this, hasn't it? About three weeks? Goodness! But on the bright side, this is the longest chapter I have written for anything, ever! Feel special ;)
About this fic: Draco/Harry interaction, non-romantic. 6th year. Enjoy!
"And Bell steals the quaffle, headed for the Slytherin goal posts and-oh dropped while dodging a bludger from Marcus Flint!" Lee Jordan announced to the crowd in the quidditch stands during one of the most anticipated games of the season: Gryffindor vs. Slytherin.
"The score remains 90 to 120 as Gryffindor struggles to catch up to the Slytherins! The way their chasers are dropping quaffles left and right their only hope is to catch the snitch before Slytherin gets too far ahead." Just as Lee had made that truthful observation, Draco Malfoy went into a nose dive in pursuit of the golden snitch which was hovering about twenty yards ahead and sixty feet below him. Harry saw his rival make that sudden move and heard Lee Jordan yell "Draco Malfoy spots the snitch!" then immediately headed towards him after he found the location of the fluttering ball of gold that he was after. Harry was neck and neck with in mere seconds, the snitch only half a yard away with an outstretched arm.
"You're not going to win this one Potter," Malfoy yelled still managing to sneer over the volume of the wind, "Your chasers are complete shit and I'm not letting the snitch get away from me this time."
"My chasers may be a little off their game today, but the snitch is mine." Harry replied, his hand getting closer to the snitch when Draco rammed him.
"Oh no you don't!" The force with which the opposing seeker used to try and knock Harry off his broom only moved him off course for a split second but was all Draco needed to get in the lead.
"Malfoy tries to knock Potter off his broom and gets the short time he needs to enter the lead!"
The snitch was just inches from his fingertips when he was rammed hard to the right, falling back a foot until he found his bearings and made his way back to Potter, neck and neck once more.
"Told you I wasn't letting the snitch get away Malfoy." Harry taunted, his fingertips only a foot away.
"And I told you P-" but Draco was cut off when a bludger was hit his way, hitting his back and causing him to fall off his broom, barely managing to hang on with his right hand.
"Malfoy nearly thrown clean off his broom by a bludger sent by Peakes as Potter continues the pursuit of the snitch." Draco struggled for a few more seconds before her heard Lee again.
"HARRY POTTER CAUGHT THE SNITCH! That makes the score 240 to 120, GRYFFINDOR WINS!"
Draco was fuming. He got back on his broom and flew back to the ground only to land next to the cheering Gryffindor team.
"You're lucky that beater of yours didn't knock me off my broom, Potter."
"And why is that Malfoy? If you had landed on your face it would have improved your features." Harry bit back.
"Is that what happened to you? Your shitty beater knocked you off your broom at practice and gave you that God awful face?" Malfoy sneered as he approached the Gryffindor seeker.
"Such a sore loser Malfoy, it's a wonder anyone can put up with you." Harry told him, shaking his head. Calls of "yeah, Malfoy" and "leave before you embarrass yourself" could be heard behind Harry from various team members. The Slytherin team stood there in silence; it was Draco's battle to fight, not theirs.
"I'll show you sore," Malfoy growled, pulling out his wand, "Impedimenta!"
Harry barely dodged the spell and pulled his wand from his quidditch robes when they heard McGonagall yell,
"That's enough, THAT IS ENOUGH." The witch was walking towards them quickly and with the purpose of giving them a good scolding. "Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter, what is the meaning of this?"
"I was provoked, professor." Malfoy said, trying to take the heat off himself and throw it all at Harry.
"Malfoy was just being a sore loser." countered Harry. Sounds of approval were heard once more from the Gryffindors.
"Well no matter who started this you are both getting detention." McGonagall informed them, despite their protests.
"What? No professor, that isn't fair! Malfoy-" Harry said indignantly.
"I was the victim here!" insisted Malfoy, "My father will hear about this!"
"Quiet!" The professor said sharply, "Now you both know the school rules and I expect to see you two in my office tomorrow night at eight for your detentions." McGonagall turned to walk from the quidditch pitch but turned around to speak directly to Draco, "Your father may intimidate some, but I on the other hand would have no problem giving him an earful." Draco spluttered, trying to think of something to say, yet nothing but silence curses left his lips.
But just because the transfiguration professor left didn't mean the students hostile feelings towards each other did the same.
"Way to go Potter, you've just gotten us a detention with McGonagall!"
"Me? You're the one with the temper and poor sportsmanship!" Harry retaliated, "Need I remind you who threw that curse?"
"You had your wand out as well! You can't just blame me for your anger management issues." Draco smirked at his ruby-robed classmate.
"Anger manage-you slimy git! Why is it so hard to admit your loss?" Harry asked.
"It wasn't my loss. I would have won if not for those bloody beaters of yours." He replied simply.
"There is no reasoning with you," Harry said in awe, "I'm leaving this conversation before my brain has to handle any more of your denial." The by standing quidditch players had at some point formed a ring around their two seekers causing the need for Harry to push his way through the crowd to escape the stubborn Slytherin.
"This is utter bullshit," Draco moaned as he lay on his four-poster in the Slytherin's dormitory that evening, "That snitch should be mine and I shouldn't have to spend a perfectly good evening I could be using to get sloshed, with Potter." Draco stewed in his outrage at his predicament for a few more minutes before deciding to write to his father like he had threatened earlier on the quidditch pitch. He opened his trunk and rummaged through it, resurfacing when he found a quill, ink and a spare bit of parchment from one of his unfinished Transfiguration essays.
Dear Father,
As you know, Slytherin played Gryffindor today on the quidditch pitch. What you may not know is the fact that the snitch was wrongfully taken from me by that stupid Potter and we were given detention for dueling. I bet I was confunded by that know-it-all Granger; that's probably how Weasley managed to become their Keeper. This is completely ridiculous and I demand you do something about it.
Your son,
Draco
Draco smirked as he rolled up his letter and made his way to the owlery.
"What you boys will be doing for me today is transfiguring these cockatoos back into goblets." McGonagall instructed, "The fifth years weren't quite getting the concept, except for Miss Weasley who was the only one that managed to transform her goblet into the bird and back without a beak." She gave a small smile towards Harry before adding,
"I will be back in an hour and I expect these to be goblets when I return so we can move on to your next assignment."
The boys looked at her and hoped by delaying the transformation process of all the birds they could get out of this detention much easier than they thought. McGonagall however had already thought of the boys' trickery and had made sure to make the transfiguration process a little more, ah; interesting. The professor opened the heavy wooden door to exit the classroom then turned to address the boys one last time. "If the goblets aren't back by the time I return, you'll have something a bit more unpleasant to look forward to." Draco rolled his eyes but Harry knew she meant what she said. The boys sat in silence for a good quarter of an hour; Harry trying to figure out how to best go about his punishment and Draco leaning back on a chair, obviously taking a nap. The Chosen One finally gave up on a solution to this problem, wishing Hermione was here to help and succumbed to the ever alluring act of daydreaming as the birds squawked quietly.
Harry was still smiling to himself over his girlfriend's achievement after McGonagall had left when Malfoy (who had given up on his nap) spoke.
"Real bloody proud of that weasel you call a girlfriend, aren't you Potter?"
"At least I've got a girlfriend to be proud of." Harry replied seeing this as a way to possible find out what Malfoy has been up to all year, "With the lack of female attention you've been seen with, some might say you've decided to change teams this year."
"What are you insinuating Potter?" Draco asked, picking his head up to look at his rival, eyes narrowing; the birds' chirping and fluttering in the background increasing slightly.
"I mean it's written all over the stalls in the girls' loo-" Harry was making this up but hoped it would rile the ferret up enough to burst and tell him what he'd been doing.
"What is, Potter?" If Malfoy had been less egotistical he might have sounded self-conscious.
"That your attention towards any of the female population of Hogwarts has been cold and dismissive at best this year." Harry replied coolly.
"It is none of your business if I see every girl at Hogwarts twice or I see none of them at all." Draco snapped, not liking the other boy's analysis of his extracurricular activities.
"Yet it does speak volumes to your sexual preference-"
"I am NOT gay" Draco's voice was rising at each insult and insinuation thrown at him and was causing the cockatoos create more of a fuss; wings fluttering, claws scraping against the metal cages and beaks nipping at the bars. Neither of the boys noticed the noise.
"I mean, usually I just dismiss the gossip about other people so I can focus on who could possibly be trying to kill me this year but it was just too amusing to let go of." Harry told him casually, leaning back on the desk behind him.
"Damn it, Potter I'm not gay I've just been busy." Draco's words were muted slightly by his gritted teeth.
"Busy doing what? Or should I ask whom?"
"You-" But Draco never did finish his insult. A clang then a crash of metal was heard as the birds grew, four feet in height and burst from their cages.
"Ah! Potter what the hell did you do?" Draco yelled as he pulled out his wand and started firing curses at the birds, only causing them to grow an inch for each curse that was thrown at them. Harry pulled out his wand as well,
"I didn't do anything!" The birds reached at least five and a half feet tall before Harry realized what their curses were doing to them. "Stop! STOP! They grow when hit with curses!"
Draco lowered his wand. "What do you expect us to do? They are going to bloody attack us!"
"Just let me think for a minute, Malfoy!" Harry yelled back; the cockatoos' squawking had become almost deafening. Not thirty seconds after they stopped firing their curses, one of the birds started to walk over to Draco.
"Whoa, whoa. Don't even think about pecking me you little pigeon!" He held his hands in front of him, trying to indicate to the bird that it should stop, but to no avail. The white bird walked right in front of Draco and paused right before it tried to bite the silver ring off his right hand ring finger.
"Ah! You stupid bird! Let go!" Draco screamed, trying to pull his finger from the bird's beak.
Harry was nearly on the floor from laughing until another bird left the group and pecked him squarely on the forehead.
"Ouch! What the hell was that for?" Now it was Draco's turn to laugh after his finger was finally released from the bird's beak; his silver ring not being so lucky. As Harry rubbed his forehead and watched the white feathered monster head back to its group and Draco still chucking from his schoolmate's misfortune when all the bird's activities stopped. Both boys looked up to see the near six foot cockatoo's glaring at them from the front of the classroom.
"What are they doing?" Harry whispered to Draco who was only a desk away after their battle with the birds earlier.
"I don't know," Draco replied as quietly, "best not to make any sudden-" The birds shrieked in unison and charged towards the boys; the legs of the desk screeching as they were pushed through by the mad, feathered animals.
"AHHHH!" both boys bellowed and threw their arms in front of their faces, forgetting they were wizards and that a good shield charm would have worked wonders. But as the birds reached within 3 inches of the students, they vanished into thin air with a pop leaving silence and wisps of smoke hanging in the air. The two teenagers lowered their arms and looked at the scene and each other completely bewildered; it was one of the strangest things that had ever happen in any of their detentions, and their first featured an encounter with Voldemort himself. The birds were gone and in their place were an orderly classroom and a piece of parchment.
Harry spotted it first and picked it up, reading it aloud,
"Dear Misters Malfoy and Potter, Thank you for being one of our testers for our newest creation the Crazed Cockatoo which gets more fidgety and distressed when the inhabitants of the room raise their voices or argue in any way. Seeing as you two are guaranteed to have an argument or disagreement or raised voices when locked in a room together, we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to test this product. They also grow in size each time they are hit with the wrong curse, similar to our parting fireworks last year.
P.S. the only spell that would have rendered these useless is the second year spell, Fera Verto, which you should have thought of instead of squabbling. Truly yours, Fred and George Weasley." They boys were stunned into silence for a moment and then their emotions went in opposite directions. Draco was completely outraged whereas Harry was honestly amused.
"I think they've got a great product here." Harry commented looking over the note again.
"A great product? Are you mad, those things could have killed us!" Draco exclaimed, obviously not amused by the Weasley twin' first trial.
"Nah, nothing they create is harmful; we would have been fine." Harry replied.
"Fine? Fine? Potter, that thing could have pecked me to death!" Draco threw his hands in the air, "I'm telling my father about this. These things cannot possibly be allowed to go on in this God awful school!"
"You would have been fine Mr. Malfoy." McGonagall had reentered the room without the boys notice and cause them to spin around looking startled.
"Professor, when did-
"I would not have been fine; I would have been murdered by those bloody pigeons!"
"Calm down Malfoy."
"I will not calm down!" Draco yelled, "My father will hear about this and you and Dumbledore will get sacked for allowing things like this to happen!" He stormed out of the room leaving a surprised Gryffindor and satisfied professor.
"Some people just can't handle a joke." McGonagall said, "You're dismissed Mr. Potter, I shall be seeing you in class tomorrow."
Harry took that as his cue to leave, already anticipating the retelling of this story to Ron and Hermione when he returned to the common room.
That will teach them to quarrel on the quidditch pitch. McGonagall thought as she left her classroom and headed towards her sleeping quarters.
"The teachers at this school are mad! Setting birds on their students who have landed themselves detention!" Draco ranted in his dormitory later that night, "I mean that can't possibly be legal, and if it is the world's gone mad as well, I mean-"
"Draco, just owl your father and tell him what's going on and quit whining about it. Damn." Blaise Zabini groaned from his four-poster.
"You're right; Father's influence in the Ministry can hopefully get those two sacked." Draco replied and went to rummage in his trunk for a piece of parchment when he heard Blaise.
"Here," Blaise said, holding out a piece of parchment, quill and ink well. "I want you to write this immediately so it keeps your trap shut."
"Why thank you Blaise," Draco drawled and rolled his eyes, "ever the helpful bloke, you are."
"I do what I can." was his reply as Draco snatched the items from him and sat down to write.
Dear Father,
I'm not sure if you've received my previous letter but I must inform you of another atrocity that this school has once again brought forward. I had unrightfully and on no incriminating grounds received a detention from McGonagall with Potter for this evening. When we arrived, there were cockatoos in cages and we were told to transfigure them back to goblet within an hour. Potter and I got into an argument (which was to be expected) and the birds began to grow right out of their cages! They bit me and stole my favorite silver ring! It turns out these were Weasley products that needed testing and McGonagall was clearly more than happy to help. This kind of student abuse does not belong at Hogwarts and I suggest you get both McGonagall and Dumbledore sacked immediately!
Your son,
Draco
Once the Slytherin was satisfied with his letter, he again made his way to the owlery.
It only took two days for Draco to get his reply. He was in his dormitory studying for his History of Magic test on goblin wars when the blood red envelope was delivered by a very handsome barn owl.
"Is that a howler?" Blaise asked with interest from the other side of the room.
"'Course not, why would my father be sending me a howler?" Draco scoffed and proceeded to open the letter.
Draco Malfoy! Why must you tell me about every unsavory thing that happens to you? If I had a Knut for every time you've said, "My father will hear about this!" they wouldn't have a Gringotts vault big enough for them! If you owl me once more about 'stupid Potter' or 'know it all Granger' I will disown you! Oh and son? Your mother would like you to owl her immediately; all of her owls have apparently "dropped" your reply letters. Write your mother.
Father
By the time the letter had ripped itself to bit the entire Slytherin dorm was filled with cackling and howling boys who were relishing in their classmates verbal attack. It was Blaise who caught his breath first,
"I told you it was a howler, mate! I told you!" He was back to rolling on the floor again.
"Damn it Blaise, this isn't funny!" Draco was fuming at his classmates' response to his father's howler.
"Funny? It is hilarious!" he replied, "Draco Malfoy gets a howler for whining to his father! Clearly he hates your letters as much as we hate your time worn threat."
Seething, Draco left the confines of his laughter filled dorm and ventured into the halls to get away from the boys and think about what damage this could do to his reputation.
Well this certainly is embarrassing, he thought, No one will take my threat to write to my father seriously anymore, not even father himself.
So there it is! Hope you liked it and please leave a review with your thoughts! Positive or negative! Remember, suggestions are always welcome! :)
