4- Mobile Phones
Despite his conversation with Blaise, Draco spent the rest of the week ignoring Harry. Well, not really ignoring, just not volunteering conversation, and Harry, worried that he had completely scared away the blonde, did not try to talk to him either.
When Blaise commented, Draco made the excuse of waiting until their next lesson together as a group, which made his friend call him a coward. The blonde knew he was deliberately baiting him, and ignored the taunts in a very Gryffindor style.
Having not yet explained the situation to his friends, Harry went around like normal, pretending Hermione wasn't giving him concerned looks. She seemed to have figured out more than enough, and he was hardly going to volunteer more information.
Ron avoided anything to do with Malfoy altogether. He was slightly awkward, but did not veer away from his ordinary behaviours, and Harry vaguely wondered how he would react, should he know that he Slytherin had had sex with Harry in the Gryffindor dormitory.
Not well, obviously. Anyone with around average intelligence could have figured out why Malfoy was wearing Harry's tie. Hell, even Crabbe and Goyle had never been that oblivious.
So, Harry concluded to himself, Ron was in denial.
Was it because Harry was gay, or because it was Malfoy?
Probably a bit of both. The whole of the wizarding world knew why Harry had broken up with Ginny, but Ron hadn't excepted it then, and Harry hadn't tried to talk to him about it.
All Ron had gotten by means of explanation was an article from the Prophet, which he had dismissed because it was the Prophet.
In this manner, Ron also behaved as if he did not have knowledge of the fact that Harry could be a complete flirt when he wanted to, and also pretended that he had not seen a rather peculiar letter from both Oliver Wood and Viktor Krum. Some things were better not seen.
And it was of great amusement to Harry, as Ron had never been through his mail since.
Silliness aside, Harry was concerned that Ron would be totally against everything, and he didn't want a pathetic argument like fourth year. Or every year, really, including the ones with Hermione, that affected Harry almost as much as the ones with himself.
Alongside this, he panicked that Draco was never going to talk to him again, and he felt stupid for it had to be his old enemy that he thought to be the most attractive boy he'd ever seen. And he was more than a little forlorn, for the blonde was so obviously unobtainable, for the fact that he was well above going out with a fairly pathetic Gryffindor.
It was all almost overwhelming, but at least Harry proved to himself that he didn't have the emotional range of a teaspoon. Particularly because, deep down, he knew everything seemed so dreadful to him, though he knew it was an overreaction, due to the fact that he was completely in love with the blonde Slytherin.
Though he was also in a half-kind of denial, pretending that it was all just because they were no longer fighting that was getting to him.
In opposition to the fact that they were finally being pleasant, and yet Harry had taken advantage of a drunk and alone blonde.
Then there was the equally true statement that drunken shagging had probably given the other boy the wrong impression, and rightly so. And that he was shit-arse scared that his chances were absolutely nil.
Which meant the situation was completely fucked, even if he hadn't kissed the distraught boy in a hallway.
That had most definitely scared him rather than helped. And these ideas working against him strengthened themselves within Harry's head throughout the whole week.
Especially since he started observing Malfoy rather obsessively, as well as mostly subconsciously, and noticed that the other boy seemed to be putting large amounts of effort into not being able to see him, even going so far as to sit on the other side of the Slytherin table- it put his back to the Gryffindors, but also placed him opposite his friends, with a fifth year Ravenclaw sat beside him.
Sitting with Ravenclaws to avoid Gryffindors. That had to be a new Malfoy low.
Other than falling in love with a male Gryffindor to begin with. Had his father been dead, Lucius Malfoy would be turning in his grave.
In their current moods, neither Harry nor Draco paid any attention to the interactions of their friends, and failed to notice that Seamus and Blaise were both vanished from their groups at exactly the same time.
Actually, neither really paid much attention to the fact that their friends weren't there to begin with.
Admittedly, yes, they were mainly talking about Draco and Harry, but any moron could tell they each genuinely liked the others company.
The other pair was merely an excuse to meet up and talk.
*0o0o0*
In true inter-house unity, Blaise and his Gryffindor companion even turned up to 'Life-Choices' [which McGonagall had named the class] together, and all of the others stared in blatant shock.
Except for Harry, who was staring at Draco, and Draco, how had finally noticed he had caught the attention of the other boy, and was blushing softly whilst bowing his head to the floor in an attempt at hiding.
Which only made Harry want to hug, the adorable blonde, which he stopped by digging his nails into his palms.
When Snape finally let the crowd into the room- as it was set in the room of requirement, either McGonagall or Snape had to let them in, to ensure no-one got genuinely lost, or used it as an excuse for bunking.- everyone poured through, having previously disregarded the request for an orderly queue, and Draco waited until everyone else had left before moving towards the door.
Well, that had been the plan, but Harry did not move either, as caught in his own thoughts as he was.
Draco's eyes snapped up to meet those bright green ones, then he turned swiftly, blonde hair swinging over his shoulder as he walked through the door to the room.
This startled Harry into moving, and he followed after, vaguely noting that the Slytherin's hair was growing out, and it made the blonde look softer, and strangely, less like Lucius.
Fingers itching to be caught in soft, almost white locks, Harry trailed after, and did not notice until he was right in front of their table that the other pair had edited the seating arrangement.
The idea had been that they could all sit where they wanted, so long as they stayed within the small groups. There wasn't much choice, but almost everyone was still glued to their friends, nothing changing since the last lesson.
Always different, Blaise and Seamus were sat together, much closer than was needed, on one side of the table, leaving Draco and Harry with no choice but to sit opposite them. Equally close, seeing as they had set up all of the chairs on the shortest two of the four sides of the table.
It was illogical, inconvenient, and very obviously deliberate.
Blaise was smirking at him, so Draco sat without a word of protest, Harry following suit.
They both took the opportunity to talk to their friends, and there was no problem whatsoever until Snape told them to get their homework out or be sent to the forbidden forest. Most knew it was an idle threat, but complied anyway.
Being right handed, and Draco being left, their hands brushed as they both reached for their bags. It made Draco jump, and Harry would have laughed had he not also been startled.
Instead, he simply moved his hand, allowing his Slytherin 'buddy' to grab his bag before pulling his own onto the table.
It was a perfectly accidental and entirely innocent contact, but it made both appear far more uncomfortable than they had been previously.
"Sorry" Harry heard Draco mumble miserably. It made him feel very confused. How was that anything to apologise for? Seriously, they had been far more intimate voluntarily- it was a slight contact of their hands for crying out loud, hardly an unforgivable curse.
"I'm not." Harry retorted quietly, and his eyes flickered at the slightly happy surprise that crossed Draco's features.
The mood shifted somewhat, and neither moved at all until Snape appeared behind them.
"Are you two going to stare into each others eyes, oh-so-romantically, or are you going to hand over your homework?" He sneered at them, and some of the people sat in hearing distance started giggling, causing Draco to flush bright pink.
Having much more tanned skin, the blush that painted Harry's features was far less obvious. And he wasn't nearly as easily embarrassed as the Slytherin beside him.
Half-temped to tell Snape that he would much rather stare at Draco, the Gryffindor went back to searching through his bag. The only thing that had stopped his retort was the small matter of not wanting to make the blonde more embarrassed than he already was.
He would, undoubtedly, take to it rather badly.
Harry handed over a battery-powered model train (stolen from dear old Dudders, as Harry had written in his IOU), followed by Draco handing Snape a small cardboard box. Of purple hair dye.
Their two were clearly the most interesting objects in the room.
Other than Ron's. Unlike most of the purebloods, some of whom had literally just bought in a battery, Ron had failed to even bring in something that was completely muggle. Though far more intriguing.
Shrunken, and growling horrifically, was the car Mr Weasley had tinkered with, and Ron had driven, all the way back in second year.
Quite a few people looked genuinely scared. McGonagall went to undo any spells placed on the car, but Snape just stayed where he was, glaring at both Malfoy and Potter, though for once, Harry had nothing to do with it.
"Do you think this is funny, Mr Malfoy?" Harry almost laughed aloud. He thought it was rather good. As it was, he couldn't help but chuckle softly, luckily so quiet that only the Slytherin could hear him.
Draco smirked, then turned back to the potions master.
"No sir. I was merely offering the muggle alternative to our colour-change charms." Draco sounded as innocent as ever, but it only served to make Blaise join in Harry's laughter.
McGonagall -who had confiscated the car- came to stand next to Snape, though she appeared more amused than aggravated.
"Draco Malfoy, I would not advise you actually putting that in your hair."
"Why not?" He sounded confused.
"Because that will stain your hair. If you like being blonde, don't dye your hair. You have to wait for it to grow out, or re-dye it. Which damages your hair."
Draco looked vaguely horrified.
"Then why would they do that?"
"Jesus, Draco, it's not that bad. That permanent stuff is for people who want their hair that colour. There's also washout dye for people just messing around. 'Sides, it's not like there's another option." Harry was now outright laughing.
Draco still looked worried.
McGonagall just smiled at him, then turned to the class.
"Right, now that we know Mr Malfoy will not be stuck with purple hair, I think you can all get ready to start the first activity."
Almost everyone quirked an eyebrow. But then Snape got a list out, and scowled at Harry.
It made him wonder what on earth he had done wrong. (Let's face it, it was normally deliberate, so he knew exactly what the problem was.)
"As these lessons are few and far between, all trips will take place on Saturdays. As you are of age, we need not bother with the forms, though some of you still need to complete an apparition competency test, so you are able to travel."
"We ordered all requests. Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Pasny Parkinson…" The list went on. These were the groups placed with McGonagall.
"You will all be going on a trip to London for various different tasks this weekend."
Harry blanked out most of this. He knew that he still hadn't completed a couple of the tests.
It also explained why Snape was annoyed. He was stuck with the rest of them, including his least favourite student.
"Everyone else, You have an in-school project for the next week. If you can stand in your pairs, by the fireplace, I will hand each of you your assignments in turn."
They could all guess why Snape was currently in charge of those projects. It meant doing very little, and letting the groups piss off and work on their own.
Harry, Draco, Seamus and Blaise all stood at the back of the sad attempt at a queue (no matter how old you get, the concept can still baffle people) noting the people left with them. The rest of the room was vacated, as they had little to do but work in the library, finding information to help them in London.
There was two types of groups with them. The ones without full apparition passes, and the ones that thought that if they stayed in school, they wouldn't have to spend as much time with the other person.
"Any of you lacking in the proficiency exam paper [this was not the main exam, which everyone had now passed, but a safety one that was considered necessary if travelling from school alone. Only one member of a pair needed it, so the other could side-along with them through larger distances] will have the chance to take it on Saturday, after you report back on the task you are about to be given."
With this -Snape was a man of few useful words- he handed out work packs, with very small explanations to each group.
When he finally got to Harry and the others, a bundle of boxes were thrust into Harry's hands. He handed one to each of his group, quickly noting that every box was almost identical.
"Potter, use these to cause trouble and you'll have detention for a month." Snape chucked the task instructions on top of the black and white box, then swept away.
Which left Harry to explain to Draco that it was an iPhone, and not all that complex.
In the booklet, which Harry flicked through, it appeared they had a few days to just use the phones, then they had to write an essay, answering various easy questions about the technology.
Harry could probably answer half of them already, and he had never really owned a mobile, let alone one that complex.
Blaise and Draco, however, couldn't have looked more confused if they tried.
Both were intently reading the back of the boxes, as if it had the answer to life written across it.
"Guys, the Muggles don't even read that stuff." Seamus dragged Blaise to a table by the hand, which both Harry and Draco noted with a little confusion.
Harry just flopped to sit on the floor, legs crossed and began sorting through the box.
He was rather surprised when Draco did identical, but spinning the end of the charger around as if it were about to do something exciting.
"Malfoy, that's just the charger." He moved closer to the blonde, showing him how to turn on the phone.
It took longer than necessary, setting everything up, for Draco still didn't understand what it did. Once activated, Harry put his number into Malfoy's phone, and vice versa.
"Watch." Harry handed Malfoy's phone back to him, then motioned Draco to watch what he was doing.
He typed a message, and clicked send.
The phone in Malfoy's hand bleeped.
Now I can annoy you via this instead ;P
The name above was Potter.
"Wow, that's so cool." Draco was distracted from the actual text by the rectangle it appeared on.
"Yeah. Anyway, if you set it to silent, you can text Blaise in class. Muggles do it all the time, no matter how many times they're told not to." Harry went and got Seamus's and Blaise's numbers, set his and Malfoy's phones to silent, then left the room, leaving an excited Malfoy to play some game that he'd found two seconds before.
*0o0o0*
The rest of the day was dull. He didn't see Ron and Hermione for a good few hours; they had been in the library, actually studying.
When they finally joined him in the common room, Harry was shocked to see Ron actually carrying books. A whole stack apiece; it looked like the pair had masses of reading to do.
It turned out their pair were going to Scotland yard. This was one of the broader topics, not a week long, but six weeks, and covered everything from muggle murders, to ASBO's, to watching court trials.
It was rather detailed and difficult; Hermione had obviously picked it, and the other three had just agreed. (They, also had used the same idea as Harry's group, trying to stick as a four rather than a two. So far, it had worked for all of them.)
After Hermione had rambled on for a good half an hour, and Ron was pretending not to be bored shitless, Harry's pocket vibrated. (Those of you with bad thoughts, shame on you) He dug out the phone, and opened the message labelled Draco.
He froze.
"What is it, Harry?" Hermione looked concerned.
"Wow, Harry, is that a mobile?" Nodding absently at Ron, Harry replied to the Slytherin, then stood up.
"It's nothing, Hermione. Just got to go sort something."
Draco: Can I talk to you?
Potter: Seventh floor. I'll be there in five.
Harry jogged out of the common room.
A/N- Happy Valentines day, everyone! As you can tell from the fact that I sat at home and wrote this, I'm not really celebrating. But, there you go. At least I updated. My Sherlock multi-chapter fic is now complete, so I should be able to update more often XD
Cissa The Bookworm - I thank you for reviewing all three of the previous chapters XD You are now one of my favourite people.
Ahem- Thanks to- Cissa The Bookworm, Noelian Johnlock, Phantom. Sorceress, and chaseawaymyfears for reviewing XD