Summary: Draco is hopeless, really he is.

Draco smothered his yawn of in-difference as Potions was about to start. It had been a long night where he'd gotten into a fight with Blaise over how he'd treated Pansy the other week. Really, Draco didn't think much of it - because it had been nothing. Even Pansy must know him better than that by now? His attitude was one of the things she liked about him after all.

But since they got up this morning, Blaise had been nothing but a git and apparently he was determined of staying a git during Potions too.

Snape wasn't going to teach them for the first of the two periods of Potions they had today for some reason, Draco could only take a wild guess as to why. Before he had any time to think about it more, the door flung up.

Instead of billowing black robes and quick steps that demanded attention and respect, there was a larger than life belly with buttons. Professor Slughorn.

A bit into the lesson, Draco frowned. 'Professor... we haven't covered this section yet.'

'You'll do just fine. Miss Granger here, has it all worked out. Apparently she managed to do so while cleverly doing a list over every useful potion that involves Essence of comfrey, which you are now going over with Professor Snape.'

'Good for her...' Draco muttered and bit back the rest of his reply.

'Maybe if you ask nicely she'll let you look it over?'

Draco, especially since he had no trouble hearing the Gryffindors snort a few tables away, forgot all about keeping a low profile around the teachers as Snape had advised him.

'I very well will not take notes from the likes of her!' Draco spat in outrage at Slughorn who gave him a questioning smile.

'What do you mean, the likes of her, Mr Malfoy? She's very well in the top of this year.'

'In-suffering, mudblooded know-it-all is what she is...' He mumbled low under his breath.

'What was that, boy?' Slughorn held his hand behind his ear, cupping it, looking ridiculous while at it.

'Nothing. I'll sort it out on my own thank you.'

'Finally, a lesson in Potions where I'm enjoying myself.' Came an amused voice from behind him to his left.

'Something on your mind, Scarhead?'

'What, me? Oh, no. It's just nice to see you be put in your place in a class where you usually show off.'

'I don't show off, thank you very much. It just happens I have a talent for Potions. In fact, maybe you should watch yourself Potter, might accidentally slip something into your pumpkin-juice one time or the other.'

'Malfoy, you sure it's wise to be threatening me when there's a teacher so close by? Remember the bouncing ferr...'

'Laugh it up, Boy who Can't be helped...'

'You sure you are ok, mate?' Blaise interrupted, his voice like silk.

'What's it to you? Afraid I'll leave a present in your juice too, Blaise?'

'Hardly. I'm only asking because, I hope everything's all right between us? That we still are friends you know? That's what friends do. Care, I mean. You really do seem different!'

Draco knew he was mimicking Pansy the week before where Snape had told him off. In his idiotic mind he must think that Draco would take the bait, blow a fuse and be told off twice.

Instead he just continued in the same calm voice: 'It's called growing up, Blaise. You should try it.'

And just like Pansy, Blaise didn't listen as he used words similar to hers again. 'Nope, that isn't it.'

'Enlighten me then, to what you think is my problem.'

In the background he could almost swear he could hear Weasley mutter under his breath; that he had many. He decided to ignore it and humor Blaise instead.

'It's just that I've seen that look many times you know, but I didn't expect to see it on your face.'

'What look?' Draco spat, staring at Slughorn who didn't seem to mind students talking in his class at all. Well, that might have to do with who was doing the talking he thought scornfully, last time he checked he wasn't on the man's list of favorites.

'You look like you are stressed out. But that would imply that you care about something, and that's just couldn't be, could it? I mean unless it's about yourself. So what is it?'

'You are awfully chatty today, aren't you, Blaise...' He just grumbled and uncharacteristically turned away from the other boy.

'Upcoming tests too stressful for you? Daddy being away left you feeling all alone?'

'I told you to shut up about my family. Besides, you should know everything about being stressed out, wouldn't you? I can hear you during the night you know, tossing and turning.'

'You forget I can hear you, too. Judging by the sounds, you're having the motherload of hellish-'

Draco slammed his fist on the table making two of the ingredients fall to the floor. 'That's enough!'

'That is quite enough, actually.' Slughorn said with a tired look in their direction.

But unlike Snape, he didn't dish out a nasty consequence following up their rudeness.

Blaise took this as a go ahead to continue once the voices of their fellow students could be heard around them.

'Why so touchy? A family that think they're above it all, shouldn't have trouble taking a few jibes.'

Draco clenched his jaws together. Blaise usually wasn't so talkative. But he figured, if he could be a bit out of sorts, Blaise could too.

Blaise made sure they had eye-contact before he continued: 'But I reckon, daddy dearest being in jail has somewhat put a damper to that image you have of being the perfect family, hasn't it?'

Draco bristled, but forced himself to remain calm. His patience was wearing very thin indeed.

His frustration kept growing as other students closer to them was clearly listening and awaited for them to continue their verbal-match.

Particularly three very nosy Gryffindors, even Granger didn't have the frenzied look on her face she had when she was concentrating hard to get everything just right.

He made a grimace and with much difficulty managed to focus on adding the last few ingredients to the sneezing potion they were being tested on in the end of class and carefully began to stir.

The instructions couldn't be more clear about that, stir the potion very carefully or you'd have an expl- there was a loud BANG echoing around the stone walls and Draco didn't need to look twice at who had caused the explosion - because he was sitting right next to him. Goyle coughed and wiped at his face with the paper-towels Draco had shoved into his hands.

'Pr...professor it really burns!'

'Oh, dear. I wonder why though, we haven't used any ingredients that might cause for it to...'

Goyle's continued howls of pain cut Slughorn's sentence short. 'Apparently you did, didn't you, boy? Well then, everything is going to be all right.' He moved fast for his bulk and was at Goyle's side hoisting him up into a standing position. 'Here, why don't you come with me.'

The silence was bordering on eerie as they all sat there listening as the steps of Goyle and Slughorn slowly faded into nothing.

'Never was much of a thinker that one, he's more of a doer, isn't that right, Draco?'

'And what are you, Blaise? Honestly, one would assume you simply just enjoy hearing yourself speak.'

'When I got something important to get off my chest, sure. Besides I wasn't done. You know what look I was talking about before?'

'What of it?' Draco hissed.

'It really just reminds me of a vulnerable little boy who's fighting to not rub at his eyes that are filled to the brim with tears.'

'My eyes aren't filled with tears, you ingrate!' Draco had to really put in an effort to keep his stirring under control. Nice and slow, counter clockwise, nice and slow. Easy does it.

'You always were daddy's little boy, though. You shouldn't feel ashamed of feeling a bit-'

Blaise didn't have time to continue, Draco wasn't particularly curious about how he intended to finish it either. He was finally fed up.

He couldn't care less about ruining what he knew was a perfectly good sneezing potion, nor of the impending detention he knew he was about to get. He had moved fast as lightening, knocking Blaise off from where he was sitting.

Chairs scraped across the floor as their classmates scrambled backwards all in unison trying to get a better view.

It wasn't long until they were tumbling around on the floor; Blaise with a split lip and already swollen eye, and Draco with a nose that spurted blood, hands tightly around Blaise's throat.
They didn't hear some of the Slytherins sharp intake of breath close by, or the door that banged against the wall. But what they did hear was a furious voice belonging to Severus Snape.

'Mr Malfoy! Zabini, that's enough!'

Determined footsteps moved towards them, but neither stopped what they were currently doing. Before he knew it, Draco was dragged from the other boy, held tightly for a second or two before he felt the hem of his robe being clutched in one hand that refused to budge. He was harshly pushed down into a chair right at Snape's desk in front of the whole class, and Blaise was in the far corner of the room.

Draco's hands kept squeezing into fists at his side, wishing for nothing more than to pound that idiot into the ground, but one look at Snape and all he did was wipe at the never-ending stream of blood coming from his broken nose..

'Detention, the both of you! I can hardly believe this comes as a surprise, Zabini.' He added darkly at the boy who had the look of outrage over his haughty features.

Snape muttered a few words under his breath that Draco didn't catch, but it had soon became clear that he had summoned Draco's cauldron to where they were sitting.

As Draco had thought, his potion was now ruined. He couldn't care less though.

The class cleared out, Snape started towards the door, having Blaise almost in a headlock.

Draco couldn't help a small smile at that, but it vanished as he spotted Potter, Weasley and Granger, their behavior very obvious, tidying up their stations very slowly not wanting to miss anything that went on.

'Twenty points from Gryffindor for being busybodies it is, then. Go on, on with you. Nothing to see here.' Without looking back at him when he was almost out of the door, Snape hissed: 'You, however, you stay right where you are, Mr Malfoy.'

He made a grimace at the man's back, he summoned napkins and started to clean himself off the best he could.

Left alone in the gloomy classroom, it didn't take Draco long to found himself to be completely lost in his own mind.

Now that his father was back, he would most likely to be forced to return home during the holidays. His mother would be away to visit some cousins, his father had pointed out in the letter, Draco didn't need to read between the lines, or see his face to know that his father had been smirking contently as he'd wrote that letter. Especially when writing the part where his mother wouldn't be around for most of the last week.

That would leave Draco alone with his father for almost six days. Only thinking about it sent shivers up his spine. He didn't want to experience it. When all of this had started, Lucius had just been creeping Draco out, almost so bad that he'd called out to his mother. Thinking that the strange behavior was just confusion from his father, Draco hadn't given it much thought, thinking desperately that whatever problem was troubling his dad so much would work itself out. But things got worse. Much worse.

He could remember clearly how he'd found his father sitting at the side of his bed after that first meeting with the Dark Lord, with something that looked like adoration over his features while watching him.

When he had woken up from the curious sensation of a hand lazily tracing his arm, he had been pushed down onto his back. His father had then leaned in close, whispering in his ear that he only tried to help the situation along. Make things easier for him.

His mother had peeked through the door that time, confused asking what on earth Lucuis was doing. As always he talked his way out giving a convincing story of Draco having a nightmare. His lie rang even more true due to the cold sweat that had broken out all over Draco's body.

Draco was showering the first time Lucius did more than just touch.

Head all cloudy as he stood with his back towards the door, not hearing the door being unlocked. Strong arms held him for a second before he found himself being swirled around, pressed up hard against the wall by his father. He made Draco touch him until he spilled all over his hand that time.

A few days had passed until Draco found himself on his knees, his father's release swallowed, almost gagged up, but a hand over his mouth made sure everything stayed down. He cleared his throat out of pure reflex in the classroom that would be empty if not for his professor that had returned and was now eyeing him closely.

Completely oblivious to the fact that he wasn't alone his fingers clutched at the table harder as he could feel the weird and almost painful sensation as his moaning father slammed his dick deep down his throat, fingers boring into his hair. Draco had cried openly that time. It was by far the most humiliating and terrifying experience he'd ever had in his fifteen-year-old life. He couldn't breathe for Merlin's sake!

Draco remembered his father's eyes at that moment when he finally dared to look up. The slightest hint of regret dancing in the otherwise ice-cold grey eyes;

'I'm sorry, Draco, but this needs to be done. I'm only preparing you for...I'm trying to…' then he had silenced, shaking his head, and left the room, leaving his son in a trembling pile on the floor.

Lost in painful memories of the year that had passed since the Dark Lord returned, Draco was continuously unaware of the black eyes now watching him as he clenched onto the table with such force that his knuckles were white. He almost screamed as he felt the warmth from the yet unknown man, the strong arms around his waist, very similar in the way his father had held him. Hearing the locking and silencing spell cast upon the room, he felt the man's breath tickle his left ear as he spoke in a low voice, yet very audible, "Look at you, not thinking you're above it all taking orders, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco couldn't bring himself to answer properly so he just settled with a snort.

"You are terribly tense, you want me to fix that?" He was turned around, met with a smirk accompanied with an arched eyebrow. All he managed to do was stare at his professor.