Disclaimer: Urg. I do. Not. Own.

Warnings: Language, MalexMale Pairings, Mature themes.

Author's Note: Got this done this morning, just barely getting intarwebs access. I don't know what else to say. XD I realize the whole chess thing is a little cliche and very vague, but I suck at chess and I've been dying to use that plotline forever. I also realize that Draco's problems are a little over the top/idon'tknowwhat, but it does happen. I only hope I didn't make Draco too whiney.

I'm gonna try to get as much out as I can, I'm having two impacted teeth removed on the 1st and I doubt I'll be in the shape to get on my computer, nevermind write coherently. I'm also quite freaked about it, because the teeth are impacted, I'm getting stitches and everything. Hold me. :[

ALSO: This chapter is dedicated to the wonderful, lovely Cinnamon Selkie for being Misery Love's Company's 100th review. I tried to throw in a bit more RonxPansy for her. ;)

-HP-

"You know, I think Remus is looking considerably better since he began teaching again." Hermione stated suddenly, looking up from her book.

I nodded distractedly, my attention was on something else and I wasn't even sure I'd fully comprehended her statement.

More to the point, my attention was focused on the blonde a few yards away and I was too absorbed in trying to figure out what was going on in his mind to pay attention to Hermione's random thoughts, which no doubt had something to do with Ancient Runes or something equally boring.

I wasn't sure where this odd obsession with Draco came from. It was like one day I hated him and everything he stood for, and the next I couldn't learn enough about him.

No matter how many nightmares I'd had that featured him, or how many times Sirius dazzled me with stories from when Draco was a child, he was still an enigma I wanted desperately to crack.

And yet, I knew things about him I'm sure even Parkinson didn't. But at the same time, I still knew so little.

I paused and scratched my nose in thought, glancing at Hermione, who had turned back to her book with a frown.

This must be how she feels all the time.

I let out a quiet sigh and looked around at my house mates, but inexplicably, my eyes found their way back to Draco. The blonde shifted slightly as Nott said something to him and nodded a little. His eyes were closed and he was reclining comfortably on a boulder near the water.

I frowned a little and sighed, feeling oddly irritated.

Draco seemed to aware I was watching as he shifted uncomfortably and opened his eyes, glancing over at me. I smiled slightly and he blinked, perking an eyebrow and smirking at me.

I chuckled quietly, causing Hermione to glance at me curiously, before shaking my head and sighing, leaning against the tree comfortably and closing my eyes.

-DM-

"So you've got it bad, don't you?" I asked quietly, setting my head back on my arms and shutting my eyes again, writing Potter off as insane for the thousandth time that day. Teddy shifted and sighed

"I suppose I do. I've never, ever met someone so brilliant, funny, charming or beautiful in my life." He muttered, I laughed quietly

"Don't worry. I'm not offended." I drawled, I could pretty much hear Theodore scowl at me, making me smirk in amusement "So you're in love with Granger."

There was a pause and Theodore shifted uncomfortably, before heaving a large sigh

"Pretty much." He agreed, I cracked an eye open and looked up at him with a small smirk. He gave me a worried look "You don't think any lower of me, do you?"

I blinked and stared up at him for a moment

"Theo, don't make me slap you." I muttered, closing my eyes. He made an irritated noise

"Draco, I'm serious." He stated, I frowned

"Why, because she's muggleborn?" I questioned, he sighed

"Not only that, she's friends with Potter. She's a Gryffindor. She's the only one that has better Charms grades then you. There are a lot of reasons." He replied, I perked an eyebrow idly

"Theo, I get no say in who you date." I stated simply, he was silent for a moment

"So we're still friends?" He asked softly, I frowned and opened my eyes, sitting up and looking at him

"Did you really think something that trivial would ruin our friendship?" I inquired , furrowing my brow. He ran a hand through his hair and gave a light shrug

"I wasn't sure." He admitted, I blinked and kept a blank look on my face, before flashing a smile

"Don't worry, Teddy. It won't." I assured him, trying to ignore how his admission made me feel. He looked at me for a moment, clearly seeing through the blank smile, before sighing and patting me on the shoulder

"Thanks Draco." He stated, I nodded and watched as he slipped off the rock to wander over to Blaise. I watched him go with a frown, before sighing heavily and grabbing my things, making my way back to the camp. I slipped onto the ground and stared at the fire, not comprehending exactly how my friends seemed to view me.

Teddy was afraid I'd abandon him because he'd fallen in love, Pansy was uncomfortable confiding in me something that was obviously bothering her and Blaise had been in love with me for years without my knowledge.

Suffice it to say, I wasn't going to win the friend of the year award.

I let out a quiet groan and pinched the bridge of my nose in irritation, ignoring the fact that that was probably the least of my problems. Someone sat on the ground next to me and I cracked an eye open, not at all surprised to find Potter rummaging in a small bag. I scowled a little

"Are you stalking me, Potter?" I snapped, he laughed quietly and pulled out a large bar of Honeydukes chocolate, glancing at me and pulling the cooler closer

"Don't flatter yourself, Malfoy. I just happened to decide to return to camp and eat a large bar of chocolate by myself. You just happened to be here." He paused and pulled out a quart of milk and gave a smile "Milk?"

I stared at him for a moment, and he seemed to take my silence as affirmation, because he dug out two metal cups and carefully poured two glasses of milk, handing one to me.

"You are without a doubt the most confusing person I've ever met." I sighed, sipping my milk. Potter laughed quietly and broke a large piece of the chocolate bar off, offering it to me

"I think that's beyond mutual, Draco." He stated with a small smile. I took the chocolate from him and gave him a look, taking a small bite

"Any particular reason you abandoned Granger to follow me?" I questioned, he perked an eyebrow and leaned against the log, stretching out comfortably.

"Remember that talk we had yesterday?" He asked with a smile, I quirked a brow and glanced at him "This is me making the first move. You looked like there was something on your mind, and I wanted to offer my ear."

I blinked at him and sighed, looking back to the dying fire.

"You don't want to hear about my problems, Potter." I stated quietly, he tipped his head slightly

"Yes I do." He disagreed, I looked at him and scowled, before looking up into the sun speckled leaves above us.

"Well, you asked for it...the Ministry seized the manor and most of our funds, meaning my family is about as poor as Weasley's now. Mother and I are staying in our London flat, which is about the only thing worth anything the Minister ignored. My father's in prison and he's gone absolutely bonkers, my mother's sick again and we can't afford her treatments, I've been pulled into a war I want absolutely nothing to do with, on the absolute wrong side. I've been forced to do horrible things in the name of a cause I barely believe in, and when I refuse to, either I'm tortured till I give my assent, or the people I love are. My friends all seem to think I'm so caught up in my own problems that I don't give a shit about theirs, I can hardly stand to eat, and almost every time I close my eyes I'm plagued with nightmares." I muttered, staring at my chocolate thoughtfully. Potter stared at me for a moment, before blinking

"Jesus." He stated, looking at the ground, I gave a bitter chuckle and glanced at him

"Sorry you asked, eh?" I questioned, he glanced at me and frowned, before shaking his head a little

"No. I'm not." He disagreed, I stared at him and he gave me a small smile "Eat your chocolate, you'll feel better."

I scowled slightly

"Doubtful." I muttered, before taking a small bite anyways. I chewed slowly and Potter sipped his milk, before looking up at the sky with a small smile. I stared at him in confusion and he glanced at me, his smile widening a little. I ignored the fact that again, I found myself wanting to smile back and narrowed my eyes accusingly "You irritate me."

He let out a laugh and sipped his milk with an approving nod

"Well, I guess that's better than nothing." He stated, I rolled my eyes a little and bit viciously at my chocolate. Potter watched me, seeming entertained and I scowled

"Stop staring at me, Potter." I mumbled, he perked an eyebrow slowly and looked away, a light blush forcing its way onto his face. I stared in confusion, but soon decided that it was too confounding and went back to work on the lump of sugar-y goodness in my hand.

-PP-

"Pansy, for Merlin's sake, this isn't fun." Blaise whined as my bishop destroyed his king for the third time in a row. I scowled slightly

"Tell me about it." I mumbled, he shot me a mild glare and pouted

"Can't we go hiking? Or play exploding snaps? God, even Gobstones would be more entertaining than this." He stated, I scowled slightly

"Maybe to you." I replied, he frowned

"C'mon, you have to admit that repeatedly kicking my ass at chess isn't any fun for you." He grumbled, I perked an eyebrow and went about setting up the board again

"No, it's really not. But Theo's the only one that puts up even a mild fight against me in chess, and he's disappeared into the woods with Granger again. Therefor I'm stuck with you." I stated, he blinked

"What about Draco?" He asked slowly, I looked up

"He's taking a nap and we're letting him." I stated shortly, he scowled and crossed his arms like a petulant child, before glancing around the clearing. Suddenly he grinned

"Oi! Weasel-head!" He called, putting a momentary halt to Thomas and Weasley's conversation, the red head looked over with a scowl, making a point to avoid looking at me

"What do you want, Zabini." He replied boredly, Blaise grinned

"Word around school is you're a pretty decent chess player." He stated, smirking. I glared at him, already understanding what was going on in his mind. Weasley blinked and quirked an eyebrow

"What's your point, Zabini?" He asked in irritation, Blaise smirked and crossed his arms

"I'll pay you 40 Galleons if you can beat Pansy." He said with a smug grin, Weasley stared at him for a minute, before glancing at me and blinking. He sighed and looked to Thomas, who smirked and muttered something to him. Weasley laughed quietly and looked at Blaise with a smirk

"Alright Zabini." He agreed with a cocky grin. I scowled at Blaise, who winked

"Don't worry Pans, he doesn't stand a chance." He muttered, I glared at him as Weasley wandered over, taking Blaise's place across from me. He glanced up and gave a half smile

"White has first move." He stated, looking over my frosted glass and marble chess set with an approving gleam in his eyes. I rolled my eyes and leaned back as Thomas wandered over and stood next to Blaise to watch.

"Pawn to A4." I muttered, watching as the white pawn obediently moved forward two places. Weasley nodded slightly, his eyes wandering over the board

"Knight to F6." He stated after a few moments. I felt a tug of satisfaction as the black knight made a rather obscene gesture and refused to move. Weasley's eyes landed on me and he perked an eyebrow as Blaise snickered

"What can I say, Weasley? They don't like Gryffindors."

I watched in half-amusement, half-irritation as Weasley stared at the board with his nose scrunched in thought. Blaise and Thomas had rapidly grown bored with watching and were now talking with Potter and Weasley a few feet away.

"Queen to D5." Weasley stated after a bit, bringing my attention back to the board. I examined the situation quickly, and sought a perfect move. Before giving Weasley a smug grin

"Pawn to D5. Checkmate." I stated clearly, watching gleefully as my last pawn skipped forward and eviscerated Weasley's queen, before turning menacingly towards his king, already pinned into place by several of my other pieces.

Weasley stared at the board for a few seconds, seemingly frozen in shock. I honestly expected him to blame my chess set. His team hadn't exactly been obedient the first few rounds, which had cost him a few men. But instead, he glanced up and gave me a grin

"Good game, Parkinson." He stated warmly, I blinked and gave a small smile, nodding a bit

"You too."

Blaise gave a sudden whoop and hopped over

"Alright! That's my girl!"

-TN-

It's really amazing how two days of forced solitude can affect people.

I could list several different ways just from looking around our group once. The changes were so noticeable, I was almost considering the fact that my camp-mates had been replaced with compatible golems.

Draco and Harry were sitting next to each other without threatening each others lives or throwing dirty looks, Blaise had practically been absorbed into the gang of Gryffindor boys, Pansy was exchanging hair straightening charms with Hermione while Ginny and Millicent chatted about an article in the latest Witch Weekly. I felt a small smile slip onto my lips and I looked down at my plate, popping a piece of the brook trout in my mouth.

It was almost irritating that we'd be returning to the castle tomorrow, because while out in the woods we could get along, in civilization, I was sure reality would come crashing back.

I gave Hermione a side glance and she looked at me with a stunning smile.

I really, really hope I'm wrong.

I have nothing to say here for once. Hm. OH. I know.

-clears throat-

...Nope. Got nothing.

...Why are you still reading this? :3