Harriet Potter and the Minister of Magic
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling.
Pairings: DM/femHP. CD/femHP. CD/HG. JP/LP (past). SS/LP (one-sided).
Warnings: Spoilers from canon (Books 4 to 7). Occasional time jumps from chapter to chapter. Mature content later on.
Notes: Now I'll be honest with you guys – this chapter doesn't actually add any new development to the plot, it's just here because I wanted to keep my promise to you all and put in a lot more DM/femHP scenes in the story. Maaw…Now don't you all just love me now? I spoil you guys way too much. *giggle* Enjoy the chapter, everyone!
Chapter 25 – A Little Jealousy
Harriet heard Parvati and Lavender's hushed voices as she entered the Gryffindor girls' dormitory that morning, and she couldn't help wincing when the two girls suddenly erupted into giggles.
"—so tell me about it!" Parvati rushed out in between her girlish laughter.
"Where do I even start?!" Lavender whispered back, blushing and giggling at Parvati's prodding. Fortunately, when Harriet plopped down onto her bed, Lavender and Parvati had decided to move their conversation outside, but as they left the room, Harriet heard even more snippets of their conversation.
"—how did you feel afterwards?"
"I don't know, Parv…The same?! How am I supposed to answer that?!"
"Was he good?" Parvati asked her bluntly as they reached the doors.
Lavender blushed again, and they erupted into another round of giggles as they shut the door.
As soon as they were gone, Harriet shook her head and turned a lopsided grin to Hermione across the room. To her surprise, Hermione wasn't only blushing as well – she actually looked mortified.
"Er…'Mione? Are you okay?" Harriet slid off her four-poster bed and walked over towards her, sitting down by the edge of the other girl's bed. "You look like you want to throw up." She teased lightly.
"I might." Hermione muttered back under her breath as she drew her knees up and hugged them to her chest. "It's bad enough that I have to stomach watching Ron and Lavender making out in the common room all the time in front of everyone else…But I don't need to hear the racy details about how those two finally slept together—" Hermione noticed the way Harriet went green but she went on.
"—I know right? Exactly my reaction." Hermione made a face and rolled her eyes. "It's not that Ron being with Lavender still bothers me, I'm actually getting used to them now…And it doesn't hurt as much. But Merlin's beard, I just do not want to hear about my best friend's sex life!" She shuddered.
"At least they left?" Harriet shuddered with her, and she managed a sheepish smile in response – though her face was still green. "But I sympathize with you, 'Mione. That must have been awkward—"
"It was awkward!" Hermione insisted, and she groaned before dropping her face into her pillow. "I swear, I'll never be able to look at Ron again without blushing thanks to Lavender and Parvati's little storytelling girly session. That was just…wrong on so many levels, Harry." She grumbled miserably.
Despite herself, Harriet couldn't help laughing at the utterly dismayed expression on her best friend's face. Grinning, she scooted over beside Hermione and leaned against the headrest of the bed.
"Look on the bright side, Hermione…At least you're finally over Ron." She kidded, shrugging. "Besides, I'm really happy for Ron. Having a girlfriend will do him good. It'll boost his confidence—"
"Don't get me wrong. I'm happy for Ron too, Harry." Hermione cut her off, shaking her head. "In fact, I'm happy for them…From what I heard from Lavender's little story—" She sighed again at this, earning an amused grin from Harriet in response. "—they're each other's firsts." Hermione told her.
Harriet blushed at the sudden topic of their discussion. "Mione, I've meant to ask…Have you and Viktor ever…?" Harriet let her words trail off but Hermione understood her question immediately. The brunette's eyes suddenly popped open and she blushed hotly, sitting back up in her seat in indignation.
"Harry, of course we haven't!" Hermione exclaimed, looking scandalized at the other girl's question. "I was fourteen when I met him, that was far from my mind! Though I'm more than certain that when we met, Viktor already had a bit of experience." She blushed again and shook her head before turning to glance questioningly at Harriet. "What about you and Cedric? Did you two…ever—"
"Oh! N—no, of course not!" Harriet blurted out quickly, her face going as red as Hermione's. "Cedric and I never even ventured in that direction, he was much too nice to even try anything that might lead to that. He is a Hufflepuff, after all. I don't think he's had any experience either." At that, Harriet couldn't help giving Hermione a wry smile. "It was one of the cutest things about him, actually."
"I…see." For some strange, unfathomable reason, Harriet saw a relieved smile on the other girl's face but before she could ask her about it, Hermione leaned back against the bed and began to speak again. "It's refreshing to know that there are still guys out there who are willing to wait. I can only hope that, when I have a relationship, I can be as lucky as Lavender was with Ron." She mused to herself.
Blinking, Harriet stared at her in confusion for a few minutes, and it wasn't until Hermione recognized the nonplussed expression on her face that the brunette rolled her eyes and explained further. "I mean, Ron was Lavender's first…And Lavender was his first." Hermione sighed to herself in thought and stared up at the canopy above her bed with a smile. "That means a great deal nowadays, you know…Considering how liberal our generation is about that. I hope that when I do get a serious boyfriend, I'm his first too." Hermione thought out loud to herself, earning a strange look from Harriet.
"What do you mean, 'Mione?" Harriet asked curiously.
Hermione blushed slightly as she answered. "I guess I'm a little old fashioned that way, Harry…I like the idea of me falling in love with a guy and us being each other's first. I'm sorry—" She made a face at herself and laughed. "Does that sound silly?" She glanced at Harriet with a sheepish look on her face.
"Not at all, 'Mione. It sounds quite…romantic, actually." Harriet answered softly, though her green eyes had dropped from Hermione's and she was now staring intently at her hands in thought.
Unfortunately…That's something I shouldn't even allow myself to hope for about my own relationship. She added bitterly to herself, thinking back on all of Draco's previous relationships with a lot of girls in the last two years. To everyone else, it wasn't really much of a secret that Slytherin guys were very physical when it came to relationships, and Harriet had certainly heard enough rumors from his past girlfriends to know that her boyfriend, in particular, had earned quite a reputation in that area.
And to be honest, 'earned a reputation' would even be putting it mildly.
Harriet cringed to herself and frowned at one particular memory, thinking back on how Draco had looked exceptionally smug one afternoon as he walked up to Blaise and Theodore in the Great Hall and proudly showed them the blatant hickey on his neck and a few more marks along his arms and back.
That was in their fourth year, and the entire school knew about the bet Draco had participated in with Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott to see which one of them would actually lose their virginity first.
Evidently, Draco had won.
Harriet shook her head at the memory and covered her face with her hands.
Truthfully, she wasn't bothered by it back then, as she had still been with Cedric at the time and wouldn't even have spared Draco Malfoy a second glance. But looking back at it now – along with all the other times she had seen Draco with other girls – she felt an unwelcome stab of jealousy in her chest.
She knew that it was foolish for her to even consider the possibility of her still being Draco's first when they eventually took their relationship further, but it still stung whenever she thought about it. Because every time she did, the same barrage of insecure questions would always drown her thoughts.
Who was his first?
Does he still think about her?
How many girls did he actually sleep with before we got together?
What if I can't match up to his experiences with his ex-girlfriends?
What if we do it…And he laughs at me because I don't know how?
She growled under her breath and shook her head a couple of times, furious with herself for even entertaining such silly questions and yet, knowing that they would continue to bother her until she finally mustered up the guts and confronted Draco directly about them. Up until that point, Harriet had never actually discussed any issues related to 'intimacy' with Draco. She had always been much too embarrassed to ask him about the extent of experience he's had with his previous relationships, or why, despite everything else, Draco had never tried to pressure Harriet into sleeping with him right away.
I want answers. Harriet thought angrily to herself, clenching her hands into fists.
"By the way, Harry—" Hermione's soft voice broke Harriet out of her musings again and she looked up slowly, meeting the other girl's questioning brown eyes. "—have you decided on who you're going to bring with you to Slughorn's party yet?" She asked, though the minute Harriet heard her words, the confusion left her face and she was unable to do anything else but offer Hermione a sheepish smile.
"Er…I think so." Harriet laughed nervously, brushing a stray lock of hair away from her eyes.
"I'm going with Cedric."
To Harriet's surprise, Hermione stiffened and she blinked, staring blankly at the other girl.
"You're going with…Cedric?" " She repeated carefully.
Harriet nodded in response, her eyebrows fusing together at Hermione's reaction. "I ran into him the other day when I was walking out of the library and then he asked me." She answered carefully.
"I thought you didn't like him anymore." Hermione suddenly snapped, looking annoyed.
Both of Harriet's eyebrows shot up in alarm and she shook her head slowly at the other girl.
"I don't." She responded, looking confused at her friend's curt retort. "At least not in that way…But he's still my friend, 'Mione. And we both made it very clear with each other when he asked me that we'd be going to Slughorn's dinner party just as friends, and nothing more." She explained quietly.
"I…see." Hermione pressed her lips together and glared down at her hands.
"Hermione, is something wrong?" Harriet asked after a long moment of awkward silence.
When Hermione just seemed to glare accusingly at her, she continued. "Look, if you think I'm misleading him this way, I'll just tell him that I've changed my mind and that I won't go. I really won't—"
"Oh no, by all means, Harry…Go with your ex-boyfriend! Just ignore the fact that the whole school will probably react to seeing you two again together, not to mention how your current boyfriend will react, but just ignore that too! Go ahead and be selfish, Harry, because you just need to be the center of attention all the time! Just go on ahead!" Hermione interrupted her harshly, her voice dripping with such angry sarcasm that Harriet reeled back and stared at Hermione as though she'd been slapped.
"What are you talking about?!" Harriet gaped at her, her features creasing with dismay. "I haven't been seeing anyone else right now, Hermione! I don't even know where you got that idea—"
"Oh just drop the act, Harry! I can see right through you, you're a horrible liar!"
"E—excuse me?" Harriet sputtered back at her, not daring to believe a word she had said.
"Oh you heard me!" Hermione snapped again, her brown eyes flashing with anger. "Do you think I'm blind, Harry?! I know you're seeing someone else in secret – and I also know for a fact that Cedric still stares at you and is still hoping to win you back but does that even matter to you, Harry?"
Harriet's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to answer her but Hermione just went on.
"No, of course it doesn't! Do you know why, Harry Potter? It's because you're selfish!" Hermione whispered quietly, her cheeks flushing with emotion. "It's because you're selfish and insensitive and you didn't even consider the consequences of what would happen if you agreed to go with Cedric – how you might mislead him into thinking he has a chance with you again! Did you even think about that, Harry?!"
"No, I didn't!" Harriet hissed back, her face flushing with indignation. "Hermione, you are being really unfair here! I only went with Cedric because he's my friend! He asked me and I said yes! That's all there is to it, I swear! Honestly, I don't understand why you're suddenly snapping at me like this—"
"Don't you?!" Hermione countered back, her voice choking with anger.
"No, I don't! I really don't!" Harriet exploded furiously at her.
"Because you act without thinking, Harry! You're a selfish and clueless idiot – and if you hurt Cedric again, I'll never forgive you!" Hermione didn't bother waiting for the other girl to respond before she stood up from the bed and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut noisily behind her.
Harriet gaped at the door in stunned, confused anger.
From where they were stretched out on the bed in his dormitory room that evening, Draco lifted his gaze from his potions essay and chanced a look at his quiet girlfriend from the corner of his eye. He frowned when he realized that Harriet was being unusually quiet, and that she wasn't bothering him or poking his sides every now and then whenever she grew bored of studying and wanted his attention.
Instead, the dark-haired Gryffindor was staring blankly at the open potions textbook in front of her and her eyebrows were fused together into a scowl, as though she was lost in deep thought. Shrugging to himself at this, Draco promptly decided to himself that she must be focused on her potions essay so instead of asking what was wrong, he leaned over and gave her cheek an affectionate nuzzle.
"Potter, you'll get wrinkles early if you keep frowning like that, you know. And Merlin knows you can't afford to get any uglier." He tried to tease her with a playful smirk but to his surprise, Harriet just looked annoyed at his quip and she sighed loudly before scooting farther away from him on the bed.
"Not right now, Draco." She muttered back, scowling even more and turning away from him.
Draco arched an eyebrow in mild confusion at this, but when Harriet just turned back to her book and continued to ignore him again, he shrugged to himself and inwardly concluded that she probably just wasn't in the mood to banter with him. In fact, Draco didn't even think any further about it again that when he finally looked up from his completed potions essay about an hour later, he realized too late that his girlfriend's mood had taken a turn for the worst and that she was already glaring at him.
"Er…Harry…?"
Draco blinked a couple of times and stared blankly at her, noting the anger flashing in her bright green eyes and the way her features were scrunched up in an accusing and rather exasperated scowl.
"Is something wrong?" He asked carefully, his lips tugging upwards into an amused grin when he realized how adorable she looked when she was angry. Truthfully, it was one of the reasons Draco used to pick on her all the time when they were kids, though he'd never admit that to her if he could help it.
"Draco—" Harriet sighed loudly to herself again and closed the potions book in front of her, looking up at him with a frown. "—would you call me a selfish and clueless idiot?" She asked quietly.
Draco's eyebrow arched up even further at that and his lips twitched again, only this time, instead of smiling at her, he was unable to prevent a small, amused smirk from forming on his face.
"Certainly not to your face, Potter." He drawled back with a snigger, but when he saw the crestfallen expression on his girlfriend's features, his smirk vanished and he relented, rolling his eyes.
"Of course not, Harry. You may be clueless about certain things, I'll admit that but you're certainly not selfish. If you were, then I'd hate to think about what you'd call me—" He tried to tease her again but Harriet just shook her head at him and she pressed the issue even further, blinking up at him.
"Clueless about what types of things, Draco?" She asked, shifting anxiously.
"Well—" Draco considered his answer for a few moments, but he couldn't think of any softer way to voice his opinion out so he settled for being as blunt as he could instead. "—you're kind of an idiot when it comes to guys…" He began slowly, but he winced when Harriet suddenly snapped at him.
"You bloody bastard! How am I an idiot?!" She snarled, her eyes flashing.
Draco sniggered again and raised both of his hands up in a mocking gesture of surrender. "Hey, don't ask me questions you don't want an honest answer to, Scarhead! You were the one who asked me to elaborate!" He retorted, smirking at her. "Besides, I meant what I said – and I'm sure anyone would agree with me. You're bloody clueless when it comes to guys, Potter…It took you years before you even realized that I liked you, hell I doubt you'd have ever figured it out if hadn't even kissed you last year—"
"That was different! It would take a girl as insane as you are to figure you out, Malfoy!" She hissed back at him, and at her words, Draco couldn't help smiling back affectionately at her in response.
"True that…Do carry on, love." He quipped again, still sniggering.
"Furthermore!" Harriet blurted out again, blushing even darker when she saw the way Draco looked incredibly amused at her tirade. "How can you even accuse me of being clueless when I just—"
"Potter, that Hufflepuff loser boyfriend of yours was following you around like a disgusting little lovesick puppy all throughout third year and you never noticed. How thick could you get, honestly?" Draco rolled his eyes at her again and ignored her angry expression, calmly turning a page of his book.
"Cedric?!" Harriet's eyes widened and she stared at him in stunned realization.
"Yes, that Hufflepuff loser. I'm sorry, I should have been more clear about that; I forgot that their entire house is full of losers." Draco drawled with a nasty sneer, ignoring her exasperated glare. "He still stares at you a lot now, Potter…And to be honest, it's beginning to tick me off. If he doesn't keep his bloody eyes to himself soon, he's going to have himself a painful little accident." He growled.
"Malfoy, don't you dare lay a hand on Cedric." Harriet warned, narrowing her eyes at him.
"I'd like to see you try and stop me, Potter." Draco scoffed, smirking pointedly at her. "Don't worry; I probably won't have to hurt that loser anyway. He's a Hufflepuff, he's not likely to try hitting on you again…He hasn't, right?" His eyes narrowed at that and he glared pointedly at her. "Or has he?"
"No, he hasn't!" Harriet snapped, although Draco couldn't help but notice the way her shoulders had stiffened uncomfortably at his words. "Honestly, I don't understand what the big deal is! Cedric and I are just friends now and that's all there is to it! So just drop it , Malfoy!" She hissed at him.
Again, Draco blinked at her in confusion for a few moments before he shrugged pointedly and turned another page of his book. "Jeez, Harry…You were the one who brought the topic up anyway—"
"—and now I'm ending it. Let's drop it, okay?" She snapped again, glaring moodily at her book.
"Er…Alright." Draco raised an eyebrow at her in question before rolling his eyes and leaning back against the pillows near the headrest of his bed. Harriet didn't answer him, and eventually, they fell into another prolonged moment of silence that Draco reluctantly turned back to studying his potions book.
When another long hour passed between them, Draco looked up from his book and glanced at her – only to realize that his girlfriend was scowling accusingly at him yet again. He finally sighed in exasperation and slammed his book shut. Ignoring her protests, he sat up, grabbed her potions book away from her and tossed it aside. Then, he grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face him.
"Draco!" Harriet sputtered indignantly at him.
"Look. You're obviously mad at me about something." Draco rolled his eyes at her flushed features and arched an eyebrow. "Unfortunately, I am not a mind reader." He drawled bluntly at her.
"So tell me what's wrong, Potter."
She reddened at the directness of his approach and tried to turn her face away.
"Nothing's wrong, I'm just tired—"
"Do you think I'm an idiot?!" Draco growled, looking even more annoyed at her evasiveness. "You've been sniping at me since this morning! Just tell me what's wrong already!" He demanded.
"Fine!" Harriet's eyes flashed and she sat up straighter and glared back at him, meeting his sneer with her own. "You really want to know what's bothering me, Malfoy?!" She blurted out angrily.
"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't, Potter!" Draco retorted sarcastically.
"I'll tell you what's bothering me!" She snapped again, gritting her teeth. "What's bothering me is that I suddenly just realized that my boyfriend has slept with so many girls that he's probably lost count!" She blurted out, failing to see the way Draco suddenly froze at her unexpected words and he stared at her in stunned disbelief, his eyes growing so wide that his expression was almost comical.
"I—I beg your pardon?" He sputtered, clearly not having expected such an accusation from her.
"Don't play dumb, Draco!" Harriet snapped at him again, and she barely even registered the completely gobsmacked expression on his face. "You've already done it, haven't you?!" She demanded.
If it was possible, Draco looked even more stunned at his girlfriend's blunt question.
"Er…Yes?" Draco was blinking at her as though she was insane, one of his eyes noticeably larger than the other. "I don't understand where you're trying to go with this, Harry." He began uncertainly.
"With who?" Harriet asked him again, her voice sounding even sharper this time
At that, Draco's eyes finally widened at her audacity and a surge of anger erupted in his chest.
"Excuse me?!" He snapped back, not daring to believe she'd ask him such a question. "Is that your idea of some kind of sick joke, Harry?!" He countered, his voice becoming shrill with incredulity.
"Do you see me laughing right now?!" Harriet hissed back, her eyes glittering with rage. "I asked a question and I expect you to answer it! Who have you slept with, Draco?!" She exploded at him again.
"It doesn't matter!" He shouted back furiously at her, his cheeks flushing with annoyance.
"Well, it does to me!" Harriet shouted back angrily at him and before Draco realized what was happening, the Gryffindor bolted up from the bed and towered over him. "You snap at me all the time whenever you see me hanging out with my guy friends and yet, we both know that between the two of us, you're the one with the tarnished reputation here! So now tell me who you've slept with, Malfoy!"
Draco stiffened at her accusations and he clenched his jaw, glaring furiously at his fists.
"Don't make me have this conversation with you, Harry. I really don't want to do this." He warned her quietly, and he winced when he realized that his voice sounded pained even to his own ears.
"Tell me, Draco!" Harriet raged at him again, her voice cracking with emotion.
"Fine!" He finally exploded at her as he slammed his fist down against the hard cover of his textbook and snapped his quill in half before turning to her. "You want to know the names of the girls I've slept with, Potter?!I'll tell you!" Draco snapped, his features hardening into a harsh, mocking sneer.
He raised his hand and began to tick their names off his fingers one by one. "Pansy, Daphne, Lisa, Marietta, Tracey, and three other girls from Beauxbatons that Nott introduced to me last summer! I'd tell you their names too but you wouldn't know who they were anyway so why bother?!" He hissed angrily at her, his eyes narrowing even further when he saw Harriet pale in realization at his admission.
When he stopped, however, and saw the way Harriet was shaking by now and had turned away from him so that he couldn't see her expression, Draco felt another surge of irritated anger – this time more at himself than at her – and he couldn't prevent himself from shouting furiously at her again.
"There! Does that make you happy, Potter?! Was that what you wanted to hear?! Did hearing all of their names make you feel better about yourself?!" He taunted viciously, watching as she turned around and reached out to grab her jacket shakily from where it hung near one of the bedside tables.
"Because honestly, Potter…I already told you that they…didn't…matter!" Draco exploded furiously at her, glaring at the Gryffindor's back and short of wanting to yank his hair out in his frustration. "They meant nothing! And I told you to leave it alone, but you just had to know their names didn't you?! You stubborn, bull-headed idiot! You didn't need to know all that—" He cut himself off in the middle of his enraged tirade when he noticed that his girlfriend was already heading out the door.
Ah shit…Wrong move, Malfoy. I think you made her cry. He chastised himself immediately and cursed under his breath as he quickly stood up from the bed and ran after her, stopping her just as she was reaching for the door. Harriet stiffened against him immediately and began to shove him away.
"Let go of me, you disgusting, insensitive jerk—" She hissed at him, struggling in his arms.
"Calm down, Harry." Draco interrupted her, speaking in a quieter and soothing voice this time.
Harriet stopped struggling the minute she heard the softness of his voice. Her shoulders slumped in defeat as she allowed him to tilt her chin up gently so he could look into her wide green eyes. To his relief, however, he realized that the Gryffindor hadn't actually been crying but she still looked furious with him, and her beautiful green eyes looked cold and blank as they glared back at him.
"Look…" Sighing, Draco pulled her against him so that her cheek rested against his chest. "I didn't mean to snap at you…I was just shocked. Why would you ask me that?" He asked incredulously.
"Evidently, you've been getting around a lot more than I thought…" She muttered under her breath, not directly answering his question as she scuffed her feet against the ground. "I'd imagine that you'd be bored out of your mind by now being with someone as naïve and inexperienced as I am—"
"Don't do that, Potter." Draco growled at her, looking even more irritated.
"Do what, Malfoy?" She snarled back, glaring accusingly up at him again.
"That!" Draco hissed impatiently at her. "That…self-pity thing, it doesn't suit you at all and I can't stand to see you acting like that over something so stupid! It's not worth it, stop it!" He demanded.
"That wasn't self-pity, you arrogant jerk!" Harriet exploded again, her eyes flaring back to life as she wrenched herself out of his arms and shoved him away. "That was sarcasm and disgust! How dare you even insinuate that I would ever pity myself over your disgusting reputation, Malfoy! I'd never—"
"There's my girl." Draco smiled weakly as he watched the self-pity in her eyes vanish instantly at his words, only to be replaced a second later by that legendary Gryffindor courage and anger of hers.
"Wh—what?!" She blinked and sputtered at him, gaping at the teasing smile on his face. "Draco, do you think this is a joke? How am I supposed to react to you sleeping around like that—"
Draco sighed out loud again, his features creased with frustration. "You see, this is precisely the conversation I did not want to have with you. Harry, answer this for me then." He ignored her protests and reached down, tilting her chin up so that he was peering down at her stubborn glare. "If right from the beginning of our relationship, I kept trying to get you to sleep with me like I used to with my other past girlfriends, would you?" He asked bluntly, immediately causing the Gryffindor to redden in anger.
"Of course not! What kind of girl do you think I am, Malfoy?!" She sputtered, looking offended.
His lips quirked into a small smile at her response and he arched an eyebrow at her.
"Why?" He asked pointedly.
"B—because!" Harriet reddened again and looked away before she answered. "If that was what you kept asking from me right away, then that just shows me that you aren't serious about me at all—"
"And that is exactly my point, you idiot." Draco rolled his eyes at her naiveté and gave her an exasperated smile. He ignored her confused expression and reached down again, caressing her cheek. "Harry, I won't lie to you…I have had a bit of experience before we got together…And unfortunately, I can't change that." He paused and waited until she acknowledged his words with a slow nod before he continued. "Now, I'll be honest…Since none of those girls ever meant anything to me, I didn't really care if I rushed them into sex or not—" He saw the way her eyes widened at his words but he just went on. "—but let me enlighten you about something." Draco paused for a few minutes to gather his words.
"To men, there are two types of women in this world – the first is the girl we want to be with, the second is…well, everyone else." Draco noticed the way her eyes were beginning to soften at his words and he chuckled as he leaned down and pressed a sweet kiss on her cheek. "Now as far as men go, most of us have that natural tendency to sleep with as many women as we can until we find that first girl. But once we do find her, before we even think about sleeping with her, what we really want to do first is to make sure that we keep her." Draco paused and he glanced at her expression again, stifling a small smile when he noticed that the anger in Harriet's green eyes was slowly beginning to dissipate.
"Now tell me, Potter." Draco reached out and cupped her cheek again, tracing his thumb along her cheekbone. "Do you understand why I'm not rushing you to sleep with me?" He asked pointedly.
Harriet had fallen completely silent at his words by then, and she didn't answer him right away as she glared down at her shoes and scowled, refusing to meet his smug grin. Draco chuckled at her stubbornness and he reached down, chucking her chin up gently to get her to meet his amused gaze.
"Well, Scarhead?" He teased again, and his eyes brightened with laughter when he saw the way she was still struggling to turn away from him so that he wouldn't see the reluctant smile on her face.
"Answer me, you git." Draco added dryly, lightly pinching the bridge of her pert nose.
"Stop that!"
Harriet slapped his hand away with a growl, rubbing her nose and grumbling under her breath.
"I hate you, Malfoy."
"Good girl." Draco grinned at her adorably irritated expression, and his eyes gleamed again as he began poking her ribs. "Now, I want you to show me a smile, Potter. Come on then, let's see a smile."
His girlfriend's eyes narrowed and she glared at him, clearly not amused by his antics, but Draco ignored her miffed expression and smirked impenitently at her, still poking her playfully along the ribs.
"Come on, troll-face…Give me a smile. I want to see some teeth."
She finally looked up and bared her teeth at him in a comical half-snarl, half-smile expression that looked so ridiculous that Draco arched an eyebrow, keeping a very serious expression on his face.
"Okay…That looks beautiful, Potter. Truly…Breath-taking…Gorgeous." He deadpanned, causing her to roll her eyes. "Okay that's enough, Potter...I think you're starting to scare the rats away—OW!"
Draco scowled and rubbed at the sore spot on his shoulder where Harriet had bit him playfully.
"What the hell – do I look like a bloody chew toy to you?!" He huffed.
Harriet rolled her eyes at his reaction but she allowed herself a weak smile and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face into his chest. Draco continued to scowl but he eventually tightened his arms around her and pulled her closer, leaning down and playfully nibbling on the shell of her ear.
"Was that why you kept snapping at me all day?" He asked after a few moments of silence.
Harriet just grumbled and buried her face against his chest again, refusing to answer him.
"I thought so." He chuckled and leaned down again, nuzzling her hair.
"You're cute when you're jealous, Potter."
"I wasn't jealous." Harriet muttered under her breath.
"Of course you weren't… You silly little Gryffindork." He teased.
"…Slimy Slytherin." She tossed back, though she kept her face buried against his chest.
They fell into another comfortable silence after that, but eventually, when Draco felt Harriet's form beginning to relax in his arms, he smirked and leaned down to whisper something into her ear.
"So…Do you want to sleep with me?"
SHMACK!
"Owwww!"
Draco clutched at his shoulder again but when he tried to glare at his laughing girlfriend, Harriet just grinned back at him; and he leaned down, capturing those sweetly smiling lips in a passionate kiss.
"—okay, okay wait! I have another one!" Cedric's shoulders were still shaking with laughter from their last anecdote as he held his hands up, drawing Harriet's attention back to his roguish grin.
"No more!" Harriet covered her mouth with her hands and shook her head, desperately trying to stifle the giggles that were erupting from her lips. "I can't take any more! It's too embarrassing—"
"Okay, how about that one time where my Dad and Uncle James had to go on a prolonged business trip for one month and you had to stay at our house for the summer." Cedric's lips twitched again when he saw the way Harriet's eyes lit up with laughter at the impending climax of the story. "And we both decided to sneak out of the house afterwards and attend that special Quidditch match between England and Bulgaria with Oliver Wood, knowing that our fathers were out of the country anyway—"
"—and we saw them both during the Quidditch Match and got caught!" Harriet finished for him, and they both doubled over laughing again. "D—Dear Merlin, you should have seen the look on your face when we saw Uncle Amos up in the Top Box!" Harriet blurted out, her cheeks flushed with mirth.
"W—well, how was I supposed to know he'd be the special commentator for that match?!" Cedric huffed, though a smile was on his face as he turned to her and watched the other teen laughing.
"Well, in my defense, we never would have gotten caught anyway if you and Oliver hadn't gone racing down the stairs when the Veela started dancing onstage!" Harriet's grin widened again and she pretended to shake her head at him in disapproval. "Now that was really embarrassing! It's bad enough that they caught you and Oliver on camera, but you should have seen Uncle Amos' reaction when he recognized who you were! It was hilarious!" She covered her mouth when she began to giggle again.
"Not as funny as Uncle James' reaction when he found you in that crowd of screaming fan girls chasing that hotshot Quidditch seeker you had such a crush on…What was his name again—Ivan Petrovsky—" Cedric laughed when Harriet reddened in embarrassment and swatted him over the head.
"Oh shut up." She retorted under her breath, though when Cedric grinned teasingly at her, she rolled her eyes and smiled back at him, taking a long sip from the goblet of juice she held in her hand.
They had gotten to Slughorn's party relatively earlier than everyone else, and while waiting for the rest of the Slug Club members to arrive, Cedric had been regaling Harriet with hilarious stories about their childhood for the past hour, and both teens hadn't stopped laughing since. As she listened to Cedric's lively stories that evening, and she met his warm smile with her own, Harriet finally remembered why she and the former Hufflepuff had been such good friends in the first place. And after everything else, despite their failed relationship, Harriet really wanted to keep their friendship intact.
She hadn't told Hermione, but that was actually the real reason she had agreed to go with Cedric to Slughorn's party – she wanted to gain her friend back – and she hoped that, even after they both realized that they weren't meant to be a couple, their relationship would finally go back to normal
"Slughorn invited a lot of people tonight." Cedric mused out loud to Harriet after they had both run out of stories to tell, breaking the Gryffindor out of her thoughts as he handed her a newly filled goblet of juice. She followed his gaze slowly and glanced around the room, her eyes taking in their lavishly decorated surroundings and the crowd of invited students that had gathered around them.
They were standing off to the side of a large ballroom that was conveniently adjacent to Slughorn's office. Around them, they recognized a few of their friends and other Slug Club members as they mingled about the large crowds scattered around different areas of the room. Situated a few feet away from them, Harriet also recognized Neville and Luna conversing and laughing together nearby, but when Neville noticed her staring at them, he blushed and glared at her, causing Harry to grin wider.
So Neville brought Luna after all…It took him long enough. Harriet smiled to herself and shook her head before she promptly withdrew her gaze from her friend and glanced around the room again.
Standing nearby, she made out a couple more of their batchmates, among them Marcus Belby and Flora Carrow, Wayne Portchester and Hestia Carrow, and a few more couples from the Slug Club. However, it was the last two couples standing behind them that caused both of Harriet's eyebrows to arch up in surprise. She stared and blinked a couple of times to make sure that she was seeing clearly.
Standing together by the corner of the room, Hermione Granger was currently engaged in an animated conversation with Cormac McLaggen, while Ginny Weasley was flirting rather openly with none other than Blaise Zabini. Neither of the two girls noticed the way Harriet was gaping at them, and it wasn't until Cedric tugged insistently on her arm that he finally got back the Gryffindor's attention.
Snapping her gaping mouth shut, Harriet met Cedric's light gray eyes with a distracted smile.
"I'm sorry, Ced…You were saying something?" She looked up at his nervous grimace.
"Er…Yeah…" Cedric shuffled his feet a few times and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Har, this isn't awkward for you or anything right? I mean, you and me going together? I hope I didn't make things uncomfortable for you. Especially since, you know how everyone in this school likes to gossip—" He winced and glanced at the people staring at them, but Harry just rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Don't be silly, you git. We both agreed to go to this party as friends, and that's precisely what we're doing. To hell with everyone else and what they think." She told him, though she couldn't help wincing when she thought about how one particular person was going to react to her going with Cedric.
Cedric looked vastly relieved at her response as he smiled back at her and nodded before gesturing briefly to the small throng of dancers that were beginning to gather in the middle of the room.
"So…Do you want to dance?" He grinned at her and was just about to hold his hand out when, to both Harriet and Cedric's surprise, a familiar voice had interrupted them before Harriet could answer.
"Harry."
Harriet stiffened when she recognized her best friend's quiet voice. She looked up into Hermione's soft brown eyes and nodded slowly, unsure if she should wait for Hermione to speak first. They hadn't spoken to each other since their rather explosive argument a few days ago, and whenever Harriet kept trying to approach Hermione that week, the other girl just kept deliberately avoiding her.
"Hermione." Harriet answered softly after a long, awkward moment of silence, and she was vaguely aware that Cedric was glancing back and forth between them in confusion. "You…look really pretty. I like that dress you chose." She told her quietly, and she gave the brunette girl a small smile.
"Thank you, Harry." Hermione managed a similar weak smile in response before she winced and glanced briefly over her shoulder at Cedric. "Har, can we talk for a few minutes? There's just something I really have to get off my chest." She bit her lip uncertainly, though when she glanced questioningly at Cedric again, the former Hufflepuff shook his head and pretended to cover his ears as he backed away.
"Don't worry; I won't hear a thing, Mione." He told her with a teasing grin as he took a few more steps backward and stared pointedly into the opposite direction. "You girls go on ahead. I'll wait here."
Harriet smiled at his antics and both she and Hermione chuckled to themselves before they made their way to the nearest corner of the room. As soon as they got there, Harriet bit her lip and glanced up at Hermione, watching as the other girl seemed to shift uncomfortably from side to side.
"Um…Well…Harry, I'd really just like to—" Hermione clasped her hands behind her back and slowly lifted her gaze from her shoes, meeting Harriet's green eyes with a small, rueful smile. "—apologize for all those horrible things I said to you before." She bristled when Harriet blinked in surprise at her words but she continued before the other girl could interrupt. "I was being unfair, and I didn't mean any of the things I said. I was just a little moody and I just took it out on you." Hermione sighed.
"Hermione, you don't have to apologize—" Harriet tried to interject but Hermione went on.
"Yes I do, Harry." She interrupted again, shaking her head and silencing the rest of Harriet's words with a glare. "I snapped at you and you didn't deserve it. I didn't mean those things I said about you and Cedric, I know you wouldn't hurt him or lead him on, and I was just being really silly and—"
"Hermione, I said stop." Harriet cut her off abruptly, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "Look, I know you didn't mean any of those things and really, it's okay. Maybe a part of me kind of deserved you telling me off like that…Maybe, I don't know." She offered the brunette a sheepish smile and shrugged. "Now that I think about it, it really was kind of selfish of me to go with Cedric given that we've already broken up. The only reason I agreed to go with him was because I wanted my friend back…I'm sorry if I made you think otherwise. I know Cedric is your friend too." She explained softly.
"Um…Yeah, I suppose he is." Hermione's expression softened at her words and a small, reluctant smile made its way back to her lips. "In any case, I'm still really sorry about everything, Har—"
"It's forgotten." Harriet shook her head again and they both smiled at each other before Hermione lunged forward and yanked the other girl into a tight, affectionate hug. Laughing, Harriet hugged her back for a few moments. They both pulled away and grinned sheepishly at one another.
When Hermione stepped back and looked up at Harriet again, however, her expression suddenly became teasing and she grinned at the other girl, arching one of her eyebrows up in question.
"So…On a completely different subject, Har…" She paused and waited until she had her best friend's full attention before she grinned wider and continued. "Are you finally going to tell me who your secret boyfriend is?" Her shoulders shook with laughter when Harriet suddenly went as red as a tomato.
"I think that's a conversation reserved for another time, 'Mione." She answered quietly, but when Hermione just made a face at her words, Harriet scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. "I think I'm the one who should be asking you why you went with that jerk, McLaggen." She pointed out.
Hermione paled at her words and suddenly whirled around, her eyes scouring the ballroom for a sign of her date. "Oh no! He hasn't seen me again has he?!" She sighed in relief when she realized that Cormac was still talking to Wayne Portchester way on the other side of the room. She turned to Harriet again, wincing when she saw the other girl's inquiring glance at her. "Oh Harry, he's just awful!" Hermione groaned miserably, shaking her head. "I only agreed to go with him because he promised that he'd stop pestering me if I went out with him just once but now he's gotten even worse! He has more tentacles than a snargaluff plant!" She complained, shuddering and wrapping her arms around herself.
Harriet rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to answer her but before she could say anything else, Hermione let out another panicked gasp and snapped her attention back across the room again.
"Oh no, here he comes!" She paled and moved to duck behind Harriet this time but the other Gryffindor just sighed in exasperation at her and looked up, gesturing for Cedric to move towards them.
"You're being ridiculous, 'Mione." Harriet waited until Cedric had reached them before she shoved him towards the brunette Gryffindor and gave him a pointed glare. "Cedric, ask Hermione to dance with you now." She demanded loudly, ignoring the confusion that creased his handsome features.
"Now?" He asked in surprise, giving her a blank stare.
"Now." Harriet confirmed as she shoved him towards Hermione again just as Cormac neared them, and she smiled in triumph when Cedric took Hermione's hand and hesitantly began leading her towards the dance floor. Hermione blushed darkly at this, but when she opened her mouth to protest, Harriet just shook her head again and waited until both teens were headed towards the dance floor.
As soon as they were gone, Harriet glanced back across the room, grinning when she saw that Cormac was scowling to himself, having realized that Hermione was already preoccupied with Cedric on the dance floor. When he noticed Harriet smirking at him, however, his eyes suddenly narrowed and he nudged the tall student standing beside him, causing Harriet to stiffen when she realized who it was.
Oh Merlin, is that Wayne?! Her eyes widened and she began darting her gaze around the area, searching desperately for a way to avoid another awkward confrontation with her ex-boyfriend. Shit, is he seriously coming over here?! That bloody prick! Harriet reddened, and taking a cue from Hermione's book, she ducked between two passing students and hid behind one of the decorative curtains that hung from an arch near the back of the room. Unfortunately, her little escape route failed to thwart Wayne, and he was smirking by the time he reached the arch and ducked behind the curtain to join her.
"Hey there, Gorgeous. Long time no see." Wayne returned her disdainful glare at him with a smug, cheeky smile. He ignored the way her eyes narrowed at his greeting and leaned even closer towards her, placing one of his hands on the wall above her head to trap the Gryffindor firmly in place.
"I think you and I have to talk, Harry." He began in a light, conversational voice.
"Frankly, I can't think of any possible thing to discuss with you, Portchester." She snapped back snidely, scowling at him and shoving him away when Wayne tried to place a hand on her shoulder. "You're a disgusting pig and I'd rather swallow a flobberworm than to ever be within a foot's distance from you again! Now, get lost and let me go!" She growled and tried to shove him away at this but Wayne's light blue eyes just narrowed at her resistance and he snarled back, staying stubbornly in place.
"Harry, stop overreacting! Look, I want us to get back together—"
"You're delusional!Now let go, Wayne!" Harriet retorted angrily, trying to push him away again.
"Dragon tails?"
Both Harriet and Wayne blinked at the new voice that had spoken and looked up, staring blankly at one of the waiters who had approached them with a large dish of appetizers balanced in his hand.
"Er—" Harriet made a face at the strange dish but Wayne, who seemed to have been distracted by the interruption, just shrugged at him and carelessly reached for a sample from the waiter's plate.
"Sure."
Wayne popped a single piece into his mouth before turning back to Harriet, failing to notice the way her nose began to scrunch up at the overpowering smell suddenly coming from his mouth. After a few seconds of chewing, however, he frowned at the texture of the food he was eating and turned back to the waiter again. When he saw that he had already walked away, he glanced toward Harriet instead.
"What is this I'm eating by the way?" He demanded.
Harriet delicately arched one of her eyebrows at him and smirked. She slowly let her gaze travel back and forth between his irritated blue eyes to the way he was still chewing the food in his mouth.
"Dragon balls."
Wayne froze, and Harriet's lips twitched when she saw his face turning green with disgust.
"There you are, Potter."
Recognizing the voice that had spoken, Harriet suddenly looked away, staring into the annoyed sneer of none other than Severus Snape. Smiling sheepishly up at the DADA professor, she was just about to greet him with a sarcastic remark when Wayne suddenly bent over and wretched the chewed-up contents of his mouth right onto Snape's boots, causing his eyes to narrow further in annoyance.
"You've just bought yourself a week's detention, Portchester – not so quick, Potter."
Harriet froze just as she was about to follow a disgruntled Wayne back outside and sighed loudly. She turned around slowly and looked up, meeting Snape's sneer at her with a defeated scowl.
"I wish to convey a message from Professor Dumbledore."
"Maybe I did hex that Bell girl, maybe I didn't! What the hell is it to you?!"
Snape growled and seized Draco by the front of his robes, halting him in place. "I swore to your father that I'd protect you, you ungrateful brat! I even made the Unbreakable Vow to make sure—"
"I don't need your protection! Don't you understand why I agreed to do this, Severus?! It's not about Dumbledore and his manipulative schemes!" Draco hissed at him, his voice laced with emotion. "One of those Death Eater bastards killed my father! And when I find out who did it, I'm going to kill him with my own two hands – even if it's the last thing I do! You can't stop me; I've made up my mind—"
"Listen to me, Draco." Snape interrupted him quietly as he placed both of his hands on Draco's shoulders and tried to calm the younger man down. "Do you think that killing the man that killed your father will make all that pain go away?" He noticed the way Draco's eyes flashed at his words but he continued before the younger Slytherin could say anything. "It won't make things better. Revenge is not the answer. It will only bury you even deeper in your own anger and hate until you begin to choke on—"
"What would you know?!" Draco snapped back angrily at him in a broken voice. "Spare me those lectures, Severus! I've heard them all before and I don't need them! Whether or not I decide to kill my father's killer is my business! What matters is that I finish the task that I've been assigned to do!"
"You are not a murderer." Snape answered calmly, staring down at him with a grim expression. "And you are most definitely not an assassin. You cannot do this mission on your own, let me help you."
"No!" Draco moved away and shoved Snape's hands off his shoulders. "I was chosen to do this – and I will finish it! I'm not a child anymore, Severus! I can take care of myself! I don't need your help!" He didn't bother waiting for his godfather to respond before he suddenly turned around and stalked off, leaving the older Slytherin staring quietly after his retreating back with an unreadable frown on his face.
Undaunted at his godfather's reaction, Draco stormed as fast as he could towards the opposite direction of the corridor, ignoring the curious stares and whispers he was attracting from the cluster of paintings that hung along the walls. As he turned a corner, however, he froze when he recognized a distinct set of footsteps trailing after him, noticeably coming from one of the adjacent hallways nearby.
"Draco, wait! I—I can explain!"
He stiffened as soon as he recognized Harriet's voice, but he stopped and looked up anyway, just in time to catch a glimpse of his girlfriend's frantic features as she came bounding toward him from the corridor that led to Slughorn's office. When he noticed the lovely flush on her face, however, and the way the evening dress she wore clung to her slender figure, Draco felt another stab of jealousy in his chest. It was similar to the one he felt earlier that night, when Filch had yanked him right into the middle of Slughorn's party and he saw her dancing with Cedric Diggory in the middle of a crowded dance floor.
His reaction had been to stiffen and blink at her for a few seconds, not wanting to believe that it was his girlfriend he was seeing across the room, dancing with another guy. When Harriet's eyes had widened and she gaped back at him, her cheeks paling in realization, Draco's eyes had hardened and without waiting for either Slughorn to acknowledge his uninvited entry into the party, Draco had yanked his arm free from Filch's grasp, sneered at Harriet one last time and stormed angrily out of the ballroom.
He thought he heard her hastily excusing herself from Cedric just as he reached the doors but Draco didn't bother waiting for her, and the only reason Harriet had been able to catch up to him now was because Snape had followed him and had confronted him in the hallway outside Slughorn's party.
Now, however, as he glared down at Harriet again and arched an eyebrow at the way the younger teen began scuffling her feet nervously against the floor, Draco's scowl deepened. To be honest, his earlier argument with Snape only managed to escalate his anger towards Harriet even more.
"Well, well…What are you doing back out here, Potter?!" He drawled nastily at her, feeling another surge of annoyance when Harriet's eyes just widened at his hostile greeting. Draco ignored her reaction, however, and he sneered at her, his mocking voice dripping with sarcasm as he continued. "Shouldn't you go back to Slughorn's party and continue dancing with Diggory?! When I last checked, you two looked pretty cozy so I didn't want to interrupt!" He added bitterly, his mercury eyes glinting.
Harriet reddened at his words and she took a step backward, clasping her hands behind her back. "Draco, I don't know what you're thinking but I'm imploring you…Before you come to any rash conclusions, please listen to what I have to say first." She began slowly, her voice soft and placating. "It was just another one of Slughorn's little dinner parties, that's all it was. Cedric and I came together—"
"Oh was that all it was?!" Draco's eyes flashed at her words and he suddenly exploded at her, his voice rising several levels and echoing around the surrounding empty hallways. "And I suppose you couldn't be bothered to mention to your current boyfriend that you'd be going to this little event with your ex-boyfriend then?" He pointed out angrily, causing the younger teen to wince quietly at his words.
"That was my mistake…I should have told you and I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to overreact and make such a big deal out of this when it really isn't." She told him, but Draco just exploded again.
"How could I not overreact, Harry?! You went out with another guy!" He shouted furiously.
"There! You see!" Harriet sighed loudly in exasperation at his words and she glared back helplessly at him, her shoulders dropping with defeat. "There! Your reaction right there is the reason I didn't want to tell you about this in the first place, Draco! Because I knew that this was precisely how you would react and I didn't want a fight!" She countered, sighing again and shaking her head in dismay.
"You didn't want a fight?!" Draco's eyes hardened and he clenched his jaw as he glared down at her, leveling the younger teen with a disbelieving look. "Potter, you went outwith your ex-boyfriend behind my back, how am I not entitled to start a fight?! How was I supposed to react?!" He raged at her.
"We went out as friends, Malfoy!" Harriet snapped back, crossing her arms over her chest. "It would have been exactly the same as me going with Ron or Neville! Besides, it was just another one of Slughorn's stupid parties, I didn't think it mattered! I mean, I would have wanted to go with my own boyfriend of course but under the circumstances, you still don't want to go public about us anyway—"
"Potter, don't you dare blame this one on me!" Draco snarled back at her, shaking his head. "You know exactly why we can't go public with our relationship! I only want to protect you! But if you're just going to go around cheating on me behind my back, then maybe this isn't even worth it—"
"How dare you?!" Harriet screeched back at him, her voice choked with barely restrained anger. "I wasn't cheating on you, you insensitive jerk! Cedric and I are just friends! We went out tonight as friends and that's all there was to it! Draco, what else are you expecting me to say?!" She demanded.
When he continued to sneer at her and didn't answer, Harriet continued. "If it makes you feel any better, then I'm really sorry that I didn't tell you about Slughorn's party, okay? I'm sorry!" She held her hands up, surrendering herself to his accusatory glare. "But I am not going to apologize for agreeing to go with Cedric because we didn't do anything wrong! How dare you go spying on me like you did—"
"I wasn't spying on you!" Draco hissed back, his cheeks reddening in anger and his hands clenching into fists at his sides. "I just happened to get caught by Filch back in the upstairs corridor and he dragged me off." His eyes narrowed and he gave her a mocking smile. "You can imagine my surprise when I walked into that blasted party and I saw my girlfriend dancing with that blasted Hufflepuff—"
"What were you even doing up in that corridor anyway?!" Harriet interrupted in confusion.
"That is none of your business!" Draco snapped at her, his features creasing into a sneer. "Stop trying to change the subject! The point is, you didn't tell me you'd be going with your ex-boyfriend—"
"I already said I was sorry, Draco." Harriet sighed again, her features laden with exasperation. "I promise that next time, I'll tell you whenever I go to Slughorn's parties with one of my guy friends—"
"That's not good enough!" He snarled at her, his jaw clenching in agitation. "I want you to promise me that you won't go with anyone else to these stupid Slug Club parties again – not Weasley, not Longbottom, and especially not Diggory! Am I making myself clear, Harry?!" Draco growled at her.
Harriet's eyes widened and she gaped at him with a stunned expression on her face.
"Excuse me?!" She gasped out.
"I think you heard me perfectly." He drawled back with a warning sneer.
"I wasn't sure if you were actually serious!" Harriet continued to gape at him, her expression frozen in a disbelieving frown. "Are you actually forbidding me to go with my friends?!" She croaked out.
"I don't want you around any other guys! I thought I already made that perfectly clear!" Draco exploded again, his cheeks flushing with angry humiliation. "I don't want you going near them, I don't want you hanging around them, I don't even want you talking to them! Is that clear?!" He blurted out.
"Wh—what?!" Harriet stared up at him with her jaw hanging open. "Draco, I am not going to cut my friends out of my life like that! Why would you even ask me to do such a thing?!" She exclaimed.
Draco didn't say anything and turned around, running a hand furiously through his hair.
"What is it, Malfoy?! Damn it, tell me!" She screeched at him.
"Because I'm jealous, you asinine, oblivious little idiot! That's why!" He snapped at her, rudely cutting off the rest of Harriet's protests. He turned around again, clamping both of his hands down onto her heaving shoulders and shoving her backwards, slamming her painfully against the wall behind her.
"I hate that little Hufflepuff pretty boy!" Draco growled at her as he lifted his hands off her shoulders and slammed both of his palms down onto the wall on either side of her head. "I hate his guts and I don't know exactly what it is about him, but above all the other guys trying to hit on you, Diggory pisses me off more than anyone else! I can't stand seeing you with him, Harry! I can't!" He admitted angrily with his gray eyes flashing, but when Harriet blinked at him and tried to interrupt, he continued.
"It's because I know that his approach would be the most effective against you! It's the 'nice, harmless friend' approach that takes you by surprise!" He rested his forehead possessively against hers. "Frankly, I'd actually feel a lot better if Diggory were just some kind of egoistic, self-centered jerk—"
"You mean you'd feel better if Cedric actually acted more like you?" Harriet interrupted him bluntly with a small, pointed smile but Draco just continued talking, choosing to ignore her little remark.
"—because then I'd know that you'd shoot him down without any regret." Draco sighed in angry frustration again and reached up to massage his temples. "But instead, his strategy to win you back is so damn harmless and so undetectable that it's ingenious! He knows you would never shoot him down if he stayed as your friend, and it just gives that bastard the perfect opportunity to get close to you again!"
"What?!" Harriet blinked a few times and stared at him again, clearly not understanding where he was coming from. "Draco, that doesn't even make any sense! Listen to yourself! You're over-analyzing this too much, it's actually ridiculous! Cedric has never done anything wrong!" She protested.
"Oh please." Draco didn't even blink at her words and he just glared poisonously at her, his eyebrows coming together in a scowl. "Don't be a fool, Potter. Any idiot can see that Diggory is still trying to win you back. Hell, that blasted Hufflepuff still stares at you a lot in the Great Hall with big, doe eyes that it's nauseating! And frankly, what bothers me is that you're not telling him off!" He growled.
Harriet stiffened at his accusatory voice and she felt another surge of anger in her chest.
"Draco, I really don't want to repeat myself to you again. " She said slowly, her voice deceptively calm and controlled. "The reason I am not telling Cedric off is because he happens to be my friend—"
"A guy friend who also happens to be your ex-boyfriend!" He corrected her scathingly.
Harriet's calm expression tightened at his words and her green eyes flashed as she glared back at him. "Why does that even matter?! You can't just expect me to stop talking to him! We've been close friends since we were in pre-school! I was friends with him even before I met you!" She argued loudly.
"Oh, that certainly makes me feel a lot better! I can't possibly imagine any reason I'd have to be jealous about him now, Potter! Truly!" Draco retorted sarcastically but she ignored him and continued.
"We grew up together! There's absolutely nothing going on between us!" Harry interjected.
"He's still your ex-boyfriend, Harry!" Draco seethed stubbornly at her, narrowing his eyes.
"Oh you really want to talk about exes, Malfoy?!" Harriet's eyes suddenly hardened and she tilted her chin up, glaring furiously at him. "What about all your stupid exes?! I have never complained about any of them before! So what gives you the right to complain about Cedric?!" She pointed out.
"You have nothing to complain about because I'm not friends with any of my ex-girlfriends, Potter! In fact, I don't even talk to any of my exes anymore!" Draco hissed at her with a pointed sneer.
Harriet scoffed at that and she shook her head at him in disgust. "That's not surprising, given how many ex-girlfriends you have; I doubt you can even keep track of all their names!" She snapped, her eyes flashing with jealousy. "So how many of them should I be worried about, Draco? How many of them make those 'doe-eyes' at you and are trying to win you back?!" She threw his words back at him.
"I—I—they—" Draco gaped at her, suddenly at a loss for words. "You don't have to be worried about any of those girls, what are you talking about?!" He gritted his teeth and slammed one of his fists against the wall behind her. "And don't change the subject! We're talking about you here, not me!"
"Well then, maybe I want to make it about you!" Harriet argued again, her voice thick with accusation. "Because frankly, I am sick and tired of all your jealous fits, Draco! I'm sick of you accusing me of being a flirt all the time, I hate it! Especially since I'm not the one who slept with half the girls in our year!" She exploded furiously, noting the way the Slytherin's jaw had tightened in restrained anger.
Draco narrowed his eyes slowly at her and his hands began to tighten into fists. "I did not sleep with half the girls in our year, Harry. Stop exaggerating that! And besides, I thought we were already over that discussion!" He snapped at her, his shoulders tensing with fury. "I forbid you to talk to Cedric Diggory ever again." He grabbed her chin and forced her to look up at him. "Do you understand me?!"
Growling, Harriet tore her chin away from his grip and snarled back at him in response.
"You can't forbid me to do anything, Malfoy!"
"Yes, I can! You're my girlfriend!" Draco raged back at her.
"Well—" Harriet stiffened at his declaration, and before Draco realized what was happening, she suddenly tore herself away from his arms. "—then maybe I don't want to be your girlfriend anymore!"
He paled at her words, but Harriet was already storming down the hallway before Draco could utter another word. Blinking himself out of his stupor, Draco cursed and tore off after her, catching her just as she reached the corner and grabbing the other teen by her arm, turning her around to face him.
Harriet growled and struggled violently against him at first but Draco's grip only tightened warningly around her arm and she winced in pain. "Let me go! Let me go, you damn jerk! I hate you—"
"Oh so that's how it is then, Potter?" He sneered mockingly at her violent attempts to struggle and held her firmly in place. "What is it? Am I not good enough for the 'great Harriet Potter' now, is that it? Have you finally decided that you still have feelings for Diggory after all?" Draco mocked callously.
Harriet didn't answer him at first and struggled even more furiously against him, trying to break free, but when Draco refused to let go of her arm, she raised a hand up to slam him across the cheek. He anticipated it this time, however, and he caught her hand instead, tightening his fingers around hers.
"Answer my question!" He snarled at her again, his hand tightening around her upper arm and leaving painful bruises of his fingerprints against her pale skin. "Do you still have feelings for Diggory?!"
"This isn't about Cedric, this is about you!" Harriet seethed at him, wincing and trying in vain to wrench her arm free. "You are a selfish, stubborn asshole, Malfoy and quite frankly, I'm done trying to explain myself to you all the time! If you think I'm a flirt, then go ahead! I'm leaving!" When she began struggling against him again with renewed vigor, Draco let out a growl of frustration and snapped at her.
"Stop struggling already!" He hissed, but Harriet only struggled even harder.
"I said stop it, Harry!" Draco blurted out again, but this time, the anger in his voice was noticeably weaker as he sighed and lowered his gaze, glaring accusingly down at the floor. He waited for a few seconds until Harriet relented and finally stopped struggling before he spoke up again. This time, the anger in his girlfriend's expression softened when she heard the calmer, gentler tone of his voice.
"Mrrghhsorry." He mumbled under his breath, his gray eyes fixed intently on his leather shoes.
"Mrrghh-what?" Her eyebrows rose and she stared incredulously at him, blinking in shock.
Tensing in annoyance, Draco released the grip he had around her upper arm and shoved his hands into his pockets. He kicked angrily at the floor and avoided her amused grin as he mumbled again.
"I said—" He scowled, his left eye twitching. "—mrrghhsorry."
By then, it looked as though all the anger had visibly left Harriet's features and her lips twitched as she stepped up to him and tilted her chin up again, hiding a smile at the misery she heard in his voice.
"You're what now? I'm sorry, Malfoy but I didn't quite get that. You'll have to speak a bit louder." She drawled, and she stifled a smirk when Draco's head snapped up and he glared icily at her.
He managed to hold his temper in long enough though as he took a deep, steadying breath and muttered the words out again in a deceptively calm and quiet voice. "I said…I'm sorry." He said stiffly, and this time, Harriet smiled at him, her eyes lighting up when she saw the childish scowl on his face.
"Oh? What's this now?" She chuckled as she took another step towards him, wrapping both of her arms coyly around his neck. When Draco just scowled again at her playful tone, her smile widened and stood up on her tiptoes, nuzzling her nose against his and causing the Slytherin to scowl even more.
"The mean, stupid jerk actually knows who to apologize after all…Who would have thought?" Harriet teased lightly, her green eyes dancing with laughter when Draco shot her a deadpan glare in response. "Well, I want to hear you say it again, Malfoy…After all, it's not every day I hear the almighty Prince of Slytherin apologizing." She added as she leaned up even higher on her toes again; bringing her mouth up to his but making sure that her lips were still a few centimeters apart from his. When Draco unconsciously began to lean towards her lips, she pulled away slightly and he growled in annoyance.
"Say it, Malfoy." She teased again, leaning up and brushing her lips very fleetingly against his before pulling away once more and leaving him completely hanging. At her smug grin, Draco realized what Harriet was trying to do, and he couldn't help the reluctant smile that began to tug on his lips at her audacity. He let out a frustrated sigh and leaned towards her again, his mouth hovering over hers.
"I'm sorry." Draco muttered very irritably under his breath, and without waiting for the Gryffindor to respond, he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her body flush against his own. Ignoring her gasp, he grabbed her chin and turned her face up so she could see his heavy-lidded gaze.
"Now give me those lips, Potter."
"Come and get them." She murmured teasingly, but the rest of her words were muffled when Draco had leaned down and captured her lips in a deep, searing kiss that left no room for conversation.
A/N: Phew…Now is it my imagination or are things getting hotter and heavier between those two? If that's the case, then I just might have to raise the rating of this story after all. *smirks* Oh and before anyone points it out - yes, Draco has slept with other girls. I figured I just didn't want to sugarcoat his personality. I mean, he's good looking, he's rich, he's a pureblood, and he's a Slytherin. Why wouldn't he have slept around before he got together with Harry? I suppose we all just have to accept that. *holds hands up in surrender* Lastly, I know I said I'd include the Marauders in this chapter but unfortunately, I ran out of space so I decided to put that scene in the next chapter instead. The next chapter will be dedicated to moving the plot along again, I promise! :D
Next Chapter: A rather steamy DM/femHP scene *wink*, Christmas with the Order of the Phoenix, Harry tries to think of a way to tell James about her new boyfriend. (Gee, I wonder how James will react. *smirk*), and another attack by the Death Eaters
PLEASE REVIEW AND SEND IN YOUR THOUGHTS! SEE YOU NEXT UPDATE, LOVELIES! CHEERS! :D