Draco's stomach grumbled noisily; he'd skipped breakfast in order to do...other things. Harry had left a few hours earlier for some obligatory friend time. The only reason Draco had allowed him to leave their bed in the first place was because Harry promised they would eat lunch together. Unfortunately, they hadn't worked out if Harry would be coming back here first or if Draco should meet him there. As the minutes ticked by, it became apparent that he was meant to meet them. He'd told Harry not to bother levitating the broom back, thinking that was a pretty obvious invitation for him to return, but maybe not. Maybe Harry just assumed that Draco wouldn't mind going through the Common Room now that it was supposedly safe.
Draco left his room and traveled down the stairs, cautiously approaching the Slytherin Common Room. A tremor of trepidation ran through his body. He halted just inside the entrance, working up his courage to continue. It was stupid to be afraid; he saw these people every day in the Great Hall during meals. He took in a huge lungful of air to prepare himself and froze in mid-step at the sound of Pansy's simpering voice.
"Everything's in place?" she questioned darkly.
"Yeah," Nott replied. "We've got it all figured out - cost us a bit though."
She purred in a pleased sort of way. Nott let out a throaty moan in response to whatever she was doing to him. Draco felt his skin crawling at the thought of them together in that way, bile rising to burn the back of his throat. In response to Nott's continued moaning, his heart started fluttering wildly in his chest, unpleasant memories bubbling to the surface of his mind.
He closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall, taking a deep steadying breath. Harry would be waiting for him in the Great Hall; he couldn't stay hidden there in the stairs forever.
With a determined shake of his head, he stepped through the threshold, his eyes immediately drawn to Pansy straddling Nott on a nearby couch. He didn't let his true feelings show as he sneered at them. "Ugh, get a room you two," he snarled in disgust.
They jumped at the sound of his voice, surprise and fear written plainly on their faces. Whatever they had just been discussing, they had not intended for him to overhear. Pansy studied him like a cat eyeing an unfamiliar beast.
Draco arrogantly rolled his eyes, continuing to the Great Hall, ignoring the intensity of her eyes on his back. Judging by their reaction, it was obvious that their mysterious plans didn't bode well for him - or Harry. That worrisome thought quickened his steps.
He was met with Ron's predictable glare as he crossed over to the Golden Trio's table. It seemed that neither Harry nor Hermione had managed to talk him around. Honestly, it was better this way as he didn't have to pretend to be nice to the prat.
"Pansy and Nott are up to something again," Draco grumbled, holding Harry's emerald gaze as he sat across from him.
His sitting at the Gryffindor table was such a surprise to some people that it triggered a mad rush of whispers and pointing. He had to struggle against the smile that was pulling at his lips - a vision of their shocked faces as he pulled the boy in for a passionate kiss playing out in his mind.
They had both decided that since Voldemort and some of the teachers already knew, there was no point in keeping things secret, but they weren't quite prepared to let people know just how close they were to one another. The rumor mill would be running full-tilt either way, but Harry was being shy. Draco thought it was sort of adorable in a way.
"What happened?" Hermione questioned, her natural curiosity piqued at the vagueness of his statement.
"I overheard them talking about getting something ready - something that had cost a lot of money. If Nott even thought to bring up the price tag, then it must have been quite costly," Draco replied.
Harry frowned in confusion, worrying his lip with his teeth in an unsettling manner. Draco's eyes were drawn to them, a delicate flush appearing on his face.
Ron let out a disgusted grunt, his nose wrinkled up at the sight of Draco's unwavering attention.
"But I thought you had arranged a truce," Harry voiced in concern, ignoring Ron and his stupid noises.
Draco let a slow smile spread across his face. "Never trust a Slytherin," he reminded.
"I'll say," Ron piped up, a look of triumphant vindication appearing on his face.
Draco finally turned his attention to Ron, appraising the boy for a while before he spoke, "I wasn't meaning that for me."
Ron snorted in disbelief.
"What do you think it is?" Hermione interrupted, cutting through the growing tension without a moment's hesitation. "Any theories?"
"I haven't the faintest idea," Draco admitted. "I fear this is going to be one of those stay on our guard and hope for the best kind of situations."
"I'd rather we figured it out," Hermione grumbled with a dissatisfied frown on her face. "Can't you just spy on them or something? It's supposed to be something you guys are good at."
"Spying?" Draco scoffed in mock-offense. "That has always been beneath a Malfoy. We prefer to hire people to do that for us."
Harry snorted in amusement at Draco's haughty tone of voice, his eyes sparkling as he watched him. Hermione however, did not appear to be amused by his antics.
"Then hire someone," she admonished, her lips pursed in disapproval. "If you recall, waiting around to see what they had planned didn't really work out well for you the last time."
He sucked in a shocked breath, his face flushing in indignation at her words. "I do remember," he hissed. "I remember it quite well, and I'd thank you not to mention it again."
"I'm just..." she paused, her face twisting up as she struggled to find the words. "I'm just worried about you is all."
Ron let out an angry strangled sort of noise, his face as red as his hair as he turned his glare on his girlfriend.
Draco felt suddenly very pleased with himself - not only because of what Hermione had said, but also because of the effect it was having on the ape.
"Thank you for your concern," he graciously replied. "In the meantime, I think Harry is overdue for a proper Slytherin education. It will better prepare him for the difficult road ahead... and anything that Pansy might be planning."
Hermione gazed at him, a sparkle of excitement shining in her eyes at the very notion of any sort of extra education. He'd have to remember that anything he taught Harry would inevitably make it back to the curious witch.
With practiced grace, he served himself lunch, amused by the incredulous look that Weasley kept passing between his friends. Seizing this moment as a chance to insult the boy by pointedly demonstrating the differences in their upbringing, he delicately buttered a dinner roll and took a dainty bite before very carefully pouring himself a cup of tea, adding cream and sugar, and swirling his spoon around without a single chink of silverware on china. Wrapped in an air of superiority, he took a quiet sip from his cup, then set it down noiselessly on the saucer.
The others shifted uncomfortably in their chairs as the tension grew, tackling their meals without comment. Harry would occasionally shoot him a nervous smile before returning to his food and the brooding silence.
"That was unpleasant," Harry stated with a chuckle once they had made it inside Draco's room.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Draco coyly responded. "I rather enjoyed myself."
Harry let out an amused snort as he pulled Draco close. "I know you did, but could you be a little less obvious next time."
Draco shook his head, his silvery eyes dancing. "Never. I'm an all or nothing kind of person."
"Then I guess I'm choosing nothing," Harry announced, releasing his hold on Draco and crossing over to sit in his chair by the fire.
He could tell that Draco was smiling without even looking at him. "We'll see how long that lasts," he replied in a seductive voice. Harry bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling back.
"But first things first," Draco announced in a slightly threatening manner. "It's time to educate you."
Harry's eyes never left Draco as he dug through the books in his trunk, pulling out a few to examine before tossing them aside. He had a shocking number of books to go through hiding in his trunk; Hermione would have been jealous. With an approving nod, he set aside a small stack and took 2 off the top, before pulling a third book out of his nightstand.
Harry felt a small tremor of excitement course through him at the sight of Draco's purposeful walk towards him.
"This one," Draco announced, handing him a book entitled The Art of War, "is one of the few muggle works that my father had me read."
Harry frowned at the title, wondering how a book on military tactics would be useful to him. In response, Draco explained, "It's about more than just warfare; it's about fighting a bloodless war through strategy and deceit. It has a lot of practical business applications."
Harry nodded in response, his hands tracing over the worn cover of the book. This one had been read at least a dozen times, if not more.
"Try not to get too worked up over this next one," Draco warned, handing him a book entitled The Serpent and the Lion - A Practical Guide to Business Dealings with Difficult People. "It has some very unflattering things to say about Gryffindors and I know how sensitive you get about the subject. However, as you will learn from The Art of War, you must know the enemy as well as you know yourself."
Draco was silent for a while, a slow blush appearing on his cheeks as he fiddled with the last book. "And this one," Draco started as he handed over the thin, battered-looking book without a title, "this one is... well, I'm tired of doing all the work. This has - this is - just read it," he finished in a biting tone, his face growing redder.
Harry flipped through a few pages, his eyes widening in surprise at the sight of several explicit illustrations. He swallowed, his mouth suddenly going dry. This was where Draco had learned it all.
A barking laugh escaped his throat at the sight of Draco turning away from him in embarrassment and shifting on his feet in obvious discomfort. "I think I'll read this one first," he announced with a wolfish grin.
