Pushing the fringe back from his brow, Draco happily jaunted from the Quidditch pitch. He'd caught the snitch in practice, which was always something to rejoice over, even if it was to be expected. All of his advances at wooing the swot had come up fruitless and this tiny, inconsequential win raised his spirits.
Said spirits nearly began dancing when he caught sight of the Gryffindor team making their way through the tunnel; he paused mid-step, grin widening.
"Potter!" Draco delighted in the way his one-time rival froze, panic etching into his features as they locked gazes.
Theo nudged him, eyeing the Gryffindor at the end of the hall with a curious stare. "You good, Malfoy?"
"About to be." Draco smirked, lifting his broom off his shoulder and making his way down the tunnel. It's not that Harry Potter was any serious kind of threat, but he was well-liked, where Draco was, decidedly, not. The teachers all kissed his arse and the witches of this school swooned whenever his mop of black hair took to the Quidditch pitch.
That's why moments like these were all the sweeter.
"What is it, Malfoy?" Potter's voice dropped, his gaze darting over his shoulder at his teammates.
Holding out his broom, Draco wanted to actually squeal when he watched a slow realization drip over the Gryffindor's face. "I need this tended to. Brush the bristles and polish the handle, would you?"
Potter's eyes narrowed behind his horribly smudged glasses and Draco swallowed a chuckle. But then the girl Weasel stepped forward, laying a hand on her would-be boyfriend's shoulder. "Looking for someone to polish your broom off for you, Malfoy? We always suspected you had a thing for Harry."
The Gryffindor team, and even Nott, erupted into riotous laughter as a red-hot blush spread to the tips of ears. He yanked his broom back into his own possession. With a soft growl and a sneer, he pushed past Potter, checking him with his shoulder in the process.
Bleeding Gryffindors.
xXx
It was the third Friday and Draco was nowhere closer to getting so much as a smile from Granger. On each of their assigned nights together, she arrived promptly, a serious pout on her pretty lips, and began charting the night sky.
He, however, took all the time in the world just to study the strange witch. Presumably, the people she kept company with could be considered friends; so she couldn't be a complete troll. Yet every ounce of charm he exuded died against her icy exterior.
"You could help, you know," Granger drawled from over her parchment.
"I am helping. Remember just last week you told me the best thing I could do would be to sit here and keep my mouth shut? Just following orders, love." He was in a pissy mood and frankly, he was growing tired of chasing a witch that had more walls than the castle they lived in.
"What's up your arse tonight?" she asked.
The sound of her quill scrawling notes on her parchment set his teeth on edge and he glowered back at her. Sure, he could tell her that her stupid friends had bruised his ever fragile ego or that any attempts to seduce the Dragon Queen herself was going positively horrible, but that wouldn't help his long game. So he settled for the ever eloquent, "Piss off, Granger."
"Merlin, you're in quite the state." Apparently his sour mood was deemed interesting enough as she turned from the telescope and her attentions were placed solely on him. "Bad practice or something?"
A smirk kissed the corner of his mouth as he rested his head against the stone and stared back at her. "You know I play Quidditch, Granger?"
With a soft snort and roll of her milk chocolate-colored eyes, she turned back towards the balcony, staring out at the rolling Scottish hills. "Everyone knows you play Quidditch. You're the second best seeker at Hogwarts."
Draco's jaw fell open. "Second?"
"After Harry, of course." His eyes narrowed and a nasty insult formed in the back of his throat but she continued, "It's not that your bad, you just aren't as fast. Your finesse when flying is certainly admirable, you have a certain instinct that Harry lacks. But he's Gryffindor for a reason."
Her chuckle filled the air and his eyes rounded as he stared at her; the swot-extraordinaire, of course, she'd have an opinion about his Quidditch skills.
"Harry is reckless when he plays. He makes moves you won't because you don't want to get hurt; you pull back at the last minute. Harry doesn't. If you could combine his speed and your ability, you'd be brilliant."
It was natural to quip back, to say something that would bite her in the arse… but he didn't. Odd, to say the very least. Because the truth of it was, she was bloody right.
Merlin, the number of times Draco had lost a snitch because he'd been too cautious. Blame it on his upbringing, but he wasn't the sort of bloke to enjoy getting his hands dirty nor his clothes ruined, even on a Quidditch pitch.
"Very astute, Granger. I didn't know you watched me so closely." Draco's eyes dropped to his hands, picking at his perfect cuticles just to seem a touch more aloof.
To his complete surprise, Granger moved further from the balcony, sinking to the floor across from him and crossing her ankles. "Well, my friends always insist I go. And around fourth year they started complaining if I read. So I do what I do best," she paused to smile at her lap, before lifting her eyes to his. "I study. I could also tell you the strengths and weaknesses of almost every player in each house. For instance, did you know that Ernie Macmillion always feigns left before he throws the Quaffle?"
Draco's eyes rounded and he leaned forward, somehow completely captivated by the unruly haired witch across from him. "Really?"
Her soft laugh trilled through the air and Draco felt a strange flutter in his chest. "Truly. The entire Hufflepuff team is rife holes in their strategy."
Running his fingers through his hair, Draco tucked his chin into his chest and laughed mirthlessly. "Well, we may have finally found some common ground Granger, and I find myself in a place in new territory."
"And what territory is that?"
Peering up through his lashes, he leveled her with his most charming smirk, the one reserved for the most special of witches. "Entranced by you."
The slow blush spreading across Granger's cheeks stole all his attention and when she set down her papers and leaned back towards him, he was quite nearly beside himself. "I could tell you more, I suppose. The night sky is bound to stay the same for a few minutes."
His smirk spread to a grin and he leaned back. "I'm all ears, Granger."
xXx
Sunday afternoon he decided it was best to capitalize on his minuscule breakthrough with Granger the night before. Which is how he found himself in the back corner of the library on a bleeding Sunday.
On this particular visit, the witch didn't dismiss him or insult him as he took a seat across from her, instead just pulled a disbelieving face and resumed her work. For awhile he was content to work quietly next to her but then an altogether brilliant idea struck him and he found a stray piece of parchment and in a long, elegant script he scrawled out his first message.
Hi.
Charming it to lay flat, he slid it across the table towards her, then quickly returned his gaze to his Arithmancy book, biting back a smile. From his peripheral vision, she read it, furrowed her brow and stared at the top of his head for about ten seconds. But then, as if by some strange miracle, the sound of her quill scratching against the paper heralded his success. The paper slid back towards him and without meeting her keen eye, he trapped it under his fingertips and pulled it safely into his space.
Hello.
His very own mouth threatened to betray him as he fought another smile.
What are you working on?"
This one was returned much quicker and he even managed to brush his fingers against hers as he stole it back.
Ancient Runes. Why are you bothering me?
Draco swallowed a chuckle as Pince walked past the stacks and he hastily scribbled his response.
Maybe I just missed you, Granger.
Highly unlikely. What are you working on?
Arithmancy. Second-guessing why I took the course if I'm honest. It's so pointless…
IT IS NOT POINTLESS! Maybe you just need a more comprehensive view of the subject… Or a tutor.
Are you offering? What's the going rate for a private tutoring session with the brightest witch of our age.
By now, he'd long forgotten his work, leaning back to stare at her as she smiled down at the parchment and then crinkled her nose in thought. Peering up at him, she arched a mischievous brow before scrawling a lengthy note back.
Sugar quills. But not those Godric-awful clear ones—they taste like cough syrup. I will accept pink or blue and in a dire situation purple. If you wanted help I could potentially clear my schedule for—
"Malfoy! There you are." Draco jumped in his seat, recognizing the too close proximity of his cohorts. Blaise was there suddenly, clapping a hard palm on Draco's shoulder. Theo followed close behind, finding a spot on the wall to lean against as he eyed the situation unfolding in front of him.
"Didn't realize you had a date," Theo said from the corner of his mouth, quirking his brows in their direction.
"What?" He balked, his ears burning red as he scoffed and sat back smugly in his chair. "It's not—well, we're just—"
"We're studying," Granger supplied quickly, gathering up her supplies with a new urgency. "I was just finishing anyway."
Draco watched as the witch hastily shoved her books and parchments in her bag, disappointment thick in the air around them. "You don't have to leave," he rushed. "I really was about done with my work, so I'll leave."
"Nope." Granger's eyes flashed dangerously and she lifted her shoulder onto her bag. "Done, here. See you, Malfoy." As if remembering her polite manners, she pursed her lips and nodded towards the other two Slytherins present. "Gentlemen."
She made it only a few steps before Blaise called out to her. "You're looking good these days, Granger."
Pausing midstep, Granger turned over her shoulder, the cold facade that he had grown far too familiar with fixed back on features. She remained mute, sneering once before disappearing, leaving an icy chill in her wake. Blaise was unaffected, a bright laugh rippling through the air as he rocked back on the desk. "Merlin, that witch needs to loosen up. I didn't know you were slumming it, Draco."
Nerves got the best of him and the semi-truth pushed past his lips. "I'm not. Just a transaction with Potter and Weasley. They're doing my bitch work while I work on the Dragon Queen." His voice was half-hearted, all his thoughts now down the hall with a certain curly-haired witch as Blaise's guffaws grew in volume.
"Oh, Malfoy, you never fail to entertain. Maybe when you're done I'll take a pass at her; she could use a good lay or two and I've heard she's an absolute tomcat."
Bristling, Malfoy grunted and started packing up his belongings. "Where on earth would you hear that?"
"Everyone's heard it, mate," Theo tagged on, his brow arched sardonically. "McLaggen shagged her a few years back."
Green jealousy twisted in his belly and he swallowed the bitter taste of it.
Pince had since arrived, pinch-faced and pissed. "That is quite enough, you three! Out! There is learning of the highest order happening here and it will not be derailed by the likes of you—"
"Yeah, yeah. We're gone." Blaise rose to stand, waving her off with a dismissive hand and a hard eye roll. "Come on, Malfoy. The Puffs have harvested their Sweet Weed and are having a party to celebrate this most joyous occasion. You in?"
Malfoy stood frozen for a moment, staring at his childhood friends with new eyes.
"You coming, Malfoy?" Nott echoed as Pince again shooed them from the stacks.
"Yeah," he said. "I'm coming."
xXx
A few housekeeping notes. Idk what I was thinking when I said eight chapters, it is most certainly six! I must have been having a moment. Also, I believe in the first chapter it says their night to observe is on Saturday; please amend to Friday. That was a whoopsie on my part! I've made edits, but just so you know moving forward!
Alpha/Beta thanks to MCal! The fun continues and thank you all so much for all your support on this fic! It's been fun to write and I actually completed the first draft of the final chapters today! Yay! Once I can get them through beta and make edits, I will keep posting up chapters!
Thanks for all your feedback, it makes my day!