Better Be Slytherin
X
Girlfriend, I Suppose
It was a usual morning at the Slytherin table. Most of his classmates were hovering over the table, yawning and prodding themselves up on their fists, eyes red from too little sleep; Crabbe and Goyle were the only ones looking sharp and alert, stuffing their faces with bacon and sausages. Pansy was sitting a few seats away with her gang of girls.
Draco, Crabbe and Goyle left for the dungeons, Potions was their first lecture that morning. Snape was writing on the blackboard when they entered the classroom. Draco and his friends went for the tables at the front – where the Slytherins always sat. He spoke a few words to Nott who sat down next to Goyle, and in the ruckus Pansy had landed next to him and he felt her shoulder touching his.
He stiffened up a bit and moved away his arm. He got out his copy of Magical Drafts and Potions and studied its front-page.
"Silence," came Snape's silky voice as he turned from the blackboard to face them. His classmates' chatting immediately faded away.
"Buggering hell, look at my potion!" exclaimed Pansy to his left, half an hour later. He turned and noticed she was turned away from him, probably staring demandingly at Bulstrode, who only sniggered. Looking down into Pansy's cauldron, Draco could not help but to snigger as well.
Pansy turned to him, mock-glaring and said: "Like yours is any better."
Draco kept stirring his and Goyle's brew while Goyle were scrutinising the book, and smirked. "Just you taste this," he said challengingly. She raised one eyebrow, hesitant – but then she shrugged and smirked and scooped up some of their laugh-inducing Potion with her spoon and swallowed it.
Her face immediately screwed up and she wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, that tastes like Kneazle crap!" she exclaimed.
Draco sniggered. "That something you're familiar with, then?"
She gave him a glare. "You know what I mean! Ugh that was..." she trailed off and started giggling. "That was horrible," she laughed out.
"At least our potion works," sniggered Goyle. Draco gave a laugh. Pansy looked well silly, giggling uncontrollably.
"Oh, Merlin," she laughed.
"At least now you don't look like a right hag," sniggered Draco at her, "with all the laughing," he managed to get out as she hit him on the arm repeatedly, still not stopping the laughter.
"Sod off, Draco!"
He just sniggered and turned back to his and Goyle's potion to add the finishing touch, but he could not focus for Pansy kept on laughing.
Starting to laugh himself, he called out for Snape: "Sir! Our potion is done and working!"
Snape strode over and checked their concoction. Then he turned to Pansy slowly, realising that she was laughing. He looked like he was just about to ask what was so funny, but then he added two and two. "Well done, boys," he said and nodded to him and Goyle. "A fine example."
He left and Pansy kept on laughing. "This is actually starting to become a bother," she said. "I can't even work on my potion."
"Whatever," Draco dismissed, leaning back in his chair with his arms outstretched, feeling pleased with himself.
"You know, I had a nice time last night," said Pansy from out of the blue. Her laughter had started to trail off, she only giggled every once in a while. He turned to her and gave a small smile, suddenly not feeling as confident anymore.
They shared a look for a long second, and then she burst out: "Are you my boyfriend, Draco?"
Draco felt his cheeks go warm. He dared not to look anywhere but straight forward. Then he croaked out a short: "I suppose."
From the corner of his eye, he noticed Pansy's eyes widening.
"You my girlfriend then?" he asked before he could stop himself.
Pansy firmly avoided looking at him. "Yes."
Draco was content and merry for the rest of the day. On the way back from Herbology, his day turned even better when he saw Potter, Weasley, Granger and Macmillan further ahead and hurried after them with Crabbe and Goyle at his sides to show off his new badge. He couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces.
"Lording it over all the other teachers, the stupid puffed-up, power-crazy old –" Granger was the one speaking.
Draco smirked maliciously and interrupted: "Now, do you really want to finish that sentence, Granger?"
All four of them turned around to look at them, surprised. As nobody spoke, Draco took the liberty once more, drawling: "Afraid I'm going to have to dock a few point from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff"
"You can't take points from fellow prefects, Malfoy," said Macmillan at once. Draco felt his face screw up into a big smile.
"I know prefects can't dock points from each other," he began. Vincent and Gregory sniggered. "But members of the Inquisitional Squad –"
"The what?" said Granger sharply.
"The inquisitorial squad, Granger," said Draco, pointing towards his 'I'-badge on his robe. "A select group of students who are supportive of the Ministry of Magic, hand-picked by Professor Umbridge. Anyway, members of the Inquisitional Squad do have the power to dock points… so, Granger, I'll have five from you for being rude about our new Headmistress. Macmillan, five for contradicting me. Five because I don't like you, Potter. Weasley, your shirt's untucked, so I'll have another five for that. Oh yeah, I forgot, you're a Mudblood, Granger, so ten off for that."
Weasley pulled out his wand, but Granger pushed it away. "Don't!" she whispered.
"Wise move, Granger," hissed Draco. "New Head, new times... be good now, Potty... Weasel King..."
And there was the looks on their faces he had longed for. He laughed heartedly and strolled along with Crabbe and Goyle. He felt blissful.
Later that day, round lunch, those ruddy Weasley twins had a loud departure from Hogwarts, jinxing Umbridge and the Squad on the go – luckily Draco was down in the dungeons at the time of the attack, but Pansy was hit by a hex that made her sprout a pair of antlers – she refused him visiting her in the hospital wing (probably for the best, he would only have laughed at her anyway).
The chaos continued all through the day and the next when they after dinner discovered that Montague, who had been missing since Wednesday's Quidditch practice, had reappeared – in a toilet on the forth floor. Draco was ordered Headmistress Umbridge to run down and fetch Snape. So he hurried down to Snape's room down in the dungeouns. When he reached the office, he hastily pulled the door open and rushed inside.
"Professor Snape... oh... sorry..." Draco looked surprisedly around at the odd sight that met him. Professor Snape pointing his wand at... Potter.
"It's all right, Draco," said Snape and lowered his wand. "Potter's here for some remedial potions."
Draco immediately felt blissful. Could this day get any better? "I didn't know that," he said, casting a derisive glance at Potter who looked shameful.
"Well, Draco, what is it?" said Snape. Draco tore his eyes off Potter.
"It's professor Umbridge, sir, she needs your help. They found Montague, he showed up again, in a toilet on the forth floor."
"How did he get there?" Snape asked him.
"I don't know, sir, he's a bit confused."
"Well, then, Potter, we'll continue this lesson tomorrow evening." Snape turned round and sweeped away from the office. Draco mimed inaudibly to Potter 'remedial potions?' behind the Potions master's ack before following in his tracks. Potter looked angry, which gladdened Draco. He smirked and hurried after Snape back up to the forth floor corridor to sort out this mess.
An hour or so later, when they had managed to get Graham out of the toilet, and he'd been brought to the Infirmary, mumbling and babbling confusedly about his experience, Draco, Crabbe, Goyle and the rest of the Inquisitorial Squad members could finally return to the Slytherin common room. Entering the dimly lit, greenish room, he noticed Pansy over by the hard sofas by the fireplace, babbling on excitedly to her gang of friends. Apparently she had just been released from the Infirmary, her antlers now clearly gone.
Draco told everyone about the awkward moment in Snape's office with Potter earlier that evening, and Pansy was the one laughing the loudest and he gave her a kiss for it.
He reckoned none of them knew how to behave in a relationship, which was why they simply kept on being their usual selves. They were good friends, mocking Potter together and entertaining their friends together, and the only rare affection they showed was an occasional hug and a few sloppy, fiery snogs in a corridor on prefect patrols. They just kept on being like they always had been.
Theodore knew he was not well-liked. He was not particularly social, he did not have many friends, and the girls did not find his scrawny, moody existence to be good-looking. He was quite colourless – pale and thoughtful. He never usually spoke because nobody in his surroundings was respectable enough to hear his thoughts. They were all stupid and silly and he knew so much more than them. So she chose to not be part of their silly gangs.
He liked the company of Blaise Zabini, though. They shared common grounds and they could at least have a decent chat. Malfoy was all right as well, when he was not trying to be fawned over by Pansy, or going on and on about his opinions on school, the Dark Lord, Harry Potter, Dumbledore, or anything. Theodore had hardly ever exchanged a word with Pansy or the other girls outside the class-room. Crabbe and Goyle were purposeless and brainless followers.
Theodore had his own life; much more important things than the company of people his age. He had great ambitions, which was why – except for the obvious interest – he studied much. His dad was old and a Death Eater, having always hammered in his takes on everything into Theodore's head – so he knew exactly where his values lay. He knew how he felt about everything in the entire world.
He had more important things on his mind than chasing girls or making friends.
He and Zabini sat in the dim light in a far corner of the common room, each reading a book quietly. Feeling himself yawn, he realised he was getting tired. The common room was dark with the absence of daylight, and his watch pointed at twenty past ten.
"I'm going off to bed," he muttered to Zabini who only grunted "'night, mate" in response.
As he turned the doorknob to their dorm, Theodore made out a girl's giggle from inside. That's odd, he reckoned and opened the door. Malfoy and Pansy snogging on Malfoy's bed was the sight that awaited him within. Malfoy pulled away when he heard the door open, Nott had only seen Malfoy's pale back since Malfoy was on top, and now that Malfoy turned he revealed Pansy who was lying there in only underwear. A jolt went through Theodore's stomach and he stared one second too long.
"Oh," frowned Malfoy, "It's you."
"Yeah, sorry," said Theodore. "Was just going to bed."
"No worries," answered Malfoy.
"No, I'll just... come back in a while."
"All right, mate." Malfoy turned back to his half-naked – Theodore presumed – girlfriend? – who looked slightly annoyed that Theodore had burst in and disturbed them, stolen Malfoy's attention from her for a few seconds. And for a moment he could not help but to watch their bodies interact, watch her hands on his back, watch their tongues and lips play... Then he swallowed and went for the exit, firmly staring at the door on his way out.
Well outside he realised that he had nothing to do out there. He only had a few pages left in his book and Zabini was still reading so he could not hang out with him either. Buggering hell.
He told himself it was natural that he wanted to look; he was curious and in his puberty and it was the first time he saw a girl without her shirt on. It was natural. It was not because it was Pansy.
After standing there for a few minutes, annoyed with himself for leaving the dormitory, he sighed and opened the door again.
"You're back quick," sniggered Pansy. She and Malfoy were still on his bed, kissing. He avoided looking over there.
"Yeah, sorry, just..." he trailed off, not knowing what to say, and lamely ended the sentence with, "I finished my book." Reaching his bed, he pulled out the curtains and changed to his pyjamas behind. He felt uncomfortable with a girl in the room; one could not do what came naturally.
"Goodnight, Nott," he heard Malfoy saying.
"Yeah, night, Nott." Pansy sounded like she was hiding laughter, and he could imagine her smiling tauntingly.
