Love Potion Number Nine
Chapter Five: Draco's Thoughts
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Draco Malfoy hurried down to the dungeons and into the Slytherin dorms. To his relief, there was no one else in the common room. He dropped his school bag on the floor and sank down into an armchair.
Staring into the dancing flames, Draco Malfoy asked himself, for the three millionth time, "What the HELL is going on with me?!"
First, there was that whole socks episode. He couldn't remember anything about it, but a few other students knew and constantly made fun of him for being a Sock Snogger. Then, the eyes thing, followed by the quill incident, and that weird "I Love the World" feeling. Not to mention the Shakespeare quotes, the heart attack, and finally, the grand finale... Crabbe.
Draco Malfoy shuddered violently from the memory. Thank goodness Crabbe was a proper lady and didn't believe in kissing on the first date. But there had been a lot of handholding, and Draco Malfoy had seriously considered burning that hand.
Something very odd was going on. Someone seemed determined to humiliate Draco Malfoy as much as possible in as short a time span as possible. Draco just couldn't figure it out. Who would want to –or dare to– do that to a Malfoy?
The first name that came to mind was, of course, Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy's arch nemesis. But Potter wasn't smart enough to think of all these complex hexes and get away with it, too. There was the possibility of Potter's girlfriend, Granger, the Mudblood. She was the smartest girl in their year, after all.
Speaking (or rather, thinking) of which, Draco Malfoy suddenly remembered that there was a Potions essay due the next day he had yet to finish. He couldn't maintain his place as smartest boy of the year if he started falling behind in homework. So he gathered his things and headed to the library.
Once he reached his destination, he found Hermione and Daphne in a secluded corner, poring over the contents of a large, old spell book. Curious, he hid behind a nearby bookshelf and listened in.
". . . know what Ginny said," Daphne was saying. "No more love potions. She was really serious this time, 'Mione."
"Oh, come on, don't chicken out now. One more little potion won't hurt. Now, how about this one. . . oh, no, we got this same one from my book. This was the heart-eyes potion." Hermione flipped through a few more pages. "Oh, here's a good one. Very few possible side effects. . . well, that exploding heart one sounds a bit nasty, but it says it's very rare..."
Draco listened as Hermione and Daphne went over the specifics of the potion with increasing unease. So it was them who were behind all the strange goings-on in Draco's life. . . but why?
"Oh, I'm supposed to meet Harry by the lake in five minutes. Gotta run. Meet me in Myrtle's bathroom after dinner, and bring those ingredients," Hermione instructed.
"All right. I'll go put this back," Daphne said, picking up the spell book as Hermione left.
Daphne walked right past Draco without even noticing him, her mind obviously distracted by other things like love potions. He fell into step behind her his footsteps making no noise on the carpeted floor, then reached out to grab her shoulders suddenly. She let out a small scream.
"Draco! Oh, you jerk!" she hissed, pretending to hit him with the heavy book.
Draco laughed quietly. "Sorry, I couldn't resist."
"What are you doing here, anyway?" she asked, continuing down the aisle until she found the shelf where the book belonged.
"I could ask you the same question, only I know the answer to that already. You were conspiring with Granger to make a love potion that will further disgrace me in front of my peers," Draco said sarcastically.
Daphne blushed. "Oh. You were listening, then?"
"No, that was just a random guess off the top of my head," he retorted, putting his arm around his younger sister. "Daphne, Daphne, Daphne. . . I'm rather disappointed in you. Is this the best you could come up with? You're going to ruin the Malfoy reputation."
"And that disappoints you?" Daphne snorted. "I thought you wanted nothing more than to spit on the Malfoy name."
"Yes, but we can't let information like that get around, now can we?" Draco grinned. "Now anyway... what's the deal, Daph? Why are you trying to put love spells on me? I never knew you were into incest..." Draco teased
Daphne hit him playfully, pretending to gag. "Shut up, Draco. It's not for me. It's for..." she cut herself off just in time.
"Who? Granger? I thought she was with Potter."
"I wish you wouldn't call her Granger around me. It's rather degrading. It would be like me calling Crabbe and Goyle... oh wait, bad example. Anyway, it's not for Hermione, either. It's for a. . . a friend. A mutual friend. This friend really likes you, and, well, Hermione and I were just trying to help. I'm really sorry about all the side effects, Draco," Daphne apologized.
"Well, I suppose I can live with them. Just no more potions, okay? Promise me," Draco said.
"Yes, yes, of course. I'll try to sabotage Hermione's next potion tonight," Daphne promised.
"Good. Now come on, Daph, just tell me. Which of your little friends has a crush on me?" Draco Malfoy asked, grinning egotistically.
"Wipe that grin off your face, Draco, she's not the type of girl that's interested in some cheap fling with The Draco Malfoy. She's not into the bad boy thing. She's convinced that under your tough shell, you're a good person," Daphne answered.
"Gee, I wonder where she got that idea..." Draco looked hard at Daphne.
"I didn't tell her, I swear!" Daphne protested. "She just. . . sensed it, I guess. Maybe you're not so good at the bad boy thing after all."
"Blasphemy!" Draco gasped jokingly. "Come on, who is it?"
"Not gonna tell you."
"Is it Zoë Blaine?"
"Not gonna tell you."
"Amanda Bottorff?"
"Not gonna tell you."
"Lavender Brown?"
"Not gonna tell you."
"Parvati Patil?"
"No, not Parvati. She's a sixth year, I'll give you that."
"Let's see, let's see. . . what sixth years haven't I scored already?" Draco Malfoy wondered.
"Watch it, Malfoy."
"Okay, okay, only joking. Dede Maxis?"
"Not gonna tell you."
Draco had a thought, a hopeful flutter in his stomach and opened his mouth to say a name, then quickly dismissed it and said instead, "Rebecca Moore?"
"Not gonna tell you."
"Ginny Weasely?" This time, it popped out before he could stop it.
Daphne hesitated for a mere second, surprised that he had mentioned the name. "N... not gonna tell you."
Draco heard the "yes" in Daphne's hesitation. "It is her, isn't it? Ginny has a crush on me!"
"I didn't say that! Draco, stop it, I never said that! What in the hell are you doing, anyway?" Daphne demanded as Draco began to shake his hips and spin in circles.
Draco paused his victory dance only to explain, "I'm celebrating," before continuing his happy dance.
"Celebrating? You're happy that it's Ginny?" Daphne asked confusedly. Draco always acted so harshly towards the Weasely family, she had expected him to be angry about it.
"Couldn't be happier! Ginny Weasely likes me! Ginny Weasely likes me! Ginny Weasely has a crush on me! Ginny Weasely has a. . . you're sure she likes me? Daphne Malfoy, if you're just jerking my chain, I'll. . ."
"I would never, and don't call me a Malfoy. Ginny told Hermione and I that she has a crush on you. Draco, don't you dare make fun of her! I'll kill you! And then she'll kill me for telling you and I'll meet you in Hell and kill you all over again! Draco, look at me! Promise me you won't make fun of her!" Daphne insisted, grabbing Draco by the shoulders and looking him straight in the eye.
"I would never, Daphne, I swear! I've been waiting for this moment since fourth year! Ginny Weasely likes me! Ginny Weasely likes me!" Draco continued his happy dance, leaving Daphne utterly bewildered.
"Draco, I thought you hated the Weaselys."
"Draco Malfoy hates the Weaselys, but as you are well aware, Draco Malfoy is simply a façade I put up in order to inherit the Malfoy fortune. If I acted like I act with you around other people, my reputation would be ruined. Father would hear about it and disown me, as he disowned you. If he disowned me, he would give the fortune to his vile nephew, and then where would you and I be? Nowhere pleasant, I assure you," Draco explained.
"Draco, I've always wondered. . . what on earth are you planning to do with all that money?" Daphne asked.
"Split it with you, of course. Then I'll take one quarter of mine and give it to St. Mungo's, since Lord only knows how much damage Father did to the people in there. Another quarter of it will go to some organization that's against the Dark Lord. Maybe Potter's Army or whatever it is he started. Anonymously, of course, as my reputation will still be very fragile. Then I'll use the rest to support myself. I've been thinking about entering the Ministry and attempting to reform it for the better, but maybe medicine would be a more worthwhile professions. Either way, I'll need a good bit of money," Draco responded. He had obviously thought about this a lot.
Daphne stared at him, thunderstruck. "I had no idea you were that generous, Draco. You really are quite good at the bad boy act. So you have a crush on Ginny?"
"Crush would be an understatement. I want to buy her the world and deliver the moon on a silver platter. I would kiss her brother's feet if she so desired. I would take on the Dark Lord himself if only I knew she was waiting for me at the battle's end. I want to count the number of hairs on her head and learn every detail of her past. I want to know when and where she took her first step and said her fist word and..."
"All right, all right, I get it! You're in love! Well, Draco, that's wonderful! When are you going to tell Ginny?" Daphne asked excitedly.
"Tell Ginny? I can't tell Ginny! Are you mad?" Draco hissed.
"What? Why not?" Daphne asked.
"Do you know what Father would do if he found out I was dating a Weasely? He'd decapitate me! He'd cut me out of the will so fast your head would spin!" Draco protested.
"Oh. . . yes. . . that's true. . . well, that just sucks royally, doesn't it?"
"Tell me about it." Draco sank down onto the floor, sighing heavily. He leaned back against a bookcase, putting his head in his hands. "How about we knock off the parentals? Make it seem like the Dark Lord did it in a fit of rage. I know how to conjure the Dark Mark."
"Oh, yeah, I'm sure Ginny would love to date a murderer," Daphne said sarcastically.
"She'd never know," Draco said slyly. Daphne smacked him in the head. "Okay, okay, it was just a suggestion! Let's hear your bright ideas, then."
"Screw Mum and Pops. Who really needs money, anyway? You're the smartest wizard in your year, it's not as though you'll be lacking in credentials when you start looking for a job," Daphne said.
Draco chewed on his lower lip, deep in thought. After a minute, he said, "Yes. . . yes, I suppose you're right. I wouldn't want their money anyway, it'd be tainted with their greed and evil. . . wonderful, Daphne, you're brilliant! Must be off now, see you later. Remember to destroy Hermione's evil plans to create yet another love potion tonight."
With that, Draco sprinted out of the library.
Daphne shook her head, smiling, as she watched his retreating back. She just couldn't wait for all of this to be over.
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