Author's Note: Revised chapter five.

decorating

draco style

"What?" Draco asked in surprise.

While walking to the new rooms, Draco had rediscovered to pieces of information about his former Defense teacher: that he was just as nice he had seemed before, that and he still didn't like the man, no matter how nice he was.  The same goes for Black, Draco thought derisively. He knew why he didn't like Black: the man was a devil.  And Lupin was just too nice.  There was something he didn't like about nice people.

They had gone up spiraling steps to find themselves in an area very much like that under Professor Trelawney's tower; an empty cul-de-sac. The whole place was round, and a small room in itself. The only think that made it stand out was a blank portrait frame in the middle of the wall.

"Exactly what I mean," Remus said, "what picture do you want on the portrait? You'll get to talk to them and everything afterwards."

Draco and Harry exchanged glances, shrugging. Remus then frowned, and shook his head. "Well, you can decide that last. Let's get the inside done first."

So pulling the empty portrait frame back, Harry, Draco, and Sirius followed Remus up a short set of spiral stairs, and when Remus stepped back to reveal the room to Harry and Draco, they were both shell-shocked.

They were peering into a blank room, devoid of furniture and furnishings. It was a small common room.  Right across from where they were standing, there was a large fireplace.

"This isn't all," Sirius said, grinning at the amazement on Harry's face. He led Harry around the side of the circular common room and down another hall on the right side of it. The hall opened to a large bedroom, with an attached bathroom in it. Harry's trunk was already there, looking very forlorn in the center of the room.

"Sirius," Harry managed to breathe, "is this all just for us?"

Sirius eyes sparked with light, such a shockingly better improvement from the deadened look they usually held. "All yours, kiddo." Sirius' grin became more devious. "But it's really quite empty…we have to decorate it first! Let's start with the common room."

Harry eagerly followed Sirius to the common room, where Draco had returned after exploring his own room.

"All right," Remus said, "first agree on a color theme."

"Green," was Draco's first word.

"I don't like green," Harry said with a frown.

"Well, don't expect me to let you choose Gryffindor colors."

"Then definitely no Slytherin colors."

Sirius grinned as he watched the two go through a myriad of colors—neither really seemed to care what the room would end up like, but they did seem to want to give each other a hard time. Sirius took the moment to take a closer look at Harry—he looked pretty much exactly like James did at that age, except that Harry was quite thin. It irked Sirius that he couldn't stay and take care of Harry full-time as he should have done, but also proudly told himself that Harry was always able to look after himself.

Finally, after two minutes of calling out colors and insults, the two boys settled on light blue and black—of course, neither had come to that conclusion alone.  More like, it was that Remus had forcefully suggested it.

"Okay," Remus said, taking over the teaching part, "to change the color of the walls, point your wands at the wall you will color. You say fieri and then the color you want."

Both boys nodded.

Sirius sighed and looked at them apologetically. "Dumbledore told us to meet him right away, after dropping you off." He glanced at Remus, his best friend. "Should we go right away, or do you think it'll be all right to skip it?"

Remus sighed shaking his head at Sirius as he conjured a list for Harry and Draco with all the instructions on it. "No, we should go. Boys, the instructions are on the sheet. I trust you will get along.  And remember—the spells won't work unless you concentrate!"

After promising to come back later that night, Sirius and Remus left the two alone. Draco felt the smirk spreading on his face.  He turned to Harry, glanced at the other boy, and deciding he didn't really care to confer with him over anything he did, Draco began to magically paint the walls black.  "Fieri Black!"

There was a big splotch of black on the plain white walls. Harry, who had been watching, stood up, pulling out his wand out of his black robes as well. Pointing near the big splotch that Draco had made, he said, "Fieri Black!"

After a few minutes of working in silence, Harry asked, "Does this spell work only on walls?"

Draco shrugged, "Well, the Latin means 'be done,' and since it's not specific, I suppose it could be used on other objects."

"Good." Well, if Malfoy doesn't see what's coming, he's not as smart as I thought, Harry thought, before pointing his wand at Draco. "Fieri Magenta!"

Draco sputtered and blinked as his once fancy and elegant robes had a huge bright pink splotch on it. He looked ready about to spurt out hundreds of angry things. "Magenta?" he blurted incredulously. "Potter!"

Harry burst out laughing. "You know, Malfoy," he said in between breaths, "that color really suits you."

"Fieri Orange!" Draco exclaimed, pointing at Harry. Harry ducked just in time, and the newly painted black walls had an orange spot on it. But Draco would not give up—he would make Harry pay for the humiliation of pink robes. "This means war!"

***

After they were quite exhausted, and their robes were filthy with color, the two boys plopped on the empty floor while glaring at each other challengingly. All the walls, floors, and ceilings were bathed in an indefinite amount of colors, raging from puke green to canary yellow.

"All right, Potter," Draco said, picking himself off the floor and pointing at his own multicolored robes with his wand. "Clensio," he said. He pointed at Harry and did the same. "We should finish this part up."

Harry, from his spot on the ground, pointed at all the walls and floor and ceiling, and repeated the incantation, "Fieri Black!"

By the time they were done, the room was amazing.  Draco had done all the choosing of colors and materials of the furniture—Harry hadn't cared enough to bother with another argument with the Slytherin boy, though he did have to admit that the place did look good.  The floors had been painted sky blue, and there were gigantic, fluffy couches and armchairs make of black leather around the fire.  Two sets of ebony wood tables and chairs were situated on opposite sides of the room; one for each of the boys.  Stands with black lamps covered with blue shades were placed on ebony stands placed along the walls.  Overhead, blue fires were glowing around the edges of the ceiling.

"Wow," Harry said slowly, trying to find some way to answer Draco, who was glaring at him expectantly.  "Er…very coordinated."

Draco raised a delicate eyebrow, before giving a derisive snort.  Turning to walk towards his room, he waved a hand lazily over his shoulder.  "Do whatever you want with your room, it's beyond my caring.  Just make sure you don't screw up my common room."

Harry watched Draco walk away with an indignant gaze.  His common room?  It was just as much his as it was Harry's, even if he did design it.  Harry suppressed his anger and stomped away down the hall to his own room, grabbing Remus' list on the way.

Painting the walls in his hall scarlet as he went along, and lining the ceiling with golden flames, he went to his room and decorated much the same as it had been in his dorm room.  Red walls, golden fire for lighting, mahogany desk, chair, and wardrobe, with a bookshelf tucked into the corner.  Sighing once he was done, he looked around.  There was one thing the place that still needed to be done.

Consulting Remus' list, and aiming is wand precisely at the opening from the hall into his room, Harry concentrated hard and muttered a spell.  A gold spark shot from his wand, and formed itself into a deep-golden colored door, with a heavy handle.

Harry stared at it a moment after it had formed, and felt a small grin form on his face.  At least with such a door he wouldn't have to worry about Malfoy trying to pull an amateur assassination on him.

draco style

end

A/N: The Latin: fieri means "be done," so I wanted to use it as "be done in this color". Clensio is my own random work from the word "clense" (meaning "to clean");

The revised version's a bit more in character.  Originally, I think it was too happy; Harry and Draco seemed more like friends than enemies trying hard not to making it real obvious that they're trying to show each other up.  Ah well.  Leave your e-mail address in a review to be added to my mailing list.

~Jedi Cosmos