Ad Hominem
Chapter 2-Alea Iacta Est Day II
I overslept and missed breakfast. I was late to potions and ran in to see Snape grinning maddeningly at me. Not only that, I had missed my run, and I was pissed.
"Well, well, well. Had a little too much fun last night Mr. Weasley?"
"Sir, I'm-
"-Silence! Detention Weasley! Fifteen points from Gryffindor!" He hissed in my face and I sat down to laughter from the Slytherins. Snape favored the Slytherins as usual, and by the end of class had taken a nice round forty points from us. Our moods were pretty dour as we left, and mine was made worse, if possible, by the voice calling my name as we left.
"Weasley!" I turned to see Snape glaring at me. "Your detention will be tonight after dinner. Report here, and so help you if you're a second late, understand?"
"Yes professor." I walked from the room, my spirits lower than the dungeon I had just left. I headed to history, and was looking forward to a nap to sleep off my blues. Bloody-George was poking me awake.
"What?!" I hissed at him. He recoiled in surprise at my anger.
"I wanted to make sure you weren't dead. You okay mate? What did he give you for detention?"
"Dunno. Just a report time and place. His classroom, after dinner."
"Blimey. Good luck. That could be any number of things, all worse than death."
"I know. Now let me sleep. I may be up late for detention tonight." I put my head back down and drifted off to Binn's voice.
The rest of the day progressed as horribly as potions, and we were all more than relieved when dinner came. I ate as much as I could, hoping that I could at least be happy with my full stomach, if nothing else. I left early so that I could make it to the dungeons with time to spare. George gave me one last 'good luck' as I headed out and I waved back at him. I took a seat at one of the tables and waited for Snape when I reached his room. The door creaked behind me and I turned towards it.
"Malfoy!"
"Very perceptive Weasley. Have you never noticed my extreme hotness before now? Or are you just happy to see me?" He drawled, cool as ice.
"You wish Malfoy. I was just wondering if you did have detention, what you could have done that would make Snape do that to you, his favorite."
"Fuck off Weasley. It's no concern of yours."
"More than happy to oblige, ferret." Heh. That one pissed him off. He started to lunge at me, but Snape entered to room before he could reach me.
"Five points for fighting, both of you!" We both stared at him, amazed that he would take points from Malfoy. I watched as Malfoy slowly hung his head; was that shame? Blimey, what did he do?
"Malfoy I assume you've heard why Weasley is here?" Malfoy gave a slight nod and his eyes darted to me. "Well, I'm not quite sure that Mr. Weasley knows why you're here." A grin seemed to infest Snape's face and Malfoy's fascade faltered for just a moment. I watched in horror as Snape's grin became worse. "I think it's only fair Draco. Weasley, Malfoy spoke out of turn to me in a classroom of Slytherins and Gryffindors. He undermined my authority and belittled me in front of my students. He had quite the spirit while he was fighting with me, I must say, but I can't allow Gryffindors to think I favor my house, can I?" I slowly shook my head. Yeah right, as if the whole school didn't know that. "Worse, he used language not appropriate for a classroom and brought up topics that should remain unspoken." Snape's eyes clouded for a minute as he looked at Malfoy. Malfoy had his head down and he actually looked nervous. Snape was angry enough that his upper lip and most of the veins in his forehead were twitching. I'd only ever seen him that angry at Gryffindors. Malfoy was starting to cower. It was oddly satisfying. "Now that we're all on equal ground-let's get started. You will be helping me clean and restock my office and classroom. We will also be disposing of anything made unusable by time. You two must work together." He sneered at us and leaned closer to me. "I'll know if you're not." With one last hiss he swept towards the door. He stopped in the doorway, with one hand holding the door open, and looked back at us. "And no magic." He raised his wand and both our wands flew to him. He shut the door.
"Damn."
"Have something to say Weasley?" Malfoy sneered from my left.
"Piss off Malfoy. I don't have the energy to listen to you pretend to hate this, and we don't have the time. You know that if I wasn't here you'd be doing this all yourself, so shut your mouth and help me!" His mouth dropped open slightly, and he promptly closed it to glower at me. "And would it kill us to be civil? I'm done hating Slytherin, and one day you'll stop hating Gryffindor. Maybe that day should be today." He stared at me in shock and mumbled something.
"Pardon?"
"No! It won't kill us to be civil! But don't think for a minute that I'll ever stop hating Gryffindor. And you know what, Fred, it might just kill you if I'm civil to you." His calm, cool, composure had returned and he looked formidable as he yelled at me. "Besides, we don't have any wands so we couldn't do much in the way of fighting anyway."
"Scared to fight me like a man Draco?" I scoffed at him. He broke into peals of laughter and shock registered on my face. He was doubled over and trying to speak.
"You...you think, that I..." More laughter. "You think that I would bother wasting my time scuffling about with you?" Still more laughter. "I should think that you knew how vain and egocentric I am. Fighting you and beating you into a pulp would be amusing, but would benefit nothing, and Pomfrey wouldn't fix me if you marred my beautiful being. Let's get to work before Snape walks in." I turned and grinned to myself. So Malfoy isn't as great a coward as we always thought he was. I looked around the room for cleaning supplies, and, finding none, turned to Malfoy.
"Umm...'
"Yeah. Nothing to clean with, and nothing with which to restock." Malfoy had obviously been thinking along my line of logic. At that moment one of the tables filled with potion ingredients and cleaning supplies. "I'll restock while you clean."
"Will that cover 'working together'? I don't want Snape to get all twitchy again, amusing as it was." I laughed.
"Yeah, amusing when it's not directed at you for once. I think we should be okay doing separate tasks." He started to sort the potion ingredients as he spoke.
"Who the hell put you in charge? I'll restock and you clean." I glared at him with a 'do something' stare. He stopped sorting and turned to me. He casually walked to me and struck my jaw with quite a lot of force. I staggered back, holding the source of pain. I looked up at him and laughed. He looked so, wrong. Anger doesn't fit him. He was clenching his fists at his sides and his breathing was heavy. His appearance was ruffled and some strands of hair were loose and hanging around his face. I stood up and looked down at him, inches from his face. "Don't make me laugh Malfoy. I grew up with three older brothers. You can't even hit as hard as Ron." Heh. That one got him. His eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared. "Come on. You're ruffling your feathers swan. It's not very attractive." I said calmly and waited for his reaction. He relaxed and pushed his hair back in place. "That's better."
"Fuck you Weasley."
"Whatever you say Malfoy." I leaned in to him, and felt his breath on my face. His eyes darted to mine and I glared at him for a split second before walking to the table with the ingredients. I started to stock the shelves mindlessly. His eyes, they're so cold yet so active! It's like a blizzard in the arctic. They're sky blue and stone grey with silver threads. I've never seen eyes like that before. Well, except Lucius Malfoy, but Malfoy's are different. More...alive. Full of fire and passion and life. They twinkle like the moon itself.
"Weasley!"
"Huh? What?"
"I've been standing here for five minutes waiting for you to move, and when you didn't notice me I started to call you. What the hell is wrong with you? No one ignores a Malfoy!" He was beginning to tap his foot angrily and it looked anything but intimidating. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked again.
"I was just lost in thought. You take the shelves on the right and I'll take the left, it'll be faster and we'll stay out of each other's way." He turned back to the shelves after one last questioning look and started to take out bottles and fill them. After about five minutes he spoke.
"You were thinking? What could you possibly have been thinking about? All you and your disgusting twin do is make jokes at other people's expense. Usually Slytherins, might I add." His tone was...odd. Like he was trying to hide genuine interest with disdain. I sighed.
"I wouldn't have expected you to notice...in fact it would have been slightly disconcerting if you had, but George is the one that does that now. I haven't thought of or done anything remotely funny since last year. He hides it well, always sharing the credit with me." I paused and looked at Malfoy. "I don't believe I'm telling you this. I haven't told anyone that!" I calmed down a bit and continued. He just stood there taking it all in. "Our jokes weren't always at other people's expense. A lot of the time they were just...funny. Making people laugh has always been our calling."
"But not yours anymore?" He asked me with a small smile in his eyes, but there was no attitude in his voice to mock me. I smiled dis-spiritedly at him in answer.
"And as for what I was thinking about; that's none of your business." He laughed and continued working in silence. After about ten minutes I spoke up. "So, what did you say to Snape?" I asked carefully.
"None of your fucking business Weasley!" He had changed immediately. His eyes had fire in them again, and he spilled the asphodel he was holding. I looked down at it and started to clean it up without thinking.
"I'm sorry. I was just curious." I said while cleaning. He stood and looked down at me, clearly not understanding what I was doing and why. I stood up and poured the asphodel back into the jar he was holding. He looked at me quizzically, his head slightly turned. I grinned slightly at him and he scowled in return. I think that was the only time I've ever been scared of him; while he was standing above me, the back of my head and neck vulnerable. I hadn't even thought about it at the time.
"Curiosity killed the cat Weasley." It was then that I noticed how mature he was for a fifteen-year-old. I glanced at his cold, sharp profile as he worked, and wondered what had made him grow up so fast. Probably having Lucius for a father. I just don't see him becoming a deatheather though. His eyes, they're not always cold like the deatheaters are. When he laughs they still light up and give him away.
"Are you fucking your brother?" I dropped the jar I was holding and stared at him in horror.
"What?!"
"You heard me. That's the rumor around Slytherin." He shrugged his shoulders. "I was just curious." I looked at him and looked down at the jar of beetles I had dropped. I looked back up at him. "Judging by your reaction, you're not."
"Of course I'm not! He's straight, he's got a girlfriend, and that's disgusting!"
"Come on, don't tell me you've never thought about it. What it would be like to fuck yourself, in a manner of speaking. I mean, is he like you in every way?"
"Malfoy, this is not a conversation I want to be having with you." I knelt down and started to clean up the beetles. I felt his eyes burning a hole in my head and I stood up. In one fluid movement he pushed me back against the cabinet and held me there. The beetles fell from my fingers as he glared up into my face.
"I can tell you're like night and day, yin and yang, you and your brother. He's your other half and that connection is so strong it amazes even you sometimes. You know you've thought about how it would be fuck someone that is identical to you in every way. I'm sure he even gets off in all the same ways you do. Reacts to the same touches in just the right spot-" He ran a finger down my face and I stared at him in muted horror. "- the same thoughts and feelings when something excites you, the same everything, Fred. But I suppose there is one difference." I looked into his eyes, those frightening eyes of his, and shuddered slightly. It was like he could see through me, know everything about me with just one look. "He's got a girlfriend and you won't ask Angelina to be yours. Why is that Fred?" I glared down at him and with a growl pushed him to the ground sharply.
"Listen you little shit!" I stood above him, and knelt down around his smaller form. His eyes were wide with fright, and it was highly amusing. "I don't want to hear your sick thoughts, and I'm unbelievably disturbed that you're having them about my brother and I. If we were not already stuck together in detention, trust that I would be beating you senseless, and loving it. But, as we don't have that privilege right now, you will shut your fucking mouth, and help me clean. If you ever, ever, bring up my personal interests in people again, I will hunt you down and you will not be happy. I have no sexual interest in my brother whatsoever, and I want those rumors to disappear. Understand?" He glared at me, deciding whether he could fight me or not, and upon his decision he stood up and stared at me. He appeared to be searching my face with his eyes for a sign of anything but anger, and perhaps he found it because he broke into his worst sneer. He is just shorter than me so I can impose upon him slightly with my height, and he hated it. His eyes had gotten angry again and I laughed at him. I ran a finger across his wrinkled forehead. "I told you, anger doesn't become you."
I promptly turned back to the beetles I had dropped, leaving him fuming. He took up cleaning supplies and moved to the other side of the dungeon. He seemed to be making more of a racket that was necessary, and Snape would probably come in any minute, see us working separately, possibly see the subtle mark on my face, and we'd have detention for a year. We were lucky though, and Snape never came in. I finished restocking and throwing out all the old supplies. I had to start cleaning. I started where I was, constantly aware of where Malfoy was so we wouldn't have a bad meeting. We of course ended in the same location of the room, and we stood looking at the wall to see who would clean it.
"Clean it Weasley."
"Whey Malfoy I had no idea you felt that way." I turned to him and grinned my most charming smile. He cringed at me.
"You know what I meant you perverted fuck." He spat at me.
"Me?! Me perverted? I wasn't the one who thought George and I were shagging! You disgust me Malfoy!" I raged at him and he cowered. I'm very, very scary when I'm angry. "Now clean the fucking wall." He raged internally at me, gave no outward signs but his eyes. He knew he couldn't beat me so he turned to the wall and cleaned it quickly and poorly. I couldn't help watching his lithe form move under his robes. His back was finely muscled from quidditch, even though he tried to avoid anything that would qualify as exercise. His arms were spindly yet toned, and his ass was...well, perfect. As much as I hated it I had to admit he was hot. Unfortunately for me, he turned around to find me staring at his ass. He started to laugh, and I shoved him against the wall.
"I knew it! You're a shirt lifter! You great fairy! Get your disgusting hands off of me." He seemed to be enjoying my anger despite his words. I sneered at him. He twisted in my hands but couldn't get away.
"Don't try to hide it Malfoy. I can tell you're enjoying this." My eyes darted down between us for a second and fell back on his eyes. His eyes widened a bit as I leered at him. Ha. I had figured him out. Not that it was hard. "Well well Malfoy. Looks like we both have our secrets to keep." He looked absolutely mortified and his hands gripped my robes uselessly.
"What...who are you going to tell?" He whispered. I can't believe he's as great a pansy as I am. Well, not quite. I'm not scared of myself.
"Why would you ask me that? I'm better than you Malfoy. But if you tell anyone about me, I'll tell Harry." His eyes widened and he started to stammer. He apparently saw Harry as the worst person I could tell.
"Fine, fine. I won't tell anyone if you won't." I let go of him. He slumped a little against the wall then brushed himself off and faced me. "I must sat that explains a lot."
"Fuck off." I said to him disheartedly.
"Well, that's why your brother told you to snog a Slytherin right?"
"No. That had nothing to do with this. My brother doesn't know. I had heard...never mind. It's not related. He was just angry I wouldn't ask Angelina."
"And the depression." He looked contemplative as his eyes searched mine. I looked away, knowing I couldn't keep the truth from showing in my eyes. "Why does it cause you depression?"
"What the hell? You're the one...oh why bother. My depression isn't just that. Yes, I'm unhappy because I'm alone, yes I'm burdened with my secret, yes it kills me to keep something from George, but that's not all of it." Why the hell am I telling him this? Probably because he's listening, and understanding. "Can we sit down?" He blinked and pulled back ever so slightly in surprise, but followed me to a table anyway. "When did you know?"
"Fuck Weasley. You think I'm going to tell you my personal problems?" I glared at him.
"Fine, then just sit and listen-"
"Third year! Alright? I don't know why, but I started hating women. I had more fun with guys, and then...I guess I started realizing I was attracted to them. What the hell do you care anyway?" I sat and thought for a minute.
"Why did Snape say we had to work together?"
"Pardon?"
"Before he left, Snape said we had to work together. Why? Does he know about you?" He looked down at his feet, avoiding my question.
"Yes. That's partly why he's so angry with me. His 'favorite' is gay. I don't know if he suspects you though."
"Well is he good at noticing these things?"
"Very. In fact, I'm sure he knows about you by now."
"Damn. Do you think he wanted us to find out?"
"Why would he care though? Wait, maybe so I'd stop going to him with my problems. He was the only one who knew, so he probably got tired of hearing it. Well, he'll be happy then right?"
"I guess. We're done cleaning so..."
"I'll go get him." Malfoy stood up and walked towards Snape's door. I jumped up and grabbed his wrist without thinking, holding him back. He reflexively stopped and looked at my hand with disgust. I immediately dropped his wrist and stepped back.
"Sorry. I just...are you sure? He was really angry with you." He looked at me curiously, was he revolted, or something else? Amazed perhaps.
"I can take care of myself Weasley. Don't touch me." I reached out and touched his arm, not too quickly, lingeringly enough to make my point before I pulled away. His eyes were fire and brimstone and he lunged at me. I was quicker and moved from his path. He turned around and managed to hit my face. I hit him back and he let out a growl. "Watch the face you insensitive prat!" I hit his stomach and he doubled over.
"That better?"
"You bastard!" He hit the underside of my chin and sent me back. We ended up on the ground exchanging blows. We were fighting for control, and he was on top (no pun intended) when Snape walked in. He rolled off immediately and spoke. "We were just going to get you professor. We're finished."
"Yes, and I see you've taken it upon yourselves to find another activity to occupy your time. I want you both out of my sight. Now." His eyes were like ice and Malfoy took a step back. I stood up.
"Sir, our wands." I spoke, completely unafraid. He banged them on the table and swept back to his office.
"He's happy." Malfoy said, picking up his wand.
"He didn't punish us for fighting." I picked up my wand and headed to the door. Malfoy was right beside me. We walked out side by side for convenience rather than fighting to be the first one out. We got to our separation in the hallway and we stopped. I turned to him and glanced in his eyes. "Right then. See you around."
"You wish Weasley. Fuck off. Never talk to me again. There is nothing between us." His eyes said otherwise though, and I don't think he even convinced himself with that shit. His eyes had a tiny excited flicker in them and I smirked at him. He just shook his head and walked away. I watched his retreating form and headed to the common room after he turned a corner.
"Oy! Fred!" George was calling me from his chair by the fire. "How was it?"
"Let's talk upstairs." I said to him, low enough that only he could hear. We headed to our dormitory and sat on my bed. "The reason I haven't asked Angelina is because I'm not interested."
"Well I figured that out Fred."
"No, I mean, not in her. Not in any girls." He sat for a minute before he spoke.
"Like...fairy?" I flinched at the word before answering.
"Yes." He searched my face to find my emotion and quickly embraced me. I sighed into his shoulder. "Thank you."
"Did you think I would mind? Come on Fred. This isn't a big deal. You're still you. I still love you and support you. Is this why you've been so depressed and withdrawn from me lately? I want you back Fred, the way you were. I miss my twin." I pulled back and looked at his smile. My smile. My eyes were starting to fill with tears. He gripped my hand and smiled again. "Tell me about it. When did you know?"
"I guess, fourth year. I just wasn't having the same dreams anymore." George began to laugh. "What?! What?" I began to laugh; he was infectious.
"Made you laugh." I scoffed and punched his shoulder. "So do you have someone?"
"No."
"Well why not? We're sexy bitches! There's got to be someone in this school for you. Have you tried?"
"Well, I haven't really tried to find anyone, that's a touchy subject, asking people out. I only know one other per-" Shit. Now he'll want to know.
"Who?"
"I can't tell you. I'm sorry. I promised him I wouldn't tell if he wouldn't. You don't really want to know anyway." He frowned but didn't push, respecting my promises.
"Have you ever...had an experience?" He asked carefully.
"You don't have to be afraid to ask me." I laughed. "Once or twice, no one at school." He didn't reply, just looked thoughtful. Something made me look outside, and down to the ground. It was the runner again. I caught a flash of platinum before they disappeared around the school. Only one person I know with hair like that. "George I gotta go, I'll be back."
"Be careful, you don't want any more detentions from Snape. Oh, how was it anyway?"
"Perhaps I'll explain it all someday, but we just had to clean and restock his entire dungeon." I waved as I walked out the door and down the stairs.
"Wait! Who's 'we'?" George's muffled cry came from the dorm, but he didn't run after me. I walked through the common room and out the portrait hole. I reached the main hall without meeting anyone, thankfully. I was grateful the door didn't creak as I opened it and stepped into the chilly night air. The moon was full and it was a clear, beautiful night. I hid in the shadows of the doorway and waited for the runner. I heard the soft pounding that meant he was approaching, and it was indeed Malfoy. He passed by me in a t-shirt and shorts, and I was shocked to see how good he looked. Every initial prediction of mine about his body was correct. That was especially amazing since I had never seen him in anything but the black Hogwarts robes. His calves and thighs were taut from running, as was his ass. So he doesn't detest exercise. He just never wanted to be intruded upon. I knew his body was too good for just Quidditch. It was getting colder and my breath was starting to snake out of my hiding spot. I turned and went back inside before Malfoy could come around again and see me.
"Is this a student out of bed after hours?" I had turned back into the hall and into the waiting face of Snape. "What is to be done about this Mr. Weasley?"
"Professor, I know why you wanted Malfoy and I to work together. We figured it out. You of course know this already as you were watching us. I saw a runner from my window with platinum-blonde hair. It couldn't have been anyone else and I had to come look. I'm sorry."
"Just looking Weasley? No other thoughts running through that sick head about my student?"
"No." I said definitely. Snape leered at me.
"Get out of sight before I change my mind." He spat. I headed to the common room, thoughts running through my head. So it's Malfoy, and most likely runs for the same reason I do.
Alea Iacta Est-The Die is Cast
Chapter 2-Alea Iacta Est Day II
I overslept and missed breakfast. I was late to potions and ran in to see Snape grinning maddeningly at me. Not only that, I had missed my run, and I was pissed.
"Well, well, well. Had a little too much fun last night Mr. Weasley?"
"Sir, I'm-
"-Silence! Detention Weasley! Fifteen points from Gryffindor!" He hissed in my face and I sat down to laughter from the Slytherins. Snape favored the Slytherins as usual, and by the end of class had taken a nice round forty points from us. Our moods were pretty dour as we left, and mine was made worse, if possible, by the voice calling my name as we left.
"Weasley!" I turned to see Snape glaring at me. "Your detention will be tonight after dinner. Report here, and so help you if you're a second late, understand?"
"Yes professor." I walked from the room, my spirits lower than the dungeon I had just left. I headed to history, and was looking forward to a nap to sleep off my blues. Bloody-George was poking me awake.
"What?!" I hissed at him. He recoiled in surprise at my anger.
"I wanted to make sure you weren't dead. You okay mate? What did he give you for detention?"
"Dunno. Just a report time and place. His classroom, after dinner."
"Blimey. Good luck. That could be any number of things, all worse than death."
"I know. Now let me sleep. I may be up late for detention tonight." I put my head back down and drifted off to Binn's voice.
The rest of the day progressed as horribly as potions, and we were all more than relieved when dinner came. I ate as much as I could, hoping that I could at least be happy with my full stomach, if nothing else. I left early so that I could make it to the dungeons with time to spare. George gave me one last 'good luck' as I headed out and I waved back at him. I took a seat at one of the tables and waited for Snape when I reached his room. The door creaked behind me and I turned towards it.
"Malfoy!"
"Very perceptive Weasley. Have you never noticed my extreme hotness before now? Or are you just happy to see me?" He drawled, cool as ice.
"You wish Malfoy. I was just wondering if you did have detention, what you could have done that would make Snape do that to you, his favorite."
"Fuck off Weasley. It's no concern of yours."
"More than happy to oblige, ferret." Heh. That one pissed him off. He started to lunge at me, but Snape entered to room before he could reach me.
"Five points for fighting, both of you!" We both stared at him, amazed that he would take points from Malfoy. I watched as Malfoy slowly hung his head; was that shame? Blimey, what did he do?
"Malfoy I assume you've heard why Weasley is here?" Malfoy gave a slight nod and his eyes darted to me. "Well, I'm not quite sure that Mr. Weasley knows why you're here." A grin seemed to infest Snape's face and Malfoy's fascade faltered for just a moment. I watched in horror as Snape's grin became worse. "I think it's only fair Draco. Weasley, Malfoy spoke out of turn to me in a classroom of Slytherins and Gryffindors. He undermined my authority and belittled me in front of my students. He had quite the spirit while he was fighting with me, I must say, but I can't allow Gryffindors to think I favor my house, can I?" I slowly shook my head. Yeah right, as if the whole school didn't know that. "Worse, he used language not appropriate for a classroom and brought up topics that should remain unspoken." Snape's eyes clouded for a minute as he looked at Malfoy. Malfoy had his head down and he actually looked nervous. Snape was angry enough that his upper lip and most of the veins in his forehead were twitching. I'd only ever seen him that angry at Gryffindors. Malfoy was starting to cower. It was oddly satisfying. "Now that we're all on equal ground-let's get started. You will be helping me clean and restock my office and classroom. We will also be disposing of anything made unusable by time. You two must work together." He sneered at us and leaned closer to me. "I'll know if you're not." With one last hiss he swept towards the door. He stopped in the doorway, with one hand holding the door open, and looked back at us. "And no magic." He raised his wand and both our wands flew to him. He shut the door.
"Damn."
"Have something to say Weasley?" Malfoy sneered from my left.
"Piss off Malfoy. I don't have the energy to listen to you pretend to hate this, and we don't have the time. You know that if I wasn't here you'd be doing this all yourself, so shut your mouth and help me!" His mouth dropped open slightly, and he promptly closed it to glower at me. "And would it kill us to be civil? I'm done hating Slytherin, and one day you'll stop hating Gryffindor. Maybe that day should be today." He stared at me in shock and mumbled something.
"Pardon?"
"No! It won't kill us to be civil! But don't think for a minute that I'll ever stop hating Gryffindor. And you know what, Fred, it might just kill you if I'm civil to you." His calm, cool, composure had returned and he looked formidable as he yelled at me. "Besides, we don't have any wands so we couldn't do much in the way of fighting anyway."
"Scared to fight me like a man Draco?" I scoffed at him. He broke into peals of laughter and shock registered on my face. He was doubled over and trying to speak.
"You...you think, that I..." More laughter. "You think that I would bother wasting my time scuffling about with you?" Still more laughter. "I should think that you knew how vain and egocentric I am. Fighting you and beating you into a pulp would be amusing, but would benefit nothing, and Pomfrey wouldn't fix me if you marred my beautiful being. Let's get to work before Snape walks in." I turned and grinned to myself. So Malfoy isn't as great a coward as we always thought he was. I looked around the room for cleaning supplies, and, finding none, turned to Malfoy.
"Umm...'
"Yeah. Nothing to clean with, and nothing with which to restock." Malfoy had obviously been thinking along my line of logic. At that moment one of the tables filled with potion ingredients and cleaning supplies. "I'll restock while you clean."
"Will that cover 'working together'? I don't want Snape to get all twitchy again, amusing as it was." I laughed.
"Yeah, amusing when it's not directed at you for once. I think we should be okay doing separate tasks." He started to sort the potion ingredients as he spoke.
"Who the hell put you in charge? I'll restock and you clean." I glared at him with a 'do something' stare. He stopped sorting and turned to me. He casually walked to me and struck my jaw with quite a lot of force. I staggered back, holding the source of pain. I looked up at him and laughed. He looked so, wrong. Anger doesn't fit him. He was clenching his fists at his sides and his breathing was heavy. His appearance was ruffled and some strands of hair were loose and hanging around his face. I stood up and looked down at him, inches from his face. "Don't make me laugh Malfoy. I grew up with three older brothers. You can't even hit as hard as Ron." Heh. That one got him. His eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared. "Come on. You're ruffling your feathers swan. It's not very attractive." I said calmly and waited for his reaction. He relaxed and pushed his hair back in place. "That's better."
"Fuck you Weasley."
"Whatever you say Malfoy." I leaned in to him, and felt his breath on my face. His eyes darted to mine and I glared at him for a split second before walking to the table with the ingredients. I started to stock the shelves mindlessly. His eyes, they're so cold yet so active! It's like a blizzard in the arctic. They're sky blue and stone grey with silver threads. I've never seen eyes like that before. Well, except Lucius Malfoy, but Malfoy's are different. More...alive. Full of fire and passion and life. They twinkle like the moon itself.
"Weasley!"
"Huh? What?"
"I've been standing here for five minutes waiting for you to move, and when you didn't notice me I started to call you. What the hell is wrong with you? No one ignores a Malfoy!" He was beginning to tap his foot angrily and it looked anything but intimidating. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked again.
"I was just lost in thought. You take the shelves on the right and I'll take the left, it'll be faster and we'll stay out of each other's way." He turned back to the shelves after one last questioning look and started to take out bottles and fill them. After about five minutes he spoke.
"You were thinking? What could you possibly have been thinking about? All you and your disgusting twin do is make jokes at other people's expense. Usually Slytherins, might I add." His tone was...odd. Like he was trying to hide genuine interest with disdain. I sighed.
"I wouldn't have expected you to notice...in fact it would have been slightly disconcerting if you had, but George is the one that does that now. I haven't thought of or done anything remotely funny since last year. He hides it well, always sharing the credit with me." I paused and looked at Malfoy. "I don't believe I'm telling you this. I haven't told anyone that!" I calmed down a bit and continued. He just stood there taking it all in. "Our jokes weren't always at other people's expense. A lot of the time they were just...funny. Making people laugh has always been our calling."
"But not yours anymore?" He asked me with a small smile in his eyes, but there was no attitude in his voice to mock me. I smiled dis-spiritedly at him in answer.
"And as for what I was thinking about; that's none of your business." He laughed and continued working in silence. After about ten minutes I spoke up. "So, what did you say to Snape?" I asked carefully.
"None of your fucking business Weasley!" He had changed immediately. His eyes had fire in them again, and he spilled the asphodel he was holding. I looked down at it and started to clean it up without thinking.
"I'm sorry. I was just curious." I said while cleaning. He stood and looked down at me, clearly not understanding what I was doing and why. I stood up and poured the asphodel back into the jar he was holding. He looked at me quizzically, his head slightly turned. I grinned slightly at him and he scowled in return. I think that was the only time I've ever been scared of him; while he was standing above me, the back of my head and neck vulnerable. I hadn't even thought about it at the time.
"Curiosity killed the cat Weasley." It was then that I noticed how mature he was for a fifteen-year-old. I glanced at his cold, sharp profile as he worked, and wondered what had made him grow up so fast. Probably having Lucius for a father. I just don't see him becoming a deatheather though. His eyes, they're not always cold like the deatheaters are. When he laughs they still light up and give him away.
"Are you fucking your brother?" I dropped the jar I was holding and stared at him in horror.
"What?!"
"You heard me. That's the rumor around Slytherin." He shrugged his shoulders. "I was just curious." I looked at him and looked down at the jar of beetles I had dropped. I looked back up at him. "Judging by your reaction, you're not."
"Of course I'm not! He's straight, he's got a girlfriend, and that's disgusting!"
"Come on, don't tell me you've never thought about it. What it would be like to fuck yourself, in a manner of speaking. I mean, is he like you in every way?"
"Malfoy, this is not a conversation I want to be having with you." I knelt down and started to clean up the beetles. I felt his eyes burning a hole in my head and I stood up. In one fluid movement he pushed me back against the cabinet and held me there. The beetles fell from my fingers as he glared up into my face.
"I can tell you're like night and day, yin and yang, you and your brother. He's your other half and that connection is so strong it amazes even you sometimes. You know you've thought about how it would be fuck someone that is identical to you in every way. I'm sure he even gets off in all the same ways you do. Reacts to the same touches in just the right spot-" He ran a finger down my face and I stared at him in muted horror. "- the same thoughts and feelings when something excites you, the same everything, Fred. But I suppose there is one difference." I looked into his eyes, those frightening eyes of his, and shuddered slightly. It was like he could see through me, know everything about me with just one look. "He's got a girlfriend and you won't ask Angelina to be yours. Why is that Fred?" I glared down at him and with a growl pushed him to the ground sharply.
"Listen you little shit!" I stood above him, and knelt down around his smaller form. His eyes were wide with fright, and it was highly amusing. "I don't want to hear your sick thoughts, and I'm unbelievably disturbed that you're having them about my brother and I. If we were not already stuck together in detention, trust that I would be beating you senseless, and loving it. But, as we don't have that privilege right now, you will shut your fucking mouth, and help me clean. If you ever, ever, bring up my personal interests in people again, I will hunt you down and you will not be happy. I have no sexual interest in my brother whatsoever, and I want those rumors to disappear. Understand?" He glared at me, deciding whether he could fight me or not, and upon his decision he stood up and stared at me. He appeared to be searching my face with his eyes for a sign of anything but anger, and perhaps he found it because he broke into his worst sneer. He is just shorter than me so I can impose upon him slightly with my height, and he hated it. His eyes had gotten angry again and I laughed at him. I ran a finger across his wrinkled forehead. "I told you, anger doesn't become you."
I promptly turned back to the beetles I had dropped, leaving him fuming. He took up cleaning supplies and moved to the other side of the dungeon. He seemed to be making more of a racket that was necessary, and Snape would probably come in any minute, see us working separately, possibly see the subtle mark on my face, and we'd have detention for a year. We were lucky though, and Snape never came in. I finished restocking and throwing out all the old supplies. I had to start cleaning. I started where I was, constantly aware of where Malfoy was so we wouldn't have a bad meeting. We of course ended in the same location of the room, and we stood looking at the wall to see who would clean it.
"Clean it Weasley."
"Whey Malfoy I had no idea you felt that way." I turned to him and grinned my most charming smile. He cringed at me.
"You know what I meant you perverted fuck." He spat at me.
"Me?! Me perverted? I wasn't the one who thought George and I were shagging! You disgust me Malfoy!" I raged at him and he cowered. I'm very, very scary when I'm angry. "Now clean the fucking wall." He raged internally at me, gave no outward signs but his eyes. He knew he couldn't beat me so he turned to the wall and cleaned it quickly and poorly. I couldn't help watching his lithe form move under his robes. His back was finely muscled from quidditch, even though he tried to avoid anything that would qualify as exercise. His arms were spindly yet toned, and his ass was...well, perfect. As much as I hated it I had to admit he was hot. Unfortunately for me, he turned around to find me staring at his ass. He started to laugh, and I shoved him against the wall.
"I knew it! You're a shirt lifter! You great fairy! Get your disgusting hands off of me." He seemed to be enjoying my anger despite his words. I sneered at him. He twisted in my hands but couldn't get away.
"Don't try to hide it Malfoy. I can tell you're enjoying this." My eyes darted down between us for a second and fell back on his eyes. His eyes widened a bit as I leered at him. Ha. I had figured him out. Not that it was hard. "Well well Malfoy. Looks like we both have our secrets to keep." He looked absolutely mortified and his hands gripped my robes uselessly.
"What...who are you going to tell?" He whispered. I can't believe he's as great a pansy as I am. Well, not quite. I'm not scared of myself.
"Why would you ask me that? I'm better than you Malfoy. But if you tell anyone about me, I'll tell Harry." His eyes widened and he started to stammer. He apparently saw Harry as the worst person I could tell.
"Fine, fine. I won't tell anyone if you won't." I let go of him. He slumped a little against the wall then brushed himself off and faced me. "I must sat that explains a lot."
"Fuck off." I said to him disheartedly.
"Well, that's why your brother told you to snog a Slytherin right?"
"No. That had nothing to do with this. My brother doesn't know. I had heard...never mind. It's not related. He was just angry I wouldn't ask Angelina."
"And the depression." He looked contemplative as his eyes searched mine. I looked away, knowing I couldn't keep the truth from showing in my eyes. "Why does it cause you depression?"
"What the hell? You're the one...oh why bother. My depression isn't just that. Yes, I'm unhappy because I'm alone, yes I'm burdened with my secret, yes it kills me to keep something from George, but that's not all of it." Why the hell am I telling him this? Probably because he's listening, and understanding. "Can we sit down?" He blinked and pulled back ever so slightly in surprise, but followed me to a table anyway. "When did you know?"
"Fuck Weasley. You think I'm going to tell you my personal problems?" I glared at him.
"Fine, then just sit and listen-"
"Third year! Alright? I don't know why, but I started hating women. I had more fun with guys, and then...I guess I started realizing I was attracted to them. What the hell do you care anyway?" I sat and thought for a minute.
"Why did Snape say we had to work together?"
"Pardon?"
"Before he left, Snape said we had to work together. Why? Does he know about you?" He looked down at his feet, avoiding my question.
"Yes. That's partly why he's so angry with me. His 'favorite' is gay. I don't know if he suspects you though."
"Well is he good at noticing these things?"
"Very. In fact, I'm sure he knows about you by now."
"Damn. Do you think he wanted us to find out?"
"Why would he care though? Wait, maybe so I'd stop going to him with my problems. He was the only one who knew, so he probably got tired of hearing it. Well, he'll be happy then right?"
"I guess. We're done cleaning so..."
"I'll go get him." Malfoy stood up and walked towards Snape's door. I jumped up and grabbed his wrist without thinking, holding him back. He reflexively stopped and looked at my hand with disgust. I immediately dropped his wrist and stepped back.
"Sorry. I just...are you sure? He was really angry with you." He looked at me curiously, was he revolted, or something else? Amazed perhaps.
"I can take care of myself Weasley. Don't touch me." I reached out and touched his arm, not too quickly, lingeringly enough to make my point before I pulled away. His eyes were fire and brimstone and he lunged at me. I was quicker and moved from his path. He turned around and managed to hit my face. I hit him back and he let out a growl. "Watch the face you insensitive prat!" I hit his stomach and he doubled over.
"That better?"
"You bastard!" He hit the underside of my chin and sent me back. We ended up on the ground exchanging blows. We were fighting for control, and he was on top (no pun intended) when Snape walked in. He rolled off immediately and spoke. "We were just going to get you professor. We're finished."
"Yes, and I see you've taken it upon yourselves to find another activity to occupy your time. I want you both out of my sight. Now." His eyes were like ice and Malfoy took a step back. I stood up.
"Sir, our wands." I spoke, completely unafraid. He banged them on the table and swept back to his office.
"He's happy." Malfoy said, picking up his wand.
"He didn't punish us for fighting." I picked up my wand and headed to the door. Malfoy was right beside me. We walked out side by side for convenience rather than fighting to be the first one out. We got to our separation in the hallway and we stopped. I turned to him and glanced in his eyes. "Right then. See you around."
"You wish Weasley. Fuck off. Never talk to me again. There is nothing between us." His eyes said otherwise though, and I don't think he even convinced himself with that shit. His eyes had a tiny excited flicker in them and I smirked at him. He just shook his head and walked away. I watched his retreating form and headed to the common room after he turned a corner.
"Oy! Fred!" George was calling me from his chair by the fire. "How was it?"
"Let's talk upstairs." I said to him, low enough that only he could hear. We headed to our dormitory and sat on my bed. "The reason I haven't asked Angelina is because I'm not interested."
"Well I figured that out Fred."
"No, I mean, not in her. Not in any girls." He sat for a minute before he spoke.
"Like...fairy?" I flinched at the word before answering.
"Yes." He searched my face to find my emotion and quickly embraced me. I sighed into his shoulder. "Thank you."
"Did you think I would mind? Come on Fred. This isn't a big deal. You're still you. I still love you and support you. Is this why you've been so depressed and withdrawn from me lately? I want you back Fred, the way you were. I miss my twin." I pulled back and looked at his smile. My smile. My eyes were starting to fill with tears. He gripped my hand and smiled again. "Tell me about it. When did you know?"
"I guess, fourth year. I just wasn't having the same dreams anymore." George began to laugh. "What?! What?" I began to laugh; he was infectious.
"Made you laugh." I scoffed and punched his shoulder. "So do you have someone?"
"No."
"Well why not? We're sexy bitches! There's got to be someone in this school for you. Have you tried?"
"Well, I haven't really tried to find anyone, that's a touchy subject, asking people out. I only know one other per-" Shit. Now he'll want to know.
"Who?"
"I can't tell you. I'm sorry. I promised him I wouldn't tell if he wouldn't. You don't really want to know anyway." He frowned but didn't push, respecting my promises.
"Have you ever...had an experience?" He asked carefully.
"You don't have to be afraid to ask me." I laughed. "Once or twice, no one at school." He didn't reply, just looked thoughtful. Something made me look outside, and down to the ground. It was the runner again. I caught a flash of platinum before they disappeared around the school. Only one person I know with hair like that. "George I gotta go, I'll be back."
"Be careful, you don't want any more detentions from Snape. Oh, how was it anyway?"
"Perhaps I'll explain it all someday, but we just had to clean and restock his entire dungeon." I waved as I walked out the door and down the stairs.
"Wait! Who's 'we'?" George's muffled cry came from the dorm, but he didn't run after me. I walked through the common room and out the portrait hole. I reached the main hall without meeting anyone, thankfully. I was grateful the door didn't creak as I opened it and stepped into the chilly night air. The moon was full and it was a clear, beautiful night. I hid in the shadows of the doorway and waited for the runner. I heard the soft pounding that meant he was approaching, and it was indeed Malfoy. He passed by me in a t-shirt and shorts, and I was shocked to see how good he looked. Every initial prediction of mine about his body was correct. That was especially amazing since I had never seen him in anything but the black Hogwarts robes. His calves and thighs were taut from running, as was his ass. So he doesn't detest exercise. He just never wanted to be intruded upon. I knew his body was too good for just Quidditch. It was getting colder and my breath was starting to snake out of my hiding spot. I turned and went back inside before Malfoy could come around again and see me.
"Is this a student out of bed after hours?" I had turned back into the hall and into the waiting face of Snape. "What is to be done about this Mr. Weasley?"
"Professor, I know why you wanted Malfoy and I to work together. We figured it out. You of course know this already as you were watching us. I saw a runner from my window with platinum-blonde hair. It couldn't have been anyone else and I had to come look. I'm sorry."
"Just looking Weasley? No other thoughts running through that sick head about my student?"
"No." I said definitely. Snape leered at me.
"Get out of sight before I change my mind." He spat. I headed to the common room, thoughts running through my head. So it's Malfoy, and most likely runs for the same reason I do.
Alea Iacta Est-The Die is Cast