Draco surveyed his tired face in the mirror with disgust; the blue tinge under his eyes, a tell-tale sign of the sleepless night he had just tossed and turned his way through. He turned away from his reflection and clasped his black cloak around his shoulders, his fingers unusually shaky as they stumbled with the metal fastening.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down. The red hot anger he had felt last night at Pansy for her little display in front of his father was still burning close to the surface and he needed to keep his temper in check before heading off to breakfast.
He opened his eyes and carefully smoothed his hair before exiting his private dorm and walking into the Slytherin common room.
"Crabbe! Goyle!" he called upon spotting his sorely neglected friends.
They turned and stared dully at him as he approached.
"Where's Pansy?" Goyle asked bluntly.
Draco frowned, "She doesn't go everywhere with me."
Goyle shared a look with Crabbe that Draco didn't like, and was far too intelligent for their trollish faces.
"What?" Draco demanded, glancing between them.
"It's more like you go everywhere with her," Crabbe answered.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco snapped.
"Well, it looks like she's got you wrapped around her little finger, Draco," Goyle explained, staring at the floor.
Draco gaped at them in shocked anger, he couldn't believe they were talking to him like this. They never would've spoken to him like this last year.
"How dare you-" Draco raged.
"You've changed, Draco," Goyle interrupted. "I think all this time you're spending with Potter is making you soft."
Crabbe nodded in agreement.
"I haven't changed," Draco retorted.
Another look passed between his two housemates.
"Stop that!" Draco snapped irritably.
"Draco!"
Draco closed his eyes briefly in a pained expression as Pansy's shrill voice echoed out from the girls' hallway.
"We'll see you at breakfast," Goyle muttered, making a hasty exit with Crabbe right behind him.
"What do you want?" Draco asked in annoyance, turning around to glare at her approaching figure.
"I thought you might like some company on your way to breakfast, Draky-kins."
"No, I don't...and don't call me that."
"I can call you whatever I want because you can't do anything about it," Pansy smirked.
"That's it!" Draco exploded. He grabbed the collar of her robe and spun her around until her back was up against the wall.
"What are you doing?" she shrieked.
"Shut-up, it's my turn to talk," Draco commanded, placing one hand over her mouth. "I have had enough of your obnoxious behaviour, and that stunt you pulled last night in front of my father was the last straw."
Every other student congregated in the common room, stared at the pair in surprise.
"Everybody out now!" Draco shouted, keeping his eyes on Pansy's face.
The Slytherins paused for half a second then made a mad dash for the portrait hole. The room was empty in no time, save for the fighting couple.
"I hate you, Parkinson," Draco growled. "I never want to touch your cold lips or look at your ugly, pig face again. Your voice is like nails on a blackboard to me. You are a pampered, spoiled bitch."
Pansy's eyes widened and she whimpered under Draco's tightly clamped hand.
"As soon as I release you, I'm sure the first thing you do will be to run off and write a letter to my father, but I don't care anymore. Do you really think he'll believe you over me? I am simply going to tell our other housemates that it was my plan to capture Harry Potter for the Dark Lord, and that I've now decided to give it up."
Draco paused to let that sink in, then took a deep breath and continued –
"I can also spread some nasty rumours about you, Pansy dear. Or maybe your parents would like to know that their precious daughter has a secret stash of alcohol in her dorm and she doesn't go one night without getting completely sloshed out of her mind?"
Pansy narrowed her eyes and tried to bite his hand.
"Tsk, tsk," Draco tutted. "That's not very ladylike."
Draco smirked at the muffled cry of frustration and anger that Pansy emitted from under his restraint.
"I'm going to release you now, Pansy," Draco informed her slowly, as if to a small child. "You'd better behave yourself."
He let go of her with a little shove and stepped back, watching her warily. Pansy took a deep breath and smoothed her rumpled robe carefully.
"So you're not going back to, Potter?" she asked calmly.
"No, I am not. Life was a hell of a lot easier before any of this started, not to mention safer. I love Harry, something you'll never even begin to understand, but I won't let you or my father endanger his life just because of my selfishness."
"Good, as long as you're unhappy" she sneered.
"This coming from the perfect model of joy and teenage contentment?" Draco scoffed. "Tell me, Pansy, is it the pig nose or the hopelessly, stupid brain that you're trying to drink away every night with a bottle of Firewhisky?"
"I drink because I like it. Unlike you, I am perfectly happy."
"Sure," Draco said sarcastically. "Like mother like daughter, I guess."
"Why you-" Pansy exclaimed, letting her cool control slip.
"Although in her case, I'd say she's drinking away the thought of your incredibly dull and lazy father," Draco drawled.
Pansy ran at him with a scream and raised her hands to try and claw at his face. Draco grabbed her wrists and shoved her backwards so that she fell hard onto her ass. She immediately tried to get up again and Draco grabbed her wrists once more in a vice-like grip, forcing her to remain on her knees.
"You'd better get used to this position, Parkinson," he sneered. "You'll be seeing it a lot in the future. You're a vindictive bitch and a whore, and that's all you'll ever be."
With that, Draco pushed her backwards again and let go. He spared her one last look, then turned away from her pathetic position on the floor and walked to the portrait hole.
"You'll regret this!" she shrieked at his retreating back. "Wait and see, I'm going to get you for this!"
"And my little dog too?" Draco laughed uncaringly.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
"Never mind," Draco smiled with superiority as he opened the portrait door. "It's just something I learned from Harry...you wouldn't understand."
Before Pansy could reply, Draco exited the common room and slammed the door behind him with satisfaction. He smiled to himself as he made his way to the Great Hall.
He sat down in his old spot between Crabbe and Goyle, and they watched him curiously as he folded his hands on the table and smiled at them.
"Things are going back to the way they used to be," he announced determinedly to them. "The Potter plan is off and I have dumped Pansy on her ass – literally."
"Glad to hear it," Goyle smiled in relief, noticing the familiar malevolent spark in those silver eyes.
"You must be relieved," Crabbe smiled. "Getting rid of Pansy and Potter on the same day. The past few weeks must have been pretty hard on you."
"You'll never know just how much," Draco replied ruefully.
Crabbe and Goyle began devouring their giant stack of pancakes, happy to have their old leader back.
Draco glanced over at Harry one last time. His cool Malfoy mask once again falling into place as he forced that part of his heart that cared deeply for the Gryffindor to shut down and be kept hidden away forever.