Oh yes, and it was the beginning of a weekend full of nothing but enjoyment and relaxation. He had finished all of his essays, even the three foot long Transfiguration essay requested by McGonagall. Draco was free to do whatever he wanted.
Harry better have straightened up his stubborn Gryffindor attitude. Draco had been on his hands and knees for two entire hours, cleaning the dungeon floor even when it was pointless. No one would notice his work when they came back to class on Monday. Harry had better notice something; either the sparkling floor or him. Though Draco preferred it to be him.
Draco rounded a corner, on his way to the library to retrieve a few books for light reading. Maybe a book on seducing an enemy would prove helpful? Well, that was the easy part. He only wanted Harry to trust him at this point. Trust; it was the main key in a relationship. Of course Draco was already thinking this far ahead! This was Harry, after all.
Footsteps soon led him down another empty corridor; a shortcut to get to the library quickly from the dungeons. Then, his footsteps faded into voices, and he recognized one of them right away. Frantically, he ducked behind a tapestry.
"I can't!" It was the voice that couldn't belong to anyone other than Harry. Draco snuck a peek from behind the tapestry, but could only catch the backside of Harry. He couldn't even decipher who the other person might be, for he couldn't see them or recognize their voice.
"Why not?" The other voice snapped.
"I… can't. I don't like you. Um…" Harry scrambled frantically for words; his voice choked and unsure. Draco's heart skipped a beat.
"You can't give me one measly little kiss?"
"No… I can't. Please, just leave me alone!"
"Screw you, Potter!" The voice shouted, and the next thing Draco saw was Harry getting tossed against a nearby wall; the other person pinning him there. Damn it all; Draco couldn't make out who it was, but he was definitely sure that he was starting to panic.
As stealthily as he could, Draco crept out from behind the tapestry, making his way back down the hall in the same direction in which he came. Luckily, both Harry and his assaulter hadn't seen him. Then again, he had to help Harry! He couldn't just run away like his usual cowardly self. If he went crawling for help from someone else, who knew what would happen to Harry then.
So he did the only thing he could think of doing without making any more difficulty than there already was. He started running as swiftly as he could; his legs carrying him so he was bolting down the hallway. If someone were out to kill him; people wouldn't be surprised if the person had sent a terrifying creature after Draco. It seemed that way.
Then he ran straight into the assaulter, sending them both crashing onto the floor; creating a rather painful impact on his part. He could hear an 'Oof' from the other person, and he slid partly across the floor; biting his lip in order to keep himself from swearing out loud.
"Oww, what the fuck?" The other muttered from their position on the floor. Getting pummeled by Draco seemed to have rattled their skull a bit.
Groaning, Draco pushed himself up from the floor and brought his hand up to rub at his sore shoulder. Then, the reason why he had done this in the first place paraded back into his mind. How the hell could he forget in one bloody second?
Harry.
Harry! Draco looked over at the wall he had seen him last, and noticed him still standing there with his mouth open. That was the second time today. Maybe he'd break a record; the most amount of times to make Harry stare open-mouthed at him.
He was looking from the person writhing on the floor and then back to Draco in utter shock. Part of his school robes had been untucked and a little wrinkled in the front. Draco instantly brought his eyes over to the person he had knocked to the floor. With closer inspection, he finally identified who it was.
It was Theodore Nott.
"What… the hell?" Draco mumbled; almost as though he were noticing something remarkably unbelievable for the first time. Maybe he was.
And maybe he wanted to tear apart Nott limb from limb and lock him away in a random confined room in the Malfoy Manor to let him starve. Ah, what a wonderful idea.
"Malfoy?" Harry asked stupidly.
"Who else would it be?" Draco replied, sarcasm dripping in his tone. He instantly wished he hadn't used any; he was supposed to making it so Harry liked him better. Wincing from that mistake; he stood up and slowly made his way over to Nott. He would've never believed that another Slytherin beside himself would like a Gryffindor, especially Harry. But violating Harry like that royally pissed Draco off; housemate or not. Nott didn't like Harry, he was using him for his own pleasure.
"What in the bloody everlasting hell is your problem?" Draco hissed through his teeth. Nott stared up at Draco as if he'd gone insane, and began to push himself up clumsily from the floor.
"Draco?" Nott questioned.
"Of course it's me, you idiot!" What was it with everyone? Just because he happened to do something no one expected; it didn't mean it wasn't really him doing it.
"You didn't answer my question," Draco snapped furiously, stepping over Nott as if he were ready to pummel him further into the ground. Seeing as Nott had always been terrified of Draco before, much like the rest of his house, he scrambled out of the pale boy's way. He still hadn't gotten off of the floor, so he looked much like someone trying to scuttle away from an approaching sea creature.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Nott shouted.
"You know what I'm talking about!" Draco retaliated, his voice growing louder and more agitated than before. The other boy brought his hand up to wipe nervously at his forehead and through his hair.
"SO!" Draco asked vociferously.
"What's wrong with you Draco!" Nott shrieked.
"Nothing, I just don't appreciate seeing someone from my own house doing something so stupid to someone else. Are you kidding me; how dim-witted are you!"
"What…?" Nott scrambled further away from Draco, his eyes wide and his eyes darting around him to see if there was some way to escape. Draco looked ready to kill. "… what… you never cared about this kind of stuff before."
Draco's eyes blazed, and he rushed forward just as Nott got the nerve to stand. A second later, Nott was slammed against the opposite wall, Draco's hands holding him up against it. Well, this seemed familiar. Only this was far from sexual harassment.
"You can't tell me what I do and do not care about. You know nothing about me, Nott, and you are to never bother Harry like this again," Draco whispered dangerously.
"I don't have to listen to you, dammit! It's only fucking Harry Potter, for god sake!"
Draco eyes narrowed. "I don't think you heard me." A frightening sort of smirk crossed Draco's features, and he backed up only to throw Nott to the side. The boy stumbled, and then stared at Draco; bewildered. "Don't you ever do something like this again. It's sick." A look of revulsion replaced Draco's smirk, and he stood there staring at Nott.
"You… you're crazy, Draco. I don't know what's happened to you, but… you'll have prices to pay, you know?" Nott's eyes flickered from his housemate, back over to Harry, and then he turned around and took off down the hall. Draco stood there for what seemed like ten more silent minutes. His hands were dropped at his sides, his fingers fidgeting; much like someone who was itching to draw out their wand so they could finish the job. His gray eyes were storming, and his face was set in a scowl.
It was only when a voice was heard behind him that he snapped out of his fantasies of killing Nott. How dare he do that to Harry. He was even decent enough to not do something like that.
"What… was that, Malfoy?" Blankly, Draco turned back around to face a very bemused Harry. He was faltering near the wall; still staring, though his mouth was closed this time.
"Nott was being a fucking prick, that's all." Draco said this as if it were a normal everyday thing. He had never done something like that to one of his own housemates though.
"Yeah… but why did you help me?"
"Did you want me to stand there and watch?" Draco asked.
"No…"
"Then that's why I helped you."
"But… you helped me, Malfoy."
Draco rolled his eyes, distractedly trying to smooth out his robes. Again, someone else just couldn't believe it was him who had done this. Was it too hard to believe that Draco might like Harry? That he might be doing this to get Harry to like him? That he might actually care about another human being? "Yes, I did. Surprised?" He replied indifferently.
"Yes."
"Why should you be? You already know how I feel." Draco brought his eyes up to meet Harry's uneasy pair. He was about ready to say something in order to get that bloody confused, surprised, and absolutely naïve expression off of the Gryffindor's face. But… he just couldn't.
"Malfoy…" Harry looked uncomfortable about something.
"Yes?"
All of a sudden, Harry stepped forward and grabbed Draco, embracing him in a rather firm hug. Draco was caught off guard; so much to even let out a startled gasp. "Um…"
Draco was struggling with what to say, as well as the capability of breathing. He couldn't even lift up his arms, if he wanted to return the hug, but frankly, all of this was just fine. Harry wasn't backing away this time; he wasn't bolting down the hallway, and he wasn't hating him. Harry was hugging him, and he was the one to do so before Draco. Draco felt about ready to slide onto the floor and melt.
Regrettably, Harry pulled out of it about ten seconds later. He had a small smile on his face, looking a bit embarrassed about doing that out of the blue. Draco smirked; clearly happy, and clearly wanting to seize Harry back into his arms.
"I just wanted to… thank you, for helping me and all…" Harry shuffled his feet; looking down at the floor.
"It was my pleasure," Draco rejoined. "If you need help with anything else, let me know."
Harry looked up at Draco again. The unease was still there, but so was something else. Draco wasn't concentrating well enough on figuring it out, for he was falling head over heels for Harry even more.
"Ok… well, I better get going now. Have a nice weekend."
Draco grinned and nodded. "You too, Potter."
They exchanged glances; one in which confirmed that they'd be getting along a little bit better than before, and then they both turned around, making their way down opposite halls. Draco didn't care about those useless books now; this day was by far a fine one.