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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 4: Make Him Squirm
Draco Malfoy felt like whistling as he walked into the Slytherin common room. He didn't of course. Malfoys never whistled. But he felt like doing it all the same.
Potter had finally admitted what had been apparent to Draco since their meeting, that he needed him. Draco smiled with satisfaction. He collapsed onto one of the comfortable couches near the fire and sighed happily. Things were going well.
It had been extremely hard to leave Potter in that little space only a few moments ago, but Draco knew he had to do it. It was important that Potter saw just how much he needed Draco. But still…it had naught been easy leaving that behind. Draco still felt hot.
"Draco, what's wrong?" Draco almost rolled his eyes. It was Pansy Parkinson. He supposed he looked rather worried when he was thinking.
"Nothing's wrong," he said shortly. But Pansy did not seem at all put off by his shortness. She sat closer to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. Draco tried to hide his expression of revulsion.
Pansy had been fine when Draco had wanted to explore with girls when he was younger. She was his, of course, if he desired. It had been planned since they were babies, Draco was sure. They were both purebloods and that was all that really mattered.
And so at his father's parties he would be forced to entertain her. When he was thirteen, he had not minded. They would go up to his bedroom and experiment. But now when he could have so many girls at Hogwarts…well, Pansy just seemed too easy.
It did not help that she was female, either. Draco had been noticing the odd feelings towards males for a couple years now, and Potter in particular made him…uncomfortable. Pansy just couldn't compete, no matter how beautiful and tantalizing she tried to make herself.
"You know what, Pansy? I think I am feeling a bit sick. I'm going to go to bed," he muttered, not caring if he sounded genuine.
She put on a sympathetic face. "I knew something was wrong," she said with the air of a detective who has just cracked a difficult case.
Draco walked up to his bedroom, still thinking about Pansy and Potter. Perhaps it was a mistake to treat Pansy so harshly. What if she went off and told his parents? Then, what? He had to try to have a little patience with her, for his own sake.
But it was so hard to pretend that he liked her and enjoyed her company when Potter was hanging around the castle. Potter was a challenge. Potter would not come easy. Draco had to make Potter see that he needed him.
Draco let out a frustrated groan. He would have to wait at least two or three days to see Potter. He would wait until Potter came to him. It was all part of the game that Draco played so well. If Potter would stand him up, then this obviously meant nothing to Potter. Well, Potter would soon see how much he needed this.
~*~*~
Harry Potter walked back from the dungeons feeling a tiny bit confused. He didn't understand why Draco had to run off. What was there to do right after lunch that was so important? Nothing, that's what.
As he walked into the Gryffindor common room, he saw Ron and Hermione working on some homework. It suddenly occurred to Harry how weird his behavior must have seemed the last few days. He had to act normal. After all, what if they wanted to find out where he was going and followed him? The thought was almost too terrifying to imagine. He would just have to make more of an effort to be less suspicious.
"Hey," he said as he sat down at the table next to his two best friends.
"Where have you been?" Ron asked as he leafed through their Potions book. "You missed lunch."
"I know. I just wasn't hungry," Harry said, hoping this sounded like something that could be true. "I was just thinking."
Ron and Hermione exchanged a look and Harry knew they assumed he had been doing his 'thinking' about Sirius. Harry pushed that thought to the back of his mind.
"Have you started your Potions essay yet, Harry?" Hermione questioned.
"No. We have two weeks," he muttered.
"You can copy mine, mate," Ron said with a grin. "I've just finished."
"Where are those books you went to get from the library?" Hermione asked shrewdly.
"I didn't go," Harry said. "I was feeling kind of tired."
Ron and Hermione exchanged a glance again. If he hadn't been making it all up, Harry thought he might have felt a bit angry at them for acting like he wasn't here.
Hermione turned to Ron. "And by the way, he will not copy yours. If he copies your essay, how will he ever learn the material?"
"Er…he won't," Ron said with a grin.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you two. How you both even passed your Potions O.W.L. is beyond me."
"It's actually a lot easier to brew a Potion when Snape isn't breathing down your neck and dropping your sample," Harry said.
Ron nodded. "Yeah, that's true."
Hermione gave an exasperated sigh. "Well, we better get going. It's almost time for Transfiguration."
Harry listened to Ron and Hermione bicker all the way to class. He thought he had covered his tracks very well. They seemed to attribute any odd behavior to his moodiness.
Harry hoped Malfoy would get back to him soon. He needed to see him. It was extremely strange to Harry that he was thinking like this. Not too long ago, he had thought he hated Malfoy.
But he still hated him. Harry knew that. He still thought Malfoy was a bigoted, spoiled brat. He still got angry when he made fun of Ron or called Hermione names. It was really all just some strange attraction that Harry could not explain. He only knew that Malfoy was a mystery to him and Harry wanted to find out more.
They reached Transfiguration and Harry soon realized that Ron and Hermione's bickering had not let up the entire way there. Harry rolled his eyes at the pair of them. He couldn't believe that they were incapable of seeing what was obvious to everyone else.
Or maybe Ron just didn't see it, Harry thought, as he watched Hermione massage her temples and mouth the word, why, to herself.
Harry tried to block out his tangle of thoughts as Professor McGonagall began the lesson. It was extremely difficult. He couldn't seem to get himself to concentrate.
The hour of class was painfully boring and Harry was happy when the bell sounded, ending the school day. Harry slung his bag onto his shoulder and was walking a bit behind Ron and Hermione when someone walked right into him.
Malfoy was standing extremely close, their bodies making full contact as he shoved Harry roughly. "Sorry, Potter," he said and continued walking.
Ron turned around and seemed about ready to go after Malfoy, but Hermione laid a calming hand on his arm and it had an immediate effect.
"Damn Ferretface," Ron muttered, but left him go.
He has to stop doing that, Harry though gruffly, as he moved his bag to his front to cover…his pants. But Harry was pretty sure that Draco knew exactly what he was doing to him and was only too happy to do it.
Harry spent the rest of the evening with Ron and Hermione, hoping that this normal night would make up for the way he had been acting.
He crawled into bed that night desperately hoping that an owl would come to him in the morning.
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