Chapter Four:
Wanna play again? "No... leave me alone..."
Good boy... "Stop it...leave me alone!"
Never.
Harry Potter sat up in bed with a shout. He was covered in a cold sweat, his hands shaking. "Damn it. Damn him!" He took a deep breath to steady himself before getting off the bed and walking to the door. He opened it slowly, glancing around.
It creaked loudly and he cringed, turning his head to see if anyone was disturbed by the noise.
"No... not the funnel again..." Murmured Ron quietly as he dreamt. Harry breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to the door.
Opening it all the way, he walked out into the Common room, where he sat staring out the window for a long time.
I can't stop thinking about him.
"Dammit." Draco stood in front of the bathroom mirror, his face incredibly pale. Why? How did this happen? He slammed his fist down on the rim of the sink. He was shaking badly, his hair slicked down with sweat.
"Draco?" Goyle entered, rubbing an eye with his huge fist. "You look terrible. Hey what are you gonna do about Potter? He was staring at you yester-"
"Can you learn to knock? Get out- leave!" He pushed Goyle past the doorway, slamming the door shut behind him. He leaned against the wall, shutting his eyes tightly.
"What the hell is wrong with me?"
"Potter! Answer the question!" Harry sat up so suddenly he knocked his book off the table. It was the next day. Neither Harry nor Draco had slept throughout the night and it was potions class, and quite possibly the worst class to choose to take a nap in. The entire group of Slytherins were laughing, except Draco who seemed to be very preoccupied by the view out the window. Snape sighed. "Potter, detention after school. Again. I won't send you to Dumbledore- I think that'd give you too much pleasure." His voice dripped like oil. Harry groaned and, after picking up his book, put his head back down onto the table. "Perhaps then, Draco would like to answer the question? Hm?" He paused, swiveling his attention to Malfoy. "MALFOY!" His smirk curved into a deep frown, his face growing dark. "First Potter, then you?" He took a deep breath. "Detention. MALFOY!" Draco sat up and glanced around. The classroom laughed.
"Wh-what?"
"Detention." Draco frowned and nodded a 'Yes sir' before turning back to stare once more out the window.
"What's with you?" Ron whispered. Hermione frowned and shook her head. She mouthed the words 'I'll talk to you later" and Ron looked sullen yet nodded his head.
Harry hadn't noticed any of this. His hand crept down to his bag, his fist curling around a wad of parchment.
Detention.
Snape sat at his desk, grading papers and casually looking up every now and then. This is ridiculous. Something isn't right here. No snide remarks? Nothing? Not even acting normal... The two boys were sitting farthest apart as possible, both staring out, one at the wall, the other at the tiny window half covered in dirt. Snape frowned and cleared his throat before returning to his papers.
Harry blushed, feeling Draco's eyes upon him. He looked at the ceiling before he finally turned slowly.
"What?" He hissed. Draco just lifted an eyebrow. Harry turned back in frustration, pretending to ignore him.
Yet he could feel those steely eyes on his back.
"What?" He turned back quickly to find Snape right in front of him.
"No talking, Mr. Potter." Harry nodded and turned back to the wall he was facing. Snape walked past his desk. "I'll be stepping out for a moment." He was holding an empty ink pot and frowning. He glided past smoothly, disappearing through the door.
"Well Potter, what do you think of my note?" Harry took a deep breath.
"You're disgusting- lay off me." He grimaced at Draco's laugh.
"Why would I lay off you? Unless it's you who's going to do the laying this time." Harry mentally slapped himself. He turned around to fully face Draco.
He found himself speechless, staring across the room at those eyes of his. He felt his chest grow tight and his face heat up.
"You're blushing Potter."
"Stop being so smug!"
"I find it-"
"SHUT UP!" Harry covered his ears, turning away from Draco. He slowly lowered them, still not turning around. "Just leave me alone..." His voice sounded weak, as though he had given up trying.
"Stop being so stubborn." He heard Draco take a deep breath. "I havea deal to make you, Potter." Harry turned, unsure. "The Quidditch match tomorrow- your team wins, I'll leave you alone. But-" His eyes gleamed in the darkness. "My team wins, and you're mine."
"No! No way-I'm not doing it!"
"Think about it, Potter. If you say no to our deal, I have other ways. For instance, Crabbe and Goyle... well," he smiled. "They're very strong. And Hermione and Ron-"
"You leave them out of this!" Harry shouted.
"Fine. We'll throw that in. You say yes to the deal, I'll leave them out of this, win or lose, I won't touch them. You however-" He smiled. "Well..."
"Fine."
"What?"
"Fine. It's a deal. Shake on it." Draco and Harry stood, meeting in the middle of the room.
While they were shaking hands, Draco said, "So now you want to touch me?" Harry pulled his hand away, disgust written on his face.
"Screw you, Malfoy!"
"Only if I win."
Harry cried out in frustration, taking his seat again and turning back to the window, where he remained the rest of the time.
"Tomorrow's the big match, Harry!"
"Shove it."
"Whoa Harry-" Hermione shook her head at Ron as if to silence him. Harry disappeared into the boy's dormitory, shutting the door quietly behind him. "He's been acting like such a prick lately."
"It isn't his fault."
"What? Did you not just see that?" Ron pointed to the door. "He's gone mad!"
"Ron, he's your best friend! Can't you see something's the matter with him?"
"Well yeah, just... what?" Hermione looked at the floor. "Wait- don't tell me- you, you know? You know but you're not telling me? Me?" Hermione looked as though she were about to cry.
"I'm sorry Ron. I can't tell you. But it's bad, ok? Really. Really. Bad."
Ron sighed and put his arm around Hermione. "Whatever it is, we'll pull through it." Hermione leaned into him, still looking distant and sad.
"I hope."