Captivation

Chapter 4: Cursed Luck

Harry just about had a heart attack when he realized he had ten minutes to get to his very first class. He hadn't slept very well for the images of a drunken Malfoy masturbating on him had kept him up. Thankfully the class wasn't too hard to find. It was Advanced Flying Techniques on the fourth floor at the end of the hallway that branched off from the stairs. Harry opened the door to see that most of the class was full. He stepped inside, thankful that he wasn't late; students were chattering quietly to one another (though many looked up and gawked at him).

Harry didn't recognize anyone at first until his stomach felt like it twisted painfully. Malfoy was seated by the window at his own table. Immediately, Harry sat at the first table he found with another boy with glasses (who was silently reading their textbook) and kept his eyes away from the blond. He wanted to avoid Malfoy at all costs.

"Welcome everyone," the professor spoke up some minutes later.

He was a short and stocky man with wavy brown hair and a long pointed nose. His voice was loud and had a slight Russian accent to it.

"My name is Professor Dmitrii, for those of you who don't know. Today we will begin with an introduction to the class. For the most part, this is a lecture course and I advise you to take careful notes for there's an exam every two weeks over the chapter I've discussed. There will be two presentations this semester, one in the beginning to get a feel for the class and also working on a project helps with studying, since you'll be doing research. Your first presentation will be due in two weeks the other is much bigger and will be due after Christmas. You will also be assigned partners for both.

"Now, let's begin with the introduction. This is Advanced Flying Techniques where you will learn how to handle your broom with perfection. No matter what broom you have, no matter its velocity, strength, force of inertia or reaction time, there are techniques for all that can improve your flying and coordination a great deal."

The professor droned on and Harry managed to stay interested for the most part. He didn't even glance at Draco the whole time. His magical quill was jotting down notes for him so thankfully his hand didn't get sore. Once there was twenty minutes of class left, the professor stopped talking and prepared to set them up with partners.

"I've put names into this bowl and I will levitate two names out at once and this will be your partner for the class. I know that some of you would like to pair up with friends and are hoping that for the final project you'll get to have a different partner, but I decided that it's not important. The purpose of this class is to learn as much as you can about flying and handling brooms, all types of brooms, not worry about working with someone you know. Therefore, you will have one partner and it will be chosen now so that you can all concentrate on studying and researching. Alright, here goes."

The professor levitated the bowl up high, spun it to mix the names then two small slips of parchment rose into the air.

"Hannah and Cedric."

Harry's heart clenched at the name. The boy looked nothing like the Cedric that Harry had known at Hogwarts but it still pained him a little to remember how he hadn't been able to save him. A few other names were called and Harry waited patiently for his turn. He wasn't one of the students worried about being paired up with a friend since he didn't know anybody. It was a good way to meet other people and perhaps he could make a new friend.

"Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy."

Or not. Harry inwardly cursed, almost forgetting Malfoy was in the class with him. Out of the twenty students in the class, Malfoy had been paired with him. Was his life cursed? It obviously seemed that way. Sighing irritably, Harry's chin slumped onto his hand as his elbow rested on the desk. This was going to be a long semester.

"Alright class, now that you know your partners you will have ten to fifteen minutes to introduce yourselves and get acquainted and even perhaps discuss ideas for your presentation. Remember, they are due in two weeks! No late assignments will be accepted. Next week I will have a random list made of the order of presentations. Now, get to work."

Glaring at the professor, even though it wasn't really his fault, Harry slowly got up and went over to where Malfoy was seated. To Harry's frustration, Draco wasn't even paying attention to him. Harry clenched his fists and summoned a chair at his table. The blond finally turned looking uninterested at him.

"Let's get something straight, Potter," Malfoy drawled while twirling his wand carelessly. "Just because we've been paired together doesn't mean I want to be seen hanging around you."

"Trust me, if I could change partners I would," Harry said coolly. "The problem is that I can't and we'll have to present this together. How are we going to do that if we don't work on it at the same time?"

"Really Potter, have you ever studied by yourself or did your mudblood do it all for you?" Malfoy's lips curled into a sneer as his narrowed eyes glistened.

Gripping his book bag furiously, Harry bit his tongue.

"Malfoy," Harry emphasized slowly with a glare.

Draco raised an eyebrow almost sarcastically, daring him to retort with something nasty.

"I am not going to get a bad grade because you can't act mature and cooperate," Harry spat quietly. "I would've thought for a Malfoy you'd want to keep up a good reputation by having good grades."

Draco stared at him long and hard with a cold gaze. After a minute of feeling confident that he had pushed a button that would force the blond to agree, Harry suddenly visualized Malfoy's knee against his crotch. Suddenly, an extreme fear filled him and he wondered if Malfoy knew Legilmency at all. Harry desperately wanted to tear his eyes from Malfoy's face but if he did that would make it seem like he was yielding to his rival's request to work separately.

"Alright students, class is over. See you tomorrow," Professor Dmitrii announced.

Malfoy immediately began to stand and Harry stood with him. "Malfoy, you haven't said how we're going to work on this."

Draco ignored him and began heading for the door. He grasped the blond's robe and Malfoy suddenly yanked his arm away and grabbed Harry's wrist, twisting it a bit painfully. The class was filing out so no one seemed to notice the exchange and Harry winced, glaring at him.

"Let go," Harry said through clenched teeth.

"Don't touch me again, Potter!" Malfoy spat, glaring at him with icy gray eyes.

Finally he released his wrist and walked out of class, leaving Harry to seethe at his retreating back. Harry left class as well fuming on the way to his other class. Thankfully Malfoy was not in his next class or the rest of his classes. And at lunch Harry made sure not to look at the table where the blond was sitting. Despite ignoring him completely and trying to avoid him, Harry knew eventually they'd have to talk. Malfoy was stubborn—probably the most stubborn boy on the planet.

If Harry left it alone, the blond would do the project by his self and present his half when the time came, leaving Harry clueless and embarrassed having to present something different. Even though it would be Malfoy's fault as well, the blond had a way of easily manipulating situations to keep his reputation safe. No doubt he'd make it look like Harry was slacking off and he was not going to let that happen.

Dinner came and Harry slumped down at the table. Thanks to Malfoy he had been in a bad mood all day. Tavis and Liam were in a deep conversation but Harry wasn't paying attention to anyone as he piled pieces of steak, chicken, pumpkin-potatoes (a wizard delicacy apparently—charmed to melt on ones tongue) onto his plate.

"You look like you're planning to kill someone with your fork," Tavis spoke up suddenly.

Harry looked up, startled to see him staring and he glanced down at his plate where he had stabbed his fork into his chicken. Sighing heavily, Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm fine, just tired," he lied.

"I hope you're not too tired because Quidditch practice starts for the team tonight," Tavis raised his eyebrows in question.

Harry groaned and nearly dropped his head on the table. "Bloody hell I forgot. I guess I better not eat too much or I might get sick."

"Who cares though. You've got the best bloody broom between all the schools right now," Tavis winked.

"Yeah," Harry sighed. "I'm sure once I get used to my schedule I'll have more energy."

Tavis gave him a comforting pat on the arm and continued his own meal. Harry ate silently for the rest of dinner dreading the fact that he'd have to see Malfoy at practice. Unfortunately, the end of dinner came and Harry dragged himself to the Quidditch field. Many students were already there, including Liam (who was the Keeper) and to Harry's disliking Malfoy too. Captain Murdoch (or Mariabella) walked out toward the group. Harry made sure to keep his distance from Malfoy. He figured it'd be easier to talk to the blond up in the air during practice so that they wouldn't draw the attention of the others if they got into a fight.

"Welcome ladies and gents," Mariabella nodded with a firm expression. "Today is the first day of practice. I want you all to get acquainted with each other and take it easy. This will not be a very hard workout, just for today, but it's still important that you all get used to whatever brooms yours flying and your teammates. Then we will start the actually strategic lessons. After you all have flown around a bit, I'll release the bludgers, quaffle and snitch for each of you to practice with. I want you to pass to your teammates Chasers—teamwork is very vital," she explained. "And Harry, make sure to watch all your teammates closely so you know when it's the perfect time to catch the snitch."

"Right," Harry answered.

"If you're all set, get to it," she said, blowing her whistle.

Everyone took off into the air and Harry, who summoned his broom with his wand, gracefully took off at the speed of light, circling around several times in a second to get a good feel of his broom. First he wanted to practice speeding up then braking, in case he'd ever have to stop suddenly. Then once the snitch was released he was going to practice dodging bludgers to get to it. Of course he'd have to watch Malfoy and Liam closely, but he could still remain a distance from the blond.

Or at least he thought so until a certain blond bumped into his elbow roughly, nearly knocking him off his broom when he was stationary.

"Watch it Malfoy!" Harry spat venomously.

The blond's Firebolt stopped and slowly he did a very fast 360, obviously trying to show off his skills.

"Is there a problem, Potter?" Malfoy drawled sarcastically, giving him a rather nasty sneer.

"You better not try anything," Harry glared.

"Really Potter? Are you going to tell on me?" Malfoy teased mockingly. "Do you really think the captain can see us from way up here?"

"She's watching everybody," Harry countered.

Snorting, Malfoy began flying backward slowly. "You think you're so special because of that broom, don't you Potter? It's quite obvious you don't even know how to use its full potential."

"Is that so?" Harry's gaze darkened. "Then tell me, Malfoy, where's your proof?"

"The way you sit on your broom Potter," Malfoy glared back. "You have horrible posture and anyone, even an amateur captain, will tell you that bad posture changes how good you play. It's pathetic how you didn't know that."

Harry felt his anger begin to increase and he opened his mouth to retort. At that moment, however, a loud scream interrupted him.

"Malfoy look out!"

The blond only had time to wheel around on his broom to see a bludger heading his way. He couldn't move in time due his state of shock and being distracted and only moved enough so the bludger hit the handle of his broom instead of him. It tore off the handle, spinning Malfoy out of control. It happened so fast, Harry himself hardly had time to duck so the bludger wouldn't hit him.

His eyes suddenly gazed downward and he saw that Malfoy had been flung from his broom and was pelting toward the ground. In less than a second, Harry reacted and swooped down in a flash. He grabbed Malfoy by the robe and tried to hoist him up. The blond, who was flailing his arms in panic, latched onto Harry's broom unaware that his robe suddenly covered Harry's head, blinding him.

"Malfoy!" Harry shouted, trying to push the blond away enough so he could see.

Harry managed to scoot forward quickly and slipped from under Draco's robe just in time. He saw that they were heading for the ground and Malfoy was desperately clinging to the broom behind him, trying to hold on. And Harry tried to swerve the broom up but unfortunately with both of their weight it was too hard to do so he had no choice but to test out the brakes. The broom, being so smooth and fast, stopped just in time. However, it stopped so fast and unexpectedly that both Harry and Draco were flung forward. Draco, who had lost his grip first, flew over Harry and landed on his back, releasing a pained groan. And Harry, seconds later, flew off and landed right on top of him. Harry's broom remained floating less than a foot from the ground, unscathed.

It took him a minute to register there was a warm body beneath him. Harry's heart began beating furiously as he noticed his head was right by Draco's ear. The blond's hair had been tossed above his head and some strands nestled on Harry's face since he was so close. He inhaled the shampoo fragrance, realizing that it smelled very good. And his cheeks flushed as the position reminded him of the party. Suddenly, rough hands grabbed him harshly by the biceps.

"Get off Potter!" Draco snapped, lifting him up a few inches.

Harry scrambled to get off him quickly and saw the blond had a scowl on his face.

"Are you two alright?" Liam flew down next to them. "That was a close one Malfoy! It's a good thing Potter has such a fast broom."

Draco scowled darkly and didn't respond. He just stood up and brushed himself off as the captain approached in a hurry.

"Oh good the two of you are unharmed. You should be paying more attention to the game, not chatting," she scolded firmly. "Mr. Malfoy, I'm afraid your broom has been too badly damaged for repairs. We don't have any extras right now; our shipping doesn't come in for another couple of weeks. Unless you can borrow one from somebody, you'll just have to watch the practices and take notes until the shipment of brooms come in."

Malfoy's hands were clenched so hard they were turning white. Harry could tell that the blond did not like being excluded, not matter the reasons. His mouth was drawn in a thin line and he was trying not to show his frustration and anger in front of her. Harry knew Draco was going to blame him for the accident and probably try and make him pay for his Firebolt (not that he could) but it suddenly gave Harry an idea.

"Why don't we end practice for today," Mariabella said.

"Uh captain," Harry interrupted and she turned to him. "Malfoy can borrow my old broom."

She blinked and then gave him a smile. "Wonderful. Thank you, Harry. Practice will resume tomorrow at the same time," she announced to everyone before walking away.

Everyone began heading back to the school and Malfoy stood there silently. Harry glanced at him.

"It's in my room," Harry said bluntly, turning and walking away.

He really didn't want to be any nicer to the blond so he hoped that was enough. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Malfoy was following a short distance behind with his hands crossed over his chest. Harry didn't speak the whole way there even when the two were walking up the steps to his room. Harry tapped his wand on his door and opened it, walking in first. He approached his trunk and Malfoy stood at the door, leaning up against the wall carelessly. Harry pulled out his Firebolt and put his Volare3000 back inside and then he stood up, but he didn't make a move to hand it to him.

"Are you going to give it to me or not Potter?" Malfoy asked darkly, glaring at him from behind disheveled bangs.

Harry's eyes narrowed. "Look Malfoy, I just saved your life in case you didn't notice. And I'm letting you borrow my Firebolt."

"If you want payment Potter I can always find someone else to borrow from," Malfoy drawled, turning to leave.

"I'm not asking for payment, Malfoy!" Harry spat, taking a step forward. "And I doubt anyone else has a Firebolt, least of one that's still in such good shape."

The blond halted, half way out the door and turned around. "So what do you want Potter? A thank you letter?" he quipped sarcastically.

"I want your cooperation on our presentation. I'm not asking for payment or telling you that you owe me your life or anything. All I want is for you to agree to work together on this project so that we can both get a good grade," Harry emphasized.

Draco stood at the door still with crossed arms for a moment. Slowly, he walked back in and began to approach him. Harry didn't move as he neared within five feet.

"Fine Potter. We can work on the project together. But we're going to do it on my schedule."

Harry felt the need to punch him but held back. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, Potter that while studies are important I still have a life. We will work on the project at whatever time works best for me, got it?"

For a second, Harry thought about just swearing at the blond and telling him to find a new partner, but reluctantly he held the broom out toward him.

"Fine," Harry agreed firmly. "But I don't want to wait till the last minute to do it."

Draco snatched the broom from him and gave him a look. Then he turned around and began to walk out.

"Malfoy, wait!" Harry exclaimed angrily.

The blond wheeled around. "What Potter?"

"When are we going to meet to start the presentation?" Harry asked, inwardly fuming.

"I said I will let you know," he spat and turned on his heel without another word.

Harry was sorely tempted to run after him and take back his broom just to spite him so he couldn't play for a couple of weeks. A part of him wondered why he let him borrow it instead of forcing the blond to go out and buy a new one (which Harry knew for sure he could do). It had been a reaction and also a plan to get the blond to agree to work with him. It seemed to have worked a bit; at least Draco agreed to work with him on the presentation, however Harry didn't know what to expect from doing it on the blond's schedule.

"He is so infuriating!" Harry hissed aloud, punching his trunk angrily.

"Sorry, did I come at a bad time?"

Harry inclined his head toward the door to see Tavis standing there looking amused. Sighing, Harry slumped onto his bed and shook his head.

"No, what's up?"

"I just saw Draco leave. I guess you two had another argument, huh?"

"Yeah, after I saved his life during Quidditch practice then let him borrow my Firebolt," Harry responded darkly.

Tavis just smiled and entered the room. "Don't worry, Harry. Whether or not he shows it, he knows that he owes you his thanks. You did the right thing. Anyway, I thought I'd come cheer you up with some good news. There's a very special party going on tomorrow night."

"Special?" Harry asked curiously.

Tavis nodded. "Yeah, some of the top seniors are throwing it. It's in celebration of this being their last year. Some of them are already getting replies from professional teams and they wanted to throw a party. The reason it's special, however, is because only selected people are invited. It just so happens that one of the seniors is my brother's friend Tori and he invited me. I told him about you and I didn't even need to say we're friends so now you're invited. Trust me, most people would be jealous. They throw the best parties ever and it's usually in a secret room where it'd be very hard to get caught. They play tons of cool drinking games and music and everything. It's a blast!"

"Why are they known as the top seniors?" Harry asked.

Tavis shrugged. "They're just very talented. Normally, there's really no hierarchy in this school with popularity but these seniors are really well known. And a couple of them have been offered positions on some of the top ten professional Quidditch teams already. You could learn a lot from them. I just thought it'd be fun."

"Yeah, sounds fun," Harry said, desperately needing something to forget about Draco and his attitude problem.

"Great! I'll let them know you're coming," Tavis grinned. "I can't wait! Maybe I can get hooked up with a senior girl."

Harry smiled and shook his head as he left. A part of him felt very smug for getting invited. There was a good chance Malfoy wasn't invited, since it was very selective which meant if the blond pissed him off the next day he could rub it in his face. Feeling much better, Harry took off his clothes and climbed into bed. He realized that he hadn't had time to take a shower. In fact, he hadn't taken a shower since he got there since he had been using temporary cleaning spells. However, the temporary spells only worked if one wasn't too dirty. And Harry since he had gotten there hadn't needed a full on shower, but he knew that once his Quidditch practices started getting harder and he sweated more, he'd have to use the communal showers.

Although it would be awkward at first to shower with a whole bunch of other boys, he had to get used to it. That was part of the life of being at a Quidditch school. Realizing that he had forgotten to write to his friends, Harry sat up in bed and began to write:

Ron,

Hey! Sorry I haven't written to you. I've been pretty busy. I met some new friends, but don't worry they can't possibly replace you or Hermione. I really like it here. Everyone's really friendly (and yes there are some cute girls). Unfortunately, there is a problem and I didn't want you to be concerned but Draco Malfoy is here too. Apparently, being a professional Quidditch player is his dream. I suppose he was pretty obsessed with it at school. Anyway, everything's going good. Everyone was smitten by my new broom (and yes I'll let you ride it when I get a chance to visit). I won't be able to visit this weekend due to homework but next weekend I'll try. Say hi to your mom, dad and everyone for me. Tell Ginny I say hi too.

Harry

He wrote a similar letter to Hermione and decided that it was too late to send Hedwig out so he'd have to send it out in the morning. Speaking of Hedwig made him realize he hadn't seen her around. He assumed she was spending her time in the school's Owlry. It'd be nice to visit her the next day.

Yawning, Harry touched his face to reach for his glasses and remembered he didn't need them anymore. He then got under the covers (clad in only his boxers) and drifted off into a peaceful sleep, wondering what Malfoy's expression would be when he told him what party he was invited to.

TO BE CONTINUED…

To Reviewers:

Redmeadow: Lol! Yeah, Draco does have issues. Hopefully, Harry will have a good influence on him, huh? Yeah, I know what you mean! I hate it when there are thousands of couples so they don't go into detail with the couple you want. Very understandable. :-)

The Earth Mystic: Lol! Yes, wouldn't that be nice if Harry had put the moves on Draco some more. :-) Oh trust me, once Harry realizes he's not so straight everyone else will soon find out. In fact, something very interesting is going to happen at the next party.

Dragenphly: Aww, thanks! I'm glad you like how I portray Harry. If you did peak at my other stories you'll realize his character isn't really different. I keep him pretty much the same (or I try to), but yeah I don't like wimpy or ignorant Harry. Lol! And I wanted to be realistic with his feelings. J.K. Rowling obviously doesn't really go into his sexual desires. :-) Oh yes, Draco's going to eventually have to admit a lot of things about Harry. Lol!

Meka: Yes, our beautiful Harry is really innocent, isn't he? Oh, but not for long. :-)

Lollylover: Thanks again!

Yukaishepards: Thanks! I'll update asap!