Draco Malfoy hadn't expected to be buttonholed into a closet before even making it to the Great Hall. At least no one had been looking. He found himself staring dead-level into Potter's face. "Well?" Draco Malfoy said, trying to hold onto the impatience that one might give if one disliked being cooped up and had Better Things To Do. Not that Draco did have better things to do.
"You did that on purpose yesterday! To make sure I ... played with Ron." Potter had started out that comment hiss-shouting, grabbing Draco by great hanks of his robe, but by the end, Potter was nearly whispering.
Draco Malfoy said nothing, but simply nodded.
There was a look in Potter's eye. It looked suspiciously like ... gratitude. "Why?" Potter asked, in a soft whisper. "You don't - you don't even like him. Your families hate each other."
Now that was a question Draco could answer. He shrugged, the diffidence relaxing in its own right. "He's your friend, not mine. And even I could see how much in a bad way he was. Granger just buried herself in her schoolwork, and while that's not healthy, that's coping. Not the weasel though." Draco's words were soft enough that it wasn't an insult, just a nickname. "So, chess. One of the few things that he's proud enough to stick his nose out of your Common Room about."
Harry Potter's mouth had fallen open, somewhere near the end. "You organized the whole thing? The chess tournament itself?"
Draco Malfoy's chin dipped a half inch, "Got Boot and Corner to do it, really. You think Gryffindors would show up to a tournament organized by a Slytherin?"
Harry's smile is bright, as he relaxes his hands out of Draco's robes, and pats him on the shoulder, "You're right about that!"
They talk about nothing consequential as they head to the Great Hall, but Draco knows that Snape is watching them as they separate, perhaps seeing the first true smile that Curt's worn since he got here.
And it's worth noting, Draco thinks, Potter's slow, not stupid. Trying to pull something past him may work in the short term, but he's capable of rethinking an event, reminiscing until the reasoning reveals itself.
[a/n: Draco's talking specifically in terms of what some might call Slytherin intelligence. The part that's cunning, that crafts, that plots. Not actual Ravenclaw ideaspace.
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