ADraco left the ward later that day, his anxieties piling up one after the other. First, it was to get the job done which he was struggling with. Actually, struggling was an understatement (however he would never admit it to snape)

Secondly, it was the fact that Madam Pomfrey or Potter could've seen his dark mark, a realisation that dawned on him after he had properly woken up. She hadn't mentioned it and he hadn't been visited by Dumbledore or the press. Surely potter would've
/checked though or was he too distracted and worried, as Madam pomfrey put it, trying to help him of all people? The thought was too amusing. The boy was convinced Draco was a death eater. As if he'd take the time to help. He was becoming

too interfering.

Which lead to the 'thirdly' of his situation. To thank potter otherwise the letter telling his mother that her son spends the evenings getting foolishly drunk would be sent. At the moment, what should've been the least of his problems, became the

worst. And all because of Potter.

But wait a minute. Why couldn't he just lie his way out of it? He was put in Slytherin after all. Well, to answer that question simply, Madam Pomfrey took care of that to Draco's frustration.

A simple timer, as she put it. With a flick of her wand, runes hovered before them, arranging themselves in a sequence before branding themselves around draco's slender wrist. He could still remember the way they glowed a subtle gold beforefading
away. Branding him..

Basically, every day, it was going to give Draco a small warning by glowing once every two hours at first, going from green to yellow then red. If by Sunday at the stroke of midnight, he hadn't completed the set task (in this case thanking potter),
/Madam Pomfrey's wand would get the alert and there goes that letter.

It sounded like something from the storybooks his mother used to read to him as well as the story books that kept him company during….

I have enough worries as it is. I don't need to go start thinking about that.

How he was going to be able to do it, he didn't know. Weasel and Mudblood hung around him like flies constantly and no way was he going to bring up what happened in front of them. Snape kept him in detention every night so no 'bumping' into him during
/midnight strolls. Apparently letters didn't count so that was out of the question. Perhaps he could lead him on...maybe act suspicious and rise curiosity within him…

So much effort for something so small. So pointless. Something that shouldn't have even happened in the first place. All because Potter didn't know how to mind his own business.

'Okay would be you noticing me when I wanted to be noticed and you ignoring me when I wanted to be ignored'

Those words spun repeatedly like a broken record, arousing feelings of shame, embarrassment and most of all, bafflement. Why did he say that? What was that confession?! He hadn't thought about Potter in that….way for a while.

'Don't pretend to care..it'll only make this more..more painful..'

No. He was done with those feelings of hurt and rejection. He was done trying to get his attention. He needed to focus and just when he had come to the conclusion that he was wasting his time, Potter is suddenly interested in him? For all the wrongreasons
though.. The thought was poignant, his heart aching unwillingly. And then he had the nerve to take him to the hospital ward as if he cared.. The more he thought about it, the more hostile he became.

"Draco." The voice was sharp, harsh, collected, feminine, Blinking a couple times, the world around him began to mold back into its original form. Book shelves began to grow from the ground, blurry students becoming more focused and refined.

He became aware of the chair he was sitting in, the thin, tickly feeling of his quill that slipped into his grip with ease. The silence accompanying his thoughts faded with the absent chatter.

Library.

"Draco! Hello?" Fingers snapped in front of his face impatiently, causing him to blink a couple times before noticing Pansy.

"I heard you the first time." He drawled, slipping into his facade.

"Did you really? Because I've asked you more than once to stop that with your fingers."

"Stop what?" But as he looked down, his question was answered. As he lifted his free hand, he revealed nail marks that were engraved into the oak wood of the desks. Drumming his fingers had become a habit of his recently, usually when he

was frustrated about something. Had Potter really worked him so much that he damaged the tables? I need help..

"Finally. It was driving me to the brink of insanity." Huffing, the girl returned to her book.

Pansy Parkinson.

Relatively attractive to some. Hideous to others. Blaise had manage to compare her to a bulldog and he could see why. The squashed nose, the flat face.. However, the fact that neither Blaise nor Draco were attracted to girls in general didn't maketheir
opinion as valid as let's say heterosexuals. Or lesbians. However, the effort was there and Draco had to give her that. She always made sure her makeup was perfectly applied. Her dark bob of hair was always neatly brushed with the greenheadband
that was never an angleout of place. And she teased Draco for caring about his appearance.

The rumours of her and Draco were relentless. Not many people knew about Draco's sexual orientation and by not many, he meant no one apart from himself, Pansy and Blaise. It was a secret they kept amongst the three of them, homosexuality being frowned
upon in the wizarding community, especially amongst pure bloods.

It was that need to carry out the family blood line and that wasn't easy if your partner was someone you couldn't reproduce with. Not to mention the decrease in status, the stereotypes about how homosexuals were attackers, perverted..

If anyone found out about Blaise and in particular, Draco, then he could say goodbye to feeling safe in his own dorm room.

So the solution was what any rational teenagers would do:

Create a fake love triangle between two 'straight' guysand a girl. Of course Pansy was the one to come up with the idea for not only was she a sucker for teenageangst, butthe concept of being fawned over was something she couldn't get
enough of.

But it worked. To the entire school, it seemed likeDraco and Pansy were constantly on and off and when off, she'd go to Blaise, the boy who'd try to win her over permanently instead of being a back up. When Blaise heard of this arrangement, he was
not happy. But what else was he to do?

Besides, it was amusing to listen to the rumours people created out of overheating a 'private' conversation between Pansy and Millicent Bulstrode who, although she swore on her mother's life, could not keep a secret for more than five minutes. Everyone
knew this. Including Pansy.

Especially Pansy.

However, as well as hilarious, the thought was repulsive. Pansy was a childhood friend. The mere thought of a relationship further than friends sickened both of them.

The two sat in a comfortable silence, Draco reading through his potions book (light reading) but couldn't concentrate for he could feel Pansy's gaze set on him.

Not lifting his eyes from his book, he casually said, "I know I'm the living embodiment of beauty but if you want a photo, just ask."

"Don't flatter yourself, dear. If I want a photo, it'd be of well slept, sober, handsome Draco." She teased with a smirk, earning a light scowl from her blonde companion.

"What do you want?" He asked agitatedly, looking back down to his book.

"You're more out of it than usual."

"Well, as you already know, I'm suffering from what many call a 'hangover' or 'overdose of alcohol'. I'll let you join the dots." He stated as he turned a page of his book. Then came the sigh and Draco knew very well what was coming.

"I know you're suffering Dray-"

"I never took you for a sap, Pansy."

"Oh ha ha. I'm being serious."

"Can we not discuss this now?"

"When else can we discuss it?"

She was right there. The library was the best place for these types of conversations. Both Pansy and Draco knew that. The Slytherin common room couldn't be trusted considering that blackmail material would be exposed to Slytherins who would have no
/trouble using it. The library however, was diverse. You could easily disappear into a book or have a conversation where no one would bother trying to figure what about. Annoyingly making this the perfect time for the conversation Draco wanted

to avoid.

"Did she see it?"

"Not that I know of." He answered, biting down on his lower lip and looking away.

"How did you even manage to get there and not receive a detention or anything?"

"I slipped."

"That's not even an excuse." She snapped. "Come on. If you're going to lie, make it convincing."

All she got in return was a simple eye roll.

"I know things have been tough without your father."

"You think?" This was so pointless. He didn't need this patronizing lecture.

"Let me finish, for Merlin's sake." She huffed, getting frustrated. "I know you say you don't need help and trust me. I won't force it down your throat. But this drinking problem...it's consuming you. It's dangerous. You don't think

when you're drunk."

"Maybe that's why I do it."

Pansy scowled. " You were lucky this time. Next time, you could end up banging on Dumbledore's door to tell him about your 'great plan'." She warned and although he didn't want to admit it, he knew she was right.

Sighing softly, he looked up from his book to meet pansy's gaze. She was worried. He knew he was responsible for that. Worrying so many people. Didn't they find it tiring? Caring?

"Look. Don't you think I know that already Pansy?"

"If you become that drunk again, the next time you 'won't be thinking', you'll be a corpse." She warned. He could tell she was getting angrier.

"Temper temper, darling. No need to start a commotion. People come here to study." He told her in a slow, patronising tone, wearing a smirk for he knew she'd only get more frustrated and that way, drop the subject.

"I know what you're doing, Dray Dray." Cringing, he saw the victorious smile take place across her lips.

"Besides. I can't promise you I won't do it again. A genius's mind gets loud from time to time." He told her before going back to his book. This earned an amused scoff mixed with disgust.

"Well, genius, next time, don't get so pissed, you end up seducing Potter."

What?

His eyes widened in shock before looking up at Pansy who smirked and got up. Walking over to one of the shelves, she grabbed one of the books from the shelves and glanced through the gap she created. What was she doing?

"Pansy-" He stopped himself as she placed a finger on her lips and gestured for him to come over. Rolling his eyes for the hundredth time, he got up and walked over to her.

"What are you-" But a finger was placed on his lips, stopping him from speaking as she nodded her head towards the gap in the bookshelves. Furrowing his eyebrows, he pushed her finger away before he looked through, heart halting as soon

as he spotted him.

Potter and his friends. The grand, golden trio. Except, Potter looked exhausted and his friends seemed to only be annoying him.

"Apparently, he's been like this all day. No one knows why." Pansy whispered in his ear as he looked through.

"Really.." He whispered, mainly to himself. The three seemed to be discussing something but to Draco, it looked like Harry couldn't care less.

"I wonder why he's so tired. Hmm. He looks pretty distracted too. Oh. I especially wonder what he's writing too." Pansy commentated in his ear and frankly, it resembled the buzzing of an annoying fly.

"Can you shut up?" He hissed, turning to her, their faces too close to each other. She just smirked as always.

"I'm giving you clues. Look at what he's writing."

Draco reluctantly turned back to the tiny gap, peaking through. It was impossible to see but from where he was, he was simply scribbling.

"He's writing nothing. Pansy." He commented as she quietly sniggered, finding this to beutterly frustrating. " Stop it. You keep adding pointless things to your dumb conspiracy theories. This isn't that novel of yours." He whispered

harshly before looking back.

"What?" He could practically feel the heat radiating off of her cheeks. "Where..How..Draco. How on earth did you find out about that?" She furiously whispered.

"I'm not in slytherin for my amazing good looks, although it must've contributed." He whispered back, his eyes still on Potter.

"I swear to god, Draco. You can never just mind your business can you?"

"That's rich coming from you. Now shut up. I want to hear what they're saying." He whispered, holding onto the shelf and peaking through. He really looked exhausted. Not his usual, attractive self...and yes he didn't even bother to contradict

himself. Potter was a good looking guy, wether he hated him or not.

"Snape….late….early…" He watched Granger's lips move as he heard only a few words.

"...late strolls….worried….sorry…" That was the blood-traitor.

"...tired...don't care…. Sleep…." Scarhead. God, they nagged. He almost felt bad for Potter.

He could only catch snippets of their conversation, as well as attempting to lip read.

"What are they saying?" Her warm breath tickled his ear. Pushing her away, he shushed her. "Let me see." Huffing, he struggled to stay upright as she tried to nudge past him.

"For fucks sake." Draco cursed as she pushed him completely off, watching her peak through.

"It's my turn anyway." Running his fingers through his hair, he tapped his foot down impatiently. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Good Merlin. I don't believe my eyes and ears." She gasped, immediately grasping Draco's curiosity.

"What? What's happening?"

"Granger and Potter are snogging." She said with a disgusted yet amused expression.

Draco's face flushed, whether it were anger or embarrassment, he didn't know, but the idea of that Mudblood as much as laying a finger on him made him angry beyond belief.

"How dare she. That stupid, muggle born.." Grabbing another book, a couple away from where pansy was peaking, he looked through the gap, hoping that none of this was happening.

To his luck, nothing. No signs of anyone kissing anyone, the three just talking and working and Pansy snickering from not too far away,

Clenching his jaw, he reached over to her and shoved her, absolutely furious. "Why would you say that?" He growled as she fell back laughing.

"Your...your face," she gasped between laughs, "Made it all worth it." She was almost on the floor.

"Ugh. I hate you so much." He huffed, looking back through the gap.

"We both know that's code for 'I love you more than anything." Pansy smugly stated, taking a deep breath as she calmed down and focused her attention on the trio. The two remained silent as they strained their ears to listen.

"I see that now but…" Potter sighed. "It's hard to explain."

"Come on, Harry. You never tell us anything." Weasel whined.

"Wise if you ask me.." Pansy whispered, earning a 'shh' from Draco.

"I know but I found it hard to. Ever since Sirius…" He looked away. "Look. Can we not talk about this now? I can't think straight."

"No shit." Pansy whispered, causing Draco to unwillingly snicker.

"I know. I'm sorry it's just.. Ron and I are worried about you." Draco pulled away and mimicked retching, Pansy glancing over and covering her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

"Yeah mate. You know we're here for you."

"Thanks Ron. I appreciate it."

"Pansy. I'm struggling to see your point here. Nothing in their conversation suggests I've 'seduced' Potter." He whispered over to her.

"Shh."

"Are...Do you still think Malfoy is up to something?" Weasley asked. Still? What was that supposed to mean?

Potter simply sighed. "No..Not anymore.." He ignored Pansy's glance, listening intently.

"Harry. What happened last night? Neville said when he heard you come back, it was one. I swear Snape could only keep you until eleven."

Draco held his breath. He couldn't give them away, would he? No, he wouldn't. However, he was unbelievably loyal to his friends...Oh god..

"Nothing happened." Two words that caused Draco's heart to pound with relief. Pulling away from the case, he smirked.

"Told you."

Pansy didn't move though, still listening intently.

"So how come you were up so late?" Granger asked, her voice drenched with worry.

"I needed to clear my mind. After we fought, I thought about what you guys said and...you're right. I should just leave Malfoy alone but…" Draco's eyes widened, his grip on the wooden shelf tightening.

"He looks so lonely, you know? So sad all the time and when we fight I.." What? What was he going to say? Why did he stop? Granger and Weasley exchanged a look. "You know what? Never mind. I'm just tired. Ignore what I said."

And that's when Pansy looked over to him with that look that said spill.

"Nothing. Happened." Draco hissed. She was really testing his patience. Pansy rose an eyebrow and crossed her arms, the female way of telling him she didn't believe him.

"What? Don't you trust me?" She pouted jokingly, causing Draco to sigh in frustration. "Okay then. If you don't tell me, I might as well go ask potter myself."

"No!" He exclaimed a little too loudly, causing the trio's heads to turn. Draco and Pansy ducked immediately.

"Did you hear something?" One voice said. Pansy and Draco exchanged a glance.

"I don't think so." Another said. It had to be Granger.

"I'll look." Oh no. Potter.

"You have to be so fucking dramatic don't you." Pansy spat/whispered.

"Me? This is your fault. You can't keep your nose out of anything.

"Oh. Yeah because you're so perfect."

The two began to bicker, drawing attention from the others at the library. The sight of two slytherins crouched down beside a bookshelf, quietly arguing was not something someone could just walk past.

"Just shut up for now. He's coming." Pansy hissed, clamping her hand around Draco's mouth as they lay low.

"There's two books missing. I swear these gaps weren't here before." Potter spoke. Draco rolled his eyes. Because no one ever borrowed books. This was a library after all.

"It was probably nothing." Just this once, Draco felt himself mentally thanking Granger.

"But what if someone was listening in?" Did the Weasel ever know when to shut it?

"Ron. I doubt that." Couldn't they just move back to their table? Draco began to point to their desk but she shook her head, keeping her surprisingly strong hand around his mouth. What was she thinking?

"Look around. Just to be sure." Say no. Say no.

"Fine. And I'm the paranoid one." Shit shit shit no.

But Pansy's grin said otherwise. Pulling him up, she pushed him up against the wall, her hand still around his mouth.

"Pansy. Let go." He tried to say, but his speech was muffled. The footsteps grew louder. What was she doing?! He began to push her away but she simply leaned in and whispered, "Trust me. Just this once." Sighing, he nodded. She'dbetter be knowing
what she was could hear Potter near the corner, so close to seeing them. His breath was caught in his throat. Nope. This was a bad idea. He was going to pay for trusting her.

In the corner of his eye, he could only catch a glimpse of his shoes before feeling something press against his lips. Eyes widening, he was immediately filled with disgusted.

Pansy was...kissing him.

It was wet and sloppy and downright uncomfortable. It made him feel sick. It was practically incest. His body stiffened up.

As soon as he was able to process what was going on, he pushed her away. "What the actual fuck is wrong with you?" His whisper shouted, his fists clenched, shuddering in disgust.

She looked...satisfied though.

"Pansy. You'd better explain what the hell was going through your mind when you decided to do that or I swear to god I-"

"Did you see his face?" She interrupted.

It was inconceivable. What was she going on about? "Pansy. What you just did, I-"

"He looked upset. Pissed actually." Wait. What? Draco fell silent. Why would he get angry about that?

He then heard shuffling and voices, Pansy placing a finger on his lips to keep him quiet.

"Nothing. I just need to take a small nap. I have a headache."

"Do you want to see Madam Pomfrey?"

"No. I'm fine."

Pansy then wrapped her arms around Draco's neck. "Just go along with it. Look like you're interested in me. In love with me." She teased.

"That's asking the impossible." Draco said with an unamused expression.

"Just do it." She demanded, becoming frustrated. He knew she had to have some purpose so he cooperated as he wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Now I'm going to laugh like you said something really funny which you and I both know never happens."

"Why are you-" however he was cut off by pansy busting into a flirtatious laugh, lightly hitting his chest.

"You're so funny Draco." She commented as Potter walked past, glancing at them before stressfully running his fingers through his hair and continuing to walk.

"Did you catch that?" She whispered.

"You mean to say that...Potter's jealous?"

"Ding ding ding! Now that I've proven my point.." She immediately removed herself from Draco. "That was awful. Like kissing a brother." Wiping his lps, he shuddered.

"Never do that again." Draco sighed.

"I wouldn't dream of it. I've proved my point. He wasn't jealous before. He couldn't care less before but now, he clearly hated the idea. You can't tell me nothing happened." She was so fucking persistent.

"I'm not putting up with this anymore." He stated, walking over to their desk and grabbing his bag. Packing away his things, he slung his satchel over his shoulder.

"Oh I'm only teasing, Darling. You do like to be dramatic." Pansy inspected the red polish on her nails, making sure it was still in perfect condition.

"And you don't?"

"Well, I've learnt from the best." He watched as Pansy pursed her lips, holding back her laughter. Having enough, he turned around and left without another word, Pansy's cackles of laughter reaching his ears just before he left throughthe door.