Draco Malfoy and the Potions Pupil
AN: Finally a longer chapter! Thanks for the reviews.
Chapter 8: The Borrow and the Return
Fifth year Potions soon became a bittersweet class for Draco. He shamefully looked forward to it because he knew he'd get to see Lily Potter but he also dreaded it for the exact same reason. It was becoming more and more difficult for him to concentrate on teaching a class when he knew that she was in the room.
One morning when he had her class first he went to the classroom early; not really knowing why. He discovered that she had had the same idea and found her waiting at the door.
"You're early, Potter," he stated, trying to keep things casual.
She smiled shyly at him and he found himself returning it. Why had he done that? He opened the door a small bit but kept his hand on the handle. He shot a nervous sidelong glance at her. He couldn't go into the room alone with her, Merlin knows what might happen.
"You can go in and wait, I forgot something, I have to go back and get it," he invented suddenly as he turned and retreated back to his office.
When he reached his office he went in and bolted the door behind him. This had to stop, he couldn't feel this way about a fifteen year old girl; especially not this one. What would Potter do if he found out? Draco dreaded the thought. He looked down at his watch and noticed that there was still about ten minutes before he had to return. He'd just stay here until it was time for the class to start, by that time the rest of the students should have arrived and he could avoid her.
When he did return to the class and had set them to work on a potion he found Lily Potter approaching him at his desk. He pretended not to notice as his heart thumped away in his chest.
"Excuse me, Professor," she said quietly.
"Yes," he said as he looked up. Damn her, he thought as his gaze connected with hers.
"I, er, I forgot my potions book," she said. "May I borrow one?"
He couldn't reply, his voice seemed to have caught in his throat so he just reached into a drawer at his desk and pulled the appropriate book out.
"Thank you," she said as he handed it to her.
He watched her return to her desk and thought, not for the first time, that things were going to get complicated.
xxx
Draco was grateful to find himself at the end of another day. As usual, he had decided to avoid the Great Hall and eat in his room. He had finally been able to have a glass of Firewhiskey too. As the liquid ran down his throat he felt it burn and he felt slightly more courageous. He looked down at the bottle, they didn't make it like they used to, or was it just that he'd drank that much of it now that he felt the effects less? Replacing the bottle to the small table he got it from, he picked up the only other object on the table, a silver photo frame. Astoria's beautiful smile was always torture to look at. Her blue eyes sparkled and he returned the frame to the table as well, turning it away from him. He stood up and went back out to his office. He had some essays that had to be marked. He wondered why he'd even applied for the position now.
He'd just closed the door to his room when he heard a knock at the door and then a muffled gasp.
Frowning he approached the door quickly and opened it. If it was another knock-and-run prank whoever it was would be getting detention for a month! He was pleasantly surprised by who the culprit was this time.
"Potter, is that you?" he said knowing full well that he was looking at the retreating back of Lily Potter.
She'd stopped but still didn't turn to face him.
He felt the Firewhiskey at work within him and unable to help himself said; "Going somewhere?"
He heard her gulp.
"Oh, I thought you mustn't have been in," she said. The lie was evident in her voice.
Still feeling emboldened by his drink Draco proceeded with the conversation.
"I know I'm a wizard Potter, but you give me too much credit, I'm not that fast," he said as he leaned up against the door frame and folded his arms. He couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face.
There was a long pause in which Draco had plenty of time to weigh his options. The decision he made he later reflected probably wasn't the best one.
"Do you want to come in?" he asked. "I'm guessing you came down here for a reason."
She gulped again and Draco shamelessly watched her slowly approach him. He moved aside to allow her to pass and noticed that she looked up and down the corridor before crossing the threshold. As the whiskey hadn't obliterated all sense of caution, he did the same to double check and then closed the door.
What are you doing? a voice in the back of his mind asked but he ignored it and took a seat at his desk, conjuring a chair for Potter at the same time.
"Take a seat," he said.
"Thank you," she replied as she did so.
"What can I do for you?" he asked.
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and he began to listen to the voice in his head telling him to get her the hell out of there.
After a pause she stood up abruptly and held out a book saying; "I just wanted to return your book really, I've found mine so I won't need it anymore, thanks for lending it to me."
The rapidity with which she said this had him questioning himself more than ever.
"Oh," he said as he also stood and took the book from her. Disappointment settled in him. Why? This was good. She was leaving.
He held her gaze as these thoughts flicked through his brain. He looked into her eyes...her eyes, they were almost identical to Astoria's, he suddenly noticed.
"I guess I'll get going..." Potter said slowly. Was that a question or a statement?
When he didn't answer she turned and started for the door.
"Wait," he murmured. He wanted to see her eyes again. See those eyes with life behind them.
He rounded the desk and was on the same side as her now. He had hardly noticed himself doing this.
She turned and swiftly crossed the room again, stopping only inches from him. She looked up at him; looked into his eyes.
He couldn't tear his eyes from her, he just wanted to look into her eyes forever. Involuntarily he reached out and touched her cheek, like he had done so many times with Astoria. She smiled and he was reminded that this was Lily Potter not Astoria...
Knock! Knock!
Someone had knocked on the door. Both Draco and Potter's eyes widened as they heard the voice of Scorpius call out.
"Father, may I come in?"
"Here," Draco whispered as he hurried to a large cabinet that he knew was relatively empty and opened the door. "Get in."
Potter jumped in at once and he closed the door. With a wave of his wand he locked it and then cast the Muffliato charm on it as well.
"Come in," he called as he darted back around the other side of his desk.
He was just sitting down as Scorpius opened the door and entered. He stopped and looked around the room, his eyes hovering on the cabinet that contained Lily Potter.
"What were you doing?" he asked suspiciously as he approached his father.
"Nothing," replied Draco a little too quickly. "Just marking these essays." He indicated the pile of untouched parchment rolls.
Scorpius cast a glance at them and read one of the names that was visible.
"Samantha Fox," he said aloud. "Isn't she a third year?"
Draco wondered where this was going.
"If I'm not mistaken that there is a fifth year potions book, why do you need that to mark third year essays?" he questioned.
Draco's eyes darted to the book on his desk.
"I hardly need to refer to a text book to mark essays, Scorpius," he said calmly. "I am the teacher after all."
Scorpius scrutinised him for a moment before smirking.
"I suppose that's true," he said although his eyes flicked to the book again.
Draco watched him carefully. He always seemed to know more than he should.
"What did you need?" he asked in an attempt to distract his son.
"I was just wondering if you needed me to do anything about Weasley," he said falling back into his usual manner. "To stop her giving you trouble in class."
Draco was almost touched by his son's concern.
"No, that won't be necessary," he replied although the offer was tempting. "I'll deal with her in a more conventional way."
"But detention is so boring," said Scorpius, clearly disappointed.
"I don't think we should draw attention to ourselves," replied Draco firmly. "We don't want people thinking ill of us."
"They already do," said Scorpius moodily.
"Well don't give them more reason to," said Draco, a little fed up now. Potter was probably wondering what was going on.
Scorpius turned to leave but stopped and stared at the cabinet.
Draco bit his lip in anticipation but Scorpius merely dismissed whatever thought had popped into his head and left without another word.
When he was quite sure that Scorpius was gone, Draco released Potter from her hiding place.
He held out his hand to help her up and wished he hadn't. At her touch he was reminded of what he'd almost done. He avoided her eyes, trying to think of a way to get out this.
"Are you ok?" she asked softly.
"It's quite late, maybe you should go back to Gryffindor Tower," he suggested weakly.
"Why? What happened?" she questioned as she reached out to touch him.
He couldn't take it anymore, he had to put a stop to this. Especially now that Scorpius suspected him of something. He quickly grabbed her wrist before her hand made contact.
They were looking at each other again. She looked a little bit scared so he released her.
"I can't do this," he said. "It's wrong, I can't..."
Was he admitting that they had crossed that point, that he recognised the temptation she was to him? Her answer confirmed this.
"It's not," said Potter loudly. "You can, I want you to..."
Her words 'I want you' were too much for him.
"No, Lily, we can't!" he said firmly, surprised by his use of her first name.
He now saw tears in her eyes and it was agony to witness.
"Please Lily," he implored. "We can't do this, not to Scorpius and not to..." he trailed off, unsure if he should reveal the other thoughts that had been holding him back.
"To my father?" Lily questioned and he was shocked to hear that she knew he'd been thinking about it.
He exhaled and closed his eyes, he was struggling to think straight now.
"This has nothing to with him," Lily said. "I make my own decisions."
"This has everything to do with him," Draco shot back, finding himself caught up in the argument. "This is wrong. Not only am I your teacher but you're Harry Potter's daughter."
"Who cares?" she cried out in exasperation.
"I care!" he said now raising his voice too. "And I'm pretty sure he'd care too. Not to mention the rest of your family."
He thought of Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Rose, Albus, Hugo. All of them would hate even the thought of him looking at her in that way let alone anything else. Too much had already happened.
"I'm not dictated to by my family," said Lily fiercely. "I thought you of all people would understand that!"
With that she turned and stormed out of the room.
He didn't try to stop her or go after her; he let her go. The last thing she'd said had hit him hard. So she at least knew a small piece of his past. What else had she heard? What else had Harry Potter told her about him? He suddenly felt the contempt that he'd felt during his school years rise up in him again. He hadn't hated Harry Potter like this in over twenty years.
AN: Please review.