Prompt: Challenge
Rated: K
Pairing: Drarry
Beta: writhen heart
Challenge
"Scared, Potter?"
Damn those words. Damn Malfoy, too. Damn everyone.
"Harry? You done, mate?"
Damn Ron.
"Yeah…"
Harry grabbed his towel and dried himself quickly, pulling on his robes in a hurry as Ron stared at him like he possessed cat ears or something equally as absurd.
Malfoy with cat ears.
Stop it, Harry!
"Alright there?" Ron asked, half-amused and half-concerned.
Well, it wasn't Harry's fault he didn't want Ron to catch him with a semi. It was Malfoy's, really.
"Yeah, sure. Coming?"
Ron nodded, pulling on his Weasley jumper.
They found Hermione in the common room, pouring over a book. She looked up when they entered, smiling at them. At least her childish feud with Ron was over now.
"Hi, Harry, Ron. I was just about to start on our Charms homework. Would you like to join?"
"Sure," Ron agreed easily, slipping next to Hermione on the couch and peering over to look at her book.
"I was actually about to head to the pitch," Harry said.
"It's pretty late to be outside, isn't it?" Hermione asked, crunching her nose.
"Hopefully everyone else would think so, too," he answered, smiling.
"Well, be careful. You never know what's lurking out there."
He nodded at her, waving farewell to his friends before leaving the common room, broom secure and tiny in his pocket.
He walked to the Quidditch pitch silently, enjoying the quiet for once. These past few months had been stressful. Between keeping up to date with Malfoy's most recent and undoubtedly evil activities and trying to find a way to get Slughorn to speak, he'd barely had time to just relax.
The pitch was empty, as expected, and completely dark. Harry grinned as he enlarged his broom with a muttered spell and mounted it, kicking off into the air and up to the sky.
He started looping around the pitch, diving every once in a while, and just enjoying the clear air and the feeling of being free when-
"Out for a ride, Potter?" a snide voice pulled him out of his concentration, making him nearly topple off his broom with how close it was.
He turned his broom to see Malfoy hovering behind him, a smirk upon his face.
"Why are you here, Malfoy? No Death Eater dinner tonight?" he snapped back.
Malfoy scowled. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't I?"
Harry flew away from him. Or tried to, anyway, as Malfoy followed close behind.
Harry suddenly turned left, annoyed when Malfoy didn't fail to copy the action, and then sharply right again, faster than the Slytherin for about half a second before he, too, cut right and sped up. Harry swirled in the air, aware of Malfoy following and nearly collided with one of the stands before he surrounded it, so close he could reach out and touch the banners. Malfoy did not fall into that old trick, Harry confirmed with a quick glance back.
Time to forgo the kid gloves.
Harry dived.
Malfoy was close on his heels as he flew towards the ground in breakneck speed.
Malfoy was probably spooked out, because he yelled to him, "You're mad!"
Malfoy had given up, then. Harry pulled straight and glided across the pitch, humming contently as it was quiet once more.
Opening his eyes, he saw Malfoy pull over.
"That was idiotic," the blonde Slytherin spoke.
Harry pulled in close, so fast Malfoy was nearly knocked off his broom. His face was only inches apart from Malfoy's, and he could feel the warm, hitched breath fanning over his face. The startled look in those grey eyes made the corners of his lips twitch upwards slightly.
"Scared, Malfoy?"