The Secret's In The Telling by Sakuri

chapter 22

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one

Chapter 22: Never Friends

xxx

Draco stirred into wakefulness, stretching amid the tangle of pleasantly warm sheets. With him, something else stirred.

Potter's pet snake, he'd discovered, had the irritating habit of being drawn to body heat. This wasn't the first morning he'd woken to find her curled neatly atop his stomach. Rolling his eyes, he slid the creature off him so she landed in an inelegant pile on the bed, hissing furiously. He was gone before she could think to bite.

He yawned and padded toward the shower. At the very least, the thing was proving to be a very low-maintenance house guest. She was too small to eat mice, which would have left a mess, so occasionally he'd transfigure the odd piece of lint into a cricket, and let her hunt the chirping insects while he was in class. By the time he got back, his rooms were inevitably silent again.

Her Gryffindor owner was proving a much bigger problem. How naïve, Draco thought, that he hadn't expected Potter to be the clingy type. He'd been her every day this week for no other reason than to see the bloody snake. Then he'd sit, sometimes for hours, talking to her in that eerie language of theirs that did not make the Slytherin shiver...

At first, Draco had handed the creature over and disdainfully closed the portrait. But then he'd noticed Potter wasn't leaving after his dismissal. The prat would sit in the hall directly outside, only breaking his conversation to chuckle or, occasionally, address Lilith. Realising Potter was only drawing all the wrong attention – of Slytherins who knew exactly where his new room was – Draco had reluctantly relented, and allowed the Gryffindor inside for his visits. They didn't talk – after all, they weren't friends, no matter what Severus thought – and often Draco found himself vacating his own rooms in search of company, while Potter remained on his couch, hissing away.

The Slytherin had also determined a reasonable explanation for his moment of insanity, which had put him in this ludicrous situation. It was Dumbledore's spell of obedience. It had to be. Just as the terms of their agreement said, he'd been compelled to offer his help because he could help, and therefore had to.

There was no other explanation.

The shower offered him the usual warm relief, but for once he refrained from wanking. He'd need all that tension and adrenaline for the match scheduled in a few hours against Ravenclaw. Chang was a good Seeker, now that she'd finally stopped crying every five minutes, and she had herself a vicious reputation among the other Houses. He didn't plan to underestimate her.

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"What time is it?" Ron asked.

Harry checked his watch. "Half eleven."

The redhead grinned and looked eager, cramming another buttered breadroll into his mouth before standing. "We should get going soon, we'll be late."

"Not like you to be punctual," Hermione commented, glancing at him.

Harry snorted. "Yeah, but this is Quiddich. Different rules." He half covered a yawn and got up to follow Ron.

Hermione sighed and quickly shoved a book under her arm to hurry after them. "It's not even as if Gryffindor's playing, Ron. I don't see the big excitement."

"No, but it's a chance to see Malfoy have his ass handed to him. Cho's a brilliant flyer. No way she'll lose to that git."

Automatically, Harry opened his mouth to add his opinion, then nearly choked in an attempt to stop himself. Okay, so now was not a good time to re-start the ongoing argument over Malfoy by saying he actually thought the Slytherin was a better player. Ron had become more venomous than ever when reminded of the blonde's mere existence, as if trying to convince Harry of all the reasons they hated him. Harry wasn't sure how to react to this. Though hardly on best terms with the werewolf, even now, he was growing uncomfortably aware that there was no longer the same bitterness between them. He might have thought this one-sided on his part, except that he sincerely doubted Malfoy would have allowed him anywhere near his rooms last year, let alone trust him to remain there alone. Besides, the Slytherin had proven he was capable of being civil when they were alone – something Harry would have laughed at only months ago. And then there had been the nights of the full moon, which were a different experience all together…