Warm But Tainted Blood (Drarry)

chapter eighteen

"Happy March first!" says Draco excitedly, setting down his bag and taking the seat next to Harry. The library was empty except for their little group (composed of Draco, Harry, Hermione, and Fred) so the sound carried.

Hermione stifled a scoff and said, without looking up from her page, "You make it sound like some sort of holiday."

Draco cupped his chin in his hand. "Oh, but isn't it?"

"There's no national or international holidays, wizarding or otherwise, that a god-damn aristocrat such as yourself would celebrate--"

"Shhhh, no one needs your trivia wars," huffed Fred.

Draco flicked him lightly on the forehead. "It's like a holiday because my book should be arriving today."

Harry perked up. "The one involving the Dragon Epidemic? And the wards?"

"Precisely." Draco said. "As it turns out, this isn't the first Dragon Epidemic to occur. A different time, under a different name, but it happened. There was a whole documentation of the ritual that occured. Hard to get a hold of, extremely expensive--"

"--But that's not a problem for a Malfoy, is it?" sighed Fred.

"Never is," admitted Draco shamelessly. "Celebrate to your heart's content because by this time tomorrow, we'll have cracked this whole case open."

"Wishful thinking and I do not respect it," said Hermione, flipping a page.

"Well, Mione, that's just because you don't respect me--"

"And what about it? You're severely lacking in the intelligence and empathy department, so I'm surprised Harry can tolerate you, let alone like you."

Draco bristled. "I am not lacking in any department, thank you very much--"

"Is that so?" Hermione slammed her book shut. "Care to explain why, then, you refused to look into a book that would solve the current national crisis because boo-hoo Harry didn't like you? You're not emphatic, you're not intelligent, and it's insulting to say otherwise."

"'Mione--" said Harry, putting a hand on Hermione's arm.

"No, Harry, let this happen, I'm excited to see how this plays out," whispered Fred giddyly.

"You're mad because it worked," said Draco, clearly unbothered. "You're mad because I know how to use my resources, you're mad because I have more of them. You're pissed, Granger, because I started at the top and will continue to exist at the top. You want me to prove I'm worthy of being Harry's friend-- your words, not mine-- but we are both more than aware that you're only doing so because you're oh so aware that you're not worthy of being Harry's friend--"

"You privileged asshole--"

Harry stands up quickly, knocking into the table and left the library, breathing heavily.

Hermione bit her lip, palming her frizzy hair. "That's... not ideal."

Fred stood, pushing his chair back. "I'm gunna go check up on him." There's the unspoken but very much heard and you should not follow.

Draco and Hermione watch Fred's retreating figure in tense silence. Draco taps his fingers against the wood of the table gently. After a moment, he says, "We should discuss this."

"You think?"

"Exactly that is the issue," said Draco. "We can't keep being at each others throats like this. Not while Harry's around, at any rate. He's... not the stablest at the moment. He's got a lot going on and right now, he doesn't need this. So while I don't respect nor like you and I'm certain the feeling is mutual, can we agree to dimming our debates down into trivia wars-- nothing more, yes?"