Denying Draco

17 - Something Dark And Strange

Note - Harry has not previously discovered the half-blood prince's book in this story.

Draco observed the scene in front of him, Poppy and Harry at a cosy table with a drink in their hands, staring back at him. Harry's expression was suspicious and curious. Poppy's was an equal mix of discomfort and lust.

All her eyes could fixate on was the sleek, smart black suit Draco was wearing, a big change from his Slytherin robes. She felt her heart thump in her chest as her eyes trailed up and down his attire and when they reached his face again and noticed his unsettled expression at what he was witnessing, she gulped loudly.

'Alright, Malfoy?' Harry called over to him with a blunt tone and Poppy noticed Malfoy blink suddenly, as if breaking out of a daze. He gave Poppy one final glance before he turned and continued through the pub, disappearing out of sight.

'That was weird,' Harry murmured, and Poppy turned around again. She recognised that she was feeling a small sense of guilt. She knew what being here with Harry would have looked like to Draco, as much as it wasn't that at all. Draco was an obnoxious and crude individual who she had no loyalties to and who didn't actually care for her at all but even still, she felt uncomfortable at the thought that it appeared she had quickly moved from one boy to another. She didn't want Draco to think that way of her, as much as she shouldn't care. 'You okay, Poppy?'

'Yeah,' she replied, trying to push thoughts of Draco's confused and seemingly covetous expression out of her mind.

'Don't feel intimidated by Malfoy,' Harry told her. 'God only knows what he's doing in here...' Harry leaned sideways to try and look further down the pub for sight of Draco, but he sat back up and shook his head. 'He's definitely up to something.'

'Hermione said you believe Draco is a death eater,' Poppy said, feeling an eerie shiver down her spine as she said it. She didn't believe this to be true but she was interested to know why Harry thought so.

'It just makes sense,' Harry replied. 'We saw him enter Borgin and Burke's in Knockturn Alley and I swear he showed his arm to Borgin.'

'Why would he do that?' Poppy questioned. 'If he adorned the dark mark then why would he show someone?'

'I don't know,' Harry murmured. 'Possibly to cruelly motivate Borgin to allow him into the store to do whatever the hell it is he's up to. He needed to be in that shop for something...'

'So you think he showed Borgin his arm to scare him?' Poppy asked. 'I don't know, Harry. Draco is a lot of things but a death eater?'

'I know it sounds crazy,' Harry said, shrugging softly. 'It's just a theory. I could be wrong.'

Poppy's mind wandered to the Room of Requirement and her intimate moments with Draco. She tried to remember if she had seen his arm, but the memory wasn't all that clear considering her mind had been too focused on other things when she was with him. As she thought more about it, she realised that both times she had been with him, he had not removed his shirt. His arms had been covered by long sleeves and she would not have been able to spot a mark if she'd wanted to. As she continued to picture the two of them together, trying to remember if she had noticed anything at all, she began to squeeze her thighs together, with the images of Draco pushing her against a wall or lifting her up onto the table causing her to grow heated.

'Poppy?' Harry snapped her out of it with a concerned look. 'Thinking about Draco?'

'Umm...' She tried to avoid blushing and took a quick drink of her Butterbeer and shook her head.

'I know it's quite an extreme accusation but, I just have a feeling, that's all,' Harry explained.

'Yeah, I understand,' Poppy murmured. 'Anyway, how about we change the subject. Do you know what I might have done to upset Ginny?'