𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓

Chapter 22

Previously...

Harry spent his first night back at Hogwarts out on the club circuit with Zach, then brought the inebriated Junior back to the dorm with him. This was enough to send Draco over the edge, and Zach was awarded a concussion for his unwanted presence. Later, Draco received a bouquet of roses from a not-so anonymous source, which didn't sit very well with Harry. Zach made his discovery of Draco's secret known in the form of blackmail.

Mother Knows Best

Chapter Twenty-Two

The Art of Giving In

It was a sad thing, Draco realized, watching Potter trying to please some girl he hardly knew even though he could care less about what she had to say. The dance being just a day away, Cho was determined to make absolutely sure nothing went wrong, and that meant asking Potter's detailed opinion on everything. The color of her dress, the way she planned to wear her hair, everything. Worse than that was how obvious it was to anyone watching that Potter didn't have the slightest clue what to say. To any of it. It was the train wreck nobody could stop watching.

"Looks like your boyfriend's moved onto greener pastures, eh?" Nott smirked as he passed their table. His amused eyes were focused on Harry and Cho, so whether he was speaking to Zach or Draco was unclear.

Ron sighed. "And that was our daily dose of bigotry, brought to us by Hogwarts' very own Theodore Nott."

Zach's amused snort caught everyone's attention. "Theo? Please. He couldn't be more transparent if he tried. I think it has something to do with him being faster than a speeding bullet, if you get my meaning."

It was lunchtime in the Great Hall, and seeing as Cho had pulled Harry away for the umpteenth time this week to discuss the dance, the raven's roommates were left to deal with Zach's company on their own and without anyone to act as mediator. Looks were cast in Draco's direction every so often, searching for the slightest hint of anything resembling aggression, but so far, it seemed Draco couldn't be more indifferent to the junior's presence.

Since their little agreement, Zach was acting nothing short of entitled, his confidence hitting the ceiling and going through the roof in wake of his so called victory. It was a new level of pretentious. If Draco was the only thing standing in his way before, the junior had free reign now, and he was positively basking in it.

Seamus' brow wrinkled in confusion, the Superman reference throwing him off. "Transparent about what?"

"Uh-uh," Dean shook his head in denial, catching on quickly to Zach's unspoken implication. "I'm not buying it."

"Believe what you want," Zach shrugged carelessly, but no way could the subject be dropped there.

"How would you know anyway?" Ron asked, only half doubtfully.

The redhead had suffered through Harry gushing about Zach before, the raven waxing lyrical about what a good person the blonde-haired boy actually was when you got to know him, as if trying to convince him that the junior had his good points. Ron seriously doubted that, having spent time in the younger boy's company when the raven wasn't around, but that was beside the point. Harry had divulged more information than Ron ever wanted to know about their relationship, conversations inquiring where the line was between 'rough' and 'violent', and if even half the things the raven had mentioned in confidence were true, Zacherias Smith was one kinky son-of-a-bitch. Ron wouldn't put it passed him to hook up with the most homophobic guy in school.

"I guess you could call it first hand experience," Zach said, smirking at his own innuendo.

It took a second for the double meaning to sink in and after it did, Seamus left everyone behind in stunned silence with, "No way! Really? When?"