Tainted Love

Achievements in Potions

IRIS

February was more than halfway over, but the air was still stubbornly cold. Iris draped a blanket around her shoulders as she walked around her kitchen, opening drawers and cabinets and searching for the things she needed to make breakfast.

She rarely cooked the muggle way anymore - she didn't usually have time for it - but it was a lazy Saturday and she felt like standing over a pan and watching water boil for a while. Cooking was something like Potions. You had to take your time and get the ingredients right. You have to stir it enough but you can't stir too long. Iris found it therapeutic in the same way.

The door creaked open from beside her and Iris looked up to see Draco walking into the kitchen, his eyes half-lidded and his shirt somewhere on the floor of the bedroom behind him. He was always most calm just after he woke up.

As soon as his eyes opened fully and the last of his sleep washed off him, Iris knew his shoulders would tense. His body would stiffen a little bit, becoming alert to his surroundings. Draco was never fully relaxed unless he was sleeping.

He leaned against the counter and Iris watched him for a second. She liked getting a good look at him before he was completely awake.

Draco talked a lot of shit about her apartment. He complained about the size of her bed (too small), the fact that the bathroom was across the apartment from the bedroom (Iris found this annoying too), and that the temperature was always just a little too hot.

Other times he complained about the stacks of books and clutter on every available surface, or that Iris's main method of organization was just throwing things in the nearest drawer.

It was possible that he actually did hate the apartment. His was nicer by a great deal, with its open floor and modern furniture, and it was always clean and organized.

But Iris thought he couldn't really hate it. He looked more at home in her apartment than he did in his. Surrounded by things. It was easier for him to relax here, for some reason. His body stayed calm for longer.

But he was fully awake now, his eyes darting around the room.

"Good morning," Iris said.

"Good morning," he returned, his voice low from sleep. "What're you making?"

"I haven't really decided," Iris answered. "You can do a lot with boiling water."

"Let me know when you do decide," he said, pushing back off the counter and wandering towards the living room "Then I'll decide how early I'm leaving."

"A thank you couldn't hurt," Iris said to his back as he passed through the open doorway.

He turned back, his hand on the frame. "I'll thank you when I see the finished product."

Iris flipped him off then immediately brought her hand back down to the stovetop to turn down the heat. As she looked through her cabinet for inspiration, she could hear Draco rustling around in the living room. She wondered whether he was lying down on the couch or looking through her shelves.

She got her answer when he reappeared in the doorway, a little plaque in his hands.

"What's this?" He asked, his eyebrows raised. Anticipating his own joke.

"You can read," Iris responded, "I got it at Ilvermorny."

Draco held the plaque up to the light for effect. "Achievements in Potions," he said. "Huh." He swung it down to his side again and looked back at Iris. "Well, if you're the best Ilvermorny has to offer, I rest my case that Hogwarts is the better school."