Melody Riddle and the Order of the Phoenix

Chapter 44: Common Ground

 The room was tense, the air between Draco and myself was afrizz with dangerous electricity as I glared at him. The date had every means to go smoothly — it had been absolutely beautiful, even — so why did it have to go so wrong so fast?

Draco's ego as far as Harry Potter was concerned wasn't a surprise. Hell, I could usually brush it off as nothing more than just Draco being Draco... it was all I'd ever seen of him since the day we first met after all. So why? Why did it bug me so much just then?

... Because how long could I possibly bear to hear about the same person — every second of every day — from two people of differing importances in my life? Nothing against Harry, of course... but oh my God. Was there no other interesting subject in my life? Could there be no one else to focus on?

"Why are you so angry all of a sudden?" Draco asked with furrowed eyebrows. "It's not my fault Potter mucked up his date so publicly. He was asking for an audience!"

I ground my teeth together in frustration. "Can you not think about Harry Potter for even one second?"

His furrowed eyebrows raised indignantly at me. I sensed a barrier rising up in his mind, blocking any possible intrusion as if he believed I was going to charge my way in there. "Me think about him? He didn't even cross my mind until he came in here and ruined the atmosphere with his presence!"

"You had no reason to even be bothered with him," I snapped. "So what if his date didn't go so well? Ours was doing just fine until he came in, and he was suddenly all you could pay attention to!"

"Mel —" he reached his hand across the table for mine, though I swiftly retracted it. His eyes were decidedly not regretful, but who could know when he'd blocked his mind and emotions off from me? "You're overreacting. We can still have a good date — he's gone now. Out of sight, out of mind."

It's not that easy, I thought with an infuriated scowl. "That's not good enough, Draco. Why is it that no matter what's going on, you quickly get distracted the moment he's around? And you always have something unpleasant to say to get him worked up."

"Melody — please, don't — don't do this right now," Draco said with an adamant shake of his head, his tone disapproving. As though I was really about to be shaken by him getting upset about the turn of events.

"Don't do what?.. Huh? Tell you how much it annoys me when you do that? I guess I shouldn't be surprised, considering the last time I took Potter's side was when you and I were on bad terms for about half a year. We may have made up, but how I felt about it didn't change...."

His mouth went taut in such a way that it was obvious he'd clenched his teeth, along with his hands pressed firmly against the table. No response was given other than a furious but lost gaze from him.

"What — just what do you get out of being so nasty to him?" I asked.

Draco turned his head away from me, staring vacantly at the empty table Harry and Cho had been sitting. "I wouldn't expect you to understand... you act like you don't even know what side you're on half the time."

I leaned back in my seat, a failed attempt at hiding a pained flinch as I stared at the side of his tense face. My barriers were built up in my mind full force, steeling my gaze as I pondered the conundrum before me. Is this really what everything comes down to...? Another problem with my double life, if I can call it that....? Unless I pick the side of the Order, I won't get Becky back... and unless I pick my dad's side as his fully loyal ally, it sounds like I won't have Draco. Why can't being a spy be easy? Why does it look so easy when Severus handles it?