Because I Deserve It - Drarry

Chapter 17

The next morning, Harry woke up entirely exhausted. The nightmares were really too much. He didn't know how much longer he could survive them. Harry resolved to stay in bed until at least lunch.

Unfortunately, his so-called friends had other plans for him.

In the most unlikely pairing possible, Ron and Draco had seemingly teamed up to drag him out of bed and force him to do things. Like laze about in the common room and play chess and exploding snap.

"I still don't understand why I couldn't have done this in bed," Harry grumbled from his spot on the couch. He was stretched out, head tilted back on the armrest and eyes closed, looking for all the world like he was fast asleep. Unfortunately for him, the noise of the common room kept him from drifting off.

"Don't be boring," Draco chided him from across the chessboard, where he was playing a rather spectacular match against Ron. Harry reminded himself to thank his best mate for making an effort. Harry raised his head just enough to glare at the smug Slytherin.

Harry narrowed his eyes at him, then glanced at the chessboard. The pieces were oddly quiet, for once not shouting out nonsensical 'advice'. Maybe they sensed the skill of both players involved. Harry once again lifted his eyes to scrutinize Draco's now falsely innocent expression.

"Ron, I would watch out if I were you. Draco's Slytherin's prince, after all. He didn't earn that position for nothing." Harry warned his mate without taking his eyes off of Draco, whose face had twisted into that of mock outrage that couldn't quite disguise his pride at his title.

"Only the Golden Boy of Gryffindor would say such things," Draco accused him, eyes sparkling with mischief. Harry's heart skipped a beat, but he ignored it for all he was worth. "Takes one to know one," he retorted sweetly.

But sure enough, within a couple moves, Draco had Ron's king trapped. "Checkmate," he announced smugly. Ron rolled his eyes good-naturedly. Harry was beyond happy that his two friends could get on without murdering each other. He really owed Ron for this.

He spent the rest of the day relaxing and ignoring Hermione's and now Draco's constant nagging to do his homework. The only difference between them was that Hermione was either cajoling or strict, whereas Draco was snide and often insulted his intelligence as a sort of method to goad him into working. He started to wonder why he had never befriended the Slytherin before if he got on so well with the other two thirds of his trio. They could have been a quartet. With a touch of wistfulness and regret, he contemplated what might and might not have been. Harry put that to a stop quickly. It wouldn't do to dwell on things of the past.

————————————————————————

Harry awoke yet again from a nightmare. This was one he had often. He was alone in the old cavern where he and Dumbledore had gone to find a horcrux, which turned out to be fake. But this time, Dumbledore wasn't there to save him from the inferi, and they dragged him down into the dark depths of the murky lake.

Harry grabbed his cloak and map, muttering the words he knew would activate the clever spell his father and his friends had wrought on the parchment. As the lines of ink smoothly appeared, he hurried through the hall and empty common room, slipping out with a familiarity born of routine.

He slowed down once he was in the halls, pausing to wrap the cloak around his body. He ambled around for a bit, scanning the corridors on his map for any sign of a teacher. His eyes were caught by a familiar name. Draco Malfoy was steadily making his way along a hall that would soon meet up with Harry's. He frowned. Usually, he looked over at the blond's bed to make sure he was asleep, especially after that first incident. He must have forgotten in his rush.