[4] UNREQUITED ENEMIES ━ Draco Malfoy

12. Bloody Hell

TWELVE BLOODY HELL

     Xander really wanted this Draco Malfoy business to be over -- and that was something he never thought he would say -- but he promised Diana he would get to the bottom of this so he supposed he owed it to her to keep following him even if it was utterly ridiculous at this point. He had attempted to apologize to Draco for exploding the way he had on the train, but the blond hadn't given him the time of day and Xander supposed he deserved that. It wasn't like him to be a dick like that, and he didn't like the feeling it left in his chest -- like there was tar bubbling in the bottom of his heart. It was awful. He really wanted to make things right with Draco, he hated when people hated him. Sure, Draco had always "hated" him, but that had felt different than it did now.

So, that was how he ended up tailing Draco Malfoy for what felt like the hundredth time that year and they were barely over halfway through. Sixth year certainly had taken a turn Xander hadn't expected -- that's for damn sure. On the plus side of things, Diana had finally mustered up the courage to ask Justin out which meant she wasn't as on his ass about the Draco thing. Although, he knew at this point he had a bit more explaining to do than him just being curious. It was more than that and he knew it, but that didn't mean he was going to admit such a thing to himself. That was a can of worms that could certainly wait to be opened.

As he was tailing Draco, he watched the boy disappear into the Room of Requirement, but he noticed the doors faded away much quicker than they usually did. That was strange, Xander noted, they always stayed open long enough for Xander to sneak in behind Draco if he wished. However, there was an unexpected obstacle as the dark-haired boy went to approach the blank brick wall and he ran smack into thin air.

"Ow!" he exclaimed as he stumbled back, not expecting to meet some strange invisible force. Did he piss off Draco so much that the boy set protection enchantments on the room? Surely he couldn't do such a thing -- the Room of Requirement wasn't exactly something that could be controlled. However, he heard someone else's voice which was odd considering he was definitely alone in the hallway.

"Bloody Hell," a familiar voice rang in his ears and he watched Harry Potter's head appear out of thin air and then the rest of his body. A cloak was in his hands -- a cloak that apparently was charmed to make Harry invisible. Xander had never seen such a thing. How the hell had Harry gotten his hands on one of those?

"Potter!" he exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" Harry exclaimed as he looked up at Xander. He was shorter than him which always made Xander happy. He loved being taller than people, it hardly ever happened and he wasn't even that short to begin with. "I thought you were done following Draco after the incident on the train! I mean, that shit looked pretty serious."