Rivals | D.M

40. The Spoilt Potion

A/N early update!! things are gonna start getting interesting 🤔 hope you're ready!

Draco's POV

I watched as she frustratedly stirred the pewter cauldron steaming in front of her. We were supposed to be partners in this but I couldn't bring myself to talk to her. The way she pushed me away instantly not only made my blood boil but I felt all air in my lungs suck out in one swift motion. I didn't want to feel that.

She was also silent as she worked, she hadn't spoken to me since I told her she couldn't crawl back to me. Instead she threw her fury into the black smoking cauldron. Every now and then I saw her flick her eyes towards Harper, her eyebrows furrowed and stern. Harper was ignoring the blazing looks and instead focusing on her own work but I could tell she was flustered. She kept dropping her ladle and cursing under her breath.

They were so similar, Aster and Harper. Both stubborn, both fiery, but Aster was warm amidst her fire, Harper always seemed to leave ash in her wake. I remember Bainbridge's tryst with Peter Higgs, a half blood a year older than us. She completely ripped his heart into two when she decided to leave him stranded at the Yule ball to go with a Hufflepuff. The wet blanket had pissed off the whole Slytherin house for weeks, with his incessant winging and outbursts. She just laughed every time she saw him glaring at her when she strolled through the common room. At least Aster had the decency to cringe every time Harper chuckled at Higgs' expense. I'm pretty sure she said sorry to the poor bloke once.

I had no idea why the two were always so inseparable. Maybe Blaise was the calm to their burning storm. He didn't seem as bad as I always thought him to be.

Aster's yelp pulled me out of my thoughts. She had ironically burnt a strand of hair from a wafting flame. Her cheeks were bright red and her stern eyes made the whole look quite humorous.

She slumped onto her stool in defeat. In the corner of her eyes I spotted a trickle of a tear. The sight made my heart skip a beat.

"Don't fucking cry over a spoilt potion Flint" I scoffed.

Her eyes turned heavily to me, shooting fiery daggers.

"Maybe you could actually help me" she said through gritted teeth.

"Nah" I simply said, giving her a smirk.

This time my smirk didn't work. Her wet eyes draw themselves back to her cauldron.

Her stubbornness made me furious. I had no idea where it came from but I hated the fact she simply relented and didn't give me anything back.

I shoved my stool closer to hers, and instantly grabbed her thigh with my right hand underneath the table. I squeezed possessively, enjoying the heat radiating from her bare skin.

"Don't turn away from me" I hissed into her ear.

He shoulders tensed at my breath on her ear. I was too close to her in such a public place but I couldn't let her dismiss me like that.

"Fuck off" she whispers back.

I watch as she looks towards Crabbe and Goyle. She finds them both dumbly fussing over their own cauldron.

"They aren't paying attention to us. But I will need you paying attention to me" I whisper, causing her to turn her head slightly towards me. Her eyes don't look at me, instead they look down at her textbook.

"Darling, are you listening to me?"

She nods her head ever so slightly, and I feel her legs clamp together.

"No I need you to relax" I order, pushing her leg off my hand still clamped on her thigh.

"You can't come crawling back to me and expect me not to punish you for how you acted"