Coveting Thy Enemy

Chapter 15: Boiling Point

Draco Malfoy was in a bad mood. No, he wasn't in a bad mood; he was in a bad mood yesterday and the day before that, and for the whole week for all that it mattered. But, today he was boiling. He felt like one of the cauldrons in Snape's class, Neville Longbottom's cauldron, the one that always seemed to boil over and explode. It didn't help that he had slept in and was now late for Potions. He was never late for Potions, damn it. He exited his private room and crossed the Slytherin common room. Unfortunately for them, two other Slytherins were also late. Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson were seated in front of the fireplace chatting it up. Since he felt the need to yell at somebody, anybody, they would do. After all, old habits die hard. "What the hell are you two doing in here? Did you look and see what time it is? You're both five minutes late for Potions!" he yelled, flashing an icy stare from one to the other.

"You're late, too," pointed out Pansy quite logically.

"Damn right I'm late. I'm Head Boy, I can be late whenever I wish, but as for you two, you have no excuse," Draco growled. "Now, get to class. NOW!" he yelled. He then crossed the room slamming the door. Blaise and Pansy heard several more thumps after he departed. Obviously slamming it wasn't enough, it now sounded as if he was kicking it with all his might.

"What was that tantrum about?" Blaise asked Pansy, obviously in no hurry to get to class. Pansy only shrugged. They were used to Malfoy's moods by now, but they usually knew what they were about. This one didn't seem premeditated.

When Draco entered the Potions classroom, all eyes were on him. He stalked over to his seat beside Harry and sat down. He knew his Uncle Severus wouldn't punish him for being late, not just because he was his nephew and a Slytherin, but also because his Head Boy status gave him certain privileges. Still, Draco was late, and he hated being late. Not only that, he realized quickly, he was unprepared. Reaching for his quill and parchment to take notes, he realized there was no quill or parchment. He forgot to bring them with him. Fuck! Harry nudged his arm with his elbow. "Here," he said, pushing over a roll of parchment and his extra quill. "We'll have to share my ink, though."

"Mr. Potter, are you quite finished with your little conversation?" Professor Snape boomed suddenly from the front of the room.

"Yes, sir," mumbled Harry. It wasn't out of the ordinary for Draco to get him into trouble in this class.

"Good, then maybe you can tell me what the third ingredient for this potion is?"

"No, sir."

"Ten points from Gryffindor for Potter's lack of hearing," said Snape with a smirk.

When they were finished taking notes, they paired off for the lab assignment. They were working on a sleeping draught that would promote good dreams. Harry collected all the ingredients for the potion, and he and Draco began cutting, slicing, and squashing them, adding them to the cauldron when they were ready. They worked in silence. Once in a while, Harry would look at Draco's sullen expression and shiver. He decided not to speak; he knew what the receiving end of one of those expressions could be like all too well. When the cauldron began to boil, Harry began stirring it clockwise.

"You're supposed to stir it counterclockwise, Potter," Draco said, the sarcasm in his voice slicing through the silence.

"No, it's clockwise," said Harry, continuing his stirring.

"Damn it, Potter. Since when have you been an expert at Potions? I get the better marks, so when I say counterclockwise, you do as I say!"

"Well, Malfoy, being as how you were late for class, you missed the stirring method, so sod off," said Harry quite exasperated with Draco's foul mood. Draco had been short with him all week, and it was beginning to wear on his nerves.

"You didn't even know what the ingredients were when he asked you, you git. Give that to me, " said Draco, trying to yank the long handled wooden spoon out of Harry's hand. Harry flung his arm back and his elbow hit the cauldron, knocking it off its stand. It pitched over and the contents, hitting the cold floor, splattered about ten feet in all directions. Everyone within that distance was covered in bright yellow goo, including Draco and Harry. Draco rounded on Harry, about ready to start another verbal attack when Snape grabbed both of them by their robes and yanked them out of the room.

"What the hell was that all about?" he asked once they were in the hallway.

Draco was the first to speak. "Harry was stirring the potion all wrong. He was stirring it clockwise."

Harry started to reply when Professor Snape cut in. "It's supposed to be stirred clockwise, Malfoy. If you had gotten to class on time, you would have known that," he said, looking down his long nose in disapproval. Harry couldn't help but to feel a little smug. Not only had Snape acknowledged that he was right, but he was yelling at his own nephew for the first time he could remember.

"Now, I don't know what you two are arguing about, but I expect you to keep your little lover's quarrels out of my classroom!" the Professor said. "And, furthermore, you will both stay after class to clean up your mess, and while you're at it, you can reorganize the shelves in the storeroom. You will stay here until class is dismissed, then you can get to work," he commanded, leaving the boys alone in the empty corridor.

Once Snape was gone, Harry turned to Draco. "What was that 'lover's quarrel' business, did you tell him about us?" asked Harry of the sulking Slytherin.

Draco shrugged, " I may have," he admitted, not meeting Harry's eyes.

"But, why would you tell him?"

"He's my uncle, and I trust him."

Harry wasn't sure rather to be upset or delighted. He wasn't sure if he wanted his least favorite teacher to know he was dating his nephew or not. But, it was rather nice to know that Draco had thought enough of their relationship to tell the only family member he could tell. Since he was undecided, he decided not to make an issue of it either way. At least he knew Snape could keep a secret.

It took them about an hour to scrape the goo off of the Potions room floor, and they were now working on putting the storeroom in order. It was quite a job since students were allowed to get their own ingredients. Everything had to be realphabetized and placed in orderly rows on the shelves.

"Well, at least we didn't get detention," Harry said, looking at Draco, who was busy dusting a shelf. Draco didn't answer him. This was the fourth time Harry had tried to speak to him, and he was tired of talking to himself. He stalked over to the Slytherin and pulled the feather duster out of his hand, and began shaking it at him as he spoke. "Alright, I'm about sick and tired of this mood, Malfoy. Either you're going to tell me what's up your arse, or I'm going to beat it out of you!"

"Really," drawled Malfoy in reply, "Are you going to do it with that feather duster, Potter, because I don't know if I'm that kinky."

Harry saw red. He threw the duster down and pushed Draco up against the shelves with the heel of his hand. Draco wasn't the only one who could get inhumanly strong when he was angry. "You know, Malfoy, you could at least have enough guts to tell me that you don't want to see me anymore," he hissed in Draco's face. Draco could feel the exhalation of air on his neck and all the tiny hairs on his body raised to attention.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" he asked once he stopped shivering.

Harry let go of him. "Christ, Draco. You've barely spoken to me all week, and when you do it's to say the nastiest thing you can think of. What am I supposed to think?"

"I don't pledge to die for someone on a whim, Potter."

"Then, will you please tell me what's wrong so I can try to fix it?" asked Harry, not liking the pleading sound in his voice.

"You don't want to know."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Damn it, Draco. Tell me what's wrong!"

Draco grabbed Harry's wrist and pulled Harry's hand down so it was cupping his crotch. Harry's eyes widened at what he felt pulsating there. His eyes flashed up at Draco who was a little red in the face. "You wanted to know. I'm fucking horny, Potter, and it's just about killing me."

Harry pulled his hand away from Draco's erection. He could feel a blush radiating from his face, giving off heat to an otherwise chilly room. "You could have told me that," he whispered.

"Why, so I could have seen you blush sooner?" Draco smirked. He had been in a bad mood for a long time. "So, do you really want to fix it, Harry? Because the only way I can see about fixing it is my shagging you right here on the storeroom floor." His voice switched from angry to tender when he saw Harry blush even more "Shit. I'm sorry, Harry. I tried to stay away from you because I knew you weren't ready for this."

Harry watched as Draco's expression changed. He always loved it when Draco looked at him like this because he knew he was the only one Draco had ever looked at in that tender way. The only thing Draco didn't know was that Harry had been similarly frustrated for quite some time. He was just better about controlling his emotions than Draco. Draco always went to extremes, that was one of the things Harry not only liked, but also despised about him. "We could, you know," he said softly.

"Could what?" Draco asked.

"We could, you know."

Draco clenched his teeth. His anger was starting to simmer again. Sometimes Harry's innocence and naivety irked him. Especially now, considering the state he was in. "You can't even say it. You're not ready."

"No, I am. Just not here in the dungeon. How about tonight, we could meet in our classroom. How does eleven o'clock sound."

Draco stared at Harry dumbfounded. First of all, Harry had insulted him by agreeing to a pity shag, now he was actually scheduling it. "Right, Potter. I'll tell you what, why don't you just make up a calendar. You can draw little fireworks in on the dates you want to screw!" he yelled and stalked from the room.

Harry stared after him. "Shit, Fuck, Damn, Hell!" he yelled, staring at the spot Draco had just hurriedly vacated. He had just put his foot in his mouth and swallowed it. Things were never easy with Draco. It seemed as if he always knew what to say, but when he said it, it came out twisted and backward. He didn't mean for Draco to think he wanted him out of pity. Actually, he wanted to explain that he did want to move their relationship up a notch, but now Draco had other ideas. Harry thought over the situation for a few minutes. If Draco wanted romance and spontaneity, he could give him that, he decided. And, with that in mind, he began finishing the work Draco had left him with.