My Obsession

Draco knew that he shouldn't have opened his mouth and asked the bloody question that had been bothering him for years, but now that he had he could only hope that the stupid oaf would forget about it.

Maybe he could fix up some sort of accident in potions, giving the Boy-Who-Wouldn't-Die boils and successfully distracting him from all thoughts Malfoy-related.

But that was such an awful thing to do to poor Raven's skin. Yes, the boy was a prick, but still, he was a Potter, and that line had about as much influence as the Malfoys had.

That didn't mean that he couldn't do it to the red-headed-weasel-that-had-to-have-been-born-under-a-rock, though. That bloody dunce could even thank him for it later, it would certainly improve his looks.

But as Potions came and went no particularly ugly boils appeared. Well, except for on that Longbottom fellow, but that was to be expected. Besides, the dimwit had melted another cauldron, and was lucky the thing hadn't exploded in his face. Why Snape couldn't just drop him and let him fail the class was beyond him, but then again, everything that creepy headmaster did was...well, creepy, so it was to be expected.

He had been watching Potter all through class - when he wasn't Perfecting his Perfect Potion, that is - and was pleased to note that the boy was distressed over something, and fumbling horribly. Only the Mudblood had managed to save his potion this time. Drat.

What Draco wasn't pleased about was the possible cause of that distress - and no, that question from earlier hadn't bothered him at all, ThankYouVeryMuch. No, what worried him more was the fact that Raven had been late to breakfast, and had actually gone. That never happened.

Never.

Nevernevernevernevernevernevernever.

Hm...his transfiguration of a bunny into a trunk was slightly off. The black snakeskin looked to have a few white hairs in places, and that was most definitely iron lining, not silver. And the lock was shoddy.

Well, at least he had transfigured his rabbit into something useful. That stupid bint across the way - Brown, maybe? - had somehow managed to turn her bunny invisible, and the other one was hugging something Cute and Furry. The rabbits were supposed to change, not grow larger, the freak.

But Potter seemed to be doing well in this class, at least compared to potions. He wasn't fidgeting anymore, anyway. Apparently he had decided to ignore Draco's question from earlier and move on.

Draco couldn't decide whether he should be relieved or miffed. After all, he hadn't wanted the-Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Bloody-Much to answer the question - it was a stupid question, anyway; Potter hadn't chosen his friends for their smarts or their looks, but for their proximity to him, apparently - but then again, he was a Malfoy. And Malfoys were Never Ignored.

Raven-Watching was his favorite game of the past five years, but never had the game ever turned on him this way. First it had been a way to annoy the teen and his No-Good-I'd-Rather-Spit-On-Myself-Than-Associate-With-You friends, and then it had been a way to Avoid Danger, because wherever Potter and his friends were danger was soon to follow, and then it had just been habit.

Hadn't it been his father who said that to know one's enemy was to know one's self? Or was that know your enemy better than you know yourself?

Well, let's see...he knew that Raven loved Hot Chocolate - it was practically life for the other boy, and a sure way to get his attention in the early hours - but that was most likely something that everyone noticed, at one point or another.

He wondered if Raven noticed that he always drank coffee in the morning, and tea after dinner?

Anyways, there was nothing wrong with that. Knowing the boy's schedule was pure strategy. Knowing where the problem was cured most problems, at least, that's what he had been told, so it only made sense that he knew where his Raven was at all times.

And no, that Raven-Finder map had nothing to do with it.

Nothing at all.

Seriously.

Raven's favorite color was blue, if his clothes were anything to go by. True, he only had rags for clothes (and those didn't even fit, was Potter blind?) but he had those in a surprising array of colors, of which blues were the most predominately worn. And that flannel had looked absolutely atrocious on him, so hopefully he wouldn't have noticed that Draco had coerced Dobby into bringing it into the Slytherin dorms, where it had met a proper Death-By-Fire.

Honestly, the boy should be thanking him for his generous deeds. If Draco had noticed, then surely the whole school had noticed that small bit of red peeking out from his robes that morning.

It was a miracle that utterly dreadful fashion statement hadn't found its way to the Daily Prophet!

Gleefully remembering how well that horrid red shirt had gone up in lovely green flames - House Spirit always had to be appreciated - Draco turned his trunk back into a rabbit with a quick flick of his wand - the one in his hand, you perverts. Making certain he caught Potter's eye - the boy had yet to transfigure his rabbit into anything. Honestly, how low could he go? But he still wasn't fidgeting - Draco smirked and transfigured the animal back into a Proper Trunk, ThankYouVeryMuch.

Draco frowned. Except now the lock was twitching suspiciously. Well, it helped keep Trunk Thieves away, Don'tChaKnow. I mean really, how could they break into a trunk when they couldn't get the key in the hole? Made perfect sense to Draco, at least, and so he settled down to wait out the rest of the period.

And no, he was not watching Raven try to transfigure his rabbit. Honestly. He didn't know that the boy had given his rabbit cat ears, which was why he wasn't trying to hold in laughter. Seriously.

Oh, stuff it, so he was watching the pathetic boy attempt to rectify his mistake. Go tell someone who cares.

...

On second thought, don't. He might transfigure you into a trunk, instead of innocent rabbits.

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Mondays must have been the most wretched day of the week. Honestly, someone had to of been a right devil to create them. Monday mornings weren't too bad - breakfast-with-Raven-Watching followed by two periods with stupid Gryffs wasn't bad, when you counted in the fact that Draco could keep an eye on Potter - but after lunch things just went downhill. Divinations was completely boring, and so Draco was forced to feel sorry for Raven while he studied Ancient Runes, and then classes were over until dinner, meaning that Raven could be ANYwhere, and that stupid Mudblood would be hogging the library space. The Slytherin dorms would be all but empty as its students either looked for trouble to cause or got in their Monday Afternoon Shag.

Really, some of the students here were absolute sluts.

All of this made lunch none-too-enjoyable. He could sit and watch his Raven, but then he wouldn't get any food, and if he ate, then he couldn't watch Raven (and there was the added threat of possibly gaining weight. Right horror, that).

Hm...where would Raven go during his free time?

Mental checklist!

Quidditch Pitch; too early in the season, the pitch was closed for flying lessons for the first years. It wouldn't open up for practices for another two weeks.

Library; well, no really pressing assignments had been given, unless the other got something from Divination. That 3-foot essay on Adder's eggs wasn't due until Friday, and it would be easy (at least, for him it would be). Not to mention the fact that Potter liked to avoid homework, and that the Library equated to Evil in his mind - or so one could assume from his lack of presence there.

Gryff Common Room; not likely. What did those filthy Mudblood and Mudblood-lovers do in there, anyway? Note to self: must find out.

Hmm....well, Draco couldn't honestly think of anywhere else he was likely to be. He did disappear into odd places at odd times, but that was None of His Business, ThankYouVeryMuch.

Which was why he had decided to get the finder after Runes. After all, he had to make certain that Raven forgot that Not-Very-Pressing-Question-No-Need-To-Answer, didn't he?

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No, he wasn't fidgeting during Ancient Runes. It was, as they say, a Very Interesting Subject, and required Total Attention. It was certainly better than that hack-job Trelawny's class (how did she keep her job anyway? Any prophecy she gave was certain to be a bunch of lies and half-remembered lines from ancient books). For that, and that only, Draco was grateful. It could only be better if Raven had taken this class as well, but the boy seemed determined to have his death predicted year after year.

Now THAT was creepier than Dumbledore during a Welcoming Feast. Honestly, and the woman was supposed to be a teacher.

And no, he was NOT fidgeting, nor was he was keeping an eye on his snitch-watch to make certain that class was let out on time. He wasn't. At all.

As soon as the class was dismissed Draco was making his way towards the Slytherin dungeons. Crabbe and Goyle would be there after stopping by the kitchens, he was certain, and he wanted to be gone before they arrived. Those two really were too smart for their own good, and kept up their appearances surprisingly well. Blaise was too - heck, you had to be smart to get into Slytherin - but avoiding him would be difficult.

No, wait, nevermind. There went Blaise with one of the Hufflepuff Quidditch boys...mark another conquest down for the boy. Draco wouldn't be surprised if the boy had bedded everyone in the castle - except the teachers; the boy had standards, after all - before the end of the year. He knew that by fourth year he was sleeping with all the seventh year Slytherins before they graduated, and last year he had moved on to include the rest of the houses (Seventh years only, the rest were scattered. He had time to work with them, after all).

Anyways, he was getting distracted. None of the others really cared what he did with his time - away from the eyes of the rest of the school, few did - so he would be free to go without suspicion.

The Raven-Finder was another watch, which was slightly larger. It was made based on Family Markers; that is, it told if the person the hand was keyed to was in a pre-determined location. Of course, it also had a 'lost' place - they all did, or else they would break when the person went someplace unusual. His watch had places he thought Potter would be certain to visit:

The Quidditch Pitch; well, duh.

Class; assuming that he ever did attend.

The Hospital Wing; a fair amount of time was spent here. This could be due to the fact that Potter was a prime target for many things, pranks and Voldemort included.

The Library; almost useless to put in here, but oh well.

The Gryff Common Room; a fair amount of time was spent here as well, but who bloody knew what Gryffs did in their spare time.

The Dorms; well, duh. Again.

Elsewhere in Hogwarts; self-explanatory, I should hope.

With Muggle Relatives; far too much time was spent here over the holidays, which was why Draco never looked at the watch over the summer. He hated seeing the Potter face - turned sideways, caught as he reached for a snitch so the wind was blowing through his hair, and carefully NOT displaying his scar - over the word 'Muggle.' It was horrid.

Lost; where he was when he wasn't in any of the above (mostly because he couldn't fit anything else on the watch).

And then there was the flip side of the watch, which told...something else. It was similar to the first side, but the names of the places had changed to Studying; Sleeping; In Pain; In Danger (those two 'places' had to be close together, as the hand tended to hover between the two); Sick; Bored; Safe; Lost; and Hungry.

Unless Harry was knocked out and off Hogwarts grounds, Draco would be able to find him...eventually. He hoped. Of course, there were all those hidden rooms, the forbidden forest, trick passages, and a slew of other places that weren't on the Raven-Finder, but in order to find him then he would need something that equated to the Marauders' Map for Potters, and that would be simply impossible to make. One, no one knew who the Marauders were to ask them how they had made it and what they had done with it. Two, the original map had been swiped by Filch from a boy about eight years ago, when he had been caught getting the shag of his life in the Astronomy tower and had forgotten to 'turn it off.' Mrs. Norris had strolled in while he had the other boy's 'wand' up his arse, and both had gotten detention until the end of the year. Of course, he had managed to before Filch had left, but it had been a close call.

From then on, no Slytherin shagged (or got shagged) in the Astronomy tower. It just wasn't done.

But as he didn't have the Map or the means to make another one, his Raven-Finder would have to do. It currently showed The Boy Who Lived as in 'The Dorms' and 'Bored.' Well, wasn't that just boring.

It didn't even give him an excuse to sneak into the common room to see what it was that Gryffindors did when they weren't being bloody idiots.