Watching Shadows Grow || Draco & Harry
Draco waved-off Harry’s objections; there was no need to dignify anything that silly with a response. He was Draco Malfoy, after all; there was no way that anyone, let alone a Potter, could ever be more versed in things like wielding influence or making use of one’s connections–and if his own privileges were more than occasional, that was just because he deserved them. There was no sense explaining something so obvious to Harry though, especially when they had more important things to talk about.
Such as putting Harry in his proper place. “Your idea, in concept, but which one of us is equipped to actually pull it off?” he sneered. He could feel his frayed nerves settle with every cold smirk he directed at the other boy. Perhaps that was what inspired him to push back so hard; perhaps it was just old habits. Draco let his legs swing free alongside the wall again so he could fold his arms. “But all right,” he drawled, “let’s hear what you’ve got in mind for doing it on your own, if you could manage it so perfectly well. It’s not as though I need you to access the Restricted Section after all, so if I want to look things up by myself I will; I don’t need you to tell me anything. You, on the other hand…”
Draco was in no hurry to head into the darkest, dustiest stacks of the library by himself of course; for all that he generally thought of the book-stuffed room as a place of sanctuary, there were enough shadows in its far corners–and in the Restricted Section most especially–to make him twitch right now. He wasn’t in the mood to go anywhere alone, and while he might not say as much aloud, he could at least admit–grudgingly–to himself that Harry’s presence the night before had been much more comforting than aggravating; it seemed that reckless Gryffindor boldness did have some use after all, if only in providing a shield for more sensible people to hide behind. He quite liked the idea of bringing Harry along to continue to play that role, if he was going to delve into the back-shelves of the Hogwarts Library, but he couldn’t say as much of course–especially not to Harry! Instead he fidgitted with his nails and hoped that he could goad Harry into insisting on coming along by needling him, so that he would not have to ask.
He was a little surprised to hear Harry so readily suggest bringing someone else in on their plans–especially Hermione. For all that she was in Harry’s house, he didn’t think they got on particularly well; from what Hermione had told him, Harry was no different than the majority of her housemates, all of whom seemed annoyed to have the too-intelligent-for-her-own-good witch in their house, showing the rest of them up. But of course, much as Draco liked to tease the other boy about it, Harry was no idiot–not as smart as Draco of course, but not a complete buffoon either. And even a complete buffoon could see that Hermione Granger was someone it was good to have at your side if you were doing anything even remotely academic. Not that Draco needed her the way someone like Harry would, because he was every inch as smart as Hermione (mostly), but it would be good to have a proper friend along…
Unless something did try and attack them. Draco frowned thoughtfully, weighing the pros and cons; he certainly didn’t want Hermione to get hurt of course, but worse than that, he didn’t want her seeing him act cowardly. it was one thing to panic and snivel in front of Harry, and that was bad enough; at least everybody who mattered knew that he and Harry didn’t get along to begin with and thus anything uncomplimentary that he said about Draco was automatically discredited, or at least taken with a grain of salt. Hermione on the other hand…not only would people trust her assessment, but she would trust her own eyes, and Draco didn’t want to risk his reputation with his oldest friend. Then again, Hermione was an intimidating witch in her own right, and he had spent the last five years quite content to bask in her protection…
Uncertain and hoping that the turmoil didn’t show on his face, Draco shrugged noncommittally. “I’ll ask her,” he said at last. “I’m not sure if she’ll be interested of not though; she’s always a bit reluctant about things like taking advantage of access to the Restricted Section when it’s not strictly needed for school…” He raised an eyebrow, realizing that maybe Harry hadn’t meant his suggestion to be such an open-ended invitation. “Or did you just mean, she could get the note for us with less suspicion? Because I told you, there’s no need to worry about that; I’m sure I won’t have any trouble talking one of our teachers into giving me one. In fact, it will probably be easier getting it myself than convincing Hermione to get one for us. Trust me,” he assured the other boy with a crooked smile that said he knew very well the irony of making such a statement between the two of them, “it won’t be a problem.”
Harry laughed again, but there was no mistaking it for a sound of amusement; it was a scornful laugh, coupled with a practiced eye-roll to complete the effect. “Yeah, I’ll really going to tell you my ways of getting around the rules,” he replied with just as exaggerated sarcasm. “Rest assured, Draco, I don’t need your help to get this done. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m pretty good at getting the things I want.” This was no time to be humble; it was obliging enough of him to agree to this unlikely alliance in the first place, and though Harry was certain the Slytherin would prove himself useful, he wouldn’t hesitate to forget this little arrangement and go about the mission on his own if he had to. While he had to admit the silver-haired snake might have an easier time gaining authorized admission to the Restricted Section, Harry wasn’t ultimately too concerned with doing this in the authorized way, so that wasn’t as much of an advantage as Draco seemed to think, and while he himself might dread the idea of traipsing alone through the school’s dark corridors, he would do what it took to find answers, and since he doubted Draco was dedicated enough to make similar sacrifices, that meant Harry was the likelier of the two to accomplish this solo.
“Besides, what would you do if you did find something useful without me?” Harry asked, though the question was clearly a veiled accusation more than a true inquiry. He was fairly certain he had the answer already - Draco was hardly the type to do anything about a threat to the school, beyond the obvious: alert Uncle Severus, and, if he thought it might earn him some recognition, the Headmaster. But Harry considered it unlikely that they’d learn anything Dumbledore didn’t know, or at the very least suspect, already - the point was that if he did know something, he was clearly determined to keep it quiet, and Harry wanted to know why. He needed to understand, even if he could accomplish nothing else besides that. And if there was something he could do, he would most certainly do it. Probably.
Harry rolled his eyes again at Draco’s next comment. He knew enough about Hermione Granger to have suspected she wouldn’t be as keen on breaking school rules as he was, but then she had seemed slightly less obnoxious than usual during their most recent conversation, and he maintained that she would be useful in getting them into the Restricted Section without resorting to doing so after-hours. He couldn’t rely completely on Draco for that; it wasn’t exactly a secret that he had been with Harry on the night of Moody’s attack, and professors were likely to be particularly skeptical of his motives, especially if Draco betrayed the slightest lack of confidence when he approached them with his request.
“Yeah, of course just the note,” Harry replied, as if that much should have been obvious. Involving someone else in this scheme, even to that limited degree, was dangerous enough - not to mention degrading - so he certainly wasn’t keen to prolong her involvement. “No one would suspect her of wanting a book from the Restricted Section for personal reasons.” The implication there was clear: even Draco’s studious reputation couldn’t distract from the fact that he was a Slytherin, and “blood traitor” or not, that meant a certain susceptibility to the Dark Arts. Uncle Sev was perhaps the only professor who wouldn’t share that bias, and they’d already decided it would be preposterous to even consider asking him. Hermione was a Gryffindor, and also notoriously persnickety, so, all in all, a much safer bet.
“I trust you think you can,” Harry argued. “But if you’re questioned it could very well bugger everything up. If Uncle Sev finds out you were trying to get into the Restricted Section, he’ll almost certainly figure out why, and that will make the whole thing almost impossible. And if you do that, I’ll have no choice but to turn you into a slug. Got it?”
