"Pansy!" Draco pounded on the door of the girl's dorm room.

There was a suspicious amount of silence on the other side. Draco frowned and pounded on the door harder, "Let me in, Pansy!"

Draco had scared several first years into telling him if they had seen her, so he knew she was in there. He took a deep breath, projecting his voice as loudly as he could, "That's a shame, I'll just have to jump off the tower and you'll mourn me forever for what could have-"

The door clicked open with a snarled, "Get in here, you horrid nuisance!"

Draco stepped inside, slamming the door shut behind him and throwing himself across the end of Pansy's bed.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Pansy snapped, moving a floating bottle of metallic green nail lacquer closer to herself, "You're saying you nearly ruined my nails just so you could have a hissy fit?" She carefully splayed her fingers out in front of herself to check for smudges, her dressing gown falling open to show an uninterested world her bra and knickers.

Draco turned his head to looked at his best friend with a sneer, "It's not a hissy fit. It's a matter of life or death you cow."

Pansy rolled her eyes, "Whose death then?"

"Mine, of course," Draco said.

She snorted, "No one important then."

"What kind of friend are you?" Draco said with a frown. Pansy focused on the second coat of nail polish rather than appreciate his doleful expression, so Draco turned his face into the bedspread and groaned.

"The kind that puts up with you," Pansy said with a self-satisfied tone, "I should get a medal. It's practically community service."

"I hate you," Draco muttered into the smooth satin.

"You love me." Pansy blew gently on her nails and asked, "What is it then?"

Draco flushed, turning his head to look at the opposite wall, "I'm afraid I've developed... an affection for Potter."

"For a second, I thought you were going to say 'infection' and quite frankly that would have been far more interesting," Pansy said.

Draco shot up onto his elbows, staring at Pansy in outrage, "How is that more interesting than the most devastating revelation of my life?"

Pansy stared at him flatly, one eyebrow twitching up, "You managed to outlive the dark lord, you melodramatic idiot. How in the world does wanting to fuck hero-boy even rank."

"I occasionally thought I would survive the dark lord," Draco said, slumping back onto the bed.

"And you think a crush on Potter's going to kill you?" Pansy asked with an amused smile.

"Slowly and painfully."

Pansy tsked and rolled her eyes again.

Draco said, "I tried ignoring it, hoping it would go away but it wouldn't."

"It?" Pansy asked.

"The feelings, Pansy. Do keep up," Draco said ignoring her third eye roll, "I haven't even the slightest chance with him."

Pansy raised an eyebrow, carefully painting her pinky finger, "How do you know? Have you told him you fancy him?"

"I can't do that!" Draco said in utter shock. He flipped over onto his back, ignoring Pansy's muttered curse as the movement made the brush slip. "He fancies girls for one, and we've hardly been on friendly terms the last seven years."

"There's such a thing as being bisexual, darling," Pansy said, carefully charming the nail polish off her cuticle.

"Doubtful. The rest of my argument still stands," Draco said.

Pansy sighed, putting the bottle of polish away and blowing on her nails, "You ought to at least try. If for no other reason than I can't abide hearing you whinge on about your stupid feelings for the rest of the year. I've always felt you two were either going to murder or fuck one another and since the murdering thing didn't work out-" Pansy shrugged.

"Try? I don't even know how to try," Draco muttered, sliding his hands over his head, "How in the world do I even begin to talk to Potter of all people."

"With some sort of manual, I would think," Pansy said.

Draco sat up abruptly, "What do you mean by that?"

"That you have never talked to Potter normally once in your entire life. If you were hoping for an actual manual you are quite out of luck," Pansy said with a look.

Draco didn't show the disappointment on his face.

Pansy smirked anyway, "At this rate, it would be like trying to break a dog of a ten-year habit. I'm fairly certain McGonagall would frown on me hitting you with a rolled up newspaper every time you insult Potter."

"Cliched and subtle as a Gryffindor," Draco said.

Pansy sighed, "I was trying to be funny, as you well know."

"You ought to try harder next time," Draco smirked.

Pansy's lips thinned, and Draco knew if she wasn't worried about her nails she would have smacked him.

"But some guidelines or rules would be useful," Draco said.

Pansy snorted, "Maybe. Sounds amusing." She nodded to the small writing desk across from her bed, "Grab a piece of parchment and a quill, and we'll write something out."

"I have no desire to go digging through your desk of all place. Who knows what you have in there," Draco said making a face.

"Oh yes," Pansy mocked, "That's where I save my menses for all the moon day rituals us girls are always sneaking out to do in secret. You've caught me out."

"I just don't want your stupid to rub off on me," Draco said with equal mocking.

Pansy glared at him, "Just summon them, arsehole."

Draco took his wand out with a beleaguered sigh, "Just spell your nails dry."

"And ruin the finish?" Pansy said, "I'm not about to have dull nails just because you're a spoiled brat."

"Accio parchment and ever-inking quill," Draco said holding out his hand to snag the quill out of the air, a scrap of parchment came fluttering after. He hesitated and then wrote a one at the top of the parchment. "So...?"

"I believe you are the one with the feelings. I'm not going to just tell you what to do," Pansy said, leaning back against her headboard, looking far too smug and pleased with herself.

Draco narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, don't pout," Pansy said waving her hand, "I'll help. But I expect you to do most of the work. I have high hopes for how entertaining this whole endeavour will be."

"How do I even start?" Draco huffed.

Pansy quirked an eyebrow, "Easy, with-"

Step One: Sit close to him in every class you share together.

  '~*~'   

"Wait! Wait, Draco!" Pansy called, waving her hand.

Draco stopped. He had been heading to his first class of the day, transfiguration, shared with the rest of the eighth years but most importantly, with Potter.

"What?" Draco hissed through his teeth.

Pansy caught his elbow and pulled him along down the hall. Potter and his cohort were still just in sight in front of them.

"Here," she took his hand and quickly tied a wide grey ribbon around his wrist.

"What is it?" Draco asked suspiciously.

Pansy finished a rather hasty knot and pulled Draco's sleeve down to hide it, "I rather inspired myself yesterday with that idea of hitting you with a newspaper."

Draco froze, "You- What did you do?"

Pansy sighed, gripping his arm tighter and hauling him back into step, "It will allow me to administer a very mild stinging hex if you should forget what we decided."

"I am entirely capable of sitting next to someone and keeping my mouth shut," Draco snapped.

"Not with Potter," Pansy said.

Draco opened his mouth to protest and then closed it again.

"Exactly," Pansy said. She let go of his arm and took a few steps ahead, "I'll sit as close to you as I can, so make sure you get close to him."

"Don't tell me my own plan," Draco said.

"And keep your mouth shut," Pansy added, taking out her wand and twirling it in the air with a grin.

Draco sneered at her, pulling his bag higher on his shoulder as he swept past her into the classroom. Granger and Weasley were sitting next to one another, as they tended to do since becoming a couple. It was gag-worthy, but meant that Potter usually had the seat open beside him.

Draco's heart soared into his throat as he crossed the room and went up the risers to sit beside Potter. He didn't look at any of them, forcing himself to take out his parchment and ink as if everything were completely normal.

"What do you think you're doing, Malfoy?" Weasley asked suspiciously.

Draco bristled and glared down the table past Potter and Granger, opening his mouth to retort when he felt a sharp sting on his wrist. His hand jerked, hitting his ink bottle and sending it rolling across the desk. Draco snatched it back up and slid the bottle back to the top corner. Pansy dumped her bag onto the desk in beside him, acting like she hadn't even noticed him.

"Malfoy!" Weasley hissed.

Draco leaned over his bag, pretending to look for his quill.

Weasley smacked the desktop to get Draco's attention.

"Ron," Granger whispered.

"Attention, please," McGonagall said sharply, charming the chalk to begin writing the day's lesson on the board. "Take out your books. We shall begin back on page twenty-four. "

Draco took out his quill and dropped his bag down by his feet. Potter's chair creaked, and Draco glanced over to find Potter watching him with a frown. Draco stared back, keeping his expression carefully blank. He couldn't tell if Potter's frown was curious or hostile and wondered if he was overly hopeful to think the former.

Granger very pointedly cleared her throat, jabbing Potter in the side to draw his attention away from Draco.

Draco looked down at his parchment, feeling a flush of heat fill his cheeks.

Pansy waved to get Draco's attention and then made a heart shape with her fingers. He smacked her hands away with a glare that only made her snicker at him, and hurriedly started taking notes.