Bad Vibrations

Author's Notes: I dont own the characters, blah blah. Before anyone complains, yes I KNOW Flint would have graduated by 5th year for Harry and co., I don't care. For the purposes of the story, assume he was held back a year or something. Whatever floats your boat.


00000


The night air was crisp and cold, a chilling wind whistling along the track up to the castle. Unusually frigid for this time of year, the weather had caused most of the students to wear their winter cloaks and Draco himself raised his shoulders bringing the white ermine closer to his face. He was sure that there was an inelegant flush painted across his cheeks from the cold and he just knew that the wind had been messing his hair up.

He raised his gloved hands and ran his fingers through the platinum strands, wincing as the questing digits caught on tangles. When he took his hands away the hair fell back in its customary curtain around his face, obscuring the edges of his vision. Shaking his head so that it fell a little closer, covering his right eye, he took a deep breath and stepped out of the station yard onto the track.

Most of the students had already bundled into the carriages, the ugly black creatures called Thestrals making their way into the darkness with eerie silence, as they always had. Draco had been delayed on the train when someone, a Gryffindor no doubt, had tripped him as he walked down the corridor of the train carrying his bags. One of them had split open as it hit the ground and it took a while to pack everything back inside, Draco never having learnt any packing spells. His father had considered it inappropriate, a 'servant's spell'.

There were five carriages left, three of which seemed to be almost full and one of which had Hufflepuffs inside. Resolving himself, Draco headed for the last one, a little way away and closer to the trees than the others. Warily, he eyed the shifting branches of the forest, his cursed imagination providing the delightful image of eyes in the shadows of the trunks.

It was when he had almost reached the door that he tripped again and fell. He only had time to think Bloody Gryffindors and open his mouth before a gloved hand closed over it and he was pulled roughly into the darkness underneath the trees against a tall, hard body, an arm pressing into his stomach.

"Hello, Drakey."

Draco froze, his eyes going wide and his heart speeding up as the voice whispered into his ear, hot breath making him shudder. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides and he could feel the adrenaline making his muscles tighten, but he closed his mouth behind the hand.

"There's a good boy. So tell me, whore, how was your summer?" The hand released his face, moving instead to around his neck, the fingers just tight enough to exert pressure without being enough to hurt.

"Fine." Draco said through gritted teeth.

"How lovely." Draco felt the smirk against his ear. "Did Daddy teach you any new tricks?"

Draco felt his insides churn and hated the way his palms were slick with sweat. "No. Fuck off."

The hand around his throat tightened a little and he felt the vibration of the laugh through his back and the heat of the uneven breath on his ear. "Oh Drakey, I'd much rather fuck you. I learnt some new tricks, even if you didn't."

"So? I don't care."

The voice ignored him. "How about we try them out sometime? Say... this evening. Ten o'clock. On the fifth floor, by the portrait of Lawrence the Lewd near the Arithmancy classroom. Be there."

Draco gritted his teeth. "And why the fuck would I do that, Flint?"

"Because, my little slut," The hand around his neck moved into his hair and pulled, turning Draco's head to face the owner of the voice so that he could see the snarl and the dark, menacing eyes. "If you don't turn up, then I will come and find you, and drag you by your pretty hair through the Slytherin common room so that everyone can see how pathetic you are. And then I'll fuck you so hard you won't be able to move for days."

Closing his eyes, the memory of the last time Flint had done that, still fresh and terrifying, swum to the surface. "Fine." He spat.

"Good boy." Marcus Flint smirked and released Draco's hair, patting his cheek and giving his ass a grope before moving away, back to the light of the track.

Draco stood for a few seconds, shaking, waiting for the terror to wear off and the adrenaline to be absorbed back into his system. When he could hold his hand in front of his eyes and not see any movement, Draco walked slowly back to the track, nervously combing his hair back in front of his face. It wouldn't do for more people to see the cut next to his eye or the bruise on his cheekbone. He had already had to deal with the suspicious glances of Blaise and the whiny wittering of Pansy.

Emerging from the trees his eyes were met with the empty courtyard, nothing but a few fallen leaves drifting across the stones. The carriages were all gone, Flint supposedly having taken the last one. Sighing, Draco pulled his cloak tighter around him and began the long trek up to the castle on foot.


00000


"Blimey Harry, don't you want any food? How can you just sit there with it all there in front of you and not eat any?" Ron's voice cut across Harry's concentration and he turned to look at his friend.

"Huh?" He said.

"Eloquent as usual, Harry." Hermione laughed, smiling. "Ron wants to know why you aren't eating. I'm curious too, what's wrong?"

"Oh." Harry said, looking back to where he'd been scanning the Slytherin table. "Nothing really. It's just that Malfoy isn't here, and I was wondering why."

"Maybe the bloody ferret finally transferred to Durmstrang." Ron said, in between mouthfuls of turkey. "He's certainly enough of a cold bastard to belong up there."

"Ronald!" Hermione snapped. "Not all of the Durmstrang students are cold and evil. I can think of at least four who I spoke to when they came to visit that were perfectly decent people, if a little emotionally detatched."

"They're a bunch of icy gits, Hermione." Ron said, then muttered. "You're just defensive because of that blockhead Krum."

"What was that about Victor, Ron?"

"You heard me...." They descended into pointless bickering, and Harry tuned them out, leaving them to it. No doubt they would be made up by the end of dinner and all could return to normal. Harry liked normal. Unfortunately, normal didn't seem to like him very much. His yearmates were all discussing their summers, gossip about people's relationships and the results of the Quidditch over the summer months. He was stuck looking for his worst enemy.

From the detailed discussion Harry had witnessed in the carriage on the way to the castle between Dean and Ron, Montrose Magpies had beaten the Chudley Cannons in the cup and Ron was exceedingly irritated by it. Harry had noticed Cho Chang wearing a Montrose Magpies scarf in the entrance hall and figured that any meeting of the two in the next few days would be unpleasant.

He hadn't seen Malfoy at all yet, he had already been on the train before Harry had gotten on and apparently gotten off after him. He hadn't been in the crowds of students trying to get into a carriage and neither had he been in the entrance hall. Harry had been searching with his eyes during the entire Sorting ceremony and Dumbledore's speech, but the Slytherin table was still missing one blonde head and the first course of dinner was nearly over. Where the hell was he?

By the time dessert was done and people were clearing out, there was a slight hollow feeling in his chest, and he felt inexplicably worried. It was when he found himself seriously considering marching up to Zabini and demanding to know where Malfoy was that he decided he needed to get his head checked. It was only Malfoy for Merlin's sake, he ought to be happy that the blonde bastard hadn't come to sneer and mock him yet.

Maybe Ron was right. Maybe Malfoy had transferred. Maybe....

"Draco!" The shriek echoed down the corridor outside the hall and Harry raised his head quickly, seeing Pansy and Zabini pushing through the crowds going in the opposite direction to the main doors. It was Pansy who had cried out and without thinking Harry left Ron and Hermione's side and began pushing in the same direction, following them.

Gradually the number of people decreased and it became easy to move, walking swiftly after the two Slytherins who were moving towards the main doors, at the side of which stood... Malfoy.

"Oh Draco, are you okay? Did you really walk all the way up the hill? Why on earth would you do that, darling? You could have caught the carriages with us. What happened?" The girl continued to fuss over the blonde, who was stooped slightly with one hand on his chest, breathing deeply. What Harry could see of his usually pale face was uncharacteristically flushed from exertion and Harry could well believe he had walked up the long track from the station to the castle.

"Shut up Pansy." Malfoy said, hoarsely. He coughed twice and winced, rubbing his throat. "I was checking something on the train and all the carriages left without me. I'm fine."

Zabini hummed, pulling Pansy away and waiting as Malfoy straightened and began to walk towards Harry, following after. Harry suddenly realised that he was standing right in Malfoy's way and if he didn't move then Malfoy would...

"Potter."

...See him.

"Malfoy."

They looked at each other for a second, Pansy hovering nearby but held by Zabini, who simply looked bored.

"Good summer, Malfoy?" Harry said, to break the staring contest.

Malfoy looked stunned. Then his face twisted and he snarled. "Fuck you, Potter." He spat and pushed past, followed by Zabini and Pansy. Pansy gave him an ugly sneer but Zabini simply looked into his eyes, emotionless and empty, giving away nothing. Harry frowned and Zabini passed on.

Staring at the three Slytherin's backs, Harry stood with his mouth slighty open, confused and vaguely irritated by Malfoy's dismissal. Mentally sighing he noted it down as just one more example of Malfoy being a bastard and headed for Gryffindor tower, hoping that a good thick hot chocolate and a really violent game of chess would calm him down.


000000

Author's Notes: Aw, poor Drakey. Everybody give him a hug now. Drop me a review, I'm looking for an Original Fics beta.