#diligent-thunder

I wrote this on my phone so sorry about any weird format issues.

Prompt:

Draco is surprised to find that seeing Harry Potter actually studying is kinda hot. Especially when he's alone in the library and sucking on the end of a Muggle pencil?

*

It was a pencil. A Muggle pencil. It is long and yellow and nondescript. And stupid.

Stupid Potter with his scar and hair and arms and his pencil. Swaggering around school like he owned it. What, just because he won a war? He thought he can behave like this just because he's a hero? It was abominable. Unacceptable. Just so gauche and- and- dirty.

Draco realised he was crushing a page of Advanced Potion Making: N.E.W.T Level and quickly unclenched his fist. The library was still and silent save for the sounds of a page turning or a quiet cough now and then. The lamps on each table were beginning to dim, signalling that it was almost time for the library to close. Outside, it was snowing thickly, the night stark black in contrast to the falling flakes. Madam Pince was prowling the Astronomy section - again. That's where she'd discovered the seventh year Hufflepuffs snogging last week. Clearly, the incident had left a mark on her.

Speaking of snogging...

Draco couldn't believe Potter was doing this. In public. Just sitting there, frowning into his Transfiguration textbook, sucking on the tip of his stupid fucking pencil. Sucking on it. Tongue flicking out every now and then. Just fucking sucking on it as he studied. Like it was no big deal.

And since when did Potter even study, anyway? Everyone knew they were going to give him top marks for simply existing. He didn't need to study. Potter never studied! Why was he studying?! And who gave him a pencil?!

Draco was perilously close to stomping his feet and screaming and holding his breath until he turned blue and throwing things around the room. He was very good at that sort of thing. It's how he'd always gotten his way when he was younger.

Potter now sucked his pencil deeper into his mouth and held it there as he shut his books and began to pack his bag - he kept the pencil in place, almost halfway inside his mouth, by means of firm suction.

Draco reached into his lap, pushed his halfie down and adjusted his robes over it before slamming his own books shut and shoving them into his bag with none of his usual care. He hated Potter so much. He was always sabotaging Draco. He'd deliberately distracted Draco all evening so that...so that he could get more N.E.W.Ts! Yes, that was it! He didn't want Draco to do well academically.

Potter chose that moment to stand up, swing his bag over his shoulder and grin widely at Draco, pulling that fucking pencil out of his mouth at last. He walked (swaggered) up to Draco and drummed his fingers on his table.

"C'mon, you swot," he said. "Nearly time for Pince to kick us all out anyway."

"Yes," said Draco stiffly, getting to his feet and tripping over the leg of his table.

Potter reached out and caught him by the arm.

"You need glasses too?" Potter teased. His hand lingered on Draco's arm for a few seconds as they both made their way out of the library. Draco didn't reply. His cock was still half-hard and Potter was still holding that fucking pencil and Draco was annoyed.

"You hear about that Christmas party for seventh and eighth years at The Three Broomsticks?" Potter asked as they trudged towards the common room.

"Yes, I believe Pansy mentioned it to me once. Or twice. Or a couple thousand times."

Potter laughed. "Yeah, people are pretty excited. You going?"

"I might."

A few beats of silence.

"You going with anybody?"

"Pardon?"

"Jesus fuck, Malfoy, you heard me and you know why I'm asking so stop acting obtuse."

Draco's lips twitched. "Surprised you know the word 'obtuse'."

"Fuck off and stop teasing."

Draco stopped dead, gaze fixed on Potter who continued to walk on before realising Draco had stopped and then hurried back to him.

"What? What is it?"

"Teasing?" Draco repeated dangerously. "I'm teasing?"

Potter frowned and pushed his stupid glasses up his nose and shuffled his feet. "Well, yeah. You know what I was trying to say. You know I was trying to ask you if you want to-"

"I'm not the one who's been sucking on a fucking pencil all evening in public!" Draco said loudly, pointing at that pencil that Potter had tucked behind one ear.

Potter who now looked taken back and was rapidly turning pink in the face.

"I--"

"You knew I was sitting right there, watching you, and you did that anyway."

"Malfoy, I--"

"What were you trying to do, hm? What were you trying to achieve?"

"Nothing!"

"You were trying to seduce me!"

Potter looked absolutely aghast for a moment. Then he simply burst out laughing, wheezing and slapping his thigh. Finally, wiping his eye, he straightened up and grinned at Draco.

"Well? Did I succeed, then?"

In reply, Draco shoved him next to the statue of a centaur in the alcove behind him, plucked that yellow pencil out from behind his ear and kissed Potter full on the mouth.

No, I don’t. The thought of even thinking this way frankly exhausts me.

I'd read that, tbh. Especially if he was a bit awkward around women normally, and she was unaccustomed to being around men and not just eating them.

This is the guy in two panels xD

I love all the decisions I have to make, thank you for the ask :D

Vanilla or chocolate. Chocolate, but vanilla is also delicious.

King Princess or Lady Gaga. King Princess at the minute for sure. Gaga always makes me want to go out dancing which isn’t happening for obvious reasons so King Princess has suited the 2020 mood much better. I have been listening to Telephone a lot recently though because I put it in a ‘Lockdown Party’ playlist.

Black Widow or Scarlett Witch. My Marvel knowledge is so crap I actually can’t answer this...

Pickles or Blue Cheese. OMG I HATE BOTH. Pickles, if I had to choose, I can’t stand blue cheese. But you should know I’m choosing pickles only because I have to choose something. Bleugh.

Also, I bullet pointed my answers, I should have just gone the whole way and put them in a Power Point....

She's probably growing guard hairs. Grown up dog fur. Is she a blue heeler perchance?

The amazing @diligent-thunder created this frankly stunning moodboard for my story and I’m in awe.

Turn From Stone

Your mum is so sweet! This put the biggest grin on my face. 😁💖

When I first read The Claiming of Grimmauld Place, Frank stood out to me so much for one simple reason: He's absolutely adorable and most people don't see tortoises that way. I see tortoises at work and *I* think they're adorable. So when I was developing the drawing for that print, capturing the sweet adorableness that @bixgirl1 achieved when she wrote him was really important to me. But I still wanted him to look realistic. It was a difficult thing to balance. It involved a boatload of reference photos and figuring out just the right ways to tweak them.