golden longings

XXVI

***

The first thing that Draco perceived in the morning was noise. A lot of it.
Whether he had forgotten to cast a charm protecting the realm of his bed from outside noise or if it had worn off for some strange reason was unclear to him.
But there were definitely voices in the room.

A frustrated growl slipped from his lips which still sounded groggy.
The first thing in the morning should not be loud noise, he way preferred to wake up naturally.
However, it seemed that fate did not want to grant him that on this particular saturday morning.

He could most definitely make out multiple voices. And his first instinct was to yell to shut them all up.
But that desire was overruled by his desire to me be perceived by others in his freshly woken up state.
His roommates didn't need to see him like that. Besides, it struck him like an unpleasant way to start the day, to let them know that they woke him.
Possibly even uncomfortable if they didn't want him involved in whatever they were doing.
Which they certainly didn't, he was convinced.

"Would you stop tossing around every item of clothing you own? Please?"
It was the first thing that Draco was able to make out coherently.
And he found himself wondering if maybe it was the most reasonable thing he had ever heard coming from Weasley.
If that was what was making all the noise then he entirely agreed with it. To which he was disgusted at himself for agreeing with Weasley.

What he most definitely had not expected was for the next thing he heard to be a very familiar voice. That of Blaise.
"Trying to find a proper outfit can require some effort. Although you wouldn't know anything about that."
That had peaked Draco's interest.
Despite being entirely unwilling to indulge in any conversation before he was even dressed he was tempted to draw open his curtains to see the scene unfolding in his room.

He had a lot of questions about it.
What in Merlin's name was Blaise doing in his room that early? And without him present. And who was causing such a scene in an effort to dress?
In his opinion, any of his roommates could have equally struggles in an attempt to dress proper.
However, from the biys he had picked up it certainly wasn't the Weasel.
Which left him imagining either Harry or Neville scattering their wardrobes all over the room.

The state he imagined the room to be almost caused him to groan.
His roommates weren't exactly the meat kind in the first place. And it wouldn't be the first time that Draco was entirely unimpressed by the state of their room.
Usually, he might have picked up his wand and cast a quick tidying charm. However, he had never felt responsible for their inability to sort their belongings. Neither had he thought that they'd have welcomed the gesture.

"This is exactly why I didn't want him here!"
An entirely unsurprising revelation. Weasley had not been the one to invite Blaise and Draco had a hard time imagining that Potter would have been either.
"Yes but I asked him here so you are going to have to tolerate him!"
And his suspicion was confirmed. Neville had been the one to invite Balise into their dorm.
Draco's mood immediately brightened significantly.

For one about the fact that his friend was making some progress in his pursuits. He was more than eager for both f his best friends to find some contentment, and the chances were getting better on both ends.
But fir another, he felt that realistically his chances of winning the bet were increasing.
More private interactions were definitely an improvement.

He groaned as he sat up to open his curtains after all. Curiosity was getting the better of him and hs wanted to see what was going on beyond just guessing from snippets of conversation.
Out of habit, he drew down his sleeves once before doing so, for good measure. And to ensure that Weasley didn't see anything that would turn the morning into an unpleasant mess.
More so than it already was.