AN - Hey guys!
I recently reached 400 followers so I wanted to write something special to celebrate. This turned out to be longer than I intended, but I hope you guys enjoy!
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Harry
stopped outside of his new room and took a fortifying breath. He completely
understood why McGonagall had assigned all the eighth years roommates from
other houses. And quite honestly, he could also see why she had put him with
Malfoy.
After the
trials Malfoy had approached Harry to thank him for testifying in favour of him
and his mother, which had definitely counted towards lighter sentencing. Harry
had been so surprised at the humbled, sincere young man in front of him that he
hadn’t known what to say - which of course led to him blurting out the first
coherent thought that had stumbled into his head. And so he had asked Malfoy to
get coffee with him.
Malfoy
had stood staring at Harry in shocked silence for a full minute before clearing
his throat and agreeing to it. There had been more than a few awkward silences,
scattered pieces of good conversation and only one or two insults. But they had
both parted ways feeling better.
Now
standing outside preparing to greet Malfoy as his roommate, Harry felt rather
unsure of where they stood and how he should behave. This was new territory and
that just made him nervous. Annoyed with himself for prolonging it, he flung
the door open and stepped inside.
Malfoy
was lying on his bed reading a book that was propped on his knees. He looked up
quickly when Harry entered.
They
regarded each other for several long seconds, uncertainty reflecting on both of
their faces. Malfoy tilted his head to the side in a silent question, Harry let
out a small sigh and turned to close the door before sitting on his bed facing
Malfoy.
“Hey
roomie.” He said.
Malfoy
scoffed and turned back to his book. “Don’t ever call me that, Potter.”
“Fine,
Ferret.” Harry cringed immediately and lifted both hands up in surrender.
“Sorry. Old habit. Won’t happen again.” Malfoy looked at him through narrowed
eyes. “Really.” Harry said again. Letting out a long breath, Malfoy went back
to his book once again. Feeling guilty, Harry searched for something to
say.
“Well,
honestly I’m excited to have a new roommate.” Malfoy looked up at him sharply.
“Ron snores like you wouldn’t believe.” Malfoy’s eyes widened fractionally
before they hastily returned to his book. Harry would have thought him rude had
he not seen the faint pink blush on his cheeks. “No comment on that, hmm
Malfoy? Would it perhaps be because you snore too?” Harry joked.
Malfoy’s
blush depended as he glared at Harry. “Don’t be absurd, Potter.”
Harry
couldn’t help grinning at him. “Don’t worry about it. Compared to Ron I’m sure
your snoring will be like a lullaby.”
Malfoy
stared at him strangely for a second before looking back to his book. “Malfoy’s
don’t snore.” He mumbled. But Harry saw the corner of his mouth curl up, and he
thought perhaps they’d be alright.
—-
After the
first three weeks Harry decided that they were not alright. Not that they had
fought or had any incidents, but that was only because whenever Harry came to
relax in the room Malfoy would promptly leave. He always had an excuse. He was
going to study in the library, he was meeting Pansy, he hadn’t eaten yet. Once
Harry noticed this, he began to feel guilty and so he would try to stay out of
the room as much as possible so that Malfoy didn’t feel like he had to
leave.
One night
he was with Ron and Hermione in the common room doing homework when it all just
became too much. Ron was whispering in Hermione’s ear, she was giggling and
both of them had flushed cheeks.
Harry
stood suddenly, clearing his throat. “I’m going to make it an early night.”
They both looked up at him and looked slightly surprised, which had Harry
wondering if they had forgotten he was there after all.
“Oh, are
you alright Harry? You haven’t finished your Charms essay yet.” Harry had to
stop himself from rolling his eyes. Trust Hermione to be so distracted yet
still know exactly where he was with his work.
“I’ll
finish it tomorrow.” He told her and waved goodnight to them.
He opened
the door to their room to find Malfoy reading on his bed. He looked up and
seemed slightly surprised to see Harry there, Harry did usually stay out
later.
“Hey
Malfoy.” Harry said tiredly.
Malfoy
inclined his head. “Potter.”
Harry
dropped his bag and sank onto his bed with a sigh. After a few minutes of
peaceful silence Harry heard Malfoy get up and start putting his shoes
on.
He sat up
and eyed Malfoy suspiciously. Malfoy glanced up at him and frowned. “What?” He
asked, sounding defensive.
“You
don’t have to leave whenever I come into the room.” Harry said, irritated.
“It’s your room as much as it’s mine.”
Malfoy
froze. Harry watched him then huffed in annoyance and fell back onto his
bed.
There was
silence for a few minutes but eventually he heard Malfoy settling back down. He
lost the battle with his smile so he kept his face turned away until it
subsided. He turned his head to look at Malfoy who was looking at the ceiling
with a frown. He didn’t seem angry. Just confused. Harry hadn’t forgotten their
past. He remembered all the pranks and name calling. But he also knew that
Malfoy had saved his life twice.
“What can
I do to make you more comfortable?” Harry asked softly.
Malfoy’s
head snapped towards him. “What?” He asked incredulously.
“I mean,”
Harry shoved a hand through his hair. “Am I doing something to make you
uncomfortable? Or feel unwelcome?”
Harry grew
uncomfortable under Malfoy’s stare.
“No,
Potter.” He finally answered.
“Then why
do you flee from the room every time I come in?” Harry asked.
Malfoy
snorted. “I do not flee.”
Harry
half smiled. “Your cloak billows behind you with how fast you walk out of
here.”
With a
smirk, Malfoy answered. “That’s not because of how fast I walk, Potter. It
takes practice to get ones cloak to do that.”
Harry
laughed. “Okay fine. So tell me what the problem here is.”
Malfoy’s
grey eyes drifted away from Harry. “I wanted to give you space. I didn’t want
to force my presence on you.” He said simply.
Harry
stared at him, unsure of how this made him feel. “That’s..” he trailed off and
Malfoy’s gaze found his again. “Not necessary.” He finished lamely.
A raised
eyebrow was his only response. “I’m serious.” He said earnestly. He knew what
it was like not to have a safe space. “The room is ours. So if one of us wants
to be alone or whatever, we go somewhere else.” Malfoy looked at him sceptically.
“Deal?” Harry asked.
“Alright,
Potter.”
The next
few days were spent being overly cautious in the room. Harry tried to be a
quiet presence when they were there together, which wasn’t typical for him.
Malfoy was basically a ghost, when he got into a book or his homework he could
become so engrossed that he barely moved and Harry sometimes forgot he was
there. It made him feel as though every noise he made was the equivalent to
Hagrid stomping around.
When the
words of his Transfiguration textbook were blurring before him, he let his head
thunk down onto his desk. He immediately heard Malfoy jump in his seat. He
quickly looked up, “Sorry.” He mumbled.
Malfoy
shot him a glance. “It’s okay.” He looked back to his textbook and carried on
writing on his parchment. Harry watched the way his eyes flitted left and right
as he read. Suddenly they flicked towards Harry. “Problem, Potter?”
“No.”
Harry answered quickly. But he didn’t lift his head or look away.
“Hey,
Malfoy?” He asked.
Malfoy
set his quill down and turned to face Harry. “Yes, Potter?”
He
hesitated. “I make a lot of noise.” Malfoy looked at him oddly. “It’s hard for
me to sit still. If I’m making too much noise will you tell me?” He
asked.
“Why
would I tell you you’re making too much noise in your own room?” He shot back
with a frown.
Harry ran
his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Well, tell me if it bothers you.
I don’t want to try to be quiet all the time, but if it’s stopping you from
concentrating or whatever then tell me.”
Malfoy
stared at him. “Okay.” He said eventually.
“Great!”
Harry answered with a smile, feeling better already. “This is actually a really
good idea. Anything you want me to know or do?” He asked.
Malfoy
frowned. “Like what?”
“I don’t
know. Anything that I should know for us to be more comfortable sharing the
room. Anything you want me to do or not do to make you more comfortable.” He
thought about it for a bit. “For example don’t eat my food without asking.” He
said.
The look
Malfoy gave Harry alerted him to the fact that Malfoy would not be asking to
share Harry’s food. Harry waved him off. “Well, tell me when you think of
something.”
“Why are
you trying so hard for us to get along?” Malfoy asked suspiciously.
Harry
looked at the blonde carefully, the tense set of his shoulders, the frown between
his eyebrows.
“We have
to share this room for a year.” He shrugged. “The way I see it, the sooner we
become friends the better the year will be.” He got up from his desk, selected
a quidditch book from his shelf and slumped onto his bed with a content sigh,
ignoring the look of absolute shock on Malfoy’s face.
He was
almost halfway through the book when Malfoy clearing his throat caught his
attention. He looked up questioningly. When Malfoy saw that he had Harry’s
attention he picked up a quill to fiddle with and kept his attention on that.
Harry saw some patches of pink marring the pale whiteness of his neck.
“Don’t
touch any of my things.” He started quietly. Harry saw a small tremor in his
hands as he twirled his quill. The muscles in his jaw tensed and Harry saw him
exhale long and slow before continuing. “And I date boys, not girls.” His voice
shook ever so slightly but he looked up at Harry with a fierce determination
and bright eyes.
When
Harry frowned, his flinch was so subtle that Harry almost missed it. “But what
if your stuff is on my side of the room?” Harry asked seriously.
Malfoy’s
shoulders relaxed, and Harry could have sworn that his next blink was longer in
what he could only imagine was relief.
“Potter,
if any of my stuff lands up on the infested area that is your half of the room,
you can just keep it.”
Harry
grinned. “I’m going to hold you to that you know.”
And
Malfoy smiled back at him. It was a small and vulnerable smile, but it was the
first one he had ever directed at Harry.
One month later
Draco
looked up at the sound of the door opening and had just enough time to catch
the chocolate that was hurled at his face before it made contact.
Potter
laughed as he closed the door and flung himself onto his own bed. “Good catch.”
He said with a smile.
Draco
narrowed his eyes at him, “You’re lucky I caught it.” He sniffed.
Potter
raised an eyebrow. “You’re welcome.” He said.
Draco
sighed. “Thank you.” He said begrudgingly. Potter smiled warmly at him, which
was still something he was not entirely used to. After repeatedly offering
Draco some of his snacks and having Draco repeatedly decline, he had started
buying Draco his own. Draco didn’t quite know how to feel about that.
He eyed
the potions textbook Draco was reading with distaste.
“Have you
finished your potions homework?” Draco asked him.
He pulled
a face. “No.”
There was
silence as Potter tried not to look at Draco and Draco tried to keep
quiet.
“You
should do it now.” Draco said eventually, frowning at himself.
“It’s
Friday, Hermione.” He said pointedly which made Draco snicker. “I
have all weekend.”
“But if
you do it now-” Potter groaned as Draco spoke. “then you don’t have to worry
about doing any work the whole weekend. And I won’t have to feel guilty every
time you ask to play exploding snap or quidditch or what not.” He pointed
out.
Potter
sighed deeply. “Fine.” He said sulkily, then turned to Draco with a sly smile.
“I’ll do it now if you help me.”
Draco
raised an eyebrow. “And why would I do that?” He asked.
Potter
sat up and put a hand to his chest. “Because I’m doing this for you.” He said
earnestly. “You and your conscience.” He said with a grin.
Draco
smiled what he hoped was a wry smile and not the charmed smile that wanted to
come out. “I am honoured.” He said seriously.
Potter
laughed as he got his things together and sat close to the edge of his desk to
look up at Draco imploringly, eyes an impossible green.
Draco
faked a put upon sigh and settled down next to his friend.
—
The next
Saturday Harry had managed to drag Malfoy out of the room to go to Hogsmeade.
He smirked as Malfoy began removing some of his layers. “I told you the scarf
and hat were too much. Maybe if you ever left the room you’d know what the
weather is like outside.” He teased.
Malfoy
rolled his eyes, his cheeks flushed pink from being too warm.
“We will
see who laughs later when it’s cold.” He said primly.
Harry
grinned at him. “Then I’ll just share your scarf.”
Clutching
at his chest, Malfoy said. “The great Saviour wearing Slytherin green? Attached
to a Slytherin? What will the people think?”
Harry
shoved him. “Shut it.”
Malfoy
laughed and Harry watched his profile with a smile. He had opened up so much
the last few weeks and Harry was really enjoying getting to know him better. He
was somewhat glad that Ron and Hermione were almost always otherwise occupied
and he could spend most of his free time with his roommate. Speaking of..
“I told
Ron and Hermione we would meet them later for at the Three Broomsticks.” He
said carefully. Malfoy’s shoulder tensed. “If you don’t mind. We don’t have to
if you don’t want to.” They hadn’t all spent much time together and for some
reason Harry was really quite desperate for them all to get along.
“If
you’re sure.” Malfoy said, clearly uncertain.
Harry
could see the doubt in his posture. “Of course I’m sure. They want to get to
know you and see why I keep ditching them for you.”
Malfoy
glanced up at him sharply. “You shouldn’t do that.” When Harry looked at him in
confusion he continued. “Blow your friends off to spend time with me.” He tried
to hide it, but Harry heard the self-loathing there.
Harry
smiled at him warmly. “Draco,” He began, and couldn’t stop the laugh from
rolling out when Draco’s mouth fell open at the first use of his first name. He
put his arm around Draco’s shoulders and touched the sides of their heads
together. “You’re my friend too.”
They
spent a good amount of time in Honeydukes stocking up on snacks, popped into
the stationery store to get quills for Draco and then it was time to meet Ron
and Hermione. Harry could tell that Draco was nervous, he kept tugging on the
ends of his sleeves and patting his hair to make sure it was in place. Harry
was grinning endearingly at him as they waited by the bar for their drinks when
Draco caught him looking. “What?” He asked, eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“Nothing.”
Harry answered quickly and grabbed their drinks to take to a nearby table. They
sat and sipped their drinks as they waited for Ron and Hermione to
arrive.
Draco
leaned in close to Harry’s ear. “Hey, Potter.” He whispered, his breath causing
Harry to shiver slightly. Which was strange. “Look to your left near the doors,
little Creevey appears to be on a date.” Harry’s head snapped towards the doors
and he couldn’t help but grimace. Dennis and a Slytherin girl sat alone at a
table, awkwardly avoiding eye contact. He started to say something several
times, blushed and looked down at the table again. The girl seemed rather
unimpressed by this. He turned back to Draco to see him frowning. His clear
grey eyes found Harry’s and then he was smirking. “Say hello to him.” He said,
nudging Harry’s shoulder with his own.
“What?
Why?” He asked, confused.
Draco
rolled his eyes. “Lend him a tiny bit of your fame. She’ll be awed that the
saviour knows his name.” Harry frowned at him and Draco laughed. “You are so
oblivious, Potter.” He leaned across Harry. “Hey! Creevey!” Dennis looked up
quickly at the sound of his name. Draco elbowed Harry.
“Hey
Dennis!” Harry called out, waving awkwardly.
“Hi
Harry.” He called back, smiling excitedly. The girl looked back and forth
between Harry and Dennis looking shocked. Harry leaned back and whispered in
Draco’s ear. “Come on, Malfoy. She’s a Slytherin. Make it more impressive.”
Draco
looked doubtfully at Harry but leaned over him again. “Hello, Creevey.” He said
politely. Dennis’ eyes widened.
“Hi
Malfoy.” He said a little breathlessly. The girl’s mouth dropped open. Harry
and Draco turned back to their table to try and hide their laughter. “Nice to
see a Gryffindor and Slytherin pairing.” Harry said with a smile. Draco’s
expression softened as he looked at Harry. His gaze darted behind Harry again
and he snickered. “Look.” Harry glanced back and saw that the girl had scooted
closer to Dennis and was touching his arm.
Harry
turned back to Draco, also snickering.
“Hello
boys.” Hermione said brightly, sitting down across from them.
“Hi.” Ron
said, with an odd look as he glanced between Harry and Draco as he set down
their drinks.
They
straightened, the laughter lingering around their mouths. “Hey guys.” Harry
said easily.
“Hello.”
Draco said, inclining his head politely causing Harry to smirk.
They
exchanged some meaningless small talk that had Harry’s heart sinking. Trying to
get the conversation a bit more lively, Harry turned to Ron. “We still need to
make our bets for the Quidditch league. I’m putting my money down on the
Harpies to win.”
Ron
rolled his eyes and said, “As if.” Which was almost drowned out by Draco’s
snort. Ron and Draco eyed each other warily.
“They
lost their best player.” Draco said. Harry watched Ron with big eyes.
Ron
tilted his head in consideration, his eyes briefly flickering to Harry. “And
their coach is getting divorced. You know that will cause trouble.” He added
with a nod. Harry let out a breath and smiled, Ron’s lips quirking up when he
noticed.
After
twenty minutes of Quidditch talk, Harry could see Hermione’s eyes glazing
over. Knowing he would regret it he asked, “Hey Hermione.” He had to say it
twice to get her attention. “Read any good books lately?” He couldn’t help but
smile at the light that entered her eyes.
“Oh,
yes!” she said excitedly. And Harry really tried his best to look interested as
she started telling him about several books she’d been reading. He nodded and
smiled and thought he was doing a really good job until he felt Draco’s elbow
digging into his side.
“Granger, are you talking about the new potions book by Green?” he asked. She
blinked at him for a few seconds and then broke out into a wide smile.
“You’ve read it?” she asked. Harry grinned.
“Not yet,
but I’ve been meaning to. It’s been checked out in the library since it came
out.” He told her.
And there went another twenty minutes of their lives. Harry was smiling as
Draco animatedly told her about a book he had read before returning to school.
He caught Ron looking at him with a strange expression. He raised an eyebrow at
Ron who merely shook his head and smiled.
They finished their drinks and got ready to leave. Ron and Hermione had
another stop to make so Harry and Draco started the walk back to the school
alone.
The wind had picked up, allowing the chill to soak into Harry. He
hunched into his cloak and grinned at Draco.
“What, Potter?” Draco asked fondly.
“That was fun.” He said still smiling.
Draco rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t terrible.” But Harry saw his pleased
smile. He grabbed Harry’s arm to pull him to a stop, put one glove on his hand
and wrapped his scarf around both of their necks forcing them to stand close
together. He tucked the scarf in, gave a nod and pulled Harry to start walking
again. He glanced at Harry who was staring, bemused. Draco rolled his eyes again.
“Like you thought I’d actually let you get cold.” A faint blush was staining
his cheeks, and Harry felt warm. “Then you’d get sick and keep me up all night
with your coughing and sneezing.”
Harry laughed and when Draco smiled openly at him, he didn’t think he
was in danger of getting cold.
In the middle of November Harry realized he was the happiest he could
remember being. He was sitting on the couch in the eighth year common room next
to Draco who was lost in a book. Ron and Hermione were on the couch across from
them, Hermione also trapped in a book. He and Ron were playing chess,
levitating the pieces with their wands so they didn’t have to get up.
Draco closed his book with a sigh and leaned forward to check the
chessboard. He leaned into Harry and whispered something.
Harry snickered and moved his knight to a position were Ron had to
choose to sacrifice his Queen or a bishop.
“Oi!” He started, wagging a finger at Draco. “No helping. That’s
cheating!”
Draco leaned comfortably back on the couch. “You’re more than welcome to
get assistance from Granger to even it out.” He drawled.
Ron raised an eyebrow. “As if that would even it out-” His eyes widened
as Harry and Draco tried to smother their laughter. Ron peeked at Hermione to
find her glaring at him. Harry collapsed against Draco, laughing.
When they went to bed, they were still talking about the look on Ron’s
face. Harry was telling Draco about some of the numerous times Ron had put his
proverbial foot in his mouth when he realized Draco had fallen asleep. He
watched the peaceful way he breathed in and out for longer than he’d ever admit.
A short while later, Harry was woken up by the gentle rumbling of Draco
snoring. He grinned into his pillow and soon fell asleep again.
Harry woke up before Draco the next day and saw that he was curled onto
his side facing Harry, his hair flopping over his forehead. He laughed softly
to himself as he quickly got dressed. Just before he left the room Draco
started to stir. And Harry couldn’t resist. He sat down on his bed
grinning.
“Morning, Malfoy.” Draco looked up at Harry through squinting eyes.
“Sitting there watching me sleep, Potter?” He stretched languorously. “A new
level of creepiness.”
“Well I just wanted to make sure you were well rested, although with the
way you slept it seemed certain.”
Draco frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Well it sure sounded like you
slept well.”
Draco continued to frown at Harry for a second and then he sat up with a
gasp. “I didn’t put up my silencing charm.” When he sat up his blanket slipped
to his waist, revealing his bare chest. His well-defined bare chest.
He pointed a finger at Harry. “You tell no one about this.”
Harry leaned back on his elbows. “My silence comes at a price.” He
replied with a smirk. Draco turned so he was sitting with his feet on the
floor.
“Potter, I’m not joking here. Don’t you dare tell anyone!”
Harry laughed. “Scared what will happen if everyone finds out that big
bad Malfoy snores and can actually be adorable? Reputation ruined
forever!”
Draco looked at him with a shuttered expression. “Adorable?”
Warmth crept to Harry’s cheeks. “Like a teddy bear.” Draco’s lips curled
upwards. Harry cleared his throat and didn’t meet Draco’s eyes as he got up to
leave the room. “I’ll think about it and let you know the terms of my silence.”
He didn’t wait for him to reply.
The beginning of December brought Christmas decorations, snow and a
complete lack of motivation from the students. Especially the eighth years. On
the day that the first snow fell, they all hurried outside as soon as classes
were done. There was an epic snowball fight, Harry and Draco annihilating the
others. Harry was standing with his fists in the air after having hit Ron right
in the belly with a snow ball when one smacked him in the side of his head. He
turned and was shocked to find Draco a few feet away grinning fiendishly.
He put a hand to his heart. “The betrayal.” He moaned and when Draco
laughed he lunged, tackling him to the ground. They wrestled until Harry found
himself on top and shoved handfuls of snow down Draco’s shirt.
Draco was screaming and Harry was laughing gleefully. “Ugh, Potter stop!
I surrender.” He kept trying to push Harry away.
Raising a handful of snow Harry eyed him. “Apologize for betraying
me!”
Looking up at Harry, his grey eyes full of amusement he said seriously.
“I am truly sorry for betraying you, it won’t happen again.” A grin tugged
at his full lips.
Letting the snow fall from his hand Harry realized he must be pretty
unfit because suddenly it was rather difficult to breathe.
A few days later Harry was walking with Draco back to their room when
Terry Boot caught up with them. “Potter.” He said curtly. “Hi Draco. How’ve you
been?” He said brightly.
Draco rolled his eyes. “Busy, Terry. If you’ll excuse us.” He grabbed
Harry’s arm and dragged him away, but Harry saw the way Terry eyed Draco’s hand
clutching Harry.
When they got to their room Draco finally released Harry. “What was that
about?” Harry asked him.
Draco sighed and sank onto his bed, covering his eyes with his arm. “He
caught me under the mistletoe the other day and now has the misconception that
I’m interested.”
Harry froze. An ugly feeling crept through his chest. “You kissed
Terry.”
“Briefly. It wasn’t a memorable experience.” Draco answered. He sat up.
“Don’t tell anyone.” He warned.
For once Harry didn’t negotiate the price of his silence.
“Hey, Ron?” Harry started, sick with nerves.
“Yeah?” Ron answered, not looking up from their smoking pile of
Exploding Snap. They were sitting in the corner of the common room,
alone.
“Do you think it would be okay if Draco came with us for Christmas?” He
finally asked.
Ron looked up at Harry. He was ready for the judgement and the denial,
but he had to ask.
“Yeah, Harry. It should be fine.” Ron said with a smile. “I’ll just warn
mum.”
Harry stared at him. And so lost the game. When his robes stopped
smoking he looked up at his best friend. “Thanks mate.”
Ron nodded and punched him in the shoulder.
When Harry got to the room, he found Draco hunched over his desk doing
homework. He walked in and sat down on the bed facing Draco. “Hi.” He said with
a big smile.
Draco out down his quill and turned to Harry with his own smile. “Hey.”
Harry thought about the best way to ask him so that he would say yes.
And then he realised that he should have taken time to think long and hard
about this because Draco was not very likely to say yes to spending Christmas
with the Weasley’s, even though his parents were otherwise unavailable.
“Uh..” he began.
Draco smirked at him. “Eloquent as always, Potter.”
After sticking his tongue out at Draco, he tried again. “Well, I um..”
Draco put his arm on the table and leaned his head on his fist. “I do
enjoy how I am able to make you speechless.” He said in a low voice that made
Harry blush.
Looking down, Harry muttered. “Git.”
He was contemplating getting up and thinking about it before asking when
Draco touched his arm. “Sorry, I’m just teasing. What is it?” His expression
had softened.
Taking a deep breath, Harry just went for it. “I was wondering if you’d like to
come to the Weasley’s with me for Christmas.” He cleared his throat. “With us.”
He amended.
He looked up to find Draco staring at him in complete
bewilderment. His blush deepened. “If you don’t want to that’s fine.” He said
quickly. “I just thought it would be fun.”
He started to get up but Draco put a hand on his shoulder to lightly push him
back down. “Harry.” He said in a soft voice. “I really appreciate the offer.”
His eyes were bright and he was smiling sadly. “It really does mean a lot. But
I’d be too scared to ruin it for them.” Harry started to protest but Draco cut
him off. “It’s their first Christmas without Fred.” He said softly, not looking
at Harry. “I would be a rather poor substitute and an awful reminder.” Harry
nodded glumly in understanding. The bright smile Draco gave him made him feel a
little better. “I would have liked to spend Christmas with you, too. But you’ll
only be gone a week.”
Feeling suddenly very silly for making such a big deal about it, Harry smiled
at Draco. “Yeah, you’re right. At least I finally got you to call me Harry.”
Draco laughed and squeezed Harry’s shoulder before letting go.
A few days before leaving for the Burrow, Harry was on his
way back to the dorms when he rounded a corner and found Draco talking to
Terry, who was leaning against the wall next to Draco. Too close to Draco.
Harry frowned when Draco laughed at something Terry said and Terry leaned even
closer, soaking up the sound. Harry turned abruptly and left.
He returned to their room late that night, not feeling much
better or less confused. Draco sat up when he came in. “Hey. Where have you
been?” he asked.
Falling onto his bed, Harry replied. “Just went for a walk.”
“Is everything okay?” Draco asked, concern clearly showing in his expression.
“Yeah.” Harry said with an attempt at a smile. “Just tired I guess.”
A frown still tugged at Draco’s lips. “Alright.” His expression brightened. He
leaned over and rummaged in the drawer next to his bed. Harry had to roll over
to avoid being hit in the face with a chocolate frog.
“You definitely could have caught that.” Draco chided.
Harry pulled a face and stuffed the chocolate in his mouth. After, he did
actually feel a bit better. “Thanks, Draco.” He said softly.
The smile he got in return confused him more.
He woke up in the middle of the night needing to go to the bathroom. When he
got back into bed he saw movement coming from Draco’s bed but no noise. He
frowned, wondering if his friend was having a nightmare. After a few seconds of
deliberation he found his wand and nullified Draco’s silencing charm. There was
no sound except for Draco moving around restlessly and Harry was about to get
up and wake Draco, sure he was fighting a bad dream when Draco moaned.
“Mm.” It did not sound like a terrified moan. Harry was frozen, sure he should
not be hearing this. “Mm, yes.” Harry’s eyes widened and he was about to put up
a new silencing charm when Draco spoke again. “Harry.” He breathed out, and
Harry promptly dropped his wand.
As quietly as he could he scrambled out of his bed to find his wand, heart
pounding as Draco continued to moan. When he eventually found it he hurriedly
cast the silencing charm and stood frozen in the dark.
Draco rolled over allowing Harry full visual access to the situation in his
boxers, which made Harry realise he had a situation of his own.
The next few days had Harry blushing at almost everything
Draco said and at any casual contact that was previously normal. Draco kept
shooting Harry odd looks which he pretended not to see.
The day before he was set to leave the Burrow he saw Terry giving Draco a gift.
He was in a bad mood for the rest of the day.
When the time came for Harry to leave for the Burrow he
found himself staring at Draco reading on his bed. Eventually Draco looked up.
“Enjoying the view?” He asked with a smirk.
And of course Harry blushed. “Admiring it while I can.” He answered truthfully,
causing Draco to raise his eyebrows. “I’d better be going. I think Ron and
Hermione are waiting.”
Draco put his book down and stood up. Harry was about to extend his hand to
shake when Draco enveloped him in a hug. “Merry Christmas, Harry.” He said into
his ear.
Harry took in a deep breath, filling his lungs with Draco. “Happy Christmas,
Draco.” He said and briefly rested his head against Draco’s. They pulled away
and Harry found himself staring into beautiful grey eyes that shone with
affection. Draco smiled and Harry’s heart thudded.
“I’ll see you soon.” Draco said and shoved Harry’s shoulder. Harry nodded and
left the room.
He leaned back against the door, heart racing as fast as his thoughts. He was
so full of want. The dream had to
mean something. Draco was at least attracted to Harry.
With a shaking hand, he turned their door handle. Draco was standing in the
middle of the room staring at Harry’s bed with a frown. He looked up quickly at
Harry. With two furious strides Harry was standing right in front of him. “Hey,
Draco. I need to check something.” His voice shook.
Draco only had time to tilt his head enquiringly before Harry took another half
a step forward so that their chests were touching and leaned forward to press
his lips to Draco’s. After a second of no response, Harry was about to keep his
eyes closed and run when Draco’s lips parted in a surprised gasp. Then he was
kissing Harry back. Softly, slowly and very deliberately. When their tongues
lightly touched for the first time Harry shuddered. The kiss was soft and sweet
and nothing like he had imagined. Eventually he pulled away. Draco’s eyes were
unfocused, his lips were red and he looked completely stunned.
Suddenly losing his nerve, Harry took a step back. “Thanks. Bye.”
And he fled the room.
He was grateful that he had asked Ron and Hermione to wait
outside for him so he could have a moment to collect himself. He was slowly
making his way down a corridor with his fingers pressed to his lips when a hand
grabbed his arm and whirled him around. He caught a brief glimpse of white
blonde hair and intense grey eyes before he was pushed up against the wall.
Draco paused with his mouth almost but not quite touching Harry’s for a
deliciously long moment before he leaned in and caught Harry’s lower lip
between his teeth. This kiss was just as wonderful as the first, but in a completely
different way. It was all heat and hands and want. Draco ran his hand up
Harry’s chest and into his hair, pulling him in as close as he could. Harry let
his hand wonder down Draco’s back until he had both hands on Draco’s waist and
pressed himself as close to Draco as he could. Right when he was thinking he
never wanted to do anything but kiss Draco Malfoy, Draco disengaged from his
mouth to trail soft kisses along his jaw. Hot breath tickled his ear. “It’s
always good to double check, don’t you think?” He whispered in a low voice that
had Harry groaning. And then the warmth from his body was gone and when Harry
opened his eyes it was to see his cloak billowing out dramatically behind him
as he rounded the corner.
“Harry!” Hermione called.
Harry snapped back into the moment and looked at her. It was Christmas Eve and
the three of them were sitting by the fire drinking hot chocolate. “You haven’t
been listening to a word I have said.” She chastised him.
He grinned sheepishly. “No, I’m sorry.”
She frowned at him. “You’ve been like this since we got here.” She put her mug
down and exchanged a look with Ron then turned to face him fully. “We will
forgive you if you tell us what’s got you so preoccupied.”
He looked from her to Ron, his two closest friends who were clearly concerned
for him. He hadn’t known if he should send Draco a letter or not, if he should
apologise or ask him what this meant. He only knew what he wanted it to mean.
“It’s silly.” He told them.
“Harry,” Hermione said smiling. “after everything else, we would love to be
able to focus on the problems that seem small and silly.”
Harry smiled when Ron pulled a face. “It’s about Draco.” He said.
The couple exchanged a meaningful look which Harry chose to ignore.
“I don’t know where to start.” He thought about it for a bit. “I think it
started after he told me he kissed Terry Boot under-“
Hot chocolate came spraying out of Ron’s nose. He coughed furiously and then
croakily asked, “Malfoy’s gay?” before dissolving into a coughing fit again.
“Yes.” Harry said defensively.
“Then why haven’t you asked him out yet?” Ron yelled at him.
Harry blinked. A lot. He looked at Hermione who was trying to hide a smile.
“What?” He asked, confused.
Groaning, Ron leaned back in his seat. “You are such a fool. Did you only
realise now how happy you are around him?”
Hermione laughed at the shocked look on Harry’s face. “Harry. You are so
obviously smitten.” She said gently.
He put his face in his hands and groaned. “Well I know that now, thanks.”
They laughed at him. “So what exactly did you want to tell us?”
Harry peeked at them through his fingers. “I kissed him.”
“You kissed him! When?” Ron shouted. Harry laughed as Hermione swatted Ron on
the arm.
“Right before we left.” Harry told them.
“Did he kiss you back?” Hermione asked.
Harry was blushing now. “Yeah.” He said with a small smile.
Ron and Hermione exchanged triumphant grins. “So what did he say?” Ron asked.
“We didn’t really talk about it.” Harry said awkwardly.
Hermione frowned. “Well, that’s probably not good. So you don’t know how you
left things?” Harry shook his head. She studied him for a long moment. “What
did you say to him before you kissed him?”
“I said I needed to check something.” He answered, not meeting their eyes.
Ron groaned again as Hermione said, “Oh, Harry.”
Sighing, Harry said. “I know, I messed up. Can you guys help me fix it?”
——
Draco was a mess. He was terrified he had made a mistake by
chasing Harry down and kissing him against the wall, but he had been scared it
would be the only chance he would get to kiss him again. He was constantly
replaying the kisses. He’d imagined his first kiss with Harry a hundred
different ways but in none of those scenarios had Harry been the one to kiss
him first. He just wish he knew what it had meant. I need to check something. Was he checking to see if he was
interested in guys? Or was he interested in Draco?
It would be just his luck for Harry to use him to explore his sexuality and
then land up with another guy.
Christmas morning dawned cold and lonely. There was a small pile of presents at
the foot of his bed. One was big and lumpy, wrapped in bright red wrapping.
When he picked it up it was soft. He opened it to find a big green sweater with
a D on the front. His mouth fell open. He had seen the Golden trio wearing
similar ones before, red with their respective letters on the front. He
unfolded it and a card fell out.
Draco,
We
were sorry to hear you were unable to make it.
Hopefully next year.
The
Weasleys
He stared at it in shock for a very long time. When he had
recovered (and maybe put the sweater on) he hunted for his present from Harry.
And maybe, just maybe, his heart broke a little when he found none.
——
The sun had started to set when Harry climbed the steps to
the front entrance of Hogwarts. He had felt too bad to ask Molly and Arthur to
help him get back to Hogwarts before lunch was over. And he had had to wait to
explain why until Ginny was out of the way, because he really just wasn’t ready
for that conversation.
He was overflowing with nerves and excitement. Tightly clutching his present
for Draco he opened the door to the eighth year common room. He stopped short
when he found himself facing Draco who was curled up in a seat in front of the
fireplace, wearing a Slytherin green jumper.
“Harry?” he asked disbelievingly.
Harry smiled. “Hi Draco.” Draco stood and Harry’s mouth fell open. A large D
adorned the front of the jumper. “Did Molly make that for you?” He asked.
Draco looked down at the jumper. “I got it from the Weasley’s this morning.” He
frowned. “You didn’t tell them to send it?”
Harry laughed, delighted. “No, I really didn’t.”
Draco smiled, and Harry knew he felt honoured at the thought. “What are you
doing here?” Draco asked.
“I came to give you your present.” He shrugged.
They regarded each other awkwardly. “You didn’t have to do that.” Draco said
softly, tugging down the sleeves of his jumper.
Harry bit his lip. “I didn’t want you to be alone on Christmas.”
Draco frowned at the floor for several long moments. “Harry, about the other
day.” He began and Harry felt his heart drop. “As.. enjoyable as it was, I
don’t want to be an experiment for you to find out what you are. Our friendship
means too much.” He studiously did not look at Harry. A sliver of hope crept
back into Harry’s chest.
“And if it’s not an experiment?” He asked softly.
Peeking up at him through long eyelashes Draco asked, “It’s not?”
Harry shook his head, smiling now. “It’s not.” He took a step closer. “Even
though I don’t know what I am,” his heart tried to climb up his throat,
“besides in love with you, that is.”
Draco clapped a hand over his mouth. His grey eyes were wide. Harry winced.
“Sorry, it was probably too soon for that.” Draco started shaking his head.
“All I’m saying,” Harry continued, “is that I’d like a chance at being your
boyfriend.”
After a few more seconds of disbelieving staring, Draco stalked towards Harry and
kissed him deeply. “That sounds quite bearable.” Draco managed to whisper
between kisses.
Harry pulled away laughing, so happy and relieved. He leaned his forehead
against Draco’s. “Thank Merlin.”
Draco laughed, his breath tickling Harry’s lips.
“Here, open your present.” Harry handed Draco the gift.
With a devilish grin, Draco put it on the coffee table. “Maybe later, boyfriend.”
He said as he sank onto the couch, pulling Harry on top of him.
