Chapter Text
Harry felt his heart pounding in his chest as he read the letter from Draco again. It was laying on his bed when he got back from morning classes - having been put there by hand rather than delivered by owl as usual - so he knew right away there was something different about it. Reading through it confirmed the sinking feeling that he carried with him all morning, as Draco was not present at breakfast. No one he spoke to had seen him and Harry decided without a second thought that looking for him was more important than attending their next lesson, completely disregarding the fact that he might turn up at class anyway. And so, Harry found himself making his way down to the shores of the Black Lake. They had both found it a calming place of retreat when they were feeling stressed or overwhelmed, thus it seemed a logical place to start his search.
As he walked over the hill that led down to the rocky beach, he spotted Draco’s white blond hair on the far side of the lake. Frowning, he began to make his way over, trying to be as quiet as possible to avoid startling the other man. Until he’d read the letter that had been left on his bed, Harry hadn’t realised how much Draco had come to occupy his thoughts or how his feelings had progressed further than friendly camaraderie. He never even got the chance to tell Draco how much he had enjoyed their evening after Hogsmeade, and realised that he needed to do it now. Spurred on by the realisation, his steps quickened until he was on the same side of the lake as Draco.
“Hey! Malfoy!”
Harry frowned slightly at the now awkward and foreign sound. He’d gotten used to calling him by his first name quicker than he’d thought. Up ahead, he saw Draco whirl around, grey eyes wide. Harry ran the last few metres and came to a stop in front of him. For a moment they just stared at each other before Harry began to speak.
“I don’t want us to break up,” he blurted, not bothering with the air quotes they’d been using previously when talking about their relationship. “And I don’t want to continue with the fake dating either. I want to do this for real. We...we’re good together.” Harry shook his head as Draco opened his mouth, disagreement on the tip of his tongue. “Tell me you think so too. Tell me you feel the same,” he pleaded. “Otherwise, give me one good reason why we shouldn’t stay with each other.”
Draco blinked slowly, his face wearing a mixed expression of confusion, surprise, and panic.
“What?” he exclaimed. “Are you mad? Surely you’re joking.” He waited for Harry to start laughing and take back his words but as the silence continued to grow, so did the complicated twisting in his heart. “Fine, if we’re really doing this,” Draco muttered, running an agitated hand through his hair. “You’re you and I’m me. That alone is plenty of reason why we could not and should not be together.”
He stared at Harry, fists curled tight by his sides to ground him from bolting. Harry furrowed his brows and crossed his arms, keeping quiet until Draco explained further.
“Look,” Draco sighed. “Trust me when I say you deserve so much better. Way better than me, of all people. You’re supposed to get a perfect, fairytale ending and last I checked, a disgraceful Death Eater plays no part in that.” He fought to keep his voice even but failed to keep the tremor out of his words. “I may be a selfish git but I’m not so monstrous as to stand in the way of your happiness... Even at the cost of my own.”
Harry huffed, taking a step closer which caused Draco to unconsciously try and step back, but the lake prevented him from going far.
“You’re not a Death Eater, Draco. I don’t think you ever truly were one, honestly.” He reached out slowly, relief flooding his system when Draco didn’t pull his hand away. “Everyone knows you’ve been trying to be better and it’s working. We definitely wouldn’t have worked if not. But we do and I’m not leaving until I convince you to give us a chance.”
Draco tried to shy away and look anywhere besides at Harry, but could never deny himself for too long. Their gazes eventually met and Draco swallowed thickly, trying to remain articulate.
“You said yourself you don’t even know what you want,” he whispered.
“I also said you might be able to help with that.” Harry grinned, pulling Draco into his arms. “And I think you have.”
Draco scoffed but buried his face in Harry’s shoulder, attempting to hide the blush colouring his cheeks.
“You are mad. Absolutely and utterly. I can’t wait to say I told you so when this inevitably blows up in our faces,” he muttered.
Laughing, Harry cupped Draco’s face in one hand so they were once more standing face to face.
“Yes, yes. I promise you all the bragging rights if that ever happens. But I’d really like to pick up where we left off the other night, if that’s alright with you?”
Flushing an even deeper shade of pink, Draco looked around quickly before nodding and clearing his throat.
“I, I suppose that would be acceptable.”
Harry couldn’t help but roll his eyes fondly before bringing their lips together, the corners of his mouth quirking up as he felt Draco’s fingers sneak their way into his hair. Their relationship definitely wouldn’t be without bumps and problems to work through together, but it was real and they wouldn’t want it any other way.