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Harry sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, fuming. The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang had arrived two weeks ago. Only 24 hours later, the Goblet of Fire chose its champions…including Harry. Since then, Harry had been ostracized by most everyone in the school except for Hermione Granger. His first ever best friend Ron Weasley had accused him of entering the tournament, and refused to believe him even when he swore he hadn’t over and over again. Gryffindor House was pleased he’d been named a champion, though no one seemed to ever hear him when he denied entering himself. Hermione, at least, believed him, and her quiet support had helped keep him sane in the intervening weeks.
But he was quickly losing whatever grip he had left on his sanity, and it was all due to him.
Sure, he hadn’t been pleased by the badges…Potter Stinks? It wasn’t even clever, let alone funny. But at least it was a piece of normality in the insanity that Hogwarts always seemed to bring to his life. Draco Malfoy was an arrogant, poncy git. Harry got mad. They fought. Snape caught them and blamed the Gryffindors while ignoring any Slytherin culpability. This pattern, established early in his very first year at Hogwarts, was known, expected even.
But with the presence of students from two new schools within Hogwarts’ walls, some things had changed. All of the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were receiving heightened interest from the Hogwarts students, especially the two champions. Harry couldn’t care less about the attention being heaped upon Fleur Delacour. After all, he’d never wanted the constant attention that his fame had saddled him with. He wasn’t bothered by numerous eager fans of Viktor Krum either…except for one. Draco Malfoy.
For two weeks, Harry had watched Draco Malfoy fawn over Krum. Malfoy made sure to sit near Krum at as many meals as he could. He would offer up dishes for Krum to try, and took advantage of every opportunity for conversation. He preened in Krum’s proximity, constantly touching his perfectly coiffured hair. Harry swore he had even seen Malfoy bat his eyes at Krum. Malfoy could frequently be seen in Krum’s company around campus, talking quietly with him, occasionally laying a hand on his arm as he spoke. Malfoy’s tone, when Harry could hear them, was nothing short of flirtatious.
Harry was sick of it. He didn’t have much in this world. Hell, lately it seemed like he had even less, especially in the wake of Ron’s betrayal. But one thing he had always been assured of was Malfoy’s attention. To lose that too? It was intolerable.
So as Harry watched Malfoy stand up from the table, laying a hand on Krum’s shoulder as he leaned forward to quietly whisper something, he felt something snap. And before he knew what he was about, he was striding out of the Great Hall, just in time to catch Malfoy before he turned a corner to head towards the dungeons.
“MALFOY!” Harry shouted, his voice by no means quiet, but thankfully quiet enough to not pass through the heavy Great Hall doors.
Malfoy paused and turned around. He saw Harry and raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.
“Yes, Potter?” He drawled.
Harry didn’t pause in his steps, he strode right up to Malfoy until he stood only inches in front of him. He vaguely noticed his chest was almost heaving with repressed emotion.
“What the hell?” He hissed quietly.
Malfoy’s brow rose further.
“I beg your pardon?”
“What are you doing with Krum?”
Malfoy’s face turned incredulous.
“Excuse me? What are you talking about?”
“Krum! You’re always talking to him…touching him…you barely leave his side!”
A flicker of further surprise darted over Malfoy’s face before he blinked, and an emotionless mask slipped back on.
“I’m sorry, Potter, are you jealous?” He drawled, letting a bit of his incredulity tint his voice as he said the word “jealous.”
Harry felt himself rear back slightly in surprise at the question.
“What?! No!”
“Really? Then please do explain not only why you care about my relationship with Krum, but also why you believe it is any of your business.” He retorted.
Harry found his mouth moving before he even realized it, “Relationship?!?”
Malfoy stared at him, waiting. And because Harry’s mouth and brain had both betrayed him, he found himself speaking further.
“Are you dating Krum?”
“What would it be to you if I am?”
Inexplicably, Harry felt his heart rate increase further and panic welled up inside him.
“Well…I…I…you…” His words seemed to have suddenly deserted him, even as his mind raced trying to process the idea of Malfoy and Krum dating.
“Yes?” Malfoy drawled, letting the ‘s’ sound linger even as he raised that damn eyebrow again.
Harry shook himself lightly, refusing to let Malfoy get the best of him.
“Is it because he’s famous?”
Malfoy’s eyes widened in surprise, and he said nothing.
“Because just because he’s famous doesn’t mean he’s special” Harry found himself retorting defensively, “I mean, he’s only even famous for Quidditch. It’s not like he’s really famous. Not like me.”
Malfoy was silent for a moment, before he said, “Krum’s not really famous?” disbelief colouring his words.
“Well, I mean, yeah, he’s famous.” Harry replied, “But only to people who care about Quidditch, he’s not a household name or anything.”
Malfoy stared at him, his eyes searching over Harry’s face, like he was trying to read his mind.
Finally, Malfoy asked, “So what if I’m paying attention to Krum because he’s famous?”
Again, words were coming out of Harry’s mouth of their own volition, “But why don’t you pay attention like that to me?”
Suddenly, Harry stopped, his face turning a deep red as he realized what he had just said.
Was he really jealous of Krum because Malfoy wasn’t paying attention to him? Sure, he’d found himself becoming more and more irritated by Malfoy’s fawning, but was that why? And if it was…why did he care what attention Malfoy paid to Krum? Shouldn’t he be pleased that Malfoy had been too busy with Krum to bother him since those stupid badges?
No, Harry realized, he really wasn’t pleased by that. He wanted Malfoy’s attention. Why had Malfoy abandoned him for Krum?
“But why…” Harry began quietly, even as he continued to try to process the direction this conversation had taken, “why don’t you pay attention to me like that? We’re both famous. We’re both rich. We’re both good Seekers…why are you treating him differently?”
Malfoy stared again.
“I offered you my hand in first year, and you turned it down.” Malfoy said evenly, “Now you’re jealous that I’m ignoring you? That I’m paying attention to someone else?”
Harry found his mouth suddenly dry, and no words seemed forthcoming, so he nodded.
Malfoy sighed, shaking his head slightly, even as his lips quirked with a small smile.
“Potter,” he said, “I’ve been paying attention to Krum because no matter what I do to get your attention, you never seem to notice me…After the badges failed to get more than a single jinx from you, I decided it was time to give up and move on. I thought maybe I could do that with Krum.” He paused, “Are you telling me I finally got your attention by stopping trying?” He asked, the irony clear in his voice.
Harry was dumbfounded. He wanted Malfoy’s attention. Malfoy had been trying to get his attention. Krum was a consolation prize. What did it all mean?
He started at Malfoy, his mouth slightly open as he tried to come up with words.
Malfoy smiled wistfully.
“I guess you need more time. That’s okay. I can wait.” He paused, before finishing quietly, “See you later, Potter.”
He began to turn and walk away.
“Wait!” He found himself saying, “Does that mean you’ll stop fawning over Krum?”
Malfoy laughed. It was a deep, rich sound he’d never heard before and it did funny things to his insides.
“Yes, Potter, I’ll stop paying attention to Krum. All my attention will be for you.” He gave Harry one last smile, and walked away, disappearing down the steps to the dungeons.
Harry stood there for a long moment. He wasn’t quite sure had just happened, but he found himself…pleased. As he took a deep breath, he felt hope fill his chest, and he smiled. He wasn’t sure where it would lead yet, but he was looking forward to having all of Draco Malfoy’s attention again.