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The first time he received it, he was in the hallway just coming out of class. Hermione told him there was something flying on top of his head. He grabbed the little paper crane and felt the magic inside it, knowing that even though he unfolds it, it would come back to that crane form.
“The paper’s blank,” Harry said, watching the paper fold itself again.
“I wonder who sent it,” mumbled Hermione, looking at the mass of students going their different ways to class.
“Some fan of the savior of the Wizarding World of course,” replied Ron, and he and Hermione grinned at him.
Ever since they came back to Hogwarts for their Eight Year, they had been the center of attention, especially Harry. But when everyone saw that he was the same as before - which meant he didn’t like the attention - they just stopped asking questions and looking at him everywhere he went.
Harry thought about throwing it away, but it was actually nice, and he didn’t know the spell it had, so he saved it in his pocket and they continued their way.
The next day at breakfast, he received another one. It was smaller but still blank. He turned to look around the Great Hall but everyone was minding their own business. He just saved it again.
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He continued receiving them for the next two weeks, not every day but frequently, and they were all different sizes. He stopped asking himself who was sending them and was glad every time he got one.
Right before the first Quidditch match of the season - Gryffindor vs Slytherin - Harry was surprised to see that this time, the paper crane that went flying in his direction, had something written on it: Good luck.
Gryffindor won after a rough but professional fight for the snitch against Malfoy.
“Well played,” he told Harry when they went down to the pitch, and immediately turned around leaving him with wide eyes. Although they were not bickering all the time like they used to, they just didn’t talk to each other at all, that’s why Harry was befuddled by that polite comment.
That night after celebrating their victory, he was in his bed fidgeting with the last paper crane and suddenly remembered another time when he received one before a Quidditch game: Malfoy had given it to him.
How could he have forgotten that? Well, maybe because at the time he was focused on the stupid, albeit very good, drawing on it and not the actual form of the paper. But still, there’s no way Malfoy is sending them now, is there? Why would he do that?
He then fell asleep with one thing clearly in his mind, he was going to check on Malfoy to see if that impossible idea was true.
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The constant vigilance on Malfoy took him back to Sixth Year, when he couldn’t help but to follow him all over the castle to try and catch him red-handed. However, this time it was completely different since Malfoy wasn’t serving Voldemort anymore. He paid attention to his classes (at least the ones they shared), he wasn’t mean to anyone, and in his free time he was at the library or with his usual friends.
Harry noticed that he wasn’t as snooty as he used to be, he seemed more mature. They were now eighteen, that was true, but the war must have had something to do with it. All that suffer definitely changed him.
The point is, a week had passed and he never received another paper crane. He kind of missed them, and the fact that this happened simultaneously with his stalking made him think that it could actually be Malfoy, but it didn’t make any sense because he didn’t even spare a look in his direction, let alone sent him something rather pretty.
The weeks kept passing and Harry found out that he couldn’t keep his eyes out of Malfoy. It was almost fascinating to look at him. His elegant and soft movements, his pale skin with a tinge of pink on the cheeks sometimes, and the way he passed slender fingers through his hair when he was apparently concentrating on something. He came to the conclusion that Malfoy was beautiful, and he really wanted to see him smile. Not those occasional little grins with his friends or the usual smirk, but a true smile.
He was thankful that none of his friends seemed to notice where his mind - or his eyes - were most of the time, because he started to feel something in his chest, and he recognized that something. It was the same he had felt when looking at Ginny two years ago, that he just stopped feeling and then both agreed to be good friends as before. But this time it felt even stronger due to his lack of communication with him. So he decided he was going to at least try and have a casual conversation with him.
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Easier said than done. Harry couldn’t find a moment to approach him without scaring him the hell away, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that he would not be welcomed. Until one day, he got the push he needed.
Harry was with Hermione a few seats behind him at Potions class and Malfoy was talking with Pansy. He wasn’t particularly paying attention to their conversation until he heard something very intriguing.
“Remember that bet about the paper bird that I made with Blaise?” Pansy asked, eyeing Blaise who was at the other side of the classroom.
“For the last time, Pansy, it’s not just any bird, it’s a crane,” murmured Draco wearily, turning his head to her.
“Yeah, whatever. Please help me and do it yourself,” she begged with a pout, “I haven’t mastered the spell and when I do it, it looks hideous.”
“I told you both I wasn’t going to help either of you. Besides, he’ll find out later that it was me who actually did it.”
“Yes, but before that I’ll get what I want. He won the last bet and I don’t want him to have two winnings in a row.”
“Why are you two always betting, anyway?”
“It gives the relationship a boost,” she replied with a smirk, “you’d try it yourself if you’d stop pining and actually talk to him-“
“Shut up, Pansy!” Malfoy interrupted her scowling at her.
“Help me with the bird thing or I’ll keep talking.”
“Fine! But not here. Later, I promise. Just let me finish this bloody potion in peace.”
During all this eavesdrop Harry was struggling with maintaining a nonchalant facade and thankful that Hermione was doing almost all the work. On the inside, he was ecstatic, his heart was beating fast and his mind rushed to that impossible idea. He had to talk to him and ask him straightforward if he was the one sending him all those paper cranes.
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That afternoon he searched for him in the Marauder’s Map and saw he was near the lake. He told his friends he was going for a walk and left the Eight Year’s Common Room.
Malfoy saw him coming and narrowed his eyes. When Harry stood right before him and his friends, he took a deep breath before asking, “Can I talk to you, Malfoy?”
He frowned, “Why?”
“Go and listen to the Chosen One, Draco.” Said Pansy smirking.
“Don’t let The Boy Who Lived waiting, c’mon!” Continued Blaise.
“Please?” Harry asked dryly, pretending he wasn’t interrupted.
Malfoy sighed and followed him towards a big tree. Harry sat down on the grass, the calm lake by his side, and looked up at him.
“I’m not sitting on the floor, Potter.”
“Humor me,” Harry was a bit surprised to see that Malfoy didn’t think twice before doing so, rolling his eyes as he sat primly in front of him, his knees almost touching.
“What do you want?” He demanded.
“I just wanted to ask you, er- where you the one sending me all those paper cranes?” Harry blurted out rapidly before backing out.
Malfoy just stared at him, his eyes widening just a fraction before returning to an expressionless look. Harry expected confusion, denial or even a snide comment, but never what Malfoy said next, “How did you know?”
Harry sucked in a breath, feeling very anxious, “I- I remembered that time in Third Year when you sent me one with a drawing of me, and… and I may have listened to you and Pansy talking about paper cranes earlier today in class.”
Malfoy averted his eyes, lifting a hand to remove fine strands of pale blonde hair from his forehead. He didn’t say a word.
“Why?” Harry asked quietly.
“Well…” he sighed and returned his gaze, talking sternly, “ever since you saved my life, in the Room of Hidden Things… I never really thanked you. I meant to do it, but I just couldn’t. Then at the trials, when you spoke in my behalf and gave me my wand back, I still couldn’t do it. I guess I was still in shock, but it was very rude of me. So I promised myself that I would do it returning to Hogwarts… and since I was still apprehensive to talk to you, I was going to write it to you.”
“I don’t understand…”
“See, I was going to send that bloody paper with a thank you note, and like the coward I am, I couldn’t even do that.”
Harry’s brow furrowed, “Why did you keep sending them?”
“I don’t know, at first I thought that eventually I would be able to write that thank you note. But every time I sent you one, you looked brighter, I guess. I did have the guts to wish you good luck before our Quidditch match, but that was it. Then I just stopped trying,” he said guiltily with a grimace.
“And then you stopped sending them,” Harry couldn’t hide the sadness in his voice.
“Well, you were watching me all the time, you would’ve found out it was me,” Malfoy said matter-of-factly.
“I was not,” Harry said impulsively, but he gave himself away by flushing.
Malfoy’s lips twitched upwards, and he lifted one eyebrow, he looked infuriatingly good, “Yes, you were. You weren’t very discreet if I may say so.”
He huffed, “I’m sorry, it’s just that I couldn’t believe it was you.”
“No, I am sorry. Here we are now, so it’s time for me to finally say it properly,” piercing grey eyes bored into his, “Thank you, Potter, for saving my life when you clearly could’ve died by going back for me. Thank you for keeping me and my parents away from Azkaban. And I’m sorry for everything I did and said to you all those years ago, it was very wrong, I know it now. I’ve been really trying to be a better person.”
A warm feeling spread through Harry’s chest and his heart fluttered, he grinned at him, “We both did wrong back then. Besides, I should thank you myself, for not recognizing me that time in your house. Everything would be different now, have you done it.”
Malfoy gave him a tiny shy smile, as if knowing that he played a very important part in Harry’s life, which he actually did. They just stared at each other for a couple of minutes before starting to talk about everything and nothing.
Harry was in a state of strange happiness the rest of the time, relishing the fact that this felt like the beginning of something between them.
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His friendship with Draco grew stronger by the day. They even got to a point where they call each other by their names. The first one to do it was Harry, not even noticing he did when they were bickering about something until Draco abruptly turned to look at him, dazed, and he replied with a tantalized “Harry”.
At first, all of his friends were startled to see them being nice to each other, especially Ron and Hermione. However, they seemed to notice that Harry was happier and that Draco really changed, so they even made the effort to talk to him.
Whereas Draco’s friends immediately took Harry in. He thought it would be difficult to get along with them, but apparently Slytherins proved to be very pleasant to be with, even more so because it looked like, after the war, they all changed their perspective of life regarding the pureness of blood.
The months passed and he kept telling himself that Draco was just another friend, no different than the others. But when he finally got to see him wearing a true smile - one that he was responsible for after complementing him on his transfiguration skills - he knew he was falling for him. His white teeth, his blushed skin and the way his bright eyes crinkled a little at the sides, tore Harry’s world apart.
Nonetheless, he never made a move. Draco seemed perfectly comfortable the way things were, and even though Harry sometimes felt as if Draco was flirting with him, he wriggled that thought out of his mind, saying that he was like that with his other friends too.
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“You never did show me how to do a paper crane.”
They were alone at the Quidditch pitch after a game with their friends, too tired to leave with everyone else. The sun was blazing but they were sat in the shadow, enjoying the spring weather.
They had once talked about the paper cranes after their first talk by the lake, and it was because Harry spontaneously said that he had saved all the ones Draco gave him - which made Draco flush - and that he wanted to learn how to do them and the spell he used. Draco only told him the spell, winked and said “I’ll show you sometime how to make them”.
Now, laying on the grass side by side, Draco hummed and asked “Do you have some parchment?”
Harry rummaged in his rucksack and took some pieces of parchment. He handed one to Draco and paid attention.
“Mother thought me when I was little - I used to try it every day until I perfected it - here’s how,” and he began to tell Harry step by step. Draco laughed at Harry whenever he made some atrocious bending to his parchment, and Harry’s heart quivered every time because Draco’s slim fingers would touch his to correct him.
After several attempts, Harry already remembered every step, but clearly his crane didn’t look as sophisticated as Draco’s, and it didn’t come back to the original form.
“I wish I still had that crane from Third Year. At the time I was furious by it, but now that I think about it, the drawing was actually funny,” Harry said amused.
“I know, I’m very talented,” Draco replied acting haughty, but then he snickered, “I remember that I even signed it… do you want another magnificent drawing?” he asked wiggling his eyebrows.
Harry deliriously said “Sure,” and Draco took out his quill and ink and started drawing, not letting Harry see whenever he tried to peek at it.
After a few minutes, he enchanted it and quickly folded it into his characteristic crane form, saying the spell to make it fly. “Like the old times,” and he put it in front of his mouth before softly blowing at it. It made a spin in the air before landing on Harry’s outstretched palm.
Harry unfolded it with excitement, while he felt Draco’s curious eyes on him. The setting of the drawing was a forest, since there were some trees balancing their leaves with the force of the wind. There was Harry with a smile on his lips and messy hair, standing and pointing his wand, from where it came out something that formed into a splendid stag galloping in front of him. Draco’s little signature was in the left corner.
Harry blinked and looked up at him, “Draco…” That was all he could say, he was speechless by the sublime drawing of him.
“Do you like it?” He asked nervously, and started blabbering, “That’s your patronus, right? I mean, everyone knows that. And I think I’ve never told you, but I can’t cast a patronus myself. So I’m kind of fascinated with the subject because I’ve always wondered what form would mine take. And yours is simply beautiful, so I-“
Harry stopped thinking and closed the short distance between them until his lips touched, interrupting Draco mid-sentence. After a couple of seconds Draco pushed away and it was as if Harry had been slapped, realizing what he had just done.
“I’m sorry, I- I shouldn’t have done that, I don’t know what I was thinking…” Harry was frightened, how could he be so weak to do that when things between them were totally fine? And now he would lose Draco’s friendship by his own stupidity.
Draco just looked at him with a confused expression and exhaled, “No, it’s okay. It was just… unexpected-“
“It won’t happen again, really. I’m sorry,” Harry repeated urgently.
Draco gave him a firm look, “Don’t be,” he mutterd, and after looking at Harry’s lips, he dived to kiss him.
Harry was astounded by that, but at the pressure of Draco’s soft lips, he quickly gave in. He lifted his hands to cup Draco’s cheeks, dropping the paper crane between them. Draco had one hand on Harry’s shoulder and the other grabbing his neck, and Harry felt euphoric. Draco Malfoy was kissing him, first only lips against lips, until it was tongue against tongue, and never did he imagine that it would feel so incredibly right.
After what seemed like hours, they broke apart gasping for air. They were still inches apart, still touching, and seeing Draco slowly beaming at him, Harry mirrored him.
“Thank you for the drawing,” he murmured.
“Anytime,” Draco replied.
Harry’s stomach growled, breaking the magical atmosphere, and Draco laughed standing up, “We should go eat something.”
They walked together in a comfortable silence back to the castle, his knuckles brushing along the way. Harry still couldn’t believe what just happened.
When they were right outside of the castle, Draco turned to look at him, opening his mouth to say something, but he stayed quiet.
“So… what now?” Harry asked for him.
Draco frowned, “I don’t know, what do you want?” he asked unsure.
“This,” getting closer to him, Harry grabbed his hand, “if you want it too.” Draco’s face softened by this.
“And you don’t mind? What everyone may say about you when they discover that The Boy Who Lived likes blokes?” He tried to sound relaxed, but his voice quivered at the end.
Harry shrugged, embracing what Draco said, “I don’t care what anyone says about me.”
“What about your friends?”
“They are already used to seeing us together all the time, they will just have to get used to seeing us snogging,” Harry said, his skin tingling at the thought.
Draco lifted one eyebrow, smirking, “I might get used to that.”
“Yeah?”
And Draco bent down to kiss him again, not giving a damn who was watching, because at that moment, it was just the two of them.