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The corridors were busier than usual. Maybe it was because exams were over and everyone could wander around the castle again, the vacation period starting in less than a day. Harry was walking alongside Ron and Hermione, making their way to the Great Hall to have their lunch. When they were seated at their usual spot at the Gryffindor table Harry couldn’t stop himself from looking past the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables where the Slytherins were located. When he spotted the usual strand of platinum blonde hair, he made sure to search for the grey eyes of Draco Malfoy. They made eye contact and Harry was quick to give a little, almost imperceptible, smile when he saw the scowl on the other boy’s face. Ron and Hermione were too engrossed in each other to notice, as always, but the truth was that since the end of The Second Wizarding War Harry had found himself thinking more and more often about what Malfoy could be doing.
After the trials and Harry’s honest defence of Narcissa and Draco, he had wondered what would be of them from that point on. To his surprise, during the summer before going back to school for that 8th year, Harry had been helping with the restoration of the castle when he saw Malfoy again and he hadn’t need to worry anymore about what was he up to. It was difficult to have a single decent conversation without ending up throwing verbal knives at each other at first but spending more and more time together had transformed their arguments into a playful banter that both found incredibly amusing. That’s how they started getting closer since, at one point, during the last week of August they were both exhausted from helping finish the last bits of the castle and were sprawled in the grass around the lake under the stars. Harry was looking intensely at Draco who had his eyes closed and dared to lean down and press his lips softly to the other boy’s, heart beating faster than ever, a short, surprised gasp releasing from Draco’s mouth at the unexpected contact. When the blond opened his eyes, Harry was looking everywhere but him, a blush spreading from his neck to his face.
“I… I’m sorry Draco but you were looking so cute and peaceful and… I couldn’t stop myself; it was on impulse, but I’ve been having this crush on you since we started with this whole rebuilding thing and… It slipped… I’m so sorry…” Harry’s voice was distressed and full of concern, but his eyes were still unable to focus on the boy next to him who was watching him intently, absorbing every word of the rambling. When Draco saw that Harry had nothing else to say he got up, leaning on his elbows using a hand to level himself and the other to reach for Harry’s cheek, forcing the boy to look at him. When Harry gave up and looked into grey eyes, he didn’t expect to receive so much warmth from them. Before he could process what was happening Draco had gotten closer without another word and was connecting their lips again, the kiss sweet and slow. When they parted Harry rested his forehead on the other boy’s, a sigh leaving his mouth, and looked at him in the eyes. Draco was smiling with so much intent it made Harry’s heart warm up again.
“You have nothing to be sorry for and it was about time you made a move on me, after all the flirting we did this summer,” Draco whispered, leaving another peck on Harry’s lips as if he was unable to resist. Harry smiled, dimples popping out on the corners of his mouth.
“This means I can get to call you my boyfriend now?” Draco separated his face a little so he could look at Harry better, the question still going around in his head. Truth was that this was something unexpected, a platonic wish he had from time to time since 5th year, but never could he have wondered that it would be a reality and most of all that Harry would want to have something somewhat official with him.
“Harry, as pleased as I am with your question and as much as I want to say yes, do you think it’s the best idea? We are about to face an entire new year at Hogwarts with our closest friends and the wounds of the war are wide open and you’d be getting together with an ex-death eater… I don’t think your friends would be very welcoming if I’m honest…” His tone was sad, the smile dropped from his face. Harry took the blonde’s hands in his, squeezing a little before taking a deep breath.
“Draco, if I can get the past behind my back and understand that you were as without much choice as me for doing what you did, who else needs to care if we’re together? I like you. A lot. That’s how it is, and I don’t want to give up on something in my life because of what others think. Again. I’m so tired of letting outsiders have a say or try to control my life... This is something I genuinely want and I’m willing to try it if you’re up to it too…” He left a kiss on Draco’s cheek, making the boy redden again.
“If you think we should keep it a secret during the first months of school or until we’re ready and see how our friends are with the other, we could do that. That way it would be an ‘only us’ matter and no one else. What do you say?” Harry’s voice was hopeful, Draco’s hands still enveloped by the other boys. Thinking about it, it wasn’t a bad thought, and it would give him the time to get used to the idea of what being with Harry Potter was like. He took a deep breath before answering.
“Okay, we could try dating in secret for a while. See how that goes.”
And that’s where they were now. Dating in secret. Still the same old archnemesis for everyone else. Truth was that they had developed a good sign system to communicate without being suspicious and they usually met in the Room of Requirement at the end of their day. The excuse Harry gave to his friends was that he needed time alone after a stressful day and they didn’t really question it. Because exams were over, they had no more classes that afternoon so after he finished his lunch Harry got up and used the same excuse he had before. Ron and Hermione eyed him suspiciously for a moment, but it was quickly forgotten in favour of getting to their business again.
When Harry was out of the Great Hall he immediately started walking towards the Room of Requirement, his feet making him walk faster than usual out of excitement. It was needless to say that seeing Draco was always his favourite part of every day. When he finally entered, he was not surprised to find the other boy already waiting for him, seated on the couch that always appeared for them. The Room of Requirement was kind enough to transform into a cosy little living room, with a fire always ready and a comfortable couch with cushions and blankets, a little table in front, and a bookshelf with books that changed whenever Draco finished a certain amount, he was always reading something. Harry approached where Draco was seated to drop by his side laying down, so his head rested on his boyfriend’s lap. He looked up, a grin on his face, Draco still pretending to not have noticed him.
“Hello love, I’m not even going to get a little kiss?” Harry said with a sweet voice, being annoying on purpose. He knew why Draco was not in the best of moods. Yesterday they were supposed to meet here, as always, but after being forced to study for 3 hours in a row by Hermione he had fallen asleep without meaning to, when he went to his dorm to lay down a little and make time until they had to meet, which left Draco waiting for nothing and pissed him off, of course.
“I’m sorry about yesterday, I was so tired I fell asleep without even thinking about it. Please, have some mercy on me, baby. You know it wasn’t on purpose.” He was doing puppy eyes now, his boyfriend still refusing to meet his eyes. With an exasperated sigh, he incorporated and sat on the other side of the couch, away from Draco who looked at him from the corner of his eye, clearly paying attention to him now that he wasn’t in his lap anymore. A pout was adorning Harry’s lips, all the childlike behaviours that he wasn’t allowed to show all through his childhood more present than ever when he hanged out with Draco and crossed his arms on his chest. Draco couldn’t help but snort at the image, Harry was looking like a whiny baby.
“I forgive you for yesterday.” He said getting closer to the other boy, a hand reaching for the others. “But only if you promise to at least warn me when you wake up next time instead of going straight to sleep like you did, okay?” With a vigorous nod, Harry hugged Draco, pulling him to his lap, the book is forgotten somewhere between them.
“So, how was your day? I’m sure your last exams were just fine, am I right my little nerd?” Harry said with an amused smile, pout nowhere to be seen anymore. Draco huffed, fake offended by the nickname.
“Of course, they went well, if you studied with a little more intention, you could achieve better results than you do.” Draco was sure Harry was not using his full potential to get good grades in anything other than DADA and Care of Magical Creatures simply because he didn’t have much interest in the other subjects, which was not a lie. Is not that Harry didn’t care it’s just that he couldn’t quite bring himself to really concentrate on subjects he wasn’t good at, like Potions, which was Draco’s forte. He forced himself to study to barely pass any other subjects that weren’t the previously mentioned since he enjoyed those. Since they were in their last year, he was thinking about pursuing a career as a Hogwarts teacher instead of the Auror path as everyone seemed to think. Only Draco knew of his preferences, the same way Harry knew that Draco would very much like to go into healing but knew that it wouldn’t be an easy thing because of the prejudices with his family and their overall role in the war.
They stayed cuddled up on the Room of Requirement sofa until it was time to part ways again and until the next day. It was dinner time so they kissed one last time before exiting the room separately and going to find their friends so they could have dinner together.
When Harry made it into the Great Hall again, he found Ron and Hermione huddled up whispering to each other and when they noticed him Hermione quickly looked away, as if they were talking about him this whole time.
“Harry!” Said Ron with a strained voice. Not suspicious at all Ronald, well done, was Hermione’s sarcastic thought at his voice tone.
“What’s going on?” Asked Harry sitting beside Ron and face to face with Hermione eyeing them warily.
“Nothing, we were just wondering what was taking you so long since we couldn’t find you all afternoon.” Hermione was way better with quick thinking than Ron and it showed.
“Oh, I wasn’t anywhere specific, just wandering around, de-stressing.” Harry had a neutral voice, hoping his previous excuse was still believable.
It was then that Draco entered the room, Pansy on one side and Blaise on the other, laughing about something. Draco locked eyes with Harry for a brief second and didn’t make any other acknowledging gesture, which was their normal procedure in front of everyone. Hermione reached for Harry across the table shaking him from his intense staring at the Slytherin group.
“Harry, the thing is…” she said nervously, “we’ve been meaning to ask you something…” she grabbed Harry’s hands between hers and looked at him as if the question she was about to ask would make him potentially run away. “Are you seeing someone? Like romantically?”
Harry stared at her, his mouth open and his brain reminding him to shut it. The question was totally unexpected, and he obviously wasn’t prepared for it, if his raw reaction was anything to go by. Hermione was still looking at him, her eyes wide open and understanding as if they were saying that it was okay to tell them. But it wasn’t because he and Draco hadn’t brought up the “let’s go public” talk since the summer and he didn’t know if he was allowed to confide in his friends. On one hand, he thought his friends would understand and even give Draco a chance, these last months he had been proving to everyone how much he had changed and how against he was of his father’s beliefs and doings. But, on the other hand, he was terrified of anyone ruining what they had because he was truly happy for once in his life, and he wasn’t tied by a prophecy or by anyone else’s wishes. This was a Draco and Harry matter and no one else.
“I… No, I’m not seeing anyone. What got that idea on your mind?” He asked, trying to sound nonchalant but knowing that he wasn’t being very convincing.
“Harry…” started Hermione after a long sight, “we camped and live together for almost a year, and you think we wouldn’t notice if you were hiding something? Seriously.” She squeezed his hands gently making him look up at her once again. “I can’t understand why you would not tell us, it’s not like we’re going to stop you from dating or anything like that.”
“Unless you said something concerning like it’s Malfoy or something” added Ron with a snort shaking his head and failing to see how Harry’s eyes widened in surprise for a second. Hermione did notice though. “Is it Malfoy the one you’re dating Harry?”
Harry’s mouth rested open once more, his brain unable to process the situation. He had screwed up and a quick glance towards the Slytherin table showed him that Draco had probably been watching the whole interaction since the beginning. Ron looked at Harry with wide eyes too. “The ferret Harry, seriously?”
“Do NOT call him that.” Harry snapped involuntarily and regretted it immediately, there wasn’t further proof needed to confirm the matter. With a big sigh, Harry looked at Hermione once again.
“I… I am… I am dating Draco” his voice was barely a whisper, “but we haven’t talked about making us public because of what people would have to say and mostly to protect him from my fans” he enunciated the “fans” word since he hated this acquired fame and the people who called themselves his admirers were mostly annoying. He looked first at Hermione and then at Ron, distressed. “You cannot tell anyone, not a single soul.” and he was mostly referring to Ron with this. “You have to promise me.” Hermione nodded and after a bit of hesitation so did Ron. “But Malfoy Harry, how did that happen?” asked Ron, a mix of genuine curiosity and disbelief in his voice. After another moment of hesitation, Harry sighted.
“Remember how I decided to come to Hogwarts for the summer to help with the reconstruction of the castle?” He looked at both of them while they nodded. “Well, Draco was there… Of course, we had fights at the beginning and we couldn’t even be in the same space, but… After the first few weeks, we slowly started getting closer, talking more, fighting less, all verbal fights developed into bantering and before I knew it, I was carrying this huge crush on him with me…” He blushed again at the memory. “The last day we were hanging out together on the lake surroundings when I kissed him… It was an impulse and I thought I was going to be immediately rejected but it didn’t happen… The reason we are a secret still is because we are aware of what would happen if the world knew. I don’t even care that much about me, is him that worries me because he’s still seen as the Death Eater who let others into Hogwarts in the Sixth Year, and like I’m not justifying what he did, but he had no other choice, and he has redeemed himself and it’s still trying to. He works every day to be a better human being and he has changed SO much…” He knew he was rambling at this point, but he had the need to stress out how much Draco has changed, he needed his friends to believe him. Hermione squeezed Harry’s hands between hers one more time and looked at him intently.
“Look Harry, I believe you when you say he’s changed. And honestly, if you think about it, you two kinda make sense… But!” And she was watching directly at Draco across the tables now. “If he EVER does anything to you, I’ll punch him again like I did in the Third Year and this time he will have more than a broken nose to worry about…” Harry let out a relieved laugh at the threat. Everything was going to be fine. Even Ron, with his initial rejection, was taking it better than expected after seeing how earnest his best friend was on them accepting Draco.
Harry got up under the stares of his best friends and cleared his throat awkwardly. He knew Draco had been watching and would follow him.
“I’m going to bed, I’m really tired” which was clearly an excuse and the three of them knew that, but he needed to talk to Draco about what just happened as soon as possible. He said goodbye with a fake yawn that he hoped looked convincing to the rest of their table and made his way outside the Great Hall. He walked a few corridors and waited more or less hidden for Draco to appear. When he saw him exiting the Great Hall too, looking for him, a few minutes later he called in a whisper, “Draco!”. The boy turned around jumping a little from the scare and easily spotted Harry, looking around to make sure no one else was looking but everyone was still having dinner, so the corridors were empty.
“Harry” Draco started whispering too once he reached his boyfriend in the little hiding place. “Care to explain to me what you had so worked up there with Granger and Weasley?” His arms were crossed across his chest in a defensive position. Harry’s head hung low, his eyes finding their shoes very interesting.
“Hermione and Ron know about us…” He said and if Draco wasn’t so close to him, he wouldn’t have heard him, his voice any more than a whisper. Draco’s eyes widened but before he could say anything Harry looked up straight at him. “I’m sorry, Hermione just asked out of the blue and she’s crazy perceptive so even if I had tried to lie my body language was telling her everything and the Ron had to intervene and call you a bloody ferret and I lost it a little and there was no way I could save myself from that one, but they are both okay with it and they won’t say anything to anyone until we’re both ready, if we ever are, and…” Harry couldn’t finish because he suddenly had Draco’s lips on him, the kiss passionate and his mind went blank. When Draco distanced himself to look at Harry, he was wearing the most beautiful smile Harry had ever seen, and all Draco’s smiles were fantastic.
“It’s okay Harry, it’s time people knew how much I love you anyway.”
“Wait… You love me?” Harry asked in a daze, his lips curving in a smile so big his cheeks hurt.
“Yeah, wasn’t it obvious?” Draco asked with a smirk this time, his arms curled around Harry’s neck and Harry’s around his waist.
“I love you too. I love you so much oh my god.” He leaned in for another kiss, which became passionate very quickly. When they separated again their eyes were shining and they couldn’t stop smiling.
“Are you ready to let people know then?” Harry asked a bit wary since he knew it was a big step for both of them.
“I’m sure. It doesn’t mean that we need to make some big announcement, but I’m tired of pretending that I don’t know you exist out of the Room of Requirement. And I really want to tell my friends, want them to see how happy you make me.” Harry had the softest smile at the words Draco was saying and couldn’t help but to lean again for a quick peck.
“I’m tired of hiding too… I want people to see how good you are, how hard you work, and what an amazing person you have become. I want to hang out with you and my friends, and your friends and be able to love you openly.” Harry took Draco’s face between his hands and peppered kisses all over his face making the other giggle in delight.
“God, I just love you so much…” Harry whispered over and over to remind Draco always.
They knew it was going to be a long path and that even if they wouldn’t make a big announcement once they stopped hiding the news would spread pretty fast but at the same time they were happy about their decision and they knew that as long as they were together everything was going to be all right.