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June 05, 1986.
Lily tried to arrange a little Harry's hair for the thousandth time, but when the combing spell failed to achieve its goal, she settled for giving her son a kiss on the forehead to send him off. The redhead was able to hear Sirius' laughter in the distance and James telling him That's my son!
“Dad and I will be inside with your godparents. Be nice, sweetheart.”
Harry looked at her in confusion.
“Can I come with you?” he asked, trying hard to pronounce it the best way he could, so his mother would understand.
“Not at the moment, love," the woman squatted down to the same height as her son. “It's a birthday party, you should go and congratulate Draco and maybe play with him and his friends. You remember Draco, don't you?”
The little boy snorted indignantly.
Harry was smart, so he was often told, especially by his mom and his godfather Remus, so obviously he was going to remember Draco. If James, his dad, was right, he and Draco had been friends for almost a year.
That snort earned him a raised eyebrow from his mother, who knew that gesture couldn't have been anything more than an imitation of Sirius. Then Harry smiled sheepishly and nodded his head.
“Then it won't be so bad, my lion," she gave Harry a hug, burying her head in the hollow of her son's neck and pretending to roar. Harry laughed in amusement. Go on, go. “Draco will be waiting for you.”
Then Harry gave his mother a kiss on the cheek and ran as fast as he could, stopping until he noticed children playing in the courtyard.
“You came!”
Platinum blonde hair appeared in Harry's field of vision, making him smile as he stood close to his friend. Sure, they hadn't been nice when they'd first met at the beginning of their first year in elementary school.
Harry vaguely remembered them getting on badly at first because Draco had refused to share his cookies even when Harry had lent him his toys.
“Pansy and Theo are looking for worms, barf," Draco announced with a disgusted expression, until an idea flashed before him and his face lit up.
Before the blond could voice his idea, Harry came over and hugged him.
“Happy Birthday.”
Draco, unaccustomed to displays of physical contact other than from his mother, stood still for a few seconds until he reacted and returned the gesture.
“Thank you, Harry.”
They both broke apart with a smile on their faces until Pansy's shriek made them jump in their places.
“I think Theo put it in her hair...”
“Do you want to see what the elves gave me?”
Harry blinked in confusion, then it was Theo's turn to whine and Harry decided to join Draco.
|||
December 22, 1993. Third year at Hogwarts. Christmas vacations.
“Mum said I had to study more.”
Draco looked up from his book and arched an eyebrow.
“You're not obeying her, I see.”
“I. Can. Not. Concentrate. Draco.”
“Give it a try. Harry. Sluggish. Potter.”
Harry ignored Draco's scolding and plopped down on the couch, facing the blond.
“Draco, Draco, Draco, Draco, Draco.”
The blond wrinkled his nose, “Ask Dobby for more cake and leave me alone.”
Draco made himself more comfortable in his place to continue reading, throwing a glance or two at Harry, who stood up and began to pace around the hut.
“Is it just me, or is there more room than last year?”
Harry sat down again, but next to Draco.
“Dobby convinced the rest of the elves to enlarge the place.”
Harry smiled as he imagined Dobby leading the elves at Malfoy Manor and seconds later, unable to help himself, he yawned.
“Really, Potter?”
“I'm tired!” he defended himself and then yawned again.
“Sleep and let me read.”
Harry complied with the order and curled up as best he could.
|||
December 18, 1995. Fifth year at Hogwarts. Christmas vacations.
Dobby disappeared in a matter of seconds and Draco prepared himself mentally and emotionally to continue listening to Harry talk about Ginny Weasley.
“Er, well, do you think Ron will be upset if I invite Ginny to Hogsmeade?”
Draco shrugged, feigning disinterest. Though the truth was, hearing the Weasley sister's name and seeing Harry's eyes sparkle at the mention of her left him with a bitter feeling.
“He's your friend, not mine.”
“It's time to accept that he's your friend too.”
“No. Granger? Maybe, but not Weasley.”
Harry scoffed and stared at Draco, squinting, looking confused.
“Do I have something on my face?”
“Huh?”
“You were looking at me funny.”
“Ah, no, no, nothing," the boy blushed and scratched his head nervously.
Minutes later, Dobby appeared with some desserts and left as both boys thanked him.
“I will.”
“Hm?”
“I'll ask Ginny out on a date, I'll, yeah, that's what I'll do after the vacations are over.”
Draco sighed and mentally scolded himself for his stupid sensitivity, then smiled at Harry in a way he thought would look sincere.
Later that day, Harry promised to visit him the next day at their secret place, at the cabin they always escaped to for a chat or to hang out. Draco couldn't help but feel like an idiot as he began to list in his head all the qualities Harry appreciated about the Weasley girl.
|||
June 12, 1996. End of the fifth year course. Summer vacation.
What was once a small cottage for Draco's sixth birthday became a larger place every day. Dobby constantly argued that his Master deserved a nice place to relax when he returned from Hogwarts.
But relaxing was something Draco wasn't doing because Harry Potter had arrived at the cottage and all he did was pace back and forth. When Harry arrived, Draco bit his tongue to keep from mentioning that Harry hadn't spoken to him properly in days.
“Will you tell me what...?”
“Ginny and I broke up.”
Draco inhaled sharply and braced himself for anything, “I'm sorry, I suppose?”
Harry stopped walking and Draco silently obliged.
“No, no, I, I mean, it's fine. Just, well, don't mind if I didn't tell you before, but it was two or three weeks ago.”
“But...”
"Even Sirius bet on it.”
“That sounds like Sirius," Draco conceded.
Harry laughed weakly.
“Yeah, I know.”
“Are you sure you're all right?” Draco patted the carpet, inviting Harry to sit on the floor. The boy quickly complied. “I mean, in a little while they'd be four months old, or a bit more, I don't know, and when a serious relationship ends it might…”
“It's fine, I swear," he answered, "I couldn't talk about it with Ron for obvious reasons, and Hermione told me," as usual when he was nervous, Harry adjusted his glasses awkwardly, "she told me a couple of things that I've thought for a long time, but that I dismissed because I thought he was crazy.”
“Will you tell me what things?”
As if it were possible, Harry began to act more nervous.
"Better tell me about how you seem to be the expert on serious relationships," he joked, getting a smack upside the head from Draco. “Ouch! I'm just being honest, with that Gilbert you lasted very little and…”
“Albert.”
“Yeah, yeah, I was wrong.”
“No, you didn't. You always called him Gilbert on purpose.”
Harry shrugged.
“He was an idiot, and you deserve better.”
Draco shook his head, unhappy with Harry's words.
Yes, it could be said that his ex was a bit of a jerk, but Draco was partly to blame as well. They had met in France in the vacations before starting fourth year and were each other's first relationship, so it's not like they knew what to expect. Due to living far apart, they gradually began to stop keeping in touch until the distance was unbearable and Albert, who hadn't answered any of Draco's owls asking for explanations, decided to end the relationship over a bloody flu call.
Draco had felt terrible after the breakup, especially since the last thing his ex-boyfriend told him was to open his eyes and accept who he really liked.
At the end of fourth year, Draco sent a letter to his ex-boyfriend apologizing if he ever felt like second choice. Albert, more calmly, confirmed that he felt that way the times Draco talked about Harry this or Harry that.
After that, they continued to send letters from time to time. However, all that Harry didn't know... the Gryffindor only knew that Albert had spent days ignoring Draco until the git, as he liked to call him, called to break up with Draco.
“And who's better for me according to you?”
Draco smirked without waiting for Harry to get up abruptly, stumbling and almost falling.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Potter?”
Harry scratched his head, feigning confusion. Draco, absolutely sure something was up, stood up.
“Me? Nothing, hm, I just remembered mom told me not to be late because she needs help with the garden.”
“Ah, then go, I don't want you to blame me for keeping you away from your activities," Draco joked and felt the air escape his lungs as Harry laughed amused, "Tell your parents I said hello.”
Harry nodded and hurried off, leaving Draco alone to read whatever book was in the place.
After a couple of minutes, Draco interrupted his reading. His mother's words telling him that Lily hired a professional to take care of her garden for lack of time left him thinking that Harry just wanted to avoid him.
Well, he thought, maybe then I won't have to tell her that a Hufflepuff, no less, kissed me.
|||
December 24, 1996. Sixth year. Christmas vacations.
“I didn't know you were here," Draco shuffled slowly to sit as elegantly as possible on the carpet. “Too drunk for your mother to see you?”
Harry didn't answer, just looked at Draco seriously.
“Will you tell me what's wrong with you or...?”
“You should go back to your boyfriend and leave me here," he muttered, but Draco could hear him perfectly well and tried to speak, however, Harry got up, walking to the door. “Or I can leave, so you can bring him here and you can continue whatever you had been doing before I had interrupted you.”
Draco also got up and stopped Harry from leaving, grabbing him by the forearm.
“You were the one who was spying on us?”
For a moment, he had thought Pansy was the one spying around, no doubt he would have preferred it to be her and not Harry.
Harry laughed bitterly and tried to wriggle out of Draco's grip.
“You weren't particularly discreet.”
“We were in my room!”
“Then go back and finish what you were doing, I don't care who you're shagging.”
Draco blushed and opened his mouth indignantly.
“Why the fuck does it bother you?”
“Have you gotten to that point, then?”
“No, no... It's none of your business! Did I ask you if you've done the same with Susan?”
“Between Susan and me there's nothing just...”
Draco withdrew his grip on Harry's forearm, knowing that their discussion would take a little longer and Harry wouldn't leave.
“Ron told me about the mistletoe.”
“Hermione told me about him.”
Harry, dizzy from what he had drunk some time before and heated from the argument, went back to where Draco had found him and took a seat.
“That was a mistake," he began to explain. “Romilda tried to catch me in the mistletoe, but Susan was walking by and...”
“Then she started inviting you to her common room, didn't she?”
“That started three weeks ago, and you've been together for half a year. I assure you we haven't had more than a couple of kisses, that's almost nothing to what you've probably done with that idiot.”
“Idiot? You're calling him an idiot now? I've seen them talk tons of times and now you seem to detest him.”
“Ernie McMillan is an idiot because he's not capable of making his relationship public, but he can corner you and...”
“We're not in a relationship," he stated, "We just hang out occasionally and we haven't been at it for half a year.”
“Hermione let it slip that you’re kissed...”
"He kissed me, yes, six months ago, but I only agreed two months ago that we could see each other," Draco carefully sat back down next to Harry. “Today after dinner, you see, he tried to ask me to be his boyfriend.”
Harry said nothing for a few moments, fidgeting his foot restlessly and making Draco feel more nervous.
“It's a Hufflepuff thing, I guess," he commented at last, avoiding eye contact. “Before the vacations, Susan asked me the same thing, I told her it was too soon and...”
“I told him no," Draco interrupted, also for his part avoiding looking at Harry, concentrating on looking at his hands and telling himself he wasn't blushing. “What else did you tell her?”
“I apologized for maybe making her think we could have something more," he replied and stopped moving his foot, inhaling and exhaling a couple of times, he seemed to be getting ready to say something important. “Hermione said it wasn't entirely my fault. I never promised her anything and we did nothing but kiss.”
“Hermione has...”
“I'm glad you told him no," Harry got up from the floor and searched for Draco's gaze, when he got it, he ruffled his hair, more nervous than ever. “I couldn't bear to see you together.”
A click sounded and the tense atmosphere was noticeably lightened by Dobby's presence.
“Mistress Narcissa and Mrs. Potter are looking for you," he announced, looking from Draco to Harry and from Harry to Draco, who never took their eyes off each other. “Master Malfoy would like to make a toast to Mr. Potter. Dobby thinks Mr. Malfoy has had too much wine.”
Dobby tugged nervously at a part of the tiny suit Hermione had made for him, realizing he had interrupted something important, and it disappeared with a snap.
“Harry...”
“I'd detest Ernie even more if he were the boyfriend of the boy I like.”
Harry broke the eye contact and left the cabin as fast as he could, he didn't see when Draco carved his eyes and repeated to himself that he heard right, that he wasn't imagining anything.
|||
December 31, 1996. Sixth year. Christmas vacations.
Obviously, Harry didn't look for Draco and neither did Draco, he just waited patiently for the damn week to pass until he could see him at the end of the year party that Lily Potter had organized.
When Draco arrived, Harry was chatting with Weasley and Hermione. To Draco's misfortune, Harry never left the company of the pair of Gryffindors.
However, Draco took advantage of the little looks Harry gave him from time to time to smile flirtatiously or bite his lip. On one of those times, Hermione noticed and winked at him as a form of support, Draco suspected that she connected the dots long ago. Ron noticed too and, contrary to Draco's belief, didn't give him a dirty look, he just had that reaction that screamed he finally understood something he'd been trying to figure out for a while now.
Approximately twenty minutes before midnight, Draco called an end to his talk with Luna, who had accompanied him for much of the night, and prepared to send Hermione and Weasley away so he could talk to Harry alone. Fortunately, that wasn't necessary as the pair slipped away somewhere in Harry's house where no one could interrupt them.
Draco had planned to wait a few minutes before going to Harry, not wanting to appear desperate to talk to the boy, but changed his mind when he noticed Ginny Weasley, who was on the other side of the room, moving determinedly in Harry's direction.
He remembered Hermione telling him that Ginny, although she was the one who ended her relationship with Harry for reasons she never explained to him, still looked at Harry with smitten eyes and sought to spend time with him constantly.
Having the advantage of having hung out near where Harry was, Draco rubbed his hands together and approached the boy, who was staring at the upholstered wall with mock interest. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Ginny stopped mid-step and Luna approached her, starting a conversation.
“Dobby managed to connect the hut to the Red Flu.”
“Oh, hello, I think," Harry turned to look at Draco, adjusting his glasses. “Is that possible?”
“Sure. Do you want to see?”
Harry stood up awkwardly and began to follow Draco into the living room to take the Red Flu to the cabin.
When they entered the hut, Harry wiped the remnants of the magic powder from his robes as Draco scoffed at the fact. Then, catching Harry off guard, Draco grabbed the boy by the shoulders and guided him to the couch so they could both sit down.
Draco glared at Harry, who glared back.
“You're the Gryffindor, so you have to start talking.”
“That's not fair.”
“Harry, nothing in this life is fair," the blond replied. “Besides, let me remind you that it was me who took the first step and brought you here.”
“I, well, I don't know what you want me to tell you," at Draco's frown he raised his hands in surrender, "Don't look at me like that! I told you what I wanted to tell you a week ago and I accept that you might not feel the same way, yes, I know I'm a fool to think you could notice me when any fancy boy would be happy to be by your side because-” he took a deep breath and placed a finger on Draco's lips, preventing him from interrupting, “because you're wonderful and I needed to tell you that I like you like I've never liked anyone before.”
“Harry...”
“If you're going to reject me, just tell me to leave.”
Draco grabbed Harry's wrist, removing his finger from his lips.
“You're a fool, Harry Potter," Draco held his grip on Harry's wrist, who wanted to get up and leave. “And, despite that, I like you too much.”
Harry blinked like an owl, trying to take in Draco's words.
“You don't...?”
“I'm not lying to you, Harry. I've liked you for a long time.”
“Oh, that's good, very good, I mean, hm, I've liked you for a long time too.”
Draco cocked his head to one side and sighed quietly, then a lock of his hair fell over his face and before he could pull it back on his own, Harry pulled it back and cradled Draco's cheek.
-"I think I liked you a lot before I realized it," Harry admitted in a whisper. “I mean, I refused for a long time to accept that I liked boys and girls, but no person has ever appealed to me as much as you.”
“End of fourth year.”
“End of fifth year.”
“When...?”
“Yes, she said if I liked talking about you so much, maybe I should ask you out.”
“He told me to open my eyes," he commented quietly. “She still likes you, you know?”
“Er, I think you're kind of right.”
Harry moved closer to Draco, not moving his hand away from his slightly flushed cheek. Draco opened his mouth to ask something else when Harry shook his head.
“Can I kiss you?”
A sarcastic reply died in Draco's throat and, finding nothing but his own desire, he agreed, taking the initiative and kissed Harry.
The kiss had barely begun to deepen when Draco broke away and smiled like never before.
“You must kiss me properly at midnight," the blond warned.
Harry didn't respond, he just picked up his wand and cast a Tempus. Then, he reached Draco's lips again. Both lost in the safety of their secret place.