Work Text:
Harry gazed uninterestedly over the dining hall as the Hat sorted out the first years. While he was still technically in Gryffindor, the Eighth years had their own dorm tower, built by either the professors or Hogwarts herself, Harry didn’t know. The new sortings had little relevance to him, although he did note that the Slytherin table was much more sparse this year.
Serves them right, he thought, and immediately felt guilty about it. Several years of constantly being on edge around them certainly ingrained some prejudices. Harry was old enough now that he realized there wasn’t such a thing as absolute good and absolute evil, Slytherins versus Gryffindors. However, as he half-heartedly pushed around the food on his plate, he found himself longing for the petty bickers of his younger years. Not that he particularly enjoyed arguing with a certain snake, but it did make his day more interesting.
“Still mooning after Malfoy, then?” Ginny said as she slid into her seat next to him, Luna close behind.
“W-what? I’m not mooning! ” Harry spluttered, his face heating up.
“Oh Harry, the matters of the heart are not to be ignored. You’ll get even more nargles, and you already have too many to be healthy.” Luna sighed, a faraway look in her eyes even as she stared right into Harry’s soul, it seemed.
“There are no heart matters in the first place.” he muttered, looking back down at his plate.
Ron snorted, giving Harry an incredulous look as he finished chewing his food. “Mate, I was there for Cho, Ginny, and all the other people you think you didn’t like but definitely did. Hell, even your little thing with Cedric. I’m telling you, no one is this obsessed with their ‘enemy’ for purely platonic reasons.”
Harry groaned and let his head fall on the table. Okay so maybe he was a little obsessed, but it was for good reasons! And he was right about Malfoy anyways, but no one ever seemed to remember that. His thoughts went back to the blond, and he lifted his head up once again to see if he came to the dining hall. Harry knew that Draco was returning to Hogwarts, since that was part of his parole sentence, but he hadn’t been in the dining hall during the sorting.
His eyes scanned the Slytherin table and finally landed on the Malfoy heir, his heart stuttering and threatening to float up his throat to choke him. Draco had always been somewhat attractive, Harry can admit that, but now, he looked like something out of a fashion magazine. His hair was much longer, but styled in a neat ponytail, something that Lucious had never worn. Gone were the bags and gaunt shadows under his eyes that Harry had seen at his trial, now it seemed like his skin was glowing. Harry’s eyes traveled further and landed on his ears, where something shiny caught his attention. Merlin’s beard, were those earrings?
Harry groaned and once again let his head fall on the table. “Kill me now.”
Hermione raised her eyebrow and turned around to look at the Slytherin table. “Oh, I see. Ron look, Harry is realizing he finds Draco attractive.”
Ron looked perfectly scandalized, turning around in his seat to stare at the blond, who by now was looking at their table with an eyebrow raised.
“Can you guys please stop, for the sake of my dignity.” Harry whined.
“You lost your dignity when you decided to get the hots for Malfoy. Speaking of, ‘Mione, when did you start calling the ferret by his name?” Ron questioned, turning back around.
“Since he actually spends time in the library and takes his studies seriously, unlike some people. ” she sniffed. “I ran into him doing some extracurricular studies on muggles in the library before school started, since the Headmistress said I could stay at the castle while my parents recuperate from their lost memories. He’s actually not that bad, once he gets past the old prejudices.”
Harry groaned again, the sound coming out very strangled as his nose was still trying to dig its way into the table.
Ginny reached over to pat his back in mock sympathy.
Several weeks had passed since the start of school and Harry had taken it upon himself to very firmly ignore Malfoy. After a disastrous interaction in the hallway that had Harry stuttering and tripping over his feet as he realized that the ex Death Eater was now taller than him, Harry decided to save himself the embarrassment and just ignore Draco altogether. The only problem is that his friends have noticed. Even worse, Malfoy has noticed and seems to be going out of his way to get his attention. However, that’s what Harry was confused about.
“I don’t understand Hermione! He doesn’t insult me, or goad me or anything! I don’t know why I keep looking at him though, I think he put on a Notice-Me-Not charm, but like the opposite. A Notice-Me charm that keeps everyone’s gaze on him.” Harry reasoned as he hung himself over the bed in Hermione’s dorm room.
“Mhm, I’m sure that’s exactly what it is, Harry.” Hermione demurred.
“Really?” Harry asked, sitting up.
Hermione put her book down with a sigh. “No, not really Harry. Honestly, I don’t quite understand how dense you can be. You think he’s pretty Harry, that’s why you keep staring.”
Harry looked at her blankly. “No, I’m pretty sure it’s a charm.”
Hermione threw her hands up in frustration.
It all blew up when the Eighth Years decided to play a mock Quidditch game before the weather got too cold. The game itself was fine, although Harry was more than a little distracted. Malfoy was the other team’s seeker, and they had a strangely charged staredown in the air before the game started. Hermione was refereeing, since she didn’t like flying, and Harry almost missed her whistle announcing the start of the game.
It was like Harry’s personal hell, but good. Kinda. Half of the time Harry was looking at Draco’s face, and arms, and really his whole body as he swerved through the air. More than once he almost got hit by a bludger, causing Ron to yell at him across the field to “ get your head out of your ass and start focusing on the bloody snitch!” Harry almost slipped off his broom when he heard Malfoy laugh.
Dangerous, dangerous.
In the end, Draco caught the snitch right in front of Harry’s face, sending him a gleeful smirk that had Harry’s insides doing things that he wasn’t sure was quite safe.
“Getting sloppy aren’t you, Potter?” Draco crowed, though not cruelly as he might have done in the past.
“You wish, Malfoy.” Harry snarked, before blushing at the subtle innuendo he had accidentally said.
Malfoy raised an eyebrow and looked Harry up and down. “Maybe.” he murmured, before walking away to the showers by the field, his ponytail swishing.
Ron landed next to Harry and placed his hand on his shoulder. “Aren’t you going to follow him mate?”
Harry startled. “Huh? Why would I?”
Ron just gave Harry a pitying look before going to where Hermione was. Harry frowned, confusion taking over him. Why couldn’t everyone just say exactly what they meant? Irritably, Harry stalked down towards the showers, determined to wash the grime and evening chill off his skin. He dropped his outer clothes on the bench in the locker room and pushed open the door, bumping straight into Malfoy and his bare chest.
“Honestly Potter, you would think a war and being a Seeker would give you better situational awareness.” Draco droned, his arms crossing as he leaned against the doorframe.
But Harry couldn’t reply. His mouth felt extremely dry as he took in Draco, hair still dripping wet from the shower and a towel wrapped loosely around his waist.
“I- uhm. Mh-” Harry could barely speak without sounding strangled.
Malfoy smirked. “What, cat got your tongue? You can’t honestly be that shocked about my scars, seeing as you put them there in the first place.”
Oh. Harry hadn’t even noticed the scars, distracted by how toned Draco had seemingly gotten over the summer. They were pale and silvery, stretching across Malfoy’s chest and reaching up to his collarbone. Harry wanted to lick it. What?
“No, I mean, not your scars- I just. Hm. You look, toned?” Harry rambled.
Malfoy looked surprised briefly before looking down, as if he forgot what he looked like.
“Oh. Yes well, several months without a wand will drive one to boredom, and Muggles have the most interesting sports. I’ve recently gotten into…gymnastics? I think it was? Yes, well anyways, it was really quite fun, and I suppose that shows.”
Harry’s brain turned off even more. All he could think about was Malfoy doing stretches or even those complicated routines he had seen once on the telly.
“That’s uhm, great, really Dra- Malfoy.” Harry stuttered. He could feel the heat rising to his face and wanted nothing more than to sink into the ground. His eyes landed on the scars again.
“You can touch them if you want.”
“What?” Harry choked out.
“Go on.” Draco smirked. “You look like you want to.”
Harry did, but his mind was reeling at the tension that was building. Was it just him or was the room much hotter than before? Malfoy pushed off the door frame and walked towards Harry. Is this what prey animals feel like? The blond stopped about a foot in front of Harry, who shakily lifted up a hand to Draco’s chest. The scars were raised, but smooth, so thin they almost looked like spider webs. To think that spell almost took Draco’s life.
Harry winced and lifted up his head. “I’m sorry-”
“Don’t.” Draco interrupted. “We were kids, and stupid, me more than you. Besides, I did try to Crucio you.” he huffed, self-deprecatingly.
Harry shook his head. “But you didn’t, it didn’t even make it past your wand. You didn’t mean it, not really. I was the idiot who used a spell that I didn’t even know how it worked. I could have actually killed you.”
Malfoy looked away, grimacing. “Listen, we were both idiots, let’s leave it at that, yeah?”
“Sure.”
Now that the conversation was over, Harry didn’t know what to do with himself. His hands were still on Draco’s chest, and the blond was looking down at Harry with an unreadable expression.
“Are you going to leave those there, then?” Draco murmured.
Harry pulled his hands back like he had been stung, but Draco caught both by their wrists.
“I didn’t say I hated it.”
Harry was so red he felt like his face might resemble Ron’s hair. “I don’t, I mean- what’s going on?” he finished, lamely.
“What’s happening is I’m going to kiss you, and you are either going to hex me or do the same.” Draco answered, calmly, though Harry could hear a nervous undercurrent in his voice.
Harry swallowed, and then turned his face up towards Draco. “Better give me a good kiss then, I don’t like being disappointed.”
Draco inhaled sharply, before smiling giddily and wrapping his arms around Harry’s waist. “No, I suppose you wouldn’t.”
How long they stayed in the showers Harry doesn’t know, but it’s safe to say that they both needed a shower afterwards.
The next morning Hermione was leaning over Harry’s bed where he was wrapped up in Draco’s arms.
“I suppose you figured it all out then, Harry?”
“Hermione!”