Work Text:
Draco scribbled on a piece of parchment. Everything about that bastard annoyed him: the way he spoke, how he ran his hand through his hair, his overly confident stride in the corridors, his arrogance on the Quidditch pitch, his popularity. Wasn’t that understandable?
His friends often said he was obsessed with Potter. Ha, idiots! What was that supposed to mean anyway? He will mock Potter again. The accident during the last match was the perfect material for it.
He looked at his work and felt satisfied. Pointing his wand at the drawing. It began to move like a cartoon. Draco smirked.
Then he glanced at Pansy, giving her a conspiratorial look. She returned a smile. Taking another sheet of paper, he scribbled something on it and aimed his wand at the message as well. The paper folded itself into a crane. He repeated the process with the other sheet. Draco scanned the room, waiting for the perfect unnoticed moment to send his creations flying. The timing seemed right. Professor Binns never noticed anything anyway. Draco tapped the first crane, then the second.
He glanced at Harry, who briefly looked up. Draco shot him a smug look. The other boy rolled his eyes and turned away, clearly annoyed.
The two cranes rose, gliding softly through the classroom without drawing much attention. Draco kept his eyes on Potter. The boy looked surprised when the first crane landed on his desk. Pansy was out of his sightline, so he’d just wait for her response.
He watched as Potter unfolded the sheet. But something about Harry’s expression threw Draco off. He looked too surprised as he stared at the open parchment. The black-haired boy shot Draco a questioning look, as if to ask, “Are you serious?”
Draco had expected an angry or irritated reaction. But this? This was really strange.
The next thing that left the blonde puzzled was a laugh from Pansy. Had he misread her signals so badly? Was she making fun of his question?
He looked over at her. She was holding the note up with an amused grin on her face. Draco froze. Was that a drawing on her piece of paper? His breath caught in his throat. He glanced over at Potter. His cheeks had turned pink. Another questioning look met his. Draco felt like his face was bright red, though he hoped it wasn’t showing. Without realising it, he had gripped the edge of his desk tightly. His heart was pounding in his chest. Ba-dam, ba-dam.
This couldn’t be happening. “Fuck!”, Draco muttered under his breath. He kept his gaze down. He just wanted to get out of here. He felt so hot, unbearably warm. When would this class end?
He looked at the clock on the wall.
Tick tock, tick tock.
Oh Merlin, was he about to run out of the classroom?
He glanced at Potter again, who was using his quill to tick a box and write something underneath it. Draco felt a sudden chill. The Gryffindor grabbed his wand and tapped the paper. It folded itself neatly into the same shape and began making its way back to Draco. He felt sick, wondering when he would wake up from this nightmare. The paper crane landed neatly in front of him on the desk. He starres at it. Did he really want to know the answer? He could leave it unopened forever.
Draco’s hands trembled as he reached for the folded object. He didn’t dare look at Potter. Taking the crane in his hands, he used his wand to unfold it. He closed his eyes. Was he ready for the answer? Not really.
Screw it. He snapped his eyes open and saw a cross in the "Maybe" box. Below it, a sentence was written: “Opinions can change.”
Draco’s gaze drifted back to Potter, confused. Potter just shrugged and then acted as though he was suddenly deeply interested in the lesson.
The Slytherin was completely bewildered. Was Potter serious? Or was this some kind of joke? But the Gryffindor didn’t glance at him again.
“Maybe”, Draco whispered to himself.
There was no chance he’d be able to pay attention to the lesson anymore. His thoughts were spinning wildly, shifting from: He’s definitely messing with me. To He’s completely lost it. To What if he actually meant it?
Draco packed his things hurriedly and was the first to leave the classroom. He could feel Potter’s gaze burning into the back of his neck. The blonde hid and waited until the Gryffindor walked past him. Grabbing him by the arm, he pulled him into the empty classroom where he had been waiting. Harry didn’t seem particularly surprised.
“POTTER! What is that answer supposed to mean?” Draco slammed his fist against the wall next to Harry’s face.
Harry didn’t even flinch, responding calmly instead: “I think it’s self-explanatory.” He looked at Draco challengingly.
Self-explanatory? Bloody hell! Draco desperately hoped this wasn’t a trap. If it was, he’d be a laughingstock until the end of their school days. He might as well start getting used to the cold weather at Durmstrang.
Draco swallowed hard. It felt like an eternity as they stood there, only inches apart. Eye to eye, neither of them moving. Waiting, hesitating, minds racing.
Harry fucking Potter had ticked “Maybe” on his note to the question: “Do you want to go out with me?” The Gryffindor was here. He hadn’t pushed Draco away, his wand wasn’t in sight and he wasn’t leaving. He wanted to be here. He was practically provoking it. Well, nothing matters anymore, Draco thought.
He took a deep breath and gathered all his courage. All he could hear was the pounding of his own heartbeat echoing in his ears. Ba-dam, ba-dam.
He skipped the last few inches between them. Draco would never admit that he was in love with Harry Potter. Never! He had tried to forget him. Tried to hate him. He could pretend to hate him, but the feelings remained. He had planned to ask Pansy out as a cover, but now everything had turned out differently than expected. And Draco could never have imagined this happening – not even in a parallel universe.
And now, here he was: Draco Malfoy, standing in an empty classroom, about to kiss the most famous boy in school – no, in the magical community – Harry Potter. Surely, in the next second, he would wake up and realise it had all been just a dream.
In what world was this supposed to actually happen? In the reality where he could finally be who he wanted to be? Where he no longer had to hide? In the world where he wasn’t born into the family he belonged to? Where nothing was complicated and everything was simple? That world doesn't exist.
He felt Harry’s warm, soft lips on his own. It felt so good – his whole body tingled and his heart pounded relentlessly in his chest. The dark-haired boy stayed where he was and returned the kiss. Draco had no idea how long they stood like that. It was a moment he wished would never end. But eventually, he broke the kiss and looked down at Harry’s lips. Then he gave him another quick, brief kiss, as if to make sure it had really happened. He noticed a shy smile forming on Harry’s lips, which made him smile in return.
There was a certain tension in the air. Draco felt a mix of relief and panic spreading within him. His thoughts twisting like a hurricane: What if this was a mistake? What happens next? And what if Harry didn’t mock him for this? Harry remained leaning casually against the wall, his eyes searching for Draco’s gaze. He looked, somehow… confident?
"So ..." Harry finally began, as if what had just happened was the most natural thing in the world. "… Malfoy." Draco stared at him, dreading what the dark-haired boy might say next. "What exactly does this mean for us?", Harry asked.
Even though Draco had done his best to hide his feelings from others – and even from himself – he knew the truth: this was what he always wanted. But now when it actually happend, he wasn’t sure if he could do this. It went against every rule. It was bad enough that he was attracted to boys. And now, Harry Potter of all people – the person his father hated with every fibre of his being. If he got together with Harry, he would bring shame upon his family. He would be disowned twice over.
Draco’s nerves spiked. Suddenly, everything was moving so quickly. How many times had he imagined this moment, believing it would never happen? And never, in his fantasies, had he thought about what it would mean for his life if it did.
So many emotions were crashing down on him. Torn between feelings and obligations. You could clearly see the struggle in his eyes. Longing for what he had desired for so long. Responsibility toward his family.
"We can forget about it if you don’t want to." Harry said, a certain hurt in his voice.
"Potter ... Harry ... I ..." Draco was well aware of his feelings, but expressing them to Harry was a whole different matter.
"I ... I’m sorry, it’s just that so much is running through my mind," Draco continued. His voice nearly cracked as the words left his lips. It felt like he was fighting against an invisible wall, pushing him further away. "This ... it changes everything for me, do you understand? I never really thought about it. Why would I? I thought this would never happen. And now – now it really happened. It always seemed out of reach. I let myself dream of it every now and then, but I quickly pushed those thoughts aside. I didn’t allow myself to admit my feelings." He took a deep breath to calm himself.
Harry looked at him with his deep green eyes and it was as if the blonde could see understanding in his gaze. "And what does that mean for us, Draco?", Harry asked again, this time more gently. The question seemed to linger in the air, so intangible yet so urgent. The Slytherin shook his head. "I don’t know. It feels ... right, but at the same time so wrong. I can’t ... not in my world ..."
Harry took a step closer. "What if you tried? Without all the fear of what might happen?"
Draco looked at Harry for a moment. His eyes searched for a sign that Harry was serious, that he would face the consequences with him. "And what if I lose everything? What if I lose my family? What about our friends? Would anyone ever accept it? What if you realise someday that you regret this?"
"Draco." Harry squeezed his hand. "We never know how life will be. But I’d rather take a chance, knowing I tried, than spend my whole life wondering what could have been."
Draco opened his mouth as if to say something, but it seemed Harry’s words were slowly sinking in. Instead, he took a step closer to the dark-haired boy and as their eyes met, he felt the same warmth as he had hundreds of times before. Harry eased his fear, even just a little. Together, they could make it –couldn't they? Draco thought about Harry. He had just as much to lose: his reputation, Dumbledore's trust, and his friends. Yet, he was still willing to take this leap. It was a big concession on Harry’s part.
Harry had noticed Draco's lingering hesitation. "Maybe you should start by overthinking less and listening to more your heart? The rest will come as it will. Don’t you think it’s time to focus on yourself? On what really matters to you? On what YOU want?"
"You make it sound so easy!"
"It’s certainly not. We’ll face hurdles and challenges. I don’t know what’s going to happen. But I think we should try."
"You’re absolutely crazy, Potter," Draco muttered, though his voice carried a hint of admiration. Harry chuckled softly.
"Maybe", Harry replied, his smile spreading from his lips to his eyes. "Let’s figure out together where this takes us. Deal?"
For a moment, silence hung in the air.
"Screw it," Draco whispered. He pulled Harry closer until their lips met again. This time, there was no hesitation, no fear holding him back. It was a kiss that sought to turn all the unspoken between them into something that couldn’t be undone. When they finally broke apart, Harry looked at him with an expression that was almost triumphant.
"Is this real?" The thought that Harry Potter truly cared about him and that they were really doing this felt almost surreal.
"It’s real, Draco!" Harry said without hesitation.