Work Text:
Draco sat on the couch in the Slytherin common room looking dazed. Pansy watched him with some worry. He had been sitting there blankly ever since he came back from fighting Harry, not saying a word. Pansy was so anxious she almost went to beat Blaise up. Blaise: ?
“Draco, what’s wrong? Even if you didn’t beat Potter, it doesn’t matter. Next time we’ll bring Goyle and the others. We’ll definitely get your pride back.”
Pansy comforted him softly, but Draco still didn’t respond. Pansy tried to move closer, because after Draco came back he kept his distance from everyone and wouldn’t let anyone near him, which made Pansy even more worried.
“Blaise! I’m going to find Potter and duel him! Don’t stop me!”
“Sweetheart, calm down! Potter is an Alpha. It’s too dangerous for you to go. I’ll go instead. You just keep an eye on Draco.”
Seeing that Pansy was about to storm off and fight Potter to the death, Blaise quickly grabbed his girlfriend and held her back.
Blaise was also completely confused. What exactly happened after they left that hit Draco so hard? He didn’t think it was just because he lost to Potter. There had to be something else, but Draco was clearly in no state to answer his questions. The best thing to do was ask the other person involved, Harry Potter.
Just as Blaise finally calmed Pansy down and was about to get Nott to go with him to question Potter, Draco suddenly let out a wail, then shouted, “Pansy, help!” and started looking around. Then Blaise and Draco’s eyes met, and he knew what was going to happen next.
“Ah!!! Draco, you finally spoke! You have no idea how worried I was, wuwuwu.”
“Pansy, save me. Potter is terrifying, wuwuwu.”
Blaise looked at the two of them buried in each other’s arms and crying. Well, at least the person had returned to normal.
After the two calmed down, Pansy anxiously asked Draco what had happened. Draco said awkwardly that he just lost to Potter, that was all. It was obviously meant to soothe Pansy. Blaise didn’t believe it, but when he saw that Pansy clearly believed it and even cursed Potter along with Draco, Blaise decided he could wait until they were back in the dorm and ask Draco properly what was wrong.
“Pansy, I’m so tired. I’m going back to the dorm to sleep for a bit. Call me at dinner.”
“Okay, Draco, go rest. That damned Potter, he only relies on being an Alpha. Just wait, Draco. I’ll get revenge for you!”
After hearing Pansy’s words, the smile on Draco’s lips stiffened for a moment. He looked at Pansy as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing and went back to the dorm.
After Draco left, Blaise originally wanted to tell Pansy about Draco’s strange behavior, but Pansy hooked an arm around him and pulled him over.
“Darling, you go back to the dorm too. Ask around and see what actually happened between Draco and Potter. If Draco is already asleep, check his physical condition. I think something is off. When I got close to Draco just now, I think I smelled an Alpha’s scent.”
Pansy said the last part uncertainly. Maybe she already had an answer in her heart, but she didn’t want to think in that direction. Maybe she was overthinking it?
There were many ways a Beta could be tainted by pheromones, but there was only one way to be tainted from the inside out, and that was...
Pansy forced herself not to think deeper, but Omegas were naturally especially sensitive to pheromones, and her perception of pheromones had reached an extreme.
“Baby, don’t worry too much. Draco won’t let himself be taken advantage of.”
If he had, then it must have been because he was willing.
Compared with Pansy’s worry, Blaise was more relaxed. Based on what he knew about his childhood friend, maybe things weren’t as bad as they imagined. But Draco’s behavior was a little intriguing. He was still quite curious about what had happened.
After promising Pansy again and again that he would make sure of Draco’s physical condition, Blaise also returned to the dorm.
“Draco? Talk to me?”
Back in the dorm, sure enough, Draco was still awake. He was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling.
“Oh, Blaise. Did Pansy send you to ask? I knew I couldn’t hide anything from her.”
Draco smiled bitterly, then rolled over and sat up. Blaise sat down on the edge of his bed and didn’t answer. He just waited quietly for Draco to continue.
“Fine, fine, don’t look at me like that. I’ll tell you.”
Draco looked at Blaise’s eyes, which seemed to see through everything, and couldn’t help feeling annoyed, so he answered irritably. But in the end he honestly told him everything, except the part about Harry biting his neck. As if. How could a Malfoy submit to Potter’s intimidation?
After hearing it, Blaise also sank into thought. His CPU was burning a little. What did it mean that Potter thought Draco was an O and that fighting with him was because he liked him? Arguing with him was also because he liked him? What kind of elementary school childish behavior was that?
Blaise vaguely felt something was wrong, but thinking about how Potter had tolerated Draco everywhere before and only fought back after being pushed past his limit, Blaise felt Draco might not be wrong. That meant Potter was sick in the head. No, he was already sick anyway.
“Okay, you can report back to Pansy. I really need to rest.”
Draco said, then yawned. Blaise saw that his eyes were tired and he really was exhausted, so he nodded. Before leaving, he helped him close the bed curtains.
“Harry Potter, you dog... how dare you threaten me... and you dared to bite my neck... just you wait, I hold grudges...”
After Blaise left, Draco was the only one left in the dorm. After the bed curtains were closed, his vision became dim, but he really was very tired, so he muttered quietly to himself and then fell asleep.
·
“Harry, what did you say? You and Malfoy? You two...”
“Yes, Hermione. I confessed to Draco, and he said yes. He also said he likes me too.”
Harry said a little shyly. The smile on his face hadn’t faded since he got back. Hermione rubbed her forehead with a helpless bitter smile. She had always felt Harry’s state had been a little off recently, but Harry wouldn’t lie about something like this, especially when the person was Malfoy.
Although she didn’t think Malfoy would agree to Harry under those circumstances, and whether he truly liked him was still uncertain. Maybe he was just fooling Harry? But looking at how happy Harry was, she still chose to respect and bless them. She just hoped Harry wouldn’t be happy for nothing.
“Where’s Ron? Why haven’t I seen him?”
After sharing with Hermione, Harry looked around the common room and didn’t see Ron, so he asked Hermione.
“Oh, before you came back, George came to find Ron. It seems Ginny was confessed to by a Hufflepuff boy by the Black Lake, so Ron hurried off to the Black Lake with George.”
After saying that, Hermione paused. What day was it today? Why were so many people confessing? Then should she...
Harry knew what Hermione was thinking from her expression. He smiled knowingly and didn’t say anything. He only nodded to show he understood, then gave her space to think seriously.
After leaving the common room, Harry still couldn’t hold back his excitement, so he put on the Invisibility Cloak and quietly went to Slytherin to see Draco. He had only been apart from him for a short while and he already missed him.
Harry carefully lifted a corner of the bed curtain. Draco was still sound asleep.
After putting the curtain down, Harry found a place to sit and planned to wait until dinner time to wake Draco, and then they would go to the Great Hall to eat together. Just thinking about it made Harry feel full inside.
He sat on the cushion by the window. On the low table there was still an open book and some unfinished cocoa.
Harry stared at the book for a while, then couldn’t help picking it up and looking at the cover. It was All the Uses of Moonlight Grass.
He wanted to understand Draco a little more. He wanted to know what he was like normally. What would the quiet, gentle Draco be like without the spikes he showed when facing him?
Draco seemed to have that kind of charm by nature. The moment he appeared, everyone’s eyes would be unconsciously drawn to him. Harry was no exception.
They had actually met earlier, in Madam Malkin’s robe shop in Diagon Alley. The delicate, beautiful little prince had smiled sweetly at him and shared his expectations and nervousness with him. He didn’t know when they had started drifting further and further apart. Their houses were opposed, their views were opposed, and even their families belonged to two opposing sides. The vague childhood fondness had gradually been covered by all kinds of emotions, until Harry entered his differentiation period. It was only three short days, yet it shocked him deeply. He had thought he also hated him, but thinking carefully, did he really hate him?
You don’t truly hate someone and still pay attention to their joys and sorrows. You don’t silently remember their preferences. You don’t try every way to get close to them. You don’t... you don’t want to keep walking with them.
He liked Draco. He just liked Draco. He wanted to be with him, to kiss him, to mark him, to leave his own mark on him...
·
“Draco? Draco? Time to get up. If you wait any longer, you’ll miss dinner.”
Harry called Draco right on time. He hung the bed curtain up and called Draco softly.
“Mmm, no... let me sleep a little longer.”
Draco murmured hazily, then turned over and covered his head with the blanket, only a few strands of hair showing.
Seeing him like that, Harry’s heart melted. After thinking for a moment, he didn’t keep calling him.
“Then sleep a little longer, Draco. Do you want cream pudding?”
“Yes...”
Draco’s muffled voice came from under the blanket. Harry shook his head with a smile. He pulled the blanket down a little so Draco could breathe, then left the dorm.
Draco was so sleepy and muddled that when he felt it had gone quiet by his ear, he turned back over, lay flat, and continued sleeping.