Chapter 3
The past few weeks were pretty annoying. Harry had struggled to keep his thoughts in order, always drifting back to that posh accent. How his sudden, very confusing, feelings had crawled up on him, he didn't know but they were there. He was not able to hide them at all, at first very confused himself but his words were giving him away even before he, himself, had realized that he had fallen in love. It took him a few days to accept it, but there was no denying it. Hermione had instantly accepted his confession, knowing that love was not a choice and that Harry must struggle really hard. Ron, he had quite literally thrown up. Harry had felt very vulnerable, knowing that his best friend was not very accepting of his feelings. It has been two weeks since he told them, today marking November sixteenth. They sit in silence, looking at their defense against the dark arts papers, not sure on how to finish the seemingly impossible task. Draco walks past them, sitting down heavily in one of the library chairs, wiping invisible dust off of his apple before setting it down and pulling a thick book out of his backpack. Ron rolls his eyes and holds back a gagging sound, making Hermione scoff and tap him on his foot. Harry realizes that he's been staring off into space, space filled up by the posh statue-like young man, and looks down with a shy blush. He notices how his jaw looks sharper, his skin even paler and somehow his body even slimmer, but not necessarily fitter. "Sorry but have you seen him?!" Harry whisper yells at his best friends. Hermione looks a weird combination of amused and worried, while Weasel looks like he is going to throw up. "Yes Harry, he is a handsome guy-." Harry blushes and instantly shakes his head. "No- no, no! Hermione, that's not my point, at least not this time- because fuck yeah he's gorgeous and-." Ron gags making Harry blush even more. Why was it so hard to focus all of a sudden? With Ginny he'd never had a loss of functionality... He was his shy self, of course, but it was never to this extent. "Sorry... I just wanted to say, have you noticed his body?" "Are you serious now?" Ron whines. Harry scrunches up his face awkwardly, struggling to get out his words. "No- I mean just- His lack of body is more like it- no not like that because fuck he's so fit still- ah bloody hell." Harry drops his face in his hands while Hermione giggles. It was adorable, how Harry was struggling to string his thoughts together. "I really, like what love does to you." Harry shakes his head while casting his eyes down, showing his shy nature. "He's lost weight is all I'm trying to say." "I don't pay attention to him, at all. The dudes an asshole." "Ron... The war has changed everyone." Ron raises his eyebrow and shakes his head. "No, Hermione. His parents were basically the cause of all of this! His family- what they did to so many people... to you! He's a fucking manipulative asshole." Harry looks at Ron and shushes him, hoping that nobody could overhear their conversation. "He was a teen, just like us. He might've been a pon in Voldemort's game Ron. Keep that in mind. He's also the only one of his friends to come back, I'd say that takes courage." Harry nods but Ron isn't buying it. "Still." Hermione chuckles and looks at Harry. "He'll come around." Harry smiles weakly. "It's only love, we've been through worse. I'll get over it eventually." Ron huffs. "You better mate, if that bloke is in love with you too I will have to drown myself." Hermione sighs as Harry smiles weakly. Ron bites his lip as he notices what his behavior is doing to them and looks down. "Look... I'm sorry that I'm not exactly jumping at the thought of seeing you in love with the one dude that terrorized our school years, I don't care about the gender you fall for man. I swear, it's just- it's just who it is right now. If you can show me that he's actually changed then maybe I can change my perspective okay? I just haven't seen a lot of that new Draco you're so in love with. That's all." Draco's eyes widen at that sentence. Harry Fucking Potter is in love with him?! It's as if his airflow got cut off and his hands wanted to be wet. He's never had sweaty hands like this before. What the fuck? He rubs his hands on his dresspants and bites his lip in thought of what he should do. If he leaves, they'll know he was there... well obviously they already knew since they spent the last twenty minutes talking about him. If he stays though, he might get a heart attack in the middle of the library. He'd never had a guy fall in love with him before. He doesn't think he minds but it was just odd that it had to be Potter. Why did Potter and him always get themselves in these types of weird situations... Well Theo was always pretty flirty but he flirted with everyone, they all knew he was bisexual so nobody minded, this... This comes as a shock. "Don't worry about it Ron. I feel stupid enough about this already. He won't ever see me as anything but his arch enemy so you don't have to be afraid about him being around us more often. As much as I might want to, he'll never be mine and that's okay, it'll stop hurting eventually." Draco shakes his head at what he's hearing, trying to make sense of what was happening around him. What the fuck?
"I think he's changed a lot already. He never makes any rude comments anymore, he doesn't hurt anyone who hurts him, he just takes it." Hermione says. "As he should." Harry whines, unable to hear any more of the disrespect towards his crush. "Ron! He was in the hospitalwing with food poisoning, a broken wrist which was his good quidditch hand may I add, the flu and breathing problems this year alone." How does he know that? That was supposed to be between him and headmistress MC Gonnogal. "Well... that's only four times-." "In two and a half months!" He exclaims desperately. Ron smiles sheepishly and shrugs. "I guess... you're right about that yeah." Draco sighs and shakes his head while eavesdropping. Stupid Weasel. "Let's go to bed, see if people are still listening in on him yeah?" Draco frowns. So that's why they take the long way to their dorms... they were checking in on him, to see if he was being spied on? "We can always ask him if he'd like to change rooms? The dorm that Ginny was supposed to have is still empty." Hermione says. Ron whines. Honestly if he kept going like that he would turn into a hungry puppy. "That's right next to Harry's room!" Hermione shrugs. "So?" "We are next to Harry!" Hermione sighs. "You can be so immature Ronald. Do you know that?" Draco chuckles under his breath and closes his eyes. This is madness. This is an alternate universe, isn't it? It has to be, this can't be real. Harry Potter is in love with him? Maybe this is a game. This is probably some sick game they're playing to trick him into... something. He'll figure it out. "We can always ask, I'm sure he won't take the offer anyway." Harry says. Their chairs scrape over the floor as they get up to leave. He pretends to have fallen asleep on his homework and breathes in slowly. They can't know he heard that. "Oh my god-." Ron chuckles. "Ron! That's not funny! What if he heard? I didn't think he'd actually sit this close to us." Harry hisses, as he bites his lip while watching Draco sleep. "He's asleep... I think I'm safe... Let's go." Draco pretends to sleep for another six minutes before he finishes his homework and leaves to see headmistress McGonnogal.
"Ah Draco, come in. What can I do for you?" He sits down at her desk and runs his tongue over his lip in thought. "I heard there was a room left in the left tower? I was hoping maybe I could switch? I don't feel safe in my room now headmistress. They're tampering with my wards and... well I won't give names as you already know by now, but I just want to change dorms if that's okay?" She breathes in deeply and hums. "Very well, if you insist. I'll have your stuff replaced to the left tower, you don't have to take all of this bullying though Mr. Malfoy." He smiles weakly at her words before he nods. "I'm afraid you're wrong there headmistress. I will do anything to get my mother out of Azkaban." She smiles a pitiful smile and nods. "I understand. Please come to me if more situations like this happen." Draco nods before getting up to leave. "I hope you know it is the room next to mr. Potter that you'll be moving into?" He nods. "I do, thank you." She nods and signs the paperwork while he walks out of her office. Harry Potter is in love with him? What in the name of magic...