Butterflies
The last thing you’d want to admit to yourself is that you have sex dreams about your worst enemy. I mean, just the idea of it is utterly embarrassing, not to mention your hatred for the other person being conflicted with your sexual feelings.
Draco Malfoy was never one to think anything like this, of absolutely anyone. So the shock on his face when he woke up that morning with a boner between his legs was absolutely priceless.
He felt sick to his stomach. Never once, in a million years, did he think of Potter that way. His body trembled as he felt the throb in his groin worsen.
He couldn’t ignore his urges any longer and rushed off to bathroom to take care of his problem. After a brief moment, the realization hit him. How the hell could he see Harry in class after this?!
Oh shit, class! He’d slept in. Throwing his clothes on, he grabbed an apple and ran out of his dorm.
Pansy and Blaise were sitting on the couches of the Slytherin common room, both reading their own muggle books. Draco always disapproved of muggle garbage and would usually scold them, but he had absolutely no time for that now.
Pansy noticed him rushing out the door, the pink hew on his pale face, his hair a wreck. “Just skip potions class, you’re too late anyway. Why not join Blaise and I, we have this period free.”
“N-no! I can’t, my father will kill me.” Draco spat, running out of the common room.
He burst into the classroom, interrupting Professor McGonagall’s lesson. She sighed and eyed the blonde, who quickly took his seat.
His face felt like it was on fire, his whole body in fact. The dream seemed so real, Draco simply couldn’t get it out of his mind. He remembered every little detail, every dirty memory. And he hated to admit it that he.. God, he liked it!
The blush on his face deepened as he realized he was entertained by his thoughts of the chosen one. All this time his constant teasing was to pester his sworn enemy, his crush. And all that it took was one heated fantasy to realize he was madly in love with Harry Potter.
His stomach had dozen of butterflies, fluttering left and right, making it impossible to focus on the lesson. Things couldn’t possibly get worse, Draco thought.
But of course they could.
He heard whispers from a few tables ahead, and watched as Harry turned around in his seat, examining the blonde up and down.
Their eyes met, and Draco knew he was right. He was undeniably and utterly crazy about the chosen one.
Once the class had finished, Draco rushed out to the courtyard. He needed to clear his head. He tossed his bag on the ground and climbed into the large oak tree.
He needed a moment to calm down, the butterflies still present in his gut. His cheeks were flushed, his mind adrift. He was head over heels in love with Potter, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Draco had discovered his sexuality during his fourth year at Hogwarts, when he had fallen in love with one of the Durmstrang boys during the Tri-Wizard Tournament.
His preference in women was slim to none, with the occasional small crush on anyone who mothered him in class. Anyone but Hermione, God no. Yet his preference in men seemed endless, his eyes constantly scanning up and down the figure of eighth years. Of course Pansy would remind him that he was only a sixth year, but what did it matter?
But even if he ever expressed his feelings for the brunette, was Harry even into guys?
Draco dangled one of his legs off the tree branch, feeling his stomach calm as he breathed the fresh air. He would’ve gotten his mind off the troubling predicament he was in if it weren’t for the golden trio.
They noticed his behavior in class that day and grew suspicious. After fifth year, Draco’s pestering persona had died down. He was no longer bothered by the pressure of his father and refused to make fun of anyone anymore. He usually kept to himself in classes that didn’t include Pansy or Blaise. Yet the golden trio was not convinced, they always believed he was up to something.
“Did Draco seem.. off to either of you this morning?” Hermione asked as they walked down the corridor. “A little, yeah.” Ron agreed.
Harry had noticed it too, the moment he had made eye contact with the blonde, he looked as if he’d seen a ghost.
They walked into the courtyard to find the devil himself, Draco, in the tree.
“Perfect timing.” Ron mumbled under his breath. Draco didn’t bother with Ron or Hermione, who were now leaving the courtyard, making a brief look with Harry. The flutter in his stomach returned as Potter trudged over to the tree, continuing the eye contact from before. It caught Draco off guard, swallowing thickly.
“Why were you late to class this morning?” Harry asked, starring up at the Slytherin. Draco felt lost, he wasn’t sure how to answer. He wasn’t sure why Harry even cared. It obviously wasn’t out of concern, but out of suspicion.
Draco climbed out of the tree carefully, landing on the ground in front of Harry. The space between them was too little for comfort, and Draco took a step back.
“None of your business, Potter.” He spat. Harry wasn’t giving up, too curious as to why the blonde ran into class forty minutes late. “You’re plotting something, aren’t you.”
“What the hell would I be plotting, I simply had a- rough morning.” He stumbled on his words, his body flustered. Harry stepped closer, cornering Draco against the trunk of the tree. Blush painted on his cheeks as the blonde looked for anyway to get out of this situation.
“Likely story, why else would you be so flustered?” The Gryffindor scoffed. Jeez, I don’t Potter, why would I? Draco thought to himself.
“Like I said before, P-Potter, it’s none of your-“ Draco’s sentence was cut short by a tickle in his throat, a choking cough escaping him. Draco was hit with a complete coughing attack, almost unable to breathe.
Harry’s demeanor changed, from skeptical to worried. Draco was more embarrassed than anything, sort of able to obtain his breathing once more.
“Are you alright?” Harry asked as Draco winced, leaning against the oak bark. “I’m-“ cough “fine-“ cough.
He felt another burning sensation in his throat, knowing he’d start choking again. Before he could embarrass himself any further, he pushed by Harry and ran to the Prefects bathroom.
He tried his best to stop choking, the sudden coughing attack only worsening. Cupping his mouth with his hands, he starred at himself in the mirror. Tears stung the corners of his eyes as he continued to cough.
He felt something in his hands, and suddenly the coughing stopped. A small flower petal lay in his palms, vibrant red. What the hell?!
Draco had no clue where it came from. It.. it couldn’t have come from him, right? Yet it would explain his coughing fit, but then how would the petal get there in the first place.
It made no sense.
He examined the petal, undamaged and untouched. He shoved it in his pocket, still concerned as to what had just happened. Trying to keep his mind off it, he made his way to the great hall for lunch.
Pansy and Blaise sat at the corner of the Slytherin table, bickering over some muggle movie series. Ever since they installed tvs in the common rooms, it’s all they ever talk about. Draco sat across from them, slumping down in the bench.
His heart was beating at a million miles an hour, his head full of way too many thoughts. Pansy noticed quickly, “What wrong with you?” Her tone came out a little harsher than she intended it, and she regretted it as soon as she realized it sent Draco over the edge.
“I need you to take me back to the common room, now!” He sputtered, feeling another cough attack inching closer.
Blaise and Pansy exchange a look before following Draco out of the great hall. He knew it was going to happen and he couldn’t stop it, rushing back to the common room before he started choking. Too late.
He stopped dead in his tracks, coughing over and over again. He couldn’t breathe. Draco fell to his knees, hands grasping his neck. His friends were shocked, helping him up. They each put an arm around him and helped him stumbled his way back to the Slytherin common room.
Resting the blonde gently on the couch, Pansy ran off to get him some water. Draco was still choking, little gasps for air between hacking coughs. He felt like he was dying. This was it. He was fucking dying.
Pansy passed him a glass of water, but he simply couldn’t take it. All he could do was cough. Blaise sat on the other couch, unsure of what to do. Pansy sat with him, worried for the Slytherin prince.
Draco felt something in his throat, and covered his mouth with his hands. The coughing stopped once more. In his hands lay two flower petals, both as red as the first.
Blaise and Pansy were petrified, almost as much as Draco. He sat there in pure utter shock, starring at the petals.
“What the fuck!?” Pansy screamed, shooting up from her seat. “What the hell just happened to you?!”
“I-I don’t know! It happened e-earlier! I choked and coughed up a flower petal.” Draco quivered, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the petal from before.
Blaise had gotten up to search through the large bookshelf on the wall. Draco was shaking, meanwhile Pansy was pacing back and forth.
“Did you swallow a flower or something?” “For fucks sake, I did not swallow a flower, Parkinson!”
“Well something must’ve happened, you don’t just magically puke up flower petals!” She shouted, grabbing one of the petals between her fingers carefully. She examined it, before giving it back to Draco.
Blaise had grabbed a book from the shelf by now, and was quickly flipping through the pages. He stopped on a page, and starred at Draco. The look on his face was bone chilling.
“Draco.” He said, and Pansy turned around. Blaise slowly walked over with the book and placed it on the table.
The book was opened on two pages, both focusing on the same illness. Hanahaki disease. Draco noticed the same flower drawn on the page as the petals in his hand.
“What disease?” He asked Blaise. The boy swallowed slowly, nervous to say. When Draco pushed further, Blaise explained.
“Draco, it’s a love disease.”
“The fuck do you mean, love disease? That’s impossible, those don’t exist.” Draco scoffed, folding his arms over his chest, crushing the flower petals in his palm.
“Malfoy, we live in a world with elves and dragons, anything exists at this point.” Blaise contradicted. “The disease affects those suffering a one sided love.” He read, picking up the book and placing it on his lap.
The words stung. One sided love? Funny. Draco crushed the petals tighter in his grasp.
“The victim will cough up flowers until their beloved reciprocates the feelings, or..” He paused, hesitant to continue. “Or what?” Draco asked.
“..Or the victim dies.”
“What?! I’m going to die!?” Draco yelled, standing up from the couch. The feeling to cry sunk deep in his gut, his emotion a complete wreck.
“I’m sure you can get your love to love you in return.” Blaise reassured and paused. “Who is it?”
Draco sat back down, embarrassed. Blush smeared on his face as Pansy and Blaise leaned in. When he didn’t answer, the question was asked once more, this time by Pansy. “Draco, who is it?”
“..Harry Potter.” Draco admitted, his voice barely over a whisper. “What?!” His friends shouted in unison.
“I’ve loved him for years, I was j-just too blind to see it.” Draco sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. When they didn’t respond, he spoke again. “There has to be something else we can do.”
“Well,” Blaise began, “There is another solution. The flowers are growing in your lungs, and when they grow big enough they will cut off your airway, killing you. Now you could get them surgically removed, but..” He stopped again.
“But what, Blaise, spit it out!”
“You would lose all feeling for Harry, permanently.” He said. Pansy felt relief. “Perfect! You can just get it removed and life can go on as normal.” Blaise agreed with her, “It’s the easiest solution.”
“No!” Draco shouted, “I don’t want to lose feelings for him, especially after it took me so long to figure out I had them,” He took a breath, staring at his two friends.
“I would rather die than be stripped of my feelings for Potter.”