“Pottah!” Malfoy bellowed and stood from his seat, marching towards the Gryffindor table fuming.
“Pottah!” Malfoy spat angrily when he stood before Harry and slapped today’s Daily Prophet onto the table. Pointing accusingly at the newspaper he asked, “What the fuck is this?”
Harry peered at the newspaper and sighed. “I gave them an interview. What of it?”
“You said, and I quote: ‘Voldemort was my greatest enemy’! How dare you lie, Potter? I feel tricked, betrayed, deceived!” As Malfoy babbled on, Harry stared at his rapidly reddening face in fascination.
“I didn’t lie, Malfoy. Voldemort was my greatest enemy. But now he’s dead and most of the remaining Death Eaters are in prison, so I don’t have enemies anymore. I wanted to reassure the people that all danger and war is over now. So, Malfoy, rest assured. We are all save, now that the biggest threat is gone. Can I resume eating, now?” Harry explained with all the patience he had which wasn’t very much. He wanted just one peaceful breakfast, was that too much to ask?
Malfoy didn’t scram, though. Instead, he spluttered and cried out indignantly, “What about me? I’m still your enemy! We fight all the time!” He seemed to be near hyperventilation.
Harry looked at the blonde in concern. “Woah, calm down, Malfoy. I don’t want to fight with you.” The Gryffindor held up his hands in a soothing manner.
But the Slytherin only seemed to get worked up even more. “Oh, so you want to fight with another guy, is that it?”
Harry got really confused now. “I–what? Didn’t you hear me explaining how all my enemies aren’t bothering me anymore?”
Malfoy ignored his question and asked, voice pitched very high in hysteria, “Do you hate someone else?”
Harry heaved a sigh. It was too early in the morning for this. He rubbed tiredly his eyes. “Malfoy”, Harry said very calmly, adopting the tone he used when his godson Teddy was playing with his food and got Harry all wet and sticky and needed to be gently reprimanded – though Harry doubted a one-year-old toddler understood what he said –, “you never were my enemy. Sure, you bullied me, and I wasn’t always nice to you. But I don’t hate you. Hell, I think I never really hated you. In comparison to all the Voldemort shit, everything else pales in significance. We had a little childhood rivalry, so what? No big deal.”
Harry looked up to see if Malfoy understood and was surprised to find the blonde boy bursting into tears.
“I–I thought we had a th–thing. There was chem–chemistry between us, Ha–Harry. All–all the sparks, Harry. I thought we were arch enemies!”
Harry helplessly glanced to his friends who looked equally as stunned by Malfoy’s behaviour. Hermione elbowed Ron in the side as if to say, ‘Do something!’
Ron coughed awkwardly and tried to placate the blonde, blubbering mess. “Uhm, yeah, sure, Malfoy. There–there were sparks. Uh, remember sixth year? When Harry stalked and nearly killed you?”
Harry wanted to protest but was hushed by Hermione. Malfoy nodded slowly, focusing his big silver eyes on the redhead hopefully.
“Well, uh. Harry used this spell. It was dumb, really, because he didn’t know what the spell did. And who is using a spell no one knows anything about? Anyway, the book Harry found the spell in said, the spell is for enemies, right? So, technically, what I mean to say is, Malfoy, you are Harry’s enemy!” Ron babbled, earning an approving look from Hermione.
Malfoy watched Ron consideringly, making the redhead squirm under the scrutiny. The blonde seemed to come to conclude that Ron wasn’t lying and wiped the tears off his face. “So, I am still Ha–Potter’s enemy, yes?”
Ron nodded solemnly. But Harry ruined everything with his immediate outburst of “NO!”
Malfoy turned to Harry, tearing up again. In a wobbly voice he asked “No?”
“No, Malfoy. Look, we had our differences in the past but it’s over now. And all we ever did was bicker. It was nothing serious.”
Malfoy gasped. “How could you say that, Harry? Am I nothing to you? Does everything I did to you, mean nothing? Are you–are you breaking it off with me?” He was full on sobbing again.
Harry stood up to get closer to Malfoy and hovered next to the crying boy with flailing hands. “Mal–Draco, please don’t cry! I didn’t mean it like that. You, uhm, you did good!” Then, he embraced the boy and patted him awkwardly on the back.
“I did go–good?” Draco cried even harder, burying his face in Harry’s shoulder. He grabbed Harry’s robes and held them tightly in his fists. “I’m supposed to be the villain here, Harry!” Draco wailed.
Frantically Harry searched for the right words to say. “Ah, shit. I’m sorry! I meant you did good…at being bad?” Seeing, it wasn’t helping either as Draco only shook more with hiccups and sobs, Harry sighed in frustration.
“Oh, sod it! Draco, you are not my enemy under any circumstances, alright? I mean, yes, I used that spell, and I am really sorry for that, believe me! It was pretty dumb, and I hate myself for it. Wait.” Harry had an idea. “That’s the solution, isn’t it? I hate myself for what I did to you, so I am my own enemy. And you want to be my enemy. But! The enemy of my enemy is my friend. So, if you are my enemy, but my enemy is also me, then you are my friend!”
There. Harry was pretty proud of himself. But Draco still wasn’t stopping his crying. The Slytherin whined loudly, “I don’t want to be just your friend! I want to be someone special in your life!”
“How about becoming Harry’s boyfriend, then?” Hermione asked cautiously.
Harry shot her an incredulous look. “’Mione, what are you on about?” The blonde boy in his arms stopped sobbing and went still except for his little trembling shoulders.
“Listen, Harry. There is no denying, you always had your attention on Draco since first year in one way or another. Even now, you’re constantly watching each other. And if you don’t think of him as your enemy or your regular friend, then what do you want him to be?”
Harry pondered that question. It was true, he always felt strongly about Draco. And what he once believed was hatred didn’t feel that negative anymore. That’s why he protested the accusation of hating Draco and him being his enemy that vehemently. He looked down to the blonde in his arms who looked up to stare at him. In Draco’s silver eyes still pooled big crocodile tears. He looked quite cute like that, and Harry felt the urge to do everything in his powers to make the blonde boy smile again. Besides, Draco fit perfectly in his arms and Harry really liked the feeling of hugging him close.
Reaching out to wipe the tears off Draco’s face, Harry said softly, “I want him to be my boyfriend. If he wants to be my boyfriend, that is.” He shot Draco a questioning look.
Slowly a smile spread over the blonde’s face, and he nodded enthusiastically. “I’ll be your boyfriend, Harry.”
That’s how Harry Potter found himself with an enemy less and could finally have his breakfast in peace with a lapful of boyfriend.
5 years later
“Pottah!” Draco bellowed as he ran down the staircase and into the kitchen of their cottage.
“Pottah!” Draco spat angrily when he stood before Harry and slapped today’s Daily Prophet onto the table. Pointing accusingly at the newspaper he asked, “What the fuck is this?”
Harry paused in sipping his morning coffee, peered at the newspaper, and sighed. “I gave them an interview. What of it?”
“You said, and I quote: ‘I’m happy to say that Draco Malfoy isn’t my boyfriend anymore’! How dare you do this to me, Potter? I feel tricked, betrayed, deceived!” As Draco babbled on, Harry stared at his rapidly reddening face in fascination. It never stopped to amaze him how quickly Draco coloured.
“Don’t you know how my poor mother is going to perceive this? Announcing our engagement like this in the newspaper before I even got the chance to tell her. She’s going to lynch me, Harry. And then, she will insist on planning the wedding and will drag me to all those horrible stores and mmpf–“ Harry decided the best way to appease his babbling fiancé was to kiss him. Like usually it did the trick because Draco melted into him immediately.
“Your mother already knows, love. I asked for her blessing before I proposed to you. Everything is fine, alright?” Harry rubbed soothing circles on Draco’s back.
“Alright” Draco agreed faintly.
And that’s how Harry Potter found himself resuming his breakfast in peace, with a lapful of fiancé.
The End.