It started off with subtle things.
Harry would tell Malfoy 'good night' or 'good morning.' The shock on the blonde's face was evident the first time Harry asked him how his day was. Slowly they started having small talk about little things that probably didn't even matter but that was ok because as long as the Slytherin smiled, Harry was ok.
They went as far as even studying together. Harry couldn't possibly explain these feelings he kept experiencing around the blonde and quite frankly he wasn't sure he wanted to find out. It was times where Harry was struggling with his homework and his roommate had to help him out that Harry's stomachs flip-flopped. It wasn't the fact that it was homework that was exciting but it was because Harry couldn't quite comprehend what was going on and Malfoy had to sit down beside him and demonstrate the charms that Harry's insides twisted and turned.
Times like at the moment.
"I just don't understand!" Harry grumbled for the 30th time, "Why would someone make a potion to show the smell of the one they desire and not a potion that shows the person itself?"
Malfoy rolled his eyes, "I don't know! Why don't you ask Merlin himself, I'm sure he'll have an answer."
Harry smiled at that.
"Now Potter, again this potion..." Malfoy started but Harry never heard the rest because he was focused on the blonde's pale features as he looked down at their textbooks and explained.
"Why do you always wear that beanie?" Harry asked suddenly.
The blonde looked up, eyebrows furrowed, "Sorry?"
"Oh, I mean it's always the same one. It's uh a little torn and tattered too." Harry gestured to the gray article of clothing.
Immediately the blonde's face hardened and Harry could tell he said something wrong.
The blonde shrugged, "I don't know."
Harry, however, was not fooled. He knew that the Slytherin always chewed on his bottom lip or fiddled with the hem of his shirt whenever he was nervous.
Harry awkwardly sat there pretending to read his textbook for a while.
"During the war," Malfoy started talking, his gaze fixed on the floor.
Harry looked up and waited for him to say more.
"I had a house elf and I didn't, well I wanted to free her. S-so I took the first article of clothing that I saw and handed it to her, which just so happened to be this beanie." The Slytherin took off the gray beanie and held it close to him.
"Father found out and he was furious. H-he has his own way of er, um disciplining me. Merlin, who knows how long I was in the dungeons." He ran his hand through his blonde locks as he said the last part.
"By that time I was sure Nilly, my house elf I mean, was gone but I couldn't have been more wrong. F-father threw her lifeless form down the dungeon's stairs to my feet then walked away. Father must've done something because she was so bloodied and bruised t-that I-I just..." the blonde stopped, taking a deep breath to compose himself.
"Still, she held onto the beanie. The holes were already there when I decided to keep it before burying her."
Harry waited for Malfoy to say more but the blonde merely brought the gray beanie up to his face and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes but Harry didn't miss the tear that slid down his cheek.
The story had come as a shock to Harry but he soon learned that the blonde was more than what he thought he was. He started knowing a bit about the Slytherin's childhood and about how his dad wasn't the kindest person out there. Of course, the blonde never went in detail in what his father did but Harry had his suspicions.
"I-I'm sorry..." Harry trailed off, not knowing what more to say.
Malfoy shook his head, "It's ok." He cleared his throat then waved back down to their textbooks, "Right anyways, Amortentia is more than just-"
"Malfoy." Harry cut him off.
The blonde looked up and Harry gently took the beanie from his roommate's bony hands and slid it onto his head.
The Slytherin smiled softly and moved to adjust the gray piece of clothing. Malfoy looked at Harry whose eyebrows were raised. Harry met his gaze and wiggled his eyebrows.
The blonde rolled his eyes for what seemed like the 50th time today, "Piss off Potter, you'll never finish this in time for exams if you keep interrupting me."
Harry shoved his parchments, textbooks, and quills aside, "How about we take a break from studying and, I don't know, play cards or something."
Malfoy's eyebrows rose, "Play cards?" He repeated.
Harry nodded as he acciod a deck of cards, "Yep!"
The blonde brought up his hands and rubbed his forehead, "I could be studying for Advanced Astronomy right now but no, I decided to help saint Potter instead just so we could play cards?"
"Well if you don't want to-" Harry started but was cut off by the blondes laughter.
Harry watched in amusement as the Slytherins shoulders shook as he laughed. Merlin, his laughter was contagious and Harry found himself chuckling along.
One they regained control of themselves Malfoy spoke up, "Sure, yeah. Let's play cards."
Harry smiled stupidly and took out the deck, "Do you know how to play Rummy?" Harry asked.
The blonde shook his head and Harry explained the game to him as he shuffled the cards. Once all the rules and steps were explained and understood, they started playing. They didn't even realize the time until they were on their fifth match.
"What?!" Malfoy exclaimed, smiling, "You cheat! There's no way you won again!"
Harry wiggled his eyebrows and took his cards to reshuffle, "I'm just that good Malfoy."
"Oh bugger off." The Slytherin replied.
Harry opened his mouth to say something but it was interrupted by a knock at the door. Harry got up and opened the door to reveal a very panicked Ron.
"Mate! Where have you been?! The match is about to start!" Ron yelled.
"Shit! What time is it?" Harry asked, looking around for a clock.
"Half-past 4, Harry!" Ron replied.
"Sorry, Sorry, hold on let me get my stuff! I'll meet you down in the quidditch pitch. Give me five minutes.
"Five minutes, Harry!!" Ron said running off.
Harry closed the door and hurriedly went to find his quidditch uniform and broom. He decided to change down at the quidditch pitch as he put his trainers on. His hand was on the doorknob before he turned around, his gaze focusing on the blonde.
"Aren't you coming?" Harry asked.
The blonde looked up at him startled, "I- er no, who is it against?"
"Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw." Harry replied.
"No, I don't think I'm going to go, I haven't gone to a quidditch match in forever, but I was heading to the library anyways." Malfoy said, picking up his textbooks.
"Malfoy, it's Sunday!" Harry replied.
"So?" The blonde asked, looking up in confusion.
"Really? The library? On a Sunday? Come on." Harry replied shifting to hold his broom in his other hand.
"Well some of us actually care about N.E.W.T's, Potter." His roommate snapped back with a smile.
"Merlin, you sound like Hermione." Harry said, smiling at the thought.
Malfoy's smile immediately vanished and Harry felt his insides fill with guilt.
"But anyway you should come, you can cheer me on." Harry said, trying to distract the blonde from his previous statement.
He looked up and furrowed his eyebrows, "As if I'd ever cheer for Gryffin-dork." He said, a slight smirk filling up his features.
Harry's feigned hurt, "I don't remember hearing you say that when we won against Slytherin last week."
Malfoy picked up a pillow, "Oh piss off, Potter." He said as he chucked the green pillow at Harry.
Harry's jaw dropped, "Did you just-"
The blonde cut him off, "Merlin, Potter, don't you have a match to go to?!"
Harry's eyes widened, "Right! Right, I'll see you after." Harry hurriedly said as he rushed down to the quidditch pitch, leaving a certain blonde smiling to himself.
The match soon got started and Harry was focused on finding the snitch, blocking out the roaring of the students, and focusing only on his teammates.
Meanwhile, Draco, true to his word was, in fact, heading to the library.
"Back so soon, dear?" Madam Pince asked as she took the blonde's stack of books.
Draco politely smiled at her, "I've got nothing better to do."
She nodded as she checked his books back in. Her lips formed into a thin line as she said the next sentence, "How is you mum doing?"
Draco's face hardened and he sighed, "S-she's erm- coping."
The librarian nodded her head in understanding, "Alright, all checked in." She pipped.
Draco thanked her and went to the Arithmancy section to look for a book his teacher recommended. He ran his fingers through the spine of the books as he browsed through them.
He found the book soon enough and couldn't help but grab two other ones that looked interesting. The blonde scanned the shelves as he walked through the isle. All of a sudden a hex was sent his way, hitting his cheek, the shock of the jinx sent the blonde falling, his head hitting the wood of the bookshelf.
"Death eater!" Someone whispered harshly.
"Go back to your hell hole!" Someone else whispered in a hostile manner.
Draco didn't see any faces, nor did he want to discover who it was. He just picked up his books and covered the bruising skin with a shaky hand.
He quickly checked out his books and rushed down the corridors. He stopped after turning a corner. Draco paused and tried to get his breathing under control. Once he did, he started walking again but stopped at one of the corridor windows.
He looked out through the glass and could see the faint outline of the quidditch pitch. Draco started walking down through the corridor again but looked back at the window one last time before making his decision. Slowly he headed to his dorm room.
They were 30 minutes into the match and Harry still hadn't caught sight of the golden snitch. He soon realized that the Ravenclaw seeker, Cho Chang, was tailing him closely, waiting until he zoomed off to follow. He decided to test his theory out by flying down towards the grass as if he had found the snitch and true to his theory, Cho followed.
Cho realized that it was a trick and kept her distance but still watched him warily. Harry flew back up to the top of the pitch to where he could see all that was below him. Gryffindor was in the lead by 20 points and if Harry was being honest with himself, he did just want to get the game over with.
He scanned the crowd again just in case the snitch was blending in with the students. He didn't see the snitch but he saw something as valuable instead; Draco Malfoy was sitting on the edge of the front row, away from all the other students, and looking at Harry intently.
Harry's eyes widened and he shot a smile at the blonde. The blonde, however, raised his eyebrows and nodded behind Harry. Harry turned around just in time to dodge a bludger that was headed in his direction.
The crowd made a sound of relief and Harry looked back to see Malfoy at the edge of his seat but looking relieved.
Harry scolded himself and told himself to focus on the match. He looked around and there-
By the pole of the shortest hoop was the golden snitch, flapping its wings and flying in circles around the metal bar.
Harry flew slowly over to a closer distance as to not alarm the other team and when he was a good 30 feet away he zoomed after it. Cho slowly caught on and started flying in his direction from the other side of the pitch. Even if they were going the same speed, Harry was still up ahead and there was no way Cho could catch up.
Harry told himself this as he reached out and-
Yes! He had grabbed onto the wing of the snitch and his hand clapped around the small ball. Harry took a moment to breathe before he turned to hold his fist proudly in the air. The crowd cheered as Harry beamed, displaying the snitch for all to see.
Madam Hootch whistled to signal the game was over and immediately Harry was surrounded by his teammates and fellow Gryffindors.
Harry shook hands with some of the Ravenclaws and then walked down with his teammates to the quidditch changing room.
"Oi great job mate!"
"Good Job Harry!"
"That's what I'm talking about!"
"Yeah, Gryffindor!"
All around, Harry heard all types of praise and compliments and to that, Harry beamed. Harry quickly caught sight of a gray beanie and turned around to see Malfoy quickly hurrying up to Hogwarts.
"Hey, I'll catch you guys later, ok?" Harry said, getting out of the huddle of Gryffindors.
"Oi, don't forget the celebration party in the room of requirement!" Someone called out.
Harry nodded, "I'll be there!" He shouted, jogging up to the blonde.
Harry reached the Slytherin and grabbed onto his arm. Malfoy turned around with almost a scared look in his eye but then settled down as he saw it was just Harry.
"Hey!" Harry said, happily.
Malfoy nodded, "Hey yourself."
"You came." Harry stated.
Malfoy rolled his eyes and smiled, "Great observation skills, Potter. Tell me, are you always this daft?" He asked.
Harry playfully punched his arm, "Hey, we won if you didn't realize."
"That I did, almost got knocked off of your broom but you managed." Malfoy replied.
"Hey! See, Gryffindor is the ultimate house. I think it's time to eat your words about your earlier comment." Harry smirked.
Malfoy raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well...?" He drawled.
"Well, what?" Harry replied, puzzled.
For a minute Malfoy just stood there before he smiled, "Merlin, I thought you were going to do something to make me." The blonde laughed.
Harry stood there watching the blonde's laughter as the heat rushed up to his face, "Oh, Uh- I'm not exactly good at this Slytherin stuff."
To this, Malfoy rolled his eyes, "No, no your not."
Harry's gaze suddenly fixed to a purple coloring on the blonde's pale cheek.
"Hey, what's this?" Harry muttered, reaching out to touch the walnut-sized blob.
Malfoy immediately flinched back from the touch and went to cover it up with his hand.
"I-it's nothing, I'm just clumsy." The blonde replied.
Harry quirked his eyebrows, "Right and I'm Morgana herself." He said, rolling his eyes.
Malfoy smiled, "Thanks for your concern, but really it's nothing." he said, turning around to head inside Hogwarts.
At the last minute, Harry grabbed the gray beanie off of the Slytherins head, revealing the soft blonde hair underneath. Malfoy turned around in shock, jaw dropped and eyes wide.
"You did not..."
Harry quirked his eyebrows, tossing the beanie in the air only to catch it again, "I did."
Malfoy leaped over to him, reaching out to grab his beanie back but Harry held it or above them.
Draco leaped and tried to grab back his property but couldn't due to the height difference and Potter being an abnormally large git.
"Potter! Give it back!" The blonde exclaimed, smiling.
Harry pretended to think for a second, "No, I don't think I will." He said, smirking.
"You prat!" The blonde said and suddenly grabbed Harry's broom using Accio.
Harry's jaw dropped in an 'O' shape.
"Ok, ok! I give! You can have your beanie back!" Harry protested handing it back to him.
The blonde took back his beanie and used a wandless spell to levitate the broom off the ground as he put his beanie on.
"Hey, what about my broom?!" Harry exclaimed, looking up desperately at the broom that was floating high above his reach.
"What about it?" Malfoy asked, eyebrows raised.
"Give it back!" Harry smiled.
Malfoy smirked and crossed his arms. Raising his eyebrows, he mirrored Harry's previous words, "No, I don't think I will."
Harry smiled and jumped for his broom, earning a chuckle from the blonde.
"Come on! I'm sorry Malfoy, what do I have to do to get it back?" Harry asked, smiling and pretend to look at his broomstick in devastation.
"Hmm..." the blonde thought for a moment before smiling, "Admit that Slytherin is the best house."
Harry rolled his eyes knowingly but smiled nonetheless. It was getting dark outside and quite frankly Harry was cold and ready to go back inside. He opened his mouth to say something but before any words could come out, the blonde was pushed harshly to the ground, causing the broom to fall too.
He made a little grunt of discomfort but other than that, he showed no signs of being hurt.
"Oi, back off Malfoy!" Ron spat as he towered above the blonde.
Harry realized that the rest of his team was also there, shooting dirty looks at the Slytherin.
"I wasn't harming anyone!" Malfoy protested as he pushed himself up, adjusting his beanie.
"Don't play games with us, we saw you and news flash, the war is over, Malfoy." Andrew, one of Harry's more aggressive teammates said, "Oh well," Andrew continued, "Once a Death Eater always a Death Eater."
Draco swallowed the lump in his throat and fixed his gaze at Potter, willing him to say something.
Harry, however, found that his throat was immensely dry and that he couldn't speak. The Slytherin realized this and Harry saw a slight glance of disappointment flash through the soft grey eyes.
"I was just leaving anyway." The blonde muttered, turning around and walking through the doors of Hogwarts.
Harry felt guilt build up inside him but his teammates ushered him inside and towards the great hall for dinner. Harry sat down at the Gryffindor table, besides Ron and across from Hermione. The chosen one didn't really listen to the conversation going on around them and fixed his eyes to search for his roommate.
When he didn't see the flash of blonde hair anywhere, he excused himself from the table muttering something about needing to rest a bit.
Ron called after him, "Don't forget, room of requirement!"
Harry nodded as he headed toward his dorm. He quickly reached it and opened the door immediately seeking the blonde, "Hey, I'm so sorry about my..." Harry trailed off not seeing the blonde.
Harry decided that he must be in the library, so he shrugged his worry off and headed towards the room of requirement.
*****
Harry groaned as he woke up. He looked around at his alarm clock only to find out it was still 4 in the morning. It was still dark outside, the only light coming from the moon and the stars and a slight golden light from the bathroom door.
Harry crawled out of his covers and walked over to the wooden door. He pressed his ear to the door but when he heard nothing, he quietly opened it.
Malfoy was gripping onto the sink, his head bowed and arms shaking. His arm sleeves were rolled up revealing the dark mark, the dark ink contrasting horribly against his pale skin.
It could have been the fact that Harry had taken off his glasses before going to sleep and forgot to grab them, but he could've sworn that he saw red, pink, and faded lines of all sorts around the mark.
"Hey," Harry spoke softly as to not startle him.
Malfoy looked up and frustratedly wiped his tears off. He quickly pulled down his sleeve to cover the skull and snake.
He golden boy walked over to him, "Are you ok?" Harry asked in the most soothing way he could muster.
Malfoy nodded and muttered, "Bad dream."
Harry nodded in understanding, examining the pale features of his face.
His eyes were red, although Harry noticed that it wasn't unusual for the blonde. The Slytherin was sleep-deprived after all and it didn't really help that he was crying.
"Go back to sleep, Potter, I'm fine," Malfoy said, looking away.
Harry decided to risk a joke, "That's not what you said when you were asking me to hug you a couple of weeks ago." He said, smiled.
The blonde looked back up at him and rolled his eyes.
"Will you?" The Slytherin whispered, however.
"What?" Harry replied, confused.
"Hold me?" Malfoy asked in such a quiet voice that Harry wasn't even sure he heard him.
Harry knew that words were beyond him so he just grabbed the blonde and pulled him in. Harry wrapped his arms around the blondes back and obliged to his request.
Seconds, maybe minutes passed before Malfoy let out a shaky breath, that he seemed to be holding, and wrapped his arms around Harry's torso.
Harry forgot how to breathe.
Really, he did.
His heart started beating faster and faster and he couldn't pinpoint why. The blonde pulled away first, much to Harry's disappointment.
"So will you tell me what actually happened?" Harry asked pointing at the purplish bruise that had formed onto Malfoy's pale cheek.
The Slytherin brought his hand up to touch the bruise, "I already told you, I tripped. I'm just clumsy." He muttered
"Tripped over what?" Harry asked, determined to get his answer.
"Er- Mr. Norris." Malfoy replied, looking away.
"Odd, because I could've sworn you were voted most graceful in fourth year." Harry smiled, hoping the blonde would too.
"Sod off Potter, it'll go away eventually." Malfoy muttered.
"Malfoy," Harry said in a voice so soft, that the blonde looked up at him.
"Bruises don't form that quickly." He said.
Malfoy clenched his jaw and it took him all his strength not to throw this boy into the black lake.
"Now, what happened?" Harry asked again.
Malfoy snapped, "Fucking stinging jinx Potter. If you haven't already forgotten, not all of us are welcomed here with praise and love!"
The blonde pushed his way through Harry but the golden boy gripped his wrist before he could go out of the room as he said, "Wait."
Malfoy turned around and Harry didn't miss the single tear that rolled onto his cheek.
"Haven't you done enough Potter?" Malfoy sighed, "You saved the whole world, I don't need you and your pity to save me too." He said, rubbing his nose with his free hand.
"It's not pity!" Harry seethed.
"No? So what is it then? Because you sure didn't help when your buddies pushed me onto the ground, and you still have the audacity to ask where this stupid bruise came from." Malfoy said, exasperated.
Harry felt guilt well up inside him, "Just, come on." Harry said before dragging the blonde behind him out onto the corridor.
Malfoy tried to lazily pull out of Harry's grip, "What are you doing, Potter? Are you trying to get us expelled?" Malfoy whispered in a hurry.
Harry just turned around and signaled him to shush.
The blonde just followed closely behind, making sure to look around just in case anyone was there, and let the golden boy lead him to wherever.
Once they were finally at their destination Harry let his grip on the blonde go.
Immediately the Slytherin bombarded him, "Are you serious Potter? You take us up to the bloody astronomy tower in the middle of the night because I provoked you? What are you planning to do? Push me off the tower? Because trust me you'll be doing me a favor."
Harry tried to ignore the bottom pit of worry he felt when Malfoy said that last sentence and merely shook his head.
"Malfoy will you shut up for a second and look?" Harry said, gesturing to the night sky.
The blonde did as he was told and Harry watched in victory as his face softened in awe at the millions of stars and constellations that painted the dark sky.
Malfoy slowly sat down on the grass, his head still held high.
"I find it best to look at them in the middle of the night." Harry said, moving to lay down beside the blonde.
The blonde did the same and soon they were both looking up st the stars in silence.
Malfoy spoke up all of a sudden, "You see that up there?" He asked, pointing up, "It's very important. You know why?" Malfoy asked.
Harry shook his head and tried to find where the blonde was speaking about.
"Because it's Sirius, the constellation."
Harry felt a second of grief but he also felt very thankful that the Slytherin was telling him this.
"Sirius is most definitely the brightest star visible from any part of the earth. It's in Canis Major, the greater dog and it's sometimes referred to as the Dog Star."
Harry had given up on trying to find it and instead focused on what the blonde was saying. The pale hand moved to point out another star.
"That one is also important, Its Lupus, Latin for wolf. Lupus was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations, although it was previously an asterism associated with the neighboring constellation Centaurus."
The blond muttered the last part to himself as Harry wondered how it was even possible for a single person to find 88 constellations when he had trouble finding just one.
Harry knew what the blonde was doing and felt a little bubble in his chest, making him feel very giddy inside.
"Hey, aren't you named after a constellation?" Harry asked, turning slightly to look at the blonde.
A blush sprouted on the blonde's face as he stuttered, "Er- well, yes but- well it's not a really important constellation."
"Nonsense, show me." Harry demanded, laying on his back again.
Malfoy looked around for a second before pointing off somewhere, "There." He said firmly.
Harry nodded waiting for him to say more.
When he didn't, Harry spoke up, "Aren't you going to tell me something about it?" Harry asked.
Malfoy shook his head, "There's nothing important to say or to get to know about it."
Harry felt hurt but not for himself and felt as if his words were more than about just the constellations, but Harry turned around to face the blonde again, "Thank you." He breathed.
Malfoy turned to also face the raven-haired boy and furrowed his eyebrows, "For what?" He asked.
"You know why." Harry smiled, nodding his head slightly at the sky.
Malfoy raised his eyebrows and nodded, "I-I'm sorry for yelling earlier. I didn't mean it. I'm just glad to have someone to talk to in this bloody school or else I would've gone mental."
Harry smiled, "You mean, your not mental already?" Harry asked, jokingly.
Malfoy swatted his arm, "Git." He muttered, turning around to look back up at the sky.
A silence passed before Harry spoke up, "Oh, and for the record, I'd love to get to know you more." He whispered, thinking about the blonde's previous words.
The Slytherin frowned and closed his eyes. It's not that he hadn't heard his roommate, because he did. It's just that he had a hard time believing it.
Harry poked the boy beside him, "Hey! Don't go yet, you still haven't taught me the devious ways of being a Slytherin!" Harry smiled.
The blonde opened his eyes, the corner of his lips pointing upwards.
"Sod off, Potter."
"Weren't you just saying something about being glad you had me to talk to?" Harry asked.
Malfoy rolled his eyes playfully, "Repeat that to anyone and I'll come up with a great Slytherin scheme to confess your love to Umbridge herself." The blonde smirked.
Harry put his hand over his heart and feigned a gasp, "You wouldn't!" He protested.
The Slytherin nodded, "I would."
Harry smiled and took this moment to just look at the blonde, carefree of any worries.
"Do you want to head inside?" Harry asked.
Malfoy frowned, "Can we stay for a couple of minutes?" He asked.
Harry nodded, "Yeah, sure."
The blonde smiled, "Oh, and thank you, f-for bringing me out here I mean."
To that, Harry didn't have a reply. Instead, he smiled giddily at the sky and prayed to Morgana and Merlin that no one would find them out here and ruin their escape to the stars.
➴ 〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰 ➶
Word count- 4783
〰〰〰〰〰〰
Sneak peek of chapter 3-
"I-i'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Draco shakily said.
He had nothing else to say so he kept saying that he was sorry, which he honestly was.
"Oh no, but that's not all, no, no. Maybe a zap of the Cruciatus here and then-"
"Please, I'm sorry!" Draco practically yelled, fear and shock driven.
〰〰〰〰〰〰
🍂🧡Next chapter is released tomorrow!🧡🍂
〰〰〰〰〰〰
An~ Alright there it is! The second part of my new story^^ if you haven't already, please read my other story titled 'What lies beneath' and 'Those Emerald eyes' I'll try to post daily and I'm sorry if I can't but I'm trying!! What did you guys think so far? Hate it? Love it? Tell me what you think in the comments below ⬇️⬇️ infinite out —>