Harry laughed as Draco softly swatted his arm.
"You're an absolute twat, you know that?" Draco asked, rolling his eyes as they walked through the corridors.
"But you love me for it." Harry replied.
Draco felt his smile drop as a blush crept on his cheek, "Harry..."
"Relax, I'm just kidding." Harry replied.
"Don't joke about that." The blonde mumbled as they continued walking.
"Why?" Harry asked.
The Slytherin didn't have a reply so instead, he fixed his sight to the ground and continued walking.
"Why?" Harry pressed.
Draco ignored his roommate until the Gryffindor stubbornly made them both stop walking.
"Draco, it's been 2 weeks since I've told you about my feelings-"
"Don't call them that." Draco cut him off, squeezing his eyes shut.
Harry rolled his eyes, "Well what else do you want me to call them?! It's how I feel!"
The blonde opened his eyes to see Harry's irritated expression, "We've talked about this already, Harry. Maybe- maybe you're just exploring like you said you didn't know your sexuality so-"
"Are you actually telling me how I feel about you?" Harry snapped.
The blonde blushed, "No, I- Harry I'm with Anthony."
"God damnit! Don't you think I know that already?! You remind me of it every five seconds! Every time I say something remotely close to what happened that one night. You remind me of that every time you push my hand away or worm your way out of a hug. You won't even let me sleep with you anymore!" Harry winced at how that sounded out of context but continued, "Even if you're having a nightmare and having a full-blown panic attack!"
Draco felt his face flush in embarrassment, "Harry, please. You're creating a scene." The blonde said, looking around at the students who stopped to look at them.
Harry seemed to notice them too because he lowered his voice, "Look, I know you're with Anthony, but who do you want to be with?"
Silver orbs meet emerald and the blonde felt something stir in his stomach, "I-I'm- I'm with Anthony." He said, stubbornly.
Anger flashed through Harry but he quickly masked it up, "But do you want to be with him?" He asked before turning on the spot and walking away to his class.
Draco looked at Harry as he walked away until the Gryffindor turned the corner.
"I'm with Anthony..." Draco mumbled as he found a spot on the floor very interesting.
*****
Shaklebolt stoped at the blonde's table and put the Patronus quiz facedown, disappointment and disgust flowing from his body.
The Slytherin felt his stomach drop.
He didn't want to turn it over as his palms felt clammy and heavy in his lap. He remembered to breathe.
Shaklebolt finished passing out the graded parchments and returned to the front of the classroom.
"You may look." He said in his chilling voice.
Unlike everyone else, Draco didn't snatch his test right away. Instead, he watched how the Patil twins high fived each other from the corner of his eyes.
Meanwhile, his heart got heavier with each beat as he slowly slid the quiz across his table, picked it up by its corner, and peeled it back.
If this were a fairytale, Draco would have turned it over and it'd be an 'O'. He would have been shocked, surprised even, but he would have secretly known he could do it.
But it's not a fairytale.
At the top, in a big circle, was a 'Dreadful'.
Draco felt his chest locking, like his ribs wouldn't expand and his heart won't go and he can't get any air in. Suddenly his heart slammed hard, pounding like he's running for his life.
He's had these 'attacks' before but not in the middle of class. His hands shook and he felt his skin tingle like there were ants swarming all over him, and all he wanted to do was pull them off.
He popped out of his seat. It's like suddenly he couldn't remember any way to calm himself down as he bolted to the door, grabbing his satchel on his way as the room got silent.
He scrabbled for the knob then threw it open, he heard Shaklebolt call angrily for him from behind but the words blurred together.
Draco staggered out into the hall, trying to find his feet as he pounded past other students. He felt vulnerable, like a gazelle being chased by a lion.
"Dray! Draco! Slow it down! You are in charge!" A familiar voice said.
"L-Luna?" Draco said, his voice shaky and hesitant.
The blonde sank down on the corridor floor, struggling to bring back his uncontrollable gasps to a more reasonable, human-being breathing speed. Inhaling as fast as a hummingbird didn't work for the blonde as he found his vision blurring, limbs shaking.
It's hard to swallow as spit pooled in his mouth.
"You're hyperventilating." Luna said softly beside the blonde.
Draco managed a week nod.
"Put your head down." She continued, gently.
The blonde dropped his head to his folded up knees as he tried to calm himself down.
"Can I put my hand on your back?" She asked, earning a nod from the Slytherin.
Draco felt Luna rest her hand on his back, solid and warm. The feeling grounded the Slytherin as Luna started counting.
"One, two, three, in. One, two, three, out."
A minute or two passed before the blonde actually followed the Ravenclaws directions. Draco sighed as he felt his shaking subside. His panic ants retreated and he was finally able to breathe again.
"What happened?" Luna asked after it was clear that the blonde was back now.
Draco shrugs, helplessly. "Patronus quizzes returned." He replied as he used short sentences in order to not get worked up again.
"Shaklebolt gave me a dreadful." He took a breath, "It's not good enough." He took two more breaths, "I'm not going to be able to do this."
The Slytherin looked up as he felt Luna kneel right in front of him, "Focus on one thing at a time, Draco."
He knew he could do that.
"The Patronus quiz," Luna prompted.
The Slytherin nodded, "I got a dreadful."
"How did you do on the last one?"
"I failed!" The Slytherin admitted, he saw where he was going with this, "But it's not enough!" He said, louder than he'd intended.
"You feel like you're trying and it's not enough?" Luna asked, soothingly rubbing the blonde comfortingly.
Draco breathed again as he nodded, miserably, "Shaklebolt even said so."
Luna's eyebrows furrowed as she crossed her arms on her chest, "Who cares what Shaklebolt says? He's a meanie." Luna complained.
The blonde felt a smile creep on his face at the childish behavior of his friend. He watched as students passed by, not sparing him a second glance as he tried to focus on his breathing.
"What am I going to do Luna?" Draco asked as Luna plopped in a familiar position beside him.
"Well, Harry taught me and many other people how do cast our Patronus's. You should ask him." Luna replied, grabbing a copy of the Quibbler from it of her bag.
Draco felt something flutter in his stomach.
"He has been trying to help me but I don't think it's fair if I ask anything from him at the moment. I..." He trailed off, not knowing what to say.
Luna merely smiled and looked up at him from her quibbler.
"Harry is a good person, isn't he Draco?" Luna asked, reading in between the lines.
The blonde ran a pale hand through his hair and sighed, "Yes, Merlin yes. He- he's so good Luna, brilliant. He has a great personality, stubborn sometimes but he means well. And Merlin, his eyes..."
Luna smiled softly at her friend as he continued to speak,
"His eyes are absolutely gorgeous and if you look close enough you can see the smallest of freckles on his cheeks- fuck! Luna, what's wrong with me? Why am I feeling this? Why now? Merlin, I feel like- like a whore." The blonde blurted the last part, needing to get out how he felt.
"Oh, Dray, you're not. What you're feeling isn't wrong Dray. It's just you coming to terms with your feelings." Luna said smiling away at the lavender loullies floating surly around the blonde.
"I'm with Anthony..." Draco muttered for what felt like the one-hundredth time.
Luna frowned and nodded thinking about her words before she placed her hand softly on Draco's chest.
"But what does this want?" She asked, nodding towards his heart.
"I-" Draco faltered, "I don't know. Shit, I don't know."
Luna nodded and dropped her hand, "My dad told me that if you love two people at the same time, choose the second. Because if you really loved the first one, you wouldn't have fallen for the second one."
The Slytherin closed his eyes and let his head fall back, earning a sigh from Luna.
Seconds ticked by before he spoke up, "Well I'm sure you have plenty of people who will be willing to help you. Remember you have me, Hermione, Neville, and our whole friend group."
Draco nodded.
"So, about your Harry problem?" Luna asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
The blonde felt a blush creep up on his cheeks as he turned to his friend.
"I- I don't have a 'Harry problem'! I..." He protested, "And even if I was... would you be mad?" Draco asked.
Luna shook her head, "No, no of course not Dray. After what happened in your dungeons I don't care if you choose to be with a hornshack, as long as you're happy."
The Slytherin sent his friend a smile as she slowly got up.
"Now, come on. We're supposed to meet with everyone in your dormitory." Luna said, outstretching her hand.
Draco took it and pushed himself up, grabbing his belongings as well.
"Are you ok now?" She asked.
The Slytherin bit his lip, "I don't know- but I will be, I hope. Thank you."
Luna nodded and the two were caught in a warm embrace. They pulled apart and walked down the corridor to Draco's oh so familiar room.
"Sorry, we're late! We had an er- minor setback." Luna called out as they walked inside to see their group lounging about.
Draco shot a quick smile at the group, trying his best to avoid eye contact with anyone in particular as he went to sit beside Anthony.
"Hey. You ok, love?" Anthony asked as he wrapped an arm around the blonde's shoulders.
The blonde stiffened but nodded nonetheless, "I- yeah."
Anthony frowned but pulled his boyfriend closer to his body.
Draco took that moment to look around at the cozy room. Weasley and Granger were sitting together on Harry's bed while his sister decided to sit cross-legged on the ground, Luna sitting in front of her as the redhead played with the Ravenclaw's hair.
Draco found Longbottom talking with Harry about something but before his sight could linger there too much, he looked away as he felt a blush creep up on him.
"Ok! Let's play never have I ever!" Ginny squealed, startling Luna a bit, "Alright, everyone ten fingers up."
The others nodded in agreement and soon the group of eight had taken a shot of Veritaserum and were in a game of never have I ever.
"Alright, Alright. My turn. Hmm never have I ever... heard someone else doing It." Ginny said.
Ron groaned, "Really, Gin?"
Ginny just shrugged and smiled.
"Ok, me next." Ron spoke up, "Never have I ever cheated on my girlfriend."
Hermione blushed and kissed Ron's cheek while nobody put a finger down.
"Hmm, I'll go next." Hermione said. Her gaze lingered on Harry and finally, she said, "Never have I ever questioned my sexuality."
Harry shot her a glare as he huffed and slowly put a finger down.
Harry heard a gasp from Ginny and he had to resist from rolling his eyes as a blush crept up his face.
"No way! When?!" She asked, excitingly.
"I- er... Not too long ago. I- I've come to terms with myself that I am well- attracted to both genders." Harry mumbled.
Ginny practically jumped and pulled Harry into a hug, "This is great! I'm happy for you." She said.
Anthony smiled and clapped and soon everyone else joined in.
Draco kept his eyesight strained on the floor as he felt his face heat up. He felt like a dirty secret, knowing something no one else did and it made him want to crawl out of his skin.
"Hey, you ok, love?" Anthony asked.
The blonde raised his eyebrows, "Yeah, yeah of course." He replied.
Harry noticed the exchange between the two boys and coughed, "Ok, never have I ever questioned my relationship because there was someone else."
Draco sent daggers to his roommate as he put a finger down along with Ron and Ginny.
Hermione looked over to her boyfriend, confused.
"Oi! Have a little faith in me. I was referring to Lavender." Ron defended.
The Gryffindor rolled her eyes then shot an apologetic smile to Ron.
"Well I was referring to me and Harry's relationship but we already had that talk, didn't we, Harry?" Ginny asked, winking at her ex to which Harry let out a nervous laugh and nodded.
Anthony frowned and spoke in a soft voice, "So... who-?"
Draco cut him off, fighting the Veritaserum off by chewing his way around the question, "Nobody important!"
He realized how high pitched and defensive he sounded and coughed awkwardly, "Nobody important." He muttered again, pink tinting his cheeks as the room was silent.
Anthony nodded, "Good because... well- I love you and I'd hate if-"
The blonde met his boyfriend's blue eyes, "You w-what?"
Anthony looked worried at the posture that Draco was displaying but repeated his words confidently, "I love you."
The Slytherin couldn't help but shake his head as he pushed away from his boyfriend. Anthony, on the other hand, couldn't help the feeling of rejection and hurt that was creeping into him at the blonde's panicked reaction.
"No, no, no! I'm n-not- you can't... no." The blonde started saying under his distress as he got up.
Anthony quickly followed as he got off the floor too, quickly trying to get a hold of the pale hands, "No- hold on, Dray. Stop! Wait! You don't have to say it back. I-"
Draco shook his head as he pushed the Gryffindor's hands away, "I have to- I... I have to go...." And with that, the blonde quickly exited the dorm, avoiding the protests and calls from the others.
Anthony couldn't do anything but just stand there in shock, looking over to where his boyfriend was just seconds ago. The silence was excruciating until finally, finally, someone decided to say something.
"Anthony, it's ok." Luna said, assuringly as she made her way over to the Gryffindor.
Harry snapped suddenly, "The hell it is!"
Everyone seemed to look over to him in shock as the raven-haired boy stood up fuming with anger.
"Harry..." Ginny tried speaking up before anything could happen.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Harry demanded, "Couldn't you see he wasn't ready for that?"
"I didn't-" Anthony went to reply but closed his eyes and calmed himself down. He opened his eyes to be met with Harry looking intently at his, arms crossed on his chest.
"I didn't mean to hurt him, I would never do anything like that to him on purpose." He said.
"Are you fucking serious? You have been hurting him for forever now. All he wanted from you was to come out to the public and you wouldn't do that for him. And then suddenly you pull this?" Harry replied.
Anthony couldn't help but clench his teeth, "That- that's none of your business and why are you yelling, Potter?!" He seethed.
Harry's eyes widened, "Why am I-? Why am I yelling?! Did you not just see what you did? You absolute son of a-"
"Harry!" Hermione interrupted before Harry could finish.
"You know what? You've never liked me from the beginning and I'm starting to think that this has nothing to do with me after all." Anthony said back.
"Of course not! It's about Draco!" Harry snapped back.
"Exactly! It's always been about him! So why, dear Potter, don't you tell us why you can't stand the mere thought of me dating your precious roommate." Anthony felt his blood boiling as the words tumbled out of his mouth.
Harry clenched his teeth as he glared at his roommate's boyfriend, "You don't deserve him." He growled.
Anthony quirked his eyebrow, "What? And you do?" He asked.
Harry felt a pang of hurt from that comment but shrugged it off while Anthony continued.
"He's the one who made you rethink your sexuality, isn't he?"
Harry glared and clenched his fists in an attempt to stay calm.
"I'm right, aren't I? And you know it too. That's why you've never gotten along with me. Well, congratulations on figuring out who you are but stay away from my boyfriend. Don't get me wrong, I trust him, I just don't trust you." Anthony finished off, his face red.
Harry took deep breaths to calm himself down before speaking, "What position did he play in Quiddich?" Harry asked, calmly.
Anthony looked puzzled for a second, "What? Why does this even matter?" He asked.
"Seeker." Harry replied with a sneer, "His favorite color?"
"I don't- green?" Anthony guessed.
"Blue." Harry replied, glaring, "What is his Patronus?"
If looks could kill, Harry would be dead right now with the way Anthony was staring him down.
"I don't know."
Harry shook his head, "Of course you don't. He can't- he can't cast one. He doesn't have a happy enough memory to do so, doesn't that tell you something? Anything? The memories he has with you... it's not- they're not strong enough." Harry let his tense body relax in defeat before sighing and saying, "You don't deserve him..."
The emerald-eyed boy finally looked up to see the faces of their other friends looking at him with a mixture of confusion, horror, and somewhat of awe.
He quickly looked away and made his way to the door, "I have to go make sure he's ok. I want you all out by the time I'm back." He said before walking out and making his way to a familiar corridor.
Draco, on the other hand, worked on curling himself up and making himself as small as possible in the ever so big room. He honestly didn't care where the room of requirement took him as long as he was alone. All he could remember was thinking that he needed a place to 'figure out his feelings' and so the door had opened up to lead him to a room that had nothing but a single mirror in the middle.
He didn't think much of it as he slowly rocked himself back and forth on the ground, desperately trying to keep the panic at bay as his boyfriend's words rang through his head.
The blonde barely registered as the room opened again until he felt faint footsteps. He looked up to see his roommate kneeling in front of looking at him with an expression of concern and worry.
Draco felt a wave of relief wash over him as he slowly lifted his arms up, hoping and desperately pleading that Harry would understand what he was trying to say without speaking.
Thankfully his roommate wanted nothing more than to just hold the scared Slytherin. Harry wrapped his arms tightly around the blonde and kept a firm hold on him.
"I- can't... oh Merlin, I can't-" Draco started but Harry cut him off by shushing him.
"Shh, it's ok. I understand. You're ok." Harry soothed, tightening his hold on his roommate while rubbing his back comfortingly.
Draco finally looked up and Harry's heart broke at the sight of the blonde's watery silver orbs.
"Is- is Anthony mad?" He asked.
Harry shook his head, "No, no. Not at you anyways."
Draco groaned which earned a smile from the Gryffindor, "Salazar- you didn't say anything stupid, did you? And how did you even get to me?" He asked.
"Well... I said a lot of things, and as to how I found you, well I told the room I desperately needed to find you." Harry said and looked around at the dimly lit room that held nothing but a mirror, "And I can see you have a taste for... plain rooms." He cracked a smile.
Draco shrugged, "I needed a place to figure out my feelings." He replied.
Harry nodded and looked over the blonde's shoulder at the mirror. Upon closer inspection, Harry gasped a little, "And it looks like the room provided you with that." He said.
Draco looked at his roommate in confusion as he got up and walked to the mirror.
"Dray, come here." He murmured.
Draco found himself standing and walking over to Harry before he could even think about it.
"I didn't- I thought they got rid of this..." Harry murmured to himself before turning to his roommate, "What do you see, Draco?" He asked, taking a sideways step to let Draco peer into the cool surface of the mirror.
Draco couldn't help the confusion as he peered in the mirror, "It's a bloody mirror, Harry. Of course, I see you and me, except... are you holding my hand?" He asked as he looked away from the mirror to look down at his empty hand.
He looked back at the mirror in confusion to see that the mirror Harry was still holding his hand and was now leaning in to land a kiss on the blonde's cheek.
Draco lifted his hand up to where he saw Harry's lips touch his skin, his eyes widening.
"Do you- do you still see me?" Harry asked, softly.
Draco didn't look away from the mirror as he nodded, "Only... my mark- it's not... it's not there?!"
He asked in shock and snapped his attention away from the mirror to pull up his sleeve only to be met with disappointment.
"Shit..." he cursed, "I really thought... I hoped that..." Draco trailed off, leaving Harry nodding.
"See, that's the thing about the mirror of Erised." Harry spoke, gently.
Draco looked up at his roommate, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
"I ran into it during first year. I thought Dumbledore got rid of it but clearly you needed it." Harry said.
"I..."
"The word 'Erised' is 'Desire' spelled backward. Dray, this shows you what your deepest desire is." Harry said.
Draco suddenly found his throat dry as Harry took his arm with the dark mark in his hand.
"Harry, what..." Draco couldn't speak anymore as Harry slowly lifted his arm up, keeping eye contact with the blonde at all times.
Harry's lips made contact with the top part of the mark, near Draco's wrist and he let his mouth linger there in a small kiss before inching upwards and kissing the next area too.
Draco felt his heart pound in his ribcage and he almost lost in when halfway through, his roommate parted his lips slightly, allowing the heat of his breath to come in contact with Draco's pale skin.
The gesture was such a small one to any other person out there but to Draco, it felt like Harry had hung both the moon, stars, and sun for him.
Harry landed one final peck on the top of the snakes curling tail before looking up at the Slytherin's face. Harry slowly wrapped his arms around the blonde's torso, lips red, and face flushed.
"You want me."
It wasn't a question, it was a simple statement and as soon as Harry said it, Draco knew that he did in fact want him. Merlin, he wanted him so bad, probably before he even recognized his own feelings.
"I want you." Draco confirmed.
Harry felt his heart soar at Draco's repeated words as the blonde wrapped his own arms around Harry's neck. Harry could help the laugh of relief that escaped his lips at Draco's confession while Draco smiled back at the Gryffindor.
The blonde placed his head on Harry's chest and Harry squeezed the Slytherin in his arms as they stood in a comfortable hug.
"Harry... I have to tell Anthony but Merlin, he's going to hate me now..." Draco spoke.
Harry rolled his eyes, "We can worry about that later, for now, let me take you back to our dorm."
Draco pulled away from the hug, a questioning gaze on his face but that quickly turned into a scowl as Harry picked the blonde up.
"Hey! Harry! Harry! Stop! What are you doing?! Harry!" Draco whispered in a hostile manner.
Harry just ignored the blonde and thanked Merlin that no one was in the corridors to see. He wasn't sure that Draco was ready for that yet and quite frankly, he didn't know if he was either.
He got to their dorm and thanked Merlin and Salazar again that everyone had in fact listened to him and left.
He finally let the blonde down on his bed to which his roommate send him a glare.
Harry smiled sheepishly at him and closed the door, turned on the lamp, and turned the lights off before making his way back to kneel down in front of the blonde.
"Harry?" Draco whispered but Harry quickly cut him off when he cupped the blondes cheek with one hand.
"Shh 'S ok." He slurred as his finger drifted down to the hem of Draco's Slytherin uniform jumper in question.
The blonde nodded and Harry slowly lifted up the jumper through the blonde's shoulders and above this head. Harry threw that aside and then rubbed Draco's arms, making sure to give some more affection to his right arm, before moving on to his collared shirt. Harry's fingers gently and slowly unbuttoned the white shirt until it was loose enough to take it off of the blonde's body completely.
Harry took a moment to glance at the scarred body that was Draco before taking a small step back and resting his hand on the waistline of Draco's pants.
The blonde looked slightly uncomfortable and Harry wanted the opposite, "I just want you to be comfortable, that's all, ok?"
After a second or two, Draco nodded and Harry smiled at him before slowly taking off the Slytherins pants, leaving him only in his boxers. Draco's hands shook slightly as he took off his beanie and set it to the side.
Harry drank in the sight of his roommate before taking a look at Draco's slightly uncomfortable stance and Harry stood up. He slipped his own pants off, followed by his jumper and shirt.
Draco watched Harry do all of this, a blush creeping on his face and when Harry finished, he looked up at Draco with such an intense look that Draco felt his stomach clench.
Harry kept eye contact with the Slytherin at all times as he slowly knelt beside him again. He took the slightly trembling hands in his before leaning in to place his lips on a scar that started at Draco's shoulder and ran all the way down to near his bellybutton.
Harry left open-mouthed kisses as he trailed down that scar then did the same with the other scars that littered Draco's beautiful body.
Harry looked back at up and smiled at Draco's flushed form and closed eyes. He lifted his hand to slowly caress the blondes cheek until he opened his eyes again.
Harry shot him a smile and gently pushed him back before joining him in the bed. He slid under the covers and wrapped his arms around his roommate.
Draco let himself lean in towards Harry's warm hold that offered protection and he let out a comfortable sigh, to which Harry only pulled him in closer.
Draco placed his hands in front of him on Harry's chest and let his eyes close but not before he said, "Good night, Harry."
"Good Night, Dray. Sweet dreams." Harry replied.
Draco felt himself smiling as Harry slowly moved his free hand up to Draco's soft blonde locks and ran his hand through his hair over and over again until the blonde drifted off to sleep.
Harry leaned down to place a kiss on the blonde's forehead before repeating his earlier words.
"Good Night, Dragon."
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Word count- 4708
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Sneak peek of chapter 19-
"You..." Draco started off in a whisper, "You just hit me?" It sounded more like a question to everyone in the room rather than a statement.
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🌅🧡Next chapter is released tomorrow!🧡🌅
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An~ For those of you wondering, there will be 28 full chapters plus the Epilogue in this story!! 🚨 Alright there it is! Draco finally gave Harry a reply!^^ sorry about the Dranthony~ I won't say what will happen in the future so how do u think Anthony will take it? Or will the boys even tell him? If you haven't already, please read my other story titled 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 —>