Tags: One-shot, Eighth Year, Oblivious!Harry, origami
Harry stared down at the pink paper crane sitting in the centre of an empty desk. Every edge was sharp and perfect, without a single wrinkle or funny fold. He touched one wing, tipping it with the weight of his fingertip. It was beautiful. And delicate. And familiar.
“Harry! You coming?” Ron shouted.
Hermione called from further down the hall, her voice faint and fading, “We’re going to be late for Charms!”
Harry hesitated and then picked up the crane, folding it flat and slipping it into his textbook.
He had entirely forgotten about the origami until a week later when he found another, a butterfly made of shimmery purple paper. Harry took it with him, and that night he took the crane out of his textbook and set them both on his nightstand. They were blurry when he took his glasses off, turning his head to look at them as he fell asleep. For the first time in ages, he slept well and woke without any lingering nightmares clouding his mind.
After that, he developed a habit of scanning the desks of every class for delicate paper things. He collected cranes, flowers, birds and butterflies in every colour imaginable, on paper that glittered or faded into soft pastels or were printed with subtle patterns.
It wasn’t exactly a mystery as to who was making them; Draco wasn’t trying to hide his work. He folded them in class when the Professors were lecturing, his quill enchanted to take notes for him as his long pale fingers manipulated the small squares of paper.
Harry was lucky that Hermione took impeccable notes because once he saw Draco start folding, he found himself utterly transfixed. The making of the origami was somehow just as soothing as the finished creation.
As weeks passed, Draco began trying new things, foxes, fish, more intricate birds and a dragon made of red paper that shifted like a flickering flame under the light. Harry’s nightstand became so crowded that pieces were constantly at risk of tumbling to the ground, but he couldn’t bring himself to get rid of even one.
It wasn’t until Luna came up to him, an origami wolf folded out of black paper sprinkled with silver stars balanced on her outstretched palm, saying, “Draco left this in ancient runes.” that he realized, not only was the entire Gryffindor tower aware of his collection- and where it came from- but it was quickly spreading to the whole school. When other students, some he didn’t even recognise, came up to give him one of Draco’s origami he wanted to die of embarrassment, but he couldn’t bring himself not to take it.
“So,” Ron said with a sigh as Harry fished a paper elephant from his bag to add to his collection, “you fancy the prat?”
Harry’s froze, “I- what?”
Ron gave him a look, “Come on, mate. This whole thing is… a bit much for anything else.”
“I fancy him?” Harry repeated blankly.
Ron shrugged, “I might be wrong of course.”
Harry brushed his thumb along the folded little zigzag of the elephants truck, a flush creeping up his neck.
“Well…think about it, I guess,” Ron said, giving his shoulder a tight squeeze, “but you really need to do something about all that origami, mate.”
“What?” Harry said defensively.
Ron sighed, “They don’t fit on your nightstand anymore, and yesterday you nearly throttled Seamus because he stepped on one that fell on the ground.”
Harry frowned, furious all over again, “Well he should have watched where he was walking.”
“He leaves his shite all over the floor, and we don’t step on his things!” Harry said.
“Because we kick them out of the way,” Ron said pointedly.
“Well that doesn’t ruin them.”
Ron shook his head and fished a small spool of thread out of his bag, tossing it to Harry.
Harry snatched it out of the air.
“I asked mum to send it,” Ron said, “There’s plenty of room in the canopy of your bed, we’ll just hang them up, yeah?”
Harry nodded gratefully, “Thanks, Ron.”
Draco pulled him aside a few days later.
“What do you want?” Draco asked, his mouth pressed into a thin line.
“Nothing?” Harry blurted, his heart beginning to race.
“I’ve heard-” Draco frowned and took a deep breathe, trying again, “I heard that you’ve been taking all my origami.”
“I thought we were on good terms now, Potter. We talked. Apologised. We’re- We are fine. Aren’t we?” Draco said, fighting to keep his voice even.
“Yeah, of course,” Harry said.
Draco’s frown deepened, “What are you doing? Why are you-? ”
“I just… like them,” Harry floundered.
“You like them,” Draco repeated.
Draco shook his head, “It’s not- I can’t believe you.”
“I’ll show you then,” Harry said impulsively.
Draco hesitated and narrowed his eyes, “Fine.”
Harry’s whole face felt hot enough to fry an egg but he couldn’t back down, not now, not with Draco, “Err…they’re in my dorm.”
“I knew you were a liar.”
“It’s not an excuse!” Harry said, “I’m just saying I’ll have to take you through the Gryffindor tower to show you.”
Draco stared at him, wavering on the balls of his feet. Then he clenched his jaw, “Show me.”
Harry had hardly made it up the first staircase when his confidence began to seep away. He took a deep breath and replaced it with sheer stubbornness, guiding Draco up to the tower and through the common room, past his staring dorm mates, up to his room.
His nightstand was still crowded with all his favourite animals, the dragon, the wolf, the more elaborate origami that Draco had made. Above his bed, hanging on strings charmed invisible were flowers, butterflies and cranes. They moved occasionally, charms cast by his overenthusiastic, teasing roommates, a breeze rustled through the flowers, the birds and butterflies flapped their wings.
Harry knew it must look ridiculous. He must look ridiculous.
Harry retrieve the red dragon, tracing the folds of the wings as he shifted his weight from foot to foot, “I told you.”
The tops of Draco’s cheeks were flushed pink.
Draco blinked, turned on his heel and stiffly walked out of the room.
Harry breathed out all at once and collapsed onto his bed. He set the paper dragon on his chest and pushed his glasses off, covering his eyes with his arm.
“I think I messed it up,” Harry told Ron and Hermione as they packed up after their first class of the day.
“What, with Malfoy? That’s why you’ve been so quiet?” Ron said.
Ron rolled his eyes, “You took him through the dorm, mate, everyone knows.”
Hermione walked a few desks down and picked up something up. She turned back to Harry and smiled, “I don’t think you messed it up too badly.”
Hermione waved him over and handed him what seemed like a wad of paper, but as Harry looked closer, he realised it was a heart folded out of shimmery white paper, about the size of a sickle. Harry curled his fingers around it, cupping it protectively in his palm.
On the way to their next class, two students Harry didn’t recognise, gave him two more hearts, one pink, one silver. After transfiguration he found a red heart sitting on a desk by the door.
Luna intercepted him on the way to lunch.
“Do you have a heart too?” Harry asked, his hands already too full.
Luna held up a jar, “I thought you might need this.”
“Yes. Thank you, Luna,” Harry said putting all the hearts into the jar.
“And this as well,” Luna said, dropping in a little gold heart.
Harry stared at the little collection of paper hearts, “Did- Did Draco say anything?”
Luna smiled, “To me yes. But you’ll have to talk to him to find out what he wants to say to you.”
Harry nodded and went to lunch, setting his jar on the table where three more hearts were added. After Care of Magical Creatures, students that he passed in the hall had hearts of all sorts of colours and patterns, putting them in his quickly filling jar as they walked past without a word, but with quite a few grins and muffled giggles.
Harry didn’t even have to take his map out to find Draco, he just followed the line of students with hearts in their hands, back to the library. Draco was sitting near the windows, a small stack of papers at his elbow as he slowly methodically folded another heart.
Harry pulled out the chair beside Draco, setting his jar on the table as he sat down, “Hello.”
Draco bit his bottom lip, his cheeks flushing pink as he finished the heart in his hand, “Potter.”
“You’ve been- These are all from you?” Harry asked tapping the side of the jar.
“Who else would they be from?” Draco asked.
Harry flushed, nervously running his hand through his hair, “… They’re, umm, beautiful.”
“Harry,” Draco said quietly, placing the last red heart on the top of the full jar. “I’ve quite literally given you my heart.”
“Kiss him!” Ron’s voice called.
Harry spotted his friends watching a few tables away, the only students not pretending to be hard at work.
Hermione elbowed Ron in the side, but he just grinned and shouted, “Come on, Malfoy! Just kiss him!”
Those clever hands Harry so admired pulled him close and soft lips pressed against his own. Harry’s heart soared as he watched Draco’s pale eyelashes tremble against his cheek before he pulled back.
“Now do you understand?” Draco asked.
“Yeah,” Harry said softly, “Yeah, I do,” and kissed him back.
♡ I’ve had this sitting half-finished with my other wip’s just waiting for a romantic heart shaped sort of day ♡ I hope you liked it & thank you for reading! ♡
