draco and harry staring at each other across the great hall at break EVERY DAY and draco confronts him one day when the hall is basically empty and ??? what happens??
Did you say ficlet? Because that’s what I heard!
Sorry it took me forever to respond, I have so many asks right now it’s not even funny! And sorry about the typos, I wrote this in 5 minutes because it was the time I had today. Hope you like it!
Hogwarts after the war was the same and completely different, at the same time. Classes were still both fascinating and incredibly boring, Quidditch was the only thing on everyone’s minds most of the time, and couples would get together and split up in the space of a week. But now some students were visibly mourning loved ones, entire sections of the castle were in shambles, friends grew apart in ways that couldn’t be mended, and sometimes things just got quiet and uncomfortable.
It was ok to search for some normalcy, Harry reckoned. That’s why house rivalry was still going strong, but now people were cautious and rarely said something cruel to each other; that’s why Ron and Hermione sometimes would stay with him, even though the three of them knew they wanted some alone time; and that’s why Harry was still Malfoy-watching, even if that got him worried looks from… everyone.
There was this voice in his head saying it was not ok, saying he needed to think rationally and understand what was going on. But he ignored the voice; it sounded a lot like Hermione and he didn’t need two of them telling him what to do, thank you very much.
So he kept staring and he kept checking his map late at night, even when the tiny dot with Draco’s name was in bed; even when Ron looked at him funny and muttered something before going back to sleep.
And as the days went by, Malfoy started to notice this development and the git decided it was ok to stare right back. It wasn’t. Harry didn’t know what to do with that, how to react. He was probably the worst detective in the world if he was so easily found out. Good thing he wasn’t going to be an Auror anymore, then.
It became something normal, because it happened every damn day. Harry knew people noticed, but for what it’s worth, he couldn’t look away, not when Malfoy was staring at him defiantly. It was a silent challenge, and that was so familiar it made his heart beat faster and his stomach do weird flutters.
It was fine until his friends had to go and ruin it.
“Harry, we need to talk about this,” Hermione said, during breakfast one day.
“About what?” He said, without looking away from Malfoy, who was eating an apple like it offended him, and was staring right back.
“This!” She said, moving her finger between him and the Slytherin table. “It’s not healthy, you know? You two should talk like normal people.”
“What would we talk about?” Harry asked, finally looking at her. When he glanced back at Malfoy, he was glaring at Hermione with a frown, like it was her fault they had broken eye contact, before looking at Harry once again.
“Seriously? Maybe you two should talk about this staring contest you got going on!”
“Yeah, mate, people don’t know if you two will get up one day to smash each other’s faces or to snog each other senseless.”
“What?!” He said, and Malfoy frowned once more, noticing his alarm. “Snog? Are you… do you even… no, that’s insane. I don’t even want to talk about it anymore.”
The thing is, once a seed is planted, it’s hard to stop it from growing. And after that, every single time Harry looked at Malfoy during breaks, he would have that horrible cold feeling on his chest, and he knew it was too late. That thing they had going on, that once was familiarity, now left him terrified.
Because even though he knew it was insane, what if his friends were right? What if he just liked Malfoy? Was it even normal to stare so much at someone you don’t find attractive?
And oh God, Malfoy was attractive! Harry always thought so, on a rational level, but now it was different. Now his glaring involved him thinking Malfoy’s hair looked soft and his lips looked inviting.
Harry couldn’t look at him without blushing anymore, and that just made Malfoy frown and stare harder, trying to understand what was happening.
It all came to an end on a sunny Saturday, something quite rare in Scotland. There was a lot of energy going on, and the eighth year students were already discussing teams for a friendly game of Quidditch. Even the few Slytherins left were going to be part of it.
Not that Harry saw any of it, because he was busy staring at Malfoy’s face and trying not to blush too much, as usual. Ron said something about the game, urging Harry to finish his breakfast soon, or they would find someone else to be seeker, but he didn’t pay attention.
It took him precisely two minutes to realise his friends had left. In fact, they were alone, and energetic shouts could be heard outside. Apparently, the entire student body was excited about this Quidditch business and even the professors weren’t in the vicinity anymore.
Malfoy noticed almost at the same time, and for a moment he looked terrified, but his mask was back in an instant and he stood up, a small smirk gracing his lips. His kissable lips.
“Potter, did your friends leave you behind?” He said, and Harry could see he was curious under that nonchalance. Malfoy was now standing next to his seat, looking amused.
“Go away,” he said, pretending his heart wasn’t hammering in his chest.
“What is wrong with you?” Malfoy responded, looking affronted.
Oh, but that was rich coming from the person who stared at him day in day out! Harry stood up, angry at Draco Malfoy and at himself for being so stupid.
“What is wrong with me??? What is wrong with you?” He said, touching Malfoy’s chest with his finger, pushing him.
“Nothing! You’re the one that looks like a tomato every time I look at you now!” Draco said, and their noses were almost touching, pure anger shining through their eyes.
“Oh yeah? And why do you look at me then?” Harry shouted, and immediately felt like banging his head against the wall. That was the only question he promised he would never ask. Once it was out, that was it. No way of going back to the staring without him knowing he was weird and had a crush on Malfoy of all people.
Even if he was ok, nowadays. Even if he was really ok to look at as well.
“What?” Malfoy asked, quietly. He had a frown, and Harry could see every shade of grey in his eyes, and every freckle on his nose, and the shocked expression that slowly changed to something new and confusing.
They kept staring, with no one to see them and no tables between them, and no excuses. They just looked and looked and looked. And after a while, Harry couldn’t help but look away from Draco’s eyes, just enough to admire his lips; they looked soft and then Malfoy bit his bottom lip. Harry’s mouth was so dry not even ten Aguamenti would be enough to fix it. And when he looked back at Malfoy’s eyes, they were wide in surprise and recognition.
Oh no, he was caught in the act. Fear started to creep up his spine, making him slightly numb. He started to turn away, to maybe throw himself onto the lake and go live with the Giant Squid, when he felt a strong hand hold his wrist.
He turned, ready to ask why, but his words died on his lips as he felt another hand grab his neck, carefully, and before he could make sense of what was happening, Draco Malfoy’s lips were on his, and all those things he couldn’t understand suddenly were obvious to him.
They were kissing, just lips moving against lips, and the hand on his wrist moved to grab his waist. He noticed his own hands were holding Malfoy’s face like he was a magnet, and they were now touching from lips to hips and it was the best thing to ever happen; he couldn’t help but open his mouth and let the kiss become deeper, more heated.
And as he felt a tongue caress his own, pulling Draco’s face even closer so they could kiss with a force that was part of everything they did to each other, he decided maybe staring contests were overrated after all.
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