(there is a story after the rant if you just wanna scroll down past it i totally understand)

i literally went on break for like... three weeks? because my girlfriend broke up with me??? i was gone for three?? weeks??? and i had literally six different accounts try and copy my book Hold My Hand???? for why???? i leave for five fucking minutes and this is what happens???? i had like fifteen people message me and tell me people were stealing my shit??? yall?????

(thank you for telling me i love each and every one of you so much you deserve the world)

and i messaged each of them and super nicely said "Hey my name is Nyx, I'm a Drarry author and the author of Hold My Hand. I noticed your book was really similar to mine, and I was wondering if we could talk about that when you get a chance?" 

ok it wasn't always that message but it was variations of that what are you gonna do about it

And two of them blocked me immediately without responding, so I had to make a new account just to report them which was, ya know, a fun time. at least their books got taken down and i have a fun new account to do nothing but report people on big_brain_69

another one didn't block me but they did just not bother to respond so i reported theirs too which kinda made me sad bc i wanted to talk abt it :((((( update: it's been two weeks since i reported it and it's still up >:(

one of them completely denied it up to the point where i told them i was going to have to report their book and they yelled at me which made me cry because I'm a sensitive little bitch for no reason and they insulted my writing and shit which is big no no. luckily i know I'm a decent writer bc i have like a thousand people tell me they love my writing. anyways i reported them too and then they yelled at me again smh but i blocked them and their book got taken down so guess who won again?? me bitch

one of them didn't respond and took their book down without saying anything which i guess is good but i wished we could have talked about it oh well

and finally, the nicest of them responded and apologized heavily and took the book down and then deleted their account which made me sad bc i didn't want them to delete their account i just wanted the book taken down :(((

anyways as usual i will not be handing out usernames i don't want people yelling at them i just wanted to update people that i leave for five fucking minutes and people try to steal my shit smh bitches be crazy

also i guess I'm back now lmao I'm tired of just being sad so I've been writing a lot without publishing so I've got about 900 oneshots that are 3/4 done so more updates soon???? and i just wanted to post one bc i know quarantine is really boring for you guys and i thought you might like to read so i don't know if this is me officially being back or if it's just a random update but yeah lmao

also I've been writing much longer oneshots lately my oneshots used to be like 500-2000 words and lately they've been like 5000+ words wtf is up w that this one is 7,512 words

anyways time to read

Draco was having a perfectly normal day before Potter's cronies decided to shove him into a closet on the fifth floor.

Ironic, was his first thought. Back in the closet.

It was another minute of halfheartedly trying to escape, already knowing he couldn't, when he heard voices approaching and banged on the door.

"Hey! I'm stuck in here! Help!"

The door swung open and Draco sighed in relief... only for it to fade away when he met the amused eyes of Granger and Weasley, who promptly shoved Potter into the space with him.

"Have fun, kids!" Weasley said in a sickly-sweet voice, before slamming the door shut.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Potter banged on the door. "This can't be happening, this can't be happening."

"Do you always repeat your phrases, or is it a new tendency?" Draco asked dryly. He slid down the wall, sitting down and watching Potter attempt to escape.

Potter ignored him, continuing to bang on the door angrily, shouting for help.

"No one's coming, Potter," Draco sighed.

Potter backed away from the door, eyes wide and horrified. He turned to face Draco, and backed up until his back hit the wall, which was about two steps.

"This isn't happening," he breathed. "This is a nightmare."

"Do I often feature in your nightmares, Potter?" That thought stung Draco more than he'd like to admit.

Potter didn't seem to hear him. His hands were skittering along the wall behind him, as though waiting for it to move or give away. He was breathing fast, and his face was pale. Draco paused and really studied him for a moment.

"Are you... hyperventilating?"

"No. Shut up." His breathing didn't slow, and Draco could see his wide, panicked eyes in the faint light slipping through the cracks in the door.

"You're hyperventilating. Are you claustrophobic?"

"Shut up, Malfoy." Potter's eyes were darting around, terrified.

"Merlin, Potter, you really can't accept when you need help, can you?"

"I don't need anything from you, except maybe for you to shut up."

Draco sighed, standing up. "Close your eyes."

"What? No!"

"Fuck, Potter, I'm not going to fucking attack you, do you think that will end up well for either of us? Close your fucking eyes or you can just have a panic attack right here!"

Potter glared at him, but after a moment his eyes slid shut. "If you try to fucking hurt me, Malfoy, I will fucking murder you."

"No, you wouldn't. I'm gonna touch your shoulders. Just relax, I'm not going to hurt you." Draco rested his left hand on Potter's shoulder, and when the boy tensed but didn't say anything, he put his right hand on the other shoulder. He guided Potter toward him.

"Alright, take a step forward? Perfect. Can you feel any walls around you right now, without moving?"

"I can feel your stupid freezing hands, but no. No walls."

Draco removed his hands. "Good. That's because we're in a room. A huge room. Lots of lights."

"This is stupid, Malfoy." Potter's eyelashes fluttered like he was going to open his eyes, but Draco put his hand over them before Potter could. "Malfoy, what the fuck?"

"Don't open them, Potter. Close them, or my hand is gonna stay on your fucking face."

After a moment, Potter let out a shaky sigh and his eyelashes brushed Draco's palm. Draco shivered and pulled his hand away. Potter's eyes were closed again.

"Very good. We're in a room. The floor is stone, because Hogwarts hates us and decides freezing stone is better than carpet. The walls are a horrible shade of Gryffindor red. Truly an atrocity."

Potter snorted. "Of course it is, anything red is an atrocity to you."

"Like Weasley's hair and your stupid tie." Potter's mouth opened indignantly, but Draco moved on quickly.  "We're standing in the middle of the room. There are a few cream-colored sofas and a chess table in the corner. Sadly, there's no green, which would upset me more if it wouldn't clash so awfully with the red walls."

Potter laughed softly. His breathing was starting to slow, his shoulders relaxing a bit.

"And why, pray tell, are you and I standing alone in a giant Gryffindor-colored room?" he asked, lips turned up in a slight smirk.

Draco's heart was beating fast, but all of this was easier when Potter's eyes were closed and he couldn't look at him. "Because I needed a place to apologize to you in private, and you're always surrounded by those damn friends of yours."

Potter's smile had vanished. "Malfoy-"

"I'm not done talking, Potter."

"Yes, you are. I've calmed down and you're forgiven. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry too."

"You haven't done anything that's even remotely as horrible as the seven years of torment I've subjected you to."

 "I almost killed you. I scarred you and I didn't even know what the spell was, and I should have researched it more, and-"

"Potter, I tried to Crucio you."

"And I tried to kill you, Malfoy, I scarred you, you were almost-"

Draco sighed irritably, unbuttoning the top three buttons of his shirt and shoving it open, before grabbing Potter's hand and putting it on his chest.

"Um." Potter's face was flushed and his eyelashes were fluttering. He didn't open his eyes, but his lips parted in surprise.

"Do you feel a scar, Potter?"

"Um," Potter replied eloquently.

"There's no fucking scar, Potter. It's healed, I'm over it. I had V-Voldemort in my home for a year, I've had a lot worse done to me than a few cuts." Draco pushed Potter's hand away. "You're fucking forgiven, if that's what you're looking for."

Potter let out a soft sigh before a smile crossed his lips. "Well alright. We don't hate each other. What now?"

Draco snorted. "Now we sit in this big, horrifically red room and wait."

"So why are we still in the room now? You've apologized, I've apologized, what's your reasoning for keeping me here?" A grin was still playing on the edge of his lips.

"Because we're hanging out," Draco replied, rolling his eyes at his own stupid response.

Potter smirked. "And here I thought you were gonna push me against one of those awful red walls and have your way with me."

Draco's face immediately flushed, and he had never been more grateful that Potter couldn't see. "I- um-"

"Jesus, Draco, I was kidding," Potter laughed, and Draco couldn't help the shiver that ran down his spine at the sound of his first name on Potter's lips. There were too many inappropriate images in his head, and this was the worst situation possible to be reminded that he was maybe just a little bit in love with Harry Potter.

"Um-"

"Are you doin' okay over there? Do you need to close your eyes while I describe a green room with white couches and a chess table?" Potter raised one eyebrow, although his face was as flushed as Draco suspected his own was.

"I don't want a chess table, I want a minibar with a fuckton of alcohol."

Potter laughed again. Merlin, Draco could get used to the sound of Potter's laugh. "A fuckton. God, Draco, I never thought I'd hear such... improper language from you."

"You'd be surprised at the things I say."

Potter smirked. "Is that so?"

Draco flushed even more. Potter was blushing quite a bit, despite his smirk and casual words. Draco took a step forward, entranced.

Potter seemed to sense that he was closer, his posture changing slightly and his head tilting up fractionally. He seemed to be waiting for something. 

The words Can I kiss you? were on the tip of Draco's tongue, just about to spill off when Potter's idiot friends chose that moment to open the door.

Light spilled over them, and Potter opened his eyes, squinting slightly before they widened. Draco stepped back immediately.

Granger and Weasley took in both of their flushed faces and Draco's undone shirt, and Weasley bit his lip to stop laughter as Granger raised an eyebrow.

"We pushed you in there to alleviate your differences, I didn't expect it to go so well," she said, biting back a grin.

"Are you fucking insane?" Draco shouted, stepping out and facing them. "He almost had a goddamn panic attack in there! What would you have done then, hm? What the fuck kind of friends are you?"

They stared at him with wide eyes as he huffed before turning and storming away.

******************

Draco's plan when he went into the library wasn't to talk to Potter, but his feet were taking him to Potter's table anyways.

Potter had his chin resting on his palm, and he was glaring at the open book in front of him. Draco raised an eyebrow as he sat down across from him.

Potter didn't look up. "Go away, Hermione. I told you I don't want to talk about it."

"Pity, because I'm an excellent listener." 

Potter's head snapped up in surprise. "Malfoy?"

Draco frowned. "And to think, just two days ago you called me Draco. We really do never change, do we?"

Potter was still just staring at him. Draco shrugged and opened his own book, pulling out a quill and some parchment and starting to write.

"What are you doing, Malfoy?" Potter whispered after several minutes of stunned silence.

"Charms essay. Have you started?"

"Malfoy." Draco looked up from his essay to see Potter's green eyes pinning him to his seat. "What are you doing?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Well, I was going to ask you why you're claustrophobic, but you made it clear that you didn't want to talk about it. So now I'm trying to do my Charms essay while you stare at me."

Potter blinked. Draco smirked.

"Alright," Potter muttered, and he returned to his book. After several minutes of comfortable silence, he pulled out some parchment and a quill and started writing something.

Draco glanced up. "What are you writing?"

Potter's lips upturned in a slight grin. "I haven't started my Charms essay, thanks for reminding me."

Draco tried not to blush at the praise, and silently returned to his own work.

***

It was two days into their weird truce of sitting together in the library when Harry spoke.

"Why were you so close to me?"

Draco dropped his quill.

"I'm sorry?" he asked as he picked it back up, face flushing.

"In the closet. You were standing really close to me, and when I opened my eyes you stepped back really fast. Why?"

Draco's mind stuttered to a halt as he frantically tried to get it together to form a lie. Instead, his mouth decided to talk without his permission.

"I guess I was gonna ask if I could kiss you." 

Fuck. Fuck shit fuck. Fuck. Draco avoided Harry's eyes and continued to copy down words from the text that meant absolutely nothing right now.

This time Harry dropped his quill.

"What?!"

"Hush!" Madame Pince hissed from her desk, glaring at Harry.

"What?" Harry hissed softer. 

Draco shrugged. "Momentary lapse in judgment. I dunno. Maybe it was the irony of being in the closet."

There was a long pause. Draco looked up, a bit concerned. Harry was staring at him with wide eyes, looking like his brain had short-circuited.

"You're gay." It wasn't a question, but Harry looked like he was waiting for an answer.

"Yep." Draco's hands were not shaking as he continued his essay, shut up.

"You're gay and you were going to kiss me."

"I suppose so." God, would Harry just stop staring at him and saying things Draco already knew?

"You like me?"

"You could go with the word like, if you want."

"What word would you use?" Harry looked like he already knew the answer, but wanted Draco to say it.

"I would say it, but you already look like you're on the verge of a panic attack, so I'd rather not." Draco was going to throw up. Harry was going to punch him. Fuck.

"Do you..." Harry paused for a moment, before he shakily whispered the next words. "Do you love me?"

"I think the phrase I'm in love with you is more accurate, but yeah." Draco fucked up several letters in his sentence, and drew a line through it. He tapped his wand on the parchment and the messed up words vanished. He tried to write them again. His stomach was churning.

"I have to go," Harry whispered, and Draco could only nod once before Harry grabbed his things and rushed off.

Draco's head hit the table.

He had really fucked up this time.

***

It was three days after Draco had told Harry he was in love with him when Granger approached him at his table at the library.

His table that had not had Harry James Potter anywhere near it for three days.

"Can I sit here?" she asked quietly.

"Physically, yes, but I'd rather you didn't."

Granger sat.

"So I suppose Harry told you what happened." Draco shut his book and looked her in the eye, trying to convince her and himself that he wasn't screaming internally. 

She smiled slightly. "It's Harry, is it?"

"Granger," Draco sighed, and her smile fell away.

"Are you really in love with him?"

"Are you really a shitty friend who shoved your claustrophobic friend in a closet?"

"We never knew he was claustrophobic," she murmured, looking down at her hands. "Although, I suppose it makes sense, considering."

"Before you spill his secrets to me, you should know he didn't tell me why he's claustrophobic. I don't think he'd appreciate you bringing it up."

She gave him a strange look. Draco sighed. "What?"

"You're different than you used to be," she murmured. "The old Malfoy would have waited until I had told him to tell me I was unknowingly betraying my friend's trust."

"The old Malfoy would have called you a Mudblood and cursed you when you sat down."

Granger studied him for a long moment before Draco lost his patience.

"What do you want, Granger?"

"He's confused," she said quietly. "He's trying to figure all of this out."

"What is there to figure out, Granger? I told him I'm in love with him. That's all there is to it."

She stared at him. "Draco... He's trying to figure out how he feels."

Draco stared at her. "What?"

Her expression changed into something softer. "Draco... did you not consider that he's trying to figure out how he feels about you?"

Draco struggled to wrap his mind around that. "But... he doesn't like me like that. I didn't tell him to pressure him into liking me, I just told him because he asked."

"Draco, he doesn't feel pressured into liking you. He's just confused right now, and you telling him you're in love with him surprised him."

Draco snorted. "First of all, he was more than surprised, the poor boy looked like he was going to have a panic attack right there. Second, I repeat, he asked."

"Just give him time."

Draco scowled. "Granger, I'm not going to sit here torturing myself into hoping he could like me back. I'm not going to wait for an answer I already know. Now if you don't mind, I have homework to finish, and you have a redhead to make out with."

Granger stared at him for another long moment before she stood and walked away.

***

Draco had just finished his essay and was about to start putting his things away to leave when Harry sat across from him quietly.

"Hermione told me she talked to you yesterday," he whispered, not meeting Draco's eyes.

Draco didn't show any expression. He took out an unnecessary piece of parchment and pretended to still be doing work. "Yes, she came over here and harassed me about you."

"What did she say?"

"She didn't tell you?" Draco raised one eyebrow and met Harry's eyes. The other boy looked away, and Draco's heart twisted.

"She did. I'm just trying to make conversation."

"You don't have to. Just do your homework." Draco continued to write random words on his parchment, not willing to leave just yet.

Why does he look so pretty? Unfair. Life is unfair, he scribbled irritably. 

"Draco, I'm not in love with you."

"I know," Draco responded easily, although it hurt to hear more than he would have cared to admit. He didn't look up from his writing.

"I just want you to know, so you don't get any false hope and-"

Draco sighed, crumbling the parchment into a little ball and shoving it in his bag. He grabbed the rest of his things and crammed them into the bag as well as Harry watched. 

He stood, slinging the bag over his shoulder. "I never had any false hope, Potter, and you know that. Good talk. Bye."

Harry didn't protest when Draco walked away.

***

Draco didn't go to the library the next day. Or the one after that. In fact, he really just planned to just do all of his studying in his room from now on when Weasley approached him at the Slytherin table.

"Malfoy, can I talk to you?" he asked, obviously uncomfortable with all of the eyes on him.

Draco raised one eyebrow and set his drink down. "It would appear you already are."

Pansy snorted.

"I don't think it's something you would want announced to the Slytherin table, but if you want, I can always do that too," Weasley responded without blinking an eye.

Damn. He had called Draco's bluff. Draco sighed heavily and stood, following Weasley out of the Great Hall, aware of eyes on him, including the bright green ones of the inevitable topic of their discussion.

Once they were outside the doors, Weasley turned to face him. "You haven't been to the library in two days."

"Stalking me, are you?"

Weasley just gave him a flat look. Strange. Much harder to irritate him now than it used to be. "Harry told us."

"Three stalkers then. I know I'm pretty, but I'm not interested in redheads, Weasley." Draco leaned against the wall.

"Malfoy, stop being a dick."

"I will when you get to the point of you bringing me out here. And since when are you so calm talking to me?"

Weasley bit the inside of his cheek for a moment before speaking. "Harry told me not to fight with you."

Draco raised his eyebrows, but didn't respond. Weasley flushed. "I probably shouldn't have said that."

"Why not?" Draco shrugged. "Are you going to get around to your purpose, or are we just gonna do this little back and forth until dinner's over?"

"Why haven't you been to the library in two days, Malfoy?"

"Because I don't want to see him."

This time Weasley was the one to raise his eyebrows. "Why not? I thought you're in love with him or whatever."

"I am. That doesn't mean I want to be near him, especially when his whole reason for talking to me last time was to tell me something I already know and rub it in more."

"He's not-" Weasley sighed irritably. "I see what Hermione means now. You two are fucking impossible. He's not rubbing it in, Malfoy, he doesn't know that you know that. He thought you were waiting for an answer: a reciprocation or rejection. So he gave you one."

"Big words, Weasley. I told Granger I know he's not in love with me, I'm not fucking stupid, you know, or delusional for that matter. She must have told him that, and he decided to tell me in person anyway, even though I already knew."

"Harry's oblivious. He doesn't understand that not everyone needs feelings spelled out for them. He didn't get that you already knew, he just wanted to make sure there was no misunderstanding."

"Well, there wasn't. Good talk, Weasley."

"Malfoy- Draco!" Weasley shouted when Draco continued to walk toward the door. Draco paused and spun around at the use of his given name.

"What, Weasley?"

"Will you come back to the library?"

"No."

Weasley huffed. "Why not?"

"Because he doesn't know how to talk to me now! He's walking on eggshells and he's going to think about every word he says when he says it, and he'll think everything I say is an attempt to flirt or get him to like me back, and he'll overthink every conversation we have, and that's fucking exhausting." Draco sighed and leaned back against the door. "I don't want him to have to do that, and I don't want to have conversations like that."

"So just don't talk. You guys did it for days, just doing homework and not talking."

Draco ignored the fact that Harry had obviously told his friends about even the meaningless encounters between them. "Fuck, Weasley, it hurts, alright?"

Weasley paused, looking stunned.

"It fucking hurts to sit so close to him and know that he doesn't feel that way, and I thought I could do it before because he didn't know and things were purely platonic, but now he knows and I can't be near him knowing that he knows and I still can't do anything!" Draco pushed off of the door and turned, putting his hand on the handle before turning his head to note Weasley's still-stunned expression. "Besides, why would he care if I don't sit next to him? He's got you two."

He was about to pull open the door when Weasley found his voice.

"Because you're his friend, Draco."

Draco's fingers tightened around the handle. He didn't turn this time, and both boys pretended not to hear the crack in his voice. 

"I don't want to be his friend."

Draco opened the door and went back to his table.

***

"God damnit, you people never give up, do you?" Draco growled when Granger approached him at his new table in the library. "I'm literally in the furthest back corner! No one can even see down here without walking down, like, six aisles! How the fuck did you know I was here?"

"Harry has a map," Granger replied easily. She didn't elaborate on that. "So, you're coming to the library again."

"It is a public place for students. Slytherin dorms are loud, even if you're in your room."

"It's been a week since you stopped coming here."

"I'm perfectly aware of that, yes."

"Harry misses you."

"Shut the fuck up, Granger. You have no right to say something like that."

She sighed sadly. "Look. Just because you're in love with Harry and he doesn't love you back doesn't mean you two can't be frien-"

"Granger!" Draco shouted, alarmed. Granger's mouth snapped shut, but the damage was done as Draco watched a delighted Parvati Patil dart away.

Draco hit his head down on the table and wished it had killed him when he did.

"Draco, I'm so sor-"

"Go the fuck away right now, Granger, before I kill you and then myself," Draco grumbled, not lifting his head.

"I'm sorry," Granger whispered, and then she was gone.

Draco just sighed heavily.

This really just kept getting worse and worse for him.

***

By dinner, everyone in Hogwarts knew that Draco Malfoy was in love with Harry Potter, and that Harry Potter didn't love Draco Malfoy back.

Draco should have been glad that no one was making fun of him for being in love with the Golden Boy.

Unfortunately, his relief at not being punched for even thinking of Harry that way was ruined by the number of people who were giving him pitying looks.

Draco would rather be punched.

Suddenly, a Hufflepuff girl dropped down in the seat in front of Draco. She ignored the surprised looks from the Slytherins around her. Draco was slightly impressed at her nerve. Slytherins could be quite intimidating.

And then she spoke, and Draco wished she had been too terrified of the Slytherins to come over.

"I'm so sorry for your predicament, Draco," she said in a sickly-sweet voice. "If you want, you could go on a date with me to take your mind off of things."

The Slytherins froze. So did some of the Ravenclaws at the next table over, turning to stare.

"No thanks," Draco replied dryly. "I'm gay, in case it wasn't obvious."

"How do you know you're not bisexual? You can like girls and still be in love with Harry Potter," she said sweetly, sighing out Harry's name. 

Draco was going to throw up.

Luckily, Slytherin loyalty extended to Weird Hufflepuff Girls Who Are Embarrassing You In Front Of Everyone.

Pansy leaned forward with a glare. "He said he's gay, darling."

Blaise tilted his head and gave her a predatory grin. "But I'll go on a date with you, if you want." His fingers trailed over his knife handle and his eyes gleamed.

"Or you could just leave," Astoria added. Daphne nodded, cold eyes fixed on the now worried-looking girl.

Greg chuckled. "Did you really expect him to agree?"

Theo just rolled his eyes at his friends' dramatics and leaned toward her. 

"Get out of the fucking snake pit," he growled, and the Hufflepuff girl shot out of her seat and ran back to her table.

Draco sighed shakily, rubbing his face with his hands. 

"You alright, love?" Pansy murmured softly. "I know this must be awful for you."

"Before you yell at her, she's talking about the pitying looks, not the Potter thing," Blaise added before Draco did just that.

Draco nodded slowly, relaxing a bit at his friends' understanding. "They're still staring, aren't they?"

In unison, as if they had practiced it, each of the Eighth Year Slytherins turned to glare at the rest of the students of the Great Hall.

"Not anymore," Astoria commented with a grin.

Draco snorted. "Thank you."

"Slytherin loyalty," Theo and Blaise said together.

Draco went back to his dinner and pretended that there weren't eyes on him.

***

For four days before what Draco deemed The Worst Thing To Ever Happen To Him Ever And That Does Include The War, his friends made a sort of shield around him wherever he went.

Anytime someone tried to offer him something or flirt with him or give him pitying looks, they would be met with Pansy's shutdowns, Blaise's veiled threats, Greg's mocking, Astoria and Daphne's semi-sweet warnings, and Theo blatantly shoving them out of the way.

Draco fucking loved his friends.

Unfortunately, that luck only went for so long, because Harry didn't have a protective squad.

Harry had been facing just as much attention as Draco, although his was a bit different. It appeared to be a mix of people who wanted to know why he didn't reciprocate Draco's feelings, and the (far worse, in Draco's opinion) people actually being angry at him for not reciprocating Draco's feelings.

And thus was born The Worst Thing To Ever Happen To Him Ever And That Does Include The War.

It was as normal as dinner had been for the last four days; eyes on him and Harry and whispers scattering around, the occasional knife waving from Blaise to stop a few stares and a few blown kisses from Daphne to draw attention away from Draco.

And then there was a loud clatter from across the room.

Every head in the Great Hall turned to face Harry, who had dropped his silverware and was now standing, staring straight at Draco.

"Draco," Harry breathed, and Draco only heard it because every single person in the Great Hall was dead silent. Even the teachers had stopped talking, turning to stare at him.

Some eyes now turned to Draco, who was just staring at Harry with a confused expression.

"I can't believe I didn't realize it before." Harry stepped around the table, ignoring Granger and Weasley asking him what the hell he was doing.

"Potter, what in the fuck are you doing?" Draco asked, leaning back in his seat a bit as Harry continued to walk toward him.

"You're perfect," Harry murmured. His voice rang throughout the silent room. "How did I not realize before that you're the one for me?"

"Mr. Potter, please return to your table," McGonagall said slowly.

Harry didn't seem to hear her. He was standing across the table from Draco, eyes wide and focused only on the blonde boy in front of him.

"Potter, you're scaring me," Draco said, still leaning back. "Go back to your table."

"I belong with you, though, Draco," Harry whispered. "We belong together, forever. I love you Draco."

This time, Draco's silverware clattered onto the table.

"P-Potter?" Draco couldn't lean back anymore, so instead he clambered out of his seat so he could back up further.

"I'm in love with you, and I'm so sorry I didn't tell you before."

"Mr. Potter!" McGonagall shouted. "Stop harassing Mr. Malfoy and go back to your seat, now!"

"I love you, Draco," Harry whispered as if McGonagall hadn't said anything at all.

And Merlin, those words sounded beautiful from Harry, but as Draco stared at him, he couldn't shake the unsettled feeling that something was wrong.

"Finally!" Parvati cheered from her spot at the Gryffindor table. She was the only one.

Harry jumped over the Slytherin table in one fluid motion, and then he was right in front of Draco, who flinched away from the look in his eyes.

"Harry," he murmured in a warning tone. "Please back up."

"Don't you love me too, Draco?" Harry was far too close, and McGonagall was standing like she was ready to intervene, and Parvati looked all too delighted, and finally, Draco remembered where he had seen that look in someone's eyes before.

He looked over Harry's shoulder to stare right at Parvati. "How did you get my hair to give him Amortentia?" he asked in a shaking voice.

A gasp ran through the Great Hall, and Parvati's grin was wiped off of her face.

"Ms. Patil!" McGonagall shouted. "Is this true?"

"Oh, Professor, it was so sad, seeing Draco without the love of his life!" Parvati cried out.

Draco pushed Harry to the side slightly and glared at her. "So you fucking drugged him?"

Granger and Weasley were now standing and shouting too, and soon almost everyone in the Great Hall was yelling at Parvati.

Everyone, that is, except for Harry, who was still swaying slightly on his feet and staring at Draco with that horrifyingly glazed look that was uncomfortably similar to the Imperius.

"I love you, Draco," he murmured, leaning forward like he was going to kiss Draco. Draco stepped back quickly and put a hand on Harry's shoulder to stop him.

"Harry, you're under Amortentia."

"No I'm not, I love you."

"Stop saying that!" Draco shouted, squeezing his eyes shut. 

"Potter, c'mere." Draco opened his eyes as Blaise appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Harry's arm, pulling him back.

"Let go of me!" Harry shouted, his voice rising above the ones still shouting at Parvati. "Draco!"

Draco's whole body was tense, eyes watering. His fists clenched at his sides as Theo stood to help Blaise grab Harry and keep him away from Draco. 

"Let go of me!" Harry shouted again, louder this time, and suddenly a wave of magic flew through the room and Blaise and Theo both flew into the wall behind them.

Draco yelled and rushed after his best friends, followed quickly by Pansy and Astoria as Greg and Daphne struggled to keep Harry from chasing them.

Granger and Weasley rushed out of nowhere, helping Greg and Daphne as Draco dropped down next to Theo and Pansy and Astoria next to Blaise.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked, worried. 

Theo slowly opened his eyes and winced. "I'm never trying to help you again."

Draco laughed softly, although his heart still clenched in his chest. He turned to see McGonagall had cast an Incarcerous on Harry, who was still struggling to reach Draco.

"SILENCE!" she shouted, her voice ringing throughout the room and quieting the shouting.

She sighed, keeping her wand pointed at a still-struggling Harry. "Ms. Patil, you will accompany me to my office. Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley, there is an antidote for Amortentia in the Potions classroom, I trust you to administer it to Mr. Potter effectively and quickly. Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Parkinson, please escort your friends to the Hospital Wing and inform Madame Pomfrey of what has happened. The rest of you, continue eating, please."

With that, she left, followed by a miserable-looking Parvati.

Draco waved over Greg and Daphne, who rushed over to help.

Astoria and Daphne helped pull Blaise to his feet, and when he swayed on his feet and looked like he might pass out, Pansy and Daphne wrapped his arms around their shoulders. Goyle and Draco did the same with Theo, and Astoria led them out of the Great Hall.

They all pretended they didn't hear Harry screaming Draco's name.

Astoria explained the situation to Madame Pomfrey as the others laid Theo and Blaise on two beds. Madame Pomfrey quickly took over with diagnostic spells and administering potions until both boys were asleep.

"They should be down for breakfast in the morning," Madame Pomfrey said in a professional, short tone. "If there is any vomiting or claims of headaches, please let me know, but they should be fine."

Draco nodded, sighing heavily. "This is all my fault."

"No it isn't, Draco-" Pansy protested, but Draco shook his head.

"Yeah. I should have never approached him in the library. Shoulda kept my mouth shut. None of this would have happened."

This was met with silence. Draco ignored Pansy's stare.

"Draco!" came a scream, and suddenly Harry burst into the room.

"Harry?" Draco looked around him, but his best friends were nowhere to be found. "Where are Granger and Weasley?"

"Who cares?" Harry threw his arms around Draco's shoulders. "You left me, I missed you!"

Draco shot a look at Daphne, Astoria, and Greg, and they nodded, leaving to find Granger and Weasley. Pansy leaned forward as though ready to hold Harry back.

"Madame Pomfrey," she murmured, pulling the witch aside and whispering something. Madame Pomfrey nodded and rushed off.

"Don't ever leave me again," Harry said, arms still around Draco's shoulders. "I love you, Draco, you can't just-"

"Stop saying that," Draco whispered hoarsely. "Please."

Harry pouted. "But I do! I love you more than the sun, the stars, the moon, the-"

"I get it," Draco interrupted, wondering what the fastest way to death was.

Madame Pomfrey came up behind Harry and handed Draco the vial behind Harry's back.

"Can I ask you to do something?" Draco said in a sweet voice, pulling away from Harry's embrace.

"Anything, Draco!" Harry's eyes were wide and excited. 

"Drink this?" Draco held out the vial. Harry grabbed it and downed it without hesitation, promptly collapsing in Draco's arms.

"Merlin Morgana and fuck," Draco grumbled. "Dead weight is heavy."

"No shit." Pansy grabbed Harry's ankles and together they lifted him onto the bed.

The doors opened again and Draco's friends came back, accompanied by an unharmed Granger and Weasley.

Greg grinned. "He Petrified them and left them in the corridor."

Granger scowled. "He shouldn't have been able to get out of those ropes."

Draco rolled his eyes. "He threw Theo and Blaise halfway across the room without a word or a wand, the boy is unfairly powerful."

"Is he alright?" Weasley asked worriedly.

"In recovery," Madame Pomfrey answered. "He should wake up in a minute or so, Amortentia antidote doesn't take long, much like the potion itself."

As if on cue, Harry groaned and started to sit up, eyes fluttering open.

Draco took that as his cue to leave, and ignored his friends calling after him.

***

"I'm sorry."

Draco sighed as he looked up. "You and your friends really enjoy following me around."

Harry shifted uncomfortably where he stood. Draco rolled his eyes.

"It's not your fault, you don't have to apologize. I do expect an apology from Patil for emotional trauma, however. You look quite creepy when you've been Amortentia-fied."

Harry cracked a smile that was not cute, shut up. "Amortentia-fied?"

"You know I have a tendency to make up words."

"I know." Harry laughed. "I still haven't forgotten fuckton."

Draco snorted, and an awkward silence fell between them.

"Can I sit down?" Harry asked quietly, gesturing at Draco's table. Draco hadn't moved from his new spot at the furthest table back in the library.

"Sure," Draco said, standing. "I was just leavi-"

"Draco."

Draco bit his lip and sat back down slowly. "Yes. You can sit."

Harry sat down across from him and pulled out some papers before he began writing.

Draco stared at him for a long moment before he returned to his own work, and the two fell into a comfortable silence.

When he finished his essay, he was tempted to stay and just be with Harry for a while, but he felt that might be a bit creepy, so instead he started to put his things away.

Harry looked up, startled by the noise. "You're done?"

"Yeah." Draco swung his bag over his shoulder and paused, unsure of what to say.

"I hate this table," Harry said with a grin. "You have to walk so far just to get to it. Can we go back to our old table?"

It was more than just a proposition for a new sitting area, and both of them knew it. It was an offer for things to go back to the way they were before everything had gone sideways.

And Draco knew his answer immediately.

"Yeah, of course."

***

Harry sighed irritably. Draco looked up at him, grinning.

"Having trouble?"

"Just trying to figure out my Potions essay," he sighed.

"Well lucky for you, Draco's a potions expert!" Pansy cheered, dropping into the chair next to Draco.

Harry blinked. "Um. Hello, Pansy."

"Hello!" She grinned brightly, and then Blaise sat down next to her, and then Theo and Astoria, and Greg, Daphne, Hermione, and Ron shoved another desk against theirs and pulled up some more chairs.

"What game are you playing, darling?" Draco murmured to Pansy.

"No game. Just thought it was high time we all got to study together." Pansy pulled out her Transfiguration notes and began muttering to Blaise about some terms she had missed.

Harry caught Draco's eye over the table and they both grinned and shrugged, returning to their work.

"Theo," Hermione said suddenly, leaning forward. "You're in Ancient Runes, right? I've got almost all of yesterday's assignment done, but number twenty-three is tripping me up..."

Draco stared as Hermione and Theo discussed Runes and laughed easily over something Draco hadn't heard.

"Harry," Ron said suddenly. "Mind switching with me? You need Potions help from Ma-Draco, and I need Herbology help from Astoria."

Harry met his eye and gave him a strange look, but shrugged. "Yeah, whatever." He grabbed his things and switched with Ron so he was sitting next to Draco.

"Merlin, Harry!" Draco exclaimed, reading one of the sentences in Harry's essay. "There's no asphodel in Felix Felicis, unless you want to kill the person! We made this in sixth year, and if I recall, you made it perfectly. How do you not know?"

Harry blushed. "I had help."

"You cheated," Draco sighed, rolling his eyes. "Vanish that sentence. And you forgot Ashwinder eggs. That's like, one of the main ingredients."

"Stop bullying me," Harry grumbled, but he was grinning as he Vanished his sentence.

Finally, after another hour, Draco approved Harry's essay and their little study group was starting to pack up their things.

"Draco," Harry said as Pansy and Astoria left. "Stay for a minute?"

Confused, Draco nodded, hopping up to sit on the table while he waited.

After all of the others had left (Ron had winked at Harry and Hermione had just sighed and shook her head), Harry met Draco's eyes, grinning.

"Will you go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"

Draco took several seconds to process this question, just long enough for Harry's grin to start to dim into nervousness.

"I- what?" he finally said, desperately trying to gain control of his rapidly beating heart. "If you follow this up with 'as a friend', I swear to Merlin I'm going back to never coming to the library aga-"

"As more than friends," Harry interrupted, blushing furiously.

Draco almost choked on his own tongue, and silently yelled at himself for being a moron before he spoke again. "I thought you said you don't-"

"I said I don't love you. I think I might really like you though." Harry looked down at the floor, grinning slightly, cheeks still stained pink. "Go easy on me, I only just realized I like guys a week ago."

Draco raised his eyebrows. "Lord. You're going to be the death of me."

Harry bit his lip, smiling. "Is that a yes?"

"Yes, it's a yes, you fucking idiot," Draco grumbled. "Do I ever get to know why you're claustrophobic?"

"Let's save that for the second date," Harry laughed, and Draco couldn't help the flutter in his heart at the prospect of a second date.

Merlin, he was in love with Harry Potter.