really, he couldn't believe he was doing this. it was after hours, and harry had been staring at the marauder's map all day, waiting for the perfect opportunity. he knew that draco was in his house, and by the looks of it, he was pacing back and forth. he crept from his shared dorm and wrapped the cloak of invisibility around himself, slipping into a pair of shoes before descending the staircase towards the portrait hole.

he crept outside, and the figure within the painting muttered: "who's there?" before falling back asleep. he descended the multiple staircases, heading away from gryffindor tower and towards the dungeons. the school was dark at this time of night, and harry found himself casting a small lumos charm to light his way.

the dungeons were even darker, and within a classroom, he could hear shuffling. he froze, and moved to a darker corner, muttering "nox" before standing completely still. from a classroom, blaise zabini and pansy parkinson emerged.

their clothes were disheveled, and pansy's short hair was messy. she clung to blaise and giggled as she walked with him towards a blank wall harry assumed to be the entrance to the slytherin house. just when he thought blaise would whisper the password, he pressed pansy against the wall and began to snog her fervently. harry tried to suppress the dire need to throw up.

"aren't you afraid malfoy's gonna come looking for us, blaise dear?" pansy asked, and the dark-skinned boy shook his head.

"malfoy's beyond pissed at me." he announced, and pansy gave him a questioning look, urging him to go on. "we were discussing the app, and i asked him why he didn't spend time with us at hogsmeade. he said he was on a date, so i asked him if it was with astoria, and he said it wasn't. did you know malfoy's apparently into blokes?"

"so that's why theo matched with him? because he's into blokes? but theo's with daphne..." pansy claimed, frowning.

"yeah, i thought the app chose your matches based off person preferences too. but then i matched with potter, and i was like, 'hey, i'm not into blokes!,' and draco got upset when i said who i'd matched with and now everything's making so much sense." blaise was rambling, sure, but it would take a really stupid person not to get the gist of what he was saying.

"so, who's he seeing then?" pansy asked – exhibit a of a really stupid person.

"isn't it obvious, pansy dear? i got hold of draco's phone, opened the app, and lo and behold, our draco is talking to none other than harry potter!" the dark-skinned boy exclaimed, and harry went rigid. he thanked merlin he had the invisibility cloak, but this was too much. zabini knew, and now pansy knew. pretty soon, everyone would know! telling draco had never seemed more imperative.

"oh, i'd love to see these messages for myself. I bet he's a total softie towards potter. we all know draco's not really as cold as he seemed: he's a total ninny!" pansy laughed cheerfully, and blaise smiled at her lovingly.

"perhaps i can sneak into his room and get his phone, and together we can make a mockery of him. wait for me in the common room, love, and i'll be there in a jiff." he said, muttering 'serpentes' to the wall, which caused it to slide and reveal a doorway. the slytherins crept inside, and harry slipped in just as the door slid shut again. pansy moved to the dimly lit common room, kicking her feet up on a coffee table as she lounged on the leather couch, and harry decided to follow blaise towards the boys' dorms.

blaise whispered 'alohamora' against what harry assumed to be draco's door, and suddenly the green-eyed boy was seeing his slytherin lover's humble abode for the first time. on a bed designed in silver and green, malfoy slept soundly, light blond hair splayed across his forehead. he had a sheet covering his bottom half, though from previous knowledge, harry knew the boy was nude – all apart from a scarlet jumper sporting an 'h' which he cuddled into unconsciously.

on draco's bed stand, harry saw the silver phone, and watched as blaise advanced towards it. the green-eyed boy gulped, and just as he snatched up the phone, the gryffindor made to block the door, stepping away from the handle so blaise could attempt to open it, though he'd have no such luck.

"bloody hell!" zabini whisper-shouted as he went to turn the knob, pulling hard with one hand whilst clutching draco's phone in the other. "why can't i get out?"

he tried the knob again, muttering 'alohamora,' but it would open to no avail. "bloody hell."

suddenly, draco let out a soft sound from his mouth, and it had both harry and zabini staring at him with fear. the blond smacked his lips, muttered something that sounded instinctively like 'potter,' and turned onto his side. zabini snickered, turning away from the door.

"oh, this would be marvelous to get on film." he whispered aloud, stepping towards his fellow slytherin's bed.

"i wouldn't if i were you." harry whispered in response, startling the dark-skinned boy who looked around with fear. he couldn't allow the blond to face any more humiliation than he was about to.

"who said that?" and now blaise's voice was rising slightly as he held his wand out, prepared to throw a hex.

"if you know what's good for you, you'd set the phone down and get out now." harry continued, and the slytherin continued looking around frantically.

"not until you reveal yourself." zabini tested, and harry rose his wand, firing a hex at the boy. he managed to dodge it, and harry quickly threw off his cloak to reveal himself. he aimed the wand at zabini and glared him down.

"put the phone down, zabini. now."

"potter?" the boy asked, and then laughed out loud. "of course you'd be here! was i interrupting something? c'mon, draco, i know you're not actually asleep!" the slytherin moved to prod at his classmate.

a moment later, malfoy sat bolt upright, staring around blearily before taking notice of zabini first, and then potter.

"w- what's going on?" he asked sleepily. he shuffled restlessly under his blanket.

"zabini's trying to steal your phone, draco. he wants to expose you to everyone!" harry claimed, pointing at the dark-skinned slytherin.

"and potter's creeping on you in your sleep, malfoy. unless you weren't actually sleeping, and i've caught you in the act of sodomy." zabini claimed, trying to defend himself.

"actually zabini, you're the one that let me into the house. yes, i did need to speak with draco, but it was because of your midnight rendezvous that i even figured out how to get in."

malfoy stared between the two before lifting his wand and firing a wordless hex at zabini. the phone flew from his hand and to the ground, and the boy knocked into the wall. he magicked himself into a pair of pants and then removed himself from the covers, stamping over to his once best friend.

"i warned you to stay away from my phone, zabini. i warned you." he seethed.

"and what're you gonna do about it, malfoy? cry to your boyfriend?" the other boy snickered. the blond leapt at him and punched him repeatedly. after a moment, harry pulled him away, because even if blaise did deserve it, harry knew if he let draco continue, he'd kill him.

"actually, draco's not my boyfriend." harry explained, and the blond looked at him questionably. "but that's what i've come here to talk about with him." he turned to the blond. "you haven't answered a message from me in over a week."

"i deleted the app... i didn't want zabini to tell everyone. i'm so sorry." it was like they'd forgotten the antagonist was even in the room. "do you really mean that? you want to be my boyfriend?"

be brave, harry remembered luna's words. be brave.

"i do, draco. more than anything." the green-eyed boy stepped forward and clasped the blond's hands. "i may not know half a thing about what i like, but i do know i like you. i want to be with you."

"i want to be with you too." the silver-eyed boy smiled. zabini gagged, but the two didn't care. harry, heart racing faster than his quickest speed in air, leaned forward to place a firm kiss against draco's cheek.

"you're disgusting!" blaise announced. "i'll tell everyone."

"do it," malfoy stated suddenly. his eyes were still only focused on harry. "you'll make the job a lot easier for all of us."

blaise, frustrated, left the room muttering about how nothing ever worked in his favor. he scoffed all the way down the hallway towards the common room, and once the two were alone, draco grinned like a cheshire cat.

"so, boyfriends?"

"boyfriends." harry agreed, squeezing the blond's hands. draco smiled, kissing harry's cheek. then, he yawned.

"i'm so tired."

"go to sleep then, you ponce." harry laughed.

"but you'll leave me." the blond was pouting.

"do you want me to stay?"

"more than anything."

the two got comfortable in draco's bed, the blond moving to allow himself to be cuddled by the green-eyed wizard. they faced chest to chest, and harry had pulled his glasses off his face and set them on the other side of his slytherin lover.

"i can't believe you're in my bed." the blond said cheekily, and harry moved to kiss his cheek. at that same time, draco moved his head and their lips met. they pulled away abruptly, blushing, and then harry reconnected their mouths, allowing their passion and hunger to take over. eventually, they separated again.

"go to sleep, ponce."

"you too, prat."

they kissed once more, and harry allowed himself to be lulled into slumber. this night would officially be the start of the rest of his life.

he couldn't wait.