Inspired by "Make you feel my love" by Adele. I own nothing.
Harry quietly sneaked behind the large statue, trying his best not to make any noise. Currently, it was about midnight, way too late for him to be sneaking around the castle. But he did this all the time, and the cloak that his father left for him definitely made things easier. Harry squinted through the robe to see if the boy he was following had moved.
Draco patrolled the halls late at night. Honestly, he hated being a prefect, so he had persuaded Snape to let him take the night shift. It's not like he slept much anyway, and it allowed him time to think and be alone. Looking around anxiously, he slipped into the abandoned girl's bathroom, the one Harry was quite familiar with.
Harry's friends thought it was kind of weird (and not to mention creepy) that he was following Malfoy so much. It was a constant battle between the three of them, and Harry was always explaining that he wanted to see how Malfoy ticked, what made him so horrid towards almost everyone unlike himself. He wanted to figure out was the Slytherin was hiding. And secretly, Harry wanted to know if all those rumors about Malfoy sleeping around were true.
Without wanting to be caught, the dark haired wizard waited until the door slammed shut. He crept closer towards the entrance, and put his ear up against the cold, wooden crack. He listened intently for a few minutes, hearing nothing.
Draco stood at the sink, his white knuckles clutching the sides of the marble. Staring into the mirror, he saw a blond teenager, only 16, but with harsh gray eyes with bags underneath them. His lips were raw, chapped, from the insane amount of snogging he had been doing lately. He would sneak with almost all the willing girls in the bloody school, trying to make himself forget about his immense responsibility. He wanted to be distracted. He wanted to be loved, for once. Staring at himself, it dawned on him that he couldn't run away from it. Draco would have to do it, or suffer the disappointment and anger from his father, and ultimately lose everything that was important to him, including his own life.
Malfoy men never cry. But in that moment, Draco saw hot tears well in his dark gray eyes, and he couldn't help the sob that escaped his lips. He had never felt so alone, so neglected. Silently, he slid to the floor, and clutched his robes desperately as his chest rose and fell rapidly.
Meanwhile, Harry was crouched on the other side of the door, straining his ears to hear. Finally he heard something that sounded like sobs.
'Malfoy's crying?' he thought, as he peeked inside the slight crack in the door. His doubts were confirmed. Draco Malfoy, usually so put-together and full of himself, was balled up on the hard tile, tears flowing freely.
Harry stood up to leave, but his Gryffindor conscious got the best of him. He couldn't just leave him alone. What if Malfoy got so depressed that he just killed himself? Harry hated his guts but he didn't want him dead. Sighing, he turned back on his heel, took a deep breath and opened the door.
Draco jumped at the noise of the old hinges creaking. Hastily wiping away his tears, he stood and grabbed his wand.
"Who's there? Show yourself or I'll hex your legs off!"
Harry pulled off the cloak, revealing himself.
"Get the fuck out, Potter. It's passed your bedtime." Draco tried to snarl, but his tear-stained cheeks and red eyes ruined the effect.
"Piss off, Malfoy. I heard you crying, and I wanted to see if I could help."
Harry saw a flicker of vulnerability flash in his eyes. "I wasn't crying." His voice cracked.
Harry felt kind of bad for the other boy. He could tell that he was lying, by the way that Draco lowered his wand and avoided his eyes.
"Malfoy...I..."
"Potter, if you're going to make fun of me, go ahead. I honestly don't care anymore." Pathetically, he allowed himself to sink to the floor again.
Now Harry was completely sure that Draco had lost it. It seemed like he had no pride left, and for some reason it made Harry's heart thud with sadness and compassion for the other boy. He had never seen Malfoy so down, stripped of everything he had. He knew exactly what it felt like. This was probably what he had looked like when Sirius died. Harry winced at the memory; and not exactly sure what to do, took a couple steps towards Draco.
Draco was letting himself cry again, and through blurry eyes he saw Harry walk closer towards him. Why was he still here?
Harry tried again.
"Malfoy, I know we hate each other, but..."
"But, what? You're pitying me, Potter."
"I hate to see people upset. Even people who I don't particularly like. If there's anything I can do..."
"You can leave, and allow me to be a loser in peace."
Harry rolled his eyes.
"You're not a loser, you prat." He smiled warmly at Draco.
"Why are smiling like that? Did you just compliment me?"
"Oh shit, I did."
"I didn't know the Golden Boy cursed."
"Ugh, call me anything but that. And there's a lot that you don't know about me."
Draco sniffed a bit and rubbed his tired eyes.
"If you'd just leave me alone, Harry, I'll be fine, really-"
"Did you just call me Harry?"
Draco looked up quickly; wide eyed.
"Yeah...what the fuck?"
Both boys giggled a bit at the comic exchange of foul language. The moment passed soon, however, and Harry was still left standing and Draco was in his position on the tile floor.
To fill in the awkward silence, Harry coughed and moved quickly and sat directly next to Draco. A bit too close for his liking.
"Potter? What the fuck are you doing?"
"I'm not leaving until you feel better. Because I'm almost positive that the moment I'll leave you'll start bawling again, and I don't think it'd be nice for you to be found by a teacher or something, because-"
"Shut up, Harry. I get it. Do you always rant like that? It's fucking annoying."
"I do, actually. If you were friends with me you'd know that I always go on and on about everything. I guess it's just a nervous habit. Even though I'm not nervous, am I?"
The other boy rolled his eyes and turned away, indicating he wanted Harry to leave.
"Well, if you don't want me to talk, I might as well do this."
In a matter of seconds, Draco found himself surprised and wide eyed as he found himself snuggled (not uncomfortably) in none other than Harry Potter's lap. Stunned, he sat there, curled up, and fought the intense urges to: a). punch Harry in the face and b). sigh and cuddle up closer to the other's chest. Indecisive, he opted for a combination of the two.
"Potter, what the fuck?" Draco shifted himself closer to Harry's body. .
"Oh, well if you don't like it, then..."
Draco gulped.
"Well, it's not like I don't like it, it's just that it's weird because about 15 minutes ago I hated you and you hated me, and now we're cuddling. A bit out of character, I think, and-"
"Shut up."
And with that, Harry flipped Draco around on his lap (which wasn't hard because Draco was starving himself out of stress) and situated the other's legs on either side of his.
''TFUCKING RIGHT.' Draco was yelled in his thoughts. The rational side of his brain thought this was, indeed, wrong, but his body was reacting in a totally different way. He felt his heart beat a bit faster and a lump emerge in his throat.
"Oh, God."
"What?"
"I think you're going to try to rape me now." Draco blushed at his words.
"...Why the fuck are you saying that?" Harry actually look confused.
"Well, for one thing, you kind of forced me into straddling you a moment ago."
The dark haired boy smiled.
"But you're still doing it. You're enjoying it."
"I AM NOT!"
Harry smirked. "It's really funny when you whine like that."
"I'm not whining! You're just being annoying."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, really, and I'd like to leave now, because you're-"
Harry never really knew what Draco was going to say, because he lightly placed his lips on his to silence him. Stunned, Draco froze. However, Harry kept kissing him, and wondered where the hell all this was coming from, and why he was feeling this way. And when Draco began to kiss him back, Harry realized why he was following him all year. He was concerned; he cared about Malfoy. Why else would he go out of his way to see what he was up to? And that also explained his anger over Draco's promiscuity, he was jealous.
Meanwhile, in Draco's head, things began to make sense. Why else would he have taken the night shift? In hopes of finding Harry sneaking around. He was only nasty to Ron and Hermione because he envied them, not because he hated mudbloods or the Weasley family. He knew from that moment in Madame Malkin's shop that Harry Potter was special. When Harry rejected his friendship, Draco held a grudge.
A grudge 6 years until now, when he, Draco Malfoy, was sitting in Harry Potter's lap and sweetly kissing him. And this moment, he thought, he wouldn't trade for anything.
And later on, as Harry walked back to the Gryffindor Tower, with a small smile on his face, he thought the same.