A/N: I know, I know. I have many other stories that I need to be working on and finishing, but who could resist the temptation of a Drarry Valentine fic. I can't believe how much time has gone by. I'm already almost done with my freshman year at college (which is my lame excuse for having not updated in a while). Anyway. Enough with my rambling. Please enjoy the story and forgive me for my laziness! :) I love you all!
Disclaimer: I do not own these wonderful characters. I just manipulate them for entertainment purposes!
The black ink stained the once spotless parchment as it dripped off his hovering quill. Harry's leg shook uncontrollably as he tried to put his thoughts into words. After a few more minutes of staring at the parchment he crinkled it up into a ball and chucked it at the wall in front of him in frustration.
He placed his quill into the almost empty bottle of ink on the desk, ran clumsy fingers through his messy black hair, and sighed. Harry sank into the wooden desk chair as he tried to gather his thoughts. Valentine's Day was fast approaching, and he had nothing to give the one he loved. But this was only a small part of the problem.
The one Harry so admired would most likely reject him, and not just because they were in opposite houses. After all, he was more than certain that Draco Malfoy was straight as an arrow. Harry took of his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes.
What was he supposed to do if, and when, he did get a message written? He couldn't put his name on it for fear of humiliation, but how else was Draco to know who had written it? Maybe he would think it was just another one of his Slytherin girl admirers who were more than willing to make Pansy Parkinson disappear even if it meant just a moment alone with the blonde.
Harry placed his glasses back on his face as Ron entered the dormitory. His fiery red hair was tousled and his cheeks were flushed. Harry scoffed. "Been out snogging Lavender again, have you?"
Ron looked at his best friend with a far away smile. "Have I mentioned that she is amazing?"
The raven-haired boy rolled his eyes and stood up from his chair. "Once or twice…since this morning."
Ron walked slowly to his bed and laid down on his back on top of the covers. "Well, she's fantastic."
Harry sighed. "So I've heard." There was no way he would be able to think right with Ron mooning over Lavender five feet away. He stuck some fresh parchment, a new bottle of ink, and a quill in a bag and grabbed his cloak. He draped the black fabric over his arms, grabbed his grey school bag, and headed towards the door.
Ron propped himself on his elbows. "Where are you going?"
Harry didn't even turn back. "For a walk." He shut the door without another word and headed in the path of the library.
000
Draco sighed contentedly as he wrote the last line of his Transfiguration essay. Although he was not too fond of the professor, he rather enjoyed the subject. He was proud of the work he had done and he rolled it up neatly before setting it on his desk. He was just about to close his ink bottle when a knock came at his door. He set the cork next to the ink and brushed his hands on his pants before seeing who was there. The blonde was not at all surprised when he found Pansy beaming at him from the doorway.
She threw her arms around his neck and pecked him on the cheek. "I missed you, Draco."
He chuckled and lightly wrapped his arms around her waist. "But you just saw me at breakfast. And it's only noon now."
The brunette gave a slight huff. "Three hours is too long, Drakey."
Draco tried not to show his distaste for her new nickname for him. He put on a fake smile, something he'd been doing with her a lot lately. "Why don't you go save me a seat for lunch?"
Pansy giggled and pecked him on the cheek a second time. "Okay. Don't be late!"
Draco held his smile in place until she disappeared from his sight. He sat down on his bed and ran his nimble fingers through his platinum blonde hair. He laid back on the dark green bedspread and delved into his thoughts.
Something didn't feel right between him and Pansy anymore. It had nothing to do with her clinginess or taste in nicknames at all. It was all him. His pale skin no longer tingled when they touched, and he found himself losing his attraction for her, or any girl for that matter. In his heart, he knew what he really wanted, but his brain had a nasty habit of talking him out of it.
There was no chance of The Golden Boy sharing his feelings. And if he did, what would his father say? Draco scoffed as he started talking aloud to himself. "Wouldn't that be an interesting conversation? 'Dad, I'm gay. And the boy I love is the one that you are trying to destroy: Harry Potter.' That's a good path to disownment."
The blonde sat up straight immediately and rubbed his grey eyes. "What are you going on about, Draco? You don't really love him…" He laughed. "This is great. Now I'm talking to myself."
He walked back to his desk and picked up his school bag. The sound of glass hitting a wooden surface suddenly reminded him that he had not closed his ink. When he swung the bag on the desk it had hit the half-empty bottle, which was now forming a miniature black lake on the brown surface. Before he had a chance to realize what had just happened, he noticed his neatly written essay sitting in the middle of the mess. He picked it up gingerly to avoid staining his fingers, and he was scared of what he would find when he unrolled the parchment.
The edges of the parchment had been slightly stained. The back of the essay had been completely ruined. It was now the same color as the words he had so carefully written. There was no way he could turn this in to McGonagall. Even if she did accept it, he would feel quite embarrassed at the state it was in.
He couldn't believe it. Sure, he could rewrite it in 20 minutes, but that wasn't the point. He had worked really hard to perfect this essay. Because of his crappy life at home, all he had left to be proud of was his school work. He did not appreciate that being jeopardized. He took out his wand, cleaned up the mess on his desk with a simple spell, and then grabbed his cloak. He would have angrily tossed his essay into the garbage bin, but he needed it to copy from later. He needed a break. He needed to get away from clingy Pansy and his ruined essay. He left his room, his winter cloak in hand, and headed toward the cold outdoors.
000
Because it was the weekend, the library was nearly empty. The only occupants besides Harry were a few studious Ravenclaws and Madame Pince. Even Hermione was enjoying the day off from her studies. Harry had hidden himself in a nook that Hermione often used to study. It had a cozy green armchair with a small, round, wooden coffee table. A tall lamp was placed behind the chair for better reading. On the other side sat a small table that reached up to the arm of the chair. This was what he had used to write the letter.
Harry's smile slightly faded as he reached the end of the note. The only thing left to do was add his signature at the bottom. He still didn't know if he was even going to give the letter to Draco. His fear of rejection was too much to overlook. Just the thought of the blonde seeing the note made Harry's hands shake with nervousness. He tried not to spill his new bottle of ink as he placed the cork inside. He placed the ink and quill back in his bag. His nerves were starting to get to him, so Harry decided he needed to get some fresh air. He picked up the letter, put on his cloak, and draped his bag over his shoulder before proceeding to the doors of the library.
He loosely rolled up the parchment and clutched it in his fist as he passed the Great Hall. The noises of people enjoying their lunch clashed with the battle going on inside Harry's head. Signing his name to the love he had for Draco could lead to one of two extremes. He would either be completely humiliated or utterly happy for the rest of his life. It was a chance he wasn't sure he could risk.
He unrolled the parchment to reread the letter when he reached the doors that led outside. He winced as he opened the door and a cold wind hit his face. Since Harry had left his scarf in the dorm, he only had his hood to block the chilling breeze. As he reached back to put it up, he forgot the parchment in his hand. Harry stood wide-eyed as he watched the letter float in the air away from him.
It took a second too long for the panic to set in. What if someone saw it? Sure, he didn't put his name on it, but he worked too hard on finding the right words to just let it float away. Harry took up a light jogging pace as the wind picked up and blew the letter even further away. He almost gave up as he reached the frozen lake, but something told him to keep going.
000
The snow made rhythmic crunching noises under Draco's feet as he walked across the grounds of Hogwarts. The sky was overcast; reflecting the mood he was in. The cold breeze stimulated his brain as he tried to calm his thoughts. It wasn't just the ruined essay he was worried about; that was the cherry on top. It was another way of life telling him he wasn't good enough. No matter how hard Draco would try to carry out a task, something would always come around and ruin his chances of success. That seemed to be the theme this year, anyway.
As Draco was contemplating heading back indoors, something caught his eye. He squinted as he tried to figure out what it was. As the strange object floated closer to him, he realized it was a piece of parchment. As Draco approached it, it started to float to the ground. He reached out to keep it from hitting the cold snow, and, for once, succeeded.
He only had a chance to take a quick glance at what was written before a familiar voice interrupted him.
"Oi! That's mine!"
Draco didn't know what do to. His brain told him to be the git that Harry had grown used to, but the horrified look on the Gryffindor's face made him rethink. After a short second, Draco decided to go about it the familiar way. The blonde gave his signature smirk. "Is it, now?"
"Yes…" Harry paused to catch his breath. "…and I would appreciate it if you returned it to me." He held out his hand.
Draco looked at the teens trembling fingers. He wasn't sure if it was from the cold or anxiety from him having Harry's paper. Draco gave another smirk and straightened out the parchment. "Let's have a look at what it says to help me decide if it's important enough for you to get back."
Harry's eyes opened even wider. "NO!" He reached out his hand as if to rip the paper right out of Draco's grasp.
"Why so secretive, Potter? Surely you cannot be that bad at writing essays. Then again, I have underestimated you before."
Harry covered his face with both hands and groaned. "Please, Malfoy. Just give it back…"
The lack of anger in the raven-haired boy's tone threw Draco slightly off. At this point, the whole castle should know that some altercation was going on between the two young wizards. That was how it usually went. One more quick glance at the mysterious parchment was enough to answer Draco's question. Written on top, in a messy scrawl, was his name. He turned a puzzled look to Harry, who was now paler than he was. "Why does this have my name on it, Potter?"
Harry sighed and shamefully stuck his clammy hands into his cloak pockets. "I was hoping you wouldn't see that."
"That doesn't answer my question."
Harry stared down at the sparkling white snow as fresh snowflakes began to fall in the boys' footprints. His silence puzzled Draco. Why did Harry give up so easily? Did he seriously want his nemesis to read something that was obviously privet? But then again, it did say "Draco," on the top.
Harry mixed up the snow at his feet. "Well go on then. You might as well read the rest." His green gaze was still locked on the ground.
"Are you sure?"
Harry lifted his head to look at Draco. There was an expression on the blonde's face he had never seen before. He was no longer sneering and looking down upon Harry. Draco's eyes were full of curiosity and concern. Harry found it unbelievable that the Slytherin was willing to do the right thing for once. But he had already seen his name at the top of the letter. Harry decided he might as well put his curiosity to rest. He took in a deep breath before answering. "You want to know why your name is on it, so read it. It would be better than me trying to tell you."
Draco searched the black-haired boy's gaze for any hint of sarcasm. He found none. Harry did, in fact, want him to read whatever was on the parchment. Draco held the note up closer to his face to protect it from the snowflakes that were now gently falling, and began to read the letter.
Draco,
There could never be enough words to describe how I feel about you. You are my first and last thought of everyday, but you are also the thoughts in between. I'm so hopelessly distracted by these thoughts that it is hard to focus on the simplest of tasks. I can't stop thinking of you, and I don't want to. There's no other way to express my love than by saying that I couldn't possibly love someone else with a fraction of the affection I feel for you.
However, it pains me to say that I understand if you cannot reciprocate the infinite love I have for you.
Sincerely,
Draco was speechless. Was this even real? Did the one that he thought loathed him just confess a want to be with him? This couldn't be real. After all that had gone wrong in Draco's life over the past year, this could not possibly be true.
Harry's voice cut Draco's thoughts short. "I understand if you are disgusted and never want to see me again. All I ask from you is that you don't mention this to anybody."
Draco looked into Harry's eyes, which were starting to brim with tears of embarrassment. "Why would I do that?" He asked in a small voice.
The Gryffindor shrugged. "I don't know. It just seems like the perfect material for blackmail."
"But why would I blackmail myself?"
Harry's eyes became confused. "What do you mean by that?"
The blonde took in a large breath. "What I mean is…" his throat cut off his words. At this point he fully understood why Harry had said it would have been easier for Draco to read the note than for him to verbally explain. Expressing your love for someone whom you're supposed to be enemies with was not an easy task. Neither was what Draco was about to do, but it kept him from having to say it out loud.
In two easy strides, Draco was face to face with Harry. He looked around to be sure no one was watching. He watched Harry's green eyes suddenly fill with a simple question: what was he doing? When Draco was sure no one was around, he placed a finger under the raven-haired teen's chin; tilting it up to his own face. He closed his eyes as he slowly and gently touched his own lips to Harry's.
Green eyes closed with the grey. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but it felt so much longer. The kiss was as light as the snowflakes falling on their skin.
Harry smiled as they touched their foreheads together. "I've wanted that for a really long time."
Draco smiled back. "Then here's another."
This time Harry was able to kiss back. He was able to deepen the kiss; allowing his lips to do what they have wanted for so long. He threw his arms around Draco's neck. They no longer cared if someone was watching. They wouldn't be able to keep it a secret for long anyways.
A/N: I'm sorry it's cut off short (and that the letter was cheesier than a bag of Flavor Blasted Goldfish)! I was unsure of how to end it without it becoming a multi-chapter! Please don't hurt me! I have a deadline here. Surely you can understand that? Well, despite the really short ending, I hope you enjoyed this story. I will try to start working on my other ones soon!