A white rose and a note

Entry for the 100 Different Pairings Challenge.

Muggle High School!AU


Harry Potter wandered over to his locker with a spring in his step. White roses had been left for him every day for the last three days, and he expected that today would be no different. When he opened the locker, he wasn't disappointed; a white rose was lying proudly amongst his belongings, and this time there was a note attached. He eagerly snatched up the rose and ran his eyes over the neat handwriting.

Meet me by your locker tomorrow after school.

I hope you like my gifts.

From your secret admirer.

X

A grin spread across Harry's face. Tomorrow, he would finally find out the identity of his secret admirer. For a moment, Harry allowed himself to picture a blond with steel grey eyes standing by his locker; that would be too much to hope for, though. It wasn't every day that things like this happened to him. He was just plain Harry Potter, after all.

Suddenly, his happiness faded. What ifs were swarming around his head like a hive of angry bees; What if he didn't like the person? What if he liked the person, but they decided they didn't like him once they got to know him? What if he wasn't good enough to be admired by this person? He tried to shake these questions out of his head and feel confidence in himself, but it wasn't easy after the years of abuse he'd suffered at the hands of the Dursleys.

Harry was snapped out of his thoughts by the arrival of his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

"Hiya, Harry. Are you ready to go home yet?" Ron asked.

"Err…yeah, just give me a minute," he answered while trying to sneak the white rose into his bag. It was no use, though.

"Still getting the roses, then," Hermione observed unnecessarily.

Ron rolled his eyes. "No shit, Sherlock, thank God you're here to point these things out to us."

Harry sighed with relief as Hermione glared at Ron. It seemed like he was off the hook now that his friends were involved in one of their famous arguments. He cleared his throat loudly. "Right then, shall we get going."

Ron and Hermione nodded before being drawn back into their disagreement. Harry sighed wearily; it looked like the walk home was going to be a long one.

.oOo.

Unknown to Harry and his friends, Draco Malfoy watched them leave. He didn't know how Harry could stand being friends with the know-it-all and the youngest Weasley boy. Draco tried to think of a moment he'd seen them where they weren't arguing, but his mind drew a blank.

Anyway, enough about them.

Making his way out of school, Draco smiled as he remembered the grin that had formed on Harry's face when he read the note. Tomorrow couldn't come by soon enough for him, and he wasn't nervous at all. He was Draco Malfoy, the son of the richest man in town—what on earth did he have to be nervous about? Besides, the way Harry blushed every time he smiled at him suggested that he felt the same way.

Tonight would be the longest night of Draco's life, but hopefully, it would all be worth it.