Harry glanced up when a sharp rap on his head shook him out of his reverie. Draco nonchalantly sat down next to him, causing him to squirm uncomfortably. "Um… she'll be back in a second," he murmured in a low voice. "So you should probably scram."
"Or I could wait," Draco drawled, drumming on the table. It was lunchtime and the cafeteria was not the best place to make a scene. Draco exhaled loudly and turned to Harry. "And you know something else? You're the worst best friend in the world."
"Me?" Harry squeaked, taking offense to the accusation. "You were the one hazing her!"
"And she was supposed to kiss me, you ponce!" Draco exclaimed.
"Well, to be fair, you never specified who-"
"Fuck off."
A soft cough stopped that conversation in its tracks. The boys looked up at Astoria. Harry grimaced apologetically while Draco appeared unconcerned. "What do you want?" she asked.
"Oh, you know…" Draco said vaguely. "Apologize and all that stuff."
She crossed her arms against her chest. "Alright. Apologize," she said.
"I'm sorry."
"Now go."
"Whoa, wait," Draco exclaimed, holding up a finger. "I apologized."
"So?" Astoria asked, her voice tinged with boredom.
"That means you have to forgive me," Draco finished. Harry scoffed at this, earning a sharp kick under the table from his friend.
Astoria gave Draco a hard stare but he wouldn't budge. He was quite good at getting what he wanted by being passive aggressive. She huffed loudly. "I forgive you," she muttered, tiredly pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Good," Draco grinned.
"Now go," she added, glaring at him.
Draco slumped dramatically while displaying his well-rehearsed pout. "Aw," Harry cooed, patting Draco's hair. "How could you say no to that?"
"Because I'm a cold-hearted bitch," Astoria said smoothly, hauling Draco off the seat and sitting down in it.
"But I'm Harry's best friend. See?" Draco said, bending down to drape an arm over Harry's shoulder. They tilted their heads together, giving her winning grins. She groaned, dropping her head on the table. "If you're Harry's friend, then I'm your friend too," Draco reasoned.
"I choose who my friends are," Astoria said. "Go. Away."
Draco glared at Harry as though it were all his fault. Harry held up his hands in surrender, shaking his head. Draco walked away with an air of defeat around him. "Despite first impressions, he's a good guy," Harry offered.
"A spoilt princess is what he is."
Astoria walked into her English class, shuffling through her books. Just as she was scanning the busy room for an empty seat, she caught Draco smiling at her. He motioned to the seat behind him, swiveling the attached table away invitingly. Astoria narrowed her eyes threateningly before walking down the aisle and taking the seat. Draco couldn't stop smiling now as he shifted his body slightly, angling himself so he could see Astoria out of the corner of his eye. She didn't look at him, flipping through the pages of her notes.
"Hey, you took my spot," Harry realized, stumbling to a halt beside Astoria.
Draco was about to snap at him just as Astoria said, "Oh, sorry. I can m-"
Harry interrupted both of them with an unaffected shrug. "I'll just sit here," he said, sliding into the chair beside Draco's.
"That's my spot," Neville said nervously.
"Scram," Harry and Draco said in unison. Neville dragged himself to the back of the room.
"Alright, class," Professor Trelawney announced, clapping her hands to quiet everyone down. "Today we study the greatest tragedy known to man."
"Her unfortunate wardrobe?" Draco muttered, to which Harry snorted and Astoria rolled her eyes.
"Romeo and Juliet!" the professor exclaimed gleefully. "The love story of a lifetime. Now, tell me. What is love?" The class didn't deign to provide an answer to that question. She tutted primly, scanning the faces of her students. "Ah, yes. Ms. Greengrass," she said, pointing at Astoria. "Won't you tell us what love is?"
Astoria raised her brows in surprise. "I-I have on idea," she said, shaking her head.
The professor shook her head with growing sadness. "Mr. Potter?" she asked.
Harry's pen skittered off his page at the unexpected question. "I-uh… l-love?" he squeaked, coloring brightly.
"Oh, you poor dears," Professor Trelawney said with a doleful sigh. Then she honed in on Draco who was looking much too bored. "Mr. Malfoy," she said loudly.
"Hmm?" he asked, looking up at her.
"What is love?" she asked.
Draco paused for a moment, then smiled a most charming smile while turning so he could see Astoria in the periphery of his vision again. "Love?" he asked, dragging the word out. Then he sighed quietly, which caused almost all the girls in the class to sigh with him. Everyone except Astoria, that is. She let out an exasperated sound, put off by the blatant flirting. Draco appeared dreamy now. "Love is… friendship," he said with sincerity.
Astoria held in her scoff, shaking her head.
Harry stared at his book with a confused frown.
"I mean, if she can't be my best friend, how could I love her?" Draco asked, flashing Astoria a warm grin.
Astoria rolled her eyes.
Harry hazarded a look to the side, catching Draco's profile in his view.
"If you can't be friends first, then you can't love her," Draco said with a simple shrug. "So… love is friendship."
Astoria yawned loudly, which didn't go unnoticed by Draco. He leaned back, pretending to stretch. Astoria shoved his head forward with a scowl.
"Marvelous, Mr. Malfoy," Professor Trelawney said with a happy laugh. "Love is friendship. Quite a potent concept…"
An hour later, as the class was leaving for the day, Draco sidled towards Astoria. "I'm quite good, huh?" he asked, handing her the books so she could pack up. She didn't answer, smirking instead. "So…" Draco continued, "friends?"
Astoria looked at him with a guarded expression. Draco kept his smile up, watching her expectantly. She slung the bag onto her shoulder, getting up from her seat. Draco's face fell. How could his charms not work on this girl? This girl! The woman of his dreams!
"Fine," Astoria said, trying to stop from laughing as Draco's eyes lit up like a child being told he could have ice cream for dinner. "Friends." Then she walked away without another word.
Draco fell into a mock swoon, sitting down heavily. Harry smacked him over the head. "Go away," Draco mumbled with a goofy grin on his face. Harry tsked, stalking away.
Draco huffed in irritation, chewing on his pen as was his habit when he was on the brink of flinging his book clear across the library in anger.
"Planning on eating that for dinner?" Astoria asked, sitting down next to Draco.
He groaned, snapping out of his mental rant so he could drop his head on the table. "Just kill me. Please?" he begged.
"And have you miss your chemistry test? I couldn't do that to you," she teased. "What's wrong?"
"I don't get it," Draco groaned. "And Harry's being mean to me."
"Are those two related in any way?" she asked, taking the textbook out from under Draco's head.
"He's smart. And he's supposed to be helping me," Draco muttered, going back to chewing on his pen as he glared at the question on his paper.
"Bet you started it, huh?" she murmured.
"Whatever. He's being a baby."
"Well, since he won't help you, I guess I'll help. How does that sound?" she asked.
"Really?" Draco exclaimed. "I'm an awful learner. I might snap at you."
"I can handle it," she laughed, pulling out a pen from her bag.
After hours of cramming, Draco finally dragged himself away from Astoria and out of the library.
Harry glanced up when the door to his dorm room cracked open. Draco's head stuck in from the opening. "I have no use for you anymore. The love of my life will take care of me," he said importantly before closing the door.
Harry chuckled to himself, shaking his head.
Draco dumped half of his fries onto Harry's plate before sitting down. Astoria watched this with a raised brow and, seeing as no one made a comment, realized that it was ritual. "What's that all about?" she asked.
"Hmm?" The boys looked up in unison.
"Oh, you don't know about their bromance?" Blaise asked in mock surprise. Harry and Draco chucked fries at him. "Well," he continued importantly. "You see, Malfoy never shares his food. But every time he gets fries, he has to give half of it to Potter."
"Why?" she scoffed. "What are you two, like, ten?"
Harry and Draco scowled at her. "It's to show that I appreciate him," the latter said with an affected sniff.
"And I like it," the former concluded with his own affected sniff.
Astoria couldn't help her laughter. She reached out to take a fry from Draco's plate. Draco slapped her hand away. "Oh?" she joked. "That's fine, Malfoy." She deliberately took a fry from Harry's plate, meeting with no resistance at all. "There. Now you shared with me too," she smiled, eating the fry triumphantly.
"That doesn't count," Draco grumbled. "And don't give her any more," he told Harry, giving him a loaded look.
"You two are so strange," she commented, grabbing another fry from Harry just for the fun of it.
"Hey!" the boys snapped in unison, scowling at her.
"That was loads better, Harry," Draco said generously as he wiped the sweat off his neck with a damp towel. "Really."
"Whatever," Harry grumbled, curling his arms that were already starting to seize up mere minutes after their workout. "I don't know how you do it."
"I'm naturally athletic," Draco shrugged. "And you're naturally nerdy."
Harry kicked Draco grumpily before padding off to his locker. "You're just a show-off."
"That too."
Harry rolled his eyes as he jerked his bag out and rifled through it for his soap. "Are we still up for tonight?" he asked Draco who was already hitting the showers.
"Why? Don't want to?" Draco called back.
"Hmm," Harry shrugged. They had been planning on studying until they passed out, but Draco was never much a fan of that. It wasn't often that the man didn't have an excuse lined up for Harry.
"Harry?"
Harry snapped out of his thoughts, shaking his head quickly and hurrying to the stalls. "That's fine, man. I just wanted to make sure," he said.
Draco's head poked out from behind the curtain. "You thought I wouldn't show up, didn't you?" he asked with a sly smile. "You think the worst of me, Potter."
"I know," Harry laughed. "Sorry."
Three hours later they were in Harry's dorm surrounded by near-empty bags of food and bottles of drinks. Harry was the one to fall asleep first, which was a surprise. Draco poked him with his pencil, causing him to jerk awake and look around in terror. "I don't get this," Draco whined, pushing his notebook under Harry's nose.
"God, what time is it?" Harry yawned, flopping onto the table again without bothering to answer Draco.
"Sleep after fixing this."
"Go to bed, Draco."
"Harry!" Draco snapped, throwing the book at his friend.
"Now."
He sulked while packing up his bags. "If I fail, it's all your fault," he warned as he dragged himself out of there.
"I know," Harry sighed. He waited a few seconds to regain his composure and rub his eyes while silently cursing Draco for pulling him away from his amazing dream. Then he grabbed his pencil and stared at the notebook Draco had so lovingly chucked at him.
Draco growled in frustration when he heard a soft knock on his door. He had just jumped into his inviting bed. "What the hell do you want?"
Harry peeked in. "Just me."
"Go away," Draco said testily.
"I figured it out."
Draco groaned in complaint but sat up anyway, scooting over to the side so Harry could sit. "I thought you were sleeping," he mumbled, snatching the book from Harry's hand after switching on the lamp beside the bed. He tried to focus on the words on the page, but the numbers kept dancing about. "This doesn't make any sense." On top of that, Harry's writing had always been deplorable.
So they spent another fifteen minutes on the question, not even noticing when the clock struck one. When Draco realized that he was falling asleep listening to Harry speak, he asked him to stop. "I won't remember any more of this," he said.
"I know, I know."
"Thanks, yeah?" Draco murmured sincerely. "I wouldn't get anywhere without your brains."
"Oh, I know that too," Harry smirked, struggling out of bed. "And switch your alarm on, for heaven's sake. I'm sick of having to throw you out of bed."
"Who are we kidding? You love it, Potter," Draco snickered. "Night."
"Yeah. Night." Harry eased the door shut behind him with a soft smile.
"Holy shit! I got a B, Potter!" Draco crowed as he burst into the room. He rammed Harry, tackling him in a hug. "I'm getting the grant!"
"Fuck yeah!" Harry exclaimed, laughing as he was lifted off his feet by Draco's extravagant hug. "I knew it!"
"You're bloody amazing," Draco crowed, letting go of his best friend and jumping around in excitement. "I'm going to celebrate and all your drinks are my treat. Get ready in an hour, yeah?" With that he ran out of the room, no doubt racing to tell the rest of his friends.
After running rampant down the halls for the better part of an hour, Draco caught a familiar face.
"Stori!"
Before Astoria could turn around, she was engulfed in a hurried hug from behind. "Whoa," she pushed away firmly, turning around to see who it was. "Draco?"
"I got the scholarship!" he exclaimed.
"Wh-th-that's… that's fantastic!" she laughed, hugging him.
"I know!" Draco said with a foolish grin as his arms wound around her waist. "I thought fluid dynamics had me done for! But I did so well in circuits and calc! Then with the rugby stuff and everything, I'm getting a grant! Holy hell, I think I'm about to pass out! When my coach told me, I damned near… uh-damned near… threw up…" he trailed off when he suddenly realized the position he was in.
The two broke apart in a hurry, trying to look nonchalant and playing off the hug like it was nothing. "Yeah, for sure," Astoria said brokenly, keeping her eyes averted. "That's cool.
"Yeah…" Draco murmured, blushing. "Um… so…"
"Yeah…"
Draco stuffed his hands into his pockets so Astoria wouldn't see it shaking. "Sp-speaking of… which… a bunch of us are going to… er-to the bar later. Want to-I mean, you can-you can come if you want?"
Astoria looked up at him then, trying to gauge his question. Draco seemed to be looking at her pleadingly. "I… I'd stick out. It's fine," she said, waving her hand dismissively.
"Oh, no!" Draco said a little too loudly. He cleared his throat to cover that up. "Um… no, it's just… a few friends. Harry will be there too. You won't feel weird," he said.
"You think so?"
"Yeah, yeah," Draco said, nodding eagerly. "We'll be there in an hour or so. Come, won't you?"
She smiled faintly. "Yeah, I'll see," she said with a shrug.
"Okay… okay, cool," Draco said, feeling more awkward as he stood in front of her and fidgeted with the keys in his pockets. "Okay, bye." He sprinted out of there, leaving Astoria slightly dazed and flushed.
Later that night
"I'm not drunk," Draco slurred, staggering into Harry as he draped an arm over his friend's shoulder. "I'm just really happy."
"Mhm," Harry murmured, holding Draco steady with an arm around his waist. "You sure are."
"Do you know why?" he asked as he let Harry drag him up the stairs.
"No idea."
"Because I got to hang out with the prettiest girl in the world," Draco exclaimed. "Why else, you dumbass?"
"Don't call me names."
Draco laughed as he halted in the middle of the dark stairwell. "Let's sit here," he said, pulling Harry down with him as he sat down.
"Oof," Harry grunted. Everything was spinning and it didn't help that Draco had been shouting into his ear for the past hour.
Draco rested his head against Harry's shoulder. "Harry?" he whispered.
"Yeah?" Harry answered, pulling Draco closer to him.
"Do you think she likes me?"
Harry sighed as he patted Draco's arm absently. "Yes. She likes you very much," he said.
"Good," Draco grinned. "I like her very much."
"Hmm…"
"I like you very much too. Don't feel left out," Draco said cheekily.
"Fuck off," Harry sulked.
"You like me, don't you?" Draco asked, closing his eyes and smiling because he already knew the answer.
Harry's eyes wandered over to Draco. His grip tightened imperceptibly and he pressed his cheek against soft blond hair. "A little too much," he confessed quietly.
"Too much is okay, Harry," Draco said with a satisfied sigh. "You're my best friend. I'm so happy right now," he laughed giddily.
"Hmm," Harry nodded.
"Hey."
Draco picked his head to look at Harry through his drunken haze. Harry smiled at him, feeling euphoric at the moment from the dopamine coursing through him. Draco's eyes flicked towards the smile, studying it closely.
"What?" Harry asked, leaning in and tilting his head to the side.
Draco raked his hand through Harry's hair, pulling him in rest of the way. Their lips touched gently.
Harry let out a stifled moan as his dizziness multiplied. What the hell was happening? He reached up to cup Draco's cheeks just as Draco bore down on him. After a mild scuffle, they ended up sprawled over the cold, cement stairs, Draco pinning Harry down against it.
Their eyes fluttered open at that instant.
They stared at each other with growing clarity.
"Shit," Draco swore as he pushed himself off of Harry and staggered up to his feet. "Fuck, I'm sorry," he slurred. Before Harry could speak, he was gone, taking two steps at a time and racing to his dorm room.
"Look, we got shitfaced and so it's okay," Draco concluded.
"It's not okay!" Harry panicked. "We-we-we kissed!"
They had been having this 'conversation' for hours now, ever since they woke up the next morning with pounding migraines and sudden dread. After convening in Draco's room, at least one of them had been freaking out while the other tried to calm him.
"I'm not gay," Draco reasoned. "And you aren't either."
"Fuck," Harry exhaled forcefully, digging his palms into his burning eyes.
"You can't tell anyone," Draco added for the umpteenth time.
"Why on Earth would I tell?"
"I don't know," Draco exclaimed near hysterics. "It's your fault!"
Now it was Harry's turn to be rational while Draco panicked. "It's okay, it's okay," he said quickly. "Look, nothing's changed. These things happen. I'm still me and you're still you."
"Of course everything's changed," Draco argued insistently. "We have to figure out why-"
"No," Harry interrupted, holding up a stern hand. "Don't analyze this, Malfoy."
Draco slumped onto the couch with a pained frown on his brow from the hangover. "Maybe we…"
"What?" Harry murmured, pulling his legs up to his chest and hugging them close.
"Maybe we're too close, Harry."
Harry had been dreading this all along. "Yeah," he said, trying to push down the ache in his chest. He didn't want to lose Draco over something so… dumb. Their friends had been teasing them for long enough, calling them a husband and wife duo for being so close. And look at where it landed them – drunk and smooching. Maybe it was for the best if they stopped before things became too awkward.
"I was kidding, arsehole," Draco grumbled. "I don't think I can survive school without you."
"Draco," Harry sighed in defeat.
"Look, let's just forget it ever happened, okay? Last night we came up to our dorms and fell asleep. No one has to know."
"I know."
"No one knows."
Harry rested his head against the back of the sofa while pushing away his nausea. Could he really forget?
"I was good, huh?"
"Shut up!" Harry gasped, punching Draco in the arm, then punching him again when he started laughing. "You were fucking gross!"
Draco couldn't stop his laughs as he thought of how absurd the night had been. "Besides," he grinned, "Now I can add you to my collection of girls. Harry James Potter? Check."
Harry lunged at Draco, throttling him furiously.
"So… I was wondering," Draco mumbled nervously, wringing his hands behind him as he stood in front of Astoria. "Could we… I mean, if you feel like it and all, do you want to go to a movie Saturday?"
"No."
Draco paled in mortification.
"Dinner, maybe?" she asked.
"Wha-huh?"
"Dinner," she repeated. "At seven? We can go-"
"Wait, seriously?" Draco garbled. "You just said no!"
"I just wanted to see you sweat," she smirked. "Payback for my first day."
"Geez," Draco exhaled, feeling much too faint.
"What?" Draco asked, jerking his brows up questioningly.
Harry snapped out of his reverie, shaking his head. "Huh?" he asked.
"Why are you staring at me?" Draco asked.
"Oh," Harry breathed, blushing as he dropped his eyes down to his notes again. "Spacing out. Sorry."
Astoria giggled so hard that she snorted rather uncharacteristically. "Oh," she squeaked, clapping a hand to her mouth as the crowded table grew silent.
Draco sputtered in amusement, laughing even harder than before. Everyone else quickly joined him. Astoria groaned in horror, hiding her face against Draco. "That was amazing blackmail material," he whispered shakily.
"That looks about right, doesn't it?" Harry asked, holding up his sketchbook to Draco. "Oh…"
Draco was asleep on the couch, curled up on his books and pencils. Harry chewed on his cheek, wondering what to do. He tapped Draco's shoulder. "Hey," he whispered. "Wake up?"
"Hmm?" Draco jerked, blinking his eyes open. "Fell asleep," he mumbled.
"It's fine."
"Can I crash here tonight?" Draco asked, closing his eyes again.
"Really?" Harry asked, frowning.
"Hmm…"
"Oh. Okay."
"Thanks," Draco smiled, dozing off again.
"Yeah..."
"Look, it's just a bunch of guys going bonkers over a silly ball. Why would I want to come watch?" Astoria asked.
"Because I'm playing," Draco mumbled with an affected sniff.
"All you have to do is sit there and cheer when everyone else cheers," Harry quipped. "It's what I do."
Draco appeared aghast while Astoria got a smile out of it.
"What do you think of Draco?" Astoria asked dreamily, a hand under her chin and her head in the clouds.
Harry shrugged, fumbling with the pages. "He's… nice."
"Yeah. He's so nice," she sighed.
"Hmm." Harry smiled privately.
