Oblivious

Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Round 12 for Puddlemere United.

Captain's Task: write a romantic relationship with your chosen characters (Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter)

Word Count without A/N's: 1,204

eleven.

When Harry Potter was eleven, he hated Draco Malfoy with every fiber of his being. The young Slytherin always seemed to go out of his way to hurt his friends. Harry had never had friends prior to Hogwarts, so when he'd managed to make friends with Ron and Hermione, he intended to keep them and protect them as best as he could.

But Harry had no idea what the other boy was thinking. Stupid Malfoy...why couldn't he just leave them alone? After all, one could never truly tell what another was thinking... could they?

(Harry wouldn't know this for a long time, but Draco couldn't help but wonder why Harry rejected the handshake. Being friends with THE Harry Potter had been a dream of his ever since he was little, but it had been crushed, all because of that weasel.)

Draco was bitter.

Harry was oblivious.

twelve.

When Harry Potter was twelve, he witnessed Draco Malfoy call his best friend a mudblood.

He was so angry that his pulse raced and fists clenched without him even thinking about it. For that alone, he was nearly certain that Draco Malfoy was the heir of Slytherin.

But little did Harry know, Draco didn't want to.

It was all an act but it had to be done, because otherwise Draco's reputation would crumble; the one that he had built up when Harry declined the handshake. After all Draco had to get it from somewhere, right?

Harry didn't know that. He, of course, remained oblivious.

He would never know that Draco had been the one to place that piece of parchment in Hermione Granger's hand when she was Petrified at the Hospital Wing, at least not for a long while.

For now, he would continue to remain oblivious.

thirteen.

When Harry Potter was thirteen, the Dementors took a strange liking to him. Draco took a chance. He asked him, "Potter, have you fainted? Have you actually fainted?" He hadn't meant to hurt him, it had just came out that way, and he had gone along with it.

Harry, of course, did not appreciate it.

Draco Malfoy had been the cause of Buckbeak's death, and Buckbeak belonged to Harry's good friend, Hagrid.

(It might've been mentioned before, but Harry hated seeing his friends get hurt.)

Naturally, Harry continued to hate Draco even more. Who wouldn't, after that?

Harry would continue to remain oblivious.

fourteen.

When Harry Potter was fourteen, he was unwillingly chosen as a champion for the Triwizard Tournament, and the whole school turned on him.

Draco was one of the worst, with his "Potter Stinks" badges and the like, not to mention the constant hounding and bullying of Harry's friends.

(It might've been mentioned before, but Harry hated seeing his friends get hurt.)

Harry didn't understand why anyone would do such a thing, which was completely understandable. Little did Harry know that Draco was actually worried about Harry putting himself in danger.

To Harry, it didn't seem that way. It wouldn't seem that way to him for a long, long time.

fifteen.

When Harry Potter was fifteen, it seemed like the entire Wizarding World had turned against him for saying that Voldemort had returned. The articles concerning him and Dumbledore were extremely nasty, and there were more people that believed him to be a nutter than people who didn't believe him to be sane.

People wouldn't leave him alone.

Draco Malfoy was no exception to the people. Harry felt no sympathy when his father was arrested later on in the year, especially after the Inquisitorial Squad fiasco.

Perhaps it was all because Draco was still bitter.

sixteen.

When Harry Potter was sixteen, he was firmly adamant that Draco Malfoy was a no-good Death Eater, when in reality Draco didn't even want to be a Death Eater.

The Slytherin was forced to, it was the only way to keep his family alive.

But at the current moment, Harry wasn't willing to look at that situation with a neutral eye. After all, he didn't know the inside reasons behind it.

Harry's first glimpse into a new light was when he was on his futile quest to prove that his archrival was up to no good. When he'd seen Draco so vulnerable in Myrtle's Bathroom, he stopped and thought for a moment;

Did I go too far?

His thoughts were thrown to the side when Draco had turned around and fired a curse at him, causing Harry to eventually retaliate with Sectumsempra, but after the event, the thought 'did I go too far?' stuck in his brain for the rest of the year, especially when he watched the Slytherin with his wand pointed at Dumbledore and his arms shaking.

Perhaps Harry wasn't so oblivious this year.

seventeen.

The Second Wizarding War was the first and foremost thing on Harry Potter's mind at age seventeen, so his thoughts on Draco took a backseat for a little while.

His old thoughts came back into play when he lay 'dead' on the floor in the Forbidden Forest; and Narcissa had asked whether her son was at Hogwarts Castle. He'd told her yes, realizing how much she cared, how much that family in particular cared for each other. The previous thoughts he'd had about seeing Draco Malfoy in a new light came back to him all at once.

After he'd defeated Voldemort, he'd sat back and taken a look at the three Malfoys and how they looked so out of place.

A surge of pity went out from Harry to them as he worried about how everyone would treat them post-war.

eighteen.

When Harry Potter was eighteen, Hermione had coerced him and Ron to repeat their seventh year of Hogwarts with her, despite them both getting Auror invitations.

He oftentimes wondered why he agreed to come back to Hogwarts, especially with the fact that he'd practically forgotten half of what they'd learned in sixth year. Hermione assured him and Ron that she would help them catch up, but he and Ron both agreed that they should've listened to themselves instead and accepted the invitations.

Harry hardly paid attention to Draco Malfoy, who had also come back. He hadn't seen the Slytherin since he'd defended him at his trial.

So when he was walking back from the library with Ron and Hermione and heard a very familiar sound from the bathroom of Moaning Myrtle, he'd told the other two to go along to the common room without him.

Harry entered the bathroom and saw a very familiar sight,the exact same sight he'd seen in his sixth year, and he told himself he wasn't going to make the same mistakes now that he had back then.

This time, he asked Draco Malfoy if he was okay. The Slytherin asked him why he even cared.

Harry realized this was the first time he had acted like he cared. He responded by saying that he did care, and that he'd like to help.

Draco told him to piss off. Harry ignored him and helped anyways.

Over their eighth year at Hogwarts, the two continued "accidentally" meeting in Myrtle's bathroom, and when their lips touched after a heated argument, they knew there was no turning back.

A/N: Round 12 wrapped up! Close call. REALLY close call. Like, round-closes-in-less-than-seven-hours close call. It's not the best, but it's whatever.

Thanks so much to Dessie (desertredwolf), Jasmin (TheRottenJas) and Em (CrimsonGoldQueen) for betaing! You guys are gems!:3

Please R&R :)

-Ana