A jet of red light streaked through the air like an arrow. Harry slashed his wand through the air to block it, but only a faint shimmer of a shield appeared for a brief moment before the curse hit him square in the chest.
With a grunt, Harry was thrown backward onto the cushions, which did little to break his fall. He felt his body bruise for the third time that day, but he couldn't move to assess the damage.
"Hold on!" Came a soft voice, and Harry saw through askew glasses that Gavin Laurent, his Ravenclaw dueling partner, had knelt beside him. Wordlessly, his heart-shaped face screwed up in concentration, Gavin managed to revive Harry by passing his wand over the Gryffindor's head.
Harry sat up immediately, feeling his skull for blood; he thought he'd heard it thunk between the cushions as he fell. Fortunately, his fingers came away dry. "Thanks."
"Let me have a go at Shielding this time," Gavin suggested, brushing his feathery brown hair from his line of sight.
"Sure," Harry took Gavin's offered hand and stood, twisting his wand nervously between his fingers. He pretended not to see the disdain in Gavin's blue eyes and guessed that the Ravenclaw, like himself, wondered why the Chosen One couldn't even cast a simple, nonverbal Protego.
Draco, who had just blocked Parvati's Stunning Spell with ease, caught Harry's eye from across the room. Harry nodded at him, trying to convey the opposite of what he was really feeling, which was nervous terror. Once class ended, he planned to walk up to Ron and Hermione, ask to speak with them in private, and come out as bisexual. A three-step plan that should be simple, but just thinking about it made Harry's insides flop about.
Stunning turned out to be only slightly more successful than Shielding. Even Professor Dahlia noticed Harry was off his game; she slowed down as she passed the dueling pair, giving him a concerned glance. She had enough tact not to talk to him directly but dropped a few hints about concentration in wordless wandwork.
Bruised, battered, and apprehensive, Harry picked up his schoolbag when the bell rang. After glancing warily around to make sure no one was watching them, Draco approached his boyfriend, briefly leaning close to him to whisper, "Good luck."
Harry's mouth was dry. "Thanks." He felt Draco brush past him on his way to the library, but his eyes were fixed on Ron and Hermione chatting a few feet away.
Feeling as if his legs had turned to jelly, Harry walked over to them. "Hello, Ron, Hermione," He greeted stiffly. "Could I have a word with you both? Privately?"
Ron and Hermione exchanged a confused glance. "Yeah," Ron said, eyeing his best friend. "You alright, mate? You look a little clammy."
"'M fine," Harry mumbled. "Er…let's go to an empty classroom or something."
The couple followed Harry down the hallway as he peered into every ajar door, stopping once they reached a classroom that had been recently vacated. Harry allowed Ron and Hermione to go in first before closing the door behind them. Hastily smudged chalk writing smeared the blackboard, and a single textbook sat on the desk in the back of the class, apparently forgotten or abandoned by its owner. Harry was forcibly reminded of the day Draco had come out to him, in a classroom similar to this one. As Hermione gave Harry a scrutinizing look, he immediately tried to wipe Draco from his mind; he was irrationally paranoid that she would somehow realize the Slytherin was behind Harry's recent sexual awakening.
Harry quickly ran through the rehearsed words in his mind as he leaned against the teacher's desk. "It would be better if you sat down," He suggested, and his voice seemed to be coming from far away. Ron and Hermione looked concerned at this, but they sat in the two front-most desks.
"I recently figured something out about myself," Harry began. "Though I think it's been true for a while, I didn't realize until last autumn."
Ron and Hermione leaned forward in their seats when Harry paused. "So much suspense," Ron remarked. "Come on, don't leave us on tenterhooks. What is it, then? You can still talk to snakes?"
"What?" Harry said, caught off guard by the suggestion. "What, no, I stopped being a Parselmouth when…you know."
"The power might've come back," Ron said with a shrug.
"Anyway, that's not it. I can't talk to snakes anymore," Harry continued. "It's…I…I like boys." He looked at the ground, face warm.
A few moments of awkward silence passed. It occurred to Harry that he probably could have worded the confession differently.
"But," Ron's voice sounded neutral, "What about Ginny? And Cho?"
"I like girls, too," Harry said, not looking at either of them. "What I'm trying to say is…er, I'm…"
"Bisexual?" Hermione offered kindly. Harry's head lifted, and he saw her smiling at him.
"Yes, I'm… I'm bi," Harry looked between her and Ron, who was grinning. "What are you two smiling at? You aren't mad?"
"Harry, why would we be mad?" Hermione asked gently.
"I dunno," Harry said, feeling a strange mixture of confusion and elation. "I guess I thought…I deceived you both, I never told you."
"Well, you realized only recently, right?" Hermione said. "I'm straight, I won't pretend to be an expert on these things, but I've been doing a lot of reading, for the research paper," She spoke without taking a breath, "And apparently LGBT teens often feel pressured by hetero - er, heteronormativity," Hermione enunciated each syllable carefully. "Basically, gay youth expect to be straight and often don't realize until much later if they're not."
Both Ron and Harry stared at her at the end of this rather long and rushed speech. "Makes sense," Ron said, once he'd registered everything. "Mate, we don't blame you for not telling us sooner. You don't owe us an explanation for who you like. We're just glad you've got things figured out, that's all."
A wide smile spread across Harry's face; tears of relief began to pool in his eyes, and he didn't even try to blink them away. Of course, Hermione and Ron would accept him. They'd been to the cusp of life and death together, made mistakes together, got into fights and made up, saw each other fall for the wrong people more than once. Harry felt stupid that he'd considered the possibility of Ron and Hermione treating him like an outsider.
"I love you so much," Harry said to both of them, his throat tight.
"Oh, Harry," Hermione got up from the desk, Ron following suit. She put her arms around both of them, squeezing them in a warm, tight hug. "I love you, too."
"Love you both," Ron repeated, furiously wiping at his eyes.
For one long, shining moment, Harry remembered what it was like with just the three of them. Trusting Hermione and Ron with his life, knowing they had his back and he had theirs. Feeling Ron's hand on his right shoulder, and Hermione's smaller one on his left, Harry felt safe. He recalled something Hermione had said to him in first year, which had stuck with him ever since:
"Harry - you're a great wizard, you know," Hermione said, her voice muffled in Harry's shoulder.
"I'm not as good as you," replied Harry, very embarrassed, and she let go of him.
"Me!" Hermione cried, "Books! And cleverness! There are more important things - friendship and bravery and - oh Harry - be careful!"
It was this sentiment that surrounded Harry like the light of a loyal phoenix, and he basked in its glow until Ron and Hermione broke away, the latter's cheeks unabashedly streaked with tears and the former looking at the ceiling.
"Please, Harry," Hermione said earnestly, "I hope you never again feel scared to tell us something like this. You know we'll always support you."
"I second that," Ron said, and he beamed.
Harry returned his grin, but the comfortable bubble surrounding him popped at Hermione's words. Would they support Harry if they knew whose lips he'd willingly kissed the night before? It scared him that he couldn't confidently answer that question.
"I could use some fresh air," Harry said, "You want to head to the lake?"
"Sounds good," Ron agreed.
Hermione pursed her lips. "We're falling behind on homework," She began but softened at the boys' pleading expressions. "Oh, all right. But straight to the common room after dinner."
"Much obliged, 'Mione," Ron said affectionately, taking her hand. He opened the door for her and Harry, and they slipped into the now-busy hallway as students met up with their friends and dispersed throughout the castle.
For once, Harry did not feel the instinct to search for Draco's white-blond head within the crowd. He felt, for the moment, satisfied and fulfilled with just Ron and Hermione's company, though their hands were entwined and his empty. Harry wanted to fool himself for a little while longer, telling himself that he didn't need Draco - it'd be safer for them if they found other, more suitable partners. But at the same time, Harry knew the tug of his heartstrings would overcome logic, just as it always had, and he'd be in Draco's arms at nightfall. Harry only hoped he'd never have to choose between his two friends and the former Death Eater - he wasn't sure he could.
• • •
Apart from Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Draco, Harry didn't much give a damn whether the rest of the school knew about him being bi. But as Ron put it, once they were outside:
"People ought to know you're available to boys now," He told Harry as they waded in the shallows of the Black Lake. Despite the water's freezing temperature, the two friends had decided to see who could stand in it the longest. Hermione looked up from reading every once in a while to watch with a mixture of disapproval and amusement.
"I don't reckon there are many gay or bisexual blokes around here," Harry remarked, wincing as numbness seized his bare calves.
"That you know of," Ron corrected, standing comfortably with the water at his knees. "If you come out, maybe others will follow. You're the Chosen One, after all. Or shall I call you Desirable Bachelor No. 1?" He suggested with a mischievous grin, and Harry snorted.
"Please don't. So, what should I do then? Stand on the tables during breakfast and yell 'I'm into blokes, too' and wait for them to come running?"
"Well…" Ron considered this for a moment, then shook his head. "Better not. I think we can just rely on the Hogwarts rumor system."
"Tell a few people and wait for the news to spread like wildfire," Harry summarized. "I like the way you think, Mr. Weasley," He said in an overly posh accent, nodding at Ron.
Ron took a sweeping bow, splashing his hand through the icy water. "Why, many thanks, Mr. Potter."
Thus, in the Slytherin common room, Harry came out to Dean, Seamus, and Parvati in turn, hoping that their reactions would be as friendly as Ron's and Hermione's. Seamus did have a remark about how same-sex couples were against his religion, but he would continue to be Harry's friend as long as he didn't make any moves - an odd statement to make, Harry thought, but he let it slide.
Draco didn't return until later that night. He joined Harry and the others in a few minutes of civil conversation as the common room began to empty, and while they talked, it occurred to Harry that Ron and Hermione probably expected him to come out to Draco, too.
"I'm off to bed," Hermione said, stifling a yawn with one hand and closing her Herbology textbook with the other.
"Same," Ron rolled up his parchment and looked to the other two. "Coming?"
"In a sec. I need to have a word with Malfoy," Harry said meaningfully. His friends nodded knowingly, Ron giving him an encouraging thumbs-up before they left.
Draco raised an eyebrow at this nonverbal exchange but didn't speak until Hermione and Ron were entirely out of earshot. "What was that about?" He asked dubiously. "You didn't tell them about…us, did you?"
"No, no," Harry said reassuringly, and he explained to Draco his coming-out plan.
"I see." Draco tapped the table thoughtfully. "So, it went well, then?"
"Very well."
"That's good," Draco murmured, his silver eyes impassive, though Harry suspected a million thoughts rushed behind them. Draco opened his mouth as if to say something, changed his mind, and closed it. Finally, he stood from the table, stretched, and said, "We should go, Potter, you said it wouldn't take long."
Harry cleared his throat. "…Right." Secretly, he'd been hoping for a repeat of the night before, but there was something steely in Draco's expression that made him unwilling to contradict him.
As they approached the door to the boys' dormitory, Harry reached for the handle, but Draco suddenly grabbed his arm, preventing him from doing so.
"Forgot something," Draco muttered, and before Harry could ask what, he tilted his head and kissed him, so soft and sweet that Harry's mind went blank. "Goodnight, Potter."
"'Night, Draco," Harry managed, and swung the door into the dark dormitory.
• • •
By Sunday, every person in Hogwarts castle knew that Harry James Potter was bisexual. Harry felt the stares burning on the back of his neck all weekend, in the hallway, in the Gryffindor and Slytherin common rooms, and the library. Though the center of attention was nothing new to him, Harry didn't want to get used to it and spent most of his time outside with Ron, Hermione, and Draco, in the cold, shaded spots next to the lake where students didn't linger.
There were whispers, too, students with their heads together between the bookshelves and throwing Harry surreptitious glances when they thought he couldn't see. Unfortunately, Ron's optimistic prediction for boys showing interest in Harry did not come true. Harry heard predominately dissent, phrases like "that's unnatural," "maybe he's just confused," and perhaps most irritating of all, "I bet he's secretly a poof."
"How can they come to that conclusion?" Harry said frustratedly, gesticulating at the cloudy sky. He lay on dead leaves, schoolbag beneath his head, and thick robes shielding him from the chill and the damp ground. "They saw me with Ginny in sixth year, it's not like they didn't notice us together."
Draco leisurely turned a page in the book he was reading as he sat against a tree just inches away. "People are ignorant gits," He stated simply. "I should know, I am one."
"Not so much anymore," Harry pointed out. The Slytherin made a non-committal noise in his throat and continued reading. Harry frowned and continued to stare up into the pearly-gray firmament, wondering why everyone's disapproval was bothering him so much. Usually, he couldn't care less about what other Hogwarts students thought of him - eight years of being in the spotlight had taught him that wanting to please everyone was stressful and exhausting. But when people cast his sexuality into doubt, it seemed as if they insulted all bisexuals by association. And, though Harry had yet to meet another person with the same preferences, he felt strangely protective of the unknown individuals, as if their quirks made them a sort of kin.
"I hope this experience makes you realize," Draco said evenly, not looking away from the page, "That if people whisper behind your back, the things they'll do, if I come out to Hogwarts, will be much worse."
"Yes, I have realized that," Harry said modestly, and a moment later, "When you come out to them."
Draco's eyes slid down to meet Harry's. "Pardon?"
"When not if. You told me," Harry reminded him, "That you'd one day kiss me in the Three Broomsticks."
"Well, I didn't say that'd be during school, did I?" Draco said, smirking.
Harry tutted. "Prat."
"Mm." Draco's gaze had returned to his book, a slim, green-jacketed volume. His left hand drifted downwards, and his fingers wove themselves through Harry's raven locks, casually, as if he'd been doing it for years.
Harry started to open his mouth to ask what Draco was doing, but it was crystal clear what he was doing: playing with his hair. His fingers moved with exceeding gentleness, twirling and stroking almost absentmindedly. Draco hadn't looked up from his book. Harry closed his eyes to the pleasant sensation, smiling - and he knew that even as he was blinded by the sunlight glowing against his eyelids, his boyfriend smiled, too.