Title: Keep On Tropin'

Author: Dark Phoenix

Summary: Harry and Draco have finally decided to go public with their relationship. But they didn't count on Harry's friends refusing to believe them. What lengths will they have to go to to convince everyone they really are together?

Pairings: Harry/Draco, Ron/Hermione

Warnings: Language

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and am making no money from this.

Notes: As the title says, this is a series of tropes and often-used Drarry prompts, because tropes are fun. But in this case, our boys are intentionally trying to out themselves, rather than accidentally getting caught. Updates weekly.

~ Keep On Tropin' ~

~ Chapter 1: Coming Out of the Closet ~

Harry stepped out of the broom closet, looked around furtively, smoothed his hair and straightened his tie, then strolled down to the Great Hall, whistling.

"Hi, Harry," Hermione greeted him as he sat down. "You're in a good m—"

Harry turned towards her, smiling. She looked aghast, sputtering incoherently and staring at him as if he'd grown another head. Beside her, Ginny's mouth had dropped open and her eyes were huge and glittering with the beginning of tears.

"Something wrong?" said Harry, still smiling with a touch of anxiety.

Ginny raised betrayed eyes to meet Harry's. "Who—" She cleared her throat. "Who is she, Harry?"

Harry blinked. "Who's who?" He turned to Ron, looking for someone who was capable of making sense.

"What's everyone so worked up ab—" Ron started to say before his own eyes widened with horror. "Harry — what—"

Harry looked around at his friends. "Is there something going on I should know about?"

More heads turned in his direction. Seamus clapped and called out, "Nice going, Harry," and there was giggling and catcalling, not just from the Gryffindors, but from the closest Hufflepuffs, who'd been attracted to the commotion. Harry was dimly aware that there was an unusual amount of noise coming from the Slytherin table as well, but he didn't spare much more than a glance over there as Draco sat down facing him amidst the confusion.

"What's the problem?" Harry tried again.

"Why don't you tell us?" Ginny snarled, pointing at his chest with a shaking hand. Bewildered, Harry looked down at himself to see a green-and-silver tie. Oops.

"Is there something you'd like to tell us?" Hermione asked in a tone of forced calm.

"I guess I wasn't paying attention when I was getting dre—"

"Why is Malfoy wearing a Gryffindor tie?" Ron said suddenly.

"You and Malfoy? Way to go, Harry!" Seamus cheered.

Ginny blinked, her eyes clearing. "What?"

Harry turned to see Draco in a red-and-gold tie, blushing and ducking his head as the Slytherins teased him, the closest ones nudging him with their elbows.

"How did Malfoy get his hands on your tie?" Ginny mused, frowning.

"Well, it must've happened when we were having—"

Ron scoffed, interrupting Harry. "What a ponce, stealing your tie and trying to make it look like the two of you are—" He gagged, then resumed eating.

Harry looked up at Draco, who shrugged and smiled at him good-naturedly. Around him, he heard sounds of disgust from his friends.

"Don't worry, Harry, we'd never believe something so ridiculous," Hermione said reassuringly. "The very idea!"

"Yeah," Harry said, feeling deflated. He looked back down at the Slytherin tie around his neck. It matches your eyes, Draco had said with a smile. I knew you should've been in Slytherin. Harry sighed. Well, that had been a bust.

Draco was already waiting for him when Harry ducked into an empty classroom after lunch. He stood with a smile and seized the Slytherin tie around Harry's neck, pulling him close.

"I kind of hate to take it back," he murmured against Harry's lips. "You look so good in my tie."

Harry shrugged as they parted. "Well, if you want to go around in a Gryffindor tie all day . . . "

Draco shuddered theatrically. "Good point." He was silent as he slowly untied his tie and pulled it from Harry's neck in a way that made Harry wish they didn't have class in a few minutes.

Harry stepped back before he could get too lost in the moment. "So," he said. "That didn't exactly go as planned."

"I don't know, my friends certainly got the message."

Harry laughed and nudged him playfully. "That's true," he said. "And we thought they'd be hard to convince."

"You thought they'd be hard to convince," Draco countered, replacing the Gryffindor tie around Harry's neck. "Always underestimating us Slytherins. It wasn't that hard to convince me, was it?"

Harry had to admit, he was right. He'd come back to Hogwarts that year expecting everything and everyone to be the same. But after only one intense argument — which Harry had started and refused to let Draco walk away from — McGonagall had given them detention which involved spending at least an hour a day rebuilding damaged parts of the castle together until they could resolve their differences. Eventually, they'd gotten to talking, one thing had lead to another, and they'd ended up resolving much more than their differences. And they'd quickly become familiar with a number of new hiding places where they could sneak off to be alone during the day. Now, however, they'd both decided they were tired of hiding the relationship from their friends, and had been looking for a way to tell them that wouldn't be dismissed as a joke.

"Okay, you're right," Harry said. "You were way more willing to bury the hatchet than I was. Happy now?"

"Wait, I didn't quite catch that first part," said Draco, his eyes twinkling. "Could you repeat that?"

Harry gave him a playful shove. "Anyway," he went on, "we still have to come up with another plan to convince my friends. Any ideas?"

Draco shrugged as he straightened Harry's tie, then pulled him back in for another kiss. "We'll think of something," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "How hard can it be?"

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