Dawning realisations and revelations have never been Harry's kind of thing, he knew that in Divination and he knows that now. So instead of spending his time musing over the fact, that Draco still hasn't claimed back the scarf he lent him, he busies himself with what he supposes people call routine:
He meets up weekly with Ron and Hermione, and cooks for the five of them on the same day.
Every other night, he hears wailing from Nate's room, who is still working on (and still despairing of) his thesis, so he goes over with a melted chocolate frog in milk, that Nate comes to suspect contains whiskey, because it makes him feel calm and content enough to work on.
Sometimes, when he catches Laura studying with he quiet expression from a corner of the room, he has the feeling she can see through him or Draco, who has bewitched old schoolbooks to look like Muggle bestsellers when he's reading them on the couch. Laura can see through pretty much everybody, but if she does with him and Draco, she has chosen not to call them out on any shenanigans and occupy herself with various one-night stands.
Cora has long accepted her two new best friends to be a bit weird, especially around each other, but apart from giggling when Draco and Harry's words get a bit sharper around the edge and their looks more poignant, as well as playfully pointing out the sexual tension between them, Harry enjoys her company a great deal and reevaluates everything he's ever thought Muggles could think about magic with every story she tells him over the laundry. Cora is a truly enticing and magnificent person, and he can see why Draco picked her off all people around campus to show him through Muggle life, but whatever Draco might fear, he can't find it in him to be attracted to her. She's too much like a mix of Hermione and Ginny and Tonks for that.
Draco on the other hand, is tantalising in a way Harry never thought possible, with his quirks and impulsive actions around Cora, but also in the solemn and somber mood Harry sometimes catches him in, when he knows he shouldn't have brought him back a copy of The Prophet from Diagon Alley, and he wants to wrap his arms around Draco's pointy shoulders to show him that yes, there is a tomorrow and that if he can accept himself after all that happened, the other wizards will, too.
And Harry wants to tell him that, on one of the many Sundays Draco and Harry have the flat to themselves, because the other three usually drive back home to see their parents, but never finds it in him. Because although they have been a bit awkward at first, Harry has come to look forward to these Sundays, when they let the coffee make itself by magic, levitate themselves to the bathroom, catch up with Quidditch and argue over teams, but also teach each other spells that can come in handy in Muggle life. It's a magic zone they share with each other, where they can truly be themselves again and Harry knows, deep in his heart, he would've missed magic far too much had he been alone.
It's the morning after one such Sunday, the morning of Halloween, when Harry wanders into the kitchen at the crack of dawn to find Draco having already prepared two cups of coffee (his wand hidden snugly under a dress jacket).
He yawns a "Thanks, Malfoy", as Draco hands his cup over with the words "Thought you might appreciate, Potter". No matter what they tell Cora, they never really gave up the last name-thing.
Harry blows his coffee and watches Draco as he carefully takes a sip of his. It's funny how he can never be sure what he's going to do next, Draco can change moods the way he changes his clothes, but now Harry has come to discover things about Draco that create a rounder picture and leave Harry unable to go back to ickle school feuds.
He knows how Draco named Dobby when his father came up with him after their old house elf died.
How Draco enjoyed going to the Muggle elections and wearing these weird clothes, because all his life other people had decided things for him.
And how he doesn't believe in a life that doesn't consist of hide-and-seek anymore, which makes Harry incredibly sad.
Because in this moment, when he sees the rising sun reflecting in Draco's sleepy eyes, putting a shadow to the light crinkles next to them, Harry knows deep in his heart that, after all they've been through, he wishes someone had protected Draco from himself, and if he's being completely honest, he wishes he would've been that person.
Draco notices his gaze and cracks a small smile at him, a smile of morning conspiracy and secrets over coffee, and Harry wants to reach out and touch him, because there's a slow ache in his chest that makes his smile in return ruminative around the edges. Draco is not some handsome hipster he passed on the street, he is not just the helpful roommate, but he managed to become so precious to Harry, the mere thought of not having him next door makes him feel slightly sick.
Right into his morning wonderings, their attention is attracted by a turning key in the keyhole and a slightly swaying Laura with ruffled hair, who is trying to sneak by the kitchen and back to her room.
"Good morning, Laura!", Draco says with a giddiness that hurts even Harry's ears, "Lovely morning, isn't it?"
Laura just turns around and slowly shakes his head at him while gesturing at her ears.
"Some coffee before bed? Heard it helps.", Harry offers.
Laura just shakes her head a bit more and nods towards her room with a weak smile.
"Oh, has she lost her voice?", Draco drawls a bit, but it's only half-serious as he looks from Harry to Laura with big eyes in mock-surprise and Harry already gives him the Come on, don't be like that-look. "How could that have happened? Was there anything to celebrate yesterday? Oh, right! Halloween! How could I've forgot!"
He grins at her, while her expression remains one of embarrassed annoyance.
"And let me see, you're wearing a sweater that I've never seen on you... You spent the night... Well, I'd say-"
"Come on", Harry interrupts him with a warm smile to Laura and him, "let her get into bed and mock her when she's fully attentive again."
Draco regards his idea with a considering nod, while Laura snorts and shakes her head one last time before she turns to her room. "Seriously, guys? It's like you're my dads. Happy Halloween."
As probably intended of her, both of their smiles drop and Harry turns to Draco, who's biting his lip, with a wary expression. After a beat, he shrugs. It's really not that big of a deal.
I mean, this is okay, isn't it?, he tentatively thinks, knowing Draco usually catches the thoughts he especially sends out to him (and hoping, praying these are the only ones).
Draco shrugs as well and sips his coffee. 'Course. Everything's fine.
And it was. Everything was okay, incredibly so even.
Until one day mid-November the heating breaks, and Harry finds Cora, Nate and Laura all huddled together in the cosiest sweaters they own and two blankets each on the couch, watching this weird TV Show about a timetravelling alien that his aunt and uncle had loved so much on the TV, warming their hands on their tea mugs and eying Harry with knitted eyebrows as he stumbles into the living room in his pajamas.
„Aren't you freezing?", Laura asks and shudders at his sight.
„Uh, no?", Harry replies and self-consciously scratches the back of his head, revealing a strip of tummy that causes the other two to shudder as well. It's true, he never needed Hermione's little blue fires, cosy as they were, because when he listens to his heartbeat, he can feel the magic pulsing through his veins, a little explosion to his fingertips every second, his pulse accelerating along with his warm breath.
That's why he never bothered with learning a proper Warming Charm, but immediately turns as he feels Draco casting one before he emerges out of his room. In his pajamas as well.
„Oh God, another one of the sort!", Cora complains loudly at the sight of him, „Could you please both put some clothes on, I think my toes will fall of if I keep looking at you any longer!", and covers her eyes with her blanket.
Draco catches Harry's gaze, who has to suppress a grin.
„Coffee?", he suggests and wanders of to the kitchen without following Cora's advice.
Harry follows suit and fetches two mugs out of the cupboard as Draco plops down on the counter next to the electric kettle (that always has trouble working in his vicinity) and asks, after a sidelong glance to Harry: „I sense no charm around you, Potter. How are you doing it?"
Harry shrugs and puts coffee in their mugs, before non-chalantly adding: „How do you know it's a Warming Charm keeping you hot and not my charme?"
It's out before he can help it, he can feel the sudden tension, aggravated by the noise of the boiling kettle, and doesn't know what to do from here. With Ron, he'd have shot him a mock-seductive glare and then slowly licked his lips before getting hit by a wash cloth, he'd have winked at Nate, who would've blushed a lot, and with anybody else, he might have tried to ease the tension by doing something silly or looking sheepish, both of which is not really an option with Malfoy.
So he slowly and level-headedly meets his gaze, eyebrows raised a pinch and nostrils slightly flaring, but none of them says a word until the water is boiling and Draco moves to brew their coffee, handing Harry his without further comment and leaves the kitchen to join the others on the couch.
Now Harry feels sheepish, and like he has said something really stupid, but only until he finishes his coffee and sees its grounds, which clearly read: And here I was thinking 'charming someone out of their pants' had something to do with actual magic.
The grin spreading on Harry's face has nothing to do with it either, but when the magic swirling in his veins makes his belly tingle, he knows why it feels like it.
Yeay, Doctor Who reference!
Also, I upload this chapter to restrain myself from editing in even more scenes, because this story is already 3,000 words longer than I intended it to be and I really don't know where they all come from.
Anyway, we're nearly there. I promise. xxx