like it's the only thing i'll ever do || drarry

[ one ]

There were many things that led up to the choice Harry found himself making on the first day of classes.

It must have been because of the visit to Gringotts he made alongside his parents on his 17th birthday that resulted in the gold ring embossed with a capital "P" that now always sat on his left first finger. It probably had something to do with this being his last year at Hogwarts, or that his mom promised to remind him to study for his NEWTs in every letter she'd send so he had options for career choices, or because he wished his time here wasn't coming to an end. It could have been because of the stuttering mess of a speech he made over the summer about how he liked both boys and girls and the freedom that came with it, or the loving warmth of being tackled by his parents, Remus, and a crying Sirius as they shouted their support.

It was possible, too, that Harry decided right then that their old game of derisive back-and-forth had grown stale, and a new angle was needed to match all the other improvements in his life.

So when divine timing brought Harry to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom at the same time as a certain blonde-headed, mollycoddled prat, Harry waited. When a mocking, sarcastic comment about some article of Harry's recent claim of heirship left the ferret's mouth, Harry felt his temper rise, and then leave. He felt the familiar charge of animosity as he gazed at the other boy, yet the usual belligerence that would spill out of him was greatly overshadowed by a fierce wave of curiosity from an idea forming in his head.

Seeing Malfoy's uneasy confusion at the small smile Harry sent him was, in all honesty, what made him do it.

"Your eyes are very pretty, Malfoy, did you know?"

Harry nearly burst out laughing at the physical step back the blonde had to take at the comment, and the choked sound Ron made behind him wasn't helping.

Malfoy managed to compose himself enough to glare and say a quiet "What the—" before the classroom door swung open and dark, unimpressed eyes promised long detentions to anyone who didn't immediately shut up and enter.

With a pointed scowl, the prat led the bewildered Slytherins in, and Harry couldn't help the suppressed chuckles that shook his shoulders. Hermione was staring at him like he was a complicated equation she wanted to solve, her brows furrowed. Ron's mouth was gaping as he looked between the doorway and his best friend. Harry threw his hands up in mock surrender before either could speak.

"I don't know what just happened." Another giggle left Harry as he straightened his bag. "It was entertaining, though."

"'Entertaining' is one word for it," Hermione said, her quiet tone suggesting her mind was still running several calculations.

"I don't even—" Ron cut himself off with a shake of his head. He started towards the door, muttering to himself, "I knew he'd lose his marbles one of these days."

Harry worked on containing himself before following.

He also couldn't help thinking that maybe the pair of cool, grey eyes he had spent years glaring at really were quite nice.

***

A few days later, Harry and Ron were able to give Hermione the slip before she sat them down for homework. They had hurriedly grabbed their brooms and rushed out into the tepid afternoon for a fly around the quidditch pitch. Harry was so busy trying to picture Ron's insane retelling of the prank the twins pulled on their mother last month that he almost didn't notice the Slytherin quidditch team running drills for tryouts. Ron's voice died out into an annoyed groan.

"Figures," he scoffed. "I guess we can fly over by Hagrid's. I don't think I saw anyone around there."

"Or we could watch."