~ Drarry Oneshots ~

Observant

Harry Potter was unobservant to say the least.

Did it stem from his love struck father? Perhaps his school-orientated mother?
Did it start with him, and the seemingly never ending trauma of his past?
Who knows, but needless to say, he was, without a doubt, unobservant.

He had heard it repeated a lot as he settled back into school life for the final time. Eighth year bringing with it the opportunity of routine and the luxury of having no mind-aching worries or gut-wrenching fears. The real prize to someone who knew nothing else.

But knowing had become a priority.

For one, there were faces in his own year that he could barely, if even, recognise.
People he had shared classes with for the last seven years. The boy in his Transfiguration class that sat with a Braille textbook. The hijab wearing girl, in Potions, that requested to leave for her prayers; everyday on the dot. The Ravenclaw that wore sound-cancellers when eating in the great hall.
He hadn't noticed them. Hadn't ever reached out to them.

He had now.

Again, in the chaos of war, he hadn't noticed or appreciated the basic quirks of his second home: Hogwarts. Tiny little details that slipped by.

The distant, blurred laughter (definitely Peeves') occasionally heard in lessons.
The flicks of water that flew from the lake as the mermaids 'ran' circles around the giant squid. The way the stairs moved accordingly to those who seemed panicked or upset; a surprisingly friendly gesture from something so inanimate.
The owls that sometimes stopped in their travels to receive affections from their favourite students, pecking food from their plates before fleeing.

Yes, it was nice. Despite having earned the status of a now chronic daydreamer or a war-haunted 'veteran', it was nice.

[Harry's PoV ]

It even made me feel closer to the ones I already held dear.

I noticed way Hermione lit up at the pet names Ron had tagged for her. The way Ron burned red as he stuttered them out.

The way Ginny was incapable of ignoring her girlfriend - awestruck by every theory or myth that she rambled out. The stars that span in Luna's eyes as she regaled these stories to her; often checking the structure of her hair-entwined flowers.

Neville's hands that never sat still, always dancing along with his words. His brief freezes as he caught eyes with the darker-skinned Slytherin that sat across the hall.

Seamus and Dean enthralled with each other. Arriving, ruffled and flushed, to dinner - fingers always laced together. The small scar across Seamus' eyebrow and the birthmark on Dean's left hand. The darks smudges that they wore proudly on their necks.

I was bewildered by the fact I had never noticed any of this before. In a good way, of course.

..mostly.

Because, as well as noticing all this, I noticed other things.
And I couldn't decide whether they were good or bad.

It was in Divination when I realised first. Divination: where Draco sat two rows in front of me.

He laughed at something Pansy had whispered to him. Except, laughed is an understatement. It was sweet and song-like. As though it was the first time  I had heard his genuine laugh - maybe it had been.
-
Then it was Potions, where he sat next to me; not a choice either of us had made. I noticed the way he chewed his lip as he scrawled across his page - the way he scribbled aggressively over spelling mistakes.
-
In the corridors, after we had hurtled insults at each other. The sorrow that flickered onto his face before I turned away. The way he paused slightly, watching my back before retreating himself (as I saw reflected in a near window).
-
The smile I had caught on his face as he watched the mixed-house group of players practice for a quidditch match. I wasn't as full-of-myself to say he was watching me, but..
-
In the hall, the way his gaze darted away from me whenever I looked up. The blush he adorned when Pansy seemed to tease him about something (if only I could hear their conversation).
-
The time we locked eyes in DADA.
Our friends' words were ignored as we observed each other across the room. No spite or menace. Just...curiosity. Intrigue.

And the way my stomach fluttered as he smiled lightly before turning away.

Yeah...I noticed that