What Happens After Dark - Drarry

𝟙𝟛

New word count: 1.1k
Date (re)published: November 13th, 2020
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— Friday - The Great Hall - 6:34pm —

Harry hadn't seen Draco in a while. The blonde was always there during meals, and he sure as hell never missed classes, but Harry still hadn't seen him. Draco was there, but he wasn't. And Harry was fucking confused.

Harry was staring mindlessly at the plate of food in front of him. There was too much on the plate, as well as too much on his metaphorical plate. He just needed less. Less stress. Less attention from the unwanted fans. Less loneliness. Draco was providing one of those things, and Harry was more and more grateful.

"Harry, you eat with your mouth, not your eyes." Ron's exasperated voice interrupted Harry's thoughts. Harry looked up to find concerned blue eyes staring him down. The ginger rolled his eyes, before returning to the conversation he'd been having with Dean.

Harry looked down at the food in front of him with disgust and hatred in his eyes. He sneered at the food, before reluctantly shoveling a bit of mashed potato into his mouth. And then a bit more. And then a bit more.

He was never going to finish this.

•••

Harry hoped that Draco would show up again.

Harry hadn't had any one-on-one time with Draco in about a week, and it sucked. He'd been going to the Room of Requirements every single night, and he'd been waiting like an idiot, hoping that maybe, just maybe, Draco would show up one time.

But he didn't. There was no Draco to be found. Every single night.

And every single night, as Harry went back to the room, he knew that he would be greeted with an empty room. But he still went back. Every single night.

He's going to show up tonight. He thought. He'll be there.

But Harry knew he was lying to himself.

Every. Single. Goddamn. Night.

•••

Harry was disappointed when he opened the door that night. There was no Draco to be found, the room seeming drab and bare without the Slytherin. Harry sighed and plopped himself down on one of the few couches that sat around the hearth. All he could do was wait.

So wait he did. He waited for his friend to come bounding into the room. He waited  for the idiot that he was probably infatuated with to waltz on in and land gracefully on his favorite armchair. And when Draco didn't come, he waited a bit longer, just to make sure Draco wasn't running late.

And when Draco didn't show up after that, he slumped his shoulders and dragged his feet all the way back to the Gryffindor towers, hoping that he would see his friend again before the school year ended in a few months.

But hope is the cruelest thing. It brings you up with longing only to slam you down with reality.

•••

Harry had lost all hope. Draco was never going to come back to the room, and their relationship was as good as over. Though he knew this was true, he still decided to go back to the room. He didn't know why, but the idea enticed him. He tiptoed out of the dormitory, making sure to click the door shut, as it had a tendency to slam. He walked slowly, avoiding those creaky floorboards he'd gotten used to. Harry skipped out of the portrait hole quietly, expertly sliding into the hall.

As he walked about the hallways, he made sure to glance over his own shoulder every so often, just to remind himself that he was alone. He smelled the lemony-fresh scent of Filches favorite floor polish as he made his way along the crystal tiles in the main entrance of the castle. And then he was bounding up sets of stairs, making his way to the seventh floor with low expectations and a powerful stride for it being one in the morning.

As he neared the corridor, he noticed that the door was nowhere to be found. He sighed, and started trudging back and forth along the wall, making sure to think about his regular hangout. When the brass doorknob appeared, he wasted no time at all grasping it and throwing the door open. His eyes scanned the room, always in search of striking blonde hair. His eyes fell onto Draco's favorite chair, and nestled into the seat was the sleeping,  silver-eyed Slytherin. He felt his heart pick up pace and blinked a few times before slamming the door and startling the Slytherin awake.

"Merlin, Potter. Must you be so noisy?" Draco scrambled to sit up, allowing his lips to lift into a small smirk.

Harry stood with his mouth open wide.  "D-Draco? You're here?" Harry stuttered in disbelief as his gaze glued itself on the pesky Slytherin.

"Of course I'm here you blubbering idiot!" Draco would've sounded rude if he hadn't been smiling when he said it. "What, did you expect me to make you lonely every night?"

Harry blinked a few times before walking right over to Draco and throwing him into a big hug. "I've missed you," he whispered, burying his face into the blonde's hair. "I thought you hated me."

Draco sighed, and let his head fall onto the other boy's shoulder. "I could never hate you."

They sat like this, Harry suffocating Draco into the chair's cushions, and Draco allowing it. They held each other as if there wasn't going to be a tomorrow, and like this was their final goodbye. They held each other for an eternity, allowing the physical closeness to keep them emotionally together. Their minds were racing and their hearts were beating quickly, but they held and held some more. And when they finally let go, they did it slowly, as if trying to cherish the moment and savour the feeling of being close.

After they were fully separated, both boys blushed and looked away, their eyes searching the floorboards for answers to questions that had yet to be asked. Harry drummed his fingers on his thigh as he spoke, allowing the tapping to calm his mind.

"Is there something wrong with me?"

"Hey!" Draco snapped. "Don't say that."

"Why else would you leave me to fucking sit here alone and feel like a fool every night?"

Draco looked as if Harry had flared up an angry side of him, his eyes darkening. "Shut up, Potter." This was the only warning he would be giving.

Harry pressed on. "Draco. Why would you do that?"

"Shut up!"

"Then stop pretending you care, stop lying to me!"

"Harry, what are you talking about?"

"You must think I'm crazy or something!" he cried out into the air. "You obviously don't care about me."

Draco rolled his eyes and shifted his weight. "Of course I care!"

"Why?"

There was a short pause, before Draco took a deep breath. "Because I like you, okay?"

•••