Potter!

You are good enough

When lessons began the following day, Draco could hardly concentrate. Everyone seemed to be whispering around him and Harry as they walked the corridors together, as they sat together in charms.

"Why is Harry sitting with him?" Seamus Finnigan spat from a few seats away during Defence Against the Dark Arts the next day.

Harry was oblivious to this, yet again, simply chatting to him about the new teacher while the rumours and whispers flew straight over his head.

Draco didn't let the hurt reach his face, smiling back at Harry as if he had heard nothing too.

Ron smirked at him from in front of Seamus, leaning back to say something to him. Draco's blood boiled and his fists curled. He knew it wouldn't be easy to change himself, let alone change the views of the others around him.

"You alright?" Harry glanced down at his fists

Draco nodded, feeling the heat rush to his face and turned to face the new dark arts teacher without another word. He could see Harry observing him from the corner of his eye but forced himself to focus on what the Professor was saying.

When it was time to go to the great hall for dinner, Draco excused himself, knowing Harry and Hermione would want him to sit with them at the Gryffindor table. He wasn't sure he wanted to face Ron's glare and the murmuring from the rest of the hall.
Not that he had been a fan of food over the summer anyway, after all that happened, he couldn't bring himself to eat much.

Finding a quiet spot under a tree by the Loch, he opened his book and nestled himself so that he could not be seen from the castle and would not be disturbed for a while at least.

He was wrong of course.
(What kind of story would it be if he'd had a quiet evening by the Loch and nothing happened??)

"Draco, is that you?" Harry bloody Potter had followed him to his hiding spot. And he wasn't surprised a little bit, he was always snooping. Didn't he follow him around with that map in sixth year? He heard Hermione mention it to Ron, along with the words 'mutual obsession' which he didn't quite understand what she meant by.

"Of course it's you," Draco scowled at Harry, but his aggression no longer worked on Harry who just burst out laughing. Clearly he'd lost his Malfoy touch in the months he'd spent with the chosen one.

"What are you doing here? Everyone's at dinner!" Harry scolded, but slumped down next to Draco, which pissed the inner Malfoy off. How dare he just think he can destroy his peace.

"I came to be alone. I know I seem to like attention but people are actually really annoying most of the time," he slammed his book shut and placed it beside him.

"Alright, alright, I know you don't want me here, Malfoy." Harry smirked at his slytherin attitude that had resurfaced itself. "I'm just worried. I haven't seen you eat since we've got here."

"So?" Draco growled back, "We've only been here for a day."

"Draco... I didn't see you eat one thing during the weeks we spent together in the summer. You're practically wasting away!" Harry went to touch the slytherin, but he flinched when warm hands met cold.

Harry forced himself to back away. There were so many mysteries he was yet to discover about his previous enemy. And sometimes he felt like he'd known him better before they were friends. Draco kept more things hidden now he knew they would hurt others around him. He tried to tell himself that at least that meant he cared unlike before.

"You keep it all inside, don't you?" Harry pondered, gazing out over Loch as the last rays of sun beat down on the lapping waves.

Draco was silent, evidently he wanted it to stay that way but Harry wasn't going to let it grow until he exploded.

"I know you do." Harry prompted but it was like he was talking to a brick wall. This was ironic because Draco often wondered whether he was a brick wall, rooted to the spot, no where to go and near impossible to break down with your bare hands. Well that's what he used to think.

"But it's not good, you know." He kept on, fueling Draco's short temper. He was sure he would blow at any moment if he so much as opened his mouth and he didn't want to hurt Harry.

"You're trying to protect us, I know, but did you ever think we might want to protect you too?" Harry turned towards the pale boy who was desperately trying to avoid his eyes.
"Just because you were still a complete asshole this time last year, doesn't mean we don't see that you've changed. I know Ron doesn't show it, but do you really think Hermione and I would talk to you, sit with you and confide in you if we didn't think you were a better person now."

Draco noted that Harry's face was very serious, there were wrinkles in his forehead and his lips were pursed tightly, his eyes firmly on Draco as if he'd disappear the moment he looked away again.

He shook his head slowly, "It isn't entirely that."

"Is it the gossiping? About why you're around me?" Harry broke his rule of completely ignoring the constant whispers behind their backs, because Draco needed him to understand him at that moment.

And Draco did feel understood. Finally.
"It bothers me, " he mumbled, "that I'll never be good enough to be your friend."

A little voice in his head laughed, if you're not good enough to be his friend, then you're definitely not good enough to be his lover.

His heart sank at the words as they echoed around his brain. Unsure of when he'd even considered being Potter's lover, but still he felt that terrible breathless feeling of dread.

He almost didn't hear Harry's words, as he swallowed the growing lump in his throat.
"You are good enough, Draco, if I think you're good enough then nothing that anyone else says matters, okay?"