Love, Draco

Chapter 5

The next morning, Harry woke up to Hermione and Ron whispering above his bed.

"You tell him! You're the one he told in the first place!" whispered Ron.

"Fine! I will!"

"The letters got leaked, didn't they. McLaggen outed me to the whole school," he said sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Harry! How did you know?" said Hermione.

"He's been blackmailing me. He said that if I didn't help him get with Hermione, he would leak the letters,". Hermione ran to the bed and hugged him. Ron just looked sympathetic.

"I knew he was going to do it last night. I knew he was going to leak the letters after you guys kissed in front of him,". Their sympathetic expressions became ones of guilt.

"I'm so so sorry Harry! I didn't know, and if I'd known I wouldn't have done it in front of him-"

"Hermione it's not your fault. It's me who messed up. I need to owl someone. Can you guys go?" they both nodded and walked away, knowing who he was going to be messaging. Hermione left a sheet of paper at the end of his bed. Harry assumed it was the message Cormac put out, but he didn't have time to read it just yet.

Star,

Something's happened, and you're going to know who I am, if you don't already. I need you to promise me that you won't leave me. You can't leave me alone with this.

Love, Harry

He gave the letter to Hedwig and sent it off. He picked up the paper on the edge of his bed and read it.

Dear students of Hogwarts,

Harry Potter has a secret penpal. Because he his gay. Although he is not the one who posted the anonymous announcement on the board at the beginning of the year, he has been writing back and forth with him. See the letters below for proof.

Sincerely,

Anonymous

Before he even realized it, tears were spilling out of his eyes. His choice was taken away from him. His choice. His coming out. Taken from him. He fisted his pillow as the tears streamed down his face. He covered his face with the pillow and screamed. He was going to lose Star. The one person he was ever able to confide in would hate him. He decided to skip classes for the day. He couldn't deal with the stares just yet. A few minutes later the tears stopped, and he fell right back to sleep.

**********

Draco Malfoy was on his way to breakfast when he ran into Hermione. Literally ran into her. Or, she ran into him. Who ran into who doesn't matter.

"Draco! I was looking for you. You need to see this!" she said, obviously out of breath. Was she running? Why?, he thought.

"Hermione, you're not supposed to be down here! What is so important!"

"Just trust me," she said, handing him the paper.

Dear students of Hogwarts,

Harry Potter has a secret penpal. Because he his gay. Although he is not the one who posted the anonymous announcement on the board at the beginning of the year, he has been writing back and forth with him. See the letters below for proof.

Sincerely,

Anonymous

"It was him," he said softly.

"McLaggen leaked your letters" she said, putting her hand on his arm in comfort.

He was filled with so many emotions at once. Confusion first. Then anger at McLaggen, for what he did to Harry. Then happiness, that he actually had a chance with his crush of four years. Then finally, sadness, realizing how disappointed he would be when he found out that Draco is Star.

"What are you going to do?" Hermione asked.

"I honestly have no clue," he said, and he didn't. He really just wanted to tell him that it was him, but he knew that it would only end in him getting his heart broken. He would obviously reject him. The best and only solution would be to stop writing completely.

*************

Ginny Weasley was furious. No one messes with her friends and gets away with it. That's why when she saw Cormac in the hallway on the way to breakfast, she decided to give him a piece of her mind.

"McLaggen!" she yelled, making several heads turn. The hallway wasn't particularly busy, but it certainly wasn't empty, however, she couldn't bring herself to care.

"What do you want Weasley," he said, turning around to face her. She ran at him, drew her wand, and pointed it at his neck, backing him against a wall.

"Don't you dare say a word! You have the audacity to ask me 'what do you want' as if you didn't just out my best friend! I am absolutely disgusted! You should be ashamed, and if you're not then screw you! Screw you Cormac Mclaggen!" she said, before she punched him in the nose and walked off.

***********

Harry woke up to a letter being dropped in his face. Star, he thought. He opened the letter, and his worst fear became a reality.

Harry,

I'm sorry, but we can't continue our letters. Before you ask, no, I'm not upset it's you. I just know that you'll be upset it's me. Maybe one day I'll come out at school and tell everyone it was me, but for now, this is just how it has to be. I'm sorry.

- Star

PS- That third year crush I had (and still kinda do)? It was you.

So many things filled Harry's mind at once. Star liked him, but he didn't think Harry would like him? Who could it be? Who did Harry not like? Malfoy? he thought, but he pushed that thought away. It couldn't be him. Someone like him would never like someone like me, he thought. He was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Can I come in?" asked Ron. He got no response, and took that as a yes.

"Did Star respond do you?" he asked. Harry didn't say anything, but handed him the letter.

"If it makes you feel any better, Ginny punched that arse McLaggen,". Harry laughed, for the first time since the letters were leaked.

"Yeah, actually that does make me feel a little better," he said, jokingly.

"What are you going to do when you go back to classes tomorrow? You could deny it,"

"Why the hell would I deny it? It's the truth, I'm not ashamed of it. I'm tired of hiding. Even though Star stopped talking to me, doesn't mean everyone will, right?". Harry yelled at the beginning, but his voice got more and more vulnerable as he spoke.

"It's not going to be easy, that's for sure. But you'll get through it, and eventually people will move on and it'll be just another fact of life. The sky is blue, magic is real, Harry Potter is gay. It's just new. People will get over it," he said, putting a comforting hand on his back.

Even if everything changes, even if his whole world falls apart, Harry Potter knows one thing. His friends will be there.