#the drarry library happy hour

[thedrarrylibrarian]

Have you ever had a day that just went completely to shit? That was the entire month of November for me. I had planned to have this Happy Hour ready then, but between work and home life and hosting for the holiday and everything else...a ball had to drop. I was so disappointed, because I love doing Happy Hour and I love speaking with the creators who help with the guest fic recs.

@ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm could not have been more gracious and understanding about postponing his rec. I always thought his artworkand fics were lovely, but being on the receiving end of the his kindness makes the works even lovelier to me. I love that even in moments of violence, he portrays characters as vulnerable and soft, the gentleness of moments of solitude, and the joyfulness of the mundane. If you haven't checked out Joy's art before, I cannot recommend it enough.

So after waiting for several months, I am finally so excited to share his incredible fic rec. Our first Happy Hour guest rec of the year is by the lovely and gracious @ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm.

Outside of things that become fanon, we all travel the worlds of transformative works building up our own personal sense of canon. A lot of that process is wish fulfillment and self indulgence on little pleasures and minor vanities, which is what carves out this perfectly molded comfort that we all shelter ourselves in, what comes together to broadcast our unique wavelengths of bliss. But there is also another part of the process, one that I find myself unconsciously engaging in at times, which is an attempt to rewrite, rewire, recolor the places in which the source material has dulled, or to find cracks and fissures for interpretations that will allow me to engage with the source more meaningfully in the long run while honoring the directions in which I’ve grown and changed. There’s been a lot of work in the Harry Potter fandom that took on the form of a kind of hermeneutics, or that used the setting and characters as a kind of convenient vehicle to make a point about The Real World, in a way that sometimes makes it feel like we, the naive and spirited readers of the source material are somehow distant from the world and must be gently pulled back into it in the language of our distraction. Harry Potter and Welcome to the World of Grey was the first AU retelling of a larger segment of the HP canon where I felt like I was encountering something completely new, something that had the distant shape of these previous approaches at first glance but that, right from the first page, has that almost physical pull of the complete and precious new. 

Harry Potter and Welcome to the World of Grey by @sobsicles (456,640 words, rated E)

When Harry fails to keep his anger at bay and Voldemort possesses his mind, the events that follow lead him down a long road to realizing the world isn't as black and white as it seems.

Chaos, hilarity, and tragedy ensue with a Dark Lord being honest all the time, a rival becoming something else, and a world demanding to be saved. Featuring frightened Death Eaters, deep conversations with a monster, Pureblood traditions being ridiculous, and the fight to do the right thing with no true options.

Harry's life just gets more and more bizarre with each passing moment.

Or, the one where Harry's life gets split in half, and he has to figure out how to bring it back together.

The summary is immediately gripping, and I’ll leave the reader to discover the shapes of the AU on their own, but the basic premise of the story is that Harry, at the end of 5th year, does something he would never do in the book, and that as a consequence of (?), or despite (?) or alongside (?) this, him and Voldemort begin to, on a relational and intellectual level, engage in a way that would otherwise be impossible. This story works on so many levels, all of them incredibly crafted and so masterfully sustained over the behemoth length of the first installment. The Harry in this story is funny and young and troubled in the most delicious ways all the while wading in and out of the crushing solitude of predetermination (and also maybe just humanity). I generally read exclusively fics in which they’re adults, or at least on the brink of adulthood in 8th year, but the author has crafted such incredibly convincing teenage characters in both Harry and Draco here that by the end not only do they both end up under your skin but they also become these people that sit alongside you, whose adolescence you’ve literally gone through as both a sympathetic spectator and as a mirror of them, drawn into the irresistible sweet delights of their love, the painful bonding of people captive in their lives, the hope of the future born out of surviving something together. 

There is also a tendency in fics to paint the adults of the HP world as traitors, because that’s what the majority of them are, and this is something I also usually engage with. In this fic, while we maintain that the state of the world and the fates that befell all our favourite characters are largely the result of a kind of treason of goodness and responsibility, we also get to have these incredible deep insights into why each adult character is the way they are, through relations made possible only by this unlikely scenario that the author proposes. We also get to have the warm joy of seeing a child empathize with (and pity, and comfort, and teach) people who they owe nothing to, and this is an absolute treasure that shines brighter as we move through the story.

Finally, as this is Happy Hour, apart from all the things I’ve briefly mentioned up there that make this fic a delightful and comforting experience that I constantly go back to, I wanted to talk about a strange way that made this story become my source of comfort. This story made me like Voldemort. Not the terrifying and irredeemable one from the books or the movies. There’s this feeling that I have about fics and fandom, and I think it’s shared by a lot of people who’ve been around for a while, and it’s that these characters and settings and storylines are almost… nebulous things that always existed in us and around us and that we had maybe some slight hope for, but that were first snatched out of non-being and formed by the source material authors. This is also just how art and creativity is, in general - an antenna that beams signals and sometimes someone gets the whole message first. And you grow up and sometimes things are shaped by the source material to make you think oh I’ll feel this way forever and then of course you change your mind, but this was more like an intense, emotional journey in which I realized there was all this personal negativity that I’d always shove into this concept and this being - and that when I encountered the newly formed shape that this author’s Voldemort takes on, my resentments and my fixed darknesses, once unmovable and heavy at the bottom of this big thing in my life, were suddenly things I could walk up to. That the previously unapproachable veil of evil - which is simple, and undebatable - had lifted, and suddenly I could decide to do something else with them, to pick them up and carry them or throw them away, or live alongside them as awkward housemates until suddenly the shame and fear they represented wasn’t something I had to run from. So for happy hour, I picked a story that made me, and continues to make me, engage with not only happiness but a kind of lasting adult joy that comes from letting something come in and help you redraw the city lines of your own story. It’s very precious to me. I read the entirety of this fic in two days next to the crisp Adriatic sea, but I’ve reread it in many settings since then, and it’s always made me both hungry and full in the way that good home cooking does. I hope it does the same for you too.

[kalliasandi]

02: Trust Issues

Drarry

Note: Slowly getting longer, post-war depression guys!! Always the best!!

About 1500 words

Harry did not know why everyone always looked at him like that, after everything, people still judge him as though he wasn’t even there. Eighth year started a few weeks ago, and no one stopped once to ask him if he was okay, the only things they asked were questions he didn’t know the answer to, “What are you going to do after Hogwarts?” “Will you be an auror?” “How did it feel to be the world's saviour?”. He couldn’t answer any of those questions, but he tried his hardest.

After the war, everything felt as though the world was moving in slow motion, and he couldn’t grasp reality. Though Voldemort was gone, he still had nightmares of him somehow returning and taking away the rest of the people he loved. All Harry wanted was a night of peace, but that wouldn’t happen, probably never. He couldn’t let himself be happy, because he feared the moment he would, it would all get ruined again like it always did.

All the moments he could get, Harry uses it to study in the library, keeping himself busy not only from his thoughts, but from everyone who wanted a word with the ‘Famous Saviour’ everyone believed him to be. He didn’t believe it himself. Would he ever? Of course, his friends all told him that, tried to reassure him and make sure he was okay, but Harry did not budge. They gave up, finally, letting Harry be alone majority of the time only with glances of pity towards him. That was all anyone who first-hand experienced the war ever did, pity him. All except a few, Malfoy and his group. That was the only thing that hardly changed, though Malfoy didn’t sneer as much as he used to, he was no longer acting like a prat, the one who was roomed with him for house unity.

Harry sat in the library, ignoring all the students who looked up to stare at him in the dim light. He never wanted this fame, never wanted people to be involved in his life. It didn’t matter though, whether Harry liked it or not, everyone would always be watching him, the saviour he did not feel he was.

Soon enough, the library became overwhelming, noise buzzing everywhere, people wanting to thank Harry in lines, Harry tried to dismiss them but they just wouldn’t go away. So, for the rest of the evening, he signed multiple cards, pictures, books, everything that all these students brought to him. It was exhausting, and after each sign, patience started to slip away, frustration that flowed through Harry’s body was only getting worse.

Thankfully, it was time to eat before everyone would be sent to their dormitories for the night. After the war, professors and students still feared for something that might change in the night. Something threatening so that no one wanted to be caught out of the safety of their houses late in the night.

Instead of going towards the great hall , Harry moved towards the astronomy tower, and as Hogwarts was still undergoing renovations in certain areas, it was rather hard to reach, therefore hardly anyone ever went there. The astronomy tower was, for Harry, a place to sit without being bombarded by unwanted ‘fans’, even his own friends.

It was silent there, free of lies people tell, free. This was why Harry loved this spot so much more than anywhere in Hogwarts currently, he could just sit there in peace, for hours and no one would find him there, hours without anyone pitying him, bringing up awkward conversations he wasn’t ready for. It was as if Harry couldn’t trust them with his own feelings, he could hardly trust himself with them. He knew the moment someone would know, people would talk about it. Newsletters titled ‘Poor Harry Potter Depressed Still After The War’ and shite like that. He didn’t like anyone peering in on his life, making decisions for his own feelings. And that is why he can’t trust anyone, all his words would just get warped to what people want to hear, rather than what he is telling them.

Harry did sit there for a while, until it was well past the time he was supposed to be back. His body felt more calm than it had before, he was no longer uncomfortable in his own skin at this moment. Harry snuck back out of the rubble guarding the astronomy tower, careful not to run into Filch. He quietly snuck his way back to the dormitory with all the eighth years, sneaking back to the room he shared with Malfoy.

Jumping from the sight of Malfoy sitting on his bed watching Harry enter, he swears under his breath.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” Harry hoped he didn’t, he didn’t want anything bad with Malfoy. Especially after they had silently made peace with each other.

“I was already awake. Sneaking around again, Potter?” Malfoy raised his eyebrows in an unsurprising way, as if this happens all the time. “You missed dinner.”

“Didn’t know you cared.”

“I don’t,” Draco says matter-of-factly, “it is just annoying everyone to come to me for questions about you due to the simple fact that I room with you.”

“Just tell them to bugger off.” It was too late for a conversation, and all Harry wanted to do was lay down and sleep where the frustration towards everyone disappeared off his shoulders.

“I do. Goodnight Potter.” Malfoy finally sinks down into his bed, allowing Harry to do the same. Honestly, the first few nights rooming with him, Harry was scared Malfoy would jump him in his sleep. Now that fear washed off, though not completely. He was always scared he would do something wrong to Malfoy that would cause his short temper to act out on Harry when Harry was at his most vulnerable.

“Night, Malfoy.”Almost immediately, Harry drifts off to sleep, with that never fading fear that something bad was going to happen.

-

Black smoke was everywhere, eating away at hogsmeade and taking over the blue sky, turning it into a dark grey. A large snake was crawling through the rubble, Nagini, opening its mouth wide and ready to swallow anything that came into its way. The fangs glistened while flicking its tongue, providing dead fear through the dream.

It wraps itself around Harry’s legs, tightening every second and moving up to his chest. He couldn’t move, no matter how hard he tried, his dreamself was still. Allowing this to happen.

Just as Harry’s breath loses itself, a snakelike figure appears from the black smoke. Voldemort. Red eyes, slit nose and split tongue like a snake. Getting closer to Harry, laughing while doing so. He sees Draco Malfoy in the background.

‘Save.. me.’ Harry croakes out as loud as he can.

Draco Malfoy does nothing, just stands there, staring as Voldemort opens his hands wide, and crushes Harry’s face. The world around him disappears into black.

Harry awoke fully drenched in sweat, clutching his chest as he whispers over and over again.

“It’s not real, its not real, it’s not real” but it felt so real. Harry could still feel the slender, cold hands holding onto his head.

“Potter,”

“No, get away!” Harry screams out, backing up further into his bed, clutching his head into his knees. Anyone but Malfoy. All he did was stare like a coward when Voldemort crushed Harry’s skull. But that wasn’t real.

“Potter, it’s okay, it was just a dream.” Malfoy tries to soothe Harry down, and it works ever so slightly.

“I don’t trust you.” Harry’s breath was still shaky, along with his words.

“Of course you don’t.” Harry looks up after Malfoy says this, Malfoy looks down. Almost like he was disappointed. “Just try to go back to sleep Potter.”

So Harry does as Malfoy says, sleep. Sleep is a weird thing, the most vulnerable time of day.Dreams enter through the mind that one cannot control. It was an ideal time to attack, which is why sleep is not to be trusted. Yet sleep is mandatory, without it one goes mad, and so it is that decision that is so hard. Go mad or be vulnerable. Harry hated being vulnerable, but he feared madness more. He already thought he was going mad before, when Voldemort lived as a part of him. It was not the most pleasant, and he decided to risk his safety by sleeping in the same room as Malfoy.

Malfoy, who had perfect blonde hair that was never messy except when he had to save him from the fire in the room of requirement, who Harry couldn’t trust. Pale skin, tall and eyes that always captured Harry’s eyes. Harry wanted a reason to trust him, but after everything, he knew that even the most unexpecting people cannot be trusted.

End Note: obviously trust cannot be handed out to people just like that, but it also is hard to hand out to people who had many reasons to not be trusted. I love drarry but what is drarry without a little begrudgement?

[romaine2424]

Daily Blog July 3, 2023

Not feeling chatty today, too many errands and chores to do. At least I don't have to buy fireworks this year for the 4th of July. They were just outlawed last year where I live. Before that, we were all out in the street shooting of aerials and and lots of other things. Neighbors around the corner always put on quite the show. Had a few scary moments over the years. But it was all fun until the clean up!

What I'm reading:

Oh wow Everybody Hates a Tourist by anon for the @hd-wireless fest definitely earned it's right to open the fic portion of the fest. It created quite the atmosphere in Brighton were we find one Draco Malfoy living the gay Muggle scene for the last 8 years.

Summary:

On a stag do in sunny Brighton with the Gryffindor lads, the last person Harry expects to run into is Draco Malfoy. After a glimpse of Malfoy’s Muggle life in Britain’s gay capital, Harry’s curiosity gets the better of him and he finds himself returning to the seaside again and again, drawn to the city, drawn to this new version of Malfoy that Harry barely recognises from school. Meanwhile, Draco’s just trying to live his big and best queer life: working for the weekend, chasing hot men, getting lost in Brighton's nightlife, and making friends with the neighbourhood cats. Why does his former school rival and crush have to show up and spoil everything?

There was so much to enjoy about this fic given the summertime atmosphere and just hanging out in the pubs, having some smokes, and eating bits of this and that. Harry in this fic is going through some changes in his life but is still on solid ground physically and mentally. We think Draco is too, but there is a vulnerability there and, of course, Harry wants to fix it. One of my favorite things about this fic is Harry's innocence but also sense of adventure. Draco introducing him bit by bit to his lifestyle and the atmosphere of Brighton and Harry is wide-eyed but also enthusiastic. Very cute. Oh and asking for gossip about fellow classmates was a riot. Poor innocent Harry. :) A lovely feel-good fic with definite moments of seriousness. Read and definitely give MA some love with comments!

Everybody Hates a Tourist on AO3

Drarry Tumblr Fic/Art Resources

I know most of you are probably already following @thedrarrylibrarian, but not everyone goes to the home page of someone's Tumblr site. This is a must for @thedrarrylibrarian because there is so much packed into a few links. The first thing you should do is read the FAQ on the home page before you get started. Especially if you're looking for a type of fic. Some fic genres and tropes aren't covered. Also, if you're looking for a specific fic, this is not the place as noted. That is @lostdrarryfics, another great drarry fandom resource.

What is on here is a Card Catolog, which gives a plethora of subject matters to find fics under. Like Beach Reads, or Spy!Draco or Raising Teddy. And even better, they are being continually updated.

Also there is the Reference Section, which is extremely helpful. Here's a few examples: How to Tag your Fic, How to Gain Friends & Friends Writing Fanfic, and How to Write Fanfic Summaries!

The last category, I've mentioned before and that is Friends of the Library, which is a list with links to the collaborations with other writers/artists/reccers/friends, which includes The Happy Hour events.

And finally, you can always ask for a type of fic(s) to fulfill a certain want or need. :)

A lot of work has gone into the site. It's very easy to use, which I particularly am a fan of. So go play around and see what you can discover in the @thedrarrylibrarian!

Tomorrow is a holiday and I'm not sure I'll be making a post as we have some family plans. Hope everyone enjoys their week!

Rom

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (14-20 Jan 2024)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

Death in Soho (Augusta Peel #1) (Emily Organ, author; Sarah Nichols, narrator) - acceptable cozy mystery set post-WWI. Perfectly cromulent and will probably read another when I'm craving an uncomplicated read. Did appreciate that Miss Peel is middle-aged, not an ingenue/flapper

Ever Since New York (AHM1121) - 94K, shrunkyclunks omegaverse - just a really satisfying omegaverse fic, loved these versions of them

Running on Air (eleventy7) - 74K, drarry - it's 8 yrs post-war, draco's been missing for 3 of them and harry's been assigned the cold case. There's driving and melancholy and eventually sorting out feelings and stuff

💖💖��+199K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

Quench (AidaRonan) - MCU: shrunkyclunks, 9K - reread, all time forever fave with possibly my fave description of thick steve: 'built like a mack truck made out of ribeye' (all the simile action in this fic is fantastic tbh)

This Light-Struck Country (TentacleParty) - The Witcher: eskel/oc (monster), 18K - some truly quality monsterfucking

sunrise supplications (liadan14) - The Old Guard: kaysanova, 12K - great modern AU enemies-to-lovers with a very clever spin on joe & nicky's canonical meeting

Slow Boat to China (Penguinjava) - A Charm of Magpies series (KJ Charles): Merrick & Lucien, 7K - wonderful vignette of the boat trip to china after lucien's horrible father banished them & the foundation of their relationship

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Brooklyn Nine-Nine - s8, e1-4

Dirty Laundry - s3, e10

D20: Fantasy High: Junior Year - "Summer Breakdown" (s21, e2)

D20: Adventuring Party - "Fs Get Defgrees" (s16, e2)

Mrs Sidhu Investigates - s1, e1-4

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

⭐ Desert Island Discs - Greta Gerwig, writer and director

What Next: TBD - Is Your Car Tracking You?

Ologies with Alie Ward - Carcinology (CRABS) Part 1 with Adam Wall

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Our Emmys Recap

Switched on Pop - Soundalikes: Lil Nas X and Ariana Grande

⭐ The Sporkful - The Hidden Battle Over Grocery Store Shelves

99% Invisible #566 - Imitation Nation

Code Switch - The women who masterminded the Montgomery Bus Boycott

⭐ Films To Be Buried With - Joel Kim Booster

Just One Thing - Take Vitamin D

NPR's Book of the Day - 'The Golden Screen' chronicles the films that shaped the Asian American diaspora

Vibe Check - Wesley Morris, or Wesley Snipes?

Welcome to Night Vale - Bonus Ep: Riddle Guy

NPR's Book of the Day - 'The Frozen River' tells the fictionalized story of a real 18th century midwife

Sara & Cariad's Weirdos Book Club - Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Claire Dederer with Winnie M Li

Today, Explained - How the war in Gaza ends

99% Invisible - Power Broker #01: Robert Caro

Dear Prudence - I Spend Hours a Day Having Intense Romantic Daydreams. Help!

Endless Thread - Where's the Beef?

What Next: TBD - The Great British Library Hack

It's Been a Minute - The political power of white Evangelicals; plus, Biden and the Black church

Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - When Bad Commercials Become Cult Classics

Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! - David Oyelowo

You're Dead to Me - The Bloomsbury Group

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

The Definitive Croce

Classic Bedtime Favorites

Presenting Lionel Richie

'80s Pop Party

Green Day

Presenting Gordon Lightfoot

Presenting Steely Dan

[rockingrobin69]

Reccers on tumblr appreciation pt. #1

Did you know that tumblr, our little corner of the internet, is filled to the brim with the best reccers around? Yeah. (They are also really, really, really cool). Like:

1. @sitp-recs​​, who everyone knows is rec royalty. How many of us owe Liv at least part of our fandom experience? The amount of love and energy poured into every single rec is honestly astonishing. No matter what you’re looking for, you can be sure Liv’s got it: rare pairs, all the smut you could dream of, and have you checked out the incredible hidden gems series yet?

2. @thedrarrylibrarian​​ – the amount of time and heart the librarian puts into each rec is huge, and still so far from the amount of love and delight we gain from them. You can go through the librarian’s blog for days, whether for a Friday happy hour, a brilliant chat with friends of the library, or just one of the dozens of recs, like this brilliant vacation rec list!

3. @lostdrarryfics​​ are absolutely incredible. Can you believe we live in a world where there’s a whole blog dedicated to help us find lost fic! What! Angels! They found so many fics since starting up and helped countless souls. Check out their guidelines here and then help yourselves! Maybe you can even help find a missing fic!

4. @thebooktopus​​ makes gorgeous recs, including the most brilliant themed lists, like the New Year’s Rec-olutions, or the unbelievably awesome mutuals March, or the wonderful April showers. Whatever you’re looking for, you’re sure to end up happy here!

5. @sweet-s0rr0w​​ is a reccing powerhouse, with glorious recs like ‘5 favourite fics’ and the phenomenal ‘Drarry Round the World’ recs. You can find the entire series here: Part One: Africa, Asia, Oceania and Antarctica, Part Two: Europe, Part Three: The Americas, Part Four: Road Trips. And then I suppose you just immerse yourselves in all the other brilliant recs? Sounds about right.

6. @shealwaysreads​​​ makes the most beautiful art recs: thoughtful, perfectly tailored, (awe-)inspiring and have I already said beautiful?? Because they are just gorgeous?? You have absolute treasures like this one and also this one and omg this one!

7. @phd-mama​​ ran the glorious ‘May we lift each other up’ this May and just. Lifted. So many people. Up!! So much heart, so much effort and love went into these wonderful recs, plus they’re also simply brilliant: May We Life Each Other Up. And may we keep in this spirit! 

Thanks for being here, all of you!

(Previous lists: writers pt. 1, artists pt. 1) 

[the-starryknight]

twelve favorite drarry fic reccers

these are some of the lovely folks who have introduced me to fics that broke my heart, took me on vast emotional journeys, and made me laugh my butt off.  each of these reccers have different ways of presenting insightful (and often humorous) commentary, pointing out all the best bits of fic, and reminding me of all the lovely reasons I’m in this fandom. here’s a shout out and a thank you to these brilliant rec’cers! please thank your faves in the comments too <3 

@sitp-recs - Witty, thoughtful, and oh-so-carefully worded, each of Liv's recs brings out the best in the fics described. Each time I see a new post, it’s a must-read! Liv creates such a kind and affirming environment that feels so special. Her themed weeks have left me utterly weak, going back to the masterlists over and over whenever I need a new suggestion.

@eat-yearn-cry - From when I saw the first four masterlists floating around to the absolutely fantastic posts now, I feel so lucky we get eat-yearn-cry's suggestions! Each of her recs is brilliant and informed, hilarious and sometimes sarcastic, and so clearly her. It’s an absolute joy to hear these thoughts, it always sends me straight to whatever fic she's poured her heart out about.

@dewitty1 - Dewitty has such excellent taste in fics, and always picks the best excerpts to share to get my interest piqued.  I love seeing her masterlists across my dash and getting to see both fics i’ve read and loved and ones I know I must check out based on her opinion.

@thedrarrylibrarian - The ex-library worker and lover of organizing in me absolutely swoons at this blog full of gorgeously-tagged posts. I can see how much work is put into curating an excellent repository of fic, and gosh do I love it!  I'm so looking forward to more of the Happy Hour series.

@drarryspecificrecs - Truly, I do not know how this blog manages everything, from fest recaps to daily recs, to answering endless questions and searching for fics. I remain in awe daily at the amount of excellent and beautifully organized content this incredible blog shares with us.

@dragontamerdame - Though I know Ash is no longer doing recs (and looking at their art, I cannot complain, what a beautiful application of their skill!) I still find myself revisiting some of their old lists because they are so well put together and so detailed, each one feels unbelievably comprehensive.

@dictacontrion - I’ve been a fan of Dicta's writing almost as long as I’ve read drarry fic, and I came onto tumblr this year to find a vast trove of daily excerpts and longer fic rec masterposts.  Each and every rec is truly a treasure!

@hogwartsfirebolt - I absolutely adore HogwartsFirebolt's Netfics rec list, not only because it features some of my favorite fics, but what a brilliant way of sharing the fic love? While the taste in fics alone is impeccable, I loved the way this is put together -- I wish I could open up Netfics rn and dive into some of these shared faves!

@onbeinganangel - Not only does Marion share her beautiful embroidery with us, but she has chosen to use it to recommend fics! From the soft cotton of her What We Do In the Shadows rec to the threads of the others, they always make me run straight to ao3, and the fic recs are never amiss.

@zeziliazink - Zezilia's ‘fandom classics’ series, part 1 and part 2, genuinely feel like penguin classics I could pull right off the shelf, plus they’re full of utterly stellar drarry fics! I love how Zezilia has applied an excellent definition of 'classic' here and I wish I had a shelf full of fics like this.

@rockmarina - I've found myself cackling over Rockmarina's meme fic recs on more than one occasion, enjoying them for both the funny and the intensely dramatic fics. They immediately make me want to open ao3 because they are always, without fail, an absolute joy.

@queercore-curriculum​ - I'm not sure if Queercore would be considered a fic reccer, but each time I see one of the gorgeous, gorgeous binds on my dash, I have two overwhelming thoughts: 1) oh my god, wow, look at that (and that, and that, and that, as I scroll through each stunning image) and 2) I must read this fic right away if someone has spent so much time binding it. We are so lucky to get to see Queercore's craft!

[wistfulrat]

a 4-part rec list of my fave drarry fics - the thrillers, dramas, soft bois, and wankbanks getting me through 2020′s shitstorm

[the soft boi list is here and truly i’m not surprised this rec is going to be the longest bc if there’s one thing a bitch is going to do, it’s yearn.

as always! if you love a fic, follow the authors, leave kudos & comments, send them nice msgs bc free art is still labor xoxo]

part 3: soft bois

mood: for when I need respite, a balm to the all-consuming shittiness of life

includes: fluff, comfort, low-stakes, slow-burn fics. a wistful look, a rainy morning, an unexpected grace, a stupidly disarming joke. i could live inside these fics. the smallness of human lives removed from the site of that which hurts & irreparably changes. the story-equivalent of a deep breath after a long day. pregnant silences & pensive mundanity & shy smiles. banter with bite but without the cruelty. the color lavender. weirdly whimsical. soft fics are not necessarily conflict-averse (no drarry fic rly can be, considering the context) but, they offer the reader a generous distance from the initial harm. they’re the quiet cleaning up after a storm. sometimes healing is an exacting surgical knife and other times it’s a slow scabbing. you read these fics to be reassured that the way forward is not always ruthless. and honestly?? they deserve a semblance of peace godDAMmit.

The Way Down by @letteredlettered - 65k - T “and I thought that if someone talked to you as though you were a human being you might—maybe you could act like one” --the way i think about this line daily. the characterization of draco in this fic is one my favorites bc he’s earnest and neurotic and tired of harry’s shit. which is to say, he cares so so much. and harry doesn’t know what to do with that bc he’s got a monster in his chest and lives as a recluse. but they both humanize each other in ways no one else can. “you’re just a person” has to be some kind of drarry ethics of belonging and it makes me CRY. -

Little Deaths and How to Avoid Them by @greaseonmymouth and dustmouth - 96k - T “Maybe it’s not about deserving it? Maybe you just get to have it anyway. . .I’m allowing myself to want something and to let myself have it and to fight for it.” --harry runs a daycare and also works at a library. draco spends a lot of time in said library. they bond over sci-fi books and therapy anecdotes and quiet philosophical conversations held over cafeteria soup. and harry’s struggling to understand his asexuality. draco’s learning how to live with anxiety and depression. they both want to be deserving of love. incredible fic with beautiful art by dustmouth. - 

Open for Repairs by @drarrytrash - 35k - T “A few leaves rustle in the gutter and the muggle world pays no mind to them, to two lost boys holding on for dear life.” --all of their fics feel exactly like this. like you’ve been allowed to look at something private, tender, unexpected. draco, known abba fan, is a repairman in the muggle world & harry can’t stop breaking thrifted things in order to see him? say less, i'm thERE. also “I think I have a crush on you” goddddd  - other faves by them: Counting Down By Ten - 2k - T: draco’s stepped outside of the party for a smoke. harry follows him bc of course he does. i could read this 100 times and not get tired of it. - Clouds That Veil the Midnight Moon - 36k - E: FUCKING HILARIOUS I CACKLED THROUGH THE WHOLE THING. draco’s wolfy problem and harry helping him and harry being flustered by how much he likes draco and draco’s hot heroic moment. shutup it’s perfect. “He almost asks if Draco ever gets tired of being a miserable complaining shit all the time, but he knows that he, personally, never ever gets tired of being a miserable complaining shit.” and “It’s the traumas,” Harry says gravely” --lines that live rent free in my head -

Harry Potter and the Future He Doesn't Really Want, Thanks by seefin - 70k - E “That was the only logical thing to do here, wasn’t it? It was the next step, it was the end of hurting each other and the beginning of the exact opposite.” --harry lives with luna and neville and also he dreams about the future sometimes? and he keeps running into draco. draco thinks this is sus as hell, until he doesn’t. feat. taxi rides, museums, cinemas, rooftop conversations beneath a lunar eclipse, mid-sex innocuous banter, draco and harry discussing nicki minaj. this fic charmed my ass off. seefin writes the most effortlessly hilarious dialogues. i smiled at my phone like an idiot at least 7 times. -  other faves by them: Wild - 93k - E: “he liked feeling needed, for the things that he was needed for back at the house in Ireland. For cooking and gardening and driving. Easy things.” --this shit makes me cry it’s so good. harry lives in Ireland with these three brilliant, hilarious, wandless witches and draco’s a potions student who's come to study under one of the housemates and the boys have so much shit to work through but their love becomes so tender and honest. draco yells at harry a lot and harry lets him and they both keep each other grounded in something real and fuCK.  - Divination for Dickheads - 7k - G: “I’m terrible at having crushes. I’ve never played anything cool a day in my life.” -- oh harry, we knOW. a bus ride, a fortune teller, an aquarium birthday party. god i love this fic. -

Modern Love by @tackytigerfic​ - 61k - E “But we’ve worked so hard at this, haven’t we? Yeah, I know it’s a horror to have to talk about it, but fuck it. We’re friends now, but it took so long to get here. Have you ever had to work so hard at something before?" --the steady blossoming of their friendship in this fic is so goddamn beautiful i want to yell. it’s draco and harry learning to trust each other and the whole thing unfolds so slowly, in this whimsical mix of london streets, wizarding politics, church halls feat. a Hot vicar, and a magical antique shop owner who’s married to literal poseidon?? goD the environment of this fic. immaculate. [also there’s a tender shower scene that makes me cry every single fucking time so if you read this fic pls dm me so we can be embarrassing about it together tbh] -

Nice Things by aideomai - 22k - M “He kept waiting for the weird shock of touch to not knock him clean out of his head, leave him quiet and warm and happy.” --8th year. harry forms an unlikely friendship with draco that begins with smoking weed on a windowsill. harry is touch-starved and draco touches him like he touches all his close friends - like it’s easy. the quiet affection in this fic, the way harry burrows himself into touch bc he’s been without it for his entire life. reading this is like being held. -

Running On Air by @tinyhistory​ - 74k - T “do you remember when we were eleven?” --alexa play coldplay’s the scientist it’s sad girl hours and we’re about to fucking yearn. you’ve seen this fic rec on every drarry list under the sun and i'm here to be redundant. the hype is so goddamn real. this story is a lyrical masterpiece held together by lines that act as refrains that will rattle around your brain until you die, probably. draco’s been missing for 3yrs. harry goes to find him. it’s their odyssey of homecoming. -

Title of Their Sex Tape by @cibeewastaken - 12k - T “But Draco, Draco was everything but boring. Draco made sitting in the rain watching an empty house fun.” --auror partners pining and draco being eccentric and harry being very earnestly gay about draco’s eccentricities!! god this fic is so genuinely fun skskd feat. undercover missions, murderous faeries, a book heist, a stunning navy dress, harry’s eyelashes. -

How We Throw Our Shadows Down by @thistle-verse - 14k - T “Draco is about to say something else— to thank Potter for what he’d done, however poorly— but Harry is smiling at him again, and it’s so soft and perfect that Draco holds in any inadequate words, lest he spoil it.” --draco collects tea cozies and of course harry has the one he wants. the sad and tender gays are at it again feat. conversations in the rain at a train station, melancholy Blaise, muggle photos, wizarding e-bay, the Dursleys.  -

Helix by Saras_Girl - 92k - E “Draco sighs in his sleep and Harry clings on to consciousness, needing to hold on, to give this tiny, insignificant moment the attention it deserves” --I think maybe you can describe every soft Saras_Girl story as giving tiny, insignificant moments the attention they deserve. like, this is an 8th year fic about snails and it’s full of whimsy, grief, compassion, and easy humor. an absolute must-read author in this genre if you want languorous, episodic fics full of distinct OCs and affectionate creatures. - other faves by them: Light up the Night Sky - 98k - M “Draco, sometimes you make my head feel like soup” --the one where harry is a fireworks artist and has a pet chameleon named ken. draco is on the wizarding arts council. they both pine like hell. - Headlights in the Snow - 71k - M “they stare at each other in silence, Harry’s heart beating so loud in his chest that he thinks the biddies must be able to hear it over the sound of their card game.” --the one where draco drives the knight bus and carts around the biddy club, a group of rambunctious old ladies who knit and drink tea and gossip. harry can’t help but fall in love with the everything about this. -

Follow the Water by @xanthippe74 - 38k - T “Harry’s heavy thoughts lift at the sight, like dark clouds blown away from the sun by the wind. The tent doesn’t feel so cramped and stifling now. It feels cozy. And safe. It’s the same feeling that Harry gets when he’s at the Burrow for Sunday roasts, when a group of people who care for each other deeply are crammed into too-small a space.” --harry wanders to the lovegood house on a sunday afternoon. he’s baffled to see that luna’s taken pansy, greg, and draco under her wing. what follows is a summer of forest walks, scavenger hunts, gardening, water fights, odd cakes, faerie rings, and picnics. so many picnics. i love the pace of this fic, the innocent return to childhood things, the way luna brings out the best in all her friends. reluctantly soft slytherins are just *chefs kiss*!! -

Going Postal (A 125pg comic) by dustmouth - T what. a. beautiful. ass. comic. the wizarding fashion, the textures, the character design!! harry travels a lot for his job as a resourcer. draco works in the regulations dept. they pine like a bunch of lovesick idiots via field report notes. god i love dustmouth’s art. -

All the Earnest Young Men by @tepre​ - 29k - E “Draco is twenty-seven layers of personality wrapped up in drama and humour, and a wit so sharp it still stings when he doesn’t see it coming. But there is something below that, too. Something that makes Harry ache just looking at him.” --the way i would lay down my little life for tepre’s characterization of draco, whom invented the word earnest. he’s a magical art theory expert and portraits are disappearing all over London and harry’s the auror assigned to this case. and well. they’re both so very avoidant about how gay they are for each other and it’s like!! shutup and kiss!! which they do in fact, shutup and kiss.  -

Trenches by sara_holmes - 3k - M “Somewhere in the distant part of his mind that hasn't frozen solid, he thinks that maybe he and Draco are about to become more than auror partners, smoking buddies, wine-mates and co-inhabitants of a snow filled trench somewhere in western Scotland.” --the plot line here is literally “it’s cold and i need a fucking cigarette” but let me tell you how I never tire of the shared loaded-silences of two emotionally repressed gays. -

The Years Before Love by lomonaaeren - 13k - M “That’s one of the meanings of peace, he thinks, as Hermione hugs him...That he can do things slowly, softly, without worrying that they won’t be there tomorrow.” --andromeda taking harry under her wing and harry finding solace in teddy. narcissa and draco showing up and the tentative relationships that slowly develop in the quiet calm of andromeda’s house. found families and kisses in the snow and special xmas gifts ugh what’s not to love -

The Moon Looks Lovely Tonight by Omi_Ohmy - 35k - M “I want this to be a house where people are welcome, where they don’t have to be any one way or another” --in which harry collects lost things--owls, best friends, inept bakers, potions experimenters--and turns the mausoleum that is grimmauld place into a home. feat. your fave drarry tropes like shared-beds and reluctant waltzing partners. -

[part 1: thrillers | part 2: dramas | part 3: soft bois | part 4: wankbanks]

[thereaderarchive]

thereaderarchive writes masterlist

Hello. You can find all my fanfics and (most of) drabbles on AO3.

All drarry unless stated differently.

Finished works:

★ The beauty of: series, 2 parts. my fav tbh. / ♫ playlist

The beauty of the cliff edge (3K, M) / CW: Suicidal Thoughts.

→Summary: You try to believe in the promises hidden in the soft wrinkles of his eyes

The beauty of the strobe lights (9K, E) 

→ Summary: Glasgow is the place to be, where the best parties, music, and bands are. The nights are full of open clubs, everybody is drinking colourful alcopops during —and after— happy hours. And every hour is a happy hour if you are drunk enough. In "The Beauty of The Cliff Edge" is mentioned that Harry and Draco spend one night together... this is the night. Can be read independently.

The beauty of the Colour Green (1K, E)

→ Summary: And when he's by your side, the world is evergreen.

★ Placebos are not enough (4k, E)

→ Summary: They are hand-picked, with uttermost care, as if they were a delicate fruit, so ripe that its skin can be shredded and bruised with the lightest of touches. Always blond, slim and tall.

★ Hospitals room at dawn (3K, T)

→ Summary: We all have secrets we'll take to the grave. One of Harry's happened when he was a teenager, sixth year, hospital wing, half past five in the morning, his lips against Draco's... then life repeats itself.

★ The perks of living with Harry Potter: A memoir by Draco Malfoy (4K, T)

→ Summary: A series of drabbles about the domestic life of Draco Malfoy living with Harry Potter and everything that entails: Sirius, Teddy, Kreacher, overgrown deadly chickens, troll's snot, snakes... you know, the usual. Just crack and a little fluff. This is just silly.

★ Double entendres (prompt: pumpkin / words: 568 / T)

→ Summary: "This is an intervention," Ron says. / Too long to be part of Keep it short.

★ Discourse Analysis (words: 880 / M)

→ Summary: Saying I love you is not always a straight path for two awkward young men in love.

★ Keep it short: unrelated microfic or ficlets with a given prompt (cross-posted here on tumblr).

In progress:

★ Let us take this to the end: Series, 3 parts. / ♫ playlist

All the way through your bed (3K, M)

→ Summary: Draco is not surprised the wards let him in. He's cast half of the new ones at this point, the old ones recognize his ancestry. But half of him wishes the damn house was impenetrable. That The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black would have decided for him. Or even better, that Harry would have decided to leave him out of the house, out of his life. One clean cut. Deep and painful, but ready to heal itself with time and little scar tissue.

The greatest bastard (10K, M)

→ Summary: Harry cheated so Draco left, and now Harry is trapped in the five stages of grief. He rues the morning he saw Draco helping an owl and noticed how pretty the nape of his neck is. He rues the day he discovered how kind and gentle he is with children and thought he would make a good father. He rues the pub night he admitted to himself how fit Draco really is. But he rues the most that party when they decided to kiss.

Colour me in (soon, working on it)

→ Summary: How hard can planning a wedding be? Oh Harry, if you only knew.

★ Microfics

Drarry:

Hidden dragon / words: 22 / M

Prongsfoot:

Hazel / words: 68 / G

★ Giving In To The Love: a drarry fic written from microfic prompts, for a whole year. Non-linear. Pining Harry and a side of drastoria.

Ch. 1: Giving in to the love (words: 170 / G)

Ch. 2: Shattered (words: 32 / G)

Ch. 3: Bike Dream (words: 178 / G)

Ch. 4: Ocillate (words: 156 / G)

Ch. 5: Dare (words: 119 / T)

Ch. 6: Behind Blue Eyes (words: 148 / G)

Ch. 7: Abrupt (words: 48 / G)

Ch. 8: Moscow (words: 117 / G)

Ch. 9: Pink (words: 82 / M)

Ch. 10: Library (words: 268 / G)

Ch. 11: Got My Number (words: 265 / G)

Ch. 12: Angel baby (words: 324 / G)

Ch. 13: Dystopia (words: 254 / T)

Ch. 14: Persephone (words: 53 / G)

Ch. 15: Wedding (words: 100 / G)

Ch. 16: Bloom (words: 768 / G)

Ch. 17: Soup (words: 377 / G)

Ch. 18: Prank (words: 379 / G)

Ch. 19: Remedy (words: 291 / G)

Ch. 20: Fervor (words: 154 / E)

Ch. 21: Burn (words: 147 / G)

Ch. 22: Ace (words: 84 / G)

Ch. 23: Rewrite the stars (words: 354 / G)

Ch. 24: Fool (words: 146 / T)

Ch. 25: Falling (words: 103 / M)

Ch. 26: Good (words: 128 / G)

Ch. 27: Shock (words: 117 / T)

Ch. 28: Everything’s electric (words: 66 / G)

Ch. 29: Heartstopping (words: 161 / G)

Ch. 30: Bared (words: 25 / T)

Ch. 31: Cake (words: 67 / G)

Ch. 32: Still into you (words: 64 / T)

Ch. 33: Bergamot (words: 301 / T)

Ch. 34: Mesmerised (words: 646 / T)

Ch. 35: Play with fire (words: 163 / T)

Ch. 36: Blood (words: 53 / T)

Ch. 37: Keep driving (words: 314 / T)

Ch. 38: Sugar high (words: 107 / G)

Ch. 39: Proof (words: 137 / G)

Ch. 40: Island (words: 913 / E)

Ch. 41: Pale (words: 127 / G)

Ch. 42: Seven (words: 137 / G)

Ch. 43: Criminal (words: 184 / G)

Ch. 44: Shoelaces (words: 123 / G)

Ch. 45: You’re everybody else (words: 55 / G)

Ch. 46: Bigger than me (words: 1511 / G)

Ch. 47: Evidence (words: 732 / M)

Ch. 48: Jam (words: 142 / T)

Ch. 49: Different (words: 229 / T)

Ch. 50: Incoherent (words: 154 / T)

Ch. 51: Evenfall (words: 371 / T)

Ch. 52: Aftermath (words: 148 / G)

Ch. 53: Jockstrap (words: 145 / E)

Ch. 54: Changes (words: 100 / E)

Ch. 55: Truth (words: 122 / E)

Ch. 56: We fell in love in october (words: 263 / G)

Ch. 57: Dancing with a stranger (words: 156 / G)

Ch. 58: Found (words: 411 / G)

Ch. 59: Prompt (words: 403 / G)

Ch. 60: Invitation (words: 94 / G)

Ch. 61: Kind (words: 164 / G)

Ch. 62: Unconditional (words: 470 / G)

Ch. N:  (words: / )

Ch. N:  (words: / )

Ch. N:  (words: / )

Ch. N:  (words: / )

Ch. N:  (words: / )

Ch. N:  (words: / )

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Ch. N:  (words: / )

[phoebe-delia]

For the song prompt, let’s hear your track 5 lol

Lmaooo this made me laugh, thank you. I've already done my 13th track and now I get to do Track 5! (If you don't know why Track 5 is significant, it's because Taylor Swift puts her most emotional songs as the 5th song on every album).

My Track 5 is, fittingly, a Taylor song; not only that, it's "gold rush," which makes me happy because 1. it's a great song and 2. I actually wrote a fic based on it for the first EVER Drarry as Taylor fic--before I knew this would become a series. It's from Draco's POV, and it can be read here.

I'm so glad to take another crack at this song. This will serve as a sequel/companion piece to the original, but it can stand on its own. Enjoy.

For the first time in his life, Harry was too excited to sleep.

Unlike Dudley, he hadn't spent Christmas Eves and the hours before his birthdays anticipating presents and sweets. He'd never had anything to look forward to, nothing to keep him up at night in anxious glee.

But now, as he stared up at the ceiling, his new roommates sleeping soundly around him, he found himself able to calm his exhilarated mind enough to rest.

He knew that the red and gold curtains that hung around his bed meant that he was in Gryffindor, and he mentally thanked the magical hat for not sorting him into Slytherin with that Malfoy git.

Irritation rose in his chest at the memory of Malfoy insulting his new friend, Ron. Harry'd decided then that anyone who could look at Ron and decide to be so rude to him must be someone to avoid. He knew a bully when he saw one, and bullies, in his experience, didn't change.

Harry turned onto his side to stare out the window, marveling at the novelty of sleeping somewhere with a view other than cramped, blank walls.

He curled up into the warm blanket, finally letting the exhaustion of the day lull him to sleep.

________

Third-year Charms, Harry decided, wasn't any more interesting than it had been the first two years.

He sat next to Ron, who was watching Hermione take notes with machine-like speed and precision. While the sight of Hermione in action was entertaining for a minute or so, Harry didn't understand why Ron stared at her all the time.

Not for the first time that class, Harry regretted not sitting toward the back of the room. Malfoy was sat next to Parkinson at the table just behind them, and Harry knew it was unwise to turn one's back to one's enemy. It was much more prudent to stare at one's nemesis for as long as possible, using subtlety and stealth to make sure one's observations went undetected.

Ron stared at Hermione almost as much as Harry stared at Malfoy, but surely Ron didn't think their friend was up to something.

Well, unless you called memorizing every comma of Hogwarts: A History nefarious.

“Remember, class, your homework for tomorrow is seven inches on the history of the Summoning Charm. You are dismissed," Flitwick turned to the board, casting a cleaning charm to erase the notes.

Harry was startled out of his reverie by the sudden announcement, as well as by Ron, who nudged him and gestured to Hermione, whose head was still bent over her desk as she wrote furiously.

"How long d'you reckon she'd stay here and write if no one stopped her?" Ron muttered.

Harry let out a short laugh and opened his mouth to respond when he caught sight of Malfoy darting quickly out of the room.

Harry frowned. But before he could voice his pondering over why Malfoy'd all but sprinted from the classroom, Hermione had finally snapped out of her note-taking daze and joined Harry and Ron.

As they walked along the corridor, Ron and Hermione continued to squabble over whether or not they needed to go to the library during their free period.

"But 'Mione, it's called a free period. A period of freedom. Don't you want to be free?"

"I don't want my mind to be enslaved to ignorance, Ronald! Information is freedom."

"Merlin, fine. But I have to go get my textbook from the dorm first. Harry, you coming?"

Harry nodded. Hermione narrowed her eyes at the two of them before giving them a mollified nod. Clutching her books tightly, Hermione turned on her heel and walked briskly toward the library.

"C'mon mate," Ron said, tugging at Harry's sleeve. "Let's take the long way."

Ron prattled on about quidditch, and Harry tried to listen, he really did. But his thoughts drifted inevitably back to Malfoy. He kicked himself again for not choosing a better surveillance point in class; maybe if he'd been watching he'd have seen why Malfoy'd fled class at the end.

He and Ron ventured outside, through the courtyard and into the open area beside the lake. Harry felt a surge of victory and relief at the sight of Malfoy sitting on the bench, his head tilted back with a soft smile as if enjoying the warmth on his face. His hair glittered golden in the sun.

Without thinking, Harry started walking toward him, an animated Ron following along.

“But Harry, they haven’t got a chance! Look, the Cannons--”

Ron stopped talking as Malfoy turned to sneer at them.

“Can I help you?” Malfoy drawled, “Or do you mind taking your boisterous conversation elsewhere? I was here first.”

Ron glared. “Shut up, Malfoy. We didn’t see you, or we wouldn’t have come any closer in case being a prat is contagious.”

Malfoy smirked. “Unlike you, I wasn’t raised in a barn, so I don’t carry diseases. But we snakes do bite, so mind your place, Weaselbee.”

Ron started toward Draco, his fists clenched, but Harry grabbed his arm, despite the rage swelling in his own chest.

“Ron, he’s not worth it. C’mon.” Harry said, eyes narrowed at Malfoy in a clear warning.

Ron gave Malfoy one last glare before he let Harry steer him away from Malfoy, who widened his smirk in satisfaction. They walked away, Ron continuing his rant as they made their way to Gryffindor Tower. Harry looked over his shoulder, catching one more glimpse of Malfoy basking in the sunshine.

________

“P-Potter,” Malfoy gasped, trapped between the bathroom wall as Harry crowded him, his face inches away. “W-what—?”

Harry shook his head, smiling softly. “You heard me, Malfoy.”

“I-I’m not sure I did, actually. Might you repeat it?”

Harry chuckled. “Why don’t I show you instead?”

Harry lifted a warm hand reached up to cup Malfoy’s cheek, leaned in and—

Harry woke with a gasp, sweat beading on his forehead. A hand scrubbed over his face as he wiped the sleep from his eyes and felt his four-poster ground him to reality.

After the last six years, he was no stranger to waking up in the middle of the night from strange dreams, but his subconscious--or rather Voldemort--usually tortured him with disturbing images and nightmare scenarios.

This time, it seems Voldemort had left Harry's subconscious to its own horny, teenaged devices--and it apparently had a twisted sense of humor.

That moment of blind rage in the bathroom haunted Harry enough during the day that he wasn't surprised that it would make its way into his dreams--but his chest hurt with the knowledge that perhaps it might've gone differently. Might've ended in whispered apologies, explanations, and soft, exploring kisses.

But if Malfoy hadn't hated him before, he certainly did now, and Harry couldn't blame him.

Harry knew a bully when he saw one, and during that moment, he couldn't pretend it had been Malfoy.

He raised a hand to the scar on his forehead and wondered when he'd changed.

________

“Draco Malfoy, you are hereby sentenced to three months house arrest, followed by one year of probation,” Kingsley banged the gavel, the sound reverberating in the large room before chatter rose from the avid audience.

Harry watched with a small smile as Malfoy and his mother sat together, their cool masks wavering with emotion for just a second before shifting back into place.

He decided to give them a moment before approaching Malfoy, but if he didn't get this over with now, he'd never have the courage.

Suddenly, Malfoy rose on shaking legs and walked over to Harry, who quickly stood to meet him in the middle. Harry regarded him with a tight-lipped smile.

Malfoy tipped his head slightly. “Thank you, Potter.”

Harry nodded. “Sure, Malfoy.”

Malfoy nodded before turning away, stopping when Harry, acting on impulse, reached out and grabbed his arm.

“Wait, Malfoy. I have something for you.”

Malfoy looked at him in confusion as Harry reached into his pocket and handed him his wand, stifling a chuckle when Malfoy’s eye widened.

“Thanks for letting me borrow it,” Harry said, his voice quiet.

Malfoy nodded again. He took the wand from Harry’s hand, closing his eyes. Harry let in a sharp breath at the sight of a soft smile on Malfoy's lips as he reunited with his wand. The image was more compelling than Harry imagined, as evidenced by the butterflies that filled his stomach.

Harry cleared his throat. “Well, er, I’ll see you around, Malfoy,” he said, nodding one final time before turning to leave.

He smiled as he heard Malfoy's quiet, "Goodbye, Potter," as he walked away.

________

Harry pressed his lips together in a grimaced smile as a few younger students gathered near him at the table in the Great Hall. Ron and Hermione shot him sympathetic looks, and he gave them an apologetic shrug before turning to sign another autograph for a wide-eyed first year.

If this would be an indication of what his eighth year would be, Harry wasn't sure how much longer he'd last.

After promises to fulfill the fans' requests later, the giggling group left the table to let him eat in relative peace--it was rather hard to enjoy one's dinner while half the school was staring at you.

His eyes flickered to the Slytherin table, where the students ate mechanically, their faces blank. Malfoy, who'd sent surprisingly genuine apology letters over the summer, looked thoughtful; not calculating or analyzing, but pensive.

Lying in bed that evening, Harry remembered the image of Malfoy at the Black Lake with his head tipped back in the sunlight. He thought of the rare smile Malfoy'd had when he held his wand for the first time after his trial, and the feeling that had bubbled up in his own chest at the sight.

Harry looked out the window at the night sky and wondered if happiness would be a constant thrum under his skin, or if it could be found in stolen moments tucked into his heart. The stars glittered in silent answer, shining with anticipation.

[thedrarrylibrarian]

I cannot tell you how excited I've been to have this lovely writer on to rec - I fell in love with the fic she recced and I think it's a great pick for the holiday season. If you haven't read it before, I think it'll be the perfect read to get you into the Christmas spirit. Without further ado, here's the lovely @skeptiquewrites!

I was delighted to be asked to write a Happy Hour for December by the Drarry Librarian. I still consider myself more of a reader than anything.

This time of year represents a lot of contradictions for me: the joyfulness of gathering with my loved ones, the loneliness that springs up as I revisit old places and things. I love all the lights and candles, and bundling up against the cold. I can’t stand the disappearing sun, and the long hours of darkness in my part of the hemisphere. It’s sweet, but sorrowful too.

So back in July, I knew I had to pick @sweet-s0rr0w’s Waking Up Slow with all of @ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm’s beautiful illustrations. Wireless has always been one of my favourite fests in current fandom, and 2023 was no exception.

Waking Up Slow by @sweet-s0rr0w (24,941 words, rated E)

'Twas the night before Christmas, although it’s July Draco’s a shopkeeper, no-one knows why There’s hiking and witch caves, freak snowfalls and more Bad Christmas jumpers, nosy neighbours galore Narcissa’s here too, but… something’s amiss And what’s in those chocolates that’s making them kiss?

From the first paragraph, I was in love with Pickerings Christmas Shop and Cheddar, Somerset. It came to life with careful, beautiful writing of Harry’s curiosity and Draco’s initial sharpness, and Joy’s saturated, poignant use of colour.

Besides the writing, I love how many direct references to other fanfics that Sweet has with the footnotes. It always reminds me how key intertextuality is to fandom. We’re all in conversation and all participating in a gift exchange of sorts.

Waking Up Slow is just as wonderful in December for a read (or re-read in my case) as it was in July. Scorching, weighty, interesting, and I can recommend it for a slow morning, lazy afternoon or under the covers late night fic reading.

After all, ‘tis the season.

Thank you so much, @skeptiquewrites for joining me for Happy Hour with Friends of the Library! And seriously, check this fic out!

[gloster]

FAVORITE FANFICS OF 2020

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

I know I speak for all when I say....I cannot wait to toss 2020 out the door the way Uncle Phil constantly did with Jazz. One of the things that got me through this rough year, besides family & friends & BTS, were fanfics.

It’s that time of year again where I make a list of all the fanfics that I absolutely adored. Some are by veteran favs of mine, others are new to me who just knocked it out of the park. If you’re interested in past lists, here is 2019′s list and 2018′s. If y’all are interested in doing your own fanfic favs of the year, please do so and tag me. Always on the hunt for new favs. 

So without furhter ado, my fav fanfics of 2020:

1). Another Word for Forever series by stardropdream (sheith)

Summary: Shiro knows better than to expect love in an arranged marriage. This is all for the sake of universal peace, after all, and solidifying a Terran-Galran alliance. At the very least, Shiro can hope to make a friend out of this. Becoming friends would be much easier, though, if he and his husband could actually communicate. 

With a language barrier and a mountain of cultural differences between them, getting to know Keith proves to be a challenge. Luckily, Shiro's always worked well with challenges.

2020 shockingly became the year of sheith. I ended up rewatching the show w/my bestie @littlenightdragon​. Diving more deeply into it w/my other bestie @kila09​. She and I spent the better half of this year devouring so many fanfics of them in various AUs. I came across new fanfic authors, and stardropdream is among them. 

If I could describe this series & stardropdream, I’ll take a cue from Lady Gaga: “ talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before, unafraid to reference or not reference, put it in a blender, shit on it, vomit on it, eat it, give birth to it”

This series was just PERFECTION. I’ve gotten into arranged-marriage AUs and this has been one of the best I’ve read. It was just perfection. The language barrier definitely added an extra charm to it, in which Shiro finds his own ways to get to know his husband better: both creative and funny ways. So many cute moments, so many funny moments with Hunk being the translating middle man between them, and the smut. THE SMUT. THE SMUT. THE SMUT. Just *chef’s kiss* Incredible. It was just so so sweet, and such a comfort read. I reread this series 5 times already and hope Robin (the writer) does more stories in this AU.

Please read this series. You’re not gonna regret it. It will MELT your heart. 

Honorable Mentions:

If I Called You Mine

Sail Across the Sky Just to Get to You

Finding Shelter (The Alien Baby Remix)

Say You Do(n’t)

2). The Golden Hour by @goldentruth813​ (sheith)

Summary:  After a space mission failure, Shiro loses his arm and his career. Two years later he's settled into a quiet and simple new life on his farm, but when a beautiful alien crashes in his field, he discovers the answers to his questions—and possibly the keys to his future—will come from the stars.

I’m sure no one, least of all Janel the writer herself, is surprised to see this author featured on this list. For now the 3rd year in a row. WOOOW  👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿 She is the reason I got into shieth, and she just continues to put out amazing conent with them. This story by far has been the best she’s done this year-possibly one of the best ever. 

We have Shiro trying to have a simple life at the farm with his dog and animals. A curious BOM Keith who shakes things up with his boldness/innocence-and questions bound to test blood pressure, especially Shiro’s. Loads of cute moments, loads of funny moments, and also loads of oreos. 

If summary and my thoughts don’t sell you, only one thing will: reading it for yourself.

Honorable mentions:

Two Hearts in Bloom

Mountain Men

Home is in Your Heart

3). Spun like Gold by Neyasochi (sheith)

Summary: Though Shiro is currently operating his fledgling bakery business out of a decrepit food truck he got for cheap in a repossession sale, he dreams of something more: a cozy bakery and cafe on a tree-lined street somewhere, filled with the smell of fresh coffee and sugar glaze instead of diesel. A little money could go a long way to helping him get off the ground-- and luckily, Keith has money to burn.

Or: Keith takes care of Shiro’s financial woes, in exchange for a little sugar.

OMG, OMG, OMG was this story so sweet. Neyasochi already sold me with the baking/baker Shiro trope, but went a step further throwing in sugar-daddy Keith who knows his way around his manic family and cars, but when it comes to asking a cute guy out? What better way to make an impression than becoming his best paying customer?  

Honorable mentions:

oh, devour me

Healing Touch

on your hand of gold 

4). The Destiny You Sold by @tryslora​ (drarry)

Summary: In which Draco knits, Harry makes wands, and things get very tangled up between them.

If there’s one thing I love about fanfics is how they introduce you to tropes you never would consider before. Draco and knitting was a combo I didn’t realize how much I needed until now. And I love the fact knitting played a big part of the accidental bonding. Also loved the fact everyone in their friend group shipped them like crazy. Highly, highly recommend 

5) What’s My Age Again? by @lazywonderlvnd​ (drarry)

Summary: Harry Potter has had enough of pleasing the public, and his reckless tendencies are finally getting out of hand.

The Quidditch World Cup is only a week away; as Captain of the English National Team, Hermione has assured him that his immaturity won’t be tolerated by the Ministry.

And then Malfoy shows up.

(Inspired by the blink-182 song of the same name.)

It’s no secret that I’m such a fangirl of @lazywonderlvnd​. Any drarry story I read, I always love. Last year, I ADORED The Changing Lights, which was one of my favorites last year, and her updating/finishing the story was a massive highlight for me. I thank ya for that. 

This story was honestly refreshing. I’ve grown so used to Harry being responsible, always doing what’s right, that seeing a story where Harry pretty much has his middle finger in the air to “good reputation”, “being responsible,” because as he brought up: “I’m 25. I’ve been fighting all my life. I’ve earned my life to have fun.”

Okay, granted, it wasn’t quite like that but it was along those lines. And I agree. After all he went through, Harry deserves to have fun. He deserves to be reckless and make stupid decisions.

Also, it was such a blast reading a story where Harry is the brat & Draco has to keep him in line. LOVED.

Honorable mentions: 

Inside Your Mind

Aletheia

6). Chocolate and Pastry by agentmoppet, anemonen (drarry)

Summary:  When Pansy bets Draco that there is no chance he and Harry could carry out a genuine romantic relationship, he and Harry form a plan. But as their fake relationship progresses, Draco sees a side of Harry he never expected. Harry is struggling with something, pushing it far down inside him where he doesn't have to acknowledge its existence. Draco starts to worry, and then he starts to care, and then... horribly... he starts to fall in love.

Do not let the title fool you like it did me. Title alone, I was thinking it was going to be a fun, fluffy story involving baking, maybe chocolate crafting. However....it was not that at all. It was more. A lot deeper. A lot more angsty. It explored mental health, PTSD and the dangers of loved ones ignoring the signs, and contained an important message:

You can’t love someone out of their illness/disease/ addiction. Which is true and this story showed that. 

7). i’m still here by owedbetter (zutara)

Summary: "You see me."

And somehow, that makes all the difference.

If there’s one of the few good things 2020 has brought, it was Netflix bringing back ATLA to their library. Which in turn ignited my love for zutara & had me drag @kila09​ into that ship. 

This story was just incredible. The way it was written, it really felt like it could have been canon. Deleted scenes that a certain creator didn’t want us to see. The way Zuko and Katara came together, starting from their peaceful friendship after the Southern Raiders episode up, becoming closer along the way. 

I dare y’all to read this and not think OMG...is this secret canon bonus material? I definitely plan to read more by owedbetter. 

8). all the what ifs i never said by rosegardenlake (sheith)

Summary:  Keith is nine when he first notices Shiro. Shiro is gentle and quiet, always keeping to himself. Keith is rough and loud, running wherever his feet will take him, screaming on the top of his lungs into the wind. But despite that, they're a constant throughout each other's lives...if only that could be enough. As they grow, Keith just wants them both to be happy, but instead, he's falling apart.

Rosegardenlake is another sheith writer who I adored last year & adore this year as well. This was a story that I read during the beginning of quarantine-life and when I tell you the number of times Keith’s emotions of loneliness got to me, it’s a big number. 

Keith’s struggle with life after high school, after peaking in school, and his mental health reminded me too much of where I was at 2018, which wasn’t a good year for me at all, especially mentally. So that was triggering but it was also helpful since I saw how far I came. And it was beautiful seeing how far Keith came. 

Also the relationship between Shiro and Keith was just beautiful. It’s very funny how Keith was Shiro’s protector growing up and Shiro became Keith’s later on in life. There’s a chance your heart may be heavy, but will also be so swelled up with feelings these two bring it. 

Honorable mentions:

Where the Light Doesn’t Reach 

9). When Night Comes by Oh_Hey_Tae (BTS; poly ot7)

Summary: Jungkook’s tipsy, but he’s not buzzed enough to miss that he doesn’t recognize any of the four dozen people here. And seeing as his friends aren’t ones to ditch and there’s no way they’d play a prank this mean on him, Jungkook reaches the conclusion that he just walked into a stranger’s very expensive home, uninvited, and started eating their food and petting their well-dressed dog.

(Or: Jungkook shows up to the wrong Halloween party and meets the most powerful family in Seoul.)

I can easily say Oh_Hey_Tae easily one of my favorite BTS fanfic favs. Always come through with the stories, and this one was just amazing. We have Jungkook stumbling into a Halloween story, and soon enters into a intense, insane relationship with all six guys, who are already in a relationship with each other. Oh, and supernatural creatures at that. 

You do see certain relationships are stronger, deeper. For example, a lot of moments between Jin and Jungkook. Vmin has their own story and moments. But it was just so amazing. 

Fair warning. Halfway through, things get darker and Oh_My_Tae really loves playing readers diirty with the angst, but it’s so good. 

10). peace-weaver by magisterpavus (sheith)

Summary: You will be the peace-weaver, his mother told him, smiling though her dark eyes welled with unshed grief. The one who brings two bitter enemies together and ends the bloodshed and death between us, once and for all.

But men will always crave war. The Galra, most of all.

Yet another arranged-marriage AU that I loved. This particular one is well-loved in the sheith fandom. I can definitely say it’s considered one of the classic fanfics that’s been read or shared at one point or another. 

The story itself reminded me a lot of Macbeth, involving murder and dark forces at bay. The dynamics between Shiro and Keith reminded me of Drogo and Daenerys from GOT, one of my fav couples there, which only made it all the more better for me. 

I do credit the author for the creative approach they took with quintessence and Shiro’s role/persona as the Champion

Honorable mentions:

The Boy in the Window 

Sheith Demon/Priest AU

A Matter of Scale

Directive 

Honorable mentions that I seriously wanted to add to the list but this post is already lengthy. All amazing, all greats reads by various writers y’all should check out:

Hold Me Tight, or Don’t by snowfallen (yoonmin with a Mr. & Mrs. Smith AU featuring assassins and hitmen, secret identities, fake marriage, and a lot of smut)

The Prince and Pirate by Maniacani, @nerdherderette​ (drarry with a splash of royalty and pirates. Perfect if you’re needing to fill in any Pirates of the Caribbean or Black Sails cravings)

First Kisses are the Best Ones by SashaDistan (sheith in a 50 First Dates Fusion heartfelt/heart-gutting story)

freely, as men strive for right by @bixgirl1​ (drarry w/Harry explaining the many ways why Draco’s the love of his life. we love to see it)

The Sacrificed by SasuNarufan13 (sasunaru w/ dark fairytale elements similar to Little Red Riding Hood & Beauty and the beast + feat. mpreg)

Chasing Treacle Tart (and Draco Malfoy) by xErised (drarry feat. lunch lady Draco + scheming Harry + loads of fun w/sweets & more)

Red Desert by @beatitudinembty​ (taekook in a unique sci-fi AU; hard to explain but so worth a read

one way ticket to another life by starboykeith (sheith Hades x Persephone background)

Even So by lewilder (zutara; arranged marriage+ language barrier +soft strangers to lovers)

Well, lovely people, there you have it. My top 10 favorite fanfics of the year. I do notice a certain ship shows up a lot on this list, but I wasn’t kidding when I said they took over this year. Still, I tried to mix the list up with other fav ships/fandoms of mine. To the writers who created these incredible stories. I applaud you. I thank you for creating and sharing these wonderful stories. Anyone interested in doing the tag, please do. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR, GUYS

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (11-17 Jun 2023)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

🥰 Grounds For Divorce (Tepre) - 122K, drarry, accidental soulbound - the years of them dealing/not dealing with the Bond, the angst, Harry being a mess & figuring shit out, a trip to Egypt, family, lemon trees, a cat and a garden

😊👂‍ Murder at the Beauty Pageant (Miss Underhay Mystery #12) (Helena Dixon, author; Karen Cass, narrator) - Kitty & Matt solve a beauty pageant murder while hampered by a new, obstreperous Inspector

😊 Once Upon a Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller (Oliver Darkshire) - charming, amusing & affectionate account of Oliver's journey in becoming a rare bookseller. (Oliver runs Sotheran's twitter account & if you know, you know.) [when I put the hold on this at my library there was no audiobook available but upon returning it, i see that one is there now, and i'm salty bc honestly this was the perfect book for an audiobook!]

💖💖 +74K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

A Place of Healing (this_wayward_life) - MCU: stucky, 12K - very cute & fluffy modern no-powers AU with nurse!bucky and doped-to-the-gills recovering steve who falls head-over-heels at first sight

Memories are Made of This (eleveninches) - MCU: stucky, 13K - recovering bucky angst-with-a-HEA

Long Time Coming (BewareTheIdes15) - Smallville: Clark/Lex, 14K - not my usual playground but I've enough osmosis cultural knowledge to enjoy this excellent fic; the characterizations were great - Lex's POV was absolutely hilarious, he was really going thru it

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Hot Ones - Jason Sudeikis

Why city flags may be the worst-designed thing you've never noticed | Roman Mars

Food for the Gods | 1909 Recipe

Songs That Changed Music: Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick

Game Changer - s5, e7-8 "The Bachelor"

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Switched on Pop - Listening 2 Daft Punk: Random Access Memories

⭐Smart Podcast, Trashy Books - 566. The Blessings of Comfort Reads with KJ Charles

Desert Island Discs - Simon Pegg, actor

Our Opinions Are Correct - Mini Episode: Which Star Trek Character Deserves Their Own Show?

Rachel Maddow Presents: Déjà News - Episode 1: Riot at the Gates (Again)

Radiolab - The Seagulls

⭐Into It - How Netflix Envy Broke TV

⭐The Sporkful - Inside The World Of Food Smuggling

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - The Greenbrier

Shedunnit - Miss Marple, Spinster Sleuth

⭐Vibe Check - I’m Not Gonna Smile for You, but I Might Twerk

Ologies with Alie Ward - Pectinidology (SCALLOPS) with Samantha Lynch

Outward Plus - Lesbian Bars: A Love Story

The Waves Plus - Your Period Deserves Respect

You Are Good - Men in Black w. Stef Rubino

Our Opinions Are Correct - A Sense of Place with Jessica Johns

Into It - 'The Flash,' 'The Idol,' and 'The Ultimatum': Watch, Hate-Watch, or Skip?

Dear Prudence Plus - I Tested My Partner’s Parenting Readiness and He’s Upset. Help!

Pop Culture Happy Hour - The Flash and What's Making us Happy

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - World Famous Crochet Museum

Radiolab - Beware the Sand Striker

Endless Thread - Treasure in the Woods

Welcome to Night Vale #230 - Carlos, Explained

99% Invisible #540 - The Siren of Scrap Metal

Re: Dracula - June 17: Die Away in the Distance

ICYMI Plus - Was the MirandaSings Controversy Inevitable?

Outward Plus - Pride Special: Why the Law Cares About Your Sex

Switched on Pop - Chartbreakers: Mexican regional y más

⭐Hit Parade Plus - Yes We Can Can Edition

Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! - James Marsden

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Juice Newton radio

The Essential John Denver

The Complete Albums 2000-2009

Pop Radio • Workout

Kylie Minogue's entire 14 album, 32 yr discography in order + 3 special compliation albums

Pop Radio • Pump-up

Trip Hop Instrumentals

The Pointer Sisters

[onlytaylor]

Drarry + Eighth year + The Patronus Charm

Draco’s patronus is a doe.

A fucking doe. Not a snake, or a dragon, or the sharp fins of a great white. A small deer.

A microscopic female deer. He’d worked so hard for this moment. He’d reluctantly spent hours upon hours with his former nemesis- and savior of the Wizarding world- studying and practicing a charm he should’ve mastered years ago.

Draco is a master at magic- or so he deems himself- so the fact that he hasn’t been able to conquer the patronus charm is more than aggravating. That’s what led him to finally give into Potter’s incessant requests that they practice together. He’d rudely barged in on him one day in the Room of Requirement, and at the sight of the faint, flicker of a white wisp that exited Draco’s wand, the secret had been discovered.

“Just let me help you,” Potter insisted, and Draco had scoffed.

“I don’t need your help, Scarhead.”

“You know, I don’t have the scar anymore.” He’d flashed a facetious grin, lifting up tendrils of hair from his forehead.

“Okay, then, Saint Potter. You’re just a regular twat, now.”

“A twat who wants to help.”

“Fuck you.”

Draco had stomped out, thoroughly ruffled. How dare Potter offer help to him? As if testifying on his behalf wasn’t enough. Draco didn’t need any more favors. He didn’t need any of it.

But that wasn’t the end of Potter’s prying. Every day, it seemed, he found little excuses to spend time around Draco.

“Be my potions partner?”

“Are you fucking serious? You’ll drop my marks.”

“Maybe I need your help, you blonde prat.”

“You have a sick sense of humor, Potter.”

Nevertheless, they brewed that day’s assignment side by side.

“Care to study with me?”

Potter had approached him in the library. He’d been peacefully studying for his NEWTs until a familiarly annoying presence slid into the seat across from him.

“No.”

“Please, Draco. I need your help. I’m going to fail transfiguration.”

“You just called me Draco.”

“Yeah, I figured since were friends now, I should call you by your first name.”

“We are NOT friends, Potter.”

He smiled a quirky little grin that caused something inside Draco’s stomach to lurch.

“Okay, my not friend. Now turn to page 450; that’s where I’m struggling.”

And so on, and so forth.

Draco had eventually given in to Potter’s endless badgering and met him on the grounds after curfew to practice.

“It’ll be easier outside,” Potter promised, “where you can feel the freedom of the breeze.”

The freedom of the breeze had done nothing to quell Draco’s failed attempts that night.

It was extremely vulnerable, the number of times Draco had allowed the f-word to escape his frustrated lips. At one point he’d thrown his wand at Potter, who’d suggested he just needed to “think happier.”

Nothing made Draco happy anymore. Not since the war, which had resulted in the imprisonment of his father and a depressed mother. He’d only been pardoned himself because of Potter, a shame that he’d had to live with daily.

But on the contrary, he’d began to catch himself smiling more and more during their practice sessions. Potter would comment on their budding friendship; Draco would tell him to sod off.

And Potter would laugh. It was a peculiar sound, a dancing rhythm from his grin that sent Draco’s head reeling. He’d never noticed the small dimples in his cheeks, or the way he folds his lips when he’s concentrating. Little details that left him wondering what else he’d missed about Potter all these years.

Today, Potter had said the usual. “Hey, friend. Ready to cast a patronus charm today?”

Draco had shrugged. “Sure.”

“You didn’t tell me to sod off.”

He shrugged again, and a wide smile lit up Potter’s face. “I told you we were friends.”

His eyes were a vibrant green, a certain shade that only revealed itself when he smiled. Draco felt his belly expand, radiating a weightless sensation throughout his entire being.

Suddenly, he could cast a patronus.

The white wisp he was used to seeing morphed like smoke into a bright shape that contrasted brightly against the night sky. At first, he couldn’t tell what it was, squinting his eyes from the light.

He noticed Potter’s heated cheeks first.

Confused, Draco had studied the silhouette until he realized exactly why Potter was blushing.

A fucking doe.

A doe.

Harry’s patronus is a stag.

And Draco’s is a fucking doe.

His stomach lurches; he thinks he’s going to vomit. He drops his wand and without a word runs back to the castle.

“Draco, wait!” He hears faintly, but he refuses to turn around. He’d rather die than see his face again. This is a fucking nightmare.

***

Borrowing Pansy’s wand turns out to be more of a hassle than he initially believes. He’s forced to do a lot of things the Muggle way, as he can really only use it when she’s not.

It’s still better than facing Potter.

He avoids him at all costs; ignores his voice shouting down the corridors after him. Studies in his dormitory. Keeps his eyes on the floor, aimed oppositely of those fucking green irises, that smile...

Two weeks pass, and Draco’s doing a fine job of remaining invisible. He’s almost forgotten the feeling of flurries in his abdomen, the soft gaze of Potter’s stare. The fact that his patronus is a fucking doe. And the implication of what that means.

He hasn’t tried to perform the charm since, but something tells him he won’t be able to. It’s a nagging feeling in his gut, and he admittedly doesn’t like it.

He hasn’t been sleeping properly either.

This is what drives him to sneak out, throwing the covers from his insomniatic body and frustratingly stalking from the common room. He doesn’t know where he’s going, just that he needs some fresh air.

He finds himself outside, in the very spot where just a few weeks ago he’d been so happy and elated that he’d performed his very own corporeal patronus.

Now, he sits alone. If he’s honest, that hurts a bit.

The breeze tickles his cheeks, and there’s a slight freedom that comes from that.

“Fucking Potter, always being right.” He mutters to himself, wishing he hadn’t ended up here. Wishing he wasn’t thinking about stupid Potter.

“Hey, I’m not always right.”

Draco starts as Potter’s very form seems to appear from thin air beside him.

“What the fuck, Potter? How did you-“ His face is a cross between confusion and embarrassment, and his heart is pounding.

Harry lifts the invisibility cloak, revealing his secret. “I needed some fresh air.”

“Why are you always where I am?”

Harry chuckles. Draco swallows, and it’s a hard knot in the back of his throat.

“You’re so fucking stubborn, Draco.”

Before he can respond, Harry pulls out the familiar length of hawthorn from his pocket. He extends his hand, and for a moment Draco’s gaze snaps up to meet a set of vibrant green eyes.

He gulps, drinking in the sudden presence of what he’d denied himself for weeks. His stomach begins to inflate. His blood tingles. He’s drawn not only to the wand before him but also the hand that’s holding it.

He reaches his fingers forward, wrapping them around the base of the wand. He hesitates, nervous at the sudden proximity.

But it’s Potter who slides his hand from the wand and instead rests it on Draco’s hand.

“Potter, wh-“

“Your patronus is a doe, Draco. And mine is a stag. And that means something.”

His stare is piercing. It cuts through every guarded wall Draco has spent the past few weeks constructing.

“Potter, it doesn’t-“

“I wasn’t finished.”

Draco silences. The assertiveness startles him.

“It means something. For you, and for me. Magic doesn’t lie, Draco.”

His fingers trace soft circles around his hand.

“I know you’ve been avoiding me. I’ve missed you.”

He rubs a gentle caress along his forearm. Draco doesn’t dare move, or breathe for that matter.

“I want to see where this goes, Draco. I don’t care what it takes. I... I want you.”

“You do?” Draco’s voice is a whisper, barely audible even in the crisp night atmosphere.

“Is that so hard to believe? We all made mistakes, Draco. People died because of me. But that’s just it. We’re not in the war anymore. It’s over.”

Those eyes are peering at him again.

“I made more mistakes than you.”

“You saved my life, Draco. If it weren’t for you lieing at the manor, I would’nt be here.”

“It was nothing.”

“It was everything.”

There’s a silence that rattles Draco deep within his core. Because maybe he isn’t nothing. Maybe, to Harry, he could be everything.

He doesn’t have time to contemplate this, because Harry is leaning forward. His eyes have fluttered shut, and Draco doesn’t have much experience with this but he knows what’s coming next.

Harry’s lips are soft against his own.

The patronus feeling ignites a fire that courses through his veins. He knows he could perform the charm. He knows he will never fail at it again.

When they separate, Harry’s smiling. Draco can’t help but smirk playfully.

“You know, I really thought my patronus would be a shark.”

Harry laughs. “Why?”

“Because they’re mean. And they eat people.”

“But you do neither of those things!”

“Are you sure about that?”

They spend the next few hours just like this. Laughing, and smiling, and being everything together.

[slytherinnbitch]

Prompt #10

Prompt #10- Secret Relationship

Pairing- Pansmione

Background- Hogwarts Sixth Year. They’ve been dating for the past four months now. Drarry are also dating (not relevant but there is no way, Harry and Ginny are dating so deal with it. This may not follow much cannon because I read the books eons ago and mostly depend on ff nowadays.

Thank you for submission <3

..............................................................................

“Parkinson, what are you doing?” Hermione asks as soon as she is cornered in the middle of an empty corridor by Pansy Parkinson.

“Oh you know? Just kissing my beautiful girlfriend.” she says haughtily as she presses her own lips to Hermione’s in a whisper of a kiss.

“Girlfriend? And yours? Never!” she laughs and presses her lips more fiercely to hers, “But seriously, what are you doing? We talked about this babe.”

She attacks her jaw and throat next, leaving small kisses all over making Hermione almost forget what she was saying. “I just....I was just--ugh why is this so hard!” Pansy closes her eyes before rushing out the words, “I was bloody jealous of our best friends, alright?”

“Jealous? Darling, I’m sorry but I don’t think I get you.” She pulls away and looks down at her girlfriend.

“It’s just they are out and we are not and it’s my fucking fault because I'm such a coward that I can't even--" She is cut-off by Hermione who firmly places her hand over her mouth to stop her from speaking and it absurdly works.

"Now, love. You listen to me okay? And listen properly. It is not your fault anyhow that we aren't out. It's my decision as much as it is your decision so just don't. And so what Harry is out about his relationship and we are not? How does it effect us if the public whom we don't even care about knows or not? We know and that's enough. Don't you agree?" She says it such a way that Pansy is left absolutely stunned, so she just stares at her lovely, caring and such understanding girlfriend in complete silence; searching her face for any kind of emotion that would betray her words but she finds none. Hermione Granger is as genuine as the words she just said.

It makes Pansy want to kiss her silly until she forgets everything but her, unfortunately for them she hears footsteps coming from the end of the hall and they hastily scurry away to one of the secret passages Hermione told Pansy about. She had gotten to know about it from Harry's map and she was very grateful for the map nowadays if she was being completely honest.

"That was close." Pansy says but she is grinning so Hermione can't help but join her.

"It was your fault!" She says and is immediately silenced by a deliberate kiss.

"Was not." Pansy says, knowing full well that it was.

"Distraction by kisses is cheating!" Hermione says.

"You love it though."

"That I do" She says and they forget about everything around them for the next hour or so, except each other.

.............................

"I want to come out." Pansy says, three days after their corridor incident. They are sitting in the library studying together. It's perfectly fine because now that their friends are dating, they are being 'civil' to one another and studying in the library is just that. Also they aren't particularly alone, it's just that Draco had disappeared almost an hour ago with Harry following him just a second afterwards.

"Are you....are you sure, babe? You know you don't need to." Hermione asks tentatively, she wants to come out, wants to show their relationship to the world and how much she loves, yes loves Pansy Parkinson but to her Pansy's comfort comes way before that so she supports her without even a second thought. They'll get there one day, she knows that so she doesn't give much thought to it if she can help it.

"Completely. I've given it quite a lot of thought and I think I'm ready to do it. Atleast to our friends, I'm not sure about the whole school though."

"That's completely fine. Why don't we do this, we tell our friends and don't actively show or hide our relationship from the rest of the school?" Hermione asks, hoping that she doesn't sound much eager.

"That's a amazing idea, Mione! This is why I love you so much." Hermione blushes at that but focuses back on her homework. She knows they haven't discussed a how or when but that can wait until later. She is just happy that they are going to do it soon!

Harry and Draco arrive a few minutes later, with flushed cheeks and red lips, "So did you guys have a nice time studying alone?" Pansy asks as they sit down.

"Shut up, Parks" Harry says, he has taken up making a nickname out of Pansy's last name because calling her first was too weird to him. To be honest, Hermione likes it suits a lot.

"Did you not have a great time studying, Pans?" Draco counters back and Hermione doesn't even date look at him. She is sure she will reveal much more than she wants.

Pansy just looks shell shocked at Draco before responding, "It's not like I have a boyfriend to do studying with, do I?"

"Why Pans, you've Hermione right here. Topper of our class and probable future Ministress of Magic with you. You won't need anyone else would you?" Hermione is sure that Draco knows. How? She doesn't know but he does. It is quite clear or maybe he just suspects.

She looks up at Harry who is looking back and forth between Draco and Pansy, trying to decipher in between the lines, his gaze moves to Hermione, questioning her silently. She just shrugs and Harry buys it and shrugs himself before grudgingly getting back to his own homework.

............

"I like to say something." Pansy says after all their friends have come. They are sitting in the Room of Requirement, called there upon Pansy and Hermione's request.

Hermione looks around the room, Blaise looks bored , Draco appears weirdly smug as if he knows what's coming, after the library thing she suspects he does. Harry is looking intently at Pansy while Ron looks uncomfortable being here and being addressed by Pansy like this. Nott has a neutral expression as he stares at Pansy, Neville keeps fidgeting in his seat while Luna looks calm and Ginny is basically grinning like a cat at Hermione and Pansy at turns. Quite a group they have.

"Please continue." Draco tells her and smirks slightly at her.

"Yeah so I'm gay." She states bluntly.

"No you're not." It's Luna who speaks up and every one collectively looks at her. What is she saying?

"You're a lesbian, not gay." She explains and she breathes out in relief. She doesn't know what she would have done if Luna had just refused to recognise her as ..... herself?

"Yeah okay, that." Pansy agrees.

"Yeah we already know that, Pans. What is the news though?" Nott asks.

"What do you mean that you already know?"

"Everyone does, but this just can't be you coming out?" Blaise says matter-of-factly.

"Oh it's not. Just wait." Draco quips in, clearly enjoying this way too much.

The Gryffindors are weirdly silent through all of it, as she supposes she would have been as well if any other Slytherin would have just called them all to just come out to them, might even be a bit awkward.

Pansy just looks at her, silently asking her to take the lead from there. Which she does, "So....the thing is...."

She has no idea where her Gryffindor courage has suddenly vanished but she can't speak, not infront of all her friends. The what ifs suddenly come to her mind and she tries her best to keep them at bay. She looks at all them, looking expectantly at her. She has addressed so many people before but somehow this just feels so different. She glances at Pansy who gives her a sma bit encouraging smile.

She takes a deep breath and continues, going the straightforward way just like Pansy, "We are dating."

There is long deafening silence as everyone soakes in the news. She looks at their faces and finds identical yet different expressions. They all looked either shocked or surprised all on different levels, while Draco and surprisingly, Luna just smile at them. Although Draco's is a lot more smug.

"We are so happy for you guys," Luna breaks the silence as she gets up to hug them both, "Thank you for trusting us enough and being brave enough to come out."

After that, it's all smiles and jokes and teasing, except Harry who looks strange.

She mentally notes to ask him later, but for now she just enjoys sitting next to Pansy and being able to kiss her without any hindrance.

........

"Haz...." Harry looks up from his broom which he is polishing for the last half an hour.

"Yes, Mione?"

"Are you alright, you know with me and Pansy?"

"Yes of course. I'm really happy that you found someone who makes you happy, she makes you happy, right?"

"Immensely."

"Why do you ask then?"

"You looked strange when I told all of you this morning."

"Oh that! It's nothing to do with you, Mione. Draco has been leaving me clues about you both which I wasn't able to get and they all just suddenly clicked in place and I realized how oblivious of me to not notice. The all the time studying in the library, coming to class late and even skipping class-"

"That was one time!" She injects.

"One time of Hermione Topper Granger not attending class is enough for me."

She smiles fondly at him, relieved that he is okay about it. He is one of her best friends after all and his opinions matters greatly to her.

"So we good?"

"Absolutely!" He answers and hugs her tightly, "No matter what, you'll obviously be my best friend. Nothing would be changing that, Mione."

His words are whispered into her hair, but she knows Harry means them and she feels the same so she just hugs him back and thanks Merlin for giving her someone as Harry as her best friend.

[friendofhayley]

Drarry Fics to Quarantine to: Below you’ll find 20k+ Drarry fics that will make you want to scream, cry, pace around your living space, and laugh to

🐍 Vortex by @xanthippe74 (20k) Soulmate AU / EWE

“Don’t worry, my dearest one,” Draco’s mother told him when he confided his worries to her. When he was old enough to feel the pangs of adolescent longing, but still too young to sense the storm gathering around them. “Magic will overcome any distance or obstacles to bring two soulmates together when the time is right. Circumstances will arise that steer them in the right direction; strange coincidences will make their paths cross again and again. Then the most wondrous moment arrives, when you both realize that your soulmate, your perfect match, stands before you, and from that day forward your hearts will be one.”

Ten years after that conversation, the idea of perfectly-matched soulmates feels more like a curse than a blessing to Draco. Who would want a soulmate who was a schoolyard bully, a Death Eater, and a convicted felon? Certainly not Harry Potter. And Draco is determined to take this secret to the grave.

🦁 Evitative by @k-vichan (222k) Slytherin Harry / Slow burn

In the summer before his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry is drawn to a room in Grimmauld Place. Like the Gryffindor he is, he enters the room without fear. The room is a library, and Harry is surprised to find that he’s eager to learn.

Then he gets the bad news: he’s been accidentally expelled from Hogwarts, and he needs to be sorted again. Everyone is confident that he’ll go straight back to Gryffindor, but with what he's been learning, Harry’s not so sure.

🐍 Nice Things by aideomai (22k) Hogwarts 8th year / Touch-starved boys

The first thing that happened was Theodore Nott came back from France.

This officially put the number of eighth year students up to seven across three different houses, which was, according to McGonagall, quorum, and meant that the school would no longer simply add a few beds to their existing dormitories. Instead, the eighth years would be given their own lodgings. You will be welcomed, McGonagall wrote in a letter that accompanied the standard supply list, and lodged in the Gatehouse.

🦁 survival is a talent by @shanastoryteller (338k+) Soulmate AU / Found family

In the middle of their second year, Draco and Harry discover they're soulmates and do their best to keep it a secret from everyone.

Their best isn't perfect.

“Are you trying to get killed, Potter?” Malfoy drawls, stalking forward. Quick as a serpent himself, he reaches out and grabs the snake just below the head. It thrashes in his grip, but is no longer able to bite anyone. “This is a poisonous snake, and I doubt anyone brought a bezoar with them.”

Harry glares. He opens his mouth, and feels the beginning the snake’s language pass his lips, and this isn’t what he wants, what’s the point of insulting Malfoy if he can’t understand him –

Malfoy’s eyes widen. He slaps his hand over Harry’s mouth, “Potter, what the hell–”

🐍 Soup-pocalypse and The Great Curry Cataclysm by @norelationtoatticus (104k) Veela Draco / Pining

Eleven years after the war, Draco Malfoy leads a quiet, boring, and perfectly respectable life, thanks very much. Or, at least he does, until a sudden and very unexpected veela awakening causes him to throw soup all over Harry Potter in the middle of the Ministry cafeteria.

🦁 Twist of Fate by Oakstone730 (302k) Memory Loss / EWE

Draco asks Harry to help him beat the Imperius curse during 4th year. The lessons turn into more than either expected. A story of redemption and forgiveness.

🐍 There Is Always the Moon by @firethesound (159k) Cursed Draco / Fake relationship

Draco's life after the war is everything he wanted it to be: it's simple, and quiet, and predictable, and safe. But when a mysterious curse shatters the peace he'd worked so hard to build, there's only one person he can trust to help him. After all, Harry Potter has saved his life before. Now Draco has to believe that Potter will be able to do it one more time.

🦁 Azoth by zeitgeistic (faire_weather) (88k) Magic nerd boys / Hogwarts 8th year

Now that Harry is back at Hogwarts with Hermione for eighth year, he realises that something’s missing from his life, and it either has to do with Ron, his boggart, Snape, or Malfoy. Furthermore, what, exactly, does it mean when one’s life is defined by the desire to simultaneously impress and annoy a portrait? Harry has no idea; he’s too busy trying not to be in love with Malfoy to care.

🐍 you’ve got the antidote for me by Kandakickass (20k) Soulmate AU / Terminal illness

When Harry Potter unintentionally severs their soulbond before it can fully form, Draco Malfoy resigns himself to a slow death and decides not to burden Harry with a soulmate he's made it very clear he doesn't want.

He's never been selfless before, but for Harry, he can try.

🦁 Say My Name by Thunderbird487 (199k) Hogwarts 8th year / Character growth

Harry witnesses something unexpected in the 8th year boys' showers and starts to see Draco Malfoy in a whole new light. The question is now, what is he going to do about it?

A coming of age Drarry tale about letting go of the past and building the future.

🐍 Little Deaths and How to Avoid Them (or Draco Malfoy’s Guide to Stop Dying and Start Living Instead) by dustmouth, nerakrose (96k) Asexual Harry / Slow burn

Malfoy is way too interested in coroner reports for somebody who's definitely not looking for ways to die, Harry wants to be friends with him, and Ginny wants to break up with Harry.

Features: Little League Quidditch, an abundance of bath bombs, happy endings, and gay robots in space.

🦁 Tea and No Sympathy by who_la_hoop (70k) EWE / Time loop

It's Potter's fault, of course, that Draco finds himself trapped in the same twenty-four-hour period, repeating itself over and over again. It's been nearly a year since the unpleasant business at Hogwarts, and Draco's getting on with his life quite nicely, thank you, until Harry sodding Potter steps in and ruins it all, just like always. At first, though, the time loop seems liberating. For the first time in his life, he can do anything, say anything, be anything, without consequence. But the more Draco repeats the day, the more he realises the uncomfortable truth: he's falling head over heels for the speccy git. And suddenly, the time loop feels like a trap. For how can he ever get Harry to love him back when time is, quite literally, against him?

🐍 Veela-Struck by Lomonaaeren (148k) Veela Draco / Slow burn

Veela don’t have destined mates, and thank Merlin for that. Draco wants to date Harry Potter because Harry is one of the few people in the wizarding world who treats him decently. But when Harry refuses, with his refusal focused on Draco’s creature blood, Draco sets out on a different journey than he ever expected.

🦁 Purity Control by frnklymrshnkly (28k) Hogwarts 8th year / Redemption

In which Harry tries to ignore his trauma with fantasy Quidditch but Malfoy's Thereness™ is distracting and all his classmates want to talk about are unicorns, virginity, and Muggle music.

🐍 Away Childish Things by @letteredlettered (153k) Hurt/Comfort / EWE

Harry gets de-aged. Malfoy has to help him.

The last thing Harry remembered was talking to a snake. The snake had talked back—or sounded like it had—and then the glass had disappeared, and the snake had escaped. Dudley had blubbered like a baby, and Harry had got in trouble—or he thought he might have done, but that was when it started to get hazy, like grey swirls inside his own head.

[the-angst-chronicles-fanworks]

DRACO’S WISH [PT 7/14]

<< | <

WORD COUNT: 3303

PAIRING: Drarry

TAGS:

hidden identity

Down and Out Draco Malfoy

Pretty Draco Malfoy

Talented Draco Malfoy

Auror Harry Potter

Smitten Harry Potter

Harry Potter Being an Asshole (just for a while)

Angst

Fluff

Angst with a Happy Ending

Falling In Love

Torture

Skipping Meals/Hunger

Cold Weather

Libraries

Hot Chocolate

Veritaserum

SUMMARY: Draco does a good deed and is granted a wish - 12 days of anonymity in a world that hates him CHAPTER SUMMARY:   Draco and Harry’s ice-skating plans get interrupted

on FF.net

on AO3

STORY:

December 14th , 2007

To his great disappointment, the next day does not come with a change in weather. “Merlin’s great ugly hairy ballsack,” he grumbles, glaring balefully at the dark window. He’s woken before the sun. Again.

There’s no use laying in bed though, so he gets up and takes his two-minute shower, pouting at the weather conspiring to ruin his day ice-skating for the second time in a row. He tugs on his clothes and then frowns down at his thin, raggedy coat. Maybe he can transfigure it into something warmer.

But no, it takes skill to have a transfigured object retain its new properties for any significant length of time, and transfiguration is more difficult to do wandless besides.

Hoping fervently that the sun brings with it some warmth, Draco leaves the bathroom and approaches his little kitchen corner. He looks at the stove critically – he is going skating later, which will use up energy, but he also ate yesterday. He waffles for a moment, drumming his fingers on his little folding table, but decides against it. He’s probably going to have to beg off early due to the cold anyhow. Food can wait for tomorrow.

There’s nothing to hang around the flat for, and he’ll have to cast a heating charm if he does besides, so he steps out into the hallway and jams his door shut again. It’s very early still – the sun has not yet risen – and Knockturn is empty but for those few straggling to or from work and the usual selection of shady characters who quite go away.

These twilight hours are beautiful, and if it wasn’t for the horrid cold Draco would slow down to appreciate the early morning stillness. As it is, he hurries along the familiar path, out of Knockturn and into the properly deserted Diagon. The street twinkles serenely, decorative lights throwing glittering sparkles onto the snow. It makes Draco’s breath catch, and he finds himself irrationally wondering if Potter has ever seen Diagon like this.

Where has that come from? He shakes away the thought with a frown. It must be because they’ve been spending so much time together, he reasons. It’s only natural that he think of Potter’s company when he wants to share something. He absolutely refuses to believe that he’s getting attached to the charming git.

The library is only just opening when he arrives and the librarian seems surprised to see him, but smiles and greets him warmly anyway. “My, my, you’re here bright and early,” she says. “Come on in, it’s terribly cold out there.”

Draco blinks, surprised by the change in their daily routine of one-to-two word greetings, but returns her smile. “Thank you,” he says gratefully, stepping into the warm building.

“Don’t worry about it dear,” she replies, patting him on the arm. She totters off, disappearing behind her counter. Draco watches after her, and wonders if she was the same librarian who had worked here when he’d come as a child. He’d never paid attention to those whom he’d considered ‘the help’ back then. Merlin, but he’d been a brat.

Draco makes his way over to the wandless magic section, where he takes his time perusing the volumes. The one he’s been using has dissolved mostly into practice and examples, which are useful but for which he has no time. As long as he knows the theory, he’s confident that he’ll be able to figure out other spells given enough time.

He picks out a slightly older but more advanced tome and returns to his armchair. This book is more concerned with theory than the last, and it goes into the differences that must be accounted for with different branches of magic. It’s incredibly tediously worded, but the concepts are fascinating, and Draco is more than happy to sink into it for a few hours.

He doesn’t allow himself to fall asleep this time – he has no desire to embarrass himself in front of Potter again – so whenever he feels himself drifting off, he takes a walk out into the little side street and entertains himself by trying out some of the new notions that he’s learning. These excursions never last too long, because it’s still bloody freezing out there, but he’s cold-woken and newly eager to delve further into his study when he returns.

It’s after one such excursion, once he’s back to pouring over his book, that a shadow suddenly falls across the cramped text on the page. He glances up, expecting it to be Potter arrived early, but to his surprise it’s the librarian standing there, her wrinkled old face smiling at him over a steaming teacup.

“Hi dear,” she says, “just coming by to see if you’d like a cup of tea?”

Draco eyes the cup warily. She’s trying to sell him tea? He cannot deny that it’s an appealing thought – he’s still shivering from the chill of being outside, and the caffeine would be welcome – but he doesn’t have that kind of money to spare.

“Erm…no thank you,” he says regretfully. The old lady shrugs good-naturedly.

“If you change your mind just let me know,” she says, and totters off. Draco looks after her retreating back and wonders when libraries have started selling tea. He’s certainly never received such an offer from a librarian before, though he’s spent a lot of time in libraries.

Potter shows up at one o-clock today, striding determinedly into the little alcove and then faltering when he sees Draco. He laughs. “Beat me to it huh?” He says. “Are you that eager to see me?” He waggles his eyebrows ridiculously, and Draco snorts.

“Yes Potter, I live my life ardently awaiting the next time I get to see you,” he drawls, before closing his book primly. “I come here to study, as you know.”

Potter laughs. “Right, our wandless savant. How could I forget?”

Draco feels a blush rising up his cheeks and frowns. “I’m hardly a savant,” he argues. There’s no way for Potter to know that he’s been working on this for around seven years now, he supposes, but he doesn’t feel comfortable with the description.

“Right, no, of course,” says Potter, scratching at the back of his head. He shuffles awkwardly from foot to foot, before he asks, “Shall we get going then?”

“Yes, let’s,” says Draco. He rises gracefully from his seat, then turns to smirk at Potter as a thought occurs to him. “By the way Potter, it did not escape my notice that you’ve come here an hour early. I wonder if it isn’t you who’s eager to see me?”

Potter sputters, his face rapidly reddening, and Draco can’t help but chuckle at his incredulous expression as he goes to shelf his book.  Still, he wonders just how fond Potter is becoming of him. It makes him feel guilty – after all, Potter would want nothing to do with him if he knew who he was.

He shakes away the self-reproach after a moment. It’s not as though he’s seeking Potter out or forcing his company on him. Isn’t it worse at this point to start blowing Potter off now, to his face? Surely it’s kinder for Emory to just disappear one day.

It still doesn’t feel right, though, and the easy smile on Potter’s handsome face when he returns to the other man makes his stomach twist with shame. He frowns and resolves to kindly rebuff any future invites from Potter.

“What’s the matter?” asks Potter, his brow crinkling with worry as he catches sight of Draco. Draco forces a smile and shakes his head.

“No need to worry, I’m perfectly fine.” He says. “Shall we go?”

Potter raises his eyebrows, but lets it go with a “Sure,” before following Draco to the door. A pleasant warmth falls over Draco as they leave, and a glance at Potter shows the other man putting away his wand.

“Thanks,” he mutters, his smile turning more real at the show of consideration. Potter grins back at him.

“No problem,�� he says, leaning closer and bumping Draco with his shoulder.

Draco blushes at the press of his sturdy shoulder and shoves back at Potter, playful, but also putting a bit more distance between them. It backfires, however, because then Potter laughs and throws an arm over his shoulders.

“Get off you great oaf, you’re heavy,” he complains dramatically, shrugging Potter’s arm off. Potter gasps in mock offence.

“Are you calling me fat?” He asks.

Draco scoffs. “I’m not blind,” he says. He pokes at Potter’s chest, and yeah, it’s just as solid as it looks. Draco is reminded sharply of just how long it’s been since he’s been with someone, and his face flames. He rapidly backpedals and turns away to march ahead down the street. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches an infuriatingly smug grin on Potter’s face.

“Don’t go getting cocky Potter,” he warns over his shoulder.

He can hear the laughter in Potter’s voice when he replies, “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

They walk down the same streets as they had yesterday, and Potter directs him to a charming little park that looks like something out of a picture book, all strung up with lights that twinkle against the snow and alive with people. The ice rink is a main feature, at least in winter, occupying a place of honour right at the centre. It’s surrounded by benches and a couple of tiny warming huts, and there’s a stand selling beverages and warm treats off to one side.

Potter comes to a stop and turns to him. “I – um – I got you something,” he says, sounding uncharacteristically uncertain. He pulls a little box out of his coat and flicks his wand, unshrinking it. It’s long and silver, sparkling prettily and wrapped with a bow. Potter is furiously red as he offers it to Draco. “Think of it as an early Christmas present.”

Draco looks at it, slightly panicked. Are they exchanging gifts? Is that what they’re doing?

“I didn’t get you anything,” he says uncertainly, making no move to take the box.

Potter snorts a short laugh and shoves it further toward him. “I know Emory. I didn’t expect you to. Just open it?”

He frowns but takes the box and looks at it dubiously. Potter is practically bouncing on his heels now, so he takes it to a nearby bench and sits down, setting it on his lap so that he can undo the bow. With one final look at an eagerly grinning Potter, he lifts the lid and the thin paper layer that lays directly on top, and his breath catches.

It’s a new coat, black and thick looking. When he lifts it out of the box, it falls long and heavy and surely down to his knees at the very least. In the box underneath it is a new hat, scarf, socks, and fur-lined gloves. Draco looks at Potter, slack-jawed and completely speechless.

Potter begins to look sheepish. “We can’t use warming charms on the ice,” he says, scratching the back of his head nervously, “I figured if we’re going to go skating, you’ll need a warmer kit.”

Draco frowns. It’s absolutely sweet of Potter to do this...but his pride stings. “I don’t need your pity Potter,” he mumbles, his face flushing with embarrassment.

Potter’s eyes widen, and he brings his hands up in front of him placatingly. “It’s not pity, I swear!” He says. “It’s kind of self-serving, actually. I wanted to spend more time out on the ice that’s all. Like I said, think of it as an early Christmas present.”

His eyes are guileless under Draco’s searching gaze and, after a moment, Draco sighs. “Very well. In that case…thank you,” he says stiffly.

Potter beams, bouncing eagerly on the balls of his feet. “No problem,” he says. “Are you going to put it on?”

Still pink-cheeked, Draco rolls his eyes fondly. “I may as well, seeing as you’ve gone to all this trouble,” he says. He stands from the bench and holds up the new coat. It’s certainly not large enough to go over his current coat so, with some regret, he slips off his own raggedy little garment and folds it neatly. He has no love for the coat, nor is he cold thanks to Potter’s warming charm, but he feels somehow more vulnerable in front of Potter with his overlarge shirt that he knows makes him look smaller by comparison.

Potter is watching him, of course, with those intense eyes of his, and Draco’s sure that the pink is stained onto his cheeks permanently by this point. He quickly slides his arms into the new coat and pulls it closed around him. The first thing he notices is that the coat has a built-in warming charm, and he looks up at Potter with shock. Potter just smiles unabashedly back at him, as though this is normal.

Draco’s head is spinning. For a charm to be built into a garment and not fade as the magic wears away, it has to be woven into the fabric itself. To properly make such a coat, the charm has to be applied continuously throughout the creation process. It’s finicky, time-consuming, and very, very expensive. “Potter, this is far too much,” he protests.

Potter, the complete arse, lies through his teeth. “It’s not,” he insists. “It was barely anything, honestly.”

Draco stares. “You are a horrid liar!” He accuses. There’s no way that this coat cost less than 500 Galleons. “I can’t possibly accept this.” Potter frowns.

“Well it isn’t going to fit me,” he says stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at Draco sternly.

Draco is completely boggled. “You’re serious” he says disbelievingly.

Potter comes up to him, frowning, and takes his hand. “Look Emory. It’s really no more than I do for any of my other friends. Please, it’s not a big deal.”

Draco looks down at where Potter’s hand curls around his, hesitant. He remembers the days when he could throw money like this around, like it was nothing. He knows that, for Potter, this is little more than a drop in the bucket. But still, to him it’s not nothing. It’s significant. It’s bloody lifechanging. He’d be a fool to turn it down.

Draco sighs, and swallows his pride. “Thank you,” he says quietly, looking back up at Potter.

Potter smiles. “It’s my pleasure,” he says. His eyes are very green, and very, very intense, warm as they meet Draco’s own. Draco flushes again and looks down, breaking his gaze. His fingers fumble, unusually graceless as he does up the buttons and slips of his threadbare gloves, making sure to tug down his sleeves to prevent the Mark from showing. The new gloves are not charmed, but they are fur-lined and unbelievably soft.

Potter moves closer still, taking the hat and scarf from the box.

“Let me,” he says, draping the scarf about Draco’s neck and sliding the toque over his hair. Draco looks up at him, eyes wide, and Potter meets his gaze steadily. His cheeks are flushed red against his bronzed skin, his hair thick and tousled, and those lovely green eyes are bright, reflecting the warm yellow lights that decorate the park. Draco feels his heart skip and he quickly looks away, cheeks reddening.

“Let’s go then,” he mutters, turning back to the rink.

Potter joins him after a moment, enthusiasm visibly growing on his face as they approach the ice. “I haven’t skated in forever,” he says, charming their shoes to skates with the wave of a want. “Fair warning, though – I’m pants at it.”

Potter is not lying. He is, in fact, pants at it. Draco is wobbly when he first steps out onto the ice, his skating skills rusty from disuse, but Potter is almost tragically off-balance. Draco catches his arm to steady him before he falls on his arse, laughing slightly at the way Potter clutches at him. He’s beginning to wonder if Potter has ever been on the ice at all.

“Potter, why in Merlin’s name did you want to come ice-skating?” He asks.

Potter flushes red. “It seemed like a good idea at the time,” he says, allowing Draco to steady him with hands on Potter’s waist. “Besides,” he adds, his voice dropping to something more intimate, “It’s not so bad when you’re here to help me.”

Draco blushes, but meets his eyes steadily. Potter’s gaze is dark and intense, and Draco feels an answering heat burning in his gut. This is too dangerous. Abort, he has to abort.

He pulls back, letting go of Potter’s waist and catching his strong hands instead. At Potter’s raised eyebrows, Draco smirks. “I can’t in good conscience allow the Saviour of the Wizarding World to continually be bested by some ice, can I?” He asks. Potter groans.

“Don’t call me that,” he protests half-heartedly, but he allows Draco to take his hands, clinging on for dear life.

“Alright, alright,” Draco concedes. He frowns thoughtfully. He is a decent skater, but no kind of teacher. He thinks back to his first time on ice, when his father had tried to teach his impatient arse. “Let’s take this slow Potter. Don’t try to glide or anything. Just…move like a penguin.”

He lets go of Potter to demonstrate. Potter watches closely, then reaches for him and clutches his arm nervously as he imitates his steps. Draco gives him gentle corrections (“Open your toes Potter”, “No don’t walk, shift your weight, like this”, “Don’t put your heel down like that, you’re going to fall!”), and Potter furrows his brows and follows along with more concentration that this necessarily warrants.

It’s somewhat slow going, but the way that Potter’s eyes light up as he manages to travel a few paces without the threat of wiping out makes it entirely worth it to Draco. “That’s right, just like that,” he encourages. “You make a half-decent penguin, Potter.” He pauses and grins, and Potter throws him a dirty look.

“Don’t,” he warns, but Draco only laughs.

“Penguin Potter,” he repeats. “Has a nice ring to it, wouldn’t you say?”

“I’ll kill you,” Potter groans, dropping his head forward. Then he almost stumbles, and clings to Draco with fresh vigour.

Draco hums, steadying him gently. “I’m afraid you’ll have to make an appointment,” he says. “I’m very busy you see.”

Potter raises his eyebrows and grins. “Are you?” He asks. “You don’t seem all that busy right now.”

“I am, as a matter of fact,” Draco says primly. “I’m helping a penguin with two left feet. It’s very noble of me.”

Potter smacks him on the shoulder. “Arse!” He laughs. “Teach me something else then, I’m done being a penguin.”

Draco sighs dramatically, but obligingly moves in front of Potter and takes his hands. “If I must,” he says. He directs Potter into doing short glides, skating along backwards in front of him. Potter picks this up faster, getting the hang of being on ice now, but then nearly bowls Draco over when Draco stops.

“I thought we agreed that we were not going to kill me,” he objects, smacking Potter’s shoulder. Potter looks sheepish.

“Sorry, I didn’t know how to stop,” he says.

Draco flushes. “Oh…right,” he mutters. “Okay, to stop you turn your toes inward and sort of push out…like this.” He skates a bit away from Potter and demonstrates.

Potter tries gliding toward him and stopping, and nearly falls over again. Draco catches him, laughing. “Allow me,” he says, taking Potter’s hands again. “we’ll continue like this until you get the hang of it, alright?”

“Yeah,” says Potter eagerly. He skates toward Draco and almost falls on him again.

Potter takes a lot longer to get this right. He keeps stopping too harshly and nearly falling on Draco. It’s only once Draco starts complaining about Potter’s considerable weight – though he’s not actually that upset, he’s gotten his hands all over those muscles during the past little while– and threating to drop Potter on his arse that they start making progress.

It’s more fun that Draco expects, teaching Potter. He’s never been a great teacher, always impatient and tetchy, but having Potter’s incredible body draped all over him every time Potter doesn’t succeed is great motivation for him to put up with it.

They get Potter stopping consistently, and also performing a passable swizzle before he begs off, declaring that he needs a rest. Draco helps him along to a bench, but he returns to the ice. He hasn’t been skating in forever, and he isn’t going to waste a moment of it sitting on his arse.

He can’t play around the way he had when he was a kid – the pond they’d used as a rink had been on their property and was thus empty, whereas this public ice was somewhat busy – but he can still enjoy himself. He skates fast, just relishing in the movement and sense of freedom it brings for a few laps before he starts showing off for Potter as he skates by, doing lunges and turns, emboldened as he gets the hang of skating again. It ends with him landing on his arse after trying an ill-advised jump, and the sight of Potter cracking up over on the bench has him laughing too.

“I’d like to see you do better!” he calls, making his way over to the git. Potter grins at him in response.

“Give me a couple of years and I’ll take you up on that,” he says cheekily.

Draco blinks. “Bold of you to assume I’ll be waiting around for two years on your skating abilities,” he says, but his cheeks are flushed. Potter, after a moment, goes red as well, and there’s a beat of awkward silence between them.

“Come back out,” Draco says, just to break it, and Potter grasps his outstretched hand and pulls himself to his feet.

“Only if you teach me how to do all that?” he bids easily.

“What, fall on your arse?” Draco asks, cocking an eyebrow. “I’m afraid you don’t need my help for that Potter. You’re a deft hand.”

“And you’re an arse,” returns Potter around a grin. “Come on, show me how to do the turns like that!”

“Do you always ask for favours with an insult?” Draco wonders. “No wonder you’re being banned from stores.”

“I do,” says Potter seriously. “You should have seen Robards’ face when I went up to him and asked, I’d like to take my vacation now you ugly bastard.”

Draco lets out a snort of laughter before he can stop himself, and Potter gives a victorious smile. They’re back on the ice by now, so Draco takes pity on Potter and starts by showing him some more basics.

They never get anywhere near twirls, because as soon as Potter masters push-and-gliding with any decent speed, he immediately challenges Draco to a race. Draco laughs in his face at his overconfidence.

“You’re on Potter,” he says, and darts off. Potter, to his credit, doesn’t try and outdo his own abilities and by the time Draco’s coming up behind him he’s made it a quarter way around the rink and hasn’t fallen down yet.

He glides past Potter, spinning to skate backwards in front of him and smirking. “It seems I’ve bested you Potter,” he says. Potter doesn’t seem too put out – he’s sporting a huge grin as he skates along.

“I’ll catch you yet,” he says playfully. Draco smirks and curls his finger at his chin as if in thought.

“Is this also in two years?” He asks. “Shall I make an appointment?”

Potter growls and lunges for him, but Draco twists out of the way with a laugh. “You’ll have to try harder than that,” he teases.

Potter huffs and drops his arms. “Alright, I know when I’m beat,” he grumbles.

Draco preens. “Ah, to have bested a penguin,” he says dramatically. “Truly, there is no greater hon- ack!” He wiggles away just in time as Potter grabs at him again. Potter is grinning deviously. “Ah, he’s being sneaky!” Draco says with a smirk. “I thought you Gryffindors were supposed to be the upright, honest sort,”

Potter laughs. “Maybe that’s what we want you to think,” he says. He’s tucked his hands back into his pockets now, and Draco watches him carefully, worried that he might misbalance and fall without them. Potter has proven rather uncoordinated on the ice.

“Potter, if your grand plan is to fall over and make me catch you so that you may grab me, rest assured that I will let you fall,” he warns. Potter blinks, and then breaks out into laughter.

“That’s terribly cold of you!” He says cheerfully. Draco scowls distrustingly, but Potter is just skating along with a smile now. Then, something hits the back of his legs and he falls, yelping. Potter is immediately there to catch him, and he’s got a self-satisfied smirk on. Draco stares at him, wide-eyed, before the familiarity of the earlier feeling hits him.

“Did you just use a Tripping Jinx on me?” He accuses.

Potter smirks, unrepentant. “I caught you,” he points out.

Draco stares, incredulous. “By cheating!” he protests. Potter smirks some more and then, quite abruptly, dips him.

“I got my prize, though, didn’t I?” He asks quietly in Draco’s ear. Draco doesn’t answer, too busy clinging to Potter for dear life to even feel flustered at Potter being so close.

“Don’t you dare drop me!” He shrieks, and Potter laughs.

“I won’t drop you,” he assures, but then he tries to straighten them and loses his balance, and they both fall both into the snowbank that edges this portion of the ice.

“Oops,” says Potter sheepishly, sitting up and shaking snow out of his hair. There’s still plenty caught in the thick thatch, though, and he just looks ridiculous.

“You are unbelievable,” Draco says, shaking his head in wonder. Potter looks too smug at that, so Draco throws a handful of snow at him. While he indignantly sputters, Draco scrambles up and back onto the ice, zipping away from where Potter is also struggling to his feet with a bellow of challenge.

They play a little game of cat and mouse for a while, if the mouse were taunting the cat by darting around him just out of reach, until Potter gets worn out and returns to his bench. Draco skates up to him, cocking his head to the side.

“Are you ready to go then?” he asks. Potter leans back on the bench and shakes his head, waving a hand in the general direction of the ice.

“You can keep skating,” he says. “I’m just taking a little breather. You do more of your fancy tricks, they were fun.”

Draco laughs. “I’m all out I’m afraid. I’m no pro unfortunately.” But he goes back to the ice. He skates a few more laps, and then tries again to impress Potter with tricks and fancy footwork. He won’t say he that he’s entirely successful, but Potter is laughing and smiling brightly, and Draco’s having immense fun, so he’s not complaining.

Eventually Potter joins him again, and they skate along peacefully, side-by-side. Potter is still giddy about skating under his own power and keeps interrupting his own Auror stories to coax Draco to show him how to do something Draco had done while showing off to him.

Draco’s interrupted sleep and lack of food is getting to him by this point – he’s been fooling around rather too energetically, and it’s not as though he’s in peak physical condition. He pushes through, though, not quite willing to stop what is, all considered, a pleasant evening. It’s only once he thinks he’s ready to collapse from exhaustion that he admits defeat.

“You should have said so sooner!” Exclaims a very dismayed Potter once he catches sight of Draco’s trembling legs. The stumble off the ice together and Potter charms their shoes back to normal before, without warning, picks Draco up in a princess lift.

“P-Potter, what are you doing?” Draco yelps, clinging to the other man’s shoulders tightly. Potter grins.

“Taking you to get hot chocolate,” he says cheerily, striding assuredly along. The ease with which he carries Draco is staggering, and it makes his mouth a little dry to think about. He can feel every shift in Potter’s muscles as he’s carried, past the benches and warming huts and food stands and–

“Potter, we’ve passed the hot chocolate stand,” he says.

“I know a better place,” Potter says. “It’s outside the park, so it’s a bit further away, but it’s worth it, trust me.”

Draco blinks up at him, then nods. He does trust Potter. He squirms, vying to get down, but Potter just tightens his grip and holds fast. Draco wrinkles his brow at him.

“Surely you don’t mean to carry me the entire way there,” he says.

Potter laughs. “Of course,” he replies, as though it’s inconceivable that he won’t want to carry a grown man all the way to wherever they are going. Potter carries him as though he weighs nothing, though, and so Draco tips his head forward to rest it against Potter’s collarbone to hide the heat on his face.

“You’re bloody barking,” he mutters, and Potter’s chest rumbles with laughter. He can’t deny, though, that it’s nice. It occurs to him that Potter is recreating the childhood routine Draco had told him about as best he can, and it’s so impossibly sweet that Draco actually groans.

“You okay?” Potter asks, voice full of concern.

Draco nestles in further, refusing to look at him. “’M fine,” he mumbles. “Thanks Potter.”

Potter swallows. “I – uh – no thanks necessary,” he stutters. Draco does blink up at him then, and Potter’s face is bright red.

“Are you getting tired? I can walk,” he offers, but somehow he knows that that’s not the case. He doesn’t want to examine it too closely, however. He’ll just be reminded of what a truly terrible idea this all is. He should not be here with Potter.

Potter smiles at him so tenderly, and says, “Don’t worry Emory. I’ve got you.”, and Draco’s insides warm impossibly.

“You really do,” he mutters to himself. This is a terrible idea, but he can’t bring himself to pull away.

Potter takes him to a tidy little alley behind the park, which turns out to house another entrance to Muggle London. The alley on the Muggle side is tiny and holds rubbish bins, but opens out onto a massive, bustling street, surrounded by large, mostly square buildings. It hums with the Muggle lights that line the street and shine from windows and storefronts. Even the Muggle version of Christmas lights emit the sound.

Although it’s late, the Muggle street is still terribly busy with their automobiles, the kind that haven’t been charmed to dodge between obstacles nor to have obstacles dodge around them. They make Draco anxious – he’d nearly been hit by them, once, when he’d wandered beyond his lonely little street with its park and corner store. The vehicle had swerved around him at the last moment, and then the driver had leaned out the window and very angrily threatened to shrink him.

Draco clings closer to Potter and eyes the racing vehicles nervously, glad that Potter doesn’t seem inclined to put him down. Potter glances down at him, and his green eyes dance in amusement even as he says, “Sorry, I should have warned you it was in Muggle London. It can be a bit overwhelming the first time.”

“I’ve been to Muggle London before,” Draco replies, indignant. He doesn’t mention that the vast majority of his trips have been to one mostly empty street.

“Ah, sorry,” Potter says contritely. He sets Draco to his feet and gestures at a nearby door. “Here we are,” he says.

Draco follows him in, looking around curiously. The shop is small and cramped, with high tables scattered throughout. It’s busy, buzzing with chatter and yet more Muggle lights. There is more holiday décor here, bows and shiny garlands and a tall, skinny, tree wedged in a corner and laden with decorations. A wireless in the ceiling is playing Muggle music. “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,” opines the Muggle singer in a deep, rich voice. Draco smiles. It sure is.

“Save us a table,” says Potter as he joins the large queue waiting at the counter. Draco winds his way through the little shop, finding an empty two-top near a window at the back. He quickly snags a seat and turns to watch the brightly-lit Muggle street curiously.

Muggle vehicles race along the street, their lights leaving bright streaks when Draco blinks. Bundled up Muggles walk by, mostly alone or in pairs. They usually stay out of the road but deftly avoid the vehicles when they do cross. Many of them have small boxes that emit a small square of light, and they hold these up to their ears or poke at their lower half intently.

Draco watches with interest a moment longer, then glances around the café. Many of the Muggles here have the little glow-boxes as well, although some have much larger ones that open like a book – albeit not all the way – that they’ve set on their tables. Draco catches sight of the glowy part of one of these that is faced toward him, and it is projecting what appears to be a moving photograph, although it does not loop. Maybe a portrait? If so, it’s very realistically rendered.

He watches curiously as a handsome dark-haired man yells at a pretty dark-haired woman. They don’t seem to get along. Draco feels terrible for them being trapped in that portrait together. He wonders if the subject of Muggle portraits can move between pictures as well. Maybe one of them should escape to another device.

Draco looks around at the many boxes they could jump to, and his eyes meet with a young woman who’s holding her small box up with the non-glowing side facing him, right as he hears the familiar sound of a camera shutter. Ah, so the small boxes are cameras. Strangely shaped, though.

He blinks, while the girl, who’d apparently been trying to discreetly take his picture, turns red and slides her box shut in a rush. She then studiously avoids looking at him at all.

Draco self-consciously tugs his hat lower. What is she getting his picture for? Could she be an undercover Auror who has somehow recognized him? But no…she’s not familiar to him. He doesn’t see how she would be able to recognize him on sight without him at least doing the same. Maybe he’s just dressed funny for a Muggle and she wants to laugh at it later. He doesn’t think so, based on what he sees them wearing, but who knows what the unifying Muggle theme is?

Potter, thankfully, takes that moment to return. He’s laden with two enormous mugs of the most ridiculous hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream and crushed candy canes and chocolate chips and syrup, as well as a plate of biscuits. “Sorry I took so long,” he says, setting one of the drinks down in front of Draco.

“Potter…what monstrosity is this?” he asks, looking at the concoction in front of him. Potter shrugs, sheepish.

“I didn’t know what you liked so I got…everything?” he says. Draco gives him an incredulous look, but gamely takes a sip. It’s ridiculous, absolutely, and he shouldn’t like it… but it’s warm and sweet and, underneath the pile of toppings, actually has a lovely flavour. Besides, Draco has always had a horrid sweet-tooth.

“Thanks Potter,” he says, allowing a small smile onto his face. Potter grins hugely back at him and slurps at his own drink.

They settle into a cozy sort of quiet, just enjoying one another’s company. Potter hums along with the wireless, and Draco alternates between peeking glances at him and gazing around the café. At length, he catches sight of another Muggle putting his little camera box to his ear, and frowns.

“Potter,” he mutters. Potter looks up from where he’s crunching on a biscuit and tilts his head in question. Draco gestures at the Muggle. “They all take pictures of their ears. Is it a Muggle thing?”

“Sorry?” asks Potter, sounding utterly bewildered. Maybe Draco’s overestimated his knowledge of the Muggle world. But he has seemed very at ease so far.

He points a little less discreetly at the Muggle, who thankfully doesn’t notice. He’s talking to the air about what presents to get for someone named ‘Gracie’. “That camera, he’s got it at his ear. And not just him. I saw many Muggles doing that.” He leans forward. “Are ears important to Muggles?”

Potter goggles at him. “Are…what? Ears – Yeah, of course they are…I mean- no more so than ours are to us! But…Emory, those are not cameras. They’re cell-phones.” He’s looking at Draco as though he’s grown a second head. Draco frowns.

“Well, what is a ‘sell-fone’ then?” He asks, taking a biscuit.

“It’s…Merlin-” Potter flounders, “it’s like an owl?”

“An owl?” Draco repeats with a frown. “No, I’m certain it’s a camera. I heard it, when that Muggle girl took a picture of me.” He bites into the biscuit. It’s absolutely delicious – rich and buttery and sweet. He hums appreciatively. “Merlin, Potter, these are incredible.”

Potter is frowning. “Someone took a picture of you?” He repeats, ignoring the biscuits. Draco nods, turning slightly in his seat to find the girl and point her out to Potter. To his surprise, she’s watching him again. As Draco looks at her, she goes red and ducks her head down.

“Her,” he says with a confused frown. Potter starts laughing.

“Aww, I think she has a crush on you,” he says gleefully. His voice is free of the cruel mocking that Draco’s friends would have carried in school. Plenty of people had crushes on him then, and he supposes the behaviour matches, but…

“What on Earth for?” He asks, frowning. He knows what he looks like – he’s seen himself just this morning in the mirror. There is nothing attractive left about him.

Potter blinks at him. “Are you serious?” He says.

Draco flushes. Ah, Potter doesn’t like self-deprecation. He ought to have known, really. Potter is too much of a goody-goody to accept people talking down on themselves like that.

He decides to change the subject before Potter decides to try and convince Draco of some ‘unique beauty’ he possesses. “Well, in the event that she does, she’s plum out of luck I’m afraid,” he mutters. “She’s not quite my type.”

“Oh?” Potter raises his eyebrows. “What is your type then.”

You, Draco thinks. He flushes. “Decidedly more…masculine,” he says, feeling the flash of nervousness that always accompanies telling someone of his preferences. It’s a remnant from his childhood, when his father had taken him aside and told him kindly but firmly that what he does in the bedroom is his business, but he must be discreet if they are to arrange a good marriage for him.

Potter sits up straight. “Oh,” he says, his face lighting up. “That’s…brilliant. Me too, actually. Well, both really, but you know…” Ah. Draco has suspected, but never confirmed. Another piece of the puzzle Draco’s been firmly ignoring clicks into place.

“Oh…” he echoes quietly, his cheeks pinking again. Potter seems to have released some previously imperceptible tension, and he has a quiet confidence about him as he leans back in his seat and smiles at Draco. Draco returns the smile, then ducks his head to hide his blush and busies himself with his hot chocolate.

“All I want for Christmas is you!” Sings the Muggle on the wireless, and it rings in Draco’s chest. He peers up at Potter through his lashes – the other man is humming along, happily stirring his drink with a candy cane and then sticking it into his mouth, and the realization trickles down his spine, slow and warm like treacle, that he’s maybe falling a little bit in love.

He’s absolutely bloody screwed.