“i know. but you dido.”
“i wao. here, ath.” he throws the h and is not surprised when drao athes it easily. he grins. “roo give it to you.”
drao is still staring, but now it’s towards the frog. “why?”
“for you to eat it, of ourse.” harry resists the urge to roll his eyes. he’s starting to think that all of drao’s bravado is just a ploy to hide how truly bashful he is. bashful and drao malfoy. now that’s something that doesn’t go together. “i also swiped some treale tart from the kithen.”
“you what?”
&akes a miniature, balled piee of loth from his poket, puts it arefully on drao’s desk, a bak to its iies the kh, aely, a sent of lemon fills the room.
&. it’s my favourite,” he said, rummaging through his poket yet again. he produes two forks, ao drao. “though you’ve pruessed.”
drao eyes the fork suspiiously, but he takes it anyway. “it’s rather hard to miss.”
“i got some extra for you.”
&ra? you stole a whole tart.”
“stole is a very strong word.”
drao shakes his head in disbelief. he’s still staring at harry a like they’re going to jump at him. “you and your sweet tooth will oh of you, potter.”
harry grihis—this light, easy banter. he pulls up drao’s hair and sits himself down omfortably. he likes talking about you, astoria had said. he looks at the treale tart, and thinks that it’s time for a story.
“i never had as as a hild. the most i’ve eaten was the rumbs of hoote ake i swiped off my ousin’s pte ashing it. that probably expins why i’m suh a glutton for it now.”
it works. the suspiion is still on drao’s fae, like he’s w why harry’s suddenly so talkative, but it’s mixed with a sudden uriosity. “is that why you feel the o bury your fae in hs after every meal?”
&ly. y on.”
“that also expihing y off you ere first years.”
harry sn off a hunk of tart with his fork. “anybody whose lothes hang off him now isalk big.” he shoves the tart towards drao’s mouth, fully expeting him to turn away. to his surprise, drao takes the fork, lea, a bak to harry.
harry doesher to hide his grin.
drao rolls his eyes and sits down on the edge of his bed. he pulls the pte loser towards him. “distratih hildhood stories in a bid to make me fat, are you?”
&ing well-rounded meals iervals in a day isn’t goi. but i do hope that the hildhood stories are w.”
“it is. do tell me more about this ousin of yours.”
and it’s just like before. time speher in easy ompany and oion. it beomes a nightly thing, harry quietly slipping in after dinner and slipping out just befht. drao asks him to ome bak, every time, whih doesn’t really make a differene beause harry’s still going to ome bak ahinks drao just likes the assurane.
by now, he had fully taken oyle’s bed as his. it’s as messy as his own bed bak in gryffis rumpled and pilloays. sometimes, he fets some of his things, a quill here and a merlin ard gotten from a h box there, ahe things that oupy the bed when he’s gone.
bak in the summer, it had bees, and now it’s te night snaks.
he swipes whatever he ahens—so pie, sandwihes. his friends had been very supportive, as well. ron ontinues his supply of hinny gives some bertie bott’s every fvour beans one in a while, and hermione provides him a weekly task list, beause “i fully support whatever’s making you happy, harry, but i do hope the two of you areing your homework?”
&hinks he should be embarrassed that his friends know what’s goiween him and drao. or that they know that nothing’s going on, but they’re helping anyway. and he is embarrassed, but also, he’s just very, very grateful.
drao aepts the hs every time, aries some of ginny’s bea hermioask list, ao make totally unneessary omments. “you haveio? potter, i’ve fi days ago.”
& snaking works. drao doesn’t look like aed orpse now. astoria tells him with a heerful smile, when they pass eah other by ihat drao has also been having a good appetite iely. persohinks dra to beome too addited ts.
&alk about sses, their lessons, and the oasional gossip.
(“what’s this i hear about you and astetting it ohouse?”
“oh my god, malfoy, i didn’t do anything!”
“that’s not what the hufflepuffs said.”
& talked!”
“rex. i was joking. if you really had doo her, i would have hexed you. she’s like a little sister to me.”
well, you’re not aher to her, harry had wao say, but he had been happy, so shamelessly happy to hear it learly said that drao does way.)
&imes, harry talks about himself.
it was unomfortable, at first. he isalking about himself. but drao’s a good listener, all eyes and ears, noddiimes, and askiiooo muh. he doesn’t pry, but harry tells him anyway, beause he likes the way drao looks when he’s really urious and ied.
aimes, drao talks about himself, ahey’re his hildhood, his family, his friends, ahey’re not so nie