Day 09: Harry Potter. Harry/Draco. Always Keep Eyes On The Target Title: Step Eight: Always keep eyes on the target Author:digthewriter Word Count: ~660 Fandom: Harry Potter. Harry/Draco. Rating: PG-13 Warning: EWE. Auror Training Academy. Made up stuff. Pretend Relationship. Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended. Author's Notes: This story is going to be called "Nothing Ventured. Nothing Gained." Each chapter is going to have a unique title but it'll all be part of one big story. I hope! AO3 link for all chapters in a row!
As time went on, Harry tried to pay a different sort of attention to Malfoy. Sure, he held Malfoy's hand when they were in public, especially when they were out shopping together and saw silly but cute (and ridiculous) Christmas displays around town. He always tried to notice how long Malfoy held his hand for, before he let go of him.
When no one was around, Malfoy seemed self-conscious and he'd immediately let go of Harry. If Harry's touch tried to linger, Malfoy paid no mind to it. The more time they spent together, the more Harry was convinced that Padma was wrong. Malfoy didn't feel anything for Harry more than what he'd let on. He didn't like Harry the way Harry liked him. He wasn't even sure if he actually liked Harry at all!
During their daily duelling seminar, Harry opted not to be paired with Malfoy. He thought about distancing himself from the man, unless he was required to spend time with him. There was no point in making himself more miserable than he already felt. So, he asked Padma to be his partner before Malfoy got the chance to approach him.
When Malfoy noticed that Harry was with Padma, his face twisted in a disappointed scowl that he played off as a jealous lover. "Afraid to get your arse handed to you, Potter?" he said in a joking way as if he was all too familiar with Harry and his techniques.
Harry chuckled and played along. "That's not what you said last night, Draco."
Everyone in the room laughed and Padma smacked Harry's shoulder. "That's not a nice thing to say to your boyfriend."
"Don't worry, he'll make me pay for it later." Harry winked at Padma and they walked away from the group ready for their exercise.
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It wasn't that Harry was trying to see Malfoy's every move when they were in the same room, but unlike before, their training felt different. It was as if Harry thought he could feel Malfoy's eyes on him. How was that even possible. Before this, Malfoy had never even given him the time of day.
Padma was great at planning, she was brilliant at coming up with scenarios, and wasn't even half bad at defence, but at throwing curses? She had nothing on Harry. Harry knew he could block whatever hex she was casting toward him, so he was only giving her half of his attention.
Throughout the training session, Harry searched for Malfoy.
Perhaps it was reflex, or maybe it was that Harry was always aware of Malfoy because he saw the hex shoot out before it even hit him. Hit Malfoy. Harry dodged whatever curse Padma had directed towards him and made a run for Malfoy.
"Watch--"
It was too late.
Malfoy had been hit.
"What did you do?" Harry yelled at Kent, the man Malfoy had been duelling against.
"Ventriculai Perfora--he told me he could handle anything, even though I knew he wasn't really paying attention. I mean it was obvious he was staring at you the entire time. Still, I didn't mean to--"
"Stop talking!" Harry yelled as he cast a Patronus and sent it off with a message. He wanted to let St Mungo's know that he was on his way there with Malfoy and that he'd been hit with curse that literally cut through his intestines. This wasn't the type of hex one should have been using in a practice duel.
"What can I--" Kent began to speak again but Harry shut him up with one look.
"You can inform the teachers and Malfoy's family that you've just sent him to the hospital with severe injuries," Harry spat the words out as he wrapped his arms around Malfoy, securing him. "I'll be taking him to St Mungo's personally. Make sure his family--"
"But--" Kent objected.
"You better follow through with this Kent, or I'll personally make your life a living hell."