Rewound (Drarry)

How to Flirt With Draco Malfoy

Harry had owled Sirius the news the day they'd left the Room of Requirement. Sirius was yet to respond, however Hedwig had still been delivering Harry many a letter. Harry had rekindled his consistent owling habits with Draco, and once again Ulysses was a regular guest in the Gryffindor Common Room. Hedwig, of course, was thrilled by this - it seemed her romance with Ulysses was burning brightly - however Harry still felt sort of bad for making her do so many trips, however close they may be. Because of this, he was on his way to the Owlery with a hefty stash of owl treats, determined to spend some quality time with Hedwig.

He still had Draco's most recent letter clutched between his fingers. It had left him reeling.

Scarlet,

I hope you've given more thought to what I said. I imagine you're being oh so terribly Gryffindor about all this, reading my letter and scoffing, throwing my words away. But I am right. You need to talk to people. If not to people, then to me.

To my greatest regret I've come to care about you, and should you pitch yourself off the Astronomy Tower for neglecting your own mental well-being, I find that I may be rather displeased.

I'd hate to feed your ego, but you are the strongest person I know. You handle things like nobody I've ever seen, you bear the weight of worlds upon your shoulders alone and it's inspiring. But I want you to know that you don't have to. I want to be here, for you, and for the things we should be facing together.

You aren't alone in this anymore, Red, and you never should have been.

So, next time you write, if you'd care to let me know what you're thinking, that would probably help. I have disclosed a blend of the most calming tea money can buy, imported from France. If you can find a house elf to assist you, I suggest you try it. It might make a difference - to your quality of sleep, if nothing else.

Yours,
Green

Yours, Green.

Yours Green.

Sure, it was a fairly common way to sign off a letter. But not for Draco. Draco had never written such a thing, in all their tens and perhaps hundreds of letters, not once had he signed himself 'Yours'. Until now.

And god, if Harry couldn't help but wonder if maybe that meant something.

Harry needed to speak to someone about it. He needed to tell someone. Despite Draco's insistence that Harry could talk to him about his issues, this was unfortunately the one problem where he would not be able to help. He needed someone unbiased, or who knew Draco, or who would be non-judgemental. Ron and Hermione were exactly none of those things, and although Neville was probably fairly unbiased, Draco had harassed him rather a lot in their first and second year. He probably wouldn't be the best person for advice on this particular matter.

Harry ran through his alternatives in his mind as he climbed the stairs to the Owlery. He could use Dean and Seamus, but they were unlikely to be very mature about the whole ordeal. He wished he was friends with Luna by this point in this timeline, she'd be an ideal candidate for unbiased advice about crushes and love - although perhaps her advice wouldn't quite be what he was looking for.

Harry sighed, resigning himself to the fact he may just have to rely on himself for this one, lest he send an owl to Sirius, who he had a sneaking suspicion was already aware of his feelings for Draco. No, that wouldn't do; Sirius was too detached from his situation to give viable advice, he'd probably suggest something ridiculous like a love poem.

Harry walked over to the owl perches, where a pleased Hedwig hooted in greeting, before fluttering down to sit before him. She extended a scaly leg expectantly, and Harry shook his head.