golden longings

VIII

***

"It's okay, relax" Draco's eyes shot open and he almost turned around if he didn't remember the the in time,no looking at the other.
"I don't know whatbyoure talking about."

The pressure against his back grew and he figured that Potter had leaned back.
"You sat up straight and have been stiff ever since. Plus, you're shaking."
Ugh, Draco waited for the annoyance to set in that usually came with Potter trying to save the day but it just didn't.

"Well, that's private. "
He slowly felt his muscles relaxing a bit, leaning into the warmth coming from Potter wherever their shirts were touching.
"Sensitive topic?"

"I don't need your heroic take at a therapy session, alright?"
"Sure you don't, but it wouldn't be bad if you did..." there was an awkward pause. "...And this has nothing to do with me being heroic!"

Draco felt hot, sweating from anxiety and embarrassed. He felt vulnerable and exposed and Potter was trying to help. Why he hell wasn't he able to take the help?

"Apparently you aren't any better than me in this matter."
"Who said anything about better? It's not a bad thing in the first place."
Draco opened his mouth, to say something, but closed it again.
He was stunned, it was the first time someone had said something like that to him.

He wasn't used to thinking about it that way. Not a bad thing, the words repeated in his head, over and over. Potter wasn't ashamed of it, and he was telling him not to be either.
It was a completely new option.

The worst part was, that Potter was the one who really gave him the idea. What if it really wasn't that bad that he felt attraction towards his own gender?

He tried to banish the thought the second it entered his mind. But it just seemed to want to stick. Surely, it was the alcohol, he figured.
"You already saved us all, you don't need to save me now." His voice was quiet, and he just hoped that Potter hadn't heard him over the noise that everybody else was making.

There never came a response from Potter, so Draco figured that he really hadn't been heard.
But maybe it had been the lack of time, because everyone seemed to have adjusted to the news and they were getting impatient to proceed.

"Are you into boys?" It was Pansy who asked. She stood in the half of the crowd that Draco could see. In the short moment that he saw her face, he knew that she had saved her question. This circumstance she had declared worthy of using her precious question on.

The procedure of the last question repeated, as Draco didn't drink again. He only did as his glass started to glow red and almost flew right into his face.

The whiskey running down his throat burnt less than usually. Everything felt numb.
Everyone knew. Draco was cautiously eyeing all the students watching. All the ones he could see.
One of his most well kept secrets as now public information. And by the way people were looking at him he could tell that this answer came unexpected.

At least to some. Even if all his senses were occupied with the heavy feeling of shame, he managed to look at Pansy. She barley looked surprised, and neither did Granger. He didn't quite know why he looked at her in that moment, but he did.

Suddenly, all eyes that bad been fixed on him shifted. They were now looking right behind him, at Potter.
He had taken his drink as well.

"Game changer" he heard Blaise shout over everybody. There was a generally stunned atmosphere in the room, as everyone was talking about the newly learned facts.

Draco wished for the vanishing cabinet to be back, so he could escape the situation. He felt dizzy and his heart beat heavily.
Being exposed like this was new to him, the feeling of vulnerability that he knew so well was overwhelming.