He went down to breakfast with Neville on one side and George on the other, Fred and Ginny trailing close behind. Ron was once again not speaking to him, and Hermione didn't seem to know what to do about the whole thing, but Harry continued not to care.
Luna waved at him from the Ravenclaw table, and he waved back, otherwise keeping his head down. An unfamiliar owl flew towards him with the morning post, a rolled up magazine attached to its leg. Harry's stomach swooped like he was doing a Wronski Feint. The front cover had a drawing of some sort of bizarre horned creature, but in bold letters it also had the words 'Exclusive article from Harry Potter, Page 7'
Harry flicked to page 7, forgetting to breathe as he scanned the article.
'Harry Potter: The Heart of the Matter
Since I was a baby, I've been in the public eye. Most of that attention has come from an event I barely even remember. But it has brought me fame, and unfortunately there's nothing I can do about that now. The older I get, the more people want to know about my life — and the more people decide to make up their own facts when I refuse to give them what they want.
Being a teenager is difficult enough without reporters watching your every move. You were all teenagers once, I assume; you remember how it is. It's hard to figure yourself out, and even harder when you feel like you can't even breathe without making the front page. But as I grow older, something has become inordinately clear to me, and it feels disingenuous to keep that a secret when so many people seem to care about my love life. I don't know why; I promise you, it's not that interesting.
I'm gay.
I'm not dating Hermione Granger, or Ginny Weasley, or any other girl the rumour mill has seen fit to link me with. I'm not dating any girls, and I won't be, ever. I understand that it's the default to assume that boys will date girls, but let's be honest; I've never gone with the default option.
I know a lot of people will think I'm confused, or I'm doing it for attention, but they couldn't be further from the truth. I'm doing this so that people will leave me alone. So they'll realise that I'm just another fourteen year-old boy, who happens to like other boys, and get on with their lives. I won't have this information used against me or anyone I care about, and one day, when I'm ready to tell the world that I care very deeply about someone, I don't want it to be a surprise when that someone is male. It shouldn't be a big deal. Love is the strongest magic in the world, and it shouldn't matter who it's between.
I would love for there to be no articles about me in the paper, or magazines, but that doesn't seem to be possible. So I thought I'd give this one straight from the source, so that at least somewhere is printing the truth. Whether you like it or not is none of my concern.'
Harry couldn't help but grin as he finished reading; it was exactly how he'd written it. Ginny beamed at him, reading over George's shoulder. "It's perfect, Harry," she assured quietly. Neville hummed in agreement on Harry's other side. "I'm proud of you, kid," George murmured, dropping a kiss to Harry's temple.
Not many people in the school had subscriptions to the Quibbler, but that didn't matter; it only took a few copies to float around before word began to spread. Harry's copy made it halfway up the Gryffindor table before it was nicked by Susan, who gave him a thumbs up and passed it to Ernie and Hannah. Harry could see at least three copies on the Ravenclaw table, and two more on the Slytherin table.
Everyone was whispering, but no one was jeering. Not yet. Harry looked up at the staff table, amused to see a copy of the Quibbler passing from Sprout to McGonagall. His gaze landed on Dumbledore, and his smile widened. The man looked furious. He was hiding it well, but he clearly wasn't impressed. Harry didn't really understand why, but he was happy to be responsible for anything that made the headmaster mad.
.-.-.
Within a day, everyone in the school had read the Quibbler article. Within two, it seemed like everyone in wizarding Britain had read it. Harry had eyes following him everywhere he went which honestly wasn't that much different from a regular day, except for how some of those eyes had turned speculative. Suddenly, guys he'd never even spoken to before were stopping him in hallways, complimenting him on the article, or his shirt, or his hair. It took Neville pointing it out to him for Harry to realise they were hitting on him. It was worse than when the Yule Ball had been announced!
"Daddy says we've sold more issues of this Quibbler than any in the past," Luna told him one lunchtime, smiling dreamily. "I suppose the article about the Blibbering Humdingers is very popular."
"Oh, definitely," Harry agreed, stifling a chuckle. "I'm glad it's doing well, Luna. Thanks again for publishing it."
"The truth is an important tool," Luna said, and then walked away. Harry watched her go, wondering if he would ever understand her. He doubted it.
Harry had honestly been expecting a little more resistance from his schoolmates. The flurry of owls that greeted him every morning was expected — the letters of support in amongst the hate were actually a pleasant surprise — but so far, none of the other students had dared be openly rude or derisive about his sexuality. Perhaps because there were just enough people in positions of power who weren't straight that the rest of them kept their mouth shut. Draco had bumped into him on the way to Care of Magical Creatures the morning the article went out, just muttering a 'nice article, Potter' and walking away. It was the closest the blond could get to a public show of support, and Harry appreciated it. Even if in private, Draco wasn't quite so thrilled about the whole thing.
"I don't like the way that Ravenclaw sixth year was looking at you at lunch," he said with a scowl the first time Harry got him alone. "Or that Hufflepuff boy in the year below."
"I'm not interested in them," Harry pointed out, kissing the grumpy look off the blond's face. "For some godforsaken reason, I've thrown my lot in with you, and I intend to keep it that way. No many how many blokes look at me during lunchtime." He couldn't help but smile, finding Draco's jealousy adorable. That just made Draco scowl harder. "But they think they have a chance!" Draco retorted. "Nowhere in that article did you say you weren't single. All they know is you're out and looking for someone to tell the world you care very deeply about."
"What did you want me to say? 'Oh, by the way, I'm dating this blond Slytherin prat, but keep it to yourselves because if his father finds out we'll both be dead'," Harry pointed out a little sharper than intended. Draco flinched, then sighed, his anger fading.
"I know you couldn't," he murmured, leaning in to press his forehead to Harry's. "I just hate that people don't know you're mine." "I know I'm yours," Harry assured him. "And you know I'm yours. That's all that matters." He tugged the taller boy into a kiss. "You're mine, too. You know that, right?"
"I know," Draco promised. "To my endless surprise, I wouldn't have it any other way."
Harry's heart pounded in his chest, and he knew it was way too soon to be having the kind of feelings he was having, they'd not even been together six months, but he couldn't help himself. He was in deep, and he knew it.
He just hoped Draco was right there with him.
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