The Enormity Of Desire

the enormity of desire

prompt-a-day may 2025 | day twenty-seven: grow | word count: 913 | daily prompts courtesy of @peachydreamxx & @uncannycerulean ⋆˙⟡ | warning: hanahaki-inspired/mild body horror

_ _ _

“Malfoy— alright?”

Draco glares up at him from the locker room bench. “What?”

Harry shrugs one shoulder, a noncommittal up-down. “You seem tired?”

“Fuck you,” he growls.

Harry laughs, which makes it worse. “Whatever,” he says, heading for the showers.

Draco walks out, a painstaking attempt at steady, starting for the dungeons, his dorm lavatory feeling kilometers away. The sensation of foliage, unfurling, catches in his abdomen, his esophagus.

They keep growing.

. . .

“Malfoy— alright?”

Draco’s holding himself against the bartop, handkerchief tucked hidden in his palm.

“Hm?” he says, aiming for haughty, disinterested.

“You keep coughing,” Harry answers, eyes narrowing in something like caution, something like concern.

“Doxie flu,” he lies. “The cough lasts for ages.”

“Shit,” Harry says. “You’ve already seen Madame Pomfrey?”

“Plenty,” Draco says, cheeky, (knowing it’s been yes, actually plenty), before breaking into another burst of hacking.

Harry’s hand is at his shoulder then, and Draco doubles forward, uncontrollable, wheezing unevenly.

“Gotta— go,” he manages, tears prickling at the corners of his eyes, face warm. He ducks from beneath Harry’s grasp.

“Hey—” Harry calls, but he can’t afford to look back, much less to stay. He slips through the exit of The Three Broomsticks and apparates with a Crack!

In his bed, he empties his cloak pockets, daisy petals and clover tumbling out by the dozens.

They keep growing.

. . .

“Malfoy— alright?”

They’re at the top of one of the myriad stairwells in the castle, Draco braced on the bannister, a bit too desperate to pay much mind to who is or isn’t watching. He swallows at the air, tugs helpless at his shirt-collar.

“You’re out of breath,” Harry says, and at a lack for words, Draco flicks him off.

“You need the infirmary,” Harry says, sounding more cross, more concerned by the second.

Draco flicks him off again. Unfortunately, it’s the most he can do, and just barely, it turns out, his legs suddenly giving way beneath him.

He lands on his knees hard, fingertips scrabbling at the railing, feels it jar up and into his teeth, feels it knock loose pollen in his windpipe. Harry is at his side, instantaneous, and Draco, furiously, can think of at least three other scenarios where he’d rather be on his knees in front of him.

Draco’s vision goes fuzzy, his hand scratching weakly at his neck.

Harry’s arm is at his back. “I’m going to pick you up now,” he says, scooping Draco upwards without waiting for an answer. Which is good, probably, since Draco couldn’t have given one.

He feels the vining expand in his ribcage, Harry’s heart hammering in his ear, his own heart hardly murmuring its response.

If he stops breathing, he isn’t awake to know it.

They keep growing.

. . .

He wakes in the infirmary with Poppy Pomfrey at his side, teary-eyed, and smiling down at him.

“Dearie, you’ve known how to fix this.” She wraps one of his hands in hers. “Please.”

Potter’s there, too, because of course he is. He’s asleep, his head cradled in his arms at the foot of the bed.

Draco pats Poppy’s hand, then gestures to Harry, resigned.

Madame Pomfrey gently shakes Harry by the shoulder, pointing him to Draco before wandering into the hall.

“Hey,” Harry says, pulling a chair to his side. “You’re awake.”

Draco rolls his eyes, jabs a finger into Harry’s arm.

Harry laughs, subdued. “Alright, yeah. I’m awake.” His face twists a bit then, his thumb running over the seam of the quilt on Draco’s lap. “Were you cursed?”

Draco nods, picking up a near-whole daffodil from the bedspread and twirling it between his fingers. He taps his throat, a cough burbling harshly out of him, petals slipping past the handkerchief he draws hastily to his mouth.

“There’s no cure?” Harry asks, brow troubled, green eyes glinting.

Draco leans back into the pillows, his gaze tracking the high ceiling, the cobwebs in the corners. He’s tired, and he can feel leaves tickling at his trachea, obstructive and insistent.

He doesn’t want to die. I’m spite of everything, he doesn’t.

He pulls Harry’s hand to him, palm up on the blanket. C, he traces with the tip of his finger.

“C,” Harry says. Draco nods, continues, Harry spelling softly aloud. “C. U. R. E.”

His eyes flicker to Draco’s, fingers curling lightly where they lay on his lap. “You do know the cure?”

Draco swallows, sharp and thorny, and nods, once. He presses a finger to Harry’s lips, a silent plea.

“Alright,” Harry whispers, falling quiet.

In his hand, Draco writes slow and deliberate, each letter drawn out against his will, each necessary to sustain him, each revealing and damning and precious.

I - L - O - V - E - Y - O - U

He keeps his eyes cast down, wraps his fingers around Harry’s once he’s finished.

“Malfoy,” Harry says, and Draco deigns to meet his gaze. “It’s alright.”

His eyes draw to Draco’s chest, and he untangles their fingers, placing his palm carefully over his heart.

“Take a breath,” he whispers.

Draco does, and he’s overcome by the scent of potions and antiseptics, the laundry detergent on the linens, pumpkin juice on Potter’s breath, spring air on his skin. He breathes in and in and in. He feels it then, the flora wilting, a slow recession, his heart thrumming a steadier song.

Harry grins at him, bright, waylaying.

He loves him.

(It keeps growing.)

III. Coffee

<- previous day

One unlucky day, Draco overslept. He walked into the kitchen for a late breakfast but Potter’s already there, a loud muggle machine making aggravating noises. He stood against the counter with a faraway gaze, his hair ostensibly sleep tussled, an oversized shirt draped over his frame, and bare feet on the linoleum floor. Whether he’d just gotten out of bed or was trying out a new look was unclear. It’s always hard to tell with Potter.

As Draco entered the room, his sleep-addled mind couldn't help but blurt out, “What on Earth is that?”

Potter snapped his gaze towards Draco, coming back from wherever his mind had went. “The coffee machine?” he asked confusedly.

“I refuse to believe that thing brews coffee.”

Potter didn’t respond and proceeded to press a button, and coffee spilled from the machine’s mouth into Potter’s ugly sienna colored mug. He handed the mug to Draco, who hesitantly took a sip.

It tasted entirely mediocre and incredibly bland, perfect to Potter’s taste. “I’ve had better,” he spoke truthfully and handed back the mug. Potter shrugged and went on to add—certainly an unhealthy—high amount of sugar to it. Still with the same mug, he brought it to his lips, inches away from where Draco’s had been, and sipped the coffee.

Draco’s breath momentarily hitched so he turned around and asked Kreacher to bring breakfast to his room.

next day ->

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my writing drarry day 3 unofficial microfic may 230 words

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chocolando

3 months ago

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chocolando

4 months ago

when i say i’m from ukraine, people assume i live somewhere else now. when i say i live in ukraine, they assume i’m somehow immune to war, and there’s a logical division between a ukrainian they chat with on discord and a ukrainian on the news. bitches my yaoi is written from the bomb shelter

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chocolando

2 months ago

Drarry where the Golden Trio are having a slightly tipsy 'Hear me out' conversation as they passed around a bottle of Elvish wine that they nicked from Slughorn's office.

"What about Gordon Horton?"

Harry and Hermione shared a confused look.

"Come on! Keeper for the Chudley Canons?"

"You're supposed to pick people we know, Ronald."

"Well excuse me," Ron said, throwing his hands in the air. "I forgot that you two have no taste."

"No taste! I will have you know that my taste is sophisticated and refined. Clearly something you don't relate to."

"Oh, oh, I see. Well since your taste is so sophisticated then by all means tell us who is your pick."

"There's Merrill Medlar. She's the chief editor of—"

"Who the hell is that? What happened to people we know?"

Harry hadn't had enough wine to tolerate their constant bickering.

"Malfoy," Harry said loudly, interrupting what would have surely been a row. "What about Malfoy?"

"Which one?" Ron and Hermione said at the same time before glaring at each other.

"What do you mean which one?" Harry frowned. "The choice is obviously—"

"Lucius." They said in unison again.

"What?" Harry gaped at them. "Lucius is a right piece of—"

"Wait," Hermione held up her hands, eyes wide. "You can't mean Draco then?"

"Of course I meant—"

"Don't say his name! Ugh, I never want to know him as Draco," Ron said, shuddering.

"Maybe I do!" Harry said, unsure why he was getting heated.

The two of them shared a long look that said a lot more than he could translate and he kind of wished they were back to arguing. At least that was familiar.

"I think I would've rather you had said Snape."

Harry's mouth parted before it closed, and he gave a considering hum. "You know, in the spirit of a true hear me out, Snape would fit."

Hermione snickered as a choked gurgle escaped Ron.

"I was joking!" Ron cried, head in his hands. "Merlin if you ever shag Snape—"

"Shag?" Harry let out a strangled meep. "If I'm going to shag someone it would be—"

"Malfoy," they said together, and part of him wondered if they were really Fred and George under Polyjuice because it was getting freaky.

"I think I'm going to be sick," muttered Ron. "I knew we'd uncover some more about each other, but I'd honestly like to cover it right back up."

"We can pretend it didn't happen," Harry offered, biting his lip as he tried to think of someone else. "What about Charlie?"

"Charlie?" Ron frowned. "My Charlie?"

"Oh," Hermione said, brows lifting. "Yes, I can see it."

"No no," Ron shook his head. "We aren't doing this. Let's get back to Harry wanting to shag Malfoy."

"It's not that I want to shag—"

"I think it's more than that," Hermione said, voice low as if she was sharing a secret. "I think he likes Malfoy."

Ron collapsed backward as if he had been shot, groaned as if he had been too. "This is too much for me."

Harry rolled his eyes, taking a large mouthful of wine. He was going to need it.

"It's not that bad."

"Yes, it is, Hermione. If Harry wants to shag Malfoy and he likes him then they'll get married and have little spawns that look like Malfoy and they'll call me Uncle Ron and then I'll just have to like them because I can't be mean to a child, but they'll look just like him and then I'm going to have a complex—"

"I think you're having a complex right now."

"And whose fault is that? Huh, Harry?"

"I never said I wanted to marry him."

"You never said you didn't though," Hermione argued, tone suggesting she was on to something.

Harry sighed loudly as they continued to debate his future. A future that held Malfoy in it. The longer they talked the more he considered it.

It was true that he wanted to shag Malfoy, but it was also true that he liked him. He just hadn't really let himself think of how much.

"I think I'm going to find Malfoy," Harry said, staggering to his feet and rather proud that he hadn't fallen over. Maybe he hadn't drank as much as he thought he had.

"Great, just great," Ron cried. "My life is over. Might as well start calling me Uncle Ron."

The portrait closed right as Hermione said,

"I think you're being rather dramatic, Uncle Ron."

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chocolando

3 months ago

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chocolando

4 months ago

Oh, there is thunder in our hearts

asunder gotta be one of the top five ways to be torn

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chocolando

1 month ago

[Podfic] Dearest by hoko_onchi (M, 32 minutes)

Draco and Harry accidentally activate a marriage curse and move into a cottage. With chickens.

Harry and Draco, and CHICKENS! I loved hoko's story and wanted to podfic it, so here we go with my first podfic!

Head onto AO3 to listen to this tale of chickens and domesticity and if you enjoy it, feel free to kudo and leave comments there and on the original work!

Story by @hoko-onchi-writes | Art & podfic by @stormy-sky-art

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chocolando

4 months ago