For a long, painful moment, neither of them reacted. The foyer was silent, still awash with the pulsating blue light of the ward, and Harry had absolutely no way of knowing what was going through Malfoy’s mind. Harry desperately needed to know.<br/>When Malfoy suddenly shifted, stepping closer, a shiver ran down Harry's spine, catching a hold of his breathing. He felt the air shift against his bare skin, threatening to make his knees buckle.<br/>Despite the easy humour in his voice, Harry felt exceptionally vulnerable under Malfoy’s attentive eye, the intensity of his gaze making Harry’s skin feel hot where it lingered. When Malfoy lifted his wand, Harry instinctively gripped the handle of his own, still poking out of the right pocket of his trousers, on edge with his nerves on his sleeve.<br/>As soon as the blue light disappeared, Malfoy’s features softened, no longer cast in dark shadows from the light shining up at him. Harry doubted that he, in that moment in time, existed to Malfoy as anything but a case to study, yet Harry couldn’t seem to drag his eyes away from him.<br/>He once again allowed his hand to drop from his wand.<br/>"How does it compare," Harry started, his voice instinctively lowered though he managed to keep his tone steady. Malfoy was close in a way that made Harry’s brain go haywire, too aware of the hum of his suppressed muscle memory when Malfoy ducked his head another inch. Unintentionally crass, the corner of Harry’s mouth quirked, overwhelmed. "To your expectations."