Draco had insisted on speaking to him alone in the library after Charms. Harry followed him in, unsure what was going on. Was something wrong with their parents? But then he thought Draco would have told him right away, and whoever wasn't sick or injured, Mother or Father, would have sent an owl.
Draco led Harry to a table tucked away between two shelves of dry Arithmancy texts that barely anyone used and faced him with a solemn expression. "Did McGonagall tell you what's happening over the holidays?" he asked.
Harry frowned. "No. What?"
Draco leaned towards him. "There's going to be a Yule Ball," he whispered. "The Champions have to open it with a date and a dance."
"What?" Harry yelped.
"Oh, Merlin, the look on your face…" Draco yelped, too, but with laughter, bending over to put his hands on his knees. "Oh, Merlin, I hope that Father agrees to watch that memory in a Pensieve with me!"
Harry scowled, understanding for the first time why Draco had wanted to talk to him alone. "You prat."
Draco lifted his hands, all innocent. "I just wanted to deliver the message in case McGonagall hadn't talked to you yet. I see she hasn't. Probably wants to put that off as long as possible."
Harry blew out air. "Do I have to participate in the Yule Ball more than I participated in the First Task?"
"Yes," Draco said immediately. "How are you going to open it with just a little dance? Or a try at a date?"
Harry tried to retort, but then paused as a genius idea struck him. He smiled.
"What?" Draco demanded, now sounding as though he was jealous of the interior of Harry's skull for knowing his thoughts.
"I don't know if I should tell you," Harry drawled, doing his best to sound like Father had when he talked to Dumbledore. "You're a prat."
"Come onnnnn, Henry, pleeeeease."
Harry shook his head and gave in. He hoped that Draco never worked out how much of a weapon his whinging could be, or there would be no way to get him to stop. "Okay. I'm going to ask Tonks to impersonate me."
Draco opened his mouth. Nothing came out.
Enjoying the silence, Harry turned around and went off to find their cousin, who he knew was visiting today to study the walls of an old Defense classroom in case the curse was lurking there. Draco ran after him.
"Go to the Yule Ball and pretend to be you?" Tonks smiled, her eyes sparkling—literally, since she appeared to have changed them into a kind of shiny reflective material. "Oh, that sounds great fun, Harry! But what about a partner? I'm afraid that I couldn't Transfigure someone else or create an illusion with any degree of accuracy."
"I know a third-year Slytherin who's dying to go to the Ball," Draco said immediately. "Adele Morningstar. But she can't unless someone asks her. We can bribe her a little to keep quiet about you not being Henry, and you can invite her."
"She wouldn't have to keep quiet the entire evening."
Harry eyed Tonks. "What are you planning?"
"Planning? Why do you think I'm planning something?" Tonks might not have changed her mouth to be wider than usual, but the manic grin spreading across her face made it look like it.
"Because it's you."
"Harry, you flatter me." Tonks jumped down from the old, half-broken desk where she was swinging her legs, and stumbled. Her hair flared black for a second as she caught herself. Then she straightened up and snorted. "I promise, it's a prank that'll surprise and maybe frighten a few people at the Yule Ball, but it won't do anything permanent to them."
Draco folded his arms. "Can you dance?"
"Not a jot," Tonks said cheerfully.
"Then I wonder—" Draco glanced at Harry. "I don't want my brother embarrassed in front of everyone, even if they just think that he's a clumsy dancer and it's not really him."
Harry rolled his eyes. He felt he should have realized that Draco would have an objection like that. "I don't care about that." He would have liked to swear to show how much he didn't care, but both Tonks and Draco would take too much satisfaction in chiding him about his language. "And if Tonks is planning a prank, then probably everyone will know that she's not really Henry Malfoy, anyway."
"Right," Tonks said. "I'll give it, what, two dances? The opening dance all the Champions have to do and the next one, so that Adele can feel she's getting her money's worth. Then I'll change."
"Back to yourself?" Draco asked, which Harry thought was a little stupid. He should know Tonks better than to think she would think that was a worthy prank.
"No. No, I've got something much better in mind." Tonks's eyes sparkled some more.
....
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