After the little Christmas celebration with his family (and his boyfriend) the day before, Christmas Day itself was somewhat underwhelming for Harry, though he did appreciate the visit from Dobby, managing to find a pair of Uncle Vernon's socks to gift the elf. Ron was in a foul mood, but Harry was happy to leave him to it, heading down to breakfast with the other three boys from his dorm. They chatted excitedly about the evening's plans. The rumour going around the school was that the Weird Sisters had been booked for it, and Harry — who had gotten into the habit of putting his Wireless on in the background while he read in the dorm — was hoping it was true.
"Still can't believe you're going with Susan Bones, Harry," Seamus said with a shake of his head. "Now there's a girl with some serious curves." He made a lewd gesture at chest-height to emphasise his point, wiggling his eyebrows.
Harry hadn't really noticed, and he shrugged awkwardly. "She's nice," he said. "And she doesn't mind having to dance in front of everybody." He had assured her that he'd had lessons, and wasn't going to make a fool of either of them. Susan was being very trusting in taking his word for it. "Besides, Lavender's pretty too."
"Don't know how I managed that one," Seamus agreed. "Thought for sure she'd go with that Slytherin bloke in the year above, but I figured I might as well chance it." He smirked wickedly. "She's been all secretive about her dress robes, won't tell me what they look like. I'm just wondering if I'll get to see what she's got underneath them!" He chuckled, and Dean punched him in the arm.
"Not if she hears you talking about her like that, you won't," he scolded. Seamus shrugged.
"You can't say you're not hoping for a little private goodnight with Lisa," he teased, speaking of Dean's Ravenclaw date, Lisa Turpin. The dark-skinned boy ducked his head sheepishly.
"I mean, I won't say no," he drawled, earning a laugh and a punch from Seamus.
"Exactly! What about you two, eh? Gonna sneak your dates off into the courtyard to hide in the bushes?" Seamus wiggled his eyebrows, and Harry made a face.
"Susan and I are just friends," he said for what felt like the hundredth time.
"Ginny has way too many older brothers around for me to even think about anything like that," Neville piped up fearfully. Dean winced.
"Yeah, mate, you don't wanna get on the wrong side of the twins. Not with all that stuff they've been inventing lately." The twins were loving having everyone at school for the holidays; plenty of unsuspecting people around to test their inventions on. Everyone in Gryffindor had learnt to be very wary of accepting food from others.
The conversation turned less crude as they strode in to breakfast, Harry smirking when he saw Snape was conspicuously absent from the head table. Dean and Seamus broke off to go sit with Parvati and Lavender, while Harry and Neville wandered towards the twins. "Morning, boys!" the redheads greeted, shuffling down to make room. "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas," Harry replied. "Thanks for the present!" They'd given him a selection box of some of their latest inventions, with a note encouraging him to use them on their youngest brother when he was being a prat.
"You too, mate!" George said, grinning. Harry's present for the twins was a voucher for Slug and Jigger's apothecary, as he knew how many potion ingredients they went through making their products and pranks.
"All set for the ball, are we?" Fred asked, passing the orange juice Harry's way. "Ready to dance your little socks off in front of everyone, champion?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," Harry said, shrugging. "I figured once the first dance is out of the way, it won't be so bad." Professor McGonagall had promised him that the champions only had to open the dance by themselves; one song, and then everyone else would be dancing and he didn't have to step foot on the dance floor again if he hated it. He didn't think Susan would let him get away with that, but it was a nice hope.
A thought occurred to Harry, and he turned to George. "Who are you going to the ball with?" he asked, realising he had no idea. He'd seen Fred ask Angelina, but George had been surprisingly quiet on the matter.
George's face turned almost as red as his hair, and Fred's lit up in a grin. "Our dear brother is crossing enemy lines," he teased. "Going with that bloke from Durmstrang, the one who reffed your quidditch match."
"Boris?" Harry checked, humming thoughtfully. The Durmstrang boy was very handsome, and he seemed to have enough of a sense of humour to keep up with George for a night. "Nice one, well done." George grinned, though he was still pink.
"Figured I'd do my bit for international cooperation."
"Oh, I'm sure you'll be cooperating with him plenty," Fred ribbed, nudging his brother in the side.
"Is it true you got asked by Adrian Pucey?" Neville cut in, not batting an eyelash at the news that George was going with another boy. George snorted.
"Yeah. Probably would've said yes if I hadn't asked Boris already," he admitted. "Felt a bit bad about turning him down, actually."
Harry opened his mouth to argue instinctively, then shut it again; Pucey had never actually attempted to foul anyone on the Gryffindor team when they played one another, unlike most of the rest of his team. Even Draco. Harry certainly had no room to judge there. He remembered what George said about Slytherins being attractive, and wondered if the Weasley had a type. "I thought you said you didn't like pretty," he said thoughtlessly, and George smirked.
"I said I don't like the same kind of pretty you do. Adrian's not pretty, he's just got cheekbones."
Neville gave Harry a bit of an odd look at that, and Harry's stomach squirmed. He really had to tell Neville soon.
After breakfast they went back up to Gryffindor Tower, where the twins attempted to cheer Ron up a bit with several games of exploding snap. That didn't really work, but the youngest Weasley brother did perk up when they went down for Christmas lunch. The tables were groaning with the weight of all the food, Christmas crackers exploding all over the hall, everyone talking and laughing and excited for the evening to come. They were all kicked out of the hall as soon as lunch was over, so the house elves could re-decorate for the ball, and Fred and George managed to gather a crowd for a snowball fight out in the grounds.
What started out as Hogwarts VS the other schools soon turned into a chaotic free-for-all as alliances were formed and broken, and sacrifices were made. Hermione had intended to just watch, but that went out of the window when one of Viktor's snowballs 'accidentally' went wide and hit her in the shoulder. Harry laughed as a flick of Hermione's wand had a whole host of snowballs chasing after the Bulgarian. "Harry, duck!" He followed the instruction instinctively, looking up just in time to see Blaise Zabini get hit square in the face with a snowball. Harry hadn't even realised Blaise was out there with them. The Slytherin boy scowled, looking for his attacker — Cassius, hiding behind a snow bank Cedric and Cho had built and then been promptly run out of.
"You're dead, Warrington," Blaise declared, sprinting away from Daphne's side and reaching down into the snow.
As the evening drew on and the ball grew ever closer, people slowly began to abandon the snowball fight in favour of getting ready. Ron seemed utterly baffled when Hermione declared she was heading up to her room at five, and even more bewildered when several other girls followed. "How can it take them three hours to get dressed?" he asked, and Harry sighed, sharing an amused look with Ginny.
"You don't understand girls at all, do you?" the redheaded girl said sadly. She hopped to her feet, sending one last snowball careening towards George. "I'm off, I'll see you boys later. Ron, don't lose track of time; you're supposed to meet Luna in the Entrance Hall at quarter-to." She still didn't seem thrilled at letting her best friend go to the ball with her brother, but Luna was so excited to get the chance to go at all Ginny wisely kept her mouth shut. Harry suspected she was just waiting for Ron to do something to give her the excuse to hex him.
By six, it was getting too dark to properly see where snowballs were coming from, so the remaining fighters called it even and went back into the castle after a few Drying charms, disappearing off to their respective common rooms. The closer he got to Gryffindor Tower, the more Harry started to feel his nerves. "What if I freeze up?" he fretted. "What if I trip and fall over in front of everyone and Susan hates me and never speaks to me again and I've ruined everything?"
Neville snorted. "Susan wouldn't let you fall over," he assured. "She'd hex you into dancing properly before it got to that." Harry didn't think that sounded like too bad a deal, and he said as much, making Seamus laugh.
"You'll be fine, mate," the Irish boy insisted. "Just don't stare at her tits and you'll be grand." Dean thwacked him over the back of the head.
Harry doubted that was going to be a problem for him, but kept that to himself.
His dress robes were folded neatly in his trunk, and Harry got them out, finding the shirt and trousers that went under them. The shirt was a tunic-style shirt in a muted gold colour, with a high collar and shiny gold buttons down the front. The trousers were so dark green they were almost black, close-fitting without feeling uncomfortably tight. They were surprisingly comfortable, and Harry looked himself in the mirror before he put the robes on over them. He'd chosen that particular shirt because it was vaguely Indian-inspired, and it took his breath away to see himself in it. He'd never worn anything remotely like it before — he'd worried he'd look silly, but it actually looked good!
Shrugging into the robes and buttoning up the front, he turned back to the mirror for the full effect. The robes were a dark emerald green, with gold embroidery around the cuffs and hem that was also Indian-inspired, to go with the shirt.
"Wow, Harry!" Seamus' appreciative whistle cut into his daze, and Harry blushed. The other Gryffindor wore light blue dress robes with a bright purple shirt beneath them.
"It's not too much?" Harry asked, unused to wizarding clothing at all, let alone formal wear.
"You look great," Neville insisted quietly from where he was buttoning up his own robes. They were much more traditional in style, a dark red colour that made his hazel eyes glow. It made him look older, and surprisingly handsome. Ginny was a lucky girl.
Harry told him as much, watching the boy's ears turn almost as red as his robes. Across the room, there was a low curse.
Ron was stood in the middle of the dorm, staring at himself in the mirror with a look of utter disgust on his face. Harry tried not to laugh. His dress robes did look awful. Harry wondered how much he was regretting not taking Bill's old set. "I can't go out like this," Ron groaned. "I'll be the laughing stock of the school!"
"It's not that bad," Dean attempted, keeping a remarkably straight face. Ron glared at him.
"It's hideous! Look at this lace!" The robes didn't look much better on than they did on the hanger, like Ginny had laughingly assured her brother they would. They weren't terrible by themselves — old fashioned, sure, but not the worst — but the fraying lace… it wasn't a good look.
"Come here a second," Harry said, taking pity on the redhead. Luna would have a terrible time if her date was scowling and sulking all night.
A few Cutting charms later, and there was a… marginal improvement. Harry managed to get rid of the lace, but there were a few frayed edges, and he could do nothing about the old-fashioned style of the robes themselves. For Ron, it wasn't enough. "I look ridiculous," he muttered, scowling at his reflection. Harry shrugged.
"Well, I tried," he said, heading back towards his own bed. Sirius had given him some hair potion that he insisted would tame the wild Potter hair — James swore by it, apparently. Harry was determined to at least try.
Twenty minutes later, Harry hardly recognised his own reflection. With a comb, the potion, and a little help from Dean, Harry's hair was more 'tastefully mussed' than 'dragged through a hedge backwards'. It was by no means neat — Harry thought that was asking far too much — but it was better.
"I think we're ready," Neville declared, appearing at Harry's shoulder. "Even if we're not, we have to go. McGonagall will kill you if you're late."
He had a point, so Harry bid the rest of his roommates goodbye and followed Neville down to the common room. Ginny was waiting, and the sight of her made Neville almost trip down the stairs. Harry steadied him, grinning.
The Weasley girl was in pastel blue dress robes with a sweetheart neckline, the cap sleeves made out of floaty sheer blue material. There was a gold pendant in the hollow of her throat, and her fiery hair was half-up in an elaborate braid, the rest hanging straight down her back. She had make-up on for the first time Harry had ever seen, her brown eyes sparkling as she turned to look at Neville. "Hi," she greeted shyly, hands behind her back.
"Hi." Neville's voice was a little breathless, and he coughed. "You look really pretty, Ginny." She grinned, giving a little twirl.
"Thanks! You look great. You too, Harry — I like the hair!"
Harry resisted the urge to run a hand through his hair, undoing all of his and Dean's hard work. "Thanks, Gin. I'd better go meet Susan, but I'll see you two at the ball?" He nudged Neville closer to Ginny, clapping him on the shoulder. "Look after her." He leaned in, kissing Ginny's cheek. "Look after him." Then, with a wink, he was hurrying out of the common room.
He'd agreed to meet Susan on the stairs by the Entrance Hall, and he sped past several people in dress robes on their way to meet their own dates. When he caught sight of her, he grinned. Her dress robes were a deep burnished gold colour, tight below her bust and flaring out over the curve of her stomach and the width of her hips. They shimmered in the candlelight, the full skirt trailing all the way down to the floor, and glittering beads embroidered on like constellations. Her hair was pinned up like a bright copper waterfall, and the earrings Harry had given her for Christmas sparkled at her ears. "Not bad, Potter," she said by way of greeting, eyeing him up and down. "I think I can handle being seen with you tonight."
"So glad to hear it," Harry replied dryly. "You look beautiful, by the way." If he was remotely interested in girls, he'd probably be having some very confusing feelings right about now. "Shall we?" He offered an arm, and she looped hers through it, falling into step beside him to go find McGonagall and the rest of the champions.
They found them outside the main doors to the Great Hall, gathered in a small cluster, and Cho let out a playful wolf-whistle when Harry approached. "Don't you two clean up nicely!"
She had Cedric's hand in hers, and was wearing gorgeous blue and silver dress robes that were definitely East Asian in style, her hair pinned up with a pair of silver hair sticks. Cedrics's dark blue dress robes were simple but impeccably tailored, and looking at him made Harry's pulse tick up a little.
Beside them were Fleur and Cassius — Fleur looked every inch of her veela heritage in silver satin dress robes with a bodice that hugged her curves and flared out at the waist, her hair hanging loose and needle-straight like a curtain of silk. Cassius' slate grey robes had a slight sheen to the material that complimented Fleur's robes nicely, and beneath that he had a dark green shirt that was open a little at the collar. His dark hair was combed perfectly, and Harry's heart fluttered when the Slytherin smiled at him. How had he ended up surrounded by so many damned attractive people??
"You all look amazing!" he enthused. "Where's Viktor?"
"Over zere, waiting for 'is date," Fleur supplied, pointing across the hall. Viktor stood at the base of the stairs, wearing red dress robes with fur trim. He looked a little uncomfortable in such formal attire, but he was still distractingly handsome. He caught sight of something — or rather someone — that made him stand a little straighter, offering his arm out with a smile. Harry gaped at the girl who took it.
Hermione didn't look like herself at all. She wore dress robes of a floaty periwinkle blue material that shimmered with every movement, standing out against her dark brown skin, and her hair was sleek and straight, done in a very complex-looking up-do that made her look far older than fifteen. She was beaming, showing off her newly-corrected teeth, her lips painted a rosy pink and her pale blue eyeshadow glittering in the low light of the hall. Viktor bowed over her hand and kissed it, then tucked her arm through his own and walked her towards the group, looking very pleased with himself. Harry had to admit, Hermione looked stunning.
"Hi Harry, Susan," she greeted, smiling widely. "You look great!"
All Susan seemed to be able to do was stare. Harry grinned back at his friend. "You look beautiful, Hermione. Viktor, you behave yourself, alright?" he added mock-threateningly, making the Bulgarian laugh.
"I haff no doubt Hermy-own will hex me if I put a foot wrong," he pointed out. He still struggled to say Hermione's name, but she certainly didn't seem to mind.
McGonagall arrived in robes of red tartan, surveying them all with a look of mild pride. "Excellent, you're all here. Are you ready?" They got in line, Harry at the back with Susan's arm in his, and followed the deputy headmistress into the hall.
The house elves had outdone themselves with the decorations; it was hardly recognisable as the same hall they'd had lunch in, looking like a veritable winter wonderland. Harry was glad the house tables had been exchanged for smaller, round tables, with a main table up at the head of the room where the judges sat, empty seats available for the champions. Harry's eyebrows rose when he saw Percy Weasley sat where Mr Crouch should be, wearing navy blue dress robes that looked brand new. What was he doing there?
As they positioned themselves on the dance floor, Harry let his eyes sweep the crowd for a minute. Ron was staring at Hermione like he'd never seen her before, and even Ginny — who definitely knew who Hermione's date was before tonight — looked stunned. Far away from them, with Pansy Parkinson on his arm in a set of frilly pale pink dress robes, was Draco. Wearing black velvet dress robes that hugged his chest and shoulders, and made Harry immediately want to rip them off the blond boy. How dare he look that good when they were in public and Harry had to pretend to hate him?
Susan cleared her throat to get his attention, setting his hand on her waist. "You promised me you'd be good at this, Potter," she reminded him, her gaze sharp. Harry smiled at her.
"Don't worry, I've got this."
The music started, and they were off.
Draco had been right that Susan would be much taller than him in her heels, but it didn't bother Harry in the slightest as they stepped and spun. He saw the faint look of surprise on her face as he turned out to be fairly capable, before it was replaced by an exhilarated grin; Susan clearly loved dancing. Harry definitely wasn't going to get away with just dancing once. He didn't mind that so much — he was having fun, too.
The first song ended, and after a short round of applause the second one began, the dance floor filling with people. "Who taught you?" Susan asked suspiciously, settling into an easier waltz. "You're better than I thought you'd be."
Harry thought of late nights in empty classrooms with Draco's hand in his, going over the steps again and again, rewarding him with kisses every time he managed to get it right. He grinned to himself.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
.-.-.
There were only a handful of dances before it was widely suggested that everybody sit down and eat, and Harry found himself gently herded off the dance floor and up to the top table with the rest of the champions and their partners. He ended up sat next to Percy Weasley, who was oozing with pride. "I got promoted," he declared as soon as Harry sat down. "I'm now Mr Crouch's personal assistant, and I'm here representing him."
"Congratulations," Harry replied agreeably, glad Percy seemed to be doing well at work. He was a bit of a smug git, but he wasn't all bad. Certainly not Harry's least favourite Weasley sibling at the current moment in time.
Speaking of, Harry could see Ron sat with Luna, Ginny and Neville a few tables away. He was entirely ignoring them, too busy glaring at Viktor Krum. It made Harry sigh to himself; that was an explosion he'd love to avoid.
Dinner was surprisingly enjoyable, despite the judges' presence at their table. Harry spent most of it talking to Susan, Fleur and Cassius, as they were sat on Susan's other side. "We've really managed to do well for school representation here," Susan remarked at one point. "One from each of the foreign schools, and at least one from every Hogwarts house. Was that on purpose?"
Harry refused to admit that getting Cassius to go with Fleur had been partly because he was a Slytherin, insisting that it just happened to work out that way. He just hadn't wanted the snake house to get left out.
Susan barely let him sit and digest his food before they were back out on the dance floor, but she didn't stay in his arms for long. "Mind if we trade?" It was Cedric and Cho, waltzing effortlessly towards them, and before Harry knew it he had Cho in his arms, and Susan was off into the crowd with Cedric. Cho giggled, adjusting Harry's hold and nudging him into action.
That started a series of mid-dance partner changes, until Harry had danced with every single one of the champions and their dates, as well as Ginny, Neville, both the Weasley twins, Anthony Goldstein, both Patil twins, Luna, Daphne Greengrass, and at one point Professor McGonagall, who looked equally confused as to how she ended up there. "I hope you're not considering asking Professor Snape to dance," she said with a dubious look towards the dark-haired Slytherin, who was lurking in the back corner of the room, looking surprisingly handsome in jet black dress robes. Harry hoped Remus got to see him in the robes before the night was through, if he hadn't already. "Don't worry, Professor," Harry assured with a grin as they twirled through the crowd. "Contrary to popular belief, I don't actually have a death wish." That drew a reluctant chuckle from the professor, and when the music ended Harry released her with an over-the-top bow. She shook her head exasperatedly.
"Just like your father," she muttered, fondness creeping into her tone. "Stay out of trouble, Potter."
Harry saluted with a laugh, then turned away to head to the table, his legs starting to ache from all the dancing. He reached for his glass of water and drained it thirstily. Within a few moments, Luna appeared beside him, stealing Susan's seat. "Hello, Harry," she said airily, smiling. Her dress robes were a pretty lavender colour, with strange creatures embroidered on them. Her earrings looked to be made of tiny purple feathers. "Lovely night, isn't it?"
"Brilliant," he agreed, surprised at how much fun he was having. "Where's Ron?"
"Oh, he wasn't much for dancing, so I left him over there," Luna replied, gesturing to the other side of the dance floor. Harry could just make out Ron sat alone at a table, scowling into his glass of pumpkin juice. Served him right.
"Probably for the best," Harry said, gaze scanning the crowded dance floor. Susan was with Ernie, laughing as they waltzed together. Harry's chest gave a little twinge at the sight of Draco and Millicent dancing together, the shy girl looking pretty in black and silver dress robes. Draco was smirking, the collar of his robe undone a couple of buttons. He was so handsome it physically hurt Harry to look at him. He tore his gaze away, smiling to see the twins messing with Boris, switching partners with him and Angelina so quickly it was hard for him to figure out which twin he was dancing with. Angelina was laughing so hard she could barely stand up straight, which was just making the whole affair even more entertaining.
"I think they're about to change bands soon," Luna commented absently, her eyes on the string quartet currently playing. Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Bands?"
"Oh, yes. It won't be formal dancing for the whole night. I rather think everyone's had about enough of that. The Weird Sisters will be playing soon." It was said with a strange sort of confidence that Harry noticed Luna had only sometimes, but she was never wrong when she did. Ginny had wondered if Luna was some sort of Seer, and Harry was starting to think she might not be too far off the mark.
"Really? Brilliant!" Harry was even less prepared for informal dancing than he had been for the formal stuff, but it couldn't be too hard to figure out.
Sure enough, the quartet announced their final song, and Susan retrieved Harry from the table to drag him back out there. "You holding up alright?" she asked in concern, and he grinned.
"Better than I thought I would be," he admitted. "But looking forward to something a little less stuffy." Susan nodded in agreement, and when the song ended, she offered him a low curtsey.
"It's been a pleasure, Heir Potter," she said quietly, grinning. He bowed in return.
"The pleasure has been all mine, Heir Bones." He paused, side-eyeing her. "But you'll still dance with me to the Weird Sisters, right?"
Susan laughed, linking her arm through his as they headed back to their table. "Yes, I'll still dance with you," she promised, patting his hand.
All the champions returned to the tables, and Viktor and Cassius volunteered to go retrieve drinks from the bar, which was serving things more interesting than water or pumpkin juice. Nothing alcoholic of course, but brightly coloured fruity drinks that fizzed and smoked.
"Having fun?" Harry asked Hermione, who had been beaming so wide all night her face had to be hurting.
"The best time," she said with a giggle. "Harry, this is ridiculous! I'm here in this castle wearing this amazing dress and dancing with an international quidditch star. It's like something out of a movie!"
Harry laughed, glad she was enjoying herself. Maybe it would ease some of the tension between them. As long as she didn't think too hard about Ron.
Accepting something bright green and bubbling from Cassius, Harry took a hesitant sip to find it was sweet and tasted of apples. "Not bad!"
The Slytherin stole the drink from Harry's hand, taking a sip with a contemplative look. "Not as good as mine, you can keep it," he declared eventually, holding up his neon blue drink. Harry snorted.
"Gee, thanks."
Susan stole Harry's drink next, offering her own violently pink concoction in return. Harry shrugged, sipping and getting hit with a blast of cherry. "That's really good, actually," he said as he offered it back to Susan, who shook her head.
"I'm keeping yours," she told him. "You can have that one."
Harry shrugged, and kept drinking.
As Luna had promised, after a fifteen minute interlude in which people got drinks, chatted and rested their feet, the Weird Sisters arrived on stage, and the students went wild. Harry was amused to see most of the adults had retreated to the back of the room; far enough away to still be chaperoning, but well out of the throng of screaming teenagers.
Harry looked around to see the others had all finished their drinks, and met Fleur's eye. She was smirking, surveying the group. "Let's dance."
They headed onto the dance floor, easily finding a group of familiar faces; Neville and Ginny, the twins and their dates, and Luna. Ron was still nowhere near the dance floor. Harry didn't even know if he was still in the room. "There you are, mate!" George cheered, his hand in Boris' and his lips already kiss-swollen. That explained where those two had disappeared off to during the interlude.
The first song started up to a riot of screaming, and Harry soon discovered that informal dancing was mostly a lot of jumping around and shaking your hips, with the occasional ridiculous overdramatic dance move thrown in — usually courtesy of the Weasley twins. It wasn't a partner type of dance, so Harry was in the middle of a crowd of people, grinning as Susan shimmied up beside him. He was having the time of his life!
At one point, Susan was stolen for a while by her fellow Hufflepuffs, but she returned quickly with them and their dates in tow. Harry happily shuffled back to make room for the new additions, and was surprised when Blaise and Daphne joined them, dragging Millicent Bulstrode and Theodore Nott along with them. For a brief moment, Harry was hopeful Draco might join them, but he pushed the thought away; whatever strides they'd been making towards house unity, there was no way Draco could be seen fraternising with Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. His father would kill him. Harry was even surprised Nott was there — from what he knew, the boy's father was pretty strict about blood purity, and had been one of Voldemort's most devoted followers.
Sure enough, Draco and Pansy were across the room with a group of older Slytherins and Durmstrang students. Harry spotted Adrian Pucey getting rather cosy with a boy from Beauxbatons; clearly not too upset about George turning him down.
A hand tugged on his arm, and Cho nudged him into a dance hold that was very different from the waltz, laughing at the look on his face. "Loosen up, Harry!" she teased, placing her hands on his hips and forcing them to move to the beat. Harry's cheeks were burning, especially when Cedric wolf-whistled.
"Your girlfriend is manhandling me, Diggory!" Harry called. "Aren't you going to do something about it?"
"I could always manhandle you instead?" Cedric offered, laughing when Harry's face went even redder.
After a couple of minutes Cho seemed satisfied with his dancing and retreated back to Cedric's side, holding him in a much more comfortable — and more inappropriate — way than she'd been holding Harry.
Fred sidled up to Harry, dancing all the while, and opened his robes to reveal a plain silver flask in the inside pocket. "Firewhisky?" he offered with a smirk. Harry glanced around, then shrugged; fuck it, he was fourteen and probably going to die by the end of the year if this bloody tournament had its way. He reached into Fred's robes, flipping the lid on the flask and taking a swig, coughing as it burned his throat on the way down. Fred pat him on the back, chuckling. "That's my boy! Let me know if you want more, I've got plenty."
Fred moved off to go dance between Angelina and Lee, and Harry wondered how many other people had been drinking from the flask that night. Then he decided he didn't care, and kept on dancing.
.-.-.
Harry's limbs were aching and his head was pounding along with the bass of the music, but he didn't care one bit as he danced, spinning Hermione around with a grin. She was an entirely different person tonight, and it made Harry's heart ache at the cracks in his friendship — cracks he was starting to think were irreparable. Dancing with her, laughing with her and Viktor, it felt… disjointed. Like they were once friends, and they were slipping back into what they used to be, but it didn't quite match up with the people they were now. He suspected Hermione could feel it too; every now and then he caught her looking at him with something sad and knowing in her gaze.
It was nearing eleven, but the band was showing no signs of stopping. Many of the students had gone to bed — or gone off to find a secluded corner of the castle — but there was still a good number of them out dancing. Harry was wedged between Ginny and Luna doing a move that looked like something he'd seen in 70s music videos when he was yanked back towards the Weasley twins, the two girls shrugging and merely grabbing Neville in Harry's place. Harry's brow furrowed when Fred and George started to slowly move him away from the dancing crowd. "What's the matter?"
"Courtyard, west corner, behind the rose bush," George whispered in his ear, shoving him towards the doors. "You can thank us later!"
Utterly perplexed, Harry stepped out into the courtyard, shivering a little at the evening air after being in the huddle of dancers for so long. There were couples dotted around the places, some poorly-hidden in rose bushes while others were making no attempt to hide at all. He raised an eyebrow at Seamus and Lavender, sat on a bench with hands in some very inappropriate places for being in public. Edging around them, he hurried to the west corner, hesitantly approaching the rose bush. A hand whipped out, grabbing him by the lapel and tugging.
A familiar voice muttered a Privacy charm, and Harry relaxed instantly, barely having a second to register the company before lips were pressed frantically against his own. "You're going to kill me, Potter," Draco breathed, hands sliding into Harry's robes and around to the small of his back. "You in those bloody dress robes."
"Like you can talk," Harry muttered, trying to figure out how to get hands on skin as quickly as possible. Draco's robes had so many fucking buttons. "I've been wanting to do this all night."
Harry lost track of the amount of time they stood there kissing passionately, but they never let it get further than that, despite Harry's hand on Draco's velvet-covered arse and Draco's up the back of Harry's shirt. Neither of them wanted to risk doing anything more in such a public place; it was dangerous enough just being near each other. "We're dead if we get caught," Harry said eventually, resting his forehead on Draco's collarbone, sliding his hand up to the blond's hip.
"Worth it," Draco declared, making Harry smile. "Have a little faith in my wandwork, Potter. We won't get caught."
"Oh, I'm sure your wandwork is exemplary," Harry drawled quietly, green eyes bright. "But I don't think that's something you want to show me right now."
Draco's pale cheeks went pink, and he cleared his throat, trying to put a little bit of distance between them so they could calm down. He didn't get very far. "I see all your dance lessons paid off," he said eventually, breathing a little steadier. "You seemed to be a hit."
"All thanks to you," Harry said, playing with Draco's hair. "I still wish I could have danced with you, though."
"Why can't you?" Draco returned, shifting his grip on Harry until they were in dance hold. "May I?"
Harry's laugh was breathless as he took Draco's hand in his own, meeting amused silver-grey eyes. "I suppose."
They didn't need music, swaying with each other to a rhythm Draco hummed softly. It was by no means proper waltzing, more just the sort of side-to-side shuffle people did when slow songs came on, but it was perfect. Draco tilted his head down and pulled Harry closer, until his lips pressed against Harry's forehead. Harry could've stayed there for hours, in Draco's arms in the tiny bit of space behind the rose bush, the rest of the world falling away as they swayed gently. Eventually, Draco stopped humming and stepped back a little, bringing Harry's hand to his lips and kissing the knuckles. "Thank you."
"Thank you," Harry returned, smiling shyly. "How did you get the twins to get me out here?"
"Easy," Draco replied with a shrug. "I told them I wanted to snog you, and I'd be waiting out here until I did. They were remarkably obliging. I think they actually don't hate me."
"They don't." Harry hadn't properly introduced the twins and Draco yet, but they were the only two people at school who knew the truth about the relationship; and therefore the only people he could gush about Draco to. There were just some things he wasn't comfortable talking about with Sirius. "They know you make me happy, and that's all they care about." The twins were some of the few people who trusted Harry's judgement without question. If he said Draco was a good guy, then they were on board with it. It was refreshing not to be second-guessed.
"Oh." Draco's lips curled at the corners in a reluctant smile. Harry was pretty sure Draco would like the twins, too, given the chance.
The pair stayed behind the rose bush for a little longer, just holding each other and occasionally exchanging kisses, before Harry sighed. "I should go before someone notices I'm missing."
"Yes, I suppose I should go say goodnight to Pansy," Draco sighed. Harry, remembering Seamus' talk of 'private goodnights', scowled. "Oh, don't look at me like that," Draco chided. "I mean literally say goodnight, walk her back to Slytherin and make sure she gets to bed okay. I told you, she's not interested in any of that. And I'm certainly not interested in her."
Harry offered a sheepish smile in apology. "I just hate that I can't be the one you say goodnight to."
"I'm pretty sure that's what I'm doing right now," Draco replied amusedly. Harry huffed; the Slytherin had a point.
With one last kiss, they agreed to part ways, Harry going first to avoid suspicion. He glanced around the rose bush, then stepped out from behind it, intending to get back on the path and head inside. Instead, he walked straight into Professor Snape. "Potter," Snape drawled, his eyes flicking from Harry to the rose bush and back again. His face turned exasperated, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "For Merlin's sake, learn some discretion." Harry grinned, turning to walk away. "And ten points from Gryffindor!" Snape called after him. He heard the man muttering as he walked in the opposite direction, blasting a rose bush with a spell to reveal a pair of Ravenclaw sixth years in a passionate embrace. "Twenty points from Ravenclaw!"
Harry chuckled quietly; at least Snape was having fun.
He heard raised voices when he reached the Entrance Hall, and grimaced when he got close enough to recognise them.
"You're fraternising with the enemy!"
"The enemy? You're the one who's got a bloody figurine of him in your bedroom!"
"He's just using you to get closer to Harry!"
"He's better friends with Harry than he is with me!"
Ron and Hermione were stood at the bottom of the stairs, Hermione's eyes red with tears. Ron was glaring at her. "You can't trust him, Hermione. He's from Durmstrang."
"Ugh!" Hermione's noise of frustration echoed through the hall. "If you don't like it, you know what the solution is!"
"Oh yeah, what's that?"
"Next time there's a ball, ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort!" Hermione whipped around, startling at the sight of Harry. "Harry. Where have you been?"
"Needed some air. You coming back in?" He jerked his head back towards the Great Hall, and Hermione glanced at Ron for a moment, then nodded decisively.
"Let's go." She ignored Ron as she looped an arm through Harry's, heading back into the hall.
"Ignore him," Harry murmured. "He's a jealous git who doesn't deserve you. Go back to Viktor." The Durmstrang champion was dancing with Fleur and Cho, and looked delighted to see Hermione had returned, then immediately concerned when he noticed her crying. Hermione sniffed, carefully wiping at her eyes without smearing her make-up.
"Thanks, Harry." She strode over to Viktor, waving his concerns off and dragging him back to dance. Harry slipped back into the group, the music still blasting. "Where've you been?" Susan demanded, eyeing him over critically. "Nope, nope, changed my mind, don't want to know. You're a disgrace, Potter." Her eyes were teasing, and she took him by the hand to pull him into a dance.
Some time after, there was a loud groan when the band announced the next one would be the final song, but as much as Harry didn't want the night to end, he was also desperate to go to bed. He was going to ache so much in the morning.
At last the music came to an end, and Harry's ears rang in the silence that followed. "Alright, you lot," Cedric declared, his arm around Cho's waist. "Get to bed. Prefect's orders." He winked.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Are you in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff tonight?" Susan asked. Cedric's cheeks reddened, but after a glance at Cho, he looked back at the fourth year.
"Hufflepuff. Come on, we'll walk you back. Goodnight, everyone."
At Cedric's lead, everyone started saying their goodnights, Susan pecking Harry on the cheek and thanking him for a great evening before hurrying off after the Hufflepuff champion. Harry belatedly realised that neither of the twins, nor their dates, could be found — they must have disappeared after sending Harry to Draco.
Harry, Neville and Ginny waited by the doors for Hermione to say goodbye to Viktor in private; when she finally joined them, her lipstick was smudged and she looked a lot happier than she had been when Harry had dragged her back in the hall. He was glad; she didn't deserve to have her night end on a low point like that because of Ron.
The four of them dragged their weary bodies up to Gryffindor Tower, Ginny's high heels in Neville's hand and his too-big shoes on her feet, while he walked in just his socks. It made Harry smile; ever the gentleman. "That was fun," Ginny said with a smile, shoulder brushing Neville's as she walked. "Thanks for inviting me."
"Thanks for saying yes," Neville returned, blushing. "I— I had a really good time."
"I'd say tonight was a resounding success," Harry remarked. The only thing that could've made it better was more time with Draco. "It'll only be a success if you tell me who you disappeared off to snog," Ginny teased, dropping back to shoot him a grin, laughing when he blushed.
"That is none of your business," he said haughtily.
"So that's what you were doing outside," Hermione realised, eyebrows raised. "Who is she?"
"I told you, none of your business. I don't kiss and tell."
"You're no fun, Potter," Ginny declared. They reached the portrait hole, and the boys bid the girls goodnight, starting up the stairs. Before they reached the dorm, Neville put a hand on Harry's arm, biting his lip hesitantly.
"Harry, that person you were snogging," he started, and Harry reflexively put up a privacy ward. "Was it Malfoy?"
Harry felt the blood drain from his face. "What?" He forced out a laugh. "What makes you say that?"
"Well, you said you were friends with him. And in all of Hermione's interrogating, you've never said you were seeing a girl."
"Yeah, but Malfoy!"
"I thought it was Cassius at first," Neville continued. "Especially when he said he was seeing someone. But he was still in the hall dancing with Fleur when you were gone, so it couldn't be. And, well, there's always been something between you and Malfoy. I figured if it was anyone else, you would've told me by now." Neville paused, then grinned a little. "Also you did look a bit like you wanted to eat him alive when you saw him in his dress robes. But I don't think anyone else noticed," he added quickly. "I just… I know you, Harry. And if it is Malfoy, it's okay. I reckon you're right that he's not as bad as people think he is."
Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You can't tell anyone Neville," he said seriously. "He could be in serious danger if it gets out. His dad…" He trailed off, and Neville nodded, eyes knowing.
"Your secret's safe with me." Then Neville smirked. "You just might want to look at his arse a bit less when you're in public."
Harry laughed, dropping his privacy ward and continuing up the stairs. "That's just asking far too much of me, Nev," he insisted, yawning. Neville snorted, pushing open the door to the dorm and tiptoeing inside. All the lights were out, and the curtains were drawn on the three other beds. "Night, Harry," Neville whispered with a smile.
"Night, Nev." Harry barely managed to change into pyjamas and brush his teeth before he was falling into bed, a quiet sigh of relief escaping him. He was so glad he didn't have anywhere to be in the morning; he was going to sleep until at least noon.
.-.-.-.-.
Severus let out a long sigh as he stepped out of the floo at Seren Du. It was nearly one in the morning, but the blasted ball was finally over. "Mister Severus, sir," Ceri greeted quietly. "Is you be needing anything?"
"Water, please." Two quiet pops later, and the elf was passing him a large glass of water. Severus drank thirstily, head pounding. "Thank you, Ceri. That will be all." The elf nodded and disappeared, and Severus toed out of his boots and started up the staircase, thinking longingly of bed. He'd seen far more of his students' skin that night than he ever wanted to see again, Igor had started panicking about the Dark Mark in a place where the children could hear, and his bloody dress robes were uncomfortable after several hours wearing them. Yes, he was definitely ready for the day to be over.
He walked silently down the hall, easing the bedroom door open as quietly as he could, not wanting to wake Remus. That turned out to be a moot point; the bedside light was on, and the werewolf was sat up in bed, bare-chested and reading a book. He smiled when he saw Severus, and then his eyes widened, his book falling into his lap. "Well hello gorgeous," he greeted, voice a little husky. Severus' pulse quickened instinctively. "I've not seen those robes before. Are they new?"
"Relatively," Severus replied, reaching for the small buttons at the collar. Remus rolled out of bed, stalking over to him in nothing but a pair of low-slung plaid pyjama bottoms. He stilled Severus' hands with his own, honey eyes dark in the low light.
"Leave them for a second," he requested. Severus sighed.
"Remus, it's been a long day and I just want to go to bed."
"Well I want to rip those robes off you with my teeth," Remus replied in a conversational tone. Severus choked. His outfit abruptly became much tighter in a whole different area. "Remus!"
The Gryffindor leaned in, nuzzling at Severus' jaw, fingers sliding up to undo the top few buttons. Severus couldn't help but tilt his head back and sigh as Remus' tongue traced his Adams' apple, a few more buttons coming loose. "The things I would do to you in these robes if it wasn't one in the morning," Remus sighed, running a hand down Severus' chest. "Gods, you're sexy."
Severus wondered if anyone would ever believe him if he told them that mild-mannered, bookish, old-before-his-time Remus Lupin was an absolute minx in private. Then he realised that he never wanted anyone but himself to know that about the Gryffindor; his wolf behind closed doors was an entirely different creature, and belonged to him alone.
"They're not that different from my usual robes," Severus pointed out, letting Remus slowly undo a button at a time, revealing the pale skin below. That style of robe didn't allow for a shirt underneath.
"Oh, but they are," Remus insisted breathily, finally reaching the end of the row of buttons. He pulled back, giving Severus an admiring glance, robes open over his bare chest. Severus would never be used to being looked at in such a way. Like he was desirable. "Merlin."
Remus wheeled him around, shoving him gently until he was on his back on their bed, robes still over his shoulders but otherwise open, his black trousers straining at the fly. The Gryffindor's gaze trailed over him hungrily. "I know you're tired," he rasped. "I just… Merlin, Severus. I can't help myself."
There was a little of the wolf in his eyes as he spoke — the moon was only two nights away. No wonder he was so damn excitable, Severus thought with a mental roll of his eyes. He hooked his ankles around Remus' hips, drawing him in quickly. "I'm awake now, you fiend," he muttered, as if it was such a hardship for him to have a gorgeous man staring at him like he wanted Severus to be breakfast, lunch and dinner. "Just don't expect anything dramatic."
Remus smirked at him, sliding onto the bed and straddling Severus' thighs, working the buttons of his trousers frustratingly slowly. Severus let out a sound he refused to classify as a whine. "Get on with it," he pleaded, sucking in a sharp breath when Remus' hand finally slipped beneath his trousers, fingers closing around rigid flesh. The werewolf didn't even bother pulling Severus' trousers off, merely lowering himself down and opening the fly enough to get his mouth around him. Severus arched into the contact, moaning quietly. "Remus," he breathed, fingers clutching at bedsheets. "Remus, please."
Remus hummed around his length, tongue working expertly to send waves of pleasure shooting through Severus' body. He was going for fast and dirty, and Severus was thankful; Remus knew exactly how to play his body, and if the werewolf had wanted to drag things out Severus would have been powerless to resist. After all these years, even with over a decade apart, they still knew each other as well as they knew themselves.
A minute more, and Severus was coming into Remus' mouth with a bitten-off cry, slumping back against the mattress. When he could breathe again, he looked up at his lover with hooded eyes. "What do you need?" he asked softly. Remus shifted, pulling his own pyjama bottoms down just enough to free his cock from the confines, his pupils blown as he looked down at Severus.
"I need you to keep lying there, looking exactly like that," Remus told him, his voice hoarse as he wrapped his hand around himself, jerking quickly. Severus didn't blink, watching the man bring himself closer to the edge, shifting one hand to wrap possessively around Remus' thigh. Tiny little gasps were escaping from Remus' lips, and it was one of the best sounds Severus had ever heard.
Remus came with a growl on Severus' stomach, his eyes glowing gold as he looked at the man beneath him on the bed. Years ago, Severus would have been scared to see his lover with the wolf so close to the surface while they were in bed. Now, Severus just found himself wishing he had the stamina of his youth — and that it wasn't one in the bloody morning.
The tension leaked out of Remus' shoulders, and he slumped down onto Severus, ignoring the mess between them. "Sorry," he murmured into Severus' neck. "Got a bit… carried away."
"You don't need to apologise for that, Merlin," Severus assured, carding a hand through greying hair. "It's been a long day, but if I ever see you with that look in your eye and it doesn't end in this, take me out back and shoot me; I'm officially done for." Remus snickered, pressing a kiss to Severus' collarbone.
"And they say you're not a romantic," he teased. "How was the ball?"
"I caught far too many couples in the bushes," Severus said with a scowl. "Your brat godson being one of them."
"If my brat godson was there, that means your brat godson was right with him," Remus retorted. "Unless Harry has a lot of explaining to do."
"He was there, he just had the good sense not to get caught." Severus had seen him, two minutes after Harry had left, creeping away into the shadows with his hair mussed and his buttons uneven. A disgrace.
"Or you were nice enough to let him slide by," Remus corrected. He muttered a wandless Cleaning charm to get rid of the mess between them, sitting up and pulling Severus with him. "I really do love these robes on you," he mused, pushing them from Severus' shoulders so they pooled on the bed. "Even if they're much better off you." He winked, and Severus rolled his eyes.
"Incorrigible wolf," he muttered, pressing their lips together before climbing off the bed, stepping out of his trousers and striding naked across the room to his dresser for pyjamas. Remus whistled quietly, eyes dancing.
"Sexy snake," he returned, pulling up his pyjama bottoms and laying back in bed with a grin. "Hurry up."
Severus went through his evening bathroom routine quickly, and when he returned to the bedroom Remus had his eyes barely open, the lamp still on. He slid beneath the sheets, welcoming the other man as he sprawled on top of Severus. It was becoming hard to sleep these days, without Remus' weight on his chest. "Nox," he murmured, plunging them into darkness. Remus' stubbled cheek tucked into his neck.
"Love you," he murmured, already half asleep. Severus placed a hand on the man's lower back, getting comfortable.
"And I, you," he said, so softly he would've thought Remus had missed it, if not for the curve of the man's lips against his throat.