Eighth Year
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at the parchment pinned up to the notice board in the eighth year common room. There was going to be a springtime ball for seventh and eighth years. Harry couldn't help but feel excited. It sounded fun.
"Excellent. We need a party around here," Ron said, smiling. Then he spun around to Hermione. "Will you go with me?" Hermione blushed, looking taken aback.
"Really?"
"Well, yeah. Last time you told me to ask you before someone else does, so I did. Will you go with me?" Ron asked, his ears turning slightly red. Harry was grinning widely at the exchange.
"Of course I'll go with you," Hermione said. Ron wrapped his arms around her and she reached up to peck his cheek. Ron smiled.
"Who are you gonna go with, mate?" Ron asked. Harry's smile faded slightly.
"I have no idea," he said, although he had someone he wanted to take. But it was unlikely that he would want to go with Harry. Ron left to grab his homework from the dorm and Harry's gaze strayed to Draco Malfoy. He was talking with Pansy and Blaise by the fire, a soft grin on his face. His eyes sparkled, the grey color seeming even cooler next to the warm, roaring fire. His hair fell lightly across his face and his skin was tanned, making him seem less like a ghost. Hermione stood beside Harry and followed his gaze. She smiled, shaking her head.
"Just ask him, Harry," Hermione advised. Harry was startled out of his admiring reverie of Draco's appearance.
"Who?" Hermione gave him a look.
"Draco, of course. You're literally pining after him. Just ask. I'm sure he'll be pleased," Hermione said. Harry turned red. He was spared from responding when Ron came bounding down the stairs and asked for Hermione's help with the Potions essay. She was all too happy to help him, leaving Harry to trail after them and wonder if he should ask Draco to the ball.
~~~
"I don't think I should do it, Pansy," Draco said, looking worried and feeling disappointed.
"Oh, come on! Draco, he'll be more than happy to go with you. Just ask him," Pansy said, rolling her eyes. Draco glanced at Harry who was practicing a nonverbal spell while Ron and Hermione were huddled together doing homework.
"He's probably going with Ginny Weasley. The two used to date, remember?" Draco reasoned.
"Yeah, used to. They don't anymore," Pansy countered.
"He's not going with Ginny. Ginny is going with Luna Lovegood. I heard from some seventh years," Blaise said, joining in the conversation for the first time.
"Oh, really?" Draco said, unable to deny the hope that flooded through his body. Blaise grinned.
"Yup. So you better ask him before someone else does," Blaise said, turning back to his homework. Pansy grinned triumphantly.
~~~
"Good God, Harry," Hermione said the next night, rolling her eyes when she caught Harry staring at Draco for the fifth time. "Ask the boy. Quit making me feel sick with your love-struck expression." Harry blushed and shook his head.
"He's going to reject me. I'm not doing it," Harry said stubbornly. Hermione shrugged.
"Your loss. Stop mooning over him then." Hermione continued her homework without so much as a glance, so Harry turned and flounced up the stairs. Hermione smirked.
~~~
Draco watched Harry practically stomp up the stairs like a perfect drama queen. A smile pulled at his lips. How could he look so hot even when he was acting like a child? Perhaps it was the attractively messy hair, or glowing green eyes, or the crooked glasses, or the curve of his lips, or the fact that he had filled out nicely from the scrawny boy he used to be. A scoff brought Draco out of his head. He looked at Blaise, startled.
"Glowing green eyes? Crooked glasses? Curve of his lips?" Blaise said, looking incredulous. "Dear Merlin, you have it bad." Draco promptly turned the color of a tomato.
"I said that out loud?" Blaise stared at him for an instant before tipping his head back and roaring.
"Yes, you said that out loud, Draco. Lucky for you, no one else heard," Pansy replied, amusement in her eyes. Blaise recovered slightly, wiping his eyes. Draco's blush lessened slightly. "Ask the boy out. While Blaise and I find ourselves endlessly entertained with your Potter problems, we'd rather you ask him out. He'll be happy, you know. So would you."
"We want to see you happy," Blaise said, considerably more serious than he had been a moment ago. "We've never seen you truly happy, Draco. You deserve it." Pansy nodded her agreement and Draco blinked back the wetness in his eyes.
"Thank you," Draco said, taking a breath. "Who are you two going with then?"
"Neville Longbottom," Blaise replied. At Draco's surprised look, he added, "He's cute." He went back to his homework as if that was explanation enough. Draco shrugged. Alright.
"What about you, Pansy?"
"Theo asked me as friends. I figured why not," Pansy replied. "You better ask Potter, Draco."
"Alright, alright," Draco said to appease Pansy, although he doubted if he really would.
~~~
A week passed and Harry still hadn't plucked up the courage to ask Draco. The ball was a few days away, and as far as Harry knew, Draco wasn't going with anyone. He pondered again if Draco would want to go with him as he walked beside Hermione and Ron to the common room since their classes were over. All of a sudden, Hermione shoved him through an open doorway and shut the door.
"What the hell, Hermione?" Harry shouted, rubbing his shoulder that had painfully slammed against the doorjam on the way in. A few seconds later, the door opened and Draco came stumbling through.
"Confess your all-consuming love for each other, and then we'll open the door!" Hermione shouted from outside, laughter lacing her tone.
"Wait, love?" Harry heard Ron shout. Good Lord.
"We're locking you in here until you figure this out!" Pansy called.
"Wait, no!" Harry called, pounding on the door with his fist.
"Pansy, don't be a prat!" Draco yelled, pounding on the door as well.
"We're tired of hearing you endlessly admire each other and not do anything about it," Blaise said. Harry heard them walk away, laughing, while Ron kept up a constant flow of questions for Hermione. When their voices faded, Harry turned to Draco, feeling his face grow warm.
"Right, well. Fantastic friends we have, right?" Harry said, chuckling mirthlessly. He was desperately trying to cover his embarrassment.
"Tell me about it," Draco replied with a scoff. They sank down to sit on the floor with their backs against the wall. Harry couldn't help but notice the small amount of space between them. They sat silent for a while, until Harry couldn't bare it any longer.
"You like me?" He blurted. Draco blushed and cleared his throat.
"Yeah. I wanted to ask you to the ball, but I wasn't sure you'd want to go with me."
"I'd love to go with you!" Harry exclaimed. "I wanted to ask you but I didn't think you'd want to go with me!" Draco laughed, looking at Harry. The distance between them had closed sometime during their conversation. Harry's heartbeat quickened, and he willed himself to stay calm. He observed the cool grey of Draco's eyes, so much prettier close-up. The splash of freckles across his nose made Harry smile slightly.
Draco's pink lips were absolutely kissable, and in that second, Harry couldn't restrain himself. He leaned forward and captured Draco's lips. They were soft and tasted like strawberries. Harry smiled into the kiss, and they pulled away slightly to press their foreheads together. Harry smiled serenely and absorbed Draco's scent, like fresh rain and vanilla candles.
They stood and cast a simple Alohomora charm on the door (apparently their friends weren't very thorough), and walked to the common room hand in hand.
~~~
Draco stood in his dorm room and nervously straightened his dress robes. His robes were light grey over a black dress shirt with a grey bow tie. He felt nervous, despite the fact that he had spent nearly every spare minute with Harry in the days before the ball.
The door opened and Blaise popped in. "Come on, mate, time to go. People are going to the Great Hall." Draco checked his hair and teeth in the mirror once more before following Blaise out of the dorm. Pansy and Theo were waiting for them outside - Pansy in a pretty black and blue dress, Theo in black dress robes. They four of them made their way down to the Great Hall.
Draco heard Harry before he saw him. Harry was laughing at something Ron said. Ron and Hermione spotted Draco over Harry's shoulder and nudged Harry. He turned around, dazzling smile on his face, and Draco's heart stopped. He was wearing an emerald green Muggle suit with a white dress shirt and tie. Draco strode over to him, arrogant as always, smiling.
"Hello, darling," Draco said, his voice low. "You look lovely." A light blush dusted Harry's cheeks and his eyes glittered behind his glasses. He seemed to have tried to maintain his hair, but it was still a mess. Draco didn't mind. His messy hair was part of what attracted Draco.
"Thank you. So do you," Harry replied. They walked into the Great Hall with all their friends. The house tables had vanished to make room for a dance floor. Smaller circular ones took their place for people to sit and eat. A long table along the back wall was filled with food and drinks. Little bubbles floated in the air. Flowers adorned the hall - true to the springtime theme - looking like they had been dusted with glitter. Soft greens and blues were everywhere, accented with pinks, purples, and yellows. It looked far different from the Yule Ball decorations. Draco was broken out of his awe by Pansy.
"Let's go dance, bitches!" she called, grabbing Theo's hand and dragging the poor bloke to the dance floor. The rest of them followed, laughing.
Draco put his arms around Harry's waist, and Harry looped his around Draco's neck. The two began swaying on the spot, occasionally turning.
Draco smiled down at Harry, whose green eyes sparkled as he caught Draco's gaze. Draco found himself being drawn closer. He placed his forehead against Harry's and kissed him. His lips were soft and he tasted like mint. After a few seconds, he pulled away and smiled at Harry. They swayed for a bit longer, not saying anything.
After the song was over, a high tempo song started, so Harry and Draco joined their friends and jumped and danced and sang badly and had the time of their lives. Draco never let go of Harry's hand. Draco smiled as he spent the night with those that he loved.
~~~
Hey guys! Please vote and comment if you enjoyed this! Thanks for reading!
My school has started again, and I have a much bigger workload this year, so updates are going to be less often now. Thanks for sticking with me, and thank you for the attention this story has been getting lately!