Harry woke up with a groan, wanting to go back to sleep but knew Ron would wake him up anyway. He sluggishly pushed the blankets off him and got dressed for the day in one of the new long-sleeved shirts, his regular black hoodie, and some of the new jeans Draco got him. He has a feeling Draco's getting suspicious of his behaviour and really, he does not care. All Harry does is put on a fake smile and act happy. But that all changed when Harry got a mysterious note delivered to him by Hedwig to meet under the Willow Tree by lunchtime on Christmas Day. He knew it would have been from Draco.  

Harry was just walking to the Willow tree from the Herbology greenhouses and he pushed his way through the elongated branches. Right as he came through the leaves, he was blindfolded by two hands and he felt warm lips on his cheeks which sent warmth all through his body. It was Draco as he could tell from the citrus scent that filled his nostrils, but he also smelt something so sweet in the air. "Draco..."

"No, it's Blaise," Draco said, and Harry snorts. He guided Harry a few steps forward until he removed his hands from Harry's eyes and showed him what he had planned for them. He grabs Harry's hand and leads him to the green, black, and white checkered blanket. 

Harry's smile widened at what Draco had planned. He sees a platter of fruits, crackers & different types of cheese and berries and a Thermos. "Blimey!" he says in utter surprise. The only way anyone could get these foods is from the kitchens and asking the house-elves for it. He knows not many people know about the way into the kitchens. He knows he didn't tell Draco how to get into the kitchens. "How did you get all this food?"

Draco kneels down, a blush creeps up and spreads across his cheeks and he grabs at Harry's hands, pulling him down. "I planned the date which, yes, I did think of yesterday morning when we were together and you asleep. Blaise helped me with the food and I ordered the Butterbeer yesterday from The Three Broomsticks." He helps himself to a few grapes just to let Harry know he can start eating. "Blaise's mother knows a really great caterer in Hogsmeade."

"It's perfect, Draco," Harry says and smiles while he cuts a thin piece of cheese and puts it on a cracker with a piece of salami. It's all so fancy and new to him. He's never had a picnic before in his life, so this is his first and it's with Draco. "I can finally say we've had our Butterbeer date, ey?"

Draco nods with an excited "Yes, finally!" and watches Harry eat the cracker with feta and salami and his smile widens as he sees that Harry likes the food. He then gets an idea. "You know this is actually pretty good," he says and cuts a little slice out of the Manchego cheese and smears it on a cracker and feeds it to Harry.

Harry hesitates but eventually let's Draco feed him, it turns out he actually likes the cheese Draco got him to try. It was rich yet sweet. He lets the taste melt in his mouth for a few seconds before nodding with approval. "It is!"

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, Harry," Draco says and for fun, threw a grape over at him. Instead of it hitting Harry somewhere, he actually caught it in his mouth. It surprised Draco a little, so he did it again and watched as Harry caught the grape in his mouth again. "You can catch the Snitch in the field quite easily by hand, but it appears you can do it by mouth to."

"I just found out I could do that," Harry says and reaches for a toasted sandwich. He could smell what's inside of the sandwich: cheese, tomato, and ham. Its that distinct smell that nearly everyone would know, and it made his stomach grumble, so he got into eating it. He wasn't a taste tester for chef foods, but he knew this was done quite well. He looked up and caught Draco staring at him who was eating from the fruit and berry platter. It never gets old does it, the staring? He loves it.

Draco crawls around the food to Harry and sits by his side. When Harry finishes the toasted sandwich, Draco grabs a twiggy stick, breaks it in half so there's no more than a few inches and holds it at mouth height. Harry knows exactly where this is going, and so he bites onto his end of the twiggy stick and Draco does the same. They continue biting towards the middle of the twiggy stick, knowing what's next and taking their time until they reached the middle. That's when their lips connect and they both focus on the feel of each other's lips on their own. Draco tilts his head to the side just to deepen the kiss a little, and his hands come up to Harry's arms which are covered in Harry's black hoodie. The feel of Harry flinching from touching his arm worries him a little, but he still continued to kiss him just to calm Harry down a little. His hands move their way down to Harry's hands and he intertwines them together.

Harry leans away from the kiss, and he pressed his forehead to Draco's. When Draco touched his arm earlier, he got a little scared. He doesn't want him finding out about his suffering and freakishness. Draco would probably break up with him on the spot and they've only been dating for a bit more than two days. It would break him even more if Draco were to do such a thing and he would be trying to deal with the immense pain in his heart and body. He wouldn't be able to take the pain and would probably end up trying to commit suicide again.

"Harry, you have no idea how much I care about you," Draco says, and he stares into those green eyes which look so glossy, like Harry's been crying last night. Little does he know Harry has been crying himself to sleep for many months now. "I hope you believe me because I've been showing you how I truly feel about you through hugging, flirting, and kissing. There is always someone who cares for you without your knowledge and people. I am one of those persons. It's the same as Ivy, and your Gryffindor friends. They all care deeply for you. But I'm the one who cares for you the most."

Harry does believe him. It's just whenever he's alone, and something goes wrong, and he feels worthless then he starts thinking badly about himself and his friendships and relationship with Draco. When he wakes up feeling shitty, that's when he starts doubting whether people actually care for him. He's life's just a rollercoaster.

"I believe you, Draco," he says softly with a little nod and leans away from Draco's head. He's getting a feeling that Draco knows of his depression, but he can't have. He hasn't discussed the topic with anyone before besides Ivy. But she told him she will keep it a secret. Did she break the promise? "I just..." He can't do it. He can't tell Draco otherwise when he's alone again he would think negatively of himself.

"You just...?" Draco repeats it to Harry but not as a question, and he raises an eyebrow at him. He feels like Harry's going to give him some answers which is really good, but he doesn't want to force it out of him. "Harry please speak to me about this. It's better to tell someone than to keep it bottled up inside you where it can eat at you from inside."

"Did Ivy tell you about this?" Harry then asks him but stares down at their intertwined hands. He hoped she didn't tell him. What would he do if she did? What would Draco say if he actually knew what goes through his head at the time?

Draco shakes his head and leans forward, brushing a few strands of black hair out of the way of Harry's forehead. "She didn't tell me anything, Harry," he assures him with a soothing tone and he lightly squeezed their intertwined hands. "I found out myself what you struggle with, just not why you struggle from it. It's the signs you give me, Harry. You don't have to tell me everything in one day. You can feed me with little bits of information that's easy to say such as how your day has been, how you slept, what you're feeling. Then we can get to the more challenging questions. Harry, I would like to know these things because it will let me help you and it will help our relationship progress stronger. Do you think you can do this for me?"

Harry gives a sad nod and he looked up into silver eyes that he could tell were fully of worry but also a gleam of happiness. "I'll tell you eventually, Draco," he says and hesitates for a minute. He then leans forward and puts his arms around Draco, giving him a hug because he needs one and he misses the hugs he gets from Draco.

The weight Draco feels on him makes him lean backwards until he was on the ground lying on his back with Harry on top of him. He laughs as Harry continued to apologize for the hug and Draco shuts him up with a slow but loving kiss that left them blushing and breathless afterwards. He gives Harry's nose a little nuzzle with his own and smiles as Harry chuckles and leans down for another slow kiss. A kiss which Draco accepts with all his heart and soul. For why would he not when he's fallen in love with this boy and yet he's falling deeper and deeper in love with him every day.

They eventually broke away from the kiss though they didn't want to but had to take a breather. Draco reaches his hands up and he cups Harry's face, admiring the perfection and attractiveness of his boyfriend. "You're beautiful," he says, and he watches as Harry's lips part a little and a blush spreads across Harry's face from his neck. "Your beauty blinds me because it comes from your heart and it is reflected in your eyes."

Harry's heart flutters in his chest, and he smiles down at Draco lovingly. What could he say back? "Your beauty makes the morning sun look like a dull glimmer," he speaks in a soft tone, and Draco just freezes, smiles, and then blushes from the compliment.

"Je t'aime Harry," Draco whispers as he just couldn't help himself. He's been dying to tell Harry the three words but in English for so long. He's just a little scared to say the words in English so he said them in the second language he was taught.

Harry tilts his head to the side, clearly confused at the word but he knows is in French and he's heard of it before. "I beg your pardon?" he asks him with a blank look, and Draco just shakes his head with a smile and leans up, his hands behind him to steady his weight. Harry blinked at him, removed his body from Draco and sat beside him again. "So..." He began trying out the different cheeses he hadn't had before and the fruits he hadn't had in a long time. "Could you tell me more about your parents?" 

"From the last time I talked about him to you, my father can be nice at times. He's home by dinner and he brings intriguing stories to tell," Draco says, and he grabs the platter of fruits and puts it in front of them so it's within reach. "He and I go golfing sometimes. Well, I'm the one that golfs while he enjoys hexing the balls I hit to come back at me. Or to fly at other players. Whatever he feels like doing. Then there's my mother who I secretly love more. She's there when I need her, she gives me a hug every time I come home for the holidays, she enjoys hearing how School has been and she writes to me every month. She and I do High Tea together when we can." He then looks down at the fruit, grabs a peach slice and feeds it to Harry. "How about your Aunt, since I've heard a bit about your Uncle. What is she like?"

Harry swallows, nearly choking on the peach slice and looks to the floor. "Oh, um..." He never expected this to come up. "I- My aunt despises me. I remind her of my mom because of my eyes." 

"You do have very nice eyes, Harry. Notably, with your nerd glasses off," Draco says with a smile, hoping compliments will make the Gryffindor feel at ease with the personal questions. Harry half-smiles, cheeks ablaze with colour, and Draco reaches over and pushes Harry's glasses down his nose. "You get your eyesight from her too?"

Harry gave a laugh as he said, "No, that would come from my Dad. My messy hair too," he added as he remembered seeing his parents in the Mirror of Erised, and the photo album Hagrid gave him after his first year at Hogwarts. 

Draco reached up and ran his fingers through Harry's dark, untidy hair. "Mmmm, " he says, distracted. "Gloriously messy. Please, continue about your Aunt."

Harry hesitated; he hoped Draco would have forgotten about the topic. He thought that it was a fair trade of information, especially what he found out a few days ago. "My relatives are muggles. They don't like Magic. They make me do the chores for them, and once I'm done they lock me in my room."

"You can't climb out through your window?" Draco asked at once. Harry shook his head, muttering, "Bars."

Draco shakes his head in disbelief and sighs, wishing he could teach these muggles a lesson not to treat Harry like that. He didn't go on with the topic as he knew there must be more to the story such as what would happen to Harry if he doesn't do these preposterous chores. "I'm sorry they put you through this, Harry. I wish I knew how to help you so you don't have to return to that household this summer," he tells him softly with an apologetic look for even starting this topic. "I wish I could take you with me back to the manor. My mother would love to get to know you. I have told her in a few of my letters to her that we've ended our rivalry and we're progressing together."

Harry nods, wishing he doesn't have to go back to the Dursleys on the holidays which he knows Uncle Vernon will be insisting on punishing him when he steps through that door again. "Wait, you told your mother about this? About us? I don't mind, of course, I just thought-"

"My mother's quite fine with it," Draco told him earnestly. "She found out her own way that I'm gay. Blokes don't usually dine out with their Mother for High Tea and enjoy it," he grins. "It's just my father I'm worried about."

Harry nodded, Draco had reason to worry. "What do you think he'd do?" he asked, holding his breath.

Draco shrugged, thinking of the worst his father could do. "Disown me and lose the Malfoy Inheritance, never be able to see my mother again, lose all my belongings, my owl. So, pretty much lose everything."

"You won't lose me," Harry said with a promising smile. He could never think of that depressing image. Draco is his Quidditch, his distraction from his dark thoughts. "I'll always be here for you."

Draco gave Harry a thankful look. He didn't want to lose Harry. "Now..."

"Can we move on from the previous topic please?" Harry asked beseechingly with a slight frown and started eating a few fruits and berries from the platter. "I'm not really comfortable going on with the topic right now. Maybe some other day." Draco noted Harry telling him maybe some other day earlier on in the week, earlier in the term as they talked about such a topic. 

"Of course, Harry," Draco says and reaches a hand up to rub Harry's arm up and down. "This is our Butterbeer date, where's the Butterbeer!" He reached for the thermos, unscrews the lid and handed it to Harry with a smile. 

Harry took a sip from the thermos and the sweet buttery drink warmed his insides up. He passed it back to Draco with a "Thanks," and caught himself watching the blonde drink. Eyes fixated on grey eyes, then soft pink lips. "I wanted to tell you that you've got really nice eyes too."

Draco looked at him after taking a sip of the warm butterbeer, nearly choking on the sweet liquid. "Merlin, Harry!" he grins at the compliment and gives Harry a quick kiss. "Now, all this food shouldn't go to waste. Let's try to eat it all, and If we can't, I can just give it to the Slytherins to munch on in the common room."

*****

It was exactly 5:00 in the afternoon and Harry was rushing to get ready with Ron. He couldn't be bothered with being sad from what Ron told him about being gay and besides, tonight was a special night. He had his Black and White dress robes on and was currently doing up his bow tie. Ron had his new midnight blue dress robes on and was currently trying to decide whether he should style his hair for his Fedora. Harry also was thinking of styling his hair a bit but knew it wouldn't work well.

"Ron, do you have any hair gel I could use?" Harry asked as he ran his hands through his messy hair, trying to figure out what to do with his hair or just leave it like that. He wondered what Draco was wearing, and who he was with right now getting ready.

"I hate to admit it, but yes," Ron said with a smile, knowing Harry just wanted to look best for Malfoy. Or was it Draco now? "I have hair gel; did you want to use it?" He was doing up his bowtie, trying to make it look straight for the night. Usually, he wouldn't really care what he wears or how he wears it but right now he does want to look great for tonight.

Harry sighed in relief as his hair was messy like always and he wanted to impress Draco if it was possible. Could his hair be styled though? He's tried and failed multiple times. "If you don't mind then yes, please," he said with a little nod. "Do you think you can help with my hair? It's kind of hard styling it myself."

Ron nodded his head; he had been platting Ginny's hair when she was younger. It was fun and it was a part of how they got along as kids. "Sure thing, mate. Do you know what you want your hair to look like? Like... Slicked back, undercut, to the side, et cetera."

Harry thought for a moment, someone he trusts more to do his hair was Ron. However, he couldn't trust him to know about his life with the Dursleys. He removed the thought of the Dursley's from his mind and thought about his first date with Draco a day ago. "Uhm... Just do what you think will look best on me."

Ron nodded again, looking at the mess of hair Harry had. He ran a tentative hand through it and smirked, feeling how messy it was. It wasn't tangly or had knots in it which he thought his mate's hair would feel like. In fact, this was his first time feeling his mate's hair. He didn't see Harry's flinch when he touched his hair. "Okay, but firstly, have you finished getting dressed?"

"Yes," Harry said with a nod as he looked down at himself in his dress robe and the shoes he got. He just couldn't wait until he walks through those doors into the Great Hall, though it will be nerving, and he sees Draco. He wants the first dance to be with Draco, but he knows he must dance with Fred. Unless Fred and Draco do a switcheroo and change dancing partners.

"Let's head to the boy's bathroom for the hairstyling," Ron said as he grabbed a small round tub of hair gel from his trunk. On the way to the boy's bathroom, he said, "There are mirrors so I can see what I'm doing and so can you."

Harry stood in front of the mirror in the boy's bathroom, watching Ron gather some weird light-yellow gel in his hair that smelt of banana. That must be an everyday thing for Draco to do, gelling his hair. He wonders how long it takes Draco to style his hair in the morning. It looks like it must take ages but maybe since he's styled his hair for years it only takes minutes.

Ron remembered how his dad used to style his hair when going out with his mother. He gathered a palmful of gel and looked at Harry's mop of messy hair, thinking how he could do this. "Okay, I'm thinking of the slick-back hairstyle," he said firmly, and he thought about how the end effect would be. It definitely looked fine in his mind. "What do you think?"

Harry shrugged. He just wanted Ron to try and do his best to style his hair. It doesn't matter if it turns out not perfect. He just wants to look good enough like he actually tried doing his hair. "I don't really care as long as you have fun styling my hair."

Ron half-smiled at his best mate and started styling Harry's hair. He first gathered up all the hair, brushed it back with his brush until it formed small curls. He then applied the hair gel to his mate's hair, styling it back until he was finished.

It took around three minutes to do, and it made Harry think about Draco and how quick he must be. It probably takes him a few seconds then. He looked in the mirror and he was surprised to see himself staring back at him but with actual neatish hair. Well, it was as neat as Ron could make it, it still stuck up in places. "Brilliant! You did an amazing job, Ron!"

Ron just shrugged. He just tried his best. It wasn't that hard honestly. "Thanks, but it is pretty easy once you get the hang of it."

"Do you want me to do your hair then?" Harry asked him and pushed his glasses up his nose a bit. He ran a hand gently over his slicked back hair, feeling the gel in it and how shiny it looked. It also had a banana scent to it which was a little weird but it smelled like a banana milkshake so that was fine.

"No, I can do my own hair thank you," Ron says with a little shake of his head, a little worried about if Harry does something wrong and styles his hair into a swan or something. But a swan seems a little too difficult which he knows Harry won't be able to do. He just doesn't want his hair all messed up.

"Alright, if you insist," Harry said though he wanted to know what it was like to style someone else's hair and feel proud of it. He just wants to feel proud of something he did. Sure, he went through the first task and made it out alive but that was scary as hell. "Well, I must go down and get Fred. We have to walk in with the other Tri-wizard contestants and their dates."

Ron looked at his best mate, gave him a slacked expression and he furrowed his brows. He was confused with what his mate had said and what it had to do with his older brother. "What do you mean you and Fred?"

Harry just smiled and winked at his best mate. Shouldn't his mate know what he was talking about? It's very simple. "Oh, I'm sure you know exactly what I mean."

Ron just nodded but he was still confused as to why his own best mate would be going to the Yule Ball with his brother. He just shrugged and thought it was just some prank on everyone in Hogwarts, and damn he knew it was going to be a good prank.

He gave Ron a little wave and made his way back to his dorm room. He had to head down to the common room to get Fred so they can head to the Ball together. Its too bad Draco went with Pansy though. He's just glad they went as friends. He walked down to the common room and spotted Fred already there. He was wearing a lime green dress robe with black shoes and a black tie. "Wow, Fred. You look amazing!"

Fred looked over at Harry and smiled, his cheeks were a slight light pink colour. He has been complimented a lot it seems. "Thanks, Harry," he says and gives him a pat on the shoulder. It would be weird walking into the ball with a smaller guy, but it would be intriguing to what everyone else would think. "You look absolutely stunning as well!"

"Thanks," Harry said with a smile and feels the heat rise to his cheeks when he holds out his arm to Fred. The older male linked arms with him and led them to the common room's exit, ignoring all the gasps and whispers escalating around the room. Harry knew what to expect from the rest of the school going to the ball. From there they walked down to the Great Hall which was where the Yule Ball would take place.

Harry and Fred stood outside the Great Hall with the other contestants and their dates. He was still reeling from the sight of Hermione with Viktor Krum. Why hadn't she told him that she was going to be Krum's partner? What had she done to her hair? Harry had to admit that she looked gorgeous and so grown up in a ball gown with makeup on. Did he go forward in time or something when they're now adults?

Hermione waved at Harry with a warm smile and Harry smiled back. "You look amazing, Harry!" she said sweetly, walked over to him and gave him a nice big bear hug. "And so much grown up." Even Viktor seemed impressed with Harry's look.

"Thanks, you look beautiful!" Harry said in the hug and patted her back. Her perfume smelt like watermelon. It was a nice smell but now as captivating as Draco's lemony vanilla scent. He could hear the faint song 'Love Bites' start from somewhere inside the Great Hall.

He wondered who put that song on since it's a muggle song. Oh, it was probably one of the muggle-borns older than his year as he knows there are a few who bring in their muggle things or even George. In front of Fleur and her date he spotted Cedric and Cho. He gave Cedric a little wave and Cedric chuckled and waved back at him.

And then the Grand Hall doors opened into the lightened room of the Great Hall. Harry, Fred, Hermione, Viktor, and the other contestants walked in. There were claps and gasps coming from around the room. Harry knew that the surprised and shocked gasps were because he came to the Yule Ball with a man. He looked at all the girls' confused faces and just smiled, glad he could come out like this.

He looked over to the right side of the hall and saw Draco with Ivy and Pansy drinking butterbeer. He looked absolutely gorgeous in his black velvet dress robes. Pansy wore a fluffy pink dress. The pink and black robes appeared to underline how mismatched the duo was. He listened to the music that was playing, nearly tripping over his feet but managed to steady himself.

I don't want to touch you too much baby
'Cause making love to you might drive me crazy
I know you think that love is the way you make it
So I don't want to be there when you decide to break it, no

Harry blushed as he made eye contact with Draco and the song really got on his nerves. He just wanted to go up and kiss the living daylights out of his handsome boyfriend sitting so calmly with his friends. He stared down at Draco's lips; they looked so inviting and it made him even more nervous. He saw that Draco's mouth opened wide at the sight of him and he spilled his butterbeer all over his dress robes. Harry laughed at the sight and saw Pansy mutter a cleaning spell on Draco, so he was cleaned up.

The funny muggle song had been tampered with, Harry noticed, as he saw McGonagall chase away a bunch of giggling girls with a Music player and actual dancing music started playing on the Gramophone.

Harry and Fred walked onto the dance floor with the other contestants and started ball dancing. He placed his left hand on Fred's waist and the other hand linked with Fred's left hand. He didn't want to just stare into Fred's eyes the whole time as that'd just be awkward, but he did so anyway.

"These dances are boring, I want to spice it up a bit," Fred said and gave his twin a look of mischief from across the room. George noticed his twin's expression and nodded. He went over to a small bunch of younger students and leaned down to whisper to them.

Harry laughed. It was true, waltzing was getting immensely boring as he and Fred just continued the same dance moves repeatedly. However, he knows dancing with Draco won't be boring even if it is the same dance repeatedly. "How much do you mean 'Spice up'?" he had to ask in case the twins were planning some mischief like always.

"Oh, I don't know," said Fred and shrugged a little. He learnt the Macarena, Nut Bush, and Gangnam style from the fifth-year Muggle-borns. "The macarena, Gangnam Style and Nut Bush? Oh, and what were you laughing at when we entered the Great Hall?"

"Oh, Draco spilled Butterbeer on himself when he saw me," Harry said, and he looked over Fred's shoulder which he had to stand on his tiptoes to do so just so he could see Draco. The blonde Slytherin had a very pink face, but the Butterbeer didn't stain on his white dress robes. "It was kind of cute, to be honest."

"Maybe I should start spilling Butterbeer on myself when I'm around you," Fred said with a wink at Harry. Though the thought of doing so would be daft and he doesn't want to ruin his dress robes. They might be secondhand robes, but they were hard to come by.

Harry chuckled and he quickly looked back at Fred as Draco looked his way. He can feel an opportunity come to him that's not that far. "Yeah, maybe you should."

*****

Before Harry and the contestants walked into the Great Hall

Draco, Ivy and Pansy were sitting around a table at the Yule Ball, waiting for the contestants to arrive. Ivy was wearing a black and red Victorian style dress that looked like something a vampire queen would wear with little black bats for earrings and her silver chain necklace was just showing from around her neck. Nobody but Draco knew what the pendant that she wore was used for.

The three were just sipping butterbeer's when there was a commotion that came from the back of the Grand Hall. The three looked over and saw a few older students and George putting on some weird Muggle contraption.

Ivy recognized the music player that George and the students who she knows are muggle-born had placed next to the gramophone. Two of the students were in her classes. "Why does George, Elton and Nikola have a Muggle music player?"

Pansy played with her hair by twirling strands around her fingers, and she crossed one leg over the other. She wasn't really paying attention to what was going on around her. She was just looking for Hermione, but she knew the girl went with Viktor Krum. "What's a music player?"

Ivy smiled, she loved having knowledge that other wizards and witches didn't have. It just means she gets to teach others about muggle objects and see their reactions after. "It's a thing you play music on and it's like a gramophone but can play more songs that don't require records."

"Oh," Pansy said impassively and she nodded while grinning. She was clearly not interested in what a music player was as she kept staring up at the doors waiting for the contestants to come in. Ivy watched her friend staring up at the door, she just wanted to push Pansy towards Hermione for fun when they come in.

Draco took another sip of his butterbeer. Even he didn't know what a music player was until now. It was an intriguing muggle object though it reminded him of a gramophone.

The Great Hall doors opened, and everyone turned to look that way. Only Cedric and Cho were seen as they were in front of the others at the Great Hall entrance. "I guess Hermione and the others are here," Pansy said and drummed her feet on the floor to show her excitement while ogling the doors for a certain girl.

"Can't wait to see your princess now, can't you?" Draco asked his excited friend with a smirk. He was going to enjoy this night, teasing his friend repeatedly. He just hoped he would get a dance with Harry at some point, even if it meant staying till the end of the ball just to dance with Harry alone. He and Harry never talked about the Yule ball and what they were wearing. He was glad they didn't tell each other as he likes a surprise.

Pansy hit Draco on the arm, and she pressed her lips together in a straight line to show her irritation. "Shut it!" she said sharply as Hermione was not her princess. Although the thought of calling Hermione her princess excited her a little.

Draco rolled his eyes; he knew he was a bit too loud but hopefully nobody heard him. He took another slow sip of his butterbeer. Suddenly, a familiar flash of raven coloured hair came into his view and he looked over and saw Harry dressed neatly in dress robes, and his hair looked as though Harry tried to tame it by slicking it back with gel, though his hair was curling up in places. He chuckled, finding it cute. Draco nearly spat out his butterbeer but instead, he stupidly opened his mouth in surprise and all the butterbeer in his mouth had poured out onto his dress robes. To make matters worse he actually dropped his goblet. If only his father saw him now, bent and tripping for Harry Potter.

Ivy watched as Draco spilt Butterbeer all over his dress robes and she laughed at him. "Draco, gosh are you too blinded by Harry to know what you just did?" she said in a bright tone and her visage glowed with amusement.

Pansy looked back at Draco and couldn't help but laugh too. "He's lovestruck, isn't he?" she said and pointed her wand at Draco's robes and muttered a quick "Scourgify!" It wasn't exactly a question as they both knew how lovestruck Draco is for Harry. They can just see it in his eyes.

Ivy nodded at her, agreeing with Pansy with her whole soul. "Definitely!" she said and beamed as Draco never took his eyes away from Harry. She's glad nobody saw her cousin's little accident. "Just can't get your eyes off him, can you Dray?"

Draco stopped staring at Harry and felt a little hurt that Harry had gone with another bloke, and that bloke was Fred Weasley. He wished he accepted Harry's offer to go with him to the Yule Ball instead of going with Pansy. They would have officially come out together as a couple. "He's with Weasley number two," he muttered under his breath and crossed his arms over his chest.

Ivy and Pansy giggled at their jealous friend. "He's skipped the question, he's definitely lovestruck," Pansy said with a smirk and threw her Butterbeer cork at him. It hit him on the nose and fell to the floor.

Ivy smiled at her cousin, still wondering why he wasn't the one on the dance floor with Harry. Though he needs to be, and an idea popped into her head "Indeed!" she said with her hands on her hips. He's even jealous of Fred. "You know Drake, he only asked Fred because you never had the guts to ask him yourself. You told him you're going with our dear young Pansy over here when she clearly told you that you can forget about her and go with Harry."

Draco narrowed his eyes to his cousin. He needed to find something to say so she didn't become suspicious. "And how would you know that Harry didn't ask the Weasel because he liked him?"

Ivy rolled her eyes. "Because I happen to be his friend and the best option would be to go with a guy so people will know of his sexuality and so girls stop asking him out or go to the Yule Ball. Oh, and because you two kissed on Christmas Eve and told me that wasn't your first kiss together."

Draco sat there in silence for a few moments, taking in what he heard. He tried not to smile when remembering kissing Harry for the first time, Harry asking him out, their time in the secret room in the library on Christmas Eve and taking him on their first official Butterbeer date. "I hope your right about that as the thought of those two together makes me sick."

"The thought of Harry with another guy or girl always makes you sick, Draco," Ivy said softly, chuckling at his scowl, and she reached over to pat his shoulder. "It shows how much you love him and want him to be yours."

Pansy was too busy frowning as she wasn't the one dancing with Hermione. She couldn't stop staring at her when she entered the room with Viktor Krum. "Am I allowed to just shove Viktor Frankenstein out of Hermione's way so I can dance with her?"

Ivy smiled down at her friend and her muggle reference which she introduced her to. "Yes, you can do that but without shoving," she said in a slightly stern voice and pointed a finger at her. "Just politely say something like 'Hey, can I dance with Hermione for the next song?'" She then looked to her left at Draco. "Same with you too, Draco. Just go up to Harry and ask if he wants to dance with you. Simple. I could even go up to Lavender and ask her, but I don't exactly know where she is."

Pansy leaned back in her chair and sighed, finding this was quite boring just sitting here and watching the contestants and their dates dance. "This is so boring!" she muttered. "I want to stupefy his ass out of the Great Hall and run into the sunset with Hermione."

Draco looked down at his best friend like she had gone bonkers and snorted. "That's very thoughtful," he said and gave her a playful nudge in the arm for a tease. "I think you're turning into a Hufflepuff, Pansy."

Pansy stood up and pointed her wand at Draco's throat, giving him a wry smile. "Don't call me a bloody Hufflepuff, Draco Lucius Malfoy!" she snapped. "You and Ivy know what I'm like when I'm pissed."

Draco smirked and looked over at Harry. He was dancing with Fred with, of course, a bit of a stumble. Typical clumsy Harry Potter. He then began to feel what Pansy was feeling. Jealousy. He wanted to dance with Harry and have their first dance together as a couple. Looks like he must wait until the end of the night.

Pansy smirked at her best friend looking at Harry with jealousy and need. If only she had a mirror to show him the look on his own face. "A bit jealous are you, Draco?" she asked him flatly and held her sides. "That jealous you want to Everte Statum Fred's arse?"

Draco glared at Pansy but nodded his head, very much feeling jealous over Harry. It should be him on the dance floor with Harry, not Weasel number two. He squeezed the chair he sat on in anger, frustration, and jealousy. "Everte Statum his arse I'll surely do," he muttered so only Pansy and Ivy could hear.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Ivy asked, her eyes squinting with an inner glow full of mischief and she ended up cackling. She hadn't an idea why these two were still here in the first place. They should go to the person they want to be with. "Go get your man, you nincompoop!"

"What if I stutter or make a fool out of myself?" Draco asked suddenly. He still needs to act like he and Harry aren't dating by saying these things. He actually doesn't mind if he stutters when around Harry because when he does it makes Harry smile. That's all he wants too, to make Harry smile. "My father?"

Pansy rolled her eyes at him, wishing Draco would just go up and snog the man he wanted. She knows it wouldn't be very easy to do but she wanted to see some actual dancing and hopefully some kissing. "You're Draco Malfoy... you never stutter or make a fool of yourself! Merlin, if that's how you act around Potter then take a deep breath and start again. Who gives a dam about your father, Draco. He probably won't even believe it, that you danced with The Golden Boy."

Ivy nodded, agreeing with Pansy on that. "In fact, Pansy will go and ask Hermione to dance without fighting for her so you're not the only one who has to ask for a dance with the one you want," she said as she grabbed Pansy and Draco and ushered them to the dance floor. She needed to do this anyway.

"W-what-," Pansy stuttered and winced a little from how cold Ivy's hand was on her arm. She tried distracting them and to her luck she noticed something interesting. "Hey, look over at Weasel and Blaise!" she said and pointed to the left side of the Great Hall. She needed to change the subject anyway and Blaise and Ron were actually chatting.

"Oh, ha-ha!" Ivy said in disbelief with a roll of her eyes. If this was some trick of Pansy's, it was not going to work. She doesn't give up that easily. She decided to drop Draco off at Harry first and then do Pansy. It'll be much easier as she knows Pansy can get a little whiny.

"No, really have a look over there!" Pansy said and shook her delicate finger towards the two boys chatting. Ivy, Draco, and Pansy saw Blaise chatting to Ron. But they all knew Blaise was flirting with Ron since he's been crushing on him for a while.

Draco sighed. He wanted to get Weasley no.2 out of the way, so he has Harry to himself. "Let's just get this over with so we will both get what we want anyway," he said unenthusiastically, and he let go out of Ivy's grip and made his way over to Harry and Fred.

Ivy watched her cousin walk up to his crush, feeling so proud of him. She hoped they would have a good night together. She then turned to Pansy, who just stood their mindlessly. "Well?" she asked her a little impatiently.

Pansy just sighed and went over to Hermione and Viktor. Her nerves were already increasing the closer she got to the dancing duo. Ivy sighed in relief. "Well, I hope they get what they both want," she said sadly and made her way to the music player where the muggle-borns and George were.

Draco walked up to Harry and Fred, feeling the sudden jealousy and nervousness overwhelm him. He needed to be brave about this, and besides, Harry was his boyfriend so he should be able to dance with him. "Good evening, Harry."

Harry stopped slowly dancing with Fred and looked across from him. Draco Malfoy was standing a few feet away. He gave his Slytherin boyfriend a smile and said, "Hello, Draco." Was he finally allowed to swap partners? There weren't any rules to the Yule Ball, were there?

Draco felt his nerves start to increase and he bit his lip. He shouldn't be feeling nervous though. "May I have this dance?" he asks with a bow and holds out his hand for his Gryffindor boyfriend.

Harry smiled at him sweetly and then looked up at Fred. "Do you, uh... mind?" he asked him shyly, but he was pretty certain Fred would let him. Why wouldn't he? The twins already knew about him and Draco.

Fred shook his head; he didn't mind at all. He actually wanted to join George with the music player and surprise everyone with funny songs. "Not at all, go and have fun!"

"Thanks, Freddie," Harry said and looked back at the blonde Slytherin, taking Draco's hand. Draco squeezed Harry's hand gently, wanting the night to go on forever even if it had just started. He's glad he made the decision to ask Harry for the dance instead of staying at the table and chickening out. He'll just have to deal with his father somehow if he finds out.

"Just in case you need reminding, you look gorgeous, Harry," Draco whispers into his boyfriend's ear and gives him a quick kiss on the cheek. "You're the most beautiful thing I keep in my heart and the most attractive looking guy in this ball room." He held onto Harry's other hand; his left hand placed on Harry's waist.

Harry was blushing as he put his right hand on Draco's waist and his left hand held onto Draco's hand. "Thank you, Draco. Y-you too," he says and is now aware people are staring at them. He doesn't mind though. It's a good thing because it gives them the realization that enemies can become lovers in the rare occurrence. That they were really never enemies in the first place. They never truly hated one another.

Draco looked up into Harry's green eyes, his own silver eyes shining. "Sorry, I got lost in your eyes," he says as he was getting so lost in the beauty of green orbs. They shone like emeralds under the snowflake lights above them. "What were you saying?"

Harry hesitated for a minute and then broke into a chuckle. He leaned his forehead down on Draco's shoulder and sighed happily as he was finally dancing with the one. "I love it when you flirt with me."

Draco smiles at Harry's neck and as soon as he hears the waltzing music start, he gets into position. "I could stare into your eyes all day long, Harry," he says and decides to continue flirting with Harry just to see the blush forming on his cheeks that he adores. "And I still believe they are the most beautiful eyes in the whole wide world."

Harry nuzzles his nose in Draco's neck for a few seconds and then leans away, smiling brightly at his boyfriend. "Draco, please stop," he says in a quiet tone. "You're making it hard for me to not kiss you in front of everyone here. You're literally teasing me."

"Now you know how I feel," Draco says sweetly, and he licks his lips at the temptation to kiss Harry which is definitely hard to not do. "Perhaps if we're really desperate we could escape this place and find a corridor to kiss and cuddle in. Does that sound alright?"

"Not alright, it sounds perfect," Harry corrects him before they started moving to the old classical music together, never losing eye contact. The boys moved with the music, flowing around the room like waves of the ocean. Draco was quite impressed with Harry's dancing skills and footwork.

Soon enough the dance turned into a slow one and Harry laid his head on Draco's shoulder, feeling Draco's heartbeat quicken from his pulse. He felt his own heartbeat quicken which he smiled and melted into the familiar scent of Vanilla cologne and citrus hair gel. He was proud of himself for being able to finally do something with Draco in front of people other than stare at him, hug or even let the Slytherin kiss his cheeks. He believed Draco was the definition of beautiful and perfect. No, he is the definition of beautiful and perfect.

Harry smiled as if he just wanted to stay in Draco's arms all night or at least forever. It felt truly amazing, nothing like he'd ever feel. He felt safe, secure, he could go anywhere with Draco and the Dursleys would disappear from his mind. All the torture and abuse from Uncle Vernon moved out of his mind like waves of sound.

Draco smelt pine. Although, he smelt banana flavored gel in his hair. Weasley! he thought and scowled. Draco ignored the thought of Ronald Weasley putting Gel in his boyfriend's hair. He continued to dance slowly with Harry, and he squeezed Harry's hand, feeling a little squeeze back from Harry.

Draco just wanted to kiss Harry right now in front of everyone. He didn't care if the whole of Hogwarts saw it, even if his father came to investigate his snogging sessions with Harry Potter. He didn't care. He just wanted to be able to be with this man in his arms forever.

Draco would have run out of parchment if he tried to write down why he loved Harry so much. He needed Harry in his life. They were like the Leprechaun gold coin to the Niffler, he was the Niffler and Harry was the gold coin. Or perhaps it was the other way around.

They stayed in each other's arms, loving every minute they spent with each other. They swayed to the slow music together, not caring if everybody's eyes were on them. They just didn't care. It was nobody's business but their own.

Harry then got an idea. He liked this old classical music but thought that the whole music needed to be what Fred said, 'Spiced up'. "I'm going to ask George to change the song to something much better," he whispers to him. "It may be a Muggle song, but it's perfect, just like you."

Draco blushed as he nodded and looked right into Harry's beautiful green eyes. They held a sparkle of mischief that he just found so hot. He looked down at Harry's lips, it was so tempting to just kiss Harry. He looked absolutely beautiful. He wouldn't be able to help himself soon. He needs Harry's soft and feathery kisses.

Harry felt the same thing Draco wanted to do but right now he didn't want to be looked at by everyone, so he ignored the need. "Oi George!" He yelled across the room to Fred, George and a few other older students sitting by the music player doing the macarena. When the twins looked his way, he continued. "Play something muggle, please!"

Elton understood what Harry wanted though he didn't know him very well and put on 'Perfect - Ed Sheeran'. He winked back at Harry who chuckled and gave the back of Draco's hand a quick kiss. Draco smiled at him sweetly and Harry started leading the dance with Draco, hands in hands and staring into each other's eyes.

I found a love, for me.
Darling just dive right in.
And follow my lead.
Well, I found a girl, beautiful and sweet.
I never knew you were the someone waiting for me.
'Cause we were just kids when we fell in love.

Draco and Harry kept staring into each other's eyes, the song was really making their feelings for each other show throughout the room. Every word they heard from the song was true. They found love. They were kids when they found each other and fell in love, and they were both waiting for each other from the very beginning. They both felt the familiar butterfly sensation in their gut and the strong drumming of their hearts. They continued slowly dancing, hand in hand, staring into each other's eyes, wanting to kiss each other but not knowing when. They just didn't know if they wanted to come out like this. Little did they know, they had come out.

Not knowing what it was
I will not give you up this time
But darling, just kiss me slow, your heart is all I own
And in your eyes, you are holding mine

Harry let go of Draco's hand and wrapped his arms around Draco's neck, he kept staring into Draco's beautiful silver eyes that stared right back at him. Draco wrapped his arms around Harry's waist, and he couldn't help himself. He leaned forward and gave Harry a quick peck on the lips but then Harry parted his lips and kissed him. Draco melted in the embrace and really couldn't care less if people were watching and gasping. He tilted his head to the side and deepened the kiss, his hand came up and rested underneath Harry's chin while his other hand stayed around Harry's waist, gripping him more firmly.

They swayed slowly along with the beautiful music, listening to their own beating heartbeats explode with love while kissing in the middle of the dance floor. They couldn't have asked for a more perfect moment. But they had to lean away from the kissing as they needed air.

Baby, I'm dancing in the dark with you between my arms
Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song
When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath
But you heard it, darling, you look perfect tonight

As if on cue, the lights dimmed. The whole room turned dark with only the snowflakes just giving enough light to see everyone in the room. Harry was slowly regretting asking George to put the music on, it was just making him want to kiss Draco again but longer than necessary. He wanted a full make out session with Draco.

Draco was feeling the same, wanting to kiss Harry again because of this darn lovey-dovey Muggle song. He just wanted to pin Harry to a wall and kiss him until both of their lips were sore from the intense snogging. He didn't know who this Muggle songwriter was but if he ever met him, he'd surely thank him for this amazing music that he got to share a first dance to with his boyfriend.

Well, I found a woman, stronger than anyone I know
She shares my dreams, I hope that someday I'll share her home
I found a love, to carry more than just my secrets
To carry love, to carry children of our own

"I'm amazed when I look at you, Harry," Draco says and leans towards Harry's ear so the green-eyed Gryffindor could hear what he wanted to say more clearly. "Not just because of your looks, but because of the fact that everything I've ever wanted is right in front of me."

Harry smiles when a blush forms on his cheeks and nuzzles Draco's neck with his nose, smelling the citrus and sweet smell of vanilla. He could lay with Draco forever and not get bored of the scents he smelled. "Stop with these compliments, Draco. You're making me blush."

Draco laughed quietly at his boyfriend, thinking why he would want the compliments to be stopped when he obviously likes them. "But I love seeing your cheeks turn that beautiful shade of red, Harry," he says and reaches a hand up to move some of Harry's fringe away from his scar. It's so he could lean up and place a kiss to the lightning bolt scar.

Harry closed his eyes and felt a tingly sensation come from his scar where Draco had kissed it. It was like Draco's kiss was healing the scar almost, but he knew that wasn't possible. When Draco's forehead was back on his own, he opened his eyes and watched Draco's eyes glimmer under the lights. "You belong with me," he whispers and bites his lip at Draco's smile. "You've got a smile that could light up a whole bloody town and city, Draco."

"Don't make me kiss you, Harry," Draco said and used a soft tone. The thought was urging him to do it, but he fought it back. "It's quite tempting." The look in Harry's eyes told him just to do it, he was sure Nott, Crabbe and Goyle saw the kiss. Who knows how fast messages can travel from tonight?

We are still kids, but we're so in love
Fighting against all odds
I know we'll be alright this time
Darling, just hold my hand
Be my girl, I'll be your man
I see my future in your eyes

Harry and Draco were still swaying to the music, feeling like they were in a dream. The night just felt so magical, like in a fairy tale. 'We are still kids, but we're so in love' was a very powerful message Harry and Draco held on to as well as 'Fighting against all odds' since they both were fighting against something. But the part that drove Draco to near-tears was 'I see my future in your eyes'. He could see his future in Harry's green eyes. It wasn't a clear future as he's still so young, but he could see it.

Baby, I'm dancing in the dark, with you between my arms
Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song
When I saw you in that dress, looking so beautiful
I don't deserve this, darling, you look perfect tonight

Harry and Draco leaned in closer until their noses were slightly touching. They then chuckled quietly after booping each other on the nose, and so they pressed foreheads together and closed their eyes. Harry knows Rita Skeeter would have a field day if she ever found out about him and Draco like this, dancing in the middle of the dance floor with other couples around them.

Baby, I'm dancing in the dark, with you between my arms
Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song

He looks beside him and spots Fleur dancing with a guy, and Hermione with Pansy, Seamus with Dean, Ron with Blaise, and Cedric with Cho. He pondered where Joshua, Cedric's boyfriend, was. Oh, that's right. The guy was in France. It was nice seeing Ron dancing with Blaise though Blaise seemed like he was enjoying it more than Ron. But maybe Ron's hiding what he's feeling.

I have faith in what I see
Now I know I have met an angel in person

Draco opened his eyes, noticing Harry was looking to their side. He quickly pressed a kiss to his boyfriend's cheek and then to his neck. It made Harry look back at him. "Who are you looking at, Harry?"

"Ron and Blaise are dancing together," Harry says when feeling Draco's kiss still lingering on his cheek and neck and he smiles when Draco pressed their foreheads together again. It was a beautiful feeling actually, being close to Draco like this and dancing together. He didn't want this day to end.

"Looks like Blaise got what he wanted then," said Draco, and he smiled over at the Weasel and his best friend. He really has no idea what Blaise sees in the Weasel but what he gives his friend is happiness and hope for the future.

"Ron kissed Blaise on Christmas day," Harry then said and wondered if the kiss actually meant anything and if he should have told Draco that instead of keeping it a secret. Ron had kept his mouth shut when Ron saw Harry and Draco kiss at Christmas.

"Oh, did he now?" Draco asked and smirked at the thought of being able to tease Blaise now. He cannot wait to get started on it. "Honestly, I thought Blaise would have been the one to kiss Weasley. It seems I was wrong."

"You were in for a surprise then, Draco," Harry says quietly and gave Draco's nose a kiss which made Draco roll his eyes with a smile.

And she looks perfect
I don't deserve this
You look perfect tonight

Harry believed everything in the lyrics. He had Draco in his arms, he had faith in what he sees, he has met an angel, even if he's a complete git sometimes. Draco looks absolutely perfect to Harry and sadly, he believed he didn't deserve such an amazing young man. But he tries his best not to think about the negatives tonight. Only the positives.

Pansy and Hermione came running over to the two lovebirds dancing just as the song ended. Pansy had panic all over her face and grasped the side of her head to try and regain control of her breathing.

Draco saw the panic written all over his friend's face. He looked around the ball and didn't see his cousin anywhere. Now he began to worry about his cousin and her whereabouts. "What is it?" he asked fairly quickly with a mixture of worry and panic.

"It's Ivy!" Pansy managed to say between breaths and gasps of air.

"Dang it!" Draco said and turned to Harry. He smiled lovingly and whispered into Harry's ear, "Thank you for the night, Harry." He then kissed Harry on the cheek, but Harry surprised him with a slow kiss to the neck. He could feel Harry's breath on his skin, and it gave him a tingly feeling within. It calmed him down in the current situation they were in.

Harry blushed and smiled lovingly back at Draco and watched him run off with pansy. He just hoped Ivy was okay, wherever she was. He cupped his hand over his cheek where Draco kissed him and repeated the exact same words Fred had said to him over a month ago. It was so Hermione wouldn't get suspicious of the kisses. He hasn't told her about him and Draco dating yet, and he doesn't know when he'll do that. "I'm never washing my cheek again."

Hermione giggled at her lovestruck best friend and gave him a little smile. "I know you won't, Harry," she said and doubted whether or not he actually would wash his face for months now. But she'll make sure he does. "Although, it seemed that you and Draco had a pretty fun time. And we saw when you two kissed! It was so beautiful, Harry. You both looked so much in love with each other."

Harry lowered his hand from his cheek and sighed. The blonde Slytherin was absolutely handsome tonight. Well, Draco's always unbelievably handsome every day whether he was in his school robes or not. "Yeah, um," he said and rubbed his arm up and down. "It was quite extraordinary, and I would do it again if I could."

"You gave me the feels, Harry," Hermione said with a hand to her heart and gave him a soft expression. She swore she nearly cried tears of joy twice. "It was like watching a gay Hallmark movie. So beautiful and romantic."

Harry smiled at his best friend. Speaking of best friends... "So, where's Ron?"

Hermione gave him a knowing smile and pointed over to a table where Ron and Blaise were seated. Blaise had his head tilted to his side like he was studying Ron, and his hand came up to brush some of Ron's ginger hair out of his eyes. "Blaise Zabini is flirting with him. I don't think Ron knows he's being flirted with though."

Harry gave a little frown at his best mate, remembering what Ron told him about being gay. He needed to distract himself before he fell into tears from the memory and had to run off to the bathroom somewhere. "Hermione... What does Je t'aime mean?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, wondering why he doesn't know of the word and what it means. Everyone should know the word which is in French. She knows a little bit of French but not full sentences. "It means 'I love you' in France, Harry."

"Oh," said Harry, and he began to blush when he realized what Draco had told him on their date earlier. Draco told him that he loves him but in French. He then smiled and ran a hand through his hair lightly. He's new to the whole relationship thing.

"Harry, what is it?" Hermione asked as she looked at him a little suspiciously. She pursed her lips in thought about what her best friend could be hiding from her. "Yes, I see that look on your face. What aren't you telling me?"

Harry sighed and glanced around the room for anyone that could hear him. He knows Hermione will stay suspicious. "The song that George put on; it just made the dance much more magical," he started blabbering on about the dance instead of coming out to her. Harry smiled and stared down at the floor, watching a white balloon float across the floor where he and Draco once were.

He remembered how close he was to Draco. It made him remember a few classes back in Potions and charms, being closer to him made him all warm and fuzzy inside. "I could even see the need in Draco's eyes. He is so flawless, so handsome. I just felt like I wanted to be with him all night, in his arms and presence. He's so wonderful, Hermione. He's someone I want to be with forever if that is even possible."

Hermione smiled warmly at her best friend and his love life. She believed that someday, it'll come true. She just listened to Harry ramble on and on about the dance he shared with Draco. It was adorable what he was telling her. How he wanted to be with Draco forever, it was just like a Hallmark Movie. A true love story.

Hopefully, just hopefully Harry and Draco will come to their senses and finally be together because they are so damned cute together! She and Pansy damn well shipped them so much together. Speaking of Pansy, she remembered the dance she shared with her. It was quite enjoyable, to be honest. She and Pansy just talked on and on about certain things. She didn't realize how much she had in common with that Slytherin girl.

Harry looked around the room, but the strange thing was he saw Ivy. Did Draco and Pansy not see her? Odd. He narrowed his eyes to see a little more clearly and saw that Ivy had a black flask in her hand and poured some reddish liquid into her Butterbeer. He smirked, thinking that it was probably beer or some kind of wine or alcohol. What badass.

-

"Excuse me for a moment, Blaise," Ron had said, leaning away from the Slytherin's hands that had been touching his hair. He needed to talk to Percy, who was seated with Krum at a table and had been rambling on about the Ministry, he noticed with that look of pride on his face. Poor Krum.

Blaise nodded, "Of course." He looked to where Ron was looking over at and shrugged. "Do return, though."

Ron laughed with a nod and headed over to Percy. His older brother had been staring off into space for a moment, and Ron remembered that look on his face. "Percy, we need to talk."

Percy looked up at Ron and nodded, curious. "Yes, of course?" he said.

"You and Oliver Wood," Ron said with a tense smile, and Krum looked at Percy curiously, a thick eyebrow raising. Percy's cheeks flooded with colour, his fingers drumming on the table, ears red. "Look, I realized something."

"You realized nothing, Ron," Percy said at once and stood up from the table quickly, eyes glaring at him. "Leave it alone."

"So, there is something?" Ron asked him in a low voice. Percy looked away from him, glancing down and stared at a spot on the floor. "You can tell me, Perce. I won't tell anybody. I haven't told anybody. I know of your feelings for him."

"You know?" Percy drawled, crossing his arms over his chest. Ron nodded, and Percy finally looked into his little brother's eyes. "How!?"

Ron smiled. "A few years ago, I had stopped you outside of Ginny's bedroom after listening in to the book you were reading her. It was a gay love story, wasn't it?" Percy swallowed hard, and after a moment he eventually nodded. "Then why would you read her such a novel when you had told me that having feelings for another male was unnatural?"

Percy swore. "You wouldn't understand!" he then snapped at him. Blaise looked over at them as Percy raised his voice, alarmed. "You don't understand what it was like for me, to have these feelings for someone that you know you can never have. To have these feelings and be afraid of what your parents may think of you, so you start dating a girl hoping it would fix things. Penellope was my best friend, and to distract my mind from Oliver I started dating her. I broke up with her because it just wasn't right, it didn't feel right, I couldn't give her what she wanted. It was the hardest thing to do as I had to tell her everything, how I don't share the same feelings for her, and my feelings for Oliver. I lost her as a friend. I used her, in a way..."

Ron was taken aback. He never realized. "What about Charlie?" he asked, and Percy gave him a questioning look. Ron remembered back to that day when finding out about Percy liking Oliver Wood. It was later in the afternoon of that same day, and he found Charlie in Percy's room, and Percy was sobbing and as he listened in to their conversation, he realized Percy was telling Charlie everything. "You told him?"

Percy nodded quickly. "I had to," he tells him, a bit calmer now. "Charlie's gay, you know?" Ron shook his head, he didn't know. "I thought it would help talking to someone who would understand, and it did help. Bill knows too."

"Do Mom and dad know?" Ron asked. He needed to know. Percy shook his head and Ron felt dread pool in him.

Percy then second guessed himself, biting his lip. "Not that I know of," he said, and he sat back down next to Krum, staring around the room. "It's just... seeing girls dancing with girls, and males dancing with other males... I had been so stuck on my feelings for Oliver that I didn't realize there were gay couples in Hogwarts, even in my year, years ahead of me and below me. I'd have liked to have friends like me."

"It's different," Ron said as he glanced over at Blaise with a smile, only when the Italian looked his way, he had quicky looked away. "It's kind of nice." When he looked back at the table, Percy had gone. Darn it!

-

Minera McGonagall had just finished dancing with Albus Dumbledore, and they both joined Severus Snape by the tables, watching over the students. Severus was scowling at Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy who had just finished dancing together.

"Do calm yourself, Severus," Minerva says, smiling over at the two young boys. "They're not doing any harm. They're having fun. You should stop your scowling and join them."

Albus chuckled merrily. Severus looked at them coldly, before sighing through his nose. "I don't dance," he mutters, "It's foolish."

"I'm certain if we invite back Lu-" Dumbledore started but Severus cut him off sharply. "Don't mention his name. Please." Dumbledore raised his arms in surrender, backing away with a smile.

"I knew there was something going on between Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy," Minerva said just to change the topic, looking back over at the two young men. "Mr Malfoy pays more attention to Mr Potter than anyone else in this school. I find the young Draco Malfoy likes getting Harry Potter's attention. I think he needs it."

The scowl returned to Severus' face as he was instantly reminded of James Potter and his bullying, though always finding ways to grab at Lilly's attention. He didn't understand what she saw in the git; she was much better off with someone who wasn't so mean. Someone like Remus Lupin.

-

Draco and Pansy had just left the Yule Ball to search for their best friend. The dance with Harry was still on Draco's mind, it made him a bit less worried, and the neck kiss Harry gave him helped a bit more too. But it couldn't change the fact that Ivy was out in the castle somewhere and all alone. He kept looking up at the ceiling or the high windows for her as they rushed through the castle as he knew she could get up to high spots in the castle.

Pansy saw the look on her friend's face and sighed. She wanted to say something to make this less stressful. "You want to talk about the dance you and Harry shared?" she asked him softly while taking off her high heels. She couldn't run in them if that's what they were going to do when searching for Ivy. "Hermione and I were practically in tears when we saw the two of you kissing in the middle of the dance floor."

Draco couldn't stop the heat that rose from his neck and covered his face with a blush as he was remembering how close his face was to Harry's and the kisses they shared together. He wished he was with Harry again but right now his main priority was finding Ivy. "I know, Pansy. The night was purely unimaginable. I just wished it could have gone my way instead of... but let's just find Ivy. We know she knows a lot of spells which she can mend certain objects into sharp items."

Pansy frowned and knew that was true. Ivy had somehow turned a quill, a broken piece of table, lipstick and Butterbeer corks into a blade, and an ink pot into disinfectant so she could clean her cuts. "But why did she leave the Yule Ball?"

As much as he'd love to tell Pansy all about the dancing with Harry, he still had thoughts running through his brain. If anything had happened to her, he didn't know what he would do with himself. He couldn't lose Ivy; she was his sister more than a cousin. "The only thing it could have been would be feeling alone and left out, especially when she made us dance with who we wanted to dance with. She wanted us to be happy, that's why she helped us. Knowing her low self-esteem, she'd be doubting herself right now and that is why we need to find her before..."

Pansy understood what her dearest friend was saying. She placed her hand on Draco's shoulder for reassurance. "I know, Draco," she said sadly which her chin trembled a little. "Let's check the common room first, then I'll search the dorm rooms, then we check the bathrooms."

Draco nodded slightly; those places would be somewhere she'd go if she needed to relieve her pain. He just hoped that she didn't have a blade with her. He didn't know how she would do it; he knew the blade he hid from Ivy that was in the common room had disappeared a while ago. Somehow, that blade had disappeared and ended up in Ivy's possession.

"Drake?" Pansy said, trying to get her best friend's attention back from out of his thoughts. Who knows if she'd be able to surface her friend from deep within his mind? He could be lost in his mind for all she would know.

Draco only half-heard Pansy calling his name. His mind was a mixture of Ivy, Harry, and finding Ivy somewhere cutting herself. He turned to her and nodded. "Yes, let's check those places."

Pansy nodded and they headed to the Slytherin dungeons to look for their friend. They even searched the potions classroom just to make sure but knew they wouldn't find her there and they didn't. They rushed to the common room where Draco checked every spot she could be at, and Pansy checked up in the girl's bathrooms and dorms. Nothing. No Ivy.

"Anything?" Pansy asks, a little breathless as she meets Draco back down at the exit out of the common room. Draco shakes his head with a frown as they exit the common room. "I'll check the other girls' bathrooms. You check um... somewhere."

They hurriedly walked to where they thought she could be next, trying not to get caught by Filch but all they knew was that he was at the Yule ball dancing with his cat. Pansy checked the other girl's bathroom but found nothing, and Draco checked Myrtle's bathroom. Nothing beside Myrtle moaning in one of the toilet stalls. He felt like giving up on finding her. It's like she doesn't exist anymore! But then he remembered her favourite place. The Clock Tower. He then began the long walk up to the Clock Tower where he found nothing again. He hated this and the anxiety he felt was eating him from the inside.

He groaned and headed back down, not knowing where his cousin could be. He hoped there wasn't another spot she found. He gave up and headed back down to the Great Hall. He entered the Great Hall again with a frown and looked around the room. He feels a hand on his shoulder, and he looks to his side. Pansy had come into the Hall from behind her, and she shook her head.

Draco looks around the room again and feels the weight he felt when trying to find his cousin release. Ivy was at the back of the Great Hall with Lavender Brown, Parvati, and Padma Patil. He sighed with relief, his slumped shoulders. Straightening up, he pointed to where Ivy was. "She's bloody over there!"

Pansy sighed and went to the closest wall she could and leaned against it. She put her heels back on and wondered how they had never seen her earlier. Then she sees Hermione dancing with Harry in a way she has never seen before in her life. She's used to ball dancing, slow dancing, and waltzing. Not whatever they were doing, that involved flailing their arms in every direction and almost skipping around each other. "I'm going to go ask Ivy if she wants to dance soon. It's so she doesn't get lonely even if she's currently with a few people."

Hermione and Harry were with a bunch of other students and were holding their arms out, then turning them over, folding their hands over their shoulders, then their heads. It was all so confusing to the Purebloods. Then they all sang "Heeey Macarena!" then jumped 90° and repeated the dance over again.

Feeling the nervous butterflies in his stomach, Draco walked up to Harry dancing with Granger. As soon as he was a meter apart from them, he cleared his throat and thankfully heard the weird song die down. "Harry, I'm stealing you for another dance."

Hermione chuckled at the Slytherin and went over to the music player to whisper a song for a boy named Corbyn to play on it. It just had to be played for Harry and Malfoy.

Harry smiled at his best friend and was unsure what she said to George but guessed it had something to do with a song. He looked back up at Draco and swore the lighting in the room was making Draco sparkle. It was beautiful. His white-blonde hair was shining in the light.

Draco stared into those beautiful green irises, not sure what to do since the music didn't start. He just stepped forward, grabbed hold of Harry's hand, and held it in his. "Pansy and I found Ivy. She was here talking with Lavender brown and the Patil twins the whole time."

Harry laughed and let go of one of Draco's hands, putting it on Slytherin's shoulders. "Yeah, I noticed her too when you left and thought that the lighting must be a little too bright for you and your beautiful eyes," he said as he moved his head closer to the blonde, licking his lips as he wanted a kiss. Draco smiled and pressed his forehead to Harry's, then gave Harry what he wanted. A kiss.

Oh, don't you dare look back
Just keep your eyes on me
I said you're holding back
She said shut up and dance with me
This woman is my destiny
She said oh, oh
Shut up and dance with me

Draco twirled Harry around with a smile, and he whispered right into his ear, "Shut up and dance with me, Potter." Harry felt himself blush and let Draco lead in the dance. The next thing he knew Draco was holding onto both of his hands, he was leaning back onto Draco's chest and was swinging side to side.

We were victims of the night
The chemical, physical, kryptonite
Helpless to the bass and the fading light
Oh we were bound to get together
Bound to get together

Draco twirled Harry around again, this time he wrapped his arms around Harry's neck and Harry wrapped his arms around Draco's waist. Silver eyes met with Emerald Green eyes yet again. They both leaned forward and rubbed their noses together, basking in the feeling of each other just by a simple touch. Harry chuckled and Draco just smiled at him as they leaned away a little, forgetting where they were and that they were surrounded by other people.

She took my arm
I don't know how it happened
We took the floor and she said

Harry smile widened and he looked over at Pansy and Ivy, they were dancing together. It looked like they were having a lot of fun, but of course, they weren't slow dancing. They were just dancing in general, finding different weird dance moves to entertain themselves. Ivy was teaching Pansy the underwater dance where you hold your nose and wiggle your body downwards to the ground. It looked kind of funny, even if it didn't really match the song at all.

Oh don't you dare look back
Just keep your eyes on me
I said you're holding back
She said shut up and dance with me
This woman is my destiny
She said oh oh
Shut up and dance with me

Harry and Draco stared into each other's eyes again and never broke eye contact. They danced around each other to the beat of the song until it finished. By then, McGonagall announced that the food would be served soon so everyone should find a table with their dates or go to the back of the Great Hall where the photos will be taken. After the announcement, a few people started going to the left corner of the Great Hall where pictures were being taken in front of the three big white fir trees or they were getting food from the food tables.

"Do you want to get a picture or two with your friends?" Harry then asks him, and he moved his hands down to Draco's to intertwine them together. He glanced from Draco's eyes, down to his lips and back up again, biting his lip with a smile. "Or we can get one together."

"How about both?" Draco suggests softly, leaning closer and brushing his lips over Harry's. He just needed to feel Harry's soft lips on his again. They were mesmerizing and every time they touched his own, he just forgets where he is, and his brain shuts down. "But we can get the couple photo together. Group photos can be taken after and then we can eat."

"Couple photos it is," says Harry and he leans away from the blonde Slytherin's face. He nodded his head in the direction of the photographer. He then leads Draco through the crowd and over to the short little line standing in front of the three white fir trees. If the students wanted private photos there was a white wall that stands two meters high which you and your date could get a picture taken together and it's away from the rest of the students' sight.

They both waited in line for their time and when it finally came, they took two pictures in the couple's section even if the older students gave them odd stares, but they didn't care. The first picture Draco and Harry had their arm around each other's waist and the second picture Draco was kissing Harry's cheek and Harry had his arms around Draco and grinned at the camera.

Then they went over to the private photo area after thanking the photographers. It wasn't until they found out that the private photos actually cost to have, and Harry tried making Draco realize it's not worth it, but Draco insisted and said he'd pay for them. Harry didn't want Draco paying for the photos himself even though he knew Draco was loaded all because of the outfit the Slytherin was wearing. "Fine, but I'll be paying you back for the photos."

"That's sweet, Harry, but you don't have to do that," Draco says warmly and squeezes their intertwined hands. When they're behind the wall at the private photo section, that's when Draco pulls Harry into a slow and loving kiss in front of the camera with all of his body touching Harry. Harry feels his neck and face heat up from the kiss Draco suddenly gives him and he lets out a "mmm" as he places his arms around Draco's neck tightly so there's no space between them.

"Beautiful," said the dark-haired photographer with a classic French moustache and takes the first picture for the couple as he was kneeled on the floor.

The compliment only made Draco deepen the kiss with Harry and he wants to taste Harry again after so long but thought it wouldn't be appropriate and the photographers were waiting. So, he leaned away and hugged Harry for the camera. Harry smiles and presses his cheek to Draco's when staring at the camera. The second flash of the wizarding camera comes, and Harry and Draco change their positions.

The boys now faced each other. Harry placed his arms loosely around Draco's neck and Draco's hands slipped their way around Harry's waist. They had their foreheads pressed together and they stared into each other's eyes lovingly. The next flash goes off. Draco kisses Harry on the nose. The next flash of the camera happens.

Draco then gets down on one knee and he smiles up at Harry. He then looks beside him at the photographer and the crew members. "Does anyone have a rose or a corsage?" he asks them kindly and looks at everything the crew members are holding. No rose whatsoever.

"Here," said a blonde lady with her hair up in a high ponytail. She had a name tag that read 'Suzie'. She uses her wand and transfigures her wineglass into a red rose then hands it to Draco with a smile at the both of them. "I hope it's okay."

"Thank you, ma'am," said Draco, then he looked back up at Harry. He holds the rose in front of him at Harry's waist height and smiles. "Ils disent que vous ne tombez amoureux qu'une fois, mais cela ne peut pas être vrai..." He continued to speak French and Harry blinked at him, not knowing what the blonde had told him.

The camera man was nearly in tears but really, he was wiping away tears of joy. "Oh, that's magnifique!" he then said in his French accent, and it surprised Draco a little. But that moustache, he should have known.

"I have absolutely no idea what you just said, Draco," Harry says lightly but he knows his blonde boyfriend must have complimented him by speaking French. "You know I don't speak any other language besides English. Do you mind saying that in English for me please?" He gave him a little wink and leaned down to kiss his forehead.

"You don't know what he said at all?" asked Suzie with a condescending smile. "Merlin, you have a boyfriend who speaks French, and you don't know what he's saying half the time?"

Harry nods at her, and he looks back down at Draco. "I accept this rose, thank you," he says and places his hand around Draco's hand which held the rose. He knows Aunt Petunia likes watching the Bachelor for some reason though it's a boring show and there's not even any gay guys, pansexual, Transexual, or lesbians in the show. That's when the last photo was taken.

"Now for payments," said the photographer man and stood up from the floor which he was kneeling on. He gave the camera to Suzie and wiped his hands like he was dusting them off. "Are we doing this now or by a Gringotts Check?"

"Ah, yes," said Draco quite calmly like he's done this before, and he nodded firmly. "I'll go by Check, sir." He goes up to the man with Harry beside him and watches the man closely, making sure he's getting out the right Check and not some scam. He smiles at the real Check the man handed him, and a quill to sign his name and what his Gringotts Vault is.

He catches Harry peeking over his shoulder at the Check he's about to sign and chuckles. "No peeking, Harry," he says and turns around to face his lover. He gives Harry a kiss on the cheek. "Can you please wait for me by the wall for me? I need to write a few Checks down then I'll be free. Oh, and Je t'aime, Harry."

Harry smiles and let's go of Draco's hand, his arm falls to his sides. Draco just told him he loves him. He's never been told by a family member or friend that they love him. Besides Hermione who may have told him it once. Well, his parents would have when they were alive. In fact, did Sirius ever say he loves him? No. "I think I really love you too, Draco Malfoy," he says in a whisper, but Draco and the photographer man had walked over to the white fir trees, so he wasn't heard. He sighs and goes to the wall Draco suggested he wait for him at.

Then Hermione came over with a grin. "Harry, Harry!" she said rather quickly and placed an arm around his shoulder. "We're having group photos now. Are you coming or not? Malfoy can join us too if he wants."

"Yes, I'll be there. I'm just waiting on Draco to get back from paying the photography man for the private pictures," Harry explained and ran a hand through his hair which is impossibly still neat. He is glad his hair hasn't jumped out of the style it's in.

"Great!" Hermione said, and she let go of his shoulder. Then she clasped her hands to her chest and sighed at him like she knew something he also knew but nobody else did. "So, how is that boyfriend of yours?"

"Oh, he's incredible-" Harry starts but stops and hesitates, looking at her and feeling suddenly weightless. She shouldn't know. He hasn't told anybody, and he is sure Draco hasn't told anyone. "Wait... you know?"

"Of course, I know, Harry," Hermione said while smiling and gave him a nod. She has connected the dots. "Everyone should know since you practically kissed during the first dance. Oh, and the little cheek kisses since the start of December, you mentioning you kissed him. I believe you mentioned he kissed your cheek too. My suspicion rose after you asked me what Je t'aime means. Don't get me started on the private pictures together as a couple, and the way you both look at each other. Harry, it's pretty obvious."

Harry looks to the side of him at the ground and rubs at his neck while smiling a little. She was the brightest witch of her age so of course she found out this easily. "Right, and have you told anybody about it? Me and Draco?"

"No, Harry," Hermione said while shaking her head. She wouldn't tell anyone unless she's given approval to do so. Pansy would be the first to tell obviously. "I wouldn't tell a soul unless you allow me to."

"Thanks, Hermione," Harry says, and he steeples his hands and presses them to his lips. He then feels a presence next to him and looks to his side. He smiled at Draco and let a hand drop down to intertwine with Draco's. He leans his head against the Slytherin's, and his free arm snakes its way around Draco's waist.

"Malfoy, everyone's over at the photographers and we want to take a group photo which must include you and Harry in it," said Hermione, and she pointed her thumb behind her. "It was Pansy's idea. Ron's there too, Blaise asked him to join. We're all required to be there now so if you two would follow me we can get these photos out the way."

Draco and Harry nodded and followed her to the photographers taking group photos. They spotted Pansy, Blaise, Ron, and Ivy in one group who were positioned in front of the large white fir trees. They hurried over just so they weren't wasting the photographer's time. Ignoring Pansy's rants about where they've been, Harry and Draco joined the two other boys on the floor while Hermione joined the girls standing up.

Ron was on the floor, lying down with his elbow holding his head up and next to him Blaise was doing the same. Blaise would never sit on the floor, or even lay there, Draco thought with surprise. He couldn't believe they were even taking a group photo together, he's not friends with Harry's two best friends.

Ron and Blaise's heads were in the center and their toes faced outwards. Harry and Draco sat behind Ron and Blaise's heads; they had their hands intertwined secretly behind Ron and Blaise's heads and were smiling at the camera. They took an all-boys photo first, before the girls joined in. Pansy, Hermione, and Ivy were behind the boys and had an arm around each other's waist while smiling at the camera.

"Smile at the camera and say Flamingo's riding motorcycles," said the photographer in front of the group who Draco and Harry recognized as Suzie. She smiled at her own way of making the teenagers smile, although she kept glancing from the camera at Ivy and back again with a curious expression on her face.

Ivy grimaced; she knew the photographer lady had noticed she wasn't appearing on the camera. Then she realized that if Hermione, Harry or Ron saw the photograph that would be taken in a short moment, they'd become suspicious of why she's not showing up. Hell, what a way to expose her secret to them!

"Flamingo's riding motorcycles," the seven teenagers said and kept their cheerful smiles on their faces though some of them were confused with why they had to say such a thing. And then a flash came from the camera, nearly blinding Ron and Blaise since they were closer.

"Good, now do a silly one," said Suzie. "Make funny faces at the camera, everyone. In three... Two... One..." There was another flash. She looked at the picture through the camera and chuckled at the weird faces she was seeing. "Now for the smaller group photos."

Draco, Pansy, Ivy, and Blaise moved away from the three Gryffindors so Harry, Hermione, and Ron could take a trio photo together. Hermione was in the middle of her two friends when the picture was being taken and they grinned at the camera. Then the trio went to the side so the four Slytherins could have their little group picture taken.

Pansy quickly stole Blaise's top hat from behind and puts it on her head. She placed her arms around Ivy and Draco's shoulder while pouting at the camera. Flash goes the camera. Then Ron joins Blaise and they are back-to-back, their hats on their heads, and they look down but towards the camera. Flash.

Hermione and Pansy have a few pictures together too. One was just having an arm around each other; the second one is where they're hugging each other but Pansy's giving Hermione a kiss on the cheek. It made Harry smile at Hermione's blushing cheeks; he was glad she and Ron were having a good time with Pansy and Blaise. That's when the four Slytherins and the trio of Gryffindors notice that everyone's going to the large round tables to sit down for dinner, and so they go there and search for a place to sit.

"I want you to sit with me," Harry tells Draco with a little pout, and he leads him by the hand to the table Cedric, Cho, Viktor, Hermione, Fleur, and her boyfriend were at.

"I don't know if I'm allowed to though," Draco says, uncertain. If he were allowed to sit with Harry then he would bring Blaise, Pansy, and Ivy with him, so he wasn't the only Slytherin at the table. "I'm not exactly your date, remember?"

"Who's actually going to say anything?" Harry asks him with a grin and begins preening with his clothes as they near the large circular table. "We will see what everyone will say when we get there, and if you're not allowed then I'll ditch them and sit with you."

"Yes, we will see who kicks me off the table first," said Draco with a smirk and looks at the table he could sit on with Harry. "I bet it's going to be Weasel number 2 since he's already there. Speaking of the Weasel, you need to figure out where he's going to sit if I'll be sitting with you. You don't want to have to leave him without a seat now, do you?"

"No," drawled Harry, and then he sighed and wondered if Fred would be able to still sit with them at the table. He hoped so. He didn't want to have Fred feeling left out or down all because of him. "Let's just go and see, shall we?"

Harry noticed Fred was already at the table, and he sat down on the right side to Fred. Draco tried sitting down next to Harry but when he tried grabbing the back of the chair they just moved to the side and out of his reach. It was like they were playing with Draco.

Harry was just confused with what he was seeing. The chairs weren't even letting Draco touch them no matter how hard he tried. It's like they have a mind of their own. He would have scolded the chairs if he could but didn't want to appear odd to everyone.

Harry eventually got up and pulled the seat away from the table, gesturing the blonde to the chair to sit down. Draco smiled delightfully at Harry's gentlemanliness and grabbed the back of the chair, but it moved on its own and pushed itself back under the table. Harry frowned at the chair.

All Draco wanted to do was sit with his boyfriend. Is that too hard to ask? It seems so for the chairs. He straightened his back and crossed his arms over his chest, looking at the chairs with disdain, "How utterly rude."

"Don't mind ve chairz," said Viktor, his Bulgarian accent as strong as it ever could be, and he was already holding his knife and fork for the meals which were soon to come. "They von't let you sit down unless it's vith your date to ve ball. The one you valked in vith through the doorz."

"Oh," said Draco, taking a step back and he looked over to where Pansy and Ivy were. They all were sitting down, even Pansy was. He gets why the chairs are doing this now but why aren't they messing with Pansy? He looks back at the table Harry's sitting at and at the Bulgarian. "But my date, who's my friend, she's already seated at a table with all my other friends. The chairs aren't messing with her."

"Bring your friend over here," the Bulgarian told him with a simple gesture of a wave. "She must sit vith you or you von't be able to sit vith us."

Draco sighed at what he had to do. But at least he won't be the only Slytherin. He would have Pansy and even better, Harry. He leaned down and gave Harry's cheek a kiss, which surprised Fleur, Cho, and Cedric, and then he left a blushing Harry and headed to the table Pansy, Ivy, and Blaise were at.

Cho got the giggles and covered her mouth with her hand. "So, Harry, are you two finally a thing now?" she asked though the kissing she saw told her it must be a yes. The last time she ever saw the two together was when they crashed into each other in one of the corridors and didn't lose eye contact. She bets they could have stayed that way for hours.

Harry just smiled at the wine glass on the table in front of him and sighed happily. Should he tell them or leave it a secret until he and Draco officially come out to the school? He's already told Hermione. Well, she forced it out of him actually. "Yeah, we are," he said after a while. "But we're not ready to come out to the rest of the school. Although, I'm sure word will spread by tomorrow morning..."

Cho nodded and gave him a smile. "How far into a relationship have you come to though?" she asked him. "I mean, you've been kissing. I know that. I saw you two kissing on the dance floor during the first dance. Oh, and there's the cheek, forehead and nose kiss I happened to see."

Harry laughed a little awkwardly, but he was given luck when Draco joined him by his side, sitting next to him and Pansy on the other side of Draco. Harry looked around the hall and saw Ron with Blaise and Ivy while Padma was glaring at Ron, Lavender had an arm around Padma, rubbing her arms with comfort. Parvati was talking to a Durmstrang student.

Once everyone in the room was seated, in the middle of every table, plates of food started appearing. Steak and salad, chicken parmesan, Sheppherds Pie, pizza, omelet, burgers, et cetera. Harry grabbed himself a steak with salad and got onto eating the salad first.

Hermione looked at Harry's steak with a frown, then looked at him. She leaned into her best friend's ear and whispered, "Can I have half of your steak please, Harry?" She isn't hungry for steak, but her body needs it.

"Sure," Harry said, and he nodded a little slowly as he cut up his steak in half. Whatever her reason is it must be good. "I'm not going to ask," he added and stabbed his fork into the other half of his steak, and gave it to Hermione, placing it on her plate.

"Yes, please don't," Hermione said, and a light flush rose to her cheeks and spread across her face. She started cutting her steak up into smaller bite-sized pieces to try hiding how heated and pink her face could be.

Pansy knew what she meant and gave her a sympathetic look. She knows the pain of being a lady. "Oh, darling," she whispers over the table and just wants to reach her hand over to her to hold. "I know what you mean. It sucks." Hermione nods, staying quiet with embarrassment.

"Here," said Fred as he passed a red-wrapped candy over to her. "Newest invention, it tastes like raspberry. It should help." Hermione looked up at him, face flushed, and she quickly took the candy with a nod and a murmured, "Thank you, Fred."

Harry watched Draco eating the Sheppherds Pie, but quickly he looked away with a flush as Draco looked at him and winked. He turned to Fred, "So, what did you get up to tonight? I noticed you were over with George most of the night."

Fred laughed. "Oh, we pulled some pranks," he said with a grin. "We messed with the gramophone, made it play silly things, connected it to the radio one of my roommates had which played a lot of muggle songs. We found a spider and enlarged it, which you probably didn't realize since you've been too busy staring into the grey eyes of that one." He pointed over to Draco.

"See, Harry, even Weasley can tell my eyes are grey," Draco said with a smirk and Harry had laughed at What Fred had said. He slipped his hand under the table, grasping Harry's knee.

Harry's breath hiked at the touch, but he covered it with a forced cough. He could feel the blonde's hand on his knee, the warmth it gave him. He slid his hand down his knee and entwined their hands together. "No, Cedric's eyes are grey," he said as he pointed over to the Hufflepuff.

Cedric looked up at Harry from his meal and chuckled. "I agree with Harry," he said with a nod as he glanced over at the blonde Slytherin. Draco looked at him in disbelief. "In the sunlight grey does appear silver. My boyfriend Joshua thinks the same way, he wears reading glasses most of the time though."

Hermione and Pansy were talking to each other, not interested in the conversation about the many different types of grey. Finally, the sweets popped onto the middle of the table.

"So, it's Harry's glasses to blame. Of course." Draco takes the round spectacles off Harry's nose, folds them and puts them down on the table. "That fixes the problem," he says, leaning over and cups Harry's chin. "Now what colour are my eyes?"

"Well, now I'm blind," Harry says with a side-smile as he sees Draco's blur of a head. It was a beautiful blur. "I can't see without my glasses, you dumbarse." He reaches for his glasses, but Draco snatched them back with a smirk, keeping them away from Harry. "Give them," he reaches across the table past Draco, "To me!"

"No," Draco says, enjoying with a smile the sparkle of annoyance in those lovely green eyes. "Just admiring your eyes, you twat."

Harry blushed; he grabbed a slice of Treacle Tart. He looked back at Draco with a glare, but his features softened. He can't be annoyed at him for long with that lovely laugh the blonde was giving him. Not that he could see it.

"Sorry, this was my fault," Fred muttered and reached into his robe pocket. "Accio glasses!" he pointed across the table with his wand at the blonde Slytherin, and the round spectacles flew out of Draco's hand and Fred caught them. Draco looked at him with a glare and Fred grinned. "Here you go, Harry-kins."

"Thank you," Harry said as he takes his glasses from Fred and slides them on his face. He blinked and looked at his blonde boyfriend who he realized had a small Apple Pie with a dollop of cream where his dinner plate had been. "You owe me for that, Draco Malfoy. Nobody blinds me and gets away with it." Draco smirks and winks. Harry could have laughed.

"Gross," muttered Fred. Not even half through his meal, he stood up, grabbed his plate of food, a plate of Pumpkin Pasties, his name plate next to Harry's and pushed his seat under the table. "I'm out of here." And then he left without looking back.

"Nice one, Draco. You scared away my date!" Harry said and jabbed the end of his spoon into the blonde Slytherin's neck, and Draco shivered from the cold spoon on his neck.

"He wasn't yours to begin with." Draco wacked the cold spook away from his neck and it flew across the table, hitting Cho on the forehead. The spoon fell and clinked loudly on her empty dinner plate. She glared at him, next to her, Cedric had his face in his hands and was laughing.

Even Harry was laughing, clapping his hands in amusement and leaned his head on Draco's shoulder. "Sorry," Draco muttered her way, wanting to sink into his seat. He put an arm around Harry.

"It's fine," Cho said flatly, lowering her gaze.

After everyone has finished eating, the music starts back up again, and most people head to the dance floor immediately. Harry and Draco don't though. It wasn't the kind of dance they wanted to dance to, and it was very hip-hop. A few started breakdancing, and most formed a large circle around them and clapped along. Everyone except Harry and Draco watched from the sidelines.

Harry leaned his head on Draco's shoulder, and he sighed at the breakdancing wizards and witches. "Can we go somewhere alone?" he asked his boyfriend beside him in a quiet voice and rubbed his face a little on Draco's shoulder. His black hair tickled the Slytherin's neck a little and made the Slytherin laugh softly.

"Sure, we can sneak out of here," Draco whispers, and he intertwines his hand with Harry's and walks with him out of the Great Hall and away from the music flowing and echoing through the corridors and hallways of Hogwarts. "Where would you like to go?" he asked when they're safely away from the Great Hall.

"You mentioned the Slytherin boy's dormitory having windows that look out into the Black Lake a few days ago? I'd like to see that," Harry says and gives a little smirk. He would like to see the Slytherin boy's dormitory and be able to look out into the Black Lake. He wondered if it's peaceful like Ivy said it is.

Draco looked at him, and then a smile formed on his face. Would he take Harry down to the place where he and his dormmates sleep? Yes, he would. "We can try," he says with a shrug. "We have to watch out for the Prefects though. Thought I saw Smart Weasley in the Great Hall earlier."

"Percy?" Harry says with a laugh. "He did disappear, I noticed." They continue down the corridor, until Harry swears, pulls him around a corner by the hand and pushes him up against the stone wall. "Speaking of..."

"Harry," Draco whispers, trapped against the wall by Harry, his eyes gazing at the skin of Harry's neck as the Gryffindor looked to the right. He leans forward, pressing his lips to Harry's neck. He could just feel Harry's pulse under his lips speeding up rapidly the more kisses he gives him. He pulls back and that's when Harry looks at him, green meeting silver.

For a brief moment, they just stare fondly into each other's eyes. Then Draco reached his hands up and held Harry's face in his hands, tilted his head and slowly started leaning towards him.

Harry felt his heartbeat accelerate and when Draco's face was just an inch away from his face, he abruptly closed his eyes. Draco felt the same and when he saw Harry close his eyes, he smiled. Finally, the deep feelings they had for each other were sealed as their lips met.

Harry felt Draco put his hand that was on his face behind his neck, then Draco's hand was on Harry's waist and pulled him a bit closer. The kiss was sweet and full of affection, and it made them feel like time had stopped just for them and that this moment was already predestined to happen.

But all the innocence is stripped away as Draco parts Harry's lips with his. Draco slides his tongue along Harry's bottom lip, and the Gryffindor moans softly, pushing the blonde flat against the wall and simply he slips his tongue inside Harry's mouth easily. They moved in sync, passionately kissing each other. Harry could feel Draco's saliva as it rolled off his tongue and seeped down his throat with every push of his tongue against his. It was purely magical. He wanted more.

"Oi!" The two broke out of the kiss, looking over at Percy Weasley walking up to them. Harry had forgotten about Percy being in the corridor they were in before, he got distracted easily. He stayed where he was in Draco's embrace happily.

Percy stopped to look at them both; it seemed he lost his train of thought as if his mind went blank. "I apologize," he mutters and steps back, looking down to the stone floor.

"Percy, are you ok?" Harry asks softly, noting that Percy Weasley always tells off students for being in the corridors when they're not supposed to be, and he definitely doesn't apologies for things he hasn't done.

"I'm fine," Percy tells him, before shaking his head and walking back the way he came.

Strange, Harry thought as he looked back into Draco's eyes. He did hope Percy was doing ok. He did see Percy and Ron have a conversation earlier this evening and he noticed the older brother had gotten upset.

Draco pressed a kiss to Harry's cheek. "Let's go," me mutters into the Gryffindor's cheeks. "I'm sure Smart Weasley is fine. Weasley – your Weasley – will surely find him and ask what's wrong."

Harry Pffted as he said, "My Weasley? Ron. His name is Ron. No need to call Percy 'Smart Weasley' either." He kissed him with a smile and stepped back, giving the blonde room to move and held out his hand. "Sure, we can leave."

Draco took his hand eagerly and led Harry down to the Slytherin dungeons. "Class aptent," he says to open the Slytherin common room entrance, and when the entrance forms, they head on in.

Harry noted the Slytherin password had changed from a few days ago when he came down here with Ivy, Blaise and Draco to play Truth or Dare, though Blaise decided to not play with them.

The common room was empty thankfully. It was ten o'clock at night, so all the younger Slytherins were in bed and sleeping. Harry looked around the darkened common room which the only light sources were the candles around the room. He then felt a kiss to his cheek and a pull by the hand which he then noticed Draco was taking him to the right of the common room and down a small hallway. The hallway only had one way which was left and on the top right wall was a little cobweb.

They went left and followed the hallway down until they came across two stone tunnels which lead vertically away from each other. The tunnel to the left had a stone snake with purple eyes and it curled around the top of the tunnel entrance, and the tunnel to the left had a snake with blue eyes. Harry had a feeling which was the boy's entrance, and which was the girls.

"Does your common room have a charm where it stops males from entering the female's entrance to the dormitories too?" Draco asks as they walked through the right tunnel and down the next hallway which then showed a sign that said 'first years' on a wooden panel in silver letters and next to an arched brown door as they walked by, then a few meters forward the sign that said the second years was spotted.

"Yeah, if the Gryffindor guys try heading up the stairway to the girl's dormitories the stairs turn into a slide," Harry explained it to him and he watched every sign they pass, wondering if that's real silver carved into the wood panel. "So, if anyone were on the staircase, they would be sliding down right as the guy tries going up. What about you guys?"

"We Slytherins kind of have the same mechanism," said Draco, but he laughed a little at the way the Slytherin's have to deal with if they dare try and cross into the other gender's dormitories. "We can't go to the girl's dormitories, not even through the tunnel without it burning the hair off our heads or we get blown into the wall behind us. This one kid learnt his lesson last year. He was mortified about losing all his hair and having a back injury at the same time. It's the same with the girls too. The only way you can go into the other sexes' dormitories is if you're the Head of House."

"Yeah," said Harry and stops when Draco stops in front of an arched wooden door and next to it was the sign 'Fourth Years'. He feels excited as he's about to find out what the dormitory looks like. Draco opens the door, and he grabs Harry's hand as he enters so Harry goes in with him.

Harry walks into a long semi-circle room and noted it looked exactly like his dorm room with the fireplace in the middle and the tall 4-poster canopy beds spaced out, and by each bed were cupboards and wardrobes for personal belongings and tall arched glass windows which were looking out into the Black Lake. Besides everything being coloured red and gold, everything instead was deep green and silver. Harry didn't see any Merfolk, fishes, or the Giant Squid swim by though. The windows appear to have their own dark green curtains hanging down and just touching the floor.

The only light source in the room was the wall candles placed between each of the beds on the wall and the large arched windows. The walls and floors were the same stone as the stone walls and floors in the common room but there was a large Slytherin green mat in the middle of the floor to keep the cold at bay.

Harry watched Draco go over to the middle bed on the right side of the bedroom and sit on its side, so that must be Draco's bed. Harry went over to the Slytherin, but he didn't sit down. This was Draco's bed he was next to. He knows usually dormmates just sit down wherever they want, even on their mates' bed but he wanted to be polite. He can't just sit down on Draco's bed and not ask for permission. He took off the coat of his dress robe and folded it over his arm.

When Harry got close enough to him, Draco grabbed him by the waist and pulled him down onto the bed with him. He smiled at the Gryffindor with green eyes who's on top of him. "Finally, alone," he whispers, hands on Harry's waist, and he bites his lip at the possible events that could take place in his bed in the future with Harry. But he shouldn't be thinking about that now. "We should do this more often."

"Maybe we should, but it's more private down in the rooms," Harry says quietly, and he leans down for a kiss with a smile, and Draco leans up and connects their lips together and they kiss slowly inside of Draco's bed. Draco's hands come up and they thread and tangle themselves in Harry's black hair while the Gryffindor deepens the kiss and slides his hands down the front of Draco's dress robe.

Everything about Harry is perfect to Draco. The sheer softness of Harry's hair running through his hands is like water running through a stream. The feel of Harry's lips on his is just like before. Just like the way Harry passionately kisses. Harry's skin is so cool, like the air of an early morning walk.

Draco makes a split-second decision to quickly turn them around so Harry's underneath him and he's on top of him. He places his hands under Harry's bottom which makes the Gryffindor gasp a little and he pushes Harry up to his pillows and he leans down to continue the kiss.

Harry sees a spark of emotion in Draco's silver eyes that he's seen once or twice when kissing him like this with all hands, body, and lips. He doesn't know what it is, but he loves it. Draco's back on Harry's mouth in an easy second after taking off the coat of his dress robe, and Harry's slipping his hands under the shirt of Draco's dress robe and running his hands up the Slytherin's chest. It was surprisingly a little muscular for someone so slim, but Harry guesses it's from the Quidditch practice since their second year, plus all the stairs in the castle they've got to climb between classes.

Draco let out a groan of delight, and he kept himself up by his arms on either side of Harry. He opened Harry's mouth hungrily to let his tongue in. Harry's green eyes opened a little in surprise at the feel of Draco's tongue in his mouth, but he succumbed to his boyfriend's ministrations without hesitation.

For a long moment they just continued kissing, until Draco leans up, taking deep breaths, pressing his forehead to Harry's. "We should probably head back," he whispers, even though his body was protesting for more. "We've been away for more than fifteen minutes."

He doesn't want to go fast in this relationship with Harry. The fear that it could turn into what Edwardo Bullen had with him pricked in the back of his mind, he made sure it would never happen between Harry and him.

In a few seconds time, Draco got out of his bed, slipping his dress robe cloak on over himself. With him, the strong scent of citrus and vanilla cologne travelled up Harry's nostrils and made him sigh delightfully. Harry sits up and groans, feeling an uncomfortable feeling in his groin.

Draco laughs. "Your pants a little tight, ey?" He asks.

"Maybe a little," Harry says, blushing as he walked to Draco and placed his arms around him in a hug, breathing in his favourite spell-made or man-made scents from Draco. "It's your fault, of course, if I walk back into the Yuletide Ball with a boner."

Draco snorted. When Harry hugs him, the first scent Draco smells is Pine, and he breathes it in like he's out on a morning stroll through a forest. "True, I'm sure it'll be the talk of the school in the next week," he smirks. "Let's head back, we don't need a search party looking for us."

"I believe we should," said Harry, and he brings his hands down to intertwine one with Draco's. He really doesn't want Hermione worrying about his whereabouts. But she's probably hanging out with Viktor or Pansy.

Draco nods, and Harry smiles as he's being led out of the dormitory and down the hallway away from the boy's dormitories and into the common room. They have a quick peek around the common room and see it's empty, so they hurry back to the Great Hall.

They rush through the corridors of Hogwarts, being aware of their surroundings in case Filch was somewhere to be seen. They didn't see him anywhere, so it made their trip back down to the Great Hall easier. They peeked their heads into the room on different sides of the door and snuck their way through until they found each other again. A few students were slow dancing together in the middle of the room, and Draco and Harry decided to join them and have another slow dance together.

Harry placed his hands around Draco's neck, and just as Draco was about to place his hands on Harry's waist the music then changed into a classical fun waltz. It was the kind of music that flowed through the dancer's body and carried their bodies like a flow of water in a river. The other students who didn't want to dance just made their way to their large black tableclothed round tables and sat down.

Harry and Draco fell in step, letting the rhythm control their movements. Harry felt right in Draco's arms, and Draco in his, the steps flowing between them like sighs slipping against a silk pillow. His emerald eyes glistened, and a smile spread across his face. Uncontrollable feelings surged through Draco, and his fingers tingled with delight from that beautiful smile his boyfriend gave him.

Harry and Draco glided effortlessly around the floor in the waltz, their actions were smooth and confident like they've been soulmates in their past lives and have waltzed together before. They were confident with dancing in front of the many 4ths to seventh year students, they didn't even choose to acknowledge their fellow students dancing around them. It was just Harry and Draco. Draco and Harry. Dancing as one, and dancing alone.

Harry's messy black fringe fell across his lightning bolt scar, and Draco desired to brush away his fringe so he could see that famous scar. In his opinion, it made Harry look even more attractive and unique, like a gorgeous butterfly.

They moved their shoulders smoothly and parallel with the floor instead of up and down while waltzing together, and they felt elevated and lowered as they moved onto their toes. Their feet were like the waters of a stream: smooth and buoyant, and full of energy. Everything and everyone around them were spinning and it was a faint blur to their vision, they only paid close attention to the other's eyes.

And as the music died down, Draco wrapped his arm fully around Harry's waist, and he dipped his Gryffindor boyfriend to the floor. Draco leaned down, brushing his lips lightly over Harry's pink ones and he whispered, "Pulchra es amica mea." When Harry furrowed his eyebrows at the obvious French words, clearly not understanding them, Draco made his move and kissed him, in front of everyone in the Great Hall.

But there were no gasps of shock, or any type of noise which indicated people were shocked at the scene. There was just the constant chatter of students and the shuffling of feet throughout the Great Hall. Nobody was paying attention to them. Well, no one except Hermione Granger, Pansy Parkinson and Ivy Black who were giggling at them from the round black tables which they were seated at.

Harry snaked his arms around Draco's neck, melting into the kiss but also deepening it as he pulled Draco's face closer to his own. Harry fits perfectly into Draco's arms, and his lips are molded to the shape of Draco's which he feels they've been made for him. Harry tasted like anything amorous to Draco. He tasted tenderness, warmth, and intimacy – Draco imagined holding Harry by a bonfire, watching the reflection of the flames dancing across his skin. He tasted like pure, clear water, as though it came straight from a spring. He tasted like passion, like pure, unrestrained passion. Whatever he tasted like, it made Draco want more.

Harry and Draco never stopped kissing in each other's arms. It wasn't until they heard an "Ahem!" coming from the side of them that they broke out of the kiss with flushed cheeks and lips shining with saliva. They slowly looked beside them to see Pansy, Hermione, and Ivy giggling at them. Draco smiled at helped Harry up from the dipping position they were still in, and he placed an arm around Harry's waist.

The next song had just started, but the Hogwarts Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, turned It off and was now staring at his students with a twinkle in his eyes. "Good evening, everyone, it is my apologies that I had to tune down the music. It is time to leave, the clock strikes 12:00 midnight. So please, say goodbye to your dates and head off to bed as classes begin again in the early morning."

"Lovebirds!" Ivy sang just as people started to leave the Great Hall to head back to their house dorms. She's just so happy to see her cousin and Harry look so happy together. It's beautiful, actually.

"Certainly," Pansy said with a smile, and she rested her elbow on Hermione's shoulder.

"Very True," Hermione said, nodding while mirroring Pansy's smile. She started walking towards the door of the Great Hall as she wanted to get into her warm bed as soon as possible. "C'mon Harry, we better get going before Ron gets impatient."

"And let's go wait at the Great Hall's entrance, Ivy," said Pansy, and she dropped her arm from Hermione's shoulder and placed it around Ivy's. "We'll let these two say their goodbye's." With a smile, she and Ivy went out of the Great Hall but peeked their heads inside so they could watch the kissing scene if there was one.

Harry sighed at this news that he must go and looked to Draco with a smile. "Thanks again for the night, Draco," he says and leans away, intertwining their hands together. Then he leaned closer until his mouth was next to the blonde's ear, "I really enjoyed the time in your bed too."

Draco smiled at Harry, his cheeks flood with a blush that's spreading rapidly across his face. "It's no problem, Harry," he says in a quiet voice and plants a kiss to the tip of Harry's nose. "I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I did."

"Harry," said Hermione with an impatient tone, and placed her hands on her hips. She just wanted to go now and was waiting until the two kissed so she can go. She understands Harry probably wants to stay for a little while longer with Malfoy, but she doesn't trust Harry enough to return back to the common room safely.

"I'm coming, Hermione," Harry said with a loving smile at Draco and he leaned forward, his hands sliding up Draco's clothed covered chest, and he wrapped his hands around the Slytherin's neck as he leans forward and presses his lips to Draco's in a passionate way. Draco deepens the kiss with a head tilt, and he holds Harry dearly in his arms and forgets about the rest of the world as he gives Harry his love through kissing and holding. They eventually leaned away just to catch their breath and press their foreheads to each other's.

"I'm going to have to go now," Harry says quietly to Draco with a laugh, though he doesn't want to go anywhere but stay in the arms of his lover. "I'm probably going to get bombarded with questions from my dormmates relating to if we're dating."

"And what are you going to tell them?" Draco asked softly and brought his hand up to caress Harry's warm tender cheeks with care. He doesn't mind what Harry tells the other Gryffindors he rooms with. As long as they keep it a secret and don't go talking about it to people outside of Hogwarts.

Harry shrugged his shoulders and closed his eyes to Draco's hand caressing his cheek. He pushes his head into the caress and smiles. "I'm not sure actually," he says, still whispering his answer and turns his face around to press a kiss to the palm of Draco's hand. "What do you think I should do?"

Hermione rolls her eyes at them. She's going to leave them actually. She just cannot wait any longer. Her heeled shoes are killing her! "Harry, I'm leaving now so you'll have to go back to Gryffindor on your own," she says and was already two steps from the Great Hall exit. "I will literally leave you if you don't get over here."

Harry sighs at his best friend's words and leans away from Draco. "I'll see you tomorrow, Draco," he says and gives him a lingering kiss to the cheek. He lets go of the Slytherin's hands and takes a step back. "Thanks again."

Draco nodded, and then Hermione walked forwards, put an arm around Harry's shoulder and led him out of the Great Hall. They didn't talk on their way up to Gryffindor Tower as Hermione was thinking about a certain girl and Harry was thinking about Draco and what he was going to tell his curious dormmates.

Harry said Goodbye to Hermione in the common room and walked upstairs and entered the boy's dormitory. He ignored everyone watching him and changed out of his outfit and into his Pajamas. He then looked up and saw he was being stared at by his fellow dormmates. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," Neville said with a knowing smile and wriggled back towards his pillows. He was already in his pyjamas. He got under his blankets and pulled them up to his waist.

"Yeah, nothing," Dean said as he snuggled up under his bedsheet with a big smile on his face, and he looked over to Seamus who had a still demeanor like he was aiding in observation. Ron was just sitting on his bed with his legs crossed and looking down at the end of his bed, unresponsive.

Harry sighed; he definitely knew what this was about. The questions were coming, he could feel it. But he knows they were more based around Draco and not Fred. "Is this about me dancing with Draco and Fred?" Neville and Seamus nodded slowly; Dean was unresponsive as he was under his sheets.

"I went to the Yule Ball with Fred because I kind of wanted to come out to everyone that way," Harry said with a shrug and he ran a hand through his hair which messed it up a little. That didn't matter though. The Yule Ball was over. "I actually enjoyed it though."

Dean slowly crawled out from beneath his bed sheets, sitting up, hugging his legs and he gave Harry a reassuring smile to say it was alright. "Harry, we don't mind at all if you're gay. Hell, Seamus is gay! I believe I am too," he says. "As long as you're happy, that's all that matters, and we're glad you came out of the closet. You should be feeling proud."

Harry nodded; he knew it was okay to like guys. He's been told that by Cedric, Hermione and Fred. He does feel proud and quite happy. "I'm just going to head to bed, it's been a long night."

Neville, Seamus, and Dean nodded in agreement before snuggling under their bedsheets. It was indeed a tiring night full of dancing, eating, and more dancing.

"I kissed Draco, a couple of times," Harry then said and smiled at the memories of the dancing, the few little kisses on the mouth, nose, forehead, and cheeks. He couldn't forget the little nuzzles with his nose in Draco's neck, and his nose.

Neville peaked his head up from under his blankets, a little surprised by what Harry said. He did see the two dancing for most of the night which he thought was a little strange, but they actually look cute together. "You what?"

Dean sat up immediately and smiled knowingly at Harry. He actually saw it happen too. He just couldn't stop staring at the two who looked as if they were in deep love with each other, even if he knew they were rivals for the first three years of Hogwarts. It was beautiful. " How was it?"

"Amazing," was all Harry could say and he looked over at Ron who got under the sheets of the bed he was on. He frowned a little at his best mate, thinking that Ron did have a good time. Especially with Blaise.

"Tell us more!" Neville pleaded with a wide grin, wanting to know more about Harry's night. Especially if it was Draco Malfoy, which was a real twist. Who knew the Slytherin had a good bone in his body? He must do, if Harry likes him.

Harry couldn't help but smile as it was all he could do. He told them everything about the night, from the dances they shared and the little cheek kisses here and there, and the nuzzles. But of course, he left out the part where he and Draco go down to the Slytherin dungeons and have a little make-out session on Draco's bed.

Dean also couldn't stop smiling. This was wonderful to hear. Harry sounded so happy, and he couldn't have been glad that Harry's maybe found someone. "That sounds like a dream come true, Harry."

"Oh, it most certainly was," Harry said with a happy sigh. He could smell Draco on him from the times they've been close enough to each other.

"So, can we hear the story of how you and Draco ended your rivalry?" Neville had to ask as he was curious about how rivals could become lovers in a matter of months. But over the years he has seen some sexual tension and staring between the two.

Harry told them everything about the truce. But, of course, he left out the secret rooms and everything concerning and secretive. When he was finished, he bid everyone goodnight and laid down. He had the dance with Draco, his silver eyes, his blond hair, and his smile stuck in his head. Harry fell asleep to the memories of dancing with Draco and those silver eyes.

*****

Draco watched as Harry left the Great Hall with Granger. His heart was hammering hard against his chest that he couldn't even hear what Pansy and Ivy were shouting from the blood rushing all through his body. Draco forgot that he zoned out and had been staring at Harry's ass.

Pansy walked over to him with a smile, Ivy behind her, and she had to snap her fingers in front of Draco's face until he woke up from his thoughts. "Oi! Draco!" she said loudly, with a smirk when catching him staring at Harry's leaving figure. She knew what it was like though. Even she'd get distracted by watching Hermione and she'd forget who's around her and the time.

Draco blinked and looked down at her. "What?" he asked blankly with no expression on his face except for a little smile. Tonight's going to be a night he will remember forever and not just because he got to see Harry, he got to have his first dance with him, spend time with him alone, give him little kisses and hugs.

Pansy huffed and started walking back towards the Great Hall's exit, leaving them to follow after her. It's starting to get cold anyway. "It's time to head back to the Slytherin common room, you lovestruck man."

Ivy linked her arm with Draco's and led him out of the Great Hall, following Pansy down to the Slytherin common room. Pansy said the Password to the Slytherin Common room and entered without hesitation. Draco didn't know how long it had taken Pansy, Ivy and himself to get down to the dungeons. It felt like it was just a matter of seconds. Draco and Ivy entered the Slytherin common room behind Pansy.

As soon as Draco entered through to the common room, he'd been getting stares from most of his fellow Slytherins. He ignored his fellow housemates and walked to the other side of the common room where their spot was. He sat down on the table and sighed, looking out into the Black Lake from the large window.

"Well, at least they weren't shouting cruel names at you, or throwing hexes," Pansy said blankly, staring down at her high heels and decided to take them off. They were starting to hurt anyway, and she doesn't like how crushed her feet feel in them.

"It's not that, it's that anyone of them could contact their parents about me dancing with Harry and then forward the message onto my father," Draco muttered, but he wasn't worried about it happening. "I have no idea what my father would think about me dancing with Harry Potter. I mean, I could just say it was a big prank on the school if he owls me about it."

Ivy sat down at the table beside him; she didn't want this to feel like it was her fault but deep down she believed it was. Pansy and Draco exchanged looks of worry and sympathy at Ivy, they both knew what she was thinking. That it was her fault.

Pansy sighed at her best friend, sat down beside her, and gave her a big side hug. "Ivy, Honey, it's not your fault," she assured her with a little smile and pressed her cheeks to hers. "Draco chose to go and dance with Harry, you didn't make him. It's the same with me."

Ivy nodded, she could always believe that her friends were right and that she wasn't the cause of the problems. However, she knew that some day's she thought it was her fault and she would start feeling down because of it.

Draco squeezed Ivy's shoulder reassuringly and gave her a big smile. "She's right, you know," he said with a nod. "I chose to go and dance with Harry. And even if you did make me dance with him, I'd be so proud that you did."

Ivy faked a smile for her two best friends, she couldn't possibly give them real smiles because she just couldn't. It was hard. "Thanks, guys!" She said, a little tired from the big night. She did get to meet Lavender after all and have a few dances with her. "I'm going to head to bed."

"Alright, have a good night," Pansy said and leaned over to give Ivy a forehead kiss. She always does that whenever she sees Ivy's not doing to well, and when it's nighttime.

Draco wrapped his arms around his cousin in a tight embrace but who he thought about while hugging her was Harry. "Good night, my favourite cousin."

Ivy wrapped her arms around her cousin for a hug, when she felt as if she had enough, she stood up and walked a little towards the entrance to the hallway leading to the dormitories. "Good night, guys," she said and hesitated for a minute, staring at her best friends. With a sigh, she walked her way to the 6th year's girl's dorms.

Draco watched his cousin leave and turned to look at Pansy, worrying about his cousin and what she could get up to alone. "Maybe you should follow her," he suggested she do. "I don't want her using her blades, it's hard to tell if she's okay or not. She's getting much better at masking her depression now."

Pansy nodded, believing that she should do that. She's caught Ivy cutting a few times when alone in the girl's dormitory. "Well, in that case... goodnight, Draco and sweet dreams!" she says with a slow smile. "Also, if you'd like I can tell the Slytherins a good enough lie so they think it was all a prank."

Draco laughed; he disbelieved the Slytherin's would even think it was all a prank when he had been seen kissing Harry. He watched his best friend leave the common room. He then headed to the bathroom to change into his Pajamas, brush his teeth and jumped back in bed. Merlin, the pillows smelt of Harry. His bed will never feel the same again since it had Harry lying down on it.

*****

Lucius Malfoy was up in his office in Malfoy Manor, standing by the large window looking out into the back gardens of the Manor, and was reading an owl from one of his Death Eater pals. It was about the Yule Ball at Hogwarts. He took a sip of his blackberry tea and scanned the letter, feeling a rush of many emotions. Apparently, his son, Draco Malfoy had befriended and was dancing with Harry Potter. He smiled to himself wondering why such things would happen at Hogwarts.

He placed a finger to his lip and sighed. "Oh, Draco. What are you up to at Hogwarts?" he asked the letter. He placed the letter down on his desk and walked around to sit in his seat. He began writing a letter in silence but his wife, Narcissa, had knocked on his office door. "Come in."

Narcissa walked in, wearing an elegant white and black flowy dress. She sat in the armchair in front of her husband's study desk. "Hello, dear," she said and pushed a lock of hair behind her ears. "How are you doing this fine morning?"

Lucius looked up at his wife with a small smile, seeing her in a lovely long white dress. She looked beautiful as always, Lucius noted. "I'm doing much better than yesterday, thank you," he says and clasped his hands together over the table. "Is that a new dress? It looks absolutely stunning on you."

Narcissa nodded at his question and blushes at the compliment. "I brought it a day ago. Oh, and someone sent this to us by Owl," she said as she handed her husband the picture. Even from here she smiled at it. She was just so thrilled that her son would have someone to share love with. "I find it quite endearing."

Lucius studied the picture and laughed a little, finding it somehow amusing. "So, Draco was dancing with that Potter boy," he said as he studied the background of the picture. "Why yes, it is... endearing, as you say." He saw a couple of boys snogging in the background, as well as Pansy Parkinson dancing with that Mudblood. "Does the Parkinson's know their daughter is dancing with that Mudblood?"

Narcissa shook her head. She didn't want to intrude on any possible relationships blooming between couples. "No, I think it is best if we leave that alone as what's important is the image of our son dancing with Harry Potter." She knew her Draco wasn't interested in girls, it's quite obvious when you've been shopping in London and Paris with him for the past years, and enjoying High-Tea with him while he tells her about the best colour tones to re-paint a room with.

"I see," said Lucius, and really doubted the suggestion his wife made. Shouldn't the Parkinson's want an heir for the future though? "So, you are saying we should leave it to Miss Parkinson to tell her parents or for her parents to find out on their own?"

"Yes, dear. Pansy will mention it to them on her own," said Narcissa, and she tried her best not to chortle at the picture showing her son and Harry Potter. It was amusing to see. A mother loves seeing her son in love. "Now, if you look closely at our son's face you will see the most peculiar thing."

Lucius looked closely at his son in the photo; he definitely saw something he didn't expect. It was the look of love. "Oh, my," he muttered and rubbed his finger over his bottom lip, he wasn't expecting this at all when Draco came into his life. "It reminds me of how you looked at me when we first met."

Narcissa smiled at her husband with a slight blush on her already rosy cheeks. "Yes, it was the look I gave you," she says and as a strand of hair fell in her eyes, she pushed it back. "May I ask what you ponder if our Draco does have a love interest on Harry Potter?"

Lucius's smile turned into a straight line. It's a question he doesn't know how to answer. "I wouldn't know, if my father ever thought I was gay he would have kicked me out of the manor," he said and rubbed his fingers over his eyebrows with frustration. "I try to raise Draco as a man, even if it means he turns out gay. I don't really know how I should feel. Either I'm angry about it or wish him the best."

Narcissa nodded; she didn't know how her husband would take knowing if Draco was into guys. But she needed to know if her husband would accept their son for who he is. "So, if I am correct, you are implying that you do support our Dragon liking guys?"

"I'm really sorry, Narcissa but I don't think I can support our Dragon," he said impassively, watching the disappointment in his wife's eyes. It hurt him even to say it, but he must. "The only thing I wish would be that Draco will produce an heir, so the Malfoy name does not go extinct."

Narcissa's smile disappeared from her beautiful face; she knew Lucius was homophobic but truly thought he would accept his own son for who he is. "Very well," she said and narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm disappointed in you, Lucius. I thought you would accept our son as who he is. I'm afraid I was wrong."

Lucius kept a straight face; he very well knew how bad it was to disappoint your own wife, especially being a pureblood and a Malfoy. He gave a heavy sigh, disappointed in himself for letting his own wife down. "I am truly sorry, Narcissa. I-"

Narcissa stood up from the armchair and gave a quick, disgusted snort. She did not believe his apology at all, and she disliked how her husband was handling this. Does he not care for our Draco? Does he not want our Dragon to be happy? "Oh, stop it, Lucius!" she snapped with a harsh squint. "Take a look at the photo, see what your son is doing, how he looks at Harry. Look at them! Don't you see how that boy is making our Dragon feel? It's love! Don't you see? I don't care about your homophobic thoughts, just please look at our son!"

Lucius frowned at his wife's statement and looked at the photo of his son dancing with another man. She was right, Draco does love this Potter boy just by his expression and it was more than just a teenage crush. It was love, love at first sight. Lucius remembered all the time when Draco told him about Harry Potter, whether it was when he was jealous, angry, or perhaps something else. He remembered looking into his son's eyes and seeing something far more advanced than hatred, even if Draco wasn't showing it.

He remembered everything his Dragon had told him about Harry Potter, 'Wonderful Potter, with his scar, smile and his broomstick'. How could he be so blind? Draco was masking his true feelings in front of his own father, and possibly his mother. He now knew in between those lines, that there was a boy who masked his true feelings, a boy who found love. Lucius sighed and looked back up at his wife, "Did you know about our son's true feelings for the boy? Did Draco mask his feelings in front of you too or is it just me?"

Narcissa's frown grew a little. Finally, he is starting to see everything now! She nodded at him. "He never wore his mask around me, and I found out about his sexuality one time when we went shopping. I noticed he wasn't staring at all the pretty girls who walked by. He kept his eyes on the men walking the streets, they mostly resemble Harry Potter though. Black hair and glasses."

"A few years after that when we were having High Tea, I even caught him staring at Waiters bottom who looked a little older than him. The bloke was very handsome." She held back a chuckle. "That is how I knew; you have to spend time with our Dragon to get to know him. He's not our little boy anymore, he's becoming a grown man. By spending time with him, he will start to warm up to you, trust you more," she said with a hint of a smile. She knew how much her Dragon loved Harry Potter; it was just so obvious. Even by the way he writes about him in his letters to her.

Lucius laughed a little softly; she was right, he had to spend more time with him. He looked down at the photo, his son did indeed look like he was in love. The way he was staring into Harry Potter's eyes, it was beautiful to see. He then looked back up at his wife. "He is definitely in love. Do you know if they're dating yet?"

"Unfortunately, no," Narcissa said and shook her head. She asked around but none of the other mothers had heard of the two dating. "Although, I would think they both know how the other feels. Harry definitely has the look of love in his own eyes, that is something." She then hesitates and looks down at her nails. "So, what are you going to do about this? Will you support our Dragon no matter what gender he dates?"

Lucius looked back down at the photo, watching the way his son looks into the other boy's eyes as they danced. It was just like his and Narcissa's wedding, staring at each other for what felt like an eternity. "I'm still not too sure, but I do want our son to be happy. What do you think I should do?"

Narcissa frowned; how does he still not accept their Draco? And it's an easy answer to what he should do. "I believe you should decide on your own," she told him, and crossed her arms over her chest. "Perhaps ask Dumbledore to let him come over with Harry for the holiday. Or even write our Draco a letter, telling him that we know about his feelings towards Harry, the befriending, and the Yule Ball."

Lucius considered this for a moment; they both sound like good enough options but the letter would be the easiest. He clasped his hands together and sighed. "Perhaps a letter to Draco will be enough," he said and decided to take a sip of his hot tea to soothe his anxiety. "But I can't help but ask how I can write the letter?"

Narcissa nodded; thinking of how her husband should write the letter, but it is obvious how it should sound, happy and accepting. "You should sound like yourself, not what your father or grandfather would sound or say. The most important question is do you accept our boy to like men?"

Lucius sighed. He still doesn't know. All he wants in his future is a grandson or granddaughter to keep the Malfoy name going. "I still don't-"

"Oh, don't give me that!" Narcissa snapped and she wrinkled her nose at her husband's grimace. "If you really want our son to be happy then accept him for who he is, not how your father would. Lucius, you are not your father! You can still raise our son to be the best man he could ever be! Let him grow on you, show you really care for him! All this Malfoy Mask junk you use is silly and you make him afraid! Don't you know that!? He would probably think if you ever found out he was gay, that you'd disown him or even kill him."

Lucius was lost for words; his intention was to never make his only son feel scared of him. That was what shed a tear from his eye, knowing that he is the one that acts like an abusive fool in front of his son. He angrily wiped the tear away from his face muttering, "Malfoy's don't cry."

Narcissa sighed at her husband, seeing the single tear fall down his face from the confusion, and the anger. "Do you finally understand what you are doing to our son?" she asked him bitterly. "Who cares if you cry or not? It's normal. I cry every night, you know why?" She saw her husband open his mouth but close it, knowing he did not know anything.

"No, of course, you don't," she continued on, shaking her head. "I cry because of the fear that the Dark Lord will rise again. What happens if he does? Will we all die? Nobody knows. What will happen to our family? We all know The Dark Lord will be out for Harry Potter." She turned away from him, and held her elbows in her hands, staring at a little family portrait on top of the mantle of the office's stone fireplace. "What happens if our son and Harry have a loving relationship!? You and I damn well know what will happen if The Dark Lord finds out. It will end in heartbreak, sorrow, and loss. Do you know what it would be like to lose someone you love?! No, you don't!"

Lucius was still at a loss for words. He didn't know what to say, he couldn't say anything. Narcissa was right, he had been a bad father. How could he not know his own wife cried at night? He frowned at the thought of Draco losing Potter in a war if he did die, the broken look on his son's face would crush his own heart. "I know, I will soon come to accept our son as gay. It may take a while, but I will accept him. Although, I do feel as if we should Pensieve this memory of now and create a fake one in case our friends use their legilimens on us. We can't risk losing our Dragon, nor his love."

Narcissa nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. She walked over to the black locked cabinet to the other side of her and pressed her wand at the keyhole. The keyhole shook and the cabinet opened and there stood a Pensieve. "I think that it's a good idea. In fact, let's start the letter together."

Lucius nodded and searched his drawers for a piece of parchment. Finally, he found a white envelope with a nice sheet of fine parchment inside. "Can I possibly get a little help with this letter?" he asked her carefully. "I don't want my letter to sound anything but accepting." Narcissa nodded and walked around the desk to his chair.

Lucius started writing the letter with his wife's help to make it sound accepting of his son's sexuality. When he was done, he folded the parchment, placed it in its envelope and ink stamped it. He then walked over to his son's eagle owl and attached it to its feet.

"Wait, don't forget his sweets!" Narcissa said as she walked to the door and out of the room in search of some sweets to give her son.

Lucius sighed with a smile and waited until his wife got back. He continued to drink his tea and stare at the picture. It really was beautiful, the way both boys looked into each other's eyes. It brought tears of joy into his eyes, he let them fall down. "I am not like you, father," he muttered as he closed his eyes. "I won't ever be like you. How dare you raise me like this."

Narcissa came back into the room with a box of candies. She walked over to the owl and attached the box to its feet and let it fly. She and her husband watched as their son's eagle owl flew into the sky to travel to Hogwarts.

Lucius wiped away the tears, got up from his chair and walked over to the Pensieve. "Thank you, Narcissa," he said softly and felt daft to even cry at all. "I don't know what I would do without you."

Narcissa just kissed her husband on the cheek and headed down to her bedroom. When she entered, she walked up to her desk, grabbed a red envelope, and started writing her own letter to her son.

Dear Draco,

If you have already read your father's letter, then know that it is true of what he speaks. After many hours of explaining to your father that you're happy to like the same gender, he has come to try to accept it. Don't think he'll just accept it like you can wave a wand, no. It'll take some time due to the fact that his father was an abusive man and has grown to believe his own father was right about things. Much like you, but I'm sure you've come to realize that your father has been wrong many times. Malfoy's do cry, I just saw your father do so. Now, I'd like to know more about this crush you have on Harry Potter. Don't deny it, a mother knows everything. I know of your sexuality. Have you and Harry started a romantic relationship yet? I can tell when you look in his eyes, it's the look of love. Someone at the Yule Ball has taken a photo of you dancing with Harry and I find that beautiful. The way you look in his eyes, the way he looks back. It's love. When will I be expecting him over? The holidays? The weekend? When? You shouldn't worry about the photo; it has only been Owled to us Malfoys and I know your father's friends will believe it's a prank. Take care, my Dragon. I love you to the moon and back!

Sincerely,

Your mother, Narcissa Malfoy :)

Narcissa smiled at the little smiley face she put on the letter. It gives off a positive vibe, especially when reading it. She put the letter in its envelope and sealed it. She walked over to her brown owl, which reminded her a lot of her own sister Andromeda. She sighed sadly, missing her sister. She tied the envelope to the owl's feet and let it go out the arched window.

*****

Harry woke up with a smile on his face. It's been ages since that happened. He couldn't help but smile because what happened at the Yule Ball, dancing with Draco, it felt like a dream. Could it have been? Harry didn't know, he'd just have to ask Hermione about it. He got dressed ready for the day ahead of him and quickly put on his school robe and entered the boy's bathroom. He looked at his hair and smiled at how messy it was again. After brushing his teeth and trying to comb his hair he headed down to the Great Hall behind Seamus and Dean.

Harry entered the Great Hall, and he sat down next to Hermione and Ron at the Gryffindor table facing the Slytherins. Smiling to himself, he picked up a piece of toast, spread some Strawberry jam on it and began eating. At least he was still eating. That's something. "Hermione, was last night a dream?"

Hermione smiled cheekily, remembering everything that happened last night with Harry staring lovingly at Malfoy as they danced and even kissed. "Yes, Harry. The Yule Ball totally didn't happen last night," she said sarcastically with a smirk and gave his shoulder a little pat.

Ron snorted. Oh, the Yule Ball definitely happened.

Harry let out a little chuckle at Hermione's sarcasm. He knew the Yule Ball wasn't a dream as everything from last night felt so real. The kisses, the dancing, make-out sessions. God, that was an amazing time in bed with Draco. He just felt so alive then.

Hermione gave Harry a curious smile. "So, do you want to talk more about that dance?" she asked him suddenly. She looked over at the Slytherin table, seeing Pansy stare back at her. She remembered how beautiful she looked in that pink dress of hers. Smiling at the Slytherin girl, she looked back at her best friend while feeling heat rise from her neck to her face.

Harry blushed, remembering the whole night from the dancing, the in-bed make-out and everything else. Those muggle songs that played during the night truly sank into his heart. They held such powerful lyrics and messages. "Uhm... No, I'm good," he finally said. He didn't want to share any memories with her. "I'd like it to keep it between me and Draco."

Hermione nodded at him, and she looked back over at the Slytherin table at a certain girl named Pansy. But then she caught Draco Malfoy staring at Harry, she smiled at him knowingly and leaned closer to Harry. "Your boyfriend's been staring at you for the last minute or more," she whispered to him. She saw the rosiness of her best friend's cheeks become a little bit redder, she knew he was blushing. She so wanted to see her favorite ship snogging in the middle of the Great Hall, just like she'd so want her best friend to be happy with that man he's been crushing on for so long. "Why don't you go sit with him?

"I can't just go over there and sit with him, Hermione," Harry says at her impossible answer. He doesn't want to get pushed away from the table in front of everyone. "I'll sure to be stared at by the rest of the Slytherin's and possibly kicked away from the table. Who knows what they'll do to me?"

"'r 'exed," Ron added with a mouthful of eggs, his back against the Slytherin's.

"You don't know unless you go over there and see for yourself," Hermione tells Harry seriously, ignoring Ron, squinting her eyes and giving him a hard smile. "Just go, Harry. Maybe the Slytherin's would all enjoy your company, or I hope they would."

Then there was a familiar ruffle of feathers that came into the Great Hall and that could only mean the mail was here. Harry watched as hundreds of owls came flying into the Great Hall. His eye caught a familiar eagle owl soaring towards Draco, he didn't even recognize Hedwig coming into the Great Hall and landing near his toast. It was strange to him to see owls come in and deliver a chestnut package in the size of a thin rectangular prism to nearly every 4th year student and up. But Draco and a few other older students it seemed had also been delivered a second package but with darker material.

Harry watched as Draco opened the packages and peeked inside at whatever was in the little boxes shaped package. Then the Slytherin smiled, making Harry nearly melt in his chair. The other things Draco seemed to get were a basket full of sweets and an envelope. Draco opened the envelope and just stared at the letter, not even reading it. Harry could see the worry and panic on Draco's face as he stared at the envelope, it wasn't until Hedwig bit him on the ear that he came out of the trance he was in.

Harry grimaced and fed Hedwig a bit of his toast. "Sorry, Hedwig," he said and distracted himself again by looking at the package Hermione got from a school owl. He sighed and petted his owl. "I just had my eyes on someone." He then noticed he has his own letter and package, so he untied the letter and put it in his pocket. He didn't want to read it now; it could be a letter from Sirius. It was never safe reading a letter in the Great Hall, you wouldn't know if someone was watching over you and reading it themselves.

Hermione tried to hold down a chuckle, so she filled her mouth with pumpkin juice. She just wanted to reply with, That's true! But it was true. She looked through her package and smiled at the items she had taken from the Yule Ball.

Harry looked down at his package and opened it. Inside he saw a stack of photos taken from the Yule Ball that include him, Hermione, and Ron. It wasn't just his Gryffindor friends though as there were photos of Draco, Pansy, and Blaise too. He searched through the pictures and finds the section where it was just him and Draco. He picked one up and showed it to Hermione.

Hermione just smiles at the picture Harry's showing her. It was Harry with his arms around Draco while Draco's kissing him on the cheek. "It's beautiful, Harry," she spoke in a soft tone, and she laid a hand over her cheeks. "You deserve each other."

Harry puts the picture back inside the package and looks through the other photos of him and Draco. He then hears Hermione giggling and looks at what she's giggling at. It was a picture of Hermione holding Pansy around the waist while Pansy kisses her cheek. He smiles at the picture and looks beside him at Ron's who's sitting beside Seamus. He just sees a few pictures of Ron and Blaise posing for the camera in cool ways.

"Hold on," Hermione says in a low voice, noting where Ivy should be in some photos where she wasn't at all. She showed the pictures to Harry. "Look! Ivy isn't in these pictures at all, but I knew she was there with us. Pansy can't be holding thin air!"

Harry looked at the pictures of the group photos and Ron did too. Hermione was right, Ivy wasn't in any of the pictures. When looking at his own pictures, she wasn't in them either. "That's odd," he whispers.

"Indeed," Hermione replies with a nod. She twirled her hair around her fingers; Harry could tell she was thinking deeply about this. "It can't be a trick camera, or a trick of the light." She looked up at the Slytherin's, trying to spot Ivy.

Harry looked over too. Ivy was talking with Pansy excitingly about something. Why and How did Ivy not show up in the pictures? As if sensing they were looking at her, Ivy looked over at them.

"Ivy," Hermione whispers, lowering her head. "Can you hear us?" Harry thought his friend was going crazy. Ivy wouldn't be able to hear Hermione from the Slytherin table. Looking up, he noticed the goth had gone back to talking to her friends.

"What are you on about?" Harry asked her quietly. "You think she's got superpowers or something? Super-hearing? Invisibility in photographs?" He smirks.

"I just have a hunch about something," Hermione tells him, twirling her hair again. "I mean, she doesn't appear in photographs. Oh!" She reached into her pocket, pulling out a compact mirror that she opens and gives to Ron. "Ron, hold that facing Blaise and pansy."

Ron looks at them both, shrugs and holds the compact mirror at the Slytherins. Hermione scooted over, leaving a gap between her and Harry that she could see the Slytherins. "Yes" she said with a proud smile. "What I suspected. She has no reflection! But why doesn't she have a reflection?"

Ron shrugs. "Can I get back to my breakfast now?" he asked, and Hermione rolled her eyes and snatched her mirror back. "Thank you. She's leaving too."

Ron was right, as Hermione looked over at the Slytherins. Ivy was rushing out of the Hall.

Hedwig then bit Harry on the cheek, trying to get a reaction and attention from him. All she wants is attention from her owner, so she doesn't feel ignored. Hermione watched the owl with a smirk as she was enjoying this a lot. She feels sorry for Hedwig though. She's not getting any attention from Harry at all.

Harry felt the familiar bite from his owl on his cheek and he hissed a little. It actually hurt instead of nipping that she usually does. "Hey," he snaps at her quietly just so he doesn't gain the attention of others around him. "That's where he's been kissing me!"

Hedwig made a squeak of interest, wanting to hear more about this 'he'. Harry rolled his eyes at his owl; he'd forgotten owls could sort of see what you were thinking. "It was Draco Malfoy who kissed me," he whispered to his owl. He sighed at her disbelieving look. "Oh, sodding hell. He's my boyfriend, Hedwig."

Hedwig hooted and flew over to the Slytherin table. "No, Hedwig!" Harry hissed just to get her attention. "Come back!" But it was too late. She never did come back.

Draco was just eating his lemon jam toast in peace and kept staring over at Harry whenever his boyfriend wasn't looking. Just remembering dancing with him, and the kisses, the loving gestures, and the incredible time in his own bed made him feel so warm inside. He really wanted to dance with Harry again.

Draco unwrapped the white envelope with a black stamp wax with the familiar letter 'M' on the middle and the packet of sweets. He had already viewed the pictures from the Yule Ball he had, and he wanted to send the ones of himself and Harry to his mother with a letter saying that he was with Harry romantically. He didn't want to read the letter he was Owled now; he would wait further in the day. All he could think was that it was from his father. He sighed, stared at the letter, and opened the packet of sweets he was given.

He then heard another owl come in; it was a brown fluffy owl. Draco could recognize it from anywhere, it was from his mother. He watched as the owl soared down and landed just like his own owl did. He noticed it was another letter, he untied the red envelope from the owl's legs and placed it in his robe pocket with the other envelope from his father.

Draco heard a hoot coming from the Gryffindor table and heard a ruffle of feathers from in front of him. Before he knew it, a snowy owl had dropped down next to his own eagle owl and was rubbing against it. Some Slytherins on the table started snickering at the owls, knowing what they were doing.

Draco felt his cheeks redden in embarrassment; his own owl was shagging Harry's owl. Draco lost his appetite and tried to break the owls apart. When he successfully did so, he carried the snowy owl named Hedwig on his arm and walked over to Harry at the Gryffindor table. "Harry?"

Harry put his head in his arms on the table, he wished Hedwig could stop being so mischievous and embarrassing at times. He didn't even realize someone said his name until he felt a tap on his shoulder. He knew that familiar voice.

Draco Malfoy stood behind Harry with Hedwig on his arm and was smiling at the owl and then at Harry. "Harry, I think your owl and my owl are in some secret relationship," he said and gave Harry a wink. He then felt a flush spread across his face as he says, "They did something on the Slytherin table... it was hard to watch..."

Harry tried not to snort. Did he mean... did they shag on the Slytherin table? Harry looked at his owl, all feathered up and happy. He looked up at Draco, the embarrassment on the blonde's cheeks made him look very cute. He forgot he was staring again. "Um... sorry about that," he says, his chin trembles a little and his ears turn red. "Hedwig doesn't usually... Um..." He was lost for words. He didn't know what to say, it was quite embarrassing.

Hedwig hooted happily and fluttered her wings.

Draco kept the smile on his face and pretended he didn't hear the owl on his arm. He placed Harry's owl down on the Gryffindor table next to Harry and sneakily tilted his head to the side to give Harry a kiss on the forehead. The gesture made Harry part his lips and stare up at him.

"So... err," Draco says quietly, and he leans away from Harry. "I'll go back to the Slytherins like none of that happened." He hesitated and shook his head. He wasn't hungry anymore. "I'm just going to skip breakfast; I don't think I have the stomach to eat anything anymore for a while. I'll see you, Harry!"

Harry nodded at him. Even he was sure he couldn't eat anything until lunch. "Bye, Draco!" he said and watched the Blonde Slytherin exit the Great Hall. He then turned back to his owl, giving her a stern and unimpressed look, "You have a lot of explaining to do, Hedwig. I don't want little owl babies in my dorm room keeping me up all night."

Hedwig hooted guiltily. She pecked Harry on the ear.

Harry felt an inch of pain and rubbed his ear where his own owl bit him. His owl has become more peckish lately since the start of the year. He doesn't understand why. "Oww!" he hissed again. "What the bloody hell was that for?"

Hedwig gave Harry a look. A look which Harry never thought an owl could give someone. Harry sighed and shook his head at his owl. "I'll tell you some other time, Hedwig. Just not in here when people can hear me."

Hedwig gave Harry a peck of Sympathy. Harry smiled at his owl and looked over to where Draco exited the Grand Hall.

*****

Draco had just exited the Grant Hall and headed down to the Slytherin common room. He believed nobody would be there except for his cousin, Ivy Black. He said the password and watched as a secret entrance formed. It turns out, he was right. Ivy came running up to Draco and engulfed him in a big hug.

"Draco!" Ivy said, tightening the hug with her cousin. She smiled as she knew she wasn't alone in the common room anymore. It does get quite lonely.

Draco hugged his cousin back. "Hello, Ivy," he said and gradually became a little worried. She never just runs up to him or Pansy for a hug. She's shy when it comes to attention. "You don't normally hug me. Is there anything wrong?"

Ivy shook her head and ended the hug quickly. She just felt high. "Wrong? Why would anything be wrong?" she spoke quite quickly. "No, nothing is wrong. Well, of course, there is my depressing life but everything else is okay - Oh, also I kind of drank a quarter of a bottle of muggle cough syrup so it's why I'm a little over the top. Ahahah. And earlier I took a few Motion Sickness Pills - why did you leave breakfast early?"

Draco sighed; he hated it when Ivy talked about her life like that, regarding it as 'depressing' though he knew it was true. And what the hell is cough syrup? He knows of the potion which stops coughs but nothing that's syrup. And Motion Sickness Pills? He's just confused. "I left breakfast early because I retrieved letters from my parents."

Ivy nodded quickly; knowing Draco would rather read his letters on his own. She let out a few random giggles and pointed to places in the common room like she knew and had just walked in. "I feel like a pickle torpedo... In a sea of graham cracker crumbs."

Draco raises an eyebrow at her, not understanding her at all. What does she mean? He decided to let her talk nonsense to him as he doesn't know what to say. A few seconds go by, and he sees the familiar 'Can I read them too?' look on Ivy's face and let out a soft chuckle. "You know you can read them with me if you'd like, I don't mind at all."

Ivy's eyes widened and she grinned and jumped up with a fist pumped up into the air. "Really?" she asked him. Her eyes were a little blurry. When she notices the nod from her cousin, she gets even more excited. "Yay! But are you suuuuuure it's, okay?"

Draco nodded and walked towards where their spot was. "I'd like to not be near anyone except you when reading these, so we'll be here," he tells her and makes her sit down in the chair at the table at the back of the common room. "Stay here while I get some paper and my quill."

Ivy gave a quick nod and just looked down at the table with a grin. She starts humming 'Worthless' by Eli and giggles every time as a fish swim by from the large windows looking out into the Black Lake. "I want to go pet-petting," she says to the table with a pout.

Draco returned quickly enough to hear what she said, and he snorted. Pet-petting's a thing? Unless she means pet-sitting. "Which should I read first?" he then asks and sits down next to her, placing the letters on the table in front of them. "My father's or mother's?"

"I believe you should read your father's first, Drakey," Ivy says and she giggles again while poking him on the arm repeatedly. "Do your fathers! Father! Father!" She raises her arms up like she's hugging the air, and she sighs. "The dogs are yodeling!"

"Ivy, are you High on something??" Draco asked seriously while grabbing the envelope that was from his father and opened the envelope from the wax stamp using his wooden letter opener. He was pretty much chuckling at everything Ivy said that's not normal. Dogs can't yodel, right?

Ivy looked around the common room, there was nobody in sight. "No, totally not!" she says a little too loudly and Draco's glad there isn't anyone in the common room to see his cousin like this. "Don't worry, Draco. When I'm in charge you can still be deputy of fire truck planet!"

Draco nodded slowly at her, confused about what a fire truck is. Is it a muggle truck that's on fire? Interesting... He knew she must be on something, that something being cough syrup and pills of some sort. What are pills? He then looked down at the letter. "Sure, I'll be the deputy, whatever that means, to Fire Truck land if you want."

Ivy giggled again and clapped her hands together quickly. She was blinking rapidly down at the letters to focus on them. She gestured Draco to read the letter with a shaky hand. Draco stared at the first letter of the line 'Draco' and began reading.

Draco,

It has come to my understanding that you have befriended that Potter boy. I hope you know that I'm not mad at you. I am indeed very proud of you, son. I hope we can use Potter to our advantage, even if I do want to get to know him. Although, I'm sure I probably know Potter more than he knows himself thanks to you and your blabbering about him since your first year. 'Oh, Harry Potter with his wonderful smile, scar and his broomstick. He's so good at Quidditch. He's got an annoying smile and laugh; it bothers me all the time. I don't know why he never took my hand in friendship.' My son, I could go on and on because of what you've said about the boy for years. It even sounds to me that you've really wanted to be friends with him for a while, or even more. I'm only joking, son. On another note, I have received information that you've even danced with the boy at the ball. What do I have to say about that? I didn't believe it at first, but when I heard of it from one of your friends' fathers, I knew it had to be real. I have to admit, I cracked up in laughter. As far as you know, I am not a fan of homosexuality, but I will try my best to grow into accepting your sexuality. I would like to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

LM

Draco sighed in relief; it wasn't that bad of a letter. He felt a bit awkward that his father had mentioned what he had said in the past about Harry, or even that he liked Harry. What Draco knew was that this didn't sound like his father at all. Thankfully, his father didn't know about his crush on Harry, he wouldn't even know what his father would do to him if he found out. But that was what he thought. He then gave the letter to Ivy and watched as she read.

Ivy scanned the letter with bulging eyes, reading very carefully what was said in the letter. She couldn't help herself but give a little smile. "Well, it seems like your father knows of your befriending Harry, your sexuality, the dance as well as your crush on Harry. He even remembers the most used line you ever used, 'Wonderful Harry Potter, with his scar, smile and broomstick'," she giggled and placed the letter aside with a slap of her palm on the wooden table. It didn't even hurt.

"Oh, shut up!" Draco said and felt heat rise to his cheeks when remembering saying those lines to his father when he was younger. It seems like his father's going to torment him about it now, but he really doesn't mind.

"At least there's an advantage to what your father has written," Ivy then says, and she hunches over, placing her chin on the letter and reads it from that position. "He will try his best to accept you, even if it takes days, weeks, months or even years."

Draco nodded and grabbed the letter beside him that was from his mother and opened the envelope. "Well, here's my mother's letter," he said softly and then he hears Ivy's giggling again. He rolled his eyes at her continuous giggling and started reading his mother's letter.

Dear Draco,

If you have already read your father's letter, then know that it is true of what he speaks. After many hours of explaining to your father that you're happy to like the same gender, he has come to try to accept it. Don't think he'll just accept it like you can click a finger, no. It'll take some time due to the fact that his father was a bad man and has grown to believe his own father was right about things. Much like you, but I'm sure you've come to realize that your father has been wrong many times. Malfoy's do cry, I just saw your father do so. Malfoy's do blush, it's normal too. Now, I'd like to know more about this crush you have on Harry Potter. Don't deny it, a mother knows everything. I know of your sexuality. Have you and Harry started a romantic relationship yet? I can tell when you look in his eyes, it's the look of love. Someone at the Yule Ball has taken a photo of you dancing with Harry, I find that beautiful. The way you look in his eyes, the way he looks back. It's love. When will I be expecting him over? The holidays? The weekend? When? You shouldn't worry about the photo; it has only been mailed to us Malfoys and I know your father's friends will believe it's a prank. Take care, my Dragon. I love you to the moon and back!

Sincerely,

Your mother Narcissa Malfoy :)

Draco smiled at the letter and handed it over to Ivy. He always loves it when she has a smiley face at the end of her letter. It makes him feel less stressed about whatever bad news she could have been telling him through the letter. "Love you too, mother," he said to the letter.

Ivy giggled when seeing her cousin talk to the letter like it's his mom. "The letter's not your mom, silly!" She read over the letter and her smile grew wider at everything Narcissa wrote. "Your mother is right, you know. The way you looked at Harry at the Yule Ball, it was adorable. In fact, when will you start dating Harry? Even your mother knows you really like him."

She was the one who sent Narcissa the photo. She just had to do it earlier this morning when everyone was still asleep. "If drunk was some fruit, I'd be a pomegranate," she says and immediately cracks Draco up in laughter.

When he finished laughing, he looked beside him at Ivy who was slowly lowering her head to the table and nodding off into sleep. He smiled and grabbed the sheet of paper from in front of him and his eagle owl quill and thought about how to write a letter to both of his parents.

Father,

I am grateful that you're beginning to accept me for who I am, as well as accepting the fact that I have befriended Harry Potter. When talking about everything I've told you about Harry Potter in the past, can you please not remind me of it? I already have enough space in my head for Ivy and Pansy to annoy me about it. I don't think I have enough room for another person. By the way, what do you mean to use Harry for your advantage? I swear to Merlin, if you do anything to him...

Of course, I've been wanting to be Harry's friend since the first year, who doesn't? I just thought that because I was a Malfoy, that I could get anything I wanted. But no, I couldn't get the friendship of Harry Potter. What I really need to know is do you know of my love for a certain Harry Potter? Yes, I love him. I have for a few years. Thanks for the sweets!

Sincerely,

Draco Malfoy

Draco sighed and re-read the letter, making sure it makes sense and that there are no errors in it. Malfoys don't make errors. He then folded it in half and used the other side of the paper to write to his mother.

My dearest mother,

Thank you for letting me know that the letter Father sent wasn't a trick or anything. Sure, why not. Let's talk about my crush on Harry Potter. By the way, Harry and I are already dating. He asked me out, but I planned our first date the day of the ball. It was a wonderful time that I spent with him and I'm hoping there will be more dates to come.

I'm glad you can see how I look at Harry. I don't know if we're allowed to come over during the weekend, I'll just have to ask one of my professors. If there is a chance that he comes over, whenever that'll be, please don't humiliate me in front of him! Thank you for the sweets! I love you too, mother.

Sincerely,

Draco Malfoy

P.s. Can you please adopt Ivy as your own daughter? She's so sad and I want to help her mental health as much as I can. Do you know how much she suffers at her house? It's so inhuman. Please at least think about it, I don't want her going back to that monstrous mother.

With a sigh, Draco used a simple cutting spell and cut the paper in half. He folded the letters up, summoned an envelope and sealed the letter in it. "Well, I'm off to send these letters. Want to come with?" He looks to his side at Ivy who was fast asleep with her arms crossed over the table and he smiles. He got the answer he needed then. He headed out of the common room and up to the owlery.

When Draco exited the castle, he could feel the cool morning breeze on his skin and quickly made his way into the Owlery. He could smell the stench of the owl droppings as he walked in, but he ignored the smell and walked over to his own owl. "Hello, Ulysses. I'm not going to ask how your morning was due to the fact that you and Harry's owl shagged in front of me. You are weird, you know, that right?"

Ulysses hooted and fluffed up his feathers in front of him.

Draco smirked and petted his owl. He looked around the owlery tower to see if he was alone. He was indeed alone. He attached the two letters to Ulysses' feet. "Please send these letters to mother and father. Deliver mother's first, then fathers."

Ulysses nodded and flew off into the sky with a hoot. Draco watched his owl fly away and smiled. He then headed back up into the castle to the Slytherins common room and back to a sleeping Ivy Black.

*****

Harry was up in his dormitory; he couldn't forget what his own owl had done. Hedwig embarrassed him. How and why did she do that? Harry had no idea. What kept him from that thought for the rest of the morning was the letter he got from Sirius. Harry opened the envelope and began reading the letter, feeling some feathers being ruffled up beside him.

Harry,

Sorry for the late reply yet again. I have heard that you and Draco have made a truce? Apparently, you have danced with Draco at the Yule Ball as well? I'm proud of you, finally seeing sense and slowly deepening the relationship. I managed to find a photo that someone took at the Yule Ball of you and Draco dancing together. Merlin's Beard! The look in both of your eyes is beautiful! It reminds me of how James looked at Lily when they first danced together by the Black Lake under the Oak Tree one chilly evening, love in their eyes. Just like you and Draco. Just like how I looked at Remus and how he looked back at me. *sigh* And yes, I did sigh in this letter. Sorry to mention your parents, by the way, I know how it makes you feel. Hopefully, I'll get more photos like this one and make an album for you two. Wait... Draco Malfoy actually kissed you? Merlin's Beard! Forehead kisses could mean anything, Harry. But it's mainly what couples do. Love to hear from you soon!

Sirius

Harry smiled at the letter; Sirius knew about the Yule Ball and the Truce? Who told him about it? Harry chuckled at the thought of Sirius having a whole album of photos of him and Draco together, he wished it could actually happen though. Harry searched around the dormitory for a spare piece of paper. Luckily, he found one in one of the drawers in a cupboard next to Neville's bed. He grabbed it and sat back down in his bed with his quill and started writing.

Dear Sirius,

Yes, Draco and I have made a truce, that was so long ago, like at the start of the year and yes, we danced together at the Yule Ball. I was waiting for Draco to ask me to the Yule ball since it was mentioned but that never happened, so I asked him, long story, so I asked Fred Weasley.

I remember exactly how Draco and I started dancing. He was the one who came up and asked me to dance. It was adorable. I remember the first song they played, it was a muggle song, and it was perfect. I forgot to tell you... Draco and I are officially a couple! We went on our first date a day before Christmas. Merlin, it was so amazing! Oh, and we took plenty of pictures with the photographers. I've got lots to show you.

Anyway, do you know that you apparently have a daughter? Her name is Ivy Black. She has the same Black curly hair as you but with blue eyes. She's really nice, she lives with her mother Willow LeStrange. But she is struggling with things right now that damage her mental health. Did you ever know she existed? Can't wait to hear back from you.

Harry

Harry put the letter in the envelope and sealed it shut, he gave it to Hedwig and watched as she flew out the window into the bright blue sky. He hoped Sirius wouldn't be mad at him in some way like telling him what went down in Draco's bed last night.

*****************************************************

I literally had to have a break from writing about the Yule Ball now and then. My fangirling just took over my emotions and I started screeching, crying tears of joy, and whispering, 'My babies'. 😂😂😂😂😂

Songs used in Chapter: Love Bites - Def Leppard, Perfect - Edd Sheeran and Shut up and dance - walk the moon.