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Draco stood against the far wall of the ballroom, watching as everyone before him danced around the room. Everyone was having such a good time laughing and drinking. Draco snorted, leaning further against the wall, arms crossed, as he waited for Pansy to return with their drinks. This night was not at all going the way he had planned. He hadn’t even wanted to come if he was being completely honest. But Pansy didn’t have a date and she all but begged him to take her to the Yule Ball.
But now she was nowhere to be seen.
Draco sighed, looking around for his “date” when his eyes landed on someone else. Of course it had to be Potter, he almost always sorted him out, as if he was some hidden jewel within a treasure hunt. He sat, glaring and with his arms crossed, in between Ron and Hermione as they yelled back and forth across him. Occasionally, he would say something, but for the most part, Ron and Hermione were doing all the talking. One of the Patil twins could be seen sitting next to Ron not looking at all amused. Draco wasn’t sure where the other one was.
Suddenly, Hermione jumped up, said something, and then spun around and walked away. Ron huffed, leaning back in his chair, now also looking quite irritated. The Patil twin, if Draco had to guess, he’d say Padma, muttered something to Ron, who then shook his head, causing the Ravenclaw to huff and storm away.
Draco was both highly amused and curious as to what had just transpired. His eyes scanned the room to see if anyone else saw what he just witnessed. By the looks of it, not only had no one else spotted the verbal brawl, but Pansy was now off dancing in the corner with Blaise. Draco huffed again, turning his attention back to Potter. He and the Weasel were exchanging a few words, but Ron finally got up and walked out of the ballroom. Draco could see Harry sighing, leaning back against his table and folding his arms.
Draco shrugged, pushing himself up off the wall. Might as well go see what all the fuss is about. He slowly made his way across the dancefloor as people kept bumping into him and tossing him around. Eventually, he made it across the way to stand a couple of feet in front of Potter, who was glaring down at the ground, unaware of Malfoy’s presence.
“You look utterly miserable,” Draco deadpanned.
Harry looked up and sighed. “Honestly? I am,” he said, not even in the mood to pick a fight with Malfoy.
Draco shrugged, taking this as a good sign and took a seat next to the Gryffindor. “Yeah...me too,”
Harry nodded. “Who’d you bring?”
“Pansy. You?”
“Parvati,”
“I’m guessing she wasn’t your first choice?”
“I hardly had any choice,”
“Well, if it makes you feel better, Pansy dragged me here. I would much rather be back in the dungeons,”
Harry gave Draco a weird look. “Malfoy?”
“Hmm?”
“What are you doing?”
Draco shrugged. “Making small talk, I guess,”
“Why?”
Another shrug. “No use in both of us being miserable, right? And if we’re going to be, we might as well be miserable together,”
Harry nodded. “Can’t argue with that logic,”
Draco actually offered Harry a real smile, before standing and reaching out a hand. “May I have this dance, Potter?”
Harry’s eyes went wide. “Oh no, no I can’t dance,”
Draco actually had the nerve to laugh. “You mean those lessons with McGonagall didn’t help?”
Harry scoffed. “Hardly,”
“Well...come on, I’ll teach you. It’s simple enough, even for you,”
Harry shook his head. “I don’t know…”
Draco smirked down at him. “What’s the matter? Scared, Potter?”
Harry looked up at Draco, then down at his offered hand. Suddenly, he got this determined look in his eyes as he grasped it firmly in his own. “You wish,”
---
“See? It’s not so bad,” Draco said.
Harry nodded as he let Draco lead him through the slow dance. “I’ve only stepped on your foot three times now,”
Draco chuckled lightly, shaking his head. When they’d gotten onto the dancefloor, the music had been loud and upbeat. They’d kept quite a bit of distance between then, while Draco showed him some basic dance moves. Harry had just been starting to get the hang of it when a slow song had started to play.
“Maybe we should take a break?” Draco suggested.
Harry shrugged. “Or you could teach me how to slow dance,”
Draco had readily agreed, pulling the Gryffindor closer. “Fine, but I get to lead,” he said, taking Potter’s hands in his. Harry nodded, following Draco’s lead as he began to sway them back and forth. Around them, others had began to slow dance as well. As Harry watched them now, careful not to step on Draco, he started wondering if maybe he should be doing something else? While he and Draco still maintained a bit of space between them, other people were pressed tightly against one another, some even laying their heads on the other’s shoulder. Harry began to blush. Would Draco even let him do that?
“You can wrap your arms around me if you want,” Draco said.
Harry blushed, but nodded all the same. “Okay,” he tentatively took a step closer, letting Draco’s hand go to wrap his arms around his neck. Draco was taller than him, so it only made sense, as Draco’s arms looped around to rest just above his waist. “This okay?”
Draco nodded. They continued to sway together, both feeling just a tad awkward, and trying to look anywhere but at each other. Somehow, they felt as though it was only making things even more awkward, because now everyone was either tightly pressed up against one another, or engaged in a heavy makeout session.
Harry started blushing even harder. Was he supposed to…
“You can...I mean, if you want. You don’t have to, but…”
Harry laughed, stepping even closer to Draco and lightly laying his head down on Draco’s shoulder. “This still okay?”
“Hmm,” Draco nodded, not trusting himself to mutter a real response.
Draco smelt...nice. Like vanilla. He was sweet, which was odd, because in all the encounters he’d ever had with the blond he certainly had not been sweet. But, he had to admit that this was nice. Harry sighed, his body slowly beginning to relax, as he finally closed the distance between them.
The two now stood chest to chest as they swayed to the music together. Draco tried to let himself relax as well, but it was a little hard to do when you’re holding the Harry Potter. Not that he cared about that, no, it’s just that...well he is Harry Potter, and he’s had a crush on him since who knows how long. Why he was just now deciding to realize it was beyond him, but now that he was, he was starting to freak out a bit. What if he did something stupid?
“Malfoy?”
“Hmm?”
“You’re being...awfully nice,”
Draco shrugged. “I can be nice...sometimes,”
“Yeah, but...never with me,”
“Well, I didn’t have a reason to be before, now did I?”
“And do you have one now?” Harry asked, lifting his head to look at Draco.
Draco opened his mouth to reply but stopped, staring deep into emerald green eyes. Draco felt lost staring into them, and honestly, for the life of him, couldn’t even remember what he had been about to say. Harry smiled, shaking his head.
“So, you don’t have one then?”
“Huh?” Draco asked, shaking his head to snap out of it. “No. I mean...like I said, you looked upset, so I just want to…”
“Make me happy?”
Draco managed to scoff, feeling a little bit more like himself. “No. I just...felt bad, I guess.”
Harry nodded. “Well...thank you. For making me get up and dance. For making me feel better.”
“Oh...you’re welcome,” Draco said, feeling at a loss for words.
Harry smiled up at the blond. “I like it when you’re nice to me,”
Draco snorted. “Don’t get used to it,”
Harry laughed. “Wasn’t counting on it,”
---
“I don’t have to walk you back to Gryffindor tower, do I?” Draco asked, incredulously.
Harry laughed. “No. I mean, you weren’t my date. Granted, my actual date has already ditched me,”
“Technically, I think you ditched her first,”
“Oh, whatever! Isn’t Parkison waiting for you?”
Draco rolled his eyes. “She ditched me. She can figure out how to get back to the dungeons by herself.”
Harry chuckled. “Well, I better go before Ron worries and Hermione has another fit,”
Draco nodded. “Understandable.”
Harry took a step forward, standing only a couple of inches away from Draco. “Thanks again for dancing with me,”
Draco shrugged. “Don’t mention it,”
Harry bit his lip, staring at Draco. He took another step closer. “Seriously, I appreciate it. It was actually a lot of fun,”
Draco managed a smile. He was finding it easier to do around the Gryffindor for some reason. “Well, you were a lot more fun to be with than my real date. Don’t tell her I said that though,”
“Your secret is safe with me,”
Harry took another step closer, and Draco’s heart began to race. “Night Potter,”
Harry smiled, summoning his last bit of courage, reaching up on his toes and lightly kissing the side of Draco’s cheek. “Night Malfoy,” he said managing not to blush too hard as he quickly spun around and walked away.
Draco stood in the hallway frozen in place. It had happened so fast, he almost didn’t believe it had been real. But his cheek was ablaze, and he was blushing a deep red, so it had to have been. Draco slowly began to smile, reaching a hand up to softly touch the spot Harry’s lips had just been. The smile didn’t leave his face for the rest of the night.
---
”...We've taken what you'll sorely miss,” Harry sat pondering for a moment. “What does that even mean?”
Ron and Hermione both sat across from Harry shrugging. “No idea, mate,” Ron said.
”An hour long you'll have to look, and to recover what we took…” Hermione repeated. “You must have to find something. Like a hidden treasure?”
Harry shrugged. “Yeah, but what? I don’t really have anything I would miss, do I?”
More shrugs from across the table.
“Oh, there you guys are!” Neville said, walking over to their table in the library. “Hermione, Professor Dumbledore is asking to see you,”
Hermione frowned. “Just me?” she asked, staring at the boys. “Any particular reason why?”
Neville shook his head. “Nope. He just said he wanted you,” Hermione shot them one last weird look, before standing to follow behind Neville.
“Wonder what that was about?” Ron asked.
Harry shrugged. “No idea, but I’ve got to head down to the tournament.”
---
Harry had watched as Ron stood up in the stands with the rest of the Hogwarts students, but there was no sight of Hermione. Dumbledore had been up in the stands next to McGonagall, so she had to have been back, right?
But he couldn’t think about that now, he was too busy trying to swim underwater and dodge all of the other obstacles in his way. He had no way of knowing, but he felt like he was making good time. He had his watch, and he hadn’t seen any of the other champions go past him yet. He only hoped that he was swimming in the right direction.
His intuition was confirmed when he swam a further ways more, before coming up on four floating bodies chained to the bottom of the lake. Hermione, Cho, Fleur’s younger sister, and...Draco?
Harry was highly confused, and wasn’t sure of what to do. He figured he needed to free one of them, so of course, he first swam over to Hermione. But, the mermaids weren’t having it, as they quickly backed Harry off of her.
“But she’s my friend!” he tried saying under water.
But the mermaids only shook their heads. “Not her!”
Harry didn’t understand, but then Krum appeared out of nowhere, swimming past him, freeing Hermione, and taking her with him to the surface. Harry shrugged, moving over to Cho as he saw Fleur approach behind him, working on freeing her sister. Only, the mermaids were still having a fit.
“Not her, not her!” they kept chanting.
Harry was even more confused. Fleur had her sister, Krum took Hermione, so that only left…
Harry quickly swam over to Draco’s unconscious body, freeing his leg from the chain, before grabbing him under his arm and swimming with him to the surface of the lake. When they broke water, Harry started gasping for air his hour almost up. In his arms he could feel Draco starting to come to as well.
“Whaa…”
“Draco…” Harry began, as he started swimming them to the side of the lake, where everybody was watching. “Don’t panic,”
Draco blinked a few times, before gasping, coughing up some water in the process. Once they made it to the shore, both boys were handed towels to dry off with, just as Cedric appeared in the lake, holding up Cho.
Draco shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. “What...what just...”
“You were stuck underwater,” Harry said. “You were the thing they took. I had to save you,” he said, everything becoming clear in his mind.
“What?”
“You were what I would sorely miss!” Harry said, shaking his head in bewilderment. “It all makes sense,”
“You...you saved me because you missed me?”
“The mermaids! Dumbledore! They took the one person I would miss! That’s why it wouldn’t let me save Hermione or Cho, because it had to be—”
Harry was cut off by a pair of soft, wet lips pressing against his own. Harry was caught too off guard to respond back, but the kiss only lasted about three seconds before Draco pulled back. “Thank you,” he said, wrapping his arms around Harry, before turning around and running over towards Blaise and Pansy, who were staring wide eyed at him.
All Harry could do was stare after him in shock, trying to figure out what just happened.
“Did you just save Malfoy?” Hermione asked, walking over to him.
“And then kiss him?” Ron asked in disgust.
Harry shook his head, finally beginning to smile. “Yeah, but...he kissed me,”
Ron made a face. “Why?”
Harry shrugged, smiling like a goofball. “Dunno,”
---
“So...are you two...dating?” Ron asked, clearly concerned.
Harry snorted. “No...I mean...maybe? I don’t know,”
“How do you not know?” Hermione asked.
“I mean, it doesn’t feel like we are but...maybe we are?”
“You haven’t asked him about it?” Hermione pushed.
“No…”
“Well, maybe you should?” Ron asked, not wanting to encourage the relationship but clearly wanting a definite answer.
“Would you two be okay if we were dating?” Harry asked.
“We just want you to be happy,” Hermione said at the same time Ron said “Why would I be happy with you dating the ferret?”
Hermione elbowed Ron in his ribs. “Ow! Sorry! But, I mean...what about Cho?”
Funnily enough, Harry hadn’t thought about Cho within the last couple months. In fact, ever since the Yule Ball, Draco is the only thing he could think about. “I’m over her. Besides, her and Cedric seem pretty happy together,”
Hermione smiled, but Ron just continued to shake his head. “I just don’t see it,”
“You don’t have to see it,” Hermione said. “Let Harry be in love,”
“I never said—”
“Eww, don’t put it like that!” Ron protested.
Hermione rolled her eyes. “Children! The both of you,”
---
“I made you something,” Draco said, he and Harry sitting out in the courtyard. “Think of it as...a good luck charm for the next task,”
Harry smiled, taking the offered gift, which was a wrapped box. He tore open the neatly wrapped packaging to reveal a small box, holding a button on the inside. Harry couldn’t help his laugh as he pulled it out, reading what it said. Support Harry Potter! The Chosen One! it read in bright red and gold. And when he tapped it, the badge turned green, reading Potter Rules!
“It’s also a sort of apology for the Potter Stinks badges I made,” he said, blushing a bit.
Harry laughed, tugging Draco close. “I love it,” he said giving him a kiss on the lips.
Draco smiled into the kiss, placing a hand on Harry’s cheek. “So, are we...?”
Harry laughed, “Maybe...” he said, pulling Draco back in for another kiss.
Draco hummed into it, pulling Harry even closer. “I’d hoped you give me a solid yes or no answer,”
Harry rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “And what’s your question, again?”
“Are we dating?”
“I don’t know, Malfoy, are we?”
Draco glared at Harry, but he was smiling as well, his look playful in nature. “Well, Potter, I would say that we are,”
“Well then,” Harry said, wrapping his arms around Draco’s neck. “Guess we’re dating then,”
---
“Promise me you’ll be careful,” Draco said, not wanting to let Harry go.
“I promise, but I gotta go,” he said. “Everyone is lining up,”
Draco sighed. “I don’t trust it,” he said. “First dragons, then the lake, and now a foggy maze?”
Harry nodded. “I know, but I’ll be okay, I promise,”
Draco nodded, giving Harry one last kiss, before finally letting him go. “You better make it back!” he yelled after Harry.
“What, scared, Malfoy?”
“Yes!”
---
“You saw him?” Hermione asked, horrified.
“We both did,” Cedric said, breathing hard. “We’re lucky we made it out of there alive,”
“I bloody told you it was dangerous!” Draco scolded, running up to them, Cho following behind. “And do you listen!”
Harry didn’t care, he embraced Draco hard. “I’m so sorry,”
“Don’t do that to me!” Draco wailed, hugging Harry tight. “I was worried sick!”
“You know, usually at a time like this, you’d be making fun of me,” Harry said, pulling slightly out of the embrace to peer up at Draco. “You know, asking me if I really fainted, or something like that.”
Draco rolled his eyes. “Only you would make light of a serious situation. I almost lost you,”
“But I came back,” Harry said, kissing Draco’s cheek. “I promised I would,”
That brought a faint smile to Draco’s lips. “Yeah...I guess you did, huh?”
Harry’s smile widened as he reached up on the tips of his toes to give Draco a proper kiss.
“They really are dating!” Ron exclaimed.
“They have been for like a month,” Hermione said with a chuckle.
“Yeah but...I never really believed it until now,”
Hermione shook her head. “Boys!”