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Chapter Text

Harry was walking with Ron and Hermione to their Transfiguration class as they talked about the Yule ball, Ron asked Harry “So do you have a partner for the ball yet?” Harry’s head hung low “I would have told you if I did, so no” Ron patted Harry back “I don’t have a date either so we’re in the same lonely boat unless...” Ron looked up at Hermione “...A certain someone would be my partner?” Hermione rolled her eyes “I told you, I already have a partner” Ron pouted trying to give Hermione his best puppy eyes, she didn’t concede to his charms “I said no, and I mean there is a bunch of beautiful girls you guys could be partners with like-“ 

she was Interrupted midway by Cedric “ oh hello, Hermione, was it? I’m sorry for interrupting but I just wanted to talk to Harry and you all” Harry stepped forward “ what is it?” Cedric chuckled “I actually would like to invite you to a Triwizard sleepover” Harry tilted his head in confusion “a Triwizard sleepover?” Cedric explained “ well so, I want to invite you all the Triwizard contestants to a sleepover in the Hufflepuff common room for good sportsmanship. You can invite anyone you want, even your dates to the Yule Ball.” Harry nodded and thanked Cedric for the invite, Before Cedric left he handed Harry a note with the details of the sleepover then he left. Hermione took the note from Harry’s hand to read it, she murmured as she read it then gave it back to Harry “it’s your choice, Ron and I will come with you if you do go” Ron jumped “b-but I didn’t agree yet!” Hermione looked at him pointedly “you’re going” Harry agreed “ I think we should go it might just be fun, Hermione you should bring your Yule date” Hermione walked faster “absolutely not” as she walked, the boys ran to catch up to her. 

The night of the sleepover came, the golden trio snuck down the stairs to the basement where the Hufflepuff Dorms were placed. Cedric was waiting at the front of the Hufflepuff door, He quickly tapped the barrels to the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff and the door opened. The common room amazed Harry, it was so different from the Gryffindor common room. It was warm, cozy and snacks were served everywhere and not to mention how many plants they had. Viktor and Fleur sat on the floor with their friends, Fleur rolled her eyes when she saw The golden trio. Viktor waved to Hermione which made her blush, Harry stared in confusion. He looked to Cedric who was already flirting with Cho, he wanted to gag at the sight but he was distracted when Cedric started speaking “Hello everybody, welcome to the Triwizard sleepover. Courtesy of our dear friends here in the Hufflepuff dorm we have a bunch of snacks for tonight” when Cedric said that Ron immediately grabbed a few snacks from the plate as he watched a few fifth-year Hufflepuff girls wave from behind a plant, giggling when they saw Cedric, Harry and Ron. Cedric looked at them and they scurried away, giggling even more. Cedric spoke again 

“ we will be playing some games that I found that muggles play at these types of parties, starting with the first one. Truth or dare'' Everyone whispered, Cedric, got them to settle down as he explained the rules to the game “...and Essentially you expose yourself through this game to your friends'' Viktor whispered to his friend that he brought “Muggles are so odd” Cedric clapped his hands “let's start! I’ll go first, Harry truth or dare?” Harry hesitated before deciding “umm truth” Cedric chuckled “ is it true that you still don’t have a date to the Yule Ball?” Harry went silent, then spoke “...that’s true” Fleur laughed, her haughty French accent coming out when she talked “That’s so sad” her friends mocked Harry, Ron defended Harry “Hey! Don’t make fun of my friend, it’s fine if he doesn’t have a date. He’ll get one soon!” She scoffed “do you hear broke talking? I mean look at those hand-me-down robes'' their high pitched giggles filled the room, Ron’s face was bright red in anger. Hermione walked up to Fleur, silent. Fleur mocked her “are you going to defend your little boyfrie-” before she could finish, Hermione had hit her face “NO one makes fun of my friends and gets away with it” The air became thick in tension. Fleur shocked and angry flicked her wand out, Hermione followed in suit unlike Fleur who was posh and rude but still the top of her class, Hermione had done much worse than a fight with another pompous prick. Cedric dragged them away from each other “Calm down you two, we don’t need to be fighting” Both slowly put their wands down, exchanging deathly glares. Cedric sighed “alright, that didn’t go as planned but it’s fine. I have an idea!” He whispered something to Cho, Cho nodded and left the room towards the kitchen. They were left in awkward silence except for Viktor Krum who was talking to his friend about quidditch, and the quiet angry chewing of Ron as he listened to Viktor and his friend. 

A few minutes passed when Cho came back with a bottle, Cedric smiled as she gave the bottle to him. He thanked her and gave her a peck on her cheek which made Harry roll his eyes. Cedric spoke “since that last game didn’t go so well” Hermione glared at Fleur when the last game was mentioned, Fleur did the same “we can move on to the next game, which is my version of two muggle games! The game is called Spin to 7 minutes in heaven” He explained the game “How the game works is that you spin a bottle, then when it lands on someone, you have to kiss them but the twist is that if you refuse, you have to go in the other room with the person the bottle chose.” this was obviously just something Cedric had planned for Cho and him but they all quietly agreed, but before they could even start playing someone crashed through the Hufflepuff door. “Pottah! Where are you?!” Ron looked at Hermione and Harry wondering if they were thinking the same thing, they nodded. Harry sighed “I’m in here, Malfoy.” Draco drudged to the front of the common room with a frustrated look on his face. “Pottah, I need to talk to you!” his cheeks were red, and his voice was shaky and loud, Cedric noticed this and smiled “Harry’s a bit busy with our game, so why not join then you can talk to him after?” Draco grumbled “fine, I’ll play your stupid game” Draco sat opposite to Harry sitting near Fleur and her friends who tried to flirt with him but got ignored. 

Cedric spun the bottle first, And it landed on one of Fleur's friends. She was, of course, very happy but also not surprisingly Cho was not happy about this. Cedric knew the rules of the game and he had a plan so he gave her a quick peck on the cheek and passed the turn to Harry. Harry swallowed he was hoping that he wouldn’t land on someone that he didn’t like. for example, Fleur. He spun the bottle hard as could. The bottle spun and spun, it almost felt like forever but then it started to slow down, he watched it eagerly as it slowed down and stopped. He never expected it to be who it landed on, as the person looked up at him in shock, their silver eyes staring back at him and their blond hair a-wry. Harry finally spoke quietly “it landed on Draco”. 

” I refuse '' Draco paced himself farther from Harry, Harry tried to persuade him ”come on Draco, it’s just a kiss” Like a fussy child, Draco turned around to not see Harry. He whispered to himself “I bloody hate it here” Cedric smiled coyly “Remember you two if you refuse to kiss you’ll have to stay in there for seven minutes.” He pointed at the room that the Hufflepuffs used for storage. It was relatively clean but it was dark, Draco turned more annoyed than he already was. “absolutely not” Cedric nodded “fine” Cedric used a spell to throw both of them in the room “have fun you two!” 

The door was shut behind them, Harry tried to use alohomora but it didn’t work. It was pitch black compared to the rest of the warm-colored Hufflepuff common room. Harry could barely see in front of him, he lit up his wand with Lumos. The dim light shining onto the boxes and walls of the room. He looked around, the room seemed larger than when he originally saw it. It was full but neat everything from decorations from Christmas to Hufflepuff merchandise was stored in the room. Harry whispered for Draco ”Malfoy, where are you?”. No response, Harry whispered again to see if he would answer. Nothing, Harry walked around the neat room looking for Draco, He stopped in his tracks when he started to hear someone’s soft humming, almost like a lullaby. Harry knew that voice as Draco and marveled at his voice, trembling softly with each note. Harry slowly walked towards Draco who was behind some boxes, He saw the blond boy on the floor, shivering. His voice trembled, refusing to look up. Harry sat beside Draco and for some reason of sympathy for him, Harry stood beside him awkwardly trying to comfort him by patting his hair as he listened to Draco's song. They sat in comforting silence for over a minute until Draco came back to his panicked senses. “Pottah! Ermmm… What are you doing?” ”I'm comforting you...i think i am at least” Draco’s face was redder than ever before, it made Harry laugh. In hand made Draco hiss at him “Don't laugh at me!” He turned away from Harry but his hand remained in Harry's hand until he noticed and pulled away in embarrassment. 

Harry spoke “You alright, Malfoy? you seemed a bit scared for a second there” He watched as the tip’s of Malfoy's ears turned red, Harry sighed “I know we're “rivals” according to you but you know Malfoy, You can trust me you know so... what's with all of this?” Draco whispered reluctantly, “Pottah, you better not tell anyone about this” Harry raised his hands I won't, I promise” Draco sighed “fine, I'm scared of the dark. I know, absolutely absurd right? Me! A pureblood, seeker of the Slytherin house, rival of the chosen one, is scared of the dark” Harry leaned his head onto the cool stone of the walls and spoke “Honestly, I get it. I was stuck in the dark figuratively and literally most of my life, and I know it can be pretty scary.” Malfoy’s eyes softened when hearing that “yeah, It is pretty scary” the silence rang through the air till Draco spoke again “There is something I wanted to ask you…” Harry nodded “sure, go ahead” Draco gulped nervously, gripping all his courage. “Would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me? Of course you don't have to say yes but it would be nice if you did and-” Before Harry could answer, the door swung open. They scrambled apart from each other, Malfoy cleared his throat “well…” He quickly ran to leave but Harry stopped Draco standing a few feet away from him “wait.. I didn't answer your question” Draco turned to him “I’ll go with you, to the yule ball of course.” Draco turned red in surprise, a genuine smile creeping onto his face. He rushed to Harry clasping both his hands. “Wait?! Really?” Harry smiled back “yes, of course,” Draco let go of Harry's hands, internally screaming with happiness as he whispered to himself “well now pansy owns me 10 galleons”. Draco cleared his throat once again “well, then. I’ll be leaving.” he rushed out of the common rooms, flustered but happy. Harry sat down with Hermione and Ron again, Hermione asked, “wait, what happened?” Harry just smiled “nothing, don't worry”

Chapter Text

Early mornings in Hogwarts were no surprise to the boys as they found themselves trodding along behind Hermione, who took great delight in dragging them to their first class of the day that they shared. Down the long halls of the east wing, they trudged to Transfiguration talking about the Triwizard Tournament and the upcoming Yule Ball.

As they walked, Ron looked to Harry who was languidly speaking about the tiring nights of training for the Tournament. “So, mate, you have a date to the ball already?” he asked with a chuckle.

Harry stopped in his tracks and placed a hand on his best friend’s shoulder, his head hung low in a sarcastic defeat. “If I had one, you and I both know that you would be the first to know, so, of course not.”

Ron slapped the back of Harry’s back as they continued to walk to class. “Bloody hell, I guess we’re both in the same lonely boat of bachelors, eh?” he joked, a little sigh exiting his lips as he looked up at Hermione. “Unless a certain ‘Mione could make room for a sorry bloke like me?”

Hermione looked to the two boys behind her, and rolled her eyes, her steps two paces ahead. “Like I said, I already have a date, Weasley.” She giggled as she thought of the boy who asked her.

Ron pouted, sidling up to Hermione with his best look of charm and dorky adorable nature, but alas she put a finger to his forehead and pushed leaving her unconceded to his wiles. “Still no, and I find it quite hard to believe that neither of you can find a suitable girl to go with you! From what I’ve gathered many girls want to be with Harry. And Ron…”

“There are a few girls in our year…I suppose.” Hermione mustered with a half smile. Ron’s eyes widened at the slight dig and he asked. “Like who ‘mione?”

“Like-” But before, she could think of a name, someone came up behind, causing her to yelp a little. It was Cedric Diggory who laughed at her reaction and quickly apologized.

“Oh, my mistake for scaring you! Hermione, was it?” He asked. She just nodded, slightly stunned in the moment. Cedric continued turning towards Harry. “I actually came here to ask you a question, an invitation to be more accurate.”

“For all of you,” said Cedric as he passed a paper invitation to all of them. On the page was a little moving owl on the front with a nightcap on, and in big letters that moved above, it read:

*Triwizard Sleepover in Hufflepuff Commonroom.*

Harry looked to Cedric and asked. “What exactly is a Triwizard Sleepover?”

Cedric laughed, knowing the question was coming. He shrugged. “My thought was, well, why not extend the goodwill to our competition by throwing a little party to promote some good sportsmanship outside of the tournament.”

Cedric, who stood at least a foot taller than Harry, put a hand on Harry’s head as he ruffled his hair. “And besides, we haven’t thrown a party in a while, why not do it now? And of course, if you would like you can invite anyone you’d like, that could be friends or your date to the ball.”

Harry thanked Cedric once more, “I’ll think about it, Diggory.” With a quick wave, Cedric walked off into another part of the castle.

As Cedric left their view, Hermione snatched the invitation from Ron’s hand to inspect it closer.

“Hey!” Ron yelped as the paper flew out of his hands. Hermione read it more for a few seconds before turning to Harry with a grin. “If you would like us to come with you, we would be glad to.”

Ron shrugged. “It’s your choice, Harry, you wanna pop over?”

Harry nodded, “Why not? Seems like it ‘ought to be a blast.” He looked at Hermione and grinned a cheeky smile. “And, Hermione can bring her Yule date.” Harry teased, nudging her side.

Hermione walked faster leaving the boys behind, “Absolutely not.” As she walked, a cackle of laughs followed her as the boys ran to catch up.

The night of the sleepover came quickly and was no quiet affair. The news of an exclusive party rippled among students through whispers and fervour excitement for the fact that all 4 of the Triwizard contestants would be there.

Harry had decided to extend his invitation to only his closest friends, and Hermione’s date. So as the sun went down, the Golden Trio snuck into the kitchens and through the basement to where the Hufflepuff dorms lay.
A 4th year Hufflepuff student that Harry didn’t know was waiting at the door with a wide grin. Upon seeing the Golden Trio, he quickly tapped on the barrels to the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff and the door magically opened for them to step inside.

The Hufflepuff common room amazed Harry, it was so different from the Gryffindor common room. It was warm, cozy and so yellow. They had loads of snacks served everywhere, not to mention how many plants they had. It was louder than he had thought with the common room flooded with people from all different years and schools. It was a full-on bash.

Furniture had been pushed away, and the floor was lighted by different coloured lights with music bumping the floor around him.

Viktor stood with some of the other Dumstrang kids, chatting up the 5th and 6th-year girls who smiled and blushed with every comment. Fleur danced and giggled with the girls from Beauxbatons, who many had cups in hand and were dancing with Hogwarts students.

As Fleur danced, she noticed the Golden Trio walked in and rolled her eyes paying no heed to them. Viktor, however, smiled and waved to Hermione from across the room, making Hermione go bright red. Harry looked at her with confusion, but before he could question, the tap of glass sounded across the room.

The party quieted down to look up at the upper ledge where Cedric stood with a smile. A drink in one hand and Cho’s waist wrapped in the other. “Hello everyone! Welcome to the first-ever Triwizard Sleepover! Though many of you were invited by myself and my competition, everyone is welcome, though I should properly call this sleepover, a proper party!”

Cheers erupted through the crowd with drinks raised, the mass quieted down to allow Cedric to speak once more. “Please give a warm thank you to our dear friends here in the Hufflepuff Common Room as they have provided us a place to drink, dance and play! Have fun and enjoy yourselves tonight as we wait for the Tournament to come!”

With that, the party resumed in full throttle, with the music thumping with the feet around them.

A while later, Cedric came down to gather a few people into the upper ledge of the party, a VIP section. All competitors came, including Harry, Ron and Hermione who sat around a table with Cedric, Viktor and Fleur. Along with a few of their friends and Cho Chang who stayed by Cedric’s side.

Cedric explained a game to them, his giddiness apparent. “We will be playing some games that I found that muggles play at these types of parties, starting with the first one. Which is properly called Truth or Dare.”

Everyone whispered, Cedric, got them to settle down as he explained, “...and essentially you expose yourself through this game to your friends! It’s all quite fun.'' he said with a laugh. Viktor whispered to his friend, “Muggles are so odd.” A chuckle ran through the group, even managing a slight laugh from Hermione.

Cedric clapped his hands, “Let's start! I’ll go first, Harry, Truth or Dare?”

Harry hesitated but answered, “Umm, truth.” Cedric chuckled, “Is it true that you still don’t have a date to the Yule Ball?” He asked. Harry went silent, then spoke “...That’s true.” Harry thought to himself, it wasn’t for fact of no options but rather the person he wanted to ask, wouldn’t go with him.

Cedric upon seeing the look on Harry’s face, stood up and patted his head. “It’s alright, you’re only 14, you have plenty of time to think of girls later on.” As Cedric assured Harry, he looked to the rest of the group. “Alright, who’s next?”

Under her breath, one of the Beauxbatons girls said something to Fleur. Fleur laughed, her haughty French accent coming out when she talked “That’s so sad, little chosen one can’t get a date!” Her friends laughed along with her, shrill laughter echoed in Harry’s ear.

Ron stood up pointing a finger at Fleur. “Hey! Don’t make fun of Harry! He’ll find a date, you’ll see because my friend is one handsome devil of a bloke. He’ll get one soon!” She scoffed “Do you hear Broke talking? I mean look at those hand-me-down robes! Dresses like some sort of mutt.” Their high-pitched giggles filled the room, and Ron’s face turned bright red as he sat back down.

Hermione walked up to Fleur, silent. Fleur mocked her. “Are you going to defend your little boyfrien-” Before she could finish, SMACK! A resounding slap collided with her face, receiving a few gasps from Fleur’s friends behind her. Hermione glared at her. “No one makes fun of my friends and gets away with it.” Her gaze was dark and persistent.

Fleur staggered back, holding her face with tears in her eyes. The air became thick in tension. Shocked and angry, Fleur flicked her wand out. Hermione followed suit. Fleur who was posh and rude but still the top of her class, Hermione knew this but was ready as she had done much worse than a fight with another pompous prick.

Before any duelling could commence, Cedric came between them with the help of Viktor dragging them away from each other.
“Calm down you two! We don’t need to be fighting, if you don’t back down I will have to kick you out.” Both slowly put their wands down, exchanging deathly glares.

Cedric sighed, “Alright, that didn’t go as planned but it’s fine! I have an idea!” He whispered something to Cho, Cho nodded and left the ledge towards the main floor. They were left in awkward silence except for Viktor Krum who was talking to his friend about quidditch, the quiet angry chewing of Ron, and the party below.

A few minutes passed as Cho came back with a bottle, Cedric smiled as she gave the bottle to him. “Thanks, love.” He said, kissing her on the cheek. Harry hid his face behind a cup as he rolled his eyes.

Cedric smiled and spoke. “Since the last game didn’t go very well for everyone,” Hermione glared at Fleur when the last game was mentioned, Fleur did the same.

“We can move on to the next game! This is my version of mixing two muggle games! The game is called Spin to 7 minutes in Heaven” He explained the game, “How the game works is that you spin a bottle, then when it lands on someone, you have to kiss them but the twist is that if you refuse, you have to go in the other room with the person the bottle chose.”

Cedric gave the group a wide grin, though his actions were genuine, this seemed like an obvious thing that Cedric had planned for Cho. But still, they all agreed to play.

As they played, one of the Durmstrang boys had to kiss Cedric and Hermione had to kiss Viktor. All seemed well, the tensions disappearing on the table. But as Harry’s turn came, a crash came through the Hufflepuff door and up the stairs. “Potter! Where are you?!” Ron looked at Hermione and Harry wondering if they were thinking the same thing, and they nodded.

Harry sighed, looking at the begrudged Malfoy who stalked up to him. “Hi Malfoy,” he said with a tight-lipped grin.

Draco drudged to the front of the table with such commotion and a frustrated look. “Potter, I need to talk to you!” His cheeks grew reddish and his voice shaky but loud. Cedric smiled, as though a plan had come to fruition. “Hello Draco, wonderful to see you could come join us.”

Draco dismissed him, turning his eyes towards Harry. “Potter, it is of great urgency!” He said through gritted teeth.

Cedric stifled a laugh as he put a hand on Draco’s shoulder. “Draco, Harry is quite busy with our game at the moment, why not join us for a round then you may pull him to the side after. Does that sound alright?”

Draco grumbled “Fine, I’ll play your ridiculous game” Draco sat opposite Harry near Fleur and her friends who explained the game to him.

It was Harry’s turn still, so he put a hand to the bottle and spun it hard. Harry swallowed he was hoping that he wouldn’t land on someone that he didn’t like, for example, Fleur. The bottle spun and spun, for what seemed like forever but then it started to slow down, he watched it eagerly as it slowed down and stopped.

Harry’s eyes watched as the bottle pointed opposite him, he raised his head to see Draco in disbelief staring right back at him, silver eyes peering into his soul. Harry could feel his mouth a gape, as he quickly gained his composure. “Oh, well it landed on Draco.” He said with a weak chuckle.

Before Harry could stand, Draco rose from his chair and began to walk back down to the main party. “I refuse.” Harry chased after him, grabbing onto his arm with lighthearted energy. “Malfoy, it’s fine, it’s only the cheek.” Draco leeched back, pulling his wrist away from Harry’s grip. “Absolutely not, unlike you Potter, I do not enjoy participating in these odd ritual games.”

Draco began walking again, flushed, his ears showing a pink tint to only the most observant eyes. Cedric smiled coyly seeing the display, and in a nonchalant tone mentioned, “Remember you two if you refuse to kiss you’ll have to stay in there for seven minutes.”

He pointed at the back room where the Hufflepuffs used for storage. It was relatively clean but it was dark, Draco turned arms crossed to Cedric. “You have to throw me in to have me comply.” He announced with a sure tone.

“Fine.” Cedric laughed as he used a spell to throw them into the room “Have fun you two!”

With that, the door was shut behind them. The room was pitch black and Harry could barely see his hands. Behind him, the voices and the music became muffled and soft. Using his wand, he cast Lumos to observe the space. The storage room was larger than Harry had originally thought, the dim light of his shone onto the boxes and walls of the room. It was full but neat, everything from decorations from Christmas to Hufflepuff merchandise was stored in the room.

There were some old couches, ratty chairs and broken housing things that begged for a needed repair. In the room, Harry called for Draco in the shadows, “Draco, are you alright?” he asked into the back of the room with no response. Harry asked again to see if he had missed it the first time around but was greeted with silence.

In the faintness of sight, a whisper of a soft light emerged from a corner of the room. Harry followed it with small, cautious steps. As Harry stepped forward, a low hum became audible, a soothing sound of someone. Harry knew the feeling well of a quiet solace of something familiar, something of comfort.

He found the other boy trembling head to toe, Harry nodded as he sat a few inches away putting his head against the cold stone, listening to the humming of the soft song. He let Draco take his time, Harry waited in the comfortable silence of the stale air, not overstepping his place with the boy he had always known as someone quite complicated.

Eventually, Draco raised his head to look at Potter. A weak sneer formed on his lips but fell quickly, as he did not have the energy for something as trivial as that. “I’m quite pathetic aren’t I?” Draco said with a pitiful laugh.

Harry shook his head and shrugged moving a little closer to where Draco could comfortably use him as a shoulder to cry on if needed. “I don't think so.”

“You’re just saying that Potter, I know that my behaviour is…unbecoming,” Draco said with a sigh, burrowing his cheeks in his crossed arms. Harry put a cautious hand on Draco’s shoulder, tempting to see if the dog would bite the hand that feeds. “No, I mean it. Though I’m not sure what you are thinking, I know that…you’re not alone, I know how it feels.”

Draco gave him a passing glance before, looking towards the other wall. “Is this your attempt to comfort me?” He asked in that sneering tone that he always had, but much more playful than usual.

Harry laughed. A genuine smile crossed his lips as he grinned at Draco’s remark. “I’m afraid I don’t have much experience.”

Taken aback by this display of warmth, Malfoy leered away from Harry’s hand, his cheeks turning a light pink colour. “I can tell…”

Harry stared at Malfoy, hesitating before asking what was on his mind since seeing him cowering in the corner. “So, Malfoy, I was…wondering why you’re so scared,” Draco’s head snapped back to Harry, his eyes narrowed as he pulled his body away. Harry upon seeing this retracted his question with a wave over his face. “It’s fine if you don’t wish to tell me! I’m overstepping, my fault.”

Draco sighed as he calmed, moving back to where he originally was as he explained. “I am scared of the dark. I know, absolutely absurd, right? Me! A pureblood, seeker of the Slytherin house, rival of the chosen one, is scared of the dark…” He looked to Potter who shared a caring expression towards him, melting his previous hesitancy as Draco put his head on Harry’s shoulder to continue. “But, I always have been ever since I was a small child, something about the…isolation of it all or something.”

The boys for a second sat in the information, hoping for nothing else but the sound of each other's lungs breathing in the air to comfort them. Harry spoke up first. “I…know what that’s like, the isolation? That crippling feeling that the world is too big and you’re too small, I feel that every time I go back home for the summer.” Harry said with a small exhale, as he continued. “It got better as I’ve gotten older but, the deep darkness that lies in the corner of the room. I know what it is like to cling to better things.”

Harry snuggled in closer to Draco inadvertently, as he gave a little chuckle. “It’s okay to be a little scared, the world is bloody terrifying.”

“It is quite scary.” Malfoy agreed with a smile. They sat in that room for what felt longer than 7 minutes, they talked about trivial things and bonded over matching orders at Honeydukes.

They felt a sense of peace with each other that hadn’t been in their lives since their first year when Harry came to the wizarding world for the first time in a long time. Whether they knew it or not, they changed each other's lives irrevocably within their first exchange of words on the Hogwarts stairs. But, as they talked without the stares that followed them respectively, it felt free of the normal constraints as if time stopped for them and only them.

After their conversation died down, clearing his throat as if to announce something Draco said, “I did have something to ask you when I arrived at this bloody party.” Looking to Harry to gauge his reaction, Harry smiled and nodded for him to continue. Draco gulped, more hesitant than before as his lax statement had worked. “I…” He chewed on his cheek, the words fighting in his throat.

“I was going to ask if you…” Draco took a breath and finished his sentence with more confidence. “I would like it if you, Harry Potter, would let me accompany you to the Yule Ball.” a nervous grin added, “as your date.”

The door swung open with a quick motion as Draco finished his question, a voice called out, namely Cedric’s voice. “Time’s up lovebirds!” Both boys got up sheepishly patting the dust off their clothes as they walked to the party, the music getting louder as they entered back into the fray.

Cedric had gotten a round of Butterbeer and the game continued when they were gone, everyone else being much better sports. Hermione gave Harry a concerned look as she saw his frazzled demeanour. He gave her a shrug and a smile, telling her not to worry, as Harry excused himself to the main floor along with Draco as they went to get Butterbeer for themselves and talk.

It was a bit awkward at first as they grabbed cups, settling into the full effect of the party. Harry danced a little which received a few laughs from Draco, calming the atmosphere for the both of them.

Harry pulled Draco by his collar motioning for him to dance with him, Malfoy raised his eyebrows but complied nonetheless. They mixed into the sea of people indiscernible from the rest of the students that flooded the room, they danced close together, sharing nothing but their breaths as they moved. Harry took this chance to whisper in Draco’s ear, “I’ll go with you.” Draco stood back as if he had misheard. “Wait..” Harry pulled him back, talking into his ear as people jumped to the song around them. “I’d love for you to be my date for the Yule Ball.”

Draco pulled away to look Harry in the eyes, to confirm it wasn’t some prank, Harry’s eyes showed nothing but genuine excitement. Draco clasped Harry’s hands with a dorky smile. “That’s brill!” Draco stood a little taller scratching his head as he whispered something to himself. “I think Pansy owes me 10 galleons now..”

“What?” Harry piqued, as he didn’t hear him. Draco dismissed it, “Nothing.”

With another giddy grin as the last song finished, Draco left with a whisper. “See you later, Potter.”

After Draco left, Harry headed to the second floor, Butterbeer in hand. Harry sat down with Hermione and Ron again, Hermione glanced as he sat, her interest piqued but in an attempt to not be too obvious she asked, “Anything interesting happen with you and Malfoy?”

Harry chuckled, gazing down at the Hufflepuff Common Room door, waving a hand in dismissal with a little snicker. “Nothing at all, just normal rival things.”