The Boy Who Made the Right Choice

10- The Yule Ball

A week later, it was the night of the Yule Ball. Blaise had managed to convince Pansy to come with him to it after she finally got over her grouch on Krum's choice of date. Draco, after being pestered by both professor Snape and McGonagall in several different classes, had reluctantly agreed to go with Astoria.

Harry's jaw dropped to the floor when he saw Malfoy in long, handsome dress robes, walking beside Atoria as they made their entrance with the rest of the champions, and Hermione had to tell him to close his mouth as she walked past, her arm linked with Krum's. 

Malfoy and Astoria began swaying to the music, dancing beautifully to the rhythm. Harry, with his eyes still glued on Malfoy's effortlessly beautiful dancing followed suit with Parvati who kept pestering him to stop looking away and keep notice of not stepping on her feet.

After a few minutes, Draco finally was able to drop his fake smile of looking Astoria in the eyes since everyone had finally gone to get drinks and chatter. He quickly left her to rant lovingly to her older sister Daphne and her friends about girly stuff, and exited the dance floor in hopes of finding Potter.

He found the Gryffindor sitting beside Weasley nearby the entrance door, looking as bored as he was when Pansy wouldn't stop ranting about Krum and Granger a week before at breakfast. He stealthily walked around one of the large circular tables, and came to be right behind Potter whose back was turned as well as Weasley's. 

"Potter? Potter!" He hissed, making sure the grumpy looking ginger didn't hear.

Harry finally turned his head to see Malfoy bobbing his head toward the door, then beginning to walk out. 

Harry couldn't help but smile slighty as he told Ron he was leaving to go meet up with Malfoy, though it took some convincing seeing as Ron didn't want to be left alone at the torture party even for a few minutes.

"Fine," He retreated, a smirk forming on his face. "But only cause you like the guy."

Thanking his best friend greatfully, Harry ducked out through the entrance doors, leaving Ron to stare an empty threshold- minus the two enourmous stone gargoyles that acted as guards on either sides of the doors.

"Malfoy?" Harry looked around, and saw what looked to be Draco's figure standing with his back against the wall in the shadows, his face being illuminated beautifully by the light of the fire hanging above his head.

"Thought we'd go on a walk?" He pushed himself off the wall and walked toward Harry, admiring the brunette's formal dress robes that were far from his normal attire. 

Harry happily accepted his offer, and so they walked side by side through the corridors surrounding the Great Hall that had music echoing off the walls. 

"So, shouldn't you be with Daphne's younger sister right now? She looked happy with you." Harry said after a while of walking and talking, a pang of jealousy entering his heart.

"Oh please, I couldn't wait long enough to get out of dancing with her. She's such a... how do muggles put it... such a simp."

Harry raised an eyebrow, the jealous feeling in his heart slowly ascending. "Really?"

"Yeah," Draco chuckled. "You'd never guess that under all that make-up and perfection is just a young school girl with a huge crush on me. Wasn't exactly the kind of special dance I was hoping to have at the Yule Ball."

"Huh," 

They walked in silence for a few more seconds when Draco said, "I wish I'd taken you to the ball."

"Me too." Harry let there be silence for a minute, before finally mustering up the courage to ask, "What if I gave you that dance?"

Harry could see Draco's face go a tint of red in the firelight, and he scratched the back of his head before looking back into Harry's forest green eyes. "Okay."