Cheers, Potter.

Settle for a Butterbeer.

Harry's POV

We were late, a fact that no one should have been surprised by. Ron and I had never prioritised punctuality over mucking about. We'd spent the last several hours in the common room, enchanting whatever was within eyeshot, confusing our housemates and causing general mayhem. By the time we got to the Broomsticks everyone else had already arrived and had started to quietly hate us.

I scanned the room quickly without really knowing what I was looking for until I heard his laugh; my eyes immediately found him talking to Dean and Seamus. He hadn't noticed me come in so I took a minute to just look at him. Don't be creepy, Harry, I scolded myself.

The thing was; he looked the same as always, only now he looked sort of muggle. And, Merlin, did he wear it well.

He must have felt me staring because he looked over right as I was imagining all the little buttons on his fancy little shirt popping off and made his way over to me. I suddenly had a harrowing feeling that he might be a legilimens.

Out of fear that he'd ask me about my thoughts, I spoke first, "What, no tailcoat?"

"At least I don't look like I was kicked out of Oasis for wearing too many jackets."

Oasis? How did he know Oasis? How did he know Oasis well enough to craft an admittedly fair insult? I was irritated with myself for going with a jacket over a flannel over a hoodie over a t-shirt look. Dickhead.

"Oh calm down," he said, like he could read my mind, returning me to my earlier panic, "Connie's been teaching me muggle things." He waved his hand as if to wave away the issue.

It annoyed me that he'd brushed it off like it was nothing; barely a year ago, he'd sneered at anything or anyone remotely muggle and now he was comfortably using muggle references to dis me?

Ron, clearly annoyed at the interruption from his least favourite Slytherin, leaned in to me and whispered, "You're drooling mate,"

Suitably mortified I was relieved by the rescue of Hermione shouting over the tide of conversation in an attempt to organise our departure, "Okay, everyone has been paired up according to those who can apparate and those who can't," Then, her gaze fell on me, and I felt less glad when I saw the mischievous grin spreading across her face, "Malfoy, I didn't know if you could and I'm certain Harry can so I paired the two of you," The relief was short lived.

I was going to faint from embarrassment. She rattled off the rest of the pairings but all I could hear was blood thundering in my ears and a faint cackle from my best friend for his girlfriend's tact, or rather, lack thereof.

I only noticed that people were already leaving when I heard Malfoy's prim and proper cough, shaking me out of my trance, "Please tell me you know where you're going," he said in jest, though I suspected that he meant it at least a little bit.

"Of course I do," I snapped, wound up by the already humiliating evening this was turning into, "I'm not a complete prat."

"Well–" Malfoy began but I didn't hear him finish because we were sucked into the almost painful chaos of nothingness, and we apparated away.

~Ж~

We arrived at the venue second to last, followed only by Ginny and Luna who were laughing at some something, almost falling over each other in the process.

Malfoy and I were pointedly not talking and avoiding eye contact though, as we queued outside the Underground nightclub, Malfoy remained fairly close by: I couldn't decide if I was irritated or pleased by his closeness but I definitely had thoughts on it.