all the wrong choices // drarry

eventually

Draco sat at the Gryffindor table for breakfast on the day that he, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny would be travelling to the Burrow. Ron had reassured Draco that he was welcome to spend the holidays with him and his family, so he now sat beside Harry, holding his hand under the table as the five of them and Luna spent a particularly enjoyable hour or so chatting and eating before they made their way to Professor McGonagall's office to use the Floo to get to the Burrow.

"Er- Ron ," Draco asked tentatively; he was still not unused to addressing Harry's friends as though they were his own. Ron looked up from his piece of toast.

"Yeah?" Ron, however, had become extremely comfortable with Draco's presence. At first, he had put on a brave face for Harry's sake, seeing that Harry had grown so fond of Draco, but over time Ron had actually started to like having Draco around, now that he wasn't hissing insults at Ron or trying to hex him from under his cloak.

"What are the sleeping arrangements going to be like?"

Harry looked up from his conversation with Ginny and Luna: he hadn't thought about this element of staying at the Burrow. There were so many of them; how would they all fit?

"Well, I'd assume that 'Mione, Ginny and Luna'll go in Ginny's room-"

"Oh, Luna, you're staying at the Burrow too?" Harry enquired. "I thought you were just taking the Floo with us and then going to your house."

Luna shook her head. "No, unfortunately, Daddy's had to go abroad, so I can't spend the holidays with him. But Ginny invited me to stay with her, so that's good."

She smiled serenely at them, and Ron hesitated before continuing what he was saying. "Anyway, I reckon the girls'll go in with Ginny and the three of us-" he indicated him, Harry and Draco. "-will stay in my room up top."

Draco had to fight the urge to exchange looks with Harry. Whenever the two of them had fallen asleep - even for a few hours - in Draco's room, they had woken up with their arms around each other. He sensed that Harry was thinking the same thing as him; it would be a very sticky moment if they had to explain to Ron why he had woken up to find them in each other's embrace.

Draco nodded in response to Ron, who went on, "But if you're not comfortable with that, I'm sure Mum could set you up somewhere else-"

"No, no, that's fine," Draco smiled reassuringly. "Thank you again, for letting me stay with you."

Ron shrugged. "'S'alright. Thanks for not being a prat any more."

The was a low rumble of laughter around the group. When it had subsided, Hermione checked her watch anxiously. "We should get going."

The other five people nodded to her, and the sound of benches scraping back on the floor filled the air. The six of them trooped out of the Hall and made their way up to Professor McGonagall's office. Ginny fumbled around in her pockets for a moment when they came to a halt in front of the stone gargoyle.

"Hang on- Here it is. Toadstools ." She read out loud from a slip of parchment, and the gargoyle leapt aside.

"Ah, Mr Malfoy, Molly said you might be going along with everybody else," said Professor McGonagall from behind her desk as they came in. "May I remind you, that if you choose to return to Hogwarts early, you must come and tell me formally rather than just appearing at mealtimes unannounced."

Draco nodded, his cheeks slightly rosy. Ginny was first in line and took a handful of the glittery powder from a pot beside the fireplace. She threw the powder into the fire and called, clearly, "The Burrow!"

She was about to step into the emerald green flames, when she suddenly whirled around, her expression wild with confusion, "Er- Professor, what about our trunks?"