yule ball

whisper

There were two days until the Yule Ball.

Draco lay in his bed, his silver bed sheets pulled up to his chin, and stared at the ceiling.

Draco had anticipated disgust, regret, even anger, but he hadn't expected fear. He was nervous. Draco Malfoy, the pureblood Slytherin who had ties to Voldemort, was afraid of going to a dance.

With Harry Potter, his arch nemesis.

Were they even enemies, anymore? Over the past week or so, they had been enjoying the school's confusion. They had even talked between classes, and Draco enjoyed it.

He couldn't wrap his head around that.

Pansy seemed to enjoy it just as much as Harry and Draco. A mastermind, she was. Draco shook his head, wishing he could think of anything but this damned dance.

The moon was full and bright outside, illuminating the grounds, where snowflakes fell softly, blanketing the ground. The rest of his roommates were fast asleep, but their snores were driving Draco crazy, and on top of the Yule Ball, he couldn't fall asleep.

He slipped out of bed and put his slippers on, then headed out of the dorm and into the common room.

He expected that no one would be awake at this hour, but when he entered the common room, a girl sat curled up in the common room chair, staring at the fire.

The flames were casting shadows on her face, and when she looked up at him her expression was solemn. It quickly turned to a sheepish smile, as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn't have.

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked, sinking into the chair across from her. In this room, with the crackling fireplace and the lake's green shadows lazily dancing on the walls, he was suddenly a lot more tired.

"I could ask the same to you." Pansy raised her eyebrow.

"I couldn't sleep." Draco sighed, realizing her point was a valid one.

"Same as you." Pansy nodded. "Is it because of Harry."

Draco had been nodding off, but he jolted awake at the mention of Harry's name. "How did you know?"

"It was pretty easy to guess." Pansy shrugged. "You've gone from enemies to friends in the span of a week. You're going to the Yule Ball together, for heaven's sake! The school is practically in an uproar."

"It's all thanks to you." Draco said sarcastically.

"You're very welcome," Pansy responded, and Draco snorted. "No, I'm happy that you guys are getting along. It's sort of refreshing."

"I guess it is." Draco said. "I'm just... nervous, I suppose. I don't even know why. I haven't really felt this way in a while. I get so nervous that my stomach keeps doing little flips whenever I look at him."

Pansy's expression changed from neutral to confused to surprise to amusement, a kaleidoscope of emotions all at once. Before Draco could react, she nodded knowingly. "A, yes. I can tell you're very nervous. That's it."

"Yeah..." Draco trailed off at the end of his sentence and rubbed his eyes. "Look, I'm exhausted." He stood up and stretched, walking towards the boy's dormitory. "I'm going to bed."

"Okay. 'Night." Pansy waved, before turning around. Draco heard what he thought was a laugh before he opened the door to the dormitory.

He collapsed into his bed and was asleep in an instant.