for the dancing and the dreaming

baubles

The comfortable silence between him and Draco was long forgotten once they passed the portrait of the Fat Lady. It had curdled into a quiet tension drawn between the two boys.

"Baubles," Harry muttered. The Fat Lady opened her doors for them, not before raising her eyebrows at the Durmstrang boy accompanying Harry.

They were stunned when they walked into the common room, hit by a blast of noise.

Harry was immediately pulled away from Draco and into the center of the room. Suddenly every eye in the Gryffindor common room was on him.

"Why didn't you tell us you put your name in?" Fred stared at him, the rest of the common room nodding and murmuring in agreement.

George added, "Yeah, those beards took ages to disappear. Good one, Harry!"

"I-" Harry stammered. "But I didn't put my name in-" He realized no one was listening to his protests.

"C'mon, Fred and George snatched some food from the kitchens." Angelina pulled him towards a table. When he protested, she said, "You deserve it!"

But Harry didn't think so. He hadn't put his name in the goblet, after all. Someone like Draco deserved it more, someone who had done more than sit around and wait as someone else put his name in the goblet.

Which raised the question that had been simmering in the back of his mind since his name had been picked: Who entered him in the Tournament?

He was going to have to compete, that was made clear in the chamber after his name was called. Not everyone had wanted him to compete, however. Madame Maxime and Krum had been furious, and Harry shivered just thinking of their faces as they stared at him with cold anger, the opposite emotion that filled the common room now.

George pulled a Gryffindor banner from out of nowhere and draped it on Harry's shoulders. It weighed him down, and his shoulders slumped.

He glanced around desperately. Would anyone try and stop him if he headed upstairs to his dormitory?

Apparently not. It turns out people were so wrapped up in their own celebrations they didn't notice him sneaking off.

He found Draco leaning against the wall of his dormitory, scowling and crossing his arms. When he spotted Harry, his frown lessened and he pushed himself off the wall.

"Where have you been?" Draco asked. "I lost you in the crowd."

"Everyone seems to think that I put my name in the goblet." Harry opened the door and slumped onto his bed.

Draco walked in after him hesitantly, as if afraid he would break something. "I can see why they would think that, but give them time. I don't think they want to believe you."

Harry shrugged. "I guess." He paused. "Honestly, I'm exhausted. I just need to go to sleep. I can sort everything out in the morning."

He was on the verge of sleep when he realized that Draco was standing, alone, in a corner of the room.

He looked quite awkward, his eyes darting around, never lingering on one item for too long.

Harry rubbed his eyes and looked at Draco. "Here, take my bed." With great effort, he dragged himself out of his mountain of soft pillows and blankets, shivering as the chilly night air hit him.

"But-" Draco began to protest.

Harry waved his concerns away. "I'll sleep in Ron's bed. He'll be okay with it."

Draco looked like he wanted to protest more, but he didn't, presumably because he was too tired.

In fact, Harry was struggling to keep his eyes open, and darkness surround him as he fell, face first, into bed. 

...

so i'm reviving this story! me and blue are working on new chapters, so expect hopefully-regular updates after next week (finals :( )