Malfoy Flavor

-48-

"You two know that we're all going to be late, right?" Ron asked.

"Of course they know," Blaise answered with a wide grin. "You think they're actually going to be on time for this thing?"

"But Harry's the guest of honour," Hermione protested. "He should be on time."

Harry snorted as he buttoned up his formal robes. "Better to be late than to be mobbed on the way there. This way, at least everyone should already be seated in the Great Hall."

"Oh, well, that makes sense," Ron said. "So, how does it feel to be such a hero?" he asked with a cheeky grin.

Harry rolled his eyes. "It's ridiculous. I just want to get this whole thing over with."

"At least you've learned how to make speeches," Hermione said reasonably.

"Yeah, I guess. Father says I'm good at them because I can relate to people," Harry answered absently, searching for his boots.

"You know, I can understand you with Malfoy better than I can understand you as Snape's son," Seamus said conversationally.

"Yeah, me too," Ron agreed.

"What do you mean by that?" Harry asked, pausing to frown at the two of them.

Seamus shrugged. "We've seen you with Malfoy all year. Um, seen quite a bit of you with Malfoy, actually," he said with a lascivious grin.

Harry smirked at him. "I suppose you have."

"No, not going there," Ron said, looking a little green. "Gods, I can't believe that was actually you, Harry."

"Hey, I wasn't the only one doing anything at that party," Harry protested, amused with Ron's discomfort.

Ron and Hermione were both flushed a brilliant red. Hermione quickly spoke up. "We were discussing how we don't really see that much of you with Snape."

"Yeah," Ron quickly agreed. "I mean, he's been better this year, overall, but he's still a right snarky bastard."

Harry smiled. "He is a snarky bastard," he agreed. "But he's not so bad as he makes himself out to be." He joined the others to wait for Draco, having found his boots finally.

"Harry? You really are happy, aren't you?" Hermione asked softly.

"Yes," Harry answered, his voice just as soft. "I've got my father and Lucius. What I would do without Draco, I have no idea. I've got all my friends and, now that Voldemort's gone, I'm finally free to live my life. No more hiding."

"Wow, Harry Potter and Lucius Malfoy getting along," Pansy said, shaking her head. "Sure didn't see that one coming."

Harry laughed along with the others. "I didn't see any of this coming when I left school last year."

"You lot ready to go?" Draco drawled.

Harry grinned. "Ready as I'll ever be."

The group of eight made their way through the dungeons and up to the Great Hall. The noise could be heard long before they got there. They stepped inside and quickly realized that the room was completely filled with people. Harry had thought the huge room was crowded the night before, but he'd obviously been wrong.

Loud cheering broke out as people saw them. Harry sighed. This was going to be another long night. But then he looked at Draco, who was smiling at him.

"Enjoy it and celebrate," Draco said quietly. "You've got more reason to celebrate than any of them."

Harry slowly smiled. Draco was right. He could choose to be upset about all the attention and hero worship, or he could choose to relax and celebrate along with everyone else. Once he made the decision to relax and simply go with the flow, the entire evening became much more bearable.