Because I Deserve It - Drarry

Chapter 9

By Saturday evening, word had spread that the Slytherins were throwing a party the next day for all the 8th years in the Room of Requirement. McGonagall had sanctioned it herself, in the interest of 'house unity'. Nearly everyone planned to be there. They all knew Slytherins hosted the best parties. Rumor had it that the Hufflepuffs were bringing Firewhiskey.

On Sunday morning, to Harry and Ron's astonishment, Hermione rushed off, saying Parkinson had enlisted her help in setting up the party. Only, she had called her Pansy, much to their surprise. Harry and Ron had spent the afternoon playing quidditch with Ginny and a couple others from the Gryffindor house team. After a couple hours of flying, they trudged back into the common room, chatting and laughing, and went to their respective dorms to change. Afterwards, Harry and Ron headed up to the Room of Requirement early, as per Hermione's request.

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Draco had been dragged along to help with the final preparations. Pansy had asked him to make sure that the Hufflepuffs were actually bringing alcohol. After interrogating a few of them, he found out that Smith was the one who was supposed to smuggle it in. He spent nearly half an hour tracking him down, only to find the git had backed out at the last second. Knowing Pansy would be furious if their party lacked alcohol, he set about finding a different way to acquire it.

Draco bribed one of the house elves with exclusive rights to clean his dorm (the elf was terribly excited) and was finally walking back up to the RoR, levitating bottles of Ogden's Finest trailing after him. As he walked into the room, Pansy turned and gave him an evil look.

"Where were you? You were supposed to be back ages ago! Oh good, you have the Firewhiskey, just set it down right here on this table..." she bustled around, making final adjustments. With a spin to make sure everything was absolutely perfect, she sighed. "All done. People should be getting here in about ten minutes. Now if only-" Just then, Granger walked through the door, levitating more snacks. "Here, Pansy. This is the last of it." Pansy clapped in delight, missing the look Draco shot at her when Granger called her by name.

"Wow," a voice said from the door. Draco spun around to see Potter and the Weasel, looking around at the decorations in awe. Draco had to admit, Pansy had really gone all out. Tasteful streamers hung from the ceiling in black and silver, the lights were dimmed to a more cosy setting, and beanbags and armchairs were placed carefully around the room. Tables were set up along the left wall, covered in all kinds of snacks and drinks, including the Firewhiskey. It was definitely going to be a memorable party.

Potter and the Weasel walked further into the room. The ginger immediately made a beeline for the food, Granger heading over to intercept him. Potter just stood kind of close to Draco, making his heart start to beat faster. Draco looked at everything but Potter.

"Parkinson did a great job with all this," Potter said in a low voice, edging a bit closer. Draco fought to keep his voice even. "Yeah," he agreed. "Pansy's pretty great at this kind of thing." Potter was standing next to him now, shoving his hands into the pockets of the muggle jeans he wore. "And you?" He asked. "I would think you'd be pretty good at this kind of thing too." Draco shook his head, dimly wondering why Potter was being so polite. "I just brought the Firewhiskey," he said, gesturing at it. Potter nodded awkwardly.

Thankfully, a loud group of Ravenclaws came in, chattering excitedly. Since Pansy was busy with helping Granger, he played the part of host, graciously welcoming the group and directing them to the food. About ten minutes later, nearly their whole year was there, along with a few of the 7th years who had been specially invited. People filled the room, lounging around on the seating area provided. Whenever the chairs and beanbags got full, more popped up out of thin air, thanks to the room's magic.