Thrill (Drarry)

2. The Unexpected Task

 For the first time in weeks, Harry did not feel like the weight of the world had been dropped onto his shoulders. He had managed the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament successfully and he finally got his best friend back. Additionally, the other houses did not act as hostile towards him as before. So until the next task in about two month time, he could have a relatively normal life. 

Well, as normal as it can get when you're Harry Potter and fourth Champion in the Triwizard Tournament.

That was, until Professor McGonagall dropped another quite unexpected task on Harry's head. Finding a dance partner for the Yuleball. 

Before the First Task, he probably would have thought that asking a girl to be his dance partner would be a piece of cake, but now, Harry had to admit that he would rather get past a Dragon.

He and Ron both had their problems with it. Their first choices, Ron's Fleur Delacour and Harry's Cho Chang, seemed way out of their leagues and they were also completely clueless when it came to talking to girls.

"Come off it, Harry." Ron said one afternoon as they made their way to Herbology. "You're a Champion. Every girl would love to go with you."

Harry made a non-committal sound. Objectively, Ron was right, but Harry was the fourth, unwanted Champion, and on top of that, not very good looking. A thought struck him. "Why do we have to go with girls anyways?"

Ron frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know. Why can't I just go with you or- Malfoy." Harry stopped walking abruptly.

"Malfoy?" Ron asked in disbelief. "Why would you want to go with Malfoy of-"

"Shht, no." Harry cut him off and pointed ahead. There was Malfoy, standing in a crowd of Slytherins. As he caught sight of Harry, he started quoting the Skeeter article again mockingly, but the laughter from his peers seemed more dutiful than genuine.

Harry's thoughts drifted to the last time he had seen Malfoy like this. He had been quoting Rita Skeeter's article and Harry had embarrassed him. And even though they often did that to each other, last time seemed to have thrown him off balance more than usual. Harry tried hard to think about how he had done it. It had sent a kind of pleasant rush through down his spine.

Ron rolled his eyes as he saw Malfoy smirking at them cockily. He grabbed Harry's wrist and pulled him past the group. "Get over yourself, Malfoy."

Harry bit his lip, watching as Malfoy smirked at him and quoted the article about Skeeter's interpretations of Harry's life word for word. "Still so interested in me?" Harry asked, yanking his wrist from Ron's grip. He wanted Malfoy's pale cheeks to colour again. "Don't be embarrassed." Harry grinned and cocked his head to the side. There was a bit colour on Malfoy's cheeks but he seemed more composed than last time. Maybe he had anticipated it. "I would also read articles about you."

Before Harry could relish in the light pink colour that rose in Malfoy's face, Ron's laugh turned Malfoy back to normal, his previously slightly lightened eyes turned cold again as he glared at the redhead who said, "Yeah, we would. If there were ever any news paper articles about you."

Harry broke into a grin. Even though he was a bit disappointed in the shortness of his plan, he had to admit that it was a pretty good comeback.

"You're one to talk." Malfoy said haughtily. "The only time you were in the newspapers was when your family was able to afford a trip. With no money it's a miraculous event that needs to be broadcasted in the Daily Prophet, doesn't it?" He grinned nastily as Ron's responding glare.

Harry pulled him away this time. "Don't listen to him." He said, rounding the corner that led them outside to the greenhouses.

Apparently, Malfoy saw this encounter as a triumph over Harry and figured he had the upper hand again. This meant he did not wait weeks to taunt Harry again. In fact, he took the next opportunity when Harry clumsily turned down a girl who was asking him to the Yuleball on his way to lunch. She was a third year Hufflepuff and Harry had to admit that she was rather pretty. She had bright blonde hair and blue eyes but if Harry would say yes to every pretty girl that asked him he would have had at least fifteen dates. He still had hope that he would get the courage to ask Cho. Where was his Gryffindor courage when he needed it?

"Riding the high hippogriff now, eh Potter?" Harry turned around to face a sneering Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. "Being Champion made you too good for the entire school population now. I will bring you down to earth again..."

He was about to pull out his wand when Harry stepped closer. "Maybe there is..." Harry's soft tone made Malfoy's eyes snap up, looking into Harry's with sceptically furrowed eyebrows, "...Someone I want." Harry watched something flicker in Malfoy's eyes and his cheeks turned into a beautiful shade of pink. A giddiness settled in Harry's stomach and he could not suppress a grin spreading over his face.

This seemed to shake Malfoy back into his composed, proud self. But before he could come up with a retort, Harry took a step back and passed him instead, the giddy grin never leaving his face. When Ron and Hermione asked him about it at lunch, Harry just shook his head. He could not explain it. And he was not sure if he wanted to.

This whole Malfoy thing almost made him forget that he still did not have a girl to go to the ball with. And he was Champion which meant he had to open the dance with his dance partner.

It kind of helped that Ron wanted to make a challenge out of it. On Friday morning he told Harry, "When we get back to the common room tonight, we'll have partners, alright?"

Harry agreed offhandedly. But when they walked to dinner that evening, both turned down by their first choice dates, they were discouraged again. Hermione, apparently, was already asked by someone but she would not tell them by whom. "I already said it." Harry said as they walked down the red carpeted stairs, waiting for the switching staircase to connect with the floor again. "Why do we have to go with girls? We could just go with each other."

Ron grimaced. "Not a chance."

"Why not?" Harry frowned. It was really the last solution he could think of.

"Because everyone will think we're, you know..." Ron said.

At Harry's questioning gaze Hermione sighed, "He means everyone will think you're gay and together. And I also don't know if Dumbledore would approve."

"Why?" Harry wondered. "Do you think he would be against anything like that?"

Hermione shrugged. "I don't think homosexuality is a widely discussed topic in this wizarding world, is it, Ron?"

"Umm, no." Ron said. "That's just weird."

Harry frowned. "There's nothing wrong with that."

Hermione looked at Harry thoughtfully. "I'm surprised that you're so defensive about it." She said. "I know it's starting to be a bigger topic in the muggle world, but not that big yet. And from what I heard about your aunt and uncle..."

"Oh, I'm sure they would hate it." Harry laughed as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "They hate everything that is not normal."

"Hermione, who are you going to the ball with?" Ron asked, hoping to startle Hermione into answering by springing the question on her when she least expected it.

"I won't tell you-" Hermione was interrupted by an all too familiar voice.

"Are you joking?" Malfoy appeared to have turned around in the doorway to the Great Hall as he heard them. "Someone actually asked that long-molared Mudblood to the ball?"

Harry and Ron reached for their wands but before any damage could be done, Hermione waved at something behind Malfoy. "Hello, Professor Moody."

Malfoy jumped and looked around hectically, looking for the man who had turned him into a ferret not too long ago as a punishment. But Professor Moody was nowhere to be seen.

"Aren't you a twitchy little ferret?" Hermione taunted as she passed him and entered the Great Hall. Ron and Harry followed her.

Harry stopped for a moment though, whispering to Malfoy, "Cute, little ferret." Satisfied, he watched as these pale, porcelain cheeks turn into rose petal pink. Then, he went after his friends.