Afar

Chapter 5

December was taking its time getting here, Harry thought as he plowed through the halls. It was barely November and he was impatient. School was boring, and Cedric hadn't talked to him in over a week.

With his thoughts occupied, Harry wasn't watching where he was going. He collided with someone and dropped his bag, spilling its contents all over the ground. Harry whirled around, prepared to chew out the person that had gotten in his way, only to realize that it was in fact Cedric Diggory, looking as beautiful and bewildered as anyone can look.

"Oh," Any angry words died in Harry's throat. "S-Sorry."

Cedric looked equally anxious. "No, it was my fault. I'm sorry."

Harry bent to pick up his belongings. Cedric seemed to have the same idea. They knocked into each other again as they knelt, and causing Harry to lose his balance and fall over.

    "Shit!" Cedric reached out and grabbed Harry's arm before he hit the floor. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

    They were really very close now, and Harry was finding it very hard to breathe much less string together a coherent thought. "Yeah -uh- I'm fine thanks," He said breathlessly. He focused on Cedric's eyes. They were open wide and very very gray. Harry really couldn't breath now.

    They sat and stared into each other's eyes until someone accidentally kicked them as they walked past. Harry snapped out of his daze and scrambled to pick up the last of his books. Cedric stood up and brushed off his robes nervously.

    "Um- well. Bye then," Harry said, waving awkwardly. "See you."

    "Wait!" Cedric called out. "I was wondering- well- um," He stammered. "Well Hogsmeade is this weekend."

    "Yeah, it is." Harry's heart pounded. He couldn't think of why Cedric had pointed that out.

"I was just wondering if maybe- if you wanted- we could go somewhere then. You know, like a date."

Harry gaped for a second before regaining his composure. "Yeah! I'd love that."

Immediately he started cursing himself inwardly. Was that to eager? Should he make it less painfully obvious how much he liked the fifth year boy?

Cedric's face split into a grin. "Great! That's fantastic!"

Harry sighed in relief. He hadn't seemed to scare Cedric off with his overeager response. "Yeah, see you then I suppose."

Cedric nodded and waved goodbye before letting himself be carried away in the stream of students.

Harry stood in the hallway, completely stunned, for five minutes. He had a date. A date with one of the most attractive boys in the school. Holy shit this was happening.

Someone grunted as they collided with him, and jerked him back to reality. He realized he had less than a minute to get to the dungeons in time for potions, and he really didn't feel like having Hermione lecture him about
punctuality for the millionth time that week. With a sigh, he turned and headed towards the dungeons.

*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *   
Harry scrambled around the dormitory, throwing things around as he ripped through his clothing. Ron watched with an amused look on his face.

"Alright mate?" He asked as Harry upended a drawer onto his bed.

"No, I have less than an hour before I have to meet Cedric, and I have no idea what to wear."

"Want me to go get Mione?" Ron asked.

"Mione knows about as much about fashion as either of us," Harry snapped. Suddenly he stopped what he was doing and looked thoughtful. "You know who does know about that kind of stuff?"

Ron groaned. "Absolutely no one. Give up Harry. You're going to be fine with out a breathtaking outfit. Cedric doesn't seem the type to care about this."

"No, Draco knows this stuff. Go get him please."

"No need morons, your saviour is here," A voice said from the doorway.

Harry looked up and groaned with relief. "Thank god, Draco. I need help."

"I can see that," Draco picked his way through the mess with a disgusted look on his face. "You have a date you say?"

Harry nodded. "Please help me."

Draco nodded and headed for Harry's clothes. He picked through them, occasionally nodding with approval but more often sneering or simply staring in disbelief. Finally he turned to Harry with a stack of clothes. "You may have horrible taste, Harry Potter , but there's hope for you yet."

Harry took the clothes and escaped to the bathroom.

Ron turned to Draco. "That was really nice of you. Especially considering-"

"Yeah, yeah." Draco waved his hand. "I'm still his friend, even if the thought of him with pretty boy Diggory makes me want to vomit. I help my friends, no matter what."

Ron nodded. "You really do have good taste mate."

Draco smirked. "Yes, I know."

Harry stepped back into the room self-consciously. He was wearing a green shirt that complimented his eyes perfectly as well as skinny jeans. Draco frowned at him and walked over. He pulled out his wand, tapped it on Harry's head, and muttered a spell. Then he moved Harry's curls into a more intentionally messy look.

Harry looked at himself in a mirror. "Draco, thank you. I am forever in your debt."

"Mmhm, damn right you are Harry Potter. Now go, you're going to be late," Draco spun Harry around and pointed to the door. "Go charm the pants off that poor boy."

Harry grinned at him and ran out the door.
The minute he was gone, Draco collapsed on Harry's bed, and groaned loudly. "God dammit Ron. I'm going to die."

"You're a good person, a better person than me anyway. If a girl I liked asked me to help her get ready for a date with another guy, I don't think I'd be able to do it." Ron shook his head in amazement.

"See the difference between you and me is you wear your heart on your sleeve. You have absolutely no control over your own emotions," Draco covered his face with his hands.

"Wow, thanks," Ron said sarcastically.

"No offense, I admire that about you. My father taught me to never show anything like emotion. Malfoys don't feel and all that. It's suffocating really. It just leads to god-awful breakdowns."

Ron patted Draco on the shoulder. "You'll be alright, Draco."

Draco shrugged. "You aren't bad for a Weasley."

Ron rolled his eyes and punched Draco playfully. "Right back at you mate."

A/N: Look at me! Updating twice in a week? And it's a reasonable length? Who have I become??
I hope y'all enjoy this one, I certainly enjoyed writing it.
Your OneAndOnlyLesbian