Maybe I don't want to

Chapter 4

Halloween showed up faster than Draco was expected. Before he knew it, he was decorating the dungeon for the gala. Pansy was yakking on and on about a Ravenclaw she was planning on seducing that night.

"What's the point of this stupid party anyway?" He grumbled, levitating lit up paper lanterns to hover above the ceiling, effectively illuminated the previously dark room. House elves were setting up tables of treats and drinks, including a chocolate fountain and a self-refilling punch bowl full of butter beer. Pansy had even had a few bottles of fire whiskey snuck in. Slughorn had easily agreed to the party and even overlooked the alcohol.

"It's for fun, Draco. You should try it sometime."

He simply rolled his eyes.

"I even invited all the Gryffindors so that your man would come."

"Pansy! He's not my anything." He grumbled, irritated at her insistence. She'd brought him up repeatedly in their conversations, as if Draco needed any help having Potter on his mind.

"Well he'll be here, so you can make your move tonight when everyone's in masks."

"Oh, yes because my hair won't make it obvious who I am."

She sighed. "Then dye it with a spell."

He scoffed at that. "Not happening."

"Why don't you go get changed. We've got two hours until we need to be back."

"But it doesn't start until ten."

"We need to be there to welcome guests." She spoke as if it should be obvious. He ignored her and grumbled on his way back to the dorm.

He dressed himself in nice black slacks and a red silk button up. A wave of his wand had a pair of horns appearing from his carefully tousled locks. Another spell had a pointed red tail erupting from his lower back. The tail curled easily around his left leg. He sharpened his nails into short claws and fixed a red mask over his eyes. Readjusting his hair so it fell easily over his forehead in an attractive way. He preened in front of the mirror, imagining how to start a conversation with Potter.

"Hey, I'm an awful person who's spent years tormenting you, wanna dance?" He sighed. "That wouldn't work. Nothing I say is going to work."

He could almost imagine his reflection laughing at him, or even worse Harry Potter laughing at him in front of everyone. It would be bad enough to be rejected by the man he'd fancied for years, but it'd be even worse to have it happen in front of everyone, to have them all laugh at how hopeless he was. With a frustrated growl he kicked the mirror, shattering it into several pieces.

"What'd the poor mirror ever do to you? It only tells the truth." Blaise laughed, having let himself in.

"Piss off." He grumbled. Blaise waved his wand and the mirror pieced itself back together. He stomped off when Blaise tried to ask what was wrong and headed to the dungeon, pouring himself a spiked butter beer.

Draco hung around the back of the room for several hours as the party progressed. The room quickly filled with people in various costumes, all masked. Some people were easy enough to recognize even with masks, like the Weasleys. The redheaded girl was dressed as a mermaid, a skirt designed to look like scales and a beaded top that bared her midriff. Even Draco had to admit that she looked nice. If he were attracted to women, he'd probably find her hot. A bunch of guys had noticed her, some were blatantly staring. Others had tried to talk to her, only to be scared away by her boyfriend's death glare. He managed to look surprisingly threatening despite an eye patch that hid half of his face. The other Weasley was dressed as a dragon, steam billowing from his nose with each exhale. That was likely Ganger's doing, as was most of the magical components to the costume he assumed. She was dressed as some sort of fairy in pale blues and purples with her hair cascading in curls over her shoulder, it was startlingly reminiscent of how she's dressed for the Yule Ball.