Chapter One
Harry Potter was lying on his back on his four-poster bed in the seventh year boys' dormitory of Gryffindor Tower. It was well past midnight and his roommates – Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan, and Dean Thomas – were all fast asleep. Harry, however, was too busy rehashing the day's events to let his brain relax. The usual things had happened like his casting of the Muffliato charm in Transfiguration class so that he, Ron, and a reluctant Hermione could talk to each other without being overheard and McGonagall setting him extra homework because he could not perform the spell properly when she had asked him to demonstrate. But those things were not what was disturbing him. What was really causing him trouble was Ginny and how he felt about her. He had denied for years that he had anything other than elder-brother feelings for her and, finally, last year they had kissed for the first time and officially started dating. At the beginning he had felt exhilarated whenever he was around Ginny and had wanted to spend every waking moment with her. But over the last few weeks he had found himself losing interest in the relationship and stayed with Ginny out of an obligation and fear that their friendship would die with their romance. When he kissed Ginny now, though he enjoyed the feeling of her lips on his, he no longer felt as he had when first they had started kissing: thrilled, flushed, heart-racing, they two were the only ones in the world. And what was more, he had found himself staring at Draco Malfoy in Defense Against the Dark Arts earlier today. This memory was what was disconcerting him most. Why the hell had he been staring at Malfoy? He absolutely hated Malfoy.
Harry turned over onto his side and faced the curtains which blocked from view the four-poster bed that he knew was Ron's. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, clear his brain of the troubling things that had happened over the course of the day. Slowly, a fitful and restless sleep overcame him.
An hour later, or so it seemed to Harry, he was awoken rudely and abruptly by Ron.
"Wake up, mate. Time to get up if you don't want to be late for Slughorn."
"Right. Yeah. We shouldn't be late for class," Harry said, rolling out of bed, still thinking about the affairs of the day before and hoping against hope that nothing of the sort would happen today. He also thought about the dream that he had had: he and Malfoy had been in a compromising position. He was devoutly thankful that Ron could perform neither Occlumency nor Legilimancy.
"Harry? Are you alright, mate?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry said quickly. "Why?"
"You had a worried look on your face."
"Worried? Why would I be worried?" Harry asked and walked out of the dormitory.
"I don't know. I was just asking. Chill," Ron said, following room into the down the stairs and into the common room.
"Hello," said Ginny who met them in the common room with Hermione Granger, Ron's girlfriend and Harry's other best friend. "Shall we go down to breakfast?"
"Yes. I'm starving," said Ron taking Hermione's hand. Harry reluctantly followed suit and took Ginny by the hand.
Two minutes later the four friends were walking into the Great Hall ready for breakfast. The Gryffindor House table was the last in the Hall and they had to walk by the other three to get to it. As they passed the Slytherin House table, Harry's eyes met Draco Malfoy's. Harry suddenly did not feel very well and did not want to stay in the Great Hall.
"Guys, I'm not very hungry anymore. I think I'll just go back to the common room and wait for you to finish," Harry said, stopping and letting go of Ginny's hand.
"Harry, you're always hungry in the morning," Ginny said.
"Yeah. I know. But I don't really feel like eating at the moment."
"Are you alright, Harry?" Hermione asked, concerned.
"Yeah. Yeah. I'm fine. I'm just not really into eating right now. I'll see you guys later." He turned and walked out of the Great Hall, carefully avoiding looking at the Slytherin table.
Back in the common room, Harry sat down in his favorite armchair by the fire. He did not know what was wrong with him. Why had he suddenly lost all appetite when he had locked eyes with Malfoy? Was it because there was no smirk on Malfoy's face? Or because there was no hatred in his eyes? These disturbing thoughts flashed through Harry's head and he did not notice when his two friends and sister walked into the common room.
"Harry, it's time for class," Ginny said. "I have Hagrid, but you guys have Potions and you don't want to be late even though Slughorn is in love with you." She smirked, kissed Harry despite the scowl on his face, and walked out of the common room.
"Ginny's right. We should get going," Hermione said. Harry pulled himself out of the armchair and followed Hermione and Ron out of Gryffindor Tower and to the dungeons where Potions classes were held.
When the three friends reached the dungeons they found a queue of students outside the classroom. There were not many there for not many students had gone onto N.E.W.T level potions. One person that had advanced was Draco Malfoy. He was standing, arrogant as ever, in front of the door waiting for Slughorn to allow entrance. Harry took notice of the way Draco's hair was gracefully slicked back and how well it suited his personality. Harry was pulled out of his reverie when the door to the Potions classroom swung open and Slughorn came through the door.
"Please come in," Slughorn told the class genially. "Harry, m'boy," Slughorn acknowledged as Harry walked past him into the classroom.
"Hello, sir," Harry responded politely, though still lost in his own thoughts, and sat at his usual table with Ron, Hermione, and Ernie Macmillan.
"Alright, class. Today we will be making Dream potions. Can anyone – Miss Granger?" Slughorn said, seeing Hermione's hand fly into the air before he had finished his question.
"A Dream potion ensures that the drinker will have a dream and will remember it the morning after. However, the person cannot create their dream; the potion forms the dream around the person's subconscious," Hermione answered at top speed.
"Correct, of course." Slughorn smiled. "Ten points to Gryffindor." Ron put his arm proudly around Hermione' shoulders and Harry smiled weakly trying his hardest to not glance in Malfoy's direction.
"Today you will each attempt to make your own Dream potion. Whether you succeed or not, I will be giving you each a vial of the potion at the end of class," Slughorn said, smiling.
"Why will we each be given a potion? Some of us like a dreamless sleep," Malfoy drawled. Despite the fact that Slughorn was a Slytherin and head of the house, Malfoy had given up on Potions when Snape was transferred to Defense Against the Dark Arts and he no longer got preferential treatment.
"Because you will each take the potion tonight, Mr. Malfoy, and you will write me a summary of the dream you have. It will be handed into me next time we meet," Slughorn said, frowning a little at Malfoy's rudeness.
Harry began to panic. Last night he had had a dream about him and Malfoy in a very disturbing situation. He did not want to risk it happening again and having to write it down for homework.
"Sir?" Harry raised his hand.
"Harry, m'boy?" Slughorn looked at him, surprised. Ron did not usually ask him questions.
"Do we have to do take the potion? I mean, why does it matter what we dream?" Ron and Hermione looked at Harry, a little confused. That kind of question was something that Malfoy would have asked, not him.
"It is part of the class, Harry," Slughorn said genially. "Now, I want you all to open to page 150 and begin to make your Dream potions."
"Who cares if we have to document a dream? It's not like they are about making out with Malfoy or something really disturbing like that, right?" Ron said to Harry.
"Right," Harry said weakly, his heart thumping madly, and started to work on his potion.
An hour later Slughorn called, "Time's up!" He strolled around the classroom examining the students' potions. First he went to the Slytherin table and found nothing impressive. Next he moved to the table where the four Ravenclaws sat and gave a few appreciative nods. Finally, Slughorn arrived at the table at which Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ernie sat. Ernie and Ron's potions were not too good, Harry's was little better, and Hermione's got a huge, enthusiastic grin from Slughorn. Hermione had become a star at Potions again when Harry had given up using the Half-Blood Prince version of Advanced Potion-Making. He had left it in the Room of Requirement where he had hidden it from Snape and it had burned in the Fiendfyre that Crabbe had conjured when Harry, Ron, and Hermione had tried to retrieve the next to last of Voldemort's Horcruxes the previous year.
"Excellent, Miss Granger. Another ten points to Gryffindor. And you may use your own potion tonight for your homework. As for the rest of you, come, come. Here I have a vial for each of you containing the correctly brewed potion." The class lined up in front of Slughorn's desk to receive their vials of Dream potion. Malfoy scowled as he took his bottle and Harry obtained his reluctantly.
As he turned to return to his table and pack up his things, Harry's hand accidently brushed against Malfoy's. Harry's heart skipped a beat. Harry's eyes darted to Malfoy's face which wore its usual scowl. But in Malfoy's eyes Harry saw what he had seen in them that morning at breakfast: kindness and intrigue. The next moment Malfoy was back at the table with his Slytherin friends and was packing up his things. Harry moved silently back to his own table and put away his cauldron and Potions book.
When Harry returned to the common room a half hour after dinner Ron and Hermione were doing their homework. Both looked up when Harry walked through the portrait hole.
"What happened to you, Harry? You were right behind us leaving the Great Hall and then you disappeared," Hermione said.
"I needed to talk a walk."
"Everything alright, mate?" Ron asked, a little concerned.
"Yeah. Everything's fine. I, er, think I'll go to bed," Harry said walking to the staircase that led to the dormitories.
"Don't forget to take the Dream potion!" Hermione said as Harry's robes disappeared behind the wall.
Once inside the boys' dormitory, Harry began to undress. He took off his robe and tie and threw them into the trunk at the foot of his bed and pulled out a pair of pajamas. He replaced his uniform pants with his pajama bottoms and his white button down shirt with the pajama top. Harry took out of his school bag the little vial of Dream potion that Slughorn had given him earlier.
"I guess I have to do this," Harry said to himself. He uncorked the bottle and downed the potion in one swig. "Hope for the best." Harry lay himself under the covers and fell to sleep.
It was around nine o'clock and the annual Yule Ball was getting under way. Harry was standing in the boys' dormitory of Gryffindor Tower examining in the mirror how he looked.
Ron Weasley walked into the room and said, "Are you ready to go, Harry? I know that you don't have a date because you broke up with Ginny, but Hermione is waiting for me."
"I'm coming," Harry said, taking one last look at himself in the mirror.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione, whom Ron had met in the common room, walked out of the Gryffindor portrait hole and down the stairs to the Great Hall.
The Great Hall was decorated beautifully with Hagrid's usual twelve Christmas trees, mistletoe, little fairies flying around giving off some light, and enchanted snow falling from the enchanted ceiling, never quite reaching the ground or people. The Weird Sisters were set up on the stage like always, ready to play all of the favorite songs of the students. Harry, Ron, and Hermione found a table near the wall where the Head Table was usually positioned at mealtime. Hermione ran off to say hello to Luna Lovegood who was at the dance with Neville Longbottom. Ron went to get punch for he and Hermione, who would drink hers when she was done conversing with her friend. Harry sat down at the table and watched Ginny walk into the Great Hall on the arm of Dean Thomas. Harry scowled as he saw Ginny walk up to Hermione and Luna. He was not jealous of Dean for it was he who had broken up with Ginny, but it was still odd to see her on a date with Dean, especially after Ginny and Dean had broken up two years ago. Ron came back to the table with two glasses of punch.
"Did you see who Ginny came with," Ron asked his friend.
"Yeah, I saw. What in the world would possess Ginny to come to the Ball with Dean?" Ron said seriously.
"They used to go out," Harry pointed out.
"True." Ron sat down.
"So what are you going to do without a date? Sit here all night sulking like you did four years ago when Cho came with Diggory?" Ron asked.
"No," Harry retorted.
"Good. I suggest that you find some poor girl that doesn't have a date tonight and ask her to dance."
"Why don't you take your own advice," Hermione said, coming over to the table and holding out her hand as a slow song began to play.
"Okay then," Ron said, taking Hermione's hand and leading her onto the dance floor.
"Maybe I should find someone to dance with," Harry said to himself. He got up from his chair and began to look around to see if anyone was sitting alone. At a table on the other end of the room, someone was sitting alone: Draco Malfoy. It surprised Harry that Draco did not have a date for the Ball; he thought for sure that Malfoy would have come with Pansy Parkinson.
Suddenly a thought occurred to Harry, a crazy and unthinkable one. And he did not know what possessed him to follow his thought, but Harry began to move towards the table at which Malfoy sat. No one noticed him walking towards the table and, despite the fact that his heart beat more wildly with every step he took and the misgivings going on in his head, Harry's pace picked up the closer he got to Malfoy's table. Suddenly he was standing in front of Malfoy with his hand held out to him. Malfoy looked up into Harry's face; Harry thought that without a doubt there would be loathing there. But instead Harry found curiosity.
Bucking up all the courage he could muster, Harry asked, "Will you dance with me?"
"I would love to," Malfoy said, taking Harry's outstretched hand.
Surprised, but delighted, Harry led Malfoy onto the dance floor. Now heads started to turn and mouths started to move, friends whispering to friends, as the most unlikely pair in the world made their way to the center of the Great Hall. As Malfoy and Harry passed Ron and Hermione and Ginny and Dean, the two couples stopped dancing and rushed to stand next to each other. Luna and Neville joined them within the minute; Seamus followed suit. Harry's seven friends' mouths opened in shock and terror as Harry turned around, took Malfoy in his arms, and began to revolve on the spot to the music. They were the only ones that moved. Everyone else in the Great Hall, professors included, stopped all that they were doing to watch the Slytherin and Gryffindor dance together.
Harry and Malfoy did not seem to notice what was happening around them, but only what was taking place between the two of them. Malfoy pulled himself closer to Harry and tightened his grip on Harry's neck. Harry's arms closed more tightly around Malfoy's waist as they continued to turn on the spot. Slowly Malfoy leaned in to Harry's ear and whispered, "I love you, Harry."
Harry smiled and whispered back, "I love you, too, Draco."
In the Gryffindor common room, Harry awoke screaming.