The little black box arrived at breakfast time, carried by an old grey owl that Draco didn't recognise. He picked up the box from the table and half smiled to himself as the bird flew off again. He already knew what was inside the box, he'd got the same thing last year and the same thing the year before, the box was velvet and he ran his thumb gently over its soft exterior.
"I hope I get mine soon," Pansy's nasally voice cut through his thoughts. Draco shushed her.
"You know you're not supposed to talk about it, they'll stop inviting you." He told her, he hoped they wouldn't invite her – not that it mattered to him either way but it would maybe get her to shut up for five minutes.
Slowly, Draco opened the box and inside was just what he had expected to see – a glass vial, a sealed envelope and an embossed invitation that read:
The Polyjuice Party
You're invited to attend our party on the 17th February
Here are your rules:
1. You must drink your polyjuice potion before arriving.
2. You are not to reveal your true identity to anyone in or out of the party.
3. You must not discuss the party. At all.
Breaking these rules can lead to having your invitation revoked and no further invites to future parties.
The first time Draco had received an invitation it had also come with a letter explaining that the party was a chance to be someone other than yourself and how to find the room in which the party would take place. Being someone other than himself appealed to draco very much, even if it was for only one night. This years party was being held later than usual, though the date didn't matter really – Draco was just glad to have something to look forward too. It made the two months of waiting pass by much quicker.
The night of February the 17th arrived and a second parcel had been left on his bed that morning, he'd expected this one too – it contained clothes to fit the person he was to become. It was the same every year and for everyone who attended – Dark jeans and a black t-shirt, not something Draco would ever usually wear but for one night he could make an exception.
He changed into the provided outfit and took out the glass vial from the little black box. Inside was a silvery liquid, though he knew the colour could vary depending on who it was he was transforming into. It didn't taste bad – last years potion had tasted like rotten eggs and had made him almost throw up – this one tasted rather plain, kind of like water with sugar. The transformation was quick, it always felt strange but so far had proved painless.
Draco took the sealed envelope out of the box next and slit it open gracefully, getting a feel for his new fingers. Inside was a single piece of paper with a name, everyone was given a name to use in place of their own for the night – tonight his would be, Harry. He cringed reading it, he thought about not going to the party in protest but it was just a name after all and this was his one night to pretend he was someone else. He screwed up the paper and threw it into the fire before heading to the bathroom to get a good look at his borrowed face.
He was handsome enough he supposed, his hair was dark and kind of curly, his eyes were pale blue. He was about as tall as he normally was but had broader shoulders and more muscle on his arms. The last piece of the puzzle, he took out of his pocket a thin red ribbon, slowly and carefully he wrapped it around his wrist twice and tied it into a bow.
At last years party, Draco had met a girl – a girl so perfect in every way that he'd practically begged her to break the rules and tell him who she was but she'd refused, she had given him a way to find her next time though and pulled the red ribbon from her hair, telling him to wear it next year and she would find him.
It was a long shot that the girl would even bother to look for him but he held on to the hope that she had felt the same way he had. Satisfied with himself, Draco made his way upstairs to the room of requirement. He couldn't hear the music until the door appeared and he opened it, slipping inside and closing it firmly behind himself. The music was loud and booming, he could feel it all the way to his bones, there was a drinks table in the corner filled with concoctions of many colours – he'd found out at his first party that only fourth years and above were ever invited and the host never provided the alcohol, that was always supplied by whichever seventh years managed to sneak a bottle or two in he supposed.
Draco grabbed himself a drink and surveyed the party, people were dancing and laughing – everyone was having a great time and not one of them cared who it was that organized these things. He waited, holding his cup up to his lips with his ribboned hand so that if my girl was looking, she could see it. Another group of people entered the party, they must have met each other outside since you weren't allowed to meet up with your friends beforehand in order to keep the anonymity intact. Draco wondered if one of those girls was my girl.
About half an hour had passed and he had been invited to dance by several girls and even a couple of boys, he'd agreed to dance with them all as even if his girl didn't show up he wanted to have a good time. It dawned on him while he was dancing with a tall boy with shaggy blonde hair that his girl may not even be a girl at all – polyjuice potion didn't gender discriminate and whoever set these things up could quite easily send out boy's polyjuice potions to girls and vice versa, all they had to do was put on a good voice and he would be none the wiser, Draco's search became a whole lot harder, gender didn't matter to Draco – not that he'd ever admit that outside of these parties, his father would probably murder him on the spot without even blinking first if he were to ever suggest he were involved with another boy.
The song ended and in the short silence before the next one played, Draco excused himself from the dance floor to get another drink.
In another corner of the vast room were a few sofas and bean bag chairs, kids were spread out across them, lounging around and playing a game that involved cards with questions on them, as he approached a couple of people on one of the sofas shifted over so he could join them. It turned out to be a drinking game, someone picked a card and on it, it had some kind of activity – if you'd done it before, you drank, it was that simple though some of the questions were perhaps a little too risque for whatever fourteen year olds were lurking behind these unfamiliar faces.
The game was fun but Draco had done so many of the cards activities that he was getting drunk faster than he wanted too, so after one more round he left that too. Draco surveyed the room once more, looking for the food that was usually provided when a voice behind him said something that instantly caught his attention.
"I didn't think you'd wear the ribbon, it's borderline breaking the rules."
Well there we go, first chapter - I've had this fic floating around in my head for about three years now and basically decided I had to write it or it might never go away, haha. I hope you liked it. Let me know who you want Draco's mystery person to be in a review? ~RainbowVeins
