Potter didn't know how to dance.
Why?
Wasn't he a wizard?
Draco couldn't help but bite his lip to stifle amusement as he stepped on his date's toes. He was told that Griffindor did ball room dancing lessons. He hadn't believed it at first, thinking Blaise was just joking with him, but now he could see that they truly did need it.
His eyes grazed over Weasley, and saw that he was not doing too well either. But, that might've had something to do with staring at Granger's breasts all night instead of his date's eyes.
Draco whistled slightly when he saw her, she did look quite nice all dressed up.
He heard a cough from beside him and turned to see Pansy with an eyebrow in her hairline,
"Have you finished checking out the Golden Trio yet, or do I have to wait all night for a dance?"
Draco smiled his trademark smile. She was a bit demanding, but unlike the other girls in Slytherin knew he wasn't actually looking for a girlfriend. He was already betrothed to Astoria Greengrass, some people just didn't get that. He scooped a hand around her back of her dress, rested it lightly in between her shoulder blades, and led her onto the dance floor. She snarled a smile at him, and Draco chuckled under his breath. Ever the charmer. She looked a bit like a rabid hyena.
They danced, perfectly in tune, to the music that no one was truly listening to. There were a few pure-blood heirs scattered about the place with the appropriate decorum, but mostly students were dancing with no fated path.
Draco dipped her, his breath pooling hotly across her lips, and felt his ego purr in satisfaction at her shudder.
He was a bit of a flirt.
Pansy blinked, eyes wide staring into his, and said,
"Lift me up then, any longer and I know your puny arms will drop me!"
Her demanding tone was one of the reasons why he picked her and no one else did. She'd scare everyone else away and he wouldn't be bothered every moment. Ever since puberty it seemed he'd acquired some sort of invisible sent which called for girls.
Draco lifted her daintily, watched as she brushed off her dress, and took her hand. He kissed the air above it lightly and she curtsied.
"Heir Parkinson, a pleasure."
Pansy rolled her eyes,
"Heir Malfoy, piss off."
As Draco let go of her hand and walked away, he mused that she never truly had gotten over his prank from second year. Who would have thought that pretending to be petrified wasn't a lark?
He weaved through the hot and moving bodies, glad to get away from the stuffy air of the ball. Draco tugged his robes slightly to avoid a pool of punch on the floor. People became animals when given the chance, his father taught him that, whether he wanted to or not.
The balcony was empty, the night air was fresh and dark. He leaned against the banister, curled in roses and wisterias. Smooth marble felt like cool water under his hands, and he puffed hot breaths into them to stop himself from shivering. Draco looked out across the school, glad to be away from the noise and life of the party.
"What are you doing out here?"
He didn't even turn when he heard Potter's voice, not truly in the mood for a fight. Draco snarked,
"I'm cloud watching, what does it look like Potty?"
Potter laughed sarcastically. Draco heard the slam of the door behind him, and saw Potter lean against the balcony next to him. He sighed,
"Why are you here?"
Potter shrugged,
"The ball's too loud, and girls keep asking me to dance."
Draco laughed,
"I saw you out there, you're actually terrible. I'd hate to think of what you were like before those ball room dancing classes."
Potter didn't argue back or even growl like Draco thought he would, instead he simply sighed and dropped his head into his hands. For a second Draco thought he was sobbing, since his back was moving up and down and he was making high pitched sounds. He wondered what could have made the Golden Boy so upset. After a few moments he realised it was a mighty cackle. Laughter. And he couldn't help but ask himself why he was cursed to deal with the boy's insufferable presence when he had turned mad. Merlin, they would probably end up blaming him for the boy's insanity.
Potter looked over at him, eyes red rimmed, still laughing softly, and said,
"What am I going to do, Malfoy? What do I do when I realise that I'm actually a terrible person!"
Draco shrugged,
"Admit I've been right all along."
Potter chuckled again, giving him a 'that's such a you thing to say' expression. Were they even close enough to know that sort of thing about each other?
The raven haired boy turned his head, looked out, up, at the black blanket of twinkling stars. They shone, almost eerie in their brightness, and if Draco closed his eyes he could have sworn he heard whispers coming from above. Potter said, as quiet as a rustling of leaves far outside a window,
"I come to the ball thinking to myself that this will help me get close to Ron and Hermione again. I think to myself that at the ball, with them, I will realise again why I need to forgive them. I will realise why I love them, why they are my friends. I think to myself that I will hug Hermione before I head to the boys dorm and I will say goodnight to Ron, like I used to... That I won't hang their reaction to the tournament over their heads anymore."
Potter sighed, a sad sigh if he's ever heard one, and continued,
"Ron's naturally jealous, I can understand that, and Hermione is a stickler for the rules. I knew that when I became friends with them, I still know that, and they're my best friends. But, today at the ball I couldn't stop thinking how childish they were both being. Ron for being the arse he was, saying the things he said, and Hermione... She hasn't even done anything wrong. Why do I blame her if she's done nothing?"
Draco just shrugged, something quite 'unbecoming' his father would have said, and replied,
"Friendships often come together and grow apart, its just life. Maybe you guys were better suited when you were younger, but you're different now, you're all different."
Potter stared at him, as if he had forgotten he was there. His eyes were wide and Draco had to wonder what the big deal was.
Oh yeah, he talked civilly to his 'rival'.
"I'm going to go, and... Bye, Malfoy."
Draco simply sighed, leaned back against the banister, and listened to the door slam behind him.