A/N: hello everyone, I know it's a LOT later as Sunday by now and I am so terribly sorry! I wanted to update sooner, trust me, but writers block mixed with really bad grades and upcoming exams I just couldn't find the time.
But don't worry I have summer break now so I can write all day and night if I want to and I'll try and update regularly again. Please don't give up on me yet!
Disclaimer: nope sorry still don't own any of the characters, unfortunately *sigh
HowlingRain: thanks for pointing it out I hadn't noticed yet normally my computer does that automatically. I'll change it right away.
The slap-because-I-found-Dumbledore-first game
The rest of the night went by relatively fast. Draco found he was really shy around the Dutch boy which made Harry, in turn, insecure. The two boys soon discovered they had absolutely nothing in common and that meant they had nothing to talk about either. And to make things even worse Blaise was showing a strange kind of interest in the raven head. before he would only chatter to Draco but ever since Harry had joined dinner the Italian sometimes asked Harry stuff and seemed a little too interested in his answers.
''So she asked me: are you a dementor? And I had no idea what she was on about so I was like, ehm…no. then she said: because you just took my breath away!'' the Italian boy cried out and Draco rolled his eyes. Seriously? That was about the worst pick up line, ever. His head snapped up however when he heard a soft tinkling sound. Harry was laughing and Blaise grinned clearly satisfied with himself.
''Well that's nothing.'' Draco exclaimed. ''A girl in town once told me: did someone say wingardium leviosa or are you just happy to see me?'' as soon as the words left his mouth he wished he could take them back. His eyes widened and he became at least as red as a tomato. To ashamed to look up he lowered his gaze to his plate and waited for the laughing to start. From his right he could hear someone half dying of laughter. If possible Draco became even redder. From his left came a reply that shocked both Blaise and Draco.
''Well someone once told me: I don't need accio to make you come.'' Both boys stared in shock at the shrugging Harry. Blaise had resumed his dying of laughter thingy and this time Draco softly chuckled along. He send Harry a grateful smile which the other boy immediately returned.
That was about the most interesting conversation they had during dinner. It started to get a little awkward when they started desert. Even Blaise had no idea what to say anymore so they just ate in silence until everyone was finished and one by one excused themselves.
''Before you all return to your rooms I want to tell you that we are extremely honored to have you as guests in our mansion. '' Lucius said after having observed all the contestants during dinner. ''I am sorry to inform you that unfortunately Luna Lovegood of Sweden isn't here to join us but she failed the first test.''
''What test?'' Pansy asked confused.
''You don't mean to say she… got eaten by that chicken, right?'' Ron cried out.
''My peacocks don't eat flesh Mr. Weasley.'' Lucius said sharply. ''And I meant the test you have all succeeded in this afternoon at the train miss Parkinson. Which brings us to the next announcement, you will endure a series of trials here. Some will be easy and some will not. They can vary from dangerous adventures to lessons in table manners but you will be informed at least three hours before each trial. Now I won't keep you any longer, you may retire to your chambers and I expect to see you all back here tomorrow morning around 9 for breakfast.''
A soft pull on his sleeve made Draco turn around to find the pug faced girl right in front of him. ''I'm afraid I lost my rooms could you take me to them?'' he rolled his eyes, how obvious could one be. Still he sighted and gestured for the girl to follow him.
'' Well this should be your room I'll make sure father fixes a map for you so you can find your room anytime.'' The blonde exclaimed as he dropped the pouting girl of at her rooms.
'' Won't you come in for a second?'' she asked hopefully and Draco noted that not only did she have an ugly face but she was also in the possession of a voice which made you want to off yourself.
'' I am terribly sorry but I think I will retire to my quarters for now, and you should to who knows what tomorrows trial will be.'' the girl however, wasn't planning on admitting her defeat and kept on begging the blond to stay just a little longer. When he eventually did give in to the girl he regretted it as soon as he stepped inside the room. In the mere 3 hours she would have had before dinner she had managed to transform their carefully styled rooms into something which looked like a unicorn had puked all over it.
'' Do you like it'' Pansy asked hopefully as she saw Draco looking around with an mute look in his eyes. He wanted to say so many unfriendly things but his etiquettes wouldn't let him. his mother had thought him that when you weren't able to say anything nice, it's better to say nothing at all. So that was what he did, standing in the middle of the room with an unreadable expression and just keeping quiet. At the lack of doing anything Draco just walked to the balcony which she luckily hadn't touched yet.
''Where are you going Draco?'' the English girl whined as she followed him outside.
'' Just thought to get some fresh air.'' The blond excused himself with an awkward laugh. It wasn't entirely a lie sure he wanted to go to the only place the girl had yet to molest but there also hung a weird smell inside the rooms which drove him outside. Pansy's rooms had view over the front of the mansion Draco had often spend his nights on this balcony when his parents were likely to come home after business trips. Even when the rooms were occupied , like now, he would find a way to get to the balcony. The latter had caused him a lot of broken bones. He chuckled softly as he remembered all the times the nurse had cursed him through Hell and back for being so reckless. Both of them had agreed not to tell his parents, neither of them seeing a good outcome for their wellbeing when they would hear of it. Over the years Draco had become more skilled in climbing the sides of the mansion and the times he had to go to the infirmary had lessened.
A sudden weight at his arm forcibly pulled him out of his thoughts and as he looked down he could see the pug faced girl hanging 'seductively' on his arm. Draco had to gather all his willpower now to immediately pull away and run out of the room. The girl looked up and battered her eyelashes which made her look even scarier than before. He sighted and started to untangle himself from the girl who seemed to have plastered herself against him like a leech.
''Pansy…'' he started but the girl cut him off. '' Do you want to spend the night Dracypoe?'' Draco stared at het for 3 whole minutes before he fully understood what she meant and a vein started to throb dangerously on his forehead.
''How did you just call me?'' he growled, a dark aura gradually spreading behind him which would even scare dementors away. '' Let me go this instant.'' He turned around and left as soon as she had, afraid he would say something to make her not want an alliance anymore. he sighted and followed his original plan to return to his rooms.
The next morning at breakfast the room was awfully quiet, they didn't have assigned seats this time so everyone who entered first sat close to the blonde and as fate would have it Harry and Ron were the last to arrive. Harry sat down on the opposite side of the table which still made it possible for Draco to watch him but didn't allow them to talk. With only two seats available the two newfound friends weren't able to sit close to each other either. On his left Harry found the pug faced English girl and on his right sat the fat Polish boy who was already shoving more food inside his mouth as Harry could even fit on his plate.
Nothing major happened at breakfast, Harry learned that he didn't like either of his neighbors, the Polish boy in particular as he was stealing food of Harry's plate every time he thought the latter didn't look. On the other side of the table Draco sat chattering with the Italian boy, or more precisely, the Italian boy was chattering and Draco was trying to get his reply in the conversation somehow. It was more of a game to him really, he had to figure out when the other boy would need to take a gulp of air so that he could throw his own opinions out there and had to wait again for the Italian to breath.
Lucius and Narcissa didn't join them for breakfast which made most of the teens a little more free in their actions. Some of them talked louder, or even yelled in Pansy's case, and all of them stopped using their 'Royal manners'. For most of them this just meant they started to talk less modest but in Dudley's case it included table manners as well. It didn't last long till Harry had to excuse himself to get changed, again, because his neighbor had spilled all is food in his direction. How he had managed it the raven haired didn't know all he knew was that Dudley's food lay in his lap, and not on Dudley's other neighbor's lap.
Draco watched the raven haired boy walk away and, not having paid attention, worried why the boy in question had suddenly left. He quickly excused himself as well, interrupting Blaise in the middle of his story telling, and left the dining hall to go after Harry.
He found said boy on the stair leading to his rooms.
''Oi Harry!'' he called out as he ran up to the boy. Harry turned around, surprised to find the blonde heir running up the stairs. '' Why did you…'' Draco trailed of as he saw the stated the other boys pants were in. he stood dead in his tracks and had to muster up all the self-control not to burst out in a hysterical laughing fit. Harry stared down at him, an amused look on his face. ''Who…uhm…. Did that?'' Draco muttered eventually when he had regained his composure.
'' Dudley.''
'' The fat Polish boy?'' Draco asked but then he shrugged, he had seen the boy wolf down his breakfast it was only natural he would spill some of it.
'' Did you come to check on me?'' Harry asked suddenly and Draco felt a blush crept up to his cheeks and he started to stutter.
'' N-no I was leaving and I just happened to see you walk so I thought why not-'' Draco started to ramble and he cursed himself for it, for Merlin's sake Malfoy's didn't ramble! Why was it that he lost his composure so easily around the Dutch boy. Luckily Harry held up a hand to stop his rant.
'' Thank you'' he smiled and Draco once again cursed himself this boy could read him way to easily for his liking. The raven haired's smile broadened when he saw the blonde flush even more. ''Since we're apparently going the same way, mind if we walk together?'' this brought a smile on Draco's face again and he eagerly nodded. They walked most of the way in silence but it wasn't a heavy one it was quite comfortable actually. Harry was the first one to break the silence by suggesting they'd mead up later since he really did need to get changed. Draco nodded.
'' How about at the tree in front of your window in half an hour?'' the blonde asked and Harry nodded. Half an hour would be more than enough to change and figure out which three the other meant. Inside his room Harry immediately started to throw out all the clothes he possessed onto the bed. Looking at his small attire he felt a little self-conscious. All of his clothes were either too big or just not really 'Royal-like' as his mother liked to call it. a lot of fittings and looking in the mirror later he eventually settled for dark jeans which weren't too baggy and even sort of looked good under the green button up shirt he was wearing. He still had ten minutes to look for the three which was more than enough time in Harry's opinion. He had been wrong, arriving 5 minutes late he found the blonde standing impatiently under the large sakura tree. The raven haired felt dead in track and stared at the sight in front of him, the wind softly blew the pink pedals off the branches, some of them getting stuck in blonde hair, and the other boy leaning against the base of the tree with his eyes closed. The sight all together took his breath away and made his heart skip a beat. He looks beautiful. Wait. What? Surely he had meant the three, yeah that was it. the three was beautiful. But even as he tried to convince himself of that he couldn't quite shake the nagging voice in the back of his head who told him to look at the blond and tell him he wasn't beautiful as well.
'' Took you long enough.'' Harry jumped, not expecting the voice.
'' S-sorry I couldn't find the three.'' He mumbled trying to hide all the confusing feelings that had just surfaced but he couldn't stop the blush which lightly colored his cheeks. Draco scratched his head thinking.
''I should probably have clarified that. I keep forgetting you don't know the mansion like I do.'' Harry shook his head understanding. They both sat down leaning against the base of the trunk. Neither of them knowing what to say and thus settling for a comfortable silence again. This time it was Draco who broke the silence.
'' can I ask you something? It's kind of personal though, so you don't have answer.'' Harry smiled when Draco didn't meet his eyes.
'' Sure, ask away.' Draco let out a breath he didn't now he had been holding.
'' Why did you except my father's offer?'' it took the raven haired a little while to figure out what he was talking about but then he smiled.
'' Are you worried I'm only here for your country?'' Harry teased but as he saw the blondes cheeks flame up he knew he had been right. In the meanwhile Draco for the umpteenth time that day cursed himself and the Dutch boy for being able to read him like an open book.
'' To be completely honest I wasn't the least bit interested in this alliance. My country doesn't really need it we have a lot of contacts we could ask for help though I will admit France's armies could come in handy in the upcoming war.'' Harry sighted and looked at the boy next to him whose shoulders had slumped. '' That was what my parents wanted me to go here for.'' Draco looked up, newfound hope in his eyes.
'' And why did you want to go?''
'' Because I wanted to meet you.'' Harry said shrugging completely obvious as to what his words were doing to the other boy. The blonde was having a real hard time breathing, his heart was going in overdrive and a tingling sensation in his stomach wasn't helping either. Harry chose that moment to turn around and was surprised to find a pair of silver eyes staring back at him. he grinned as the wind blew even more pink pedals into his companions hair and raised his hand to pluck them out. Draco's eyes widened as he felt Harry's hand roam through his hair looking for pedals. He was glad they were already sitting or he would surely have collapsed right then and there. What was this strange feeling! He hated it because it made him feel weak but at the same time he loved he strange sensation.
'' Let's make this a game.'' Harry suddenly suggested, still plucking pedals from Draco's hair.
'' H-huh?'' Draco muttered and Harry smiled.
'' There is this game in my country that every time you see a yellow car drive by you can hit someone, only the first one to see it may hit someone though!. Why not do that to pass time but instead of yellow cars we use… '' he started thinking.
'' This?'' Draco opted as he showed the other boy the Dumbledore wizarding card. Harry nodded enthusiastically.
'' Yes that will do! So every time one of us finds a Dumbledore wizarding card we can ask each other a question which we must answer.'' Draco grinned, the game actually sounded like fun.
'' I found this card.'' Draco started '' Does that mean I can ask you a question now?'' Harry grinned.
'' That's how the game works.'' Draco happily returned the grin.
'' Alright, then what is your favorite book?'' the raven haired stared at him for a long time before he broke out in laughter. ''what?'' Harry shook his head.
'' It's just… you have a free question which I must answer and you ask me what my favorite book is.'' Draco glared at him and Harry quickly apologized. '' It's the picture of Dorian Gray.''
'' The what of who?'' Draco asked curiously. Harry laughed again.
'' It's a muggle book, the picture of Dorian Gray. It's about a young man whose portrait grows old while he remains young.''
'' What kind of magic did he use!'' Draco asked excitedly and Harry laughed at the childlike look which marred Draco's features. And that was how they ended up talking about the book all afternoon.
'' Harry! Where the bloody Hell have you been all afternoon!'' Ron yelled as Harry and Draco stepped into the dining hall. ''She has been lecturing me all day!'' the redhead exclaimed pointing at the bushy haired girl behind him. a large yelp was soon heard from Ron as said girl hit him om the back of the head with a thick book.
'' Where the Hell was that for! And where did that book come from?!'' he asked angrily rubbing the back of his head.
'' Don't point Ronald!'' Ron sighted and Harry did his best to stifle his laugh. '' Harry! How many times do I need to tell you not to walk into a house wearing muddy shoes, go put them at the front door.''
'' Yes mam'' both boys said, saluting the Greek girl who was watching in amusement as they proceeded to march to the front door.
'' Please Harry, don't ever leave me alone with her, ever.'' Ron pleaded and Harry had to laugh at the utter desperation on the other's face and the fact that he was so scared to actually use 'ever' two times. '' What were you doing anyway?'' at the last question Harry laughed sheepishly.
'' I was exploring the gardens.'' He said eventually. He had no idea why he had decided to keep his encounter with Draco a secret, somehow it felt to intimate to share. Ron nodded, apparently accepting his answer.
'' Take me with you next time though mate.'' Harry laughed again and nodded promising to take the redhead with him next time.
When they reentered the dining hall, this time without shoes, they were met with the same sight as in the morning. All seats were taken with exception of the one in-between Pansy and Dudley. Not wanting to end up as a human plate again Harry raced Ron to the other available chair next to Blaise and Pansy. Ron growled when it turned out that Harry was just a tiny bit faster as the redhead and had won the seat.
Blaise was once again the one to keep the conversation at the table going and when he found out Harry had taken the seat next to him there wasn't even a moment he would stop long enough to take a proper breath. Harry didn't really mind since he didn't feel that talkative anyway and it was quite funny listening to the Italian exenterating his stories.
'' So Harry do you have a girlfriend?'' the boy in question chocked on his food and suddenly all eyes on the table turned to him. Blaise grinned evilly at him and Harry blushed furiously. On Blaise's other side Draco was watching him with sudden interest.
'' I-I-… uhm'' he stuttered making the Italian laugh.
'' I take it that's a no then?'' Harry could only nod. He knew Blaise hadn't meant in like that but his sexuality was still a sensitive topic for Harry. Draco stared at him for a long time, watching the color drain from the Dutch boy's face and the realization hit him. was Harry gay? Draco sighted, he would have to find a Dumbledore card to ask him.
When it was time for dessert Draco was sure faith was mocking him. included in their dessert was a chocolate frog and both boys grinned at each other as they eagerly opened their candy, completely obvious to the stares they received from the other teens around the table.
Draco was the first one to look up, a little disappointed, he had found a Hagrid card which was even more common as a Dumbledore card. His eyes widened as he saw Harry look up with a broad smile on his face holding up a Dumbledore card. Draco grinning, he might not be able to ask the raven head a question but at least they would be able to meet up. The rest of the teens seemed to have given up on understanding the two boys or just didn't care anymore. only Blaise hadn't lost interesting. That boy was a serious pain in the neck.
'' What was that all about?'' he asked curiously. Draco shrugged.
'' Just some bed me and Harry made, whoever gets the Dumbledore first gets to hit the other person. People in the Netherlands apparently find it enjoyable. '' Harry nodded, quickly playing along with the blonde's lie.
'' Jup, people in my country do it with yellow cars but we thought it would be more enjoyable to do it with Dumbledore cards.''
'' Can I join in?'' Blaise asked enthusiastically.
'' Sure'' Harry grinned. The Italian quickly opened his frog, finding a Godric Gryffindor, and looked up with a pout. The raven haired clapped him on the back reassuringly meanwhile he and Draco grinned at each other making a mental promise to meet up in the evening.
'' Drackypoe'' someone whined behind him and Draco could already feel a vein on his forehead throb dangerously. Next to him he could hear two boys trying very hard, and failing, to hold in their laughing.
'' Shut up'' he growled at them before turning around at the pug faced girl who was desperate for attention. '' What do you want Pansy.'' She started pouting which made it even harder for the two boys to keep in their laughing.
'' Could you take me to my rooms again I…''
'' Blaise should know where they are, right? They are really close to yours.'' Draco cut in, thinking of a way to get both of them out so that he could have a little more time to talk to Harry. Blaise sighted.
'' Alright, we'll be off then.'' Blaise murmured but as he walked out of the door he couldn't resist '' Good night Drackypoe!'' this time there was no stopping the emerald eyed boy from laughing even when Draco glared daggers at him he wouldn't stop. Still laughing Harry excused himself and retired to his rooms. Draco sighted there went his plan to talk to Harry before tonight. It turned out he had to wait even longer seeing as the bushy haired girl and redhead also excused themselves and went after their friend. Well this promised to be a boring night. With a sight he noted that they had left him alone with Dudley who was still loading food in his mouth.
A knock on his door startled him, Harry had just closed the door to his room deciding he would just kill the time by reading when he found Ron and Hermione in front of his room. Not waiting for an invitation the bushy haired girl pushed her way into the room. Ron followed soon after with an apologetic smile. After having spent almost all business trips with Hermione he was used to her sudden bluntness. Both teens looked around the room first and gaped at Harry who was starting to feel a little uncomfortable.
'' Bloody Hell Harry this room is amazing.'' Harry shrugged and smiled at the redheads bewildered look. He had to admit it though the room was indeed quite beautiful, but weren't all the rooms here? As if able to read his mind Hermione breathed out: '' And so big! Mine are about half this size.'' She exclaimed and Harry couldn't help but laugh as he heard her mutter something like '' and everything is pink!''
Surprisingly Ron was the first one regain his composure and ask '' So what was with you and Malfoy hunting for cards at dinner?'' Harry raised his eyebrow at the sudden use of Draco's surname but decided not to commend.
'' We decided to play a game to kill the time.'' Harry said with a shrug. Hermione looked at him skeptically as if she could see right through his lies, but hey technically it wasn't a lie. They really were playing a game.
'' What game?'' the girl asked.
'' Remember me accidentally hitting you when we were in Greece last year?'' Hermione frowned.
'' You mean when you hit me because there was a taxi outside? Yeah I remember.'' Harry looked at her apologetically.
'' Yeah, well we are playing something similar.'' Harry explained, deciding to go with the story they had told Blaise. Both of his friends decided they wanted to compete as well, Ron immediately and Hermione not seeing any objections in the idea. And that was how the slap-because-I-found-Dumbledore-first game was invented.
