It was dinner in the Great Hall, and a magnificent feast had just been consumed. Harry elbowed Draco in the side, signaling to him that the other boy was about to put the final phase in motion. McGonagall had been watching the two at the Gryffindor table like a hawk all evening, and her gaze only sharpened when Harry stood up from the table and stretched.

"I'm beat from Quidditch practice today; I think I'm going to turn in early. Draco, dear, will you walk me to my dorm?"

Draco took that question as his cue to stand up as well. Harry then sank to one knee. The whole castle sucked in a breath.

"Hold on, my shoe's untied."

A collective breath was let out in a big woosh.

Harry tied his shoe slowly, and Draco could see him holding back his overwhelming amusement. An idea seemed to "suddenly" pop into Harry's head.

"While I'm down here…" He reaches into his school bag and takes a moment to find a small velvet box. Some of the younger years squealed—possibly Hermione too (though she'll never admit it). Harry opened the small box and held it out to Draco. A silver ring could be seen glinting inside the box, and the students who caught a glimpse gasped. Was it really going to happen?

Harry's eyes sparkle in utter mirth as he asks the question he and Draco had been anticipating.

"Draco, will you...get this ring polished for me? I found it in Sirius's belongings and I thought you might know a wizard jeweler. I mean look how dirty it is!"

"Yeah, of course I know a few; I'm a Malfoy of course. I would only ever give you the best, Harry."

Draco unceremoniously removed the box from Harry's hand and stuffed the box in his pocket. He pulled Harry up by the arm and kept the tight clasp on the other boy's hand.

"Don't worry about it. I'll just get it polished for you."

Draco unceremoniously removed the box from Harry's hand and stuffed the box in his pocket. He pulled Harry up by the arm and kept the tight clasp on the other boy's hand.

"Don't worry about it. I'll just get it polished for you."

Silence met their conversation and Draco looked around with faux bemusement.

"Well, what are you all staring at?"

"We're staring at you two bloody idiots!"

A loud voice was heard across the Great Hall. It was Pansy. It seems their efforts over the past few days had gotten to her, and she had finally been persuaded by Ron that they were actually going to get married (Draco knew Pansy would be hard to convince so any time she was near, he would have a staring contest with Harry, putting as much loving emotion into their eyes as possible. He guessed whatever she saw convinced her).

"I don't get it! This doesn't explain everything! What about the seating arrangements for the wedding? Choosing which flowers to decorate with? The bloody song for Merlin's sake!"

She hummed the few lines she remembered with a hint of hysteria.

Draco was becoming a bit worried that they had pushed her too far, so he turned to Harry to rectify the situation with his Gryffindor charm. Harry looked contemplative before standing up, slinging an arm around Draco's shoulders.

"I guess I'll answer your questions in order. First off, the seating arrangements were for me and Neville's joint birthday party. Draco was just helping me plan."

All eyes swiveled to Neville, who looked a bit intimidated by the sudden attention.

"It's true." Neville admitted. "We are planning a party together. But Harry came to me with the idea."

It seemed Longbottom was trying to distance himself from him and Harry, Draco thought with amusement. Probably the best course of action, if Draco was honest.

"And the flowers were for my mom's birthday. Draco and I were going to take a trip to the memorial. I put in a request with Headmistress McGonagall."

Harry called to McGonagall, "Isn't that right, Professor?"

McGonagall could only nod slightly in response, seeming to be reformulating the battle plans in her head. Draco looked over to Pansy once again. She had calmed down immensely and was now standing beside the Slytherin table with the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger in utter defeat. Both Blaise and Daphne were resting their head on their arms, seeming resigned to hearing their complete decimation at the hands of Draco and Harry

They really fell for it! Draco was positively gleeful. He could see that joy reflected in Harry's emerald eyes, behind those horrid glasses. Ron and Hermione seemed to be faring quite differently, but no better. Hermione looked extremely disappointed that he and Harry weren't actually getting engaged. Ron's look was the oddest. He didn't look bested, like after Draco beat him in Wizard's Chess, he just looked contemplatively at the arm Harry had moved to Draco's waist. Ignoring that look entirely for now, Draco turned back to Harry to hear his final explanation.

"As for the song, it just happened to be stuck in my head—nothing more than that. Draco caught it from me, which I received hell for.."

The dark haired boy shuddered. It was true. Draco had ripped Harry a new one when he caught himself singing it in the shower. That song was supposed to be Harry's part of the joke but Draco felt he was the one pranked. If the song got stuck in his head again because of Pansy, he swore to Merlin…

Hermione saw a chance to cut in, "But Harry, you were seen trying different hairstyles in the morning. What was that about?"

The boy blushed a bit and all Draco could think was cute. Draco shook his head in confusion. Since when did he consider anyone cute?

"Who told you that? That's private. I was just trying to get my hair under control. As you can see, I had zero success."

He gestured to the mop of black hair on his head. Hermione looked down again, embarrassed. There was silence throughout the Great Hall. Harry kicked at the ground for a moment as he waited for anyone else to say something before he pulled Draco towards the exit.

"If there's anyone who objects to our exit, please speak now or forever hold your peace…"

The doors closed behind them with no protest.

Then all hell broke loose.

The two boy made sure they were a safe distance from the Great Hall before making any noise. Taking refuge in an alcove in the third floor corridor, Draco and Harry took one look at each other before letting out all their pent-up laughter. Harry was resting his hands on his knees to help with the force of his laughter. Draco had bent down a bit with his own laughter but recovered much more quickly than Harry. The green-eyed boy finally straightened as well and wiped a tear from his eye.

"That was bloody amazing! You did great, Draco."

Harry gave him a soft smile with the compliment and Draco couldn't help but smile back. Harry had leaned forward at some point and Draco couldn't help but follow his example. This zoomed in, Draco could see a smattering of light freckles mostly hidden by Harry's glasses. He had gained a hopeful look in his eye, and Draco's stomach flip-flopped wondering what that look meant.

Harry leaned in more…

Draco backed up abruptly. He sneered slightly, the feeling in his chest dredging up his old attitude.

"Watch yourself, Potter. Before the year ends we need to break up, right? Any plan on how you want to do that?"

Harry was still leaning forward slightly and as he stood up, he gave Draco a look of hurt betrayal before covering it with cold anger when Draco mentioned breaking up.

"How about we break up now?"

The hostility in Harry's tone surprised Draco, but he wouldn't take it sitting down.

"Why? Scared Potter? Worried this prank's gone too far?"

Harry gave a barking laugh at the last question, no amusement in the sound.

"I think you're the one that's scared Malfoy. I guess it didn't mean anything to you. What, was this prank just supposed to be a means to an end? To have a better public image by being associated with me?"

Draco was becoming furious at the accusation and Harry's own anger was easily keeping up. The two stared at one another for a few seconds before turning around and making leaving down the hallway in opposite directions. Walking down the hallway, Draco knew he should be thankful his prolonged interaction with Potter was over, but he couldn't feel anything over the empty feeling emanating from his chest.

A/N:

Unedited

I moved up Lily's birthday by a few months to fit the story, just a disclaimer. I would say there are about five or six more scenes I have to write, no idea how many chapters it will be. I have other stories on my profile that are much more thought out than this one so check them out :) If you enjoyed this story leave a like and review!