The 8th Year

Chapter 21 – Sick Little Games

Quidditch practice at 9am on Sunday morning had not been fun. Harry, Neville and Ron had turned up extremely hung-over and Dean had told them that next time they decided to go on a secret mission with his girlfriend they should invite him too. Neville had been atrocious in practice, he had missed every single bludger. Harry could hardly see the snitch and Ron had let the quaffle in about 30 times. The rest of the team did their best without the three players, and truthfully they found it quite amusing.

Ginny teased Harry as she sped past him on her broom, "Come on Harry, catch me."

Harry glared at her and she laughed wickedly as she threw the quaffle to Natalie McDonald, "Potter, the snitch is by your head," the girl said. Harry hopelessly swiped for the snitch but he swiped to the wrong side and toppled a little and had to steady himself on his broom. Ginny and Natalie laughed as Natalie threw the quaffle to the 3rd chaser, Dennis Creevey. Dennis still adored Harry too much to tease him so he threw the quaffle which soared straight past Ron through the goalposts.

Further up the pitch Neville was hovering near the ground with Dean keeping an eye on him, "Bloody hell Nev, how much did you drink last night?" Dean chuckled.

Neville groaned, "Too much," he replied simply, his head was pounding.

Eventually the team made it through practice and Harry, Neville and Ron couldn't be more relieved because they couldn't wait to get back to their beds. When the three boys trudged into the common room they'd expected to meet the Slytherin team in the doorway as they usually did, but this time no one came.

Harry frowned when he saw Draco lounging on the sofa in the common room, "Don't you have Quidditch practice now?" he asked with a yawn.

Draco shook his head, "Nope," he replied, "Four of the Slytherin team are hung-over thanks to your extra strength firewhiskey," he said with a chuckle, "And I really can't be bothered so I cancelled practice."

Harry laughed and said, "Remember that when we kick your arse in the first game of the season."

Harry heard Draco make a comment about how they'd be kicking the Gryffindors arses as he made his way up to his dorm room to curl up in bed and sleep the rest of the day away.

Reality was restored by Monday morning after a lazy day of sleeping off hang-over's the day before. The group were laughing about Saturday night as they made their way into the great hall and took their seats at the 8th Year table.

"Silence, please!"

The hall fell silent as McGonagall stood up at the head table to make an announcement. She smiled around at the students, "I would like to inform you all that for the first time in 17 years Hogwarts will hold a Halloween Ball," this statement was met with lots of excited whispering as teenage girls all over the hall shared looks and glances, "This ball will be themed which means everyone has the option to wear fancy dress," there was even more excited whispering, "The Ball will be held on Friday the 31st of October from 7pm to midnight. However, it is for 4th years and above only," this sent grumbles and groans around the hall from the students younger than 4th year.

McGonagall thanked them for listening and sat back down again causing the 8th year table to explode with chatter.

"A Halloween Ball! How cool is that?" Sadie said to the others who seemed to agree, but Harry had to admit that his mind was elsewhere.

"It hasn't been held for 17 years," Harry said quietly to Neville, "The same amount of time my parents have been dead."

Neville looked up at the look of pain on Harry's face, "It says in "Hogwarts: A History" that Dumbledore stopped the Halloween balls after your parents died as a mark of respect."

Harry nodded, he had guessed as much. He didn't realise that Neville's hand was on his shoulder until the other Gryffindor squeezed it a little, "I'm sure McGonagall doesn't mean anything by it, I think it's part of her plan to raise moral and encourage house unity."

Harry knew that McGonagall hadn't meant anything by it; he just found it a little hard to deal with. He took a deep breath and turned to the conversation the others were having. Only Daphne and Hermione noticed that his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. Until the end of breakfast everyone talked about what it would be like, speculated on whether it would be similar to the Yule Ball and so on. The girls had already started to talk about their outfits.

Harry was fairly quiet and pretended to be busy reading the Daily Prophet while they discussed it. The group eventually got up from breakfast and began to make their way towards their first class which was Potions.

"We should all go to Hogsmeade on Saturday and get our outfits," Hermione suggested to the others who all agreed that it was a good idea but Harry remained fairly quiet.

"So what do you say Hermione, be my date?" Draco asked Hermione seriously once they were outside the classroom.

Hermione grinned, "Why of course Draco," she said, kissing him lightly on the lips and chuckling.

Tracey was standing nearby with Dean and they also agreed to go together which was natural as they were dating. Ron glanced at Lilly, "Fancy going with me Lil?"

"So long as you don't force me to wear a ridiculously over-sexy outfit," Lilly said with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm disappointed but it's a deal," Ron joked. Despite his bad mood even Harry had to laugh at that as Lilly tried to hit him but he ducked in time to miss it.

"Sadie, think you can put up with me in public like that?" Theo asked teasingly.

Sadie laughed, "Yes Theo, I will be your date," she said happily.

Harry smiled at the exchanges between his friends, he'd be going to the ball alone but he was happy that everyone else had someone to accompany them.

"Hey Potter, want to be my date?" Daphne asked as she snuck up behind him.

Harry had been lost in his thoughts and jumped when he heard the Slytherins voice. He turned to face her and saw that she was smiling, "Just for one night?"

Harry looked at her in surprise, "Really?"

Daphne smiled at him, she really smiled instead of smirked and it cheered Harry up to no end, "Yeah, really."

Harry grinned, "Course I'll be your date," he said. Things were different between them now; they had been ever since Neville's Grandmother had died. Harry was beginning to hold out some hope now that maybe, just maybe, she had feelings for him too.

"Are you okay?"

It was the first thing that Draco asked when he and Harry had set their cauldrons up and started working on their potions. Harry knew that Draco had seen that he was upset and he assumed that the Slytherin knew why so he didn't try to hide it from him.

Harry shrugged, "I will be," he said honestly.

"I know your parents died on Halloween," Draco said quietly.

Harry swallowed hard and Draco sheepishly said, "Sorry, that's probably not helpful."

Harry just shook his head but he didn't say anything, not right away. After a moment of silence, he said, "It was just a shock but I'll be fine…Daphne asked me to the ball."

Draco watched as Harry smiled at the thought of Daphne, "You're falling in love with her," Draco stated.

"I don't know about that," Harry admitted, "But I like her a lot yeah."

Draco frowned, "You're my friend now Potter and I don't want to see you get hurt when she says she doesn't want what you want."

"If that's what she decides then I'll be fine with that," Harry informed Draco as he threw some armadillo bile into his potion, "I'm a big boy Draco, I can handle a little heartbreak."

Draco didn't know Harry as well as many of his other friends but he did know the Gryffindor well enough to know when to leave him alone. So he nodded and got back to brewing his potion silently.

By the time Saturday rolled around Harry had gotten over the fact that there would be a ball on the anniversary of his parent's deaths. This was due to a comforting word from Hermione, Daphne asking him out, Ron saying that they couldn't stop the world on Halloween forever and that it had been 17 years after all, and Neville informing him that it was the anniversary of a bad night for his parents too but he was still looking forward to the ball. Now that he had pulled himself out of his rut he was actually looking forward to the ball a great deal.

"So Potter, what are we going as?" Daphne asked Harry as they walked down the snowy path to Hogsmeade. Everyone was split into couples which left Daphne and Harry as the only 'singles' so they had been talking a lot more lately. It made sense to go together, as friends, just for one night.

Harry had been thinking about that all week and he had a few ideas, "Vampires," he said teasingly, "I could suck your blood."

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him and he laughed causing her to shake her head in amusement, "Vampires could be cool though, do you think I'd make a hot Vampire countess?"

Harry laughed and said honestly, "Daph, you'd make a hot anything."

Daphne scoffed, "Oh Potter, I'm blushing," she said sarcastically as they reached the end of the path where the others were huddled and waiting for them.

"We'll split up to get our costumes for the ball and meet back at the Three Broomsticks at 3pm?" Draco asked the others who agreed on the time and split up into little groups. Neville and Hannah had been hatching a secret plan for their outfits with Blaise, Luna and Ginny so they wandered off in one direction. Draco and Hermione were also secretly planning something, as were Ron and Lilly and they headed off into narrow side alley's mysteriously. This left Harry, Daphne, Theo, Sadie, Tracey and Dean standing at the entrance to the village.

"What are you guys thinking of going as?" Harry asked the group as a whole as they made their way through the village.

"Vampires," Sadie and Tracey said at the same time making Daphne and Harry laugh, "That's what we were thinking of going as," he told them.

"We should all go as Vampire couples!" Sadie suggested and Tracey nodded, her eyes widening, "We'll all pick different costumes but we can all be Vampire couples!"

"That would be pretty cool," Dean said, agreeing with his girlfriend who beamed at him.

Theo grinned, "I'm up for doing it Vampire style," he said winking at Sadie who blushed a deep red. The others laughed and decided that the best place to look would be the old thrift store because if they found old dresses and robes they could do their make-up and hair with magic.

When the little group walked into the shop Harry smiled at the elderly woman who worked there, he'd met her before when Hermione had dragged him into the shop, she liked it here.

"Harry dear, you brought friends," the little old lady said with a smile, "What can I do for you?"

Harry smiled at the woman, "We're looking for costumes for the Halloween Ball, Hogwarts is holding it again for the first time in 18 years."

The woman nodded, "Oh I remember those balls, they had them every year when I was a young student, all the costumes and dancing," her face fell a little and darkened, "But then of course those poor people were murdered and the dances stopped."

Harry's eyes found the floor, he wasn't sure why this whole Halloween ball thing was making him so emotional, it was pathetic, he felt like a girl. Thankfully the elderly lady said no more about Harry's parents and started to look through dresses and tuxes from different eras. Hoping no one had noticed his little meltdown Harry looked up and smiled and shopped with the others and laughed and joked and no one was any the wiser, or so he thought. Daphne had seen it all and sighed sadly, she'd tried to cheer her friend up all week and although most of the time he was fine there were moments when it got too much. She was glad she'd decided to ask him to the ball, she had a feeling he was going to need a friend.

"Dean, this is so us!" Tracey called from where she was buried under a pile of dresses in a corner of the little shop; Dean laughed and rolled his eyes in the direction of Harry and Theo as he walked over to his girlfriend. Tracey emerged from the pile of clothes holding a dress in one hand and velvet robes in the other. Both were black and purple and Dean had to admit, they were pretty awesome. The dress had a black skirt with a purple trim; the bodice was again largely black with purple trimming the edges and a purple strip down the back where it tied together. The robes Tracey was holding were black with a purple velvet collar.

"Perfect," Dean admitted to Tracey who squealed, "I can't wait!" Before the others had even found an outfit Tracey and Dean had picked out purple velvet gloves to go with Tracey's dress and a black and purple top hat for Dean.

"Oooh, Theo, how about this?" Sadie asked from behind a rack of dresses, she coughed a little as she pulled the dress from its box. It definitely needed cleaned if she was to wear it to the ball but it was perfect, she could just see herself in it. Theo, who had been sitting playing pocket chess with Harry, looked up and realised he'd have to go over and look at what she'd found. Harry sniggered as Theo trudged across the shop to his girlfriend.

"Wow," Theo said, blown away by the dress that Sadie had picked out. It was a ball-gown with a fairly large skirt and it was black and red. The skirt had a red centre with black up the sides and at the back. The bodice was again red and black, red in the centre and black on the edges. The neckline was square and the dress had long sleeves that turned to lace at the elbow. Theo could see his girlfriend in the dress; he could see her looking amazing in it.

"You like it?" Sadie asked with a grin.

Theo nodded, "Love it."

Sadie's grin widened, "I think I found something for you too," she said, ducking down and vanishing from sight as she pulled robes out of the same box and held them up for Theo to see. They were black with a high red velvet collar and matching red cuffs. It was very old-fashioned and cool. Theo managed to help with the costume hunt a little because he found a red velvet collar for Sadie and a black hat with a velvet strip for himself.

"You are brilliant Sadie," Theo said with a grin, leaning over the clothes to kiss his girlfriend, "We're going to be the hottest Vampires Hogwarts has ever seen."

Sadie laughed, "Oh I don't know, I think Daphne and Harry might upstage us."

Theo made a face, "How many four-eyed Vampires have you seen?"

"Oi!" Harry shouted with a mock glare to Theo who just laughed. From her spot behind a large pile of dresses Daphne chuckled. Harry found himself looking around at them all then wondering how his friend circle had changed so much so quickly. He was still as close as ever with Ron and Hermione but their friend group had seriously expanded and he was glad that it had.

"We're going to head back to the Three Broomsticks," Tracey informed the others once they had bought their outfits. Sadie and Theo who were also done said they'd go with them and meet Harry and Daphne back at the pub so they left Harry and Daphne alone in the little shop.

"How long does it take to find an outfit Daphne?" Harry asked in exasperation as he appeared behind her by one of the shelves.

Daphne glared at him, "For your information Potter, I had just found something promising. Do you want to win the best costume prize or not?"

"There's a best costume prize?" Harry asked, completely clueless.

Daphne rolled her eyes and pulled a dress out of the box, "So, what do you think?"

Harry thought it had been worth the wait, the outfit she had picked was perfect. It was black and red like Sadie's dress but it was in a completely different style. The skirt was floor-length but from mid-calf it was see-through black lace. Like Sadie's the sleeves were long and from the elbow there was the same black lace that lined the bottom of the dress. The bodice could be tightened with black string pulled over red silk in a criss-crossed pattern. Daphne was going to look amazing in the dress.

"I think it's perfect and I think I'm going to look like a potato standing next to you," Harry told Daphne which made her grin. She pulled out some robes from the box and said, "Nah I think you'll look pretty good in these."

The robes were black on the outside but had a high red collar. The really cool thing about them was that the inside was entirely lined with red velvet. Harry grinned, "We're going to look like luxurious pureblood Vampires."

Daphne laughed, "That was the vision," she teased.

Harry smiled at her "Right then, since you did all the hard work, I'll pay."

Daphne smiled, "Aren't you a gentleman?" she said brightly as Harry put the outfits back in the box and made his way over to the counter to pay for them. This was what he loved about little thrift stores like this one, you found some real gems if you looked hard enough and you got them for a damn good price. Since Harry had paid for the outfits Daphne picked up a black collar with a red centre gem for herself and a black cane with a silver top for Harry insisting that he couldn't wear a hat like the others because of his strange shaped head.

With their outfits bought and bagged Daphne and Harry made their way back to the rendezvous point at the Three Broomsticks where they realised they were the last ones back. When the duo sat down Draco slid two butterbeers across to them and asked how they'd gotten on.

"We got perfect outfits in the end," Harry said, leaving it there and not giving anymore away, "Did everyone else get what they needed?"

Draco and Hermione shared a grin, "We got what we were looking for," Hermione said happily. Although Blaise, Luna and Ginny had departed Neville and Hannah had said their shopping trip had been a success but they gave nothing away.

"Where are the rest of your merry little band?" Daphne asked conversationally.

"Luna said something about it being the right time of year to feed the kelpie she thinks lives in the lake," Hannah said with an amused smile, "And Ginny and Blaise both said they had places to be."

"Mysterious," Lilly grinned, "We got our costumes too you know."

"And they're wicked," Ron grinned at the girl.

"And top secret," Lilly added as she tapped her nose.

"It sounds interesting," Harry said as he eyed his best friend in amusement.

"Course it is, it was my idea," Ron said cheerfully.

Lilly laughed, "Do you know we found out a funny thing about your Dad, Draco?" she asked, "The woman in the shop knew him when he was at school. Apparently he was a total womaniser."

"Didn't surprise me," Ron admitted, "I mean no offence Malfoy but that's kind of what pureblood marriages are like."

"No offence taken this time Weasley," Draco said dryly, "I know all about my Father's ways and the woman he would bring back to the Manor."

"It isn't funny you know Lilly," Theo said angrily as he pushed himself to his feet, "It's wrong and it's disgusting and it destroys lives. He was a cheating, playboy bastard, just like you Draco," Theo spat bitterly and stormed from the pub leaving his friends shocked to silence in his wake. Sadie jumped up and hurried after her boyfriend out of the pub.

"What the hell?" Draco asked, in complete shock and feeling very hurt by his friend's words, he'd unjustly insulted him after all.

"Almina Nott," Tracey said quietly, "She was Theo's Mum and she ran in the same circles as your Father."

Draco swore, "Shit! And she's dead isn't she? I hadn't known she'd had an affair with my Father...should I go and talk to him?"

Daphne shook her head, "You know how Theo is, he gets fired up and then he cools right down. Just leave him alone for a while to calm down."

Hermione nodded in agreement with, "Daphne's right Draco. Besides Sadie's with him, he'll be okay."

"Theo!" Sadie rushed to catch up with her boyfriend on his way up the path from Hogsmeade to the castle. When she reached him she had to catch her breath for a moment so they walked in silence until they reached the gates to the castle.

"Are you going to talk to me?" Sadie asked once she'd gotten her breath back.

Theo shook his head, "Just leave me alone Sadie," he said coldly but Sadie knew him better than to just accept it and walk away.

"No," Sadie said, not moving from his side, "Because as much as you say you want to be left alone I know you well enough to know you don't. You're just angry and pushing people away is your way of dealing with it."

"I wouldn't need to push you away if you left me alone and let me deal with it," Theo said angrily, the coldness was gone. Sadie didn't say anything back but she didn't walk away either, she stuck by his side as they walked up the path to the black lake.

"Theo, just talk to me, please," Sadie said, she wasn't begging but the harshness to her tone of voice was gone and it must have done something to Theo because he sighed and said, "Fine."

He stomped over to a tree stump by the lake and sat down on it despite the fact it was raining and cold. Sadie made her way over and sat down next to him. She didn't say anything; she didn't want to push him.

"My Mother's dead Sadie, you know that," Theo said and Sadie nodded. Theo had lost his Mother when he was very young and shortly after his Father had remarried but Sadie had always gotten the impression that Theo was close to his step-mother Salvadora.

"What does that have to do with Lucius Malfoy?" Sadie asked softly, being careful not to make him angry again. He just sounded sad and resigned now that the anger had bubbled away.

Theo looked down at his hands, they were shaking; he took a deep breath, "My Mother was 21 years old when she died Sadie, the same age as Harry's parents. They were so young, they never got a chance to live," Theo's voice was shaking, "But at least Harry has the comfort of knowing his parents died for something, they died to save him, they died to save the Wizarding world."

Sadie took Theo's hand and squeezed it but she didn't speak, she didn't want to interrupt him now that he finally felt able to talk to her, "My Mother died because she fell in love with someone else. Just like so many purebloods she was forced into a marriage contract by her parents, she married my Father and hated him. He treated her the same way he treated me, like I was something to be ashamed of. He hit her and abused her," Theo was shaking his head, anger burning in his eyes, his voice dripping with bitterness.

"So, along came an older man who was in an equally unhappy marriage and they fell completely for each other," Theo said and Sadie slowly began to understand where the story was going, "My Mother was the only woman that Lucius Malfoy truly loved apart from his wife and the rumours were that he was going to leave Narcissa for her. My Mother was going to run away with him, they were going to take me and Draco and leave," Theo shook his head again, this time it was as if he was shaking away bad memories.

"What happened to her Theo?" Sadie asked quietly, her eyes welling up with tears at the tale. Theo turned to look in Sadie's eyes, she'd never seen him cry until now and she'd never seen him look so vulnerable.

"My Father found out and he couldn't take the embarrassment of his wife running away from him," Theo said, the tears behind his eyes spilling out, "So he murdered her then he attended the funeral and said he loved her so much and he'd miss her," Theo was shaking with rage, "And do you know what the worst part is?"

Sadie shook her head, completely stunned and saddened by the story of Theo's Mother. Theo took a deep breath, "I was in the room when he did it. I was about 1 and a half, it was just after Voldemort had been supposedly defeated."

Sadie cried with Theo as she wrapped her arms around him, "I'm so sorry Theo, I never knew."

Theo shook his head and held her close, "It's not your fault, I was scared to tell you, I was scared I'd breakdown like this," he wiped at his wet eyes, "I'm sorry you had to see me like this Sadie."

Sadie pulled back from the hug, "Don't be stupid Theo; relationships are about seeing the best and the worst in people. If I can see you at your worst and still love you then we have good prospects."

Theo smiled, "Thank you."

"You really shouldn't have taken it out on Draco though," Sadie added, now that Theo had calmed down enough to think clearly, "He isn't a womaniser at all, in fact you were the womaniser and you know it."

Theo grimaced, "I know, I said some pretty shitty things to him."

Sadie nodded and glanced at him, "He's your best friend Theo, you better give him a proper apology."

They both stood up from the wet tree stump, they were soaked through from the rain which was getting heavier and heavier, "If I promise to apologise to Draco will you keep me company in the shower?" Theo asked, he was teasing her which meant that he was definitely back to normal.

Sadie laughed through her shivering and said, "Yeah, I think I can manage that."

"Good," Theo said with a grin, he leant down and kissed Sadie but this kiss was different to any others they'd shared. The kiss was soft, slow and sweet, it made her weak at the knees. When Theo pulled away he grabbed his petite girlfriend and pulled her against his side to keep her warm as they made their way back to the castle. Theo hadn't realised how much he'd been missing out on when he refused to date but now he finally had Sadie all to himself he was never letting her go.

Draco knew something was up the second he walked into the great hall for dinner. He'd gotten back from Hogsmeade in a bit of a rut about things with Theo, he knew it wasn't his fault but he still felt guilty, Theo was his best friend. He'd gone up to the common room hoping to find Theo but he wasn't there and all Sadie would tell him was that Theo was busy doing something else. Draco of course assumed this was her polite way of telling him that Theo was avoiding him so Draco played wizard chess with Harry and Dean and sulked until it was time to go to the great hall for dinner.

The hall looked different. There were red rose petals lining the pathway from the door to the 8th year table. Draco frowned and walked suspiciously down the hall, he heard Harry and Hermione sniggering behind him. This entire thing reeked of Theo.

When Draco reached the 8th Year table the boy himself jumped out from behind the table holding a rose in his hand, "Draco Malfoy, you have been my friend since we were tiny little baby slime balls. I'm sorry for calling you a playboy but I still think your Father's a dick."

Draco shook his head in amusement at the boy in front of him, "Theo, you are such a bloody prat."

"But you forgive me, right?" Theo asked with a cheeky grin.

Draco laughed as the rest of the hall chuckled at the scene they had just witnessed. The Slytherin sat down at the 8th Year table with Theo next to him, "Maybe."

Theo looked down at the table sadly and Draco eyed him suspiciously, what was he up to now?

Theo frowned, "Oh, wait, I forgot I had this," he pulled a broom out from under the table and Draco's eyes widened, "Theo, is that a firebolt?" he asked excitedly.

Theo's frown deepened, "Oh, I guess it is. Well I don't need one; it's all yours," he handed the broom to Draco who gaped at it in surprise.

"Forgive me yet?"

"Forgive you?" Draco asked with an ecstatic laugh, "Theo, I love you."

Theo smirked and the others shared amused looks, trust Theo to buy Draco a firebolt just to gain his forgiveness in what had really been a petty little fight. Slytherin minds just didn't work the same way as everyone else's.

TBC :)