~ Chapter 5: Unexpected Allies ~

"Ron and Hermione are pretty stubborn, aren't they?" Seamus said.

It was later that evening, and Harry was in the common room, playing Exploding Snap with the rest of his dormmates, except for Ron. He and Hermione had snuck off somewhere, and Harry honestly didn't miss them. Their insistence that he was perfectly straight and in still in love with Ginny was beginning to grate on him. In fact, Ginny herself had looked a bit annoyed with them ever since dinner. At least, Harry thought she had — she'd run off shortly afterward to go study with Luna. Harry hoped it meant she was starting to accept the truth. That was the most important thing, anyway. She was the one he'd dated.

"You think?" Harry said dryly.

Seamus laughed. "Maybe I could help think of something to convince them," he said. "It's honestly getting a little sad at this point."

"You know, Malfoy has actually been really nice to me this year," said Neville. "If that's just because you're dating him, then I'm all for it."

"Now you can add 'snake charmer' to your resume," Dean joked.

"Speaking of snakes . . . " Seamus waggled his eyebrows.

"Let's not," Harry said quickly. He was happy that the rest of his friends were so accepting of his relationship, but he didn't want to go into details about it. Not with Seamus, whose mind seemed to permanently live in the gutter as it was.

"Did you have any ideas, Seamus?" Harry asked. "It seems like we've already tried everything."

"Yeah, Hermione can be pretty stubborn," Seamus mused. Harry felt a bit disloyal agreeing with him, but he had to admit it was true. "And Ron tends to agree with everything she says. I think our best bet is to separate them and work on Ron first."

"That's a good idea," Harry said thoughtfully. "We almost had him earlier."

"Leave it to us," Dean said. "We'll think of something."

"You just worry about snake charming," Seamus said with a wink.

They all laughed, and Harry gave Seamus the finger. But he felt much more hopeful knowing his dormmates were on his side.

"Potter!"

Harry turned around in surprise as he and his friends made their way to Herbology the next morning. He was even more surprised to see Parkinson, Zabini, and Goyle heading towards him, looking like they meant business. Draco was curiously absent, however, and Harry wondered what was going on.

"We'd like a word with you," Parkinson said once they'd caught up with Harry. "Alone, if you don't mind." She gave his friends a pointed look.

"Anything you have to say to Harry, you can say in front of us," Hermione said, standing her ground.

The Slytherins exchanged a glance Harry couldn't decipher. "Fine," Parkinson said with a shrug. "I guess they might as well hear this, too."

"Hear what?" Hermione demanded.

Parkinson's lips pressed together in a thin line, but Harry caught a brief twinkle in her eye. Was she amused? He was more curious than ever.

"Draco has been one of my best friends my entire life," said Parkinson. "And Slytherins are loyal to their own."

"That's right," Zabini spoke up. "We take care of each other. Protect each other from the rest of the world. I know you Gryffindors don't understand that, but I'd bet you we're even more loyal than Hufflepuffs."

Harry nodded somberly. He thought he knew what this was about, and, much as the idea amused him, he was careful not to show it. Maybe, maybe his friends would finally take the hint now.

"Draco is like a brother to me," Parkinson went on. "If you hurt him, I promise it'll be the last thing you do." Her eyes narrowed dangerously, and Harry couldn't help but feel a little intimidated. He was sure she meant every word.

Zabini was smirking at him. "I'd just like to mention that my mum has been widowed seven times. I know how to make something look like an accident."

"Right," Harry said, wondering for the first time what he'd gotten himself into. "I'll keep that in mind."

"See that you do," Parkinson said, poking him with one manicured finger. Beside her, Goyle glowered silently at Harry, who was finding the whole thing highly effective. Not that he'd ever had any intention of hurting Draco. On the contrary, he found their loyalty rather touching, and it only made him love Draco that much more.

The Slytherins departed, with Goyle throwing one last glare at Harry over his shoulder. Once they were out of sight, Hermione scoffed.

"What was that about?" she said. "You'd think there really was something between you and Malfoy."

Harry froze. She couldn't be serious.

"I swear, the entire school is delusional," said Ron.

"Maybe there's something in the pumpkin juice," Hermione said as they continued down the hall.

Harry stared after them, wanting to scream. He wasn't sure how much more of their denial he could take. Sighing, he straightened up and adjusted his schoolbag before hurrying to catch up with his friends. Maybe they should just forget the whole thing, he thought. Draco's friends knew about them, and even Ginny seemed to be coming around. He hated to keep hiding his relationship with Draco from his friends, but maybe it was time to cut his losses. At least he wouldn't have to deal with the awkwardness of everyone trying to get along. Resigned, he resolved to talk to Draco later about the change in plans.

He just hoped Draco wouldn't be too upset that it hadn't worked out.

The rest of the week was quiet and uneventful, and Harry had to admit it was a relief to abandon the attempt to convince his friends he was dating Draco. Of course, Draco's disappointment at the change in plans hadn't made it easy, but they'd both agreed that Harry's friends needed more time to accept their relationship. At least, Harry hoped they would learn to accept it someday — he could hardly expect Draco to suffer the indignity of a hidden relationship forever. Harry had just retrieved his schoolbag after enjoying a peaceful lunch when an small, plain envelope fell out and landed at his feet.

"What's that?" Ron asked as he gathered his own school supplies.

"I don't know, but it looks like you got one, too," Harry said, pointing to the envelope sticking out through the opening in Ron's bag.

With a curious frown, Harry opened his envelope as Ron did the same. Inside was a little card with a brief message in elegant script inside:

"You are cordially invited to an Eighth-Year Interhouse Unity Party. Festivities will commence at 8:00 tonight in the Room of Requirement. Please bring booze if you can."

"Interhouse Unity Party?" Ron scoffed. "Do they honestly expect anyone to go for that?"

"I dunno, it might be fun," Harry said with a shrug. He had a feeling this was Seamus's doing.

"Who do you think sent this?" Ron said as they headed back downstairs.

"No idea," said Harry. To his relief, Ron didn't question him further.

Hermione was waiting for them in the common room. She stood up the moment they entered the room. "Did either of you get an invitation to a party tonight?" she asked them.

"Yeah," said Harry, playing innocent. "Something about interhouse unity. Sounds kind of interesting. Are you going to go?"

"I don't know," Hermione said, wrinkling her nose. "The invitation said to bring booze. I bet the Headmistress doesn't know anything about it — she'd never approve of something like that."

Harry wasn't sure exactly what Seamus had planned, but he'd mentioned getting Ron alone earlier. He suspected Ron would be persuaded to go to the party, at least. And if Seamus thought he'd come up with a way to get through to Ron, Harry was curious to see what it was.

Harry shrugged. If nothing else, he was sure it would be a fun evening. But maybe — maybe it wasn't time to give up hope just yet.

Thanks for reading and/or reviewing!