It wasn't as embarrassing as they thought, coming to the Yule Ball minus female accompaniment. Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle had toyed, secretly, with the idea of asking several Slytherin girls out to the ball but when it came down to it, chickened out. Of course, Draco had found a partner in the form of Pansy Parkinson - - the ever giggling, simpering girl who Crabbe and Goyle found only tolerable. They didn't know what it was that unnerved them about her, but they always tried to avoid her and the blatant flirtations that came out of the lipsticked mouth. Not that the flirtations were ever aimed at them, of course. Just towards their less aesthetically challenged friend.

They knew they weren't handsome. Years of hovering in the background, great lumps of meat behind the charismatic Malfoy had left them with no vain qualities to speak of. Girls weren't interested, boys just shrugged in their directions thinking them too thick-witted to answer with the charm of their blonde friend. They were nothing without him. If Draco had left them for smarter, wittier, more handsome friends, they would be shown for what they were - fat, dull and gawky. The pretence of having Malfoy for a best friend showed that they were "popular" within Slytherin, even though the other houses rejected those two for being what they feared they were. Both teens yearned to be thought of as winning, handsome and intelligent.

Malfoy looked good in his dress robes. Tall and rather sombre - the black suited his pale complexion and made him look almost regal. When faced with the idea of buying dress robes both the boys had blanched and got nervous at what colour would be correct. Both had panicked and bought plain green robes, which, when put on, didn't look at all good. In fact, the robes made them look ill. Next year, both had thought separately, black would be the only colour to buy. When Malfoy sauntered out of the Slytherin Common Room with Pansy on his arm both boys had felt a stab of jealousy - not for the first time either.

When they walked side by side into the Great Hall they were both overcome by the same feeling: Dread. They looked and saw that Ron Weasley actually had a partner. That sort of made the feeling worse. Ron was gangly, ginger and whiny. And he had bagged a good-looking girl? Not that she looked chuffed, granted. But then neither did he. Crabbe and Goyle sat down together and surveyed the scene in front of them.

After the meal, which was delicious as always, they both shifted to the side of the room at an empty table. Draco was dancing with Pansy who looked as though she had just sucked on a lemon. They realised that this was because of the arrival of Viktor Krum's partner, who looked lovely. Maybe Pansy was jealous? After all, Krum was an internationally ranked Quidditch player... but they heard the shocked whispers from the Ravenclaws sitting at the nearest table and found out that it was buckteeth Granger. Their heavy lidded eyes left Hermione's pale blue dress and settled on each other.

They hardly ever spoke to each other, just sat in silence in each other's stagnant company. Malfoy didn't particularly liked talking to them either, unless he was looking to prove a point or for them to agree with him. They never felt uncomfortable in each other's company though, mainly because they knew they were alike. What one thought, the other thought. Unspoken, but they both felt it.

Draco had dragged them outside into the courtyard when Pansy had given him a break from dancing. He was boasting, which made a delightful change from his usual manner. Not. Pansy had apparently said something to him that he found amusing, because he had his hands in the dress robes and rocked back and forth. They didn't know why he had hissed at them to come outside in the cool air with such fervity, if he was just going to nonce about with a silly smirk on his porcelain features. He seemed content to witter on about how stupid Harry Potter had looked dancing, how ugly Hermione Granger was, how pathetic Ron Weasley looked slumped in the corner and how much Pansy wanted him.

When Pansy finally came flouncing over the snow in her pale pink robes she practically pounced on Draco as he stuck his arm possessively round her and walked her over to behind a rose bush. Being winter, the roses weren't on it, it was just a mass of raggedy thorns, so Crabbe and Goyle could see what was actually happening - and could hear it. Bushes all around them seemed to be writhing and groaning, with the odd high pitched giggle. They had seen a silvery flash of hair and Roger Davies getting very cosy when they came out into the courtyard, but they didn't look like they noticed the two heaving figures and the vain dark robed one.

They turned towards each other and muffled grins as they nudged their heads over to the rose bush where, it seemed, Pansy had her dress robes pulled up to her waist and had just scratched herself on the bush. Malfoy was whining at her to shut up, as he was getting a cold bum from the rock hard stone bench and she was whinging at him. Then Crabbe and Goyle heard wet, frantic kissing and they got bored of listening and watching the couple.

It really was chilly outside in the courtyard. Apart from the couples spread about, half hidden and all busy in their own doings, it was still. Crabbe budged up next to Goyle and he didn't flinch. It was cold sitting alone at either end of the bench. They started mumbling about how rubbish the night had been and how they wished they had went home for Christmas... and then Goyle leant down and lightly kissed Crabbe on his thin, frozen lips. Crabbe shrank back as Goyle stuttered an apology only to be silenced by a sloppy thank you. Their eyes closed while their dress robes came together, fusing the two bodies. A couple of moments passed and they both sat back, face to face in the snowy courtyard, and grinned.