Chapter Twenty-Two

After the Contest…

The audience quieted itself to a dull giggling as the headmaster cleared his throat again.

"Ladies and gentlemen? May I have your attention again, please?" Dumbledore instantly had everyone's attention again and the giggles stopped immediately. "Thank you. I just have three final words to end the evening." He smiled at his students. Then he said, "Sweet dreams, everyone!"

At his words, the Great Hall erupted with a great flurry of motion and commotion. The performers were each getting swarmed around, people hugging them, telling them how much their performances were enjoyed, or promising their votes in the final tally.

Harry, as always, was the most accosted of the performers, his celebrity status sky-rocketing after that evening. He somehow managed to pick up his guitar as he felt himself being shunted off toward the great wooden doors of the Great Hall. He was pulled away from Ron and Hermione, and Draco, the person with whom he most wanted to speak. He needed to figure out what exactly was happening between himself and Draco Malfoy.

Harry nodded graciously, thanking everyone for their kind compliments on his singing and guitar-playing abilities. He kept craning his neck, trying to look over the heads of the people around him so maybe he could find his friends at least. Unfortunately, his height was not giving him any help, so he just had to move along with the crowd and get himself pushed toward the Entrance Hall.

At least I can get on the stairs out there, thought Harry, then maybe I can find Ron and Hermione and Draco….

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Draco, too, was having problems moving without at least a dozen people underfoot. He, too, was looking for his former enemy and hoping to talk about what happened during the contest. And he, too, was having absolutely no luck doing it.

Draco shoved his way through the crowd, not being nearly as polite as Harry was. Why should he have been? He was a Slytherin, after all. Just as he got to the doorway from the Great Hall to the Entrance Hall, a strong set of fingers wrapped around his arm, a second set of the same kind of fingers set themselves over his mouth, and a voice hissed in Draco's ear.

"Come with me, Draco. I need to speak with you."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Neville was getting quite a bit of attention, too.

It wasn't exactly the kind of attention a bloke might like getting after a performance, though. At least, half of it wasn't.

Every boy in the crowd that came in contact with Neville chuckled cheerfully with him. They were all impressed that he had actually gotten up on the stage and said everything that was on all their minds.

"There's the Gryffindor bravery, Neville!"

"Great song, Mate!"

"Way to tell those girls, eh, Neville?"

"Didn't know you knew what tits and asses were, Longbottom! Good show!"

However, every girl that got within striking distance, did. By the time Neville made it to Gryffindor Tower that night, he had more bruises on his body than he used to get when his Great Uncle Algie was still trying to make him do magic when he was seven. Even in the Tower, the girls did nothing but glare and beat whap him over the head with anything they could find.

As soon as he could make his escape, Neville rushed right up to the fifth year boys' dormitory. Soon after, his snores filled the dark room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Draco, how dare you perform in this contest," hissed Lucius Malfoy.

Draco glared down at the stone floor as his father berated him for his performances. He was used to being yelled at by Mister Malfoy.

Mister Malfoy slammed his cane down on the table Draco was leaning on, inches away from Draco's thigh. The crack of silver on slate brought matching eyes into a staring match. The gray irises were devoid of the smile of amusement that this sort of contest usually brought to a quartet of eyes. Instead, one pair held fear and defiance, the other fury and hostility.

Soon the silence was broken by another onslaught of criticism from Mister Malfoy. "How in Merlin's name could you ever consent to singing with such riff-raff? A Ravenclaw, fine. Many of the smarter of them have been very useful over the years… But! A Hufflepuff? Pathetic. And a Gryffindor?" Mister Malfoy "tsk-tsked" quietly, shaking his head. "Not just any Gryffindor either, Draco. Potter. What were you thinking, boy?"

Still Draco said nothing. He couldn't defend himself to his father. He couldn't tell his father that Boot and Macmillan really weren't all that bad. Nor could he tell Mister Malfoy how his hatred of the Gryffindor in question had ebbed slowly away over the last few weeks. So Draco's silence remained.

"And what was that song you sang on your own?" demanded Mister Malfoy. "Did you enjoy making a fool of yourself? Did you enjoy shedding tears in front of the entire student body of which you are a part? Did you not think of what that spectacle might do to your hold on the rest of your Housemates?" Mister Malfoy glared even harder at Draco. Draco wasn't sure how his father did it, but he did.

Finally, Draco couldn't take it any longer.

"Father, I don't particularly mind dealing with Hufflepuffs or Gryffindors. And I definitely don't mind baring my soul onstage. It's a huge weight off my shoulders to have gotten some things off my chest." Draco straightened and stormed past his father, starting to pace back and forth across the dungeon floor, gesticulating broadly and coming close to smack his father in the head a couple times. The whole time, his rant continued. "For crying out loud, Father, the bloody Sorting Hat said we should build House-to-House relations this year. It wasn't my place to refuse when Potter, Boot and Macmillan came to me and asked me to join their act. Don't you think it would have looked suspicious if I didn't perform with them? And what of not performing at all? If I, the peer-appointed leader of Slytherin, hadn't performed, don't you think that would have been suspicious as well? Father, I performed to keep Slytherin House in the running for all those House points, and to uphold the prestige of Slytherin House." Draco stopped directly in front of Mister Malfoy. "Besides, we don't want Harry Potter to win again, do we?"

Lucius Malfoy's eyes narrowed to slivers of glistening silver. His mouth tightened to a thin line. He inhaled through angrily flared nostrils. After another infuriatingly intense staring match, the elder Malfoy nodded slowly.

"Well, at least you were trying to uphold appearances." Lucius set the snake-headed tip of his cane under Draco's chin and leaned close to his son. "But you dare do something this drastic ever again without first requesting my approval, you shall need to find yourself a new setting to establish residence. I will not be challenged again. Have I made myself clear, Draco?"

Draco stood defiantly with his chin held up by cold metal. "Crystal."

In one swift motion, Mister Malfoy dropped his cane to his side, straightened, and nodded curtly. With a sweep of robes, the elder Malfoy stormed toward the exit of the Potions classroom he'd drug his son into after the finish of the contest.

Draco leaned heavily against the table behind him, letting out a sigh of relief. He glanced at the doorway the elder Malfoy had just made his retreat through. The sneer Draco had inherited from his father twisted his features grotesquely. Then a single word escaped his lips.

"Wanker."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

An hour before curfew, Harry was sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room, still wanting to talk to Draco.

After the contest, he had been forced up the stairs by the rest of his housemates, each of them cheering for him and assuring him a top position in the ranking of the contest. Harry had smiled politely and nodded along with all the proclamations, thanking each person as they congratulated him.

But now all he wanted to do was talk to Draco Malfoy.

Something happened during the contest. Harry wasn't sure what it was, but it was something. And now Harry was determined to speak with Draco.

He got up off the squashy armchair he'd been sitting in, and he left the Common Room. Harry paid no attention to his two best friends, who both asked where he was going as soon as he'd risen to his feet.

As soon as Harry was out the portrait hole, Hermione and Ron glanced at each other in worry.

"Do you know where it is?" asked Hermione quietly.

Ron nodded. He tried to rush calmly up to his and Harry's room, returning with a slight bulge in his robes.

Hermione nodded curtly. "Right, let's go find him."

The couple climbed out the portrait hole a minute later. Ron took the Potter Invisibility Cloak out from under his robes and swept it silently around them. Then all three members of the infamous Gryffindor Trio were out and about in the halls of the school.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry reached the Entrance Hall quickly. He hesitated at the bottom of the Main Staircase. Now what, Harry thought. But Harry didn't have much time to think about whether or not he should go to the Slytherin Common Room, because the person he was aiming to see was now coming toward him.

"Malfoy," said Harry, trying to block out the surprise in his voice.

"Potter," said Draco, doing the same.

At the same time, they both blurted out, "We have to talk-"

They stared at each other with confused but amused looks. Harry laughed a little. "Seems we've both been a bit confused by this afternoon."

Draco nodded slowly. "So what shall we do about it?"

Harry plopped down on the steps of the Main Staircase and patted the cold stone next to him. "Have a seat. Let's talk."

Draco raised a wary eyebrow.

"Malfoy, I don't bite," said Harry with a smile. "If anything, I should be worried about you biting, shouldn't I, Mister Slytherin?"

Draco smirked and moved to sit on the opposite side of the stair as Harry. He turned to face Harry. He leaned against the rungs the banister was built on top of, one leg bent up, an arm draped over his knee, his other foot resting at the base of the staircase.

"Alright," said Draco, "let's talk."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione and Ron were just about to sneak down the Main Staircase to find Harry when Hermione threw out an arm.

"Ow!" whispered Ron angrily. "What was that for?"

Hermione hissed at Ron. "Look at the bottom of the stairs."

Ron glanced down and saw something he could never even dreamed of thinking about. Harry and Draco were sitting at the base of the staircase, talking semi-amiably. Ron's invisible eyes widened to the size of volleyballs. He grabbed Hermione's arm and pulled her out of sight range of the unlikely pair.

"What are we going to do?" asked Ron as he pulled the invisibility cloak off his and Hermione's heads.

Hermione smiled at Ron. A memory of a Muggle movie popped into her head, and a song started coming out her mouth. She started singing it, quickly editing the original words to fit their predicament.

"I can see what's happening," she sang.

Ron looked at her funny. "What?"

"They had no clue before," she continued.

Ron frowned at her. "Who?"

Hermione pointed down at the pair at the bottom of the steps.

"They like each other and here's the bottom line…

Our trio's grown to four"

Ron's eyes grew even bigger as he caught the gist of Hermione's singing. "Oh."

"The soft caress of ankles,

The magic everywhere,

And with all those romantic contest songs,

The conflict's disappeared."

Hermione smiled at Ron, and peeked down at Harry and Draco before looking back at Ron again.

"Can you see their love tonight?

The peace that's finally come

Their world, for once, in perfect harmony,

Their wicked acts now done"

Ron nodded slowly, surprised at the pleasant conversation that seemed to be going on below.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry smiled at Draco, continuing to talk about the fun of the concert. Neither teen had the courage yet to broach the subject that was the foremost thought in each of their minds.

Harry's head turned to the same song Hermione's did, his mind singing along.

"So many things to tell him,

But how to make him see

Ask him, 'forget our past?' Impossible.

He'd simply laugh at me."

Harry sighed inwardly. "I couldn't believe Neville singing that song," said Harry amusedly, carrying on their meaningless exchange.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Draco nodded. "I couldn't believe the kid had the balls to sing that," he said with a hesitant grin. "Now we know where the bravery is in that kid."

He kept up the charade of caring about this pointless drivel he and Harry were engaged in. But in his mind, there was a vague tune playing itself. He didn't know where he'd heard it before, but he knew it was sometime when he was hanging out in a Muggle-populated area.

"We're holding back, we're hiding.

But why, I can't decide.

Why won't we say the things we're thinking of,

The things we feel inside?"

Draco stifled a sigh of his own. "And how about those ghosts?"

Harry smiled at Draco and nodded. "Scared the crap out of me."

"Yeah," said Draco, shivering. "You saw my reaction to it."

"More like felt it, Malfoy," said Harry with a smile. "Having a Malfoy in your lap is more than just 'seeing' a reaction."

Draco felt some of the pale of his face be replaced by an uncharacteristic pink. "Shut up, Potter."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Can you see their love tonight?"

Hermione sang again, softly. She was smiling down at her best friend and the boy that had taunted them all for so long.

"The peace that's finally come

Their world, for once, in perfect harmony,

Their wicked acts now done"

She turned back to Ron.

"Can you see their love tonight?

You needn't look to hard,

Moving through the past's uncertainties

Love is where they are."

Hermione stepped up to Ron and took his hand.

"And if he falls in love tonight,

It can be assumed,

His rivalry with Draco's history…"

Ron frowned at Hermione, and sang a single line. "In short, our pal is doomed."

Hermione pursed her lips, released Ron's hand and crossed her arms. She glanced over her shoulder at Harry and Draco. "Don't you want Harry to be happy?" she hissed.

"Happy, yes," said Ron, "but not stupid."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "He's not being stupid. He's just following his heart."

"Right. To Malfoy. Stupid." Ron shook his head. "It's not healthy."

Hermione sighed in frustration. "Whatever you say, Ron. Let's just leave them be, all right?"

Ron looked down at his best friend, sitting with his least favorite person in the whole school. With a frown and a sigh of his own, Ron threw the invisibility cloak around himself and Hermione, and they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower.

When they were nearly there, something Hermione had said triggered a question in his mind.

"What's this about a 'soft caress of ankles'? When was that?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Listen, Malfoy. We both know this conversation wasn't what we both came hunting for each other for." Harry sighed heavily.

Draco was nodding. "You're right, Potter."

Harry pressed on. "So I think it's about time we just come out with it." He looked down at his hands. "Malfoy, I think-"

"I think we should be friends," said Draco in a rush. He didn't want Harry to say anything else because he didn't think he could deal with anything else.

Harry's head whipped up. "Right," he said, "Yeah, friends. No more of this stupid 'Potter versus Malfoy' crap, then?"

Draco nodded. "So. Friends?" He sat up and stretched a hand out to Harry.

Harry took Draco's hand. "Friends." He smiled at Draco. And Draco smiled back. They held there for a moment longer than was customary, staring at each other.

Finally, Draco released Harry's hand. He stretched his arms high in the air and yawned. "Well, Potter, I think it's time that we both get our asses into bed." A sly smirk settled on Draco's face. "Because you know, I'm a prefect. I could take points for you being out of bed after hours."

Harry mock-glared at his new friend. "You wouldn't."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't I?" He winked. Then he stood and started back to the Slytherin dorms. At the end of the hallway leading off the Entrance Hall, Draco turned. Harry was climbing the Main Staircase toward Gryffindor Tower. "Hey Potter?"

Harry stopped and turned. "Yes, Malfoy."

"Good night."

Harry smiled. "Good night."

~*~TBC~*~