Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
WARNING: Male/male relationship that includes incest. Harry and Draco are angsty and sentimental in this story so that means they're OOC. Ron and Hermione are nearly nonexistent in this story.
A/N: I'm not making any money out of this.The next chapter is taking more time to come. Just so you know. This one is just a short chapter.
The Hardship That Brothers Face
Chapter 5
(The End of the Masquerade – The Masks Come Off)
Harry felt all eyes on him. Everyone was waiting to see his reaction. Shake off the jester or leave the black stranger. Before Harry could react, he felt his hand being pried away from the black stranger's grasp. The crowd started dancing in a quicker pace and Harry lost the black stranger in the dancing frenzy. The only one in front of him now was the jester.
Harry felt like the world around them was moving while they themselves cannot budge. The jester stood up, shattering the solid ice of their moment. Harry noticed that the jester was slightly shorter than him. Imagine that. The gloved hand was ready to let Harry's hand fall but Harry gripped the jester's hand and whirled him into a dancing position.
The emerald-eyed boy led his partner into a dance, moving in rhythm with the crowd. Right then, it was really like a real Masquerade. Harry felt more comfortable dancing in the male position again, being the one that led the dance instead of being led. It occurred to Harry that he was dancing with a male. Yet the idea didn't seem entirely odd. The sight of two dancing males dressed in splendour wasn't really hard on the eyes.
Harry looked at the jester's eyes. The eyes reflected the golden lights above the hall. Those eyes were familiar. Where had he seen those eyes before? Then his emerald eyes drifted to the jester's lips. They looked so…virgin. Harry quickly erased the thought from his head.
Harry removed his hand from the jester's side and raised it to hover near the jester's face. His hand hovered near the mask; the chance of prying the mask off was almost too tempting. Just in time, the jester took up his hand and slapped Harry's hand away.
"The masks don't go off till the stroke of midnight," said the jester, his voice muffled because of his mask.
"Of course." Harry offered an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry."
"How rude of you," said a passing dancer with his tall partner. "You should never remove a person's mask unless they give you permission to do so."
Now why does that voice sound familiar? The passing dancer stayed by Harry and the jester's side throughout the dance. "I'm glad you've found a partner," said the dancer. And it wasn't directed to Harry. Harry looked at the jester. He didn't know if the jester had any reaction to this. It was impossible to see through the white mask. Then, the anonymous dancer was steered away by his lean partner.
So, Harry and the jester weren't the only male couple who was dancing together. Harry looked at the jester.
After a moment of silence, Harry decided to ask. "What's with the mask? Almost everyone here has only half of a mask. You have one that covers your face almost entirely. Why? Are you an ugly person behind there?"
The jester did not flinch. Harry was sure that the person behind the mask was not ugly.
"Sometimes," came the muffled voice. Harry was slightly startled. He had not been expecting an answer from his mysterious partner. "You wear a mask to hide your face. You hide your face when hiding a secret. I'm a saving this secret for someone special. Only for him will I take of this mask."
"Could I be that special someone?" asked Harry.
"Who knows? You might be."
The music slowly halted to a stop and many of the dancing couples retreated to the refreshment tables to sup. Somewhere down the hall, a large grandfather clock chimed. The two black hands faced heavenwards on its large yellow face, pointing midnight.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" It was the same voice who had announced the opening of the play. "It is midnight. And you know what that means. It's time for the masks to come off."
There were murmurs of excitement. Nobody cared to eat anymore. They only wanted to see the people around them reveal their faces. Not far from where he stood, he saw the anonymous dancer who had spoken to him earlier on. The dancer carefully took off his mask to reveal the smiling face of Remus Lupin. His lean partner was none other than Sirius Black.
"Hello, Harry!" said Sirius, waving at him. Harry returned the wave, removing his mask as well. He looked at the jester with a grin.
"It's midnight. Take off your mask."
The jester hesitated. Slowly, his fixed his fingers at the rim of his mask. Harry waited in anticipation. This was the jester who had awed everyone with his act on the stage. This was the jester who wore two masks and remained unknown throughout the party. This was the jester who had so boldly kissed Harry's hand and even danced with him. The jester looked at Harry earnestly with his blue eyes.
"Masquerade," said the jester softly. "Hide your face so the world can't find you."
Harry watched wordlessly as the jester slowly moved away from him.
"I'm sorry, Harry," he said. "I'm not ready to share my secret with you." The jester moved to leave.
"Wait!" Harry took hold of the jester's hand. The white glove slipped from the jester's hand and the jester managed to escape Harry and the Great Hall altogether.
"Stop!" yelled Harry, trying to chase after him but he was cut off by another stranger he had met tonight: the black stranger. It was at that moment, Harry noticed how much of a resemblance the black stranger had to Draco. Speaking of which, he had not seen Draco for the entire of the party. "Draco?" It was a bold accusation. But no, it was not Draco.
The black stranger removed his mask. The stranger wasn't anyone he knew. It was someone from a different house and year. He had blond hair and blue eyes but he wasn't Draco. Harry knew it wasn't Draco. The blue of his eyes weren't the same.
"You called for me?" asked a person who suddenly came from Harry's side.
"Draco!" exclaimed Harry.
Draco was dressed in a simple white dress shirt with black slacks. His white shirt stuck to his body which was moist with sweat and his hair was unnaturally out of place, like he had just rolled out of bed.
"Where've you been? I haven't seen you since you left the common room. And what did you do? You're sweating all over."
"None of your business," replied Draco nonchalantly. "What's that you got there?" Draco pointed at Harry's right fist. Harry unfurled his fist to reveal a crumpled white glove. The jester had left it behind.
Harry sighed. "You are going to make me play Cinderella with you, is that it?" he said mostly to himself. Harry pocketed the white glove into his pocket. Draco's eyes immediately darted to Harry's pocket and the lump that was the glove. Draco swallowed. His leave from the Great Hall went unnoticed.
"I am so worn out," groaned Remus, stepping through the portrait hole. Sirius followed quickly and closed the portrait.
"It's near one, love. Let's change and get to bed," said Sirius. "And who do we have here?" Draco was seated in Sirius' usual armchair, his legs cross and his eyes drooping.
"Finally, you're back!" he exclaimed. "I've been waiting for half an hour." Draco stood up and returned the clothes to Remus, folded neatly and cleaned by magic. "Thank you for your costume. I wanted to thank you personally."
"Good thing you changed in time when Harry called for you," said Sirius, yawning slightly.
Draco sighed. "It was difficult. I had to take out all of the outer clothing, remove the wig, change the colour of the slacks and then rush back to the Great Hall. That's why I was sweating so much."
Remus' eyes were twinkling. "Did you have fun?"
Draco bit his lip and broke into a small smile. "Yes. Harry's a really good dancer. Oh yes," Draco took out something white from his pocket and handed it to Remus who raised an eyebrow.
"Where's the other one?" he asked.
Draco blushed slightly. "It's with Harry."
Sirius shook his head and laughed softly. "Oh no no. You've forgotten your glass slipper again, Cinderella!" Draco looked at him with a ridiculous look. "And now Prince Charming is coming to look for you."