Hmmmm ... not sure what inspired the bunny to be born but ... Lol.

Fandom: Harry Potter
Fic Title: Just A Slow Dance
Author: Firesword
Disclaimers: Harry Potter and its characters belong to JK Rowling. I just own the bit of muse.
Summary: Slash. HPDM. Post-HBP & Post-Voldemort. Harry had declined Ginny's request for a dance. However, when he was asked by silver-haired Draco Malfoy, how would he respond?
Rating: M or Red Flame (to be safe)
Warnings: Hmmmm ... not much, just that it's Slash and typically OOC.

JUST A SLOW DANCE

by Firesword

Harry Potter could not keep the frown away from his face. Why had they insisted that he attend this ball? He looked around, uninterested in the events that were taking place around him. He would rather be at his home, alone, than be here, and feeling greatly alone. His scowl deepened even more. How could people throw up a celebration when barely a week had passed since Voldemort's defeat? So many people had died during the time when Tom Riddle had been resurrected and he did not think that this celebration was appropriate for the moment.

Sure, all of us have to move on. Can't we do it with more consideration? He shook his head in exasperation. He moved back and pressed himself close to the wall. He wanted to get out of this crowd more than anything but he could not force himself to Apparate out of the hall. A flash of red caught his eye and he looked calmly at Ginny as she stepped up to meet him.

"Harry..." She smiled brightly. "I didn't expect you to come."

I didn't want to, but your brother had pulled me along. He did not say what he really wanted to say, however. "Hey," he greeted, almost dispassionately. Ginny was not disturbed by his coldness, and she had leaned against the wall beside him.

"It's finally over. We can live our lives the way we want to, now." With those few words, she hinted at him that they could try to be together again.

His heart could not agree with the notion. As time passed, the feelings he used to have for the red-haired girl had disappeared. All he felt, now, was just great fondness for her. He admired her, yes, but he did not love her. He knew Ron and Hermione would be ecstatic if they were together again; it would fit tradition after all.

"Do you want to dance, Harry?" Ginny asked him again.

He smiled briefly but he shook his head.

"Oh, come on." She held on to his arm familiarly, but her jovial expression grew uncertain when he instinctively frowned.

"I'm sorry, Ginny, but no," he said firmly and pulled his arm away. He made up his mind then. "If you see Hermione or Ron, tell them I'm going. I may not be able to find them in this crowd." Then he left her side, and wove his way through the crowd of dancers. Just as he neared the door, a hand closed on his upper arm, and it successfully stalled him. Thinking that it was Ginny, he had placed his hand above the one on his arm, and he had the shock of his life to find it quite masculine.

With a dazed expression, he turned around to face the wizard, and his eyes met with clear, grey ones. Draco Malfoy dressed elegantly in black and silver-trimmed robes faced him with a calm demeanor. For the first time, he did not go into an instant, verbal spar with the Slytherin. He just stared at the other wizard, as his mind scrambled quickly to think of something to say. Draco took the first move, however.

"Leaving without a dance, Potter?" Draco tilted his head to one side and studied his face serenely.

Harry finally broke through his stunned state and frowned heavily at Draco in response. "It is none of your business, Malfoy," he growled softly and jerked his arm from under Draco's grip. He swiveled around, wanting to leave immediately, now more than ever.

"Potter." For some incomprehensible reason, Harry looked back at Draco.

"What?" He responded brusquely.

Draco's eyes gazed piercingly into his as he spoke. "Would you dance with me, Potter?" the Slytherin asked graciously.

"You're mad, Malfoy," Harry answered flatly, his emerald eyes becoming steely and hard.

"I had asked you nicely, Potter," Draco said with a slight pout, but his eyes flickered with a hint of annoyance.

He could not refute that and fighting off his instincts to put on a sour, and grouchy face, he sighed loudly. "I'm sorry, Malfoy, but I have to decline your invitation."

"Why?" Draco asked softly, his eyes shadowed by something Harry could not interpret.

"Why?" He snorted. "You're a guy, and I'm a guy, in case you haven't noticed."

"That is not a good enough reason, Potter," Draco said with a light sniff. Then he pointed his sharp chin at something, and Harry followed his gaze.

What in the hell? Harry swore under his breath, to see Viktor Krum dancing with Charlie Weasley.

"It's a shock, isn't it? I have never expected that Krum would have his eyes on the dragon keeper," Draco said almost thoughtfully. "So there. It is not so strange for a wizard to dance with another."

Harry's guts rolled, and for a moment, he froze as Draco looked at him with his face at an angle. That sidelong glance from the Slytherin; he looked quite charming. "Malfoy, I'd rather dance with Hagrid than finding myself with my hands on you."

Instead of giving him a look of dissatisfaction or defeat, Draco smiled, and his eyes lit up in a way that made his face more ... amiable. "Oh, there he is, Potter. Go dance with him now," the grey-eyed wizard said cheerfully.

No way! Harry screamed silently. Draco started to chuckle softly. He did not pressure Harry to go and ask Hagrid for a dance after his mirth had faded.

"Well, Potter. Your will has just decided that you would not rather dance with Rubeus Hagrid. How about a little dance with me? I can assure you, you will still be able to walk, and your boots will still be in its brand new condition," Draco said persuasively.

"No way," Harry muttered.

"Unfortunately, Potter, this time, I can't take 'no' for an answer," the Slytherin said with a light smirk. Suddenly, he grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him into the dancing zone.

"Hey! What in the hell do you think you're doing?" Harry gasped, his eyes wide and bewildered. Draco's laughter echoed in his ears and the warmth of his hand warmed the rest of Harry's body. Something moved in the corner of his eye, and he dazedly watched as Draco's other hand rose and rested gently on his shoulder. "What-?" Harry could not think coherently, especially with the wizard's hands on him, and the way the silver-grey eyes were looking at him.

"Put your hand on my waist," Draco murmured. "Come on, Potter. Your hand on my waist." Harry could not move; he was that surprised. "As much as I'd love to take the lead, I can't," Draco said, clearly exasperated. "If you haven't noticed, Potter, you are much taller than I am."

Oh. Harry felt that he was floating on air, not really existing in this plane. The music sounded so far away, and the presence of others felt distant. His arm moved albeit a little stiffly, and his fingers curled slightly around Draco's waist. The contact made him blink and everything felt connected once more.

"Good man," Draco said with a slight smile. "Now, we move. Slowly." His voice was strangely hypnotic. Carefully, and with slight nervousness, Harry moved. "Relax, Potter, or you'll feel clumsier," Draco murmured his advice.

The black-haired wizard took several deep breaths and finally felt his legs moving. Left and right, left and right. He let out a sigh of relief - he had not stepped on Draco, yet. Strangely, it did not feel unpleasant. He remembered the Yule Ball several years back. Circumstances as well as protocols had probably made him so nervous that he could not even handle a single dance. This time, it was different. No one would expect him to take the center stage. He hoped that his movements were smooth enough to make him blend amongst the other dancers. That thought made him look at Draco and he could not help but feel surprised to see that his partner was a wizard.

Draco was smiling gently, and if that was not unnerving enough, his eyes were staring intently into Harry's emerald ones. The contented expression in them caused Harry's stomach to flip with an odd sense of pleasure. However, when he tried to look at something else other than Draco, the attention on his neck just sent chills down his spine. He quickly looked back at Draco.

"Are you doing a dare, Malfoy?" he asked somewhat grumpily.

"No," Draco answered with genuine surprise. "I'm not that stupid to let myself fall into dares or such like. I've learnt my lesson well."

"Hmmmm." Emerald eyes flickered briefly to the side, and he saw the astonished looks from Tonks and McGonagall. "Then why would you want to dance with me?" This time, he gazed penetratingly into Draco's eyes.

"I just want to," Draco replied with a slight shrug. "It is not wrong, is it?"

"Depends on how open-minded you are," Harry muttered under his breath, and he absently slipped his hand toward the base of Draco's spine. He failed to notice the wide eyes and the heavy breaths from the Slytherin.

"Do you still hate Severus, Potter?" Draco asked suddenly.

Harry swore. "Do not tell me this is the reason why you wanted to dance with me," he said with an arched expression.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Draco sniffed. "I told you - I just wanted to dance with you."

"What? With no ulterior motives?" Harry laughed bitterly.

"Ulterior motives?" Draco's eyes turned sly. "Maybe ... maybe I just want to feel your hands on me."

Harry blushed and he decided to answer Draco's abrupt question rather than linger on this particular topic. "I guess I do. Maybe it is for the wrong reasons still, but at least I don't blame him for the trap that he had created specially for Voldemort that had backfired, or for the fact that he had to end Professor Dumbledore's life." He fell silent.

"Severus was ... shocked, you know. I didn't see it at first, but after a few weeks, he had ... lost control of himself," Draco said. His eyes looked thoughtful, as though he was listening to something else other than the music. "I was alone with him at that time. No one else was around, thank Merlin. Severus had not expected that Dumbledore would still remain stubborn as to find the missing Horcruxes. You could say that a part of him had felt angry at his foiled plan to overthrow the Dark Lord by his own means."

Foiled plan. Harry's eyebrows creased at the sad memory. "Peculiar thing," he said after a while. "I wish ... for some reason, it would have been great for Sirius to know how much his brother had respected and adored him, so much to have risked his life to overthrow Voldemort." Again, when he had fallen into silence, Draco had started talking to fill the quietness. "Malfoy, you're starting to give me a headache. Stop talking," he said with a hard look.

Draco stared at him for several seconds and opened his mouth. After a while, he closed it again and pouted. He maintained a sulky silence, for only five minutes.

"Are you and the Weasley girl together again?"

Amused, Harry asked, "I thought you were supposed to keep quiet." The question should have annoyed him, but he was not.

"Oh, shut up, Potter," Draco mumbled.

"The answer is 'no', Malfoy, and you shut up," Harry said. What was this? He took several seconds to realize that he was actually grinning. Draco's indignant look had made him do so.

Draco gave him a mock glare. "Fine." He gave a soft huffing sound and looked away.

Harry chuckled a little. "Since we are at it, Draco, let's just enjoy the slow dance." He winced at the realization that he had called the Slytherin by name, and it had not gone unnoticed for Draco was looking at him with mild surprise.

Instead of reacting explosively, Draco remained calm. "Fine," he murmured.

The music was ending, but before they could close their dance properly, someone had pushed Draco off him and had pulled him back quite painfully.

"Ron!" Hermione hissed. "You're making a scene!"

"I don't care," Ron growled. He pointed his wand aggressively at Draco's chest. "Don't ever touch Harry again, you hear, ferret?"

Harry rubbed at his shoulder and glanced briefly at Hermione.

"I'm sorry, Harry. Are you all right?" she asked apologetically.

"I was," Harry said, his anger rising quickly.

"Don't make me hex you here, Weasel," Draco threatened. He jerked away from Ron and straightened his robes. Then he looked at Harry directly. "Do you want to go outside for a while, Harry? Enjoy a bit of fresh air?" he asked coolly, ignoring the blustering red-haired person wizard.

"Harry, come on, mate. He's mental. Let's go and sit down with Ginny," Ron muttered under his breath. He placed his hand behind Harry's shoulder and gently nudged at him in a direction.

"Please stop telling me what to do, Ron," Harry said quietly.

"What?" Ron looked somewhat horrified at his response.

"I do not want to go with you and sit down with Ginny," Harry said flatly. "I do not want to explain why I was dancing with Draco. And I'm walking out. All right?"

"Harry, you can't be serious!" At Ron's raised voice, Hermione quickly tugged the red-haired wizard away.

"I am, Ron," Harry said, still using that quiet voice. He watched as his friends vanished into the milling crowd. He felt Draco coming to stand behind him, and he turned around slowly.

"Fancy taking a walk outside with me, Harry?" Draco asked again.

He had no desire to remain in the Great Hall any longer. He nodded, and followed Draco out into the courtyard, and out of the castle.

"Shall we go to the lake?"

"Yeah."

"You lead. I'm sure you know a couple of good spots."

"I don't." He smiled briefly. In companionable silence, they trudged out toward the calm lake. The grass was wet and slightly slippery, and when Draco had given a small squeak, Harry had taken hold of his arm. Harry spotted an oak tree and decided to head down there, when Draco lost his footing and slipped.

"Aaah!"

"Crap!"

They rolled several times before stopping on even ground. Harry's hands hurt, and the weight of Draco's head sharpened the pain. He panted and willed his pounding heart to calm down - the fall had taken him by surprise. At a soft groan, he braced himself up, and looked down at Draco. Dazed and pale, Draco muttered a string of curses.

"You all right?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Maybe..." Draco whispered. "Just don't move me yet."

Harry carefully extracted his hands from under Draco's head, one at a time. Somehow, his hands had gone up to cradle Draco's head protectively when they had rolled downhill. He placed them beside each side of the Slytherin's head, and took note of the abrasions. He sighed in resignation, and suddenly froze. Draco was breathing heavily from under him, and he had appeared vulnerable. Harry blinked slowly. Moonlight touched the aquiline face, and his heart throbbed at the odd picture of beauty. It was as though Draco was an ethereal prince, with his hair flared out against the dark green ground, and moonlight accentuated his facial features lovingly. Unconsciously, Harry licked his lips.

Silver eyes suddenly opened, as though Draco knew of his temptation. "Don't break my heart now," Draco said in an uneven voice.

Don't break my heart now. Draco's voice echoed in his mind as he lowered his face, one tiny centimeter at a time. Soft, blonde eyelashes fluttered and moved by something he did not understand, Harry cupped one side of Draco's face. He closed his eyes, and their lips finally touched. The first was incredibly chaste, a mere pressing of lips, but still, it was astounding. Green eyes looked deeply into silver ones then, for a few seconds before they closed. Heads tilted at different angles and they found each other. Warmth spread from Harry's heart to his fingertips and desire unfurled from within him at his first taste of Draco.

A soft sigh escaped from Draco's lips when they parted. Harry carefully removed himself from Draco, and he cautiously helped the other wizard to a sitting position.

"Are you all right?" Harry inquired softly.

"I have melted, Harry, if you haven't noticed." Draco's lips curved into a gentle smile. Then it disappeared suddenly, and Draco reached out for his hands. He raised them and studied them both with the help of moonlight. "I guess you're born to be a protector." He sighed, and started to plant soft kisses against the back of Harry's grazed hands. The pain vanished, for some reason. "And you didn't have to, you know. I've had my fair share of bruises and cuts, and worse."

He breathed in sharply when Draco delicately licked the tip of his index finger. "I-I know. But I wasn't thinking ... reflexes."

"Hmmmm." Draco sounded dreamy, as though absorbed by his task. "We have to get you to the hospital wing."

"And let Madam Pomfrey take a look at my hands while she raves on how I still can get injured?" Harry asked mildly.

Draco smiled brightly then. "Would you rather let me tend to your ... wounds?"

He grew hot at Draco's voice. "Uhmmmm..." He tried clearing his throat. "Well, maybe."

"What's it for me, Harry?" Silver-grey eyes glinted with mischief.

"You should be more generous, Draco." He shook his head.

"I've heard comments from Severus, that you're quite a reliable cook. Would it be too much trouble for you to whip up supper for the two of us?" Draco asked shyly.

"You want me to cook for you?" Harry stared at Draco incredulously.

"Yes. I couldn't really enjoy what I was eating just now, not with so many eyes on me," Draco mumbled.

"I have a tendency to overdo it, mind you," Harry warned.

"I can't cook even if my life depended on it," Draco muttered. "What? I am a spoilt brat!" He pouted.

Harry had to laugh at Draco's accurate admission. "Is this why you wanted to dance with me?"

"I already told you, Harry. I wanted to, because I wanted to. There were no special reasons for wanting to," Draco said with exasperation.

"I see." Harry caught Draco's hand, and looked intently at him. Draco's cheeks turned slightly pink and he closed his eyes.

Right there, on the bank of the Black Lake, surrounded by stout oak trees and moonlight, Harry kissed Draco again, and held him close. Their soft breaths mingled with the soft whisper of the breeze that blew around them, and Harry smiled. He finally found the peace he had been aching for, although its form was surprising.

"Can you get up?" He rose to his feet and helped Draco cautiously.

"We are not going to walk, are we?" Draco did not look too happy at the prospect of walking.

"No," Harry said with a smile. "Hold on to my arm. We'll Apparate."

"I can Apparate myself back to Godric's Hollow, Harry."

"That's where my parents had lived," Harry said softly. "But it is not my home."

"Huh?" Draco looked at him in confusion.

"Who would have thought..." Harry chuckled. "Well, you're going to be the first to give opinions on my home."

"Oh..." Draco blinked slowly.

"Ready?" Harry waited patiently for Draco to respond.

"Yes. I am."

There was a sharp crack, and then, there was only silence. The calm water rippled as the breeze grew stronger. However, the wind could not manage to smooth out the indentations where Harry and Draco had been earlier. It went back to a soft, gentle zephyr, and it played amongst the grass, as though bestowing the unexpected love that had bloomed, witnessed and touched by the moon.

-oOooOooOo-

TO BE CONTINUED?

THE END?

I HAVE NO IDEA...

WILL ANY BUNNIES BE BORN,

TO GIVE THIS ONE-SHOT ANOTHER CHAPTER?

OR WILL IT REMAIN AS IT IS,

TO BE PUSHED BACK AND GROW OLD?

A COMMON EXPRESSION

BUT ALAS,

ONLY TIME WILL TELL...