Authors Note One: Slight femme-slash ahead. You've been warned.
Authors Note Two: So I asked my friend (about Chapter 9), "Is it lame that the boys are giving gifts to each other?" She assured me it wasn't. And I am glad I listened to her and decided to post it. Thanks for the great reviews from the last chapter!
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:Chapter Ten: Hufflepuff Party
Hermione woke up and couldn't stop grinning. Tonight was the Hufflepuff House's first party of the year. They always threw the best parties because they loved pleasing their friends and having a good time. That wasn't the main reason for the smile though. Tonight she was finally going to meet her Quill-match.
Taking care to choose an especially cute outfit for later, she grabbed her school uniform and cleaning supplies and then went to the girl's showers.
After heading down the stairs to the Common Room, she met up with Harry and Ron and walked to the Great Hall for breakfast. While loading their plates, Harry asked why she was smiling so much.
"I'm excited about the party tonight. First of the year." Hermione gleamed.
"That's right. Are you still meeting your match tonight?" Harry asked her.
"Yes. How about you?"
"No, we're going to meet at the Halloween Party instead." He answered while trying to hide his pouting.
"The Halloween party is only a couple weeks away though! It will happen soon enough." She assured him.
"I'm meeting up with my match tonight." Ron interrupted.
"Oh, that's great!" Said Hermione and Harry together.
"Are you still coming to the party though?" Hermione asked Harry.
"Yeah, of course. I'll just be dancing the night away instead of snogging." He replied.
After they had finished eating breakfast, the three went to their Transfiguration class together. The entire day seemed to pass like a blur to most of the students, who were eagerly anticipating the first House party of the year. Especially since most of them would be meeting their matches for the first time that night.
Entering his dorm room, Harry saw his mailbox glowing. Removing the parchment, he read:
My dear Jolt,
I guess tonight is the party everyone has been waiting for. I hope you aren't upset that I still want to wait and meet up at the Halloween party instead. I will be thinking about you all night long. Right now, I am not sure if I will be going to the party or not. What about you, are you planning on attending?
Undecidedly anti-social,
Mischief
-o-O-o-
Harry sent off a quick reply:
My Mischief boy,
Yes, I will be going to the party tonight. My friends already asked me during breakfast, so now I can't back out of it. Besides, I love dancing. I plan on dancing so much that I look like someone cast Tarantallegra on me. I am sure tomorrow I will be sore, but it will definitely be worth it.
I will admit that I am sad that you still want to wait to meet up – but you said you have your reasons and promised you would explain why at the Halloween party. I can hold out that long – and no, I'm not upset at you, just sad that I won't get to finally touch you tonight.
I hope you have a good night, even if you decide not to attend the party.
Soon to be a dancing-fool,
Jolt
-o-O-o-
Harry sent off the letter. With it being Friday night, he brought his homework down to the Common Room to complete with Hermione and Ron. When he got there, she was nowhere to be seen. After waiting fifteen minutes, he finally had one of the younger years go up and get her from her dorm room.
A couple minutes later, Hermione appeared, looking well made-up.
"Oh sorry Harry, I just assumed you'd know that we're not doing homework tonight. I wanted to spend some extra time getting ready."
"Yeah, that's all right. I'll go do the same." He said.
She ran back up the stairs to finish getting ready and he slowly walked up to his room.
Throwing off his school robes, he went to his wardrobe and picked an outfit that was fairly tight and showed off his toned body. He went to the bathroom and brushed his teeth, put moisturizer on his face, and ran his hand through his hair. Not much he could do with the latter.
A while later he met up with Ron and Hermione. They descended the stairs towards the Hufflepuff living quarters. The parties were usually held in an abandoned staff room that was rather large and decently furnished, and was near the Hufflepuff House living area.
When they got closer to the correct floor, they started noticing more and more students, dressed up and talking with animated energy. It was definitely contagious – suddenly Harry was glad he came.
The hall was dimly lit and you could already hear the music thumping from the room. The chatter grew louder as they approached the party entrance. In front of them a commotion was happening. Peering over Hermione's shoulder, Harry saw a boy throwing a fit. The portrait was refusing to let him through.
"But I am a fourth year!" The young boy said.
"I have been spelled to only allow fourth years and above through. I can tell you are only a third year. Please move aside and let the other students through."
The boy looked defeated and embarrassed. Harry was sure if the lighting were brighter, he would have seen the boy blushing. The young boy ran down the hall as the portrait opened to let the students that had gathered there while the under-aged boy was blocking the way.
As soon as he walked through the portrait, Harry patted both Ron and Hermione on the shoulder, leaned up and said, 'Good luck' to both of them. He turned in the direction of the bar. He figured he might as well enjoy himself while he was there.
When he reached the bar area, a Hufflepuff from his year named Owen Cauldwell leaned over to him.
"Hey, glad you could make it Harry!" He said while handing him a drink.
"Whoa," said Harry after taking a gulp, "where'd you get the firewhiskey from?"
"Don't tell anyone," he said while leaning in closer, "but Fred and George Weasley have gone out of their way to accommodate this party. They donated the fun lights and gave us a huge deal on the alcohol. They just want us to spread the word to spend more money in their shop every month during our trips to Hogsmeade."
"Oh, that's right. I forgot they opened a second, smaller shop in Hogsmeade this year." Harry said. "And don't worry, I won't tell anyone where the alcohol came from."
Finishing his tankard, Harry headed towards the dance floor – having to squeeze in between people because so many students were already there. Once in the dance area, he started dancing alone, becoming oblivious to everyone around him. He had his eyes closed most of the time, involved in his own little world.
Stepping through the portrait, Draco immediately laid eyes on Harry dancing. He was very appreciative of the way his body was moving. Being half tempted to run up to him and confess that he was Mischief, he instead let Pansy drag him to the bar area. They both grabbed drinks and went to sit on the last empty couch. Draco was glad it faced the dance floor.
"Hm, Draco." Pansy started. "With him dancing like that, it's hard not to imagine what he would be like in bed."
"Yeah, agreed. Now stop teasing me. I'm busy watching a God in motion." Draco answered.
"Well it's your own fault that you didn't set up a meeting with him tonight. So don't go acting all frustrated like it was out of your control."
"Noted. Now leave me alone."
"Fine! I'll go get more drinks. You want a butterbeer this time?"
"Whatever." He answered.
-o-O-o-
After many songs, Harry decided to go get another drink from the bar area. He didn't even notice a bunch of eyes following him. Putting money into one of the Tip jars – he then grabbed another tankard and started to drink. Feeling a tap on his arm, he turned around. Looking slightly down, he noticed Pansy Parkinson looking at him with a wry grin.
"Hi Harry." She said.
"Riiight." Answered Harry, who was glad to have then spotted Ron behind her. He quickly left Pansy and walked over to his friend.
"What's wrong, Ron?" Harry asked.
"I just met my… my match." Ron answered looking panicked.
"Oh yeah? Who was she?"
"Loony Lovegood is my match! Can you believe it? Now all the gibberish and random facts in her letters makes sense. I can't believe I didn't pick up on it sooner."
"Well, if she is your match, then that's good right? She's a nice girl, it can't be that bad of a thing. Where is she, anyway?"
"I left her."
"To get drinks, right?"
Ron shook his head.
"What? You can't just leave her like that. Here," Harry said while grabbing two butterbeers off the bar. "Take these back to her and play nicely." He put them in Ron's hands and forced him back into the direction he came from. "Give her a fair chance!"
Ron nodded his head, almost robotically. Harry just laughed. He went back to the bar and grabbed some water to drink. Then he was back on the dance floor.
"Maybe you're right," Pansy said while sitting down next to Draco, "tonight might have been too early for your meeting. I tried to talk to him at the bar, but he brushed me off. Maybe he does have a hard time letting a few years of evil-doings go." She laughed.
"Told you." Draco answered, glad to see his Harry on the dance floor again.
"Oh look at the time." Pansy said. "I'll be back later."
She got up and walked out of the portrait into the hallway. Going down a few doors and pausing before entering the one on the right, she took a breath and opened the door.
Hermione turned around, looked at her and said, "I think you're in the wrong room."
"Are you Leaf?" Pansy asked while narrowing her eyebrows.
"You're Flow?" Hermione said, stunned.
Both girls were definitely shocked at their matches and stared at each other for a solid minute, barely keeping their jaws from dropping to the floor.
"With a name like Leaf - I was expecting some hippy. Where'd you get the nickname from?" Pansy asked.
Blushing, Hermione said, "I love books and information. You know, pamphlets, booklets, leaflets…"
"Oh that's so dorky! But I kinda like it too." Pansy responded. "You know, this could turn out to be really good." She said as she grabbed Hermione by her neck and pulled her closer. "You've grown cute and your teeth don't resemble a beaver's any longer." Then she started nibbling her neck.
"Yeah, well apparently your face has absorbed your pug-dog nose and decided to leave you with a cute looking one instead." Hermione says while moaning.
After some time, Hermione asked Pansy why she chose the nickname Flow.
"You know, a Pansy is a Flower. As in F. L. O. W. e. r." Pansy told her.
"That's not any less dorky than the one I chose!" Hermione spat as she leaned in for another kiss.
Many days later, when Pansy asked her why she responded so well during their first meeting - Hermione told her that after many years of crushing on someone who was timid and shy, she was glad to finally meet someone who was rough, feisty, and upfront with her. Pansy knew that Hermione was referring to her old crush on Ron Weasley.
-o-O-o-
After what seemed like hours, Draco was still entranced watching Harry dance. He really wanted to go dance with him and see how well their bodies flowed with each other – but he knew it would be a bad idea. However, after watching him for so long getting all sweaty, he was slowly talking himself into doing it anyway.
However, before he could make the final decision to stand up and walk over, he noticed Graham Pritchard start dancing with Harry.
Graham put his hand on Harry's waist. Harry finally opened his eyes and noticed that someone was in his personal space. By this point, he had a bit much to drink and in that type of dark atmosphere, he felt so good and free that he found he didn't really care.
When he wasn't shoved off, Graham quickly got bold. He was much taller and bigger than Harry. Suddenly his hands were everywhere pulling Harry closer to him so he was practically grinding Harry while dancing.
Harry laughed and put his hands on Graham's chest and pushed him back a little.
"Slow down there, Slytherin." Harry said.
"You look so hot, I'd do anything to have you tonight." Graham said in his ear.
"Way too fast there. I can barely even remember your name in the state I am in."
"It's Graham. Graham Pritchard. We're in the same year."
"Yeah, okay. Look, I'm going to go get a drink and sit down for a bit."
"I'll come with you."
"If you want." Harry said as he started walking to the bar to get some more water. Grabbing a bottle, he then headed in the opposite direction and found a chair to sit in. Graham had followed and knelt beside the chair. Harry closed his eyes and rested his head on the back of the tall, cushy chair. He never noticed the gray eyes giving him a look of concern while simultaneously giving death glares to Graham.
Graham was stroking Harry's arm, which was resting on the arm of the chair. After minutes of watching him, Graham decided to go for it. He leaned up and was inches away from Harry's face. Then he leaned in and kissed Harry in front of everyone. Harry responded and the kiss grew but didn't last very long.
Graham leaned back and asked, "So how many firewhiskeys have you had?"
"More than a few."
"Well that's good for me." Graham said with a lustful look on his face.
"Nope, it isn't. I'm still perfectly capable to make rational decisions." Harry stated somewhat truthfully.
But, suddenly he was feeling a little remorseful. "Can you get me another, please?" He asked Graham who nodded and quickly walked off. He didn't really want another drink, but he needed a few minutes to himself. His mind was starting to get foggy, not that he would admit it. So he wanted to mull over a couple things and think about them sooner, rather than later. First, could Graham be his match? He was an all right guy, from what he knew. Cute too. But he had a feeling he wasn't his match. Second, why was he letting Graham kiss him? Was it because he wanted to, or because he was being childish and giving a 'payback' to Mischief for not wanting to meet up tonight?
He really needed to think about the last question before he ended up doing something he wouldn't be able to take back tomorrow morning.
Graham showed up with another firewhiskey and handed it to Harry. Harry thanked him and instinctively put his empty hand to his chest, touching the necklace like he had been doing for the past couple of weeks. Right then he made his decision. He was sure his heart would explode if he knew Mischief was out there snogging someone else. Downing the tankard for liquid courage, he looked at Graham and told him that he planned on sleeping in his own bed alone that night and if Graham wanted anything more than conversation, he was wasting his time and should go hit on someone else.
Graham stood up and yelled, 'You're a tease!' at Harry.
"Am not. You're the one who came up to me!" Harry quipped.
A few yards away, Draco breathed his first sigh of happiness that night. When he saw Harry's hand reach up to touch the necklace hidden underneath his shirt and then blow off Graham - it made his heart melt and he had to choke back a sob of relief.
At that moment, Pansy sat down next to him. "You are never going to guess who my match is."
"Um, Ronald Weasley?"
"No!" Pansy said as she elbowed him.
"Well apparently whomever your match is, must not have given you much affection considering your need to fondle me."
"That's where you're oh-so wrong."
"Okay, tell me. Who?"
"Granger."
"No fucking way."
"Yes, and I'll admit right now that her sexual appetite is almost matched to mine. I'm ever so lucky."
"That's hard to believe."
"Well it's true. So what's been going on in the few hours I've been gone?"
"Hm, well I almost gave in and asked Harry to dance, but then Graham beat me to it and was all grabby. They even kissed. Luckily, Harry came to his senses and told Graham to piss off."
"Wow. I'm sorry to hear about that. But at least he isn't so drunk he could be talked into it."
"Yeah, that's something else. I've been watching him drink, and sure he's drinking water and eating pretzels, but he's so tiny. I'm worried about him. He was acting fine earlier, but I am concerned it will catch up with him. I've been watching him at parties for years and I have never seen him drink like this."
"Oh Draco, he's probably just upset that his match didn't want to meet up with him. But I'll go find Granger and mention that people are noticing how much he's drinking. Make sure she keeps an eye on him."
"Thanks. Don't tell her about us being matches."
"I won't unless you tell me otherwise." She promised.
Then Draco noticed Harry stand up, a bit slowly and head towards the bathroom. It was a small unisex bathroom with a couple stalls and urinals. Harry went to relieve himself and had to walk past some guy on his knees giving head, but he wasn't really paying attention to that – he was completely focused on his throbbing bladder.
As Harry was leaving the bathroom, his steps were getting a bit slower, maybe sluggish even. He made it through the door but started to fall forward. Luckily, someone caught him and when he felt the strong arms comforting him, he convinced himself to shut his eyes and immediately dozed off.
Draco held onto Harry and his throat felt tight, he had never been this close to his love before. Heaven, he smelled good and felt so right in his arms. He couldn't say anything, instead he looked over to Pansy and nodded her over. She stood up from their couch and walked towards him. When she got there, they both took one of Harry's arms and draped it around their neck. Walking with Harry between them, they started out the portrait.
Pansy caught Hermione's worried eye and gave a quick nod. Hermione grabbed her purse and followed them out of the portrait. She touched Pansy on the small of her back and looked at Harry.
"He's had a bit much to drink for his size." Draco told her. "We'll take him to his room."
"Oh, don't worry about it, I'll go get Ron to carry him up." Hermione said.
"No! I mean, don't you want to spend a few more minutes alone with me?" Pansy asked with a smirk. "If you get Ron to come here, you know he'll freak out. Besides, I think I saw him kissing Loony in one of the corners a bit ago." Pansy told her.
"Okay, sure." Hermione said while giving Draco an unsure look. "Let's go."
Draco gathered up Harry in his arms and started to walk towards the main staircases. Hermione and Pansy fell behind and were talking low and walking very closely.
They overheard some of the people in the hall laughing. Walking past, they heard, "Did you hear that Cho Chang's match was Moaning Myrtle?" Bouts of laughter followed. Then, "That's got to be a joke. Right. Right?"
When they were out of eyeshot of the partygoers, Hermione and Pansy grabbed for each other's hands.
Harry shifted and put his arms around Draco's neck and held on tightly. "I'm so sorry, tell Mischief that I'm sorry." Harry said to no one in particular.
"Don't worry, I'm sure he knows." Draco whispered in his ear, while breathing in Harry's scent. For someone as muscular as Harry, he sure felt light in his arms. Draco decided that he loved holding Harry. He knew he couldn't ever get enough of this closeness.
Many minutes later, they were nearing the Fat Lady portrait and Hermione rushed ahead to give the password. By the time Draco and Pansy caught up, the portrait was open.
"Well this is cozy." Draco spat, mostly upset because he knew he would be losing Harry from his arms in a matter of minutes.
"Go up those stairs there." Hermione pointed. Then she showed him which room Harry slept in and pointed out his bed.
Draco walked over to the bed to set Harry down. Pansy threw the bed covers aside and then pulled Hermione from the room so Draco could have privacy. Hermione just thought she wanted more alone time to fool around.
Lowering Harry down gently onto the bed, Draco pulled off Harry's sweat drenched shirt and set it aside. He couldn't help himself, he had to touch the necklace shining on Harry's chest. His fingers touched the tanned body with feather-like caresses. But he forced himself to stop because he would never want Harry to think he had taken advantage of him.
Pulling the covers up to his chin, he leaned over and placed a sweet kiss on Harry's cheek. Harry leaned towards the pressure and reached one arm up and pulled Draco down.
"Trust me," Draco said softly while leaning back. "I'd rather stay here with you than anywhere else in the world. But, you won't like this decision tomorrow, I'm sure. In two more weeks we'll meet. Hopefully then you will be as accepting to me as you are now."
Draco then leaned over and kissed his other cheek. "Goodnight, my love." He said as he stood back up and walked out of the room, turning around to take one last glance at the beautiful raven-haired boy sleeping peacefully.
-end of chapter-
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Authors Note One: Tarantallegra spell: The Tarantella is a fast Italian dance. Causes the victim's legs to dance uncontrollably. (Harry wrote that he was going to dance so much at the party, people would think someone placed him under 'Tarantallegra'.)
PS. I am going camping tonight, which is why I posted this chapter today instead of tomorrow. Hopefully there will be a boy pile in my tent! Oh and I leave for Lumos 2006 in about 5 days – so I won't be posting much until I return home in August.
