~ Chapter 7: And One to Go ~

By the time the party ended, it was well after midnight, so the eighth-years decided to camp out right where they were for the night. McGonagall had given them a lot of freedom so far, and no one wanted to test her by getting caught stumbling drunkenly back to their dorms in the middle of the night.

Once they'd made up their minds, the Room responded by conjuring up doors leading to various-sized bedrooms and several large, comfy couches right there in the main room for the drunker ones to pass out on. Ron pointedly looked the other way when Harry and Draco chose a cozy little room with one large bed for themselves.

The next morning, Harry could tell Ron was deliberately avoiding his eyes, and after that night's (and that morning's) bedroom activities, this suited Harry just fine.

Hermione, of course, could be counted on to greet them loudly when they returned to Gryffindor Tower, but Draco had brought a bottle of hangover potion with him, which they'd both taken the moment they'd woken up. Ron, on the other hand, winced, grabbed his head, and stumbled up to their dorm, and Hermione, looking satisfied, left them alone after that.

After the party, the rest of the weekend was subdued and uneventful, with most of the eighth-years hungover all Saturday and Madam Pomfrey refusing to hand out hangover potion. Harry used the time to catch up on his homework, and his friends joined him. Nobody said much, although from time to time, he noticed Ron watching him in silent contemplation. Harry hoped that meant he was trying to accept the idea of him dating Draco.

At one point, Ginny came strolling in through the portrait hole and was immediately surrounded by gossipy seventh-year girls. Harry heard someone ask, "Where've you been?" and lots of giggling as she crossed the room to the girls' dorms, giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder as she passed by. After she'd left, Harry saw Hermione open and close her mouth several times before apparently deciding to keep her comments to herself.

Harry was rather relieved when Monday came around again. Classes would be a welcome distraction from his friends' awkwardness.

The morning went by quickly, and Harry hadn't even given much thought to trying to convince Hermione he was dating Draco. He'd pretty much given up on account of her stubbornness. The trio arrived at Defense Against the Dark Arts promptly after lunch to find the room set up for some kind of defensive practice.

"Today, we're going to be working on a highly advanced form of Defense," Professor Smith, a retired Auror and their most recent Defense professor, greeted them. "I'll be demonstrating the Patronus Charm. I understand some of you are already familiar with Patronuses?" She glanced around the room, and a handful of students nodded.

"Excellent," said Professor Smith. "But for those of you who haven't learned the Patronus charm, don't get too discouraged if you can't cast one right away. As I've said, the Patronus is an advanced charm that many adult wizards haven't mastered." She went on to explain the theory behind the charm, and then separated the class into small groups, making sure that each group contained at least one student who could perform the spell to assist the others.

Harry found himself in a group with Draco and Megan Jones, a Hufflepuff girl he didn't know very well. He wasn't terribly surprised to see Hermione's group set up close to his own, or his friend shooting distrustful looks at Draco from time to time.

"That was good," Harry said as Megan managed to produce a wisp of silvery mist. "Why don't you try it, Draco?"

Draco raised his wand, and Harry saw Hermione tense out of the corner of his eye. With a weary sigh, Harry turned so he could no longer see her and focused on Draco.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry watched in amazement as silvery mist burst from Draco's wand. It wasn't quite corporeal, but Harry could see that it was close to taking shape — something long and lean, fluttering sinuously around their heads. A snake, perhaps?

"That was great!" he exclaimed, beaming with pride. "You've been working on it, haven't you?"

"I might have attempted it once or twice," Draco said offhandedly, which Harry took to mean he'd spent a considerable amount of time trying to perfect it. "But I still haven't quite managed a corporeal Patronus."

Harry squeezed his arm. "I know you don't have a lot of happy memories," he said quietly. "But that was really close. You'll get it any day now."

Draco raised his head to meet Harry's eyes. "Well, I have a lot more happy memories now since term started," he said, and Harry started to lean in, forgetting he was in the middle of class.

Behind him, someone cleared their throat loudly, and Harry spun around, startled. "Why don't you cast it, so we can see what it looks like?" Megan asked, clearly trying not to smile.

Harry felt his cheeks heat up, and beside him, Draco was laughing openly. "All right." He raised his wand.

Harry honestly didn't know what to expect when he cast his Patronus, and he was pleasantly surprised when the silvery-white dragon erupted from the tip of his wand and flew gracefully about the room. Behind him, he heard a stunned gasp, and it took every ounce of willpower not to turn around to gauge his friends' reactions.

"Oh, no," Hermione moaned. "It's even worse than we thought. He actually believes he's in love with Malfoy."

Harry clenched his fists, but then Ron spoke up. "Maybe — maybe he actually is in love with Malfoy."

Draco lay a hand on Harry's and turned to face Ron and Hermione. To Harry's surprise, Draco gave his friends a tentative smile. To his even greater surprise, when Harry glanced over, he saw Ron return it.

"What did she mean by that, Harry?" Draco murmured in his ear. "Did — did your Patronus change?"

Harry could tell by Draco's hopeful expression that he knew what that meant. All he could do was nod. But he still wasn't quite prepared when, a moment later, Draco gave him a dazzling smile and raised his wand to cast again.

This time, Draco's Patronus did take shape — a long, silvery dragon exactly like the one Harry had conjured burst from his wand and playfully chased Harry's around the room.

"Well, shit," Harry heard Hermione say in resignation, and he, Ron, and Draco all gaped at her. "I think you may actually be right for once."

"Well done, Mr. Malfoy!" said Professor Smith, approaching their groups. "You've obviously put a lot of effort into your Patronus." She smiled at the two dragons, and Draco ducked his head modestly.

Harry let his Patronus fade as the professor moved on to another group, and focused on helping Megan as his friends settled down and returned to their own groups. Beside him, Draco was casting and recasting his own Patronus with clear delight, and this time, when Hermione glanced over at him, it was with a faint smile. Harry caught her eye, and her smile broadened. She gave him a nod, and Harry felt as though a great weight had just been lifted. Somehow, he'd gotten his friends to accept his relationship with Draco. And if he could manage that, he thought, then their future suddenly felt full of wonderful possibilities.

Thanks for reading and/or reviewing!