This was supposed to be up hours ago as a Christmas Special, so I'll be posting the next, and final, chapter directly after.
Shout out to my Betas, Amber1015 and ShadowHeart175!
The characters and universe in this work are property of J.K Rowling.
Finally alone with his thoughts for longer than five minutes, Draco was able to mull over McGonagall's announcement at dinner the night before. In light of the tension that had been surrounding the students, she had put plans into motion for a Christmas Ball, not so dissimilar from the Yule Ball, in order to take their minds off of their worries and promote house unity. If it weren't for the required attendance, Draco wasn't quite sure whether or not he'd go. He'd let his guard slip too far at the last party he had attended, and he would not make the same mistake twice. Finding a date didn't worry him; he knew Gregory would go as his friend.
It was a cold day, Draco sitting close to the fire with a blanket draped over his lap and a book he had not opened yet in his hands when Gregory sat down on the couch next to him, breaking Draco from his thoughts. They exchanged awkward smiles and little nods before Draco opened the book and hid his face behind it. Things had been weird with Gregory ever since Madam Pomfrey had interrupted what he was trying to say that night, and they hadn't revisited the topic since. The charged silence stretched on for what felt like centuries before Gregory cleared his throat.
"So, uh, are you going to the Christmas ball?"
Draco gave a sudden laugh as he pulled the book down to look at him.
"Of course. We have to, remember?"
"Right," Gregory answered quickly, nodding to himself and avoiding meeting Draco's eyes. "Somehow the ball being required makes it seem less fun."
"Maybe we could sneak something in?" Draco suggested, a mischievous grin tugging at his lips. "Not to spike the punch, of course. It'd be just for us. We can stand on the edge this time and watch our friends make fools of themselves."
"Yeah," Gregory chuckled. "We can sneak in some Puking Pastilles or Fever Fudge and leave early."
"I was thinking more along the lines of Firewhisky, but we could save that for after we ditch the ball, eh?" Draco asked as he stretched and looked toward the clock. "Oh, it's nearly twelve thirty. Are you hungry?"
"Lunch sounds good," Gregory answered, pushing himself up to his feet and offering Draco a hand.
Draco took the offered assistance, after a moment of hesitation, but endeavoured to hide the awkward moment in a search for his shoes.
…
Coming out of lunch, Draco and Gregory were surprised to find a great number of students screaming and barrelling towards the doors. Draco's wand was out before he could realize they were screams of excitement coming from too many bundled up first years, and the two followed the crowd warily. Stepping out of the front doors, Draco was surprised to see a fresh blanket of snow had fallen whilst they were eating. Hufflepuffs were making snowmen, Ravenclaws designing igloos out of perfectly made blocks of snow. Draco spotted Harry and his friends further out on the lawn and called for Gregory to follow him as he walked a little faster to meet them. Harry was the first to see them coming, a grin splitting his face. Draco waved as they came to a stop and fished his gloves out of his pocket.
"Is that all you've got?" Harry scolded him and unwound the scarlet and gold scarf from his neck before wrapping it around Draco's. "You'll catch your death out in this cold."
"Oh, sure, thanks mum," Draco scoffed with a dramatic eye roll. "What are you guys doing out here?"
"We're having a good old-fashioned snowball fight, you know, to promote house unity," Harry answered with a wink. "No wands, no magic; just hands, and snow, and using your brute strength to cow others into submission. Every man for himself!" Harry cried, and stuffed a handful of snow down Weasley's jumper before darting out of reach.
Weasley swore loudly and hopped and flailed about, trying desperately to get the snow out of his jumper before he took off after Harry. The lawn descended into chaos, snowballs flying in each and every direction. Siblings turned on each other, lovers were betrayed as they were caught on either side of this "war", and people were shoving their friends' faces into the snow with unadulterated joy. Draco saw Gregory in a standoff against Lovegood and was moving to help him when he noticed Harry running directly at him. It was too late to dive out of the way as Harry tackled him right into the icy snow, and Draco hit the ground with an audible oof.
Harry was laughing, his legs straddling Draco's waist, and his hands burying Draco's shoulders into the snow. Draco stopped struggling after a moment, feigning surrender, so when Harry lingered in the space above him, looking rather distracted by something on Draco's chin, Draco grabbed a handful of snow and shoved it into his face with reckless abandon. He managed to push Harry off himself moments later and re-entered the fray with a vengeance.
Twenty minutes later, and they were all too wet to be out in the cold any longer. Draco had caught up to a quiet Gregory and was entering the castle when he heard Harry calling after him.
"Draco, wait!"
Turning to look at him, Draco watched as Harry broke away from Hermione and ran to keep pace with them. He lingered there with Gregory until Harry had fallen in stride, all three of them heading inside to warm up.
"I was actually wondering if I could talk to you for a moment?" Harry asked, and Draco thought he looked nervous.
"Sure, mate. What's wrong?"
"Alone, I mean?" Harry added, glancing toward Gregory with what looked like an apologetic smile.
"I need to go to the library anyway," Gregory muttered, and broke away from them before Draco could say anything. "See you around."
"Bye!" Draco called after him before turning back to Harry and stepping out of the way of the hall traffic. "What's the matter, then?"
"It's actually about the ball at the end of the week. Would you want to go with me?" Harry asked, and Draco gave a little laugh.
"What, the Chosen One can't find a girl to take?" Draco teased, nudging him with his elbow.
Harry laughed with him and rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'm not really looking for a girlfriend right now, you know?"
Draco gave him a small smile and nodded, seeing no problem with allowing Harry into his and Gregory's plans. After all, with Hermione and Weasley going together, third wheeling wouldn't be much fun at all.
"Sure, mate. I'll go with you."
"Excellent," Harry answered with a grin, and rushed off to catch up with Weasley. "It's a date!" he called back, flashing Draco one more grin before disappearing around the corner.
Turning back to meet Gregory at the library, Draco caught a snippet of the conversation Pansy was having with Daphne Greengrass.
"And so, I think Gregory Goyle and I are dating now!" she giggled, rounding the corner before Draco fully registered what he'd heard.
As it sank in, Draco was surprised by the overwhelming surge of jealousy that wracked through him. It was like some animal was fighting to claw its way up his throat and out his mouth, and Draco struggled to swallow it back down before it consumed him entirely.
"Draco, are you alright? You look like you're going to be sick."
Draco looked up to find Hermione staring back at him, concern written across her face.
"I think so," Draco groaned back, leaning against the wall for support. "Forget about it, I'm just being dramatic," he elaborated, pressing his palms to his eyes. "I'll be fine."
"You don't look like you're going to be fine," Hermione answered, looking around the crowd of students as it began to thin out. "Where's Gregory?"
Another wave of jealousy was accompanied by nausea at the thought of Gregory and the mere concept of him dating Pansy—Pansy, of all people! Never mind that she and Draco had made up, it was just all so wrong.
"The library, I think? He left because Harry wanted to talk to me privately."
"Oh, did Harry finally ask you to the ball?" Hermione asked, her tone lifting. "Took him long enough. He'd been talking about asking you all week. Ron owes me five sickles. We had a bet going on whether or not he'd actually ask you."
"It shouldn't have been such a big deal," Draco answered, confused. "Of course I would have said yes."
"Alright, then what is it that has you so upset?" she asked.
"I can't explain it myself," he replied, rubbing violently at his temples. "I was completely fine one second, and then I overheard Pansy saying that she and Gregory were dating, and all of a sudden it felt like something was trying to rip itself from my body."
Draco knew in the back of his mind why this hurt so badly, but he was too afraid of what it would mean if he said it out loud. Saying it made it real.
"Pansy Parkinson?" Hermione asked, scorn evident in her tone. "No offense, but I don't think Gregory would date Pansy. Not to mention, are you actually going to believe that just because she said it? You know as well as I do that Pansy is a horrible gossip. I'd bet she's just trying to stir up some sort of drama."
"You really think so?" Draco answered, incredulous. "What a stupid thing to lie about. If it isn't true, she has no right to play with people's feelings like that. For a split second, I thought I was going to throw a punch right there in the corridor. Merlin, that makes me a terrible person."
"No, it doesn't!" Hermione laughed, shaking her head. "But, you know, I think there's one simple way to find out whether or not she's lying."
"What's that?"
"Ask Gregory!" she replied, as if it were obvious. "He's not trying to make you angry or jealous, and he wouldn't lie to you. He's your best friend, Draco."
"You know why I can't do that," Draco whispered miserably.
It would all be too grotesquely obvious. There was no way Draco could just ask Gregory if he had some secret girlfriend he was keeping from Draco without sounding crazy.
"You could be casual about it," Hermione said, and reached out to grab his hand. "Just say you heard Pansy mention it, and were curious—or, if it would make you feel better, I could ask him."
In that moment, Draco was struck by just how much he had come to love and appreciate Hermione. Bold, brave, compassionate, and understanding, she had become one of his closest friends in just a few short months.
"Would you?" Draco asked hopefully. "It would mean very much to me."
"Of course, Draco, but you owe me now," she grinned, keeping hold of his hand as they retreated to the common room.
…
Gregory was avoiding him. Draco hadn't been able to pin him down for longer than five minutes at a time before Gregory was making some excuse, or Pansy was whisking him off to discuss details about the dance. Even though Hermione had been able to debunk Pansy's statement that they were dating, Draco's heart fell to his feet when she informed him that they were indeed attending the dance together. Jealousy ate away at his core, and despite their newly reconnected friendship, it was all Draco could do to keep himself from duelling her in the middle of the common room. And this distance from Gregory was driving him mad with insecurity, so Draco constantly felt moments away from locking Gregory in their dorm room and forcing him to tell Draco what he had done to deserve this silent treatment.
But where Gregory had been distant, Harry was practically attached to Draco's hip. He was constantly touching him—laying his arm around Draco's shoulders, casually touching the small of Draco's back if he was trying to scoot past him, or grabbing hold of Draco's hand as they walked and spinning him around. They were weird changes, but Draco had seen Harry do all of those and more to Hermione, so he laughed them off and thought little of them. They did, however, make him miss Gregory even more, and often brought his attention back to the fact that his friend was quite obviously avoiding him on purpose.
When the night of the ball arrived, Draco was miserable. He hadn't seen Gregory at all in the two days preceding it, and he constantly felt sick with longing. It was ridiculous to feel this jealous, he knew. It wasn't like Gregory had any obligation to him, nor did Draco have any claim over the boy. Draco put on a smile for Harry anyway as he joined him in the common room, draped in his dress robes. He let Harry take his arm, Hermione giving Draco a sad smile, and followed his friends down to the Great Hall.
Entering the vast room, it was not the elegant decorations or band that caught Draco's eye. It was Gregory, looking more handsome in his dress robes than Draco had ever thought possible. He subconsciously took a step toward him, only to freeze in place as he watched Gregory spin Pansy into his arms. It was as if someone had thrown Draco into the lake, icy water flooding into his lungs and making it impossible to breathe at the sight. He didn't have long to dwell on his heartbreak as Harry pulled him out onto the floor and began dancing with him.
Draco tried to forget his pain as Harry pulled and turned him around and found that after the second or third song, he was actually beginning to enjoy himself. Another song later, and he was laughing at Harry's ridiculous dance moves, a grin pulling at the corner of his lips. Draco was jumping around and nodding his head to the beat when Harry grabbed his hand again and spun Draco in to face him. Draco was smiling at him, about to tease Harry about his stupid dancing, when Harry leaned across the small space between them and captured Draco's lips in a kiss. Blindsided, Draco's eyes grew wide as he stumbled back away from him.
"Harry, mate, no," Draco said in a rush, wracking his brain for any reason Harry would have had to do that.
"Oh, Merlin, Draco—" Harry stammered, his face scarlet from chin to scar. "I—I'm sorry, I thought…" He let the sentence hang, clearly embarrassed.
Draco's heart twisted with pity as he shook his head.
"Harry, you're one of my best mates, and I love you for that," he said apologetically. "But that's all we can be. I'm sorry—" Draco broke off, scanning the crowd for Gregory.
He thought he caught sight of him pushing his way through the people at the door, and Draco tossed a sad smile toward Harry before he took off to follow Gregory. Draco was almost to the door before someone stumbled into him, and as Draco turned to look at them, his eyes narrowed as they found Pansy.
"Why, hello, Draco dear. How was your snog with the Chosen One?"
Draco rolled his eyes and moved to brush past her, but she kept pace with him.
"I'd hardly call that a snog, Pansy. Did you see which way Gregory went? I need to find him."
"You know, I don't think Greg really wants to see you right now," Pansy answered with a sympathetic smile.
"Why not? Do you know why he's been avoiding me?" Draco asked.
"You truly are clueless, Draco Malfoy," she said, shaking her head.
"Pansy, please, I don't have time for this!" Draco shouted, frustration colouring his tone. "Can you tell me where he's going or not?"
"I can try and help you if you want?" She offered. "Where's somewhere he goes a lot?"
As if someone had lifted the veil from Draco's eyes, he knew where Gregory would be headed.
"No, that's fine," Draco answered quickly, and tossed her a slight smile. "You should get back in there. I saw Michael Corner eyeing you a while ago."
"Oh, please, Draco. You know I'm not interested in anyone here. I only asked Gregory to help you realize how badly you cared for him, and I would say I had great success in that." She paused a moment before continuing more hesitantly. "Do you want to know what he said when I asked him to come with me?"
"What?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, Greg seemed to be under the impression you two were going together, but I had just seen you accept Harry's offer to go with him and politely informed Greg about it. After that, he wasn't too thrilled, but he agreed to go with me."
"What the hell, Pansy?" Draco cried, stepping away from her. "I thought Harry only wanted to join us, I didn't realize it was a date! I was furious when I heard you asked him!"
"That was the point, my love," she answered with a twist of her lips. "Now, there's a dance floor calling my name, so unless you need any more of my sage wisdom...?"
"No, you've done enough," Draco said, shaking his head. "I'm going to find Gregory."
"Go get him, Draco!" Pansy called after him, and Draco flushed at the cheers pulled from some of the students near the door.
Draco practically ran down the corridors, headed straight for the Slytherin common room. He found Gregory standing before its door, guessing passwords at random and groaning in frustration with each one he got wrong.
"Have you tried 'Salazar Slytherin's dirty pants' yet?" Draco called softly, and Gregory whipped around to face him as Draco came to stand in front of him. "Gregory," Draco said, all humour draining from his tone. "We need to talk. You've been avoiding me all week, and I wasn't even sure what I'd done to drive you away. I need you to talk to me."
"Nothing," Gregory said with a small sigh, shaking his head. "You did nothing. It's just been a weird week. Pansy kept acting like she was my girlfriend, and you seemed to be spending a lot of time with Harry. I didn't need you, and it was clear you didn't need me."
The words stung like a whip, and Draco flinched back.
"Oh, well it's good to know how you feel, I suppose. I was just worried when I saw you leave, but I'll leave you alone if that's what you want," he returned with an iciness in his voice, turning away.
"No, wait," Gregory said, grabbing Draco's hand. "Please don't go."
"Okay," Draco answered slowly, reaching out to take Gregory's free hand in his own. "I missed you," he said after a moment. "I missed you a lot."
"I missed you too. It's been a very long week. Avoiding you was particularly difficult."
"Oh, so you were avoiding me?" Draco asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Well, I wasn't trying to at first. It was more trying to avoid seeing you with Harry. Harry and his stupid longing looks, and touches," Gregory frowned then, almost as if he had not meant to say that out loud.
"That's a shame," Draco answered with a small smile despite how fast his heart seemed to be beating too fast. "You were too busy watching Harry look at me to see me looking at you."
Gregory stared at him for a moment before realization dawned on his face and he grew a sheepish smile.
"Well, you know I've always been a bit oblivious," he said quietly, as if he were afraid that speaking too loudly would ruin this moment.
"I haven't been very observant myself," Draco conceded, and Gregory gave a short laugh.
"You know, now that you and Harry have snogged, we can safely say that you won't kill anyone by kissing them."
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Draco protested, rolling his eyes. "It was barely a kiss! Only a little more than a peck—I wouldn't even really count it—"
"That's not why I brought it up," Gregory interrupted him, his eyes falling to rest on Draco's lips.
Draco froze, shock apparent on his face as his brain seemed to stop working.
"Oh," was all he could manage to say, his cheeks turning pink.
Gregory glanced up above his head before giving Draco a nudge. Once he'd followed Gregory's eyes, he was surprised to find a bundle of mistletoe had grown above the spot they stood.
"Draco?" Gregory asked, and immediately, Draco's eyes were on him once more. "May I kiss you?"
His blush did not dissipate, but Draco nodded, a reverent "Yes" tumbling from his lips. Gregory kept a hold of his hands, and Draco felt his eyelashes flutter on his cheeks as Gregory leaned in and laid his lips gently against Draco's. Draco had wondered many times how this might feel, but his imagination had done no justice to Gregory. It wasn't the rough, frustrated kiss that Draco had been expecting—the one he would have initiated when his feelings eventually reached their boiling point. It was soft, and it was gentle, and there was something about it that was so Gregory that it felt like coming home.