Authors Note: Sorry for the long delay. I ended up in the hospital with some kind of heart problem and high blood pressure. Yaaaaay… I love sarcasm. I thrive off it. Anyways, I went back and fixed the grammar and story errors in the last few chapters. And now we are back to the story. My updates are going to get slow because I am starting a new job and college semester. My free time is about to rapidly decrease.

Last Chapter Reminders

:Thoughts:

Disclaimer: I own this story but only in an alternate reality. Otherwise I'm screwed.

Warning: this contains malexmale love. No slashy goodness but if you don't like boys kissing then don't read. AU of a Cinderella sort ;) HP/DM, RL/SB implied.

To Join the Dance

But Dracos time had run out. In three days he was going to have to say goodbye to the last of his defiance and look toward a future as the husband of Pansy Parkinson.

It was a depressing thought.

Harry spent a few hours sitting with Sirius and Remus discussing plans and just relaxing but eventually the bar started to fill up and Sirius became increasingly busy so he and Remus decided to say goodbye for the night. Remus and Harry said their farewells to Sirius and each other and went their separate ways with a promise from Harry to come the next day so he could try on clothes and then visit a seamstress with Sirius to get the clothing altered.

However, despite the plans Harry was more concerned with the present. Like what Tom made have told Severus and what punishment Harry had to look forward to. More than once Harry wished he could just leave and no doubt Snape wished for that as well but he couldn't leave until he was of age or there would be problems concerning his inheritance. So Harry sighed, reminded himself that he didn't have much longer to wait, and headed back with the hope that Snape wouldn't leave scars on his back.

But what happened was something Harry could never have expected.

When he arrived back at the estate Harry immediately went to collect the laundry. Someone had taken the laundry and hung it up for Harry so it was completely dry. Harry grabbed it up sending silent gratitude to whomever had done his chore for him and folded it quickly before taking it inside. He had nearly finished putting it all away when he rounded a corner and came face-to-face with Severus Snape.

The older man looked down his hooked nose at Harry with a sneer and crossed his arms across his chest. "It would seem that you have returned from your little adventure, Potter. I trust you have a good explanation as to why you embarrassed Tom in front of a Malfoy."

Snape narrowed his eyes at Harry, his calm tone not matching his facial expression. Harry tried to think furiously of what to tell him but before he could Snape spoke up again.

"Consider yourself lucky the incident occurred around the younger Malfoy. Had you dirtied the attire of the elder Malfoy you would have acquired quite a bit more than harsh words and a bit of manual labor."

Harry stared at Snape completely dumbfounded as to what he was talking about. "Sir?"

Snape gritted his teeth. "Do not be slow, Potter! I know what happened earlier. Draco saw fit to send me a letter informing me of your blunder. Lucky for you that my nephew made the larger blunder by insulting him otherwise you would have been severely punished for displaying such a lack of grace before your betters." Snape flashed a sneer at harry before sweeping past him. Harry stared after him, gaping, and wondered what the hell had Snape been talking about.

It seemed like Snape must have gone mad because that almost sounded like Harry not only had escaped punishment but it also sounded as if Snape had been told a blatant lie! But Tom would never have done something that would make him appear in less than perfect conditions. What the hell was going on?!

Harry shook his head and closed his gaping mouth before putting away the last few items. He took the servants staircase downstairs and made it out the side door near the garden. There he spotted a familiar, but chubby, brunette.

"Neville!" Harry called out as he made a bee-line for the other boy. Neville was Remus' apprentice and stayed late to take care of the night-blooming plants. Harry hoped he would have some answers.

The round boy turned and smiled crookedly. "Hey there, Harry. I'm glad to see your back. I was worried when I got here and saw that the laundry had been abandoned."

Harry blinked down at him. "Did you hang it up?" He nodded. "Thanks Neville, I appreciate that. I would have been in a big mess if that had been left as is."

Neville just shrugged and smiled. "It was no problem. I heard you went through quite a bit today."

"I did, but…" Harry frowned slightly. "I don't suppose you overheard anything?"

Neville nodded. "An important looking man came by earlier. Said he was some manservant of a prestigious family. According to him, Tom had dragged you off somewhere to carry stuff for him including some firewhiskey that he was planning to sneak into the estate. You spilled it on someone and Tom acted like normal and had a laugh at the others expense." Neville shook his head but couldn't hide the satisfied grin. "You should have seen Snape. He was furious, and not at me this time! When Tom got back he didn't get two words in before his arse was being shoved out the door where a carriage was waiting to take him home!"

Harry couldn't believe his ears. It was almost too good to be true! Tom was gone, Snape was clueless, and he actually might be able to go to Malfoys party without having to worry too much! "Tom is gone?!"

Neville nodded, wiping his hands across his pants making them dirty. "It sounds like he isn't going to be allowed back for a while. Snape was so furious that his face was turning red."

He chuckled and Harry grinned broadly. "I wish I had seen all that Neville! I bet it was quite sight and thanks for letting me know about Tom."

Neville grinned shyly. "It was nothing Harry. I'm just glad we won't have to worry about him for a while."

Harry quickly agreed and they spent some time talking before Harry went inside to find some food. Since Snape made more experienced cooks prepare dinner, Harry was free until it was time for bed in a few hours.

Harry walked inside and made his way up several flights of stairs until he reached the ladder that led into the attic. He climbed up it and when he got inside it was a matter of balance and luck that got him to the other side of the attic where there was a special door that opened to allow someone to climb onto the room.

When Harry reached this he quickly unlatched it and crawled up and towards the highest point of the roof. The day was nearing an end and it had been one of the weirdest he had ever experienced. He had been rescued and then invited to a noblemans party after being fed the best food he had ever tasted. Then, apparently his rescuer had found time to make sure Harry wouldn't get in trouble and Tom had been forced to leave because of it. As far as Harry was concerned three days couldn't come soon enough because there was a certain blonde he desperately needed to thank.

As he sat there he did one of his favorite activities when Snape wasn't running him ragged.

He watched the sun set with a smile on his face.

Authors final Rant: As I wrote at the top, I have been going through a lot so I kind of hand to push this chapter out there because I felt bad for leaving nothing posted for so long. So this chapter didn't run very smoothly because I just wanted to get past this and on with the story.

Everything seems perfectly Roses and Daisies doesn't it? Like everything is going right for Harry. Sorry to burst your bubble but too much perfect makes me gag so in a few chapters the perfect image is going to come crashing down to reveal the nightmare. Don't give up on me yet because things are gonna get messy soon!