So, hi again. I'm sorry that this has taken so long. But the Easter holidays are now upon me, and so I fully intend to write more and hopefully finish this story! Thank you so much for sticking with it, if you've been here from the start. And thank you for reading if you're new! Anyway, even though I'm a terrible person for not updating for months, I would still love to hear from you! A review can be the equivalent of giving me an Easter egg, except you don't have to buy me anything. Reviewing is free. Who doesn't love free stuff?!
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Harry woke up with a throbbing headache. He moaned and shoved his head into his pillow as the blinding morning sun shone into the dormitory. Blaise, noticing his discomfort, and still not haven forgiven him for the Quidditch incident, pulled the curtains apart even further.
"Blaise," Harry grunted.
"It's time to get up now," Blaise replied. Harry cast a charm to see what the time was. 8am.
"I feel like I've been hit in the head by a Bludger," Harry said, sitting up and rubbing his temples, "Twice."
"Hangover Potion will cure that," Blaise said, producing a small bottle from his pocket and shaking it teasingly.
Harry's eyes turned large and pleading. "Please."
Blaise smirked. "You wouldn't have lasted a moment in Slytherin. Begging first instead of coming up with a plan to get the potion yourself-"
"Expelliarmus!" Harry interrupted.
Harry caught the bottle with the unerring skill of a Seeker as it sailed towards him. The incensed look on Blaise's face was worth enduring a headache for a week. But seeing as he didn't have to, he uncorked the bottle, sniffed it first to make sure it was indeed Hangover Potion, and took a swig.
"I hate you," Blaise seethed.
Harry sighed with relief as the pain in his head subsided. He instantly felt better. He got out of bed and saw that he was still fully dressed from yesterday's trip to Hogsmeade.
"How did I get here?" Harry asked.
Blaise rolled his eyes. "Really? You're eighteen years old and no-one's told you about the birds and the bees? Allow me to enlighten you, when a witch and wizard love each other very much-"
"Yes, thank you, Blaise. That's not what I meant. And also, not just witches and wizards, may I remind you."
"Oh, Harry. I know you may prefer wizards over witches, but surely you know breeding by two males is biologically impossible?"
Harry glared at him. "Yes, I know that, Blaise. I was actually referring to Muggles."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Anyway, you've made me go off topic. I meant how did I get here, as in back to the dormitories and still wearing my clothes from yesterday?"
"Well, you didn't expect Ron and Hermione to change your clothes for you, did you? Especially not in that body."
"Why were Ron and Hermione here?"
"Merlin, you're slow. You got drunk, and they, like the noble Gryffindors they are, brought you back here."
"Why did I feel the need to get so wasted? That's not like me. Honestly, how bad was the trip to Hogsmeade?" Harry laughed.
Blaise's eyes widened. "You mean, you don't remember?"
"I remember going to Hogsmeade."
"Yeah, but what was the last thing you remember?"
Harry furrowed his brow in thought. "I remember sitting in the Hog's Head with everyone."
"Nothing after that?"
"I think I went somewhere with Draco afterwards, but I could just be making that up."
"No, you did go off somewhere. But nothing after that?"
Harry shook his head. Blaise swore and hit his head against a bed post.
"What? What's wrong?" Harry demanded.
At this moment, Pansy burst into the dormitory.
"You're awake," she smiled, crossing the room to Harry. "How are you feeling?"
She seemed altogether too comforting and Harry couldn't put his finger on what was happening.
"I'm alright. Blaise gave me some Hangover Potion."
Pansy looked at him, confused. "Anyway, have you forgiven that idiot ginger yet?"
"For what? Oh, was he the one who got me drunk? It's fine, I've been drunk before."
Pansy still looked baffled.
"Anyway, I'm going to go and find Ron and Hermione. Blaise told me that they brought me here last night, so maybe they can give me some answers."
Harry smiled at the two Slytherins, who both looked at him incredulously, before leaving for the Great Hall.
Pansy turned to Blaise. "What's up with him?"
"The benefits found at the bottom of a Firewhiskey bottle. Memory loss."
"So, he doesn't remember what happened yesterday?"
"The last thing he remembers is going off to talk to Draco."
"So, he doesn't remember Weasley spilling the beans?"
"Nope."
"And now he's going down to face Draco, not knowing that he now knows about his crush?"
"Yep."
Pansy gave him a meaningful look.
"Shit."
...
Harry saw Ron and Hermione already sitting with Ginny at the Gryffindor table. He made his way over there.
"Morning," he said, smiling and sitting down next to Ginny.
"Harry, what are you doing here?" Ginny asked, quietly.
"I came to talk to Ron and Hermione," he replied.
"Harry, can we talk later? Draco will be down here in a couple of minutes and I really don't think it would a good idea for you two to be near each other for a while," Hermione said apologetically.
"Why? We're not going to start a fight in the middle of the Great Hall. We're almost friends now."
"I didn't mean that, Harry, I know that you've both matured, I just meant that after yesterday it might not be the best thing," Hermione replied.
"Again, I'm so sorry about that, mate," said Ron, clapping him on the shoulder.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Blaise and Pansy mentioned it earlier, what did happen yesterday? I woke up this morning with a horrible headache and no memories of yesterday night."
Ron and Hermione exchanged alarmed looks.
"No memories?"
"Nothing past leaving to speak to Draco."
"Oh, dear," Ginny muttered.
"What?" Harry demanded, starting to get frustrated with all of his friends. They were all being annoyingly cryptic and giving him pitying looks. "What terrible thing happened to me yesterday?"
Nobody said anything. Harry slammed his fist on the table.
"Say something! What aren't you telling me? What god-awful thing happened last night that was so bad I got so drunk I can't remember the thing in the first place? Why does everyone keep looking at me pityingly and why did Ron apologise to me?"
He heard Hermione's breath catch as she looked up to see who was standing behind Harry. Harry turned around.
"Morning, Draco," he said, breezily, "I'll give you my seat in a moment, I just need to talk to Ron and Hermione."
He turned back to the two in question. "Well? Are you going to tell me what happened or not?"
Neither of them seemed to show any signs of speaking. They were eyeing Draco with concern.
"Potter."
"Yeah? Do you know what happened last night? No-one else will tell me."
"I think that you should go."
"What? What do you mean?"
"I mean that you should go and sit at the Slytherin table."
"But, I still don't know what happened yesterday. Why will nobody bloody tell me?"
Draco smiled without humour. "Oh, Potter," he said, "I think you know exactly why nobody will tell you. It's not a nice feeling, is it? Everyone else but you knowing something. It's even worse when you eventually find out."
"Draco," Hermione warned.
"Just think about what I just said, Potter. You'll figure it out."
Harry stood up and got out of his seat. "You too? Why won't anyone just be straight with me?"
"You want me to be straight with you, Potter? I would have thought that that was the last thing you'd want."
Hermione threw a piece of toast at Draco. He deftly caught it and took a bite.
"I'll be taking that seat now, Potter."
Harry moved away and allowed Draco to take his place. His mind was whirring. Was that a kind of clue? Draco obviously seemed to know something. That's when it hit him.
Draco. Knew. Something. Harry had a pretty good idea what that something was. He felt his mouth drop open. Ron apologising. Everyone being pitying. Draco making comments on Harry not wanting to be straight. Oh, dear Merlin.
"And the Knut drops," Draco remarked, laughing bitterly.
"Draco!" Pansy's voice echoed towards them as she rushed into the hall with Blaise. She hurried over to the Gryffindor table and grabbed onto Harry, who seemed to have completely frozen from shock. Blaise looked at him and then at Draco.
"What did you do to him?" he accused.
"Nothing. I just helped him to a realisation, is all."
"You're an arse," Pansy said.
"Indeed."
Pansy took hold of Harry's arm and steered him towards the Slytherin table. Blaise followed, Harry looked so forlorn that all animosity he bore towards the boy had vanished. Being mean to him would be like kicking a Crup after it had been sat on by Hagrid.
"Are you alright, Harry?" Pansy cooed, rubbing his back.
"I think, tell me if I'm wrong, that Ron told Draco that I like him yesterday? And I drank a lot to forget about it?"
"Nearly correct," said Blaise, "Ginny accidentally told Ron, who's fine with it, think you should know that, and then he stormed up to you and Draco and demanded to know why you didn't tell him that you were in love with Draco. Draco then freaked out, and ran off, I found him and talked him down from the ledge, by the way. You're welcome. Then Ron suggested you took the edge of your shock by drinking, which turned into you getting very sloshed. According to the others, you're a bit of a sexual deviant drunk."
"What?"
"Oh, don't worry, you didn't jump anybody. You just seemed to enjoy being in Draco's body."
"What?"
"Blaise, you're making this sound far worse than it is. Harry, you pretty much just kept insisting how sexy you were, posing and at one point I think you may have tried to snog your own reflection. You may have just smashed into the glass of Madam Puddifoot's tea shop because you were drunk."
"Were there people in there?" Harry's eyes were wide as plates and he looked as though someone had told him that he'd been prancing naked down Diagon Alley.
"Only a few couples. It was quite late, so they probably just thought you were some drunken fool taking the piss out of them, so I shouldn't worry."
Harry still looked rather green.
"Blaise, when you spoke to Draco, what did he say?"
"I cannot divulge information told to me in confidence."
"Blaise!" Pansy snapped. "Reassure the poor boy! You had no problem divulging the information to me!"
"Fine," Blaise sighed. "Harry, don't worry. Draco certainly doesn't hate you, if that's what concerns you. He was shocked, sure. He had no idea you had feelings for him. I suggest that when you're back in your own body that you talk to him about how he feels."
"Does he, y'know, feel the same?"
Blaise exhaled. "I honestly don't know what goes through that boy's head. But, I think, that he's always had feelings for you. Strong feelings at that. Hate to start with. But now, I think that something has changed. He'll probably still be confused for a while. He's never been in a relationship before, but don't tell him I told you that, so he'd need time to adjust to the idea. But, I think that in the long run, you stand a good chance."
Harry's grin could have lit up the London skyline.
Question time again! Wow, the last one was Christmas related, it really has been a long time! Sorry...but anyway, I would like Harry and Draco to meet under the mistletoe. I wouldn't inflict myself upon either one of them. I'd just hide in the corner and watch. (maybe with a camera. Gasp, who said that?)
The next question is...
Are you a Starkid? Have you seen A Very Potter Musical and it's sequels?
If the answer is no, go and remedy that immediately. YouTube. Go. Now.
If the answer is yes, what the hell is a Hufflepuff? Leave me a quote as a review!