Draco's Problem

There he is, walking down the corridor. I sneer at him; he glares back. His hair is all tossed around after flying and it looks great. His bright eyes are shining behind his glasses where I can still get lost in their greenness. He's hanging around with the Weasel and that frizzy-haired Mudblood.

Why didn't he just take my hand on the Hogwarts Express five years ago? Then maybe we could be best friends, or maybe...more.

Draco's stomach did flips at the thought, but then he stopped his daydreaming. He would never look at me anyway because we're enemies now. And what would Father say if he knew my feelings? He'd probably disown me and it would be for nothing because Harry James Potter would never love me, Draco Malfoy. He sighed miserably at that fact. Why should he? After all, I've treated him like crap ever since he refused my friendship.

At first I treated him badly because I was jealous of Weasel being his friend, but now I act this way to hide my feelings for him. He would be disgusted at the thought of me feeling this way for him. Not to mention that I would be the laughingstock of the school because no one would be able to imagine Harry and me together. Again, Draco imagined how it would be if everyone knew and cringed at what he imagined Harry's face would look like if he found out how he felt about him. Draco's heart felt heavy as he went to his common room quickly before lunch. He passed the notice board and saw something that looked like a sign for a masquerade ball for New Year's Eve next week. Draco quickly stashed his books away and went off towards the Great Hall thinking about Harry again. It's not like I've always loved him. It was just recently that I started to push Pansy away and found myself staring at him all the time. I have to stop myself thinking about him. It's not good for me to dwell on things. I'm a Malfoy anyway and should be thinking of purebloods. I suppose I wouldn't be so crazy about him if I knew that I had absolutely no chance of being with him. I had no chance at all until I heard a rumor that our famous Harry Potter fancied guys as well as girls. Now I have no idea what to do.

Draco walked into the Great Hall, sat in his usual place between Crabbe and Goyle without thinking about it, and made sure had a plain view of Harry. As he was staring at the back of Harry's head wishing he could touch his hair and be able to hold him close he was struck with an idea. Of course! The masquerade ball on New Year's Eve! Maybe if he gets to know me without knowing who I am he'll overlook the fact that I'm a Malfoy. Maybe, just maybe, this is my chance to get Harry to love, or at least like, me. Draco's heart leapt and he was in a good mood for the rest of the day. He picked out his best dress robes for next week's New Year's Masquerade but he was having some trouble on deciding what to put on his mask. Finally he decided to make it a two-faced mask and have one side pitch black for what people saw on the outside and one side pure white for his true character. He thought it would go great with his black dress robes and he waited anxiously for the week to pass.

* * *

Draco entered the Great Hall, which had been cleared of the long tables and had smaller tables set up like at the Yule Ball in his fourth year. He came with Pansy but shook her off as soon as they entered and he slipped on his mask to search for Harry. Where is he? I know he was coming because I heard him talking about it to his friend Weasel - or maybe I should call him Ron and be nicer since he is Harry's friend. There he is! He looks amazing in those green robes that match his eyes perfectly. His mask has a snitch with a lightning bolt in it. He's beautiful. Should I go over to him now or wait. Maybe I'll just wait for some music to come on. Damn! That music came on too soon. Oh well, here goes nothing.

"Er...wouldyouliketodancewithme?" Draco asked quickly.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Draco slowly inhaled and then exhaled and said more slowly, "Would you like to dance with me?"

"Sure, why not, it looks fun enough."

Draco positively beamed at those words and melted when Harry returned the smile as he led him out onto the floor. Draco put his arm around Harry's waist and drew him close while Harry put his hand on Draco's shoulder and let him lead. Oh...my...god. Am I really dancing with him? This is too good to be true. I hope this night never ends. He's smiling and laughing as we dance. We start talking about different teachers and badger Snape a lot. This is so much fun. It's getting nearer to 12:00. I know what's going to happen too. The lights will be turned off and everyone kisses the person closest to them and afterwards removes their masks. That's the one part I'm not too excited about. Not the snogging part because I'm all for that, it's the removing of the masks that I think will ruin the entire night.

"Can I see you after tonight?" Harry asks and it looks as though he really means it.

"Do you want to see me after tonight?" Draco asks back.

"Of course, I've had so much fun and I really like you. What about you?" Harry asks anxiously.

"This has been the best night of my life; I've liked you for a long time."

"So, you know who I am?"

"Well, the lightning bolt is a dead giveaway but it's your eyes that I recognize the most."

"Oh, I guess you're right."

Draco smiles at the sheepish look Harry adopted as he blushes behind his mask. He is so damn sexy when he goes bashful like that. I hope he really means it when he says he wants to see me again. And he said he liked me. I'm sure it can grow to love if given the chance. But will Harry give it a chance? I sure as hell hope so because I don't know if I can live with myself knowing that if I had treated him better we would've had a better chance because he really does like me. No...I wish that clock would rewind a little. It can't be 11:59 already.

"Are you ready to count down?" Harry asks Draco cheerfully.

"I g-guess so," Draco says rather nervously.

"Ten...nine...eight..." everyone started yelling.

"Seven...six...five..." Harry screams out excitedly.

"Four...three...two..." whispers Draco hopelessly.

At "ONE!" the lights went off and Harry grabbed Draco and started kissing him passionately. When the lights turned on Harry had his mask off and was smiling with his hair all helter-skelter from his mask. Draco smiles timidly back as he braces himself for Harry's reaction. Here it goes... Harry, I had a nice time and I hope you remember me when you didn't know who I am. Harry reached over to Draco's mask slowly and pulled it off. When he saw Draco he had a sort of stunned look on his face. Here comes the explosion. I'll just walk out quietly.

"I guess I'll just go, then," Draco said in resignation. Harry stopped him by putting his hand out to Draco's arm with his wicked fast Seeker reflexes.

"Where do you think you're going?" Harry asked, smiling.

"Well, you could never like me because I'm a Malfoy, could you?"

For an answer Harry pulls Draco up to him and kisses him again. I think I like this in-control Harry. And Draco and Harry continued snogging each other on the dance floor while their friends and everyone else stared in confusion. Harry and Draco didn't care that everyone was staring at them. They didn't care about Pansy Parkinson's squeals of disgust and jealousy. They didn't even care about the disapproving looks coming from the teachers. All they cared about was that they were happy with who the other was - although they probably didn't care about all those things because they simply didn't notice, they were so wrapped up in each other that nothing else mattered.