Don't Answer Me

"Now, as I understand it, some of you present already know how to perform the spells we are going to go over for the next few weeks, so please bear with me as I teach the others."

Professor Lyddle slid her eyes over to the group of Gryffindor students who stood in the Great Hall, watching as they feigned innocence. The Slytherins wore looks of confusion, and the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had to fight back a wave of laughter. "Besides," she added, "more practice on these blocks and counter-curses certainly can't hurt anything."

Ron leaned over to Harry while Lyddle moved around the room. "What do you think we're going to learn that we don't already know from the DA?" he whispered.

Harry shrugged. "Don't know. I'm sure we'll get in to some really advanced stuff in a couple of weeks though. I know we taught ourselves a lot last year, but we didn't do everything," he whispered back.

"Of course," Hermione hissed, "we would know by now if you two would just shut it and listen!" The two boys gave her dirty looks, but they fell silent.

"Now, I want you all to get with your project partner, and take a couple of the pillows that I've set on the floor. Send the pillow at your partner like you would cast a curse, and the person on the receiving end is going to use the shield charm to deflect the curse back at the caster."

A chorus of "Accio pillow!" filled the room as the students summoned the pillows they would practice with, then they got in to their pairs and began practicing.

"Now remember, class, the proper incantation for the shield charm is 'protego,' and you need to say it very quickly after the caster has directed their hex, in this case, the banishing charm," Professor Lyddle shouted above the noise.

***

Gregory Goyle wasn't as much of an idiot as he appeared to be; he was quick with his wand, and quick to learn the spells he was taught. Ron Weasley was much quicker though, and as Goyle cast the pillow at Ron using the banishing charm, Ron turned around.

"Protego!" he yelled, narrowly avoiding the pillow beaning him in the head. "Watch where you're aiming that thing, Goyle!"

Goyle narrowed his eyes at Ron. "The object is to learn to deflect, and I can assure you that the enemy won't wait for you to turn around before cursing you," he growled. He quickly banished another pillow at Ron, who got hit in the chest that time.

***

Pansy banished her pillow, and it aimed right for Hermione's face.

"Protego!" Hermione yelled, and then banished the pillow back in Pansy's direction, all in the same breath.

Pansy shrieked madly when the pillow hit her full in the face, smashing her in the nose. Blood dripped from her nose on to her robes, and her face turned bright red.

"I'll get you for this, mudblood," she grated out, then turned on her heel to run to the toilet to stop her nose bleed.

Parvati and Millicent Bullstrode were practicing right next to her, and Parvati grinned slightly as she watched Pansy run out of the Great Hall.

"Couldn't have happened to a nicer person," she whispered to Hermione, who gave her a satisfied grin.

***

Neville was using the practice as an excuse to take out all his frustration on Crabbe, who was having a rough time defending himself. He'd spent the past ten minutes banishing pillows at Crabbe, who barely had the hang of the Protego charm and was just beginning to get the correct timing. He had a fairly strong banishing charm, though, and once he got the hang of it, the pillows aimed right for Neville and hit him hard. After the first time this happened, Neville started Summoning the pillows back to him so he had more control.

"Accio pillow!" Neville yelled for the fifth time, and the pillow sailed in to his hands.

Crabbe was so angry he shot black sparks from his wand. "That's not fair!"

Neville's face gained an intensity that frightened Crabbe. He spoke quietly. "It won't be fair when you face an enemy on the battlefield, and I don't intend to let any of your kind have the upper hand against me."

"You're a bumbling idiot, Longbottom."

"Maybe I am. But I'm a bumbling idiot who's prepared. Maybe you'd care to switch now?"

"I think I would." Crabbe banished the pillow.

"Protego!" Neville said.

Neville produced an extremely strong shield charm, and the pillow was deflected back so hard that it hit Vincent Crabbe in the chest and he fell over.

***

Professor Lyddle stopped in her tracks as she watched Neville Longbottom's Protego charm, and had to stop herself from applauding openly at his work. Neville had never been the strongest student in Defense Against the Dark Arts, until this year. Now, he was third in the class - right behind Harry and Hermione.

'Speaking of Harry,' she thought, 'what are he and Malfoy DOING over there?'

***

Harry and Draco were standing side by side, shoulders almost touching, arms crossed across their chests, just watching their classmates, and they hadn't made a move to start practicing the banishing and shield charms. Each wore an expression of complete neutrality, as if this were the dullest thing they had seen in their short lives.

Draco was the first to break the stance by running a hand through his hair, which almost touched his shoulders. He shook his hair out and cocked his head to the left, as if studying someone.

"Longbottom has a nice Shield charm. For as clumsy as he is, he sure has some power when he cares to muster it."

Harry kept his eyes straight ahead, ignoring the slight to Neville. "Your housemates look like idiots out there, Malfoy."

"Yes, well, while your lot was running around behind Umbridge's back last year trying to perfect these spells, my housemates and I were being good little boys and girls and doing the ministry approved homework." He, too, kept his eyes straight ahead while he spoke.

"Perhaps we should see what your ministry approved homework taught you then," Harry said, blinking once, then turning his head to look at the blonde.

"Certainly," Draco replied, facing the brunette.

They stepped apart from each other, spacing themselves ten feet away from the other, and each summoned a pillow at the same time, then banished it at the same time. The banished pillows collided in mid air, exploding in to a shower of feathers that flew over the rest of the students.

Draco and Harry looked in to each other's eyes, and started to laugh.

***

It wasn't the pillows that got Blaise's attention, it was the feathers dropping all around him and Seamus. As the two of them watched Harry and Draco laugh hysterically, they rolled their eyes, hidden behind goggles they had conjured.

The two weren't the best of friends, but as far as enemies went, they certainly weren't that either, and they got on well. They had developed a relationship that was built on their quirkiness, and as such, they did some strange things when they were together.

Like for the lesson they were practicing: they has decided to lie flat on their stomachs and banish peanuts at each other that Seamus had conjured for a snack. When Blaise got pelted in the cheek after Seamus deflected the peanut, he suggested goggles so they didn't shoot their eyes out. Seamus was agreeable to the suggestion, and so there they laid, flat on their stomachs, banishing and deflecting peanuts, "...while Potter and Malfoy decide to ignore their work and goof off," Blaise said coolly.

Seamus rolled on to his back. "Yeah, I wish those two would get serious for a minute and quit flirting." He stared at Blaise, who appeared to be upside down from his position on the floor. "Quick, let's see if I can deflect it like this."

***

Harry and Draco were still laughing when Professor Lyddle stepped up to them five minutes later. She wasn't sure whether to be happy that for this pair, at least, the project was working, or to be disturbed by how quickly they seemed to be getting along, considering their words to her at the beginning of the term:

"We hate each other... Yes, we loathe each other."

She cleared her throat, and Harry looked up at her, tears shining in his bright green eyes, and a smile on his flushed face.

"Gentlemen, is there some way I can assist you in getting back on track with the lesson? Or have you put a rictusempra curse on each other that I need to correct?"

Draco was doubled over at the waist, gasping for air. "No... we're... we're fine. No... tickling curse... here."

Harry wiped his eyes, and grinned at Professor Lyddle, trying to calm himself. "We're sorry, Professor, the whole exploding feather thing just seemed funny. We're sorry," he repeated.

Draco has stood up straight, his cheeks pink with the remains of laughter. He nodded his agreement, then said, "Yes, ma'am, we're sorry. We'll get back to the lesson right away."

Professor Lyddle smiled gently at them. "I trust you will, gentlemen," she said, walking of to observe the other students."

***

Ron and Hermione continued to watch Harry and Draco even as the two got back to practicing the Protego charm. Ron looked at Hermione, concern in his eyes, and as he started to say something to her, Hermione held up her hand.

"Wait," she said, "I don't think this is a conversation we want Pansy or Goyle to hear."

Ron nodded, and the two of them walked casually over to an out of the way table. Ron poured Hermione a cup of water, and whispered, "What do you think THAT was all about?"

"Damned if I know, Ron. All they did was explode a couple of pillows, it wasn't really THAT funny."

"Should we be concerned that they're getting on so well?'

Hermione bit her lip and thought for a moment. "Well... we told Harry that we trust his judgment, and we need to act like we mean it."

Ron raised a red eyebrow. "You don't trust Harry's judgment?" he asked.

"No, I do, I really do. I'm just afraid for him. Four weeks ago, he was the Harry we know and love. He might not have hated Malfoy, but they certainly weren't laughing at each other's jokes. Now, he really seems to like Draco, and I hope that Draco really is the person Harry thinks he is. Harry's worth more than Draco Malfoy ever will be, and I don't want to see him get hurt, or worse."

"Hermione, he's a big boy now. He's not the same eleven year old who got on the Express a month after he found out that he's a wizard."

Hermione smiled weakly. "You seem to trust him more than I do."

Ron took her hand and led her back to the practice area. "No, I think we both trust him equally. We both want to protect him. But, and don't take this the wrong way, Hermione, this is a guy thing. We don't always want to be protected by our friends." He looked at Harry and Draco, who were banishing and deflecting pillows more quickly than anyone in the room. "I think the time has come when we have to let Harry Potter grow up. We aren't always going to be there to protect him, and he doesn't want us to, either."

***

Harry and Draco met in front of Hagrid's hut later that evening. It was the last week for their class to take care of the hippogriffs, and it was their last turn. They walked silently around the back to the pen, then bowed to the hippogriff they'd be feeding. Neville and Crabbe were already there, moving mechanically and silently, scowling at each other. The tension between the other two only thickened the tension that already existed between Harry and Draco, and Harry breathed in deeply, exhaling slowly to focus his mind.

"Here."

Harry turned to see Draco standing in front of him with a few dead rats. He took one, and they fed each rat to the hungry hippogriff, watching out for the powerful beak.

Ten minutes later, Neville and Crabbe left in separate directions, and Harry breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"I'm glad they're gone."

Harry looked up. "Hmm?"

"I'm glad they're gone. It's bad enough without them making it worse."

Harry was taken aback. "What's bad enough?"

Draco flung his arm out. "This. This whole thing. The DADA project, Slytherins having to work with Gryffindors, then taking care of magical beasts with Gryffindors. It's too much, and I'm tired of having red and gold shoved in my face at every turn."

"But I thought..."

"Thought what, Potter? That the project would work just like Lyddle said it should, that if Slytherin House worked with the ponces from Gryffindor that it would be all daisies and sunshine?" He rolled his eyes. "Here's a knut, Potter, use it to buy a clue, will you?"

Harry stood there, absorbing all that Draco has just said and looking at the beast in front of him.

Draco shook his head. "Are we done here?"

"Guess so," Harry replied.

"Fine. I'll see you tomorrow after dinner in the library. We have a hell of a lot of work to do on that project." He stalked off, leaving Harry staring at the hippogriff.

***

Harry didn't tell Ron and Hermione what Draco had said to him the night before about the Slytherins and Gryffindors working together. He didn't know what Malfoy's problem was, but he didn't want his two best friends to worry about it - or him. He intended to deal with it on his own.

Harry entered the library at seven o'clock, and made his way back towards the restricted section. There was no sign of Malfoy, so he sat down and got started on his parchment. The blonde was punctual to a fault, so Harry knew he'd show up soon enough. He just had to figure out what he was going to say to him when he did.

***

"No."

"What do you mean, no?" Blaise asked his friend.

"N- O, no. Which letter made it impossible to understand this concept?'

Blaise rolled his eyes. "I see that bitchy Draco has returned."

Draco slammed his hand down on the desk. "Bugger off, Blaise!"

Blaise stared at him coolly. "What's this all about? Yesterday, you were fine."

"I'm still fine."

"Then go down the library and prove it."

"I'm not going."

"Did you let Potter know you wouldn't be there?"

"Why should I?"

"Because it's rude if you don't."

"I'm tired of being nice. I'm going back to the way I was last year," Draco said.

"Right, because you SO enjoyed being that person."

"As a matter of fact, I did!" Draco shouted.

Blaise looked evenly at Draco for a while, until Draco got uncomfortable under his friend's glare. "What?"

"What did you do?"

"Huh?"

"What did you do?" Blaise asked. "Four weeks ago, Harry Potter went from defense project partner to hottie, and now you don't want to be around him at all? What did you do?"

"What makes you think that I did anything?" Draco retorted.

"Maybe because I know that Potter wouldn't do anything to piss you off right now. I think all he wants is to get through this with his sanity intact then forget about it. Ergo, you must have screwed up."

***

Harry looked at his watch. Seven- fifteen. He'd give Malfoy a couple more minutes.

***

"Thanks for that incredible vote of confidence, Blaise. Remind me to come to you when I'm really in a bind, will you?" Draco asked sarcastically.

Blaise crossed his arms over his broad chest. "One last time, Draco," he said quietly. "What did you do?"

Draco glared defiantly at Blaise, then looked away with a huff. He proceeded to mumble something unintelligible under his breath.

"What was that?"

Draco huffed again. "Last night I told him that I was sick of the stupid project and tired of the Slytherins having to work with the bloody stupid Gryffindors."

"And did you use the phrase 'bloody stupid?'"

"No, I believe I used the word ponce. Ponces, actually, plural."

"Nice, Malfoy."

"Well, someone has to be."

***

Harry was tapping his quill and his foot. He was growing more and more impatient. Seven- twenty five. If Malfoy didn't show up soon...

***

"Just go, Draco."

"No."

"You have a project to work on and if you just get this part done, you'll feel better."

"But I'll still have to see HIM!"

"Yes, you will, because he's your partner for this project. What are you worried about? Afraid Potter is so pissed at you because of what you said that he'll do something to screw this up for you?"

"No, that's not it."

Blaise was silent for a moment, then he had an idea. He stepped closer to Draco. "You were an ass, and you have to apologize." Draco tapped his fingers on the desk and tried to ignore his friend. "You're afraid of apologizing to him, aren't you?"

"No! I'm not afraid of anything when it comes to him. He's an idiot."

"Don't let your pride stand in the way of this, Draco." Blaise walked away, but spoke over his shoulder. "If you like him as much as you say you do, don't screw this up by being a prick."

***

Harry looked at his watch again. 'Seven-thirty five.' He stood up. 'That's it, I'm...'

A streak of billowing black robes came flying around the corner. Harry stared coolly at the blonde in front of him.

"Nice of you to show up."

"Well, I had something to take care of." Draco stared defiantly at the brunette.

"Yes, well, now I have some things to do. So if you'll..."

"Harry, wait," Draco interrupted. Harry didn't move to go, so Draco continued. "I'm sorry I was late. I was talking to Blaise about some things."

"OK, fine, whatever." Harry moved to go, but Draco spoke again.

"I'm also sorry for what I said last night about you and the other Gryffindors. The whole situation is very stressful, and I took it out on you. I'm sorry."

"So you don't think that everyone in Gryffindor house is a ponce, then."

Draco smiled. "No, I totally think that. But I'm used to it, and I think, as much as it pains me to say it, that this project is a really good idea. Even if I DO have to work with the biggest pain in the ass in Gryffindor."

Harry smiled slightly. "Pot, kettle."

"So we're staying?"

"Actually," Harry said, "I thought we'd go somewhere else tonight to study, if you're willing to be seen in the halls with the biggest pain in the ass in Gryffindor."

***

Harry paced three times in front of the wall, thinking about what they'd need that night. When the door appeared, Draco looked slightly astonished.

"What is this?" he asked.

Harry led him through the door. "This is the Room of Requirement. When you caught me in the hall this spring, this is where I was coming from." He turned to Draco, who was staring at the walls lined with books. "You've never heard of it?"

"Oh, I've heard of it, I just thought it was a load of crap. So how did we get in here? A door appeared out of nowhere."

"Are you going to tell everyone in Slytherin how to do this?"

Draco rolled his grey eyes. "Are you kidding me? And screw myself out of a quiet spot to rest and study?"

Harry laughed. "Alright then. It only appears when you require something. Last year we needed a fully functioning Defense Room to practice in, and we got this. But it works for anything you require. You just walk past the statue three times while you concentrate on what you need, then the door appears, and the room is how you need it."

"Wow. So how many people know about this?" Draco asked.

"Don't know, not sure I really care. As long as I get to use it for Defense practice, I don't care who knows about it."

Draco looked at Harry. "You're pretty serious about defensive magic."

Harry looked at the floor. "I have to be. If I'm not, I'll die." He looked up at Malfoy. "So what do you want to work on first?"

"I don't know." He thought for a moment. "Have you learned how to do any of the unforgivable curses?" he asked.

Harry's eyes opened wide. "No! That's not what we were teaching each other!"

"So you've never used any of them."

"Well," Harry said slowly, "I did use the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix Lestrange in June."

"What? That's my aunt, you dolt!"

"Duh." Harry rolled his eyes at Draco.

"So, did it work?"

Harry shot him a confused look. "What?!"

"Did it work?"

"If by work you mean 'did it barely knock her over and looked like it felt more like a slap to the face than a Vulcan death grip', then, yes, it worked. If by worked you mean 'writhing on the floor in pain so the I could get sent to Azkaban for using it', then no, it failed miserably."

Draco laughed. "Too bad, then."

"I thought this was your aunt, Malfoy?"

"I didn't say she's my favorite aunt. So why didn't it work?" he asked.

"She said I had to mean it."

Draco gaped at him. "You used the Cruciatus Curse on a Death Eater and didn't mean it?"

"Uh, having not been instructed in the unforgivable curses, I didn't know you had to intend injury. I just thought you had to say the words."

"You should know better than that."

"Yeah, well, in the heat of battle you do what you can. It slowed her down a bit, and at the time, that's what counted the most." He looked around the room, then walked over to the spell books on the farthest wall. "We should get started now."

***

On December first, everyone inside the castle walls woke up to a blindingly white blanket of snow. The first years were running noisily about the school, trying to figure out how to get out of classes early, and the fifth and seventh years were waist deep in O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s and didn't give a damn about snow, even though the tests weren't for another six months. The rest of the school just wanted the day to be over so that the weekend could start, snow or no snow.

Harry looked mournfully out the window of his room, watching the snow fall in large clumps. He turned to Ron, who was finished getting dressed. "Ron, I mostly love being here, but there are days like this that I wish we didn't live in the castle."

Ron laughed. "Why's that?"

"A little thing called a snow day."

Ron squinted his eyes. "Snow day?"

"Yup. Muggle thing. When it snows too much, it's too hard for Muggle children to get to school, so they close the schools down for the day. Gives them a chance to play in the snow. But no," Harry said, "we have to go to classes anyway. What a waste of perfectly good snow."

The red headed young man laughed at his friend. "Come on, let's get to breakfast. It's Friday, it's almost Christmas, and tomorrow we get to go to Hogsmeade. It'll fly by, Harry."

Unfortunately, Ron had forgotten that this was a potions and transfiguration day, and those days tended to be long, if not in reality then definitely in feel. As the trio walked in to the cold potions classroom, Hermione shivered.

"You OK?" Ron asked. "Potions doesn't scare you THAT much, does it?" He grinned cheekily.

Hermione slugged her boyfriend in the arm, and Harry laughed. "OW! What was that for? Do you enjoy brutalizing me, Hermione?"

Draco walked past at that moment and looked over his shoulder. "If she doesn't, then come get me. I'd love to brutalize you for a while, Weasley," he said, smiling innocently.

Harry laughed as Ron replied, "Aw, shut it, Malfoy," but there wasn't any real antagonism in his voice.

"If we could please be seated now, we'll begin." Snape walked in to the room, his black robes billowing behind him. "You'll see the assignment on the board, follow it carefully," he said, looking right at Harry, "or it could cost you a limb."

Harry shook his head and leaned over to Hermione and Ron. "Why is he always singling ME out. If he'd just leave me alone, I'd do a hell of a lot better in this class!" he whispered.

"Now today, we'll be brewing an Ice Potion. This can only be made during the first snowfall of the year, as it can only be made using the first snow. This is a very volatile potion during its production, but after it's made it becomes extremely stable.

"Ice Potion has many uses, some of them practical, other less so. One drop in a cup of liquid can cool one down on the hottest day, no cooling charms needed. Three drops can induce hypothermia. Five drops act as a quick poison, causing the victim's internal organs to freeze quite suddenly.

"Now before someone asks why we are making poison in class, allow me to remind you just how many of the potions and draughts we have made can actually serve two or more purposes, many of them having poisonous effects if too much is taken. This can be used medicinally, as two drops can help reduce a fever over one hundred and two degrees.

"Now, get your ingredients and begin. There is a chest near the ingredients cabinet with the new snow. Do not use it to make snowballs, Mr. Finnigan," Snape shouted over the din of his students. Seamus put the snow he had in his hands down, blushing guiltily.

"Incendio." Harry lit a fire under his cauldron, and began cutting up ingredients. He blocked everything out but the blackboard and what he was doing. Once he was done cutting some of the ingredients, he began to add them together. "Lace wings, ginger, powdered moonstone," he said, adding each ingredient, "and dragon's blood." The potion turned an opaque white, then red. He let it simmer for ten minutes, checking Hermione's potion to make sure his looked exactly like hers. After five minutes, Hermione looked over at his potion, then Ron's.

"Very good, you two," she said. "This is the best potion I've seen either of you make. I'm impressed."

Ron breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, it's nice to know I'm finally doing SOMETHING right in this class!"

Harry remained silent and turned back to his potion. He watched as Snape walked around the room, checking each student's potion for errors.

"By now," the potions master said, "there should be a blue mist floating over your cauldron." Harry watched as a blue mist began to rise from the surface of the liquid. Snape stepped up behind him at that moment, checking Harry's potion. Harry looked up at him, and saw Snape doing his best to keep his face neutral at Harry's success. When he stepped away, Harry smiled over at Hermione. "I must be doing something right," he whispered.

He let the liquid simmer another five minutes per step eighteen, then added one grain of powdered unicorn horn. Stirring the potion slowly five times, he let it brew two minutes more, then added the new snow.

Harry gasped and stepped back from the cauldron, fighting back panic. The potion, upon the addition of the snow, had frozen over completely. "Hermione!" he gasped. "I.. but... I did everything right!"

Hermione looked at the frozen draught, then smiled up at Harry, pointing to her own. "It's Ok, Harry, that's what it's SUPPOSED to look like."

He breathed a sigh of relief, and Ron laughed at him. "There you go again, underestimating your abilities."

Harry turned to the red head. "Uh, how many times have you seen something that was boiling not five seconds before freeze completely solid?"

"A few. But I've also watched my mum make this potion, so I knew what to expect." Ron looked his friend in the eye. "I keep forgetting that you were brought up Muggle. Sorry, Harry."

"I have to say, I'm impressed." Ron, Harry, and Hermione turned to see Draco standing by Harry's cauldron, looking at the frozen potion with respect. "Having destroyed some of your lesser attempts at potion making, I can say with confidence that this is definitely the best one you've made."

Hermione knitted her eyebrows together, and Ron goggled at Draco. "And so have you come to destroy this one too, Malfoy?" Ron asked, only a hint of malice in his voice.

Draco raised a thin eyebrow at the suggestion. "No. I just wanted to complement Potter on his potion making abilities." He looked over at Ron's cauldron and nodded. "Yours too, Weasley. Just shows what you can do when you don't pay attention to the Slytherins."

Ron's eyes shot wide open at the compliment, but Draco ignored him and turned back to Harry. "That really is a good Ice Potion you've got there, Potter," he said softly, so that only Harry could hear him, "we might make a potions master out of you yet."

***

Saturday morning was bright and cold, and during the night another layer of snow had fallen on the castle.

Dean was the first one out of bed that morning. He was meeting Ginny in the Great Hall for breakfast so they could get to Hogsmeade first thing. Seamus and Neville were almost dressed when Harry and Ron finally woke up for the day.

The two young men got cleaned up and dressed, and met Hermione at the table. She had finished her breakfast and was reading the Saturday edition of the Daily Prophet as the two boys joined her. Ron sat down by his girlfriend, who turned to him and kissed him on the mouth, then turned back to her paper.

Harry, sitting across from the couple, pouted. "Where's MY good morning kiss?"

"Ginny's already in Hogsmeade," Hermione replied.

Harry frowned. "Why don't you kiss me then?"

Hermione didn't even look up from her paper. "Ron, would you be a dear and kiss Harry, please?"

Harry and Ron made loud retching sounds.

The morning passed quickly. The trio went in to Honeyduke's to buy candy (and increase Ron's "secret" stash of chocolate frogs), then to Zonko's to check out Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes competition. When it was almost lunchtime, Hermione dragged the boys in to Scrivenshaft's to buy more ink, and all three walked out with ink and quills.

At lunch time, they walked in to the Three Broomsticks, faces flushed and teeth chattering from the cold. While Ron and Hermione got a table, Harry ordered butterbeers and got their food ordered.

As they waited for their lunches, Hermione said she wanted to go in to Gladrags Wizardwear after they ate.

Ron groaned. "Hermione, I didn't come here to shop for robes! I want to have fun today!"

"Ron, we need to get new dress robes. We've all grown out of our others, and the Yule Ball is in three weeks. I'm not taking you with dress robes that are too short. You either, Harry," she said, turning to the brunette.

Ron turned crimson. "Hermione, I don't have money for new dress robes," he said quietly.

She turned to look him in the eyes, a look of compassion on her face. "Actually, you do." She reached in to her cloak and drew out a small velvet bag. She turned its contents out on the table, and twenty new galleons clinked together on the wooden top, glinting in the light. "Fred and George sent these to me because they knew the Yule Ball was soon, and they wanted you and Ginny to have new robes for the occasion. Especially you, since you're growing like a weed lately."

"But, I don't..."

"Hush, Ron, it's done, alright? I didn't ask them for the money, it's a gift for you and your sister."

He still looked skeptical. "So I have ten galleons to spend on robes then?"

"And whatever else you need. But I've already given Ginny her half, so you really have twenty to spend." Ron's jaw dropped as Hermione continued. "I might also suggest a new pair of pants," she said, looking at the ones he was wearing that didn't quite cover his ankles. "Really, Ron, what have you been drinking? You seem to have grown two inches in the past week alone!"

That settled, they headed over to Gladrags after they had eaten. Hermione was helping Ron pick out a robe and some pants, and Harry wandered around the shop trying to find something that was nice, but not too much. When he turned the corner to go try a few robes on, green eyes met grey.

The two young men stood there for a moment, silent.

"Potter." Draco nodded at Harry.

Harry nodded back. "Malfoy." He looked away, but Draco, ever the confident one, kept looking at the Gryffindor.

"So, buying new dress robes then?"

"Uh, yeah. Hermione says she won't take Ron and I to the Yule Ball unless we both have new robes that cover us completely. We've both grown out of our other robes."

Draco smiled. "I've noticed."

"So, uh... are you buying new robes too, then?"

Draco started to walk, indicating that Harry should walk with him. "Yes. I'm not as big as Ron, but I've still grown quite a bit since the last time I wore my dress robes."

"Oh." They had reached the counter, and Draco paid for his new clothes. "Er... Ron mentioned something about having a snowball fight back at the castle later. You're welcome to join in."

Ron chimed in from across the room. "Yeah, but this time, you have to be on Harry's team, Malfoy. I want to be able to throw snowballs at you."

Draco stared at Ron, who had just turned back to Hermione. "Did he just invite me to participate in a snowball fight with the three of you?" Harry nodded. "Alright then, when?'

"Uh, how about four?"

"OK, I'll meet you in the courtyard at four." Draco grabbed his bag and left Gladrags, and Harry stared at the blonde's back as he walked out the door.

***

At four o'clock, the first snowball fight of the season commenced, but instead of playing teams, it was a free for all. The sixth years were using their recently practiced banishing skills to pelt snowballs at everyone else, and Ginny, ever the prankster, had set a few snowballs with exploding dungbombs inside them. Seamus and Dean thought it was pretty funny, until they got on the receiving end of stinky snow.

Harry had paused behind a tree to build up a collection of snowballs when Draco walked up beside him, cheeks flushed and hair damp, but smiling all the same.

"Watcha doin', Potter?" he asked in a sing song voice.

Harry looked up at him, cocking his head. "Making snowballs. Having a good time?"

"Yup."

'Since when does Malfoy say "yup?"' "Good." Harry stood. "You know, using magic for throwing snowballs is fun, but it's nothing like when I was little and we threw snowballs without magic, just our hands."

"That's just wrong."

"No, it was a lot of fun. Really."

"So, something like this then?" Draco smashed a snowball he'd been hiding in Harry's ear, grinned, and bolted.

Astonished, Harry just stared for a second, then took off after Draco, laughing.