Harry Potter and the Love of the Dragon

*~*~*~*~*

It was Monday morning - the day after Harry's trip to Hogsmeade. Harry bounded out of bed full of energy and jumped into the shower whilst the rest of the boys from his dorm were still fast asleep. After he had washed himself thoroughly and shampooed his hair he stood beneath the showerhead, streams of hot water cascading over his body. His mind wandered and he began to consider what he should do for a date for the Halloween Ball. He knew he couldn't take Draco; that much was certain. He could try asking Ginny but she was probably going with Neville, as they had been getting on well recently. To be honest, he didn't want to go with anyone, but wouldn't that give people the wrong idea?

Ten minutes later he stepped out of the shower cubicle and wrapped a towel around his waist. Careful not to slip on the damp floor, he hurried back to the 6^th year dormitory and pulled on his school uniform. Grinning to himself, he picked up the small white lenses case and returned to the bathroom. It took quite a while to get the contact lenses into his eyes properly - a couple of times he almost dropped the left one down the sink. Eventually, however, he had achieved his task and returned the case and his glasses to the bedroom. Harry descended to the common room and took his usual seat. It would be half an hour or so before Ron woke up and he wasn't hungry yet anyhow.

'Harry! Are you awake?'

'Yeah.' Harry's heart skipped a beat at the sound of his boyfriend's voice inside his own head.

'Did you put your contacst in?'

Harry chuckled aloud. 'Yep. It took ages!'

'It'll be worth it though.'

'Why are you up so early Draco?' Harry watched a group of second years leave the tower through the portrait hole.

'I always get up this early. Crabbe and Goyle won't stop snoring and grunting. Plus it gives me time to think.'

'There's a bit of a problem,' Harry began bashfully. 'Hermione and Ron keep asking who I'm taking to the Halloween Ball.'

'I was thinking about that last night actually. I reckon I'll go solo. I can't go with you as my date and I don't particularly want to ask anyone else.'

'Same here.' Harry went pink, flattered by what his boyfriend had just told him. 'I think I'll go solo too.'

'Sorted then.'

'We're gonna have to pretend to hate each other during potions and stuff you know.' He grinned cheekily, imagining the pretend jokes he could pull on Draco.

'Hmm. Could be fun. Just don't take anything I say personally, OK? I won't mean it.'

'Sure, I promise. Same goes for you. It's not like I can just ignore you if you say something.'

'OK.'

'I'm gonna have to go and wake up Ron,' Harry sighed. 'See you at breakfast.'

'Bye.'

He left his comfortable seat in the common room and ascended the stairs to the 6^th Year boys' dormitory. Neville was pulling on his shoes as Harry entered the room. The other three boys were still fast asleep. "Guys!" Harry said sharply. Dean mumbled softly in response, but none of the boys woke up. "Hey, GUYS!!" he said louder.

"Where's the fire?" demanded a cranky Seamus as he sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"It's time to get up." Harry approached Ron's bed and drew back the curtains. He pulled the duvet from his friend's sleeping form whilst Neville did the same to Dean. "Ron," he ordered, shaking the young man awake.

"Whassamatta?"

"Get up Ron or we'll miss breakfast. Classes start in half an hour."

Ron clambered out of bed and scrambled for the robes on his chair. The thought of missing breakfast always inspired him to get out of bed. Harry returned to the Common Room where Hermione was waiting patiently for her friends and sat in the seat opposite hers.

"Mornin' Herm," he greeted.

"Hi!" She looked up from the book resting in her lap and sighed exasperatedly. "Harry, where are your glasses? If you've broken them again you could have just asked me to mend them."

"No, I haven't broken them. Anyway, I could have mended them myself if I had." Harry grinned cheekily. "They're in my room. I got contacts."

"Since when have you worn contacts?" she asked.

"Since yesterday in Hogsmeade. Do you like them?"

"They look great!" she smiled. "Don't they hurt?"

"Nope. They're fine."

Ron wandered into the common room, his robes thrown on haphazardly.

The three left the Common Room through the portrait hole for breakfast.

"Ron, look. Harry got contacts," informed Hermione

"Huh?" he muttered groggily. "Harry got contacts?" Ron was always slow in the morning, and it took a while for things to register. "I knew there was something different, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Don't they hurt?"

Harry laughed. "Hermione asked that too. No, they don't hurt." They entered the great hall and made their way to the Gryffindor table. Harry made sure that he was sat facing the Slytherins, and Ron and Hermione sat opposite him. All eyes turned towards the group, and Harry felt particularly uncomfortable and insecure.

"Everyone's staring at you Harry," beamed Hermione. Throughout the hall people were whispering, and every group of girls that Harry could see had launched into fits of giggles.

"What are they looking at?" he whispered self-consciously to his friends.

"Beats me?" Ron answered through a mouthful of toast.

"You two are so naïve." Hermione was desperately stifling a fit of giggles herself. "It's your new look Harry."

"What do you mean?"

She tutted in mock-exasperation. "Everyone thinks you're gorgeous," she told him.

"Don't be stupid Herm. I look exactly the same as I did yesterday, only without those NHS-sty-lee glasss."

"So, Harry, have you finished the Charms homework yet?" asked Ron, blatantly changing the subject.

"I did it on Saturday."

"Can I...?"

"No, you can't copy mine. It took me ages."

'Looking good, sugar!' Harry jumped slightly and glanced across the room. He made eye contact with Draco and grinned shyly.

'Thanks. Everyone's staring. It's as if I grew an extra arm or something.'

'Ah! It's 'cos you're gorgeous Harry!'

*~*~*~*~*

Only moments after Hermione, Ron and Harry had taken their seats in the Potions dungeon, the door was thrown open and Snape entered, robes billowing behind him like a bat as he walked.

"Today we'll be making the potion we discussed last lesson. As I told you, it involves a very complicated method that will require your full attention. As such, I will be organising you into the pairs I consider to be most...constructive." Professor Snape looked pointedly at each of the Gryffindor students. The whole class, Gryffindors and Slytherins alike, scowled at the news.

"Parkinson, you can work with Granger. Bulstrode and Patil sit here. Crabbe and Weasley, Goyle and Finnigan. Zabini, let's see how you can handle Longbottom. Good luck, Zabini." Snape reached Draco's bench and smirked. "Potter, you will work with Malfoy here."

Harry just about managed to hide his grin at this news, and forced his features into a scowl. He picked up his bag and cauldron and dropped them next to Draco's. Ron caught Harry's eye from his seat across the room next to Crabbe and offered a pitying smile. 'Good luck,' he mouthed. Hermione was setting out the ingredients for her potion and was desperately trying to ignore the abuse Pansy Parkinson was muttering out of the corner of her mouth.

"Potter," Draco spat. It was almost too convincing for Harry's liking.

"Malfoy," Harry retorted.

"Looks like your Mudblood girlfriend is having fun over there. Perhaps she'll be taking orders for a change."

"I think it'll be Parkinson taking the orders. Maybe Hermione's help will pull her grade up from abysmal to just plain crap."

Harry had to fight the urge to grab Draco and kiss him ferociously right there on the floor of the Potions dungeon.

"So, Potter, you finally got rid of those milk bottles? It's about time - I was wondering when you would discover the concept of taste."

"What would you know, Malfoy, with that bottle-blond hairdo you seem so fond of. Oh, sorry, I meant Ferret-boy."

"Never, ever call me Ferret-Boy, Scarface."

"Ferret boy," Harry scowled.

"Scarface."

"Ferret boy."

"Just crush the beetle-shells Potter."

'You know I don't mean it,' Draco thought at Harry.

'Yeah, but you're rather too convincing.'

'I do not die my hair.'

Harry added the shells to the concoction and began shredding the mandrake leaves. 'I never thought you did.'

Harry and Draco continued making the potion in silence, feigned scowls adorning each face. Suddenly, Draco's leg pressed up against Harry's, accidentally or intentionally he wasn't sure, but his heart skipped a beat nevertheless. Harry brushed his hand against Draco's as he poured some armadillo bile into the cauldron.

Before they knew it, the potion was finished and they had packed away the rest of the equipment.

"Not a bad potion at all," Snape nodded approvingly at Draco and moved on to look critically into the next cauldron.

"No thanks to you," Draco growled at his partner, loudly enough for the rest of the students to hear clearly.

Harry had a retort ready but Snape interrupted before he had the opportunity to use it.

"Next lesson we will be testing the potions you made today. Homework is to write a critical analysis of the potion. You may go."

The class streamed out of the door as quickly as they could escape.

"That Crabbe is such a bastard," complained Ron.

"Well Parkinson isn't exactly a kitten," Hermione added. They both looked expectantly at Harry who was clearly engrossed in his own thoughts.

He snapped out of his gaze and looked at his friends. "Well, Malfoy's a twat; no big news there. Goes without saying."

*~*~*~*~*

After classes, Harry, Ron and Hermione returned to the Gryffindor Tower to change. Harry carefully picked out a green long sleeved t-shirt and some black, flared jeans from his new wardrobe whilst Ron threw on the same clothes he had been wearing all weekend.

"Nice threads," Ron complimented vaguely as they changed. He knew that Harry's clothes were new but, having less fashion sense than Harry used to, he didn't appreciate the care that had gone into choosing them. Hermione was waiting patiently outside the room and gasped upon seeing Harry.

"Hey Herm, wanna go visit Hagrid?" Ron asked. She didn't respond. "Hello?" He waved his hand in front of her eyes but her gaze remained fixated on Harry.

Harry approached her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Anyone at home?" he asked. She shivered with his touch but her mouth closed with a snap.

"Huh?" Hermione shook her head and coughed slightly. "Fine, I'm fine. Did you buy the clothes yesterday too?" she asked Harry.

"Yeah, I did. So, what about Hagrid then?"

"Oh, he told me yesterday when I was helping him with the unicorns but I forgot to tell you. He's going out with Madame Maxime tonight so he said not to bother going down to see him," she informed her friends. "I was hoping you could give me another chess lesson Ron. I think I'm getting better."

"Sure." Ron was always happy to have a game of chess. "My set's already in the common room."

On entering the common room it was as if the sound had been muted. All talk stopped abruptly mid-sentence and heads turned towards the door. Harry stopped in his tracks preparing to flee the room if the situation demanded such an action, and, feeling immensely self-conscious, he stared defiantly back at his fellow Gryffindors.

"What?" demanded Harry. There were gasps from various students and coughs from others dotted throughout the room.

"Come on Harry," Hermione demanded. She and Ron seized an arm each, and between them they managed to drag Harry to an empty sofa in the far corner.

"What did I do?" He was abruptly reminded of that time in second year when everyone thought he was the Heir of Slytherin.

"Well...if you don't know...I don't know what to say," stuttered Ron, turning pink behind his ears as he had a tendancy to do when put under pressure.

Harry was bewildered and confused. "I don't understand..." he whimpered. He turned in his seat to inspect the room. Eyes all over the room flicked hastily from Harry back to their books in unsuccessful efforts to remain unnoticed. He fidgeted in his seat and looked back at his best friends, a frantic look in his eyes. "I...urm..." Harry made to stand up but Hermione yanked him back down by his hand.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Look. You two have your game of chess. There's somewhere I have to be." On that note, Harry got to his feet and fled the room, almost pulling the Fat Lady's portrait off its hinges.

*~*~*~*~*