Moving Company

9. Whose Date is it Anyway?
As December approached, the topic of conversation was the Yule Ball. Dumbledore had surprised them all when he announced that to keep spirits up they'd be having a ball again this year.

Harry hoped that he wouldn't get asked so he could quietly spend the night in the room or anything else that didn't involve dancing, really. Naturally, only minutes after he'd had this thought Blaise had asked him, and Harry couldn't say no to him. He consoled himself by saying

To the surprise of many, and disappointment of a few like Pansy, Draco announced at lunch that day that he was going stag. He had on his "I've got something up my sleeve" face ; and it almost distressed Harry to realize that he actually recognized the incredibly subtle differences between that and his everyday "I am God bow down to me" face.

It was about a week later during History of magic that Harry began to panic as he remembered that his dress robes from the year before had been burned (along with anything that hadn't been on his body that day) and that meant he'd have to go clothes shopping.

He offered a silent prayer to Merlin that he'd be allowed to go to robe shop alone.

* * *
Fortune was in his favor, and he managed to sneak off by himself, under the guise of shopping for Christmas presents. With the age of the young witch in charge, Harry selected robes of the same deep forest green that his current favorite sweater was in, and were more form fitting then the robes he'd last owned. He'd been assured that the outfit was at the height of style; after studying the current fashion catalogs he'd agreed. The witch promised to have the alterations finished by afternoon's end, leaving him with the now considerable task of actually buying presents.

Hermione would be easy enough—she'd shown him a wish list of books a month ago in a not subtle hint, not that he minded. Usually, she was hard to shop for, and Harry never wanted to resort to Ron's traditional strategy of giving candy to everyone. He didn't think he'd get Ron anything, they hadn't really spoken since the Quidditch match; and wasn't expecting anything in return. He did get a card for Mrs. Weasley though because she'd always been so supportive.

The Slytherins were proving to be a problem when it came to presents. Harry'd finally decided on a Dark Art book that he'd seen Draco practically drooling over. In exchange for agreeing to rebottle some of the more volatile Potion ingredients that Snape kept, Snape agreed to use his contacts in Knockturn Alley to procure it. Snape at first had been surprised by the request, but then almost pleased, and had agreed to the deal readily enough.

Blaise was harder. While his dad was a Death Eater, Blaise surprisingly showed little interest in becoming one himself. He did well in school, yet wasn't overly fascinated by anything he was taught. Harry's aimless wandering finally took him into a gift shop. In the muggle world, it would have been filled with useless trinkets and way-overly scented candles. This store seemed more practical. All the knick-knacks seemed to be enchanted in one way or another. Wards against garden gnomes, wards against kids trying to steal from the cookie jar. He picks up what appeared to be a simple lock.

Harry read the tag. "Lock for Good. Put me on things you want your nosy siblings, friends and roommates to stay out of. Great for libraries, wine cellars and wardrobes."

"It's like a locking spell, only it can't be opened by magic. You have to have the key." The storeowner, an elderly witch said, noting his interest.

Blaise was always complaining about Draco borrowing his clothes. This would be perfect. He checked the tag. 5 galleons. Not bad at all, Harry thought. It was a good token, but not any more then he'd spent on Hermione or Draco. As he went to pay, he noticed a bin of holiday-themed socks. His face split into a wide grin as he imagined the look on his housemates faces as they opened the package. He found a pair of reindeer for Blaise, a jolly Santa was smiling on the pair for Draco, and he even got Crabbe a Christmas tree laden with gifts to go along with a box of sweets he knew that Crabbe enjoyed. He even found a mismatched pair of unevenly dyed socks for Doby. He also planned on buying a skein of yarn so the house elf could make some himself.

All told, the day of shopping had gone quite well, and it was with good spirits that Harry returned to Hogwarts.

* * *
Now that winter was in full session, Dumbledore had changed the Staff Room from the forest motif, to something that reminded Harry of a muggle ski lodge. The walls looked like they were from a log cabin. Over stuffed couches littered the room, and a wizard's chessboard was tucked neatly away in the corner. The downside of this arrangement was a lack of any actual tables aside from a few scattered end tables. Idly noting that this arrangement wasn't very helpful, Harry set down his mug of hot chocolate and arranged for one of his books to serve as a lap desk, setting a piece of parchment on top in case he needed to take notes.

"Hey Harry."

He looked up to see Cho smiling at him.

"Have a seat?" he offered.

She sat down aside him, holding a mug of tea and a Quick-Quotes Quill. Unlike the one Rita had been using, this one was actually accurate.

"How're you?"

"Trying to not go insane with the essay grading."

She smiled at him. "It's not that bad."

"I suppose it could be worse. Professor Snape gave me a "Now you have the faintest sliver of a notion of how horrible it is to have to teach for a living" speech."

"In other words you complained to him, and he didn't have the slightest ounce of sympathy for your pain."

"Something like that." Harry grinned ruefully.

Dumbledore stood up at that moment. "All right everybody, let's begin."

The last few teachers standing took their seats and all looked up expectedly at the headmaster.

"Plans for the Yule Ball are in full swing. Please remind your students to sign up to stay for the holiday intersession, and that the dress code will be enforced. Since dress robes are not a standard part of the third years required belongings, remind them to ask their parents to send them some."

Harry was rather thankful he'd been allowed to go to Hogsmeade. Even if before he didn't appreciate clothing (and to a certain extent was still learning to appreciate it), at least he'd gotten to pick out the style he wanted. He forced himself not to shudder at the thought of Ron's antiquated hand-me-down robes.

"Now! Winter exams are coming upon us. Please remember that after examinations I'll require reports about who seems to be excelling in the subject, and who needs a little extra help so if need be we can set up tutoring sessions. As for our student teachers, I'd like you to know that while you will not be required to do any formal grading of your students that you are required to come up with similar lists for me, so that when we are finally able to find a suitable DADA professor in the times to come we have an adequate record of who stands where, as well as what's reasonable for them to know."

Harry groaned inwardly. This wasn't really news to him, but he'd conveniently blocked it out. As the meeting turned towards something about budgets, food for Hagrid's animals and the new disappearing steps on the staircase leading to the fifth floor, he jotted down notes on what he could test. If he was going to be bored, at least he could be productive.

* * *
"Nice stain, Harry." Draco commented as Harry walked into the potions classroom, fresh from the meeting.

Harry looked down on his shirt, where a dark brown spot resided just a little off center. "Why thank you. I'm thinking of starting a new trend. Makes meetings more interesting at least."

Draco smirked. "You should hear my father blab on and on about Death Eater meetings. It's always 'take over this' and 'get the Dark Lord that' and ' that Damn Harry Potter brat.'"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Has Voldemort ever gone, 'I would have succeeded if it wasn't for that meddling Potter!'"

Draco looked at him funny. "Why on earth would he do that, that's stupid."

Harry shook his head. "Muggle tv show. The villain of the episode always complained about the heroes after they'd been defeated."

Draco was getting ready to make another remark about just how mad Harry was, when two students, a Gryffindor and, to Draco's surprise, a Slytherin came in for detention.

At Draco's stare, Harry shrugged. "Couldn't let him goof off, could I? Besides, I didn't take away any points. Snape'd give me detention for weeks if I did that." He quickly set the two students to work, before turning his attention back to Draco.

"So you never did tell me why you aren't taking anyone to the Yule Ball, you know," Harry commented casually as a fear-reducing potion that Draco was helping Harry with simmered away.

Draco stiffened. "That's none of your business. I'm a Malfoy. I don't have to explain it if I don't want to."

Harry ignored the brush off; knowing the sudden return of the "I'm better then you" attitude meant that Draco was trying to hide something. "I know you had lots of offers. I heard many of them."

"So what if I did. Doesn't mean that I like any of them enough to go with them."

Harry stirred the potion, and took a glance at his detentionees who were diligently working. "I don't believe that. I wonder…"

"Wonder what?" Draco said, slightly irritated.

"Is the person you wanted to take going with someone else?"

"No! Why would you say that?"

"You were quite hasty with your decision to go alone, weren't you? I mean, there's still another two weeks left until the ball. Plenty of time to find a partner if you wanted one."

"Who says I even wanted a partner in the first place?" Draco tried to maintain his aloof attitude, but Harry could see right through it.

Harry grinned. "You're a Malfoy. You crave the attention of a grand entrance and everyone staring at your oh-so-handsome face and the perfect date on your arm that only emphasizes how you can get anyone in school you want.." He waved his hand about dramatically.

"I do not!"

"You do too!" Harry pressed his attack, wanting to know who had caught Malfoy's eye. "So, who is it? Is it a bloke?" Harry tried to maintain an indifferent tone in his voice, even as he bit his lip waiting for an answer, his eyes darting between the simmering potion and Draco, part of him wondering if it was him that Draco wanted. It'd at least explain Draco's recent odd behavior.

Draco sighed. Harry watched as Draco's face tightened in annoyance at having to answer the question. "Yes."

Harry looked slightly pleased by that; there were very few same sex couples. Process of elimination would work in his favor.

Draco's eyes narrowed. "Why are you so happy. You're dating Blaise."

"We haven't dated that much. Just a few times really. I mean, we haven't even gone to Hogsmeade alone."

"You looked relatively serious in the Great Hall on Friday when Blaise practically jumped you."

Harry blushed. Blaise had caught him by surprise; he was in an extra good mood because he'd aced a pop quiz by Flitwick. Charms had always given Blaise trouble. "Well, he caught me off guard." It was true. After an enthusiastic hug (for a Slytherin) and a rather enthusiastic kiss, Harry had pushed Blaise off, laughing at the commotion they were causing.

"You didn't seem to mind much." Draco almost sounded bitter, Harry noted.

"He was so happy how could I not enjoy it? He is a good kisser but…" Harry trailed off, noting that interested looks of the first years. Irritated, he ordered them to write a short essay due a week from today and had them leave.

"A good kisser but what?" Draco was decidedly intrigued, having totally forgotten about the first years.

"I don't know. It's just missing something. We enjoy each others company, but I don't think that's its really going to anywhere." What was really missing was the comfort level that he and Draco had, where they could exchange insults and keep each other on their toes. Blaise was almost too nice by comparison.

Harry looked at Draco intently as Draco smiled to himself, pleased by something. Harry shook his head and turned his attention back to the nearly completed potion.

* * *
The last two weeks before the ball passed by quickly. The joyful mood permeated the castle and not even end of term exams could put a damper on their spirits.

The night before the dance, the Slytherin common room was a buzz with rumors as a chalkboard magically updated the odds on what Draco was up to; for someone going to the dance alone, he'd been spending meticulous amounts of time making sure his hair was the right length, and laying out his dress robe to get pressed and shoes to be polished by the house elves. He was also unusually cheery and smiling at everyone, even Gryffindors. They took it as a sign that one of them was in mortal danger, and had taken to traveling in tight packs, much to Draco's obliviousness, and everyone else's humor.

Harry knew that Draco must be planning on going after whomever it was that he had his eye on. A voice in his head told him that he was Draco's intended target. Of course, this was the same voice that told him not to break the rules, so he quickly tucked the notion away in the back of his mind; though the thought of dating Draco wasn't necessarily a bad one, the events leading up to that point were sure to be messy, and things not to be dwelled upon.

* * *
Harry met Blaise in the common room, after Blaise insisted on changing in sixth year dorms. Harry swallowed as he saw Blaise come down the stairs. Like Harry, he'd gotten new robes, only his were a rich sapphire blue. "Wow. You look good."

"Thank you." Blaise took in the sight of Harry, and finally said, "You look amazing."

Harry blushed a little. "Thanks…should we go now?"

Minutes later Blaise and Harry entered the transformed hall. The tables had been placed along the outer edges of the Great Hall, offering a veritable banquet of food to enjoy in between dances. The sky was a cloudless and starry. Fake snow lined the floor while snowflakes floated effortlessly throughout the room. Despite the chill that Harry normally associated with this kind of night, the air in the Great Hall was warm and inviting.

They chatted pleasantly with several couples from mixed houses, deliberately avoided ones from Gryffindor since neither Harry nor Blaise was in a mind to spoil the night by fighting with people from his ex house.

Harry had been surprised when he learned that Hermione was going to go with Ron. He'd thought in the past that they might end up together one day if they didn't kill each other—his humor and eagerness balanced her too studious and rule-abiding nature almost perfectly. Still, knowing how Ron had treated him, seeing Hermione dancing with Ron hurt.

Blaise saw who had caught Harry's eyes, and made the decision a before Hermione had a chance to spot them. "May I have this dance, Harry?"

Harry smiled, relaxing slightly. If they were dancing, unwanted conversations could be stopped. "I have to warn you, I'm not that great of a dancer."

Blaise laughed. "You never had to do a cotillion, did you?"

Harry looked at Blaise blankly.

Blaise took up Harry's hand and lead him in a rather awkward version of the modern Wizard Waltz. "For some reason, pureblood families find it all too important to be able to dance and converse aimlessly, and so send us to class to learn how to do it. I do admit, however, that learning to look like you actually care when you really are so bored that being put under Imperious might be considered fun has actually come in handy."

Harry laughed, and managed to only step on Blaise's foot once before the song ended. They turned around just as a solitary Draco entered the room, the last of the fifth years to the ball.

And he looked amazing.

His hair, normally slicked back and impeccable, had been spelled down to shoulder length, and neatly tied back with a simple silver ribbon. The formal robes that he'd chosen were so form fitting that it was difficult to even call them robes to begin with, showing off his lithe form to perfection. He even appeared to be glistening, the faintest touch of glitter reflected under the cool lighting of the room.

Harry, and quite a few other students, watched him enter, mouths at least slightly agape. Blaise tugged on his arm, trying to snap Harry out of it.

"Sorry about that." Harry turned away, and another dance started up as Draco glided through the crowd of dancers, smiling charmingly at both men and women a like.

He tapped Harry on the shoulder. As Harry spun around, Draco had his winning "I'm a Malfoy you know you love me" smile on, and took Harry by the hands. "Cutting in for this dance, Blaise. Why don't you get us some punch?"

Blaise's eyes hardened slightly, but he didn't fight Draco and left the two to dance. "Are you terribly bored yet? Blaise isn't the most interesting partner at a dance."

Still slightly bewildered by all this, Harry replied, "Well, we didn't get here all that long ago…"

Meanwhile, bets were being settled, and clusters of Gryffindors broke up as they realized that they weren't targets for assassination after all. The clusters reformed when someone figured out that something far more interesting was beginning to take place. Disappointment over where Harry had ended up or not, the sudden triangle of Blaise/Harry/Draco was going to be entertaining.

At the end of the song, Blaise was standing by with three cups of punch—impeccable cotillion taught manners fully in place.

"Why thank you, Blaise."

"You're quite welcome, Draco."

"Did you enjoy yourself, Harry?" asked Blaise.

Harry looked between the two housemates. He admitted to himself that he really did like Draco, but he wasn't sure if he was quite ready to give up Blaise yet. A glance at Blaise's determined face told Harry that Blaise wasn't willing to let Draco get the upper hand.

"It was nice. We managed to not step on each other's feet." Harry said carefully.

Draco beamed; as if somehow Harry's slightly less clumsy dance steps were a sign of favor, while Harry sipped his punch like it was the tastiest drink ever. A faster dance started playing.

"Shall we Harry?" asked Blaise politely, itchy to get away from Draco.

Draco put a hand on Harry. "Why the rush? You went to the trouble of getting drinks, the least we could do is enjoy them."

Blaise plastered on what Harry realized must be the "want to be under the Imperious" smile. "Of course. Harry? Will you find us a place to sit while I have a quick word with Draco?"

Although disliking being dismissed like that, a table far away seemed safer then witnessing an actual confrontation. He was making small talk with a Ravenclaw, when two songs later, the two Slytherins finally found him, causing the Ravenclaw to make a hasty retreat.

"We've come to an agreement," Blaise announced.

"With your permission, of course," interjected Draco.

"Of course." Blaise nodded.

Harry hesitantly said, "I'm listening."

"Seeing as Draco is adamant about dancing with you, we've decided that we'll take turns, and in return, we promise that we'll be civil to each other for the rest of the night."

Harry felt goosebumps crawling up his skin, realizing that he was actually Draco's prey.
He looked between the two men, who were looking at each other with the kind of cold hostility that he was used to seeing directed at him in school years past. Finally, slowly, Harry said, "I reserve the right to stop dancing with either one of you if I so choose."

Both Blaise and Draco nodded; each sure Harry would end up with him.

Harry stood. "Well then. Blaise, I believe it is your turn?"

Blaise nodded, smirked at Draco and lead Harry onto the dance floor.

* * *
As the night wore on, Harry got more and more incredulous at Blaise's behavior. Every dance they had it took all of Harry's efforts to get Blaise to stop scowling in Malfoy's direction, or to stop talking about him. He'd even resorted to several hard stomps on the foot to get him to pay attention to what Harry was saying. His nerves were wearing thin, and he was almost ready to call it quits, when the song ended and he returned to Draco.

Taking a seat next to him and nibbling on a pastry, Harry realized that Draco hadn't changed in trying to win Harry. They didn't dance every time it was their turn, even though they could have. He'd quickly discovered that Draco wasn't all that fond of dancing either, so instead they spent their time talking. They had argued over who had the worst taste in dress robes (female: Pansy Parkinson, male, Neville), who was the worst dancer (Harry ruefully agreed that for the Boy Who Lived and Youngest Seeker at Hogwarts in a Century that he couldn't keep his feet on the floor, and off his partner), and the person in most desperate need of a hair cut, (Ron, whose bangs were down past his nose). All in all he'd actually enjoyed himself far more with Draco then with Blaise.

Harry's spirits sank a little when Blaise came near, and when he got within hearing distance, Harry said, "Tell you guys what, I need a breather, so I'll sit out both the next songs."

Draco nodded. "Sounds all right with me. What about you, Blaise?"

Blaise nodded curtly. "All right. See you in a few." He spun around and left the group of Slytherins.

Harry kept true to his word and took off shortly thereafter, leaving the great hall to get a breath of fresh air. He wasn't the only one that had this idea, and soon struck up some small talk with a couple of sixth year Ravenclaws. As the first song ended and the second one began to play, he politely broke off the conversation and starting head back inside. He nodded to a few people, and across the way he saw Blaise's back. Heading towards him, he slowed as he caught snippets of conversation.

"…going to fuck Malfoy, I know it. Shouldn't have ever agreed to the damn bet. He's my date."

Harry inched closer.

"Did you see them laughing? From the way the two of them have been acting, I can't help but think that he's been seeing Draco when we haven't been dating. Do you think that they're really studying potions every Sunday afternoon?"

Harry's eyes grew cold, and the people Blaise were talking to scattered as they saw Harry coming up towards them.

"How dare you." His voice was as quiet as he could manage in the noisy environment, even though people around them had started to stop their conversations, noticing the anger in Harry's voice.

"Harry! I was just waiting for you and…"

"I heard what you said about me and Draco."

Blaise took a step back, raising his hands placating, his voice raising slightly. "I can explain, really. I mean, surely you understand what it must be like to be in my shoes."

Harry shook his head. "I know this must be tough but it was your own fault wasn't it? You didn't have to come to any sort of arrangement with Draco, did you?"

As the crowd of onlookers gathered, Draco closed in.

"But you did. And ever since then you've done nothing but glare at him. Mutter about him. Make comments about him." He laughed, bitterly. "I'd say you're jealous, aren't you? Jealous of the way that he can read me better then you can. Jealous because he can make me laugh. I will always thank you for being kind to me when I made the transition from Gryffindor to Slytherin, but I will not put with this from you. How could we ever have any kind of relationship knowing that you expect me to be meeting Draco at the Astronomy Tower? We're through, Blaise. For good."

A path cleared for Harry as he moved to leave. He heard Blaise calling his name, although neither one made a move to get the other. Harry didn't care enough to turn around, sickened by Blaise's display. Harry bitterly thought that if Blaise really wanted him so bad that he could have at least tried a little harder to get Harry to come back.

Draco nodded slightly as he passed, giving Harry a small smile, out of sympathy at finding out that your boyfriend's a prick. Harry appreciated that.

He was asleep by the time the rest of the dorm returned.