yule ball

and tell

Draco was alone on a garden bench.

Harry Potter was somewhere inside the castle now, and Draco was by himself, with only this thoughts to occupy him.

Unfortunately, the only thing he could think about was Harry's face dropping as he confessed.

He blinked furiously, not sure why hot tears were welling up in his eyes, or why he was sad at all. It was Harry Potter, after all, his enemy. The person who Dumbledore trusted more than most teachers, who was always surrounded by friends, who Draco had hated since their first year.

Had he hated him all this time? Recent evidence pointed to no but-

Draco couldn't think about that right now. He needed to get away. Usually, being outside was the best escape, but Draco didn't think he could spend one more minute on the bench where he and Harry had kissed.

And then fell apart, shattered like glass.

Or maybe that was just Draco. He wondered if Harry was feeling the same way as he was as he shuffled to the castle door, teeth chattering.

Once he reached the entrance to the great hall, he hovered on the edge for a moment, enjoying the cold, before opening the door and entering the dining hall.

Everything felt stuffier in here, the heat of hundreds of bodies twirling and thrashing making Draco fan himself. He scanned the room, telling himself he was looking for Pansy, although he knew that wasn't true. He couldn't find anyone, including Potter.

He weaved through the students, past the suffocating dancers, and finally broke out of the dance floor, panting.

He ran for the hall, not quite sure why he was running now, and not really caring if anyone saw him.

Once he was on the other side of the doors, only a few students milled around, taking a breather. Draco had to admit that it was significantly cooler outside the dining hall, and he was beginning to slump to the ground, exhausted and desperate to just have a couple of seconds to think, when he spotted a familiar dress.

It belonged to a girl who was curled up and hunched over on the staircase. Her shoulders were heaving, her head burrowed in her arms. He could almost hear her muffled sobs, even with the Weird Sister's bass pounding from the doors behind him.

He walked towards her carefully, until he was right in front of her, Just two steps below where she was sitting.

She stifled her crying, as soon as he stopped, and he froze. Draco hadn't really thought out what he was going to say to her once he was there, just heard someone who sounded like they were in just as much distress as he.

Hermione looked up, dark mascara tracing her face in black streaks, hair disheveled. Her eyes widened as they met Draco's, then narrowed.

"What are you doing here?" Draco had to give her credit, she was trying as hard as she could to hold a straight face. It wasn't working, but it was the effort that counted, right? "And where's Harry?"

Draco paused. "I'm not sure."

"What did you do?" Hermione scowled.

"Nothing!" Realizing that was a lie, he stuttered- "Well, maybe something, but-"

Hermione gathered her dress and stood up. When she grabbed Draco's arm, her fingernails dug into his skin and he winced. She dragged him into a corner so no prying eyes could see them.

"What did you do?" She hissed.

"What- I-"

"Look, Malfoy." Hermione crossed her arms. "As you can see, I'm not in the mood. And if you hurt Harry, I want to know why, because god knows he's going to bottle it up inside him until he bursts."

Draco froze. She glared harder at him, and he finally broke. "Fine." He sighed. "I kissed him." He could see her eyes widen but continued. "And he said he liked it. But then I ruined everything, because I told him that it was a dare. Not the kissing, the part about taking him to the Yule Ball. The kissing definitely wasn't part of the dare. But I did it anyway. And now he's angry because he says he can't trust me."

Hermione seemed at a loss for words, which was a first.

They stood there in silence for a couple of agonizing seconds before she sighed. "What have you gotten yourself into?" She shook her head. "I have no idea what Harry sees in you, but all he's been talking about for the past week is you, Draco. He likes you. He's just hurt. Really hurt. But if you talk to him, maybe you can smooth things over. Tell him how you really feel."

"How do you know I should do all of this?" Draco asked, stunned.

"Because I wish someone would do it to me." Hermione cast a wistful glance in the direction of the great hall. "Now go. Talk to him."