Moments

24. The Royal Fucking Ballet

A/N The title is a reference to '10. A Dance Lesson Moment'

(997 words)

Harry was waiting in the sitting room, tugging nervously at the sleeves of his navy suit which he wore with a grey shirt and tan-leather shoes and belt. He wasn't used to doing 'smart' without delving into full dress-robes. He hoped he'd got it right.

'Stop pacing, H,' sighed Peanut. 'He'll be here soon. Have you got the tickets?'

Harry nodded and perched on the edge of the sofa to try and calm himself. His leg started to jitter.

The Floo flared and Harry stood up expectantly.

Pansy stepped through. 'Oh! You look unpredictably nice, Potter,' she said. 'If things were different, I'd set my eye on you.'

There was a certain amount of giggling. Pansy waved a bottle of wine and family-pack of Chocolate Mini-Frogs at the others.

'Why are you so nervous anyway?' asked Mione. 'You two go out together all the time. Have you got some muggle money?'

'Yes. And this is different. I'm not sure I'm going to enjoy it.' He pulled at his collar.

'Stop fussing your clothes, Harry. You look flawless. You still haven't told us the backstory...' said Hannah.

They were settling down for a 'girls-night in'. Luna, Ginny, Sakura, and Laura were also expected at any moment. Apparently, such evenings required mountains of snacks, dips, sweets, and wine. There was already enough food to feed thirty-thousand and that was before the others contributed. Harry was grateful to be escaping. Last time the volume gradually increased to unbearable hilarity before ending with a half-hour session of loud goodbyes by the front door at 1am.

The Floo flared into life and Malfoy stepped through. Harry immediately fretted; perhaps he should be wearing a tie too.

'Oooh, you look dapper,' said Peanut.

Malfoy preened. 'Well, Potter said smart muggle.' He wore a grey suit with a navy waistcoat and white shirt. Like Potter, he wore tan shoes.

'You match,' Hannah said gleefully. 'You look perfect together...'

Harry paled, surely that wasn't right? 'I'll go and change.'

'No time, Potter. Are we driving?'

'No point, nowhere to park nearby. We'll hail a taxi.' Malfoy looked slightly disappointed and Harry made a mental note that next time he'd arrange somewhere they could drive to, he knew Malfoy loved the Aston. 'We'd best go,' Harry continued hurriedly, he could see the women gearing up for more embarrassing commentary.

The taxi dropped them off directly outside the Royal Opera House and they headed into the grandiose theatre. Harry bought a programme as Malfoy inspected the famous 'Swan' costumes displayed in the foyer.

'Should we have gone out for a meal first?' Harry muttered slightly uncomfortably.

'We'll go for a drink afterwards instead,' Malfoy said with a slightly pink tinge to his cheeks.

The bell rang for the audience to take their seats.

'The programme explains the story.' Malfoy leaned close and Harry was enveloped in his aftershave. It reminded him of a year ago when Malfoy made him go ice-skating and he felt slightly nostalgic, maybe because it was nearing Christmas. 'It's Christmas Eve,' Malfoy read. 'And Clara is given an enchanted Nutcracker Doll...'

Harry took a sigh of relief. At least he'd be able to understand what was going on.

He'd paid a fortune for seats four rows from the front, but he was pleased he had. He wasn't sure he fully appreciated the complexity of their dancing but he could see the prowess and power of the ballerinas. And he was surprised to find that he was captivated by the male dancers, their muscular form and athleticism was breath-taking, and to watch the principal do his sauters and pirouettes left Harry with a slack jaw.

'Did you see his thighs?' Malfoy muttered in awe during the interval.

'Hell, yes. And he lifted the Sugar Plum fairy so effortlessly,' Harry responded.

'You were right about the tights though,' Draco said and they both smirked.

'I told you it was a load of blokes prancing about with their bollocks on display.'

'I'm sure the costume designer could had made their jackets a bit longer...'

'But that would spoil all your fun,' Harry laughed.

'Especially from this angle!'

The woman next to Harry was laughing too. 'You two are so cute,' she said. 'Relationship goals...'

'Oh, we're not...'

Malfoy rested his hand on Harry's thigh and whispered in his ear, 'don't spoil her illusions.'

Harry shuddered as Malfoy's breath ghosted across his collar and he could smell chocolate from the icecream he'd bought them both.

Luckily the lights went down for the second half because Harry was blushing. He was rather relieved when Malfoy took his hand away.

'Well, was it right up your street?' Harry asked afterwards.

'You know it was, Potter. I thought it was amazing.'

'Good, let's grab a drink somewhere. I can't bear to go back to Grimmauld Place yet. They'll be in full party mode.'

'You can always sleep on my sofa,' Malfoy said a little later.

'It's fine. I'll wander home slowly and try to sneak past them.'

'You haven't got a chance.'

'No, Mione always knows when any of us are late home.'

They meandered through the late-night bustle of Covent Garden.

'Have you ever seen the Christmas lights on Oxford Street?' Harry asked.

Malfoy shook his head.

'They certainly challenge Hogwarts...' he led them towards Oxford Street.

He smiled to see Malfoy's jaw drop at the huge white sparkling angels of lights that reached towards the stars.

'Are you sure it's not magic?' Malfoy whispered.

'Maybe it is and the muggles don't know.' Harry took a deep breath. He'd been into central London often but there was something special about experiencing these things with Malfoy and it made him truly happy. For the first time in an age, he found he was looking forward to Christmas. Even though Malfoy would be going to France to be with Narcissa, there was just something about their nights out together which made Harry feel warm and comfortable and at ease with life.

*****