Chapter Twenty-Eight of 'Wolf's Choice'- The Yule Ball

[lomonaaeren]

Chapter Twenty-Seven.

Title: Wolf’s Choice (28/60)
Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling and associates own these characters. I am writing this story for fun and not profit.
Pairing: Main story is gen, a few GoF canon pairings mentioned
Content Notes: AU of GoF, angst, gore, violence, torture, present tense, minor character death
Rating: PG-13
Summary: AU of GoF. Harry begins his summer with horrific visions that come true much faster than he was expecting. He’ll have to rely on his circle of friends, both his guardians, and all his allies to cope with the results.
Author’s Notes: This is a long fic that is a sequel to my fic Other People’s Choices. Make sure you read that first before you start this one.


Thank you again for all the reviews!

Chapter Twenty-Eight—The Yule Ball

“Draco? Are you all right? Only you’ve been looking at the letter for most of the night.”

Draco shakes his head and tucks away the letter from his father that arrived earlier that day. He also manages to muster a smile. “My father sent me some upsetting news. Malfoy investments,” he adds, when Harry starts to stand up as if he’s going to cross the distance in between their chairs. “I mean, we can probably get the lost money back, but…”

He trails off. That’s not what the letter is about at all, but Harry is the last person he can confess that to.

Harry studies him for a second, then nods. “Then I hope things work out,” he says. He twitches an arm, and Lion flies to his shoulder and Chaos leaps to her feet from where she was napping next to the chair. Draco wonders if he sees the other ripples that run around the rest of the common room, the way that other Slytherins would be happy to leap their feet and follow him, too.

He probably doesn’t. And both his obliviousness and the ripple are part of Draco’s problem.

“Why do you hope things work out, though?” Draco tries to ask, tries to aim for a haughty tone that might mask what he’s really feeling and not alert any spies his father has in the common room. “I mean, you don’t care about money that much.”

“I care when my friends are upset, though. Are you sure that you’re all right, Draco?”

“Yeah. I—sorry for saying that, Harry. I suppose I’m still not used to having friends.”

Harry smiles at him and then makes his way up the stairs towards the bedrooms. Chaos thumps after him, her tail swishing behind her. Draco stares after them and wonders how in the world his father would expect him to overcome someone with his own dragon, never mind all the other advantages Harry has.

If Draco was going to betray Harry, of course. Which he’s not going to do.

“Hey, Draco.”

Draco turns his head, and finds himself flinching heavily when he sees the glint of a knife. It’s in Theo’s hand, and it’s not coming for him—yet. But part of him goes as silent and still as he would if his father was in the room to hear what he was saying to Harry.

“You shouldn’t,” Theo murmurs, “count on being able to betray him. Or maybe I should say, you shouldn’t count on being able to do it and then enjoy your reward.”

“I wasn’t plotting to betray him,” Draco snaps. His heart is beating far too fast, like a rabbit who’s seen an eagle, and he hates that someone else his own age can make him feel that way. His father is frightening, the Dark Lord is frightening, Draco shouldn’t be afraid of Theo. “I just meant that—”

“Really?” Theo turns the knife around, looking at it for a moment, before he tucks it away in his sleeve. “Harry is kind. I think he would forgive someone who turned on him. He’s managed to ignore the fact that my father hasn’t offered him any genuine support in months. But he was furious when he heard about the ways my father has threatened me.”

Draco’s tongue is stuck to the roof of his mouth. He knew that Father was wary around Tarquinius Nott (Father would never admit to being actually frightened of another Death Eater) long before the Dark Lord fell. Draco sees shadows in Theo’s eyes that he doesn’t want to confront.

Unexpectedly, Blaise comes to his rescue. “Harry wouldn’t forgive you for hurting Draco, either,” he says mildly without looking up from his Arithmancy book. “Come on, Theo, you know better than this.”

Theo hesitates for a long moment. “But if he does something else that gets in the way, then he’ll know I’m waiting,” he says, and stands up and walks after Harry and Chaos to the bedroom.

Draco closes his eyes and asks a question, because Blaise is the only one close enough to hear him. “Why is Theo like that?”

“Well, you know some of the rumors.” Blaise’s voice is still calm. “I think Theo’s mind is sort of damaged.”

“I didn’t mean that part of it.”

Blaise is silent. Draco opens his eyes to find Blaise staring at him with his lips parted a little.

“You really don’t understand what it means to Theo to suddenly have a friend who accepts him completely?” Blaise asks. “I mean, I thought you did mostly because you have a friend who’s the same way. But if you don’t…then I suppose you might really be stupid enough to betray Harry, and no matter what happens, I’d join Theo in defending him.” Blaise shakes his head and goes back to his book.

Draco sits back and bites his tongue. He wants to say that it’s hard and Blaise doesn’t understand, because his mother isn’t a Death Eater.

But bringing up hard childhoods and difficult relationships with parents around Blaise isn’t something you do. Draco stares into the flames and wishes he did know what to do.

*

Harry smiles at Luna. He’s wearing the dress robes that Snape insisted he purchase this summer. Harry made absolutely no attempt to alter them, even though he’s grown a bit and so the robes dangle a little above his ankles now, and he doesn’t really like the green color. But he doesn’t care. It wasn’t his idea to participate in this stupid Yule Ball, so people can deal with what they get.

“You look great, Luna.”

Luna smiles up at him. She has silver earrings on, although one is a crescent moon and one is a four-pointed star. Around her neck is a huge silver chain with more star and moon charms on it and one that Harry thinks is a miniature sun. Her robe is blue and covered with more silver star embroidery.

"I'm dressed as what I want to be like," Luna says, and extends her arms and spins around a little. Her robe floats behind her. Harry supposes it's pretty. Honestly, to him she just looks like Luna. The smile on her face is the best part of the outfit. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"Oh, because I don't care."

Luna nods as if that part is perfectly understandable, and then reaches out and loops her arm through his. "Shall we go in to the Yule Ball? I don't understand why everyone is walking so slowly."

"I think we have to go down and wait by the doors of the Great Hall. They want us to begin the first dance or something."

"Really? But it's terribly bad luck to be first at something all the time! It attracts the attention of the Laughing Siddoos."

Harry smiles down at her as he twitches his trailing robe away from Chaos's jaws. She's fascinated and wants to gnaw on them for some reason. Harry will just do what he can to keep them free. "I don't think everyone here will be first all the time. Not all of us came first in the First Task, after all."

"That's true." Luna appears to give it deep consideration as they come to a stop before the doors of the Great Hall.

Harry glances around. It seems that Cedric is escorting Cho, and Fleur Delacour has someone Harry recognizes as the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain on her arm. Viktor and--Hermione?--are there, too. Harry grins at her, and Hermione, after hesitating for a moment as if she thinks he's going to be upset or something, grins back.

Professor McGonagall comes out to give them hurried instructions about the dance. Harry doesn't listen. He's looking at the other Champions and noticing the stares they give Luna and her robes, and Chaos. He wants to roll his eyes. Why did they think he was going to act "normal" when he didn't do that in the First Task, either?

"Are you worried about the dance?" he does think to ask Luna.

"No. It's just walking around the floor slightly faster, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Harry says, and sternly ignores the flutter of nervousness in his stomach as the doors open. "That's all it is."

People are staring at them as they parade in, but honestly, that's normal enough for Harry by now that he manages to ignore it and hold out his hand to Luna. She grasps it, and they surge into the opening steps of the dance.

It becomes obvious quickly that perhaps Harry should have taken those dance lessons. But once again, he hardens his spine and makes his steps as careful as he can and his face as blank as he can. He is not going to care.

Besides, Luna hasn't had the lessons, either, and she's grinning at him as they twirl and stumble around the floor. Harry relaxes as he smiles back. This was never going to be perfect. At least he isn't stepping on his partner's feet and making it painful for her.

"Where did you learn to dance?" Fleur Delacour says to him out of the corner of her mouth as she spins around an enthralled Roger Davies, her nose wrinkled.

"The same place you learned to speak English," Harry says. She snaps her mouth shut and turns away in offense.

Chaos at least agrees to sit on the sidelines until the one dance they're supposed to do has passed. Then Harry comes over to pet her and lead her to a table where the elves have arranged some thick, raw slabs of horse and venison. Chaos starts bolting them, and Luna gives Harry a little curtsey and asks, "Do you mind if I dance with other people?"

"Of course not! It's not like this is a formal date."

Luna smiles at him and drifts away. Harry watches her for a second, but then gets distracted by the way that Professor McGonagall is trying to keep the twins from putting something in the drinks. Right now, she's doing pretty well, but he's sure the twins will manage to run circles around her in a minute or two.

"Is anyone sitting here?"

"No." Harry shuffles over so that Ron can sit down. He has a sour look on his face and he looks deliberately away from Parvati, who is dancing right now with some Slytherin sixth-year boy whose name Harry can't remember.

"Trouble in paradise?"

"Oh, shut up, mate," Ron says, staring gloomily at the glass of butterbeer in his hand. "Luna and Hermione are the only sensible girls here. I asked Parvati to go because she said she wanted to and didn't have anyone to date, but once we got here, she got upset that I wasn't jealous of the looks she was getting from that bloke. So we probably won't dance at all."

"Sorry," Harry says, patting Ron's arm. Inside, he's immensely relieved. He avoided all that shit by going with Luna. He doesn't understand Parvati, or Lavender, who's Parvati's best friend. He's a bit surprised that Ron wanted to bring Parvati as a date, but then, Ron probably didn't want to show up by himself, either.

"Would you like to dance, Ron?"

Luna has floated back up to them, after a dance that Harry didn't see at all, and is holding out her hand. Ron blinks, then grins and puts his butterbeer down. "You don't mind, mate?" he asks, over his shoulder.

"I don't own her," Harry replies, which makes Ron blush a little for some reason before he goes off to dance with Luna.

"Are you having fun, Harry?" That's Theo, gliding up behind him as silent as a shadow.

"Apparently not as much fun as some other people want me to have," Harry answers as he notices Professor McGonagall looking at him. He gives her a jaunty wave, which makes her snort and turn away, but he's pretty sure it's to hide a smile.

"Lovegood came with you? Oh, yes, she's over there with Weasley."

"You know, it's weird that you call people by their last names when they've been part of our study group almost as long as there's been a study group."

"I only call friends by their first names." Theo relaxes onto the bench next to him, narrowing his eyes at something across the room. Harry looks and finds Draco standing by himself, his face pale. The dark robes he's wearing make him look even worse, and Harry wonders idly why Draco chose them.

"Is it Draco or Malfoy right now?"

Harry doesn't know what makes him ask that, but he knows his instincts are right when Theo's eyes come back to him. "It's very much Malfoy until he makes his mind up."

Harry sighs. He had a dream the other night where he's pretty sure he saw Lucius Malfoy killing a deer for Voldemort. "You know, he might make his mind up more easily if he has support for his choices."

"He can get that from you or Blaise. Not me."

"Why are you acting as though it's inevitable that he's going to betray us?" Harry demands. He doesn't like the way Theo seems to be jumping to conclusions.

Theo snorts a little. "Because I have no idea how strong Malfoy is. Following you indicates strength. The way he acted the first few years at Hogwarts indicates weakness. I don't know which way he'll jump. I don't like being uncertain."

Harry pauses. "There are a lot of people who would say the strength and weakness should be the other way around."

"Not me." Theo drapes his hands over his knees, eyes tracking Draco's movements. "Malfoy was a terrible leader. Insecure and constantly pushing people to acknowledge and respond to him, and he wouldn't take any attempt to stand aside from the conflict as just neutrality. I have the feeling you would."

Harry closes his eyes. Honestly, he can already feel a headache coming on. "I would take the standing aside as just someone who hasn't decided which side they're on yet. But if they choose against me and for Voldemort, then I would say something."

"That makes you the kind of leader I require. Malfoy isn't it."

Harry picks up Ron's abandoned butterbeer. "Please stop making me deal with politics."

Theo chuckles, but he leaves. When Harry opens his eyes again, there's someone sitting next to him that he honestly doesn't recognize at first, and her silver-trimmed dress robes aren't responsible for that. He just hasn't paid her a lot of attention in months.

Then she looks at him, and he makes out the shape of her chin. "Edgecombe, right," he says flatly. He doesn't care what Cho says; Edgecombe never apologized for bullying Luna in a way that made sense. She made half-hearted noises at one point, she sort of drifted along the edge of their group probably because Cho was in it, but she disappeared just before Harry would have demanded a real apology.

Edgecombe breathes out slowly. "I know that Cho told you why I have a difficult situation in Ravenclaw, Potter."

"You're a half-blood and you have a dark sense of humor. None of that needs to make you a bully."

Edgecombe fiddles with a silver ring on her finger. "You don't know what it's like."

"I don't know what being a half-blood is like. Right."

"You don't know what it's like to have half your House despise you on sight!"

Harry makes a slight motion with his hand. It encompasses Chaos sleeping beside him and the Slytherin crest on his robes, which he wore after thinking about it for a bit and deciding he should. "Right."

Edgecombe flushes deeply enough that Harry thinks she'll get up and storm away. Frankly, he wants that. He doesn't care about Edgecombe's blood status, he could accept dark humor if she expressed it in a way other than bullying, but on the other hand, she's acting like Lavender, demanding consideration and respect while not offering any herself.

Instead, Edgecombe lets go of the ring and turns to him. "I'm starting to think that the really powerful people in the school are the ones who follow you."

"I don't know about that. Other people could learn that kind of magic if they tried."

"I didn't mean--I meant that the really politically powerful people are the ones who follow you."

Harry shrugs and gives her a thin, insincere smile. "I don't know about that, either."

Edgecombe makes a dismissive gesture with one hand. "You don't know a lot, if you're posing as their leader."

"I know enough. If you apologize properly and don't bully anyone any more, then you can join the group. But I don't think you will."

"Not bully Loony? You have no idea how tempting--" Edgecombe cuts herself off, maybe because she can see from his face that Harry isn't about to respond to it. "Fine. I have no idea what your problem is, but fine." She stands up and stalks away.

Harry shakes his head at her back. It crosses his mind to wonder if she was doing something sinister, but he doesn't think so. She is like Lavender, and she doesn't really want to admit she's wrong or do anything that would make her uncomfortable. She thought she could get away with a non-apology, and gave up when she found out she couldn't.

"Do you want to dance, Harry?"

Harry grins at Hermione, who's holding out her hand, and stands up. "If you don't mind getting your toes stepped on."

"It can't be that bad," Hermione says, a blasé attitude that only lasts until the first time Harry swirls her against the music and steps on her toes.

Harry laughs, and ignores the way that Edgecombe scowls at him from across the room. He really doesn't know what's going on, but he's beginning to think that it doesn't matter any more than people staring at him for wearing short robes and sitting out most of the dances does. She'll apologize or she won't; she'll change her mind or she won't.

For now, he intends to enjoy himself.