Drao was ughing at him in the way he does whehinks Harry is being silly, his mouth twisting up into a smirk. Harry doesn’t know how to expin the real problem with beier of attention—that how sometimes it winds you down, piks off piees of you, takes away all yes until you have nothing to protet yourself aough skin to hide behind, only you aruth of the publi opinion. Ahe other part, about how going there and smiliheir thanks would seem like he was more important thahers who had risked life and limb to fight beside him, to fight for him, a stomah it, he only thing Harry ahink he is being ohe fat that he had beeo stay alive, even though he had tried to die.
&hihought i he isn’t telliainly not Hermione: He should have proteted them all. That’s what he was trying to do, by walking into that forest. He should have proteted them, or he should have died with them, a quite mao do either, so what kihat make him?”
&o knolus one.” Harry reads over the letter for the third time, already ripping off a piee of parhment to send a RSVP. “Who do they think I’m taking? Everyohat Ginny and I broke up.”
& age news as soon as it happehe Quibbler overed it, whih was sort more than annoying, beause Luna had written it i MY FRIENDS HAVE BEEN DOING LATELY olumn, and Harry did in him to be mad at her.
“You ould take me.” There’s fored asualness in his voie, ahough they’ve gotte where they pretend arouher, Drao is avoiding Harry’s eyes. “I’d be able to help.”
&he reason that Harry would want to take him. Beause he’d be able to help.
“Yeah.” Harry had to lear his throat twie before he ould get the word out, beause this is raisiions than it is answers, like if it’s a date aher Drao wao be a date, if this art of their attempt to keep moving forward, if Harry should be expeting things to hahey go publi like this. “Yeah, I’d like that a lot.”
Drao smiles, even though he still is not looking his way. “You would?”
Harry doesn’t know what to do with him when he is like this, so he just smiles, too, ahe upboard to make his own bowl of ereal, w what in the world he was going to wear.
& until thirty mihe party before he starts to freak out.
Harry’s wearing an old suit of Drao’s, beause apparently it’s in fashile fs now (or at least, if it’s not in fashion, it will be after they see the two it, and it’ll be easier to take you shopping at a muggle pe, anyways) ahe him. He tugs at it, hearing Hermione’s voie ielling him to leave it alone, and looks at his refletion in the gssboard, rying to ftten his hair, even though Ginny had reassured him at this point i keeps him from looking less like he’s trying too hard and more bad boy hi.
& know what that means, but if Ginny says he looks fihan he probably does, so he spehe time paing the living room floor, and it’s o of how exited this had made Drao that keeps him from goiom of the steps and anelling on him, sayi and loking the do himself down on the ouh, a ever make the mistake of giving intaihey send so many owls the letters fill up the whole house.
“Drao?” He swings himself arouer, even though the w i. Harry spends half his time seeing ho before this old house breaks, just so he has ao fix it up. So far, no luk. Wizards make things for keeps, apparently. “You almost ready? We’re goie.”
Hermioures, and she also inion on her dress before she throws herself at the mery of the mob. Ron’s written and said that she had spent all day gettih that hair sleeking potion and doing her nails. It seems that hildhood taunts had made her unwilling to go if she looked aha.
& goie,” Drao says, and there’s reakieps behind him. Harry knows with around that Dra his eyes and putting the finishing touhes on his hair at the same time, like there’s a string twistihem together so Harry kly ening with him at all times. “You an’t rush beauty.”
Harry’s already f a respohe wht oip of his toheurns arouhi have said, beause even though he k he found Drao attrative, this was the first time that he was aught h to allow himself to look without feeling guilty.
“You look…” He’s ioo, this one grey. He’s ied olors, with his pale skin and light hair and the dark grey of his suit, like he wahe bakground while giving Harry all the room to shihere was nothing that would let him fall out of sight when he’s walking around lookihis. “Amazing.”
“Thanks.” Drao srathes at his olr, but other than that, there’s no sign that he was flustered at all. “You do too.” He didn’t. Harry didn’t look bad, but he didn’t look great, not the way Drao did, like he was goihe only thing in the room worth looki for the tie, you…”
Harry fumbled at it for a moment, and then Drao was there, pushing his