Title: Date of a Lifetime

Author: DorthyAnnDrarry

Beta: None

Trope/Content/Warning: Post Hogwarts EWE, Pining, Flirting, Awkward Flirting, Slow burn, Brief mentions of past emotional trauma from the war

Summary:

Five years after the war, the fourth annual New Horizon's charity auction and gala has a most unusual item up for bid, a Date with Harry Potter. Pansy gets Draco an invitation to the auction, on one condition: he bids on and wins the date. It's meant to get Potter out of his system, to live a fantasy for one night and then move on with his life but things rarely work out so easily.

Reviewer: @ShiloQuetchenbach

Review:

This story is absolutely adorable, and a perfect blend of drama, fluff, and humor. The characterizations are brilliant. Harry is rumpled and hesitant to trust but willing to make the effort, Draco is elegant and witty and sensitive, Pansy is clever and manipulative, Hermione is full of righteous fury, and Narcissa is elegant and sarcastic and wants the best for Draco .

I've seen this theme before - win a date with Potter at a charity ball - but this is by far my favorite. It's witty and snarky and sweet. Narcissa - and her "poor fish" comment - is an absolute gem and injects the perfect amount of humor to lighten the tense mood. I love how soft and sweet the overall story is; it makes the sucker-punch of the Knight Bus incident that much more painful. Also the way the author included photos of the setting within the chapters? Sheer brilliance. It really helped the story come alive for me. Overall, brilliantly executed. I absolutely recommend it.

***

Luna: That's a brilliant idea! Why don't we wear some nice costumes to put a bit of color inside the chapters? Come here boys!

Harry: Luna, I don't think it's really about aesthetic, maybe more of creating atmosphere. Plus, I'm a bit weary about your costume choices...

Draco: Lovegood, why on Merlin's name I'm wearing these cat ears? And they won't come off! Did you put a bloody Sticky Charm on them!?

Harry: I'm IN.