Time has passed for Hogwarts, and it was almost back to normal. The trio had become closer than before, and Harry and Draco were easily called best friends by anyone that looked at them. They were constantly talking or hanging out. It became well known in the Slytherin house that Harry had his hair curled by Draco every morning. It seemed that everyone was bummed out about Quiditch season. McGonagall had to delay it till after Christmas Break since the Quiditch towers weren't completely fixed. 

It was the day of the Christmas Ball, and everyone was either getting ready or hanging out with friends. The girls usually took the morning of the ball to shop around for discounted accessories, while the more laid back waited until the night to get ready. 

The trio plus Draco were currently sharing the Quiditch field to play a modified version of Quiditch. Many students who had their own brooms shared the field, and students would watched from the ground. Occasionally McGonagall would peek out of her window and force some students closer to the ground when they neared the clouds. But other than that, the field turned into a hang out.

Harry and Draco were currently playing the Chasers while Ron and Hermione played independent. Whoever had the Quaffle was going to get chased and knocked down. 

Harry currently had the Quaffle, and was flying to the goal side. Hermione was trailing behind since she was the slowest, while Draco and Ron were on his tail.

Harry was near the goal line, and Ron was running out of ideas. Ron quickly stood on his broom and jumped off and onto Harry. The only problem, was Ron jumped right through Harry's arm. Harry had been practicing his abilities extensively, and 3/10 times, he can dissipate one of his appendages. And that's exactly what he was able to do. 

Except Draco had the same idea, but from a better angle. Draco stood on his broom and jumped onto Harry's back, effectively knocking him off his broom. Thankfully they were only a couple of feet off the ground.

The two dropped and Draco tackled him. Ron scrambled back up and joined on the pile. 

"Get off him. Come on. He might loose a leg." Hermione joked at them. They both got off of Harry and helped him up.

"You cheater. Can't just get rid of an arm." Ron said as he punched him in the arm.

"We never fully disclosed that when we stated the rules." Harry smirked.

"What are you? A lawyer?" Draco grinned. "You'd make a good one." 

"There's no such thing as a good lawyer, Draco. Only fair and winners. Very rarely are they both." Hermione pointed out. 

Harry looked around. He could tell that the evening was getting closer. "I think I'm going to head back inside." Harry decided.

"So will I. Luna and I are supposed to get ready together." Hermione agreed.

Ron and Draco decided to as well. They all headed back inside and split off. 

Draco and Harry were heading down the stairs into the dungeons. 

"Did you find a date to the ball?" Harry asked casually.

"Come on. Who would want to go to the ball with me? I'm just an ex death eater who ran away after the fight."

"I won't disagree about the ex death eater thing, but you are more than that." Harry disagreed.

That was enough to make Draco snicker. "What more is there to me?"

"Besides being an ex death eater against your will, you are now kind, sweet, caring when you want. Which I respect. You're also smart and a good fighter. Whether you were a prick before shouldn't concern anyone." They walked down the hall, heading down some halls towards the Slytherin portrait.

"That's very kind of you, Harry. I'm pretty sure you're the only person to have ever said that to me." Draco thanked him.

"You know. Since we both don't have dates to the dance, how about we go together? Everybody already suspects us of being a couple. Might as well go together." Harry suggested. 

Draco stopped and blushed. Harry stopped in front of him and waited. 

"You would want to go to the dance, with me? You do know this is your last dance. You can go with practically anyone. Whether they have a date yet or not." Draco told him.

"And there's no one else I'd like to spend that time with. My offer still stands. And I'd feel very sad if you denied it." 

Draco thought about it. "I'd love to go as your date. Where should we meet?" He asked.

"Same entrance from the Yule Ball. I'm sure McGonagall will set the dinning hall up the same way."

The two walked into the common room and split off to their rooms. Harry showered for awhile and then jumped into the suit he and Draco bought awhile ago. A brown vest with a burgundy red button up, black slacks, and a black bowtie.

Harry snuck out of the Slytherin dungeons and sneaked back to the top. 

He got to the 7th story and found the Room of Requirement. He walked in and saw Hermione.

She was wearing a high-low dress made of dark red velvet with thin straps. Her hair was down with her bangs pulled out of her face.

"You look great, Beaky. Skipper will love it." Harry smiled brightly.

"You don't look too shabby yourself. Very muggle, but I find it more appealing than a robe." She complimented.

Music started to play. "Thank you for meeting up with me. I've been practicing leading, but I just want a last minute practice before I make a fool of myself." Harry thanked her.

They met together. Harry put his hand on her waist, and she put her hand on his shoulder. Harry started to lead, and Hermione gave him pointers along the way. After an hour of practice, Hermione was certain that Harry would survive.

"Let's get back to the Ravenclaw tower. Luna can't wait to test out her charms." Hermione motioned for him to follow.

"Wait, she's never done a hair cut charm?" Harry felt a little worried, seeing as Luna was supposed to give him a charmed haircut.

"Relax. She's been practicing on long haired rabbits. You'll be fine."

The two walked around. Soon they were heading down some halls that he's never seen before. They finally arrived to a portrait of a woman wearing glasses and a feathered hat.

"What walks on 4 legs in the morning, 2 legs in the noon, and 3 legs in the evening?" She asked.

"Human." Hermione answered. The portrait swung open and allowed them in.

Inside the tower common room was plenty of tables and chairs, and a small lounge area.

It seems that no one was in the common room, and it was just them. Luna poked her head around a corner.

"Up here. You'll have to jump the steps or the alarm will sound." Luna suggested to Harry.

Hermione scoped out the area while Harry turned to smoke and floated up the stairwell, solidifying as soon as he was clear of the stairs.

Hermione hurried up and they shoed him into a bedroom. There were two beds and two desks.

"Alright. Sit down and we'll get to cutting." Hermione pulled a chair out for him to sit in. Luna wasn't wearing her dress yet, but her hair was made up.

"Okay Harry. Make sure to put your full trust in me. I have practiced, so you should get a nice haircut in a couple of moments. Then Hermione will deal with the rest." Luna told him in her normal dreamy voice. 

She readied her wand and pointed it at Harry's head. 

She was muttering an incantation very closely, and Harry soon saw pieces of his hair floating around him. After a couple of minutes, Luna finished.

"Can I see it?" Harry asked. 

"Nope." Hermione pulled out a curling iron. "I need to curl it first. Have some patience."

Hermione plugged in the iron and quickly curled his hair. He could feel the heat against his head. After 5 minutes, Hermione finished and showed him to the bathroom.

Inside, he saw his new hairstyle. "It looks great. Luna, you did a great job. Beaky, your curling technique is flawless." He complimented. "Thank you so much."

"No problem, Harry. Now if you excuse me, I need to get dressed." Luna ushered them out.

Hermione walked with him back and scoped the area for him to float down the stairs.

"I'll see you later." Harry wavered.

"Bye Fumus." Hermione waved back.

Harry headed back to the main hallways and soon found himself walking around others wearing long dresses and robes. He stuck out a little since he wasn't even wearing a blazer.

Harry walked down the stairs and into the dinning hall. There were people already inside who were talking. He met up with Ron and talked for a bit.

"So did you and Draco hit it off?" Ron asked quietly.

"I asked him today and he said yes. Nothing special."

Ron rolled his eyes. Ron saw Hermione and watched her walk down the stairs. "You look beautiful, Beaky." Ron told her.

"You look very handsome yourself." The two kissed. Hermione saw Draco out of the corner of her eye, and moved Ron away so they could spy.

Harry met Draco up the stairs halfway, and held his arm out.

"I asked you out. Might as well escort you down." Harry flashed a smile.

Draco hook his arm around Harry's and they walked down. "Careful where you smile. I heard from some Slytherin girls that you've made others faint." Draco said jokingly.

"I'm not that dreamy." He giggled. 

Harry got a good look at what Draco was wearing. He had on an black slacks, a black blazer, and a silver button up.

"You look great. Although you always look good." Harry complimented.

"You clean up well yourself. I like the haircut."

The two joined Hermione and Ron and talked while the dinning hall was filling up. 

Soon the music started playing and people started dancing. It was a fairly laid back ball, and everyone seemed to know what to do according to the music.

Harry and Draco joined the crowd and they danced to the upbeat music. Occasionally Hermione and Ron would make their way to them. They even saw Neville and Luna among the dancers.

Later in the evening everyone sat down and ate dinner. Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Draco all sat at a table together and ate.

Hermione and Ron were constantly glancing over at Harry and Draco. It seems Harry and Draco were constantly blushing and smiling while next to each other. Hermione dearly wished she had a camera to take a picture of them.

After dinner the group was chatting when some waltzing music started. 

Harry stood up from his seat and held his hand out. "Can I have this dance?" Harry asked Draco.

"Are Thestrals adorable?" Draco answered. Draco grabbed his hand and they walked onto the dance floor.

They both tried to place their hands on the other's hip.

"You lead. I want to see how much you've improved." Draco said. He moved his hand to Harry's shoulder, and they interlocked hands.

They found the beat and started dancing around. As more people joined, everyone formed a cohesive pattern. 

Harry finally got in a rhythm, and felt like he was dancing alright. He got a little daring and pulled Draco closer to him.

"Cheeky Harry Potter. If you wanted to be this close to me, you could have just asked." Draco snickered.

"And you could have told me instead of trying to play friendly. Although you're lucky that I have been suspecting for awhile. If you didn't actually like me, this would be very awkward." Harry laughed. 

"What, so you like me as well? And I thought this was one-sided." Draco said happily.

As they danced, Draco felt Harry's hand warm up significantly. It was warmer than Harry's warm. It was almost uncomfortable to hold. Draco looked at Harry, and noticed his eyes were darting around.

"Is something wrong? You look worried." Draco whispered.

"Don't look around weirdly. Pretend to laugh at a joke. Someone is watching me, and I feel a wand being pointed in this direction." Harry smiled.

Draco laughed very realistically. "You really are weird." He grinned. Harry grinned at Draco and looked around.

As they neared the front of the dinning hall, he looked for Professor Vince. He saw Professor Vince with his arms cross, and wand pointed towards the ceiling. When his back was to the professor, he glanced up. He could see little bits of ice on the ceiling past the mirage.

He felt Draco shiver. "Are you cold?" Harry asked.

Draco nodded. Harry looked around and realized that more people were shivering. The room was warm a couple of moments ago.

As it got colder, Harry's skin got warmer.

"Harry, you're burning up." Draco told him. He lifted his hand to feel Harry's forehead.

"I feel fine right now, but Professor Vince is icing down the room." Harry told him. "I need to get to Hermione and Ron. I think Vince is planning something." 

They danced around and then stopped. They casually walked over to them and laughed. 

"What's up with you?" Ron asked. Hermione was shivering with Ron's robe over her arms.

"Professor Vince is freezing the room. He's planning something, and he needs the place cold." Harry told them.

Harry turned around to face Professor Vince and saw a wand pointed at him.

"Expelliarmus!"

"Gelida!"

They both shot at the same time. Professor Vince dodged Harry's spell, while Harry wasn't as lucky.

Harry yelled out as he felt an extreme cold hit his shoulder. Someone screamed and there was a panic in the room. Hermione, Ron, and Draco drew their wands and aimed at the Professor.

"Expelliarmus!" They all shot. As they shot, a student ran in the way of fire and blocked Professor Vince unintentionally.

"Gelida!" He shot back at Harry. Harry threw up a shield but the spell shot right through it and hit him in the gut.

Harry fell back, unable to stand. He could feel a numbing cold spread through his gut.

Draco and Ron protected him and Hermione kneeled down. He saw Harry breathing hard, and his eye's were changing a little bit.

"Calm down, Fumus. How can I help you?" She asked.

"Shoot something hot at me!" Harry yelled over the commotion. 

Hermione was going to regret this, but she backed up and shot a quick burst of fire at Harry. It seemed to be enough to calm Harry down and ease the cold. Harry got up and ran in front of the fire. Draco, Hermione, and Ron split to the sides so Harry wouldn't get caught in the cross fire.

By now, almost everyone was evacuated. McGonagall ran into the room.

"Stop! Stop your fire!" She yelled. The group of four lessened their fire, but Vince didn't. They continued with all they've got.

Harry broke fire to run towards Professor Vince. He was almost touching Vince when jumped towards him. Vince quickly re-aimed and shot Harry across the room.

"Harry!" Draco called. He stopped shooting, and so did Vince. Everyone's wand was aimed at Vince, even McGonagall's.

Draco flipped Harry over and saw Harry turning almost blue.

"He's not who you think he is. He's dangerous. He could burn this entire campus to the ground if he felt the need!" He yelled.

"Harry Potter does not have the ability or wish to do so. All he's even done is protect this school, and those who reside in it." McGonagall told him.

Harry was breathing hard and trying to warm his body up. Draco shot a couple blasts of fire near him, and it certainly helped. Harry finally warmed up and started to cough up ash.

"What do you know that I don't? Because ever since I changed, you have been suspecting me of many things. You even tried to suffocate me by making me laugh and cough so hard that I choked on my own ash." Harry asked.

"Why are you coughing ash?" McGonagall asked.

"That's what I am trying to find out. And I think Vince knows why, and he doesn't like it. So ask him since he's more intent on killing me than helping me!" Harry yelled angrily, but more towards Vince.

"Explain yourself, Mr. Vince." McGonagall demanded.

Vince hesitated. "I made an oath not to say anything." He quickly rose his wand and tried to shoot Harry.

Harry seemed to have gotten fairly angry, because all the color returned to his skin.

Harry dodged the spell and ran towards Vince. As Harry ran, he turned into a fox and then into smoke. Harry flew towards Vince. Vince threw something out of his pocket, and it expanded into a cage.

"Fumus watch out!" Ron exclaimed.

Harry took a sharp right and put some distance between him and the cage. He knew what could happen to him. If you managed to bury smoke deep enough, it would never be able to reach the air, keeping it trapped till it died.

Harry solidified and appeared behind Vince. "Explain to me why I should be captured and put in a cage. I know you want to bury me, but you need to tell me what I am. How is a little smoke fox dangerous?" Harry asked. 

In the pause, McGonagall disarmed Vince.

He allowed it, and turned around. "I'd rather you find out in a more safe location. How about you and I go back to the Ministry and have a little chat?" He suggested.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out another wand. He shot at Harry and cut nicked his arm. That was enough to send Harry off. He dissipated into a giant cloud of smoke and engulfed Vince.

The others say flashes of light from spells, but no noise. Harry condensed into a smaller cloud of smoke and shot out of the hall. Vince ran after Harry, but the other's were able to bodylock him. 

The three students ran after Harry while McGonagall dealt with Vince.

They saw Harry's smoke form flying down the hall, and tried to call him back.

"Harry! You're safe now!" Draco yelled. 

Hermione said a spell and spoke into her wand. "You're safe now! McGonagall has him!" She called. It seemed to be loud enough for Harry to hear, and he stopped. 

Harry solidified and collapsed onto the ground. They ran after him and helped him up. He felt cool to the touch. 

"Someone warm him up." Hermione ordered. 

Ron readied his wand for another go, but Draco stopped him. "Don't. He's too warm for fire. He'll burn." Draco told him.

They tried rubbing his body and all it seemed to do was aggravate Harry. 

"What do we do!" Ron exclaimed. 

Draco freaked out, but got an idea. He grabbed Harry's face, and planted his lips right on Harry's. 

The other two watched for a moment and felt his skin warm up. Draco stopped and saw Harry's skin become a little brighter. Harry's eye's fluttered open and he looked around.

"I need to pass out more." He sighed. They were finally able to relax and they helped him up.

"I'm going to have your head, Mr. Potter." Draco teased seriously.

"If you'll kiss it, then I'll cooperate." Harry flashed a cheeky smile.

Harry was able to stand and dust himself off. "So whatever happened in the dinning hall didn't happen, and if anyone asks, all we did was duel. Got it?" Harry gave them a thumbs up.

"Got it." They agreed.

Harry held his wand up and they walked back to the dinning hall.

They poked their head in and saw a group of Aurors and McGonagall. Vince had his hands pied behind his back and wand removed.

"It's alright. Come on in. Just tell them what happened. About the duel." She turned and winked at them. They soon got the idea.

"Well I realized that he was slowly making the room cold. For what reason, I don't know. Then he started firing spells at me. We all fought, he had a spare wand, we fought some more, then we incapacitated him. I got a little angry and had to step out of the room. But I'm alright now." Harry summed up for them.

Hermione, Draco, and Ron agreed with the story and didn't waver from it. McGonagall thankfully had the same story.

"We are sorry for this. I'm sure you all just wanted a fun night. Professor Vince will be arrested immediately." An Auror promised.

"Also, I think he may be crazy. He was spewing broken up sentences about smoke. I wouldn't believe what he says. Unless you think smoke can wipe out an entire campus." Harry told them.

"We will have him evaluated at St. Mungo's immediately. Thank you for the tip." They thanked. 

The Auror escorted Professor Vince outside and off of the campus.

McGonagall pulled the students back to the dinning hall and quickly explained that the ball would be ended early, and for everyone to head back to their dorms.

Sadly enough, Harry and Draco headed back to the dungeons with the other Slytherins.

They split off and got dressed into their pajamas. 

Harry heard a knock on his door. "It's me." Draco said. He opened the door and slipped in.

"Already coming back for more." Harry joked.

"Very funny. And I was worried about you, you know. You did get shot with ice a couple times." 

Harry walked over to Draco and wrapped his arms around his waist. "Do I look good now?" He asked.

"Fuck yes." Draco wrapped his arms around Harry's neck and planted his lips on Harry. This time, Harry returned the kiss. 

The two kissed like this for a moment, but was interrupted by Blaise bursting through the door.

"Now I've caught you!" He exclaimed. He paused and looked at their position.

"Wow I actually caught you this time." He said, processing the new information.

"Took you long enough." Harry cracked a grin.

The three awkwardly laughed over the whole situation and split off. Draco regretfully went back to his dorm and left Harry in his own.

Harry felt tired after the fight and flopped onto the bed. He fell asleep immediately.