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[broken_harry]

Date: August 24, 2000
Time: Afternoon
Location: Hogsmeade
Characters Involved: Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy...and OPEN. Yeah, that's right...they've left the house. *shock and gasp*
Rating: Playing it safe with PG-13

Comments

[broken_harry]

Harry, too, was grateful for the distraction from the idea of the ball...but for entirely different reasons than Draco. In Harry's mind, knowing that McGonagall would sooner skin him alive then let him not attend the blasted ball, had no intention of not going without Draco glued to his side. Of course, the word 'date' never entered his mind. More like 'safety net'. Rumours of any tryst he might be having with the Malfoy scion existed long before anything actually happened. There was already a ground work for denial there. Going alone wasn't an option, especially now after that bloody bachelor's list came out in Witch Weekly. Finding a girl to take as a date...well, people still thought he and Ginny were engaged. The last thing he needed was another fake fiancee.

No, Draco was his best bet and really, misery loved company. The Ferret was going with him whether he wanted to or not. And would be told so later, but first...

Harry glared at the blonde from the corner of his eye. Merlin, why not just send out his own flyers and announce the fact that the rumours were true. His gaze shifted, sheepishly, back to Katie.

"Of course it was a lie. Why wouldn't it be a lie?...Hello, Bel...er...Katie. Nice to see you again. And thank you...for coming to the party and all. Sorry I missed you, there were just so many people there."

Harry's rubbed the back of his neck in his usual nervous habit. The worst part of it was, he knew he was obvious, knew he couldn't lie to save his own hide and Merlin, did he ever want to go hide at home. Of course, Quidditch always served as a fairly decent distraction.

"Don't listen to him, Katie...he knows he's never been able to beat me at Quidditch. I just let him think he can so I can make an even bigger fool of him come Sunday....Oh, but sorry...not to say you're team's going to loose, necessarily. It has been a bit since I've played, actually..."

I'm just going to shut up now.

[lioninthegarden]

Katie just chuckled at the horrible byplay between the two. "Well its not so much who wins. We're all playing for charity, but then again, if we don't win Malfoy, I'll wipe the pitch with you myself." she teased.

She didn't mean it. What was the point in being uber competitive? She just had to beat Oliver and then she would be vindicated in their downturn of the season. She slipped between them and looped her arms with both of theirs, "How about we head to Honeyduke's for a treat and we can all talk about the logistics of the game. Nothing like nostalgia."

"Oh and by the way, I don't suppose that I can weasel..... or ferret as it were, the both of you to serve in Seeker workshops part of the day on Saturday, could I?" she asked with a brillant smile, Cheshire Cat be jealous.

Katie always had angles to getting what she wanted, now she just had better tools to work with.

[suicide_blonde_]

Draco's eyebrows pulled down in a frown at the forwardness of Bell. First the teasing and then the touching. Shooting a look at Harry he glanced down at her and then shrugged in answer to both her suggestion that they go to Honeydukes and that they help out in Seeker workshops.

"Are you sure we should be sharing our secrets with Potter, here?" Draco asked. "We could always ditch him in an alley and talk tactics."

He was only joking of course. The idea of being alone with this girl was slightly frightening. She was just so . . . well, so much different from any of the women Draco was used to dealing with. Girls didn't just touch him so casually unless they were named Pansy or he called them mother. And they were hardly this friendly if they weren't . . . well, it used to be if they weren't Granger. But ever since that bint had gone around the bend friendly was hardly the sort of adjective Draco would use to describe her.

Either way, Bell being so open and friendly was strange and off-putting and Draco would sooner run from her screaming than let Harry leave the pair of them alone.

[broken_harry]

"Sorry, Malfoy, I like Bell here a bit too much to leave her to the likes of you. Slytherins and dark alleys just don't go well together."

Harry glared at Draco over Katie's shoulder and then turned his attention back to Katie - and her request. "I don't know, Katie. I wasn't really planning on going to the Carnival much. And with the match the next day and the ball that night, I think I'm going to have to pass. Need some time to practice a bit. Couldn't have the other team winning on my account."

As they approached Honeydukes, Harry broke away from their little train and held the door open for them both. "Here we are, and I'm sure treats await."

Harry fixed his look on Draco in warning, Be nice or I'll hex you senseless when we get home.

[lioninthegarden]

Katie sulked slightly as she was denied two of the best seekers to help with her workshop, but then again, she wasn't sure how to get the workshops up and running. She worried that the last minute addition. She hummed lightly as she bounced into Honeydukes.

"Oh come on, Harry, it's just a little workshop, just stupor-vising and all that." she chuckled, "You wouldn't even have to be on your broom that much, just giving pointers and such."

She was trying her best to make this game and all things involved with it a success. Her butt was on the line if it flopped badly. She wanted to make a good name for herself and perhaps a hard-earned new tradition for Hogwarts, but it was a lot harder then it had seemed to be at first, but wasn't that the way with all ideas. Wonderfully simple in theory and horribly commplicated in execution?