Harry swallowed nervously and ran his fingers through his messy locks.
"Harry, it'll be fine," Draco assured him as he brushed his own hair (for the fortieth time that day. What was it with Malfoys and obsessive hair care?). "T ⎯ Ambroise would think you're hot if you wore a clown costume. And I'm pretty sure everyone will think you're hot in that." He raised an eyebrow at Harry appreciatively.
Harry frowned at himself in the mirror. He was wearing simple, Slytherin green dress robes with black detailing and a tight black suit underneath. He was pretty sure he looked normal.
"The girls will be drooling, Harry, trust me," Draco snorted. "Do you need help with your hair?" he added.
"Who needs help with their hair?" Neville asked as he came out of Harry's bathroom. He looked very handsome in his dark caramel robes and black suit. "Oh, of course, Harry does," he smirked.
Harry glared at them playfully. "My hair's not that messy!"
"You have weeds on your head, Harry," Draco drawled. "Very hot weeds, to be sure," he added quickly when Harry scowled, "but weeds all the same."
"Yes, I need help with my hair," Harry huffed irritably.
"Ambroise likes it messy," Neville smiled. "Maybe you could tame them just a little, Draco, it is a ball." The two boys smirked at Harry's indignant pout.
"Shut up and fix my hair," Harry ordered.
Draco nodded, chuckling, and pulled out a straightener.
Ten minutes later, the three boys left the room. They found Luna waiting for them in a beautiful yellow dress and her signature radish earrings. She smiled at them dreamily. "You all look very handsome," she said, her eyes widening when she saw Harry.
"Thanks, Radish," Draco smirked as Neville blushed. "Where's Flame? And Sparky and Strike?"
"They're waiting for us downstairs," Luna responded. "Along with Viktor and Am."
Harry swallowed again. Tom was downstairs....
"Harry dear, as soon as Am sees you, he'll think you're very hot in that outfit," Luna promised.
Well, Harry trusted Luna's words more than some of the boys' (ahem, Draco) so he relaxed slightly, but the butterflies in his stomach didn't settle.
The four of them headed downstairs.
Harry scanned the common room desperately for Tom, feeling even more nervous. He spotted Marcus and Cedric in one corner, holding hands and blushing, while Viktor was in another corner alone, scowling at Marcus; Fred and George were chatting Blaise's ear off; Dean and Seamus were in a shadowed part of the common room, snogging like there was no tomorrow; Theo was chatting with Millicent, while Pansy and Tracey were playing a chess game; Regulus was waiting at the door with a nervous smile, wearing elegant silver dress robes and a Slytherin green suit.
Finally, Harry spotted Tom, who was beside Regulus. He was wearing Avada Kedavra green robes and a tight black suit. Harry found himself drooling.
Theo spotted them first and gasped when he saw Harry. Instantly, the entire common room turned, jaws dropping. Harry only had eyes for Tom... whose eyes were filled with a dark emotion... was that lust?
Huh. Apparently, Luna was right.
Harry raised an eyebrow, confidence restored, and said, "What?"
"Harry's back," he heard Draco mutter triumphantly to Neville, who choked.
"My lord," said Marcus dazedly, "you look... hot." Cedric frowned slightly but nodded.
"Mine," Tom snarled, almost in Parseltongue, then blushed.
"Don't worry, Am my dear, I only have eyes for you," Harry purred, casting him an appreciative look. Tom blushed harder. "And pay attention to your date, Marcus."
"Yes, my lord." Marcus cast Cedric an apologetic look.
"Time to go?" Harry asked Regulus, making it clear he meant it as an order.
Regulus blinked. "Well, we're all here... the champions have to go in first," he added. "Viktor, where's your date?"
Viktor scowled further. "Granger should be vaiting at the Great Hall." He cast Harry an apologetic grimace.
Harry snickered. "Oh, the look on Weasley's face... quite all right, Viktor, as long as you give Granger a terrible time."
"Oh, I vill," Viktor snorted.
Regulus sighed exasperatedly. "All right... Harry, Ambroise, Marcus, Cedric, Viktor, if you'd head down to the Great Hall..."
Harry walked over to Tom and took his hand. "You look deliciously hot," he said quietly, causing Tom to turn scarlet.
"You too," Tom responded in a very, very quiet whisper, blushing harder. Harry smirked.
When they arrived at the Great Hall, Fleur was waiting with a red-haired male, whom Harry recognized as Bill Weasley. Granger was also waiting. Her hair was no longer bushy, but sleek, and she no longer had buckteeth. Her eyes widened when she saw Harry, then scowled when she saw who he was holding hands with. Severus, from beside Fleur, cast her a dark look.
"Miss Granger," Severus said coldly, "you are this close to being suspended." His tone softened slightly as Viktor, Cedric, Harry, Marcus, and Tom approached. "Ah, g-" he stopped when he saw Harry, his eyes widening.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Yes?" he heard Tom choking beside him and hid a smirk.
Severus blinked and his Slytherin mask came back down. "Fifty points to Slytherin for a good example of what 'making a good impression' means." He wrinkled his nose slightly.
"What?" Marcus asked curiously.
Bill chuckled. "Ronald had a bit of trouble with his robes this morning. Apparently, they're from eighteen ninety." This caused the Viktor, Tom, and Marcus to snicker while Cedric looked appalled. Granger scowled further.
"Hello, Viktor," she simpered.
Viktor cast her a disgusted look before his mask went up. He walked over and offered her his arm in a rather stiff manor. "Miss Granger. Your dress is beautiful." Harry noticed he didn't say "you look beautiful."
Granger blushed, causing Harry to sneer.
"We will enter the Great Hall when the rest of the guests, students and staff have arrived," Severus said coolly. "You will then line up, girls ⎯ or submissives ⎯ on one side and boys ⎯ or dominants ⎯ on the other."
"What if the dominant is shorter than his submissive?" Harry asked, causing Tom to squeak.
Severus looked as if he was trying very hard not to laugh. "You are only an inch shorter, Harry." This caused Tom to blink in surprise and glance at Harry.
Harry grinned. He had had a growth spurt over the summer....
Granger wrinkled her nose.
"Ten points from Gryffindor," Severus growled. His glare silenced any protest.
------------
"Champions line up and follow me," Severus ordered.
Harry stepped behind Bill, and Marcus and Viktor took their places behind him. Cedric looked nervous and excited at the same time, while Viktor looked irritated and bored.
Severus led them into the Hall. The walls were covered in silver frost, and a thousand bunches of mistletoe and ivy covered the starry ceiling. Instead of the four House tables, there were several smaller, circular ones, lit by floating lanterns.
They were brought over to the table housing the judges and their dates. To Harry's surprise, Mr. Crouch had been replaced by Percy Weasley, who was sitting with a blushing Oliver Wood.
"Oliver," Cedric smiled.
"Diggory," Oliver responded.
"Perce?" Bill looked startled as he sat down beside him. "I didn't know you were..."
Harry didn't know whether he was going to say 'gay' or 'coming.'
"Mr. Crouch is ill," Percy responded, "and he asked me to represent him." He grimaced. "I've been promoted to his personal assistant."
Harry studied Percy curiously. "Last time I spoke to you, you seemed rather... erm... attached to the man."
"I'm not," Percy responded, turning faintly pink. He lowered his voice. "I want to apologize, Harry, for my mother's actions."
"Which ones?" Harry asked coolly.
"All of them ⎯ the twins, your-" he cast a worried glance at Oliver "-vaults, the marriage contract-"
"I assumed you were loyal to Dumbledore," Harry said in a slightly warmer tone.
Percy wrinkled his nose. "Definitely not," he said stiffly. "Are... are Fred and George..."
"They're very happy," Harry answered, casting a glance at the twins, who were staring at Percy and Bill in surprise and glee. "Which sometimes can be a bad thing, at least for the people they're pranking."
Percy laughed.
Dinner passed quickly. Harry barely noticed what he ate; he was paying far too much attention to Tom, who was being extremely snoggable (was that a word?) and it was annoying Harry... well, not really.
Finally, the group of extremely hairy hags went up to the stage and one struck a solemn note on the cello. Harry turned to Tom and smirked. "Care to dance, love?"
Tom blushed and took Harry's offered hand, and Harry led him to the dance floor.
------------
The night ended with a colossally hilarious row between Granger and Weasley. There was also a lot of snogging, although Harry was disappointed Severus had caught them before Harry could take Tom to his room....
(I do not do smut, sorry.)
The Black Knights:
King: Anguis (Harry)
Queen: Amber (Tom)
Rooks: Alpha (Remus) & Shere Khan (Regulus)
Knights: General Shen (Draco) & Prince (Severus)
Bishops: Samwise (Neville) & Redbeard (Seamus)
Higher Pawns: Morgan (Luna; seer); Grim (Sirius; Guard); Oberon (Fred; Creator); Puck (George; Creator); Shadow (Kingsley, Recruiter); Blackbeard (Dean, Creator); Venom (Blaise, Stealth); Khepri (Skeeter, Spy); Hathi (Winston, Wandmaker); Howl (Cedric, Sleeper Agent, Ministry); Kaa (Viktor, Sleeper Agent, Bulgarian Ministry of Magic); Siren (Fleur, Sleeper, Veela) Scarlet (Charlie, Dragon Trainer) Genkurō (Bill, Goblin Liaison)
Lower Pawns: Storm (Minerva McGonagall-Pomfrey); Thunder (Poppy McGonagall-Pomfrey)
Junior Marauders:
Leader: Harry (Scales)
Members: Tom (Red); Remus (Moony); Sirius (Padfoot); Regulus (Stripes); Severus (Snarl); Draco (Albino); Neville (Fuzzy); Seamus (Bandit); Luna (Radish); Fred (Flame); George (Sparky); Kingsley (Don); Dean (Tarzan); Blaise (Strike); Winston (Gray); Cedric (Loyal); Viktor (Regal); Fleur (Blaze); Charlie (Nuts); Bill (Russet)
"Genkur ō is a shape-changing (fox-spirit) character who features prominently in the famous jōruri and kabuki play Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura ." ⎯ Wikipedia
Bill's Animagus form is a red howler monkey, and his creature form is fox kitsune.