thirteenth lotus leaf

"Draco,"

"Hm?"

"You're rustling, man, cut it out."

Draco immediately noticed the magic swirling around him.

"Sorry, just doing some final checks," he mumbled.

"Stop being paranoid and sleep,"

"As you wish, Blasie," he pulled the covers over himself and quietly turned back to look at the paper in his hand.

"Draco, you don't stop rustling when you get under the covers, man," This time it was Theo who spoke.

"If you don't shut up, Theo, the next rustle will set your bed on fire,"
Draco's magic was losing control, and Weasley twins-like fireworks were popping around him. He couldn't help it; he wanted everything to be perfect. This wasn't something that had happened before. Draco wasn't going to be unprepared. He couldn't help but worry.

"Damn it, go back to sleep," Theo seemed angry.
Draco realized he wouldn't be able to fall asleep as he wanted that night. He went down to the common room. He still had the paper for the party in his hand. He sighed. Another sleepless night awaited him. At least he had brought the ridiculous stories from the Black family with him.

...

The breakfast was wonderful. When evening came, they got ready with excitement. Even Ron seemed happy about it.
Harry wore a dark red knitted sweater. He also had black jeans and red shoes. His hair was as wild as ever. He insisted on trying to fix it. Hermione wore a frilly, dusty pink sweater, and Ron chose a blue shirt that matched his eyes perfectly. Harry realized that he had been saving it for special occasions.
They went down to the dungeons as the letter said. When they reached the agreed-upon wall, they waited silently. The curfew was about to begin.
After waiting a while longer, Ron began to fidget. Hermione kept trying to fix her ponytail.

"Psst" They looked around.

"I'm here, hey, follow me"

The boy, whose name he remembered as Blaise, took them. When they got very close to the Slytherin common room, he handed them a few enchanted papers.

"Stick these on your necks. They are illusionary papers. When you enter the common room, they will think you are someone else."

While Hermione looked at the paper in amazement, Ron immediately stuck the paper on. Ron no longer looked like Ron. He had completely turned into Goyle. Harry quietly stuck it on his neck as well. When he looked to the other side, it was no longer Hermione there, but Pansy.

The Slytherin common room was more crowded than he had expected. The room was lit with dim green lights. Even though the fire was burning, it felt like there was a coldness that would never leave you. Despite this, people were joking and laughing in a strange way. It was as if they were completely different people here. At least they didn't seem as arrogant as Harry was used to seeing them.

"Blaise, you haven't been around for a while,"
A dark-haired girl came running towards them. She was an upperclassman, apparently. The girl greeted everyone.

"Great, Pansy is here too, they've been arguing about the decorations, you're just what we needed"
Blaise spoke for Hermione. He immediately interrupted.

"If you look at Pansy's constipated expression, you'll realize that she's been decorating our room since morning, Alethea"

"Ah, the poor dear, Daphne and Draco must be giving her a hard time." The girl sighed with a sad expression.

"Then I'll leave you alone for now, but come and visit, okay?"

"Of course" Blaise grabbed them and pulled them away. It was as if he didn't want people to get suspicious by talking. He took them up the stairs. He stopped at the 3rd door of the first years. The doorknob seemed to be replaced with a snake's head. Harry had never noticed this carving on the other doors. Blaise pushed the left tooth of the snake. It seemed to serve as a button. The snake's carved eyes glowed like a yellow color.

"Apologize for breaking the ballerina doll, Draco."

The snake's eyes turned green. The three of them retreated into the dark green corridor. The door hissed open by itself like a snake. The first thing that caught the eye was the colorful lights. It painted the corridor into a waterfall of colors.

"Come on," Blaise said as he entered. They immediately followed him. Once their eyes got used to the changing light, they realized that the room was very large. There were butterflies that gave off light and constantly changed colors. They were flying from one end of the room to the other. Harry noticed that the room was much larger than their own rooms, and he couldn't see any beds anywhere. Instead, there was a dining table that coiled around the room like a snake's tail. Harry's attention was drawn to a large cake that bore the colors of the four houses.

"What took you so long to get here?" Pansy was quickly approaching them.
She was wearing a black tutu skirt. There were the same light-emitting butterflies perched on it. She also had a larger version of the butterflies on her wrists. Blaise took off his cloak. He was wearing a dark purple sweater. Harry thought they looked quite stylish. He thought to himself, "I wish I had prepared better."
Pansy greeted them one by one.

"And please take off those charms now, it's a bit strange to talk to myself."

They all took off the charms. They wandered around the room.

Harry could choose two girls from Hufflepuff and a boy from Ravenclaw. But no matter where he looked, there was no trace of blonde hair. Daphne soon came to welcome them as well. They had their first proper conversation with the girl. He thought she was more simple with her blue Spanish-style pants and white shirt.

The boy who introduced himself as Theodor was wearing a dark brown sweater. Crabbe and Goyle were dressed completely in black. The simplest ones seemed to be like the two of them. Harry had never attended such an event before. He had no idea how to dress. And he had a few things he could wear besides his cousin's clothes. Harry was sulking again for the Hogsmeade trip that was not done for the first years.

Strange sparkles were floating around, giving the room a more magical effect. There were shaped balloons that were bewitched to fly around. A few snake balloons were even hissing and flying elsewhere.

They spent a lot of time at the party. Harry met the Hufflepuff girls. He learned that the person who made the cake was a girl named Hannah Abbott. She had come with her friend Susan Bones. They both seemed very happy and having fun. Harry ate more cookies and cakes for their sake, even though he was full. Of course, Hannah didn't make everything. He even learned that they had asked a house elf working in the kitchen for most of the things.

A very loud dance music started to play in the room. Tracey, the Slytherin girl, forcibly pulled her friend onto the area they called the stage. Her friend, Millicent Bulstrode, didn't seem to be enjoying it at first, but then she started to get into the rhythm. Harry noticed that the Hufflepuff girls had pulled Hermione and joined them. Hermione also started to dance, tossing her hair. Harry and Ron watched her with amusement. They happily watched a girl who was so serious and focused on her responsibilities have fun.

Soon Daphne and Pansy also joined the group of dancing girls. It was as if no one knew how to dance. They were all in a circle, jumping around.

"It never even crossed my mind that it would be this great," Ron said as he drank another drink from the glass he never let go of.

"Who would have thought that the snakes knew how to have fun?" Ron was laughing. Harry chuckled too.

"Actually, I wasn't expecting this much either, they seem to have worked really hard," Harry scanned the room.

"Actually, we've been working on it for weeks," Theodore, who was holding a cookie that looked a lot like a snowman, came up to them.

"It's been a great job," Ron said uncertainly. He didn't seem to know how to congratulate them.

"It's for sure that the most important work was done by me and Draco though," He interrupted himself and took a bite of his cookie. Harry realized that he hadn't seen Draco for all this time.

"Where's Draco, mate? I don't think I've seen him at all," Ron asked curiously.

"He was the one who did all the spells. His body couldn't take it. He's sleeping there right now." Theodore pointed to a pile of pillows that Harry hadn't noticed before. He could see a few blonde tufts buried inside.

Ron frowned. "Don't you think it's a bit unfair?"

Theodore shrugged. "That's Draco, a stubborn guy who doesn't listen to anyone. Once he sets his mind on something, he doesn't let go until he breaks it." The boy left them when he saw his friend. Theodore and the Ravenclaw boy also joined the dance.

When Ron focused on the food like the other two boys, Harry approached the colorful pillow pile where Draco was sleeping.

The child looked so peaceful while sleeping. It was as if all his troubles were gone. Harry couldn't help but sit down. He continued to watch the sleeping kid. There wasn't even a trace of the frown that was always on his brows. Harry couldn't help but relax with the crackling of the fire and the lower volume of the music in his seat. This night was truly magical. Harry wanted to attend other parties as well.

The loud breathing sounds coming from beside him broke all his peace. He looked at him with concern. All of Draco's relaxed and calm expression was gone. He looked like he was in pain. Harry couldn't bear to see this. He quickly shook Draco. The child opened his eyes in panic. He looked around.

"Harry?"

Despite everything, Harry couldn't help but smile.

"What are you doing here?" He was looking around. When he saw the others dancing, he turned to Harry again.

"Has the party already started? I didn't miss the New Year's countdown, did I?"

Harry shook his head. "No, you didn't miss anything, but are you okay?"

Draco's eyes were still wide. He began to wrap the blanket around him.

"It was just a dream."

"A nightmare?"
The blonde nodded. He had broken eye contact.

"Is there a problem? You can tell me." The other child chuckled.

"We're always so curious, aren't we, Potter?" He asked mockingly. Harry frowned again.

"I was Harry a moment ago."

"Now you're Potter again, don't get carried away." The child was still mocking him. Although Harry was disappointed, he chuckled. When the other child grabbed his head tightly, he became worried again.

"Draco, are you really okay?"

Draco didn't answer. He was mumbling something. Harry didn't understand what he was saying. He moved closer to the child and put his right hand on his shoulder. He had never calmed anyone down before except himself. He had no idea what to do. Draco didn't seem to care. He began to relax under his hand.

"Whatever it is, we can solve it together."
The child raised his teary eyes to look at him.

"Potter-" He pursed his lips as if he was about to cry. He took a deep breath. He seemed to have given up on what he was going to say.

"Just stay with me, okay?"

"Of course."

There was almost no chance for Draco and the others to be alone. Harry began to smile. Draco smiled at him too. This party was really great.

They were sitting in front of the fireplace with him. They were leaning against each other. Harry was occasionally shaken by Draco's silent sobs. He couldn't help but wonder. What had made the blonde so sad?

Draco Malfoy was truly a mystery. Like a riddle to be solved. And Harry was very good at solving the puzzles in the newspaper he had secretly stolen from his aunt.

The blonde raised his hand. Harry watched what he was doing. One of the glowing butterflies came and landed on his finger. Harry was smiling again. The blonde seemed excited about what he had done.

More butterflies came around them. A few landed on Draco's hair. Draco was no longer sobbing. He was blinking sleepily. Harry noticed this and immediately intervened. He pushed his shoulder forcefully. The child looked at him in surprise. He playfully shook his shoulder. Draco chuckled again. He rested his head on Harry's shoulder. This was like slow motion for Harry. The butterflies in his hair rose into the air and then landed back in the same place.
Harry's heart had become soft. It was as if he couldn't breathe at all. He looked meaningfully at the butterfly on his other shoulder.

When the weight on his shoulder increased, he realized that the child had fallen asleep again. The butterflies also fell asleep with him. While they were in his hair, their lights dimmed and they stopped flapping their wings. Harry sat happily in his seat. It was very hot. Either the fire or Draco. Harry chuckled again.