Title: Shining Armour

Author: Tondayala Cherise Dupre. My friends call me Toni.

Disclaimer: These characters all belong to J.K. Rowling, not me. I am just playing with them, and will put them all back when I go.

Summary: Harry Potter is in love, and at a wild Halloween party, he plots a way to make his love notice him…

Warning: There are spoilers from book five and a few from book six in here, so, um, read no further if you haven't read the first six. Though if you've read less than the first six, you have some books to read that are way better than my Drarry slash.

Oh, and this has homosexuality, etc., so if that makes you uncomfortable, leave NOW.

Chapter One: The Announcement

Dumbledore stood up, and I felt a tightening in my stomach. I had learned over the past few months to always be ready. Ever since I started lessons with him, I knew something could change in an instant, that I might have to go and face… but what I had to face was something I couldn't yet speak about. Anyway, there was a twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes that was distinctly non-threatening.

He began to speak, "My good students, I it is a pleasure to announce that in a few weeks time, we will cast aside the solemn everyday task of learning for one brief night. On the night of Halloween, we shall congregate. We shall also dress up, as Muggles do. And then, as my students say, we will PARTY!"

The students roared. There hadn't been a party at Hogwarts since…well, there hadn't been a party. I glanced around the Great Hall. Hermione was looking around a bit disapprovingly. No doubt she thought that a party would distract from everyone's studies. Ron was screaming and cheering. His face was a deep purple. Over at Ravenclaw table, Luna was smiling and applauding, and carrying on a quiet conversation with the air next to her. Probably explaining what's going on to a Wrackspurt, I thought. Last, I looked over at the Slytherin table. The students there were cheering every bit as wildly as we were, including a slim blond boy, who was laughing. His face was so completely different from its usual, pinched expression and something low in my stomach stirred. I wanted this boy. Suddenly I realized what I was thinking, and pushed it away, buried the thought in the deepest corner of my mind. I was not thinking things like that about Malfoy.

Dumbledore waited until the applause lost a bit of its enthusiasm, and called over the crowd, "Please thank Professor Slughorn, as it was his idea that led to this party!"

At his end of the High Table, Slughorn was looking extremely pleased with himself, as the entire student body fervently applauded him. This must have been the kind of thing he was hoping for when he proposed the party, I thought, Always craving attention…

I couldn't help myself. Once again I glanced over at the Slytherin table. He had lost some of his enthusiasm, and now applauded slowly and lazily, a habitual smirk back on his face. He must've realized what I just have; Slughorn has engineered this for the applause and recognition.

I had seen this smirk a thousand times, but now, something was different. Maybe it was that it wasn't directed at me, but I found it unbelievably attractive. Without realizing it, I stared at him for a little bit, just long enough to attract the attention of Ron, who wasn't clapping anymore. He followed my line of vision, and whispered, "Even at a time like this, The Ferret looks like he smelled something awful. Stupid git, "he chuckled at this last Ron-witticism, and I nearly snapped. How dare he? And then, once again, I realized what I was thinking. Ron was right. I was being stupid. Malfoy was a stupid git, after all…but he had pretty hair.

I gasped. What the hell was wrong with me?

What the hell was Potter playing at tonight, Draco thought, What did he want? Why did he keep staring at me? Potter wants nothing to do with me, he never has. Unless… but he didn't even put that thought into words. Instead, he entered the Slytherin common room and went to bed.

I was in bed, face down. I had spent the last few hours like this, not asleep, but thinking.. My mind flickered from Ginny, who every day grew flirtier, Ron, who saw his friend the same as he had at age eleven, Hermione, who was too perceptive for her own good, and Malfoy. Malfoy, who had been his enemy since that moment on the Hogwarts steps six years ago. Malfoy, who sneered at him, who was a Death Eater legacy, who called Hermione a Mudblood. Malfoy, who was unbelievably hot.

No. I was not going to think these thoughts. No. Being gay I could handle, had handled since I was eleven. I could handle that. I could. I could not handle liking Malfoy.

Malfoy was off limits. Malfoy was out of the question. And he was going to stay that way, because I wasn't going to do anything. Not now, not ever. Malfoy was out.

I punched my pillow and tried to sleep.