Dancing All Night.
A/n: So this was during their fourth year in Hogwarts when the Yule Ball took place. This time, Draco and Hermione have been going out but keep it a secret to Ron and Harry.
-o0o-
The Yule Ball was next week. The Slytherins and Gryffindors gathered in the large drawing room where chairs were removed to the sides allowing space in the center big enough for them all to move freely or, in this case, dance. Professor McGonagall emerged from the doors. Seeing her, a Slytherin student asked, "Where's Professor Snape?" "He's having an important meeting with the Headmaster, Miss Bulstrode."
Professor McGonagall announced that they are gathered to practice how to dance properly for the upcoming Yule Ball. She then called out Ron Weasley who was sitting near to where she was standing and beckoned him to dance with her. Ron hesitantly moved. While Professor McGonagall was demonstrating how to dance, Hermione scanned the sea of silver and green at her opposite side, looking for a particular person. When she caught grey orbs staring intently at her, Draco smirked and turned his head away. She blushed at the mere thought of him staring at her. Professor McGonagall then instructed for the rest of the students to join the dancing. Harry asked Hermione, she consented tentatively. When already dancing, she caught sight of Draco dancing with Pansy, looking furious at Harry.
After the room was now buzzing with noise, Professor McGonagall called out again and commanded the students to pair up with opposite Houses. Draco, looking sort of nervous, hastily walked towards Hermione. She was rooted at the same place as if glued to the ground …
But before he could reach out and asked her to dance with him, Terence Higgs, a Slytherin fourth year, reached his hand to Hermione and blocked Draco's way – and chance.
After dinner at the Great Hall that night, Krum dropped by the Gryffindors' table and handed Hermione a piece of parchment. She read it; the note states that he wants to ask her to the ball. She was uncertain at first, whether to say yes or no to Krum. She wondered if Draco would ask her but she argued that her relationship with him is supposed to be a secret. It's quite a shot, she thought, that Draco would ask me to the ball with him. She wished the secret to remain the same to Ron and Harry. She made up her mind the following day and told Krum about her decision.
Hermione started her way back to the Gryffindor common room. Alone, this time, for she had been bickering with Ron because of his sort of a joke that nobody would ask her to the ball, she was striding along the corridor.
Out of her mind, she hardly noticed it when someone had grabbed her by the waist, covering her mouth, and pulled her into what seemed to be a broom cabinet. It was unsurprisingly small and dark inside. She couldn't see anything inside except the silhouette of a boy opposite her. "Lumos!" she muttered and looked apprehensively for the one who brought her there – "Granger, I – " she saw Draco's pale face. "Malf – Draco, what do you think you're doing?"
"I want to ask you to … to go … to go the ball with me," he said nervoulsy.
"I thought – I – what? I thought we agreed about – erm – this … being a secret. Harry and Ron will be surprised if – "
"Gra – I mean – Hermione, will you go to the ball with me or not?" he interrupted, agitated.
"I want to! But, well – someone's asked me out already and I said yes. Look – "
"What? You agreed to go out with someone else? But I'm – we're … Hermione, I'm – "
"Draco, I want this to be a secret, you know. I don't want any publicity. Especially now that the Prophet's linking me with Harry and Krum and – "
"They're having the pleasure of being coupled with you while I, the one who's actually going out with you, doesn't. I can't even take you to the ball!"
"Draco, please – "
"Fine!" he snarled. "If it wasn't you pleading like this, I'm not going to change my mind – "
But before he could even finish his sentence, Hermione embraced him and whispered, "Draco, the right time will come, you know. We just have to wait for it."
The days had passed; girls were busy talking about how they expect the ball would go. Finally, the long awaited Yule Ball came. Hermione was occupied that night with applying lots of hair-care potion to her uncontrollably bushy hair when a flying piece of parchment, formed as an airplane, swooped down her shoulders. She read silently the scrawled handwriting written on it.
Granger, meet me at the same broom cabinet after the ball. –Draco Malfoy.
She read the note again and again then burnt it. From what it seemed, Draco was angry … why has he called her 'Granger' on the note? Although she didn't press this subject that made her stomach churn in her mind longer, she was a bit bothered by it still.
She went down to the Great Hall for the ball. The tables disappeared to produce great space in the middle for dancing.
Hermione looked flushed after the ball dancing with Krum and she went off to the broom cabinet where Draco told her he would be meeting her. She checked that nobody was looking then went inside. She found, however, that the cabinet, which used to have little space in it, has expanded and now looked like half of the Great Hall and was romantically lit by the candles hovering above it. From the outside, Hermione thought, it doesn't look like a spacious hall at all; more like a dusty small cabinet, nothing extraordinary.
She scanned the hall, grinning at the roses scattered on the floor and how it seemed so romantic, and spotted Draco Malfoy. He came forward to her and held out his hand. "No choice this time, Granger," Draco smirked, "but to dance with me." "I guess I'll just have to endure our time together, then." Hermione shot back, feeling butterflies flutter uncontrollably in her stomach.
"So you're not angry with me because I accepted Krum's invitation?" she said once they have danced a couple of slow songs.
"I would never be angry to you, Hermione," Draco said. "You ought to know that … The brightest witch in our age …"
She chuckled.
They danced all night long; Draco seldom brushes his hand through her hair and Hermione laid one side of her cheek on his chest. Occasionally, he would whisper something that would make her laugh or say affectionate words sincerely to her that made her hug him tighter.
The moment Hermione arrived at the common room through the portrait hole; it was almost deserted except a couple of sixth years snogging near the fireplace and stopped at the sight of her. Hermione excused herself and went to the girls' dormitory. It was already half past four in the morning when she fell into a deep sleep.
Next morning, Hermione went for breakfast looking tired. Harry and Ron gazed at her incredulously. "Didn't get over with Krum so you stayed up all night, did you?" asked Ron. "Last night definitely was memorable," Hermione replied, looking over Ron's and Harry's shoulders to see Draco grinning at her.
a/n: Hope you liked it! That's the end of this one-shot! Please be kind if you make reviews, I'm 14 so this is like noob work or something...
