A/N – This story is a short five part one, which I will hopefully get published this week. This is set in seventh year, where Voldemort didn't return and there was no war. I hope you enjoy.
"Are you going to do it? Are you going to ask her?"
Head Boy, Draco Malfoy, snapped his head up at his friend's question. Draco and Blaise Zabini were currently sitting in the Heads dorms discussing the upcoming winter ball. Every year a winter ball was organised for the seventh years over the Christmas holidays, the only way you could attend if you weren't a seventh year was as a date of someone in their last year. No-one in seventh year ever considered missing the ball as it was a Hogwarts tradition and anyone younger who was asked to the ball also had no problems with staying at school over the holidays. The winter balls were known to be a great night and no-one wanted to miss out.
"No." Draco's response was short and sharp as he dropped his head back to the book in front of him.
"Why not?" Blaise questioned. "A blind man can see how much you want her."
"What gave you the idea I want Granger?" Draco demanded, his grey eyes flashing dangerously as he glared at his friends. "Is it the fact we only ever talk about head duties, the fact we ignore each other as much as possible or is it the fact she hates my guts that gave it away."
"I was thinking more about the lingering looks you shoot at each other when you think no-one's looking." Blaise said with a smirk. "It's clear you like each other so why won't you ask her to the ball?"
"She'll say no." Draco said quietly, dropping his head to look at the table. "And who can blame her after the way I've behaved these last six years."
"Come on, Draco, you haven't insulted Granger in years. You stopped believing in all that blood purity crap years ago." Blaise argued, trying to convince his friend he wasn't as bad as he thought he was. "You may still fight with Potter and Weasley but anyone with a brain cell would argue with the witless wonders."
"I'm not doing it Blaise. So stop going on about it." Draco said, his tone sounding distinctly more threatening.
"Fine, if you won't ask her then I will." Blaise smirked as Draco narrowed his eyes at him.
"I don't need my friends getting me dates."
"I wasn't talking about asking her for you." Blaise laughed. "I meant I was going to ask her to be my date."
"You don't even like her that way." Draco spluttered.
"I might." Blaise shrugged. "I've never really thought about it as it was clear you wanted her but if you're too chicken to ask her out that means she's fair game. And let's be honest, these days Granger is smoking hot."
Draco ground his teeth as he bit back a response that would result in him falling out with his best friend. "Do what you want, Zabini." He finally muttered.
Blaise smirked at Draco, his friend only ever used his surname when he was annoyed or angry. "Well I'm off to bag myself a date for the ball, see you at dinner."
Still smirking Blaise left the head dorms as he set off in search of the Head Girl, the feisty Gryffindor lioness Hermione Granger. To be honest Blaise was half expecting Draco to follow him and stop him, but by the time he had reached the library there was no sign of his friend. Deciding to give Draco a few more minutes to come to his senses Blaise leant against the wall and settled back to wait for a while.
Blaise had realised that Draco fancied Hermione sometime the previous year but since they had been made Head students together and shared living accommodation the attraction was so much more obvious. It hadn't taken long for Blaise to realise that Hermione was just as interested in Draco as he was in her, but it appeared that they were both as stubborn as each other and neither of them dared to admit their feelings to the other one. Blaise had been hoping that by threatening to ask Hermione to the ball it would provoke some sort of reaction from Draco, prompting him to pluck up the courage and ask her himself.
Blaise waited for ten minutes but when Draco didn't show he pushed himself off the wall and headed into the library. Now he had told Draco what he was going to do he knew he would have to go through with it, Blaise only hoped that if Hermione said yes that seeing them together would finally push Draco to take the plunge and admit he had fallen for the Gryffindor.
Hermione Granger sat at her regular table in the library, trying desperately to ignore the chattering of her two best friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Harry and Ron had inexplicably decided to accompany Hermione to the library before dinner. The boys claimed that since returning to school they had barely seen Hermione as she was always busy with Head Girl duties or studying. Hermione had to agree with the boys reasoning, now that she wasn't sleeping in Gryffindor Tower she saw precious little of her friends.
Hermione lifted her head from her Transfiguration book, ready to tell Harry and Ron to be quiet. Before she had a chance to speak however a figure approached the table the three Gryffindors were using.
"What do you want Zabini?" Harry asked, glaring at the Slytherin. Rivalries between Gryffindor and Slytherin were fierce and even though Blaise Zabini was one of the nicer students in the opposing house Harry still didn't want to appear friendly.
"I'm here to speak to Hermione." Turning to the stunned Head Girl, Blaise offered Hermione one of his killer smiles. Blaise was very good with the ladies and often he could tempt girls into his bed merely by smiling at them.
"What can I do for you Blaise?" Hermione asked, blushing slightly at the attention the Slytherin was paying her.
"I want to ask you to accompany me to the winter ball." Blaise said.
Hermione's eyes widened as she tried to think of an appropriate response. It wasn't that she didn't think Blaise was attractive or even that she didn't think she wouldn't have fun with him, she had just been hoping someone else would ask her to the ball. For as long as she could remember Hermione had had a crush on Blaise's best friend, Draco Malfoy. Sharing Head duties and living quarters had brought them into closer proximity this year and Hermione had been convinced the attraction was mutual, leading her to hope that the frosty blond would ask her to the ball.
"You don't have to answer right away." Blaise smiled at Hermione, hoping her hesitance was because he was the wrong Slytherin asking her out. "Think about it and let me know later."
With a wave and another killer smile Blaise departed the library, leaving a shocked Hermione and an outraged Harry and Ron. Hermione was still staring into space when Harry and Ron started complaining about the nerve of Blaise asking her out.
"What's so wrong with Blaise asking me out?" Hermione snapped to attention as she heard her friends criticising Blaise. "Is it really that unbelievable that someone would want to go out with me?"
"Of course it's not." Harry tutted at Hermione's question. "We're just saying that as a Slytherin Zabini should know better than to ask you out, you're off limits to the likes of him."
"What do you mean I'm off limits?"
"Well you're a Gryffindor and he's a Slytherin, it's just not right." Ron shrugged. "Everyone knows you date someone from your own house."
"How ridiculous." Hermione scoffed. "Neville's going out with Luna and you don't complain about that. Ginny dated numerous boys from other houses before getting together with Harry and Harry himself briefly dated Cho."
"Yes, but none of them were Slytherins." Ron argued.
"What difference does that make?" Hermione questioned. "You better not start on about how all Slytherins are evil again, you know how much I dislike discrimination like that."
Ron sighed and shook his head, not knowing what to say without getting Hermione angry. Right from first year Hermione had refused to believe all Slytherins were trouble, no matter how many people tried to tell her otherwise. Eventually Ron had stopped trying to get her to see sense, deciding that because she grew up in the muggle world she couldn't understand the past the same way he could.
"Look this really doesn't matter." Harry said, stepping in before his friends started arguing. Over the years he had refereed plenty of arguments between Hermione and Ron and he wasn't in the mood to do so today. "It's not as if Hermione's going to accept the offer anyway."
"What makes you think I'm going to say no?" Hermione asked.
"Because you are." Ron stated, speaking as though he was reciting a fact. "You can't go to the ball with a Slytherin."
"You're trying to dictate who I can date." Hermione glared at Ron, trying to convince herself she wasn't hearing what she thought she was.
"No, we're just saying you can't date a Slytherin." Ron said, failing to notice the glint of determination in Hermione's eye.
"Watch me." Hermione hissed, standing up and grabbing her books. "It is not up to you two who I date and if I want to go to the ball with Blaise, there's nothing you can do to stop me."
Turning on her heel Hermione left the library and headed back to the Heads dorm. Storming through the common room and walking straight into her bedroom Hermione failed to notice the brooding Head Boy watching her entrance. Simmering with anger Hermione stayed in her room for another twenty minutes and when she emerged the common room was empty. Realising dinner had started five minutes ago Hermione quickly made her way to the Great Hall.
When she entered the Great Hall, Hermione immediately looked for her friends. Once she spotted Harry and Ron she made sure they were watching her before she approached the Slytherin table. By the time Hermione reached Blaise and the other Slytherin seventh years the whole of the Great Hall had fallen silent and were watching Hermione with interest.
"Is your offer still open?" Hermione asked, speaking clearly so her friends and anyone else who was nosey enough to be eavesdropping would hear.
Blaise snuck a look at Draco, who was sitting beside him. Blaise could feel the jealously radiating from the blond but when it became clear he wasn't going to speak up and protest Blaise shot Hermione a wide grin.
"Of course it's still open."
"Then I want to accept." Hermione smiled back at Blaise. "I would love to go to the ball with you."
"It's a date." Blaise grinned at Hermione.
As Hermione made her way towards the Gryffindor table the gossip started, nearly everyone had an opinion on the monumental occurrence they had just witnessed. A Gryffindor and a Slytherin together was unheard of and no-one honestly thought they would ever see it happen. The fact that one of the parties involved was Hermione Granger, best friend of the two boys who hated Slytherins more than most, was even more shocking. In fact that only way the whole thing would have been more shocking was if it was the Slytherin Prince himself, Draco Malfoy, that was involved in the coupling. Instead the gossips had to make do with Hermione dating Draco's best friend, the flirty and attractive Blaise Zabini.