The soft whisper of violins echoed in the Great Hall as Hermione Granger entered the room, arm in arm with Ginevra Weasley.
As though on cue, the women had arrived at the end of a song. Although the next song had started to play, many eyes were upon Hermione and Ginny.
The pair glided across the floor, catching the attention of many men in the room. Yet, no one knew who they were... Or at least, no one knew it was Hermione. Hermione looked angelic with her white and silver mask, and no longer had uncontrollably curly hair.
Ginny, however, was not hard to recognize. She was, after all, probably the only redheaded woman in the room, excluding Mrs. Weasley.
"Oh my..." Ginny gasped, her gloved hand concealing her gaping mouth. "I have never seen the Hall like this. It's…"
"Magnificent." Hermione murmured. Her chocolate brown eyes glanced at her partner in crime as they both smiled.
"Can you believe that it's been a year since the war ended?" Ginny sighed. "It is so refreshing to actually celebrate for once."
Hermione pursed her lips. A year…time had gone by so fast. And yet, time had not gone by fast enough. The last thing she wanted was to talk about such a dark, horrible time, so she swiftly changed the subject.
"This masquerade ball is quite the celebration. I never imagined so many people would show up. Do you think you can find Harry, in this crowd?"
Ginny adjusted her black and gold mask, flashing Hermione a mischievous grin. "We're matching! Even if we weren't, I could find my Harry miles away. His eyes… they're-"
"Good lord, I know what color his eyes are. Please don't start, Ginny. You're going to make me sick."
The redhead giggled. "You don't know them the way I do. They're so soft, so passionate-"
"And GREEN. I think I get it. Can we stop discussing this?"
"But you don't know the shade of green. They're like emeralds-"
"Oh, hush. Go find him already before I hurl." Hermione laughed as she playfully shoved her friend into the crowd.
Ginny cackled and waved at Hermione as she walked deeper and deeper into the sea of people, until Hermione could no longer see her black and gold dress.
Hermione sighed. Matching outfits. Why hadn't Ron suggested that?
The brunette sighed once again as she adjusted her long, white gloves.
Oh. Right. Because he was Ron. She shook her head. At least his red hair was a dead giveaway. Or at least…almost. Too bad that George, Charlie and Bill were in the room too!
Gathering her white, puffy skirt, she walked over to an empty table and kicked off her high heel shoes. Hermione sighed with relief as she sunk into her seat, loving the cool breeze that caressed her burning skin. Due to the numbers of people in the room, it was starting to get very hot… Not to mention the elegant, stuffy dress she was forced to wear for the ball. It was beautiful, but it was also suffocating her.
"Hermione!"
The brunette jumped in her seat as Luna Lovegood plopped into the seat next to her.
"Oh my goodness! You look so much better than when we were in school!"
Hermione sighed, recovering from her mini heart attack. "Thank you…I…I think… Please, don't scare me like that. Is it you, Luna? How did you know it was me, with this mask?"
"Oops. You're welcome, I'm sorry, yes and… it was really obvious. Your aura is unique. " Luna chirped. "Now, where is Ron? And where's Harry? I haven't seen anyone here yet. Well, besides you. "
"Hmph. If I knew, I would tell you. Ginny went off to find Harry a while ago. As for Ronald, I obviously haven't found him yet."
"Well it doesn't seem like you're really looking for him." Luna laughed.
"Try finding him in a big, ridiculous dress like mine." Hermione scoffed as she attempted to put her heels back on. "I'll go look for him once I get used to moving in this stupid thing. Ginny made me wear this against my will."
"I can see why. It looks lovely on you."
Hermione scowled. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words died on her lips as a handsome man approach Luna's chair, softly placing his hands on her shoulders.
"There you are, Luna. And Hermione! Gosh, I haven't seen you in a while."
"Neville?" Hermione gasped at Luna, her chocolate brown eyes wide with surprise. "Wait, you aren't-?"
"I guess we are an unlikely couple." Luna smiled. "But…yes. Look."
The brunette was in complete and utter shock as Luna showed her the diamond ring on her finger.
" When were you planning to tell me that you were married to Neville?"
The couple grinned at each other. "Well, we haven't really told anyone yet…Besides close family of course. We eloped."
Hermione shook her head and gave them a small smile. "Am I the only one who isn't engaged or married or having babies yet?"
"Who beat us on having kids?" Luna asked.
"Ron hasn't proposed yet?" Neville gasped.
Suddenly, Luna's eyes went wide. She grasped Neville's hand and stammered, "O-Oh! I love this song. Neville, let's go dance." And she stood and left as soon as she had come, taking her very confused husband with her.
Hermione frowned. While it was very like Luna to act weird, it still didn't explain-
The brunette jumped as she felt a cool hand grasp her own, looking up to see a handsome, blonde man in a gray and silver mask.
"Pardon me…" The man kissed the back of her hand, sending unexpected chills up her spine. "I did not mean to frighten you. My only intention was to ask if you could honor me with a dance."
The brunette stared at the blonde, shocked by the effect the strange man's kiss had on her. And that voice…She knew that voice…
What she did not know is that the word, "okay ", had escaped her lips.
The moment was a blur. The next thing Hermione knew, the strange, blonde man's arm was around her waist, and she stepping in time to the waltz.
She tried looking at the man's face, but she could not recognize the blonde at all. She even looked deep into his eyes, and yet could not remember anyone who had eyes in that particular shade of bluish gray…
"Do I have something on my face?" The man chuckled as Hermione cheeks turned pink, not realizing that she had been examining him for the duration of two songs.
"I'm sorry, I did not mean to force you to dance another song with me. I was so distracted, I'm-"
"On the contrary. Would you like to dance another piece with me?" The blonde looked at her, his bluish gray eyes full of…Hermione could not find the proper words to describe his look, but it made her heart skip a beat…several beats, actually.
"Yes." She murmured again, uncharacteristically fighting her brain and her conscience.
Are you insane, Hermione Granger? What are you doing?!
Hermione bit her lip as she ignored her thoughts, trying to focus for once on her feelings. She did not know why the man's gentle grip on her made her feel so at ease, or why merely staring into his eyes made the color in her cheeks rise once more. What she did know is that she had never felt so pleasantly confused in her life.
"You are an exquisite dancer." The man finally murmured. "Where did you learn to dance so gracefully? I think you are the first woman that I've danced with tonight that has not stepped on my foot."
Hermione laughed softly. "I'm just a natural."
The man smiled and grasped Hermione's waist tighter, much to the brunette's surprise.
"Well, you are the best dancer in this room…Excluding me, of course. I'm honored to be dancing with you."
The brunette smiled. "Well, aren't you charming? Do you say that to all the girls you dance with?"
"Of course not. Just you." The man gasped, pretending to be offended.
Hermione laughed softly once more as he twirled her around, unable to keep the smile off her face.
"What makes you think you are the best dancer in the room?"
The blonde's smile turned into a mischievous grin. "You are going to regret asking that. You won't doubt my dancing skills for the next dance."
It was Hermione's turn to gasp. "Who told you I would agree to dance the next song?"
"You don't have to agree. How can I answer your question without showing you?"
"Well, you could always dance with another woman and I can watch from afar."
"Where is the fun in that?" The blonde scoffed. "Besides, what if the woman is inadequate to dance with? She could be awful, and that would ruin the dance."
"What if she was better than I was? Then it would make your dance better."
"I told you, you are the second best dancer in the room. Therefore, you have to be the one I dance with."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "But you say that to every woman you dance with. I am not, the second best-"
She frowned. "HEY, I am NOT the second best. I am the best dancer, and I can bloody prove it to you."
"Watch your language!" The blonde chuckled. "Next dance, we'll see who the best dancer out of the two of us is."
And so, they spent the remainder of the song laughing and teasing each other, until finally the next piece started.
The blonde placed one hand on the brunette's back firmly, and grasped her hand with the other.
Soon enough, they were both gliding across the dance floor, matching each other's steps perfectly.
The blonde led, and the brunette followed. Each one could feel what the other wanted. It was hard to explain, but they both knew they had lost their bet, for they had never felt so in sync with a dance partner before. As they stared into each other's eyes, they knew that the bet no longer mattered anyway. Instead, they wondered why they felt the way they did. They wondered why their hands fit together like a puzzle piece.
The dance almost felt like…pure magic. Together, they felt like magic.
And when the blonde dipped the brunette at the end of the song, he could not help but murmur, "Another dance?"
Hermione, lost in the man's bluish gray eyes, could only nod as she wrapped her arms around his neck once more.