Hey guys! I've been having a little bit of writer's block with "An Overture", so my friend suggested I write a oneshot to help clear it. The time is 8 years after the Dark Lord was defeated and the setting is the United Kingdom. Don't forget to comment after you read. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter (though a special part of my heart will forever belong to the books).
"Harry, come on. You're 25 years old. I think you can go to a party by yourself!" Hermione said as Harry shoved the invitation at her.
"But Mione...Ginny will be at the New Year's party and I don't want to go by myself." Harry whined.
"Alright, alright I'll come. Just stop whining at me." Hermione agreed, exasperated.
"Okay." Harry said cheerfully.
"I'll see you there. Remember, it's a week from now." Harry reminded her. Hermione grunted in reply and turned back to her work.
A week later, Hermione received a very unexpected Floo visit from a certain Harry Potter dressed in a black suit and a red tie. She looked up, shocked, from the book she had just sat down to enjoy.
"Hermione we're going to be late for the New Year's party! Why aren't you dressed?" Harry demanded. Hermione groaned and put her book down.
"You forgot, didn't you?" Harry realized.
"Erm...maybe?" Hermione shrugged bashfully.
"Well hurry up! Get dressed! Go! Go!" Harry yelled.
"Jeez, okay I'm going, I'm going." Hermione ran to her room. Luckily for her, she'd had the good sense to pick out a dress beforehand. It was a navy blue strapless dress with a wide silver belt. The skirt was enchanted to look like there were stars shining in it. She waved her wand and the dress immediately replaced her fuzzy jumper and jeans. She ran to the bathroom and cast a quick charm on her hair that put it up in a crown twist braid with little star-shaped pins. Another wave of her wand applied her makeup flawlessly and instantly. She grabbed her purse and her silver heels and ran to meet Harry by her fireplace.
"I'm...ready…" she panted.
"Wow, that was fast." Harry commented. They stepped into the fireplace as Harry read the address from the invitation. In a flash, they were standing in front of a handsome manor.
"Woah…" Hermione breathed in awe. In the front of the manor, carriages carrying handsomely dressed wizards and witches were parked. The front lawn of the manor was lit by floating golden spheres which many stopped to admire. At the end of the lawn, there was a grand marble staircase that led up to the open doors that bright light was streaming from. Harry held out his arm.
"Shall we?" he said in a mockingly grandiose way. Hermione smiled and pushed his arm away playfully. They walked up the staircase into the gorgeous manor. The large room was packed with wizards and witches eating, talking, and dancing.
"Oh, wow." Harry stopped.
"There she is. Gosh, she looks beautiful." Harry was staring at Ginny across the dance floor. Ginny was wearing a cream-colored, off the shoulder dress. She was talking to Parvati Patil who was wearing a spaghetti-strap tight black dress and a gold boa around her shoulders.
"I've faced giants and ogres. I've battled with time. Hell, I've even fought Lord Voldemort himself. But nothing has terrified me as much as this moment right now." Harry whispered.
"Well that's a bit of an over exaggeration." Hermione said dryly. Harry gave her a look.
"Just go talk to her!" Hermione pointed to Ginny.
"What? Me? No I can't...you go talk to her." Harry stuttered. Hermione sighed in frustration.
"Harry Potter. You're not 12 years old anymore. You can talk to girls at parties for crying out loud!" Hermione shouted.
"Okay okay!" Harry put up his hands in surrender. He exhaled sharply and rubbed his hands together.
"Here we go…" he said nervously. Hermione pushed him forward. Harry stumbled in Ginny's general direction. Hermione watched Harry nervously approach Ginny. He asked her if she wanted to dance with him. She thought for a minute before agreeing. Harry led Ginny onto the dance floor. Right before the song started, Harry gave Hermione a tentative smile and a thumbs-up. Hermione smiled back and went to get food. She was at the buffet table getting salad when she heard a familiar voice.
"Hermione?" she turned around when she heard her name.
"Oh! Er...Hello Cormac." Hermione awkwardly greeted her old schoolmate.
"Wow! Long time no see. You're looking...great, actually." Cormac said.
"Thanks. Well I really should…" Hermione tried to avoid conversation but Cormac interrupted her.
"So, how have you been?" he asked.
"Oh, I've been fine. I think I have to…" Hermione was about to politely excuse herself before Cormac interrupted her again.
"Things have been great for me too. Would you dance with me?" Cormac held out his hand in invitation. Hermione awkwardly shook her head.
"I'm afraid I don't dance." she made a quick excuse. Cormac looked disappointed and a little bit confused as if he wasn't sure why she would refuse a dance with him.
"Are you here with anyone?" Cormac asked. Hermione huffed. Trying to subtly excuse herself hadn't worked, so she tried to make Cormac go away.
"Yes, actually. I'm here with my boyfriend." Hermione lied. Cormac looked a little stunned.
"Your...boyfriend?" he repeated. Hermione swallowed a laugh.
"Yes. I have a...boyfriend. So you should probably leave before he comes back. He's very possessive." Hermione smiled sweetly. Cormac blinked.
"I don't believe you. As if you'd have a boyfriend." Cormac scoffed. Hermione was offended.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked defensively.
"Oh, please. Do you think I'm an idiot?" Cormac demanded, mildly annoyed.
"You have no idea…" Hermione thought.
"I don't think you're an idiot. Now I really have to go find him…" Hermione tried to walk past Cormac. But he stepped in front of her and went on talking as if Hermione had never said anything.
"I know you're just trying to get rid of me just like at Slughorn's Christmas party-"
"That was 14 years ago!"
"And I know you're lying to me! Besides, you're too much of a nightmare to ever have a boyfriend." Cormac raised his voice. Hermione was about to reply with a comeback telling Cormac how he was the nightmare when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Is everything okay here?" Hermione turned around, getting ready to tell whoever was behind her to bugger off and let her deal with Cormac herself, but the words died in her throat.
"Malfoy?" Cormac sputtered. Yes, standing behind Hermione was the one and only Draco Malfoy. He was wearing a neat black suit with a deep green silk tie over a white collared button-down shirt. Hermione's jaw almost dropped straight to the floor.
"I said, is everything okay here?" Malfoy repeated, annoyed, as if he didn't like being called by his last name. Hermione glanced back at Cormac. His face was red and he seemed furious as he looked from Hermione to Malfoy as if realizing something.
"Nevermind." he muttered under his breath before storming away and pushing past a witch holding a glass of champagne chatting with her friend. Hermione exhaled in relief as soon as Cormac was out of sight. She looked at Malfoy who was still staring after Cormac and looking as if Cormac had personally offended him. She shrugged off his hand, which was still resting on her shoulder.
"I had that handled." she pointed out. Malfoy looked at her as if he had just noticed that she was there.
"That's not how it looked from where I was standing." he replied respectfully.
"Well I did. So you didn't have to step in." Hermione huffed, crossing her arms. The corner of Malfoy's mouth tilted upward.
"A simple 'Thank you' would suffice." he joked. Hermione didn't smile.
"What are you doing here anyway?" Hermione changed the subject, annoyed. Malfoy looked confused.
"It would be strange not to be present at my own party, after all." Hermione realized that he was the host and quickly apologized.
Great job, Hermione. Wonderful social skills. Though, maybe if you had any then you wouldn't have to lie to Cormac when you said that you had a boyfriend. Hermione criticized herself in her head.
"So...where are we, then? This doesn't look like Malfoy Manor." Hermione changed the topic again. Malfoy almost cringed when she mentioned his old home, but Hermione barely noticed.
"We're in one of my mother's many summer homes. She let me borrow it while she went to visit her distant cousin in Paris." Malfoy explained. Hermione mouthed oh but couldn't find anything else to say. Neither could Malfoy, apparently. So Hermione was relieved when Harry came bounding towards her.
"Hey Mione!" Harry called cheerfully before noticing Malfoy's presence and stopping in his tracks.
"Potter."
"Malfoy." the two foes greeted each other cooly. They had a brief stare-down before Malfoy broke the silence. He turned to Hermione.
"I have to go attend to my other guests. Have a good evening." he bowed to her, cast a look at Harry, and sauntered away.
"What was that about?" Harry asked Hermione after Malfoy was out of sight. He jabbed a thumb in the general direction of Draco Malfoy. Hermione shrugged truthfully. She didn't know what she was expecting, but she definitely wasn't expecting what had just happened.
The rest of the party was really very enjoyable. Harry led Hermione to where Ginny was and the two were very happy to see each other again. They could have caught up for hours but another song came on and Ginny gasped in excitement before grabbing Harry by the hand and dragging him onto the dance floor. Hermione was content to watch the two lovebirds dance for a little while before Parvati came over to gossip (Parvati's favorite pastime) with Hermione. But no matter what Hermione did, she couldn't help glancing at Draco Malfoy every now and then. And every time she looked over at him, he was always staring back at her. Hermione wondered why. Maybe she looked weird? She had been rushing to get dressed. And why was she staring at him? Hermione was hopelessly confused. She was lost in thought and didn't notice Parvati calling her name.
"Hermione? Hermione!" she waved her hand in front of Hermione's face.
"What are you staring at?" Parvati inquired. She looked where Hermione was looking.
"Ah. I see." Parvati smiled cheekily. Hermione turned to look at her questioningly.
"You're staring at Draco Malfoy." Parvati pointed out.
"What? No, I'm not!" Hermione replied quickly. Parvati gave her a look that said "There's no point hiding it. We all know what's going on here." which annoyed Hermione.
"I don't blame you. He is very hot." Parvati smirked. Hermione scowled. She knew what Parvati was trying to do and didn't like it. She excused herself and fled to an empty table by a marble column and watched the dancers. But she just couldn't stop thinking about what Parvati said. She didn't like Malfoy, did she? She put her head in her hands and groaned. She didn't need any more heartache, after Ron had led her on for 7 years and then said that he wanted to be "just friends". What she needed was a nice, quiet, private room to think. She stood up. And anyway, the loud music was beginning to give Hermione a headache. Yes, she was going to find a private room in the mansion to think. Harry wouldn't worry. Besides, he would be occupied with Ginny. She pushed her chair in and grabbed her purse, which contained her wand and looked around the ballroom. Hmm...there doesn't seem to be many quiet rooms here… she thought. So she made her way upstairs. She felt a little guilty for sneaking around, but hey, she wasn't going to steal anything! She just needed to get away from the noise.
She was walking down the dimly lit hallway jiggling doorknobs and trying to find an unlocked bathroom, bedroom, study, anything. Her migraine was killing her. She was pulling on another doorknob, deciding whether it would be considered bad manners to use "Alohomora" on a host's locked door when she sensed someone in the hallway behind her. She tensed up, opening her bag and ready to pull out her wand and fire a body-bind curse. She whirled around and found herself only a few inches away from Cormac McLaggen. Not again… she thought. She didn't plan on coming face-to-face with Cormac again. Especially a Cormac that had had quite a few drinks since she'd last seen him. He squinted at her.
"Hermione? What are you doin' here?" he slurred. Hermione could smell the wine and firewhiskey on his breath. She resisted the urge to gag.
"Cormac, how many drinks have you had?" Hermione turned her face to the side to avoid the full blast of his breath. Cormac looked confused.
"No' that many. Why?" Hermione's hand went to her head. Her migraine had only gotten worse, and Cormac's breath was not doing anything to help.
"I have to go Cormac…" she tried to side-step him but he blocked her way.
"Oh I suppose you have to go see your boyfriend." he said mockingly.
"Please, Cormac, let's not do this now…" but again he cut her off.
"I'm surprised at you, 'Mione. Dating that slimy ferret Malfoy…."
"Malfoy is not a slimy ferret." Hermione said in a low voice.
"Wha' did you say?" Cormac breathed closer to her face.
"I said Malfoy is not a slimy ferret! Now go away." Hermione pushed Cormac off and tried to run away, but he grabbed her arm before she could.
"Cormac, let go!" She tried to pry his fingers off, but his grip was too tight.
"Don't walk away from me!" Cormac shouted. He tightened his grip and Hermione winced.
"Cormac, you're hurting me! Let go!" Hermione screamed. She could use her wand, but she didn't want to accidentally hurt Cormac. She struggled to break free. He shoved her roughly against the wall. Hermione cried out in pain when she hit the wall and she dropped her wand. She was going to bend down and pick it up when Cormac used his forearm to pin Hermione by her neck to the wall.
"I'm a nice guy! I never did nothin' to you! But now you go off an' date that Death Eater Malfoy?" Cormac's face was so close that Hermione could smell everything he had eaten for dinner. Hermione choked as she pulled at Cormac's arm, but he was too strong. All of a sudden, Cormac was roughly kissing her on the mouth. Hermione was stunned. She could taste the alcohol. His free hand, the one that wasn't pinning her to the wall, began moving up her inner thigh. Hermione could feel the bile rising up her throat. Hermione growled. He's not allowed to touch me! Her head screamed. She raised her leg and kicked him as hard as she could in the crotch area. Cormac made a sound between a squeak and a scream as he doubled over in pain. Hermione collapsed, coughing and heaving. She scrambled for her wand and stood up, aiming it as Cormac kneeling on the floor.
"You little bit-" Cormac lunged at Hermione but before he could reach her, Hermione shot a Stunning spell at him that hit him square in the face. Hermione crouched, panting. She heard a door burst open behind Hermione. She turned around. A very shocked Draco Malfoy stood in an open doorway of what appeared to be a bathroom. Hermione groaned. She didn't even want to think about how bad it looked, kneeling over the unconscious body of a man in the darkened hallway of a mansion.
"I didn't...I mean...it was self-defence...he touched me…" Hermione was still shaking from her experience, even though she had handled it fine at the moment. Draco's eyes flickered from the bruises on Hermione's neck and arm and her messed up hair, then back down to Cormac's body. Draco looked furious. He took out his wand. Hermione winced as Draco marched over towards her. He walked right past her and to Cormac.
"Wait here." he said. He muttered a spell and levitated Cormac's body into a nearby room and locked the door before coming back to where Hermione was still on the floor.
"Well, he won't be bothering you again." he dusted his hands and frowned at her bruises.
"Come on." he said as he helped her up and into the bathroom. He sat her down on the edge of the tub and inspected her wounds. Hermione tensed up slightly. She could feel Malfoy's breath tickling her arm. He was supposed to be her mortal enemy. So why was he helping her? Hermione was too confused to even begin to unravel that problem.
"I should go...Harry will wonder where I went…" Hermione tried to stand up but her throbbing headache protested loudly.
"You probably shouldn't do that. Just let me help you. Okay?" Malfoy asked in a low voice. Hermione nodded. Draco stood up and Summoned some ice. Then he knelt in front of Hermione and held the ice over the bruise on her arm.
"What a jerk, huh?" Malfoy muttered. Hermione was slightly surprised.
"Uh...yeah I guess." Hermione replied. Malfoy looked up at her.
"But you definitely showed him. Nice move, the crotch-kick."
"How did you-"
"I heard it from the bathroom."
"Then why didn't you-"
"Help you? Because I figured that you had gotten it handled." Malfoy shrugged.
"Besides, the door wouldn't open. There seemed to be something or someone leaning against it. And by the time I got out, there didn't seem to be anything left to do about the situation." the bathroom went silent again. Malfoy noticed a tear in Hermione's dress.
"Would you like me to mend it?" he asked. Hermione thought for a bit before nodding. Draco bent down to focus on fixing the soft silky fabric. Hermione wondered what Harry or Parvati would think if they were to walk into the bathroom at that moment and see the Prince of Slytherin, son of a Death Eater, and Harry's arch-nemesis, kneeling in front of Hermione Granger repairing her dress. In no time, Malfoy had finished with her dress and it looked like it had never been ripped. He was always one of the top of his class, after all.
"Are you okay now?" Malfoy asked as he stood up. Hermione was about to say yes but then clutched her forehead in pain. Almost immediately, Malfoy was in crouching in front of her again, eyebrows knitted with concern.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Headache…" she winced. Malfoy thought for a moment.
"I don't know any spells for that." he confessed.
"No, no, I just need to sit in a quiet, dark room for a little while." Hermione said.
"Oh. Well, I have plenty of those." Malfoy said, relieved that he could do something to help her.
"Come with me." he gently helped her up and led her to another door further down the hallway. He used his wand to unlock the door.
"This is my favorite room. I spend most of my time in this one." Hermione looked around what appeared to be a small library. Bookshelves lined all of the walls and small oil lamps dimly illuminated the room. There was a wide wooden table in the middle of the room and 2 velvet green armchairs, one underneath the window and one by the table. Malfoy led Hermione over to the armchair underneath the window.
"Is this okay?" he asked.
"This is fine, thank you." Hermione replied politely as she sat down in the armchair.
"Well, if you don't mind then, I'm going to finish my book while I'm here." Malfoy sat down in the other armchair and picked up a nearby book. For a moment, Hermione was silent and let the throbbing in her head settle down. After a while, Hermione turned around to where Malfoy was quietly reading his book.
"Malfoy?" she tried to get his attention. Malfoy cringed slightly. He turned around in his armchair.
"Please. Call me Draco." he said in a low voice, his eyes sad and...fearful?
"Oh. Okay Mal-Draco." she said, confused. That's going to take some getting used to. Hermione thought.
"Er...Draco?" Hermione asked again. Draco patiently turned around to face her, not the least bit annoyed.
"Why are you being so kind to me?" he took his time answering as he sighed and closed his book.
"Because you're my guest." he said in a matter-of-fact voice.
"That still doesn't explain why you're being unusually kind to me." Hermione pointed out, still confused.
"Er...how is your headache now, Hermione?" Draco asked, obviously trying to change the subject. Hermione huffed.
"It's fine. It's just a shame that you had to miss most of the party."
"Oh, I don't mind. We have until midnight. Besides, what are parties anyway? Just socializing, dancing, and eating." he shrugged. Hermione chuckled.
"I'm glad I missed the dancing." she joked. Draco looked confused.
"Why? Some might consider the dancing to be the best thing to do at parties." he said. Hermione blushed out of embarrassment.
"I can't...erm...see...I never really learned...how to...dance." Hermione stuttered. Draco raised his eyebrows and smirked slightly.
"Well, it's really not that hard once you get into the rhythm of it. See?" Draco stood up and waltzed around the room, gliding across the polished wooden floors with an imaginary partner. Hermione could not keep her eyes off of his graceful figure artfully moving around the room in such an effortlessly beautiful way. Draco didn't seem to notice. His eyes were closed and he was humming his favorite waltz, getting lost in the beauty of the music and the familiarity of the dance. He then got more into it and jumped and twirled in time with the music in his head. Draco finished the dance with an elaborate twirl and pose that almost ended up in him losing his balance. Hermione laughed and gave him a small round of applause. Draco bowed to her, a smirk visible on his face. He held out his hand to her as an offer. Hermione blinked, not understanding. Draco stood straight up, hand still extended.
"May I have this dance, milady?" Draco asked, the smile audible in his voice.
"What? I'm not very good at dancing. I haven't in a long time…" Hermione trailed off.
"Don't worry about that. I'll teach you. Besides, my shoes are very thick, so you won't be breaking any toes tonight." his smile was so friendly, so welcoming, and so alien on his normally cold and emotionless face, that Hermione couldn't resist. Maybe just one dance. He is your mortal enemy after all. Hermione thought. But the gentle way he took her slender hands in his and the way her body perfectly fit against his, erased all doubts and fears from her mind instantly. He started slow and easy, saying the counting out loud and correcting her when she made a mistake. After a little while, he picked up the speed until the waltz was the normal tempo. The way he hummed the waltz from memory in time with the dance made her wonder how she could ever consider this man an enemy. She didn't think. She didn't think about Harry, Cormac, or even Ron. She didn't think about what Parvati would say, or her parents, or his mother. She didn't think about what would happen next. All she did was close her eyes and let herself be led into the music by Draco. I'm waltzing with Draco Malfoy in a small library in one of his manors on New Year's Eve. Hermione thought, amused with herself. Oh well, stranger things have happened. Hermione smiled. She felt him release one hand and spin her around with the other. Hermione was surprised by how easy this seemed. Then Draco finished humming his song and ended the dance. Hermione opened her eyes, and found Draco's icy blue ones staring back at her. Both were breathing heavily, whether from the dance or from the exhilaration of being so close to the other person. His eyes really were hypnotizing. He closed his eyes and leaned down toward Hermione. She closed her eyes. Suddenly, Hermione's eyelids snapped open and she shoved Draco away unexpectedly. She stumbled backwards and into the table.
"Wha...are you alright?" Draco asked, immediately worried.
"What was I thinking?" Hermione hissed.
"What?" he said, still stunned.
"I almost kissed you!" Hermione blurted out.
"So?" Draco half-smirked.
"I'm Hermione Granger! A Gryffindor! And you're…" Hermione stopped and stared at Draco.
A Slytherin. A Malfoy. A Death Eater. An enemy. She didn't say it out loud, but Draco knew what she was thinking. His expression hardened and froze again. He fixed his posture and erased all humor from his face until Hermione saw no resemblance to the man she had danced with less than a minute ago. He politely took a step back.
"Draco...I'm sorry...I didn't mean…" Hermione desperately tried to take back what she said. He put up his hands and cut her off.
"No, you're right. I overstepped my boundaries. I apologize." Draco turned around and walked toward the door. Hermione tried to find something to say that would make him stay, but she couldn't. Just then, a clock in the distance rang twelve times. Draco paused in the doorway and checked his watch.
"Happy New Year, Ms. Granger." he was about to leave when Hermione rushed over and grabbed his hand.
"Wait." she said.
"Wait. Please." he stopped. Draco turned around to look at her, face emotionless.
"May I help you, Ms. Granger?" he asked, like a good host should.
"You know, Muggles have a popular New Year's tradition." Hermione said nervously.
"Really? And what's that?" Draco asked. Hermione barely hesitated before extending herself onto her toes and kissing Draco full on the mouth. He gave a little noise of surprise before kissing back. Hermione's fingers travelled up to his face to trace his prominent cheekbones and defined jawline. Draco grabbed Hermione's fingers and held them to his face as he pulled away. Brown eyes stared into blue as Hermione wondered how everything was going to work out now. Nothing about this had been planned. But at Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy stared into each other's eyes in the doorway of the dimly lit library, she knew that no matter what happened, they would always have this night, the two of them. And that was enough.
That was enough.
I hope you enjoyed it! Please comment, even if you hated it. I would like to know where I can improve! Let me know if you'd like a sequel or something (I need something to take my mind off of midterms)!