Angst/Romance

Words Used: "Do you deny me to Dance?"

Length: 1000 words. (Lenient)

Extra Information: Can be any Pairing of Any era Using Cannons.

Due Date: February 14th

Draco Malfoy sniffed at his new costume for the masked ball in the Slytherin Common Room. Even after last year's Dumbledore fiasco he still had to be a bit off of his rocker. I mean, even if he had managed to get away, there was never a way to win her. The one he loved. Besides, he had found out that he was engaged to some French girl. Great.

He pulled on his mask that he had bought at the Muggle costume shop weeks in advance. Matching his perfectly adjusted suit- black tuxedo, emerald green shirt and black tux shoes. He reached down to remove the scuff that remained on his shoes. After a good ten minutes of trying to remove the scuff he realized that he wasn't going to be able to get it off. He sighed and pulled off his mask, the feathers sticking out almost everywhere. He pulled open the heavy oak door, which was covered in metal and stuff on the front to look dark, but it was interesting. He sighed as he heard strains of music from the Great Hall. He was late. He smirked and put the icky mask back on. Party time.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Hermione Granger pulled on her swan costume Ginny and herself had spent hours sewing in the past three weeks. She had based it on this movie she had watched as a little girl, Ever After, about a poor girl who had fallen in love with a prince and was going to marry him but her stepmother stopped her and told him that she was a commoner. She always cried when she saw the dress. Slowly, she lifted the wings to fit to the back of her dress. She felt a hand run across her back and turned to only find Ginny running her hands over a wrinkle in the back of the dress. "Oh, it's just you. I thought you were…"

Ginny knew what Hermione had meant, "You have to remember, I am the only one left up here. Everyone else has either left or is asleep." She smiled at her friend, lowering her mask. Ginny had chosen to be a fox, so her hair would blend right in with her red mask and costume. Harry, who was now apparently her boyfriend, was going as a stag, with the whole antlers and everything. Hermione had watched everyone leave from the top steps. Ginny and Hermione wanted to be extremely late so that Ron and Harry would think they had flaked. Hermione hadn't seen Ron that night, though Ginny told Hermione that he was going to be wearing a wig and looking a bit odd. What could be weirder? "I'm gonna go. Come soon, Mione? Mione??"

But Hermione was lost in her little world again. The world where Ron was the perfect man, she was in love with him, and tonight when, if Harry had told Ginny correctly, Ron asked her to marry him, she would hug his neck and yell "YES!"

But that would never happen. She was in love with the one boy she could never have. Draco Malfoy. And the fact that he hated her more than life itself was not that terrible. She sighed and pulled on her mask, feathers surrounding her chocolate colored eyes. Her hair fell down her back totally straight as a pin and grey gloves with little pearls were the rest of the outfit, along with grey heels and her perfect grey dress made her look fantastic. She pulled her dress out from under her and started to walk down the steps, out of the Common Room, and down towards the entrance to the Great Hall. She clicked her heels towards the door, only to find someone else had opened it.

"Go ahead, milady." He grinned shyly at her. Was it Ron? She checked him out. About 6'4 and had black on. Ron was about that height, but there was no way that Ron was wearing black. He looked like a penguin in black. But whoever this was looked – she had to admit- pretty damn sexy in his green outfit. As she walked in before him and started to walk away, he grabbed her hand, "Would you please dance with me?"

She nodded and took his hand. A waltz came on and they started to waltz along to the music. It was definitely not Ron- he would've stepped on her feet already.

Draco dipped her and said, "Do you think that our school years have been weird? If we-" he paused, making sure to catch her and continued, "had met as Muggles, that some of us would be- better people?" He had pondered that deeply over the past year. Would he have found Hermione more attractive? He didn't know this girl he was dancing with, and if he did, she was being more subtle than normal. The song stopped and he was caught with her in his arms.

Hermione blushed and removed herself from his arms, "Nice to meet you." She walked over to Ginny and smiled at her, Harry's arms draped over her. His scar was barely noticeable and her hair seemed to have grown darker over a period of minutes. She scanned the room for another tall dark goon but kept watching the tall man that had asked her to dance. She felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see a boy in an awfully colored costume that clashed with his obviously dyed hair. She opened her mouth but he opened his first.

On one foot, the boy stood in front of Hermione, "Hermione Granger, will you dance with me?" She smirked at him and looked up. Ron was one of those boys that will follow you forever. She could take a chance.

"No. Ronald, I would not like to dance with you. And I have something to do." She did a little run hop thing to reach the masked man.

The masked man looked at swan woman. "Beautiful, I'm gonna kiss you now." He took off his mask and kissed her. For once, the world to seem to stand still. But only for a moment.