A/N: All credit for the characters goes to J.K. Rowling.

Inspired by "Lace and Leather" by the wonderful Britney Spears.

"This is going to be fun." agreed Parvati and Lavender as they bewitched posters to Hogwarts' walls. The girls giggled as they went on their way to their next classes.

Potions had been a bit less than interesting for Hermione today. She was unpleasantly surprised when she was called to answer a question and she took more than a second to reply. Luckily, less than five minutes after her embarrassing moment the bell signaled the class's end. Her cheeks blushed profusely as she exited the class. She kept her head down as she rummaged her disorganized school bag. As she found her arithmancy book, she collided with something hard and solid.

While she silently cursed to herself, she found out her attacker was nothing but a wall. Hermione stood up and straightened her robes. She was about to continue on her way, but a bright, pink poster caught her eye. As she carefully read its contents, her eyes grew wide.

To all you wonderful ladies of Hogwarts,

The Vigor Society is holding an auction to raise money for our senior house elf, Mathilde. As you all know, Mathilde will be granted a retirement pardon for her multi-century old service as Hogwarts' top house elf. Some of the proceeds will also be donated to our current staff. Come and bring your big hearts out to the auction, ladies. The only catch is that we'll be auctioning off dates with you.

Xoxo,

The Vigor Society

Hermione was caught at a crossroads. She really wanted to help raise money for the house elves, but she didn't want to be auctioned like some sort of used mobile. So many arguments flooded her head at that moment. Mathilde was such a wonderful house elf; she always wanted to give back to her. But, she wasn't that kind of girl. What would everyone think of her if she auctioned herself up to someone just for money? Would anyone even buy a date with her? She was very certain the bid wouldn't be high.

Hermione decided that she would have to think it over. Nothing helped her clear her head better than a good night's rest. So, that night she went to sleep vowing that her mind would be made by tomorrow.

As she woke the next morning, her mind was made.

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"Come on, mate, it'll be hosted by the Vigor Society. You do know what that means right?" said Blaise looking impatient.

"It means hot girls for everyone, even us." Said Crabbe, while Goyle finished his sentence.

"No, it means girls like Pansy getting paid to act like sluts." said a frustrated Draco as he relaxed in the Slytherin's common room couch.

Blaise decided to give it another go. "It's a Saturday night, Draco. The least you could do for yourself is get yourself a nice little snuggle buddy to keep Drakie-poo warm while Pansy gets paid to throw herself at someone else tonight."

Draco was pleased at the thought of a Pansy-free night. He decided to give the auction another chance. "I guess I would like to see her lucky victim's face when she latches on to his arm. Maybe, I could even buy someone else to make her itch."

He thought about the next day when he would willingly explain to Pansy how he had slept with his auction date. She probably would forgive him and continue on acting like his personal leech, but he decided it was worth a shot.

So as he was getting ready to leave for the auction with his best mates, he threw on his crisp, black polo and chose dark blue, jeans to go with it. He looked in the mirror and fixed his hair into the disheveled mess he knew the girls went wild for. After his final glance at the mirror and a spray of his cologne, he was off to join his friends at the auction.

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Hermione was backstage, while the Vigor Society girls put the final touches on their volunteers. As she looked around the room, she saw some familiar faces. Among the girls there, besides Ginny who was right next to her, she recognized Padma, Cho, and Susan. The other girls were already in their masks, so it was hard to make out any other familiar faces.

"How do I look?" Hermione asked Ginny as she bit her lip. She knew she had to look attractive to raise a lot of money, but she hoped she didn't look cheap.

Ginny looked her friend up and down in amazement. Hermione was wearing a cropped, red dress that came up to just above her knee. The red cloth was layered with black lace which held a pattern of little roses. The dress was not strapless, but its straps were less than an inch in width. Ginny thought that Hermione's black, leather ankle boots fit perfectly with her dress.

"Absolutely stunning" assured Ginny.

Hermione stood up and took a look for herself. Ginny was telling the truth. Hermione thought she looked quite nice as she observed herself in the mirror. As she was about to comment on her dress' high cut, Ginny handed her her mask.

"Shut up and wear it." Ginny told Hermione with a smile.

In Hermione's hands was a beautiful, deep red masquerade mask. Its surface had a black lining to match Hermione's dress, as well as a black ribbon to tie it. She tied it carefully and gave herself one last look in the mirror before she heard Lavender call her name.

"I guess this is it." She said to herself as she walked onto the stage.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Hermione was thankful for the mask. She could feel her cheeks burning. She walked to the podium where Parvati Patel was already introducing her.

"And now, we have this splendid lady ready for auction. By the looks of it, she's ready to paint the town red with one of you lucky fellows. How much would you spend to take this pretty girl out for a date?"

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Draco's night was pretty dull. Crabbe "accidentally" made the highest bid on Pansy. The bid wasn't high at all, but Draco was still disappointed that Crabbe would actually lie to him for a date with Pansy.

He was puzzled when he got up to leave because more than half of the room got to their feet as well. Draco wondered what all the commotion was about. As he scanned the room, he caught his breath.

Up on stage was a beautiful woman standing in a short red dress and leather boots. It was not her outfit that drew Draco to her, it was the girl herself. She caught his attention with her slight figure and her brown curly hair. The brown locks fell on her shoulders and framed her masked face. Her creamy, brown skin was glowing and her bottom lip was being almost unnoticeably bitten. Draco knew that he absolutely had to bid. He was sure that he could outbid everyone, he was rich.

After all, he was a Malfoy, and Malfoy's always got what they wanted.

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"£950, going once, going twice, sold!" announced Parvati

Hermione was proud that she raised that much money for the house elves, but she was mortified at the fact that she had to go on a date with Malfoy.

She wondered if she would be able to make it through the night.

As he helped her off the stage, she decided that even though he was a git, he did deserve a date for giving so much to the cause. She decided she wouldn't spoil his night by showing him who she really was. Maybe, just this once she could have a civil conversation with him.

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They ended up in a fancy restaurant. She felt so embarrassed as people stared at her mask.

"Sod off would you? I know she's stunning. You could all stop gawking now." Draco announced to the other nosy customers.

"Really, it isn't that big of a deal. I don't mind. I am the one wearing a mask. You don't have to go through so much trouble on my behalf."

"Trouble? My father practically owns this place. Besides, if you want to wear the mask they shouldn't treat you like a freak."

"It's not that I want to wear the mask, it's part of the rules." She lied

She tried to make her voice more relaxed and casual, so he had no chance of recognizing her.

As the night went on he charmed her more and more. She liked how he was so protective of her. Every time he sensed something was wrong, like people staring at her or that she was a bit cold, he immediately made things right again. Hermione never knew Draco was capable of being something other than annoying.

She realized that he made good on his promise from the beginning of the year. Right after school proceeded he had come up to her and had told her that he was sorry for the way he had acted toward her and only sought forgiveness. At the time, she thought it was out of the blue and insincere, but as time went on he never bugged her again. She decided that he had indeed changed his ways.

The way he talked about supporting the house elves made her heart give a squeeze. He even told her a personal story about his own pleasant experience with Mathilde. Hermione felt like she finally had someone who could relate to her. She felt silly and immature as she noticed how his messy hair sometimes fell into his eyes and made him look quite decent. It wasn't as if she hadn't noticed his looks before, she wasn't blind, it was just that his good nature had made him more attractive.

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Hermione found herself in his room at the end of the night. She had decided back at the restaurant that she was going to give him his kind of a date. Hermione thought that he deserved it, since he was such a gentleman and paid for a date with her. It wasn't like she didn't want it to happen. She knew she would never get to be with him without her mask on, so she decided to live for just this once. Hermione was ready to make the most of the night.

Draco turned to peck her on the lips before turning to head to the bathroom. He had promised her that she didn't have to do anything she didn't feel like doing, but she had promised him that she wanted to do everything tonight. Hermione was not feeling like herself, but she liked it…at least for tonight.

As she heard the shower turn on in the bathroom, she snuck a glance at his mirror. She looked exquisite and she felt too good to be true. Her daring side took over her and the next time she glanced at herself she was stripped down to her lacy knickers, leather boots, and red mask. She turned on his radio and found an appropriate song.

Draco entered the room and froze at the spot. He was not expecting to see her ready so soon. His eyes devoured her whole. She felt more beautiful than she had ever felt in her entire life.

"Come." She said as she patted the side of the bed.

He was willing to obey anything she said looking like that, so he quietly walked over to the bed and sat down. His eyes never left her.

Another song started and she started her slow, seductive torture on the lucky boy.

As he sat looking dazed, she bent to his level and took his lip in hers. The kiss was dominating and he was enjoying himself. Her delicate fingers stroked his chin slowly and his lips became more aggressive. Draco was fine with what they were doing, but Hermione had other things on her mind.

She stretched her leg over to the other side of his. She was now straddling him. Their lips were still active, while she pressed herself onto him. His hands began to roam her back. She knew this rate was giving him agony. Hermione deepened their kiss. Draco gladly accepted and began exploring her mouth's depths. His hands gripped her lacy knickers as her body rolled slightly on his. He felt her teeth give his lip a slight nip and then he was pushed roughly onto his bed.

He decided that she wanted to play. He turned her over roughly and to his surprise saw her get off the bed. She stood waiting while he arose. Immediately, she pushed him with all her might and he fell back with a thud. She smiled to herself and he suddenly felt a sharp stabbing pain on his chest. He looked up to see one of her ankle boots digging into him.

"uh-uh-uh" she said while waving a finger at him seductively

He let her take control once again. After an hour of exploring with their tongues and hands Draco thought the mask was too much of a nuisance. Just as he stroked her tongue with his own and she moaned into his mouth, he turned her over once more, which took her by surprise. Just as he had expected, her boot was back on his chest in no time. But, unlike the last time she bent down and whispered softly into his ear.

"Do you know what happens to boys who disobey?" she said with as much conviction as she could allow herself

She smirked as he said nothing. A look of bewilderment showed on her face as his own smirk appeared.

He managed to force himself onto his elbows with her heel still pushing into his flesh.

"The mask is a nice touch, Granger. But you look sexier without it."

And the rest of the night was history.