1
I sighed. Parvati and Lavender – it was so like them to plan a seventh year masquerade ball, just to try to hook everyone up. I So like them. /I As I pored over the assignment list, I saw my name, Hermione Granger – Christine Daae, partnered with The Phantom of the Opera. I sighed again. It was bad enough that I didn't know who my partner was, but from a good romantic musical? There wasn't the slightest chance that that kind of love magic would ever happen to me. With a gusty sigh, I decided to start preparing. To start off my appearance change, I slipped into a ballgown that made me look slim and beautiful. I charmed my hair to look darker brown, and then subtly altered all of my facial features, except my eyes. I looked into the mirror and saw a character from a Muggle movie staring out at me. I knew my partner would recognize me as Christine; I just hoped it wasn't Ron. Over the summer, we had gotten into arguments upon arguments, fighting about trivial things such as Quidditch. Sometime, we had realized that we weren't quite perfect for each other. Come on, he was a lot less than an intellectual, and I was one of the smartest witches of my year. I needed someone I could talk to, and they would actually understand half of the things that I was saying.
I
As I pored over the assignment list to the masquerade ball, I noticed my name, Draco Malfoy, Phantom of the Opera, partnered with Christine Daae. What the hell? Ah yes, now I remembered Phantom of the Opera. It was that sappy muggle movie that proved that love was magic, or something just as bad. My parents had forced me to watch it while we were on vacation in Italy. They wanted me to see what a poor understanding of magic Muggles have, but I didn't see their damn point! "Well, the worst it could be is Pansy," I thought, trying to look on the bright side. Pansy had gotten all overprotective over the summer, and I got sick of her incessant whining.Of course, I never liked her in the first place, I was just using her. Unfortunately, thinking about Pansy only put me to worrying. I glanced at the date on my desk calendar. It was March 22. "That can't be right," I thought, and double checked. No – it was March 22. That meant that the first ball was tonight. I picked up a feather from my owl's perch and transfigured it into a white half-mask, similar to the Phantom's. I turned my hair into a dark brown, and wrapped a simple cravat around my neck. Finally, I pressed the mask to my face where it stuck, giving me just the appearance that I wanted. Adjusting my robes, I walked down to the great hall. There were already several couples on the dance floor, but I wanted to dance with Christine. We weren't allowed to change our weight, so if she was an absolute cow, she would look like one.Someone tapped me on the shoulder,and I turned, expecting Blaise, Crabbe or Goyle. Instead, I saw a beautiful Christine Daae. I looked her up and down, noticing that she was doing the same to me. She was thin, but athletically, athletically skinny; not as if she had deliberately starved herself to look that way. Thank god. Her gorgeous hair cascaded down her back to brush her hips.
"Shall we dance?" She asked.
I offered my hand. She took it, and we started a lilting waltz. I noticed how lovely of a dancer she was. After another few dances, we went to get some drinks. /I
I checked my dress and made sure I was ready. Composing my nerves, I walked from my head's common room to the great hall. Pausing just inside the doors, I looked around for my Phantom. I saw him standing a few meters away, his face turned slightly away from me. I walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned, and I saw that he was athletically built, if a little on the thin side for tackle sports. "A good build for a seeker . . . " I thought. He had a handsome face and sparkling silver eyes. He was a good seven or eight inches taller than my 5' 6 – a good height.
"Shall we dance?" I asked.
He offered his hand and I took it. He was almost as good of a dancer as me. We danced for a bit, until I was panting, my chest heaving.
Phantom took my arm and guided me over to the drink table. I grabbed a butterbeer and we went over to sit at a café table. I was looking down at my plate, trying to decide what the sugary, buttery, flaky, pastry was. I looked up and realized that my dance partner was eying me up. I felt my cheeks heat. I was in for it now, this total stranger had drawn me into an intricately spun web of suppressed tension.
"So . . . Dancing, hm?" Phantom asked, breaking the silence. I took note that his voice was husky and deep, also known as totally and unbearably sexy.
I also noticed that he was staring at me again with those gorgeous silver eyes. He offered his hand and I took it. He was almost as good of a dancer as me. We danced for a bit, until I was panting, my chest heaving. Phantom took my arm and guided me over to the drink table. I grabbed a butterbeer and we went over to sit at a café table. You could almost cut the tension with a knife. I awkwardly stirred my drink, trying to find a conversation starter.
"So . . . Dancing, huh?" Phantom asked.
"Yes," I replied, glad to finally have something to talk about. "I've been dancing for 12 years."
Phantom, looking even more eerie than ever, smiled. He pulled me to my feet and led me to the dance floor.
I After we went to get drinks, Christine and I sat down at a café table. After a while, I caught myself staring at her, or more specifically, the rather low neckline of her gown. She looked directly at me and flushed becomingly. You could literally cut the sexual tension with a knife. There was a long, full, and rather awkward silence. "So, dancing, hm?" I asked. I was so caught up in staring at her that I missed her reply. Her eyes were glowing happily, and she turned to survey some of the other couples on the dance floor. I took this as a hint and pulled her to her feet. We danced for a little while, and I found myself drawing her a little closer with each new dance. She was leading me over to the edge of the dance floor. Christine kicked off her heels and returned to dancing. At my quizzical look, she blushed.
"They hurt my feet!" She said.
I hid a grin. She was such a tease, taking off her shoes to show me her legs. Actually, I liked it.
/I
We danced for a little while longer, with Phantom drawing me close. I could smell his cologne. It reminded me of Viktor, only in a slightly more aristocratic way. My feet started to hurt. I waltzed over to the side of the dance floor, kicked off my heels, and continued to dance. Phantom shot me a look, mixed between 'what are you doing?' and 'you have nice legs'. I flushed again, realizing that I had shown my legs to the entire room.
"They hurt my feet!" I said, by way of explanation.
After a couple more waltzes, Phantom and I started talking. I learned quite a bit about his life. At around 11:00 P.M., the band played a slow dance song. I leaned into Phantom's chest, and he wrapped his arms around me as we swayed from side to side. I snuggled up to his chest, enjoying the unusual warmth that was seeping through my entire body. "Um . . . Christine?" He asked. "Sorry," I murmured. "It's alright," Phantom said. I returned to concentrating on the dance. Suddenly, Phantom drew me into an unexpected kiss. My lips parted, and he rubbed my shoulders. He tasted like summer and winter and love. I wrapped my arms around his waist. Suddenly, I remembered that we were in a public place. Almost everyone in the room was staring at us, with the exception of two other couples who had found romantic nooks in the ballroom. Somehow, I didn't think that they would be doing much more dancing. The people who were still watching gave a few catcalls and whistles.
"Phantom?" I asked. "I'm tired."
Phantom escorted me out of the ballroom and I walked up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower. As I flopped into bed, I found myself thinking about Phantom, and knew that I would not be able to sleep well, and even if I did, my dreams would be filled with silver eyes.
I We danced for a long time, until Christine laid her head on my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, wishing that I had met her ages ago. Christine drew closer to me, and I became a bit uncomfortable, knowing I wouldn't be able to resist my animal instincts if she continued to tease me.
"Um . . . Christine?" I asked.
She moved her head off my chest, but slowly, like she didn't want to.
"Sorry," She said.
"It's okay," I replied.
We continued dancing, and I found the way her pink tongue poked out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrated incredibly enticing. I bent down to press my lips to hers. She tilted her head up and her lips parted. I couldn't help myself from kissing her. She tasted like Sugar Quills. My hands moved up to massage her shoulders. Christine wrapped her arms around me and I got the feeling that she was enjoying me as much as I was enjoying her. When Christine broke the kiss, I let her.
Now I had no doubt that she wasn't Pansy. Even though it would not be beneath Pansy to change her figure, she had never kissed me the way Christine did. Pansy was just so . . . clingy. She treated me like she was my keeper, but not Christine. Christine said, "Phantom? I'm tired." I loved the way my assumed name rolled off of her tongue. I escorted her to the Great Hall doors, and we went off to our rooms. As I readied myself for bed, I thought, "Gryffindor, probably." I didn't bother to look at Gryffindor girls, as everyone knew Gryffindor and Slytherin were mortal enemies. Although I did like her, if she wasn't in my house, and if I did decide to do anything, my father would be. . .Displeased, for want of a better term. I liked Christine and if she was in Gryffindor, I would have a lot of explaining to do, if my father didn't kill me first. /I
The next morning, I decided to take advantage of 'casual Monday', the day we were allowed to wear things other than our robes. I had never felt like I was obliged to impress anyone before, but now that I had Phantom, I wanted him to see me for Hermione Granger, not Hermione-the-Gryffindor-know-it-all. I put on a RENT t-shirt from a Muggle play I had seen once. I then slid into some jeans capris and put on a pair of delicate wedge sandals. "Wow." I thought, looking at the young woman in the mirror. I had definitely filled out over the years . . . Especially in the chest area. As I was walking to breakfast, I noticed several people staring at me. I strode to the Gryffindor table, taking my usual seat across from Harry, Ginny and Ron. Harry and Ginny were finally together again, as Harry had decided to stop being all noble and complete his final year of school after defeating Voldemort. I dished several of my favorite breakfast foods onto my plate, ignoring the fact that Ron was staring at me, or more specifically, at my chest. Boys. They're all the same. I ignored him and kept eating my breakfast. After breakfast, I had to go to potions. Professor Snape had partnered me with Draco Malfoy. I could hardly contain my "joy." Today, Draco was wearing a tight shirt of some stretchy material that showed that he had an incredible figure. I was staring at him, and he looked up at me. I blushed, once again. I seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. We started on our potion, and the heat made me sweat. I took off my RENT shirt, showing the delicate camisole I had underneath.
"Oh . . . The little Mudblood has a body." Draco said.
I looked at him, and his eyes flicked from my face to my chest. Once again, I flushed. We had loathed each other since we met. Not once had he looked at me as an object of affection, or vice versa.
"Sorry Granger." He said.
I had never actually heard him say my name before. I loved the way he said it.
"Thank you, Draco." I said, wondering why I was actually being nice to him.
I tore my mind away from Draco with the thought of Phantom. I wish I knew who Phantom was. There are not many guys in Gryffindor who are that hot . . . But – he's wasn't necessarily in Gryffindor. He could've even been in Slytherin! God, I hoped not. Although Draco was – Draco? Since when had I called him Draco? Ah, well. Anyway, Drac-Malfoy was nice looking, similar to Phantom, but their personalities were complete opposites. I tossed my hair and went to work on my potion.
/I I woke up after the dance and pulled on a random shirt from my closet. Walking to the bathroom sink, I reached for my hair gel, but stopped and shook my hair out instead. It hung shaggily over my face, accenting my eyes.
"I look better," I thought. And I did. I looked so much better than I did when I still had Voldemort's dark mark. It disappeared when Voldemort was defeated, but a lot of people still held it against me. I walked down to the Great Hall, looking for Christine, but all that caught my eye was that Mudblood . . . but . . . I probably shouldn't use that word . . . After all, being a pure slytherin and insulting filthy Muggles here and there would only draw attention to my family, marking us as Voldemort's followers. I'm going to try that again. All that caught me eye was that know-it-all Granger. She was wearing a shirt that said 'RENT'. It sounded like she was advertising her body as for sale. During Potions, I found myself staring at her chest. She was very well-endowed, more then any of the other girls I had bothered with. The room started to get steamy from all of the furnaces and cauldrons and she took off her shirt. She was wearing a vee-necked camisole with beading around the neckline that exposed quite a bit of her chest and several inches of her petite, flat stomach. I felt my stomach clench. She was unknowingly teasing me, just like Christine had done last night.
"Oh . . . " I growled. "The little Mudblood has a body . . ."
Fuck! I used 'Mudblood' again. Got to stop doing that . . . Come to think of it . . . Hermione kind of looked like Christine . . . No, Christine wasn't a know-it-all. I looked at her again, making her flush.
"Sorry, Granger," I said.
"Thank you, Mal-Draco." She replied. Draco . . . Why did her saying my name light a fire in my chest? Before I had time to ponder this, I found my mind occupied by other matters. My second meeting with Christine was tonight . . . We had to change one thing about us back to normal. I decided to turn my hair back to blonde.
I walked into the ballroom, looking for Christine. She caught my eye, but her hair was lighter, almost golden. It was very pretty.
"Good evening, Christine," I said.
"Good evening, Phantom," She replied. I swept her up in my arms to dance. She seemed sad. "What's wrong?" I asked her.
"Well," she said, "This person in potions was a real jerk to me today." I thought about that. "Who was he?" I asked. Her face tightened for a second, and then she said,
"Draco Malfoy. He was being a perverted bastard." I winced. "Oh," I thought. "Not good." But-wait, Potions? The only person that I was being a jerk to was Granger! Oh, Merlin. This just got a whole lot more complicated. I was falling for a Mudblood!
A voice sounded in my head, and I briefly wondered if I was going insane.
"You like her," It said.
"NO I don't!" I thought back
"yes you do. You think she's gooorgeous... you want to maaaary her... you want to loooove her..." it said in an annoyingly singsongy voice.
"NO I DO NOT!" I thought, with such force that I briefly wondered if I had shouted.
"Yes, you do," The voice teased, unrelenting.
"Fine. Maybe I do. But she's a filthy mudblood! Oh GODDAMIT! I thought I wasn't using that word anymore! I couldn't fraternize with one of – of THEM!"
Composing myself, I asked, "Really? What was he doing?"
Christine rested her face against my chest and said,
"He said something quite demeaning, and then acted like a perfect gentleman I wasn't sure weather to slap him or kiss him, that is, if I actually cared a rat's ass about him."
My voice so soft I could hardly hear it, I said, "Well, I'd opt for the kissing."
Christine tipped her head and asked, "Why?"
I sighed. Little did she know, she was talking to Draco Malfoy.
"Well," I said, "You are pretty, smart, sweet, funny, and absolutely gorgeous." I said.
She looked up at me and I said, "Besides, what guy would want to be slapped?"
She laughed.
"Good point," She agreed.
I wrapped my arms around her and she leaned into my chest for another round of slow dancing.
hr
The week after...
The week leading up to the full moon ball, I became increasingly nervous. How was I going to explain my "condition" to Christine? Rifling through my desk drawer, I made sure that I had my Wolfsbane Potion. Because I had decided to be disloyal to the Dark Lord Voldemort, my father had me punished by getting me bitten by Fenir Greyback. I almsost died, and now it was going to ruin my love life forever. If Hermione worked it out, I would either beat her up for being such an idiot as to come to a werewolf on the night of the full moon, or snog her senseless, just because she appreciates that I am a creature to be respected, and loves me nonetheless. Love is a curious thing. It springs on you when you least expect it, and decides to plant itself in you for good. I thought back to when I had first realized that I may've liked Hermione.
begin flashback
I sat on the edge of the battlefield, waiting for the clash of body against body, the resounding pops of apparition and dissapparation, and the constant sounds of curses and charms being fired off. Looking across the battlefield, I caught the eye of a witch who I was fairly sure that I had seen before. After a moment of recollection, I realized that she was Hermione Granger. I hardly recognized her. She had the light of battle in her eyes, and her hair blew back in the wind, giving her the appearance of a war-hardened woman. She was probably the most welcome sight my eyes could've seen at that moment. After I had joined Voldemort, my idea of what real beauty was had been twisted. At that moment, I realized that Hermione was beautiful. She was all that I wanted in a woman, except that she would never have me. I rolled up my sleeve, looking at the blistering mark that was branded into my forearm. I briefly contemplated what I was about to do. Pulling out my wand, I said, "Abrumpo nota," a spell that I had invented myself. I fully knew it's consequences. It would reach under the desired thing, and literally rip it out of the skin. My dark mark fell off of my arm as dark blood welled up under it. I clutched my arm in pain, and was immediatly transported back to Voldemort by an automatic transportation spell. I lay at his feet, trying not to think of what was going to come next.
"So." Voldemort said, putting more menace into that one syllable than I could've put into a speech.
"You have decided to remove yourself from my services. Crucio!"
I writhed in pain beneath his wand. It felt like inch-long red hot nails were being driven into every particle of my being. Suddenly the pain stopped.
"I will let your father deal with you, you worthless excuse for a Death Eater."
I was transported to Malfoy Manor. I looked around, becoming faint from loss of blood.
"Worthless. All that I put you through to make you worthy of the Dark Lord and you throw it all away in the heat of battle?" He summoned Fenir Greyback, and the last thing I remembered before sinking into painful unconsciousness was his yellowed eyes.
end flashback
I realized than that I had never not liked Hermione; it was just recently that I noticed who she really was. I pulled out a quill and ink bottle and started writing a letter to her, hopefully explaining everything.
B Christine-
Due to circumstances outside my control, I will not be able to make it to the full moon ball.
Phantom /B
After seeing my non-explanatory letter, I realized that Hermione would probably figure it out. Feeling bad about letting her down, I sent off with my owl, Hermione, whom I had named after Hermione Granger so that when I got mad, I could yell at it and pretend it was Hermione. Anger management, wonderful stuff."Give this to Christine, okay?" I whispered, and Hermione took off. /I
I was starting on my transfiguration homework when a beautiful tawny owl swooped down and perched on my desk.
"Hi, pretty," I said, stroking her back. "What's this you've got here?" I unhooked the letter. She carried from her leg and slit the silver seal. It said-
b Christine-
Due to circumstances outside my control, I will not be able to make it to the full moon ball.
Phantom /B
Not be able to come? But - but we could dance by the light of the full moon, and –wait – The only circumstance outside my control that I could think of that would be at all related to the full moon was lycanthropy period If Phantom were a werewolf, due to the wolfsbane potion, he would probably be staying the night in the Room of Requirement. "That's it, " I said aloud. On the eve of the full moon, I would go the Room of Requirement to meet my Phantom. I knew that it was dangerous, but hell, if I was a werewolf, I would want company.
hr
On the night of the full moon, I decided to put my plan into action. Walking to where the entrance to the Room of Requirement. was, I strode past the wall, thinking nothing in particular. Suddenly, a door appeared. I walked through it, and saw Draco Malfoy sitting on the floor.
"Phantom?" I queried.
His head snapped upwards.
"Hermione?" I nodded.
He leapt to his feet, almost ran up to me and pressed his lips to mine in a long, urgent kiss. I could tell that he desperately wanted to be wanted, to be loved.
"Hermione – you – You probably know by now, but I'm a werewolf. I'm – I'm dangerous,"
I grimaced. Time to reveal my deepest secret. I shrank, my hair turning into brown fur. When I was done, I had become a shaggy dog. Curling up on a chair, I watched Draco undergo a horrendous transformation. He howled in pain as his face bulge outward, like a dog's muzzle. His legs and arms lengthened with audible cracks, and I hid my eyes, not bearing to watch. When he stopped howling, a silver-grey wolf stood before me. Using canine body language, I portrayed to him that I was a friend. He walked up to me and pressed his nose to mine. We lied on the couch together, until sleep overcame both of us.
The Next Morning
Hermione's POV
I woke up cuddled against Draco Malfoy's bare chest. He smelled good, like aftershave. Snuggling closer, I realized that we were cuddled on the couch together. Waving my wand at his shirt, I transfigured it into a light blanket to cover us, but before I did so, I made sure that all of my clothes were still on. Good. They were. In some previous transformations, all of my clothes had disappeared while I was changing to or from a dog. A few minutes later, Draco, his voice cracking with sleep asked,
"Um...Hermione?" I moved my head and inspected him.
"You okay?" I asked. He nodded.
"By far the best transformation I have ever experienced," he stated.
Biting my lip, I asked, "Um...Draco? How – how did you become a werewolf?"
Draco tensed, and I hoped that he wasn't angry with me.
"After – After I 'removed' my dark mark, my father had me punished by Fenir Greyback. He – I almost died of blood loss," he explained.
I felt so sorry for him, but I supposed pity was not something that he wanted.
"Draco? Would you. . . that is. . .could we do this again?" I asked, rather nervously, I might add.
He nodded, and clutched me close.
"I need you," He barely whispered.
I felt a tear splash on my shoulder. Draco Malfoy, crying? If the situation wasn't so serious, I probably would laugh. Allowing my mouth to curve into a small smile, I kissed him on his jaw.
"I think I love you." I whispered.
He brushed his hand through my hair, and then slid me onto his lap and kissed me full on the mouth. I felt his lips part, and he gently ran the tip of his tongue over my bottom lip, silently asking if I wanted more. His tongue slipped in to my mouth, and I finally tasted him. He ran his hands lightly up my back and began to unbutton my blouse. It was halfway undone before I realized what he was doing.
"N-No." I said.
He stopped.
"Hermione, I would never do anything to you that you didn't want me to do."
I
After we were finished kissing, I went to the head's common room to take a shower. As I grabbed my hairbrush from my dresser, I snatched a towel off a shelf and wrapped it around my waist. I walked to the bathroom and opened the door. I heard running water, and a voice singing. It was Hermione. She had an angelic voice. It took me a while to recognize the song; but I finally realized that it was "Think of Me" from "Phantom of the Opera". At a point in the song she started humming, and I assumed that it was Raoul's part. Almost unconsciously, I started humming with her.
"What the—?" She shrieked.
Swearing at myself under my breath, I got to my feet. Hermione's hand darted from the shower, grabbing a fluffy white towel, before she stepped out, clad in only that same towel. I had to forcibly restrain myself from tearing that towel off right then and there.
"Draco? How – how could you?" She whispered menacingly. "I thought – for a moment I actually thought that you might want me for my brains, not my body! Now I know, you're just like any other guy! You just want to shag me!"
"Not good! Not good," I thought, panicking. Taking a deep breath, I decided to give her a few minutes. Listening to the crashes of large, heavy objects from her room, I told myself that the best course of action would be to follow her and apologize. Walking down to where her room was, I knocked on the door, and without waiting for an answer, I opened it. There, in the midst of total and complete chaos, was Hermione. Shredded papers and open books littered the floor, and there were dents in the wall where heavy objects had struck it. Hermione was sitting in a chair, wrapped in a fleecy blanket. She was crying into her hands.
"Hermione?" I asked cautiously.
She rounded on me again.
"What part of NO don't you understand?"
I grabbed her waist and pulled her close to me.
"Hermione. I don't care what you look like! There a lot of beautiful girls out there, but most of them are absolutely vapid. No brain. I mean, I would like to shag you, but being with a girl is no fun unless you can make intelligent conversation." Hermione lay her face on my chest.
"I'm sorry, Draco. I overreact sometimes. I guess I've had too many relationships gone bad to forgive and forget."
I kissed her, and seconds later, her towel had been discarded, and my clothes were rapidly disappearing. I captured her mouth with mine, and pushed her onto the bed, sliding myself on top of her..
"Draco," she moaned. I pressed my lips to hers. With a flick of my wand, I closed the bed hangings and placed a silencing charm on the room. /I
I woke up at my usual 6:30 AM the next day, and shook Draco awake.
"Hurry, lazy! I want to watch the sunrise." Five minutes later, we were sitting down against a tree by the lake, cuddling.
"Okay," said Draco, acquiescing. "I suppose it is beautiful." I pulled him into a passionate kiss, and just before our lips met I whispered,
"Only because I have someone to share it with."
FINIS!
b A/N: Okay, this was my first attempt at a HG/DM, and I wrote it about a year ago . . . So I apologise for it not being very good. I will post better! /b