DISCLAIMER: Only the plot and other characters you know don't belong in Harry Potter belong to me! :)

A/N: Hello everyone! As promised, here's chapter two! Thank you to everyone who put my story on story alert, and all those who favourited it, and welldonedraco, openhappiness17, sleepysiopao, dutch potterfan, and The Mischief Era for reviewing! Enjoy! :)


CHAPTER TWO

Hermione sat in the dining hall, bored out of her mind. Trinky had left to prepare for the meal, leaving her to her own thoughts. She thought about many things: Draco's present, his weird behavior and worsening frequent headaches these few months, him spending more and more time with Blaise, both of them missing from the office at the same time... Those two were probably up to something again. The last time this happened, the research and development department had come up with a stamina-enhancing potion. The company had earned a high profit from it, especially when their main customers were the Quidditch teams. Her mind wondered to what Draco and Narcissa was discussing. Honestly, she had no clue, but judging from the angry footsteps of Draco Malfoy she could hear echoing down the hall, it was not a very smooth conversation.

Draco stormed down the hallway. He had rarely raised his voice at his Mother, but this time it was inevitable. The bloody witch wanted him to propose to Hermione. Was she out of her mind? He felt as if the whole world was purposely making things difficult for him. He couldn't blame them; they were clueless, well except for a few people. People thought they knew everything about him; people thought he did not want to confess to Hermione simply because of his cowardice… Everything was getting harder, to be pretending to be normal and cheerful in front of Hermione, to keep his authority and composure in the office, when he knew he was… Draco sighed. His quick footsteps slowed to a halt as he stood outside of the double doors to the dining hall.

Hermione was inside, waiting for him.

There were so many things he was keeping from her, and he wanted to profess his love, to tell her everything, but he couldn't. He would not allow himself to. He took in a deep breath and released it with a 'whoo', and pushed the door open.

Hermione looked up from staring blankly at the porcelain plate in front of her, and flashed a gentle smile at Draco, eyes questioning him if he was all right.

Upon seeing the smile, Draco's heartbeat sped up. That smile, that god-forsaken angelic smile – the one that kept him going, the one that he thought of whenever he lost all hope in life, the one that cheered him so greatly.

Hermione, his Hermione was so beautiful.

He would be content just being able to see her everyday. He would be happy just to see that smile everyday.

But he knew the most clearly that his life would never be complete until she truly, completely, belonged to him and became his wife.

Hermione's smile was wavering and her questioning eyes were turning into a gaze of concern. Draco pushed all the thoughts out of his mind and smiled back.

"Mother will join us soon." He told her as he took a seat opposite her.

Hermione smiled again. "Okay."

A few minutes passed as the two of them returned to the land of thoughts, Narcissa entered and lunch was served immediately.

Hermione noticed the animosity between Mother and Son, but decided not to mention it or give it much thought. Since it was between the two of them, she would respect their privacy and not talk about it. Whatever they were talking about did not leave them in a good mood, but again, it was none of her business.

Lunch passed quickly with conversation mainly between Hermione and Narcissa, the two of them talking about the most recent book they've read, Narcissa sharing the latest fashion trends, and Hermione telling Narcissa about some things going on in the office, and most importantly the ball that was about to take place later.

After lunch, Draco told the two ladies that he would return to the office to settle some matters. "Besides," he says, "I'm a man, I don't take that long to get ready."

At that, Hermione rolled her eyes. "I'll check up on the decorations and go back to the office. Your cloth is still there."

Draco smirked and winked at her before apparating away.

Narcissa chuckled. "Cloth?" she questioned as they walked to the other side of the manor where the ballroom was.

Hermione sighed and rubbed her neck with irritation. "He gave me a dress to wear to the ball tonight, and there's practically nothing to put on."

Narcissa raised her eyebrows. "Describe it!"

"Umm, it's midnight blue, glittery, one shoulder, and it barely covers my bum."

Narcissa smiled in amusement. "I expected something less, since you said there was practically nothing to put on. According to your description, it seems like quite a dress! The important parts are covered." She teased.

Hermione groaned. "Is there anything you can do, Narcissa, please? At least make it longer?"

Narcissa flashed her a cheeky smile. "Nope."

Hermione was about to protest, but Narcissa cut her off. "Trust me, dear. You'll need that dress to impress tonight."

Whatever Hermione wanted to reply, it was replaced by a loud gasp as Narcissa pushed the ceiling-high white and gold doors open into the ballroom.

"Wow…." She breathed.


"I need you to place order for more batches of Wolfsbane, snake fangs, valerian roots, and verbena."

"Yes, Mr. Zabini."

"And also confirm the dinner reservation at casa del filete for tomorrow night."

"With Miss Weasley? It's already confirmed for-

Blaise Zabini's secretary, Bonnie Halter, was cut off when the door to his office swung open with a loud bang.

Bonnie jumped, and Blaise sighed upon seeing who it was.

"Oops…" Draco said, looking paler than usual. "Did I interrupt something?"

Blaise rolled his eyes, and Bonnie, knowing that it was time for her to leave, turned back to Blaise. "7pm tomorrow, Mr. Zabini." With that, she turned and left.

As soon as the office door shut behind her, Draco's knees buckled and he collapsed with a grunt, only managing to hold himself up with a chair before he hit the ground.

"FUCK! MALFOY!" Blaise shouted as he quickly rushed forward to help him into a chair.

"Chest… pain…"

Blaise let out another strand of vulgarities as he fumbled around his potions cabinet looking for the chest hidden in the back that kept Draco's potions. Draco let out a moan and clutched the front of his shirt tightly in pain, taking in short gasps of air as he struggled to breath. His eyebrows were knit tightly together and his eyes screwed shut, droplets of sweat slowly forming on his forehead from the excruciating pain he was experiencing.

Finally finding the desired potion, Blaise poured it into Draco's mouth without warning, causing him to sputter and choke.

"Fuck mate, sorry! Swallow, breathe in, and out… C'mon… Yes yes, now close your eyes." Blaise said, looking at his watch and noting that it was twelve past two.

Slowly, Draco's breathing returned to normal and his cheeks regained the 'healthier' and 'normal' Draco-paleness.

Blaise breathed a sigh of relief and fell back into his chair.

"Don't fucking scare me like that, mate."

"It's not my fault Mother pissed me off and the more I thought about it, the angrier I get."

Blaise gave a wry grin and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What did Mummy Malfoy do this time?"

"Shetedmetoposetone…" Draco muttered.

"The fuck? Earth talk, man."

"She. Wanted. Me. To. Fucking. Propose. To. Hermione. Tonight."

Blaise couldn't help but let out a bark of laughter. However, his grin dropped when he noticed Draco gripping the arm of the chair so tightly his knuckles were turning white.

"Hey mate, relax, your 20 minutes isn't up yet."

Draco took deep breaths to calm himself down. Tired of what happened, he tried to change the topic.

"How's the research going?" he asked.

"Not good at all, there's nothing I can find that shows symptoms of what you're going through. The most these potions I made can do is reduce your pain and slow the spreading process, but I can't do anything until I've found what exactly it is that caused this." Blaise replied, frustration clearly radiating through his voice.

"You want to try the Malfoy library? It's the only place you've not looked."

"Won't Narcissa suspect anything?"

"Oh, we're back to 'Narcissa' now? Not 'Mummy Malfoy?'" Draco observed. "Anyway, I could always tell her you want to research on a cure to a dark curse, which is true."

Blaise ignored Draco's teasing and replied, "Yeah, true…" he sighed, feeling sorry for his best friend suddenly. "You know, I don't think you're well enough to-

"Hey, can I open my eyes? You can't expect me to keep them closed for twenty fucking minutes when I'm not even tired."

Blaise rolled his eyes at being rudely cut off. "Whatever, just don't look at me. I've had enough shock from seeing those bloody eyes the first time."

Draco opened his eyes and glared at his friend. "I don't understand what's wrong with you. It's just red-

"Blood red, Draco. Your eyes are blood red after taking the potion."

"So? It's not like I'm going to cry blood."

"They look like fucking Voldemort's eyes, Malfoy, is that not enough horror for me?" Blaise all but shouted.

Oh, fuck. Draco thought as he realized what Blaise meant and quickly closed his eyes again. The Dark Lord – no, Voldemort – had killed Blaise's mother after finding out Blaise's opinion of Ginny Weasley in sixth year. He merely said that she looked hot, and a blasted bootlicker from Slytherin told his parents, who reported back to Voldemort, and Blaise was summoned to the manor that night to watch his mother gets tortured to death. Those eyes, the same blood red eyes of Voldemort had looked at him in the eye while finally ending his Mother's pain with the killing curse, as if telling him that he was the cause of his Mother's death, that he would be next if he put a toe out of line and complimented blood-traitors.

The memory of watching his mother get tortured, cut, whipped, raped, still haunted Blaise at night sometimes. The nightmares decreased and eventually stopped after he started dating Ginny, where she stayed with him in his apartment at night, kept him happy and made him whole. That was until he created the potion to reduce Draco's pains and breathing difficulties and saw those blood red eyes again. The nightmares returned in full blow, everything was still so clear to him, as if he was standing in a pensieve watching the memory.

He made excuses to make Ginny stay with him for two whole weeks when finally the nightmares went away, and he realized that he loved this woman more than anything in the World. Perhaps… he should make a visit to the burrow some time, to make a proposal to Arthur and Molly Weasley.

"I'm sorry, mate. I didn't realize, that was bloody insensitive of me…" Draco breathed.

Blaise gave a small smile. "It's fine. By the way, I was saying, I don't think you should go to the ball tonight, these pains are becoming more frequent."

Draco put up a hand to stop him from continuing. "Nuh uh, mate, don't try. Hermione in that dress I gave her? Won't miss it for the World."

"You're sick."

"Of course I am."

The two of them fell into silence, both lost in their own thoughts. A few minutes later, Blaise checked his watch and stood.

"Twenty minutes up, mate." He went over and pulled Draco to his feet. "Let's go check on the second batch of stamina-enhancing potion."


"Mr. Zabini, there seems to be some problems with the breathing-po in lab four, it's turned moss green instead of predicted sea blue." One of the potions research and developer, or Potioneer, as they called them, said.

Draco and Blaise looked up from the stamina-enhancing potion in alarm, and Draco immediately gave Blaise a pat in the back and pointed towards the door, telling him to go ahead. Blaise gave him a nod and rushed off with the Potioneer to the other laboratory that held the underwater-breathing potion.

Draco gave a satisfied look to the other Potioneers in the lab he was in and said, "Well done, everyone. This second batch of vigor-po has been completed. You have all worked very hard, so take a break until after Christmas. Now, tidy up you may leave to prepare for the ball tonight."

The whole lab of Potioneers erupted in cheers as they hurriedly cleared the lab. Draco allowed a small smile and exited the lab to see how Blaise was doing.

He was in lab one, and lab four was just down the hallway. However, as he walked past lab three, which door was left slightly ajar, he caught a strong wisp of a flowery scent.

"Hermione?" he thought as he peaked into the lab. The scent engulfed him as he felt himself feel slightly dizzy. He brushed it aside as his sickness and entered the lab. "Has Hermione spilled her perfume in here? Damn, the smell's strong." he thought.

He found two Potioneers staring with confusion at the potion bubbling in the cauldron, and Hermione was nowhere in sight. They broke out of their confusion when they heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. Upon seeing who it was, they rushed forward and pulled Draco out of the lab and quickly shut the door. Immediately, the flowery scent disappeared and Draco's head felt fine again.

"Mr. Malfoy!" the shorter Potioneer, Marcus, exclaimed. "I'm sorry, we did not notice the door was left open."

Draco, slightly annoyed at being pulled out rudely and confused, rubbed the back of his neck and said, "It's fine, uh… What's with the smell?"

The two Potioneers shared a look and said, "Well, Mr. Malfoy, we were boiling Amortentia for the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes."

Realization hit him and Draco swayed slightly from shock. No wonder he was feeling dizzy. But, oh fuck… I smelled Hermione's perfume, he thought.

"Any reason why the both of you were not affected by the scents?" he asked.

This time, the taller Potioneer, Jeremy, answered. "Before we started the development of Amortentia potions, Mr. Zabini created a potion that makes us immune to the effects of the love potion. We smell the scent, but it does not affect us like it affects others. We also smell whatever-

He was cut off when the shorter Potioneer let out a gasp and exclaimed, "I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy, we need to watch the potion!"

With that, he pulled the taller Potioneer behind him and they quickly disappeared behind the door of Lab three.

Draco stared mouth agape at the now closed door and shook his head.

Well, that makes everything much fucking clearer, as if it isn't already clear enough. I love Hermione, and I fucking smell her perfume in Amortentia. Fuck, I need to ban anyone from ordering Amortentia.

"What the hell was that?" Jeremy exclaimed once the door shut behind them.

"Are you stupid?" Marcus hissed. "You almost let out that we could smell whatever scent the potion produces for anyone! Mr. Malfoy would know that we could smell what he smelled!"

Jeremy paled. "Oh… Right, sorry. But speaking of which, don't you find that smell, familiar…? I know I smelt it before, somewhere..."

Marcus rolled his eyes. "Seriously, you really are stupid. When the potion first changed scent, I thought it smelled really familiar, but I couldn't name it. But c'mon, it's Draco Malfoy, think of what smell he loves, or perhaps, who he loves, you dimwit."

Jeremy's eyes widened with apparent understanding. "Oh wow, his Mother's perfume? That's so sweet!"

Marcus smacked the back of Jeremy's head. "Hermione Granger's perfume, you dumbass. It all makes sense. She always wears that perfume. Haven't you smelt it? When she was there at the meeting about ingredient budgets? Your brain doesn't work for anything but potions." He scolded and returned to the Amortentia potion, ignoring Jeremy's long 'oooooooooooh' of understanding.


Hermione stared at herself in the mirror.

"Draco really does have good taste…" she couldn't help but think. The dress he got for her, though short, showed off her sculptured legs, slim waist, smooth shoulder and long neck.

Tugging it a little lower for the millionth time, Hermione cast a spell to ensure that the dress stayed around her thighs so that it would not accidentally go too high for her liking, not that it was long enough for her liking anyway. Whatever, Hermione thought.

She had been thinking for hours. What had Narcissa meant when she said that she needed that dress to impress that night? There was no point in impressing Draco, that thickheaded git was most definitely not going to make his feelings clear to her…

Speaking of which, perhaps it was time for her to move on…? She had waited for years, and her youth was slowly fading away, and her mother was constantly telling her on the phone to 'get on with it already, you're not young anymore!'

Hermione sighed. She couldn't help it if she fell in love with her boss! He made it hard for her not to fall in love with him, with him being so manly, so protective, so Slytherin, so… cute.

Oh shit… Draco Malfoy, cute? Hermione was in deep.

She growled to herself in the mirror and scratched her head, ruffling her hair as she did so. She turned back to her dressing table and poured out all the pins that she had. Tilting her head, she pinned her hair to one side of her head, showing off her shoulder and neck. "Oh, this is so going to impress tonight," she thought as she put on her silver stiletto heels.


Draco sat in his room, sipping on firewhiskey in annoyance. It was obvious to him that Hermione was ignoring him when she went to the office to retrieve her dress. Little did he know that Hermione's mind was too caught up with Narcissa's words that she had simply forgotten Draco's existence in the office next to hers.

He should probably apologize to her for his childish behavior during lunch that day though. His conversation with Narcissa should not have affected his attitude towards her, and it was wrong for him to not speak much during the meal.

A few minutes passed with Draco brooding and Trinky appeared to notify Draco of Hermione's arrival at the apparition point.

"Oh, Master Draco! Miss Granger looks pretty! Trinky has not see Miss Granger so pretty in blue dress!" Trinky jumped around excitedly.

Draco raised an amused brow and smirked. So she had worn the dress…

"Clear up the firewhiskey, Trinky, and thank you." He said as he strode down the hallway to the entrance hall, adjusting his dark blue tie.

Standing at the doorstep of his manor with his Mother with a fake smile welcoming his workers and their family or friends, Draco spotted a brunette in a blue dress on the arms of a dark-skinned raven-haired man approaching them. His eyes narrowed to slits as he growled, ignoring the outstretched hand of Mrs. Parkinson.

'Bloody fucking Zabini, escorting her again.' He thought.

Narcissa, noticing her son's changed demeanor and sudden anger towards a certain someone, quickly took Mrs. Parkinson's hand and guided her towards the ballroom, not before whispering into Draco's ear, "It could be someone else, so be grateful."

Draco's shoulders slumped as he gave a manly pout. He watched as Hermione laughed at whatever joke Blaise said, and felt his heart flutter again at her happy grin. They were getting closer, so Draco could see Hermione clearly in that dress. There were simply no words to describe the way she looked. She looked like a sexy classy goddess.

He watched Blaise smirk at him and turn to give Hermione a peck on the cheek. He clenched his fist in anger, face unknowingly growing redder. Hermione blushed.

Blaise, you're digging your own grave, mate.

(A while ago)

"Blaise!" Hermione exclaimed, surprised to see the man at the apparition point, apparently waiting for her. "Where's Ginny?"

Blaise smirked as his eyes raked down Hermione's body. "Ooooh, you're smokin', Granger, never knew you had it in you." He commented, giving her a wink and took her hand, leading her away from the apparition point.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Draco got it, and Narcissa and Ginny made me wear it, so I had no choice. Where's Ginny?" she asked again.

Blaise chuckled. "You do know that nothing will happen to you if you didn't wear it, don't you? At most, Draco would have a hissy fit, but who cares about him? I bet you wanted to wear it to impress Draco yourself, and the simple fact that he gave it to you make you want to wear it already."

Hermione's whole body tensed. Was it that obvious?

Blaise smirked again and glanced at her. "Guess I was right…" he sing-songed.

Hermione huffed in anger and asked again, this time sounding harsher. "Where's Ginny?"

"She was held up by a patient, and only just got out of St. Mungo's, so she told me to go ahead and escort you to safety, which unfortunately is Draco."

Hermione, still a bit pissed with Blaise for pointing out what she didn't expect anyone to know, gave an unintelligent "hmm" in reply.

Blaise, knowing that they were near enough for Draco to see them clearly but not near enough for him to hear what they say, said to Hermione, "You know, I bet if I kissed your cheek right now Draco would clench his fist and grow red in the face."

Before Hermione could reply, Blaise swiftly leaned in and gave her a small peck on the cheeks. Hermione glanced up at Draco, who, indeed, had cheeks flushed and fists clenched in anger. She blushed.

What the hell was that?

"I win." Blaise announced, apparently self-satisfied.

Hermione rolled her eyes, the corner of her lips threatening to lift. They were walking up the steps to the entrance, and she knew full well that Draco could hear them now. "Yes, Mister Prince Zabini, and what is your prize?"

Draco's eyes narrowed even more.

Blaise smirked at his best mate and held up Hermione's hand, giving it a kiss, lingering there a little too long for Draco's liking. "A dance later, if you may."

Hermione smiled and curtsied. "Of course."

Blaise smiled back at her and dropped her hand, turning to Draco.

"Draco! Mate! Nice tie!" he winked, commenting on Draco's dark blue tie to match Hermione's dress, and all but ran towards the ballroom before Draco could explode in anger.

Hermione gave Draco a shy smile and reached for his hand, unclenching it in the process. She, though already in four-inch heels, tiptoed a little higher and gave him a peck on the cheeks. "Hello." She said softly.

Draco glared at her, but felt as if he couldn't be angry at her for long. Especially not when she was giving him a small smile and looking at him innocently.

He looked away with a sigh and visibly relaxed. Hermione giggled and jumped into his arms, and Draco's arms automatically went around her small waist, holding her to him. Oh, how he loved her hugs. Their body molded into each other's, fitting perfectly, and so comfortable in each other's arms.

"You look beautiful," he whispered into her ear. "I wonder who got you that dress?"

Hermione laughed, resting her chin on Draco's shoulder. "Why thank you, you look really dashing yourself, I think my boss gave it to me, he does have excellent taste, doesn't he?"

Draco pulled back and grinned at her. Upon hearing footsteps approaching them, he dropped his arms from her waist and his grin replaced by a professional neutral Malfoy look, and Hermione did the same, only her grin was replaced by a polite smile. She was used to this, greeting the guests with Draco and sometimes Narcissa. It was meant to be done by Draco's date to the ball, but he never brought one, and insisted she stand with him during the first Opening Ball, and since then, it had stayed that way.

They greeted a few more guests, and Trinky appeared to tell them that all the guests except Ginny Weasley had arrived. At Draco's questioning look, Hermione relayed Blaise's story to him, and he nodded in understanding and escorted Hermione to the ballroom.

They waited outside the white and gold double-doors, and as soon as their names were announced, the doors opened to reveal the ballroom.

One side of the ballroom was completely glass, providing the magnificent view of the snow-covered forest and frozen lake behind the manor. It was full moon that night, and the stars were unexceptionally bright, illuminating the sky with their warm glow. The ballroom was charmed to maintain a constant temperature to keep everyone warm in the winter weather. The large crystal chandeliers illuminated the ballroom, and the ice sculptures reflected the light in every direction, causing a rainbow glow over the entire ballroom. The tables were placed around the circular dance floor, where the first opening dance between Hermione and Draco was about to commence.

As Hermione entered the ballroom, she felt millions of eyes staring at her, and she unconsciously stepped a little closer to Draco. Sensing her discomfort, Draco placed his arm around her waist and led her towards the middle of the dance floor. The guests slowly parted as they walked through, giving a sense of awe and respect towards the boss of the company and the love of his life- no, his personal assistant. Please, as if no one in the office did not know about their obvious feelings towards each other. Their intimacy, their understanding of each other, and the way they behaved spoke volumes.

The whole ballroom quieted down in anticipation of the opening dance's music. The conductor of the Wizarding orchestra Narcissa hired cleared his throat and was about to give the beats of the music when suddenly, a shrill voice echoed through the room.

"DRACOOOOOOOOO!" A clatter of heels could be heard as the whole ballroom turned towards the ballroom entrance to see a blonde march towards the middle of the dance floor.

Draco's eyes widened as he took in the appearance of the woman coming towards him. Blonde… Petite… Thick make-up… Pointed nose… He gasped.

"Astoria?" Draco was not the one who said that word; it was Pansy. She walked up and stood in front of Draco and Hermione, blocking Draco's view of the woman.

Hermione took in the appearance of the two women standing before her. Pansy was dressed in an elegant ivory off-shoulder dress, hugging her figure to mid-thigh. Astoria Greengrass, whom Hermione remembered and recognized as the younger sister of Daphne Greengrass, was two years younger than her, was dressed in a Slytherin green dress that was obviously too small for her. Hermione could tell that it was bareback, and that the dress reached just below her butt.

Astoria rudely pushed past Pansy, ignoring the murderous look the latter was giving her, and threw herself into Draco's arms. Draco pushed her away in disgust.

"Astoria? What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Draco!" Astoria whined in her shrill voice, rubbing her breasts against Draco's chest. Draco, feeling disgusted held her an arm's length away from him. Hermione, Pansy, and Blaise, who had also walked towards the group in the middle of the dance floor, watched with confusion and disgust. "I'm sorry I got here late, but you owled me so late! I needed time to get myself ready to be your date! You could have waited for me! I'm sorry you were about to start the first dance with a mudblood."

The whole ballroom gasped, and Draco snapped. "WHAT THE FUCK?" he shouted, no longer caring about keeping calm and act poised in front of an audience. He shoved Astoria. " YOU DO NOT CALL HERMIONE GRANGER A MUDBLOOD IN FRONT OF ME. I NEVER OWLED YOU! WHEN THE FUCK WERE YOU MY DATE?"

Astoria looked hurt. "B-but, I received an owl from you today around noon, asking me to be your date for the ball tonight! Have you forgotten?"

Draco pushed her away from him and was about to shout at her again when someone cleared her throat. The entire ballroom turned to see Narcissa Malfoy glaring at her son from the ballroom entrance.

"Draco, that is not the way I taught you to treat our guests." She said as she walked towards them. "Besides, I was the one who owled Astoria. You simply should stop burdening Miss Granger with the task of entertaining guests as your date when she isn't officially your date, but just your financial consultant."

Hermione's eyes widened. Was Narcissa getting rid of her? Why was she embarrassing them in front of all the guests? Was this what their conversation that afternoon was about? Why didn't he tell her?

"You will treat Astoria as your date today, and I expect you to be a man." Narcissa continued. She turned towards the guests. "Now, I'm sorry for the interruption, let the ball recommence."

She gave Pansy, Blaise, and Hermione a look saying 'follow me, or else', and they followed her off the dance floor obediently. Halfway through, Pansy noticed that Hermione was still standing rooted to the ground beside Draco, and quickly rushed back to her side and pulled her off the dance floor and towards the drinks bar.

As soon as they stepped off, the music started and Astoria led a very reluctant Draco into the first dance. She was clinging onto Draco, making sure that every part of her body was in contact with his, and Draco felt nothing but disgust. What the fuck had his Mother done? Why the fuck did she owl Astoria, of all people, to the ball? Why the fuck didn't his Mother want him to bring Hermione as his informal date to the ball anymore?

He had so many questions, but he knew that he would never get an answer from his mother unless he behaved himself during the ball.

He looked around the dance floor and noticed that no one had joined in the dance. It was customary for the Head of Departments to join in with their dates, followed by the workers, but none of them did. They were all glaring at him with hatred, or rather, the skimpy-dressed bitch rubbing against him.

"Hermione, are you all right?" Pansy asked softly, pushing Hermione to sit on the bar bench.

Hermione gave a weak nod. "Y-yeah, just came as a shock."

Blaise sighed. "I'm sorry, none of us knew what Narcissa planned for Draco."

Hermione shook her head. She had a vague idea. "It's not that. I meant th-the, word. It's been so long since someone called me that."

Pansy sighed and pulled Hermione into a hug. "I'm sorry…" she murmured into Hermione's hair.

Pansy and Hermione, just like Blaise and Hermione, had gotten closer to each other since they started working together. Pansy was constantly trying to make Hermione use the beauty potions that her department produced, and always teased Hermione for being silly for refusing. They were friends, definitely.

Blaise sighed and rubbed Hermione's lower back, hoping to offer his own comfort. "I really wonder what Narcissa wants."

Hermione pulled back. "She wanted me to impress tonight, so I think she wants me to make Draco jealous. I don't really know if she wants to make me jealous, seeing she invited her to be Draco's date."

Pansy chuckled. "Narcissa told you that you needed to impress tonight? Well, that says it all." She pulled Hermione up from the bench. "Operation Impress Draco Malfoy is about to commence. I need you to come with me to the bathroom to touch up on your makeup, and do something about this dress. Ginny, you-" Pansy blinked. "Where's Ginny?" she asked, looking around in confusion. Pansy and Ginny had also formed a strong bond of friendship, with Ginny only using Pansy's beauty products, and the two of them always going on about the latest fashion trends.

"Here!" came the reply. Ginny appeared in front of them, immediately relaxing into Blaise's arms. She was dressed in a black strapless dress with a bejeweled butterfly belt and ruffled skirt. She gave Blaise a quick peck on the lips and a mumble of "Sorry I'm late." And turned back to her two female friends. "Does anyone care to tell me why there's a blonde haired bitch practically humping our Hermione's Draco out there on the dance floor? Speaking of which, Blaise and Pansy, aren't you two and the other Head of Departments supposed to follow into the dance? Why are they the only two dancing?"

Pansy relayed the whole story to Ginny, and Ginny laughed. "Well, that's entertaining. I'm in, c'mon, Mione', gotta get you looking sexier and hotter than you already are." She turned to Blaise. "Love, sorry, I'll be right back. Be a mate and save Draco from the dance floor, okay? Dance with Bonnie or something, he looks like he's about to be sick." She then gave him another peck on the lips, and ran off with Hermione and Pansy in tow.

Narcissa watched from the other side of the dance floor as the three girls ran off towards the direction of the washroom. "Good," she thought, "everything is going as planned."


"Ginny, Ginny, Ginny!" Hermione shrieked. "I look like a bloody panda!"

Pansy rolled her eyes as she tightened her hold on the chair Hermione was sitting on to prevent it from wobbling from Hermione's incessant struggling. Hermione was currently bound to the chair, making her have no choice but undergo the 'makeover' by her two friends. Ginny was applying the smoky eye makeup on Hermione.

"Hermione, if you would just stop moving around and let me do this!" Ginny shouted back. She was so glad that she had placed a silencing charm on the bathroom.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "My makeup was fine the way it was! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" She shrieked again.

Pansy gave an exasperated sigh. Pointing her wand at Hermione, she muttered, "Petrificus Totalus."

Silence ensued.

Ginny looked at her black-haired friend in surprise, and let out an amused chuckle, breaking the silence. Laughter followed, and the two friends gave each other a high-five and continued to work on their 'art' in piece, ignoring the death glares their 'art' was giving them.

Draco looked anywhere but the woman in front of him. The sight was too unbearable. He tried searching for Hermione, Pansy, and even Ginny, but neither of them could be found. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Blaise and Bonnie enter the dance floor, and he let out a relieved sigh and gave his best mate a look that said, "FINALLY, YOU BASTARD."

Blaise returned his look with an annoyed glare.

Draco had to do a double take. "What the fuck?" he thought. "Damn it, I didn't bloody ask this bitch out for a date! Why the fuck did he glare at me like this is my fault? Bloody fucking bastard."

Following Blaise's lead, other Head of Departments joined the dance reluctantly, all not willing to share the dance floor with a shrilly, unwelcomed bitch. All of them wondered where Hermione went to, and wondered why Narcissa invited this Astoria slut for Draco. Hermione was perfect!

The dances continued one after another, and Draco was starting to get sick from the thick musky perfume that Astoria wore. Oh, how he wished to get a breath of fresh air, or Hermione's smell. He cursed his mother inwardly.

Blaise, while dancing, told Bonnie about what was going on between their boss and family, and she laughed.

"I think Narcissa is trying to get Draco see how good Hermione is, and forget about whatever thing is holding him back from confessing and confess. I mean, really, if I were a male, I would die to get a chance with her. Why is Mr. Malfoy being so silly?"

Blaise sighed and stopped dancing. Bonnie gave him a confused look. He closed his eyes and shook his head, rubbing his temples. Jerking his head towards the side, he said, "Follow me, I'll tell you, but you have to swear, make an unbreakable vow, whatever, to not tell Hermione."

Bonnie's eyes widened at the gravity of the situation, and obediently followed her boss outside to the balconies.


"There, all done. Finite Incantatem."

"PANSY PARKINSON, WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS-"

Hermione was silenced by a silencing spell, and glared at her friend with anger. Pansy put both her hands on Hermione's shoulders and looked into her eyes.

"Stop. Glaring. At. Me. Look at yourself in the mirror, you're a vision!" Pansy told her. Ginny was in a corner, admiring her handiwork and smiling smugly to herself.

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to face herself in the mirror, and gave an inaudible gasp.

Dark smokey eyes replaced her previous silver eye shadow and red ones replaced her hue lips.

She looked pretty and elegant in her previous makeup, but now, she looked sexy. Never in her right mind would she think that she looked sexy, but damn, she thought, I need to learn from these two girls.

She turned to Pansy and pointed to her throat, indicating that she wanted the silencing spell to be removed.

"No screaming." Pansy warned her, and Hermione nodded in reassurance.

With a wave of her wand, the silencing spell was removed, and Hermione smiled at her friends.

"Thank you." She told them. Pansy and Ginny squealed in success and the three of them huddled in a group hug.

"Remember, Hermione. It's 'Operation Impress Draco Malfoy'. Whether you like it or not, you will have to dance with as many males in there as possible. He will most likely be unable to dance with you because I know what a clingy bitch Astoria is, so you need to make him jealous." Pansy told Hermione as they walked down the empty hallway leading towards the ballroom from the bathroom.

Hermione reluctantly nodded, and took a deep breath as they stood outside the double doors of the ballroom. Somehow, she felt more nervous than all the other times she had stood outside the same doors.

"Push both the doors open, strut in there, hopefully do a catwalk like you own it. Imagine, that you are…" Pansy leaned close into Hermione's ear, "…Mrs. Malfoy…" she whispered.

Hermione jerked away and blushed. "Pansy!" she exclaimed, giving her friend a light smack on the shoulder.

Ginny chuckled. "Hermione, really. Sexy and confident women appeal more to men. You walk in there like you own it, hopefully ignore the dancers and straight across the dance floor to the bar, and immediately the guys will come fawning over you."

Hermione gulped and nodded. If she wanted to make Draco jealous, she would do her best. Whatever it takes, she thought to herself as she pushed the double doors open and stepped in, Pansy and Ginny behind her.


A/N: Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! I really hope none of you are thinking the story is getting crappy. Please review and be honest, they help me improve!