I'm sorry that I took so long to update, but I have no internet at home anymore, and I have school from Tuesday-Thursday, so I have to wait Friday and the whole weekend to update any of my stories. That, and I also had a minor writers block for this chapter, but I finally decided to move up the Halloween ball, and I know that you will all be shocked as to what happens in this chapter.

Thank you for all the great feedback, and I think that the next update will be next week, Tuesday too. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter or any of the HP characters used in this story. They belong to J.K. Rowling

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Slytherin Gryffindor Princess

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Hermione walked with Ginny towards the Gryffindor stands. This was the first game of the year against Slytherin and she hadn't spoken to Draco for a week already. She had successfully ignored him or any attempts that he made to speak with her.

He had tried, but it was nowhere near enough. He'd have to do something that swept her off her feet entirely if he wanted her to speak to him again. Hermione smirked to herself and Ginny noticed.

"Why do you have that evil look on your face?" Ginny asked with a giggle.

"I'm just thinking of new ways to torture Malfoy," she said with a grin.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "So I spoke to Ron yesterday," she said casually. Hermione looked away from her. "I'm not mad at you; if only because you broke up with him before things got out of hand. Had he really caught you with your other half he would've been devastated."

Hermione nodded. "I'm sorry I broke his heart, but things with Malfoy are getting carried away. Even though we never wanted things to get that deep, that's what's happening right now. After that disgusting and foul display he put on with Pansy, he and I are not on speaking terms."

"So you're not forgiving him?" Ginny asked as they sat on the stands and waited for the game to begin.

"I am going to, but not right now," she replied as she glared across from them at the pug-faced little whore that had dared to kiss her boyfriend. The little git was cheering for her house with abandon. "I like making him suffer."

"Have you any ideas on what to do to him yet?" Ginny asked.

"There are so many things that I'd like to do to him," Hermione murmured mostly to herself. And none of those were meant to be physically harmful; they were quite the contrary actually.

"What was that?" Ginny asked knowingly. "I know that if I were you, I wouldn't mind doing many things to him myself," she said absently.

Hermione glared at her but before she was able to give her a snotty comment, the Gryffindor Quidditch team flew out onto the pitch. "And don't you give me that look while I'm not watching," Ginny said in her motherly-tone. "I'm not the one that's interested in him," she murmured.

How did the girl do that? Hermione pursed her lips. She didn't really enjoy it, but she had felt jealousy over what her best friend had said about Malfoy. Stupid Malfoy, had to be invading her mind at this moment while she was "mad" at him.

She wondered how he would do against Harry today. And in some dark and twisted part of herself, she wished that Draco won. Even if that meant victory for Slytherin. In all their six, almost seven years, he had never beaten Harry to the snitch. But she bashed that thought away and showed her house spirit as she tied her red and gold scarf around her neck and cheered for Harry and Ron.

Draco's eyes met with hers from across the field, and Hermione took in the sight of him. He looked incredibly delicious in that green and silver Quidditch uniform. Hmm, she'd find a way to get a picture of him in that uniform. She looked at him saucily and then turned away with a snooty sniff.

Malfoy merely smirked to himself and mounted his broom. He would give her a show. There were many things that his other half had yet to know about him.

……………………

"Oh, cheer up guys!" Ginny said as she waved her wand and produced a cart full of pastries and sweets.

Gryffindor had lost the Quidditch match. Draco Malfoy had beaten Harry Potter to the snitch.

The world was coming to an end, Hermione thought as she paced the Gryffindor common room. Ron and Harry had totally depressed looks on their faces. After all, this was the first game that Harry lost to Malfoy and to Slytherin in all their years at Hogwarts.

But Hermione wasn't pacing because she was angry or sad. She was pacing because she felt the incredible need to go to Malfoy. To speak to him and sort things out between them. But she didn't want to be the one to take the first step. Granted that Malfoy had been trying for the past week, she was willing to give him some credit.

"Guys I have to go. I have to speak with Professor Dumbledore about something," Hermione said as she picked up her robe and put it on again. "It's really important," she said as she looked at Ginny meaningfully.

Her friend nodded and held in a giggle. She knew what Hermione had to do, or more importantly, who. Hermione waved and ran out through the portrait hole, making her way towards her private rooms.

When she got there, she noticed that the fire was burning and that there was a note on her door. She walked over to it and snatched it off. She smiled as she read what it said.

I just hope that you don't throw this note away before you read it. But if you are reading it, then I want to apologize again. Maybe it doesn't impress you, but you must be the second person that I have ever apologized to in my entire life. If you don't believe me, then I would be willing to let you see it for yourself.

When you see what I made for you, please don't believe that I am trying to buy you. All I want is a chance to prove to you that I am not a joke. Go ahead and see for yourself, and I do hope that you like it.

D.M.

P.S. I publicly broke up with Parkinson and I doubt that she will bother me again.

Hermione smiled to herself and folded the note again and placed it into her pocket. She walked into her room and her eyes went wide as she stepped into her room, but it wasn't really her room.

Her room had been transformed into a botanical green house. A huge green house. There were muggle and wizard flowers everywhere. Roses, jasmines, lilies, tulips, and so many more. Then there were bushes and vines of wizard flowers that released divine odors, and others that appeared to be singing soft classical music. The floor was made of dark stones and as she walked, she could hear water running along the path she was taking.

When she reached the center she felt faint. Her eyes took in everything and her normally thirsty for knowledge brain felt on overload. There were bookcases and bookcases filled with all kinds of books.

"Oh my!" she said as she placed her hand over her chest. All she could do was stand there and stare, taking in everything. The sight of the books, the scent of flowers, and the sound of water running was overwhelming.

Hermione walked over to the books and ran her fingers over the spines of them. There were so many books there that she had always wanted to read but she hadn't been able to buy them. Most of those books were among the most expensive in every bookstore she had ever gone to and the library here at Hogwarts didn't have them.

"Do you like it?" A deep soft voice asked from behind her.

Hermione turned around and smiled sweetly. "Oh Draco, it's beautiful!"

Draco smiled slightly and took two steps towards her. "Do you believe me?"

She cocked her head to the side and looked at him pensively. Draco let out a breath as she blinked those long dark lashes over honey colored eyes and smiled again. Then she was wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

Not the reaction he had expected, but hey it was better than nothing. "How about a kiss?" he whispered into her ear, wrapping his arms around her waist. Hermione looked at him coyly and ran her gloved fingers over his cheek. But Draco had had enough of being shut out for the past week, and he took the opportunity to press an almost desperate kiss to her lips.

Hermione had no time to brace herself as an onslaught of feelings and emotions hit her head on like a freight train. They were coming from Draco, and she didn't know if he was doing it on purpose or by accident. "I didn't know you had missed me that much," she murmured once he pulled back, both of them panting.

He scoffed. "I didn't," he lied, but the look in her eyes made him realize that there was no lying to her. She knew that he had, and that was the best gift he could have ever given to her. Draco let out a heavy sigh. "Fine, fine. I did," he said, not happy that he had to openly admit it. But it was worth the sacrifice because she was positively beaming.

"I missed you too; insufferable wanker that you are, I still missed having you around," she said as she kissed his cheek. Then she turned back to motion to their surroundings. "It's beautiful Draco. How did you do all this?"

"I did it all during my free time. How I did it is a secret. Come with me," he said as he took her hand and led her back out the door. They stood at her door and he closed it. Then he took out his wand and tapped the door three times. A soft light shone from under her door and she looked on with interest when he opened the door again and they walked in and it was her room again.

They walked towards the center of the room and Draco picked up something that looked like a snow globe. "Whenever you want to go to the greenhouse, just place this in the center of any room, close the door, and then tap the door tree times with your wand. That way you can take it anywhere with you," he said as he handed it to her.

Hermione took it and looked at it closely. It was a snow globe and the inside was a miniature version of greenhouse with two figures standing there waving at her. Then she giggled softly when she noticed that it was her and Malfoy there holding hands and waving back at her. Well, the little Hermione was waving, the little Malfoy was cajoling her into snogging.

"Thank you," she said as she placed her precious gift on her bed and turned back to him. "You know," she started as she looked away from him, "I felt kind of empty without any contact with you. I'm guessing that it was another consequence of the bond. We have to keep some sort of physical contact or we start to dim."

Draco nodded. "I know, I felt it too. Why do you think I wanted to talk to you so bad? I couldn't stand you being mad at me, and to make things worse, I was feeling just as empty as you were." He wrapped his arms around her again and grinned. "Would you care to join me at Hogsmeade today?"

"Don't you want to celebrate with your housemates?" she asked with a raised brow.

"They can do without me," he said cockily. "Well?"

Hermione nodded. "Just let me change my clothes and I'll go," she said as she motioned to her uniform. Draco nodded and walked out to give her privacy. It was Friday afternoon and no students were allowed in Hogsmeade until Saturday, but being Head boy and girl gave them certain liberties. And being able to leave the grounds a tad early was one of them.

Hermione walked out a few minutes later clad in black jeans and a red and gold knit sweater, and a matching scarf. Her hair was also up in a messy bun. Whenever they were together, she had taken to wearing gloves because they still didn't have much control over the memory sharing, so now she wore gray gloves that looked suspiciously like a pair that had disappeared from his drawer a week ago.

"Ready?" he asked. Hermione nodded and they walked out of their rooms and towards the trail everyone took when on their way to Hogsmeade. She just hoped that no one saw them; the last thing she wanted was more rumors getting to Ron and driving a deeper void between them.

"Stop thinking of Weasley, will you? It's annoying to feel all that you feel for him," Draco said irritably.

Hermione glared at him. "I wasn't doing it on purpose you know," she snapped walking ahead of him. Draco let out a heavy breath. Great, another fight because of our ex's.

"Wait. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. It's just that…… You wouldn't want me thinking about Parkinson, would you? It's just really infuriating that the weasel is always on your mind," he called, trying to placate her volatile anger.

Hermione stopped and turned to look at him. "He's one of my best friends! If you can feel what I feel, then you shouldn't get mad, I just care for him the way that I would care for a sibling. There's no reason for you to be jealous," she whispered as she pushed to the tips of her toes and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.

Draco let out a small snort. "That doesn't mean that he will think of you as his sister," he grumbled. Hermione just smiled and intertwined their fingers together.

"Stop being such a baby. I thought we were going out to have a good time, not to find another excuse for a fight," she said as she leaned her head over his arm as they walked. "Besides, I want to pick up a book that I have been waiting for for a month. They owled me yesterday and told me that it was here."

Draco tried not to roll his eyes at the dreamy note in her voice when she spoke of reading. Did she love anything other than books? "Yes. I love my family and my friends. And I may even care about a git like you," she replied.

"That's good to know," Draco said dryly. "Come on, we'll go by the Three Broomsticks and get something to drink, and something to eat. We need to celebrate my victory over Potter," he said in barely repressed glee.

Hermione rolled her eyes. Draco could be so immature sometimes. But she had no choice. She wasn't really happy that Slytherin had won the game, but that didn't mean she couldn't have a good time with her boyfriend, right?

……………………………………

"Okay, close your eyes," Draco drawled in that sexy baritone of his.

Hermione huffed but did as he asked. Then she felt something sliding between her thighs and she let out an irritated sigh. "Draco, I thought we had talked about this! I'm not ready."

Malfoy burst out laughing at her words. "Gods Granger. You're priceless!" he said with glee. Then he moved behind Hermione and settled his arms around her, noticing that her eyes were still closed. He stopped laughing and suddenly kicked off the ground.

Hermione let out a scream so loud, he thought his ears would burst. "You can open your eyes now," Draco yelled over her screaming.

Hermione shook her head and refused to open her eyes. "We better NOT be flying DRACO MALFOY BECAUSE I WILL STANGLE YOU!" her voice rose even more as Draco pulled up and air hit her face at a harder speed.

Then Hermione felt him slow down and she could hear water rushing. "Open your eyes, love. I promise that I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered, his lips caressing her earlobe.

Hermione nearly burst out into screams again. She absolutely hated flying! How could Draco be so insensitive! Well, this is Malfoy, she thought. But he didn't say anything else, and Hermione finally gathered her courage enough to crack one eye open.

She gasped as she looked at their surroundings. They were flying very close to the surface of the lake near Hogwarts, and the view was absolutely amazing. The water was moving slowly with the breeze, and the sun had slowly begun to make its descent behind the tall green hills around their school. She looked down and could see their reflection on the surface of the water. She smiled and turned her head slightly to look at Draco.

"Do you like it?" he asked as his lips grazed her jaw.

Hermione nodded and smiled. "Very much. I never thought that an insensitive prick like you could do things like this," she said lightly. Draco just rolled his eyes and ignored her comment, a good sign that he was growing up and maturing.

"Have you found your costume for the ball yet?" He asked. Hermione noted that he didn't sound too thrilled about wearing a costume and since she was in an agreeable mood, she decided to let it slide.

"Since we're head girl and boy, and we make all the decisions concerning the ball, how about you and I leave out the costumes and just wear what he want? Do you like that?" she asked, a slow smile spreading over her lips.

Draco nodded and hugged her tighter to his chest as he pulled his broom slightly to the left and started another lap around the lake. "I like that idea. But we would still have to wear some sort of mask, right?"

"I don't think you need one. Everyone will be able to recognize the color of your hair at first sight," she pointed out. "So what are you going to wear?"

"Maybe I'll change the color so that no one will recognize me. As for what I will wear," he trailed off as he thought about it. "Only the finest and most expensive robes, and a suit. Though I am not fond of muggles, there is this particular clothing maker named Armani. I have seen great clothing come from him. I'll have to go get the suit custom made," he said haughtily.

Hermione just laughed softly. Yes, she knew who Armani was and what type of suits Draco was talking about; they were expensive. She hadn't known that Draco was into that type of fashion, especially where muggles were concerned. "What will you wear, my delicious little Gryffindor? I hope it's something that I will enjoy."

She gave a snort. "Yeah, from far away. I don't know yet. I didn't want to wear a costume either, so I'll probably just find a dress at the shop in Hogsmeade," she said with a little shrug.

"May I suggest something?" he asked politely.

"Wow, suggesting instead of demanding. This is a first. Who are you and what have you done to the real Draco Malfoy?" she asked with a laugh. He rolled his eyes. "Okay, what is it?"

"I want to purchase the clothes that you will wear."

"No way," Hermione shook her head. "You may be my other half and all, but I don't want to freeload and let you buy me everything," she said with a sniff.

"I'm not buying everything for you. I just want to get you something that will be worthy of a Malfoy's girlfriend. Just the ensemble for the ball and that is it. All you have to do is make the dress look good," he said with a carefree shrug.

Hermione looked at him suspiciously for a moment and then screeched when he pulled the broom up so that they could zoom up into the clouds. "FINE! JUST GET ME BACK TO THE GROUND!" she screamed.

Malfoy smirked but decided not to terrorize his other-half any longer. The feeling of her fear surging through him didn't make him feel good at all. Maybe some time before the war, it would have, but not now. He had stopped being that annoying tattle-tale that delighted in other's pain. He set down slowly on a piece of earth that had tall grass growing and he watched with an amused grin as she stumbled off on shaky legs.

"Come off it Granger, you know you loved being in my arms, no matter where we were," he said with a laugh. Hermione rolled her eyes; he was such a pompous prick. "But admit it, you still want me even over those nice descriptions of me," he said as he muttered a quick spell and his broom shrunk to the size of a muggle pen. But it was more than obvious that Draco knew not of what a pen was.

She sighed and leaned her head against his chest, catching Draco completely off guard. He wrapped his arms around her small shoulders and hugged her to him. "What are you thinking about?" he asked softly, pulling her down with him as he lay down on the grass.

Hermione kept her head on his chest when they lay completely in the grass and shrugged as much as she could in that position. "I was just thinking that before your spell went all wrong, you would have never thought of getting involved with me. Had it not been for this bond thing we would still be hating each other. We never would have gotten together," she said a bit sadly.

Draco ran his long fingers through her soft hair; he had pulled it out of the bun moments before. "That may be true, but you never know. War will change people, maybe I would've stopped being my true self around you."

"Your true self?" she laughed. "So the Draco that's with me now is nothing but a fabrication of your sick imagination?" she asked smartly. "Strange, I would've thought that this is the Draco you would have always been without your father's influence," she whispered it lightly, not wanting to upset him.

Draco let out a heavy breath and didn't argue. He knew it was true. Hermione moved upwards and pressed her face to the crook of his neck, half laying on top of him with her arm across his waist. He stared up at the darkening sky and let out a relaxed breath. It felt so incredibly right to have her in his arms. He felt so at peace, and happy.

"I think we're ready to tell the school about us," he said quietly, his fingers running through her hair in a soothing manner.

Hermione's eyes widened. She sat up and shook her head. "No, we can't yet. Ron and Harry……"

"If they are your real friends, then they will understand and support you. If they don't, then it means that they are not worth the dirt you walk on," he said dryly.

"We're not ready for it just yet. We need at least a few more weeks to get to know each other before we let to school know anything. Once everyone knows, we won't have our privacy anymore. Besides, I think your fan club, which consists of more than half the girls in Hogwarts, is going to make my life a living hell. I bet Pansy will be first on that list."

Draco let out an amused chuckle. "Yes. They'll be less than happy to know that I am a one woman man now."

"Are you really?" Hermione asked seriously.

He pulled her head down and kissed her, his tongue sliding through her parted lips at her soft gasp. She stared at him, her hair curtaining their faces, and watched those pale blue-gray eyes filled with honesty for the first time in his life.

"Okay, I believe you. But back to the subject, I just want to wait, okay?" she asked softly.

Draco rolled his eyes but understood her point of view. "Fine, I agree, but only on one condition."

She gave him a blank look, and he took it as a sign to keep going.

"Take me as your date," he said. Odd phrasing, Hermione thought.

"You're blackmailing me?" she snapped as she punched him in the gut. He 'oomphed' and nearly doubled over on his side. "Oh stop! I didn't hit you that hard. I always knew that you tended to over dramatize things, but this is ridiculous," she said with a shake of her head.

"No, I'm not blackmailing you," he said as he sat up as if nothing had happened, smirking when he saw her eyes narrow. "But I think that it would be a good step to make them comfortable with the idea of us. And on the plus side, we show house unity."

"Since when have you cared about house unity?" she asked sarcastically.

"Since after the war. The whole point of it was to erase pureblooded one-mindedness about muggle borns, right?" He asked.

Hermione nodded. "You have been thinking about this for a long time, haven't you?" she asked as she ran her gloved fingers through his baby-fine hair. Draco just nodded once and they both turn to gaze at the sunset. The view was exquisite.

Draco then stood and helped Hermione to her feet. "So… will you be my date to the dance?"

Hermione lowered her eyes and thought about it for a moment. Never one to make rash decisions, she knew that it was about time she took one. She looked up into that gorgeous face and smiled. "Yes, I will be your date. And yes you can buy me my dress, but keep in mind that I don't want anything too extravagant or flashy. No low cut or too short either, got it?"

Draco fake-pouted. "No low cut? But they're so nice," he purred as he swooped down to kiss the top of her chest, not enough to be a "pervert", but close enough. He narrowly dodged the hand that had been aimed to his head.

She smothered a laugh and they began to walk back towards the school. "Wait, I need your measurements," Draco said as he pulled out his wand and stopped Hermione. "Stand still and how you normally stand, and take your sweater off so that the measurements will be right," he said.

Hermione glared at him suspiciously as she pulled off her sweater and thanked Merlin that she had worn a tank-top underneath her sweater. He tapped her once over her chest, then her waist, her hips, and on her bum. As his wand touched each point, a measuring tape appeared and marked off each measurement. Hermione tapped her foot impatiently because it was cold and missed the second part of what he was doing and where he put the measurements.

"I don't want anything too tight either," she informed him.

"You're no fun Granger," Draco said as he placed his wand in his coat pocket and watched as Hermione pulled her sweater back on and rubbed her arms. "Though the dress will be ready early, you won't receive it until the day of the ball. That way you will have to wear it. Now come on or we'll be late for dinner," he said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

"Oh and Draco, one more thing," Hermione said suggestively.

He raised an eyebrow and nearly fell head over heels, literally, as she jumped onto him with her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Her lips were on his as she took the initiative and explored his lips and mouth.

She smiled in satisfaction when he made a little noise of delight deep in his throat but she didn't let go and Draco stumbled on the tall grass and fell back, Hermione still wrapped around him like a monkey.

Draco looked a bit dazed after the air was knocked out of him, by the fall and the kiss, but then he drew in a breath and coughed. "I feel like a whomping willow just knocked me off my feet!"

Hermione's eyes narrowed. A whomping willow, eh? She sat up, straddling his stomach and reared back, sending all her weight into his midsection. Draco only had a chance to take in a shallow breath and then it was knocked out of him again, but then the weight eased and he had enough mind to see that she had gotten off him and was in an all out run back towards the school.

He drew in two breaths and jumped to his feet before taking off after her, his annoyance dying as he heard the sweet sound of her laughter. The little book-worm was laughing at him? She would pay for that, he thought with a grin. No one laughed at Draco Malfoy and got away with it!

Little did both know that there had been two other different witnesses to this display. Each figure retreated and left in a different direction.

…………………………………

Hermione smiled and looked at herself. Stupid Malfoy, regardless of the color he was making her wear, he knew fashion. The dress he had had made for her was absolutely beautiful. Hmm, a little revealing, she thought as she looked down at the slit that started from her thigh and showed her whole leg.

Draco had promised not to get anything too revealing, but with this dress it was a close call. The slit was long enough to be indecent, but he hadn't crossed that line yet. She let out an annoyed sigh and grabbed her wand, she ran it over the top of the slit and closed it down to just two inches above her knee. Along with the dress, there came a matching robe and mask with feathers on one side.

He had been in such an agreeable mood for the past few weeks before the ball, and Hermione had suspected it was because of the dress. He had gone all out with it, and thankfully, she didn't really mind. Their relationship had developed slowly; they spent time together whenever they could, and they had even begun to control the whole touching/memory problem.

Even though things had been so good between them, Hermione still wasn't ready to tell her two best friends about her and Draco. She knew that Ron would hate her for a long time if she dropped it on them like a bucket of ice water. So she had to find a way to drop it on them a little at a time.

Someone tapped her door and Hermione flicked her wand, making it open with a light swish. Her red-head friend walked in and gaped openly at her. "Oh my god! Merlin Hermione! I have never seen you like this before! Not even at the Yule Ball!"

"Do I look okay?" Hermione asked her, feeling self-conscious.

"'Mione," Ginny said incredulously as Lavender and Parvati walked into the room. "You look beautiful. Even though you're wearing a rival house's colors."

"I'll tell you later why that is. For now, don't you think I'm overdoing it a bit?" Hermione asked as she began to pace in front of a mirror that had been multiplied in size and was resting against one entire wall.

The girls looked at each other and held in their giggles. "Why aren't you wearing a costume?" Lavender asked.

"Because Malfoy and I agreed that we, as Head Boy and Girl, had the option to not wear a costume. Back to the subject, how do I look?" she asked as she nearly bit her nails.

Parvati walked over to stand in front of her and gave Hermione a scrutinizing look from head to toe. "Hold out your hands, palms down," she ordered. Hermione did as told and watched as Parvati took out her wand and said a spell that made color appear on her nails.

Hermione looked at them and noticed that Parvati had put tiny silver and green stars on her nails and they now matched with her Slytherin green dress. Since Draco had left the dress on her bed just an hour-and-a-half before, Hermione had no time to change the color and get herself ready in time.

The dress at first had made her indignant, but she had tried it on and found that I was absolutely perfect. The cleavage was quite modest, and it was held up with two straps falling on each shoulder. The trim over her chest was glittering with tiny stones, and it hugged her waist and hips tightly in an embroidered green material that flared out and reached her calves.

She wore crinkled, velvet, green boots that nearly hit the start of the slit over her thigh, right above her knee, and had a high heel. She had taken an hour to practice walking in them and had almost completely mastered them. She had never in her life wore heels this tall.

"I like your hair, it looks amazing!" Lavender said as they all stood next to Hermione at the mirror. "Did you do the streaks yourself?"

Hermione nodded. "I actually saw this in Witch's Style magazine. Don't look so shocked. I actually went through one magazine just for this occasion. It was a fairly easy spell," she said as she fixed a stray brown ringlet. Her brown hair was now streaked with green, matching her dress, and it was in delicate ringlets piled atop her head and touching her near-bear shoulders.

The green streaks actually made the ensemble complete. Hermione looked at her friends and smiled. They were dressed in their costumes. Ginny was wearing an Egyptian Princess outfit, complete with a black wig of shinning, straight, black hair. Her toga-like dress consisted of golden material, and a lot of glittering gold jewelry. She looked very pretty and unrecognizable.

Lavender was in a dress that reminded Hermione of a doll she had once had. She wore a medieval type of gown, and all Hermione could think of was queen Guinevere of the muggle myth 'King Arthur.' Parvati was in a similar dress, but this one reminded Hermione of the, also Muggle, story of Shakespeare, 'Romeo and Juliet.' She wondered who her Romeo was.

"It's time for us to go!" Ginny said as she grabbed Hermione's robe and helped her put it on. The velvety material was so soft and rich, Hermione began to frown as she thought of how much Draco had paid for it all. She felt that one side of her robe was heavy, and she put her hand in it, pulling out a black velvet box.

The girls gathered around to see and Hermione opened the box to find a silver choker with emeralds all around it laying there. Her mouth opened in a soundless 'o' and she just gaped.

"It's beautiful!" The other three girls said, almost in a trance.

"Did you buy this?" Ginny asked. Hermione just shook her head and looked at her. Ginny understood that it was from Malfoy and that Hermione would probably not accept it. "Lets see then," Ginny said as she took the precious jewel and had it around Hermione's neck before the speechless girl could say anything.

"Ginny!" Hermione hissed.

The red-head finished clipping it on and took Hermione's hand, pulling her out of the room. "We're late," she said as she handed her friend the green mask and they all walked out through the portrait hole.

"Did you girls hear?" Parvati asked.

"Hear what?" Ginny asked as they walked down towards the Great hall.

"Professor Dumbledore said that he had a surprise for the students here. Something about having guests." Parvati frowned. "He asked us yesterday to order more food, but he made us swear that we wouldn't say anything."

Hermione frowned too. "Why wasn't I notified about this?"

The girl shrugged. "Only I and Justin knew, since we were basically in charge of the food. But since the dance is today, I wanted to know if any of you knew what was going on," Parvati said as they neared the great hall.

Hermione put her mask on and noticed that it stayed attached without her fastening it behind her head. She began to feel self-conscious again, but there was no turning back. Draco would probably be smirking at her the whole night when he saw her. And Ron and Harry would have a fit about her wearing Slytherin colors.

She nearly stumbled as she thought about that. But she had no chance to stop because Ginny was dragging her towards the open doors of the great hall. Almost all of the students were already present and Hermione thanked Merlin that not many paid the group any heed. Meaning that everyone except a select group of Slytherins looked their way.

Hermione took deep breaths as she walked into the great hall, wanting nothing more than to run back to her room, away from all those eyes on her. Parvati, Ginny, and Lavender had left her alone at the doors.

She walked calmly past groups and groups of guys that were staring at her. None knowing who this girl in green was. Hermione was sure that only one in the whole room would recognize her. And that was because he had bought her dress and everything that went with it.

The only thing she could think of doing was walking towards the tables at the sides of the room that were filled with snacks and drinks. The feast wouldn't start for another hour and she was just about ready to start eating her nails.

……………

Draco had watched her from the moment she had entered the room, looking too beautiful for words. He knew that she would've had a fit about the color of her dress, but he had never seen her look so perfect.

All the male population of Hogwarts was staring; even Potter. No one really knew who she was because of the mask over her face, but Draco knew. He watched as she walked over to the table that held the punch. It was time to take action.

Hermione grabbed a glass and filled it with punch, and as she was about to put it to her lips, a black gloved hand stopped her.

"I wouldn't drink that if I were you. I saw some Ravenclaw putz spike it," his deep voice made her jump.

Hermione looked up at Draco and gawked. It seemed that all everyone was doing was gawking and gaping, no? He was dressed in a black Armani suit, a dark emerald silk shirt underneath with a matching tie, and a black velvet robe on top of it. The robe had been left open, much like hers, so that they could show off what they were wearing. He looked tall and graceful; gorgeous actually.

What made her grin was the black mask shielding his features, and the tall top-hat that looked like the type his father had worn. His father wasn't a funny matter, but Draco looked absolutely cute in it. The hat did a good job at hiding his pale hair and hiding from others exactly who he was.

"You look ravishing in Slytherin colors," he said as he stole a soft kiss from her lips when no one was watching. Or so he thought. "You would be a great Slytherin princess at my side. Evasive, cunning, lying to your best friends."

"I am a Gryffindor through and through. I would never be a Slytherin," she snapped. Draco Malfoy was still infuriating!

"You can be a Slytherin and Gryffindor princess," he said with that devilish smirk of his.

"Keep your hands to yourself," she hissed as she slapped his hand away from her rump.

Before Draco was allowed to continue to admire her physique, Dumbledore called everyone's attention as he stood at the front of the hall on the platform. He gave a heart warming speech, as always, but Hermione was distracted through most of it because of Draco's fingers tracing slow circles at the small of her back under her robe.

Then Dumbledore said something that dropped Draco's hand away and made Hermione gasp, eyes wide. "I have a surprise for you all tonight. We have not seen these guests in nearly three years, so I decided to invite them to our festivities this night. Hidden among our Hogwarts alumni, and enjoying this brilliant party put together by our head boy and girl, and prefects, are students of different schools around the world, and even some old friends that were here at the Yule ball. So please let us welcome them and make them feel at home when they decide to show themselves."

The room erupted in applause and cheers. The headmaster continued. "Let us enjoy this night and in a few brief minutes, we will start the feast." He motioned around the room at the circular tables that had been placed all around with Halloween decorations, and colors from the four houses.

"You and I will talk later," Hermione said as she gave Draco a peck on the cheek. "I have to find Harry and Ron, stay out of trouble," she said before she disappeared into the crowd.

Draco cursed inwardly and just wished that the guests that Dumbledore was speaking of weren't the people that Draco was imagining. He just shook his head and made his way towards the Slytherins. He could recognize Blaise anywhere; he was probably the tallest of the Slytherins along with Draco.

Hermione found Harry and Ron a few minutes later. Harry was in a 'Phantom of the Opera' get-up, and Ron was wearing an outfit that looked like 'Zorro.' He looked cute with his red hair in spikes.

"Hey guys!" she said with a grin.

Harry and Ron only now realized who the girl in green was, and they both stood there with their mouths hanging open, nearly touching the floor. There was another guy standing behind them, and he was dressed in a Roman Commander outfit; he was also staring at her.

"Earth to Ron and Harry!" she said as she waved her hand in front of them.

"'Mione?" They both asked in shock. Ron let out a long breath and gulped. "You look—"

The guy that was with them cut off Ron. "Breathtaking," he said in a thickly accented tone.

Hermione's eyes went wide as she recognized that accent. She hadn't seen him in almost three years. Since she had spent the summer with him. He removed the helmet that went with his costume and Hermione pulled off her mask so that she could look at him better.

Then before she knew what was happening, he had moved past Ron and Harry and had his strong arms wrapped around her rigid and immobile body. Hermione snapped out of it a few seconds later and hugged him back.

"Viktor, it's so nice to see you," she said almost numbly. Viktor Krum. Her ex boyfriend. Well, before Ron. She gazed over his broad shoulder and her eyes met with the gray steel of her boyfriend's across the room. Those gray eyes that were slowly clouding with something akin to jealousy.

"I have missed you, Her-mi-o-ne," he spaced out her name to show that he had pronounced it correctly.

Hermione opened her mouth to reply, but she was even more stunned when he tilted her head back and pressed his lips to hers. All that Hermione could think of was that Draco would have a fit over this, but she couldn't get her limbs to move one inch.

And a fit was nowhere near enough of a description to what was going through Draco's head at the moment.

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Whoa, sorry about that cliffy, but I have plans for the next chapter. Like I said before, I moved the dance up because I really didn't know how to make more chapters without making you guys get impatient. I hope you liked it.

So things were going great between Draco and Hermione, but Viktor just had to step in and ruin it, huh? But don't worry, Draco has a few things to say in the next chapter. And maybe we'll even see some of what Pansy has to say about the rumors that are still going around.

If something isn't clear, or if you're confused about anything in this fic, please let me know and I will try my best to clear it up. Sometimes I have to go through my chapters more than twice to see if there's anything I stated wrong or if there are any grammatical errors that I didn't catch before. I always check and fix my chapters about a day later. I hope everyone has a great week, take care!

Byebye

!Joey!