Author's Note: I'm sorry I didn't update last week, I'm feeling very uninspired right now.
To the reviewer that said you were going to stop reading because this was not turning out to be a Fremione story, and because I was using Mom instead of Mum, it clearly states in the summary that there is both Dramione and Fremione in this story. Yes, it turns out that there is a lot more Dramione, but I stated in the very first chapter that I wasn't sure how it was going to go. As for me using Mom and not Mum, yes it bothers me too. I caught it late, and by then I didn't want to go back through all the chapters and fix it.
For those of you wondering why I don't write them in robes. Plain and simple, I hate the concept of the robes. Like doesn't anyone die of heatstroke? Although I know it's a given in the Wizarding world, in this particular story I'm not going to write them in robes.
The rest of the story is outlined, I did at least that much last week. As of now it looks like it's going to be about thirteen chapters long, and I've decided the outcome. I spent a lot of time this last week being inspired for two different one shots I wanna do after this. So I spent the week outlining them as well.
The song that plays during Draco and Hermione's dance is Unsteady by X Ambassadors (Erich Lee Gravity remix)
Thank you to Excalibur95, Pounou9, WanderedInWinter, Rose and her Doctor, missakatherine, IJones, toapzrose, ksouza3, Sargesgirl, Makele.880, scarlette11011, Colmillos, Raven that flies at night, persphoneisis, Gryff-Slytherin, Ashlee blades, wintersong1954, luvslinkkpk88, Douseemehere16, and dragonjun for adding the story to your favorites.
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Disclaimer: I own nothing
Hermione spun around and checked herself in the mirror once again, the white glittery gown that Draco had bought her fit like a glove. It was backless and had long sleeves, hugging her body until it flared out at the bottom. She had done her hair in a mass of curls in the middle of the back of her head with a few stray curls falling out and around her face. Since it was a dressier occasion than every day, she had applied smoky eye makeup paired with a deep red colored lipstick.
Hearing a knock on the door, she grabbed the earrings off of her dresser and slipped into her shoes, Crookshanks already sitting staring up at it so she knew it was Draco. She opened the door while turning, putting her earrings on and searching for her clutch.
"Sorry I'm almost ready." She said.
When she didn't get an answer she turned to see if it had actually been Draco at the door. It had been, and he was just standing there holding a bouquet of roses, eyes wide and mouth gaping.
Hermione laughed, finding her clutch and moving to take the roses from him. "These are beautiful, Draco. Thank you."
He shook his head and walked inside as she filled a vase with water in the kitchen. "You look…very nice."
Hermione threw an amused smirk over her shoulder at him and gave a short laugh. "You look very nice too."
When she was done arranging the flowers, she walked over to where Draco had bent down to pet Crookshanks, who was weaving himself around Draco's feet and purring. He stood and offered her his arm, which she took with a small smile on her face.
"You look more than very nice. You look beautiful." He said softly, causing her to blush.
"Thank you." She replied.
A small part of her wanted to talk about the night before, about what they had talked about in his office, but she kept quiet. She knew that there would be all sorts of reporters at the ball, including that meddlesome Rita Skeeter. It would be nice to know where they stood with one another, because she knew that they were going to be asked.
But she had decided that she would let him do the talking, and see what he had to say when posed with the question.
When they arrived, there were reporters lining the entry way into the building. Cameras were flashing and they were being asked questions from all different directions. Draco had an arm around her waist and held her close, as she held her head high and smiled for the cameras, slightly less uncomfortable than she was when she was in the spotlight right after the war.
"Will there be a wedding soon?!"
"Rumor says you're pregnant, is this true Miss Granger?!"
"Are you having an affair with Fred Weasley?!"
"Didn't you hate each other back in Hogwarts?! What changed?!"
Draco leaned in and whispered in her ear. "I hope you know that this is all the Prophet is going to be talking about for weeks."
She leaned her head in closer to his, turning to look at him fully, and smiled. "Harry was right, what wonderful press it will be for the lab."
Once they were inside they spotted Theo with his date, a witch neither of them had met before but English was most definitely not her first language, and made their way over to him. As they got closer they saw Blaise as well, standing next to a less than amused looking Pansy. She turned to look at them as they approached, her smile faltering a little when she spotted Hermione on Draco's arm.
"I knew that dress would look amazing on you. Draco only helped a little with the design." Theo joked, leaning in to kiss Hermione's cheek.
"Thank you, and somehow I don't find that hard to believe." Hermione laughed.
Draco looked at her sharply. "What is that supposed to mean?"
She smiled at him, touching her chin to her shoulder. "It's a compliment."
All the guys chuckled, then Theo furrowed his brows at her. "Hey wait a minute!"
This earned a laugh from everyone as they made their way into the grand ballroom. Pansy sneered over her shoulder at Hermione while rolling her eyes.
"Don't look so surprised at the grandeur Granger, this is nothing compared to most Pureblood parties."
Hermione rolled her eyes, and looked over towards the pug faced girl with a look of annoyance on her face. "Pansy you better get used to me being around, this isn't school, and if Draco and Theo can make peace with me then I'm sure you can manage as well. If you can't, just do us all a favor and keep your mouth shut."
Draco looked at her with a proud look on his face while Theo reached over to clap Pansy on the back. "She got you! Oh she got you good Pans. Oooh look Draco, there are the girls you bought the gowns for, it doesn't look like their partners are as annoyed as we were expecting them to be." Theo said, with a pout.
"You bought a bunch of Gryffindors gowns for tonight? Merlin, what has gotten into you Draco?" Pansy said, distastefully, as she walked away towards Daphne Greengrass and her date Adrian Pucey.
"Always so pleasant isn't she? Sorry about that Granger, it's days like this I'm not sure what I see in that girl." Blaise said, turning and following Pansy across the room.
"The gowns do look lovely. Come on, let's go say hello." Hermione said, pulling on Draco's arm.
"You go ahead I'll be there in a minute." Draco said, not paying attention to her, but instead looking across the room at a group of older gentleman.
"Some of the benefactors for multiple projects of ours are over there. We need to go make an appearance." Theo explained, following Draco's line of sight.
"Tonight is supposed to be fun not business." Theo's date pouted in her thick Russian accent.
"Is there really a difference?" Draco said, walking in the direction of the benefactors, leaving Hermione behind.
She frowned at his retreating back, he had left her without so much as even offering to take her over, while Theo had pulled his date along with him. Shaking her head, she walked in the direction of Katie and Angelina, who were both standing with George. She looked around for Fred, but there was no sign of the tall red head.
"Hi guys." She said. They turned to see who had greeted them and both girls started gushing about her gown.
"Gotta hand it to those Slytherins they sure do know what they're doing." Angelina said.
"Yea would you happen to know why Malfoy thought it was appropriate to buy my girl her gown? You look beautiful by the way." George said, kissing her on the cheek.
"Oh that's just Draco being Draco." Hermione laughed.
"And thank Merlin for that!" A voice came from behind them.
They all turned to see Ginny, Harry, Ron, and Padma coming up to them. Ginny brought her hand up to her neck to touch the large diamond and sapphire encrusted choker that Harry had bought her to go along with her gown, it had been her that had spoken.
"Can't let Malfoy one up me now can I?" Harry laughed.
"I knew I should have asked for the day off to go shopping with you guys." Padma pouted.
"Oh come off it. I bought your gown didn't I?" Ron scowled at her.
She seemed to brighten a little after that and smiled at him. "You did. Thank you."
"Did Fred come in with you guys? He was supposed to meet me here." Katie asked Ginny.
"Yea he got caught up at the front with a reporter answering questions about his relationship with Hermione. We all laughed when the reporter asked if they were seeing each other, like that would ever happen." Ron laughed, putting an arm around Padma.
Hermione blushed and looked at Ginny who gave her a sympathetic look. Harry and George just looked uncomfortable while Katie quietly bristled and looked annoyed.
"Why all the glum faces?" The man in question came up behind everyone. He swung an arm around Katie's shoulders and gave a wink to Hermione.
"Apparently you're marrying Malfoy but your carrying my love child." He said with a laugh.
"Disgusting." Ron, George, and Harry all said in unison.
As if the moment was uncomfortable enough, Narcissa appeared right then. "I hope you are all having a wonderful time."
Everyone mumbled some kind of response except for Harry. "We are having a lovely evening, thank you Mrs. Malfoy."
She nodded at him and reached out for Hermione. "Hermione, darling, why don't you come with me there are some people I'd like to introduce you to."
"Oh? Was Terrence able to make it after all?" Hermione joked, turning to walk with her. Narcissa laughed at the joke while everyone exchanged confused looks.
Ron shook his head while glaring at their retreating forms. "What is she, their pity project or something?"
"Oh come off it, Ron! Why is it so hard for you to accept that Draco and his Mother have very obviously changed? Hermione is a grown woman, she can do what she wants!" Ginny scolded.
"Or who she wants." George piped.
Fred glared at his twin and took his arm off from around Katie's shoulders. Straightening up, he grabbed Angelina's hand and pulled her out onto the dance floor. Angelina just started laughing, shrugging her shoulders at George who stood there with an open mouth.
"Alright, he asked for it. Come on Katie, let's show them who the better dancers are!" George yelled, grabbing Katie.
On the other side of the room Narcissa was introducing Hermione to a group of ladies who were on the committee with her. Most of them had been nice, including Mrs. Higgs, which made Narcissa and Hermione share a knowing smile. However, there had been a few who had pretty much stuck their noses up at her.
"When is young Draco going to settle down with a proper wife, Narcissa?" One of them asked, completely ignoring Hermione.
"Oh yes, what a handsome man he's grown into. You know my daughter Astoria has always been smitten with him. They make a lovely couple don't you agree?" Who Hermione could only assume was Mrs. Greengrass said, nodding out towards the dance floor.
Hermione and Narcissa turned to see that Draco was indeed dancing with Astoria. Hermione felt her blood go cold as she frowned.
Narcissa looked at her with a worried face and gently touched her arm. "Draco actually came with Miss Granger tonight. I'm sure if your daughter is smitten with him, she approached him to dance, something he's never really enjoyed that much."
Hermione smiled at the backhanded dig that Narcissa had given, as Mrs. Greengrass gave a small unladylike snort.
An older lady who had walked up during Narcissa's comment laughed and nodded her head. "Oh yes she approached him alright, went and dragged him away from my husband, who is as you know one of the benefactors of the new lab Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Nott are building. He doesn't like being interrupted either."
Mrs. Greengrass stuck her nose in the air and waved at someone across the room, excusing herself, a few of the ladies following her.
The lady stuck her hand out to shake Hermione's. "Pleasure to meet you Miss Granger, Victoria Weatherbee. Narcissa, this place looks lovely, walk with me dear."
Narcissa nodded, letting the elderly lady take her arm and lead her away. Hermione just smiled and looked around to see if she could spot Ginny. When she saw her talking with her parents, she smiled and moved to go say hello. Half way there she was stopped by a hand on her arm. She turned, startled, to see that it was Blaise who had grabbed her.
"Sorry I didn't mean to startle you." He said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
Hermione shook her head and smiled warmly at him. "No, it's ok. What happened to Pansy?"
Blaise laughed and nodded off towards a corner of the room where Pansy had been cornered by Cormac McLaggen.
Hermione laughed as well. "Can't say I feel sorry for her. Really, Blaise, what do you see in her?"
"She has her moments. She has a good heart deep down, deep deep down in there."
"Well you are a saint for putting up with her."
"Would you…care to dance?" He asked, hands in his pockets, as he nodded towards the dance floor.
Hermione nodded and took the arm he offered her, allowing him to lead her to the large space in the middle of the room.
They were silent for the first few moments before Blaise murmured softly in her ear. "He's completely smitten with you, you know. I think even Narcissa is smitten with you."
Hermione laughed softly. "What makes you say that?"
"The way he looks at you. I don't think I've ever seen him look at anyone or anything the way he looks at you. Well, except maybe his broom." Blaise laughed.
"He sure has a funny way of showing it."
Blaise shook his head and peered over her head at Draco, who was across the room speaking with Daphne and her Father. "I'm not entirely sure he knows. Oh but Narcissa does, and Theo, everyone but Draco."
The song came to an end and before Hermione could even say anything Blaise gave a short bow and disappeared into the crowd. She stood there for a few moments, contemplating what he had said, before she moved off of the dance floor in search of Ginny again. Draco's eyes hadn't left her the entire time.
One hour later
Hermione laughed as Harry retold a story from their third year. She was seated at a table with him and Ginny, Ron and Padma, Dean and Seamus with their dates. Draco had been talking with numerous benefactors all night, and had been dragged to the dance floor a few more times by Astoria, annoying Hermione greatly. But she had started the night by allowing him to set the tone of their relationship, and if this was how he was going to act then she surmised Draco cared more about business. Despite what Blaise had said.
She had danced with both Ron and Harry, even Theo, much to his dates annoyance. Seamus had asked her earlier in the evening but Lavender, who he had brought as his date, hadn't liked that one bit. So to avoid a scene Hermione politely declined, saying she wanted to give her feet a rest.
Across the room Theo was standing at the drink table, grabbing a few glasses of champagne. He raised a glass to her and motioned for her to join, so she excused herself and made her way over to him.
"Enjoying yourself? I must say, you are the prettiest witch at the ball."
"Don't let your date hear you say that. You're sweet for saying so, but you aren't a very good liar, Theo." Hermione laughed, taking a sip of her champagne.
"Who says I'm lying?" Theo said, in mock defense.
"What don't you lie about, Nott?" A voice came up from behind them. They both turned to see Adrian Pucey standing there, gathering new glasses of champagne.
"Shove it, Pucey."
"You clean up nice, Granger, almost didn't recognize you. Astoria was all sorts of upset when you walked in with Malfoy, but it looks like your date is just using you to further his business ventures so I guess she still has a chance." Adrian droned lazily.
Hermione stiffened and took another sip of her champagne, while Theo glared at Adrian and stepped in between them. "Watch your mouth, Pucey. You have no idea what you're on about."
"Yes, Adrian. You really do have no idea what you're talking about." Draco said, coming up behind him.
Adrian turned his head as Draco walked over to Hermione and placed a hand on the small of her back. He watched them for a few moments before laughing and raising a glass to them. "Watch yourself, Granger. Hard to believe Draco has changed that much in such a short amount of time."
Draco opened his mouth to retort when he was interrupted by Fred walking up them.
"Sorry to disrupt your little Slytherin rumble boys, I'm here to rescue the fair lioness who looks quite uncomfortable amongst all you slimy snakes." Fred said, holding his hand out to Hermione.
She smiled at him, relieved to be saved from what was sure to escalate to quite a scene. She handed her glass to Draco and took Fred's hand, following him out onto the dance floor. Draco just watched them go with an incredulous look on his face, Theo looked like he would rather be anywhere than where he was, while Adrian just laughed and turned to walk away from them. But not before getting in one last dig on Draco.
"Always been smart that one, still feels more safe with a Weasley than you, Malfoy. Maybe there was something to the Prophets article after all."
Draco was visibly shaking in anger. Theo reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, but he just shrugged it off. "How could she just go off with him like that?"
"Draco, mate, I'm going to be real honest with you. You left her by herself the moment we got here. You've spent the night speaking with old men and dancing with Astoria, albeit begrudgingly, you haven't even asked Hermione to dance. To anyone that didn't you know you two came together, it would look like you came with Astoria. If I were Hermione, I'd be running back to the Weasley's too."
Draco looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Theo's expression turned into that of shock and disgust as he shuddered. "I can't believe I just said that."
"I can't believe I just had to hear that." Draco said. He looked back to where Fred was leading Hermione around the dance floor and frowned.
Fred and Hermione
"Thank you for that." Hermione said softly, as Fred turned her around the large dance floor.
"No problem, you looked like you needed to be saved. Besides, you haven't danced with me yet tonight." Fred grinned down at her. "You look breathtaking by the way. In case no one has told you."
Hermione blushed and turned her gaze downward, focusing on one of the buttons of his dragon hide jacket. "Katie looks lovely tonight as well, don't you think?"
Fred rolled his eyes at her. "Not you too, Granger. Yes, Katie does look lovely tonight as well. But there isn't a woman in here who could hold a candle to you."
Hermione didn't think it was possible to blush even deeper than she already was, but his words turned her cheeks an even darker pink.
"So what's going on with you two?" Fred asked softly.
Hermione looked up at him through her thick lashes and shrugged her shoulders. "I work for him at the moment, I haven't decided whether or not I will continue once the lab is complete. We fight, a lot. We…" She trailed off.
"Snog?" Fred offered.
She laughed and looked back to the button she had been focusing on before. She had forgotten how easy it was to talk to Fred. Back in Hogwarts during her fifth year, when she would stay up late in the common room doing homework, there had been many conversations between the two of them on nights where he would sneak off to the kitchens. Conversations that had led to her having feelings for him, conversations that she hadn't told anyone about. They used to talk about their dreams and their goals, about how much they hated Professor Umbridge. Looking back now, she guessed that the reason he had stayed up with her so many nights was because he fancied her. Something her fifth year self would never have come to realize.
"Yes, I'll admit there's been some of that too."
Fred nodded his head and reached a hand up to lift her chin so that she was looking at him. "I want to make something very clear Hermione, I want you to be happy. Whether that's with me, him, or someone else. Hell, even if it's by your brilliant self with that mangy old cat of yours. Whatever form it comes in, I just want you to be happy."
Hermione became aware that the song was ending and they were barely moving in the middle of the dance floor, people staring and whispering. There were only a few other couples still dancing around them.
Fred grinned and waggled his eyebrows at her. "What do you say we go out with a bang Granger?"
Before she could reply, he had gathered her in his arms and dipped her low, pausing with their noses almost touching. She could see the flashes from the cameras in the reflection of his eyes. He pulled her back up as the song ended and the people who had been watching from the side clapped. She hid her face in the crook of his shoulder and he laughed.
"Can I have the honor of the next dance?" She heard behind her. She turned in Fred's arms to see Draco standing there, an unreadable look on his face.
She turned back to Fred, who bowed to her before lifting her hand to kiss the back of it, then leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Remember what I said Hermione. Although I would be lying if I said I wasn't hopeful that I was the obvious choice."
She watched him walk away as a new song begun and Draco cleared his throat behind her. She slowly turned, Draco taking her around the waist, as they began to dance.
"What was that about?" Draco spoke softly into her ear.
"Jealous?" She asked, surprising them both.
"I'm sorry I left you alright? I couldn't just not speak to the benefactors, they control much more than you realize."
"And Astoria?"
"I wasn't going to be rude to her in front of her Father and his friends, it's no secret that her and I were supposed to be engaged, but my Mother refused to force me into an arranged marriage."
"Do you fancy her?"
"Are you serious? Do you honestly think that if I fancied her I would have brought you tonight, let alone snog you on occasion?"
Hermione frowned at his tone and set her chin on his shoulder. "Do you want me to be honest?"
Draco frowned as well, but nodded. She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked him straight in the eye. "I did fancy Fred back when we were at Hogwarts, it was in fifth year, and I never knew he felt the same until now. But somehow, even though he says there are still feelings there, I don't know how to feel because I don't know what is going on here. With us."
Draco stiffened at her confession, without missing a step in their dance. "I told you how I felt last night."
She blinked at him, not expecting that response. "And I told you either to make it work or don't. So what are you choosing Draco?"
"I'm choosing to end this discussion, because you look far too upset for as beautiful as you look." He responded, then spun her away from him before pulling her back.
Hermione rolled her eyes as she came back into his arms. "So much smoother than in Sydney."
"Not quite." He said, before crashing his lips down to hers.
Hermione was shocked but responded after a few seconds, tangling her hands in his hair. Both unaware that they had caught the attention of almost every witch and wizard in the room. Cameras were flashing like crazy, and all the other couples had moved off of the dance floor. When they finally pulled away from each other, he spun her around once more, causing her to laugh.
There were a lot of whispers that followed them as they left the dance floor, but nothing could ruin the mood that she was in. Her smile only faltered a little when she caught Fred's eye from across the room. He gave her a slight nod wearing a frown on his face, and threw his arm back around Katie, turning to follow George and Angelina out of the ballroom.
Hermione entered the large bathroom, quickly making her way into one of the stalls to sit down and take her shoes off. She wasn't used to spending so much time in heels, let alone dancing so much in them, and her feet were killing her. She heard the door open again and the clacking of heels went into the stall beside hers. She laughed when she saw the persons shoes come off as well, recognizing them as Ginny's.
"Couldn't wear yours anymore either?" She asked.
Ginny's laughter echoed throughout the large room. "I'm so ready to go home. Harry's boss is here though and he won't let Harry and Ron out of his sight."
Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but shut it as the door opened once more and numerous voices could be heard at once.
"I don't care that the war is over, it's preposterous! He's making an absolute fool of himself! Prancing around with that filth!"
"He should be engaged to my Astoria right now! I don't know what Narcissa was thinking. With Lucius gone, Draco is going to have to rely on my husband as well as all of yours to keep his business going! We've already spoken about pulling our support."
"As have we, small talk was all it was until he sealed the deal by that disgusting display on the dance floor. Should he move forward with that girl, we will be pulling our funding as well."
Hermione was shocked by the things being said, and she saw Ginny's small hand reach for her under the stall. She reached down and grabbed it, receiving a squeeze of support, as tears stung her eyes.
"I think she's a lovely girl. We have her to thank for the war being over if none of you remember correctly. She helped Harry Potter defeat the dark lord, and if he hadn't then none of you would even have any of your money left. Terrence has never had anything but nice things to say about her."
"You're as daft as Narcissa then."
Ginny pulled her hand out of Hermione's and slipped her shoes back on. Hermione heard her unlock the door to her stall and stood, wondering if she should make her presence known as well. All the voices went quiet as Ginny walked out of her stall and made her way to the sinks.
"Miss Weasley, how are you enjoying the evening dear?" Hermione recognized the voice as Mrs. Higgs.
"I was enjoying it perfectly well until just now. It's a shame that even after the war you people still have such prejudice. That's one of my best friends that you happen to be talking about, and she and Draco are happy together. Why do you feel the need to ruin that? What Draco and Theo are doing is for the benefit of the entire Wizarding world, do you really think pulling your funding will make a difference? I'm sure he has more than enough to make up what you take away, and I happen to know that Harry would be more than willing to replace all of you as a benefactor if need be." Ginny quipped.
"It would please me to tell you that young Mr. Malfoy doesn't have access to all of the family fortune, and as long as Lucius sits in Azkaban, Narcissa doesn't have control over it either. If Mr. Potter wants to make up what we take away, he can try. But he will find himself broke soon enough. All Draco has to do is stop playing pretend with that mudblood and all will be well."
Hermione heard Ginny step forward, and she put her hand on the handle to the stall door to stop whatever the redhead was about to do or say. But just as she went to open it she heard the main door open again.
"Mother, what is going on in here? Father is looking for you. Ginny, is everything alright?" Daphne's voice echoed in the large room.
Hermione had always liked Daphne, she wasn't like a lot of the other Slytherin girls. She was smart, and had always been pleasant towards her in school. She heard the clicking of heels as who she assumed were all the older women left. She could still see Ginny and Daphne's shoes from under the stall. She could only assume that Ginny had motioned that she was still in there because Daphne's voice was directed towards her next.
"Granger…Hermione, don't listen to my Mother. She's an old bitter woman who doesn't adapt to change very well."
Hermione wiped the tears from her eyes and opened the door to the stall. "Would your parents really pull funding from Draco and Theo?"
Ginny stepped forward and laid a hand on her arm. Hermione smiled at her gratefully before looking back to Daphne who looked uncertain how she should answer the question.
"Lucius and my Father had a contract in place for Draco and Astoria to marry, but Narcissa came in at the last minute to make sure that didn't happen. She wanted Draco to marry someone that he chose, someone that he loved. I only wish that Adrian's Mother had done the same. But they are old and set in their ways, my parents never forgave them for it, but they think that with the right amount of pushing that Draco will see reason and marry Astoria anyways. Little do they know how much he despises her."
Daphne looked sad, and it made Hermione feel sorry for her. To still be forced into an arranged marriage, and to be paired with someone that you obviously don't like, it would be awful. She briefly wondered if that's why so many of the Slytherins had always hated everyone outside of their own house, because everyone else had the freedom that they so obviously craved.
"I'm sorry about Adrian." She offered.
Daphne shrugged and smiled. "It could be worse, he really isn't so bad when it's just him and me. As for you and Draco, I can't say that I'm not completely blown away by the fact that you two of all people decided to hook up, but if you are serious about each other then don't let people like my parents dictate that. Money can be found anywhere, and eventually Draco will have full control over his entire estate, it will be endless then."
She turned and moved to walk out of the room, turning to say one last thing, with a very Slytherin smirk before she went. "He may not have been by your side all night Granger, but he never took his eyes off of you."
Ginny giggled beside her as the door swung shut, leaving the two girls alone again. "She's right you know. It's all Fred could talk about tonight."
Hermione shook her head. "I can't Gin, how could I possibly? If that many people are going to pull their funding just because he and I are together, I couldn't do that to him. It all makes sense now."
"What do you mean it all makes sense?" Ginny asked, with a confused look on her face.
"He's been fighting whatever it is going on between us for weeks. Of course it wasn't going to be natural at first given who we are, but once I came back and we spent more time together, it began to feel natural. Even speaking around his Mother felt natural, but he's still been…unable…to just give in to it. But now I know why, he's known all along that they wouldn't take the news of us together very well. He's known what they can do, and who knows how long it will be before he has full control over his fortune. He needs the benefactors right now Gin, he can't afford to upset them." Hermione explained, slowly walking towards the door.
Ginny looked at her with a helpless look and worry in her eyes. "So what are you going to do?"
Hermione paused with her hand on the door. "I don't know."
It took a few minutes for her to find Draco in the large crowd of people. He was standing with Theo and Blaise, and a few other older gentleman that she didn't know. He smiled when he saw her and reached a hand out, motioning for her to come over to them. She walked slowly towards them, and stopped to stand between Blaise and Theo, which earned her a confused look from Draco.
"Gentleman may I have the pleasure of introducing Miss Hermione Granger, the brains behind the new lab." Draco said.
Most of the men nodded towards her, stiff nods, not exactly polite. None of them made a move to speak to her. Hermione flushed, embarrassed, and realized that most of these men must have been the husbands of the ladies in the bathroom.
Draco made a move to stand next to her and put his arm around her, but she flinched away from him and he gave her another confused look as they both stood there awkwardly. Theo stepped closer to her so that his arm was brushing hers and she relaxed a little bit.
"So will you be continuing to work with the boys once the construction of the lab is complete? Or will Narcissa be giving you lessons on how to act like a lady of a manor as great at the Malfoy's?" A man with greying hair and a deep voice asked her. Hermione knew this had to be Daphne and Astoria's Father, Astoria looked just like him.
Draco flushed red in anger, as Theo and Blaise both gave the man disapproving looks. Draco looked like he was about to say something when Hermione interrupted him. "Actually, Mr. Greengrass, I haven't decided whether or not I'll be working with them after the project is done. As of right now I'm leaning towards a job at the Ministry, and I can assure you that being a lady of a manor as great as the Malfoy's is not something that's in my foreseeable future."
Draco just stared at her, mouth open. Theo shut his eyes and took a deep breath and Blaise just looked plain angry. Mr. Greengrass cocked an eyebrow and turned his body fully towards her, appraising her like he was seeing her for the first time.
"So you have no intention of marrying young Draco here?" He asked her.
Draco shook his head and furrowed his brow. "Now just a minute-"
"No, I do not." Hermione cut him off, not taking her eyes off of Daphne's Father.
Draco felt like he had been stabbed in the chest with a knife. Not that marriage was anywhere near discussion, he had just given in to how he felt about her, but to hear her say it hurt. Now she was standing here, denying a future with him, after she had just told him to make a choice. He had made a choice dammit! He had chosen her and this is what he got in return? Had she been playing some sort of sick joke on him this whole time?
His eyes widened in realization, as Mr. Greengrass smiled and nodded fully to her, thanking her for her help with the lab and wishing her a fruitful future in a very forced tone. The men all turned to walk away, but Draco couldn't take his eyes off of her. He felt frozen, and there was a lump in his throat that he couldn't seem to swallow. Blaise and Theo excused themselves, Theo giving Hermione a pity filled look as he walked away.
She raised her eyes to meet Draco's and took a deep breath. "Listen, Draco, I can explain everything."
"Don't bother, Granger. I get it." His cold tone cut her off.
She frowned at him and took a step towards him. "No you don't get it at all, Draco."
"Oh but I do. You want to be with Weasley. Fine, Granger, go be with him. You know, I pitied you when I found you in Australia. Then when you got drunk and threw yourself at me, I figured why not? Why shouldn't I shag the Gryffindor Princess? Imagine how disturbing it was for me to find that I enjoyed it. But after a while, I thought you were different, changed somehow. Or maybe I just finally realized that I had changed, and I fought against it, I fought so damn hard. Merlin, who would have thought that someone would ever choose a Weasley over a Malfoy? I was very wrong, very very wrong about you." His voice was cold, harsh, and made her freeze where she stood. The tone was reminiscent of when he used to leer at her and her friends in school.
She shook her head at him and softened her gaze. Of course, she had just admitted everything about Fred earlier that night, of course he would think that's why she had acted the way she had.
But the fact that he wouldn't even listen to her, that he was so willing to shut her out and put his wall back up, made her second guess everything. It was like the excuse he had been looking for all along, an excuse to not give in to whatever had been happening between them. Right when he was ready to try, it was like a sign to him that it wasn't meant to be.
Hermione wanted to tell him everything she had overheard, tell him that she didn't want to be the reason his funds for his business were taken away. But he was looking at her with such disdain that she found she couldn't bring herself to say anything.
She felt tears sting her eyes for the second time that night, and soon after felt an arm wrap around her shoulder. She turned into it, letting her tears fall freely, not even knowing who it was. But as soon as the person spoke she felt an extreme rush of gratitude.
"I think it's time to call it a night yea? You two are drawing quite a bit of attention to yourselves." Harry's voice sounded from above her head.
She turned her head against Harry's chest to look at Draco. She could see out of the corner of her eyes that they had indeed grabbed the attention of the large crowd. "Draco-"
"We're done, Granger." His tone was ice cold and final.
She watched him walk away with a fresh batch of tears streaming down her face. How could they be done when they hadn't even really begun?
Author's Note: Weeeellllll let's just say this chapter went much differently than planned. It wasn't how I envisioned it in my head, but I like how it turned out. I hope you guys did too. If you didn't listen to the song listed in the beginning authors note for Hermione and Draco's dance please listen to it while reading that part! It doesn't have the same effect if you don't! Oh and please review! :)