New Year's Eve.
"Draco, sit down and stop the bloody pacing," Blaise said to his fidgety best friend as the pair waited for Hermione to arrive in Draco's room.
The trio had agreed to meet in Draco's room before heading downstairs to where the party was beginning to get into full swing. However, for some reason unknown to Blaise his best friend was a nervous wreck. Blaise was totally baffled by Draco's nerves as both Lucius and Narcissa seemed to like Hermione, so as far as he could see there was no problem.
"Why are you so nervous anyway?" Blaise questioned as Draco continued to pace the floor beside his bed.
"This is sort of our first date," Draco confessed.
"How can it be your first date?" Blaise frowned. "You've been together since the beginning of the school year."
"Yeah, but because we were initially keeping quiet about our relationship we haven't had a proper date," Draco explained. "We've snuck a few hours together in Hogsmeade and we've had a picnic outside in a secluded part of the grounds of Hogwarts, but the rest of the time we've spent in the Head Dorms."
"So you have had dates, just not dates when anyone has seen you together," Blaise corrected. "You're not worried about people seeing you with Hermione are you? Because Pansy and Daphne will be here tonight, and they don't know about your girlfriend."
"I'm not worried about people seeing us together," Draco reassured his friend. "I'm actually pleased that we've gone public and we don't have to worry about people seeing us together anymore. And because of how we spent the rest of the holidays, we don't even have to worry about someone spilling the beans to Hermione's friends when we go back to school."
"So, what's the problem then?" Blaise asked. "Why are you so nervous?"
"I just want Hermione to have a good time tonight," Draco said. "I don't want her to feel out of place or unwelcome in my world. I know this is very different from the life she normally leads, but this is my life and I want her to be a part of it."
"I want to be a part of it as well," Hermione's voice said from the doorway.
Draco whirled round to find Hermione standing in the doorway to his room. His girlfriend was wearing a figure hugging ice blue dress that had a tantalising split up the side and was low cut enough to give him a perfect view of her cleavage. Her brunette curls had been elegantly piled on top of her head, with just a few loose tendrils framing her face. She was also wearing the necklace and earring set he'd bought her for Christmas.
"Wow, you look amazing," Draco finally managed when he was able to find his voice.
"Thank you," Hermione smiled at her boyfriend. "You look really good yourself."
Draco was wearing the green shirt Hermione had bought him for Christmas with a pair of dark trousers. His hair was styled in its normal perfect way, with his blond strands expertly teased to give him a casual look.
"I think you look lovely, Hermione," Blaise said as he jumped off the bed. "And I was right, that dress is sexy."
"Thanks," Hermione chuckled at Blaise. "And you look pretty good, Blaise."
"Of course I do," Blaise replied with a smirk. "You have to look good if you want to have a gorgeous witch to kiss at midnight."
"Do you have anyone in particular in mind?" Hermione asked.
"Please do not say Mother," Draco muttered.
"Unfortunately, Narcissa isn't an option," Blaise replied regretfully. "I would definitely chance it if I thought I stood a chance, however your father never lets her out of his sights approaching midnight. I'll have to cruise the party and see who's around. I'm sure I'll find someone to kiss at midnight."
"I'm sure you will," Hermione said. She knew for a fact that a vast majority of the girls at Hogwarts would love to kiss Blaise, and probably at least half of them had already done so.
"Shall we go?" Draco asked.
Despite her growing nerves, Hermione nodded in agreement. Taking hold of Draco's hand, she let her boyfriend lead her from his bedroom towards the stairs. Blaise was with them until they reached the top of the stairs, but then he said his goodbyes and promising to catch up with them later he took off to join the party.
"Don't worry, I'll not leave your side," Draco promised, giving Hermione a quick kiss before they descended the stairs and made their way to the vast ballroom where the main body of the party was being held.
The ballroom was decorated like a stunning ice palace. The floors and walls all looked to be made from ice, but it was clearly elaborate glamour based magic. Icicles were hanging from the ceiling to complete the look and all the furniture looked to be carved from ice, which in most cases Hermione suspected was glass charmed to look more like ice. Against one wall stood a long table full of food and drink, which people could help themselves to. Soft music played throughout the room and there was ample space to dance. One of the ballroom doors that led to the garden was also standing open so people could pop outside for a bit of fresh air. Although of course there were charms in place to ensure the ballroom wasn't cold and Hermione was guessing there was similar charms on the garden so people didn't freeze if they ventured outdoors.
"Wow, this is amazing," Hermione said as she gazed about the room in awe. "Your mother certainly knows how to throw a party."
"Yes, she does," Draco agreed. "Do you want a drink or something first?"
"I think the first thing we need to do is deal with Pansy," Hermione said, spotting the raven haired Slytherin heading their way.
Draco quietly groaned at the thought of having to deal with Pansy so early in the evening, but by the time his friend reached his side he was wearing a welcoming smile. On a whole he and Pansy got along pretty well, but a brief fling a couple of years ago had left Pansy with a bit of a crush on him and Draco wasn't sure how she would react to discovering he was dating Hermione.
"Draco," Pansy cried, throwing her arms around her friend and giving him a hug. "We were so worried about you when you weren't on the train. How did you cope up at Hogwarts?"
"We managed," Draco answered as he expertly removed himself from Pansy's grip.
"It must have been awful stuck with three Gryffindors," Pansy said, grimacing at the thought of spending time with the Gryffindors her friends had been stuck with.
Draco frowned at Pansy's words and snuck a glance at Hermione, who just looked amused. It sounded as though Pansy hadn't noticed Hermione standing beside them, but Draco was confused as to how she could have missed his girlfriend.
"Pansy, you do realise we're not alone, don't you?" Draco asked tentatively.
"Of course I do," Pansy tutted at Draco before she turned to Hermione. "Sorry, I should have introduced myself before now, but I was just dying to catch up with Draco. I'm Pansy Parkinson, one of Draco's best friends."
While Draco was totally baffled by the situation, Hermione was silently laughing to herself. She knew she looked different in the gorgeous dress Narcissa had loaned her, not to mention the wonderful job Draco's mother had done on her hair and make-up, but she still didn't think she was completely unrecognisable.
"Hello Pansy," Hermione smiled at the other witch. "I'm Draco's girlfriend, Hermione Granger."
"Granger?" Pansy's eyes nearly popped out of her head when Hermione introduced herself. "Holy crap, it is you."
"Yes, it is," Hermione replied, unsure if Pansy was going to cause trouble.
Draco was also unsure if his friend was going to cause trouble, and instinctively he tightened his hold on Hermione's hand.
"How long have you two been together?" Pansy asked, her eyes flicking between the couple and their joined hands.
"Since the beginning of the school year," Draco answered. "We wanted to be sure we were serious before we told anyone."
"So you're serious," Pansy whispered quietly as she visibly struggled to keep her composure.
"We are," Draco confirmed. "I'm sorry Pansy, but you know I never felt that way about you."
"I know. I've always known." Pansy smiled regretfully at her friend. "I'm just happy to be your friend. And as your friend, I'm pleased you're happy. And I'm sorry I didn't recognise you," She added, turning to Hermione and giving her a sheepish smile. "Now I know, it's very obvious who you are, but I didn't expect to see you here."
"It's okay," Hermione told the other witch. "I'm sure I'm the last person you expected to see with Draco."
"You are," Pansy admitted. "But now you're with Draco, I just want you to know that'll you not have any trouble from me. Unless of course you hurt my friend, and in that case we'll be having words."
"I have no intention of hurting Draco," Hermione reassured Pansy. It was the second time that day someone had warned her not to hurt Draco, and she found herself pleased that her boyfriend had so many people around that loved him and wanted him to be happy.
"In that case, I'm sure we'll get along just fine," Pansy smiled, and Hermione could see she was genuine.
"Thanks Pans," Draco said, giving his friend a quick hug.
With the introductions and revelations out of the way, Pansy remained chatting with Draco and Hermione for quite a while as they filled her in on their holidays at Hogwarts. A few times Draco disappeared to go and mingle and greet the guests as a member of the family, but Hermione stayed with Pansy and was surprised to find the other girl seemed to bear her no ill will. It was very clear that Pansy did have romantic feelings for Draco, but Hermione was pleased she didn't let them affect the way she treated her. Pansy was nothing but polite the entire time they spoke and it didn't look as though she was going to be problematic once they returned to school.
After spending time with Pansy, Draco introduced Hermione to some family friends and distant family members. On their travels they briefly spoke to Theo and Blaise as well as Daphne Greengrass, who was surprised to see Hermione but was also perfectly nice and welcoming.
There were a couple of instances of people acting frostily towards Hermione when they discovered she was a muggleborn, but Draco always stuck up for her and whisked her away before any major insults came flying her way. Hermione was surprised to hear Lucius defending her presence at the party to an old friend of his who'd clearly been questioning why Draco was with a muggleborn. Hermione knew if she and Draco lasted and they continued their relationship the way they hoped to, that talk like what she'd heard would be common place. However, she knew that as long as she had Draco at her side and his family were behind them that they could face anything together, including the critics that thought they shouldn't be together.
By the time midnight was approaching the couple spotted Blaise getting friendly with a slightly older witch. Theo and Daphne seemed quite content together, while Pansy was being chatted up by a wizard from France who was a distant relative of Draco's. Hermione also noticed that Blaise was right about Lucius and from around eleven he hadn't let his wife out of his sight. With midnight fast approaching, Lucius had Narcissa wrapped firmly in his arms and the couple looked oblivious to everyone else around them.
Finding a peaceful spot beside the open door, Hermione and Draco counted down to the New Year together. As the clock struck midnight and the cheers rang around the room, the couple joined their lips together in a deep kiss.
"Happy New Year, Hermione," Draco smiled, slightly pulling back from his girlfriend.
"Happy New Year, Draco," Hermione returned with a bright smile.
As the celebrations continued in the ballroom the couple shared one more kiss before they slipped outside for a bit of fresh air. They were both hoping that now everyone knew about them that the year ahead would run smoothly, and they would still be together the following New Year and celebrating together once again. Although luckily for them, any celebrations wouldn't be following a few weeks trapped at Hogwarts.
The End.
A/N – Thanks to everyone for their reviews/faves/follows. I appreciate every one of them and I want to thank everyone who has supported me with my writing.
I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I'll be back in January with more stories, but for this year I'm finished.