Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot!!
Hey there!!! Sorry for not updating for a while but I got super busy!! So, this chapter is a good one: the ball. I'm going to stay mostly in Hermione and Malfoy's point of views. Also Ron, the rest of the Weaslys, and Luna Lovegood will be making an appearance at the ball due to the fact they're wizards and witches and can attend. Also, I love both Ginny and Luna. They are awesome!! Hope you like it!!
XOXOXO
~Dramionescute
Chapter 11: The Christmas Ball
HR POV*
I was extremely paranoid today. I sent three guards, disguised as muggles, to keep a close eye on my father and report anything suspicious. Vera flounved in.
"You ready?" She chirped happily.
"As I'll ever be, fashion monster." I said, a ball of nerves tightening in my stomach.
"Can I please take off these glamours?!? They annoy the heck out of me!!" She growled. I took a deep breath.
"I will warn you, most find my true appearance...unsettling to look at." I said, shifting uncomfortably.
"Oh, tosh! That was probably just your evil psychopath of a father." She waved a hand.
"Okay. If you think so." I said quietly. She waved her wand and a different girl was staring back at me from the mirror. She had black hair naturally streaked with blood red, a perfect heart-shaped face, soft ruby-red lips, and tanned skin. Though, tje most unique part of her were her eyes. They were silver, sort of like half-molten and half-solidified moonlight. I heard Vera gasp softly from behind me.
"Wow. Just wow. You are absolutely gorgeous!! That dress will look even better now!!! Oh, if I looked like you...Well, let's just say, I wouldn't hide myself. You know what? I'm actually going to go against your wishes this time. I'm going to do what I think will look best. You have no say in this because, I'm sorry to say this, you have absolutely no fashion sense." Vera looked at me in the mirror apologetically. I shrugged and she got to work.
An hour and a half later, Vera finally stopped.
"Done!! Take a look." She spun me toward the mirror. I sucked in a breath. The girl in the mirror was stunning. The green ball gown suited her developing form nicely, her hair cascaded down her shoulders in soft rivulets with faint sparkles in it, her make up wasn't overly grand but it brought out the natural beauty in the structire and tones of her face. Her eyes, which were pretty, were framed and beautiful by the light appliaction of the eyeshadow, eyeliner, and the wings coming off of them.
"Wow." I breathed. Vera nodded in approval.
"Indeed. Now, get your shoes on and we can bring you there." She clapped her hands in excitememt. I did as I was told and we were off.
I knew I was a few minutes late as I came into the enterance hall. A starry-eyed house elf named Tipsy led me to the doors of the ballroom, which were closed so the house elves could have some fun announcing guests.
"And may I present Miss Hermione Regoff!!" I heard the elf inside the door squeak out. The doors opened wide and I went through. Everyone stopped and looked at me. I saw a few jaws drop and more people just stared. I kept my head held high and put to some use my father's old lessons.
DM POV*
My jaw dropped. The goddess gliding down the stairs with a grace unparalleled by even the adult females of the room could not be Regoff. She was absolute perfection in her ability to keep calm and composed under so many open stares. She glode over to my mother and I heard her speak.
"Good evening, Mrs. Malfoy. I am terribly sorry for my tardiness; Vera could not decide how to do my hair the best." She apologized with the upmost primness. My mother jerked out of her stupor.
"That's perfectly fine dear!! We are so glad you could join us!! And please call me Narcissa, darling. I must say, that dress fits even better with your true appearance!! You wear our house colors well." My mother complimented. I could not see Regoff's facial features from this angle, but I knew she must look different.
"Why, thank you, Narcissa. I do believe that taking the risk to take my glamours off was a good choice." She demurred. Her voice was as smooth and beautiful as silk, especially with a faint Italian accent.
"Mia!!" Pansy went over to her. She let out a soft gasp as Regoff turned to face her.
"Pansy, wonderful to see you!" Regoff said.
"Wow!! I love your eyes!! They're beautiful!!" Pansy exclaimed. Regoff's head tilted downward slightly.
"Thank you." She said softly. The others went over next.
"Where's Dray?" Asked Theo, looking around for me. I watched as Regoff began to turn. I started stalking forward like I had been taking my sweet time to get over there. Her eyes made my breath catch. They were half-molten and half-solid moonlight centered right on me.
"Foind him." Regoff said, a slight resentment in her tone.
HR POV*
I watched as Malfoy, although barely visibly, sucked in a breath as I turned to look at him striding languidly toward us. I felt a miniscule bubble of truimph inside my chest at the reaction I provoked from the boy that seems to hate me.
"I'm right here everyone, no nees to worry." Malfoy stated as he joined us.
"No one did." I said cooly.
"Okay, you know what... It's christmas for Merlin's sake!!! Try to get along at least for the next two days and new year's eve!! That's all we're asking!!" Millie groaned softly. I looked at her.
"Well, I guess it is a holiday. I think that's mostly possible on ny end. You jist have to get him to agree." I said with a gesture at Malfoy.
"Fine." He shrugged half-heartedly. Everyone let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank whatever deities exist!!" Neville exclaimed. I rolled my eyes. Theo yhen turned to me.
"Might I have a dance, Miss Regoff?" He asked formally with a bow and an outstretched hand. I curtseyed.
"It would be a pleasure, Mr. Nott." I said, taking his offered hand. He led me to the dance floor and we waltzed.
"A gracious thing of you to accept the request of another." He said quietly to me.
"It was a simple enough request and a holiday, so I saw it fit to grant it." I said softly as he twirled me.
"You are a marvelous dancer." He complimented.
"A marvelous dancer needs a marvelous lead." I said quietly. He smiled softly.
"Thank you. I don't usually get a compliment for leading a dance." He said as we finished. He bowed and I curtseyed once more.
"My turn!!" Laughed Harry as he swept me around the dance floor.
"Alright. I haven't danced in years. This is actually enjoyable." I said, tilting my head a bit. Harry laughed again.
"Well that's good." He said.
"Especially for my first christmas with other people who are not out to kill me." I said sheepishly. Harry chuckled.
"Must make a big difference." He joked. I nodded.
"Indeed." I said. The dance finished and Neville approached me.
"I'm not the best dancer, but I would enjoy a dance." He said bashfully.
"Well, so would I. Neither skill nor talent matter. So long as both people enjoy it, it is a good dance." I said softly. He smiled and we danced. It was simplistic compared to the others so far, but it was sweet. Neville looked as though he really enjoyed it. Afterwards, Blaise came to me.
"Good evening, fair lady. May I have the pleasure of thine hand in a dance?" He kissed my hand and bowed. I curtseyed.
"Why, the pleasure would be all mine, good sir. I shalt join the for a dance." I said. He swept me to the dance floor and we proceeded in a littlr more of an elaborate version of the waltz than any of the others I had thus far danced.
"Show off." I teased Blaise. He grinned.
"Absolutely, fair lady. However, one cannot show off unless with someone who can match them in showmanship. Thy are an excellent dancer." He complimented. I rolled my eyes as he spun me with a bit of a flair.
"Thank you. You are a good dancer, too." I said softly. He laughed.
"Why thank you, fair lady." He said with a bow as another dance finished. I felt a tap on my shoulder as I got off the dance floor.
"Miss Regoff. I am Kingsley Shacklebolt, a distant relative of yours. I wanted to give you something I believe belongs to you." A deep voice sounded from behind me. I turned to see a man, dressed smartly in a well-fitting tuxedo. He held out a box that had a slight glow and I immediately recognized it.
"Where did you get this?" I asked, my eyes wide. I took the box gently. He laughed, a sound like distant thunder.
"It was in the 'suspected dark artifacts' office. I only just got it out yesterday." He said softly, his voice smooth.
"It is a dark artifact. Something that takes the happy emotions from a two-year old child? If that isn't dark, I don't know what is." I said, glaring at the box.
"Indeed. Well, I hope you enjoy having it back." He winoed and walked off. I went back to my friends.
"What's that?" Asked Daph.
"It's the box." I said quietly. Her eyes widened.
"Open it!!" She exclaimed. I nodded and opened the beautifully carved lid. A brightly colored ball flew right into my chest abd I felt it converge with eveything that I could already feel. My vision went fuzzy for a few minutes and I doubled over with the jarring impact the sphere had. It was over soon and I straightened out.
"Did it work?" Pans asked cautiously.
"Don't know. How about we find out?" Harry shrugged.
"Are we sure that's a good idea?" Theo asked warily, glancing at me.
"I don't bite, Theo." I drawled.
"We don't know that yet!!" Theo said shrilly. I grinned.
"True. I guess you'd better hope you never have to find out." I said. He looked officially freaked out.
"The grin scares me more." He said.
"Theo, from the look on your face, you may want to go check yourself. It looks like a code brown face." Neville saix. I laughed, a light happy sound that even suprised me.
"Wow!! I love your laugh too!" Pans said. I smiled.
"Thank you, Pans." I said, genuinely happy.
"And you have dimples too!!" Daph squealed softly. I chuckled.
"I wouldn't know that yet, Daph." I said. She giggled and I excused myself to go get a drink. Over at the table, I saw a fimiliar head of bright red hair.
"Ronald Weasley?" I asked. The boy in question turned around.
"Regoff? Nice to see you!! Oh, my mum would like to meet you!! She heard about how you helped me with the levitation spell." He said, leasing me to a rotund woman with the same red hair as her son. A bunch of them were around her. There was one blonde head in their midst, though.
"Mum, this is Hermione Regoff." Ronald said. His mum looked at me and smiled.
"Ah, yes. Thank you for helping my son. It was so very kind of you." She said kindly, giving me a warm hug. A girl red head and the blonde I saw earlier came over to me.
"Hi. I'm Ginny Weasley." Said the red head.
"I'm Luna Lovegood." Said the blonde.
"Lovely to meet you, girls. You look a little sad." I said softly. They blushed.
"Nobody has asked either of us to dance yet." Ginny said sadly.
"Oh. Now, we can't have that, can we? Hmmm...Ah! Blaise! Theo!" I called the two boys over. They came.
"Yes, Mia?" Blaise asked.
"See these two lovely young ladies right here? This is Ginny Weasley and this is Luna Lovegood. Ginny, Luna, this is Blaise and this is Theo." I said, gesturing to the boys.
"Nice to meet you." The girls chorused.
"It's a pleasure to meet you both as well." Blaise said, bowing.
"I second that notion." Theo said, bowing as well.
"Well, we have a dilemma here. No one has asked either of them to dance yet and that just will not do. Do you two know any boys who could help fix this for us?" I asked.
"We'd be happy to help, if they wish it." Theo said. The giels smiled.
"We'd enjoy that." Luna said softly.
"Well, then, red, may I have this dance?" Blaise asked Ginny. She blushed and accepted. Theo asked Luna next and they were gone to the dance floor.
"That was a Slytherin move." One of the Weasley boys, who was seemingly a twin, said with a grin.
"I wasn't sorted there for nothing." I grinned at him and his twin cheekily. They laughed.
"Seems so. I'm Fred, by the way. This is George. We're twins if you couldn't guess." The slightly taller twin said as they each held out an opposite hand. I shook them both at the same time and chuckled a bit.
"Pleasure to meet you both. I'm sorry to intriduce myself and run, but if I din't get back to my friends soon, they'll worry and then murder me for it." I said. They chuckled.
"Yeah, you probably don't want to die yet." They said. I walked back over to my friends.Theo and Blaise were still dancing.
"Why did you help those girls?" Pans asked.
"Pansy, dahling, I am offended. You doubt the acts of the goodness of my heart?" I mocked offense. She rolled her eyes.
"'Goodness' of your heart my arse. What are you up to?" She accused.
"Nothing that concerns you... yet." I grinned. She was immediately wary.
"What do you mean by 'yet'?" She growled.
"Only that I may eventually require some help with my scheme. I am not a snake for nothing, don't forget that. I have something planned that if you refuse to help with, I'll make you part of." I said with a smirk.
"Oh, so you're blackmailing now?" She asked.
"I am not!! I am not mailing you anything. Plus, nothing about the scheme is meant to embarass anyone in any way. Actually, being part of it might be safer than helping with it." I said thoughtfully, tapping my chin lightly.
"I don't even want to know." Pans said, fright evident in her voice.
"Most likely not." I admitted with a grin. Malfoy looked at me strangely.
"You made Pansy, the nosy extroidinare, not want to know something. Where did you learn such sorcery?" He exclaimed dramatically. Pans scowled at him and he grinned at her. It was the first time that I, personally, had seen him...not grouchy would be the best way to put it. He then gave a slight scowl behind me and I turned to see Marcus standing there.
"Hey, Hermione. My parents want to meet the youngest reserve quittich player in centuries." He said, amusement clear in his voice.
"Sure, I guess." I shrugged. Marcus led me over to his parents.
"Mum, Dad, this is Hermione Regoff. She's the firstie that got on reserve." Marcus explained. His mum smiled kindly.
"Well, dear, I hope you can play this year. I'm sure we'd all like to see how well you play." She said warmly.
"The hardest part for me is trying to work with the team. I've been so independent for so long that I don't really play nice with others." I said sheepishly. Marcus snorted.
"You didn't play nice, that's for sure. After a bit of practice, you were fine." He said waving his hand dismissively. He then looked at me.
"How about a dance? Because if I don't ask now, it's never going to happen because you've got men practically panting as they're watching you. You're going to have sore feet after tonight." Marcus laughed.
"I highly doubt that, but I will dance with you." I said trying to hide a smile. Everything was going to plan.
"Great!" Marcus said, taking my hand and leading me to the floor. He was the biggest show off of the night. I laughed as he spun me around with so mich flair tgat my gown lifted off the floor a bit. It was fun.
DM POV*
I watched with a scowl as Regoff danced with the git we call our quittich captain. She laughed and a foreign feeling, like an enraged dragon, reared it's head to roar...and it did not feel good. This was going to be a long night. I grabbed a drink and swllowed it all in one big gulp to soothe my dry throat. I then priceeded to discreetly watch Regoff and Flint. Now that she could smile like that, my breath caught again. Who knew nerds could clean up so well?
So this was a kind of long chapter, but I wanted to get this specific scene in here. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did writing it!!! :D
