DISCLAIMER: You guys should already know I don't own Harry Potter... :(

A/N: I know I was supposed to get this up yesterday, but I was really busy, okay? Sorry! But Look how long it is! I dont normally write more than 1,000 ish words (and that's rare) so seeing as this chapter is 2,444 (not including ANs and Disclaimers) I think it's a good achievement.

I won't waste any more of your time...

4:18pm, Saturday 15th January 2011, Day of the Masquerade Ball.

Excitement was buzzing throughout the whole of Hogwarts.

The Day of the masquerade Ball had finally arrived. The girls were already getting themselves ready since four in te afternoon whilst the boys were either relaxing for the remainder of the day or hastily trying to find last minute dates; the masquerade itself did not start until about 8:30 and ended at around one in the morning.

Having previously shoved Draco to the Slytherin Common Room earlier on, (and ordering him to stay there until the ball), Hermione was with Ginny and Luna eating a few sandwiches which Dobby and his friends had brought up. They did not feel like going down to the Great Hall for dinner.

"So, make-up - check, dresses - check, masks - check, boys - check!" Ginny grinned as she ticked off each item on her fingers.

Hermione smiled and was getting more and more curious as time passed to who her date was. She would finally be able to thank him for the gifts. She looked down at her crimson venetian styled mask and wondered if her date would recognize her beneath. She hadn't said anything about what she was going to wear to anybody except for Ginny and Luna.

"Fantasizing about you Secret Admirer again?" Ginny teased as she caught Hermione staring at her mask. She blushed and turned her head down a little in hopes that Ginny didn't see.

"Did you ever consider who your admirer was, Hermione?" Luna suddenly spoke up. Beforehand, she had been quietly eating the food that lay in front of them and spacing out like always. Hermione didn't respond as she hadn't heard, but Ginny had.

"Yeah! We think it's Damon, you know that really HOT transfer student? He's in Slytherin and his name begins with D! We only picked up those two clues but we're pretty sure he's rich. But then again, most Slytherin's are rich..." Ginny was about to finish the sentence with 'snobs' but thought better of it as it might've offended both her friends.

Luna picked up a cucumber sandwich and looked deep in thought again.

"Is he the only one that you think it might be?"

"Who else?" Ginny asked, curiously.

Hermione was brought back to reality when she heard their conversation. True, she had never considered anyone else who could have been the Mystery man once they decided it was Damon, but it could have been someone else. Possibly...Hermione's eyes widened as realization hit her like lightening. No, it couldn't have been. Could it really have been...

"Draco Malfoy?" Luna suggested whilst twirling a lock of blond hair around her finger, unknowingly completing Hermione's thoughts.

Ginny knew that Luna was smart too, so she could have been right. Perhaps it was. He, too, was in Slytherin and his name began with D. Perhaps it was.

"No. It can't be...b-because he told me he's already had a date." Hermione blushed even more at the thought of having someone as sexy as Draco. And she did not just call Draco sexy!

Luna shrugged.

"Whatever you want to think Hermione. Close-minded as always."

5:49pm

Instead of staying in the Slytherin Common Room, Draco had just gone there to pick up his clothes and Blaise. Together, they had headed off towards to the Room of Requirement, which now had a closet full of suits and shoes, a full length mirrors and a couple of sofas. At the moment, the best friends were talking casually on one of the sofas, discussing the ball night.

"You never did tell me who you were taking to the Masquerade tonight, Blaise."

mio

"You never did either." Blaise stated to his friend, trying to avoid the hidden question. Draco merely shrugged and pushed on.

"You'll see at the Ball. I hope she'll come because I never told her who I was."

"...You asked Granger indirectly, didn't you?" It was a rhetorical question and Draco was surprised at how quickly his friend had found out. Was his inflatuation that obvious? He decided to change the subject.

"So what mask did you pick?"

Blaise grinned as he reached into a bag on his left. He pulled out a simple black mask that only covered the top half of his face (eyes and nose). He never did like anything too fancy, but more simple yet dashing.

Draco took out his own mask which was also covered the top half. It was mostly green, fading to a lighter shade towards the centre, near the nose. The edges were embroided with a swirly silver pattern whilst there were black and silver swirls around the eye area.

They nodded in approvement of the other's mask. Blaise then got up and announced he was going to go get some dinner before the ball.

"You can stay here if you want. I'll bring you something." He told Draco as he walked towards the door. "Oh, and by the way, I asked Luna Lovegood." Blaise smirked before closing the door behind him, not giving Draco the chance to respond.

7:55pm

Hermione stared at herself in the mirror.

Truthfully, she didn't recognize herself. The person in the mirror was not her at all.

It was a full grown woman.

Beautiful, stunning, sexy.

The dress she was wearing was a deep red, not puffy like most dresses, but flared out from the hip downwards, flowing all the way down to her feet. The top half clung comfortably to her slim figure and was decorated with white beads. It was strapless with a heart neckline, giving her a mature look. She had let her hair down, curling it slightly and clipped her front bangs back. Ginny had made Hermione put on at least a little bit of brown eyeliner to accent her eyes, (as that would be one of the features that the mask would show) and Luna leant Hermione some gold strappy heels that she thought would look nice. For once, Hermione agreed with her. To finish off the look, she wore the Bracelet that she had received on the first day and also a heart-shaped necklace.

She walked down from her room to the Head's Common Room to where Luna and Ginny were standing there, already dressed and ready.

Luna had opted to go for a light blue/aquamarine simple cocktail dress with a black bow which was wrapped around her slender waist. Hermione and Ginny had both convinced her not to wear something to striking and helped her pick out the dress. She also wore black strappy heels which had a rose around the toe area. She did not have much make up, only a little mascara and icy blue eyeshadow. Luna had decided to tie her hair back, but leaving a few curled bangs to fall forward

Ginny was also wearing a full length silk dress. However, Ginny was going for a more sexy look. It was strapless but was also low cut and revealed a fair amount of cleavage. At the waist, the dress clung more tightly to show off her small waist. The straps went behind her neck and crossed halfway behind her back back. She was more bold when it came to make up, applying a bit of blusher, brown eyeliner and golden eyeliner. She also wore a little bit of Vaseline (1) and left her hair straight down.

Hermione checked the clock and realised it was already eight. She picked up her gold and red venetian styled mask from the table and put it on, tying the ribbon into a secure know behind her head. It had red feathers emerging from the ruby red jewel in the centre of the mask. Luna picked up her icy blue and gold mask, also venetian styled. It also had feathers and golden glittery swirls and a navy gem above the right eye hole. Lastly, Ginny took her own which was gold, with a pattern around the sides and glittery swirls. On the left of the mask, there was a big flower which was split into three colours: red, yellow, indigo. Like the other two, it was also Venetian.

"Shall we go then?" Luna suggested to the other two. "You two look beautiful, by the way."

"Thank you, you too, Luna!" Ginny replied enthuesiastically.

Hermione blushed and gave a quiet thank you.

"Now let's go knock them dead!" Ginny announced as she marched out the door, almost tripping as she did.

8:20pm

Blaise put his mask on and helped Draco tie his one on, since he was so hopeless at it. He was wearing a completely black suit and a white shirt. Accompining them, he wore a plain silver tie. It wasn't too much, but, even he had to admit it, he looked damn sexy. Really, who could resist a man in a tux?

Draco had, for once, decided to slick his hair back. He was also wearing a black tuxedo, and a white shirt. The only difference between the two of them was that Draco had wanted to wear the black tie.

They stood in front of one of the full-length mirrors in the Room of Requirements, with their masks on, checking for any imperfections.

"We look damn sexy." Draco smirked. He had to agree with his best friend. He did look very good indeed. Secretly, he was worrying about what his date would think. What would she do once she met him? Would she laugh? Scream? Reject him? He had never been rejected by any girl before.

Then again, Hermione was no ordinary girl.

"Stop worrying, we're going to be late." Blaise called from the door. Draco had not even realised that his best friend had left his side. He hurried over and took a deep breath.

"Yeah. You're right, let's go."

11:45 pm

The Masquerade had been an amazing success!

Everyone who attended had been very happy with the decorations, food and music. Hermione had to say that she and Draco had indeed done a good job. Speaking of Draco, she had not seen him (or recognized) throughout the whole time she had been at the ball. She was sure that he had come because he said he was going to meet his date there. She had danced with quite a few people because when Luna, Ginny and Hermione had entered, many heads had turned. When Ginny and Luna had been claimed by their respective boyfriends, lots of people seemed to be dissapointed. However, when everyone expected some amazing Prince Charming to take Hermione too, they were shocked when Hermione walked off to the snack table by herself to talk to Harry and Ginny.

She had been instantly bombarded with offers to dance.

Damon had also danced with Hermione, but he told her that he had come with Astoria Greengrass. With each passing minute, Hermione suspected the mystery man to be Draco. This made her both excited and nervous.

Hermione had begun to have some feelings towards Draco. He made her laugh and smile if she ever had a fight with one of her friends, made her feel safe if she had any worries and sometimes, he comforted her if she had the rare nightmare and woke up crying. He was truly a great man.

Currently, Hermione was taking a rest whilst watching her friends on the dance floor. Admittedly, she was quite tired as she had been here in the morning with Draco decorating the place. They had gotten The Weird Sisters to play at the ball and there was a giant disco ball in the centre of the Hall. They decided it would have been nice to enchant the ceiling so that it would look like the night sky, filled with stars.

Suddenly, someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned round to face someone in a green mask. It was too dark to make out his hair colour, let alone his face.

"May I have a dance?"

That voice. She recognized it from somewhere; where, she couldn't remember.

"Of course." Hermione stood up and took the pale hand which was outstretched to her. He led her to the dance floor where they began to dance to a mid-tempo song. He spun her round and pulled her close. Hermione blushed at the sudden closeness. The song reached a high point as he lifted her up into the air and back down again. She had to admit, this guy knew how to dance!

The band began to play a slower tempo song. The mystery man pulled her closer as they swayed on the spot for a while.

"Who are you?" Hermione asked him.

"I see you're wearing my bracelet. And I'm slightly offended by that question."

Hermione's eyes widened. She looked up to try get a better idea of who she was dancing with. He was slightly taller than her, perhaps two inches; he had platinum blonde hair which was slicked back neatly giving him a mature yet sexy look. Her eyes connected with his grey ones when realization struck.

"Draco?"

"My, my Granger, that took a while. Your standards are slipping. Besides, I'm surprised you didn't know it was me from the beginning. You even thought it was that idiot Damon! I mean, he's not even half as handsome as me!" Hermione saw that he fake pouted slightly in the dark. She smiled.

"Thank you." She whispered. He looked down to her and gave her a confused look.

"For what?"

"The gifts. For caring, for being there as a friend."

To Draco, those words did sting a little bit. Hermione had just called him a friend. It was great that she considered him to be a friend now, but he wanted it to be more than that. He pulled her close once more and leant close to her ear as the band started to play yet another slow song.

"I want it to be more." He whispered before capturing her lips in his own.

It was amazing, a perfect fit. They both melted into the kiss, completely oblivious to the looks that people sent their way; some in amazement and others in jealousy. Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer and deeper into the kiss when she suddenly felt something wet touch her lips. Realizing it was Draco's tongue, she let him through.

The clock struck twelve.

They pulled away from each other a couple of seconds later, smiling contently. She leant into him as they swayed to a softer song that the band was playing.

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Yes."

This was definately going to be a good year.

~X~X~X~X~X~WARNING~X~X~X~X~X~
Super long A/N coming up!

A/N: The ending sucked...didn't it? :/ Sorry about that! Oh, well!

Well, yes this fanfic is now COMPLETED! I enjoyed writing it very much because this is the first chapter fic that I have finished. Oh, and the poll that you guys took. Most people want Blaise to be paired up with Luna on my future fic. I did that here, and I'm probably going to do that as well.

Thank you to SophieeD (who left an anonymous review) for your suggestion to Hermiones Dress. And also to xodreamerskyes for her suggestions too! I used the first dress for Ginny instead because I thought it would suit her. Believe me, I had the HARDEST time trying to decide everyone's looks. I realized that I had forgotten to ask about masks and outfits Ginny/Luna/Blaise/Draco would be wearing!

Thank you to:

Lianavach - for the review and fave story! Thank you! :)

Padame Amidala - Faving, reviewing and sending me a really nice PM! Thank you! I'll go reply to it now

xodreamerskyes - Fave, alert, review, suggestion! *faints from amazement!* Thank you! :) That's nice of you. And the answer to your question about the bracelet, yes, I made it emeralds on purpose for Slytherin ;)

Anonymous - for a review! :)

SophieeD (anonymous review) - for a suggestion and a review!

danmacseki - For a review

A (anonymous) -Review! :)

Little Miss English Nerd - For a nice review!

Tigdream - My first reviewer on this story! :)

That's all the reviews done!

Thank you guys for favouriting:

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And thank you also to any of you who put me onto your favourite authors/ author alerts.

Just a little something about me, for the ones on author alert. I write X-Men: Evolution, Naruto, Harry Potter and am planning on some Death Note. Possibly Twilight. Just wanted to let you know what you might expect from me!

On a last note, I just want to thank my beta FallenForTheDraco for helping me out. Without her, this fic would not have been as good as it has been.

Thank you once again!

~ML

P.S No, there won't be an epilogue. Sorry!