Chapter 14: The Winter Ball
Hermione checked her appearance in the bathroom mirror one last time before entering the common room. It was the night of the Yule Ball and she was to meet with Ron, Harry, and Ginny at seven o'clock in the Great Hall. First, Draco needed to see her before he went down alone.
"Finally you're ready." He said when he heard the door start to creak open.
"I'm a girl, what do you expect?" Hermione laughed and stepped out of her dormitory.
"Bloody hell!" Draco exclaimed, his eyes almost popping out of his head admiring the way she looked in her nicely fitting black halter-top dress. "I didn't know you could get any more beautiful!"
Hermione blushed while Draco planted a kiss on her cheek. She felt bad for having to leave him by himself that night while she would be having a good time with her friends.
"If Weas— err… If Ron tries to make a move on you, is it all right if I kill him?" He asked, taking a long look at Hermione.
"Ron knows that I'm in a relationship with you. He won't do anything, I promise." Hermione grabbed her handbag off of a desk.
"Good. You can leave first and I'll go when I feel like it. Have fun and I'll see you later." Draco kissed her once more before sending his girlfriend to find her friends.
Hermione immediately spotted Ron's flaming red hair within the Great Hall. He was sitting alone, watching Harry and Ginny dance to one of the Weird Sisters' newest songs. He turned around with a jump as Hermione tapped his shoulder.
Ron's mouth opened and it seemed as if he had lost all memory of the English language.
"Ron. Ron! Snap out of it!" Harry exclaimed, pulling Ginny off the dance floor.
"What my idiot brother wants to say is that you look great Hermione!" Ginny said, hitting Ron lightly on the head.
Hermione moved her attention away from Ron and to her other friends. "Same to you Gin!" She replied, noticing how good the redhead looked in her light blue dress.
"Do you want to dance?" Ron asked nervously, standing up to take Hermione's hand.
"I'd love to."
The pair stepped on to the dance floor while Harry and Ginny ordered their food. Hermione watched as Draco came down the marble staircase and sat alone at an empty table in the corner of the Great Hall. The music started to slow after several songs and Ron made the suggestion to join Ginny and Harry for dinner. He had probably sensed that Hermione would feel uncomfortable dancing close with one of her good friends as her boyfriend watched closely from the sidelines.
"So, what do you two recommend for us to eat?" Hermione asked Ginny and Harry while opening the menu. It must have had over 50 different meals from several cultures.
"I think it all sounds good." Ron laughed with a starved look on his face.
"Pig…" Ginny scowled and pointed out the appetizing dishes to Hermione.
When the couple finally decided what to eat, they spoke their requests into their table settings and the meals were sent up from the kitchens several seconds later.
"Given up on that whole 'spew' thing then?" Ron asked, already piling food onto his fork.
"It's S.P.E.W. for the last time, and yes, I've stopped with it. I realized that everyone was right and the majority of house-elves enjoy their jobs." Hermione smiled while placing her napkin on her lap.
Light conversation was held between the four friends until another slow song came on and Harry asked Ginny to dance with him. By the time Ron and Hermione finished their delicious dinners, Draco was looking extremely bored in the corner of the room. Hermione had seen a group of fifth year Ravenclaw girls approach him, giggling to themselves. One of the girls asked Draco something causing him to raise his eyebrow questionably and then shake his head. The girls left with disappointed looks on their faces while Draco went back to being uninterested in the dance.
"Hermione," Ron began, getting Hermione's attention back, "I know I made a big deal about you going out with Malfoy, but you should be here with him tonight and not me."
"What?" Hermione asked, realizing Ron had probably seen her glance back at Draco.
"You two shouldn't care what other's think. If you have feelings for each other, nothing should keep you from showing them. I think you and him should be together tonight." Ron concluded, playing nervously with his fork.
"I can't, I'd feel terrible about leaving you by yourself." Hermione sighed.
"I'll find something to do, don't worry. Besides, I've already had a great time so far with you!" Ron smiled, receiving a friendly hug from Hermione.
"I'll talk to Draco about it and if he says no then I'll hang out with you some more. Thanks so much Ron!" She exclaimed, jumping up from her chair.
"It's no big deal. I'm happy if you're happy. See you later!" Ron replied as Hermione walked toward Draco.
Without making eye contact or even looking at her boyfriend, Hermione slowly walked past Draco. "Meet me in the empty classroom around the corner." She said quietly, as if talking to herself.
Draco head turned as he realized what Hermione had just told him to do. He watched her leave the Great Hall and making sure no one was paying attention, he slipped out behind her.
"I can't take it anymore Hermione! I need to be with you tonight and I don't care what people say!" Draco said, wrapping his arms around her body, their lips only inches apart.
"That's what I wanted to tell you too. Ron wanted me to be happy with you and didn't mind us together." Hermione explained as Draco hastily kissed her.
"How are we going to do this?" Hermione asked, breaking the romantic kiss.
"Err… You go back in and sit with Ron." Draco began his plan. "Then I'll walk over and ask if I can dance with you. It's the day before break so either they find out tonight that we've been dating or make it look like we started dating over break."
"Let's go with the second choice. We just have to keep ourselves from kissing each other until the ball is over." Hermione reminded Draco and he frowned slightly.
"If you insist…" He said, kissing her quickly before they left the room.
"So what did those Ravenclaw girls want before?" Hermione laughed, unlocking the classroom door with her wand.
"One of them asked me if I would dance with them. I told her that I was too old for her and she got frustrated and left with her little friends to find another guy." Draco smirked and let Hermione enter the Great Hall alone. He did the same several minutes later and without hesitation, found his way to where she was patiently sitting with Ron.
"May I have this dance?" Draco asked, wondering if students were already watching them. He glanced at Ron who didn't look too disgusted yet.
"Do you mind Ron?" Hermione questioned politely, trying to make the scene as convincing as possible.
"It's fine with me. Go have fun!" He exclaimed and Hermione smiled brightly. Draco took her hand and led her to the floor like any gentleman would.
It was a slow song so Draco kept hold of her hand while placing his other hand on her waist. As Hermione stared deeply into her boyfriend's eyes, their surroundings melted away and they were the only ones dancing. She gently rested her head on Draco shoulder and both of them smiled, happy to be together at the dance with their secret finally free.
"Draco, what the hell are you doing?!" An angry voice called from nearby, bringing the couple back down to earth. Hermione picked her head up and her and Draco looked to where the voice was coming from. It was his fellow Slytherin, Theodore Nott, who was with a blonde Ravenclaw student.
"I'm dancing." Draco stated simply, pulling Hermione closer.
"Yeah, with a mudblood." Nott said, glancing at Hermione. Draco immediately pulled out his wand, letting go of his dance partner.
"Never call her a mudblood in front of me again!" He exclaimed, threatening Nott with his wand. "If you have a problem, you can tell my fist." Draco rolled up his sleeves, ready to punch the Slytherin in the face if he said anything else.
The students that had been curiously watching returned to dancing and stopped glaring disapprovingly at Hermione being with Draco.
"Just ignore them." Draco whispered as his arms went around Hermione's waist and her arms around his neck.
"Thanks for sticking up for me." She smiled as the song changed.
"That's what you're supposed to do for people you care for, right?" Draco replied, softly kissing Hermione's cheek. She nodded, staring deeply into is gray eyes. "I love you Hermione." He added, nervously waiting for her response.
"I love you too."