A/N: Okay, I think this is my longest chapter yet! I wanted to get this out before I went on holidays in a couple of days, and tomorrow's Christmas! so I didn't want to have to type up this story then. Consider it a Chrissie gift! A rather early one! I'm leaving in a couple of days for Queensland, and I won't be back until Jan the 4th or 5th, so I won't be able to get on the internet, only type stories when I have the time.
I hope you enjoy the chapter and hope I have little chrissie presents in the form of reviews for when I get back! Love you all!
Chapter Twenty Eight
The day of the dance came and Hermione was woken up way too early in the morning up a very hyper-active Ginny. Hermione groaned and turned over, covering her face.
'Ginny, go away.' She groaned. Ginny just squealed some more and kept jumping on her bed.
'Get up, Hermione! We have to start getting ready for the ball tonight! Come on, come on!' She yelled. Hermione groaned and turned back to face her.
'Shut up, you'll wake Parviti and Lavender.' Hermione whispered. Ginny scoffed.
'They've been up for at least the past hour and have been trying to wake you up because they needed to make some noise. Being quiet for your sake was killing them.' Ginny rolled her eyes. 'They called me in here to get you up and start getting you ready, though, I don't think they like you very much for the whole dress thing.' She whispered that last part conspiratorially with a slight giggle making it's way up her throat. Hermione sighed and rolled her own eyes.
'Fine, fine, I'm getting up. Get off my bed!' She said, marginally annoyed, but mostly amused. Ginny laughed and jumped off before throwing Hermione a towel and a pair of clothes and shoving her into the bathroom with a special type of potion that helped with frizzy and uncontrollable hair.
'What's this?' Hermione asked as Ginny pushed it into her hands.
'It'll help with your hair. Have a shower and hurry up. Call when you're out and dressed and I'll help you with your hair.' She answered, shutting the door tightly behind Hermione and locking it with her wand before turning around and sitting on her bed.
Hermione wasn't in the shower for too long, and she did use the stuff that Ginny gave her to use on her hair, and she did find it considerably easier to manage her hair after she came out and brushed it.
After getting dressed, she knocked on the door and yelled at Ginny to come in. Ginny unlocked the door and walked into the bathroom and instructed Hermione to sit in the seat in front of the mirror. She looked at Hermione's hair with a thoughtful expression; lips set to one side of her face.
They heard giggling outside the door and both the girls rolled their eyes. They knew who it was without even having to look.
'Lavender and Parviti.' Hermione muttered and Ginny nodded mutely. Leaving that topic of conversation alone, Ginny started picking at bits of Hermione's hair and twisting it different ways, all the while with that same thoughtful expression on her face.
'How do you want your hair?' Ginny eventually asked her. Hermione laughed and smiled.
'I thought that was why you were here?' The older girl asked her. Ginny shot her an annoyed look, but only succeeded in making Hermione laugh even more. The laughter brought the presence of Hermione's other dorm mates.
'So, she has actually awoken.' Lavender said, bitterness clear in her voice, so much so that Ginny had to turn her head to smother her giggles. Hermione rolled her eyes and faced the two nuisances she had for dorm mates.
'Yes, I am. I just had a late night last night and I was tired.' She explained. Which was true. Her and Draco had celebrated over the kicking of the baby inside her in the only way they knew how.
Lavender and Parviti both laughed.
'You were inside the dorm room before we were, so how did you have a late night?' Parviti asked. Hermione rolled her eyes and turned back to the mirror.
'I was out with friends last night, just so you know.' She answered them. She heard Ginny cough and was sure she heard the word 'friend' in there somewhere. Hermione inconspicuously kicked Ginny as hard as she could without the other two noticing. She saw Ginny cringe out the corner of her eye and turned to her.
'Are you alright Ginny? I saw you cringe.' She said fake innocence. Ginny scowled at her.
'I'm fine. I just remembered something.' She answered. Hermione smiled and turned back to the mirror.
'Now, if you two are done with your interrogation, I'd like to get back to getting ready for the ball tonight. I have a lot of people to impress that are coming.' She said. Hermione's mood had gone from happy and jovial to sour in seconds flat. Ginny rolled her eyes at the abrupt change in her mood and quietly cursed the other two girls to hell and back, because a sour Hermione was not what she needed when she couldn't get away from her.
They played with Hermione's hair some more as Hermione sat grouchily in the chair. She still hadn't gotten over that little talk with Lavender and Parviti and Ginny doubted she would until she saw Draco again.
Just then, one of the girls from Ginny's own dorm room came in and knocked on the door of the bathroom. She opened it to find Romilda Vane standing outside the door with a sour look on her face.
'Eat a lemon, Vane?' Ginny asked. She had never liked Romilda, especially when she went through the 'I-Love-Harry' stage and Romilda kept trying to get his attention away from her.
'Shut up, Weasley. There's a couple of Slytherins down at the portrait hole that want to see you and Granger.' She threw a look at Hermione and Hermione shot her one right back.
'I'll go get them.' Hermione said, getting out of her seat and running down stairs in the cotton shorts and tank top that Ginny had pulled out of her closet for her to get changed into after her shower.
She saw Sierra and Pansy waiting at the door awkwardly as the Gryffindors shot the awful and confused looks from inside the Common Room. When they saw Hermione they instantly brightened up though and hugged her tightly, pressing there hands to her stomach and laughing.
'Are you sure there isn't another one in there after your little get together with Draco last night?' Sierra whispered in her ear. Hermione laughed and pulled the girl in for another hug.
'No way. Come on, you can help Ginny try and do something with my hair. It really isn't cooperating very well.' She said. They nodded.
'Of course, but first, things first.' She said as she saw Harry come down the stairs. She ran to him and jumped into his arms. Harry was just a tad surprised, but soon swung her around and kissed her heartily. Ron came down shortly after Harry, and Pansy walked over to him, trying to have a bit more dignity than Sierra, and kissed him just as passionately. Hermione rolled her eyes and pulled the girls back by their collars.
'Come on you two. I need help and you're going to help me.' She said. The two girls said goodbye to their boyfriends and followed Hermione back up the stairs.
'You couldn't have let us stay with them any longer, could you?' Sierra asked as they walked back up the stairs.
'Nope, you need to help me, Ginny is starting to get really annoyed and I want this out of the way!' Hermione whined. The two girls laughed at her whining and as they walked into Hermione's dorm room they found a very red Ginny and an even sour looking Romilda Vane.
'What the hell happened?' Hermione asked her best friend. Ginny turned to her and instantly smiled when she saw Pansy and Sierra.
'Out Vane, now, before I have to Bat-Bogey Hex you.' Ginny said threateningly and held her wand out in front of her. The three older girls in the doorway just rolled their eyes and sighed.
'What happened, Gin?' Pansy asked.
'She started threatening me! Telling me shit like, "oh, your boyfriend doesn't love you and never will", "he'll be mine before you know it", stuff like that!' Ginny cried. Everyone could see the tears start to fill her eyes. Hermione nodded to Pansy and Sierra and then went over to comfort Ginny. Pansy and Sierra grabbed Romilda by the arms and dragged her outside before shutting and locking the door in her face. After completing that task and wiping their hands together, they came over to Ginny and put their arms around her too. Sierra and Hermione were on either side of her and Pansy was sitting in front, holding her hands.
'Don't worry about it, Ginny. Blaise loves you, everyone can see that. Don't let that little annoying brat say anything about it. Oh, and if you every catch them together, don't blame Blaise first, blame her, because I don't think Blaise even knows who she is. I just thought I'd add that on. He would never deliberately hurt you.' Hermione consoled.
'Exactly,' Pansy started, 'because he knows Ron would skin within an inch of his life, and prolong his pain for as long as possible.' Ginny and the other three laughed lightly at the thought and Ginny wiped her eyes on the back of her hand.
'Thanks guys, I know I'm just being stupid, but it hurt me to hear her say stuff like that. And yes, I will take your advice if I ever catch them together, Hermione. I won't jump into blaming Blaise. I know he would never hurt me like that. He loves me. I'm just being stupid. Let's just forget that ever happened and get started trying to make something of Hermione's hair!' Ginny sniffled, laughing. Pansy and Sierra joined in and Hermione stuck her tongue out at them.
They joined hands and walked into the bathroom together before making Hermione sit back down in the chair and standing behind her.
'So, what are we going to do with this. At least it's kind of manageable.' Sierra said with a look of acceptance. Hermione laughed.
'Thank the hair potion that Ginny gave me. If it wasn't for that, then my hair would still be a mess.' She said. They all laughed and Pansy gave Ginny a posture that symbolled her praising some higher deity. Hermione turned around and hit her. This only made them all laugh harder. Suddenly, Sierra moved in behind Hermione and picked up some of her hair.
'I have an idea.' She announced. She fiddled some more and brought bits back, put some up and curled some parts that were looking straight around her finger. In the end, Hermione's hair finally looked like something she could handle for the rest of the night.
Hermione gasped when she saw it.
'Sierra, it looks brilliant! Thank you so much!' Hermione gushed and threw her arms around the blonde, who laughed and hugged her back.
'That's quite alright Hermione, but now I think it's Ginny's turn. I'm sure we can think of something to do with her hair.' Sierra said. Hermione came up with the perfect idea.
'Does anyone have any clips, like the big ones that are meant to hold up heaps of your hair?' She asked. She saw Ginny bite her lip for a second in thought, then jumped out of the seat and ran out the door and down the stairs, into her dorm room.
When she came back, the other girls were looking at her strangely. Ginny just grinned and held up a big, light green hair clip that had little flower prints on it that would go perfectly with her dress.
'Ginny! It's perfect!' Hermione squealed and forced the girl into the chair. Ginny and the others laughed. They had never seen Hermione so girly in their life.
'So, what's gotten you into this girly, lets-play-dress-up mood, Hermione?' Pansy asked as her and Sierra watched Hermione work on Ginny.
'These stupid mood swings I think. One minute I'm up, the next I'm down, the next I'm hyper and the next I'm depressed and crying. I don't know how Draco takes it, honestly.' She laughed, still fiddling.
'Well, now we know your hyper, I wonder when the depressed and crying will come.' Sierra said. They laughed and Hermione answered them.
'Oh, that will come just before we leave to meet the boys and I start thinking that he won't like what I'm wearing and that he'll completely hate me and that I don't deserve him and then I'll just go completely off track to what the conversation was on in the first place.' They all stared at her incredulously.
'You've already got this all planned out, don't you?' Ginny asked. Hermione laughed.
'No, that's just what I know is going to happen. Trust me, it's happened before and it took Draco twenty minutes to calm me down enough to talk coherently, then another half an hour to get me into realising that I wasn't a huge mistake to him. He's nearly the only person that can actually do that without having to resort to hitting me really hard. Harry was the last one to do that and Draco nearly killed him when he learned that.' Hermione chuckled at the memory as the others just looked on with raised eyebrows, shaking their heads.
'You've got this whole pregnancy thing figured out, don't you?' Sierra asked with a smile. Hermione laughed again. She was doing a lot of that lately.
'Let's just say that the movies don't lie.' She answered. They looked at her in confusion and Hermione just rolled her eyes.
'Movies is a muggle thing where you watch people acting, which is sometimes really good, sometimes really bad, and sometimes really corny and horrible. The movies can be about anything, romance, adventure, comedy, horror, thriller all kinds of things. My favourite is romance though. It always makes me cry.' Hermione pretended to wipe away a stray tear and the others laughed and went, 'awww.'
For the next half an hour, they finished up on the hair and moved onto the make-up. Hermione and Sierra decided to go for a more natural look, while Pansy decided to go for a darker one and Ginny went for a light one. They all looked gorgeous when the finished, and then decided to put on their nail polish, which Hermione had brought from home. She had an instinct that they might be needing it, and she was right. They each matched the colour of their nail polish to their dress colour and laughed the entire time.
They only saw Parviti and Lavender once, and that was when they came in to get their dresses. They turned their noses up at the Slytherin girls and collected them quickly without saying and word and left. Sierra had snorted and Pansy was looking after them with a raised eyebrow.
'Aren't we supposed to be the snooty, up-themselves house? Holy Merlin, they should have been in Slytherin with that look on their faces.' Sierra said. Hermione and Ginny laughed and agreed with them completely.
Hermione was so happy. She didn't even think the pregnancy hormones could bring her down at the moment. Though, she was still hoping that they wouldn't.
It got to the moment when it was nearly time for the ball, which was at 5pm, so they could have dinner before the actual dancing was to begin.
They only had to put their dresses on and they were ready.
'We are so lucky we brought our dresses with us, I don't think we'd have time to go get them.' Sierra said, looking down at her watch. Pansy nodded in agreement and they all put their dresses on together before walking down the stairs.
In the Common Room, Harry and Ron were waiting for Pansy and Sierra, and they looked up when the four of them walked down. Both were gaping like fish and had their eyebrows raised. Ron let loose a low whistle and the girls laughed. They could see the other boys in the room having the same effect, and the girls glowered at them as the their men salivated over them. Unfortunately, Harry and Ron noticed this and quickly wrapped their arms around the girls, and Ron wrapped one around Ginny too. Hermione rolled her eyes and lead the group to the portrait hole.
'You guys look stunning.' Harry said as they walked down the hall, but he was looking at Sierra when he said it. The girl blushed and wrapped herself tighter under his arm. This is when Hermione started freaking out from her pregnancy hormones.
'What if Draco doesn't like how the dress looks on me? And then he dumps me and I'm left all alone and . . . and . . . and . . .' She whispered. Ginny heard her and hugged her friend tightly.
'Draco will love how you look. He certainly won't dump you and as long as he's around, you won't be left all alone. We'll make sure of it. Don't worry, everything will be fine.' Ginny soothed her as Hermione continued to bawl her eyes out.
'No! It won't be! He'll hate me! I know he will!' She cried.
Harry and the other three hung back. They knew what happened when Hermione got in these mood swings. She never wanted more than a couple of people around her at a time. That was when he felt Sierra slide out from under him and walked over to her friend and wrapped her arms around her.
'Hush now, Hermione. Everything will be fine. Everything always is, isn't it?' She asked. Hermione turned around and nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes. Sierra smiled softly and helped her fix the little make up she had on.
'See, everything's better already. He loves you more than you could ever know, Hermione. I know because he told me himself that he himself could never express how much he misses you when you aren't with him, how much passion envelopes him when you two are alone together, how beautiful he thinks you are, even after you've just woken up. How much he absolutely loves everything you do, from how you bite your lip in thought, to how much he loves your smile. Trust me, no one could ever love another the way he loves you. Never doubt that.' Sierra said to her, and Hermione nodded and gave a soft choke of laughter.
'I'm just being stupid. I hate these stupid hormones. They make everything in my body go crazy. I hate it. I'm sorry. Thank you so much you two.' Hermione hugged them both and wiped her eyes even better and hooked arms with both of them.
'Let's go, before I get even more emotional.' She said, and they all walked off together to the Entrance Hall, where Blaise and Draco were waiting for them.
-
Draco had been up in knots all night about what he thought Hermione would look like in the morning and whether or not her friends would be able to handle her unpredictable mood swings the way he could.
Him and Blaise got up late and got something to eat in the kitchens, not wanting to face the buzz that would be going on in the Great Hall at this moment. They ate quickly before heading back upstairs and starting to get ready. On the way, they saw Pansy and Sierra leaving the Common Room, so Draco wished them luck with getting everything ready for tonight. They nodded and laughed.
'We'll keep her in line and begging for you, Draco.' Pansy added as they walked out. Draco tilted his head back and groaned.
'They are making this separation until tonight so much worse!' He complained. Blaise laughed at him and pushed him into the couches to play some Wizarding Chess. Draco couldn't concentrate though, and soon Blaise had won all of the five games they had played and was starting to get very frustrated.
'Merlin Draco! Would you just concentrate on something for ten seconds! Other than Hermione!' he cried. Draco was taken aback by the outburst, but simply smirked at his friend and leaned back against the seat.
'You're asking for the impossible, mate. I have to see her, and soon. I'm going mad just sitting here. I haven't seen her all day!' Draco retorted. He leaned forward and put his head in his hands, shaking it. He brought his head up, rubbing his hands over it. Blaise laughed.
'You've got it so bad, mate.' He said, leaning back in his own chair. Draco laughed.
'I know, and I love it. Let's go get changed.' He said, and the two males got up and changed, before heading out to the Entrance Hall to await their beautiful girlfriends and their best friends.
They didn't have to wait very long. Draco was fixing something on his dinner jacket, when Blaise nudged him in the ribs and he looked up. His face went from blank to shocked in a split second flat. As he gazed at Hermione and watched her smile brilliantly at him, he felt all of his love for her shine out through his eyes as he smiled back. He felt his breath catch in his throat as he gazed at her in that beautiful red satin dress that his mother had sent her not too long ago. His eyes swept her appreciatively, noticing her lack of heavy make-up, making her look more natural, and her hair, half pinned back in a beautiful clip. He loved the way she looked.
He moved closer to her and swept her into his arms, kissing her passionately. When they pulled away, both were gasping for breath and smiling hugely.
'What was that for?' Hermione asked. Draco just grinned.
'Because you're the most beautiful girl in the room.' He whispered. Hermione blushed lightly and hid her small smile from him. Draco tilted her head upward and kissed her more gently now.
'Come on, let's go have dinner. Mother will be here soon. She's always fashionably late.' Draco chuckled lightly and threaded her arm through his. Hermione smiled and the four couples walked through the double doors of the Great Hall to face a multitude of tables, all covered with white table cloths and eight chairs surrounding them. They all gaped as the entered and found a table to sit at near the front of the room.
'This place is amazing.' Sierra muttered in astonishment. They all nodded their heads in agreement.
'It looks even better now than it did at the Yule Ball in fourth year.' Blaise said. Again came in nodding in unison.
They were rather silent for a couple of minutes, as they watched other students file in and take seats on the remaining tables. Soon, Ginny, Pansy and Sierra were all talking about the dresses some of the girls were wearing and Blaise, Harry and Ron were going on about Quidditch, leaving Hermione and Draco to their own devices.
Hermione rested her head on Draco's shoulder and he wrapped a protective arm around her. He silently kissed the top of her head sweetly.
'Are you alright, love?' He asked. Hermione looked up and smiled softly.
'Yeah, just a bit tired. Ginny really shouldn't have woken me up that early this morning.' She said with a yawn. That was when Draco noticed the make up smudges around her eyes and sighed, wrapping both of his arms around her and rubbing her arm.
'You didn't start crying again, did you?' He murmured to her. He could feel Hermione move into him a little more and he guessed she was trying to hide her blush. He sighed and raised his eyes.
'Love, everything's fine, you know that don't you? I love you with all of my heart. Don't forget that.' He muttered to her. Hermione nodded and looked up.
'I know, I was just being stupid because of these stupid hormones making me go crazy and I'm sorry, I can't help it and-' Draco cut her off with a soft kiss.
'Don't worry. Everything is going to be alright. Not long now and you won't have to be worrying about any hormones at all. Okay?' He asked after he broke off. Hermione smiled lightly and nodded, so Draco smiled back.
'Come on, let's look at how horrible some people's fashion sense is.' He muttered. Hermione giggled and looked up at the door. Until everyone arrived, they spent most of the night watching the couples walking in and discussing trivial things.
When Dumbledore stood up, after everyone was seated, the hall became quiet.
'Guests, Teachers, Students! Welcome to our Christmas Yule Ball and Dinner!' Dumbledore stopped as the polite applauding started. He held up his hands after a while and everything quietened down a bit.
'Now, I would like to introduce our guests! Tonight, we have with us, Minister Cornelius Fudge!' Dumbledore announced. Fudge stood up and took a small bow before seating himself again and waiting for the applause to die down.
'Mr. Sirius Black!' Sirius jumped up and took a huge bow in front of the students and flashed a wink at Harry's table. All eight of them just sat there, gaping and stunned. Hermione was the first out of the trance.
'Why didn't he tell us that he was coming tonight!' She whispered loudly to the others. Harry grinned.
'This is Sirius we're talking about. He'd love the thought of surprising us.' He answered. They all nodded and turned back to face Dumbledore.
'Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy!' That was when the doors erupted open and Narcissa herself swept through the them. From beside her, Hermione heard Draco groan and thump his head on the table. Hermione looked down at him and giggled, rubbing his back to make him feel better.
Narcissa had to walk past their table and she sent a wink and a smile towards Hermione, who smiled back, and a pat on the head for Draco, making him sink into his seat with his head still on the table.
'Why must she be so embarrassing?' He hissed. He could hear all the others muffled laughter and he shot a look at them, but it had the opposite effect to what he wished. They laughed harder.
After Narcissa was seated next to Sirius on the guests table, Dumbledore quietened everyone down again.
'And last but never least, James Potter!' Every single person in the hall was dead silent as James Potter whipped off his Invisibility Cloak (which Harry would have to yell at him for later because he didn't ask for it), and waited for a sort of applause with a huge smile on his face.
No one made a noise, everyone was gaping like fish at the man who they all thought was dead. James folded his arms and tapped his feet, while Sirius tried not to burst into laughter. Finally, James sighed and addressed the hall.
'No, I'm not a ghost, or a figure of your imagination. You can welcome me now.' He said. This was exactly what set Sirius off. He burst into uncontrollable laughter and even fell to the floor, rolling around like a little child. James glared at him and turned to his son. Harry looked at him with a raised eyebrow and look of annoyance on his face. James grinned happily and walked over to him.
'I believe this is yours. Sorry I took it, I just wanted to make an entrance.' He said sheepishly. Harry just shook his head and took it back from him.
'Tell me next time will you. Then I might not have a heart attack when I find it gone. Not that I noticed or needed it.' He added hastily, watching some of the teachers look at him suspicion. James laughed uproariously.
'Of course not. I completely believe you. How are you, you lot? Not getting into trouble I hope.' James winked at Draco and Hermione and they both turned red as a beetroot, hiding their faces.
'Shut up!' Hermione hissed. The whole hall was still gaping after James Potter, but some people had started whispering. She started rubbing her temples. James snorted.
'I have some brilliant news for us Harry.' He said to his son. Harry looked up with interest and curiosity.
'Not now, later.' He said. Harry nodded. His interest was now very piqued. James nodded to him and turned back to his seat. By this time, Sirius was able to control himself and was once again sitting calmly in his chair. Remus, on the other hand, was trying not to beat his head against the table.
Back at Harry's table, Hermione and Draco were not over what James had insinuated. Sierra was giggling over it and Ron was grinning like a madman. Ginny, Blaise and Harry all felt sorry for them.
Dumbledore calmed everyone down again and continued his speech.
'I would hate to keep you all from your dinners, so here are my leaving words: eat, laugh, talk, drink!' He yelled.
Everyone turned to each other and started to talk about the entrance of one, James Potter. Everyone, other than the people who knew he was alive. They were talking about Draco's embarrassing mother.
'Why does she have to do it to me? She never did it before!' He cried, before picking up the menu and deliberating over what to eat. Hermione giggled.
'She never had the freedom to show you the extent of her love before, Draco. Let her have her fun now, so she won't be embarrassing you too much in front of your child.' Hermione said the last part in a whisper, so no one but the people on the table could hear. Said people started laughing.
'Yeah, you'd hate to be embarrassed in front of your own kid.' Ron laughed, but he was still talking quietly out of consideration. Draco glared at him and smacked him on the back of the head.
'As soon as you get a kid, all I'm going to do is embarrass you.' He hissed at him. Hermione placed a hand on his arm.
'Calm down, love. Remember, most of the teasing that you have to endure is going to have me involved in it too. I'll be going down with you.' She giggled. Draco sighed and pulled her head in to kiss it.
'I know. I just don't want to be a laughing stock with my own kid.' He whispered to her. Hermione looked up at him, surprised.
'What are you talking about? You'll be a great father. I know you will.' She said, smiling. Draco smiled back and kissed her lips lightly.
'And you'll be an even better mother.' He whispered. Hermione's face lit up in a brilliant smile. Draco smiled back and pulled away from her. 'Come on, love, you must be hungry.' He teased. Hermione shot him a look and started to eat what had appeared on her plate.
The rest of the talk was amiable all through dessert and up until the end of the meal altogether.
Dumbledore stood up and addressed the crowd when he saw that they were all done eating.
'Now that we have filled our stomachs, let the dancing begin!' He said. With that, the tables were cleared and everyone stood up as the tables moved further back and more tightly together as the old Headmaster created a huge dance floor where the tables used to be. Then he flicked his wand again and the side of the hall became a stage, where a group of wizards walked on stage to talk their positions at the orchestral instruments.
Everyone wondered at the brilliant job Dumbledore had done and applauded him. Dumbledore blushed abashedly and quietened them all down before signalling to the band to start playing.
Draco turned to Hermione.
'May I have this dance?' He asked suavely. Hermione giggled and took his offered hand. Draco lead them out into the middle of the floor, where only a couple of other partners were dancing. The other partners being Dumbledore and McGonagall, and Narcissa and Sirius. They were obviously making up for lost conversation.
Draco smiled as he turned Hermione around to face him and took one of her hands before putting the other on her waist. Hermione was blushing like mad already without having Draco treating her like some royalty to add to it. But she did have to admit, he was a wonderful dancer.
'I never knew you danced, Mr. Malfoy.' She pointed out.
'Then there are a lot of things you don't know about me, Ms. Granger.' He answered aloofly while smirking. Hermione smiled and looked at him with love filled eyes.
'I know more than you think I do about you, Mr. Malfoy.' She said playfully. Draco laughed and kissed her lightly.
'I love you, Hermione Granger. Always and forever.' He whispered, his forehead leaning against her.
'I love you too, Draco Malfoy. For eternity.' She whispered back.
The rest of the dance was done in silence, both looking into each others eyes, trying to convey to each other the depth of their feelings, for neither had every felt so in love.
After that dance finished, Sirius tapped Draco on the shoulder.
'Do you mind if I have the next dance with your lovely girlfriend?' He asked, his eyes shining with innocence. Draco sighed and smiled.
'If you must. But this means I have to dance with my mother.' Draco shuddered at the thought, before kissing Hermione and leaving her with Sirius.
'Can you even dance, Sirius?' She asked apprehensively. Sirius looked at her with fake shock.
'Of course I can!' He said, and he proceeded to show her, by putting his hand on her waist and collecting the other in his remaining hand and waltzing huge steps around the room, making Hermione laugh.
'You are so ridiculous!' She laughed. Sirius laughed with her.
'Well, some one has to lighten the mood around here. Everyone looks so serious!' He said, sounding aghast. Hermione laughed again.
'I'm sure some lively music will come on a bit later, and what's remaining of the Marauders can have some fun.' She said with a huge smile. Sirius laughed again.
'Yes, I suppose we will have a bit of fun later on. I should tell you now, though, don't drink the punch.' He whispered conspiratorially. Hermione looked at him in shock.
'What did you do to it?' She cried. Sirius just looked at her with a massive grin.
'Let's just say that after one glass, you'll feel like you've already had that one too many that sent you right over the edge.' He answered. Hermione looked at him in even more shock.
'You spiked it!' She whispered back. Sirius grinned again.
'Of course we did. While everyone else was dancing the first dance. I'm just amazed no one noticed!' He replied, still in hushed tones. Hermione shook her head disapprovingly.
'I won't tell anyone, but I'll warn my friends not drink any. Have you warned anyone other than me?' She asked. Sirius thought for a little bit before piping up.
'I think I may have warned Remus, and Harry, and he would have told Sierra and maybe Ron, who would have told Pansy, but Ginny and Blaise probably won't know, and Draco doesn't, so I'm not sure who I've told.' He admitted. Hermione looked at him suspiciously.
'You've been drinking that punch, haven't you?' She asked.
'No! Of course not! I don't need to drink to make it look like I'm drunk.' He answered her. Hermione laughed.
'So true.' She said. That dance finished by the time their conversation came to an end, and Hermione said thank you for the dance and set off to find her friends to tell them about the punch. The first people she saw were Neville and Luna.
'Hey, Neville, Luna!' She called. They looked over to her and smiled and waved.
'Hey Hermione, what's up?' Neville asked. Hermione smiled at him and leaned in close to the both of them, beckoning them in.
'Whatever you do, don't drink the punch. Sirius and James went a little crazy and spiked it heavily.' She whispered to them. 'Oh, and don't go spreading it around, either. They need some fun in their lives, those two.' She added. The two teens nodded and steered clear of the punch bowl.
The next couple she met was Ginny and Blaise, so she went up to them and whispered into their ears. They both nodded and had to stifle their laughter with their hands.
'Those two are so crazy.' Ginny muttered. Hermione agreed before leaving with the excuse of finding Draco.
'You two wouldn't happen to know where he is, by any chance, would you? We have to tell Narcissa about the really important thing.' She said, placing an inconspicuous hand over her stomach.
'No, sorry Hermione. We haven't seen him. If we do, though, we'll tell you.' Blaise said. Hermione smiled at him and walked off, wondering where he could be.
I was only without him for one dance, and he goes missing. She complained in her head, but then she saw the white blonde head of hair standing over where she really didn't want him to be. The punchbowl. Hermione groaned and made her way over to him.
'Draco!' She called. He turned around with two cups in his hand. Hermione shook her head and put a hand over her stomach. Draco nodded and put it back down. Hermione made her way to him quickly.
'Don't drink it! Sirius and James spiked it heavily.' She said, taking the cup from his hand and putting it back on the table.
Draco laughed.
'I knew someone was going to try something like that.' He chuckled. Hermione looked at him disapprovingly.
'And yet you were still going to drink it?' She asked. Then her eyes widened. 'You were going to make me drink it!' She hissed Draco sighed and wrapped his arms around her.
'I wasn't going to make you drink it. I didn't know they had put anything in there yet. I was actually going to give it to someone first to try some before even thinking about giving any to you, my love. I trust no one here when it comes to spiking the punch.' He smirked and Hermione smiled up softly at him.
'So you weren't going to make me drink it?' She asked. Draco kissed her softly.
'Of course not.' He said. She smiled and kissed him back a little more forcefully. Draco happily returned it. When he broke it off, he smiled widely.
'Do you want to go for another dance?' He asked. Hermione laughed.
'Hmm,' she said thoughtfully. 'I don't know; why not?' She said. Draco smiled and took her hand, bringing her back out onto the dance floor.
He twirled her back into his arms the way he did before and brought her close to him. Draco was smiling contentedly the entire time.
After a little bit of time being silent, Hermione decided to break it.
'When do you think we should tell Narcissa?' She asked. 'Oh, and not to mention Sirius, Remus, James and the rest of the Weasley's.' She added. Draco looked at her thoughtfully. He seemed to be thinking it through.
'I think we should tell mother just before she leaves. And the rest of them are staying the night I think, so we can tell them whenever. We should send the Weasley's a letter. That would be the best way instead of waiting until the end of the year and surprising them with a little bundle of joy.' Draco laughed softly and so did Hermione. 'We'll tell mother soon, she'll want to talk to us about it and we should tell her while she's still sober, because she seems to be eyeing the punch.' Draco whispered to her. Hermione stifled a giggle and she watched Narcissa's eyes flick to the punchbowl and back.
'Why don't we tell Narcissa now? I think that it would be a good idea. It get s it off our chests and I'm getting tired from dancing.' She said. Draco smiled at her and nodded, leading her off the dance floor and over to where his mother stood on the other side of the hall, talking to Sirius.
When they got there, Sirius and Narcissa smiled brightly at them.
'Hermione, darling! You look wonderful! That dress fits you very nicely if I say so myself.' She said, while Draco shook his head.
'Yes, I've been meaning to say thank you for it Narcissa. It's the nicest thing anyone has every given me.' Hermione replied. Narcissa just smiled lovingly at her.
'You're basically part of the family now anyway, so I thought I should do something nice. And it's also a way of saying thank you.' She said sincerely, winking at Hermione so she knew what she knew what Narcissa saying thank you was for.
'There's no need to thank me, it's my pleasure.' Hermione answered. Sirius smirked.
'I bet it is.' He said. Hermione shot him a look and he laughed. Narcissa hit him and Draco turned rather red.
'Actually, mother, there was something Hermione and I were going to tell you. You can't go crazy, because no one in the school knows. So you have to be silently grateful.' Draco said quietly. Narcissa looked worriedly between the two, and so did Sirius until they saw the happy smile upon Hermione's face.
'What's going on?' Narcissa asked.
Draco looked at Hermione and smiled himself.
'Hermione's expecting. She's due around the middle of April.' He whispered, but the two adults still heard him and Narcissa nearly fainted. They were both gaping at Draco and Hermione like they were from another planet.
Then Narcissa's face broke into a huge grin and she swept Hermione up into her arms. Behind Narcissa, they saw Lavender and Parviti drop their glasses of punch in shock.
Draco looked up at them in shock. What did they hear? He asked himself.
Sirius broke into a grin too and clapped Draco on the shoulder. He pulled the boy in close and whispered in his ear.
'I knew all that time you two spent alone in the bedroom together would pay off.' Draco hit him in the shoulder and walked over to the two Gryffindor girls standing behind his mother.
'So, what seems to be your problem? Usually people don't walk around with their mouths hanging open and their eyes as wide as saucers, while dropping glasses filled with punch everywhere.' He said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Parviti broke out of her stupor first.
'Did your mother seriously just hug Hermione Granger?' She asked. Draco narrowed his eyes at the girl.
'Yes, she did. Do you have a problem with that? Because if you do, then it's pointless.' He retorted.
'How could she even think of hugging her?' Lavender asked. Draco glared at them.
'If you're quite done insulting my girlfriend, I beg you take your leave. Now.' Draco growled. The girls started a little at the gravely voice he used, but turned and walked away quickly. Draco was rather satisfied that they hadn't heard the reason for Narcissa's happiness, but was still very angry at the girls for their insults towards Hermione, the girl he loved, and the one that was carrying his child.
He turned back to his family and wrapped a secure arm around Hermione's waist.
'Sorry about that, I thought a couple of your fellow Gryffindors over heard.' He muttered. Narcissa nodded.
'Quite understandable. Oh, I am so happy for you. I must be invited when it happens, alright. I want to make sure everything runs smoothly.' She told Draco. Draco sighed and nodded with a slight smile on his face.
'Of course, mother. Sirius, you must come too.' He said. Sirius nodded exuberantly.
'What about James?' He asked. Draco laughed and nodded.
'It wouldn't be right without Potter Senior there.' He answered. Sirius grinned at him and hugged them both tight.
'You two will make brilliant parents.' He muttered to them. By this time, Hermione was crying silently and hugging him back with a lot of force.
'Thank you, Sirius.' She whispered. Sirius smiled at her and kissed her head.
'I don't think anyone could doubt your competence at doing whatever you put your mind to.' He said to her. Hermione kissed him on the cheek and turned to Draco.
'Let's go find James and tell him. We might as well get it all over and done with now.' She said. Draco nodded and they went to turn away, when Narcissa stopped them.
'Why aren't you showing yet if you're due in April?' She asked. Hermione turned back to her.
'There are many useful spells out there, Narcissa. I just happen to know about them.' She answered. Narcissa smiled and nodded to her, and Hermione and Draco turned back around again and left.
'Well, that went well.' Draco muttered. Hermione laughed.
'Of course it was going to go well! Narcissa wanted this child just as much as we did. She loves it already!' She said, happily. Draco grinned at her and they made their way across the floor.
'Do you have any idea where the Potter family is?' Draco asked her. Hermione looked thoughtful.
'No, I haven't seen them since dinner.' She said. Draco looked thoughtful too, and walked both of them around the circumference of the room, looking for the two Potter males who seemed to have disappeared.
They walked out the double doors after a couple of moments and they saw both of them standing outside, talking to one another in serious tones. Draco pulled her back inside.
'We can tell James tomorrow, let him talk to Harry now.' He murmured to her. Hermione nodded her head and they walked back to where they had seen Ginny and Blaise talking to Sierra.
'Hey, did you find Harry and James?' Blaise asked. They nodded.
'Yeah, we did, but they looked like they were having a really in depth conversation, so we left them alone. We'll tell James tomorrow.' Draco answered. They all nodded slowly.
'So, do any of you know where Ron and Pansy are?' Hermione asked. Ginny snorted.
'Probably off somewhere being hypocrites. I swear, Ron tells me off for snogging Blaise in public, but he goes off and does it with Pansy.' She said bitterly. Blaise rubbed her shoulder with the hand that was around her.
'No, the thing is, they find and empty classroom and go in there. No one can see them.' Sierra said. Ginny grumped and Blaise put an arm around her.
'Don't worry, love. Maybe an empty classroom is exactly what we need.' He muttered seductively into her ear. Ginny turned bright red and turned her head slightly to kiss him forcefully. Blaise pulled her to him. Everyone else groaned and inched to the side to let the lovers have their moment of passion.
'So, how did everything go with Aunt Narcissa?' Sierra asked. Both Hermione and Draco grinned.
'Absolutely perfectly. She was silently ecstatic, which was exactly what we wanted. The less people that know the better.' Draco answered.
'Seriously, her and Sirius stood there in shock for, like, five minutes, before she broke into a huge grin and hugged me so tightly I didn't know if I would ever be able to breathe again.' Hermione said. Sierra started laughing at her Aunt. It was completely typical and common knowledge that Narcissa wanted to be a grandmother.
'So she was excited then?' She asked with a smile on her face. Draco snorted.
'That's an understatement.' He muttered, his eyes wide and gliding towards the floor. Both Sierra and Hermione started laughing.
'What about Sirius?' Sierra asked excitedly.
'He was over the moon too. He kept telling me about how much of a great mother I will be and how great of parents we will be. It was so emotional. It was the most sincere thing I think I've ever heard from his mouth. Other than when he said those father/son things to Harry when James wasn't around.' Hermione added.
'He can really be a heart-warming guy when he wants to be.' Sierra said. The other two nodded and a silence settled in while they mulled over their thoughts. Sierra suddenly thought of something and grinned widely at the two.
'So, thought of any baby names yet?' She asked. Hermione rolled her eyes and Draco laughed. Sierra looked a tad upset.
'What? We left you alone about this for a great while Hermione, you have to clue us in now.' She said. Hermione sighed.
'We really haven't talked about names yet, Sierra. We've had other things on our minds. We might just make it a spur of the moment thing.' She said. Draco like that idea. Maybe making a name up for the children now wasn't such a good idea. What if the name didn't fit them?
'I liked that idea. Why don't we go with that? Make it up as we go along, per se.' He said. Hermione looked up at him thoughtfully.
'That is a good idea. It was really only a random thought that popped into my head though.' She giggled. Sierra sighed.
'Must you be annoying? We want to know names!' She whined. Draco laughed at her and Hermione rolled her eyes.
'Well, you're just going to have to wait until April, aren't you?' She asked. Sierra stuck her tongue at Hermione and both girls broke into laughter. Draco sighed. They were such girls sometimes. Then again, they technically were.
The rest of the night was spent in a flurry of dancing and other conversation. Hermione danced with all of her friends to all the different music that Dumbledore had hired for the evening and enjoyed herself with Draco, staying in his arms for most of the evening.
Draco was always very reluctant to let her dance with anyone else, but he reminded himself that there friends could be trusted, and that nothing was going to happen to her, but he still watched her like a hawk.
He enjoyed watching her laugh and smile. He had never seen her so happy and full of life. He loved it. It was what made him love her so much.
They laughed and joked and danced the night away before Draco saw Hermione pretty much dead on her feet. He wrapped his arm around her tighter and bent his head close to her.
'Let's get you to bed. You look so tired.' He whispered to her. Hermione nodded and they said good night to everyone and a huge good night to Narcissa before Draco lead her outside and up the staircase. He even brought her as far to her bed as he could go. They said good night to one another with a kiss and Draco went back down to the Slytherin dorms.
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A/N: Here are the amazing people that reviewed, alerted or favorited me!
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Thanks all of you, you keep me writing! Thanks for all of your support! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Sarah xo.
