("I love you.")

Cedric never liked going to Balls. Ever since he was ten, his father always dragged him around to all of the Ministry Balls, and Cedric hated it. All the dancing, the stiffling robes, and the ridiculously fake conversations… He hated all that. At first, he would spend the whole night asking his father when they were going to go back home. After sometime though, he learned that if he behaved really well, his father would be pleased and the chance of them getting back home earlier would be bigger too. The only positive outcome he got was the dancing. While everyone was too busy tripping over their own foot during their dance-class for the Yule Ball, like almost everything, Cedric aced it. Even if he didn't like it, he had to admit that he was grateful for the dance lessons he got as a child. That left him with more time on dealing with the most crucial yet horrifying aspect of the Ball – getting a date to go with him.

Not long after he asked Cho Chang, Fleur Delacour came up to him one day and asked him to go with her. He pitied Ron Weasley, and probably the other fifteen boys, who fell under the powerful charm of the Veela-magic the French girl accidentally activated when she flirted with him. Cedric was always a strong-willed wizard since he was a little boy, something he inherited from his mother, so he wasn't affected at all. The girl looked greatly insulted when he said no. But Cedric's quick-thinking saved him from her wrath when he set her up with Roger Davies, who was more than happy to go with her. They ended up as some soft of friends, with Fleur always playfully sending a flirtatious wink in his way whenever they bumped into each other, and Cedric sticking his tongue out at her. He had to admire her though, for being the one who asked him and not the other way around. When he told her that, she looked pleased and told him that he made a good choice by taking Cho to the Ball.

Cedric knew Cho Chang since his sixth year and her fourth year, when they went against each other for the first time during a Quidditch match. Since then, they became quite close. During the summer, they wrote to each other. They talked about a lot of things thought mostly, it was about Quidditch. He liked how her sweet and rather fragile look didn't give away the fiery girl she was actually was. He liked that about her. Therefore, when he realised he would have to find a date for the Ball, it didn't take him long to choose Cho. He didn't even stuttere when he asked her. Instead, Cedric found it really easy, even. But as the Yule Ball came closer, no matter how many times people told him he made a good choice on choosing Cho, he knew it was wrong. It didn't feel right. He didn't feel the same excitement as he originally did. In fact, he felt downright miserable.

("I love you.")

Cedric knew he should be happy. He was a Hogwarts champion for the infamous Triwizard Tournament. Linked to his arm, he had one of Hogwarts' most beautiful female students. Cho was wearing a golden, long-sleved cheongsam dress. Her hair was braided to form a crown around her head, with loose-curls framing her face. As they stood side-by-side, greeting his friends when they walked passed him, Cedric noticed how his mates eyed Cho appreciatively, after sending an envious glare in his way. The only other girl who was probably as beautiful as Cho, if not more, was probably Fleur. He and Cho ran into Fleur when they arrived at the Great Hall together. The part-Veela told him how dashing he looked, and complimented on Cho's dress. In return, Cho politely told Fleur how pretty she was. Next to the blonde, Roger Davies looked so proud that he'd managed to snatch Fleur as his date. The two parted awhile later, taking their place as a Hogwarts champion in the line McGonagall told them. Meeting Fleur cheered him up a little. It was a little weird but he actually enjoyed her company, feeling like they'd been friends for along time. Smiling, he decided that he should stop moping, and watched the new arrivals.

The show was stolen from Cho and Fleur when Hermione Granger came down the Grand Staircase, her crazy-curls that was now as straight as Cho's hair was pinned up in a bun as well. The girl was wearing a pale-blue dress that looked like the most glamorous dress Cedric had ever seen. He could only imagine just how expensive that dress was. Her date, Draco Malfoy, didn't even waste a second and rushed to meet her at the bottom of the staircase, almost like he'd Apparated. The Slytherin's usual scowl was gone, replaced with a huge smile as he looked at the Gryffindor with pure adoration in his eyes. He took the girl's hand and linked it with his, winking at the brunette who beamed at him. He overheard Malfoy said something about Granger's dress really did match his eyes, which caused the Gryffindor to giggle as the two of them went into the Hall. Cedric didn't realise everyone was staring in silent until they erupted in whispers as they talked about the couple. But they all fell silent went McGonagall, who was busy listing out everyone's name, dropped her list as she let out a gasp. Coming down from where Granger was just a minute prior, were Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, and their respective dates. The first ones were Weasley and his date, the younger Greengrass girl. The girl was wearing a white dress that made her looked angelic, despite her pixy-cut hair. Cedric knew that it was rather scandalous for a Greengras, one of the top members of the Sacreds, to go with a Weasley, who they no doubt deemed as blood-traitors. But it was obvious that McGonagall only had eyes for Potter and his date, Ginny Weasley.

"Oh, Harry," McGonagall whispered, her usually stern expression was now tender. "Merlin, you look just like your father?"

"I heard that a lot of times, Professor," Potter replied with a sad, small smile. "Except for my eyes. I have my – "

" – your mother's eyes," McGonagall continued. She turned her attention to Potter's date, smiling fondly at the redhead. "Do you know, Miss Weasley, that seventeen years ago, the late Lily Potter wore a green dress as well when she went with James Potter to their Graduation Ball?"

"I know, Professor. And I saw the pictures. She was breath-taking," Ginny said, sharing a smile with Potter, who patted her hand graciously.

"You look just as pretty, Gin," Potter said, giving the girl a wink that made her blushed. If Cedric was to be honest, her dress was probably the only dress that looked just as expensive as Granger's.

Still smiling, McGonagall then told the two Gryffindors to stand in line with the other champions. Cedric heard her muttering something about the other professors going to be shocked as she went to reprimand Krum, whose date was still missing. In his thick accent and limited English, Krum tried to make an excuse as to why his date was late. It piqued Cedric's curiosity. He, along with all of the male population at Hogwarts, knew just how many girls wanted to be Krum's date. He was wondering about who Krum's mysterious date was, when Cedric's eyes landed on the staircase – and felt like his heart had stopped beating.

("I love you.")

Taking small steps as she slowly descended the stairs, it was Luna Lovegood. She was wearing a beautiful purple dress that fit her really well. Her face was done modestly like a lot of the younger students were, and her hair was brushed to the side, held by the big butterfly-clip. Her pale-blue eyes looked around nervously, unsure of everything. But they looked relieved when she saw Krum making his way toward her, looking all regal when he bowed gentlemanly to her. The Bulgarian then took her hand and gave it a gentle kiss. Almost everyone – the champions and their dates, since everyone else was already inside – looked surprised, silently watching Krum took his position as the first in line with Luna by his side. Despite being rivals in the tournament, Cedric had always liked Krum. The guy was very nice, unlike what most would think of, especially since he was a sportstar. But as he watched Krum spoke lowly to Luna, who gave him a shy smile, Cedric felt this weird, burning feeling of jealousy toward the international Quidditch star. If it weren't for the fact that Cho nudged him to pay attention to McGonagall, Cedric probably would have marched toward Krum so he could punch the idiot in the face.

"All right then," McGonagall said, being the first one to get over the shock. "Let's start the show, shall we?"

The doors were opened, the welcoming-music was played, and Krum led the other Victors into the Hall. The moment he walked in with Luna, all eyes immediately settled on the blonde Ravenclaw, who merely gave a polite smile to those who pointed and whispered at her. The champions and their dates took their positions in the center of the Hall to lead the dance, and waited for the music to begin. From where he was standing, Cedric saw Luna waved at the Weasley girl, who gave her a thumb-up before she put one hand on Potter's shoulder while she held Potter's hand in the standard waltz-position. Only then did Cedric realise the waltz-music had begun to play. It was only because he had learned the dance since he was a child that he managed to avoid tripping, his body moved almost robotically as he twirled Cho around. It was several minutes later when the dance was joined by everyone else, led by Dumbledore and McGonagall. Soon, they all had to shift around to make enough space because you could only move so much when there were about two hundred people all over the place. The song changed for a few times, but Cedric didn't give a damn. The whole time, he had his eyes on Luna. The blonde had a huge smile on her face, something that Cedric rarely saw. Cedric didn't even notice it when he had dropped Cho's hand abruptly, as if his hand caught on fire when the song changed again.

"Oh, we're stopping already?" Cho asked, sounding a little disappointed. "But um, we can take a break. If you want to."

"Yeah, a break would be nice," Cedric said distractedly, his eyes still on Luna and Krum.

"Do you want something to drink?" Cho asked again. "I'll go get – "

"Thank you," Cedric said quickly, cutting her words short. "I'll meet you by the champions' table, Cho. I'm going to go say hi to someone."

"Wait, who are you – "

But Cedric wasn't listening. He'd made his way toward where Luna and Krum were, pushing past the many dancing bodies of his fellow school-mates. He was determined though, and he reached the couple in no time. Ignoring all of the proper etiquette on formal dances, he tapped Krum on his shoulder, who looked shocked to find him there.

"Diggory," the Bulgarian said, giving him a tense smile. "Iz there anything zat – "

"Can I talk to Luna? I promise it won't be long," Cedric said monotonously, almost drawling.

"Ah, vell…" Krum looked both confused and wary. "Luna, skŭpi moĭ, do you vant to talk to him?"

"Oh, piss off," Cedric said rather loudly, it was fortunate that everyone was too busy dancing to the loud music to pay attention. "Go mind your own business, you snob."

Krum's black eyes darkened as he glared murderously at Cedric. But the Head Boy didn't even flinch. The Bulgarian was bigger than most of the guys at Hogwarts, but Cedric was much taller. The both of them were standing nose-to-nose when Krum spoke. "Haven't you had enough, pretty boy? You broke her heart already."

"You – "

"Stop it, you two," Luna said, pushing the two of them apart. "Krum, you wait here, okay? I'll go talk to Cedric."

"But, Luna – "

"I'll be right back in a few minutes. Come on, Cedric."

Following Luna out of the Hall, Cedric made sure he gave Krum the two-finger salute before they both got out. He smirked in contempt at the Bulgarian, who clenched his jaw in anger. Once outside, he noticed that there was only a handful of people out there, most of them were still in the Hall. Everything was so quiet, even the people there didn't make a sound. It caught him off guard when Luna turned around and glared at him. In all the years he knew the girl, Luna had never lost her temper. Especially not at him. But right there and then, she looked so mad at him, Cedric almost didn't recognise her.

"What do you want, Cedric?" Luna asked. Despite the look of fury flashing in her pale-blue eyes, her voice sounded remarkably calm. "Do you want to humiliate me further?"

"What? Of course not!" Cedric said quickly, shaking his head. "Luna, I- I know things have been…have been a little tense between us. And I'm sorry for that. I really do."

"Okay. That's fine. I forgive you," Luna said coolly, sounding so much unlike the girl he knew. "Is that it? If it is, I'll go back inside."

"Wait, wait, wait!" he called, grabbing her hand. "That's… It's not the only thing I wanted to say."

"What else then? What more do you want to say to me?"

It took awhile for Cedric to say something. "Luna, what are you doing with Krum?"

When Luna yanked her hand from his, Cedric couldn't help himself from flinching. "He asked me to be his date. I said yes."

"Was it before or after…that day?" Cedric asked awkwardly.

("I love you.")

("Please, don't make fool of yourself.")

"Why do you care?"

"Because I do. Y-you're my friend, Luna. I don't want anyone to hurt you."

"That's rich, coming from you."

"Luna, please – "

"Need I to remind you who was it that made me cried that day? In front of everyone? In front of the same people who take pleasure in making my life hell?"

"Luna, I told you, I'm sorry – "

"And I told you, I forgive you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to my date."

When Luna pushed him off her so she could go back inside the Hall, it took him awhile to realise that she left. It was probably why he spoke so carelessly.

"He's going to hurt you!" Cedric called out. "He's a celebrity. His whole life, he's surrounded by girls. Trust me, he's going to hurt you."

"That's where you're wrong," Luna said without turning around, her voice so low Cedric almost didn't hear her. "I was going to kill myself that day, you know. But he saved me. I ran into him, and he got me into telling him what was wrong. We became friends ever since. Pretty much the same way you and I became friends, Cedric. Except, I know better now not to fall in love with him."

"Luna – "

"You and Cho are perfect together. Have a nice night."

Cedric watched helplessly as the blonde went back inside the Hall. He knew he'd messed up. He messed up really bad. That day when Luna told him about her feelings, Cedric was completely caught off guard. All his life, he knew he cared for Luna more than what was normal. But he always thought that was because they were friends. But when she said those three words, only then did Cedric realise the truth. Slowly, it became clear to him why he cared so much about the Ravenclaw. He couldn't say it though. He couldn't say the word back to her. Not when there were so much people around. He was four years older than her, practically an adult, seeing that he would turn eighteen in April. Luna was only thirteen, still a child. He could just imagine how people would talk. It wasn't like he was ashamed. It was more because he didn't want to smear her name. He probably wasn't as wild as his Ted Edwards, but Cedric had been with a few girls before. People had already been talking about his friendship with Luna, and most of the stuffs they said were horrible.

("I love you.")

So that day, Cedric panicked, and did the most horrible thing he could think of.

("Please, don't make a fool of yourself.")

"Fuck," Cedric groaned, lowering himself onto the floor, his back leaning against the wall. He knew it would be impossible to patch things up between them. Heck, even he wouldn't blame Luna if she hated him now.

"Language, Diggory," a gruff voice said, causing Cedric to jerk in surprise. He was too deep in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody had come out of the Hall.

"I'm sorry, sir," Cedric muttered. "I…I thought no one was around."

"Hm… Scoot over, lover boy." Nudging Cedric aside with his foot, Moody then dropped unceremoniously beside the Hufflepuff, grunting in half-pain and half-annoyance when his leg clang loudly against the floor. He shifted around a little with his hand in his pocket, before pulling out a flask of drink and pushed the container into Cedric's hand.

"Sir?"

"I always keep a little Ogden to myself. Just don't tell Dumbledore I gave it to you. Well, but I guess it's alright. You're technically an adult now, aren't you, boy?"

"Um, thank you, sir," Cedric said. He noticed that the flask was different than the one he often saw Moody drank from. When the Auror told him to drink up, he nodded his head and did as he was told. He grimaced a little when he realised he hadn't eaten since morning, from the way his stomach reacted to the alcohol.

"So? What's the deal between you and Lovegood?"

The question took Cedric off guard. "We're…we're friends. But we have a little disagreement."

("I love you.")

"Yeah, right. And I'm Lord Voldemort." Moody huffed, looking thoroughly unimpressed with Cedric's lie. "Look, boy. If you don't want to tell me, then it's alright. I'm not going to push you. But never lie to me. Greater wizards than you have tried it, believe me."

"I didn't mean to offend you, professor. I'm sorry," Cedric quickly said. "It's just… I'm a bit uncomfortable to talk about it to you."

"I can understand that. It's hard talking about your feelings with anyone. I've been there, boy. And trust me when I say it's horrible."

Cedric really couldn't imagine the Alastor Moody, one of the greatest Aurors in all of Europe other than Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, as a teenager being a love-struck fool.

"How's your egg? You found a way to solve the puzzle yet?"

The whole thing with the Yule Ball had made him completely forgot about it. "No, sir. I haven't. And I really don't know what to do, honestly."

"Well, have you tried dipping it into the water?"

Cedric frowned. "Water?"

Moody nodded his head. "Yes, son. Water. Merlin, you're not deaf, right? Pretty sure I was pretty clear… Try dipping into the water, Diggory. It will work. Trust me."

"Thank you, sir," Cedric said, feeling a lot lighter as he shook Moody's hand. "Thank you very much."

"Don't mention it, son… We better go back inside, by the way. Or else people will start wondering."

"Sir?" Cedric said, before Moody went back into the Hall.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you doing this? Why do you help me?"

For a split second, Cedric thought Moody smiled at him. But he thought he was imagining it when the Auror shrugged, looking as menacing as always.

"I like you, boy. You're smart. You'd be great as an Auror. And I always think you sort of remind me of someone."

"Who? I mean, if you don't mind me as – "

But Moody had gone back inside the Hall. Cedric was frozen in his spot for quite sometime. He found the whole encounter bizarre. There was the little part in him, the part that always did his rational thinking for him, that felt a little suspicious. He pushed it aside though, telling himself he was just being paranoid because he just had a rather bad night. Straightening his suit, Cedric went back inside and looked for Harry Potter.

He had a debt to pay.

("I love you.")

("Please don't be a fo – ")

(Shut up, brain.)

When his mother told him that he wasn't allowed to see the dress, Draco was annoyed. He wanted to know how Hermione's dress looked like so he could imagine how she looked in it. But his mother was insistent, saying that it would all be a surprise. The only thing his mother said about the dress was that the colour matched his eyes. So Draco spent the rest of the days before the Ball picturing how the dress looked whenever he saw his own reflection in the mirror. It wasn't that easy though. His eyes were grey, like the rest of the Malfoy-Black men, and he could conjure up a thousand different dresses with that colour in mind. In the end, he relented to waiting for the day of the Yule Ball. He tried hard not to badger Hermione into telling him about her dress when she got the dress from his mother. Not only she would hex him for it, but also because he finally agreed that if the dress was a surprise, it would be so much better. So he waited for the day of the Ball, counting down the days impatiently.

And the wait was definitely worth it.

He was waiting with Blaise and Theo by the front door of the Great Hall, his friends also were waiting for their dates respectively. Theo was going with Tracey Davis while Blaise was going with Daphne Greengrass. When Diggory came with Chang, he couldn't help but to scowl at the back of the Hufflepuff's head. Draco had always been observant, and because he weirdly enough cared for Lovegood, he had always known about the girl's crush on the older boy. It was actually pretty obvious, and Draco thought Diggory was a huge arse for not realising it in the first place. Oh, he knew about the fight the two had. Probably everyone in Hogwarts, including the professors. Easy to say, Diggory wasn't exactly his favourite person at the moment. His glare toward the Head Boy was cut when Fleur Delacour came into his view, flirting with Diggory. Hastily, he told his friends to look away, lest they did something stupid like Weasley did. For some reason, Draco was never that affected when the part-Veela, a little information he got from Potter, was around. It could be because Draco had Veela ancestors too. But he preferred his mother's explanation, the one about how men who truly loved their partners would never be affected by the Veela Charm. He never thought about it, but he always liked entertaining the idea that what he felt for Hermione was something that strong.

He realised that it was something more than a crush when the girl walked down the staircase.

Hermione was…beyond description. Draco had always been popular for being so eloquent, especially around girls. But when he saw Hermione, all of his brilliant vocabulary, filled with various adjectives, left him. Hermione was wearing a pale-blue chiffon dress that kind of matched his eyes. The bodice was studded with sparkly material that shimmered under the light, and the rest of the dress was long and flowy which made her looked like a princess. Draco moved almost automatically toward the girl, his cheeks almost hurt when he felt his lips tugged into a huge smile. Linking his hand with hers, he gave a wink and told her that her dress did match his eyes. He knew he should tell her how beautiful she looked, but right at that moment, he couldn't come up with any single decent compliment that served her beauty justice. Except for their friends, the moment everyone saw him with Hermione, they all began to talk. He had expected it though, so he ignored them all. He felt Hermione tensed beside him, and he patted her hand gently to assure her that she shouldn't worry about the rumours and gossip. When he told her that, she looked at him in that way that told him how annoyed she was at him.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"By now you should have known I don't care about rumours and gossips. I'm worried that some vengeful idiot would try to hurt you again," Hermione said, taking one of his hand and put it on her her face, reminding him of the event just a few months prior.

Draco was touched. During his recovery after the torture he endured, Hermione had never left his side. She always took care of him, keeping him company when she didn't have a class. She even stayed during night time, making sure he knew she was always with him whenever he woke up screaming from a nightmare. He was pretty sure that by then, he wasn't the only Malfoy who liked her. It didn't take his mother long to get along with Hermione, and he was sort of convinced that the same went for his father. Sure, Lucius didn't really show it like his wife did. But the little gestures such as inviting the girl to the Quidditch World Cup and spending so much money for her dress, were prove enough.

Caressing the girl's cheek softly with his thumb, Draco said, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. We will be fine. I promise."

The bookworm looked sceptical, but thankfully she didn't argue him with that. It helped that the doors were opened, and all of the Triwizard Champions walked in with their partners. The first one was Viktor Krum and Luna Lovegood – much to everyone's utmost surprise. Draco himself was a little taken aback as well. But he was glad that the blonde went with Krum, wearing a dress that fit her perfectly. The second one to enter was Delacour with Roger Davies, and Draco knew that he wasn't the only who wanted to throw a show at Davies' cocky grin. Draco noted with pleasure the scowl on Diggory's face when he walked in with Cho Chang as the third in line, who looked quite pretty in her golden cheongsam, if Draco had to admit. Last but not least, it was Potter and Weaslette, whose green-dress was probably the only dress in the room that rivalled Hermione's. Draco saw how almost every professor froze for a split second when he saw Potter and Weaslette – especially his Godfather. Severus Snape looked like he'd seen a ghost, his face paled and his black eyes widened in shock. They all got over it rather quick though, especially Dumbledore who told Flitwick to immediately start the music.

It was probably the best time in his all fourteen years of life. He danced with Hermione many times, smiling fondly at the way the girl giggled every time he twirled her around. At first, she was a little tense, worrying too much on her steps. But after Draco told her to relax and let him lead, she danced brilliantly – like everything she did. He lost count how many songs they danced to. He didn't even realise that sometime after the second song, he too was grinning and laughing like the girl. They only stopped when the band took a break. The two agreed that they'd go take something to drink before heading outside for a walk. His attention was all set on the bookworm beside him, who kept on talking about everything. Like it always was whenever he was with her, the blond barely listened to anything she said. He liked hearing her talk, even though he never really paid attention. The fact that she looked really beautiful that night just added more reason to why he wasn't paying attention. He couldn't even get over how her doe-eyes shone in excitement as she talked about a mile a minute, how her crown-braid hair made her looked somewhat ethereal, and how her dress suited her really well. They walked down the shores of the Black Lake, away from the majority of people who were either inside the castle or some place else doing Merlin-knew-what.

"What do you want to do now?" Hermione asked, suddenly stopping. She'd taken off her heels and held them in one hand. Over her shoulders the jacket of Draco's suit, effectively protecting her from the chilly winds.

Draco frowned. "What? What do you mean?"

"Well, we've been walking around for half an hour now. I've probably talked your ear off by now. What do you want to do next? Do you want to go back dancing?"

"No, not really. Can we…" Draco trailed off, not wanting to sound too sappy.

Hermione cocked her head to the side. "Yes? Can we what?"

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Draco continued. "Let's just stay here. Talk some more. I promise I will say something too."

Hermione chuckled and nodded her head. The lowered themselves under the tree by the Lake, and leaned on the bark, sitting closely next to each other. The bookworm didn't even waste her time and reminded Draco of his promise. "Well? What are we going to talk now, Draco?"

"Honestly? I don't know."

"You don't know? You? The one guy who talks more than Harry and Ron combined?"

Draco scowled. "It's your fault for looking so bloody beautiful, Granger. I'd have to send my parents a thank-you gift because of you. I mean, from the moment you went down the stairs, I found myself unable to say something coherent. You're simply breath-taking to look at. My mind goes blank every time I look at you. And I think I can say the same for about eighty percent of the male population here."

"Shut up, Malfoy," Hermione said, rolling her eyes despite the blush on her face. "I don't look half as good as Ginny or Cho Chang do, let alone Fleur Delacour."

"Who said that? Show me the idiot who said that so I could give him a hex or two."

"But it's true! I'm always the smart one. Never the pretty one. Haven't you seen the way I look every day? My plain face and monstrous hair?"

"Hermione, believe it or not, I don't care about your plain face and monstrous hair. I asked you to go to the Ball with me, didn't I?"

"That doesn't mean you think I'm pretty."

"Bloody hell, Granger – we're practically dating by now! Ever since the end of our second year, we've been together all the time. I know we've never made it official, but I thought you were smart enough to deduce it. I wouldn't have dated you if I didn't you were pretty."

"Oh, so now you're saying that you date me because of my looks? Nice to know that, Malfoy. Nice to know that the guy who I really like a great deal only – "

Draco lost it. Growling under his breath, the blond cupped the girl's face with his hands, and silenced her with a kiss. It started out a little sloppy at first because not only they were both inexperienced, but Hermione was still ranting when he pressed his lips against hers. But it didn't take them long to fall into the same rhythm as instincts took over. Draco's left hand went to wrap around Hermione's waist to pull her closer while his right hand went to cup the back of her head, tilting it into an angle that would make it easier for him to kiss her. Hermione's own hands had found their way circling around Draco's neck, pulling him even closer to deepen the kiss. The blond had pictured kissing the bookworm many times before, since the day he turned thirteen and realised what he felt for the girl was more than a simple crush. He had to say, whatever he imagined before was no way as amazing or as breath-taking as the real thing. Her lips were soft against his, and the cute noises she made got him thinking of ungentlemanly thoughts. It took great will power for him to push her off him, and he let out a shuddering breath at the effort.

"Wow," Hermione breathed, sounding out of breath.

"Is it enough prove to you, Granger?" Draco asked, also panting. "Or do you want more?"

"No, no, no," the girl quickly said, and it made Draco laughed. "It's enough prove for me."

Draco grinned and gave Hermione's lips a quick peck. "So? What do you say?"

"About what?" Hermione asked back, though the glint in her eyes told him that she knew already what he meant.

Pulling the girl for another round of kissing, though shorter this time, he asked the question.

"Will you be my girlfriend, Hermione?"

The grin on the Gryffindor's face was absolute naughty, Draco was tempted to snog her senseless again. "Took you long enough to ask, Draco."

The Slytherin couldn't help himself from kissing her again. He didn't even care when she let out a loud squeal.

Hermione Granger had agreed to be his girlfriend, and that was all that mattered.

NOTES: Hi, guys! Long time no see. Here's the long awaited chapter of the Yule Ball. I hope it's worth the wait. My sister kindly pointed out to me that there hadn't been any mention of a kiss between Draco and Hermione, so I decided this chapter would fit the moment. As for the dresses, I leave it all to your imagination. I just told you the colours so you all could picture the perfect dresses yourselves. Also, I picture Liu Yifei as the Cho Chang in this story. I love Katie Leung, but she's a little too tough and awesome for the soft-and-gentle looking Cho who is secretly a badass that I have in mind. Anyway, that's all. Thanks for reading guys!