Hermione sat there trying to bite back the tears as she thought about the nerve Ron must have. She had recently come to terms with a small crush on him but now she wondered. She had decided to go with Viktor because he was a man who knew what he wanted but maybe Ron was right and he was too old.
When she heard laughing she looked up and saw Draco along with Crab, Goyle, and some slytherin girls who were hanging off of the young Malfoy. When he saw her he smiled and shrugged them off.
"I'll meet you back at the dorms"Draco called to them before striding over to Hermoine.
"What's wrong Granger, Krum leave you to go play with his staff"Draco asked and Hermoine rolled her eyes. She wasn't sure if that had a hidden meaning or not but when she looked up and saw a smirk she had her answer. She wrinkled her nose up and turned away in disgust.
"You're revolting Malfoy"she said and he just laughed.
"I'm surprised you didn't show with Weasley"he said, which he noticed just made Hermoine angrier. She clenched her fists in the skirts of her dress and Draco could see the whites of her knuckles along with a vein he noticed popped in her neck when she was mad.
"Ronald didn't ask me, Viktor did"she admitted hugging her arms to her body. She wasn't sure why she had admitted it to Draco but she was hurt. "What about you Malfoy, no one wanted to go with a ferret"she asked and she smiled when she saw him clench his teeth.
"I had my pick of girls"he said gesturing back the way his friends went and he wasn't lying. Now that she thought about it Hermoine had seen multiple girls ask him throughout the week. He ever made a Hufflepuff girl cry. But he ended up attending with Pansy. Then Hermoine faltered, since when was she paying enough attention to Draco to notice that?
"Granger it seems I've been robbed of telling you how disgusting you look in your dirty mudblood dress"he said and Hermoine recovered glaring daggers at him.
"Well what are you waiting for, tell me now?"she said, refusing to let him see how much that hurt her. She normally cared more about her studies than her appearance but it still hurt to have him say that.
"Because it would be a lie"he said smiling as he held out his hand. Hermoine looked at his hand before looking back up at him. Had he just given her a compliment in his own Malfoy way. She smiled as she took his hand; it actually made her feel a bit better. Maybe tonight wasn't a total waste.
"Think you can manage a dance Granger"he asked and Hermoine stopped before they walked into the great hall. Surely this was some kind of cruel joke and his friends would be waiting inside to laugh at her foolishness. Besides, the band was only playing slow songs now which would mean he had to be close to her, something she wasn't sure either of them could bear.
As Malfoy saw the conflicted look on Hermoine's face his own face fell. She was obviously about to reject him. He had been watching her all night and she seemed perfectly content to dance with Viktor. She probably even would have danced with Weasley if the idiot would have asked her.
Hermoine just frowned and kept walking, her night couldn't get much worse and at this point she wasn't sure she cared. She was too busy looking at the other dancers to see Draco's relieved sigh or the smirk on his face as he pulled her in to dance.
When he did Hermoine gasped at the forceful gesture and held her hands up to stop them from crashing into each other. Draco looked away and cursed under his breath. He had finally convinced her to dance and now he was bumbling through the steps like a fool.
"Did your mother teach you to dance?"Hermoine asked and Draco stiffened. He wished his mother had the time to teach him such things but she was always busy catering to the dark lord or some other death eater mission.
"A servant"he managed to choke out. Hermoine's eyes widened but she didn't pry since she could tell the matter was personal. Even if she had pryed he wouldn't dare tell her Dobby had helped him practice before being freed by Potter the previous year. Dobby was often busy with chores his father gave the elf but he had found the time one afternoon to teach him to dance when the elf saw Draco struggling and angry.
Draco admitted he often took his anger out on the elf and that had been a mistake but he needed an outlet for all the times his father droned on about how great Harry was, or how Weasley bested him once, or how he would never be as bright as Hermoine the filthy mudblood. As he thought about that his grip on Hermoine's waist tightened, digging into her hip.
"Ow Draco"she yelped briefly pulling away to look up at him, alarmed.
"Sorry"he quickly mumbled before loosening his grip. He had let his anger get the best of him yet again. But what confused him is her slip. She had just called him Draco.
Just then someone tapped him on the shoulder forcing him to pull away from Hermoine. "What"he snapped looking at the head boy of Gryffindor. But the boy ignored him, instead looking at Hermione.
"The ball is over, Hermoine do you want me to walk you back"the boy asked and Hermoine shook her head.
"That's ok Malfoy can walk me"she said and Malfoy nodded smiling at the head boy before taking Hermoine's arm. The boy looked at Hermione one last time before walking off ahead of them. As they walked Hermoine couldn't help but realize how warm and comforting Draco's arm was as she held it. She had always expected him to be cold and unforgiving the same way he always acted. This Draco almost scared her more, at least she knew to expect cruelty from the other. This one though was just a boy, a boy who had asked her to dance, who knew what he wanted.
"Goodnight Malfoy"she said when they got to the painting of the fat lady. She stood across from him, not really sure how to properly say goodbye to a former enemy who she had just slow danced with.
"Goodnight Granger"he said, bringing her hand up to kiss it before leaving. Hermoine held her hand to her chest as she watched him stride back down the stairs. Draco never just walked; he always had to stride with the confidence that made other people move out of his way in fear.