After Rose had spoken to him about Hermione's decision and the fact that she was willing to play along with Draco however long it took, the Slytherin prefect decided to write another letter to his aunt.
"Aunt Bellatrix,
This is a progress report.
I have good news.
I overheard Hermione Granger, the mud-blood who is Harry Potter's best friend, telling Rose Potter that, to get revenge on Ronald Weasley not paying her attention to her like she wanted and because he was being dense (truly no surprises there, right?), she was willing to go out with the next guy who asked her out, especially if Ron hates him.
This is perfect!
By going out with her, a mudblood, I'm showing Potter's band that I'm willing to change and if I can make her fall in love with me, she'll be willing to help me and tell me anything I need to know. This is the perfect opportunity I was looking for.
I won't act without the Dark Lord's permission and so I'm waiting for your owl confirming that I can go forward and ask the mud-blood out. Please try to answer quickly, if I wait too long, someone else could ask her out first. I hinted to Rose that I found Hermione pretty and that my past insults to her was because she made me nervous, so she'd talk me up with her friend. Rose believes that I have all my chances.
Waiting for your owl.
Draco Malfoy"
Draco was happy with his letter. His plan was going well so far and he hoped it would continue this way.
He didn't have to wait long because, just the next evening, he received his aunt's answer. he could imagine her running to the Dark Lord's side as soon as she received his owl, excited and happy, as she always was when she got to spend time with her beloved Dark Lord.
"Draco,
Go ahead and ask her out.
Our Lord is extremely pleased with you and your sense of duty. I know it won't be easy for you and the fact that you're willing to do this for our Lord didn't go unnoticed. Keep going this way and you'll quickly rise in ranks. You might end up sitting by our Lord's side as soon as you're marked.
I'd give anything to see you take Severus Snape's place. I'm still not convinced he's really on our side but our Lord trusts him so...
Date the mud-blood if you can, play your cards as well as you can, continue to pretend that you want out of your family's allegiance to the Dark Lord. Gain their trust.
I'm proud of you, Draco.
Bellatrix."
Draco smiled. This was perfect. They believed him. If he kept on playing his cards right, he'd soon be free from his father's choices. He just needed to find a way to speak to his mother, safely and one on one.
.
A few days later, Rose had gotten permission from the Headmaster to let her team do a little presentation during dinner. She was feeling a bit nervous but they had all worked very hard and she knew that they would be fine. It was Halloween and everyone was present for the feast, no one was going to miss this and she was hoping to get enough money to pay for everything they needed.
In time for dinner, all the members of her team showed up in their cheerleading outfits, each in their house color but still very similar, ready to show everyone what they were capable of.
Before they showed themselves, Professor McGonagall spoke a little to the Great Hall, explaining what was going to happen. She did say that both girls and boy had been invited to join but that no boys had decided to try out this year, though she encouraged them on doing so next year. She also made sure to mention that even though House Slytherin had been invited to join, they had chosen not to and to create their own team and had refused to join in on that evening's presentation.
"Look at Parkinson's face! She looks absolutely furious." Lavender pointed out.
"You're right, it's quite the pleasing sight isn't it?" Hermione nodded.
While Hermione was not on the team and didn't cheer with them, she did a few spells to make their performance a lot more magical and Colin Creevey had been asked to take a few pictures for them. Hermione was still a member of the team, whether she cheered or not, she still worked with them, and so she was wearing the same outfit as the others.
The pictures taken by Colin Creevey would be sent to Luna's father along with an article he promised to publish, hoping to get them some donations.
"Alright, let's go and show them what we can do." Rose encouraged them before they stepped in front of the other students.
They started with a performance by their entire group, then the Gryffindors only, then the Huffelpuffs on their own, then the Ravenclaws. Once each house team had performed on their own, they did small numbers with combined houses before they finished with the three teams together, for a big finale.
They finished their little show with a great double Pyramid with Rose and Luna on top and magical sparkles in the house colors all around them.
Almost everyone cheered. Truthfully, the only ones who didn't look happy were Pansy Parkinson and the 4 other girls from her team. They started to realize that they should have taken Rose' invitation, but it was too late now, they would have to work a lot harder to measure up to these girls and what they were capable of.
Once they were done, Rose told them that they accepted donations to help finance their outfits and a few of the girls walked around the tables with little boxes.
"How much did you collect?" Fred asked her once she had sat down next to him, ready to enjoy her feast.
"I'm not sure yet, but Hermione told me that Professor Dumbledore gave 3 Gallions. All the teachers gave something, even Snape." Rose replied.
"Well, it sure went well. How often are you girls going to wear these cute little outfits? Just so i can make sure to be awake early on these days, not to miss a moment of it." George asked her with a wink that made her blush and made her boyfriend glare a little.
"Just before the games." She smiled.
"Good, I'm not sure I like the kind of looks it gets sent your way." Fred frowned.
"You know, you'll have to be able to play and not look at me when the next Quidditch game comes." Rose warned him.
"I know, I'll have to work on that." He chuckled.
"You two are just adorable together." Hermione sighted.
"Thanks." Rose blushed.
A few seats away, Harry and Ginny were sitting together and it seemed like even though they were taking things slowly, they were together. Harry definitely made it obvious to the other boys that Ginny was off limits.
"Oh, hey Nick!" Ron exclaimed a few minutes later when the ghost floated by them.
"Mister Weasley." The ghost nodded with a little frown.
"Sir Nicholas, how has your evening been so far?" Rose asked him.
"Lady Rose! I can't complain, but we were all held up a bit. Myrtle was a bit upset earlier today and tried to drown the bathrooms again. It took all of us to calm her down." He replied and shook his head.
"It can't be easy for her, being the youngest ghost around the place, she must be lonely. I mean, she was 11 when she died, right?" Rose nodded.
"It's a bit easier this year, Peeves spends a lot less time teasing her, but she's still in need of a friend her age." He added with a nod.
"I understand." Rose nodded before Nick smiled at her once more and moved towards the end of the table.
"Why did he call you Lady Rose? Why is he so nice with you? He barely looked at me when I greeted him." Ron complained.
"He always calls me Lady Rose." Harry's sister shrugged her shoulders.
"It might have something to do with the fact that you call him by his actual name all the time instead of the nickname he hates." Hermione replied.
From her seat, Rose could see Draco and he smiled her way with a small nod.
He had warned her that his aunt Bellatrix had sent her approval and that he'd be asking Hermione out at the first occasion. Hermione was aware of it and had assured them both that she was willing to play along, no matter how long it took.
"Malfoy's coming to talk to you again, Rose. Can't you tell him to bug off?" Ron complained.
"If he wants to come here and talk to me, I don't see the problem. He's always been polite and nice with me. I believe that he's trying to change and be a better person, Ron. Maybe you should take some notes." Rose snapped.
"What's wrong with you girls these days? You're always snapping at me." He added, remembering that even Lavender and Parvati had been kind of hard on him since the Hogsmeade day.
"That's something you'll have to figure out on your own, Ronald." Hermione shook her head just as Draco arrived.
"Hi Rose, enjoying your feast?" he asked.
"Very much so, yes. Halloween is very pretty here, I love it." She nodded with a smile.
"Here, a little donation for your team. Pansy's pissed at me anyway, might as well make it worthwhile and give her something real to be angry about." He chuckled, handing Rose a couple of Gallions.
"Thanks, here, Hermione is handling the money." Rose pointed and Draco went to stand next to Hermione and gave her the money.
"Thanks, it's very generous of you." She told the Slytherin Prefect, not used to seeing him nice.
"Anyway Granger, hum, sorry, Hermione, I was thinking… We're scheduled to patrol the corridor at the same time tomorrow, I figured we could meet here and do it together, maybe get to know each other better on the way?"
Everyone looked at them with shock and surprise. By the look on Ron's face, he could have been having a heart attack. Neville even checked if the red headed boy was still breathing.
Hermione was blushing, Draco was acting like a perfect gentleman. She wasn't expecting this to happen this way.
"I… Sure, I'd love to." Hermione ended up smiling at Draco, especially after seeing Ron's look: half surprised, half angry, completely confused.
"And… Maybe we could eat together before that? Either at your table or mine or even at another if you prefer, I don't really care." He added, knowing that he promised Rose to push it as far as he could.
"That would be nice. Shall we meet around noon in front of the doors?" She asked him.
Now Ron looked like his brain had stopped functioning. He was frozen. George was starting to wonder if they needed to carry him to the infirmary or not.
"Perfect, see you tomorrow then." He smiled.
After that, Draco smiled at Hermione once more and went back to his table.
"What the hell just happened? Why did you agree?" Ron exclaimed loudly.
"Why shouldn't I agree? He's been a lot nicer lately, unlike some." Hermione replied.
"He's a Slytherin! He's the enemy!" Ron exclaimed even louder.
"What bothers you so much Ronald, that he's a Slytherin or that I just agreed to spend a lot of time alone with him?" Hermione asked him.
"Or maybe the fact that he was charming and that he made Hermione smile and blush?" Ginny added.
"What? You...You don't get it at all…" Ron shook his head while several people around him tried to hide their smiles.
"Then there shouldn't be a problem, right?" Rose told Ron, trying to sound as innocent as possible.
"Right." Ron frowned.
"If seeing her with another guy really bothers you, Ron, you should have made your move at Hogsmeade, when she gave you the opportunity to do so, several times." George whispered in his little brother's ear before he helped himself to a third slice of pie, the last one, which had been in Ron's plate.
By the look on his little brother's face, he wouldn't have been able to eat it anyway. He still looked like he was having an attack, or severe stomach pain.
I have a long plan for Draco's little ruse... It will last until the summer, maybe even longer... Will he get caught?
Do you think the ruse between Hermione and Draco will turn into something else or will they part ways as friends and be with other people?
Lorelei Candice Black