1994 – Fourth Year
Hermione sat in the joint Gryffindor and Slytherin potions class just weeks before the first Triwizard Tournament task was due to commence. She had spent countless hours researching numerous ways to defeat a dragon, however none of which filled Harry with much confidence. The most they had come up with had actually come from a conversation Harry had with Professor Moody regarding his strengths where he subtly suggested using his broom. Hermione had followed this with a spell that he could use to summon his broom once he was on the arena.
Still, this brought very little hope to the situation as far as Harry was concerned, however Hermione saw this is a brilliant plan of action and tried to encourage Harry to see things this way also. She had tried everything to lift his spirits, but the closer they came to the date of the first task, the more Harry became an empty shell of himself.
She'd hoped that talks of a Yule Ball would help to lighten the mood, but that only added to his worries more. He knew he would be made to do an opening dance with the rest of the champions, and even if he managed to get himself the date he wanted, it would still be humiliating.
"Mr Potter, do try to pay attention to my lesson. 10 points from Gryffindor for ignorance." Professor Snape drawled before returning to his caldron and continuing his teachings.
Goyle waited a few moments for Snape to become fully focused on his potion once more, before turning in his seat to face Harry. Harry's eyes moved from Goyle's face towards the badge pinned to his robes and read "Support Cedric Diggory – the REAL Hogwarts Champion."
His eyes moved back up to Goyles who was now smirking at him as he pressed against the badge on his chest and the words transformed and spoke loudly "Potter Stinks!"
Around the classroom various students sniggered, Goyle broke out into a fit of laugher as Draco who sat beside him turned around to face Harry, his signature smirk plastered across his face as he looked between the badge his friend wore and Harry's face.
Worn out and enraged, Harry pushed his stool away from the desk he sat and pulled out his wand. As if by instinct, Draco stood quickly and turned to Harry, his wand in his hand also. Very quickly the pair moved their wands and cast disfiguration spells on one another, however both spells deflected and missed their intended targets. Harrys spell darted towards Goyle, not a complete loss in Harry's eyes, however Draco's spell bounced and hit Hermione directly in the face.
Immediately she felt a growing sensation in her mouth and once she lifted her hand to her lips, what she felt confirmed her suspicions. Since she was a young child, Hermione had always been conscious of the size of her front teeth, so when she felt the dramatic growth Draco's spell had caused, she became mortified and frozen with pure embarrassment.
"Mr Goyle, please escort yourself to the hospital wing." Professor Snape spoke as he moved between the desks and stopped finally between Harry and Draco's desk.
Goyle did as he was told and moved quicker than anybody had every seen before. Draco looked at Hermione with concern, his face grew pale as he fought against with himself in how to react.
"What about Hermione!?" Harry asked, looking between his friend and their professor. Snape turned his gaze to Hermione and gave her a once over before turning swiftly on his feet and heading back towards the front of the classroom.
"I see no difference." He said before he turned once again back to his caldron.
With this Draco's eyes widened and he watched as Hermione's filled with tears before she darted out of the class room. His stomach turned as he a wave of guilt washed over him, mixed with a feeling of complete uselessness as he remained at his desk in class with no power to do anything. He knew he could run after her, he could chase her down to see if she was okay, reverse exactly what he had done and try to make things better, but at the risk of outing their friendship to everyone, causing more questions that he or she was prepared to answer, he instead waited, watching the clock tick by with each passing second, willing time to move faster so that he could go and check on her.
~X~
"Hermione?"
"Victor… hi," Hermione said, slightly startled that she was yet again bumping into the Durmstrang champion in the corridors.
"For someone labelled as the brightest which of her age, you spend a lot of time not in lesson."
"I'm just coming back from the hospital wing, there is only a few minutes left of my lesson and I didn't really want to go back, so I'm heading to the great hall."
Krum held out his arm and gestured for her to continue her route as he walked along side her.
"Are you well?"
"Huh?"
"You said you had been to the hospital wing, did you hurt yourself?" Krum asked, his hands clasped behind his back as he set the slow pace on their walk towards the great hall.
"No – I mean yes I'm fine. My friend Harry got into a bit of a situation with Draco Malfoy, they both cast a disfiguration spell simultaneously and Draco's bounced and hit me. My teeth grew longer than they were originally, which was by no means small, so I ran to the hospital wing for Madame Pomphrey to sort them out."
"Where they fighting over you?" The curiosity clear in his voice as he looked towards her through the corners of his eyes.
Hermione frowned and shook her head as her own eyes remain low. The thought was enough to make her laugh in the context she knew the boy beside her meant it in.
"It is a funny thought that boys would fight over you?" He asked as his lips raised at the corners.
"Harry is one of my best friends, so the thought of him arguing over me with someone is funny yes, however, come to think of it. The thought of anyone arguing over me is quite funny, it just wouldn't happen."
"Have you heard that there is going to be a Yule Ball held here this year?"
"I have heard the rumours yes." She said cautiously, wondering where he was going with topic.
"And you don't believe that there will be boys fighting over you then? Arguing between who gets to ask you to the ball?"
Hermione slowed to a near stop as she looked to the side of her towards the boy who was now smirking, pleased with himself that he had caused her to blush ever so slightly. It had suddenly dawned on Hermoine that should there be a ball, she would not only be denied the pleasure of being able to attend with the real person she would want to go with, but she would also have to say yes to someone else if she didn't want to go alone and more importantly, so would Draco.
She continued her steady pace as they neared the entrance to the hall before finally responding to Krum.
"I don't believe people will, should anyone even want to ask me." She said as she stopped at the entrance.
"Oh I can assure you Hermoine. You'll be asked." Was the last thing he said before walked away from her and headed to join his school mates at the end of the Slytherin table. She remained frozen for a few more moments, confused and oblivious to Krums intentions.
"Looks like you've secured yourself a date then." Draco said quietly as he walked into the hall. She glanced around quickly at the other students, thankfully the hall was still relatively empty except for a few of the visiting schools.
"What do you mean?"
"I came to see if you was ok, discovered you'd already left the hospital wing and found you strolling down to the great hall with Victory Krum, who by the way, was blatantly preparing you for him asking you to the Yule Ball." He snapped in hushed tone, Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head in response.
"Don't be ridiculous Draco."
"I'm not being ridiculous, you're just naive." He said before his friends Theo and Blaise walked into the hall and past him with curious eyes before they took their own seats at the Slytherin Table.
"I'm not having this conversation with you here, especially when you're being a prat." Hermione hissed before she turned on her heal and headed towards the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Ginny.
"What was that about?" Ginny asked, concern etched into her voice that matched her expression.
"Nothing, him and Harry had a squabble, his spell bounced and hit me, he was just rubbing it in that's all." She hated lying, painting him in a worse light, but it was the most believable outcome given his history with her Gryffindor friends.
"Hermione, are you ok?" Harry asked as he sat down in front of her, passing her books across the table that she had left behind in her act of fleeing.
"I'm fine Harry, thank you. I actually got Madame Pomphrey to make them shorter than they were before, so technically, it worked out better for me." Hermione smiled and showed off her teeth to her friends.
Ginny chuckled and rolled her eyes along with Harry, but eventually she caught him smiling along with her. His smile however, quickly faded once Ron appeared at the table and very dramatically took one look at Harry and made a move to sit as far away from him as he could without being away from their group of friends. Harry watched his friend before he turned to Hermione and gave her a short smile and left the great hall.
Hermione turned to Ron and sighed, shaking her head in frustration that her two closest friends were being idiots.
"And they say girls are petty?" Ginny said, causing Hermione to scoff in agreement.
"Have you given much though to the Yule Ball?"
"We don't even know if its happening yet Gin, I don't want to get worked up about it before we even know its happening."
"Oh its happening, and you need to prepare yourself for someone asking you to go with them."
"Now you're starting to sound like Victor." The words had left her mouth before she had really given much thought to who she was talking to and the effect it might have on her.
Ginny immediately dropped her fork and shifted her entire body to face Hermione, she quickly swallowed the food she had in her mouth hole and stared at her friend wide eyed, waiting for her to elaborate further on what she meant.
"He hasn't asked me, before you get any ideas. I bumped into him on the way here and he was talking to be about the ball, pretty much saying the same thing as you but in a less excitable way. He mentioned that someone will ask me."
"Oh wow," Ginny squealed, "He's going to ask you, he's the someone!"
"Wonderful, now you sound like Draco." Hemione groaned as she rubbed her eyes and placed her head in her hands.
"Draco? Draco Malfoy? What does he have to do with any of this?"
Hermione's stomach did a backflip and she realised what she had said, without looking at her friend she removed her head from her hands and pushed herself away from the table.
"I think whatever Madame Pomphrey did to shrink my teeth has made my head feel a little funny. I'm going to go lie down for a moment, excuse me." Hermione said before she made a quick escape from the great hall, her eyes remained fixed on her exit so not to accidently make eye contact with the many people she wanted to avoid in that moment.
~X~
The night of the 23rd of November, Hermione sat up in the Gryffindor common room with Harry in complete silence, watching the fireplace intently as the sound of crackling wood filled the empty room.
She had ran out of comforting words to say to him, all that was left was for him to play out the first task and use his strengths to beat his opponent, even if that was a giant dragon. A small part of her remained furious with Ron that he wasn't there with them, comforting his friend in a time of need, the night before he risked his life yet again through not fault of his own.
"I'm going to go to bed. I need my rest before tomorrow."
"Are you sure? I'm happy to stay up with you for as long as you want." Hermione offered, she could see the worn look in Harry's eyes and new his suggestion was probably for the best.
All he could muster up was the faintest of smiles and a small nod before he headed towards the stairs leading to their dorms. Hermione stood quickly and ran over to him, stopping him in his tracks.
"Harry, I know I've said it all before but you will be fine, you're more than capable of beating this thing, try to get some proper sleep." She said before she pulled herself into him and hugged him closely.
Harry wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gave her a tight squeeze as he sighed and relaxed into her. She had never realised how much Harry had changed over the years. She still looked at him like he was the same small, goofy looking 11 year old she had met on the train in first year. He was much taller now with a lean structure, the size of his arms, and chest were evidence of his time playing Quidditch. Hermione made note of all of these changes and yet saw him as nothing more than a additional family member, most girls would fall over themselves for a chance to be in Hermione's shoes in that moment, however she just felt greatful to have him as such a close friend.
"I love you Mione, if I was to ever have a sister, I'd want her to be exactly like you, stress and all." Harry said through a small chuckle.
"Love you too, Harry." Her voice muffled against his chest.
Harry finally pulled away from her and gave her And gave her one more smile before leaving her alone in the common room.
As soon as her body became aware that he had left, she felt cold and sick with worry for her friend and what awaited for him the following morning. With a quick glance at the clock on the wall she read 11:30 and tried her luck at her necklace.
With a welcoming shock of warmth against her chest in response, she grabbed her cloak and wand and left through the portrait towards the seventh floor.
On her way she thought about how her journey to such a place in first year used to fill her with such anxiety at the thought of being caught and how now, the idea of such a thing caused her to giggle. She still didn't like the thought of breaking school rules, but wondering the corridors at night didn't compare to turning back time to assist a criminal charged with murder to escape the grasp of the ministry.
Hermione took her last step off the moving staircase onto the seventh floor when she heard footsteps behind her, for a moment she panicked at the possibility of who those steps could belong to when she turned to see Draco and his ruffled hair moving with each step.
"Hey." She said quietly, causing him to smile down at her, and any look of concern to disappear from his face.
"Hey." He said back, his voice low and raspy, like he had just woken up from a deep sleep and using his voice for the first time.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and guided them both towards their room, stepping behind as they walked through the veil, allowing her to take of her robe as she wandered into their room.
Draco watched the girl before him and observed how comfortable she was in his presence now, when just 3 years ago she all but refused to take off her cloak in-front of him and look anything less than a model student. He watched as she now not only took off her robe, but proceeded to pull her jumper over her head and take of her tie before undoing a few buttons on her shirt and stopping just before the tip of the pendent. She continued by rolling up her sleeves on her shirt and kicking off her shoes before she turned and spotted Draco watching her.
"Are you finished?"
"I wanted to be comfortable..." Hermione said with a raised brow.
"Oh I know, I commend you for it. I'm just wandering if there's any more to come off." He said before he winked at her.
Hermione flushed and swotted his arm playfully, a move Draco had grown to used to, resulting in a quick movement like he was reaching for the snitch and grabbed her arm. In one swift motion he pulled her towards him as he leaned against the sofa and pulled her arms around his head, moving his hands to wrest on her hips as she stood in the gab between his legs, their body's inches apart.
"You're dressed rather casually, did I wake you?" She said as she observed his long sleeved white top that clung to every inch of muscle he had whilst his black slacks did the opposite and sat perfectly on his hips.
"You did, but it was worth it." He smiled down at her and kissed her forehead. "So what was bothering you so much to see any to be here so badly?"
"Harry went to bed and I didn't want to sit up all night thinking about tomorrow by myself."
"He'll be fine Hermione, they don't call him boy that one die for nothing."
"I don't believe anyone calls him that, I'm pretty certain it's the boy that lived."
"Same thing. He didn't defeat the dark Lord to just get taken out by a dragon. He will be around annoying the crap out of the likes of me for a long time."
Hermione chuckled at his attempts to cheer her up and make her less worried. It worked as a distraction, but nothing could stop her from feeling truly concerned for her friends safety.
"So what you need, is something to take your mind off of tomorrow." Draco suggested, his eyes looking towards her lips as he spoke.
Hermione held her breath as she nodded and her own eyes travelled down towards his lips before she closed her eyes upon feeling his breath against her.
"I think I can help with that." He all but whispered before leaning into her and pressed his lips to hers.
Hermione used her grip around his shoulders to close the gap between their bodies and pull herself against him as they kissed. Draco's hands gripped her hips firmly, desperate to contain himself and keep his adolescent hormones in check but it was becoming more difficult the longer they kissed and the closer she pulled herself towards him.
He became very aware that the trousers he wore weren't very forgiving and not before long he would give himself away. With this his hands moved slowly away from her hips and down her thighs until he could feel her skin against her finger tips.
A small gasp escaped from her lips at the feel of his hands against her skin and her body involuntarily caused her to stand on the tip of her toes whilst she moved her hands from behind his neck towards his shoulder before gripping him tightly.
Hermione squoze down on his shoulders firmly and caused a shiver to ricochet through Draco's body and stopping in his groin. He moved quickly to prevent her from noticing this and gripped her thighs tightly before lifting her and wrapping her legs around him, making sure not to remove his lips from hers.
Hermione squealed as she felt herself being lifted in the air and grew vaguely aware that they were moving across the room. He had successfully achieved his goal, Hermione considered herself to be well and truly distracted. The taste of his lips completely intoxicated her, combined with the feel of his hands on the legs holding her up against his body caused her to forget every worrying thought in her mind.
"Hermione." Draco whispered as they moved across the room towards the window seat.
She hummed in response and continued to kiss him like an addict craving for more. Finally he stopped moving and pressed her against the wall beside the window seat, causing her to gasp and break away from their kiss at the coldness against her back and exposed skin.
Hermione's eyes shot open at the shock of the cold surface behind her before she looked into Draco's eyes. It was the first time she found herself at eye level to him, usually he towered over her by a considerable amount, it made a nice change to be on the same level as him.
The light from the moon shone in through the window and reflected off his face and made his sharp features glow. Draco's eyes remained closed and he struggled to steady his breathing. Before she knew what she was doing, Hermione had reached up and cupped his face with her hands, causing his eyes to open and lock onto her own.
The look on his eyes was almost feral as they bore into hers, the intensity became too much to Hermione to bare as every inch of her body ached for Draco to kiss her again.
"We should stop before we get carried away with ourselves," Draco breathed resentfully.
Hermione, deflated at his words, hearing the complete opposite of what she wanted caused a pit in her stomach to form.
"I don't want to, believe me I don't..." Draco said as the corner of his mouth curled and his eyes grew warm, "I just..."
He paused for a moment before looking down at between them, her eyes followed as she looked at her legs wrapped around his waist, her cheeks flamed at the realisation of what he was implying, although she couldn't see his waist, she knew exactly what she would see or even feel if she was lowered just a few inches.
"I'm a teenage boy Hermione, all I want is to continue and kiss every inch of your body," Hermione bit down in her bottom lip as he spoke, her eyes watching his lips with every word that came from them, "but we aren't ready yet. I don't want out first time to be because of some need for a distraction."
Hermione became overwhelmed by the different emotions running through her body. Firstly she felt disappointed and rejected through Draco stopping anything further from progressing between them.
After which she realised he was right and she felt embarrassed that she was encouraging such a thing to happen, when finally she realised her own hormones were playing havoc with her rationality.
Draco pushed away from the wall and began to slowly lower Hermione to the ground, her skirt hitched slightly on her way down as she brushed against his body. She quickly swatted the material down and hid her bashfulness behind her curls.
He spotted this and moved a hand up to the side of her face, tucking her hair behind her ears before using is index finger to lift her face up towards his own.
"You're not the only one with urges you know."
"I know, and one day, we will no longer be able to fight them," he chuckled as she looked up at him through her lashes.
He knew at some point later that night, or perhaps the following day he was going to regret stopping himself. He knew in this moment he had done the right thing, she would regret it more if they hadn't stopped.
"It's late, let's get comfortable and try to get some sleep." He spoke as he moved away from her and started to head towards the sofa. Hermione couldn't control herself as her eyes wondered below his waist and caught the remaining evidence of his excitement, although now subtle, she knew what she was looking at and it caused her to scream internally that she had been the cause for it.
Draco turned away from her and flicked his wand towards the fireplace, causing a small flame to wrap around the logs in the fireplace. He hopped on the sofa and pulled off the blankets from the back and beckoned her to join him.
Hermione pushed herself off the wall and walked over to the sofa before she stopped and looked down at him as he lay down the centre, he eye brow raised before she questioned him.
"If you don't want a repeat of a few moments ago, you're going to have to pick a side."
Draco smirked at her before he shrugged his shoulders and gestured to either side of him allowing her to pick. Her mind was still dazed from her few moments of near passion with Draco and her confidence that she could only assume was an after effect caused her to smirk down at him and climb on top of him, one leg either side of his waist.
"Well if you're not going to pick a side, I guess we will both have to sleep in the middle." She said smoothly as he looked at her with alarming eyes, his confident smirk disappeared completely. His otherwise cool demeanour faltered as he l felt Hermione shift to lay down on top of him, he felt her chest against his and her hips rest dangerously close to him, it was unbearable.
"I pick the edge." He spoke quickly, causing Hermione to giggle against his chest as she lifted her leg and allowed him to shift beneath her before she tucked herself up into the corner and snuggled closely into him.
"So... this ball," Draco said slowly, daring to risk bringing down the mood, "we obviously can't go together."
"I know."
"I wish we could."
"I know." Hermione sighed against him, yet again frustrated by their never ending predicament.
"You have to promise me something." Hermione lifted her head as he peaked her interested with his words, resting her chin on his chest as she waited for him to speak. He lifted up his arm and propped his head up slightly in order to look into her eyes more clearly before he continued.
"No matter what happens, no matter who we both end up going with, neither of us will get jealous and we will know that we would both rather be there with each other. And you'll save me a dance at the end of the evening when we can escape the crowd."
Hermione smiled and nodded in agreement, content with the idea of still being able to dance with him once the night was through. Finally her body signalled that she was tired and needed some rest when a yawn escaped her mouth and she felt the heaviness of her eyes for the first time that evening.
Draco shifted on the sofa and wrapped his arms tightly around her before closing his eyes allowing his body to completely relax, making a mental note that he would have to wake up earlier in order to get into the Slytherin dorms and change before anyone would notice. Just as sleep overcome the pair, they both mentally recapped over how close they had come to taking their relationship to the next level, Draco smiled as the remembered Hermione's confidence and the faintest blush appeared on Hermione's cheeks as she remembered the feeling of his hands against her thighs.
A small part of her felt relieved that Draco had stopped things from progressing further, he was right, they weren't ready. But a bigger part of her knew it was only a matter of time.
~X~
The morning of the first Triwizard Tournament Task had arrived and Harrys nerves were completely frazzled. A night of next to no sleep, a stomach that couldn't handle a single bite to eat and Hermione no where to be seen was causing him to feel very unsettled. With every new person that walked into the great hall, Harry's head shot up in hopes he would spot the familiar bushy hair bouncing down the centre towards him, and yet each time it was not her.
"Nervous?" Ginny asked Harry quietly, his eyes darted towards her.
If any other person had asked him this question, he would be inclined to respond with some witty sarcastic remark about how he was quite the opposite, in fact, he was excited to face death for the fifth time, but when Ginny asked he couldn't bring himself to do anything more than nod and bow his head.
"You'll be fine Harry, I have absolutely no doubt about it."
"Thanks Gin." He said glumly, no more sure of himself than before she had spoken.
Harry's eyes searched one more time for Hermione before they landed on Cedric who was beckoning him towards the same direction he spotted the other Champions heading. With a heavy sigh he pushed himself away from the table and stood up, his fellow classmates turning to him, some with smirks and some with looks of concern.
"Wish me luck." He mumbled more to himself than anything, however Ginny heard and told him that wouldn't be necessary.
~X~
Hermione wo
ke with a start, her eyes shot towards the clock and an overwhelming surge of guilt passed through her as she leaped off the sofa and darted towards her discarded robes.
"Draco, we overslept!" She said as she tried to dress quickly, putting her tie on inside out and wrapping her robe around her.
Draco sat up immediately, his eyes still dazed as he looked towards the clock and back down at his attire.
"Fuck." Was all he said before he to jumped up from the sofa, "I'm not dressed to be walking through the castle at this time. I'm going to have to wait here for a moment."
Hermione hopped towards the sofa as she placed her other shoe on before giving Draco a quick peck on his check and heading towards the exit to their room.
"I'll see you later." She called before rushing out of the room and towards the Gryffindor common room. The closer she got to the common room, the more she kicked herself for not being there for Harry when he woke up, who was no doubt already on his way to prepare for the first Task.
As she entered the common room, she discovered it was completely deserted and mentally kicked herself once more before she darted up to her dorm room, panting through every double step she took. Once again her dorm was empty as she tore off her clothes and grabbed the closest pair of jeans she could find, not caring if the top and cardigan she shoved on top matched before she slipped on her pumps and darted out of the room once more.
Hermione wasn't one for physical activities, which meant that by this point she knew without looking in a mirror that her face would be red as she arrived at the great hall, struggling to breath whilst her eyes scanned the room for Harry, her heart sinking further when he was no where to be seen.
"He's already left." Ron said bitterly without looking at her, "Where were you?"
Hermione decided against rattling her brains to figure up and excuse and instead left the great hall and headed towards the grounds of the first task with whatever remaining hope she had left that she would be able to see Harry.
Upon arriving at the champions tent, she spotted what could only be Ministry officials standing at the entrance, stopping reporters and photographers from entering as well as any other unauthorised personnel. She glanced around her surroundings and spotted a route that lead out towards the back of the tent that she felt confident she could take without being noticed.
With this Hermione slowly made her way to the back of the tent, regaining her breath before she heard a voice that sounded like Victor Krum and she was filled with relief as she realised Harry must be in there also. Finally she reached a small opening in the tent and sneaked a peak inside in search for Harry only to find that she couldn't spot him anywhere. Her heart stopped when she heard footsteps nearing towards her on the opposite side of the tent, she had come this far, if she were to be caught now, she was confident that the worst that would happen would be a result of her being escorted to the stands with the other bystanders.
"Harry?" She whispered, willing for the person on the other side to be him.
"Hermione?" He whispered back, confirming her suspicion. Hermione sighed with relief as she rested her hands against her knees and finally allowed herself time to catch her breath for the first time since she woke up.
"How're you feeling?" She breathed.
"Not great."
Hermione stood tall and weighed up the punishment for her being caught in the champions tent and decided that the risk outweighed her friends need for comfort in that moment when she pushed the gap to one side and threw her arms around Harry.
Harry held her tightly to her and immediately felt more at ease, something about the way Hermione smelled always brought him comfort, like a mothers scent to a young child, it never failed to calm his nerves and he imagined this to be how hugging his own mother would feel.
I clicking noise and a bright flash pulled the two friends away from each other as they turned towards the direction it came from and found Rita Skita stood before them with her floating camera and notepad beside her head, wearing a huge grin on her face like she had just won the lottery.
"Young lovers! This will make the front page if you die today, oh the heartbreak!"
"You're not supposed to be in here. This tent is reserved for Champions and their close ones, you are neither so I suggest you leave." Krum said in a stern voice as he walked in front of Harry and Hermione, blocking Rita's view, with a deflated expression that turned into a false smile as she peaked over his shoulders to get one last look at the two Gryffindors, she left the tent with her notepad scurrying away.
"Thank you." Hermione said to Krum before he turned towards them.
"No need. I don't like that woman," He spoke, eyeing Harry up before he turned to Hermione, "Are you two…"
"No!" Harry and Hermione said at the same time, causing one another to laugh. Hermione wasn't sure why it sounded like such a preposterous thing, Harry was by no means someone to be embarrassed about liking, but she had never though of him that way and she knew he felt the same, so the idea behind it was enough to make the pair laugh.
"Miss Granger, what're you doing here?" Professor Dumbledore's voice caused the pair to jump.
Hermione turned to him sheepishly before she responded, "I just wanted to see Harry one more time before the first Task started, I'll be leaving now." She said before giving Harry's should one more squeeze and leaving the tent.
On her way out she glance back and caught Harry's eyes one more time, she wondered whether she could read the fear so clearly on his face because she knew him so well. With one last heavy breath of frustration at the entire situation her friend was in, she took off to find the rest of the Gryffindor's in the stands.
~X~
"He did it!" Hermione squealed from the stands, turning to Ginny who wore a matching grin on her face before they hugged each other with joy for their friend.
"I knew he would! He's a champion alright!" Ron cheered beside her.
"What do you mean you knew he would!?" Hermione turned to Ron, enraged at his sudden change in tune, "You've done nothing but fight him on this since the moment his name was read aloud in the great hall. You haven't been there for him once Ronald Weasley! And now he's completed the first task you suddenly support him?"
"I told him about the Dragon!"
"No. You got me to do it for you because you were to stubborn to do it yourself. If you hadn't, it would've only been a matter of time before Hagrid did, so he doesn't have you to thank for this Ron. However, now that you have seen the error of your ways, you better apologise to him the first chance you get!"
"You're scary when you're angry Hermione…" Ron said with his head tilted down and his eyes looking up through his glasses, a look Hermione found irresistible to stay angry with.
"Don't make me angry again then," She smirked at him which caused him to smile back at her, it was difficult for them to stay angry when their friend had successfully completed the first task unscathed, "Come on, lets head back to the common room."
As the group of Gryffindors entered the castle, Hermione smiled and rolled her eyes at the way Ron spoke about Harry's success, the pride evident in his voice.
If only he had realised this sooner - she thought to herself as they reached the bottom of the stairs leading up to the common room. Before she had chance to take a step forward onto the stair case, Hermione felt someone tugging against her arm and pull her round the corner onto a separate corridor. The smile she wore on assumption that it had been Draco soon fell from her face when she found herself presented with Victor Krum, still dressed in his robes for competing, the Golden Egg he had collected in the task gripped firmly in his right hand.
"I told myself that if I was to make it through that task alive, I would ask you this question." He said to her through a short breath.
Hermione started at him with confusion as she waited for him to catch his breath, curious as to what question he would have for her. He closed his eyes and took one more deep inhale, before opening them once more, the determination became clear on his face.
"Will you go to the Yule Ball with me?"
Hermione froze, completely taken back by his question. She could hear Ginny now, gloating about how she had been right all along. She could hear Draco's jealousy as he bitterly said I told you so. And yet he was still waiting to hear her actual response.
She didn't want to say yes, she knew exactly who she wanted to go to the ball with and there was nobody else she would want to go with instead. She could deny Harry and Ron the opportunity to go with someone they cared about to save her from having to go with Victor, or she could say no and wait for someone else to ask and run the risk of leading someone on who attends the same school as her, at the very least with Victor, after all of this he would be leaving for his own school.
She mulled it over in her head for a few more seconds before she realised Krum had started to blush in her silence and she decided she couldn't make him wait any longer for a response.
"Yes, I will." Her words came out almost a whisper.
Krum was beside himself with joy as his grin stretched across his face, he wanted to reach for her and hug her but decided against it and instead gave her a slight bow of his head before heading towards the dungeons to join the rest of his school mates.
Hermione remained frozen on the spot, unable to decide if she had made a huge mistake in saying yes to him. Thankfully he was one of the few people she was confident wouldn't be quick to tell everyone who his date was to the ball, that at least filled her with some hope that she had some time to figure out how to tell Draco she was going to the Yule Ball with the one person he would likely rather her not go with.
Author Note
Guys, I'm so sorry I've taken so long to update. Words longest WIP or what!? I've decided I'm not going to say when my next chapter will be because I'm sick of disappointing, life just keeps getting in the way. However, what I will say is that the next chapter is not only going to feature the Yule Ball, but I've commissioned another piece of art to go alongside the chapter! Hopefully that makes up for my absence. Thanks again for those who are sticking with this story, believe me, I cannot wait for this to be complete any more than you can!