As the students looked to a beaming Professor Slughorn, who announced, "I have a gift-" a stage with flashy lights and heavy instruments appeared at the opposite side of the room where everyone was standing. And then, in a puff of smoke, the Weird Sisters were blaring loud music into Professor Slughorn's office. The chorus of "Do the Hippogriff" filled Hermione's ears, and Draco's laugh mingled with it a moment afterwards.
"What's so funny?" Hermione shouted above the suddenly whooping students, who were overjoyed at Professor Slughorn's present. She slipped her hand into Draco's, and he led her as far away from the band as possible so they could hear each other without having to scream.
"I remember that during this song at the Yule Ball, I was dancing very close to you." Draco's face leaned in towards hers, and she could smell the Firewhiskey on his breath. But he wasn't drunk, to her surprise. "After the time you had so neatly abused my face in third year, you'd always stood out more, and I only pretended to disdain you from then on for the benefit of my peers. And then, at that ball, seeing you so beautiful and happy dancing with Viktor Krum while I was stuck with Pansy Parkinson nearly drove me insane. I was a proud man then, and I still am, but I won't hide from you or myself any longer the fact that I've loved you much longer than I've ever thought. I was a fool to ignore my feelings for so long, and to tell you the truth, you are the best thing that's ever happened to me."
Hermione's heart almost stopped. She already knew that Draco loved her, and that she loved him back, but this rocked her to her core. Draco had confessed that he had liked her for a while that night they had waltzed by themselves, but hadn't had any idea that this had stemmed back to when they had been immature fourteen year-olds. However, on hearing this confession, Hermione was suddenly blinded by memories of how she had cared for him, too. She realized that she had liked him even longer than he had claimed to love her.
In the first year, when she first saw his pale blond hair, slicked to the nape of his neck, she had swooned. But she had been forced to dislike him when he picked a fight with her only two friends, Harry and Ron, and had picked on Neville and other innocent souls. She had been so young at the time to realize that he had been trained to disdain other people since he was born, and had simply thought it was his personality.
In the second year, when she saw his gray eyes glint maliciously when he had first called her a "Mudblood," he had made her cry. On the outside, she had pretended that she didn't care, but it had truly hurt her pride and dignity so much. She didn't know it then, but perhaps it had hurt her so much only because she had liked him and had wanted his kindness, and not the cruel taunts he had thrown at her.
In the third year, when she had punched him right in the kisser, she couldn't lie: it had felt good. Really good. Truly, it had. He had been terrible to Hagrid, Buckbeak, and her and her friends. At the time, he had deserved it, and it was perhaps this little event which resulted in a rare compliment from Ron Weasley that had made her be even more distant from Draco, and start drifting towards the freckled redhead instead.
In the fourth year, Hermione had wanted to strangle Draco when he had viciously tormented Harry when he was named a champion for Hogwarts. However, she had felt… scared… when the fake Professor Moody had Transfigured him into a ferret, and even somewhat embarrassed for him. At the time, she had thought he had deserved that, too, but now that she thought about it, it was perhaps this year, the year that Lord Voldemort had returned, that Draco was fully let into the Death Eater world. During that year, he had possibly glimpsed the mantle he was to uphold one day, and knowing that he could not turn back and choose another path.
In the fifth year, he and Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad had been prepared to torture her and her friends for information on Dumbledore's whereabouts. But, no doubt, he had been instructed to do so by his father, who had obviously resumed his Death Eater activities. And Hermione didn't even feel slightly vindictive after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, when she saw in the newspapers that Lucius Malfoy had been caught and sent to Azkaban, and that Draco and his mother had fallen into the greatest and fullest disgrace possible.
In the sixth year, she had been shocked when she saw how much he had changed for the worse, losing so much weight, gaining dark circles that seemed permanent under his eyes, and even possibly… dying. Hermione had been telling Harry to "leave Malfoy alone" that year, but was it because she truly thought he hadn't been up to anything, or was it because she didn't want Draco to suffer anymore? True, she had been beyond furious that Ron had betrayed her undeniably obvious affections and dated Lavender Brown, but in all honesty, it hadn't broken her heart, like it should have. She realized that if Draco left her right now, her heart would indeed break.
And last year, so much had happened between them that Hermione's mind almost overflowed with the sudden influx of memories. Draco not wanting to identify Harry when they had been captured at Malfoy Manor… Draco shaking visibly with his eyes full of utmost terror when his Aunt Bellatrix had been torturing her… Draco letting Harry take his wand to defend himself after a half-hearted struggle… Tears suddenly came to her eyes after all of these visions.
"Hermione, Hermione! Are you all right, darling?" Draco's worried voice brought her back to the present. His face was still mere inches away from hers, and she suddenly didn't care anymore. Not about Ron, not about her values, not about anything. She loved Draco more than life itself, and bitterly laughed at herself at her stupidity for chasing after Ron, at Draco for not revealing his feelings sooner, and at the misunderstandings that had been driving them apart.
She surged forward and hugged him tightly, swallowing her tears as soon as she was reunited with her one, true beloved. "I just love you so much." she whispered into his ear.
He hugged her back, stroking her fine hair, "I know. I know, love. And I'll never let you go. You and me, we'll be together forever." He pulled back from their embrace so that their faces were right in front of each other again, and gray eyes met brown.
In that moment, as if they had planned it, they both leaned in at the same time, and their lips finally met for the most pure, most sacred, and most absolutely beautiful kiss that had ever happened. Hermione's heart seemed to be in the process of being tattooed to her ribcage, and Draco felt as if he had died a saint and was in Heaven getting his just rewards. Time stopped, and in that moment, time itself seemed to revolve around the couple, and it seemed nothing could ever break them apart.
"Miss Granger, I got you a dri-" the smooth voice of Brevis Birch was faintly registered in Hermione's mind as her lips remained locked with Draco's in a most passionate kiss. She couldn't have cared less that this heartthrob of so many women was offering her refreshments, but Draco did tend to have a temper, and was also very possessive of those he cared about.
He slowly pulled back from their kiss, and Hermione felt almost as if her soul were tearing in two, as if Draco were her Horcrux, a part of her, being separated from her. She finally opened her eyes as their lips were completely parted, and saw him glaring hostilely at Brevis Birch, who looked rather shocked.
"Pardon me, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you two-"
"Save it." said Draco, his frown rapidly turning into a smirk. "Look who's coming this way."
Brevis turned his head to see his brother taking rapid strides towards their direction.
He quickly turned back to Draco, and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know I was hitting on your girlfriend, I swear. Blimey, I wish Trevor would tell me about these things-"
"I don't think it's just Hermione who Trevor's upset about." Draco interrupted the Quidditch hotshot once again. "I think he's also a little bit upset over the fact that you're being slightly unfaithful to your own girlfriend, who, by the way, in case you haven't realized yet, is the girl Trevor's been chasing after for so many years."
Brevis's face became the epitome of shock as Draco bid him a good evening, and whisked Hermione away from the oncoming duel. Hermione caught a last glimpse of Trevor's contorted face, before they bumped into Astoria Greengrass, making Hermione hiss underneath her breath.
However, Astoria barely paid attention to them, having eyes only for Brevis. Muttering a casual "Excuse me" to the couple, she dashed her way towards the brothers' confrontation. Mafalda was following close behind her, and Draco grinned as she pushed her way past to the ring that had formed around the circling brothers.
"Wow, two birds with one stone. You ought to write Brevis and Trevor a thank-you card for single-handedly getting rid of the two people you despise most at this school." Draco chuckled as they reached the middle of the room, where other couples were already dancing. Hermione saw Luna and Rolf lost in each others' eyes, and felt immensely happy for them. "Now, how's about that dance?" he asked coyly.
The song, "Magic Works" was now being played, and Hermione giggled, listening to the lyrics as Draco pulled her to him, thinking about how perfect this song was for them.
Hold each other tight, and keep each other warm,
And dance your final dance,
This is your final chance,
To hold the one you love,
You know you've waited long enough,
They revolved slowly on the spot, ignoring the flashes of the cameras as reporters were commenting loudly about how they would be the first to submit the newest fashion trends, Hermione and Ginny's styles, to Witch Weekly, and speculating on how fast the two dresses they wore would sell out. Draco and Hermione ignored them, as they were lost in their own world.
Meanwhile, the brawl between the Birch brothers drew all those who found dancing to be mundane; namely, girls that were after the famous Brevis, and boys who just wanted to see a good fight. Ginny and Zacharias were among the crowd, and had just finished making bets on who would win. This was difficult to determine, as the brothers had resorted to outright "Muggle fighting," as Zacharias had dubbed it. In terms of physical strength, the brothers were about equal, as Brevis had had more years of Quidditch training, but Trevor was taller and just looked stronger.
Zacharias, after being challenged by Ginny as to who could drink more, had become increasingly tipsy. After Professor Slughorn had enlisted the help of other teachers to break up the fight before either side could deal a fatal blow, Zacharias started wobbling, and Ginny, rendering their bet by now useless, decided it was time to leave.
She supported Zacharias as only a good friend would have done, and set out to find Draco and Hermione. They were still dancing right in the center, and thankfully, the reporters had finally left them alone to go snap some shots of the Birch brothers' brawl.
Now, believe
That magic works
Don't be afraid
Afraid of being hurt
Don't let this magic die
The answer's there
Oh, just look in her eyes
And make your final move
Don't be scared, she wants you to
Yeah, it's hard, you must be brave
Don't let this moment slip away
"Oi! You lot!" Ginny called, but to her amusement, Hermione and Draco seemed to be deaf to everything around them. She resorted to Plan B, using the shrillness of Zacharias's voice to wake them up. She pinched him hard on his wrist, and he yelped, finally breaking the couple out of their hypnotized state.
"What?" Draco snarled, irritated, as Hermione yawned and leaned her head onto his shoulder.
"We should leave." Ginny said bossily. "He's drunk and she's asleep. And this party's going to over soon, anyways, so we should try and avoid the traffic." she jerked her head towards the Birch brothers being restrained by the people around them, and the shouts of glee of those who had won bets.
"You're right." said Draco, all sweetness when he saw that Hermione was exhausted. "Let's go then, shall we?"
So the four friends left the party discreetly, managing even to dodge any reporters who might have wanted to press for interviews. They reached Sir Cadogan, who, seeing Zacharias and Hermione in their vulnerable states, let them into Montecino tower without putting up a fight.
They took turns changing and showering, and soon, they were all fast asleep, curled up on the couch, as Crookshanks happily took Hermione's bed for himself.