"You are LATE!" an irate Professor McGonagall hissed. "And you four! You're not even starting off the dance! You should be inside already!"
"I'm sorry, Professor." said Harry gallantly. "They had to pick me up from Hogsmeade, so that's why we were a little short on time."
"And we didn't know that we couldn't come down with Hermione and Ginny." Luna chirped, Heather nodding in agreement.
"This is why we READ." Professor McGongall snapped, pointing to a flyer posted by the doors of the Great Hall. It specifically says-"
"Really, Professor, it's my fault." Harry said. "If it weren't-"
"Then you should've come in through the main gate, Potter!" fumed Professor McGonagall, who didn't care one bit that she was chastising the famous war hero. "Mr. Weasley, Mr. Finnegan, and Mr. Dean all did!"
Hermione's head swiveled towards Draco, who didn't seem surprised at all. Before she could ask, though, Professor McGonagall had exasperatedly thrown her hands in the air, and cried, "All right, all of you walk in together then, like at the Yule Ball! Here, Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Granger, come up front-"
The final line-up was Hermione on Draco's left arm in front, Ginny on Zacharias's left arm next, then Luna on Rolf's left arm, and finally Heather on Harry's left arm.
"When you walk in," Professor McGonagall said sternly. "Only the Seniors and Heads will walk to the center of the room. The rest of you merge with the crowd until the second song. Let's get going, then!"
Professor McGonagall clapped her hands twice, and the Great Hall's doors slowly swung forward. As if on cue, a fanfare started playing, and Draco led Hermione into the ballroom.
It seemed as if the whole school had turned up, teachers and students alike. The Great Hall had been transformed into some kind of fairyland, and Hermione thought she was literally in heaven. Everything was a light color and some form of pink, making her feel as though she were floating through clouds. The crowds were on either side of her, and most were beaming, although a few looked quite envious. Everyone sat at circular tables of eight and watched while the Seniors and Heads glided towards the dance floor.
As Harry, Luna, Heather, and Rolf branched off to join the rest of the school population, Luna and Heather hurriedly sped up and took Hermione and Ginny's roses from them before they went to join Harry and Rolf at the empty table they had claimed. It didn't surprise Hermione one bit when she started hearing the hushed murmurings of, "Is that Harry Potter?!"
Hermione craned her neck to look for Ron, but as far as she could see, there was no sign of him or Romilda. Feeling a little relieved, she stole a glance at Draco, but all she saw was contentment on his face. Hermione finally felt that she could just relax and enjoy the ball, and she turned forward. There was an orchestra seated where the Staff Table usually was, complete with conductor and percussion.
They had finally reached the center of the spacious dance floor. Draco turned to face Hermione and confidently held out his arm while putting his other hand on her waist. Hermione blushed a little, but also got into the waltz position. She could see that Ginny and Zacharias were ready as well, and in no time, after an announcement that the Seniors and Heads would start off the dance, the dance started.
It felt a little nerve-wracking to have everyone's eyes fixed on her as she spun around effortlessly with Draco, but he kept a steady hand and pulse, so all she had to do was look into his shining gray eyes to feel reassured. Cameras clicked feverishly from every corner of the Great Hall, and Hermione felt her heart almost burst with joy when Draco pressed a chaste kissed right into her mouth for the world to see while they continued waltzing.
Far too soon, the first song was over. Hermione was dizzy, for although she had felt that the song was short, they had spent a good ten minutes dancing. As everyone applauded, Draco led her to the table where their friends were, closely followed by Ginny and Zacharias.
It wasn't hard to find the table where everyone was, since Harry had a flock of reporters trying to interrogate him. "I'm sorry," Hermione could hear him saying heatedly, "but I've got to dance this next dance with my girlfriend. You can have an interview another time." As Professor McGonagall came to chase the journalists away, Harry, Rolf, Luna, and Heather congratulated their friends enthusiastically and complimented them on their dancing skills.
Then, Zacharias gallantly handed Ginny off to Harry, and Harry did the same with Heather to Zacharias. The four of them headed off to the dance floor, now being flooded by everyone else, with Rolf and Luna following close behind. Draco and Hermione were left alone, as all the reporters and cameramen started attempting to stalk Harry, forgetting all about Hermione, to her extreme happiness.
"That was fun." Draco said breathlessly, running a hand through his smooth blond hair. "Look, there are the menus from the Yule Ball, except this time without any foreign dishes. Are you hungry?"
Hermione didn't answer his question, instead saying, "Draco, do you know that-"
"Weasel's here." Draco finished for her calmly. As she cocked her head curiously, he shrugged. "Potty already told me before you girls came out. He just found out yesterday night, apparently. Don't worry, though. Harry's already warned me to keep my temper in check, and I'll be a good boy for you."
Hermione sighed in relief. "Thanks, Drake. I hope he doesn't try to ruin the night."
"Who's trying to ruin the night?" an all-too-familiar voice asked. Ron and Romilda, holding hands, slipped into Harry and Ginny's empty seats across from Draco and Hermione.
"Speak of the Devil." Draco muttered, his hand beginning to reach for his wand. Hermione shot him a warning look before saying as pleasantly as she could, "Good evening, Ron, Romilda. Fancy seeing you here!"
Her voice sounded a little unnatural to her, but she resolved not to be intimidated by Ron anymore. Should he attack, their friends were coming back soon, and Draco had a quickness with drawing his wand that rivaled Harry's skill.
Ron, however, only nodded. "Hermione, Malfoy." he said calmly. Romilda smirked. "I'm here as Romilda's date. We just came to say hello."
"Well, as her date, shouldn't you be dancing right now?" Draco asked shrewdly as Hermione nudged him with her foot.
Ron waved a hand airily. "The dance floor's too crowded right now, and I'm horrible at dancing, anyways. You don't mind, do you, Milda?"
"Of course not, sweetheart." Romilda said with a voice as sickening as Professor Umbridge's, caressing Ron's cheek lovingly. "As long as you get me Harry's autograph, I'm yours!"
"There." Ron said simply. "I also just wanted to apologize for my behavior at the Burrow. I shouldn't have lied like that. I was so desperate to get you back, Hermione. But, you don't have to worry about that anymore. I've moved on." He motioned to Romilda, who was busy glowering at Harry and Ginny dance.
"That's great, Ron!" Hermione said as happily as she could, although it was very obvious that Romilda's true affections were reserved for someone else. Hermione, however, would not interfere with Ron's love life, even if it was for his own good. "I'm really happy for you! Aren't you glad, Draco?" she asked her boyfriend imperiously.
"Uh, yeah. Sure thing." Draco said noncommittally, observing the menu in front of him, which he had taken a sudden interest to. Hermione rolled her eyes at Draco's purposeful rudeness, and went back to Ron. "So, we can be friends again?"
Ron smiled. "Yeah, I'd like that. Maybe you can help me win back Harry and my family, too." he said, glancing in the direction his date was staring at. Romilda started tugging on Ron's sleeve when an open spot on the dance floor appeared, as Rolf and Luna, who had been dancing next to Harry and Ginny, left the dance halfway through. "Ronnie, let's dance!" she commanded.
Ron grinned and waved at Draco and Hermione as he was dragged away by Romilda. "Duty calls! See you around!"
Hermione waved halfheartedly at Ron as Romilda started stomping all over his shoes while they danced, and Draco didn't even bother looking up. "Baby back ribs." he finally decided, and the food materialized onto his empty plate. Hermione sighed. Boys. she thought. At least he didn't attack Ron, so I guess I should be thankful enough. Lightly, she said aloud, "Well, that wasn't too painful, was it?"
Draco chuckled as Luna and Rolf sat back down in their seats. "I think it was more painful for Weasel than for us. I wonder if Romilda gave him another love potion."
"If I didn't know better, I would think that Romilda actually still likes Harry." Luna said blandly, helping Rolf pick something to eat. "The way she took our dancing spot almost convinced me!"
"Luna, dear." said Rolf. "I think Romilda's only dating Ron since he's now famous, and it's a good way for her to get close to Harry. I think I'll have pork chops." As Rolf's food materialized, Draco nodded his assent, saying, "I think they're perfect for each other, though. They obviously both love the spotlight, and can use any means to get what they want. I fear for the children, though."
"Draco!" Hermione protested, smacking his arm as Rolf and Luna laughed merrily. "You'd really want that kind of punishment inflicted on Ron?"
"What, him marrying Romilda, or seeing their mutant children?" Draco asked innocently.
This time, all three of them laughed at Draco's wittiness. This is going to be a fun night, Hermione thought.
By midnight, when the Valentine Ball was over, Hermione was pleasantly full, but her feet ached. She had eaten a rich fish course, as well as much dessert, and then unwisely chose to dance with everyone who asked her. So in the end, Hermione had danced once with Dean, who had come with Demelza Robins, twice with Seamus, who had come with Vicky Frobisher, twice with Harry, once with Ron and once with Trevor, (to Draco's chagrin), twice with Zacharias, once with Rolf, once with Jimmy, who was now once again a happy and normal boy, and thrice with Zacharias.
After the sensation of Harry's appearance had died down, the paparazzi started following Ron and Hermione as well. The only reason why Hermione had danced with Ron was to prove to the world that they were still friends, and it seemed to work, as many reporters looked disappointed to see that there wouldn't be any drama between the rumored ex-lovers. With Trevor, Hermione just felt sorry for him, and it also gave her a surge of happiness to see Astoria's furious face. She supposed her newfound pettiness was from Draco, although Harry could say different, as he remembered when she had went with Cormac McLaggen to a Slug Club party just to get even with Ron in their sixth year.
Harry was given permission by Professor McGonagall to stay the night, as Draco and Hermione had invited their table to a sleepover in Montecino Tower. Lady Montecino looked delighted when she saw the group make its way back to Draco and Hermione's common room, and bid the exhausted children goodnight as they tiredly went in.
Kreacher was called upon to bring the guests their pajamas from their dormitories as they each showered and changed out of their fancy, sweaty clothes, and the sweet elf even went to the Burrow to fetch Harry's for him. It was about three o' clock in the morning when everyone was finally done, and instead of going to sleep, the teenagers played Blackjack with Hermione's Muggle cards and gambled Knuts, (Lady Montecino wouldn't permit anything more than that), until it was five o' clock. Hermione was glad that tomorrow was a Sunday.
At that point, everyone had pretty much passed out instead of falling asleep. Hermione thought that everyone besides her and Draco had had far too much Butterbeer, (although Draco had had a good amount of Firewhiskey), and as she snuggled in Draco's warm arms with his roses clutched in her hands, on the floor of the common room surrounded by their wonderful friends, she thought she could possibly be the happiest girl in the world.