Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything else affiliated with it.

Hermione's POV

We finish the song and look at each other with pure joy. Before either of us even realize we're moving, we pull each other tight and kiss. We kiss in front of everyone else and surprisingly, I don't mind. I really couldn't care less about the others right now. We pull away, then bow, and run off the stage together. I'm not entirely sure but I think I hear people clapping and cheering for us. I can't be bothered to try and listen though. We exit the hall to catch a breather, but not before we see Pansy go up, pulling a scared looking Blaise behind her. If I wasn't distracted I'm sure I would have smirked at him. Great now Draco's mannerisms are rubbing off on me.

I guide Draco up to the astronomy tower, with him carrying his guitar over his shoulder. When we finally get up there, I let go of his hand so he can reducio his guitar and put it in his pocket again. We both walk over to the window and look out at the night sky and the lake. The moon is fairly bright tonight and it casts a beautiful light on the water. The whole view is lit up because of the moon and the stars twinkling softly.

We stand for a moment, just looking out appreciating the view, before I ask Draco a question. It's something that I've wanted to ask for a while but was also a little weird.

"What was it like to grow up knowing you were a wizard?" I see that my question has caught him off guard. He seems shocked by it. He's silent for a bit, looking pensively at the handrail in front on us, then slowly he speaks up.

"Well, it was just kind of normal. When I showed my first signs of magic, it was shocking at first but at least I knew why it happened. My first sign was when I was about 7, I had just gotten another lecture from my father and I was walking back to my room. I just stood in front of a vase and glared at it as I wish I could at my father if I wouldn't get scolded. I was filled with so much hate and anger that the vase just shattered. I was so scared, I knew my father wouldn't be happy at all about it, so I ran and hid. He came up to my room and I started crying, I begged him to not send me to live with muggles and all sorts of nonsense that a 7 year old pure blooded kid comes up with when they're terrified. He just looked at me and carefully told me that I just showed my first sign of magic. He actually smiled at me and got me cookie. It was one of the only times my father was nice to me." He smirks a little with a rueful expression.

"Wow, I knew you had a rough childhood, but I didn't think it was that bad."

"Yeah, well most people assume I was pampered the whole time. Instead I was abandoned with just the house elves to take care of me. Now I'm curious to know, what was it like finding out you were a witch?" I should have seen the question coming, but for some reason I didn't. I organize my thoughts and think carefully before speaking.

"I don't know, I mean I had a pretty standard childhood up until I was 8. I was in muggle primary school when another girl was being bullied by some older boys. She stuttered a lot, and was very quiet. I got really angry and tried to tell them off. Then they turned to me and said that I was just a girl, 'what was I gonna do?'. I told them that I'd tell on them and one of them shoved me daring me to do it. I got really upset and yelled at him to not touch me. Just as I said that, they all flew back and hit the wall. I didn't think too much about it at first, but then I realized there was no way they could have gone that far even if you shoved them.

I tried researching it in the school library but I couldn't find anything. Other weird stuff happened as I got older including one time when I got upset that I couldn't have any candy when the other kids did, and I managed to turn my toothbrush into a lollipop. My parents weren't very happy with that since they're dentists." I see Draco looks a little confused when I say this.

"Oh right, Muggles have healers for their teeth called dentists. It's what my parents did. In the wizarding world there are charms to clean your teeth, but in the muggle world we have little brushes." Draco nods but I can tell he still doesn't quite get it. He can look it up later if he needs to.

"Anyway, then I got my Hogwarts letter, and finally everything made sense. I suddenly had an explanation after about 3 years of trying to figure it all out. I came to Hogwarts and it was just so surreal. Now I'm here, the brightest witch of our age. Sometimes it feels like this has all just been an elaborate dream and I'll wake up any second."

"I never thought of it that way. I guess it never really occurred to me that muggle borns had to have had a life before this, one they were torn away from and had to leave behind. I guess it's kinda weird." I silently agreed with him, I never thought about how it might have been to know about magic your whole life.

"It's funny, I feel like this is the most we've shared about each other. I wish this happened more often, maybe this can mark the start of a new chapter. A fresh start in our story together." I pause when I realize what I just said. "Wow sorry that sounded really cheesy."

"It was cheesy, but also kind of cute."

At that point a comet zoomed past us. We both looked up to look at it, and almost collided with each other. We laughed it off, but it was so nice to see the comet that we barely even acknowledged the blunder. We stayed there for about another 20 minutes just enjoying each other's presence and company.

"We should probably head back soon, before our friends send a search party for us." I say reluctantly, wishing we could stay here forever, learning everything possible thing about each other. It was really nice seeing a window into how he felt as a child, before all of the drama at Hogwarts, and it was also kind of nice to share how it felt to grow up a witch without knowing it.

"Yeah, we should. I don't want Blaise or the others to start rumours about what we did, especially after our kiss on stage. Oh my gosh, Pansy must be furious by now. I know she still has a bit of a crush on me and she gets very jealous, very easily." He says. I laugh at the thought of Pansy turning bright red with anger when she realized how long we've been gone.

"Not only that, but we kind of organized the ball. It's bad form to leave and not keep an eye on things." I add.

"True, that's quite right."

We walk at a moderate pace back to the Great Hall, to see a fifth year boy singing a very passionate rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen complete with dramatic dance moves. Some of the purebloods look kind of confused, but most of the muggleborns and half-bloods are hysterical. I find the sight really funny, and burst out laughing. Draco and I squeeze through the crowd to find our friends at our table talking with each other.

"Oh look, it's the love birds! Come back to join us after some love making?" says Blaise. I blush slightly, but just because I'm under pressure. I hate blushing because most people assume that I'm doing it because what they insinuated is true. Most of the time it isn't, and then rumours get out and no one let's it go for at least a couple of days.

"For your information Zabini, we were merely appreciating the beauty of the night sky. At least I didn't have to sing with Pansy." Even though we weren't around to see it, it must have been hilarious. I'm glad Draco answered though, as I don't trust myself to explain what happened without dithering.

"Ooh, you'll have to tell me all about it tomorrow Hermione. I want juicy details." says Ginny. I look at her with an exasperated look, but also signal that I will.

The rest of the dance passes without a hitch. We spend awhile at our table just chatting, then get up together and dance during one of the Weird Sisters last songs. Neville surprisingly, had the best dance moves, followed by Ginny, then Blaise, Padma, Parvati, Luna, me, and Draco. Draco looked like he was a baby horse trying to walk for the first time and I found it really cute. Eventually the ball ended, and Draco, the prefects, and I carefully took down everything as quickly as possible. It was a bit of a mess, but it was easier to clean up than if we had to do everything the muggle way. Soon we're finished and Draco and I send the prefects stumbling back to their dorms to go to bed.

I walked back to my room with Draco in tow, carrying a stack of bags containing decorations, and leftover supplies from the ball. I climbed through the portrait hole as gracefully as I could wearing high heels, carrying a huge pile of fabric, and of course being exhausted. Draco wasn't much better, and we both practically threw our bags onto the couches to sort out tomorrow before climbing up to our rooms and falling through our doors. I was so tired that I just collapsed onto my bed without taking off my clothes or removing my makeup, falling into a dreamless sleep.

If Ginny or Pansy was there to witness it, they'd probably have fainted at the sight of me ruining my dress like that. Having said that, if they were there I'd probably have fainted at the sight of them both being in my room.

Author's Note: The Halloween ball has finally happened, please let me know what you guys think about it. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Please read and review, all feedback is welcome. Thanks for all your support and have a nice week. Till next time!