A/N: Here's another chapter, thank you for the positive feedback! It means the world to me :) Do you guys want a sequel?
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I am not making any money off of this.
"Ow! Watch where you're throwing Potter!" I yelled upon receiving a snowball to the side of my head.
"Sorry Malfoy," Scarhead teased. I scowled and threw a snowball right back at him. He managed to quickly duck out of the way, causing it to sail and hit Weasley in the back of the head.
"Oi! Who threw that?!" He exclaimed, whipping around to see who had hit him. I snickered, slimy git deserved it.
"It was Potter!" I called over to him. At that, the redhead grabbed a handful of snow and threw it at Potter, hitting him square in the shoulder. Potter, always one for being overly dramatic, staggered to the ground, and pretended to die from the hit. Merlin, these were two idiots. But I was doing this for Granger. I owed her that much for being such a git earlier.
"Hermione, save me! I've been hit!" Harry called out, flailing around in the powdery snow.
"I'm coming Harry! And guys, if you hit me, I swear on Merlin that you will receive a nice hex upon your lovely faces right before the start of the ball!" Hermione said giggling. She jogged over to Harry and bent down to "examine" his "wound". "I don't think you'll make it Harry," she said, concealing her laughter with a gloved hand.
"Then tell Ginny, I love her!" He gasped before finally "dying" in the pile of snow. I tried to hide a snicker, but it was poorly concealed. Not that Potter was particularily funny, but their shenanigans weren't horribly unamusing.
"Wait what?!" Ron exclaimed, finally putting together what the Chosen One had declared. "I thought you liked Cho mate?"
"Well, Ginny's always been there for me and I was actually a bit upset when Neville asked her to the ball before I got the chance. I'm sorry Ron," Potter said abashedly.
"Git," Weasley muttered. "You know that she's been obsessed with you since first year right? You should have asked her!"
"I know I should have, thank you Ronald," Potter said, faking annoyance. I rolled my eyes and gathered together another snowball. Merlin, when would Granger say she had to leave so I could be free from these two imbeciles.
Deciding to stir the pot, I tossed a snowball at Weasley, smacking him hard in the middle of his back.
He wiped around and threw one at me, which I dodged but narrowly missed Hermione. She whipped around and glared at Weasley. I laughed as she conjured up a giant mound of snow and dumped it on him.
"Fools," She muttered. She grabbed Harry's had and hoisted him up.
"Thanks 'Mione," Harry said. He promptly jumped into action and threw a snowball at me. It nailed me in the stomach and I collapsed to the ground.
"Mione, only true loves kiss can save me," I gasped. She ran over and bent down in the snow next to me. She leaned down and grazed my lips with hers. I leaned forwards and deepened the kiss. We broke apart when we heard some cat calls. Our breath coming out heavily in big, thick, white clouds.
"Sorry to break up your precious moment, but can we play?" Fred asked grinning at us. George winked at me and and I rolled my eyes. I had never had any qualms with the twins, but since they were Weasley's I was automatically not their friend, nor had had any conversations with them up until now.
"Oi, what's blondie doing here?" George quipped, raising an eyebrow at me.
"He's here with me, so be nice you two," Granger gave my hand a squeeze and I smiled down at her. The moment was short lived as a snowball crashed into my head.
"Shit," I shouted, wiping away at it. I heard the twins laugh.
"That's for all your years of being an ass to Harry and Ron," Fred laughed and rolled another ball in between his gloved hands.
"Merlin Granger. How much longer?" I groaned, looking at her with pleading eyes.
While I was glad they were friends again, for her sake. It certainly was a gloomy prospect, having to be around these insufferable idiots.
"So I guess you guys all made up then?" George asked, turning to look at Granger.
"Yeah. Harry and Ron realized that they truly can't function without me as their brainy leader... and they needed help with their pile of homework before winter break," she rolled her eyes and looked over fondly at the pair. "After a long chat, and an agreed upon truce for the sake of our friendship, here we are."
"Great!" Fred and George said in unison. They each grabbed a hand full of snow and one tossed it at Harry, the other one was thrown at Ron.
I laughed and the clock chimed. I glanced up and saw that it was four-thirty. "I'm going to go now," I said, addressing Granger.
"What? Does it really take that long to do your hair?" Weasley joked.
"Or is it to trim your ferret whiskers?" Harry asked.
"Shut it Potter," I snarled. "I really hate you two," I muttered darkly. I started to trek up the path and when I got to the doors, I turned and looked back at Granger who was standing chatting with the twins.
When five o'clock finally came around, I had to wait a few minutes for Granger to join me. She was holding a red wrapped box and was still in her winter robes.
"Happy Christmas," I said, embracing her. She repeated my sentiments. "I got you something!" I said proudly, holding out my package for her which resulted in a lovely, toothy smiled.
"I've gotten something for you too Draco," She said. We exchanged packages and I immediately torn open my packaging paper. I opened the lid of the box and smiled. She had gotten me a box filled with quidditch/broom care supplies and my favorite candy, Lemon Drops.
"Thank you!" I said, as I observed the different items in the box. My broom certainly needed some touch ups.
She opened the gift I got her and let out a small gasp. Her eyes grew wide as she gently lifted out the delicate blue earrings.
"Oh Draco. They're beautiful!" She looked up at me, her expression one of pure happiness.
"I saw you looking at them in the shop and knew I couldn't just leave them there," I explained, smiling back at her. I gently reached a hand out and cupped her face. I tilted it up gently towards me, and planted my lips softly against hers. After a brief moment, I withdrew and glanced out at the windows to see the sun was already beginning to descend.
We stared at the dusk and were both startled by the old clock chiming. "I have to go," Hermione whispered. I released her and she slowly trailed her hand across my forearm, getting further and further away from me.
"I'll see you soon," She said. I turned back around and gazed out at the last rays of sunlight dipping beneath the treeline. I walked down the stairs towards the dungeons, arriving shortly at my common room. After saying the password, I bounded in and promptly raced to the bathroom and showered. I emerged out of the shower fifteen minutes later and quickly dried off before changing into my dress robes.
I spent a while combing out my hair to perfection, brushing my teeth and making sure I looked decent. After giving myself a nod in the mirror, I checked the time and realized it was time to go. This was it...
In The Gryffindor Common Room- The girl's dormitory
"Do you like it?" Hermione asked as she showed Ginny her dress by doing a small twirl.
"Like it?" Ginny gasped. "I love it!" She exclaimed, moving forward and feeling the fabric. Hermione let out her pent up breath and sighed in relief. Ginny was the second onr to see her in the dress. "You are going to look great Hermione!" Ginny smiled.
"Me?! What about you? You look so pretty in your dress! Neville will be falling for you in no time!" Hermione said winking. Ginny chuckled softly and a blush tinted her cheeks.
"Well, it's not him I had wanted to go with," Ginny admitted, looking at her feet.
"I know Gin," Hermione said, placing her hand on her friend's. "I'm sure Harry won't even be able to look at his date while you're there," Hermione added, causing Ginny to smile.
"Okay, we've only got and hour and a half more until the ball. We both have to shower, do our hair, make-up, obviously dress, nails and headache potion. Trust me for the last one, we'll both need it," Ginny grimaced. Hermione nodded in agreement and they both stood up from Hermione's bed. "I'll meet you back here in half an hour, alright?" Ginny asked.
"Half and hour! It takes that long for me to wash my hair!" Hermione exclaimed. Ginny took one look at Hermione's hair which was currently in a messy bun and nodded.
"Forty-five it is then," Ginny promptly turned on her heel, grabbed a towel and skipped out of the room. Hermione followed and grabbed her towel as well. She walked over to the lavatories and picked out a shower. With her new hair potion (Sleekeazy's Hair Potion), her hair was finally going to be manageable! What a relief that would be, even if it was only for one night. She turned the water on and got in when it was nice and warm. She heard Ginny humming a tune in the shower stall beside hers and smiled. This night was going to be one to remember…
Forty-five minutes and one Sleekeazy's Hair Potion bottle later…
"Okay, so for you Hermione, we're going to do a faint blush, with navy eyeliner, pale blue eyeshadow and pink lipstick. Is that alright with you?" Ginny asked her friend.
"If you think it will look nice. I do have a date to impress," Hermione said grinning.
"Of course! It will look great!" Ginny said. "I'm surprised that Harry and Ron agreed to your relationship with Malfoy so easily."
"Me too," She replied. "I think they finally realized how happy we were. And that they couldn't change that," Hermione said to the redhead. "Plus, after weeks of avoiding each other, I think they realized it was stupid. I didn't want to fall for Malfoy either, but I don't know, he was just so charming. He spoke so beautifully when he confessed how he felt, and how he's changed over the last year. And you know I always believe in second chances..."
"I know, and I'm glad things seem to be better…" Ginny said thoughtfully.
"Ya, me too. I'm glad they matured and realized that this wasn't worth not being friends over," Hermione said with a smile.
"Me too. For your sake that is," Ginny added. She was about to apply the make-up on but then paused and said, "Hermione, you should probably change into your dress now, so when you pull it on, the make-up doesn't get on it." Hermione looked down at her old shirt and pants and nodded. Better not ruin the dress just as she was putting it on. She quickly grabbed it and returned moments later in her dress. While she was gone, Ginny had also changed and they were both in their ball dresses. Ginny finished up with Hermione's makeup and then tied her hair in an elegant bun. Hermione did pale pink eye shadow and lipstick on Ginny, along with a faint blush. She braided part of Ginny's hair, but left the majority unbraided. So her braid just was a thin rope down her back, over top of her straightened out hair. Hermione did the final touches on herself and also to Ginny. She put in the earrings Draco had gotten her and put her makeup bag away.
When they were both dolled up and ready to roll, they met up with Harry and Ron in the common room. The four friends left the common room and headed down to the ball. They arrived with five minutes to spare and everyone soon found their dates. But Harry and Ron excused themselves shortly afterwards to talk to Malfoy... alone.
"What is it Potter? Weasley?" I asked them, confused at their dark expressions as they approached me.
"First off, you are a foul and loathsome little cockroach Malofy. Now stay away from Hermione!" Weasley shouted, leaving me stunned. Granger said they were fine about all of this now? Before I could even react, he stormed off to go back to his date.
"Yeah Malfoy. If you ever do anything bad to Hermione, don't EVER expect our forgiveness. As Ron said, you are a cruel man Malfoy. Just because Hermione trusts you, doesn't mean we will. We heard what happened between you two, Krum, and Parkinson. Hermione truly deserves better," with that, Potter turned around and went off to join Ron. Leaving me disheartened and disappointed at the start of what was supposed to be a perfect evening.
I decided to stop looking like an idiot and went to see my beautiful date. "You look beautiful Granger," I said as I came up behind her. She blushed and I winked at her.
"Do you like my earrings?" She teased.
"Lovely. You truly have marvelous taste, I must say," I replied, smirking at her.
"What did Harry and Ron want?" She asked, a thoughtful expression appearing on her face. I paused, debating if I should tell her the truth and risk ruining the night.
"Oh, they just wanted me not to forget to save them each a dance with you," I said quickly, deciding for tonight this lie would be the best option.
"Aw, how sweet of them!" She smiled. She looked radiant. I loved her pearly white smile, nestled between her plump pink lips. She was truly the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on.
The bells chimed, informing us that it was eight o'clock. The doors opened and revealed to us an ice castle. There were ice sculptures everywhere! Silver tables and matching chairs formed a circle around the dance floor. There was a band already set up and ready to go on stage and fairy lights illuminating the hall. People started to enter the room and Granger and I joined in the crowd. The ball was going to be great!
At the ball (finally!)
Granger and I starred at all of the beautiful dress robes that people had on. Somewhere exotic, like Potter and Weasley's dates. Fleur Delacour's was very regal and then there was Weaslette's, which was cute like a little kid's. Weasley's robes were the ugliest by far though. He looked like a moldy old woman, with crusty old frills, and a dusty dinner jacket. Disgusting.
We took our seats in the middle of the cluster of tables. A quaint little two seater which only had menus on it. When the champions came in, everyone clapped and they took their seats. Everyone looked at Dumbledore as he clapped his hands. He said, "Pork chops," for some weird reason. I had to do a double take as food magically appeared on his plate. And you'll never guess what it was. That's right, pork chops.
Soon, everyone had started clapping and more and more people were eating. Hermione was intently gazing at her menu and I quickly opened mine. She was so cute when she was thinking. I was startled out if my train of thought though when she suddenly clapped and said, "Lamb shank." Which was followed by a, "Malfoy, aren't you going to eat?" I smirked and looked at my own menu. Hermione's lamb shank looked good, so I followed her lead and ordered the same thing. "Aw, these poor house elves must have been slaving away all day, just to do this for us all!" She pouted.
"I'm sure the house elves enjoy it!" I reassured her.
"But how do you know?" She asked me, doubting my extensive knowledge.
"Well, Dobby was my old house elf you know. I gave him a little Christmas present today," I said shyly.
"Really?" She asked, awestruck.
"Yeah," I replied, quietly. I knew I shouldn't be embarrassed, but I did feel a tad uncomfortable at mentioning it. Owning house elves was more frowned upon these days, and I did have my image to protect now that I was working so hard on being seen differently.
"Oh how sweet Malfoy!" Granger smiled at me and I grinned back. This was turning out to be a good night, except for Potter and Weasley. Those two idiots would do anything to stop Granger and I. Wesoon finished up eating and all of the champions stood up and walked gracefully, (except for Scarhead), onto the dance floor. They joined and started to dance to a classical song. Dumbledore and Mcgonagall soon joined them. Along with Madame Maxime and Hagrid. I grabbed Hermione's hand and started to pull her up, but she held fast to the chair and mumbled something.
I asked her to repeat herself and she said, "Malfoy, I don't know how to dance," she mumbled very quietly.
"Don't worry. I'll lead and you just follow me, okay? You're a fast learner aren't you?" I teased. She smiled slightly and I hauled her to her feet. "Just follow my lead," I told her. I held out my arm and she took it. We gracefully made our way to the dance floor and a bunch of couples moved to join us. I placed my hand on her petite waist and held her hand. She placed her extra hand on my shoulder and when the music started up again, we were all ready.
We glided across the dance floor and people gazed at us in envy before stepping or being stepped on, by their partners. "For someone who doesn't know how to dance, you're quite good!" I told her.
"Well, Professor Mcgonagall had showed us how to do it. But I could hardly dance because my partner always trod on my feet!" She explained.
"Was it Neville?" I asked her, I saw Weaslette holding her feet and hopping around. Graceful as ever. Granger's grimace told me that I was correct and I laughed. "And that's why you always should never be partners with Neville," I said. Hermione scowled at me and I rolled my eyes. "I know you're thinking the same thing," And by the blush that rose to her cheeks, I knew that I was again correct. When the song ended, Hermione made her way over to a chair and sat down. I offered to get some Butterbeers and she nodded gratefully. I walked over there and stopped to talk to Krum.
"No hard veallyings vight?" He asked me.
"Of course not mate," I said grinning at him.
"I hope you are vot jealous ov my beautivul date," He said slowly.I glanced at Pansy and shook my head. She pouted and glared at me.
"Not at all, not at all," I grabbed my two butterbeers and turned to walk over to Granger. I saw her talking with a very red looking Ron and new that that couldn't be good…
AN: Please let me know what you guys think of this chapter :)