Made of You Part 4
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters below, except Carol Jacobs.
The Harding Ballroom was bigger and more spectacular than Hermione had ever imagined it to be. White pillars lined each side of the rectangular room. The mint green ceiling was domed and beautifully wainscoted in white plaster and gold. A half dozen huge crystal chandeliers hung on it. The floors were wood parquet and polished so highly that they gleamed. Dozens and dozens of assorted small chairs lined the room's gold-clothed walls, beneath marble busts set upon pedestals and numerous works of art.
And there were so many people present that Hermione could not hazard a guess as to whether the guests numbered to two or five hundred. Along the edges of the ballroom the many guests gathered in groups, chatting and sipping champagne. In the center of the room, dozens of couples were waltzing to a minuet.
But what amazed Hermione was that all the men and women were dressed in all different kinds of costumes and masquerades. No two costumes were alike, save for the masks that hid their face. At that instant, Hermione realized that the point of the ball was to obscure one's true identity from everyone else. Ashamed that she herself did not have one on, she turned around abruptly, ready to leave.
However, next to her, Carol was quick to the eye and quickly seized her arm. "Herm, its okay that we don't have masks on. Truthfully, I didn't know about it and its too late now. Besides," she said with a grin, "wouldn't you rather go without the mask? I mean, then all the gentlemen can see just how pretty we are. Especially when you look so pretty tonight in your Juliet costume."
Laughing, Hermione had to agree with her friend's last remark. She was very pleased with her outfit that night. Dressed as Juliet, she wore a gold and blue gown from the 16th century nobility. Her long, silky red hair had been left down that night. It was left to tease her back, shining copper under the light of the chandeliers. "All right, Carol, you win. But I'm not the only one who looks good tonight.
Dressed as Cleopatra, Carol's outfit hugged her body so that it emphasized her shapely curves, leaving little to the imagination. There would no doubt be a flock of men crowding around her throughout the entire evening.
Having settled on staying, Hermione made her way down the marble staircase to the ballroom, with Carol by her side. Once they reached the ballroom landing, it seemed as if they had been dropped in a sea of swarming people. Being slightly claustrophobic, Hermione had to nearly pull herself and Carol away from the swarm of dancing people in order to get to the sidelines of the ballroom. Once there, she took a minute to catch her breath and turned to Carol. "Gee, this is really fun. Do you think we can even walk at least five steps without getting trampled under by everyone else?"
But before her friend had time to make a remark, a man dressed as Julius Caesar had walked over to them. Once again, the mask that covered the upper half of his face made it impossible to tell who he was. Turning towards Hermione, the man smiled. "If you wouldn't mind, my lady Juliet, may I have the honor of sharing this dance with you?"
Thinking the man terribly corny, there was only one thing that was appropriate for Hermione to say. "Sorry sir, but I don't dance." From the corner of her eye, she saw Carol give her a dirty look. Hermione knew that Carol wanted her to interact more with men, but somehow, she found that she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Besides, the man in front of her seemed like he would suit Carol's tastes more than hers. A thought suddenly struck her. She turned back to the man, smiling. "As a compensation for refusing your offer to dance sir, I'm offering you a more suitable partner. As a matter of fact, she's standing right next to me," Hermione said, gesturing her hand towards Carol.
At Hermione's remark, Carol's eyes widened in surprise. The gentleman, however, was not at all disturbed by any of this and graciously asked Carol to dance. She agreed, hesitating briefly and was led onto the dance floor a minute later.
Alone now, Hermione had nothing else to do but regard her surroundings. She surveyed the ballroom blandly until a strange feeling came over her. A feeling that she was being watched. Then, from across the room, something, no someone, caught her eye. The man was standing in an alcove by the wall, partly obscured by shadows. Dressed as the Phantom, his dark cape gave off a mysterious aura around him. His face was covered by the classic phantom mask, and once again, Hermione was unable to recognize who he was.
An indescribable chill ran through her body, one of fear, nervousness, excitement…. Even as she regarded him, he continued to stare at her, as if his eyes had the ability to bare her soul. Suddenly, theirs gazes met, and held. Strangely, Hermione felt drawn to the man, even though she was sure that she had never before met him in her life. And when he began striding towards her, Hermione started to panic.
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Across the room, Draco could see Hermione standing along the wall with a pretty blond. It had been five long years since he had last seen her and the changes she went through were breathtaking. The mousy know-it-all bookworm was gone. In place, was a beautiful woman with silky red hair and a graceful figure.
Having been afraid that he would not be able to find her amongst such a big crowd, Draco had come early and decided to stand in a place where he could see all, but all couldn't see him. The alcove was the perfect spot. However, finding her was not as easy as he'd first thought it to be Because first he had to recognize her. And when he realized that everyone was wearing masks, Draco nearly despaired.
After three hours of trying to identify every single red haired female to see if it was Hermione, he was ready to give up. That was when he spotted her across the room. Dressed as Juliet in a stunning blue-gold gown, Hermione would have caught the eye of any lusty male in the room. Draco considered it a miracle that she turned out to be the only person without a mask, aside from her friend. He watched as she was approached by a man dressed as Caesar, asking for a dance. Surprisingly however, she declined the man and it was her friend who ended up dancing with him.
Alone now, her eyes wandered from the dancing couples to the decorated wall, and finally – on him. He was not surprised at all that she had caught him staring at her. After all, she was a smart woman, and if anyone could discover so quickly that she was being spied upon, it was Hermione. Her eyes roamed over him analyzingly. And suddenly, their eyes met and held. It was strange, but his heart began beating very fast, and his palms became sweaty. Before he knew it, he was striding towards her. Each step brought him closer to her, with her innocent brown eyes and slightly pouting lips. Finally, he had reached where she was standing, his body but a foot away from hers. And extending his hand out, he asked her to dance.
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"Might I have the pleasure of dancing with such a beautiful lady tonight?" The man had a deep and slightly husky voice. It was somewhat familiar, but she couldn't quite remember where she had heard it before. Up close, he towered over Hermione by about a head. His hair was platinum blond and cropped short, while his skin was bronze with a golden hue, no doubt due to being out of doors excessively. Looking into his eyes, she realized that they were sky blue. Hermione realized that she had seen those eyes before, but where? In the midst of her speculation, she had forgotten his proposition to dance.
Seemingly unoffended by her silence, the man merely smiled, revealing straight white teeth and a dimple that graced his left cheek. That seemed familiar to her too. "Since you have neither agreed or disagreed to dance with me, I'll take your silence as a yes." And with that, he took her by the arm and propelled her onto the dance floor. The orchestra began playing a light minuet and Hermione found herself waltzing in the arms of the dark, mysterious stranger. It was hard for her to think, with him so close and his arm around her waist. Her hand felt so small on his wide, expanding shoulder. As their bodies moved to the music, his eyes never once left hers, even for an instant. Hermione felt herself drowning in his too blue eyes. It overwhelmed her, taking her to a level where only the two of them existed, and no one else.
All too soon, the music ended. However, the stranger did not release her like all the other men were doing with their partners. Instead, he pulled her even closer, as if reluctant to let her go. Still staring into her eyes, he slowly lowered his head to hers. She realized that he was about to kiss her. Despite trying to feel panic, the only emotion that came through was excitement. Excitement, and so much more…..Her legs had lost all strength and the only thing keeping her up was the arm he had around her waist. He came closer and closer. She closed her eyes. Any moment now, she would feel the taste of his lips on her own.
And like a light being turned on a dark room, a voice suddenly resounded loudly over the entire ballroom. As if coming out of a trance, Hermione suddenly realized what her and the stranger almost done. It seemed that he realized it too because he quickly dislodged his arm from her waist and stepped back. By the look on his face, he seemed to be fighting an internal battle with himself. Hermione refused to acknowledge the disappointment that coursed through her body.
Just then, the voice that had broken the magic between them was heard again. It was the host of the party, Lord Jonathon Harding. "Excuse my interruption, ladies and gentlemen, but I would like to bring to your attention that it has just struck midnight. It is now time for all of you to take off your masks."
Hermione's heart raced as she heard this. She was going to find out who her mystery man was at last. However, by the grim look on his face, it seemed as if he was reluctant to let her find out.
"Now, when I count to three, everyone takes off their masks!", The voice of the host boomed across the room, irritating Hermione. Nevertheless, she was anxious to find out who was behind that Phantom mask. "One…. Two…" She could feel the suspense building inside of her. The stranger had lifted his hand up to his face, placing it on the mask.
"Three!" And with that, he pulled off his mask. At that instant, Hermione realized that the stranger wasn't a stranger at all. It took her only a moment to realize who it was, and when she finally did, she was shocked senseless. "It's you!", she gasped aloud.
Finito! I just want to tell everyone that isn't a D/H fan that I'm sorry, but my muse made me choose Draco instead of Harry. I promise that I'll make another fic that'll be H/H but this one just didn't turn out like that. Please don't flame me or anything. If you don't like it, just don't read it. As for the people that are supporting D/H, please give me ideas on what you want in the future chapters. Thanx! J