Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot.
Thank you for your marvelous reviews! Just keep them coming!
Chapter 16
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved in return" - Moulin Rouge
Hearing those beautiful words from Draco made the world a so much better place for Hermione. She and Draco still weren't talking, but at least they were civil to each other. Sometimes Hermione just wanted to walk over to him and kiss him. But she knew she couldn't do that. Rejection is what she feared the most.
They were in the prefects' office going through some of the important details of the ball. It was the day before the bash and tempers were running high.
"Padma, Justin, where did you put the decorations?" Katie asked.
"Um, they're in our common room," Padma answered.
"What?! The ball's tomorrow! Get them and bring them here," Katie ordered.
Justin and Padma left quickly for the decorations.
"Now, as for you two." Roger began, eyeing Hermione and Draco, who were both sitting very quietly beside each other. "You guys will be decorating the hall tomorrow morning and--."
"Do a good job, please," Katie said pointedly. "I want them to feel the spirit of Christmas through this ball."
"But I thought that this wasn't a Christmas ball?" Hermione asked.
"It isn't. I just said I want them to feel the spirit of Christmas. I want them to feel the enchantment, the glory, the love...as they enter the hall," Katie finished. "Can you do that?"
Hermione and Draco glanced at each other then at Katie and Roger.
"You two should really resolve your fight," Roger advised.
"Please!" Katie said.
Hermione looked at Draco, who just looked back at Katie. Hermione looked at Katie. "We're fine."
"Sure? Draco?" Roger asked.
"Yeah," Draco said plainly.
Padma and Justin arrived with the decorations. Katie told Hermione and Draco were certain stuff should go. They listened intently, not wanting to miss anything. Hermione even took some notes.
After the meeting, Hermione decided to stay behind because she wanted to make sure she knew the place of everything. Draco also stayed for a while. But they didn't talk with each other. Hermione concentrated on her task.
Draco stood up after a while. "Um, I'll go now."
Hermione looked at him and nodded. "Okay." Hermione watched him walk towards the door; the she sighed and went back to her work.
Draco turned around and began to say something when he saw that she was busy. He sighed and left the room.
**
"I think these garlands go there," Hermione said, pointing by the professors' table.
"Sure," Draco said civilly.
They woke up early so that they could start decorating the ball and put an invisibility charm on them until the ball before the whole school woke up.
After a while, they were done. Hermione sat on a chair and rested her head on the table.
"I feel tired," she said, yawning.
"You should go back to the common room and get some rest," Draco said, but trying hard not to sound concerned.
"Nah. I'll just wait for the others to come and breakfast to start," she said, yawning again.
"But you didn't sleep much last night," Draco said. "You were up all night memorizing where every single thing is going."
"Good thing I did, too, or we wouldn't have finished so fast," Hermione said.
"Whatever," Draco said with a smirk. "So are you going to put the invisibility charm or should I?"
"You do it," Hermione replied.
Draco did the spell.
"I can't wait for the ball. It would be so much fun dancing..." Hermione said, but trailed away. She just remembered that she and Draco weren't speaking that much. How are they going to have fun? She sighed.
"What?" Draco asked.
"I just remembered we're not talking," she said, stood up and left.
"We are talking with each other," Draco said, turning around to watch her leave.
"Yeah," Hermione replied, pausing to turn around. "But is that enough for both of us to enjoy tonight?" With this, she left Draco in the great hall.
**
"Hermione," Ginny called, knocking on her bedroom door. She had her dress with her.
"What are you doing here, Weasley?" Draco asked. He just came in the common room.
"I'm here for Hermione," Ginny replied.
"How do you know the password to our common room?" he asked suspiciously.
"You told us when Hermione won't come out of her room. Remember?" Ginny replied knowingly.
Draco didn't say another word and went in his room. Ginny knocked on Hermione's door again and this time it opened.
"Ginny!" Hermione said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"We're going to get ready together, right?" Ginny reminded her.
"Oh yeah!" Hermione said, opening the door wider and letting her in. "I just thought that, you know, since something happened."
"I'm not going to ruin my friendship with you just because of some guy," Ginny said.
"How are you and Harry?" Hermione asked carefully.
Ginny shrugged as she sat on Hermione's bed. "We're in hiatus."
Hermione giggled at her term. "Hiatus?"
"Yeah. I don't blame you, Hermione. But I just can't stand the fact that she kissed another girl while we were together," Ginny said.
Hermione sighed as she remembered that Draco said the same thing to her. Ginny noticed her change of attitude.
"Are you okay?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah," Hermione said. "It's just-Draco told me the same thing."
"What, that he can't stand the fact that you kissed someone else?" Ginny asked.
Hermione nodded sadly.
"But, you guys aren't--."
"We've kissed-twice," Hermione explained.
"Really?" Ginny asked, feeling really surprised. "When? How?"
"We were supposed to go to Hogsmeade that day and we were just walking when he grabbed me and kissed me," Hermione told her.
"Oh my gosh! That's so cute!" Ginny said.
Hermione sighed. "Then the next time was after you and I fought. I felt so bad because everything seemed to be going wrong. And he said he'd try to make me forget, so he kissed me."
"How is it possible no one knows about this?" Ginny asked.
"Actually, some people do. The heads and Professor McGonagall."
"Professor McGonagall?"
"Yeah," Hermione said. "She, Katie and Roger caught us the first time."
Ginny laughed. "That's so weird. McGonagall walking up on you while you're kissing someone."
"Yeah."
"So how are you feeling?" Ginny asked, concerned.
"Really bad," Hermione said. "I don't know why this is happening. Everything was perfect. But now..." She sighed.
"It's Harry's fault, isn't it? I heard about what he did when he and Draco talked," Ginny said.
"I don't want to blame anyone," Hermione said quietly. "I'd want to think that maybe if I hadn't told Harry that I used to have feelings for him, none of this would've happened."
"Stop that. It's not your fault!" Ginny said. "We can't help the way Harry acted. He obviously wasn't using his head."
Hermione was watching Ginny. She had grown into a beautiful young lady and became more so when she began dating Harry. Hermione had never see her so beautiful and so happy, like there was a certain glow about her. But now, that glow is gone. The brightness of her eyes that used to be there faded out, leaving cold blue eyes.
"You miss him, don't you?" Hermione asked her.
Ginny looked out of the window and whispered, "Very much."
**
Hermione opened the door to her room quietly and peeked outside. *All clear.* She went down the stairs to the common room and began to walk to the painting.
"Where are you going?" Draco asked.
Hermione jumped a little and turned around. She saw Draco standing there, looking handsome in every way. His hair was the same, as always, but he looked very elegant and classic wearing his suit.
"Are you just going to leave your date?" he continued, walking towards her.
"Oh. Um, I-I wasn't-I didn't know we were still going together," Hermione said finally.
"Why would you think that?" Draco asked. He was not standing in front of her.
"Well...because we're not exactly speaking with each other," Hermione said.
"And what do you think are we doing now?" Draco said, smirking.
Hermione began to reply when she realized what Draco asked her. She closed her mouth and smiled at him. Draco smiled at her and offered his arm to her.
"Shall we?" Draco said.
"Yes," Hermione said, taking his arm and linking hers to his.
They walked in the great hall, which looked really amazing. Hermione held her breath at the sight.
"It's so beautiful," Hermione said. "Did we do all this?"
"Yeah," Draco said. "Hard to believe, isn't it?"
"Yeah."
They looked for the prefect table and sat down. Padma and Justin were already there, talking with each other while drinking some punch.
"Do you want something to drink?" Draco asked Hermione.
"No, I'm fine," Hermione replied.
A slow song played and couples began to go to the dance floor to dance. Draco turned to Hermione and leaned forward.
"Will you dance with me?" Draco asked, offering his hand.
Thank you for your marvelous reviews! Just keep them coming!
Chapter 16
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved in return" - Moulin Rouge
Hearing those beautiful words from Draco made the world a so much better place for Hermione. She and Draco still weren't talking, but at least they were civil to each other. Sometimes Hermione just wanted to walk over to him and kiss him. But she knew she couldn't do that. Rejection is what she feared the most.
They were in the prefects' office going through some of the important details of the ball. It was the day before the bash and tempers were running high.
"Padma, Justin, where did you put the decorations?" Katie asked.
"Um, they're in our common room," Padma answered.
"What?! The ball's tomorrow! Get them and bring them here," Katie ordered.
Justin and Padma left quickly for the decorations.
"Now, as for you two." Roger began, eyeing Hermione and Draco, who were both sitting very quietly beside each other. "You guys will be decorating the hall tomorrow morning and--."
"Do a good job, please," Katie said pointedly. "I want them to feel the spirit of Christmas through this ball."
"But I thought that this wasn't a Christmas ball?" Hermione asked.
"It isn't. I just said I want them to feel the spirit of Christmas. I want them to feel the enchantment, the glory, the love...as they enter the hall," Katie finished. "Can you do that?"
Hermione and Draco glanced at each other then at Katie and Roger.
"You two should really resolve your fight," Roger advised.
"Please!" Katie said.
Hermione looked at Draco, who just looked back at Katie. Hermione looked at Katie. "We're fine."
"Sure? Draco?" Roger asked.
"Yeah," Draco said plainly.
Padma and Justin arrived with the decorations. Katie told Hermione and Draco were certain stuff should go. They listened intently, not wanting to miss anything. Hermione even took some notes.
After the meeting, Hermione decided to stay behind because she wanted to make sure she knew the place of everything. Draco also stayed for a while. But they didn't talk with each other. Hermione concentrated on her task.
Draco stood up after a while. "Um, I'll go now."
Hermione looked at him and nodded. "Okay." Hermione watched him walk towards the door; the she sighed and went back to her work.
Draco turned around and began to say something when he saw that she was busy. He sighed and left the room.
**
"I think these garlands go there," Hermione said, pointing by the professors' table.
"Sure," Draco said civilly.
They woke up early so that they could start decorating the ball and put an invisibility charm on them until the ball before the whole school woke up.
After a while, they were done. Hermione sat on a chair and rested her head on the table.
"I feel tired," she said, yawning.
"You should go back to the common room and get some rest," Draco said, but trying hard not to sound concerned.
"Nah. I'll just wait for the others to come and breakfast to start," she said, yawning again.
"But you didn't sleep much last night," Draco said. "You were up all night memorizing where every single thing is going."
"Good thing I did, too, or we wouldn't have finished so fast," Hermione said.
"Whatever," Draco said with a smirk. "So are you going to put the invisibility charm or should I?"
"You do it," Hermione replied.
Draco did the spell.
"I can't wait for the ball. It would be so much fun dancing..." Hermione said, but trailed away. She just remembered that she and Draco weren't speaking that much. How are they going to have fun? She sighed.
"What?" Draco asked.
"I just remembered we're not talking," she said, stood up and left.
"We are talking with each other," Draco said, turning around to watch her leave.
"Yeah," Hermione replied, pausing to turn around. "But is that enough for both of us to enjoy tonight?" With this, she left Draco in the great hall.
**
"Hermione," Ginny called, knocking on her bedroom door. She had her dress with her.
"What are you doing here, Weasley?" Draco asked. He just came in the common room.
"I'm here for Hermione," Ginny replied.
"How do you know the password to our common room?" he asked suspiciously.
"You told us when Hermione won't come out of her room. Remember?" Ginny replied knowingly.
Draco didn't say another word and went in his room. Ginny knocked on Hermione's door again and this time it opened.
"Ginny!" Hermione said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"We're going to get ready together, right?" Ginny reminded her.
"Oh yeah!" Hermione said, opening the door wider and letting her in. "I just thought that, you know, since something happened."
"I'm not going to ruin my friendship with you just because of some guy," Ginny said.
"How are you and Harry?" Hermione asked carefully.
Ginny shrugged as she sat on Hermione's bed. "We're in hiatus."
Hermione giggled at her term. "Hiatus?"
"Yeah. I don't blame you, Hermione. But I just can't stand the fact that she kissed another girl while we were together," Ginny said.
Hermione sighed as she remembered that Draco said the same thing to her. Ginny noticed her change of attitude.
"Are you okay?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah," Hermione said. "It's just-Draco told me the same thing."
"What, that he can't stand the fact that you kissed someone else?" Ginny asked.
Hermione nodded sadly.
"But, you guys aren't--."
"We've kissed-twice," Hermione explained.
"Really?" Ginny asked, feeling really surprised. "When? How?"
"We were supposed to go to Hogsmeade that day and we were just walking when he grabbed me and kissed me," Hermione told her.
"Oh my gosh! That's so cute!" Ginny said.
Hermione sighed. "Then the next time was after you and I fought. I felt so bad because everything seemed to be going wrong. And he said he'd try to make me forget, so he kissed me."
"How is it possible no one knows about this?" Ginny asked.
"Actually, some people do. The heads and Professor McGonagall."
"Professor McGonagall?"
"Yeah," Hermione said. "She, Katie and Roger caught us the first time."
Ginny laughed. "That's so weird. McGonagall walking up on you while you're kissing someone."
"Yeah."
"So how are you feeling?" Ginny asked, concerned.
"Really bad," Hermione said. "I don't know why this is happening. Everything was perfect. But now..." She sighed.
"It's Harry's fault, isn't it? I heard about what he did when he and Draco talked," Ginny said.
"I don't want to blame anyone," Hermione said quietly. "I'd want to think that maybe if I hadn't told Harry that I used to have feelings for him, none of this would've happened."
"Stop that. It's not your fault!" Ginny said. "We can't help the way Harry acted. He obviously wasn't using his head."
Hermione was watching Ginny. She had grown into a beautiful young lady and became more so when she began dating Harry. Hermione had never see her so beautiful and so happy, like there was a certain glow about her. But now, that glow is gone. The brightness of her eyes that used to be there faded out, leaving cold blue eyes.
"You miss him, don't you?" Hermione asked her.
Ginny looked out of the window and whispered, "Very much."
**
Hermione opened the door to her room quietly and peeked outside. *All clear.* She went down the stairs to the common room and began to walk to the painting.
"Where are you going?" Draco asked.
Hermione jumped a little and turned around. She saw Draco standing there, looking handsome in every way. His hair was the same, as always, but he looked very elegant and classic wearing his suit.
"Are you just going to leave your date?" he continued, walking towards her.
"Oh. Um, I-I wasn't-I didn't know we were still going together," Hermione said finally.
"Why would you think that?" Draco asked. He was not standing in front of her.
"Well...because we're not exactly speaking with each other," Hermione said.
"And what do you think are we doing now?" Draco said, smirking.
Hermione began to reply when she realized what Draco asked her. She closed her mouth and smiled at him. Draco smiled at her and offered his arm to her.
"Shall we?" Draco said.
"Yes," Hermione said, taking his arm and linking hers to his.
They walked in the great hall, which looked really amazing. Hermione held her breath at the sight.
"It's so beautiful," Hermione said. "Did we do all this?"
"Yeah," Draco said. "Hard to believe, isn't it?"
"Yeah."
They looked for the prefect table and sat down. Padma and Justin were already there, talking with each other while drinking some punch.
"Do you want something to drink?" Draco asked Hermione.
"No, I'm fine," Hermione replied.
A slow song played and couples began to go to the dance floor to dance. Draco turned to Hermione and leaned forward.
"Will you dance with me?" Draco asked, offering his hand.