Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter just using the great characters of JK Rowling

~Hopefully you like it, it's one of my first so I need feedback so I can improve! I am trying to keep Draco the same brat to Potter and Weasley and just explain a new view to Hermione yah of course I would or this wouldn't be a D/Hr fanfic!~

Thanks for the good reviews !

Akuma Canadian Angel- Thanx so much!!(I agree with you the sudden Draco change does not work that's why I thought of a good time to start Draco not hating her, like the time on the train we did not see in year 2!)

~*~ME~*~ - you were my first reviewers so Thanx from me. I had this chapter written not typed and you have inspired me to type it out!

Hope you like it. Some of it is a bit fluffy but I am building a story line here people! lol

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Part 5- A few days before the Yule Ball

Some time had passed since the first Tri Wizard Task and Draco and Hermione continued their secret friendship. By the time Christmas break rolled around they decided that they wanted to spend a few hours together not in their windowsill, studying or talking. Snow was falling at Hogwarts and the grounds were covered in snow. The only time Hermione and Draco would be able to go out in "public" would be early in the morning, since almost the whole school was staying for the Yule Ball. So they made plans to meet outside the Slytherin changing rooms out by the Quidditch field on the first day of holidays.

Harry and Ron would just assume that Hermione was busy doing her holiday homework if they couldn't find her right away, when they got up. Hermione got all dressed in her warm robes and scarf and headed down to the quidditch field. As Draco came into view she saw that he was holding his Nimbus 2001,

"You don't really expect me to get on that thing with you", Hermione joked as she walked up to him.

"Come on, I won't go to high, I just thought you might like a cool view of Hogwarts. I promise I won't go fast" he replied while returning the smile.

After a few awkward minutes of Hermione working up the courage to get on the broom ("I may not be the best flying, but I've got the brains to know how fast you can make this broom go,... don't even think about it")

[Hermione was sitting in front of Draco, he had his arms around her waist to reach the broom handle to steer]

They flew around the grounds a while before Hermione was comfortable enough to let Draco take them high above the school to get a good view.

Hermione turned slightly,

"It's so beautiful"

(looking down at the school as snow started to fall on them)

"I know,...we better head down, the snow is starting to fall harder"

As they glided down Draco started to speed up the broom a bit and stopped fast before hitting the ground.

"Draco!" she yelled as she got off the broom and started to brush off all the snow that had accumulated on her robes during the fast decent.

"Here, you have a lot in your hair" he said as he started brushing off some of it.

"There's no use(she said while laughing), it's coming down to hard. Why don't you let me help you!", she took a swat at his hair jokingly and messed up his hair while brushing some snow off.

"That's it! You asked for it!"

Hermione started running through the snow as Draco started a snow ball fight. It ended minutes later when they were both covered in snow, and they finally noticed the time.

"Maybe next time I'll let you show off how fast that broom of yours really is, ...well at least a bit"

"Yah, next time"

If they didn't hurry they would have a lot of explaining to do, on top of explaining why their robes were soaking.

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(Sitting and finishing up their holiday homework three days before the Yule Ball)

"Viktor Krum asked me to the Ball"
"Oh,...did you accept so Potter and Weasley can stop fighting over who will take you", Draco replied a bit defensive.

"Hey, not fair, they don't know who I'm going with, and I'm not going to tell them. I didn't even really want to go anyway, being a champions date I have to be there for the opening dance, and I think I'll leave the dance half way through"

"Well, I'm going with Pansy, and that in it's self will make me want to leave early." he smirked a bit.

"Your horrible you know that", Hermione said with a laugh.

And with that their conversation about the Yule Ball ended. Neither of them brought up the problem that they would not get to dance with each other or they would be the talk of the ball. Sometimes being friends with each other was even harder than being enemies.

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Everyone at the ball noticed how different and beautiful Hermione was. Even Harry noticed that Draco had noting bad to say about her. He just didn't know the half of it. Draco lasted almost half the dance before Pansy's hanging on him annoyed him too much. He was sitting at his table and took a few moments to watched the people dancing. He saw Hermione waiting for Viktor to bring her some punch and they exchange half smiles in acknowledgment of each others situations. Hermione turned away when Viktor handed her a drink, and Draco took this chance to leave the ball. He was bored out of his mind for some reason, he normally enjoyed gatherings. He would head to his room to get into his regular robes and then go to the windowsill in the library.

Hermione turned back to where Draco was sitting and noticed he was gone. Through out the next bit of the dance she did not notice him around, and she knew he must have left the dance. When she got tired of dancing she headed for the library in hope that Draco would be there.

~~~

Draco was sitting on the windowsill looking out the window, thinking. His thought's were interrupted by a voice...

"Thought you'd be hear...did you get sick of Pansy hanging off you" she gave him a smirk.

"Something like that" grinning '(more like Krum and you)'

Hermione was standing there with her arms around her shoulders still in her dress robes, shivering. Draco noticed this,

"You shouldn't be in that dress robe, it may be beautiful, but it doesn't keep you warm. Why didn't you change"

"I didn't have a chance I came straight hear hoping to find you"

Draco stood up "Here take my robe, I'm boiling" Hermione sat down across from Draco, with the Slytherin robe around her and yawned.

"The Great Hall was beautiful tonight, wasn't it"

"Yah" they sat there looking at each other for a while.

"It would have been great to dance with you Draco"

"I bet Potter would get a kick out of that"

(Hermione looking a bit sad) "Sometimes... I wish we didn't hide our friendship"

Draco stood up and held out a hand. Hermione smiled and put her hand in his (they start to slowly dance with no music) Her head moved closer and closer to his chest. Draco noticed her eyes were closing and he lowered them on to the cushioned windowsill, and kept Hermione asleep on his chest (he didn't want to move her too much to wake her), and propped himself against the wall with some pillows, then fell asleep himself

***Dream***

They both fell into the same dream, a couple of weird flashes

Hermione in baby blue floating robes, with another beautiful elegant knot

Draco in stunning black dress robes

Clips of them walking through the crowd separately and smiling at each other

Clips of them dancing alone out on the balcony (different angles)

Hermione smiling

Fairies lighting the bushes

Hearing Harry and Ron looking for her

Running slow motion down a lit path way

Disturbing the fairies, they fly around them as they run through them

Laughing

***Shooting awake***

Hermione shot up and glanced back at Draco, she was still half asleep, but her mind was reeling over the dream, it felt so real...

It was very early in the morning and Hermione and Draco had to get back to their dorms. They parted after leaving the library and Hermione headed straight into bed. She didn't even change out of her dress robes, and in her half sleep she forgot all about the Slytherin robe she was still wearing.

~~~

With the first crack of sunlight Hermione shot up from bed again. Ever thing from the night before came back to her, she looked down to see she was still wearing Slytherin robes. Wouldn't that be a hard one to explain. She ran to her bag quietly enough not to disturb her roommates and folded it up and stuffed it into her book bag. Hermione then quickly changed out of her dress robes and headed down to breakfast early. When Lavendar and Parvati woke up they would want to know where she had been so late at night, and she wanted to delay the inevitable Krum rumours. Hermione was glad she was the smart one in the trio, hopefully Ron and Harry would not be clever enough to notice Krum was still at the dance when Hermione left.