Well, here's the 9th chapter! Lol.

A frequently asked question: Where did you get the idea for the masquerade???

The answer: Well, I read lots of fantasy books based in Medieval Europe, and watch movies also based in Medieval Europe. In lots of those books and movies there are usually exciting dances, and some of them are masquerades. And since I love the whole Medieval thing, and I LOVE suspense, drama, and mystery all combined together, and in lots of masquerades there's just that, I thought that it would be cool to have one in my fan fiction.

I thought about having one in music class, when my teacher put on some dramatic music and my mind started imagining things (as usual) and then somehow Hermione in a medieval dress dancing with Draco popped up in my head, so I said, Hey! I have an idea! Lol. That's basically it ^_^

Sorry I took longer than usual to update, but my computer's breaking a lot lately… so you'll have to excuse the silly thing, ok? Lol.

253 reviews!!!! Woot woot!! Lol, a MILLION thanks to: aznlady, Aphrodite, caroline, StarJade, justfordraco99, KeeperOfTheMoon, GerHPfa, Krystal, Fae Magick, Sarah, VenusDeOmnipotent, *Karly*, EclipseKlutz, Jen Drake, dazed*kitten, DracoMalfoy, SVZ, DracosGirlMayaka, Pudmuffin, Gliniel of Tirragen + Malfoy, Mystic Dragon, Hyper_shark, Bob, fb90, YingRui, Suzanne, Crystalline Lily, Eloria, Jasmine, RiaKatKar, DraCo4evr, HP #1 Fan, Silver Fawkes, fawkes, Cho Chang, DragonWings, S-Star, jupi, Hermione18, mainey, jokester15, The Charmed One, and Starry Skies!!!!

Hermione lay in bed, staring out the window into the starry night.

She couldn't sleep.

She kept on thinking about what had just happened

She still couldn't believe that she had danced with Draco.

And as she looked at a twinkling star, she still couldn't picture how Draco could've acted like that. Looking at her so tenderly, dancing with her, twirling her around, kissing her hand, following after her whenever Harry took her away, apologizing for something he hadn't done…

But then again, he hadn't known who she was.

Wait.

He had known who she was!

At the end of the first ball, she had told him his name!

Oh, no.

She closed her eyes and breathed in.

But why had Draco wanted to dance with her even after knowing who she was? It made no sense. Draco would never do it!

Or would he? Yes. He would. To make fun of her!

She opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling.

Draco, on the first ball, had probably seen her and had wanted to dance with her to make Pansy jealous, to look good because he was dancing with someone, and so his two stupid friends would think he was the greatest, the smartest, the best.

And, when he had found out who she was, another bonus point was added to his plan: to give a girl false hopes! He was probably laughing now at her now, thinking how easily it was to fool her!

But then she thought about Draco's face when his mask fell off. His eyes had reflected a mixture of anger, fear, and… hurt?

Of course! Anger of being discovered, because he didn't want a mudblood following him around, thinking he had some feelings towards her. Fear because, if someone from Slytherin found out he had been dancing with a mudblood they'd laugh at him! But… she couldn't place the hurt part.

What did it matter anyway? She had made a complete fool out of herself!

She looked out the window again, and a tear ran down her cheek.

She had really thought that Draco had changed, that he was becoming nicer.

But she guessed she was wrong.

***

Harry and Ron could definitely tell Hermione was in a bad mood. She frowned at them whenever they tried to cheer her up with a joke, snapped at them whenever they interrupted her when she was reading or doing her homework, and she kept at glaring at the box in which she kept Bluey all comfy with a bed, a potty, and some food.

Harry regretted not having told her that she was dancing with Draco, and Ron was furious because no one had told him about this piece of news until yesterday, and also because that stupid Malfoy had fooled Hermione completely.

So when it was time for another "Joggart Meeting," Hermione refused to go, and just sat on the common room couch with a book.

Harry and Ron walked over to her.

"Hermione," Harry said. "You have to go."

She glared at him over her copy of Fowls of Fortune. "And make a fool out of myself again?" she asked irritably. "I don't think so."

Now Ron tried to help. "If he does anything to you, you could just slap him again, like you did on our third year!" he said enthusiastically, remembering that sweet moment.

"I said I'm not going!" she snapped.

"How about if Ron and I keep a close watch on you?" Harry suggested. "So he doesn't do anything?"

"It's not about you keeping a watch on me!" Hermione rose her voice. "I just don't want to see him!"

Ron would've dropped it there, but Harry knew that Hermione would have to face Draco sooner or later.

"But you have to do the report," Harry reminded her. "You don't want Hagrid disappointed, do you? You do want to write down Bluey's every change in detail, don't you?"

Ron stared at him, mouth hanging open.

After a moment of silence, Hermione said, "I don't want to,"

But she didn't say it in a very decided tone of voice. It was more like whining.

"You have to do the report," Harry insisted.

"And you can tell Malfoy that he's a real idiot for fooling you!" Ron piped up.

Hermione sighed, set aside her book, and stood up. "Fine, I'll go. I'm five minutes late anyway,"

She snatched a parchment, a quill, and Bluey, and left.

***

When she got to the Entrance Hall, she saw that Draco wasn't there.

She was relieved for not having to face him again, and was just about to turn back when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hermione,"

Draco's voice. How dare he touch her? She turned around and face him, ready to demand an explanation for his behavior, but she found she couldn't do it. She just blushed as the masquerade's events came back to her, and turned away.

Draco stood in silence.

She was mad. He had made her angry.

Maybe he should've explained everything when his mask fell off. But he had just ran away like a coward.

But, then again, what was there to explain? He didn't even know the answer of why he had danced with her after knowing who she was!

"We should better get going," Draco said, and started walking outside.

After a minute of hesitation, Hermione followed. It was cloudy and cold, so she rubbed her hands together and blew on them.

When they sat on the freezing grass under the tree, no one said a word. She set Bluey next to her, and reached into her pocket to get the writing materials, but stopped.

Last night she had put Draco's mask in her cloak pocket, and there it was. She slowly brought out the black mask, looked at it for a minute, and handed it to Draco without looking at him.

"Your mask," she said briefly.

He took it, and looked at her. She was so cold towards him.

Hermione got out a parchment and a quill, and started writing down. Bluey had grown quite a bit, and it was now the same size as Draco's hand. His feet were fatter, and it had small claws. The black dot on his belly was bigger.

But after the minutes went by, and the only sound was her quill dancing around the parchment, she couldn't take it, and took a deep breath.

"Did you know it was me?" she asked simply.

He had been dreading this question.

"Yes,"

Silence.

"Why?" she asked. "I mean… why didn't you tell me it was you?"

Draco thought about how to answer that one. He could easily tell her to buzz off, or just simply stay quiet and walk away.

But not with Hermione. Hermione was different. She had been kind. She had listened to him. She didn't deserve his silence.

She had every right to know.

"I thought you'd be disappointed,"

"Why would I be disappointed?" she asked.

"Because…" he started. "Maybe you were fantasizing about some Wonder Boy,"

Hermione hadn't expected any of these answers. He was supposed to say that he had been trying to be the best, to make someone jealous, to give false hopes to a girl.

But, of course, he wouldn't say that!

But Hermione was thoughtful. She had known Draco enough to know that he always said the truth. Or almost always.

But he looked serious.

So he hadn't told her so she wouldn't be "disappointed"?

In truth, Draco had told her because of that, and also because he didn't really know any other explanation.

He wouldn't admit to himself that he had wanted to.

"I wasn't fantasizing about Wonder Boy," Hermione said. "I just wanted to know who I was dancing with."

"I'm sorry," Draco said awkwardly, although he meant it. "For not telling you."

Hermione stood in silence, thinking over this. He had apologized. He was sorry. She held the whip. She could accept his apology, or turn his back on him.

She smiled, and faced him. "Don't worry. Everything's forgiven and forgotten."

Draco felt that warm feeling at his chest again. He had never heard those words, but he liked them. They sounded beautiful.

To Hermione's surprise, he returned the smile. It was the first time she had seen him smile without a mask, and she liked it.

They both smiled at each other, and it was the beginning of an officially established friendship.

***

Some weeks went by, and they couldn't have been greater for Draco. When he saw Hermione in the corridors, he would wave, and she would wave back, smiling. They would talk more and more at the "Joggart Meetings," and more at ease. He could tell her anything from a current event to his worries about having to grow up to be a Death Eater, and some of the less violent stories of his childhood at home with his father.

She, in turn, would cheer him up by telling funny stories, comforting him, and listening. He was very amused when her eyes got big whenever he told one of his "Childhood Stories."

She was really happy they were getting along nicely, and that he trusted her enough to tell her all sorts of things. Sometimes she would tell him something serious, too, like her worries that her Transfiguration essay had been too short, or that Ron was getting too mischievous. At least to her they were serious, but sometimes she could see Draco fighting back a smile. She didn't feel stupid or bad, though, because she liked to cheer him up. Besides, if he chuckled, he would apologize and say that yes, he took her seriously, but it had been funny, in a good way.

He had a way of making her feel good, as she had a way of making him feel good.

One specially cold December day they sat under the tree, making notes about the Joggart. The ground was freezing, and Hermione tried to write as fast as she could.

"So then," Hermione was saying. "Ron beat Harry at chess again, so Harry got annoyed." she shivered, and pulled her cloak closer around her body. "Ron was laughing hysterically. I mean, even if they're great friends, they like to annoy each other. Then Harry suggested going out to the quidditch fields. He said he'd show Ron that he could beat him at that," she shivered again, and moved closer to Draco for some warmth.

Now that they were getting along, she knew Draco wouldn't mind. Or at least, she hoped he wouldn't.

He didn't mind at all.

"Ron knows that Harry is better at quidditch than he is, just as Harry knows Ron is better at chess. But Ron can't say 'No' to a challenge or a dare, so he went along,"

She laughed. "Well, next thing you know, they're off in the quidditch field, racing and throwing tennis balls at each other,"

She shivered again, and wondered how Draco could stand so calmly next to her, as if they were in Spring.

Hermione was really close to Draco now, and he could feel her shivering more and more frequently.

Draco didn't know much about kindness, but he was learning from her. So, as Hermione got to the part where Ron fell off his broomstick, Draco was taking his cloak off.

He put it around Hermione's shoulders, and she looked up, surprised.

He shrugged. "You were shivering hard,"

She quickly took his cloak off her. "No way," she said, handing it back to him. "I'm not going to let you freeze just because I'm shivering,"

"If you're shivering, you're cold," Draco said, without taking his cloak back.

Hermione shook her head. "You'll freeze!"

"I won't," Draco said. "I'm not cold."

It was true. He wasn't cold. He was used to it. The Slytherin common room wasn't exactly "warm and cuddly," and Malfoy Manor was never warm despite the numerous fireplaces it had.

"How can't you be cold?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not," he insisted, and put it round her shoulders again. "Don't make me mad, and keep it on."

She looked doubtfully at him for a minute, but then gave up. "Ok. Thanks. But it's not my fault if you freeze to death!"

He smiled. "Ok. Just keep going with your story,"

***

Hermione walked inside the common room, humming a bit, and put Bluey inside his box.

She turned around to find both Harry and Ron gaping at her.

"What?" she asked.

"What," Ron said. "Are you doing with a Slytherin cloak on?"

Hermione looked down at her cloak and saw that she had forgotten to give it back to Draco. There was a silver snake twisting around a green S at the right side.

It reminded her of Draco.

"Oh…" she said. "Well, Draco let me put it on, because I was cold,"

Ron stared at her blankly. Then he shook his head, still staring at her.

"What is it, Ron?" she asked.

"This is terrible," he said.

"What? Why?" Hermione asked.

"I can see it all now," Ron went on. He grabbed Hermione's arms. "First, he gives you his cloak. Then, he starts being nicer and nicer. Next thing you know, he's kissing you madly, and-"

Hermione snorted. "Yeah, that's going to happen," she said sarcastically.

Ron ignored her. "And you work under a tree! Draco and Hermione, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-"

"Stop being silly, Ron!" Hermione yelled, blushing. "For God's sake, he let me borrow his cloak!"

"Sure, today it's his cloak," Ron muttered. "Tomorrow, who knows what he'll do?"

"Shut up, Ron," Hermione hissed, and stormed off into the girls' dormitories.

"Hermione!" Harry called.

She walked back down, flushed.

"Make sure no one sees that cloak," he said. "They'd think it was… strange,"

Hermione nodded. "Don't worry, I won't," she said, and went up the stairs again.

She opened the door to her dormitory.

It was empty.

She sat down on her bed and examined the cloak closely. It was very clean. There wasn't a spot anywhere, and it seemed to be brand new.

She folded it and put in inside one of her drawers gently.

She would give it to him tomorrow.

***

For their next Joggart Meeting, Hermione conjured up a fire so no one would have to sacrifice their cloaks. She had returned Draco his cloak two days ago, when she saw him on his way to potions.

So today she waited at the Entrance Hall, looking out into the cloudy day. It was chilly, and the trees were bare.

"Hi," Draco said, stepping next to her.

"Hi," she answered, and started walking.

"A fire?" Draco asked.

"Yeah," she said cheerfully. "To keep us warm. Today, no one's going to freeze,"

Draco was tired of hearing her say that. He hadn't been that cold!

Hermione sat down, gently putting the fire on the floor.

She was just getting out her writing materials, though, when it started snowing.

Small, gentle snowflakes fell all around them. They stood in silence, watching it snow.

It was not until Bluey stirred by Hermione's hand, shaking off some snow, and blinked up at her, that she stood up.

"We better go," she said.

"Yeah," Draco said, standing up also and getting the fire.

Hermione scooped Bluey up and put him in her pocket. Then she got the parchment and the quill and put them in her other pocket.

Then it started snowing harder.

Hermione laughed, and started running towards the castle.

Draco watched her go with mild interest. She reached the Entrance Hall and waited for him.

When he got there, he said, "Hermione, snow doesn't bite,"

"I know that," she said, getting the snow out of her hair carefully.

Draco sighed, put his hand on her head, and rubbed all the snow away. "Much quicker," he drawled.

Then he started laughing, staring at her.

For once, Hermione was hearing him laugh.

But he was laughing at her!

"I would've rubbed my hair, too!" she exclaimed. "If this," she pointed at her hair. "Wouldn't happen,"

Hermione's hair was naturally bushy, but now that someone had rubbed it, it was ten times bushier, and her face looked small between all that hair puffing out.

Draco calmed himself down, looked at her, and started laughing again.

Hermione eventually started laughing too, and sat down on the marble staircases.

Draco sat next to her, chuckling.

"Where are we going to work on the report now?" Hermione asked.

"Here," Draco answered.

"On the staircase?"

"Yeah, why not?"

Hermione shrugged. "Ok, sure."

So they started working, sharing jokes, comments, and stories.

Draco loved to see her laugh, and Hermione loved to see him smile.

So all they had to do was keep on talking cheerfully, which they did.

"Well," Hermione said, standing up. "I better go. I promised Harry and Ron I'd help them with the homework."

Draco nodded. "Alright. See you then,"

Hermione watched him head off into the dungeons, wishing that they would see each other very, very soon.

***

Draco watched Hermione intently all throughout dinner.

She talked with Potter and Weasley, laughed, and scolded.

He watched as she poked Ron with her fork, while he laughed.

He watched while she talked with Harry.

He watched when she laughed at one of her friend's jokes.

And as he watched, he thought about how much he wanted to be with her.

He wanted to be the one who was making her cheeks go red as she laughed. He wanted to be the one she was talking with so intently. And he even wouldn't have minded if she were pocking him with her fork, if it amused her.

"What are you looking at?" Pansy, who was sitting nearby, asked him curiously.

When Draco didn't answer, she followed his gaze and saw Hermione.

"It's her again," she muttered angrily, but then turned to Draco. "Would you like some more potatoes, Draco?" she asked sweetly, passing him the plate.

Draco was forced to pay attention when she put the plate under his nose.

"Parkinson," he said coldly. "Shut up. I don't want any potatoes,"

And he watched Hermione again.

She turned and looked at him. She smiled, and waved.

He nodded his head, staring fixedly at her.

Then she turned to Ron, who said something, laughing.

She blushed and pushed him, making Neville, who was sitting next to him, topple over onto Sean.

When dinner was over, and all the houses had to go into their common room, he watched her, on his way towards the dungeons, as she went up the stairs.

Harry took her arm and whispered something, and she laughed.

He wished he could take her arm and whisper something to her, too.

It was not until he was in the Slytherin common room, though, that he went over his dinner, and thought that he had acted very stupidly, following Hermione's every move.

At least, he thought, he'd acted foolishily for a Slytherin.

******

I'll end it there, lol. Well, since everyone was nice and reviewed with my mad hamster glaring at them, I'm happy ^_^ so I'll take the mad hamster away, but… beware of my sharp-toothed turtle if you don't want it to go straight for your nose!