Ok, first of all, thanks to all of you who told me I had made the stupid mistake of confusing "Sean" with "Dean" . I feel so stupid now, lol. Please forgive, though! It won't happen again ^_^
Sorry for not updating sooner!!!! As I said before, I'm busy with tests . I can barely find time to write! But the chapter's FINALLY out!! :D I'll try to update sooner next time, but next week we have lots of tests, too, so forvie, please!
And congrats to all of you who figured out the mistery about Harry's trunk! Lol.
And thanks also to everyone who sent flames!! I'll try to keep in mind the mistakes I make ^_^
Oh, and someone said my chapters were too long... but most people say they're too short. Ack, now I dunno what to do!! I guess I'll just keep on making them about 7-8 pages long on Microsoft Word.
And now, THE question: When are they going to kiss??? Sorry, I know it's taking long... I know exactly when it's going to happen, how it's going to happen, in what circumstances, how long it's going to last, etc, etc, lol. They still need time, though!! BUT look on the bright side: the longer it takes, the more exciting it will be when it happens!! *looks around* er... well, yeah, just keep in mind that it's coming. One of these days.
Someone people also said that they wanted action… that things were going too well. And I agree *evil grin* Things ARE going too smoothly, aren't they? Don't worry, as I've said lots of times before: I have everything planned out. Everything has its purpose. I have the plot all laid out nicely, and that includes action. So just be patient. I like to take my time.
And sorry if sometimes the words I use aren't appropiate for the thing I'm writing at the moment, or my expressions suck. But I guess you should know that I don't live in an english speaking country. I live in Spain, where everyone speaks Spanish. I lived in the Untited States for 3 years, that's how I learned english. So it's kinda hard to remember all those expressions I used to say 24/7 over there. Fortunally, I chat with my friends online and talk to them on the phone, so at least I can ask them whenever I forget something. Which is kinda embarrasing, actually. But I remember most of the things. It's just some of the expressions, and rarely some words. (But I might go back to the US this summer, so I'll remember everything soon!)
Oh! Before I leave: Narisunell, I'll do as you told me: I dedicate a nice, cute, fluffy Joggart to you!! Here, you can have him, *reachs out hand with Joggart on it* he's all yours! (Watch out, it bites) ^_^
And I have 499 reviews!!!! Thanks to Hyper_shark, *Karly*, Intuerimos, Hermione18, Llewellyne 89, DolceExpressivo, Crystalline Lily, Starry, willow, Suzanne, Calani, lil-spitfire, Starry Skies, EclipseKlutz, PinkRosePetal, SVZ, Me123, Vikkitoria, sb1, Blade Griffin, Avri, Kristi, Jenz, Darren, Rincorwen, The Charmed One, Amaryllis, YingRui, Mysticpixie, Draco Lover, MysticalStormz, Gliniel of Tirragen + Draco, Silver Fawkes, TriGemini, Tom Felton's Babe, teenage_dirtbag, Rincorwen, Hatokirei, DracosGirlMakayla, fb90, junejewel, yopqi-chunsa, aphrodite, Unicorn777, BlueBird, MisS_Thang, Jen, Narisunell, Ashely, and UndomielEvenstar for reviewing!!! I love you!!!
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Other citations will be made where necessary
******
Hermione woke up the next morning with the intention of telling her plan to Draco. She took a quick shower, got dressed in a haste, brushed her hair, and raced down the stairs to the common room.
She was almost at the portrait when Harry stopped her.
"Hermione!" he called, going down the stairs with Ron trailing behind. "Wait up!"
Hermione had wanted to avoid them so she could tell Draco about her plan, but she didn't want Harry and Ron to know.
"I'm hungry," Harry said as they stepped out of the common room.
"Stupid thing," Ron muttered, waving at the broomstick.
They heard a giggle.
"What's that?" Ron asked absent-mindedly, still trying to wack the broomstick.
"It's coming from that broom cupboard," Harry said, pointing to a wooden door to their right.
Another giggle.
Ron looked at the door. "Well," he said, stepping closer to it. "Let's see what's in there..."
"Wait, Ron..." Hermione said quickly. She could guess what was behind that closed door with a banner reading Broom Cupboard.
But it was too late. Ron's curiosity had gotten hold of him, and he was already turning the doorknob.
Harry looked in horror as the three of them watched Cho and another Ravenclaw boy kissing tenderly.
Ron cleared his throat loudly.
Cho looked at them with the corner of her eyes. Harry stared, and her eyes opened big. She detatched herself from the blond boy.
"Argh!" Cho screamed. "Weasley! How dare you!" with one last look at Harry, she got the door and snapped it shut.
Ron started sniggering.
"Harry..." Hermione started carefully, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't," Harry said, shaking her off, and walking down the hallway quickly.
"Harry!" Hermione called, trying to keep up with him as his pace quickened.
They reached the marble staircases, and Harry started running.
She ran after him, but he was quicker. Before she could stop him, he was out of the castle, and she was standing at the door, watching his running silhouette getting smaller and smaller.
Just as she'd watched Draco run off when his mask had fallen off.
"Hermione!" Ron exclaimed, right by her side. "Why'd you run off like that?"
She looked at him angrily. "Why did you snigger? Was it funny to see Harry hurt?"
Ron stared at her with a shocked expression. "Of course not!" he answered. "It was that Cho Chang... she'd looked funny when she saw me!"
"Oh, yes," Hermione said sarcastically. "It was just so funny!"
She glared.
He shrugged. "Well, I'm going to get some breakfast," he turned away
"How," Hermione demanded. "Can you be so insensible?"
Ron took a few steps, and turned around again. "I do care about Harry," he said. "And I hope he feels better after being alone for a while."
And he left, leaving Hermione to feel very stupid.
***
After a while, Hermione had to admit she was hungry, and finally had some breakfast. Then she got out of the Great Hall quickly and stepped outside, putting her cloak on. She looked all around for Harry, but he was nowhere to be seen. She even went around back to the place they had had the snow war, but he wasn't there, either. So she heaved a sigh and, shivering, crossed the snow covered grounds and entered the castle again.
Where could Harry be?
Still wondering, she entered the common room. Immediately, someone seized her arm and dragged her to a corner.
"Lavender!" Hermione gasped.
Lavender looked a bit pale, and her legs were a bit quivery, but her eyes and her voice were determined. "I'm going to ask Ron to the dance,"
"That's great!" Hermione exclaimed.
Lavender smiled weakly. "I just… before someone else gets to go with him. And…" she nodded towards Ron, who was looking out the window while trying to smash the broomstick. "I don't think he likes my broomstick much. You do think that if I ask him he'll finally realize I'm the one who sent him the broomstick?"
Hermione doubted it, but she nodded, and gave her friend a small push towards Ron in encouragement. "Go ahead,"
Lavender nodded, breathed in, and smiled at Hermione. Then she gave a step forward, followed by another, and another, and was finally standing next to Ron.
Hermione watched nearby.
"Ron," Lavender said seriously, looking straight into his eyes.
"What?" he asked, barely glancing at her.
She took a deep breath, and crossed her fingers behind her back. "Would you like to… to go to the dance with me?"
For a moment, Ron looked dumbfounded. Then he looked at Lavender, as if he were deep in thought. And then the broomstick, which had been circling his stomach, suddenly fell to the floor with a soft thunk.
Hermione could barely breathe as Lavender turned red, and Ron's mouth dropped open.
"Lavender," Ron said, looking at the broomstick, which was lying on the floor peacefully. "Were you the one who sent…"
"Yes," she admitted.
Now it was Ron's turn to blush deeply.
Hermione crossed her fingers, praying nothing would go wrong. Not now. Not when Lavender had built up the courage to tell Ron how she felt.
"So will you go?" Lavender tried again.
"Ye- yeah," Ron stammered. "'Course,"
Lavender sighed in relief, and smiled. "Ok… I'll see you then!"
She hurriedly turned around, and walked up the stairs into the dormitories.
Hermione followed, and opened the door to find Lavender lying on her bed. She had her face buried in her pillow.
"Way to go!" Hermione cheered, closing the door behind her.
Lavender groaned.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.
Lavender sighed and raised her head. "Do you think he meant it?"
"What?" Hermione asked.
"I'm not sure he wants to go with me," Lavender explained, sitting up and crossing her legs.
"Of course he does!"
"He'd go with any girl," Lavender muttered.
"No!" Hermione said, although she wasn't so sure. "He was just… surprised,"
Lavender didn't look convinced.
Hermione sat next to her. "Don't worry," she said, getting Lavender's hair and twisting it into a braid. "I'm sure he'll come to like you as well. Ron's just so innocent at times…" she smiled. "I really think you have a chance with him. Just keep on trying, and never give up,"
Lavender smiled, too. "Yes. I'll try! And… are you sure I have a chance with him?"
Hermione stopped braiding Lavender's hair, and looked at her friend. "Without a doubt."
***
Later that day, after lunch, Hermione walked around the castle, searching for Draco. Harry still hadn't come back, and she was suspecting he had stayed with Hagrid. She was tired of looking out the window, so she decided to go look for Draco and tell him her plan.
She finally found him in the library. He was doing a potions essay, and had already six parchments full of neat writing sprawled on the table.
Hermione crossed the room, and sat next to him.
He looked up.
"Hi," she said.
He looked around before answering. "Hi. Thank God Pansy isn't around… she'll use any 'suspicious' action from my part against me," he explained, seeing Hermione's questioning look.
She smiled. "I have an idea,"
"For what?"
"The dance,"
"Really?" Draco asked, tipping his quill into the ink box, and starting to write again.
"Yes," Hermione was thrilled. "Even though you should've had the ideas… you're the one in Slytherin, so you should have 'cunning plans', but-"
"Did you come here to blame me because of my lack of ideas?"
"No," she answered.
"Get on with it,"
She looked around, just as he had done, and dropped her voice to a whisper. "The invisibility cloak,"
He jerked his head up, and looked right at her. For a moment, they were silent.
"How come I didn't think of that?" he asked, as if talking to himself.
Hermione grinned. "We could dance under it the whole night. Nobody would know,"
He thought for a moment, and a gleeful smile spread across his face. "First mistake of the day, Granger,"
Her shoulders heaved. "What?" she asked, disappointed.
"As we'd be invisible, somone would rudely bump into us," he explained.
"Damn," Hermione muttered. "I hadn't thought about that…"
"So we'll have to be extra careful," Draco went on. "Second mistake: they'd hear us."
"Then we won't talk,"
"What about our footsteps?"
Hermione thought. "I won't use high heels. They make a lot of noise"
"Well, you might sacrifice your appearence, but I won't wear dress robes with sneakers," Draco replied in an arrogant tone.
"Why? No one will see you!"
"You will," he reminded her.
"Yes, but… that doesn't matter!"
"It does," he assured her.
Hermione put her head down on the table, and sighed.
Draco stood still.
After a moment of silence, he was impatient. "So…"
Hermione sighed again, and stood up straight. When she looked at Draco, though, she had a glint in her eyes he had never seen before.
"Let's just risk it," she suggested.
Draco looked at her strangely. Hermione Granger, wanting to risk getting caught? This was serious.
"You really are a Gryffindor," he said, trying to fight a smile. "Stupid… and brave,"
"And you're really a Slytherin," she replied, although she couldn't help smiling, either. "Snobby and sneaky,"
He grinned. "Yeah, that's me,"
Hermione stood up. "Well… I'll see you fifteen minutes before the dance starts at the bottom of the marble staircases, alright?"
Draco nodded.
"Ok, see you there," she said, and walked out of the library.
***
The last three days until Christmas passed in a blur. Everywhere in the castles, preparations for the dance were done: there were thousands of decorations in the Great Hall and in the hallways, the armours and the portraits were dusted, and Filtch was in a horrible mood, giving detention in advance to any student who dared to leave a trail of mud behind them.
Lavender and Ron hadn't talked at all since Lavender had asked him to the Ball. They kept on avoiding each other's eyes, and Ron got red when someone mentioned her name.
Draco and Hermione hadn't talked, either. Not because they didn't want to, but because it was getting harder to do so: Pansy seemed to be everywhere, glaring at Hermione, and keeping a close watch on Draco. If they passed each other in the hallways, Draco would simply nod, and Hermione would smile.
Harry was feeling better, although he still couldn't stand to watch Cho and that "Stupid Ravenclaw Idiot" eating together. Just as Hermione had thought, he had gone to Hagrid's house to calm down.
While Harry thought up plans to torture the boy, Hermione kept on thinking about the plan. Would anything go wrong? Would they be discovered? These questions had tormented her all these three days, so when she woke up on Christmas morning, the first thing she thought was, it's today.
She stood up straight slowly, and looked at the foot of her bed, where a pile of presents of different shapes and sizes were wrapped in colorful wrapping paper.
She got out of bed and, without bothering to get out of her pajamas, threw open the door to the boys' dormitories.
"Good morning, everyone!" she yelled, making Neville jump. "Merry Christmas!"
Ron didn't say anything, as he was too busy kneeling on the floor next to a pile of torn wrapping paper, opening his presents.
"Merry Christmas," Harry said, looking up from a pile of presents.
"Me-merry Christmas," Neville stuttered, getting out of bed.
Hermione looked at Dean, but he was sleeping soundly.
"Maroon again?" Ron asked in disbelief as he held up a maroon sweater with an R on it. "I told her to make it another color this year!"
Hermione giggled. "Oh, come on, Ronnie, dear. You know you like it!"
He glared at her.
Suddenly the box Harry was unwrapping shook madly, scattering all of Ron's wrapping paper, which had been close by, all over the room.
"What is that?" Hermione exclaimed.
"Don't know," Harry answered, trying to get hold of the box, which had wiggled itself to the other end of the room.
It made a wild dash towards Hermione, but she moved out of the way just in time. "Do you think that, by any chance, it could be from Hagrid?"
"I'm afraid it is," Ron said.
For a moment, the box stood still. Harry tiptoed behind it. He was just about to catch it when the box jumped and toppled onto Dean, who woke up with a scream.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" he yelled, trying to shake the box off.
Harry launched at the shaking present, but he couldn't hold it still.
Hermione got her wand out of her pocket, and aimed at the box. "Petrificus totalus!"
The box stood still, and Dean got out of bed quickly. "What," he asked again. "Just happened?"
Harry just stood there, and Ron seemed to be afraid to go near it. Neville was hiding under his bed.
"It won't do anything," Hermione assured them. "Whatever it is, it's motionless."
Harry nodded, and took a deep breath. He reached out his hand towards the lid, and opened it carefully.
Everyone, even Neville, edged closer and peered into the box.
"There's only tissue paper in there," Ron said in disbelief.
Harry started throwing aside all the tissue paper. He was sure there was something else in there…
And there was. At the bottom of the box, there was one object.
"A tie?" Everyone exclaimed at the same time.
Ron started laughing. "A tie!"
"Look," Hermione said, pointing. "There's a note next to it,"
Harry took it and opened it slowly. He recognized Hagrid's messy writing.
Dear Harry,
Hope the present didn't scare ye too much! I hope ye like it!
"Like it?" Harry asked. "It almost hit Dean on the face!"
"Keep reading," Hermione urged him.
Since you came over about three days ago and told me what ye saw in that broom cupboard, I've been trying to think up a plan to help ye. How about this tie here? Ye could give it ter that Ravenclaw boy, and when he puts it on, it would strangle him! (I don't think he'd die.. It'd give him quite a scare, though!)
Hagrid.
Hermione gasped. "Strangle him? Hagrid's gone mad!"
Harry laughed. "He says it would only scare him!"
"Let's give it to him!" Ron exclaimed, already heading for the door.
"We're not giving it to him," Hermione said, seizing Ron by the back of his pajamas.
"Er… Hermione," Dean said carefully. "Could you get out? I want to dress, and I can't with you here,"
"Oh," she said, letting go of Ron. "Right,"
She stepped outside, but turned around again, and looked at Harry. "See you at breakfast!"
***
Hermione went down to breakfast with a small wrapped present in her hand. The reason she'd come earlier to breakfast was so she could give Draco the present she'd bought. And she wanted to give it to him in person.
She peeped into the Great Hall, and saw that Draco wasn't sitting at the Slytherin table.
"What are you doing?" a voice asked behind her.
She turned and found she was face to face with Draco.
She smiled. "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas," he said. It sounded weird to say that, and to actually feel it.
"I got you a present!" Hermione said, giving him the bundle.
He took it slowly.
"Open it," she urged him.
He started to carefully take the wrapping paper off. It was a book titled Salazar Slytherin: The Real Him
"I didn't know what to get you," Hermione admitted. "But I thought a book would be fine…"
"It's perfect," he assured her. "But… I didn't get you anything,"
"That's alright," she said.
"No," he replied. "It's not alright…" he thought for a moment, and finally reached behind his neck, and took a necklace off. There was an M with a snake wrapped around it dangling from a thin silver cord.
"My father gave it to me this summer," he explained. "It's one of the many treasures the Malfoys have. It's been in my family for generations. Take it," he handed it out to her.
She looked at it, and shook her head. "I couldn't. It must be such an important thing for you,"
"It's not," he said, and looked away. "Not anymore."
"Draco, I couldn't-"
"I want you to have it," he insisted. "Besides… it gives me bad memories. But if I know you have it I won't hate it so much,"
Hermione hesitated, but finally put her fingers around the silver cord, and put the necklace around her neck.
"It even looks more cheerful on you," Draco said coldly.
Hermione stared at him with a worried expression. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing," he muttered.
"Tell me,"
Her tone of voice was soothing, but he wouldn't tell. He didn't want to. She'd just think he was a spoiled brat.
He looked away again. "I'm not saying anything,"
"Please, Draco," she tried again.
He remained silent.
"Has it anything to do with your father?"
He clenched his teeth.
"With Pansy?"
Silence.
"With… with me?"
That made him talk. "Of course not!"
"Then what is it?"
"Look," he said, avoiding her eyes. "My father didn't send anything this morning. Not one present! And that's very humiliating for a Malfoy. But it's not just the fact of not getting any presents on Christmas morning… it's the fact that he did it to humiliate me. To make me feel bad. And Pansy sent a bunch of red roses this morning, to make everything more humiliating. Now everyone's going to start laughing behind my back… they won't fear the Malfoy name anymore!"
"Draco…" Hermione started, but she was cut off.
"Hermione!" Harry yelled, coming down the staircases. "Thanks for waiting!"
Draco looked at both Harry and Ron, and looked at Hermione again. "I never told you this," he said
She nodded, and he entered the Great Hall.
She was glad Draco had trusted her. Even if she'd had to insist a lot before he said anything. Maybe she was the only one who listened to him. Maybe that was why, when it came to talking about his family, he was always so uncomfortable.
"Let's go inside," Harry said once he and Ron had reached her side.
Hermione grasped the M on the neckace. It felt cold and solid. Just as Draco was.
She didn't let go of the M all throughout breakfast, even when Harry looked strangely at her. She wanted to warm the material up, just as she wanted to make Draco feel at least a little warm when he was with her, so that he could forget about the cold world he lived in, even if it was just for a while.
And she hoped she would succeed.
***
"Are you sure I look alright?" Lavender asked yet again.
"You're perfect," Hermione answered, taking another look at her.
Lavender was wearing a white winter dress with long cuffs, and some few silver trimmings on the chest.
"Do you think Ron will like it?" she asked nervously.
"Of course he will," Hermione replied.
"Oh, I don't know…."
"You're fine," Hermione assured her, and taking her by the hand. "Ron's waiting," she said, dragging Lavender towards the door. "So you better go,"
Lavender nodded. "It's too bad you're not coming," she said. "I would've liked you to be there,"
"Yes, well…" Hermione hadn't told Lavender about the plan. She didn't want anyone to know. Draco would probably be angry if someone else knew, because anyone could start spreading rumors. "I'll be fine,"
Hermione opened the door. "Good luck,"
Lavender got out. "Thanks for doing my hair," she whispered, glancing at Ron, who was just getting out of the common room.
"I only curled it,"
"And tied it into a fancy knob," Lavender added. "Oh…" she looked at Ron. "I have to go,"
"Have fun!" Hermione called after them cheerfully, and closed the door.
Finally, she was alone. She looked at her watch and saw that she only had thirty minutes to get ready.
"Great," she muttered, going over to her wardrobe. "And I don't even know what I'll wear…"
She could've bought something on their last Hogsmeade trip, but as Ron and Harry had always been close to her, she hadn't had the chance.
And now she was stuck with an useless wardrobe.
She had no idea what to wear. What would Draco like? Black, maybe? Silk? Satin? Why should she care, anyway? They would be under the invisibility cloak all night, anyway!
But she cared. Strangely, she cared.
She scanned the wardrobe. She still had the floaty blue robe she had worn on her fourth year, but she didn't want to put it on. It just didn't seem right to dance with Draco with the same clothes she had worn when she had danced with Viktor. She had a black satin gown, but that was too formal. She still had the two medieval dresses she'd used in Halloween. Then there was a pink summer dress, the casual peach dress, and, finally, a blue dress.
Hermione chose to wear the blue one. It had a flared skirt, and double spaghetti straps. On top was a small, translucent blue jacket. She put it on and looked in the mirror.
Well, she thought. Problem solved.
She shivered. Or not.
It was too cold to go out in a dress like the one she was wearing… but, then again, she didn't have anything else.
We'll be under the invisibility cloak, she thought. I can just wrap it around myself.
She looked at her watch again: fifteen minutes.
"I can't believe this…" she muttered, getting a brush and combing her hair. She didn't have much time to work on her hair, so she decided to let it loose. She looked at the pile of makeup onParvarti's desk questionately. Should she?
No. She didn't have time, anyway. She still had to get the cloak.
After a last look at the mirror, Hermione opened the door and peeped outside. There were still some people in the common room, talking and giggling. It was weird to see so many colors instead of the usual black.
Her gaze stopped on Harry, who was sitting on the couch, reading.
She closed the door carefully behind her, and tiptoed towards the boys' dormitories. She was glad to see it was empty, as it made everything much easier.
She strode over to Harry's trunk and snapped it open. Glancing at the door every now and then, she searched through his trunk, and finally found the cloak.
Perfect, she thought as she put it on. And it provides warmth, too.
Careful not to bump into anyone, she walked towards the portrait. As she passed Harry, she couldn't help but feel guilty. After all, this was his cloak. She hadn't asked permission.
But it wasn't time to think about that. She needed to get out of the common room.
Her chance came when a couple walked out of the portrait hand in hand. She slipped through the opening before the portrait could close again, and hurried towards the staircases.
She started climbing down the stairs, but stopped halfway through.
There, at the bottom to the stairs, was Draco. He was wearing a tux, looking very handsome, and was looking up the staircases. He looked right through her. Her heart leaped, and she felt that she could've stayed there forever, looking down at him…
She shook her head, as if trying to rub the thought away, and kept on going until she was right beside him.
"Draco," she whispered.
He turned and looked around suspiciously. "Where are you?"
Hermione took the cloak off, making sure there was no one around. For a moment, Draco just stared at her in amazement. She blushed.
"Whoa," he said. "You look… great," he finished weakly.
She took his hand and slipped him unnder the cloak. "Thanks. You're not looking bad yourself"
They stood still.
"Er… Draco? I think we have a problem," she said.
"What?" he looked down at her.
"How do we move?" she asked. "It's amazing how small this thing is… I've been in here with both Harry and Ron before, but now it just seems so small and crampled…"
"Yes, a little,"
"Let's practice before we actually dance," she suggested. "Or we might trip on it,"
"Alright. Let's take a few steps," he said.
Hermione nodded, and they started walking. For a while everything was fine.
But then Herminoe tripped just as a couple walked past.
Draco got her arm and pulled her back as the couple looked at the spot they were standing at strangely.
"I could've sworn I just saw a shoe in the air…" the girl said.
"Must've been that butterbeer," the boy grunted, and they walked off towards the mob of kids standing in front of the Great Hall.
"That," Hermione gasped. "Was close,"
"This is close," Draco said. "We can barely stand an inch apart!"
"I guess it must have been a long time since I went under this cloak with Harry and Ron," Hermione said, biting her bottom lip. "We were smaller back then…"
"Attention," a voice suddenly said. It was coming from the mob of kids.
Hermione stood on her tiptoes and recognized a familiar emerald pointed hat standing out above the heads of the students.
"Silence, please," Proffesor McGonagall said, more loudly this time.
Slowly, the students quieted.
"The Ball is about to begin," she said.
The doors of the Great Hall opened slowly, making the hallway blossom with light.
"Have fun," Proffesor McGonagall said stiffly, and everyone poured inside.
"Let's go," Draco said, stepping forward.
Hermione stayed still, though, so the cloak rose above her anckles.
"We have to move together, or this won't work," Draco stated.
Hermione nodded. "Ok. Let's go inside,"
"On the count of three, and we start with out right leg,"
And that's what they did. Somehow they managed to enter the Great Hall without tripping over the cloak.
"Wow…" Hermione breathed when they had entered.
The Great Hall looked splendid. There were some warm snowflakes falling, and a huge Christmas tree was standing at the far end of the Hall, decorated with thousands of ornaments. There were torches that illuminated the entire Hall, and the windows had been wiped so many times that they could see their reflections in them.
"Watch out," Draco said, pulling Hermione against the wall just as a group of girls walked by.
"This is going to be hard…"
Draco nudged her and pointed to their right.
There was Pansy drinking some punch near the food table. She seemed to be looking around.
"Probably looking for me," Draco muttered.
Suddenly a slow tune drifted around the Hall, and people began to go on the dance floor.
"Want to dance?" Draco asked without hesitation.
"Yes," she answered quite normally.
Carefull not to bump into anyone, they stepped onto the dance floor.
It was the same as dancing in the masquerade, and yet so much different.
Hermione remembered Draco's hands perfectly, his way of dancing, the way he looked at her… but her feeling were different. She knew who she was dancing with. Knew it was Draco Malfoy who held her with great care.
And she liked it.
The days of the masquerade, she had enjoyed herself.
But this was much different. She had butterflies in her stomach, and she was a little nervous, even if there was no reason to be, as she and Draco were friends.
Draco felt something, too. He had stopped denying he liked Hermione, and had accepted it.
But it wasn't just liking her anymore, or at least he didn't think it was. He just knew he wanted to be with her forever.
She was looking awesome, too. That blue dress was very pretty, and she was even more pretty.
The song ended, and, without saying anything, they walked towards the food table.
They decided not to say anything about the slow dance.
Draco was temted by some small strawberry cakes, and reached out for one.
"Don't!" Hermione said, grabbing Draco's arm.
"Why?" he asked.
"Because," Hermione explained. "It would look… strange if a strawberry cake suddenly started levitating in the air, wouldn't it?"
"Darn," he said, looking at the cakes yearningly. "I wanted that cake…"
"Let's go dance again," Hermione suggested, getting his hand just as another song started.
"This is a fast song," Draco warned. "We'll have to be very carefull!"
"We will," Hermione assured him.
They decided to dance on a corner of the dance floor where they wouldn't bump into anyone. Or at least, they wouldn't bump into many people.
"Er…Draco?" Hermione said, carefull not to as she moved in time with the music. "I can't twirl under the cloak,"
"Pity," he replied. "You look nice when you do it,"
She blushed.
They were so absorbed talking, though, that they didn't notice Ron and Lavender dancing nearby.
They didn't see them coming closer and closer, and neither did they see Ron tripping over Lavender's feet.
But they did feel something.
They felt as Ron bumped into them. They felt his hand gripping the invisibility cloak. They saw him fall to the floor.
And they watched in horror as he took the invisibility cloak down with him.
They were uncovered.
*******
If anyone wants to see Hermione's dress, go here:
Sorry again for not updating sooner!! As I said, I'm busy with tests and homework. This chapter is longer than usual because I might be too busy to update soon. Anyway, please review!!