~Disclaimer~ All recognizable Harry Potter-related things and people belong to J.K. Rowling.
~Authoress' Notes~ Oh, I keep forgetting this. Well, this fic was written for a challenge. J
Have fun reading!
Chapter Title: A Multiple Choice Question and Her Descision
The next two monthes passed by quite quickly, and soon, it was a week before the Christmas ball. Harry had been holding off telling Hermione how he felt for quite awhile, and he knew he was running out of time.
Right after Transfiguration, Harry pulled Hermione aside. "Hermione, I need to talk to you…," he said, still gripping Hermione`s left wrist. Hermione looked puzzled, but replied, "Ok… What is it Harry?" Harry looked awkward. "Come with me…," he said quietly, motioning for Hermione to follow him. Hermione hesitated, but followed. Soon, they were in the Room of Requirement. "What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked, as soon as Harry placed a locking charm on the door.
"Hermione, I-I`m in love with you. Will you go to the ball with me?" he blurted out. Hermione stared at him. "Harry, I, I don`t know what to say!"
"Just say you`ll go to the ball with me!"
"Harry, I –-- I`ll get back to you…," she said, and before Harry could reply, continued. "I`m sorry, Harry!" With that, she ran off to her next class—- History of Magic. It provided her with enough time to think through what Harry had just confessed to her about. She groaned. She had already said yes to Malfoy, but she was having second thoughts. She sighed. How could such a simple matter be so hard?
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That night, Hermione sat on her bed in the girl`s dormitories, consulting Ginny, Lavender, and Parvarti about the situation at hand. "My god, Hermione! You are so lucky! The two hottest guys in the school have both asked you to go to with them to the ball. I would hardly call this a problem!" Ginny exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "Yes, but I can`t possibly choose!" Hermione replied, smiling. Lavender and Parvarti giggled. "That`s easy! C`mon, we can check your horoscope! What`s your sign?" "It`s Libra, but I don`t see how this is going to help, plus, that`s all rubbish! You don`t actually believe that my horoscope will tell me who to choose?" she asked desperately. Lavender smiled. "Hermione, don`t be so disbelieving! Besides, it can`t hurt to give it a try! Come on!" she exclaimed, dragging Hermione over to the magicked computer that sat on her desk. "Now, just hold on a moment…" Lavender flicked a small red switch, and suddenly, Hermione`s horoscope appeared on the screen. Lavender flicked another switch, and another screen popped up. This one was labeled, 'Love Life', and was decorated with pink hearts, and animated cupids. Parvarti squealed. "It worked! Read it, 'Mione!" Hermione slowly, hesitantly walked over to the computer, then read it aloud, "'You are forced to make a choice between friend, and what seems to be a foe. When in despair, turn to the gray-eyed one.'" Hermione gasped after finishing reading. She knew who the "gray-eyed one" was.
Apparently, so did Lavender, Parvarti, and Ginny. "Hermione! See! It`s told you your answer! You`ve got to choose Draco Malfoy!" Hermione shook her head. "It`s just a silly horoscope!" she replied, but secretly, she was wondering whether the horoscope was right or not. Can it really be true? Can a silly horoscope really give out good advice?, she asked herself. She decided that she would have to sleep on it. She feigned a tired yawn, and announced to her friends, "I`m going to bed… Good night!" With that, she turned off her lamp, and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. But what she was really doing was thinking the situation over. Who did she love? The Slytherin who had taunted, and teased her for the past 5 years of her life, or her warm, kind-hearted best friend? She sighed, then, fell asleep, still pondering who to give her heart to.
~*The Christmas Ball*~
Hermione stood in front of her three-length mirror, nervously studying her appearance. She wore a long, elegant, strapless black evening gown. Her hair was neatly piled atop her head, with a few tendrils of curls framing her glowing face. She smiled. She was ready. Grabbing her purse, she made her way down the stairs, out of the common room, and down to the entrance hall, where her date was waiting.
Her date was wearing charming black dress robes, and looked shockingly handsome. When he saw her approach, he smiled. "You look beautiful," he said to Hermione, giving her a quick kiss. Hermione smiled back. "Thank you, you don`t look so bad yourself." With that, Hermione`s date held out his arm, and Hermione gladly clung onto it.
The Great Hall was decorated from ceiling-to-floor in Christmas colors, with mistletoe hanging over the heads of many couples, grand evergreen Christmas trees in all four corners, all with baubles, and other wand-made ornaments. Hermione gasped, then smiled at her date. A slow song had begun to play. "Would like to dance?" he asked her. Hermione smiled. "I`d love to." They danced their way to the center of the room, Hermione with her arms wrapped around his neck, and Draco with his arms around waist. Hermione`s face glowed with beauty under the gleaming chandeliers that dangled in the ceiling along with the mistletoes, and she smiled, as Draco purposely led her under a clump of mistletoe. "How dare you…," she said teasingly, still smiling up at him. He smirked. "Look, mistletoe… You know what that means…," he replied, still smirking. He bent his head, and kissed her lips hard, with passion, with longing. When they finally broke apart, he whispered in her ear, "Merry Christmas, Hermione…"
MEANWHILE
Harry studied Ginny`s glowing face. "Ginny, I love you…," he whispered, kissing her. When they broke apart, Ginny smiled up at him. "I love you too, Harry."
~*~The End~*~Authoress' Notes: I apoligize deeply if you`re disappointed with my failing attempt to come up with a more descriptive chapter. But I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Please review! (If you can read it, you can review it.) Thanks!
