Title: Falling for You

Author: Evie DuGrey

Chapter Title: Chapter Ten: Finding a partner

Disclaimer: I own this story line and Landies but that's about it. I had some help with the Italian stuff 'cos I don't speak Italian so if it's wrong don't blame me, just tell me!

A/N: Thanks for all your reviews! I got LOADS of reviews for the past few chapters which is really cool and I've reached 100! YAY! This chapter is dedicated to all my reviewers for the past few chapters, it takes too long to thankyou by name but I will in a few more chapters ahead.

Ok, parts of this chapter are written in Italian so I'm going to write the translations in Italics! Umm, I'm not very good at Italian so if any of you readers  are Italian and I've got stuff wrong (which I'm sure I have) please feel free to correct me.

^____^= Draco thoughts

*____*= Hermione's thoughts

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The next morning, Hermione awoke early and showered and got dressed. She walked with Cho to the Gryffindor common room, where they met the boys and started to walk towards The Great Hall.

Harry walked to The Great Hall with his arm around Cho's shoulder, and Ron the same, with Lavender. She knew that Harry and Cho, and Ron and Lavender would be going to the Ball together and part of her wished she had someone like that where she knew she would definitely be going with them. Instead of now, where she had all these mixed emotions about who to ask and how to ask them. Dean and Seamus already had dates, as did most of Gryffindor, and there weren't many people left she could ask.

When they arrived at The Great Hall, they walked over to the Gryffindor table and began to eat.

Ron and Harry almost immediately started talking about Quidditch and Hermione zoned out.

She looked across to the Slytherin table and saw Draco, having an inanimate conversation with Blaise Zambini. He looked up and caught her eye. He smiled at her and then turned back to his conversation with Blaise.

She thought back to the previous night. After she and Draco had gotten back from the match, they talked for hours, and it was amazing how much she had found out about him in such a short time span. Once his façade was gone, Draco was a really nice and funny guy to be around. *And it would be great to go to the ball with him. Whoa! Where did that come from?* Hermione shook her head from these thoughts. Even if she had have wanted to go with him, which she didn't, *cough cough* he was already going with Pansy, although he had told her that he didn't really want to go with her, he sort of had to. But, all the same, he was going with her.

Hermione felt slightly happier that he wasn't happy about going with Pansy. *But he's still not going with you* The little annoying voice inside Hermione's head just wouldn't shut up, *It's not like I care anyway. He's just my friend. *

Hermione had had enough to eat, and the little argument going on inside her head was driving her mental, so she said goodbye to Harry and Ron and walked back to her common room.

"Enigma." She whispered the password to Lady Pearl (After much argument, Draco had finally agreed to change it) and stepped through the portrait hole.

Tristan was sitting on the couch, reading a book, the title of which was written in Italian.

It was then that Hermione realized she hadn't even talked to him once all year and she decided she would use now as a chance to get these voices out of her head, and have a chat with him.

She walked over to the chair next to the couch and sat down. "Hi Tristan. What are you reading?"

He seemed startled at her talking to him and the use of his first name but replied anyway. "Oh hi. Um, I'm just catching up on my Italian. My mother and father are taking me to visit my family in Italy this Summer and they want me to be able to speak Italian with my family."

"Did you just start?"

"No, I can speak fluently, I'm just revising." Hermione nodded,  "Can you speak any Italian?" he asked.

Hermione beamed. Her neighbour, Oscar was Italian and he had taught her quite a lot. She knew heaps of Italian now. She nodded her head and said, "Si."

 "Say something."

"Err, Mi chiamo, Hermione. (My name is Hermione)"

Tristan smirked at the basic ness at what she'd said but replied anyway, "Ciao Hermione, come stai? (Hi Hermione, How are you?)"  

"Bene. (good/ well)"  She was enjoying this conversation.

"Molto Bene. (very good.)"  He replied.

Then an idea struck her. Tristan probably wasn't going to the Ball yet with anyone, because he was the only student who had already graduated, apart from Cho, but Cho was going with Harry. And Hermione couldn't go to the ball with who she really wanted too,(cough*draco*cough) so she took a chance with Tristan. "Vieni a ballare con me? (Will you go to the ball with me?)"

Tristan seemed taken aback at first that she'd known how to say that but eventually answered, "Si. (yes)"

"Grazie. (Thank you)" Hermione got up and walked towards her dorm. "Ciao Tristan!"

"Ciao Bella. (Goodbye Beautiful)" He replied.

Hermione blushed and smiled again before going into her dorm and doing some homework.

When she was done, she put on her pyjamas (a blue spaghetti strap top with clouds and matching shorts) and went down into the common room.

It was quite dark outside now and Tristan had gone into his room and Draco was now sitting on the couch, looking through Tristan's Italian book.

Hermione walked over to the couch and sat next to him. He looked up at her. "Hey Hermione."

"Hi." She replied. "Why are you reading Tristan's Italian book?"

"This is Italian? Jeez, it just looks like the author's gone crazy on the keyboard." Hermione laughed. "How did you know it was Tristan's?"

"Oh, I came into the common room before and he was reading it. We had a bit of a conversation in Italian." She explained.

Draco seemed curious "What did you talk about?"

"Nothing much." Hermione tossed around the idea of telling Draco she was going to the ball with him and finally decided she would. "I asked him to go to the ball with me."

"You WHAT?!" He exploded (AN No not literally, lol I'm not that mean!), standing up "What, I mean, Why?"

Hermione was slightly angry that he'd reacted this way. "Oh, I don't know, maybe because I didn't have a partner and I thought he seemed pretty nice." She stood up too.

"Nice?!?! Hermione, you don't know him the way I do. Tristan is not nice."

Hermione was now fully angry that he was reacting this way. "Well, I'm sorry you don't approve of my partner. But speaking of nice, do you seriously think Pansy is nice?"

"I told you last night Hermione, I don't want to go with Pansy! We're family friends and my father would have a fit if I didn't say yes to the slut! It wasn't my bloody fault!"

Hermione was scared at his sudden outburst and felt a tear stream down her face.

He paused at this point and lowered his voice and sat back down. "I'm sorry 'Mione, I didn't mean to react this way it's just that… if I could… if I could've gone with who I'd wanted to… I wouldn't be going with Pansy. I'd… I'd be going with you, 'Mione and I just don't want to see you get hurt."

Draco put his head in his hands. "Don't cry 'Mione, please don't cry."

Hermione continued to cry. He walked over to her and put his arms around her.

"I'm sorry." She whispered into his chest.

"What? Why are you sorry? I reacted that way because I didn't want you to be hurt but I ended up hurting you. I'm Sorry 'Mione."

"It's OK." Draco continued to hold her and she wiped away her tears. "I'm glad we're friends."

Draco's heart stung. The 'f' word again. ^Just friends Draco, she doesn't like you anymore than that so you may as well accept it^

"Yep. Friends." ^Nothing more, nothing less^ "Look, it's getting late, we better go to bed." He pointed out.

"Okay." She reluctantly stepped out of his embrace and walked over to her door. "Night Draco." She said and stepped into her dorm, shutting the door behind her.

Draco stood there, in the same spot for about five minutes after she'd left, in a bit of a daze after what had just happened. Eventually, his brain started to work again. "Night 'Mione." He whispered into the darkness.

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AN Okay, I got this chapter up now and I think that it's my longest so far! The ball is the next chapter so it will probably take me a bit longer to write… Sorry! Review please!!