DISCLAIMER: hmm…let's see…nope, they're not mine. I swear it! THEY DO NOT BELONG TO ME!!! *breaks down into a pile of tears*
[A/n] I am so so so so so sorry that it has taken my…what, over 2 ½ months to upload? So sorry, again. School is definitely the closest thing to hell on earth. Thank you so much to all my reviewers. Without your persistence, I would not have uploaded anything nemore!
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Chapter Four:
The Yule Ball
Draco. I called him Draco. For some odd reason, it didn't feel strange to call him that. What felt strange was the fact that I liked calling him that. It gave him a touch of humanity. He wasn't "big, bad evil Malfoy" anymore, he was just Draco, a hot seventeen year old guy. I tried to push out all the horrible memories I had of his torments over the last six years, but I knew I couldn't just ignore them. The truth of the matter was, he wasn't magically transformed, he was the same Draco Malfoy I met on the Hogwarts Express six years ago.
"Besides," I told myself as I headed back to my dormitory at midnight, "it's not like he's really going to be my boyfriend. It's all a game. He can be as pathetically agonizing as he wants to be, as long as he can convince Ron he's in love with me."
Draco Malfoy in love with a Mudblood? I couldn't help but laugh.
*-*-*-*-*
I looked at my watch. I had only one hour left before the Yule Ball started! I stared in the mirror at my half-done hair. It looked like a bird's nest that fell out of a tree during a wind storm. I turned around, mouth wide in horror.
"Ginny! My God what am I going to do!?" I screamed.
Ginny dropped her hairbrush in shock from the sudden break in silence. "Do you have to yell?" she exclaimed, grabbing her chest and mocking a heart attack. "Now, calmly tell me what is wrong."
"My hair is a mess!" I wailed. I followed all of the directions in TeenWitch, but my reflection in the mirror looked nothing like the elegant hair style in the picture. Ginny rushed over and read through the article. Her eyes jumped between the magazine and my hair numerous times before she burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" I shouted in a panic.
"You're not done, 'Mione," she giggled. "There are ten more steps on the next page."
"Next page?" I repeated foolishly. "Oh…I guess I'm nervous."
"Yeah, I'm sure your date is making you nervous. So, who is he?" she asked with a grin.
I chuckle lightly and turn my attention back to the magazine. "Sorry, Gin, you have to wait just like everyone else."
"But I'm your best friend!" she pouted, sticking out her lower lip while trying to hold back a smile.
"And I love you for it!" I said with a wink before I turned back to the mirror to finish my "elegant" hair style. I could only hope that the style would get better…and soon!
*-*-*-*-*
It was almost seven o'clock. I stood in front of the full-length mirror admiring my reflection. My hair was up in an elegant style with gemstone clips glimmering in the torchlight and curling locks of hair forming a frame around my face. My dress robes that year were satin and form-fitting to show off my luxurious female curves. They were the color of spilt blood: deep crimson. My makeup was dark, much darker than I usually wore it, but it fit the dark, mysterious aura I was attempting to give off. I turned to admire my slender reflection in the mirror. Part of me found it extremely difficult to believe that the beautiful girl standing in front of me really was Hermione Granger.
"May the gods help us, 'Mione," Ginny whispered as she appeared in the mirror behind me. "You look amazing."
I turned to face her. "Thank you, Gin, but you're just as beautiful as I am." Ginny really was a beautiful girl. Her long hair, now a deeper shade of red, fell just below her shoulders. She had her hair half up in a braided bun. She was wearing new dress robes of a brilliant shade of violet. The thing that made the biggest difference between us is that when she dressed up, she didn't look much different from any other day. Not to say that she looked plain, it was just that she paid extra attention to her appearance everyday.
"Whatever, Hermione," Ginny said as she made her way to my bedroom door. "I'm going downstairs. There is no way I am walking in after you. I shall you see you at the Ball, milady." Ginny curtsied as she exited the room.
I looked back in the mirror. I would wait a little while. I wanted to make a grand appearance. I wanted everyone's first sight of me to be on Draco's arms. That's why I was glad of Hogwarts' many secret passages. Only yesterday I discovered a passageway that led from my private room directly to the main hall. Draco and I constructed a brilliant plan to insure we made a glorious appearance to the masses. I waited in my room until I heard a subtle knock from my open closet door. I walked inside and opened the small hidden door that was concealed behind a rickety shoe rack. I opened the door slowly to reveal the handsome face of Draco Malfoy.
He was wearing robes blacker than the blackest night, and, by an amazing twist of fate, the same satin material mine was. His hair fell into his face, giving him an admirable impression of mystique. I found myself staring at him for a long time before I realized that he, too, was studying me.
"Wow, Hermione," he whispered, "you clean up well."
"Thank you, Draco. You don't look too bad yourself." I smiled and felt a blush rising to my cheeks. "I think we'll make a lasting impression on the minds of everyone tonight, don't you think?"
He let loose a bout of laughter. "By the time we walk into the room, there won't be a guy in there who won't wish he was shagging you tonight."
A smirk tugged at my lips. "Then let the games begin."
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The Great Hall was dark except for the light of the candles floating above each circular table. The students were seated at their dinner tables, awaiting the start of the Yule feast. The loud conversation fell to a faint murmur when the lights dimmed. Everyone was waiting for the procession to begin. At the deep chiming of a bell, everyone in the hall leapt to their feet, their eyes on the door to the antechamber of the Great Hall.
From the antechamber, the teachers appeared. They walked as pairs and stood in front of the stage where the staff table usually was. The last two to arrive were Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. They all remained standing as the main doors to the Hall opened. From a shadowy, hidden corner, Draco and I stood and watched as the Prefects and their dates walked solemnly into the Hall. When the last couple was fully through the doors, Draco and I left our safe haven. Before we reached the door, Draco took my arm and leaned close to me.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.
"I'm positive," I answered with a smile, not certain as to what I was supposedly positive about.
Draco offered his arm and I took it gratefully. With a deep breath we walked into the Great Hall.
A great gasp was heard throughout the Hall as Draco and I walked in, arm in arm. Draco and I kept our smiles conservative and smug. We wanted everyone to know that we were together on our own free will, and that we enjoyed it. I felt every eye in the room on me, looking me up and down. When I saw Ron at the front of the Hall with the prefects, I smiled with an air of arrogance. His eyes were bulging and his chin was on his chest. I didn't know whether he was more shocked at the fact that I looked so beautiful or that I was being escorted by the Slytherin King himself. Lavender stood next to him with her arms crossed and her eyes glaring daggers. I met her eye and winked. Off to the side, with the other Gryffindors, I saw Harry. His robes were a deep shade of green, giving him a dark and mysterious look about him. His countenance showed no sign of emotion, but I could feel his hurt and anger. He felt betrayed beyond words. I felt a pang of guilt. My game would be hurting innocent people as well.
I pulled myself from his gaze and looked up at the teachers. Most of them stood with shocked expressions on their faces. McGonagall's tight lips were formed in a minute smile as she watched us walk together. Snape stood to Dumbledore's right with Professor Vandershine, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I had expected Snape to be wearing a look of disgust, but to my surprise he was smirking ever-so-slightly with approval. Dumbledore was grinning broadly and his eyes were beaming with pleasure. He was easily the happiest onlooker in the Great Hall, no doubt appreciating that his Head Boy and Girl managed to put aside their differences.
Draco and I joined the other prefects at the front of the Hall. Dumbledore turned back to the students.
"During these difficult times," he said slowly, "there is nothing more important than allegiance and loyalty amongst ourselves…" he looked back and Draco and me, "even between enemies." I couldn't help but smile at his statement of approval. His words alerted everyone to the fact that Draco and I were in fact at the Yule Ball together. "I now announce the beginning of the Yule Feast!" With that, Dumbledore and the teachers made their way to the front table. The other prefects and students followed suit, and the scraping of chairs could be heard resounding through the Great Hall. Draco and I took our seats across from the Headmaster himself, at his inviting hand.
The food at the feast was delicious. Ron and Lavender sat only a few seats away from us, but I kept my eyes from straying anywhere in that direction. I could feel the tension in my chest, but I ignored it. Draco and I talked like we had been friends for years, and I found myself laughing louder than I had in a long time. By the end of the feast, my cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so much; I knew they would be numb by the end of the night.
The feast ended and the food was cleared away. I sat back into my chair and exhaled loudly.
"Delicious," I murmured.
"Gr-reat," Draco said as he let loose a monstrous burp. I turned to him and laugh. His eyes met mine and he joined me in the laughter.
Suddenly the table in front of me disappeared. Dumbledore motioned for us to back away and everyone around the table moved swiftly. A large staged manifested before my eyes and a band of shaggy robed wizards appeared on the stage in a cloud of smoke. It didn't take long for the Draco and me to realize that we had to begin the dancing at the Ball. We danced only a few measures before the rest of the prefects joined us. Halfway the song the rest of the school joined in; the ball had begun.
The night was not too adventurous. Draco and I danced continuously, moving closer whenever we saw Ron looking our way. As the night wore on I could tell he was burning with jealousy. It was much easier than I thought it would be. I expected it to take a week at least, not one night, before Ron became mad with envy. I found myself grinning throughout the evening. Finally, I was on top of things, I was in control. This time I was not someone else's poppet. I was nothing to be toyed with.
When the clock chimed midnight I stared at it in disbelief. I turned to Draco, astonished.
"That can't be right, can it?" I asked. "It's not midnight already, is it?"
"Yes," Draco chuckled. "I'm glad the evening was not so unbearable for you that time crawled by."
"Does that mean that it was unbearable for you?" I asked cautiously.
"No, not at all," he said with dignity. "I quite enjoyed myself. Come, Hermione, I shall escort you to the Entrance Hall."
Draco offered his arm and I took it willingly. He led me to the base of the main stairwell in the Entrance Hall. We stood in silence for a moment: somewhat awkward, yet extremely enjoyable. Draco took my hand and kissed it gently.
"Goodnight, Hermione," he said softly.
"Goodn—" then I stopped. "It's Ron!" I hissed.
"Say no more," he smirked. Without a moment of hesitation, he drew me into his arms and kissed me forcefully. I felt his warm tongue separate my lips and delve into a deep and passionate kiss. His hands roamed through my hair and for a brief moment I felt sensuous tingling inside me. I immediately dismissed those feelings. This was a game, just a game. Anything that was to be done between Draco and me was to mean absolutely nothing. Did I want it to mean something? Absolutely not. Ron was my objective, Draco was my path.
"Get a room, asshole!" a harsh voice yelled. Draco and I broke apart and found ourselves being glared at by a certain red-haired admirer.
"Are you offering, Weasley?" Draco smirked. "Because I know how much you'd love to watch something you'll never be able to do."
"Why you—" Ron forced through clenched teeth as he made his way toward Draco. Suddenly, Harry's hand reached out and grabbed the back of Ron's robes. After much persuasion, he was able to lead Ron away. As the two boys walked up the stair, Harry turned back to me. His eyes were filled with such disappointment that I was forced to look away from him. What if my plot to gain my boyfriend back ends up losing me my only friends?
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[a/n] please review, my lovely readers…but only if u want more.