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Chapter Twelve: The Much-Anticipated Meeting

"I guess some things are destiny

Now I finally see

The one true thing I need is you inside"

Draco woke up from his dream, confused as to why his heart was beating rapidly against his chest and why so many different emotions were running through him. He couldn't believe that he knew who the masked girl was and it was the same person he so secretly desires. It was only 7am but he was having difficulty falling back to sleep, so he just used to the time to reflect back on his dream.

Is it really Hermione? Is my mind playing tricks on me? he thought. But if it's true, does she know about me?

Suddenly, he developed an idea that may help him with these questions. He went to his desk and took out a piece of parchment. He was very hesitant to begin writing at first but he had the need to know if Hermione was the one. After spending quite a while on writing and re-writing several drafts, he finally composed the perfect one.

"You may or may not know who I am, but I'd like to take this opportunity to say that you've been constantly on my mind ever since that night at the Ball. You may be wondering how I know who you are, but if you can meet with me outside along the lake tonight at eleven, I can explain everything. I'll be wearing my costume that I wore at the masquerade. I hope to see you."

He smiled in satisfaction as he finally finished his note. He conjured up a rose and tied both items to his owl to send to Hermione. He knew that she would be sleeping at this time so he felt more than happy when he kept on imagining her reaction to his letter when she wakes up. In the meantime, he would take a shower and change before going down to eat breakfast and wish that his classes would go by more quickly.

Hermione finished reading the note and had a faint smile on her face. Could it be Draco who wrote this? she asked herself. She had never seen his writing before, so she had no idea whether he had written the note or not, but he was the most likely candidate so far. But she would be able to find out tonight if she goes but was still undecided. She did wonder how he could've ever known that she was the masked girl. Could he have known at the ball? No, he couldn't have or he would've told me that he knew earlier. Could all this be part of his scheme? But it seems like he's changed now. Should I even go meet with him? It wouldn't hurt, right?

Hermione went out of her bedroom and towards the bathroom to get refreshed for breakfast. She was half-hoping that Draco would burst out of his room and tell her that he was the one who sent her the note, and that everything would be all right. She sighed heavily and went inside the bathroom to take a shower and change before Draco would wake up.

When she was done, she quickly hurried out of the common room to go to the Great Hall for breakfast. She arrived there and was immediately greeted by her Gryffindor friends. She felt so calm and relaxed that every missing and unsolvable piece in her life is finally piecing itself together to form a complete puzzle. An instant feeling of happiness swept over her that made her believe that absolutely nothing could affect her in any way.

"Morning, Hermione! How are you feeling today?" Harry asked.

"Just great!" she paused when she felt her stomach growl, "but terribly hungry!" She flashed a genuine smile to her friends, and looked at her plateful of food. Again as if on routine, her eyes shot back up and glanced at the opposite side of the hall for that familiar person. She didn't think that she would find him since she thought he was still sleeping when she left, but she found him talking to his Slytherin friends. He must've known that she was staring at him since he turned his head to her momentarily and acknowledged her by giving a slight nod and a smile. Before she knew it, he turned back to his friends acting as if nothing unusual had happened. She sighed and gave most of her attention to the food before her to satisfy her hunger. Not soon after, it was time to go to classes, and she was busy rushing Ron and Harry out of the hall, away from their precious food.

"Hermione! We're still early!" Ron complained.

She gave him a stern look. "You've had lots of time to stuff your face with food. Now it's time for learning, and you do want to be early for that, don't you?"

Both of the boys groaned in frustration but just gave in since they knew how dedicated Hermione was to her classes. They arrived in Transfiguration and sat in their proper places. They had to share the room with the Slytherins, which Harry and Ron dreaded very much. However, Hermione felt different. She didn't mind if they were there, because then, she would be able to see him. She looked more attentively at every single feature on Draco's face: his hair, his lips, and of course, his eyes. They were the sort of eyes that one can get lost in, the sort that can reveal the secrets of the soul.

Yes, no one else has these kinds of eyes. He has to be the masked man that I met at the ball. Why didn't I notice before? I was probably too infatuated with his presence that I couldn't think properly, she thought to herself. She was suddenly interrupted from her thoughts when Professor McGonagall entered the room.

"Attention class! We are going to practice the Switching Spell today. Now, do you all have your objects in front of you?" she asked, to which the class nodded. "Good. We have been through the basics of this spell yesterday, so I don't expect any of you to have difficulties." Neville gulped nervously to no one's surprise. "You may proceed."

Everyone soon began trying to transfigure their feathers into doves, but with no luck. Hermione was an exception of course, having transfigured her feather into a beautiful bird and was watching it fly around the classroom. Her eyes then led her to Draco, who also had successfully transfigured his object and was now lazily watching his dove soar over the middle of the room. His eyes caught hers and they stared at each other briefly before he winked at her. She was pleasantly surprised and gave him a smile in return. It seemed as if he liked it, but he returned to gazing at his bird. Hermione felt her heart skip a beat and felt flushed but didn't want to show it. She looked at her right side to see if Harry and Ron noticed her exchanging glances with Draco, but they were too busy trying to use the spell to transfigure their objects properly. She felt relieved since they would have asked her many questions about it if they saw.

Not long after, the morning classes were over and it was time for lunch. Everybody gathered at their House table, wishing to satisfy their hunger with the delicious food. The Great Hall was filled with students eating and talking about the latest events, classes, and such as usual.

"Where's Seamus?" Harry asked after a while when he was observing the Gryffindor table.

"No idea, mate. Why do you want to know?" Ron asked.

"I don't see him here eating lunch with us like he usually does, and come to think of it, he wasn't in class either. That's not like him to do that."

"Wasn't he just in bed this morning?"

"Maybe he was just sick" Hermione suggested.

"No, he seemed fine when we left him."

"Well then, maybe he just slept in" she said.

"Yeah, that could be. I'll just give him his homework later" Harry said, going back to eating his food.

Lunch and the afternoon classes went by so quickly that many were amazed that the day was over. Hermione couldn't contain her excitement as in a few hours, she would be meeting her masked man, or Draco, as she now knows his secret. All through supper, she could not stop thinking about her meeting. She even giggled out loud a couple of times, which caused Harry and Ron to give her concerned looks but she just simply brushed them off. She was too excited about it to let anything ruin her mood.

"Hermione, do you want to play wizard's chess after supper?" Ron said, smiling.

"Don't you have some homework to do?" she asked.

"I'm halfway through it. Besides, the essays aren't due for another week! I can at least take this small break from it, can't I?"

"Yes, but you would feel much better if you finished it early."

"Hermione..." Ron whined in a childish tone, "Just this once! So can you play? You owe me a game, remember?"

She let out a small laugh. "Yes, but not tonight. I have... other plans." Both boys raised their eyebrows at her, causing her to laugh more.

"What plans are those? Are they more important than spending time with your two best friends?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Oh, Harry. I already spend so much time with both of you. Shouldn't I have a life of my own?" she asked teasingly.

They appeared to be thinking the proper answer for her question. "Yeah, I guess you should" Harry replied. "Ron?"

When Ron didn't respond, he jabbed him in the elbow. "Yeah, yeah! I guess you could have fun of your own."

Hermione smiled proudly. "Thank you, boys. Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to my dorm. Tell me how your game goes later, alright?"

They both nodded and smiled. She slowly got up from her seat and went towards the exit. As she making her way to leave, she glanced quickly at Draco. He was calmly eating his supper, and ignoring everyone else around him. She smiled at this sight, and exited the Great Hall to go to her dorm.

When she finally arrived at her bedroom, she kept wondering what to wear to this "meeting". Should she just throw something on? She had no clue and began to search through her closet for any ideas. Something caught her eye and immediately, an idea popped inside her head.

I completely forgot about my costume! It would be so great if I can wear it! It'd be just like my dreams! After all, he said he would be wearing his, so it wouldn't hurt, she thought excitedly. She still had plenty of time before she will be meeting him, so she spent quite a while on reading a few books and studying. She had wondered why she didn't hear him come up to his room, but thought nothing of it. When it was almost time, she trembled with excitement as she put on her costume and mask, and went down to the common room. Praying that no one would see her, especially Draco, Hermione made her way down to the lake where she would meet him.

Here goes nothing.

Draco stayed at the Slytherin common room after supper. He had secretly brought along his costume with him, so that he wouldn't have to face Hermione if he goes to his room. For almost an hour and a half, he had to be in the company of Crabbe and Goyle which wasn't very pleasant as the only form of communication they had were grunting, and nodding whenever he spoke. When it was already 10:50 pm, Draco rushed out of the Slytherin room, muttering something about needing sleep to his two bodyguards, and disappeared into the hallway. He went quickly to the nearest lavatory and changed into his costume, complete with his mask. Before heading out, however, he checked the hallways to make sure no one was there to spot him. When he was satisfied, he rushed out with only two minutes to spare.

Please be there. Please be there, Draco kept repeating to himself as he walked towards the lake.

A/N: Thank you guys for the reviews! (well, maybe except for that one "fake" flame..ahem haha) I wrote the last chapter already :) and i'll post it tomorrow. after that...well, you'll see :) once again, DRACO WILL BE OOC, I REPEAT HE WILL BE OOC..and i know some people don't like that, so if u prefer him having his average mean personality, then i don't suggest you continue. otherwise, i hope you enjoyed this chapter !