AN: Sorry it's taken so long to update, but I just got back from a camp on Saturday, and have been sleeping ever since! Well now it's Monday, 10:38 and I'm ready to write!
Disclaimer: I won't pay a fine because it ain't mine! ReVieW!
Hermione blinked twice, adjusting to the brightly lit room in which she stood. She looked around her, taking in her surroundings. She appeared to be in a room used for changing, filled with lockers and mirrors. Hermione fumbled gently with her hair, getting more nervous by the second until Molly appeared next to her, looking terrified.
"Hermione, I don't know how to waltz! How will I ever survive without stepping on his toes?" Molly asked, gripping Hermione's arm, cutting off the blood flow to her fingers.
"Molly, sweetie, we aren't going to be waltzing right away! They have to teach us first, then we will! Now please, release the death grip before my arm needs to be cut off," Hermione said, prying off Molly's fingers.
"Oh yes, right..." She said sheepishly, bowing her head to allow her long dirty blonde hair to fall gracefully to shield her face. Hermione looked around the room, seeing the other women in excited conversations, and noticing a pair of green eyes gazing at her with unwanted intensity. Hermione met Haley's gaze, her cinnamon eyes ablaze as she glared back, causing Haley to nudge one of the women, Katherine, and point at Hermione. Katherine instantly got an uncomfortable look on her face, and turned away from Haley, who immediately let out an exasperated puff of air. Within two seconds of that incident Hermione found the brunette Katherine standing beside her, her dark brown eyes guilty.
"Hermione, I'm Katherine, and there's not much time for introductions since we'll be sent out soon. You might want to put an anti-staining spell on your dress, playing at the fact that Haley wants to 'accidentally' knock into you with some Muggle drink being supplied...I think it's called 'wine'?" Katherine said quickly, tucking her shoulder length brown hair behind her ears.
"Thanks, I'll be sure to do that now," Hermione said, pulling her wand out of nowhere and gently murmured a spell, then concealed her wand once more. "Bye," Hermione whispered as one of the Witch's Weekly publishers stood with a list of parchment about to clear her throat.
"Ladies, ladies, settle down. You will now be paired with your dancing partners, who will meet you as soon as you exit the room.
"If you will please leave as soon as your name is called. First, Molly and Jake," She said. Hermione looked over at Molly to see her face turn bright red, and her bit lip to contain her girlish excitement. Molly straightened, allowing her deep blue gown (accenting her blue eyes) to fall elegantly to the floor, with a spell on it so she won't ever trip. Winking at Hermione, she quickly walked out, her gown billowing gently behind her. Hermione smiled and wished the girl the best luck in her head.
"Lindsay and Ben, Jackie and Logan, Eve and..." The woman paused to laugh, "Adam." The three women left the room in a swirl of pastel yellow, hot pink, and mint green gowns to meet their guys outside.
"Ahem, moving along. Theresa and Mike, Jessica and Jared, Katherine and Chris, Kirsten and Karson." The woman paused, allowing the four women to exit, all wearing different colors of the rainbow. There were only two women remaining, and two men. Hermione gulped, knowing she'd either get her best friend Harry, or her recent life saver, Draco.
"I hope I get Draco," Haley hissed in Hermione's ear.
"Well then I wish you luck." Hermione said coolly, withdrawing herself from Haley's presence.
"Haley and Harry, Hermione and Draco. Now hurry up, we won't want to keep the class waiting," The woman said shooing Haley and Hermione out of the room. Haley glared at Hermione fiercely, right when they were exiting the room. Hermione, having her eyes in front of her, noticed the little step up in order to enter the room, a costly detail that Haley sadly missed, causing her perfectly manicured foot to slam into the step, and falling face first on the floor. Hermione gasped as Haley grabbed her gown on the way down, pulling Hermione on top of her, a big pile of skirts and heels. Hermione, thoroughly embarrassed, stood and smoothed her gown, her heel crushing into Haley's fingers, obviously breaking at least one.
"Ow!" Haley cried, not caring she flashed the world as she stood up in a not-so-lady-like manor, cradling her hand, tears spilling out her green eyes. Hermione stifled laughter at the pitiful sight, then gasped as she ducked to avoid a punch admitted by Haley, it's destination Hermione's nose.
"If you stay still I can fix that," Hermione said coldly, pulling her wand out once again from a curious spot. Haley looked at Hermione cautiously and thrust her hand out. Hermione sighed, waved her wand a short way and healed Haley's hand to it's usual, bony size. Hermione quickly retreated to Draco, who stood only a short distance away, laughing. Hermione shot him a warning look and he stopped mid-chuckle, and straightened. Hermione gave Harry a sympathetic look as a disgruntled Haley stalked to his side, crossing her arms in front of her chest, causing them to bulge upward in hopes of getting his attention. Harry shrugged and turned his green-eyed gaze to the instructors in the front.
" 'Ello, ve vill be your instructors today," The man said, properly bowing to the crowd. "Now zat ve have the situation under control," He said, eyeing Hermione and Haley dangerously, "ve vill properly introduce eachuzzer. I am Master Dance Instructor Teabor, and my beautiful assistant," He paused to twirl in a beautiful young witch with long brown hair with hints of blonde in, causing her black dress to spin accordingly, "Duna." (AN: Duna is German, pronounced with the Spanish accented 'n' in a word like manana. If you don't know what I'm talking about, well, just pretend! Teabor is a Hungarian name, and I just don't know how to spell it, but it's pronounced how it's spelt!) "Now, vith ze proper muzic, ve can have ze perfect dance. Now follow me," He said, performing a simple 6 step pattern. Everyone followed accordingly.
After fifteen minutes of instruction and making sure everyone had the beat, he showed them how to hold their partners.
"Now, you should hold zem close like diz," He said, pulling Duna to him and closing all available space between them, "your hand gently in ze small of zeir back, and holding zeir hand like zis. Ladiez, place your hand on zeir shoulder accordingly, just like Duna, and follow their lead. Ladiez go back first," Teabor reminded them for the ump-thousandth time. Hermione felt her cheeks burn as she and Draco did the proper holding, but kept the space between them the size of three Hogwarts: A History books. Duna and Teabor separated, correcting many people's stances and placing hands in the right place. Hermione gulped as she saw Duna walking towards them, her heels clicking politely behind her.
"You two, very good, except," She said, putting a hand on Draco and Hermione's back, thrusting them together, causing their bodies to crash into one another in an unwanted fashion. Draco cleared his throat gently as he and Hermione stood there uncomfortably, invading eachother's space.
"So, um, are you enjoying yourself?" Draco whispered in Hermione's ear, which is where his head was anyway.
"Yes, I guess so, although here we are, just sitting her waiting for music...I suppose I should go ahead and apologize for stepping on your feet already, because I have a feeling it will happen," Hermione replied equally as quiet.
"Don't worry about it. If worse comes to worse, take off your shoes and you can stand on my feet. I've been able to waltz since I could walk," Draco explained as the music struck up. Hermione gulped.
"Ready? I vill only count ze first 6 steps, zen you are all on your own!" Teabor called. "Vun, two, shree, four five, zix!" He called as Hermione concentrated with all her mind not to step on Draco's feet.
"One two three, four five six," Draco continued to whisper in Hermione's ear, his warm breath tickling her ear. As they continued to dance, Hermione felt herself able to melt into him and his gentle guiding, never faltering or stepping on his feet. At one point, Draco was so daring he gently spun Hermione out, brought her back for a gentle dip, where their eyes locked as he pulled her back up. Hermione was thankful for their closeness, although she could have sworn the heat from her blushing was radiating and melting his perfectly shaven face.
"Perfect! Ve have a perfect couple! You zere!" Teabor shouted, stopping the music as the couples pulled apart. Hermione gasped harshly as she realized her was pointing to her and Draco. Draco gently entwined their fingers as he held Hermione's hand, walking her to the instructor.
"You two vere born a couple! Did you zee how natural zey did it? It was zo beautiful!" He said, clapping as hard as he could, Duna and the rest of the couples joining in. Hermione blushed and looked down at her manicured toes, which were laced up in two-inch, baby blue heeled shoes. "Now here ve vill have a faster paced song. Ladiez, you vill have to totally rely on your dancing partner. Now, places!" He said, clapping his hands together.
"Uh, Draco? I think I'm going to take off my shoes so I don't break your toes and have to heal more broken bones," Hermione said as she saw other girl's removing their shoes. Hermione then realized she still held Draco's hand and quickly released it with a blush. Hermione walked to a chair near Molly, where she was quickly taking off her dark blue heels.
"Having a good time with Jake?" Hermione asked Molly quietly. Molly looked up to reveal sparkling eyes.
"He is so wonderful, Hermione! He's a perfect dancer, talks to me like a care, oh he's just so wonderful!" She said as she put a spell on her feet to make sure the dirt from the floor doesn't get on them. Hermione mimicked her spell and returned to Draco's side.
"Ready?" Draco asked, holding out his arms for Hermione to enter. Hermione smiled wickedly.
"Malfoy, have you ever known me to not be ready?" She asked, gently taking his hand and placing her hand gently on his shoulder as he guided her to the position where no space was permitted.
"Now, now, Granger, don't go messing up our 'perfect student' look. If you need me to slow down say so, and don't forget my offer about standing on my feet. They are new shoes," Draco said, splitting apart to show Hermione his black shiney shoes. Hermione then completely stepped back, releasing Draco and scanning his outfit.
"Draco, I just realized I haven't noticed what you're wearing," Hermione said slyly, losing all her composure as she smothered a gasp to really look at him. His silvery-gray shirt was dressy, but the normally long sleeves were casually rolled up to his elbows, showing well developed arms with delicately pale skin. His shirt was buttoned almost to the top, only one button left undone for a steamy effect. His black pants were classic, his shiny shoes topping of his gorgeous look. His hair was mostly slicked back, but a comma of hair gently fell into his left eye.
"Would you like me to turn?" Draco said impatiently, a hint of teasing on his voice.
"Isn't that what I should be saying?" Hermione said, clearing her voice. "Don't think I don't know you were checking me out as well," she said, returning to his arms as the music started up again. Although Hermione could see it, she was sure that Draco smirked as he placed a cool hand on her back. Teabor clapped the beats, showing them how fast their steps would go.
"Ready?" Draco asked, his voice barely containing the thrill he must get from the fast paced music. Hermione gulped and whispered her reply "Yes". "One two three, four five six," Draco said, quickly leading Hermione around in a large circle, guiding her gently, and causing her hair to twirl out.
"I haven't stepped on your feet yet," Hermione said quickly, almost running out of breath as the music unbelievably picked up pace. Hermione and Draco kept in the music's time, Draco guiding Hermione easily and dodging unbalanced couples.
"You may drop out if you cannot take it!" Teabor called from his dancing position with Duna. Hermione sensed at least four couples dropping out right then. Hermione gulped as she and Draco continued, their feet moving delicately across the dance floor, which had suddenly been lost to all but three couples: Teabor and Duna, Draco and Hermione, and Harry and Haley. Hermione sighed inwardly, knowing Haley just wanted a compition, and took charge of her determination.
"Do something fancy with me Draco," Hermione whispered.
"What to you mean?" Draco asked.
"Twirl me, dip me, spin me, anything!"
"Ok, just follow my lead and hold on!" Draco whispered urgently, instantly spinning Hermione out at full and pulling her in quickly, dipping her low, where Draco murmured something in her neck, and brought her back up, only to spin her around him and back into him, then turned her facing him and continued the learnt pattern.
"Was that good enough?" Draco whispered, breathing harder than normal.
"Yes, and I don't think I'll ever ask you to do that again," Hermione said, catching her breath, "that was terrifying. I thought I was going to fly out a window and die!" She said, causing Draco to laugh softly in her ear. The music continued, and Hermione spotted Haley trying to make Harry spin her, her green eyes boring into his as he sheepishly tried to twirl her out.
"No, NO! Wrong! Like this!" She said, twirling herself out with all her might, causing Harry to lose his grip and send her flying. She got a terrified look on her face, and collided right into Jackie and her dance partner, Logan. Jackie gasped, and toppled into Logan, who held his ground with his strong thighs and calves (he was one of the most famous Quidditch Chasers in the world). Jackie glared at Haley, who stood, her normally smooth hair as wild and untamable as Harry's. Haley glared daggers at Hermione and grabbed Harry's hand, leading him off the floor.
"I guess ve haff a vinner!" Teabor cried above the music and started a round of applause. Hermione and Draco stopped dancing, panting slightly as Hermione blushed and looked at her feet and Draco gazed into the distance like he'd just found the most interesting fleck of dust he's ever seen. Hermione blushed when she realized that she and Draco were still holding hands, and tried to release his hand, only to find he wouldn't let go. Hermione got a disgruntled look on her face and smiled when everyone started herding back together.
"Alright, zis lesson iz over! I hope you all learned this night how to valtz, and I hope you take it vith you and dance tonight! Good evening!" He clapped his hands, and the eligible bachelors and –ettes went to their appropriate rooms to receive further instruction. Hermione quickly grabbed her shoes, put them on, and followed Molly into the dressing room.
"Right! Now we will be going to the Italian restaurant. If you liked your partner, you can sit by them at dinner, but if you didn't, come to me and we will switch with someone else." As soon as those words left the elderly woman with falsely colored red hair, Haley raised her hand and waved it around, telling her that she didn't like her partner. Her along with one girl, Lindsay, raised their hands. "Ok, good show ladies, you two will switch partners. Haley, you'll now be with Ben now and Lindsay, you'll be with Harry. Ok, keep in mind I have your clothing for horseback riding," the woman said, patting a small box that fit in her palm, "and you'll be going to the Italian restaurant in Italy called Alimento Di Amore. It's an adorable little dinner place. Now, see you all there in a few seconds!" She said, and disapparated to the Alimento Di Amore.
"See you there in a few!" Hermione said to Molly, and dissappareated with a muffled pop.
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Yay! I'm done with this chapter! I think it's longer than usual...lol, I hope! Some thanks:
NitenGale: yes I like your ideas! But the Draco's point of view thing...I'm worried I wouldn't be able to write it well enough, so I don't think I'll try, well, at least not for now! Thanks for your suggestions!
CitCat299: Thanks mucho! I'm glad the last chapter was better, and I hope this one is even better...yeah! And I tried to make it kinda funny this chapter (I hope I at least made SOMEONE giggle). I totally forgot I had some humor in this too, so I'm really trying...(ok, so I'm not trying too hard). But yea! Thanks!
DracosPrincipessa: Yay! Still with me! Goody! lol, hope you like this chapter too!
TennisPlaya278: This is good! Thanks for reading my story! Haven't you been with me since the beginning? I think! Yay for you!
Invisible2u: You've also been with me since the beginning! Yay for you!
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Ok, I'm honestly hoping that I'll have another update by Friday, but no promises! The more reviews I get the happier I am! Oh, and I'll already apologize for the next chapter. I'm not really looking forward to writing about dinner. So, I'll probably find a quick way around it and get to the horseback riding!
OH YES! IMPORTANT! lol, some of the experiences in this chapter (the waltzing people and lessons and such) are based on something that actually happened with me while I was on a chorus tour in Europe! Only the guy I waltzed with was shorter than me, we didn't wear gowns, and he wasn't cute like Draco (giggles)! Yes, Teabor and Duna were guides (Teabor the bus driver for us, Duna our German tour guide.) We took waltzing lessons in the Czech Republic and some of those things really happened with ME! lol, but not too many of them! Ok enough of me rambling, I doubt you guys really read this anyway! Oh well, REVIEW!
VBC