Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, cept Tom Knightston. I don't own the song, and neither do the Weird Sisters. Stacie Orrico does. And the chap. title is a Kelly Clarkson song, duh :P

A/N: Please Review.

I didn't feel like going to the ball. I was depressed. Parvati and Lavender had all ready left about half an hour ago, but Ginny stayed behind trying to convince me to go to the ball. She looked absolutely stunning in shimmering robes of firey red. (Fred and George bought them for her with their "joke shop money" -cough- Harry's Triwizard earnings -cough-)

Ginny: "Come on Hermione," Ginny pleaded. "Dances are fun!"

Me: "Go away!" I snapped at her rudely.

She slapped my arm. Hard. She really knows how to deal with these things.

"You are GOING to the dance!" she commanded.

"But I'm miserable," I whined as I sank further into the arm chair.

She stared at me for a while.

"I know what's wrong," she finally said.

"NO ONE knows what's wrong," I moaned as I buried my face into the pillow.

"Ron," Ginny said simply. "You love him. Now, I can't deny the fact of how horribly weird that is-"

I glared daggers at her.

Me: "I DON'T love Ron. That's crazy!" I argued.

Ginny: "No it's not," Ginny said knowing she was completely, utterly right. "You're in love with him and it's obvious."

I took my face out of the pillow and stared at her.

Ginny: "At least to me. That smile you always wear when he's around. Personally, I've never seen anyone in my life smile like that. And that's the only time you use it."

Me: "I don't love him," I argued knowing it was no use. "Go to the ball all ready. You deserve some fun."

Ginny: "You do love him, and I'm not leaving unless you're coming with me. I'm not going to let you sit here and cry over my stupid brother." She rolled her eyes.

Me: "Fine. But you're not telling anyone anything. Understand???"

Ginny: "Who would I tell? Loony Lovegood?" She rolled her eyes at me again then grinned. She made me go upstairs and change my clothes.

I was only wearing a white bath robe on account of my recent bath while all the Gryffindors went downstairs. I went upstairs to the sixth-year girl's dormitory to get my dress robes out of my trunk. Twenty minutes later, I went back downstairs. When Ginny saw me she squealed and clapped her hands together.

I was wearing elegant silk robes of light blue. The hems barely touched the ground. I had this pair of silk white elbow gloves I was wearing and a diamond necklace that my grandmother gave me. Underneath my dress I wore a pair of delicate glass slippers that a glassmith made for me. To make a long story short: He boasted how he could fashion anything out of glass. I bet he couldn't make heels. He took bets from a small crowd. When he was done making them, I walked a total of seven steps in them. Very carefully, mind you. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life taking bits of glass out of my feet. Thankfully he won the bet, and I got to keep the glass slippers. Really nice fellow. Anyways, I used and enormous amout of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion to make my hair smooth and shiny. I put it up in an elegant bun. The mask I wore was also made out of light blue silk and small diamonds outlined the edges.

Ginny: "No one will recognize you!"

-Good- I thought

Ginny: "You look amazing. Now we can get downstairs!"

Me: "Mm hmm...."

I still didn't really want to go to the dance and see Ron out there having the time of his life with the love of his life. I trudged along behind Ginny. When we got downstairs, Ginny waved excitedly to a Ravenclaw boy she knew and made him come over.

Ginny: "This is Tom Knightston, my boyfriend."

I smiled wearily at him.

We sat down at a small round table with a lace table cloth. Everyone was looking quite festive with their masks on. Most of the people were eating dinner at their tables. Ginny and Tom sat at a table with me talking and Ginny kept trying to get me to join the conversation.

"You two go have some fun," I said. I didn't want to be a "party pooper."

"But-" Ginny said.

"Shoo!" I said as I slapped my hand against the table.

"Thanks Hermione," Ginny said smiling. Tom lead her out to the dance floor.

I sat there forever, thinking and watching the students twirl around on the dance floor. I saw Ron and Lavender in the crowd. (How do I always manage that?) They were dancing and Ron was smiling at her in such a loving way that it made my heart hurt. Iwas wish he would smile at me like that. Why the hell can't he smile at me like that, damn it??? That is when I began to cry. The tears slowly spilled out. I leaned my head against the table so that no one would see.

As I sat there with my head down on the lace tablecloth thinking about my screwed up likfe, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I stood up and then turned around. I couldn't tell who this person was because the candlelight wasn't bright enough. Besides, he was wearing a midnight black mask in which you saw his gorgeous high cheekbones. He was wearing robes of black satin and compared to me, he was pretty tall.

Mysterious Stranger: "Would you like to dance?"

He said it in a strange voice; unrecognizable, but somehow vaguely familiar. He held out a gloved hand for me to take.

I dried off my tears and nodded.

-To hell with Ron- I thought. -I can't cry over him any more. NO MORE TEARS!- I told myself.

I took his hand and he guided me to the dance floor. It was a slow song that the Weird Sisters made famous. More people appeared on the dance floor. By the time of the chorus, almost everyone was on the dance floor.

"Will I be there when you call me in the middle of the night

Will I keep the rain from falling down into your life

I promise, I promise,

I promise I will."

He lead the dance and was a surprisingly good dancer. (Not to mention will excellent manners -two thumbs up!-) In his right hand, he held my left, and he had his left hand on the small of my back.

M.S. (Mysterious stranger): "I couldn't take my eyes off you all night," he whispered into my ear.

A smile crept onto my face as I looked up at him.

Me: "You really know how to compliment a girl." I said blushing.

-What did I say??? Boy, that was something stupid to say... I should've just said thanks or something- I thought.

Then he smiled. A mysterious smile. Just like him. Suddenly, his right hand left my left hand and found its way to my cheek. He leaned closer to me and I tilted my head up. Our eyes locked for a brief moment, and then he kissed me; a light and innocent kiss that ended just as the song did.