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Chap. 6—The Halloween Ball

Hogsmeade was open freely open to the students to find clothes for the ball. Hermione, Ali, and Ginny went in to find flattering dresses for the dance.

"Here." Ali stopped abruptly, causing Hermione and Ginny to run into her.

"Here?" They echoed. They had never been inside it. Sure, it had some nice clothes, but nothing to dressy,

"Yes, here. Trust me; they'll have stuff for us." Ali said and Hermione and Ginny followed. They went all to the back of the store. Ali pointed to a rack full of fancy dresses. They darted over and Hermione found the perfect one. It was a cute, light pink. She ran into the dressing room and put it on. It fit her perfectly. It was slightly poofy at the waist-down. It had a wide V- shaped neckline and little clear jewels all over it. Ali and Ginny nodded in approval and then Ginny walk in to try on a dress. The one she chose was a sweet baby blue that matched her eyes. It was glittery and had a long flowing skirt. It was perfect for her. Ali picked out a lavender colored one with no sleeves. (It was a tube topped dress.) There was a pretty matching shawl to drape around her shoulders. They thought they boys would drop dead.

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Hermione spent Saturday in the Gryffindor tower, where they would meet the boys in the common room at 6:30. (Draco was allowed since Heads can go anywhere they want.) At 5:30 the girls got in their dresses and began to do each other's hair and make up. Hermione left her bouncy and smooth curls down, whereas Ali and Ginny kept theirs perfectly straight. Once they applied the right amount of make up it was time to go downstairs. The guys were in their suits, looking incredibly handsome. They turned around and saw the girls.

Wow, they all thought. They girls smiled and Harry, Ron, and Draco led the way to the Great Hall. It was all decorated and the ceiling was a clear, starry night sky. It was very beautiful. There was music playing and a huge table of snacks and drinks. The rest of the place was a huge dance floor. "Want to dance?" Draco turned to Hermione.

"Really?" She asked, smiling,

"Well, you are my date. What do you say?" He said, extending his hand.

"Sure." She said taking it. They had a lot of fun. Draco spun and dipped Hermione a lot. It was hard to believe they actually hated each other with a passion only a few months ago. Soon they were joined by Ron, Ali, Harry and Ginny. They took a short break and Draco disappeared. He came back with two butterbeers and handed Hermione one.

"Thanks! I'm so thirsty." She said and taking a sip. Draco laughed.

"No problem, Hermione." He said. Hermione looked at him, surprised.

"Hermione?" She repeated.

"Well, as long as were friends, we might as well use first names." He said.

"Okay, Draco." She said and followed him back to the dance floor. After a cool upbeat song, a slow song came on. Draco gave her a questioning type look and she nodded. He put his arms around her waist, and hers were around his neck. Their moves matched each others perfectly. This isn't half bad, Hermione thought, laughing to herself.

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They all had a blast that night. It was fun dancing together. Draco and Hermione walked back to the common room after the ball.

"I had fun." She said, smiling up at him. (He was taller than her of course)

"Me too." He said, grinning back. There was an odd silence between them and broken only when Draco said the password to the portrait. They walked up to their rooms and got in their pajamas. Hermione put on her favorite silk pants and a matching shirt. She wasn't that tired so she went back down and found Draco sitting on the couch. He didn't notice her until her heard a bang. Hermione tripped and was falling down the stairs, yelling. Draco jumped up and caught her right before she hit the hard floor. He helped her stand up but just as he let go, she fell again. He caught her and brought her to the couch.

"What happened?" He said. It had been so quiet, suddenly filled with drama.

"Well you see, I was coming down and I tripped and hurt my ankle." She said.

"Oh." Draco responded. Hermione nodded, embarrassed. Draco took out his wand and muttered a spell. The pain in her ankle went away and she was able to stand on it.

"Thanks." She said, she said and actually giving him a hug, without realizing it. Draco smiled but she couldn't see. She cleared her throat after realizing it.

"Uh, that was for uh, fixing my ankle and uh letting me have fun tonight." She looked down and Draco laughed.

"Yeah well that was enough excitement for a while so I'm going to bed." He said, still laughing quietly.

"Me too." Hermione laughed and followed him upstairs.

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The next Hogsmeade weekend came up fast, but Hermione and Draco were left behind. Harry had gone with Ginny and Ron went with Ali. The two Heads sat at their desks doing an essay for class.

"Ugh, that's it!" Hermione said, not meaning to out loud.

"Huh?" Draco muttered.

"Sorry, I'm just sick of working." She said.

"Me too. Hey, want to go to Hogsmeade? I mean, everyone else did, without us." He asked.

"Sure, I'm so sick of being inside." She said and followed him out of the portrait hole. They walked to the village in silence.

"Want to get a drink?" Draco asked her. Hermione nodded and they walked together to Three Broomsticks. Hermione got a booth while Draco went to get butterbeers and a snack.

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"Hey, Ron, it's Hermione." Harry said. The four of them all met up at Honeydukes.

"Wonder what she's doing alone?" Ron asked.

"Oh, she's not alone." Ali said smugly as she noticed Draco come up and sit down with a couple drinks and two slices of pie. Harry and Ron's jaws dropped while Ali and Ginny grinned at each other.

"Told you so." They both muttered quietly, so one could hear.

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Draco and Hermione sat at their booth enjoying the drinks and pie. They walked out, right past Harry, Ron, Ali and Ginny. Hermione smiled at Ali and Ginny while Harry and Ron were looking at the Quidditch store window.

"Want to go in here?" Draco asked, pointing to Honeydukes.

"Sure, I love the stuff here!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Have you tried their truffles? They're so good." Draco answered and they both laughed. Hermione decided to get Draco a box of truffles as a thank you for the drinks and pie at Three Broomsticks, which he paid for. After buying them and leaving the shop. They sat outside and ice cream place, eating ice cream, even though it was chilly out and they just had pie. Hermione dug in her purse and pulled out the truffles.

"Here. Thanks for the stuff at Three Broomsticks and the ice cream." She said handing him the truffles.

"Thanks Hermione." He said to her. He opened them up, grabbed one and pushed them toward her. "Try one." He said. She did and it was really good. She nodded in approval and threw her ice cream cup away after finishing it. They walked around and even went to the Shrieking Shack, which still looked scary even though she knew it wasn't haunted. They stopped in the Quidditch store because Draco needed more wrist guards. Around 5:00 they headed back to the castle and into their common room.

"I had a lot of fun today, Draco. Thanks." She said.

"Me too. I'm glad we went." He said.

"Yeah." She said. Now that she knew Draco he wasn't like she though. He wasn't so mean and inconsiderate like she always assumed. They walked to the Great Hall for dinner together, but separated to go do their different tables.

"Fill me in on everything." Ginny said, the second Hermione sat down She told Ginny about her day in Hogsmeade.

"He bought you butterbeer, pie, and ice cream. Wow, is that really Malfoy?" Ginny joked.

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"I saw you and Hermione today!" Ali said cheerfully at dinner, she seemed like she was dying to say something.

"Well go ahead and say it then, I know you want to." Draco said.

"I told you so!" She cried loudly and some people turned to look at her.

"Okay, happy now?" He asked.

"Yep, I'm all set." She said happily. Draco shook his head and laughed at Ali. She was a lot of fun to be around.

"So will you finally admit you like her?" She asked.

"Yeah, I think I will. I think I like Hermione." Draco replied, grinning at Ali.

"Really?" She asked, her eyes wide and happy. She squealed when Draco nodded.

"Yeah." He said simply and Ali smiled in delight.

Authors note: what do ya think? Please review!