A/N – I apologize for taking awhile to update. School has just started and things have been a bit hectic. From now on, I'll try to update at least once a day or once every other day. Again, sorry for the wait and don't forget to review when your done. Thanks.

Chapter 6 – The Christmas Ball

Months have passed and it is now December. Everyone at Hogwarts was busy preparing for the Christmas dance. All the teachers gave less homework during the holidays except Snape. Instead, he did the opposite and gave the students more homework then ever. Nobody dared to complain because they didn't want to get in trouble. Therefore, they did the next best thing. All the houses, except the Slytherins, asked (or for some, begged) Hermione to persuade Snape to give them less homework, but Hermione just ignored them because she didn't mind the extra work.

One Saturday morning, the day before the ball, Hermione found herself being woken up by Ginny.

"Mione, wake up," said Ginny while shaking her brunette friend awake.

"Mmmm?" answered Hermione who was still half-asleep.

"Wake up and get dressed, we have to go to Hogsmeade to buy our dresses for tomorrows ball!" exclaimed Ginny. She kept yelling until her friend woke up.

"Alright, I'm up! You didn't have to yell Ginny, especially if I'm right next to you."

"Sorry Mione, I'll meet you in the Great Hall so we can eat break breakfast then we'll go to Hogsmeade."

"Okay, Gin. I'll see you in a few."

"See you later."

When Ginny left their room, Hermione got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom to do her morning routine. Hermione changed into a pair of faded jeans and a white t-shirt with a light blue sweater over it. She put her hair in a ponytail, and then made her way to the Great Hall.

On her way to the Great Hall, she saw Draco arguing with Pansy.

"Get away from me Parkinson!" yelled Draco.

"But Drakie, you said you were going to the ball with me, not the mudblood," whined Pansy.

"I never said such a thing and don't you dare call Hermione a mudblood! Now leave before you make me do something I might regret!" yelled Draco, even louder this time.

Pansy ran towards the dungeons outraged. As soon as Pansy was out of sight, Hermione walked up to Draco.

"Malfoy, are you alright?" asked Hermione.

"No, I was just hit by the Cruciatus Curse and now I'm about to die," replied Draco sarcastically.

"I was just asking, you know. You didn't have to be all sarcastic and stuff." said Hermione.

"Then next time remind me not be sarcastic around you."

"You know what? I don't even know why I even bothered to ask."

'Ugh. I hate that ferret. I was just asking if he's all right and he goes all sarcastic on me. Next time I won't even bother to ask. I wonder why he just defended me. First, the mumbling in his sleep, now this. I wonder if he...nah. That can't be it. It must be something else.' She pushed that thought aside and resumed her way to the Great Hall. In the Great Hall Hermione sat next to Ginny and they ate their breakfast while talking about what kind of dress they might like.

When they were finished, they made their way to Hogsmeade to buy their dresses. After an hour of trying on dozens of dresses, they finally found one they liked. They paid for their dresses and made their way back to the school.

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It was two hours before the Christmas Ball and all the girls were getting ready for it. Hermione and Ginny were getting ready in their room doing each other's makeup and hair. When they were all ready, they made their way to the common room where both boys were waiting.

The boys were wearing their best dress robes. Blaise's was green while Draco's was black. When the boys saw the girls, their jaws dropped.

Hermione's dress was a light blue strapless dress. It was floor length and it had glitter all over it. She had matching gloves that went up to her elbows. She wore a heart shaped silver necklace around her neck that she got from her adoptive mother for her birthday last year. Her hair was put straight down with little curls at the tips. Overall, she looked very beautiful according to Draco, but he didn't have the courage to tell her.

Ginny's dress was sort of like Hermione's. It was a red spaghetti strap dress that stopped just above her knees. She wore red gloves that went up to her elbow and her hair was put up into a bun.

Both boys quickly recovered from their shock and held out their arm for the girls to take. Ginny took Blaise's while Hermione just ignored Draco's and followed Blaise and Ginny out of the common room.

"Listen Granger, can we at least be civil to each other during the ball so we won't get in trouble?" asked Draco.

"Why would I ever want to be civil with a ferret like you?"

"Maybe because if end up arguing instead of trying to show house unity, we could get our positions taken away."

"Fine, I'll agree to be civil as long as you're civil," replied Hermione.

"Deal."

When they got to the Great Hall, Hermione, Ginny, and Blaise went to look for Harry and Ron, while Draco went looking for Crabbe and Goyle. The Great Hall was decorated nicely. There was a giant Christmas tree with many kinds of ornaments near the staff table, and instead of the four house tables, there were many round tables. There was enchanted snow falling from the ceiling and the floor looked like ice.

Hermione and Draco danced with each other for the first song and after that, they just ignored each other. During the dance, many boys asked Hermione to dance and she accepted a few. Draco and Hermione spent most of their time near the pumpkin juice watching their friends dance with their dates and pretending the other wasn't there. Many girls asked Draco to dance, but he just declined them. The only person he wanted to dance with was Hermione, but he knew she would never accept.

When the dance was over, it was almost midnight. Many people were tipsy because someone spiked the pumpkin juice. The whole staff left an hour earlier, so they didn't know about the pumpkin juice. Hermione and Draco made their way to the common room, while Ginny and Blaise were nowhere to be seen. They went inside the common room and unexpectedly, Hermione leaned forward and pressed her lips onto Draco's. Draco, who was really drunk and didn't know what was happening, decided kissed her back. Slowly, they made their way into Draco's room and onto his bed, their lips never separating. Soon, lust overcame both of them and that night turned into something special.