You know this disclaimer is getting reallllly old. I don't own Harry Potter or anything you recognize. I do own Moonflowers…lol.
A/NStill time to vote on the ending of this story. Ending number 1 is the sweet one, and i have already written it. It goes on for another twenty chapters give or take a few. Number 2 is cliff hanger and it will end with the next chapter. Number three is the twist, and it will go one chapter past the next one. It is probably not a twist that everyone will like. So far, the sweet ending is winning by a landslide and that is why i wrote it. Once i post chapter 20, i will give everyone 2 days, so till Friday to cast a final vote. Personally, i hope the sweet ending wins, because i liked writing it. Happy Reading!
Just wanted to say thanks to all my faithful reviewers. I love ya Babie Leenie! You Rock! Ok, on with the ball.
Anticipation…
It was finally the night of the graduation ball. The girls and I decided to have a day of beauty, taking the whole day to get ready, much to the dismay of our dates.
"What about us spending time together?" Harry asked Ginny.
"There will be plenty of time for that later" she replied with a sly wink.
With that said, we set out for my common room and my large bathroom. We each started with a long soak in my huge tub, separately of course, with handfuls of jasmine scented bath salts, and huge pink bubbles. Next we had an assembly line of products, lotions, creams, potions and other beauty related items in a procession along my vanity. It was crowded trying to look in the small mirror, so I waved my wand and made the mirror take up the entire wall. After all, I was seventeen, of age, and about to graduate. I smiled. Graduation was only two days away. Seven long years of hard work and heartbreak. Tension, terror, friends, enemies, and new loves. My eyes were tearing up. So many memories here in this castle. When I first came here, I never thought I would make so many good friends. Back in primary school, I didn't have many friends. And then to come here and have two good friends, family, like Ron and Harry, well it was more than I ever wished for. And now to have Ginny and Hannah to talk girl talk with, Lavender and Pavarti, who were always into the best gossip. Dean, Seamus and Neville, always good for a laugh. I felt very fortunate. And now, I had the love of my life, my soul mate, my kindred spirit, Draco. It was as if all the years of animosity and loathing never existed. We talked about everything and anything that popped into our minds, which with me was quite a lot. Even Harry and Ron were making a huge effort to welcome him into our little group. The occasional 'ferret' comment flew during heated Quidditch discussions, and the 'potter and weasel' would pop up during long evenings of studying, or roaming the halls on patrol. But I knew none of them meant any harm by it anymore. Old habits die hard as they say.
I was very nervous about this whole evening. I had never planned a dance before and I hoped that everything went off without a hitch. We didn't hire a band; instead, we bewitched some speakers, and hooked them up to the wireless. We could change stations depending on the mood. Dean had said he would help with that since he knew all about 'Muggle' things as he called them. The food would be mostly appetizers and finger foods, supplied by the house-elves. McGonagall bewitched the great hall to have a clear night sky, complete with shooting stars and the moon. We had cleared all of the usual tables and set up twenty or so smaller ones, each covered with a bright hued tablecloth in shades of violent green, magenta, teal, bright pink and orange. And each table had a small candle with a coordinating colored flame on it. The border of the hall was lined with lilac and rose bushes. A fountain stood near the entrance so that everyone could have their picture taken to remember this night. It felt kind of like a Muggle prom, from what I had read.
We were almost ready to put on our dresses. The ball was to begin at 8pm, and it was nearly seven thirty. We agreed to meet Draco, Harry and Ron in the entrance hall at the bottom of the stairs, so that our appearance would be a complete surprise.
I stared at the dress that I had bought. That was my last hurdle to overcome. It was so not 'Hermione'. And that isdefinitely what I wanted, but just the same, I didn't know what to think about it.
"It will be perfect" Ginny said as she slipped on her white dress.
She looked breathtaking. Her long red hair was pulled up into curls on the top of her head. It was sleek and shiny. She had minimal make up on, just some blush, lip gloss and white iridescent eye shadow. She wore a simple necklace with a diamond hanging on a delicate chain in the middle, and two small diamond studs.
"They were my grandmother's" she told me proudly.
Hannah had put on her lavender dress in the meantime. It was long, with a long slit up the side. It was also a halter dress, put it wasn't too low cut in the front. She wore her short, curly blonde hair down, and she had a live butterfly enchanted to a clip that she wore in it. I helped her put on an amethyst necklace, which she finished with the matching earrings. She looked lovely, and I was sure Ron would approve.
"Come on Hermione" Hannah said to me impatiently as she misted some perfume on her chest and wrists. "It's almost time to go"
I looked at my dress again, and decided that I was going to be bold, be seen, and be me.
Meanwhile, Draco, Ron and Harry were nervously pacing in the entrance hall. All for different reasons.
Harry was pacing because this was his first true date with Ginny since the previous year. Sure, they had talked after the war was over, and agreed to take it slowly. They had snogged several times in the past few months which was very nice indeed. But he wanted this night to be one to remember. He looked at his watch, and tapped the glass to make sure that it was still working. He picked out a black suit, Muggle style, with a green tie and vest to match his eyes. He was holding a white gardenia corsage in his left hand to give to Ginny when she arrived.
Ron was pacing, because he was really, really nervous. He still had a lot of feelings left for Hermione, but wanted to move on and make something happen with Hannah. She was bright, bubbly and a lot of fun to be with. 'Just don't screw it up' he said to himself in his head. He wore robes of simple black, with a hint of blue to bring out his eyes. He bought her a lovely purple orchid corsage, and hoped it would go with her dress. He looked to Harry, who was in the same state of worry for some comfort, but none came since Harry was almost worse off than Ron.
Draco was pacing because this was it. The most beautiful girl in the world was going to be coming down those stairs any moment. His hands were cold and clammy. And his heart felt as though it would leave his chest at any moment and run far away from this castle, and this whole situation. His mouth was dry. He looked at potter and the weasel. (As he still jokingly called them in his head) and saw that they looked a bigger wreck than he was, though he doubted that. He knew that this could be the biggest night of his life. He never thought that he could be happy again. And now, his soul mate was going to walk down here and take his breath away like she did every time he saw her anymore. They had both had a long year, full of emotions so deep that they could not be charted. He got down on his knees every night to thank Merlin for her and the moonflowers, without which, he would not have known his true hearts desire. And he would have missed out on the greatest, most wonderful person he would ever meet. She loved him. What was better than that is that she loved him for him. Not for money, power, status or because someone thought that they should be together. And he loved her. He loved her so much that it hurt him. He was in pain waiting for her to come be with him again right now. He was wearing dark green robes, with a crisp white dress shirt underneath. The cufflinks she had given him for Valentine's Day were attached carefully to the sleeves. His hair was playfully styled and several strands hung in his silvery eyes. His hand was tightly clutching a rare white moonflower that he had talked Professor Sprout into removing the pollen and bunching in between some white roses for him. He hoped that this night would turn out to be the night of their lives.
I descended the stairs into the entrance hall with Ginny and Hannah by my sides. The entrance had been decorated with flowers, and fairies, and garden globes. Small intimate benches ran along one side, and people were starting to gather. It was minutes before eight, when the doors were set to open.
We reached the landing before the final set of steps and I glanced around hoping to find his silver and blue eyes in the vast crowd. There, pacing nervously at the bottom of the stairs was my lover, my friend, my confidant. Draco.