Draco laid in bed the rest of the morning, taking in the smell Hermione had left behind and remembering the feeling of having her tucked in his arms. He sighed, reminded of the warmth and softness of her body, and rolled over onto his stomach. His head buried in his pillow, he did not hear his curtains being drawn open. Draco was, however, distinctly aware of the sudden flood of light in his bed.

"Ughhh..," he half-moaned, half-grumbled as he rolled over and held his hand over his eyes to block out the light.

There stood Hermione, showered and dressed in a pair of jeans and plain white shirt, barefoot on the carpet. A halo of light surrounded her head, illuminating the stray strands of hair that had escaped their curls. He took in a deep breath at the sight, feeling sure he had died and was being greeted by the very angel of God.

"Draco, we have a meeting with the prefects this afternoon. You had better get up and get ready."

Draco slowly sat up, stretching as he rose.

"Why, what time is it?"

"About noon. The prefects should be here in about an hour or so."

"What do we have to have a blasted meeting with them for anyhow?"

Hermione opened his windows, letting in the cool air still saturated with yesterday's rain. Sunlight streamed into the room with a small autumn tinged breeze, replacing the stale damp air of Draco's room. She walked around tidying up the room a little as she spoke.

"You know we have to meet with them pretty frequently to make decisions, and it's the first meeting of the school year. Anyway, I've got to go finish making my room up and then I'm going to clean up downstairs. You should neaten this place up a bit as well."

With that, Hermione walked back to the bathroom and shut the door.

"Like a house elf, she is," he muttered before grudgingly crawling out of bed.

Draco had only just gotten out of the shower and into his bedroom when he heard Hermione bustle into the bathroom and begin to clean up. While it certainly disgusted him that she was such a neat freak, he couldn't help but to also admire her sense of pride. Now he sat at the large desk, watching Hermione do some last minute arranging and waiting for the prefects to show up.

One by one a prefect from each house knocked on the portrait hole and were typically welcomed in by Hermione and grunted in by Draco. Hermione gave each one a short tour of the dorm area and naturally each one was shocked and amazed at the openness of the bedrooms and bathroom. Ginny, who was Gryffindor prefect, gave Hermione a small wink while telling her just how she would take advantage of the situation. Hermione was positively scandalized by Ginny's plan.

"Oh don't get me wrong, he's an absolute jerk, but I'd still sneak in one night and ravage him in all kinds of ways."

Hermione's jaw hit the floor.

After a short time all the prefects had shown up and the meeting had began. They talked about the small things, about the summer, about some things they'd like to tackle in the coming school year. An owl flew in the window, interrupting the meeting and bearing a small note. Hermione read it out loud.

"Greetings to my Head Boy and Girl and to all the Prefects,

Just a short note you may want to discuss during your meeting:

As you know, last year we held a ball and I must say it was rather successful. It encouraged business in Hogsmeade and got all the students to get along, if only for one night. In these times of war, the staff all feel that such an event would greatly benefit the morale of the students here. It is up to you, however, if you want to have such an event again. Please do let me know.

Professor Dumbledore"

The Slytherin prefect rolled her eyes and plopped back into her seat while Ginny looked positively pleased. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff prefects, both male, exchanged looks that read with both secret excitement and feigned annoyance. Draco looked appalled.

"Oh another ball!" Ginny cooed. "The last one was just so much fun, I definitely feel we should have another."

The Slytherin prefect, Natalie, snorted. "A ball? It seems so frivolous and out of date. The last one was an absolute bore, I could hardly stay awake."

"Well, if the teachers think it's a good idea, I don't see why not. Let's take a vote." Hermione took out a piece of parchment to tally up the marks.

"Alright then, Natalie?"

"No, it's an awful idea." She tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.

"Gin?"

"Oh yes, absolutely!"

"Gryffindors," scoffed Natalie. She and Ginny shot daggers at each other.

"Alright well, then, what about you Paul?"

"Yea, sure, I guess," the Hufflepuff prefect shrugged and looked over at the Ravenclaw prefect. "What d'you think, Sean?"

"I don't see why not."

"Right then, well I personally think it's a good idea; Dumbledore had some good points and if the teachers think it will work then so do I. I guess that just leaves you, Draco."

He sighed. "Well I'm out numbered even if I do say no, so let's carry on with it then."

"Ok," Hermione looked around. "A ball it is then. Any ideas?"

"How about on Halloween? It's already a holiday, plus there'll be a few Hogsmeade weekends before then." Ginny folded her legs beneath her.

"Well, I think it ought to be for all the students, not just above a certain year. Get everyone included this time," said Sean.

"If we have it on Halloween, should it be a costume thing?"

"I think that's rather clichéd, personally," Natalie looked at Hermione, daring her to retort.

"Yea, I agree," began Draco. "However, most of the students would really like one, and another formal ball would be too much like last year. What I don't think we should do is assign costumes or play any sort of game with it."

"Oh why not!" cried Ginny. "I think it would be fun to have to find your partner by their matching costume."

"Yea, but what about the people that go solo?" Paul pointed out.

"Alright, so we have it on Halloween, all students can come, and it will be a costume ball?" Hermione asked. All the prefects agreed and Draco reluctantly nodded his head.

"Then it's all settled. See you guys in a few weeks when we'll really plan this thing."

Paul and Sean chatted animatedly as they left, and Natalie whispered something in Draco's ear while pointing up at his curtained room. She sulked out after he sternly told her to go back to her dorm. Ginny stayed behind to talk with Hermione for a few moments before finally heading back to Gryffindor tower.

"What did Natalie want?" Hermione gave Draco a mocking look and a knowing grin.

"Just a personal tour of my bedroom. Come on, let's go to dinner."

He took her hand in his and led her out of the portrait hole.