Title: The Moment I Saw You (1/1)
Author: granger2malfoy
Pairing: Adrian/Hermione
Rating: All Ages
Disclaimer: Sadly HP characters and Disney storyline are not mine.
A/N: This is one of the seven fics for my friends and people on my flist at lj, which my lj user name is granger2malfoy (go figure.) Thanks to my beta, Jade.
The Moment I Saw You
Harry studied the chess board as he saw Hermione enter through their shared apartment's front door and stomp off the snow on her boots. He glanced over to the fireplace and noticed the time on the mantel to be a few minutes passed five. Turning his attention back to the game as Ron continued to hum merrily about being close to winning, Harry asked his other best friend, "Are you going to start getting ready? Or are you planning on make an entrance by showing up late, Mione?"
Ron chuckled as he watch Harry's knight move and commented, "Don't let her fool you. She's not going."
"Why ever not?" Draco voice came into the room with a tray of butterbeers and popcorn, which he placed on the coffee table and took his normal seat next to his boyfriend- Harry. "I think she'll be fine on her on. She can go places without us, Ronald."
"Right, like she's really going to go to some pureblood ball just to make a fool out of herself," Ron said as he told his castle to captured one of his opponents pawns.
Hermione kicked off her boots angrily as she spoke loudly, "Like she is still in the room and she doesn't not like being talked about as the third party when she is standing right here."
Draco raised his eyebrow, lounged back against the couch with a comfortable arm around Harry's back and spoke, "You're doing it yourself, Hermione. Now, get going. There is a difference between being fashionably late and rude."
She nodded her head as she headed towards the back bedroom to get ready. To tell the truth, Hermione had changed her mind about going to the Pucey gala and planned on sitting home to watch her favorite movie with a sweet snack. Yet, Ron's comments and Draco's encouragement altered her decision. Even if she went for an hour and came back, at least she could shove that fact in Ronald's face.
The red wool jumper got thrown across her bed once she entered the room. She decided to jump into the shower real quick and then get dressed. Picking out her dress for the party was totally done in a hurry and figured she could always return it, if she never wore the thing. Hermione really wasn't completely sold on the dress. The color leaned more to a dark navy with silver trim along the bottom and the top. Another thing against it was the fact that it was strapless. That thought almost terrified her enough not to wear it and stay home with the boys.
After she showered and started to get dressed, the details at the party worked their way to her thoughts. The Pucey Ball seemed to be the event of the season and many rumors circled around that the ball was an attempt to get the only son, Adrian Pucey, married off to one of the personally invited, who were finest witches in the wizarding world.
A few hints of memories concerning the young man came around after the invitation arrived and she told Draco. Adrian Pucey once resided in the house of Slytherin, could play all the positions on the Quidditch team, and once held the title of captain. Of course, none of that really mattered to Hermione and then Draco also pointed out he had an artist capabilities with the camera and paintbrush. His intelligence may not have been exactly at her level but he could hardly be called stupid. The one thing that caused Hermione laugh out loud during their discussion came from a comment about Pucey's nice arse from her blond friend.
As she slipped on her navy heels, a soft knock came from the door and Draco stepped as he closed the door behind him. She smiled as she walked over to her vanity, put on some diamond earrings and a few clips to hold her tamed curls out of her face. Then her friend's face appeared in the mirror and he said, "Do you mind a little help to give you an edge over the competition?"
"No, I don't mind. Just nothing too outrageous, Draco," she replied as she rested her hands on her lap to let him work his magic. He had fixed up her appearance on a few other occasions with simple hair charms that he had picked up along the way. Hermione closed her eyes as she relaxed to the feeling of his hands in her hair and then reopened them when he stopped.
Her curls where pulled up into a twist that left a few framing her face and he charmed the clips into a small, yet elegant, tiara. "Much better. You just needed a touch of royalty but keeping it still the Know-It-All we all love."
She laughed as she hugged him once and Draco helped her one with her cloak. "Okay, wish me luck. I doubt this guy is really the right one for me but it's worth a chance."
"I think it's definitely worth the chance. Don't forget to pick up your dance card for your wrist. There will be other guys there too. I don't want to see you home before midnight, young lady."
Hermione adjusted the hood of her cloak and replied, "Yes, fairy godfather."
The slight breeze off the small lake caused her to tighten the cloak around her tighter. Yes, she could go back into the hall and sit as she sipped her drink but she started to want to hex the witches around her that all chattered and backstabbed each other. Plus, she had yet to see this Pucey fellow. About twenty guys were all on the dance floor with witches in their arms but she had no idea which was Adrian. After only forty minutes of being on the Pucey estate, she was ready to go home and curl up in a warm blanket as she watched Phantom of the Opera with Crookshanks asleep in her lap. Anything would be more enjoyable than this.
Hermione walked around the large garden and noticed a small, closed-in gazebo not far from her. She opened the doors and was surprised to see someone had beaten her to the hide-away. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."
The young man with dark brown hair smiled sweetly up at her and the soft green eyes of his almost caused her to stay no matter what he said. But he replied, "You're hardly interrupting anything. Please come in. I heated the inside, if you want help taking off your cloak."
Hermione nodded as she stepped in and noticed a pile of outer dress robes, which must've been his. He stood up from the bench that circled all the way around the walls of the small room. The young man appeared to be about her age maybe a little older. Silently he assisted her with removing her cloak and placed it next to his. "You look lovely. Why are you out here when I am sure some lucky man is waiting for you inside?"
"Hardly. Dances have never been my forte. Plus if I hear one more woman complain about another misplaced hair, I was going to loose it," she admitted as they sat down about a foot away from each other.
She wanted to examine more of the handsome man besides her but did not want to get caught. So, her eyes pretended to watch the snowflakes that fell as she watched his reflection in the slightly frosted glass. He leaned back against the wall and clasped his hands behind his head as he said, "I know what you mean. I usually don't mind them occasionally but the ratio of guys to girls is like one to twenty. That can make a guy feel like we're on the extinction list, especially me."
She laughed and began to feel at easy with the wizard. There they sat in the closed in little room about twenty feet for the dancing and laughter. Yet, they talked for at least an hour about many things from politics to charms research and never once about Quidditch. The pair ended up sitting right next to her when the door suddenly opened up. A male servant dressed in fine dress robes entered and bowed as he said, "Adrian, you're mother has been looking for you and asks you return to the Hall immediately."
Hermione's body froze at the realization that she had been talking to the guy who Draco was absolutely positive about them getting together. The young man sighed as he stood, "Which roughly translates, if I don't get my arse back inside, she'll hex me to next Wednesday. Tell her I'll be in as soon as possible, Taylor."
"Yes, sir," the man walked out and closed the door behind them.
Silently they began to pull their cloaks and robes on as she began to wonder, if he'd go in and forget all about the past hour as he dance with all the other witches who came to the ball. Hermione felt her eyes began to burn to signify tears. Then Adrian with those warm green eyes smiled as he lifted the dance card on her wrist and asked, "Would you allow me the pleasure to dance with you, Miss Granger?"
"How did you know my name?"
His sweet smiled turned devastatingly charming as he replied, "I remember you from Hogwarts the moment I saw you open this door. You are very unforgettable young lady. But you never answered my question?"
Hermione's stomach felt filled with butterflies and her heart rate increased as his warm hand continued to hold hers. "Yes."
Adrian's smile remained on his lips as he brought her hand to them. Slowly he lowered her hands, pulled out his wands and touched her dance card to fill all the lines with his name. He placed her hand safely in the nook of his arm and he lead the way back to the ball as he said, "I knew I couldn't let another man dance with you the moment I saw you."
The End