Disclaimer: I've always dreamed of owning the Harry Potter series, but me owning it is just that. A dream.

A/N: I didn't thank any of the reviewers in my last chappie, so I will do that in this one.

And now presenting…

Chapter Eight

Christmas Eve came quickly. The day before, Hermione, Ginny, Lavender and Parvati went to Hogsmeade, and found lovely dresses and matching masks (the masks matched each girls dress, not each other). The night of the dance, the four girls were in the Girl's Dormitory, getting ready. Ron, Harry, Seamus (who was dating Parvati) and Dean (who was dating Lavender) were getting ready in the Boy's Dormitory. Finally, the four girls were ready.

"Let's go knock 'em dead," Ginny said, smiling.

The four girls descended down the stairs, and when they came to a stop in front of the boys, the boys were speechless.

Hermione was wearing a low-cut, form-fitting midnight blue dress, that shimmered. Her mask was the same color as the dress, and had stars up in each corner. Her normally brown hair was blond, but still curly.

Ginny was wearing a red, strapless dress. Her mask was red, and turned up a little at the corners. Her red hair was a dark, dark brown, and so long, it reached the small of her back.

Lavender was wearing a purple dress. The top part had stitches in an amazing pattern and the bottom flowed out. Her mask was white, and had similar stitching. Her blond hair was an auburn color, and really short.

Parvati was wearing a yellow dress that only reached her knees. It had spaghetti straps, and very clinging. Her mask was a pale, pale, almost white color, and had flowers decorating the outer area.

The boys each had on pretty much the same thing: a suit. Harry's was deep, deep blue, with a matching mask. His black hair was turned dark blonde. Ron's was green, and matching mask. His hair was black. Seamus' was black, and matching mask. His hair was light, light red. Dean's was a dark, dark red, and matching mask. His hair was brown.

Not knowing who was who, the boys randomly picked. Hermione was with Dean, Parvati with Ron, Harry with Lavender, and Ginny with Seamus. The girls didn't know, either.

The group walked to the Great Hall, chatting along the way. They reached the hall, and Seamus pushed open the door. (I'm not gonna tell you what the Great Hall looked like cuz I really don't wanna, so use your imagination)

They danced with each other for a little bit, then Hermione found herself sitting alone. Someone cleared his throat behind her. She turned around, and tall, lean guy was standing near her. He was wearing a deep green suit, and matching mask, with a curvy lines bordering it.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked. Hermione nodded, and he took her hand in hers and led her to the dance floor. He put his hand on the small of her back, and placed his hand in hers, and she put her hand on his shoulder.

"You seem familiar," Hermione said.

"You do, too," he said.

"Well, we do go to the same school," Hermione said, smiling.

The guy grinned. "You've got a nice smile."

Hermione noticed the lines on his mask had become snakes, and she instantly knew who it was.

They guy knew who he was dancing with, too. It was obvious. Hermione knew she was dancing with Draco, and Draco knew that he was dancing with Hermione. They didn't know that the other person knew who they were dancing with. They thought the other person was completely oblivious. Neither of them, though, said anything. After not being with each other for a while, it felt nice to be in each other's arms.

The song ended, and both were sad about having to find a different partner. Hermione danced with about 20 other guys, and she danced with Draco about five more times. The dance ended after one o'clock, and everyone retreated back to their rooms.

"Hey, Hermione!" Hermione turned around, and saw Ginny running to her, her mask off, and her red hair back to normal. "Lavender, Parvati, and I are gonna have a girls' night in, so go straight up to the dorm. I gotta go get some things from the kitchens. Later."

Ginny headed in the direction of the kitchens, and Hermione went to the tower. She found Lavender and Parvati sitting on Ginny's bed, flipping through a magazine. Ginny came back seconds later, with food, and Clara and Jessica Sallee, a 6th year.

"I decided to bring along some friends," Ginny said.

The girls started gabbing, talking about all sorts of things. Soon, conversation drifted to the dance.

"I knew who, like, half of the guys that I danced with were," Lavender said.

"I know," Clara said. "It was too obvious."

"I saw you go dance with that tall guy in the green, Hermione," Jessica said. "More than once."

"I know," Parvati said. "You guys were, like, inseparable. I'm surprised you got to dance with anyone else."

"Oh, she did," Ginny said. "You had a lot of dances. You were hardly off the floor."

They talked some more until Lavender fell asleep. The girls retreated back to their beds, and they were all soon asleep.

The Next Day

The next day, Hermione and Draco avoided each other at all costs. But, fate wouldn't have that. Hermione was in the library, reading a book, when she heard a commotion from outside. Wondering what was up, Hermione closed her book, and, like many others in the library, raced to the door. People were obviously fighting, because that was what everyone seemed to be saying. Hermione pushed to the front of the throng and saw Draco and Ron going all out.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked someone.

"Everyone is saying that Draco was bad-mouthing Ron's mum, or something, and they just went for it."

Hermione saw a few stupid people try to break them up, but none succeeded. Ginny ran over to Hermione.

"Hermione," she said, breathlessly. "They are fighting about you."

"What?" Hermione asked, bewildered.

"Yeah," Ginny said. "Ron said that you were his, and that Draco should keep his filthy, Death Eater hands off of you, and Draco blew a casket. They've been at it for, like, ten minutes. I was trying to find you so you could stop them, but I guess I didn't look in the most obvious place. You've got to do something."

"What can I do?" Hermione asked.

"They are fighting about you," Lavender said, who was listening.

"Yeah," Parvati said. "Go get in there, and stop them."

Hermione took a deep breath, then stepped out of the crowd. Everyone gasped. She turned around and glared at them. Then, she walked over to Ron, and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around, and saw Hermione.

"Hermione, I-" he started, but was cut off when Hermione stood one her tip toes and gave him a very good kiss.

"Don't worry," she said, smiling. "I'm yours and you shouldn't have to fight Malfoy just to prove it. I know I'm your, and no one else's. Okay?"

Ron smiled sheepishly, and they walked away, hand-in-hand. Draco was left there, speechless.

-&-&-&-

There ya go. I know it is really short, but I'm so used to thinking that I have to write really long ones, so I figured I would make this short. Now I can start the next chappie, which will have the next dance and Christmas in it. Please read and review. I have a question for everyone out there. When you read a story, do you review on each chapter, or do you wait till the end of the story, or as many chapters there are? I usually wait, but I would read some peoples reviews, just to see how they liked the story, and some people would say that they reviewed each chapter. Unless you review each chapter as it comes out, like you do with my story, then there is no point if there is already, like, five chapters, and you review each chapter. I was just wondering. Please read and review. The review button is getting lonely. It wants someone to click it. Thanks!