Preparations and The Ball, ENJOY!

It was the day after the whole situation of going to the dance. Hermione still needed to go shopping for a dress, and other accessories on the way. So she decided to hurry up with getting ready so then she could get going on her daily activities.
Tomorrow was the dance, rumor was, there was no theme, but tradition for ball/dances was students had to wear a mask that matched with there dress or tux that only covered part of there eyes.
She got up out of bed, showered, and quickly was on her way. She was dressed casual, in sweat pants and a sweatshirt. She finally managed to put her hair in a decent ponytail, and headed out the door.
She walked the halls casually; she seemed to be in a pretty good mood. She finally made her way out to the series of shops. It was crowded with students doing shopping. She managed to walk in a gown shop. Dozens of girls were milling around for the "perfect dress." One thing Hermione loved about the shop as that when someone picked their dress, no one else could have your identical dress.
An hour passed by, and Hermione still couldn't find a dress she wanted. She didn't want a blue dress, because a lot of girls wore the shade of blue. She was aiming for a light/pale green dress.
She spotted one on a nearby rack. She snatched it and looked it over. It was beautiful. It was a strapless light/pale shade of green that was tight on front but puffed out a bit from the waist. It reminded her of a wedding dress. It had crystal sparkles and glitter scattered around the dress. She went to the dressing room and tried it on. It looked astonishing, she felt so elegant. She turned and admired herself, and then she took it off and decided to buy it along with a matching white crystal colored mask.
The witch at the desk had sleek black hair down to her waist and daring black makeup etched across her eyelids.
"One-hundred and two galleons," She said while ringing it up, taking the money and bagging up the dress in a fairly large bag.
"Thanks," said Hermione.
The girl nodded, and Hermione exited the store. She went to a series of shops to get her accessories. A lot of girls took this experience dramatic, because the ball only comes once a year, and it was the last year for Hermione and her fellow seventh years. She bought some makeup to match her dress, along with white high heels, and a silver jewel necklace. She was finally done with her preparations. The ball was a more serious thing to girls than to guys.
'What will people think when we're together at the dance?' She thought. Throughout the whole day and next she didn't see Draco at all. She thought that was a good thing because she didn't want to see him until the dance anyway.
'I want to look good for him,' she thought. He seemed so sweet. It was the day of the dance. She talked to some girl's about it and there dresses. She was actually getting along and having a normal conversation with people. All day she was worrying, what if something went wrong? What if he didn't show up? She knew Draco was getting ready with some Slytherins in their dorm. Hermione had the prefect room to herself, until about a day ago, she talked to Ginny and apologized, Ginny did the same. She couldn't live without Ginny by her side. Ginny understood her, and she let Ginny get ready with her for the ball. Hermione still hasn't spoken with Harry and Ron though.
A few hours before the dance started, Ginny and Hermione decided to get ready. They were a little quiet towards each other; it seemed a little awkward. They took turns in the bathroom to slip on their dresses. Ginny's was a pale pink gown that had straps across the back of it. She had white high heels, and did her makeup identical to her dress, and she had a white mask to go with it.
While Ginny was straightening her hair, Hermione had on her heels, dress, and makeup. She started to curl her hair into loose ringlets. Her hair came down to her waist.
Two hours seemed to fly by, and the girls were almost ready when they heard a knock at the portrait. It startled Hermione and she gasped, "He's here!" She started running around frantically. Ginny finally got her to open the portrait and surprisingly it was Harry. He was dressed in a simple black and white tux with his hair neatly wavy. His green eyes shown through the black mask. He smiled at Ginny and she smiled back. She took his arm and led him out of the room.
"I'll see you later Hermione," She called. Hermione nodded, she ran to the bathroom to snatch her new necklace along with the mask and put them on. Fifteen minutes later Hermione was pacing the room, frantically.
'Please let him come, oh please, I'll never forgive him if he doesn't, I have to go!' She thought. After about another five minutes she began to lose hope until she heard another knock on the portrait. She took a deep breath, gave a swish to her hair, and slowly made her way too the portrait. She opened it, and there stood Draco. He was wearing a black and white tux, but on the front had embroided Slytherin green along with a cloth that tucked into his pocket. His hair was dangling from the mask that shown his piercing icy blue eyes.
He looked absolutely Gorgeous!
His breath caught in his throat from the sight of Hermione. She looked beautiful. He wanted to say it out loud, but he would do that later. Her eyes were so intensifying. For the longest time they stared at each other. He finally managed to say, "Shall we?" He extended his arm, and she nervously wrapped her arm around his.
They were supposed to be announced into the Great hall. They stopped in front of the double doors and waited for their Que. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her.
Finally they entered the doors leading to a magnificent sight. "Ah, and here they are, our school prefects, Draco Malfoy, and Hermione Granger," Dumbledore boomed. The long tables were replaced by about two dozen round ones. The ceiling was sparkling, and there was a long table up in the front of the room with food and drinks on it. A large ice sculpture was the centerpiece.
Draco leaded Hermione gently to a round table where they sat. The little table had candles that matched the ones in mid-air and a cream tablecloth with white and yellow roses in crystal vases. Students were milling around, Hermione saw pansy with some Slytherin boy, she had way too much makeup on and her dress was a color of puke green.
"Do you want something too drink?" Draco's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Sure," She responded. The song called "Scars," By Papa Roach was blaring through the sound system. Draco made his way back holding two glasses of punch. They were about fifteen minutes into the dance and Hermione got up, Draco did the same. She started to walk, but tripped over the leg of the table. Before she knew it, Draco had her in his strong arms.
"I'm sorry," She gasped.
"Do you want to dance?" He asked. She hesitantly nodded while the lights went dim and a soft song came on. It was "You and me" by- Life house. He led her out on the dance floor.

He put his hands around her waist while she put her hand on his shoulders. The soft tune clouded her mind.
As the beat went along, she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. She felt so secure with him holding her ever so gently. He seemed so protective with his strong arms around her body.

"You're so beautiful," He whispered into her ear. She looked in his eyes, and wrapped her arms around his neck again. The song was almost over but she never wanted it to end. It seemed all the bad things that happened to her in life vanished.

The song ended, and Hermione gently pulled away from him and said, "I'm glad I came."
"Same here," He replied. They walked back to there table and the song, "Oh," By- Ciara came on. A lot of the couples started doing dirty dancing.
"I'm having a good time, come on let's dance again!" She yelled over the music, and dragged him out on the dance floor once again.

Hermione moved to the beat and danced. Draco just went with the flow.
'Man she can dance!' He thought.

In the middle of the song Hermione got tired and went to sit down again. It was 10:30 by now, and she chatted with Ginny for a few minutes, Hermione spotted her in the corner snogging with Harry.
The time flew by, next thing she knew it was quarter to midnight.
"Come on, let's go somewhere," Draco said.
He led her out to the gardens. It was all lighted up with different colors of light. Dozen's of flowers were in pots or bushes; there was a fountain of water with a fairy blowing glittery dust in the foamy water below it. The stars showed bright that night and it was a full moon.
Hermione looked in awe, "It's beautiful," she murmured. She leaned against the willow tree and looked up at the stars with Draco holding her waist. The bell rang out indicating it was midnight, and Hermione looked at Draco while sliding off his mask, he slid off hers while their lips met, and passion surged through them. She allowed his tongue and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her closer, and she ran her fingers though his hair. They ended the kiss slowly and gently. They parted, and she hugged him tightly never wanting to let go.
"I just feel so safe, it doesn't seem like reality," She whispered while a tear fell down her cheek. He wiped it away and murmured, "I'm here, it's real, this is the best night of my life."
They embraced some more and made their way back to the castle. A lot of students were already to there common rooms. Some were still talking in the great hall. They headed to there room, and paused at each other's door.
"Thank you for tonight," she said. She gave him a quick kiss goodnight and hurried to her room, her dress swaying while she walked. She made one last look and swung the portrait shut. Draco stood looking at her door. Truly that was the best night of his life. She was so beautiful, she felt so right in his arms while they danced. He finally went to his room and sent into a restless sleep as the moon hovered above shining bright on the castle.

A/N- I AM SOOOO SOOO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER! Seriously my most 1,000 apologies, here's the problem: I lost my disk that had the 8th chapter on it, so I was really mad! And then I went on the D.C. trip, I just got back 2 days ago! It was soooo fun, a lot of sightseeing was boring at parts but at least I'm back, and I really really gotta think of the 9th chapter! Well I better go, I REALLY hoped you liked this chapter!

I'm OUTTIE!