"Why is it always you two?" McGonagall asked as the four of them were lined up in her office.
"I've been asking myself the same question for a while" Ron mumbled.
"and now you're dragging in these girls" she tutted "why were you even there?"
"Ron and I were walking back to the castle behind her and Leanne" Harry said.
"Ginny and I heard the scream and came to help" Hermione added.
McGonagall rubbed her eyes as if they were giving her a headache.
"I think it was Malfoy" Harry said abruptly, "he gave her the necklace"
"That's a strong assumption to make Mr. Potter"
"Well he's clearly become a death eater!"
Ron groaned, rolling his eyes, clearly not the first time he heard Harry say this.
"Malfoy did not do this" Hermione said annoyed.
Harry scoffed, "of course you'd say that."
"Relax, Harry, we were with him all day he couldn't have possibly done this" Ginny said.
"Do you have any proof, Potter" Snape said appearing in the back of the room.
"I just…. Have a feeling"
"well if only we had a million dollars every time you had a feeling" Snape droned sarcastically.
"You four are dismissed" McGonagall said, "Severus and I have some bigger fish to fry than 's guesses.
The four of them exited the room, but they didn't get far before Harry got annoyed with them. "how did no one have my back with this?"
"There's no proof, Harry" Ron said.
"And no time for him to have done this" Ginny added.
"I'm sorry Harry but if anyone would be with you it'd be me, but from all the time I've been spending with him I just don't see it" Hermione said apologetically.
"Don't' see it or don't want to see it?" Harry said before storming off, with Ron chasing after him.
As it got close to the Halloween party, Hermione still didn't know what she wanted to go as.
"It just has to be hot" Ginny said eating her lunch.
"I believe you've mentioned that once or twice." Luna said sipping her tea.
"That's an understatement" Hermione mumbled, "You just have the personality to pull off a revealing outfit and I don't"
Ginny rolled her eyes "You just think you don't, Hermione. You know you're not an angel or anything."
"I know I'm not an Ang- "Hermione cut herself off with an idea.
"That could actually be really cute" Luna chimed in knowingly.
"Wait what? Did I miss something?" Ginny said confused.
Luna put a hand over Ginny's tenderly "An angel, Ginny."
"Oohh" Ginny said connecting the dots, "Luns right, there's a lot you can do with that."
Hermione then spent the rest of the day distracted by how she was going to create her costume, and what Draco would think of it.
Hermione and Luna got ready together in their dorms. Luna dressed up as a pygmy puff in a puffy pink dress and glittery pink hair.
Luna stood in front of the mirror "what do you think?"
"It looks so cute!" Hermione said, looking up from her vanity.
"You think Ginny will agree?" Luna asked curiously.
"Of course! You know she loves pygmy puffs."
Luna nodded turning towards Hermione "well you're going to make Malfoys heart stop looking like that."
Hermione laughed, not really believing it. Her curls were pulled up and a glowing halo surrounded her head. She was wearing a slip style white dress with strappy sandal heels. On her back, Hermione managed to create wings that looked as if they were coming straight out of her back. Before they left, Hermione looked in the mirror. She knew Ginny was right, she could pull anything off, she just needed to find the confidence.
As Hermione and Luna made their way down to the party, Hermione felt herself getting nervous, which was new for her. Draco was the only guy who ever made her feel this way and she wasn't a huge fan of it.
Ginny met up with the two girls before entering the great hall. "My gorgeous friends!" she squealed grabbing their hands and twirling them, "see Luna? I told you Hermione could pull off sexy!"
"I agree and doubt she'll stay an angel tonight" Luna said winking.
"you're spending far too much time with Ginny" Hermione laughed, "she's putting your mind in the gutter."
As they walked in everyone was taken back at how much the Great Hall was changed. The tables were gone and there was a dance floor in the center of the room, where the teachers usually sat was a stage with a band, and there were floating pumpkins throughout the air.
"here's your man now" Ginny said nudging Hermione, who saw Draco entering the hall.
As they made eye contact, Draco smiled followed by him breaking in hysterical laughter. Hermione was confused, she's never seen Draco laugh that hard, did she look bad? As he got closer, she realized why he was laughing. Draco was dressing as a Devil. He was wearing black dress pants and shoes, with a satin red button down. His face was painted lightly red, horns coming out of his head, and his platinum blonde hair was slicked back.
"Guess we're doing a couples costume anyway" Hermione said joining in the laughter.
"This is cute." Luna pointed out as Draco kissed Hermione on the cheek.
"Soooooo cute" Blaise mocked as he came over with Pansy and Theo close behind. Blaise followed through with his promises, he was dressed as a King. He has a huge fluffed cap on, no shirt, and a big gaudy crown.
Ginny looked him up and down, "looks like you're missing something."
Blaise winked, "like what you see?"
"You're disgusting, Blaise" Pansy chimed in, "McGonagall's been trying to get him to put a shirt on since he walked in."
"Ginny" Theo said suddenly, "you look, um, like a very pretty pygmy puff."
Everyone looked at Theo, as he blushed in embarrassment, and Luna jumped in agreeing. "He's very right, even prettier than the real thing."
Luckily a photographer came in just in time before Hermione died of secondhand embarrassment. "Kids, kids, get together for a photo." They all looked at each other knowing this would be the oddest group of people in a picture ever, but wrapped their arms around each other and posed, Hermione squeezed in between Draco and Blaise.
After the photo they all slowly dispersed, Draco's hand still remained on the small of her back. "Blaise and I are going to get us drinks."
"We are?" Blaise questioned.
"Yes" Draco said pushing Blaise towards the drink table.
When they got far enough away from the girls, Blaise asked "Okay, what's up with you?"
"Do you see that photographer?"
"the one that just took our picture? Yes?"
Draco poured himself a drink, took a flask out of his pocket, spiked his own drink and offered it to Blaise. "I recognize him."
"What? Does he hang out with you-know-who?" Blaise questioned sarcastically.
Draco glared at him, snatching his flask back. "I'm pretty sure he's a photographer for the prophet gossip column."
"Oooh, that's odd" Blaise sipped his drink and added, "I know what you're thinking and don't do it."
"Don't you think she should know just in case?"
"First of all, he clearly doesn't know it's her. Second, you know if you do it'll ruin her night and then you definitely won't get any."
Draco sighed "you're probably right."
Blaise clapped his friends back, "I usually am."
"this is weird and that picture- if we ever even see it- will haunt us" Ginny whispered, "especially when the war starts." She took a sharp inhale before changing the subject, "where did Luna go?"
Hermione pointed toward the dance floor, and went to suggest they join her, when Harry and Ron walked over.
"Having a good time with your boyfriends?" Ron asked.
"not our boyfriends." They say in unison.
"Sure, seems like it" Harry said rolling his eyes, "what happened to you thinking Draco was a death eater?" he asked Hermione.
"I was wrong and jumped to conclusions like you are."
"Oh, and I'm sure his tongue down your throat at no influence on that."
With that, Hermione slapped Harry straight across the face, prompting a lot of people to turn around towards them. She took a deep breath moving, and leaned towards Harry, "I don't care who's chosen one you are, but you will not speak to me that way."
The four of them just stared at each other, the Weasley's cheeks red with embarrassment, Potters right cheek red from the slap, and Hermione's eyes burning with anger.
"Is there a problem here?" Blaise interjected.
"Nope" Hermione said very chipper, "Let's dance, cousin."
Hermione grabbed Blaise's arm and headed towards the dance floor, Draco and Ginny following behind. "There's fire whiskey in it" Blaise said handed her his drink, which Hermione grabbed and threw back.
Hermione, and Ginny were surprisingly drunk by the time the dance was ending. Well by surprisingly, no one was surprised that the two small girls got drunk. During the last dance, Hermione was holding onto Draco, her arms wrapped around his neck, as they swayed. Ginny and Blaise sat to the side, Ginny's head on his shoulder, and the shirt McGonagall forced on Blaise unbuttoned.
"You confused me" Hermione stated, glaring up at Draco, "you're all moody most of the time, but then there's times like tonight or in Hogsmeade where you seem like a totally different Malfoy"
"Different Malfoy?" he questioned.
"Yea you know one that people don't think is a total prat."
"wowwww" Malfoy scoffed.
"well no offense, obviously."
"Obviously" Draco chuckled, "well you make me kind of not want to be a prat, Hermione."
The song ended and they made their way over to their friends, Hermione help scoop Ginny up.
"I'm awake I swear" Ginny claimed attempting to stand up straight, "Let's have a sleepover."
"Can I join?"
Hermione rolled her eyes, "I'll be lucky if I get this one into the dorms myself."
"Yea it's drunk helping drunker" Draco remarked.
"I'm not drunk!" the girls shouted in unison.
At the staircase, Draco looked as if he was going to lean into kiss Hermione, but second guessed himself. "Goodnight, Granger", he added with a wink, and they both went their separate ways.
Ginny and Hermione approached the Ravenclaw dormitories when it was as Ginny came to.
"What in Merlin's name was that?"
"What?" Hermione questioned.
"Draco! And Blaise!" she said in disbelief, "you give a guy attention all night and they can't even make a pass at you!"
"You're not wrong, I'd say we should go down there and give them a piece of our mind, but we don't know their password."
"Actually, Blaise told me."
"He told you?"
"Yea he said if I wanted a good time the password was, bumbling Basilisk, which is weird because Basilisks are anything but bumbling in my own experience."
"Ginny!" Hermione snapped in front of her face getting her back on track, "I thought you said Blaise didn't make a pass at you."
"Well he's always making a pass at me I can't tell if he means it. I mean he was saying a lot of things to me, I just take it as par for the course, but apparently it made Luna very uncomfortable cause she stormed off at some point."
"Well," Hermione paused to think, "Oh heck with it let's go, well lets change first and then go."
"This is risky for you, I love it" Ginny said excitedly as they went up to Hermione's room to change.