The Christmas break had passed by quicker than anyone had expected and it was now time for the Yule Ball. At eight o'clock, every attendee gathered in the Entrance Hall, eagerly waiting for the professors to allow them in.
"You look really pretty." Harry said quietly to Bella as they made their way down the main staircase to the Entrance Hall.
"You don't look too bad yourself, Potter." Bella replied, nudging his arm with her shoulder, drawing a small chuckle from him.
They joined the group of champions and their dates, getting ready to open the dance. Hermione was glowing, smiling brightly as she spoke quietly to Viktor Krum.
"Hermione looks happy." Harry commented, a small smile ghosting across his face.
"I was just thinking the same thing." Bella replied.
Bella opened her mouth to speak again but the words caught in her throat as she looked across the hall and locked eyes with Draco. He was dressed as elegantly as she imagined he would be; black velvet dress robes and a crisp shirt almost as white as his hair. Draco gave her a small smile, which she returned, and then turned away.
Just then, the large oak doors to the Great Hall were pushed open and Professor McGonagall stepped out into the Entrance Hall. McGonagall ushered all of the students into the Great Hall, urging the champions to wait by the doors in the Entrance Hall. After a few minutes Professor McGonagall appeared again, a small smile on her lips.
"You must now all form a line in your pairs and follow me."
Bella held her hand out to Harry, looking up at him with a grin. "It's now or never." Harry returned the smile, taking her hand in his and leading her into the Great Hall as the applause from the other students in the hall surrounded them.
The Weird Sisters were playing a slow, melancholy song as the champions made their way to the dance floor. Bella could see the worry in Harry's eyes as she took his hands in hers.
"You'll be fine." Bella said softly, squeezing his hands gently.
Harry tentatively placed his hand on Bella's waist and let out a breath before the dance began. Their dance movements were to a minimum, Bella leading them slowly across the dance-floor. After a few minutes many of the other students joined the champions on the dance-floor, taking the attention away from them.
Finally, the Weird Sisters struck the last note and Bella saw Harry visibly sigh in relief. There was a loud round of applause and the Weird Sisters struck up their next song; a loud, rambunctious song that had everyone dancing wildly.
"I'm going to go and find Ron!" Harry yelled over the music.
"Okay!" Bella yelled back, dancing on her own.
Bella spent the next hour on the dance floor, dancing with Freya and Emily. A few times she'd spotted Ron sulking and Harry sitting awkwardly next to him but she hadn't paid the boys any attention. Hannah Abbott, Ron's date, had come to join them after Ron had refused to even speak to her.
After a while the atmosphere in the Great Hall became too much for Bella; she excused herself from her friends and wandered out into the Entrance Hall. There was a slight breeze blowing in from outside and Bella pulled open the front door, taking a few steps outside and closing the door behind her.
Bella decided to take a walk along the grounds. She walked along the courtyard, tracing her fingers along the stone wall. Bella was relishing in the silence of the night and the chance it allowed her to explore without interruption... or so she thought.
"What are you doing?"
Bella jumped, heaving a deep sigh before turning around.
"I was enjoying some peace and quiet." Bella replied.
"Is that what that was?" Draco asked with a smirk.
"What?" Bella asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Stroking the side of the castle is a bit weird." Draco replied, stifling a laugh.
"Oh, shut up you." Bella replied causing Draco to chuckle. "What are you doing out here anyway?"
"I just needed some air." he replied.
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah." He nodded. "It's just Pansy being Pansy, she can be a bit much."
"You don't say." Bella remarked, taking the seat next to Draco.
"She's not that bad." Draco said, turning to look at Bella. She raised her eyebrows at him and he sighed.
"Okay, fine, she's worse."
They both chuckled, leaning into each other and then pulling away. A moment of silence passed and Draco cleared his throat.
"Are you having fun tonight?" he asked.
"Yeah, I am." Bella smiled, "I just wish I had something nicer to wear." she was fiddling with the lace hem as she spoke.
"You look beautiful." Draco smiled.
Bella blushed scarlet. "No I don't." she mumbled.
"You do."
"There are plenty of girls in the hall that look beautiful. I'm not one of them."
"You could be wearing a bin bag and still look beautiful." Draco said. "It doesn't matter what anyone else looks like."
Bella couldn't think of anything to say at that moment. In a few simple words Draco had made her feel like a princess and that was the best Christmas gift she could ever have asked for.
"Thank you." Bella said quietly, smiling at him as she stood up. "I better go before Ron comes looking for me."
Draco never said a word, watching her walk away back into the castle.
Back in the hall, Bella located her friends quickly. Ron and Harry were still sat on the side-lines but she didn't let that bother her. The girls danced the night away and Bella, every-so-often, caught a certain blond Slytherin looking at her as though she was the only girl in the room.
