Chapter 8

Hermione looked into the mirror. The gown was looking perfect. She had pulled her hair up in a messy bun and done some makeup. By the time the clock struck seven in the evening she was ready to go.

"All dolled-up for the ball, aren't you?" a voice exclaimed from behind her.

Hermione turned around with a gasp. "Geez you scared me".

"I thought you'd be expecting me" he said, a little hurt.

Hermione swallowed. "Y-yes of course I was" she looked away, "you just took me by surprise".

"I always seem to do that don't I?" he smiled.

"Yes". Hermione agreed with a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

He picked up her purse lying on the nearby table and examined it like it was some alien object.

"I'm taking that to the ball tonight" she explained.

"Ah…that reminds me" he kept the purse down and looked at her, "is that what you're going to be wearing tonight?" he finished in a slightly derisive tone.

Hermione looked down at the gown, "Yes. Why? Don't you like it?" she asked, her voice faltering.

He walked towards her and held her shoulders, then turned her around to face the mirror.

"Tell me what do you see"

Hermione stared into the mirror. She could see herself in the lovely gown and him standing right beside her, a few inches taller, red hair, the freckles on his face prominent. "I see us, you and me"

He lowered his head so that his chin was resting on her shoulders and kissed her clavicle gently. "Aren't we the perfect couple, Hermione?" he whispered into her ears.

Hermione took in a deep breath. "Yes, we are"

"And this dress is beautiful" he placed another kiss on her neck, making Hermione shiver, "but the real question is….should you be wearing it?"

Hermione looked at him, stunned.

"You know I hate blue" he whispered into her ears. He was holding her by the shoulders and placed a small kiss on her ear followed by a trail of kisses down her neck, up to her shoulder.

Hermione closed eyes and stood still.

"Take it off" he said in a soft voice.

"But I-"

"Take it off!" He yelled, angrily all of a sudden.

Hermione gasped and shuddered. She looked at his reflection into the mirror, frightfully.

"Please" he added softly, regaining his composure again.

Hermione nodded and after a last look of longing in the mirror she took off the dress. She stood shivering in the cold night air, only in her bra and knickers.

He moved from behind her and stood directly in front of her. Hermione stared at him.

"Good girl" he smiled and bent down to kiss her on the lips.

…

Draco was currently standing on the porch of the Greengrass manor, glancing at his watch every five minutes. He couldn't believe he had actually agreed to go to the ball with Astoria, his assistant.

Yesterday she had somehow convinced him to go shopping with her and when she had learnt that he didn't have any date for the coming ball she had also proposed the idea that they should go together. Draco had initially been reluctant as he was strictly against mixing his personal and professional life and secondly he didn't like Astoria romantically but she had ensured him that they would only go as friends. Moreover if they went together it might be good for the reputation of their company so he had finally agreed and here he was.

At that moment Astoria appeared. She was wearing dark green gown, diamond jewelry and some makeup to highlight her pretty features. For a second Draco was reminded of his mother, she too used to dress in an exactly similar fashion for all events, all pureblood ladies did.

"You're looking nice" he commented, like a gentleman.

"Thank you" she blushed.

"Let's go" he said and they both apparated away.

…

The atrium of the Ministry certainly looked grand. The large hall had been decorated using magic and all the fireplaces along both the walls had been lit giving it a very warm and cozy look. Lots of wizards and witches could be seen, dressed in the fanciest clothes. Hermione stepped inside and stood in a corner. The familiar feeling of anxiety erupted at the bottom of her stomach after seeing the huge crowd and started looking for familiar faces. After scanning the area for a few minutes she finally spotted Ginny and Harry standing near the bar.

She made her way to them. They noticed her walking towards them, Harry looked pleased but Ginny had a baffled and shocked expression on her face. Hermione mentally prepared herself for the storm that was to come.

"Hermione you look-"

"Stop Harry" Ginny interrupted him and gave Hermione a questioning look. She eyed the black spaghetti strap gown that Hermione was wearing with a unimpressed gaze. "Where do I even start?"

"Ginny, calm down. I'll explain everything" Hermione replied.

"What is the matter with you two?" Harry asked.

"Hermione you better have a good enough explanation as to why you're wearing this extremely mediocre gown when you had bought a brand new, breathtaking gown with just last night" she fumed. Harry too now looked at her questioningly, waiting for her to say something.

Hermione swallowed the lump in her throat and began. "I realized at the last minute that there were some flaws in that gown which could not be overlooked" Ginny raised an eyebrow and Hermione continued, "it didn't fit properly, I felt very uncomfortable in it and I didn't have time to fix it"

"That's bullshit" Ginny exclaimed.

"This gown maybe an old one but it isn't that bad" Hermione said in her defense.

"I agree but this makes you look so…so average, If you would have worn that you would have looked absolutely gorgeous, every guy in here would be drooling over you" Ginny urged.

Hermione felt a pang of despair in her chest after hearing those words and she remained quiet. Thankfully Harry came to her rescue.

"Now that's enough chitchat ladies. Hermione, it's okay, you look just fine. Ginny, come on we should dance a little" he said and dragged her to the dance floor.

Hermione was left standing alone as she saw Harry and Ginny disappear into the crowd. Her head was starting to ache and she needed a drink. Hermione sipped the champagne and scanned the room. She could see many familiar faces but most of the guests were the wealthy purebloods and ministry staff. As she glanced around her eyes suddenly caught the sight of someone.

It was Draco, he was standing on the other side of the room chatting with some people whom she didn't recognize. Much to her chagrin, there was a girl with him. Hermione realised it was the same girl she had seen him yesterday with. She turned around quickly and stood with her back towards them. She hadn't failed to notice the lavish gown that the girl wore and how picture-perfect she looked. Ginny's words echoed in her ears.

You look so average…

A new wave of insecurities washed over her and she just wanted to leave but alas the event had just started. Over the next few minutes she kept sipping champagne, trying to calm her nerves. She couldn't help but take glance in the direction in which Draco was every few minutes. The girl was latched like a leech to his arm and wouldn't leave him alone for even a second and it irked her.

"Hello Hermione"

Hermione was caught off guard and almost dropped her glass at the voice. She turned to see Oliver Wood standing beside her.

"Hi Oliver. How have you been?" she asked

"Very well. You?" he replied with a smile.

"I'm fine" she smiled back.

"May I have a dance?" he suddenly bowed and extended his hand. Hermione was flabbergasted. She was trying to think of ways to politely reject him.

"I would love to but I'm actually waiting for someone" she finally said, with an apologetic smile.

"Oh I see. I can't imagine who would dare to keep you waiting. Perhaps I can keep you company till he arrives?" Wood persisted.

Hermione smiled at the remark. She was about to open her mouth to give another excuse but he beat her to it.

"Please, Hermione. I insist" he said, had still extending towards her.

Hermione finally gave up and placed her hand in his. He looked at her with a look of triumph on his face and kissed the back of her palm gently. Hermione flinched slightly but continued nonetheless.

Once on the dance floor Wood snaked his arm around her waist with a somewhat firm grip. Hermione felt a little uncomfortable but she thought it was probably because she hadn't danced with someone since a long time.

The music was a soft and romantic one and they swayed in unison. Hermione avoided looking into his eyes most of the time. She looked around elsewhere, trying to find Harry and Ginny but she couldn't. She saw Padma in the crowd dancing with a tall wizard. Padma too spotted her and gave her a bright smile which Hermione promptly returned.

"Having a good time?" he brought his lips near her ears and spoke due to the loud music.

"Yes but I prefer to dance in silence" she said, hoping he would take the hint. Thankfully he did and remained quiet.

Hermione took a quick look where Draco was standing before but noticed he was gone. She started looking around again, trying to search his face amongst the crowd and also looking at Wood every few seconds, trying to not make it very obvious. She didn't know why but she was curious.

As they danced and moved to the other side of the room Hermione spotted him and her eyes widened when she realized that he was already watching her. She immediately looked away from him, her cheeks burning. Because of all the chaos inside her mind she missed a step and stepped on Wood's foot.

"Ouch!" he complained.

"Shit! I'm so sorry Oliver" she exclaimed.

"It's fine" he said, still grimacing. Her heel would have stabbed him pretty bad.

After that she quickly excused herself and scurried off the dance floor. She saw Harry standing with Shacklebolt and immediately headed in the direction.

"Hello , hope you're enjoying yourself" he beamed.

"Yes. This night has been really fun" she said sarcastically but only Harry understood it and gave her a brief look.

"Great. Excuse me, you two" Shacklebolt said and disappeared into the crowd.

"Hermione are you alright?" Harry asked as soon as they were alone.

She looked in the direction where she had seen Draco previously, but he was gone, again.

"Hermione?" Harry asked, louder this time.

"What?" she gave him a blank look.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you looking for someone?"

"No. Of course not" she lied. At that precise moment she saw him. Draco was walking away from the crowd of the hall and he was alone. "I'll be back soon" she said and headed in that direction.

By the time she had made her way through the crowd she had lost him but she continued walking anyways. She didn't know why but she wanted to see what was he doing. A nagging voice at the back of her mind told her that he was and the girl were upto something but she didn't believe it.

She reached a dimly lit and isolated corridor of the ministry. The music from the hall was barely audible there. She peeked into one of the rooms and found Draco there. He was standing in the balcony, leaning on the railing, facing away from her. An odd sense of relief washed over her when she noticed he was alone. She was about to leave when he turned around and her eyes met his.

"Granger?" he asked from a distance.

She froze. He wasn't supposed to see her.

He walked towards her and Hermione could almost hear her heart pounding in her chest. "I thought you'd never come".

Before Hermione could process what he meant by that he dropped another bombshell on her.

"You're looking very beautiful tonight by the way" he said, staring at her.

Hermione was not expecting that. He was the first person who had given her a genuine compliment that night. "Thanks" she blushed.

"And you could do much better than Wood"

Hermione looked at him quizzically before realizing. "Oliver is not my boyfriend"

"Then who is?"

"None of your business"

Draco exhaled sharply. "Great. Why are you here then? What was it that you had said the other day…we shouldn't spend time together" he said in a mocking tone. "Well are you going to say something or-"

Before he could finish Hermione had closed the distance between them. She gently placed her lips against his. Draco parted his lips slightly but Hermione immediately pulled away. It only lasted for a moment. He looked at her longingly and before she knew it they were kissing again

Draco slipped his tongue inside her mouth, running it over her bottom lip. Hermione kissed him back, his lips felt so soft against hers, just like she remembered them. She was growing bolder by the second, she was about to grab his shirt and pull him closer when she saw two figures in the corner of her eyes.

Hermione pushed Draco away abruptly and started in horror.

"What the hell!" Draco exclaimed.

A few feet away stood Harry and Ron. It was dark but she could tell the expression on their faces, Harry looked surprised and embarrassed but Ron…..he just stared at her with a hostile look on his face. A chill travelled down her spine and her hands started trembling.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you're dating Potter!" Draco said incredulously from beside her. He looked baffled.

When Hermione glanced back towards the door way Harry was already walking away but Ron was still standing there. He had the expression on his face that Hermione was familiar with.

"Hermione what happened?" Draco placed his hand on her shoulder but she backed away immediately, as if his touch would burn her.

She felt trapped, like the walls were closing in on her. She was sure if she stayed there for even one more minute she would die of suffocation so she did the only thing she could think of, she ran.

A/n : Thank you for the reviews, they really help and encourage me. Hope you guys like this and keep supporting me in the future too.