Soon after the class had ended, the real reason behind why Mrs. Weasley sent Ron dress robes was revealed. In the Assembly Room, professor McGonagall informed the students of the Yule Ball that would be taking place within a few days, on Christmas eve.

She had them practicing in the Assembly Room, boys and girls together. Melanie was dancing with Seamus while Hermione danced with Harry. Poor Ron was professor McGonagall's first choice. His brothers wouldn't stop laughing at him the whole time.

A few days had passed, everyone was nervous, anxious, especially those that still didn't have dates to the ball. Melanie was, rather soon, asked to the dance by Chris Dorson, a classmate of hers, also from Gryffindor. She, having had no one in mind, was forced to accept. She knew Harry wanted to ask Cho, and Ron probably had plenty of girls in mind, but it was too late to change things when both boys were rendered single till a few days just before the ball, until Harry set himself, and Ron, up with the Patil twins.

Everyday Melanie would see Draco, and he would see her, it was hard for both of them to deny that the thought of going together had run across their minds more than once, but there were too many things in the way of that, their friends being one of the largest obstacles, their houses as a whole, their parents even, grandmother in Melanie's case, though she probably wouldn't mind.

Even though Melanie didn't mind any of that, she knew he would. After all, he was still in conflict with his feelings towards her, unable to understand them, and not fully wanting them either.

Draco had no interest in going to the ball at all, but knew he had to make an appearance, his father wouldn't approve of his son missing on such an important event. The part he specifically hated was asking someone to go with him. It's not that there weren't many girls in his house swooning over him, it's just that he wasn't into any of them, but had to quickly ask the first girl he found, Erica Feus, to shut Pansy down, she was unbelievable!

….

The night was finally here. Melanie and Hermione were in the Gryffindor girls' bedroom, along with the other girls, adding the finishing touches to their attires. Hermione's gown was a light pink, with short, shoulder-exposing sleeves. Melanie's gown, however, was an emerald green with a lace top and straps.

"Oooo. I'm so nervous!" Moaned Hermione. Melanie turned to her from adding her lip gloss by the mirror. She giggled at her friend.
"Breathe, Hermione." She advised, Hermione complied. "Better?" Melanie asked.
"No!" She grumbled.
"Wait, maybe, if you told me who you're going with, it would help?" Melanie asked slyly, Hermione rolled her eyes at her.
"For the last time, Melanie. No. I want it to be a surprise!" She exclaimed, flopping down on her bed. Melanie sat opposite her on her own bed.
"Well, I can't help you deal if I don't know who I have to help you deal with, Mione!" Melanie whined. Hermione sighed at her persistent friend. She thought for a moment, preparing herself for probable criticism.
"It's Krum, Viktor Krum." She let out hesitantly. Melanie widened her eyes.
"What? Oh my god! Hermione! That's amazing." Now it was Hermione's turn to widen her eyes. Melanie engulfs her friend in a suffocating hug. "I'm so happy for you!" She sits back
"I'm…glad that you are!" Hermione replied, still a bit shocked, but then again, she should have expected that from Melanie.

Hermione was more than relieved to hear that her best friend was okay with her date choice. She knew that Melanie always had her friends' best interest at heart, which was why her opinion mattered so much in the group. "So did he ask you, or…" Melanie trailed.
"Yes, he did." She replied.
"Aww, Mione! He must really like you! You have nothing to be nervous about." Melanie assured.
"You really think so?"
"Absolutely." She smiled honestly, and she meant it. There were plenty of prettier girls Krum could have chosen, but he chose Hermione, the adorable bookworm with a strong personality, that was saying something.
"Thanks, Mel. I really needed to hear that."
"It's the truth, Mione." Hermione smiled at her gratefully, and decided it would be nice to check in on her friend and see if she needed support too.
"What about you and Chris?" She asked.
"What about me and Chris?" Melanie asked back, seeming a bit uninterested.
"Has anything happened between you two?" Melanie sighed tiredly, a bit disappointedly too.
"He's still in love with Mia, if that's what you mean." She stated. Hermione eyed her friend sympathetically, then her mind clicked.
"Well, I'm certain, as soon as he sees you in that dress, he'll forget all about her." She told confidently, but Melanie knew better than that, the affairs of the heart were a tricky bundle.
"It's never that simple, Hermione."
"Well, then…Forget Chris. It's just a dance, it doesn't have to mean anything." She tried, even though Melanie's been dreaming about a moment like this her whole life, and was more than upset that it had to be wasted on someone who didn't even want her.

Hermione could see her friend was hurting and briskly searched her mind for a solution. Seeing Melanie in pain was one of the worst things a person could witness. As if a light bulb went off in her head, like it happened to so often, Hermione smiled mischievously. "Besides, maybe Malfoy will make it up to you." She continued. Melanie eyes went wide.
"What?!" She gasped.
"I mean," Hermione feigned innocence. "I was just wondering what he'd think of you in that dress." She explained. Melanie rose from her seat and held her head with the tips of her fingers, groaning.
"Hermione! Now I can't get that out of my head!" She yelled, making her friend laugh out loud. Ginny then entered the room.
"Guys, c'mon. It's starting."

….

Within the Dance Hall, formally-dressed students and teachers stroll the marble floors, chatting about and laughing. Harry and Ron are at the bottom of the stairs, struggling with their dates, especially when professor McGonagall had just told Harry that he and Parvati would be one of the first four to dance, seeing as they were champions.

Hermione and Melanie approach together, arms linked, nervous as hell. Thanks to Hermione, Melanie couldn't stop thinking about Draco. Would he see her? Would he think she's pretty? She slaps herself mentally, trying to get a grip. They arrive at the top of the staircase earning looks and glances of aw.

Draco is in the midst of the room, mocking the guests along with Pike, Zabini, and his odd date. She was nothing strange, but nothing special either. All of a sudden, Erica is trying to tell Draco something, but he couldn't hear her, or anything at that. Blaise notices that Malfoy had zoned out, staring in the direction of the stairs. He furrows his eyebrows, but looks as well, and notices just what had caught his attention.

Draco couldn't believe what he was seeing, he was sure he was dreaming. His heart was beating so fast, he thought it would explode, and felt like fainting. Never in his life had he ever seen anything so…beautiful, graceful, so…Melanie.

He was tempted to abandon his group, walk up to her, and tell her just what he thought. "Hey, Malfoy!" Zabini yelled, snapping his fingers in front of his face, Erica glaring at him and Melanie from the side. "Snap out of it." Blaise warned.

He was well aware of Draco's feelings now, more than Draco himself at that. It wasn't in his place to judge, even though he could have if he wanted to, but he enjoyed watching things unfold between them, and the look on Malfoy's face whenever he was dumbfounded by his emotions and thoughts, which was immediately mirrored with his expressions.

Once down the stairs, Melanie was greeted by her blonde date, Chris. "You look beautiful, Melanie." He complimented. She smiled half-heartedly at him, only able to think of one person thanks to Hermione, but she didn't feel all that guilty about it because she knew Chris was doing the same.

Soon enough, it was time for the dance to begin. The champions were sent first. Melanie watched Harry from beside Chris, smiling proudly at her friend. She felt a pair of eyes watching her, and, from across the room, she could see who they belonged to. Her heart immediately jumped and she couldn't look away. She just stood there, with her mouth a gap, wondering how on earth someone could look so good in dress robes, of all things.

Blocking her view, Chris offered her his hand, regaining her focus. Out of curtesy, he asked her to dance, and she, reluctantly, agreed.

"Draco!" Erica called for the second time. He turned to her irritably.
"What?"
"Are we going to dance, or not?" She asked just as annoyed. He turned his attention back to Melanie, growing bitter once spotting her with Chris.
"Yeah, fine." He told, only agreeing for the sole reason of getting closer to the girl in green.

The rest of the night went by quite slowly. Melanie and Chris were awkwardly standing by one of the many large windows, downing some drinks. Draco was on the other side of the room, alone. Most of his friends were on the dance floor, and Erica had left his side to, quite plainly, flirt with one of the Durmstrang boys. He barely bated an eye at that.

Every now and then, Melanie and Draco would steal glances at each other in a fable, desperate attempt to be near one another. "Is that…" Chris trails off from beside her, she turns to him. He has a concerned look on his face. She looks at what he was eyeing and notices Mia, his ex as it seemed, with red, buffy eyes, standing solely by the entrance. Chris turns to Melanie apologetically. "Melanie, I'm sorry, but I have to"-
"It's fine." She cuts off, not wanting to be in the way of whatever they had going on. She could see he really cared for her, and prayed she was worth it. "She needs you. Go." She told. He nodded and smiled at her sympathetically, feeling guilty for having to abandon her at such a night, but they both knew he had to.

He takes off, and all of a sudden, Melanie doesn't feel so brave any more, in the midst of all these people, alone at a time when she shouldn't be. She starts to pity herself, but it didn't last a full five minutes.

Jumping at the chance, Draco makes his way to her, by the window, she hadn't noticed him yet. He stops beside her and speaks up, startling her. "A few minutes and you've already driven the man away." He commented, slightly questioning if Chris had mental problems, leaving someone like Melanie all by herself.

Melanie jumps and puts her hand on her chest. "Draco! You know I hate it when you do that!" She yells. He chuckles at her reaction, amused. "You think it's funny?" She asks, playfully now.
"I do, actually." She rolls her eyes. "So where's Blondie Dorkson run off to?" He asked, trying to act casual, not like he's been waiting the whole night for that idiot to leave. She laughs at the name.
"Dorkson?" He shrugs.

"He's uh…" She trails off, fiddling with her pink nails, trying not to seem too upset over the fact that he'd left her for someone else. "He's went off to find Mia." She told. He nodded, seeming to read her, cursing the fool in his mind. He'd upset his Melanie; no one upsets his Melanie!

"What about you? Where's Erica?" She asked, trying to change the subject whilst hoping Erica wouldn't come back for the night. She was more than excited to have Draco in her company and didn't want him taken away. He shrugs again.
"Somewhere." He replies carelessly. She nods slowly, a million thoughts running through her mind all at once. She could tell he had no interest in Erica, but why would that lead him to her? Why, of all the people in the room, including his friends and tons of other girls, was she the only one he was interested in standing with? It made her emotions go crazy.

She sighs, then smiles at him. "Quite the night isn't it?" She asks. He turns to her.
"Yeah." He utters, eyeing her curiously. She's looked away again, fiddling with her hands.
"Not the way I was hoping it would go." She comments quietly.

He's bothered by her mood, suddenly thinking of all possible ways to make her feel better. Maybe the dance didn't matter to him, but he could tell it did to her. Draco looks around, thinking. The students and teachers were slow dancing; the night was almost over. It wasn't fair for it to pass by her this way.

Draco makes a split second decision, and offers her his hand. "Well, then. Let's make the most out of what's left of it." He tells. She eyes his hand in shock, but eventually, hesitantly, takes it, feeling sparks go off as they touched, sending her heart jumping like it so often did when the Slytherin prince was around.

He leads her to the dancing group, they take a side. He then places a hand on her waist, making her tense, then relax at his touch, placing a hand on his shoulder. He takes her other hand in his, and they begin to sway to the music. She can barely keep eye contact, or control her blushing, or stop the smile from spreading on her face. She couldn't believe what was happening, and neither could he.

Draco, until then, couldn't accept the fact that he had just crossed all his lines, and asked a Gryffindor girl, the nicest there was, complete opposite of him, to dance, but he was more than content with his choice, she was worth it. "You know; one would think you were trying to attract Slytherins in that dress." He comments, his best shot at a complement.

She looks up at him and smiles at his attempt. Suddenly, her nervous state evaporates, and is replaced with playful mischief. "No, but if I was, it's clearly worked." She tells. He cocks an eyebrow at her.
"Was that flirting, Redwing?" He teases.
"Me?" She widens her eyes playfully. "Flirting? You're the one who asked me to dance." He thinks about it.
"Fair enough." He smiles.

Within the crowd, at the edge of the room, Melanie spots a furious Pansy, eyeing them heatedly. "Uh, oh." She calls. He furrows his eyebrows at her.
"What?"
"Just a heads up, when you get back to the dorms, you'll come face to face with a wrathful Pansy Parkinson." She explains, a bit irritably. He rolls his eyes.
"Well, she can take it up with the bedroom door, because I'm not wasting any time on her." He tells. Melanie can't help but smile at that, consumed with the silly thought of having Draco all to herself, but she creases her forehead at him in confusion.
"You know she likes you, right?" She asks, curious as to what he felt about that, or if he even knew.
"Yes. And, shockingly, I don't feel the same way." He replies sarcastically.
"Not your type?" She arches an eyebrow. He sighs.
"Let's put it that way, yes." He answers, even though he could go all day, listing the things wrong with Pansy.
"What is your type, then?" She questioned, interested in getting to know him better. He understood of course, but was hesitant in answering that specific question.
"I don't have one." He told simply, hoping his admiring eyes didn't betray him. He only had one type it seemed, and she was standing right in front of him.
"Everyone has a type, Draco." She pushed surely, persistent on finding out.
"That so? Then what's your type, Redwing?" He asked back, attempting to prove her wrong. Within seconds, she went from playful, to pale, to red, then, she looked away completely and cleared her throat.
"I don't have one either." She whispered, making him chuckle.

….

Ron and Harry were slouched down on the round couch in the side of the room, miserable, unable to find it in them to enjoy the night. Ron was bitter over Hermione and Viktor, constantly complaining about them to Harry from his side, while Harry barely heard a word he said, too caught up in his own sad world without Cho.

Suddenly, Ron spots something impossible. "Harry!" He nudges his shoulder. Harry doesn't feel it. "Harry! Harry!" He shoves his friend. Harry rolls his eyes and turns to Ron tiredly. This had been going on all night.
"What?"
"Look!" He points in Melanie's direction. Harry's eyes go wide for a moment. "How the bloody hell is this possible?!" Ron asks in pure bewilderment.
"I dunno." Harry replies, still trying to process the fact that sweet, kind Melanie was dancing and laughing with the school's meanest bully.
"First Hermione, now Melanie. What the hell kind of a night is this?!" Ron asks no one in particular. Harry shrugs and sinks back in his seat, rethinking about his own heartache.

….

"…and stop calling me 'Redwing'. I think we know one another well enough to call each other by our first names." She requested. They've been conversing for a while now, about anything they could think of, but with their new found friendship, it didn't seem right for him to keep calling her by her last name like how he used to when they were still frienemies.
"Fine then, Melanie." He called huskily, making her knees go weak. She couldn't remember the last time he'd called her by her first name, but she was sure it didn't make her feel the way she felt at that very moment.

Soon enough, Melanie's attention was diverted from the attractive white-head before her, to the girl in pink, crying her eyes out by the stairs. She furrowed her eyebrows in deep concern. "Oh, Hermione." She uttered. He turned to see why his companion's mood had switched, and witnessed the same thing she did.

She turned to him, suddenly forced into the same position Chris was put in. "Draco, I"-
"It's fine." He assured, smiling genuinely. Knowing how much she cared about her friends was part of the many reasons he found her hard to keep away from. "Go." He beckoned. She forced a smile at him, truly wanting to stay, but, so said, her friend needed her, but she wasn't about to leave him there with nothing.

Standing on her toes and balancing her hands on his shoulders, she leaned in a pecked him on his cheek, her soft lips leaving an invisible mark on his skin that only he felt, freezing him in place. She pulled back. "Thank you, Draco. For everything." She told before walking off, leaving him disbelieving what had just happened.

He touched the spot on his cheek where she'd kissed, still feeling as though she'd never left. He smiled.

….