The Debutante Ball
A fanfiction novel by sizzleberrylicious
Chapter Nine
((Check out my latest Dramione one shot, I'll Soon Cease To Remember Your Name, and my first Dramione one shot, His Thoughts, and drop me some reviews, aight? I'm just raking in some reviews here))
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"Ginny! Thank Merlin I found you. I need to talk to you," Hermione let out a sigh of relief when she spotted her red-headed friend walking down the corridor with a gang of her sixth year friends. "Er.. In private. It's important."
Ginny nodded understandingly before turning to her friends. "I'll see you guys in class later, alright?"
The group of girls immediately dispersed into the crowd that surrounded them. The mid-class rush was mad; almost everyone was late for their next class! Hermione led Ginny into a more secluded corner of the hallway. Ginny turned to face her with a questioning look. "What's so important that it couldn't wait till lunch?" she inquired playfully.
"I.. uh.. well, you see, Gin..," Hermione blabbered. "I kinda.. uhm.. well, I'm.."
"Hermione, just spit it out!"
"I'mDracoMalfoy'sgirlfriend," Hermione mumbled quickly, gluing her words together. Ginny frowned.
"What? All I heard was Draco Malfoy."
"I'm.. Draco Malfoy's girlfriend," Hermione said in hushed tones. She glanced around at the students that filed past them and was glad to see what no one had overheard her. Ginny's blue eyes widened, her hand rushing up to clamp over her mouth. "Er, Ginny-"
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU, HERMIONE LEAH GRANGER!!!" Ginny squealed excitedly, a bit too loud for Hermione's taste. Hermione winced as almost the whole crowd turned to stare at Ginny's sudden outburst and smacked her forehead.
"Gin-"
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ANY SOONER?!! I, AS YOUR BEST FRIEND, DESERVE TO KNOW ALL THESE JUICY BITS AND PIECES!!"
"Really, Ginny, calm down!" Hermione snapped quickly, her face turning bright red in embarrassment. "There are so many people around us!"
Ginny grinned sheepishly. "Whoops. Sorry, 'Mione."
The crowd continued to stare. Ginny turned on them impatiently and said, annoyed, "What are you still looking at? There's nothing else to see, people. Move on! Get going! Skedadle! Shoo!"
Hermione smiled as the students began to hurry away towards their next class. Ginny turned to face her again and grinned. "So, 'Mione, tell me all the details!"
"Er..," Hermione shifted uncomfortably. "Uhm, Gin? Don't you have to be in class now?"
Ginny gave her a look that clearly stated that she wasn't going to budge until Hermione spilled all the juice. "I can afford to skip Potions. It's not like it's important, anyway. And Snape's a git. So, SPILL."
Oh, bugger. I guess I tried, Hermione thought sorrowfully. Nothing too bad about telling Ginny, though, I suppose. She's my best friend! I should be able to trust her, of course. Yeah, why shouldn't I tell her? Yeah!
"If you really must know, there wasn't much flare in his proposal," Hermione bit her lip at the memory. "All he did was say "be mine, Granger". Quite boring, really."
"He must really think that he has power over you to get you to accept with that," Ginny rolled her eyes. "Typical Malfoy attitude. Oh, well. So.. any news on Blaise?"
"Actually, I haven't seen him in awhile," Hermione frowned, pondering the thought. "Hmm.. I wonder where he's gone.."
Ginny's face lit up. "I saw him earlier just outside the Astronomy Tower! Gee, I hope he's still there. Well, 'Mione, seeing as you're not interesting in Blaise anymore, I guess you wouldn't mind if I..?"
Hermione snorted. "Be my guest, Gin. You could marry him if you wanted to."
Ginny beamed. "Alright, then! Well, I'll be seeing you, 'Mione!"
And off she went, skidding around the corner. Hermione stared after her, grinning.
"Best of luck to you, Blaise Zabini. You're gonna need heaps of it if Ginny Weasley's on your tail."
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Hermione sat at the mahogany writing desk in the Head Commons, scratching away at the parchment with her new quill. She had a mountain of extra credit that she planned to have completed by that night, and she was dreadfully behind schedule. She groaned in frustration as her wrist began to ache, slapping her forehead dramatically. The tall oak grandfather clock that stood off in a corner of the room struck midnight, making Hermione feel even worse than she already did.
She was painfully aware of a set of steely grey eyes boring holes into her back as she scribbled away. She knew his posture on the tasseled red and silver armchair without even having to turn around. His arm was slung over the chair back, and his feet over the left arm rest, tapping his fingers against the polished wood of the coffee table as he read his latest novel.
It was always the same, anyway.
Hermione frowned as the incessant finger-tapping grew louder and louder, until it seemed to her as if he was banging his fists against the table, trying to destroy it till only a heap of splinters were left. She tried her best to block it out, but then gave up, sighing exasperatedly as she dropped her quill, jumped out of her seat and pointed at Draco accusingly.
"Stop," she commanded. He looked up from his book and raised an eyebrow. "Now."
The drumming stopped, and Draco put away his book. "Someone's in a rather foul mood today," he commented, lazily swinging his legs off the arm rest. Hermione blushed.
"Oh, sorry. I shouldn't have been so rude.."
"I think you need a medication," Draco announced, gracefully lifting himself off the arm chair in one fluid motion. He made his way over to her and smirked.
Hermione knitted her eyebrows together, frowning. "Medication? Excuse me-"
"Come, Hermione," Draco said, the name rolling off his tongue in a rather awkward stance. He frowned for a split second before flashing her his charming trademark half smirk. "Let's fly."
Her eyebrows shot up. "WHAT?! FLY?! MALFOY, YOU KNOW VERY WELL THAT I CANNOT, WILL NOT, GET ON A BROOM, EVEN IF MY LIFE DEPENDED ON-"
"You're so wound tight that it's sexy, Granger," Draco drawled. He smirked naughtily, mimicking a cat's meow. "Reowr."
Hermione blushed heavily. "Uhm.."
"I swear on myself, Granger. I won't let you fall," he said calmly. "I promise you that."
"It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that I'm.. well.."
"Afraid of heights, are we?"
Hermione grinned sheepishly. "Well, yes, actually. I've hated Ferris wheels and roller coasters since I was little."
Draco frowned. "Ferris wheels? Roller coasters?"
"Uhh.. Muggle contraptions. Well, it involves moving through the air.. High up off the ground," Hermione shivered at the memory.
"It's not like I'll be playing Quidditch with you or something, Granger. We'll take it slow and see how it goes, alright?"
"You do know that even Harry and Ron haven't gotten me on a broom before, right?" Hermione stated, avoiding his question.
Draco grinned. "They haven't gotten you in bed, either, so that's nothing to compare."
Hermione's eyes widened. "DRACO AQUILLIS MALFOY!! You have NOT gotten me in bed!!" she cried huffily, crossing her arms in front of her chest and lifting her chin.
"Not yet, anyway-"
"MALFOY."
"What?"
"Shut up."
"So.. What do you say? Give it a try, Granger. My broom's obedient enough not to bite."
"Malfoy.."
"Don't you trust me, Granger? You know I'd do nothing to hurt you, right?"
"You have hurt me, actually. Several times per meeting, in fact. Woo hoo, yay me."
"Hermione, that was the young, foolish, stupid me. I'm the older, hotter, more sensible me. Isn't that a change for the better?"
"If I die a painful and bloody death, you will be the one that I'll haunt till the world crumbles," Hermione sighed, rolling her eyes. Draco smirked.
"That's a yes, I take it?"
Hermione scowled. "Yes."
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"Uhm, Malfoy.. I'm starting to have second thoughts about this," Hermione said nervously as she tentatively followed Draco, who was strutting proudly with his gleaming new Firebolt in hand, out onto the Quidditch pitch. The short grass was dewy, even at such a late hour, and the pitch was just about as deserted as a grave yard. The three tall golden hoops towered high above them, making Hermione feel small. The sliver of milky white moon was barely visible behind an ominous black cloud.
"Granger, there's nothing to have second thoughts about," Draco drawled, waving his hand nonchalantly in the air. "I've already promised you that I won't let you break your pretty nose."
"Well, I know, yes, but still.. It's rather mortifying, riding a broomstick for the first time," Hermione replied, slowing down her pace. She was going to delay their night time flying lessons as much as possible.
"You'll have the time of your life up there, Granger, believe me. It's like a whole new view, a whole new world. Fantastic, if I do say so myself."
When they had reached the centre of the large pitch, Draco stopped and turned around to face her, waiting for her to catch up as she slowly trudged along. When she had finally caught up with him, he calmly held out his broom in front of him, Hermione watching in morbid fascination as it levitated in the air. In a swift movement so quick Hermione had nearly missed it, Draco swept one leg up over the broomstick and seated himself elegantly on the broom's sturdy polished handle. He held his hand out to Hermione, who faltered at first. "Come on, Granger. Nothing to it. Just swing your leg over. I'll help you up."
With a trembling sigh, Hermione grasped Draco's offered hand and carefully pulled herself up, slowly raising one leg over the broomstick and flashing Draco a milky white thigh in the process. Hermione blushed considerably when Draco raised an eyebrow at her. Her cheeks still shone in the dark night as she adjusted her posture, letting her arms fall awkwardly at her sides.
Draco turned his head around to look at her. "If you'd prefer not to fall off the broom the moment it takes off, I'd suggest you put your arms around my waist."
Hermione grinned sheepishly at her silliness before wrapping her arms around his lean waist, pressing herself up against his warm form for comfort, inconspicuously breathing in his delicious fresh cologne. She felt safer in such close proximity with him and hugged him closer.
She nearly fell over when she felt his muscles contracting under his smooth skin as he gripped the handle of the broom. Whoo.. what a strange feeling..
"Ready?" Draco asked, turning around to glance at her startled face. Hermione simply nodded, too excited and scared to speak.
"Here we go, then!"
Hermione let out a very un-Hermione-like squeal as the broomstick suddenly flew forward. She squeezed her eyes tight, feeling the adrenaline pumping through her body as the howling wind rushed past her, the toes of her shiny black shoes still grazing the pitch's grass. She tightened her grip on Draco when she felt her feet leaving the grass, not having to open her eyes to realise that they were rising higher into the sky.
"Open your eyes, Granger!" Draco hollered back at her.
"I'd rather not, thank you!"
"It's a wonderful view!"
Hermione buried her head deeper into Draco's back, causing him to arch forward slightly. The broom slowed down to a pace more suitable for the horrified Hermione.
"Come on, Granger, open your eyes! I promise it's perfectly safe."
Hermione slowly lifted her head out of the warm nook in Draco's coal black robes and lifted one eyelid. Up came the other one.
Hermione gasped.
The view was magnificent. The moon, which had revealed itself during their take off, was large, full and perfectly round, glowing with a peaceful aura. The endless onyx sky was littered with millions of beautiful stars that twinkled, sparkling like diamonds. At the horizon, clouds hung down in gossamer folds, barely visible if not for the moonlight. The faraway snow-capped mountains added a sense of fairytale bliss to the view, capturing Hermione breathless. The light breeze that entertained them blew through her corkscrew curls, her face flushed from the excitement, lips parted slightly in surprise.
"It's beautiful," Hermione stated softly. "Like nothing I've ever seen before."
Draco turned around to face her and smiled at her enchanted expression. "It's worth getting on a broom, isn't it? You don't get views like this from down below."
To Hermione's sadness, Draco started to lower the broomstick. Slowly, they flew downwards, and finally, Hermione's feet touched the grass once more. Draco leaped off the broom and helped Hermione down, grinning. "That wasn't so bad, now, was it?"
She looked up towards the moon and was upset to find that the view just wasn't as breathtaking as it was up in the air.
Hermione smiled sadly. "No, I suppose it wasn't."
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Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable. Aight?
Author's Note: Aww, I just couldn't help myself. I simply had to add a little flying scene in the end. Just to show that Hermione's bond with Draco is.. er, well, pure. She's never flown before, and he's the first person she's agreed to fly with. She's even rejected Harry and Ron. ;) Moving on. I've made this chapter slightly longer than the previous one! I'm improving and keeping to my word, as you can see. Haha.
Thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou very much to those wonderful souls out there who read my story and actually bother to review!! Abby, dreamerinreality, Silly.Pink.Rabbits.Eat.Only.My.Left.Sock, Beautiful-Me89, LonelyBeat, mesaqt, whisperslove, firebirdflame, oneamsoundstage, dracoisthesexiestmanalive, tempest365, Gueneviere, I lUv JeSsE mCcArTnEy, BA de Danone, and -NH- Jackie - BL-!!
Abby: Thankyou, Abby, I know you will. ;) You WANT to help your mum paint the gate? Hey, I want to, too!!
dreamerinreality: Thanks! Ahaha, your aunt wouldn't last a minute with me. I'm ALWAYS laughing:)
Silly.Pink.Rabbits.Eat.Only.My.Left.Sock: Thankyouuu!
Beautiful-Me89: Haha, thanks. I thought it was a Hermione-like thing to do, I guess. Spill your thoughts to your cat. I wish I had a cat to talk to. ;)
LonelyBeat: Thankyou very much!
mesaqt: Thanks!
whisperslove: Haha! Aggressive Draco.. Mmm. ;) Blaise acts like an important character, but in truth, he ain't. :( Awwwh.
firebirdflame: Haha, thanks a lot! A happy ending, ey? Hmm. I'll consider it. :) I've already reviewed your story, and I liked it a lot. :) Even if I've only read the first chapter. Sorry, I'm pretty busy at the moment. I promise I'll read the rest soon, though.
oneamsoundstage: FOUR chapters of a love triangle?? I was going for three, but nevermind. ;) No, I'm just joking, don't worry. There's no love triangle involved.. yet. I'll let my mood decide if I want Blaise to interfere with their happiness. It could add fuel to the fire..
dracoisthesexiestmanalive: Nice to know that you liked the length, thanks. :)
tempest365: Aww, thanks for the compliment. :) I appreciate it a lot.
Gueneviere: Haha! I can just imagine Hermione picking up an annoyed Crookshanks and talking to him! Hee. Sexy, outright Draco rocks. ;)
I lUv JeSsE mCcArTnEy: Hee, thanks a lot! I'm glad you liked it.
BA de Danone: I'm pretty much neutral with your feelings for Blaise. You hate him, love him, don't give a damn about his bloody arse. :) He's just there to add tension and obstacles to the Dramione-ness of it all, you know? Haha. Thanks!
-NH- Jackie - BL-: Thankyouuus very much! Of course there's drama on the way! Like I mentioned before, it's coming by the truckloads. ;)
Ahh. Phewww. Done. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! You guys make me feel like doing a dance around the living room and singing at the top of my lungs. Hee. Of course, I might be admitted to a mental asylum, and that wouldn't be much fun, now, would it?
Ttfn, sizzleberrylicious. xx