The Debutante Ball
A fanfiction novel by sizzleberrylicious
Chapter Ten
((HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!! I hope your days is filled with showers of red red roses and heart-shaped chocolates. ;) As a special Valentine's Day.. err, thing.. I've released a new ficlet! The Opposite Of Love Is Indifference is a JamesxLily one-shot now available on my page. Please check it out and leave me some reviews, okay? Thanks a lot!))
WARNING: Language in this chapter may not be suitable for younger children. You've been warned.
x x x x x x x x x x
Hermione groggily made her way into the Great Hall. She had been up nearly half the night in bed, pondering over thoughts that consisted only of a platinum-haired Slytherin Prince. Sleep had hardly graced her for more than an hour before she was forced to awake and go about her day's schedule.
Stumbling blindly towards the Gryffindor table, Hermione was oblivious to the many pairs of eyes that followed her, whispering behind their hands to their neighbours. Hermione slid into the empty seat across from Harry and Ron, a smile frozen in place. "Morning, Harry, Ron," she greeted them automatically. As if on auto-pilot, Hermione reached out for some sausages, mash, and toast. Absent-mindedly, she pierced a particularly meaty sausage with her fork and brought it to her mouth, chewing thoughtfully.
"Hermione?" Harry prodded lightly, his face etched with concern. "Are.. are you alright?"
She looked up and gave him a reassuring smile. "Yes, Harry, I'm fine, thank you. And you?"
Harry frowned at Hermione's awkwardly.. polite behaviour. "Err.."
Hermione turned to face Ron, a false smile plastered across her face. "Ron?"
He merely scowled, stabbing his baked potato with his knife, muttering some unintelligible hex over and over again. A myriad of baked potatoes were balancing dangerously on his golden platter, mostly stabbed to potato-shaped piles of mush.
"Uhm, Harry, I think Ron's gone a bit..," Hermione twirled her finger next to her head, indicating that she thought Ron mad. Harry stared at his fingers nervously. "Harry?"
"'Mione, word got around school that you were.. uhh," Harry started, fidgeting uncomfortably in his seat. "That you were.. rendezvousing with.. Malfoy?"
Hermione's mouth fell open, all thoughts of going back under her warm goose-feathered covers for another forty winks immediately vaporising.
"Last night.. On a broom.. Flying?!"
Hermione stared into Harry's bewildered, confused, embarrassed expression and winced. "I meant to tell you, Harry.."
"Oh, so you meant to tell Harry, then! What about me, Hermione? What about poor old Ron Weasley? I've been trying to get your arse on a broom since first year, and you merely snubbed me, threatened me with hexes, or nagged me! And along traipses the Amazing Jumping Ferret, and he gets you on his broom in like, what?" Ron garbled sardonically, seething, as he snapped his fingers above his head to clarify his point. The whole Great Hall stopped their animated chatter to stare. Even the row of professors had stopped discussing to watch this outburst with unavoidable interest.
Hermione's lip quivered as she said quietly, "I didn't mean.. I'd never.. He.. I just.. You..," her voice faltered as her head began to hurt. She dropped her head into her hands to stop her head from throbbing.
Harry gingerly rubbed Ron's back. "Calm down, Ron. Your anger isn't going to help matters.."
Ron glared at Hermione's bushy brown hair before stabbing his potato with his spoon so hard that the potato exploded, bits of mushy yellow substance flying in every direction.
Hermione slowly lifted her head and sighed. She looked around the Great Hall. All eyes were on her. The Gryffindors stared at her with utmost disgust. How could she even think of betraying them by waltzing off with the leader of their enemy house? The Ravenclaws weren't much help, either. They peered at her over the tops of their books; You should have more brains than that stamped on their foreheads in neon pink. The Hufflepuffs were more sympathetic, but not entirely. They shot Hermione withering, nervous glances, as if they were frightened of her. Some had the courtesy to flash her a weak smile. Unwillingly, Hermione's eyes drifted over to the Slytherin table, decked with silver and green. The table's snooty occupants glared at her with their noses up, hatred practically radiating off their obnoxious forms. Hermione was surprised and relieved to find only Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini staring at her with a blank expression. Pansy's eyes were soft with sympathy, but Blaise's were hard with bitter feelings. Hermione scanned the table again, a frown creasing her forehead. Where's Malfoy?
As if on cue, Draco burst through the large double doors that led into the Great Hall with as much poise as he could muster. All eyes swivelled away from Hermione and focused on him as he sauntered down towards the Gryffindor table. He seated himself next to Hermione and casually draped an arm around her shoulders, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. Hermione turned to an amusing shade of brick red.
With a roar of fury, Ron made a move to leap across the table and strangle Draco then and there. But before anyone could cry "bloody murder", Harry had grabbed the back of Ron's robes, restraining him from causing bodily harm to Draco. Ron's arms flailed forward, stretching as far as he could to at least scratch Draco's perfect porcelain features.
"Don't, Ron, it's not worth it," Harry said, pulling him back. Ron let out a menacing growl before resorting to grabbing a handful of sausages and stabbing them one by one, imagining each of them as Draco's nether regions as he cruelly chopped them into miniscule pieces.
"What's going on, Granger?" Draco asked, quirking an eyebrow and sending hearts fluttering. Hermione stared down at her half-eaten breakfast, forlornly.
"Someone found out about us flying last night," she said simply.
"And?"
"Well.. Harry and Ron, and pretty much everyone else in Hogwarts, disagrees with our.. uhh.. relationship," Hermione finished awkwardly.
Draco glanced around at all the staring, dumbstruck faces that seemed to be glued to their every move. How pathetic. He spotted several girls glaring daggers at Hermione and frowned.
"They don't control what we feel nor do, Granger," Draco rolled his eyes. "Just ignore them. They'll find something else to single out soon enough."
Hermione bit her lip in response. Her nervousness was apparent. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by a flurry of fluttering wings and high-pitched screeches.
The post had arrived.
Dozens of owls of all sizes, colours, and breeds flew in from the opened windows and made a bee-line for their targets. Students hollered as they grabbed hot-off-the-press copies of the Daily Prophet, oddly-shaped packages from home, and scrolls of parchment letters.
To her surprise, Hermione was nearly barrelled over by a huge flock of owls, all hooting and nipping each other to get to their recipient first. Hermione's eyes widened as a stack of bright red Howlers were dropped into her lap along with her usual copy of the Daily Prophet. "Malfo-"
Before she could finish her sentence, one of the Howlers at the bottom of the pile started to shiver and shot up into the air, causing the other Howlers to scatter in a mess around Hermione's seat.
"HERMIONE WHATEVER-YOUR-MIDDLE-NAME-IS GRANGER!!" the Howler shrieked loudly. The whole Hall turned to stare once more at the commotion. "HOW DARE YOU STEAL MY BELOVED DRACKIEPOO FROM ME?!!"
At that, Draco frowned, scanning the crowd for any suspicious faces. What did this insolent girl mean by her "Drackiepoo"?!
"YOU'RE AN EVIL, STUPID, CONNIVING BITCH, THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE!!" the Howler continued to shriek. "YOU PUT A SPELL ON MY BELOVED, MY SOUL MATE, MY LIFE PARTNER!! YOU TRICKED HIM INTO THINKING THAT HE LOVED YOU!! YOU SELFISH SLUT!! YOU UGLY, MOTHER-FUCKING MUDBLOOD!!"
Draco's eyes widened. He turned to look at Hermione and how she was taking all this. Her face had gone white, and her expression was that of pure shock as she stared up at the spitting Howler. Her eyes had glazed over - was she on the verge of tears?
The Howler let out a long, glass-shattering shriek before bursting into flames.
Before Draco could say anything to comfort Hermione, a second Howler had jumped up to make its presence known.
"REALLY, HERMIONE GRANGER, IF YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH STEALING MY FUTURE HUSBAND-" Draco gaped in surprise. WHAT?! "-FROM ME, YOU'RE TERRIBLY WRONG!! I KNOW YOUR SCHEMING LITTLE PLANS; YOUR DARK MAGIC PRACTICES THAT YOU'VE USED AGAINST MY DARLING!! I'LL STOP YOU BEFORE YOU GO TOO FAR, MUDBLOOD!! YOU JUST REMEMBER THAT!! YOU MAY BE AN ANNOYINGLY INCESSANT KNOW-IT-ALL, BUT I'LL BE ABLE TO OUTSMART YOU ANY DAY!!"
The Howler leaped forward until it was just a hair's breadth away from Hermione's shock frozen face. "SO YOU'D BETTER RELEASE MY DARLING DRACO FROM YOUR DIRTY LITTLE MUDBLOOD PAWS BEFORE THIS GETS VIOLENT, BROOMSTICK-UP-YOUR-ASS PERSONAL!!"
Hermione stared as the Howler disintegrated, falling into a heap of fine black dust at her feet.
In a flash, Draco was at her side, hugging her close to him. The third Howler jumped into the air and burst out in a sing-song voice, "GRANGER IS A SLUT, GRANGER IS A SLUT, WE ALL KNOW SHE'S GOT WARTS SHE HIDES, AND UNDER TABLES AND CHAIRS SHE LIES, IN WAIT OF HER NEXT PREY SHE CRIES, GRANGER IS A SLUT!!" Draco wasn't very impressed by the sender's creative abilities, and it showed clearly on his face as it contorted into a mask of dissaprovingness. "DRACO AQUILLIS MALFOY IS MINE, HERMIONE LEAH GRANGER!! THE MOMENT WE GRADUATE, I'LL BECOME MRS. DRACO AQUILLIS MALFOY!! AND YOU CAN DO ALL THE BLACK WITCHCRAFT IN THE WORLD, BUT YOU CAN NEVER CHANGE FATE!! DO YOU HEAR ME, DRACO, DARLING?! FATE BROUGHT US TOGETHER!! DISPOSE OF YOUR DISGUSTING MUDBLOOD FILTH AND WE'LL RUN AWAY TO A DISTANT LAND, RAISE BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN, AND GROW OLD TOGETHER!!"
Draco scrunched up his nose in disgust.
"DON'T DENY IT, FREAK!! YOU'VE POISONED, BRAINWASHED, HYPNOTISED MY LOVE!! YOU'RE TOO UGLY FOR ANYONE TO WANT YOU, SO YOU DECIDE TO STEAL OTHER PEOPLE'S ROMANCES!! WELL, YOU CLAMMY PILE OF FUCKING BITCH-SCUM, YOU'D BETTER WATCH YOUR BACK!!"
A maniacal cackle followed after, and then, the Howler bit itself to shreds, until it was just strips of useless red paper floating around aimlessly in the air.
Draco was startled when Hermione suddenly jumped out of her seat and rushed out of the Great Hall. The crowds of students started to laugh and snicker and tease as she weaved her way in between all the House tables. They jeered at her, called her names, and insulted her blood. The Great Hall continued to erupt in anti-Hermione blabber even after she had safely made it out of the Hall.
"QUIET!" Draco bellowed. The students immediately fell silent. They watched him carefully as he seethed with anger, watching as his quicksilver eyes flashed dangerously.
Then, without another word, Draco leaped over the House tables and sprinted out the door, running from the Hall and after Hermione.
x x x x x x x x x x
Where is she?
Draco had caught the ends of Hermione's robes billowing just around the corner as he exited the Great Hall, but had lost her the moment he skidded around the bend. She had somehow disappeared. That particular corridor was packed with empty classrooms, and that corridor led to more corridors with more classrooms and broom closets and what not. She could be anywhere; Gryffindor Tower, the Heads Commons, the library, Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, the Grounds.
Draco balled his fists. He'd search the whole school if he had to. He had to find her. He was the cause of all this nonsense. Those jealous girls had no right to send Howlers to Hermione. Because of him, Hermione had been embarrassed and humiliated in front of the whole school. He had to find her, console her, tell her that he was sorry beyond imagination. That he'd track down those evil girls if he had to. He'd do anything to see her smile again.
Anything.
He pushed open a random classroom door and peeked inside. "Her-Hermione? Are you in here?"
Silence.
"No, wrong place," he muttered to himself. He moved on to the next door and did the same. Still no response. The next few doors weren't giving him a fruitful success, either.
Finally, he poked his head into one abandoned classroom and immediately spotted the bundle of trembling, cold Hermione, huddled in the back corner of the class. He rushed over to her, his shoes making a loud clacking noise on the old marble as he walked. He sat down next to her on the dusty floor, not caring if a Flobberworm had spat there, and wrapped his arms around her tight.
x x x x x x x x x x
Hermione felt a pair of strong, warm arms encircle her and pull her towards something solid. Malfoy?
She looked up, her eyesight blurred from her unfallen tears. She immediately recognised his silky blond locks and let out a huge sniff, throwing herself at him and hugging him tight, sobbing uncontrollably into the lapels of his robes.
Stop it, Hermione! You're going to leave a stain! What will he think of you if you leave a trail of snot on his nice, clean clothes?
She pulled back, embarrassed, and swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. Sensing her discomfort, Draco pulled her back into his embrace, massaging circles into her back and running his fingers through her hair, whispering sweet, sweet nothings into her ear.
After several minutes of crying herself dry, Hermione calmed down enough for Draco to begin his apology.
"I'm so sorry, Hermione," Draco muttered into her hair, breathing in the delicious smell of her green apple shampoo. "I never meant for those things to happen. Those girls were mean-spirited and brainless. It's all my fault that they said those horrible things to you. It's not your fault, Hermione."
She stared up at him, her eyes red and puffy from all the sobbing and her cheeks streaked with haywire tear stains.
"I know it's not my fault, Draco," she said quietly. "But they don't. And I know they're going to keep on doing this until we're separated."
Draco exhaled. "We'll think of something. Besides, they'll all find something else to flame about soon. It's all just a thing-of-the-moment to them."
"How long will it take?" Her voice was raspy as she spoke, having cried her throat sore.
"Not too long," Draco grimaced. "It'll hurt, that's for sure. But I'll protect you, Hermione. I've promised you that. I never break my promises. I'll guard you with my life if I have to."
Hermione shook her head slowly, smiling despondently. "No, Draco. I don't think that will be necessary. I don't want you to end up hurting yourself. We'll just end this now, and everything will be all better."
Draco's eyes widened. "But, no, Hermione! We.. we can't!" he stuttered. He took a second to compose himself, breathing in deep and exhaling, before continuing. "Just give it some time, Hermione. I'm sure that after several days, they'll get bored of targeting us and move on to something else."
"I don't like getting hurt and humiliated like that, Draco," she whispered, biting her lip as a fresh flood of tears threatened to take over.
"I know you don't, Hermione. But, please. Just give it a few days. It'll wear off. I promise."
Hermione stared into his eyes, imploring him. It hurts..
"I.. I.."
She let out a long sigh.
"Alright."
x x x x x x x x x x
"Malfoy! You're late!" Hermione chastised as Draco strode into the Room of Requirement, which had been transformed into a study room, artfully decorated to suit her taste. She sat impatiently at a large polished oak table that stood in the middle of the carpeted room, a mess of parchments, quills, ink bottles, and books scattered on top. The antique oil paintings that hung from the maroon-painted walls depicted scenes of love, war, grief. An end table stood off in the corner of the room, carrying a glass pitcher of cool water and several frosted chalices. Sheaths of red and silver silk hung from the large French windows, held back by threads of gold to reveal a magnificent view of the glittering night sky.
"Sorry, Granger, Snape wanted me in the dungeons for a N.E.W.Ts briefing," Draco explained, dropping himself easily into one of the cushioned, high-backed chairs next to Hermione.
"A N.E.W.Ts briefing?! How come I wasn't invited?!"
Silence.
"Never mind, don't answer that," Hermione grumbled, returning her attention to the messily-scrawled numbers on the parchment in front of her. She tapped her feathery quill against her chin in thought.
Hermione had conducted a last minute meeting to discuss the Debutante Ball. Professor McGonagall had nearly exploded when she found out that they hadn't even lifted a finger yet.
"The Ball is a very important event, Miss Granger!" she had lectured, shrill. They stood awkwardly in the middle of the corridor, students staring as they hurried past. No one liked to be in the presence of a hysterical Transfiguration professor; who knew what she might turn them into! "Although it may be almost a year away, it signifies the coming-out to society of the female population of Hogwarts! If this Ball does not carry out well, Miss Granger, the future of my students will be at stake!"
At that point, Hermione had been certain that McGonagall had gone off her rocker.
"Be of some help, Malfoy, and make sense of all this mumbo jumbo Professor McGonagall left me with," Hermione shoved the numeral-choked parchments in Draco's direction, annoyed. "I'm not even sure if this has anything to do with Hogwarts!"
Draco inspected the numbers and raised an eyebrow. "These are the security numbers to the most private deposits in Gringotts, Granger. How did this land up here?"
Hermione looked flustered. "I knew it! I knew they had nothing to do with Hogwarts! Silly Professor McGonagall, leaving me with such personal informatio- What are you doing, Malfoy?!"
"Oh, nothing, Granger. Just disposing of this nonsense," he shrugged carelessly as he held the tip of his wand to the thick stack of parchments. Before Hermione could even register that thought, he had set fire to the most precious set of numbers Hermione had ever set eyes on. "Incendio!"
Hermione gaped as she watched the parchments catch fire and burn, their corners shrivelling up into curls of burnt black ash. When Draco thought the parchment had been charred enough, he muttered a small, "Aguamenti," and watched in boredom as the little stream of water put out the growing orange flames. If he had been surprised by the heap of soggy ash that greeted him, he didn't show it as he lazily flicked his wand again. "Scourgify." With a little pop, the ash disappeared, startling Hermione who had been staring at it forlornly.
"Malfoy, you do realise that what you just disposed of could have been important Ministry documents?"
Draco rolled his eyes. "Believe me, Granger. Gringotts is bound to have more where that came from. They practically distribute this stuff, for Merlin's sake."
Hermione frowned as the clock struck eleven. They had been here for quite some time, and yet they still haven't made any amount of progress.
She sighed before straightening up in her seat.
"Alright, listen up, Malfoy. I'll take care of the decorations and entertainment. You can think up designs for flyers or posters or whatever."
Draco nodded his agreement. At least she's back to her normal attitude. Though normalcy is subject to change with the likes of Hermione Granger. Ha. I'm just glad she's not crying herself into pillars anymore. That bump on the head must've hurt quite a bit..
"Whatever, Granger."
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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I own whatever recognisables you somehow spotted. Now, vaporise.
Author's Note: Aww.. Poor Hermione!! She's being so mistreated. And they've hardly been going out for more than a day, either. At least she's not throwing in the towel so soon, right? My, that sounded wrong. Ey!! Moving on, I've updated this chapter sooner than expected! I actually finished writing on the night I posted chapter nine, but I had some editing and BETAing to do, so yeah. Onwards! My chapter lengths are improving with each chapter! Yesh! I feel the power. x)
Thanks very much to all of my brilliant, brilliant, BRILLIANT reviewers:) Abby, firebirdflame, -FALLEN FOR ANGEL-, LonelyBeat, tempest365, AmBEr and dracoisthesexiestmanalive!!
Abby: Wow, Abby. That review should win an Oscar. Bravo, Einstein.
firebirdflame: Haha, you're welcome! It was my pleasure, really, no worries. Still pondering that happy ending.. ;)
-FALLEN FOR ANGEL-: Thanks! And yeahhh, of course I will!
LonelyBeat: Will do.
tempest365: Aww, thanks. I'm feeling all fuzzy again. x) I'm updating as soon as I can!
AmBEr: Hello, Sook Yan! Thanks for reading and reviewing, yeah. Err, I don't think I could rewrite Harry Potter. I'd probably kill him off in the first paragraph. xD Hehe. Ohh.. Chosen Ones' agent, ey? Whooo.. what a lovely offer! I ACCEPT!! xD Haha. You've made me such a goof, great grandmother. I'm embarrassing myself online. :)
dracoisthesexiestmanalive: Ahaha, thanks! Am loving your support loads. :)
That's about it. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, I love all your reviews. Haha, I feel SPECIAL. x)
Ttfn, su yin. xx