Chapter 6

It was the night of Narcissa Malfoy's annual fall party. Pansy and Hermione were in Pansy's room getting ready for the night. A few days prior, Pansy had taken Hermione out to Diagon Alley to shop for a dress and, since Hermione had never been to one of these parties before and didn't know what to wear, Pansy chose a dress for her. Hermione was happy to see that the dress Pansy picked for her was something she actually liked. It was truly the most beautiful, and most expensive, dress she'd ever worn.

The dress was a deep, crimson red. It had a corseted top and fanned out at the bottom which reached just right above her ankles. Accompanying her dress were black peep toe heels. Hermione aloud Pansy to apply make-up on her, but had specific instructions to not apply too much. Pansy agreed and gave her face a neutral look. She added red lipstick as a final touch. For Hermione's hair, Pansy straightened her entire head of hair (it was much easier to work with than frizzy hair) and pulled it all back to create a nice bun at the back of her head.

When Pansy was finished with Hermione she took a step back to admire her work. With an approving nod she moved Hermione to face the mirror. Now, Hermione was never the one to be conceited, but when she saw herself in the dress and all made up in front of Pansy's full body mirror, she couldn't help but gasp. The dress on her was simply perfect. Her hair was pulled back in a way that Hermione never thought was possible for her and the make-up was so light that she could barely tell that she wore any except for the red lipstick, but she didn't mind it. For once, Hermione felt beautiful.

"Oh goodness, Pansy, you're a miracle worker!" Hermione exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Pansy laughed.

"You've made me beautiful!"

"You're always beautiful. You don't even need this dress and make-up, but for tonight you'll have to wear it. Oh and I have something else for you."

Before Hermione could protest (Pansy had already done so much for her) she had retrieved an elegant pearl necklace and earrings from her vanity table and put them on Hermione.

"There, now you're all dolled up." Pansy smiled.

"Thank you, Pansy!" Hermione pulled her into a great hug. Pansy giggled.

"Now that I'm done with you, I have to go get ready myself."

"Oh, that's right. I'm sorry I took up most of your time."

"No worries. It doesn't take me long to get ready."

With that, Pansy walked into her bathroom and came out five minutes later all dressed. She wore a dark green halter dress. The bottom was long and ruffled. It was a slim dress and really showed off Pansy's figure well. The shoes that she had chosen were ivory colored pumps. Pansy quickly did her hair with her wand. In a matter of seconds her straight hair was curled. She quickly applied some make-up and put on her jewelry. Hermione watch in amazement at how fast Pansy did everything. It only took her thirty five minutes to do everything as opposed to Hermione's fifty five minutes.

"How do you get ready so fast?" Hermione asked as she walked over to stand next to Pansy in front of the mirror.

"I've been to plenty of these types of parties and I get use to it." Pansy replied with a shrug as she adjusted her earrings.

Just then there was a knock at the door. Pansy smiled at Hermione from the mirror before pulling her downstairs to open the door for their dates. She opened the door for the boys and let them in. She hugged Draco and gave Blaise a kiss as they walked into the house. Hermione was standing behind Pansy so Draco didn't see her at first. Hermione stepped aside and tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.

When Draco turned around he was stunned to see the most beautiful girl he'd ever laid his eyes on. If he thought that Hermione was attractive before, now he couldn't tear his eyes away from her. They were glued on her from head to toe. It took so much of him to not grab her right then and spin her around in his arms. She was perfect.

Pansy and Blaise stifled their laugh at the look on Draco's face. Hermione blushed when she realized that Draco was staring at her.

"Hi." Hermione said softly to him.

"Hello." Draco greeted. "You look gorgeous." He politely took her hand and bent down to kiss it. Hermione fought the smile that was growing, but she was defeated as her smile spread quickly across her face.

"You don't look too bad yourself." Hermione replied with a grin, in which Draco chuckled.

"May I?" Draco asked as he held out his arm for her. She kindly took it and they walked out of the house along with Pansy and Blaise.

When they arrived at Malfoy Manor they could already hear the loud music playing inside. Hermione stared at the Manor in awe. It definitely looked a lot different than what she remembered of it. They stepped inside and she gawked at how elegant the whole place was. It was absolutely royal and everyone there looked like they were the richest of the land. Hermione suddenly found herself feeling out of place, but continued on as Draco led her into the dining area.

Tables were draped with the most divine cloths and the plates and silverware on top looked too shiny to touch. Candles were lit on every table creating a warm environment. Some of the guests were already seated at their rightful tables. She looked around and found a table a few steps away from where they were standing with her name on a place card. They were about to walk over to that table when a voice stopped them.

"Draco, darling, I'm glad to see you made it on time this year." Narcissa Malfoy's voice was heard from behind them. The four of them turned around to greet Mrs. Malfoy. She gave Pansy and Blaise a hug first before turning to Draco and Hermione.

"Mother, this is Hermione Granger." Draco introduced them.

"Hello, Mrs. Malfoy." Hermione greeted. "You have a lovely home."

"Well, thank you, sweetheart. You look beautiful tonight. Draco's one lucky boy." Narcissa winked. Draco rolled his eyes, although he completely agreed with his mother. He was lucky to have Hermione be his for the night.

"Thank you, you're too kind." Hermione smiled, receiving one in return. Narcissa was nothing like Hermione had imagined. She was expecting to be shunned by her, but instead Narcissa was kind and bright.

"Now, you four take your seats. Dinner shall be starting soon." Narcissa said and patted Draco on the cheek before turning to greet other guests. Draco frowned and rubbed his face as the four of them proceeded to their table.

Four other bodies already occupied the table when the arrived. Hermione recognized the four as Daphne Greengrass, Theodore Nott, Gregory Goyle, and Millicent Bulstrode.

Draco pulled out the chair for her to sit down. She smiled and thanked him as he took a seat next to her. Pansy sat to her right and Blaise on the other side of her. Hermione suddenly realized that she was surrounded by a group of Slytherins and somehow she didn't even feel a hint of nervousness that she probably would've felt back in Hogwarts.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Hermione Granger…never thought I'd see you again." Daphne said.

"This certainly is quite a surprise." Theodore commented.

"What are you doing here?" Millicent asked with a bit of attitude in her tone.

"Be nice, Millicent." Pansy said. "Hermione's my friend."

"Malfoy asked me to be his date and I said yes." Hermione simply said.

"Since when were you three so friendly with Granger?" Daphne asked.

"Yeah, if someone told me that Draco was bringing Granger to this party as his date I would've nearly died of laughter." Goyle laughed, which was followed by snickers from Millicent and smirks from Theodore and Daphne.

"Get over it. She's our friend and I don't want any one of you to speak rudely to her or make her feel uncomfortable. Got it? Good." Draco said, clearly irritated.

"We didn't mean any harm, Draco. Don't get your knickers all up in a bunch." Daphne responded. Draco glared at her and was about to say something back when dinner suddenly appeared in front of them. Narcissa stood at the front table and gave a toast before everyone started eating.

Dinner was absolutely exquisite. Hermione couldn't believe how good everything tasted. She definitely never had such a meal before and didn't expect anything less coming from such an elite party, a Malfoy party. There was so much to eat that by the end of dinner Hermione felt like her stomach would burst if she ate anymore.

"How's dinner, Miss Granger?" Narcissa asked as she walked by the table.

"Oh, dinner was magnificent. Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy."

"That's good to hear, darling." Narcissa smiled and walked over to Daphne and Theodore.

"I think my mother likes you, Granger. She's never smiled so much at my other dates before." Draco leaned over and whispered to her.

"Really? You think so?" Hermione asked, honestly not believing him.

"It's true, but that's probably because Draco's past dates were stuck-up, ill-mannered and impolite." Pansy whispered.

"Since when were you in this conversation?" Draco asked.

"I'm always in the conversation." Pansy replied.

"Stop being so annoying"

"No."

"What are we whispering about?" Blaise asked. Draco rolled his eyes and mouthed 'nothing' before sitting up right. Hermione giggled just as Narcissa stepped back over to them.

"What's funny? I'd like to hear the joke." Narcissa smiled.

"Pansy's annoying." Draco mumbled.

"Now, Draco dear, that's not polite." She said to him with a stern look before walking over to one of the other guests that had been trying to get her attention. Pansy smirked and stuck out her tongue at him. Draco just laughed and shook his head at how immature his best friend was. And I'm supposedly the one that's impolite, he thought.

"Pansy, would you like to dance?" Blaise asked, sticking his hand out for her.

"I would love to." Pansy smiled and placed her hand on top of his. He slowly helped her up and escorted her to the dance floor where other couples had already started dancing. Hermione fidgeted her hands and became really awkward when everyone at their table left except for her and Draco. She snuck a peak at him and saw that he was watching her.

"Would you like to dance, Granger?" He asked softly.

"I thought you'd never asked." Hermione said jokingly with a smile.

He smiled back and lightly took her hand in his and led her to the dance floor. Hermione wrapped her hands around his neck while he held her at the waist. Draco pulled her a little closer and bent his head lower so it was almost next to Hermione's. He could smell the lavender shampoo in her hair. He was so glad he got the chance to hold her again and it was such an amazing feeling.

Hermione smiled as she felt Draco pull her closer. She placed her cheek on his chest and closed her eyes. Hermione hadn't been held like this and slow danced in so long that it felt foreign to her, but as time past and the music continued, she was reminded of how she loved it. Sure, it kind of felt like time Draco caught her before she fell in the coffee shop, but right then it seemed much deeper and more intimate.

After a couple of more songs, Hermione and Draco decided to take a break and sat back down at their table for some dessert. Hermione excused herself and left for the ladies' room. Draco stood up as she got up and sat back down when she was lost and hidden in the crowd. He took a sip of wine just as someone sat down next to him.

"So, Draco, how long have you and Granger been an item?" Daphne asked as she grabbed his wine glass from his hands and took a sip for herself.

"We are not an item, Daphne. We're friends. She's just my date for tonight."

"But you do fancy her, don't you?" Daphne said with raised eyes. "I mean, I've seen the way you were looking at her during dinner and when you two were dancing…"

"Maybe I do. Maybe I don't. Either way it doesn't concern you and it never will, so if you would please mind your own business…" Draco waved her off.

"Hm!" Daphne stuck her nose in the air before getting up and leaving.

Draco dropped his head in his hands. Was he that obvious? Did everyone see the truth even though he was trying his hardest to hide it and fight it at the same time? Did everyone see the truth except for Hermione? Things were becoming too much for Draco to handle. His changing emotions weren't helping either. He was tired of this. So tired…

"Draco? Are you alright?"

Draco was startled by Hermione's light touch to his hand. It was a strange thing. Her fingers were almost as cold as ice, but it brought warmth to him. It was a simple touch, really, but it took all of Draco's might to not hold her hand and gently place a kiss on it. But, wait, did he hear her right? She called him by his first name and he didn't even recognize it was from her. It sounded so foreign coming from her, but also so right. He gazed up at her and saw the genuine concern in her eyes.

"I'm fine." He responded. "Are you tired of this party, yet?"

Hermione laughed. "It's actually not half bad. Your house, or should I say manor, is magnificent."

"It's my mother's manor now. I don't live here anymore."

"Oh?"

"I have my own home, and believe it or not, it's not as big as this. Not even close. Actually, this manor use to be much, much bigger."

"I can't imagine it being any bigger. It's massive as is."

"Tell that to my mother." Draco laughed in agreement, "When my father died I lived with my mother for a while, but then I just didn't want to be here anymore. I had to leave and find my own place. Before I left though, I had the manor shrink down in size just because it would be ridiculous to have such a massive house, as you put it, for just one person."

"Doesn't your mother get lonely?"

"She has company over all the time. She throws parties and luncheons like it's her job. But she also likes to be alone sometimes. Plus she has the house-elves to care for her, so I don't worry too much. I visit once in a while."

"You really love your mother."

"Of course."

Hermione smiled at him, though he didn't see it since he was staring down at his hands. It was nice to know that he was caring, especially to his mother. He was definitely more mature than the old Draco Malfoy. Hermione was thankful for that. That sat in silence for a while until Narcissa came over to them, again, and told them that the last song would be up next and that they should join everyone on the dance floor for one last song.

Draco got up first and pulled out the chair as Hermione started to stand. He took her hand in his as they walked back onto the dance floor. She smiled at him as the last song began to play. He smiled back at her, a smile that Hermione had never seen before. It made him look different. It brightened his face and she reached up to touch his lips as if not believing her own eyes.

Draco's heart nearly stopped when he felt Hermione's fingers on his lips. He gazed at her and suddenly she looked up at him. A spark blew inside of him and he knew right then and there that he wanted Hermione to be his.

The song ended as guests clapped for the end of the night. Hermione and Draco found Pansy and Blaise near the front door talking with Narcissa. They reached their friends just as Narcissa was finished hugging Pansy. She turned to Hermione and bent down to give her a hug as well.

"Did you have a good time, dear?" Narcissa asked her.

"I had a wonderful time, thank you."

"I'm terribly sorry for not being able to speak with you more throughout the night."

"Oh, that's alright. I know you were busy with the other guests."

"You should visit with Draco sometimes. We'll have tea and talk some more. Bring Pansy and Blaise. It gets quite boring here and having the same company all the time is annoying." Narcissa whispered the last part to her. Hermione giggled at her comment before replying,

"I would love that! I mean, if Draco doesn't mind."

"No, I don't mind." Draco said, really meaning it.

"Well, then I'll be expecting you all soon!" Narcissa exclaimed.

She turned to Draco and gave him a kiss on the cheek, in which Draco rubbed his face after his mother turned away. The four of them bid Narcissa goodnight before leaving for Pansy and Hermione's home. Once back at the house Blaise walked Pansy inside while Hermione and Draco stayed outside. There was an awkward moment between them as they both looked anywhere but at each other. Finally Hermione spoke up.

"Thank you for taking me to your mother's party tonight." She said to him.

"I should be the one thanking you. If you decided not to go I would've been all alone and I just know my mother would've been nagging at me about not having a date. Really, you saved me from a night that could've been filled with embarrassment." Draco said and Hermione laughed.

"Well, it's late. You should probably get going."

"Yeah…"

"So, um…goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Draco suddenly bent down and Hermione thought that he was going to hug her, but then he did something that shocked her. Draco bent down and gently placed a kiss on her cheek. She felt his soft lips as he felt her soft skin. Time stood still yet again for them. And as Draco parted from her Hermione could feel her cheeks burn. He smiled at her once more, knowing that he had made her blush. He brought his hand up and slightly brushed his fingers along her rosy cheeks.

"Goodnight, Hermione." He said again, but this time adding her name to the end. And with one last glance, he disapparated into the darkness.

Hermione held her cheek, the same cheek that Draco had kissed and had touch with his cold hands. It stilled burned with warmth as she held it. She stared at the spot where he disapparated from and smiled.

"Goodnight, Draco."

A/N: I want to give a special shout out to my constant reviewers, jessirose85, Hermione'sBFF454, and black wolfgirl2722.
Thanks guys! You're awesome :]

-CHIBZ