Chapter Five: The Masquerade Ball

"Surprises are foolish things. The pleasure is not enhanced, and the inconvenience is often considerable."

--Jane Austen

"How about this one?" Hermione asked as she pointed to a dress hidden beneath the others, she struggled to pull it out. Hermione and Ginny had spent the past three hours rummaging through racks and racks of dresses trying to find the perfect one for the upcoming Masquerade ball.

"Wow, it's gorgeous," Ginny squealed. The dress was indeed beautiful; the elegant full length dress held a sense of aristocracy coupled with a seductive edge. It was made out of pure silk and the neck was low which ended with a silver broach in the middle. The matching mask was adorned with a shiny grey glaze amidst the sporadic silver speckles.

"You're right, but can you see me wearing this? I mean, I don't think I can pull it off," Hermione commented, nervously glancing at the dress.

"Shut up, of course you can, besides we do want Malfoy to stare now, don't we?" she teased.

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed. "I told you I don't want anything to do with that son of a bitch,"

"Except snog your brains out, right?" she giggled as Hermione blushed crimson red.

"I-It wasn't my fault," Hermione stammered, attempting to defend her actions; the attempt was utterly incompetent because the only person she was lying to was herself. Ginny didn't buy any of her excuses.

"Sure," Ginny said delving through the racks and picked out a red, provocative knee-length dress. Hermione looked at her horrified, there was no way Ginny was going to wear that. "I'm joking" she said and placed it back into the rack. The moment Hermione told her about Draco, Ginny was convinced that they had a "thing" for each other which was of course, absurd.

They left the store with their dresses and made their way to a nearby coffee shop, while chatting about school and the up coming dance.

"Heard Malfoy's bringing Pansy," Ginny asked as she sipped her hot chocolate.

"And I care because?" Hermione asked as she waited for her mocha latte to cool before she picked it up and took a small sip and let the bitter-sweet indulge her senses.

"Just thought I'd let you know," Ginny said.

"Stop it Ginny, I really don't want anything to do with Malfoy," Hermione said seriously. Ginny knew she'd crossed the line and the next ten minutes were spent silently enjoying the coffee while observing the busy street through the glass window. For Hermione, the anxiety was slowly escalating. She hadn't encountered Malfoy since their strife outside the library and noticed that in the past few days though Malfoy had many opportunities to approach her, he chose to avoid any kind of communication which increased her frustration.

"Are you ready?" Ginny called out. She tapped her foot impatiently while reminiscing on old memories, she couldn't believe Hermione was leaving this year and couldn't imagine Hogwarts without her.

"Oh God," Hermione said nervously as she stepped out. "I shouldn't have let you talk me into this,"

"Oh God is right!" Ginny squealed as she motioned her to twirl around. Hermione looked gorgeous and the dress accentuated her sensual curves more than ever. Hermione picked up her mask and looked at herself one more time before stepping out of her room into the Gryffindor common room where Ron and Harry were waiting for them. The dress was pure white and covered with a thin lining of silver lace. Hermione's hair was slightly curled and covered her delicate shoulders adding to her angelic appearance.

"You look beautiful," Ron complimented as he offered his hand.

"Thank you, you look beautiful too," Hermione grinned and gladly accepted his hand. The moment they walked out of the common room, they put their masks on and made their way to the ballroom.

The Great Hall was enlarged to fit the heavy decorations and the live band. It was exquisitely decorated with satin ribbons representing each house. The room was relatively dark complimenting the theme and an air of mystery surrounded the students. Hermione held on to Ron's hand as she made her way through the hall noticing this year's new additions. The ceiling was bewitched into a dark, moonlit sky which illuminated most of the ballroom. The Masquerade was a yearly tradition and was followed religiously. No one was allowed to reveal their identity until the strike of twelve when Dumbledore announced the Head Boy and Head Girl for the new school year. After they revealed their identity, everyone else took off their partners masks. Since her first year, Hermione spent most of her time with Ron and Harry so unveiling her mystery man was a parody. At the end of the night many people ended up with someone quite unexpected, this ball had a reputation of initiating many relationships.

"You really do look gorgeous today," she heard Ron whisper as he leaded her to the back while most of the student body was on the dance floor.

"Thanks," she replied, blushing.

"Do you want something to drink?" he asked. Hermione nodded and watched him walk towards the tables filled with different varieties of sweets and refreshments. In the meantime, she started walking around noticing Ginny and Harry looking completely flustered. Ginny and Harry started dating at the end of his fifth year and their relationship has grown ever since. Hermione envied them, Harry was the perfect gentlemen and Ginny was completely head over heels. She grinned, thinking about his confrontation with Ron, Harry was terrified. Ron on the other hand seriously considered killing Harry for the first five minutes but then realized that he was the best thing for Ginny.

Draco walked around the ball room like a zombie, oblivious to everything around him. The past few days had been living hell, his fathers visit didn't help either. His mind reverted back to last week:

"I am disappointed Draco," Lucius said dryly while taking a seat at his desk. Draco stood in front of him, head down and listening intently to his father's rather boring lecture which always stared the same way. "Why didn't you complete the task?"

"Father, I hardly see the mudblood and we're so different, it'll take time," Draco said trying to sound as obedient as possible. Lucius suddenly grabbed Draco by the collar and glared at his son.

"I need to answer to the Dark Lord. The mudblood is the only way to get to Potter," his father spat. Draco felt like he'd been slapped across the face, of course why hadn't he thought of this before? His father's life revolved around Voldemort. "You know what, forget it. I know you're not worth it." He released Draco and started to leave.

"What? Father, I can do it," Draco said quickly trying to stop his father.

"No, I have a better plan."

Draco snapped back to reality as he made his way to an empty table, he'd come with Pansy but decided against spending time with her. He felt broken, worthless and depressed. Part of him wanted to warn Granger that his father won't stop at anything to get to Potter but the other part told him to avoid her. For his whole life, Draco was disillusioned by his father's intentions, his father didn't love anyone. He and his mother were just pawns in his game to be the next in line after Voldemort. His insatiable hunger for power and greed ruled his life, family meant nothing to him.

Draco couldn't take this anymore, his life was a fucking mess and just as he was about to leave, from the corner of his eye a girl caught his eye. He cursed at himself for thinking about girls at the moment but before he could stop himself he turned towards her. She was beyond beautiful; her white dress worked wonders and complimented every single curve on her luscious body. She somehow looked familiar but the thought was soon replaced by a longing to touch her glowing, porcelain skin.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked as he offered his hand. God, she was gorgeous he thought as his mind was racing to identify her.

"Sure," she said quietly and took his hand. He led her to the middle of dance floor as his hands slithered around her waist and quietly smiled to himself as he felt her body quiver at his touch.

Hermione's mind was racing, Who was this? As they made their way onto the dance floor, it felt like she went through every single male she'd known ever since first year. In one swift movement, he wrapped his arms around her slender waist and started to dance to the beat of the music, it was a slow song and Hermione unknowingly wrapped her arms around his neck. She wasn't sure how long this went on but she didn't want it to stop. After half an hour of dancing, she gave up trying to unmask the mystery man and started to relax and enjoy herself.

"Let's get some fresh air," he said and taking her hand, he led to outside into the balcony. Hermione stepped outside and felt the cool air soothe her tense muscles and left her feeling refreshed. He didn't say much as she noticed him standing there with his hands in his pocket, he looked so familiar. She was quite uncomfortable, neither said a thing for the next five minutes and she took this time to examine his attire. He wore a suit just like anyone else but his tie was a dark, forest green that hung loosely from him strong neck. She noticed a long silver necklace glistening in the moonlight and leaned in struggling to see the pendant but at that moment he turned towards her and she immediately looked away.

"Oh, forgive me I haven't been thinking straight lately," he mumbled. Hermione immediately crossed off Malfoy from her list, there was no way he could be that egotistical asshole. Malfoy would've probably said something obscure like "Like what you see?" Hermione rolled her eyes as she displaced these unwanted thoughts from her mind.

"You look really beautiful tonight," he said as she turned and faced her. Somehow, the way he said it surpassed Ron's attempt and left her feeling elated.

"Thank you," she replied. He leaned over and gently placed his lips on hers and Hermione didn't think twice before wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning into him. He was so gentle and didn't rush; meanwhile his hands slowly ran up and down her back. Hermione push into him harder and lost herself to the heat of the moment. She let out a small moan as she felt his tongue on her neck, and struggled to find her balance. At that moment, Dumbledore's voice could be heard from the inside but it didn't seem to bother either of them.

"I hope this year will bring prosperity and happiness as always, I'd like to thank the prefects for arranging this memorable evening, we all know how hard you worked on this, I'm grateful for your help. Furthermore, I'm happy to announce this year's Head Boy and Head Girl," he paused for a second letting the tense atmosphere aggravate before he spoke in his signature clear, crisp voice. "Harry Potter and Pansy Parkinson,"

Hermione pulled away and gasped, unable to comprehend what she'd just heard. She turned to see the mystery man looking equally if not more agitated. Then, her heartbeat raced at what she heard next.

"Now, unmask your respective partner," he said. Hermione slowly raised her hands to his face before he grabbed her wrist stopping her midway.

"No," he simply said and swiftly turned around and walked back into the ballroom. Hermione tried to catch up with him but it was hard to rush in her dress and when she stepped back into the Great Hall, he was no where to be found. Draco, on the other hand had stayed in her vicinity and cursed at himself for leaving her but he didn't want rumors going around Hogwarts that Malfoy can be a gentlemen, he shuddered at the thought. He wasn't sure why he was nice to her but Oh Merlin, she was gorgeous. His expression suddenly changed as he noticed a familiar red head approach her and what he heard next made his mind spin out of control.

"Hermione!" Ron called. Hermione turned around and walked towards Ron, he quickly took off her mask. She kept looking around for the masked stranger but decided it was pointless, he was gone.

"G-Granger?" he whispered as he watched her talking to Ron. Oh, Shit he thought.

What do you guys think of this one??? Ha, You didn't expect it did you?? Muhahaha…yup, its Harry and Pansy, that should be interesting right?? Wait and find out!! Don't forget to review!

I did edit this a few times but tell me if i made any mistakes, thanks!

Thank You!! Oh, and I just wanted to say:

brooklynsam3: it was like you read my mind!

Ciao!