Disclaimer; I am JK Rowling. I write fanfiction for shits and giggles. Just kidding...
A/N Okay, so I lied. This story will have another full chapter after this and an epilouge. I started writing and couldn't fit it all in this chapter. So the main graduation ball will be next chapter. I made new MEEZ on my myspace page with outfits based on the girls dresses in this chapter. I did the boys outfits as well. This is a summer ball after all so no formals, very casual. So please check out my myspace page. The link is myspace dot com/dracolhermione. Add me as a freind while you are there! Happy reading and don't forget to review!
The Ball part one
Dumbledore himself couldn't have been happier. The school seemed to have united almost overnight. He saw couples from different houses all over the grounds of Hogwarts as the dreary days of winter gave way to spring. And when the end of May and N.E.W.T.S drew nearer the school buzzed with a mixture of anxiousness and anticipation. Hermione and Draco of course got the most O's ever achieved. 11 each. It was nearly unheard of. As head boy and girl they were to plan the end of year festivities for the seventh year students. They decided to have a ball the night of graduation with a free weekend at Hogsmeade right before so that students could buy clothing and such. There would also be an awards ceremony with awards such as 'Best student', 'Class clown' and things like that.
So it was the weekend before the ball and all the seventh years, and the younger students who had been invited as dates were allowed to spend both Saturday and Sunday in Hogsmeade, although not overnight. Surprisingly enough all eight former rivals who were now close friends, walked down to the small village together. The summer breeze blew across their faces as they laughed and talked amongst themselves. They didn't use the school carriages preferring to enjoy the summer weather.
"Where should we go for dresses?" Ginny asked Pansy, who still annoyed her but she had grown to like her a lot.
"Gladrags wizard wear is always a good choice for dress robes." Pansy perked up.
"They are on the pricey side." Ginny said in a worried voice.
"Don't worry about it. Tell them to take it out of my Gringotts account." Harry said firmly.
"But…" she started to argue, but Harry insisted, so that was that.
"Shall we split up then?" Hermione asked the others.
"Meet up at the Three Broomsticks at lunch?" Draco asked her.
"If it's alright with everyone else."
The rest of the group nodded and they parted ways with a kiss and a quick goodbye. The boys were sent off to buy corsages and other things until the girls were done at Gladrags. The boys had another errand in mind as well since the girls didn't want the them to see their dresses until the ball. The four girls walked along High street until they reached the shop. To their surprise Luna Lovegood was in there trying on shimmery pink robes.
"Hi!" she said happily to Ginny.
"Who are you going to the ball with Luna?" Ginny asked her.
"Neville invited me. He's sweet."
"That's great. You should sit with us tomorrow."
"Thank you. I will ask Neville if it's alright. Have fun shopping." She said paying for her robes and waving as she left.
"Well girls, let's shop." Pansy said with a wide grin. Her father had relented in the unbreakable vow, which they found out later from Dumbledore was not enforceable since one of the parties had died. Even so, both Pansy and Draco were glad that she had Ron now. She was as happy as he had ever seen her.
All four girls walked to different racks and grabbed armfuls of dresses. The witch who was working at the time was overwhelmed.
"Must be a big event up at Hogwarts eh?" she asked. She had short blonde spiky hair.
"Graduation ball." Hermione told her as she skimmed through the dresses she had picked up. "Where are the fitting rooms?"
"Just tap your wand to the dress and then to yourself. The dress will appear on your body and fit itself to your frame." The blonde witch said.
They took turns so the others could help give opinions Lavender went first. She tried on aqua robes with a hint of silver thread interwoven. She turned in front of the mirror and made a face.
"Next." she said tapping the black dress robes. They were low cut, strapless with a long slit up the side. The black shimmied with every step Lavender took. It looked like it was painted on her.
"Well?" she asked the other three.
"You would win the award for 'most trampy'" Ginny said laughing.
"Yes, I don't think Dumbledore would approve." Hermione said sternly with a look that could rival McGonagalls.
"Fine." Lavender said trying on the pale yellow robes with the thin straps.
"Much better." Hermione said. The other two agreed. The light yellow was just the color for a summer ball. The material was several layers, the first two were gauzy and thin and the layer closest to her skin was satin.
"I'll take this one, and these shoes." Lavender said changing back into her clothes and handing the witch the dress and a pair of gold strappy sandals.
"I'm next!" Pansy said excitedly. She tossed an armful of robes onto the small stool and tapped her wand to a frilly pink one first.
"NO!" Ginny said making a gagging noise.
"What?" Pansy asked.
"No offense, but you look horrid in pink. I've thought so ever since the Yule ball during the Triwizard tournament. Sorry." Ginny said realizing she had been a bit harsh.
"Do I really?" she asked the others. They nodded sheepishly. "But I wear pink all the time…" she said a bit hurt. "It's my favorite color."
"Try on that green one." Lavender said helpfully. Pansy eyed it and tapped it with her wand. When it was on her the other girls agreed it was not for her.
"I guess not. Try that one!" Lavender said pointing at the aqua one she had tried on. Once they were on Pansy the others gasped. She looked stunning in aqua. It matched her eye color, brining out the colors of the ocean.
"Perfect!" Ginny squealed.
"Do you really think so? I've never worn this color before." she said looking herself up and down in the mirror.
"It looks like it was made for you." the blonde witch said.
"Well if you all think so…" she said changing back into her clothes. "I'll take this."
"Do you need shoes?"
"No, I have plenty of shoes that will look nice with that, but I think new jewelry is in order. Put it on the Parkinson's account please." Pansy looked over the jewelry and bought an entire set of aquamarine jewelry. Earrings, a tennis style bracelet, necklace with a pendant of a huge aquamarine and a ring. All set in silver.
"Must be nice." Ginny whispered to Lavender.
"You go next Ginny." Hermione said encouragingly. Ginny stood up and picked up a daring red number and looked at Hermione for approval. Her scowl told Ginny that it was also inappropriate. So she found a more conservative white dress. Her fair, but freckled skin glowed in the white fabric.
"You look beautiful!" Hermione exclaimed. "It's so perfect."
The other two girls agreed.
"This is it!" Ginny said. "Please put it on Harry Potter's account." she told the clerk.
"Harry Potter? You are dating Harry Potter, lucky girl…" she said sulkily.
Finally it was Hermione's turn. Shyly she stood up and walked to the pile of dresses she had picked. She held up conservative navy robes. They were high-necked and long, with see through sleeves.
"Ugh!" Pansy said out loud before covering her mouth in surprise.
"Boring!" Ginny said aloud.
"Gods that is hideous!" Lavender said making retching noises.
"What?" Hermione said trying it on. She thought it looked ok. A little boring, but she was head girl and had to set an example.
"Hermione, I will disown you as a friend if you wear that hideous rag." Ginny said putting her hands on her hips. It reminded Hermione of Mrs. Weasley.
"Fine, fine…you pick something then. I have no fashion sense." she replied.
Ginny thumbed through the garments until she pulled out an emerald green dress.
"Just because I'm dating a Slytherin doesn't mean I want to be one." Hermione said sarcastically.
"Fine, try this one then."
She handed Hermione a dress of pale sky blue. It was long, but light and airy. Hermione tried it on and instantly it felt like her favorite item of clothing in the world. It was comfortable and light, form fitting but not slutty. All in all, a perfect choice.
"It's perfect Gin, just the thing for a summer ball. I'll take it." she handed the girl the dress and picked out some silver sandals in the meantime as well.
The blonde girl behind the counter smiled.
"What was your name again?" she asked Hermione.
"Granger, Hermione Granger. Why?" she inquired.
"No reason, here you go." she replied handing Hermione a bag with her dress, shoes and another smaller bag.
"How much do I owe?"
"It's taken care of."
"What? By whom?"
"I was told that Miss Hermione Granger's purchases were to come out of the Malfoy's Gringotts account. I thought you knew I'm sorry." she said nervously.
"No, I didn't know." Hermione replied curtly.
"Don't get all mad Hermione." Pansy said. "Draco just does stuff like that. He doesn't mean anything by it. It's just in his nature."
"I can pay for things myself." Hermione replied. She didn't like feeling in debt to others.
"Oh stop being such a drama queen." Pansy snorted. "He's got the money to spare. Just let it go and have fun."
Hermione sighed then smiled. Pansy was right for once. Why ruin what could be the best night of their lives. They arrived at the Three Broomsticks early and sat down at a large table to wait for the boys.
A few streets over the four boys had rushed into Gladrags and bought their clothing quickly. The witch knew what colors the girls had bought, and matched the boys outfits as best she could. Three of the boys carried small white bags with aqua bows from another store in Hogsmeade, which they hid inside of their clothing bags. They finished their shopping and met up with the girls at the Three Broomsticks just after noon.
"'Bout time." Ginny said joking. "I thought we were going to take a long time."
"Well we had to wait for four sodding girls to get out of Gladrags. They were hogging the sales girl." Draco said amused. He leaned in and kissed Hermione's cheek.
"So let's see your purchases." Pansy said to the boys. But they laughed.
"We can't see yours till tomorrow, you can't see ours. It wouldn't be fair." Blaise laughed. Pansy scowled.
"Well shall we order?" Hermione asked the others.
The next day the whole school was excited about the ball. The girls started getting ready at noon, and the guys thought this was thoroughly amusing since the ball didn't begin until 7pm. Hermione volunteered her head's bathroom for the four girls to get ready in since it was connected to her room. Draco and Blaise were using the Slytherin prefect bathroom, and Harry and Ron just got ready in Gryffindors
All four girls took turns showering before the beauty ritual began. Creams and lotions, hairstyling products, both muggle and magical and every type of makeup you could think of lay on Hermione's dresser, bed and side table. Their dresses hung on the back of Hermione's bedroom door, and the shoes were laid out nearby. They started working on Pansy first. Ginny was in charge of hair, Lavender makeup, Pansy nails and Hermione, being the most clever brewed some special perfume. It changed to suit the individual's needs. Ginny used a drying charm on Pansy's short, dark hair then used rollers to set it. Her wand served as a dryer and soon the rollers were ready to come out. Pansy's hair was set in big loose curls that flipped up at the ends. She used a freezing spray to set it in place. Lavender started by applying a sheer foundation to even out her skin tone and then used a soft rose blush. To her eyes she applied deep aqua eyeliner and she smudged it so it created a soft line. Then she used a lighter colored aqua and silver eyeshadows that had a lot of shimmer to them. A liberal amount of black mascara finished her eyes. She finished the look with a rose colored lipstick. Hermione spritzed the perfume all over her. The scent was light and reminded Hermione of the ocean. Pansy stepped into her dress and put on her aquamarine jewelry. Hermione used another spritz of perfume and Pansy finished by tapping her wand to each one of her nails. They turned into a perfect French manicure; she did her toes as well before slipping into her sandals.
"Well I'm done, who's next?" she asked.
"I'll go next." Ginny said, and minutes later she had her hair done. It was curled softly around her face. Lavender applied an ivory foundation to her face and a peach toned blush. Her freckles showed through the light makeup. A pale cocoa eyeshadow and black mascara adorned her brown eyes and peach lipgloss finished her look. Hermione sprayed her with the perfume.
"It smells like roses." Ginny said. "My favorite."
She put her dress on and Pansy painted her nails a glowing peachy tone. Ginny put her shoes on and her opal jewelry that her mum had sent her.
Lavender went next. Ginny straightened her curly blonde hair into a sleeker style. Then Lavender did her own make up. She put some sparkly translucent powder on her face with pale pink blush. Some pale pink eyeshadow and black mascara finished her eyes and pink lipstick finished her lips. Hermione's perfume smelled ironically like lavender on her. She put on her dress and Pansy painted her nails pale pink as well. She slipped on her gold sandals and waited for Hermione.
"We have to make you shine tonight Hermione." Ginny said pulling a brush through Hermione's tangled hair. After trying several spells that didn't work Ginny finally pulled all of her hair into an elegant knot.
"There!" she proclaimed proudly. Hermione looked at her hair. It hadn't looked so nice and sleek for a long time.
"Thanks Gin!" she said giving her a big hug.
"My turn at the head girl!" Lavender squealed. She started by applying a soft layer of foundation followed by a rosy blush. She topped that with a translucent sparkly powder. On her eyes Lavender used a silvery eyeshadow with a hint of blue to it. Navy eyeliner and navy mascara completed her eyes.
"Classic." Pansy commented.
Lavender finished her with red lipstick and a sprinkle of body shimmer. Hermione sprayed herself with her own concoction. The smell of lilacs filled her nose. She slipped on her dress which felt like she was wearing nothing at all. Pansy did her nails in a French manicure as well including her toes. Hermione slipped on her shoes and notices that there was a small bag at the bottom of the dress bag.
"What's this?" she said pulling it out. "I didn't buy this."
She opened the small bag and found a set of matching sky blue topaz earrings, necklace, ring and tennis bracelet all set in platinum.
"She must have made a mistake." Hermione said.
"Or not." Pansy smirked.
"What?"
"Draco."
"Oh." she said smiling holding up the beautiful jewelry. Ginny helped her with the necklace.
The four girls looked at themselves in the mirror.
"One last spray and we are golden." Pansy said spraying all of them with Hermione's perfume and marveling at the way it changed scents.
"Let's go." Hermione said holding the door open for the others.