Author's Note: Nope, still not mine… all the credit goes to Jane Austen and JK Rowling. Draco finally makes his appearance but beware, he will be extremely OOC.

Chapter Two

'The Upper Rooms' were even lovelier than Hermione imagined. There were candles everywhere; even the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling were lit by candles. The floors were a beautiful marble, which reflected candle light; it reminded Hermione of the night sky and all the twinkling stars. The main hall was packed tight with women in beautiful gowns and some of the men were even wearing waistcoats. The crowded room overwhelmed Hermione a bit, causing her to cling tightly to Mrs. Dumbledore. Mr. Dumbledore had disappeared as soon as they entered the building; he had gone off to play cards with some of the other men.

"Come, Hermione, let's find a spot to sit… if we can."

As they were making their way through the crowd, a young man was quickly walking the opposite way; and as he passed them, he bumped in to Mrs. Dumbledore.

"Watch your step, young man!"

"My apologies, ma'am."

Hermione's head popped up at the sound of the deep voice, and her breath hitched at the handsome man who they had bumped in to. He had sandy blonde hair of medium length that hung loose, and the most amazing grey eyes she had ever seen.

"Hermione, come over here and make sure there was no damage done to my gown. I love these silks, but they are so delicate and easy to rip. Ah well, no harm done. So Mr…?"

"Oh excuse me ma'am. Mr. Draco Malfoy…pleasure to meet you Mrs…?"

"I am Mrs. Minerva Dumbledore and this is my charge, young Ms. Hermione Granger. She's staying with my husband and me at the Leaky Cauldron here in Diagon Alley. What do you think of her dress?"

"It is quite a lovely dress, but I daresay it will be very difficult to clean and will quite possibly fray."

Hermione had to cover her gasp; how dare this devilish man say such a thing. But before she could speak her mind, Mrs. Dumbledore spoke again.

"How is it that you know such things Mr. Malfoy?"

"I actually help my sister shop for many of her gowns. I've built up quite knowledge for the different types of fabrics."

"That is impressive indeed! You're sister is a very lucky young lady to have a brother such as you."

"I do what I can. Now, if I may please accompany Ms. Granger to the dance floor; if she has not been promised to another young man?" (A/N: Or as my best friend wanted me to have him say, "make out with ms granger…I would appreciate it!")

For the first time since he bumped in to Mrs. Dumbledore, Draco heard the young woman speak. "I would be honored, sir."

And with that, they stepped out on to the dance floor hand in hand. A dance was currently in progress, so Draco and Hermione stood off to the side until the next dance began. Hermione stared in awe at the beautiful patterns weaved by the dancers that were currently out on the floor. She had never seen anything so beautiful, and she told Draco so.

"It is quite lovely, isn't it?"

Before anything else could be said, the current dance came to an end; some of the dancers on the floor stepped off, allowing new partners to join in. Hermione glanced nervously at her dance partner, who gently squeezed her hand before joining the line-up of men on the one side of the floor. The music started up and the dance began. Hermione's nervousness slowly faded away as she became accustomed to the complicated dance steps. The two lines joined together in the middle of the floor, and the dancers paired off.

"Forgive my manners Miss Granger, for I have fallen behind on my duties as your partner." At Hermione's odd look, he continued "It is only polite, as your dance partner, to ask how long you have been in Diagon Alley; whether you were ever here before; whether you have seen the sights; and how you like the place altogether? So, if you will forgive my negligence we can begin the questioning now."

"Of course I forgive you, but you don't have to trouble yourself with asking me all those questions."

"It's no trouble at all, I promise you. Let's begin. So how long have you been in Diagon Alley?"

"I've only been here a week."

"Really, only a week; you seem to fit in quite well here," Draco said with a wink. "So, have you ever been here before?"

"No, I can assure you I have not," Hermione said while trying to hide her smile behind her hands.

"Amazing! Have you taken time to see the sights?"

"No sir, Mr. and Mrs. Dumbledore are lovely people but they haven't been able to take me around town yet."

"And have you no one else to take you around to see the sights?" Hermione could detect a hint of jealousy in Draco's voice.

"No sir, honestly you have been the first gentleman that I've had the pleasure to make acquaintances with."

"Well I'm certainly not the only one who has taken notice of you; for instance, there's a gentleman over there that keeps looking your way."

Hermione turned to look, and indeed she saw a man with jet black hair and coal brown eyes and she could feel the intensity of his stare. With all honesty, it frightened her a bit. She turned her attention back to Draco, "but yet here I am still dancing with you. I think you have gotten off track Mr. Malfoy, for there is a question that you have not asked me yet."

"Indeed I have Ms. Granger. How have you enjoyed Diagon Alley so far?"

"It truly is a lovely place and I have met the most wonderful people during my time here so far."

"Ah, but I will make such a poor entry for your journal tonight. I can only imagine tonight's entry, 'I attended a dinner and dance. Danced with one man, and was watched by one far more handsome than he.'"

"I can assure you good sir that I will state no such thing. And how do you know whether I keep a journal or not?"

"How else are young women supposed to remember such lovely nights as this?"

That night before she lay down to bed, Hermione did write in her journal. She wrote about what a wonderful evening she had, what a true gentleman Mr. Malfoy was, and how frightened she felt from that strange man's stare. Her last thoughts before she drifted to sleep were of Draco, and how she hoped to see his smiling face again soon.

Author's Note: So there you have it, Draco's appearance. Please remember to read and review.