So here is chapter 4, it's not as long as the other chapters, but the next one will be longer, I promise.
Same layout as before, part 1 from Hermione's POV and part 2 from Draco's POV (Gosh, I'm getting bored of saying that, I'm thinking next chapter I just won't, and I'll let you try and figure it out yourselves)
Also, I would just like to say thank you to 'ushallneverknow' - Yes, I would love your help robbing a bank, we just need a couple more people to help us out, make up a bigger team.
Enjoy it folks ;D
Part 1
There were many things Hermione loved about magic, but the one thing she insisted on doing the muggle way every year was wrapping presents.
So there she was sat, on the floor of her bedroom with Pansy, wrapping up various presents she had bought for her friends. This was one of the only traditions that she had brought with her from the muggle world (and one she made her friends participate in).
They were casually talking about the New Year's ball and what Hermione and Draco would actually talk about that afternoon and what Hermione was going to do about her 'mystery man', when an owl swept into the room and dropped a letter into Hermione's lap before fluttering over to the bed and perching on the head board.
Hermione looked over at Pansy who just shrugged, so she turned to the letter and opened it to see what it was about. It read,
Hermione,
I can only assume from what you said in the Great Hall yesterday that you have, in fact, accepted my offer to accompany you to the New Year's Ball. If so, please send word with this owl to answer me; yes or no.
Also, I hope that yesterday didn't shock you too much, and I promise that if you and I were together, I would not let Ron Weasley within 20 meters of you.
I hope you have a pleasant afternoon.
Yours truly,
-X-
Hermione wasn't sure what to think, on one hand, what he had said was extremely sweet, on the other, it was very caveman like which she wouldn't put up with.
She gave the letter to Pansy to read, and then went over to her desk to write a reply to his letter
To whomever you are,
Yes, I would love to accompany you to the ball, as I have been assured by Pansy that you are an excellent dancer.
You will find attached a list of names, one of which I hope is you; please say in your next letter whether your name is in fact on said list.
Wishing I knew who you were,
Hermione
She put the note, as well as her list, into an envelope and gave it to the bird that immediately flew away with the letter to give to her mystery man. Little did she know that it merely did a loop of the school before it flew into the room next door to hers to a waiting Draco.
Hermione looked over at Pansy, who had read the letter and was putting it with the other one on Hermione's bed side table,
"Are you sure you can't just tell me who he is? From what he's said, I think I might actually really like him" but Pansy just shook her head, before cracking up laughing at the annoyed look on Hermione's face.
"Fine, fine. You can leave now the wrapping all done; I'll meet you in the great hall in half an hour for lunch." Said Hermione, who turned to her desk to finish what little homework she had left.
"Okay Hermione, I'll go. Try not to run into Weasley on your way to the great hall, alright?" And with that parting statement, Pansy left Hermione alone in her bedroom chuckling at what Pansy had said.
In all actuality, Hermione had been ready to have a civil conversation with Ron yesterday. However after what he had said to her in the great hall, she had decided she should leave it for a while so she didn't hurt him (Pansy's words, not hers).
Sighing, Hermione turned to her desk and set about doing the rest of her work before lunch.
Xx Harry Potter xX
"That's a great idea" said Draco, as Hermione finished explaining her idea for the New Year Ball.
It was simple; they were going to turn it into a masquerade ball, encouraging everyone to come fully dressed up. Luckily, Hermione had been given a beautiful purple eye mask for her birthday that year from her parents that she could wear that would match her dress. It was going to be great.
The only problem she now faced was telling her 'mystery guy' what she was wearing so that they could co-ordinate what they were wearing so they looked like a couple.
She figured she would just get Pansy to do it, get rid of some of her workload for once.
She looked up at Draco just as he turned away from her after she had realised he was staring at her, 'this is awkward' she thought, trying to think of something to say. Draco beat her to it,
"So, I think that for decorations we could go for something kind of gothic, but not too much cos' we don't want to ruin the atmosphere, you know what I mean?" All the while with Hermione nodding along, 'he has some of the best ideas' she thought before replying,
"Yeah, I like that idea; we can go for some purples and blues, with the stars in the sky above the entire great hall… Oh, and we could also get a door open at the side of the hall leading into the rose gardens, they are sooo romantic." At that, Hermione had the decency to turn a little pink and turn way from Draco, who chuckled a bit before responding,
"Sure, that sounds like a great idea, even the rose gardens bit" And when Hermione turned to look at him she saw one of his rare smiles and couldn't help but smile back before getting on with writing down all of their ideas.
"Hey Draco, this may sound a little strange, but, well, have you heard of any of the boys in our year sending me love notes?" Hermione asked, looking anywhere but at him.
"It's not strange, and no, I can't say that I have, but I'll keep you informed if I hear anything" And because Hermione didn't look up, she missed the smile that flitted across Draco's face before he spoke again,
"Come on, we should go show McGonagall what we've got so far" And he reached out his hand to help Hermione off the sofa before they headed off to the headmistresses office.
Xx Harry Potter xX
As Hermione lay in bed that night, a sudden thought came into her head 'I gave my mystery man the list of names that had Draco's name underlined' – she felt like a fool.
What if the guy saw this and decided to give up on her? What if her guy was Draco? What if the guy wasn't even on the list she had? For the love of Merlin she needed to stop thinking so damn hard.
With all these thoughts swirling around her head, she headed off into a restless sleep.
Part 2
Draco had decided that it was time to write another letter to Hermione,
Hermione,
I can only assume from what you said in the Great Hall yesterday that you have, in fact, accepted my offer to accompany you to the New Year's Ball. If so, please send word with this owl to answer me; yes or no.
Also, I hope that yesterday didn't shock you too much, and I promise that if you and I were together, I would not let Ron Weasley within 20 meters of you.
I hope you have a pleasant afternoon.
Yours truly,
-X-
When he had finished writing his letter and was satisfied it was good enough, he gave it to his owl and let it fly off to deliver the letter to Hermione's room.
He waited for a couple of minutes before the same owl flew back into his room with his reply. As soon as it dropped the letter onto Draco's lap he ripped open the envelope to see what she had written,
To whomever you are,
Yes, I would love to accompany you to the ball, as I have been assured by Pansy that you are an excellent dancer.
You will find attached a list of names, one of which I hope is you; please say in your next letter whether your name is in fact on said list.
Wishing I knew who you were,
Hermione
Wait, she had included that list that Harry had told him about on Sunday. Now he could see who she considered to be his competition. But when he saw her list, most of the names made him laugh,
1. Seamus Finnegan
2. Theodore Nott
3. Justin Finch-Fletchly
4. Zacharias Smith
5. Antony Goldstein
6. Draco Malfoy
The only person he considered worthy to be his adversary on that list was Seamus Finnegan. He knew it was weird to think that of a Gryffindor, but hey, he knew that Seamus was a good guy.
One thing that stood out to him on the list, however, was the fact that she had underlined his name, 'did that mean she had worked it out or did she just hope that it was him' either way, it didn't matter.
He glanced at the clock and realised that Pansy would be waiting for him to accompany her to lunch, 'Ah well, I'll find out soon enough' he thought 'just 12 days left'
And with that thought, he headed down to lunch
Xx Harry Potter xX
Draco had to admit that he hadn't listened to most of what Hermione had said, he had been too busy watching her lips as she spoke, but he had heard enough to get the gist of what her idea was.
He suddenly realised he had been staring at her face for far too long, and decided to say something to get rid of the awkwardness filling the air.
"So, I think that for decorations we could go for something kind of gothic, but not too much cos' we don't want to ruin the atmosphere, you know what I mean?" He turned to Hermione, and saw her nodding along to what he was saying,
"Yeah, I like that idea; we can go for some purples and blues, with the stars in the sky above the entire great hall… Oh, and we could also get a door open at the side of the hall leading into the rose gardens, they are sooo romantic." Draco actually liked that idea and he let a smile grace his face when he saw Hermione's face turn pink as she looked away. He chuckled before speaking again,
"Sure, that sounds like a great idea, even the rose gardens bit" And when Draco saw Hermione turn and smile at him before turning to write down their ideas, an even wider smile appeared on his face.
"Hey Draco, this may sound a little strange, but, well, have you heard of any of the boys in our year sending me love notes?" And because Hermione wasn't looking at him, he let himself put on a smug face, knowing that she hadn't yet figured him out.
"It's not strange, and no, I can't say that I have, but I'll keep you informed if I hear anything" 'Yeah' he thought to himself 'When I decide to reveal my true identity to you, you'll definitely know who's sending you the notes'
"Come on, we should go show McGonagall what we've got so far" And he threw caution to the wind and decided to reach out his hand and take hers to help her off the sofa before they headed off to the headmistresses office.
Xx Harry Potter xX
Draco was pleased that his plan was working. Sure, Hermione didn't know it was him sending her the notes, but, he was pretty sure she wanted it to be him sending them after seeing his name underlined on her list.
And as he sunk back into his mattress his last thought before he drifted off to sleep was this,
'I haven't bought Hermione a Christmas present!'
So, did you enjoy it? Did you hate it? Do you want to join my bank robbery crew? (I'm thinking of calling it 'Sweetheart's 11' what do you think? - Of course that will only work if we get 9 more people...) If so, just leave me a review.
Thanks for reading ;P