Author's note : Here's the next chapter. I know I said I'd update sooner, but I couldn't. Sorry.
Thank you all those who review the previous chapter and are following or have favourited this story. You mean the world to me.

Listen to : Decode by Paramore.

Disclaimer : J.K. Rowling, I am indebted to you for the magical world you've unearthed.
She didn't turn around this time, waiting for him to speak. He didn't. So she didn't say anything either, just stared at the beautiful scene in front of them. He walked forward till he stood right next to her. She avoided his gaze for a few minutes but finally gave in and looked straight into his eyes.

'Beautiful, isn't it?' he said. She found herself unable to speak so she just nodded.

'Did you have a good time at the Ball?' he asked, a hint of nervousness in his usually confident voice.

'Yea, I did but I don't remember any of it.' she lied.

'Nothing?' he prompted, his voice was definitely nervous now.

'Malfoy, if you remember, I was drunk last night, so drunk that I barely managed reach my own dormitory and flopped down on the bed and woke up this morning with no recollection of what had happened. So-'

'Are you always this snappish or is today a special occasion?' he said, the Malfoyness seeping back into his voice.

'I'm perfectly fine, save for when sneaky Slyhterins try and send me anonymous notes, asking me to meet them alone.'

'At least someone asked you. Other boys have the brains not to look twice in your direction. They can see how much of an eyesore you are in the first glance itself.'

'Oh, an eyesore. Is that why you were staring at me all through last night? Asking me to dance after everyone left?'

'You said you didn't remember anything!'

'I lied!'

'Why?'

'I don't know...'

'Whoa, that's brilliant. Granger doesn't know something? I ought to record that statement. Hermione Granger, the insufferable know-it-all, lies to me, about something that we both know happened and she doesn't even know why?That should make the headlines of tomorrow's Prophet Granger. Hermione Granger's next catch..'

'Stop it! That's not funny!' she cried out.

'Then remind me what is Granger? That Krum ditched you in the middle of the Ball? That Weasley wouldn't even look at you despite you looking bloody brilliant? Because that ought to get everyone cracked up.'

Furious tears were starting to leak out from her eyes now. What did he know, oh what did he know how it felt to be stood up by her date and being yelled at by her best friend? Why was he behaving like such a prick? What happened to the gentleman who had asked her to dance and made sure she had a good time in spite of Ron and Viktor?

'Well, what about you Malfoy? Didn't feel your date was upto the mark? Is that why you chose to send her back to the Slytherin dormitory? Sitting alone bored despite having so many companions from your useless house? Asking a common Muggle born girl to dance with you when you could've had every pure blooded girl, senior or junior, begging at your feet to dance with you? Wait till your father hears about this' she laughed derisively.

'What is your problem, Granger? One moment you're the most beautiful girl in the Great hall and the next you're like a freaking Blast ended skrewt, spitting fire, for heavens sake!'

'You're like a dementor aren't you Malfoy? Feeding on everyone else's misery.'

'I have to admit, you're a lot better when you're drunk!' he yelled in her face.' At least you don't make it your life's ambition to make sure that you puncture the ear drums of everyone else in vicinity with that shrill voice of yours!'

'Well, I have to say it to, you were a lot better last night, when you weren't trying to make me feel like I was something disgusting on the sole of your shoe!'

She burst into tears at that, unable to hold them back any longer. She had dealt with rejection too many times before to know exactly how much it hurt.

He bit back the witty retort at the tip of his tongue and instead stared at the mess of a girl in front of him, at a loss of what to say.

So instead, he just wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer towards him.

She recoiled at his touch but he didn't back off, stroking her hair and murmuring apologies to her till she calmed down enough to look into his eyes once more.

This time when his breath stopped, he couldn't make it start again. He felt himself drowning in those hazel eyes with no intention of surfacing back. The spell was broken when she spoke up.

'Thank you.'

Her voice was quiet but rung out clear in the silence of the night.

'What for?' he asked.

'For making sure I still had a good time last night, especially when it had almost been for calling me beautiful, something I never imagined anyone saying to me'

'No besides,I was just telling the truth' he smiled. Yes, he smiled. A very different one from his usual Slytherin smirks.

'I must go now.' she said regretfully before disentangling herself from him and nodding at him before climbing down the stairs.

He said nothing as he watched her go away, a small flame of hope ablaze in his heart that this may actually turn out to be what he had hoped for.

A/n : How was it? Let me know too, please review.
Hey, that rhymed! Sort of..
Aditi xoxoxo