Everyone was crowding around in the Great Hall for the ball. Students were all dressed up in their alluring costumes smiling and having a good time. It seemed to be one of the brightest moments of our year so far; the look on everyone's faces seemed to tell you so.
As Ginny made the finishing touches on my costume, she stood back with satisfaction.
"Well, look at you!" She observed me carefully with an approving smile.
I felt my cheeks heat up. I smiled down at the ground and shuffled my feet nervously. I sat on the edge of my bed as Ginny got ready for the Ball too. It was different being in a dress; normally my usual attire would consist of some casual jeans and a t-shirt. But it felt good to be out of those clothes for a while. A sudden clap made me look up from where I was. Ginny beamed at me.
"Ready to go?" she asked. I nodded my head and we set forth for the Masquerade Ball.
When we arrived, Ginny turned to me and kept her head low.
"Okay," she whispered, "I'll go in first and then you go in a few minutes after. I want to see who will recognise you."
She stood up straight, brushed down her gown and waltzed into the hall with grace. I counted to 60 then took a deep breath, before making my way in after her. As soon as I made a step inside, all eyes laid on me. I heard loud gasps and many gazes were drawn to me. "She's gorgeous!" I would hear people say. I blushed fiercely before making my way to Ginny. When I was only a few steps behind the table, Harry stepped forth and pulled me into a corner.
"Looking very beautiful there Hermione."
I took off my mask. "Harry! How'd you know it was me?"
Harry grinned. "I would know my best friend anywhere, no matter what she's wearing."
I flashed a smile before putting my mask back on and heading back to the crowd, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.
Only a few hours had passed and I was already getting bored into my depths. I danced with a couple of students but none of them recognised me. I sat at the table quietly, tracing my finger around the tip of the glass cup. Over at the dance floor, Harry and Ginny were dancing the night away. "At least Gin's having fun," I thought. I searched for a hint of white-blond hair in the crowd but not a speck was seen. Obviously becoming very bored I examined everyone's costumes. Luna was dressed in a lovely yellow dress. She brought her childhood friend, Matthew, as her date to the ball. Matthew had a tough childhood being known as the 'peasant boy' his whole life. Luna helped him get over it by helping him get a job as a Necromancer.
There were many people dressed as Dumbledore and others just had on a mix of random coloured clothing. There was one person, however, who I didn't know. His mask covered his whole face and he was wearing a fine black suit. It was hard to see any other features from the angle that I was in.
Suddenly, the mysterious boy caught my eye and began making his way towards me. I twisted around, back to facing the table. The boy came closer and tapped me on the shoulders.
"Would you care to dance?" he asked politely.
I nodded and let him take me away. We were dancing for a while, but I was distracted. Where was Draco? I thought. I turned my head back and finally looked the boy straight in his eyes. I gasped and stumbled backwards. He caught me by the arm and helped me regain my balance. I was still stunned as I stared… into his steel grey eyes and white-blond hair.
As soon as Draco knew he'd been caught, he dragged me away to the lake and placed a muffliato charm around the area.
"Draco!" I became hesitant. "W-where have you been all week?"
He sighed. "I took some time off." I stared at him with my head cocked, waiting for him to elaborate. "Well you know those notes you've been getting? I've been getting them too. Expect, they would say things more like Why are you with the mudblood and all that."
I cringed at the word mudblood. Draco gazed at me and dropped his head down.
"Sorry, I didn't want to say that word ever. Blood status doesn't matter anymore."
I nodded and waited for him to go on.
"For the past week, I've been looking into this business. It's not something major but I saw the way it affected you and played with your brain. I was able to trace the notes and back to where it first came from… I know who's been sending us these notes."
"Well…" I said quietly. "Who was it?"
There was a slight pause before he finally told me who it was. "Pansy Parkinson."
I snorted. "Pansy? That loathsome little school drop-out? Oh then we've got nothing to worry about then, don't we?"
Draco shook his head. "You don't understand Hermione. While I was researching into this, I've also found out that Pansy's been accommodating with deatheaters that are still followers of Voldemort. She's become more dangerous after she dropped out of Hogwarts and apparently, she still has feelings for me."
A lump in my throat began to rise. "What about you? Do you still… have feelings for her?"
Draco looked taken aback. "No! Of course not! I was only dating her because my parents and her parents had this whole future planned out for us, which changed after the war."
I nodded and didn't say another word. Draco walked up to me and took hold of my hands.
"Hermione, all I'm saying is that we should be more discreet about this relationship that we have."
I smirked. "Oh so now you admit that it's a relationship?"
Draco looked defeated. "Yes, alright, I do."
I smiled at him and he took a step closer to me. Then, he took off his mask and placed his lips on mine. My body melted at the touch of his lips. I could feel him grinning as he stepped back and put his mask back on.
"Shall we get back to the ball?" he asked.
I nodded and we walked back, hand in hand, unaware of the uncomfortable gaze of Ron lurking behind them.
*I think I made Ron seem a bit creepy in the last sentence but oh well~
I'm splitting this night into two chapters; sorry if this disappoints anyone! This chapter was just a bit of explaining but I promise in the next chapter, there will be a whole lot more of Dramione + Ron. All known characters belong to the lovely JK Rowling :)