Draco walked into his room, unbuttoning his black button up shirt. He'd left Hermione to get ready for the Ball while he had helped oversee the final preparations for the evening. Now, guests were due to start arriving in half an hour and he needed to get dressed. He looked up from the buttons at his wrists he had been unbuttoning….and stopped dead in his track.

Standing in front of him and looking at herself in the floor length mirror with a critical eye, was Hermione. Lolly stood beside her, looking up at Hermione with a definite look of pride in her large hazel eyes.

"Holy fuck, Granger…" he whispered out in a voice so faint it was barely audible. She heard him though and turned to look at him.

"It's too much isn't it?" she asked, and she twisted this way and that to see the full affect as her teeth dug nervously into plump lips that were painted a deep maroon, matching the dress that she wore perfectly. And that dress…Salazar help him.

The dress that draped her petite body was stunning, although the possessive Alpha in him that he tried to keep subdued did not like that it bared more skin to the eyes of other wizards than it covered. The bodice of the dress was a lacy number that gave the appearance of being nearly sheer, and went up to wrap around her neck, and he could see the exposed skin of her sides that were revealed by the way the fabric cinched in at the front. The back, though… her entire back from her shoulders down to the small of her back was bare and he knew that the only thing that kept her breasts from being exposed in the front or at the sides was magic, as there was no way the panel of lace at her front could have contained her breasts. The red material dropped in a straight line all the way to the ground, but both of her smooth, tanned legs were revealed by the slit that went up nearly all the way up her legs and stopped just short of revealing the part of her that was for his eyes and his eyes alone. A pair of gold sandals were on her dainty feet and gave her a solid four extra inches of height.

Lolly had plaited a section of hair at the crown of her head but had strategically left one long curl free to sweep across the left side of her face, while the rest of her curly hair was pulled completely up at the back of her head in a mass of barely contained spirals, emphasizing her bared back even more. It also revealed the emeralds that dangled from her ears. Due to the neckline of her dress, her pearl necklace was absent, but her opal bracelet was still latched securely around her right wrist and her engagement ring caught the light every time she moved her left hand.

He realized that he may have been silent for too long when she began shifting nervously from one foot to the other, and he immediately closed the distance between them.

"You look fucking amazing, Princess," he said before moving to pull her into his body: he frowned when, instead of being able to close his arms around his witch, he encountered a barrier between them.

"No crushing Missy Hermione, Master Draco!" Lolly said in a stern voice, and he looked down to see the elf glaring up at him. "Yous gonna crush the Missy, and Lolly worked too long getting Missy ready for yous to mess her up."


Hermione covered her red lips with her hand and tried to stifle a giggle at the little elf's rebuke.

"You heard her, Draco. No crushing me," she said, a teasing smirk lifting the corner of her mouth. "Now, you really need to get ready, or we're going to be late for our grand entrance."

Draco scoffed dismissively before turning and walking into his large closet that could have easily housed her entire childhood bedroom inside of it and more. Less than five minutes later, he emerged. Hermione had to stifle a gasp of her own at the sight of her devastatingly gorgeous fiancée and mate.

He had forgone his typical all-black attire for the evening and was wearing dress robes in a brilliant emerald color with black lapels. A black kerchief peeked out of his breast pocket, and his button up shirt was black. His tie and vest, though, were a black and green brocade. His platinum hair had been artfully tousled with several strands falling across his forehead. He looked every inch the epitome of old-world money and breeding.

He smirked at her open perusal of his body and indolently tucked his hands into his pocket while leaning against the doorframe, crossing his left leg over his right at the ankle.

"Like what you see, Granger?" he asked her in a voice that was lazy and sinful – and which flowed over her senses like silk.

She slowly dragged her teeth over her full bottom lip as her gaze examined him from head to toe, and she heard him groan. The knowledge that she could nearly bring this wizard to his knees with that small action alone made her feel beautiful…powerful.

"Come," he said, finally pushing away from the doorframe and striding over to her, holding out his arm for her to grasp.

Together they made their way to the large parlor located on the floor above the ballroom. He pushed the large door open, and they strode into the room, joining the other 30 couples that waited inside. The room was filled with colors…well, four colors, to be exact. Narcissa's invitations had plainly instructed that all guests were to wear black. The exception to that was, of course, the seventh-and eighth-year students that stood in the room with her and Draco. According to their plan, every witch and wizard would wear their house colors, per the first part of Hermione's plan for the evening. They would all descend the grand staircase into the ballroom together.

She heard a sharp inhale and looked up to see most of the wizards in the room looking at her as if they'd been hit upside their heads by a Beater's bat, and she fidgeted. She was certain she had never revealed this much skin to anyone apart from Draco. Her uniforms certainly did not do anything to bring attention to her...assets. The awkward silence was broken – yet again – by Blaise's now famous wolf-whistle.

"Damn, Granger! How the hell have you been hiding all of that under your red tie for all this time."

His words were ended with a grunt as Ginny slapped him upside the head and walked over to Hermione's side.

"What Blaise meant to say," she said, glaring back at her thoroughly unrepentant partner, "is that you look absolutely amazing, 'Mi."

"Thanks Gin, but I think you're the stunner here tonight," she said softly, looking her friend up and down. Ginny wore a crimson gown that fit snugly to every inch of her body. Her shoulders were bared by the strapless dress, and the sweetheart neckline plunged deeply down between her breasts, making them look perky and full. It fell in a tight fit that hugged her body a second skin before trailing out into a small train. Her lips were painted a vivid crimson and her hair had been left down to lay over one bared shoulder in smooth, silky waves. Hermione had the thought that she looked a bit like Jessica Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit, one of her father's favorite movies. The witch looked like a seductress, and Hermione could tell from the proud and lustful gleam in Blaise's eyes that he thought so, too.

Next came Harry, in a set of sharp black dress robes. He had on a burgundy vest and a burgundy and gold tie in a similar brocade pattern as the green tie around Draco's neck. For the first time in the eight years that she had known him, his hair actually looked somewhat tamed – or at least, he'd pushed it back from his hair with the help of some kind of hair potion that kept it looking purposely messy instead of its normal state of being actually messy. On his arm was Tracey, and Hermione smiled down at the witch. She was in a fitted green over nude gown that hugged her slender body, with her left arm bared while the right arm was covered from shoulder to wrist. It had a long green train that started at her narrow waist and fell to the floor around her.

Hermione looked around at all of the other dresses in shades of yellow, green, blue, and red, noticing with a bit of discomfort that her dress was by far the most revealing of anyone else in the room. Although, she thought as her eyes halted on the witch whose arm was tucked through Ron's, Pansy was definitely a close second. Her strapless dress bared her upper chest and arms to view and fitted in a mermaid style that covered her to her upper thigh, then ended in a wispy chiffon that bared her legs even as it fell to the floor around her in a playful swirl of fabric. Pansy's lips, colored a rich purple shade, quirked up at Hermione's glance and the witch waggled her eyebrows before sliding a hand up her own bare leg.

Trying to stifle her blush and Pansy's overt teasing, Hermione turned to look at the other occupants in the room.

"Are you all ready?" she asked. She knew that tonight was going to be a challenge for them all, but everyone had agreed that this was the perfect way to begin their plan for revenge. Everyone nodded, and Hermione turned back toward the door and slipped her arm through Draco's once more before the large group made their way to the ballroom.


Narcissa stood near the foot of the stairs with a flute of champagne in her hand, surveying the sea of black around her. Everyone had followed her directions to the letter, and there wasn't a speck of color to be seen among a single one of the 400 guests mingling and dancing around the largest ballroom in Malfoy Manor. Of course, she thought wryly, that was not surprising – when it came to throwing a function, Narcissa was the queen, and everyone obeyed the orders of the queen.

She took a sip of the dry champagne, savoring the faint taste of apple and melon that burst across her tongue. Her attention was drawn away from the sea of black-clothed guests in front of her by a discreet tap on her arm. She looked down to see Lolly looking up at her while discreetly concealed by the skirt of Narcissa's own black silk dress.

"They is coming, Mistress Malfoy," the house elf whispered conspiratorially before vanishing once more with a nearly silent POP.

A devious smirk spread across Narcissa's mouth at the news, and she pulled her wand from the concealed pocket of her dress. Tapping the wand against her glass, a tinkling noise sounded throughout the room, claiming the attention of every guest.

"Thank you all for your attention – and for joining me for this little party here at Malfoy Manor. I would like to draw your gaze to the grand staircase behind me, as our guests of honor have just arrived. She turned her body just enough that she could see the witches and wizards descending the stairs while still being able to observe the gob smacked guests in the room.

Draco descended the stairs regally with a maroon-clad Hermione on his arm. Narcissa took a moment to be pleased with how the dress looked on her future daughter-in-law – no one would doubt after this that Hermione was the perfect partner for her son.

Behind Draco and Hermione came Harry Potter and Tracey Davis, a half-blood Slytherin that looked stunning in green, along with Weasley and Pansy Parkinson, and Narcissa barely contained the glee at the sight of the curvaceous girl that wore a green gown nearly as risqué as Hermione's. Narcissa knew that Pansy's parents had been thoroughly displeased to hear that their daughter had "sullied herself with a poor blood-traitor." Narcissa's eyes found Posy and Aston Parkinson and saw that Posy's eyes were nearly bulging out of her skull at the sight of her daughter.

Next came Draco's best friends, Theo and Blaise, and their witches. Narcissa knew that the redhead on Blaise's arm was the youngest child and only daughter of the Weasleys and thought confidently that they would do well together. After all, Blaise needed someone strong and fiery to rein in his impulsiveness. The svelte blonde on Theo's arm took her a moment to place, although she finally pulled the name of Lovegood out of the recesses of her memory. The witch was dressed in a beautiful blue gown that fell around her body in layers of fabric, but she seemed to be more interested in something up toward the ceiling – Narcissa looked up but saw nothing amiss and turned her gaze back to the stairs with a shrug.

She watched couple after couple descend the staircases, bringing a wave of color with them. A few of the students she recognized from mingling with their families over the years – Gregory and Millicent made an attractive couple, and she spotted Sheridan Pucey as well although she did not recognize the witch in the fitted gold gown that held tightly to his arm as they descended – but most of them she did not know by name.

As the group of witches and wizards reached the foot of the stairs, they fanned out around the front of the room, bringing bright flashes of green, gold, red, and blue to the otherwise colorless space. Her eye caught Draco's and she inclined her head to him in confirmation.

Draco stepped forward with Hermione still on his arm and looked around at the guests in the room before he spoke.

"Friends and esteemed members of our Ministry of Magic, welcome to Malfoy Manor. On behalf of my mother, myself, and my fiancée, I would like to thank you all for coming tonight."

The gasp that spread through the room at Hermione's new status was so synchronized that it sounded like a breeze blowing through the room. Hermione picked up seamlessly where Draco had left off. This was the part of their plan for tonight that was a gamble. Some of the parents of the students affected knew of what had been done to their children by the Ministry, but they had all been unsure just how much their government had hidden their actions from the general public.

"As this year draws to an end, we want to take a moment to be thankful for those who we've lost this past year, as well as give thanks for those that are still here with us," she made a sweeping motion with her hand, pausing for a moment in which everyone bowed their heads in memory of those that had fallen in the past couple of years. "We also would like to extend our most humble thanks to our Ministry of Magic, who took the burden upon themselves to decide where our lives will next lead us. We certainly wouldn't be here without their assistance."

Muttered confusion swept through the room, and Narcissa once more had to fall back upon her Occlumency shields to precent her glee from being read upon her face as easily as one reads a book.

In a turn of events that was both rather unexpected and quite fortuitous, Aston Parkinson broke three different rules of Pureblood etiquette by interrupting Hermione.

"What in Salazar's name is going on here?"

While he may have been the one to voice the question, it was easily read on most of the faces in the room. Narcissa spied a few faces that were unsurprised by the appearance of the colorfully clad students – the parents who had been told ahead of time, no doubt – but the vast majority of the attendants seemed confused. The remaining eighty or so guests that did wear looks of confusion were the higher ranking officials within the Ministry, and she noted that their expressions bordered more closely on fear.

Good, she thought vindictively, let them realize just what is happened. Let them see their plots and schemes revealed for all to see.

And all would see it. Narcissa had guaranteed that by tomorrow morning, every wizarding family in the British Isles would know of the Ministry's over-reaching, if not blatantly illegal, actions towards these students and survivors of the war. The various reporters from the Daily Prophet, Witch Weekly, and a dozen other popular publications that had also been invited to the ball would ensure that it would be so.

"Oh," Hermione said, surprise and shock painting her features in a performance more outstanding than any stage actress could manage, "I can't believe you haven't heard. Well, I am happy to share with you all. Our Ministry of Magic did such a brave thing by ensuring that the war would not decimate our communities, and they certainly deserve all of the recognition and praise that is due to them for their noble actions."

Now Harry Potter, with Tracey on his arm, stepped forward to stand at Draco's right. The sight of her son and The Boy Who Lived standing side by side made as strong a statement as anyone could ask for – light and dark, Order member and pardoned ex-Death Eater, standing strong and united.

"The Ministry of Magic, in an effort bolster the wizarding population of our country, awakened a trait within all sixty-two of us that stand here before you. They were gracious enough to shoot down all requests for a Marriage Law, as that would have been a mistake for young adults our age, and especially in the aftermath of the war. Instead, they chose to utilize a method that would ensure that we found our perfect matches amongst ourselves. They utilized a dormant trait within us all that would help us."

A whisper of unease spread throughout the guests as they all waited with bated breath for Harry to continue.

"Most of you are likely familiar with this magic. Thanks to their proactiveness, you now see before you – in myself and Miss Davis, as well as Mr Malfoy and Miss Granger – the first two fully bonded Alpha and Omega couples in England in six-hundred years, with the others behind us set to follow in our footsteps."

Narcissa was certain that she could have heard a snowflake hit the floor in the crushing silence that followed Harry Potter's words. Her heart thumped in her chest once…twice…three times…

And then utter pandemonium erupted around them all.


okay, I was going to have the whole ball as one chapter but, once I sat down to write it, I realized that it would likely be monstrously long if I did that. So, sorry for the cliffy, but hopefully you all enjoyed this. We will get a little bit of clarity on Operation Revenge next time, although our girl still has some tricks up her sleeve that she's unwilling to reveal as of yet.

On a separate note...THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I was quite nervous about the last chapter, but you are all so amazing! Thank you to every single person that commented, as it made me feel less nervous about the chapter that I gave you all. And to all of the new readers who have joined, for the favorites and follows, I'd love to bake you all a cake or give you a big smooch on the cheeks!

You are amazing!

*Mwah!*

P.S. I have created a Pinterest board for this story as well, so that you can see the ball outfits as well as Hermione's courtship jewelry. You can find the link for my Pinterest account in my About section if you wanna check it out!