CHAPTER 33.
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Draco fiddled with his clip on tie for the 17th time.
He couldn't fathom how muggles wore such constricting articles of clothing. And what purpose did it serve either way?
He sighed and looked in the mirror.
His reflection made him smile. He may be a better Draco Malfoy, but vanity was seeping through Malfoy blood and right now as he looked at himself, he found himself satisfied and rather pleased with his look.
If his father saw him, he didn't know who would die first. He could be Avada-ed in an instant, the moment his father noticed the muggle clothes on him or another case could be that his father would probably go into cardiac arrest due to the shock.
He chuckled at his morbid thoughts. Luckily, tonight was a secret and no one except Hermione would be seeing him so thankfully no one would be dying tonight.
He was excited. He couldn't wait for Hermione to see him. He was wearing formal muggle clothing for the first time and he really wanted to witness her reaction. She simply loved formal muggle clothes on men. She found it very attractive.
Not that he was trying to attract her or anything. He just wanted to surprise her.
He found himself wondering how Hermione would look. He would be the first to see her. He had told her to dress exactly like she would the next day for the Yule ball. He was positive she would look absolutely radiant.
He looked at his watch, a gift from Hermione for his birthday. There were ten minutes left for 7pm. He decided to go into the Room of Requirement and make sure all preparations were in order. Not that it was necessary. The Room was ever equipped with everything that was required.
But he really wanted to be there to see her face when she entered and the best way to do that would be to be in there himself.
So he walked on the 3rd floor corridor thrice reciting the words 'I need a place to surprise Hermione' while he paced. Instantly, a long carved mahogany door appeared in front of him.
Smiling excitedly, he pushed the door and entered.
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Sure enough, 8 minutes later he heard the door to the Room open.
He dimmed the lights immediately.
He heard Hermione's heels click on the floor as she tentatively walked into the room.
"Draco?" She called out hesitantly. "Are you here?"
Just then a soft spotlight fell on her. She jerked up her head to find the source of the light and then looked around for signs of Draco.
Draco looked at her and his breath got caught in his throat.
He was so glad that he had seen her today. Because if he had seen her looking like she did now at the Ball tomorrow, he was sure he would throw caution to the winds and just dance with her all night holding her close to himself and never letting her go even once. Krum could go screw himself for all he cared.
But now that he had seen her and he did have her to himself for the rest of the evening, he had time to prepare himself for keeping a distance from her at the Ball. He would really need self control.
"Draco?" Hermione whispered. "You're freaking me out."
"You look stunning Hermione." Draco finally said out loud without faltering.
"Thanks." Hermione said out shyly. "But it's really strange talking to you and not being able to see you."
Draco swished his wand and instantly the spotlight diminished and the whole room illuminated with thousands of candles suspended midair and Christmas lights all over.
As soon as she could see, Hermione's eyes widened out of her sockets and Draco smiled at her reaction.
The room had taken the form of the Great hall. The ceiling was as enchanted as ever and right now multiple stars were twinkling high in the dusky sky.
The hall had been transformed into a ballroom floor and was set up exactly how it was going to be for the Yule ball. Well, minus all the professors and the students of course.
"Draco!" Hermione breathed, still looking around in awe.
Draco finally came out and stood in front of her. Hermione tore her eyes away from the hall and looked at him.
She looked at him even more surprised than she was when she saw the hall.
"Draco! You're wearing a suit!" She almost yelled excitedly. "Oh my God Draco! You look positively handsome tonight!" She said as she hugged him enthusiastically. "Thank you so much. This is really a surprise. It's all beautiful."
Draco beamed at Hermione. So far so good.
He was so nervous about his surprise that he had been worrying about it since last night. But seeing Hermione's reaction had been worth it.
"You really like it?" Draco asked. "I just thought that since we couldn't go together at the Hogwarts Yule Ball, I could at least take you to the Malfoy Yule Ball where you and I are the only guests. That way we can have our own Ball and tomorrow you can be Krum's."
Hermione wrinkled her nose as she extricated herself from his hug but still kept her arms around his waist.
"I'm not 'Krum's anything' as you say Draco. I'm only going with him because you talked me into it and now I've to do the opening dance with him. Do you know how rubbish I am at dancing? Professor McGonagall almost fainted trying to teach me the moves. I've always been such a fast learner." Hermione moaned.
"Relax Hermione. It's just a dance. I'm sure you'll do fine." Draco reassured her.
"Yeah." Hermione scoffed. "Easy for you to say. You've taken dancing lessons along with the umpteen other lessons you've had to take."
Draco couldn't really say anything to refute that. It was true after all.
So he just dimmed the lights with the help of some non verbal magic he had learned especially for this moment and he held his hand out in front of Hermione.
Hermione looked at him questioningly with one eyebrow raised.
His heart almost stopped beating when she did that. Damn! Why did she have to go about doing such things that caused his brain to malfunction? And why the hell did she have such an effect on him?
Nevertheless, she hesitantly took his hand. "Just follow my lead." He whispered into her ear.
He took his her hand and flipped it and held it firmly into his. He could feel the smooth skin entwined in his rougher hand and he had to fight every urge to rub his thumb lovingly over her hand.
Why did holding her hand feel so right? Like it should always be this way. Sure they had held hands before but today he just didn't want to let go.
"Okay. Now look me in the eyes all the time." Draco instructed.
"Then how will I follow your lead Draco?" She asked nervously.
Draco laughed kindly. "Granger, you don't need to look look at me to follow me. Just follow your instincts."
"I have no instincts when it comes to coordinated moves Draco, why do you think I don't fly or dance?" Hermione asked exasperatedly.
Draco continued to look at her. He lowered his arm that was on her waist to the small of her back and pulled her closer. He raised the hand which held her hand and gazed deep into her confused eyes.
He could almost feel her heart beating crazily. But then again it could've been his heart too.
"Draco..." Hermione whispered roughly.
"Sshh Granger." He said huskily without even trying. "Just keep looking at me." He said as he made the first move and guided her effortlessly.
As soon as they started dancing, the music came on and Draco lead Hermione through a series of basic steps that she found were quite easy to follow.
After a few minutes, she had warmed up and loosened her posture. She even giggled when Draco turned and dipped her low.
Draco's face broke into a proud grin when he saw her enjoying herself. She had stopped fussing about how bad she was at dancing and she seemed to have forgotten about her supposed left feet.
The music got faster and they made some mad looking moves which resulted in both of them laughing in between the steps.
The song got over and Hermione held on to Draco for support. She was still panting from her latest dance. She looked up to find Draco's hair all over his forehead which was shining with beads of sweat.
She didn't know what took over her but at that moment she was so taken by the look of contentment on his face that she reached out and ran her fingers through his soft hair and cleared his forehead of it.
Draco's body went through a thousand tingles with her simple touch. He leaned into her hand for prolonged contact but she had already retracted it.
He felt a sense a loss but not for long. She hugged him and stayed that way for some time. Normally he would have hugged her back but he was so confused with all these new feelings that she was invoking in him that he wasn't sure what to do.
Hermione hadn't seemed to sense his hesitation. She continued leaning into him. "Draco this was just wonderful. I love your surprise. You practically hijacked the Yule ball for me." She said laughing.
Draco relaxed as she spoke. He smirked. "Well since I couldn't take you to the Ball, I got the Ball to you."
"How kind of you." Hermione said joking. "But seriously, this is one of the nicest things anyone has done for me."
Draco's heart warmed at her words. "Well" he said pompously. "You may have to retract your statement soon because what's coming up next may beat what I just did."
Hermione's eyes widened. "What else have you planned Draco?" She asked warily.
Draco rolled his eyes at her worry. "Just trust me Hermione. And close your eyes." He said confidently.
She looked at him sceptically. "I don't know what you could do to trump this? What can get better than having a personal Yule ball?"
"So many questions Granger." Draco sighed. "If you just follow my instructions you'll know yourself soon."
"Fine." She huffed as she closed her eyes.
"You'll love it. I promise you." Draco whispered against her ear as he took her by the hand and led her.
He made her sit on something that felt like a bench. "Keep your eyes closed. I'll tell you when to open them." Draco murmured.
"Okay." Hermione whispered back excitedly. Even though she hated the anticipation that surprises caused, she couldn't wait to see what else Draco had in store.
Draco took a deep breath and thought with concentration, keeping his eyes shut too, willing for the change in the Room to take place.
He finished thinking and his facial muscles relaxed slightly. He slowly opened his eyes and a huge smile broke into his face.
"Granger?" He said "open them."
Hermione gingerly opened her eyes. No doubt thinking of all possible things with alarming speed.
She gasped and her eyes got as big as galleons.
What she saw wasn't anywhere in the list of all the things she was thinking Draco was going to surprise her with.
It was incredible!
"Draco Malfoy! Oh my God I cannot believe you! You remembered? I love you!" Hermione screeched in excitement and jumped the poor unsuspecting Draco and smothered him in a tight hug.
Draco had expected her to get jumpy. But not on him! He struggled under the sheer force of her hug but he couldn't help grinning widely.
She had loved it!
But what lit his body on fire even more than her impromptu hug were her words. 'I love you'.
Even though he suspected that she may have said it in the most platonic way possible, it was still the first time she had said it to him. And his heart was fluttering insanely as he repeated those words in his head.
"This is just perfect!" She said.
The Room of requirement had changed from being the Great Hall and currently had assumed the look of Paris, a little area by the Seine which was famous for its outdoor cafe and the most amazing view of the city's skyline.
Every year Hermione and her parents visited Paris for Christmas but this year because of the tournament Hermione had to not only miss her trip but she couldn't even meet her parents.
She had been upset about this ever since she had heard about the Yule Ball. She hadn't shown it much but Draco had noticed how homesick she had gotten when the Christmas holidays had rolled around the corner.
With no schoolwork also to keep her occupied she would drift into bouts of nostalgia about Christmas with her family.
"I'm glad you like it." Draco smiled.
"Like it? Are you insane? I bloody love it!" Hermione said.
Draco glanced at his watch. It was almost midnight. Barely 10 seconds to go. He counted backwards from ten in his mind and then kissed Hermione sweetly on the cheek.
"Happy Christmas Hermione. I promise to do everything I can to always keep you smiling. If you can't get something or be somewhere I'll do my best to get that thing or place or to you." Draco said intensely looking her in the eyes.
Hermione's eyes softened with a look he couldn't figure out. She broke into a dazzling smile and kissed him back. "Happy Christmas Draco. I'll never leave your side. You are the sweetest person I know. Imagine if the school knew what a big softie you actually are!"
"Oh please." He scoffed. "Who are you calling sweet? Or a softie? I'm not Potter."
Hermione laughed. "Try as much as you want Malfoy. Your secret's out." She teased.
Draco rolled his eyes as she continued laughing and linked her arm through his. "But I love you nonetheless." She said as she placed her head on his shoulder and gazed at the stars.
Draco felt his insides plummet to his centre of gravity yet he felt as if he were floating. He stopped all his analysing and thinking that he had been doing lately. He gave in to the moment and for the first time he admitted it to himself and Hermione, "I love you Granger."
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"Draco? Draco? Hello!" Hermione chanted his name and snapped her fingers.
Draco was jolted out of his memories by a pinch. "Ouch! Merlin, woman! Be careful! You know I bruise easily."
"Where the hell did you disappear to? It took me forever to get your attention." Hermione complained.
Draco chuckled. "I was thinking about our first Ball together."
Hermione's face registered understanding as she smiled. "Ohh. The Room of requirement. That was one of the best surprises you've ever given me. Of course nothing beats Paris. That blew my mind away."
Draco smiled. "I was just remembering that night."
Hermione laughed. "The night where I discovered what a big lovable teddy bear you actually are."
"I am not!" Draco said indignantly.
"Please." Hermione scoffed. "You so are."
"I am no such thing." Draco pouted. "I'm a mean Quidditch player."
Hermione broke into a gaggle of laughter at that. "Oh by the way, I've been meaning to ask you in a long time but I keep forgetting. Why is your owl named Paris?"
"It's named after the city of course." Draco answered. "And since that was one of your and my best nights together it was only fitting I name her Paris."
Hermione beamed at his reply. "I figured it was that. Just didn't want to get ahead of myself and be pretentious."
Draco laughed. "Of course you can be pretentious when it comes to me. You know how important you are to me."
Hermione smiled. "I know. And you are to me too." She added.
"I know." He smirked.
They sat there silently for a few minutes just like they had the other night. She linked her arm through his and placed her head on his shoulder.
"I love you, you big teddy bear." She whispered.
He winced and made a face of fake irritation. "I love you too Granger."
Just like that night in Paris, Draco thought.
He was sure her declaration of love was as platonic as it had been that night many years ago. And his declaration was far from that. Then and now.
He knew all those years ago that when he had said those words to her she had assumed that he was being affectionate in their usual platonic manner.
But Draco had finally ended his blind sightedness and admitted it to himself and her that night. Even though Hermione hadn't detected the difference.
But when he said it to her now, she shifted slightly and looked up into his eyes and smiled. Draco couldn't make out what was going through her head but it was different from the night in Paris. There was a story that her eyes were begging to tell and although the setting seemed as platonic as it had then, something was different.
She kissed his cheek and got up. "It's getting late. I should probably sleep."
"Hmm. Oh uhh yeah." He said articulately as he got up. "Night Granger."
"Goodnight Malfoy." Hermione said.
Just as he reached his wand to disapparate, Hermione said. "Draco? You kept your promise."
Draco looked at her quizzically. "Which one?"
"Whenever I couldn't reach something or someone you said you would make sure you'd bring that to me." Hermione said quietly.
Draco continued to look confused.
She came closer to him. So close that only his hand with the wand stood between them right now.
"And you brought yourself right to the doorstep of my hospital." She said softly as she tiptoed and kissed his forehead lightly.
She turned and without looking back or saying anything she went into her room and closed the door.
Draco stood alone in her living room, his mouth slightly parted in surprise at her words.
He didn't know what to make out of her statement but he couldn't stop grinning like an idiot till he went to bed that night.
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Well there you go!
Draco's realisation of his love for Hermione!
I hope you all liked the chapter!
I'm sorry for the delay, I'll try to update more often from now on.
Now press that review button and tell me what you think! :D
Thanks for reading!
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