Disclaimer: I will always own nothing but my plot.
Ch. 19
Dean had meant it when he said he would catch up with me later. While I was walking to dinner, without Harry, Ron, who was definitely mad at me, or Ginny, he caught up with me in the hallway. I turned around as he lightly tugged on my elbow for my attention. He was a lot taller than me, just like Ron, so I had to look up at him a little to see him speak.
"Hey", he smiled.
Still unsure of what he wanted, I smiled graciously back.
"Hi Dean, you had to tell me something?" I wondered. He smiled shyly, but his confident build made him seem less shy.
"Um, more like ask you something", he paused for a few moments and looked at me with appraising eyes. "You wouldn't happen to have a date to the ball already….would you?"
He was asking me to the dance? I thought he had been planning to ask me for help on the Binns essay, or maybe some potions homework. Who knew?
"I don't actually, I was actually planning on just helping decorate it." I smiled.
He beamed. "Well good, because I was really hoping that you could go with me. That is, if you'd like to, of course." I beamed back.
"I'd love to."
He leaned over and hugged me, looking especially happy. "Great! So I'll see you later?"
"Definitely", I replied.
He bid goodbye to me and ran up to catch up with his friends, where Seamus patted him on the back. I smiled. Who would've thought that I would be going to the ball with Dean Thomas? He was one of the most popular guys in our year, he was nice, and a killer with girls, not to mention extremely attractive. He had dark curly hair, light brown eyes, and dark, beautiful copper brown skin. He was also a chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, which made is body unbelievable. Strong arms and chest, not to mention abs. He was a really nice and perfectly adorable boy. I was lucky to be going with him, not to mention have a date for the ball at all. I turned around to head towards to the Great Hall again, but at the end of the hallway I saw three people, one with an especially hurt and angry look on his face.
Ron, Harry, and Ginny had seen my talk with Dean, and it was obvious by Ron's face that they had definitely heard our conversation. I wanted to explain, at least try to make things better for Ron, but he just stormed into the Great Hall, Harry and Ginny following him after giving me apologizing looks. Ron had a temper, and the best they could do to make it up to me was make me see that they weren't upset with me. I couldn't help but see that Harry looked a bit disappointed, but whether it was at me or Ron, I couldn't tell. What was I supposed to do though? If someone perfectly eligible wanted me to be their date for the ball, why refuse them? It was my choice to go with Dean, and if Ron had a problem with it, well then that was just too bad! He wasn't my boyfriend!
He could've been. But he wasn't.
Things would've been easier that way, but they weren't.
I was tired of this game of tug of war.
VVVVV
It was Wednesday, and Draco and I had been excused from our afternoon classes to discuss the winter ball with Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. When I arrived at Dumbledore's office, I saw that Draco had beat me there, and was sitting in an armchair besides the empty one that was presumably for me, with one leg cross over his knee, looking quite aristocratic. I couldn't help hide the fact that his ridiculous poise and overall general attractiveness was making me look bad. Plus he had arrived earlier than me, and even though I wasn't late, when it came to meetings, I was a stickler for being on time. At the sound of my entrance, I saw Draco's light blond head turn slightly, appraising me.
"Ah, Miss Granger! We have been waiting your arrival! I trust that Mr. Malfoy has been lonely, as Professor McGonagall and I have been discussing quietly amongst ourselves in wait of your attendance."
"Good afternoon to both of you, and I am truly sorry for making you wait, I had to convince Professor Wresters to let me leave his class." I said, ignoring Draco completely. He seemed to look more arrogant than ever today. Whatever.
Dumbledore waved his hand to me. "No need, no need! You are just in time!"
I nodded and sat down, catching a whiff of Draco's alluring cologne again. It brought me back to the night of our truce, and while I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, with his stiff posture and stoic expression, he seemed like a completely different person. Now that I thought about it, each time I was with him or around him, he seemed to act differently. He was quite moody, and I wondered how Pansy ever dealt with him.
"So as you both know, the school will be holding a winter ball for the fifth years and above, with a slight accommodation for fourth year students, who may only attend if they have been asked by a fifth year student. We have planned to have the great hall decorated for this event, as it was for the Yule Ball three years ago, but this time we want to have it bigger and better. We want ice statues, servers, photographers, the whole package. We will also be asking the Weird Sisters to attend, and maybe even another band will be attending. While we will do all of the bookings for the ball, we ask that the both of you become in charge of the actual decorations for it. This will include moving things around to accommodate the sculptures, figuring out the seating charts, where the stage will be, color scheme and so on and so forth. This will be a great task, so be prepared to work hard."
Draco just stared blankly at him. "So you're saying it's me and Granger in charge of the whole thing? That sounds positively exciting. "
McGonagall sent him a reproachful look of warning and he shut up, but still didn't look happy. I on the other hand, was actually quite excited to see the outcome of this. But then again, when was I not excited to work?
Judging by the look on Draco's face, I'd be doing all of the work myself.
VVVVV
I sat in the empty great hall after dinner with Draco, drawing a blueprint of what the ball would be like. For the most part, I was doing the drawing, while he just sat there and relaxed beside me. He looked as if he were daydreaming. I understood that he wasn't the least bit interested in this, but if he could at least make one effort to help, it would be great. I knew one way to make him help me.
Smiling, I said, "So I was thinking that everything should just be different shades of pink. Or maybe even red and gold?"
His head shot up from the table immediately, a look of defiance on his face.
"Definitely not."
"Excuse me, but last time I checked I was the only one decorating this stupid thing while someone just lounged around like a piece of driftwood, so I get to pick what it's going to look like."
He grabbed the pencil out of my hand and scooted closer to me. He began to draw on the blueprint, making little notes here and there. I wondered what he was drawing. I wondered if he had just written something obscene on the paper, because he refused to let me watch him as he worked. The only sound in the room was the sound of the pencil scribbling against the page. After a few minutes of drawing, he pushed the blueprint away from him and put the pencil back in my hand.
"You wanted my help? Well there it is." He said, before putting his head back on the table, his arms covering his face.
I grabbed the paper and was about to retort when my eyes caught onto the page. In those few quick minutes, he had drawn a stage, a few areas for where the tables could be, and what the entrances could look like. His drawings were very elaborate and the décor looked classy and refined. He was extremely talented. I stared at them for a few moments. Did he realize he had this talent?
"Draco? This is completely off topic, but I have to ask. Have you ever taken art lessons?"
He raised his head slightly, with one eyebrow raised.
"No. Why?"
I stood there agape. "Your drawings, they're beautiful! I never knew you had any talents!"
He smirked, something I felt I hadn't seen him do in a while. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Hermione. I've been told I have a lot more talents besides drawing as well."
I blushed, at the fact that his sentence had been so suggestive, and because I was still not used to the way my name coming from his mouth. Although we had both agreed to call each other by our first names, as a part of our truce, we didn't do it all the time. He rarely used Hermione, and I suspected it was because he had a thing for calling me Granger, since he had been doing it for so long. I didn't really have much of a problem calling him Draco though, because I had done it even when we hadn't been friends.
Friends.
Is that what we could be considered now?
It seemed very different, going from being basically enemies, to acquaintances, to possible, actual friends. It felt safer and more stable to see him as an acquaintance. At the same time, I didn't know how he felt.
"Ew Draco, too much information there."
"Really? I wouldn't think so if I were you. After all, friends tell each other these things, don't they?" he said.
Caught off guard, I nodded slightly. "I suppose….yeah."
He smiled.
Maybe I did know how he felt after all.
VVVVV
So how do you guys like the story! I hope you're enjoying it as much as I enjoy writing it! Also I want to give a big thanks to the people who have been giving me suggestions and ideas for the story, you know who you are! Thanks for reading and don't forget that reviews, constructive criticism, and ideas are welcome! Love to all!