Hey guys. So, we've been in quite a depressing tone for the past few chapters, so I'm happy to say that things will be getting brighter and only going up from here! Unfortunately, it also means that we're gradually coming to a close, which depresses me in a sense. Oh well, all things must come to an end. Luckily, it's not with this chapter!

Anyway, so here's a much happier, lighter chapter! Something that I think we all need.

Enjoy!
(Big A/N at the bottom of the chapter, btw, with a full apology plus explanation for my lack of updating this summer! But if you don't read it, I'm very sorry for the major delay, but I can assure you that I have not and will not abandon this story!)

Chapter 24

The Chiffon Body Trap

Friday, May 29th, 2009

It had been almost two months since the attack on Hermione and all had, seemingly, returned to some semblance of normalcy in Hogwarts. Students were currently hurrying to and fro, rushing in anxious excitement as the final exam week quickly approached and panic set in for many who realized that they had accomplished nothing all year. The library was slowly growing more and more occupied, the halls buzzing and full even at the latest curfew hours, and meals were growing shorter and the Great Hall emptier. Panic had set in and instead of frolicking on the grass by the lake, students were engrossed in thick tombs or growing blind re-reading hastily scribbled notes on parchment.

In this mass of chaotic anxiety, one girl smiled broadly and bounced about, happily skipping down the hallway to her scheduled meeting. She was a bright and free spirit, looking abnormally normal among the students mumbling to themselves while cradling aching heads or nursing frustratingly painful paper cuts.

"Luna, love, could you please stop skipping and walk?"

The woman spun around, her faraway, girlish smile forever plastered to her face, as though she held every secret to a mystical, magical world of fairies. Little bells rang as she skipped, the small copper objects attached to several long braids in her otherwise loose hair. Her eyes shimmered with love and dreams and she waited patiently for the love of her life to catch up to her.

"I'm just very excited," she said matter-of-factly, in her gentle, singsong voice. Every word and every sound spoken seemed to be part of a scale to a long, medieval song about elves and pixies, and it didn't matter what mood Blaise would be in when he heard the voice; it immediately made him smile and feel at home. "This is our last meeting before we start preparations for the Graduates' Ball in two weeks. I just cannot wait to see the final product."

By final product, Luna was referring to the magical mini-model Hermione and Draco would set up in the middle of the Prefects' Meeting room on the fourth floor. It would be a working, magical model that would show every detail and idea that the Prefects and Heads had put into the decorating and theme of the Graduates' Ball. Surprisingly enough, one of Luna's suggestions had been well-received – one that involved fairies and flowers – and they tried to incorporate those ideas in any way and form for the theme of the Ball.

"I know, my fairy, but I really don't feel like skipping right now," Blaise answered as he caught up to the Ravenclaw, fighting the urge to pull her against him and plant several kisses on her smiling face. He loved her ethereal nature, loved the way her hair always shimmered in the light, the sound of her melodic voice, and, most importantly, he loved that she had always kept the world of mystery and magic within her, when so many others had become disillusioned and 'realistic'. She really was his fairy in a world of boring, straight-laced mortals.

Hell, she was even talking about putting wings on her dress for the Ball, to which he agreed so long as they were tasteful and not obscenely big. He also had to put his foot down when she asked if they could flap and help her fly; he had said no to both.

He did love his precious Luna, but there were some things she wanted to do that, if he were seen with it in public, he would probably die from mortification. Even he had his limits, as lenient and compromising as he was. She toned down her fairy world, and he would occasionally go on creature hunts with her.

As they rounded a corner, he spied several students talking excited in a corner, standing out from the rest of the stressed population. Arching a brow, he fought back a smile as one member of the group produced a small gift for another, clearly today as the Ravenclaw's birthday. He suddenly found the wheels turning in his head and his mouth unable to stay shut as he pondered aloud; "I wonder…"

The blonde beauty, who had jovially skipped ahead again, spun around with a twinkle in her eyes. "Yes?"

"Oh, I," he began, completely at a loss as to how to continue. It wasn't often that Blaise thought out loud, so he rarely had to deal with the consequences. "I was just wondering…well, Draco's birthday is coming up; it's on June 5th."

Luna smiled broadly and waited for Blaise to catch up. While it seemed as though her excited had eased, he knew her better than that and realized that she had become so thrilled it was taking all of her willpower not to let it bubble over. He knew exactly what would happen if that occurred, and neither of them wanted a repeat performance.

"I'm curious," she said suddenly as they made their way down a staircase. He gave her a quick look, to which she answered, "Well, does Hermione know? And if she does, what will she get him as a present? I wonder if she did what I said for his Christmas present. If she didn't, then his birthday is an even better time." Her smile grew and the jubilant and mischievous glow in her eyes reminded him of the ever-scheming Dumbledore.

"What did you tell Hermione to get Draco for Christmas?" He couldn't help it; his curiosity always got the better of him. It was, after all, how he and Luna had first met.

"I told her to lie down under the Christmas, wearing only ribbons, of course, and that she should be his present. Isn't that the most wonderful gift?"

Blaise choked back a cough and fought the sudden mental image of Draco finding a naked Hermione under the Christmas tree. It was something he did not want in his mind. "Well…given that it's too late for a Christmas tree, don't you think she might want to give him something more…suitable?" Although, he had to admit, hot, crazy sex should always be on the agenda for birthdays. It had certainly been on his and Luna had, like always, been more than willing to comply.

"I see," she answered, pinching her chin between her index finger and thumb as she concentrated on possible and useful presents. "She could buy him a longer arm."

Blaise was confused for a brief moment before he realized she was referring to the final Quidditch match two weeks ago. With Slytherin and Gryffindor ending the season in a tie, the winner had had to be decided in one big epic match not seen since their second year, although that had been different circumstances. This resulted in one big match a couple weeks ago. Needless to say, without a proper Keeper, the Gryffindor team had been slaughtered with regards to points scored by Quaffle-related goals. However, Harry had managed to catch the Snitch just milliseconds before Draco, on the mere basis that his arm was maybe an inch longer. Slytherin, however, had won based on overall points, but Draco had been quite miffed at losing to Potter, although he still rubbed the win in Potter's face at every chance he got.

While Blaise knew that Luna's gift could be deemed practical, he also knew that it would definitely be an unwanted reminder for Draco. "Luna, love, I don't really think that's a good idea. How about," he moved closer and draped his arm over her shoulders when he knew they were alone – they both preferred to keep their relationship private – and pressed a kiss to her temple, "you discuss it with Hermione after the meeting? I'm sure she knows exactly what to get Draco for his birthday."

Luna sent him a brilliant smile, one only ever reserved for him. It wasn't masked by her fairy world or thoughts of magical creatures; it was a pure, love-filled smile that exposed every corner of her heart and soul. "Very well, but I still she should just get naked and possibly climb into a box and surprise him."

"I'm not taking any credit for this," he replied as they arrived in front of the Prefects and Heads' meeting room. They were about twenty minutes early, but he always liked being early. It meant he could chat with Draco for a bit before the meeting started.

"Oh well," Luna sighed, reaching out and opening the door.

What they found on the other side was rather unexpected. Blaise's eyes were first drawn to the pale arse gloriously exposed due to the pants lying around the individual's ankles. Luna was momentarily confused by a pair of legs extended into the air, some emerald and very lacy underwear hanging loosely from an ankle. What hit them next was the sound; sweaty skin slapping against sweaty skin, following by ragged pants and semi-muffled screams.

"You like it rough like that, eh?"

"Oh myyy," Luna breathed out, eyes wide with embarrassment and confusion.

"Kill me now," Blaise grumbled, wrapping his hand over Luna's eyes he gently pulled her back from the doorway. Quickly and quietly, he shut the door and leaned against it for support.

"It looks like Hermione is already giving Draco his birthday present," Luna said with a grin.

"Just…don't remind me of anything we just saw," Blaise said as his stomach lurched. Honestly, how could the two of them had been so careless? Clearly, they had put a Silencing spell on the room, given that it had grown quite loud when they entered, and outside they heard nothing. But, to forget to lock the door? A very immature mistake that was having dire consequences for Blaise.

"What should we do?" he muttered, leaning against the wall and pressing his palm to his eyes. "Should we just knock and let them know we're waiting? Should we just let them know that we know? Ah, bugger, I thought I'd never have to experience a situation like this."

Luna giggled as she watched Blaise react to the situation. It was always entertaining to watch Blaise when he was embarrassed, it flustered his mind and made it hard for him to think coherently. She loved it when he lost the cool, calm and intelligent aspect of his personality and became the adorable, bumbling goofball she'd fallen in love with.

"Why don't we just let them finish," she answered with a smile. Her face glowed, as though the situation they had just seen had made her happier than a kid in a candy store.

"And pretend this never happened," he ended with a groan, trying his hardest to push the recent image out of his mind. He was quite certain he would never get the image of Draco's bright, white arse out of his mind. Sure, they were men, and he had occasionally been involved in Quidditch practices when they needed the help, and of course they had changed in the same room together before, but that fraternal style nudity was quite different from what had just blinded him.

They waited outside for a good ten minutes, Luna bounding around like an excited puppy, while Blaise tried his hardest to scourgify his defiled mind. Just as he was rid of the mental images, the door to the classroom opened and Draco stuck his head out, smirking like an overly pleased Cheshire cat.

"You enjoy the show?"

"Fuck off."

"It appears as though they're done, we can go in now," Luna sang, happily skipping forward and into the meeting room.

The blond didn't even react to Luna's actions; having spent – wasted – so much time with the blonde girl had caused him to develop the Luna Effect, which meant that he was now relatively unfazed by her curious and odd actions. His only fear was that her personality may gradually spread and latch onto him, turning him into a Luna Zombie, threatening to turn the whole world into skipping, strange blondes that believed wholeheartedly in Muddknobbers and strange creatures of the like.

He focused his attention on Blaise, his smirk following the dark-haired man into the room. He knew that he should have been embarrassed, but having to share dorms for the majority of their Hogwarts life had left him relatively unabashed in these situations. He'd lost count of how many times he, and other Slytherins, had walked in on Blaise pleasuring one floozy or another, and the situation had been the same for Draco and every other Slytherin, even Crabbe and Goyle. At that thought, as much as he cared for Goyle, a touch of bile slowly rose in his throat and Draco stepped back into the room, focusing his attention on anything other than the curious sexual exploits of Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.

Millicent Bulstrode suddenly slithered into his thoughts and he shared them with Blaise in a whisper, knowing that the second he spoke about them, they would fly from his mind and land in his friend's.

This earned him a look of disgust, followed by a rather pointy elbow in the ribs. Blaise had unnaturally pointed elbows, something that made Draco want to avoid them at all costs.

Unfortunately, this time he wasn't fast enough and his spleen became a victim.

Luna, all the while, had skipped merrily over to where Hermione stood near the front of the room, waving her wand to write down various notes and subjects onto the board.

"Hallo," she greeted cheerily, rocking back and forth on her heels with her hands clasped behind her back. Luna looked like an overly excited child who had just heard some juicy and wonderful news. It made Hermione immediately suspicious.

"Hey Luna," she answered back, giving her wand one last swirl before the chalk faded from the air and the final words wrote themselves onto the board. "How are you today?"

"Oh, just wonderful, absolutely wonderful," Luna sang, wriggling elatedly on her feet. "And you? How are you doing today? Anything eventful happen recently?"

Hermione's suspicion rose and she sent a quick glance to Draco and Blaise, frowning as she watched the two boys wrestle, arguing loudly about unnaturally pointy elbows. It perplexed her even more than Luna's attitude, so she switched her focus back to the younger girl. "Ah, well, I'm fine, thanks. Ah, hello Ginny!" Hermione quickly switched focus, greeting the Prefects as they stepped through the door.

Unfortunately, the fellow students entering and the subjects of the meeting did not seem to break Luna's gaze from Hermione's. It was curious and knowing, ecstatic and excited, and made her wonder more and more if a strange, juicy rumour had been spread around the school once more. She just prayed that it wasn't one about her marital status or her physical condition.

Luna slowly managed to unnerve her more and more throughout the meeting, and Hermione swore that all the girl needed was a lollipop in hand and she would have easily replicated the image of a child who had seen something they weren't supposed but were unnaturally satisfied as what they saw.

The meeting had lasted longer than usual; they had had to go over the final proceedings for the Graduating Ball taking place in a few weeks, finalizing colours, themes, and the other nitty gritty details of it. By the time the Prefects stepped out of the room, bodies were awkward from the chairs, feet had fallen asleep, and one poor student had fallen over because his leg had gone numb up to his knee. Despite their condition at the end, they had fortunately been able to come up with a final plan and had fairly distributed the tasks among them.

Sighing with relief, Hermione twirled her wand to clear the board of all notes before sitting back on the desk and stretching her arms above her head. "I'm glad that's over," she breathed, leaning back on her arms.

Luna and Ginny stood on either side of her, shaking slightly to stretch and warm up their numb limbs. "Honestly, I was afraid that Seanacy wouldn't stop asking about the band. It was getting on my nerves," Ginny said with a huff of frustration.

"Well, it doesn't help when you have a couple of Slytherin idiots arguing back," the brunette answered, gesturing with her head to her boyfriend and Blaise, who stood off to the side, casually talking with Harry. It was a sight that made her want to do a double-take; it was perplexing and beautiful all at the same time. She had to admit, ever since she and Draco had begun dating, she had never fathomed that he and Harry would be mature enough to engage in a civil conversation.

"They wanted some loud, infernal band to play," Ginny said, "but Seanacy could have just kept quiet about it and let you have the final say."

"I liked it when you stepped on Draco's foot," Luna giggled giddily. The girl's eyes had still not removed themselves from Hermione, and the brunette wished that the girl would just tell her what was plaguing her mind. It was starting to really scare the Gryffindor.

"Well, I needed to shut him up." This resulted in a small explosion of giggles to erupt from the other two girls.

"So," Ginny breathed as the last chuckle subsided, "have you figured out what you're going to be wearing? I've got this fantastic gold dress that Harry is going to love."

Ah, the ever inevitable conversation about clothes, in particular the outfits that would be worn the day of the ball. It was something that had been slowly nagging Hermione at the back of her mind but she had not paid any attention to it up until now. Honestly, dresses were, and had always been, the last thing in her mind whenever big events like this were coming up. In the past, she had always been so overwhelmed by the problems with Voldemort and Harry that dresses and enjoyment had always been an after-thought.

Slowly, she realized that, for the first time in her life, she would be able to truly and entirely enjoy a school event. Once all of the preparations were over, of course.

"I'm not sure yet," she answered slowly, trying to pick her words correctly. She knew that if she blatantly told Ginny she hadn't cared until now, the redhead would have a typical Weasley woman fit. But, if she made it sound like she was a little too focused on the dress, Ginny would think something was up.

It was always hard to find a proper balance to avoid outbursts or incessant questions.

"Well, have you decided on a style? What colour scheme do you want to wear? What's Malfoy wearing? I'll bet he's wearing something in green, so Slytherin of him," Ginny added with a snort.

Hermione rolled her eyes at that comment, adding that Harry would probably be wearing red for Gryffindor and that Ginny's gold dress was obviously an ode to the House as well. "A lot of students wear their House colours," Hermione continued when Ginny scowled, "we tend to just favour them after so many years. I also think that a lot of students tend to look good in their house colours." She turned to Luna, who had been silently listening to their discussion, swaying back and forth with a wide smile on her face. Yet again, very unnerving, but not too unusual. "Luna, do you have your dress planned out yet?"

"Oh yes, but it's a special custom order; I didn't like any of the ones they had in the store, so I sent in my design, and they said they would do it…although, their response was a touch odd."

That was not surprising, given Luna's taste in clothes.

"What did they say?" Ginny pressed, joining Hermione on the table as Luna plopped down in the chair in front of them, adding an extra twirl before sitting.

"Something along the lines of how they've never seen such a request before and that I had a very unique taste in design. It was the way it was worded that sounded a bit odd, but I think," Luna smiled, "they were praising me. I always knew that people would enjoy the clothes I design."

"Ah, yes," Hermione slowly responded, "your outfits are very…interesting."

"Oh thank you," the blonde answered giddily, clapping her hands together.

"So, would you like to go dress shopping this weekend? Since classes are just about over, we have been given a free pass this weekend and the next to go down to Hogsmeade. We can go to Gladrags, which is better than Madame Malkin's in the gown department. They have a wonderful inventory and some of the best designers working for them," Ginny asked, eyes glowing with excitement. "You will need a dress, and if you need alterations done, it should be done now so it's ready by the Ball."

Hermione was frightened at the prospect of going shopping for any kind of clothing with Ginny, the girl was a whirlwind in stores, swirling on through and savagely taking apart any and all racks she could get her hands on. She would try on mountains of clothes and make Hermione try on dozens more. Then, once it was all over, she would pressure Hermione so much that the girl would end up buying at least one item from the store. At least Ginny had a decent idea of what looked good on Hermione, although more often than not she was pressuring her into wearing something a little too scandalous.

At this moment, however, she saw that they would have no choice in the matter; Hermione needed a dress for the Ball and it appeared as though Ginny needed to return to the shop to check up on her alterations.

Luna added a little quip that made the brunette's heart thud loudly in her chest; "At the same time, you can get Draco his birthday present."

Hermione's head flung in Luna's direction, eyes wide with shock. "Draco's birthday?" Never before had she felt so clueless and at a loss.

"Yes, Blaise told me that it is on June 5th, next Friday," Luna answered cheerily, completely oblivious to Hermione's rising panic.

Glancing quickly over to where her boyfriend continued to chat with the other men, she spun back around, hissing softly, "I had no clue it was his birthday."

Ginny's eyes widened in shock while Luna merely shrugged, "That's fine," the blonde answered, "Blaise wouldn't tell me his birthday the whole first year we were together. I don't know why, because I love gift shopping."

Hermione knew exactly why, but she wouldn't voice that aloud. Instead, Ginny let out a small shriek of disbelief. "It's not a small matter," she said louder than Hermione wished for, "forgetting that is really important. I mean, it's your first year, it will be the most important one out of them all."

"Ginny, hush," Hermione hissed, hoping that Ginny would heed her words and keep her voice down. She had had no clue if Draco knew when her birthday was, but she was pretty sure that if they had started going out before then, he would have found some way or another to find out. He was, after all, a mastermind at finding information. If he overheard that she hadn't even tried to figure out when his birthday was, she had no idea how he might react.

Of course, as always, it was a given that Ginny's voice would travel, resulting in Draco sauntering his way over to intrude on their conversation.

"Now, what has my lovely lady forgotten that's so incredibly important?" he asked with a flashing smile, oozing charisma in an attempt to woo Ginny into blabbing about their conversation.

Hermione gave the girl a well placed and well hidden elbow in the kidney before she could respond, signaling to the redhead to keep her mouth shut.

"Ah, well, it appears as though Hermione forgot about…ah…she forgot to buy her dress for the Graduation Ball," Ginny said quickly.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief; the redheaded girl could sometimes come up with the worst excuses when put on the spot. Thankfully, she had paid careful attention to the way Hermione's elbow dug gently into her ribs.

Draco eyed them for a brief moment, arching his brow in contemplation, before rolling his eyes and waving his hand in a dismissive fashion. "Only that? Typical girl talk; all you do is discuss clothes, make-up and boys," he responded.

Normally, it would have irked Hermione, but he sent her a teasing look that told her he thought otherwise of her. He was well aware that, while she was very feminine, she did not allow her life and thoughts to be consumed by fashion, make-up or handsome men.

"Of course," he added, reaching forward to lift Hermione's hand and press a gentle kiss to her palm, "I know that you do think quite frequently about a certain man."

At this she scoffed and, smiling, answered; "You are too full of yourself, my dear Draco. How do you not know that I have little crushes on famous actors or Quidditch players." He laughed at the word Quidditch. "I mean," she continued, "if you have seen pictures of Robert Downey Jr., I think that even you would fancy him. He is quite sexy and is a very delicious Iron Man."

Draco sent her a wary look, brow slowly arching once more as he contemplated her words. "This Robert Downey Jr. … do you know him personally? How often do you think about him?"

She snickered lightly as jealousy flared in his grey eyes; oh how she adored teasing him.

When he saw her laughing, he could help but huff loudly and cross his arms, realizing that this had all been done for her amusement alone. Even the girls watching had chuckled despite their lack of knowledge of Robert Downey Jr.

At this, he let out another huff and made his way back to Blaise and Harry, who had not been bothered to break their conversation. Quidditch was, and had always been, far more important than female affairs.

Hermione giggled as she watched her boyfriend move away, turning back to her friends. "I was quite serious, you know. I'll have to show you two a picture of him, because he is a very sexy man."

"Oh, I know," Luna breathed softly, a wistful look in her eyes.

The confused look the Gryffindor girls sent to Luna prompted the Ravenclaw to continue, "Ah, every summer I like to take a small trip to Muggle London and watch as least one film in the cinema. I just happened to catch 'Iron Man' last summer, and I can definitely see the appeal."

This came to a surprise to Hermione; she had never known any Wizarding family to be willing to go to Muggle areas. Even Arthur, who had always been so passionate about Muggle creations, had never been able to successfully visit and blend in with a Muggle town.

It was, overall, a very pleasant surprise.

"So," Ginny began with a smile, "shall we make our way to Hogsmeade tomorrow and get Hermione a dress?"

"Oh yes," Luna answered with a clap of her hands, "it sounds like fun."

Bells jingled merrily as Hermione inwardly groaned. She was not looking forward to this.

Hermione yawned as she stepped into the Great Hall, utterly exhausted. It had been a long night, what with having to deal with the sudden cornucopia of people and magazines filling the living area of the Heads' Tower, then having to deal with Draco's midnight urges that lasted well over an hour. Needless to say, getting up early enough to plan a day at Hogsmeade was very much unwelcome, but necessary. Furthermore, in spite of being within talking distance of Blaise the entire night, with Draco in the room; she'd been unable to ask him about potential birthday gifts. All she knew was the day of his birthday, which really didn't help that much except put a strict time limit in place.

Sighing heavily, she, for the first time in a long time, grabbed a jug of coffee and filled her mug with as much as she could, adding a copious amount of sugar and milk to lighten the bitter taste. She had not always been a big fan of coffee, but at this point in time, she was more than ready to inject it in her body if she could stay awake long enough to get the dress shopping out of the way.

She was halfway through her toast and jam, and on her second cup of caffeine, when Luna plopped merrily down on the seat to her left, jingling away as she had the previous day, braids and bells still in her hair. The remainder of her clothes, however, suited the ringing; the fairy-like pink skirt swirled around her ankles and the matching long sleeves of her top flowed in an unknown breeze. She looked, and sounded, very much the part of a medieval fairy.

Ginny, who appeared just seconds after on Hermione's right, looked very much normal in jeans and a comfortable shirt. Hermione was grateful for the ounce of sanity in her world.

Immediately, the two began chattering away like birds on a Cheering Charm, twittering about what kind of dresses she should try, how many, what colours could look best, and the whole nine yards. Of course, it was all made worse because Luna still kept those damn bells, jingling happily with every movement. The talk followed her out of the Great Hall, through the entrance, and all the way down to Hogsmeade like a incessant, annoying animal chasing her. She silently bore it, putting up several barriers against the onslaught as she waited for the caffeine to give her system the appropriate jolt she needed.

Of course, the moment they stepped into Gladrags, the chattering tripled as the girls ran about and gawked over the numerous ball gowns on display. Normally, she shop would have been filled with a myriad of clothes, but given the time of year, the majority of the stock included ball gowns, dress robes, and some summer articles. The remainder of the stock had been pushed into a magically-added side room that, very much like the Weasley's tents, was ten times larger than it appeared to be.

It took some time for Hermione to get over the overwhelming feeling of being drowned in taffeta, lace, silk, and chiffon, but soon enough she managed to breathe enough to take in her bearings and look through the gowns. It had taken three times as long for Luna and Ginny to stop showing up with dresses that Hermione would only wear if threatened with a painful death. In all honesty, Hermione loathed dress shopping for the simple reason being that it was such a difficult process. Often times, there were either too few dresses that she cared for, or there were too many and she couldn't decide on just one. Furthermore, dresses had a tendency to be over-priced, which was incredibly frustrating.

Sighing heavily, she ignoring the twittering of Luna and Ginny, moving over to peruse the racks furthest away from her friends. While the two girls were amazing, she could only take them in small doses when it came to their current state. If she wasn't careful, they would slowly succeed in exhausting her and she would be much more pliant to their whims.

Perusing a rack of dresses on sale, she only heard the rustle of cloth at the very last minute. Spinning around, hand instinctively presses on her wand, she frowned when she saw Luna and Ginny standing near the changing rooms with a monstrous pile of taffeta, silk, lace, and other materials gripped tightly in their joined arms.

"Ah, bloody hell," she muttered, grabbing a couple of dresses she'd been looking at to add to the pile before the duo managed to shove her into the nearest room and dump the dresses on top of her.

It took her at least five minutes to escape the materials, then another five to ten to just separate the dresses. It only took her two minutes to toss back, without even trying on, all of the dresses she didn't care for. It took her twenty to finally convince Luna and Ginny that those dresses were just not her style and she would never even consider buying them.

Honestly, she felt like a doll or a mannequin, every time she stepped out in a dress, they poked and prodded at the sequins, lace and bust line, either tugging it further up or yanking it down. They fidgeted with the waists, fluffed the skirt, and she just wanted to smack them both over their heads.

"Ah, bugger off!" she finally snapped when Ginny made a grab for her breasts to make sure they were sitting properly in the corset of the dress. Both girls sent her unsure looks, suddenly realizing that they had kind of stepped over the line. "Look," she huffed loudly, "I don't mind having you two look and criticize, that I can take, but can you stop touching me?"

"Who's touching who and should I be jealous?"

"What the hell are you doing here?" This came from Ginny.

Standing near a rack of expensive gowns stood Draco, his arms crossed and a small smirk toying at his lips.

"It's a free world now, isn't it? Can't a man go wherever he wants?"

"Luna," Hermione half-whined, "wasn't Blaise supposed to keep him distracted for the day?"

"Ah, about that," the blond said, stepping forward to plop onto the cushioned couch facing the changing rooms, "I knew something was up so I ditched him."

"You didn't do anything stupid, did you?" Hermione warned.

"Oh no, I just locked him in the washroom at Rosmerta's, of course it's only a temporary charm, but it was made to last long enough for me to escape." He examined his nails at he spoke, the smirk widening as if he was proud of his achievements.

"You're a nuisance," Hermione sighed with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm a curious individual. Isn't curiosity a good thing, my lovely bookworm?" He said it, of course, with pure affection and she knew it.

"Curiosity also killed the cat," she retorted, sending a brief pleading look to Ginny and Luna.

The girls looked torn; while they knew that Hermione wanted to surprise Draco at the ball, they also knew that he might have some good input. He might also be able to persuade her to get a more expensive dress by offering to help pay for it. Of course, she would probably refuse, but he was always more than able to talk with the owner and convince her to 'reduce the price' because Hermione was a war hero and merely send him the rest of the bill.

He was, after all, a man raised in a world of business and he could be very persuasive.

Ginny took him aside, out of ear shot from Hermione, and whispered her plans to him, bringing up the cost and offering, in exchange, to tell him the style and colour of the dress.

"I would prefer to know just what I'd be paying for," he countered.

"Look," Ginny sighed, "Hermione really doesn't want you to see her in the dress until the Ball. She's never really been seen as a very feminine person, what with Ron and Harry being so bloody thick for all these years, so this is like an opportunity for her to show just how feminine she can be. It may not seem like much to most people, but to her it means a lot more."

"But I definitely know how feminine she can be," he answered, wiggling his eyebrows to make sure get 'got the drift.'

At this she cursed quietly, torn between nausea and happiness that someone appreciated Hermione for who and what she was. "Pervert," she muttered. "No wonder she gets so frustrated with you at times."

It took a brief moment, as he laughed at her response, that she slowly came to terms with the current situation. Here she was, standing casually by Draco Malfoy of all people. Just over a year ago, she despised every fiber of his being, and now she was able to stand next to him and talk to him just as she would chat with Neville or even Ron and Harry. It was eerie, slightly awkward, and yet it made her happy, mainly because she knew that it made Hermione happy.

Yet, despite their past, she was growing comfortable around him. She slowly realized that he was a human being just like everyone else; he had been through a difficult time, probably far more difficult than she could ever imagine, and yet, deep down, he was still a normal guy who had a sense of humour and felt love like everyone else. And a part of her actually began to like him. He treated Hermione right, he loved her deeply and affectionately, and he had quite the sense of humour. He was also, surprisingly, extremely intelligent.

This realization scared her; she was starting to like Draco Malfoy. Yet, a part of her, a part that had grown and matured throughout the years, realized that it was inevitable. He was charismatic, kind, a little arrogant (okay, maybe very), and willing to reach out a hand in friendship.

Besides, if Luna liked him, then he had to be relatively decent now; Luna had always been, in spite of her aloof personality, a very good judge of character. She always saw beneath the dirt and grime of the surface and delved into the true character underneath.

"But," he continued as his laughter ceased, "if it's really that important to her, then I will leave after having a word with the delightful Mister Pascal Meena about getting a price reduction for my delightful little Gryffindor." He let out another chuckle and reminded Ginny of some conniving, haughty, yet good-natured prince.

"Hermione has weird taste in men," she muttered as she turned back to Hermione, who looked like she was being eaten by a gown of white chiffon. "Oh dear…"

Just as she managed to weave her way around the racks, something smacked her hard in the face. Grabbing the object, she sent a glare around the room searching for whoever had dared throw something. Catching a glimpse of silver-blond hair making its way to the door, she barely had the time to take a few steps towards the offensive creature before he called out, "That one should be perfect!" and stepped out of the store.

Still gripping the object, Ginny sent a furious glare at his retreating form, wishing that Hermione had just gotten a normal boyfriend and not this strange Slytherin creature. Taking a moment to calm down, once she felt her face cool down she looked down at the item in her hand.

It was silky, very soft, very smooth and quite light. It was a deep crimson in colour and shimmered in her hands, a bright twinkling in the light showcasing the crystal beading on the fabric. She almost felt jealous.

Almost.

Holding the object, this time with much more care than before, she made her way back over to where Hermione had trudged her way back into the changing room. Luna was looking rather contemplative on the couch. Sending the blonde a smile, Ginny stuck her head in the changing room, earning a loud shriek of surprise from Hermione.

"Cute bra," the redhead commented before thrusting the garment into the stall and in Hermione's hands, "here, try this."

With one hand across her chest, Hermione reached out with her free one to take the dress. "What is this?"

"A dress."

"From who?" Suspicion caused a brow to raise and a small wrinkle to form along her brow.

"It kind of seemed to throw itself at me," Ginny teased before sauntering out of the room. She had to say, if this dress was the one, she'd either give Draco a prize or scowl at him with frustration over the fact that he chosen 'the one' instead of her. Of course, it wasn't like they were wedding dress shopping…

Plopping down beside Luna, she waited for a good ten minutes before Hermione struggled – with comedic sound effects – to free her body from the remainder of the chiffon dress and then – now silently – slide into the dress unceremoniously dumped on Ginny by Draco.

Then…silence…

They waited a few minutes, glancing occasionally back and forth, and all they could hear was the tick of the clock above the register and the sound of Mister Meena, the owner of the shop, fussing about over the display racks in front of the store. No more rustling of fabric, no more struggling grunts, there was nothing.

Finally, just before Ginny was about to call for the older woman, the door slowly opened and Hermione stepped out.

Luna clapped her hands loudly, the bells that still resided in her hair from the day before jingling away, while Ginny's jaw slowly opened and stayed open.

"Ah," Hermione blushed darkly at their reactions, swirling around in the dress, "I…I really like this one." She scratched the back of her neck before turning around to look at herself in the nearest full-length mirror. Her blush deepened even more, yet her eyes twinkled merrily with joy. "I really, really like this one."

Mister Meena suddenly scurried over to her and Ginny suspected that Draco had told him to do so the second she stepped out in the dress, and he began fussing and squealing loudly over her appearance, giving compliment upon compliment.

"The shape is perfect for you, it's so nice, so lovely, you look absolutely stunning!" And the compliments just kept on coming, almost to the point where Ginny had to admit she was a tad jealous. The colour looked just perfect on Hermione; the red was velvet deep and accented her tanned skin gorgeously. It even managed to bring out the auburn and golden highlights in her hair. Ginny was, no matter how hard she tried to ignore the feeling, jealous because she had always loved the colour red but it looked garish when contrasting with her hair.

Yet, in spite of her jealousy, she was glad that Hermione finally looked giddy and feeling feminine for the first time in a long time. Clothes shopping had always been a difficult thing for her.

"I'll buy it," Hermione suddenly announced after having an in-depth discussion with Mister Meena, most likely about the price. "It's…it just feels so perfect."

Luna got up and happily embraced Hermione; while shopping for a Graduation dress was not a truly momentous occasion, getting Hermione to buy something so expensive and beautiful most definitely was. Ginny was actually terrified of the day she had to go wedding dress shopping.

As Ginny grinned at Hermione, another faint flash of jealous tugged at her heart.

"Fucking bastard," she muttered under her breath, "he was right."

Damn Malfoy.

So, first, I know that no sort of excuse could be used for this damn period of wait I inflicted upon all of you. It wasn't right and while I do have good excuses, they still don't mean that it was right that I made you guys wait.

So, first and foremost, I'm very, very, very, very x infinity sorry about the wait. I had a lot of stuff going on for the past few months. This summer I worked 2 jobs, did a summer session at University to get extra credits, had soccer, and then I also needed to have a bit of a life on top of it. Basically, I had, if I was lucky, one day off a week. Even during my vacation, I was working.

Then, school started. I'm in my last session of University, so I want to do well. I have classes three days a week, but I also work three days, and my day off has been used so far to catch up on school work. So basically, I haven't had much time.

I would normally write on the train to and from school, but I've been taking the bus a lot and I really don't feel comfortable having my laptop out on the bus.

So those are pretty much the excuses: work, school, soccer, boyfriend, and life in general. Also, I went through a major period of writer's block, then I absolutely hated the first half so I re-wrote, then I hated that one and re-wrote it again, and finally I'm feeling okay with it. I just wanted a little Luna-Blaise scene to get the readers in their minds and to use it as a filler to catch up on what happened during the big time leap.

Anyway, I'm sorry again for the wait. I now plan on focusing intently on this until it is completed. I basically have maybe two, possibly three, chapters left and it will be done!

Thank you all for your unbelievably patience and for your kindness. You really are all the best.

Now please review and let me know that some of your are still alive and well! I miss you guys.

P.S. Pascal Meena was kind of my way of playing with the word Pashmina, which is a very nice, silky and expensive fabric made in India. I thought it might be my way of playing around with words and stuff. I hope it kind of worked.