"Hermione," It was Harry.
"Yeah?" Hermione raised her head from her parchment briefly before continuing to scribble out her answers. "What is it?"
"Have you heard about the Yule Ball?" Harry asked.
She had. Who hadn't? The Yule Ball was the talk of the school, something that gave them all an excuse to push away homework and enjoy time with dates or friends. She had watched girls in her dorm get asked to the ball left and right and sometimes felt a little annoyed that she wasn't asked by anyone. But then she'd remind herself that she didn't have time for a date, or complaining, since she needed to go research Horcruxes. Honestly, the Yule Ball was just something to keep everyone's mind off of the impeding war.
"Yeah," She said, dotting the end of her sentence with a neat period before immediately beginning another one. This essay question was really making her brain work, and she loved it.
"I was just wondering if you have a date. I already asked Ginny, and she said yes, and Ron is going with Lavender," His voice trailed off into an uncomfortable silence between the two. Seeing the question in his eyes, she sighed and lowered her quill for a moment.
"No, Harry, I don't have a date, and I'm perfectly content with that. I don't even know if I should go. It seems like a rather frivolous event, and I'm sure I will need the extra time to do some research." She gave him a smile before picking her quill back up. She dipped it in the well of black ink resting beside her books and scratched more words onto her homework.
"Oh, no, Hermione, you're definitely going to this one. You work hard enough on normal weekends, and you deserve a break more than anyone else." Harry said, putting a hand on her moving one to pause her flurry. "C'mon. Have a little fun. We'll research after, I promise."
Hermione sighed and set her quill down on the stand. She sat back in her chair and rubbed her eyes. "Fine, Harry, but you are not purposely finding a date for me, and I am not putting off the research any longer than that. Do you understand? We're already running late on time before this whole full-out war, and we need to have the upper hand." She leaned forward with an intense determination in her eyes. They flickered down to the curling parchment in front of her and she gave Harry a smile. "Go finish your homework so I can do mine in peace."
Harry grinned and stood up, collecting his things. "Alright, I'll leave you alone now."
0000000000
"So," The blond said, leaning on the rail. They were on the balcony of Malfoy Manor at sunset, watching the golden sun fade into shades of pink and purple and navy blue. It sunk slowly, as if desperately trying to stay, but duty was calling for its rays to shine upon somewhere else.
"What?" She said, casting him a quick glance. He was relaxed, his features loose and smooth. His posture as still impeccable and his dress shirt and pants were clean and pressed.
"It is a ball. Do you want to dance?" He glanced at her quickly before turning away to look at the shining stars appearing.
"With who?" She said, turning towards him, a teasing eyebrow raised.
He rolled his eyes and turned to face her too. "Me, of course, I wouldn't let any of the other boys get near you."
"I can take care of myself," She said, a smirk on her lips. "What, you don't trust me?"
"I don't trust the other boys." He said. "I don't like the prospect that my best friend could be treated badly by them."
She smiled and touched his shoulder. "I would be fine. But I'm dancing with you, aren't I?" Her hand slid down his arm to grasp his hand and she pulled him into the ballroom, away from the twinkling stars.
They stepped into the edge of the dancing mass and got into position, her hands on his shoulder and clasping hands with his, while his other hand rested high on her waist. They stepped in rhythm to the flowing music, right foot back, left foot front; step in, step side; shift hands. He spun her and she laughed, crashing back into his chest. They waltzed around the whole ballroom, grinning and laughing and teasing each other about their "poor" dance moves.
At that moment, all she could feel was the happiness and joy that she was dancing with Draco and having fun and enjoying her night in a beautiful dress. She felt happiness in her heart, knowing Draco was having a good time because of her. She felt happiness in the air, swirling around them as they tangoed and waltzed through the room. She felt like they were flying through the air and dancing on clouds, far away from the stifling politeness and Pureblood conversations. They were escaping from reality and into a world where nothing was the matter.
Then they stopped, and she felt the adrenaline seeping away into the bodies of the other stately dancers that continued, and her happiness slip away. Back came the politeness and fakeness that the rich were required to possess. Back were the stiff smiles and loose handshakes. Back was reality; that they weren't flying away; that they weren't escaping the rich society rules; that they weren't free and happy.
There was no happiness, really, in the room. There were only fake smiles and plastic words that conveyed the emotion of happiness. But it was all a lie, and underneath all of that, they were mutually disgusted with their partners, that oh my goodness, that dress looks hideous and that tie isn't straight, coursing through their brains. And all they can see is the imperfection of the world they live in, not the parts that made life worth living. They missed the emotions that actions should produce, and instead focus on what is marred.
Happiness was only a fable in this world, and the moment Hermione had stopped dancing was the moment she stepped out of her fable world. She looked around at the people surrounding her, all smiles and masks and stone eyes. She hated it. She hated the rules of rich life. She hated it all.
Where there is hate, happiness can hardly survive, and so in that moment, Hermione felt her happiness melt and all that was left was her disgust at the rich, and at her own self for acting the same stereotypical way.
Happiness; only a fable. Hate; that's reality.
0000000000
Theo was thoroughly confused. Why was Draco sulking around again, and why was Hermione always rushing? Why didn't they ever talk, or even look at each other? Even when they hadn't made up, they had still looked and talked, or taunted, to each other. What was wrong, now? He had thought the worst of it was over, but no. They had to have another argument of some kind and ruin everything. Why couldn't they just be friend?
"Theo," Blaise said, nudging his arm. "What are you looking at?"
"Hm? Oh, nothing, just enjoying the view."
"Of the Great Hall?" Blaise asked. His eyebrow was raised in that arrogant way of his. "What's there to see?"
Theodore realized his mistake. "Um, I mean, well, I was just thinking."
"About?" Blaise prompted.
"Draco and Hermione." Theo answered honestly, glad that Draco had decided to skip lunch today. Although he did skip lunch every day and rarely came for dinner.
"What about them?"
"Don't they seem weird to you? They aren't fighting or even looking at each other."
"Isn't that what you wanted to happen?"
"But, they can't even look at each other! I may have wanted them to stop fighting, but that doesn't mean no conversation or eye contact." Theo said, scooping food into his mouth. No matter how important the matter was, he still needed to eat, so he might as well do it during lunch instead of sneaking to the kitchens after curfew. "Do you think we should do something about it?"
"I don't know, Theo. We should let them be." Blaise said. "Things work out better when there aren't others that interfere."
Theo nodded. They would wait and see what was going on between the two, but Theo knew this one wasn't going to work out the way they had planned.
0000000000
"Hermione!" Ginny called, her hand rapping on her closed door. "Open up!"
"You're just going to drag me to buy a dress and I really don't want to right now." Hermione grumbled from inside her room, safe from the barrage of Ginny's fashion talk.
"But if you don't get it now, all the good dresses will be gone and then you won't have anything to wear!"
"That was a no, Ginny."
"I don't care. I'm not having you go to the Yule Ball with an ugly dress on, and embarrassing yourself." Ginny banged on the closed door. "You know I can open it if I want to, Hermione. I'm just giving you a chance. Please?"
Hermione sighed and got up to open her door a crack. "Ginny, I-" She was pulled out by the red-head who had grabbed her arm and pushed down the steps into the common room. Ginny transfigured a cloak for Hermione, grabbed her hand, and ran out the door to go to Hogsmeade.
"Hermione, we're getting a whole day off of classes for us to prepare for the Ball, and I'm not letting our free day at Hogsmeade go to waste." Ginny said, leading her friend into a store. "C'mon!"
Hermione sighed and joined her friend to rummage through the racks of glittering dresses. "Is this really necessary, Ginny? I can just wear the one from fourth year. I'm sure I still fit."
"You are not going to wear the same dress, Hermione. Over my dead body. This is your chance to shine! Use it!" She shoved the stack of dresses she had on her arm into her friend's hands. "Try these on."
Hermione gave a weak smile and headed for a fitting room to try on her dresses. The first one was much too revealing, and she immediately dismissed it. The second was black, a rather inappropriate color for this supposedly happy ball, so she neglected that one too. The third was too sparkly, the fourth with too many bows, the fifth much too large, and the sixth was too short.
"Ginny, at this rate, I'll never find a dress." Hermione groaned, showing off her current dress.
"You have to have faith, 'Mione." She said, shoving more dresses into the room and clearing out the unwanted dresses.
The others continued to disappoint until she found a gorgeous dark red sleeveless dress with just the right smattering of diamond-like rhinestones on her right waist with the cinch, and enough ruffles to look enchanting, but not overdone. It hung straight and loose, but was fashioned to make her look slimmer and with longer legs. The hem barely touched the floor with the heels she had tried on with it, the perfect length for dancing.
"Oh, 'Mione, you are gorgeous. You are totally getting this! If no one asks you to the ball, they will all regret it!" Ginny squealed. What's more was that the dress was perfectly tailored and was just the right price that Hermione could pay.
"Alright, Ginny." She said, a broad smile lighting up her face. But she didn't even need Ginny to persuade her; if Ginny weren't even there, she still would have gotten it. She felt a connection to it, like it was made for her.
And for the first time in a while, she felt true happiness.
0000000000
Hate. That was what was coursing through her veins. Pansy had stolen her very precious teddy bear and that meant all heck was about to break loose. Yes, the seven-year-old Hermione was very aware that having a teddy bear and sleeping with it every night was not going to make her a very popular girl, but she never wanted to let it go, nor did she care if others thought her daft.
That teddy bear had been with her through everything, birthdays, trips to the beach, fights with Draco, and even crying over her fictional characters that met sad endings. The bear knew everything about her, and even though she knew it could never talk and spill her secrets, having it out of her room or sight was rather frightening, like losing her eyesight and stumbling around with no clue of her surroundings. So when Pansy took it from straight under her nose, she was furious. And disgusted. And annoyed. And let's not forget the hate.
"PANSY!" Hermione screamed. She knew she would get in trouble for interrupting the adults' ball for such a "trivial matter" but she really couldn't care less at the moment. All that mattered was her poor bear, in the sticky clutches of one Pansy Parkinson. "PANSY! GIVE HIM BACK!"
She charged into the room, amid all the confused adults sipping from wineglasses. Hermione shoved her way past some of them, causing them to spill their expensive wine on their expensive clothes and their expensive shoes and expensive floors. Where was this- this- Girl?
"Hermione?" There was a hand on her arm and she spun around and almost struck Draco in the nose with her clenched fist. He leaned back, surprise etched in his features. "What are you doing? You're causing a scene."
In her anger, all she saw was red. She sneered. "You would know a lot about that wouldn't you?"
"What are you talking about?" His face was confused, but also bordering on annoyance and anger.
"I'm talking about your 'perfect' family and your 'perfect manners' and how everything with all you rich people is just lies and fakeness and THIEVERY!" Hermione spat, tugging her arm away harshly before spinning back around to continue her search for the blasted girl. They were all the same, all of them! They all were deceitful. "'I'll just borrow him for an hour, I promise.' Yeah, right, an hour. It's been two, and I still can't find your stupid hideout." Hermione grumbled. She felt Draco following her and turned to face him. "What?" She demanded. She really didn't want to deal with him right now. Especially since she just yelled at him and that means he is probably in a bad mood.
To her surprise, he just took her hand and led her down a series of hallways and down a set of stairs. "What are you doing?" She asked, trying to shake his hand off. If there was anything Hermione hated more than losing her teddy bear, getting forced into things was definitely up there.
"Taking you to Pansy." Draco said, never breaking his stride. "What did you think?"
Hermione looked at him in surprise and let out a small gasp. "Really? I thought you were the closest friends with Pansy."
"She's annoying. Whatever you're gonna give to her is probably what she deserves. Besides, you're my best friend." Draco gave her a look that made a warm, fuzzy feeling spread down from her face through her entire body.
He went back to leading her somewhere and she huffed. "Why don't I know this place? This is my house."
"Pansy likes hiding things. Naturally, she has to find hiding places In all the mansions." Draco explained, gently pushing open a door. He motioned inside. Inside, he mouthed.
Hermione nodded and stepped in to found Pansy sitting at a table with Hermione's teddy bear and a tea set that looked suspiciously like the one Hermione had thought she had lost a year ago. The girl was pouring imaginary tea for the bear and drinking some herself.
Hermione cleared her throat impatiently and tapped her foot. Pansy looked up and a look of surprise, fear, annoyance, and anger crossed her face. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here for my bear." Hermione said, taking long steps forward to snatch her teddy bear back. Pansy turned away so she missed.
"I'm not done with him." She said, the permanent pout hanging on her lips. She hugged the bear closer.
Hermione sighed and shook her head. "Pansy, it's been two hours since you took him. I want him back." Hermione tried to keep back the anger; getting angry and lashing out would only make it her fault, since she was the hostess.
"I don't want to. I want to keep playing."Pansy whined, her brown eyes quickly welling with fat, drippy tears. Hermione watched in horror as they started tumbling down her cheeks. Hermione knew how to handle an idiot, but how did she handle a crying one?
There was a loud sigh behind her and with her eyes still wide, Hermione turned to find Draco still standing in the doorway. "Pansy, stop being such a crybaby. Just give the dumb bear back and we can all just go back upstairs."
"But-" Pansy wiped at her eyes desperately, embarrassed Draco had seen her like that. "But-"
"No 'buts.' Just do it." Draco snapped, walking forward quickly, snatching the bear away and handing it to Hermione. She took it with swift hands and hugged it close before giving Draco a nod and turning to run back and up the stairs to the party.
She heard Draco following her, but no Pansy. Hermione slowed and let him catch up to her. "Thanks." She said, looking down at her shoes.
"For what?" Draco asked. "She was deserving of it. It just happened to be me that decided to give her a lesson."
She flicked her eyes up at him before quickly darting back down. "I'm sorry, Drakie." She said quietly. "For what I said when I was mad." She looked up into his eyes. "I didn't mean it. You are different from the others."
Draco gave her a tight smile, as if unsure if that was a good thing, or a bad thing. "That's fine." The smile was fleeting and it quickly disappeared as they approached adults.
"Hermione!" She spun around to see her mother rushing to her, her heels clicking crisp noises on the floor. "You and I need to have a nice chat, right now." She had a grim look on her face, but still managed a smile for Draco, which Hermione took as a sign that she wasn't too mad.
"Yes, Mother." Hermione mumbled, following her mother. She knew she was in trouble, but having her bear back was really making her feel invincible to negative emotions. Now, all she felt like was flying on clouds and dancing in the air. She loved being happy.
0000000000
"Are you excited?" Ginny asked, dragging a comb through Hermione's hair. The brunette winced as the comb encountered a particularly tough tangle.
"Why would I be?" Hermione grumbled, touching her tender scalp before letting Ginny continue.
"Well, we've got a ball tonight," Ginny reasoned, tugging the comb down. She set it down and used her wand instead. Within minutes, Hermione's hair was tangle-free and fell in luscious curls.
"It's just a ball." Hermione said. "You know I think it's a waste of time. We could be preparing for this war that practically nobody is ready for. I could be researching Horcruxes. I know why we're having it, but it really isn't an opportune moment."
"Just relax, will you? You aren't the only one worrying about the war. Think about how the first years are feeling. Or even our own year. They're scared, and this ball is exactly what needs to be done for people to replenish and get back to work afterwards." Ginny countered, pulling out their dresses from the wardrobe.
Hermione heaved a sigh before nodding and donning her dress, along with the simple black heels Ginny had chosen for her. Ginny's dress was creamy white with pink tinting and she wore white heels. They were almost out the door when Ginny rushed back to the vanity.
"We can't forget our accessories!" She exclaimed, pulling out the drawer and rummaging through it for the perfect fit. She pulled out the necklace Draco had given Hermione and handed it to her. "You're wearing that… and this." She handed the brunette a pair of ruby earrings. "We're good." She proclaimed and led the brunette out the door as soon as she finished putting on the accessories.
"Ginny, there's no need to rush, the ball doesn't start till seven!" Hermione said, tugging the redhead back to her. "We'll get there in time; don't worry."
"I'm so excited!" Ginny gasped, a smile spreading across her face. "We'll have so much fun! And you, Hermione, will finally have a night of happiness and bliss."
"Right," Hermione said. Her hand reached up to touch the necklace on her neck, fingering the silver snake. "Happy."
They reached the doors and Ginny rushed through, already gaping at the massive decorations and the beauty of the room. Hermione stayed back, preparing herself to go into the ballroom. She clutched her necklace.
"Happy." She took a deep breath and walked in with the steady flow of people, all lavishly dressed. She needed a lot of happy right now.