Hi guys,

Another chapter for you! I hope you love it.

Here we go...


The camera's cut as usual at the end of the night, and Hermione could feel the elation bubbling in her veins. Draco had seemed to perk up despite his cold, and she watched as he ran off to get changed for the pro performance, and she found herself migrating to the green room, her mind still buzzing energy from their performance. They'd pulled off an almost perfect performance despite his illness.

Half an hour later, Draco joined her looking rather sweaty and back in his costume from their dance. He grabbed her hand as he neared her, pulling her to her feet to greet him, placing a kiss on her cheek, no doubt to avoid getting her sick with whatever he had.

"You were amazing, I could just feel it." He said, hugging her tightly to him.

She smiled into his shoulder, and when they both seated themselves, her legs fell in his lap as she continued to read, and he played with his phone. She took some time to study him, the bags under his eyes and the flaming in his cheeks from his fever, the slight gleam of sweat on his forehead.

Before either of them knew, the time had flown by and they returned to the set, hands interlocked as they re-entered the ballroom, ready to see what their fate would be. They stood in their usual spot, some re-organisation going on around them as gaps were filled from departed couples.

They stood same as they usually did, his feverish forehead coming to rest next to her neck, his chin placed delicately on her shoulder. She smiled at the comfort it gave her.

Tina re-entered set in a new dress and turned to the cameras ready to begin announcing who would be returning for another week.

"Our couples have danced their hearts out, but now there is nothing more they can do, your votes have been counted and verified and combined with our judges' votes. I can now announce in no particular order, the first couple safely through to next week is…. Angelina and Peter." Hermione felt rather than heard the scream emanating from behind them as Angelina screamed in relief at being safe for another week. She almost laughed at that reaction from her friend.

"Joining them for Halloween week are… Hannah and Vincent".

"Hoping to scare up a treat next week are… Zachary and Ola".

"Making a frightening appearance next week are… Daniel and Rachel".

"And now the first couple in the dance off are… Phoebe and Michael, come on down here, the rest of you will have to wait to find out your fate".

A small interview was conducted, and Tina once again turned her attention to the other couples.

"Now, it's time to find out who will be joining Phoebe and Michael in the dance off, the next couple to join our spook-tacular next week is…. Diana and Liam"

"Having a haunting return are… Hermione and Draco".

Hermione turned in Draco's arms and jumped into his arms, attacking him with a hug, him hugging back tightly. Despite all the challenges of the night, they were safe once again, and she was so relieved she could carry on with this journey.

"Joining them are… Charlie and Witney".

"Dancing again are… Simon and Michelle".

"That means, Maria and Tom, and Seamus and Lindsey, one of you in the dance off, the couple joining Phoebe and Michael are… Maria and Tom, that means Seamus and Lindsey you are safely through to dance again next week, Maria and Tom please come and join me".

Hermione smiled in relief as she realised her friend would be safe, the pit of nerves that had bubbled in her stomach as she waited for Seamus' name to be called, dissipate.


The Sunday after the show was spent on a family date, Draco and Hermione both smiling, neither minding being caught by paparazzi, Scorpius enjoying the budding romance between who he had dubbed as his 'favourite people in the whole world'.

They'd made it back to Draco's in time for the show, watching Scorpius' shocked expression as Maria and Tom were eliminated from the competition.

Putting the boy to bed afterwards, the two adults returned to the living room, comfortable silence falling between them.

"You're going to look so sexy this week you know?" Draco said, breaking the silence between the two, his mouth by her ear, whispering conspiratorially. She smiled to herself, nudging her head a little closer to him.

"Why's that?"

"We're doing 'Better the Devil You Know' by Kylie Minogue, you're going to be a she-devil, dressed in red".

He smiled at her, and she rolled her eyes, 'What is it with him and me in red?' She thought.

Pressing her lips against his in a shy kiss, she blushed slightly and returned her attention to the TV in front of the pair.

She was enjoying this, spending time with him, getting to know him, everything about him. She could picture a future with him, and usually that would scare her to know end, but she found that the thought of a future with him, with Scorpius didn't, she wasn't going to analyse this too much, but she was glad that she felt certain she could have a future like this, one as happy as this.


The Monday morning gossip tabloids were rife with speculation after their outing the previous day, unaware of this however, Hermione woke happy, taking a quick shower before she jumped in her car heading for the rehearsal studios.

Entering the room, she could feel the chill descend upon her. Draco stood in the centre of the room, an odd scowl upon his face. Something was on his mind, though she wondered what could possibly have happened to cause his chilly reception of her.

"Good Morning?" She asked. He grunted in reply. Dropping her bag, she hurried over to him. "What is it? What's happened?"

"You haven't seen the papers then?" He replied, his voice coarse. He'd never been sharp with her before, and she couldn't help but let the hurt show on her face.

"No"

"Funny" Draco said dryly. Turning away from her and back to the mirrors, carrying on stretching.

Returning to her bag, she grabbed her phone, pulling up the news app, and was shocked to find it littered with articles about them. Speculation as to the nature of their relationship, as well as so called 'candids' from people that knew her, insiders who had talked about the brewing relationship and the reasons behind it, each one more scathing and scandalous than the other.

"You have to know these aren't true right?" She asked him, noting one article calling her a man-eater, citing her previous break-up as reasoning, stating she moved from one man to another. It seemed to state that she would move from one relationship to another, leaving a trail of broken hearts in her wake.

"No" He replied.

"So, after all this time, after getting to know me, you can't tell what's fact and what's fiction about me?" She asked, feeling her infamous short-temper flaring. Maybe some of that temper was fuelled by the hurt she felt, she was falling for this man, and he couldn't seem to trust her. "Look, I'm telling you now, this is all false, my last relationship broke down because he was a cheating arsehole. This isn't the time nor place to do this, and I can't believe you, you believe what you want, I don't care, clearly you don't think as highly of me as I of you. But we have a dance to do on Saturday and regardless of personal feeling, I want to do well".

The coldness in her voice almost shocked Hermione herself, his face had softened significantly as she had spoken, but his face still held a stoic expression.

Despite everything, her anger, and her rage, all she could feel was hurt and disappointment, she was almost sure she loved him, and was hurt he would think so little of her after they'd spent so much of their time together. Disappointment because she clearly knew him better than he knew her, she clearly cared more than he did, because why else would he believe this lies so quickly before hearing her side of the story.

He nodded to her, and motioned her forward, the two working in relative silence as they began work on their Cha-Cha.

"Let's break for lunch" Draco stated about 6 hours later, half their lengthy training session complete.

Nodding, she almost sprinted to her bag, tossing her shoes off and shoving her feet into her trainers, throwing her bag over her shoulder, and exiting the studio without a word. She could feel a stony gaze boring into her back as she left, though she dared not to look back to meet it. She felt some stubborn tears gathering in her eyes at his stony admonishment of her.

Of course, she was outraged at his lack of trust in her, she had every right to be, he'd just assumed what was said to be true.

Returning to the studio, somewhat reluctantly, her stomach relatively full considering she had been picking at her lunch, unable to stomach much of it, not when all she could feel clearly was dread at having to return to such an unwelcome reception, she entered as silently as she had left, putting her bag down once more, Latin shoes being strapped to her feet, and standing beside the man whom she evidently trusted more than he trusted her.

"I'm sorry." He said, his face showing the emotions the words did not convey, however, still hurt, she simply nodded in response, Draco taking this as an indication to continue teaching her the routine.


The stony silence continued into Tuesday, she was determined to make him feel as shit and shut out as he had her the previous morning, however childish the prospect seemed. She wanted him to hurt as much as she did, to sleep as badly as she had, to feel as empty and tired.

"I've said I'm sorry, and I mean it." He said, as they concluded another days training.

"I know, and I accept it" She replied, sighing as she took a seat on the hard wooden floor to remove her shoes from her aching feet. She'd barely looked him in the eye all day, but she could feel the pleading look he placed upon her.

"Well?"

"I may have accepted it, but I don't quite forgive you. What you accused me of, was unfounded and wrong, I thought we trusted each other a great deal more than that, but this just shows me how little we actually know about one another!" She said, raising from the floor quickly and racing across the room and away from her, reaching into her bag for her car keys.

"I'm really sorry ok." He said, grabbing at her hand as she moved to leave.

"I know, but saying it means nothing, not if you don't trust me, not the way I trust you".

"I do"

"Evidently you don't" She replied, a look of pure sadness on her face. She slowly turned and headed for the door once more.

"Ask me anything and I'll tell you the truth". He said, stopping her in her tracks. She turned back to him.

"How does that prove anything?"

"I wasn't actually dating my ex-wife when she got pregnant, Astoria was my dance partner, and off the floor we were just fooling around, and then she told me she was pregnant. She convened the whole thing of course, though I didn't realise that until much later. My parents found out, and her's and though mine were happy, her's were not, they forced us into marriage and a few months later Scorpius was born, 3 months later she buggered off." He burst out, and she looked at him, properly, for the first time in what felt like forever.

"Wow" She said, dropping her bag to the floor, following it a moment later.

"I know" He said, following suit, dropping down beside her.

"Where is Astoria?"

"I have no idea, we divorced about 5 months after Scorp was born, I have full custody of Scorpius, and after Astoria ran off, had no contact with her parents, last I heard, I saw on Facebook she was in France somewhere, some new billionaire wrapped around her".

"I had no idea" Hermione said, the couple having taken a seat on the floor by the wall, hands clasped around one another's, the closest emotionally they'd been in days.

"Why would you?"

"I'm sorry"

"It's ok, Scorp and I are perfectly happy, and I have you, although it seems I need to work on not snapping to conclusions". He said, sheepishly.

"Well, in the spirit of honesty, I suppose I should share something." Hermione said, taking a shaking deep breath. "The boyfriend before you, that cheated on me, and well I'm not saying he was a violent man, but he had a temper to rival mine, it was my dirty secret, he started cutting me off from everyone, and when I finally found the courage to walk away, he pestered me none stop, threats and the like. About 3 weeks after we broke up, I found out I was pregnant, he wasn't best pleased when I told him, he told me it wasn't his, and if it was, I'd done it to trap him. I spent about a week in hospital after that, he pushed me down a flight of stairs, and well… my ribs were broken, I was littered in bruises, and I had broken my wrist, but that paled when I learned I'd miscarried".

"When was this?" Draco asked, squeezing her hand. Shock evident on his face, though not in his voice.

"About a year ago now, I don't like talking about it, I hate that I thought that was love for so long, I hate that I wasn't stronger".

"What could you have done?" Draco asked, wiping some stray tears from her face, neglecting his own which were streaming down his face in response to her story. "You are brave and kind, and strong and amazing. Don't think any different".

"I'm sorry too by the way".

"What for?"

"I'm not sure yet" Hermione said, letting out a watery laugh. "That's why it hurt so much though, that you couldn't trust me, it's taken a lot for me to open myself up to you, to want to be in a relationship again".

"I know, and I am so sorry".

"I know, we can both stop being sorry now" She laughed.

Draco laughed too, pulling the pair to their feet.

"Come on, I think it's high time you met my mother".

"What? Really?" Hermione asked, suddenly becoming very nervous.

"Yes, now come on".


"Mum?" Draco shouted upon entering his home, Hermione taking her shoes off as normal, hanging her coat on its usual hook, interlocking her hand with Draco's. In the kitchen she could hear excited chatter from Scorpius and the laughter of an older woman.

"In here Darling!" A voice yelled back.

Draco squeezed her hand in solidarity, before dragging her to the kitchen, her socks sliding on the laminate beneath them. Hermione suddenly wished she'd straightened out her hair a little, the rebellious mop in a bun on the top of her head, a light spread of sweat on her forehead from their vigorous rehearsal.

"Hey, you two" Draco said, walking deeper into the room, Hermione taking a seat on one of the barstools at his kitchen island.

"Hello darling" A slim woman with slender shoulders and features that matched her son said. He gave her a small hug in response.

"Hey Scorp," Draco said, turning to his son.

"Hi Daddy" Scorpius said, his attention turning to the brunette at the island. "'Mione!"

The blonde child took off running, Hermione only just catching him, pulling him up to her lap and allowing him to cuddle her tightly. She could see the woman slowly recognise that she was here, a soft look on her face at the sight of her grandson in her lap.

"Mum, there's someone I'd like you to meet" Draco said, as his mother moved from where she'd been stood, washing some of the plates left over from the night before. "This is Hermione Granger, my dance partner and girlfriend".

"Girlfriend?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"I saw the opportunity and went with it" He replied, a smirk on his face as he turned to her. The mother and son coming to a stop the other side of the island from Hermione and Scorpius, who was rather enjoying the way Hermione bounced him lightly on her knee, his giggles freely escaping him.

"It's wonderful to meet you, Scorpius talks about you all the time, why I feel like I already know you myself!" His mother told her, and Hermione smiled. "I'm Narcissa Malfoy"

"It's lovely to meet you too Mrs Malfoy".

"How's he been this afternoon then?" Draco asked, rounding the counter and standing behind Hermione, his hand ruffling his son's hair, the other placed reassuringly on her shoulder.

"The usual, his teacher said he has the best memorised lines in the whole school, though Scorpius informs me we have you to thank for that Miss Granger".

"Please call me Hermione, and I only helped a bit, some things I picked up in the theatre."

"Well, it worked my dear" Narcissa said, smiling warmly at the woman before her, whose arms were still around her grandson, his laughter ringing around the large room as she bopped his nose and ticked him. This was what she had always wanted for her son, and she was happy he had found it.


They rehearsed all week, the mood improved significantly, and on Friday, after spending the day camera blocking and dress running, and after picking up Scorpius from school, they headed back to the studio, this time heading for the 'It Takes Two' set, Scorpius between them, chattering loudly about his day and week at school.

Leaving him with Michelle once again, they headed for the dressing room, selecting clothes, and quickly putting them on, Hermione had chosen a dress this week, a red number, the hem coming to her knees, some round closed toed heels on her feet, a small cardigan thrown over the top.

"You look beautiful, I will say this now, red is definitely your colour" Draco said, kissing her cheek as they exited, collecting Scorpius and heading for the hair and make-up rooms.

A dressing gown wrapped around her, she listened as Scorpius chattered beside her, a lady dusting her face with various make-up palettes, before the two women swapped over, Hermione's hair being shaken out of the loose pony tail she'd put it in in rehearsals and instead being plaited elegantly and swept over one shoulder.

Finally dressed and ready, the pair and child headed to the green room, taking a seat on a vacant sofa, Scorpius between them, Draco's arm draped over the back of it, Hermione, leaning back into the soft cushions, Draco's hand playing with her collar and hair at the nape of her neck.

"Hello and welcome to another 'It Takes Two' its Friday everyone! Tonight, we have the wonderful Christian McCallum down at the Strictly studio poking around for any gossip the day before the show, and backstage we have 3 wonderful couples ready to spook-ify our Halloween extravaganza. We have, Hannah and Vincent, we have Daniel and Rachel, and we have Hermione and Draco, and special guest Scorpius!" Hermione's smile widened at the look of joy on the boy's face. "But first, we need to speak to the judge who last week gave the highest score to no less than 3 couples, please give it up for, Selina Valentine".

Hermione and Draco watched the show unfold on the Green Room TV screen, Scorpius still beaming at his inclusion in the show, they watched on as Jenny interviewed Selina, and then the screen flickered to Christian at the studio across the way. The two stood, Scorpius between them, his hands tightly clutched in the two adults.

"Now my first couple this evening have been dancing up a treat at the top of the leader board and this weekend they'll hope to do the same when they Cha-Cha, please welcome Hermione and Draco!" The trio walked to the sofa as a VT played, Hermione sitting closest to the screen separating the sofas as usual, Scorpius between them, and Draco on the end, arm on the back on the sofa, which Hermione had come to realise was his normal seated position.

"Hello, you three, Scorpius what a pleasure to meet you" Jenny said, and the blonde boy blushed, his head turning into his father's shirt, the elder blondes hand coming to ruffle his son's hair. "Let's get to talking about last week's performance, Hermione how is everything going with those injuries?"

"I'm ok now, I've been resting when I can, and just generally doing what I can to repair what was damaged".

"The routine was fun and alive, you got an 'A-maz-ing' from Martin, how was that?"

"We were both astonished" Draco replied. "Everybody wants to hear that from him".

"I think for me that felt better than any of the scores, it's one of the things you want to hear when you sign up to do this show, and to actually hear it about you, that's an incredible feeling" Hermione added.

"Now looking to this week, its Halloween and you're dancing the Cha-Cha to this gem from Kylie" They played the chorus of the song in the studio. "How has that been going?"

"Good, really good, though I'd say that about any dance we've done!" Draco joked; Scorpius having finally dragged his face away from his father to now look around curiously.

"I haven't felt as connected with this one, it's fun but I don't know, hopefully everything will go alright tomorrow night" Hermione added.

"Now I heard a rumour that you two will be dressed as red devils tomorrow night?" Jenny asked.

"Well, I can't say much but that's the general theme" Draco said. Jenny nodding along with his answer.

"And now, Mr Scorpius, one last question, who would you like to win this series?"

"Daddy and 'Mione!" The boy answered enthusiastically. "They're the best!"

"Well, you heard it here first folks! Thank you, Hermione, Draco and Scorpius, my next guests this evening are the couple who wowed us last week with their Tango, its Daniel and Rachel" Jenny continued, turning to face a different camera, as the three of them slinked off set.


Saturday morning came with a shock to Hermione, awaking once more in Draco's guest bedroom, Scorpius cuddled in with her once more. She was coming to find that it was becoming one of the best feelings in the world, awaking to find the small boy cuddled into her.

"Morning sleepy heads" Draco said, not a moment later, coming through the entry way, and sitting on the edge of the bed beside her.

"Morning" Hermione said, smiling sleepily as she sat up slowly, trying to not startle the young boy awake.

"Hey Scorp, it's time to wake up buddy" Draco said, shaking the boy lightly.

"Morning" The boy said, rubbing his tired eyes, his head emerging from where it had been tucked into Hermione's shoulder.

"Morning sleepy head" Hermione greeted, ruffling his sleep mused hair.

"Breakfast is on the counter" Draco said, the small boys' eyes brightening as he hurried out of the bed, his feet thundering on the stairs as he ran down them and into the kitchen. The two adults watching in amusement as he went. "Morning beautiful" Draco greeted, turning back to her, and placing a kiss on her lips. Over the past few week's things had slowly began getting more heated between the two of them, and Hermione found herself wrestling to keep a lid on her desire.

"Morning, come on, Scorpius will be desperate to start." She said, finding the strength to pull away from him, grabbing his hand as she stood, and pulling him after his son.

"Your bag packed from Grandma and Grandpa's?" Draco asked his son as they all sat around the dining table, food on their plates.

"Yes, Grandma helped me yesterday".

"Good boy" Draco replied. "Well if you're finished, go and get washed and dressed please".

The boy nodded, leaving the table before hurrying back up the stairs.

Hermione finished shortly after, dropping her plate in the sink with the boys', returning to the guest bedroom where she showered quickly in the adjoining bathroom before dressing in her leggings and a clean top.

Returning downstairs, her bag over her shoulder whilst she toed on her shoes. Draco following behind her not long after.

"Scorp, come on, it's time to go!" Draco shouted for his son, a blonde head appearing from the living room, his shoes on his feet already.

"Got everything?" Hermione inquired. The boy nodded in reply. "Ok then, let's go!"

The three of them turning to the door and rushing through the heavy rain and into Draco's car.


They arrived at the studio, minus Scorpius at around noon, hands clasped together tightly, the pair wandered to the green room, Hermione hastily dropping off her bag, grabbing her phone and shoes, and sneaking a few heated kisses from her partner.

They headed for the costume department, being greeted warmly by Georgina. Draco wandered over to a free costumer, and Hermione watched as Georgina grabbed a red shimmery play suit from a costume rack.

Heading into the usual booth, she slipped her own clothes off, toeing off her trainers, before she slipped into the costume Georgina had all but thrust at her. The woman in question sewing her into it just as quickly as usual.

Grabbing her clothes and shoes, she moved to observe her reflection in the full-length mirror.

"I was right, red is your colour" Draco said, a smirk on his face, though his eyes dark with desire.

Hermione was clad in glittering red, shimmering tassels covering the entire outfit, her thighs being tickled by the long tassels which dropped from the shorts bottom of the costume. Draco in turn had a no shirt on, his bare chest exposed, a pair of red trousers on the bottom. Martin, another costumer came around one of the racks, before he handed a bejewelled waist coat to Draco, which he slung over his shoulders, it doing nothing to hide his chiselled chest.

Smiling and thanking Georgina, the red clad couple headed for hair and make-up. Hermione was awed upon entering the room, the entire cast of this year's Strictly, slowly being transformed into garish ghouls.

Hermione moved to a vacant seat, Draco heading for another, and soon Francine was taming her hair. Hermione watched as the woman pulled her hair into a half up, half down style, straightening the lot before curling it into silky tendrils, pining some devil horns onto her head to finish. Smiling in thanks, Hermione smiled as Vikki approached her, her make-up palettes open and ready.

Upon opening her eyes, a while later, Hermione found her make-up smoky, red jewels stuck to her lash line, over the top, dramatic eyeliner reaching out from her eyes, lips bright red. Perfect for their Halloween week dance.

"Thank you" Hermione voiced, still mesmerised by her appearance.

Waiting for Draco, the pair headed for the green room once more, Hermione admiring his chiselled chest, his costume not hiding anything. She was finding it increasingly more difficult to control herself around him, and this outfit was definitely not helping.

Soon show time arrived and the couple shed themselves of their dressing gowns and Hermione slipped on her Latin shoes, special ones, bright red in colour and bedazzled similarly, joining the rest of the cast for their ritual before lining up on the stairs.

"Live from the Strictly Dancing Stars Studios in London, please welcome your hosts, Tina Mahone and Olivia Harrison".

"Hello and welcome to Halloween week! Now last week we had to say goodbye to Maria and Tom" Tina began.

Now, we have 10 nervous celebrities who all want to make it through to next week" Olivia said.

"Yes, but before we meet them, it's time to introduce our judges!" Tina said.

"Martin 'Mysterious' Thomas" Olivia said.

"Selina 'Scary' Valentine" Tina continued.

"Zoe 'Spine-Chilling' Chalmers"

"And Tim 'Terrifying' Lisetsky"

"Our judges everyone!" Olivia said.

"Now I think it's time week meet…" Tina said.

"Our spooky stars." They said together.

"Footballer, Zachary 'Shuddermore' Bell and his partner, Ola 'Ominous' Aksana"

"Stage Actress and Author, Hermione 'Hair-Raising' Granger and her partner, Draco 'Dastardly' Malfoy"

The pair, waved to the audience, hands clutched in one another's, before descending the stairs, and standing in their spot, Draco's arms around her as usual, his fingers playing with the tassels of her playsuit, a wide grin on his face.

"Singer, Phoebe 'Petrifying' Stevens and her partner, Michael 'Menacing' Peace"

"TV presenter, Simon 'Scary' Lake and his partner, Michelle 'Magical' Norris"

"Tennis Star and Wimbledon Champion, Angelina 'Abominable' Johnson and her partner, Peter 'Phantasmal' Fletcher"

"Olympic Gold Medallist, Daniel 'Diabolical' Hulmes and his partner, Rachel 'Wretched' Evans"

"Ireland Rugby Captain, Seamus 'Spine-Chilling' Finnegan and his partner, Lindsey 'Leech' Thompson"

"Children's TV Personality, Hannah 'Horrifying' Reid and her partner, Vincent 'Vampiric' Alamore"

"TV Doctor, Diana 'Diabolical' McCall and her partner, Liam 'Lurid' Malloy"

"And finally, Charlie 'Chilling' Walsh and his partner, Witney 'Wacky' Larson"

"There they all are" Tina said.

"Don't they look spooky?"

"Dancing first tonight is, Diana and Liam, and after last week's disaster Salsa, they'll be hoping to pull off a Wicked Waltz".

They moved off the floor, and about 4 couples in, moved to the stairs ready for their turn to dance, having their hair and make-up touched up quickly, they stood closely together as usual.

"Now this week, Hermione and Draco are facing the dreaded Cha-Cha, but after her injury and some outside pressure, can Hermione pull this off? Let's hope so" Tina introduced, their VT beginning to play.

They moved to the dance floor, Draco grabbing his prop, and into their starting positions. The tassels on Hermione's outfit shimmering and jingling as she walked. Draco stood opposite her; the lights shining off his waist coat in the bright lights of the studio.

"Dancing the Cha-Cha to 'Better the Devil You Know' by Kylie Minogue, Hermione Granger and her partner, Draco Malfoy".

They began dancing, Hermione feeling confident and sexy, Draco smiling at her, her hips sashaying to the music. About halfway through the routine after kicking her foot up behind her, she felt her heel become trapped in a tassel, falling to the floor ungracefully as she lost her battle, she untangled her foot quickly and re-joined the routine, but the damage was done.

"I'm so sorry" She whispered into Draco's ear as the song ended. Tears gathering in her eyes.

"It's ok" He said, kissing her head, "Don't worry about it, these things happen".

"Come over here guys" Tina beckoned the couple, a sympathetic look on her face. "Let's see what the judges have to say, Tim?"

"My darling, you were doing so well, and then the mishap, your job is to pick yourself up and move on, look forward to next week, I'm certain you'll be there".

"Martin?"

"Well, that was a bit of a disaster wasn't it darling? It's such a shame, but I must commend you, even after that you weren't thrown, you continued dancing, and you put on a show for us out there".

"Selina?"

"Your arms were beautiful, your legs were on fire, and it's such a shame about the mishap, but look these things happen".

"And Zoe?"

"It was looking so good, I was so proud of how you handled what happened, I've seen pro dancers' crumble. We know we can see you next week to bring your A-game and show us what your made of".

"So that's what the judges had to say, why don't you head on up to Olivia for the scores" Tina said, Hermione and Draco running up the stairs.

Standing in front of the rest of the cast, Hermione could feel tears burning in her eyes, disappointment burning within her, it was going so well before she got caught up.

"You were so, so good, everyone up here held their breath when your heel got caught" Olivia said. "Are you alright sweet?"

"Yeah, sorry this is so stupid" Hermione said, wiping a tear from her cheek, "I'm just disappointed I know how I can dance that, and that's not it".

Draco kissed her head once more, his arms wrapping around her.

"Oh darling, you were wonderful though, despite it, you still lit this ballroom on fire" Olivia said, hand reaching for Hermione's. "Shall we get your scores?"

"Martin Thomas?"

"6"

"Selina Valentine?"

"7"

"Zoe Chalmers?"

"7"

"Tim Lisetsky?"

"7"

"That gives you 27 out of 40, don't worry my darling, we know you can do that brilliantly, remember, they need your votes to make it through to next week, you can vote online, call or text, but don't vote now as your vote won't count and you may still be charged. Tina"

Hermione sighed as she and Draco moved backstage for a moment.

"I'm so sorry." She said, a stray tear falling off her face.

"It's ok babe, I swear" Draco told her, thumbs wiping away her stray tears, his forehead pressed against hers. "It could have been a lot worse, Astoria's whole dress ripped completely off once when we were competing, she was left in her modesty shorts and shoes and that was all, boobs out and everything" Hermione giggled lightly at that, sniffling. "Come on baby, there's nothing to be done now".

She nodded, wiping her glistening eyes. She hoped that despite it, they'd done enough to earn enough votes to stay in the competition, but she couldn't help the knowing feeling in her gut which told her it wasn't.


There we are guys, how about that mishap though?

As always, let me know what you thought!

Love to you all,

DWMS6