Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter! Only the storyline and plot are mine!
A/N: I wrote this chapter extra extra long for you guys! Please accept this as an apology for the short chapter and inconsistent updates! Trying to get back into writing after a crazy summer!
Chapter 29
The days following Draco and Hermione's final break up slowly turned into weeks and those weeks into months. Before Draco knew it, December had rolled around and the school was buzzing in anticipation for the upcoming Christmas ball McGonagall had proposed. It seemed to be part of the Headmistresses' plan to show unity and optimism among Hogwarts students following the war.
As Heads, Draco and Hermione had been put in charge of organizing the big event, and Draco had resented McGonagall for it. It forced him to keep in contact with Hermione once a week so they could give one another as well as the school prefects updates and make sure everything was running smoothly. Draco hated this because he had been planning to avoid Hermione ever since she had made it clear to him that they had no chance together. He knew it was childish of him, but he didn't want to have to speak with her, or collaborate with her or be in close vicinity of her. Because all of that made it so much harder to get over her. As if it wasn't already hard enough.
Draco had attempted everything to forget about the witch, but she had left a burning imprint on him and he didn't know how to shake it off. He had had a phase where he and the boys had gone out drinking themselves shitless every night, hoping the alcohol would help him drown out the memories of her. He had had a phase in which he had attempted to hook up with a few other witches in school, but he found no witch could get his blood pumping like Hermione. He had had a phase in which he isolated himself completely, skipping classes and meals, but that didn't seem to help either.
So now he was trying to act normal -well, as normal as possible when half the school hated him and the other half feared him. He stuck to the Slytherin's for company -mainly Blaise, went to class and focused on perfecting his grades after his terrible academic performance in 6th year and tried to hide the fact that his heart was utterly broken from everyone. It seemed that Draco Malfoy would never get over Hermione Granger, and that was just something he had to live with.
"You're going to end up old, alone and miserable just like father." he muttered to himself as he headed down to dinner.
"Talking to yourself?" he heard the familiar voice of Blaise behind him. "You really have gone mad, Draco." Blaise smirked as he fell into step next to him.
Draco sneered at his friend as they walked. He had to admit, he was grateful for Blaise. Draco was not unaware of the whispers and dirty looks that followed him around school. He wasn't unaware of the students who spoke down on him and his family behind his back. He was also not unaware of the fact that Blaise was constantly shutting down the students who did partake in the Draco Malfoy hate club. Blaise seemed to be the only one who actually gave a shit about him in this school, and for that, Draco was grateful.
"So, you figure out who you're taking to the ball?" Blaise asked. "I hear you've had a shit load of proposals from the hopeful witches of Hogwarts."
Draco let out a laugh at this. It was true, several witches had asked him to the Ball, much to his surprise. "I reckon that has something to do with the fact that I'm to inherit the Malfoy riches on my birthday next year." he scoffed. "Father gave it all up once he was arrested, putting it all in my mother's name. Mother of course refused it, and insisted that it be given to me. Skeeter won't stop writing about it. I don't know how that bitch gets all of the information before I even do." Draco scowled.
It was true, he had found out about the Malfoy inheritance being released to him through the Daily Prophet just a few weeks ago. He had immediately written to his mother and demanded answers, in which she had confirmed that he was in fact going to inherit the impressive Malfoy estate at the ripe age of 19.
Blaise let out a low whistle. "Right, dunno how I forgot about that. You're really going to the richest fucking kid in England, Draco." he praised, slapping his friend on the back.
"Lucky me." he muttered sarcastically.
Blaise smirked. "Lighten up, mate. You can do anything you want with all of that! You can leave the country, start over and forget all about Her-"
"Don't." Draco hissed, cutting him off. "Don't… talk about her."
"Come on, Draco. It's been months. You won't even let me mention her name! I'm your best mate! You can talk to me about her!" Blaise feigned a pout.
"If I wanted to talk about her, I would, alright? I told you, we're done. It's never going to happen and I don't want to talk about it. What's the point?" Draco scowled. "Now stop acting like a fucking Hufflepuff about it."
Blaise scowled back. "I'm not acting like a Hufflepuff!" he exclaimed and they made their way to the Slytherin table in the Great Hall.
The boys joined the rest of the Slytherins for dinner and Draco's eyes unconsciously sought out a certain curly haired witch at the Gryffindor table. He watched as she laughed at something Potter said, before she began scooping food onto her plate. Draco both hated and loved the fact that she seemed to be returning back to her usual self. Over the last few months she had slowly eased herself back into her usual routine; sitting at the front of class, answering all questions, showing up for all three meals, completing her schoolwork in the library and socializing with her peers.
Draco would have sworn she was better than ever, if not for the vacant, broken expression on her face when no one was looking. Well, no one but him. It was usually in the middle of her meal, as everyone around her bustled with conversation that Draco would catch her zoning out, staring off across the hall with dull eyes. Or sometimes when he would enter their quarters late at night, he would catch her sitting in front of the fire, staring so deeply into it that she didn't even realize he too had entered the room. He had to refrain himself from inquiring anytime he caught her in one of those moments. She wasn't his to worry about, not anymore.
"May I have your attention, students!" McGonagall called from the front of the hall, hands raised. The hall slowly began to quiet down as students turned to face the Headmistress.
"As you all know, our Christmas ball will be held on Friday for all students in fourth year and up." Her announcement was held by a collective groan from the younger students. "I would like to remind you all that I expect everyone to be on their best behaviour. This ball will include several important guests as well as a feature in the Daily Prophet. Please do keep in mind that this ball is not an excuse to horse around, but rather to showcase our unity and victory as a school following this year's great war. We will honour our fallen classmates and peers who were lost in this war, end the year off on an optimistic note and show the Wizarding World that Hogwarts stands strong." she continued, ignoring the whispers that scattered among the students at the mention of the war.
"I expect everyone to arrive in their best attire at 8:00pm sharp. Our Head Boy and Girl will start off the dance, followed by everyone else-" she explained, though Draco immediately tuned out after that bit of information.
He and Hermione? Doing the opening dance? Standing so close… so intimate...in front of everyone. His head snapped up and he looked straight at Hermione, surprised to find her already staring at him, lips pursed.
"Oh, fuck." he muttered, tearing his gaze away.
Hermione bit her lip as she observed herself in the mirror, running her shaky hands over the smooth fabric of her long white dress. Ginny had helped her pick it out, insisting it was made for her. The beautiful dress was made of a silky smooth fabric, adorned with a sweetheart neckline and a form fitting silhouette. The dress flared out just under her knees into a mermaid style, a trail dragging elegantly across the floor behind her when she walked. She was a bit uncomfortable with the way the fabric hugged her every curve and the way in which the sweetheart neckline pushed her breasts up on her chest, revealing a fair amount of cleavage.
None of this made her as uncomfortable as her bare arms, however. She hadn't exposed her arms to the public since her torture at Malfoy Manor. She had always been terrified at the thought of the ugly 'mudblood' scar on her forearm to be out in the open for everyone to stare at. She hadn't been able to find any long sleeved dresses she and Ginny could agree on, though, so she had settled for this one. She lifted her wand, murmuring a temporary concealment charm on the scar. She watched as it slowly faded into the rest of her skin until it was no longer noticeable.
She lifted her head again, peering at herself in the reflection one last time before she headed out to meet her friends in front of the Gryffindor common room. Ginny had helped her with her hair and makeup, and she had to admit she truly felt pretty. Her lashes looked longer and her eyes a bit sexier, her skin was glowing and her lips were a beautiful shade of pink, topped off with the slightest shine. Her terribly dark eyebags from her sleepless nights were gone, much to her relief. Her long curls were now in loose waves cascading down her back. Some of it had been pulled back into a beautiful jeweled clip she had picked up, with a few waves framing her face. She still looked like herself, for which she was glad, just a bit more… mature.
She found her mind drifting to Draco before she could stop herself and her heartbeat quickened at the thought of their dance tonight. She felt her nerves race at the thought of touching him again. Would it be awkward? Would she trip over her heels and embarrass herself terribly? Would he think she looked pretty?
She shook her head at that last thought, scolding herself. She couldn't think like that! She wasn't supposed to want to impress him. She wasn't supposed to care about what he thought. She was moving on with her life… that was her past! Or so she had been telling herself everyday for the last few months.
Get yourself together, Hermione. She thought as she bent over to strap her silver heels on before grabbing her wand and slipping out of the room and off to meet the others.
"Hermione!" she heard Harry call and she smiled brightly as she headed over to Ron, Ginny and Harry.
Ron had asked her to the ball -in a completely friendly manner. Neither of them had felt like taking real dates and so they had agreed to escort each other. Ginny and Harry of course were going together as well.
"You look nice, Hermione." said Harry as she approached them.
"Nice? You look freaking hot, Hermione!" exclaimed Ginny, reaching out to envelope ehr in a hug. Hermione blushed slightly, though grinned.
"Yeah, you look good," chimed Ron, scratching the back of his neck.
Hermione laughed slightly, gesturing in the direction of the Great Hall. "You all look great too! Now let's go!" she responded, taking Ron's arm as they headed down to the hall.
"So…" Ron began next to her as Ginny and Harry began to bicker over something. "You're going to have to dance with Malfoy." he said slightly awkwardly, glancing down at her.
"Yes… I am." she swallowed hard, hoping she sounded indifferent. "It's not a big deal. Just a dance." she continued, feeling like she was telling herself that more than Ron.
"Right." Ron quickly said, nodding. "I was just… you know. Making sure there wasn't anything else to it, you know? After what you did-"
Hermione felt a pang of hurt at his words as she frowned. "What I did… right."
"I mean, what he did! He." he quickly corrected herself.
Hermione nodded stiffly, turning her head away from him and straight ahead towards the doors of the Great Hall. She knew she didn't have a right to be hurt at his words, after all, her mistake had cost their side terrible losses. But still… she had thought they'd gotten past that. She already spent so much time blaming herself for so much. Something about one of her best friends also blaming her made her feel a bit colder.
Just then Harry and Ginny pushed open the doors in front of them, and the four of them stepped into the hall. Hermione smiled as she heard gasps around her as their group took in the hall. The great hall was decorated as the perfect magical winter wonderland. Everything was white and silver, with tall snowy Christmas trees all around, bright fairy lights floating around the room, shining icicles hanging from the windows and glass accents all around. The dance floor was made of a beautiful white marble with snow from the enchanted ceiling falling gracefully down onto it and melting away instantly.
The hall had taken hours of the prefects, professors and heads to decorate and Hermione had to admit she was quite proud of their work. It looked beautiful.
As she looked around, her eyes fell on the unmissable messy head of platinum hair. She froze in her spot as she took him in. His silver hair and pale skin matched perfectly with the hall, though he chose to wear triple black robes, contrasting greatly with the otherwise bright white hall. It was kind of funny actually, that her whole look tonight was light and soft, while his dark robes gave him a dark, harsh look.
Her eyes locked with his own from across the hall and she watched as his silver orbs drifted down to her hand in Ron's arm before quickly looking away. She felt her stomach turn nervously at that. She noticed that he didn't have a date on his arm… had he come stag? Surely not. She was quite aware of the many girls who had been whispering about asking Draco Malfoy to the ball. Maybe his date had stepped away for a bit?
She noticed the way many witches walked past him before poorly concealing whispers and giggles behind their hands. She had to stop herself from feeling annoyed at that. He wasn't hers. She had told him to leave her alone on multiple occasions; she had told him he had absolutely no chance with her. But she couldn't help that she still got a bit jealous as she watched him across the hall. He looked devilishly handsome, and Hermione thought it to be terribly unfair for someone to look so good yet be so... bad.
Her gaze was forced away from the Slytherin as McGonagall spoke out, calling for everyone's attention. The students of Hogwarts listened as the Headmistress gave her speech, welcoming all of the students, professors, Ministry officials, reporters and other guests who had shown up for the ball.
"And without further ado, I insist we get this lovely night started." Professor McGonagall concluded her speech, a tight smile on her face. "If our Head Boy, Draco Malfoy and Head Girl, Hermione Granger could make their way to the middle of the dance floor and lead the rest of the school into our opening dance." she spoke as the hall broke out into a forced applause.
"This oughta be good." whispered a Ravenclaw boy to his friend as she passed, smirk on his face as he eyed up Draco.
She tried to ignore the whispers that followed the pair of them as they each made their ways to the middle of the dance floor. She wondered how they would look together; known enemies who had fought on opposite sides of the war, now collaborating as Heads of Hogwarts. She subtly wiped her damp palms on her dress as she walked, going over the steps to the opening dance over and over in her head. She hoped she didn't embarrass herself terribly and end up sprawled on the floor. She swallowed hard as she reached the dance floor, tilting her head back to look up at him as they met in the middle.
He held his hand out to her, his long cool fingers stretched out in front of her. She forced her gaze away from his and took his hand, placing her other hand on his shoulder as he placed his other hand on her waist. She gasped at the contact, quiet enough for only him to hear. They were both very aware of the bit of distance they kept between each other, making sure not to touch more than they had to. She felt his grip on her waist tighten in response to her gasp and she forced her chin up, caramel eyes locking on his own.
They stared at each other for a few seconds and Hermione was so caught up in his beautiful silver orbs that she hadn't even noticed the flash of several cameras go off around them. The reporters were eating this up! War heroine Hermione Granger caught in an intimate moment with ex-Death Eater Draco Malfoy! It would surely make the morning paper.
McGonagall cleared her throat, signalling to the performers to begin the song, and Hermione had about three seconds to compose herself before Draco led her into the dance, gliding them across the marble dance floor. She noted the way he effortlessly guided her around the floor, perfectly in sync with the music. She supposed it was a pureblooded thing. Be a perfect dancer for extravagant events like these.
She hoped she was keeping up well. She had spent the last few weeks practicing this dance with Harry and Ron in the Gryffindor common room until she had absolutely perfected it. Like so many times before, she had felt the need to prove herself as a muggleborn. She could keep up with these snotty pureblood traditions too.
She slowly began to get lost in the beautiful music, forgetting all about the audience around them. She spun elegantly as the song went on, a small smile spreading across her face as Draco spread his arm out to spin her before pulling her back closely to him. This felt so… perfect. She hadn't even noticed that Draco had placed his hand on her lower back after bringing her back in from her spin, pressing her front flush against his own.
Before she knew it, the song came to an end and the hall around them broke out into a roaring applause. Hermione jumped at the commotion, snapping her head up to look around at the grinning faces around them. Some students whooped at the pair, grins on their faces while others glared at Draco, almost as if they were scolding him for daring to touch Hermione. Her caramel eyes sought out her friends as the applause died down, and she felt her stomach churn as she noted the disapproving looks Harry and Ron were sending her from their table. She followed their gazes with a frown, feeling her face burn in humiliation when she noticed that she was still tightly gripping Draco's hand. She quickly dropped it as if she had gotten burned before stepping back and creating some distance between her and Draco.
"Bravo!" exclaimed McGonagall, smiling in approval at her Heads from where she stood. "Now if everyone else would like to join," she insisted as the song began to change and couples began to flood the dance floor.
Hermione turned back to Draco, unsure of whether or not she should say anything. Before she could utter a word, she felt a hand enclose around her bicep and she turned to face Ron who had pulled her further away from Draco.
"Don't think we don't see through you, Malfoy." hissed Ron, glaring at the Slytherin.
"I don't know what you mean, Weasley." said Draco, sounding almost bored.
"Just keep your hands to yourself, alright? We all saw that stunt you just pulled! Trying to hold her all close like you're..." Ron trailed off, face growing red in anger.
"This may be difficult for you to understand given your upbringing, Weasley," Draco began, voice low. "But I was simply leading the dance. It's actually a very popular dance in the Wizarding world, I'm surprised I even have to explain it to you. Actually…" he cut himself off, tapping his chin as he feigned thoughtfulness. "You were always a bit slow, weren't you?"
Hermione frowned disapprovingly at Draco. "Hey!" she began, coming to Ron's defense.
Ron growled, hands clenched in fists at his sides. "You may be Head Boy but don't think anyone's forgotten Malfoy! You're nothing but a cowardly Death Eater and the only reason you're not rotting away next to your pathetic father is because-"
Draco's jaw clenched in anger and before Ron could finish his sentence, Draco had shoved him back, cutting him off. "Watch your fucking mouth, Weasley." he warned as a few students began to notice the squabble.
"Why should I, huh?" Ron asked, brushing Hermione's hands off him as she attempted to tug him back and away from the dance floor. "It's true. The Ministry might have given you a pardon, and McGonagall might've given you a second chance here, but everyone else sees right through you. We all remember exactly who you really are, Malfoy. We all know about every one of your little mistakes. We all know it's your fault Dumbledore's dead! We all know you and your pathetic family were actually living with Voldemort during the war!" Ron's nose crinkled in disgust. "We all know what you did to Hermione." he finished, a smug expression on his face as Draco's eyes flickered towards Hermione.
"Ronald, this is not the time and place for this!" Hermione hissed, face flushing red as the topic of conversation turned to her.
"Ah, so that's what this is about, is it?" Draco finally spoke after a few seconds of silence following Ron's outburst. "Still trying to win her over?" Draco said, voice teasing as he stepped forward until he and Ron were standing just a few inches apart.
"Well guess what, Weasley." Draco purred, a smirk on his lips. "She'll never give you a chance. But you already know that, don't you? She sees you as nothing more than a friend; maybe even a brother! I fucked up, sure. I betrayed her trust, fucked her over, made all the wrong choices. But even after all of that, she still isn't yours. She's hated me for the last year, and guess what? She still hasn't come running back to you. You'll never be good enough for her, Weasley."
"Draco! That's enough!" Hermione hissed, humiliated. She hoped no one had heard that.
"You little prick!" Ron exclaimed, shaking in the spot.
Draco smirked in triumph at Ron's distress. "Little prick? I'm sure Hermione would beg to differ-" he said cockily and Hermione gasped before she reared her hand back, slapping him across the face.
Students around them were now openly watching the scene unfold before them, and Hermione hoped the little fight didn't spread to the reporters or McGonagall. Draco gritted his teeth, his cold glare now directed at her. She glared back at him, tears prickling in her eyes. She couldn't believe him… she couldn't believe Ron, either. They were both behaving like terribly immature school boys.
Hermione turned on her heel before pushing past dancing students as she made her way off the dancefloor. She had to leave. She kept her head bowed as she fought back tears... her second school dance and she was running out crying, again.
"Stay the fuck away from her, Malfoy!" Ron threatened before he turned, following after Hermione.
Draco watched him leave, jaw clenched. Of course Weasley was off to be her knight in shining armour. Despite what he had said… Draco actually did see Weasley as a threat. The boy was everything Draco wasn't… he came from a close knit, loving family, he was a Gryffindor, he was Harry Potter's best friend and he had the best chance at winning Hermione's affections than anyone. Draco had been green with envy as he watched Hermione walk into the hall that evening on the pathetic Weasel's arm.
He sincerely hoped his words would throw Weasley off and make him insecure enough to fall back and truly believe he had no chance. The Slytherin in him was stuck to the idea that if he couldn't have her… no one could.
"What the fuck are you looking at?" Draco hissed at the couple who had watched the scene unfold next to them. The couple immediately averted their gaze, faces flushing as they inched away from him. Draco scowled, making his way off the dance floor.
"Nice one, asshole." he heard a voice speak as he made his way over to the drinks table.
"Fuck off, Blaise." Draco muttered.
"No, seriously! That'll have her running back to you in no time! Pick fights with her friends and humiliate her in front of everyone," Blaise said sarcastically, sipping from his drink.
"How many times am I gonna fucking tell you, Blaise? She's not coming back to me! We're done! She's done! I've accepted that, and now so should you." Draco snatched Blaise's drink from his hand, tossing his head back and downing the liquid. Firewhiskey. Perfect.
Blaise glared at Draco. "You're an idiot, mate. You had something good with her… and you fucked it up. And now you're acting like some little boy mopping over his broken heart." Blaise began, expression growing serious. "What do you expect from her? You think she's gonna take you back? Just like that? You really fucked her over, Draco. You should've seen her after everything. Her friends abandoned her, you left her here to face everyone all alone, she had to wipe her parents memories just a few weeks after everything and then she had to buckle up and piece herself back together to fight in the fucking war! Of course she's not going to want to jump right back into it with you!"
"Whose fucking side are you on, Blaise," Draco scowled, pinching the bridge of his nose as he listened to his friend, guilt rising in his chest as he absorbed his words.
"You're my best mate, Draco. Of course I'll always have your back. But this shit with Hermione… it needs to stop. You either want her back, and you fight for her… or you let her go. And I mean really let her go. You can't pick fights with her date and pull her close to you during a fucking dance like you're her boyfriend. You fucked up, Draco. You pushed her away, you betrayed her trust and you fucked her over. You saw her these last few months. She was in a really fucked up place, and she just started to get back to herself… I know you've noticed it. She was started to seem somewhat happy again and here you go, fucking it all up. You can't keep playing with her like this. You need to let her do better. I love you, mate. But I have love for her too. And I won't let you fuck her over like this." Blaise finished, frowning.
Draco felt a rush of defensiveness wash over him and he opened his mouth to defend himself against Blaise's words, but he stopped himself. He knew Blaise was right. He was being unfair to Hermione. She had seemed to be doing better after so long. She had walked into the GReat Hall tonight looking excited, happy even. And he had ruined the night for her by provoking Weasley. Draco sighed, running a hand over his face as he replayed Blaise's words over and over in his mind.
He excused himself before he headed out of the hall, seeking out Hermione. After aimlessly wandering around for gnarly half an hour, he found her out on the grounds, back to him as she stood in front of the lake. She hadn't heard him yet, and he was glad. He took a minute to take her in, and his breath caught in his throat as his eyes ran over her figure in her dress.
His gaze lingered on her shapely arse before he forced them to continue moving up her figure. He took in the smooth, creamy skin of her exposed back and he ached to touch it. His fingers twitched as he approached her and he wanted nothing more than to bury his hands in her loose waves. He eyed the unusually bare skin of her arms and his gaze flickered to her exposed forearm as he sought out the scar his Aunt had inflicted on her. She must have concealed it.
Just then she glanced back over her shoulder and Draco's eyes locked on her own. Her lips pressed together disapprovingly at the sight of him and she averted her gaze. "I'm not interested in continuing that conversation, Draco." Hermione muttered.
"I didn't come to continue it. I came to apologize." he said, swallowing hard as she stared at him in surprise. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for letting Weasley get to me. I'm sorry for humiliating you and ruining your night." He forced the words out of his mouth, realizing that he had never apologized to anyone in his life as much as he had been apologizing to Hermione since they had first gotten involved.
She stared at him for a few seconds, surprise evident on her face. "Thank you." she finally said, nodding as she turned her body to face him.
"I also just wanted to tell you that you look beautiful." he said, swallowing the lump in his throat as they faced one another. "You look beautiful, and I'm the biggest fucking idiot in this world for ever letting you go."
"I don't know what to say…" she finally said after a minute of silence, cheeks pink at his praise.
"There are a lot of things I've done in my life that I look back on and wish I did differently. I've hurt people… I've tortured people… I've done things that led to people dying. I have a lot of blood on my hands. Despite everything… Despite all of the fucked up shit I've done, there's nothing I regret more than letting you go." he continued, words tumbling out of his mouth before he could think twice about them. "I should've told you about the task I was given. I should've told you that I had been forced to join the Death Eaters. I should've never gone through with the cabinet. I should've never left you here, all alone after what I'd done. I should've reached out to you last summer, made sure you were okay after everything. I should've ripped Bellatrix to pieces for what she did to you. I should've stopped her in front of everyone as soon as the torture started in the Manor. I should've protected you…" his voice cracked as he spoke and he lowered his head in shame. "I should've switched sides during the battle. I should've been sentenced to life in Azkaban for the things I've done. I should've died-"
"Don't say that, Draco." Hermione said, cutting him off and taking a step towards him, hand outstretched to him.
He shook his head, refusing her touch. "No… I didn't come here to try and win you back. I came to set things right. I came to tell you that I'm not going to mop around anymore. I'm not going to act like a jealous asshole whenever I see you with another guy. I'm not going to keep ruining things for you. I'm not going to hold you back, not anymore. You deserve to be happy, so I just wanted to know that you have nothing to worry about when it comes to us."
Hermione stared at him in silence, her hand dropping to her side. She appeared to be deep in thought, a sad expression on her face. Was that… disappointment? Draco shook his head, stopping his thoughts from getting him ahead of himself.
"Friends?" Draco asked, breaking the silence and holding his hand out in front of him.
She eyed the hand for a few seconds before nodding. "Friends." she agreed softly, placing her hand in his. Both their breaths hitched at the physical contact and their eyes locked, as if daring the other to take it further.
It would've been the perfect opportunity to kiss her. Her caramel eyes even flickered down to his lips, her tongue darting out to dampen her own. Fuck. Draco cleared his throat loudly, breaking the eye contact and dropping her hand.
"Can I walk you back inside?" he asked, offering her his arm instead and puffing his chest out dramatically.
He felt a wave of warmth spread through him as a giggle escaped her lips. She curtsied playfully before taking his arm and allowing him to lead her back inside. They stopped in front of the doors to the hall and Draco turned to her.
"You can go in first. I'll follow in a few minutes." he said, dropping her arm.
She frowned. "No." she shook her head. "We're friends. I don't want to hide. We can go in together."
Draco let out a dry, humourless laugh. "Come on, Hermione. You saw how everyone reacted to us doing the opening dance and that was mandatory. You've got a reputation to uphold now, being the world's saviour and all. Can't have a Death Eater escorting you in." he said, attempting to sound playful, though there was a slightly bitter edge to his tone.
"You're not a Death Eater." she corrected, holding her hand out to him. "The war is over, Draco. There aren't any sides anymore. We don't need to hide anything, not anymore. You've paid for your mistakes, and now it's time to move forward. We've been at school for three months now and everyone still treats you like you're some outsider. It's time to move on from all of that. Come on."
He hesitated, taking in her words. Did she really mean it? "People won't be happy with you. You see how they turn their noses up at me."
"Well I don't give a damn. We're friends. Everyone's just going to have to accept that, including my own friends." she pushed, sighing when he still didn't take her hand. "Look, Draco. You can't keep acting like you don't care about anything. You're smart. You're skilled. You have so much potential, you have so much out there waiting for you. I know you're not very popular after everything, but you have to try to move on from the war. You have to show all those people that you're not just some spoiled kid who became a Death Eater as soon as he turned 16."
She reached down, hooking her arm with his own and moving to stand next to him once more. "I forgave you. Everyone else should be easy." she said, not waiting for a response before she pushed open the doors.
Several heads turned as the pair entered the hall just as the latest song ended. Whispers erupted throughout the hall and people noticed her arm tucked into his. Reporter cameras flashed and Draco forced himself to take charge, leading Hermione further into the hall.
They ignored the attention and Draco guided her to the dance floor once more just as the next song started up. "May I have this dance?" he said, voice loud and clear in the hushed hall.
Hermione blushed, nodding as he led her into the next dance. People around them slowly followed suit, dancing with their own partners. Voices slowly began to fill the hall again and before long, it seemed everyone had gotten over their entrance.
"They look oddly good together." whispered a sixth year Hufflepuff couple next to them as Draco and Hermione danced effortlessly across the hall. Draco smiled sadly at this.
A/N: Phew! This is the longest chapter to date! Hope you guys enjoyed and as always thank you for the reviews, follows and favourites!
