FFn/A03 name: StarrAngelofNarnia
House: Ravenclaw (Stand-In)
Class: Ancient Runes (Stand-In)
Category: Drabble (Round 6)
Word Count: 1,000
Prompt/Prompts: [Action] Dancing (THC); Start and end your story with the exact same sentence (QL Game Night); [Action] Twirling (QL Prompt Bingo)
Warnings/Disclaimers: mild swearing
"Haven't you people ever heard of closing the God-damn door?!" Draco shouted at his girlfriend as he did just that. Ex-girlfriend now.
He had stepped out of the Great Hall to get some fresh air. He hadn't expected to find his date snogging a Durmstrang boy in an empty closet.
"She pines after me for weeks over this Merlin-forsaken ball just to cheat on me with a foreigner," he grumbled to himself. This stupid Yule Ball had been a lot more trouble than it was worth. Pansy had been nothing short of a headache in the previous weeks, wanting to spend as much time with him as she could, in hopes that they would be an item worth talking about by Christmas. Hermione Granger somehow ended up being the most beautiful girl at the dance and she entered on the arm of a literal celebrity, whom Draco had admired as an athlete until just then. The only slight redeeming factor of the evening was that Potter had looked grossly unprepared and unenthusiastic as he'd opened the dance with the rest of the champions, but even that had been less satisfying than he'd hoped.
Draco wandered around outside for a few moments more before tiring of finding every hideaway occupied by snogging couples. Back inside, he made himself as scarce as possible, searching the Hall for anything worth involving himself in. Goading Potter and Weasley would have been entertaining, as they were easy to rile, but neither were anywhere to be found. Granger, on the other hand, danced in the center of the floor, twirled around by Viktor Krum. Draco would have never pinned the quidditch star as a muggle lover, given the reputation of Durmstrang. But at least that gave him a reason to express a sudden hatred for the famed seeker.
He could not deny, no matter how hard he tried, that Granger was beautiful tonight. Her periwinkle dress robes hugged her figure perfectly. The normal rat's nest she called hair had been smoothed and done up, the loose strands falling in soft curls on the side of her head. And her teeth, which he had personally made hideous weeks before, were somehow perfect now.
The music slowed and the occupants of the dance floor gave a round of applause. A new song started up, this one more lively, and Krum offered Granger a hand which she happily took, and the two disappeared even farther into the crowd of dancing students.
OoOoO
"Two highly anticipated balls and somehow you managed to enter both of them as a guest of honor," Draco teased as he led Hermione through the first dance of the evening.
Tonight was a gala in honor of the newly established Malfoy Ward of Muggle Afflictions. Not only had he donated a generous sum of money to the project, he had also established the standards of care, alongside his partner, from their own experiences in muggle hospitals. The medical staff of this new ward were being recognized tonight, in hopes that the gala might also fundraise for St. Mungoes as a whole.
"What can I say? My social life is far more colorful than yours. Helps that I wasn't a bigot all through school."
He smirked. "One of the best things about being with you is that you keep me humble."
She smiled. "It's a tough job. But somebody's gotta do it."
The first dance ended, so Draco bowed to his partner, who curtsied in return. Then, as he had anticipated, the spotlight turned to him, as did the guests still seated at the surrounding tables. He cleared his throat before magnifying his voice with the sonorous charm.
"This gala tonight isn't about me. It's about healing the wixen of our community who might not be with us if not for radical advances in our medical understanding."
"In honor of those fighting battles for health we can't understand and those who've already won them," he continued, glancing over at his fiancée, one of such patients he'd mentioned, "I better see every single attendee on the dance floor at least once tonight."
There was a brief round of applause.
Draco stood there awkwardly until his partner, Healer Astoria Greengrass, nudged him aside. "Let the dancing commence!"
As soon as the speech had ended, Hermione pulled Draco back onto the dance floor. She'd purchased new dress robes for this, and was going to show them off as much as she could. But two songs later, she started drooping.
Draco pulled her off the floor and out onto one of the small private balconies to get some fresh air in the cool autumn evening. "Don't forget my love, it's still recommended to give your heart a break." He snaked his fingers up her neck, lingering a moment too long against her pulse point to be unintentional.
"Draco, I'm fine. I've lived with a cardiac condition long enough, even without your intervention."
His hand cradled her neck and he pulled her in for a kiss. "But what kind of healer would I be if I didn't keep an eye on my most stubborn of patients?"
"You'd be my fiancé, not my healer," she answered cheekily.
A silence fell between them, and Draco's hands began wandering across Hermione's exposed skin. He kissed her again, with a bit more passion than before.
"Draco, we can't. We're at a public event. That you're an honoree for."
"Fine," he mumbled. "Then I'll save it for later. So don't expend too much of your energy dancing."
From behind, they heard someone clearing their throat. "I came to congratulate you on tonight's event, but perhaps I shouldn't have," the voice of Harry Potter interrupted.
The two sprung apart, and Draco now noticed they'd left the door to the small balcony wide open. At least it had only been Potter to catch their uncharacteristic PDA.
Draco laughed at Hermione's blush as they heard Potter grumble and quickly retreat. "Haven't you people ever heard of closing the God-damn door?!"
