Special thanks to NotSoSirius_92 and I_was_BOTWP for their Alpha & Beta expertise.
-This piece was written for the Facebook Group Strictly Dramione for their 2017 Spring Fest. I was given prompt #9 8th year Hermione and Draco are set up on a blind date for a spring masquerade ball by Blaise and Luna.
**Lastly I am not Jk Rowling and none of the characters or settings or world of Harry Potter belong to me.
Hermione wasn't sure what the night would wind up bringing her, but she had undoubtedly agreed to this nonsense -the 'Masquerade Ball.' It was her 8th year at Hogwarts, she just wanted to study and get this year over with so she could join back up with her two best friends, Harry and Ron.
Speaking of Ron, thinking of him stung her heart a bit. He finally professed his love for her during the Battle of Hogwarts. After living on edge for seven years, fighting in a war, and experiencing the high of being on the run, the final battle brought an end to a lot of worries and stresses they had been bottling inside. Things slowly mellowed out and they tried to live in peace, but fame eventually caught up to them. They all received chocolate frog cards, witches and wizards threw themselves at all three of the trio constantly, and often they found articles in wizarding newspapers written about them. In the end, Hermione and Ron found out they were better off as friends. At first, it was odd for everyone, especially Harry. However, soon Harry and Ron had finished their training and were off fighting the remaining Death Eaters, still saving the world, while she finished her education. This led up to last Friday, when Luna came bouncing in and interrupted her studying for another exam, only to end up gaining Hermione's agreement to go to the ball.
She really had no clue that she would end up like this!
"Luna! What. Is. That?" Hermione asked eyes as wide as saucers.
"It's a dress and a mask. You are going to look amazing in it," Luna replied.
"But the dress is green! I'm a Gryffindor! Merlin's beard, Luna, have you lost your mind? Why would I wear green?" Hermione knew she was acting like a child at this point but she could not help it with the way Luna had presented it to her; she started to feel as if she wasn't in control of herself.
"It was the only one they had that matched the mask. Sorry, Hermione."
With her arms crossed and a huff of the lips, Hermione gave in.
"Fine! I'll wear the dress. But I'm changing its color."
With a wave of her wand, Hermione said, " Colovaria, " and watched as the dress changed from a bright green to...
"Silver, I wanted red." She tried again. " Colovaria ."
This time, it went back to green.
"Maybe," said Luna, "it only lets you choose these two colors."
"Fine, silver it is." With a final flick of her wand, it changed back once more to silver.
The dance was only two days away.
Hermione had finished sliding her dress on and was attempting to style her hair when she heard a knock knock on the door.
"Hermione, are you ready to go to the dance?"
"Ugh. No, Luna. I can't get my hair to act the way I want, and I'm in this God-awful dress. Who knows who you set me up with tonight? I feel like such a mess. Are you sure this is a good idea?" Hermione began to slouch, holding her hand to her head, giving up on her hair.
"SNAP OUT OF IT! Gosh Hermione, you always worry about these things. Let's just go in there and have some fun," Luna said with a flick of her wrist.
"Thanks, Luna." Hermione turned back to the mirror, inspecting her hair and smoothing her dress one last time. Smiling tremulously, she took the mask Luna had picked up off her chest to offer to her, and then she took a deep breath.
Hermione slid the silver and green-laced mask on and they made their way to the Great Hall. Apparently, whoever Luna had set her up with had a mask that matched hers. She felt pretty nervous and a little ridiculous if she was being honest with herself. She did not think this night was going to go as smoothly as some would like her to believe. Now, she just wanted to find him and get this over with so she could go back to her dorm.
Draco Malfoy was the last person you would expect to catch at one of these dances. With the year he had had, he really just wanted to get his studies over with and be on his way so that eventually, his name would be forgotten.
He was sipping some punch from a cup when he saw her. The mask covering her face hid her identity, but he wore its mate, indicating she was supposed to be his date. Draco knew better than to hope his overzealous, meddlesome friend would leave him to his solitude, so he adhered, much to Blaise's amusement.
Yet, at the sight of her, his chest felt like it didn't want to work anymore. He could not breathe, could not even move an inch.
He observed her dancing with Luna Lovegood in the center of the room for a while, until she got bored and started making her way towards him. A strong urge to leave ran through his gut, but couldn't make himself do it. Quickly, he ducked out of sight before she could notice that he was there. From behind a curtain he watched her grab a drink at the punch bowl. After a small sip, she scrunched up her nose, making him chuckle; he guessed that she did not enjoy the spiked drink. Studying her a few more minutes, he noticed she started obliviously attracting the eyes of other suitors. A twinge of jealousy came over him, and this caused him to work up the courage to finally approach her.
Coming up behind her, he said into her ear, "I don't suppose you have been paired with a mystery person who just so happens to be wearing the same mask as you?" The poor girl nearly dropped the cup that he just realized she was still holding.
"Actually, yes I have, but if you aren't into this like I am, we can just go about our separate ways."
For some reason, this confession from her lips angered him. Thoughts about what she said ran through his head. She didn't want to be paired with him? How had she decided that before talking to him? The time he had spent ducking her and working up the courage to talk to her, and she was telling him she wasn't into it. Didn't she know who he was? Well, she was going to find out.
It took him a moment to convey how he was feeling to her. "First, my best friend dragged me here, and even with my reservations, paired me up with someone I do not know. Second, considering you actually came along and put on the mask, I think it would be a shame to just let it all go to waste now. Don't you agree? What about just one dance and then we can rethink this?" He said this with the hope that it would be just enough to make her stay.
But, Draco found that, after everything he'd been through in his young and miserable life, he could still be pleasantly surprised.
"Sure, one dance can't hurt," was all she said. He grabbed her hand and led her back to the dance floor.
As if on cue, a slow melodious tune began, and it was perfect. He went to put his hand to the middle of her back and the minute his fingertips brushed her bare skin, he felt desire course through his veins.
It scared him to instantly feel so close to this witch. Her hair was the most delicious thing he had ever smelled; strawberries and bananas - it was like the ice cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour he had tasted. As his hand moved against her back, he began to notice other things about his mystery date. Her hair was also a delicious caramel color and soft. He did not mind that her head was resting on his shoulder, thus allowing him to feel her soft breasts against his chest. While she was not a heavy girl, he did enjoy the fact that her curves filled out her dress nicely, and when he spun her out he noticed that she had a pretty arse.
The rest of the night was a blur. The two of them actually had a lot of fun and kept on dancing whilst making small conversation on the dance floor. He even took a chance and kissed her on the wrist once he spun her back in towards him. She didn't make a mention of it, but he guessed she liked it. When it was time for them to turn in and head to their dorms, she bid him good night.
Draco watched her walk away for a moment before it registered for him to find out who she was, so he called after her, "Wait! Miss, I didn't catch your name?"
He saw her turn around and then she called to him, "I thought that would be the point after all, keeping that a secret, don't you?"
This question drew him back some, he knew that she was right on one hand but on the other, his cunning side wanted to push boundaries and find out who she was. In the end, he decided to take her lead on this one and hope that they would run into each other again at some point in time.
"I suppose you are correct, until next time then?" he responded.
"Until next time," she said while he watched her turn back around once more and retreat away from him. He hoped he was not making a mistake.
When Hermione got into her room, she was shocked to see her mystery date standing there. She wondered how this was possible, before a sinking realization settled into her stomach, though she tried her best to deny the inevitable. "Uh, I'm not sure who you are, but this is the Head Boy and Girl dormitory," she said, praying she was wrong, and that this was some awful mistake.
"I could say the same thing to you. What did you do - follow me for a shag?"
She froze, and the inevitable was no longer deniable, for she recognized that voice. She knew it well. How had she not realized who he was earlier? "Draco!...Draco Malfoy! She set me up with you! Oh, just you wait Luna..."
His puzzled look slowly faded away to a horrifying realization. He tore his mask off and regarded her with narrowed eyes. "Granger!"
Hermione looked at Draco Malfoy, and though she was slightly mortified, she couldn't help but notice how beautiful his grey eyes were. Her mind then wandered to how hard his body had felt against hers while they were dancing
Not wanting to admit the train of her thoughts, she said, "Remind me to thank Luna and Blaise later. I can't believe this. You! It had to be Draco sodding Malfoy she set me up with."
He began to get flustered. "Listen here, Granger! I didn't ask for this either."
Taking another step forward, he now was inches away from her. "But it is what is," he spoke softly, the sentiment causing her to roll her eyes. "And you can't disagree that you feel what I do at the moment."
"Ha!" she laughed. "If by 'what you feel', you mean repulsed, then yes, I do feel how you feel."
The lie rolled off her tongue; she had felt the magic between them, too, although she wasn't sure what it was. She was puzzled how someone she had felt repulsed and physically sick over could give her a positive physical feeling, one not even Ron had given her before. Chills ran through her body, and goosebumps broke out along her bare arms. Though she knew it was impossible to have butterflies in your stomach, she felt as though she finally could understand that saying.
"No." He was so close to her now, and she discovered that she was backed against a bookcase. Slowly, he brought his hand up to touch her cheek. " You. Felt. It. Too ." His voice was barely above a whisper.
It affected her to her core, that he could smell so good, like mint and cloves. Thinking back on the dance they shared that evening, she could not even deny to herself that she could still feel the kiss he left on her wrist. Allowing her thoughts to travel further down the admittance road, she noticed he had a strong jawline she would love to pepper with kisses. That strong jawline led up to striking pearly white hair. When her head had been on his shoulder, all she had wanted to do then was reach up to run her fingers through his hair. Actually, who was she kidding - she still wanted to run her fingers through it now. She wasn't sure what really happened next, but she realized she was kissing him. They kissed for what she thought was an eternity, but really it was only minutes. Abruptly, she broke them apart. "I'm so sorry."
"Hermione, it's okay." He said her name. It felt so good hearing it from him. So, she kissed him again. This time it was hard. Their tongues danced back and forth, and teeth nipped at lower lips. She began to let her thoughts cloud her judgment and bring her back down to the ground. Breaking them apart, she took his hand and led him to the couch. The rest of the evening was spent getting to know each other and exploring their newfound feelings. They both agreed that it would be hard and would take some adjusting, but they decided to give it a try, and first thing in the morning they would be individually telling Luna and Blaise that their plan to get them together ended up working after all, and they could not be any happier.