"I'll bet you can't wait to see what Hermione looks like, huh?" Brianna said to Draco as they walked down to the Great Hall along with more than half of the school.
Draco nodded. "Yeah, not that I'll be able to talk to her or anything..." Brianna smiled at Draco's last comment; she thought he was a lovesick puppy, but in a nice way.
"Hey, Draco, do you even know who Hermione's going to this thing with?" Samantha asked from in front of them.
"No, but I guess I'll find out, won't I?" he replied.
They entered the Great Hall, where several students were already there, dancing with whoever they really wanted to. Hermione and her friends weren't yet there, and that made Draco kind of sad.
"Come on, Matt, let's dance!" Samantha said, grinning, as she pulled Matt, also grinning, onto the dance floor. They were too perfect for each other.
Brianna tapped Draco on the shoulder. "Draco, we can wait for Hermione and her friends if you like. I don't mind." Draco nodded.
"Yeah, that would be nice. Thanks," Draco replied. She smiled and went to go get herself something to drink.
Draco stood against the wall for a while, watching everyone as they came in, the girls in fancy, low-cut dresses and the boys in either suits or nice shirts and pants. He sure hoped Hermione would get there soon.
"Hey, I'm gonna see if I can find Draco first... I know I'm not supposed to talk to him, but I can't help it!" Draco heard Hermione's voice from outside the Great Hall, probably talking to her friends.
"Well, you won't have to look very long," Sapphire said, noticing Draco leaning against the wall.
Draco was speechless once again. Hermione was wearing a strapless black dress that went just past her knees with matching heels. She'd straightened her hair, just as she'd done for the Yule Ball in their fourth year, and she just looked so goddamn beautiful.
"Hey, you look nice," Hermione said, smiling at him.
He took a deep breath. "You look really, really nice... oh, screw it, you look goddamn beautiful," Draco replied. Hermione blushed, but she was still smiling.
"Who are you here with?" Hermione asked.
"Brianna. Who are you here with?" Draco asked her.
"I'm here with Harry and Sapphire. Just for fun, you know? You're doing the same with Brianna right?" she replied.
Draco nodded. "Yeah, Brianna and I are here as friends. Maybe... maybe later we could dance..." Hermione nodded.
"That would be nice. You better go off with Brianna now," Hermione said as Brianna came back with drinks for the both of them.
Brianna handed Draco his drink. "So, what'd you talk to Hermione about?" she asked, taking a long drink.
"Just, you know, a normal conversation..." Draco said, though he knew Brianna could see the sadness in his eyes.
She sighed. "Come on, let's just go out there, dance, and have a good time. Alright?" Draco nodded.
* * *
After dancing quite a bit with Brianna, Draco felt pretty tired. After telling Brianna he was going to take a break for a little bit, he went over to get something to eat and a small drink.
He sat down on a chair next to the other people who were tired from dancing so much and watched the people who seemed tireless, like Samantha, Matt, and Brianna, dance.
"Tired, huh? Ron said next to him. He jumped, startled. He hadn't noticed Ron sitting there.
"Yeah, Brianna never seems to run out of energy..." Draco replied.
"Well, Chairee ran out of energy. She's in the bathroom right now, so I'm kind of waiting for her to get back," Ron said.
"Sounds like fun," Draco said. He'd never had an actual conversation with Ron before. It felt kind of weird, but in a sort of good way.
"And by the way... Hermione wants to slow dance with you at the end of the dance. Even though you're not supposed to be talking... what'd you do to her, anyway? Seduce her with your almighty Slytherin powers?" Ron said jokingly.
Draco grinned. "Nah, she just likes me, that's all."
Ron smiled. "Good. As long as you're not using her, I guess I'm okay with this now..." Finally. It was about time Ron had come to his senses about accepting Draco and Hermione as a couple. Too bad it was a little bit late.
* * *
Chairee came back a few minutes later and gave Ron a kiss on the lips. That made Draco miss Hermione even more, so he turned his head away and focused his attention on Samantha dancing with Matt.
Soon Draco was sitting by himself, and feeling kind of lonely. He hoped Hermione would notice him soon; he really, really wanted to dance with her.
"Draco? Hermione's looking for you," Draco looked up suddenly to see Rachel looking down at him.
"Uh, where is she?" Draco asked, standing up.
"Follow me," she replied, grabbing Draco by the wrist and pulling him to the other side of the room.
Hermione was standing there, looking around at everyone dancing as Draco had been doing earlier. When she saw him, she smiled, and they stood there for a few moments just staring at each other.
"Well, isn't this romantic... I'll see you guys later," Rachel said, winking, as she went to find someone to dance with.
"So... did Ron tell you I wanted to dance with you at the end of the night?" Hermione asked finally, breaking the silence.
Draco nodded. "Yeah, and he mentioned something about slow dancing..." Hermione blushed.
"That sounds about right," she said sweetly, looking up at him.
The song playing ended, and the final song of the night, which was, of course, a slow song, came on. Draco grinned at Hermione and held out his hand to her.
"So... do you want to dance?" he asked.
She smiled and nodded, taking his hand and followed him out to the dance floor.
Draco led Hermione out to the middle of the dance floor, his heart beating rather fast. Many students stared at them as they began to slow dance, and Draco could almost feel Dumbledore's eyes watching them carefully.
"Hey, aren't you guys supposed to not hang out with each other?" Dean Thomas asked curiously.
"You know what? I just don't give a damn anymore," Draco said.
Hermione smiled. "And neither do I."
They continued dancing in silence for a few moments, just glad to be with the other again. Who cared if Voldemort came after them? As long as they were together, they could care less.
"Draco... I know I've said this a lot, but thanks for everything. I've never felt happier," Hermione said.
He stroked her hair. "I know. To tell you the truth, I was never really a happy person until you helped me out..."
She looked up at him and he looked down at her. They knew half of the school was watching them, but they leaned in closer until their lips met anyway. But just as they kissed, a banging on the doors of the Great Hall interrupted the whole dance.