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Summary: Post war, seventh year. The bathroom. A place where someone relieves themselves. It's also a place where gossip can be at its hight. It can destroy a person's life, but it could also bring two people together. What happens when a bet placed on the wall leads Hermione to come to Draco's aid which means her entering herself into the bet. What if their acting helps them find true love?
A/N: Well this is the last chapter, don't worry though, there's a sequal!
Hermione and Ginny stood in front of four speechless boys. The silence was so thick that Hermione and Ginny had to do everything to not laugh. "So, what do you think?" Ginny asked after a few minutes of awkward silence.
"You guys look-" Draco started, but was cut off by Colin.
"Absolutely amazing!" The girls smiled and turned around slowly showing off their gowns.
Hermione wore a dark blue corset top style dress. There was a black ribbon in the back of the corset, holding the dress together. That meant that her dress had an open back, showing off a lot of her baby soft skin. The skirt part of the dress was long and flowing, covering her plain black heals. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail, then curled and placed into a neat bun. It was topped with hair chopsticks that had crystal butterflies on the top. The chopsticks were so short that you couldn't see them holding the butterflies in her hair. For earrings she wore small sapphire studs that her mother had gotten her for her sixteenth birthday. The most amazing piece of jewelry, though, was the silver ring choker that she was wearing. It had a silver chain that created five silver chain loops connected to the base ring. Then four loops connected off of the curves from the first five loops. Small sapphires studs connected the pattern continued, until there was a single silver loop at the bottom, sort of like an upside-down pyramid, each loop.
Ginny wore a deep red, clingy dress that also hit the floor. Each strap was split and had small white crystal studs trailing along them. She too wore black high heel shoes. Her hair was down and straightened, but the tips were curled. She also wore earrings, but hers were gold and made in the chandelier style with garnets and diamonds. For her necklace, she wore a gold chain with a garnet heart pendant. On the bottom left side of the heart were two small diamonds, one on top of the other.
"You really do look great." Draco said, hugging Hermione and kissing her on top of her head. He was so blown away. To him, Hermione always looked beautiful, but tonight, she had amazed him even more. She looked like a goddess to him, with her glowing smile and her rather apparent sex appeal. He could feel his body getting hot just looking at her from a distance!
"Thanks." Hermione said humbly, smiling. Colin too was hugging Ginny.
"We should get going." Ron said, "You guys have to go open the doors." He was starting to feel a bit awkward with the two couples hugging and kissing.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Draco said dismissively and then held out his arm. "My lady."
"Why thank you." Hermione said, placing her hand on his arm. Ron made a face that looked like he was going to puke.
"Oh shut up Ron, aren't you going to parade me out too?" Blaise asked, looking hurt. If Ron didn't know better he wouldn't have known that Blaise's look was only a joke, but he sighed and held his arm out. "Yay!" Blaise squealed all girly. Ginny and Colin (who had left right before them) sped up as to not be seen with them, though they did laugh a little.
When the two couples got to the Great Hall entrance, they saw Hermione and Draco already standing at the front. Together they fought their way through and soon stood with one couple at either side.
"There you guys are!" Hermione said all smiles. "Are you ready for this?" The other five nodded and then Draco and Hermione took hold of one door handle each. The crowd fell silent as the two pulled open the doors and walked in. Everyone, but the three couples in front, was in complete awe. Even the teachers hadn't seen the complete design, so the six at the front walked right in and took seats at the head of the hall while the other's looked around.
The hall was completely transformed. It looked like a Japanese Zen garden complete with a giant coy pond in the center. There was a quiet, small waterfall in one corner behind the open bar and cherry blossom trees on every wall. The tables were set for six and set low to the ground with floor pillows to sit on. The dance floor was set around the coy pond.
After everyone moved into the room and took their seats, Draco and Hermione stood up and waited for silence. "First of all, thank you everyone for coming! I know that I, along with the Head Boy and a select other few, had so much fun thinking up of this ball and the decorations! I hope everyone enjoys the evening." Hermione announced over the crowd before turning to Draco.
"The food will come first, then the first dance, which I will share with the lovely Head Girl." Draco said, turning to Hermione and placing a kiss on her hand. She blushed and the hall started cheering and laughing.
Pansy: III (3)
Lavender: XIII (13)
Hermione: XXVII (27)
"So let's tuck in and eat." Draco said, and food magically appeared on everyone's plates. The food was of a wide arrangement and to those who liked its delight, there was no shortage of sushi! After the great, satisfying meal, Draco and Hermione took the first dance. It was slow, but had a nice beat and Draco gracefully guided Hermione around the dance floor, circling the pond. He spun and lifted her as the crowd cheered. Hermione and Draco though were very content, didn't even notice the other people. They just felt the other and the love that burned through both of them for each other.
The whole time, Hermione and Draco both had smiles on their faces. Every time Hermione felt Draco lift her up, she just wanted to melt into the strong hands that held her. And every time Draco spun Hermione and her dress spun out with her, he was reminded of how beautiful she was and how lucky he was to have her love him. When the song ended, the two touched back down to Earth to the roaring cheers of their schoolmates. Right before they pulled apart, Draco gave Hermione a short, but sweet kiss.
Pansy: III (3)
Lavender: XIII (13)
Hermione: XLII (42)
"I love you." Draco whispered in Hermione's ear, as they left the dance floor.
"I love you, too." Hermione responded, all smiles.
"You know, you really do look gorgeous tonight." Draco said, letting Hermione lead them closer to Ginny and Colin.
"Thanks." Hermione looked back at Draco and smiled. She felt really warm inside. It was a really nice feeling and when she felt his arm slip around her waist, the feelings only grew stronger. She really did love him with all of her heart. She couldn't imagine a day without him. Hermione was pulled out of her thoughts when they reached Ginny and Colin, who were talking with some of the kids in their year.
"Hey, Hermione you look so beautiful!" Rebecca, a sixth year Ravenclaw said.
"Thank you! I really like your dress, too." Hermione said. The girl was wearing a dark green halter-top, knee-length dress that really accented her green eyes.
"Thanks," The girl blushed, "I made it myself."
"That's so cool." Hermione said in admiration and then asked. "So why aren't you guys out on the dance floor?"
"No one's asked me." Rebecca said, looking at the floor.
"Well then, may I have the honor of this dance?" Draco asked, holding out his hand. The girl looked up at Hermione as if asking her if it was okay.
"Hey don't look at me, he asked you." Hermione said, reassuring her that she didn't mind. Draco smiled, then winked to Hermione and whisked the younger girl off to dance.
"You know, he's such a sweetheart." Ginny said with a sigh, watching Draco spin the girl around. "I wasn't going to dance right away, I was worried about her. She was so down on herself when no one asked her."
"Yeah I know." Hermione said, watching the pair. "That's what I love about him." After a pause Hermione came out of her trance. "Well, now that she's out dancing, you and Colin should go out there, too." Hermione said smiling.
"Okay, if you'll be fine over here, I don't want to leave you." Ginny said.
"No, no, don't worry. I'm still dizzy from all those turns." Hermione laughed, assuring her friend.
"Okay, well in that case, I'll see you in a bit!" Ginny said, and her and Colin walked to the dance floor and started to dance together.
Hermione smiled as she watched them and her smile only grew when she saw Ron and Blaise dancing. No, Blaise had not shown up in drag like he had wanted to, but he was pretty close. He was wearing dress robes like the one's Ron wore in their fourth year, only they were his size, and had more ... tasteful colors. Seeing the two happy couples made Hermione think of her and Draco. Even though it had just been two weeks since they confessed their love for each other, she knew that they both felt that they had been together for so much longer. They had even talked about their future together. It only seemed right, since they were going to leave Hogwarts soon.
They both knew that they would have to work hard to stay together, in the sense that both of them had career paths that they wanted to pursue. They both knew that they wouldn't let anything separate them, though, seeing as they went through so much to get together. They both confessed that at some point they would want to get married, but Hermione wasn't sure how far off that day would be. She just knew that she would wait a lifetime for Draco if she had to. She would do anything to stay by his side and be with him and love him for the rest of their lives.
It was amazing, this feeling of love. Hermione would have never thought that it would feel this good. She would have never imagined feeling so connected to one person. See never would have thought that one person could just brighten up her whole day and make her feel so special, so important. She sighed, content. She really was very lucky.
"You guys did such a great job with planning this dance!" Terry Boot called to Hermione and Ginny who were dancing next to him.
"Thanks!" Ginny yelled, then screamed and started to laugh when Colin picked her up and spun her around form behind. Hermione laughed, and started to make her way out of the giant mob.
"I'm going to get drinks, do you want to come?" Hermione yelled over to Ginny.
"No thanks, I might come by in a bit." Ginny yelled back and then continued to dance with Colin, who was surprisingly a pretty decent dancer. Who would've guessed? Hermione just shook her head laughing and walked over to the more laid back area of the hall to grab some punch.
"You, Mr. Malfoy, and your friends did a fine job planning this ball." Madame Hooch commented as she poured herself a cup of punch.
"Thank you." Hermione said politely. There was a short pause and then the older woman spoke again.
"Do you know what career you are going to pursue, Miss Granger?" Hermione thought for a moment before responding.
"I was thinking about continuing my studies in the field of medicine." Hermione said. She had actually given her career much thought, but Medi-Witch seemed the only logical job for her.
"A fine job indeed. I've heard you are quite the healer. In fact, Madame Pomfrey said that you have quite the raw talent." Madame Hooch said, giving Hermione an all-knowing glance. Hermione blushed. Did all of the teachers know about her using the blood purity spell? "Not to worry, I understand. A person does funny things when they're in love. Well, best of luck to you and Mr. Malfoy. He's a fine young man and you are quite the witch. I'm sure you two will make it very far in life."
"Thank you." Hermione said again, this time having no idea what to say. Thankfully, Draco had just walked over and Madame Hooch excused herself.
"Hey, what were you two chatting about?" Draco asked, hugging Hermione and kissing her cheek.
"Nothing," Hermione said and then paused as if thinking of what to say, "She wished us best of luck after school, is all." Draco smiled slyly. He could tell that there was a little more to her message then that, but he wouldn't pry. Anyways, Hermione looked too damn cute when she was shy and blushing.
"You're so cute." Draco said, and Hermione blushed even more, to his delight. "Come on, what are we doing standing around at a dance? Let's go find Ginny and them and dance too." Draco said and Hermione nodded, pushing her fears of her and Draco not making it together after Hogwarts out of her mind.
"Okay, lets." Hermione smiled and followed him back out to the dance floor
"See, that's the Hermione that I know and love." Draco said, happy to see that she was having fun. It made his day to see her happy. That's all he really wanted in life to have Hermione by his side and have her always be happy. Another fast-beat song came on and the couple danced the next few songs in a row, without a care in the world.
"I just want to thank a few people, once again." Draco said, once the room was quite. "I would like to thank Colin Creevy for taking the pictures tonight." There were cheers from all over the room. When it quieted down, Draco continued, "Also a big thanks to Ron Weasley and Blaise Zabini for coming up with the menus. Thank you to Ginny Weasley for giving us the idea of a Japanese garden for our ball. Another big thanks to our Head Girl, Hermione Granger for helping come up with the idea of a ball. And lastly, a great big thanks to the teachers for letting us go through with it!" This brought about a long and loud round of applause.
"So did you guys have a good time?" Hermione asked and again the room was filled with a new height of noise. "Well I'm so glad you guys had a great night, because I know I did. Now I know a lot of you are too awake to go to bed, and I will allow you to stay up if you wish to. But!" Hermione had to say 'but' fast or she wouldn't be able to get the room silent for some time. "But you must stay in your Common Rooms and be in bed by three. This is just something I ask of you as a courtesy for your teachers who let us have such a great night." Ginny stifled a giggle from behind Hermione when the Great Hall was filled with a collective groan.
"I can see that finger crossed behind your back, Dean Thomas." Draco said, with a humorous fake-stern voice. The whole hall erupted in laughter at his expense. "I just have two more things I would like to say, that is, if you're done talking to this bunch." Draco said waving his hand to indicate that he meant all of the other students, while looking to Hermione. She just laughed and nodded her head to let him know that he could go on. "Well it's getting late, so just a few words from me and I'm sure you'll all be back to your Common Rooms partying.
"I would just like to say that, although I know I wasn't the kindest person for my seven years here, this last year has been the best year of my life. I just wanted to thank all of you guys for opening up to me. So in that regard, I'm going to miss the absence of Hogwarts next year, much more that I ever thought. So I thank you all for that. That and I hope those of you who aren't graduating this year continue having fun and giving Snape hell for all of us who had him and are graduating." Draco turned around and smirked at his head of house.
"Thank you oh so much, Mr. Malfoy." Snape said sarcastically, a hint of amusement in his eyes. The other students laughed and some nodded and agreed whole-heartily to carry out Draco's request.
"Okay, okay it's getting late. Just one more thing and I'll let you go." Draco said turning to Hermione. "I just want to say that you have your Head Girl to thank for me being so different from who I used to be. I owe her so much. She taught me how to think for myself and not to fear those who had always controlled me through fear. I would never be anywhere near as happy without her." Draco then switched how he referred to Hermione and started talking to her directly. "You have opened my eyes and my heart to make me feel like the luckiest man alive. You showed me what it means to be loved and how to love. I'm honored to say that I'm you're boyfriend." Draco then dropped down on one knee and Hermione, along with everyone in the room, gasped. "I only hope that I can live with you by my side forever. Hermione, will you marry me?"
"Yes!" was all Hermione could manage to say. It had taken so much of her self-control to keep herself from crying. But when he slipped the white-gold diamond ring on her hand, Hermione's self-control dissolved completely and she started to cry. Draco stood and took her into his arms.
Pansy: III (3)
Lavender: XIII (13)
Hermione: LXI (61)
Winner: Hermione Granger
"I love you." Draco whispered and buried his face into her neck.
"I love you so much Draco, never let me go." Hermione whispered back, her face hidden in his chest. Tears were still running down her face and she was very thankful that she had used a waterproof charm on her makeup.
The room was a loud buzz. Everyone was surprised and only a few of the teachers knew that Draco was going to ask her that night, and even Ginny, Ron, and Blaise had no clue. But through all of the celebration there was one cry of outrage. Pansy, who had been rather quite all night, could not stand for this. Sure, she had let it go when Hermione and Draco danced and when they acted all cute and cuddly. But this was way too much.
"How dare you take Draco from me!" Pansy said, stomping forward furiously from the crowd.
"Pansy, give it up. I love Hermione and I want to be with her. She didn't steal me from you." Draco said calmly but coldly. He had tried to be nice to her and did his best not to snap, but this was it. He couldn't stand anymore of this.
"Pansy, give it up. It's over." Hermione said, angry with the girl for ruining he special moment.
"I will never stop fighting. You have everything! You're smart, pretty, you have great friends ... everyone loves you! I had nothing but the promise of my marriage to Draco. And you had to go and take that away from me, too!"
Alas, the truth rears its ugly head. It finally made sense to Hermione, but what of this promise? Draco was engaged to her, not Pansy.
"Pansy, I've told you before, with the death of our parents, the arranged marriage is off." Draco said, rather annoyed. He had gone over this with her many times after the war had ended.
"I won't give you up Draco." Pansy said quietly, falling to the ground, crying.
"You never had me." Draco said, not a single bit of pity in his eyes, which were as cold as ice, a look that he had not used in a year. A look no one missed.
"It's her fault, that ... that wretched beast! She ruined everything! If you hadn't used that knife instead of her, she would be dead!" The Great Hall was in shock. Most people had known or suspected Pansy, but everyone was surprised that she was stupid enough to confess it. Honestly, what caused them to think she was any smarter?
"Pansy Parkinson!" McGonagall cried and, along with Snape, ran from their seats. They forced her to her feet and marched her to another room.
"Everyone to their rooms, the ball is over." Another teacher called. Everyone groaned. They wanted to know what was going to happen to Pansy.
As for Hermione and Draco, they were no longer bothered and Lavender made amends with her house and the rest of Hogwarts. And everyone lived happily ever after.
THE END
