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Pansy's Volcano	By : Bluemidget57 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 206366 -:- Recommendations : 6 -:- Currently Reading : 8
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Pansy's Volcano
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-Ten
- 11-Eleven
- 12-Twelve
- 13-Thirteen
- 14-Fourteen
- 15-Fifteen
- 16-Sixteen
- 17-Seventeen
- 18-Eighteen
- 19-Nineteen
- 20-Twenty
- 21-Twenty one
- 22-Twenty Two
- 23-Twenty Three
- 24-Twenty Four
- 25-Twenty Five
- 26-Twnety Six
- 27-Twenty Seven
- 28-Twenty Eight
- 29-Twenty Nine
- 30-Thirty
- 31-Thirty one
- 32-Thirty Two
- 33-Thirty Three
- 34-Thirty Four
- 35-Thirty Five
- 36-Thirty Six
- 37-Thirty Seven
- 38-Thirty Eight
- 39-Thirty Nine
- 40-Forty
- 41-Forty One
- 42-Forty Two
- 43-Forty Three
- 44-Forty Four
- 45-Forty Five
- 46-Forty Six
- 47-Forty Seven
- 48-Forty Eight
- 49-Forty Nine
- 50-Fifty
- 51-Fifty One
- 52-52
- 53-53
- 54-54
- 55-55
- 37
- 38
- 39
Happy New Year. Sorry for the long wait, but �tis the Busy Season. Excessively long and rambling author note at the bottom! Be warned.

Chapter Thirty Eight

Ever cautious, they returned to their House common rooms and made their way down to the main entrance to take the coach into Hogsmeade from there. Draco paused when he saw Greg and Vince playing exploding snap in front of the huge fireplace, and after some debate decided to impart some advice to them.
�Hey, guys,� he said quietly as he approached. �I�m heading off now to the Hotel. I have to make final placings and sort out the table arrangements and all that stuff before you guests get there.� The boys nodded agreeably, and Draco paused momentarily before adding, �Look, when you get to sit down, try and talk to the Gryffindors at your table. Remember what we talked about when we went down to the library on Monday? These things have to start somewhere; let�s impress everyone out there by showing that it�s the Slytherins who can befriend their former rivals.�
Greg blinked curiously and Vince tilted his head to one side. �I thought we weren�t supposed to know who we were sitting with until we got there?� He questioned cautiously. �We�re going to be sitting with the Gryffindors?�
�At least one person from each House at each table,� Draco replied ambiguously. �And whoever you�ve got, just try and talk sociably with them. We�re all the same age, and we all more or less take the same subjects. It shouldn�t be too hard to find some common ground to break the ice. Ask what their favourite Quidditch team is if you can�t come up with anything else.� He sighed and then smiled faintly. �Just do your best, ok? I�ll see you in a couple of hours.�
Draco slung the bag containing his dress robes over his shoulder and exited the common room, leaving Greg and Vince staring gloomily at each other. �You know what that means, don�t you?� Vince sighed. �We�ve been landed with Potter and Weasley!�
Greg nodded sympathetically. �Bloody Hell, you�re right!� He agreed. �I would much rather have gotten one of the twins, or Granger!�
Vince scowled. �Didn�t Draco tell you to forget about her?� he said. �I know she�s been nice to us and all, but that�s one witch who�d never look at a Slytherin.� He sighed despondently, �Merlin�s balls, what on Earth do we talk to DangerWeasel and the Boy Wonder about?�

**********
When Draco exited the castle to join Hermione and wait for a carriage into Hogsmeade, he was infuriated to find that Anthony Goldstein, Padma Patil and Ernie Macmillan were already standing with her at the bottom of the steps, chatting. He growled to himself. Give me a Break! Didn�t this happen to him once already? Consequently when he swept down the steps to reach their little party, he had a dark scowl on his face which made the other prefects greet him cautiously, whilst Hermione gave him a searching gaze as if trying to decide what might have put him in such a bad humour in between leaving their study and arriving here.
She raised her eyebrows and tilted her head at him as the carriage approached and the others turned away to collect their bags, but he shook his head imperceptibly at her. When she sighed, he knew she had put his ill humour down to something which occurred in his own house on the way here. Sometimes, he still couldn�t believe she was so naive that she didn�t see how Goldstein was drooling over her, or that she couldn�t recognise his own reaction as entirely territorial. She belonged to him, and he hated the fact that he couldn�t make that crystal clear to everyone. Especially Goldstein and that damned Weasel!
They climbed into the carriage and Goldstein immediately cast a lighting charm, so Draco took a seat opposite Hermione. There would obviously be no opportunity for furtive snuggling, so he might as well sit where he had the best view of her. Bloody Ravenclaw - to clever for his own damned good. Hermione looked startled at first that he had made no effort to sit beside her, but when he allowed his eyes to linger minutely on her chest and subtly licked his lips, she felt a shiver of lust run through her and she realised immediately what he was up to. Damn it, hadn�t the previous couple of hours in their study been supposed to satisfy them for the rest of the day? She couldn�t possibly want him again already, could she?

The journey passed quietly. Draco and Tony seemed unwilling to have a conversation, Ernie was too intimidated by the Slytherin to contribute much, so it was left to Padma and Hermione to pass the time in idle chatter.
When they arrived, Hermione asked Padma if she would mind taking her bag to the girl�s changing rooms, so that she could go straight to the function room and start laying the place cards. Padma agreed easily, but Draco knew there was no chance of either of the other boys doing the same favour for him, so he marched grumpily upwards to deposit his own formal robes in the boy�s suite.
By the time he joined Hermione in the dining room, Dilman Pringle had already spent five minutes lecturing her on the reasons why it was bad etiquette to change seating assignments on the day of the function, and Draco had just about had enough of things going wrong for one day. �Maybe it is bad etiquette,� he snapped at the flamboyant wizard, �But it also shows adaptability and intuition. The change stands; no one but the three of us even knows it�s a change anyway. So get over it!�
�Draco!� Hermione gasped in shock. �Mr Pringle, I�m sor -�
Pringle�s eyes glittered with something which almost looked like amusement. �Miss Granger, never apologise for someone else�s bad manners,� he informed her. �Only for your own. If Mr Malfoy behaves like a rude and arrogant young man, then that is how he will be seen by others.� He bowed to them formally. �I would not dream of altering your plans; this is your function - I am sure you thought you had a good reason for the change,� and with these words he turned and swept from the room.
Hermione glared at Draco, but he simply rolled his eyes and asked. �Okay - what�s next?�
�You really are still an absolute prat, aren�t you?� Hermione sighed. �Come on, we need to enchant the centerpieces for the tables.� They had decided at the last moment to award the miniature trees as table prizes for whichever diner had the birthdate nearest to the one charmed onto the bottom of the tree stand. It was a Muggle idea that Hermione heard from her parents who had won a beautiful candelabra at a Christmas party the previous year, and which Draco found fascinating.
After completing this task, they checked the room again; the staff had exceeded all expectations for the decorations. Aside from the tiny trees on each table, there were three other trees in the room, all decorated with live fairies; the carpets had been enchanted to a rich red colour, which made Draco scowl, but he was unable to criticise for the chairs had been trimmed in a festive but still Slytherin green. Enchanted snow was falling from the ceiling which vanished on contact, and soft Christmas bells quietly chimed favourite tunes, both Muggle and Wizard in the background.
�It�s gorgeous,� Hermione said finally. She looked at her watch, and realised it was approaching time for them to change and join the rest of their class mates. Draco mumbled an agreement, but he was not looking at the decorations. They slipped out of the main doors to the ballroom, and found that the lobby was milling with many of their peers, several of whom tried to steal a quick glance into the room before they managed to shut the doors behind them.
Lavender and Parvati quickly pounced on Hermione, scolding her for not being ready, and dragged her away to the changing room. They were eager to see her in the green robes �they� had chosen, and in the end, Hermione was forced to let Lavender style her hair, as any plans to spend the afternoon having Ginny create a masterpiece had fallen by the wayside when faced with the alternative of shagging the Head Boy instead. Hermione comforted herself with the thought that there were no scissors in the room, and in the end Lavender actually created a very attractive French braid, leaving wispy tendrils of hair to frame her face, and Hermione found she was quite pleased with it.
When the girls returned to the lobby, Dumbledore was already there resplendent in peacock green dress robes, circulating amongst the splendidly attired guests, some of whom Hermione did not recognise. A chart displaying the allocated table plan had been situated in a corner of the reception area by the hotel staff, and she could see that many of her peers had already checked to see where they had been assigned; some were obviously relieved, others less pleased but dealing, and a few looked positively horrified. In a category all of her own was Pansy Parkinson, who appeared on the verge of vomiting, her complexion having taken on an unflattering greenish hue which clashed horribly with her pink robes. Obviously she was one of those who had already checked the seating plan, and from the venomous scowl she sent in Hermione�s direction, she was apparently blaming entirely the wrong person for her allocation.
Tonks saw Hermione and gave a brief wave, but this completely distracted her from where she was walking so that she stumbled and knocked into the elderly wizard to her left, which resulted in the wizard on her right (who unfortunately happened to be Professor Snape) receiving a dousing of her drink down his customary black robes.
Hermione winced in sympathy as Tonks began trying to mop up the head of Slytherin with the cuff of her turquoise robe; but Snape merely sighed and appeared to cast a vanishing charm on his sleeve. Apparently everyone had been instructed to be on their best behaviour tonight. And since Tonks didn�t seem to show any more trepidation than she might have at spilling something on for instance, Neville�s arm, Hermione was forced to appreciate Draco�s suggestion to seat the Auror with Professor Snape.
Professor Dumbledore caught sight of Hermione standing at the bottom of the stairs, and clapped his hands loudly to gain the attention of the milling guests. When most people had turned towards him, he beckoned her over, and searched the reception area for the Head Boy, who he also summoned as soon as he caught sight of him.
The Headmaster stood patiently in between Draco and Hermione until he had complete silence, and then introduced the Hogwarts Head students to the gathered guests. �Mr Malfoy and Miss Granger have spent many hours on the organizing of this event, which I am convinced we will all enjoy immensely. Let us now proceed to the dining room where I am sure we will be able to meet some old friends and hopefully make some new ones! Hermione - Draco, if you would be so kind as to lead the way?� He stepped quickly backwards away from them so that they were suddenly standing side by side in front of the closed doors to the function suite.
Draco turned smoothly and offered Hermione his arm in an old fashioned courtly gesture. She took a calming breath, aware of the irony of their intimate posture, even if no one else was. She smiled at him, letting her eyes express her appreciation of how good he looked and allowing her hand a light caress as it smoothed over the expensive heavy velvet of his dress robes.
Draco was wearing black; he had considered for a moment of insanity the idea of changing the colour of his robes to exactly match the green of Hermione�s, but in the end discretion won and he stayed with the original black. He thought that probably no one would have noticed, much less leapt to the outlandish conclusion that it had been done as a statement of possession, but by now he knew Hermione well enough to be sure that such an act would have incurred a panic attack of mammoth proportions, which would no doubt have ruined her enjoyment of the evening, and as a direct result, his own.
Besides, there was no denying that with his colouring black suited him. The sheen of the luxurious velvet seemed to absorb the surrounding light and then cast it back up to his hair, which shone like the silver embroidery threading around the hem, wrists and front of his robes and almost perfectly matching the colour of his eyes. The outfit had probably cost more galleons than everyone else�s at their table put together, but for the first time in his life he was dressing to look good for someone else, not to show off the Malfoy fortune. The heated glance Hermione gave him before she shielded her eyes with her lashes told him he had succeeded and he gripped her hand more firmly in the crook of his arm to acknowledge her appreciation.
They walked to their table, and he politely held out her chair for her so that they were the first to sit down, and the other students and guests filed into the room quickly behind them with accompanying gasps of pleasure and approval at the decorations, and soon the room was filled with the hum of conversation.
Waiters robed in the Felton Arm�s livery of purple and gold waited discreetly around the perimeter of the room until all the guests settled themselves, and mindful of their very explicit expectations, attempted to engage the adults at their tables in meaningful conversation.
Hermione turned to her left and smiled at Professor Flitwick, glad to be out of the spotlight for at least the duration of the meal. The diminutive Charms Professor smiled back and with a wink at her he mouthed quietly, �Flick and a swish!� suiting the action to his words until the legs on his chair extended and he rose to a more uniform level with the other diners at the table.
Draco was meanwhile introducing himself to the Ministry guest seated at their table, an older African Wizard dressed in very brightly colored striped robes, with wooden beads and feathers woven into his beard and dangling from his ears. From their profiles they knew this was Barnabas LeBongo, a semi-retired Auror who currently worked on case assignments. He had been placed at their table for the sole reason that Hermione was fascinated by his name. The Sorting Hat had metaphorically rolled it�s eyes at this discovery, gleaned directly from her subconscious, and never admitted out loud to Draco, Dumbledore or Pringle, but as there was no particular reason why he should not be placed with them, here he sat today.
Due to the need to even out the dining partners by gender, the other people at Hermione�s table were Susan Bones from Hufflepuff and Morag McDougal, a quiet but pleasant Ravenclaw girl whose family actually lived in Hogsmeade. Now that she was actually seated here, surrounded by her dinner companions, Hermione suddenly realised that her table probably had some of the most congenial company, and immediately began to wonder if all the other 7^th years were staring at her and thinking that she had deliberately arranged it so for her own comfort.
She was teetering on the brink of a major persecution complex when Draco�s ankle hooked around hers under cover of the draping tablecloth, and his foot slipped free of his shoe stroking up against the curve of her leg. Her brain immediately gave up all thoughts of her potential selfishness, as she cast a cautious look around to make sure no one could see what the Head Boy was up to; however the length of the white linen concealed what he was doing, and everyone at the table seemed to be concentrating on each other�s conversation as instructed, so she relaxed minutely.
Upon consultation with Pringle, she and Draco had decided that the 7^th year students would be served one glass of wine with their meal, and no more. The purpose of the evening was not supposed to be a drunken party, and although there was obviously a cash bar in the hotel, students were not to be served until after the five course meal ended.
The waiters were beginning to bring out the appetizers, and Hermione took the opportunity to check out the other tables and see how her friends were faring. Of course, her first glance uncontrollably fell on Professor Snape�s table where Pansy was huddled as far as she could possibly get away from her teacher on the confines of her chair. This put her almost in Anthony Goldstein�s lap, and he was looking extremely uncomfortable about the whole thing. He kept fidgeting and casting Pansy nervous looks whilst trying to talk normally to Sally-Ann Perks on his other side. Professor Snape however was totally ignoring both Pansy and it seemed, the whole spirit of the Social evening. He was speaking at length to Tonks, who seemed to be hanging on to his every word, judging by the way her (currently) magenta-hued head was bobbing up and down as she listened to him and emphasized her agreement with pointed stabs of a carrot stick into the air.
Hermione�s eyes searched out Harry and Ron to distract her from what Draco was doing under the table. Harry had won a seat at Professor Sprout�s table and one of the Governors (a previous Slytherin) was the other adult guest. Seated directly across from him was Vincent Crabbe, who seemed to be drawing something on a napkin. Harry had Padma Patil to his left and Mary Beene to his right, both of whom seemed relaxed and at ease with the proceedings.
Ron had ended up at a table with two outside guests; it had been inevitable that one of her friends would have to sit with total strangers. Draco had been most insistent that it be Ron in this position, and the Sorting Hat had surprisingly supported him. The old Hufflepuff Governor sat to his right, and seemed to Hermione to be quite grandmotherly and not at all threatening. Kingsley Shacklebolt sat across the table from Ron, and Hermione was glad that he had a familiar adult face present, even if Draco could not have known there was a prior connection when he proposed the older Auror in the arrangement. Gregory Goyle had also been assigned to this table, and surprisingly enough it seemed that he and Ron had struck up quite an animated conversation as they leant across an obviously irritated Hannah Abbott to continue their debate.
Hermione was just deciding that the whole thing seemed to be going quite well, when she heard Draco ask the head of Ravenclaw in a casual voice, �So, Professor Flitwick - ever read any Shakespeare?� She almost spat her roast potato out onto her lap, as the diminutive Professor scratched his head thoughtfully and turned to Draco with an inquisitive expression on his face.
�No, Mr Malfoy - I don�t believe I have. What field does he specialise in?�
�Fiction.� Draco replied firmly. �He was a 16^th century Muggle playwright. I do believe that he holds a position of great esteem in the Muggle world though.�
�Oh, really,� Flitwick commented, clearly not at all interested. �Have you been covering that in your Muggle studies classes then?� And that was it. It had been as easy and as complicated as that. Draco had upheld exactly the letter of the assignment, and Hermione was still aghast at his approach; Draco had obviously recognised the reference behind their study topic, but she highly doubted he had studied Shakespeare to the extent he could hold a conversation about the man and his works, and broaching it in this manner with Flitwick could have rebounded unpleasantly on him. Malfoy must have been born under a charmed star!
But, the subject having been covered now, Draco and Professor Flitwick went on to talk about the merits of applying Muggle-based research into the theory of Charms, and Hermione was left wondering if the whole exercise had been worth the worry she wasted on it.
She pushed her food around her plate for a few more minutes before Morag leaned over to her and began asking her what her plans were when she left Hogwarts. Hermione had spent very little time with the Ravenclaw girl in the past six years; she was very quiet and kept to her own House. Hermione therefore admired her attempt to follow the Social Evening rules and ever conscious of her responsibility as Head Girl, she gave all her attention to the girl and discussed her thoughts on her future career whilst trying to learn some of Morag�s own plans.
Barnabas LeBongo, who was seated beside Morag, joined in their conversation upon hearing that one of Hermione�s options was Auror training, so that before she knew it, dinner was over and the Hotel band which was to provide music for dancing had taken their places on the stage, and were tuning their instruments.
The guests looked awkwardly at each other as the first, and then the second songs were played. It seemed that everyone was either too shy or unsure of their companions, or the etiquette of Dumbledore�s expectations to make the first move onto the dance floor. Were they allowed to ask someone from their own house to dance, or must they stay in company with their dining companions in case of failing the requirements of the evening?
Draco sighed and turned to Hermione, she could feel him shifting around under the table and knew he was replacing his shoes, which was a good thing because his caressing toes had been far too distracting throughout the meal. �We had better start the ball rolling,� he muttered quietly, �Or they�ll all be still sitting here at midnight. Go and ask a Hufflepuff to dance.�
Hermione glared at him, put out. Arrogant Slytherin. �You ask a Hufflepuff to dance,� she hissed, affronted. �I�ll make my own decision who to dance with!� And with that she rose from the table in a swirl of green velvet, just as a waltz began.
Draco stared in jealous annoyance as she made her way determinedly to Tony Goldstein�s table. He rose out of his seat and went as far as taking a couple of steps after her, before she did something he could never have predicted in a thousand lifetimes, stopping not before the Ravenclaw prefect, but instead beside Professor Snape and inviting him to accompany her to the dance floor.
Draco was shocked into stillness as he waited to see how the surly Potions Master reacted to her invitation; he was unable to divert his steps or make any effort to approach another table, but luckily the rest of the room was equally focused on the drama being played out and his immobility went unnoticed.
Afterwards, Hermione would never be able to explain what had prompted her last second decision to ask the head of Slytherin to open the dancing with her; when she had started towards the table, she had every intention of inviting Tony Goldstein to dance with her. But some fierce undeniable voice had declared to her that doing so would be a really, really bad idea, and without conscious thought she had acted upon it�s advice and placed herself right in the path of Professor Snape�s acidic tongue. She still couldn�t believe she was actually standing here, making the request.
�Professor Snape,� she began, amazed at the steadiness of her voice when she was actually quaking inside. �Would you do me the honour of sharing this dance with me?� Tonks gave her an admiring look, and Hermione winced under the older girl�s scrutiny. For the first time in six years she seemed to have managed to render the Potions teacher speechless; no sarcastic set-down followed her request, and she swallowed a frighteningly large lump which had wedged itself in her throat.
�Oh, do go on, Severus,� Tonks encouraged when the silence was beginning to stretch to uncomfortable proportions. �I think that�s exactly what the evening needs. A nice Slytherin/Gryffindor example for the other 7^th years.� She winked at Hermione as Professor Snape shook off his stupor and with a large sigh of resignation rose from the table and offered his arm to Hermione who, now that she had achieved the seemingly impossible, had absolutely no idea what to do next.
She simply followed his lead across the floor, and searched frantically for Draco to try and understand what had prompted her to this insanity. She found him standing at Professor Dumbledore�s table, taking Parvati�s hand as he invited the Gryffindor to dance. Dumbledore was smiling benevolently at them both and moments later, he himself rose and shortly after led Millicent Bulstrode out onto the dance floor, which seemed to release the freeze on all the other guests and slowly other couples began to venture onto the dance floor.
�Miss Granger,� Hermione literally jumped at the sound of Professor Snape�s silky voice in her ear; she dragged her gaze away from where Draco and Parvati were dancing at the opposite side of the floor. She couldn�t believe how jealous she was of the other girl, when it had been she who had sent Draco off to find a partner, and when she knew that Parvati was quite content with her own boyfriend and in no way attracted to Draco. �Having invited me to dance, perhaps you could do me the courtesy of actually speaking to me?�
�Sorry, sir!� Hermione squeaked nervously, chancing a glance up at her teacher�s face and instead of sarcasm finding genuine amusement. Admittedly in the past year, since the reformation of the Order of the Phoenix, Professor Snape had been marginally less obnoxious to Ron, Harry and herself, but never to the extent that she could have imagined he would agree to dance with a student, and then to waste the opportunity to make snide remarks.
She had actually been quite surprised when he didn�t chastise Tonks for daring to use his first name, although she supposed that they had become more familiar with each other during the course of Order business throughout the school year, than they had been when she had last stayed at Headquarters over the summer.
�Miss Granger, do tell me how you are dealing with Mr Malfoy this year?� Snape continued as he faultlessly swirled her across the dance floor. �I have to admit that your work seems to have been achieved without the attendant name-calling and hexing that I might have expected form the pair of you.�
Hermione stumbled over her own feet at the question, and stared viciously at the floor as if it were at fault and not her own guilty conscience. �We�ve managed to temporarily put our differences aside for the good of the school,� she managed haltingly, cursing her own impetuous stupidity for getting her into this situation. What on earth possessed her to invite Draco�s Head of House to dance? All the sex must have been destroying her brain cells without her knowing it. She had lost her mind.
�Good,� Snape was saying now. �I am glad you have both managed to behave in a sensible adult manner. I hope that whatever happens in the future you will continue to maintain this healthier tolerance for each other. Ah, and that sounds like the end of this song. Please excuse me Miss Granger, I fear two dances in a row and people will begin to talk!�
He released her hand with a brief incline of his head and swept back to the table, Hermione�s eyes following him speculatively all the way, as she wondered how to interpret his parting remarks - until her gaze clashed with Pansy Parkinson�s. The Slytherin girl was staring at her with absolute venom, so much so that Hermione fell back a step before collecting herself. She wasn�t sure why, but it seemed that despite Pansy�s fear of Snape and her humiliation over the 5^th year episode, the simple fact of Hermione�s approaching him and actually prevailing upon him to act civilly towards her had become yet another reason to suspect vengeance from the other girl.
However, her ruminations were interrupted as Justin came up behind her and asked her for the next dance. Thereafter she changed partners constantly for the next hour or so, until Professor Dumbledore approached her and Harry and asked that he might be allowed to cut in as his �old limbs� would not be up to many more dances tonight, and he wished to have one turn around the room with the Head Girl.
Harry surrendered her smilingly and went to find Ron, whilst Dumbledore spun Hermione around the room quite as sprightly as a Cornish pixie, despite his deprecations. The Headmaster was humming quietly along with the music, and Hermione took advantage of his distraction to surreptitiously search around for Draco, whom she hadn�t seen since she left the dinner table. She found him not so far away from them, dancing with Professor McGonagall and he had obviously been waiting for her to catch his eye for he sent a long suffering grimace in her direction as he was pulled along in McGonagall�s wake.
Quite without Hermione realising it had happened, Professor Dumbledore managed to twirl her around until they almost ran into Draco and his partner, and he brought both couples to an abrupt halt in middle of the dance floor as he delightedly proclaimed, �Ah, Minerva my dear! I do believe this next song is for you and I to dance together and then I think I shall be done with dancing for the evening! Miss Granger, Mr Malfoy - you don�t mind a small exchange of partners now, do you? Good, good! Let�s be off and show these youngsters how to jive, Minerva!�
McGonagall, who looked as surprised as Hermione felt, found herself removed deftly from her partner and whisked nimbly away as Draco and Hermione were left standing awkwardly abandoned in front of each other, both unsure of whether to make the first move to where they had wanted to be all night.
Then the song changed, and Hermione�s eyes flew up to Draco�s with a soft �Oh!� for the tune which was now being attempted by the band was Breathe, the same song which had caused her so much confusion at the Halloween Ball.

**********

He had been watching Hermione all evening, flitting from one dance partner to another, never once coming to him. When she had first arisen from her seat after dinner and swept towards Snape�s table his heart had leapt into his mouth, wondering if she was heading for him, but then she had veered at the last moment and asked Professor Snape himself to dance!
From that moment on, she had never lacked for partners. The Head Girl was positively radiant tonight, the dark green velvet of her dress robes brought a soft glow to her creamy smooth skin, and the braid sweeping her hair off her neck made him want to nibble on the shadowed hollow where her neck and shoulder met.
He knew the exact moment when his interest in Hermione Granger had begun; and tonight - he had decided that tonight was going to be the night he made his move. He had just been waiting for the perfect opportunity, and all of a sudden it was here! The Headmaster and Professor McGonagall had abandoned them in the middle of the dance floor, and they just stood there, staring uncomfortably at each other, as if not sure what to do next.
It was the perfect moment to effect a romantic gesture and rescue Hermione from the unpleasant Slytherin. A broad grin breaking over his face, he rose to his feet sparing only a muttered excuse to Susan Bones and Michael Corner, with whom he been idly chatting moments earlier.
He had first noticed Hermione in 5th year during the DA meetings; when his fellow Ravenclaw, Terry, had exclaimed in admiration of her Protean Charm, she had blushed an adorable shade of pink as she accepted his compliments, and Tony had been instantly hooked.
Of course, Ron Weasley was always there scowling at anyone who tried to get close to her, and even Potter demanded more of her attention than was required for someone without any romantic inclinations at all towards her. Tony bided his time, hoping that Hermione and Ron would hurry up and get into the inevitable relationship, realise it would never work, and break up leaving the field clear for him. He was shrewd enough to know that they had to get it out of their systems before he made his move, or else they would both always be wondering what if. Unfortunately, it had taken a whole year longer than he had anticipated, but when they left school at the end of 6^th year, he had rested his hopes on the likelihood of his being elected Head Boy, and thus being entitled to more of her company. There was no doubt in anyone�s mind who would be the Head Girl, and Tony had planned to use his year sharing with her to his full advantage.
The notification, which came in late August that he had been passed over for Head Boy in favour of that Slytherin Malfoy, had all but devastated him. He couldn�t believe that life had thrown yet another obstacle in his path to Hermione Granger. Yet after he returned to school, it got even worse; the inevitable relationship between Ron Weasley and Hermione started just weeks after the beginning of term, and he was thus forced to watch Malfoy get to share all of her official obligations, and Ron take up the remains of her leisure time.
He barely noticed any of the other girls who often made desperate attempts to get his attention. In his mind, Hermione was the ideal; she was intelligent, thoughtful, kind, loyal and if not conventionally pretty - carried something indefinable in her eyes which caught your fancy and made you think she was the most beautiful girl you had ever seen. Well, that was how it seemed to him.
He had just about given up all hope of winning Hermione when Luna Lovegood, a 6^th year prefect in his House had come to him one Saturday morning while he was studying in the library and informed him in hushed tones that Ron Weasley and the Head Girl had broken up. Luna had never made any secret of the fact that she liked the red head, and her information had come from Ron�s sister - a most reliable source. It was quite obvious why she would be excited. Tony however, had been somewhat taken aback that Luna had immediately thought of him to share this news with. He had thought that his feelings were well concealed. It disturbed him to discover he had been more obvious than he realised.
He was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth though, and when Hermione herself had turned up shortly after, needing to discuss prefect business with him, he had leapt at the opportunity to spend some time with her. He had been practicing all sorts of speeches ever since he decided tonight would be The Night, and now the moment was upon him to put his plan into action.
For there they were, Hermione and Malfoy standing in the middle of the dance floor, abandoned by their previous dance partners, staring awkwardly anywhere but at each other, clearly unwilling to take the obvious step of dancing with each other, and the golden opportunity to rescue Hermione from an embarrassing situation could not be passed by.
He had managed to take two steps towards the dance floor when his hopes and plans crashed down around him, with no hope of resurrection.
Even as he was moving towards them, the band started another song, and before Tony�s very eyes, Hermione - who had been staring at a point somewhere over Malfoy�s left shoulder - snapped her gaze back to his. Malfoy simultaneously stopped examining the ceiling and stared straight into her eyes; Tony was sure he saw her catch a deep breath and the next second she stepped forward into his arms which immediately encircled her and drew her close in to his body. Malfoy said something quietly into her ear, which made her flush and dip her head down shyly, even as a delighted smile tried to spread over her face.
Right before Tony�s disbelieving eyes, Malfoy brought Hermione�s right hand up to lay against his black dress robes directly over his heart, and although there was absolutely nothing out of place in this stance as they moved slowly in time to the music, the way Malfoy�s fingers curled around hers and lingered there just a fraction too long as he spun her into the dance, sent warning bells clamoring in Tony�s head.
Hermione replied to Malfoy�s quiet words, and he grinned - actually grinned - before whispering something else which made her catch her breath and cast a quick guilty glance around the room before straight into Malfoy�s eyes and scolding quite clearly enough for Tony to read her lips, �You can�t, Draco. Not here!�
Tony almost staggered with the weight of this awful revelation; although everything about their demeanour was perfectly circumspect for a slow dance, the air between them practically crackled with pheromones. Malfoy was devouring her with the intense gaze of a man aroused; Tony should know - it was exactly the face that looked back at him from the mirror when he was thinking about her. Hermione was fairly radiating happiness; it surrounded her like an aura, and Tony felt sick with shock. It was absolutely undeniable that there was some sort of relationship between the two of them - and there was no doubt in his mind that whatever they were involved in had progressed into complete intimacy with each other. But even more, it was obviously something which they were hiding from the rest of the school.
Tony frantically searched the room, unable to believe that no one else could see or recognise what was happening right in front of their very noses; but all around him, his peers and teachers were blithely going about their business - dancing, smiling and laughing without sparing a second glance for the Head Boy and Girl. Tony wanted to climb on a table and shout at them, to yell at the top of his voice, make them see, make them stop. But he couldn�t; there was nothing he could do - his chance had come and gone without him even knowing it, and again, Malfoy had claimed the prize.
Oh, Merlin - little things began to fall into place seeing them together like this - how cold and snide Malfoy had been this year; Malfoy knew how he felt - even if Hermione had never realised it, Malfoy had recognised his feelings, and he was defending his territory. But Hermione - how could she of all people have surrendered to someone like Draco Malfoy. He watched sickly as, for a second of time so very brief he could almost believe he had imagined it, she allowed her cheek to rest on the expensive black velvet of Malfoy�s dress robes, and her eyes closed as an expression of bliss drifted across her face. It was over in an instant, and with the next turn to the music they were once again at a circumspect distance from one another, but Tony knew he had not imagined it.
His mind finally processed what his eyes had been denying, and he realised suddenly that Hermione Granger, champion of all things Gryffindor, had chosen to attend the most important social event of their final year dressed in green. As a declaration it would have been entirely too subtle to be recognised, had he not seen her lost to her surroundings in Malfoy�s arms, but given the reality of his painful conclusions, it was the final nail in his hopes of a chance with her.
His shoulders slumped and he was turning back to rejoin his table when Professor Dumbledore came up behind the Head students and they separated to listen to some instruction he was giving them. Susan and Michael gave him a surprised look as he slumped back down in the seat he had only recently vacated. �I thought you were going to dance?� Susan said curiously.
�I didn�t like the song they were playing,� Tony replied wearily.
Michael frowned. �Are you feeling ok, Ant?� He asked, examining the other boy. �You don�t look so good. Have you had too much to drink?�
Tony just shook his head; he was in shock and too weary to explain himself to his friends.
*****************
On the subject of Romeo & Juliet; it was never meant to cause upset; Dumbledore was only using it as a subtle prod to open their eyes. I admit that despite a Bachelors in English & Drama, R &J is a play I have neither studied nor seen in performance. At school I studied Coriolanus. Now let�s face it; that has to be one of the most obscure of all Shakespeare�s plays, and we spent a whole year on it! Even after seeing it at the RSC, I could never get into it. (And now there will be an outcry from people who love Coriolanus. Well, you can�t please everyone!) At university we did Lear, Othello, A & C and the Tempest.
My personal favourite is actually Much Ado about Nothing, and I love the Channel 4 version with Kenneth Brannagh and Emma Thompson as Benedick and Beatrice from the early 90s (just a personal opinion). There is no deep implication in the use of R &J any of the times it has appeared, and I would like to state now that I have absolutely no use for books, movies or fan fiction where the main characters die, or there is an �unhappy� ending. Sorry if that disappoints the angst-lovers amongst you, (and gives massive clues on how this is going to end! - if you guys want to abandon it now, I shan�t blame you), but I reckon Real Life is sufficiently full of sh*t and things which leap up unannounced to smack you in the face (and I�ve certainly met plenty of those last year!) without reading about it in a book, or going to see it at the movies!
On the subject of Victoria�s Secret - I think they are in England - not as many as in the States, but my sister in law once sent me something from there; for the sake of argument, there was one close enough for Julia to work in. The other alternative would be having her work in an Ann Summers store, and since their line is somewhat more risqué, shall we say, I doubt whether someone of Hermione or Julia�s age could have gotten a summer job there!
I just have to say one more little thing about the Auror sitting at Draco & Hermione�s table. Barnabas LeBongo is the name of a customer of the company I work for. I have never met him, and I strongly doubt he has feathers and beads in his hair, but I see his name on paperwork which passes by me, and I could not resist using it here for the exact reasons that Hermione wanted him at her table. I just love the way the name sounds.
On a final note, Pixiezombie actually drew the Benedick/Beatrice parallel to Draco & Hermione in her absolutely brilliant Adamo Fidelitas (go and read it this very minute, if you haven�t already!) and I mention it here because I agree with her. Okay, off the soapbox now. Thank you for listening!
Bluemidget 01.05.05
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