The inevitable

Ball

Valentines Day soon came around. Hermione had awoken that morning to find her room full of roses and chocolates. The note had said they were from Draco, who she was now dating. She had thanked him at breakfast that morning.

Hermione ran over to where Draco sat in the Room of Requirement, the usual weekend spot to hang out in. She nimbly leapt onto his lap and kissed him deeply.

"Good morning. What was that for?" Draco asked, a giddy grin settled on his face.

"For the roses." Hermione replied.

Draco's grin became a smug smirk. "I like to please my women."

Hermione then promptly whacked him over the back of the head with her hand.

"Ow! What was that for?"
"For the chocolate. Do you want me to get fat?"
"Well you could put some weight on. You're like a skeleton." Draco told her, touching her stomach where he could feel and see her ribs.

Hermione crossed her arms. "Don't."

Hermione sighed and leaned back on her bed, waiting her turn for the bathroom. She, Pansy and Luna were in her room as they got ready for the ball.

Pansy was applying a coat of lip gloss, her makeup already immaculate and her hair in curlers.

"Pansy, don't you think you should put the makeup on after the dress. Won't it get smudged?" Hermione asked.

"That's why I put a stasis charm on it. It can only be removed when I want it too. You should do the same on yours after." Pansy replied, smiling at her friend in the mirror.

The door opened and Luna stepped into the room. She was wearing a pastel blue dress that hugged her figure before extending into a full skirt that swept the floor.

"What do you think?" She asked nervously.

"Oh, Luna. You look amazing." Hermione gasped.

"Blaise is going to be speechless." Pansy grinned.

"Thanks." Luna smiled, fiddling with her hair. Luna's hair was piled into an elegant bun with lilies put into it. Like Pansy, her makeup was perfect. Her lips shone with lip gloss and her eye lids were a light blue colour, emphasising the blue colour of her eyes. The eye liner made her eyes look bigger than they were and the mascara extended her eyes lashes. The effect was stunning.

Pansy was next to enter. Her hair was curled gracefully and sat around her ears. She had clipped a pale pink bloomed rose into her hair. The pale pink matched her dress.

Pansy's dress was a pastel pink colour that fell to her knees and had an empire waist. The neckline was a deep v, but looked stunning all the same. Pansy's pink lip gloss and eye shadow complemented her skin tone perfectly. "Ta da!" Pansy grinned, doing jazz hands.

"Wow." Luna said.

"I love that colour on you, Pans. You look amazing." Hermione smiled kindly at her friend from where Luna had been doing her hair.

"You next, Mione." Pansy told the Gryffindor, ushering her out the door and into the bathroom.

It took Hermione a full ten minutes before she emerged back into her bedroom. The door swung open and both girls were speechless, staring at Hermione.

"Is it that bad?" Hermione questioned nervously.

"Complete opposite." Pansy whispered.

Hermione looked stunning. The corset top emphasised her ample bust, hourglass figure and gracefully long neck. The red colour complemented her skin, giving it a gorgeous glow. Her eye lids were covering in a dark eye shadow, giving her a smoky look. Her eye lashes were extended longer than they already were, giving her eyes a seductive look, and her lips looked even plumper than they were.

Her hair was pulled into a Halo style, plaited and with small roses weaved into it. The rest of her curls flowed gracefully until the small of her back. She looked amazing.

The boys were waiting outside the Great Hall for the girls, Pansy's date, a Ravenclaw, standing with them. The boy didn't even bother to make small talk and ignored them.

Someone cleared their throat and the three boys turned. Their jaws dropped at the sight of their dates.

"Wow." They all whispered in awe.

Blaise stepped forward and pressed a kiss to Luna's hand. "You look ravishing, my love." He told her.

Luna blushed. "Thank you." She replied, slipping her hand into his arm and allowing him to lead her into the hall.

Pansy's date gave the same reaction. She smiled at Draco's gobsmacked expression as she passed.

Hermione looked at Draco. He looked handsome, his hair hanging loosely into his eyes and the dark colour of his tux contrasting nicely with his pale skin.

"You look like a goddess." Draco told her in awe, pulling her into a deep kiss.

Hermione blushed. "I...I don't think I look that nice."

"Don't ever doubt your beauty." Draco said firmly, holding her chin and looking into her molten eyes.

Hermione smiled radiantly at him. "I won't."
Draco offered her his arm and the two entered the hall. Hermione gasped in awe. It looked amazing. An almost exact replica of the Great Hall during the Yule Ball. The only difference was the fairies and charmed white doves flying gracefully in the air.

"Wow. It looks fantastic." Hermione breathed.

"Thank you." Draco smirked.

"You did this?"
"We were supposed to."
"I'm so sorry. Why didn't you tell me?"
"You had a lot going on."

"Thank you, what did I ever do to deserve you?"

"A lot of things, Hermione. You're amazing."
The two kissed sweetly. "Come one, lets go find Pansy and her date, and Blaise and Luna so we can grab a table and eat." Draco smiled, dragging his girlfriend through the crowds.

After a large meal, which Hermione barely touched, the music started up. Blaise stood and offered Luna his hand to dance. Luna smiled happily up at him and accepted. Blaise spun them off to the dance floor to dance a waltz.

Draco then rose from his seat and bowed low to Hermione. "May I have this dance, my lady?"
Hermione smiled. "Of course, my good sir." She returned in a similar fashion.

Draco swept her onto the dance floor and the two began to dance. Hermione matched him step for step, perfectly attuned to what Draco wanted to do.

From the Teachers Table, Severus was watching his best friend avidly. She looked so happy now, dancing gracefully with Draco Malfoy. If someone had told him only two years ago he would be best friends with Hermione Granger and she would date Draco Malfoy, he would have laughed in their face.

But here he was, watching the happy couple. "She looks so happy now. How is she Poppy?" Severus asked the Mediwitch.

Madam Pomfrey sighed. "She's deteriorating at a fast rate. She doesn't have long left."

"I feared as much. It's going to kill Draco when she goes." Severus replied, shaking his head sadly.