Two Black Carriages - A Dramione fanfic

Chapter 2 - You Don't Own Me

Draco was bouncing on the balls of his feet nervously. He tried to find her after the sorting... but she had disappeared. Then he changed into his dress robes as fast as he could and ran to stand by the Great Hall doors to catch her the moment she arrived... but he's been standing here for nearly an hour, and she STILL hasn't passed by. For Merlin's sake, this was HER PARTY... "Where the bloody hell is she?!"

Draco felt someone turn him to the side, remove his frustrated hands from ruining his hair further, and then straightened his side cape. "Pansy?"

"Hush. I know you want to see her and apologize, but you've been standing out here for an hour now waiting for someone who very well may have already been inside this entire time... this party was her idea, wasn't it? So if she's anything like your mother was before this whole mess started, then she probably came early to help set up. Didn't you see her shoot the first-years table a sympathetic smile before she left early?" she asked with crossed arms.

Draco gawked "She's here?"

Pansy rolled her eyes with a smirk "Malfoy, you know Granger... is she here?" she let out a soft laugh as he rushed past her to rush through the doors. Man, if he were to be actually pursuing to witch, she'd have the most loyal and devoted wizard in the world.

Draco pushed his way past the few entering couples and froze. His eyes immediately locking onto the laughing form of Hermione Granger himself. She was beautiful. Her dress, a light violet half button-up with golden trim and a purple bow, like that of a fairytale Princess, there was hardly any noticeable big poof to the shoulders like some of the other girls had, and her golden sleeves only went down to the crease of her elbow, and finally, the golden ruffled skirt had a soft sort of graceful elegance to it... he gulped.

Recomposing himself, he straightened his back and began the elegant walk to the most crucial action he has ever taken in his life.

---

Hermione was laughing along with her new roommates. They had all gotten ready at breakneck speed and volunteered to help with the preparations, to which Hermione was eternally grateful for. She actually ended up needing the help after all and learned quite a bit about her roommates... Ginny was a pure take-charge girl (just like her mother), Parvati was good at arranging the snack table (and placed a spell over it to block any alcohol from being added, and Lavender... she was actually good at properly organizing the whole layout.

"My mother hosted countless balls like this all the time, and, since most of the family pictures are in our own Ball Hall, everything has to be precisely put, otherwise, great-grandmother Catharine will not let us hear the end of it." She had stated with a roll of her eyes.

Hermione smiled at that, and soon later, the ball was all set up and ready for the students to arrive.

Now though, the four girls were sitting around a table together, telling each other about their summers, when suddenly

"Granger?"

The whole table turned to see "Malfoy?"

They watched as Draco, dressed in a fitted white dress shirt, with black pants, black boots, and a deep royal purple cape, was soon joined by the rest of his friends, Theo, Pansy, and Blaise all standing behind him, looking as if they'd just stepped out of a Shakespearean play

"Oh my" Hermione heard Ginny whisper

"Um... Malfoy? How can I-" the sudden gasps at her table caught everyone's attention, even the musicians stopped to see Draco get down on one knee and lower his head

"Granger. I'm... I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry for everything. I bullied you... cursed you... accused you... degraded you... led you into trap after trap... sold you out... physically and mentally harmed you... handed you over to the enemy... abused you... betrayed you... I-I let the death eaters in... I attacked you, Weasley, and Potter... I didn't do anything when they tortured you... I endangered you in so many ways, I can't count them... and I envied you... I envied your wits, your courage, your spunk, your ability to not focus on how everyone else thought of you... it drove me mad seeing you always so composed no matter what I threw at you, and I... I hated that you were so bloody brilliant, so bloody talented, so bloody perfect, and yet there wasn't a speck of Wizardry blood in your family... believe me, I checked... and checked... and checked... I had to know if you somehow had come from one of the main lines, from one of the Sacred twenty-eight... but you don't. But with you being so good with magic, having come purely from muggles... it's as if, perhaps, the magic CHOSE you... another reason for my jealousy... I see now how stupid I was. I was a child... a fool... trained only to think one way and to never question it... and I can't... I can't tell you how truly sorry... how truly repentant I am... all the others, I understand, and can live with their forever hating me, but... Miss Hermione Granger... please... I beg your forgiveness... please forgive me..."