Even Royalty Falters || Draco Malfoy

Chapter 28 - Yule Ball

Hermione laughed with giddiness as we exited the library, and probably would've began skipping if she didn't have her heavy bag of books.

"Merlin's beard! When did you two grow so close," I exclaimed, watching Krum turn around the corner.

"When you were too busy hanging with Malfoy," she said in a lighthearted tone for once. "Oh, Harry and Ron are going to be surprised the night of!"

"Wait, you're not going to tell them?" I asked, surprised.

"No way, Cress! Have you seen them trying to get dates? They could've easily asked us , but I'm tired of sitting around being a last resort," she pointed out, rolling her eyes. "They can find out the night of,"

"True, even Neville got a date! Ginny!" I emphasized, the thought of Neville building up the courage to ask Ginny.

"Who do you want to ask you? Are you going to see if Harry will ask?" Hermione pestered.

"Perhaps..." I replied.

"Well, you're running out of guys and time! You've already said no to both Dean and Seamus and all those guys from Durmstrang," Hermione nagged. "And what did you tell them? That you already have a date!"

"To not hurt their feelings," coincidentally Seamus walked past, Lavender trailing him. "Besides, it all worked out. Looks like he got a date!" I waved at them.

"Your loss," Hermione teased.

Ever since the two schools came, our halls were much busier than usual, there was always people everywhere, but in the sea of people, my eyes were always able to find him. He was hanging out at the balcony, flocked by his Slytherin friends with Pansy wrapped around his finger. Something about seeing them crushed me with disappointment. Pansy had been giving me hell ever since I had been hanging out with Draco. They were friends, but I knew she wanted to be more. I didn't know why I had hoped. I didn't know what I was thinking. My loss.

All of a sudden, Professor Trelawney's prediction last year rang loudly and clearly in my head. You will find love in the most inconvenient place. Perhaps she was right after all...if you could call whatever I was feeling "love".

~~~

"I missed you last night," Draco said when I tried to sneak up on him in the second floor bathroom. I glared at Myrtle who had given me away.

"I was tired last night," I said, settling down on the ledge next to him. The stars tonight were extra bright, and the moon was beautifully crescent-shaped.

"Tired of all those boys after you? Spill it, who are you going to the Yule Ball with?" he stared me down.

"Who said I'm going with anyone," I challenged.

"Said all the boys who failed to become your date," he flicked his finger at my forehead playfully. 

"I just didn't want to hurt their feelings with a straight rejection. That reason is better than no reason," I sighed, trying to think of something else to say that didn't have to do with the Yule Ball, but all I could think of was the big event looming ahead. "So...have you mastered the dance moves yet?" 

Draco studied me, I felt his piercing gaze as I turned to stare at the night sky. When he didn't respond, I knew he was still wondering about my date for the Ball. I was fine with sitting in silence, we did it more often than not. 

"Will you go to the Yule Ball with me?" He asked all of a sudden, breaking the perfect silence.

I whipped my head to face him, trying to see if he was serious or trying to make a joke out of the whole thing and embarrass me. Deep down, I had thought what if he asked? Just yesterday, I was disappointed. Never in a million years would I have thought that he would actually ask me. "Are you sure you're not going with Pansy? I don't imagine her quite hard to ask," I was skeptical after what I had saw yesterday. Would we go just as friends? Why did my heart flutter whenever I saw him nowadays? Did he feel the same way?