Enemy Seduction: Dramione

The Brightside

Hermione expelled a long breath before taking one last assessment of herself in the mirror. She had never been so conscious of her appearance until tonight, and she knew why. Draco Malfoy.

"Hermione," Ginny exclaimed comically. "Is that a figure?" she asked, starting at Hermione with dramatic astonishment. "I see a wait, hips, and..." Ginny gasped. "Is that cleavage?"

"Stop!" Hermione protested laughingly, a deep blush gracing her cheeks.

Dropping her horrified act, Ginny grinned at Hermione, taking aback with complete admiration. 

"You look absolutely gorgeous," she gushed.

Hermione definitely felt gorgeous. Deciding to go with Ron to the costume ball as King Arthur and Guinevere, she had chose a creme satin gown that clung to her breasts and waist and then fell gracefully to the floor in a wide sweep. Hermione blushed again when she glanced at herself in the mirror and noticed the fair amount of flesh that was exposed by the low, square cut bodice. However, the feature she was the proudest of was her hair, which she had managed to tame into a mass of free flowing curls. With a crown of golden leaves adorning her head and a gold chair riding low on her waist, she looked every bit as regal as a queen.

Ginny gave a huff and adjusted her black wig.

"Harry better appreciate my costume. If this doesn't get him to shag me, I'm slipping potion into his pumpkin juice."

Hermione took one look at Ginny's borderline indecent, midriff-baring Cleopatra costume and knew that Ginny would have no need for potion.

"Ginny! Hermione! We are now officially late!" Harry called from the common room.

"We'd better go," Hermione said, smoothing the front of her gown.

"We'd better," Ginny lazily agreed. "Because now we're late...officially," she mocked.

If the two boys had been impatient, they showed no sigh of it as Cleopatra and Guinevere descended the staircase to the Gryffindor common room. Ginny and Hermione couldn't help but grin at Harry and Ron's slack-jawed expressions. The boys were in such a state of shock that they were unable to utter a word until the girls had escorted them out of the common room.

"Ginny," Harry breathed. "You look.." He coughed, trying to get rid of the dryness in his throat.

Hermione bit her tongue to keep from laughing as Ginny gave Harry a sultry appraisal of his Caesar costumer and replied huskily, "You too."

Ron was oblivious to this exchange, unable to focus his attention on anything but Hermione even after several trips on the stairs. His concentration was suddenly broken however when Hermione came to a sudden stop.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Go on without us," Hermione called to Harry and Ginny, who immediately complied.

"Mione?" Ron said, sounding concerned.

Somewhere on the stairs, it had hit Hermione that this would be her and Ron's last night as a couple. Whether or not everything worked out with Draco, she would still end things with Ron and break his heart in the process. Her stomach churned with suppressed guilt.

"Ron," she began uneasily, looking up at him. But she stopped, not knowing what to say. She suddenly realized that anything she said now would only spoil everything sooner than it needed to be spoiled. Whatever happened tonight was going to happen, and she couldn't stop it.

"I just wanted you to know," she said softly, gazing up into his baffled eyes, "You make a very handsome king."

Ron grinned and straightened his large crown as he leaned in to kiss her. With a surge of fresh guilt, Hermione kissed him back... because she knew it would be the last time she ever would..