Masquerade - A Dramione Short Story

Part 1

A loud banging on her door barely even stirred Hermione as she sat on her couch, absentmindedly snacking on the half-empty bag of chips while staring at the movie currently playing.

"Hermione! Open up, please!"

Recognizing the voice as Ginny's, she sighed and grabbed her wand, waving it towards the front door. She heard the lock click and Ginny opened it soon after, stopping in the doorway and shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she saw the state her best friend was currently in.

"Oh, 'Mione..." Ginny shut the door behind her and sighed, pulling a bottle of wine out of her bag. "How are you doing?"

Raising an eyebrow, Hermione gestured towards her too-large pajamas and asked, "How does it look like I'm doing?"

Ginny grimaced and went into the kitchen, immediately opening the bottle of wine and grabbing two glasses. "I'm going to murder my brother...did he even give you a reason?"

"He said he needed to focus on his quidditch career," Hermione said bitterly before shoving another stack of chips into her mouth.

"Wow." Ginny shook her head as she walked back over to the couch, handing Hermione one of the glasses. "Well as immature as that was, at least he was honest. He wasn't cheating on you, was he?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Hermione muttered before sighing heavily. "It's just...it really blindsided me."

"I can imagine," Ginny said sadly. "You were so happy with him."

Hermione didn't say anything to this, instead taking another drink of her wine. Then she leaned her head back to look up at the ceiling, holding back tears. "I really do appreciate you coming over, Gin."

Ginny reached over to rub her friend's arm. "Of course! I wasn't about to leave you on your own right now!"

The two of them fell silent for a bit as they turned their attention back to the movie. Ginny had seen this one a few times with Hermione in the past, and if she remembered correctly it was called High Society, or something like that.

Hermione finished her glass quickly and stood up to refill it, asking over her shoulder, "Do you need more?"

Ginny stared at the back of her friend's head before looking down at her glass. "No, I'm good."

With a shrug Hermione filled her own glass before returning to the couch, pausing as she finally got a good look at it.

"Merlin, is that how bad it really looks?" She asked, grimacing at the empty bags of chips and bottles of wine.

"I wasn't going to say anything," Ginny said sheepishly. "But yeah...I can tell you've been a little depressed."

Taking a quick drink and setting her glass down, Hermione immediately summoned a trash bag and began throwing items into it. "This is embarrassing..."

"Well, you were just broken up with," Ginny said, setting her own glass down to help. "And it's really not that much. We'll get this taken care of in no time."

Hermione managed to smile at this and sure enough, not even five minutes later the couch was cleaned up and any sign of crumbs or trash was gone.

"Much better," Hermione sighed, feeling a small bit of weight off her shoulders. "Thanks, Gin."

"Of course!" Ginny smiled again as they both sat back down. "Hey, are you still attending the Ministry gala tomorrow?"

"I honestly forgot about that," Hermione admitted with a frown as she reached for her glass again. "I'm not sure."

"You can always go with Harry and I," Ginny offered. "I know you were originally going with Ron, but..."

Hermione shook her head. "You know what? Yeah, I still want to go. I'm going to have fun."

Ginny smiled at this. "That's the spirit! It'll be a fun time all around!"

"I still don't have a dress though..." Hermione said then, groaning inwardly.

"Really?" Ginny asked in shock before nodding towards Hermione's bedroom. "Let's fix that. Go take a shower real quick and we can go!"

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked. "I don't want to take you away from any plans..."

"Hermione, I literally had nothing planned other than making sure you were okay today," Ginny said. "I made sure of that. Now go take a shower!"

About forty-five minutes later, the two of them were walking arm-in-arm into a muggle dress shop, happily distracting Hermione from her troubles.

"What kind of dress are you wanting?" Ginny asked as she looked through one of the first racks.

Hermione hummed for a few moments as she thought. "What about black?"

"Really?" Ginny looked back at her friend. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Hermione shrugged, looking through a separate rack. "Black is elegant. And it's a masquerade theme, right?"

"Yupp. Do you have a mask?"

"Of course not," Hermione laughed. "I guess we need to find one too."

"That won't be too hard," Ginny said with a wave of her hand. "But let's focus on the dress first."

After finding a few options for Hermione, the two of them went back to the changing rooms and Ginny waited outside patiently. Thankfully the shop wasn't too busy so the two of them could still discuss plans.

"Why don't you get ready at our place?" Ginny asked through the curtain.

"Really?" Came Hermione's response. "Are you sure you're okay with that?"

"Yeah!" Ginny laughed. "Besides, you'll be showing up with us, right? It only makes sense."

"I just don't want to intrude," Hermione said as she opened the curtain. "What do you think?"

Ginny smiled widely. "l like this one! Do you?"

"I'm not sure..." Hermione went to the mirror and turned a few times, running her hands over the fabric. "It's pretty but I think it's a bit much."

"I disagree." Ginny appeared behind Hermione in the mirror and shook her head. "Hermione, this is the first time you've been single in nearly five years. This looks absolutely fabulous on you, and I think it's perfect for this event."

Hermione hummed slightly, adjusting the dress ever so slightly. Then she nodded after a few moments, smiling at her reflection. "You're right; and Ron would never have let me wear anything like this in the past."

"No he definitely would not have," Ginny agreed. "And it's not too risqué or anything; we can make a few adjustments if needed but I think it's perfect the way it is!"

After inspecting it a few seconds more, Hermione smiled again. "Alright, let's go with this one!"