camellia withlock│draco malfoy ✓

28│'mione knows

CHAPTER 28: 'mione knows

"The yule ball has been a tradition of the tri-wizard tournament since its inception. On Christmas eve night we and our guests gather in the great hall for well mannered frivolity. As representatives of the host school, I expect each and every one of you to put your best foot forward, and I mean this literally because the yule ball is first and foremost... a dance."

Groans emerge from the boys who are listening on. The girls seem a lot more excited.

"Silence. I will not have you in the course of a single evening besmirching that name by behaving like a babbling, bumbling band of baboons.

"Now to dance is to let the body breathe, inside every girl a secret swan slumbers longing to burst forth and take flight. Inside every boy, a lordly lion prepared to prance. Mr Weasly, will you join me," she grabs Ron and pulls him up to dance.

"Now place your right hand on my waist."

"Where?"

"My waist," he does so and a wolf whistle comes from the crowd. The twins are never gonna let him forget this, she thinks to herself while laughing silently. "Now bend your arm. Mr Filch..." The music starts and they dance across the floor. Ron keeps looking at his feet trying not to step on McGonagall. The music stops and the boys and girls get up.

Draco moves over to Melia, bows and kisses her knuckles before moving closer to her. Melia places one hand on his shoulder and one in his hand, then they start moving across the room. Melia doesn't know how, but she can dance really well. She has never danced in her whole life. Or, at least the life she remembers. They dance so gracefully that everyone around them stops to look at them in amaze. Draco and Melia don't notice. They just keep on dancing until the music stops and they bow once more. Then they hear the applause from everyone around them. Melia blushes and McGonagall moves closer to them.

"How do you know to dance like that?"

"Our parents made us take classes when we were younger," Draco answers for them both. So that's how I know how to dance.

"Well, I don't think you need any more classes in this then. 20 points to you each for amazing dancing skills." Melia looks at Draco. Did she just give 40 points to two Slytherin students? "You both are dismissed from all of these classes. The rest of you can find your partners again. Mr Filch, if you may."

The young couple leaves the room hand in hand and moves towards their common room. Melia takes out the new book she got on her birthday and starts reading. Draco takes out a book too and starts reading that. A few hours later the rest of their year comes back from dance practice very tired and angry at Draco and Malia for being allowed to skip them and getting house points from McGonagall. She just smirks at them and continues reading.

At dinner that night Melia ate her first real meal in months without vomiting it up again. Her new house and friends have helped her to this point. Since the golden trio knew about her being from another "world", they treat her a little differently. Except 'Mione. Their friendship is strong and will last for a long time. But her Slytherin friends don't know about that and treats her like a normal girl. Maybe it's because they know how "close" she is with the Dark Lord or if it's because of her parents, but it doesn't matter to her, because they care for her. In their own weird and funny ways.

Being in Slytherin has helped her. If it hadn't been for them, she would have still been as mute as ever and not eating or laughing. Because here both Blaise and Draco know and don't kill her for it. If Harry knew he would hate her right away. He wouldn't care about the explanation or care how much she was tortured, because she has a Dark Mark. That's why she's going to keep it a secret from him for as long as she can. From Ron. From everyone.

Melia looks over at the Gryffindor table where Hermione is talking to someone she remembers as Shawn McClain, a sixth year Gryffindor. Melia understands what is happening right away. She's showing him what Melia signed before. After McClain has translated it for her, she looks at Melia who has already gone for the door. She follows her out.

Melia occasionally looks back to see if she is still following and doesn't stop until they have arrived at the Astronomy Tower. 'Mione looks at her with worried eyes. They stay like that for a minute before Melia moves closer to her, handing her a letter.

"I wrote it down so that I don't have to speak too much," she whispers. "I hope that's alright?" 'Mione nods and takes the letter. Melia turns her back at her and looks out into the horizon. In the letter, she explained everything. About what Draco told her a year ago, about her parents, what happened in the summer regarding Bellatrix, the Dark Mark, The Quidditch World Cup, about her mission, but kept out what it was about.

When she's done reading, she walks up to Melia and grabs her left arm and pulls up her sleeve. She sees the Dark Mark and can't believe her eyes. Melia takes it back and dries away her tears. She's going to hate me. But she was wrong. 'Mione hugged her right away.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that," she says and wipes away Melias' tears. "What she did to you was unimaginable." They both sit down on the cold floor looking out at the horizon. Hermione is holding her hand and drawing small circles over her hand. They sit like that for a while in silence. A comfortable silence. That night their friendship became even stronger than before.

⊰ ❃ ⊱

Melia is sitting in the great hall at the Gryffindor table with the trio writing an essay.

"This is mad. At this rate, we'll be the only ones in our year without dates," Snape comes up from behind him and smacks him on the head with a notebook.

Ron rubs his head, "Well, us and Neville!"

"But then again he can take himself," Harry answers.

"It might interest you to know that Neville's already got someone."

Ron gasps, "Now I'm really depressed." Melia giggles and goes over to Snape to give him her essay before walking back to the others. "Well Hermione, you're a girl."

"Oh, well spotted."

"Come on. It's one thing for a bloke to show up alone. For a girl, it's just sad."

"I won't be going alone because believe it or not someone's asked me. And I said yes."

"Bloody hell." Hermione storms off and Melia runs behind her.

"You already know, don't you?" Melia nods, "And you knew this situation would happen?" she nods again. "And you didn't say anything?" Melia just smirks at her.

"Has Draco asked you?" she stops in her tracks. How could I forget about that? "He hasn't?"

"No," she whispers.

(A/N) Some of the lines in this chapter are from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie script, which mean that I don't own it. Everything else is written by me.