Chapter Text
“You look nice Hermione,” Luna dreamily stared at Hermione’s reflection as she stood in front of the mirror.
“Thank you Luna,” Hermione ran her fingers over the tulle skirt watching as the grey fabric sparkled and caught the light. “So do you.”
Luna smiled at her and swayed across the room humming slightly. Hermione watched her friend as she bobbed around behind her before she looked back at the mirror to check her appearance once more. This dress was like nothing she could have ever imagined but it was her first Ministry Masked Yule Ball and it was time to treat herself. The bodice of the dress was tight fitting with a modest plunge neckline, it was covered in thousands of tiny silver stars that trailed down into a charcoal grey tulle skirt where they scattered reflecting the light as she moved. Peep toe heels had finished it off and the stormy grey sequined mask sat on the side waiting for her. She’d pinned her curls over to one side so they fell over her left shoulder. Hermione couldn’t remember the last time she’d dressed up like this and she felt good. Her reflection grinned back at her and she felt a spark whizz through her at the thought of the night ahead.
“Girls, I can’t get this zipper up at the side, where is my wand?” Ginny Weasley stormed out of the bathroom and started rustling under the pile of clothes she’d left on the floor before finding her wand and aiming it at the zip on her navy blue dress. “Urgh, feels a little tight but at least it’s on, do you think people will...” she looked up at Hermione and let out a low whistle. “Merlin Hermione, you look incredible!” she flew over to fluff up the spangled skirt. “I know you said the dress was special but this is something else.”
She stood back to look her friend up and down and Hermione caught the wicked look in her eye. “Those wizards at the Ministry aren’t going to know what’s hit them when you walk in. You know the masks are charmed right? Once we’re there they won’t come off again till midnight. That means you have a few hours to cause mayhem whilst nobody knows who you are. Why Hermione Granger...you look like a witch who is on the prowl tonight.”
Hermione held her gaze, deliberately raising an eyebrow. “Me? What on earth would make you think such a thing?”
“Oh, I don’t know. The fact you’ve been working pretty much non stop for the last four months...I know for a fact you haven’t had a shag for the last six. Seems like it’s about time to let that troublesome little wild side of yours out for the night,” Ginny walked over to the bottle of firewhiskey and poured two shots out. “You know I can’t tonight,” she winked and passed the glasses to Luna then Hermione. “So I think I’d quite like to live vicariously through you and you can give me all the juicy details tomorrow.”
Hermione took the glass from Ginny and downed it in one. Although she’d never say it out loud Ginny was right, tonight she was going to let her hair down. She was going to have fun and she was most definitely going to get laid.
~-~-~-
Draco stepped into the room and even he had to admit that the Ministry had done a decent enough job of decorating the old ballroom. An enormous star hung in the centre of the dance floor giving off a pale violet light which was picked up by twinkling star lights all over the room. Vases filled with eucalyptus stood tall on every table and gold pillar candles flickered around them creating a low light. In each of the tall bay windows there was a Christmas tree each one heavily laden with many, many golden baubles. Everywhere you looked there seemed to be something sparkling or shimmering warmly.
It looked good, it really did but it still didn’t mean he wanted to be here. Stupid Potter and his work bonding directives. Everyone on his Auror team had to attend tonight...no exceptions. Whilst working alongside the saviour of Wizard-kind certainly hadn’t been as bad as he first thought it did not mean he wanted to attend this dismal little Ministry occasion. Somehow he’d ended up in Potter’s social circle, well, he said somehow but really he knew exactly the reason he’d first agreed to go the pub after work one night. What had started as a tickle of something he couldn’t quite figure out had now turned into a full blown obsession and tonight was sure to only torment him further. He had only himself to blame. He just couldn’t stay away from her.
Draco surreptitiously scanned the room; it was still quite early, there weren’t too many people here yet but he could already see a few who were well on the way to a night of debauchery. These masked balls were infamous, as if a scrap of fabric across your face could hide who you really were. Maybe for some of the plainer folk but he knew there was no hiding his platinum hair. He grabbed a drink of something fizzy from a passing tray and settled himself down on a table at the edge of the room. He’d keep a look out for Potter, show his face then hopefully be able to slope off in an hour.
Someone dragging out the chair next to him made him turn around just in time to see Pansy throwing herself down on the seat with a huff.
“Thought these balls were meant to be raucous. No one has even asked me to dance yet,” she pouted, instantly recognisable with that sulky expression even with the scarlet mask covering her eyes.
“I hope you’re not hinting at me Panse. A couple of drinks and I’m out of here. Night’s still young though, I’m sure you’ll find yourself a willing victim soon enough. I hear Barnaby from Curse breaking has a thing for you. Just the other day he asked me if we were still an item.”
“Where he has been living to notice we haven’t been together for years?” Pansy scoffed. “He’s not bad mind, curly black hair right?” Draco nodded taking another sip of his drink and looking around. “Should be easy enough to find even with a mask on. Although this whole anonymous thing is pretty sexy, could be anyone you’re taking home.”
“Except of course for the fact I’d easily recognise about half the people in here even with the mask on. Look here comes Potter now...mad hair, ginger Weasley girl on his arm. Oh for Godric’s sake is he wearing his glasses OVER his mask?!” Pansy started giggling next to him. “He’s an imbecile.”
“Oh I don’t know, he’s not all that bad,” Pansy started. “You’ve got to admit he’s kind of funny to work with...wait who is that behind him?” She scrunched up her eyes, staring towards the door.
Draco looked over and knew immediately who she was looking at. A witch to Potter’s right was stood looking over the room, one hand on a curved hip. Draco watched as she snatched a drink from a tray and slowly looked around the room. Draco couldn’t take his eyes off her, her dress showed off delicate shoulders and smooth skin. The light caught the grey skirt and every time she moved it sparkled around her, a long slit down one side revealed a slim leg and stiletto heel. The way she was stood made it look like she was ready to conquer something, or someone. Awareness trickled over him. He looked again and felt something slam in his chest...could it really be?
“Fuck me that’s Granger,” Draco burst out without thinking.
“No way Draco, look at the way she’s stood. Looks like she’s about to pounce on someone. Granger has never looked like that a day in her life. And those heels...have you seen what she wears to work? Those god awful brown robes and flat clunky shoes...Granger wouldn’t know how to walk in heels like that.”
But something was stirring in Draco, he knew it was her. Transformed a little yes but the essential Granger was still there. Although her hair was contained she couldn’t quite hide its bushiness. And the dress certainly showed off her figure tonight but Draco already had his suspicions that underneath the dowdy Ministry robes Granger hid a figure he would crawl through devil’s snare for. He knew it was her because he knew her.
Draco took a step forward without thinking.
“Draco?” Pansy questioned next to him. He realised he had been silent for a while.
“It’s definitely her,” Draco said in response never taking his eyes from Hermione Granger.
~-~-~-
Hermione had glanced around the room trying to decide whose table she should pounce on. If she really wanted to get lucky tonight it wouldn’t happen third wheeling with Harry and Ginny.
Surprisingly the masks did make it quite hard to identify people. She took a sip on the champagne, it was cool and crisp and she decided to take a lap of the room. Ginny and Harry were already networking with some Ministry bigwig and she wanted to make her escape before she was caught up in all that. She strolled along the edge of the dance floor, watching the handful of couples who seemed to be up a few drinks on her. As she weaved between the tables she noticed a few eyes follow her but nobody seemed to know it was her. The anonymity wasn’t quite a thrilling as she’d hoped. Part of her felt a hint of annoyance; as if it was so unbelievable that she could look like this. She carried on and settled on an empty table close the Dangerous Creatures department and the Curse Breakers. Both groups were known to be a livelier sort at these parties, or so her assistant Charlene had told her when she filled her in on gossip about Yule Balls past.
She’d been sat down barely a minute when a chair pulled out next to her. She smiled slightly, prepared to dazzle whoever had approached her. She turned her head only to find the unmistakable blonde hair of Draco Malfoy dipping in front of her face as he took a seat next to her. Her smile dropped, he wouldn’t do at all...and he probably hadn’t realised it was her.
“Evening Granger,” he said smoothly, as he smirked in her general direction. “Didn’t realise they let Magical Law out for these things, you’re always so keen to stay cooped up in your tiny office.”
Hermione showed her teeth at him, “What are you doing here Malfoy?”
“Ah well you can blame Potter for that, he insisted the whole team show for this delightful function,” Draco leaned back in his chair as he spoke.
“Not here at the ball...here at my table.”
“Oh sorry, I didn’t realise this was your table Granger. Who else are you expecting?” he gestured a hand across to the other eight or so empty seats.
“Well no one just yet,” Hermione fluffed up her skirt a little. “But who knows what opportunities with arise tonight,” she leant her elbow on the table and smiled sweetly at Malfoy.
“Hmmm,” he took a drink out of his glass and eyed her over the top.
~-~-~-
“Malfoy would you just go to the bloody bathroom, or the bar or...something for a few minutes?” Malfoy had been sat at her table for nearly twenty minutes and it had been just the two of them for all that time. Hermione’s frustration had finally boiled over.
“The bar? In case you haven’t noticed there are more waiters with drinks trays in this room than nargles in that Christmas tree.”
“No one is ever going to come and sit here with you there glowering at everyone that passes,” Hermione was actually feeling quite settled with Malfoy there but no one else had approached them and she couldn’t allow that to continue all evening.
“Again, who do you want to sit here?” Draco said.
“I don’t know yet.”
“It’s a dangerous game hooking up at a masked ball Granger. You could see someone you like the look of, start flirting, maybe had a dance or two and then before you know it you’re trading saliva with Daryl from accounting.”
“Are you speaking from experience Malloy?” Hermione smiled innocently at him but inwardly she recoiled at the horror of actually taking home someone who she didn’t know.
He replied with a stony glare. It was quite impressive really how much he could still express himself in a mask.
“Do you really want to go home with one of these Ministry twats?” Malfoy said, looking around the room with a sneer.
“They aren’t all twats,” Hermione said somewhat defensively. Malfoy did almost have a point, there wasn’t anybody at work she had particularly ever thought about shagging but she’d got all dressed up and she was quite unbearably horny at this point.
Even worse Malfoy’s presence was making her tingly; she hoped it was from the sheer frustration he brought out of her. But she had to admit that the man always looked ridiculously good filling out a tux. The mask he wore had a sinful way of drawing attention to his mouth. His long fingers curled in such a way around the stem of his glass that Hermione quite lost her train of thought watching him run his fingers up and down the crystal.
No, she hadn’t come here tonight to moon over how good looking Malfoy was. But she had a quick look around the room and had to admit she really didn’t want to wake up with Daryl from accounting tomorrow morning. She sighed and took a long sip from her glass. It shouldn’t be this hard to get laid.
She heard Malfoy shove his chair back and he came to stand next to her. His hand appeared in front of her and she looked up at him in confusion.
“What?” she said.
“Come and dance with me,” he almost snapped at her.
“What?” she repeated, this time she heard the shock in her own voice.
Malfoy huffed at her and grabbed her hand, hauling her up and practically dragging her towards the dance floor. His hand was big and cool and his grip on her was a little disconcerting. Had they ever touched each other before?
“Come the fuck on Granger. It’s criminal no one has asked you to dance yet.”
“What?” She said the word a third time still not sure what was happening. She felt breathless and off kilter. Her feet hit the wood of the dance floor and Malfoy whipped around so he was facing her. Her eyes widened. Was he actually serious? It was a slower number, couples were stepping close to each other and Malfoy somehow managed to raise an eyebrow above his mask. He stepped forward and Hermione nearly stepped back.
“You do remember how to do this don’t you sweetheart?” he crooned at her.
Sweetheart! How dare he. The patronising git! Her mouth opened to tell him so but then Malfoy stepped close to her, closer then maybe he’d ever been in her life and the words came out without the heat she’d intended.
“Don’t call me sweetheart.”
“Sorry. It just slipped out. What would you prefer?” One of his arms went around her waist and she felt his fingers span out across her lower back. The other took up her hand.
He pulled her closer and she could feel all of him, all of his hard, impeccably dressed body pushed up against hers. It was doing strange things to her insides. She narrowed her eyes at him.
“What’s going on Malfoy?”
~-~-~-
Draco ignored that question. He started to move and she moved with him, as if they’d been doing this for years. He sucked in a breath at just how perfectly she fit him. He realised he didn’t have a chance to keeping this charade up any longer. She’d feel how much he wanted her soon enough. Maybe worth eking it out a bit longer though, just in case she never spoke to him again once he confessed.
“Where did you learn to dance Granger? You’re fairly good,” he asked purposefully not noticing the way her body curved out just under where his hand rested. No he really couldn’t notice that right now.
“Don’t you dare try to distract me,” she hissed at him, eyes gloriously fiery. “Tell me what you’re up to, is there a witch here you’re hoping to make jealous, or have you lost a bet?”
“No,” Draco replied with a sinking feeling. Maybe there was no coming back from the way he used to treat her. He could damn well try though; he couldn’t bear to see her leave with anyone else. Still he didn’t think she wanted to hear that he’d been half in love with her for at least the last year so he went for another different answer; different but still a truthful one. “You looked sad, just then at the table, when you’d looked around and realised there was no one here even close what you deserve. And it really is fucking unbelievable no one had asked you to dance.”
“I already told you it’s because you were sat there putting every wizard off.”
“Wouldn’t have stopped me, you could have had Madam Pince sat next to you and I’d still have risked it.”
She nearly smiled so he nearly smiled in return, then she glowered again.
“You have never asked me to dance Malfoy,” her eyes held his as if she was trying to work out a problem.
“Doesn’t mean I haven’t wanted to. Something is different about you tonight.”
“It’s just a fancy dress,” she looked away and he willed her to look back at him.
“No. No it’s really not.”
She fell quiet at that but did return her gaze to his so he continued to twirl her around the dance floor. People were looking at them. He didn’t care. There’d be gossip tomorrow but hopefully it would be worth it. He’d waited so long to find the right moment and everything in him told him it was tonight, the way she looked when she came into the ballroom told him she was ready for something else. It was now or never.
He leant close so he could speak in her ear. She needed to hear this first time. “I thought I might actually have a shot tonight. That’s why I asked you to dance.”