Wonderstruck

Chapter 26: Wonderstruck (Flashback Part 2)

            The rest of the ball was passed in similar fashion, filled with dancing, joking, laughing, and general merriment.

Well, that’s how it was for everyone other than Ms. Hermione Granger.

            No matter how hard she tried, she could not enjoy the evening like everyone around her. A dark curtain of gloom had fallen over her. Halfway through the ball, she became too unhappy to keep up her façade of happiness. Glancing around and making sure no one would notice her absence, not that she had to worry since Ginny and Harry were in their little world of oblivion and Draco had snuck off into a corridor with a giggling Hufflepuff, she slipped out of the Great Hall and made her way up to the Heads Common Room.

            Halfway through the portrait of Sir Calhoun that was the enterance to the common room, she changed her mind, much to the great annoyance of Sir Calhoun, and headed to the fifth corridor on the east wing instead.

            Upon reaching the corridor, she ducked under the extremely ugly tapestry that hung on the east wall and entered into the secret passageway she had discovered a few days ago when she was looking for a shortcut to the Ancient Runes classroom. She leaned against the wall as sobs racked her body, and slowly slid sown to the floor, letting tears of disappointment stream down her face.

            She had been crying for a good ten minutes, on the verge of crying herself a river, when the tapestry was lifted and a tall figure walked in.

            Hermione’s hopes, which had risen, fell back down when she realized that the tall figure had a shock of platinum blonde hair.

            Draco, after staring at Hermione for a few seconds, came and sat next to her on the floor.

            “Not afraid to ruin your favorite Armani suit?” Hermione asked through her tears.

            Instead of answering, Draco put his arms around her, and she buried her head in his shoulder and resumed crying.

            “On second thought, as long as you don’t blow your nose on my suit, I’m fine,” Draco added causing Hermione to snort and start laughing.

            “You know, I have never imagined that I’d spend my last ball at Hogwarts like this,” Hermione said quietly.

            “Really?!” Draco asked in mock surprise. “I always imagined spending tonight sitting on a hard floor, possibly bruising my beautiful arse, in some random secret passageway.”

            Hermione gave him a look that clearly said, “You just stole my thunder.”

            “I always imagined that I’d be wearing a really pretty dress, waltzing around the Great Hall with the love of my life, who’d propose to me exactly as the clock strikes midnight,” Hermione elaborated with a sigh.

            Draco pretended to gag. “You sound like a demented fireplace girl. Can’t really remember her name. The one that sounds like a disease.”

            “You mean Cinderella?” Hermione offered.

            “Yes,” Draco replied before amending, “You sound like a demented Cinderella.”

            “And here I am, in a random secret passageway with a man-whore Slytherin,” Hermione finished, glaring at Draco.

            “You might not want to say that sentence aloud in front of your gossipy Gryffindors. Especially with the rumors that have been floating around…” Draco trailed off with a smirk.