"I don't see you a lot, spending your time with Draco, aren't you?" Narcissa said as she fluffed Hermione's curly hair.
Hermione attempted to hide the blush that was spreading on her face and shrugged casually. "He likes showing me around, even if he basically showed me the music room ten times," Hermione paused when Narcissa gave a small chuckle then continued. "He loves spending his time there, playing the piano. He even attempted to teach me, but I keep failing." She didn't admit that to him, but Hermione was annoyed at the fact that she kept failing at playing the piano when it wasn't even that hard. It wasn't even because of Draco, no, Draco was an amazing teacher, and he was so patient with her. It was just her. And Hermione didn't like failing at anything, which was why she was going to spend some time alone in the music room before getting ready for the ball today.
"Learning how to play the piano is very hard. It takes focusing, patience, and a little bit of talent. It took me years to finally learn how to play it skillfully, Draco merely took three months, even less! He was —still is— very fond of the piano. It was a gift from Lucius, he gave it to him in third year. Draco spent the entirety of summer playing the piano that year. Lucius and I couldn't keep him away from it; it was one of the rare items that Draco cherished." Narcissa said as she started to style Hermione's hair in a very close way to what Hermione did in fourth year.
Hermione smiled at Narcissa's words. She didn't know much about Lucius, but everything that Narcissa said proved that he was a good husband, and perhaps even a good father. But every time she thought of him as a good father, Draco's words flew to the forefront of her mind, reminding her of that night on the Astronomy Tower.
"I didn't exactly have a father-son bond with him growing up."
She couldn't stop the words that tumbled out of her mouth. "Draco told me that Lucius and him were not exactly close, but...everything you have said so far proves that Lucius was a good father. Why is your view of him different from Draco's view?"
Narcissa seemed to furrow her eyebrows in thought, seemingly thinking about Hermione's question. Hermione thought that she was not going to answer, but then again, Narcissa Malfoy was not predictable. After all, she did lie to Voldemort during the war, something that most people wouldn't dare do, in fact, Hermione doesn't know many people that would have done what Narcissa Malfoy did. She was one of the main factors that helped them win the war. Hermione remembers how Harry talked about her bravery, and how he admired her for what she did. Hermione couldn't help but feel the same.
Narcissa broke Hermione's thought process, but Hermione didn't mind in the least. "Lucius was my husband, his treatment of both Draco and I was different because of many factors. Draco grew up with Lucius teaching him how to be the perfect heir. He didn't notice his treatment of me because he was so busy hating Lucius on the inside, even though he doesn't hate him. Love and hate have so very little differences that sometimes people mistake one for the other. That's Draco's case. He thought he despised Lucius so much that the love he once had for him became unclear to his heart. He couldn't differentiate between the two, so he chose the easiest feeling to follow. Hate. Hate is easier than love, so much easier. You can hate someone for absolutely no reason, but to love people, you have to find reasons for it. Draco couldn't find visible reasons, because he didn't pay attention to what wasn't visible, so he escaped all of this dilemma by hating on Lucius, focusing on the visible reasons that would encourage such an awful feeling. But Draco wasn't there when Lucius defied his family to marry me. He wasn't there when Lucius proposed to me when we were in school. He wasn't there when Lucius refused to marry in an arranged marriage. Lucius and I are more complicated than it seems." Narcissa stopped to take a breath before continuing.
"The Blacks and the Malfoys weren't always on good terms, and when Lucius and I wanted to get married, they refused because there was trouble between the two families. I was supposed to marry someone from my family, probably my cousin or niece, it didn't really matter to the House of Black. Lucius was supposed to marry a Parkinson, though I don't know who. I was afraid of defying my parents, because of—"
"Andromeda." Hermione said, and watched as Narcissa gave a curt nod.
"Yes. Andromeda was the bravest of us three. She managed to defy my family and marry a Muggleborn. I was afraid to get disowned, and Lucius didn't want my family to do anything drastic, so he took it upon himself to defy both of our families. When he proposed to me in school, our families had no choice but to marry us, seeing that it is apparently 'shame' to break an engagement of any sorts, even if it was the muggle sort."
"Lucius proposed to you in a muggle way?!" Hermione inquired, her eyes widening at the thought of Lucius Malfoy falling on one knee and proposing to Narcissa.
Narcissa chuckled and nodded. "Yes, he did. It was wonderful. It was even better when my dear cousin and his friends cheered for us. They hated Lucius, and him proposing to me in the Great Hall in front of everyone was apparently something to be reckoned with."
"You mean Sirius? Sirius, Remus, James, and Peter?" Hermione lifted an eyebrow as she asked.
"Yes. It was kind of sweet if I say so myself." Narcissa remarked before continuing. "Anyways, Lucius and I ended up getting married, even if both of our families were furious. Lucius had more control over his family than I ever had over mine. And slowly, his family accepted me and I would go as far as say that they actually preferred me over Parkinson, whoever she was."
Hermione smiled, but she felt that her question was still left a bit unanswered. Narcissa continued on, answering Hermione's question more thoroughly.
"What I mean is that Draco wasn't there when Lucius and I were young and had years in front of us. Draco didn't see the good that my husband did, he only saw the bad that his father did. He only paid attention to how Lucius treated him, because it was easy to outlook the good and notice the bad,"
That sentence particularly hit Hermione. Outlook the good and notice the bad. She felt guilty for those years when she judged Draco by the bad things that he did, but to her defense, Draco didn't do anything good. Visibly, he didn't do anything good visibly.
A drunken conversation suddenly flew to the forefront of her mind.
"Remember that paper? The paper that had everything you needed to know about the basilisk?"
She nodded her head in remembrance, "Yes, Harry and Ron thought that I was the one who tore it from a book, but I wasn't—"
She paused and her eyes widened.
"You?!"
He smiled slightly and nodded, "Me."
Hermione hid a smile and listened to Narcissa speak.
"If Draco paid more attention to Lucius, he would have noticed the times that Lucius got me my favorite kind of flowers, he would have noticed Lucius massage my feet after a long day, he would have noticed the way Lucius looked at me when he thought I wasn't looking," Narcissa gave a small smirk at that, and Hermione couldn't help but smile as the Slytherin in Narcissa Malfoy made itself present.
"Draco would have noticed how good of a husband Lucius was. Lucius may not have been the best father, but he did what was done to him. He taught Draco what was taught to him. He took the time of the day to have Draco sit with him in the library and read him books. He did everything for Draco, even if his idea of everything wasn't all good. He even tried to change Voldemort's plans; tried to discourage him from officially marking Draco. Even if his efforts didn't work, he still tried his best. But of course, Draco—"
"Only saw the bad." Hermione said, Narcissa hummed and nodded.
"Yes. I hope that answers your question, Hermione. I know it was a lot to take in—"
Hermione gave a soft smile and said. "It answered more than one question, thank you for taking the time to explain."
Narcissa gave a fond smile. "You are very precious to Draco, which means that you are precious to me as well. I love answering your questions. You will need those answers in the future." At that, Narcissa gave a small knowing smirk. Hermione furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at the statement, but she didn't get the time to dwell on it. Narcissa spoke again.
"Tobsy will take everything you and Draco packed to Hogwarts, since you are spending the last night with Blaise." Narcissa explained and waited for Hermione to nod before continuing. "Your hair looks lovely like this, it always looks lovely in my opinion. Now, would you like to join me in the music room for a while before you get ready for the ball?" Narcissa asked with a knowing smile.
Hermione smiled and nodded.
***
Hermione ran her hands over her gown, feeling more self conscious as time flew by. She was in her room, and was waiting on Draco. He told her earlier that he would come and get her himself. In the meantime, she was to wait for him as he did Merlin knew what. In that time, Hermione was going mental. Narcissa told her that she was a vision, and that boosted Hermione's confidence. But now, waiting to see Draco's reaction, Hermione felt ready to combust.
The gown that she was wearing was really a sight. Gold really was her color. It felt as if everyone else was forbidden to wear gold when she did. The color encased her elegantly, almost as if it was created to be worn by her. The material of the gown was soft, with shimmering gold lines sewn randomly at the skirt and upper part of the gown, it wasn't too much or too little, it was the perfect amount of shimmer. The upper part of the gown was split in the middle, and three belts —which weren't really belts at all, but instead, jewel encrusted bands— connected the two split halves of the dress. The gown was simple, yet elegant and exquisite at the same time. Hermione has never worn anything that looked more beautiful, and she doubted that she ever would.
She felt a bit exposed and self conscious, but all of those feelings dissolved when Draco knocked on the door and entered her room.
Draco's breath got knocked out of him when he saw Hermione. She had her arms at her sides and was staring at him, waiting for his reaction, which didn't register for a while as Draco's eyes crept over her and paused on her eyes. His eyes were wide and he was sure that he looked like an idiot, standing there, doing nothing but staring at her. Nothing but her. Only her.
Fuck, she was beautiful...so, so beautiful. Every synonym of the word beautiful couldn't describe how lovely Hermione looked. They wouldn't do her justice.
"Draco?"
His name from her lips brought him back to their reality.
She lifted her eyebrows expectantly, and Draco suddenly felt bad for leaving her hanging like this.
"Granger, you—"
"I am pretty sure we can be on a first name basis now, you know?" She gave a small smile.
He shook his head. "It depends on the occasion."
"Well, what do you think?"
He realized that she was asking for his opinion, and he couldn't believe that she needed someone's validation to believe how utterly beautiful she looked.
"You don't even need my opinion, do you see yourself? Merlin, Granger," he stalked towards her, turning her around, making the both of them face the long mirror in front of them.
Hermione tried to hide the blush that was on her face, but she wasn't able to. Draco stood behind her, his hands grabbed both of her wrists and looped her arms and his arms around her waist.
"Hermione," she blushed deeper at that, "you look absolutely divine. You are divine. I have never seen anyone as alluring as you are. I can't even find words to describe how dazzling you look. Gold has never looked so lovely. It feels as if it was created specifically for you," Hermione smiled softly at that, "you don't need me to tell you how beautiful you look, you don't need my input to feel beautiful, but I am still going to tell you how lovely you look every day." With that, he dropped soft kisses on her neck before turning her around and staring deeply into her eyes.
"You are so lovely, Hermione." He smiled when she smiled, then he leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips, making sure to kiss her nose which caused her to let out a little giggle.
When Draco leaned back, Hermione took the time to survey him. He was wearing a black suit —something so iconic of him— and a black dress shirt. It was what he wore most of the time, but somehow, Draco always managed to look more and more handsome each time he wore a black suit.
"You look handsome." Hermione said, smiling softly.
He gave a playful smirk. "I know."
She punched him playfully on his shoulder and he gave a quiet laugh.
"I got you something." He said before reaching his hand into the inside pocket of his suit jacket. His hand came back with a single black rose, much like the white rose he gave her during the Yule Ball.
Hermione seemed to make the connection and smiled as he put the rose behind her ear. "It's beautiful." She remarked.
"Not as beautiful as you are." He said. Holding her face with both of his hands, he dipped down and placed a kiss on her forehead before looking in her eyes and smirking playfully. "Now, let's go before we miss Blaise's dramatic entrance."
She gave a soft smile and nodded.
***
"You look beautiful, Hermione!" Daphne exclaimed the moment her and Pansy approached Draco and Hermione, who had just arrived at the Manor. Everything looked beautiful and matched the theme of the festivals perfectly. Gold, green, and red were everywhere, and Draco couldn't help but think that green and red work really well together.
They had arrived pretty late, so the countdown was soon.
Daphne, wearing a beautiful teal gown, wrapped her arms around Hermione and gave her a long hug, causing Pansy to scoff and roll her eyes. "Daph, let her breath, for Merlin's sake. And let me hug her!"
Daphne laughed lightly before pulling away from Hermione. Pansy didn't waste any time as she gave Hermione a hug, smirking playfully as she said. "Well well, looks like our golden girl dressed up to her title. You look ethereal, Granger."
"Me? Look at you!" Hermione gestured to Pansy's silk, dark maroon dress. "Dressed like a true Gryffindor." Hermione said, smirking at the look of disgust on Pansy's face.
"Please don't compare me to Gryffindor. Thank you very much." Pansy smiled sarcastically before noticing Draco, who up until now was standing behind Hermione, doing nothing but staring at the decorations.
"Hey Malfoy, no greetings?" Pansy teased, lifting an eyebrow as she did so.
Draco scoffed before smiling sarcastically. "Hello, Pansy. Greetings, haven't seen you for months now."
Hermione and Daphne chuckled lightly while Pansy playfully rolled her eyes before smiling. Daphne suddenly caught sight of something and gestured for all of them to look up the grand staircase. "Look up there."
They all looked at where she was pointing, and they realized that they weren't the only people looking; everyone else was looking up. Suddenly, Blaise appeared out of the blue, another figure was next to him, wearing a beautiful vermillion gown. Ginny's hair couldn't be mistaken, and Hermione smiled softly at the sight of her friends, holding each other's hands and smiling cheekily at the crowd of people.
"Well, hello there, everyone. I hope everyone is having an amazing time so far! I am sure my mother had exceeded all of your expectations," Blaise sent a sly wink towards a figure in the crowd that Hermione guessed to be his mother, "I don't want to interrupt your fun, so please resume to what you were doing! Remember to save me a dance, ladies." Ginny playfully punched him at that and he chuckled softly. Finally, they began walking down the stairs, heading straight for Hermione, Daphne, Pansy, and Draco. Blaise seemed to suddenly stop in his tracks, and he quickly whispered something in Ginny's ear before waiting for her response. She nodded quickly, and smiled when he placed a chaste kiss on her lips before leaving. Ginny approached them after he walked away.
"You guys look amazing!" Ginny exclaimed. Both Daphne and Hermione smiled before returning the compliment. Pansy simply smirked and shrugged. "I know." Ginny chuckled, and slowly Pansy did too before complimenting her as well.
"I spotted Harry and Ron when I was upstairs, come on, let's go say hi. I will have to steal your girlfriend for a while, Malfoy, try to survive." Ginny winked before grabbing Hermione's wrist and pulling her away, leaving Draco with Pansy and Daphne. He looked longingly at Hermione, but he was quickly engaged in a conversation with Pansy and Daphne.
Ginny pulled Hermione to a bar at the back of the ballroom, where both Harry and Ron were standing. Hermione wondered if Neville was invited.
"Hermione, hi! You look brilliant!" Harry exclaimed as he pulled Hermione into a hug before pulling away and doing the same with Ginny. Ron gave Hermione a smile and hugged her as he said. "You look beautiful, Mione."
Hermione smiled and thanked the both of them before asking about Neville's whereabouts.
"He had to stay with his grandma," Harry explained. "She was quite sick when he sent us a letter."
"What about Theo?" Hermione asked.
Harry gestured behind her, and Hermione looked to see Theo dancing with Luna, who was wearing a dress that suited her personality. Lots of colors, shapes, and layers. It just screamed Luna. Hermione smiled at the fond smile that was on Theo's face when he looked at Luna before looking back at her friends.
"Why aren't you two dancing?" Ginny asked, and smiled cheekily when Blaise and Pansy walked towards them. Hermione furrowed her eyebrows at them, speaking at the same time that Harry answered Ginny's question.
"Just drinking a bit."
"Where are Daph and Draco?"
Blaise smirked as he leaned against the bar and crossed his arms. "I might have told my mother that Draco arrived, she loves dancing with him during these kinds of balls, so she left me alone and grabbed Draco for a dance. He looked ready to murder me."
Hermione smiled and rolled her eyes playfully before asking. "And what about Daph?"
This time, Pansy was the one to answer. "Adrian spotted her and asked her to dance."
Hermione smiled and nodded.
Blaise suddenly wrapped his arms around Ginny's waist, causing Ron to make a disgusted face and look away. Blaise ignored him and said. "So, wanna dance, Ginevra?"
"If you call me that name once again, then no. I don't want to."
"Shut up and admit that you love it when I call you Ginevra already. Now, stop being difficult, come on." He pulled her towards the center of the ballroom, and Ginny smiled when he twirled her around suddenly.
"Come on, Potter. Our turn." Pansy said and lifted her eyebrow, waiting for Harry to object. But Harry simply grinned playfully before grabbing her hand and pulling her to the middle of the ballroom as well, leaving Hermione and Ron standing by the bar.
"We look like idiots standing here, wanna dance?" Hermione offered, and smiled when Ron nodded. She grabbed his hand and the both of them walked to the center of the ballroom, where everyone else was dancing.
"So, enjoyed Christmas with Malfoy?" Ron asked when they were dancing.
Before Hermione left to spend Christmas with Draco, she had to tell Ron and Harry, seeing as they both would have seen her in the Express. They didn't ask any questions about it, mostly because Pansy and Ginny forbade them to.
"Yeah, it was nice." Hermione replied, not wanting to make anything awkward, knowing that Ron doesn't know what is going on between her and Draco.
"How is it going with you and Padma?" She asked, curious to know about his progress with her.
Ron smiled. "Good, she had to leave after Christmas though, so she couldn't come today."
Hermione smiled at the fond smile on Ron's face. She was wondering when he would start going out with someone again, and she was glad that he was finally happy. He deserved to be happy.
"Weasley," a voice came from behind Hermione. She turned her head and came face to face with Draco, she gave him a soft smile.
"Malfoy." Ron gave a nod of acknowledgement before looking at Hermione again. "I will hang by the bar, see you later?"
Hermione smiled and nodded, waiting for him to walk away before turning to face Draco. "Hey."
"Hey you." He said before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer to him, causing her to put both of her hands on his shoulders. She slowly moved her hands to wrap around his neck. He started swaying her gently, surveying everyone around them before looking back at her.
"This reminds me of the Yule Ball." Hermione said before resting her face against his chest. He smiled at that and nodded his agreement.
"You look beautiful." He said.
She chuckled softly. "You already said so."
He shrugged. "What I said wasn't enough, and probably won't ever be enough."
She suddenly grabbed his face in her hands and locked their eyes together in a dizzying trance. She spoke slowly. "It was more than enough, Malfoy."
He looked at her lips quickly before looking up to meet her eyes. "I have a feeling I could do better." With that, he intertwined their fingers together and pulled her through the crowd. Hermione tried to look ahead, but she wasn't sure where he was taking her. Finally, they came upon a golden decorated courtyard, Hermione gasped as she looked around, taking everything in. From the golden lights to the white lilies to the mini bar. It all looked beautiful. So very beautiful.
"Wow..."
"Yeah, it's beautiful here. Mrs. Zabini likes to set the bar high enough so that even my mother doesn't reach it." Draco said, smirking slightly. He slowly came to stand beside her, putting his hand on her lower back and guiding her to a more secluded area where more stars were visible.
Hermione glanced at the lights that were magically floating in the air, the golden bands of light that wrapped around the trees that were visible, the small pond in the corner, and smiled at the beautiful decorations. Blaise didn't exaggerate when he said his mother loved to go over the top.
"It's beautiful." Hermione whispered, and Draco looked at her fondly as he replied. "Yes. It is."
Hermione turned to face him. "Why did you bring me here?" She asked.
He took a deep breath before reaching into his inside pocket and pulling out a small velvet black box. He used wandless magic to quickly return it to its original size, which was slightly bigger than his hand.
Hermione furrowed her eyebrows and asked. "What is that?"
"Your Christmas gift." He answered.
"Oh..." She has completely forgotten about that.
"Here," he extended the velvet box towards her and smiled.
She took the box carefully and slowly opened it, widening her eyes and gasping as she recognized what was inside.
Was that...?!
"Is that emerald?!" She exclaimed as she looked up at him. He merely shrugged.
Emerald was rarer than diamond, and so, so expensive. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. In the box was a silver necklace with an emerald gem. A silver snake swirled around the gem. It all looked delicate, and she was so afraid to touch it.
"Draco, this is—"
"Not enough." He deadpanned.
"No! This is too much, I can't accept this. I—"
"Hermione."
She met his eyes and waited for him to go on.
"Shut up."
She furrowed her eyebrows.
"You deserve way more than this, but I don't have much to give to you. I don't know much about sentimental stuff, mostly because I grew up getting superficial gifts. But I will try to give you anything I could, even if it means nothing to you. Everything I have that has a value will be yours, because you deserve way more than you think." He moved closer towards her and grabbed her face in his hands.
"During those months that we have spent together, you have made me feel more emotions that I have ever felt my entire life. You have made me believe in so many things that I have never believed in before. You have made me happy, and that was only one of the most amazing things that you have done for me. I don't think I could ever repay you, but I will spend my entire life trying to, starting from now," he took a deep breath before continuing. "The most important thing that I have —that has the tiniest bit of value— is my heart, and I am here to offer it to you, alongside the necklace, of course." He smiled softly at the last part, but Hermione could feel his hands shaking. He was nervous.
"What—?"
"You know what I mean, Granger."
"I want to hear you say it." She said simply.
He sighed. "I should have known that you would be so difficult." She smiled at that.
"Okay," he took a deep breath. "Would you be my girlfriend, Hermione?"
She smiled slowly, shocked at her own reaction. She let out a soft, quiet chuckle before nodding eagerly.
"I need to hear you say it." He said quietly, and he could feel his heart trying to jump out of his chest.
"I would! Of course I would! You are asking the stupidest question ever." She exclaimed, and she could physically feel Draco's pulse quickening as his eyes widened.
Draco didn't have anything to say, he didn't know what to say, so he did what he wanted to do since the ball started. He connected his lips with her lips, and Hermione didn't hesitate as she returned his kisses, passionate and eager as he was. She was just about to wrap her arms around his neck when she realized that the velvet box was still in her hands. She reluctantly pulled away, and smiled at Draco's expression of annoyance.
"The necklace." She said.
"Right, the necklace. May I?"
She nodded and gave him the box before turning around, she briefly saw him putting the box on the grass before pulling her hair carefully to the side. His hands came around her neck slowly and she shivered slightly when he placed the necklace around her neck. He clasped the necklace carefully before putting his hands on Hermione's waist and turning her around. Right at this moment, they heard people counting down to the end of the year and the beginning of another.
Ten.
"You look beautiful." He said.
Nine.
She smiled. "You said it before, and before, and—"
Eight.
"And I will keep saying it for the rest of my life." He finished for her.
Seven.
"You have turned into a big softie, Malfoy." Hermione smirked.
Six.
He frowned. "I did not."
Five.
She smiled. "Yes. Yes, you did."
Four.
"Shut up, Granger."
Three.
"Yeah? Make me."
Two.
He lifted an eyebrow challengingly and wrapped his arms around her waist. She quickly wrapped her hands around his neck.
One.
His lips connected with her lips.
They heard chants of 'HAPPY NEW YEAR!' but they both didn't pay much attention to it. They were both drowning in each other. Both of them holding the other above water. Draco didn't trust anyone more than her, and Hermione didn't trust anyone more than him. They both felt as if they were drowning, and floating, and falling, and all of the above at the same time, but they were together, and that was all that mattered.
They both couldn't think of a better way to start the new year.
***
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Chapter 32 will be up next week!