"Hermione, you look amazing," Harry said, coming up to her and touching her shoulder.
"Thanks, Harry," Hermione said. "You look rather spiffy too."
Harry looked down at his tux. "Thanks."
"Do you have a date?" she asked, handing him a mimosa.
"Yeah, actually," he said, accepting it.
"Who?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Cho," he said, face pink.
"Oh, good for you, Harry!" Hermione said, patting him on the shoulder.
"Speaking of dates, where's Malfoy?" Harry asked. "You guys are going together, I assume?"
"Yeah," Hermione said. "He got held up at the flower shop, he'll be here soon."
"Here I am."
Hermione whirled, grinning at him. "Hi."
"You look gorgeous," Draco said.
"Thanks," she said.
"Hey, Malfoy," Harry said awkwardly.
"Hello, Harry," Malfoy said. Harry's eyes widened. "I'm very sorry for everything that I did to you at Hogwarts, I just realized that I haven't apologized to you- you did nothing to deserve it. I couldn't be nice to you, of course, and my father absolutely insisted that I bully you, and- well, I apologize," he said. "I'd like to start out on the right foot." He offered his hand.
Harry took it after a moment of hesitation. "I've got to say, Mal-Draco, I would have never expected this from you."
Draco shrugged. "Everyone changes." Harry grinned at him.
"I've got to go find Cho, but have a good time, alright?" he said to Hermione. She nodded at him.
Hermione gave Draco a hug as soon as Harry left. Surprised, he asked, "What was that for? Not that I'm complaining, of course."
"For apologizing to Harry," she mumbled into his chest.
"Oh," he said with a laugh.
Hermione felt a tap on her shoulder and felt Draco tense up. She extracted herself from him and turned to face
Ron.
Of-bloody-course.
"Can I talk to you?" he asked her.
Hermione bit her lip and glanced at Draco, then back at Ron. "Fine."
"Privately," he added. By now, Hermione could see Ginny, Pansy, and Harry all watching Ron out of the corners of their eyes. And she had Draco, and her wand in her bag. She felt safe enough.
"Fine," she repeated.
He led her over to the bar and handed her a mimosa, grabbing one for himself as well. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have sent you that letter even though I already hurt you. Harry told me that you're with Malfoy now, and you look happy, and I respect that."
"Wow, Ron," Hermione said, surprised. "That's very mature of you. I'm really glad... that we can be adults about this."
He smiled. "Cheers?"
They clinked glasses and Hermione drank half of it in one sip. She heard Pansy scream, "What did you do?"
She frowned at Pansy, wondering why she was yelling at Ron. He hadn't done anything, only talked to her. "What are you yelling about?"
"He...put something in your drink!" she said, out of breath from running halfway across the ballroom. They were attracting many stares, and Hermione felt her face warm in embarrassment at her friends, clutching at Ron's arm for reassurance.
"Pans, stop it. Ron would never do anything to hurt me," she said, scowling at her friend. Then, quieter, she said, "I know you don't like him, but I love him, okay? We talked about this."
"What did you do?" Ginny asked furiously, appearing at Pansy's other side just in time to hear the last thing that Hermione had said.
"Nothing!" Ron said, hands up.
"He didn't do anything, leave him alone!" Hermione said angrily, standing up. Her eyes flashed dangerously and Ginny flinched, backing down. Ginny didn't back down, but her best friend was one of the strongest witches of all time.
"Are you alright?" An arm slipped around her waist and Hermione jumped up and slapped it away, rage in her eyes. Pansy winced.
"What the hell do you think you're playing at, Malfoy? I'm taken! You cannot just touch me like that!" Draco's eyes widened, and Ginny's mouth fell open. "I thought you were a good guy."
Pansy's wand was in her hand in five seconds flat, pointed at Ron. Hermione noticed this and turned up her nose in disgust at their poor conduct.
"Come on, Ron. Let's go," Hermione said, grabbing his hand and Apparating back to their house.
"What is going on?" McGonagall asked sternly, finally making her way to the source of the commotion.
"Ron put something in Hermione's drink, Professor," Ginny said quickly. Pansy put her wand away, looking enraged.
"Did he? Which drink did Miss Granger have?" McGonagall asked, quick and to the point. Pansy picked up Hermione's glass carefully and handed it to the Headmistress.
McGonagall sniffed it, something wistful flashing across her face. She briskly set it down and said, "Miss Granger has been given Amortentia."
Pansy shrieked in anger and Draco let out a breath. There was a cure for Amortentia, the only thing would be getting Hermione to drink it. Harry could give it to her, no problem.
"Luckily for you, I have a Hate Potion in stock," Professor Slughorn said at Draco's shoulder. He jumped. Unbeknownst to him, all of the Hogwarts professors had come down to the scene.
"Thank you, Horace. Would you mind getting that?"
"Sure thing," he said jovially, striding off.
"Someone will need to trick Miss Granger into drinking it. She will not take it if she knows that it will take her away from Mr. Weasely.
"I'll do it," Ginny and Pansy both said at once.
"She won't take it from you," Draco said. They both turned to him, confused.
"She knows that you're against her and Ron as a couple, based on your reactions earlier," he explained. "Harry?"
Harry nodded from where he stood with Cho, who looked absolutely bemused. "I'm going to kill Ron," he muttered.
McGonagall tsked. "None of that, Mr. Potter."
She raised her voice. "Everyone please return to the festivities! I apologize for this interruption."
As the chatter started up again, McGonagall said to them, "Please wait here for Professor Slughorn to return, and administer the potion to Miss Granger at the earliest possible opportunity." At that she left, her robes sweeping behind her.
"Here you are, my boy," Slughorn said to Harry, appearing and placing the potion in his hand. Harry looked embarrassed. "Uh, thank you sir."
"Of course. You know, you really should stop by sometime. I haven't seen you in such a long time-"
Draco cleared his throat. "So, Harry?"
"Cho?" he asked his date. She nodded. "Go on. I'll meet you at the drinks?"
"Sounds great," he said, then walked out of the room. Ginny and Pansy exchanged looks. Blaise looked at Draco sympathetically, but he just put his hands in his pockets and waited.
"Hermione?"
"Harry? What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, opening the door. She was still in her nice clothes.
He cleared his throat. "I was just worried about you guys. I saw what Malfoy did and I wanted to make sure that you were okay."
Her face instantly contorted in anger. "I can't believe him! I trusted him! Harry, you were right all along. I should have believed you when you told me that he was bad news." She opened the door wider. "Come in."
Harry stepped past her, his hand sweaty around the vial that Slughorn had given him. Ron looked up at Harry's arrival, his face pale.
"Hey, Ron," Harry said, trying not to lash out in anger.
"Hey," Ron said cautiously.
"Do you want any tea? You look tired, Harry," Hermione said, walking into the kitchen.
"That would be great, actually," he said. This was his chance. He could slip the potion into Hermione's drink.
Hermione smiled at him and poured two cups of tea. She turned around and said, "Ron, do you want any?"
Harry seized the opportunity and dumped the vial into her tea. He grabbed the other cup and started drinking out of it so that it wouldn't get mixed up.
"No," he said, sounding distracted.
"Okay," she said, wilting. Then, turning back to Harry, she said, "Where's Cho?"
"She wanted to go home," Harry lied, eyes on the teacup in her hands. Drink it, drink it, he chanted silently.
"I hope it works out well with you two," Hermione said. "She's a nice girl."
"Yeah," Harry said. She took a sip of the tea, and the results were instantaneous. Her eyes narrowed, something dangerous flashing across her features. She set down the cup and pulled out her wand, shooting a hex right at the back of Ron's head.
"Ronald, what the hell?" she said, enraged. Ron paled, turning. "Explain to me what makes you think that it's okay to give me a love potion! That was incredibly out of line! You have lost the opportunity to be close to me ever again!"
He flinched, then lurched forward and vomited slugs onto the carpet. Hermione scoffed and grabbed Harry's arm, Apparating them to her apartment.
"Harry, thank you so much," she said, throwing her arms around his neck.
"Of course," he replied, patting her back awkwardly. He wasn't the best with touchy-feely things.
"I'm going to kill him," she seethed. "I should have done more than hexed him. I'm going to go back and-"
"I think that there are some people at the ball who are very worried about you," he interrupted her, steering her away from the idea of causing Ron bodily harm.
She gasped, eyes widening. "Draco! What did I say do him?"
"Uh...you slapped him and told him that you loved Ron and didn't trust him," Harry said. Hermione groaned. "I have to go apologize."
"It wasn't your fault. It was Ron's."
"The words were still said. Just because I was under the influence of a potion doesn't mean that it didn't hurt."
She Apparated back to the gates of Hogwarts, and after a second, Harry followed.
Draco was in the bathroom, hands in his pockets. He knew that Hermione was just under the influence of a potion, but it still hurt. The look in her eyes wasn't faked. He was going to murder Weasely.
He leaned on the sink, gripping it on either side of the rim. He couldn't get it out of his head. He had to trust Harry, but to be honest, he thought that Harry was kind of an idiot.
The door opened. Without turning, Draco knew that it was Blaise. He leaned against the door, then said, "You okay, mate?"
"No, I'm bloody not," he said, clenching his teeth. "I'm going to murder that idiot."
Blaise chuckled weakly. "Get in line."
Hermione ran around blindly, bumping into people left and right. She finally came across Ginny and Pansy, who hugged her so tightly that she couldn't breathe.
"I thought you'd gone bonkers," Ginny said.
"Where's Draco?" Hermione asked urgently.
"Bathroom," they both answered. She ran off again, to the boy's bathroom. She burst through the door.
"Aye, this is the men's," she heard Blaise say. "Oh, Hermione."
"Draco?" she asked, ignoring Blaise. He turned around, eyes wary. She bit her lip at the pain that flashed through them. She'd caused that.
"I'm sorry," she said, hesitant.
"It's not your fault," he said, not meeting her eyes. Her eyes welled up, and she put her arms around him, headbutting him in the chest.
"I love you," she said, her voice muffled. "Not Ron. I love you, Draco."
She heard his sharp intake of breath, then his arms as they wrapped around her. "I love you too," he said, his voice quiet.
"Are they okay?" Ginny asked her boyfriend urgently when she spotted him.
He laughed. "They're more than okay."
Pansy let out a breath. "Good. I am going to hurt Weasel."
"Pans, we don't want you going to Azkaban before our wedding," Theo said, putting his arms around her shoulders. She scowled. "I won't get caught."
"I'll help," Ginny said, the look in her eyes murderous. Blaise shivered.
"Aren't love potions banned? Where was he able to get his hands on one?" Pansy asked furiously.
"They're only banned at Hogwarts," Blaise answered.
"Probably my brother's shop," Ginny said, responding to her second question. "George sells all kinds of things at his joke shop. Ron must've lied to get one from him."
Pansy growled under her breath. Theo patted her back.
"I'm glad that you're feeling better, Miss Granger," McGonagall said when Hermione approached the Head Table.
Hermione blushed in embarrassment. "Harry told me what happened. Thank you, Professor."
"Of course. I am very sorry that Mr. Weasely saw fit to spike your drink," McGonagall said, anger flashing in her eyes before she schooled her features.
"And Professor Slughorn, thank you for the antidote. I know that it takes a long time to make, and I really appreciate you giving it to Harry for me."
"Anytime, my dear," Slughorn said, smiling cheerily.
She left with another hasty 'thank you', trying to find her friends in the crowd. Draco appeared at her shoulder, taking her hand. "Ginny's over here."
"Thank you," she said appreciatively. She spent the rest of the night trying to forget about Ron.