The Tango is for Two

1. Chapter One

the tango is for two

a/n: this fic was loosely inspired by Objection (Tango) by Shakira. i didnt want a song fic - they arent one of my strong points, but if you want a good h/hr-esque song, this is a definite must-hear. i think it sums up how hermione feels fairly well.

but, i had to add a few twists to truly make this fic my own. watch out.

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley stood in front of the bulletin board in the Grand Hall, staring at the poster, dumbfounded.

"What kind of weirdos are going to enter a dance contest?" Ron asked, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

"Poor weirdos, Weasel." Draco Malfoy drawled, leaning up against the wall and pointing a finger at the finer print.

"I'm a poor weirdo..." Ron suddenly murmered, in a daze. His friends could practically see the money fantasies drifting in his eyes.

Malfoy laughed. "That's for sure."

"Oh, shut your mouth, Malfoy. Just because you think you're better than the rest of us doesn't make it so." Hermione snapped.

Malfoy raised his distinguished eyebrows into a dubious look. "Actually, Mudblood, you're right."

It was Harry and Hermione and Ron's turn to raise their eyebrows.

"My thinking it doesn't make it so. It being true makes it so. I'd have thought you'd know that, Granger. Always the smart one."

Hermione wasn't sure how to take the comment, and didn't think about it as Malfoy sauntered off, leaving the trio in a silence.

"He isn't better than anybody," Harry said, giving Hermione a reassuring look. "His head is so big I often wonder how he gets it through the doors."

Ron nodded fervently. "Besides, why does he care about the contest, he doesn't need any more money. Slimy moneybags father of his."

Hermione looked at him acidly. "Anything Malfoy can do to show the school he's better than them, he'll do, and that includes dancing, in this case."

"Then we've got to beat him, that's all there is to it." Harry said, decidedly.

"That'll be hard..." A voice behind them said, smoothly.

They turned around to see Cho Chang standing behind them, dressed in maroon velvet robes.

Harry's cheeks went pink and he smiled shyly at her.

"What do you mean by that?" Hermione snapped, her eyes narrow.

"Well, I've danced with him before... and he is an excellent dancer. A very excellent dancer..." Cho said, trailing off, looking at Harry carefully. She bit her lip and stared at him flirtily.

Ron glared at her. "What have you been doing dancing about with Malfoy?"

Cho broke eye contact with a flustered Harry and giggled. "Oh, Draco has his ways, the little charmer. He really is very talented... in many areas."

She gave another soft laugh, and then swayed away, Harry staring at her back.

"Slut." Ron and Hermione simultaneously hissed.

"So how are we going to beat him?" Ron asked. They were in the common room, settled on the floor in front of the fireplace.

"We'll study a dance very, very, very hard, and put on an excellent show." Hermione said, looking through all the books on dancing she'd checked out of the library.

"Who are we?" Ron asked. "If you're forgetting, I don't think there's a 3 person dance, Hermione."

She glared at him, and Harry chuckled, looking up from the book on tango he was reading.

"Then we'll just try it out right now. Each of us boys tries out a simple step or two and Hermione decides which one would be easier to teach, or who's more talented." Harry said.

"Or both." Hermione said, her eyes on a map of steps.

"Right... or both."

Harry and Ron stood up, eying her awkwardly.

Hermione rose as well, looking at a chart of the waltz.

"All right, the basic waltz is very simple, I'll demonstrate."

"One, two, step." Hermione moved her right leg to the right on one, brought the left leg to it on two, and stomped her foot down on step.

She looked up at the boys. They aren't really boys anymore, are they? She thought, absentmindedly; and she was right. It was their 6th year at Hogwarts and Harry and Ron had grown taller, their shoulders had broadened and their voices had deepened drastically. But to her they were still the same, and none could ever mistake them as anyone else but themselves.

Hermione herself had changed slightly, but as is the case, she couldn't tell. Harry and Ron had noticed it a while back, in 5th year, when she'd shown up at Platform 9 3/4 with a more noticeable chest and curvier hips and legs.

She looked up at the young men, who looked confused.

"What's the matter, isn't it simple enough?" She asked, raising one eyebrow.

"No, it's simple enough, all right," Ron assured, staring at her feet. "But is that all you do in a waltz? Stand there and stamp your feet?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, sighing exasperatedly.

"Oh, you're terrible. The man leads the woman, and they do those steps around the dance floor. It's a very simple, elegant dance."

Ron still looked rather confused. "How are you supposed to do those steps around a dancefloor?" He asked, and Harry chuckled.

"You're kidding me, right?" He asked, looking at Ron, amused.

"No, I don't get it."

"Let me show you. Hermione, may I have this dance?" Harry asked, extending her his hand.

She blushed a pretty rose color and took it. "You certainly may."

"Wait a minute, stop, stop." Ron interrupted.

Hermione and Harry turned to look at him, Hermione irritated.

"Why'd he have to ask you? You knew he was going to demonstrate." Ron asked, furrowing his brow.

Hermione huffed. "It's just tradition is all, you ask a lady her permission to dance. It's only polite, honestly."

Harry laughed softly, and wrapped his arm around her waist, raising their clasped hands. Hermione placed her other hand on his shoulder, and they waltzed around the common room, past the window, past the stairs to the dorms, and back around the couch again.

Ron snorted. "That's easy. Why didn't you just say so in the first place?"

Hermione let go of Harry slowly. "I did." She said, quietly, looking at Harry, breathless.

Harry smiled. "It actually takes quite a bit of concentration, really." He said, looking over at Ron.

She kept her eyes on Harry. "Well, Harry, you did extraordinarily well. I don't remember you dancing this well at the Yule Ball... I don't even remember you dancing that much in general."

He blushed, turning back to her at this comment. "I didn't. I had no idea what I was doing back then, and I have just about as much of an idea now, to be frank."

She smiled gently at him.

"Lemme have a go at it." Ron said, stepping forward.

Hermione reluctantly turned away from Harry and looked at Ron dubiously, eyebrows raised.

He grabbed her about the waist and took her hand roughly.

"Ron... you forgot to ask permission." She said.

"Right, right, let's just skip that part. Let's see, now.." He pulled her around the room, his steps out of order, occaisionally smashing her toes. By the time they came back around the sofa, Hermione had cursed more times than Harry had heard her curse collectively 5 years.

His eyebrows were set high on his forehead, when Ron released her.

"Merlin's beard, Hermione, I thought it was supposed to be easy!" He exclaimed.

Hermione nursed her bruised feet, rubbing her toes carefully. "I did," She snapped. "But it takes some effort, you oaf."

Ron glared at her. "I take offense to that comment."

"You very well should." She hissed.

Harry laughed lightly, and picked up the tango book again, flopping onto the couch with it. He settled beside Hermione, and read intently.

Ron watched the two. "So who's entering, then?"

"You have to ask?" She snapped, her eyes blazing.

"Is it me?" Ron ask, incredulously.

"You're such a dillard*! No! It's Harry! Harry and I will enter the competition."

Harry looked up from the book. "What's a dillard?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's a long story," She said. "I'll tell you some other time. Meanwhile, what dance are we performing?"

"Maybe it should be the cha-cha... whatever the bloody hell that is." Ron suggested, thinking back to the poster in the Great Hall.

"No, no, I like swing." Hermione said, eying a picture of a wizard flipping a witch over his back. The witch giggled and fell into the wizard's arms. "It looks fun, doesn't it?"

Harry cleared his throat. "How about tango?"

Ron and Hermione looked at him oddly. "Tango?" Ron asked, confused. "Tango?" Hermione asked, at the same time, but more embarrassed than confused.

Harry shrugged. "Why not?" He said, and showed them the book he was reading. A moving picture of a wizard and witch dancing beautifully caught Hermione's eye, and she watched them with interest. Ron read the instructions. "It looks complicated." He commented.

Hermione shoved Ron out of the way and took the book away, and stared at it. "So what... it's perfect." She whispered, as the wizard in the picture dipped the witch. A slow brush spread across her cheeks.

She snapped the book shut and stood up.

"Right then. I'll study tonight and work out a lesson plan. Harry, what's a good time for practice?"

He shrugged. "Tuesday and Thursday night? Like in the Charm's class?"

Hermione nodded crisply. "Right. See you then." She ran up to the girls dorms.

Ron turned to Harry. "Won't she just see you tomorrow for breakfast and classes?"

Harry shrugged lamely.

The alarm clock rang and Harry grunted, slammed the snooze button and burrowed back under his pillow. Someone in his dormitory rolled out of bed and hit the floor, most likely Neville.

Harry sat up in bed slowly, thinking about the dream he'd just had. It was really strange, he and Cho were dancing the tango, in a dark room. The only light had been a spotlight, on the two of them. All of a sudden, the light turned a rose color, and he felt a strong urge to kiss her. So he did. And then she had materialized in his arms, fading away into the shadows. He'd fallen on his knees, and a lady in a blue dress walked by. He had watched her, and she kneeled to help him up.

It had been Hermione. The room got very bright, all of a sudden, and he'd leaned towards her, almost being able to feel her warm breath on his lips, and then he had woken up.

He raised his eyebrows. That was weird, Harry thought, swinging his legs over the edge of his bed. Pushing the curtain back, he noticed Seamus on the floor instead of Neville.

Harry pulled himself off the bed and walked over to his friend's sleeping form. He pushed him with his foot. "Oi, you're on the floor, Seamus."

Seamus awoke with a snort and a spasmic movement.

"Huzzawha?"

Harry smirked at him and headed for the bathroom, when he heard a female voice.

"Seamus, honey, why are you on the floor like that?"

Harry turned around abruptly.

Cho Chang was in Seamus Finnegan's bed!

"Holy shit!" Harry exclaimed, staring at them in horror.

Seamus hopped up, and darted under the bed, emerging a moment later with ladies' garments. He threw them at Cho and closed the curtains.

He turned to face Harry with a constipated look on his face.

"So."

Harry turned on his heel and slammed the door to the bathroom behind him.

"Well you can't blame Seamus." Ron said, chomping on some toast.

Harry stared at his friend angrily. "I sure as hell can, damn it!!" He slammed his goblet of pumpkin juice down on the table. The juice overflowed onto his hand, and he grimaced.

Hermione sat down next to him, rolling her eyes.

"Harry, it doesn't matter. She wasn't your girlfriend, she was single, and so was Seamus. What they did was perfectly fine. Against school regulation, but morally exceptable." She said.

Harry turned to face her, eyes ablaze. "There are certain unspoken rules between guy friends and one of those I thought was not sleeping with the chick your friend likes!!"

Ron rolled his eyes. "No such rule, Harry."

"Why not?" Harry shouted, gaining some attention from the Hufflepuff table.

Ron shrugged lamely. "You've got to admit, Harry, you weren't making any moves."

"So?! That makes her open for business?!" Harry shouted, furrowing his brow.

Hermione put a hand on his arm. "Settle down. You're attracting too much attention, making a big deal out of this for no reason."

Her hand and words soothed him slightly, and he put his head in his hands and heaved a sigh.

"It's not fair." He whimpered.

Ron rolled his eyes and went back to his breakfast, but Hermione looked at Harry sadly, a longing look in her eyes.

"I know how you feel."

Walking past, Draco Malfoy raised his eyebrows.

Ginny Weasley stared up at the dance contest poster, her eyes gleaming, as she dreamt of whirling around a ballroom in some handsome wizard's arms.

She let out a dreamy sigh.

"Hello, little one." A silky voice said, behind her. Ginny turned her head to see Cho looking at her warmly.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"No, nothing's wrong..." Ginny said. "But nothing's right either." She turned and looked complacently at the older girl.

"Oh, it's one of those days, I see." Cho said, smiling lightly, letting the world see her perfect pearly white teeth.

Ginny grimaced in jealousy as Cho flashed her smile, but choked it down, and replied angrily. "Everyday is one of those days for me."

The Ravenclaw raised her eyebrows.

Ginny stormed off, brushing angrily past a boy.

She stopped halfway down the hall and turned back to see Draco Malfoy watching her, holding her wallet, which he'd sneakily slipped out of her bag.

"Malfoy." She growled.

"Weasley." He replied cooly. They watched each other warily for a moment, trying to anticipate the others move, until Malfoy threw the wallet at her feet.

"Better keep that somewhere safer, where it can't just be pickpocketed." He advised, his eyes glimmering with amusement.

"Jack off, you slimy ferret." She hissed, grabbing up her belonging and stuffing it back into her bag.

Draco watched as she ran off, towards Gryffindor tower.

He turned on his heel, to find Cho looking at him seductively.

"Hello, Draco." She said, smoothly. Her hand was on her hip, bunching the fabric lightly, giving her robes a tighter appearance. Draco frowned.

"Looking for fresh meat, are you?" He said, icily.

She gave him a glare, releasing her purple robes and crossing her arms. "You're not all that fresh yourself, Draco."

He gave a little laugh. "Touche, Chang. But honestly," He said, raising an eyebrow. "I don't want to sleep with you. I might catch a disease, for Christ's sake."

She gasped. "You son of a bitch."

He shrugged, as if to say he couldn't help it.

Cho growled and stomped off.

Nevermind her, he thought to himself. I have a Weasley to find.

He found her in the library, stewing in an armchair near a window.

"Hello, Weasley."

Her head snapped up, her red curls bouncing from the abrupt motion.

"What do you want?" She asked, curtly.

He settled in a chair across from her. "What would you like?" He countered.

Ginny's eyebrows rose in curiosity.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean what would you like? Anything at all, in exchange for your help." He said, clasping his hand together.

She stared at him for a moment. "Are you serious? Anything at all?"

Draco nodded, his silver eyes gleaming.

Ginny noticed the look in his eyes and she frowned. "What kind of help?"

"I've stumbled across something. Something I think everyone knows in the back of their minds, but won't admit to, but they know for sure. Something that I think has been set since the beginning of time, but will take hell to push into action."

"You're being awfully cryptic, Malfoy." She said. "Get straight to the point."

"Hermione is in love with Harry." He blurted out.

Ginny watched him warily.

"And I think he loves her as well, just has his head stuck in his ass and can't see it." He said, quietly.

Her eyes wavered slightly, and misted over.

Immediately she looked away, as tears threatened to escape her eyes.

"I know you used to like him, Ginny, but this is destiny, I know it." He continued, and went to her side. He placed his hand on her knee and looked up at her with the most sincere eyes she had ever seen in her life.

Her cheeks flushed, and she nodded slowly. "You're right." She said, "I think I've known it from the beginning as well. We all have, haven't we?"

He nodded, smiling.

She stood up, moving away from him, to the window, where the wintery sky greeted her with a dull glow. "But why are you trying to help them?"

Draco stood up and sighed.

"I mean," She said, turning back to him. "You're Draco Malfoy. You're not supposed to help Harry Potter fall in love with his destined soulmate. You're... well, I don't know."

"A cold bastard?" Draco suggested.

"Well... I don't know. Nobody really knows you, do they?"

He looked at the floor. "I suppose. But I have my reasons. Besides... my ways of doing it won't be all sugar and peaches."

Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"What do you have in mind?"

Draco smiled mischeviously.

"I'll explain some other time. Right now however, I need your full agreement to cooperate. So, name what you want." He said, coming up closer to her.

She looked down bashfully. "Um..."

She thought hard about it. What was it she had been longing for just a moment ago? A dance partner for the competition, she said to herself. But how could Draco provide that?

"I can do anything for you." He whispered, as if reading her mind.

"A dance partner." She said abruptly, swiveling around to suddenly find herself very close to him.

He smiled gently. "For the competition?" He whispered, his warm breath playing upon her face.

She nodded, staring in his eyes. They were complex, unreadable pools of grey. Warm glowing grey at times and then at another moment piercing silver. She was lost in them.

"Done." He announced, and caught her lips on his briefly, before turning briskly and gliding out of the room.

Ginny sighed and slid to the floor, her eyebrows high, eyes wide, and hands clasped.

to be continued

2. Chapter Two

a/n: i want to thank all my reviewers - encouraging comments is what keeps me writing. flames help too, it helps me feel better about myself, because ive never flamed in my life.

word.

It was a new day - the first rays of light were beginning to shine, and groggy teens were waking up. One in paticular, Hermione Granger, threw the covers back and sat up abruptly.

She'd dozed off while reading about the tango.

I wonder what time it is, she thought vaguely, gravving the clock off of her bedside table.

Past breakfast time. Why aren't you in class? It read.

"Oh my gosh!" She exclaimed, kicking back the sheets and hopping out of bed. "How could I be late?"

She jumped into her clothes and ran down the stairs while slipping into some shoes.

Through the common room, out the portrait hole, down the hall and bam! She flung open the door to Transfiguration.

Everyone in the room turned to stare at her.

"Hermione," Professor McGonagall greeted her, looking at her distastefully. "How nice of you to join us. Care to explain why you were late?"

Hermione suddenly felt hot and dizzy. McGonagall's face turned different colors, and the floor seemed to wobble underneath her. Everything surrounding her seemed to turn to ooze, and she fainted.

"Hermione!" Harry shouted, from his seat. His face was twisted in concern as he and Ron rushed down to help her. McGonagall pushed him out of the way as they knelt and checked her pulse.

"Why did she faint?" Ron asked.

McGonagall shook her head. "I don't know. Ron run ahead and tell Madame Pompfrey what happened. Harry, take her to the medical wing."

After classes Harry and Ron returned to the wing to see if Hermione was doing any better.

Harry pushed the door open and rushed to Mme. Pompfrey's desk.

"Is she okay? Can I see her? What's wrong? Why did she faint?"

The nurse stood up with a light smile and asnwered his questions one by one.

"She's doing fine, yes, you can see her, but only one at a time. She just fainted, perfectly normal, probably from dehydration or stress."

Ron looked on as she led Harry into a curtained off area.

"Hullo, Hermione." Harry greeted her, as the nurse bustled off.

She looked up from the bed with sleepy eyes.

"Harry!" She exclaimed, happily. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, you fainted, so I wanted to make sure you were all right.. how are you feeling?" He said, taking a seat.

Hermione smiled. "That's very sweet of you. And I'm fine, just a little sleepy." She looked at him for a long moment. "Tomorrow, be ready to start learning tango." She said, grinning.

"I will, don't worry. Do you want to see Ron now?" He asked, standing up and looking down at her awkwardly.

"No, not really. I'd like to rest if that's all right with him. It's nothing serious so I'll just see him tomorrow and all."

He nodded. "All right. See you tomorrow." He started to leave, then paused, and then sweeped in and kissed her cheek clumsily. "Get better."

He rushed out, leaving behind a blushing Hermione.

Madame Pompfrey came in, smiling down at the embarrassed girl. "He's very sweet." She commented, but that was all. Hermione nodded, looking at the floor.

"Potter." Draco hissed, sliding up next to him and Ron.

Both Harry and his friend turned angrily to the Slytherin, eyes ablaze. "What do you want Malfoy?" Ron demanded.

"I heard about Granger, fainting like that." He said, not looking at them. "A real pity, she's gotten a beautiful body these last few months, aye?"

Harry shoved him harshly, and Malfoy recoiled angrily, cocking his head to the side. "I'm sure she'd be flattered that you were standing up for her, but honestly, it was just a compliment. Temper, Scarface."

He strolled off.

Harry growled. "What's he doing, complimenting Hermione?" Ron asked him, confused.

"I don't know, but I don't like it." Harry snapped, and stormed off to the common room, Ron on his heels.

Draco was pleased with himself, as he sauntered down the hallway; and why wouldn't he be, his plan was going just as he had masterminded it to. Of course, a Malfoy's plan seldom goes wrong. It's a gift, really, he thought to himself smugly.

"Draco." A quiet voice greeted him from a corner.

He turned and saw Ginny Weasley standing there, books clutched to her chest. In the light the torches gave off, her skin was aglow, and her hair seemed to be on fire.

In her eyes he saw a silent blaze as well, but of jealousy.

"What's the matter?" He asked, casually.

"I heard what you said about Hermione."

She pushed off of the wall she was leaning against, and stepped closer to him, like an invisible force was pulling her in.

"What about it? It's part of the plan, Ginny." He said her name distastefully. "What a horrible name."

"Then call me Virginia. But honestly, I'm beginning to wonder, if this plan is really about Harry and Hermione, or if it's in your main interest. Is it just a scheme to get Hermione into bed with you?" She asked, with a withering stare.

"Virginia? That's much better. More romantic, rolls off the tongue easier. And I like my tongue to roll easily." He drawled, looking at her pointedly. "But to answer your question... no, it's not. I don't sleep with women just because they have nice bodies. It's a plus, of course, but not the only quality. Granger, for instance, I would never sleep with because she doesn't love me. And I know that, so it would only do to hurt me, her and him."

Virginia glared. "Oh, right. Like Draco Malfoy only sleeps with women he truely loves."

Draco grabbed her shoulders harshly, then looked at her fondly. "How did this conversation turn to my love life? I thought we were masterminding a matchmaking."

She inhaled slowly. "Right. So what's your plan, then? You never told me."

"It's a little complicated... but here's the jist of it. I date Hermione, Harry gets jealous."

"That's it?" She asked, incredulously. "That sounds like something even Ron could come up with."

"Don't compare me with your family." He snapped. "Besides, that's not all it entails. Just the main plot. There are many subplots."

"I'm sure."

"Don't give me that look, Virginia. Guess who knew they were going to enter the competition together?"

She stopped her dubious look. "They're entering together?" She asked, in shock. "Nobody said anything about that yet!"

"Maybe not to anybody directly, but it's obvious. I goaded them so that they would feel the need to beat me. And I knew that this action would lead them to deciding which of the 3 would enter, and since your brother is as clumsy as an aardvark I knew they'd choose Harry. Thus Harry and Hermione enter the competition."

"Amazing." Ginny breathed.

"Not really," Draco said, dryly. "I thought of it during Charms class a while back. Anyways, another leading factor is that Harry and her don't know any real dances, so Hermione would study, and of course, teach Harry. Which means tutoring sessions. Alone. Dancing, Ginny."

She nodded avidly. "Yes, yes, of course, it all makes sense."

He nodded. "I know."

"But..." He started.

"But what?" She asked, warily.

"There could always be complications." He said.

She looked out the window, at an owl perched precariously on a statue's head. "What kind of complications?"

"When you play with people's emotions," He answered. "Anything can happen. People are stupid like that. Uncontrollable hormones means you can use them to your advantage, at times, but it also means that at any point, something could completely get out of hand."

She nodded. "You're right." She breathed. "You're completely right. So we have to be really, extremely careful." She turned back to him, stepping closer to his figure. He was warm and the day was cold.

"Right." He affirmed, looking at her face closely.

"You have very smooth skin." He observed.

"So do you." She said, stumbling over her words.

He laughed. "Not usually the thing you would say to a man, Virginia."

"Oh, I'm sorry." She whispered, breathing in.

"Yes, you have very smooth skin..." He assured himself, and brushed his lips over her cheek.

They came to rest upon her lips, where he applied more pressure, evoking a gentle moan and causing her to fall into his arms.

He drew back. "We have to be very careful Virginia." He instructed, and left.

"But what about me?" Cho Chang wondered, from her spot behind a corner. She had watched the goings on between Ginny and Draco. Her interest was pricked, and she drummed her fingers on the wall. She too, had noticed Harry and Hermione, but then, who hadn't, she thought.

Cho had her own reasons for going after Harry and they weren't entirely benigne. She found it difficult sometimes, when she shamelessly flirted with him, in front of Hermione. It bothered her sometimes late at night, and she would briefly regret her actions, especially when her conscience was screaming at her about it.

But Harry was interested in her, she knew it. And any interest in Cho Chang did not go unnoticed. No, definetely not, she decided. But what to do? Now that people were trying to set them up, she might not have much time.

"Must get to work.." She muttered to herself, and glided away.

Hermione finished writing down a main step in the Tango, and closed the two thick books she had been researching from. Gathering her papers and things, she stuffed them all into her very wornout bookbag, and made a start for the Charm's class.

When she arrived, Harry was already there. "Hullo, Hermione." He greeted her brightly.

"Hello, Harry. Are you all ready?" She asked.

"Yeah, I guess." He said.

"Right then, let's begin."

And so they began.

It was late at night when Hermione finally agreed that they'd learned enough, and the lesson was dismissed.

Harry's feet were sore, and his eyelids were drooping. "Honestly, I don't think we needed to train that long." He confessed, as they strolled out of the classroom and headed for Gryffindor tower.

"Practice makes perfect." She commented, even though she too, was experiencing slight exhaustion.

He grunted in reply, and as they rounded a corner, someone reached out and grabbed his robes, turning him around brusquely.

"Hello, Harry."

"Cho!" He exclaimed, in surprise at the sudden appearance of the slim Ravenclaw.

Hermione stayed behind him, making evil faces at her.

"I was wondering... about the uh, dance competition. I know you're entering with... her," She said this with bitterness and a nod of the head in Hermione's direction. "But I was wondering if you might reconsider, and switch partners? I mean, I'm entering with Seamus, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind going with Hermione."

As if he wouldn't mind giving you up to dance with Harry, thought Hermione acidly.

"Umm.. er.." Harry stuttered, confused and helpless feeling. He shot a pleading glance at Hermione, who coldly turned her head away, as if to be disgusted he would even consider switching.

"I don't think so, Cho. We've already started training, and it'd be too much trouble."

Hermione's head jerked up in surprise. They'd only had one class, it wouldn't be that much trouble. She glowed with pride as Cho recoiled, surprised that he hadn't agreed.

"I.. I don't understand..." She started, her eyes narrowing. "I thought you had feelings for me, Harry!" She snapped, furiously.

Harry shook his head quickly. "No, no, I do, I do have feel.. feelings but I just think that-"

Cho slapped him.

"Harry Potter, if you won't do this minor thing for me than I don't think you care enough about me at all!" She hissed.

Hermione watched, blood boiling. How dare she do this to him?

Harry started to stutter again.

"I didn't know this meant so.. so m..much to you, Cho, I.."

Cho stamped her foot. "Harry!" She whined, "Can't you see I need this?"

"You don't need this, you just want this." Hissed Hermione, with rage behind her words.

Cho turned her eyes upon the younger Gryffindor girl and growled. "You shut your mouth, you fat cow. You don't know anything about love."

Hermione shook her head. "That's it. You've gone way too far!" She shouted, and whipped out her wand. "Incendio!!"

Cho's long raven locks caught ablaze, and she screamed.

Harry watched in horror as her hair was burnt to a crisp, and the ashes didn't stop falling until Cho managed to put out the flames, and by then her hair was trimmed to above her ears.

"Like your new cut, there, Chang." Hermione whispered, venomously. She left.

Harry stared at Cho for a long moment.

"How on earth can you stand to be around someone that bitchy?!" Cho yelled at him.

He was silent for a second, and then, "I don't know. Doesn't Seamus get asked that a lot?" He left her in the hall.

Cho growled and kicked the wall in defeat.

Hermione ran as fast as she could, blind to all her surroundings.

"Granger?" She bumped into someone's shoulder, and hands firmly grasped her arms. "Granger, what's wrong with you?"

She didn't have to look up to know who it was. She knew by his voice that it was Draco Malfoy.

"I don't need any of your help, Malfoy." She hissed.

"Oh ho ho. Maybe not any help, but I'm sure you've got something major on your mind." He said, looking at her in a funny way she'd never seen him look at her with.

"I.. I set Cho's hair on fire."

He laughed, loudly, and genuinely. "Bravo, it's about damn time someone did something like that to the whore."

She stared at him, undaunted. "In front of Harry." She added.

He stopped laughing and cringed. "Oooh."

"When she said I didn't know anything about love." She continued.

"My goodness."

"And gave him a pointed glance." She finished.

"Dear me, Hermione. What a predicament." He said, giving a soft laugh.

Her head popped up. "What did you say?" She asked, incredulously.

"What a predicament." He repeated himself, even though he knew that wasn't the part she was surprised about.

"No, before that." She said, watching him carefully.

"Hermione?"

"Yes. Why'd you call me by my name?"

"In some places, that's what humans call one another, by their name." He explained.

"But you never call me Hermione." She whispered.

"So?"

"Why? Why, Malfoy?"

"Maybe I just wanted to." He whispered, his grey eyes staring her down.

Hermione backed up. "I don't trust you."

"You don't have to." He said, and left.

She watched him walk away, with a funny feeling inside her stomach, one she never felt around him before. It was at the same time pleasant and yet also made her feel sick. Putting down her head, she walked up to Gryffindor tower.

"Hello, Hermione." Harry greeted her when she came into the common room.

Hermione looked at him quickly, mumbling a hello.

"What's the matter?" He asked, concerned.

She mumbled something about Malfoy and feeling ill.

She made for the stairs up to her dorm, but he stepped in her path, blocking her.

"Is Malfoy bothering you?" Harry asked, his eyes full of worry.

Her stomach had that feeling again, but this she was accustomed to, around Harry. "No." She lied, looking at him carefully. She had never lied to Harry before, and it made her hands sweat under his intense gaze.

"Okay.." He said, and stepped out of the way. No sooner than he had she raced up the steps.

"What do you suppose is wrong with her?" He asked Ron.

Ron shrugged, not looking up from the Quidditch book he was reading. "Maybe it's that time of the month."

Ginny stepped through the portrait hole, she'd watched Draco's encounter with Hermione and it made her feel sick as well.

But she wasn't sure why.

"Hello, Harry, Ron." She greeted them, quietly.

They glanced up and greeted her.

"Say, Ginny, do you know what's wrong with Hermione?" Harry asked.

She did, but she didn't want to tell him. "Maybe it's that time of the month." She suggested, weakly.

"I guess." Harry said, dubiously. "But usually she doesn't act like this. She's usually more studious, and concentrates better. Did you see how nervous she looked when I asked her about Malfoy? Do you think she's lying, do you think he's bothering her? What if he's hurting her? Or worse, what if he's... you know, harrassing her?"

Ron laughed at his friend. "You worry too much about her."

Harry looked away as he blushed, pretending to suddenly become very interested in his shoes.

Ginny sighed, thinking to herself. You're so obvious, Harry.

r & r

3. Chapter Three

a/n: ive been so busy this month - awana is laying the work on us thick, and my teachers @school seem to think that the more homework, the more miserable i am. hah, theyre right!

i cant very well go up to them and say, "could you cut down on my homework...? i kind of need to work on this fanfic..."

riiight...

nothing really important, or exciting really happens in this chapter, its kind of a filler, and wow, the italics tags are sure fun to use...

"Where's my moose?!!"

The boys in Harry Potter's dorm woke up to these shrieks, as Neville Longbottom searched frustratedly for his stuffed animal.

"Good God, man, you're sixteen years old and you still sleep with that thing?" Seamus asked, furrowing his brow.

"Looking for this, mate?" Ron held up Neville's stuffed moose - the boys had to admit, it was an adorable thing, but for a boy... no, a young man, to be so attached to it was rather odd.

"Give it back!" Neville demanded, as Ron kept it out of his reach.

"Why? Why is it so important to you?" Ron asked, and Harry and his other room mates looked on interest... it was kind of strange.

Neville huffed. "Heather gave it to me."

Harry cooed. "Ooooh, who's Heather?"

Snatching the moose away from Ron, Neville glared. "None of your buisness."

Ron snorted. "Whatever." The guys got out of bed, and started on their morning rituals, and then halfway through putting on his shirt, Dean started laughing hysterically.

"What's so funny?" Seamus asked.

"It's Saturday, you dimwits."

Ron groaned, and flopped back on his bed.

Harry did the same, snuggling beneath the covers. "Wake me up when it's lunch time," He instructed.

So everyone else left them, and in the quiet, Ron asked Harry something.

"Do you really care about Cho?" He asekd.

"What do you mean?" Harry said, sitting up in his bed. Ron, across the room from him, propped himself up on his elbow.

"Well, I mean, I don't think she's right for you, mate."

"Neither do I..." Harry muttered.

"Really?"

"Well... I don't know. I just don't know anything anymore. You think I should go check on Hermione?"

Ron raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"She looked really down last night..."

"So let her sleep."

Harry was silent. "I really think I should -"

"She said she was fine. Maybe what she needs is a good sleep-in morning." Ron suggested.

Harry sighed, and got out of bed anyways.

"I'll just go down to the common room." He assured Ron, who rolled his eyes dubiously and pulled the curtains back to his bed.

In the common room, Hermione was actually already awake, poring over a tango book. "Good morning, Harry!" She greeted him, jovially.

He blinked his green eyes in surprise, "It's nice to see you looking so happy thins morning," he said. "Last night I was really worried."

She blushed lightly. "That's very nice of you to worry like that... but it's not needed. Just having a slow night... and with the whole um... Cho's hair thing..."

He laughed. "Serves her right." He said, decidedly, and she sighed so relieved, as though she had been holding her breath a very long time.

Harry smiled at her, and she very prettily flushed, smiling back. "Harry... don't you ever clean your glasses?" She chided, taking them off his face and polishing the lenses with her sweater.

"You should take better care of them... " She babbled on.

He watched her, amused, as she fussed over his glasses. "That's very nice of you to worry like that," He said, chuckling, and taking the old spectacles away from her. "But it's not needed."

He slipped them back on, and it took him a moment to adjust to the renewed clarity of the lenses. She was right, he should clean them more often. "You're right about everything." He whispered, mainly to himself, but Hermione faintly heard him.

"Hmm?" She asked, looking up from another moving tango picture.

"Nothing." He said, quietly, holding her gaze.

She looked away, flustered.

"Hello, Hermione, Harry." Lavender Brown greeted them, happily.

They both looked up at her rather surprised; they'd forgotten their surroundings with their amusing banter.

"I heard from someone that you two were entering the competition?" She asked, with interest.

Hermione nodded.

"What dance are you performing?" Lavender asked, and then noticed the book in Hermione's lap. "Oh the tango?" She breathed. "What a romantic dance..." She said, wistfully.

Harry and Hermione looked at the floor, embarrassed.

Lavender giggled. "Don't act as if you didn't know. You had to, when you picked it. Oh, you two will do wonderfully, I know it." She gushed.

"I wouldn't say wonderfully..." Hermione said, modestly.

Lavender laughed out. "Don't be silly, Hermione. The tango is an incredible dance... but it's most incredible when the dance partners share a strong bond of love, and passion... especially when it's a witch and a wizard..." She trailed off, sighing dreamily.

Harry and Hermione were silent, staring at her like she'd grown three extra heads and a tail.

"Excuse me?" Harry asked, hoping he hadn't heard what he had.

"I said that it's an especially incredible dance when the performers share a strong bond of love, passion..."

"Back it up, there, Lav." Harry said. Hermione was still silent.

"What?"

"Love and passion?" He asked, incredulously.

"Well, duh. Everyone knows you two are shagging."

Harry shook his head in amazement, staring at Lavender. Hermione gasped, clasping a hand to her mouth.

"Shagging?!" She removed her hand for a moment to shriek.

"You know... knocking boots, doing the dirty, making love, having sex, making whoo-"

"I know what shagging is, Lavender!" Hermione said, hoarsely. "But we are not doing it!"

Lavender laughed. "You're kidding, right? How could you not?"

Hermione and Harry blinked.

Lavender shrunk back. "Oh my God. You aren't are you?"

They shook their heads, dumbfounded.

She blushed deeply. "Oh my God, like, I am so sorry!" She ran off, her cheeks aflame.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. "How could they think that?"

He shrugged lamely, but Lavender's assumption was a seed, and it had been planted in his brain. It slowly grew, and he stared at Hermione funnily as she went back to reading the book.

What would be so terrible about shagging Hermione? He wondered, to himself.

Nothing, his mind answered. You'd quite enjoy it.

Hermione heaved a sigh, and her bosom raised and fell, and his eyes went wide, as he ogled her.

"Harry?"

He didn't hear the voice next to him.

"Harry!"

His head snapped up, and he turned to see Ginny watching him strangely. "Are you okay?" She asked, concerned.

"What, yeah, of course. Why?" He asked, as she sat down on the couch across from he and Hermione.

"Well you were staring at Hermione's..." She trailed off, as Hermione looked up.

"At what?" Hermione asked, and Ginny shook her head.

"Never mind."

Harry was blushing now, and he looked away from both girls, who were watching him curiously.

"I've got to be off, now... see you later." Ginny said her farewell and left the two alone.

She stepped through the portait hole, frowning to herself. Harry didn't even try to hide his emotions, sometimes... how hard could getting them together actually be?

She walked faster now, gathering her robes around her tightly, as she pushed through the great double doors and emerged into the biting cold of the outside. The wind stung at her nose and eyes, but she pushed forward, to the quidditch pitch.

Draco Malfoy was in the air, flying around as lazily as his drawl, and he stopped his broom next to her as she stared at him pointedly.

"May I help you?" He asked, stepping off his broom and sitting next to her in the stands. She looked very funny bundled up in her old robes up to her chin, her nose sticking out, looking raw and red.

"When is your plan actually going to begin to take effect?" She asked, as he removed his cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders, fastening it with the Slytherin Crest pin. The green snake engraved in it seemed to wink at him, as the morning light reflected off it's silver eye.

"When I decide it should." He answered, simply, leaning down and kissing her nose. His breath, his body and his arms were warm, she realized.

"Well, what if you take too long?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" He asked her, pulling a biscuit out of his pocket and biting into it. He offered her some, but she shook her head.

"What if you wait too long, they come to realizations on their own, without assistance, and you don't end up needing my help? Then I don't get a dance partner?"

He laughed.

"Virginia, you're getting a dance partner, you needn't worry. It's all worked out. Just meet him here tonight at nine for lessons."

"Why so late?" She asked, quizzically.

"You wanted your stunning performance with him to be a surprise, right?"

She nodded.

"Then it has to be practiced in secret."

"What am I dancing to with him?"

"We're dancing the tango, Virginia." He said, crisply, eating the rest of his biscuit.

"The tango? You mean the same dance Harry and Hermione are performing? I can't compete against them!"

"Why not?" He asked, looking at her carefully.

"Well.." She stammered, not able to come up with an answer.

"I didn't think you had a reason." He kissed her, and she sank into his embrace appreciatavely, as he tasted sweet from his recent snack. She suddenly drew back.

"Wait, did you say we?" She asked, shocked.

Cho ran her fingers through her hair angrily, as she sat in the library. Her friends had touched it up as best they could, and although she looked stunning with short hair, she was still bitter that Hermione had the honors of giving her a new style.

"Bitch..." She whispered, to herself.

"Now, now, don't call yourself names." She turned to see Ronald Weasley standing there, smirking.

"Go away, please." She said icily.

He sat down across from her instead. "How are you doing? Your hair looks lovely."

She tried to look disgusted but she flocked to compliments. "Thank you." She said, through half-gritted teeth.

"What do you want?" She asked, after a moment of silence between them.

"You." Ron whispered.

She blinked, curiously. He leaned forward and caught her face in his hands and drew her towards his own. Their lips met in a dangerous kiss.

She pulled back. "You are his best friend. Why are you doing this to him?"

He chuckled. "He doesn't care, Cho."

She grimaced, and then looked across the table at him. He wasn't bad-looking.

She stood up, her elegant form unfolding. "Let's go to my dorm." She said, matter of factly, and he smiled and followed.

"Yes, I said we." Draco affirmed, sighing and leaning against the bleacher seat behind them.

Ginny shook her head. "My brother will kill me. He'll kill you! And is that even allowed in the competition? We're from different houses..."

"As if I didn't notice."

"... and don't we have to be from the same one? Besides, what a controversy it will be! And what happens after that?"

"Whatever you want." He said, quietly, looking at her, melting her with his gaze. She put her hand on his chest. "Okay." She whispered.

He leaned forward, kissing her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling herself into his strong embrace. His kisses surprised her. Draco always seemed like a cold person to her, but his kisses were hot, blazing like fire and melting her like chocolate.

She pushed her hips against his, growling deep in her throat. His hand thrust between her thighs.

"Ginny?"

They stopped, frozen in place, her nose against his, her hand behind his ear, his hand between her legs.

She opened one eye and turned it to look at the culprit.

It was Neville. She breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled away reluctantly, and Draco removed his miandering hands and huffed in annoyance at the dumbfounded Longbottom.

"What do you want, Neville?" She asked.

"Well, I just wanted to know if you'd seen Heather..."

"No, Neville I haven't." She snapped.

"... and well, I was wondering, if you know if she wanted to enter that competition? The dancing one? With the mango.. "

"Mambo, Neville, and yes, she seemed rather excited." Ginny sighed, annoyed.

"... and the tambo?"

"Tango."

"Right, well, so she, would she, you think she'd-?"

"Enter with you?" Ginny suggested.

"Er... yeah."

"Yes." She said.

Neville nodded, and turned around, and started heading towards the castle. Draco scooted closer to Ginny.

Neville turned back to them. "Oh, umm, do you want me to not tell Ron that-"

"God, please, keep it a secret." Ginny said, urgently.

"-you and... oh ok. Well, thanks then."

He finally left.

Draco grunted, leaning back.

"I've had an epiphany." He declared.

"Oh?" She said.

"I need a cold shower." He said, standing and starting for the castle.

She rose and followed. "Your genius shocks me sometimes." She said, dryly.

"I know." He replied, as he held the door for her.

"Why don't radios work at Hogwart's?" Harry mused, mainly to himself. Hermione heard him and rolled her eyes. "Because of all the magical wards. They all are somewhere on the same wavelength in the atmosphere and the ward's power overcomes the radio signals."

"Couldn't one figure out how to get around it?" He asked.

"I'm fairly sure the only way to do that would to unactivate the wards. And we can't very well do that. Why do you ask?"

He and Hermione were in the common room, it was almost lunch time.

"I just had an incredible craving for some muggle music. I can't think of anything I'd enjoy more than a stereo."

"Even if you could get your hands on one..."

"It would pick up static, I know, Hermione, but I've got to hear something. It's too quiet around here."

"Would some muggle compact discs and a CD player suffice?" Seamus asked, as he settled beside Hermione on the couch. Harry looked pained at his presence.

"I think that would work." Hermione answered, as Seamus went about turning on the little boombox he'd brought in. Harry watched as he showed Hermione his CD case, and let her pick an artist.

"You've got an awful lot of hip-hop," She observed.

"Nothing wrong with that." He said, his arm going around the back of the couch and coming to rest on her shoulder. His head was close to hers, as they sorted through the discs.

Harry watched as Seamus scooted awfully close to Hermione, his arm on her shoulders, his leg against hers. Hermione was reading the CD cover of something and all of a sudden Seamus' hand was on her leg.

Harry growled quietly, trying not to attract any attention, but fuming at his room mate's actions. He wasn't sure why he was suddenly so angry.

Hermione popped up from the sofa suddenly, surprising Seamus, and pleasantly greeting Harry and showing him her idea.

"Have you heard of this group?" She asked, showing him the cover.

"Spice Girls? Aww, come on, Hermione, that was so five years ago!" He said, laughing, as she poked him. "You wanted muggle!" She said, and he grinned. "All right, why not."

Ginny burst through the portrait hole, nearly tripping over the edge.

"Hello, Ginny!" Hermione greeted her, cheerfully.

She froze, looking like she'd been caught stealing cookies from the cookiejar. (a/n: in the uk, since cookies are biscuits, do they have a biscuitjar?)

"What's the matter?" Hermione asked, and went to stand by her side.

"Nothing, why do you ask?" Ginny said, still acting funny.

"You just look... strangely uncomfortable is all." Harry phrased it for her.

The redhead shook her head, and moved for the dormitories. "I don't know what you're talking about." She said, brushing past Seamus and starting up the stairs.

"It's lunchtime!" Someone shouted, and everyone began herding to the door, and Hermione and Harry were swept up with the mass.

"What about Ginny?" Hermione asked of Harry.

He shrugged, as they started off for the Grand Hall.

...to be continued...

a/n: nnnnnn, im sorry to just sort of.. END IT right there, but its like 9 15 pm, and i know its not my bedtime but i feel reaaallly tired and i just cant write anything more right now, and besides its big enough of a file and now my sentence goes onnn and onnn and onnn...

dont mind me, and review. or ill stick fruit gushers up your- nevermind. just please review.

review.

4. Chapter Four

a/n: oh, my back hurts! i dunno why, it just reeeally does. okiday, well, ive been soo busy lately, im sorry - im working on this comic, Harem Pants (dont ask), for my friend allan in texas... its coming along great - volume one has a cover, a prologue page, and the entire prologue pages line drawings done, and a chapter one page. as ive said before, my homework is grueling and annoying - drama crap and writing, mainly. and awana is a lot of memorization and section stuff.

and yet i still give you chapters. what is wrong with me?

this chapter is a fairly important chapter, i suppose - some major things happen that effect the outcome of things. dont worry, i wont screw things up too much... yet. ;)

Hermione Granger had her leg between Harry Potter's legs.

It would appear to the untrained eye that he was straddling one of her legs.

They were dancing the tango - and this part always made them blush.

Suddenly, they froze, in this position. They'd both tensed, forgotten the next steps and froze. Not helpful with trying to remember steps, of course.

He looked away, trying to look anywhere but at her.

She screwed her eyes shut, her breaths coming out in warm puffs on his arm.

There was a sharp tapping at the door and they broke apart, like one or the other was poison.

McGonagall opened the door, and stepped inside the room, a light smile on her face. There was no window in the door, so they knew she hadn't seen their moment, but her smile made them feel like she had witnessed it. Like she knew something they didn't.

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger," She greeted them. "Working on your dance for the competition?" She asked.

They nodded from their spots far apart from each other.

"May I see how you're doing thus far?" She asked, and Hermione and Harry exchanged worried glances. They knew the whole dance - but they what a horror to freeze in that spot in front of McGonagall!

"I understand completely if you would wish to keep a secret -" She began, but Hermione interrupted her.

"No, it's fine. Harry?"

He took her in his arms again, and they performed.

McGonagall breathed in, as they whirled around the room, their movements sychronized, their steps perfect...

"You've mastered it." She observed, and they stopped.

"Well, I wouldn't say that..." Hermione said modestly.

McGonagall laughed.

"I wish you much luck in the competition this next Saturday... but from what I've seen, I'm sure you won't be dancing on pure luck." She left the two in an awkward silence.

"Harry..." Hermione said quietly.

"What?"

"We really should work on that one part..."

"Yes."

He took her hands again, and they danced until it... and froze, again.

Hermione made a face. "What's stopping us?" She asked.

Harry stared into her eyes. "What's stopping us from what?"

"You know... from continuing the dance."

"Oh? Is that what we're afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid of the dance..."

She was silent for a moment. "Are you?" She asked.

"No. That's not what I'm afraid of."

"What do you fear?" She whispered, looking straight at him, their eyes locked.

"It's silly." He said.

"No it's not."

He licked his lips. "You really want to know?"

"Please."

"I fear... this."

He kissed her.

Ron Weasley woke up, in a very comfortable bed. A very Ravenclaw bed. He snuck a peek at his right to see if he was maybe dreaming. Naked, sleeping Cho Chang met his eyes.

He shifted himself around to look at her. He wasn't sure what he was thinking when he posed such a daring thing to her... and he wasn't sure what she was thinking when she accepted.

She awoke, yawning and stretching her arms. She looked at him strangely.

"You're still here?" She said.

"Good evening to you too." He said, smiling bitterly.

"Is it really evening?" She wondered.

"No, actually it's near midnight. Why?"

"No reason." She said. "Up for another go?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Again? Three isn't enough?"

"Shut up and make love to me, Gryffindor."

He kissed her.

Ginny Weasley bundled up in her robes. Actually, they weren't all her own robes, the heavy, high-quality, warm, woolen one was Draco's. Draco Malfoy's robe. What was she doing wearing it?

What have I gotten myself into? She asked herself, as she trudged across the grounds, the cold midnight wind stinging at her eyes more than even that morning's air.

I've made a deal with the devil, She thought, laughing bitterly to herself.

"What's so funny, little one?"

His voice reached her ears, and a pleasant shiver raced down her spine. Looking about carefully, she tried to pick him out of the darkness. His platinum blonde hair caught her eyes, as it reflected the moonlight and stayed in place even though the winds berated it. His face was solemn, pale and expressionless, but it was the most welcome sight Ginny had seen in a long while.

She glided over to him and whispered a greeting.

"How are you?" He asked, gently. The question was a seemingly normal one, but Ginny was not accustomed to people caring about how she was feeling - especially not Draco Malfoy.

"I'm fine." She whispered.

He smiled lightly, not the smirk everyone else always saw, but a warm and gentle one that was rarely bestowed upon those he deemed worthy.

"You don't need to whisper. Nobody can hear us, anyways."

"I know. I just feel like whispering." She explained.

"I see. Shall we begin?"

"I suppose." She whispered.

They began.

Harry pulled away from the kiss, his eyes sprang open, the green orbs stormy and unreadable.

"I'm sorry," He said.

"Why are you sorry?" Hermione asked, carefully, biting her lip.

"For.. for kissing you."

"You're trying to say that you... regret kissing me?" She asked.

"What? No! I don't... I don't regret it, I just... I'm sorry if I surprised you -"

"I like surprises." She said quietly.

He looked at her awkwardly.

"Are you saying that you liked kissing me?"

"Does it really matter?" Hermione asked, blushing.

"Well... yes, I mean..."

"No. It's late. I think we've practiced enough for tonight, don't you?" She said, changing the subject and turning away from him, pushing up her sweater sleeves and staring at the wall.

"Well the competition is in just one week... we should rehearse more strenuously... right?"

"We have a whole week." She said, gathering her books and papers.

"Hermione Granger turning down a chance to study?" He joked, and she looked at him intensely.

"This is dancing, not schoolwork."

"That was a kiss, not a meaningless event." He countered her, and she flushed deeply, her ears turning red.

"Don't change the subject." She said, her brown eyes trembling.

"You changed it first." He said, sounding like an eight year old.

She inhaled, picking up her stack of books.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, Harry." She said.

She headed for the door. He sprinted towards it and opened it for her, as she stepped into the doorway, he stepped in as well, and caught her by the shoulders and turned her towards him.

"I'm sorry." He said, again.

She smiled a very small and shaky smile.

"It's fine." She said, her voice hoarse.

He leaned in towards her, and she drew forward as well. Their lips barely touched, an extremely hesitant and gentle brush of their mouths. She pulled back, hit her head on the door frame, yelped and pushed her head forward from the impact. It hit her head against his chin, and he whipped his own head backwards and knocked it against the frame.

Hermione trembled, looking as though she was about to either cry or burst out laughing.

He grinned lopsidedly. "Ow." He whispered.

She smiled, very embarrassed. "Good night, Harry." She said.

"Good night."

She left, walking slowly but steadily to Gryffindor Tower. Harry was left in the doorway, watching her wistfully.

As Hermione walked through the portrait hole, her body trembling, her veins racing with a nervous feeling, Seamus bounded down the boy's dormitory stairs.

"You're up late!" He observed, a jovial smile on his face.

"Hello, Seamus, good night Seamus." She said, very quickly, and made for the girl's dorm stairs.

"What, no cheerful conversation?" He asked, blocking her way.

"Umm. No."

"Where have you been all this time?" He asked, curiously, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

She opened her mouth to answer, but closed it as the portrait swung closed sharply; Harry had come.

She turned and smiled at him shyly. "Hello, Harry." She said.

Harry turned pink and smiled back. "Hello."

Seamus raised an eyebrow. "You two been doing some hanky panky?" He asked.

"What?" They simultaneously yelped.

"It's written all over your faces... you glow the words 'We snogged', honestly." Seamus said, his face very serious.

He chuckled evilly and left the two alone.

"Hanky panky..." Harry snorted, and Hermione laughed very quietly. "Nobody says that anymore..." He muttered, and she stopped laughing. "Yes." She whispered.

"Good night... again." She said.

They both stepped towards each other, and then stopped awkwardly. "Umm..." He whispered, and clumsily hugged her, which entailed wrapping his arms around her shoulders, as she clutched her books to her chest, making it uncomfortable indeed.

They pulled away from the strange embrace blushing.

"Good night, then." He said.

She nodded. "Right."

She turned, and hesitated.

He watched her carefully.

She turned back to him, and set her books down very carefully on the couch. Then she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him, taking his face in her hands and doing it with such passion that his eyes nearly crossed when she finished. She smiled shyly and then picked up her books gingerly and walked up to her dorms.

He exhaled slowly, and then bounded up to his room with a very silly smile on his face.

Ginny wrapped her scarf around her neck, after they had finished their lesson.

He tossed his robe around her shoulders from behind her, his arms encircling her to fasten the Slytherin pin.

She watched his slim fingers clasp it in place and then was turned around, to face him. She looked at him, and then plunged herself at his chest, and he had nothing to do but hold her close.

"Virginia," He said quietly.

"Yes?" She whispered.

"I think my plan needs to go into action right away... beginning tomorrow."

She nodded against his chest, her hands around his waist.

"That means... that we have to keep this even more of a secret... even neglect it sometimes." He added.

She pulled away. "I see."

He nodded. "I'm sorry, but it must be done."

She nodded. "I know." She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him on the chin, making him bend slightly and kiss her properly. They snogged harshly, Ginny pawing at him wildly.

"You certainly need some good kissing." He said, amused.

She pulled him by his collar back to her again, kissing him more.

He pulled back. "You should be getting back to the tower."

She started attacking his neck. "Make love to me," She said. "Please."

He pushed her back gently but firmly. "No, Ginny."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "Why?" She protested.

"You're not ready, and neither am I. Besides, it will only bring us closer and we need to be able to appear as though we are still unaquainted." He explained. "Women I've made love to a long time ago still blush around me. We can't have that."

She laughed quietly, brushing away a stray tear.

"I'm sorry. You're right..."

He nodded. "Go to bed, little one."

She nodded, and turned towards the castle, he going the other way.

She turned back towards him. "How many women have you made love to?" She asked, frowning.

Draco laughed. "Good night, Virginia!" He shouted over his shoulder.

Sunday morning came, along with a warm spell, and the sun broke through the clouds and the birds sang and everyone was in a good mood.

Except Hermione.

"What's your problem?" Ron asked her, as they headed down the stairs for breakfast; Harry and Ron on either side of an ill looking Hermione.

"Nothing," She hissed. "It's nothing important."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked, concerned. Hermione glanced at him sideways, and her tone softened. "I'm positive. Don't worry about me."

Ron shrugged and took a seat immediately at the Gryffindor table. Hermione put a hand on Harry's arm and pulled him aside.

"Umm... can we talk about something?" She whispered, looking at him shyly, her cheeks pink.

"Anything." He affirmed.

"The, uh, kiss... that I gave you last night..."

His stomach gave an uneasy lurch.

"What about it?" He asked, his eyes full of worry. She didn't like it? He thought to himself. Am I a bad kisser? Did I have bad breath? Oh, that must be it - stupid houseelves serving onions with everything...

"I wanted to apologize."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"I was acting out of line... I'm sorry, I hope you can forgive me. I'm in a rather moody phase right now - feminine problems..."

"You don't have to apologize for anything, Hermione, I won't forgive you because you didn't do anything wrong." He said, quickly.

Her brown eyes watched him beneath thick eyelashes.

"I rather... I rather liked it, Hermione. There's nothing wrong with what we did." He said, firmly.

"But Harry... I wasn't thinking straight. I don't think straight at this time of mon-"

"It doesn't matter if you weren't thinking straight! There's nothing to be sorry about!"

"Harry." She said hoarsely. "You don't understand. I didn't want to kiss you. I wasn't thinking correctly and did something I didn't want to do. That entire ordeal should be forgotten - because it wasn't what I wanted to do. I had no control over myself at the moment - and I don't want you thinking I did."

His heart felt obliterated. "You didn't want to?" He repeated, so quietly that Hermione barely heard it over the din of the Grand Hall.

"I'm sorry, Harry. You must forgive me now."

"Ye-yeah. Of course. No problem. No problem at all..." He said, absentmindedly, and then, putting a hand to his throbbing head, looked around the Hall puzzledly.

"Harry... I don't want you hurting.. Harry?"

But Harry had already left, stumbling out the door.

She watched him go, and a stabbing feeling shot through her body.

review

please?

5. Chapter Five

a/n: jeez loufreakineez. that last chapter seemed to cause a lot of controversy among the readers, lol. some named huwdw instant messaged me grilling me on whether or not hermione and draco would go out - and if they would he(huwdw) would... die. or so he said. Something like that. Anyways, cookies for him, i love it when my readers IM me... *squeal* its like fanmail only better because im not even a real celebrity!!

lol, look, about the complaints, people its a story, not even a very good one. second off, its my story, and you know me, this will all end up the way it is planned to be. but thirdly, and this is the important part, i wanted to write something with lots of love triangles an angst and shit like that.

my point is, dont panic! everything iwll be sunshine and peaches soon enough! but right now... let me play with my fic, besides, it makes it more fun. and judging by how many reviews i received for that last chap, controversy is good for my review ratio... *squee*

anyways, chill. so.. hmm, about this chapter. im not sure what im gonna do with it, so stay awake, ne? here i am, my tongue getting burned by my cup o' noodles, writing my cute ass off for you guys.

its because i love you. *sob*

nehee, just read.

...

Hermione sunk into her seat at the Gryffindor table, next to Ron, who was giving her a funny look.

"What was that about?" He asked her, his nose wrinkled.

She shot him a glare. "Don't want to talk about it right now."

"Lover's tiff?" He asked, jokingly.

She made an ill face.

He choked on his porridge. "You're not serious!"

Hermione turned to him sadly. "We weren't lovers... and that's why, well, I don't know anything right now."

Ron raised an eyebrow. "So you shagged and Harry's sad because you pulled the 'I didn't mean to' rubbish?"

"We didn't shag." She hissed.

"You snogged, then?"

She let out a sigh. "Yes." She confessed.

"Blimey, took you two long enough," He started, and Hermione looked at him in shock. "The entire Gryffindor table had bets riding on it since second or third year. Where's Dean? He now owes me thirty knuts."

She gasped. "You didn't have the funding to pay him if you lost!"

"But I didn't lose, did I?" Ron pointed out, giving her a frown.

She started to cry. He stared at her in amazement. "Why are you so upset?" He asked.

"I don't know." She sobbed.

"You didn't mean to my arse. You know it's meant to be." He speared a piece bacon and shoved into his mouth. "Bumbling jackasses." He said, loudly chewing.

She whimpered, her head in hands.

"What's the matter, Granger?" The cool words floated down to the table, and she peeked through her fingers at Malfoy. "Go away, Malfoy."

He sat beside her instead. "Got into a quarrel with beloved Potter?"

Her head flew up angrily. "He's not my beloved. Now fuck off, Malfoy."

Ron sent a bored glance their way.

"Leave her alone." He told Draco.

"I can handle it myself, Ron." Hermione hissed.

Ron got up and went over to the Ravenclaw table where he loitered nonchalantly.

"No you can't."

She turned, seething, back to the speaker. "Excuse me?"

"I said, no, you can't. You're dependant. You need Weasley, you need Potter, because no one else would ever put up with the likes of you."

"The likes of me?!" She exclaimed, standing up abruptly, knocking over a goblet of pumpkin juice.

Draco rose up from his seated position, so that he now towered over her.

"And you need me, because what would the meaning of life be without a mortal enemy?" He continued.

"You're not the enemy, You-Know-Who is."

"If I'm not your enemy then what exactly am I?"

She was silent, and Draco's hand went to her face, touching itgently.

"What am I?" He asked, again.

"Dead." A voice growled, and suddenly Harry had tackled Draco, and had started throwing punches at him wildly.

They scrambled about on the floor, Harry punching every chance he got and Draco defending himself. Harry got a good whop in, and blood began to gush from Draco's perfect little nose.

Finally Draco regained his senses and shoved Harry brutally off of him. Scrambling to standing position, he glared ferociously. "What's the matter with you?"

"Don't you ever touch her again!"

Draco sneered at him, and the scowl on his face in addition to the various bruises did not improve his appearance.

They stared at each other angrily and silently. Hermione tried to look at anything but them.

Suddenly Ginny brushed past Harry, "Excuse me." and settled down at the table right between Draco and Harry. She was giggling, quietly, and ignored the tension in the air as she cut up her eggs neatly.

Harry watched Draco warily, who was looking at Ginny strangely. Suddenly he leaned to her, his arms on either side of her head, hands resting on the table. He lowered his face close to her right ear.

"Do you find something amusing, Weasley?" He hissed, loud enough for Harry and Hermione to hear.

Harry took a step towards them, and Hermione moved to his side, looking at him carefully.

Ginny calmy sipped at her pumpkin juice, seeming as if she was used to the closeness of Draco. She was, actually, but no one knew that.

"You've got a bloody nose." She said, turning her head slightly, so that their eyes met.

"Do you find that funny?" He said, scowling.

"Yes."

"I see." He made sure no one was looking to closely, and smiled at her gently. As he straightened, he changed to a smirk, as Ginny handed him a napkin and he wiped some of his blood away. Tossing it back on the Gryffindor table, he then fingered her robe, which happened to be his.

"Nice robe you've got there." He said, and then turned back to Harry. "You really should work on that temper, Potter."

He brushed by him roughly and left.

Harry let out a low growling noise from his throat.

Hermione couldn't make her eyes meet his.

"I'll see you for tango practice this afternoon." He said, and turned briskly and made an icy exit.

She let out a miserable sigh, and turned to the table, where she sat next to Ginny.

"You all right?" She asked the redhead, who was looking aghast, as she fingered the clasp that pinned her robe.

Ginny allowed her fingers to fall away, and Hermione's eyes darted to the silvery broche, and gasped. The green snake with it's flashing eyes and "Slytherin" brazenly engraved on it were unmistakable.

"What are you doing with a Slytherin's robe?" Hermione asked, dropping her voice so the others wouldn't hear.

"Someone gave it to me." Ginny said, very quickly, and left the Grand hall and her Sunday breakfast.

Hermione watched her leave, puzzled. "Who?" She muttered to herself.

Harry felt the strong and irresistable urge to play quidditch. After a brusque walk up to his dorms, he had retrieved his broomstick and was making his way to the Quidditch Pitch.

Neville appeared out of nowhere and jogged alongside of him, trying to keep up with Harry's powerful stride.

"In a hurry?" He asked, breathless, his pudgy face flushed.

Harry stopped abruptly, his green eyes stormy and undiscernable. "I suppose I'm not." He admitted, as Neville leaned on his knees, gasping for breath.

"Just walking quickly." Harry added, and began his powerwalk to the field again.

Neville called out from behind him. "Need to talk to you!" He slurred.

Harry stopped in his tracks and sighed exasperatedly. He turned and went back to Neville, who had flopped down on the grass. Harry sat down crosslegged, and stared at him, irritated. "What is it."

"How do you know if you're in love?" Neville asked.

Harry's eyes burned a brilliant shade of green and his pudgy friend was slightly taken aback by the raw emotion in his eyes.

"What makes you think I would know!?" Harry asked, gripping his broom very tightly.

"We..well, you, you just have it m..more together than I do... ge..gen..generally." Neville was quivering from Harry's sharp question.

Harry's eyes softened and her looked at his friend with sympathy. "You have no idea Neville."

Neville heaved a sigh. "Well, I wanted to know, because, I think I'm truly in love with Heather."

"The girl who gave you the moose?" Harry asked, and Neville nodded exuberantly.

"That's her. We just had our first argument today..." He started, cheerfully.

"You say that like it's a good thing." Harry interrupted, thinking back to he and Hermione's disagreement, somberly.

"Well, well it kind of is!" Neville exclaimed. "Because, I thought of it like this... if I can still love her, even after we've screamed at each other, than I must really love this girl!"

Harry's stomach turned, and he started to get up.

"That's great Neville." He murmured, and started getting on his broom.

"Wait! So do you think it's true love?" Neville asked, tugging at his sleeve.

"Oh yeah, the whole enchilada." Harry said, giving him a weak smile, and then zooming off into the sky.

"The whole enchilada..." Neville repeated, in a daze.

Draco's arm drew back, and then shot forward, his wrist elegantly straightening as he released the musical dart, which whistled to it's target happily.

It punctured the bull's eye, nearly knocking off the other three of his darts. Draco turned to Crabbe and Goyle victoriously. "Best three out of five?" Crabbe suggested, and Goyle punched him in the arm. "Then he's already won again."

Crabbe counted on his fingers. "Oh!" He exclaimed.

Draco lit a cigarette and collapsed onto the leather couch, stretching out his lanky body.

"So what have you been doing lately, boss?" Goyle asked, squeezing into a small chair. Crabbe chortled. "Or who've you been doing?" He slurred, and he and Goyle guffawed.

Draco blew out smoke and looked at them calmly. His cronies stopped their laughing and nudged his leg. "Well?"

"Keeping up appearances." Draco said, smoothly, and tossed the cigarette into the fireplace, where it crackled and let out fumes.

"But we're serious, who've you been shagging?" Goyle asked.

Draco stood up, his hands in his black slacks. "What business is it of yours?" He said, raising an eyebrow, his eyes flashing a dangerous silver.

"We just asked..." Crabbe said, defensively.

Draco stared at the fire.

Hermione was in the Charms room, practicing some complex tango steps. It was late in the afternoon, and Harry hadn't shown up yet.

She was wearing a new black dress, with little ruffles around the bottom, and she enjoyed watching the fabric flutter around her as she did a twirl. Hermione didn't usally dress up very often.

The door opened and closed, and Harry stood there, broom in hand.

He looked at her in her little black dress and blinked. "Are we dressing up now?" He asked, looking her over, from her carefully styled hair to her strappy heels.

"I thought we should try the last practices in formal wear, so that we're prepared for it." Hermione explained.

"Oh." He responded, dully. He was in grass stained blue jeans, that he'd had since third year. They were tight and old, fraying at the knees and edges. His shirt was an old one of Dudley's, big and baggy, sweatstained from his vehement flight.

She waved her hand. "Don't worry, I'll spruce you up." She whipped out her wand and muttered a spell and his ruffled appearance was vastly improved, his hair slicked back, and dressed in a full tuxedo. He raised an eyebrow. Hermione giggled. "A bit too much." She whispered another spell and he was dressed in a button down shirt, a sports coat and nice slacks and shoes.

"Thanks." He said, appreciatively. He leaned his broom against the wall and stepped closer to her. "Let's start, then." Hermione said, and with a swish and flick had the lights dimmed and tango music playing softly.

As they went over their steps perfectly, Harry made conversation.

"Spoke with Neville."

"Oh?"

He murmured a yes, and spun her around.

"Listen, Hermione, I'm sorry about running out like that." He said, finally.

Hermione tripped over her heels.

The music came to a stop, it was charmed to play when their feet moved.

"It was fine, you don't have to apologize." She said.

"I wasn't thinking about your feelings. I'm sorry."

"No, it was me who wasn't.. thinking right."

"Listen, when I spoke to Neville today... he said something that I thought was interesting."

"What was that?" Hermione asked, curious, and slightly nervous.

"It was about he and Heather..."

She nodded, urging him to continue.

"He asked me if I knew what it was like to be in love." Harry blurted out.

She blinked. "And?"

"Well, I wasn't sure what he meant and he said that he and Heather had argued and that he still loved her afterward..."

He stopped to make sure Hermione was listening. She was, although her eyes seemed distant.

"... and that he figured if he loved her that much even after all that screaming, it must be true love."

She watched him carefully. "Do you agree?" She asked.

"I was thinking about that... and how.. how you and I had argued."

Her breath caught in her throat. "But we have a completely different situation."

"Not really." Harry said, carefully, watching her eyes for reaction.

"What do you mean? Heather and Neville are dating, and Neville loves her."

"And you and I are best friends..." Harry began.

"But you don't love me."

"Yes I do." Harry insisted. She faltered for a moment, and then countered.

"But not like that. We're friends. Friends love each other, but differently."

"But I don't love you like that." Harry said.

Hermione's hands were sweaty and she grasped them together.

"Then you love me like a sister, a deeper, even stronger love." She suggested.

"No."

Hermione's chin trembled. "Don't do this, Harry."

"Do what?" Harry said, remaining as calm as he could be.

"Don't fall in love with me!"

"Why not?!" He roared.

"Because we'll destroy everything we have!" She yelled back, her hands flailing in emphasis.

"No we won't!"

"I don't want you to get hurt! I don't want to get hurt!"

Harry grabbed her by the arms, and she started to cry.

"Stop it! How could something like this ever hurt?" He asked, his eyes blazing.

She whimpered.

He kissed her, and she kissed him back.

...

a/n: geez, you people. "what a horrible way to end a chapter". shut up, you love me! YOU LOVE ME DAMNIT! well.. i hope you do. anyways. review please. and oh yeah! i have a boyfriend! (*gasps from crowd*) yeah, i know, i didn't think itd happen either! hahah! *bounces off*

*bounces back* REVIEW! please. *bounces off again*

6. Chapter Six

a/n:all i can say is thank you, thank you thank you!!!i cant believe ive already gotten so many reviews so soon! im touched. i love you all.

now that that crap is out of the way, lets get down to buisness.the dance competition itself will be verry soon, so keep yer eyes open. ive got some great ideas that i have to sort out. in the meantime, just enjoy.

...

Ginny Weasley threw a book about tango onto the library table. It made a satisfying loud thwack as it's hard cover came in contact with the wood. She herself folded into the chair next to it, propped her elbows on the table and laid her head in her hands.

"What's going on, Gin?" She heard Ron say, and sit down across from her.

"Nothing." Ginny said, quickly, pulling the book to her chest. "What's this, then?" Ron asked, and snatched it from her grasp.

"Two to Tango, Three to Thrango, and Four to Fango - Tango's Titilating and Entrancing Steps - beginner's edition - revised as of 2000 - outlawed in some parts of Canada - prologue by Tanya Tango. Written by Tango Expert Witch Extraordinare, Sonya Slipshin." Ron read. "That is the longest title I have ever seen." He declared.

"I know." Ginny replied, sleepily.

"What are you doing up late at night reading about tango?" Her brother asked, and began flipping idly through the pages.

"Curiosity." She said, feebly. It was difficult to lie to her brother.

"Oh?"

"Mmm."

She caught a glimpse of Draco coming up behind Ron, and she made a subtle gesture not to. He understood and melted into the shadows of the library.

"What are you doing here?" Ginny asked.

"Waiting for someone." Ron said, vaguely. He looked around.

"Who?"

"My date."

"Who's that?"

"A girl."

"I was rather hoping it was female. But who?"

"A Ravenclaw."

"What's her name?"

Ron was silent. "Why don't you just read your book, aye?" He slid the Tango book across the table to her. She picked it up and opened it, her face disappearing as she delved into it, reading intently. She heard footsteps and lowered the book slowly, so that just her eyes look over it's brim.

Cho Chang was heading this way. Certainly not to talk with her. Then Ron? He did say it was a Ravenclaw...

As Cho's slender arm looped around Ron, Ginny's thoughts were confirmed.

"You know my sister Ginny, don't you?" She heard Ron say, but didn't see. Ginny had gone back to reading the book.

"Of course." Cho's silky smooth voice cooed.

"Let's go." Ron decided, and they flounced off together.

Ginny lowered the book, slamming it shut. This was no good. Cho wasn't Ron's type, was she? She was so... Cho Chang. And Ron wasn't interested in the Cho Chang lifestyle... was he?

She raised her gaze to see Draco standing next to her table, watching the couple trounce out the door. He wore a grim expression.

"Hello." Ginny greeted him, standing and hugging his waist.

He stroked her hair, holding her head to his chest protectively. "I didn't know your brother was sleeping with Chang." He said, casually.

Ginny pulled away and crossed her arms. "I don't know if they're sleeping together, but apparently they're dating."

"Strange."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked, scooping the book on Tango into her bookbag and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Well, they're so different. You wouldn't expect them to be.. together. If you can call that together."

"We're different," Ginny pointed out. "and we work out fine. And what do you mean, if you can call that together. What's the matter with their relationship?"

Draco shrugged. "I don't know if I would call it a relationship, that's all."

Ginny frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Cho isn't a relationship person. She sleeps with you and then leaves you to sleep with someone else. Like a doorknob - everyone gets a turn."

"How would you know this?" Ginny asked, as they started for the door to the courtyard.

"I've turned the doorknob a couple of times." He said, nonchalantly, as he opened the door for her.

"What?!" She exclaimed, stopping in the doorway. He pushed her through, and let the door slam behind him. "I said, I've turned the -"

"I know what you said! But... I didn't know you'd.."

"Slept with someone?"

"No, I assumed that... just not... not with Cho."

"Not many people assume that. " He agreed, sticking his hands in his coat's pockets and trudging across the courtyard to a bench, where he sat down.

"What did you mean a couple of times?" Ginny pressed onward, sitting next to him, her hands clenched uncomfortably at her sides.

He rolled his eyes. "Can't we drop this?" He complained.

"No!" She shrieked. Draco didn't flinch.

Her head drooped. "I'm sorry. I just.. I don't know."

"Cho and I have had our run ins from time to time. In fifth year, once, when she was paticularly desperate and went for someone a year younger. I was the lucky bloke... if you could call me lucky. Then when sixth year rolled around, we were on and off for most of the beginning of the year. I dropped her about 3 months ago. Couldn't stand her. She's annoying and snappy and a total slut." He explained.

"Oh." Ginny said, dully.

"Are you okay with that?" He asked, raising his delicate eyebrows.

"Of course. It's just strange. Like now you're a different person because I know... where you've been."

"Is that a bad thing?" He pressed.

"No... not neccesarily. Just rather suprising." She admitted.

"I understand."

"Was... was it good?" She asked, a moment later.

"What? The sex?" He clarified for her.

She nodded, blushing.

"It was all right. She thought I was amazing, or something to that effect. I guess she was good, but it's so much worse when you don't actually feel anything for the person, or in that case, when you can't stand them. It's all that much more terrible."

"Have you ever... been with someone you've felt something deep for?" She ventured.

"The summer before fifth year, after fourth, I met this really nice girl." He said, quietly.

"And?" She urged.

"And we went out for the entire summer, made love, and I never saw or spoke with her again." He finished.

"Never? Was she a witch?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know, quite for sure." He admitted.

"What was her name?" She asked.

"Heather." Draco answered, with a bit sadness in his tone.

Hermione pulled away from the searing kiss she had shared with Harry.

"I.." She began, and then her voice faltered and she lowered her head.

He kissed her forehead. "You?" He started again, for her.

She raised her head, their eyes locking. It was easier now, and she started again. "I .."

He nodded, his brilliant emerald eyes urging her on. "Yes?"

"I love you."

It was a whisper, so faint and trembling and weak that Harry almost thought she hadn't said it and that he was dreaming. But the words reached his ears and his heart made a sweeping feeling and his stomach mimicked it, swinging backwards, and adreneline propelled throughout his nervous system.

"And I love you."

It was louder than hers, and yet just as full of emotion. His voice touched her soul, and her knees began to tremble as his embrace tightened around her waist. The warmth from his hands and from the words seeped into her skin from his and into the depths of her heart. Her voice croaked, and she began to cry again.

"There's nothing to cry about!" He said, softly, but firmly, kissing her cheek, capturing the tear before it rolled down to her chin.

"I'm not sad." She said, choking, and yet smiling.

"Then why the waterworks?" He brushed her hair back.

"I'm just so happy. I feel complete." She confessed, and collapsed fully into his arms, leaning into his strong body.

"So do I." He squeaked, and they laughed nervously at their awkwardness.

Harry sunk to his knees, leaning against the wall of the Charms room. He brought Hermione with him, and she nestled between his legs, her arms around his waist, her head on his chest.

"I love you." She said, again, this time it was clearly audible and she wasn't shaking.

"I love you." Harry said, kissing her, and silencing her.

Nothing else needed to be said.

"Heather? Like Neville's Heather?!" Ginny exclaimed.

"There are many Heathers in the world, Virginia." He said, slightly scolding her.

"I know... don't you think... that maybe you should meet her? Just in case?"

He frowned at her. "Why on earth would I want to do that?"

"What if you loved her? What if you still do? I don't want you to go off with me and then regret it all and wish you could be with her while you're with me. What if she's the one for you?" She said, vehemently.

"You're the one for me!" He growled, grabbing her arms roughly.

"What if I'm not?!"

He released her. "Why wouldn't you be?"

"Why would I be?" She asked.

"Because I love you! I didn't love Heather!" He said, his eyes growing cloudy.

"But you said you felt deeply..."

"Feeling deeply isn't love! It was a strong liking, stronger than anyone before her, but nothing compared to this! You're the reason I was put on this earth, Ginny! You're the reason for everything that is good in this world!" He said, his arm sweeping dramatically.

Ginny began to cry.

"Stop it!" He shouted.

She sobbed, her head in her hands.

He sighed, his expression softening. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Virginia." He pulled her close to him.

"I love you, Draco. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I doubted you. I just... I just sometimes feel so.."

"I know, it's okay, it's all right." He said, kissing her cheeks.

She kissed his lips, softly, and then nuzzled into his neck.

"You didn't have to say all that other stuff." She whispered.

"What stuff?"

"Me being the reason why you were put on the earth.."

"But you are!"

She pulled away. "No, we were put on this earth to do good to our fellow man and to love one another. Not to make love to me."

"Who said anything about making love to you?" Draco said, his silver eyes gleaming.

She stuttered.

He laughed. "Come with me, I want to show you something." He grabbed her hand and pulled her off the bench, and into the school. He led her up many stairs and through narrow hallways until they climbed a final flight of steps.

"Look." He breathed, and pushed her to a wide window.

"I can see everything!" She exclaimed, looking out over Hogwart's. "This is even higher than Astronomy Tower!"

"This tower's called Poet's Demise." He said, his arm wrapping about her waist as they looked out at the stars and at the school grounds.

"Why's that?" She whispered, taking his other hand and entwining it with hers.

"Because a poet came up here, looked out over everything and was dumbstruck. There weren't words to describe the beauty and peace of it all. Even a poet, master of the romantic language and descriptions, couldn't explain what he felt."

"Do you how I would describe it?" Ginny said, softly.

"How, my love?" He asked, breathing on her ear and kissing her neck.

"Lovely. Just perfectly lovely." She said, beaming, and kissing his nose.

"Just like you." Draco whispered.

Hermione finally stood up, grasping his hand and pulling Harry to his feet as well.

"Come on. We only have until tomorrow night. Let's master these steps." She said.

"In other words, instead of loving me madly, you want to study." Harry joked, wrapping his arms around her waist and breathing on her neck. Chills shot down her spine and she sighed.

"Exactly." She broke away from him and got into her starting position.

"That's why I love you." Harry said, laughing lightly, and taking his place.

They danced.

Ron and Cho were in the bushes of the courtyard, getting down to buisness, and then they'd heard Draco and Ginny's little conversation.

"Come with me, I want to show you something." Malfoy said, and Ron heard steps and then a door slamming as his sister and his rival left the courtyard.

"That bastard!" Ron exclaimed, pushing Cho off his lap, ignoring her curses as the branches lashed at her face. Ron jumped out of the bush and straightened his robes irately.

Cho crawled out of the bush, disheveled and dirty. "Where do you think you're going?" She snapped, standing and tapping him on his shoulder.

"I'm going to go teach that son of a bitch a lesson about messing with my sister!" He explained, his ears going red.

Cho shoved her hands on her hips. "And?" She urged.

Ron was silent, staring at her queerly. "What do you mean, and? That's my plan, plain and simple." Cho glared and crossed her arms. "How about teaching him a lesson about calling me a slut?" She suggested, her black eyes narrowing.

"But you are one." Ron blurted out, before he could stop himself. Cho gasped, her arms coming uncrossed and one darting out and slapping his cheek.

"How dare you!" She gasped.

"But it's true! You said so yourself! You like being called that when we shag, you-"

"But this is different Ron! This is another person accusing your girlfriend of sleeping around so much that she's going to leave you. How does that sound to you?"

Ron cocked his head to side. It was true, it didn't seem very pleasant. "She wouldn't be leaving, anyway." He decided, aloud.

"Oh? What makes you say that?" Cho asked, and Ron raised an eyebrow. "Sex is too good." He said, cockily.

She started laughing, and punched his arm playfully, before becoming serious again. "Well... you've got a point."

Ron looked at her in surprise. "I do?" He echoed.

She laughed lightly, putting her hands on his chest and stepping into him. "Best ever." She whispered, smiling.

Ron beamed. "Aww shucks." He whispered, and then kissed her. They snogged harshly, before parting and gasping for breath.

"Can't you teach him a lesson some other time?" She cooed, making puppy eyes at him.

"Yeah, of course. I've got all year, right?" They laughed and collapsed into the bushes, kissing.

a/n: as said in the fic, the dance competition is the next night in that universe. so its verrry soon! i will try and update again as soon as possible - but i do have some serious homework to deal with, so ummm.. just hang in there. once again, thanks to everyone who reviewed, especially Holly Rachael Zintel! your reviews are very refreshing and inspiring!

thanks!

REVIEW, please!

7. Chapter Seven

a/n: yo. thanks sooo much for all the reviews!! you guys are sooo awesome! i luurv you all.

oh and as for archforge's comment about draco being OOC... well, i just look at it this way. how can you judge that Draco in love that way is OOC, when we base character on the canon, and in the canon we never see draco in love? i dont think its OOC for draco to a) fall in love, b) fall in love with ginny, or c) say romantic things to ginny because he's in love with her. OOC (Out Of Character) means that hes acting in a compeltely different manner than he would in the canon. but how can we say that all those things are OOC for draco when we have never seen him in love in the canon? i just think that its silly to say anything concerning draco and love is OOC.

i still love you, archforge for reviewing, though. just another hike in my review ratio. *evil chuckle*

tehee.

Disclaimer Which I Forgot In First Chapter... Woops: harry potter doesnt belong to me, and by writing this story i do not make any claims at owning it. JK Rowling owns it and ao damn it, dont sue me i have no money. That is all.

IMPORTANT NOTE: in this story, blaise zabini is a guy. i know, i know, you all think its a chick, but its not specified in the book. and "blaise" could be either. so. there.that is all.

A loud fanfare sounded, and ribbons and banners and confetti fell from the enchanted ceiling in the Grand Hall, which had been cleared and prepared. A large dancefloor was in the center, with crowds standing around, on every side.

Hermione stepped out onto the dancefloor, wearing a long red dress with a Gryffindor pin holding up the one strap. The long, silk material cascaded down, past her breasts and seemed to spin around her hips and legs. She looked like a painted portrait, perfection.

Then she tried to step forward. She tripped and fell, shrieking. Everyone laughed.

Hermione woke up from her dream with a yelp.

"Something wrong, Hermione?" Lavender asked, from her bed nearby.

"No.. just had a weird dream." Hermione explained, putting a hand to her sweaty forehead. "What about?" Lavender asked, sitting up.

"I tripped at the Dance Competition. Dress was too long." Hermione said.

Lavender laughed. "Oh, don't worry, that won't happen. Your dress isn't that long, is it?"

Hermione began to shake her head and then froze. "Oh my God." She said, dully.

"What?" Lavender came rushing to the side of her friend's bed. "What's wrong?"

"I haven't picked out a dress!" Hermione shouted, waking up the others in her dorm. "I have nothing to wear!!" She shrieked.

Lavender stood up, as Hermione swung her legs over the side of the bed. "You don't have a dress?!" She screeched.

"NO!" Hermione answered, leaping to her feet.

"Oh my God, oh my God!" Lavender started rushing around the room, wringing her hands. Hermione paced back and forth in a frenzy as well. "How could you forget?!" Lavender exclaimed.

Parvati put her pillow over head. "Will you please SHUT UP?!" She yelled at them.

Lavender snatched the pillow off her best friend's head and threw it on the ground.

"Hermione doesn't have a dress for the competition!" She yelled.

"WHAT?!" Parvati sat up in bed in horror.

"How could you forget?!" She asked, as Hermione opened her trunk and began throwing clothes around the room. "I don't know, I don't know!" Hermione said, throwing a purple dress over her shoulder. It fell at Parvati's feet, who picked it up and surveyed it. "Wait a minute..."

"What?" Lavender and Hermione looked at the third girl, puzzled expressions playing across their faces.

"Hellooo, why don't we just use magic?!" She squealed.

Lavender's jaw dropped. "Parvati you are genius!!" They embraced in glee.

Hermione frowned. "But I don't even have any idea of what I want... and I kind of want Harry to match. We might be judged for points on presentation." She pointed out.

"What was the dress like in the dream?" Lavender asked.

Hermione put a finger to her chin in thought. "Well, it had one strap. It was a dark crimson, and had a Gryffindor pin at the top of the strap, and the rest of the dress kind of flowed from that. Could we transfigure that," She said, pointing to the purple sundress Parvati held. "into the dream gown? And we have to make sure it's not too long..."

Lavender giggled, Parvati shrugged. "I'm sure we could. But here, put it on and we'll see what we can do."

Ginny finally said good night to Draco, kissing him softly on the cheek and then stealing away down the halls. She paused at the portrait of the Fat Lady, tightening Draco's robe around her shoulders, before she whispered the password.

"Hippogriff."

Fat Lady snorted awake, putting a chubby hand to her chest. "Oh dearie me! It's awfully late for young women to be roaming the halls!" She observed, swinging open.

Ginny let out a quiet laugh and slipped into the common room, not stopping to pause at the warm fire, but blazing onward to the girl's dormitories.

She stopped at the door to the room she shared with Hermione, Lavender and Parvati, to fix her mussed hair. She turned the squeaky knob and winced. She didn't want to wake anyone. The door swung open and her roommates, working on Hermione's dress, stared at her.

"What are you doing up so late?" Hermione asked, just as Lavender said, "But you were in bed..." and Parvati pointed at her face. "Your lipstick is an awful mess." She observed.

Hermione, in a half red, half purple dress, stomped over to Ginny's fourpost bed and swung the curtains back, to reveal a pillow under the covers, put there to simulate a body. "Where've you been?" She whispered, touching Ginny's cloak, and the shiny Slytherin pin.

Ginny shrank back from the three sets of eyes that were fixated upon her. "I was... taking a walk."

"With your boyfriend?" Parvati asked, wiping some smudged lipstick off the side of Ginny's mouth with a hankie.

"A Slytherin boyfriend?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow and gesturing at the clasp.

Ginny's eyes flew about the room, as she scoured her mind for an excuse.

"Don't bother trying to lie to us," Parvati said, crossing her arms. "We'll find out soon enough."

Ginny heaved a sigh and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I can't tell you. I've promised."

Hermione made a face. "But we're your friends, Ginny. We care about you and only want to help."

"I don't need any help!" The redhead protested. "It's all under control, I'm telling you!"

Parvati laughed, shaking her head, her dark hair flipping back and forth. "When you're in a relationship with a Slytherin, nothing is ever under control." She said. "Trust me. I should know. I dated Blaise, remember?"

Lavender nodded in agreement. "Tell us! Please?"

Ginny wrinkled her nose. "No. You'll all find out soon enough."

"When?" Hermione asked, crossing her arms.

"At the competition." Ginny answered, pulling off the Slytherin cloak and placing it carefully into her trunk. "I promise. If you can just wait until tomorrow night..."

Under the cloak Ginny wore her pajamas, so she simply crawled under her covers. "Now if you excuse me, it's late, and we all need our rest. Good night."

She drew her curtains closed.

The remaining three exchanged frustrated faces. Parvati went back to reading the fashion magazine, We Wonderful Witches, and continued with following the instructions on how to tranfigure a dress.

Hermione stood still, giving pointers on how to swish and flick.

Lavender, however, stayed nailed to her spot watching Ginny's fourpost bed.

"Lav hand me that Gryff pin from Herm's cloak, will you?"

"Which one is it?" Lavender asked, snapping away from her thoughts and surveying the three identical Gryffindor cloaks hanging on the wall.

"The one with HG engraved on the back." Hermione said, glancing her way.

Lavender checked the backs and on the second she discovered the correct initials. "Should've guessed. Everyone does that." She unpinned the clasp and tossed it to Parvati.

She watched, silent, as her best friend performed a charm on the pin and it floated up to Hermione's shoulder, where it pinned itself to the strap.

"Wait a minute!" Lavender exclaimed.

"That's it, that's it!" She muttered, opening Ginny's trunk stealthily and removing the mysterious Slytherin cloak. She turned over the pin and nodded excitedly. "Here are his initials!" She whispered, gesturing Hermione and Parvati over.

The three squinted at the small capital letters engraved meticulously on the back of the Slytherin crest.

"D..."

"Is that a D? Are you sure? It almost looks like an O."

"You think she's dating an Osbert?"

"Nevermind, it's a D."

"N?"

"No, that's an M!"

"D.M.!" Hermione exclaimed, and they quickly refolded the cloak and shut her trunk.

"Well. That settles that. She's seeing DM." Parvati said, nodding complacently. She went back to reading the instructions on the transfiguration.

"Stupid!" Lavender exclaimed, smacking Parvati upside the head. "Who's the DM?"

Parvati frowned. "Who cares? We have to work on this dress!"

Lavender shook her head.

"But now it's going to bug me all night." She hissed, picking up her wand, disappointed.

"Oh no it won't." Hermione breathed. She looked as if she was in a state of shock, as she slid to a sitting position on the floor.

"What do you mean? Do you know who DM is?" Lavender asked, putting a hand on Hermione's knee and crouching beside her.

"Really?" Parvati asked, crawling to kneel on her other side.

"Isn't it obvious?" Hermione asked, still in a whisper. Lavender and Parvati shook their heads.

"Draco Malfoy." She hissed, and the others gasped.

"Ginny and Draco?!" Lavender exclaimed, horrendously. She clasped her hands to her mouth.

"I'd never have guessed!" She confessed.

Hermione shook her head. "Me neither." She said, dazed.

Parvati grinned wickedly. "Wow. What a great choice!" She giggled.

Lavender and Hermione eyed her strangely. "What do you mean by that?" Lavender asked her, frowning.

Parvati stood up. "Let's just say, from some reliable resources, I've heard Draco is very... good."

"At what?" Hermione asked, warily.

Parvati did an imitation of porno music and some pelvic thrusts.

Lavender collapsed into giggles, and Hermione blushed, standing up. "Oh you shouldn't gossip like that, Parvati." She picked up the magazine Parvati had abandoned and read the next few steps in the process.

She whispered the last few incantations herself, and checked the final product.

"Perfect." She whispered, turning in front of the mirror, who whistled in approval.

Morning dawned and students groggily woke up, tumbling out of their Ravenclaw beds, crawling out of their Hufflepuff fourposters, toppling out their Gryffindor bed's curtains, and falling out their Slytherin sheets.

Harry Potter groped at his bedside table blindly for his glasses. His fingers finally found them. He slid them on his nose, and the world came into focus. "Morning, mate." Seamus greeted him, from across the room, where he was pulling on some pink socks.

"Like your stockings, Seamus." Harry said, amused.

Seamus frowned, looking at his toes. "Mum put 'em in with me dad's red tie. Big mistake."

Harry laughed, as he got dressed.

"So that big dance thing is today, aye?" Seamus asked.

"Yeah, so I've heard." Harry muttered. Seamus laughed. "Cho won't even speak to me. We're still signed up for the competition, though, so I dunno what'll happen when we're announced and we haven't practiced at all."

Ron fell through the dormitory door, his hair a mess and his shirt on inside out.

"Morning, Harry, Seamus." He said, trying to act nonchalant.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You're a bit messy."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ron said, tugging at the edge of the reversed tee.

"Shirt's on inside out." Seamus pointed out. Ron looked down in surprise. "Oh." He responded, dully.

"What exactly have you been up to?" Harry asked, suspiciously.

Ron looked offended. "I don't know what you're implying."

"You were gone all night." Seamus said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Ron's ears turned red. "You've got it all wrong, I just woke up extra early."

Seamus nodded, a sarcastic look playing across his features. "Yes, and I just married Neville. Do tell, who've you been shagging?"

Ron's ears almost matched his hair in their burning embarrassment. "You're mad, Finnegan. Absolutely stark raving mad."

Seamus did an imitation of porno music and a few pelvic thrusts.

Ron threw a shoe at him.

Harry laughed. "You could just tell us. Why on earth wouldn't you? You're the one that always wants us to tell you our experiences. It's only fair."

Ron shook his head fervently. "No."

"It's Draco isn't it?!" Seamus kidded. He jumped on Ron's bed in mock shock, clutching a hand to his chest. "Scandalous!"

Ron made a face of absolute disgust. "How can you even joke about such things?!" He asked, horrified. They ignored him.

Seamus moved his hand to his forehead. "I think I'm going to swoon, this is so exciting!"

Harry jumped next to him, clutching his elbow. "Forbidden love!" He crooned.

They squealed.

Ron pulled off his shirt to put it on correctly. Seamus noticed something and toppled off Ron's fourposter, laughing hysterically.

"What's so funny?" Ron asked, furious.

Seamus leapt to his feet and pointed at Ron's neck. "This." It was a hickey.

Ron fumbled as he quickly righted the shirt and pulled it back over his head. "So what?"

Seamus laughed even more. "No, no, it's not just any hickey."

Ron paled.

"What do you mean?"

"This, my friend. Is a Chang hickey." Seamus explained, nodding sagely.

Harry's jaw dropped. "As in Cho?"

Seamus nodded. "No. As in Cha." He did a few more pelvic thrusts and imitated pulling a rope with his arm while crowing "Cha ching!" He then calmed down.

"Yes, my friend. As in Cho. Ronald Weasley has been em... knocking boots with our dear accquaintance Cho Chang."

Harry shook his head. "That's inconceivable."

Ron heaved a sigh. "Look, Harry, I didn't mean to you know... hurt you or anything."

"No, I just thought it was inconceivable that you could even get with someone like Cho." Harry laughed heartily.

Ron glared.

"I think it's amazing our friend was able to get with anyone at all." Seamus said.

Ron turned purple. "Shut up, twit. If I wanted your opinion I'd cram it down your throat."

Classes were cut down to a half day, to give the dancers more time to practice before that evening's events.

Hermione raced straight to the common room as soon as they were dismissed from Charms. She grabbed Harry's arm and dragged him there.

"What's your rush?" He asked, chuckling lightly. She dropped his arm and sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm just so nervous. I feel like I'm going to fai--" Her lids fluttered and suddenly she had fainted, and Harry had barely caught her.

She woke moments later, and opened her eyes to see Harry and Ron fanning her with pieces of parchement. "Are you all right?" Harry asked, deeply concerned.

Hermione nodded, sitting up quickly, and then regretting her actions as her head throbbed from the frantic movement.

"Maybe we shouldn't dance." Harry said, quietly, his green eyes full of worry. She shook her head fervently. "No! We have to! I want to!" She forced herself to stand and shrugged off her nausea. "See? It was just nerves! I'm fine! Come on, we've got to get ready." She hissed.

She ran up the stairs to her dorm, calling over her shoulder. "I'll be down in a minute with my dress!"

Harry watched her storm up the steps. "She's working herself too hard. Spreading herself too thin, you know?" He observed, and Ron grunted in agreement. "What's new?" His friend said, and turned to leave.

Ginny came in the portrait hole, fresh from Herbology. Her robes had stains on them and she was in disarray.

"Looking good, Gin." Ron joked, and his sister glared. "Shut it." She hissed.

"Say, Gin, would you help Hermione upstairs? She's getting ready, but she's feeling a bit ill and I'm worried. Could you just you know.. watch out for her?" Harry asked.

Ginny sighed. "I'm sorry," She apologized. "But I have... I have to umm. I have to study. Big Potions test coming up soon and I'm pretty sure I'll flunk if I do not study. So eh.. sorry." She said, very quickly. She too raced up to the girl's dormitories.

"Girls are weird." Ron muttered, and left.

Harry frowned in thought. Ginny hadn't seemed very sincere. He wondered what she was hiding.

"Harry, you down there?" Hermione called.

"Yeah!" He answered, standing up and waiting at the bottom of the rickety steps. "Well... is anyone else there?" She hollered, and Harry frowned. "Eh.. no. Why?" He called.

He faintly saw at the top of the steps a door opening. He craned his neck to see around it. There was some shuffling, and the door shut, and Hermione started down the stairs.

Harry felt his breath catch in his throat, and a blush crept across his cheeks as he surveyed his dance partner.

Hermione had her hair down, and only charmed to stay unfrazzled. Not loads of SleakEasy like at the Yule Ball. Her dress was Gryffindor red, dark and sensuous. The dress was entirely proud of their house, especially set off by a house badge pinned to the one strap that held the dress up. It was tailored magically to fit her body perfectly, and he noticed this, especially where the fabric flowed gently but firmly around her breasts and hips, accentuating her curves.

The fabric gathered at her waist, held by a thin gold belt, small and modest. The skirt flowed out of there, down and then outward, and the crimson folds stopped abruptly at just below her knees. He was glad he could still see her pretty legs, if only half of them. The skirt's hem was decorated with thin golden scrolling patterns, an elegant touch. She wore red strappy heels.

She flounced off the last step and stood in front of him, blushing madly. "Does it look that silly?" She whispered.

Harry shook his head. "Hermione," He said. "You look stunning." He kissed her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Hermione drew away and surveyed his own clothing, with a disapproving grimace. "You need to figure something out yourself." She said.

Harry shrugged.

Putting a finger to her lips, she thought silently. He watched her, amused at her little frown of concentration.

"I've got it!" She exclaimed. Brandishing her wand, (although Harry was not quite sure as to where she had hidden it in her dress) she murmured a few incantations, and Harry felt his clothing change. He looked down at himself in surprise.

She'd given him a red silk shirt, fancy black slacks, dress shoes and a fancy belt which had the Gryffindor crest emblazed upon the buckle.

"Nicely done." He commented, impressed.

She smiled prettily.

"Now then. We must practice. Hurry up, some other couple may have already snagged the Charms room!" She instructed, bustling out the portrait hole hurriedly.

Harry followed leisurely.

Ginny was digging wildly through her things, searching for the dress Draco had given her to wear. "Where did it go?" She moaned in frustration.

"It didn't go anywhere, I've got it right here." A deep drawl answered her. She spun around, shocked and yet pleased to find Draco Malfoy lazing on her bed, holding a black dress in his hand.

She leapt onto him, kissing him swiftly. "How did you get in here?"

"I have my ways." He whispered.

She raised an eyebrow. "I apparated." He confessed. She gasped. "You can apparate?"

"I'm a man of many talents, Virginia." He said, smiling wickedly. She blushed deeply.

He handed her the dress. "Put it on." Draco instucted, huskily.

She held the dress out. It was black, with a tiny silver dragon on hem. "It's a bit too large looking." She observed. Draco laughed lightly. "Just put it on. It will fit."

She began taking off her shirt and then froze. "Look the other way." She said, and he smiled. "Why?" He whispered.

"I feel uncomfortable with you staring like that." She explained. He sighed. "You shouldn't." He said, but closed his eyes.

She remained still and then heaved a sigh. "Fine. But it's embarrassing."

"You have nothing to be embarrassed of." He observed, as she slipped out of her shirt and pants.

She was about to put the dress on, but he stopped her, throwing it on the floor. He pulled her to him, kissing her neck lightly.

"Draco..." She chided, but wrapped her arms around him anyways. "... I'm in nothing but my underwear." She protested, pulling away slightly.

"Exactly the point." He whispered, and laid her down on the bed, crawling to join her.

The curtains shut.

Later on in the afternoon, Draco opened her Gryffindor curtains and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "We should've been practising." She said, sitting up as well.

"Probably." He mused. He threw the dress at her.

She looked at it funnily. "I still don't think it will fit."

"Put it on, I promise you it will fit." He muttered an incantation on himself and was suddenly in a black shirt with a silk silver tie and dress slacks. He had formal shoes as well, and one had a silver dragon on the heel.

She waggled her eyebrows at him. "Lovely shoe." She observed, pointing at the dragon. He nodded. "Malfoy family heirloom. Like the dress."

She gasped, because she had just put it on, and it had just shrunk to fit her exactly. He grinned. "I told you." He whispered, and gathered her in his arms and kissed her.

It was a simple black dress, but the magic made it hug her waist and hips firmly. Tight enough to show off her body but comfortable none the less. She beamed. "It's amazing."

"What else would you expect from a Malfoy heirloom?" He teased. She smacked him.

"Shoes?" He suggested, pointing at her bare feet.

"Right... shoes." She began digging through her things for a suitable pair.

"No, no, not 'do you have shoes'. " He said, brandishing his wand. "Do you want shoes." He explained. "Accio shoes!" He whispered, and suddenly a pair of black heeled mary janes, one with a silver dragon on it's heel, flew into his hand. Draco held them out for her.

She slipped them on and they fit immediately, like the dress.

"Amazing." She breathed.

Ginny kissed him.

"Let's go practice, then." She said, decidedly.

"Right. Quidditch pitch as usual?" He asked, and she nodded, taking the arm he held out for her. He apparated them there.

"Welcome to the first ever Dance Competition!" Professor Sinistra, appoionted announcer and commentator, greeted the crowds. Tables had been cleared away, and a beautiful dancefloor had been placed in the center of the Grand Hall. Banners hung from the ceiling and four judges, Trelawney, Dumbledore, Sprout, and Snape, sat at a long table facing the dancefloor. Sinistra had a podium in the middle, and a magically enhanced microphone. A live band was behind them, prepared to play any song ever written.

Contestants were allowed to stand across from the judges, on the opposite side of the dancefloor, and crowds of students not participating sat in floating bleachers on the other two sides, cheering and yelling for their favorite pairs.

It was finally time.

a/n: i know, i know, cliffer. well, dont worry, ill start on the next chap right away! this chapter was already hella long, so. yeah. hang in there, and...

please.

8. Chapter Eight

a/n: archforge. i love ya. i really do. um, he pointed out very nicely that there is no apparation or disapparation on Hogwart's grounds. thank you, nicely done, i know, i screwed up. oh well. ill fix it later, its not really entirely that important to me, and yes im lazy, so uhh.. yeah. i just couldnt think of any other way fer draco-poo to get into ginnerz' room without her noticing.

so well done, you uh... pointed out a mistake. woopity fucking doo for you.

shameless plug : read Lady Godiva's fic The Lady of the Forest. its verrry well written and extremely interesting. plus shes my friend and plus she agreed to plug my fic as well. ;) sounded good to me.

Rainbowy Silver Tinsel asked if the dance scene would be detailed and descriptive and dance steppy and honestly, i wish it was, lol, but i dont...dance. eheh. so i dont think youll get like a move by move commentary. sorry!

also, in chapter 3, when i asked what the cookie jar is called in britain, i got 3 people and 2 diff answers, biscuit tin and biscuit barrel. and silver storm dragon said that they have pretty naff biscuits.

whatever naff means, lol...

other than that, just read...*sigh*

Hermione watched as a couple twirled about the dancefloor, and she put a hand to her stomach. "What if we fall?" She fretted.

Harry grinned at her, squeezing her hand. "We are not going to fall, Hermione." He assured her. "Well, you might." Seamus said, nearby. "You never know." He winked.

"Shut up, Seamus." Harry glared. "At least I have a dance partner."

"Ooh, touche. But honestly, it doesn't matter. I've got it all worked out. Talked to the judges, see, and I figured out exactly what to do." He smirked. "That trophy's in the bag."

Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes.

"Next the only solo category... Hip Hop solo dances!" Professor Sinistra announced, and the spectators cheered wildly.

A Hufflepuff shouted something vulgar and he was dragged away by McGonagall.

"Our first contestant... Mr. Seamus Finnegan."

Harry's eyebrows flew to his hairline. "Hip Hop solo?" He whispered skeptically in Hermione's ear.

Seamus sprinted forward, and then up to the band to talk to them about the music.

"Oh yes, I can see it now. I'm sure he'll be dancing to something by the Fat Boys." Draco dryly said, from his stance nearby.

Hermione and Harry sniggered.

The band struck up, and began to play 'Ice, Ice Baby' by Vanilla Ice.

Seamus started breakdancing.

"Oh dear God." Cho exclaimed, putting her head in her hands. Seated next to her, Ron laughed and pointed at Seamus.

"He's falling all over his arse!" He exclaimed.

Dean, seated behind them, tapped Ron on the shoulder and began explaining that Breakdancing was actually supposed to look like that.

Seamus finally finished, and half the crowd cheered and half just laughed.

The judges scribbled things down on their notepads.

Seamus came offstage, sweaty and red in the face. "Was that great or what?" He asked Harry, punching him in the arm. "You've got no chance."

"You sucked." Came the reply from Harry, Hermione and Draco.

Seamus stuck out his tongue.

"Since there were no other contestants in this category... we're eh... happy to announce that Mr. Finnegan has won the trophy for this category."

Seamus slid out onto the dancefloor on his knees, arms above his head in victory. The students sniggered.

"Moving on to the next category! The waltz! Our first contestants..." Sinistra droned on.

Draco watched as a Hufflepuff pair pranced around the dancefloor. So far all contestants had been from the same house. He and Ginny's performance would be shocking, to say the least. Not only the only ones from different houses, but Slytherin and Gryffindor... and a Malfoy and a Weasley.

He glanced over his shoulder, to where Ginny stood, bundled up in his cloak so no one would suspect her dancing, and more importantly, no one would suspect her dancing with him.

The first couple finished, and then Draco was surprised to see Neville and his girlfriend Heather come onto the floor and waltz. Draco felt Ginny beside him. "Is it her?" She whispered, leaning against the railing.

"No." Draco said, under his breath, and he heard Ginny sigh with relief. He looked at her fondly, but only for a moment. Then she bustled away.

The crowd went wild as Neville and Heather finished, the students obviously immensely approving of the spectacular performance.

Draco clapped his hands over his ears as the roar threatened to deafen the bystanders.

There were several more waltz contestants, and then Professor Sinistra announced the winners - Neville and Heather.

Hermione and Harry clapped loudly. They really deserved it, their performance was stunning and flawless.

"Who knew Neville could dance that well?" Hermione whispered, and Harry chuckled.

"Next is the Mambo and then afterwards the Tango!" Prof. Sinistra announced. Harry squeezed Hermione's hand reassuringly. "But right now we will have a short recess!"

He stroked her hair. "We'll do fine. I promise you I won't step on your toes."

"I'm not worried about that, Harry." She said. "I'm worried that... I'm worried that I might faint again."

"Do you feel okay right now?" He asked, eyes full of concern.

"Yes, yes, I feel fine right now. I just... I never know... what if?"

He shook his head. "No 'what if's, Hermione. We're going to do this, and we're going to do this well." He embraced her.

"And what's the worst that could happen?" He whispered in her ear.

Hermione smiled as they parted. "You never know." She said, quietly. Harry smiled and kissed her. "I won't let anything happen. If you faint, I'll keep dancing with your limp body."

She gasped. "That's horrible!"

"Sorry." He said, sheepishly. "I was just kidding."

Ron tapped Harry's shoulder. Cho was at his side.

"Just came to wish you two good luck." Ron said, beaming at his two friends. Harry waved. "Thanks."

Cho and Hermione exchanged cautious glares.

Ron sighed, exasperated. "Will you two get over it?" He said, crossing his arms. "It's not right when my two favorite girls fight."

Hermione sneered, but Cho stared at Ron. "What do you mean by that?" She asked, her eyes wide.

"Well... Herm's my friend and you're my... well.. my girlfriend and..."

"Your girlfriend?" Cho repeated. Ron nodded slowly. "Well.. yeah.."

"I never thought of it like that." Cho said, putting a hand to her lips thoughtfully. Ron grimaced.

"What did you think of it then?" He shouted. "Was I your... your fuck-buddy or something?"

Cho looked around, and saw a lot of students staring. "You're causing a scene, Ronald." She hissed, hands clenched at her sides.

Ron looked around and saw that indeed he had drawn quite a bit of attention. "Then come take a walk with me." He hissed, grabbing her by her arm and dragging her out of the Grand Hall.

Harry looked at Hermione with a worried look. She smiled, taking his hand. "Don't fret. I know I'm your girlfriend." He laughed nervously. "I know. I'm just worried for Ron."

She nodded.

"Will everyone please come back to the dance floor? I repeat, everyone back to the dancefloor!" Sinistra announced, and Harry and Hermione rushed back to their place in line.

"What if he misses the performance?" She hissed.

Harry shrugged. "We can always repeat it for him later." This seemed to comfort her, and she nodded.

"Next is the Mambo! First couple, Ernie MacMillan and Susan Bones!"

Draco, by himself, far removed from Harry & Hermione, clapped boredly. He wished he was near Ginny, who was pouring herself punch, across from him. He looked around to check no other Weasleys or Gryffindors were looking, and strolled up to the punch bowl.

"Weasel." He greeted her.

She gave him a little smile, and then sneered. "Go jack off, you bastard." She hissed.

"Might have to after we dance..." He whispered, so no one nearby could hear. Her cheeks burned red, and she bit back giggles. "You're terrible." She said. "And why are you here? Someone could see us."

"If you're thinking of your brother, he's off with Chang, bickering about something. And everyone's going to end up seeing us anyways."

"You're such a fucking prat!" She hollered, to keep up the charade. She then spoke in a softer voice. "I think I should go."

"Go to hell, you filthy little weasel!" He lowered his tone. "Please don't. "

"SOD OFF!" Ginny raised her arm and slapped the air, stopping her hand centimeters from his face, and then put it to his cheek. "You have very smooth skin." She whispered.

He reached up and pulled her hand away, holding it in his own two. "So do you."

Draco then pulled his hands away as if he had been burned. "Don't touch me!" He said, loudly, then smiled. "I'll see you after Potter and Granger's dance." He whispered, and then checked around him.

No one was paying attention.

He pecked her cheek roughly, and then bolted away.

She sighed, setting down her punch.

"What term would you PREFER?" Ron spat, as he dragged Cho roughly down a hall.

She stopped him, putting a hand to his arm. "We're lovers... that's it."

He made a confused face, his hand dropping away from her wrist. "What's the difference between that and girlfriend or boyfriend?"

She rolled her eyes. "We're sleeping together, not dating."

Ron shifted his weight from leg to leg. "I don't understand."

"You don't have to." Cho said, smiling.

"Why can't we be... dating?"

"Well..." Cho paused. "You never asked."

"Do you... want to?"

Cho looked at him strangely. "You mean, like have a relationship with you?"

"Well why not?" Ron said.

"I... I don't.. I don't know, Ron."

"We get along well, don't we?"

"Ron.."

"And it's not like we have any romantic problems.."

"Ron!"

"What?"

"I'm... afraid." She said, wringing her hands.

"Of what?" Ron turned his head.

Cho bit her lip. "Of losing you. What if... what if something happens to you? I don't think I could handle something like that."

Ron urged her to continue. "Why are you afraid of that? Why should that stop you? Does this have to do with..."

"Cedric? Yes. And I'm afraid of losing you because I don't want to lose someone I lo- er, like very much, again. It's stopping me because... because it'd just be so much easier..."

"Is that why you... why you always ... just..."

"Slept around? What else was there for me to do? I needed someone, but I didn't want to attach myself, in case ... in case something happened again."

Ron put his arms around her.

She pulled away. "So you see... we can't. I can't."

"You can't let this affect you so much, Cho!" He whined, stroking her arm. "I don't even feel that strongly for you," She said, firmly. "I thought it was just a one time thing and then... well."

"Then I actually thought we had something and annoyed you by continuing to sleep with you because I was an idiot." Ron hissed, pulling his hand back suddenly. "Is that what happened?"

"Ron, don't make this any harder."

"Any harder than telling me you don't care for me at all? Any harder than stopping sleeping with me? Any harder than breaking my heart? Sorry I've made it more difficult for you to acheive those things. I'll get out of your way now."

Ron gave her a rude gesture and stormed back to the Grand Hall.

Cho felt ill and ran the other way.

"And now, students, the TANGO!!!"

Excitement rippled through the dance contestants, the anxiety and adreneline falling heavily upon the tango couples. Hermione put a hand on the railing to steady herself and turned to look into Harry's eyes for reassurance. The orbs burned with emerald intesity, as he tightened his grip about her waist. He was equally nervous, she could see it in the white knuckles of his hand, which was decidedly clamped on her hip.

The veins in his arms were taught and the muscles contracted, as he focused on remembering the routine. She put her hand on his shoulder, and he flinched, brought back to reality.

"Something the matter?" Hermione asked, smiling lightly, her brown eyes warm and comforting.

"No, nothing at all. Just trying to remember the steps..." Harry explained, biting his lip. She reached up and put a finger to it, and he released it. "Don't bite your lip, it makes you taste all bloody when I kiss you." She said, grinning widely.

"Sorry." He said, hoarsely, leaning in and catching her lips on his own.

The first couple was announced and they watched idly as the contestants threw themselves about the dancefloor. "We don't look that ridiculous, do we?" Hermione asked, laughing.

"I hope not." Harry said, stroking the small of her back. It sent shivers down her spine and she nuzzled his neck.

"Next up, from Gryffindor, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger!" Sinistra shouted, and the crowds cheered enthusiastically.

Harry and Hermione stepped onto the dancefloor, and Hermione stared at her feet as Harry abandoned her to tell the band what to play. The hard wood shined up at her and the scuffs made by other contestant's shoes made her feel sick. Emotions and nerves bundled together tightly into a steel ball that dwelt at the bottom of her stomach, sending out queasy waves of worry.

Suddenly Harry's hand was holding hers, and the band was playing the intro. Then the world disappeared and the weight inside her disappeared, and they danced.

They danced better than they ever had before, with passion and flare and burning love.

The audience was dumbfounded after the music stopped, and then erupted into thundering applause.

Hermione clung to Harry's chest as they drifted off the floor, and past the congragulating and complimentary crowds, headed for a spot in the bleachers.

"It's over!" She exclaimed, gleefully.

He took her hand in his. "Thank God." He breathed, as the speed of his beating heart slowed to that of a mere locomotive. He kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger there, inhaling the sweet scent of her shampoo. It was some sort of fruit... Harry couldn't put his finger on what fruit, but he didn't exactly care that much, it was a heavenly flavour all the same.

"Next couple dancing is from... oh my! Two different houses!"

Ron plopped down next to Harry and Hermione. "I saw the end of your dance. That was nice." He said, dully.

"Gryffindor and Slytherin.."

Harry and Hermione turned and smiled at their friend. "Thanks." They answered, simultaneously.

"Here is Draco Malfoy.. and Ginny Weasley??"

The trio turned to the dancefloor, their jaws dropping. "They're competing in the Tango?" Hermione gasped. "They're dancing together???" Harry asked, making a face. "They're dancing together?" Ron yelped.

Harry turned to Ron and Ron turned to Hermione. "You knew?!"

Draco and Ginny came out onto the floor from opposite sides. They met in the middle and Draco nodded to the band.

The music struck up, and the trio in the bleachers had no choice but to watch as their friend and sister danced with their rival.

As the shocking couple whirled about the dance floor, mixed reactions came from the crowd. Some were too shocked to say or do anything and just watched with their mouths wide open. Some were angered by this turn of events and clenched fists in their laps and muttered profanities. Some murmered, some gossiped, and some made smug faces and claimed they knew it all along.

But halfway along through the routine, everyone was thinking the exact same thing. They were really good.

Ron made a face. "This has to stop." He growled, and suddenly remembered something. "I never taught him that lesson..." He whispered, his eyes lighting up.

Harry and Hermione shushed him with a wave of their hands as they watched in awe. "They're better than us!" Hermione fretted.

Ron looked at his friends angrily. Not for long, he thought, and rose from his seat, striding down the steps easily and leaning against the railing, shooting glares at the couple as they danced by.

Ginny felt her stomach lurch as they passed Ron, and she knew he was about to do something. "Draco.." She whispered.

"What?"

"I think Ron -"

She was cut off as a flying Weasley tackled her dance partner with a war call.

"Interference on the dancefloor! Mr. Weasley! Someone restrain him!"

Ron threw wild punches at Draco and ignored Ginny's shrieks of terror. There, that was his nose, his eye, he wanted his victim to feel as much pain as possible.

"This is for my sister!" He hissed, grabbing Draco's collar and shaking him. Ron socked him in the stomach.

"This is for calling Cho a slut!" He spat, punching Draco in the nose.

"And this is for treating my family like shit!" He whispered, glaring fiercely.

He reached back and prepeared to hit him hard in the eye. He released the swing and his fist was met with Draco's hand as he blocked the punch.

He shoved Ron off of him, and drew himself to standing position, so that they were eye to eye.

Ginny suddenly threw herself at him, sobbing into his arm.

And then hell broke loose. Ginny pulled away from Draco and started screaming at Ron. "You fucking bastard!!! CAN'T YOU ALLOW ME TO DO ANYTHING WITHOUT QUESTIONING MY JUDGEMENT!? YOU ASSHOLE!!"

Her brown eyes were red from crying, and they seemed to glow with vehement anger. Her aubern hair whipped around as she screamed and screamed at Ron. It reminded the crowd of when Ron received a howler from Mrs. Weasley in second year.

Only it was worse.

"We could have WON!!" Ginny screeched, finally stopping and then turning and storming off the dancefloor. Draco rushed after her, but not until after shooting a glare at Ron, who looked at the floor queasily.

The crowd remained silent, their eyes on Ron, who was left offcenter on the dancefloor. Professor Sinistra cleared her throat.

"Could those who are not participating in the competition please remain off the floor?" She said, with a pointed look at Ron.

He cursed under his breath and ran off in the direction of the courtyard.

""Well. We must move on. Winners of the Tango are... ah, Miss Hermione Granger and Mr Harry Potter. Close second were Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley. Will the winners please collect their trophy?"

Hermione and Harry came up and took the prize, feeling rather awkward.

"The judge's final decisions will be tallyed, and in a moment we will have the winners. Short recess."

The students suddenly came alive with a buzz, and swarmed around, gossiping and reveling in the recent turn of events. Harry and Hermione ducked out of the masses and looked around for Draco, Ginny or Ron.

Hermione looked at Harry. "I don't know who to start with. They all seemed so upset." She confessed.

He nodded.

"I know." He said, scratching his neck. "I hope they all get back on time for the final scores."

"Harry." Hermione said, looking at the trophy in her arms. "I don't think we deserve this."

"Of course we do!" Harry exclaimed. "We did a good job!"

She huffed. "But they did a better job. They would've won if it wasn't for Ron."

"That's not true. You don't know, they might've messed up later on."

"I guess."

They looked at each other.

"I wonder if we won the overall prize..." Harry mused, looking at the judges.

Trelawney had her fingers pressed to her forehead and her eyes squeezed shut and was muttering under her breath. Snape sneered at her while he did some calculations with Sprout and Dumbledore. They seemed to be having a heated conversation.

"Come on, we've got to find Draco and Ginny before they make the decision." Hermione said, grabbing Harry's hand and tugging him out of the Grand Hall in the direction she'd seen the distraught dancers go.

Ginny picked up a heavy rock and threw it violently at a back wall of Hogwart's. She was whispering every curse she knew, her jaw set hard and her brow furrowed.

"Virginia." His smooth voice wafted down from the stairs next to her. She refused to look at him, and instead twirled around the other way, crossing her arms and staring out over the grounds.

"We should have won." She hissed, and her tone was barely audible over the howling wind.

Draco leapt off the stair's side and came up behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "I know. But did you really want to beat them all that much?"

She let out a sigh and turned her head to look at him. "No." She confessed. "But what Ron did was wrong, and mean, and spiteful."

"I'm sure he thinks what we've done... or what he thinks we've been doing was wrong as well." He pointed out, his agile fingers dancing down her arms and taking her hands in his.

"I know. But... we could've won."

"I'm sure we got second." Draco assured her.

"Second isn't first, though!" She snarled, grabbing her hands away and spinning around to face him, and he saw she had been crying.

"Well, obviously. But no one could have guessed he was going to do that."

"Yes, they could have! We could have! We should have! I know my brother, and I knew he was going to be right pissed, well beyond belief!" She exclaimed, waving her hand.

"It didn't stop us, though?" He said, more of a statement than a question.

"No, but it should have! Or we should have done... something."

"Why should it have stopped us? We just wanted to dance." He pointed out, cocking his head sideways so he look her in the eye. She was frowning deeply and her hair fell across her eyes, shielding them from his view.

"Virginia." He said, in a slightly chiding tone. "We did our best, and it was better than we could have imagined."

She nodded dully.

"Besides, all you asked for was a partner for the competition, not to win." He said, raising his eyebrows.

Ginny's head snapped up and she glared at him. "But I wanted to win." She complained.

"Everyone did, I'm sure."

Her grimace faded away and she looked at him desperately. "But I wanted it most of all."

She collapsed into his arms.

"Ginny," He said, softly. "I'm sorry. I wanted to win as well."

She pulled back. "And whatever happened to your plan?"

He chuckled. "I told you, emotions are tricky things. Sometimes they need a push from others. But sometimes they work out on their own."

She nodded, holding hands with him.

"Ginny! Malfoy!" Hermione's voice greeted them as she and Harry raced outside.

"We didn't want you to miss the final announced winners." Hermione said, smiling. Ginny eyed the shiny trophy in her arms and looked the other way. "We'll be along in a minute, don't worry about us." Ginny assured her.

Draco gave her a pointed look and then turned to the other couple. "You did very well." He said, and Harry and Hermione smiled embarrassedly. "Thank you." Whispered Harry. Hermione nudged him hard in the ribs. "You... you did too." Harry said, rushedly.

Draco gave a little smile and then went back to comforting Ginny.

Hermione watched the two awkwardly. She looked up at Harry, who shrugged.

"Ginny." Hermione piped up, and the youngest Weasley looked up at her, and she saw she had been crying.

"Oh, Ginny. You did an absolutely fantastic job." Hermione cried out, and hurried down the steps and thrust the trophy at her.

"You deserve this. If Ron hadn't gone and made a fool out of himself you two would have been the obvious winners."

Ginny pushed the trophy away, despite a gleam of excitement in her eyes. "I can't accept this. You won fairly, as the decision of the judges."

Draco looked at her funnily, and then pushed her aside gently. "Maybe Virginia can't accept it, but I can." He firmly grasped the trophy and pulled it from Hermione. "Thank you." He said, crisply, and flung it at Ginny, who burst into tears but took it anyway.

She held it with one hand while she hugged Hermione. "You're too nice to me!" She sobbed, and Hermione smiled and stepped away, her lip trembling. "You deserve to be treated nicely." She whispered.

Hermione then turned and dashed back up the stairs and into Harry's arms. "Please hurry back, we don't want you to miss the ending scores." Harry said, and then squeezed Hermione and they left.

As they stumbled back to the Grand Hall, Harry nuzzled Hermione's neck and laughed gently.

"You're too kind for your own good." He said to her, and she sniffled. "I'm sorry it's such an inconvenience." She whispered, and he laughed and kissed her roughly as they marched back in and waited with others for the final scores.

In the courtyard, Ron was kicking the humpback witch's statue and cursing.

"Ron." Someone said, and he didn't turn. The voice was sweet and soft and he didn't want to face anyone who sounded that kind.

"Just leave me alone." He shouted over his shoulder. "I've gone and made a big arse of myself, I don't need more people poking and shouting at me."

"I'd never do something like that to you. I care about you too much." The voice said, wavering slightly. "Won't you please turn around?" The mystery girl pleaded. "And see who it is that actually cares?"

Ron stared at the statue defiantly, and remained silent. "I don't need anybody who fucking cares right now." He said loudly. "I need somebody who loves." He said, under his breath.

"Was that why you ran to Cho Chang and flung yourself at her and set yourself up for heartbreak?" She said, and Ron clenched his fists. "No." He said.

"Then was that why tried to make yourself love her? And make her love you back?"

"No!" He shouted, red in the face.

"Oh, Ron, don't make it hurt even more than it does!"

He swung around, face purple with rage.

He then paled.

"Padma?" Ron asked, and blinked confusedly.

The petite Ravenclaw nodded and smiled shyly. "I've watched you with her, Ron. You aren't really happy with her, are you?"

"You've been stalking me?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No!" She protested, laughing lightly. "Why would I do a thing like that?"

"Because you're madly in love with me?" Ron tried, looking rather hopeful.

She smiled, with a hint of maniac in the grin.

"Besides... I mean, I treated you terribly at the Yule Ball. I'm really sorry about that, by the way." He said.

"Don't worry. Your presence was enough."

Ron shrank back, looking scared out of his wits.

She laughed loudly. "I was just kidding, Ron!"

"I knew that." He said, looking as though he hadn't know it at all. She smiled and held out her hand. "Why don't we go back to the Grand Hall, listen to the final scores of the competition?"

He made a face. "But Ginny is there. With Malfoy." He spat out the Slytherin's name disdainfully.

"Then you will apologize to them. And then we'll hear the final scores. Please, Ronald?" Padma asked, her dark eyes wide with hope.

"All right." He consented, and took her hand as they trudged back inside and headed for the Grand Hall.

Ginny and Draco greeted Harry and Hermione just in time to hear Professor Sinistra speak up.

"There's been an interesting turn of events. We are trying our best to sort things out so that all will be fair. We're sorry to keep you waiting so long, it will only be another moment or two." She explained, and turned back to the judges. Snape and Sprout were arguing vehemently, waving pieces of paper, Trelawney was looking into a crystal ball, and Dumbledore just looked amused.

"Thank you, again." Ginny whispered to Hermione gratefully.

Her friend smiled warmly and squeezed her arm. "No problem."

"Ginny, can I have a word?"

Ginny spun around and was unpleasantly surprised to see Ron standing there, with a blushing Padma near him. Oh, the tangled webs we weave... Ginny thought back to one of her close friend's favorite phrases.

Snapping back to the present, she narrowed her eyes. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to... to apologize." He explained.

She tried not to look surprised.

"I should hope so." She tried, lamely.

"I shouldn't have done what I did. It was stupid of me, I was angry." Ron continued.

"Well, I understand that it was kind of shocking." Ginny confessed.

"Not really, I'd known since that night you were with Malfoy in the library courtyard." He admitted.

Her eyes went wide. "You knew? You saw? Why didn't you... why didn't you do something then? Did you purposely wait until the dance contest?"

"No! Of course not!" Ron protested. "I'd never do something like that to you on purpose. I was just... a little... preoccupied with..." He glanced at Padma and then looked back at Ginny hurriedly. "...you know."

"Cho?" Padma supplied.

"Yeah, Cho."

Ginny nodded. "So why did you do it during our dance?"

"I kind of... remembered. And besides, something else had just happened that... kind of.. put me into kind of a mood. If you get what I'm saying."

She nodded slowly. "I suppose."

"Anyways, Gin. I'm sorry. I really am. And I... I want you to be... happy and all that. It was just... I didn't think you'd..."

"Be happy with Malfoy?" Ginny suggested.

"Yeah, Malfoy." Ron said.

His sister smiled and threw her arms around him. "Oh, Ron, how could I not forgive you? You're my brother, I love you. And besides, you should see your face right now, you look devastated."

Ron smiled and pulled away from the embrace.

"I'll try and cheer him up for you, Ginny." Padma said, smiling coyly and leading him away.

Ginny rolled her eyes, laughing and turned back to Draco, who handed her the trophy.

"Thank you for dancing with me, Draco." She whispered, and he smiled. "Of course, Virginia. It was my pleasure."

Harry and Hermione smiled at the couple from their spot nearby, leaning against the railings again.

"I hope the judges hurry." Confessed Hermione. "All this extra wait is killing me."

"We're sorry for all the extra wait!" Professor Sinistra's microphone came alive, and Harry shot Hermione a grin.

"The judges have finally come up with their decision!" He took her hand in his.

Dumbledore handed Sinistra a sealed envelope, and the students cheered and urged her to open it. She scanned the contents in surprise. "Is that allowed??" She asked the judges. They nodded and she shrugged.

"All right, students! The moment we've been waiting for is finally here! First, in third place, Ernie MacMillan and Susan Bones of Hufflepuff!"

The crowds stood and cheered as the couple hurried up to receive their trophy, a massive bronze giant with a mambo-dancing couple on top.

They watched the statuettes twirl in delight.

"In second place, Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley of Slytherin and Gryffindor!"

The crowds erupted again, and Ginny handed Hermione the tango trophy as they stepped up to receive the silver, gargantuan award that took the both of them to hold, with a tango dancing couple engraved in the center.

"Finally... in first place..."

Hermione set down the tango trophy and put both her hands in Harry's and pressed her face into his chest.

"An unusual turn of events..."

She gripped his hands tightly.

"A tie! Between Neville Longbottom & Heather Crumble and Harry Potter & Hermione Granger of Gryffindor!!"

Hermione breathed a huge sigh of relief and Harry led her up to the stage to receive the amazingly big gold thing with 'FIRST PLACE' engraved in huge fancy letters and a tango couple on it. Neville and Heather's had a waltzing couple, appropiately.

The students applauded greatly, thunderous clapping and cheering filled the hall for the three winners. The crowds stayed late, celebrating and feasting well into the night, but the dancers headed straight for bed or their common rooms, exhausted from their performances and from the amazing crowds and adreneline rushes.

Late that night, Hermione curled up on an overstuffed crimson sofa in the common room with Harry.

"I can't believe it's over." She breathed.

"I can't believe we won." Harry said, smiling down at her. She nuzzled his cheek affectionately.

"Imagine that." She whispered.

"Imagine what?" He asked. "The year isn't even over and all my dreams have come true... there's nothing left to be imagined."

She smiled into his chest. "You're right." She admitted. "It's practically perfect."

"Practically... perfect." Harry said, looking out the window at the stars and then down at the young woman he held in his embrace. "Perfect." He whispered, finally, and they dozed off in front of the cheery fire.

The stars shone merrily, and the luminescent moon hung in it's corner, silent but keeping watch over the students. It was indeed a practically perfect night.

But night shadows bring to life other beings and plots and plans of evil, which is what makes such perfect nights only practically perfect. For lurking in the forests, or in other dark corners of the earth, there may be an evil plan in the workings. Dark creatures may be stirring, and wicked people may be awakening.

But the night is still practically perfect, for the creatures and evil ones dare not disturb the quiet moonlight. And even if they do, there are always those who stand to defeat them again, those who stand for the perfection that is love.

People like Harry Potter and his companions.

So although the year was not over, a chapter had finished in their lives, and indeed it was, practically perfect.

...

a/n: thank you to my reviewers, yes, even you, archforge. i lurv you all. ta, and pleease