The Partner
Hermione sat on her bed overthinking the night that hadn't happened yet, while the other girls were rushing inside the room, getting ready. She saw Ginny leaning to the door frame; she had a long tulle gown. The collar and the outer skirt were neon green while the chest and the interior skirt were pink. There were huge star buttons on her chest, and she was wearing a neon choker. Despite the gown being a little too flamboyant and out of style for Hermione, she managed to seem somewhat like a sugar fairy.
"You're not chickening out, are you?" The red-haired witch crossed her arms. What if she was?
"I feel nervous. A lot." Hermione confessed, blowing her cheeks out. She didn't feel ready to face the crowd or even her friends, for that matter.
Ginny smiled. "You already look so pretty with that makeup. You just need to get dressed and do the hair, that's it." As a solace, she placed her hand on Hermione's knee. "Believe me, if I can do this, so can you. I may be the only third-year amongst you and I haven't even learned the moves well," she said and then grinned proudly, "if you don't count the midnight practices in the common room."
Hermione's eyes widened. "Ginevra Weasley! He's already too good, you will shine, both of you,"
"What do you mean he's too good?"
Didn't she know?
"Harry and Ron told me he's been practising in the room when no one's nearby," after putting her hand on the side of her lips, she whispered, "with some shiny shoes."
"What? I've never seen them or him, to be honest. I think he's just as nervous as I am," she half smiled.
Both girls fell silent for a while. "You look beautiful," spoke Hermione finally.
Ginny's face became pink, much like Ron's, almost instantly. Apart from the fact that they were all ginger, she enjoyed seeing how similar traits they portrayed. "Thanks, Hermione, uhm, shall we start doing your hair then?" She immediately changed the subject.
Hermione nodded. "Okay, let me wear the dress first."
She rose to her feet and charmed her bed curtains into a small dressing room. She removed her school robes and changed into a blue chiffon floor-length gown with a tiered skirt that deepened in colour with each layer. She put on her shoes and stepped out of her cubicle.
Ginny's mouth fell open. "You look stunning!" Hermione let out a chuckle, she was trying her best to cheer her up after all.
"I'm serious," Ginny answered as if she just read her mind, "that dress looks so floaty and pretty. I guess you'll be having Krum's heart for good," she said in hushed tones and raised her eyebrows in an implicating manner.
She had dragged Ginny out of the tower, away from people, knowing damn well that she wouldn't remain quiet after learning what had happened. Ginny was the only person she had told about Viktor, and Hermione was glad to have someone to confide in without having to explain that she wasn't joking. "I don't expect much, I just want this evening to be unforgettable," she played with her dress.
Ginny's face lit up. "Oh, it will be! Believe me, everyone will be talking about you,"
Hermione's eyes twinkled with delight, but she maintained a neutral demeanour. "I'm not sure if I'd like that, but, thanks for the compliment,"
Ginny smiled quickly and got on her feet. "Okay, let's get to the hair, then. It'll be a challenge,"
"Oh, I've solved that already," she went to the drawer next to her bed and pulled out a vial. "Sleekeazy's Hair Potion."
Ginny took the potion and looked at it for some time. "Will this be— enough?"
"Yes, it will," Hermione took back the potion and sat in front of the mirror. "Don't wait up for me, I'll be down in a second," Ginny remained sceptical as she observed Hermione's hair. "Everyone's left, Neville must be waiting for you,"
The realisation hit her. "You're right, I forgot about him. Good luck Hermione," she evened her hair out and left the room.
Hermione poured the potion on her hair which quickly smoothed out and became less frizzy than its normal state. After some time working on her hair with the help of a little magic, Hermione was finally ready to go downstairs. She stood on the door frame, poking her head out to see if there was anyone left in the Common Room, just as she expected everyone had left.
She noticed the faint sounds coming from afar as she walked out of the Gryffindor Tower. Everyone had to be in the Great Hall by now. She hurried to the stairwell that led to the noise and paused for a moment, a bit hesitant, before taking a step and standing at the top of the stairs. She could see Harry, who was looking at Cho Chang with Parvati at his side. More people began muttering as she descended each step. Harry shifted his focus to Parvati's direction and followed her gaze, catching sight of Hermione. He looked confused at first, then amazed, but after seeing her date, he was shocked. She tried not to laugh as she watched her friend.
Viktor stood next to Hermione, holding out his arm when she finally came down. She put her hand on top of his and walked with him towards the entrance of the Hall, trying to calm her nerves in the meantime. So many people were looking at her and she couldn't help but hold his arm a bit tighter and he gave her a warm, reassuring smile.
As they went by Harry, she flashed an excited smile at him and stood at the entrance with Viktor. When a joyous piece of music started playing, the champions and their partners entered in line, while the rest of the audience stood on each side of the hall, watching them in awe. Fleur and her partner were in front of them. Cedric and Cho were behind them and Harry and Parvati were at the end of the line. She looked around, excited, as everyone else applauded them on their arrival. Some of the girls had blank faces while the rest looked impressed; it was almost the same with the boys as well, but a number of them were smiling at her. Even the ones that have never spoken with her were now smiling and seizing her up and down with contentment. With his platinum blond hair peeking out from the crowd and that familiar scowl on his face, Malfoy managed to catch her eye for a split second, but she quickly diverted her eyes away from him. She was too engaged at the moment to think over his snarky comments running through his head.
It was customary for champions to dance first, so, the four couples stood in the centre to begin the dance. She smiled at Viktor, who put his hand on her waist as a gentle waltz started to play. She put hers on his shoulder while he took her other hand. They began to swirl in circles, and he never stopped staring at her, making Hermione blush. But, unlike the previous time they met, she wasn't going to be speechless like a fangirl, or, scream at him in that case.
She pressed her lips, looking down for a short second and then meeting his dark brown eyes. "You look very charming tonight," she didn't rush her words, letting them sink in.
He sighed as he closed his eyes. "Thank you," he said and looked deeply into her eyes. "I must say, I cannot take my eyes off of you, Hermy-oh-nee."
She chuckled as they continued to dance. Hermione couldn't help but notice how accurately he pronounced her name this time, it was something small yet so important to her. With the music rising, the guys lifted the girls in the air. Viktor held Hermione up in the air with ease and turned around a few times. She felt so safe in someone's arms whom she literally met almost a week ago that it felt unreal. She hardly kept her balance as he lowered her back to the ground. This dance routine appeared to be a signal for everyone else to join; suddenly there were couples everywhere. The rush of joy she was feeling was all so unfamiliar to her.
Hermione saw Harry and Ron sitting at a table and waved at them, they waved back at her, but neither of them seemed happy to be there. She didn't notice Harry's absence, he had to have left when everyone else joined. She noticed a decrease in the number of people as the new song began. "Why are they leaving?" she looked around.
"This one is not good, not for everyone; some people are jealous," Hermione stared at him, confused.
"This is the dance vhere you switch partners. Ve can skip it if you're not okay with dat?" He seemed to be the one that's not okay with the idea, but when would she ever get to do something like this again? As long as it was someone she could dance with, it was all okay.
She looked around— nearly ten couples were still dancing; the rest were either eating, watching the dancers, walking out, or snogging in the corner. It was far too early to call it a night, she had this one chance and wasn't going to waste it. She turned back to look at Viktor, "It sounds like fun, what do we do?"
He nodded and smiled a little. "Vell, we first bow to each other and start dancing. Vhen the melody changes, so vill the partners."
"It shouldn't be difficult." Hermione noticed the song starting to slow down and looked to her left. Ginny was standing there as oblivious as she was. She turned back to Viktor and slowly bowed to him right after he did and they started to dance just as before. "First couples have less time because ve start the dance" Viktor leaned into her ear, "but I vill be waiting for you." his voice gave her goosebumps.
She nodded as he took a step back and she was glad he did because he was making her nervous when he got close like that. The music was getting a bit faster and she knew it was time. "Not too long, I hope," she sighed and he took her hand twirling her outwards. When she stopped, she saw a familiar face in front of her.
"Neville."
That was a relief. She bowed her head before he did and that seemed to make him smile.
"Hi, Hermione," he sounded nervous. She was too, they were friends for five years now, but they had never danced, it felt strange.
"You have nice shoes," she pointed out knowing very well that he wanted his new shiny shoes to be recognized.
He looked at them and smiled. "Thank you, I love them," he looked at her dress quickly, "you look very lovely, uhm, shall we?" He extended his hand.
Hermione took his hand and let him guide her; he seemed to have known all the choreographies. She wanted to see who Viktor or Ginny was dancing with, but she instantly decided not to look; thinking it would be rude to her partner.
She put her right foot forward and Neville slid back his left foot. After bringing her other foot next to her right, she went right instead of left but Neville quickly guided her. "I'm sorry, I don't really know this one, to be honest," she was having trouble maintaining eye contact with him.
As his right foot stepped forward, Neville tightened his grasp on her hand. "It's alright; I got you," she followed his movement and nodded at him feeling relieved once again. "It's up to men to lead the dance anyway," he said reassuringly.
"And you should be the only person in this room who knows all the moves," she chuckled.
When it came to praises, Neville was modest and a little shy if he was the one getting them. He smiled as he led her to the middle and took a look around. She knew how excited he was for tonight and didn't want to ruin his night by stumbling over, so she kept a close eye on everything he did and tried to adapt quickly.
He twirled her around, Hermione looked at her dress floating and turned back to him, what a feeling that was!
"How did you learn to dance like that?"
His face lit up with excitement. "It was because of my grandma, actually. She insists that I learn to dance; because of the elite balls, I think," he noticed Hermione's unawareness. "Some wizards and witches come together at balls for various reasons and socialise," he explained.
"You mean the purebloods?" asked Hermione directly.
"Well...not always, but yes. My grandma wants me to attend to them one day,"
"Do you," she raised her eyebrows, "want to attend such events?"
"I'm not sure. The ball itself is pretty much amazing but, I can't stand their arrogance," he looked at some Slytherins who were sitting at a table and most definitely drinking alcohol.
She let out a little scoff. "I can't either, but you don't have to. Just tell them what you really want to say."
"You're right," he glanced at his side and turned to her. "Are you enjoying the dance so far?"
"Very much!"
He scrunched up his face."Well..." he said as he lifted her hand above her head, spinning her a few times before stopping when her back gently hit his chest. He relaxed his other hand around her waist, twirled her away from him, and let go of her hand. As she watched her gown billow out, Hermione twirled around, losing awareness of her surroundings. It wasn't until then that she felt her back collide with someone. She quickly turned to apologize, only to be greeted by the worst partner she could have ever wished for.
"Malfoy?"