Hermione's hand skimmed the hard,cold marble on the Malfoy stairs. She took short deep breaths trying to calm her racing heart. Why did the dress have to be so bloody tight? She took careful steps down the stairs. On top of the dress being tight it had a slit up to her thigh which left little room to conceal her garter. Moody had made sure she was armed with a different ways to escape, if the plan should go ary. She passed by a mirror on her descent to the ballroom.
Her normally curly hair was pin straight, and a darker shade of brown. Her skin was much paler and her nose was slimmer and more pointy. The polyjuice potion would wear off in a few hours, she had to keep her wits about her.
Hermione joined the line of guests being greeted and ushered into the Malfoy ballroom. She fought an eye roll as she watched her two hosts for the evening, kissing cheeks and laughing. How could they all be so pompous? Did they not understand a war was raging, people were dying but Merlin forbid the annual Malfoy Valentines ball be interrupted.
Narcissa Malfoy was ever the pureblood host, asking after Tracy’s parents and commenting on her dress.
“ My dear, I’m sorry you had to come alone. Vincent so wanted to escort you tonight, but the dark lord saw fit for him to be elsewhere.” Narcissa gushed to the fake Tracy Davis.
Hermione plastered a small smile on her face. “ Oh that is quite alright, it is an honor I’m sure to be of service to the dark lord.” She spoke, keeping her tone light. Narcissa reached around Lucius and gestured to her son. “ Draco, please escort Ms. Davis to her seat. I’m sure Vincent would want you looking after her tonight in his absence.” Draco nodded to his mother and held out his arm. Hermione took it, inwardly thanking the Gods for her good fortune.
The two walked into the crowded ballroom. The orchestra filled her ears, and if she wasn’t deep in enemy territory she would have appreciated how lovely it all was. The ballroom had a million candles floating above them, the walls were lined with walls of roses in all different colors. Maybe she could understand why the Valentines ball was so important. Morale alone, had to have raises simply by the atmosphere alone. The order would never allow such a show of eccentric glee in this time of war.
The attendees laughed, drank, and danced as if safety was the furthest thing from their minds. Hermione guessed that was probably the case. Everyone here thought without a doubt their dark lord would win the war, and this would be an average night for them soon.
Draco stopped in front of a large table and pulled out her chair. She tried as elegantly as possible to sit, cursing to herself for not practicing this maneuver.
“ elf wine, or champagne?” Draco asked from above her as he pushed in chair. “ Elf wine please,” She answered with a small smile. He nodded and was gone.
Hermione realized she was seated around Slytherins from her year. Pansy Parkinson, Theo Nott, Blaise Zambini and Daphne Greengrass. Daphne was the first to speak to her. “ Trac, how are you? We all heard about the raid on your manor.” Hermione quickly pulled the script she and Moody wrote for her to the forefront of her mind. “ Well, luckily those dumb order members didn’t find anything they needed, and just ransacked the place. It took the elf’s a few hours to square everything away again but no real harm was done.”
Draco was back and handed her a glass of red wine. Hermione took it, but didn’t take a sip. She needed to keep alert and truthfully she was a lightweight. Draco took the seat next to her and struck up a conversation with Theo. Hermione kept up the conversion with Pansy and Daphne, all the while trying to listen to what Draco and Theo were talking about.
She noticed one of the house elves that deposited another round of wine, had a yellow rose on his lapell. That was the signal the order was here. Draco passed her a glass, and quirked an eyebrow at her.
“ What’s the matter Davis, our wine is not as good as yours?” Shit! He had noticed she hadn’t drank anything. Hermione quickly downed the glass in front of her and took a sip from the glass Draco held out to her. “ No, not at all. Just trying to get a buzz faster actually.”
Pansy slide her glass over to her. “ Here you can have mine too, I won’t be afraid to say it, Zambine’s wine is much better than this Malfoy.” Draco chuckled and waited for the fake Tracy to down the other two glasses. Hermione could feel her cheeks heating and her feet tingling. Damn it! Why did elf wine always make her feet tingle?
“ I do know, wine is wine when you're trying to get drunk.” she said to the table hoping they would stop fixating on her drinks. Theo laughed and clinked glasses with Draco and they both downed their wine. “ To true Trace. Speaking of traces..”
Hermione had to keep the smile off her face, this was the conversation she was waiting for! “ How are the traces on the Trio’s wands going?” Draco shook his head and rolled his eyes. “ Someone had to tip them off because the ministry hadn't seen anything since they were spotted in Godric's Hollow. That’s where Crabb is tonight, the dark lord wants a trace on the senior order members. If we find them, we can draw Potter out.”
Hermione knew this information was exactly what she came for, but why was it so hard not to giggle at them foolishly sharing it like idle gossip. Oh right, the wine.
“ Father said they are hoping to catch Professor Lupin first. Grayback told him he knows he will be vulnerable on a full moon. Do you think the rumors are true? That he is a wolf too?” Daphne whispered. Hermione shivered at the thought of Grayback looking for Lupin.
Unfortunately their intuition is right,Lupin is a werewolf, and Harry would definitely sacrifice himself to save him. Tonk’s announcement last week solidified that. Draco nodded” I think Lupin is our best bet. Mother said the family tapestry added a vine, which means Nymphadora is pregnant. If we get Lupin, we get his wife and unborn child. Potter is bound to go rogue and save them.”
“ Where would they be kept?” Hermione asked a little too forcefully. The table all turned to her, the girls looking at her like she had sprouted a second head. Pansy started to laugh. “ You still haven’t gotten over your crush on him?”
The rest of the table laughed, except Daphne. Daphne just patted her hand “ Tracy, it's ok. You weren’t the only one who has had a crush on a teacher." She shot Pansy a knowing look." Hmm Pansy.”
Pansy stopped laughing and threw her nose in the air. “ At least Lockheart was good looking. Lupin was just.. No” Theo smacked the table, all the glasses shaking. “ I forgot about your crush on Lockheart!”
The conversation had shifted. She knew she had gotten more information than she came for but damn it if she didn’t want to try for more. Just as she was about to ask what Crabb was out doing tonight, Draco stood. He held out his hand to her. “ Come on Davis, my mother wants me to dance with you.”
Hermione sat there unmoving, the confusion she had clear on her borrowed face. Draco huffed and shook his hand slightly. “ She can see us, so please can we just get this over with.” Hermione nodded and let him hoast her to her feet. The room slowly spun as he led her around the tables to the dance floor. The three glasses of elf wine invaded her system.
He turned to face her, holding his right hand out for her,and placing his left on the small of her back. The low cut back of her dress let his thump ghost gently on bare skin. She was instantly encapsulated in his scent. Sweet, yet masculine.
The music started and he squeezed her hand lightly. Her body followed his steps, and he expertly maneuvered them through other dancing couples. She let her mind wonder for just a moment. She would thank her mother if, no when she saw her again for making her take ballroom dancing.
She looked like any other witch dancing. If Malfoy only knew a mudblood was keeping up with him, blending in with his pureblood society. A feeling of pride bloomed in her chest. You could tell no difference in her than another other witch here.
All these women who would surely think she was less than, was now an equal. If this was any blank faced pureblood wizard she might wish for a life like this one day. A competent dance partner, a fancy dress, a night of frivolous fun just because.
" I see you have improved since stepping on Victor Krum's feet at the Yule ball." A soft drawl slamming her from her thoughts. Her mind reeling trying to put all the thoughts running threw her head in a jumbled mess,into some semblance of order.
This was no blank faced pureblood dancing with her. This was Draco Malfoy, he was deadly, and he just signed her death warrant. She faltered in her step giving him a chance to turn her, her back now slammed into his chest. " I must say I do prefer being able to see around that mess of curls you usually sport." He whispered in her ear.
"I never wear my hair curly." She stammered out, trying and failing to seem puzzled by his statement. He spun her around to face him again. A smirk playing on his lips. He looked like a living version of the big bad wolf, she used to be afraid of as a child. If her mind wasn't racing a thousand different directions she would find humor in the fact she was indeed wearing a red dress.`
`Lets not play games Granger, I knew it was the moment I saw you. How about we give the fates a rest for the moment and call a truce." She kept her face neutral, giving nothing away to him. He unfortunately had the upper hand and he knew it.
" Fine a truce, how did you know it was me?" He moved them more towards the middle of the dance floor. Effectively boxing her in, making no room for a quick exit.
" Several things really. One you worried your bottom lip when you stood in the receiving line. Tracy doesn't do that,in fact your the only witch I know with that habit. Two Tracy drinks like a fish at these functions. And three dresses like this would wear Tracy not the other way around. Your secret is safe with me Granger, no need to alert the calvary.”
She chanced a glance at the other dancers. No one was paying them any attention. She turned her eyes back to him, his cold gray eyes watching her. “ Why keep my secret Malfoy? She asked. The wand in her garter started to buzz. She had one minute before the polyjuice potion wore off, and the order would start their raid.
He didn’t look at her, he kept his eyes trained to the table they just left. “ Say I wanted to strike a deal, keeping the Golden girl alive in enemy territory seems to be a good start wouldn’t you agree?” He made a slight nodding motion and the two other couples at their table made their way next to them on the dance floor.
The charmed orchestra changed songs, and Hermonie knew this was her chance to disappear. She went to remove her hand from his, however this time he interlocked their fingers. “ Not so fast, if I had to guess I would say we have about twenty seconds before the order fighters” He motioned his head towards the window.” the ones behind my mothers hedges, blast in. Let’s enjoy one last dance.”
Her mouth flew open, he had known all along. “ How did you?” Her question dying on her lips as his left hand moved from the small of her back over to her hip. He started to guide her again, this time putting pressure on her hip. Her body again was at his mercy as her feet followed in time with the music.
She could feel her hair starting to change from the straight dark brown of Tracy Davis’s to her signature chestnut curls. She heard crashing and glass breaking from the adjacent room.
“ Good to have you join us Granger! Sorry it had to be at this stuffy gala, we much prefer meeting you out on the field.” Theo smiled at her as he spun Pansy next to them. Hermione had to come up with a plan quickly, she had never found herself in a predicament like this.
“ Granger you should have just walked in like that, I’m sure you would have had all of those idiots eating out of the palm of your hand spilling secrets, just to get a few minutes alone with you. Tell Potter he is fucking terrible at strategy” Pansy winked as her and Theo continued to move around them.
Draco chuckled “ She’s right you know, Potter should really see you as the asset you are.” He trailed his hand from her hip up to the base of her neck. His touch leaving behind a trail of gooseflesh. He pushed on her right hand, dripping her, as the windows in the ballroom shattered.
Order members filed in, throwing a string of curses. Malfoy snapped her back to him. The hand that was on her neck now hitched under her right knee. He swayed her backwards revealing her thigh garter. His thumb bumped her wand out of its holster. He grabbed it and sat her leg back down. He passed it to her hand that was still holding on to his shoulder. Eyes wide, realizing he was arming her, she took it.
The ballroom was in complete chaos! Order members were apperating in and out, Death Eaters were running in all directions. Glasses were broken, tables were overturned, but Malfoy kept them dancing.
Glass shattering, as the violin played was tragically beautiful Hermione thought for a moment. Draco kept a shield around them, as he moved Hermione artfully close to Death Eaters.
She would throw a curse at one, then Draco would spin them in the opposite direction. Each time praising her work “ Granger, you are truly magnificent.” and “ The best fighter the order has by far” Hermione was stunned at this turn of events.
Why was Malfoy helping her take out Death Eaters? Why was this the most alive she had felt in years? The wine, she answered herself. Despite being tipsy her footwork never faltered. Draco spun her out, and curses flew from her wand. The string of curses looked like she held a ribbon baton instead of a wand, color shooting away from her as she whirled back into his arms.
His hand grabbing her check, his signet ring cool on the side of her face. A pair of gray eyes, alive and bright, searched her face. “ You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.” She couldn’t help the way her heart fluttered at his complement. A stirring of need came just below her navel. Draco Maloy may be the angel of death, but she knew in that moment, she would happily let those gray eyes lead her through the veil.
Draco took her hand again and sped up his steps. The Death Eaters had regrouped, and noticed the two of them. “ Draco.” She began but was cut off.
“ No, if you call me by my name I won’t be able to let you go.” he said as his hand on her back went to caress her bare skin. Why did she feel so alive? Her heart raced, and her chest heaved, she could feel her magic singing in her veins.
She looked up at him, his eyes were scanning the room. His wand was held between his thumb and index finger, it continuously moved. His other three fingers were laced with hers, she had never realized how small she was compared to him. Oddly enough this was the first time she didn't feel the need to be small.
Malfoy was not threatened or challenged by her, he complimented her. The two of them were not hit with one curse, or stray debris. She moved her hand from his shoulder to his chest. She took a fist full of his dress robe and pulled him closer. “ Draco” she said, more breathy than she wanted.
He looked down at her and softly growled “ I have watched you on the battlefield Granger, you're ferocious, a pure lioness. But tonight, you're lethal, like a viper. You have your prey now you're slowly killing me. My name is pure venom on your lips.”
He stopped their movement, his free hand coming to grasp her hair. His fingers tighten at her scalp, pushing her head back slightly. She felt a moan leave her throat. His lips crashed onto hers. Her mouth parted instinctively letting him, his tongue darting to find hers.
Her magic felt like it was bursting out of her the moment she tasted him. He was warm, and sweet, and kissed unlike she had ever been kissed. They didn’t fumble, he took what he wanted, and she was eager to give it to him. They didn’t fit for control, she surrendered to him completely.
Never in her life had she experienced anything like this. His lips left hers and she surged forward, unwilling to relinquish this moment. He grabbed her throat, not harshley, but firmly. His slender fingers pushed her into a dip once more.
He tore his lips from hers and started kissing down her neck and back up to her ear. Chest heaving, she whispered to him, “ Say it, Draco. I need you to say it. Make me yours.” He nibbled at her earlobe for a moment before his lips were at the shell of her ear. “ Hermione.” Her name was spoken like a prayer. “ Your mine, Hermione. My gorgeous viper.” A shiver ran down her spine, as his fingers trailed down her arm. He righted them and placed another chast kiss to her lips.
Ginny appeared next to her, wand drawn. Draco motioned towards Ginny “Go, I’ll clean up this mess.” Hermione looked around to see the dance floor littered with the bodies of Death Eaters. Her eyes widened, when had that happened? She remembered throwing curses but nothing big enough or at a level of this magnitude. She turned back to him, and slung her arms around his neck and kissed him once more. Committing to memory how he tasted, and how her magic flared in her veins. She went to move towards Ginny, but Draco kept their fingers interlocked. Her arm was outstretched when he finally let go, throwing a single white rose to her before she apperated away.