Ch. 31

The following Monday at breakfast, the group was sitting together at the end of the Gryffindor table, chatting happily to each other. The subject of Halloween had come up, and considering that Professor McGonagall had announced before the feast that she had a surprise, the entire hall was abuzz with speculation on what the surprise was.

"I bet it's a ball," Ginny said confidently. "I've been hearing rumors around the other seventh years that they've been sending multiple requests to McGonagall."

"That could be fun," Hermione replied, taking a bite of her toast.

"Yeah, and Ron isn't here to ruin your night this time," Ginny grinned as she nudged her friend. "We're going to have fun!"

Draco gave Hermione a questioning look from across the table but she shook her head and said, "I'll tell you later."

He nodded and they were interrupted by a swarm of owls, signaling the arrival of the mail. A large eagle owl stopped in front of Draco and he groaned, recognizing it as his family's owl. Hermione was immersed already in the Prophet with Ginny reading over her shoulder. Neither one of them heard Draco groan, but Blaise had and he raised an eyebrow at Draco.

Draco broke his family's wax crest that was holding the letter closed and pulled out a short piece of parchment, instantly recognizing the green scrawl.

Draco bit his lip and handed the letter over to Blaise, running a hand through his hair. Blaise scanned the letter and he growled, flinging it back towards Draco.

The girls looked up at them and Hermione asked, "Is everything alright?"

"I just received a letter from my father," Draco said through gritted teeth. "Asking me who my mate is."

Hermione took the note gently from Draco and read it silently with Ginny. Ginny was completely quiet after reading, staring down at her plate. Blaise reached over to take her hand and smiled at her. "Don't worry about my mother; she'll come around."

She gave him a weak smile in return and nodded, even though she knew most likely his mother would never accept her. Hermione looked up at Draco and asked, "What are you going to tell them?

He shrugged and said, "The truth. They'll find out sooner or later and I'd rather them hear it from me. I'll send him a response later today."

"But your parents hate me," She replied, panicking slightly. "What if your father tries to do something?"

Draco laughed. "He knows better, and my mother wouldn't let him. And if he does anything to hurt you, I'll make sure he regrets it for the rest of his life."

Before Hermione could respond, the Headmistress captured everyone's attention by tapping her knife against her glass.

"Attention please!" She waited until the hall fell silent before continuing. "Fourth years and below, please exit the hall. This announcement does not apply to you."

She waited until the specified students left and then went on. "Now, as you all know, Halloween is this Friday. In order to raise moral after the recent war, the staff and I have decided to hold a ball on Friday."

The hall immediately burst into cheers and she began to tap her knife against her glass again to quiet everyone down. "Yes, I had a feeling this might be well received. The theme of the ball is costumes, since it is Halloween after all. The ball will begin at approximately seven in the evening, and will go until midnight. This event is for fifth years and up only."

There was a quiet murmur around the hall but she went on. "As another surprise for you, I have cancelled classes for Friday so that you all have time to prepare for the ball."

A rousing cheer rang throughout the Great Hall and Ginny leaned to Hermione and said, "We should go to Hogsmeade for lunch this week to get our dresses!"

Hermione frowned slightly. "We're not supposed to go to Hogsmeade during the week..."

Rolling her eyes, Ginny countered, "But the dress shop is going to be busy on Friday when everyone has off. And you're Head Girl, I'm sure it'll be okay!"

"Ginny, that's not meant to be an excuse to do anything," Hermione replied. "I'm supposed to set a good example for the rest of the students!"

"That's why I said we go on lunch," Ginny said. "Besides, Wednesday you and I don't have any other classes after lunch, so it's not like we're skipping anything."

"You could always ask McGonagall," Blaise interrupted. "I'm sure she can't say no to her favorite student."

"You aren't helping my case," Hermione said, pointing a finger at him.

Draco laughed and took her hand. "Hermione, it's only one night. And Blaise is right; I'm sure McGonagall would give you special permission to leave. After all, you helped defeat-"

"Yes, I know who I helped defeat!" Hermione exclaimed angrily, earning her a few looks from the rest of the table.

Ginny nudged her slightly and said quietly, "How about we leave early on Friday so that we beat the rush?"

Hermione thought about it for a few moments before nodding. "That works."

"What should we go as?" Ginny asked, before looking at the boys.

Blaise and Draco shrugged in response, and Blaise said, "I don't think we've ever dressed up in costumes."

Hermione's eyes went wide. "You mean you've never celebrated Halloween?"

"'Mione, I don't think it's celebrated the same way in the magic world as it is in the muggle world," Ginny said with uncertainty. "I know you've explained it to me before, though."

"Yes, and the boys were never willing to dress up," Hermione replied while she rolled her eyes.

The two Veelas stiffened at the mention of other males and Hermione noticed this, reaching across the table to take Draco's hand. "Calm down; that's the past and I'm happy with you, Draco."

Draco took a deep breath and smiled after a few moments, visibly relaxing. Ginny in turn looked over at Blaise who was watching her intently and he calmed down as she smiled at him.

"So, how do muggles celebrate Halloween, Hermione?" Blaise asked then, looking over at her. The two boys leaned in curiously while Ginny turned slightly to face her friend.

Hermione looked at them all with surprise but smiled as she explained. "Well, not every muggle celebrates Halloween, and most of them even only view it as a children's holiday. But typically, people dress up in costumes and travel around their neighborhood to different houses, where they would receive candy from the people living there. It was a lot of fun, and sometimes there are even Halloween parties where they have costume contests. For those, everyone votes on who has the best costume and that person or couple wins a prize."