♕ nine

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"This is a terrible idea," Hermione muttered to herself, as she and Draco made their way down Main Street. Ginny, Harry, Neville, Dean, Luna, Blaise, and Seamus followed close behind. It was the evening of the party, and Hermione was a ball of nerves. Draco chuckled. 

"Do you want to get back at Weasley or not, Hermione?" he asked her. Hermione scoffed. 

"Well, of course, I want to get back at him, but-"

"Then you have nothing to worry about," Draco reassured her. "The plan has gone perfectly so far. It's going to go great tonight."

Hermione gave him a grateful smile and continued her walk down the road, careful not to get her shoelaces caught in the cobblestones. She snuck a quick glance over at Draco. He was looking down at his hands, fiddling with his black gloves rather nervously. 

The snow on the road and falling from puffy clouds above made Draco's blonde hair stand out, stark against the wintry background. Whatever he was thinking about must've made him happy, because he grinned quietly, revealing a dimple on his left cheek that Hermione had seldom seen before this year. Draco suddenly looked up and Hermione quickly glanced away, hoping he hadn't caught her staring. 

"I think we're here," Ginny said from behind. Hermione looked to the left and saw a large brick building, with two oak front doors. The group made their way inside, but before Hermione could take a step forward she felt a hand on her arm. She turned to see Ginny and Luna, smiling devilishly and gesturing for her to be quiet. As soon as the doors had closed, they shared a mischevious look. 

"What?" Hermione asked suspiciously, crossing her arms. Ginny shrugged and Luna clapped her hands in delight. 

"Alright, let's skip casualties," Ginny instructed. "We need to address the sexual tension between you and Draco."

Hermione's jaw dropped. 

"What? Are you mental??" she whisper-shouted, hoping that the boys inside hadn't heard Ginny's comment. The redhead rolled her eyes. 

"It's rather obvious, you know. Like a fog. It just hangs over the room."

"A romantic fog!" Luna piped up, grinning. 

Hermione didn't know what to say. She had just begun to process her break up with Ron and hadn't even thought about looking to start a new relationship. And Draco, of all people? They had to be crazy. 

"No," Hermione shook her head, clearing her thoughts. "We're just friends. We happen to be partners in the astronomy project, and he happens to be helping me get revenge on Ron. Any tension you detect is probably nothing more than shared hatred for him," she finalized, waving off any further comments. 

"Fine," Ginny gave in, shaking her head in disappointment. "But don't go just yet. We're going to head over to Gladrags Wizardwear and get you something to wear for the party."

Thinking that this was better than being interrogated about Draco, Hermione agreed. The trio made their way back down Main street, stopping outside the entrance of a swanky boutique, decorated with lanterns and geometric shapes. There was a small ring of the bell as they entered and were greeted by Gloria Gladrag herself. 

"Darlings, darlings, please, do come in!!" she announced, giving them each a small kiss on the cheek. Ginny dodged the kiss and hurried over to stand by Luna. 

"So, who needs an outfit?" Gloria asked, her eyes moving from girl to girl. 

"I do," Hermione piped up nervously. Gloria cracked a wide smile and Hermione was instantly whisked away from her friends, ushered onto a platform and brought in front of a mirror. Gloria promptly dashed away to find an outfit in the countless racks that lined the back wall as Ginny and Luna made their way over. Hermione gave them a nervous look. 

"I've found it!!!" Gloria announced, bringing out a dress. Before even trying it on, Hermione shook her head. It was a bright scarlet cocktail dress, with an open back and an extremely short hem. Even worse, the plunging neckline was just about down to her belly button. She was certainly not comfortable with wearing something like that. Gloria pouted. 

"I'm looking for something a bit more modest," Hermione suggested. But the designer was unfazed. She hurried back to the racks of gowns and dresses, pulling another number from the rack. 

This one was light blue, and floor length, with a layer of tulle wrapped around the bodice. The sweetheart neckline was bedazzled with rhinestones. Hermione shook her head slowly. She hated this one even more than the first. It was something that a 10-year-old would wear but in adult size. Ginny groaned from behind. 

"Come on, Hermione, don't we want to show Ron that you can dress well?" 

Hermione shook a finger at her friend. "That's Step Three. We're only on step one. When the time comes, I'll dress fancy. I'll put up with whatever you guys want me to wear, but for now, I get to wear what I want," she said with an air of finality, turning back to Gloria. 

"Do you think I could have a look back there?" she gestured to the rack, and Gloria nodded. 

After what seemed like hours, but was really only about twenty minutes, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna walked out of Gladrags with a bag full of shoes, dresses, and jewelry. 

"Don't you think you could've at least taken some of our suggestions?" Ginny complained. But Hermione would not budge. 

"I like what I picked out. I think it'll be fine for tonight," she defended, pulling the outfit out of the bag to take a look. 

It was a simple black dress with a skater skirt that went down just barely past her midthigh. Not exactly what Ginny and Luna had had in mind, but Hermione was satisfied. It was modest, still decent looking, and not too fancy. 

"Okay," Ginny sighed as they neared the party space. "But when it's time for Step Three, you are wearing something much better."

Hermione rolled her eyes, but eventually agreed, stepping into the rental space. 

The tables had been set out, the dance floor had been cleared, bowls were teeming with Honeydukes sweets and the bar was laden with tubs of ice and bottles of butterbeer. The boys were almost finished setting up, moving around the room and putting on finishing touches. Ginny gave a loud whistle, and their heads turned. 

"You ready guys?" Hermione asked them, spreading her arms. Everyone gave a loud cheer, clapping and shouting. Hermione herself was feeling excited. Excited to see the look on Ron's face when he walked through that door. 

"Let's get this party started."

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