♕ thirteen

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Hermione glanced over at Draco from the other side of the Great Hall. He gave her a subtle thumbs up and she nodded, glancing around the room. Dinner was almost over, and she and Draco had to beat the crowds in order for the plan to work. 

Making her way over to the doors of the Great Hall, Hermione made eye contact with Ginny, who was finishing up her meal. 

She immediately started making kissy faces at her. Hermione rolled her eyes and turned hurriedly around, hoping that Draco hadn't seen. She made her way out of the hall and up toward the marble staircase. 

"Ready Granger?" Draco said from the marble staircase. Hermione nodded unconvincingly. 

"I mean, no big deal!" she said, her voice higher than usual. "We just have to pull off a fake public stunt in front of our entire House ad pray that it convinces my ex that I'm extremely romantic!"

Draco laughed and stepped toward her. 

"You're being silly, Hermione, trust me. Weasley's pretty thick. I'm sure he'll buy it." 

There was a moment of silence, where only the chatter in the Great Hall could be heard. Then Hermione spoke up. 

"Draco..." she began. But then she thought better of it. 

They were just friends. Nothing more, nothing less. He didn't her, heavens no; he was Draco Malfoy. The King of the school. Why would he take interest in her?

"Just... Do well," she finished. Draco nodded grimly. 

Suddenly, the background chatter of the Great Hall slowly began to rise in volume. 

"Are they coming?" Hermione asked frantically as she heard the noise grow. Draco nodded and took his place at the right side of the corridor, Hermione at the left. As the students began to round the corner, each stopped in turn and looked from a nervous Draco to a Hermione, who stood with her sweaty hands in her pockets. She could only stand frozen to the wall, as a hundred pairs of eyes stared at her. Could she do this?

"Hey everybody!" Draco shouted as the crowd began to thicken. The conversations started to quiet as students stopped swarming around the hall and turn their attention to the staircase. Luckily, the corridor was very wide; otherwise, there would've been an enormous traffic jam. Draco cleared his throat and turned toward Hermione. 

"There's something I'd like to say!" 

Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Ginny leaning against the wall, enjoying the spectacle.  Her stomach turned. The hall was so quiet, you could've heard a pin drop. 

Hermione turned to Draco. His gaze was focused on hers and his knuckles were white, clutched around his wand. Just seeing him made her feel more at peace. It would be okay, as long as he was here. His eyes seemed to say,

She gave him a subtle nod as he grinned and waved his wand. 

The sign flew out from behind the banister and unfurled dramatically. The crowd oohed and ahhed as the sparkling letters and message were revealed. 

"Hermione Granger, will you go to the dance with me?!" Draco exclaimed. 

The hall was completely silent. Time seemed to slow down. Hermione couldn't help but grin as she looked at the expression on Draco's face, alive with excitement. She slowly nodded. 

"Yes!"

The crowd exploded with cheers.  

Hermione and Draco took a couple of steps toward each other as their classmates screamed and shouted. Hermione felt the butterflies rise again and her stomach as Draco drew closer and closer to her, until they were only a few inches apart. 

"You're a pretty nice actress, Hermione," he grinned. His voice was low. 

Hermione felt her throat close up and her heart rate became even more rapid. Before her brain could tell her to stop she was already stepping closer toward him. 

"Is this acting?"

She stood on her tippy-toes and pressed her lips to his, in a sweet kiss. Fireworks exploded at the corners of Draco's vision, and he felt his heart swell. He'd never felt this way before.

Draco closed his eyes and returned the kiss, smiling quietly against Hermione's lips as the crowd began to roar with delight. He pulled away to look into her eyes, searching for an answer. What did this mean? Was this part of the act?

Whatever the case, he didn't want it to end. Draco leaned in once more and Hermione complied, grinning quietly against his lips. The crowd hollered and clapped as the couple reluctantly came apart, their faces still decorated with shy grins and Hermione's with a slight blush. Draco leaned over slightly. 

"Not bad, Granger," he whispered, putting his lips to her ear. Hermione laughed quietly. 

"You're not so terrible yourself, Malfoy," she teased.

The crowd began to swell toward them and up the marble staircase. Countless friendly faces stopped by to congratulate them as they made their way up to the dormitory. 

Suddenly, Ginny, Neville, Seamus, and the others rushed up to the couple, whooping and hollering. They all wore similar looks of incredulity. 

"That was amazing!" Dean exclaimed. 

"I didn't think you two would kiss!" Blaise said, still a bit shocked from the spectacle. 

"All part of the plan," Draco shrugged, shooting Hermione a small smile. 

"I saw Ron in the crowd," Neville announced. "But I forgot to see his reaction. Too busy cheering."

Everyone laughed at that and gave a last round of hugs before heading up the marble staircase. Hermione had just started up the stairs when she felt someone's hand on hers. 

"Hey," Draco said softly. Blaise was walking down the corridor toward the dungeons, Luna was heading up to Ravenclaw Tower, and the rest of the Gryffinors were long gone up the marble staircase. 

They were silent for a moment. Hermione remembered the feeling of his lips on hers... and couldn't help but want to feel them again. 

"Goodnight," Draco breathed, his eyes fluttering briefly down to her lips. Hermione smiled. 

"Goodnight, Draco."

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