A Draco Malfoy Love Story Part 47 - The Yule Ball

Hi guys! I've actually posted the next part roughly around the time I said I would - shocking! It's been forever since I've written anything so this part may be alittle rusty but its good to be back! I'm very happy that I still have a few readers out there, though I did lose alot in my looong absence. I read all my messages for june and may and would like to thank all of you guys for still wanting to read this part. You guys are the reason I'm continuing the story and I started writing. I hope you guys like this part! By the way, since even I didn't remember where we left off, Harry and ~~~ were getting Occlumency lessons from Snape and it's currently Harry's turn. I would insert a link to the quiz but I don't remember how...^^

Instantly Harry froze, mid movement, his face contorted in a mixture of pain and hatred as he battled against Snape's attack. You watched anxiously, fearing for your own turn which would be coming up shortly, and hoping that somehow Harry could beat Snape at his own game. This thought was proved wrong when Harry suddenly lept forward into Snape's desk and banged his knee with a sharp thud, falling to the ground while looking at Snape with a renewed sense of hatred.

"Potter, how many times do I have to tell you not to jump into desks?" Snape said, smiling as he twirled his wand around in a cocky sort of way. Obviously he expected the same such things out of you.

You nervously began the long walk up to Snape's desk, going as slow as possible, before stopping in front of the desk where Harry had stood just seconds before.

This is not going to turn out well...

"As I said before, you want to just relax and concentrate on protecting your mind."

"You didn't say tha-" you began to protest but was cut off by the sound of Snape yelling out his incantation.

Instantly you could feel a strange pressure pushing on your mind, trying to worm its way into your thoughts and even though you struggled desperately to stop it, whatever it was wiggled its way past your defenses. Instantly, bits of memories flashed in your mind's eye. You were six and sitting in your room alone, listening to the party your parents were having downstairs. You were 8 and teaching your sister how to do magic. You were 11 and having your first crush, whose face you quickly hid from Snape's prying eyes. It was the first time you had ever been alone with a boy and you could still feel the embarrassement when- "No!" you yelled furiously, tearing yourself out of your thoughts and breathing heavily as your heart rate tried to return to normal.

"Very poor job, ~~~. Once again you did not listen to my directions." Snape said, shaking his head as if dissapointed when you both knew he was happy you hadn't succeeded. "Again."

And so it went; you and Harry took turns, each of you failing to protect yourself from Snape's invasion of privacy. Finally, Snape did not raise his wand again and dismised you, telling you to practice blocking your mind every night. You both nodded in a daze; your minds felt like they had turned to mush. As you both stumbled off to bed, it was mainly silent and you spoke only to say goodnight before going to bed your seperate ways.

The next morning was pure chaos. Every girl in Hogwarts was having minor breakdowns as they tried to prepare for the long awaited Yule ball. While the female population was freaking out, the male side remained mosly calm and only looked on with great amusement at the panicked people around them. Most of the students at Hogwarts had gotten pretty much the same costumes, much to your disappointment. The guys had costumes that mostly involved blood and any type of gore, such as the favorite eye ball dangling out of the socket, which unfortunately looked and felt quite realistic. The girls, on the other hand, fit into either the 'pretty princess' category or the "wicked witch" category; so unoriginal. You had combined the two into a wicked princess and though it wasn't the most creative costume, it was at least more exciting than the pansies running around with pink dresses and crowns. The person you had chosen had been one of the most beautiful witches in history, her beauty outweighed only by her ruthlessness. She married a powerful king, killed him slowly a few days after their wedding, and proceeded to rule the country with an iron fist. Girl power.

"~~~~!"

You turned around, startled by the note of panic and desperation in the voice, and saw Hermione beckoning you to her from the dorms. When you had made it up the staircase that had been covered with bits of clothing, you looked into the rooms and struggled not to burst out laughing at what you saw. Hermione stood in the center of the room, her usually frizzy hair made even more frizzy due to the day's chaos, different parts of her costume scattered across the room, and one shoe in hand. "I can't find my other shoe!" Hermione howled, blinking furiously as she tried to hold her tears back.

"Let's just take a deep breath." you said slowly, trying to avert a breakdown.

After she had follwed your example and taken a cleansing breath, you continued "It has to be around here somewhere. Why don't you use that spell that brings objects to you? I forget the name of it..."

"You're right! Accio!" Hermione said, excited, before yelling the incantaion

For a few seconds nothing happened and then a shoe came flying out of the curtains hanging over the window and into Hemrione's outstretched hand. "Thank you soo much! Now, get out so I can get ready!" Hermione said, shooing you out before turning around and looking for something else. Stealthily, you crept around her and grabbed the bag that contained your own costume before rushing downstairs.

One crisis averted.

"Harry?", you called up the staircase that led to the boys dormitory. From the amount of other girls standing at the bottom of the girls staircase, tapping their feet impatiently, it appeared as if Hermione had taken the girl dormitory hostage. That meant that you would have to use the boys dormitory which would be no problem. You had connections.

Harry's head peeked out and gave you a questioning look. "Can I come change up there? Hermione won't let anyone in the girls dormitory." you explained, already making your way up the stairs as you spoke. "Wait a sec!" Harry yelled, a little panicked. Confused, you ignored him and walked in to a roomful of half naked guys. What is it with me and naked guys?

"Ahhhh!" Screams erupted from both you and the roomful of guys. As all the guys jumped, literally, behind beds and trunks you struggled to regain your composure. At least, they weren't as perfect as Draco because you wouldn't have been able to regain your composure at all if that had been the case. Harry, hidden behind his trunk, gestured to the small bathroom, his face red with embarrasement, and shrunk lower.

After you had succesfully changed and made it out of the boys dormitory alive and relatively unscarred, you sat in the common room to wait for the rest of the group. All of your dates would be waiting at a specified spot so you didn't really feel like going alone when you'd just have to wait for them there anyway. Hermione came down a few minutes later, looking very pretty, and was then followed by Harry and Ron, both at their gory best. "Nice skull, it looks realy real." you complimented, looking at Ron's cheek which appeared to be cut to the bone. "It is real. Dumbledore showed me this cool spell that allowed me to do it without any pain or anything. Isn't it awesome!" Ron yelled, throwing a fist in the air as if he had won something.

"Eww! That's real!?" you said, shrinking away as the bone glistened in the firelight and the gore around it freaked you out even more.

Ron merely nodded slowly, grinning from ear to ear as he slapped Harry high five, who had an equally disturbing costume. You didn't dare ask him about the wand sticking out of the side of his head or the eyeball that dangled from his eye. That would just be too much for you.

Downstairs, you all met with your dates and said hello.

"Hi, Josh.", you said, giving him a quick hug.

"Nice costume. I barely reccgnize you." Josh said, smiling as he took your arm.

You all walked into the Great Hall and saw that it had been transformed into an actual winter wonderland, even better than the last Yule Ball. Crystal sculptures sparkled along walls decorated with glittering diamonds (probably not real but still a nice touch). "It's beautiful.", someone said and you couldn't help but agree. Last year there had been a more regal tone but this year it was more modern. Music blared from speakers and the floor actually vibrated with the beat. With the party in full swing, it seemed as though everyone was having a good time. Even Dumbledore was smiling and trying to mimic a few of the students. It wasn't going well, however, and McGonogall was desperately trying to drag him off the dance floor.

"I'll be right back." you said to Josh and made your way to a table in the back that had refreshments. It was set up the same way as the last time so you imagined a drink and one immediately popped into your hand. All the dancing had made you quite thirsty.

"~~~~"

You turned around and saw a disturbingly gory person in front of you. They had managed to capture the image of a mangled man quite well. "Um, hi?"

"it's me, Draco."

"Oh, hey!"

"Did you tell anyone what you were coming as?"

"No, only Hermione and Harry. I still don't get why you wanted it to be a secret." you said, following him away from the table.

"Because no one knows who I am either. Wanna dance?" he asked, and you could just picture the smirk he must have beneath his gore.

"Hell yeah.", you replied grinning.

Draco took your hand and led you to the center of the dance floor before pulling you close to him. The music took over and soon a circle had formed around you, people cheering you on as you both took over the floor. While Draco and you had never actually danced together, you had both had plenty of practice and when put together you had perfect chemisty. Even the teachers were a tad impressed, especially Dumbledore who kept asking how we were doing it. As the dancing became more and more dirty, McGonogall desperately tried to break through the wall of students surrounding you. She finally succeeded and quickly tore the two of you apart before dragging you out of the circle. Fortunately, you and Draco managed to escape and met at the other end of the hall, unable to stop laughing.

"That was awesome!" you yelled.

"What can I say? I'm always the life of a party." Draco said, sighing as if it was a terrible burden he had to bear.

"Oh, shut up." you said laughing, having too much of a good time to be annoyed at his attitude.

For the rest of the night you and Draco danced, had fun, and occassionally made out. It felt unbelievablely great not have to hide how you felt for each other but to instead be able to openly express yourselves. It was one of the best nights you had ever had. The only thing bothering you was that you hadn't been able to spend any time with your 'date'. This, however, was fixed when you went to check on him and saw him making out with a Hufflepuff in a corner. Problem solved. After the dance ended at two or three in the morning, Draco walked you back halfway to your dorm and then kissed you goodnight, making the kiss slow and sweet before taking a step back and walking away. You walked to your dorm with a goofy smile plastered all over your face that you weren't even aware of. As you climbed into bed, exhausted but completely content, you were the happiest you had been in weeks.

Little did you know, however, that millions of miles away Voldemort was getting the next level of his plan ready. Soon he would be free to resume his control over both the wizard and Muggle worlds. But first there were two things he had to get rid off: Harry Potter...and you.

Well, that's it for this part! I hope it wasn't too bad - I promise the next part will be better. Bye!
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Thanks for reading! I know I'm a bit rusty but it's been a very long time since I've written anything. I hope you enjoyed the part and that you will stick around for more! I promise I won't leave you guys hanging. In fact, right before I went to sleep a few days ago the ending popped into my head so I have most of it planned out. I just gotta get it all down on paper, or in this case, Quizard. Messages are always welcome and I'll see you later!