It all started with a dance

17

Hermione was waiting by the front entrance, the weekend had strolled in and she was waiting for Ron, she was feeling nervous, this was the first time since she's hung out with him alone ever since their breakup

She saw a head full of red hair and a goofy smile, Ron stood in front of her, and the silence was awkward

"Hi Ron..." she whispered

"Mione," he said softly, he admired the brunette, he got lost in the gold specks of her eyes

"Ready?" Ron asked

Hermione nodded and Ron led the way, they got on the carriage and Hermione put some distance between the two of them, this didn't go unnoticed by Ron who frowned

"Are you coming to the burrow?" Ron asked her

Hermione looked at her oldest friend, she saw the love he still had for her in his eyes and felt guilty, because she didn't feel the same way about him anymore, and no matter how hard she tried to make him see, she saw the hope in his eyes

"No," she told him, she saw the hope deflate in his eyes, she looked away and admired the view

"So you're staying here? With Malfoy?" He spat when he said Draco's name

"Ron...I don't want to fight, I just want to spend the day with my oldest friend" Hermione said

"Please 'Mione, tell me, will you spend it with the ferret?" Ron questioned her

Hermione sighed and rubbed the back part of her neck, a habit she unknowingly picked up from the Slytherin head boy

"Yes, but not for the reason that you think, the headmistress wants us to work on our dance," Hermione said

They arrived at the small village and decided to stroll around, Ron offered to buy her a sugar quill but Hermione declined, she wanted to look for some fabrics that she would need for the dresses she was making

"Let's go in here" Hermione suggested, Ron looked at the name and groaned, he wasn't in the mood to shop for books or fabrics

"You're really going through with the fashion?" Ron chuckled, missing the sad look on Hermione's face

"Actually...I forgot I promised I'd meet Malfoy in the potions class to work on our polyjuice" Hermione made up a lie

"Mione..." Ron began

She stopped walking and spun to look at him, crossing her arms she sighed

"Why Ron? Why can't I do this? Why do you keep shutting it down?" She asked him

"I'm trying to look out for you when this fails..." he began

"You keep saying 'when' what if this doesn't fail? Why do you assume that this will fail without giving me a chance?" She asked him

"Because Hermione, your dream is to work in the ministry, that's always been your dream since we could remember, ever since the war..."

"Before the war that was my dream, now...I want to create, I want to give people that excitement that you receive when you buy something beautiful, I don't want to work in the ministry, I don't want to do what people expect from me, they expect me, you expect me, to go into the ministry but I don't want that, I want to do me and what I love, and I love designing, I love creating, so please Ron..." Hermione said

"But you should do something you're comfortable with, you belong in the ministry nowhere else," Ron said

Hermione scoffed and looked at him

"Wow Ron...you are so...and you wonder why I don't ever want to get back together with you... I support you with your dream! I support you with your dream to play with the Chudley Cannons and you seem to keep shutting mine down!" Hermione yelled, causing some people to look at them

"Mione..." Ron began

"Don't, I have to go, Malfoy is waiting for me" Hermione said and spun around, leaving the red hair boy standing in shock to her sudden outburst

Hermione rode the carriage alone with her thoughts, she felt as if she and Ron took two steps forward and twenty steps back, she just wanted her best friend back, the red hair boy who only ate chicken wings and ran into danger headfirst in order to be with Harry, not the boy who became the ex-boyfriend that was trying everything to get back together with her and didn't believe in her dreams

She arrived at the front doors of Hogwarts, getting off the carriage she walked into the castle and made her way to the library, she wanted to be alone and that was her best place

She walked to the back of the room, grabbing a random book off the shelves she sat down and began reading, although she couldn't keep anything, she stayed there for hours and finally gave up

"Granger?"

Hermione looked up and saw the head boy, giving him a small sad smile he immediately knew something was wrong, he took a seat across from her and took out a book, knowing Hermione he knew that she would talk when she felt comfortable

"I want to become a designer" Hermione spoke up after a few moments, Draco looked up at her but didn't say anything else

"Ginny, Pansy, Luna, and Astoria have literally paid me to make them their dresses for the dance" Hermione continued

Chuckling humourlessly she looked out the window

"But Ron can't seem to get that, he keeps assuming that I will go into the ministry and get a job behind a desk, I want to do something for myself and he doesn't seem to get that" she laughed humourlessly

She went silent and went back to looking out the window

"He's blind," Draco concluded

Hermione looked at him and raised an eyebrow

"I mean it, Granger, if he doesn't take the time to see how passionate you are of this then he's blind, and he's a moron, that much is well known, seriously Granger, what did you ever see in him?" Draco asked her, earning a small smile that immediately made one go on his face

Hermione shrugged

"He was my best friend, and I was never good with boys, he was comfortable and familiar," Hermione said

"You shouldn't have to settle for an idiot whose head is so far up his bloody arse he doesn't see talent when it hits him in the face," Draco said

"Did Draco Malfoy just compliment me? It seems to me that you're falling for me" Hermione smirked

Draco opened and closed his mouth, Hermione giggled at his reaction and leaned over the table and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, pulling back she had a small smile

"Thank you Malfoy" she whispered and grabbed her books and left

Draco was still sitting down trying to figure out what had happened

Not again, please not this again...he thought to himself