Abused

Happy

Opening the door to the Great Hall, Pansy and Hermione both stood in shock. The room was decorated with a variety of colors and decorations. There was food, music, and so much more. The girls both stood shell-shocked for a good amount of time before looking at one another.

Pansy stood still for a second before muttering a quite "Whoa." Hermione smiled.

"Agreed. Whoa." The girls both laughed and then entered the room fully. They were most definitely not the first ones there. So many of the other students already stood laughing and dancing with each other. Most of the other Eighth years were already present, smiling and talking with each other. 

As Pansy and Hermione stood in the entrance of the Great Hall, Hermione turned her head as she saw someone approaching from the corner of her eye. 

"Oh, look who it is!" Hermione exclaimed, hitting Pansy on the arm. Pansy turned as Hermione smiled. "Zacharias! Hi, how are you?" Hermione said. 

"Oh, Hermione, leave him alone," Pansy muttered, her face turning red. 

"Oh, what?" Hermione shrugged, feigning innocence. "I was just asking how he was." Hermione smiled at Zacharias, who was now also blushing.

"I'm alright, Hermione. Thanks for, uh, asking," Zacharias stuttered, and then laughed nervously. "Pansy, you look-" he paused as he avoided eye contact with Pansy. "You look absolutely amazing." Pansy and Zacharias locked eyes for a second before both of them look away in embarrassment. 

"Uh, thanks," Pansy laughed. "You look fantastic as well." 

The three stood silent for a second as Hermione looked between the couple, smiling like an idiot. 

"Oh, well, let's go look at, uh, the food and stuff, huh?" Pansy stuttered out, clearly embarrassed by the continued interaction. "Well, Zach, it was nice seeing you but-" Hermione cut Pansy off.

"What? No, no, no. You two are here as a couple. I shall leave you alone now." Hermione dramatically bowed as she started to leave. 

"Wait, 'Mione-" 

"Bye, you two! Have fun!" Hermione laughed as she quickly strode off before Pansy could grab her. Once she was a good distance away, she turned around to look back. Zacharias and Pansy were awkwardly interacting with each other, both blushing messes. Hermione chuckled to herself, watching them for a minute before turning around. 

She glanced around the room. It was incredibly nice seeing everyone smiling and laughing, with no concern for any worries outside of the dance. Despite coming off of an immense amount of stress, Hermione felt at ease. She didn't know if it was the dance's joyful atmosphere, or the fact that she had finally been able to free herself from Ron's abuse, but she was feeling good. Better than nearly ever before, actually. 

"You look dazzling." Hermione turned to see Blaise standing behind her. 

"Blaise? Why, thank you. It's nice to see you," Hermione said with a soft smile. 

"Yes, I can say the same. Though it's still a pity you weren't able to come with me," Blaise joked with a smile. Hermione and him laughed softly together. 

"So, who did you end up coming here with?" Hermione asked, glancing around the room. 

"Pavarti. And she actually was the one to ask me," Blaise smiled as he looked over his shoulder to where she was standing, talking with the other Eighth year girls. 

"Really? Well, she must be lucky." Hermione smiled once more as she watched the girls. 

"Well, I've kept you long enough already, Hermione. Once again, I'm sorry for what I did earlier this year. And I'm glad you're safer, now. I'll be going." Hermione smiled and waved as Blaise bowed slightly and walked towards his date. She sighed softly as she was left alone again, but still felt excited for the night ahead. However, as she was about to begin walking around again, she was stopped by yet another voice.