Learn to Love » Draco Malfoy x Reader

XIII

A/N: This is the start of the ball (finally!). I've made sure to add in some generic, light descriptions of y/n's appearance, but left it mostly blank so you can picture yourself however you'd like. Enjoy, gorgeous readers! xoxo

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The hour of the ball came much sooner than I would've liked. Given, I did take the opportunity to sleep in longer than usual. Most of my family's balls would last through the night and typically well into the morning; I tried to give myself time to rest beforehand.

Draco and I awoke on opposite sides of the bed and chatted through most of the morning. Since our game day yesterday morning through afternoon, then accompanied by more games as well as reading together during the evening, he was quite tolerable. More than tolerable, actually. I would even go so far as to say I appreciated his company during this otherwise lonely visit at home.

He was utterly pleasant (apart from being a little upset when I beat him at one of our many games we played) and had some humor to him. Time and time again I found myself laughing at his remarks or quick-witted comments.

In the morning especially, his mind was slower as we were both waking up and he let out a few more entertaining, uncouth remarks which I found quite funny. It alleviated any awkwardness of us being together; it was almost just like we were comfortable roommates cramped together in the same bed.

For someone who slept soundly all night, he woke up looking rather decent. His hair was messy but not overly disheveled, and his sweatpants and shirt that he wore to bed made him look relaxed and comfortable. Most of the morning, he had a lopsided grin on his face that was more boyish than I was used to seeing.

After some stalling between the two of us, we were forced to get up, eat, then promptly get ready for the ball (separately). We headed to the wardrobe room from the morning prior where we were fitted for our clothes and found our things. Seeing as I also had makeup and hair to attend to, my tailor had brought along another stylist to help me with my appearance.

The process of getting ready altogether took a few hours. In some part, it was nice feeling pampered and looking elegant, but it was dreadful sitting almost statue still for nearly four hours.

I made sure to inspect myself well in the wardrobe's many mirrors. Although I saw it on myself yesterday, everything looked so much more beautiful when my entire outfit was together. The hair, makeup, dress, shoes, accessories. Even my wedding ring, which my mother forced me to wear on this specific occasion. When put together with everything else, I tolerated the sight of it.

My father had insisted we have a rehearsal walk down the staircase, just to practice before our family made our entrance at the right hour. However, I opted out, seeing as my wardrobe took the longest and I had done this so many times before that it was almost like second nature. My mother simply reminded me of what to do and when; I committed it to memory.

Most guests piled in around seven to eight to eight-thirty, but our entrance wasn't expected until later. Luckily, a vast majority of the guests would be blood-related family or very close family friends, so I wouldn't risk seeing the likes of anyone from school. If anything, maybe it would be their parents, but still. Most of the guests were from back home in Italy, and the rest were still purebloods from Britain.

Atop the grand staircase that led down to the ballroom, I started to feel some jitters just before we were expected to make our entrance. I had done this plenty of times, but there was something nerve-wracking about walking with your parents, showboating their offspring, to a large group of your extended family and then some. I remembered my mother told me a couple hundred would be in appearance tonight.