AMOR VINCIT OMNIA; GRANGER

VII.

( an extravagant ball )

THE YULE BALL was as astonishing and special as Milo had expected.

The Great Hall was lavishly decorated, all the professors were dressed up (except of course for professor Snape, who didn't even bother to wash his hair) and the students were also dressed up to enjoy this night to the fullest, bustling with excitement, especially when the Weird Sisters made their appearance and almost all of the students from all three schools were on the dance floor, dancing to their heart's content.

The Bähr heir was just sitting at one of the tables, having a glass of punch in his hand as Mirjam, his date, was trying to convince him to go out onto the dance floor and have some fun with her. However there was no way she could persuade the impassive boy, not to mention, from where he sat at, he could perfectly see Hermione and how she was fully enjoying herself. She was dancing with another man, which shouldn't really matter but it still made Milo uncomfortable and he felt a small ache in his heart.

"Mirjam, I really appreciate that you joined me to the Ball, but if you won't shut up anytime soon, I will hex you," Milo spoke annoyedly. He should have gone alone and not agreed to Mirjam's constant invitation to go with her to the Yule Ball, then he possibly could have even enjoyed the evening.

Offended Mirjam responded, "Are you really just going to sit around here the whole night? Looking depressed and lonely?" Milo just shrugged at that, he always looked depressed and lonely, or more like angry and lonely, "Okay, then I'm going on the dancefloor to find someone who will actually compliment me for how wonderful I look tonight!", she said exasperated and left the Bähr boy to sit on his own.

He didn't really care about her leaving him behind all alone, now he could finally admire Hermione in peace, without Mirjam's constant nagging. Silence truly was a virtue.

Milo really didn't know how he should describe the appearance of the curly haired girl and do it justice. She was breathtakingly beautiful with her hair put into an elegant knot at the back of head, adorned with silver pearls that were splattered across her hair as if there were a million stars surrounding her and the dress she wore, it made Milo swoon just thinking about the floaty, periwinkle-blue material that fit her perfectly and swayed gracefully with her as she twisted and turned around on the dance floor in Viktor Krum's arms (here it was again, the painful feeling in Milo's chest).

Slowly Milo realized that his staring might be a bit creepy and too obvious, so he got up and decided to walk along the tables where there were small treats and some beverages set up.

With a new glass in his hands, Milo absentmindedly walked around not really knowing what to do with himself, since he lost sight of Hermione.

Once again Milo was distracted while walking and this time he wasn't able to avoid the person that was just as distracted as him, with a grim expression on their face and tears gathering in the corner of their eyes. With the both of them not paying attention, they walked straight into one another, the smaller girl almost tupling over in her heels and the drink Milo was holding, spilling over his black dress shirt.

The girl he had run into was already apologizing profusely, Milo wasn't really paying attention to her words, just staring at the girl and being shocked at how close they still were. He saw Hermione Granger from a completely different angle and now had the chance to admire the freckles that were all over her face, not so densely distributed to make them noticeable from a distance.

"Well, now it's already too late right? An apology won't make up for the ruined shirt." Milo said, though his tone was rather light.

"Oh, it's you. The guy from the library, " Hermione exclaimed, recognizing him at last.

Smirking, Milo responded, "Well, I do prefer to be called Milo or Bähr instead of the guy from the library but suit yourself, Schatz." ( Honey)

"What did you just call me?"

"That's a secret, Schatz", he responded with a wink. Now that he was looking at Hermione's expression Milo realized that there must have been something that upset her. "What happened for you to look so down on this wonderful evening?"

Shrugging, Hermione looked away. "Nothing." Uncomfortable with how close she was to this guy, she took a step back. Now she wanted nothing more than to escape from here troubled by how easily he read her emotions. "Sorry to cut the conversation short again but I have to look for my date . . . and again I'm sorry about your shirt." And off she went.

Milo just looked after her disappearing form a feeling of dread building up inside of him. He could not quite explain this sensation that was taking over him but he had a feeling that the future had a lot in store for him and the brave girl that was distancing herself from him.

The evening went by rather uneventfully with Milo talking a bit with other Slytherins here and there, just to be polite.

Now that the event was finally over, Milo wished for nothing else but to glide into his covers and sleep, his social battery at an all time low. But of course nothing ever went his way, so he heard Hermione's beautiful voice across the hall shouting at someone bitterly.

Milo being Milo longed to know what made the girl upset, thus he went into the direction it came from only to see her sitting on the staircase with her knees pulled close for comfort and her shoulders shaking with the silent sobs that were emitting from her.

The boy grew up in a household void of affection therefore he didn't know how to comfort someone. Unsure he walked a step closer to her thinking thoroughly about something, anything, that could give her some sense of comfort. It broke his heart into a thousand pieces to see Hermione in such a state and he wanted to do nothing else than to get revenge on the one who ruined her night.

Remembering the handkerchief he had with him, he took it out and softly tapped the girl on the shoulder, smiling softly at her tear stained face. He handed her the piece of cloth, not a single trace of the usual scowl was present on his face as he looked at the shivering girl.

Unconsciously he took off his suit jacket and put it over her shaking shoulders, as she tried to protest, he just shushed the crying girl, "It's okay, just return it to me sometime."

With this he walked away, unaware of the person just around the corner, secretly observing the interaction with a malicious smile adorning their features.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

have you ever heard of  Dante Alighieri?

if you haven't, all you need to know is that he was an asshole ( and poet) and tortures students in italy to this day.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ 𝖆𝖒𝖔𝖗 𝖛𝖎𝖓𝖈𝖎𝖙 𝖔𝖒𝖓𝖎𝖆
! hermione granger x milo bähr !
✎ᝰ. -NEPTUNXS