Between Us - Dramione/Blinny

Ch. 36

Draco adjusted his tie one last time as both he and Blaise hesitated outside of the Great Hall. They had arrived fashionably late after going back and forth about whether or not they actually wanted to go, since they were both concerned that the girls wouldn't want to see them. Pansy finally managed to convince them after she told them how they reacted to the notes on their gifts, but the two were still somewhat nervous.

"How do you think they're going to react once they see us?" Blaise asked quietly as he brushed off imaginary dust from his arm

"I have no idea," Draco muttered. "I wouldn't blame Hermione if she ignores me, since I've practically ignored her all week."

"I'll chalk it up to a successful night if Ginny doesn't hex me."

Draco laughed at that and clapped his friend on the shoulder. "I'll come visit you in the Hospital Wing if she does. Come on; no point in putting it off any longer."

They both turned the corner and walked into the Great Hall, immediately scanning the room for the girls. Draco managed to find Pansy and Theo on the outskirts of the crowd and he made a beeline for them since he couldn't find Hermione.

"It's about time you two showed up!" Pansy exclaimed when she saw them.

"Yeah, yeah," Draco said, waving her off and looking over the crowd. "Have you seen them yet?"

"Yeah, how could you miss them?" Pansy asked with a grin.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Blaise asked, raising an eyebrow.

Pansy simply nodded towards the crowd, and Draco and Blaise followed her eyes. They both immediately froze when they saw what Pansy was talking about, staring at the two women dancing without a care in the world.

Draco had never seen Hermione in anything like that dress. He wasn't sure what he was expecting her to wear, but it definitely wasn't that. He also was definitely not expecting it to be white.

"Wow," He breathed.

Blaise rubbed a hand over his mouth with a sigh as he watched Ginny. "Mate, I made the biggest mistake letting her go. What if she doesn't come back?"

"Well, only one way to find out," Draco said before taking a deep breath and making his way through the crowd towards the girls.

Blaise followed him with his eyes still on Ginny, his stomach a bundle of nerves. They both stopped just a few feet away and Hermione was the first to look up.

"Oh, hi Draco!" She laughed.

He was caught off guard by the pleasant greeting, but his stomach dropped when she froze and her smile slipped off her face as she looked up at him again. "Draco!"

Ginny looked up immediately and gasped when she saw Blaise, locking eyes with him. He wanted nothing more than to pull her to him and hold her close, but he didn't know how she would react to that and instead nodded his head towards the doors. "Can we talk?"

She nodded after a few moments and gave Hermione a terrified look before following Blaise out of the crowd, her head down. Hermione watched them leave before looking back at Draco and shrinking down slightly.

"We should probably talk too," Draco said, quieting his voice as the song ended.

Hermione nodded before looking up, realizing that a much slower song had started. The crowd began pairing off into couples and as she looked back at Draco, she saw that he was holding his hand out to her.

She gladly took it and couldn't help smiling as he gently pulled her into him, putting her hand on his chest as his arm snaked around her lower back and he squeezed her other hand. He took the lead, and she let him, thinking back to those nights where they had danced together in the East Wing during rounds.