it's the night of the dance. your nerves are all over the place, you feel anxious, excited, scared. No one is in the room, Luna is somewhere reading and Hermione has already left. you're running a little late because you lost track of time.
you rush to get your dress on, which looks like this:
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and then you put the smallest bit of makeup on, only some mascara for your eyelashes and some gloss for your lips. you tie your hair up in a half up, half down way, and you've already curled it all. you look at yourself in the mirror and decide you're ready, except you almost left without shoes.
you get on some black boots for underneath your dress and grab anything you need. you rush out of the room and lock the door behind you. you walk down the hall in a fast way, catching looks from people. They're not bad looks, they're more looks of fascination.
you rush to the Great Hall.
Before entering, you stop. You take a deep breath and try to contain the butterflies in your stomach. "you look great y/n" a girl beside you says. "thank you so much" you reply with a smile. You decide everything is going to be okay, and you turn the corner.
You start to walk in the room, seeing everyone in front of you, talking, laughing and dancing. you look around and see people starting to look you, they're looking at you in awe. you try to find where Draco could be until you hear a voice from behind you, "y/n?".
you turn around and there he is, Draco Malfoy.
his heart stops for a second, but of course you can't see that. "Malfoy." "y/l/n..." "i didn't think you'd be here" "normally i wouldn't be" "oh yeah? what changed tonight?" "you did" he says as he starts walking away, leaving you confused. you follow him and catch up, walking along side him. "i did... how?" "why are you still thinking about that? dance with me."
you stop walking and stare at him blankly for a moment, wondering if you heard him right. "i'm sorry?" you ask politely, he walks toward you and stops in front of you. "well it is a dance is it not?" "i'm not dancing with you draco" "oh come on." you roll your eyes and nod with a smile.
he grabs your hand and takes you to the floor, putting his hands on your waist. you feel chills go up your spine... you swallow a lump in your throat and put your arms on his shoulders.
"do you have any experience with this at all?" you ask.
"some." "oh really? when and with who... your mother?" he goes silent, so you laugh. "your mum?" "oh shut up" you both just laugh. "are they... laughing?" Ron asks. "they look pretty happy together for two people who hate eachother" Hermione responds with.
"you look really nice by the way" he says while maintaining eye contact. you feel yourself gain more butterflies in your stomach, you were not expecting a compliment out of him. "you're not so bad yourself." you watch him smile for a second then look away.
you feel a sense of happiness... but with draco malfoy? you both despise eachother, so its new for you to feel like you're bonding with him.
"um y/n?" you hear a nervous voice ask from beside you. you and Draco both look at Neville who looks like he's about to confess to a crime. "Neville, you okay?" you ask softly. "yeah... i just wanted to um... i wanted to say you look, well-" "spit it out" Draco rudely interrupts.
you give him an annoyed look then look towards Neville again. "you look really pretty." "oh thank you Neville" you say with a great smile. you don't normally receive compliments on your appearance, so two in one night? it makes you feel special and warm inside. you watch Neville walk away, and spot Hermione dancing with Ron in the crowd.
she looks happy.
"i always thought they'd get together" Draco says while also watching Ron and Hermione. you look back at him and smile, "really?" "yeah, since first year" "they're cute together" "i guess so" you both dance in silence for a few seconds before he suddenly out of the blue, spins you around and pulls you in close.
you fall right into him, pretty much leaning against him.
you are so close that you can feel his breath, "you smell like coconuts" you whisper. "well you smell like strawberries" he whispers back. "you notice that?" "it's kind of overpowering so yeah" "Draco... you're acting like a gentleman... but you're not. What's the catch?" you ask as you take a small step back so you're not leaning on him anymore.
"There is no catch. But this is only happening for tonight, i'll go back to my self tomorrow." "why are you like this?" "i thought i may as well give you a good night, it's your first social gathering here." "oh, well that's... nice of you" he groans in disgust. "i'm not nice" "you could be if you put your mind to it"
"sounds weak" "is that what you're afraid of... seeming weak?" "I'm not afraid of anything, what does being nice get you?" "friends..." he scoffs. "friends? yeah i prefer power". you look around the room and see a group staring at you, it's Draco's friends
"your friends are watching"
he looks over at them then back at you, "Pansy is jealous". "Pansy? the brunette girl?" "yeah, she's kind of like... obsessed with me for some reason" "and she's jealous because i'm dancing with you?" "yeah." "well, you can dance with her if you want" you say as you start to pull away from him, but he pulls you back.
"no i'd much rather prefer you" those words make you smile, "okay"
you spend the rest of the night dancing with Draco, then leaving him so you can dance with Hermione, but you found yourself back with Draco in no time. At the end of the night, people start to leave the hall. "i'll walk you" Draco offers.
"you're offering to walk me to my room?" "yes... is there a problem?" "no, i just wasn't expecting that" you shrug. he starts walking with you to your room, everyone going their opposite ways. "see you y/n" a girl says while walking past you, "have a good night!" you smile.
a few more people wish you a good night and say goodbye to you, and you respond happily. Draco looks confused, and you shake your head. "what?" "you know a few people" "yeah... that's what happens when you're nice". you walk in silence for a moment. "can i ask you something?" you ask as you stop walking.
he stops with you and turns to you, hands in his pockets. "yeah" "be honest... why are you being nice to me? i know i already asked this but i'm so confused." "do you have to ask so many questions? why can't you just accept that for one night and one night only, i was gonna put on an act for you to have a good night?"
"because why would you care whether i have a good night or not? you hate me" "hate is a strong word y/l/n" he states as he starts walking again. you shortly follow him and catch up. you walk all the way to your room in silence and stop outside the door. "this is me... thank you for tonight"
"sure" he whispers softly. "malfoy i know you don't really get affection from anyone, so don't freak out" he looks at you blankly, feeling confused... until you wrap your arms around him, hugging him. he doesn't respond for a moment and just kind of stands there, shocked. "please hug me back or this is going to be really embarrassing" you whisper.
he hugs you back with a smile on his face, one you can't see. you both pull away eventually and he clears his throat. "i'll see you in class tomorrow y/l/n" "yeah, goodnight Draco" "goodnight" he responds as he begins to walk away. you watch his walk and think about the night you had, it was unexpected... but magical.
you make your way into your room, get out of your clothes and have a warm shower, then get to sleep.
