A Reason To Be

“What the fuck do you wear to a Halloween Ball?!?” Draco cried angrily. He paced through his room in his boxers, tearing through his drawers and his wardrobe. Dinner had already come and gone and now Draco had come back to his room to change for the dance. He had no desire to go to this dance and he had no idea what semi-formal meant. He did have some dress robes but Draco dreaded putting them on. He knew he looked good in them but what no one knew was that he absolutely hated dressing up. He was much happier in just a plain shirt and pants.

“Fuck it all, the usual black will suffice.” Draco said. He had grown tired of searching for something appropriate, he was just going to go with something comfortable. He extracted a nice, black sweater and a pair of equally nice black trousers. The sweater was long-sleeved and had a slight v-neck. It and the trousers were two of the pieces of clothing he had purchased from seamstress on Diagon Alley. They were tailored for him perfectly, they showed off the body years of Quidditch has given him quite nicely.

He dressed himself, put on some black dress shoes and ran his hand through his wild hair. Then he made his way to the door and pushed open the portrait. On his way out, Antoinette commented on how nice he looked. He thanked her quickly and went on his way down the hall and stairway.

‘Wonder what Granger will be wearing this evening?’ Draco thought as he waited for the stairs to change back to the direction he wanted to go. Draco had found himself thinking about Hermione Granger more and more since they had become Potions partners. Not good thoughts or bad thoughts, he just found her crossing his mind more often. A few minutes later he arrived at the doors of the Great Hall.

At the door, Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout were passing out cards to each student that entered. Flitwick held out one for Draco and he took the proffered card.

“What is this?” Draco asked, looking down at the card. It had a number on it.

“It was Headmaster Dumbledore’s idea. Each student gets a card. Professor Sprout is handing out cards to all the girls; I give one to the young men. At the end of the evening, you find the girl or boy with the matching number and dance with them.” Professor Flitwick explained as reached up and passed out the cards to the students coming through the doors. Draco looked at his card again; it had a ‘49’ on it. Then he put it in his pocket and went in.

Orange and black banners hung from the tall ceilings and jack-o-lanterns floated in mid air. A local Hogsmeade band was hired to provide the music. The four house tables had been removed and were replaced with dozens of smaller, round tables that could seat about six people. Draco looked around at the festivities. He watched the timid first years shyly ask one another to dance, other students gathered around the refreshments table. Draco walked over and got a glass of punch and sat down at a nearby table.

He did present an intimidating image. A few people came over the table to have a seat but one look at Draco and his less-than-friendly expression, they decided quickly to adjourn to a different table. An hour went by like that. Draco sat back, sipping his punch and watching his surroundings. He thanked his lucky stars that he had not seen pansy or her new cohorts. He had not seen Harry, Ron or Hermione either.

A few moments later Blaise Zabini walked up and pulled out the chair opposite to Draco’s. Draco looked over and was a little surprised to see the young man there. If Draco Malfoy was the most revered Slytherin student at Hogwarts, Blaise Zabini was not too far behind. They never really spoke to one another though they did have a form of respect for one another. Draco had always been surrounded by people and never really paid attention to anyone but himself. Blaise usually kept to his small group of friends. Just like Draco, Blaise struck an imposing image as well. He was just slightly shorter than Draco, but with a similar build. He had dark, mahogany skin and midnight black hair in cornrows that went to the nape of his neck. He wore rimless glasses as well. The two looked about as opposite as two young men could get.

“Draco…” Blaise greeted him simply. He lowered himself down in the chair and took a drink from his glass of punch. Blaise didn’t look any more thrilled than Draco was to be there. Draco nodded his head in a greeting but said nothing. The two sat quietly, watching the dance.

“What do you thinking of this field trip to London?” The young man casually asked Draco. Malfoy glanced over to Blaise and shook his head.

“Ehhh…I’m not that interested in it. I can’t spend a day surrounded by Muggles, what would I do?” Draco asked rhetorically.

“Yeah… It should prove interesting.” Blaise replied.

The night went on as such. Draco and Blaise spoke more bit by bit. Soon they were having light conversation about all sorts of subjects. Draco found it somewhat refreshing. For months he had barely said anything to anyone, it was nice to have someone other than Crabbe and Goyle to speak to. And as an added bonus, he could actually engage in intelligent conversation with Blaise. Blaise wasn’t pushy about anything; he let Draco lead the way though he did express his own opinions even if they did differ from that of Draco’s. That had not been something Malfoy had encountered a whole lot. Most everyone else just went alone with him so not to make him angry. The night was turning out not to be as bad as he had projected.



Hermione smiled as she looked around the brightly decorated room. She was having a lovely time. She, Harry, Ron and a few other Gryffindors found a table to make home base and placed their things there. Harry dragged Hermione out onto the floor for a few dances, though Ron embarrassingly refused to dance with anyone, stating he had two left feet. He just went steadily back and forth from his table to the one with the refreshments.

Hermione had also been given a card with a number on it. She had glanced at the card when she had first gotten it. It had a ‘7’ on it. When her and her friends got to their table she put it on the table and forgot about it for the time being. The dance for the cards was not until the end of the evening. Now Hermione was sitting down, observing the holiday festivities around here. The professors sat at the head table that was still in place. She even noticed that Dumbledore had asked Professor McGonagall to dance. She thought it was kind of funny and sweet sight. Her eyes, after roaming around the room, finally rested on Blaise and Draco. They sat at the opposite side of the room, sipping their punch and seemingly having a friendly conversation.

‘Well what do ya know, he speaks!’ Hermione thought. She never let on to her Potions partner but she had noticed the changes in him from the previous years. She hadn’t determined for herself yet if they were good changes or bad changes. The thing that stuck out the most though was that Draco had not called her a mudblood the entire time they had been working together. She looked away from Malfoy and back to the head table. Hermione watched casually as Dumbledore whispered something into Minerva McGonagall’s ear. At first she looked at Albus like he had lost his mind but then a smile crept across her face and she laughed and nodded. Hermione’s eyes followed her as she crossed the room, through the crowds of children, and right up to Draco Malfoy. This was beginning to pique Hermione’s interest.

“Mr. Malfoy.” Minerva addressed Draco as she swept up to his table and stood right in front of him. Draco looked up from his glass of punch. He could not imagine what the professor wanted with him.

‘I don’t think I did anything wrong.’ Draco thought to himself. He quickly glanced over to Blaise, who shrugged his shoulders. He returned his eyes back to McGonagall wondering what she wanted. He soon found out.

“Do you dance, Mr. Malfoy?” Professor McGonagall asked.