Tease

But it's better if you do


For once, Hermione allowed herself some indulgence. It was a just reward, considering that she had worked her butt off on the ball.

So here she was, lounging in a robe, with her curls loose. She lazily scratched her quill over the paper. Everything was set. All she had to do was finish writing the invitations and mail them. She had tried to get Draco's help, but she should have known better.

"We cordially invite you-?" Hermione asked tentatively.

Draco scoffed at the formality. "How about, 'You must seriously lack substance in your life if you choose to not come'," he smirked at his brilliance.

A hundred other students must have died for him to become Head Boy

Her lips reluctantly curled at the memory, but she brought her focus back around. This looks good...

We invite you (insert name) to the Hogwarts' Graduation Ball.

Come celebrate the start of a new chapter with us

Enjoy music by the famed Dragon's Kiss

Savor delicacies from around the world

See Hogwarts in all of it's glory

One last time

Draco would drop in horror, but she felt it was a perfect balance of formality. Reciting the spell, the words appeared on stacks of cards. The golden letters curled at the tips, creating an elegant look. On the four corners, was each house's symbol. Details were put on the back.

One by one, each invitation flew out of the room toward its recepient. Hermione noticed Draco walk by her then pause. He leaned over and inspected the invites. Yawning with fatigue, Hermione went to her room, leaving him with the cards. She had a childlike hope that he would be impressed.

Succumbing to another fit of yawns, she fell dead asleep.


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Hermione woke up with the panic that she had missed classes. Realizing that it was still Saturday, she neatly avoided a cardiac arrest.
She saw, with relief, that her invitation had arrived. It was propped up on her desk, the letters winking in the sunlight. She neatly tore the envelope open and slid the card out. With a cursory glance, she decided that all was well.

CRASH

Her chest knotted back into panic as she rushed out to find Draco frowning at a pile of glass.

"What did you do?"

He froze, not expecting to be caught. Clearly, he was hoping to discard the remains before she awoke. But she ignored his charming smile, no matter how boyishly cute it was.

She knelt down and realized with annoyance that it was her little flower vase. The shattered pieces were so miniscule, Reparo wouldn't do any good.

"I got the invitation," he said from somewhere above her.

"Huh? Oh..good," she said, keeping her eyes on the mess. "I did too"

"Everything fine with it?"

"No. As you can see, you have demolished my vase beyond repair," she frowned.

"I mean the invitations"

"Oh," she looked up at him. "Yes..I looked mine over. Everything's fine"

The grey irises held their intense gaze and he muttered an apology about the vase before walking away.

What's wrong with him? Not PMSing I hope.


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"I asked her last week. Bloody choked me with her hug after that. Think I felt some tears too," Ron shrugged.

Hermione smiled at Ron's modest story. From what she had heard, Lavender had ended up asking him. There had been more yelling about how thickheaded he was than tears and hugs. But she allowed him his pride.

"There wasn't really much asking with Ginny. She just stuck some dress selections in my face and asked me to choose," Harry grinned.

They turned to her. "So who are you going with, Hermione?"

She opened her mouth to answer and stopped, shutting it closed. She had almost said Draco, but realized that he had never asked her.

"I - I don't know yet." They smiled sympathetically and she felt horribly embarassed at their pitiful looks.

Draco didn't ask me. He's been openly kissing me, but he hasn't asked me yet. Why?

Then again, he had looked pretty worried that morning. She came up with a dozen reasons to justify his actions, but couldn't believe any of them.


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Fortunately, by the time she returned to her room, the package containing her dress had arrived. The material was so gorgeous that Hermione easily ignored the fact that she didn't have a date.
Eagerly, she slipped into the copper dress. For someone with a wavering sense of confidence, she had no problem believing that she was beautiful then.

The color was perfect, highlighting her brown curls. It shed a glow over her skin without any light or product. In the midst of inspecting herself in the mirror, Hermione heard a loud knock on the portrait door.

Her back was completely exposed, since she hadn't zipped herself up. So she stayed, waiting for Draco to open the door. But she heard the rapping again and rushed out, muttering silent curses at Draco.

As soon as she flung her door open, so did Draco, in a similar state of undress. Apparently, they had chosen the same time to try on their robes. His shirt was haphazardly buttoned, leaving most of his chest bare. Her strap was clinging onto her arm, completely falling off her shoulder.

He stared at her for a heartbeat before reaching for his robes. Quickly putting it on, he answered the door. So she went back inside.

She heard the muffled Blaise's muffled voice echoing through. He was talking rapidly, something about Pansy.

That pig face. Hermione giggled softly. Why Blaise would waste his time with her was beyond her comprehension.

As soon as she heard the word "dates," she stopped laughing.

"What about--?" Hermione strained to hear Blaise's soft voice. But she could hear Draco's voice clearly cut through the room.

"I already asked her , but...it's a no"

"No?"

The whispers ensued, but Hermione's mind blanked. He asked someone else.

He asked someone else and sounded so disappointed about the rejection.

Anger flamed so suddenly, it empowered the hurt. All she wanted to do was curse him into oblivion for fooling around with her.

But what she did was breakdown at the thought that it was just sex.

Sex

Lust

An itch

She hated herself for letting the tears flow. But they did.

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tommorrow is my last chapter on this story!! so dont miss it guys!!! and as allways please review