Halloween Mix-Up

Author\'s Note: If you have access to it, you might want to pop in Enigma\'s "Return to Innocence" and listen to it for this chapter. Trust me on this one.









Halloween Mix-Up

by: Tassana Burrfoot







Chapter Thirty-Two: Valentine\'s Day Part Two





The Great Hall was decorated beautifully in reds and pinks. Roses, carnations, tulips, and irises added to the hearts and cupids. Instead of the great tables, there were many small, round tables, much like they had had during the Yule Ball.



Professor Flitwick started the band playing a simple waltz and soon everyone was dancing... Well, for the most part.



Luna swayed in one spot in time to the music. She gave Ron a sideways glance, but wasn\'t too concerned about not joining in the dance. She knew his mind was too preoccupied with other things.



Harry, on the other hand, was practically dragged to the dance floor by Ginny. "It\'s not like you\'ve never danced before, Harry," she huffed.



He thought about crying two left feet, but knew it was hopeless. Besides, Ginny wasn\'t a bad dancer, so he knew she could help him look good.



Seamus was another which had been dragged to the dance floor. He didn\'t really fight with Parvarti, instead preferring to glance at the entrance door as often as possible when he thought she wasn\'t paying attention. Each glance earned him a strike on the arm. "Pay attention!" she would hiss.



Lucius did not hesitate to guide Narcissa onto the dance floor. It was one of the couples\' favourite pastimes. Besides, someone had to show these children how to dance.



Neither Draco nor Severus chose to dance. Instead, both stared fixedly at the door. Any minute now. Both were sharing many of the same thoughts. It has to be me.



Many people looked up when they heard the doors open. The males, in particular, glanced up with abated breath.



But, it wasn\'t Hermione. Instead, it was two of the most beautiful people anyone in the room had ever seen. The music stopped and the dancers hesitated in their steps. Everyone stared at the newly arrived couple.



The man was dressed, not in robes, but in a baby green toga that draped off his left arm. Course, the toga didn\'t hide much as everyone could easily see the toned muscle underneath. His shoulder-length blonde hair looked soft and touchable. His blue eyes accented his toga.



The woman was equally beautiful, wearing a toga as well, though it hung off both of her shoulders. Again, it didn\'t really hide much as people could see the soft, doe skin of her chest, arms, and back quite easily. She had long, brown curls that fell midway down her back and soft, brown eyes.



They approached Professor Dumbledore and took turns shaking his hand. "So, where is she?" the woman asked, with a thick Greek accent.



Dumbledore\'s eyes twinkled. "She shall be arriving shortly. Though, I must say, she will be delighted that the two of you have been able to make it."



Both people smiled. "I\'m sure she will," the man replied, also with a Greek accent. "Of course, I believe she\'ll be more delighted to have this fiasco end than she will to see us."



Dumbledore inclined his head slightly. "Touché\'," he agreed. He glanced at Flitwick and the band started up again.



They went through two more songs before certain people started to get annoyed. Where was Hermione? She should have been here by now.



Ginny stopped dancing and pulled Harry along with her as she approached Dumbledore. "Professor," she inquired, "might I request to go to Hermione\'s room and make sure she\'s okay?"



"No need, Miss Weasley," he answered as he nodded towards the doors.



Again, the music stopped as everyone turned to stare at her. Silence reigned supreme, but she did not move. Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath.



She straightened her shoulders and let the air out slowly. As her eyes opened, music filled the room, though Flitwick and his band did not play anything. The music seemed to vibrate from the walls itself, playing a melody only a handful in the room recognized. It was the opening to "Return to Innocence."



Hermione stepped into the room right as the lyrics started playing. Slowly, as though she were walking a wedding march, she approached Dumbledore. She did not look around; she did not meet anyone\'s eye. She continued forward as though no one in the room existed.



Once she stood in front of the headmaster, she smiled at him and inclined her head slightly in a small bow. She then turned to the two strangers and gave a deep curtsy to them both. Once she stood up, she greeted them, "Welcome to Hogwarts, Eros and Psyche. It is a pleasure for you to be here."



They returned her bow with one of their own. "The pleasure is ours, Hermione Granger," Psyche replied. "Now, tell us, child. Have you made your decision?"



"I have."



For the first time, Hermione turned to gaze about the room. Most of the people there had no idea what was going on. In fact, only a select few knew for certain. Those select few watched in earnest.



Since they were the closest, both in terms of friendship and in terms of, well, they were standing next to Dumbledore, Hermione turned to Ginny and Harry first.



"I want to thank the both of you for everything you have done for me. Harry, for believing in me and being my friend and brother during the worst of times. Ginny, for trusting me and not going by petty rumours. You have earned my respect and gratitude for a lifetime. Thank you, both," she said and then she kissed them each on the cheek.



"I would do anything for you, Hermione," Harry responded honestly. "You are the sister I never got to have and I thank Merlin everyday that I met you."



"Ditto to that," Ginny agreed. "It\'s tough growing up with six brothers. You don\'t know how great it is to be able to count you as a sister."



Hermione\'s smiled reached her eyes as she nodded. She turned to Dumbledore. "I want to thank you, as well, Professor. I cannot imagine how hard it must be for you to have done everything you have done for me. And I do mean everything."



She then addressed the Hall as a whole. "If I\'ve learned anything this year, it\'s been that you never know who your true friends are until you are in a crisis," she told them. "Since Halloween night, I have been going through some difficult times. It\'s been both a blessing and a curse, but mostly a curse. Never in my life had I imagined my life would change so dramatically. And yet, it has.



"Over the past few months, I have learned who my real friends are. It\'s sad, really, for those I had thought were my friends turned out to not be at all. Instead, you have used my curse as the butt of jokes and the reason behind rumours. You did not know the whole story, so instead, you made things up.



"Because of this, I have not only lost friends. I have been raped, abused, and mistreated. I have been called a hypocrite, a slag, and a \'boyfriend stealer.\'



"But, I\'ve also learned forgiveness, at least to an extent. People fear what they do not understand. You did not understand my changes or what I was going through, therefore you did the only thing you knew to do in that situation. You thought of your own reasons and came to your own conclusions.



"You do not have to fear me. I will not steal anyone\'s boyfriends. In fact, I implore you to take those that I have been accused of stealing back. It was never my intent to take what does not belong to me. If it has come off as such, then I am sorry."



The song was soft now, though it could still be heard. Hermione glanced about the room until she found a pair of black eyes. She saw in those eyes eternity. She also saw a sadness and an understanding. She knew, in that moment, the truth.



With a sad heart, she lowered her tear-filled eyes. She could feel her heart breaking for the man she had thought she loved. But, she realized in that moment that his heart did not belong to him. Probably never had. Who the true owner of his heart was, she did not know. But, she could not ask him for something he could not give. Nor would she.



As she gained control over her tears, she glanced about the room again. Finally, gold settled on silver. For a moment, they just stared at one another. Then, a smile began to creep upon both faces. Then, laughing, she ran to him and they embraced.



At the song\'s bridge, they kissed and the spell was broken. They kissed as though they had never kissed before. Their mouths moving with one another in time to the beat of their joined hearts. Then, as he held her close, they began dancing.



Dumbledore, smiling, clapped. His clap was joined by the two gods, Harry, and Ginny. Then, surprisingly, Snape and the two older Malfoys joined in. Seamus began clapping as well along with Parvarti, Ron, and Luna. Soon, without completely understanding why, the entire room began to clap. Everyone except four people.



They broke their kiss and stared into one another\'s eyes. "I love you," she whispered.



Draco knew he had probably the stupidest grin on his face, but he did not care. "I love you, too," he said, after six years of waiting. "Will you marry me?"



She giggled through her tears. "Of course," she sighed, embracing him.



Somewhere in the back of the room, two girls stared at the couple with sheer jealous. Pansy and Astoria knew they would never get their chances now, even if they didn\'t completely understand why. What bothered them the most was the fact that he had chosen a Mudblood over them. When they started to approach the couple, however, they were stopped.



Blaise glared down at them, Crabbe and Goyle on either side of him. "And just where do you think you two are going?" he demanded, in a low growl.



Astoria put her hands on her hips while Pansy folded her arms over her chest. "We are going to stop Draco from making the biggest mistake of his life," Astoria told him, thinking that Blaise would agree.



"You\'re going to stop him from being with his true love? I don\'t think so," he said, shocking both girls. "I\'m going to tell you what you are going to do. You will leave them alone. You will turn around and act like nothing out of the ordinary is happening. You will not ruin this moment for Draco or Hermione. Are we clear?"



Neither girl knew how to respond. So, they huffed, turned on their heels, and walked away. Both knew better than to try to get passed Blaise and the two goons.



Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Luna approached the new couple with smiles and handshakes. "Well, I guess the best man won," Ron commented, taking Draco\'s hand into his.



Draco gave his trademark smirk. "You had doubts, Weasley?" he questioned.



Ron wrinkled his nose. "Perhaps when I was \'under the influence.\' But, thinking back on it, I\'m glad it happened the way it did. Could you imagine if I had been her true love? It\'d be like... dating my sister!"



They all laughed at that. Once they quieted, Harry hugged Hermione. "You don\'t know how hard I tried to not sleep with you. I am sorry about that."



She threw him a confused look. "What are you talking about?" she inquired. "You never slept with me."



The others looked at Harry curiously, though Harry was confused as well. "Yes, you did. That night when we were telling Ron the reasons why you had to go with Malfoy to his house for Christmas..."



Hermione shook her head slowly. "I assure you, Harry. I never slept with you. Which is why I was so confused when you started to seem so... normal."



A tap on the shoulder caused Hermione to turn around. Eros smiled at her. "See? I told you I was trying to help you out," he said. "Unfortunately, my mother\'s spell is much more powerful than I would like it to be. But, I had enough power to help this fellow out. I made him dream that he had slept with you. The dream, and the wrongness of it, was powerful enough to make him become immune to the spell\'s effects. He could still touch you, but you were both safe. Though you are not related, you are very much brother and sister in many aspects. Your welcome, Hermione."



The teenagers blinked. "It was... a dream?" Harry whispered, shocked to the core.



Eros nodded. "Aren\'t you glad? You can safely say that you\'ve never slept with her. Both of you are free from that particularly nasty deed," he told them.



Draco laughed. "I wouldn\'t call it \'nasty.\' I actually liked sleeping with her," he commented, straightening his robes as though he were important.



Hermione popped him on the shoulder. "You are supposed to be supportive," she teasingly chastised.



This only made him laugh more. "We wouldn\'t be perfectly matched if I were," he commented, to which she found herself agreeing.



Hermione glanced about the room, happy to see everyone dancing and joining in the merriment. Then, her eyes fell on her Potions Master. He was sitting by himself off in a corner. He wasn\'t watching the dancers or staring at her. Instead, he was looking at something in his hand. He looked sad.



Excusing herself, Hermione made her way over to him and sat next to him at the table. "Who is she?" she asked, not looking at what she had realized was a picture.



"The only woman I ever really loved," he answered, not taking his eyes off the picture. "I apologize for my behaviour these past few months, Miss Granger. It was inappropriate and selfish. I think I was looking for something that I knew I would never find."



"It wasn\'t your fault, Professor," she assured him, touching his wrist. "You were under a spell. We all were. I meant it when I said I love you. I just... didn\'t mean it the way I thought."



He glanced up at her curiously, not really understanding what she meant. She gave him a warm smile. "It\'s nice to have real friends, isn\'t it? People you can trust and share things with?"



They were silent for a moment, both looking at the other, before he turned back to the picture in his hand. "Her name was Lily Evans. She passed away fifteen years ago."



Hermione lowered her eyes. "I am sorry for your loss," she whispered. "You know, if you ever need anyone to talk to, I\'m here for you."



Severus glanced over at the people dancing and milling about. His eyes fell on one particular black haired boy with a red head attached to his arm. "Cherish the moments you have, Miss Granger," he told her. "Don\'t ever take anything for granted. Your love for Mr. Malfoy is true, and honest. As my love for Lily is. As Potter\'s love for Miss Weasley. Don\'t let go of it. Hold it close and don\'t make the same mistake I did."



He placed the picture face down on the table, stood up, and left the room. Curiousity overwhelmed her as Hermione picked the picture up. She was shocked when she stared into the face of Harry\'s mother. Then she remembered: Lily Evans Potter.



Understanding came to her as she pocketed the picture. She would return it to Severus once the dance was over.



For now, she returned to the dance, doing what it was Severus had advised her to do. She held Draco close and quietly promised to never let him go.

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Author\'s Note: Bittersweet, I know, but I think it was for the best. I know not everyone is happy with this, but, hey, I can\'t please everyone. Besides, this is how I wanted it to end from the beginning and I think it\'s a perfect ending. Epilogue will come in the morning, so don\'t fret.