A/N: This is a tribute to Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger. Special thanks go to my cousin. She got me this into the pairing. Oh. Look. This is the first story I've made that isn't based on anime. Oh, and if I'm mistaken on what they wore at the Yule Ball, don't mind it. I mean, this is only a fan fiction, right? It doesn't have to be exact. If I sucked at this, it's only because it's my first time I'm writing something like this. I'm sorry if you don't like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own the book Harry Potter. We know very well that J.K. Rowling does.

O-O-O

The blonde who is left alone in the room sat on the window pane with his back facing the sky but his eyes looking over his shoulder. He stared thoughtfully out the window, at the night sky as the breeze touched his face like gentle hands. Every star seemed to sparkle, showing all the beauty they have. It felt so… peaceful. But the feeling faded when the door creaked open, and Draco Malfoy knew that a pair of eyes were watching him. The boy lazily moved his eyes and narrowed them. "Pansy, come out from your hiding place," he said, rather demandingly. With that a black-haired girl opened the door wider and stepped in. Draco eyed this girl.

Pansy Parkinson wore a glimmering lavender tube-top dress. It was as if the stars glued themselves on the silk. To go with it, she had put on two long gloves of the same color. A necklace made out of a golden chain was found on her neck. As the breeze moved to touch her, it blew her short hair, revealing the pink pearl earrings she wore. Draco didn't care about any of these, not even the strawberry smell from the perfume Pansy used. Was the Yule Ball that important? Well, maybe that's how girls just are. They want to look good so badly.

Draco looked back over his shoulder and once again at the stars. Talking to Pansy might be a waste of his time. When he danced with Pansy, he felt… nothing. No, he felt that something was missing, that something wasn't right. Maybe Pansy was furious about it, too. The tapping of her pink high-heeled shoe was bothering Draco. It was making his ears bleed.

"Draco, what happened back there?" Pansy asked. Draco sensed the angry tone she used so he motioned his eyes back at her.
"What do you mean?" Draco asked.
Pansy crossed her arms over her chest and replied, "At the Yule Ball, you didn't pay attention to me at all. When we danced, you kept your eyes somewhere else. Do you even care about me?"
The blonde stayed silent and gazed back at the dark night sky. With a low tone, he answered.

"No."

Of course, this was unexpected in Pansy's case. She has always followed Draco. This must've been worse than receiving a stab in the heart. The tears stung her eyes. Draco paid no attention to this and calmly kept his gaze on the stars. The tapping of Pansy's shoes signaled that she had marched out of the common room. Draco heaved a sigh and got off the window pane. He slowly walked past the green couch in the center of the room. He exited the Slytherin's common room. The Yule Ball was still on going. He should be allowed to take a walk around this late, shouldn't he?

Draco sighed once more. The smell of strawberries was long gone. It didn't matter. Draco had no feelings for her from the start. People knew how Draco is. He doesn't want to look bad. He'd never want to. The thought of leaving Pansy didn't bother him as he walked down the gigantic marble stairs. The laughter and music grew louder as he passed by the Great Hall. What could be worse than making someone cry? Draco narrowed his eyes as a bothersome sight came to view. Two unwanted people were right in front of him. The blonde gave a death glare at the scarred black-haired boy and his red-headed friend.

"What do you want, Potty?" Draco asked the oh-so-famous Harry Potter.
"I wasn't going to ask you anything, Malfoy." Harry snapped back.
"Then get out of my way." Draco murmured as he took out his wand from his green pants' pocket. He added, "I wouldn't want to mess my green tuxedo suit. I'm going to make this fast."
"Bloody hell, Malfoy, you can't use your wand like that." Ron Weasley said abruptly, trying to stop Draco.
This made Draco smirk, saying, "Since when have I listened to any of you? Since when have I been the good guy, huh?" Draco pointed his slim wand at Ron, making the Weasley boy gasp.

"Where's Hermione?"

Draco looked at Harry. The boy had his eyebrows arched down. Draco lowered his wand and placed it back in his pocket.

"I've got no idea where the mud blood is."
Harry nodded in response and dragged Ron away before a scene starts.

Draco glared at them until they were no longer in sight and lost in the crowd. Soon after, the boy continued walking. He arrived outside the school building where no one seemed to be around. He walked further, attentively listening to the crickets' creek. The quiet seemed nice. Draco couldn't have wished for anything else. Well, maybe there was one thing he would've wished for. He would have wished for the distant sobbing to simply vanish or go away. As he walked further, the person crying was revealed to him. And of all people, it was who Draco least expected.

The girl sitting on under a tree (Draco didn't bother to examine what kind of tree it was.) wore a lovely pink dress. Unlike Pansy, this girl didn't seem to have too many accessories. Well, some people say that being beautiful is being simple. Her curly brown hair was tied in a bun with a few strands of hair still dangling down on the side of her head. It wasn't messy at all. It was rather a pretty style.

"Pretty? What could be pretty about her?" Draco asked himself, "She's only a mud blood."

Hermione Granger had her knees bent upright with her head leaning on them. Her arms were wrapped around her legs, holding them tightly. There was no mistake. She was the one who's been sobbing.

"Hey, mud blood girl, what in the world are you doing there?" Draco asked.
Hermione didn't move but cursed under her breath and muttered, "Malfoy, I'm not in the mood to argue with you right now."
The blonde gave no reaction to this. He replied calmly, "Potter and Weasley are looking for you. They're just there at the Yule Ball."
"I don't want to see them."
Draco snarled. He said, "Whatever. It's none of my business. What kind of mess did you guys get into, anyway? I guess you aren't smart enough after all. You can't even solve your own problem."

"Malfoy, please."

Draco looked at Hermione who continued to sob her heart out. The lavender smell coming from Hermione reminded Draco of Pansy. It's not that he felt guilty or anything. Draco, despite how mean he acts, is always annoyed by the sound of someone crying. He doesn't pity anyone. He only wishes to make it go away because of how irritating it is to his ears. It makes him want to bring down the walls he had made.

Much to his dismay, he did.

He walked to Hermione and reached out his hand. Hermione, unsure of what he was doing, lifted her head up and stared at the hand. Her eyes looked like they were about to pop, being so red. The brunette looked up at Draco's silver-colored eyes that shone under the moonlight.

"Shall we dance?"

Hermione blinked. The least person she expected to dance with was one of her worst enemies, Draco Malfoy. Why would he even think about dancing with her? She was a "mud blood," a half-breed. Draco would never do such a thing, to dance with someone like Hermione. So why is he doing this?

With no hesitation, Hermione wiped her tears with the back of her palm and held Draco's hand. He helped her stand up straight. Hermione placed her left hand on Draco's right shoulder as Draco placed his right hand on the left side of Hermione's waist. The two remaining hands held each other up. Before they knew it, they started to take the first few steps of a typical ballroom dance.

As Hermione rested her head under her partner's chin, Draco whispered, "You know I don't love you, right?"
Hermione smiled and whispered back, "I know, I know."

They turned and stepped. The dance was graceful. The atmosphere was calm. All was well. Draco's hand held Hermione's tightly. This made Hermione feel at ease. Who knew the night would end like this? As they continued to dance, Hermione lifted her head from leaning on Draco's chest and looked up. Draco looked down at her, his silver eyes staring at her brown ones. Hermione smiled. There was just something about the boy before her that made her feel… complete. With a lean forward, she placed her lips onto his. The kiss was sweet and chaste. Hermione knew that this was definitely her first kiss, a short one at that. But that small kiss was a sure sign. As their lips parted, they stared once again at each other's eyes, continuing the dance.

A soft whisper said, "Can you still say you don't love me?"
Draco leaned and whispered at her ear, "You know I can't."

With a small smile on her face, Hermione held Draco's hand tightly as his was holding hers. That night, where no one was around to disturb them, they had held each other, dancing, sure that they can hold each other without letting go. That was the night that they wouldn't forget, a night that they had danced the night away.

O-O-O

A/N: Well, it was a bit longer than expected, but I hope you liked it. Reviews that aren't too harsh at all are appreciated. Thank you.