The Masked Yule Ball

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters associated with him – they all belong to the wonderful J. K. Rowling.

Chapter One – The Ball

After the terrible events of the war, the wizarding world had become more focused on uniting different people and savouring precious moments – and none more so than those at Hogwarts. When the Golden Trio and their friends returned to Hogwarts to re-do their seventh year, they'd found that there'd been more attempts to unite the four houses. Some Slytherins found this hard (as their parents were now in prison) but everyone was prepared to start anew to make sure the war never happened again.

It was this feeling that led to the new Inter-House Dance, supposed to help build friendships. It was basically like the Yule Ball – but with masks so you didn't know who you were with. That way, you couldn't judge who people were just by looking and would have to get to know them. At the end of the dance, everyone removed their masks and found out who they'd been with all evening. Obviously, you went with your friends but were encouraged to go meet other people you didn't know.

Hermione hadn't been planning on going to the ball. Although the Hogwarts castle had been restored, the same couldn't be said for her relationship with Ron. They'd decided to just stay friends and, embarrassed over their kiss, found it difficult to talk to each other. Then Lavender had got back with Ron so now Hermione was trying to avoid him. She'd asked Harry and Ginny, who were currently dating (nice to see one relationship working out), not to get involved as she didn't want things to be awkward for them too. But Ginny had encouraged her to go to the ball – in the hope that she might meet someone there who would help her forget about Ron.

So that was how she'd ended up outside the Great Hall, wearing a long blue dress that showed off her slim figure and silver high heels. She'd also done up her hair (using magic to straighten it) – tying some of it up into a semi-bun and letting the strands fall across her shoulders and beside her cheeks. Her mask covered the top half of her face and was blue to match her dress, decorated with silver.

Those who had seen her couldn't believe it was Hermione – she looked so beautiful – but her friends knew and were pleased she was doing this. Ron had looked very surprised and Lavender very jealous, and Hermione couldn't help feeling a little smug. She knew she looked nice – everyone's reaction had proven it. She just hoped Ginny had been right when she'd said this night would be good for her. "Just go out there and show all the boys what they're missing!" Hermione had laughed when she'd said that but the idea had appealed to her and she kinda wanted to prove to herself (and Ron) that she could meet other people, have a good time and – most importantly – move on.

"Hermione?" Hermione turned and saw Ginny and Harry, both matching in black – Harry in a smart tuxedo (they allowed muggle outfits as well as dress robes now) and Ginny in a little black dress. They were easily recognisable – Ginny and her famous, Weasley-red hair; Harry and his dark hair with the messy tuft at the back that never laid flat. Hermione wasn't so easy to recognise now her bush of curls had been straightened. "Hi, guys! You ready to go in?"

"Yep!" answered Ginny, excitedly. Harry just nodded and smiled nervously – dancing was more Ginny's thing and he was only going to keep her happy but he wasn't sure how well his dancing skills (or, rather, lack of) would go down. "So let's go!" Ginny grabbed both of their hands and pulled them into the hall, which had been transformed for the evening.

It was almost as if the Yule Ball was being held again (only this time, there were no Christmas trees). The walls and ceiling were beautifully decorated, and the long tables had been replaced with small, circular tables – making it easier to mix with others. They spotted Ron (well, his hair at least) and headed over to his table where he was sitting with Lavender, whose dress matched the colour of her name. The other seventh years were there, too, along with members of the DA: Dean, Parvati, Neville, Seamus, Luna…they'd all come back. Oh, and there was little Colin Creevey sitting nearby, waving excitedly, with his brother Dennis at his shoulder. And here was-

"Hello, Potter." Blaise Zabini, a good friend of Malfoy's. Sure, he was wearing a mask but you couldn't not recognise him. His cocky, arrogant manor hadn't changed. "And if you're wondering how I recognised you, Scar-head…your hair stands out a mile away. In fact, it's even more noticeable than Weaslette and Weaselbee here." He smirked at Ron and Ginny before turning to Hermione – and here he faltered. "And if it isn't..?"

Now it was Hermione's turn to smirk. "I'm Hermione – don't you recognise me?"

Blaise looked surprised for a second – almost admiring – before pulling himself together. "Well, well. Without your bush-head, you almost look normal, Granger." Secretly, though, he couldn't help admiring how good she looked – but he could never admit that.

"Cool it, Zabini," muttered Harry. He wasn't the only one glaring at Zabini – pretty much everyone else within 10 seats were staring at him with stony eyes and some had their fists in their pockets, clenched around their wands. Blaise became aware of this. "Alright, I'm…sorry. After everything that's happened, I am trying to change but…I guess old habits die hard. Well, anyway, have a…have a nice evening. I'm only here as I'm trying to find Draco. I, eh, don't suppose you've seen him?"

Hermione, seeing he was sincerely trying to make peace, smiled in a friendly way and shook her head. "No, sorry. We only just got here," indicating herself, Ginny and Harry. Taking her lead, everyone nearby either said "No" or just shook their heads.

"Okay…Well, thanks anyway. Bye." And with that, he headed into the crowd, hoping to catch sight of Draco.

"Come on, let's sit down," said Ginny. They all sat and each table began to talk amongst themselves. "Do you think he'll find Malfoy?" asked Hermione, staring after Blaise. "Who cares?" said Ron. "And besides, I doubt it'll be too difficult. Malfoy's hair stands out a mile." That was true – like the famous Weasley-red hair, Draco Malfoy and his father were known for having very pale (almost white) blond hair.

After a while, their friends left the tables to dance and eventually, only Hermione, Ginny and Harry were left. Lavender had dragged Ron off to dance, and Luna and Neville had gone to get drinks (it was becoming apparent that they were starting to fancy each other). Harry had been trying to get out of dancing all night but Ginny was now pulling on his hand, encouraging him to go on the dance floor. Hermione smiled and added encouragingly, "Go on, Harry. You're not that bad a dancer. And you've faced much worse than this! You've fought Voldemort numerous times – and defeated him, I might add. You've also faced numerous death eaters and dementors, fought against a Basilisk in your second year, fought a dragon and other horrid creatures in fourth year during the Triwizard Tournament, broke into the Ministry of Magic in fifth year, and have proven yourself in battle – both in sixth year and when we should have been in seventh year. Now, compared to all that, surely dancing isn't that bad?"

"I'm not so sure," she heard him mutter as he was dragged away by Ginny. Hermione smiled to herself as Luna and Neville came back. "Oh, hey guys!...What are you so smiley about?" Luna and Neville had both sat down, beaming: Neville looked rather embarrassed and Luna rather flushed. "What is it?" asked Hermione. She knew at once that something had happened between them and it didn't seem to be bad…

"Well," said Neville, hesitantly, "we…we just had…"

"Our first kiss," whispered Luna, dreamily. She smiled at Neville who went pink and quickly took a sip from his glass. Hermione clapped her hands together joyfully. "Oh, well done guys! I'm so happy for you! We've all been wondering when it would happen."

"Who's been wondering?" asked Neville, looking up from his glass.

"Everyone! We're your friends and we could see you two really liked each other – ooh, wait until everyone hears! They'll be so pleased."

"Um, actually…"

"Hermione, we'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone just yet," said Luna. "We'd rather keep it a secret for now – until we've figured it all out, I mean. We wanna know if this is gonna lead somewhere serious before telling anyone."

Hermione managed not to snort. The words 'serious' and 'Luna' in the same sentence were hard to imagine. Luna believed in so many myths and nonsense, it was hard to tell if she was real or not herself. But Luna was really nice, like Neville, and she knew they'd be good for each other – but above all, they were her friends and she respected their wishes. "Okay, I promise. I won't tell a soul. But I really am pleased for you."

The couple smiled and Luna gazed out at all the other couples dancing nearby. Hermione looked pointedly at Neville, than at Luna and the dancers. He got the hint. "Er, Luna? Do you wanna dance?"

"Okay." She smiled before taking his hand and letting him lead her onto the dance floor. Hermione watched them for a while, as well as her other friends and then sighed. She was sitting there, all alone, watching her friends having a good time. Yes, she was happy for them but she wished she had someone to talk to. After all, she'd only come as Ginny had told her she needed to move on and meet other people. Well, where were they…?

Notes: Hello! This is my first fanfic and I'd really like some constructive criticism. But please don't be too harsh!