𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐆. ─── ☾ 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓

Masterlist || Harry Potter Masterlist || Wattpad

Word Count: 2.7k

Pairing: Hermione Granger x Fem!Reader

Warning: None uwu

English is not my native language, so I apologize for any mistake and if you can help me improve it, I will greatly appreciate it. I hope you enjoy it :D

Draco Malfoy knew you perfectly, even he felt capable of writing your autobiography if it occurred to you to do something like that tomorrow, but he had realized that he had never seen you in such a state of nerves, not even Snape's exams were capable of giving you such an anxiety attack, and he thanked Merlin you hadn't listened to Crabbe and Goyle laugh while you hobbled into your heels in the Slytherin common room because he was sure that then you would have blown the boys up with some charm or you could have hit them with the most painful hex you could think of; let's just say that, in your state, it was impossible to find the lovely, emboldened and conscientious student who had dared to ask Hermione Granger to the Yule Ball.

"Where the hell have I left the damn wand?"

You questioned again as you went back up the stairs that led to the girls' rooms, specifically the one you shared with Pansy and other students belonging to the house of snakes, bumping into some of your classmates on the way who, seeing your face slightly reddened by nerves and haste, they tried to get out of your way so as not to suffer from any curse that occurred to you. Something in you had changed since you had seen on the central clock in the room that it was two hours before the start of the much-acclaimed Christmas dance and no one was willing to have huge antlers or a pimpled face just because you were so stressed that, every time you thought you were properly dressed and that your outfit was perfect, you made a defect that made you quickly have to go back to your room to change.

That damned dress was your downfall, and no matter how hard you tried to find the main flaw, you couldn't.

"We don't need the wands. It's a dance!" Pansy exclaimed from the small central room of the common room, crossing her arms again as she saw the long train of your dress disappear that she had asked you to wear so that the green colour would highlight your figure even more, even if she was only doing it so that you would wear the tone that distinguished your house and not look like you belonged to the house of the lions because of your dress of reddish, orange and yellowish tones. "It is impossible to please her. Why is she so stubborn? She's not even going with Viktor Krum to the dance."

Your Slytherin classmates wouldn't understand you, you were sure of that, and it had been clear to you from the very moment you set foot in Hogwarts that Malfoy intended to be your friend, just as he had intended with Harry when he met him on the train. In the cabins there were very few free seats and, although the platinum-haired boy had tried to convince the one with the scar to become friends and thus be able to share space with him and have an anecdote to tell his parents, he ended up joining the seats that you were free because of Potter's refusals, then becoming your friend, even if you didn't support his extreme ideas and that you had to scold every time you heard them. You and Draco had different thoughts, you just had to see how you treated the other housemates, but that didn't mean that you couldn't get along and that you were mischievous from time to time with those ideas that the others didn't like.

"You know damn well she'd never go out with that asshole," Malfoy muttered as he shook his head gently, smoothing his shirt again and fingering some of the top buttons to make sure he'd fastened them properly. "Honestly, I'm glad you thought of Granger before that brainless jerk."

"Draco, but you didn't support Krum in the competition?" Goyle questioned, confused by his friend's sudden change of mind.

Draco's snort caused Crabbe to nudge his friend back to silence.

"I'd rather support Krum than Potter and Diggory if that's what you mean," the platinum-haired man mentioned, emphasizing his enemy's last name, "but as for going out with my friend, understand that I'd rather she go to the dance with Granger before anyone else. I prefer her even before you two."

Pansy couldn't help but smile when she saw the puzzled faces of her two companions; they were really stupid without meaning to.

It was no surprise to anyone to learn that you wanted to invite Hermione, they just had to see the way you looked at her in the Yule Ball, and it only took a raised eyebrow from Draco to blow your mind. You were both friends and, although it was true that you were not part of the golden trio, at some point they had come to you to obtain information about their adventures or to sneak them into some prohibited section of the school, even helping them to enter the Slytherin common room through some necessary instructions while Harry and Ron had used Polyjuice Potion and you were seeing to it that Hermione returned to her usual appearance. You had been very helpful, but above all, you worried that the female of the trio was completely fine and that didn't go unnoticed by anyone because they just had to remember how worried you were when the Basilisk had petrified her.

"Why would I want the wand if we're going to a dance?" You asked out loud as you headed down the stairs again, tripping on the last step you peeped at in the worst way you could. "For God's sake, what nerves."

"Who is God?" Pansy questioned, confused to hear you mention that being for the first time.

"A very important entity in the muggle world, but it doesn't matter much now," you muttered, running your hands over your face to try to think if you were forgetting something or not. "I know there's something I need to do, and I've been thinking about it on the way down, damn short-term memory."

Your murmurs and whispers confused Draco, worrying him about how anxious you were getting.

With a soft sigh, Malfoy approached you, placing his hands on your shoulders to stop the spinning you were doing while trying to remember what it was that you had forgotten, causing you to suddenly raise your head to meet the concerned blue eyes of your friend had on you. He was aware of how nervous you could be, you appreciated Granger in such a pure and special way that even he forgot at times who that Gryffindor was, but if you continued to behave in that way you would surely withdraw the proposal, and you would not have the courage to face the girl you loved so much.

"I think that's enough, okay?" The platinum spoke, caressing his shoulders gently. "You're perfect, you're lovely and Granger has chosen you for a reason, and that is that she likes you as much as she likes you, okay? So now she's waving that huge train on your dress and we're going to pick up your partner."

Your previously opaque gaze suddenly lit up, and with a flick of your fingers, you unfastened the semi-transparent train you carried with you and folded it before heading back to your room so you could tuck it away in the deepest corner of your trunk, listening to a scream from Pansy, who was horrified to see that you had decided to remove the only element of your outfit that could make the other guests see that you were from Slytherin house. The moment Draco saw you in the gorgeous dress that had previously been covered by that long train, he could understand why you were so nervous, which is that Pansy had gotten it into your head that in that elegant ruby-hued gown, green was a fantastic choice even if it wasn't.

You were blocked, you had panicked, and that's why you had been so scared.

"Wait, so she's indeed going to go with Granger's Mudblood?"

Crabbe's question to Goyle caused nothing more than the second nodding softly before both, slightly petrified, slowly looked up to meet your bright eyes that denoted anything but peace. Both Slytherins, seeing anything but feelings of peace and tranquillity reflected in your eyes, quickly apologized and fell silent.

"I'm going to go now. The sooner I pick her up, the less desire I'll have to get into bed and not attend the dance," you murmured, gently scratching your cheek before saying goodbye to each of your companions, carefully observing how the platinum-haired boy greeted you smiled with encouragement to give you emotional support.

With your heart in your mouth, and thinking that your restless feet would make you turn around to get back into the Slytherin room, you began to advance through the long corridors of the underground area of ​​the castle, full of life and colour for the first time, while you excitedly greeted some of your classmates who were waiting impatiently for their respective partners to appear, almost making you believe that Professor Snape was among all the crowd of students trying to cross the corridor to reach his office. A strange feeling of warmth had suddenly come over your body and, although you might think it was due to the large number of floating candles that were in a row to guide the students to the lower floor of the castle, you were aware that it was the emotion of seeing Hermione what made you feel so good.

Between sighs and thoughts of hasty escape, along with quick greetings and congratulations to the three champions who had been chosen by the goblet, you finally met Harry and Ron, who seemed to be muttering to themselves something you couldn't understand. You couldn't help but grimace when you saw the panic-stricken face of the former, even though you had hardly spoken to him since he had been chosen as the fourth participant to win the cup and be crowned the winner of such a dangerous game. You felt really bad about the lack of support he initially had from the whole school and how dangerous each part of the championship seemed to be; honestly, you would never have dared to put your name in the goblet let alone fight a dragon-like Potter had.

But, after all, only that kid was capable of getting into such serious trouble.

"Guys!" You exclaimed, surprising both to hear your animated voice, taking a couple of strides to reach the duo who calmly descended the stairs that led to the upper floor where the tower of their house was located. "I finally see you, I hadn't even had time to talk to you now that you're so famous."

"I wish I was known for something other than being a cheat," Harry muttered, clearing his throat, and looking back at you to smile broadly before changing the subject radically. "You look great, that dress looks great on you."

"Yes, are you sure that the hat placed you in the correct house?" Ron questioned mockingly, seeing you raise an eyebrow after looking at him fully. "Not a word of this, I'd swear it belonged to a relative of mine before it came into my hands."

"It's not that bad, it's just that it has some weird ruffles and the colour isn't exactly one I'd wear," you commented, shrugging, noticing how Ron's cheeks turned a deep reddish hue, "but you look amazing, any girl who goes with you will be lucky.

"And why haven't you invited me to the dance?" He asked with surprise and hope, thinking that maybe it was possible to cancel his date, but the sound of your laughter did nothing but discourage him.

"My dear redhead, if I had been all alone for the dance, I would have asked both of you, but I already have someone," you answered, biting your lower lip, and seeing the surprised looks of the other two boys. "Did you expect me to be without a partner?"

"Well, like Hermione," Weasley pointed out, making you frown at his statement, watching as Potter gently nudged him into silence. "What? It's true."

You couldn't help but gently shake your head as you listened to Ron because, while it was true that you had heard that he had made her cry because of that silly assumption that no one would want to go to the dance with her, you couldn't wait to see his face when he saw the wonder he had missed because of his poor ego.

"Do you think no one would want to ask Hermione to the ball?" You asked, gently tilting your head in confusion as the redhead shrugged. "We're not talking about just anyone, it's Hermione."

"Yeah, I know, that's why," Ron pointed out.

"She's not just any Gryffindor," you stated. "She is a wonderful girl, she is authentic, she is kind and sweet, the smartest person I have ever met, she never fails her friends and she has all the virtues that she can have someone. Of course, sometimes she is pedantic, and a little annoyed with her orders, but it is because she cares about others. After all, she loves them and, honestly, I don't know how you are unable to appreciate a person like her in the same way that Harry or I do."

Your declaration made a hidden heart give a great turn, and it is that Hermione, waiting in the corner that was next to the stairs to be able to surprise you, had listened to your little speech that, full of affection and good intentions, had penetrated deeply in her to the point of making her feel like a swarm of butterflies were tickling her belly, being forced to caress that area for fear that someone would find out about it even if it was something that only she felt and thought about.

With a couple of steps, she was no longer only in your sight but in the sight of all of Hogwarts.

Anyone who saw her would think that she was just another student as she had put on a little more makeup but, being Hermione, everything had suddenly changed in the atmosphere.

You swallowed hard and felt how your hands began to sweat with the appearance of Hermione because, as she descended the flight of stairs that separated you, you could see how her pink-hued dress seemed to be about to make her fly thanks to the ruffles of various shades of the same colour, making her look like the true princess that she was and the beautiful swan that hid under the school bustle, in addition to the light makeup that she had applied to herself returning to her varied freckles scattered on her face wonderful bright stars lighting up the room and making the areas that stood out on their own even more visible and amazing, all with a highlighted hairstyle that must have cost her too much to do due to the various braids that made up the decorated chignon with little bobby pins with butterfly charms that had not been able to catch all the unruly locks of the young woman and that they had allowed some to rest gently on her shoulders in little eddies.

From your perspective, you were looking at the most beautiful phoenix, the ideal potion, or the best performed Stunning Charm in the world because, hell, it looked such that there was only one word to describe it.

"My dear, you look perfect tonight," you murmured with a sigh as she stopped in front of you.

Hermione couldn't help but smile hearing you say those sweet words that caused her legs to tremble for a short second.

"You too," she whispered, in such a way that those statements were so confidential that even Harry and Ron couldn't hear you.

Granger took your hand, not caring how sweaty it was or the look of surprise on your face, and quickly ran to the Great Hall where most of the couples were already ready to receive the champions and celebrate Christmas in a big way, but not before allowing himself to look over his shoulder at his two friends who were looking in surprise in your direction while a select group of Slytherins grinned as they realized that you had managed to be with your perfect match.