𝐸𝑉𝐸𝑅𝐺𝑅𝐸𝐸𝑁 𝑀𝐼𝑆𝑇 || 𝐷.𝑀.

eighteen

* Juniper's ball dress at the top of the chapter. *

    Exams seemed to take forever to get through, especially the potions exam that Snape made impossibly difficult. However the knowledge that the Winter Ball that Hogwarts was hosting for the sixth and seventh years kept Juniper in a more positive mood. She and Blair were in Juniper's dormitory as they were getting ready for the ball, Juniper was applying the last bit of her makeup as Blair finished pinning her hair back. She applied a small amount of lipgloss before sliding her heels on.
    "Okay, what do you think?" Juniper asked Blair her opinion on her dress as she stood from the desk chair, pacing a little bit. Her nerves were extremely high, all that was going through her mind was whether or not Draco would like her dress; as stupid as it sounded to her, she was so nervous about the ball tonight.
    "Junie, you look wonderful." Blair giggled as she held her hand out for Juniper to grab. "Draco is a very, very lucky man." She nudged her as they opened the dormitory door. Other sixth and seventh year Slytherin's were all exiting the common room to head toward the ball, Juniper could see Pansy Parkinson waltzing out of her dormitory in a dark green dress with Blaise Zabini in tow, their eyes meeting and Pansy gave her a nasty glare. Juniper rolled her eyes and pulled Blair out of the common room to go meet Draco.
    "Pansy bloody Parkinson is going with Blaise? What's she playing at?" Juniper whispered to Blair.
    "Pansy is obsessed with Draco and Blaise is obsessed with you, of course they'd go together so they can probably plan something evil." Blair said. "I'll see you there." Blair told her as they rounded the corner and saw Draco leaning against the corridor wall, waiting for Juniper. Juniper nodded and let go of her hand, beginning to walk down the stairs toward Draco who looked up at her. He met her at the bottom of the stairs, holding a hand out for her to grab with a smile on his face.
    Draco watched as Juniper walked down the stairs,  her dress in the light caused an abundance of colors to gleam off of it. He couldn't help but think of how radiating she was, it was as if he couldn't catch his breath anymore, losing it entirely and unable to find any words even when they approached each other. It felt as if he was watching himself from outside his body, seeing her take his hand as she let out a giggle, her cheeks turning pink as they stood in front of each other.
    "You look so absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous." Draco said quietly as his eyes looked over her.
    "You're making me blush." She laughed as she looked down, but quickly bringing her eyes back to his. Draco wore black pants and a black jacket, a white dress shirt underneath and a black tie, the entire outfit looking extremely seek on him. "You look incredible, Mr. Malfoy." She told him as she tilted her head up to meet his lips. Draco turned, holding his arm so she could take it and they began walking toward the Great Hall where the ball was being held. The hall was filled with students talking and dancing, it looked extremely similar to the Yule Ball from their fourth year.
    "I feel like I just stepped into the past and we're suddenly fourth years again." Draco said quietly as they watched students and professors dance together.
    "At least we don't have to stand there watching the Triwizard Champions awkwardly lead the school in a dance this time." Juniper pointed out. "Plus we're going together, so it'll be even better than the Yule Ball." She said as they slowly walked toward the dance floor. Draco gave her a small smirk as he placed his hand on her waist, taking her hand in the other. He pulled her closer to him making their faces come closer together while they danced slowly.
    Draco felt as if no one else in the room was even there while he danced with Juniper. He tried his best not to continuously stare at her, but everything about her tonight was mesmerizing to him.

* Draco's POV *

    I could feel Juniper lean her head against my shoulder and I couldn't resist leaning my head on hers as we swayed slowly to the music around us. Juniper lifted her head, looking up at me with her green eyes that had a small amount of mascara and eyeshadow on them. Her rose colored lips were especially rose colored tonight and I couldn't help but stare at them, wanting so badly to just kiss her right here and right now. I could hear a small giggle come from those rose colored lips as she twirled under my arm, coming back into my arms with a smile on her face, that same giggle radiating from her mouth.
    "Do you want to get drinks?" I whispered in her ear. She nodded her head and moved her hand from my neck, walking in front of me through the crowds of students in the room toward a table with food and drinks. I could see Blaise Zabini staring intensely at us as we walked, Juniper not noticing him nor Pansy Parkinson giving us glares that screamed they'd love to see us hanging by our thumbs in Filch's office.
    Juniper couldn't have been happier though. She grabbed a small plate and tried to put as much food on it as she could while I got us punch from the bowl that kept magically refilling. We took seats at the end of the table right next to Blair, Juniper offering her some of the snacks from the plate. I watched as they embarked in small conversation and then watched Juniper's face as she tried the punch, scrunching her nose as it was obviously terrible. I took a sip and sure enough, it was terrible.
    "Goodness, couldn't they afford better punch?" Juniper remarked as she set the cup down, making me chuckle as she took another bite of food to get rid of the taste.
    "I love this song! Sorry Draco, I'm stealing her for a bit to dance." Blair said grabbing Juniper's hand to pull her back toward the dance floor. I saw Juniper give me a look as I nodded my head, more just pleased at the fact that Blair had actually called me by my first name rather than by my last name for the first time since I'd been with her friend.
    I watched Juniper and Blair dancing wildly to the loud music, seeing the simplicity of her happiness radiate from her as she danced with her friend. Juniper's dress glistened in the light making her look seemingly breathtaking, I don't think I'd ever seen her look so beautifully happy before than this very night, knowing she was so thrilled to be at this ball tonight. I loved watching her happiness, her happiness filled me with happiness. Admiring her as she danced with Blair made me realize how incredibly lucky I was that she was stubborn enough to not give up on me when I pushed her away. My thoughts were parted as I saw Blair and Juniper rushing over, both of them grabbing my hands and pulling me from my seat to the dance floor with them.

* Original POV *

    Juniper and Blair danced wildly with the other students around them and even though she loved dancing with Blair, all she wanted was Draco to be dancing with them. It was as if Blair could read her thoughts and she gestured her head toward Draco, sending them both rushing over to him laughing as they grabbed his hands to make him dance with the both of them.
    They all danced through the countless songs that made time seem irrelevant, unsure of how long they were there until Blair began dancing with a seventh year from Ravenclaw, leaving Juniper and Draco to dance with each other. Juniper looked at the time on Draco's watch that read it was just about to be midnight.
    "Do you want to go?" Juniper leaned in close to Draco so she didn't have to shout over the music. He nodded his head and watched as Juniper waved to Blair, signaling she was leaving the ball.
    "Where would you like to go, Ms. Hartley?" Draco asked as they entered the corridor outside the Great Hall. He twirled her under his arm as they could still hear the music, both of them laughing together. Juniper stopped walking for a moment, sliding off her heels and then began walking for a moment.
    "Anywhere," she said as she spun slowly as they traveled through the corridors, watching her own dress flow around her, "take me anywhere." Juniper allowed Draco to have control over where they wandered. He nodded his head and knew exactly where to take them. Juniper followed closely as they stopped at a wall and slowly a door with intricate detailing appeared to them and opened, revealing a room full of trinkets and artifacts that were hidden from the students of Hogwarts.
"Welcome to the Room of Requirement, Ms. Hartley." Draco whispered in her ear as the detailed door closed behind them, making them entirely hidden to the rest of the castle.