POV: Hermione. Viva Las Vegas... 😍✨😘 play the song darlings!

We arrived in an apparation timely schedule to the 'Magician's Hat.' The hotel was safely hidden inside of an abandoned old popular hotel known as
'The Sands' in the 1960s. And was perfectly staged for the Wizarding World to reside here without the exposure of Muggle's discovering our secrets...

We instantly felt at home with countless witches and wizards having the time of their lives. The hotel was remarkably beautiful and swimming with glitz and glamour from the thousands of crystal chandeliers to the glittering pearly marbled floor. And iridescent touches of elegance around every corner. The continuous twinkling of florescent lights and signs were so bright you needed sunglasses. Especially after a long night of drinking... The sounds of money clinking and chiming from the conjoining casino buzzed all around us. House Elves were frantically organized in their proud fancy uniforms and shuffling through the crowds, while carrying luggage and serving drinks to the guests and patrons of this money hungry establishment.

It was a grown Wizardy dream...

We checked into our tiny modest hotel room with a full size bed and fully loaded mini bar, that Ronald simultaneously filled his gob as soon as he witnessed it.

After settling in, Ron and I got our game faces on and gathered our wits to do some wizarding gambling. Notwithstanding also, with a mixture of some Muggle games thrown in as well.

Ron was very victorious with his gambling duties. He strategically played all afternoon with an old wizard named Chauncey, in Wizards Chess. In fact, Ronald won five hundred Galleons worth, within two hours! It was quite remarkable...

I needed a break to stretch my legs from not having any luck at the Magical slot machines. So I explained to Ronald, that I was going for a walk around the shops in the massive hotel that could seriously be it's own country.

The Magician's Hat was towering with isles of endless shops of extravagant tastes that represented our magical world perfectly.

My retail therapy eyes were drawn to a posh dress shop called, 'Sarah Sanderson's Closet.' I had to take a look around...

I glided inside feeling extremely out of place and out of my price range. Regardless, I couldn't help being intrigued by the beautifully crafted clothing staring straight back at me. Especially in particular, to the most strikingly beautiful black dress I'd ever seen.

I placed my hand on the golden ornate hanger and carefully lifted the dress off the rack. I next placed my head through the opening of the dress and brought the middle of the sultry dress to lay across my shoulders. The tag was sticking and poking my ribcage as a warning button to back away from the garment of artistry merchandise. I curiously picked up the charmed glowing price tag reading...
Five Thousand Galleons, and promptly feeling my heart darting to my stomach.

Who could actually afford this?! I risked my endeavors keeping the hanger around my neck, wanting to see what I might look like in this out of my league gown. I then stumbled upon a three way mirror standing to my left. And let myself go into a magical unreality...

I dreamed about the possibilities of owning this dress and wearing it to, well, somewhere? I laughed closing my eyes and openly gazed back into the mirror.

In my moment of unrealistic wealthy fantasies, I abruptly realized to my horror that someone was watching me from behind?! Standing in the corner of the reflection of the right side of the middle mirror, that I was directly looking into!

An extremely familiar, infuriatingly handsome, and an intrusive arse, was just... staring at me?! I witnessed his deceitful echoing image of blindingly sheen frosted hair, overpriced perfectly tailored black suit, and wearing his snakily smirk glaring from behind me. I felt my throat dry up in horror. And felt my stomach literally feeling as if it had dropped to the golden glittered plexiglass floor beneath my feet.

He was so close to me now, I could smell the remembrance of his chronically addicting expensive cologne, as he dangerously strutted up towards me in his peacocking egotistical swaggering slides and I turned around to face my most loathed enemy of Hogwarts...

Draco Malfoy.

"Why don't you properly try it on, Granger?" He dared to question me with a disgusting smile. All to conveniently, sticking his hands in his fancy trouser pockets and undressing me with his cold grey silvering eyes.

"Because I can't afford it, Malfoy," I validly blurted in my brazenness to him. Instantly becoming angry with myself in giving him the ammunition to a rowing banter.

"Well then... Let me buy it for you," He arrogantly and plainly stated. Causing me to freeze where I stood, and my legs were paralyzed from shock.

"Excuse me?! Oh that's rich... barking Billywigs, you're truly mental, you know that, Malfoy?! You want to buy this dress for me?! Why?! Oh, that's right! Because money is no object to you, am I right?! How could I forget, seeing a spoiled, bratty, trust-fund baby, when I see one?!" I spat, seeing utter pleasure across his structured face at my reactions to him. He didn't even blink at what I just said!

He just coolly smirked with satisfaction.

Seem to think of it, he always looked at me this way, in our rows of hatred...

"And why not, Granger? Beautiful women, deserve beautiful dresses," he gave me his clever baneful grins, all the while undressing me with his filthy disastrous glares.

"Oh, please... I know your acts all too well, Malfoy! I guarantee, you do this on the regular! I can only imagine you trying this pick line on other countless daft witches. Well guess what? I'm not those other witches, who'll buy your pathetic bollocks, just so you can get into their knickers!" I beamed standing up for myself against him.

Draco was silently moving his head from side to side. Watching me in my fuming points against his revolting behavior and began laughing at me. In which, really boiled my blood faster than a readied potion in its cauldron.

"WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE?!" I screamed as a sweet House Elf clerk came from around the corner to see what the commotion was about. When she viewed Malfoy, she became petrified and quickly scampered in the other direction as if she knew better than to get involved... he of course ignored her. Bringing the entirety of focus of his victim being me, right in front of him. And continued tormenting me...

"Damn Granger, you've still got all this pent up anger against me, don't you? I thought time heals all wounds, darling?" Malfoy flirted with me in his revolting pet names, coming closer and closer to me the bleeding bastard. The clicks of his onyx leathers were popping in my ears and I realized with every step he took, my breathing was in syncopation of his fatal moves. My heart was palpitating so fast and so hard, that I thought it was going to beat out of my chest.

"As a matter of fact, I've rather always enjoyed seeing you all hot and bothered by my presence, it's extremely flattering and telling..." Malfoy gruesomely harassed me, by his unruly bedeviling philandering in route of methodically torturing me more.

"HA! You wish, and you dream in that wild imagination of yours, Malfoy!" I raved trying to disguise my current bluff, and innermost thoughts of actually knowing he was right.

Why did he always effect me like this?! Ever since our third year... I confidentially veiled a deep schoolgirl crush on him.

Don't you dare breathe a word of this...

I walked backwards away from his advances as he was eyeing my body from head to toe, obviously loving my uncomfortableness of his actions. I stood my ground and asked him again with more subtlety...

"Why are you here?" I asked again figuratively folding my arms across my body.

"Why are you here?" Malfoy dared repeated with his gloating grins, giving me chills and clearing loving getting under my skin.

"I asked you first!" I snapped back.

This was like a bleeding tennis match!

"I didn't realize our inquiries had to be in a particular order? Hmmm... but while we're playing this guessing game, let me make a wild assumption as to why you're here... Are you and Weasley Eloping? I've seen quite a few of our old classmates coming here lately, and getting married to their untimely doom," He chuckled at his own joke.

"Yes as a matter of fact we are," I vaunted in a confirming tone. Not expressing the full truth or stretching the truth in the matter further... Because, I wasn't positive Ronald and I, would or would not be Eloping this weekend?

But it was none of Malfoy's nosy business!

"Oh, for fucks sakes Granger, really?! I'd a thought by now, you'd seen the light and moved on from old Red Ronald McDonald! I mean come on! He can't even give you the proper engagement ring! Doesn't he know, giving a witch an opal ring, is horribly bad luck?" He rudely mocked my intelligence to take care of myself, in considerably making the wrong choices, stating his facts and pointing at Ronald's ring on my finger, as such he was right, if you believed in that sort of thing of ridiculous superstitions... but that's besides the point!

And I yelled right back at him....

"You're such a foul, evil, loathsome, and cunningly dreadful, pillocking bastardized snake! How dare you speak to me, as if you know me and what's best for my well being?! It's honestly laughable, you thinking you know what I need! I can't stand you! I NEVER could stand YOU! Get your pilfering ways away from me, before I curse you!" Pushed him aside and threw the dress on top of a side counter in front of me, leaving the shop and hearing the haunting echoes of Malfoy behind me.

"Good to see you too, Granger. I see nothing's changed, except for a new greater lengthy vocabulary of definitions of hating ME!" And bellowed a dark sinisterly laugh.

I raced away from him, barging into the casino to find Ronald. Who was now at a Craps Table, lost in his world controlled by the almighty pound.

"'Mione! I'm on a roll baby!! I've won three hundred more Galleons!" Ron crowed like a wild banshee. "Here, my lucky love. Kiss the dice for me to win a seven," he requested of me, holding the dice in his palm and raising them up to my lips.

"Ron, can we get married after this game? Please, I really want to..." I begged with anger fuming my entire body. In betwixt the sounds of bells and winning screaming patrons surrounding us, were also stinging in my ears.

"Babe! We're winning! Come on, we've got all the time in the world to get married! We have to strike while the kettle's hot! We need moola!! Come on baby, put those tasty pluckers on this pair of dice that have always brought me luck, in ohhh so many ways," Ronald goofily grinned with his grotesque insinuations of our sex lives, wriggling out of my suggestion yet again. He was awfully good at doing things he didn't want to do, wasn't he? And using me in the long run, to get him out of his troubles.
He was all together impossible...

Ron was annoying me to no end. I rolled my eyes feeling agitated by the second... I then conveniently looked up through the crowd and saw Malfoy again, who had clearly followed me. Our eyes met and hastily locked onto each other for an unruly minute. He gave me his malice grin and I broke our threatening trances ignoring his intolerable scandalous driven ass.

This casino was full of asses apparently...

"Alright," I agreed with Ronald for some reason, giving him a visionary smile, following with a fast peck on the lips. And I also think I obliged to grandstand our relationship, because I could literally feel Malfoy staring at my every action by the second. "That's my girl!" Ron hollered and raised the dice up closer to my lips. I kissed them for luck and gazed my eyes upwards to seeing Malfoy approaching our table.

This wasn't going to end well. And I could feel my heart beginning to race again in the unknowns of what might escape out of Malfoy's twisted tongue...

Ron waved his wand to make the dice raise into the air confidently speaking "Leviosa," he said it correctly smiling at me and I gave him a blushing smile back. He next, flicked his wand to throw the dice down the oval table lined in green velvet, as we held our breaths to see the outcome of the red cubed squares rolling themselves down the opposite end of the table.

"SEVEN!! We have a winner!" The Casino House Elf roared at the top of his lungs. Ron picked me up causing me to scream. And lifting me towards the heavens of a mystical Wizarding paradise that was bewitched to glow in sky blue during the day, and midnight blue to matching the starry nights at nightfall, that was painted above us on the ceiling, seeing past Wizards and Witches floating in their dreamworld.

"Looks like I could use some of her luck as well."

I heard Malfoy's arrogant voice beside me, and my body became numb with fear and nauseous of the following uncharted plagues, as Ronald set me down, realizing just who joined us.

"Bloody hell! Malfoy?! What on earth are you doing here?" Ron questioned him shaking his hand with warm smile?! My mouth dropped open in bewilderment at Ron's welcoming of Malfoy. He apparently had been drinking too many Fire Whiskey's, which brought out his nice side.

"Well, I heard all the ruckus and I thought I'd come and give it a gander. Then I saw you two infamous lovebirds and just had to say hello to my Favourite Gryffindors," Draco contrived a finagling smirk, distinctly satirizing our relationship and giving me a wink, that Ronald didn't even slightly notice.

"You're barking mad, you old dodgy Slytherin. It's good to see you're still slithering about!" Ron teased with his rowdy drunken chuckles, and Malfoy laughed alongside him?! They were acting like old mates?! What the bloody hell, is going on around here?! Had hell frozen over?! Was there some kind of calming potion they were seeping through the air conditioner vents?!

"Listen, since you're both coincidentally here... and I do owe you both, for everything that..." Malfoy veered off in referring to our hurtful pasts and came back to his subject, "Why don't you two join my little get together, that I'm having in my penthouse upstairs tonight, at nine?" He finished his invitation, just as soon as I didn't trust a single word that came out of his mouth. The Malfoy I always knew, had terrible plots brewing in that freezing thick head of his.

"We have plans this evening," I interrupted the odd bromance before me. I mean honestly! These two hated each other! Their existence of one another was sheer lunacy of loathing. However, when Ronald was drunk he liked him evidently enough?! Maybe it was just the ambiance of everything or maybe Ron was finally happy again?

"'Mione! Come on, darling. We'll have fun," Ronald wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed my cheek. I witnessed Malfoy glaring at Ronald's movements, taking me in his arms and jealousy rushing in his body language that was hidden behind this stormy eyes and crooked smile. I stood in hating silence, narrowing my eyes on Malfoy and gave an agreeing shake of my head reading a reluctant yes.

"Brilliant. I'll see you later this evening," Draco informed us with a quick nod, never taking his gazes off of me. Until he wheeled back around to leaving the casino, finally leaving us alone...

"I don't trust him Ronald! This is Draco Malfoy we're talking about!" I reminded my drunken absentminded fiancé.

"Oh, come off it, 'Mione. The war is over and he's paid his dues. I've heard from Dad, he's had quite a change come around in his life, since everything has happened," Ron was taking his side of course... he never saw my side of things.

"Ha... well, I'm not letting my guard down. And I'll have my wand at the ready," I indulged him with my wary attitude of Malfoy. He didn't know about what had occurred between us just minutes ago, and he wasn't ever going to find out...

"It'll be fine love, I promise," Ronald tried to make me feel at ease and kissed my lips to comfort me. However, it did not work... I was staggering with concern and questions of doubt...

Why did he invite us to a party he was throwing?

I didn't trust Draco Malfoy. I knew what a scheming prat he really was...

Nonetheless, and surprisingly, why didn't Malfoy tell Ronald, he saw me at the dress shop? That was rather odd... Because the Malfoy I knew, would've spilled his guts and probably would've made up some bogus story to Ronald about me coming onto him! Ha! The snake bastard...

Ronald and I spent the rest of our day gambling and had a quick dinner before the soirée. Ronald changed the subject about going to the midnight chapel to elope after the party, when I asked him about it for the third time today, while we ate our spaghetti bolognese in the hotel's Italian themed restaurant called Gotti's. His blatant disregarding responses were priceless, "This is the best spaghetti I've ever had in my life! Hey, maybe they could give me the recipe for Mum to make?! And hey! We should go to one of those Cirque shows everyone's been going on about!" He stuffed his gob like a professional eater with his mouth open and food practically falling out of the corners of his lips, as if he were never going to eat again.

And completely ignoring my thoughts and words receiving his messages quite clear, that he didn't...

I gave up for the time being.

And soon we were off to our hotel room to change for Malfoy's private party to end the joyous evening.

Great...