(y/n) - your name

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The yule ball has been a tradition of the tri-wizard tournament since its inception." The room was filled with all 4th year students as they sat on benches, girls and boys separated from each other but the house mingling together before a fierce McGonagall who looks at Flinch as he prepared the giant phonograph. "On Christmas eve night we and our guests gather in the great hall for well-mannered frivolity." (y/n) was sitting with Hermione, who along with the other girls except for her, were sitting up straight with poise. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest, leaning back against a bench and growing more and more nervous about what the Yule Ball was. "As representatives of the host school, I expect each and every one of you to put your best foot forward, and I mean this literally because the yule ball is first and foremost... a dance." the girls whispered in excitement while (y/n) and the boys groan out from the news. 

Draco snickered seeing how pissed off she was hearing about the ball, deciding to ask her to join him but he was terrified of asking her the question. He didn't know how he was going to ask her, lost in his mind of thinking of ways to ask her. He tried to come up with chivalrous ideas or even romantic ones that would have her say yes to him undeniably, missing out on what McGonagall said after Snape yelled at the students to silence.

"Now to dance is to let the body breathe... inside every girl a secret swan slumbers longing to burst forth and take flight." McGonagall so elegantly explains and (y/n) narrows her eyes at Seamus, Ron and Harry who were talking.

"Something's about to burst out of Eloise Midgen, but I don't think it's a swan." they laugh, the Hufflepuff glaring at them when she heard them and she hid her hands behind her back to summon three books for them. They floated behind their heads and smacked them hard in the back of their heads, making them yelp out as the books disappear just as quick. Harry and Ron looked up and immediately knew it was (y/n) as they rubbed their heads, Draco biting his lip to not laugh at what he saw. 

God she truly was a Slytherin at heart and he absolutely loved it.

"Inside every boy a lordly lion prepared to prance. Mr Weasly, will you join me?" McGonagall asks, the boy looking around in a panic but slumps forward in defeat. She picks him up by his jumper, the boys all cheering for him mockingly. "Now, place your right hand on my waist."

"Where?"

"My waist." the Weasley begrudgingly does as his professor asks, Fred and George wolf whistling making (y/n) chuckle behind her hand. She secretly summons her camera, taking a picture of the moment as the boy and the professor dance to the music drifting from the phonograph.

"You're never going to let him down for this, are you?" Hermione whispers, looking at the photo as the girls snicker.

"God no never!"

"Everybody come together!" McGonagall commands, all the girls standing up in excitement except for the boys trying to hide into the bench. (y/n) tried to hide as well, covering her face but she curses when someone pulls her hands down. Draco stood in front of her, his brow raised and his arms crossed in amusement as she saw the other students all paired off on the dance floor but now separated into houses only. 

"Will you dance with me or do I have to pry you away from the bench?"

"Draco, I don't know how to dance! And why are you asking me and not someone from your house!?" he shrugs, not caring about the multiple pairs of eyes that were on the Slytherin and the Hufflepuff.

"You can't be terrible Puff." he grins, holding his hand out. She looks around nervously, not wanting to make a fool out of herself and he notices her panic. "Hey, I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you ok." Draco didn't want (y/n) to have another panic attack, patting her knee so she would look at him only. "I promise you." he raises his pinky up for her and she eases.

"Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise." he says and she curls her pinky around his before letting go to take her cloak and jumper off. 

The platinum blonde-haired boy blushed heavily as he sees her Puff stand up, tying up her hair and he quickly shakes off his racing thoughts to extend his hand out to her which she hesitantly grabs. He pulls her to the dance floor, guiding her hands on where they need to go as he holds her waist with one hand and holds one of her hands with his. She was looking down the entire time, trying not to step on his feet and he tsks, tapping her chin up to make her look at him.

"You have to keep eye contact Puff."

"That's too intimate! I can't do that! I don't do that on a regular basis!" Draco chuckles lightly when she hides her face against his shoulder, deciding to keep talking to her to keep her from falling into her panicked mind.

"Just look at me, talk to me. How was your day so far? What did you do?" he whispers to her, pulling her to dance with him as they glided elegantly across the floor without her knowing.

"Oh! Ron got this hideous dress robe from his mum a few days ago! It had feathers and tulle and everything!" (y/n) snickers, remembering the robes.

"I saw that! I couldn't figure out what it was. He's wearing that to the Yule Ball?"

"Unfortunately from what I can tell. Oh, he's going to be miserable!" the Slytherin grins seeing his Puff laugh happily, enjoying this moment with him. Everyone around them watched in awe as the couple danced together, shocked at how easily they made it look and how at ease they were with each other. Even McGonagall and Snape were a bit surprised.

"What else?" Draco genuinely enjoyed listening to (y/n) talk, seeing her smile and telling him about her day so far. "Are you going to the ball?"

"I don't know... You can only go if a 4th year and above invites you. No one is going to ask me so I might just skip it and read or something..." that made his chest ache, noticing the sad smile on her face. 

How could she think that no one would ask her!? She's beautiful! How can she not see that!?

"Anyway, what are you wearing to the ball? I know a lot of girls who would be excited to go with you." (y/n) asks.

"That will be a surprise for the night. Only if you come too."

"We'll see Draco." the boy nods, suddenly picking (y/n) up to spin her around and she gasps in surprise from the movement before he sets her back down. "Woah! Boy do you have moves! I knew you probably had lessons for ballroom dancing but damn, I didn't know that you were an expert!" Draco laughs happily at that, amused by her sayigs before shaking his head before spinning her under his arm and pulling her back to dance together.

"Father had me take lessons for all types of dances. And I have to say, you're decent yourself for someone who doesn't know how to dance."

"Shut up. That's a lie and you know it."

"Really? Cause you haven't stepped on my foot once or looked down. We haven't stumbled at all." (y/n) blinks and breaks her stare away from Draco, her face turning red to see the professors smiling proudly at the pair as they glided between the students who were in awe of them. She stumbled on her footing from being stared at and losing all confidence, the Slytherin quickly catching her before abruptly taking a step back from him.

"Um, I don't feel too well..." the Hufflepuff mumbles out, hiding her face as she quickly grabbed her stuff and ran out of the room.

"Malfoy, check on your partner." Snape says as he approaches the boy and he nods, rushing out of the room. "The rest of you, back to practising now!" the Slytherin professor yells at everyone and they go back to minding their own business.

(y/n) walked into a dark hallway, casting a wall to keep her invisible as she slid her back against the wall. She buried her face against her knees, breathing heard to try and calm her racing heart while trying to keep her tears at bay. She truly believed that no one would ever ask her to a ball, to ever ask her to be theirs. She didn't even want to try, to have any hopes up and a pit of self-hatred grew in her chest. She wasn't as beautiful as the other girls, wasn't as skinny so why even think that she would be someone's choice? She was no one's choice, she wasn't even someone's thought or a glance. She was a nobody and she had made herself believe that, that she would never be happy with someone.

What she didn't know was Draco was the one who wanted to ask her to the ball, to ask her to be his. He knew she was beautiful, more beautiful than any other girl that crossed his eyes. He wanted him to be her choice, to be her thought as she was to him.