As for Hermione… she'd fallen in love with
her dress the minute she'd seen it in the Muggle store in downtown London's more 'chic-chic' district, and it had cost her a pretty pence, but she'd been careful with her money for years; all those Christmas and birthdays she'd been gifted money had gone right into the bank. She'd splurged on the dress, seeing as how it was her last year in school.
It was a floor-length, silk dress that simply flowed like water when she moved. The top was a halter style – the saleslady had called it 'Rome's Egyptian style' – with very little fabric to it, honestly. It had a thick, bejewelled collar, and was backless to the sway of her spine, so she wouldn't be able to wear a bra with it. It was a multitude of jewel-tone colours, printed almost like tie-dye, with fractal round patterns blooming up here and there, adding a three-dimensional visual texture. Creams, oranges, red, yellows, purples, aquas, pinks… they blended seamlessly, beautifully to create a montage of colour. On her feet were a pair of gold strappy three inch heels, and the only jewellery she allowed, so as not to detract from the dress, were a pair of golden dangle hoops with diamond butterflies, and a thin, bangle bracelet that was made of a multitude of crisscrossing wires in an interlocking pattern.
As for her hair, she'd pinned her hair up on the sides, allowing the remainder to curl down her back, and she'd tamed it so it would lay flat, not fuzzy, in shiny, shimmering waves. She'd gone dramatic on the make-up, though, so as not to be drowned out by the dress: dusky pink, bronze, gold shadow, dark brown liner and mascara, shimmering pink blusher, pink-strawberry lips.
The effect, in her opinion, was that she appeared sophisticated, with a touch of dreamy romance.
The men were equally as diverse in their clothing options as the women had been.
Blaise was dressed in a long-sleeved, dark purple silk shirt, a pair of black woollen dress slacks, and black, shiny shoes. He wore no ostentatious ornamentation, but Hermione had scented a cologne on him that hinted of frankincense.
Theo was all casual summer: black polo, white trousers, black shoes, brown belt. He looked comfortable and stylish, as if he were going out on a summer cruise around the harbour with a date. His hair had been combed, and he had shaved his usual five o'clock shadow. He smelled of pears and citrus.
Harry, like Blaise, had gone for practical-attractive: a dark green, long-sleeved cotton dress shirt that made his eyes pop, dark black dress slacks, and black, low-backed leather boots that had been polished. Around his neck was his favourite necklace, a gift from Sirius – a black leather cord with a silver Celtic tri-fecta pendant, which had been bespelled to give him mental clarity at all times, even when drunk off his horse. Hermione would give her right foot for such a charmed item! His cologne was subtle, spicy, like cedar and mint.
Ron had gone as dramatic as his sister, wearing an ensemble that ironically matched Ginny's. Hermione was, in fact, betting that Ginny helped her brother pick out the outfit and convinced him to wear it tonight, just so she wouldn't feel alone in her flashy fashion sense. A smartly dramatic, iridescent orange-red jacket cut in a Regency Era officer's uniform style was adorned with velvet cuffs and edging, with silver buttons up both sides of the divide. Underneath, he wore a black satin dress shirt. His pants were extremely interesting – tight in the inseam and hugging his body down to the ankles, where a zipper was attached to both legs. On his feet, he wore a pair of shiny, black leather shoes that had no obvious laces. His hair was gelled to stand on end, and as usual, he'd worn his diamond earring stud in his left ear; he'd gotten it pierced this year on his birthday, in a fit of rebellion and because he wanted to mimic his big brother, Bill. He'd shaved, too. Overall, he looked quite dapper. And he smelled good, as well – like spring grass and the fresh dew of morning.
Seamus had surprised her, appearing in a more formal, summer wool suit, complete with dress shirt and vest. Of course, he'd worn sneakers to "off-set the ponce look," as he'd referred to it. Personally, she thought that the dark grey outfit with the white collared shirt looked rather fetching on him, and gave him an air of maturity that he definitely could use, despite the sneakers. He smelled divine, however, like leather and whiskey.
Malfoy… Whoa. He'd gone with a look that left Hermione quite breathless, honestly, although she refused to admit it by even allowing her eyes to roam too long over him. Dressed in all white - a shocking first - he'd donned a pair of loose, summer-weight, cotton dress slacks, a thin white, cotton dress tank top (he'd left the top buttons open), and partnered the outfit up with a burnished silver and beige leather belt, and white, tie dress shoes. On his wrist, he wore a matching beige bracelet made of leather, and around his neck were strung three cords – one close to his throat, and the other two swinging down the open 'vee' of his shirt, showing off not only the silver dragon pendants he had hung from the ropes, but also an impressive physique that she hadn't known he'd sported. His hair was ruffled to look casually indifferent, much as Harry's had always been prior to him cutting it shorter this past spring. He was comfortably casual and steamily sexy as he sat across from her on the Slytherin couch, his full lips pouty, winter-grey eyes staring at the ceiling as he leaned his head back into the cushions, showing off a delicious expanse of bared neck.
As she stared at him now, Hermione grew decidedly uncomfortable… and in a way she hadn't expected. Between her thighs, she felt a bit sticky.
Determined not to think about Malfoy in that way, she turned her attention to fiddling with her bracelet instead, twirling it round and round on her wrist, fighting the urge to jiggle her leg.
As the first toll of the bell rang out throughout the castle and surrounding grounds, Draco looked up at Harry and nodded, and Harry turned to Seamus and tapped him on the leg. The men had drawn straws earlier to see who would go first to draw from the Partners deck, and in what order.
Seamus stepped up to the set of gold cards and flipped the first one. His gaze travelled to Lavender. "Seems I'll be gettin' me second chance after all, angel," he slowly smiled, his green eyes warming as he crossed over to her and handed her his Partners card – the one that had his magical signature on it. He kept hers in the trade.
Lavender looked positively astonished, blushing, and looked down at the floor, taking his card with shaky hands. "Oh," was all she said.
As Seamus returned to his seat, Blaise stood up next and took the top card off the pile next. His grin was positively feral as he silently read the name. Moving across to the Gryffindor side, seating himself beside Ginny on the couch, he passed her his Partners card without a word.
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