Hermione took his hand and was carried away instantly. They quickly waltzed across the ballroom. At one point, she gathered enough courage to look into his eyes. Hermione felt transparent the moment their eyes met. She shivered and spun away from his dark silver eyes, away from his stare. Draco pulled her back as if forcing to look at him. Her heart was racing, fueled by adrenaline and alcohol. Her thoughts were scattered. She kept running from one decision to the other. Getting enough courage and losing it the next moment. It was purgatory that lasted a few minutes but felt like an eternity. Hermione almost lost her balance when Draco bent down, holding her back only a few feet from the ground. Her hand instinctively raced to the dagger strapped to her leg to prevent it from falling out. As soon as she had a grip on it, Draco pulled her back up. Her hand jerked up, still holding the weapon. She panicked, placing the hand on his back. Hermione knew that it was just a split second, that he didn’t have enough time to notice. Yet, her heart was about to rip through her ribcage. She held the cold metal as far away from his back as she could as they spun. Hermione was screaming inside, knowing that the final was approaching. Still, she didn’t allow any emotion on her face. She didn’t want him to know what was going to happen. She didn’t want him to have enough time to understand. Hermione tightened her grip on the dagger as the dance came to an end. They stood holding each other. His hands on her waist and back, hers pointing the tip of the blade at his back.