debjunk & BrenaMarie

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Hermione donned her mask before Apparating to the Ministry. Tonight was a very special night. After ten years in office, Kingsley Shacklebolt had decided to step down as Minister. In the ensuing campaign, Arthur Weasley had come out the winner by a landslide victory. Arthur had been sworn in earlier that day and had declared that his celebratory ball was to be a masquerade.

Hermione was truly excited for Arthur. He had worked hard to gain respect, and this was the culmination of all his hard work. The masquerade affair, however, was something she wasn't sure about. She was uneasy about mingling with people who could turn out to be anyone. She shrugged. That was the fun of it, she supposed.

One thing she was very impressed with was the masks that had been supplied with the invitations. They had been furnished by Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Hers was silver and covered her upper face, but left her mouth exposed. The amazing thing about the seemingly innocuous mask was that it was charmed to place a glamour over the wearer. The mask changed the wearer's hair, eye color and voice so no one would guess who the partygoer was. Hermione had laughed when she'd tried out her mask and her voice had sunk to a low, sultry timbre. Then there was her glamoured hair and blue eyes. She ran her fingers through the long, blonde, straight locks as she readied herself to leave. What she wouldn't give to have straight hair like that!

Might as well enjoy it while I can, she thought. She grabbed her purse and Disapparated away.

Hermione sipped her punch as she surveyed the room. She was actually enjoying herself. She'd been swept off her feet by a brown-haired gentleman who had danced with her several times. She had also enjoyed conversations with several people, not having an inkling of whom they were. She had to hand it to Arthur, he really knew how to throw a party. She popped a shrimp into her mouth before she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see a portly gentleman smiling at her. She eyed his golden mask before returning his smile.

"Would you care to dance?" the man asked, holding out his hand.

She accepted it readily, wondering who this mystery man might be. "Of course," she replied shyly.

The man led her to the dance floor as Hermione tried to decipher who it could be under the glamour. Like all the other men, he was wearing a tuxedo, and his build could fit several people she knew. His hair was black and slicked back, and as he turned to pull her close, she saw that he too had blue eyes.

"I'll tell you who I am if you tell me who you are!" the man whispered into her ear.

She giggled. "That's not the rules, sir!"

He pulled her even closer, making Hermione feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Have it your way." His hand tightened on her back. Hermione could smell alcohol on his breath.

"Sir, would you mind not holding me so tight?" she asked.

"C'mon, it's just a dance. I like feeling you close."

Hermione tried to pull away, but unbelievably, his grasp tightened even more. "Please!" she gasped and struggled to extricate herself from her captor.

"How about a little kiss?" the man demanded as he pulled her head close to his.

"No!" she cried as she struggled to get away from him. Just as his hand had grasped her hair, she felt another hand firmly grasping her shoulder.

"Might I cut in?" a voice asked from behind her.

Her dancing partner sneered and pushed Hermione away, glowering behind her before stalking off. She sighed in relief while turning to see who her savior was. As she gazed upon the man, she had the distinct impression that she'd just put on a pair of Spectrespecs. The man standing before her had on a mask that changed color with every movement, and his hair was long and rainbow colored. It was securely tied behind him to try and lessen the effect. She couldn't help but giggle as she looked at him. He scowled back in reply.

"I'm sorry for laughing," Hermione exclaimed. "It's just..."

"Yes, I am aware of my appearance, thank you," came the snide remark.

Hermione grabbed the man's arm before he could stalk off. "Wait. I want to thank you for rescuing me."

A curt nod was her reply.

"Really, I'm indebted to you. Can I at least repay you with a dance?"

The man stood before her, his green eyes boring into hers. "All right," he said finally.

He held her to him, and they began to waltz. He didn't look at her, so she took the time to examine him. His body was lean and lank, and looked quite fine in his well-tailored tuxedo. She found herself wondering just whom this knight in shining armor actually was.

"Are you enjoying the ball?" she asked.

His eyes locked onto hers. "As much as any Ministry function can be enjoyed."

Hermione giggled. "It's had its ups and downs for me as well."

His eyes lowered and examined her person, taking in the black, floor-length ball gown she was wearing. "That is a lovely dress."

All of a sudden, she was thrilled that she had chosen this more form-fitting cut than the Cinderella-style, silver gown she'd been thinking of purchasing. This gown was far sexier, hugging her curves and showing off her assets without being inelegant.

"Thank you, sir," she responded with a smile.

She felt his grip on her waist tighten slightly when she looked up at his masked face, but she didn't want to say anything that might ruin the moment. There was something about this man that made her feel completely at ease.

"I'm so happy Arthur ended up winning this election..."

"Yes, I would have to agree with you. This governing body should work very well with the Headmaster of Hogwarts."

"I didn't even think of that! It will be wonderful for Headmaster Snape to have Arthur as Minister," she said with another smile.

"Do you know the Headmaster?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, I do... Without going into much detail as to the nature of our relationship, you could say we worked very closely together in the past."

"Really? And how did you feel about working with him? I've heard he can be very trying, to say the least."

"Honestly, I wish I could get to know the man a little better. He doesn't really let people in, if you know what I mean."

"I see."

"He's extremely intelligent. There are times I've thought about asking him about different projects I've worked on, but I end up passing up on that Floo call in fear of his response..."

"That's a shame, madam... Would you care to take a walk with me?"

Hermione considered the request and decided that she didn't want to be without his company for the remainder of the evening.

"I'd love to."

Hermione and her companion spent a few hours walking the different floors of the Ministry, which concluded with them walking into the Atrium. The large area was pleasantly silent aside from the trickling of water coming from the fountain located in the center. She looked up at the newly enchanted ceiling and admired how the moonlight reflected beautifully in the fountain's water.

Hermione's heels clacked against the polished wood floor as she walked over towards the magical fountain, her pseudo-date following her. She sat on the ledge and started to run her fingers through the water collecting in the basin.

"Something on your mind, madam?"

"I'm so happy Kingsley didn't restore the old statues when he took over as Minister."

"The Dark Lord created a mockery; Kingsley couldn't have left it that way."

"No, no, I meant the original Magical Brethren homage. I never liked it. This is far more appropriate and truly beautiful."

They both gazed at the golden phoenix statue that now occupied the center of the fountain. Water, which came from nowhere specifically, gently poured down its back and across its large wings that were spread out wide. Jet streams were also placed at different positions around the perimeter of the fountain so the water crisscrossed above the phoenix's head.

Her companion reached down and gently picked up her hand, urging her to stand in front of him.

He bent over and whispered, "Not as beautiful as you are."

Hermione couldn't help shivering in response to his sensual words.

"You... you know I don't look like this normally..." she stammered.

"And you think I do?"

"No! Of course not! It's just... I'm not..."

"Hush now," he said as he wrapped his arms around her and lowered his lips to hers.

His lips were gently moving against hers in the most romantic kiss she had ever received. She moved her arms around him in an effort to get closer to him. Wordlessly, he requested entrance to her mouth, and she responded in kind.

When he ended their kiss, he rested his forehead against hers.

"Wow..." she said breathily.

"Yes, I have to agree... Would you care to continue exploring this feeling?"

"I... I haven't ever done anything like this with a stranger..."

"I'm not a stranger. You've spent the last few hours talking to me; therefore, we are acquaintances."

Hermione giggled in response, then throwing caution to the wind said, "Why not?"

Before she could comprehend what was happening, he had grasped her hand and was leading her to a dark corner of the Atrium where he promptly began to ravish her lips once more.

She was losing herself to his kisses and melting in his embrace. She could feel his long fingers gently touching the skin of her exposed back. He slid his hands up her back and into her hair, pulling her even closer. Her hands began roaming over every inch of his tuxedo-clad torso, wishing for further contact with his skin. He removed his lips from her mouth momentarily, only to replace them on the hollow of her neck. There he began nibbling and kissing her skin. This created an explosion of desire within Hermione so strong she immediately reached down to rub the exceptionally large bulge of his trousers. He groaned in response to her bold move and began kissing her lips again enthusiastically. Just as he removed his right hand from her long locks and placed it on the silken fabric covering her left breast, the clock began to chime.

Hermione startled out of her lust-filled haze only to ask, "What time is it?"

Her date turned around to gaze upon the large clock hands hanging above the fireplaces. "It looks like midnight..."

"Oh, NO!" she screeched as she pulled out of his embrace and turned to leave.

Shocked, he said "What? Wait! Where are you going?" He managed to catch her wrist before she could escape.

"Don't you know about these masks?" she cried in a panic. "They dissolve at midnight! I can't... you wouldn't want to know..."

She managed to extricate herself from his grasp and started to tear across the atrium. She turned her head around to look at him as the chimes continued to herald the witching hour.

"Thank you for a wonderful evening, sir!" she called out to him.

When she spun back around, she stumbled and ended up losing one of her heels, but didn't stop and pick it up.

Standing in front of a fireplace, she cast Muffliato so he couldn't hear her destination, then tearfully called into the flames...

"Hermione Granger's Flat!"

Saturn's Notes: This is week one of the Playoffs for the Intergalactic Quidditch Cup Tournament! We hope you've enjoyed our start. Remember, please help us out by leaving a review, even if it's just to say "Thanks!" or "Update soon!" please.

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A/n: Thanks to Southern_Witch_69 for the beta work!

Prompt Words used: affair, explosion, Spectrespecs and shrimp