Chapter 36 - A Ball and a Brawl
A week ago, Harry would have said finding a partner for a dance would be a cinch compared to taking on a Hungarian Horntail. But now that he had done the latter, and was facing the prospect of asking a girl to the ball, he thought he'd rather have another round with the dragon.
"Why do they have to move in packs?" Harry asked Ron as a dozen or so girls walked past them, sniggering and staring at Harry. "How're you supposed to get one on their own to ask them?"
"Lasso one?" Ron suggested. "Got any idea who you're going to try?"
Harry didn't answer. He had actually considered two girls he wanted to ask, but he couldn't seem to maintain his focus when he thought about either of them. Whenever he saw or even thought about Cho Chang, the pretty Seeker for Ravenclaw, almost immediately he would feel very sad for her, as if he knew she had lost someone close to her. Then, images of a teary-eyed, angry Cho would fade in and out of his consciousness. "Why is it that I always think of being cried on when I'm around her? I must be nutters…well, maybe I should just forget about her."
And then, there was Hermione. As soon as McGonagall had announced the Ball and that Harry was required to take someone, an image of Hermione wearing a stunning periwinkle-blue dress < …periwinkle? Now why on earth would I know what that color was called? But it sure looks nice on her! > came to his mind, standing by…someone, hidden in the shadows, who obviously wasn't Harry; and he felt a wave of jealousy and…anger surge over him. <Blimey, Harry, get a grip! Why would you be feeling this way about Hermione? She's just a friend, you know! And that's all she'll ever be!> But then, he heard a voice in his head that sounded just like Hermione say very clearly, "Oh, you! Just shut up and kiss me, Harry!"
That pleasant memory was interrupted by Ron. "Harry, you okay? You had the silliest grin on your face just now, and your eyes closed, and you…looked like you were kissing someone. Quite enthusiastically, too…So, who was she?" he said, cheekily.
"Who was who? I was NOT kissing anyone!" Harry said, blushing.
"Sure, Harry. I believe you. Now, back to the girl - you were thinking about a girl just now, weren't you? Who was it? Cho? She's quite the looker, eh? Or Susan Bones? Nah… it must have been Millicent Bulstrode!" And with that, he ran off quickly before Harry could retaliate.
"Why, you…WEASLEY! I'll get you for this!" Harry yelled as he ran off in pursuit, his pleasant memory quickly forgotten in the chase.
* * * * *
"So… you lot got dates for the ball yet?" said Fred Weasley.
"Nope," said Ron.
"Well, you'd better hurry up, mate, or all the good ones will be gone," said Fred.
"Who're you going with, then?" said Ron.
"Angelina," said Fred promptly, without a trace of embarrassment.
"What?" said Ron, taken aback "You've already asked her?"
"Good point," said Fred. He turned his head and called across the common room, "Oi! Angelina!"
Angelina, who had been chatting with Alicia Spinnet near the fire, looked over at him.
"What?" she called back.
"Want to come to the ball with me?"
Angelina gave Fred an appraising sort of look.
"All right, then," she said, and she turned back to Alicia and carried on chatting with a bit of a grin on her face.
"There you go," said Fred to Harry and Ron, "piece of cake."
He got to his feet, yawning, and said, "We'd better use a school owl then, George, come on…"
They left. Ron stopped feeling his eyebrows and looked across the smoldering wreck of his card castle at Harry.
"We should get a move on, you know…ask someone. He's right. We don't want to end up with a pair of trolls."
Hermione let out a sputter of indignation.
"A pair of …what, excuse me?"
"Well - you know," said Ron, shrugging. "Id rather go alone than with - with Eloise Midgen, say."
"Her acne's loads better lately - and she's really nice!"
"Her nose is off-center," said Ron.
"Oh I see," Hermione said, bristling. "So basically, you're going to take the best-looking girl who'll have you, even if she's completely horrible?"
"Er - yeah, that sounds about right," said Ron.
"I'm going to bed," Hermione snapped, and she swept off toward the girl's staircase without another word, joining a group of other girls who were also retiring.
Ron looked at Harry, stunned. "What'd I say? I just told her the truth! Aren't girls supposed to like openness and honesty in a bloke? So, I tell her the honest truth about what I'm feeling, and she storms off. I'm telling you, Harry, she's mental. Well, I'm going to go see if I can find out what Fred and George are up to. Something fishy's going on with those two…and I'd love to catch them at it!" he said as he got up from his chair. "See you later!"
"Yeah, see you, Ron…" As Ron left the common room, Harry sat there, oblivious to the conversations swirling around him as he was lost in serious thought. Finally, he reached a conclusion. He grabbed a quill and some parchment out of his bag. After writing a few lines, he folded it, wrote a name on the outside, and sealed it with a tap of his wand as he muttered a privacy charm. The name quickly disappeared as the charm took effect.
"Oi! Angelina!" he called, trying to sound as much like Fred as possible.
Angelina giggled as she got up from her chair, walked over to him, and whispered, "Sorry, Harry, Fred's already asked me…maybe next time?" she said teasingly.
"Next time? What are you talking about?" he said, puzzled. "Oh…no, sorry, Angelina, I…I wasn't asking you out…I just need a favor."
"Sure, Harry. What is it? Anything for our Triwizard champion, you know!"
"Could you…well, promise not to tell anyone about this?" he said, indicating the note in his hand.
"About what? OOOH…let me guess… you've figured out who you want to ask to the ball then, and you're asking her with a note…and you want me to sneak that note upstairs, but you don't want me to know who it's for, hence the privacy charm you have on it?
"Yes… except all the note does is ask her if she'll come down to chat for a moment. I'm not sure she'll go with me…and I'd rather not have anyone else know about it…you understand."
"Of course, Harry. But, you don't have to worry. I'm sure whoever it is will be honored to go with you! You're Harry Potter, you know!" As his face fell, she realized how that must have sounded. "Sorry, Harry…I didn't mean…"
"That's the problem, Angelina!" he said, grimacing. "I just want someone to go with me who doesn't care about my name…or the fact I've switched houses, or that I'm in the Triwizard Tournament…or that I'm the bloody Boy-Who-Lived!" he said with rising anger apparent in his voice.
"Steady on, Harry!" Angelina said hastily. "I said I was sorry! I think I understand what you must be going through, and I really do apologize. Now, I think I can help you with your problem. You wouldn't have studied this in Charms yet, but Miss Puckle just taught us a more advanced version of the Privacy Charm - it not only seals itself until the addressee opens it, but it will deliver itself only to the person intended - it's related to how the Owl Post owls always can find the right person, but it only works for distances of less than a few hundred meters. I can teach it to you, and then the note will take care of the rest. You could even wait until everyone has gone to bed and no one will even see you send the note."
"Brilliant! That's just what I needed, Angelina! And, I'm sorry I snapped at you…"
. . . .
Hermione sat on her bed, fully dressed, still stewing about Ron's comments a good hour later. <Honestly…that boy is a real prat sometimes. So, all he's interested in is looks, is he? I must not measure up to what he's looking for, I suppose. And I'm sure he's got Harry feeling the same way! BOYS!> She wiped her damp eyes on the cuff of her robes as she saw her face in the mirror. Before the mirror could make any comments, Hermione beat it to the punch. "Honestly, Hermione, get a grip! Just because Harmony told you way back in first year that she was turning heads by this time at her school, it doesn't mean you will! Although I dare say my teeth look loads better now, thanks to Madam Pomfrey…and Mum sent me that beautiful new set of dress robes when I told her about the ball…it would be so nice to go there with…well, someone…and sometimes I just wish that he…er…I mean, someone…would ask me…"
The mirror immediately spoke up. "Well, my dear - although I'm not a wishing mirror, it looks to me like your wish is about to be granted. Isn't that a private note coming up behind you?"
Hermione turned around and grabbed the note that was hovering next to her shoulder. "Oooh…it is!" and she tapped the note with her wand, saying clearly, "Hermione Jane Granger."
The note flashed as it unsealed itself, and she greedily read the words that she had been hoping to see, in a familiar script.
Dear Hermione,
Could you come back down to the common room for a minute? I'd like to talk to you about something. I hope you're not already in bed. If you are, just send a note back to me and I'll see you some other time, I guess.
Harry
By the time she got to the name at the end, she was already halfway down the stairs.
"Harry, I got your note," she said as she sat down next to him in the now deserted common room. "What do you want to talk to me about? You're not worried about your potions exam, is it? I'm sure you'll do fine, even if Snape seems to be taking it out on you particularly…"
Harry cut in, annoyed. "Will you please just hang on for a bit? No, Hermione…it's not about my potions exam. I…well, I…er…was wondering…"
"Yes, Harry?"
"Wangoballwime?"
"Sorry?" said Hermione.
"D'you - d'you want to go to the ball with me?" said Harry. Why did he have to go red now? Why?
"Oh!" said Hermione, and she went red too. "Oh Harry…I'd love to!" as she leaned over and gave him a quick hug. As they touched, both of them felt…well, something…in their minds, but it quickly faded.
"Fine, then…that's just fine…"Harry stammered, at a loss for words at what just happened. "So…I'll pick you up…here…then, right?"
"Yes, Harry…I'm really looking forward to it."
****
"Harry - we've just got to grit our teeth and do it," said Ron, in a tone that suggested they were planning the storming of an impregnable fortress. It was the last day of the term, with exactly one week to go before the Yule Ball. "When we get back to the common room tonight, we'll both have partners - agreed?"
"Er…okay," said Harry. He hadn't yet told Ron that he had already asked Hermione to the ball, because he wasn't quite sure how Ron would handle the news when he found out just who Harry had asked. He even skipped dinner later when Ron dragged him along on his search that evening, since he had assumed that Harry was still looking for a partner. Finally, they made it back to their common room and sat down by Ginny.
"This is mad," said Ron. "We're the only ones left who haven't got anyone - well, except Neville. Hey - guess who he asked? Hermione!"
"What?" said Harry, completely distracted by this startling news.
"Yeah, I know!" said Ron, some of the color coming back into his face as he started to laugh. "He told me after Potions! Said she's always been really nice, helping him out with work and stuff - but she told him she was already going with someone. "Ha! As if! She just didn't want to go with Neville…I mean, who would?"
"Don't!" said Ginny, annoyed. "Don't laugh -"
Just then Hermione climbed in through the portrait hole.
"Why weren't you two at dinner?" she said coming over to join them.
"Because - oh shut up laughing, Ron - because neither one of them can find a date for the ball!" said Ginny.
Harry looked for a second as if he were going to say something, but thought better of it as he saw Hermione wink at him.
"Thanks a bunch, Ginny," said Ron sourly.
"All the good-looking ones taken, Ron?" said Hermione loftily. "Eloise Midgen starting to look quite pretty now, is she? Well, I'm sure you'll find someone somewhere who'll have you."
But Ron was staring at Hermione as though suddenly seeing her in a whole new light.
"Hermione, Neville's right - you are a girl…"
"Oh well spotted," she said acidly.
"Well - it's obvious - you're coming with the two of us! Harry, you could walk in with her at the beginning, and then we could take turns dancing with her. You don't mind sharing with me, do you, Harry?"
What Harry thought about that was never expressed, as Hermione stood up, walked over to Ron and yelled, "HOW DARE YOU! WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO MAKE THAT KIND OF DECISION WITHOUT ASKING WHAT I THINK ABOUT IT! BESIDES, I'M ALREADY GOING WITH SOMEONE!" and she stormed off to the girls dormitories again.
"Blimey, Harry, what's got into her?" Ron said, stunned. "All I did was suggest a way we could all go to the ball together, and she comes unhinged. What did she say, though…she's already going with someone? She's lying!"
"She's not," said Ginny quietly.
"Who is it then?" said Ron sharply.
"I don't know. She wouldn't say, but I have a good idea," said Ginny. Unnoticed by the boys, her eyes darted quickly over to Harry, and she looked extremely miserable for a second. "I think I'll go and have dinner," she said, and she got up and walked off to the portrait hole, her head bowed.
"Nah," Ron continued rattling on to Harry. "She's just saying that because she's mad at us, I bet. I mean, who'd want to go out with Hermione…even if she is a girl? I'm sure she'd bore her date to death, rattling on about some arithmancy spell power analysis nonsense or something. That seems to be her favorite subject - can't understand it for the life of me why anyone would want to study maths, especially a girl, unless she's a total bookworm - like Hermione, come to think of it! Me, now I prefer the good-looking ones, don't you, Harry? Hey, so I'm a shallow teen-aged wizard - so what? Bollocks…that means we'll have to keep on looking. Any ideas, mate? Harry? You still here?"
"Wha…were you saying something, Ron? Sorry, I must have been thinking about something else." Actually, as soon as Ron had mentioned arithmancy, Harry had remembered a long, strange vision of…riding a large stag around a picnic blanket, and seated on the stag with him was…someone - he couldn't quite tell who because he was behind her with his arms around her. But, he could still smell her hair in his face…and the feel of her body warm against his…and it all seemed so familiar…
Ron snickered, "Yeah, like I said before, who was she? Honestly, mate, you're going to have to stop daydreaming about whoever that girl is. People will think you're in love or some such nonsense!"
But right then, Parvati and Lavender came in through the portrait hole. The time had come for drastic action.
"Ron, there you go - ask one of them! I've already figured out who I'm going with so I've got some other business to take care of. When I get back, I'll expect to hear you've asked someone or else I'll sic Professor Moody on you - you don't want to go to the ball as a ferret, do you?"
Ron pretended to shrink back in horror. "You wouldn't…would you? Yeah, I guess you would! All right, mate, you win. You go take care of your business, and when you get back, I'll have a date."
As he left through the portrait hole, Harry said "That's the spirit, Ron!" as he headed towards Professor McGonagall's office.
After knocking on the door and being told to come in, he was surprised to see Miss Puckle already there. "Oh, sorry to interrupt, Professor. I'll come back later." Harry said politely.
Minerva waved him in. "Nonsense, Harry…I assume this has to do about your partner for the ball? You've made your choice, then? Who is it?"
"Yes, I have. I've asked Hermione to be my partner."
At this, Harmony let out a small gasp, but quickly recovered and said nothing. Minerva controlled her surprise more effectively, but her eyes were dancing for a moment before she said. "Oh…I see…yes, that would be fine. Miss Granger will be an excellent representative of Gryffindor and Hogwarts. Good choice, Mr. Potter. I'm curious, though…why did you choose her?"
He blushed slightly as he remembered what he had seen in his mind that helped him make up his mind. After he thought for a moment, he said simply, "I'm not really sure, now that I think about it. It just…sort of happened, I guess. I mean, she's been a good friend of mine and Ron's for years now, and I wanted her to be able to go to the ball."
"Very well, Potter. We will add her name to the program. Now, it appears that Miss Puckle and I have some additional business to discuss, and it's getting late, so please excuse us. See you tomorrow, then."
….
"Well, Minerva, that was…surprising, to say the least." Harmony said as soon as Harry closed the door.
"How so, Hermione? Remember, Poppy did warn us at the time that the potion wouldn't be as effective as an Obliviate spell would have been, and that its effects would wear off over time. It just appears that Harry's subconscious is still fighting to break out. Did you see his reaction when I asked him why he chose her? I wouldn't be surprised if he's probably having some more of those flashbacks -probably of what he missed out on by not taking you to the ball in your timeline. Fortunately, the part of the potion that numbs the soul bond has been proven to be more successful, which should mean that you and Miss Granger are still safe from the probings of a certain Dark Lord, at least for now until Harry is capable of fighting off what you've shown us is coming."
Hermione nodded, and then she remembered something very important that was now obviously changed in from the original events. "Wait a minute, who is Viktor going to the ball with?"
***
"Hermione - who are you going to the ball with?" said Ron as they entered the Great Hall for dinner.
After Harry's challenge earlier that week, Ron had ended up having to ask Padma Patil, since Parvati was going with George and Lavender was going with Seamus. But, he hadn't been able to figure out who either Harry or Hermione was going with. Harry ignored his questioning, so he focused his efforts on Hermione by springing this question on her, hoping to startle her into a response by asking it when she least expected it. However, Hermione merely frowned and said, "I'm not telling you, you'll just make fun of me."
"You're joking, Weasley!" said Malfoy, behind them. "You're not telling me someone's asked that to the ball? Not the long-molared Mudblood?"
"Harry and Ron both whipped around, but Hermione said loudly, waving to someone over Malfoy's shoulder, "Hello, Professor Moody!"
Malfoy went pale and jumped backward, looking wildly around for Moody, but he was still up at the staff table, finishing his stew.
"Twitchy little ferret, aren't you, Malfoy?" said Hermione scathingly, and she, Harry, and Ron went up the marble staircase laughing heartily.
Then, Ron saw Neville walking ahead of them and yelled, "Hey, Longbottom…want to have a go at a chess match? I'll even spot you a couple of pawns!" and he ran ahead to talk with his next victim for a minute.
"Hermione," said Harry, looking sideways at her, with a puzzled look on his face, "your teeth…"
"What about them?" she said.
"Well, they're different…I've just noticed…"
"Of course they are - did you expect me to keep those fangs Malfoy gave me?"
"No, I mean, they're different to how they were before he put that hex on you… They're all…straight and - and normal sized."
Hermione suddenly smiled very mischievously and winked at him conspiratorially. Harry noticed that it was a very different smile from the one he remembered…but then, the more he thought about it, this smile was very familiar, too. He just couldn't put his finger on when he had seen her like this before.
"Well...when I went up to Madam Pomfrey to get them shrunk, she held up a mirror and told me to stop her when they were back to how they normally were," she said. "And I just…let her carry on a bit." She smiled even more widely at him, and Harry once again felt something familiar stir in his heart, but it died out quickly as she continued. "Mum and Dad won't be too pleased. I've been trying to persuade them to let me shrink them for ages, but they wanted me to carry on with my braces." By this time Ron had returned, having scheduled his next chess match with his soon-to-be victim, as Hermione concluded, "You know, they're dentists, they just don't think teeth and magic should - "look! Pigwidgeon's back!"
*****
Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville changed into their dress robes up in their dormitory, all of them looking very self-conscious, but none as much as Ron, who surveyed himself in the long mirror in the corner with an appalled look on his face. There was just no getting around the fact that his robes looked more like a dress than anything else. In a desperate attempt to make them look more manly, he used a Severing Charm on the ruff and cuffs. It worked fairly well; at least he was now lace-free, although he hadn't done a very neat job, and the edges still looked depressingly frayed as the boys set off downstairs.
"I still can't work out how you and George got the best looking girls in the year," muttered Dean.
When Harry heard this, he realized he had a difference of opinion on that subject, because he saw a clear vision of Hermione sitting on his lap, asking him "… you really don't think I'm ugly? You think I'm…"
"…beautiful, sexy, gorgeous, stunning, easy on the eyes, dishy…can I stop now?"
"No, tell me more…"
Ron was jostling his elbow. "Harry…wake up, Harry! You're fading out on me again. I think you should see Pomfrey about that or something. Anyway, I've got to go meet Padma down in the entrance hall. You and your date, whoever she is, need to go meet with the rest of the Champions so you can lead the procession. By the way, have you seen Hermione? If you see her, tell her we'll save her and her date a place at our table, too. See you in a while, Harry!"
As the last of the Gryffindors exited the common room, Harry walked over to the girl's stairs. "Hermione?" he called. "Where are you? Everyone else has left, and we need to get going. McGonagall wants the Champions and their dates to meet her in the hall five minutes early, you know!"
As he listened for a response, a timid voice came from the shadows of the stairwell. "Is…everyone else…gone?"
"Yes, they've all left. What's going on, Hermione? Why don't you come on out where I can see you? Please?" he said, worried that she had changed her mind about going with him. "Did something happen to your dress robes? Or did you break out in spots at the last minute?"
"N…no…nothing like that. I'm just worried that you won't like what you see, I guess. I'm afraid I may have used too much Sleekeasy."
Harry, who wasn't quite sure what Sleekeasy was, laughed. "Oh, just come out here. I promise I won't mind - no matter how awful you may look. Just teasing, Hermione! I'm sure you look fine."
Actually, he reflected later, that was probably one of the biggest understatements he had ever uttered. As she shyly walked out into the light of the common room, Harry's jaw dropped as he saw Hermione.
But she didn't look like Hermione at all. She had done something with her hair; it was no longer bushy but sleek and shiny, and twisted up into an elegant knot at the back of her head. She was wearing robes made of a floaty, periwinkle-blue material, <Just like I saw earlier…Forget about the nurse, I'm going to have to have a chat with Trelawney soon!> and she was holding herself differently, somehow - or maybe it was merely the absence of the twenty or so books she usually had slung over her back. She was also smiling - rather nervously, it was true - but the reduction in the size of her front teeth was more noticeable than ever; Harry couldn't understand how he hadn't spotted it before.
"Harry…is something wrong? I knew it! You don't like it, do you? You look like you've seen a ghost! That does it…you go on ahead without me. I'll change into something less fancy and..."
Harry quickly protested, "Now, just hold on, Hermione! I was just surprised for a moment. You look….beautiful…and your hair is so…soft looking. You'd better not try to go anywhere, Miss Granger. I'd have to chase after you, and that would probably get us BOTH in trouble."
"Harry, did you just call me…beautiful?" Hermione's smile started to spread.
****
A few minutes later they hurried, flushed and slightly out of breath, into the entrance hall. Just then, they heard Professor McGonagall's voice call out, "Champions over here please!" They saw her standing by the doors into the Great Hall, wearing dress robes of red tartan and a rather ugly wreath of thistles around the brim of her hat. Harry saw Fleur Delacour and Roger Davies station themselves nearest the doors, followed closely by Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang. <Hope he doesn't mind being cried on tonight…now where did that thought come from?>. Then he finally noticed Krum's partner. For the second time that night, his jaw dropped as he saw something completely unexpected.
It was Harmony.
****
"Yes, I know that this may look somewhat strange, but Professor Dumbledore and Professor Karkaroff approved it under the circumstances." Harmony, looking resplendent in dress robes of deepest sapphire blue that matched her eyes perfectly, along with Krum, had joined Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Padma at the table for dinner. Harry noticed that Ron kept on glancing, tight-lipped, at both Harry and Hermione as Harmony continued. "My good friend Viktor here", she said, turning to her seatmate, "procrastinated a little too long and was not able to secure a partner for the grand procession. When the Headmaster and I found this out, we thought that under the circumstances I would be able to serve as his companion during the processional. Victor shares an interest in charms work, and we've gotten acquainted already this year, so I thought it was the least I could do. However, lest you think it is inappropriate, I assure you that we are not 'on a date'. After the traditional first dance with the rest of the Champions, we are both free to go our separate ways for the rest of the evening…as are you all, of course."
Harry could have sworn that Viktor looked somewhat disappointed at Harmony's comments, but he recovered quickly and said "Vell, Miss Puckle, I vill enjoy your company tonight for as long as you vant to be here. Ve from the Durmstrang delegation vant to thank you for helping me in this. It would haff been a scandal in certain circles if I had not been able to find a …how you say, date, tonight. Professor Karkaroff vas quite unhappy with me for not making the necessary arrangements in advance, since he feels I haff plenty of vimmen that vould be villing to haff me escort them to this affair." After quickly checking to make sure that Karkaroff was otherwise occupied, Viktor whispered to the group, "But, I am not interested in those kind of girls. They only vant to be near me because I am famous… and I vant to be vith someone who can talk to me about something other than Quidditch…or the latest trends in vimmen's fashions. Miss Puckle, may I say that you haff been vunderfully charming to me ever since ve arrived at Hogvarts, so thank you again."
Unseen by Krum who was facing Harmony as he said this, both Harry and Hermione caught Harmony's eye and winked at her, causing her to blush.
"Thank you, Viktor - that was sweet of you. I'm happy to have been able to help you." Harmony said. "But for now, it's time to eat. What will you have?"
***
When all the food had been consumed, Dumbledore stood up and asked the students to do the same. Then, with a wave of his wand, all the tables zoomed back along the walls leaving the floor clear, and then he conjured a raised platform into existence along the right wall. A set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello and some bagpipes were set upon it.
The Weird Sisters now trooped up onto the stage to wildly enthusiastic applause; they were all extremely hairy and dressed in black robes that had been artfully ripped and torn. They picked up their instruments, and Harry, who had been so interested in watching them that he had almost forgotten what was coming, suddenly realized that the lanterns on all the other tables had gone out, and that the other champions and their partners were standing up.
"Harry," Hermione whispered in his ear, "I think … we're supposed to dance!"
Harry tripped over his dress robes as he stood up. The Weird Sisters struck up a slow, mournful tune; Harry walked onto the brightly lit dance floor, carefully avoiding catching anyone's eye (he could see Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle making what appeared to be rude gestures at the two of them and sniggering)., and the next moment, Hermione had gently captured his hands, place one around her waist, and held the other in hers.
Harry soon found, after a bit of nervousness, that dancing with Hermione was as natural to him as flying. As he watched other champions and their partners closely and saw them do more than just revolve in a circle, he decided that he might venture a go at it, too; but he wasn't sure what to do. As he looked in Hermione's eyes, he could tell immediately that she understood his dilemma. She whispered quietly, "It's okay, Harry, I've watched my Mum and Dad do this at home. Just follow what I'm doing," and she led him in a basic waltz box step. When she saw he was comfortable with that, she showed him a few variations on the basic move, until the first song ended. They left the floor and went over to the table where Ron and Padma were sitting.
"How's it going?" Harry asked Ron, sitting down and opening a bottle of butterbeer.
Ron didn't answer, but once again Harry thought he saw him glare quickly at Hermione as they sat down. Padma was sitting with her arms and legs crossed, one foot jiggling in time to the music. Every now and then she threw a disgruntled look at Ron who was completely ignoring her. Hermione noticed this and tried to engage Ron in conversation, but he pretended that he couldn't hear her over the music. Finally, Hermione took a hint and leaned over to Harry. "I dare say that Ron's on about something…and I think it's me. Do you want to try to talk to him, while Padma and I go have a chat?"
"Sure, Hermione…although I can't imagine what Ron's problem is."
After the girls left the table, Harry soon found that Ron was not interested in talking to him, either, continuing to cup his hand behind his ear, while mouthing "I can't hear you…" each time Harry tried. Finally, when he realized that Hermione hadn't returned with Padma, he excused himself and went looking for them. First, he found Padma dancing with a boy from Beauxbatons, and then he saw Hermione sitting by herself with an empty chair next to her. As he sat down, Hermione smiled at him and said, "Sorry about that, Harry, but I could tell Padma was not having any fun, so I gave her an excuse to get out of there. I was hoping you'd come find us after a bit. So, did you ask? What's wrong with Ron, anyway?"
"Beats me, Hermione. He still wouldn't talk to me after you left, but he kept on looking at me, shaking his head and sighing. That was really starting to annoy me, so I left when I saw you hadn't come back."
"Hmmm…well, we can't let his mood spoil the ball for us, now can we? How'd you like to learn a two-step? I dare say you'll be better at it than Moody, merely because you have both of your legs!" she said, grinning and grabbing his hands as she stood up. "Then, if you're interested, we can go for a walk outside to cool off."
*****
By the end of the evening, Harry and Hermione were exhausted, but they were finding that they were rapidly becoming more than friends. They had been together all night, either dancing or sitting at a table and talking, while having a wonderful time in the Great Hall. They even had time to take a walk together in the moonlight. When they were outside, they had overheard Snape and Karkaroff talking, and then Hagrid and Madame Maxime, after which Hermione had to explain to Harry what the fuss was about as a strange looking beetle buzzed around their heads. Finally, when the Weird Sisters finished playing at midnight, everyone gave them a last, loud round of applause and started to wend their way into the entrance hall. Harry and Hermione both joined the vocal crowd expressing the wish that the ball could have gone on longer, because as far as they were concerned, the evening had been about the most fun they had had all year.
As they headed through the entrance hall towards Gryffindor Tower, Cedric Diggory caught Harry's eye and signaled him over for a private conversation. Hermione excused herself and went over to wait by the staircase next to Cho Chang.
"Listen …."Cedric lowered his voice as Ron disappeared. "I owe you one for telling me about the dragons. You know that golden egg? Does yours wail when you open it?"
"Yeah," said Harry.
"Well …take a bath, okay?"
"What?"
"Take a bath, and - er - take the egg with you, and - er - just mull things over in the hot water. It'll help you think….Trust me." Harry stared at him.
"Tell you what," Cedric said, "use the prefect's bathroom. Fourth door to the left of that statue of Boris the Bewildered on the fifth floor. Password's 'pine fresh.' Gotta go …want to say good night, as I'm sure you do, too!"
He winked at Harry and hurried over to where Cho was waiting for him, obviously refusing to acknowledge Hermione's presence. As Cho and Cedric walked off together towards the Ravenclaw dormitory, Harry came over and offered Hermione his arm like a gentleman should as they resumed their walk to the tower. "I dare say, that was…a strange conversation," Harry said to Hermione after they had traveled in silence for a while.
"What did he have to talk to you about, Harry? Something to do with the next task? Did he find out something?"
"Yeah…I suppose. But, I'll have to think about what he said for a while to see if it will help. Ah, here we are. Fairy Lights!" he said, but it ended up taking both of them yelling it together before the Fat Lady woke up and let them in.
"Ron! What are you doing up!" Hermione said as they entered the common room, surprised and a bit disappointed to see him there, apparently waiting up for them.
He was still in his old, frayed robes, but they were disheveled and he had a wild look in his eyes as he yelled, "Where have the two of you been all night! I went looking for you all over the castle a few times, but I only caught a glimpse of both of you out on the dance floor and heading for the entrance so you could go outside and… So, did you have fun without me? Never even thought to check on me, or ask ME to dance, now did you!"
By this time they were standing face to face about ten feet apart, and Harry had backed away, as if he could sense that it would be best if he stayed out of it.
"But Ron, I seem to remember that you had a date with Padma tonight…and you never asked her to dance. I thought you didn't know how, I suppose."
"Well, that sure didn't stop you from teaching Harry! I know HE didn't know how to dance before you got hold of him. I watched you, you know. Showing him all those fancy dance moves, laughing with him when he messed up, and his arm around you most of the night…"
"Well, if you don't like it, you know what the solution is, don't you?" yelled Hermione; her hair was coming down out of its elegant bun now, and her face was screwed up in anger.
"Oh yeah?" Ron yelled back. "What's that?"
"Next time there's a ball, make sure you ask a girl out before someone else does, and not as a last resort."
Ron mouthed soundlessly like a goldfish out of water as Hermione turned on her heel and stormed up the girl's staircase to bed. Ron turned to look at Harry, still quite angry. "And YOU, Potter! How could you not tell me that you were taking Hermione! Made me look like a fool, keeping on asking her who she was going with all that time. Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you trust me?"
"Sorry, Ron…but I wasn't sure how you'd take it. And, it looks like the answer is, 'Not well'!" Besides, it just sort of happened…when I was thinking about who I was going to ask, her name came to mind, and I gave it a go. Since no one else had asked her yet, she said yes. She is my friend, you know!" Harry was starting to raise his voice as he spoke.
"But I thought she was my friend, too! Maybe I would have wanted to take her if I had only…oh, never mind! That completely misses the point!" as he stormed off up the boy's staircase.
Harry somehow knew that Ron was the one who was missing the point as he wearily followed his roommate.
****
The next morning, the two of them had a talk and Harry and Hermione decided on their own to keep their developing feelings for each other low-key for a while. They spent time together, but they continued to include Ron in their circle, and he seemed to forget the incident in a few days.
As the new term started, once again things settled down into a regular routine. In the back of Harry's mind, he knew he should probably work on the clue for the second task, but there always seemed to be something that distracted him. First, Rita Skeeter had written her scandalous article about Hagrid's secret, and what with trying to get him back to where he could teach, one thing led to another and February 24th was rapidly approaching…
(A/N...Okay, there you have it! The Yule Brawl revisited…with a twist or two thrown in for good measure. Next time, the events associated with the Second Task- and another surprise!)