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A/N: I know this took a lot longer than the rest of the chapters for me to update. I was just taking a little break from portkey due to all the renovating going on. But I assure you, the fic will be updated regularly again.
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Ginny shut off her computer and briskly grabbed her purse. Holding the end of her dress robes in her hands so she wouldn't trip on them, she rushed down the steps and took off in the direction of the Great Hall. When she burst in the doors, a few heads turned her way but most people were too busy enjoying themselves to notice her entrance.
Harry smiled at her and motioned for her to come over to him. He grabbed her arm and pulled her down; there was an empty seat right beside him at the table, with Hermione and Ron sitting by him as well. She was too excited to even notice how insistent Harry was being. If she hadn't known she'd be meeting Ice later, she might have even said something about Harry's forcefulness.
"You look beautiful," he whispered in her ear as she sat down at the table. She said a quick thanks and then looked down at her plate, to hide the smile that she didn't want Harry to mistake as for him. It was piled high with all of her favorite things, but she found that she was too nervous to eat. Her hands were even shaking a little bit in anticipation.
What if Ice didn't show up? Or worse, what if she did something stupid around him? As dinner progressed, she had only one other single question going through her mind.
Who was he?
She sighed and began eating. She knew she would regret it later if she didn't.
-
He had nothing to wear.
Sighing in frustration, he slammed his trunk shut. All he had were regular black school robes and one set of deep emerald green dress robes, which he'd worn to nearly every other fancy event they'd had at Hogwarts. They just didn't seem fitting for the occasion, he wanted something different.
The dance was to start in a little over an hour. He'd just have to settle for the green robes. Pulling them on, he glanced at himself in the mirror. Who he saw wasn't Draco Malfoy. Who he saw was a nervous and frustrated teenager, and for once not because he was thinking about his own needs. For once, he was trying to please someone else.
Then he had another problem to deal with. His mask. He'd found one in Hogsmeade a few days before, not thinking he'd be using it. But it was rather plain. It was silver with a line of green down the center, and black ribbons hanging off the side. Sighing, he secured it over his pointed features.
Draco checked himself over. Now he understood why girls spent so much time getting ready for everything. He had to make a good impression.
He was even beginning to scare himself. He'd never been nervous to meet a girl before. This was all so new to him.
-
"So Ginny, what's new with you?" Hermione tried her pitiful attempts at starting conversation with her redhead friend.
Ginny hadn't said anything since she'd come down from her bedroom. She was too busy worrying about the dance following dinner to be very social. Harry seemed concerned about her but Ginny didn't pay any notice.
"Hey, Gin, you ok?" Ron asked, worried about his sister.
At this she snapped back from her thoughts. "What? Oh, I'm fine! I'm great! Don't worry about me, I'm just saving my energy for the dance!" They seemed to accept this answer, and returned to eating and chatting.
Well, it wasn't all a lie, Ginny thought. She was saving her energy for the dance... just not for the reasons they probably had presumed.
Her left hand was discreetly underneath the table, fingering the worn edges of the book. She'd slipped it into her purse before she's came down to the Great Hall. She couldn't believe that after all this time she was finally going to meet Ice, really and in person. By now, he didn't even seem like a real person, only her online friend. She was nervous. Very nervous.
Students were standing up from their tables; their plates disappearing to be washed by house elves. Harry grabbed Ginny's hand and guided her out of the Great Hall, Ron and Hermione following closely after. Students were to go back to their common rooms and wait for precisely ten minutes, while in the meantime the Great Hall was being transformed into a ballroom.
Anxious chatter surrounded Ginny. Harry was talking to her about his latest Quidditch match, and she just nodded distractedly. Time was moving so slowly.
Finally, after what seemed like hours later, Hermione motioned toward the others. "Come on you guys, let's go back down!"
This time it was Ginny who grabbed Harry's hand, and practically dragged him back down the steps to the Great Hall. She followed the mass of people, pushing her way through to get there among the first. When they reached the Great Hall again, Ginny made a beeline for the punch bowl.
He wasn't there yet.
"Care to dance?" Harry asked formally, holding his hand out for Ginny. An expectant look was on his face.
Ice had said he might be a little late. "I suppose..." said Ginny cautiously. She might as well dance with him at least for a little while before Ice arrived. It was only fair, since she was Harry's date, after all.
He spun her out onto the dance floor, holding her a bit closer than necessary.
-
Draco did a last once over.
He looked down at the single red rose in his hand. She's said her robes were maroon; this flower was pretty darn close to that.
He took a deep breath, and started down this stairs.
~*~
Two notes I wanted to add. One- I don't send out updated by email. Sorry. Portkey sends out updated if you put it on your favorites list, so do that. Two- Yes, I do read all my reviews and appreciate every last one of you, so don't feel your review gets lost in the rest. ^_^ This story will be completed soon but if you are absolutely impatient, there is a crappier version of this on fanfiction.net. However, I advise you to wait for this one, because it is revised and much better.