The next day, just before breakfast, in the Great Hall
-at the Gryffindor table-
Harry absent-mindedly buttered his toast, as he wondered if Hermione was coming back from the hospital wing that day.
"Hey Ron... You know if Hermione's coming back today?"
Ron shrugged. "I have no idea... I should think so, though. I hope she isn't mad at me..."
"Well, she'll certainly hate to miss a whole day of lessons... I bet she'll ask us about lessons the moment she sees us."
He was laughing at that when he heard a voice he knew all too well from behind him.
"I wonder what's so funny, Harry."
Harry immediately stood up and turned around, arms outstretched to... hug Hermione? It was an almost natural action, and yet it seemed somewhat awkward. It feels... weird to hug Hermione somehow.
He ignored that thought and closed his arms around Hermione to give her a quick hug anyway.
Hermione, however, seemed to want to linger in Harry's arms.
There was an awkward silence between Harry and Hermione as the both of them tried to find their tongues to speak.
Ron was watching the both of them, a flame of jealousy and anger burning in him as he tried to convince himself that it was a truly platonic hug. They're just... happy to see each other again. They've hugged loads of times. This one isn't any different.
Or is it? A tiny voice in his head seemed to say. Ron cleared his throat, and was about to say something when Dumbledore interrupted him.
"Everyone, can I have your attention please. As you all know, Valentine's Day is drawing near. As usual, we will have a Valentine Ball, but with a slight difference this time."
All the chattering and noise ceased as everyone turned their attention to Dumbledore.
"Since we are playing the Angel/Mortal game, it is only right that you have a chance to meet with your Angel and Mortal to get to know them better. However, you are not supposed to know who your Angel is until the end of the year. Thus, this Valentine Ball will be a masquerade ball where everyone will wear a mask."
There were quite a few excited whispers over this.
Dumbledore waited for the whispers to die down and continued.
"Everyone will also get a chance to dance with at your Angel or Mortal at least once. The first dance will be between female Angels and their male Mortals. If the female Angel happens to have a female Mortal, they can, of course, choose not to take the first dance. Similarly, the second dance will be between male Angels and their female Mortals. In the same way, if the male Angel also happens to have a male Mortal, it is up to them whether they want to dance. Your partners for the rest of the dances are at your own discretion. There are a few more details, but I do not wish to bore you all, so they are posted in the library. And so, let us all tuck into our breakfast!" Dumbledore smiled as he sat down to attack his waffles with a fork.
The Great Hall was soon filled with a great deal of noise, with everyone chattering away about the Valentine Ball.
-at the Gryffindor table-
Ron grimaced at the thought of having to ever dance with Goyle, and started frantically praying that he had a nice female Angel who would write to him soon.
Harry's face took on a slight blush at the thought of dancing with Cho, which turned into an even deeper flush at the thought of dancing with his Angel. I can't help wondering what she looks like, although beauty is only skin-deep, like they always say.
Hermione felt both pleased and worried, with a strange expression of worry mingled with euphoria on her face. I'm finally going to dance with Harry... But what if he recognises me? I need to do something about this...
Ginny, with an expression remarkably similar to that of Ron's, could not help feeling apprehensive about the whole Valentine Ball. Dancing with Draco Malfoy? That is not going to be a good idea... or thing.
-in the library-
Harry looked around the library, hoping that there would not be anyone he knew, seeing him check out the details of the Valentine Ball.
Apart from a few Ravenclaws, Harry did not see anyone he particularly knew. He went up to the board, and started to read quietly.
The Annual Hogwarts Valentine Ball
- Date: 14th February
- Venue: The Great Hall
- Time: 7 to 9 o' clock in the evening
- Dress Code: Dress robes and a masquerade mask
- Order of Dances:
1st Dance - Female Angels with Male Mortals
2nd Dance - Male Angels with Female Mortals
(In the event that the Angel and Mortal are of the same gender, they can choose if they wish to dance.)
3rd Dance onwards - Students can dance with whoever they wish to dance with.
- Other information: When dancing, Mortals are to not wear their masks for easier identification. All Angels, however,
must keep on their masks.
Harry was about to continue reading when he was interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Harry? What are you doing here?" Hermione looked at Harry with a slightly quizzical look on her face, as her eyes darted to the parchment pinned up on the board. "Oh... you're checking out the details of the Valentine Ball, aren't you?"
Harry felt himself blush slightly as he nodded. "Erm, yes, I wanted to check it out just in case there were other important details Dumbledore didn't mention."
"Okay... So... Harry... Have you decided who you're going to ask to the Ball?" Hermione tried to hide her nervousness.
Harry, however, did not notice. 'Err... I haven't really thought about it yet. It doesn't say that we need to go with partners, anyway."
"Harry, that goes without saying. Even if you dance with a few people, you should have a partner. You'd better make it quick... I don't think you really want to dance with Parvati Patil again, do you?"
"That's true... It wasn't exactly fun. Dancing with Parvati, I mean. Anyway, Hermione..."
"...Yes?" Hermione crossed her fingers. Is he going to ask me to the Ball?
"You want to..." Harry coughed for a moment.
Go to the Ball with me? Hermione continued crossing her fingers.
"Head back to the Great Hall? Ron must be wondering what happened to the both of us." Harry finished.
"Oh." Hermione could barely hide her disappointment. "You go ahead... I need to check out a few books here."
"All right. See you later then."
Hermione picked up a book, and pretended to read it as she watched Harry leave the library. She sighed as she put the book down.
Why do I have this feeling that he's never going to ask me? At least I'm going to dance with him once. I just wish he would actually ask me though...
-along one of the corridors-
As Harry headed to the Great Hall, he found himself wondering he should ask to the Valentine Ball.
Not Parvati, definitely. Lavender and Padma's out too. Cho? But I don't particularly feel like dancing with her, actually. If I had a choice, I'd rather go with my Angel. It'll be kind of weird too though. Who else is there? Hermione, of course. Why didn't I think of it? I just hope Ron doesn't mind... Okay, I'll head back to the library and ask her now.
He turned around and started walking back, when he spotted Hermione walking towards him.
"Hey, Hermione. I thought you were checking out a few books?"
"I... er.... couldn't find them."
"Okay... Anyway, Hermione..." Harry could not help feeling slightly nervous. "Would you... would you like to go the Valentine Ball with me?"
Hermione was caught off-guard by the sudden question. "What...?"
"Er, if you're already going with someone else it's okay..."
"No, that's not it... I was just... surprised by the suddenness of it. It... I'll be most happy to go with you."
"Okay, that's great. Let's go back to the Great Hall now." Harry felt a sense of relief and euphoria flood him.
-at the Gryffindor table-
Ron spotted his two best friends entering the Great Hall and waved to them. "Hey Harry and Hermione! Over here! Where have you guys been?"
"We met at the library and walked back together." Harry said as he sat down.
Ron wondered for a moment if they had arranged to meet at the library, or if it was merely a coincidence. "Now what did I want to ask you, Harry? Oh, have you asked anyone to the Valentine Ball yet?"
"Er.. well... I asked Hermione." Harry smiled weakly, hoping that his friend would not be mad at him.
"Oh... Okay..." Ron looked slightly unhappy. "And... You agreed, didn't you, Hermione?"
"Yes... He asked first, and I had no reason to turn him down."
"All right... Er, I got to, er... go. See you two later..." Ron hurriedly left the Great Hall, all the while rueing himself for not asking Hermione earlier. I'm sure there's something between those two... Why else would Harry ask so early? Okay, stop being paranoid, Ron. It's just another coincidence... Now you've got to figure out who to ask...
-in the boys' dormitory, Gryffindor Tower-
Harry got out his quill and ChatterParchment, then sat on his bed and wrote 'Angel' on it, followed by 'Hi. You have a moment to spare to chat with your Mortal?' and waited for his Angel to reply.
-in the Gryffindor common room-
Hermione was working on her History of Magic essay when her ChatterParchment materialised. Is that Harry or my Angel? She read the words, smiled and put her essay aside.
Angel: Of course. How are you doing?
Harry: I'm fine, thanks. Anyway... I just wanted to chat with for a moment. About the Valentine
Ball.
Angel: Oh, okay. Don't mind my nosing about, but who are you going with?
Harry: Hermione Granger. She's the really smart witch from Gryffindor, you know her?
Angel: I've heard of her. She sure is lucky. =)
Harry: I hope so... Anyway, I'm looking forward to meeting you during the Valentine Ball. How will
I recognise you?
Angel: Well... I'll look for you on that day.
Harry: All right. I'll see you on Valentine's Day then.
Angel: See you, bye.
Hermione smiled to herself. The chat was short... but it does give me this... warm feeling. Her smile, however, changed into a frown when she realised that she would have to make plans for the Valentine Ball, to prevent Harry from recognising her... And there's only one place in Hogwarts that can help me.
Author's Note: Ahhh. Finally done. Sorry this took forever. But don't blame me... Blame the school! For all those tests. Although the lack of inspiration was also a factor, heh.
I'm a planning a special Valentine's Day chapter... To be released on Valentine's Day, of course. But due to time and inspiration constraints, I'll see how it goes.
Also, I'm sorry this chapter seems to be focusing only on Harry and Hermione. I find D/G a little hard to write, since I'm not exactly inclined that way. My passion's for H/Hr, nothing else =)
As usual, comments are always welcome. Reviews are my motivation to write more! =)
P.S. February 11's a special day. Paus, etc, you should know =)
P.P.S. It's my 16th birthday! Hehe.