Chapter 9: The Yule Ball
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and don't profit.
A/N: This chapter is a bit more adult than some previous.
Christmas morning Harry awoke with a start, two huge eyes staring straight into his. He quickly scrambled back, only to see it was Dobby.
"Dobby?" he croaked, clearing his throat and reaching for his glasses.
"Yes, Harry Potter, sir! It is Dobby!" the elf exclaimed, "I wanted to wish you Happy Christmas and give you a Christmas present!"
"Of course, Dobby. I…I have something for you, too."
He got out his oldest, mustard yellow socks. Dobby was thrilled!
"But they made a mistake when they was selling them to you, sir. They gave you two just the same!"
"How could you have missed that?" Ron laughed. "Here, Dobby, you can mix them with these." And gave him a purple pair of socks he'd just unwrapped along with a hand knitted sweater.
"Dobby knew you must be a great wizard to be Harry Potter's friend, but he didn't know how great and generous you were!" Dobby said, "Here, Harry Potter, here is what Dobby has for you."
Harry opened a pair of handmade socks. They didn't match. One was bright red with golden broomsticks, the other was green with golden snitches.
"They're great! Thanks, Dobby!" Harry said, "Stop opening presents, Ron. Let's wait for Hermione. Dobby, would you mind seeing if she's awake? If she is, tell her we're awake and see if she wants to open presents with us."
A few minutes later, a small pile of presents appeared on the end of Harry's bed and Hermione stuck her bushy haired head around the corner.
"Everyone decent?" she asked, before slipping into the room in her dressing gown.
They pulled the curtains back on Harry's bed and sat there, while Ron sat on his, right across. He opened Hermione's gift first. It was a book, Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland. She whispered, "That's not all of it, I'll give you the other one later."
Ron got Harry a full bag of dungbombs. Sirius gave him a penknife with multiple magical attachments. Hagrid had sent a pack from Honeyduke's with all his favorite candy. Mrs. Weasley sent a hand knitted sweater, green with a Hungarian Horntail worked into the front. She had somehow made the Horntail breath yarn fire, which was pretty amazing.
Hermione got a book on Quidditch for the non-Quidditch player from Ron. She got a new leather day planner from Harry, who assured her that wasn't his only present, either. Sirius sent her a silver and emerald hair clip that looked like it might be a family heirloom. Hagrid bought her a pack of parchment and fancy quills. Mrs. Weasley sent a sweater with a pattern of books worked into it.
Ron got a Chudley Cannon's hat from Harry, although both Harry and Hermione winced when he put it on, because of how badly the orange hat clashed with his hair. He got a new chess set from Hermione and candy from Hagrid. Charlie had gotten him a set of dragon hide boots. Sirius event sent something, a large square box. Ron opened it and found a set of formal dress robes. He held them up and looked at Harry, looking like he wanted to say something.
"Don't look at me." Harry said, "It's from Sirius. I don't know why he'd buy you clothes, but maybe he's still a little unstable from being in Azkaban or maybe those rich guys are just mental."
Ron didn't say anything, but carefully hung the robes and went to the common room. Once he was gone, Hermione whispered, "That was nice, Harry. You know he wouldn't have taken them from you."
They all went to breakfast, then spent the morning in the Gryffindor tower playing with presents and seeing what their classmates got. Many more students had stayed at Hogwarts this Christmas than usual, to attend the ball.
After a huge Christmas lunch, they went outside, onto the snowy grounds. Harry became embroiled in an epic snowball fight with the Weasleys, which led to forts being built and hundreds of snowballs flying across a no-man's-land between. Hermione stayed out of the fight, until Harry tackled her into a pristine snow drift. He looked into her face, with rosy cheeks from the cold. He couldn't believe how much he loved her and how their lives had changed since the night with Buckbeak.
"I still have your present." He said.
"Oh? What else did you get me?" Hermione asked, biting her bottom lip.
He handed her a small velvet covered box. She looked up at him, startled.
"Open it." He urged.
She opened the box and saw a silver colored ring with a complex pattern of celtic knotwork.
"It's a promise ring." Harry said, "It's a promise that I love you and I plan to replace it with an even more meaningful ring when we're older. Look inside."
Inside, he'd had engraved their names and the date they'd rescued Sirius and formed their bond. Hermione threw her arms around him and kissed him. She put on the ring and they both felt the bond fizz and spark with the force of their emotions and the power of their magic.
"I love you Harry Potter!" Hermione said, "And I have another gift for you, too. It's not this, but…"
She gave him a small box. When he opened it, he found a bracelet with chunky links and a flat band. On one side of the band were their names and the date of the bond. He was amazed she'd had the same thing engraved on his present as he'd had on hers, but somehow not surprised. On the front side, carefully etched runes covered the flat band.
"It's to protect you. I chose the runes and engraved it myself."
"It's wonderful! Thank you!" Harry said, clasping it on his wrist. When it shut, a golden glow, like Hermione's magic flared for a moment.
"It would probably only stop one stunner before it had to recharge, but anything helps, right?" Hermione asked.
"I love it." Harry said, leaning in for more kisses.
"I need to get ready." Hermione said, leaving his arms and walking towards the front doors.
"What, you need three hours?" Ron called, watching her walk. He paid for his distraction with a snowball to the head and the fight was rejoined.
Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville changed into their dress robes in their room. Harry's were clearly expensive, a deep green color. Ron's new robes were equally expensive, the latest fashion appearing almost black, but with subtle red threads visible in the right light. This red did not clash with his hair, but seemed like it had been designed to compliment. Neville, also well-off, was well dressed, but not in any way flashy. Seamus and Dean had plain dress robes, but all the boys looked appropriate. Harry looked at his wrist, how his new bracelet sparkled and shined. He liked it, especially that it was from Hermione.
Ron left the common room, he was going to pick up his date from another house. The other boys waited in the Gryffindor common room. The girls seemed to take forever, but when they appeared on the girl's staircase, the boys thought the wait had been worth it. Ginny led the group, wearing a beautiful black dress. She walked to Neville and he seemed speechless, which made her smile. Harry was glad Ron wasn't around to see the looks on their faces, because while he was becoming more mature, Harry wasn't sure he was that mature, yet. Lavender and Parvati came next, walking to Seamus and Dean. Harry's attention was only on Hermione. Her hair was sleek and shiny, twisted into an elegant knot at the back of her head. Only sleek ringlets dangling beside her face and neck spoke to the normally uncontrolled nature of her hair. The light struck mahogany and red highlights in the silken mass. Her light blue dress floated around her. The light shone on her minimal jewelry, mostly sparking off the ring that seemed to glow with its own magical light. She smiled at Harry and Harry noticed something different, her teeth didn't have the buck-tooth appearance he was used to.
"You look brilliant, I mean gorgeous.. amazing." Harry said, stumbling on the edge of babbling.
"You look very handsome, too, Harry." Hermione said quietly, her hand shaking as she took his.
"You've got the most beautiful smile." He whispered in her ear.
"You noticed?" she asked.
"Yes. I've always thought you had a beautiful smile, but I didn't notice something different."
"When I blocked that spell of Malfoy's, I realized there was really no reason I couldn't fix my teeth. If Malfoy can cast that kind of magic, it's nothing outside of my reach. My parents might be a little irritated, but if I'm going to be magical, I might as well embrace the best parts."
They went to the great hall, meeting up with Ron and a beautiful blonde girl with staring eyes. She was dressed in a flowing yellow/golden dress.
"Hi, everyone, this is Luna. She lives near the Burrow." Ron said.
"Hi, Luna!" Ginny said, "You look beautiful!"
"Thanks, Ginny. You do, too. Remember to watch out for Nargles, they're attracted to gatherings."
Professor McGonagall summoned the champions. Harry was nervous and he could feel a little nervousness from Hermione as well, but as he touched her through the bond, he could feel them both relax. It was easier when they shared their fears. The music started and they glided together. Dance practices had paid off. Combined with his natural athletic ability and the bond that let them know where the other was going to move at all times, he realized they were actually very good dancers. He felt her happiness and pride, which set off a feedback loop, sending him into almost drunken levels of happiness.
He noticed Viktor, the Durmstrang champion, dancing with Padma Patil. He was surprised that the older boy had gone for someone Harry's age, but she seemed happy. Fleur appeared to be with Roger Davies, although she danced with a wide assortment of boys through the night.
He and Hermione danced almost all night. Ron and Luna danced a little bit, but mostly seemed happy to sit beside the floor and talk. Neville was one of the big surprises of the night. He wasn't sure whether it was a pure-blood tradition to be trained in dancing or whether Neville and Ginny had been practicing like he and Hermione, but they looked comfortable on the dance floor and Neville never once stepped on her toes.
After the ball, he and Hermione wandered the halls, looking for a quiet place to say goodnight. They slipped into an unused classroom. The only light was moonlight shining in through a window. He cast a locking charm on the door while Hermione cast a notice-me-not.
"You were the most beautiful woman at the ball, Hermione."
"You don't have to lie to me, Harry. You already have me." She blushed.
"We can't lie to each other." He whispered, kissing her.
Despite their nightly bond practices, which were their main outlet, they really hadn't pushed their physical relationship very far or very fast. They hadn't needed to, since they had another way to fulfill their desire for each other and it let them save something, leave some anticipation for the future. Seeing her in the gown, though, Harry felt like his body was on fire. He kissed her passionately and she returned it. Their bond was fully open and they let magic leak through it, magical fire adding to the fire they felt by contact. The closer they contacted, the stronger the connection. He kissed her neck, running his fingers along the base of her skull and she let her head relax back into his touch, stretching her neck for him. He kissed her collarbones, barely touching his lips before nibbling. She untucked his shirt and let her hands wander along his back, pulling him closer to her. He kissed down from her clavicle, kissing along the tops of her breasts. She took a deep breath in. He'd touched her through her clothing, but never laid his lips on her breasts and it made her desperate with wanting him to go further. He gently eased the tips of his fingers under the neckline and pushed it down and away from her body, giving him a little more room for his lips. He now could see that the dress was directly against her skin. He let his fingers wander a little further and captured her nipple while he was kissing the upper swell of her breast.
She pushed herself up on a desk and wrapped her legs around him, pulling him into her. He was cradled between her legs, pushing into her. He used her other hand to push the mass of her dress out of the way so he could be closer to her. He felt his trouser front rub against her knickers and she gasped again. Hermione looked into his eyes intensely as she pushed her hips against him. She pushed her hands down his waistband in the back, clutching him to her, letting her hands rub and knead his buttocks. He pressed into her again, rubbing himself against her. Their lips met and they continued kissing. He felt her hands slide around the front and could just barely feel her fingers against him, before she realized his waistband with belt was too much to get around easily. She quickly unfastened him and her hand stroked along his length. He sucked in a breath. He'd felt her hips against him many times and she'd even grasped him through his trousers or pajamas before, but never against his bare skin. It felt amazing and he tried to tell her through looks. There was never a chance she didn't know, with their emotions and physical feelings shooting through the bond. He pushed his hand against her, through her knickers. He could feel how moist she was and was happy to know he'd excited her as much as she had him. With hands and hips they rubbed against one another, kissing all the time. Both thought of the few motions it would take to move the last barrier of clothing aside and complete their joining, but without conscious thought, they moved away from that, to neither's unhappiness. The bond pulsed in time to their heartbeats and to their kisses. Eventually, wet, sticky, but very happy, they left, careful to avoid wandering prefects and return to their rooms.
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A/N: I would love reviews. Let me know what you think.