The Yule Ball II
By Cancer
Hermione Granger ran down the hallway toward the Gryffindor common room, her arms filled with books. The Holiday homework they had given was going to be murder and Hermione knew that Harry and Ron were going to be in need of her help as they always were when it came to homework and lessons. She made her way into the common room and found Ron and Harry sitting besides the fire place indulging in a game of Wizards Chess.
“Where were you during breakfast?” asked Harry, looking up as Hermione let the books tumble out of her hands onto the floor besides them. She sat down Indian style and grabbed the fattest book of the pile.
“Library. I figured with all the work McGonagall has given us we’re going to have to split up on the research. Harry, you can take Purse to Parrot and Turning Family to Furniture. Ron, you can take up Vampires: Evil Or Innocent and How To Deal With Flesh Eating Earth Worms. I will take Everyday Charms For Advanced Wizards, Tarot Cards Fact or Fiction, and The Proper uses of Mole, Fungi, and Anything Green. Although I’m not so sure that Ron should be handling the Flesh Eating Earth worms since they go with-”
“Hermione! Relax! We have three weeks to accomplish all of this and the Christmas Holiday just started yesterday,” laughed Ron. Hermione shrugged it off and pushed the books aside.
“Fine! Then what do the two of you suggest?”
“What do you mean what do I suggest?!? The Yule Ball is coming up! Not quiet as extravagant as last years but Dumbledore said that The Wicked Witches featuring Baba The Banshee is coming to perform,” said Harry. The mention of a Yule ball made Ron and Hermione turn to look at each other. Flashbacks of last years events ran through the both of their heads.
“Wonderful. Then while everyone else is at the ball this year I’ll be able work on all these books without any interruption,” said Hermione, grabbing hold of her book once again. Ron’s eyes darkened as he watched Hermione flip through pages.
“You can’t stay up here alone while the rest of us party. Besides, who am I suppose to go with this year if you don’t go?” asked Ron with a clever smile on his face. Hermione turned to look at him and grinned.
“Oh really? I thought perhaps you were going to ask Padma to be your date once again.”
“Bloody no! That girl was a nightmare.”
“Her sister was a nightmare as well. I felt like I was a puppet being dragged around the whole night by her,” said Harry, moving his bishop just to have it killed by Ron’s Knight.
“This is what we’ll do. I’ll go with Hermione and Harry can go with Ginny, that way we’ll be going as friends and we won’t have to go through the same problems we did last year,” suggested Ron. Hermione thought it over for a few seconds. Was there a bad side of going with Ron? She’d be able to socialize and not be confined to one person the entire night. She’d be going with one of her best friends. She’d give it a shot.
“Fine but if you think I’m going to use another full bottle of hair stuff then your wrong,” smiled Hermione getting up and going upstairs to the girls dormitory.
* * * * *
The night of the Yule Ball, everyone was just as excited as the first. People were dressed in their nicest dress robes and wearing more makeup and bangles then needed. Ron was waiting for Hermione in the common room, pacing back and forth near the entrance to the girl’s dormitory. He year before, Fred and George had bought him three new dress robes that were very expensive and very much in style. He was wearing a velvet dark blue one with light blue silk lining. He paced back and forth nervously. Harry was sitting in the corner with Ginny. He was wearing his emerald green robe. Ginny was talking with Harry but couldn’t stop herself from blushing. She looked beautiful none the less, in a maroon coloured robe. Her hair was up in an elegant bun with curly falling down into her face. Harry couldn’t stop smiling at her.
Ronald Weasley looking as handsome as ever in a dress rode. I wish I had my camera,” said a voice from the female dormitory steps. Ron looked up and standing on the steps looking down was Hermione, looking as pretty as ever. She had on a long purple dress robe with white stars that shined on it. Although she said she wouldn’t be using a bottle of that magical no frizz to keep her hair straight, it looked liked she had used two instead. Her eyes shined as she looked at Ron. Ron turned red in the face and his mouth fell open in shock.
“Wow!” said Harry, standing up to admire his best friend. She smiled and put out her hand for Ron to take.
“Are we going down or do you plan on staring at me all night instead?”
The Hall looked wonderful. The tables were covered with empty plates and little menus besides them as they were the year before. Everyone entered with their dates and sat down to eat. This year there wasn’t as special as the Yule Ball the year before so no ministry of magic workers were invited. Dumbledore sat besides McGonagall as music played in the background while everyone took their seats. Harry sat with Ginny and Ron sat with Hermione. Malfoy turned to watch Harry and Ron with hatred in his eyes. His date was Pansy, as always. People wondered weather or not the two of them were dating, yet they were never caught kissing or flirting. They would just go to Hogwarts functions together. Pansy with her nose up in the air and Malfoy giving everyone the evil eye. Typical.
When dinner was over and the music of the Wicked Witches began, everyone jumped up and started to dance. Fred and Angelina made a big scene as they did the year before. They would break dance until their bodies were sore. Ron and Hermione got on the dance floor to dance a fast song, Harry and Ginny stood behind talking about different ways they had gotten lost in the castle.
“Its was dreadful! It was my first year in Hogwarts when that thing happened with you know who, well, I had just woken up from a trance and I didn’t know where I was! I spent exactly two hours trying to find my way back to the common room,” laughed Ginny.
Harry laughed and smiled at her and took her hand into his under the table. Ginny’s eyes opened wide with shock but turned away quickly before Harry could catch her blush. At that very moment, walking over in a pair of black spike heels looking extremely sexy and sluty at the same time was Cho Chang. She walked over to Harry and Ginny’s table and leaned forward toward Harry.
“Hey Harry,” smiled Cho. Harry looked at her hard and couldn’t help wanting to smile at her. She looked great, if you liked that sexy sluty look. Her eyes were outlined in black mascara which made her eyes look even more exotic. “Having fun?”“Er... Yeah,” said Harry, looking at Cho, and then over to Ginny who looked away and then down into her lap where Harry had taken tight grip onto Ginny’s hand. “Where is your date, Cho?”
“Actually, I didn’t come with one this year. I was hoping you and I could perhaps have a dance, if your date doesn’t mind?” asked Cho, looking over at defenseless Ginny who looked like she was at the brink of tears.
“Well Cho, actually I -“
“Its alright, Harry. If you want to dance with her then I understand. I’ll sit here and wait till Ron and Hermione come back,” said Ginny, looking into Cho’s wicked eyes defiantly. Cho turned to look at Harry and smiled in a way that made Harry quiver.
“Come on Harry, I love this song,” said Cho, giving out her hand to Harry to help him up, but he didn’t move.
“I’m sorry Cho, but I think I rather sit this one out with my date... Ginny,” said Harry, turning to give Ginny a smile. She looked down into her lap and smiled softly to herself. Cho, shocked that Harry had turned her down, gave them both the evil eye and walked to the Slytherin table where she quickly found Crabb to dance with.
“Harry, if you wanted to dance with her you could have. I would have been alright here until Hermione and Ron came back,” said Ginny. Harry turned to see Ron and Hermione dancing happily together besides Seamus and Lavender.
“By the looks of it, you could have been waiting for the two of them to come back for hours. Besides, I know who I want to dance with and it isn’t Cho,” said Harry as he got up and pulled Ginny with him to the dance floor. Ginny felt like she was Cinderella for the night. She danced with Harry but felt like she was dancing on a cloud. Her feet were light and his movements were slow and graceful, even though he swore he didn’t know how to dance.
+ + + + +
Ron and Hermione went out to get air after dancing four songs in a row. Ron’s face was flushed and almost the colour of his hair while Hermione was a pale pink color from the lack of air in the Hall. Ron and Hermione stood on the terrace getting fresh air. It was breezy but not cold as it should have been, being it was the holiday season. Ron turned to look at Hermione, her hair straighter and shinier then ever in the moon light.
“Hermione, how come we’ve never - er - I mean how come I’ve never -”
“Never what, Ron?” smiled Hermione.
“Seen you as a girl until last year. You were always just, I don’t know.”
“I was always just another one of the boys?” smiled Hermione.
“Yes! No, I didn’t mean it like that! Its just that you were always with Harry and I. I never really thought of you as someone I could fancy or do those stupid silly dating things with. You have to admit it Hermione, your not really dating material,” said Ron. Hermione turned to look at him and scowled. What was with Ron and his terrible choice of words? He never knew what to say and he always seemed to say the wrong thing to ruin the mood yet for some reason or another, she liked him. She realized it the year before when he had gotten jealous of Viktor and when she gotten upset that he had seen her as a last resort for a date.
“Why is that Ron Weasly? Just because I don’t always have my face in a mirror? Because”
“You never have your face in a mirror!” snapped Ron.
“Just because I don’t put on tons of makeup and giggle when boys speak to me? Then your right. I’m not dating material, yet I knew a few boys who wouldn’t mind having me as one,” said Hermione. Fire was glowing in her eyes by then.
“Who?!? Vicky?!? Bloody Hell if I have to hear his name one more time I’m going to -”
“Going to what exactly?” asked Hermione, looking at Ron hard. Her eyes still had fire in them but by that time, so did Ron’s eyes. Ron starred into her eyes for a moment and calmed down. He couldn’t fight with her. Not that night. Not when he had wanted everything to be perfect from the moment he seen her come down the stairs.
“I’m sorry. Really I am. Its just that everyone time I hear you say his name I get so .... grr... I don’t know! He doesn’t deserve someone like you!”
“Someone like me?!?” snapped Hermione. “I don’t love Viktor! I never did and I never will,” laughed Hermione. Ron turned to her, his face still pouty and flushed.
“Then why are you always sending each other letters and gifts? Don’t think I didn’t see the Quidditch robe he sent you for Christmas. Ha. He expects you to wear his number as if you were his -”
“His girlfriend,” interrupted Hermione.
“Are you?!?”
“No! He has asked me to visit a number of times and he also manages to put a smile on my face when I’m feeling down but other then that, I don’t see Viktor as anything more then a friend.”
“That is what Harry said about Ginny. Now look at them,” said Ron, motioning toward Harry and Ginny on the dance floor. Hermione smiled at the site of Ginny and Harry, then turned back to Ron who was looking rather sadly out at the forest.
“Listen, I don’t want to have to argue with you over someone who is millions of miles away. He’s gone and you’re here with me, so what is the point?” asked Hermione, grabbing Ron’s hand into hers. He turned to look at her, he could feel his cheeks turning red.
“I can’t help but feel upset over someone who has everything I’ve always wanted.”
“Not everything,” smiled Hermione, leaning in slowly, planting a soft kiss on his nearly frozen lips. She pulled away slowly and smiled.
“I’m going inside.” Hermione turned and walked away with a huge smile on her face, and she didn’t want Ron to see. Ron stood planted to that very spot. As he watched Hermione walk away, he let out a small sigh and bit onto his lip.
+ + + + +
The ball lasted all night long. People kept leaving upstairs in pairs and said goodbye at they’re common room doors or the stairs leading up to their dormitories. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Harry all went upstairs together but when they reached the common room, they split into different corners of the empty room.
“I just want to apologize for what happened between you and Cho tonight. She should have known better then go come over to us if she had seen me with you,” said Harry, softly enough so that Ron and Hermione who were near the fireplace couldn’t hear their conversation. Ginny smiled at Harry and shrugged at the mention of her name.
“Don’t let it bother you, Harry. She did it on purpose. Even I know that,” said Ginny. Harry nodded, looking down at his shoes. Ginny looked over to her brother who was running his hand down the side of Hermione’s face while she blushed a shade redder then Ron’s hair. Ginny giggled at the site but buried her face into Harry’s robe so that they wouldn’t hear her.
“What?” asked Harry with a grin.
“Look at my brother,” said Ginny. Harry turned and quickly had to burry his face into Ginny’s hair to cover up his own laughing. Harry took a whiff of Ginny’s hair and sighed. It was the greatest thing he had ever smelled in his life.
“Wow! What is that?” asked Harry, taking a piece of Ginny’s hair and putting it to his nose to smell it better. Ginny turned red at the site of Harry smelling her hair.
“Its Veela Essences shampoo. Lavender let me borrow some of hers. It’s the most expensive shampoo on the Wizard market,” said Ginny.
Harry nodded and looked down at the thought of poor Ginny borrowing expensive shampoo from someone else because she couldn’t afford it. Ginny noticed the change in Harry’s eyes and sighed. She knew that in the end, Harry and her were to different. He came from a wealthy family while she came from a poor one. Although Ron and Harry were best friends, she knew Harry must have felt bad for their poor lifestyle. He had a Firebolt while her brothers were still stuck using Comet 99's. Ginny looked down at her cheap dress robe and second hand shoes. She knew she wasn’t good enough for Harry. He deserved so much more then what she could give him.
“I’m sleepy. I better go upstairs,” said Ginny.
“Alright,” said Harry, letting go of her strawberry coloured hair. It felt onto the shoulders of her maroon coloured robe. Her dress looked plain compared to her radiant hair.
“Goodnight Harry,” smiled Ginny, turning to leave. At that moment, Harry grabbed onto her small hand and pulled her to him, kissing her hard on the lips. Ginny felt as if electricity was being pumped into her through his lips. Her knees went weak for a moment but Harry was holding her around the waist so she didn’t fall. When he pulled away, he stood starring into her dark eyes as he licked his lips. She tasted like the colour of her lips, strawberry.
“Goodnight Ginny,” said Harry, trembling under her smile. She turned around and went up the stairs thinking to herself that maybe they could be more then just friends.
+ + + + +
Harry woke up the next morning ready to open gifts. He jumped up from bed and went over to Ron’s but Ron was no where to be found. His bed was empty and left the way it was the day before. After Harry’s kiss with Ginny, he left Ron downstairs with Hermione so they could be alone to talk. He figured Ron would have been back by then but was no where to be found. Harry threw on a pair of clothes quickly and walked down the stairs to the common room. There, laying on one of the red velvet couches was Ron, fast asleep with a sleeping Hermione locked into his arms. Her hair had fallen from the bun and was tickling Ron’s nose. Ron had his arms wrapped around Hermione and her arms were wrapped around him. They had fallen asleep together the night before, dressed in their fancy dress robes. Harry stood there for a moment looking at them with a large smile on his face. After five years of fighting and bickering, true feelings were let out the night of the Yule Ball.
