Chapter 19: Bad News and Good News
((A/N: Reminder, «this is French». And yes, they do sometimes switch languages for a single word or phrase when they don't know the correct words. As a typographical convention, only the bulk of a conversation will be denoted "English" and «French». Words that are spoken in a different language will be underlined ("English english french english"), indicating a momentary switch between languages. This reduces the punctuation mess that's introduced otherwise.
I think I'd like to add a couple of character notes before we continue with the story to deal with some things that have been coming up in the reviews.
I'm actually trying not to bash Ron in this story. OTOH, Ron is a fairly clueless teenage boy with self-esteem issues. I'm trying to get him to grow up, but sometimes he just refuses - which makes him look inconsistent … much like a normal teenage boy. :)
The Hermione and Ginny dynamic also needs a comment. Some have noticed that Ginny has received more than her share of screen time lately. There are two reasons for that. One, the chapters for the summer created a big change for her, so there was more focus on her. Two, while Hermione is not overly shy, she is also more on the introvert end of the scale, and Ginny is more on the extrovert end of the scale - personality-wise. Hermione will be in the spotlight when she thinks she needs to be, but it's not a place she gravitates towards. OTOH, Ginny doesn't mind being in the spotlight at all. Those personality traits need to be kept in mind while reading. Also, please remember that while I tend not to show classes in the story, that doesn't change the fact Hermione actually spends more time with Harry due to their classes.))
Chapter 19 - Bad News and Good NewsAfter the first task, Hermione let Harry have a day off from training, but when Saturday came she insisted they work on the clue. Harry grabbed the egg and the trio went to their training room to confer privately.
Hermione put a silencing charm on the door and nodded to Harry. He set the egg on a desk where they all looked at it. It was not too hard to figure out how to open it, so he did. However, the deafening screech which erupted caused him to shut it immediately.
"Ouch," Ginny said dryly, then shook her head as if to clear it.
«We're going to need to listen to more of it than a few seconds, Harry,» Hermione said, sounding slightly perturbed.
«Sure, whatever you want,» he told her as he pulled out his wand. He cast a Bubblehead charm on himself and then opened up the egg again. This time, the noise level was greatly reduced for him and he smiled. His smile widened when he felt a small pull on his magic, prompting him to look at Ginny, who now had a Bubblehead charm on herself too. She was looking at him with her own grin.
Hermione was still experiencing "the clue" at full volume. After about twenty seconds, she closed the egg. «Harry, does that sound familiar to you?» When he did not answer, she looked up from the egg to him, to see him grinning maniacally at Ginny, and her making faces at Harry. She backhanded him on the shoulder, not particularly gently.
He gave her a hurt look and rubbed his shoulder with his other hand. «Hey, what was that for?» he asked in a faint voice to her.
Hermione pulled her wand out and ended his charm. "It was because you were clowning around and ignoring me." She glared at Ginny too, causing the girl to end her own charm with a sheepish look. «Now, as I asked before, does that sound familiar to you? I think I've heard that before somewhere.»
Harry thought about it. «Now that you mention it, yeah, it does. In fact, it sounded a little more recognisable with the Bubbleheadcharm on.»
"Oh?"
«Yes and I think we heard it recently, too,» Ginny added, furrowing her brow slightly.
They looked at each other for maybe half a minute before Ginny gasped suddenly. «I've got it!» The others looked at her expectantly. «That night before the first task, we were near the lake and we heard a screeching sound that was very similar.»
"The Merperson in the lake," Hermione said distractedly as she thought about it. «Maybe, but if so, that doesn't help us much unless we learn their language. I really don't think they would expect you to learn a new language just for this task.»
«Is there a temporary translation spell?» Harry asked, looking at Hermione. If anyone knew, he thought she would.
«I don't believe so, or we I would have expected Professor Flitwick to have mentioned it when I asked him about learning French quickly,» Hermione replied.
«Oh, right, I forgot,» Harry said disappointedly.
«It might be simpler than translating what it says,» Ginny said. When the other two looked at her, she said, «Merpeople live underwater and so they would talk underwater too, at least normally.»
"Brilliant, Ginny!" Hermione said enthusiastically. She whipped her wand back out and then stopped and sighed. «We really need more experience with conjuration beyond the little Sirius showed us. I need a bucket.»
They looked around the room but no bucket was evident, nor was there anything shaped like one.
«Err, Hermione, we really don't have to conjure one,» Harry said. He pulled his wand out and concentrated while looking at a chair. He did the transfiguration spell and changed the chair into a medium-sized barrel.
«Good work, Harry.» Hermione pointed her wand at the barrel and cast, "Aguamenti". The others followed her example and soon they had the barrel mostly full.
Harry picked up the egg and lowered it into the water. When he opened the egg this time, it bubbled a little and produced faint music. He leaned over and put the side of his head in the water for a few seconds before he jerked it back up. "I hear words!"
"Yes!" Ginny hissed with a triumphant look.
Hermione looked very pleased as well. «Close it and then open it again with your ear in the water. Repeat what it says and I'll write it down.» She pulled out the little notebook and pen she carried everywhere. Harry obeyed and Hermione wrote, with Ginny double-checking.
They gathered around a desk and looked at Hermione's notebook.
"Come seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground,
And while you're searching, ponder this:
We've taken what you'll sorely miss,
An hour long you'll have to look,
And to recover what we took,
But past an hour - the prospect's black,
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back"
(Borrowed from "The Goblet of Fire", by JKR.)
"Right," Hermione said authoritatively. "If it's talking about the Merpeople, then the next task will probably be in the lake. The 'come seek us' and 'not above the ground' phrases, plus the word 'searching', back that up."
"Sounds like they'll take something of mine, and I'll have to retrieve it," Harry said in a distant way, thinking hard.
«I agree, but what would they take?» Ginny asked.
«I guess they could take most anything, but it says 'sorely miss', so it must be important and not something like a book,» he reasoned.
«What's important to you?» Hermione asked. Ginny looked at him too; each girl thinking with him.
«Well, they can't take my wand, I'll need that.» The girls nodded, as he thought some more. «There's my Invisibility Cloak from my father, but probably only Dumbledore knows about that. Oh, there's also the letter from my parents. I could play it safe and take both of those to Gringotts and put them in my vault at Christmas.»
Harry sat down. The girls joined him and Ginny bumped into him.
«Sorry,» she told him and gave him a teasing smile.
«You can bump into me anytime,» he teased her.
Ginny's expression became more teasing as well, but before she could say anything, Hermione gasped. "Of course!"
"What?" the other two asked.
"We're being too literal. They won't take an 'it'. They'll take a 'her', a person you'll sorely miss," Hermione explained.
"They wouldn't," Harry said with dread. "You could get hurt."
"Actually," Ginny said a little downcast, «they would as they don't see things like you do, and they don't take 'Harry Potter luck' into account.»
«What?» Harry asked, perplexed. «What do you mean my luck?»
«She means that you have bad things happen to you at times here at school. You always overcome them, Harry, but that does not discount the fact that bad things happen sometimes. You know, like fighting a troll and a basilisk,» Hermione pointed out.
Ginny looked down, looking a little afraid. «I like what's happened between us, but Hermione's right. It's been difficult at times, but we've made this work. What if something else happened and a third girl had to be rescued … and bonded?»
Harry could tell that was her greatest fear about this. He pulled the redhead into a sideways hug. «Hey, there's no reason for that to happen.»
"But that Beauxbatons girl!" Ginny argued.
"She's a contestant and she's on her own," Harry said, trying to settle the girl's fear. He looked at Hermione and saw her looking concerned. «Hermione? Are you worried about this too?»
Hermione got up and moved to the other side of Ginny and hugged her. Ginny brightened a little, enjoying the comforting. «Ginny, I don't think you have anything to worry about. I believe Harry's right and we'll be fine. My concern is really for us. You do realize they'll try to take either you or me as the person Harry will have to rescue.»
"No!" Harry shouted instantly, surprising them both. "No way, I won't allow it."
"But if they ask us to participate…"
"No, Hermione," he said forcefully, cutting her off. "You are not in the Tournament. You have no obligation to do anything, not even show up to watch it. I know you will come to see me, but I will notallow you to be in it. If my 'luck', as you called it, takes that moment to strike, it would kill me if something happened to either of you. I won't allow it no matter what they say."
«We need to stop them from using us,» Ginny said in the silence after Harry's declaration. «We'll each write to our parents. I'll write to my dad, and get him to write a note saying I'm not allowed to be in the Tournament. You can do the same, Hermione. That should stop Dumbledore from making us take part.»
«And we'll have them say how angry they'll be and what will happen if we're taken,» Hermione added, smiling again. «I know my parents will do it considering how upset they were when Harry's name came out of the Goblet.»
«Dumbledore was lucky they couldn't make a Howler,» Harry said with a grin. Each of the girls chuckled, as they envisioned what Dan and Emma had said. The trio were all anticipating a discussion about this during Christmas break.
Hermione's happy expression slowly faded. «Harry, even if they don't take us, they're going to take someone and you'll have to rescue them. What are you going to do?»
Harry considered that. «I wonder if my broom would fly underwater? I could summon it again and just fly down there,» he suggested.
«Good idea, but it won't work,» Ginny told him. «I once saw Charlie fall into the river back home when he had his broom in his hand. He tried to fly out of the water and the broom didn't work. He had a devil of a time trying to swim and not lose his broom. You can fly over water, but not in it. It's just the way the magic on the brooms work.»
"Hmm…" Harry thought some more before a smile slowly spread on his face. «Maybe Hermione is right and we need more experience in conjuring. I know I haven't done much with it, but maybe now is the time to really master it.»
«What are you thinking?» Hermione asked.
He gave them a rough overview, refining the idea a little as he explained it and had to think it through more thoroughly. He was pleased to hear that each of his bond-mates thought it was a reasonable idea and gave him a few suggestions to enhance it, which he quickly agreed with.
«I guess I need to experiment to learn parts of it.» Harry pulled out his wand and held it in front of him. "I need ten feet of rope." He thought about the last rope he had used, what it looked like, felt like, what it was made of. Sirius had stressed this required precise visualization.
Hoping for the best and with the image firmly in mind, he thought about his magic and pulled it up so it would be primed and ready. It was something they had learned over the summer when Sirius was teaching them new spells. They would pull on their magic and cause it to swell. That pulled a small amount of magic from his mates, but it was not normally enough to make them fall over or even show that anything unusual was happening. When his magic felt ready, Harry cast, "ProdidiRope". A ten-foot length of tan twisted half-inch rope appeared on the floor in front of Harry.
«Good work, Harry,» Hermione told him as she inspected the rope.
«I wonder how long conjured items last?» Harry asked, inspecting his rope as well.
«In theory, it's a function of the power of the caster. So the more power used, the longer it lasts, or so the book said,» Hermione explained, looking satisfied with his work. «But that's a good question because it wouldn't be good for you to use a conjureditem during the task and have it disappear when you're under water so you drown or something else bad.»
«Try something else, Harry, like a piece of wood,» Ginny suggested.
Harry concentrated again, visualizing something like the wood on the back deck at the Grangers. He pulled at his magic and cast, "Prodidi Plank!" Exactly as he visualized, a plank six inches wide, one inch thick, and six feet long appeared on the floor in front of him.
He bent down and picked up the rope and handed one end to Ginny. They tugged on it and it acted like a real rope. He put it down and picked up one end of the board and dropped it. It stayed in one piece and sounded like a real board being dropped. With a grin, he stood back up. "I think I'm getting the feel for this."
With confidence, he tried to conjure a chair. "Prodidi Chair!" The result was wooden and somewhat chair-shaped , but he was sure the spindly thing would have collapsed instantly if he sat on it. With a flick of his wand, he Vanished the chair.
"Good try, but I think you need more work on complex objects," Hermione said.
"Yeah, I guess so, but fortunately, I don't need complex objects for the second task."
"And you have time to learn them if you did," Ginny pointed out.
"Still, I'm very impressed by how well you did that on your first try," Hermione told him, beaming. She gave him a hug for added reinforcement. "My turn to try."
Hermione took two tries before she managed to get the rope correct. Ginny took three tries, with a break after the second one to look at Harry's example closely. Harry had to encourage them to pull more power from him. Once they had done it correctly, they tried again and needed to pull a little less power. Each girl was very pleased and vowed to practice the skill on various simple objects and slowly progress to more complex objects.
«I guess the only remaining problem is where the Merpeople live in the lake,» Hermione said.
Ginny got a grin and said, «I have an idea for that. I should have an answer later today.» She knew exactly who to ask and also knew no one else would think to ask that person.
«Who?» Harry asked.
Ginny only smiled as she led them out of the room to go eat.
After lunch, each girl wrote a letter home. Ginny volunteered to mail the letters. When she finished, she joined Harry and Hermione in the library, where they were looking at books on conjuring for tips to do it better. "I found her," Ginny whispered, "and she said the Merpeople live in the deepest part of the lake. It will be a little past the middle and to the left of centre as you stand on the shore nearest the castle. She visited once."
"Who?" Harry asked.
Ginny giggled. "You really don't want to know, Harry." Hermione raised both eyebrows but Ginny refused to answer in front of Harry.
Hermione's "anti-permission note" came back two days later, along with a letter for her and Harry. Dan and Emma were still upset at Harry being in the Tournament, and were even more so after they read in the Daily Prophet that Harry had had to face a dragon. The fact that he had succeeded without a scratch was the only thing that kept them close to calm. The Grangers also said they were looking forward to having their children home at Christmas.
It took three days for Mr Weasley to write back to Ginny, but she had her "anti-permission note" as well, along with a short letter. In the letter, he said that he hoped Ginny had a good Christmas at the Grangers and that he would miss seeing her.
At the end of the first week in December, Dumbledore got everyone's attention during the middle of dinner.
"Good evening. I hope everyone is enjoying the food this evening. To add to your dining conversation, I would like to announce that a Triwizard Tournament tradition will be continued this year. On Christmas, beginning at eight in the evening, we will hold a Yule Ball for those in fourth year and above. While dates are optional for most of you, I highly encourage you to find one as it will make the experience more enjoyable. Champions, you are required to attend and bring a date."
Many whispers and murmurs sprang up.
Harry turned to Hermione and whispered, "Good guess." She looked slightly smug.
"For those in third year and below, we will provide alternate activities; however, you may attend the Yule Ball if asked as a date of an older student. Dress robes will be required and there will be a Hogsmeade day the weekend before Christmas for those of you who need such robes and did not bring them," Dumbledore announced.
Looking at Ginny, Harry saw her raise an eyebrow and he whispered, "Please?" That caused her to smile brightly and nod.
"Lastly, since one of the main aims of the Triwizard Tournament is to develop friendship between the schools, the Hogwarts Express will not be running during the holidays. That will give you a chance to make friendships with those from other schools during our time off from scholastic pursuits."
Murmurs sprang up again.
"However," Dumbledore spoke up a little louder to be heard, "since we recognize that some families may have made plans for the holidays, you may leave to visit your family on Boxing Day if you have a note from your parents. You must return on the first of January between noon and two in the afternoon. Please present your note to Professor McGonagall, who will inform you of the travelling times. You will also need to meet your family at the Leaky Cauldron and return from there as well.
"I hope you find the rest of your evening and your weekend to be pleasant and a little more exciting." Dumbledore sat down and a cacophony of voices broke out as everyone started discussing the news.
A sharp intake of breath caused Harry to look across the table and see Ron looking scared. He would have laughed at his friend, except that he considered he would probably feel the same way if he did not have built-in dates.
"Harry?" Hermione whispered.
"Your plan, Hermione, if you're still all right with it," he said softly and then watched her carefully to see if she had changed her mind.
"I still think it's the best way." She looked resolved, but he could see a little sadness in her eyes.
He leaned over to whisper very softly to her so no one else could hear. «I'll make it up to you. If you have a special request for that, let me know.»
She looked at him gratefully. «Thank you.»
"So you're taking Hermione, Harry?" Ron's voice asked from across the table.
Harry smiled. He understood why Ron had asked; he and Hermione had been whispering together. He glanced at Ginny and saw her shake her head ever so slightly. That surprised him, but he understood the message. "Don't know, Ron, I haven't decided who I'll ask yet."
"But…" Ron looked very puzzled. Neville was looking at Harry curiously too; he was also looking a little uncomfortable in general - as most of the boys were.
"We were discussing going home for the holiday," Harry simply explained.
"I wonder if we will," Ron muttered.
Ginny caught what her brother said and answered, "I got a letter from Dad the other day and he mentioned that we'd probably be here."
Ron nodded and went back to eating.
After dinner, Harry pulled Hermione and Ginny away while Ron was distracted by a conversation with Dean and Seamus.
«Ginny, why didn't you want me to say I was taking you to the Yule Ball?»
«Because I didn't want Ron to make a scene in the Great Hall,» she replied a little sadly.
Hermione looked surprised. «Do you really think he would have?»
Ginny nodded. «Perhaps I would have been pleasantly surprised as he wished me well, but I don't think so.» She turned to Harry. «Be sure you're in the common room and that I'm around when you tell him. That should limit the damage and I'll be there to help him from getting too far out of control.»
He was not sure what to think about that, but agreed with her plan.
Everyone who could go was in Hogsmeade on Friday the twenty-third. Even the students from the visiting schools seemed to be enjoying the all-magical village. Harry and his two bond-mates, as well as Ron and Neville, spent time together for the day.
As the day ended, they started walking back towards the school. Ginny looked at Hermione and Harry. They both nodded. She felt a little nervous, as so much could go wrong, but this had to be done and they really could not put it off any longer. The letter from Ginny's father that came with the permission to visit the Grangers said that she had to tell her brothers about her visit.
As expected, when asked a few days ago, the twins did not care if Ginny went to the Grangers. Now all she had to do was to tell Ron.
When they neared the front gate of the school, where the carriages were waiting to give them a ride to the front door, Ginny slowed her walking and walked next to Neville for a moment. She smiled at him and he smiled back.
He had very timidly asked her to the Ball and she had had to explain to him that she was already going with Harry. In an effort to be as nice as possible, she also explained that he would be the only other person she would want to go with otherwise.
"Neville," she softly said so as not to attract Ron's attention while he was talking to Harry, "I don't want to be rude, but could I ask you to go on back in a carriage? We need to have a family discussion and I thought the walk back would be a good time. I really don't think you want to be involved in this anyway."
He looked at Ron for a moment before he grinned at her. "I doubt I do. So am I riding back with Harry and Hermione?"
"Uh, I'm afraid I'm going to need them for moral support, and to stop me from doing anything too rash," she said with a weak smile. She hoped this conversation would not go too badly, but this wasRon they were discussing. Perhaps it was unfair to him, but she did not expect this conversation to go well by any means.
Neville chuckled. "All right, I understand. Should I have Madam Pomfrey waiting at the front door?" he teased.
Ginny's smile became a little more natural. "I don't think so, but if you hear where she is, that might be good information to know."
Neville grinned again. "Good luck then." He turned slightly and started walking a little faster, to put some distance between them.
Ron turned as well to follow their friend and to get to the carriages.
"Ron, will you walk back to the castle with me?" Ginny quickly asked.
Her brother stopped and looked at her. "Why? It's getting chilly and I'd like to get back." He started to walk towards the carriages again.
Ginny ran a few steps forward and latched onto his arm and guided him a little to the side and around the carriages. "Please, Ron. I need to talk to you, as your sister. I haven't been sure when a good time was, and well, I think now is it."
He looked at her and frowned a little, but he did walk with her. Ron also glanced over his shoulder and saw Harry and Hermione walking a few steps behind them. "What about them? Or is it not that private?"
She paused for a moment, considering how to answer. "It concerns them a little. I … I was invited to go with them on Boxing Day and spend the time until New Year with them, at their house. I won't be here at school for the holidays."
Ron thought about that for a moment and his expression became darker. "So, are they your new family now? Are we not good enough for you?"
"It's not like that Ron," she said, working hard to contain her temper at his rejection. "They're my best friends and I enjoy spending time with them. I wrote to Dad and asked his permission. He said I could go, but he also said that I had to tell you boys. Fred and George didn't mind if I go," she argued.
He snorted. "They don't care about much other than themselves and their pranks."
"Ron, that's not true. They care about you, and me too. They've even been helping Harry with a few ideas for spells for the Tournament. They wouldn't do that or watch out for us if they didn't care."
Harry did his best to keep a neutral face when Ron looked belligerently over his shoulder at him. When Ron looked forward again, he looked at Hermione and saw the same concern on her face as he felt. He feared this conversation would not end well, just as Ginny had expressed to them privately.
"Fine, if that's what you want, then go," Ron said shortly, almost rudely.
"I wasn't asking for permission, Ron, I was telling you so you'd know when I wasn't around," Ginny explained. "I need to tell you something else," she quickly said, before her brother could argue back. "I don't want you to be surprised when it happens, but I'm going to the Yule Ball with Harry."
Ron stopped and tried to quickly turn around. Ginny's hand on his arm slowed him, but he still angrily faced his dorm-mate. "Is there anything else you plan to do? You do everything and get anything that you want."
As calmly as he could, Harry replied, "I asked Ginny to the Ball because she's one of my best friends and because she wouldn't be able to go if I didn't escort her. Don't worry, Ron, I'll take good care of her and promise that nothing bad will happen to her, if there is any way I can prevent it."
Ron studied them for a moment. "I'd tell you to do whatever you want, but you seem to be doing that anyway," he angrily said before he jerked his arm out of Ginny's hand and quickly stomped the rest of the way to the castle.
The trio watched him go, each with a heavy heart.
«That could have gone better,» Ginny finally said.
«But it went better than I was imagining,» Harry replied. «I was sort of expecting him to draw his wand or to try and punch me. Maybe he is starting to grow up.»
«I think he doesn't understand you,» Hermione said. «You're growing up and changing, Ginny, and that's upsetting him.»
"Maybe," she agreed as she started walking again. The other two joined her. «If so, then this summer's going to be a real problem when I change families.»
«Now there's an understatement if I ever heard one,» Harry teased. The girls grinned, happy for the humour.
Harry waited in the common room, not quite able to stand still. His dress robes were not comfortable and no amount of shifting seemed to be able to make them feel better.
He watched Parvati come down and meet up with Dean. He had to admit that she looked nice this evening. Seamus escorted Lavender, who also looked very fetching. Of course, every girl who came down looked extra nice. He could hardly wait to see his bond-mates.
Ron finally came down, but he barely spared a glance at Harry. Ron had not directly spoken to him since the walk back from Hogsmeade two days ago. He also had not spoken to Ginny either. He had spoken with Hermione exactly once. Ginny had asked Fred and George about Ron, but the twins said their brother had only said "I don't want to talk about anything" before walking off.
Harry considered that, for a number of months, he had treated Ron much like Dean or Seamus: being friendly but not really seeking him out to spend time with him. If he was honest with himself, Harry thought that he felt closer to Neville than he did to Ron. He wondered if this was the reason Ron was so upset with him, or if Ron was just "that way".
After Alicia and Angelina came down and met up with the Weasley twins, Hermione finally came down. Harry almost forgot to breathe as he watched her slow descent. She was captivating in her light blue dress robes and her hair pulled up on top of her head. Her smile at him lit his heart and he was sure he had a goofy grin on his face.
He reached out and took her hands as she came near. «I have always thought you were pretty, but I was wrong.» As her smile started to falter, he said, «You are beautiful.»
Her smile not only lit back up, but became bigger. «Thank you, Harry. You're very handsome tonight as well.» She paused for a moment and glanced over her shoulder before she asked, «Are you ready for your date?» He nodded. She leaned over and whispered softly, «Then I present Mrs Ginevra Potter.»
Harry's eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open as he gaped at her.
Hermione used one finger to close his mouth and then turn his head towards the stairs to the girl's dorms. «She asked for that intro,» Hermione whispered. Harry's mouth started to drop again and Hermione was not sure Harry had even heard her.
He watched "little Ginny" walk slowly down the stairs in light-green strapless dress robes that clung to her, showing curves that he had not paid much attention to before. She was not large on top, but she had more than bumps and her waist and hips were definitely feminine. How had he not noticed how good she looked when they exercised?
Harry continued his inspection to see delicate pale shoulders and a slim neck. Her hair tumbled over those shoulders in large curls and waves. She seemed to glide over to him.
"Good evening, Harry. You look handsome tonight," Ginny purred.
Unable to do much, he nodded ever so slowly. A laugh to his left broke him out of his paralysis and caused him to look over at Hermione, who had one hand in front of her mouth and was quite unsuccessful in holding the laughter in. A few giggles came from some of the younger girls behind them, watching all the older students, but Harry ignored them.
"I think you broke him, Ginny," the brunette said between guffaws.
He turned back to Ginny, who had an amused smile and was looking at him expectantly. «You're so beautiful,» he breathed. «I always thought you were pretty too, but it's like I've never seen you before either.» The words fell out of his mouth on their own; he hoped he was making sense because he was not sure his brain was working.
Ginny's smile grew. «Thank you, Harry. That's so sweet. Shall we go? You can't be late.»
"Uh, yeah, no wait!" He opened up his jacket and pulled out two small boxes. Pulling his wand out, he enlarged them. Neville had helped get these. In exchange, he had pointed his friend towards Padma for a date.
He opened the first box and pulled out a yellow rose with a short stem. He quickly pinned it on the top of Hermione's dress. She ooh'd and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, causing more giggles from the younger girls.
The second box contained a red rose. He started to pin it on Ginny's dress when he realized there was nothing to pin it on without his fingers going places they should not.
Ginny chuckled and took the rose from him. Holding her dress out just a little, she pinned the rose to the top hem, letting it rest above her left breast. "Thank you, Harry." She also gave him a kiss on the cheek before she grabbed his arm.
Taking her cue, Harry led them out the portrait hole, leaving multiple high-pitched sighs behind them. Hermione followed a few steps behind to give them some illusion of it being a date.
He felt like he owned the world at the moment, going with the two most beautiful girls in the castle. That French Veela girl had nothing on his bond-mates, he thought.
"Ginny? Your dress robes look a lot like a Muggle dress. Why?" he asked, after spending a moment working up the courage.
His date chuckled. "Hermione said the same thing. The bottom portion is more flowing than Muggle dresses, I think, but I suppose you're right about the top part." Still with amused look, she said, "I can see the robe effects on yours, but yours also look a lot like some of the men's suits I saw in London over the summer."
He shrugged. "I suppose. I thought it looked a lot like a tuxedo with long tails. If I had a top hat and a cane, I'd be complete," he said with a grin. He glanced back and saw that Hermione was silently chuckling at his comment.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the Entrance Hall.
Professor McGonagall was waiting for them. "You're almost late, Mr Potter," she briskly said, before softening a bit. "You look lovely, Miss Weasley." She cleared her throat. "In a few minutes, I will announce each of you. Please enter and walk to the head table, which will be for the judges, champions, and each of your dates. Dancing will commence after dinner." She turned and left for a minute.
Harry looked around. He saw Cedric with Cho Chang. Viktor Krum was escorting Daphne Greengrass from Slytherin. He wondered if the Durmstrang student liked his dates to be a few years younger, because Krum had also asked Hermione to be his date. She had turned him down, like the two others who had asked her. Last was Fleur, who was with seventh-year Roger Davies from Ravenclaw. Davies seemed to be having trouble ignoring the Veela allure, which Harry found amusing. He also thought that his earlier evaluation was correct: Ginny was prettier than Fleur.
McGonagall came back out. "The order will be Delacour, Krum, Diggory, and Potter." Walking back to the doorway, she cast a Sonorus and announced, "The Beauxbatons champion, Miss Fleur Delacour, escorted by Mr Roger Davies." There was polite applause as the couple walked inside. Krum moved to the front and Diggory walked up behind them.
Harry stayed where he was and whispered in Ginny's ear. "Walk out there like you're the prettiest girl here, because you are." She looked at him in amazement. "Even Fleur can't touch your beauty," he told her as Diggory and Chang were announced to slightly louder applause.
"Also a Hogwarts champion, Mr Harry Potter, escorting Miss Ginevra Weasley." McGonagall looked at them with a hint of pride.
Harry walked in slowly with Ginny gliding regally beside him. The applause was louder now that he was in the Great Hall and everyone seemed to be smiling at him and Ginny. Hermione was easily found and she seemed to be clapping the loudest. The walk felt like it took forever, but they finally made it to the head table and took the last two seats. Harry sat with Chang on his left, while Ginny sat with Crouch on her right.
Dumbledore was smiling at them all. "Good evening everyone. After you decide what you want from the menu in front of you, you need only tell your plate to order it."
After watching Dumbledore order, the rest did as well. Harry decided on the roast beef and Ginny ordered the roast lamb. Harry noticed that Chang ordered a vegetarian plate.
Polite and inconsequential conversation started haltingly. Ginny stayed quiet and listened. None of it was very interesting, until she heard Bagman speak to Crouch in a voice that was not meant to carry, but did to her ear.
"Not feeling well, Barty? You don't look like you've been getting enough sleep."
Looking out of the corner of her eye, she saw Crouch hurriedly glance around. She made nodding notions towards Krum across the table, who was talking about his family.
"I haven't been," Crouch finally answered, so softly Ginny barely heard it. "I've been having to work long days, and then I've been coming home and spending a lot of time on … family issues."
"Oh, since it's only you now, I didn't think you had that many demands on your time." Bagman paused and an amused tone entered his voice. "Oh, I understand. Everyone has needs."
"Not that," Crouch quickly said, glancing around again, seeming relieved that no one was paying attention to him. "I'm searching for some family."
Bagman coughed and then sounded very apologetic. "Right, sorry for jumping to conclusions. With your son gone, I understand. You do need an heir."
Crouch seemed to falter for a moment before he responded. "Exactly. So, do you expect the Quidditch League to expand and add more teams?"
Bagman was on the question like flies on dragon dung and Ginny tuned him out. Ron would have been hanging on every word, but Ginny did not like Bagman. To her, he came across as a blow-hard and had been far too excited to have Harry in the Tournament. Still, she wondered what Crouch was really doing since his behaviour cried out that he was lying about something.
Before she knew it, dinner was over and Dumbledore was directing everyone to the side of the room as he made the tables move and create a dance floor. Harry led her out along with the other champions and their dates.
Harry looked down a couple of inches into her eyes. She loved looking into his eyes, that was her favourite activity behind holding and kissing him. The band started and they began a waltz. It was just like they danced at Sirius's house. She thought they moved very well together.
Meanwhile, Harry enjoyed holding Ginny in his arms and twirling her around the dance floor. She was so light and quick on her feet. The only thing better was holding her next to him and snogging her. He did his best to not think about what came after snogging and what they might be doing together in a few years. He was afraid that line of thought might cause him to stumble.
When the first song finished, a slightly faster song started and they continued to dance as other couples came out onto dance floor. By the end of the second song, he guided them over to the tables on the side where Hermione was sitting. He held out his hand as a help when Ginny sat, then moved the hand to Hermione, who blushed a little and grabbed it to stand. Harry started to dance with Hermione.
"You two looked so beautiful together," she told him.
He could not help his grin as he guided her around the dance floor, just like in practice. "Thank you. I'm sure you look just as good right now."
"Thank you, Harry, but I don't think so." Her smile faltered a little.
A sigh escaped him. "Hermione, you're very pretty and more importantly, you're a wonderful person. Not counting me, you had three boys ask you to be their date, including an international Quidditch star. Doesn't that prove something to you?"
She blushed again and looked over his shoulder, following his lead by how he guided her with his hands. "One of those was Ron last night when he realized he still didn't have a date, and he only asked me because he suddenly realized that I'm a girl!"
He could not help his chuckle. "OK, Ron was a prat when he asked you to this dance, but I can vouch that he knew you were a girl long before yesterday." As the song wound down, he guided her back to the side. "And Hermione, you're prettier than Fleur tonight." She looked at him in disbelief, but he nodded and sat her down before taking Ginny's hand and pulling her back onto the dance floor.
"You're not going to get any rest this way, Harry," Ginny told him mischievously, holding his hand tightly as if to prevent him from getting away.
"I have two wonderful reasons to dance the whole night," he told her, meaning it.
The girls did give him a small break for a drink. They sat at a table with Neville and Padma.
"How's it going?" Harry asked his friend.
Neville looked a little embarrassed. "She's really great, but I can only dance the slow numbers with her. I, uh, I don't want to step on Padma's toes too much."
Harry looked over and saw that the Ravenclaw was talking excitedly with Hermione and Ginny. He suspected it was about him based on the glances in his direction, but decided he was better off not knowing. "Well, mate, you might want to try a Cushioning charm on her toes then. It'd be worth a try."
Neville looked surprised and then happy. "That might work. Thanks!"
Harry was about to get up and pull Hermione back out on the floor when Ron walked up.
"Will you dance with me?" Ron asked Hermione.
Hermione looked shocked and as if she did not know what to say.
"Come on, Hermione. You didn't come with anyone, and you've been dancing with Potter and you're not his date." Ron continued to stare at her and held out his hand.
She glanced at Harry and drew strength from his look of support. Looking up at Ron, she slowly said, "I'm sorry, Ron. By my choice, I'm only dancing with one boy tonight."
His anger slowly started to build, but Ginny spoke up first. "Ron, all you can do is ask. Girls are allowed to say 'no' and you have to respect that. If you can't, then leave the Ball."
Ron glared at his sister for a moment before he gave an angry look at Harry and then stalked off towards the drink table.
"Merlin…" Harry tiredly exclaimed as he shook his head and exhaled.
"What's gotten into him?" Neville asked. "He's been…" he looked at Ginny apologetically, "sorry, but he's been a certifiable prat for the last few days."
"You don't have to apologize, and yes, he has been a prat," Ginny agreed. She wanted to say more, but did not want to bash her brother too much.
Hermione came to her rescue. "He hasn't been happy with a few things we've told him lately. I think he's feeling left out."
"And jealous," Ginny added. "He's always been the most jealous of all my brothers."
Neville nodded, not sure what else to do or say. Padma pretended to be very interested in her bracelet.
Harry stood and offered his hand to Hermione. "I believe it's your turn, my lady?"
Hermione smiled gratefully and took his hand.
As they walked off, Neville looked at Ginny. "It's probably not my place to ask, but how does it work with the three of you? You're his date tonight, but it looks like he brought Hermione, too."
Ginny thought Padma looked a little too interested in the question, but Neville deserved an answer. He was becoming a best friend.
"We're best friends and that's the way it will be for now. I'm sure time itself will work something out," she said vaguely.
Neville nodded, realizing he was not going to get more of an answer than that.
When nothing more was said for a moment, Ginny got a fun idea. She turned to Padma. "Why don't you take Neville outside for a few minutes and show him a dance step or two without the music. That might help him when you come back in."
Padma thought about that and a sly smile came over her, causing Neville's eyes to go wide. "Neville, let's go outside for a few minutes." She batted her eyes at him.
Ginny almost lost it when Neville's surprised look turned into a goofy happy look. She had to bite her tongue until the couple walked away, then she burst out laughing. Searching for Harry and Hermione helped to bring herself back under control. When she spotted them, she thought they looked so natural together.