Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I wish I could say otherwise. Alas, earwax.
A/N: Welcome to In My Eyes. I love the Potter series and am currently writing five other stories (Connecting the Dots, Infusions, The Purest Power, May Flowers, and The Hidden Power). This story was inspired by Cho's rejection in GoF (Film) when Harry asks her to the Yule Ball. It always bothers me that he never asked her if she knew of anyone else that wanted to go but didn't have a date. I absolutely love Luna's character and my heart sings whenever there's a Harry/Luna scene in the films that followed. Reading suggestion: ¾ width.
Chapter 1: The Yule Ball
Harry was frustrated. The Yule Ball was fast approaching and he was no closer to finding a date than he had been a month ago. Perhaps Cho would go with him, he thought to himself as he made his way through the snow to the owlery. His gaze was focused on the steps in front of him, so it was no surprise that he didn't see the person coming towards him.
"Harry!" Cho gasped.
"Oh my goodness! Cho! I was just looking for you actually."
"Were you?"
"Yeah, I was wondering… wangoballwime?" he stuttered.
"Sorry?" said Cho.
"D'you – d'you want to go to the ball with me?" asked Harry. Why, oh why, did he have to go red now? It really wasn't convenient.
"Oh!" exclaimed Cho, turning pink herself. "I'm really sorry, Harry, I've already said I'll go with someone else." She looked it, too.
"Oh," Harry replied, wondering where he should look. "Oh, alright, no problem."
Cho sniffed. "I'm really sorry."
"It's okay."
They stood there, staring at each other for a minute, and then Cho said, "Well, bye."
"Bye." Harry called quietly as she began to walk away. "Wait, who're you going with?"
"Cedric. Cedric Diggory."
"Oh, right," said Harry. "Hey, Cho?"
She turned to face him again. "Yes, Harry?"
"Do you perhaps know anyone in Ravenclaw that might like to go with me? You know, that doesn't have a date."
"Let me ask around, Harry. By the way, I'd love to be your friend – I don't have many."
"Oh sure. Thank you so much! I hope you have a great time with Cedric. I'm sure you'll look beautiful." Harry gave her a light hug. "I appreciate that you're willing to do this for me."
She beamed brightly. "I'll let you post your letter. Watch out for the ice."
When she left, Harry smiled sadly. He hadn't got what he wanted but he'd had the courage to take it in his stride instead of getting upset. He quickly sent off his letter and returned to the Gryffindor Common Room with a happy heart. "Fairy lights," he said to the Fat Lady – the password had just been changed.
"Yes, indeed, dear!" she trilled, straightening her new feather boa as she swung forwards to admit him.
Entering the common room, Harry looked around and found that an ashen faced Ron sat weakly against a couch. His sister, Ginny, sat with him, talking to him in what seemed to be a low, soothing tone.
"What's up, Ron?" asked Harry as he joined them.
Ron looked at Harry with a blind horror in his eyes. "Why did I do that?" he asked wildly. "I don't know what possessed me to do it."
"What?"
"Her – er – asked Fleur Delacour to the ball," replied Ginny. She seemed as though she was fighting back a smile.
Harry stared at him. "You what?"
"I'm sorry! I just lost it – there were people, all around. Everyone was watching! I was just walking past her in the Entrance Hall, she was talking to Diggory – and it sort of just came over me – and I asked her." Ron moaned and put his face in his hands. He kept talking, but no one could understand him. "All she did was look at me. I ran when I came to my senses."
Harry put his hand on Ron's shoulder. "You'll be alright mate. It's not your fault – Fleur is part veela. I'm sure you just happened to walk past when she was turning on the charm for him. Not that it matters, he's going with Cho."
"How do you know?" Ginny gasped.
"I asked her to the ball when I ran into her in the owlery."
Ginny stopped smiling.
"This is mad – we're the only ones left without dates." Ron moaned. "Even Neville's got one." Colour was returning to his face now. "He apparently asked Hermione of all people – and when she said no, he found someone else. I'm not sure who'd want to go with him."
Ginny scoffed. Just then, Hermione climbed through the portrait hole. "Where were you two at dinner?"
"They were sulking because they've both been turned down by the girls they asked to the ball."
Harry and Ron, who'd been sniggering, fell silent immediately.
"All the good-looking ones taken were they, Ron?" Hermione said frostily. "Perhaps you'd like to go with Eloise Midgen?"
Ron stared at her as though seeing her in a new light. "Hermione – you're a girl."
"Oh, well spotted," she said acidly, before slapping his left cheek.
"Well – you can come with one of us. We're going to look stupid if we don't have partners… everyone else does."
"No, I can't. And for the record, I've had a date since the ball was announced. Harry, you look like you want to say something."
Harry blushed. He'd been trying to get a word in for the last five minutes. "Er, yeah. Cho said no but I asked her if she'd see if there was anyone in Ravenclaw I could go with. She told me she'd have a look around."
"Oh, Harry, that's wonderful!" she gushed, anger forgotten. "There's some lovely girls in Ravenclaw."
Harry smiled. "Thanks Hermione. I think I'll go and get some food. Gin, do you want to come?"
Ginny nodded and followed him out.
IME IME IME IME IME IME
As Harry was leaving potions a few days later, Cho approached him. "Harry! Wait for me!" He stopped. When she'd caught up, he turned to her.
"How are you getting on?"
"I'm well thank you, Harry. And, I come bearing good news."
Harry's breath caught. "Yes?"
"There's a girl in third year. She's a little bit strange in some people's eyes but then, her mother died when she was nine. She's very kind to me and when I asked, she said she's happy to go with you."
"Wow, thanks Cho. What's her name?"
"Luna Lovegood. And she also asked me to tell you that she'll be wearing ice blue."
"Awesome! I'm looking forward to it."
"I've got to get going. Bye Harry!"
"See ya Cho!"
IME IME IME IME IME IME
Despite the very heavy load of homework that the fourth years had been assigned for the holiday season, Harry was in no mood to work when term ended, and spent the week leading up to Christmas enjoying himself fully as possible along with everyone else. Days were spent playing games and relaxing with friends, laughing as the Weasley Twins fooled student after student with their Canary Creams. Snow fell thickly upon the castle and it's grounds. No matter what window he peered out, Harry could see that Hogwarts was a winter wonderland. Next to Hagrid's cabin, the pale blue Beauxbatons carriage looked like a large, frosted pumpkin. The Durmstrang ship was not immune to the cold either.
Finally, the day of the ball arrived. Ron hadn't given up on pestering Hermione either. When she least expected it, he'd throw the question of who she was going with at her. But she would not relent. They spent the morning opening their gifts. Harry received hand-knitted socks from Dobby, who'd apparently acquired a job at Hogwarts; Hermione had given him a book about Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland; Ron, a bulging bag of dungbombs and some sweets from Honeydukes that he'd saved for; Sirius gave him a penknife that had the ability to cut through any knot; and Hagrid, more sweets and a model of a Hungarian Horntail – the dragon Harry had faced in the first task. The afternoon brought with it a wonderful snowball fight and at five o'clock, the girls began to retreat into their dormitories to get ready.
"What do you need three hours for?" Ron asked Hermione incredulously. "Who're you going with?"
"I'll see you later," Hermione replied, waving as she disappeared up the steps.
Returning to the Gryffindor tower, the students found a very tipsy portrait, for the fat lady and her friend Vi had feasted on Chocolate Liqueurs, the wrappers of which lined the bottom of the frame. Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean and Neville changed into their dress robes up in their dormitory, all of them looking very self-conscious, but none as much as Ron, who'd had the unfortunate surprise of receiving his Great Aunt Tessie's own set. Despite the severing charm he'd used on the lace, Ron still looked rather ragged.
Downstairs in the common room, there was a blaze of colour. Plain, black school robes had been traded for gowns and suits of the highest quality. The Entrance Hall was packed with students too, all milling about waiting for eight o'clock, when the doors to The Great Hall would open. Those meeting partners from other houses were shifting through the crowd, searching for each other. Cho, who was standing with Luna, caught Harry's eye and called him over.
As luck would have it, Harry's robes matched Luna's dress perfectly. She looked very pretty indeed, in a shimmering blue gown that had thin lace sleeves and a short train at the back. It contrasted marvellously with her white blonde hair and deep blue eyes. "Hello, Harry Potter."
"Hi, Luna right? It's lovely to meet you." He leaned in and kissed her cheek.
"You look very nice," Luna said lightly.
"As do you. Rather like an elegant snow queen."
Luna blushed. Ron chose that moment to interrupt the exchange, joining them with his date – Hannah Abbott.
"Where is Hermione?"
Hannah cleared her throat, eyeing the group of students from Durmstrang and their dates. Krum was at the front of the party, accompanied by a pretty girl in pink robes that Harry didn't know. Behind them, the bushes had been transformed so real fairies floated above them. Harry's eyes returned to the girl and his eyes widened. "There!"
From the doors of the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall called, "Champions over here, please!"
Luna readjusted her snowflake charm bracelet and took Harry's arm. Professor McGonagall, who was dressed in a tartan pattern and had arranged a rather ugly wreath of thistles around her hat, instructed them to wait on one side of the door while everyone else went inside. The champions were to enter in a formal procession and open the Ball with a dance. Fleur and her date, Roger Davies were stationed nearest the door; Cedric and Cho were behind them; Krum and Hermione were third, leaving Harry and Luna to enter last. Since he didn't really feel like talking to Cho at the moment, he turned his attention to Hermione. He tapped her shoulder gently and waited for her to turn around.
"Oh, Hello Harry! Who's this you've got with you?"
Harry grinned. "This is Luna Lovegood – a friend of Cho's from Ravenclaw, and my date."
Hermione's mouth formed a small O. "Wow, I guess you got lucky then. Viktor, this is Harry and his date Loony – Luna Lovegood."
A flash of hurt flashed through Luna's eyes. Harry noticed and gave Hermione a cold stare for a second before defrosting. Viktor extended his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you properly, my fellow seeker."
"Oh yeah! I followed the snitch at the cup. That was an amazing Wronski Feint you did."
"You followed it? You must be talented!" Viktor complimented him.
The doors opened, ending their discussion with a bang. Harry whispered to Luna, "Are you ready?"
"I'm always ready," she replied eerily.
Stepping into the hall was an interesting experience. Conversation fell silent as people took in the sight of the four couples. "Is that Hermione Granger?" "Don't they all look lovely?" "Harry looks rather handsome!" "Surely that's not Loony Luna!" "I think it is."
Harry's mind twisted in confusion. Why did so many people dislike her? He'd connected with her immediately! He shook his head and placing a hand on her waist, fell into step in time with the music that begun playing. As they spun, he looked into her striking blue eyes and suddenly, his troubles fell away.
"Luna? Why are so many people rude to you? Why do they call you Loony?"
She smiled sadly. "I talk about Nargles and Wrackspurts a lot – creatures that they don't believe in."
"What are they? I'd love to hear about them." Harry replied graciously.
Her eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"
"Really."
They moved closer together as the song became more intimate. "Oh, well, my father says that nargles are little insects that inhabit mistletoe – they're very shy. Wrackspurts float into your ears and make your brain fuzzy."
"Do you believe in them?"
"I think so. My father is also the editor of the Quibbler. It's a magazine that most people describe as 'imaginary trash'."
"That's awful, Luna."
"I've grown used to it."
"Well not anymore. You've got me now. Once I make a friend, I don't let them go."
The music faded and the champions made their way to the top table with their dates. Dumbledore smiled happily as he watched, but Karkaroff was not at all pleased. It was positively disgusting to him that Viktor had chosen a muggleborn. Others such as Ludo Bagman and Madame Maxime applauded. Mr Crouch, Harry noted, was strangely absent. So much for international magical cooperation. In his place was Ron's older brother, Percy Weasley. Harry sighed as he pulled Luna's chair out for her – he really didn't fancy being lectured on cauldron bottoms all evening.
There was no food on the glittering golden plates yet, but small menus lay in front of them. Harry picked his up, looking around for a waiter. Dumbledore, however, was unbothered by this detail. He simply studied the menu and said very clearly to his plate, "Pork Chops!" Seconds later, pork chops appeared. The others picked up on this quickly and followed suit. Cho smiled at him from her place across the table. She seemed pleased with how he was treating Luna.
Dinner continued, with Krum describing Durmstrang (much to his headmaster's disappointment), Fleur describing Beauxbatons and Dumbledore regaling them with a tale of a wrong turn he'd made that had ended in him discovering a secret room with chamber pots. When everyone was appropriately satisfied, the Weird Sisters trooped onto the stage, met with copious amounts of joy. Harry and Luna got up to join their peers.
"Nice socks, Potter." Moody growled as he passed, his magical eye whirring.
"Oh – yeah, Dobby the house-elf knitted them for me." Harry grinned.
Luna's eyes lit up. "You know an elf?"
"I accidentally set him free in my second year. He's basically worshipped the ground I walked on since then."
This amused her greatly. She grew serious. "Harry, he smelt like Polyjuice."
His eyebrows raised. "Hmm, we'll monitor it. Good spotting."
After a drink of punch, Harry asked Luna if she'd like to go outside. She agreed and they exited the stuffy hall and entered the clean, fresh air. They sat down on a bench that lined in lights and both breathed a sigh of relief.
"This has been nice, Harry. Thank you for letting me accompany you."
"It's no trouble at all. Any friend of Cho's, is a friend of mine."
"You're ever so kind. I find amazing that you'd want to even spend five minutes around a plain girl like me."
"Are you kidding, Luna?" Harry scoffed. "In my eyes, you are quite possibly one of the most beautiful, and not to mention interesting, people I've ever met."
A tear trickled down her cheek. Harry reached for her hand, full of compassion for her. "But so many people say otherwise."
"Don't listen to them. If you must listen to someone, then let it be me. I'm not giving up on you. I mean it."
Her single tear became sobs. He gathered Luna in his arms, allowing her to feel safe. Her raw emotion reminded him of the days when he'd had no one but himself. The days when he'd wished for his mother and only had the faint scent of her perfume to cling to. The days when his peers had stood by and just watched as he was tormented by his cousin. "I pretend that it doesn't affect me. I pretend I believe in all the creatures my father speaks of. But really, with every word that pierces my soul, my heart breaks a little more."
"You will be alright. Here, let me walk you back to Ravenclaw tower. You need some rest."
Luna nodded reluctantly. "Okay."
As they walked, hand in hand, Harry told her the worst jokes he knew. As they stood beside the entrance, Harry kissed her cheek. "I'd definitely like to spend more time with you. Will you be around tomorrow? Or are you returning to your father's?"
"Daddy is away hunting Crumple Horned Snorkacks. I'll be here."
"I'll see you tomorrow then. Sleep well, Miss Lovegood."
"You too, Mr Potter," she said with a wink.
Harry's heart felt lighter than it ever had. As he later told Ron, he believed he'd met the girl he wanted to spend forever with. And best of all, he felt like he was no longer alone.
A/N: Well, my first attempt at Harry/Luna. I'm rather happy with it. Please return next time, when the second task takes place – with the obvious difference that she will be who he would sorely miss. Any similarities to canon occur within the chapter, "THE YULE BALL."