Neville admired her long, flowing blonde hair that was so rarely let out to freedom. It swayed in the opposite direction as she danced. He imagined the scent, sweet and flowery. Neville envied Ernie to a great extent. He was in her house. He was in her classes. He was with her wherever she went. He had the advantage.
Neville noticed the uncomfortable look on Hannah's face as Ernie spun her. She seemed to be looking for someone or something. She lost focus of what she was doing and stepped on Ernie's foot.
"Oh, I'm sorry Ernie. Why don't we take a break? I'm thirsty."
"That's a good idea." Ernie agreed. They walked together to a long table that was filled with ice sculptures and different assortments of drinks and foods.
Neville couldn't help but admire Hannah's sparkling blue dress that fit so well with the Yule Ball decorations. It looked magnificent on her pale skin; almost like an ice princess. Hannah and Ernie sat at Neville and Ginny's table. Hannah almost took the seat across from Neville, but she hesitated and sat next to him. She seemed very tense as she did so, or maybe Neville felt his own body stiffen. Ernie saw Hannah move over, so he did as well. Hannah sighed as he did so, but hastily turned it into a cough.
"So, erm, how are you enjoying it?" Neville asked, desperate for something to say.
"Oh, it's great. Good food, good music, I like it a lot. How about you?" Hannah asked back.
"Yeah same," Neville replied, feeling extremely stupid. Why couldn't he think of something more interesting to say?
Neville heard Ginny and Hannah gasp as The Weird Sisters started to play the song "Time Turner".
"Neville, I love this song! We have to dance!" Ginny grabbed Neville by the hand and pulled him onto the dance floor. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hannah do the same with Ernie.
The song was slow. Neville closed his eyes and pictured himself dancing with Hannah. He smiled to himself and opened his eyes. He was slightly disappointed to see Ginny in front of him. Neville looked over at Hannah and noticed that she had the same uncomfortable look on her face as before. As soon as the song ended, Neville and Hannah went hastily back to their seats while Ginny and Ernie took their time When Neville sat down, he bumped into the table and his fork fell to the ground. Neville bent down to get it, but found his hand covered by a delicate, pale hand. He lifted his head and saw Hannah bending down to pick up the fork as well. She gasped and retracted her hand hastily.
"Sorry," she said, blushing.
" 'S alright," Neville mumbled, sighing deeply. "Can you excuse me? Tell Ginny I'll be outside for a few minutes. I need some fresh air."
"Oh, um, sure" Hannah replied, looking concerned.
Neville walked outside. It felt good to breathe fresh air, rather than the thick sweaty air of hundreds of teenagers. He sat on a nearby bench and looked up. The sky was clear. Thousand of stars lit up the sky, which reminded Neville extremely of Hannah's dress. He looked to his side and was surprised to find that Hannah had appeared beside the bench.
"Neville? Are you alright? You seem really distracted. Do you mind if I take a seat?" Before he could answer, she sat down.
"I guess I really shouldn't talk, right? I mean, I haven't exactly been paying attention to Ernie myself, just because, well, I don't know. So I guess you wondering if I'm alright. Are you? Oh, I feel stupid. You're probably not thinking about me, I'm being silly—"
But before Hannah could ramble any longer, Neville leaned in and was attached to her. The sensation was incredible; it was like five tons had been lifted from his chest. He felt like he was floating on a cloud on Christmas, his birthday, and any other wonderful holiday. Neville never wanted this to end, but it had to eventually. They broke apart and Hannah had a sheer look of shock on her face.
"Oh," she said, wide-eyed.
"I'm sorry," Neville mumbled, looking down at his feet.
"No, don't be," Hannah told him reassuringly. She put her hand under his chin and lifted it, attaching her lips to his.