Hey everyone. This story was brought to you by the Bi-Monthly Pinata and February Writing Club's Love in Motion on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. For Pinate I wrote yet again for easy pinata which is Trio Era. For Love in Motion I wrote for Neville/Hannah. I hope you all enjoy A Different Yule Ball Story.
He was going to be the only fourth year without a Yule Ball date and Neville just knew it. He'd just tried asking Ginny Weasley to go with him but she told him that Dean had gotten to her first. Sighing he sat down in dejection at the table in the library in front of him. He didn't think he could handle any more rejection today.
"Are you alright, Neville?" came a female voice from overhead.
He'd know that voice anywhere. It was Hannah Abbott's voice. Looking up he just wanted to tell her to go away but the concerned look on her face changed his mind. "I just got rejected," Neville told her.
"I'm sorry?"
"I asked Ginny Weasley to go to the Yule Ball with me. As friends but she told me she was already going with Dean."
"It's her loss then." Hannah gently put her hand on his arm making Neville blush a bright scarlet.
The two of them had become friends over the summer when Hannah's Mum had been in St. Mungos for a magical flu she'd gotten while on vacation in Ireland. They'd spent a lot days in the cafeteria of St. Mungos. Not that Neville didn't want his friends to know about his parents bravery. He did want them to know. But the fact that they didn't even seem to know him embarrassed him more than anything. He didn't think that Hannah, or anyone else, would understand the way they were.
"Did you hear me?" Hannah's voice broke through his thoughts.
"What?" Neville asked numbly hopping he wasn't messing his friendship with Hannah up.
"I said that Ginny Weasley is fool for not wanting to go to the Yule Ball with you. If I had the choice, or if the choice was mine, I'd definitely go to the Yule Ball with you." She began to walk away from Neville.
Neville knew that if he didn't ask Hannah now he'd never pluck up the courage to ask her later. Then he'd definitely be forced to go to the Yule Ball alone. "Hannah," he called after her getting out his chair and approaching the Hufflepuff girl nervously.
"Yes, Neville?"
"I was wondering if you wanted to go to the Yule Ball with me?" Hope colored his voice. Hope that he wouldn't be embarrassed yet again by another girl turning him down.
"Of course," she replied with a small smile. "Pick me up outside the Hufflepuff common room around eight."
Neville nodded as he watched Hannah leave the library. A feeling of extreme happiness lifted his spirits he realized he now had a date for the Yule Ball and not as just a friend.
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During the days leading up to the Yule Ball Neville's nervousness built higher and higher. He spent his days trying to talk to a girl without blushing as red as a tomato. And during the nights he practice his dancing skills so that he wouldn't embarrass both himself and Hannah out on the dance floor.
"Do actually have a date to the dance?" Ron asked in annoyed voice. Of course, Ron had asked Fleur out the other day and Fleur had laughed right in his face. He'd then proceed the next day to ask Hermione to the Ball only to find that she was going with Viktor Krum. This only made Ron bitter about not having a date himself.
"Yeah," Neville told him happily. "I'm going with Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff."
Ron turned to Harry. "God," he snapped, "even Neville has a date. Why can't we find one?"
"You'll find one," Neville told Ron. "You just have to look for one."
He continued to practice dancing not noticing that Harry holding Ron back from attacking him. Neville was the happiest he'd been in a long time. He seemed to also be getting the dance steps that Professor McGonagall taught them towards the beginning of the month.
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Finally the big day arrived. The day of the Yule Ball in all of it's glory was here. Neville had gone through the day as though in a dream. He'd never asked a girl to a dance before. He'd never actually been on a date before in his life.
"You should probably get ready for the Yule Ball, Neville," Dean told Neville as he did up his own tie.
Neville had already put on his dress robes that his Gran had sent them. They'd once belonged to his father and had been hemmed to fit Neville's lanky frame. But he didn't know how to do up his tie. "Dean," he called out.
"Yeah."
"Can you help me fix up my tie?"
As Dean taught him how to tie a tie he began to get nervous yet again. What if he did something to make Hannah regret coming to the Yule Ball with him? Would be remember the dance steps that he'd been taught? Would he step on her toes? He was bound to do something stupid to mess this up he was pretty sure of that.
Walking towards the Hufflepuff common room the nerves rose higher and higher. He kept seeing all the things that could go wrong and that didn't really help him either. But once he lay eye on Hannah all the negative thoughts he'd been thinking left his head like a flight of birds taking off.
"You look beautiful, Hannah," he told her.
"Thank you," Hannah answered. "You look pretty handsome yourself."
Neville held out his arm for her to take. "Shall we?" he asked as he lead her towards the Yule Ball. Tonight was going to be a night that they both remembered for a long time to come.
I hope you all enjoyed a Different Yule Ball Story.