by MusicMissionary
Disclaimer: Nope. I don't own any of the characters etc. here, just the plot.
Rating: G
Summary: One-shot. It's time for another Yule Ball at Hogwarts, and Harry and Hermione both couldn't find any dates, so they decided to go with each other instead.
Author's Note: Hello people..! I was listening to this song the other day and it really inspired me to write, so here it is.. Oh and by the way, this is my first fic, so please be gentle but truthful on the feedback.. R&R please..! Peace
It was December when Professor Dumbledore told them the news, at dinnertime…
"Now that we are all full and satisfied," he said, a bit loudly and the Great Hall hushed up. "It is my pleasure to tell everyone that due to popular demand, we are going to have another Yule Ball this year."
There were different reactions from the crowd. Parvati started talking excitedly to Lavender. Dean and Seamus groaned something about the trouble of finding dates. Malfoy was trying to hide his excitement but failing at it. And Harry, Hermione, and Ron just looked at each other.
"Hem, hem," Dumbledore gave an Umbridge fake cough and the few students who could still remember snickered. "As usual, the ball will only be participated by those who are in their fourth year and above."
The first to third years gave expected sighs and groans…
"Dates," he continued, "are only optional. But I daresay that I wouldn't find anyone going to the ball without a date in hand. Now that everything is said, you can all go back to your common rooms to do some studying… or maybe talk about the Yule Ball."
Harry and his friends made their way up to the common room. Harry overheard some people talking about whom they wanted to go to the dance with. He was, of course facing the same dilemma, though he knew whom he wanted to go to the dance with, the problem was, how he was going to ask her.
He tried to push those kinds of thoughts behind his mind but somehow it always crept up to the front. He knew he shouldn't feel more than friendly feelings towards his best friend. He didn't know why, but Hermione Granger is looking more and more beautiful each passing day.
Stop! He tried to tell his mind. He tried to carve into his thick skull that she would never look at him the way he wanted her to. He looked over his shoulder to her then smiled. She looked up to him and smiled back. She gave him just enough, just enough to keep him hanging even if he wanted to move on.
Finally they reached the common room and gave the password to the fat lady, "flibbertigibbet". As they rested on the couch near the fire, it was Hermione who spoke first.
"So, have you got your eyes to anyone in particular?" she asked them both.
"None. Yet." Harry answered. "I'm sure Ron here wants to ask Loony – I mean – Luna, don't you?"
"Mind your own business," said Ron flushing. "Well how about you? You only tease me because you know that Cho probably will go with Michael Corner now instead of you."
"Well to tell you the truth," Harry stared at the fire contemplatively, "Cho is the least of my problems. If I want to go with a walking hosepipe to the ball, I'll tell you, ok?"
The two guys laughed hard for a while and only stopped when a pillow met the backs of their heads.
"HEY! What was that for?" they asked almost at the same time.
"That's really mean you know," said Hermione. "Just because Cho had some… issues last year, doesn't tell us she's still that way this year. People change you know."
"Yeah, I would have to agree with that," Harry said looking intently in her eyes.
"Thanks," she gave him a heartwarming smile.
"Ahem." Ron interrupted them.
"What?" they both looked at him, puzzled.
"Nothing," answered the redhead.
"Well you guys better hurry," said Hermione standing up. "It won't be long 'til I'm taken."
Ron and Harry looked at her with their eyebrows raised.
"What?" she asked. "It could happen. Some dim-witted guy might actually ask me to the ball. Goodnight."
And she gave them a quick peck on the cheek before heading up to the prefect's quarters, a habit she has started at the beginning of the year, which greatly annoyed Ron and always left Harry thinking incoherent thoughts.
"Oh and by the way," she said to Ron before going up the stairs. "You do realize that Ginny will probably go with Dean don't you?"
Ron muttered an indecent expression.
Hermione has changed; she knew it and she liked it. She still was the same bookworm who's obsessed with her studies but her looks now didn't go with her attitude. Her hair wasn't bushy anymore; it was just wavy which curls a bit at the end. Her front teeth, thanks to Madame Pomfrey, were all the same size. She wears a very subtle make-up too, which accentuates her beautiful features. And of course, her body was growing in wonderful proportions.
Not all males at Hogwarts noticed this change but Harry was one of the not so few who did. The first time he saw her in the beginning of the school year he didn't know what to say. Ron seemed aware of this pleasant change, too, because he seemed to add Hermione in his list of "my younger sisters whom I need to protect from stupid guys".
It was still very early when Harry woke up. He felt around for his glasses and looked at his watch that told him that it was 5: 30. Who wakes up at this time of the day, he asked himself. He stood and got dressed. He went over to Ron's bed with the intention of waking him up, but then thought better of it. The redhead has always been a cranky waker.
Harry looked out the window and saw the snow covered grounds. It was quite a site to see. And the good thing about it was that he would be alone. Not that he didn't like having company around, it was just that sometimes he needed to be alone, far from the eyes of many people who saw him as anything but normal. He took his jacket and scarf and headed downstairs.
He finally reached the grounds. It was freezing but comfortable at the same time. The site that he saw was very beautiful: little droplets of snow falling everywhere, white hills, and snow-covered trees. The only person missing to make it perfect was Hermione, walking beside him.
He thought about her most of the time. He thought about all the things that they've done together for the past six years. He hadn't looked onto it until now, but he guessed that the love he has for her has always been there. She was the one constant in his life… Now if only he could say all these to her.
He walked around for a little while, still lost in his musings when quite a large snowball made contact his head.
"What the - " he muttered, looking around for the enemy.
Near the Hogwarts double doors was a girl – no, a woman – with brown hair, who was laughing hysterically at him.
Well, two can play at this game, he thought.
He sized up a snowball, rolling it in his hands when another snowball hit him square in the chest; he shivered at its coldness.
"You better run, Ms. Granger," he yelled to her.
And she did.
Their snowball fight continued for a good five minutes. They were both very wet and very cold when they finished. They were laughing as they lay down on the snow-covered ground. Harry stared at her, laughing like a child, and he couldn't help but laugh too. She was beautiful, beyond any description.
"Hey," she said to him. "Let's make snow angels."
"Snow angels?" he asked.
"Yeah," she answered. "Like this." And she flapped her arms and legs making an angel-like hole in the snow.
"N-no thanks," he said, standing up. "I'm already freezing here without burying myself in the snow."
"C'mon," she said standing up too. "It's really fun." And she tried to push Harry down as strong as she could but he stood his ground. Hermione backed down a bit.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked, confused.
"Having a running start," she said
"WHA - " but he was cut off as Hermione ran, jumped, and clung to him. He caught her but soon lost his balance and he fell towards the icy cold snow with her on top of him.
They were in a quite comfortable position. If anyone in the castle were to look outside and saw them, they were surely going to be expelled. But obviously, they both didn't care. Harry wasn't sure what to do and he decided not to do anything, he just continued to laugh with her and soon the laughter died down. He looked at her face, and she looked at his. He was confused that Hermione was making no attempt to get off him. And as if their faces were magnets, it got closer to each other. When their faces were only an inch apart, Hermione's eyes widened and she quickly got off him.
"S-sorry," she said while fixing her robe. "I guess we both got carried away, huh?"
"Y-yeah," Harry answered. "Yeah. We better get inside now."
And they did. As they walked towards the school's entrance, Harry was once again lost in his thoughts. This was the perfect timing, his mind said. Are you going to let this chance pass again? This was it; it was now or never.
"Hermione," he started. "Do you mind, uhm… uhh, if I, no – if we, uhm..."
"Nope," she answered. "I'd be happy to go with you to the ball."
"What?" Harry asked, confused. "But how-"
"Oh, c'mon Harry," she said. "Just because I've been obsessing with my studies doesn't mean I've lost my girly instincts."
"Girly instincts, huh…" he muttered. As he overtook her and rushed towards the entrance, another snowball hit him in the back.
"HEY!" he looked over to Hermione who was laughing really hard. "What was that for?"
"For being a dim-witted guy."
Harry couldn't hide his happiness even if he tried. He kept smiling to himself all throughout breakfast. People looking at him might think he was a lunatic, but he didn't care. Even Ron noticed this as they were eating.
"What's up with you mate?" he asked.
Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to tell Ron this happy news. He didn't know how he would react. And sometimes it was better to let Hermione handle him.
"Nothing," he said. "Really." He added seeing his disbelieving face.
"Honestly," Hermione spoke. "Harry asked me to the ball and I said yes."
"Oh," said Ron. "That's alright. Friends do that all the time."
"You mean you're not angry?" Harry asked.
"No," answered Ron. "Unless you're doing something else behind my back."
Harry and Hermione looked at each other.
"No!" they both said.
"We're not doing anything like that."
"We're just friends, you know that."
"Right," said Ron to his defensive friends.
"Anyway," Harry said, desperately changing the topic. "How bout you? Any luck on Luna?"
"Nope," Ron answered glumly. "Can't get the right timing. I really want to go with her, though."
Just then Harry saw Luna stand up from the Ravenclaw table and head outside of the Great Hall.
"Well," he said to Ron. "Today's your lucky day."
Ron looked confused at first but then saw her too.
"Maybe," he shrugged as he stood up, straightened his robe and followed after her.
As Ron exited, Harry turned to Hermione.
"What do you think?" he asked her.
"If he's as tongue tied as you when you asked me to the ball," she said. "It's probably a yes."
Harry put on an offended face. "Hey!" he exclaimed.
"Don't worry, it was a compliment," she replied. "You look cute when you don't know what to say."
And she too, exited the Great Hall, leaving Harry very amused at what she had just said.
Potions class just finished and Harry's two-hour torture ended. No other class could be as vile as the class presided by Professor Snape. And to add to his dislike, it was done with the Slytherins. But at least they were now leaving behind the cursed classroom. Harry walked down the steps as he was chatting with Ron and Hermione when someone intentionally banged his shoulder and caused him to fall, luckily it was only a few steps down. He felt around for his glasses then put them on. The first thing he saw was Ron lunging towards Draco, ready to punch him.
"No!" he shouted. "Stop."
Ron reluctantly let go of him.
"Yes," Draco sneered. "I don't let any Weasley touch me." He said, trying to clean his robe with his hands.
Harry chose to ignore him just this once; he didn't want his day to be ruined. As he walked away with his friends behind him, he heard Draco speak.
"Hey," he said. "I heard you were going out with your mudblood friend."
Harry immediately stopped, and so did Ron and Hermione. Ron tried to run towards him again but Harry held him back. He felt anger inside himself too, but he wouldn't let Draco be the one to get him in trouble. So, he just smiled and held Hermione's hand.
"Yeah," he replied, holding her hand tighter. "Why, you jealous?"
"Me? Jealous?" Draco was shocked. "Mudbloods like Granger aren't even worth talking to. So why would I be jealous? Besides, you're only this brave 'cause you know you could call up a bunch of your DA losers with a snap of your finger."
"You should talk," he said. "You have two ogres there under your control."
At this Crabbe and Goyle started flexing their fingers and closed them into fists. But Harry wasn't afraid of them anymore for after six years of studying at Hogwarts, he learned that size wasn't the basis of strength.
"C'mon Harry," said Hermione. "They're not worth it. Lets go."
"Listen to the mudblood, Harry," Draco said. "I don't want anybody to get hurt."
"IMPEDIMENTA!"
Harry couldn't control himself anymore. As the spark was nearing Draco's chest, Harry swished his wand quite complicatedly and the spark split into three and hit Crabbe and Goyle square in the chest too. It was one of the techniques he learned while researching for lesson topics for the DA. The concentration of the spell wasn't that much though, but the three of them were slow enough for him to land a punch on Draco's face easily. Draco fell to the ground.
"That felt so good," Harry said, rubbing his knuckles. And he walked away with his friends walking beside him.
Harry waited for Hermione in the common room. He paced around, fixing his dress robe every so often. Trying in no avail to flatten his hair. He was anxious, not that it was really a date, and they were going to the ball as friends. Still, he couldn't help but be nervous.
Harry was wearing a different dress robe since Hermione insisted that he buy new ones even though he thought the old ones was still fine. It was still emerald green in color but now had some gold printings in its sleeves and near the bottom.
He wouldn't be this nervous if Ron was with him, but he and Luna decided to meet at the entrance of the Great Hall. He knew that he couldn't do the same, so here he was waiting almost impatiently for his date. A few minutes passed and the girl's dormitory opened to reveal a very beautiful lady.
Hermione walked down the stairs like a princess. She wore a light blue gown as if snow was entwined with the morning sky and she wore it perfectly, as if she was born to wear the dress. Her hair was flowing with her every move. She wasn't overly accessorized, just small earings dangling from her ear. Harry gazed at her, speechless from the sight.
"Hermione! You look beautiful," he finally managed to say.
"Really?" she asked.
"No, not really," he said with a smirk.
"Oh," her face fell.
"You don't just look beautiful…" he said. "You look wonderful."
Her face lit again. "Thanks, you clean up pretty nice too." And she wrapped her arm around Harry's and they started towards the Great Hall.
It felt perfect as if they were made for each other. They walked down the stairs not saying much. Harry was nervous and he knew that Hermione knew he was since she was always sensitive to his feelings. He reckoned he shouldn't be, this was his bestfriend and it wasn't even a real date, not even close. They finally reached the Great Hall with already a lot of people gathering at the entrance.
"Wow! You look great, Hermione!" Ron said once he saw her.
Ron was sporting his new dress robe compliments from 'Fred and George'. It was ruby red and black in color that gave the impression that not only his hair was burning but so was his whole body.
"Excuse me?" Harry interrupted. "Are you hitting on my date?" he asked with a grin.
"Well, yes," Ron answered. "I am. And if the others saw her too, they'd do just the same, better keep your eyes on her mate."
And Harry punched his best friend playfully on the arm.
"Thanks guys," she said. "Anyway, where's Luna?"
"She's going to be here in a minute… I hope." He answered. "Anyway, go ahead I think I'll wait for her a little longer."
"Sure, see you later," they said.
As they entered the Great Hall, the first thing that captured their eyes was the wonderful decorations on the walls, it seemed that they wanted a starry night as a theme. There were floating stars, which really twinkled as if it was real like the sky outside. The round ones once again replaced the long tables.
Ron was right, almost every guy inside stared at her. Obviously enticed by her beauty. Even Draco Malfoy shot a glance at her. They soon reached the table where Dean and Ginny were sitting.
"Hello, guys," greeted Ginny. "Nice dress Hermione."
"Likewise," she said. "Mind if we sit down?"
"No," said Dean. "Not at all."
Dean stared at her for a few more moments until Ginny smacked him upside the head.
"Hey!?"
"Stop checking Hermione out," she reprimanded.
"I wasn't!" he defended.
"Hmmph!" she looked away in mock anger.
"C'mon, baby," he said holding Ginny's hand. "You know you're the only girl I'll ever lay my eyes on."
"Really?"
"Really."
Harry shook his head at the very immature couple in front of him. They were lucky Ron just came in and did not see either of them. Ron looked around and saw them and walked towards them, hand in hand with Luna who was wearing a simple pink gown that was quite too long for her.
After a few more minutes, when everyone was inside the Great Hall, Dumbledore stood up.
"Welcome," he said to all of them. "To this year's Yule Ball. Now I won't hassle you anymore with an old man's words so tuck in."
And he sat down and just like last year he shouted 'steak!' and a big juicy steak appeared on his plate. And soon everyone was following Dumbledore's example.
"Salad!" Hermione shouted and a plate of mixed vegetables and some cold cuts appeared on her plate.
"Honestly Hermione," Ron said, mimicking her. "How can you eat that? That's rabbit food." He added as he took a large bite from a chicken leg.
"Just because you have the appetite of a ten year old doesn't mean we all do, Ron," she replied.
After a while, the dancing started. The Weird Sisters were back with their new hits, "The Ghost Parade" and "How Can You Love a Witch?". Harry thought it was fun watching the student's dance (even Goyle was trying to get the beat though he was entirely clueless) until he heard Hermione speak.
"So," she started. "Dance with me?"
"Uhm," he stammered. "I-I can't dance."
"Don't worry," she said. "I'll lead you, c'mon."
The Weird Sisters started a slow song, which Harry didn't expect. It was entitled, 'I've Never Believed'. Not knowing what to do, he just put his arms on Hermione's waist and she put hers around his neck.
Never thought I'd find someone
Someone who'll make me feel I belong
Who'd say the kindest words
Anyone could hear
Their eyes met. And suddenly he could remember how special Hermione is for him. Everything good happened to him the day he met her. And right now, he couldn't imagine holding anyone this close, anyone but her.
But now you're here with me
You've opened my eyes and now I see
The face of an angel
Staring back at me
Angel? The word played around Harry's thoughts. He always imagined, while he was still young that someday an angel would take him away from the Dursley's, a beautiful angel who take him to the world of his dreams. He realized that she was his angel, maybe not in the real sense of the word, but good enough.
I've never believed in fairy tales
But now I see there's still magic in this world
That keeps us moving on, that keeps us going strong
I think that magic lies in you
Hermione rested her head on his chest. It was not something that Harry expected. But instead of pushing her away, he just welcomed her presence, and he pulled her closer to him. Luckily, she couldn't see him blush.
He hadn't felt magic as strong as this, not even after studying at Hogwarts for six years. He felt that as long as he was with her, he could do anything. Heck, he could even duel with Voldemort just to protect. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. He valued her more than anything, more than his life.
Now that I've told you
What and how I truly feel, I
Feel so comfortable
In your embrace
I wish this day would last
As long as forever wants to be
'Cause I have found my peace
Right here with you
This was where he belonged… he knew that now. He wasn't even aware of the other people around him, though he noticed that Ron was having quite a good time dancing with Luna.
I've never believed in fairy tales
But now I see there's still some magic in this world
That keeps us moving on, that keeps us going strong
I think that magic lies in you
As the last few notes of the song died down, Harry felt his heart sink. Too bad it had to end, he thought.
She looked up at him and smiled, "Thanks."
"You're welcome," he replied. "I couldn't turn down a request from a beautiful lady anyway."
"Flirt," she said, punching his shoulder lightly.
"I admit I am," he said, going back to their table, laughing along with her.
The ball ended a few minutes after midnight. As everyone were making their way back to their rooms, Harry took Hermione's arm.
"Do you really want to go back now?"
"Why, what do you have in mind?" she asked.
"Nothing," he said. "Somehow, I just don't want this night to end yet."
"Yeah me too," she said. "But where do you plan to go?"
"Dunno, really," he replied. "Let's just go where our feet would lead us."
She nodded and hand in hand they walked and found themselves on top of the astrology tower. Both just sat there, staring out the window, not minding the coldness, though Harry did offer hermione his coat. Man, she's beautiful, he thought to himself.
"Hey Hermione," he said looking intently at her. "Thanks… And not just for tonight. I mean, I've never really thanked you for everything that you have done for you. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't be here, you know."
"I know," she looked at him smiling. "But you are Harry Potter, you could've found your way without me."
"No, I couldn't have," he replied. "I don't know what I would do without you."
They were leaning closer to each other, and finally their lips met. And it was magical, to say the least. Both didn't care about anything else. Six years of passion and longing were now released.
After they broke the kiss, it was Hermione who first spoke. "I love you Harry," she said looking straight in his eyes.
"I love you too," he said leaning in for another kiss.
They knew the road they were taking was risky. Harry had to worry about Voldemort. They had to think of a good way of telling Ron about them. Hermione would have to cut her study time in two. It wasn't a perfect relationship, but with every kiss they find themselves growing stronger, that as long as they had each other, they knew they could overcome anything.
I don't know if you're the one for me
But now I'm grateful that you're here beside me
'Cause no matter who you are
You're the one who changed my life
That's why I'll stay by your side