More Than Bargained For

"I'm angry at you."

"I'm sorry!"

"You should have told me right away! I can't believe you've only just mentioned it now, three days after he asked you!"

"Shhh! Someone will hear!

Despite trying to keep quiet in the library, both Ginny and Hermione shared another look that caused them both to fall into a fit of giggles.

"To be honest, I wanted to make sure it wasn't some sort of joke. You know, that he actually meant it, before I said anything," Hermione explained in a hushed voice, glancing around to make sure no one had heard the preface of their conversation.

Ginny shook her head with a smile, glancing back down at her open Herbology textbook and then at her notably blank sheet of parchment resting next to it. With a sigh she picked up her quill.

"Erm, hi girls."

Ginny looked back up again, her smile brightening at who had joined them.

"Neville! Hi!"

The boy looked mildly pale to her, his weight shifting from foot to foot as he loitered next to their table while he fiddled with his hands. He looked at Ginny, and smiled back at her, seeming to regain a small bit of color in his face. He then turned his attention to Hermione.

"Look um, Hermione, I don't know if you've been asked already- well, you probably have- but I, er, well, I was wondering if maybe you'd um… If maybe you would like to go to the Yule Ball with me? I understand if you don't, but I just thought that because we're pretty good friends and all..." His face had now picked up a light pink hue and his words came out rather fast. Hermione's eyes caught Ginny's, hers of mild shock, and Ginny quickly pretended to be focusing hard on her very incomplete essay.

"Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry. I'm already going with somebody. But really, I'm flattered that you thought to ask me," Hermione replied graciously with a pleasant smile. Ginny peaked up at her and gave her a subtle reassuring nod.

"Oh. Right, of course. Well um, thanks anyways. I hope you have a great time," Neville said with a good-natured smile. "I'll see you lot later." He seemed slightly defeated as he turned to leave them.

"Hey, Ginny?"

Ginny looked up from her parchment. It now had a grand sum of three sentences on it. "Hm?" Neville was back at the table.

"What about you? Would you mind going with me? Given that someone hasn't asked you yet, of course."

It was Ginny's turn to blink in surprise. She caught Hermione's eye before looking back to Neville who had his hand shoved into his pockets as he awaited her answer. While she didn't dare admit it out loud, part of her had been hoping that perhaps Harry would ask her, even just as a friend. He didn't have a date yet, after all. Though deep down she knew that was an impossible dream. Harry would ask every girl in the school before he asked his best friend's little sister. Hermione's voice from this past summer rang in her ear, reminding her that she couldn't just wait around for Harry because she'd miss out on other opportunities. It wasn't as if she could go unless someone in a year above her asked anyways.

"I don't see why not. Sure!" Ginny nodded her head with a growing smile. Her friends would be jealous of her. They had all been trying their hardest to find an older boy to take them, none who had any luck. Except for Ginny. No, Neville might not have been the coolest boy, but that didn't matter. He was a good friend, and she would have fun with him. Maybe Mum would even let her get her own pair of dress robes.

"Great. Thank you so much Ginny. I can't wait," Neville grinned at her, looking widely relieved. "Gram will be really happy. I'll see you later. Bye 'Mione, by Gin," he said cheerfully, waving to the girls as he left from the table.

The two girls met eyes again, promptly falling into another fit of giggles.

On the much anticipated night of the Yule Ball, Ginny began the night in a rather sour mood. She couldn't believe that she had actually had the opportunity to go with Harry, and that she had to turn it down because she'd already told Neville she would go with him. It had been mortifying.

Her mood lifted slightly once she put on the dress robes her mother had sent her. They weren't new, but Ginny knew it would have been an awful lot to ask her parents to buy such a thing. Instead, her mum had sent the ones she wore when she was still in Hogwarts, but she had fixed them up such that no one would ever be able to tell they were hand-me-downs. They fit her perfectly, and with the changes her mum had made to make them look less outdated they truly did look wonderful.

She and Hermione had spent time in the dormitory, where Ginny showed Hermione different cosmetic spells that they tried out on each other, while Hermione used muggle makeup on Ginny's eyes to make them pop. By the time she went downstairs to meet Neville, she felt truly beautiful.

At the beginning of the ball, she couldn't help but feel jealous of Parvati who was dancing with Harry while she was stuck with Neville stumbling all over her feet, but it wasn't long until she entirely forgot about Harry and found herself genuinely enjoying herself with Neville. His dancing improved as the night went on and she laughed with him when he confessed that he'd been practising.

Now the number of students still at the ball was dwindling rapidly as the clock struck two in the morning, and Ginny and Neville decided it was time they headed back to the Common Room. She couldn't stop grinning on their trip to the Fat Lady, feeling positively giddy. A fourth year from Ravenclaw had asked her to dance, and after spending at least an hour with each other he had made the promise that they would have to find a time to meet up again. Neville didn't seem to have minded, for he went off on his own with Luna Lovegood, and the two seemed to be having a wonderful time.

They chatted their whole way up to the Common Room, both of them feeling excitable despite their exhaustion from dancing the entire evening. The two climbed through the portrait hole, and then they were standing in front of their respective staircases leading up to the dorms.

"Did you have a good time, Ginny?"

"I had a great time. Thank you so much for inviting me to go with you." Ginny hesitated for a moment. Oh, what the hell. She quickly wrapped her arms around Neville in a tight hug, grinning at him. He stood still for a moment, before his arms wrapped around her to hug her back.

"I'm really glad you came with me," he smiled. He opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. Neville pulled back from her slightly, but his hands still rested outstretched onto her shoulders. "I know that you would have much rather been there with Harry," he said, quieter now. Ginny's cheeks flushed, and she immediately opened her mouth to protest but Neville spoke again before she could say anything. "But I really appreciate that you came with me. Really, it means a lot to me."

"I'm glad I went with you and not Harry," Ginny said without a second thought, and she realised that her words were honest. "He looked miserable the whole time anyways. I had much more fun with you than I would have with him," she said and they both laughed.

"I'm happy to hear that you weren't miserable with me the whole time," Neville chuckled. "I guess we'd better head up. Thanks again, Ginny. I really had a lot of fun," he smiled.

Ginny grinned back up at him, and then pressed up onto her toes to leave a quick peck on his cheek. "Thank you, Neville. I'll see you tomorrow." She watched his cheeks turn a mild shade of pink as she turned to bound up the stairs, cheerily waving back at him.