The Million Dollar Question: The Ball

Chapter 2: December 25th 1994 (Before and During the Yule Ball)

The five roommates and the Durmstrang champion were standing together in the Gryffindor common room waiting for their dates to come down from the Gryffindor forth year girl's room. They were all standing awkwardly especially Ron and Harry, who had gotten into a fist fight because Harry was taking Ginny to the ball and Ron found out they had been dating since the Quidditch World Cup. They were okay now after they had gotten their aggression out and Madame Pompfrey had healed their cuts and bruises. They were standing on opposite sides of the room and Viktor, Neville, Seamus, and Dean kept nervously glancing at each other because they were afraid that Ron and Harry would start fighting again. Suddenly they heard the footsteps coming from the girls steps and they all straightened and looked up. They saw the girls walking down the steps and their mouths dropped. They all vowed in that moment that they would never again complain about a girl taking a long time to get ready. All the girls went to stand by their dates. Each boy complimented their respective date. They all received a thank you and blush in reply.

"Would you ladies like to head down to the ball," Seamus asked their group. They all replied in the affirmative and started to head downstairs. Professor McGonagall stopped Harry and Viktor and told them that since they were Tri-wizard champions they had to open the ball by dancing with their dates. They both looked rather nervous at the idea of dancing in front of all those people, but Ginny and Hermione were able to reassure the boys that they would be fine. The other four couples entered the ball room, but Ginny and Harry and Hermione and Krum waited outside for the two other champions and their dates and for everyone else to fill into the Great Hall. When Fleur and her date and Cedric and Cho finally arrived and the hall was filled the four couples walked through the crowd to the middle of the dance floor and started the ball with their dance. After they were finished other couples slowly trickled onto the dance floor.

After an hour or so Dumbledore stood and said to the hall, "Welcome to the Yule Ball one and all. Will everyone please find their seats so we can eat? Thank you." Everyone found their seats and the champions noticed that their table was filled with the heads of their schools as well as their dates or deputies. The table that hosted the fourth and sixth year boys, and their dates, minus Harry was also very close to their table which Harry, Ginny, and Hermione were very happy about. The adults at Harry's table were Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Madame Maxine, Professor Hagrid, Professor Karkaroff, and the deputy of Durmstrang. Harry and Hermione were both very curious as to whether or not Professor McGonagall was there as the headmasters date or deputy. The eight students noticed that there were menus sitting in front of them, but none of them knew what to do with them so they waited until for one of the adults to say or do something. Finally Dumbledore spoke one of the items on his menu to his menu, the rest of the table began to follow suit and magically food began to appear on peoples plates. Chatter and the wonderful smell of food began to fill the hall. The conversation at the champion and heads table was extremely varied, but the one topic that the couples did not talk about to each other was the upcoming tasks. As it turned out Cho and Cedric had been dating for about three months now and Ginny and Harry had just celebrated their sixth month anniversary, six months without Ron knowing, but lucky for them he had finally mustered enough courage to ask Lavender Brown out. Viktor and Hermione had been dating for almost a month now and Fleur and her date were just together for the dance. Hermione and Viktor were so good for each other that not even his biggest fans could object to them dating.

Meanwhile at the fourth and sixth year Gryffindor boys' table tempers were running high, or so it seemed. Fred and George were playing a trick on their dates as they kept switching places. Angelina and Alicia were getting very mad at the twins, but the rest on the table were laughing their heads off. Lee Jordan and Katie Bell were laughing the hardest because they knew the twins weren't fool the two chasers, the three chasers and Lee had been able to tell the boys apart since each of their first years, Katie was a year younger than the rest of the gang. Finally the two chasers decided to one up the twins and started snogging the right boy, but at the time they had been playing as the opposite one. When the girls came up for air they had very satisfied smirks on their faces while the twins looked flabbergasted.

"How long…" George stuttered.

"have you…" Fred continued.

"been able…"

"to tell…"

"us apart?" The twins finished together.

The three chasers and the Quidditch announcer laughed, "Since first year," replied Alicia between laughs. The look on the twins' faces sent the rest of the table into hysterics.

Suddenly Professor Dumbledore stood and said, "Now as I can see everyone is done let the dancing begin again." All the boys at the fourth and sixth year Gryffindor boys table asked their dates to dance as did the three male champions, Albus and Hagrid. It was at that moment the Hermione realized two things one she was ready and two Minerva was Albus' date, as could be known by the blush coming from the deputy headmistress's checks.