Chapter
4
The next two weeks passed uneventfully enough for Harry, Hermione and Ron. It seemed that the whole school was preparing for the Yule Ball, and as a result, Harry couldn't take more than two steps without being asked to the event, much to Hermione's amusement. After he had dealt with the tenth attempt, involving a rather upfront first-year, he turned to see Hermione nearly bent double in laughter. "Hey! I could have said yes, you know. It's happened before that a bloke has had more than one date to a dance…" Harry got that far before he joined Hermione in laughter. Ron, for his part, still didn't know what was going on, but luckily, he was far too busy spending every available moment at the Ravenclaw table that he didn't notice that Harry and Hermione were spending far more time with each other than was strictly necessary. He did, however, spend a good deal of time badgering Harry and Hermione about who their dates to the dance were, as did the rest of Gryffindor's population; Harry also had to contend with questions from the entire school - even the Slytherin girls seemed to be taking an interest in him. Harry and Hermione had agreed to keep their plans for the Ball a secret, as they were afraid Ron would storm off again, regardless of whether or not he had a date. This plan, of course, was a bit of a strain, but since Hermione had been seen helping Harry with the first task all over the school, it was not difficult to keep inquiring minds satisfied with less than the whole truth.
Harry also made sure to go get the copy of Hogwarts: a History from beside his new favorite tree, dry it off, and return it to Madam Pince, who eyed him suspiciously before shooing him off for scratching his head too loudly.
Dawn broke on Christmas day, for Harry at least, to the lovely sight of Dobby's eyeballs staring at him from a very precarious perch on his chest. "Dobby!" Harry scrambled away, and very nearly tumbled out of bed. "Don't do that!"
"Dobby is sorry, sir!" Dobby pressed his fingers over his mouth, looking mortified. "Dobby is only wanting to wish Harry Potter 'Merry Christmas' and bring him his present, sir! Harry Potter did say Dobby could come and visit him, sir!" Dobby nodded, so as to emphasize his point.
Harry caught his breath, and looked at Dobby. "It's OK, Dobby. For future reference, though, could you please just - just prod me or something instead of leaning over me like that?" Dobby nodded. "Good, that's settled then." The rest of the morning passed in a flash, with Ron starring as Dobby's gift-giver for the morning, donating his Weasley socks to add to Dobby's collection. Harry received presents from (in addition to Dobby) Ron, Sirius, Mrs. Weasley, and Hagrid. He thought it was fair that Hermione hadn't gotten him anything, as he still had her present in his pocket.
Harry and Ron went downstairs, Ron still half asleep, to meet Hermione for breakfast and found her reading in a chair. On hearing them, Hermione jumped up, ran over to Harry, and gave him a hug ("Happy Christmas, Harry!"), and quickly jumped away from him as she noticed Ron.
Harry laughed. "Hermione, it's OK, he isn't really awake yet. Well, more or less, I suppose. I'm not sure exactly how much registers with him these days…" he glanced at Ron wryly.
Hermione frowned at Ron. "Is this about the dance? Ron? Ron! RONALD!"
Ron jumped. "Sorry mum, I'll go fix the chicken coop now…" After he said that, he looked around, and, realizing that he was in fact at Hogwarts, blushed and looked at Hermione. "You know, you shouldn't do that to a bloke, Hermione. I was in the middle of a very satisfying daydream!"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, fine. If you won't tell me who you're taking to the dance, I'll just have to find out for myself." She turned to Harry. "Harry, did Ron tell you who he is taking to the Ball?"
"Well," Harry shuffled his feet, "there is room for that possibility…" He swallowed, as Hermione rolled her eyes again, and muttered something that sounded like "men" under her breath. "Let's go to breakfast, shall we?" In an aside to Hermione, he added "How about a walk afterwards?" Hermione nodded. "Excellent." To Ron this time, "Go on, I'll catch you up. I need to get something from my trunk." He looked pointedly at Ron, trying to convey that he should go with Hermione while Harry got Hermione's surprise Christmas present, having shown Ron the box last night. Ron, quick on the uptake for once, nodded, and left with Hermione for breakfast while Harry got the small green box from his robes pocket and stuck it in his sweater's.
After breakfast, Harry and Hermione left Ron in the common room, where everyone was enjoying their presents. Dean and Seamus immediately accosted Ron as they tried to figure out who he was taking to the dance. As Harry was walking out the portrait hole after Hermione, having helped her through, he heard Ron say, "You only get one hint. She's not in our House." Much to the protests of the other boys, he refused to say anything else, unless they managed to guess correctly.
Harry was chuckling when he caught up to Hermione outside of the portrait hole. "What's up?" Hermione looked like she was caught halfway between laughing just because he was, and running off in tears of frustration.
Harry took pity on her. "Ron's taking Luna to the ball. You know, from Ravenclaw. Only, you didn't hear that from me, OK? Ron told me not to tell anyone, but I think you're an exception now, don't you?"
Hermione pretended to think about it. "Yes, I think that might work." She smiled. "Shall we go, then?" When Harry gave no response, she waved her hand in front of his eyes, which were locked in hers. "Earth to Harry, earth to Harry." Harry gave a jump. "Harry, you know, you're going to have to get used to that feeling, I get it too. I was asking if we were going to go on our walk." As Harry looked worried, she started to say something less nice. "Oh, Harry, you can't say you forgot…" She was stopped by Harry, who had grabbed her hand and was pulling her out into the snow.
"Hermione, how could I have forgotten that? I was worried that the weather would change on us, and we'd get buried in the snow!" He stopped suddenly. "Guess where we are!"
Hermione looked around, and gave a little jump, and then grabbed Harry's arm. "Harry, I'll never forget this tree now. First, it's my homework tree, and then the tree where you asked me to the ball. I'd say I don't need to guess," she looked at Harry, a laugh in her eyes.
Harry looked skeptical. "I think you forgot one part." Hermione looked confused. "Hermione, it's Christmas! Here," he said, taking the green box out of his pocket, "this is for you."
Hermione looked worried. "Harry, I'm sorry, but I really didn't know what to get you, and I was even more confused after you asked me..." She trailed off, looking down.
Harry looked at her. "Hermione, I got everything I wanted for Christmas that night. I got you, and that was all I could ask for. And I got it early!" He had to stop because Hermione had given him another of her hugs. "Hermione," Harry gasped, "I need to breathe!" He laughed.
Hermione loosened her grip a little, but didn't let go. "Well, I'm not letting go, you know." She looked up at him mischievously. "I hope you're not either, Mr. Potter." Harry jumped. Hermione's McGonagall impression never failed to scare him just a little.
"I'm not letting go either. Now, go on, open the box!" Harry waited while Hermione unwrapped the small box, revealing the green box itself. After she opened it, she gave a small gasp.
"Harry, it's beautiful!" Hermione lifted the necklace out of the padded box. The pendant was an oblong, oval-shaped piece of glass. Inside, miniature flames flickered at the bottom, sending licks of fire up towards the chain. "Where did you find it?"
"I didn't find it, Hermione. I made it, because I wanted to get you something special. So, I talked to Professors McGonagall and Flitwick about making the pendant, and then placing your fire charm inside it. You should have known, really." Harry laughed when Hermione looked at him questioningly. "Don't you remember when I asked you how to make that portable fire of yours?" He laughed again as Hermione's face brightened. "After that, I went to a spare room, and made the chain. So, really, I made the entire thing. I hope you like it." Hermione wriggled out of his arms, and turned around, her eyes brimming with tears. "Is it really that bad?" Harry asked worriedly.
Hermione laughed at this. "Harry, it's the most beautiful thing anyone has ever gotten me. I love it. Would you help me put it on?" Harry obliged, and while he was working on the clasp, Hermione kept talking. "I just have one question."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Hermione, with you, it's never just one question."
"Harry!" Hermione sounded affronted as she tried to turn around to see him.
"Right, fire away." Harry kept working at the attachment, following Hermione's neck. He had practiced, but he couldn't stop his hands from shaking.
"Why, Harry? Why the fire?" Hermione sounded genuinely confused.
"See? That's two questions right there!" Harry laughed at her. "Well, you remember first year. Your fire kept me warm all winter, saved my life when Quirrell tried to curse my broom. And then, it saved my life again with the Devil's Snare when we went after him at the end of the year. If that wasn't enough, I don't know anyone else that can make waterproof fires that you can carry in a jar," Harry added. He had finally gotten the clasp done, and turned Hermione around to admire the result. "I also thought that I'd like to get you something more...meaningful, after the effort you put in with the first task for me. By the way, and I know that this is long overdue, thank you for sticking by me." Harry looked down, feeling his cheeks warm.
Hermione grabbed him in another hug, this time pressing her face against his chest. Harry felt her shoulders shake, and he looked down, pulling her away. He saw that she was crying, and, inexplicably, smiling at the same time. Deciding that he would never, ever understand girls, he reached out, and wiped away her tears with his thumbs. Hermione closed her eyes. Harry gently pulled her into another hug, and waited for her to collect her thoughts. "Dance with me?"
Hermione looked up. "Now? Isn't that supposed to be for tonight?"
Harry stared at her, trying not to lose himself again. "Well, I know you said that you'd dance with me tonight, but I thought I'd ask again for a dance now. So yes, now." He smiled.
Hermione looked around. "But there's no music." She looked like she was about to pull out her wand to correct the situation.
Harry took her hand. "You don't always need music to dance," he said softly. He wrapped his arms around Hermione, and felt her arms wrap around his neck. Slowly revolving on the spot, he finally allowed himself to get lost in Hermione's eyes once again. He didn't know how long they stood there, slowly swaying, not talking. Eventually, though, the clock struck eleven, and Harry and Hermione stopped. Looking around, Harry realized that it was snowing. As he looked back at Hermione, he found himself staring.
"What?" Hermione sounded perturbed.
"You look like an angel," Harry explained. Hermione laughed. "No, really! With the snow in your hair, you look just like I thought an angel would." Harry finished softly. "But," he continued, "it wouldn't do for us to catch cold on Christmas Day. We should probably be getting inside," he added reluctantly. Hermione nodded slowly, before saying, "You know, this doesn't get you out of taking me to the Ball tonight." Harry reached for Hermione's hand, and, once it was in his, found himself marveling at how well it fit his. His thoughts continued like this until they arrived in the Great Hall for lunch with Ron and their friends.
Christmas lunch passed rather uneventfully, with most of Hogwarts gone for the holidays. Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys decided to have a snowball fight in the afternoon, to take advantage of the perfect snow that lay on the grounds, turning the fields, hills, and forests into heaven, according to Harry. He wasn't sure, however, whether it was the snow that had changed his opinion or the fact that he and Hermione were sitting cuddled under their tree, watching the Weasleys, Seamus, Neville, and Dean duke it out in the snow, occasionally joining in when the opportunity just couldn't be ignored. By five o'clock, the boys were still fighting. Hermione got up to go get ready, and Ron, seeing this, shouted "What? Who needs three hours to get ready for a dance?" incredulously. Then, seeing that he had missed an opportunity, yelled again. "Hermione, who's taking you to the dance?"
Hermione just smiled. "I want it to be a surprise," she said to Ron, while looking at Harry, who blushed slightly and nodded to show that he had gotten the message.
Ron payed for his moment of inattention by getting hit by a snowball from George. "Hey!"
"What can I say, bro? You snooze…"
"You lose!" Fred finished happily, before tossing another snowball Ron's way. At this point, Harry joined in as well, as he could no longer keep warm just sitting around. By seven o'clock, aiming was becoming increasingly difficult as the boys could no longer see their targets. They trudged through the snow up to the castle, and then to the common room. Up in their dorms, Harry, Ron, Neville, Seamus, and Dean all changed into their dress robes. Harry's robes were a deep green which Mrs. Weasley had chosen for him when she went shopping that summer. He had to admit, they looked rather dashing. As Harry looked over at Ron, he couldn't help but shake his head. Ron's robes looked more like a lacy maroon dress. Ron, though, didn't look like he could care less. He was busy washing his face, muttering something under his breath. It sounded like "crumple-horned snorkacks." Harry gave a chuckle, and started to try to make his hair behave properly.
Half an hour later Harry had given up on his hair and was waiting for Hermione in the Gryffindor common room, while Ron had gone to the Entrance Hall along with Neville and Ginny, who were going together, as well as Dean and Seamus, who had gotten dates from other Hogwarts girls.
