A/N I'm sorry this update took so long! Been busy for the holidays. But here it is! My Christmas and New Year present for you guys! Happy New Year! :)


Chapter 4: Dances and Lies

"Ugh. Girls. I can't understand why they spend so much time for an occasion like this," Ron flopped down lousily into his seat as soon as they arrived at the Great Hall for breakfast. He was not in a cheery mood as Hermione refused to meet him earlier for the reason that she needs to prepare for tonight's event.

Harry didn't know what to say to comfort Ron. But he did share the same thought as Ron's. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Ginny since they went back to their dormitories last night after the rehearsal. She went straight to her room with Hermione and wasn't even in the Great Hall for breakfast.

In his attempt to cheer Ron up, Harry started talking about their upcoming Quidditch match against Hufflepuff, and thanked Neville silently for joining in. Soon enough, Ron's mood went cheery. But as soon as Dean and Seamus joined their table, they started talking about the ball.

"I'm really excited for tonight, aren't you Harry?" Seamus asked him.

"Errr… Yeah. Sort of," Harry answered him half heartedly.

"I bet the girls are too. I bet they're too busy preparing for later. Lavender refused to go here with me because she told me she had to prepare," Seamus told them.

Harry thought that was the cue for Ron to turn into grumpy again.

"Hey! That's what Hermione told me too!"

"I guess they all are like that." Neville chimed in.

"Well, we just have to wait for tonight. I hope all this 'I need to prepare' pays off really well," Seamus shrugged then turned into Harry. "Hey Harry, are you really going to the ball with Ginny?"

Harry, without too much concern just nodded. It was Ron who asked for him, "Why? What's wrong with that?"

"Oh. Nothing. It's just that I thought you'll go with Cho."

"Cho? She's got Michael, doesn't she?" Ron asked Seamus.

"Not sure. It's just that I heard Lav and Parvati talking about her yesterday. I think Cho got into some fight with Michael," Seamus answered and continued eating.

If Harry wasn't paying attention to their earlier conversations, now he was. Cho got into a fight with Michael. Does that mean that they… No. Definitely not. Besides, even if they did, it's not like he can dump Ginny and run into Cho. Harry immediately dismissed the thought as he saw Ron looking at him and continued eating.

The Gryffindor common room was in chaos. Everyone was occupied with their last minute touch ups before going down to the Great Hall. Harry found himself checking his reflection in the mirror. Suddenly, he wanted to look good tonight in case.. in case what? In case I would come face to face with Cho. The thought that Cho had broken up with Michael never left Harry's thoughts. He knew it wasn't confirmed yet, but he found himself hoping for it. He wanted to ask Cho. He wanted her to tell him that the reason was him.

Harry kept all of this from Ron. He knew Ron might not like it if he found out. Of course, it's not like he and Ginny were going out but Harry felt that he shouldn't tell Ron about this. Or let Ginny know about this. Ginny was his date for tonight. He had to deal with that.

At last, Harry saw Hermione coming down from their dormitory. She was wearing a pink dress that Harry thought looked good on her. She's wearing make-up too, Harry noticed. He couldn't help but grin when he noticed Ron's face while looking at Hermione.

"Oh there you are!" Hermione beamed as she approached them. "You both look good!"

"You are too." Ron answered without removing his eyes from her. Harry grinned even more when he saw Hermione blushed.

"Oh Harry," Hermione turned to him trying to hide her blushing face. "Ginny's coming down in a minute. She just needed to fix something out of her dress. She'll be here—oh there she is!"

Both he and Ron looked at the direction that Hermione pointed and Harry felt his breathing stopped. It was the first time Harry saw Ginny dressed liked that. She was wearing a black dress, a simple black dress but still she looked pretty. No, not pretty. She looked lovely. Harry didn't notice that his expression was similar to Ron's when he saw Hermione. He was still at loss for words when Ginny reached them.

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting Harry," Ginny looked at him and smiled.

"That's okay." That was all Harry said because he can't trust himself with words at the moment.

"You look lovely," Hermione hugged Ginny.

As they arrived at the Great Hall, Harry felt he was transported in a completely different world. The long tables and chairs were gone and were replaced by circular clothed tables with centerpieces. There was also a large clearing at the front which Harry was sure to be the dance floor. He started looking around and noticed that the ceiling was enchanted to give an impression that snow were falling even though they didn't really reach the ground. Everywhere Harry looked, it was perfect.

"Let's find a seat," Ron nudged them and started walking towards the tables.

Soon, the hall was filled by students who like Harry were all admiring the place. Harry pretended to admire the place when in fact, he was scanning the crowd. He was sure to see her here. He needed to see her here. He got distracted when Neville and Luna joined them at the table and Harry was forced to join in on the conversations.

After a cheerful opening speech from Dumbledore, music started playing and the dance floor was opened. As Harry expected, Ron immediately asked Hermione to dance, and they were followed by Neville and Luna. He and Ginny were the only ones left on the table.

Harry resumed to searching the crowd. He found restless not seeing Cho. He really wanted to talk to her tonight. When Ginny told him that she'll just go the comfort room, he just nodded. When Ginny left, Harry felt guilty. He knew Ginny was expecting him to ask her to dance. But he just can't. It may sound mean but he didn't want to. He can't enjoy the night, not until he gets to talk to Cho. As if on signal, he saw her. She was at the drinks table - and alone. Where was Michael?

Harry stood up just about when Ginny came back. She looked at him, confused.

"Er, I'd get us a drink. What would you like?" Harry asked her, his eyes not leaving the drinks table.

"I heard they serve orange juice. I'd like to try that," Ginny answered him, smiling.

"Okay. I'll get it for you," Harry told her and he hurriedly walked towards the drinks table.

Before he reached the table, he looked for Ron. He was still at the center of the dance floor, dancing happily with Hermione. He then, looked back at Ginny. He saw her talking to Dean, and then Dean walked off. He was trying to figure out what could it be they talked about when someone called him.

"Harry."

He knew who it was. He missed that voice calling his name.

"Hi." Harry smiled at Cho. Again, he was at loss for words and he hated it. Ask her. "Where's Michael?" No, that sounded stupid.

"Oh I didn't come with him," Cho answered him still smiling.

Harry found himself at ease and deep inside, happy. "Why not?"

"We broke up Harry."

Harry had been expecting that to hear since yesterday and now that Cho finally said it, Harry could not believe it. But still, it felt like he was at his happiest.

"Harry, I'm really sorry. I'm sorry for hurting you. I'm sorry for accusing you. I'm sorry for not trusting you. I'm sorry for leaving you." As Cho said this, she was in tears.

Harry reached for her hand and enclosed it in his. That moment, he knew he had her back. He had Cho back. Cho smiled at Harry and re-arranged his dress robe – a gesture she liked to do even before. Harry caught her hand and led her to the dance floor. As soon as they reached the center, the music changed into a slow tune. He couldn't take his eyes off Cho. It was like a dream. He felt like the first time he and Cho became a couple. He really was happy. At last, he and Cho were back together.

Harry didn't know how long he had been dancing with Cho. He didn't care. The last thing he would want to do was to let go of her. He saw Neville and Luna dancing near them. He wondered where Ron and Hermione were. They must be dancing here too. Then he wondered where Ginny was. Ginny. He completely forgot all about Ginny. He completely forgot all about his date. Ginny.

"Ginny." He heard Luna said as if she read his thoughts. He broke free of Cho and turned to look at Luna and felt his blood drained from his face.

There she was. Ginny. She was standing just a few inches from them. Luna was looking at her but she wasn't looking at Luna. She was looking at him, at them maybe. Her expression was unreadable. Harry didn't know how long that moment lasted. He had no idea how long had he and Ginny just stood there looking at each other, until she looked away.

The music stopped playing that slow tune, and Ginny turned her back on Harry and walked away.


A.N I know, Harry was such a jerk here! And I hated it too. I really did. But I need him to be a jerk. Heehee. Stay tuned. :)