CHAPTER SEVEN
Krum is a Whiner
It was December seventh, and as seven o' clock drew nearer, Harry had to decide which one of his costumes to wear. He dressed up in costume in honor of the masquerade. He finally decided on the mask was a lion face, and his robes of Gryffindor colors.
He and Ron had come up with a new plan: Maybe seeing Harry and Cho together would make Hermione jealous, and, as Ron phrased, it would, "kick Krum out of the picture and confess how she really feels." Even though he had tried to tame his hair, his efforts resulted in failure, as he pretty much knew it would.
"Oh well," Harry said to himself, pulling on his shoes and standing up to get a better look of himself in the mirror. "Things could be worse. I could've had to wear the dress robes that belong to Ron."
"I heard that!" Ron called from the bathroom in the boy's dormitories. Harry and Ron laughed.
They were a bit better now though, because Ron had performed a spell to change the maroon color of his robes to a nice inky-blue tone, with a mask of the night sky to match. He had also diminished the ruffles and lace completely around the neckline, cuffs and ankles. "I told Cho I'd meet her at the entrance to the great hall at five minutes till seven," Harry said, looking up at Ron curiously.
"I just remembered," Harry said to Ron. "Who're you going with?" "Oh, that," Ron muttered, blushing. "A girl named Mandy." He looked at Harry's blank look. "She's in Ravenclaw. Quite pretty, and really nice, from what I've heard." Harry chose not to ask what happened between him and Lavender.
They made their way down from the boy's dormitories down to the Great Hall entrance. Cho was there, dressed in red with a demon mask. Harry chuckled, thinking it was cute. Ron's date was standing there beside her as well.
"Hello ladies," said Ron very coyly. "Shall we make our way in?" He offered Mandy his arm, and Harry followed suit with Cho. Harry pushed open the mighty oak doors and the two couples made their way into the Great Hall.
Right off the bat Harry realized that this Ball would be much different from the Yule Ball they had in the previous year. Enchanted snow was drifting down daintily from the high ceiling above, and from somewhere, though Harry did not see any speakers or musical equipment, a soft, graceful, calming melody was playing.
Not many people had arrived yet, so the sound of hundreds of people chatting away was yet to be heard. ("Thank goodness," Ron said, hastily slumping down into a chair. "I'll get to eat before anyone else.") Small circular tables were positioned against the wall, with two to six rosewood chairs to go with them. Harry, Ron, Mandy and Cho took one with six chairs, so when Hermione and Krum came, they could sit with them as well.
They looked along the staff table and saw that Professor Dumbledore, Professor Flitwick, Filch, and Hagrid were already there. The other teachers, as Mandy overheard Professor Dumleldore saying, were helping bring in huge Christmas trees to place around the hall. As more people entered, Harry noticed something suspicious: Three, what looked like full grown men, in black hooded cloaks, huddled in a corner, murmuring to each other in low, soft voices. Harry would have investigated more if a tap on his shoulder hadn't distracted him.
He turned around to see who had tapped him, and discovered Hermione and Krum, who had just arrived, and were trying to get Harry's attention. "Hello, Harry," said Hermione in a would-be-cheerful voice, sitting at a chair positioned next to him. "You were staring into space, I didn't know if you saw us come in or not."
"Oh - No, I just was looking at - well - never mind. You look lovely, by the way, Hermione," Harry said, looking at Hermione.
Hermione's cheeks turned pink as she said, "Thanks."
Viktor Krum was standing behind Hermione, and he looked somewhat sulky, surveying the chairs, as if it were causing him great pain to watch Hermione sit next to another boy, and he himself therefore having to sit next to Cho because of it. He then spoke, clearing his throat. "Herm-own-inny, vy can't vee just sit at another table by ourselves? It looks like a puzzle, how can all 'ze couples sit togezer."
"Well, Viktor, it doesn't matter that much. How about all the couples sit across from each other? We won't have to strain our necks constantly looking side to side, at least."
Krum looked like he didn't like this plan too much either, because he would still have to sit next to Cho, whom he considered a stranger, and Hermione would be next to Harry, which made Krum feel uncomfortable. But, if he had any disagreements, he hid them, forced a smile at Hermione and sat down next to Cho. The Great Hall was slowly starting to fill with more and more people. It was one minute till seven o' clock, and the Christmas Ball was sure to begin any minute, and it would surely be an event that they would always remember.
