After that, Albus concluded that we could see Louis twice a week, one more time than we had agreed on previously. I think that he was really impressed by his cousin, as I know I was. Albus suggested that we do the second get together in the Ravenclaw Common Room. I suggested that we vary the location, sometimes having it in the Gryffindor Common Room so that we could also get together with Hugo and Lilly. Albus and Louis liked my idea, so we invited Hugo and Lilly to join us, meeting sometimes in Ravenclaw, sometimes in Gryffindor, and sometimes in Slytherin. Hugo and Lilly often joined us, but after the first gathering in the Common Room of Slytherin, they never joined us there again. I suspect the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin was just too great, plus some of the Slytherin students, such as Marcus Bletchley, did not make them feel very welcome.
I was glad we got our friendly gatherings established when we did, because Louis shortly afterward came down with a cold that developed into pneumonia. To say he almost died might be a slight exaggeration, but he was confined to a bed in the infirmary for weeks. Even the skilled Madam Pomfrey was at her wits end trying to keep him from getting worse. She and I came to the realization that he really was a very frail boy.
Surprisingly, he seemed to take it all in stride and stayed in a good spirit whenever I saw him. Though I later learned that he was just happy to have us visit him. He even had his homework sent up to him and kept up in all but one of his classes. It helped that four of his professors, Dennis Creevey, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Neville Longbottom, and Cuthbert Binns came to his sickbed and gave him private lessons. Their taking the time out of their busy schedules was a testament to how much they appreciated his presence and participation in their class. Professors Creevey, Finch-Fletchley, and Longbottom were known to be very interested in their students, but to do this without pay for several weeks? (OK, Professor Longbottom was almost family to the Weasleys, so him I can understand. Yet, what about the others?) It was even more astounding that Professor Binns did this, as that ghost did not appear to know any of his student's names or to care about anyone or anything except for teaching the History of Magic. Albus and I tutored him in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and Potions, which kept him up in all his classes except for Astronomy. He was unable to go outside at night and use the telescope, besides being unable to stand, so he fell drastically behind in Astronomy. He almost fell behind in Potions, as Madam Pomfrey would not allow a cauldron to brew his potions in the infirmary, but when it became obvious that he would be in bed for a long while, she relented after Albus pleaded with her for 101 times. If Albus surprised you, let me tell you that his actions surprised me too. I mean, I know that he is not a bad person, he is my best friend after all, but sometimes he does not seem to be the nicest person to his little cousin. He is not that way to his other cousins or anyone else, only to Louis. Well, maybe he has a similar relation to his older brother. I am not sure I understand what is going on with him, but it is almost like he has a love-hate relation with his cousin and his brother.
As the winter approached, the weather cooled, Louis recovered and went back to his classes, and everyone at Hogwarts was getting ready for the Winter Ball. I am not sure of the specifics, but many older female students petitioned the headmistress to have a formal ball. They wanted a formal occasion for a boy, or their boyfriend if they had one, to dress up extra fancy, treat them especially nice, get them a small gift, and then show off with them on the dance floor. Plus, the girls would have an excuse for their families to buy them a formal dancing costume, dress, shoes, matching socks and gloves, possibly a hat or veil, and a robe, coat, or vest. The boys had to ask a girl to be their date, face the humiliation of possibly being rejected, buy their date a small gift, and ask their families to buy them formal dancing clothes. The girls had little if any expense and simply let their families or their dance partner do all the work and pay for the expense. Needless to say, no boy signed the petition. Yet, headmistress Minerva McGonagall liked the concept and agreed to have a Winter Ball. It was not a Christmas Ball, as it was held before the Christmas break.
In the past, the younger students were not allowed to attend, unless they were invited by a fourth year or older student. Yet when the headmistress learned that many of her younger students wished they could watch the older dancing couples, she allowed all years to attend till 10 PM. After ten, all the younger students had to leave for bed. James Potter, Fred Weasley II, Molly Weasley II, and Dominque Weasley planned to dance, though only Dominque had a steady boyfriend. Albus, Lilly, Hugo, most of the remaining Weasleys at Hogwarts, and I planned to watch. I even wrote my father for some funds so that I could obtain some special clothes to watch the dance. What can I say? I am a Malfoy aren't I?
One night at dinner as the boys were making feverish attempts to find a date to the dance, Albus and I observed Louis get up from his table and gingerly approach the headmistress. The two had a short conversation that initially surprised the headmistress, turned into confusion, and ended in her showing a frown. Louis seemed unaffected and simply returned to his table. Unable to contain my curiosity, I left dinner early and went to ask him what he had spoken to Professor McGonagall about.
"I asked her what she would think if one of her students were to ask her for one dance during the Winter Ball. Would she consider it, or would she say no outright? When she asked if I was thinking of asking her for a dance, I told her that I was thinking about it." He said it like it was common news, like a first-year crashing into a wall while flying, or that there was another explosion in the potion's classroom. These things happened all the time at Hogwarts, but not asking the headmistress to a dance.
"What? Are you mental?" I practically shouted at him. This caused nearly all the Ravenclaws and many others to turn towards our conversation. Several of them stood and came to defend their housemate. They obviously concluded that I could easily overpower Louis in both magic and in physical strength. I tried to calm them down, as I was not a threat to Louis, but they did not trust me, probably because I was a Slytherin, even though I had been hanging around him since the start of the year. They only left when Louis spoke in my defense.
"You do not approve?" He looked at me with innocence as he blinked his deep blue eyes. "Why? Do you think she is too old for me?" His silly grin told me that he really enjoyed his last remark.
"It is not a question of my approval. And yes, she is a bit old for you. I think she is a bit old for your grandfather Weasley!"
"You leave my grandfather out of this!"
"Do you realize what people will think? Everyone will be talking about you!"
"I know. I am counting on it. I want it!" There was an unmistakable gleam in his eyes.
I was dumbfounded. His intensity told me that it was useless to try and reason with him. He was going to ask her. I could only hope that she would say no. And where had this Louis Weasley come from? Albus and I were afraid to ask anyone to the Winter Ball. He was going to ask the headmistress? The Louis I had met on the Hogwarts Express was shy and reserved even around his cousins, he would never dare to ask anyone to the ball, let alone the oldest and most powerful witch at Hogwarts. And she was the headmistress!
There was nothing that I could do, so, I decided not to think about it. There was always hope that either Louis or headmistress McGonagall would get struck by lightning. Yah, not very likely, but she hopefully would say no. It was a mistake to push it out of my mind and not talk about it, because that way Albus never heard about it. He never forgave me for not telling him, not that there was anything he could have done. Not surprisingly, Louis asked her in our presence. I suspect that around us, the little twerp was a little more daring, but who knows. We had been pranking other students one night when the headmistress walked by. She did not seem angry, but she did ask us what we were doing. Albus said that we were doing nothing, which was hardly the truth. When she glared at us, I added that we had been doing nothing wrong. Which technically was true, but I suppose it depends on your definition of wrong. I explained that we were only doing silly pranks on our fellow students, like making pies appear magically that hit people in the face and shooting water from our wands to make it look like boys had wet their pants. Of course, I did not mention our most horrible pranks, no, they would have gotten us into trouble. She seemed to like my answer, told us to carry on, and then turned to leave.