The Junior And The Prefect

Chapter Ten: A Precarious Situation (part 1).

'Why do they have to move in packs?' I question Ron, eyeing a dozen or so girls giggling themselves stupid as they walked by us. 'How're you supposed to get one on their own to ask them?'
It is bad enough that McGonagall said that there is no backing out of the Yule Ball but, to ask a girl to a dance when I've never even danced in the private of my own room? I'll take on the Hungarian Horntail again anytime over this!
'Lasso one?' Ron replies, watching one of the Beaux Batons girls, 'Got any idea who you're going to try?'
Cho and Cedric pass us and I frown, Ron pats me on the back.
'Listen, you're not going to have any trouble. You're a champion. You've just beaten a Hungarian Horntail. I bet they'll be queuing up to go with you.'

o~O~o~O~o~O~o

I've decided to give up on asking any girl to the Yule Ball, and I can't be bothered with my Antidotes assignment that Snape so kindly assigned to the class; so, Ron attempts to build a castle from exploding snap cards, I'm reading Flying with the Cannons for the tenth time and Hermione is of course, the only one studying.
'Evil, he is,' grumbles Ron, while placing another card to the top. 'Springing a test on us on the last day. Ruining the last bit of term with a load of revision.' I have to completely agree but, what else can you expect from that slimy old git?
'Mmm… you're not exactly straining yourself, though, are you?' said Hermione as she eyed us from over the top of her Potions notes.
'It's Christmas Hermione,' I turn a page of my book.
'I'd have thought you'd be doing something constructive, Harry, even if you don't want to learn your antidotes!' she huffed.
'Like what?' Joey Jenkins from the Chudley Cannons knocks a bludger flying towards a Ballycastle Bats Chaser.
'That egg!'
'Come on, Hermione, I've got 'til February the twenty-fourth,' I turn another page; I hid the egg in my trunk and haven't looked at it since the celebration of the first task and besides I still have two and a half months to figure it out.
'But, it might take weeks to work it out!' Hermione hisses, 'You're going to look like a real idiot if everyone else knows what the task is and you don't!'
'Leave him alone, Hermione, he's earned a bit of a break,' Ron placed the last two cards on top of his castle and the thing finally decides to explode; singeing his eyebrows.
'Nice look, Ron… go well with your dress robes, that will.'
Fred and George join us while Ron feels around his face to check the damage.
'Ron, can we borrow Pigwidgeon?' asks George.
'No, he's off delivering a letter, why?' Ron replies.
'Because George wants to invite him to the ball,' Fred rolls his eyes.
'Because we want to send a letter, you stupid great prat,' George spits.
'Who d'you two keep writing to, eh?' Ron questions.
'Nose out, Ron, or I'll burn that for you, too,' Fred waves his wand threateningly in front of Ron's face. 'So… you lot got dates for the ball yet?'
'Nope,' Ron says, packing up his burnt cards.
'Well, you'd better hurry up, mate, or all the good ones will be gone,' Fred states and Hermione looks slightly put off by the comment.
'Who're you going with, then?'
'Angelina,' Fred smirks, not the slightest bit embarrassed.
'What?' Ron gawks, 'You've already asked her?'
'Good point,' said Fred, turning his head to shout at her from across the common room, 'Oi! Angelina!'
'What?' she called back.
'Want to come to the ball with me?'
She appeared to be considering it.
'All right, then,' she said, grin plastered to her face and started up her conversation with Alicia Spinnet again.
'There you go,' Fred said, smiling like a Cheshire cat, 'piece of cake.' He stood, yawning, 'We'd better use a school owl, then, George, come on…'
And they left. Ron stopped feeling his eyebrows and looked towards me, 'We should get a move on, you know… ask someone. He's right. We don't want to end up with a pair of trolls.'
'A pair of… what, excuse me?' Hermione spluttered out.
'Well – you know,' Ron shrugged, 'I'd rather go alone than with – with Eloise Midgeon, say.'
'Her acne's loads better lately – and she's really nice!' Hermione glared.
'Her nose is off-centre,' Ron touched his nose sub-consciously.
'Oh, I see,' Hermione looked fit to burst, 'So, basically, you're going to ask the best-looking girl who'll have you even if she's completely horrible?'
'Er – yeah, that sounds about right,' Ron shrugs again.
'I'm going to bed,' snaps Hermione taking off towards the girls' staircase.

o~O~o~O~o~O~o

I've finally forced the courage that I know is inside of me somewhere to the surface to ask Cho (because I like her thank-you very much) to the dance (With her following of girl friends close by of course) and she rejects me.
'Oh! Oh, Harry, I'm really sorry. I've already said I'll go with someone else… I'm really sorry.'
She looked sincerely apologetic too; but, why did I have to ask who! It was so obvious anyway!
'Oh – Cedric… Cedric Diggory.'

He is the most obvious choice anyway! To think that I had started to like that useless pretty-boy, I mean, he wouldn't have enough brains to fill an egg-cup!
'Fairy lights,' I mutter to the Fat Lady and enter the common room to find a very ashen faced Ron rocking back and forth in the corner of the room; Ginny sat with him and appeared to be comforting him.
'What's up, Ron?' I ask, joining the pair.
'Why did I do it?' he wailed, 'I don't know what made me do it!'
'What?' I frown.
'He – er – just asked Fleur Delacour to go to the ball with him,' Ginny said, she appeared to be having great difficulty in being sympathetic with the smile she is biting back.
'You what?'
'I don't know what made me do it!' he screamed again, 'What was I playing at? There were people – all around – I've gone mad – everyone watching! I was just walking past her in the Entrance Hall – she was standing there talking to Diggory – and it sort of came over me – and I asked her!'
Of course Diggory again; Ron continued to mumble things.
'She looked at me like I was a sea-slug or something. Didn't even answer. And then – I dunno – I just came to my senses and ran for it.' I pat his shoulder.
'She's part Veela. You were right – her grandmother was one. It wasn't your fault, I bet you just walked past when she was turning on the old charm for Diggory and got a blast of it – but, she was wasting her time. He's going with Cho Chang.' My insides burn nastily thinking of Cho and Cedric at the dance together.
The colour begins to return to Ron's face.
'I asked her to go with me just now and she told me.'
Ginny stopped smiling.
'This is mad,' Ron frowns, 'we're the only ones left who haven't got anyone – well, except Neville. Hey – guess who he asked? Hermione!'
'What?'
'Yeah, I know!' Ron starts laughing, 'He told me after Potions! Said she's always been really nice, helping him out with work and stuff – but, she told him she was already going with someone. Ha! As if! She just didn't want to go with Neville… I mean, who would?'
'Don't!' Ginny frowned, 'Don't laugh –'
Hermione enters the room, 'Why weren't you two at dinner?' she asks, joining us.
'Because – oh, shut up laughing, you two – because they've both just been turned down by girls they asked to the ball!' Ginny shouted over us and we both stopped laughing.
'Thanks a bunch, Ginny,' Ron pouts.
'All the good-looking ones taken, Ron? Eloise Midgen starting to look quite pretty now, is she? Well, I'm sure you'll find someone somewhere who'll have you,' Hermione said disdainfully.
'Hermione, Neville's right –' Ron said, mouth gaping as if he'd never seen her before in his life, 'you are a girl…'
'Oh, well spotted,' she spat.
'Well – you can come with one of us!' he said excitedly.
'No, I can't,' she snapped.
'Oh, come on, we need partners we're going to look really stupid if we haven't got any, everyone else has…' Ron whined.
'I can't come with you,' Hermione blushed, 'because I'm already going with someone.'
'No, you're not! You just said that to get rid of Neville!' Ron shouts.

'Oh, did I?' her eyes flash dangerously, 'Just because it's taken you three years to notice, Ron, doesn't mean no one else has spotted I'm a girl!'
'Okay, okay, we know you're a girl,' he grins, 'That do? Will you come now?'
'I've already told you!' Hermione shouts, 'I'm going with someone else!' and she storms off.

Ron certainly seems to be very good at pissing her off lately.
'She's lying,' Ron frowns, watching her leave.
'She's not,' mumbles Ginny.
'Who is it then?' he rounds on her.
'I'm not telling you, it's her business.'
'Right, this is getting stupid. Ginny, you can go with Harry, and I'll just –'
'I can't,' she blushes, 'I'm going with – with Neville. He asked me when Hermione said no, and I thought… well… I'm not going to be able to go otherwise, I'm not in fourth year.' Misery is visibly etched into her face, 'I think I'll go and have dinner.' She left quickly, passing Lavender and Parvati.
'What's got into them?' Ron states, rather annoyed.
'Wait here,' I approach the girls, 'Parvati? Will you go to the ball with me?'
She explodes in a fit of giggles.
'Yes, all right, then,' she blushes bright red.
'Thanks. Lavender – will you go with Ron?'
'She's going with Seamus,' giggled Parvati.
'Can't you think of anyone who'd go with Ron?' I sigh.
'What about Hermione Granger?'
'She's going with someone else.'
'Ooooh – who?' she pressed.
I shrug, 'no idea, so, what about Ron?'
'Well… I suppose my sister might… Padma, you know… in Ravenclaw. I'll ask her if you like.'
'Yeah, that would be great. Let me know, will you?'

o~O~o~O~o~O~o

I can't wait for this whole ball thing to be over and done with.
Hermione coming to the dance with Krum which makes Ron a shitty bastard and Padma isn't too happy either. I guess I can't really talk though since I'm not dancing with Parvati but, I went to all that trouble to get Ron a date and he completely ignores her!

I spot Cho and Cedric on the dance floor; she waves kindly and Cedric follows the gesture, I force a smile and give a half-arsed wave back.
Stupid prat. It's all his fault! Oh, look at me! I'm the handsome, perfectly proportioned and neat-haired Cedric Diggory! I can make everyone love me just by smiling! God, I hate him!

'Don't call him Vicky!' Hermione storms off into the crowd and Ron looks ticked and slightly pleased with himself.
'Are you going to ask me to dance at all? Padma asks.
'No,' Ron huffs.
'Fine,' Padma snaps and disappears into the crowd herself.

Ron is certainly very good at pissing off females.
'Vare is Herm-own-ninny?' asks Krum, drinks in hand.
'No idea,' Ron glares up at his ex-idol, 'lost her, have you?'
'Vell, if you see her, tell her I haff drinks,' he grumbles and slouches away in search of her.

I glare over at Cho and Cedric again, they're both laughing and Cho's touching her hair a lot. I remember reading something about girls that when they're having a good time with a boy they like they often touch their hair… I hate him even more.

'Let's go for a walk,' mutters Ron, 'get away from Percy…' he scrunches up his face seeing his brother gushing over Ludo Bagman.
'Sure. We're just gonna get some more drinks,' Percy nods his head still bragging to a very bored looking Bagman.

'Come on,' said Ron shortly seeing Hermione and Krum dancing again, 'makes me sick, her with him. How could she betray us like that?' I had to smile, it was quite obvious that, that isn't the reason for his aggression.
'Let's go outside,' I direct him towards the doors seeing Cedric making his way towards me.

The garden is decorated nicely with rose bushes and fairies fluttering about them; a few benches scattered here and there along with a few very busy students.
I'd like very much to be occupying one of those benches with someone special but, I'm stuck with a shitty Ron instead; oh well, que cera cera.

I look over my shoulder to see Cedric standing in the doorway.
'This way,' I grab Ron by the elbow and direct him away.

o~O~o~O~o~O~o

The night appears to be getting better and better; Hagrid's half-giant, Snape and Karkaroff are pretty friendly, Cho and Cedric appear to be having the time of their lives and Ron looks fit to explode since Hermione and Krum seemed to have found a nice spot in front of us to dance.

'One last song before the night's over! Everyone to the dance floor!' called the band from the stage.
The Petil twins gave Ron and I a dirty look before joining the students on the floor; Cedric spots me again and smiles nervously, waving a hand for me to come over.
I turn to Ron and bring up the topic of giants again.