Hey guys!
I am so sorry for the really long wait! I actually had this chapter ready to go a few weeks ago, but I wasn't happy with it. And then the end of term came around, and I've had to force myself to sit down and rewrite it. So I'm really sorry!
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Nicola-Tee-, kittyykat and caleb's babe for the reviews. Also thanks to Nicola-Tee-, Krotchtoastlover and we'vehitanAllxTimeXLow for adding YHIM to their Story Alerts, and finally, thanks to kittyykat and Nicola-Tee- for adding the story to their Favourite Stories. I really appreciate it! :-D
Your Hand In Mine
Chapter 10 – A Slow Dance
Isabella smoothed the front of her gown down, as they walked along the corridor.
"Relax Bella. You look gorgeous," Claire soothed.
"I know. But Cedric is gonna be there," she said, her voice unnaturally high.
"Correction. Cedric is going to be there with Cho," Evalina said, shooting Bella a sharp look. Bella sighed.
"I know."
"Listen Bella, we all know Cho's a lying, cheating, piece of work, but she's Cedric's girlfriend. And even though you know she's hurting Cedric, he has to make his own decisions," Claire said, arching her eyebrow. Bella pursed her lips, but nodded.
"Now, George told me he'd meet you in the Entrance Hall at quarter to," Claire instructed, waving her wand around her head, so escaping tendrils moved neatly back into place.
"Okay. I can do this," Bella repeated to herself. Evalina smiled encouragingly.
"Where are you meeting your dates?" Bella asked, looking at them pointedly.
"Great Hall. Ten to," Claire grinned.
"Entrance Hall at twenty to," Evalina smiled nervously.
"And how exactly are we going to find them?" Bella asked, stopping suddenly. Beside her, Claire and Evalina stopped as well. In front of them, the Entrance Hall was crowded; apparently, the entire school decided they'd meet their dates here.
"Well, you just need to look for red hair. I'll be by the doors of the Great Hall. And Lina, good luck," Claire instructed, grinning. Evalina grimaced, as Claire swept off towards the doors of the Great Hall.
"Well, good luck. I'll see you inside," Bella said nervously, scanning the crowd for red hair. Evalina nodded, before making her way down the staircase. Within seconds, she had disappeared into the crowd. Bella waited, watching as Evalina met up with Eddie. Satisfied, she picked her way around the many couples milling around the staircase.
Look for red hair, she reminded herself. That was easy enough. There weren't many red heads at Hogwarts.
Spying two identical heads of red hair, she grinned. Mustering up her courage, she made her way over to them.
"George Weasley?" she asked tentatively. Both turned around, grinning.
"Isabella Ashford?" one asked. She nodded.
"It's Bella," she corrected, blushing. "So which one of you is George?"
"I am." The one closet to her held out his hand. She took it and they shook hands.
"See you in there, yeah?" he asked Fred. Fred nodded, leading Angelina Johnson into the Hall.
"So you're my date," George grinned. Bella nodded, taking the hand he held out. Leading her into the Hall, she couldn't stop the gasp that escaped.
"Impressed?" George asked, looking around.
"You could say that. I've never seen the Hall look this good. Not even for Halloween or Christmas," Bella replied, looking around her in wonder.
The walls of the Hall had been decorated with sparkling silver frost, and garlands of holly and mistletoe had been draped across the ceiling, which showed a black, starry sky. A space for dancing had been cleared in the center of the hall, while tables seating at least a dozen people were dotted around the hall. Drinks had been placed around the ice sculpture in the middle of each table. An orchestra, conducted by Flitwick, stood in front of the 12 Christmas trees, at one end of the hall.
"Everyone's lining up. Look's like the champions are about to come in," George said. Bella nodded, following him to where the others were lining up to see the champions enter the Hall.
"Hey Bell. Having fun?" Claire appeared beside her, a handsome boy beside her.
"Definitely," she replied, grinning. Claire opened her mouth to say something but was cut off as a fanfare announced the arrival of the champions. Bella clapped politely, smiling shyly at Cedric when he looked her way.
As the champions made their way to the dance floor, Bella followed George to the front, where she had a clear view of Cedric. As the music started up, a sharp nudge in her ribs jerked her eyes away from Cedric, his arms wrapped around Cho.
"He's not your date," Claire hissed into her ear. Bella flushed, guilty.
"So d'you wanna dance?" George asked her awkwardly. She nodded, letting him lead her onto the dance floor. As she spun around, she caught a glimpse of Claire's pointed look, before she was led onto the floor herself.
As the music heightened, Bella found herself lifted into the air along with the other girls dancing. Once her heart stopped trying to escape from her chest, she grinned. At least she was having fun.
Spinning around again, she caught sight of Evalina and Eddie dancing together. Even as Evalina winced, she was grinning, obviously enjoying herself.
"So, why'd you agree to be my date?' she asked, as they danced.
"I needed a date. And when Fred asked Angelina, I knew I needed to ask someone and fast. So when your friend asked if I could take you, I said yes," he explained, not meeting her eyes.
"That's not the real reason."
"And you didn't decide to be my date because you liked me."
Bella's lips quirked into a smile. "Fair point. So why'd you agree to be my date?"
George flushed. "There's this girl. She's completely amazing, but I'm-"
"Just a friend," Bella finished for him. He nodded, sighing.
"I thought that if I went with someone completely different, I'd get her to notice me."
"Has it worked?"
"Did it work for you?"
She bit her lip. "What do you mean?"
"You think I haven't noticed you staring at Cedric, when you think I wasn't looking. It's obvious you have feelings for him."
"We're in the same boat then." Smiling up at him, he chuckled.
Bella clapped politely along with the others, when the dance finished. As she and George made their way towards one of the tables, she noticed how his eyes strayed unconsciously to Alicia Spinnet, who was sitting with her friends.
"So she's the girl then. You should ask her to dance," Bella told him. George jumped and flushed guiltily.
"But you're my date," he replied, looking torn.
"Okay then. As your date, I'm telling you to spend the rest of the night with Alicia." Bella smiled at the surprised expression on his face.
"But what about you?"
"I'll be fine, don't worry. Besides, you'll have a lot more fun tonight if you're with someone you want to be with." Bella looked at Cedric wistfully.
"He'll come round, Bella," George told her, seeing her look at Cedric. "Thanks, by the way. I owe you one."
"No problem." Bell grinned, watching him ask Alicia to dance. She saw his face light up as they went onto the dance floor, before they were swallowed by the crowd.
"That was really nice of you."
Bella spun around, coming face to face with Cedric. She smiled, stopping herself from throwing herself into his arms.
"Where's Cho?" she asked, looking over his shoulder.
"Kenneth Towler asked her to dance, except I can't see her on the dance floor," Cedric sighed, looking behind him. Bella looked away. She'd seen saw two figures wrapped tightly around each other in a dark corner, and she wouldn't be surprised if one of them was Cho.
"Well, she can't be far off. How's your night been so far?" she asked.
"It's been great. I can't believe the Weird Sisters are actually here."
Bella nodded. "So have you figured out the second clue yet?"
"No. But Moody told me to try again. I sort of gave up after our fight," he admitted sheepishly.
"Cedric, the task is in less than two months," Bella replied, disapproval colouring her tone.
"I just find it hard to concentrate. After all, you have the brains here."
Bella laughed lightly. "There are more important things than knowledge or brains."
"Really? Like what?"
"Loyalty, honesty, hard work and fair play. Things that mean more than books or cleverness."
Cedric grinned as This Is The Night started playing. "Listen, since Cho is probably already dancing, do you want to dance with me?"
Bella beamed. "Absolutely."
Yes, I am an awful person! I promised an update ages ago, but I didn't give you one.
Anyways, next chapter – An Ugly Fact Of Life
The lead up to the Second Task. Who will Cedric sorely miss?