Disclaimer: HP is not mine - just borrowing. Please don't sue.
A/N: Finally posting the next chapter. Sorry for such a long delay. Two more chapters should be coming fairly soon. Just want to thank all of you that have posted a review or emailed me. I really appreciate your comments and advice. Hope you all enjoy the story :-)
Chapter 10
The path ahead was dark, making it difficult to see. But that didn't slow him down. He was certain that he was getting near to his goal. Suddenly in the path ahead of him he saw something move. Using the light of his wand, he found pacing in front of him a large, almost beautiful sphinx.
"You are very near your goal. The quickest way is past me," the creature said in a low, scratchy voice.
A somewhat nervous response was made. "So ... so will you move, please?"
Still walking back and forth, the sphinx said, "No. Not unless you can answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess ... I let you pass. Answer wrongly ... I attack. Remain silent ... I will let you walk away from me unscathed."
"Okay ... Can I hear the riddle?"
In response to the question, the Sphinx sat down so as to block the path. She gazed solemnly as she recited, "First think of the person who lives in disguise, who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies. Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend, the middle of middle, and end of the end? And finally give me the sound often heard during the search for a hard-to-find word. Now string them together, and answer me this, Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"
"Could I have it again ... more slowly?" Once again the Sphinx recited her poem. "All the clues add up to a creature I wouldn't want to kiss?" No answer was given, only an odd smile. "A person in disguise who lies ... er ... that'd be an impostor. No, that's not my guess! A -- a spy? I'll come back to that ... could you give me the next clue again, please?"
The Sphinx, not moving from where she sat, slowly stopped smiling. In a cold, icy voice, she then said, "Let's see if you can answer this one instead." With eyes glowing an ugly red, she sang out in a haunting voice, "Tell me the name of he whose name is no more. Scrambled to new identity, power from blood doth pour. Next word is simple, opposite of drought; but of a different spelling, figure it out. Now a new phrase, starting with what most heads are. And onto the word which names the maker of a clay jar. Finally we end with the one thing all do. It happens only when one's life is through. Now say them loudly, so all can hear. The worst possibility in which you do fear."
Silence filled the darkness, which seemed to grow until only the two red eyes could be seen in the path ahead. "Tell me your answer," the voice hissed out of the dark. "Tell me now! ... Tell Me Now! ... TELL ME NOW!"
Harry suddenly sat up in his bed and looked around. He had no idea why he'd woken up. One moment, he'd been dreaming about playing Quidditch, then he was suddenly awake. Nothing in his dream had been disturbing. In fact, it'd actually been rather pleasant. Still, Harry couldn't seem to shake off the feeling that something was wrong ... that he was needed somehow.
Knowing he wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep, Harry got up and slid on his glasses. Clad in his pajamas, he headed down to the Gryffindor Common room. He honestly had expected to find the room empty. That was why he was surprised to find someone sitting in front of the roaring fire. It was a young boy. 'Probably a first year,' Harry thought.
The boy looked back at him and Harry recognized who it was. "Li?" he asked, then realized that he hadn't actually met the boy yet. Taking a step forward, Harry said, "Didn't mean to intrude ... I couldn't sleep. I'm Harry Potter, by the way."
Li glanced up at him and nodded, "I know who you are." Harry sighed, knowing that most everyone in the wizarding world knew who he was. "I'm Li Chang ... Cho's youngest brother," the boy went on to say.
"Nice to meet you, Li," Harry responded, then asked, "Were you not able to sleep either?"
Shaking his head, Li answered, "I slept too much on the train ... I'm not used to the time change yet."
Harry smiled in understanding. He glanced around the rest of the common room, an odd feeling that he thought there should be someone else around nagging at the back of his mind. Looking back at Li, Harry found the young boy watching him with unemotional eyes. A sense of discomfort caused him to blurt out, "So, are you excited to be here at Hogwarts?"
"I always knew that I'd come here," Li said flatly. "My eldest brother and sister went here ... and Cho goes here. Some day my little sisters will attend here also."
Harry moved over to one of the seats and sat down. "Were you disappointed that you didn't get into Ravenclaw?" he asked.
Li showed his first signs of emotion -- genuine surprise. "Disappointed?! No! Of course not! Ravenclaw's a decent house. My eldest brother was in it too. Kiko, my eldest sister, was in Hufflepuff. I am the first in our family to be put into Gryffindor. It's a great honor."
The pride Li was feeling shone clearly on his face. It surprised Harry that Li was so different acting than Cho. The Ravenclaw seeker was always very quiet, yet cheerful; always friendly and polite. It wasn't that Li wasn't polite or friendly ... he just seemed so serious. Of course, differences of personality within a family really weren't uncommon. Harry immediately thought about the differences between the Weasley twins and Percy.
Just that small thought suddenly brought Harry's mood down. Before he realized what he was doing, he had sighed heavily. Li gave him an odd look. Quickly, Harry explained. "Sorry ... I was just thinking about a friend ... someone I recently lost."
"Percy Weasley?" Li asked. Harry's quick look of surprise made the boy add, "I heard about the attack on the Weasleys and your disappearance."
Harry briefly wondered if that meant Cho had heard about it ... and had she worried about him. Shaking away those thoughts, Harry said, "I heard about what happened to your family too. I'm very sorry that you had to go through that."
Li shrugged, though he was frowning deeply. "We were fortunate to get away ... though ... I still don't understand how it happened."
Harry leaned forward with curiosity, "What do you mean? Didn't your Grandfather portkey you out of there?"
A look of deep confusion crossed the first year's face. "Yes, but ... it was strange. Everyone says that we gathered in the kitchen and portkeyed from there. However ... I swear that I remember coming into the kitchen last and seeing my Grandfather arguing with ..." The boy paused, clearly uncertain whether he should go on or not.
Wanting to know who Li had thought he'd seen, Harry urged, "Who? Who did you see?"
Li gave Harry a long look before he finally answered, "It's crazy, but I thought that my Grandfather was arguing with this man. He looked ... deceitful. Then suddenly, the man was gone and we were gathering around the portkey."
"And your family doesn't remember this man at all?" Harry asked, very intrigued.
Li shook his head. "Although, my Grandfather started acting very strange after I'd mentioned him. He seemed to be angry ... and suspicious."
Harry sat there quietly for a moment before saying, "That is strange."
Frowning, Li said, "My parents claim that the stress caused by the attack left me a bit confused." He raised his gaze to meet with Harry's, then added, "But I don't believe that I was confused ... I don't Get confused."
Not sure just how to respond to that, Harry said nothing. After a moment, Li's _expression softened a bit as he said, "I am sorry about what happened to your friend. But from what I've heard, he died a very honorable death."
Harry frowned at that comment. "He died because he wouldn't tell Voldemort what he wanted to know ... he probably died protecting me. It seems like a lot of people are doing that."
"And that is not honorable?" Li asked bluntly.
"No! ... I mean, Yes! ... In a way," Harry tried to answer, but was getting frustrated with his inability to explain. "I'm not worth dying for! Look at me! I'm nothing ... a nobody! Yet everyone seems to think that I'm some kind of hero. But I'm not! I'm alive because Others who Were heroes have sacrificed themselves so I could keep living. All I do ... is live. And everyone is expecting Me to defeat Voldemort. All I'll be able to do is let everyone down."
Harry couldn't believe all of that just came out of him. He hadn't yelled or really spoken angrily. He had just said passionately what had been haunting his mind and heart. Looking at the first year student, Harry was surprised to see Li smiling at him.
Slowly, the boy told him, "My Grandfather is a very wise man ... and a great wizard. He once told me that the only way to let anyone down is to stop trying to do what is being asked of you. If someone wants you to fill a basket with apples and you toss the basket aside without trying, then you will let that person down. If you sit on the basket, complain, but eventually fill it up, then you will not have let the person down."
"Picking apples is not quite the same as fighting a powerful, dark wizard," Harry replied.
"No ... but the attitude that you can have towards either task is," Li said. "You can just quit and let down all the people who have got you to this point ... or ... you can moan and groan about it, then get the job done."
Li had said that in such a matter-of-fact tone that Harry couldn't help but smile. "So in other words, it's okay that I don't like that people have got hurt ... or died ... to protect me. Or even that I'm being looked upon to do something so utterly impossible ... I just have to try ... do my best."
"That's all that can be expected ... of you or anyone," Li stated, then stood. "Well, I believe that I will attempt to get some sleep. I suggest that you do the same, Harry." The young boy started to head towards the steps to the boy's dormitory.
Harry called out softly, "Li! Wait!" Li turned around and looked at him expectantly. With a warm smile, Harry said, "Thanks! I'm really glad that you're part of Gryffindor."
Li smiled back. "So am I. Good-night, Harry."
Harry watched as the boy headed up the stairs, then turned to watch the crackling fire. Many thoughts ran through his head as he tried to bring in Li's advice into his way of thinking. The warmth of the flames soon soaked into Harry's skin and into his brain. Relaxed and comforted, he finally decided to do the same as Li and try to get some rest. Quietly, he headed back up to his room.
The next morning, Harry woke up still somewhat tired. He got dressed and pulled his robes on before heading down to breakfast. Ron and Hermione were already there when he arrived. The two glanced at each other quickly, then turned to Harry. "I didn't know if you'd make it," Ron said with a smile. "I tried to wake you, but you were out of it."
Harry buttered some toast as he said, "Yeah. I didn't sleep so well earlier ... guess it caught up with me."
Hermione handed him his schedule, which he promptly ignored as he set it aside. At the moment, his stomach had priority. Hermione began to tell the two all about the responsibilities of a prefect. Both Ron and Harry nodded and grunted, though neither was really listening.
As Harry ate, he glanced around the Gryffindor table. Towards the way end, on the opposite side, sat Ginny. She was sitting by herself, playing absentmindedly with her food. Harry thought that she looked rather tired. She seemed a bit pale ... and sluggish. As he continued to stare at her, she suddenly looked down at him. Both blushed, though neither looked away. Slowly, a shy and sweet smile lit up Ginny's face.
Harry felt an odd feeling wash through him. His smile actually started from his heart and slowly made its way to his face. However, before the smile had fully formed, he felt an overwhelming desire to glance up over Ginny's shoulder. When he did, he found himself staring into the dark eyes of Cho Chang. The smile that had started out for Ginny ended up going to the pretty Ravenclaw Seeker. Not breaking eye contact, he watched Cho as she walked over to her house table and sat down. Eyes sparkling, Cho smiled back at the rather dazed boy.
"Oy! Harry!" Ron called loudly, elbowing him in the ribs.
Harry blinked, then looked over at his friend. "Wh-what?" he asked, still feeling dazed.
Ron smirked at him. "I asked you twice now to hand me the sugar."
Making a low grunting noise, Harry handed Ron the sugar and then glanced over at Hermione. He noticed that she was frowning at him. 'She looks mad at me,' he thought, 'What did I do?'
Suddenly, Harry remembered Ginny. He quickly glanced down the table and was dismayed to find her no longer there. He groaned lightly, figuring that there was probably no chance that Ginny hadn't seen him staring at Cho. It bothered him to think that he had probably hurt her feelings by what he'd just done ... although, he wasn't quite sure why that was.
Just then, Professor Dumbledore stood up at the teachers' table. "Attention, students! I have a few announcements to make. Please, everyone settle down for a moment." A hush slowly made its way over the room. "Good. Well then, I wanted to announce to you all that we have decided to hold another ball this year." A variety of mutterings echoed through the Great Hall ... some excited ... many not.
Professor Dumbledore waited until the students quieted down again before going on. "As I was saying, we will be holding another ball ... for Hogwarts students only ... all ages." More collective gasps and moans filled the room. "We will be holding the ball on New Year's Eve ... and it will last until dawn."
That got a much more positive response. "One thing though," Professor Dumbledore stated, then paused a long moment for effect. "This will be a Sadie Hawkins style dance. In other words, you ladies are being given the opportunity to ask who You wish to go with. And, of course, you gentlemen can decline an invitation ... but remember ... the invitation you refuse may be the only one you'll receive."
Even from where he sat, Harry could see Professor Dumbledore's eyes twinkling with mirth. The old man went on, "Of course, as this is a formal occasion, you will be expected to wear dress robes. There is plenty of time for you to send for your robes if you didn't bring them with you. And if you are in need of new ones, then we will have a few scheduled visits to Hogsmeade to take care of such things. I know for a fact that the shops are preparing a nice selection to be available to you all. Now, with that said, I have only one last comment ... Deedle, Crumpets, Snoze, and Tarpe." Smiling, the professor sat down and began to eat again.
Conversations broke out all across the hall. At the Gryffindor table, Seamus moaned loudly, "Not another dance! Can't we do something that's fun?" He, Dean, and Neville were sitting across from Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Dean chuckled lightly, "At least we don't have to do the asking this time. Let the girls suffer through all that hassle just to get a date."
Seamus gave his friend a smug look as he commented, "Gee ... I didn't have any hassles finding a date." Dean rolled his eyes, then punched Seamus' arm semi-lightly when the boy started to laugh.
Harry glanced next to him at Ron and was surprised to see that his friend was busily scribbling away on a parchment. Suddenly the tip of his quill broke, causing him to spout out a few choice words. Guiltily, Ron glanced over at Hermione. But she hadn't noticed since she was sitting there with a far away look on her face. Nudging her, Ron said, "Oy, Hermione? Can I borrow a quill?"
Hermione gave him a confused look, then dug into her bag. A moment later, she'd pulled out a quill. As she handed it to the boy next to her, she began to look at him almost nervously. Seeing this, Ron asked, "What? What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
The young girl bit her lip, then murmured, "Ron? ... would you ... maybe ... go ... totheball ... with me?"
Ron gave the girl a look of pure amazement, ignoring the loud snickering that was going on across the table. "You're asking Me?" he replied in obvious shock.
Hermione blushed lightly as she nodded. "Who else would I ask," she stated, then blushed deeper.
At that comment, Ron narrowed his eyes. "Oh ... I don't know," he answered in a slightly spiteful tone, "Maybe ... Vicky!?"
Hermione's eyes widened, then began to tear up. Standing, she fumed, "I just don't believe you, Ron Weasley! I go and ask you ... and you just insult me ... and my friend!" With that, she whirled on her heels and fled the Great Hall.
Seamus and Dean's snickers were turned into loud, "Uh-Oh!"s and "Way to go, Weasley!" Ron didn't even look their way, but sat there staring after Hermione with his mouth wide open. Finally, he muttered, "Damn! What did I just do?"
Harry watched his friend with a mixture of amusement and pity. "Well," he then told Ron, "I'd say that you just acted like a total prat." Ron glared over at him. Smiling, Harry added, "I'd also say that you might want to think about talking to her."
Ron's eyes widened. He stood up quickly and hurriedly gathered his belongings. As he did, he said, "You're right! I've got to go find her. See you in class."
Harry watched, shaking his head slightly, as the red-haired boy disappeared from the Great Hall. Across from him, Seamus said, "That was truly pathetic."
Dean nodded. "Yeah ... the boy's got it bad, doesn't he?"
Next to the grinning boys, Neville sat looking grim. He sighed heavily, drawing attention to himself. Dean raised an eyebrow as he asked, "What's wrong, Neville?"
The quiet and somewhat clumsy boy shrugged. "It's just going to be depressing watching everyone else get asked to the dance. No one's going to ask me."
Feeling bad for the boy, Harry said in a forced reassuring tone, "I'm sure someone will ask you."
Dean cut in without thinking, "Maybe the girl you took to the Yule Ball last year will ask you."
Neville glanced at Harry, then shook his head. "I think there's someone else that she'd rather go with."
When Dean looked a bit confused, Seamus muttered to him, "Ginny Weasley." They both looked at Harry as Dean replied with a drawn out, "Ohhhh..."
Harry grabbed up his cup to take a drink in hopes of hiding his reddened face. Neville just sighed again. "I think I'm going to head up to class early," the boy said, standing up. The three boys that remained sitting watched him walk down the aisle to leave.
Before Neville reached the end of the Gryffindor table, a cute girl from second year called out shyly to him. He seemed overly startled and actually glanced around to see if she wasn't speaking to someone else. Realizing that she wasn't, Neville slowly approached the girl. She had her back to Harry, Seamus, and Dean, so they couldn't tell what she was saying.
But Neville's face was in clear view. They watched as the _expression on his face switched from nervousness to suspicion to surprise and finally to a bright, sincere smile. He said only one word to the girl, who nodded back to him. Then he too nodded. The girl motioned to the place next to her and, still grinning foolishly, Neville sat down.
"Am I seeing things or did Neville Longbottom just get asked out by a girl?" Seamus said, a hint of disgust in his tone.
Happy for his quiet friend, Harry just replied, "It sure looks that way."
Dean pretended to wipe away a tear as he said jokingly, "They grow up so fast, don't they?"
Seamus glared over at Dean as he commented, "Don't you realize what this means?" Both Harry and Dean looked at him blankly. In a completely perturbed tone, he said, "It means that Neville ... our clumsy, shy, and backwards Neville ... got a date to the ball before any of us! That's just not Right!"
Harry left Dean and Seamus discussing this unexpected event and headed up to class. To his dismay, Harry suddenly found the eyes of most of the female population on him more than ever before. He managed to escape having to talk to Parvati and Lavender, only to run into a group of giggling first year girls. Rolling his eyes, he rushed past them. In the end, it took him nearly twice as long to get to class than normal.
Walking in and taking his seat just before the class began, Harry sighed with relief. It was only then that he fully realized that his first class was Potions with the Slytherins. Standing at the front of the class was Professor Snape.
The professor glared across the room at Harry before commenting, "You seem to be a bit flushed, Mr. Potter." The man's glare turned into a cold sneer as he went on, "No doubt you are out of breath from all your would-be wooers chasing you. Wasn't the right one after you, Potter?"
Harry stared back at the man evenly as the Slytherin side of the room began to cackle with laughter. Turning away, Professor Snape began the lesson. When he did, Ron elbowed him and whispered, "Just ignore him. He's just jealous because he knows that no female would Ever ask him out ... let alone a whole bunch of females." Harry gave his best friend a small smile as he nodded.
It was obvious to Harry throughout the rest of the day that Ron and Hermione had settled things. It was also rather annoying the way the two of them would sit in uncomfortable silence as they threw quick glances at each other. Harry was positive by the time they headed down to dinner that he would much rather have them screeching and yelling at each other than acting the way they were now.
While his best friends continued their bizarre behavior, Harry looked around for Ginny. He'd hoped to run into her so that he could make sure that she wasn't upset with him He wasn't sure why, but the thought of hurting Ginny bothered him greatly. To his disappointment, she was no where to be seen. He did spot Colin Creevey coming into the hall with his brother, Dennis. Harry waved them over, much to their surprise ... and the other fifth years that Harry was sitting with.
As soon as Colin sat down next to him, Harry said, "Hey Colin. How'd your first day go?" Obviously thrilled at being asked such a question from his role model and hero, Colin went into a colorful ... and Very detailed ... description of his day. Harry patiently listened to him, secretly hoping that the boy might give him a clue as to Ginny's whereabouts.
Colin had just finished telling him about his last class when Harry stopped him to ask, "Colin ... you don't happen to know where Ginny is, do you?"
For just a brief moment, Colin's face seemed to fall. But then he switched to a look of concern. "Ginny Weasley?" he asked, getting a nod from Harry as a reply. "I don't really know for sure. She didn't look very good today ..."
Harry interrupted, "What do you mean?"
Colin gave him an odd look before answering, "Well ... she looked upset ... and tired. She wouldn't even talk much to me, and she Always talks to me. I figured that she just wasn't feeling well or something."
Harry sighed at this information. He hoped that it wasn't him that was making her upset and tired. "Why do you ask?" Colin inquired, watching Harry with intense curiosity.
From the other side of him, Ron said, "Yeah, Harry ... why all this interest in my little sister?"
Harry felt a bit cornered right at that moment. He wasn't really sure what to say ... to either of them.
"Excuse me, Harry?" a soft, feminine voice said from behind the boys. Turning, Harry found Cho Chang standing there looking shyly at him.
"Ch-Cho ..." Harry stammered as he attempted to get to his feet. He could hear the giggling and snickering from his housemates, but he didn't seem to mind them. All that seemed to matter to him at the moment was that The Cho Chang was standing there with him and wanted to speak with him.
Cho motioned towards one of the exits as she said, "Could we speak ... privately?"
Harry nodded, not quite trusting his voice. They left behind the table of cat-calling and hooting Gryffindors and went into one of the darkened hallways just outside the Great Hall. As soon as they were alone, Cho turned and said, "Harry ... I was just wondering ... if you haven't already been asked ... well ... would you go to the ball with me?"
Harry stood there for a full minute staring blankly at the girl. Finally, he asked in an awed tone, "Me? ... Go with You?" Cho nodded hesitantly. Breaking into a huge grin, Harry nearly shouted, "Yes! Of course I would!" Cho giggled.
Looking relieved, Cho began to tell Harry about the dress robe she was planning to wear. Harry listened with a strange fascination ... until he saw a glimpse of red hair out of the corner of his eye. Looking over, Harry saw Ginny walking down the dark hall towards the Great Hall ... and to where he and Cho were standing. As she moved closer, Harry noticed that she did indeed appear tired and sad.
Ginny was only a few feet away when she seemed to realize that someone was in her way. Looking up, she glanced back and forth between Harry and Cho. Then, her eyes seemed to cloud over and she walked quickly past them.
Harry wanted to reach out and stop her, just to make sure that she was okay. But just then, Cho asked curiously, "Harry? Are you okay?"
Looking back at the pretty Ravenclaw girl, Harry felt his worries diminish. He gave her a warm smile as he answered, "I'm fine ... just fine."
Word about Harry and Cho attending the ball together swept through the school like a wildfire. Harry found himself being looked at by most girls with a longing sadness in their eyes. And most of the male population had taken to looking at him with a mixture of awe and envy. He had thought that since she'd asked him to go to the ball with her, he'd get a chance to spend more time now with Cho. But, that didn't happen.
With them being in different years and different houses, Harry didn't get many opportunities to see Cho. Plus, as they were both on their respective houses' Quidditch teams, their practices took up much of their time as well. Harry also found himself bogged down by studies for his O.W.L.S. and his classes. It just didn't seem like he and Cho could get any time together.
One good thing that had happened, however, was that Ron had made the Gryffindor Quidditch team as Keeper. This gave Harry and Ron another opportunity to hang out with each other. Hermione, at first, was very happy for Ron. But, after the two boys were constantly too busy with practice, she began to get somewhat snippish about the topic. She and Ron seemed to spend almost all of their time together fighting and arguing.
It was for this reason that when the first Hogsmeade visit came up, Harry wasn't too sure that he wanted to go with Ron and Hermione. A day spent with the two of them squabbling seemed like a waste. But then he learned that Ginny was planning to go with them. Hermione wanted a girl's opinion on getting a dress robe for the ball and Ginny had been recruited.
Harry was glad to hear that Ginny would be coming along. He figured that while Ron and Hermione were busy quarreling, he might get the chance to talk to her. So far, she'd seemed to be doing a good job avoiding him, or at least that's how it felt to him. And he found it to be unsettling for some reason. The only times he wasn't thinking about what could be bothering Ginny was when he was actually spending time with Cho. Of course, he didn't really think about anything except Cho when he was with her.
The morning of the Hogsmeade trip finally arrived and Harry sat at the Gryffindor table with Ron and Hermione. Amazingly, the two hadn't started fighting yet. Harry was glancing up at the doors every time someone walked in. He was afraid that Ginny might change her mind about coming with them. The fact that she hadn't shown up yet for breakfast wasn't helping.
Just then, one of the doors opened and the twins and Ginny walked in. Ron looked sharply when, next to him, Harry sighed with relief. Harry hadn't even realized that he'd done it. He was too busy noticing how exhausted and pale Ginny looked. This startled him. She only glanced at him briefly as she sat down at the table, then she turned away as if to hide the dark circles under her sad eyes.
Fred and George came over to stand behind their younger brother. With ridiculously wide grins, they placed a large box in front of Ron. He looked at it skeptically. "What's this?" he asked, his voice filled with suspicion. "It's not my birthday and it's too early for Christmas presents ..."
Whapping Ron on the back of the head lightly, Fred stated, "You won't know what it is until you open it up."
That didn't seem to ease Ron's fears a bit. He just frowned back and forth at each of the twins. George put on a mock look of hurt as he said, "Don't you trust us? We would Never do anything to our favorite younger brother."
Ron snarled at him, "I'm your only younger brother, you git."
From down the table, Ginny said softly, "It's okay, Ron ... it's safe to open."
Everyone looked down at her, though she continued to gaze down at her plate of untouched food. Even the expressions on the twins' faces relayed the concern they all were feeling for Ginny. To get the attention off of Ginny, who was beginning to look more uncomfortable, Hermione said, "Go on, Ron ... Open it up. I'm dying to see what it is."
Ron only hesitated a second, then tore open the box. As soon as the lid was off, Hermione made a soft, "Oohh"ing sound. With a look of total surprise, Ron carefully pulled out a brand new dress robe. "Is this for real?" he asked as he examined the dark blue robe. There wasn't a single bit of lace or fluff on it anywhere.
Both of the twins patted him on the back, laughing at his reaction. "We just wanted to give this to you before you headed into Hogsmeade. Wouldn't want you to spend your money on something you don't need."
Looking up at his brothers, Ron squinted his eyes with mistrust. "Why are you doing this? What's the catch?"
George sighed dramatically. "Where'd we go wrong, dear brother? It appears that Ronnikins still can't believe that we'd do this just because we love our baby brother."
Fred gave George an overly done wide-eyed innocent look as he replied, "Oh ... was That why we got it for him? I thought it was because we didn't want him showing up in some lacy, frilly thing and embarrassing us to death."
George elbowed Fred playfully. "Shh! He's not supposed to know That!"
Waving his hand to shut them both up, Ron said, "Fine! I get the point! Thank you ... I think. Just know this. If this robe turns out to do something to embarrass me, I will make sure that mum knows All about your Extra-curricular activities." He was, of course, referring to their wizard joke inventions.
"Tsk, tsk," George said, grinning with delight. "Talking like that, someone might mistake you for one of us." Ron gave his brother a look of annoyance.
Fred had already turned his attention to Harry. "Where's the little woman?" he asked mischievously.
Harry couldn't help but glance awkwardly down at Ginny. He didn't feel comfortable talking about Cho in front of her. Quietly, he told Fred, "Cho went to visit her family for the weekend ... some sort of family function or something."
Hermione stood up from the table just then and said, "If we're going to get everything done, then we should get going." Ginny stood up also, leaving behind a plate of untouched food. Without a word, she started to head out of the Great Hall. Hermione cast a worried glance at the boys, then followed after her. Ron and Harry were right behind them.
They stopped off up in the Gryffindor Tower long enough to drop off Ron's dress robe and pick up some warm cloaks. Then they finally headed down to Hogsmeade. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny walked together, while Harry lagged behind.
About half way there, Ron slowed down to walk with his best friend. "Everything okay, Harry?" he asked with concern.
Harry nodded, not really knowing what to say to Ron. Without realizing it, Harry's gaze fell on Ginny. He stared at her blankly, his mind deeply lost in thought. Ron startled him by saying, "You worried about her too, mate?"
Realizing that Ron had no doubt noticed him staring at his sister, Harry replied, "She ... looks so tired. And she doesn't seem to ever eat."
"I'm surprised you noticed that," Ron said, somewhat sarcastically, then immediately looked remorseful.
Harry, not liking his friend's tone, asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Ron shrugged. Trying to sound nonchalant, he answered, "You just seem to be overly preoccupied these days ... especially around Cho. Not that I blame you, but ... you usually seem oblivious to everything and everyone around you except for your school work, Quidditch, ... and Cho."
Harry sighed, having really expected something like this to happen eventually. "My studies and Quidditch take a Lot of my concentration. And Cho ... well ... when we get a chance to be together, I just want to make the most of it." Ron smirked at that remark. Rolling his eyes, Harry added, "And we don't really get That much time together ... usually just at meals. She doesn't seem to have much time for me because she's so busy too."
With a light laugh, Ron just shrugged. "Whatever you say, Harry."
When they got into Hogsmeade, they decided to head straight to a shop with dress robes. Hermione wanted to get there while there was still a good selection. Ron and Harry just wanted to get this part of the trip over with as quickly as possible. Splitting up, it was decided that Ron would help Harry get his robe and then head over to Zonko's while the girls finished. Ron assured Hermione that this way the girls could take their time choosing the right robes without having the two of them there bothering them. Hermione didn't really look like she was buying that, but she did agree to the plan.
To expediate things for the robe makers, all students who entered into the store were immediately measured. This, of course, was rather surprising and annoying to everyone. As soon as they stepped into the shop, several tape measurers flew at them and began wrapping around them quickly. Ron had tried to dodge the irritating devices. To his dismay and the others' amusement, they had ended up cornering him in the front window where passer-bys got to witness the whole process.
After that, Ron and Harry wandered around the dress robe section for wizards, trying to find something for Harry to wear. "You know," Ron said as they searched through a rack of robes, "I'm glad the twins got me that robe. It saved me from having to go through all of this hassle just to find something decent to wear."
Harry raised an eyebrow at his friend as he commented, "But, you are still going through all the hassle ... it's just for me instead of you."
Ron paused as he looked somewhat enlightened. "Oh yeah ... hadn't thought about that."
"Oohhh, Ginny! That looks just lovely on you," Hermione could be heard saying from the girls' section. Both Ron and Harry casually moved so that they could get a glimpse of the girls. When they did, Harry blinked with surprise. Lovely was an understatement. Ginny looked amazing in a flowing black, golden speckled, dress robe that had intricate weavings of lace and ribbons that gave it a feminine touch.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Ginny sighed. "It is lovely, but ... the price isn't. I just don't think that I can afford something like this. Besides, I'm only going with Colin ... my robes from last year should be fine."
"Oy, Harry!" Ron said from the rack of robes he had moved off to after checking quickly on the girls. "What about this one?"
Walking over, Harry looked critically at the robe in his friend's hand. It was a simple design dress robe made of a black material with scarlet flecks scattered over it. There was no lace and no frills. And in Harry's opinion, it was perfect.
As his measurements had already been taken, Harry was able to quickly place his order for alterations on the robe and pay for it. It wasn't too long after, the two boys left the store. Because of the number of alterations that the shop was going to be handling, all robes would be shipped out a week or so later. This was fine with Harry as he hadn't really wanted to walk around carrying the robe for the rest of the day.
The boys headed over to Zonko's Joke Shop. Within a half an hour, their arms were full of various items of practical jokes and gags. As Ron paid for his items, Harry stood behind him sorting through everything he was holding. Suddenly, the door to the store flew open and Hermione came rushing in. "Ron! Harry!" she called out frantically. "Is Ginny with you?"
The shopkeeper was just handing Ron his change when Hermione had asked her question. As he whirled around to look at the upset girl, coins flew everywhere. "What do you mean? Why would Ginny be with us? She's supposed to be with you!" Ron exclaimed, ignoring the clerk who was quickly picking up the change that'd been dropped. "What happened?" Ron demanded.
Voice shaking slightly, Hermione answered, "She was with me ... in the robe shop. I had gone up to pay for my robe and to make sure they had all the information right. Ginny had been waiting for me by the front entrance. When I came back to where I'd left her, she was gone. I asked one of the other customers if she'd seen Ginny. The lady told me that Ginny had left right after some boys came in. At first, I thought she was referring to you two ... but then she told me that two of the boys followed after Ginny ... and the other was still in the store. She pointed him out. Oh Ron ... it was Crabbe."
Ron and Harry looked at each other and said together, "Malfoy!"
Hermione nodded. "I was hoping that she'd have come here to find you two. What should we do?"
Harry placed the things in his arms down on the counter and told the clerk to hold on to them. Then, turning to his two best friends, he said, "I think we should split up and look for Ginny. If Malfoy is involved then we know that it's not good for her to be out there alone. If you find her, send up red sparks, okay?" Both Ron and Hermione nodded.
A/N: Finally posting the next chapter. Sorry for such a long delay. Two more chapters should be coming fairly soon. Just want to thank all of you that have posted a review or emailed me. I really appreciate your comments and advice. Hope you all enjoy the story :-)
Chapter 10
The path ahead was dark, making it difficult to see. But that didn't slow him down. He was certain that he was getting near to his goal. Suddenly in the path ahead of him he saw something move. Using the light of his wand, he found pacing in front of him a large, almost beautiful sphinx.
"You are very near your goal. The quickest way is past me," the creature said in a low, scratchy voice.
A somewhat nervous response was made. "So ... so will you move, please?"
Still walking back and forth, the sphinx said, "No. Not unless you can answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess ... I let you pass. Answer wrongly ... I attack. Remain silent ... I will let you walk away from me unscathed."
"Okay ... Can I hear the riddle?"
In response to the question, the Sphinx sat down so as to block the path. She gazed solemnly as she recited, "First think of the person who lives in disguise, who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies. Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend, the middle of middle, and end of the end? And finally give me the sound often heard during the search for a hard-to-find word. Now string them together, and answer me this, Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"
"Could I have it again ... more slowly?" Once again the Sphinx recited her poem. "All the clues add up to a creature I wouldn't want to kiss?" No answer was given, only an odd smile. "A person in disguise who lies ... er ... that'd be an impostor. No, that's not my guess! A -- a spy? I'll come back to that ... could you give me the next clue again, please?"
The Sphinx, not moving from where she sat, slowly stopped smiling. In a cold, icy voice, she then said, "Let's see if you can answer this one instead." With eyes glowing an ugly red, she sang out in a haunting voice, "Tell me the name of he whose name is no more. Scrambled to new identity, power from blood doth pour. Next word is simple, opposite of drought; but of a different spelling, figure it out. Now a new phrase, starting with what most heads are. And onto the word which names the maker of a clay jar. Finally we end with the one thing all do. It happens only when one's life is through. Now say them loudly, so all can hear. The worst possibility in which you do fear."
Silence filled the darkness, which seemed to grow until only the two red eyes could be seen in the path ahead. "Tell me your answer," the voice hissed out of the dark. "Tell me now! ... Tell Me Now! ... TELL ME NOW!"
Harry suddenly sat up in his bed and looked around. He had no idea why he'd woken up. One moment, he'd been dreaming about playing Quidditch, then he was suddenly awake. Nothing in his dream had been disturbing. In fact, it'd actually been rather pleasant. Still, Harry couldn't seem to shake off the feeling that something was wrong ... that he was needed somehow.
Knowing he wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep, Harry got up and slid on his glasses. Clad in his pajamas, he headed down to the Gryffindor Common room. He honestly had expected to find the room empty. That was why he was surprised to find someone sitting in front of the roaring fire. It was a young boy. 'Probably a first year,' Harry thought.
The boy looked back at him and Harry recognized who it was. "Li?" he asked, then realized that he hadn't actually met the boy yet. Taking a step forward, Harry said, "Didn't mean to intrude ... I couldn't sleep. I'm Harry Potter, by the way."
Li glanced up at him and nodded, "I know who you are." Harry sighed, knowing that most everyone in the wizarding world knew who he was. "I'm Li Chang ... Cho's youngest brother," the boy went on to say.
"Nice to meet you, Li," Harry responded, then asked, "Were you not able to sleep either?"
Shaking his head, Li answered, "I slept too much on the train ... I'm not used to the time change yet."
Harry smiled in understanding. He glanced around the rest of the common room, an odd feeling that he thought there should be someone else around nagging at the back of his mind. Looking back at Li, Harry found the young boy watching him with unemotional eyes. A sense of discomfort caused him to blurt out, "So, are you excited to be here at Hogwarts?"
"I always knew that I'd come here," Li said flatly. "My eldest brother and sister went here ... and Cho goes here. Some day my little sisters will attend here also."
Harry moved over to one of the seats and sat down. "Were you disappointed that you didn't get into Ravenclaw?" he asked.
Li showed his first signs of emotion -- genuine surprise. "Disappointed?! No! Of course not! Ravenclaw's a decent house. My eldest brother was in it too. Kiko, my eldest sister, was in Hufflepuff. I am the first in our family to be put into Gryffindor. It's a great honor."
The pride Li was feeling shone clearly on his face. It surprised Harry that Li was so different acting than Cho. The Ravenclaw seeker was always very quiet, yet cheerful; always friendly and polite. It wasn't that Li wasn't polite or friendly ... he just seemed so serious. Of course, differences of personality within a family really weren't uncommon. Harry immediately thought about the differences between the Weasley twins and Percy.
Just that small thought suddenly brought Harry's mood down. Before he realized what he was doing, he had sighed heavily. Li gave him an odd look. Quickly, Harry explained. "Sorry ... I was just thinking about a friend ... someone I recently lost."
"Percy Weasley?" Li asked. Harry's quick look of surprise made the boy add, "I heard about the attack on the Weasleys and your disappearance."
Harry briefly wondered if that meant Cho had heard about it ... and had she worried about him. Shaking away those thoughts, Harry said, "I heard about what happened to your family too. I'm very sorry that you had to go through that."
Li shrugged, though he was frowning deeply. "We were fortunate to get away ... though ... I still don't understand how it happened."
Harry leaned forward with curiosity, "What do you mean? Didn't your Grandfather portkey you out of there?"
A look of deep confusion crossed the first year's face. "Yes, but ... it was strange. Everyone says that we gathered in the kitchen and portkeyed from there. However ... I swear that I remember coming into the kitchen last and seeing my Grandfather arguing with ..." The boy paused, clearly uncertain whether he should go on or not.
Wanting to know who Li had thought he'd seen, Harry urged, "Who? Who did you see?"
Li gave Harry a long look before he finally answered, "It's crazy, but I thought that my Grandfather was arguing with this man. He looked ... deceitful. Then suddenly, the man was gone and we were gathering around the portkey."
"And your family doesn't remember this man at all?" Harry asked, very intrigued.
Li shook his head. "Although, my Grandfather started acting very strange after I'd mentioned him. He seemed to be angry ... and suspicious."
Harry sat there quietly for a moment before saying, "That is strange."
Frowning, Li said, "My parents claim that the stress caused by the attack left me a bit confused." He raised his gaze to meet with Harry's, then added, "But I don't believe that I was confused ... I don't Get confused."
Not sure just how to respond to that, Harry said nothing. After a moment, Li's _expression softened a bit as he said, "I am sorry about what happened to your friend. But from what I've heard, he died a very honorable death."
Harry frowned at that comment. "He died because he wouldn't tell Voldemort what he wanted to know ... he probably died protecting me. It seems like a lot of people are doing that."
"And that is not honorable?" Li asked bluntly.
"No! ... I mean, Yes! ... In a way," Harry tried to answer, but was getting frustrated with his inability to explain. "I'm not worth dying for! Look at me! I'm nothing ... a nobody! Yet everyone seems to think that I'm some kind of hero. But I'm not! I'm alive because Others who Were heroes have sacrificed themselves so I could keep living. All I do ... is live. And everyone is expecting Me to defeat Voldemort. All I'll be able to do is let everyone down."
Harry couldn't believe all of that just came out of him. He hadn't yelled or really spoken angrily. He had just said passionately what had been haunting his mind and heart. Looking at the first year student, Harry was surprised to see Li smiling at him.
Slowly, the boy told him, "My Grandfather is a very wise man ... and a great wizard. He once told me that the only way to let anyone down is to stop trying to do what is being asked of you. If someone wants you to fill a basket with apples and you toss the basket aside without trying, then you will let that person down. If you sit on the basket, complain, but eventually fill it up, then you will not have let the person down."
"Picking apples is not quite the same as fighting a powerful, dark wizard," Harry replied.
"No ... but the attitude that you can have towards either task is," Li said. "You can just quit and let down all the people who have got you to this point ... or ... you can moan and groan about it, then get the job done."
Li had said that in such a matter-of-fact tone that Harry couldn't help but smile. "So in other words, it's okay that I don't like that people have got hurt ... or died ... to protect me. Or even that I'm being looked upon to do something so utterly impossible ... I just have to try ... do my best."
"That's all that can be expected ... of you or anyone," Li stated, then stood. "Well, I believe that I will attempt to get some sleep. I suggest that you do the same, Harry." The young boy started to head towards the steps to the boy's dormitory.
Harry called out softly, "Li! Wait!" Li turned around and looked at him expectantly. With a warm smile, Harry said, "Thanks! I'm really glad that you're part of Gryffindor."
Li smiled back. "So am I. Good-night, Harry."
Harry watched as the boy headed up the stairs, then turned to watch the crackling fire. Many thoughts ran through his head as he tried to bring in Li's advice into his way of thinking. The warmth of the flames soon soaked into Harry's skin and into his brain. Relaxed and comforted, he finally decided to do the same as Li and try to get some rest. Quietly, he headed back up to his room.
The next morning, Harry woke up still somewhat tired. He got dressed and pulled his robes on before heading down to breakfast. Ron and Hermione were already there when he arrived. The two glanced at each other quickly, then turned to Harry. "I didn't know if you'd make it," Ron said with a smile. "I tried to wake you, but you were out of it."
Harry buttered some toast as he said, "Yeah. I didn't sleep so well earlier ... guess it caught up with me."
Hermione handed him his schedule, which he promptly ignored as he set it aside. At the moment, his stomach had priority. Hermione began to tell the two all about the responsibilities of a prefect. Both Ron and Harry nodded and grunted, though neither was really listening.
As Harry ate, he glanced around the Gryffindor table. Towards the way end, on the opposite side, sat Ginny. She was sitting by herself, playing absentmindedly with her food. Harry thought that she looked rather tired. She seemed a bit pale ... and sluggish. As he continued to stare at her, she suddenly looked down at him. Both blushed, though neither looked away. Slowly, a shy and sweet smile lit up Ginny's face.
Harry felt an odd feeling wash through him. His smile actually started from his heart and slowly made its way to his face. However, before the smile had fully formed, he felt an overwhelming desire to glance up over Ginny's shoulder. When he did, he found himself staring into the dark eyes of Cho Chang. The smile that had started out for Ginny ended up going to the pretty Ravenclaw Seeker. Not breaking eye contact, he watched Cho as she walked over to her house table and sat down. Eyes sparkling, Cho smiled back at the rather dazed boy.
"Oy! Harry!" Ron called loudly, elbowing him in the ribs.
Harry blinked, then looked over at his friend. "Wh-what?" he asked, still feeling dazed.
Ron smirked at him. "I asked you twice now to hand me the sugar."
Making a low grunting noise, Harry handed Ron the sugar and then glanced over at Hermione. He noticed that she was frowning at him. 'She looks mad at me,' he thought, 'What did I do?'
Suddenly, Harry remembered Ginny. He quickly glanced down the table and was dismayed to find her no longer there. He groaned lightly, figuring that there was probably no chance that Ginny hadn't seen him staring at Cho. It bothered him to think that he had probably hurt her feelings by what he'd just done ... although, he wasn't quite sure why that was.
Just then, Professor Dumbledore stood up at the teachers' table. "Attention, students! I have a few announcements to make. Please, everyone settle down for a moment." A hush slowly made its way over the room. "Good. Well then, I wanted to announce to you all that we have decided to hold another ball this year." A variety of mutterings echoed through the Great Hall ... some excited ... many not.
Professor Dumbledore waited until the students quieted down again before going on. "As I was saying, we will be holding another ball ... for Hogwarts students only ... all ages." More collective gasps and moans filled the room. "We will be holding the ball on New Year's Eve ... and it will last until dawn."
That got a much more positive response. "One thing though," Professor Dumbledore stated, then paused a long moment for effect. "This will be a Sadie Hawkins style dance. In other words, you ladies are being given the opportunity to ask who You wish to go with. And, of course, you gentlemen can decline an invitation ... but remember ... the invitation you refuse may be the only one you'll receive."
Even from where he sat, Harry could see Professor Dumbledore's eyes twinkling with mirth. The old man went on, "Of course, as this is a formal occasion, you will be expected to wear dress robes. There is plenty of time for you to send for your robes if you didn't bring them with you. And if you are in need of new ones, then we will have a few scheduled visits to Hogsmeade to take care of such things. I know for a fact that the shops are preparing a nice selection to be available to you all. Now, with that said, I have only one last comment ... Deedle, Crumpets, Snoze, and Tarpe." Smiling, the professor sat down and began to eat again.
Conversations broke out all across the hall. At the Gryffindor table, Seamus moaned loudly, "Not another dance! Can't we do something that's fun?" He, Dean, and Neville were sitting across from Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Dean chuckled lightly, "At least we don't have to do the asking this time. Let the girls suffer through all that hassle just to get a date."
Seamus gave his friend a smug look as he commented, "Gee ... I didn't have any hassles finding a date." Dean rolled his eyes, then punched Seamus' arm semi-lightly when the boy started to laugh.
Harry glanced next to him at Ron and was surprised to see that his friend was busily scribbling away on a parchment. Suddenly the tip of his quill broke, causing him to spout out a few choice words. Guiltily, Ron glanced over at Hermione. But she hadn't noticed since she was sitting there with a far away look on her face. Nudging her, Ron said, "Oy, Hermione? Can I borrow a quill?"
Hermione gave him a confused look, then dug into her bag. A moment later, she'd pulled out a quill. As she handed it to the boy next to her, she began to look at him almost nervously. Seeing this, Ron asked, "What? What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
The young girl bit her lip, then murmured, "Ron? ... would you ... maybe ... go ... totheball ... with me?"
Ron gave the girl a look of pure amazement, ignoring the loud snickering that was going on across the table. "You're asking Me?" he replied in obvious shock.
Hermione blushed lightly as she nodded. "Who else would I ask," she stated, then blushed deeper.
At that comment, Ron narrowed his eyes. "Oh ... I don't know," he answered in a slightly spiteful tone, "Maybe ... Vicky!?"
Hermione's eyes widened, then began to tear up. Standing, she fumed, "I just don't believe you, Ron Weasley! I go and ask you ... and you just insult me ... and my friend!" With that, she whirled on her heels and fled the Great Hall.
Seamus and Dean's snickers were turned into loud, "Uh-Oh!"s and "Way to go, Weasley!" Ron didn't even look their way, but sat there staring after Hermione with his mouth wide open. Finally, he muttered, "Damn! What did I just do?"
Harry watched his friend with a mixture of amusement and pity. "Well," he then told Ron, "I'd say that you just acted like a total prat." Ron glared over at him. Smiling, Harry added, "I'd also say that you might want to think about talking to her."
Ron's eyes widened. He stood up quickly and hurriedly gathered his belongings. As he did, he said, "You're right! I've got to go find her. See you in class."
Harry watched, shaking his head slightly, as the red-haired boy disappeared from the Great Hall. Across from him, Seamus said, "That was truly pathetic."
Dean nodded. "Yeah ... the boy's got it bad, doesn't he?"
Next to the grinning boys, Neville sat looking grim. He sighed heavily, drawing attention to himself. Dean raised an eyebrow as he asked, "What's wrong, Neville?"
The quiet and somewhat clumsy boy shrugged. "It's just going to be depressing watching everyone else get asked to the dance. No one's going to ask me."
Feeling bad for the boy, Harry said in a forced reassuring tone, "I'm sure someone will ask you."
Dean cut in without thinking, "Maybe the girl you took to the Yule Ball last year will ask you."
Neville glanced at Harry, then shook his head. "I think there's someone else that she'd rather go with."
When Dean looked a bit confused, Seamus muttered to him, "Ginny Weasley." They both looked at Harry as Dean replied with a drawn out, "Ohhhh..."
Harry grabbed up his cup to take a drink in hopes of hiding his reddened face. Neville just sighed again. "I think I'm going to head up to class early," the boy said, standing up. The three boys that remained sitting watched him walk down the aisle to leave.
Before Neville reached the end of the Gryffindor table, a cute girl from second year called out shyly to him. He seemed overly startled and actually glanced around to see if she wasn't speaking to someone else. Realizing that she wasn't, Neville slowly approached the girl. She had her back to Harry, Seamus, and Dean, so they couldn't tell what she was saying.
But Neville's face was in clear view. They watched as the _expression on his face switched from nervousness to suspicion to surprise and finally to a bright, sincere smile. He said only one word to the girl, who nodded back to him. Then he too nodded. The girl motioned to the place next to her and, still grinning foolishly, Neville sat down.
"Am I seeing things or did Neville Longbottom just get asked out by a girl?" Seamus said, a hint of disgust in his tone.
Happy for his quiet friend, Harry just replied, "It sure looks that way."
Dean pretended to wipe away a tear as he said jokingly, "They grow up so fast, don't they?"
Seamus glared over at Dean as he commented, "Don't you realize what this means?" Both Harry and Dean looked at him blankly. In a completely perturbed tone, he said, "It means that Neville ... our clumsy, shy, and backwards Neville ... got a date to the ball before any of us! That's just not Right!"
Harry left Dean and Seamus discussing this unexpected event and headed up to class. To his dismay, Harry suddenly found the eyes of most of the female population on him more than ever before. He managed to escape having to talk to Parvati and Lavender, only to run into a group of giggling first year girls. Rolling his eyes, he rushed past them. In the end, it took him nearly twice as long to get to class than normal.
Walking in and taking his seat just before the class began, Harry sighed with relief. It was only then that he fully realized that his first class was Potions with the Slytherins. Standing at the front of the class was Professor Snape.
The professor glared across the room at Harry before commenting, "You seem to be a bit flushed, Mr. Potter." The man's glare turned into a cold sneer as he went on, "No doubt you are out of breath from all your would-be wooers chasing you. Wasn't the right one after you, Potter?"
Harry stared back at the man evenly as the Slytherin side of the room began to cackle with laughter. Turning away, Professor Snape began the lesson. When he did, Ron elbowed him and whispered, "Just ignore him. He's just jealous because he knows that no female would Ever ask him out ... let alone a whole bunch of females." Harry gave his best friend a small smile as he nodded.
It was obvious to Harry throughout the rest of the day that Ron and Hermione had settled things. It was also rather annoying the way the two of them would sit in uncomfortable silence as they threw quick glances at each other. Harry was positive by the time they headed down to dinner that he would much rather have them screeching and yelling at each other than acting the way they were now.
While his best friends continued their bizarre behavior, Harry looked around for Ginny. He'd hoped to run into her so that he could make sure that she wasn't upset with him He wasn't sure why, but the thought of hurting Ginny bothered him greatly. To his disappointment, she was no where to be seen. He did spot Colin Creevey coming into the hall with his brother, Dennis. Harry waved them over, much to their surprise ... and the other fifth years that Harry was sitting with.
As soon as Colin sat down next to him, Harry said, "Hey Colin. How'd your first day go?" Obviously thrilled at being asked such a question from his role model and hero, Colin went into a colorful ... and Very detailed ... description of his day. Harry patiently listened to him, secretly hoping that the boy might give him a clue as to Ginny's whereabouts.
Colin had just finished telling him about his last class when Harry stopped him to ask, "Colin ... you don't happen to know where Ginny is, do you?"
For just a brief moment, Colin's face seemed to fall. But then he switched to a look of concern. "Ginny Weasley?" he asked, getting a nod from Harry as a reply. "I don't really know for sure. She didn't look very good today ..."
Harry interrupted, "What do you mean?"
Colin gave him an odd look before answering, "Well ... she looked upset ... and tired. She wouldn't even talk much to me, and she Always talks to me. I figured that she just wasn't feeling well or something."
Harry sighed at this information. He hoped that it wasn't him that was making her upset and tired. "Why do you ask?" Colin inquired, watching Harry with intense curiosity.
From the other side of him, Ron said, "Yeah, Harry ... why all this interest in my little sister?"
Harry felt a bit cornered right at that moment. He wasn't really sure what to say ... to either of them.
"Excuse me, Harry?" a soft, feminine voice said from behind the boys. Turning, Harry found Cho Chang standing there looking shyly at him.
"Ch-Cho ..." Harry stammered as he attempted to get to his feet. He could hear the giggling and snickering from his housemates, but he didn't seem to mind them. All that seemed to matter to him at the moment was that The Cho Chang was standing there with him and wanted to speak with him.
Cho motioned towards one of the exits as she said, "Could we speak ... privately?"
Harry nodded, not quite trusting his voice. They left behind the table of cat-calling and hooting Gryffindors and went into one of the darkened hallways just outside the Great Hall. As soon as they were alone, Cho turned and said, "Harry ... I was just wondering ... if you haven't already been asked ... well ... would you go to the ball with me?"
Harry stood there for a full minute staring blankly at the girl. Finally, he asked in an awed tone, "Me? ... Go with You?" Cho nodded hesitantly. Breaking into a huge grin, Harry nearly shouted, "Yes! Of course I would!" Cho giggled.
Looking relieved, Cho began to tell Harry about the dress robe she was planning to wear. Harry listened with a strange fascination ... until he saw a glimpse of red hair out of the corner of his eye. Looking over, Harry saw Ginny walking down the dark hall towards the Great Hall ... and to where he and Cho were standing. As she moved closer, Harry noticed that she did indeed appear tired and sad.
Ginny was only a few feet away when she seemed to realize that someone was in her way. Looking up, she glanced back and forth between Harry and Cho. Then, her eyes seemed to cloud over and she walked quickly past them.
Harry wanted to reach out and stop her, just to make sure that she was okay. But just then, Cho asked curiously, "Harry? Are you okay?"
Looking back at the pretty Ravenclaw girl, Harry felt his worries diminish. He gave her a warm smile as he answered, "I'm fine ... just fine."
Word about Harry and Cho attending the ball together swept through the school like a wildfire. Harry found himself being looked at by most girls with a longing sadness in their eyes. And most of the male population had taken to looking at him with a mixture of awe and envy. He had thought that since she'd asked him to go to the ball with her, he'd get a chance to spend more time now with Cho. But, that didn't happen.
With them being in different years and different houses, Harry didn't get many opportunities to see Cho. Plus, as they were both on their respective houses' Quidditch teams, their practices took up much of their time as well. Harry also found himself bogged down by studies for his O.W.L.S. and his classes. It just didn't seem like he and Cho could get any time together.
One good thing that had happened, however, was that Ron had made the Gryffindor Quidditch team as Keeper. This gave Harry and Ron another opportunity to hang out with each other. Hermione, at first, was very happy for Ron. But, after the two boys were constantly too busy with practice, she began to get somewhat snippish about the topic. She and Ron seemed to spend almost all of their time together fighting and arguing.
It was for this reason that when the first Hogsmeade visit came up, Harry wasn't too sure that he wanted to go with Ron and Hermione. A day spent with the two of them squabbling seemed like a waste. But then he learned that Ginny was planning to go with them. Hermione wanted a girl's opinion on getting a dress robe for the ball and Ginny had been recruited.
Harry was glad to hear that Ginny would be coming along. He figured that while Ron and Hermione were busy quarreling, he might get the chance to talk to her. So far, she'd seemed to be doing a good job avoiding him, or at least that's how it felt to him. And he found it to be unsettling for some reason. The only times he wasn't thinking about what could be bothering Ginny was when he was actually spending time with Cho. Of course, he didn't really think about anything except Cho when he was with her.
The morning of the Hogsmeade trip finally arrived and Harry sat at the Gryffindor table with Ron and Hermione. Amazingly, the two hadn't started fighting yet. Harry was glancing up at the doors every time someone walked in. He was afraid that Ginny might change her mind about coming with them. The fact that she hadn't shown up yet for breakfast wasn't helping.
Just then, one of the doors opened and the twins and Ginny walked in. Ron looked sharply when, next to him, Harry sighed with relief. Harry hadn't even realized that he'd done it. He was too busy noticing how exhausted and pale Ginny looked. This startled him. She only glanced at him briefly as she sat down at the table, then she turned away as if to hide the dark circles under her sad eyes.
Fred and George came over to stand behind their younger brother. With ridiculously wide grins, they placed a large box in front of Ron. He looked at it skeptically. "What's this?" he asked, his voice filled with suspicion. "It's not my birthday and it's too early for Christmas presents ..."
Whapping Ron on the back of the head lightly, Fred stated, "You won't know what it is until you open it up."
That didn't seem to ease Ron's fears a bit. He just frowned back and forth at each of the twins. George put on a mock look of hurt as he said, "Don't you trust us? We would Never do anything to our favorite younger brother."
Ron snarled at him, "I'm your only younger brother, you git."
From down the table, Ginny said softly, "It's okay, Ron ... it's safe to open."
Everyone looked down at her, though she continued to gaze down at her plate of untouched food. Even the expressions on the twins' faces relayed the concern they all were feeling for Ginny. To get the attention off of Ginny, who was beginning to look more uncomfortable, Hermione said, "Go on, Ron ... Open it up. I'm dying to see what it is."
Ron only hesitated a second, then tore open the box. As soon as the lid was off, Hermione made a soft, "Oohh"ing sound. With a look of total surprise, Ron carefully pulled out a brand new dress robe. "Is this for real?" he asked as he examined the dark blue robe. There wasn't a single bit of lace or fluff on it anywhere.
Both of the twins patted him on the back, laughing at his reaction. "We just wanted to give this to you before you headed into Hogsmeade. Wouldn't want you to spend your money on something you don't need."
Looking up at his brothers, Ron squinted his eyes with mistrust. "Why are you doing this? What's the catch?"
George sighed dramatically. "Where'd we go wrong, dear brother? It appears that Ronnikins still can't believe that we'd do this just because we love our baby brother."
Fred gave George an overly done wide-eyed innocent look as he replied, "Oh ... was That why we got it for him? I thought it was because we didn't want him showing up in some lacy, frilly thing and embarrassing us to death."
George elbowed Fred playfully. "Shh! He's not supposed to know That!"
Waving his hand to shut them both up, Ron said, "Fine! I get the point! Thank you ... I think. Just know this. If this robe turns out to do something to embarrass me, I will make sure that mum knows All about your Extra-curricular activities." He was, of course, referring to their wizard joke inventions.
"Tsk, tsk," George said, grinning with delight. "Talking like that, someone might mistake you for one of us." Ron gave his brother a look of annoyance.
Fred had already turned his attention to Harry. "Where's the little woman?" he asked mischievously.
Harry couldn't help but glance awkwardly down at Ginny. He didn't feel comfortable talking about Cho in front of her. Quietly, he told Fred, "Cho went to visit her family for the weekend ... some sort of family function or something."
Hermione stood up from the table just then and said, "If we're going to get everything done, then we should get going." Ginny stood up also, leaving behind a plate of untouched food. Without a word, she started to head out of the Great Hall. Hermione cast a worried glance at the boys, then followed after her. Ron and Harry were right behind them.
They stopped off up in the Gryffindor Tower long enough to drop off Ron's dress robe and pick up some warm cloaks. Then they finally headed down to Hogsmeade. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny walked together, while Harry lagged behind.
About half way there, Ron slowed down to walk with his best friend. "Everything okay, Harry?" he asked with concern.
Harry nodded, not really knowing what to say to Ron. Without realizing it, Harry's gaze fell on Ginny. He stared at her blankly, his mind deeply lost in thought. Ron startled him by saying, "You worried about her too, mate?"
Realizing that Ron had no doubt noticed him staring at his sister, Harry replied, "She ... looks so tired. And she doesn't seem to ever eat."
"I'm surprised you noticed that," Ron said, somewhat sarcastically, then immediately looked remorseful.
Harry, not liking his friend's tone, asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Ron shrugged. Trying to sound nonchalant, he answered, "You just seem to be overly preoccupied these days ... especially around Cho. Not that I blame you, but ... you usually seem oblivious to everything and everyone around you except for your school work, Quidditch, ... and Cho."
Harry sighed, having really expected something like this to happen eventually. "My studies and Quidditch take a Lot of my concentration. And Cho ... well ... when we get a chance to be together, I just want to make the most of it." Ron smirked at that remark. Rolling his eyes, Harry added, "And we don't really get That much time together ... usually just at meals. She doesn't seem to have much time for me because she's so busy too."
With a light laugh, Ron just shrugged. "Whatever you say, Harry."
When they got into Hogsmeade, they decided to head straight to a shop with dress robes. Hermione wanted to get there while there was still a good selection. Ron and Harry just wanted to get this part of the trip over with as quickly as possible. Splitting up, it was decided that Ron would help Harry get his robe and then head over to Zonko's while the girls finished. Ron assured Hermione that this way the girls could take their time choosing the right robes without having the two of them there bothering them. Hermione didn't really look like she was buying that, but she did agree to the plan.
To expediate things for the robe makers, all students who entered into the store were immediately measured. This, of course, was rather surprising and annoying to everyone. As soon as they stepped into the shop, several tape measurers flew at them and began wrapping around them quickly. Ron had tried to dodge the irritating devices. To his dismay and the others' amusement, they had ended up cornering him in the front window where passer-bys got to witness the whole process.
After that, Ron and Harry wandered around the dress robe section for wizards, trying to find something for Harry to wear. "You know," Ron said as they searched through a rack of robes, "I'm glad the twins got me that robe. It saved me from having to go through all of this hassle just to find something decent to wear."
Harry raised an eyebrow at his friend as he commented, "But, you are still going through all the hassle ... it's just for me instead of you."
Ron paused as he looked somewhat enlightened. "Oh yeah ... hadn't thought about that."
"Oohhh, Ginny! That looks just lovely on you," Hermione could be heard saying from the girls' section. Both Ron and Harry casually moved so that they could get a glimpse of the girls. When they did, Harry blinked with surprise. Lovely was an understatement. Ginny looked amazing in a flowing black, golden speckled, dress robe that had intricate weavings of lace and ribbons that gave it a feminine touch.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Ginny sighed. "It is lovely, but ... the price isn't. I just don't think that I can afford something like this. Besides, I'm only going with Colin ... my robes from last year should be fine."
"Oy, Harry!" Ron said from the rack of robes he had moved off to after checking quickly on the girls. "What about this one?"
Walking over, Harry looked critically at the robe in his friend's hand. It was a simple design dress robe made of a black material with scarlet flecks scattered over it. There was no lace and no frills. And in Harry's opinion, it was perfect.
As his measurements had already been taken, Harry was able to quickly place his order for alterations on the robe and pay for it. It wasn't too long after, the two boys left the store. Because of the number of alterations that the shop was going to be handling, all robes would be shipped out a week or so later. This was fine with Harry as he hadn't really wanted to walk around carrying the robe for the rest of the day.
The boys headed over to Zonko's Joke Shop. Within a half an hour, their arms were full of various items of practical jokes and gags. As Ron paid for his items, Harry stood behind him sorting through everything he was holding. Suddenly, the door to the store flew open and Hermione came rushing in. "Ron! Harry!" she called out frantically. "Is Ginny with you?"
The shopkeeper was just handing Ron his change when Hermione had asked her question. As he whirled around to look at the upset girl, coins flew everywhere. "What do you mean? Why would Ginny be with us? She's supposed to be with you!" Ron exclaimed, ignoring the clerk who was quickly picking up the change that'd been dropped. "What happened?" Ron demanded.
Voice shaking slightly, Hermione answered, "She was with me ... in the robe shop. I had gone up to pay for my robe and to make sure they had all the information right. Ginny had been waiting for me by the front entrance. When I came back to where I'd left her, she was gone. I asked one of the other customers if she'd seen Ginny. The lady told me that Ginny had left right after some boys came in. At first, I thought she was referring to you two ... but then she told me that two of the boys followed after Ginny ... and the other was still in the store. She pointed him out. Oh Ron ... it was Crabbe."
Ron and Harry looked at each other and said together, "Malfoy!"
Hermione nodded. "I was hoping that she'd have come here to find you two. What should we do?"
Harry placed the things in his arms down on the counter and told the clerk to hold on to them. Then, turning to his two best friends, he said, "I think we should split up and look for Ginny. If Malfoy is involved then we know that it's not good for her to be out there alone. If you find her, send up red sparks, okay?" Both Ron and Hermione nodded.