Chapter 12
Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room to find first through third years jumping off the walls over the win.
"Hey! Whattheheck are you guys doing?" Harry yelled.
The young students quickly stopped what they were doing, and looked at Harry sheepishly.
"You started the party without me," He said quietly.
Ten minutes later, when all the Gryffindors were present, they came back to party.
"Silly young ones, after the ball!" Harry said mockingly. They were really going to get on his nerves…
* * * * * *
"Let's go Harry. They'll just have to find us down at the entrance. This is boring…" Ron said. It was boring. They just kept waiting longer and longer for Hermione to come down. It wasn't exactly her fault. Lavender and Parvati were probably holding her up.
"Don't go just yet," Hermione said. She was coming down the steps with the two others in tow.
She had light blue dress robes on, and she looked absolutely beautiful. Or at least to Ron, whose jaw had gone a bit slack…
They made their way to the Great Hall, with Lavender and Parvati chatting nonstop with Hermione. Ron put in a word every now and then. Lavender had a reputation for playing hard to get, and Parvati was trying to be too, but she was trying to be quick and sharp like Hermione at the same time. This made her a rather reserved person. The five reached the entrance to the Great Hall, and Lavender and Parvati wandered off.
"This is great, isn't it Harry? A ball especially for quidditch players," Ron grinned at Harry.
"And their escortees or escorters," Hermione added. Ron rolled his eyes good-humoredly.
"I never thought I'd be on the team. It's a good thing that try outs weren't all at once, or I wouldn't have had any time to prepare," He reminisced.
"I don't see Cho anywhere, Harry. Were you supposed to meet her?" Hermione changed the subject.
"Yes, in fact I-" He stopped. He saw her over at the other end of the Hall entrance…talking to some second years? He made his way over to her. At first she seemed a bit shorter to him. After a few minutes of maneuvering through the crowd, trying to see her from a different angle to make sure it was her, she seemed a lot smaller, too. He was right behind her, at the fringe of the crowd, when she turned around. Her black hair was drawn back, and a few strands fell onto her face. Her deep eyes looked right into his. But she wasn't Cho. But she did look kind of like a miniature Cho. She seemed a lot slimmer than Cho. And her face seemed to be less full.
The doors to the Great Hall opened, and the crowd started to enter as Harry and Not-Cho looked at each other. Harry saw someone descend the stairs and head for the doors very quickly out of the corner of his eyes. He looked just in time to see Cho hop off of her broom right beside him. Some students looked at Cho in a mixture of surprise and interest.
"I'm here," Cho said cheerily. Her hair was a slight bit out of place, but Harry could only think that it contributed to her vibrant features. Her dress robes were a creamy white, and were sleeveless. In fact, the robes seemed to be just short of hanging on her shoulders, yet had a closeness to her body. Her jet hair fell over a cream white scarf that was draped around the back of her shoulders. Her hair contrasted sharply with her robes, and her smile was unforgettable.
"Oh, I see you've met Petra. Harry, Petra. Petra, Harry," Cho introduced the two.
"Hi," The two said.
"Petra's my sister. She's been in the hospital a lot lately, but she's made a recovery, so she's back at Hogwarts again," Cho smiled.
"Cho, you better get in there before the first dance," Petra quietly advised her sister.
"With Harry," She added.
"Don't you worry, Petra. We're already there," Cho responded, taking Harry's hand and quickly walking forward, "Make sure you have fun," she called back to her sister.
"I didn't know you had a sister," Harry said.
"I know, I never told you. It's just that she's been so sick lately. I didn't think she'd want people to know what was happening, so I didn't even mention her. She was sorted in the hospital last year, on her hospital bed. Some of my friends didn't even know about her…" Cho trailed off.
The Great Hall was decorated from floor to ceiling. The ceiling showed stars, with the silhouette of a quidditch player flying over every so often. This really was a quidditch themed ball. Harry was wondering what a nonquidditch player might think of all this, but then had a funny thought. Could quidditch be the gag holding something together? Like the coming exchange? It would serve as an excuse to unite the European schools of magic…and unity was something Dumbledore wanted right now. He could use it in the fight against Voldemort. And then Harry remembered his dream. Secret keepers…for what? And what were the Garo, and the Elcrys?
Cho saw that Harry was frowning.
"Something wrong?" She asked softly.
"No," he shook his head.
There was some faint music playing, and Harry looked up to where the teachers usually sat. A band was on a platform, with signs on the side reading "Charmed Dragonflies". There were circular tables around the edges of the hall, and on both sides were tables with bowls. Harry saw Ron at one of the tables. He said something to thin air, and some cups appeared, and filled themselves. The bowls must've been there just to show what the tables were there for. Harry and Cho were heading across the dance floor when they spotted Draco entering with someone who looked suspiciously like Barbie.
"That's just sick. Draco can ask pretty much anyone he wants to in the whole school to the ball, and they'll accept. Unbelievable," Cho shook her head in disgust.
Harry was about to reply when the music's volume increased, and a slow song started to play. He realized that this was the opening song like last year, where the Triwizard tournament contestants had danced first. He looked to Cho, and she looked back. They walked back onto the dance floor, as all the other quidditch players did. They started to dance, slowly rocking from side to side, looking into the other's eyes. They both felt like saying something to break the gaze, or just looking away, but neither could. They both started to think…
Harry remembered last year, when he'd wanted very badly to ask Cho to the dance. He had felt kind of like- although he hated to admit it, since it seemed so school-boyish- it had been love at first sight. Although he had thought nothing of it last year, every time he spoke to Cho it looked like she hung on every word he said. It was the way she wood look at him, as if admiring him, and also very much wanting to hear what he had to say, no matter how much he stuttered. That's what made him so crazy for her (A/N: *stares into space* believe it…). But last year, he hadn't taken her…
Cho looked at where she was. She was a year older than Harry was, so she felt like she had a sort of authority over anything that happened between them. She didn't need to tell Harry what to do, it was as if he already knew. He wasn't ever unkind to her, and he genuinely valued her friendship. He wasn't trying to back her into anything, unlike almost every one else. He was a firm shoulder to cry on, and he didn't take advantage of her feelings. She realized then that she had helped him, too, in this ordeal that had happened…
…because of Cedric…
The music ended, and another song started, a lot louder than the last, and faster. Harry and Cho moved off to the edge, both lost in thought, but with their minds still set on the Ball. Cho sat at a table next to Nellie, and Harry was about to sit too, when he suddenly didn't want to at all. He stared off into space.
"Harry, there's a seat right…" Cho followed his stare, which she thought ended at the table where the bowls where. Harry saw her look, and quickly said
"I'm going to get something to drink. Do you want something?"
"Uh, sure, thanks," Cho smiled warmly.
Harry made his way over to the table, where there was one bowl that held some kind of fruit drink or another, while another held butterbeer. Being a Gryffindor, he chose the mystery fruit drink.
"Er, two drinks…please?" He asked awkwardly. Two cups popped up in front of him, filled up. He took them both, and headed towards the table. He didn't know what had happened at the end of that slow song, but...it'd been weird.
He brought himself back to the table, and plopped himself down in the seat next to Cho. He took a swig of what was in the cup, and found it was…fizzy, fruity drink that was ice cold. Ron and Hermione came off the dance floors, panting. They had been trying to keep up with the fast dance, but ended up falling down with dozens of others.
"D'ya mind?" Ron inquired as he took Harry's…fizzy drink. He drank some, and gave the cup to Hermione, who drank what was left.
"That dance really bites, doesn't it?" Cho asked.
"Yup. Thought we could keep up, but the buggers just went faster," Ron made a face. Cho gave her cup to Hermione, who accepted gratefully.
"Attention, students, we have some introductions to make," a voice boomed over the Great Hall. Everyone looked up to see Dumbledore and several students at the front.
"I would like to introduce the British Isles United Team! They're all students who come from small schools of magic or being taught at home. They will be participating in the exchange, and have come early to practice on our pitch, since they rarely get the chance to do so. I encourage you all to introduce yourselves tonight, since they will all be here for the rest of the Ball. Remember to be hospitable to our guests…" Dumbledore started to give he names of the students, and when he finished, there was some applause, and the Ball continued. Harry made a mental note to meet them, but he didn't want to leave Cho.
"So are the Gryffindors going to party tonight?" Cho inquired.
"You bet. What would a quidditch game be like without a party afterwards?" Harry said, "Do you want to come? I'm 'allowed' to bring a guest."
"Hey, if it's a party, it sounds good. I'm game," Cho smiled.
The music hit a wall and slowed down.
"Let's go," Harry raised his eyebrows.
He and Cho walked into the center of the hall, and held each other close. This time they were pretty much ear to ear, so they didn't have to worry about looking closely at each other. Harry wanted to look at her, but he didn't want to. He felt kind of like she had thought of something kind of disturbing just as he had. He would've asked her what she was thinking, but he was afraid it was the same thing that he was thinking. Why did things have to be so complicated?
"Has your quidditch team been following your orders, or are they still derelicts?" crappy conversation material…
"They're okay, some of the time. They think it's a little strange to have a girl for captain, even though they voted me in. Why?"
"Oh, y'know, after what happened to one of the players-" *^%#^%@!! What was he thinking?? Change the subject, change the subject! "After not having quidditch last year, what with everything else that was happening, I was wondering what all the other teams were up to. Of course, Fred and George told us that they never stopped practicing…" nice recovery…
Cho just smiled back.
"Y'know, we should spike someone's punch cup before the night's over," Cho said thoughtfully.
"Not a bad idea. Who should we target? Ron…Seamus…"
"They're already tipsy enough with the girls they're escorting."
"Agreed. What about Dean? Or maybe someone like Angela?"
"Those sound good. I think after this dance we should sneak out and get it."
"I'm game."
They kept on dancing slowly, for a few more minutes, until the music started to speed up again. The thing with the music being played was that it never really ended, it would just change tempo, and the instruments being played would change what they sounded like. So as the music changed to some sort of disco-like composition, Cho and Harry went out to the courtyard. It was silent outside, and was much cooler than the dance floor. There were shruberies (A/N: "You must bring us…a shrubbery!" dun dun dun…), small statues, and fountains positioned all over the courtyard. They followed a brick path towards the center. Cho started to turn off to a side path, when she suddenly froze, and backed up a bit, suppressing giggles. Harry realized that she was one of the only people who didn't bother him when she giggled…
"Harry, look!" Cho whispered, pointing down the pathway. Harry peered into the darkness, and then saw what was so funny. Draco and his date were a little ways down, back in the shadows, apparently very busy. For some reason it just seemed indescribably funny that he was snogging with his date. Harry and Cho walked further down the main path, trying their hardest to keep from bursting with laughter. They entered the center of the courtyard, where a large fountain was situated.
"Alright, there should be a door on the other side…" Cho told Harry, as they walked across the center. When they reached the courtyard wall, they found the door, which Cho unlocked with an Alohomora charm. They both slipped inside, went down a flight of steps, and found the portrait of fruit. Cho looked around, then tickled the pear. The portrait swung open.
"Who is it?" an alarmed house elf asked.
"Winky, Harry Potter has come to visit us!" Dobby's voice cut in.
"Hullo, Dobby! I was just coming down to take a look around, see if they're treating you right," Harry said.
"Oh, Dobby likes it very much here, Sir Harry Potter! I can show Sir around if he would like it."
"That'd be great, Dobby. Lead on."
Dobby showed Harry and Cho around the kitchens, telling them what a wonderful place it was. It didn't take all that long, and in five minutes they had reached four large vats, two holding butterbeer, and two holding the fruity fizzy drink. The level of drink would drop a tad every so many seconds, as it was magically siphoned up to some cups in the Great Hall.
"Dobby helped mix these," Dobby proudly proclaimed.
On a nearby shelf rested a variety of bottles, with labels on them reading "use sparingly".
"Dobby, why must those bottles be used sparingly?" Harry asked.
A sly smile spread across Dobby's face.
"Those may make someone tipsy, Harry Potter. House elves use some in butterbeer, so to give it a 'kick' ."
"Interesting."
As they walked out, Cho lagged behind a bit, then walked back to the shelf. She pushed aside some of the bottles, and found something labeled "Padfoot's eighty". For some reason it sounded familiar, so she picked it up along with a bottle labeled "Caladrapple Kick". She then headed back to the kitchen entrance. The naughty mischief had only just begun…
Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room to find first through third years jumping off the walls over the win.
"Hey! Whattheheck are you guys doing?" Harry yelled.
The young students quickly stopped what they were doing, and looked at Harry sheepishly.
"You started the party without me," He said quietly.
Ten minutes later, when all the Gryffindors were present, they came back to party.
"Silly young ones, after the ball!" Harry said mockingly. They were really going to get on his nerves…
* * * * * *
"Let's go Harry. They'll just have to find us down at the entrance. This is boring…" Ron said. It was boring. They just kept waiting longer and longer for Hermione to come down. It wasn't exactly her fault. Lavender and Parvati were probably holding her up.
"Don't go just yet," Hermione said. She was coming down the steps with the two others in tow.
She had light blue dress robes on, and she looked absolutely beautiful. Or at least to Ron, whose jaw had gone a bit slack…
They made their way to the Great Hall, with Lavender and Parvati chatting nonstop with Hermione. Ron put in a word every now and then. Lavender had a reputation for playing hard to get, and Parvati was trying to be too, but she was trying to be quick and sharp like Hermione at the same time. This made her a rather reserved person. The five reached the entrance to the Great Hall, and Lavender and Parvati wandered off.
"This is great, isn't it Harry? A ball especially for quidditch players," Ron grinned at Harry.
"And their escortees or escorters," Hermione added. Ron rolled his eyes good-humoredly.
"I never thought I'd be on the team. It's a good thing that try outs weren't all at once, or I wouldn't have had any time to prepare," He reminisced.
"I don't see Cho anywhere, Harry. Were you supposed to meet her?" Hermione changed the subject.
"Yes, in fact I-" He stopped. He saw her over at the other end of the Hall entrance…talking to some second years? He made his way over to her. At first she seemed a bit shorter to him. After a few minutes of maneuvering through the crowd, trying to see her from a different angle to make sure it was her, she seemed a lot smaller, too. He was right behind her, at the fringe of the crowd, when she turned around. Her black hair was drawn back, and a few strands fell onto her face. Her deep eyes looked right into his. But she wasn't Cho. But she did look kind of like a miniature Cho. She seemed a lot slimmer than Cho. And her face seemed to be less full.
The doors to the Great Hall opened, and the crowd started to enter as Harry and Not-Cho looked at each other. Harry saw someone descend the stairs and head for the doors very quickly out of the corner of his eyes. He looked just in time to see Cho hop off of her broom right beside him. Some students looked at Cho in a mixture of surprise and interest.
"I'm here," Cho said cheerily. Her hair was a slight bit out of place, but Harry could only think that it contributed to her vibrant features. Her dress robes were a creamy white, and were sleeveless. In fact, the robes seemed to be just short of hanging on her shoulders, yet had a closeness to her body. Her jet hair fell over a cream white scarf that was draped around the back of her shoulders. Her hair contrasted sharply with her robes, and her smile was unforgettable.
"Oh, I see you've met Petra. Harry, Petra. Petra, Harry," Cho introduced the two.
"Hi," The two said.
"Petra's my sister. She's been in the hospital a lot lately, but she's made a recovery, so she's back at Hogwarts again," Cho smiled.
"Cho, you better get in there before the first dance," Petra quietly advised her sister.
"With Harry," She added.
"Don't you worry, Petra. We're already there," Cho responded, taking Harry's hand and quickly walking forward, "Make sure you have fun," she called back to her sister.
"I didn't know you had a sister," Harry said.
"I know, I never told you. It's just that she's been so sick lately. I didn't think she'd want people to know what was happening, so I didn't even mention her. She was sorted in the hospital last year, on her hospital bed. Some of my friends didn't even know about her…" Cho trailed off.
The Great Hall was decorated from floor to ceiling. The ceiling showed stars, with the silhouette of a quidditch player flying over every so often. This really was a quidditch themed ball. Harry was wondering what a nonquidditch player might think of all this, but then had a funny thought. Could quidditch be the gag holding something together? Like the coming exchange? It would serve as an excuse to unite the European schools of magic…and unity was something Dumbledore wanted right now. He could use it in the fight against Voldemort. And then Harry remembered his dream. Secret keepers…for what? And what were the Garo, and the Elcrys?
Cho saw that Harry was frowning.
"Something wrong?" She asked softly.
"No," he shook his head.
There was some faint music playing, and Harry looked up to where the teachers usually sat. A band was on a platform, with signs on the side reading "Charmed Dragonflies". There were circular tables around the edges of the hall, and on both sides were tables with bowls. Harry saw Ron at one of the tables. He said something to thin air, and some cups appeared, and filled themselves. The bowls must've been there just to show what the tables were there for. Harry and Cho were heading across the dance floor when they spotted Draco entering with someone who looked suspiciously like Barbie.
"That's just sick. Draco can ask pretty much anyone he wants to in the whole school to the ball, and they'll accept. Unbelievable," Cho shook her head in disgust.
Harry was about to reply when the music's volume increased, and a slow song started to play. He realized that this was the opening song like last year, where the Triwizard tournament contestants had danced first. He looked to Cho, and she looked back. They walked back onto the dance floor, as all the other quidditch players did. They started to dance, slowly rocking from side to side, looking into the other's eyes. They both felt like saying something to break the gaze, or just looking away, but neither could. They both started to think…
Harry remembered last year, when he'd wanted very badly to ask Cho to the dance. He had felt kind of like- although he hated to admit it, since it seemed so school-boyish- it had been love at first sight. Although he had thought nothing of it last year, every time he spoke to Cho it looked like she hung on every word he said. It was the way she wood look at him, as if admiring him, and also very much wanting to hear what he had to say, no matter how much he stuttered. That's what made him so crazy for her (A/N: *stares into space* believe it…). But last year, he hadn't taken her…
Cho looked at where she was. She was a year older than Harry was, so she felt like she had a sort of authority over anything that happened between them. She didn't need to tell Harry what to do, it was as if he already knew. He wasn't ever unkind to her, and he genuinely valued her friendship. He wasn't trying to back her into anything, unlike almost every one else. He was a firm shoulder to cry on, and he didn't take advantage of her feelings. She realized then that she had helped him, too, in this ordeal that had happened…
…because of Cedric…
The music ended, and another song started, a lot louder than the last, and faster. Harry and Cho moved off to the edge, both lost in thought, but with their minds still set on the Ball. Cho sat at a table next to Nellie, and Harry was about to sit too, when he suddenly didn't want to at all. He stared off into space.
"Harry, there's a seat right…" Cho followed his stare, which she thought ended at the table where the bowls where. Harry saw her look, and quickly said
"I'm going to get something to drink. Do you want something?"
"Uh, sure, thanks," Cho smiled warmly.
Harry made his way over to the table, where there was one bowl that held some kind of fruit drink or another, while another held butterbeer. Being a Gryffindor, he chose the mystery fruit drink.
"Er, two drinks…please?" He asked awkwardly. Two cups popped up in front of him, filled up. He took them both, and headed towards the table. He didn't know what had happened at the end of that slow song, but...it'd been weird.
He brought himself back to the table, and plopped himself down in the seat next to Cho. He took a swig of what was in the cup, and found it was…fizzy, fruity drink that was ice cold. Ron and Hermione came off the dance floors, panting. They had been trying to keep up with the fast dance, but ended up falling down with dozens of others.
"D'ya mind?" Ron inquired as he took Harry's…fizzy drink. He drank some, and gave the cup to Hermione, who drank what was left.
"That dance really bites, doesn't it?" Cho asked.
"Yup. Thought we could keep up, but the buggers just went faster," Ron made a face. Cho gave her cup to Hermione, who accepted gratefully.
"Attention, students, we have some introductions to make," a voice boomed over the Great Hall. Everyone looked up to see Dumbledore and several students at the front.
"I would like to introduce the British Isles United Team! They're all students who come from small schools of magic or being taught at home. They will be participating in the exchange, and have come early to practice on our pitch, since they rarely get the chance to do so. I encourage you all to introduce yourselves tonight, since they will all be here for the rest of the Ball. Remember to be hospitable to our guests…" Dumbledore started to give he names of the students, and when he finished, there was some applause, and the Ball continued. Harry made a mental note to meet them, but he didn't want to leave Cho.
"So are the Gryffindors going to party tonight?" Cho inquired.
"You bet. What would a quidditch game be like without a party afterwards?" Harry said, "Do you want to come? I'm 'allowed' to bring a guest."
"Hey, if it's a party, it sounds good. I'm game," Cho smiled.
The music hit a wall and slowed down.
"Let's go," Harry raised his eyebrows.
He and Cho walked into the center of the hall, and held each other close. This time they were pretty much ear to ear, so they didn't have to worry about looking closely at each other. Harry wanted to look at her, but he didn't want to. He felt kind of like she had thought of something kind of disturbing just as he had. He would've asked her what she was thinking, but he was afraid it was the same thing that he was thinking. Why did things have to be so complicated?
"Has your quidditch team been following your orders, or are they still derelicts?" crappy conversation material…
"They're okay, some of the time. They think it's a little strange to have a girl for captain, even though they voted me in. Why?"
"Oh, y'know, after what happened to one of the players-" *^%#^%@!! What was he thinking?? Change the subject, change the subject! "After not having quidditch last year, what with everything else that was happening, I was wondering what all the other teams were up to. Of course, Fred and George told us that they never stopped practicing…" nice recovery…
Cho just smiled back.
"Y'know, we should spike someone's punch cup before the night's over," Cho said thoughtfully.
"Not a bad idea. Who should we target? Ron…Seamus…"
"They're already tipsy enough with the girls they're escorting."
"Agreed. What about Dean? Or maybe someone like Angela?"
"Those sound good. I think after this dance we should sneak out and get it."
"I'm game."
They kept on dancing slowly, for a few more minutes, until the music started to speed up again. The thing with the music being played was that it never really ended, it would just change tempo, and the instruments being played would change what they sounded like. So as the music changed to some sort of disco-like composition, Cho and Harry went out to the courtyard. It was silent outside, and was much cooler than the dance floor. There were shruberies (A/N: "You must bring us…a shrubbery!" dun dun dun…), small statues, and fountains positioned all over the courtyard. They followed a brick path towards the center. Cho started to turn off to a side path, when she suddenly froze, and backed up a bit, suppressing giggles. Harry realized that she was one of the only people who didn't bother him when she giggled…
"Harry, look!" Cho whispered, pointing down the pathway. Harry peered into the darkness, and then saw what was so funny. Draco and his date were a little ways down, back in the shadows, apparently very busy. For some reason it just seemed indescribably funny that he was snogging with his date. Harry and Cho walked further down the main path, trying their hardest to keep from bursting with laughter. They entered the center of the courtyard, where a large fountain was situated.
"Alright, there should be a door on the other side…" Cho told Harry, as they walked across the center. When they reached the courtyard wall, they found the door, which Cho unlocked with an Alohomora charm. They both slipped inside, went down a flight of steps, and found the portrait of fruit. Cho looked around, then tickled the pear. The portrait swung open.
"Who is it?" an alarmed house elf asked.
"Winky, Harry Potter has come to visit us!" Dobby's voice cut in.
"Hullo, Dobby! I was just coming down to take a look around, see if they're treating you right," Harry said.
"Oh, Dobby likes it very much here, Sir Harry Potter! I can show Sir around if he would like it."
"That'd be great, Dobby. Lead on."
Dobby showed Harry and Cho around the kitchens, telling them what a wonderful place it was. It didn't take all that long, and in five minutes they had reached four large vats, two holding butterbeer, and two holding the fruity fizzy drink. The level of drink would drop a tad every so many seconds, as it was magically siphoned up to some cups in the Great Hall.
"Dobby helped mix these," Dobby proudly proclaimed.
On a nearby shelf rested a variety of bottles, with labels on them reading "use sparingly".
"Dobby, why must those bottles be used sparingly?" Harry asked.
A sly smile spread across Dobby's face.
"Those may make someone tipsy, Harry Potter. House elves use some in butterbeer, so to give it a 'kick' ."
"Interesting."
As they walked out, Cho lagged behind a bit, then walked back to the shelf. She pushed aside some of the bottles, and found something labeled "Padfoot's eighty". For some reason it sounded familiar, so she picked it up along with a bottle labeled "Caladrapple Kick". She then headed back to the kitchen entrance. The naughty mischief had only just begun…
