Chapter 12: the timing

Previously:

'Well, we better start getting ready! It starts in an hour or two…' Pansy announced cheerfully, 'and seeing as Neville and I have now being going out, as of today for 5 months, I want to be looking particularly good…'

'Oh god,' Sinead sighed 'does this mean we don't get to tease you for the massive amounts of PDA tonight?'

'Uhuh' Pansy said with her characteristic smirk 'and, let me tell you, you haven't seen nothing yet' and all three girls cringed exaggeratedly as she chuckled at them.

Timing was everything, almost everything revolved around it; from when you lean into kiss someone, for calculating how long it takes you to have a shower, straighten or curl your hair, for judging just the right moment to ask someone out, to ask someone to meet your parents or maybe to even sneak a kiss with your beloved under the cover of darkness.

The fact is, no matter how much we try to escape, ignore or hide it just comes down to timing. Timing can be good –it can make us do things we wouldn't normally or face things we otherwise wouldn't, but in this same way it can have an effect on us emotionally; it can confused, befuddle, exhilarate, excite, overwhelm, weary and surprise us; and, funnily enough, many of the students at Hogwarts were currently experiencing one or several of these things, or would during the night, after all, someone was trying to start a party of some kind.

And so far it would be fair to say that Ginny and Draco were experiencing the feelings of ill-fated timing –both were quite confused, but had slight feelings of exhilaration at their "accidental" kiss –neither was really sure what was, or had quite happened, and couldn't clearly remember if it had actually been real, or if it was half imagined. It would also be fair to say Pavarti was confused, and that , surprisingly, Harry was. He was nervous, and slightly befuddled, he wasn't quite sure what he was feeling, he had always admired Pavarti, acknowledged that she was one of the good-looking, beautiful, pretty creatures at Hogwarts. But until now, acting on those thoughts, doing something about those thoughts hadn't really been on the agenda, and he was just starting to realise that having it on the agenda mightn't be such a bad thing, in fact, it might be a good thing.

Lavender was excited –this was probably the first big 7th year gathering of the year, it was a well known fact that everyone, even if you didn't really follow the sport, came together after the matches, it was just a thing. This meant several things; obviously she'd be spending much of it with Seamus, which just bumped any event up, but on top of this, the season for romance was at it's peak, and if there was one thing Lavender loved outside of her friends, family, pets and Seamus, it was the hint, the subtle scent of romance in the air. If romance was a flower, and Hogwarts was a variety, it would be blossoming.

And whether or not you realise this, Lavender didn't just like romance because it created gossip –she actually hated gossip, she just loved talking about love-lives, and seeing her friends happy, and in happy relationships, but she particularly enjoyed it when she had set the happy couple up, and when she set someone up, well it usually worked, or at least ended on good, if not great terms. And tonight, two particular couples really interested Lavender, one wasn't really too much of a controversial pairing, but the other, well, it's not something you would have seen at Hogwarts last year…

As Ginny got ready she was blissfully unaware of Lavender's quiet scheming, which was probably quite a good thing, as well, she would have hit the roof if she had known, and if Ginny hadn't arrived at the time she did, she mightn't have accidentally overheard the conversation she did.

A/N: I hope this chapter was enjoyable for those of you who are reading this… feel free to let me know what you think by pressing that green button at the bottom on the page/story :) it would be much appreciated. And I wish I could write longer chapters, but it doesn't really work with folios due and numerous sacs unfortunately…

And thankyou very much to the people who added this to their story alerts/favourites; emeraldgoldchocolate, Kitty-Iheartu, A Secret Dreamer, shadowgirl1613,

and to twilightluver39 for reviewing as well :)