Chapter 14
A ball. A Christmas, Yule ball. Well didn't that give Harry more problems. Hermione or Luna? Ginny, Hannah or Susan? Or perhaps he should go for some flare and take Myrtle? Harry snorted, yeah that would make him stand out. His friendship with the girls already had him in the front page of the Prophet. Hermione had huffed, Ginny blushed and Luna just smiled dreamily. Harry took one look at it and laughed, informing the girls that he must be the luckiest boy on earth if he had three gorgeous young ladies all to himself. Ginny threw a roll at him and stuck out her tongue. Hermione gave him the "honestly Harry" look, but was fighting a smile. And Luna sidled over and cuddled into his side, smiling sweetly at anyone who glared at her. Hermione and Ginny glanced at each other, grinned and moved seats to sit on Harry's other side. The twins nearly fell off their seats laughing when Hedwig chose that moment to fly in and preen her Wizard's hair.
'We can't win Gred!'
'Yeah Forge. He's even sweet talked his owl!'
Later that day, The Goblins launched an assault on the Prophet, condeming it for printing false information and threatening to cut off all funding and claim back all loans. Luckily for the Prophet they had a nice scapegoat. Rita soon found herself out of a job, and now that her own picture was the one splashed across the page, not many people would hire her.
One date option for the ball was taken from Harry when Neville nervously asked Ginny and she shyly accepted, not long after the disaster that was dance class. Hannah and Susan were also out as they had found dates quite quickly. That left Hermione and Luna. Still a problem. Could he go to a ball with two dates…?
His wandless magic was coming along nicely. He could make that feather zoom around the room with no fatigue. Other simple spells he was also getting the hang of, and was starting to move into more complicated spells. He was rather proud of himself. And he was starting to see a shape with his animal form. It was a mammal, four legs and bushy tail. He wasn't sure if it was a dog, cat, or whatever else that fit that description. At least it wasn't a bunny. Harry Potter, Boy Who Lived, cute little fluffy bunny. His friends would love that. His occlumency was getting there too. The book said he had to picture a form of defence in his mind then use it to sort his memories. He wasn't nearly close to getting it perfect, but he had decided on what to use for his image for defence. A forest, filled with wildlife and plant life. He reckoned he could hide his memories in all the nooks and crannys, and use the animals as a form of protection. He could use someone to practice with, but he felt he could hold his own for a few minutes before his mind was broken into.
Now you may ask how Harry managed to do all this while at the same time keeping up with his homework, studying, and participating in the tournament. Well the answer is a time turner. Harry had found it in his family vault and was using it each day to expand his knowledge. Dobby and Winky had told him of a room in the school that he could use when he went back in time. They called it the come-and-go room. It was perfect for his needs, providing him with anything he wanted. He even used it if he needed some quiet time, and would sketch or have a childish game with his toys, or even sleep for a while. He trusted Dobby and Winky to get him up in time. Though mostly he trained. In fact, while he was chatting with Mama Dragon, he was also sitting meditating while attempting to sort his memories. Wasn't magic wonderful?
His decision for a date was made for him when Hermione informed them, a little shyly, that Viktor had asked her to the ball. He was a nice enough guy and Harry was happy for her. He was also happy to be able to ask Luna to be his date. She gave a little "oh Harry!" and accepted, then warned him that nargles tended to infest mistletoe and that the cure was to kiss them away. Harry wasn't sure if any of that was true, but who was he to say no.
He wound up dancing with all his girl friends. Plus a few others. All of them were very much the image of young princesses. He knew Hermione was pretty, but seeing her in her dress with her hair tamed down was breathtaking. And Ginny was most assuredly not a shy little girl any more. Luna was gorgeous looking in her pale violet dress. Susan had past the point of being a little girl and was now a beautiful young woman. Hannah was just as beautiful, her date seemed to think so. He'd managed to get a dance with both the Patil twins. He didn't know them well, but he did know that Parvati was more outgoing and liked to have a good old gossip with her friends, while Padma was slightly shy and prefered her studies. Both of course were lovely girls and Harry was pleased to steal a dance from them. Of course to have a dance with Parvati, meant to have a dance with Lavender, not that he was really bothered as she too was a very pretty girl. A little too outgoing for his tastes, but not in a bad way. Of course when the Gryffindor chasers realised he was giving out dances all three insisted on their own. Alicia managed to snag him first, Katie immediately after and a rather pouty Angelina complained on getting him last. Playfully of course. The fact that three beautiful young women were fighting over him baffled Harry. Fred and George didn't know whether to scold him for stealing their girls, or laugh themselves silly. And to top it all off, Fleur herself approached him for a dance. There was no need to describe her, everyone in the school knew she was gorgeous. He found himself the target of plenty of jealous glares all evening. Harry was thankful Hermione had insisted on extra dance lessons for him and Neville.
Of course he didn't ignore his date. Luna was the sole person who received more than one dance with Harry. And since there was mistletoe everywhere he wound up having to cure her of her nargle infestation quite a few times. A quick kiss on the lips or cheek seemed to sort them right out, and he felt it was his duty to make sure his other girl friends remained clear of nargles. Just once kiss on the cheek each though, didn't want their dates chasing him for stealing their girls after all. He did spot Ron, Draco, Cedric's date Cho and a few others giving him glares and looks of envy but he ignored them. It was all just a bit of fun and the girls understood. Neville seemed amused by the whole thing, before shrugging and giving a giggling Ginny a peck on the cheek. To be absolutely sure he said. Viktor, wishing to keep up, did the same with a furiously blushing Hermione. Though he did ask exactly why nargles didn't like kisses, which lead to Luna explaining all about the little critters and their habits. All in all it was a fun evening, and at the end of the night, ever a gentleman, Harry escorted his date back to her commonroom and gave her a sweet kiss goodnight.