Putting It Back

Chapter 26 – Waiting

Harry and Ron were putting on the finishing touches to their formal wear in their dorm. Harry was taking an unusually long time trying to tame his unruly hair. Ron seemed to have obtained some handsome dress robes and was working on straightening his cuffs.

Harry said, "Ron, Hermione told me that you two arrived back just as the D.A. Galleons went off."

"Yeah, we entered Diagon Alley with the rest of the D.A. I organized the offensive while Hermione and Draco worked on the wards. She was amazing!"

"Draco?" Harry spat out in distaste.

"Supposedly, when he couldn't dissuade his father, so he had to do something to separate him and his mother from the scheme. Did you know that the only reason they weren't captured and thrown into Azkaban was because they were fighting Death Eaters themselves? He said if they took one step out of line, Kingsley would make good on his threat and chuck them all into the prison, if not give them the Dementor's kiss."

Harry was thinking as he reached for the cologne.

Ron continued to explain. "As quick as Draco mentioned the typical wards that his father would use, Hermione was casting counter spells. The last ward, was the toughest and I think that she actually winged it by creating a spell of her own!"

"I take it that it is not normal for someone to create a spell?"

Ron shook his head. "That is just the thing. The people who do create spells usually take months of study and planning. She did it in short time and in her head to boot! Bloody brilliant if you ask me."

Harry smiled ruefully. "Speaking of Hermione, she is probably already waiting for us. Let's go."

As they came down the boy's staircase of Gryffindor tower, they noticed that none of the girls had yet come down. There were plenty of guys waiting in the common room for their friends and dates. Looking around Harry noticed just how well the repairs were made. It was hardly noticeable that the homey common room had seen so much damage just the week before. His thoughts were interrupted as footsteps were heard descending the girls' staircase. Like many of the other guys in the common room, Harry watched in abated breath to see who the girl was. In a knee length blue satin dress, she made the last turn. He noticed her slender legs and graceful arms before he was able to match them to the face. What he saw surprised him.

"Romilda…Wow, you look nice."

She shyly smiled at him.

With unexpected determination, Dennis Creavy snapped at him. "She's with me, Potter." As if turning on the charm he offered his hand to her. "Don't listen to him. You are absolutely beautiful." He roughly gave Harry a camera. "Make yourself useful and take a few pictures of us. Be careful. That was Colin's camera. It means a lot to me."

Since no one was coming down the staircase yet, Harry helped out by taking some pictures. He knew that it was only because he was one of the older students, but he couldn't have helped but feel honored at the chance to use Colin's camera.

After he returned the camera to Dennis, he felt a hand smack him in the back of his head.

"Ouch Ron, what's the deal?"

Ron chided him, "What are you doing crushing on Vane when you are supposed to have eyes only for Ginny tonight?"

Harry justified himself. "I learned the hard way that if a girl has a crush on you, you shouldn't avoid her all together. I just paid her a complement, that's all"

More footsteps came from the girls' staircase. This time it was Hermione followed by Luna. Hermione gave him an approving glance, but for the most part she only had eyes for Ron. For his part, Ron seemed transfixed by her appearance, but seemed to keep enough wits to offer her his arm as she took the last step.

In kindness to his friend, Harry offered his hand to Luna. "You look lovely this evening, Luna."

Before she could reply, an irritated Dean took Luna's hand. "He's right, Luna. You do look wonderful, but you are a natural at it. Ready to go to the banquet?"

As she was being lead away, she said, "Thank you, Harry. She'll be down in a bit." Dean gave Harry a look that only roommates could fully understand. He seemed fully irritated that he would chat up his date. Harry wanted to set him straight, but he thought better of it. Tonight is going to be the perfect night. I get a chance to dance with the girl I love.

Hermione excused herself from Ron to have a word with Harry. She stepped over to Harry and started straightening his collar and patting him down. "Harry, give me your wand."

"My wand? Where's yours?"

She growled at him. "It's on my leg and I have no intention of retrieving it unless I have to. Now give me your wand." He looked down at her dress curiously, but quickly decided to drop it. Reaching in his robes, he pulled out his wand and handed it to her.

With a flick of the wand, she performed a Drying Charm on him.

"What's that for?"

"You put too much cologne on. This will tone it down. Remember Harry, only a dab is needed. You don't want Ginny to cringe do you?"

Harry squirmed under the scrutiny. "OK Hermione, thank you."

She immediately backed off, gave him one more appraising look and smiled. "You'll be fine Harry. How do you like the dress?" She did a quick turn for him to get a good look.

"It is very beautiful. Just like last time, you will certainly stun the crowd." What he saw next made him want to rescind every complement he made that evening. Ginny was coming down the stairs slowly and words could never properly describe how beautiful she was. He figured if there were any Veelas at the banquet that night, even they would turn green with envy at how enchantingly gorgeous she was.