26. Yule Ball and Water Games

Life returned to normal after the first task. Well, almost. There was still the presence of the other schools, of course, and a new event clouded Harry's horizon – the Yule Ball, announced a short while after the first task.

Harry didn't fear the ball itself, yet – he would have to dance! Just the thought of moving in step with the music was frightening enough, but he would also have to make sure not to step on Hermione's feet. That was more than he could handle, or so he thought.

He wasn't the only boy to feel as if he had two left legs, though. Professor McGonagall decided to teach them all how to dance. She needed a partner for that, and with Hermione's permission (despite Harry's silent pleading) she chose Harry.

It wasn't so bad, really. In a way, it was easier than mastering some charms and more pleasant than dueling. The professor didn't take chances, though. Her shoes were protected with a strengthening charm to assure that even the heaviest student stepping on them would not be able to hurt her. After Harry's Judo training, moving in coordination with somebody else was quite natural and he found the music helpful in keeping him concentrated on the steps. Once he could practice with Hermione, he also enjoyed holding her close as he had not had a chance to do publicly before.

Despite the compliments from the professor, Hermione wasn't quite satisfied. Like always, she made a schedule for teaching Harry (and herself) dancing. They spent an hour each evening, just before going to bed, dancing in their apartment. She even rewarded Harry whenever he made progress in a way only she could legally do. Harry was finding that dancing with her was really nice. He soon started enjoying it regardless of the rewards, which he still liked much better.

"Who are you taking to the Ball?" he asked his friends one evening.

"I'm not sure," Ron answered.

"I thought you'll go with Lavender," Harry noted.

"We're not so close anymore," Ron admitted. "I may ask Luna, though."

"You should do it soon. Most girls already have dates for the ball," Hermione told him.

"I'm taking Hannah Abbot," Neville said, blushing deeply.

"The Hufflepuff?"

"Yes. She's been my friend since before I can remember, and she's kind of cute..."

"She's a very nice girl, really. I believe you'll both have good time at the ball," Hermione assured him.

"Who are you taking?" Ron asked Harry.

"Hermione, of course. Who else?"

Ron smirked. "There's more than one girl who'd be glad to go with you to the ball, or anywhere else, actually. And Hermione is also attracting some attention..."

Hermione blushed a little. "Yes, Viktor Krum saw me at the library and asked me to the ball. I told him I already had a date. He insisted, so I told him that my husband is always first. I then had to tell him about me and Harry. They don't seem to get the news there..."

Harry hugged her possessively. "And you're always first for me."

Luna was quite happy to accept Ron's reluctant invite. She then told Hermione, "I've had a crush on Ronald since I was nine, yet he only saw me as the little neighbor girl, nothing more. Maybe now I'll have a chance with him..."

"What are you going to wear?"

Luna looked dreamy again. "I'll wear something that will give him a lot to look at and even more to look forward to..."

Hermione looked skeptical. Unlike Lavender, Luna had small breasts and was small overall, not having much to either hide or reveal. Luna noticed. "Haven't you heard of push-up bras?" she asked innocently.

Hermione smiled broadly. "Ron doesn't know what he's up to..."

The girls started getting ready several hours before the ball, turning the Potter bedroom into a "girls only" area. Hermione made sure to leave Harry's garments intended for the ball in their common room, so Harry could get ready in the boys' dormitory. Hermione, Luna, Ginny and Lavender spent the time arranging their hair (which was especially difficult for Hermione), painting their nails, trying each-other's gowns, gossiping (even Hermione took part in it, surprising herself) and finally – getting dressed and fixing their makeups.

The boys were already getting bored of waiting when the girls finally opened the door. First to come out was Lavender, whose date was a Ravenclaw fifth year who would meet her at the entrance hall. She was wearing a low-cut light green gown, accentuating her bosom and her slim waist. Harry thought she was an impersonation of a seductress, although her insecure smile and sudden blush may not have fitted that image.

Ginny was next, wearing a pastel-blue dress with a moderate neckline, which still made Neville gasp and Ron frown. Her hair was cascading over her shoulders and she looked fiery and sweet. Harry thought that Dean was lucky to be her date.

Luna came next, surprising them all. Her hair was done in an elaborate bun, decorated with sparkles. Her eyes didn't seem to be accentuated while her lips were painted red, the same color as her strapless dress, which was showing just a hint of cleavage. Ron's eyes bulged and his jaw dropped as he saw her. She was no longer "Loony". She was a young and very attractive woman in her prime.

Hermione was last to come out, wearing a periwinkle dress with one strap only. It was quite modest, revealing no hint of her breasts, yet hugging her feminine form tightly, making all boys catch their breath. 'What a lucky guy,' they all thought about Harry, who was looking at his wife just as astounded.

All girls present at the ball seemed to want to dance with the champions, Harry included. Despite wanting only Hermione, Harry found himself dancing with many other girls, most of which he didn't even know. Fleur Delacour, the French champion, also danced with him. He noticed some close-by boys who started drooling just seeing her. He thought she was quite nice, although she was wearing a way too revealing dress, yet his eyes were following Hermione, who was dancing with the Bulgarian champion at that moment. Fleur seemed quite bewildered, noticing her charms had no effect on Harry.

Later that night, after going back to their apartment and kissing with no interruption for a few minutes, Hermione told Harry: "Fleur asked me if it was OK to dance with you. She said that true love would be immune to her thrall. She later told me that she used her fully powered thrall while dancing with you. Most boys nearby, and even farther away were strongly affected by it, yet you were only searching for me with your eyes, totally oblivious to her magic. I believe this needs to be properly rewarded."

She unzipped her dress and let it fall, followed by her under-garments. "Don't you want your reward now?" she asked seductively, noticing that Harry didn't move. He was just staring at her.

"Just seeing you like this is reward enough," he said, "although I like the additional reward as well."

They rewarded each other for another hour before falling asleep, sated and tired, with smiles on their faces.

With the winter festivities over, Harry put his mind back to the tournament. The clue in the egg alluded him. The awful screeching noise that he heard whenever he tried opening the egg was unintelligible. It was Cedric who helped him this time.

"Just take the egg to the bath with you," he suggested. "Do you want to use the prefects' bathroom?"

"I believe the bathroom in our apartment is big enough, but thanks for the offer."

That evening he listened to the message in the egg along with Hermione.

"What could they take that I'd sorely miss?" he wondered.

"I don't think they would take an object. It would probably be a person," Hermione noted.

"I won't allow them to take you. If they do – that's reason enough for a blood feud. I'll inform Dumbledore clearly that whatever they do, you are to be kept out of the tournament."

Dumbledore didn't see things his way, but just mentioning that any attempt to kidnap a member of an ancient family is cause enough for a feud made the headmaster reconsider. Eventually he agreed. "Hermione will stay safe and dry, but you'll still have a hostage to rescue, as the clue suggests. You must know that the hostages will not be in any danger even if not rescued. They will be returned unharmed a short while after the end of the task."

"It doesn't matter. Hermione should be kept out of it, or else..."

"I'll make sure of that. I promise."

Harry was content that Hermione was out of danger, only Hermione didn't feel so pleased. "They'll put somebody else in there. Who could it be?"

"One of our friends, probably," Harry shrugged.

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed. "He has been your closest friend since you started Hogwarts. We should warn him!"

"That would serve nothing. The Headmaster said nobody will be in real danger and even unrescued hostages will be returned unharmed shortly after the task finishes."

"I hope he can assure it," Hermione said darkly.

Harry continued training with Sirius, although it didn't really help him with the second task. "I don't need any special charms this time, but I need to breathe under water for about an hour and keep myself from freezing, as the weather will still be very cold," he told Sirius.

Sirius tried teaching Harry the bubble-head charm. Harry had no problem executing it, but it could not keep him warm, and most warming charms were useless in the water.

Surprisingly, it was Neville who came with a good idea. "Why don't you use the gillyweed? It will give you gills and web your fingers for swimming under water and adjust your eyesight as well. I believe it will also make you less sensible to the cold, although that is not very clear from the text in the book."

Harry didn't know anything about it, but Sirius's face brightened. "That's exactly what we need! Why didn't I think of that before?"

With that problem tackled, Harry didn't think much of the task until its day came. He reached the platform where the champions assembled before diving into the lake feeling quite sure of himself, yet he forced himself to frown worriedly, as if he wasn't sure of his performance. He also reminded himself of how he was forced to participate, deepening his frown. Yet he was touching the gillyweed in his pocket and feeling quite sure of the task.

All champions seemed to be lightly dressed under the heavy winter cloaks, ready to disrobe when the signal would be given. It looked like they all used some warming charms as well, although Fleur seemed to be shivering despite her fur coat and the warming charm. Harry didn't know if it was of cold or of fear. He used his wandless abilities to cast another warming charm on her, gaining a thankful, although quite nervous, smile from the beautiful blonde.

Soon they all disrobed as the signal was given. Harry chewed his gillyweed, making sure he had some left in his swimsuit pocket, while watching the others. Cedric and Fleur used bubble-head charms before diving, Fleur, clad only in a skimpy swimsuit, attracted all males even more than usual while Cedric attracted almost as much female attention. Viktor Krum was secretive, as usual, jumping into the frigid water before casting any spell, so nobody could see what he was doing. Harry waited for the gillyweed to start affecting him before jumping into the water, shivering lightly for a few seconds until his body adjusted and felt more comfortable.

Although he could see quite well underwater, not needing his glasses, the water was too murky to see much. Instead, his hearing seemed to become much more acute. He could identify, by sound only, the exact trajectory of each champion and it became immediately clear that Fleur was in the wrong direction and was heading for trouble. As he was quite sure that the hostages would be safe, he decided to help Fleur and started swimming in her direction.

When he saw her, she was fighting unsuccessfully a bunch of grindylows. They had already hurt her a bit with their sharp claws and she was unable to fight them effectively as her hand was numb from the freezing water, unable to move her wand as needed, barely able to hold her wand at all. Harry sent several stunners at the attacking creatures, making them back up. He then sent a few warming charms at Fleur. Although much less efficient in the water, Harry put enough power in his charms to make Fleur feel the effect, gaining more control of her wand. She sent a few stunners and some cutting curses at the retreating grindylows. Once sure they would not return, she smiled thankfully at Harry and pointed down. Harry pointed towards the place where he could hear some faint singing coming from, similar to the voices he had heard from the egg. She nodded understandingly and started swimming in that direction, with Harry staying a bit behind her, just to keep her safe.

The rest was easy. As his hearing proved to be the best means for navigation, they arrived at the hostages before the other two champions. Fleur took her sister tenderly and started her ascent. Harry released Ron but waited until he saw the two other champions approaching before grabbing Ron and moving quickly to the surface, bypassing Fleur. Harry deposited Ron on the platform while he stayed still in the water, waiting for the gillyweed to wear off, so he could breath air again. The other champions arrived shortly after, just seconds apart from each other.

Hermione was already waiting for him on the platform, but this didn't stop Fleur from hugging him tightly and kissing both his cheeks as soon as he came there. "Thank you, Harry. If it wasn't for you, I could have died there. I'll never forget this!"

They were surprised when little Gabrielle hugged Harry just as fiercely. "Zank you for zaving my zizter," she said, kissing his cheeks just like her sister.

"Should I be jealous now?" Hermione asked when she could finally approach him.

"Never!" he said, kissing her for all his worth, not paying any heed to the whistles and cries from the audience.

Please Review!