Chapter Twenty-Eight The Ministry Gala
Disclaimer: Any characters other than Athena and any situations related to the book or any other Harry Potter related items belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. I do not gain any money from this. I only write to relieve stress and to get the ideas out of my head.
A/N. Feel free to leave a review or comments on anything I messed up on or if you have a suggestion for the story. Don't feel obligated to give me a review though. I appreciate everyone who reads my stories. Reviews are bonuses in my eyes so like I said don't feel obligated to leave one. Thank you also to those who have added this story to favorites or following I appreciate it. ".."=talking '..'=thinking *..*=text message/notes.
March 11,2001
The four woke up the next morning with one major thing on their mind the ministry gala that was to take place that evening. Each had mixed feelings about it since it brought up memories of the war, memories of those no longer present, and the events that had occurred after the war. Athena carefully untangled herself from Harry pulling on a hoodie over her pj's before heading down the stairs yawning as she walked into the kitchen getting a pot of coffee started. Hermione sat up in the bed she currently shared with Ron hearing noise down in the kitchen before smelling the familiar aroma of coffee she laid back down snuggling into her husband's side determined to sleep just a little bit longer that morning. Harry opened his eyes not surprised that Athena was missing from bed used to her waking up early on the weekend. She usually could be found making coffee and breakfast before he got up. Ron had gone back to bed holding Hermione since it was a Sunday and he had convinced George to let him have the day off since the gala was that night.
Athena danced around the kitchen making breakfast as she listened to her playlist making sure both headphones were securely in her ear letting her phone determine what song she was going to listen to.
Eventually the trio made their way into the kitchen just as breakfast had been served. Athena finished serving breakfast before hopping up onto a counter grabbing her cup of coffee ready to finish the rest of it before she poured a new cup "good morning everyone!"
Harry walked over to her pouring himself a cup of coffee before setting the cup down on the counter and placing an arm on either side of Athena making her essentially pinned in her current spot. Once he had pinned her he leaned in giving her a long good morning kiss "morning darling." He said softly as he pulled away from the kiss glancing at her then gently brushing a piece of hair out of her face.
Athena bit her lip as her face heated up from the display of affection. She managed to make her face return to normal as she gave Harry a small smile "are you excited for the gala tonight?"
Harry "I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand I am glad to get to see the progress that has been made and see friends that I haven't seen in a while. I also get to have the most beautiful girl in the world by my side. The other part of me doesn't really want to go especially with those we lost this past year due to the uprisings being remembered. So either way I can't say that I am excited but I can't say that I am dreading it either. We will go and have a fun time I'm sure and there will be moments of happiness and sadness but in the end it will be worth it to go." He looked at her "I'm guessing I'm going to lose you for most of the afternoon to shopping and other activities so you and Hermione can look beautiful tonight?"
Athena thought about it for a moment "at least part of the morning and maybe a bit into the afternoon since I need to find something to wear and accessories to match it. As for the primping part I doubt it is something that will take that long and that Hermione and I can't just do ourselves." She turned towards Hermione "we should convince Ginny to meet us at my flat and we can all get ready there and have the boys meet us there before it is time to go."
Hermione nodded she got up finding Harry's owl Midnight she scrawled a quick note on some parchment she found in Harry's old office before attaching the note to Midnight's leg and letting him out the window. She went back downstairs "I sent a note to Ginny telling her to meet us at your flat in about an hour after we've finished breakfast. That way you can have another opinion on gowns for tonight."
Athena nodded for an okay sipping her cup of coffee ready for the day to start finally exited to attend a gala she didn't have to plan. She was glad that there was a tradition in place to honor the lives lost and the accomplishments that had happened to help stop tragedy from occurring again.
Elsewhere in London Ginny sat in her hotel room with Neville ignoring the protest it had sparked from her mother about being alone in a room with her boyfriend. She looked at the owl as it tapped on the window of the room before crossing the room to open the window letting the majestic owl that belonged to Harry perch on her arm. "I wonder what Harry could want? I know he is aware that you and I are going to tonight's gala together." She said to Neville as she untied the letter from Midnight's leg.
Neville looked at Ginny as he drank his morning tea "it could be from Athena or Hermione and they just borrowed Harry's owl. Harry would probably only contact you if he was planning some pre-gala event and wanted to invite us both or if he had questions for you."
Ginny unfolded the note reading it quietly before looking at Neville "it was from Hermione asking me to meet her and Athena at Athena's flat so we can go gown shopping and get ready together."
Neville "I'm sure you will have an enjoyable time since you do like to shop occasionally and I know you miss hanging out with Hermione when you are on the road. I will go hang out with Harry and Ron while you are out and meet you later before the gala." He walked over to her giving her a kiss on the forehead before placing a sweet kiss on her lips. He walked back over to his spot at the counter top taking a seat and resuming drinking his tea.
Ginny smiled and went to go gather her purse and dress. She gave Neville a quick peck on the cheek before backing up and apparating to Athena's flat.
Athena and Hermione looked up when Ginny appeared having been seated on Athena's couch reading over the latest edition of Witch Weekly to see how badly they were criticizing Hermione's relationships with other men besides her husband.
Ginny looked at the two "what trash are they possibly spreading about Hermione this time?"
Hermione smiled at Ginny "hey Gin. Surprisingly enough they aren't really talking much about me. They have chosen to focus more on Athena and Harry. More about the other high profile men that Athena has been linked to before Harry and possible people Athena is cheating on Harry with. The most popular one is that Athena is carrying on a illicit affair with Draco Malfoy while he is locked away. They then claimed that she left the ministry so that Harry wouldn't be able to keep an eye on her and so that she could sneak away to Azkaban to see Malfoy without Harry's knowledge. The information they come up with is total trash but I guess I shouldn't be surprised since Parvarti Patil is at the head of the magazine and she and Lavender used to be huge gossips at Hogwarts. How she is getting the information I will never know. Are you two ready to head out and go gown shopping?"
Athena stood up nodding she headed into her bedroom grabbing her purse and some earrings that she would wear wanting to make sure her dress matched the colors in her earrings. She walked back into the living room "well I thought it would be best to start off in some muggle stores since they usually have a variety of dresses and then if I can't find anything I really like head to the robe shops in Hogsmeade. If you guys have any other ideas let me know."
Ginny looked at the earrings in Athena's hand "I'm not surprised that Witch Weekly has set its sights on Harry's girlfriend since the Chosen One will always be at the center of any gossip magazine. It doesn't hurt that Harry hasn't exactly been seen with anyone since we broke up so they have to find out more information on the new girl." She looked at Athena "as for your idea I think it is a good one since I have usually found ball gowns for these events at muggle stores and only occasionally have I gone to the robe shops in Hogsmeade for a dress. I'm guessing you want your dress to incorporate the colors in your earrings?"
Athena nodded placing the earrings in a pouch in her purse before checking her wallet for her credit card planning on using it to pay for her dress. "I usually use my accessories to help me pick out an outfit or dress since some have detailed patterns or a mixture of colors and will only go with certain outfits."
The three girls headed out of Athena's flat walking down the stairs and onto the streets of muggle London heading down the road until they found one of the major department stores. Athena walked in heading towards the staircase leading to a second floor next to a sign that specified that dresses would be found on the floor above. Ginny and Hermione followed glancing around at the other clothes racks that they passed surprised at the quality and price of some of these garments before looking back at Athena.
Meanwhile at Grimmauld Place Harry looked at Neville "so how has Hogwarts been since we've left? I'm hoping no students are getting into trouble like Ron and I did when we attended."
Neville shook his head "it has been pretty quiet since we originally left. We have some students who have the potential to cause as much trouble as you and Ron did but we keep a pretty close eye on them. It is nice to be a professor there now that we don't have to worry about Voldemort possibly attacking the school or Death Eaters attacking. We still celebrate Halloween and Christmas and they are talking about having a Triwizard tournament next year but maybe expanding it to include schools in the United States and other countries."
Ron "I'm sure there are still people pulling pranks on others since I know sales at Weasley Wizarding Wheezes has shot through the roof on Hogsmeade weekends. The idea of expanding the Triwizard tournament sounds intriguing but at the same time that may make it where there are too many competitors and make it harder to determine a winner."
Neville shook his head laughing "of course there are still people who like jokes and pranks that are trying to live up to your brother's legacy. We do monitor and try to make sure that we get the particularly harmful pranks confiscated from students but we don't ban them as they were during sixth year."
At the muggle department store Athena was in a changing room trying on a few of the dresses she had selected. There was also a rack outside the room with dresses that Ginny and Hermione had picked out. Hermione and Ginny sat down in the chairs waiting for Athena to come out in her first dress since there was at least 10 dresses to try on from everyone's selections. She came out in the first dress a red one shoulder evening dress turning around a few times at Ginny and Hermione's requests.
Hermione smiled "well I approve of the color and I like the way the dress looks. It is elegant without being sexy or overly revealing and it looks a lot like the gowns we will see tonight. It is the type of gown people would expect the girlfriend of Harry Potter to wear. I know you don't want to be just seen as Harry's girlfriend but tonight that is what most people will see you as before they recognize you as the Athena Blaze who helped stop the Death Eater attacks and helped passed reform laws."
Ginny looked at the gown "I like the gown a lot. If I was acting as Harry's date this is something I would wear since like Hermione said it is elegant and not overly revealing. I think it is perfect but let's see some of the other dresses before you decide on the one."
Two hours later after all the dresses had been tried on and reviewed Athena finally purchased the first dress she had tried on. She had fallen in love with the dress almost instantly from the moment she had put it on. She handed the clerk her credit card not surprised at the amount she was shelling out for the gown glad that it had not needed any alterations. She watched the clerk carefully place the gown in a garment bag before taking it holding it up so that it would not drag along the ground as she turned towards Ginny and Hermione "do either of you have anything you need to buy for tonight or should we head back to my flat and start getting ready?"
Ginny looked at Hermione then at Athena "I have a couple of accessories I need to pick up from this antique shop I saw down the road. After that I will be more than ready to go back to your flat and get ready."
Hermione "I already have everything I need since I am one to plan ahead and buy everything as soon as I can. I know you are normally like that Athena and since you got little to no notice about the gala it is understandable if you need to pick up some other accessories before we head back to your flat."
Athena headed for the stairs with the other girls "I actually have accessories that will match my dress but I do appreciate the consideration for me possibly needing to buy my accessories. Let's go hit up the antique shop so Ginny can get everything she needs and then we will go get ready." She walked down the stairs and out of the store heading for the shop that Ginny had mentioned remembering seeing it as they had walked past earlier. Ginny raced into the shop looking at the various items until she found the earrings and matching necklace she had spotted earlier and fell in love with.
Ginny made her purchase after a few minutes waiting as the clerk carefully wrapped up the items before placing them in a pouch for safekeeping. She turned towards the girls walking out with her purchase as they headed back to Athena's flat to get ready for the gala down to only three hours before it would begin. She looked around the flat surprised as always at the elegant decorations and furnishings that made up Athena's flat. She followed Athena and Hermione into Athena's bedroom setting her dress on the bed with Athena and Hermione's dresses. She took a seat on the chair near the vanity looking at the other two girls "so who is getting their hair and make up done first?"
Hermione looked at Athena then at Ginny "I guess I will go take a shower first and get my hair and makeup done first since with my hair it will take the longest to get ready. If either of you want to go first then I am willing to wait to get mine done. So should I go shower or do we want someone else to go first?"
Ginny "I think you should go first since like you said it will take longer to get your hair into a presentable style. So why don't you go take a shower first while Athena and I get the accessories we need all matched up and laid out that way it will be easier to get ready after your hair and make up is done."
Athena nodded before heading into her walk-in closet opening it up and walking in glancing at the shelves she had filled with shoes and accessories. She grabbed a few pairs of shoes and some jewelry cases out heading back into her room and setting them down "here are a few options for shoes and jewelry since we all wear the same size shoe and have similar taste in jewelry."
Ginny eyed the shoes "wow you must have quite the collection if these are just a few of the options for shoes. I know these shoes are quite pricey and I know your family is rich but I didn't think you would have such amazing shoes and jewelry."
Athena smiled "I'm just collected them over the years for all the galas and parties that I had to attend. When your family hosts parties and attends a lot of galas because of who we are then you get closets full of nice dresses, shoes, and jewelry along with other accessories. I just didn't have a dress for this gala that I thought would really work which is why I bought the new one. You are welcome to browse my closet for shoes and other accessories if you'd like."
Ginny nodded heading into the walk-in closet turning on the light before staring around shocked at the contents of the closet. She ran her fingers over some of the dresses looking at the designer labels slightly jealous of Athena's closet. She walked over to the shoe collection spotting a pair of blue heels that were similar in color to her dress she picked them up before glancing at the jewelry case looking through it before walking out of the closet holding the shoes and a necklace.
A half an hour later Hermione sat down at Athena's vanity staring at herself in the mirror sighing at her bushy hair not sure what the girls would be able to do to make it more presentable. Athena opened a drawer on her vanity pulling out hair products and her wand. She aimed her wand at Hermione's hair muttering a spell she had found recently to remove the tangles from Hermione's hair. Ginny grabbed the hair product that guaranteed sleek and smooth hair pouring some into her hand before running it over Hermione's hair. Athena picked up a wide tooth brush before gently running it through Hermione's hair in the sections Ginny had used the hair product on smiling as the brush ran smoothly with only a few snags. Hermione watched as her hair went from its normal bush to smooth waves.
After an hour Hermione's hair was styled in an up-do similar to the style she had at the Yule Ball back at Hogwarts. Hermione began to work on her makeup glancing at Ginny "you should probably go take your shower since your hair and makeup won't take that long and Athena still needs to shower and get ready as well."
Finally a half an hour before the gala had arrived. The boys walked through the floo into Athena's flat glancing around the empty living room wondering where the girls were. Hermione poked her head out of Athena's room before glancing at the other two "our dates have arrived. I'll go out and let them know that you two are putting the finishing touches on your outfits." She walked out of the room heading towards her husband. Her silver gown modest but also elegant. She had paired it with a pair of sparkling earrings and matching necklace and a pair of sparkling silver shoes. She gave her husband a kiss on the cheek before turning towards the other two "your dates will be out in a second they are putting the final touches on their outfits."
Ron looked at his wife smiling as she kissed his cheek "you look beautiful my love." He kissed her forehead not wanting to mess up any of her makeup still feeling like the luckiest man on earth to be able to call her his wife.
Ginny walked out a few minutes later in a royal blue ball gown that was surprisingly modest for her normal dresses. She paired it with a pair of sapphire earrings and matching necklace and a pair of blue heels with crystals in the form of a flower adorning the front. She had pulled her hair up into a ballerina bun with a few pieces framing her face. She had applied a light coat of red lipstick and enough mascara to draw attention to her eyes. She walked over to Neville "what do you think? Do I look okay?"
Neville gently wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her close "you look stunning and I am grateful that I get to accompany you to the gala tonight."
Harry glanced at Ginny and Hermione "you both look amazing tonight and will be the two most beautiful women in attendance tonight." He gave each a peck on the cheek "it will be a great honor to be attending this gala with you and your dates." He glanced towards Athena's bedroom door waiting for his date to appear.
Athena walked out a moment later with her pulled back into a ponytail with light mascara and ruby red lipstick. Her red dress flowed as she walked revealing glimpses of her red heels showing off the bow and diamond accents on the back of the shoes. She had paired the heels with ruby earrings and a matching necklace. She looked at the group smiling at the picture they all made before joining the group.
Harry looked at her taking her hand and spinning her around once smiling "you look absolutely gorgeous and I am one lucky man to be able to escort you tonight." He gave her a quick peck before turning towards the others "are we ready to go now?"
The other four nodded. Harry held Athena's hand "well shall we apparate in then?" He apparated with a long crack followed by two similar sounding cracking noises. He looked at the lobby of the ministry checking behind him to make sure everyone had arrived safely. The group walked to the entrance of the hall where the gala was being held not a bit surprised when every head in the hall turned towards the six people who had walked in.
Athena smiled spotting Kingsley she waved at him before noticing that everyone's attention was on them "well I guess everyone knows that we are here now though we shouldn't be the focus since this is to remember those who are no longer with us."
Harry forced a smile at the attention they were receiving "darling you are with the Golden Trio and as much as it pains me to admit they will always focus on us no matter how long it has been since the war. At least until they find someone new to give hero worship to. So this will be a part of our lives for eternity it feels like and if this is going to be a problem for you then maybe we should part ways now before it hurts us worse."
Athena looked at him slightly surprised "I'm not saying that it is going to be a problem since this is something I have experienced before. I am just saying I think it is rude that on a day to honor those who died trying to protect others and those who were lost as we rounded up the last of the Death Eaters they choose to focus on you three instead. If you will excuse me I think I am going to get something to drink and talk to the minster." She removed her arm from his heading over to the refreshment table calming down a little surprised that Harry thought she was going to have enough of an issue with the attention that they would need to break up.
Hermione and Ron had gone to mingle with some of Hermione's coworkers. Hermione was discussing a case she had encountered recently with her Deputy Head of the department trying to gather the young man's thoughts. Ron stood by his wife's side listening while internally feeling sorry for the man who was being put on the spot by his wife.
Ginny and Neville had gone over to some of their old school friends talking about their lives and what was new at Hogwarts smiling. Neville nodded "it does appear that Gryffindor is likely to win the Quidditch Cup this year since they do have a great team. I do wish that my house Hufflepuff would show some initiative to win something whether it be the Quidditch Cup or the House Cup but I doubt that is going to happen."
Kingsley had walked over to Harry after Athena had walked off "How is the new house? I heard you hadn't officially left Grimmauld Place yet but had purchased a new home."
Harry "it is somewhat moved in and unpacked. It is a nice house a little bit bigger than my current home but you would be correct that I haven't officially moved out of my old place yet. Ron, Hermione, Athena, and I worked on moving some of my belongings into the house yesterday and I have an order placed to have some furniture made that should be ready by next week I'm hoping. Athena actually helped me pick out the home that I bought with her help and soon enough I think she will be moving in with me if I haven't screwed up our relationship. We had a little bit of a fight a few minutes ago when I mentioned she either needed to get used to the attention that Ron, Hermione, and I get when we go anywhere or that we should break up if she can't handle that. I guess she was voicing her opinion on how rude it was that people are focused on us when this is supposed to be a day to honor those who sacrificed their lives so that we could round up the last Death Eaters and so that we could make some of the accomplishments that have occurred. I agree that it is rude I just took her opinion the wrong way and now she has walked off angry with me."
Kingsley chuckled "I'm not surprised she got mad at you for what you said. It is rude that people choose to focus their attention on you three when they could be telling stories about those who we are honoring tonight. As for the attention you three receive from what I understand her family is pretty much treated like royalty there so she is used to the attention and understands the pressure and how to deal with it. In my experience it would be best to let her calm down then go talk to her and then maybe mingle and talk until the dinner portion of tonight's event starts." He patted Harry's shoulder before heading over to the podium knowing that soon enough it would be time for him to give his opening speech.
Harry walked over to Athena setting a hand on her shoulder "Athena can we talk?"
Athena turned slightly sipping on her drink "what would you like to talk about Harry? Someone you knew who died this past year or about the attention you are getting?"
Harry sighed softly "it was wrong of me to say that we should break up because you couldn't handle the attention I was getting. It is rude that they are focused on me but there isn't much I can do about it and I would like it if you didn't give me an attitude about noticing the attention I'm getting. I have plenty of people I could talk about that have died over the past two years but I choose not to because it still hurts to talk about them."
Athena gave him a sarcastic smile "so I lost a lot of friends and classmates after the war was over and it hurts to talk about them but I still talk about them and we still host memorials for those we lost. As for the attention you could make some sort of speech to get them to stop focusing on you and focus more on what brought us all here tonight. Harry you have more power than you think as the savior of the wizarding world. You can make change happen if you really wanted to." She set her glass down on the table running a hand over her ponytail as she forced herself to calm down "this wasn't a good idea. I'm just going to go home tonight was not a good idea." She headed towards the doors sighing softly.
Harry watched her go not sure if he should chase after her or let her go feeling slightly off balance by the fact that that two of them were having their first fight. 'Maybe we aren't the perfect couple that I thought we were if one fight leads to her walking out of an important event.' He turned his attention to Kingsley who was now standing at the podium and calling for everyone's attention.
Kingsley looked around not noticing as Athena slipped out the door "Good evening and welcome to the 2nd Annual Ministry Gala. Tonight we will not only honor those we lost this past year but we will also take a look at the accomplishments that our society has made. Also we will look at how far we have progressed since last year. With that being said will everyone please take a seat at the tables making sure that you take a seat at your place card." He walked over to the head table where Hermione, Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Neville had walked over to then took a seat in the middle watching as everyone took a seat.
Athena leaned against the doors she had just exited through closing her eyes not surprised that she and Harry had fought. She had known at some point a fight would occur as it did with every couple just not sure if they would be able to overcome this fight or if it would be the fight that broke them. She slid down to the ground placing her head in her hands groaning as she realized that she had been a little nastier than necessary towards Harry. She set her head against the door feeling even more guilty as she replayed the conversation they had in her head. She glanced back at the door forcing herself to stand up and brush the wrinkles off her dress taking one last look at the door before opening the door and walking back in heading over to the table as if nothing had happened. She took her seat next to Harry turning her attention to Kingsley as he stood up.
Kingsley smiled now that everyone had been seated he kept an eye on Athena watching her from the corner of his eye curious as to what had made her leave "now that everyone has taken their seats let the dinner begin. We will have a video presentation during dinner with snippets of people sharing stories about those we lost this year. At the very end it will list all the names of the dead and how they were killed. After that we will review the progress we have made and celebrate those who made it happen. I hope you all enjoy the video presentation and the bountiful meal." He took a seat smiling as food materialized on the plates of all present. A small beeping noise was made before the video presentation began.
Harry turned his attention to Athena once Kingsley was done with his speech "change your mind did you?"
Athena looked at her plate "I'm sorry I was being nasty towards you over something you had a small amount of control over. I guess with how much time we've been apart due to our work schedules the little things we never really talked about boiled over and caused the fight to happen. The only question that remains is to we work through this fight or do we let it define our relationship and let the relationship end." She glanced up at him after a moment wondering what he was thinking.
Harry ate a bite of his food as he considered his response carefully not wanting to give in too easily but also not wanting to react in a way that would scare her off permanently. He chewed his food before swallowing and glancing at her "I think we should work through this. I'm sure we will have worse fights than tonight but I'm not quite ready to give up on the idea of us. I accept your apology but we do need to take the time to talk out the little things that bother us before it gets to this level." He looked at the video screen watching the presentation in between bites of food.
Finally dinner had finished and Kingsley once again stood up. He walked over to the podium near his table "I hope everyone has enjoyed the wonderful meal that was provided and feel that those who died have been honored properly. Now it is time for us to move on to the accomplishments that have happened this year. The first group to be honored for their accomplishments this year is the numerous Aurors that helped track down and round up the last of the Death Eaters wreaking havoc on our society. Please join me in giving the Magical Law Enforcement department a round of applause for their efforts to make us safe once again. Special honors also go to Hermione Granger and Athena Blaze for their efforts to help the Magical Law Enforcement department track down the remaining Death Eaters." He started to clap after the group stood up smiling as the sound of clapping increased.
Eventually all the accomplishments had been announced leaving those left the opportunity to enter the dance floor as music began to play. Harry had a hand placed on Athena's back holding her hand with his other hand as they danced swaying to the music. Harry set his head on top of hers "I think it would be best if we spent the night apart to think about exactly what we need to talk about to prevent another fight from occurring due to the same problems." He continued to dance with her lost in thought as more video clips were played discussing those who had died.+
Athena set her head against his chest as they danced "that would probably be for the best. We do need time apart to think. I had a good time tonight though considering everything that had happened." She said softly listening to the music.
Eventually the night ended and the two departed back to their homes not letting anyone know what had happened tonight but both leaving with heavy hearts as they thought about the fight. The two fell asleep in their own beds tossing and turning throughout the night.
Song Choice: 5 Seconds of Summer-Jet Black Heart
