A/N 2: Edit! Sorry to those who read this chapter with the A/N in it. I meant to take it out, but things got a bit hurried when I posted this chapter and I forgot to take it out. I hate it when that happens, so I'm reloading the chapter with that phrase taken out.
A/N: Yay, I finally finished this chapter! Plot bunnies kept nipping at me and this took longer than I thought. If you're interested in Leverage, Psych or Drop Dead Diva, I have a couple of fics posted in those categories. Yeah, so I finally got around to finishing this chapter. I felt so bad when I kept getting reviews for this fic, and I know that I had even more readers: Thank you for that!!! Also, I'm going to have to plug my stuff once again, but I'm sure that all of you who read this story will want to check out my latest one shot! This one shot, A Dare and a Date, is set within the Rebellion universe! A reviewer pointed out that Ron didn't follow through with his dare and he was super stubborn within this chapter, so I wrote a one shot for it. It's a missing scene for chapters 36 and 37, so enjoy that and this chapter!!
Also, I do have to warn you that it is time for school once again. Not that I'm really sure if that fact really impacts my posting rate or not, but just to let you know.
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Luna and Harry led the way into the Great Hall, with Pansy and Draco right behind them. Hermione and Ron came in next, followed by Parvati and Goyle, Lavender and Crabbe, and Tracey and Neville. They got proof that the students were getting used to Harry's antics when the students only applauded at their entrance. The examiners just stared at the spectacle, but automatically classified the male fifth years as females and the female fifth years as male students. Umbridge started spluttering when she realized exactly who the students were and what they were wearing.
Music came on and the couples started to dance, the female students twirling the male students along in a waltz. The students watched and cheered the dancers on. The teachers whispered to one another, but allowed the fifth years their event. They all thought that it was a great way to diffuse the stress that the fifth years were suffering.
Remus and Sirius were having a kick at seeing their godson in drag. Remus summoned his camera the moment he realized that the pretty green eyed girl with the blond haired male was his godson. Remus left the teacher's table and made his way around the room, taking pictures of Harry and Luna, along with all of the rest of the drag performers.
Snape stayed only enough time to grab a plate of food before leaving the Great Hall. Sirius was already planning on making a poster of the Slytherin 'King and Queen' and posting it on the inside of Snape's office door. Maybe he could ask Kreature about that permanent sticking charm that the house elf had used on his mother's portrait? It would have a twofold purpose; he would be able to permanently stick things on the wall to annoy Snape and maybe gain enough information to get rid of his mother's portrait.
As soon as the waltz music ended, a faster beat started up and the couples switched to a different dance. Pansy made the announcement that the other students could join them and a few students did actually get up to dance. Fred and George, evicted from the Potions classroom, got into the whole event and started making people over. Fred even made George over to look like a girl and they started dancing as soon as they had finished transforming people.
After all of the students had joined it, the ball stopped being just an act and Harry and Luna were able to relax and have fun. Luna continued to lead Harry in dancing and didn't seem to want to stop dancing. Harry found that he really didn't mind, however, as he didn't seem to step on Luna's feet when he wasn't leading them. Harry was having fun, despite wearing the full ball gown. He was even starting to get used to the dress, although he found that the fake breasts really were too much for him.
He and Luna talked about many things that night, about near mythical creatures and what would happen if the Great Hall was flooded with bubbles. Harry tried to encourage Luna's enthusiasm over the mythical creatures that she spoke about and Luna gave him plenty more ideas to try out on Umbridge. "I think I might miss her when she's gone," Harry confessed while they danced to a slow song. "I mean, she really isn't that bad once you get to know her and how to drive her insane."
"Still, she really isn't a good person to have along. She attracts negative energy and you never want to meet a creature attracted by negative energy." Luna tilted her head and smiled at Harry. "Still, that negative energy really has decreased since you started your whole rebellion. You've undermined her, Harry, but you do have to finish her off at the end of the year."
"Yeah, I suppose so," Harry muttered. "We don't want her to recover during the summer."
"Besides, you'll still have Snape to torment. You're slowly undermining him, but he won't break as easily as Umbridge will," Luna reassured Harry.
"I've been planning something big for Umbridge, but keeping it under wraps just in case," Harry said.
"The ceiling has noses," Luna agreed.
"I haven't had this much fun in a long time." Harry smiled down at Luna, not really sure if he was speaking about the year or the ball at the moment.
"I haven't had this much fun since the last time Daddy and I went Snorcack hunting." Luna smiled back at him.
"Ooh, tell me about that? Maybe I can convince my godfathers to go Snorcack hunting this summer," Harry eagerly said.
"You can travel with Daddy and I; we go Snorcack hunting every summer," Luna offered.
"All right," Harry replied. The rest of the ball was spent in a discussion about the Crumpled Horned Snorcack and all of the methods that the Lovegoods used to attract them as well as the methods they planned to use that summer.
All in all, Pansy declared the ball to be a success. Umbridge had tried several times to shut the ball down with her polite coughs, but the other teachers managed to stop her each time. They stayed to supervise the whole thing and they shut the party down at nine for the first through third years. The other years were able to remain until Eleven o'clock, when they were finally sent back to their common rooms. Harry said goodnight to Pansy's entire group before heading back with the other Gryffindors. It hadn't been quite what he had planned, but he still thought it was a success.
The next day, Harry came down wearing the makeup that Ron and Neville had forced onto him. He took comfort in the fact that at least he wasn't the only one with long hair, though he was the only one who put it up. That was mostly because his hair was all over the place and it was getting on his nerves.
The other boys headed straight over to Hermione, who had grown her hair out back to normal. Lavender and Parvati had also returned their hair back to normal and they helped Hermione return the boys' hair back to normal. Harry was the last one to sit down to have his hair done, but first he had to endure the three girls laughing over his makeup.
He pouted and crossed his arms at them. "Ron and Neville made me do it and you don't think I'm pretty?"
"Of course you're pretty, Harry," Lavender reassured, patting his head. She pulled the pony tail out of his hair and ran her hands through it. "Now, what should we do with his hair?"
"It's still messy when it's long," Parvati observed as a strand fell back into place over Harry's eye.
"I kind of like it though, what do you think, Hermione?" Lavender asked.
"It does kind of work for him," Hermione answered, tilting her head to look at Harry appraisingly. "But, I don't think that it should be that long."
"Hmm," Lavender mused as she stared at Harry. "What about if we cut it to about mid neck?"
"That sounds great," Parvati exclaimed as she clapped her hands together. "It will still be long, but he won't look like Snape or Malfoy."
"All right," Hermione nodded as she mentally set the length. "Stay still, Harry, I don't' want to cut your head off instead."
"Er, you wouldn't, would you, Hermione?" Ron asked as he worriedly fingered his own neck. His hair had been cut by Hermione and he was now questioning whether he should have trusted her to do it or not. Never mind that his head hadn't been cut off by her wand, he was still worried about it.
"If I die, should I haunt Snape or Umbridge?" Harry asked as he obligingly held his neck still.
"Run Umbridge out of the castle and then concentrate on Snape," Lavender answered.
Hermione murmured the spell and Harry's hair started falling. It only took her about five minutes to cut his hair to the perfect length and Harry jumped up as soon as she was done. Lavender and Parvati started cooing about his hair as he stood in front of his mirror, but he just frowned at his reflection.
"You don't like it, Harry?" Hermione asked, a bit worried about it.
"No, I love it." Harry shook his head, sending hair flying into his face instead of removing it from his face. He had had hair as long as it was in the back before, but the bangs were something new. Even though the strands kept falling across his eyes, he still did really like the look. "I was just thinking about whether I want to turn myself white and pretend to be a ghost or not."
"Why don't you? I think I know a spell or two," Hermione offered, having become used to the way her friend behaved now. It had taken her some time, but at least Harry was happy now. He had been so moody when the year had first started and Umbridge hadn't helped, but it seemed like acting insane was a bit of a stress reliever for him and she was happy about it. Of course, Harry still seemed to be insane and she was currently building a psychiatric profile on him, but that really wasn't any different than before. At least now he seemed to have given up on his saving people thing, concentrating on a driving people nuts thing.
"But, if I turn myself white then you wouldn't be able to tell that I'm wearing makeup," Harry pointed out. He might have been forced into it, but he still kind of liked the dark green eye shadow that he was wearing.
"Well, we could turn you white except for the makeup, I suppose." Hermione frowned as her mind raced with the spells needed to do that.
"Leave his eyes the way that they are," Lavender quickly suggested.
"And his hair," Parvati added.
"All right." Hermione shook her head, but spoke the spells and Harry slowly turned a pearly white. He really didn't look see through, like the other ghosts did, but that wasn't the point. In fact, one best acted insane when there was obviously something wrong with their idea, but they pretended like it was perfect.
"Brilliant, thanks Hermione," Harry said as he headed to the exit of the common room.
Harry led the way down to the Great Hall, where they met up with the Slytherins and Luna. The Slytherins' hair was back to normal, although Draco had his hair cut shorter than it usually was. Harry blinked as he realized that he had noticed that small detail; although it was quite noticeable to see Draco with just shy of a buzz cut.
Luna had kept her odd hair style that almost matched Draco's new look. The length of the hair on the right side of her head was only a tiny bit shorter than Draco's cut and the hair on the left side of her head was long enough to reach the tips of her ears.
Luna clapped her hands in excitement when she saw Draco's new haircut. "You look marvelous; this suits you much better than your previous hairstyle."
"I see you've decided to keep your own hairstyle from the ball," Draco replied.
"You two almost look like twins; all Draco needs is to have the hair on the right side of his head grown out a bit," Neville pointed out.
"Actually, my hair is platinum blond, while Luna's hair is more like a pale blonde," Draco pointed out. Harry peered closely at the two, but he really couldn't see all that much of a difference, though Draco's hair was more silvery than Luna's in the sunlight. Luna's hair seemed to drink in the sun, while Draco's seemed to repel it.
"That's a great idea, Neville; I am so glad that the Wrackspurts left your mind. I did always say that a little insanity could cure anything." With that, Luna took her wand out from behind her ear and waved it in Draco's direction. Draco stumbled back, but the damage had already been done and the hair on Draco's right side of his head was now as long as Luna's hair was on the left side of her head. Luna started happily humming as she turned around and headed to the Hufflepuff table.
"What did she do to me?" Draco asked as he started patting his head.
"Here." Pansy handed Draco a compact mirror before pulling Ron aside to talk to him. The rest of the group didn't notice between Draco's drama and their heading over to the Hufflepuff's table.
The Hufflepuffs stared at them as the group of Gryffindors and Slytherins sat down with the Hufflepuff fifth years. Ernie was the first one to say something during one of the pauses in Draco's rant. "You guys do know that this is the Hufflepuff's table, right?"
"Of course," Luna answered.
"Then why are you guys sitting here?" Zacharias Smith rudely asked.
"Because the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables are in mourning," Harry answered.
"Mourning?" Susan Bones asked.
"Haven't you heard?" Harry stared at the Hufflepuffs with wide eyes. "Harry Potter is dead."
"What?" Hannah Abbot shrieked.
"You do realize that you're sitting right here talking with us, right?" Ernie asked with a look of confusion on his face.
"I am the ghost of Harry Potter," Harry replied. "Would you like to leave a message?"
"But, aren't you Harry, even if you are a ghost?" Ernie asked.
"One would think so, but I don't feel like Harry today." Harry frowned at this point as he contemplated the matter. "Maybe I will feel like Harry tomorrow."
"Maybe." Ernie gave Harry an odd look, but let the whole thing go. "So, are you guys going to eat all of your meals here at the Hufflepuff table?"
"Quite possibly," Luna answered.
"All right, then." Ernie shook his head and turned his attention back to his meal. The rest of the Hufflepuffs soon followed suit and the Gryffindors and the Slytherins made themselves at home.
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Harry and his friends spent most of the day hanging out at the Hufflepuff table. This infuriated Umbridge, who did not like the chaos, but she couldn't do anything about it. The Examiners loved the showing of the inter-House cooperation and Umbridge couldn't go against them. The rest of the teachers just figured that having three fifth year students from different houses at one table was just normal.
The Hufflepuffs took things in stride, integrating themselves into the strange group for lack of anything else to do. It wasn't like they could get the group to leave their table, so they decided to join in the fun. Compared to their antics the day before, the Gryffindor and Slytherin group was actually fairly tame in what they were doing. Luna was busy mimicking Draco and the rest were studying for their Potions OWL and their various electives; Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies had their test at the same time on Monday.
Harry slipped away after dinner, following Snape down to the dungeons and actually keeping out of sight and hearing for once. He waited until Snape had entered his office before he knocked on the door. He didn't have to wait long for Snape to open the door and scowl down at him.
"What are you going here?" the Potions Master asked.
"It's time for our Occlumency lessons, unless we're not having them because of the Examiners?" Harry glanced around as if Marchbanks was about to pop out of the stone walls.
"We're not having Occlumency lessons, Potter," Snape growled out.
"Why not? Is that bust of Harry the Great really Professor Dumdums in disguise?" Harry peered at the macaroni sculpture that had found its way in front of Snape's office. The fifth year prankster would deny having anything to do with it; it was all Ron's fault.
"There is no Professor Dumdums in the Examiner's group. We are no longer having lessons, remember Potter?" Snape hoped that Harry would spontaneously combust and leave him alone, and he was glaring at the boy to tell him of this fact.
"I clearly remember this one person with a name that starts with a D in the Examiners; he tested me in Confectioner's OWLs." Harry frowned before snapping his fingers as it suddenly came to him. "Dumbledore, that's his name!"
"Dumbledore is the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Potter, and there is no Confectioner's class," Snape corrected.
"I thought the Headmaster was a frog named Umbridge, but he really is an ugly woman, so it's no wonder you blocked him out." Harry grinned at Snape. "And you're right about there being no Confectioner's class here at Hogwarts, luckily Honeydukes teaches it for free."
"Good god," Snape groaned out. "Listen, Potter, I wouldn't teach you Occulemency even if Dumbledore vowed to give up lemon drops. Now, get out of my sight."
"Voldemort's sight," Harry corrected out of nowhere.
"What?" Snape frowned in confusion.
"Voldemort broke through my shields today; he said to tell you that dirty socks taste horrible." Harry wrinkled his nose. "He really should get better help; those were supposed to be clean."
"And with that, I'm locking you out of my office." Snape slammed the door closed and Harry could hear the click of the locks. He heard the first two locking spells, but he couldn't hear anything more after the silencing ward went up.
Harry shrugged before heading back to the Hufflepuff table. He hoped that Snape would appreciate the flamingos that Harry had shrunk and snuck in during dinner; it had taken Hermione ages to get through all of his wards to get into the office. It really was too bad that the school year was ending soon; though he did think that maybe the summer break would calm Snape down. He also wondered if they could convince the Hufflepuffs to allow them to spend the night in their common room as well as sharing their table. It was worth a try!
*=* Chapter 37 – Honorary Hufflepuffs *=*