The Yule Ball was tonight and Harry was actually nervous. Dudley had gone home, so Harry couldn't even chat to him about it, well he could use the ring to talk to him, but Dudley had said he would be busy a lot during his time away. Blaise had also gone home, though he would be back later today for the Ball.
Harry was chatting with Elias while he got ready, both of them were going to the ball, after all, Elias had sweet-talked a fifth-year into accompanying him, something the girl found funny and so she agreed to let him come along.
"Why aren't you going with Hermione? I thought you liked her," Elias asked for the fifth time, never satisfied with the answer.
"Ugh Elias, shut up. I've told you repeatedly that Hermione is busy and doesn't want to go with me. There's nothing more to it," Harry replied, exasperated at his brother's stubborn refusal to accept his reasons.
"I think there is more to it, there has to be. Last year you were spending a lot of time together, and then you asked her if she would be your girlfriend… now she's ignoring you."
"You think I don't know that? I'm well aware that I probably messed things up between us and that she is probably using this research project as an excuse to avoid discussing it. Just drop it, please."
"Fine. I'm not happy about it though."
A few hours later, Harry was with his friends, going to meet their dates for the night. When Harry met Daphne he was stunned by just how beautiful she looked, her dress appearing to be made of woven crystals. As he was lost in her eyes, she was looking him up and down.
"Not bad, Potter. We might actually be the best-dressed couple here."
"That dress looks amazing on you. I've received a letter from Professor McGonagall earlier telling me that the champions will be dancing first."
A minute or two later and Neville and Ron showed up, Neville had decided to go with Theo as friends, inspiring Ron and Draco to do the same. Harry secretly thought their awkwardness was funny, they had clearly expected to be here with a date.
As Harry saw Blaise entering the main doors he was called to begin the dance. He went in with Daphne and his anxiety spiked, causing Tom to pop in to check what was going on.
"I thought you were in a fight for your life or something, it's funny just how worked up you're getting over this. My days have been so very boring lately, maybe this will be funny to watch."
"Well, that's just perfect," Harry thought back to Tom, who just laughed in response.
When Harry returned to the present moment, it wasn't a moment too soon, the music began and so did the dance. He had been practicing the traditional dances and was fairly competent with them now. The longer they danced, the less nervous he became, resulting in him fully letting himself be taken by the music.
He looked at his fellow champions, Cedric was with Cho Chang, while Victor was with a Durmstrang girl who had come to enter the tournament. Just as the song was half-way over, the doors opened and Fleur came in, she was walking, with her date Roger Davis; and she looked beautiful.
"Magic truly is amazing," Harry whispered, to which Daphne whispered her agreement.
Once the second song started people were pouring in to begin dancing. As he and Daphne made their way across the room, dancing all the way, Harry noticed Fleur smiling at him. After the third song ended Harry and Daphne left the dance floor to rest a moment and have refreshments.
"Hey Harry, where is Dudley?" Blaise's voice sounded from behind Harry, who turned around to face the boy.
"He went home for the holiday…" Harry didn't get to finish his sentence, because Blaise cut him off.
"Wait what? I thought he was staying this year… Merlin, damn it."
"Why, what's up mate?" Harry asked, confused as to why Blaise was acting like this.
"Nora is here, she's been looking forward to surprising Dudley, but he isn't even here." Blaise seemed both annoyed and upset.
"I might be able to help you, but I can't make any promises."
Blaise nodded and went to distract Nora, while Harry explained the situation to Daphne. She understood and wanted to be helpful, even mentioning that she had taken the liberty of obtaining a suit for Harry in case his had clashed with hers. She went to grab the suit, while Harry focused on getting Dudley here, tapping his ring and calling his cousin.
/_-_-_-/
He was going to Stonehenge on the 27th of December, however, tonight Dudley Dursley intended to spend the night relaxing with his mom. He would have as well, had Harry not called him out of the blue.
"Hello Har-" Dudley began, but was interrupted by Harry almost immediately.
"Dudley! You need to get back to Hogwarts NOW! Nora came along with Blaise for the night and she's excited to dance with you. You need to begin the flight to Scotland, I'll try to send someone to meet you on the way and apparate you to Hogsmeade. Theo, can you get on that? I don't know, ask Professor Lupin. Sorry about that Dudley, but you need to get here, we have a suit for you, just get here."
"Urm… what?" was Dudley's eloquent response.
"Gahh! Dudley, just get here. Professor Lupin is taking my broom to fly towards Surrey, just fly north. As Professor Lupin said, the Animagus transformation doesn't trigger the trace."
Harry's voice vanished once Dudley told him he was on the way. He explained to his mother that he had to get to Hogwarts in order to meet Nora. Petunia kissed his forehead and asked him to be safe. The two went out into the back garden and Dudley turned into a Thunderbird and flew away, leaving his mom in awe.
As it happened, he didn't have far to fly, as the moment he left, Professor Lupin apparated into the back garden, next to Petunia, and apologised to the startled woman, explaining he was there to help get Dudley to school.
In an instant he spotted the boy, mounted the broom, and apparated to his side, making the corrections necessary to not fall off the broom, and overtook Dudley, allowing the boy to perch on the back of the broom, it was a very tight fit as the Thunderbird was massive, and they vanished, reappearing in Hogsmeade and landing.
Dudley turned back to a human, immediately vomited, and started running with the Professor by his side. Once they reached the gates of Hogwarts, they noticed Harry standing there, with Daphne holding a suit beside him. As soon as they were on the school grounds Harry hit Dudley with a light blue light, changing him into his suit instantly, while Daphne cast charms to slick back his hair and freshened him up. It left him smelling of Lavender, which was a plus.
"How do I look?" Dudley asked his cousin who simply said.
"You look great."
The three teenagers and the Professor all made their way into the school and Dudley saw Nora in the Entrance Hall. His heart stopped for a moment as he saw her smile.
"I was beginning to fear you weren't here, Dudley. I've been looking forward to surprising you for weeks now. Shall we dance?"
"Of course, follow me." Dudley took Nora's hand and the two walked over to the dance floor.
"Thank you, Daph' I couldn't have done this alone," Harry whispered as he put his arm around her shoulders.
"I may be cold, but I'm not heartless." She retorted.
Three hours later and Nora was heading back home with Blaise, while Dudley left with Lupin to return to Privet Drive. The grin didn't fall from Dudley's face until he was asleep.
/_-_-_-_-/
Still riding the buzz of the Yule Ball, Dudley was about to leave the small town of Amesbury and head down to Stonehenge. He had gone alone and began his exploration of the enigmatic ruins. He sat down in the middle of the circle and began to listen, he thanked Luna in his head for her training, when he heard a tone that resonated perfectly with his magic. Drawing that feeling into his hands, he placed both of them on the ground and pushed the magic out. He felt the tone's frequency change and changed his magic to match it. Unfortunately, this wasn't the right thing to do, as he lost the feeling of the magic and the tone returned to its original state.
"I guess I can't do this on my own," he called out to nobody, sighing dejectedly, before heading back to Amesbury to get the train back to London
/_-_-^_^_/
Please review, this was a fun chapter to write.