It was early evening in the fourth year Gryffindor dorms. The girls dorm already had its warming fire in place, roaring away merrily on the hearth of the circular room. Three of the beds lay empty, with deep garnet coloured sheets freshly made on bed. The scarlet and gold hangings, which lay open on the three beds, matched the circular rug which encompassed the room and provided extra warmth in the harsh Scotland winters. The room was empty, apart from the giggling emanating from the fourth bed, which had its hangings pulled tightly shut.
Within this bed, Harri, Ginny and Hermione were talking in furtive voices - occasionally distracted with laughter that would be shushed quickly, attempting to keep the conversation secret. The three girls sat cross-legged, balanced carefully on the small bed. A small pile of Honeydukes sweets - alongside the wrappers - were scattered across the bed, and the girls would pause their conversation for a few seconds whilst they grabbed a snack.
"So Harri, when do we all get to see the photos of you kissing my brother?" Ginny deadpanned, her mouth full of Droobles.
"It's not like that!" Harri protested. Ginny waved her arm at the girl, rolling her eyes with a smirk.
"I don't care if you do Harri, I'm not like Ron." She told her, blowing a large pink bubble that began floating around the bed.
"I know, but we really didn't kiss Ginny. I don't know what happened, one minute we were just laughing and joking - he was chasing me and when he tackled me we just had this… moment. He was staring at me and I was staring at him and he was so close we could have kissed but then I shivered and it was over; we got up and it was like nothing happened." Harri confided, turning as pink as the gum bubbles that floated past her as she recalled the memory of the previous day. Hermione and Ginny shared a look between them, concerning flaring in their eyes.
"Do you like him?" Hermione pressed, her inquisitive eyes flashing to her friend.
"No! At least, I don't think so - I like Cedric!" Harri protested, unsure of herself. Who did she like? Definitely Cedric, the way her heart melted thinking of his tousled bronze hair and confident smile. She remembered the Quidditch match the year before - shaking in the cold wind and rain and seeing him smile reassuringly across the pitch had made her stomach twist. She remembered seeing his handsome face distort in horror as she fell down past him - when he came to visit her in the hospital wing she had blushed and stammered out her thanks when he checked to make sure she was okay.
But George too? Sure, in recent weeks she had found herself far more protective over him; she definitely found that she worried a lot more over what he thought of her. That didn't mean she liked him though - caring for him. When she thought about it, maybe the fact that when his eyes met hers her cheeks would redden and she had to duck away meant she liked him. Or the fact that she couldn't help but giggle at every one of his lame jokes.
Maybe the fact that when they rolled around in the snow, she had wanted him to kiss her.
Maybe that meant she liked him too.
Harri grabbed a pillow and shoved her face into it, groaning.
Hermione sighed.
"So? You can like more than one person at a time." She told her. Ginny nodded in earnest. Harri lifted the pillow from her face, her eyes looking furtively between the two girls gathered on her bedspread.
"Hermione's right Harri! There's nothing wrong you if you do like them both." Ginny reassured.
Harri didn't say anything, instead busying herself with carefully inspecting a pack of Every Flavour Beans to find a flavour she could trust. She held a few out in her hand, looking up at the two girls who were staring at her with concern.
"It's just that George has always been like a brother to me. He only agreed to this whole "fake relationship" thing to help make me happy, you know? And I don't know if my feelings are genuine or because we spend all the time together pretending that we're in love."
Harri sighed, looking down at the beans and chasing them around her palm.
"I know that I still fancy the pants off of Cedric, but I feel more in control when I speak to him now." We had dance training for the opening of the ball and we were partners - I didn't fall over or blush or do anything embarrassing once! But when I saw George waiting for me after the practice my stomach turned over and I felt so guilty for dancing with him. It's just such a mess guys." She moaned.
"Harri," Hermione began in her serious tone.
"We are teenage girls. This is the first time you've let yourself feel like a normal girl ever. It isn't a mess, it's totally average and for once it's nice to see you acting like a hormonal 14 year old instead of worrying about what dark creature is gunning for you next." The bushy haired girl's voice was firm, but it was clear to hear how much she cared for Harri - who let the truth of the words ring in her head for a few minutes.
Aside from the Triwizard tournament, this year Harri had had minimal issues with someone attempting to murder, bewitch or exploit her. Between her growing relationships, the regular letters Sirius sent and the fact that her practical magic was improving in leaps and bounds had meant that this year had been the most positive part of her education since the first few weeks of her first year. She was allowing herself to enjoy being a teenager - to let Lavender do her hair or lend her makeup and to sleep in late on a Saturday. Even letting her friends join her on her bed - a new weekly ritual for the trio - was something new to her, but she found that letting herself be more carefree came with positive rewards.
She smiled at both of her friends and nodded.
"So what if you have a bit of a crush on them both? Just snog them both and decide which one you like more afterwards!" Ginny said brightly. Harri burst into laughter at her words and for once Hermione didn't shush her, joining in with her giggles.
"I think you're both right. Is this how it feels to be normal? If so, I think I'd rather take Voldemort on than deal with being a teenage girl." She joked, throwing the handful of beans into her mouth and grimacing at the contrast of flavours. Ginny laughed at her face and sat up on the bed.
"Harri Potter - she'll happily duel grown adults, monster snakes and Dementors, but throw a few cute boys into the mix and she goes running in terror." She proclaimed loudly, chortling. Harri pulled her down onto the bed with a tackle, happily threatening a hex onto one of her best friends, only to feel Hermione join into the pile with a shriek. The three girls' laughter was no longer contained, and Harri allowed her emotions to trouble her no more.
— Flashback - a few hours previous
Earlier in the day, the four champions had been summoned to an empty classroom on the ground floor by Professor McGonagall on "Champion Business". She had been absolutely horrified to enter the classroom and see the other champions and her professor stood around a large gramophone, which was warbling out a crackly waltz. The transfiguration professor happily informed the quartet that they would have the honour of opening the Yule Ball with a traditional, formal waltz. Harri noticed Fleur looking rather pleased (she did enjoy the attention after all), whilst the boys both looked rather nervous - Viktor in particular seemed to be eyeing the window for a means to escape. Harri was mortified.
"I don't dance!" She had insisted to her professor, who waved her protests away with a shake of her head.
"You are a champion Potter - You will be representing the school - and Gryffindor - and you will be opening the ball with the rest of your competitors!" Her professor spoke with an air of finality and Harri knew it would be futile to continue to argue with her.
"Professor, shouldn't our dates be here? So we can practice with them?" Cedric had asked. McGonagall had clucked her tongue and sighed.
"Mr Diggory, I can't pull every student out of class just to learn some dancing, as much as I would have liked that. The other teachers feel that it would be a waste of learning time, so you'll have to ensure you teach Miss Chang the steps - it's simple enough." She explained. Cedric nodded. She waved her wand and conjured two wooden dummies who immediately sprung to life and began to follow the crackly waltz, spinning across the classroom.
"Now gentleman, keep your eye on this dummy here," McGonagall tapped it and a top hat balanced itself on top of the head.
"You will be responsible for leading your partner across the floor - you need to be graceful and aware of your surroundings - I won't tolerate any collisions on my dance floor!" She shot a glare towards Viktor - who looked just as disgusted at the prospect of dancing as Harri had. He ducked his head in understanding. McGonagall tapped the second dummy and a deep maroon dress fell down on it.
"As for the ladies, you need to be light and elegant on your feet - allow your partner to move you across the floor but they should not be dragging you. You will be the centre of attention after all so your technique will have to be perfect." She instructed.
Harri gulped.
The professor split them into pairs at that point, putting Viktor with Fleur (who sighed at the prospect of having to dance with the surly, duck-footed seeker) and Cedric with Harri. Harri felt her palms clam slightly at the thought of dancing with him - their last conversation had been him rejected her to the Yule ball. She was reminded of his smug face, laughing at an embarrassed George, and she steeled her nerve. She took a deep breath before reaching a hand out to him.
"Shall we?" She asked.
"Sure." He smiled, taking her free hand and placing a hand on her waist. The gramophone began playing again, the crackly waltz echoing louder through the classroom. They began moving unsteadily, listening carefully to the steps that their professor barked at them and trying to replicate the dummys' flawless waltz. Harri had been focusing very hard on getting the moves right, leaving her almost totally unaware of who she was dancing with until he spoke to her a few minutes in.
"So… you and Weasley?" He asked in a contrite voice, his eyes avoiding hers.
"I gotta say that I didn't really see that coming." He admitted. Harri paused, allowing him to lead her through several slow rotations.
"I don't think I saw George coming either." She smiled. She tried to make her voice sound dreamy.
"Isn't that how these things work?" She asked, meeting his gaze determinately. She noticed Cedric's expression harden slightly at her tone.
"I don't know, I just thought that… you were after someone else instead." He murmured sheepishly.
Harri was saved from answering in that second as her professor walked past, full of critiques for her - rather lacking - waltz. Once she had walked off, she composed herself before replying to Cedric's comment.
"I didn't think they were paying any attention to me so I decided to move on." She answered smartly. Her green eyes glittered and she wore a slightly smug face.
"Well, that's a shame." He answered. He led her into a spin cautiously.
"Why is it?" Harri asked.
"Because maybe that other person you liked didn't realise that they liked you until it was too late." His voice was quiet in her ear and Harri stuttered for a moment. Her eyes widened and she lost concentration, tripping over her feet and faltering.
She was saved, once again, by McGonagall calling them in, stopping the music with a wave of her wand.
"Good work today ladies and gentlemen. Each of you has picked this up well. I expect each of you to rehearse with your partners - we have only a few short days before the Yule Ball and the eyes of all 3 schools will be on you!" She dismissed them, banishing the dummies with a flick.
Harri released Cedric's hands instantly and stepped back. Fleur had already sashayed out of the door with a flick of her hair, with Krum following closely behind. He looked rather pleased that the whole ordeal was done - he in particular had been picked on for his lack of coordination. It seemed that his lithe actions in the air did little to reflect his poor balance on the ground.
Harri looked at Cedric , slightly warily, but he simply smiled at her.
"That was interesting. See you later Harri." He grinned as he walked out the door. As he left, a tall figure ducked in. He swept his shock of red hair out of the way and smiled at the two figures.
"Professor, you're looking as radiant as ever." George declared, shooting the elderly witch a wink.
"Mr Weasley, I hope you plan on learning the steps for the Yule Ball. I won't let two of my own disrespect our school." She greeted stiffly - though there was humour behind her eyes. George clutched his chest in mock outrage.
"Why, professor! I can't believe you think I would be so terrible as to ruin your reputation!" He gasped. The witch pursed her lips.
"I'll see for myself - don't let me down." She warned, sweeping a glare at the two of them as she left the room. George turned and smiled at Harri, holding a hand out for her.
"Diggory just shot me the angriest look ever, did you punch him too?" He asked, his trademark grin fixed mischievously to his face.
"Actually, he was being really weird the whole time we were dancing." Harri frowned worriedly.
"Oh yeah? Were you being a coy little witch to make him jealous like we talked about?" He teased.
"Of course, but I must say it's hard to be an ice queen when you're dancing with the person you're trying to avoid." She commented. George frowned when she mentioned the word dancing again.
"Dancing! Ugh! I can't believe we have to open the ball together." George complained, distracted. She was happy to move her thoughts away from Cedric - her stomach had twisted in knots looping hands with George after the weird, flirty conversation she had shared with her fellow champion.
"We've been threatened on pain of death to do a good job so I hope you're a better dancer than I am." She chimed.
"I think my waltzes need practice." He confessed with a bark of laughter.
"I hope you're a good teacher."
Harri giggled.
"As long as we can just get through a couple of formal dances, we can probably spend the rest of the time dancing our way." Harri promised, thinking of the crazy Christmas party she had had at Hogwarts the year before. Herself and the twins jumped on the table after a few Firewhiskey's and had done their very best windmill impersonation, their arms flying around to no beat whatsoever. The photo sat on her desk, their smiles bright and laughter uncontained.
George smiled at the memory too.
"That sounds doable. I suppose we can take some library time out in favour of rehearsing - I don't fancy McGonagall to lose it with us when we show up looking like fools." George mused.
"We can practise after dinner if you like - I need to ditch my bag and get some carbs inside me before I can even start thinking about more dancing." As if on cue, her stomach rumbled loudly. She laughed, her features forming a sheepish smile. George grinned back, shaking his head.
"I agree, potatoes come before waltzes any day of the week." He proclaimed loudly. They entered the Great Hall - which was slowly filling up with students - and spotted Hermione waving them over. They hurried over, swinging their legs over the bench in their usual spot.
"How was your dance lesson?" Hermione asked before Harri had even sat down.
"How do you know about that?" Harri frowned, looking at her bushy-haired friend. Hermione had busied herself with ladling chicken curry onto her plate.
"The Viktor Krum fanclub were shouting about it in the halls - they were arguing about who he should ask." She informed them briskly, not quite meeting Harri's eyes. She made a mental note to question her friend later - something seemed not quite right about her answer, although the boys seemed to accept it with no questions asked. Harri noticed a slight blush on her friend's cheeks, noting it as further proof she wasn't telling the truth. She let the conversation slide as Ron and Fred slid into the opposite seats to her.
"Where were you in herbology Harri?" Ron asked curiously.
"McGonagall pulled me out - apparently as a Champion I have to perform an 'opening dance' at the ball - she wanted all the champions to learn the dance to teach their partners." She grimaced. Ron pulled a disgusted face before pulling a tureen of sausages towards him.
"Blimey, I'm glad I'm not a champion now." He chortled. Harri laughed too, but Hermione raised an eyebrow in irritation at the duo.
"Really you two, you'll happily take on deadly dark enemies but dancing is where you draw the line?" She asked sarcastically.
"Pretty much." The pair chorused together. Everyone around them laughed, and Hermione was forced to concede with a shake of her head.
"Well brother, I hope for your sake your dancing has improved considerably since last year." Fred joked. George looked wounded.
"Why does everyone think I'm a terrible dancer?" He pouted. Harri swatted him on the shoulder.
"Because you are. I am too, that's why we need lessons." She reminded him with a cheeky smile. He stuck his tongue out at her and she frowned, her hand reaching towards the spoonful of peas on her plate.
"Don't start this again you two!" Ginny threatened, her voice sounding far more like Molly Weasley than the two cared to imagine. George was hauntingly reminded of his Howler a few days prior and sat up straight, giving his younger sister a two fingered salute.
"Yes mother!" He shouted. Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Just behave please, all the girls in my year keep going on about 'how romantic' you were at lunch today. If I have to hear about it any more, I will make sure that those photos Colin took find their way to mum." She promised. George paled.
"We'll be good, I swear." Harri told her with a smile.
"Besides Ginny, I've been hearing things about you and a certain boy in my year that I'm sure you don't want your mum to hear." She grinned mischievously, her eyes flashing down the table towards Dean Thomas. All 3 of the Weasley brother's eyes followed where Harri was looking and turned back to Ginny in outrage.
"Tell me she's lying!" Ron protested. The youngest Weasley shot a deadly look towards her raven-haired friend.
"Thanks Harri." She groaned.
"You are far too young to be dating young lady!" Fred scolded. His sister narrowed her eyes at him.
"Harri's only a few months older than I am and you don't have a problem." She said hotly.
"That's different." Ron and Fred both growled.
"Harri's a year above you and she's fought enough Dark wizards to make her as old as Dumbledore." Fred insisted. Ron was trembling with rage, glaring fiercely at Dean.
"Oi! Thomas!" He called, standing up. Hermione dragged him back down by the arm. Dean had glanced up upon hearing his name, looking down the table to see the three brothers glaring angrily at him, with their sister shrunk down in her seat beside them, appearing both embarrassed and furious. Dean's expression quickly changed to that of fright.
"Can we not have one meal without causing a scene please? Boys, you can't decide who is and isn't allowed to date. Ginny, you can't blackmail your best friend. Harri, you can't embarrass people with their secrets. Now let's all just sit down and enjoy this meal before I hex you all into next week." Hermione scolded threateningly. Everyone looked between themselves before looking back to Hermione. Ron sat down, mumbling furiously to himself and glaring at Dean, who still looked nervous.
"Sorry Gin," Harri muttered sheepishly.
"S'ok. Sorry for blackmailing you and George." She replied.
"Friends?" Harri held her hand out to the red-head.
"Friends." She affirmed, taking her hand with a smile. Harri sighed.
"Thank goodness, I have some major gossip to tell you and Hermione later and I can't tell you if you're mad at me." She grinned. George frowned.
"Gossip? Don't we get to know?" He questioned. Hermione shrugged her shoulders at him.
"Sorry George, girl stuff. No boyfriends allowed." She informed him. Harri patted his knee comfortingly.
"Don't worry, it's just period chat." She told him.
"Ew, say no more." He cringed, covering his ears.
"Don't be such a bloke George." Ginny cut in, shaking her head.
"You're still in trouble, don't start Ginny." He waggled his fork at her with authority. It would have appeared far more authoritative if it wasn't loaded with shepherds pie - he waggled it with such force the contents went flying, splattering those nearby with mash potato and mince.
There was a chorus of groans as people's robes were coated in gravy.
"Nice one George." Harri commented sarcastically, wiping away peas from her shirt. George met her disgruntled expression with a wide-eyed smile.
"It was an accident!" He protested lamely, picking a large piece of carrot from her shoulder and popping it in his mouth.
"You are disgusting you know?" She told him irritably. George, ignoring her angry expression, wrapped an arm around her, planting a kiss to the side of her forehead.
"And you love me even for it!" He proclaimed.
"Sure." She mumbled, but she felt her cheeks heat up as he pressed his lips to her. They'd been close like this before but this was the first time she noticed how good he smelt - a mixture of gunpowder and a woodsy, outdoorsy smell that reminded her of moonlight. Her blush deepened and she grinned stupidly.
"You're off the hook, okay? Now let me eat my dinner please." She told him, letting him release her and doing her best to ignore the knowing smirk on Hermione's face.
— End of Flashback
"Anyway Hermione, before Ginny started threatening me at dinner I wanted to ask you something." Harri shot her younger friend a mock serious look, who rolled her eyes and snorted in return. Hermione looked nervously round the bed.
"What are you keeping from me?" She asked the witch with a smirk playing on her lips.
"What do you mean?" She frowned in return.
"I saw you get all weird when you let slip you knew about the champions' dancing." She said knowingly. Ginny gasped.
"Don't say you've joined the Viktor Krum fan club too!" She proclaimed dramatically. Hermione swatted her, blushing.
"No!" She protested. Harri giggled and clapped her hands together.
"Oh my gosh she has!" She laughed. The blush on Hermione's face was a rarely seen sight - one that was only seen when the brilliant witch's secrets were rumbled.
"No I haven't!" She repeated, but she was drowned out by her friends' laughter as they visualised Hermione doting on Krum, a Bulgarian scarf wrapped around her waist and giggling at every comment he grunted.
"If you don't listen I won't tell you!" She threatened, though her bright pink cheeks took away any ounce of severity in her expression. Harri quickly quieted, though Ginny took a few seconds to compose herself, wiping tears of mirth away from her cheeks.
"If you must know, Viktor and I are going to the ball together. As a date." She squeaked. Her voice trembled, a mixture of nerves and excitement apparent in her voice. Ginny's jaw fell open.
"What?" Harri asked, sitting up.
"He asked me two days ago." She confessed.
"And you're only telling us now? Details woman! How? Where?" Ginny pressed excitedly, bouncing.
"He's been in the library. At first I thought he wanted to get away from those dreadful girls and study but it turns out he was more interested in studying me." If possible, she blushed even deeper.
"He waited for me in the library and we started talking and I'm not exactly going to say no to Viktor Krum am I?"
Ginny grinned excitedly at Hermione.
"Viktor Krum… nice one 'Mione." She told her. Hermione allowed herself a small giggle.
"I know." She acknowledged with a bashful smile.
"You know that Ron's gonna have a field day with this - he thinks you're going together." Harri told her. Hermione frowned.
"But he hasn't asked me - Viktor did." She said primly.
"Hermione, it's Ron. He'll probably say you're 'going with the enemy' or something stupid. I'll talk to him." Harri shook her head at the image of her thoughtless best friend.
"At least you'll have to learn the dance too - it's truly terrible Hermione." She added, sighing at the thought of more dancing. Hermione grimaced too.
"At least I won't be as bad as my partner - he's already confessed he's a terrible dancer." She added hopefully. Harri thought back to her dance lesson, seeing Krum stumble as he attempted to lead Fleur through a clumsy waltz. She shot her friend a knowing look.
"It's a good thing you're such a good teacher 'Mione - he's gonna need it." Harri asserted.
Ginny burst into a cackle, which was quickly interrupted as Hermione flicked a pillow flying into her face.