Well, You Told Me To 2;
The Yule Ball
This snippet is not related in any way or form to the previous chapter.
...I should be working on the next chapter of Tokyo-3 Arcana, but my muse insisted...
"Indeed, Mr. Potter. Your participation in the Yule Ball is not only expected, but mandatory."
"But…."
"No buts, young man. You will attend to the traditional Tri-Wizard Tournament Yule Ball. You better find yourself a date, you won´t be shaming Hogwarts by presenting yourself to the Ball without one, is that understood, Mr. Potter?"
Harry lowered his head, for all the world, beaten into submission. "Perfectly clear, Professor McGonagall. I will do as you say." He raised his eyes for a moment, and lowered them again as he asked, "Can I at least… chose…?"
The stern witch nodded, "Yes, Mr. Potter, the choice is entirely yours. As long as you attend to the Yule Ball with a date, and open the ball, you are free in your choice. Though I must impress on you that this is a very important choice for you to make."
Harry nodded, with a heavy air of defeat, and Professor McGonagall nodded to herself, satisfied to have done her duty to the school, and imparted the importance of doing the same into her student, though it was clear he wasn´t really happy with the situation, it would be very important for his future to learn that he had to do his duty.
Now, Harry Potter, in the other hand, was sick and tired of being the poster boy for "Do as you´re told", and decided he would do as he was told, exactly as he was told, no less, no more.
But on his terms.
The next few weeks Harry kept mum about his date for the Yule Ball. Hermione and Ron had pestered him with questions, but Harry stuck to his guns, and kept his mouth shut. "No, I won´t tell you anything, no one knows, and I like it that way." He said.
He was quite annoyed at the insistence of every student he was on speaking terms with, and more than a few he was not in cordial terms.
Speculation ran wild in the girls´ dormitories of every Hogwarts House. No one had admitted to being asked by the young wizard. Though more than a few hinted at being asked by the Fourth Champion.
This lasted until Harry himself publicly denied having asked the few witches who had tried to gain some notoriety, or to make their crushes/boyfriends jealous by saying Harry had invited them to the Ball.
"Enough!" he had slammed his hand on the Gryffindor Table, silencing the whole room with a single word. "I am tired of your questions! You´ll have to wait and see!" and with that, he stood up and walked away, disappearing from sight at the first corner, thanks to his Invisibility Cape.
From then on, he was not seen except in class.
Except for Potions class. Harry decided to take advantage of his status as a Champion to dedicate the Potion class time to Potions self-study, despite Hermione´s insistence for him to attend.
"Instructions are in the book," he said, mimicking Snape´s drawl. "the only real difference is that the book has a lot more charisma." He paused, "And less grease. And that I can read the whole thing and see if there are any safety instructions to keep myself from blowing up when the Slytherins throw something into my cauldron."
The day after the Ball, half Wizarding Britain wanted Harry Potter´s head, and the other half was laughing themselves silly.
Both for the same reason.
"That was ludicrous!" one wizard said.
"It was brilliant!" A witch elbowed the wizard in the ribs.
"He´s not so bad after all!" a second wizard slapped his thigh, roaring in laughter.
"I must admit I had no idea the lad could be so willing to make the Ministry look like fools."
"Well, he did, and I hope they fine him at least. That was a complete disrespect to our traditions!"
"After the way he was treated? Hell and damnation, man! I wish I could do the same!"
And so on.
"Where is your date, young man?"
Harry smiled at the Gryffindor Head of House. "Right with me."
Everybody looked at him as if he was crazy. "Mr. Potter," McGonagall said, with the sternest voice she was capable of. "You have to open the Ball with your date, if you are…" she hesitated, the Potter Family´s Cloak of Invisibility was a secret Harry guarded jealously. She only knew of it because Dumbledore had informed her about it. "Concealing your date, you will have to reveal her during the Opening Dance."
"Don´t worry, Professor, I will do a dramatic reveal. Just for the surprise."
She pressed her lips together in a fine line. "Very well. Take your places."
A few minutes later, the Champions entered the ballroom. Each one accompanied by their respective dates by the arm.
Except for Harry Potter, who walked in, apparently alone.
When the time for the Opening Dance came, all the eyes were set on him.
"Who´s he with?"
"I see no one with him…"
"Will she come later?"
"Is she Disillusioned?"
Harry took his place on the dance floor, hands in the pockets of his robe, smirking.
The music began.
Harry brought out his hand, showing a small fruit for all to see. Then he began to dance alone, holding the fruit as if it was a feminine hand.
"Mr. Potter! What is the meaning of this?"
The music stopped with a screech.
"What? This?" he asked with the fakest innocence in his face, holding his hand up. "This is my date. What´s the problem?"
"Don´t play the fool, Harry! You know exactly what Professor McGonagall means!" Dumbledore said, annoyed to no end.
"I don´t know what the problem is. She told me I had to bring a date to the Yule Ball, and do the Opening Dance with it. Do you want it? I can give it to you." He smiled like a devil. "Now, if there is a problem with my date," he took two other small fruits from his other pocket, "I also have these, but I 'm not gonna give them to anybody."
When he read the chronicle of the events on the Daily Prophet, Sirius Black roared in laughter. Happy to see the spirit of the Marauders lived in Harry.
In a big picture, right in the front page, Harry showed two figs on the palm of his hand.
Author Notes:
Yes, I know. It is a Shaggy Dog story, but in my defence, it is a nice dog.
I'm gonna let you get the joke for yourselves.
In the meanwhile, keep safe!