Disclaimer: I, obviously, do not own Harry Potter. Just in case there was any confusion.

A/N: This is my first ever fanfic that I have posted. The intent of this, and probably several of the short one-shots I'm going to publish in the immediate future, are meant as practice for me to work on my writing skills as I have no experience as an author.

I am a fan of many different pairings for Harry (Parvati, Padma, Daphne, Susan, Tracy, and Hannah being among my favorites) and have a lot of ideas in my head for larger fics I'd like to attempt someday but I'm not there yet in terms of skill and I don't like to put incomplete work out there. In the meantime I'm going to start small and put out stuff like this as I work towards improving.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Constructive criticism is welcome, insults I suppose are your own prerogative if you want to spend your time that way. So without further adieu.

Making The Best Of Things

It was Christmas day at Hogwarts in December of 1994. Harry Potter sat in a room just off the entrance to the great hall awaiting Parvati Patil, his date for this evening's Yule Ball. Harry looked longingly across the room and sighed, fellow Triwizard Champion Cedric Diggory was sitting next to his date, and Harry's crush, Cho Chang and appeared to be flirting lightly based on the smiles on both their faces. While Harry wouldn't say he was jealous, he was definitely sad; he had asked Cho to the ball, not realizing Cedric had beat him to it, and had been gently turned down. Harry truly was happy for Cedric, he was a kind young man who had stood up for him after the Hufflepuffs had started harassing him following his unlikely entry into the tournament, but seeing the girl he liked with someone else made his heart ache and it was all he child think about at the moment.

Harry was so consumed by his thoughts that he didn't even notice Parvati walk up beside him.

"Hi Harry" she said brightly, pulling Harry out of his distraction. Harry looked up at her and was caught in a state of shock.

She looked beautiful.

She was wearing a flowing, royal blue, sweetheart topped, satin dress that fell just below her knees. She had styled her hair in an elegant bun with a few curled strands framing either side of her face which looked like it was sparkling between her lightly glossed lips and glittery mascara that immediately drew his attention to her light blue eyes.

"Harry? Everything ok?" She asked, cocking her head slightly to the side.

Harry realized he'd just been awkwardly gaping like a fish for the better part of a minute and flushed slightly with embarrassment.

Stumbling through his words he tried replying "Hi….. yes…… sorry……. I was….." before stopping, taking a quick breath to collect himself, and saying "Apologies Parvati, I'm fine. I was just distracted and didn't hear you come in"

"Yes I figure it's difficult seeing Cho here with someone else" She replied candidly with a slight hint of empathy.

At her comment, Harry bit his lip and looked away immediately feeling guilty. He'd been so caught up in his own brooding he'd barely even considered Parvati beyond asking her to the ball out of necessity after Professor McGonagall had told him he was required to bring a date.

"I'm sorry" he said without looking up. "If you'd……." he tried to say but Parvati cut him up by putting a finger over his mouth.

"Harry it's ok" she said, bringing his face up so he would look her in the eyes. "I was surprised when you asked me since it's no secret you like Cho. After I found out she was going with someone else I'd figured I wasn't your first choice of partner"

Her words caused Harry to look down at his toes. He felt ashamed for having acted so selfish to the point where Parvati thought this conversation was necessary at all, while he may have a crush on Cho, Parvati was a nice girl and deserved to be treated well this evening.

"Harry please look at me" she said, causing him to bring his eyes up to hers once again. "I get it, honestly, you don't have to feel bad. Just promise me one thing."

"Anything" he quickly replied

"Have fun with me tonight. I know, I wasn't your first choice but I'm still your friend and I'm happy to be going to the ball with you and I'd like it if we could have a fun evening together. Do you think we can do that?"

Parvati's words brought a slight smile to his face. He nodded and replied "I'd like that" while offering her his arm.

She beamed at him and looped her arm around his, allowing him to escort her into the entrance hall so the champions could process in.

Having accepted Parvati's request of just having a fun evening, Harry found he felt very comfortable talking to her. Parvati had been the one to take the first step and Harry learned a lot about her family and how they spent time every Summer visiting magical India, how she took additional potions lessons during the holidays with the goal of someday opening a business selling beauty potions, and her surprising obsession with the English Premier League. Having opened up to him Harry decided to take a leap of faith and told her about his time hunting down the Sorcerer's Stone in first year and his fight with the Basilisk in second year.

"I'm sorry" she said as he was describing using Parseltongue to enter the Chamber of Secrets.

"For what?" he asked, confused.

"For not standing up for you in second year, the ability to speak Parseltongue in India is revered because of its association with healing magic. Padma and I both knew it but were too scared of being shunned to stand up for you" She explained while closing her eyes and tilting her head down, clearly feeling a bit of guilt. "Some Gryffindor I am, right?"

Harry placed his hand on hers reassuringly and began stroking it with his thumb "I forgive you Parvati, I would've been scared too if I'd been in your shoes and everyone makes mistakes sometimes."

She looked back up and smiled at him. The conversation went on for the remainder of dinner but Harry never removed his hand from hers.

As the evening went on, Dumbledore cleared the tables and asked the champions and their dates to make their way to the dance floor.

Harry stood immediately and held his hand out to Parvati while giving her a bright smile and asked "May I have this dance?"

Parvati lightly giggled and replied "Of course you can"

Harry led her onto the dance floor and the two began to dance smoothly along to the Waltz that began playing. Parvati was shocked that Harry was such a competent dancer and gave him a look that conveyed as much after the first song ended.

Seeing her look, Harry smiled and shrugged while saying "McGonagall forced me to practice in private after learning I'd never danced before and I actually liked it more than I thought"

"Well aren't you just full of surprises Mr. Potter" she said in a slightly mirthful tone.

"I aim to please Ms. Patil" he played along. "Might you be open to joining me for another song my lady"

"I suppose I could be convinced" she joked back while circling her arms around his neck.

The two continued to dance happily for several more songs, completely tuning out the world around them as they just enjoyed each other's company.

A while later at a break in between songs Parvati asked to take a break and Harry offered to escort her on a walk around the gardens. The two walked along in silence, passing anyone else in their vicinity without a second glance.

After arriving at a spot where it was just the two of them Harry turn to Parvati "I don't think I said so earlier but you look beautiful tonight"

Blushing brightly, Parvati smiled and replied "Thank you Harry, you look very handsome as well"

The two stared into each other's eyes for a few moments before beginning to close the distance between them. Briefly, their lips met for a chaste kiss before Parvati pulled herself back slightly.

"Harry, wait" she said, with more than a hint of apprehension. "You like Cho and I don't want to just kiss you tonight only to have you go back to pining after her tomorrow"

Pausing a moment to collect his thoughts he looked directly into her eyes and said "Honestly Parvati, from the moment we walked into the ball tonight the only girl I've had on my mind is you"

Parvati felt her heart flutter slightly at the words as he continued "I never thought I'd say this but honestly, I'm glad Cho turned me down. I've had so much fun getting to know you tonight and if you want to, I'd like to go out with you again."

Parvati was absolutely beaming hearing this "I'd love that Harry"

"Then, would you like to be my girlfriend?" he asked a bit nervously.

She giggled and replied "Yes" before bringing her lips to his the new couple kissed each other passionately for the first time.

After they broke apart, the two just smiled and fell into each other's embrace. As they affectionately held one another in silence Harry reflected on the wonderful evening they'd had and realized that sometimes making the best of things could lead to the best possible outcomes.

The End