Chapter Two: Revelations
Harry closed his eyes and opened them again hoping what he saw would be there when he opened them again. It was. Right next to the names "Lily Evans" and "Petunia Evans" was the name "Selene Evans." Harry had another aunt. What made Harry almost fall over was the fact that there was no death date under her name. A multitude of questions ran through Harry's mind: Is this true? Why didn't anyone tell me? Why hasn't she contacted me?
Convinced that he was going to explode if he didn't tell anyone, Harry ran over to Ron's bed and shook him awake. It took longer than Harry expected, but after a little swearing and some random punches at Harry, Ron was finally awake.
"Harry? What time is it?" Ron said sluggishly.
"It's after midnight. Ron you've got to see what I've found! You won't believe it! I don't believe it! It just fell right out, and I was looking at it and BAM I saw it, saw her name!" Harry said all this very fast while brandishing his family tree at Ron.
"Harry, calm down and take a breath. What is this thing you're waving in my face?" Ron said pointing to the family tree.
Harry took a deep breath and told his story again, and Ron's eyes grew big as he took the tree from Harry's hand and examined it.
"Wow Harry this is weird. What a coincidence, I mean you needing it by tomorrow and here it is." Ron said, "to think if you hadn't fallen off your bed, you might never have found it."
"I guess you're right." Harry said picking up the picture album and flipping through it.
"Who do you think that woman in the picture is? Do you think its Selene Evans?" Ron asked nodding toward the book.
Ron had picked up on exactly what Harry had been thinking. "I don't know," he said. " It could be her or just some random party guest." Harry said.
Ron interrupted his thoughts; "Well you definitely won't have to worry about Binns' class tomorrow. This is a pretty impressive tree. It has birth dates and death dates along with occupations and...." Ron's voice trailed off.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Um..." Ron responded.
"What is it?" Harry asked again.
"Um.... Well.... I'm not sure but..." Ron said. "We need to talk to Hermione. Yeah, she'd know."
"Now?" Harry asked looking at his clock, which read 12:51.
"Yeah, grab your invisibility cloak and let's go." Ron said.
Harry complied and after they had pulled on some actual clothes they grabbed the tree, the invisibility cloak, and the Marauder's' map and headed off towards the girls' dormitory. They stopped right outside the door and looked at the map.
"Hermione's the third bed to the left." Harry said
They both looked at each other before entering. "We could get into big trouble doing this." Ron said.
"Us? Trouble? Now that's something new and different." Harry said sarcastically.
Ron nodded and they entered the girls' rooms. They were a lot like the boys' room except for the feminine flare. Even if they had not had the Marauder's' map they could have easily picked out Hermione's bed. This is because her trunk and the floor around it were covered with stacks of books and parchment. They approached her bed and saw that she was sound asleep even though the occupants of the beds beside her were snoring.
"She's going to kill us." Ron whispered.
"Yes, she is." Harry agreed, "and it won't be a pleasant death either."
Harry could feel Ron shrug under the invisibility cloak and move to wake Hermione.
"Wait. Should we take the cloak off first?" Harry asked.
"Nah. Seeing us standing over her bed might scare her. Besides, she can't hit what she can't see." Ron replied.
Harry had to admit that he had a point. Ron reached his hand out from underneath the cloak to wake Hermione and withdrew. "She seems different when she's asleep." he said.
"That's because she's quiet." Harry said, "Hurry up," he added looking around at all the Viktor Krum and Gildroy Lockheart posters on the walls, "this place gives me the creeps."
Ron reached down and lightly tapped Hermione's shoulder. He then recoiled quickly like he had just stuck his hand in a snake pit. Hermione, however, didn't move.
"Try again." Harry said
Ron tapped her a little harder and jumped back again. She still didn't move. Ron tried again, this time poking her rather hard. Hermione opened her eyes and saw a floating hand near her shoulder. She looked like she was going to scream, so Harry put his hand over her mouth.
"Sssh!" Harry said, "It's us." He then pulled the cloak off of him and Ron. Hermione's expression turned from fear to anger.
"What are you two doing in here?" she demanded.
"We need to ask you something." Ron said.
"Couldn't it wait till morning?" Hermione said gathering her sheets around her.
"No." Ron said. Hermione looked at him doubtfully. "Well yes," he admitted "but please help us, Hermione."
"Oh all right." she said, "You two get out of here and I'll meet you downstairs."
************
Harry and Ron waited for a good ten minutes before Hermione came down looking much different than before. She had her hair pulled back and a red robe on. Ron thought the lack of sleep might be getting to him because she looked, well, pretty.
"So what's the big emergency?" she asked sitting down next to them at one of the tables in the common room.
Harry and Ron told the whole story again from Harry falling off the bed (which Ron told two maybe three times more than Harry thought was needed) right up to Ron urging Harry to go wake up Hermione (that part Harry told, making Ron blush).
Hermione had been very interested in the conversation and was now looking over the tree with great interest. "So what did you want to ask me?" Hermione asked Ron.
"Well…you see I was looking at Harry's great great grandmother's name, Abigail Evans, and I noticed this symbol by her name, is that what I think it is?" Ron asked Hermione.
Hermione looked closer and the parchment, "I think it is Ron." Hermione said and both she and Ron looked up at Harry.
"What is it?" Harry asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Harry, your great great grandmother was a magmanos." Hermione said.
"A what?" Harry asked
"A magmanos is a witch or a wizard that can perform magic without using a wand." Hermione said.
"I thought that was impossible." Harry said.
"Well it doesn't happen very often, and when a magmanos is discovered it is a very big deal." Hermione said.
"If it is such a big deal than why haven't I heard anything about it?" Harry asked.
Hermione and Ron looked at each other. "Well…. being a magmanos isn't necessarily a good thing…" Ron said.
"Why not?" Harry asked.
"Its kind of like being a werewolf." Hermione said, "People are afraid of them. Magmani are powerful and since they don't need a wand, they are able to perform magic anytime and anywhere. Hold on a second." Hermione added then ran up to her room. Not even a full two minutes had passed when Hermione came back down the stairs carrying a rather large book. She slammed it down on the table (she would've placed it gently since Hermione has the greatest respect for books, but it was so cumbersome that it took a great amount of effort to heave it up on the table).
"Good God Hermione! Why on earth do you have a book that size for?" Ron said looking at the huge mass on the table.
Hermione ignored him and rapidly flipped through what seemed like hundreds and hundreds of pages. "Here!" she exclaimed. Ron and Harry looked at the page and read the title of the chapter: "Magmani: Evil Incarnate or Simply Misunderstood?" Hermione began to read: "During the medieval era those persons who were found to be magmani were usually taken into custody and tortured. Since magmani are unable to tolerate low temperatures, they were usually stripped and put out in the snow, while this causes large amounts of pain it does not usually kill magmani. They were usually left in this vulnerable position until they confessed to using their power against the good of the people--"
"Do you read this stuff before you go to bed?" Ron asked.
Hermione looked up with a sly grin and said, "Doesn't everyone?" She flipped through a couple more pages and started reading again, "Although most of these practices have been eliminated in today's society, magmani are still required to reveal themselves to the proper authorities ( i.e. the Ministry of Magic) and are required to put down the symbol of the magmani on all official papers."
That explains the family tree. Harry thought and looked closer at the symbol to the right of his great great grandmother's name. It looked like a bird intertwined between a circle and a flame.
Hermione continued, "Magmani are a rare occurrence and little is known about what causes the condition. However, it has been noted that those who have ancestors that were known magmani are more likely to see another one in the family, than those who have had no relation to one. There have been only ten cases of magmanism reported to the Ministry of Magic in the past one-hundred and fifty years, and the Ministry of Magic confidently believes that their existence will be completely eradicated in the next thirty years." Hermione stopped and closed the book (which was quite an effort) and Harry was able to see the title for the first time, "Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Magic…Ever."
"I wonder what happened to your grandmother." Ron said.
"Me too." Harry said trying to block out any thought of torture.
"You might want to cover up that symbol tomorrow, Harry. Draco for one would be ever so happy to find out that you had a magmanos in the family." Ron said.
"Yeah I guess" Harry said.
Ron yawned. Harry and Hermione soon followed suit. "Well this sure has been interesting, but I'm getting tired." Ron said.
"Yeah, it is getting late, thanks for your help Hermione." Harry said.
"Sure. See you guys in the morning." Hermione said trying to balance her book on her hip.
Harry and Ron went up to their rooms and got into their beds. Harry heard Ron fall asleep almost immediately. Harry, however, lay awake for a long time staring at his family tree, and more specifically at Selene's name. He looked at his clock, which now read 2:11. He couldn't believe that in only a few hours he had found so much about his family. However, he really wanted to find out more about Selene. Harry thought how wonderful it would be to have another aunt, and then a terrible thought hit him. What if she was like Aunt Petunia? Harry cringed. No, he thought, there had to be a rule that only one Petunia was allowed per family.
*****************************
Harry awoke the next morning to find Ron staring down at him. "C'mon, Harry we're going to be late." Ron said.
Harry got dressed quickly and he and Ron ran quickly toward Professor Binns' class. Ron, who had also gotten up late and had been forced to dress quickly, was so preoccupied with fixing his robe sleeve that he didn't see Ophelia Hughes, a Hufflepuff, pinning up posters. More importantly he didn't see the pile of posters at her feet, which he proceeded to step on and went sliding down the hallway.
"Watch where you're going!" Ophelia yelled as Ron went careening down the hallway on one of the posters. Ophelia rolled her eyes and Harry laughed as Ron finally fell with a thump at the end of the hall. Ron rubbed his backside as he picked up the poster.
"What are these?" Ron asked.
"It's for the Costume Ball" Ophelia said.
"The what?" Ron and Harry said together.
"You haven't heard? There's going to be a ball on Halloween and it's going to be great! Everyone in costumes and decorations and everything..." Ophelia continued to talk about the ball and didn't even notice that Ron and Harry had left, fearing they would be late for class. Luckily they were able to slip into class unnoticed by Binns. Hermione, however, gave them a condescending look as they snuck into their seats.
The class was relatively boring, until Hermione started her presentation. Her entire family was muggle and she had just mentioned her great grandmother, Zelda Granger, when Malfoy leaned over to his friends to make some snide comment. These comments grew louder and louder until they made Hermione visually uncomfortable. Harry then turned around and glared at Malfoy than gave him a sly smile and tapped his nose. Draco, whose nose was still swollen, suddenly became quiet.
Harry was really nervous as he presented his tree. He hoped that Binns wouldn't notice the Magmanos symbol. Luckily Binns was only half paying attention to him, and the rest of the class' attention was else where, so the magmanos symbol went unnoticed.
The rest of the day was busy for Harry and he was disappointed that once again he was unable to make it to the owlery to contact Sirius. What made this day even worse was that Snape had told Harry that he was to take his detention tonight. During dinner Harry was trying to mentally calculate how he could get to the owlery without being late for detention. He was so lost in his thoughts that Ron had to tug on the sleeve of his robe to get his attention.
"HARRY!" Ron shouted.
"Oh… I'm sorry Ron, I wasn't paying attention." Harry said.
"Obviously." Ron said, "Anyway I was saying that this costume ball thingy might not be so bad. I mean if I can get a hold of that mask Dad has stored somewhere in that attic. It's really cool and really gruesome." Ron said making a scary face at Hermione.
"Who are you going to go with?" asked Ginny Weasley.
"That's a good question." Hermione said to Ron.
Ron who was still making faces at Hermione suddenly blushed, "I don't know." he said sheepishly.
Harry and Ginny tried to hide their smiles. Over the past couple of weeks Harry had noticed that something was going on between Ron and Hermione. Apparently Ginny had noticed it also.
"Well, who are you going with?" Ron retorted to Hermione, "Now that Krum isn't here you might have to settle for someone who isn't a world famous quidditch player."
"That wasn't what I liked about him!" Hermione exclaimed. "He was more mature than some people I know." She said looking at Ron.
Ron got the point. "Well then, why don't I make you really mad and ask YOU to the dance. After all it might damage your more mature status!"
"Fine!" Hermione shouted and left the table.
"Fine!" Ron called after her.
Harry and Ginny exchanged confused looks. "What just happened here?" Harry said. "Are you and Hermione going to the ball together?"
"Guess so." Ron said rather plainly. "So who are you going with?"
"I don't know." Harry said. "Cho is the only person I REALLY want to go with and well…. After what happened last June…. Well I just don't feel it is right to ask her. Other than her, there's no one else I really want to go with."
Harry turned and saw Ginny absentmindedly poking at her vegetables. "Who are you going with Ginny?" he asked her. She looked up at him. Her expression was half embarrassment and half surprise. "Me? Um…Well….there's this one guy, but he doesn't seem to notice me…"
"Tell me who he is, and I'll go beat him up." Ron said.
Ginny smiled and blushed, "That's okay. I, uh, have some homework I need to finish. See you guys later."
It wasn't long after Ginny left that Harry realized that she had been talking about him. Harry knew that Ginny had a crush on him and he regretted the statement he said about Cho being the only one that he would consider going to the ball with. He excused himself from the table and ran to catch up with her. "Wait!" he called after her. Ginny stopped and turned around. "Harry?" she said.
Harry took a deep breath, "Well I was wondering…well…um…since apparently your brother and Hermione are going to the ball together…. I was thinking…well if you didn't have any plans…(Ginny broke into a wide grin)…would you consider going with me?"
Ginny looked at Harry as if she was trying to decide on whether to kiss him or run away. "Yes." she said finally. Her whole face disappeared under her wide grin.
"Mr. Potter." Snape said behind them, causing Harry to jump.
"Yes sir." Harry answered.
"Why don't you head on down to my office. I have a meeting with Dumbledore tonight, but that's no reason to delay your detention. There are instructions for you on my desk." Snape said and left.
"You better go." Ginny said to Harry.
"Yeah, I guess." Harry said.
"Thanks for asking me to go to the ball with you." Ginny said.
"You're welcome." Harry said, blushing.
Harry closed his eyes and opened them again hoping what he saw would be there when he opened them again. It was. Right next to the names "Lily Evans" and "Petunia Evans" was the name "Selene Evans." Harry had another aunt. What made Harry almost fall over was the fact that there was no death date under her name. A multitude of questions ran through Harry's mind: Is this true? Why didn't anyone tell me? Why hasn't she contacted me?
Convinced that he was going to explode if he didn't tell anyone, Harry ran over to Ron's bed and shook him awake. It took longer than Harry expected, but after a little swearing and some random punches at Harry, Ron was finally awake.
"Harry? What time is it?" Ron said sluggishly.
"It's after midnight. Ron you've got to see what I've found! You won't believe it! I don't believe it! It just fell right out, and I was looking at it and BAM I saw it, saw her name!" Harry said all this very fast while brandishing his family tree at Ron.
"Harry, calm down and take a breath. What is this thing you're waving in my face?" Ron said pointing to the family tree.
Harry took a deep breath and told his story again, and Ron's eyes grew big as he took the tree from Harry's hand and examined it.
"Wow Harry this is weird. What a coincidence, I mean you needing it by tomorrow and here it is." Ron said, "to think if you hadn't fallen off your bed, you might never have found it."
"I guess you're right." Harry said picking up the picture album and flipping through it.
"Who do you think that woman in the picture is? Do you think its Selene Evans?" Ron asked nodding toward the book.
Ron had picked up on exactly what Harry had been thinking. "I don't know," he said. " It could be her or just some random party guest." Harry said.
Ron interrupted his thoughts; "Well you definitely won't have to worry about Binns' class tomorrow. This is a pretty impressive tree. It has birth dates and death dates along with occupations and...." Ron's voice trailed off.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Um..." Ron responded.
"What is it?" Harry asked again.
"Um.... Well.... I'm not sure but..." Ron said. "We need to talk to Hermione. Yeah, she'd know."
"Now?" Harry asked looking at his clock, which read 12:51.
"Yeah, grab your invisibility cloak and let's go." Ron said.
Harry complied and after they had pulled on some actual clothes they grabbed the tree, the invisibility cloak, and the Marauder's' map and headed off towards the girls' dormitory. They stopped right outside the door and looked at the map.
"Hermione's the third bed to the left." Harry said
They both looked at each other before entering. "We could get into big trouble doing this." Ron said.
"Us? Trouble? Now that's something new and different." Harry said sarcastically.
Ron nodded and they entered the girls' rooms. They were a lot like the boys' room except for the feminine flare. Even if they had not had the Marauder's' map they could have easily picked out Hermione's bed. This is because her trunk and the floor around it were covered with stacks of books and parchment. They approached her bed and saw that she was sound asleep even though the occupants of the beds beside her were snoring.
"She's going to kill us." Ron whispered.
"Yes, she is." Harry agreed, "and it won't be a pleasant death either."
Harry could feel Ron shrug under the invisibility cloak and move to wake Hermione.
"Wait. Should we take the cloak off first?" Harry asked.
"Nah. Seeing us standing over her bed might scare her. Besides, she can't hit what she can't see." Ron replied.
Harry had to admit that he had a point. Ron reached his hand out from underneath the cloak to wake Hermione and withdrew. "She seems different when she's asleep." he said.
"That's because she's quiet." Harry said, "Hurry up," he added looking around at all the Viktor Krum and Gildroy Lockheart posters on the walls, "this place gives me the creeps."
Ron reached down and lightly tapped Hermione's shoulder. He then recoiled quickly like he had just stuck his hand in a snake pit. Hermione, however, didn't move.
"Try again." Harry said
Ron tapped her a little harder and jumped back again. She still didn't move. Ron tried again, this time poking her rather hard. Hermione opened her eyes and saw a floating hand near her shoulder. She looked like she was going to scream, so Harry put his hand over her mouth.
"Sssh!" Harry said, "It's us." He then pulled the cloak off of him and Ron. Hermione's expression turned from fear to anger.
"What are you two doing in here?" she demanded.
"We need to ask you something." Ron said.
"Couldn't it wait till morning?" Hermione said gathering her sheets around her.
"No." Ron said. Hermione looked at him doubtfully. "Well yes," he admitted "but please help us, Hermione."
"Oh all right." she said, "You two get out of here and I'll meet you downstairs."
************
Harry and Ron waited for a good ten minutes before Hermione came down looking much different than before. She had her hair pulled back and a red robe on. Ron thought the lack of sleep might be getting to him because she looked, well, pretty.
"So what's the big emergency?" she asked sitting down next to them at one of the tables in the common room.
Harry and Ron told the whole story again from Harry falling off the bed (which Ron told two maybe three times more than Harry thought was needed) right up to Ron urging Harry to go wake up Hermione (that part Harry told, making Ron blush).
Hermione had been very interested in the conversation and was now looking over the tree with great interest. "So what did you want to ask me?" Hermione asked Ron.
"Well…you see I was looking at Harry's great great grandmother's name, Abigail Evans, and I noticed this symbol by her name, is that what I think it is?" Ron asked Hermione.
Hermione looked closer and the parchment, "I think it is Ron." Hermione said and both she and Ron looked up at Harry.
"What is it?" Harry asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Harry, your great great grandmother was a magmanos." Hermione said.
"A what?" Harry asked
"A magmanos is a witch or a wizard that can perform magic without using a wand." Hermione said.
"I thought that was impossible." Harry said.
"Well it doesn't happen very often, and when a magmanos is discovered it is a very big deal." Hermione said.
"If it is such a big deal than why haven't I heard anything about it?" Harry asked.
Hermione and Ron looked at each other. "Well…. being a magmanos isn't necessarily a good thing…" Ron said.
"Why not?" Harry asked.
"Its kind of like being a werewolf." Hermione said, "People are afraid of them. Magmani are powerful and since they don't need a wand, they are able to perform magic anytime and anywhere. Hold on a second." Hermione added then ran up to her room. Not even a full two minutes had passed when Hermione came back down the stairs carrying a rather large book. She slammed it down on the table (she would've placed it gently since Hermione has the greatest respect for books, but it was so cumbersome that it took a great amount of effort to heave it up on the table).
"Good God Hermione! Why on earth do you have a book that size for?" Ron said looking at the huge mass on the table.
Hermione ignored him and rapidly flipped through what seemed like hundreds and hundreds of pages. "Here!" she exclaimed. Ron and Harry looked at the page and read the title of the chapter: "Magmani: Evil Incarnate or Simply Misunderstood?" Hermione began to read: "During the medieval era those persons who were found to be magmani were usually taken into custody and tortured. Since magmani are unable to tolerate low temperatures, they were usually stripped and put out in the snow, while this causes large amounts of pain it does not usually kill magmani. They were usually left in this vulnerable position until they confessed to using their power against the good of the people--"
"Do you read this stuff before you go to bed?" Ron asked.
Hermione looked up with a sly grin and said, "Doesn't everyone?" She flipped through a couple more pages and started reading again, "Although most of these practices have been eliminated in today's society, magmani are still required to reveal themselves to the proper authorities ( i.e. the Ministry of Magic) and are required to put down the symbol of the magmani on all official papers."
That explains the family tree. Harry thought and looked closer at the symbol to the right of his great great grandmother's name. It looked like a bird intertwined between a circle and a flame.
Hermione continued, "Magmani are a rare occurrence and little is known about what causes the condition. However, it has been noted that those who have ancestors that were known magmani are more likely to see another one in the family, than those who have had no relation to one. There have been only ten cases of magmanism reported to the Ministry of Magic in the past one-hundred and fifty years, and the Ministry of Magic confidently believes that their existence will be completely eradicated in the next thirty years." Hermione stopped and closed the book (which was quite an effort) and Harry was able to see the title for the first time, "Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Magic…Ever."
"I wonder what happened to your grandmother." Ron said.
"Me too." Harry said trying to block out any thought of torture.
"You might want to cover up that symbol tomorrow, Harry. Draco for one would be ever so happy to find out that you had a magmanos in the family." Ron said.
"Yeah I guess" Harry said.
Ron yawned. Harry and Hermione soon followed suit. "Well this sure has been interesting, but I'm getting tired." Ron said.
"Yeah, it is getting late, thanks for your help Hermione." Harry said.
"Sure. See you guys in the morning." Hermione said trying to balance her book on her hip.
Harry and Ron went up to their rooms and got into their beds. Harry heard Ron fall asleep almost immediately. Harry, however, lay awake for a long time staring at his family tree, and more specifically at Selene's name. He looked at his clock, which now read 2:11. He couldn't believe that in only a few hours he had found so much about his family. However, he really wanted to find out more about Selene. Harry thought how wonderful it would be to have another aunt, and then a terrible thought hit him. What if she was like Aunt Petunia? Harry cringed. No, he thought, there had to be a rule that only one Petunia was allowed per family.
*****************************
Harry awoke the next morning to find Ron staring down at him. "C'mon, Harry we're going to be late." Ron said.
Harry got dressed quickly and he and Ron ran quickly toward Professor Binns' class. Ron, who had also gotten up late and had been forced to dress quickly, was so preoccupied with fixing his robe sleeve that he didn't see Ophelia Hughes, a Hufflepuff, pinning up posters. More importantly he didn't see the pile of posters at her feet, which he proceeded to step on and went sliding down the hallway.
"Watch where you're going!" Ophelia yelled as Ron went careening down the hallway on one of the posters. Ophelia rolled her eyes and Harry laughed as Ron finally fell with a thump at the end of the hall. Ron rubbed his backside as he picked up the poster.
"What are these?" Ron asked.
"It's for the Costume Ball" Ophelia said.
"The what?" Ron and Harry said together.
"You haven't heard? There's going to be a ball on Halloween and it's going to be great! Everyone in costumes and decorations and everything..." Ophelia continued to talk about the ball and didn't even notice that Ron and Harry had left, fearing they would be late for class. Luckily they were able to slip into class unnoticed by Binns. Hermione, however, gave them a condescending look as they snuck into their seats.
The class was relatively boring, until Hermione started her presentation. Her entire family was muggle and she had just mentioned her great grandmother, Zelda Granger, when Malfoy leaned over to his friends to make some snide comment. These comments grew louder and louder until they made Hermione visually uncomfortable. Harry then turned around and glared at Malfoy than gave him a sly smile and tapped his nose. Draco, whose nose was still swollen, suddenly became quiet.
Harry was really nervous as he presented his tree. He hoped that Binns wouldn't notice the Magmanos symbol. Luckily Binns was only half paying attention to him, and the rest of the class' attention was else where, so the magmanos symbol went unnoticed.
The rest of the day was busy for Harry and he was disappointed that once again he was unable to make it to the owlery to contact Sirius. What made this day even worse was that Snape had told Harry that he was to take his detention tonight. During dinner Harry was trying to mentally calculate how he could get to the owlery without being late for detention. He was so lost in his thoughts that Ron had to tug on the sleeve of his robe to get his attention.
"HARRY!" Ron shouted.
"Oh… I'm sorry Ron, I wasn't paying attention." Harry said.
"Obviously." Ron said, "Anyway I was saying that this costume ball thingy might not be so bad. I mean if I can get a hold of that mask Dad has stored somewhere in that attic. It's really cool and really gruesome." Ron said making a scary face at Hermione.
"Who are you going to go with?" asked Ginny Weasley.
"That's a good question." Hermione said to Ron.
Ron who was still making faces at Hermione suddenly blushed, "I don't know." he said sheepishly.
Harry and Ginny tried to hide their smiles. Over the past couple of weeks Harry had noticed that something was going on between Ron and Hermione. Apparently Ginny had noticed it also.
"Well, who are you going with?" Ron retorted to Hermione, "Now that Krum isn't here you might have to settle for someone who isn't a world famous quidditch player."
"That wasn't what I liked about him!" Hermione exclaimed. "He was more mature than some people I know." She said looking at Ron.
Ron got the point. "Well then, why don't I make you really mad and ask YOU to the dance. After all it might damage your more mature status!"
"Fine!" Hermione shouted and left the table.
"Fine!" Ron called after her.
Harry and Ginny exchanged confused looks. "What just happened here?" Harry said. "Are you and Hermione going to the ball together?"
"Guess so." Ron said rather plainly. "So who are you going with?"
"I don't know." Harry said. "Cho is the only person I REALLY want to go with and well…. After what happened last June…. Well I just don't feel it is right to ask her. Other than her, there's no one else I really want to go with."
Harry turned and saw Ginny absentmindedly poking at her vegetables. "Who are you going with Ginny?" he asked her. She looked up at him. Her expression was half embarrassment and half surprise. "Me? Um…Well….there's this one guy, but he doesn't seem to notice me…"
"Tell me who he is, and I'll go beat him up." Ron said.
Ginny smiled and blushed, "That's okay. I, uh, have some homework I need to finish. See you guys later."
It wasn't long after Ginny left that Harry realized that she had been talking about him. Harry knew that Ginny had a crush on him and he regretted the statement he said about Cho being the only one that he would consider going to the ball with. He excused himself from the table and ran to catch up with her. "Wait!" he called after her. Ginny stopped and turned around. "Harry?" she said.
Harry took a deep breath, "Well I was wondering…well…um…since apparently your brother and Hermione are going to the ball together…. I was thinking…well if you didn't have any plans…(Ginny broke into a wide grin)…would you consider going with me?"
Ginny looked at Harry as if she was trying to decide on whether to kiss him or run away. "Yes." she said finally. Her whole face disappeared under her wide grin.
"Mr. Potter." Snape said behind them, causing Harry to jump.
"Yes sir." Harry answered.
"Why don't you head on down to my office. I have a meeting with Dumbledore tonight, but that's no reason to delay your detention. There are instructions for you on my desk." Snape said and left.
"You better go." Ginny said to Harry.
"Yeah, I guess." Harry said.
"Thanks for asking me to go to the ball with you." Ginny said.
"You're welcome." Harry said, blushing.