Part Eleven:
The Yule Ball

Harry left the Great Hall and went to eat in the boy's dorms. He really had no idea why he was acting this way, but he was. When he got done eating he went back into the common room. Ron, Hermione, and Alex were already there. He didn't feel like sitting by them. Instead he decided to go see Hagrid for a little while. He made his way outside, walking quickly past one of the guards that happened to be men about Hagrid's size. When he got to Hagrid's hut, he knocked on the door, Hagrid answering. He looked very happy, Hagrid.

" Why are you so cheerfull?" Harry asked.

"An' why're ya so glum?" Hagrid asked.

" Oh. I don't know. It's just a little problem." said Harry.

" Aw come on. Tell me." Hagrid said.

" Well,-" and he went on telling about how he was sick of seeing Ron and Hermione so happy around each other, and how he had gotten mad when he had found out that Alex was going to the Ball with Austin.

" Sounds ter me like yer a tad bit jealous there, Harry." Hagrid said.

" I'M NOT JEALOUS!" said Harry. He stomped out of Hagrids hut feeling angrier than he had before he had come. He just wanted this whole Ball thing to be over. And the Ball was tonight, so he didn't have long to wait. On the way back to teh common room, he saw Alex. She was about ten feet away from him when she slipped on something. She went sailing across the floor-toward Harry. Harry caught her and stood her up straight.

"Oh Harry! I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

" Watch where you're going!" he said, walking away and leaving behind a very ticked- off Alex.

***

" Dang it!" said Sam.

" It didn't work!" said Megan.

" Yeah, putting that water on the floor to make her slip was a total waste!" said Trinity.

" Don't worry. I have an even better idea." said Sam.

( ;****: )

Harry could honestly say he had never seen so many nervous girls in his life. The boys were ready for the Ball ( Ron wearing new navy blue dress robes, which he seemed quite pleased with. ) and were waiting for the girls in the common room. The girls on the other hand were constantly running around worrying about stuff like lipgloss, and how their hair looked and such. Harry and Ron decided to wait for their dates at the foot of the marble stairs that led to the Great Hall. They had been standing there for a while when Hermione came down. She was wearing her blue robes again, and looked just as pretty as last year. She and Ron went ahead to the Ball. Harry was standing there waiting for Cho, and wondering what could be taking her so long, when Austin Trotman walked up beside him.

" Have you seen Alex?" he asked.

"No." said Harry.

" I can't wait to see her. She'll be the prettiest girl here!"said Austin. And as if on cue Alex came down the stairs. Harry just stared. She was gorgeous! Her hair was in large curls, and she had small diamonds in it. She was wearing lavender colored robes made out of the same floaty material as Hermiones. She was also wearing her fairy pin. She was grinning from ear to ear.

" Hi!" she said.

" You look fantastic!" Austin said.

" Why thank you!" she said.

" Harry, what are you staring at?" Harry realized that he had been staring at her the whole time, opened mouthed.

" Nothing!" he said harshly, turning back toward the stairs. Austin and Alex left, and Cho was now coming down the stairs. She looked good, but she wasn't near as pretty as Alex. She and Harry walked into the Great Hall. It looked wonderful. Christmas trees were everywhere. There were candles all over the place, and it had once again been lit up by the lights of fairys. Harry noticed that many of them were going to Alex and talking with her. After Harry and Cho had danced a little, Harry went to sit down.He noticed Ron and Hermione laughing with Fred and George. And then he noticed Alex and Austin. They were dancing very slowly- and very close. Harry noticed Alex throwing glances at him every now and then. Their eyes met just as Austin bent down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Harry stood up quickly. Thoughts were running through his head. 'I'm the only one who is allowed to be with her!'...'You have no right to be taking her away from me!'..I am the only one Alex is supposed to kiss or be kissed by!'... Harry went flying out of the Hall up to the common room.He wasn't staying there a minute longer. He flung himself onto a sofa. 'I cannot believe this!' he thought.

"Harry!" he spun around. Alex was standing there, looking very angry.

" WHAT is your problem?" she said." Ya just left Cho down there like she was nothing. She has been tryin' to find you forever! If you have some sort of problem with me then tell me and quit taking your anger out on other people! This is just getting rediculous! Tell me what is wrong! "

" You want to know what's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong! Every since I met you I have been having these weird feelings I've never had before! You come to England with your pretty eyes, your hair, your charm, and you instantly become part of my group of friends! AND, when I finally think I have a chance with you, you turn around and go to the ball with some sixth year who just happens to be a lot more better looking and a whole lot more popular than I am!" he paused to catch his breath.

" WHAT?! You're mad at me because I didn't go to the Ball with you? I thought you were going to ask me- I hoped you would ask me- I would have done anything for you to have asked me- but you never did! You never even MENTIONED the Ball, let alone asked me to go with you! And I don't think he's better looking than you are-or more popular! I think you're a lot cuter than he is!" she said.

"Yeah right!" he said

" I can't believe you!" she said.

" Well I can't believe you either!" he said.

" You are SO immature!" she said.

" I can't stand you!" he said.

" I hate you!" she said.

" Well I hate you too!" he said. And before he knew what he was doing , he had her face in his hands, and was kissing her.She tried to pull away- startled at what he had done. But then her arms went around his neck, and they stood there like that for a while. Then, they stopped and began to step away from each other.

" We shouldn't have done that." he said.

" Yeah. Now it'll be all weird."

" Yeah." he said quietly.

Then after an awkward pause Alex said-

" Maybe we should just forget what just happened, you know?. We shouldn't tell anybody-and we can't let it get weird between us." she said.

" Okay." he said nodding.

" Okay, well I told Austin I probably wouldn't be back down so I'm going to bed. We're still friends right?"

" Yes, of course. I really don't think that Cho will want to see me after this, so I'll go to bed too. Good night." he said.

" Good night." she said.

And so they headed up their separate staircases to their dorms. Three very excited eleven year olds were hiding behind the curtains.

"Oh man! We didn't even have to write that fake letter from Alex confessig everything!" Sam said.

" Yeah, but they're going to forget about it!" said Trinity, throwing her blonde hair back.

" They THINK they're going to forget about it. But when something like that happens you can't just forget about it." said Megan.

" Lets go up to bed and talk about this." said Trinity. They stood up, Magan being almost two and a half feet taller than the other two, and went to hatch yet another plan.