I know this took forever but the next one will take twice as long if nothing changes within the next week. I've got a C in history and my parents said they'd ground me from the computer if I did. So it'll be at least four weeks if not nine before I can write again. I'm sorry! It's not my fault! It's my history teacher! I swear!
Chapter Seventeen
The Christmas Ball
"No, seriously, Madam Pomfrey, I'm fine! Really!"
"Are you sure, boy? If it isn't one thing, it's another with you—"
"Trust me, I'm fine. See? I can stand up and walk and everything."
"Don't forget to take your medicine, Potter, and check back with me in two days just before the ball."
"Of course, ma'am," said Harry, leaving the hospital wing finally. It had been two weeks since he'd seen the corridors and Hogwarts, and he was beginning to wonder if he would know the way back to Gryffindor tower by the time he convinced Madam Pomfrey he was well enough to leave.
Harry's wound hadn't been very serious—at least not in Harry's opinion. Madam Pomfrey, however, had given him several colorful and horrible-tasting potions, as well as put some red substance on the hole in his arm that burned like fire. Despite being locked away from everyone, and despite hating to admit it, Harry actually kind of found it nice to relax for a change. Professor Dumbledore had stopped by at one point and told him that he and the others weren't required to do their homework from holiday. Dumbledore had had a long talk with Harry about what had happened as well.
Harry walked down the corridors until he finally reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. The Fat Lady smiled warmly down at him.
"Been a while since I've seen you around," she said. "Did anyone tell you the password?"
Harry frowned. Had the password been changed?
"It's a new password, dear," said the Fat Lady, seemingly reading his thoughts.
Just as Harry was about to try and find a Gryffindor somewhere, the portrait hole swung open, revealing Hermione and Ron, apparently arguing with one another. They both walked right on by Harry without even taking note to him standing there. Hermione absentmindedly reached out and closed the portrait hole behind them.
"Well," said Harry, "guess some people don't even notice their best friend when he's been gone for two weeks…"
Ron and Hermione stopped abruptly at hearing his voice, then slowly spun around. Both stared blankly at the black-haired boy, then with a happy squeal, Hermione rushed over and hugged Harry tightly. Ron grinned at him from behind Hermione's back.
"Good to see you, mate," said Ron as Hermione finally pulled off and returned to Ron's side.
"Yeah, it's good to see you too," said Harry, rubbing his neck where Hermione had hugged him. "What were you guys arguing abou—"
"Nothing, Harry," said Ron. Hermione nudged him hard in the ribs, and he added hastily, "We'll tell you later. Why'd Madam Pomfrey keep you so long, anyway?"
"Something about…dangerous poison, like Remus said," Harry answered quietly, shrugging. "She gave me tons of medicine and told me to check back in two days."
"She's just worried about you, Harry," said Hermione. "Everyone has been lately, even Professor Dumbledore. They were all afraid the medicine Snape made for you—"
"Snape made that?!" spat Harry angrily. "No wonder it tasted so bad! He probably poisoned it!"
"Even Snape wouldn't do that under Dumbledore's nose, Harry, and you should well know that by now," said Hermione indignantly. "As I was saying, everyone thought the medicine might not work, and that you would become an Urdai and they would be forced to either kill you or put you in a confined place…like Azkaban…."
"Yeah, Harry," said Ron suddenly, "as much as I hate to admit it, Hermi's right this time. You were lucky. We all were. Let's head down for breakfast." And the trio proceeded to the Great Hall. "Everyone's gone home for holidays even though the ball's in a few days. Parents are worried about their kids. All the Slytherins are gone, thank God, and there're only two Ravenclaws and a Hufflepuff. We outnumber them by far—Fred, George, Ginny, me, Hermi, you, and the two first years that more or less saved our lives two weeks ago. Robbie McKinnon and Kirk Joseph, I think."
"McKinnon?" Harry repeated, suddenly remembering something: Back before Harry's first year, when Hagrid had just appeared at the small cottage in the middle of the sea to fetch Harry when he was with the Dursleys, Hagrid had told him something about the McKinnons. Wasn't it the McKinnons that had been murdered by Lord Voldemort?
"Yeah, I believe it's McKinnon," Ron responded, getting an affirmative nod from Hermione a moment later. "What, you know the name?"
Harry shook his head doubtfully. There had to be more than one set of wizarding McKinnons in Great Britain…
"Nah, never mind," he said after a moment. They walked into the Great Hall, and Harry found Ron's statement true: There were only eight other students present in the Great Hall, and all were sitting at the same table. It appeared a truce had been negotiated by the lonely Hufflepuff and Ravenclaws. Harry's mind briefly went into its dreamy state as he saw that Cho Chang was among the two Ravenclaws left. Ron waved a hand in front of Harry's face impatiently.
"Are we going to eat or stare at Cho during breakfast, Harry?" Ron asked with a grin and chuckle. Harry blushed deep red, then headed on down to the table and sat down next to Hermione and Ginny.
"Morning, Gin," said Harry as he started eating.
"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed, hugging him tightly. "I was so worried! Everyone was!"
"So I've heard," said Harry with a half-grin. "By the way, what's the new password to get into the common room?"
Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione hit him in the ribs once more.
"We'll tell you later," she said, giving Cho and the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff a meaningful glance that Ron didn't miss. Ron looked sheepishly at his breakfast, then began eating without further comment.
The staff table itself was nearly void of teachers; Hagrid was missing, as well as Professors McGonagall and Sprout. Tiny Professor Flitwick remained there, however, along with Snape (who looked even more gruesome than usual), Professor Trelawney, and the band professors, who both looked drained. Professor Tallow was missing as well, Harry noticed suddenly.
Malfoy's words suddenly echoed in the back of his head, taunting him: "And you better watch yourself, Tallow—not many people know what you used to be."
Ron pulled Harry aside as they neared the portrait hole after breakfast, letting Hermione, Ginny, and the others go on in ahead of them. Harry gave Ron a curious glance as Ron led him away from the Fat Lady and down a deserted hall.
"All right, here's what Hermione's put me up to telling you," said Ron with a sigh. "First, Hermi and me are going to the Christmas Ball together."
"About time you two realized you both love each other," said Harry with a big grin.
"Erm…not quite," responded Ron, beginning to pace up and down in front of Harry. He did, however, blush a deep shade of red as Harry had stated his belief that the pair were madly in love. "But we are going together. And…Hermi wants you to ask Ginny to the ball. But I want you to ask Cho or somebody else 'cause Ginny's my little sister, Harry!"
Ron said this all rather quickly, so Harry had to think the other's words over before responding intelligibly. Finally everything the red-head had said hit Harry, and the realization caused him to blush.
"Er…I'll, um, have to think about it, Ron," stammered Harry. He had, in truth and before realizing Cho was here, been thinking of asking Ginny to the ball, but now that he knew Cho was here…. "I think I'll ask Cho first, and if she says no…"
"Don't worry, Harry!" said Ron, clapping a hand on Harry's back as he came to a halt in his pacing. "Cho'll say yes! You could probably get anyone to go with you! Well, I'll see you later! Oh yes, and the password's Leaping Lizards. Don't ask," he added, seeing Harry's expression and stifling a laugh, "I think the Fat Lady thought it'd cheer you up."
"Well, it gave me a laugh, anyhow," said Harry as Ron disappeared down the corridor. "Now," he murmured quietly to himself, "to find Cho."
Immediately the black-haired boy headed in the Great Hall's direction, hoping Cho would still be eating breakfast. He had shoved the sadness of Cedric's death aside, at least for now, and it had been replaced by a sudden boyish hope that Cho would first speak to him, and then maybe, just maybe, go to the ball with him.
Quite suddenly, and as Harry neared the Great Hall, Peeves the Poltergeist swooped down and dropped a rather large snowball on Harry's head. Harry continued walking, but turned his head to yell angrily at Peeves, who cackled gleefully.
Before Harry could get his head turned back around, he ran straight into someone. It was only as he apologized and offered the black-haired girl he'd knocked down his hand that he realized this was the person he was looking for.
Cho took his hand and he managed to regain himself just enough to help her to her feet and grin stupidly at her.
"Hello Harry!" said Cho, rather happily. "How are you? Feeling better after that encounter with the Urdai?"
"Er—yes, I'm feeling fine now," said Harry shakily.
"That's good. Well, I'm off to do some of my homework, Harry, so I'll talk to you later."
"Actually," said Harry as Cho walked by him. She came to a halt and turned to face him. "I was wondering if you'd like to go to the…the ball with…me?" Harry blushed as he said this, but managed to keep his face straight and let a small, hopeful smile appear on his lips as he awaited the other's answer.
To his great surprise, Cho smiled back.
"Sure, Harry, I'd be glad to go with you," she said. "I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall at seven o'clock. See you then."
And then she turned and left, waving and grinning rather seductively over her shoulder at him. Harry could only goggle after her, thinking one thing: I've got to be the luckiest boy in the world.
As he finally reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, he'd managed to wipe the dopey grin off his face and recompose himself to look fairly decent. It hadn't been as hard as he'd expected, actually, and now he was glad he had asked Cho.
"You look happy, dear," said the Fat Lady, smiling down at him. "Did your friends tell you the password?"
Harry nodded.
"Leaping Lizards," he said. The Fat Lady grinned at him once more, then swung open. Harry closed the portrait as he walked in.
In the common room Hermione and Ron were locked in a battle of chess, while Fred coached Hermione and George coached Ron. Ginny was watching with a grin on her face. Harry walked over to where everyone was gathered and glanced at them.
"Hey Harry," everyone said in turn to him as he sat down next to Ginny.
Hermione, surprisingly, was doing very well. Every time Ron made a move, Hermione would counter it. The match went on for hours, until finally Fred and George grew bored of sitting around and decided to go exploring the castle. Ginny and Harry, however, still watched with interest.
"So Harry, how'd it go with Cho?" Ron asked without taking his eyes from the board.
"Cho?" Hermione said, frowning suddenly as she glanced from a sheepish Harry to a nonchalant Ron.
"She…er…we're going together, yes," said Harry, choosing the easier path—ignoring Hermione's comment.
"RONALD WEASLEY!" hissed Hermione angrily, batting the chess pieces away. A few of them went screaming into the roaring fire, causing Harry to have to stifle his laughter. "I cannot believe you did that! You promised me you wouldn't!"
Ron looked a bit downcast. Hermione grabbed him by the ear and pulled him off to a corner, where Harry and Ginny heard bits of yelling from Hermione, and feeble inaudible answers from Ron.
"So…" said Ginny, glancing down at her hands, which were clasped in her lap. "I hope Cho and you have a nice time."
"Thanks," Harry whispered back. "Who are you going with?"
"Kirk Joseph," said Ginny. "He came up with a plan to get he and Robbie into the ball even though they're first years, and I offered to help him."
Harry nodded, then cringed as Hermione dragged Ron up the steps to the girls' dorm. Strangled cries of "help" followed them for some time, and then silence. A few minutes later, Ron was shoved back down the stairs, his hair suddenly a brilliant color of pink with bows in it, and his fingernails painted bright, glittery yellow. He also had pink lipstick on, and his robes were pink too.
Harry tried his best to stifle his laughter, but he failed miserably and ended up falling off the couch, clutching his side he was laughing so hard.
"Well…" said Ron. "Missed the point again…dunno what I did…. Harry, I'm going to…get this stuff off me…see you in a while…"
Harry managed to wave good-bye to his friend as the currently pink-haired boy trudged up to the boys' dorm, muttering unintelligibly to himself.
The days following Hermione's explosion passed uneventfully. It had taken Ron relentless Muggle-style scrubbing using some soap Harry had to get the magical makeup off. Hermione continued to huff for the first day, then became much cooler towards Ron. Harry guessed she figured that if the two of them had to go to the ball together, then they had better be on speaking terms.
Last year for the ball, Dumbledore had hired a wizarding band to play, but this year, since there were so few people attending, he had decided to play music over a wizarding radio.
Finally Christmas Eve came, the night before Christmas, presents, and…the ball. Even Harry was beginning to become nervous this time; he had no idea if he could dance well enough. Sure, the Yule Ball last year had been easy enough, but he didn't want Cho to leave when the ball was less than halfway over like Parvati Patil had last year.
Ginny had become much quieter around Harry, and Harry secretly felt sorry for her, though he couldn't quite be sure why. Ginny had most likely offered to aid in Kirk's plan before Harry had asked Cho to go to the ball. If she had wanted to go with him, then would she have been so quick to help Kirk? Harry didn't know, and it troubled him constantly.
Hagrid still hadn't reappeared at Hogwarts, nor had Professor Tallow. Professor McGonagall was back, though, and now Snape was gone. Harry was troubled as well by Tallow's disappearance. Surely the kind professor hadn't joined Voldemort? Harry had always liked Tallow—he seemed friendly enough. Malfoy's words had haunted him since he'd noticed that the professor was gone.
Harry sat in the common room in front of the fire, alone with his thoughts. It was ten o'clock in the evening by now, so everyone was asleep but him. He just sat, thinking about tomorrow night. In the end, he decided to let everything play itself out, and to trust that it would all end okay.
He was rising and had made it to the stairs to the dorm when a thought hit him like he'd just fallen from his broomstick while flying thirty feet in the air: Seamus's parents were dead. So where had he gone during holidays?
"Great," Harry muttered to himself sleepily, "another problem to think about."
He woke the next morning to a small pile of presents at his feet. Ron stirred in the four-poster next to him as Harry began to carefully unwrap Sirius's thin present. Harry's eyes widened as he saw a blank piece of parchment, and he immediately grabbed his wand and whispered, while tapping the parchment, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good!"
(A/N: Sorry if Harry got the map back last year, but I read through Goblet of Fire and didn't find anything about Harry getting the Marauder's Map back. If he did get it back, sorry, and I'll correct the mistake as soon as possible if you'll just point out the spot Harry gets it back in your review. Thanks)
Words began forming on the parchment, written in a messy scroll Harry recognized easily.
"Mr. Padfoot would like to present this map to Mr. Prongs Jr., who lost it last year after a certain insane professor took it. Merry Christmas, Prongs. By the way, Moony also helped me fix a few things on it that have changed. Hope you like it. And this also gives you rights to your father's holy nickname, Prongs. Hope you like it, Prongs!"
Harry grinned. The Marauder's Map that he'd given to whom he thought was Mad-Eye Moody was finally back in his possession after being gone for so long.
Harry grabbed another package; Mrs. Weasley's emerald sweater with a lion and a small "H" on it. Harry grinned, then tucked it away in his trunk. Hermione bought him a set of emerald and crimson pajamas, which caused him to blush in thinking Ron had told her about his lack of pajamas. Ron's present was a small assortment of Muggle candy—things such as Three Musketeers' bars, Reese's Sticks, and many others, along with butterbeer in old-fashioned bottles which said "Guaranteed warm, frothy taste forever more, or you're money back!"
Hagrid bought him a set of quills and a fascinating wizard-style gold pocket watch that had various planets and moons for numbers. Along with it was a guide on how to read the watch, which was interesting in itself.
Still there were two presents remaining, and Harry couldn't figure out who could have sent them. Ron, meanwhile, was thanking Harry for the Muggle coins and various objects Harry had gotten him, which included pencils, paper, and a calculator, though it had stopped working inside Hogwarts when Harry had brought it in. He'd stolen most of the items from either Dudley or Uncle Vernon and then snuck them out of the house.
Harry unwrapped the first gift, which was in a small white box. He pulled the box open, and found a folded blue shirt within it. He unfolded the blue shirt to see that it was somewhat old, with a few holes and black covering parts of it. The shirt was blue everywhere except for the shoulder area, which was a beige color. A leaf was in the center of the front, which was white with little blue spots for the veins of it. The words "TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS" were scrolled across it, and a note was pinned to it.
Harry,
You showed some interest in hockey, so I had my dad send me an old Leafs jersey for you. Hope you like it.
Kirk
Harry grinned as he folded the jersey and placed it in his trunk. He was thankful he had bought Kirk a present; a rare phoenix feather quill he'd found at Mrs. Figg's house when Dudley's birthday outing had taken place. Mrs. Figg, Harry had discovered, was a witch herself. It was much more fun and interesting staying at her house knowing that fact.
Harry opened the next present, which was smaller and wrapped in brilliant gold wrapping paper. He opened it, revealing a small box. He took the box in his hands and carefully pried it open. A small quill was in it, with a golden feather attached to it. A note was folded up in the corner of the box, and Harry picked it up as he examined the quill, trying to think of what kind of bird it came from. He unfolded the note, then read it carefully, glancing at the quill every so often.
Dear Harry,
This isn't much, I know, but I wanted to give you something for Christmas, so I thought I may as well. The quill's feather is from a Zensonin, a brilliant black duck that has one golden feather on it. They're supposed to bring the bearer good luck. Hope it brings luck to you!
Ginny
Harry stared at the gold feather a moment longer, then pulled out Kirk's jersey and placed the quill within its folds, then packed it back in the trunk. He was once again glad he'd bought Ginny a little something too, even though it was nothing more than a book about Song Charms he'd found in Hogsmeade.
"Ready for breakfast yet, Harry?" called Ron from across the room.
"Yeah—just a minute—I've got to get dressed."
Harry pulled Mrs. Weasley's sweater out of his trunk and pulled it over his head, then tried to smooth his black hair unsuccessfully. He gave up and climbed out of his four-poster, then pulled on a pair of blue jeans Mrs. Figg had conjured for him during the summer.
"Lookin' good, mate!" said Ron happily as Harry climbed out of bed and saw Ron, decked out in his maroon Mrs. Weasley sweater.
"You too," said Harry. "C'mon, I'm starving, let's get some breakfast."
Ron nodded happily, then bounded down the stairs with Harry trailing behind, grinning after his best friend's happy figure.
"All right, Harry, face it: Your hair won't go down," said Kirk for the millionth time, "so stop smoothing it already!"
Kirk had appeared in the fifth years' dorm to get ready for the ball so he wouldn't be alone. Harry and Ron had also offered to let him sleep in their dorm, but he had declined with a devious look on his face.
Kirk now stood in the bathroom in his orange and black Quidditch robes, combing his hair with a Muggle comb. Ron was in a set of forest-y brown and green robes, and Harry had his usual emerald dress robes on. Harry was now more nervous than he had ever been. Even more so than he was about to be sorted when he was a first year.
And he had been very, very, very nervous then.
"You'll do fine," said Ron, also for the millionth time. "If anyone's got anything to worry about, it's Kirk here with his little trick he's pulling."
Kirk had related to them what he and Robbie were planning on doing to get to dance with each other the entire time, and Ron was right: It was a risky plan. But Harry doubted the teachers would notice the two first years, as Kirk was nearly as tall as any of them…but Kirk's orange robes just gave everything away….
"Yeah, you're right," said Harry, grinning at Kirk. "But have a good time alone with Robbie in detention, would you?"
Kirk nodded happily. Harry tried to smooth his hair once more, but it sprang back up in its usual messy self.
"Your…hair…won't…go…down…" said Kirk slowly, so that even if Harry hadn't been listening the hundred other times he'd said that same phrase, he would've still been quite annoyed with himself.
"I know, but I figure what the hell," said Harry, shrugging. He checked his wristwatch, which showed him it was ten till seven. "Shoot! We're about to be late, guys, we better get going!" he said, rushing out of the bathroom and towards the stairs.
"Coming, coming, coming," said Kirk, throwing his hands up and muttering something like, "Teenagers."
Ron followed Kirk, and Kirk followed Harry. Harry only stopped for a moment in the common room to bid his friends farewell, and that he would see them at the ball. He didn't notice the girls' dress robes at all in his rush to get to Cho, but did smile at each in turn.
He skidded to a halt at the Great Hall, where he saw the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen standing there, her long black hair trailing down her back. Crimson red dress robes tightly fit the girl's form, and Harry, though he thought it odd, didn't lose his senses over Cho Chang's beauty for once. He shook himself, then approached her cautiously, as if she were a wild animal.
He extended his hand upon reaching her.
"Shall we enter, my lady?" Harry asked, trying to mock a proper tone. Cho laughed gaily, telling him he succeeded, and they entered the Great Hall, where music was yet to play. They were the first to arrive.
The setup was the same as last year, only with fewer tables. Harry pulled Cho's chair out for her, and she smiled thankfully at him. Harry took his own seat, and they waited until Ron and Hermione appeared. Hermione's hair was once more in its elegant bun, and her robes were pure white. Ron had a goofy grin on his face, and they sat down fairly close to Harry and Cho.
Soon, Ginny and Kirk appeared as well, and sat down at their own table. Harry found himself goggling at Ginny, her beautiful red hair, her moonlight silvery robes shining in the moonlight, which shown through the Great Hall's ceiling.
Dumbledore walked out from where he'd been seemingly sitting at the staff table.
"Just do the same thing you did last year," he said, "to order your food. After we've eaten, the ball will proceed."
Harry ordered his food once more by telling the plate before him what he wanted. He smiled to himself as he began eating, cheerfully talking to Cho whenever she asked him something.
After they finished, the tables cleared and the lights dimmed. Harry took Cho's hand in his own.
"Would you care to dance?" he asked. Cho nodded with a smile on her face, and they began to dance to the slow music, which Harry was thankful for, as he didn't quite trust himself to dance to the songs he'd seen people dance to last year.
Cho's hands were around Harry's neck, and Harry's were around her waist. They looked very comfortable in the position, even though the music that was playing was fast. Kirk watched them from where he was sitting next to Robbie with a worried expression.
"There's something wrong with that scene," Robbie whispered to him.
"Tell me about it," Kirk responded, taking Robbie's hand in his and rising. "I think we'd better play matchmaker, Robbie. Wanna give me a hand?"
A mischievous grin appeared on the girl's face.
"Of course," she said. "What do I do?"
Harry didn't know whether he was in heaven or hell. Heaven was his first thought, as his arms were wrapped around Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw he'd longed to hold for so long. Yes, it was nice to finally have his chance.
But if heaven was anything like this, he'd just assume to stay here. Every time Cho and he would spin slowly, he would glimpse Ginny's saddened form, sitting alone. So if heaven meant seeing the people who got hell, he'd stay here. Ginny's hell didn't appear to appealing.
So Harry tried to concentrate on Cho, and not the girl who looked so sad. As Ginny disappeared from view, Harry felt Cho's head on his shoulder, resting quietly there. Harry leaned his head slightly on hers, and they stayed that way until Ginny came into view once more. She was dancing with Kirk, but looking straight into Harry's eyes.
A quiet peck came on Harry's shoulder and he glanced over to see Robbie standing there, smiling.
"Care to dance, Harry?" she asked.
"Sure," said Cho, "I want to rest a moment anyway."
Harry shrugged his indifference, then took Robbie in his arms.
"You like Ginny." Robbie's sentence wasn't a question; it was a statement of truth. "And don't deny it, Harry, 'cause I've seen you look at her, the way you do. It's the same way I look at Kirk, and the way he looks at me. Just admit it to yourself, then ask her to dance. Kirk and I will keep Cho occupied, and tell her what you feel for Ginny if you'll give us permission."
Harry stared at Robbie, mouthing soundlessly like a goldfish. She'd hit the nail on the head with her last statement.
"Please, Harry," said Robbie, looking him in the eye. "Just ask Ginny to dance, and then I'll talk to you again, and we'll see what you're thinking." Harry nodded somewhat fearfully, then Robbie released her grip around his neck and pushed him gently towards where Ginny stood.
Harry stumbled awkwardly, tripping over the hem of his robes. He regained his footing, though, and walked somewhat calmly over to Ginny, and offered his hand.
"D'you…d'you want to dance?" he asked quietly. Ginny took his hand in hers, and he pulled her close. She placed her arms around her neck, and Harry put his hands on her waist. A slow song started up again, something Harry was once more thankful for.
As the song continued, Ginny edged closer, and Harry found himself doing the same, until her head was on his chest. His arms were now wrapped tightly around her waist, and his chin rested on her hair.
Now I'm the luckiest boy alive, said a voice in the back of Harry's mind, which caused him to smile into space, thanking someone for letting him be a normal boy for once in the fifteen years he'd spent on this earth.
The song ended, but they continued dancing, and in fact didn't stop until Dumbledore announced the ball was over, and told everyone to go back to their common rooms. Harry pulled back from Ginny and looked at her, into her deep brown eyes, then took her hand in his and they walked away towards the Gryffindor tower.
They didn't stop holding hands until they reached their separate ways to the dorms.
"G'night, Ginny," Harry whispered.
"'Night, Harry," said Ginny, equally quiet.
Harry then turned and headed up to his dorm, where he fell into bed and fell asleep without even taking his dress robes off.