For the Love of the Land
~I pledge my loyalty to Honor, Justice, and Hogwarts~
Part Five
"Ron?" Harry said, raising his eyebrows at his best friend. They were playing chess and, for the first time since Harry entered Hogwarts, he was winning. Ron was staring into oblivion with the stupidest smile on his face...Harry had thought Ron discovered how to change Malfoy into a magnifying glass or something, but he wouldn't sacrifice a chess game on Malfoy. This was something phenomenal.
"Hmm?" Ron said, making a careless move and sacrificing his castle.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"Nothing." Ron said, losing a knight. The game continued in silence for a few more minutes.
"Okay....so....who are going to ask to the Halloween Dance thingy?"
"No one." Ron said.
"What?" Harry demanded, his black eyebrows skyrocketing upward. "You're planning to go alone?"
"I never said that." Ron said, his smile becoming, if possible, even wider.
"What did I miss?" Harry said.
"Oh....nothing."
"Ron..." Harry said in a low and almost threatening voice.
"Checkmate." Ron said, moving his remaining knight. Harry stared at the chessboard in disbelief.
"What...?" He said. Ron stood up.
"I asked Hermione to the Dance, she said yes." He said, his smile even dopier. He fled upstairs, laughing. The look on Harry's face was PRICELESS!
* * *
"All right, guys, you're doing well." Luna said, helping Neville stand up after Hermione had thrown a particularly strong gush of water at him. "We're actually doing better than I thought we would at this point, and...Hermione, Ginny, Cho! Will you please listen?"
The girls turned sheepishly in the direction of their trainer. The Halloween Dance was only three hours away, and they were all anxious to get to their dorms and prepare. Draco simply laughed at them.
"Sorry." Ginny mumbled blushing. Luna sighed.
"Well, I just want you five to be on alert at ALL times. We have no idea when Voldemort is going to strike. Dumbledore and I have finally decided on how we're going to keep Voldie and the Death Eaters from finding out who you are, while still making it obvious to them that YOU are the Defenders."
"That made absolutely no sense." Draco pointed out.
"Let's just say that when the battle DOES come, we want them to know which five of the students there are the Defenders, but we don't want them to see names and faces. We've developed a spell that will change your school robes so that they are colored and have hoods that will completely cover your heads and hide your faces. But we'll work on that tomorrow, as you girls are obviously itching to get to your dorms." She smiled. "Have fun at the dance."
And, without the slightest hesitation, the girls sprinted from the office to their dorms. Neville shook his head at them and Draco scoffed.
"Girls," The latter said. "Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em." Neville nodded in agreement as they left. Luna sat down at her desk, trying to concentrate on a stack of third year's reports that needed grading, but she couldn't.
Almost against her will she found herself opening the bottom drawer on the left hand side of the desk. She pulled out a framed picture. Holding it in her hands, she found herself being transported back in time, to the time of the picture, to be precise. Back to the Halloween Dance in her own seventh year....
"Dance with me," He said with a devilish grin, extending a hand.
"You know I don't dance." Luna replied, refusing to get up. She looked past him, out onto the dance floor, and saw Lily Evans, a fellow Ravenclaw, and James Potter of Gryffindor dancing together. There was just something about the two of them. Funny that something like the Defenders could bring two people so close. There they looked docile and loving, but Lily's control of fire was powerful, and James could blow Hogwarts down if he wanted to.
"C'mon," He said, snapping her back to the dance. "You can't just sit there like a lump all night." Luna looked up at him. She wanted what Lily and James had. Of course, the boy before her was a Defender too. He controlled water, to be precise. Maybe a good thing could come of it for her too. She sighed in defeat.
"Okay, one dance." He smiled, grabbed her hand and whisked her out onto the dance floor. They started in the middle of a popular dance song among teenagers, then a waltz, and then some kind of polka. Then, some American swing music began to play. Luna didn't dance great, but she was having a wonderful time despite herself. At the end of the fast-paced song, Luna was tipped over in his arms. Laughing and out of breath, she looked up into his eyes. And in that moment, something about their relationship changed forever.
"Picture!" Lily squealed, running over to them. Luna stood up, and he slipped his arms around her waist. Just before Lily snapped the picture, he started tickling Luna. She squealed with laughter, fighting his grasp...
Luna pulled herself out of the memory. She realized she had been crying, and quickly brushed off the tears and returned to picture of that night to where it belonged.
He murdered fifteen people in cold blood, Luna reminded her self. That includes Lily, James, and Peter. Sirius Black is evil now, Luna.
But somehow, she couldn't bring herself to believe it.
* * *
"Should I go get some drinks?" Seamus asked. Ginny looked up and smiled. Seamus was so sweet to her.
"Sure," She said. "I'll go find a table."
Seamus headed off, and Ginny scanned around. She saw a small, empty table for two in the shadows. Perfect.
She headed there swiftly, and sat down. No sooner had this happen when someone sat down next to her.
"Seamus?" She asked turning. She found it hard to hide her surprise when she saw not Seamus, but Draco Malfoy, leaned back in the chair with his feet up on the table, looking as though he belonged there.
"Afraid not, Miss Weasley." He replied, sipping a butterbeer. Ginny rolled her eyes at him.
"What do YOU want, Draco." She demanded, looking out at the other tables nervously to see if Seamus was coming.
"Can't I just say hello?" He asked. Ginny scowled.
"You never 'just say hello' as you put it." She pointed out.
"Those robes look very nice on you, Ginny." He said, gesturing to the navy satin dress robe her mother had hand stitched for Ginny over the summer.
"And I suppose your going to make some comment on how I could afford them." She said coldly. She was a bit surprised at herself for being so cruel, but Draco didn't seem to mind. He gave a sly half smile and leaned across the table toward her.
"I could if you wanted me to, Weasley." He said. Ginny, not really knowing what to say faltered for a moment before deciding to return to her original question.
"What do you want, Draco?"
"One dance. That's all I ask."
Ginny stared in astonishment. Dance with Draco Malfoy? Of course, being with him in the Defender meetings, she had noticed how good-looking he was, as she had no other year. Did she want to dance with him? She had been brought up to hate him, as he was a Malfoy. And yet...something inside of her seemed to be yearning to take his hand.
"Guess that's a no." Draco said with an empty smile before Ginny had decided how to deal with his suggestion. He disappeared into the shadows, and Ginny stared after him, not sure if she was relieved because of his absence, or wishing he would return.
"Ginny, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." Ginny turned around to look at Seamus, who was holding two butterbeers and had a concerned frown on his freckled face.
"Nothing, just thinking, that's all." She replied, taking the proffered butterbeer.
* * *
This is pathetic, he thought. Simply pathetic. Harry watched as Ron twirled Hermione, and then she was back in his arms as they moved around the dance floor. After all those years of bickering, they were dating, and looking rather serious as well. Who would've guessed?
He wasn't dateless, but, as with the Yule ball in fourth year, he didn't feel like he had a date. He had asked Lisa Turpin, a very pretty Ravenclaw, also in sixth year, with bouncing light brown curls and large blue eyes that looked green in the emerald dress robes she was wearing. However, she wasn't very patient with Harry's horrible dancing, and when Terry Boot had asked to cut in, Harry was all too willing.
Harry tore his eyes away from Ron and Hermione. They just looked so...right together. And while Harry was happy for them...he didn't really know what it was. Jealousy? Perhaps. Fear? Why would he be afraid? His eyes drifted landing on Neville Longbottom, who was enjoying himself thoroughly with Hannah Abbot. Even Neville had a real date!
Harry sighed and again let his thoughts and eyes drift. His eyes stopped again on Ginny, dancing with Seamus. Ginny, Ron's little sister, whom he had known since his first visit to the Burrow. Ginny, little Ginny, who was the shy and yet brave baby of the family. Ginny was like a little sister to Harry. Right?
Then why did he have the very strong urge to punch Seamus Finnigan?
* * *
Hermione was completely oblivious to the dramas of her friends around her. She was floating in Ron's arms. Well, there was the slight problem that Ron was a horrible dancer, but that wasn't important.
She could remember, like yesterday, last year's Yule ball. She had gone with Harry as a friend, because neither had a date two weeks before, and they didn't want to take the chance of going alone. At the time, Ron had been dating Samantha Michaels, a green-eyed blond who had been in fourth year at the time. Needless to say, Aunt Charlotte received many woeful letters over that little fiasco.
But that was in the past. She was finally dancing where she belonged: in Ron's arms. It seemed that his dancing was a bit off balance, because while his legs were a bit unsure of the steps, his arms were almost graceful. Not that, after all these years of being his best friend, Hermione could ever really look at him as graceful.
Four steps to the left, forward two, twist out, twist in...Hermione could understand how Ron got lost. However, they moved together in perfect unison, as if it were destiny that they were there together, as Hermione was sure it was. How could it be any other way? She had loved Ron for years, and now that she had him, nothing at all had changed.
At 11:00 nearly all of the students under fifth year had gone to bed. Some of the couples were heading up to their dorms, or sneaking off to snog. Hermione didn't move, and, as a slow love song began to play, she rested her head on Ron's shoulder as they continued to dance. Strange how it fitted there so perfectly...
* * *
Harry saw those around him leave. It was then that he realized that he had spent the last half hour staring at Seamus and Ginny, and his fists were, quite against his will, clenched. Harry forced himself to relax and looked around for Lisa. She was sitting at a table near the drinks, laughing with Terry Boot over two butterbeers. That was well enough; Harry could leave without being missed.
He cast one last glance at Hermione and Ron, dancing in a slow circle. Hermione was resting her head on Ron's shoulder. It all seemed so...right. Like something out of a movie. Harry smiled; despite the nagging feeling of what was probably jealousy, Harry was very happy for them. No was good enough for his two best friends but each other, and Harry had suspected for quite a while that Ron would finally wake up and smell the coffee.
Harry then turned and left quickly to prevent himself from satisfying that strange, yet undeniable urge to pound Seamus into the ground.
* * *
Ginny continued to dance with Seamus, but she was looking over her shoulder at Hermione and her brother and fighting the urge to laugh. She could remember Ron's endless complaints about her. It didn't seem as though he had anything to complain about right now...
Ginny stopped herself from sighing. Ron and Hermione just looked so comfortable together. Ginny wondered if she would ever be like that. But with whom? Seamus? No, while she liked Seamus, it was more like an extended friendship that love, though Ginny didn't have the heart to tell him so. Harry? Ginny's six year long crush on Harry was finally beginning to subside, something she was very grateful for, so she wasn't about to put the thought of her and Harry slow dancing together in her head...again.
Draco? A small voice in her head said. DRACO?! Where did THAT come from? Draco was...
Actually, Ginny didn't know WHAT Draco was. A friend? Certainly not; they hardly knew each other. They wouldn't have even been calling each other by the first name, had they not both been defenders. How could something as wonderful as love come from something like that?
Little did Ginny know that twenty years earlier, on that very dance floor, Lily Evans and Luna Starlight both had had that exact same thought.
* * *
How did I never notice how beautiful she was? Ron questioned himself. He was walking back to the Gryffindor common room, holding Hermione by the hand. He had never even considered looking at her as more than a friend before this year...well, not seriously, anyway. How could he have ignored the angel that had been sitting next to him all these years. How stupid he was!
They reached the foot of the staircases, and Ron leaned over and kissed her. He loved kissing her, it made him feel like he could fly.
"Goodnight, Hermione," He said softly.
"Goodnight, Ron," She replied in a whisper. She turned and ran up the stairs, and Ron looked after her for a moment before climbing the stairs to his own dorm. Hermione. He had never noticed how beautiful that name was before.
Ron walked into his dorm and fell into his bed without even changing into his pajamas. He fell asleep with a smile on his face, dreaming of her.
It hadn't even occurred to him that Harry was only pretending to be asleep.
~I pledge my loyalty to Honor, Justice, and Hogwarts~
Part Five
"Ron?" Harry said, raising his eyebrows at his best friend. They were playing chess and, for the first time since Harry entered Hogwarts, he was winning. Ron was staring into oblivion with the stupidest smile on his face...Harry had thought Ron discovered how to change Malfoy into a magnifying glass or something, but he wouldn't sacrifice a chess game on Malfoy. This was something phenomenal.
"Hmm?" Ron said, making a careless move and sacrificing his castle.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"Nothing." Ron said, losing a knight. The game continued in silence for a few more minutes.
"Okay....so....who are going to ask to the Halloween Dance thingy?"
"No one." Ron said.
"What?" Harry demanded, his black eyebrows skyrocketing upward. "You're planning to go alone?"
"I never said that." Ron said, his smile becoming, if possible, even wider.
"What did I miss?" Harry said.
"Oh....nothing."
"Ron..." Harry said in a low and almost threatening voice.
"Checkmate." Ron said, moving his remaining knight. Harry stared at the chessboard in disbelief.
"What...?" He said. Ron stood up.
"I asked Hermione to the Dance, she said yes." He said, his smile even dopier. He fled upstairs, laughing. The look on Harry's face was PRICELESS!
* * *
"All right, guys, you're doing well." Luna said, helping Neville stand up after Hermione had thrown a particularly strong gush of water at him. "We're actually doing better than I thought we would at this point, and...Hermione, Ginny, Cho! Will you please listen?"
The girls turned sheepishly in the direction of their trainer. The Halloween Dance was only three hours away, and they were all anxious to get to their dorms and prepare. Draco simply laughed at them.
"Sorry." Ginny mumbled blushing. Luna sighed.
"Well, I just want you five to be on alert at ALL times. We have no idea when Voldemort is going to strike. Dumbledore and I have finally decided on how we're going to keep Voldie and the Death Eaters from finding out who you are, while still making it obvious to them that YOU are the Defenders."
"That made absolutely no sense." Draco pointed out.
"Let's just say that when the battle DOES come, we want them to know which five of the students there are the Defenders, but we don't want them to see names and faces. We've developed a spell that will change your school robes so that they are colored and have hoods that will completely cover your heads and hide your faces. But we'll work on that tomorrow, as you girls are obviously itching to get to your dorms." She smiled. "Have fun at the dance."
And, without the slightest hesitation, the girls sprinted from the office to their dorms. Neville shook his head at them and Draco scoffed.
"Girls," The latter said. "Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em." Neville nodded in agreement as they left. Luna sat down at her desk, trying to concentrate on a stack of third year's reports that needed grading, but she couldn't.
Almost against her will she found herself opening the bottom drawer on the left hand side of the desk. She pulled out a framed picture. Holding it in her hands, she found herself being transported back in time, to the time of the picture, to be precise. Back to the Halloween Dance in her own seventh year....
"Dance with me," He said with a devilish grin, extending a hand.
"You know I don't dance." Luna replied, refusing to get up. She looked past him, out onto the dance floor, and saw Lily Evans, a fellow Ravenclaw, and James Potter of Gryffindor dancing together. There was just something about the two of them. Funny that something like the Defenders could bring two people so close. There they looked docile and loving, but Lily's control of fire was powerful, and James could blow Hogwarts down if he wanted to.
"C'mon," He said, snapping her back to the dance. "You can't just sit there like a lump all night." Luna looked up at him. She wanted what Lily and James had. Of course, the boy before her was a Defender too. He controlled water, to be precise. Maybe a good thing could come of it for her too. She sighed in defeat.
"Okay, one dance." He smiled, grabbed her hand and whisked her out onto the dance floor. They started in the middle of a popular dance song among teenagers, then a waltz, and then some kind of polka. Then, some American swing music began to play. Luna didn't dance great, but she was having a wonderful time despite herself. At the end of the fast-paced song, Luna was tipped over in his arms. Laughing and out of breath, she looked up into his eyes. And in that moment, something about their relationship changed forever.
"Picture!" Lily squealed, running over to them. Luna stood up, and he slipped his arms around her waist. Just before Lily snapped the picture, he started tickling Luna. She squealed with laughter, fighting his grasp...
Luna pulled herself out of the memory. She realized she had been crying, and quickly brushed off the tears and returned to picture of that night to where it belonged.
He murdered fifteen people in cold blood, Luna reminded her self. That includes Lily, James, and Peter. Sirius Black is evil now, Luna.
But somehow, she couldn't bring herself to believe it.
* * *
"Should I go get some drinks?" Seamus asked. Ginny looked up and smiled. Seamus was so sweet to her.
"Sure," She said. "I'll go find a table."
Seamus headed off, and Ginny scanned around. She saw a small, empty table for two in the shadows. Perfect.
She headed there swiftly, and sat down. No sooner had this happen when someone sat down next to her.
"Seamus?" She asked turning. She found it hard to hide her surprise when she saw not Seamus, but Draco Malfoy, leaned back in the chair with his feet up on the table, looking as though he belonged there.
"Afraid not, Miss Weasley." He replied, sipping a butterbeer. Ginny rolled her eyes at him.
"What do YOU want, Draco." She demanded, looking out at the other tables nervously to see if Seamus was coming.
"Can't I just say hello?" He asked. Ginny scowled.
"You never 'just say hello' as you put it." She pointed out.
"Those robes look very nice on you, Ginny." He said, gesturing to the navy satin dress robe her mother had hand stitched for Ginny over the summer.
"And I suppose your going to make some comment on how I could afford them." She said coldly. She was a bit surprised at herself for being so cruel, but Draco didn't seem to mind. He gave a sly half smile and leaned across the table toward her.
"I could if you wanted me to, Weasley." He said. Ginny, not really knowing what to say faltered for a moment before deciding to return to her original question.
"What do you want, Draco?"
"One dance. That's all I ask."
Ginny stared in astonishment. Dance with Draco Malfoy? Of course, being with him in the Defender meetings, she had noticed how good-looking he was, as she had no other year. Did she want to dance with him? She had been brought up to hate him, as he was a Malfoy. And yet...something inside of her seemed to be yearning to take his hand.
"Guess that's a no." Draco said with an empty smile before Ginny had decided how to deal with his suggestion. He disappeared into the shadows, and Ginny stared after him, not sure if she was relieved because of his absence, or wishing he would return.
"Ginny, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." Ginny turned around to look at Seamus, who was holding two butterbeers and had a concerned frown on his freckled face.
"Nothing, just thinking, that's all." She replied, taking the proffered butterbeer.
* * *
This is pathetic, he thought. Simply pathetic. Harry watched as Ron twirled Hermione, and then she was back in his arms as they moved around the dance floor. After all those years of bickering, they were dating, and looking rather serious as well. Who would've guessed?
He wasn't dateless, but, as with the Yule ball in fourth year, he didn't feel like he had a date. He had asked Lisa Turpin, a very pretty Ravenclaw, also in sixth year, with bouncing light brown curls and large blue eyes that looked green in the emerald dress robes she was wearing. However, she wasn't very patient with Harry's horrible dancing, and when Terry Boot had asked to cut in, Harry was all too willing.
Harry tore his eyes away from Ron and Hermione. They just looked so...right together. And while Harry was happy for them...he didn't really know what it was. Jealousy? Perhaps. Fear? Why would he be afraid? His eyes drifted landing on Neville Longbottom, who was enjoying himself thoroughly with Hannah Abbot. Even Neville had a real date!
Harry sighed and again let his thoughts and eyes drift. His eyes stopped again on Ginny, dancing with Seamus. Ginny, Ron's little sister, whom he had known since his first visit to the Burrow. Ginny, little Ginny, who was the shy and yet brave baby of the family. Ginny was like a little sister to Harry. Right?
Then why did he have the very strong urge to punch Seamus Finnigan?
* * *
Hermione was completely oblivious to the dramas of her friends around her. She was floating in Ron's arms. Well, there was the slight problem that Ron was a horrible dancer, but that wasn't important.
She could remember, like yesterday, last year's Yule ball. She had gone with Harry as a friend, because neither had a date two weeks before, and they didn't want to take the chance of going alone. At the time, Ron had been dating Samantha Michaels, a green-eyed blond who had been in fourth year at the time. Needless to say, Aunt Charlotte received many woeful letters over that little fiasco.
But that was in the past. She was finally dancing where she belonged: in Ron's arms. It seemed that his dancing was a bit off balance, because while his legs were a bit unsure of the steps, his arms were almost graceful. Not that, after all these years of being his best friend, Hermione could ever really look at him as graceful.
Four steps to the left, forward two, twist out, twist in...Hermione could understand how Ron got lost. However, they moved together in perfect unison, as if it were destiny that they were there together, as Hermione was sure it was. How could it be any other way? She had loved Ron for years, and now that she had him, nothing at all had changed.
At 11:00 nearly all of the students under fifth year had gone to bed. Some of the couples were heading up to their dorms, or sneaking off to snog. Hermione didn't move, and, as a slow love song began to play, she rested her head on Ron's shoulder as they continued to dance. Strange how it fitted there so perfectly...
* * *
Harry saw those around him leave. It was then that he realized that he had spent the last half hour staring at Seamus and Ginny, and his fists were, quite against his will, clenched. Harry forced himself to relax and looked around for Lisa. She was sitting at a table near the drinks, laughing with Terry Boot over two butterbeers. That was well enough; Harry could leave without being missed.
He cast one last glance at Hermione and Ron, dancing in a slow circle. Hermione was resting her head on Ron's shoulder. It all seemed so...right. Like something out of a movie. Harry smiled; despite the nagging feeling of what was probably jealousy, Harry was very happy for them. No was good enough for his two best friends but each other, and Harry had suspected for quite a while that Ron would finally wake up and smell the coffee.
Harry then turned and left quickly to prevent himself from satisfying that strange, yet undeniable urge to pound Seamus into the ground.
* * *
Ginny continued to dance with Seamus, but she was looking over her shoulder at Hermione and her brother and fighting the urge to laugh. She could remember Ron's endless complaints about her. It didn't seem as though he had anything to complain about right now...
Ginny stopped herself from sighing. Ron and Hermione just looked so comfortable together. Ginny wondered if she would ever be like that. But with whom? Seamus? No, while she liked Seamus, it was more like an extended friendship that love, though Ginny didn't have the heart to tell him so. Harry? Ginny's six year long crush on Harry was finally beginning to subside, something she was very grateful for, so she wasn't about to put the thought of her and Harry slow dancing together in her head...again.
Draco? A small voice in her head said. DRACO?! Where did THAT come from? Draco was...
Actually, Ginny didn't know WHAT Draco was. A friend? Certainly not; they hardly knew each other. They wouldn't have even been calling each other by the first name, had they not both been defenders. How could something as wonderful as love come from something like that?
Little did Ginny know that twenty years earlier, on that very dance floor, Lily Evans and Luna Starlight both had had that exact same thought.
* * *
How did I never notice how beautiful she was? Ron questioned himself. He was walking back to the Gryffindor common room, holding Hermione by the hand. He had never even considered looking at her as more than a friend before this year...well, not seriously, anyway. How could he have ignored the angel that had been sitting next to him all these years. How stupid he was!
They reached the foot of the staircases, and Ron leaned over and kissed her. He loved kissing her, it made him feel like he could fly.
"Goodnight, Hermione," He said softly.
"Goodnight, Ron," She replied in a whisper. She turned and ran up the stairs, and Ron looked after her for a moment before climbing the stairs to his own dorm. Hermione. He had never noticed how beautiful that name was before.
Ron walked into his dorm and fell into his bed without even changing into his pajamas. He fell asleep with a smile on his face, dreaming of her.
It hadn't even occurred to him that Harry was only pretending to be asleep.