PLEASE READ!!
A/N: Sorry it took so long. I've been doing a lot of things lately and haven't had time to type up the story. I will try to be quicker but I'm still in the process of writing it. You guys are catching up to me quickly! Anyway, I got a review, a flame to be exact, that said that Harry sounded like a jerky slut…..Ouch! My heart….. That was not how I intended him to be perceived! Let me explain. Harry is like any other guy. He is just really nice and even if he had a bad breakup with Cho, he's gonna be nice to her. Yet he doesn't' know how to react to her advances because he is confused with other things. Like things in THIS chapter. If the person that had written the flame had waited for the whole story, as Rach had said, she would have seen that Harry is a rounded character. Pay attention to his reactions! He really does like Hermione a lot, but Cho makes it hard for him to move on. He doesn't like Cho anymore, but he still is nervous and weak around her. She was, after all, his first crush! Okay…on with the story…
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and such aren't mine and never will be. Blah, blah, blah!
Chapter 4: The Dance
Back at the castle, about an hour after Harry, Hermione and Ron had returned from Hogsmead and about an hour and a half since Cho's shameful flirting, they sat in the Gryffindor common room, around a blazing fire. The flames licked hungrily at the wood and provided ample heat in the spacious room. Hermione curled up against Harry's side, watching the logs give of smoke, as if a final breath. She sighed contently and looked over at Ron, who seemed to be nodding off. She chuckled and closed her eyes, pressing her head further into the crook of Harry's arm and drifted off to sleep.
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Hermione awoke to someone carrying her up the stairs to her dormitory. She didn't have to look, knowing it was Harry by his smell, and she snuggled into his chest. The last thing she remembered was a light kiss on her forehead and Harry whispering goodnight.
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When Hermione woke the next morning, she felt refreshed and tried to push Cho into the back of her thoughts. She just focused on getting ready and meeting Ron and Harry. As soon as she was dressed, she hurried downstairs and into the common room. Spotting the boys by the portrait hole, she stepped off the landing and walked over, giving Harry a kiss and Ron a hug, just so he wouldn't feel left out.
"The dance is tomorrow…." Hermione said slowly, looking at Ron. "Who are you going with?"
Ron blushed and looked down.
"Do you have a date?" Hermione frowned, silently scolding herself for being so outright.
"Oh! No, it's not that. I do! Just someone you wouldn't expect." Ron said slowly, then added quickly, " But not in a bad way!"
"Well…who?" Hermione said, curiously.
"You'll just have to wait until tomorrow, won't you!" Ron laughed.
Hermione looked over at Harry, who was just watching them talk, back and forth, with a small smile on his lips.
"You know, don't you!" Hermione cried, pushing him back playfully.
"Well…I sort of helped get him the date!" Harry, laughed as he held up his hands, shielding his face.
Hermione pursed her lips and looked at Harry and Ron, trying to read their faces.
"Your not going to tell me, are you?" She asked, putting a fake expression of hurt on her face.
Harry smiled and shook his head. Ron grinned at Hermione. Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry and gopt face to face woth him. She had a mischievous smile on her face.
"I have ways of making you talk." She smiled, narrowing her eyes.
"I think I can handle that." Harry smiled back.
Hermione started to laugh and looked at Ron.
"So your really not going to tell me, are you?" She whined, shifting her feet and hips.
Ron shook his head.
"Well the, let's not talk about it and do something else." Hermione said, changing the subject.
The rest of the day was uneventful with the exception of Neville tripping over his toad, Trevor, as he looked for him and tumbling into a group of first years, who all screamed like the dickens then walked away muttering to each-other about their hair. Ron Harry, and Hermione decided to get to bed early to be refreshed for the dance tomorrow and said goodnight to each-other around 9:30 at night. Hermione slept well and woke the next morning around 8:00. She stretched her legs out and breathed in, her eyes still shut. She brought her hands up and rubbed her eyes, then climbed out of the bed. Remembering what day it was, she had more energy and started to get ready. She decided to wear a sweater and a pair of jeans, throwing on her black cloak. She bustled downstairs and saw that neither Harry or Ron were up, and she was more hungry than patient so she set down for the Great Hall.
She sat alone for about 10 minutes before Ginny Weasley entered and sat next to her. A group of slytherin boys had entered just before that, which included Draco Malfoy, a boy that looked similar to Malfoy and a few others. They were all sitting together, whispering fervently and looking from each other to Hermione and Ginny. Hermione glared at them and tried to brush it off but she had an uneasy feeling. Ginny just shrugged and continued to eat. Hermione sighed but didn't have mush time to worry about it because the boys, being Harry, Ron, Dean, Seamus, Fred and George, came into the Hall and sat with the two girls, talking noisily and laughing. Harry slipped an arm around Hermione and kissed her cheek.
All through breakfast, it was hard to keep a straight face because Fred and George were just being themselves, which was hilarious. Ron laughed so hard that he spit his oatmeal across the table and onto Harry, who, in turn, spit his pumpkin juice out and, by accident, all over Hermione. Hermione jumped up and started to wipe it off as best she could when she slipped on the juice that made it to the floor and knocked into George, pushing his face into his oatmeal. Everyone was doubling over by the time the Hall started to really fill up.
"Okay, okay…seriously! We need to get it together..!" Fred cried, then snorted, " Yeah right. Like when would that happen!"
The laughter faded a while after and some of them got up and left, their laughter replaced by upset, grumbling stomachs (A/N: I know that from experience!!) Everyone left eventually and returned to the common room to work on homework. A while later, Harry lay on the couch and had started to write an essay for Defense against Dark Arts, while Hermione decided to play chess with Ron, for a change. After many unsuccessful attempts by Hermione, Ron got checkmate and finished the game. She sat back in her chair and called Crookshanks over to her, allowing the giant cat to jump on her and rub his face on her chin. Ron patted the cat's head. Ever since he found out that Scabbers wasn't a rat, he tried to be nice to it but he still had a rough time at it. He then started to clean up his chess pieces.
"What time is it?" Hermione asked, anxious to get ready for the dance. She wanted to look absolutely perfect since it was her first official date with Harry. The dance started at 5:00 p.m. and she wanted a least two hours.
"It's 2:00" Ron sighed, bored already. The next hour passed slowly as Hermione read "Hogwarts: A History" again. Harry and Ron had taken to playing as many games as they could. They had played Exploding Snaps at least 5 times already and were stating on a game of chess when Hermione announced that she was going up to get ready. She walked up her stairs and closed the door. Back in the common room, Ron was beating Harry badly already when Fred and George walked casually downstairs, across the common room and up the girl's stairs. A few minutes later, a scream was heard, followed by Fred and George running down the stairs, back across the common room and up the boy's stairs. Moments later, Angelina and Alicia pounded downstairs, hard frustration on their faces.
"They threw a smokebomb in the room!" Angelina cried incredulously. " We can't even see across the room. They are going to pay!"
They continued across with fists clenched and faces set, as they proceeded up the stairs to the boy's rooms. Harry and Ron went up a little while later and 5:00 finally rolled around. Harry stood at the top of the boy's stairs, slightly nervous. He straightened his bow tie and started to walk down the stairs. This was his first actual date with Hermione, he noticed. Yet the way the last ball went, he wasn't so sure that this was a good place to have one. He waited at the bottom of the stairs for a few minutes and finally Hermione appeared. The dress looked even better now, with her hair up and curls falling on the sides, framing her face. She looked stunning and Harry said so. By the time Ron had come down, Harry had calmed down a bit, but was still pretty nervous and the night hadn't even started yet.
"Ron, when am I going to find out who your date is?" Hermione pleaded, sticking out her lower lip.
"Very soon… In fact, here she is!" Ron smiled, looking up, behind Hermione.
Katie Bell smiled down. Harry had fixed them up through Quidditch when he found out that Ron had a crush on her and Katie thought he was good-looking and wouldn't mind dating him. Hermione frowned slightly.
"How did I not find out about this?" She asked, genuinely confused, " I talk to Katie all the time!"
She then turned on Katie.
" Why did you never tell me?" She huffed, putting her hands on her hips.
"Ron thought it was funny to keep you guessing. I have to admit, it was pretty funny listening to you complain about it right in front of me." Katie laughed.
Hermione bit her lip and looked at the two of them, wide smiles on their faces, and started to giggle.
" Well, I think we should head down to the dance now." Harry spoke up, looking at his watch.
They walked out of the portrait hole and down to the Great Hall. As they entered, they saw hundreds of fairies above them, gliding and twinkling all around the place. The house table had been replaced by smaller table, seating about 6 people, with a few candles floating above them. Multi-colored leaves hung, suspended in the air around the table. The four took their seats at a table on the side and watched as the others arrived. The professors sat down up front. Dumbledore stood, smiling warmly over the students as he raised a hand, waiting for their silence.
"I have just a few minor announcements I would like to get out the way. First, I have booked the Weird Sisters for you again since they were so welcome last year…" He paused, waiting for the applause to die down." Also, Mr. Filch has requested that no food or drink be taken out of the Hall as he doesn't want to clean spills up all around the castle. That is all. Enjoy!"
Food appeared in front of the students on the tables. Huge plates of chicken wings covered in honey barbecue sauce, heaping piles of mashed potatoes, green salad mixed with eggs and carrots, fried apples dipped in sweet cinnamon honey, huge hams glistening with its glaze. The four sitting together stared at the delectable food for a few seconds then dug in, helping themselves to all they could reach. A short time later, their bellies all considerably fuller, the band started up and couples got up and walked to the dance floor. Fred and Angelina, who had gone together again, dance to their own beat wildly as other couples, following the slow beat, backed away and gave them space. Harry offered his hand to Hermione, who smiled and took it gladly. He led her to the dance floor and drew her in, putting his arms tight around her waist. Hermione laid her hands around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder, they stayed for a couple of numbers, then sat down, back at their table and watched the others dance around them.
" Do you want something to drink?" Harry asked, standing.
Hermione nodded and thanked him as he left towards the refreshment table for butterbeer. She sat alone for only a few minutes though. A boy came and sat next to her. She recognized him as the boy that was with Draco earlier, who looked similar to him as well, but not knowing anything about him and not judgmental, she smiled.
"Hi." He said as he smiled back." Okay, this may sound whack, but my friends over there.." he pointed towards a group of boys, all staring back. Some waved. " Well, you see, they bet me that I couldn't get you to come over with me to say hi. Care to prove them wrong?" He asked, looking sheepish.
Hermione glanced back at the others boys, a small sense of foreboding in her stomach. But she pushed the thought aside.
" Er, sure. Why not? It couldn't do any harm." Hermione said back, standing. She didn't think that anything was up, even if he did hang out with Malfoy.
They walked past some more tables to the boys and stopped in front of them. They all smiled, although some of the smiles weren't particularly nice.
"Okay, what's this all about. Here I am, now what?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrows. The boy that had brought her over spoke up.
" That was it. This is the bet. But we also wanted to tell you we, er, think your.. pretty." He spit out, as though it were painful to say.
Hermione noticed his speech but didn't say anything. She smiled and was just about to walk away when the boy grabbed her arm.
" What about Harry?" He asked as she turned to face him.
"What about Harry?" Hermione said, a chill in her voice.
" Yeah, Hermione, what about me?" she heard a voice speak behind her.
She jumped and spun around where she faced the one and only Harry himself. His face was hard but she could see in his eyes the overwhelming hurt that threatened to screw up his face any moment. Malfoy stood next to him, a sickly smile on his face.
"W…What?" Hermione stuttered, feeling flustered.
" So is it true?" Harry said, his voice slightly shaking." I didn't believe Malfoy, even as he pointed out where you were and walked over. But how could I mistake what I just heard."
He stared into Hermione's eyes, searching for an element of truth. He stood there, rooted to his spot, as if contemplating what to say next. They stood that way for about 2 minutes before he spoke up again.
"How could you say that?" He asked, his voice so low that only those near him could hear it.
"What? Harry…I didn't do anything! You misunderstood! What did Malfoy tell you? What did you tell him?" She said hurriedly as she turned to Malfoy.
"Only the truth." Malfoy crooned." Just what he needed to hear. And you just proved my point. Great timing!"
The whole, Hermione felt Harry's eyes on her. She felt tears well up in her eyes, even though she did nothing wrong. She just realized what was going on. As a tear slid down her cheek, she turned to Harry, his face fallen.
" I didn't do anything! You…you believe him?" She panicked, her chin trembling.
Harry looked away, as if trying to hold back emotion. The whole time, Malfoy had a look of pure satisfaction on his face, but every time Harry looked his way, he put on a mock sympathy.
"I heard what you said, Hermione! I don't see how it could be misunderstood. I just don't understand why? Why did you do it? Please don't lie.." Harry said, his face turned and his eyes downcast.
"But if you would just listen!" Hermione cried, creating a scene.
"I don't want to listen. I heard all I needed to." Harry said forcefully, as if making up his mind.
He turned away and walked towards the other side of the Hall. Hermione was drawing in short, rapid breaths, trying to control herself as Harry walked away. She looked down, taking in the situation. She almost started after Harry but as she looked up, she saw that Cho had already walked up to him, her hand on his shoulder, comforting him. As they walked off, Cho turned back, an ugly smile on her face.
Hermione could feel the anger welling up inside her as tears streamed down her face. She looked straight at Malfoy and held her gaze for a few moments. She then pulled back her and slapped him hard across his face. He was taken aback and stumbled a little but Hermione didn't stay to hear what he said. She rushed past him, pushing him out of the way, and ran toward the doors to the Entrance Hall. She ran out and up to the Gryffindor portrait. Saying the password through tears, she streaked past the Fat Lady, who's concerned voice echoed after her. Up her stairs, through her door and unto her bed. She started to cry freely and continued until she cried herself to sleep, still wearing her beautiful dress and Harry's scent.
Back at the dance, Harry had seen Hermione run out. He wanted to run after her, but stopped himself. Instead, he put his head in his hands. It can't be true, he thought. He was shaken out of his thoughts by a voice.
"C'mon Harry. Let's go for a walk." Cho sickly sweet voice said as she put her hand on his knee.
He looked up and nodded, standing up as well.
OHHHH! I feel so bad to do that…but…I needed conflict! There it is. I hope the next chapter doesn't take as long but no promises. Hope you liked it!!! Thanks to my reviewers including
lilprincess12186, harryfairy&hermione14pg, and Gary Skinner cause they helped me get this chapter up. Thanks you guys!