AN: Okay there's some romance thrown in this one! Please Review!
Chapter 6: Finding the Courage
The next three weeks seemed to go by in a whirl of homework, quidditch, and normalcy. Nothing suspicious or odd had been going on and Harry had the feeling that he was being lured into a false sense of security. Quidditch practices were taking up a lot of his time and the team was happily surprised with the performance of Ginny Weasley, thus far. Harry found himself marveling more than once at her skill as a keeper. Occasionally she would catch him looking at her, and she would grin at him, making Harry's stomach flip-flop, though Harry wasn't sure why. Perhaps he had eaten too much breakfast that day. Before he knew it, the second week of October had arrived filling the castle with a cool autumn mist.
Mondays meant transfiguration. Harry made his way towards Professor McGonagalls room with Hermione and Ron chatting about quidditch, and homework and other carefree things. Harry wished things could always be like this. He wondered why people thought this wasn't good enough, just talking and enjoying a friends company. It was the people who deemed simple pleasures like these not sufficient that started all the trouble in the first place. Like Voldemort he thought with a shudder. He pushed the thought as far back in his mind as it would go. Harry decided he would make a resolution not to let Voldemort get in the way of everything he did.
The Transfiguration lesson went as most do. Complicated notes were taken. Then they attempted to transfigure a cat into a cloak. After the lesson Professor McGonagall had an announcement to make.
"Dumbledore has decided to have a Halloween Ball, since last year's Yule Ball was such a success. The ball will be open to 4th years and above, though you may invite a younger student to attend with you. You will wear dress robes." Harry heard Ron give a groan beside him and Harry knew he was thinking about his dress robes from last year. Harry, too, was not excited at the prospect of another ball. The first one had been bad enough, and in his opinion they weren't much fun at all. Yes, Harry could gladly go through life without attending another horrid episode like last year.
"This is great, just great. Another ball! Are they crazy? Those robes are appalling, but they're the only ones I've got! Mum and Dad couldn't afford everything new." Ron finished ranting with a sigh and Harry sincerely hoped that Fred and George remembered their promise.
"So who do you want to ask?" Harry ventured, hoping Ron wouldn't just ignore him. Besides he was pretty sure he knew the answer to that question himself, even if Ron wouldn't admit it out loud.
"Dunno." Ron said awkwardly. "Maybe I'll just go by myself." He looked down at his hands and Harry could tell he was thinking about his robes again. Maybe Harry could lure him into saying he wanted to go with Hermione.
"How about Parvati?" Harry asked smirking at him.
"Don't think so. She didn't have a very good time with you last year and I think her sister might have told her what a lousy date I was." Ron stated, grinning.
"Okay what about Lavender?" Harry questioned.
"Too prissy and we have nothing in common anyways. Look what happened last year when I went with a girl I barely knew." Ron looked down at his hands. Harry was glad he had said that because it could be used in the impending argument.
"Okay…" Harry made it look like he was thinking for a second before continuing. "Maybe…Hermione will go with you." He voiced innocently.
"Hermione! Are you crazy?" Ron shrieked looking up once more. Harry noticed that his face turned red, which it hadn't done when he had mentioned other girls.
"Well you said yourself that you don't want to go with a girl you barely know. And you know Hermione very well. Plus, you can make up for being rude to her last year." Harry finished his explanation and looked at Ron who seemed to be speechless. He quickly found his voice though.
"You were rude to her too!" He exclaimed ignoring Harry's other comments.
"You want me to ask her to the ball?" Harry questioned and couldn't help, but smirk.
"No!" Ron shouted before he could stop himself and quickly put a hand to his mouth before it could cause any more damage. He thought for a minute and brought his hand down. "You guys are like brother and sister. It would be weird." He stated triumphantly.
And you two aren't like brother and sister?" Harry asked curiously. He couldn't wait to here the answer to this one.
"Well, it's not the same. We fight a lot and stuff so we're more like..." He trailed off trying to think of a word that would describe his relationship with Hermione.
Harry, however, already had the perfect answer. "A married couple?" He finished for Ron and he started to snigger.
Ron turned red and glared at Harry, but he finally threw in the white flag. "Maybe I will ask her." Ron muttered looking down at his feet.
"Excuse me?" Harry said loudly, feigning deafness, with his hand cupping his ear. "I thought you said you were going to ask Hermione Granger to the Halloween Ball." He knew when to quit joking though, and he didn't want to discourage Ron so he added, "Just kidding, mate. I think it's awesome. I wish I knew who I wanted to ask."
"Do you think she will go with me? Isn't Vicky her boyfriend?" Ron asked with a sneer.
"I don't think so. I'm pretty sure they're only friends." Harry answered. And he was pretty sure. He couldn't remember how many times she had told him and Ron that they were only friends, but it was definitely a big number, and Harry doubted that things had changed. Ron looked slightly cheered for a moment, but didn't appear to want to discuss the Ball any further.
He started telling Harry about the new chaser that the Chudley Cannons had acquired this year and how awesome they would be now. Harry wanted to say that they might even win a game this season, but did not want to hear a speech from Ron.
The next day Harry went down to breakfast feeling lazy. He wished he didn't have to have lessons that day. He wished he could relax in front of the fireplace in Gryffindor all day, but he couldn't. He sat down in the Great Hall with a sigh. Ron sat next to him and shot a nervous look at Hermione when she took a seat next to him. Harry wanted to laugh at this, but resisted. He wouldn't want Ron to laugh at him if he were in a similar situation.
Hermione must have noticed his awkwardness because she looked at him for a minute before asking, "What's wrong with you?" She looked concerned and waited for his answer, but he couldn't do much except gulp and shake his head. Hermione gave him a weird look and shrugged. "Oh shoot, I forgot my Defense book. I'll see you guys in class!" She got up to leave.
"Wait!" Ron yelled. She looked back at him. "I'll come with you. I..er..forgot all of my quills." Hermione gave him another scrutinizing look, but waited as he caught up with her. Harry watched the two of them leave the Great Hall together and he sincerely hoped that Ron would find enough courage to ask Hermione.
Harry had been staring so intently at the pair of them that he didn't notice Ginny take Ron's vacant seat beside him. She wasn't eating anything though, only looking at him as if she didn't want to interrupt his thoughts. "Hey Ginny." He greeted her and turned back to his food.
"Harry, I need to ask you something." Harry looked up at her worriedly, wondering if this had something to do with Voldemort. He nodded, motioning her to continue. It seemed to take her a great deal of strength to get her next words out. "Will you go to the ball with me?"
He was shocked. Sure girls had asked him before, but not anyone he really knew. His first impulse was to say no, but he decided to give it some thought before turning her away. Going to the Ball with Ginny could be okay, fun even. At least he knew her and wouldn't be going with some random stranger and she had gone through all the trouble to ask him. And if he accepted her invitation he wouldn't have to ask anyone. Besides, Ginny had liked him for a long time when she was younger, and even though he was sure this childhood crush had subsided, perhaps he should start paying more attention to her. They were teammates after all. Another good point, Ginny was an awesome quidditch player. She seemed to have a fun personality and now that she could talk while he was in the room with her, that personality was starting to shine.
Harry smiled. "Sure." He said trying to sound nonchalant, but his insides were writhing. She nodded meekly and went back to her group of friends. Harry grinned at her when she turned to look at him. She smiled back and they locked eyes for a minute before turning away.
Harry made his way through the winding hallways of Hogwarts and entered Professor Figg's room. He sat down next to Ron and glanced at his watch to see that they had almost ten minutes before class started. Harry looked at Hermione to see her scribbling furiously in her notebook and then turned back to Ron. "How did it go?" He whispered.
Ron sighed. "I couldn't do it Harry. I just couldn't ask her. What if she says no. Then where will that leave us?" Harry wasn't exactly sure what to say in these types of situations, but he had a go.
"She won't say no. She feels the same way you do, but if by some unlucky chance she was going with someone else already or she did say no, then you guys would still be best friends, just as you always have been, just as you always will be." Ron looked at Harry and seemed to except his answer.
"Okay." He said with firm resolution. "I will ask her after class when we get back to Gryffindor. Make yourself scarce for a half hour, alright?" Harry grinned.
"Sure thing." Harry went to sit back down at his seat, but before he could turn fully around Ron grabbed his arm.
So who are you going to ask?" Ron questioned looking curious. Harry blushed. Should he tell him? He had to. Ron was his best friend.
"I…er…already have a date." He muttered awkwardly.
Ron cocked an eyebrow at him. "Oh yeah, and when was I going to hear about this."
"Well she just asked me after you and Hermione left the Great Hall." He said quietly.
"And who is this lucky lady?" Ron inquired with a smirk.
"Um…well…your..er…your sister asked me." There he had said it. Hopefully Ron would not blow up at him.
"Ew! My sister! Gross!" Ron exclaimed. The whole class now looked at the pair of them. Harry looked blankly at the class and gradually they turned away and went back to their conversations.
"Would you keep it down? Jeez! If I had wanted the whole school to know, I would have told Lavender." Harry hissed.
Ron scowled. "Harry it's my sister. That's practically incest!" He shouted, softer this time.
Harry rolled his eyes. "YOUR sister, not mine, how is that even remotely related to incest?"
"I dunno. Look I guess its okay. I mean if someone had to go out with her, I guess you're the best guy." At that moment, Professor Figg entered the room and Harry quickly took his seat. The lesson went on rather monotonously and all Harry could think about was Ginny Weasley.
After the class, Harry started going in the opposite direction of Ron and Hermione. "Where are you going, Harry?" Hermione questioned him as soon as she saw him veering away from them.
"Um..Hospital wing. I have a bit of a cold and thought maybe some pepper-up potion will help." Harry chose that moment to erupt into a loud coughing fit before continuing. "So, I'll see you guys in a bit."
"But Harry. The hospital wing is that way." Hermione said, pointing to a passage on their left.
"Oh..er…right. I must be getting delirious or something." Harry muttered and quickly went down the passage towards the hospital wing. He eventually made his way towards the library and was browsing through the shelves trying to waste time, when one particular volume caught his eye. A Wizard's Guide to Dancing: Everything you need to know! Harry had just realized that he didn't know how to dance.
He checked out the heavy book, stuffed it into his bag and made his way back to Gryffindor tower. He gave the Fat Lady the password ("quaffle") and entered. Hermione was sitting at a table in a corner. She had books and notebooks spread out. There was a quill in her hand, but she wasn't writing anything. She was smiling and running her hands through her hair.
"Where's Ron?" Harry asked her abruptly. She awoke from her reverie and looked up at him.
"Oh, hey Harry. You startled me. He went up to the dormitories." Hermione still had that smile on her face and it was making him a little uneasy.
Harry jumped up the stairs two at a time and went through the door to their dormitories. "Well?" He asked Ron as soon as he walked into the room. Ron was lying on his bed with the same goofy grin that Hermione wore.
"She said yes, Harry." He whispered in an almost blissful manner. "She said yes."
AN: I was thinking of doing an aside to this chapter and show exactly how Ron asks Hermione to the ball. What do you think?
Chapter 6: Finding the Courage
The next three weeks seemed to go by in a whirl of homework, quidditch, and normalcy. Nothing suspicious or odd had been going on and Harry had the feeling that he was being lured into a false sense of security. Quidditch practices were taking up a lot of his time and the team was happily surprised with the performance of Ginny Weasley, thus far. Harry found himself marveling more than once at her skill as a keeper. Occasionally she would catch him looking at her, and she would grin at him, making Harry's stomach flip-flop, though Harry wasn't sure why. Perhaps he had eaten too much breakfast that day. Before he knew it, the second week of October had arrived filling the castle with a cool autumn mist.
Mondays meant transfiguration. Harry made his way towards Professor McGonagalls room with Hermione and Ron chatting about quidditch, and homework and other carefree things. Harry wished things could always be like this. He wondered why people thought this wasn't good enough, just talking and enjoying a friends company. It was the people who deemed simple pleasures like these not sufficient that started all the trouble in the first place. Like Voldemort he thought with a shudder. He pushed the thought as far back in his mind as it would go. Harry decided he would make a resolution not to let Voldemort get in the way of everything he did.
The Transfiguration lesson went as most do. Complicated notes were taken. Then they attempted to transfigure a cat into a cloak. After the lesson Professor McGonagall had an announcement to make.
"Dumbledore has decided to have a Halloween Ball, since last year's Yule Ball was such a success. The ball will be open to 4th years and above, though you may invite a younger student to attend with you. You will wear dress robes." Harry heard Ron give a groan beside him and Harry knew he was thinking about his dress robes from last year. Harry, too, was not excited at the prospect of another ball. The first one had been bad enough, and in his opinion they weren't much fun at all. Yes, Harry could gladly go through life without attending another horrid episode like last year.
"This is great, just great. Another ball! Are they crazy? Those robes are appalling, but they're the only ones I've got! Mum and Dad couldn't afford everything new." Ron finished ranting with a sigh and Harry sincerely hoped that Fred and George remembered their promise.
"So who do you want to ask?" Harry ventured, hoping Ron wouldn't just ignore him. Besides he was pretty sure he knew the answer to that question himself, even if Ron wouldn't admit it out loud.
"Dunno." Ron said awkwardly. "Maybe I'll just go by myself." He looked down at his hands and Harry could tell he was thinking about his robes again. Maybe Harry could lure him into saying he wanted to go with Hermione.
"How about Parvati?" Harry asked smirking at him.
"Don't think so. She didn't have a very good time with you last year and I think her sister might have told her what a lousy date I was." Ron stated, grinning.
"Okay what about Lavender?" Harry questioned.
"Too prissy and we have nothing in common anyways. Look what happened last year when I went with a girl I barely knew." Ron looked down at his hands. Harry was glad he had said that because it could be used in the impending argument.
"Okay…" Harry made it look like he was thinking for a second before continuing. "Maybe…Hermione will go with you." He voiced innocently.
"Hermione! Are you crazy?" Ron shrieked looking up once more. Harry noticed that his face turned red, which it hadn't done when he had mentioned other girls.
"Well you said yourself that you don't want to go with a girl you barely know. And you know Hermione very well. Plus, you can make up for being rude to her last year." Harry finished his explanation and looked at Ron who seemed to be speechless. He quickly found his voice though.
"You were rude to her too!" He exclaimed ignoring Harry's other comments.
"You want me to ask her to the ball?" Harry questioned and couldn't help, but smirk.
"No!" Ron shouted before he could stop himself and quickly put a hand to his mouth before it could cause any more damage. He thought for a minute and brought his hand down. "You guys are like brother and sister. It would be weird." He stated triumphantly.
And you two aren't like brother and sister?" Harry asked curiously. He couldn't wait to here the answer to this one.
"Well, it's not the same. We fight a lot and stuff so we're more like..." He trailed off trying to think of a word that would describe his relationship with Hermione.
Harry, however, already had the perfect answer. "A married couple?" He finished for Ron and he started to snigger.
Ron turned red and glared at Harry, but he finally threw in the white flag. "Maybe I will ask her." Ron muttered looking down at his feet.
"Excuse me?" Harry said loudly, feigning deafness, with his hand cupping his ear. "I thought you said you were going to ask Hermione Granger to the Halloween Ball." He knew when to quit joking though, and he didn't want to discourage Ron so he added, "Just kidding, mate. I think it's awesome. I wish I knew who I wanted to ask."
"Do you think she will go with me? Isn't Vicky her boyfriend?" Ron asked with a sneer.
"I don't think so. I'm pretty sure they're only friends." Harry answered. And he was pretty sure. He couldn't remember how many times she had told him and Ron that they were only friends, but it was definitely a big number, and Harry doubted that things had changed. Ron looked slightly cheered for a moment, but didn't appear to want to discuss the Ball any further.
He started telling Harry about the new chaser that the Chudley Cannons had acquired this year and how awesome they would be now. Harry wanted to say that they might even win a game this season, but did not want to hear a speech from Ron.
The next day Harry went down to breakfast feeling lazy. He wished he didn't have to have lessons that day. He wished he could relax in front of the fireplace in Gryffindor all day, but he couldn't. He sat down in the Great Hall with a sigh. Ron sat next to him and shot a nervous look at Hermione when she took a seat next to him. Harry wanted to laugh at this, but resisted. He wouldn't want Ron to laugh at him if he were in a similar situation.
Hermione must have noticed his awkwardness because she looked at him for a minute before asking, "What's wrong with you?" She looked concerned and waited for his answer, but he couldn't do much except gulp and shake his head. Hermione gave him a weird look and shrugged. "Oh shoot, I forgot my Defense book. I'll see you guys in class!" She got up to leave.
"Wait!" Ron yelled. She looked back at him. "I'll come with you. I..er..forgot all of my quills." Hermione gave him another scrutinizing look, but waited as he caught up with her. Harry watched the two of them leave the Great Hall together and he sincerely hoped that Ron would find enough courage to ask Hermione.
Harry had been staring so intently at the pair of them that he didn't notice Ginny take Ron's vacant seat beside him. She wasn't eating anything though, only looking at him as if she didn't want to interrupt his thoughts. "Hey Ginny." He greeted her and turned back to his food.
"Harry, I need to ask you something." Harry looked up at her worriedly, wondering if this had something to do with Voldemort. He nodded, motioning her to continue. It seemed to take her a great deal of strength to get her next words out. "Will you go to the ball with me?"
He was shocked. Sure girls had asked him before, but not anyone he really knew. His first impulse was to say no, but he decided to give it some thought before turning her away. Going to the Ball with Ginny could be okay, fun even. At least he knew her and wouldn't be going with some random stranger and she had gone through all the trouble to ask him. And if he accepted her invitation he wouldn't have to ask anyone. Besides, Ginny had liked him for a long time when she was younger, and even though he was sure this childhood crush had subsided, perhaps he should start paying more attention to her. They were teammates after all. Another good point, Ginny was an awesome quidditch player. She seemed to have a fun personality and now that she could talk while he was in the room with her, that personality was starting to shine.
Harry smiled. "Sure." He said trying to sound nonchalant, but his insides were writhing. She nodded meekly and went back to her group of friends. Harry grinned at her when she turned to look at him. She smiled back and they locked eyes for a minute before turning away.
Harry made his way through the winding hallways of Hogwarts and entered Professor Figg's room. He sat down next to Ron and glanced at his watch to see that they had almost ten minutes before class started. Harry looked at Hermione to see her scribbling furiously in her notebook and then turned back to Ron. "How did it go?" He whispered.
Ron sighed. "I couldn't do it Harry. I just couldn't ask her. What if she says no. Then where will that leave us?" Harry wasn't exactly sure what to say in these types of situations, but he had a go.
"She won't say no. She feels the same way you do, but if by some unlucky chance she was going with someone else already or she did say no, then you guys would still be best friends, just as you always have been, just as you always will be." Ron looked at Harry and seemed to except his answer.
"Okay." He said with firm resolution. "I will ask her after class when we get back to Gryffindor. Make yourself scarce for a half hour, alright?" Harry grinned.
"Sure thing." Harry went to sit back down at his seat, but before he could turn fully around Ron grabbed his arm.
So who are you going to ask?" Ron questioned looking curious. Harry blushed. Should he tell him? He had to. Ron was his best friend.
"I…er…already have a date." He muttered awkwardly.
Ron cocked an eyebrow at him. "Oh yeah, and when was I going to hear about this."
"Well she just asked me after you and Hermione left the Great Hall." He said quietly.
"And who is this lucky lady?" Ron inquired with a smirk.
"Um…well…your..er…your sister asked me." There he had said it. Hopefully Ron would not blow up at him.
"Ew! My sister! Gross!" Ron exclaimed. The whole class now looked at the pair of them. Harry looked blankly at the class and gradually they turned away and went back to their conversations.
"Would you keep it down? Jeez! If I had wanted the whole school to know, I would have told Lavender." Harry hissed.
Ron scowled. "Harry it's my sister. That's practically incest!" He shouted, softer this time.
Harry rolled his eyes. "YOUR sister, not mine, how is that even remotely related to incest?"
"I dunno. Look I guess its okay. I mean if someone had to go out with her, I guess you're the best guy." At that moment, Professor Figg entered the room and Harry quickly took his seat. The lesson went on rather monotonously and all Harry could think about was Ginny Weasley.
After the class, Harry started going in the opposite direction of Ron and Hermione. "Where are you going, Harry?" Hermione questioned him as soon as she saw him veering away from them.
"Um..Hospital wing. I have a bit of a cold and thought maybe some pepper-up potion will help." Harry chose that moment to erupt into a loud coughing fit before continuing. "So, I'll see you guys in a bit."
"But Harry. The hospital wing is that way." Hermione said, pointing to a passage on their left.
"Oh..er…right. I must be getting delirious or something." Harry muttered and quickly went down the passage towards the hospital wing. He eventually made his way towards the library and was browsing through the shelves trying to waste time, when one particular volume caught his eye. A Wizard's Guide to Dancing: Everything you need to know! Harry had just realized that he didn't know how to dance.
He checked out the heavy book, stuffed it into his bag and made his way back to Gryffindor tower. He gave the Fat Lady the password ("quaffle") and entered. Hermione was sitting at a table in a corner. She had books and notebooks spread out. There was a quill in her hand, but she wasn't writing anything. She was smiling and running her hands through her hair.
"Where's Ron?" Harry asked her abruptly. She awoke from her reverie and looked up at him.
"Oh, hey Harry. You startled me. He went up to the dormitories." Hermione still had that smile on her face and it was making him a little uneasy.
Harry jumped up the stairs two at a time and went through the door to their dormitories. "Well?" He asked Ron as soon as he walked into the room. Ron was lying on his bed with the same goofy grin that Hermione wore.
"She said yes, Harry." He whispered in an almost blissful manner. "She said yes."
AN: I was thinking of doing an aside to this chapter and show exactly how Ron asks Hermione to the ball. What do you think?