Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, they belong to J.K. Rowling, but I do own the story
~~~~~~~~~
By the start of December, Harry, Hermione and the rest of the Prefects were busy with the Yule Ball, deciding
on what foods and drinks should be served, what music should be played, and decorations, and prizes. They were also
busy with desinging their own costumes, as was the rest of the school. Hermione was surprised to see that even Blaise
had taken some charge in this planning, and was even obsessing over her costume. Everyone kept their costume a
secret, hoping that their idea will beat the next, and possibly land them a winner. The Prefects decided that there would
be two catagories; a single catagory and a couple catagory, each with two winners, therefore a total of four prizes was
needed; two for first place, and two for second place. Then the subject of the Yule Ball tradition came up.
"So are you two gonna pair up and go together?" Asked Justin, "It's tradition for the Head Boy and Head Girl to
go together, and open the ball with a dance, you know."
"Well," Hermione looked at Harry. Their eyes meet, and Harry spoke up.
"I was going to ask Hermione if it was okay that tradition was broken this time."
The group dropped what they were doing and looked up at Harry and Hermione. Even Blaise look shocked at
what Harry had said.
"What do you mean by 'tradition being broken'? Blaise questioned.
"Well, I was hoping to take someone else, and hope that Hermione and I could open the ball with different
partners," Harry explained. Everyone then looked at Hermione. She was kind of shocked and hurt at first, but quickly
recovered.
"Yeah sure. That's a great idea Harry! We can open with other people!" She smiled, and Harry smiled back.
Everyone else sighed, glad this didn't turn ugly.
The next day, with money raised from the last fund raiser, Hermione and Harry set out to Hogsmead to pick up
prizes.
"What do you think we should get?" Harry asked, wanting Hermione's input. Hermione thought for a second,
then said, "How 'bout a gift basket, with assortments from Zonko's and Honeydukes, for the guys, and stuff from
Honeydukes and jewelry and accessories for the girls!"
Harry smiled and nodded, they split up the money and headed seperate ways, arranging to meet up in two hours
with all the stuff they gathered.
Hermione headed to Honeydukes first, and bought bags of chocolate, and chunks of nougat, sugar-spun quills,
peppermint creams, and much more. She then headed to a new store, which had just recently opened, named
' Penelope's House of Jewelry and Accessories'.
"How convienient," Hermione muttered upon entering. She was fasinated by the colours of the small store. There
were hundreds of things to chose from, from rings to earings, scarves to handbags, bracelets to hair ties.
"Hello! Can I help you?" A pretty voice behind Hermione asked. Hermione turned around, her eyes wide.
"Penelope? Penelope Clearwater?" Hermione was surprised.
"Hermione! Oh my gosh! It's good to see you!" Penelope answered, wrapping her arms around her. Penelope
was a Ravenclaw, as was Percy Weasley's girlfriend years ago.
"What are you doing here?" Penelope asked. Hermione explained to her about the Yule Ball, and the prizes.
"That's wonderful!" Penelope exclaimed when Hermione had finished, "Come, let me help you pick out some
stuff."
For the remaider of the two hours, the two girls picked out braclets, handbags, necklaces and matching earings.
When Hermione had payed for everything, she thanked Penelope and headed out to meet Harry. She told Harry her
story, as they walked back to Hogwarts castle. There, they headed to the Prefect common room, and began to place the
goodies into a beautiful woven basket, and wrapped it with plastic. They hide it in their rooms for safekeeping.
Finally the Sautrday of the Yule Ball arrived. Everyone was buzzing with excitment during breakfast, and as soon
as the meal was over, everyone dashed to their rooms, and began preparing for the ball. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Justin,
Lisa and Blaise stayed behind, and locked the doors of the Great Hall. With the help of Professor McGonagall,
Dumbledore and Hagrid, they began to decorate the room. Once they finished, they too, headed to their seperate rooms
and got ready. Hermione had been waiting for this moment for months now. She sat in front of the mirror, deciding what
to do first. Her mind wondered at who Harry would be bringing. He kept it a secret, even from Ron, and she began to
think of who it was.
"Oh my gosh!" Hermione exclaimed standing up with such force, that it knocked over her chair, "I don't have
anyone to open the dance with!"
She rushed down to the second floor, and banged on Ron's door.
"Ron! Open up! It's Hermione! You gotta help me with something!" She cried. The door swung open with Ron
holding a towel around his waist, water dripping from his flaming red hair.
"Jeesh Hermione! What's so important that you need to break down my door!"
Hermione blushed at the way Ron was dressed, then remembered her dilemma.
"Ron, I don't have anyone to go to the ball with! I forgot all about it! And I need someone to open the ball with
me!" She said quickly.
"Wah! Slow down, what do you want me to do?" He asked.
"Ron you gotta open the ball with me!" She said.
"I can't Hermione, I'm going with Lavender," he told her.
"It'll only be the first dance Ron, that's all. I promise. Please! Lavender will understand! It's only the Head Boy
and Head Girl who dance for the first one anyways. Please Ron!" She begged. He quickly agreed to the delight of
Hermione. She thanked him a hundred times as she rushed back to her room. From her room, she had acess to the
Gryffindor House. She entered, and ran to Lavender's room. She banged on her door, and when Lavender opened up,
she explained her situation to her. Lavender listened, then with a bit of hesitation, she agreed.
"I'm only doing this cause your a good friend Hermione," Lavender had said. Hermione thanked her a hundred
times as well before heading back to her own room. She locked the door, and breathed a sigh of relief. Then she got
to work on preparing herself for the ball.
~~~~~~~~~
By the start of December, Harry, Hermione and the rest of the Prefects were busy with the Yule Ball, deciding
on what foods and drinks should be served, what music should be played, and decorations, and prizes. They were also
busy with desinging their own costumes, as was the rest of the school. Hermione was surprised to see that even Blaise
had taken some charge in this planning, and was even obsessing over her costume. Everyone kept their costume a
secret, hoping that their idea will beat the next, and possibly land them a winner. The Prefects decided that there would
be two catagories; a single catagory and a couple catagory, each with two winners, therefore a total of four prizes was
needed; two for first place, and two for second place. Then the subject of the Yule Ball tradition came up.
"So are you two gonna pair up and go together?" Asked Justin, "It's tradition for the Head Boy and Head Girl to
go together, and open the ball with a dance, you know."
"Well," Hermione looked at Harry. Their eyes meet, and Harry spoke up.
"I was going to ask Hermione if it was okay that tradition was broken this time."
The group dropped what they were doing and looked up at Harry and Hermione. Even Blaise look shocked at
what Harry had said.
"What do you mean by 'tradition being broken'? Blaise questioned.
"Well, I was hoping to take someone else, and hope that Hermione and I could open the ball with different
partners," Harry explained. Everyone then looked at Hermione. She was kind of shocked and hurt at first, but quickly
recovered.
"Yeah sure. That's a great idea Harry! We can open with other people!" She smiled, and Harry smiled back.
Everyone else sighed, glad this didn't turn ugly.
The next day, with money raised from the last fund raiser, Hermione and Harry set out to Hogsmead to pick up
prizes.
"What do you think we should get?" Harry asked, wanting Hermione's input. Hermione thought for a second,
then said, "How 'bout a gift basket, with assortments from Zonko's and Honeydukes, for the guys, and stuff from
Honeydukes and jewelry and accessories for the girls!"
Harry smiled and nodded, they split up the money and headed seperate ways, arranging to meet up in two hours
with all the stuff they gathered.
Hermione headed to Honeydukes first, and bought bags of chocolate, and chunks of nougat, sugar-spun quills,
peppermint creams, and much more. She then headed to a new store, which had just recently opened, named
' Penelope's House of Jewelry and Accessories'.
"How convienient," Hermione muttered upon entering. She was fasinated by the colours of the small store. There
were hundreds of things to chose from, from rings to earings, scarves to handbags, bracelets to hair ties.
"Hello! Can I help you?" A pretty voice behind Hermione asked. Hermione turned around, her eyes wide.
"Penelope? Penelope Clearwater?" Hermione was surprised.
"Hermione! Oh my gosh! It's good to see you!" Penelope answered, wrapping her arms around her. Penelope
was a Ravenclaw, as was Percy Weasley's girlfriend years ago.
"What are you doing here?" Penelope asked. Hermione explained to her about the Yule Ball, and the prizes.
"That's wonderful!" Penelope exclaimed when Hermione had finished, "Come, let me help you pick out some
stuff."
For the remaider of the two hours, the two girls picked out braclets, handbags, necklaces and matching earings.
When Hermione had payed for everything, she thanked Penelope and headed out to meet Harry. She told Harry her
story, as they walked back to Hogwarts castle. There, they headed to the Prefect common room, and began to place the
goodies into a beautiful woven basket, and wrapped it with plastic. They hide it in their rooms for safekeeping.
Finally the Sautrday of the Yule Ball arrived. Everyone was buzzing with excitment during breakfast, and as soon
as the meal was over, everyone dashed to their rooms, and began preparing for the ball. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Justin,
Lisa and Blaise stayed behind, and locked the doors of the Great Hall. With the help of Professor McGonagall,
Dumbledore and Hagrid, they began to decorate the room. Once they finished, they too, headed to their seperate rooms
and got ready. Hermione had been waiting for this moment for months now. She sat in front of the mirror, deciding what
to do first. Her mind wondered at who Harry would be bringing. He kept it a secret, even from Ron, and she began to
think of who it was.
"Oh my gosh!" Hermione exclaimed standing up with such force, that it knocked over her chair, "I don't have
anyone to open the dance with!"
She rushed down to the second floor, and banged on Ron's door.
"Ron! Open up! It's Hermione! You gotta help me with something!" She cried. The door swung open with Ron
holding a towel around his waist, water dripping from his flaming red hair.
"Jeesh Hermione! What's so important that you need to break down my door!"
Hermione blushed at the way Ron was dressed, then remembered her dilemma.
"Ron, I don't have anyone to go to the ball with! I forgot all about it! And I need someone to open the ball with
me!" She said quickly.
"Wah! Slow down, what do you want me to do?" He asked.
"Ron you gotta open the ball with me!" She said.
"I can't Hermione, I'm going with Lavender," he told her.
"It'll only be the first dance Ron, that's all. I promise. Please! Lavender will understand! It's only the Head Boy
and Head Girl who dance for the first one anyways. Please Ron!" She begged. He quickly agreed to the delight of
Hermione. She thanked him a hundred times as she rushed back to her room. From her room, she had acess to the
Gryffindor House. She entered, and ran to Lavender's room. She banged on her door, and when Lavender opened up,
she explained her situation to her. Lavender listened, then with a bit of hesitation, she agreed.
"I'm only doing this cause your a good friend Hermione," Lavender had said. Hermione thanked her a hundred
times as well before heading back to her own room. She locked the door, and breathed a sigh of relief. Then she got
to work on preparing herself for the ball.