The question of why Proffessor McGonagall was doing mirror magic stayed
with all three of them for the rest of the evening.
They decided that the only other person they would tell would be Ginny, and
even that took a lot of persuasion on Harry's part.
But by the time it was time to get ready for the yule ball, all thoughts of mirror magic had gone right out of their heads
Harry and Ron , and Hermione and Ginny all went their separate ways to get dressed for the ball. The boys dorms were full of high spirited chatter, all talking confidently at the top of their voices, but strangely enough, no-one seemed quite prepared to go downstairs to the hall to face their partners, even if they were fully clothed. Harry had got changed, but Ron was looking at his robes suspiciously. "Look, Harry, d'you think they've jinxed it?"
"Don't be so dumb Ron, course they havn't. They're allowed to be nice to you sometimes arn't they?"
Seeing that Ron still did not look convinced Harry gave an exasperated sigh. "Look Ron, I lost a bet to the twins and they bought the robes from that money ok?" Harry lied. " Really?" said Ron brightening "What did you bet?-" But Harry, catching sight of Neville in his dress robes, had found the perfect opportunity to get away.
"C'm on Ron, even Neville's ready, let's go."
All three boys stood in front of the mirror. Harry was having a battle with his hair and Neville gave off the general air of dishevillment. Ron however was looking in the mirror in astonishment, having never seen himself in clothes which were new and also fitted. His shoes had been polished so well you could almost hear them gleam, and his hair was tidy for a change.
Happily, Ron had never experienced this before so he was not vain or proud, in fact he was a bit nervous.
"I know I look better than usual, but do you think i'll be good enough for Hermione? I mean, did you see her at the ball last year?"
"Don't be stupid Ron, you look great. Besides, Hermione probably won't notice how you look. I don't remember what Hermione was wearing last year anyway."
" No way Harry, trust me she'll notice. She's a girl. And since you don't remember, I think i'll refresh your memory, last year Hermione came in with her hair all done up in this complicated knot thingy, and she was wearing a dress, and -"
"Oh give over, Ron. Hey, does Ginny notice stuff like that?" asked Harry nervously.
At the mention of Ginny, Neville looked up from a knot he was trying to untie which had attatched his shoes together. "Oh, you're going with Ginny are you Harry?" he said as casually as possible.
"Yup" answered Harry.
"Right"
"Right"
"Ok, ok, break it up you two," grinned Ron. "let's go!"
They all slowly made their way down to the gread hall. Before they entered they all took an audible intake of breath. The school had been bewiched and the stairs had been forced to reorganise, so that the steps down from the girls dorms led directly to the doors on one side of the great hall and the boys on the other side, so that they could not meet up with their partners before the ball. As they entered Harry could not see anything but a sea of heads. He was vaguely aware of Neville being led of by the irrepressable Millicent, and the music in the background. He and Ron stood opposite the doors at the other end of the hall. The doors kept opening, but there was no sign of either Hermione or Ginny.
Suddenly he felt a pair of little warm hands covering his eyes from behind. From the sound of Rons protestations he guessed the same thing had happened to Ron. He turned a round and saw Ginny standing there grinning from ear to ear. She looked so beautiful he suddenly wished he could apparate back to the dorms and brush his hair another few thousand times.
When Ron turned around and saw Hermione, for a few moments he was speechless. Ron was lost for words so rarely that for a moment Hemione was nervous. Had he realised that maybe they were better off "just friends" after all? Did she look silly? But all Ron said was, "Wow Hermione, you look, really.....wow..!....I... wow .."
And as that was probably the biggest complement Ron had ever payed anyone, and as Hermione had been his friend for so long that she knew this very well, they both stood for a long time just staring at another stupidly.
"D'you want to dance?" stammered Harry to Ginny. "Yes" said Ron seriously. Harry, Hermione and Ginny stared at Ron for a minute and then, slowly, they all started to laugh. The spell had been broken and they all relaxed.
Harry grabbed Ginny round the waist and they started dancing to a slow song. Ginny put her arms around his neck and leant her head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes. She could barely believe that this was happenning to her. She though of how many girls would give their right arms to be in her position. But the fact that he actually liked her, when he could have had virtually any other girl in the whole year.
Harry savoured the moment. He discovered that he liked having her close to him, her body felt so warm and comfortable. He wondered suddenly what it would feel like to kiss her. Maybe he should after the dance ended. Maybe that was what girls expected of you. He wasn't sure. For the moment, he just didn't want to let go of her, she felt so good
Ron and Hermione were not having this problem. Basic farmiliarity meant that both of them knew each other so well that they could anticipate exactly what the other would want. After the dance ended, Ron kissed Hermione gently on the cheek and said, "Thanks Hermione". Hermione just could not help smiling. Ron was perfect and it had taken her way too long to realise it. All those wasted hours. They still argued of course, and frequently, they just argued in the knowledge that they loved each other. Not that Ron would ever actually say that, he would be too embarrassed, and Hermione would think it showed some sort of weakness on her part. But they both slently agreed on it.
After the dance ended Harry reluctantly let go of Ginny and asked her if he could get her a drink. They danced another few dances, Harry's unease at dancing in front of other people quite forgotten. They kept dancing and talking until past one o clock, when people started saying their goodbyes to their partners and drifting out of the hall. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were of the last couples to leave. The doors bewitchment had been reversed, so that the couples could leave out of the same doors. The four eventually trudged upstairs to their dorms, and Ron and Hermione kissed each other one last time and went their separate ways. Harry and Ginny however, lingered in the corridor for a while longer looking at each other in embarrassed silence. Finally Harry said "Er, thanks for coming to the ball with me, it was really nice of you, I enjoyed it.
"Well, so did I" said Ginny looking at her shoes hoping she didn't look too hopeful.
Harry, who had decided he couldn't bear it any longer asked, " Look, can I kiss you?"
Ginny looked up. Her expression meant that he didn't really need her to say any thing. He stooped down and, awkwardly at first, kissed her. It came naturally to him how he should do it, and she was kissing him back, which made him feel even better. They wrapped their arms around each other and stood there the cold corridor sharing each others body heat. Harry could smell her hair from here, it was silky and smooth and smelt so simple and homely. He could definitely get used to this. He didn't want to let her go. When their eyes finally met again they slowly, reluctantly, let go.
"I've got to go now Harry. bye." She walked slowly away, a vaguely confused expression on her face. When she had reached the end of the corridor, and Harry was just about to tear his eyes away from her and go to his own dorms, she turned around and ran back to him. Suddenly, she flung her arms round his neck again and kissed him, burying her head into his neck. Harry grabbed the small of her back and gently pulled her even closer to him, feeling her hair and her face and with one final kiss on her lips that felt so nice she wished he'd just do it again, he walked slowly into the boys dorms.
But by the time it was time to get ready for the yule ball, all thoughts of mirror magic had gone right out of their heads
Harry and Ron , and Hermione and Ginny all went their separate ways to get dressed for the ball. The boys dorms were full of high spirited chatter, all talking confidently at the top of their voices, but strangely enough, no-one seemed quite prepared to go downstairs to the hall to face their partners, even if they were fully clothed. Harry had got changed, but Ron was looking at his robes suspiciously. "Look, Harry, d'you think they've jinxed it?"
"Don't be so dumb Ron, course they havn't. They're allowed to be nice to you sometimes arn't they?"
Seeing that Ron still did not look convinced Harry gave an exasperated sigh. "Look Ron, I lost a bet to the twins and they bought the robes from that money ok?" Harry lied. " Really?" said Ron brightening "What did you bet?-" But Harry, catching sight of Neville in his dress robes, had found the perfect opportunity to get away.
"C'm on Ron, even Neville's ready, let's go."
All three boys stood in front of the mirror. Harry was having a battle with his hair and Neville gave off the general air of dishevillment. Ron however was looking in the mirror in astonishment, having never seen himself in clothes which were new and also fitted. His shoes had been polished so well you could almost hear them gleam, and his hair was tidy for a change.
Happily, Ron had never experienced this before so he was not vain or proud, in fact he was a bit nervous.
"I know I look better than usual, but do you think i'll be good enough for Hermione? I mean, did you see her at the ball last year?"
"Don't be stupid Ron, you look great. Besides, Hermione probably won't notice how you look. I don't remember what Hermione was wearing last year anyway."
" No way Harry, trust me she'll notice. She's a girl. And since you don't remember, I think i'll refresh your memory, last year Hermione came in with her hair all done up in this complicated knot thingy, and she was wearing a dress, and -"
"Oh give over, Ron. Hey, does Ginny notice stuff like that?" asked Harry nervously.
At the mention of Ginny, Neville looked up from a knot he was trying to untie which had attatched his shoes together. "Oh, you're going with Ginny are you Harry?" he said as casually as possible.
"Yup" answered Harry.
"Right"
"Right"
"Ok, ok, break it up you two," grinned Ron. "let's go!"
They all slowly made their way down to the gread hall. Before they entered they all took an audible intake of breath. The school had been bewiched and the stairs had been forced to reorganise, so that the steps down from the girls dorms led directly to the doors on one side of the great hall and the boys on the other side, so that they could not meet up with their partners before the ball. As they entered Harry could not see anything but a sea of heads. He was vaguely aware of Neville being led of by the irrepressable Millicent, and the music in the background. He and Ron stood opposite the doors at the other end of the hall. The doors kept opening, but there was no sign of either Hermione or Ginny.
Suddenly he felt a pair of little warm hands covering his eyes from behind. From the sound of Rons protestations he guessed the same thing had happened to Ron. He turned a round and saw Ginny standing there grinning from ear to ear. She looked so beautiful he suddenly wished he could apparate back to the dorms and brush his hair another few thousand times.
When Ron turned around and saw Hermione, for a few moments he was speechless. Ron was lost for words so rarely that for a moment Hemione was nervous. Had he realised that maybe they were better off "just friends" after all? Did she look silly? But all Ron said was, "Wow Hermione, you look, really.....wow..!....I... wow .."
And as that was probably the biggest complement Ron had ever payed anyone, and as Hermione had been his friend for so long that she knew this very well, they both stood for a long time just staring at another stupidly.
"D'you want to dance?" stammered Harry to Ginny. "Yes" said Ron seriously. Harry, Hermione and Ginny stared at Ron for a minute and then, slowly, they all started to laugh. The spell had been broken and they all relaxed.
Harry grabbed Ginny round the waist and they started dancing to a slow song. Ginny put her arms around his neck and leant her head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes. She could barely believe that this was happenning to her. She though of how many girls would give their right arms to be in her position. But the fact that he actually liked her, when he could have had virtually any other girl in the whole year.
Harry savoured the moment. He discovered that he liked having her close to him, her body felt so warm and comfortable. He wondered suddenly what it would feel like to kiss her. Maybe he should after the dance ended. Maybe that was what girls expected of you. He wasn't sure. For the moment, he just didn't want to let go of her, she felt so good
Ron and Hermione were not having this problem. Basic farmiliarity meant that both of them knew each other so well that they could anticipate exactly what the other would want. After the dance ended, Ron kissed Hermione gently on the cheek and said, "Thanks Hermione". Hermione just could not help smiling. Ron was perfect and it had taken her way too long to realise it. All those wasted hours. They still argued of course, and frequently, they just argued in the knowledge that they loved each other. Not that Ron would ever actually say that, he would be too embarrassed, and Hermione would think it showed some sort of weakness on her part. But they both slently agreed on it.
After the dance ended Harry reluctantly let go of Ginny and asked her if he could get her a drink. They danced another few dances, Harry's unease at dancing in front of other people quite forgotten. They kept dancing and talking until past one o clock, when people started saying their goodbyes to their partners and drifting out of the hall. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were of the last couples to leave. The doors bewitchment had been reversed, so that the couples could leave out of the same doors. The four eventually trudged upstairs to their dorms, and Ron and Hermione kissed each other one last time and went their separate ways. Harry and Ginny however, lingered in the corridor for a while longer looking at each other in embarrassed silence. Finally Harry said "Er, thanks for coming to the ball with me, it was really nice of you, I enjoyed it.
"Well, so did I" said Ginny looking at her shoes hoping she didn't look too hopeful.
Harry, who had decided he couldn't bear it any longer asked, " Look, can I kiss you?"
Ginny looked up. Her expression meant that he didn't really need her to say any thing. He stooped down and, awkwardly at first, kissed her. It came naturally to him how he should do it, and she was kissing him back, which made him feel even better. They wrapped their arms around each other and stood there the cold corridor sharing each others body heat. Harry could smell her hair from here, it was silky and smooth and smelt so simple and homely. He could definitely get used to this. He didn't want to let her go. When their eyes finally met again they slowly, reluctantly, let go.
"I've got to go now Harry. bye." She walked slowly away, a vaguely confused expression on her face. When she had reached the end of the corridor, and Harry was just about to tear his eyes away from her and go to his own dorms, she turned around and ran back to him. Suddenly, she flung her arms round his neck again and kissed him, burying her head into his neck. Harry grabbed the small of her back and gently pulled her even closer to him, feeling her hair and her face and with one final kiss on her lips that felt so nice she wished he'd just do it again, he walked slowly into the boys dorms.