I know it's been a LONG time since I have updated, but NO ONE reviewed, so I didn't really care. Now, however I really want to get back on track. I would really appreciate it if at least one person reviewed, PLEASE!

Chapter 11 Invitations

Much to Harry, Ron and Hermione's, for that matter, pleasure the ball was coming closer and closer, which meant that Harry and Ron would each have to ask a girl to go. Generally the trio was not looking forward to the event, and avoided talking about it. However, they could not avoid it forever. Everyone around them had found partners, and were obsessed, as last year with affair. Little did they all know that they all would have dates, and the evening would turn out to be very interesting.

Harry was the first to get a date, and he actually wasn't the one asking. About a week after the announcement on Halloween, he Ron, and Hermione had been walking out of the Great Hall on a Thursday evening, when Harry heard someone calling him.

"Harry" Harry turned around to see Cho Chang detaching herself from her friends, and walking toward Harry. "Can I talk to you?" she asked. Harry turned around to Ron and Hermione; they nodded and left for the Gryffindor common room to let Harry and Cho talk.

Cho waited until they were defiantly out of earshot before speaking.

"Harry, well," she seemed very nervous. "I was wondering if you would go to the ball with me?" Harry looked astonished he just stood there, staring at her for a minute then she added. "I don't know what will happen, but I'd like to go with you, I would have said yes last year, if."

Harry understood, but was so taken aback, he didn't respond right away.

".If you don't want to." Cho said, but Harry suddenly came out of his trance, and said. "No, I want to go with you" Cho looked relieved, and happy.

"Ok, how about I meet you in the entrance hall on New Years Eve at 8:00"

"Ok" said Harry

"Ok, well, bye, I'll see you later" and she walked away.

Harry was still surprised, but much happier about the ball. He walked back to Gryffindor tower, and saw Ron and Hermione sitting by the fire. He walked over to them and said.

"You won't believe this, Cho asked me to the ball"

For the remainder of the term Harry was in a great mood, because he now was free of the burden of asking a girl, and the fact that he was actually going with Cho Chang just added to his good mood. He was now very excited about the event.

Ron and Hermione although, Harry noticed were not very enthusiastic though. Harry hadn't thought much about his suspicion that they had feelings for eachother much since that summer, but the thought kept entering his head lately.

Term ended and Fred and George threw an Incredibly loud and enthusiastic party celebrating being halfway through with their last year. Everyone was in the common room, having a good time, everyone except Ron and Hermione that is. Each was in a separate part of the common room moping as they usually were since Halloween.

"What's wrong with Ickle-Ronniekins, Harry?" George asked Harry after helping himself to a hand full of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans.

"He has been like that since Halloween, so has Hermione"

"Have they got dates for the ball yet?" Fred asked, joining George and Harry, and glancing between Ron and Hermione and their respective corners.

"No"

"Ah." Both twins said at the same time looking at eachother. Harry stood and gave them a curious look. "Well isn't it obvious Harry, Ron wants to ask Hermione, and Hermione wants Ron to ask her, but we all know that will never happen. But maybe he has finally realized he fancies her"

"How did you know?"

"Ah.Harry, how easily you forget, your 2nd year, Quidditch practice, Malfoy- Mudblood-Slug incident! That's all the proof we need, but if that weren't enough, the Yule Ball, Viktor Krum.."

Harry stood only half listening to the twins enumerating the many times when his friends feelings were shown, he now was looking at Ron and Hermione, and back at Ron, 'If Fred and George knew, who else did?' He thought.

Ron sat in his corner pretending to do his homework, but in reality he was thinking about Hermione. He had barely talked to her in weeks, and now he wondered if in their silence he had missed something, what if she had a date to the ball, not that it mattered that much to him. He glanced up at her for about the hundredth time; she appeared to be doing, actually doing it unlike Ron.

Hermione was sitting in front of the fireplace - reading, well not really, she couldn't seem to concentrate. Her thoughts and her eyes kept drifting out of her control and onto Ron, who to her seemed not to notice she was alive. She hadn't talked to him hardly at all in weeks, and she suddenly had a thought and quickly brought her eyes back to the book in front of her, as if her looking at Ron would give away her thoughts. 'What if he has a date for the ball? I guess it doesn't really matter, why should I care?' She looked back up at Ron, but he was gone, she glanced around and just saw him get up and walk out of the portrait hole.

Ron had to get out of that room he had to clear his head. He just started walking around, for some reason he kept picturing Hermione at the ball with some guy, having a good time, and he couldn't stand it. 'Well if she is going with someone so am I, but who?' Ron's popularity had increased, not just for helping defeat Voldemort, but since his days of Quidditch, so getting a date wouldn't be that hard, he thought. He was right. He was in fact just thinking about who to ask, when a few girls came out into the entrance hall, one detached herself and came over to where Ron was walking thinking to himself.

"Ron?" she asked nervously. He turned around and immediately recognized her from his Herbology class, she was a 5th year Hufflepuff, who Ron had never talked to.

"Yeah?" he said, she turned to the three other girls, who nodded and giggled furiously, when she turned around she was slightly pink on the cheeks.

"Well, My name is Kate Taylor, I'm in your Herbology class, and well I was.um.wondering, would you like to go to the ball with me, if your not already going with someone." She added hastily, noticing Ron's surprised expression.

Ron looked at her, 'perfect' he thought. Kate was very pretty, she had light brown hair that looked like it had some blond in it at different lights, and she had hazel eyes that shone bright when Ron said, "Yes"

"Really?" She asked. He nodded. "Ok, I'll meet you in the entrance hall at 8:00 on New Years Eve"

"Ok," said Ron, who walked back to Gryffindor tower, much happier, as he walked strait through the common room, and the party, but not before noticing Hermione wasn't there. She wasn't anywhere in the common room at all, 'she must have gone to bed' he thought, and that's where he went, to his bed.

As soon as Hermione saw Ron she looked up to see Harry looking at her concerned face, she looked at him questioningly, but he just shrugged, and went back to talking to Dean, Seamus, and Neville.

Hermione got up and started to put all of her books, parchment, and quills away. She took it all up to her room, dumped it on her bed, and walked quickly back down the stairs, and right out of the common room. She walked down the hallway as fast as she could, without attracting too much attention. She didn't really want to talk to Ron, but she wanted to find him. She walked down the marble staircase, just in time to see Ron turn around and start talking to some girl. Hermione moved a little closer to hear them, and she just caught - ".would you like to go to the ball with me, if your not already going with someone." 'What?' thought Hermione, and then she heard Ron say "Yes"

She didn't stay any longer; she immediately turned and started walking around the castle, not really wanting to go back to Gryffindor tower. She couldn't believe Ron was going with that girl, 'Why do I care so much, it's none of my business'

She was brought out of her thoughts when someone called her name, "Hermione?" She turned around to see a boy walking toward her, he was a Ravenclaw prefect that Hermione had seen in a prefects meeting, but had never talked to. His name was David Marrow.

"Yes," she said as she turned to face him.

"Um, my name is David Marrow, I've seen you in our Prefect meetings, and in Charms, and I was wondering if you would like to go to the ball with me?"

Hermione was in complete shock, but she quickly overcame that and said, "I'd love to."

"Great, I'll meet you in the entrance hall at 8:00 on New Years Eve, bye." He said waving as he went, she smiled at him, and walked back to Gryffindor tower feeling very satisfied. She went strait up to her room, but not without looking to see if Ron was back yet, well, he wasn't in the common room, she noticed.

Harry had a good time at the party, he talked to all of his not-so-close friends, they all laughed as all of the new things that the twins had invented were tested on unknowing victims, he but his two best friends out of his mind, for the night.

He couldn't not think about them all night however, both had been looking at each other quite allot he noticed, and then Ron left. A minute later Hermione took her things upstairs, and left too. A little while later Ron came back with a smile on his face and walked up stairs, and no sooner than he was out of sight, Hermione came in with an identical satisfied smile on her face, and she too went to bet.

"I missed something big" Harry said quietly to himself.
Well that's that chapter, they all have dates! David is named after JK's baby! Congratulations to her! I hope you liked it! The ball will be soon, and it will be interesting, with a BIG R/Hr moment, I promise .well only if I get reviews!