A/N: God, here I am. I'm so sorry it's been so long… but I have been suffering from one HELL of a case of writer's block. And it SUCKS. Plus I'm going off to camp for 6 weeks, so I won't update then either… and I have to get this out before I leave tomorrow. Dear gods, help.
Chapter 19
Hogwarts students talked animatedly to each other on their way to Hogsmeade as the carriages bumped and bounced along the road. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were sharing a carriage, and they were conversing about the Halloween Ball that night.
"I'm really excited about the music," said Harry. "I've never been able to see a good band that I like live."
"I'm excited about the dance in general," said Hermione. She looked at Ron, who was sitting next to her, and blushed crimson.
Harry and Ginny shared a 'about-time-stupid-Ron-and-Hermione-got-the-bloody-picture' look. However, both of them were relieved from the awkward silence in the carriage when it finally rumbled to a stop. The four of them hopped out, Ron saying,
"Well, it's about a quarter after one, where do you three want to go first?" Ron didn't exactly mind where they went, as long as he could be with a certain bushy-haired goddess, but he asked everyone anyway.
"Oy, do you want to go to Zonko's with us first?" asked Fred, popping out of nowhere with Angelina hanging on to his hand, a smile lighting up her dark skin.
"I've got to pick up those Dungbombs," George said, sidling up behind his twin with Alicia, smiling just as brightly as Angelina, hanging on to HIS hand.
"Yeah, all right, we're coming," said Harry, and grinned when Dean and Seamus, with Parvati and Lavender on their arms, walked past them into the Three Broomsticks.
"Oy, meet us in here when you finish and Zonko's!" called Seamus to the group as they passed. Ron nodded to Seamus and the rest of them headed for Zonko's Joke Shop.
Zonko's was already full of other Hogwarts students looking around. Fred and George automatically dragged their respective girlfriends toward a large barrel at the back of the shop, under a sign that read "Dungbombs and Stink Pellets, 4 Knuts apiece".
Hermione and Ginny were looking at the "Trick Toys" section of Zonko's, where several barrels and glass cases held Nose-Biting Teacups, Frog-Spawn Soap, Trouble Bubble gum, and a lot of other things besides. Hermione held up a package containing a few Hiccup Sweets and asked Ginny, "Do you think Harry and Ron might take a bit of this if I told them it was from Honeydukes?"
Ginny giggled, and she and Hermione headed up to the cash register with their purchases. On their way, Ginny saw some new items that had come in and picked up some Cherry-Flavored Ants. Laughing to herself, she thought that maybe she could trick her brothers into eating a few.
Meanwhile, over by the door, Harry and Ron were gleefully examining their purchases. Ron was showing Harry his bagful of Dungbombs and the Fanged Frisbee he'd bought. Harry stuffed his own bag of Dungbombs into a pocket of his robes as Fred, George, Angelina, and Alicia walked past them out the door, saying, "We'll meet you at the Three Broomsticks in five minutes!"
Harry's watch read two-o-clock by the time Hermione and Ginny caught up to them and the four walked into the pub. Festive Halloween decorations adorned the walls and ceiling, and Harry nearly tripped on a pumpkin. The twins and their girlfriends waved from a table near the front of the pub, where several other seventh years sat. Ron called to them, "We'll sit over here with them," pointing to Dean, Seamus, Parvati, and Lavender, who were drinking butterbeers at a table close to the back.
They approached the large table and dropped all of their things. "Hullo," Seamus acknowledged the four.
"I'll go up to get the drinks," said Ron. "Hermione, come with me. Butterbeers sound good?" And he and Hermione walked off to the bar, where Madam Rosmerta was pouring drinks for a group of rather rowdy warlocks.
Dean wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and said, "About bloody time those two got the picture!"
"They haven't fought at all in the past few days, either," said Harry, sounding amazed. Having been best friends with Hermione and Ron for the past five years, this came as a big surprise to him.
"Wonder what they've been doing instead, eh?" said Seamus, wiggling his eyebrows in the exact same way Dean had been.
The six Gryffindors at the table exploded into laughter, which continued until Ron and Hermione came walking back to the table with four butterbeers. Then it abruptly stopped.
"Oh, we weren't laughing," Ginny replied to Hermione's raised eyebrow. "We were… er, we were practicing… our singing! Right, singing, that's it." Ginny's statement, having made no sense whatsoever, caused everyone to start laughing again, Ron and Hermione included. They were just settling down in their chairs when a familiar, if extremely annoying, drawling voice reached their ears.
Draco Malfoy had just sauntered through the door of the Three Broomsticks, Pansy Parkinson hanging on to his hand for dear life (although he didn't look too happy about this arrangement) and Crabbe and Goyle in their usual spots as his bodyguards. As Malfoy stalked up to the bar to get drinks, he noticed the group of Gryffindors sitting and laughing. He sneered at them as he continued his conversation with Pansy (well, she was the one doing most of the conversing). After they had gotten their butterbeers, in bottles instead of tankards, they all walked past the friends' tables, Malfoy saying in a loud voice,
"Let's go outside… it stinks of a Mudblood in here."
Harry had to grab Ron by his shirt collar to keep him from leaping over the table to get at Malfoy. Ron's ears were bright red as he called Malfoy everything he could think of until Hermione clamped her hand over his mouth. Malfoy glanced once more over his shoulder as they left, glaring at Ron.
"Ron, it's all right, I can handle this myself," she said gently. "We'll just see what he thinks at the ball!" She quickly put her bushy hair into a ponytail. "So Harry, what's new?" she asked, abruptly changing the subject.
He was about to answer when the door banged open again and Neville came into the pub with a girl none of them knew. When they came up to the table the Gryffindors were at, the girl gave them a dreamy-eyed look and a smile when Neville introduced her.
"This is Luna Lovegood, from Ravenclaw. She's my date to the Yule Ball," she said, blushing. Luna smiled again and waved brightly to Ginny, who waved back, somewhat confused.
"Luna's in my year, she's a bit… can you say… odd? She's very nice though, we have Defense Against the Dark Arts together," Ginny said quietly to Harry.
By the time Neville and Luna had gotten their drinks and settled down at the table, Harry checked his watch again. "A quarter after three already!" he exclaimed to himself.
"We don't have to be back until four," Hermione reminded him.
For the 45 minutes they had left, the group sat and chatted. They also watched the wide assortment of people who came in and out of the pub. When the twins, Angelina, and Alicia left at 5 till four, the rest of the group decided they might as well get going also. They got up and left the pub and went back to the carriages that were to return them to Hogwarts.
On most of the journey back to school they sat in companionable silence, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione sharing a carriage. After a while, Ginny broke the silence, saying, "So are you three excited about the ball tonight?"
"I'm scared about what I'm WEARING," complained Ron. He turned to Hermione. "How do we know I'm not going to take someone's eye out with those-those Liberty spike things?"
"Ron, you're going to look fine, you're just going to look like you dropped out of London during the seventies punk movement."
"I'm going to what?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Must I go into the history of this? I'd rather not. You're going to look fine." She glared at Harry and Ginny who were laughing quietly on the opposite seat. "And who knows, maybe I'll snog you to within an inch of your life tonight…" she added quietly, so no one could hear.
"Wait, what?" Ron felt that he'd missed something important. Five minutes later the carriages came to a stop and everyone climbed out.
"Three hours until the ball, girls," said Harry.
"Oh! We need to start getting ready!" Ginny shrieked at Hermione, who then in turn shrieked at Parvati and Lavender. The boys watched interestedly as their dates ran like nuts through the castle door. Harry and Ron could catch bits of their conversation as they zoomed by-
"Shower-" Hermione began.
"Take it first, then we need to-" Lavender continued.
"Do makeup next, then get-" said Ginny.
"Costumes on, then hair, we should be-" babbled Parvati.
"Finished this century, or next?" Dean called after them.
A/N: I'm sooooo sorry this chap was so short, I didn't have much time and I wanted this up as soon as possible- sorry for the wait! Review please!
