Sorry this one took a while... If it's bad, it's because I am writing this at 2 AM... My apologies,
everyone!!!

Chapter 21: Halloween
Harry slept soundly that night. For once, he realized, he was coping with the issue of Sirius' death
instead of pushing it away. In the morning, he felt refreshed; he was glad that Ron and Hermione had
still been at dinner when he had gotten back the night before with his swollen eyes red from crying. He
had simply decided to go to bed early and had not woken up once.

He peered out of his bedcurtains. The sunlight was beginning to filter in through the blinds on the
windows. Dressing quietly, he decided he would visit the owlery and perhaps send Adele Fleur a thank
you letter for spending time with him yesterday. He picked up a quill and parchment and walked to the
common room. After much debating, he finished his letter.

Dear Adele, 

Thank you for yesterday. I cannot put into words how much it
meant to me. You have helped me more than you can imagine.
I hope you are feeling better today and I will be back up to
see you again soon.

Sincerely,

Harry Potter

He signed his name at the bottom, then folded the letter and put it in his pocket. He walked towards
the owlery, noticing that all of the halls were empty and his footsteps echoed throughout the barren
school. I am not alone, he thought to himself, smiling at the idea of his parents and Sirius
watching him right now. He had reached the owlery; Hedwig was nowhere to be found. Must be out
hunting again, he thought to himself. A dark owl, the color of a raven, flew down to him and 
allowed him to tie the letter to its leg. It stared at him intently with its ebony eyes as he fumbled
with the knot. After he was finished, the owl soared off through the window, its wings flapping in the
morning silence, the post-dawn sky paling in comparison to its coloring. Harry watched it. He 
couldn't help but feel that, as that black owl escaped and flew free of the building, all of the 
sadness and pain in his life was escaping with it, flying high into the clouds with the owl.

***********************

The next week flew by in a blur. Homework, homework, and more homework was being piled upon the sixth
years, but most of them didn't care - their main concern was the dance on the coming Friday. With a 
heavy heart, Harry ignored most of the talk of the dance; as far as he was concerned, he had tried to
find a date once, and that was enough for him. Instead, he spent much of his time working quietly in
the common room or the library, all the while thinking about his parents and Sirius. How he could have
been concerned only days ago with he and Cho's constant petty fights, he had no idea. The world was 
much bigger and more important than that, and he had finally grasped a part of it.

The days rushed by and suddenly it was Friday. Harry, Ron and Hermione joined the other prefects in 
decorating the Great Hall; their voices filled the room with happy chatter about the coming event.
Harry worked placing tiny enchanted pumpkins around the room; Professor Flitwick was following him,
charming them to stay in the air. After several rolls of streamers, Halloween decorations galore, 
a little bit of magic, and nearly three hours, the Great Hall was ready. The excited decorators 
hurried back up to their dormitories to tell their friends about how wonderful the Great Hall looked.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked slowly behind them.

"So you're still coming tonight, right Harry?" Hermione asked in a concerned voice. Harry shrugged.

"Nah, I don't think so. Dances really aren't my thing." Parvati, who was passing him in the hallway,
looked over, scandalized.

"But everyone is going!" she cried. "I heard you were dating that girl from Hufflepuff; did you guys
break up? What happened?"

"We aren't dating," he mumbled, escaping as quickly as possible. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Parvati... always gossiping... she'll be rushing back to Lavendar with some story now..."

Harry laughed, a bit uncomfortably. He didn't want to think about the rest of the school gossiping 
about him and Rachel. Ron and Hermione bid him goodbye, entering the common room. Harry stayed in
the corridors, wandering and thinking. He heard someone call out his name behind him; his heart
rose as he turned around, hoping it would be Rachel.

Luna Lovegood smiled at him from a few feet away, her eyes vacant and dreamy. Harry sighed.

"Hi, Luna," he greeted her, slightly disappointed. She looked at him.

"I have forgiven you, Harry Potter, for making fun of me," she told him, matter-of-factly. He hung his
head as he remembered the day at the Gryffindor table.

"Thanks... I'm still really sorry, Luna," he replied. She nodded.

"It's okay. Have you discovered what I told you last year, Harry Potter? That those who have passed 
beyond this world are not truly gone?" He nodded, smiling. She smiled back. "Good. You will have a 
very good night tonight," she told him. 

"I'm not going. To the dance, that is," he added. She raised her eyebrows.

"If you say so," she replied, turning and walking away. Harry shook his head. Why didn't that girl
ever make sense?

*********************

Rachel Wheaten sat on her dormitory floor, her back leaning against her bed and tears streaming down
her face. Why didn't he ask me? she thought to herself, wiping her eyes with the back of her 
hand. After all that, he didn't even ask me! Quietly, she got up. She really didn't want to
go to the dance, but she had promised her friends she would meet them there. Wiping her tears and
attempting to apply a bit of make-up to cover up her red eyes, Rachel sighed to herself. She wasn't 
really the type of girl that believed in dances and dressing up and make-up, but for some reason 
this night had seemed different. She hadn't gone to the dance during her fourth year and hadn't even
felt upset. But that was a long time ago... this time, it seemed more important, especially since she
had wanted to go with a special someone. But apparently he doesn't want to go with me, she 
thought bitterly to herself. She picked her small purse up off of the dresser and walked out of the
dormitory.

********************

Harry Potter continued wandering the hallways after he had seen Luna. His thoughts, formerly of
Sirius and his parents, now had drifted to a pretty blonde girl. I wish I could talk to her
right now... he thought to himself, leaning against the brick wall and sliding onto the floor
in a sitting position. He knew he really should have asked her to the dance; she probably would 
have said yes, and then he would have known if they were really just friends or if there was something
more to their relationship. Now, however, the opportunity seemed to be past, and it might never
present itself again. 

Harry heard distant footsteps and leaned around the corner to see who was coming. His heart jumped
into his throat: it was her. Rachel, her outline complimented by the beautiful blue robe, walked
towards him, a sad expression on her face. Harry leaned back against the wall in a desperate attempt
to stay hidden. Rachel turned the corner and continued without seeing him. You already let one
opportunity pass, Potter, a voice in his head told him. Don't let this one be number two...
Harry jumped to his feet. "Rachel!" he called. She spun around, amazed to see him.

"Harry - what are you doing here?" she asked, shocked and confused. 

"Oh... just, er... thinking," he said lamely, blushing as he stuttered over his words. Rachel smiled
sadly.

"You're not going to the dance?" she asked. He shook his head.

"No... I had a date but it kinda didn't work out. I'm not really into the whole dance thing," he replied.
Rachel smiled broadly.

"Me either. Care if I join you?"

*******************

Ron and Hermione returned to the Gryffindor tower a little before midnight. The curfew had been extended
for the dance, and they had supervised the younger students as they returned to their dormitories.
As both of them were exhausted, Ron and Hermione said goodnight.

"Check up on Harry, won't you, Ron?" Hermione asked him, a worrisome look on her face. 

"'Course, Mione." Ron mumbled, giving her a peck on the cheek. 

"Goodnight," they whispered, retreating upstairs to their rooms. Ron stumbled up the stairs and opened
the door, expecting to see Harry's bedcurtains closed. Instead, he was amazed to see Harry sitting on 
the floor next to Rachel, who was wearing dress robes and jewelry and had done her hair, although Ron
did not remember seeing her at the dance. He stared at the pair uncomprehendingly as they leaned back
against Harry's bed, laughing until they cried.

"So then Malfoy tries feinting, right - except I already had the snitch!" he managed to choke out, and 
they both fell back again, laughing. 

"Harry, mate, whadda you doing, bringing girls up here?" Ron asked, his speech slurred, as he stumbled
 over to his bed. He fell into it and immediately passed out from exhaustion. Rachel raised her eyebrows 
and began giggling unstoppably. Harry just looked at Ron and shook his head. 

"Dance must have been pretty tough, good thing we didn't go..." They laughed again. Harry glanced at
his watch. "It's nearly midnight, we should probably turn in as well. Would you mind if I walked you
back to your room?" Rachel smiled, offering him her hand so he could pull her into a standing position
from the ground.

"Of course, Mr. Potter. Thank you," she replied daintily, batting her eyelashes. The two broke into
laughter again; Ron gave a half-snore, half-grunt at the increase in noise level, but this just made
them laugh harder. 

"Let's go," Harry finally said, taking Rachel's hand in his own and leading her down the steps and out
of the common room. They talked quietly as they approached the Hufflepuff dormitories, trying to keep
their voices down to avoid being noticed by any of the other prefects who might be on duty right now.
At last, they reached the portrait that guarded the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room. Rachel
turned to face Harry.

"Thank you so much... I had a wonderful time tonight," she said sincerely.

"I'm sorry you never made it to the dance," Harry replied, shrugging. Rachel smiled.

"It doesn't matter. I had fun anyways." Harry looked into her eyes, their depth mesmerizing him as she
stared back at him as well. 

"Rachel-" he began just as she said, "Harry-" They both laughed.

"You go first," he told her. She inhaled deeply, getting ready to speak.

"Harry, I've never known anyone like you. You're amazing. I love being around you, talking to you, 
spending time with you... I feel like I've never been this happy," she said quietly. Harry was at a loss
for words; how did she know that this was the exact thing he had been about to say? She continued.
"I know maybe you haven't had a lot of good experiences with dating, but neither have I... Harry...
would you go out with me?" she finally blurted out. Harry was shocked. She just asked me out! A girl
just asked me out! RACHEL just asked me out! His mind stil reeling, he opened his mouth in an attempt
to speak.

"Uh...well..."

"Or friends, we can just be friends still if that's what you want," Rachel replied hurriedly, fear in her
eyes.

"No, no! I'd like to... I mean... Rachel, will you be my girlfriend?" he asked hopefully. She grinned.

"I'd love to," she replied, kissing him lightly on the cheek. "Goodnight, Harry." She turned and walked
through the doorway. Harry stood outside the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room, stunned. She
asked me out. She kissed me, he thought to himself. He raised his hand to the place where her lips
had been only moments before. 

"YES!" he cried, pumping his fist in the air. With a burst of energy, he ran back to his dormitory.

*********************************