The Phoenix's Prophesy
by: Daphne Li
Chapter 16.
~*~*~*~
"Harry?"
"Prongs Jr.!"
"Harry, mate, wake up!"
"Harry?"
Harry moaned and turned over, swatting his hand in the direction of the annoying voices. Bad idea.
"AGH!" Harry yelped, as he toppled from his warm sleeping place, onto the floor of the Gryffindor common-room. There was a stifled giggle and a few snorts of laughter. He looked up and glared at his wake-up party. Above him stood all of his friends, grinning down at him in amusement.
"About time, Mr. I'll-just-sleep-through-Voldemort's-uprising-thank-you." Teased Ginny. Harry shot her anther glare, which was turned into a huge yawn.
"Merlin's beard, Harry! Don't you think you've slept enough?" Ron laughed, as his friend's head collapsed back onto the couch that he had fallen off of. Harry sleepily shook his head.
"I was up till' two-bloody-thirty in the morning, for your information. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to sleep." Harry grumbled, pulling himself back up onto the couch and turning his back on them. His friends shot him astonished looks, all but Rose and Ginny, who looked worried.
"TWO-THIRTY?!?!" Hermione cried, shooting him a glare.
"Bloody-hell, Harry! Why in mermaid's madness would you do that?" Ron yelped. Harry shrugged.
"I had something to do. Now let me sleep." He groused.
"It's lunch-time, git. Now get up!" Jackson bellowed, pulling Harry to his feet. Harry sighed and scratched his head sleepily.
"Fine. But I'm going to bed early tonight." He muttered, as they dragged him out of the portrait hole. Once they had him in the Great Hall, Rose made sure to sit on his right, while Ginny shoved her brother out of his regular seat ("Hey! Gin!"), and sat on Harry's left.
"All right. Explain." Rose commanded, as soon as he had some food in his empty stomach. Harry sighed and put down his fork.
"Rose, look over at the Slytherin table. Where the Durmstrang students are sitting. Look at them all carefully, and tell me what you see." Harry murmured, watching as both his sister and Ginny followed his instructions. They looked over at the said group and allowed their eyes to rove around the foreign students. It was Ginny, however, who noticed something first.
"H...Harry...does your explanation have something to do with a girl with blonde hair, who looks ridiculously like Malfoy?" She asked gingerly. Harry smiled slightly.
"Goyle introduced her to me last night. She wanted to join the DA, but she wanted to meet me first. Her name is..." He trailed off, motioning for them to lean in closer; they did so.
"Cassia Malfoy." His voice was no more than a breath of air, but they heard it. Rose looked as if Harry had just struck her across the face, and Ginny got a slightly horrified expression.
"ANOTHER MALFOY?!?!" She hissed. He nodded.
"She's Malfoy's sister. They sent her to Durmstrang, when she refused to show interest in the dark arts and Voldemort. She's your age, and she was sort of hoping to meet you..."
"US?" Ginny squeaked. Rose looked nervous, but thoughtful.
"Yes. I'm going to talk with Dumbledore over it. I'm pretty sure that he knew..." He trailed off, his eyes roving to where Dumbledore sat. The older man slowly turned and made eye-contact with him, sending an amused wink at him before turning to talk with Professor Moore.
"Yeah. He knows." Ginny said dryly. Then she straightened up, her eyes flashing.
"I'm going with you. I want answers." She hissed. Rose nodded in agreement, and Harry felt a rush of gratitude towards these two red-haired maidens.
"Fine. But let me eat, first." He chuckled, causing the girls to laugh.
~*~*~*~
"I had a feeling she would want to join."
"WHAT?!?!"
"You knew?"
"Why didn't you add her to the list?" Harry added to the girl's questions, or, in Ginny's case, exclamation. Dumbledore chuckled.
"I wanted to make certain where her loyalties were going to lie, before adding her to the class. I'm actually surprised that she approached you first. I was expecting to have to meet with her myself." The old professor murmured, rubbing his beard thoughtfully. Then he straightened.
"If she wants to learn, we shouldn't discourage her. Cassia Malfoy has always been the black sheep of her family, going against everything she was told by her father and mother...she could be a useful ally." Dumbledore mussed, more to himself then to the three listeners.
"Do you think it would be safe to befriend her, then?" Rose asked. Dumbledore looked slightly surprised at her question, and then nodded.
"I would encourage it. Cassia needs a few friends from the light side of this situation, to draw her away from the allurement of the dark." He murmured. Ginny still looked hesitant, but Rose nodded resolvedly.
"We will then, won't we, Ginny." She looked over at the other girl, and for the first time since he had met her, Harry noted a warning tone to his sister's voice. Ginny seemed to hear it as well, because she nodded quickly.
"Sure."
"Good. Now that this has been resolved, do you need anything more?" Dumbledore asked. Harry thought and then grinned.
"Yeah. When can we book the Quidditch Pitch?"
This question got him two hits up-side the head from the girls, and a laugh from Dumbledore.
~*~*~*~
"So when do we get to meet her?" Ginny asked Harry anxiously, as they bolted through the air on their brooms. It was two days later, and the team had finally met for practices. Ron was flying about, shouting suggestions here and there to his team. Harry slowed down so he was flying directly next to her.
"After practice, when everyone has gone back inside." He murmured, as Ron shot them a 'get to work' look. Ginny nodded and then quickly flew off to join her fellow Chasers. Below them, Harry spotted Rose entering the stands, her long red hair pulled back into a braid. She waved at him, and he grinned, going back to his exercises as soon as Ron shot him a glare.
"Oh, no. He's getting Wood-itis." Harry groaned softly, as he passed Ginny in a downward dive. She giggled and nearly fell off her broom as a bludger sped directly in front of her. They continued to share funny comments while flying past each other, for the rest of practice.
"All right, team. Good job! Be back here tomorrow night." Called Ron. This caused most of the team to groan and share heated comments, as they trudged back into the building. Hermione, who had been watching the entire practice, now engaged Ron in a fervent conversation, and the two of them walked back to the school together, never looking back.
"That was convenient." Harry muttered, as he watched his two friends disappear inside. Ginny pulled up next to him and giggled.
"She said that she needed to talk about some prefect meeting, but I get the feeling she just wanted an excuse..." She trailed off, catching Rose's eye. The two girls giggled, and Harry grinned at what Ginny was implying. Ever since the start of the year, Harry had noticed that both of his best friends had become...closer. And not just in a friendly way. They might not have seen it, but both of them seemed quite...taken with the other.
"But if they don't stop arguing, they'll never get together." Ginny pointed out, getting off her broom and collapsing exhaustedly on the bench. Harry nodded in agreement and sat down on Rose's other side, keeping his eyes on the pitch entrance. Soon, the very person he was looking for, stepped onto the field and made her way over to them.
Harry smiled and stood up, noticing that Cassia had once again pulled the hood up to hide her face. Not that he could blame her, considering how closely she resembled her brother...
"Good evening, Harry." Came her sweet voice. Immediately, the two red-heads next to him silenced, and turned to stare at the cloaked figure. Slowly, she removed the hood, allowing her yellow-gold locks to fall about her shinning face.
"You must be Ginny Weasley and Rose McBride." Cassia said softly, holding out her hand. Ginny shot a nervous glance at Harry, before placing her hand in the other girl's. As if she felt Ginny's discomfort, Cassia allowed a smile to beam out, and Ginny immediately relaxed.
"I am Cassia Malfoy, but I'm sure you already know that." She laughed. Rose nodded, taking her turn in shaking the girl's hand. There was silence for a moment, then:
"Are you *really* Malfoy's sister?" Ginny blurted out, looking embarrassed. This caused the other three to burst out laughing, and all uncomfortable silences were gone.
"Unfortunately, yes. But I can assure you, I am nothing like him...I hope..." This caused another bout of laughter.
"Actually, that's what kept me. Draco wouldn't let me out of the common room until I told him where I was going. It took both Gregory and that darling little Sonya Winters to distract him enough to allow me to sneak away!" She laughed, but Rose looked curious.
"Sonya is that first year that has made friends with Victoria, correct?" Rose asked. Harry nodded.
"I think so. They have become pretty good friends, as far as I can see." He commented.
"OH! You know her?" Cassia asked, her blue-grey eyes lighting up. Harry nodded.
"She's part of the DA as well. She was one of the first to agree, and she's a pure-blood." Harry said thoughtfully. Cassia nodded.
"The Winters. I think I've heard father complaining about them before. They are supposed to be very weak-spirited and go as majority rules. But Sonya doesn't seem much like them, does she?"
"Not at all." There was thoughtful silence after Harry said this, until Ginny could not stand it any longer.
"Oh, that's enough! I want to have some fun. Come on, Rose. You too, Cassia. Let's go to the kitchens for a snack." She exclaimed, jumping up from her seat. While the two girls laughed, Harry looked up at Ginny in slight surprise. She seemed antsy, and unnaturally anxious.
But as the girls began to walk away, Harry decided that it was just another one of those 'girl-things', and left it at that.
~*~*~*~
//Dear Ginny:
I am writing this so my brother will not become suspicious if I am seen too much around you. I am afraid that we will have to limit ourselves to just this, except at the DA meetings and perhaps a few other locations.
Alright, enough with the formalities. I'm throwing off the Malfoy pride and talking like a normal human, k'?
I know that you were hungry after your Quidditch practice (who wouldn't be), but that was no reason to leave poor Harry in the dirt like that. Something was up, and I know what it is.
You like him.
Write Back Soon! (WBS!)
~Cassia//
~*~*~*~
//Cassia:
I DON'T LIKE HARRY!!!
Not the way you mean. He is my brother's best friend. He is my friend. End of story.
And I *WAS* hungry! I nearly passed out from hunger! I am lucky that the house elves work fast, or else you would have had to go to Madame Pomfrey!
Yeah, you should ditch the formalities. You were really starting to freak me out when you said, 'by your leave' to that poor house elf. Did you see how he was shaking?!
G2G. Hermione wants to talk. (I told you about her. You know, the brown- haired, bossy, Gryffindor Prefect? Also my friend...)
WBS!
~Ginny//
~*~*~*~
//Ginny,
Keep thinking that. Perhaps, in time, you will actually start to believe that you don't like him.
WBS!
~Cassia
~*~*~*~
"There's been another attack."
This was said by Shane, who had his head buried in the wizarding paper the next day at breakfast. Harry, who had just entered with Ron and Hermione, collapsed onto his seat with a groan.
"Who and where?"
"Somewhere in muggle London. It was a small death-eater attack, but it was an attack all the same." Neville commented, shoving a copy of the 'Daily Prophet' over to him.
"How many were killed?" Hermione asked weakly.
"Two men and a woman. No news yet on who they were." Shane sighed, lifting his head. Harry nodded and looked away in thought. Ever since their arrival at the school, death-eater attacks had become more frequent, and more daring.
"This is getting bad. He's just...waiting. It's like he's biding his time for something bad." Jackson muttered, biting into a piece of toast. His friends looked at him in amusement.
"He *is* biding his time, moron! What do you think he's been doing all this time? Dancing the polka?" Shane laughed, hitting his friend over the head. The others laughed as Jackson shot him a dirty look. Harry took this time to look over at the Slytherin table. Cassia was sitting silently beside her brother, reading the 'Daily Prophet'. Her eyes were trained attentively on the article she was reading, while Goyle took short peeks at it over her shoulder, when Draco wasn't looking. Neither of them looked very happy.
"You think they've read it?" Ginny whispered, half-sarcastically. Harry nodded shortly and then looked at her.
"They may be small attacks, but they're becoming more and more frequent. He's getting bolder." He muttered. At that moment, Ginny's hand rose and she waved nonchalantly towards the Slytherin table. Harry looked over to see Cassia and Goyle staring at them, obviously wondering if they had seen the articles. Harry shot them a slow nod, and then watched as Cassia rolled her eyes in a 'will this never end' way. Ginny and Harry looked at each other, knowingly.
Would it ever end?
"Hey, guys, on a lighter note, the Yule Ball's coming up! Have you gotten dates, yet?" Jackson called. Everyone looked at each other, startled. They had been so wrapped up in working on the DA, that they had completely forgotten about the ball! The boys shared nervous looks while the girls smiled.
"Nope. Not yet." Hermione said, standing up and walking for the doors. Harry noticed that she looked rather hurt, and he quickly nudged Ron, who shot him a glare. Ron's face soon cleared, however, and moments later, he had disappeared behind Hermione.
"What about you? Have you been asked?" Rose asked Jackson, who grinned at her.
"Nope. But I did ask someone, and they said 'yes'."
"Oh? Who?" Ginny asked in surprise. Harry could have sworn that he saw Jackson's cheeks turning red.
"Luna Lovegood." Before anyone could respond, Jackson had bolted out of the room. Everyone watched him leave with open mouths. Shane looked after his friend in shock, and then chuckled lightly.
"I know who I'd like to ask, but I'm not sure..." He trailed off as his mind wandered away.
"What about you, Shirah? Raya?" Rose asked.
"I'm going stag. But Raya's got a date." The blonde laughed, flipping a strand of hair over her shoulder.
"Huh?" Ginny and Rose chorused, turning to their tiny, blushing friend.
"Gregory asked me." She whispered, looking down at her hands. Harry's eyes flickered over to the Slytherin table, where Goyle was watching them with a strange look on his face. Harry nearly laughed. So that's why Goyle had shown that sudden interest in Raya! He fancied her!
"What about you, Harry? Who are you going to ask?" Rose questioned. Harry felt himself freeze, and then remembered a certain Christmas present that was waiting at the bottom of his trunk. Quickly, he gathered up his courage and turned to Ginny. He knew that this was his only chance, and he wasn't going to mess it up like last time.
"Ginny...would you like to go to the ball with me?" He finally managed. Ginny paled, looking shocked, then blushed and looked down at her hands.
"I'd love to." She whispered, gathering a shaky breath. Harry's face lit up and he grinned.
"Great!" His eyes found Rose's over Ginny's head, and she winked at him.
"What about you, Neville? Who are you going with?" Harry questioned. Both Neville and Rose turned red, now.
"Um...Rose." He said softly, looking nervous. Harry suppressed a laugh. As if he hadn't seen that one coming!
Well, unlike last year, this Yule Ball had the potential to turn out rather wonderful!
~*~*~*~
by: Daphne Li
Chapter 16.
~*~*~*~
"Harry?"
"Prongs Jr.!"
"Harry, mate, wake up!"
"Harry?"
Harry moaned and turned over, swatting his hand in the direction of the annoying voices. Bad idea.
"AGH!" Harry yelped, as he toppled from his warm sleeping place, onto the floor of the Gryffindor common-room. There was a stifled giggle and a few snorts of laughter. He looked up and glared at his wake-up party. Above him stood all of his friends, grinning down at him in amusement.
"About time, Mr. I'll-just-sleep-through-Voldemort's-uprising-thank-you." Teased Ginny. Harry shot her anther glare, which was turned into a huge yawn.
"Merlin's beard, Harry! Don't you think you've slept enough?" Ron laughed, as his friend's head collapsed back onto the couch that he had fallen off of. Harry sleepily shook his head.
"I was up till' two-bloody-thirty in the morning, for your information. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to sleep." Harry grumbled, pulling himself back up onto the couch and turning his back on them. His friends shot him astonished looks, all but Rose and Ginny, who looked worried.
"TWO-THIRTY?!?!" Hermione cried, shooting him a glare.
"Bloody-hell, Harry! Why in mermaid's madness would you do that?" Ron yelped. Harry shrugged.
"I had something to do. Now let me sleep." He groused.
"It's lunch-time, git. Now get up!" Jackson bellowed, pulling Harry to his feet. Harry sighed and scratched his head sleepily.
"Fine. But I'm going to bed early tonight." He muttered, as they dragged him out of the portrait hole. Once they had him in the Great Hall, Rose made sure to sit on his right, while Ginny shoved her brother out of his regular seat ("Hey! Gin!"), and sat on Harry's left.
"All right. Explain." Rose commanded, as soon as he had some food in his empty stomach. Harry sighed and put down his fork.
"Rose, look over at the Slytherin table. Where the Durmstrang students are sitting. Look at them all carefully, and tell me what you see." Harry murmured, watching as both his sister and Ginny followed his instructions. They looked over at the said group and allowed their eyes to rove around the foreign students. It was Ginny, however, who noticed something first.
"H...Harry...does your explanation have something to do with a girl with blonde hair, who looks ridiculously like Malfoy?" She asked gingerly. Harry smiled slightly.
"Goyle introduced her to me last night. She wanted to join the DA, but she wanted to meet me first. Her name is..." He trailed off, motioning for them to lean in closer; they did so.
"Cassia Malfoy." His voice was no more than a breath of air, but they heard it. Rose looked as if Harry had just struck her across the face, and Ginny got a slightly horrified expression.
"ANOTHER MALFOY?!?!" She hissed. He nodded.
"She's Malfoy's sister. They sent her to Durmstrang, when she refused to show interest in the dark arts and Voldemort. She's your age, and she was sort of hoping to meet you..."
"US?" Ginny squeaked. Rose looked nervous, but thoughtful.
"Yes. I'm going to talk with Dumbledore over it. I'm pretty sure that he knew..." He trailed off, his eyes roving to where Dumbledore sat. The older man slowly turned and made eye-contact with him, sending an amused wink at him before turning to talk with Professor Moore.
"Yeah. He knows." Ginny said dryly. Then she straightened up, her eyes flashing.
"I'm going with you. I want answers." She hissed. Rose nodded in agreement, and Harry felt a rush of gratitude towards these two red-haired maidens.
"Fine. But let me eat, first." He chuckled, causing the girls to laugh.
~*~*~*~
"I had a feeling she would want to join."
"WHAT?!?!"
"You knew?"
"Why didn't you add her to the list?" Harry added to the girl's questions, or, in Ginny's case, exclamation. Dumbledore chuckled.
"I wanted to make certain where her loyalties were going to lie, before adding her to the class. I'm actually surprised that she approached you first. I was expecting to have to meet with her myself." The old professor murmured, rubbing his beard thoughtfully. Then he straightened.
"If she wants to learn, we shouldn't discourage her. Cassia Malfoy has always been the black sheep of her family, going against everything she was told by her father and mother...she could be a useful ally." Dumbledore mussed, more to himself then to the three listeners.
"Do you think it would be safe to befriend her, then?" Rose asked. Dumbledore looked slightly surprised at her question, and then nodded.
"I would encourage it. Cassia needs a few friends from the light side of this situation, to draw her away from the allurement of the dark." He murmured. Ginny still looked hesitant, but Rose nodded resolvedly.
"We will then, won't we, Ginny." She looked over at the other girl, and for the first time since he had met her, Harry noted a warning tone to his sister's voice. Ginny seemed to hear it as well, because she nodded quickly.
"Sure."
"Good. Now that this has been resolved, do you need anything more?" Dumbledore asked. Harry thought and then grinned.
"Yeah. When can we book the Quidditch Pitch?"
This question got him two hits up-side the head from the girls, and a laugh from Dumbledore.
~*~*~*~
"So when do we get to meet her?" Ginny asked Harry anxiously, as they bolted through the air on their brooms. It was two days later, and the team had finally met for practices. Ron was flying about, shouting suggestions here and there to his team. Harry slowed down so he was flying directly next to her.
"After practice, when everyone has gone back inside." He murmured, as Ron shot them a 'get to work' look. Ginny nodded and then quickly flew off to join her fellow Chasers. Below them, Harry spotted Rose entering the stands, her long red hair pulled back into a braid. She waved at him, and he grinned, going back to his exercises as soon as Ron shot him a glare.
"Oh, no. He's getting Wood-itis." Harry groaned softly, as he passed Ginny in a downward dive. She giggled and nearly fell off her broom as a bludger sped directly in front of her. They continued to share funny comments while flying past each other, for the rest of practice.
"All right, team. Good job! Be back here tomorrow night." Called Ron. This caused most of the team to groan and share heated comments, as they trudged back into the building. Hermione, who had been watching the entire practice, now engaged Ron in a fervent conversation, and the two of them walked back to the school together, never looking back.
"That was convenient." Harry muttered, as he watched his two friends disappear inside. Ginny pulled up next to him and giggled.
"She said that she needed to talk about some prefect meeting, but I get the feeling she just wanted an excuse..." She trailed off, catching Rose's eye. The two girls giggled, and Harry grinned at what Ginny was implying. Ever since the start of the year, Harry had noticed that both of his best friends had become...closer. And not just in a friendly way. They might not have seen it, but both of them seemed quite...taken with the other.
"But if they don't stop arguing, they'll never get together." Ginny pointed out, getting off her broom and collapsing exhaustedly on the bench. Harry nodded in agreement and sat down on Rose's other side, keeping his eyes on the pitch entrance. Soon, the very person he was looking for, stepped onto the field and made her way over to them.
Harry smiled and stood up, noticing that Cassia had once again pulled the hood up to hide her face. Not that he could blame her, considering how closely she resembled her brother...
"Good evening, Harry." Came her sweet voice. Immediately, the two red-heads next to him silenced, and turned to stare at the cloaked figure. Slowly, she removed the hood, allowing her yellow-gold locks to fall about her shinning face.
"You must be Ginny Weasley and Rose McBride." Cassia said softly, holding out her hand. Ginny shot a nervous glance at Harry, before placing her hand in the other girl's. As if she felt Ginny's discomfort, Cassia allowed a smile to beam out, and Ginny immediately relaxed.
"I am Cassia Malfoy, but I'm sure you already know that." She laughed. Rose nodded, taking her turn in shaking the girl's hand. There was silence for a moment, then:
"Are you *really* Malfoy's sister?" Ginny blurted out, looking embarrassed. This caused the other three to burst out laughing, and all uncomfortable silences were gone.
"Unfortunately, yes. But I can assure you, I am nothing like him...I hope..." This caused another bout of laughter.
"Actually, that's what kept me. Draco wouldn't let me out of the common room until I told him where I was going. It took both Gregory and that darling little Sonya Winters to distract him enough to allow me to sneak away!" She laughed, but Rose looked curious.
"Sonya is that first year that has made friends with Victoria, correct?" Rose asked. Harry nodded.
"I think so. They have become pretty good friends, as far as I can see." He commented.
"OH! You know her?" Cassia asked, her blue-grey eyes lighting up. Harry nodded.
"She's part of the DA as well. She was one of the first to agree, and she's a pure-blood." Harry said thoughtfully. Cassia nodded.
"The Winters. I think I've heard father complaining about them before. They are supposed to be very weak-spirited and go as majority rules. But Sonya doesn't seem much like them, does she?"
"Not at all." There was thoughtful silence after Harry said this, until Ginny could not stand it any longer.
"Oh, that's enough! I want to have some fun. Come on, Rose. You too, Cassia. Let's go to the kitchens for a snack." She exclaimed, jumping up from her seat. While the two girls laughed, Harry looked up at Ginny in slight surprise. She seemed antsy, and unnaturally anxious.
But as the girls began to walk away, Harry decided that it was just another one of those 'girl-things', and left it at that.
~*~*~*~
//Dear Ginny:
I am writing this so my brother will not become suspicious if I am seen too much around you. I am afraid that we will have to limit ourselves to just this, except at the DA meetings and perhaps a few other locations.
Alright, enough with the formalities. I'm throwing off the Malfoy pride and talking like a normal human, k'?
I know that you were hungry after your Quidditch practice (who wouldn't be), but that was no reason to leave poor Harry in the dirt like that. Something was up, and I know what it is.
You like him.
Write Back Soon! (WBS!)
~Cassia//
~*~*~*~
//Cassia:
I DON'T LIKE HARRY!!!
Not the way you mean. He is my brother's best friend. He is my friend. End of story.
And I *WAS* hungry! I nearly passed out from hunger! I am lucky that the house elves work fast, or else you would have had to go to Madame Pomfrey!
Yeah, you should ditch the formalities. You were really starting to freak me out when you said, 'by your leave' to that poor house elf. Did you see how he was shaking?!
G2G. Hermione wants to talk. (I told you about her. You know, the brown- haired, bossy, Gryffindor Prefect? Also my friend...)
WBS!
~Ginny//
~*~*~*~
//Ginny,
Keep thinking that. Perhaps, in time, you will actually start to believe that you don't like him.
WBS!
~Cassia
~*~*~*~
"There's been another attack."
This was said by Shane, who had his head buried in the wizarding paper the next day at breakfast. Harry, who had just entered with Ron and Hermione, collapsed onto his seat with a groan.
"Who and where?"
"Somewhere in muggle London. It was a small death-eater attack, but it was an attack all the same." Neville commented, shoving a copy of the 'Daily Prophet' over to him.
"How many were killed?" Hermione asked weakly.
"Two men and a woman. No news yet on who they were." Shane sighed, lifting his head. Harry nodded and looked away in thought. Ever since their arrival at the school, death-eater attacks had become more frequent, and more daring.
"This is getting bad. He's just...waiting. It's like he's biding his time for something bad." Jackson muttered, biting into a piece of toast. His friends looked at him in amusement.
"He *is* biding his time, moron! What do you think he's been doing all this time? Dancing the polka?" Shane laughed, hitting his friend over the head. The others laughed as Jackson shot him a dirty look. Harry took this time to look over at the Slytherin table. Cassia was sitting silently beside her brother, reading the 'Daily Prophet'. Her eyes were trained attentively on the article she was reading, while Goyle took short peeks at it over her shoulder, when Draco wasn't looking. Neither of them looked very happy.
"You think they've read it?" Ginny whispered, half-sarcastically. Harry nodded shortly and then looked at her.
"They may be small attacks, but they're becoming more and more frequent. He's getting bolder." He muttered. At that moment, Ginny's hand rose and she waved nonchalantly towards the Slytherin table. Harry looked over to see Cassia and Goyle staring at them, obviously wondering if they had seen the articles. Harry shot them a slow nod, and then watched as Cassia rolled her eyes in a 'will this never end' way. Ginny and Harry looked at each other, knowingly.
Would it ever end?
"Hey, guys, on a lighter note, the Yule Ball's coming up! Have you gotten dates, yet?" Jackson called. Everyone looked at each other, startled. They had been so wrapped up in working on the DA, that they had completely forgotten about the ball! The boys shared nervous looks while the girls smiled.
"Nope. Not yet." Hermione said, standing up and walking for the doors. Harry noticed that she looked rather hurt, and he quickly nudged Ron, who shot him a glare. Ron's face soon cleared, however, and moments later, he had disappeared behind Hermione.
"What about you? Have you been asked?" Rose asked Jackson, who grinned at her.
"Nope. But I did ask someone, and they said 'yes'."
"Oh? Who?" Ginny asked in surprise. Harry could have sworn that he saw Jackson's cheeks turning red.
"Luna Lovegood." Before anyone could respond, Jackson had bolted out of the room. Everyone watched him leave with open mouths. Shane looked after his friend in shock, and then chuckled lightly.
"I know who I'd like to ask, but I'm not sure..." He trailed off as his mind wandered away.
"What about you, Shirah? Raya?" Rose asked.
"I'm going stag. But Raya's got a date." The blonde laughed, flipping a strand of hair over her shoulder.
"Huh?" Ginny and Rose chorused, turning to their tiny, blushing friend.
"Gregory asked me." She whispered, looking down at her hands. Harry's eyes flickered over to the Slytherin table, where Goyle was watching them with a strange look on his face. Harry nearly laughed. So that's why Goyle had shown that sudden interest in Raya! He fancied her!
"What about you, Harry? Who are you going to ask?" Rose questioned. Harry felt himself freeze, and then remembered a certain Christmas present that was waiting at the bottom of his trunk. Quickly, he gathered up his courage and turned to Ginny. He knew that this was his only chance, and he wasn't going to mess it up like last time.
"Ginny...would you like to go to the ball with me?" He finally managed. Ginny paled, looking shocked, then blushed and looked down at her hands.
"I'd love to." She whispered, gathering a shaky breath. Harry's face lit up and he grinned.
"Great!" His eyes found Rose's over Ginny's head, and she winked at him.
"What about you, Neville? Who are you going with?" Harry questioned. Both Neville and Rose turned red, now.
"Um...Rose." He said softly, looking nervous. Harry suppressed a laugh. As if he hadn't seen that one coming!
Well, unlike last year, this Yule Ball had the potential to turn out rather wonderful!
~*~*~*~