Chapter Three
As Halloween drew closer, Leo, Aoife and "rla received even more invitations to the Halloween ball. Leo said yes to four guys (so far) and Aoife remained undecided about Harry, Draco still hadn't asked anyone so she was still waiting... On the Friday of the first weekend trip to Hogsmede, Fred stopped Leo in the corridor, on her way back from the great hall, to the heads dorm. "Hi Fred" Leo said as she saw Fred running towards her. "Hey Leo" he replied, panting a little, "I was wondering... eh...would u like to go to Hogsmede with me tomorrow? He asked. He looked into her bright blue eyes, and she smiled and replied, "Of course I would!" Fred couldn't believe it, but he managed a "Great" They discussed when and where they would meet and Leo returned to the Heads dorm, with a smile on her face.
"rla and Leo had Quidditich practice, so Leo found "rla in the Heads common room, with her broomstick, Quidditich gear and a smile from ear to ear. "Hey Leo, what took you so long?" "rla asked, obviously waiting for Leo to ask what the smile was about. "Oh Fred asked me to go to Hogsmede with him tomorrow, what's the big cheesy grin for?" she giggled. "rla instantly answered "Oliver asked me to go to Hogsmede with him tomorrow too!" "That's great "rla, but what about Aoife, the three of us were supposed to go together," Leo said "I'm too happy to think about that now, we'll tell her after Quidditich" "rla replied, and with that, Leo grabbed her Quidditich things and her broomstick and they ran down to the Quidditich pitch, already late.
When they arrived the other players were already in the air, so they ran into the changing rooms, quickly changing and they joined the others. "What took you so long" Wood asked, though not as stern as he could have been "Oh, a girl thing, you wouldn't understand" Leo giggled, as "rla's ears went pink, that seemed to have settled the matter, so they began drills. Leo noticed "rla and Oliver constantly exchanging smiles, but Leo had Fred and George gawping at her for the whole thing so she couldn't say anything. When Quidditich practice had finished, "rla saw George whispering something in Leo's ear, which Leo answered by nodding and giggling. As the others headed to the changing rooms "rla and Leo hung back after the others. "What was that about?" "rla quizzed Leo "Oh, nothing, George just asked me to go the Halloween ball with him" she said, wearing a mischievous grin. "Jesus, why don't u just say no to Fred and go with George and the other three guys, and put him out of his misery?" "rla asked, glad she'd only said yes to one person. "Well, why have one date, when I can have 5? Oh wait, make that 6, Luke asked me this morning!" Leo replied, and with that she flew off to the changing rooms, soon followed by "rla. At dinner they told Aoife about their dates to Hogsmede the next day, Harry overhearing, asked Aoife to go with him and Aoife agreed, on one condition, that they meet in the three broomsticks after an hour with each of their dates. Leo and "rla agreed and they carried on eating the usual delicious desserts, each exchanging meaningful glances with their dates.
The next morning, Aoife and "rla, headed to Leo's dorm, chatting pleasantly on the way. "So, how are things with Draco?" "rla asked, breaking the short silence that had followed Draco passing and smirking at them. "I told you, I have no feelings whatsoever for him" Aoife answered un- convincingly. "But I heard that he was asking you to the ball..." "rla said absent-mindly "What?!?" said Aoife, her face lighting up. "Told you so!" "rla giggled, "He asked Leo last night whether she thought you'd say yes or not" "Oh-mi- god! Say your not joking. Please!" Aoife cried. "Me? Joking? Of course not!" "rla replied, acting as if it was nothing.
When they reached Leo's dorm, she was talking to her cousin Fi, who was Blaise's twin and in the Slytherin house. "Hey guys" Leo said, a note of excitement in her voice "Guess who asked Fi to the Halloween ball?" "Who?" the others asked. "None other than the Dark Prince Of Slytherin himself, Draco Malfoy!" Aoife's face dropped. She had known it had been too good to be true. "That's...eh...great" She sniffled, holding in tears that were gathering in her eyes. "rla got the message and said, to Aoife's relief "Oh, I just realized I forgot my... wand...Aoife will you come with me?" Leo totally unaware of the trouble she'd caused said "Ok, I'll wait here... don't be long... Our dates will be waiting!" And with that Aoife burst into tears and ran back to their dorms but unable to contain herself, ran into the girls bathrooms on the first floor, "rla hot on her heels. "Aoife, I'm sooooo sorry," she said, her voice trembling "I had no idea." "It's my own fault... I shouldn't have got my hopes up" Aoife replied, now calming down, "Why would he ask me anyway? I'm a Gryffindor and...and..." her voice drifted off. Half the bathroom was staring at her. She perked her self up, gave a smile and whispered to "rla "Lets go, I'm fine, really I'm fine. Just don't mention it to Leo ok?" she asked her eyes still watery. "Of course not" "rla replied and they left and headed to Leo's dorm again.
Leo, "rla and Aoife headed to the entrance hall and found Harry, Fred and Oliver standing waiting for them. "Ready ladies?" Leo whispered to the girls on either side of her. They both looked at her and smiled. Oliver saw them walking towards them and nudged Harry who in turn notified Fred. "Hey guys" Leo said breaking the ice. "How are we all on, this fine morning?" she giggled "can't complain" Fred replied with a grin from ear to ear. "Let's roll," said Harry who was beaming at Leo, even though he was going with Aoife. Only Aoife seemed to notice. Ten minutes later after a short enjoyable journey, they jumped out of the carriage and Aoife whispered to Leo, "Can Harry and I stick with ye, I couldn't hack him for a whole hour!" Leo nodded consent. Harry seemed to be delighted with the idea, Fred was quite the opposite and both girls could feel the tension in the air. Then "rla and Oliver who were holding hands left and agreed to meet in the three broomsticks in an hour. Leo let out a big sigh and grabbed Fred's hand and pulled it over her shoulder. Harry didn't attempt to do this, which was very wise on his part.
They spent the hour walking around the shops in hogsmede, bumping into many of their fellow students, most of which in Leo's case were male, but Fred seemed to put up with the jealous looks being shot at him and was quite enjoying the attention. Harry made 2 advances towards Aoife, in order to make Leo jealous, each of which she dodged skillfully. On his third attempt she grabbed his hand and shot behind the dumpster of "W.T.'s wand smiths". "Alright Potter I can't deny it any longer, I want you! It kills me every time I see you looking at Leo. Take me roughly in the broom shed right now" Harry stared at her with a look of wonderment. "I...eh...ehum" he stammered nervously. "Fuck Potter, this is the first time I've seen you pass up an opportunity like this, apart from when you found moaning Myrtle trying to wank you while you were asleep" "Are you serious?" he asked "I was fucking with you Potter and if you ever try anything like that again ill ram a broomstick up your ass and tie you to one of the Quidditch goal posts. I'm not a fucking blow up doll you sick bastard" and with that she walked away without a backward glance. The four of them arrived at the TTB 20 minutes late. "rla and Oliver, to their surprise weren't there yet. Aoife and Leo got a table while Fred and Harry went to the counter to get butterbeers. "Thank god for that" Aoife sighed "Turns out I swear a lot when I'm angry. Remind me never go anywhere with Horny Harry Pothead ever again... after this fucking ball anyway" she leant her head on the side of the table. "Will do, even though I think ye make a cute couple..." laughed Leo. Aoifes head shot straight up, a soggy beer mat stuck to her forehead. Leo soon received an elbow in the ribs. "Aoife, where the hell did you learn to elbow like that?" Leo asked.
Aoife opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by Oliver and "rla who had just entered TTB. Oliver whispered something in "rlas ear that made her smile, and he sauntered off with a cheesy grin on his face to join Fred and Harry. "What the hell is on your neck Aoife exclaimed. "? Oh nothing" she answered as she pulled up the collar of her Quidditch jersey in an Elvis Presley like manner in an attempt to cover the clearly visible hickey on her neck. "Well it looks like you and Oliver had a good time!" laughed Leo. "rla's ears flushed pink and stuck out her tongue in a cheeky manner.
The three boys came over to the table each clutching butterbeers and sitting next to their dates apart from Harry who pulled up a single stool, afraid a butterbeer bottle may accidentally fall perhaps? They then had a very enjoyable discussion about Quidditch, The Halloween ball and the boner Snape had gotten in their potions class over Leo, which had mysteriously passed the ears of nearly every student at Hogwarts...