The Second Yule Ball
By Sinful Starlet
Rating: PG - maybe PG-13 if I write the proper story
Summary: Vignette (at the moment). The trio discover that there is to be a second Yule Ball held in their sixth year at Hog warts - who's going to partner who this time?
Author's note: Ok, this is basically just one scene at the moment, set during the beginning of Harry, Ron and Hermione's sixth year. I'm considering turning it into a proper story, continuing from where this scene finishes - if you like the idea, let me know and I'll get writing! It would eventually be R/Hr, H/G, but you can probably figure that one out for yourself!
Hope you like it anyway! SS
The common room seemed unusually noisy when Ron, Harry and Neville all made their way down towards breakfast on a blustery Friday morning at the end of October. They could see a crowd of people clustered round the Gryffindor notice board, but couldn't see what they were all looking at. "What do you think it is?" Neville said, while Harry and Ron exchanged confused expressions, but before either of them could answer they saw Ginny and Hermione disengaging from the crowd and walking over to them.
"What's all the fuss about?" Harry asked, stifling a yawn behind his hand - he'd been up late again trying to finish a particularly nasty Potions essay of Snape's. "There's another Yule Ball," Ginny answered, smiling at Harry's sleepy greeting. "What?" Ron said, looking slightly panicked for a second. "In December," Hermione said, explaining, "5th years and above. Dumbledore's probably using it as a morale booster or something". "Sounds like a good idea," said Harry, "things haven't exactly been rosy round here lately".
The beginning of their sixth year at Hogwarts had actually been rather better than their fifth year, though Harry reasoned, few things could have been worse than that. Umbridge was gone, Tonks was teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts and Harry was back playing Quidditch again. However, he had had to begin his NEWTs, which though the homework load was slightly less than last year, were already proving to be very difficult. Snape couldn't seem to forgive him for actually getting a good enough grade to enter the NEWT Potions class, but Harry was sticking to his plans to become an Auror and he wasn't about to let Snape stand in the way of that.
Apart from their classes, the term had not begun well because of the now heavier than ever before, shadow of Lord Voldemort. After all that had happened at the Ministry of Magic in July, the news had finally been accepted by the wizarding world at large. This was a relief to Harry in a way, finally having the school believe that he and Dumbledore weren't just raving loonies, making it all up. It had, however meant, that the overall atmosphere in the school was a lot more serious and tense, particularly around breakfast time as scores of owls swooped down to the tables bearing doom-filled copies of the Daily Prophet.
Yes, all in all, it seemed like a good idea of Dumbledore's to give the school a chance to relax a little, Harry thought as he moved with Ron and Neville through the crowd so they could see the sign for themselves, but then he suddenly remembered the nightmare he had had last time trying to find a partner for the Ball. He glanced over at Ron, who was still reading the notice with a look on his face that made Harry think that Ron was having exactly the same sinking feelings. He suddenly broke off though, turning to Hermione and speaking so fast that at first, none of them had realised what he was saying, "HermionewillyougototheBallwithme?"
There was a muffled chorus of laughter across the room as the rest of the Gryffindor's slowly understood what Ron had said. "What?" Hermione asked, though Harry could have sworn he saw a smile curling the edges of her lips. "You've just seen the sign," Ron said, soldiering on despite the quiet laughter of Seamus and Dean who were also among the crowd, having gone down for breakfast sometime before Harry, Ron and Neville. "No one else can possibly have asked you already, so I'm asking you first, alright?" He paused for a second before adding, "And--and not as a last resort". Harry smiled at this, remembering their fight after the first Yule Ball all too well. "So," Ron went on, his ears going slightly tell-tale red, "will you go to the Ball with me, 'Mione?"
"Shut up, Ginny," he added, as his little sister was chuckling quietly to herself as she stood beside Harry. Harry looked down, hoping to avoid Ron's annoyance as he saw that Harry was also grinning and trying not to laugh. It was only then that he realised that Hermione hadn't actually answered Ron. "Well, thank you, Ron," she said at last, although the smile had vanished from her face and Harry was surprised to see a highly apologetic expression take its place, "but actually, someone asked me just before you came down, so..." she trailed off for a second, before adding, "I'm really sorry, but Dean already--" "WHAT?" Ron interrupted, looking a rather comic mixture of extreme embarrassment and indignant outrage, before rounding on an unsuspecting Dean who......collapsed into peals of laughter, soon followed by the rest of the Gryffindors.
Even Harry had to laugh this time, the expression on Ron's face had been priceless. "Oh, Ron!" Hermione said, struggling to stop herself from laughing for a moment so that she could speak, "It was a joke - really, I was just winding you up!" The realisation dawned on Ron's face and for a moment Harry couldn't tell whether Ron was relieved or even more furious, but then he too smiled and conceded the joke. "Of course I'll go with you," Hermione said, not laughing any more but still smiling brightly and looking happier than Harry had seen her in quite a while. "Well..." Ron said, breathing an exaggerated sigh of relief, but also looking very pleased, "that's that sorted then!"
"So," he said after most of the laughing had dissipated and his ears had returned to their normal colour, "what about you, Harry? You taking Ginny?" Harry froze for a moment, not quite daring to look at the red-haired girl standing beside him, but who he could tell without looking had also stopped laughing. But apparently the startled 'deer-in-headlights' looks on their faces were enough to set the others off again and laughter rang out through the common room again. This time the joke didn't seem quite so funny to Harry as he felt his own face flush slightly, not remotely comforted by Ron's gleeful expression.
He chanced a glance at Ginny then, and finding to his surprise, that she didn't look remotely embarrassed or shocked really. There was a slight blush in her cheeks, but that was just as likely to have been caused by the laughing as by Ron's suggestion. "Erm...well..." Harry started, mentally kicking himself for how ridiculous he was sounding, "I mean, well, would you like to go with me, Ginny?" Ginny smiled reassuringly, "Yes - thank you, Harry, that'd be nice". Harry suppressed a sigh of relief and finally was able to grin back at Ginny, feeling a little less embarrassed now, though still vowing some silent revenge on Ron later.