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A/N: Because of certain content, this chapter is rated PG-13.
Chapter 19- The Yule Ball
The music was playing and the Great Hall had been magically transformed (courtesy of Dumbledore's wand) to a dimmed ballroom with candles floating in mid air, silk scarves blowing with a light wind, and moonlight shining from the bewitched ceiling.
Small tables with white tablecloths were fashioned to the side. A vase of roses were laid on each table and menus were gently placed beside the plates.
The band, called Dizzy Warlocks were hired and had begun to play a slow song as couples walked into the Great Hall, eventually filling up all the space.
Upstairs, in the Ravenclaw common room, Cho was being convinced by her two best friends, Denise and Maggie to go to the Yule Ball.
"You have been looking forward to it since the third year, ever since Devin asked you!" Maggie reminded Cho.
"When I was obviously slim----"
"And come on, go with me and keep me company. I don't have a date anyway, but it should be fun dancing with friends." Denise said.
"And you won't even have to talk to Harry---"
"I do not care about Harry." Cho interrupted.
"Okay, good, because he's taking Ginny---"
"What?" Cho said standing up.
"Just kidding, but you do care for him." Maggie said.
Cho blushed. "I keep on getting in fights with him."
"Because he is stubborn, but you are feisty." Maggie shrugged.
"Come on, your dress is beautiful and you'll look fabulous." Maggie said pulling Cho up from the bed.
"Alright," Cho answered reluctantly. She was curious to see the Yule Ball, and was leaving for home tomorrow. She was going to be gone for two weeks over the holidays, and that meant two weeks without Harry. Even now, when she was near the presence of him, she still missed him.
* *
"Ron," said Harry. "Hurry up."
"Hurry up? For what? I look like a huge, red raisin and Hermione is going to look like some sort of goddess." Ron said turning around in his maroon robe. "I am not going to ever wear this again. I'm getting a job this summer, maybe working for a shop or something, and buying new robes."
"Are you sure you don't mind me coming home with you?" Harry asked.
"No problem, I'm not going to leave you here by your old self, Harry. Hermione invited me over, but I have to visit the Burrow first. Afterwards, Hermione and her parents are going to come over for dinner." Ron tried to be casual, but his pink ears gave him away.
"Her parents?" Harry repeated.
"Yeah." Ron answered, finishing putting his maroon robe on.
"Nervous?" Harry grinned.
"As bloody nervous as you can get." Ron answered.
"Now you know how I feel." Harry said. "Come on, we can't keep Hermione waiting."
* *
Hermione looked stunning. She had sleeked her hair again and wore a dark red gown with straps.
Ron started stuttering as soon as he got a look at her.
"Hello, Ron!" she said cheerfully.
Ron said something no one could understand. It sounded like 'abahwhoa'.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, wow." Ron said slower.
Hermione blushed.
Harry decided to leave the two lovebirds alone and walked over to the tables.
"Harry," said a fourth year girl he didn't know. "Would you like to dance?"
"Uh, sure." Harry said and got up.
Harry was feeling awkward not being here with Cho, his fiancée, and wondered if she was even here in the Great Hall.
* *
Cho angrily looked as Harry finished his dance with a redheaded girl and then being asked by a blonde to dance.
Cho wore a loose, sleeveless dark dress with a stoop neck and small pearl earrings. 'Busying himself with women, isn't he?' she thought angrily.
"Hello, Cho, how are you?" a voice said from behind.
Cho jumped and found herself facing none other than the famous Rita Skeeter.
"Oh, hello." said Cho, all the color on her cheeks faded.
"Good to see you Cho. Having a good time? How are you feeling? Do you mind if I interview you, Cho?" said Rita smiling.
"For what? I'm no one interesting." Cho replied.
"Oh, but Cho, you're about to be Mrs. Potter! How can anything be less exciting? Tell me, how do you feel?" Rita got out a green quill, sucked on it for a moment and then placed it upright on some parchment.
"Nervous about being a mother?" Rita said smiling.
"Sort of. But I'm not really in the mood for an interview right now, I'm not up to it, sorry."
"What's wrong? Has Potter broken your heart again? Is that him, dancing with that attractive blonde on the dance floor?"
Cho didn't like the way Rita said 'broken your heart again' or 'attractive blonde'.
"I'm not in the mood for an interview." Cho repeated.
"This will only take a few minutes. How does it feel to know you will marry the-boy-who-lived? Excited? Nervous?"
"Um…." Cho said.
"Why don't we go say hi to Harry now, and perhaps get some pictures of you two?"
"I can't talk to Harry right now, I'm sorry." Cho said quickly.
Rita stopped talking for a moment and looked like she came upon a trunk of gold. "You can't? Oh really? Now tell me, why?"
"Because I just can't, I'm not in the mood for---"
"Did he say something to you?"
Cho couldn't help noticing the eager quill dashing across the parchment.
A mother to be of a famous child, a wife to be of an unfaithful husband, perhaps not even interested in her anymore---
"He is not unfaithful!" Cho said, angrily.
"Now, now Cho, calm now. Tell me about your relationship with Harry. Have you two always been attracted to each other? He is a year younger than you isn't he? In his sixth year? That means you will have graduated by next year, but he'll still be in school?"
Cho was very annoyed.
"I told you, I do not want an interview---"
"What a gorgeous ring, Cho! Is that something Harry gave you?" Rita asked.
Cho bitterly looked away, hoping Rita will leave. She glanced down at the parchment again.
Almost in hot anger, Cho defends her love, even though he is just a few feet away on the dance floor with arms around another girl----
"This is ridiculous!" Cho said and got up, rushing away.
Cho didn't look where she was going and bumped into someone.
"Oh," Cho said and apologized. "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking---"
"It's okay." The boy replied. It was Neville. He looked at Cho fearfully.
"Neville, are you okay?"
"I'm great, except that I don't have a date. Ginny came with Colin again."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Cho said.
"Cho?" Neville said.
"Yes?"
"Do you want to dance?"
Cho stared. She didn't expect that.
"Oh, uh, sure Neville." She said.
Neville's face looked like he won the tri-wizard championship.
Meanwhile, George was sending firecrackers in Fred's direction.
Katie had come with Fred, because Fred asked her first, and when George got angry, apologized and said she can dance with him if he wanted to.
However, George seemed more occupied seeking revenge on Fred.
* *
"Move, Weasley," Draco said, pushing roughly, his date holding his hand.
Ron bumped slightly forward to Hermione.
"Shut up, Malfoy." Ron said and started toward Draco.
Draco just gave Ron a nasty grin and started dancing with Pansy Parkinson in a dark green dress and silver bracelets.
Ginny was wearing a blue dress and smiled as she came in with Colin. She stopped by Harry's table.
"Hi Harry!" she greeted.
Harry was sitting all alone.
"Oh, hello Ginny. Hi Colin." Harry said dully.
"Harry, why so low?"
"Nothing, I just don't have anyone to dance with, that's all."
"You just danced with two girls." Ginny said.
"I didn't even know their names."
"What he meant when he said he didn't have anyone to dance with, was that he didn't have Cho to dance with." Seamus said popping up behind Colin and Ginny. Lavender was with him.
"Talk to her, Harry." Lavendar said.
"She won't listen." Harry said dryly, then he casually looked around the dance room and his eyes got wider and wider and his mouth hung open.
"Neville!" Harry said.
They all stared.
Seamus gave a low whistle. "Neville hasn't gotten a girl that pretty since…..well, Neville haven't gotten a girl that pretty before."
"What is he doing with my fiancée?" Harry said bitterly getting up, but Lavender, being wise, asked him to sit down.
"You're just asking for another fight, Harry." She pointed out. "You just danced with two girls, so if you get angry at her for dancing with one boy, which she clearly doesn't have a love interest for, you're asking for it."
"But she is dancing with him." Harry said.
"I know Harry, but---"
"With him."
Everyone paused.
"Cheer up, Harry. Look, the song's over." Seamus said and led Lavender on the dance floor as a new, fast song began.
"Seems tradition for you and Cho to sit out during dances?" Ron said whistling a happy song.
"What are you smiling about?" Harry asked.
"Hermione," Ron grinned. "Just agreed to go for a moonlight walk."
Harry waited.
"With me." Ron continued.
Harry still didn't say anything.
"With me alone." Ron paused. "Harry, you listening?"
Harry was looking over at Cho who was now laughing with a group of friends. She seemed to be having a good time.
Ron waved his hands an inch from Harry's face.
"Huh?" Harry said.
"Hermione is going on a walk with me!" Ron repeated.
"Oh," Harry said, and then realized what Ron said. "Oh." He looked at Ron. "Are you going to spend the rest of the evening slobbering all over each other?"
Ron gave him a look. "I just want her to know that out of her two best friends, I'm the one that enjoys the finer things in life." Ron shook his maroon coat importantly.
Harry tried to look over Ron to see Cho, who was now dancing with an unfamiliar boy.
"Go talk to her." Ron said.
"I can't, she won't listen." Harry explained.
"Go write a poem for her. You have to apologize sooner or later." Ron looked over to Hermione who was waiting. "Listen, Harry, I probably won't come back to the dance again tonight, so I just want to advise you that if you don't apologize before Cho goes home, Mr. Chang is going to murder you or send you to Azkaban so that's all I have to say. Bye!"
The last sentence really caught Harry's attention.
* *
"I love your dress," Mark said to Cho. "It really looks good on you."
"Thank you," Cho answered politely.
"Listen, Cho, sweetheart, do you want to take a walk?" Mark asked.
"No, thank you, I'm fine." Cho said, trying to see Harry.
"No, really, let's take a walk. It'll do you good."
"Mark, I said I'll dance with you, not walk with you."
"Come on." Mark persisted and took Cho by the arm to walk outside.
They walked out to the cold air and Mark lead Cho to bush after bush, walking left or right and then after a few minutes, were completely lost inside the garden where the bushes stood several feet tall. Cho could still hear music from the inside of the Great Hall, but very faintly.
"Okay, that was a nice walk." Cho said. "Let's go back inside."
"No, let's not." Mark said.
"I mean it, I want to go back in." Cho said, now feeling slightly nervous.
"Come on, Cho. Why can't you enjoy the night?"
"Why don't you enjoy it by yourself then? I'm getting cold, I'm going back in." Cho said and turned to walk back in.
"Why don't I keep you warm?" Mark said grabbing her arm from behind.
"What are you doing?" Cho said fiercely. "Let go of me!"
Mark pulled out his wand and cast a silence charm on Cho. Then he took his arms to hold Cho's arms back.
Cho struggled.
"Come on, you've done this before, haven't you?" Mark said. "Keep still!"
Cho suddenly realized what Mark was going to do. She wished she didn't leave her own wand in her dormitory. She wasn't a match for Mark's strength; and all of the sudden, she really wanted Harry to be here.
Mark pushed Cho to the ground and kept his grip on her arms, holding them down. Cho began kicking Mark and even biting him to get free.
"You've done this before, Cho. Do it for me, too." Mark said with a sly grin.
He pushed Cho's shoulders onto the grass.
A/N: Next chapter is called 'The End of the Dance'