Harry, Ron, and Ginny went to the hospital wing, where they knew Hermione and Amanda would be. As they thought, they were sitting up in bed talking. Hermione squealed when Ron came in first, then clapped her hand over her mouth and blushed furiously. Amanda smiled at her and then turned to the rest of their visitors.
Harry hugged her, and said, "Nice knee work, " which caused her to turn a bright shade of red identical to Hermione's and mumble, "Thanks."
But Ron was the one who had surprised everyone the most. He hugged Hermione, who hugged him back. The fellow students in the hospital wing whooped and hollered. Harry hugging a girl is one thing--Ron hugging Hermione, his crush of two or more years, is a totally different thing. Hermione looked astonished, but very happy, while Ron looked red but just as happy, if not more.
Ron got up, took Harry aside and whispered, "I think I'm going crazy."
"What?" Harry whispered back, confused.
"All I can think about is how her hair smells."
"How does it smell?" asked Harry, struggling not to laugh.
"Like coconuts." Ron looked sheepish.
Harry couldn't help it anymore. He burst out laughing, alerting Madam Pomfrey, who yelled at him. Harry apologized, then walked over to Hermione and grabbed a bunch of her hair.
Ron tried to run over to stop, and Hermione squealed, "What the-"
Harry smelled her hair, and starting laughing again. "It does smell like coconuts."
Hermione looked bewildered as Harry fell on Amanda's bed laughing loudly. Amanda smacked his head, laughing just as hard. Then he reached up and grabbed Amanda's hair as well.
"Ha! S-smells l-l-like green apples." She looked bewildered as well.
Ron punched Harry's shoulder, hard, as payback. Harry just kept laughing. Madam Pomfrey marched over, looking as if she'd breathe fire. She hushed them all up and warned if they made any more noise, they'd be kicked out of the hospital wing.
"So...tomorrow's the first day of holiday break...and today's the Hogsmeade trip..." said Amanda slowly, clearly trying to get the conversation off hair scents.
"You're out today, right guys?" Ron asked.
"Yes." Hermione said.
"Um-Hermione...I was wondering if maybe-you-wanna-come-to-Hogsmeade-with-me?" Ron rushed.
Harry remembered asking Cho to the Yule Ball fourth year that way.
"Ron--we always go to Hogsmeade together." Hermione looked confused, for once.
"I know, but maybe you just wanna come with me, like, on a date?" Ron blushed and Ginny smiled encouragedly at him.
"All right." Hermione blushed as well.
Harry grinned at both of them. It really was about time. He felt a poke in the small of his back then, and turned around. Amanda was grinning bashfully at him.
"Harry...will you go to-" Amanda started asking, but he interrupted.
"Yes." Harry blushed, cutting her off.
"Brilliant!" Amanda blushed as well.
In her seat on the edge of Amanda's bed, Ginny thanked her lucky stars that they were all occupied during her date with Draco. Then she remembered something she had forgotten to tell Amanda and Hermione, who hadn't been at breakfast this morning.
"Guys!" Ginny squealed. "Guess what?!"
"What?!" Amanda and Hermione both said.
"Dumbledore announced this morning that we'd have a ball! On Valentine's Day no less!" Ginny grinned.
The boys groaned.
"I wonder who'll ask me." Amanda said, staring pointedly at Harry, who was too busy groaning that he didn't seem to notice.
"Me, too." said Hermione, who took Amanda's lead and stared at Ron.
They didn't seem to take the hint. "Ah, well," Amanda whispered to Hermione, "They'll have to figure it out eventually that we want them to take us."
"We'll drop hints at Hogsmeade, " Hermione whispered back.
Ginny looked up from examining her nails, and gasped, "Oh! The Hogsmeade trip starts in two hours!"
Amanda called Madam Pomfrey over and asked, "May we leave the hospital wing now? We feel LOADS better."
Madam Pomfrey sighed. "I suppose. Go if you'd like."
Amanda and Hermione leapt out of their beds, and together with Ginny they ran out the door, calling to the boys that they'd see them in the common room. Grudgingly, Ron and Harry got up and headed down there themselves. "Why do girls need two hours to get ready?" Harry grumbled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Amanda sat with the book she had borrowed from Parvati and Lavender (that is, until she kicked them out), entitled, Make Yourself Beautiful: A Teen Witch's Guide. She leafed through the pages, desperate for anything that might help with Hermione's out-of-control hair. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she seized her wand.
"I can't believe I haven't thought of this before!" She exclaimed, tugging a section of Hermione's hair towards her. She gently rolled her wand over the hair, and it became straight. After ten minutes, her hair was done and Hermione was beaming as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, which said admiringly: "Wow. Don't you look much better, dear!" causing Hermione to narrow her eyes.
Amanda helped Hermione put some makeup on. Her eyeshadow was a beautiful shade of light brown that accented her eyes, and she had a light pink gloss shimmering on her lips. Added to the amazing effect that Hermione's happiness was giving to her cheeks, she seemed to glow.
Then Amanda turned to the mirror, and used her wand to make delicate ringlets in certain spots in her hair, while the rest was straight down, so that the curls fell down on both sides of her face, and in a few spots in the back. She used the same eyeshadow as Hermione, but used a sparkling wine-colored gloss on her lips instead of light pink. Overjoyed at their appearances, they headed down the steps to the dormitory Ginny shared with several other fifth years.
Ginny opened the door, and the girls smiled at each other. Ginny's long, red hair was down, as usual, but it seemed to have more volume, and sparkled as if pixy dust was sprinkled over her locks. Her eyes were lined with kohl, and a light, shimmery green eyeshadow was on her eyelids which brought out the greenish flecks in her big, brown eye . Her lips were a mauve, which luckily didn't clash with her bright red hair. They were a bit confused as to why she was all dressed up but didn't say anything.
They headed down the long, winding staircase and met the Harry and Ron, both looking very handsome.
The boys' jaws dropped when they saw them, and Harry offered his arm to Amanda. Ron did the same, his jaw still slack and Ginny followed the two couples down to the Great Hall. She pretended to forget something and double back up the stairs so she wouldn't have to follow them, and lurked in a corner of the Great Hall until she saw Draco. He was mercifully alone. Usually he was surrounded by a fan club of younger (and even older at times) Slytherin girls and his gang of Slytherin boys.
He smiled at her, feeling his heart skip a beat. He walked by her side, taking a piece of her hair and twirling it in his fingers. She smiled up at him, admiring his white-blond hair.They walked hand in hand out of the Great Hall. Filch glared at them as he checked off their names, grumbling under his breath. They climbed into a carriage by themselves. It was a bit awkward, owing to before this incident they had never spoken more than a few words to each other. Finally, Draco mentioned something about her Seeking abilities, and relieved, Ginny grasped on to the subject.They carried on talking until they reached the gates of Hogsmeade. They got out of the carriage and headed towards the center of the village.
"Do you mind if I buy some Christmas presents? I'm a bit late." Ginny asked, sending pleading eyes towards Draco.
"All right," he grumbled, though the truth was he hadn't started his holiday shopping either. They went into a quill shop first, where Ginny grabbed a handsome eagle quill for Harry.
"Why are you buying that dolt anything?" Draco snapped.
"Because Harry's my friend, and he could use a quill. " Ginny snapped back.
"Well, I know how he could use it: he could stick it up his arse."
"Ha ha. Very funny."
They headed to more shops, with more snide comments by Draco. Ginny didn't seem to mind, and he seemed taken aback. Usually his comments inspired anger in the aforementioned girl.
Draco and Ginny finally went to the Three Broomsticks, as both were shivering from the cold weather, their money bags much lighter and their shopping bags much fuller. They slipped into a corner table near a large, decorated Christmas tree. They sat drinking their butterbeers and talking about random things.
Suddenly, Ron and Hermione came walking into the Three Broomsticks, looking ecstatic. Ginny was happy to see they were holding hands and walking very close together. She smiled. Hermione saw her and started to wave, but at the sight of Draco stopped and tried to push Ron away towards a table. Unfortunately, Ron had looked to see where Hermione was looking, and he had seen Ginny and Draco holding hands over the table. His face turned the color of crimson and his eyes narrowed. He stomped over to Ginny and Draco, Hermione still trying her best to pull him away from the couple.
Ginny and Draco stood up, and the Three Broomsticks went silent, the occupants busy staring at the scene. It looked like it'd be a great show: Ginny (a Weasley and Muggle-lover) out with Draco (a Malfoy and Muggle-hater), holding hands and obviously together. Ron (Ginny's older brother, therefore a Weasley and also Harry's best friend, one of Draco's worst enemies) out with Hermione (which was a show in itself). Ginny and Ron yelled back and forth for ten minutes, with Madam Rosmerta trying desperately to get them out as they were "scaring" away customers. (In reality, more people had come in the shop just to see what they were yelling about). Draco, smirking, as always, in his chair; Hermione, her eyes wide, her hands over her ears. When the two Weasleys had finished yelling at each other, Hermione dragged Ron away and Ginny dragged Draco away, leaving the Three Broomsticks quiet.
Hermione sighed. She could understand why Ron was going beserk. His sister was going out with the foulest kid in Hogwarts (well, not so foul; he had saved them after all). But the worst part is that he wouldn't pay too much attention to her now--they had had so much fun...their first date together.... she sighed, chided herself for being selfish, and pulled the still-fuming Ron off to Zonko's Joke Shop, hoping to change his mood for the better.
Ginny sighed, while Draco tried to stop his infamous smirk from appearing on his face again. He looked over at her still-red face, which made her freckles stand out, making her (in his eyes) look incredible. At first, he was a bit horrified at himself, him going out with a Weasley, after all...but now, after he'd talked to her, he didn't regret it. They silently walked up the quaint road through Hogsmeade, their peaceful date ruined.
Amanda sighed. She was having the best date with Harry. She didn't even mind when he had taken her into the joke shop. It was actually quite interesting, full of funny pranks and even some slightly dangerous ones. She settled for a box of Dr. Filibuster's Wet-Start No-Heat fireworks. She didn't know if she'd ever use them, but she decided to save them until the time was right. She paid two galleons, a sickle, and two knuts for the box, while Harry practically dished out the whole contents of his money sack for all the items in his loaded arms. She smiled fondly at him. He took her bag (which was light anyway, but he insisted), and walked hand in hand out of the store, chatting happily. The horseless carriages were loading (although Amanda noted that Harry patted one of the invisible things as they walked past to find an empty one).
Suddenly, she felt a pat in the back, and turned around to see Hermione and Ron. Amanda grabbed Hermione's arm and took her apart from the boys.
"So, how's your date so far? Everything you hoped it could be and more?" Amanda whispered to Hermione, a smile on her face. She was disappointed to see Hermione's crestfallen face. "What's wrong?"
Hermione explained the whole fiasco, and Amanda groaned.
"But at least you had a good time with him before that happened."
"I suppose. You are such an optimist." Hermione accused.
"Thanks." Amanda grinned.
Harry and Ron called to them, and they climbed into the empty carriage. Ginny climbed in soon afterwards, after giving Draco a peck on the cheek in full view from the carriage, as if on purpose. She settled herself next to Hermione and looked up to see the boys staring at her. She could have sworn she heard Harry tut. She smiled bemusedly and asked how their dates had been. Amanda and Hermione launched into full explanations.
"Thank goodness the weather was lovely. No chill wind at all." Amanda finished, a grin on her face as usual, while Hermione added, "But the sky was gray all afternoon, I do wish there had been some sun."
The girls all sighed together and leaned back into their cushions.
Suddenly, Amanda sat straight up and said, "Oh yes. Harry, I've been meaning to ask you something. I was wondering why you have that scar."
Everyone in the carriage stared.
"What?!" Amanda squealed. "Why are you guys staring?"
Ginny finally stammered out something, "You're kidding, right?"
Amanda shook her head, looking utterly bewildered. "Why?"
"Harry, explain." Hermione commanded.
"Well, uh...do I have to?" Harry murmured, his face looking tortured again.
Amanda's face softened. "You don't have to now, you know," she said gently, "Whenever you're ready, I'm here."
"Okay." Harry said, relieved.
The carriage stopped with a jolt and they headed up to the castle for dinner.
"I've bought everyone's presents." Ginny chirped in a sing-song voice.
"Harry and I did too!" Amanda said happily.
"I bought yours weeks ago." Hermione scoffed.
Everyone looked at Ron. He shrugged. "I'll get around to it."
"RON!" Everyone exclaimed.
"Don't worry," Ron snapped. "I'll get it done."
Ginny rolled her eyes and looked at Harry. His happy mood seemed punctured. Amanda seemed to notice this, and while Ron and Harry ran up for dinner, moaning about their hunger, she smacked her forehead.
"I ruined it," Amanda groaned. "A fantastic day, ruined."
"Don't be so dramatic, " Hermione chided. "He gets that a lot. He's used to it."
They marched through the Great Hall, and took their seats, Amanda next to Harry; Hermione next to Ron; Ginny next to Neville, who was giving her doting looks. Amanda was still scolding herself in her mind, and dinner passed quickly, Hermione chatting happily to fill the awkward silence.
Tonight was the last dinner they would have together until holiday ended. Hermione was going home to her family (who kept complaining that they never saw her when they wrote to her, so she had no choice), and Ron to Romania to visit his brother Charlie with the rest of his family. Amanda was staying over break to keep Harry company, for which he was grateful.
Ron and Hermione went to their dormitories to do some last minute packing, while Amanda and Harry sat by the fire in the noisy common room, silent. They had given Ron and Hermione their presents to pack. Ginny came and joined them, looking cheerful.
"Guess what? I'm staying over holiday. Mum said that if I didn't want to go I didn't have to."
"Lovely," Amanda said flatly. She was in a horrendous mood by now, as Harry had not said one word to her since the Hogsmeade incident.
"Um. Okay." Ginny gave her a confused look and walked over to her group of fifth year friends.
The rest of the day was incredibly boring, and Harry did not say one word to anyone. Eventually, Ron stopped shoving his face at dinner long enough to notice, and inquired as to why he was being a prat.
Harry just grumbled something and stalked off to Gryffindor Tower. Amanda stood up and growled, "That's it. I'll talk to the idiot!" and ran in the same direction.
She ran up the stairs to the boys' dormitories and pushed open the door so hard, it bounced off the wall and hit her again. She cursed and yelled, "Harry Potter, don't pretend you're asleep, because I know you're not!"
Silence.
She marched over to his four-poster and ripped the curtains open, glaring down at Harry.
"Hello," Harry said meekly.
"Move over." She pushed him over a bit and closed the curtains again, leaving a small crack for light to shine through. "What is wrong with you?" Amanda demanded.
Harry murmured something under his breath.
Although, Amanda seemed to hear and said dangerously, "Get your sarcastic ass out of bed now. It's almost Christmas, and you are not in the holiday spirit at all." She paused.
"It's about what I said earlier in the carriage, isn't it? 'Cuz if it is, I don't understand why you're so ang-" Amanda said, more softly.
"Just leave me alone." Harry yelled, "Mind your own business."
She bristled. "Fine. Be that way." She got up and bustled towards the dorm door. When she turned around to close it, Harry saw her eyes looked strangely bright, before she slammed it with a huge bang that echoed throughout the dormitories.
He sighed, slightly ashamed of himself and fell back onto his four-post bed.
Harry hugged her, and said, "Nice knee work, " which caused her to turn a bright shade of red identical to Hermione's and mumble, "Thanks."
But Ron was the one who had surprised everyone the most. He hugged Hermione, who hugged him back. The fellow students in the hospital wing whooped and hollered. Harry hugging a girl is one thing--Ron hugging Hermione, his crush of two or more years, is a totally different thing. Hermione looked astonished, but very happy, while Ron looked red but just as happy, if not more.
Ron got up, took Harry aside and whispered, "I think I'm going crazy."
"What?" Harry whispered back, confused.
"All I can think about is how her hair smells."
"How does it smell?" asked Harry, struggling not to laugh.
"Like coconuts." Ron looked sheepish.
Harry couldn't help it anymore. He burst out laughing, alerting Madam Pomfrey, who yelled at him. Harry apologized, then walked over to Hermione and grabbed a bunch of her hair.
Ron tried to run over to stop, and Hermione squealed, "What the-"
Harry smelled her hair, and starting laughing again. "It does smell like coconuts."
Hermione looked bewildered as Harry fell on Amanda's bed laughing loudly. Amanda smacked his head, laughing just as hard. Then he reached up and grabbed Amanda's hair as well.
"Ha! S-smells l-l-like green apples." She looked bewildered as well.
Ron punched Harry's shoulder, hard, as payback. Harry just kept laughing. Madam Pomfrey marched over, looking as if she'd breathe fire. She hushed them all up and warned if they made any more noise, they'd be kicked out of the hospital wing.
"So...tomorrow's the first day of holiday break...and today's the Hogsmeade trip..." said Amanda slowly, clearly trying to get the conversation off hair scents.
"You're out today, right guys?" Ron asked.
"Yes." Hermione said.
"Um-Hermione...I was wondering if maybe-you-wanna-come-to-Hogsmeade-with-me?" Ron rushed.
Harry remembered asking Cho to the Yule Ball fourth year that way.
"Ron--we always go to Hogsmeade together." Hermione looked confused, for once.
"I know, but maybe you just wanna come with me, like, on a date?" Ron blushed and Ginny smiled encouragedly at him.
"All right." Hermione blushed as well.
Harry grinned at both of them. It really was about time. He felt a poke in the small of his back then, and turned around. Amanda was grinning bashfully at him.
"Harry...will you go to-" Amanda started asking, but he interrupted.
"Yes." Harry blushed, cutting her off.
"Brilliant!" Amanda blushed as well.
In her seat on the edge of Amanda's bed, Ginny thanked her lucky stars that they were all occupied during her date with Draco. Then she remembered something she had forgotten to tell Amanda and Hermione, who hadn't been at breakfast this morning.
"Guys!" Ginny squealed. "Guess what?!"
"What?!" Amanda and Hermione both said.
"Dumbledore announced this morning that we'd have a ball! On Valentine's Day no less!" Ginny grinned.
The boys groaned.
"I wonder who'll ask me." Amanda said, staring pointedly at Harry, who was too busy groaning that he didn't seem to notice.
"Me, too." said Hermione, who took Amanda's lead and stared at Ron.
They didn't seem to take the hint. "Ah, well," Amanda whispered to Hermione, "They'll have to figure it out eventually that we want them to take us."
"We'll drop hints at Hogsmeade, " Hermione whispered back.
Ginny looked up from examining her nails, and gasped, "Oh! The Hogsmeade trip starts in two hours!"
Amanda called Madam Pomfrey over and asked, "May we leave the hospital wing now? We feel LOADS better."
Madam Pomfrey sighed. "I suppose. Go if you'd like."
Amanda and Hermione leapt out of their beds, and together with Ginny they ran out the door, calling to the boys that they'd see them in the common room. Grudgingly, Ron and Harry got up and headed down there themselves. "Why do girls need two hours to get ready?" Harry grumbled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Amanda sat with the book she had borrowed from Parvati and Lavender (that is, until she kicked them out), entitled, Make Yourself Beautiful: A Teen Witch's Guide. She leafed through the pages, desperate for anything that might help with Hermione's out-of-control hair. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she seized her wand.
"I can't believe I haven't thought of this before!" She exclaimed, tugging a section of Hermione's hair towards her. She gently rolled her wand over the hair, and it became straight. After ten minutes, her hair was done and Hermione was beaming as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, which said admiringly: "Wow. Don't you look much better, dear!" causing Hermione to narrow her eyes.
Amanda helped Hermione put some makeup on. Her eyeshadow was a beautiful shade of light brown that accented her eyes, and she had a light pink gloss shimmering on her lips. Added to the amazing effect that Hermione's happiness was giving to her cheeks, she seemed to glow.
Then Amanda turned to the mirror, and used her wand to make delicate ringlets in certain spots in her hair, while the rest was straight down, so that the curls fell down on both sides of her face, and in a few spots in the back. She used the same eyeshadow as Hermione, but used a sparkling wine-colored gloss on her lips instead of light pink. Overjoyed at their appearances, they headed down the steps to the dormitory Ginny shared with several other fifth years.
Ginny opened the door, and the girls smiled at each other. Ginny's long, red hair was down, as usual, but it seemed to have more volume, and sparkled as if pixy dust was sprinkled over her locks. Her eyes were lined with kohl, and a light, shimmery green eyeshadow was on her eyelids which brought out the greenish flecks in her big, brown eye . Her lips were a mauve, which luckily didn't clash with her bright red hair. They were a bit confused as to why she was all dressed up but didn't say anything.
They headed down the long, winding staircase and met the Harry and Ron, both looking very handsome.
The boys' jaws dropped when they saw them, and Harry offered his arm to Amanda. Ron did the same, his jaw still slack and Ginny followed the two couples down to the Great Hall. She pretended to forget something and double back up the stairs so she wouldn't have to follow them, and lurked in a corner of the Great Hall until she saw Draco. He was mercifully alone. Usually he was surrounded by a fan club of younger (and even older at times) Slytherin girls and his gang of Slytherin boys.
He smiled at her, feeling his heart skip a beat. He walked by her side, taking a piece of her hair and twirling it in his fingers. She smiled up at him, admiring his white-blond hair.They walked hand in hand out of the Great Hall. Filch glared at them as he checked off their names, grumbling under his breath. They climbed into a carriage by themselves. It was a bit awkward, owing to before this incident they had never spoken more than a few words to each other. Finally, Draco mentioned something about her Seeking abilities, and relieved, Ginny grasped on to the subject.They carried on talking until they reached the gates of Hogsmeade. They got out of the carriage and headed towards the center of the village.
"Do you mind if I buy some Christmas presents? I'm a bit late." Ginny asked, sending pleading eyes towards Draco.
"All right," he grumbled, though the truth was he hadn't started his holiday shopping either. They went into a quill shop first, where Ginny grabbed a handsome eagle quill for Harry.
"Why are you buying that dolt anything?" Draco snapped.
"Because Harry's my friend, and he could use a quill. " Ginny snapped back.
"Well, I know how he could use it: he could stick it up his arse."
"Ha ha. Very funny."
They headed to more shops, with more snide comments by Draco. Ginny didn't seem to mind, and he seemed taken aback. Usually his comments inspired anger in the aforementioned girl.
Draco and Ginny finally went to the Three Broomsticks, as both were shivering from the cold weather, their money bags much lighter and their shopping bags much fuller. They slipped into a corner table near a large, decorated Christmas tree. They sat drinking their butterbeers and talking about random things.
Suddenly, Ron and Hermione came walking into the Three Broomsticks, looking ecstatic. Ginny was happy to see they were holding hands and walking very close together. She smiled. Hermione saw her and started to wave, but at the sight of Draco stopped and tried to push Ron away towards a table. Unfortunately, Ron had looked to see where Hermione was looking, and he had seen Ginny and Draco holding hands over the table. His face turned the color of crimson and his eyes narrowed. He stomped over to Ginny and Draco, Hermione still trying her best to pull him away from the couple.
Ginny and Draco stood up, and the Three Broomsticks went silent, the occupants busy staring at the scene. It looked like it'd be a great show: Ginny (a Weasley and Muggle-lover) out with Draco (a Malfoy and Muggle-hater), holding hands and obviously together. Ron (Ginny's older brother, therefore a Weasley and also Harry's best friend, one of Draco's worst enemies) out with Hermione (which was a show in itself). Ginny and Ron yelled back and forth for ten minutes, with Madam Rosmerta trying desperately to get them out as they were "scaring" away customers. (In reality, more people had come in the shop just to see what they were yelling about). Draco, smirking, as always, in his chair; Hermione, her eyes wide, her hands over her ears. When the two Weasleys had finished yelling at each other, Hermione dragged Ron away and Ginny dragged Draco away, leaving the Three Broomsticks quiet.
Hermione sighed. She could understand why Ron was going beserk. His sister was going out with the foulest kid in Hogwarts (well, not so foul; he had saved them after all). But the worst part is that he wouldn't pay too much attention to her now--they had had so much fun...their first date together.... she sighed, chided herself for being selfish, and pulled the still-fuming Ron off to Zonko's Joke Shop, hoping to change his mood for the better.
Ginny sighed, while Draco tried to stop his infamous smirk from appearing on his face again. He looked over at her still-red face, which made her freckles stand out, making her (in his eyes) look incredible. At first, he was a bit horrified at himself, him going out with a Weasley, after all...but now, after he'd talked to her, he didn't regret it. They silently walked up the quaint road through Hogsmeade, their peaceful date ruined.
Amanda sighed. She was having the best date with Harry. She didn't even mind when he had taken her into the joke shop. It was actually quite interesting, full of funny pranks and even some slightly dangerous ones. She settled for a box of Dr. Filibuster's Wet-Start No-Heat fireworks. She didn't know if she'd ever use them, but she decided to save them until the time was right. She paid two galleons, a sickle, and two knuts for the box, while Harry practically dished out the whole contents of his money sack for all the items in his loaded arms. She smiled fondly at him. He took her bag (which was light anyway, but he insisted), and walked hand in hand out of the store, chatting happily. The horseless carriages were loading (although Amanda noted that Harry patted one of the invisible things as they walked past to find an empty one).
Suddenly, she felt a pat in the back, and turned around to see Hermione and Ron. Amanda grabbed Hermione's arm and took her apart from the boys.
"So, how's your date so far? Everything you hoped it could be and more?" Amanda whispered to Hermione, a smile on her face. She was disappointed to see Hermione's crestfallen face. "What's wrong?"
Hermione explained the whole fiasco, and Amanda groaned.
"But at least you had a good time with him before that happened."
"I suppose. You are such an optimist." Hermione accused.
"Thanks." Amanda grinned.
Harry and Ron called to them, and they climbed into the empty carriage. Ginny climbed in soon afterwards, after giving Draco a peck on the cheek in full view from the carriage, as if on purpose. She settled herself next to Hermione and looked up to see the boys staring at her. She could have sworn she heard Harry tut. She smiled bemusedly and asked how their dates had been. Amanda and Hermione launched into full explanations.
"Thank goodness the weather was lovely. No chill wind at all." Amanda finished, a grin on her face as usual, while Hermione added, "But the sky was gray all afternoon, I do wish there had been some sun."
The girls all sighed together and leaned back into their cushions.
Suddenly, Amanda sat straight up and said, "Oh yes. Harry, I've been meaning to ask you something. I was wondering why you have that scar."
Everyone in the carriage stared.
"What?!" Amanda squealed. "Why are you guys staring?"
Ginny finally stammered out something, "You're kidding, right?"
Amanda shook her head, looking utterly bewildered. "Why?"
"Harry, explain." Hermione commanded.
"Well, uh...do I have to?" Harry murmured, his face looking tortured again.
Amanda's face softened. "You don't have to now, you know," she said gently, "Whenever you're ready, I'm here."
"Okay." Harry said, relieved.
The carriage stopped with a jolt and they headed up to the castle for dinner.
"I've bought everyone's presents." Ginny chirped in a sing-song voice.
"Harry and I did too!" Amanda said happily.
"I bought yours weeks ago." Hermione scoffed.
Everyone looked at Ron. He shrugged. "I'll get around to it."
"RON!" Everyone exclaimed.
"Don't worry," Ron snapped. "I'll get it done."
Ginny rolled her eyes and looked at Harry. His happy mood seemed punctured. Amanda seemed to notice this, and while Ron and Harry ran up for dinner, moaning about their hunger, she smacked her forehead.
"I ruined it," Amanda groaned. "A fantastic day, ruined."
"Don't be so dramatic, " Hermione chided. "He gets that a lot. He's used to it."
They marched through the Great Hall, and took their seats, Amanda next to Harry; Hermione next to Ron; Ginny next to Neville, who was giving her doting looks. Amanda was still scolding herself in her mind, and dinner passed quickly, Hermione chatting happily to fill the awkward silence.
Tonight was the last dinner they would have together until holiday ended. Hermione was going home to her family (who kept complaining that they never saw her when they wrote to her, so she had no choice), and Ron to Romania to visit his brother Charlie with the rest of his family. Amanda was staying over break to keep Harry company, for which he was grateful.
Ron and Hermione went to their dormitories to do some last minute packing, while Amanda and Harry sat by the fire in the noisy common room, silent. They had given Ron and Hermione their presents to pack. Ginny came and joined them, looking cheerful.
"Guess what? I'm staying over holiday. Mum said that if I didn't want to go I didn't have to."
"Lovely," Amanda said flatly. She was in a horrendous mood by now, as Harry had not said one word to her since the Hogsmeade incident.
"Um. Okay." Ginny gave her a confused look and walked over to her group of fifth year friends.
The rest of the day was incredibly boring, and Harry did not say one word to anyone. Eventually, Ron stopped shoving his face at dinner long enough to notice, and inquired as to why he was being a prat.
Harry just grumbled something and stalked off to Gryffindor Tower. Amanda stood up and growled, "That's it. I'll talk to the idiot!" and ran in the same direction.
She ran up the stairs to the boys' dormitories and pushed open the door so hard, it bounced off the wall and hit her again. She cursed and yelled, "Harry Potter, don't pretend you're asleep, because I know you're not!"
Silence.
She marched over to his four-poster and ripped the curtains open, glaring down at Harry.
"Hello," Harry said meekly.
"Move over." She pushed him over a bit and closed the curtains again, leaving a small crack for light to shine through. "What is wrong with you?" Amanda demanded.
Harry murmured something under his breath.
Although, Amanda seemed to hear and said dangerously, "Get your sarcastic ass out of bed now. It's almost Christmas, and you are not in the holiday spirit at all." She paused.
"It's about what I said earlier in the carriage, isn't it? 'Cuz if it is, I don't understand why you're so ang-" Amanda said, more softly.
"Just leave me alone." Harry yelled, "Mind your own business."
She bristled. "Fine. Be that way." She got up and bustled towards the dorm door. When she turned around to close it, Harry saw her eyes looked strangely bright, before she slammed it with a huge bang that echoed throughout the dormitories.
He sighed, slightly ashamed of himself and fell back onto his four-post bed.