All Hallows Eve
A/N: In my world, people from other houses are allowed into the common rooms if invited....
Over a month later, Hallowe'en evening came warm and dry as Ginny and Hermione stood in Hermione's dormitory putting the finishing touches on their costumes for the Hallowe'en Ball.
"Do I look OK?" Hermione fretted.
"You look wonderful, 'Mione, calm down and stop worrying!" Ginny smiled warmly at her friend.
Just then, a voice floated up the stairs. "Ready guys?" Harry's voice asked.
"Yeah!" Ginny called and patted Hermione on the shoulder. "Don't worry."
Heading down to the common room, they found their large group of friends seated around the coffee table.
"Why didn't you call us down earlier?" Hermione questioned, taking a seat beside Harry and giving him a quick peck on the lips.
"We only just got here 'Mione." Luna smiled at her gently from her seat beside Ron, her hand clasped gently by his.
They had both changed significantly over the summer; Ron had mellowed into a tall and handsome, auburn-haired heartthrob, whose easy-going friendliness had most of the girls chasing after him, and Luna, for her part, had lost most of her strangeness and had become a calm and ethereal beauty who had captured Ron's heart somewhere in the middle of the summer when she had come to visit, and they had been dating ever since.
"Yeah, no worries." Neville grinned. "But we probably should get going."
"Sure." said Ginny, taking the lead and getting to her feet. "Let's go."
The group made their way down to the Great Hall, where they were met by some of Ginny's fifth year friends. The Hall looked amazing. Jack-o-lanterns glowed from among the dead trees and tombstones which decorated the room. Dried leaves crunched underfoot, giving the feeling that one was out-of-doors, especially with a full moon and a sky full of stars shining down from the ceiling. Beside the dance floor, the outdoor image was completed with a gigantic bonfire. On a stage, the Weird Sisters had their instruments out and were playing quietly haunting music to add to the Hallowe'en mood.
"Shall we get seats?" Ron requested, making his way towards the tables. "I'm starved!"
The rest of the group trailed after him and Luna a little more slowly, taking in the scene around them.
"Want to dance?" Ginny's friend Sophia requested seductively of Draco Malfoy later that evening.
The passing Slytherin stopped. "Uh, sure...I guess." he glanced momentarily at Ginny, who had been chatting with Sophia. She half-smiled at him before being asked to dance by one of her other friends. Afterwards, she and Malfoy ended up standing side by side in slightly uncomfortable silence before they mumbled excuses and turned and walked off in different directions.
Later that night, as she lay in bed, Ginny found her thoughts turning towards none other than Draco Malfoy. She frowned slightly. Why was he acting the way he was? That time he was nice to her...Well, he hadn't known it was her, she supposed. But their eyes had caught several times over the last month, and he had held her gaze briefly until one of them turned away. And then tonight...No sarcastic comment...No he actually be a nice person under there? Crabbe and Goyle seemed to have evaporated.
Ginny suddenly noticed that she hadn't seen them this year. That was interesting.
Sighing, she flipped over in bed. No point in trying to figure it out now; things would reveal themselves as the year went on, she was sure of it.