A/N: In response to a guest review: There was no deep reason for the changes in the Dragon Breeds, I just wanted to do something different with Fleur, and I wanted Harry to fight the Hungarian Horntail because it's the most Dangerous Dragon species in the fic, and that's also important for how I'm writing the Tournament.
Also, just in case there's any confusion, the Antipodean Opaleye isn't my creation. It already exists in Harry Potter. Look it up on Google for more info.
I kind of got carried away with this one, but I think you'll like it.
《••••••••••••••••••••》
A Song of Lightning and Fire
Arc I: Magic
Part V: The Triwizard Tournament
《••••••••••••••••••••》
Harry blearily opened his eyes, blinking to clear his vision. He saw the ceiling of the Hospital Wing and heaved a sigh as he tried to remember how the hell he'd ended up here this time.
He recalled exhaustion… because of using too much Wandless Magic? No. Wait , yes. That was it. Why? Because he was fighting… a Dragon. Of course, because nothing normal ever happened to Harry, no. He couldn't pass out because of dehydration or exposure to too much sunlight. It had to be a Dragon.
A Hungarian Horntail at that.
He sat up in his bed and looked around, finding Ginny half asleep in a chair beside his bed. "She hasn't left your side at all," he heard Marlene say.
He turned to her and saw that she was looking at him with concern etched on her face. "How many times are you going to land yourself here?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips.
"A few more times every year, I reckon," Harry said with a grim smile.
"You saved a lot of lives," she continued, waving her Wand over his head, causing several Runes to pop out of them.
He shrugged. "It's the least I could do," he said. He wasn't naive enough to believe that anyone would have done the same, no matter how true he wanted that to be.
"It was not," Marlene said, Vanishing the Runes. "Not many would have done what you did. Drink this," She ordered, giving him a vial of Potion.
Harry nodded and gulped it down, grimacing at the horrible taste, but she was used to patching people up, so she probably knew all about this stuff. She frowned at him in confusion for some reason but he chose to ignore it. "Many people throw it up the first time," she commented.
Oh. That would explain it. "I'm used to things that taste bad," Harry said. "What was that?"
"A Potion that should ease any sore muscles," she said. "It should also help your Magic rest a little since you depleted it completely. No Magic for an entire week by the way. Not even in class."
Harry opened his mouth to protest but she held a finger up. "I mean it," she said firmly. "Healer's orders."
"You don't have that authority," Harry pointed out.
"Oh, but I do," she said. "I've got some experience in healing, and Pomfrey had to go to another patient in St. Mungo's so I'm taking over for now as a favor. So, you can either follow my medical advice, or she will be sure to hang you up by your bits," she pointed at Ginny.
Harry winced. "She's pissed at me, isn't she?" He asked.
"That would be an understatement," she muttered, nodding her head.
"Fuck," Harry muttered, closing his eyes and flopping back on his bed.
"Language," she jokingly reprimanded.
Harry just turned around and burrowed himself deeper in his pillow. He laughed when he realized that he thought of the pillow and the bed in the Hospital Wing as 'his'. God, he'd been here far too many times.
"What's so funny?" He heard her ask.
"Nothing," Harry muttered. "Just realised I've been here so many times that I started thinking of this pillow and this bed as 'mine'."
He heard her make an amused hum. "Maybe I should ask Pomfrey to put a plaque with your name on this bed," she said. "That way they actually will be yours in a way."
He chuckled. "Oh, that would be hilarious," he said. "Can you imagine Sirius' face?"
She laughed. "He'd be proud, I reckon," she said fondly. "He'd love it a bit too much."
He smiled at the thought. "What are you doing here, by the way?" He asked her. "Not that I'm not glad to see you," he hastily added.
"I volunteered to stay," she said. "Remus and Sirius wouldn't leave your side either. But unlike Ginny, they were starting to stink. You can thank me for kicking them out later," she ruffled his hair a bit and he batted her hand away before grimacing at the feeling.
"Son of a bitch," he said.
"Language," she said again. Harry just raised his middle finger in a sarcastic salute. "Little git," she joked fondly.
"Oh, I'm so honoured to hear you say that Marlene," Harry said sarcastically. "It truly touches my heart."
She laughed. "You're a lot like James, too," she said, shaking her head. "It's not just Lily."
Harry already knew this of course. Having shared an entire week with his Father, Harry knew that they shared a sense of humor, but it still felt good to hear that.
"Thanks," he replied.
She smiled at him. "You'll be alright?" She asked worriedly, her smile slipping off her face.
"Yeah," Harry said, giving her a tight smile.
He noticed Ginny stir in her sleep, and Marlene smirked at him. "I'll take a walk," she said.
'You are cruel,' Harry mouthed, getting a two-fingered salute in response.
Harry saw Ginny blink her eyes open. She scanned the room before her eyes landed on him. She looked so relieved there for a moment but her expression soon turned into anger. "Marlene?" She asked calmly, glaring at him all the while.
Harry gulped as Marlene walked back from wherever she was. "Yes?" She asked.
"Can Harry walk?" Ginny asked.
"Er… yes," Marlene said.
"Good," Ginny responded, standing up. "Come on," she said to him.
Harry nodded, knowing there was no way out of this. The two of them made their way to the Room of Requirement, and Harry wanted to speak to her several times on the way, but he just couldn't form the words.
"Do you have any idea what you did?" She asked him calmly when the door to the Room closed. Harry had a feeling she was a single push away from absolutely tearing into him.
"I am sorry," he said.
"Oh, that works just fine," Ginny said sarcastically. "You're sorry. Okay. Tell me, Harry, would that have been good enough if you'd died out there?"
Harry opened his mouth and looked away. "No."
"Exactly," she responded. "Do you even know what went through my head when you chased a Fucking Dragon on a Broomstick!?"
She was face to face with him now, well, not face to face, he was a bit taller than her, and this really wasn't the place to be thinking about that.
"I-"
But she didn't let him finish. "And do you even know how distraught Sirius was!?" She asked. "And don't even get me started on Remus and Dumbledore… just…" she trailed off as she took a deep breath.
"Gin," he said, grateful that she didn't interrupt him. He took his hands in hers, and she didn't pull away. "It was either the Dragon or everyone else," he said.
"I know that!" She burst out, wrenching her hands away. "Do you think I'm stupid? For fucks sake, of course I know that. But couldn't you wait-"
Harry opened his mouth, suddenly feeling an urge to snap back at her. "THERE WAS NO TIME!" Harry bellowed, causing her to stop talking. "Do you think I'm proud of killing it? Because I'm not! What did you want me to do!? Wait until the Dragon ate everyone while we made a plan!?"
"There were others there!" Ginny cried. "They could have stopped it!"
"Others like who!?" Harry yelled. "The Handlers who nearly got themselves killed!?"
"No, I mean others like Sirius and Dumbledore!" Ginny yelled back.
Harry blinked. "Sirius wasn't there!" he cried.
"He came a few seconds after you left on your Broom," she replied. "And speaking of your Broom, did you really see NO OTHER OPTION!?" Her voice turned into a shrill scream near the end, and her voice caught in her throat, causing her to start coughing.
"Are you okay?" He asked, concern overriding his anger.
She nodded. "Answer my question," she said. "Did you really see no other option than sacrificing yourself as fucking bait?" She asked, tears in her eyes.
"It was either me or you," he shrugged, not at all apologetic. "I hated doing that to you. I hated leaving you behind. You know I did. That's what you're mad about, isn't it?"
"I'm mad about the fact that you just… left!" she cried. "It's a Dragon, Harry! We've raised two of them! You know how dangerous they can get! I'm mad because you're more than fucking bait! I'm mad because you can't seem to comprehend that fact, and I'm mad because you didn't think once of everyone who cares about you! I'm mad because you think your life is worth less than everyone else's when you know that that's a fucking lie!"
"I do. I won't bother denying it," Harry said calmly, realising that yelling wouldn't get them anywhere. "But you and I both know that if you were in my place, you would've done the same thing."
Neither of them felt the need to mention that he would be yelling at her in that situation. She swallowed and bit her lip as she stared at him. He could see that she was about to cry, and just then, she grabbed him in a hug that took his breath away, both romantically and literally.
"I can't lose you," she said, making an odd, choking sound at the back of her throat. He wrapped his arms around her just as tightly. "I just can't, okay? It would end me. Please, don't do anything like that again. Please."
He wrapped her arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "I won't," he promised and she finally let out a sob.
"I can't lose you," she repeated.
"I promise you," he replied. "You won't. Ever. I'll always be there for you, remember?"
She nodded against his chest and he just held her as she sniffed. "How long has it been, by the way?" He asked
"A week," she said.
"What!?" He cried, pulling back in shock. A WEEK!? Well, that explained her anger.
She bit her lip. "It's been hell," she said.
"What's happened?" Harry asked Her, dread filling up his stomach. They were probably framing him for killing the Dragon, weren't they? He asked the question to Ginny, who laughed and shook her head.
"I'd say I wish, but I really don't," she said.
"What happened?" He repeated, gently brushing her tears and her hair away from her face. He thought he heard her suck in a breath, but he couldn't be sure. Regardless, he pulled away rather quickly.
"So, for starters, you're a hero again," Ginny said.
Harry closed his eyes and swore, causing her to let out a watery chuckle. "Do I even want to know?" He asked.
"You probably don't," she said, smiling impishly. "But I'm going to show it to you regardless because it's your punishment for that stunt you pulled."
Harry grimaced. "Fair."
Ginny nodded. "I thought so," she said, holding her hand out to summon a Daily Prophet newspaper.
"Have you been planning this?" He asked incredulously.
She raised an eyebrow at him, so he dropped the topic. "You're not letting me live this down, are you?" He asked.
"Nope," she said, popping the 'p', and handing him the newspaper.
He sighed with trepidation and unfolded the newspaper.
Harry Potter: The Boy Who Lived, and the Dragonslayer.
By: Rita Skeeter.
Harry was staring slack jawed at the heading. "What the fuck? Dragonslayer!? Why!?" He cried, causing Ginny to burst into giggles.
"Oh, Sirius and Remus would give me their Vaults for this memory," she said.
"And let me guess, you'll give it to them for free anyway?" He asked as he and Ginny sat down on the armchairs in the Room.
"Of course," she said, smirking. "You're never living it down, Potter."
"Oh, joy," he sighed as he continued reading.
The rest of the article was… horrible, dreadful, and gut wrenching for him to read. Okay, fine he was dramatically over selling it, but it wasn't easy to not cringe.
The article, just like his thoughts, was greatly exaggerated, and basically painted him out to be an unwilling hero who had to kill the 'ferocious beast' for the sole purpose of saving everyone. Dumbledore was, surprisingly, portrayed as a helpless Headmaster who couldn't help him for the risk of the defences falling. Ginny, Sirius, Marlene, and Remus had, much to his ire, been thrown in the background, despite the fact that Ginny was the reason he was alive, and hadn't died in Dragon Fire.
The only part he even remotely enjoyed reading was the Ministry's failure, and even that was because Rita had highlighted everything that the Ministry had screwed up in the last few years. It still wasn't enough to redeem the rest of it, though.
"This is the most vile, atrocious price of garbage I've ever laid my hands on," Harry deadpanned, incinerating the paper in his hand.
"True," Ginny said. "This should serve as a lesson to you," she added. "Keep pulling stunts and Rita will write about them. And then I'll make you read what she's written. Even if I have to bring you back from Death again. Got it?"
Harry nodded, eager to move past this. "There are a few follow up articles," she said, much to Harry's horror. "But they're just repetitions of this one with some changes so I won't make you read them if you behave."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief and she smiled in amusement. "What are the scores?" He asked.
"Ooh, okay," she said, leaning towards him. "Krum's in Third Place, he only got 34 points because of the eggs breaking and getting burned. Cedric's in Second Place with 44 points because he got burned, and Delacour's in First Place with 48 points because Karkaroff said that she didn't 'show enough talent' which is bullshit."
Harry's raised his eyebrows. "Me jumping in didn't complicate things for Cedric, did it?"
"No, no," Ginny said. "He was already out of the arena, remember?"
Harry nodded. "How was Dumbledore able to hold me?" He asked a moment later. "I remember seeing him before I passed out."
"Sirius helped him out when he came," Ginny answered. "They were able to get the stand up by the time you cast the Tempest Jinx. Nice Spellwork by the way."
"Thanks," Harry replied. "Who helped me divert the Dragon near the end?"
"Oh, that was Sirius and Dumbledore at first, then Remus and Marlene cast Arresto Momentum, and I used Wandless Magic like Dumbledore and Sirius," she explained.
Harry nodded, and smiled. "Thanks for that," he said, taking a deep breath and bracing himself for the answer to his next question. "My Broom?"
Ginny winced, and the bottom dropped out of his stomach. "I tried to fix it," she said. "Sirius and Dumbledore did, too. But it just wouldn't take."
"What happened?" Harry asked.
"It crashed straight to the ground and shattered," she said. "I'm so sorry."
Harry took a deep breath. "It's okay," he replied, trying to make himself believe it was true. He'd used that broom for… almost 2 years now, and he'd grown rather attached to it. Especially because Sirius had bought it for him.
She took her hand in his and gave it a small squeeze. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Me too," he replied. "Me too."
《••••••••••••••••••••》
Harry knew what he wanted to do. He knew he wanted to ask Ginny to the New Year's Eve Ball, but a part of him held him back. The more he thought about it, the less he knew about dating in general. All he knew was what Sirius had told him, and while he wasn't going to go looking for another date to get more experience or anything, it would be good to have some more words of advice.
Ginny was turning down people left and right, and Harry was too. He couldn't help but admire their consistency, though. They just would not let up. Romilda Vane was the worst, and if Harry didn't know better, he would think that she had the Marauder's Map with her or something. As it was, he knew she just had his schedule. Harry being the only Wizard in over five centuries who had ever killed a fully grown and trained Hungarian Horntail by himself didn't help matters.
Harry didn't even know if he wanted to go to the Ball itself. Truthfully, he'd much rather roam around Muggle London, get a Pizza, watch a Movie, take a walk in Hyde Park and head back to the Castle. But Ginny had said that she wanted to go to the Ball, specifically because the Firework show was said to be… well, Magical, and if he could go to the Ball with her… well, then he reckoned it would be a lot more fun.
Which was why, a few days later, Harry had decided to skip his late afternoon Herbology Class in order to visit Grimmauld Place. "I need help," Harry said before he even exited the Floo completely.
Sirius was sitting in the Living Room, and he was understandably shocked when Harry came in. To his credit, he didn't ask what he was doing out of school. "What's wrong?" He asked worriedly, standing up immediately. "Did something happen to you? Or Ginny?"
"No, no," Harry said, pushing Sirius down onto the sofa again. He went and took a seat on the armchair. "I need girl advice."
"Ah," Sirius said with a relieved smirk. "This is about the young Miss Weasley, then?"
Harry blushed. "Yes," he said.
"Let me guess," Sirius said. "You want to ask her to the Ball but don't know if she will say yes?"
"I know there's a good chance of her saying no," Harry tried explaining. "There's someone else she likes, I think."
"You think?" Sirius asked.
"She says there's someone," Harry said. "But I've never seen her looking at anyone like that."
"Oh," Sirius said with a frown. "Well, we could always set Moony on him if the bloke does exist."
Harry laughed. "No," he said. "I just want her to be happy, but…" he trailed off.
"You want her to be happy with you?" Sirius asked knowingly.
"Yeah," Harry replied glumly.
"You know, Harry," Sirius began. "You don't have to figure it all out right this moment."
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"I mean… you can take it slow," Sirius said. "Ask her to the Ball, don't specify what you're inviting her as, but don't make any move without knowing if she likes you back. If she does, she will probably tell you. You're only 14 now. And from the sounds of it, these feelings will be a massive change for both of you. Give yourselves some time to get used to it."
Harry nodded. "So… what?" He asked. "I tell her and hope for the best?"
"Kind of," Sirius said. "Don't say anything today. Maybe on Valentine's Day?"
Harry nodded. "Right. Okay. Do you know how to dance?" He asked suddenly.
Sirius blinked at the sudden change in the topic. "Yes," he said. "I can teach you if you want."
Harry nodded with a smile. "Yeah, thanks mate."
Sirius grinned. "Anytime," he replied. "Are you staying for tea?"
"No," Harry replied, standing up and throwing some Floo Powder in the Fireplace. "I need to ask Gin if she'll come with me."
He Flooed to the Room of Requirement again, and ran towards the Library where he knew Ginny would be right now. Sure enough, he saw her sitting there on one of the tables, scribbling away on a Parchment with her friends.
He went over to her table, causing one of her friends to excitedly nudge Ginny with her elbow before she schooled her features into nonchalance.
Did she actually think that Harry missed all of that?
"Are you free to talk?" Harry asked, trying to look as casual as possible while ignoring the looks passing between the rest.
Ginny gave him a smile that made his stomach flutter. Really, no one should hold that kind of Power. "Sure," she said, standing up.
They made their way over to a deserted corner of the library that was completely out of the view of the other students. "What is it?" She asked, turning to him.
"Do you have a date for the Ball?" He asked.
She blinked. "Well, no," she whispered, her tongue darting out to lick her lips.
"Okay," he said, sighing in relief. "Okay."
"Are you alright?" She asked.
Harry nodded. "Gin, I've been meaning to ask you this for a while…" he trailed off, biting his lip as Ginny looked at him curiously. She took his hands in hers.
"What is it?" She asked, her eyes boring into his, giving him the confidence he needed.
"Would you like to go to the Ball with me?" He asked her.
There. He'd done it. Her mouth dropped open in surprise, and she looked at him for a full second, or it could have been a day. He didn't know. But when her mouth formed a smile, it felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
"Yes," she said softly. "I would love that."
He smiled back, and they just stared at each other like that for a while before they were interrupted by Madam Pince loudly shushing a group of Third Year Hufflepuffs.
"Right," Harry said, still smiling. "Er… you should get back to your essay."
"Yeah," she said, smiling sadly. "It's due tomorrow."
"I'll see you, yeah?" He asked.
"Definitely," she said, her smile turning into a grin.
《••••••••••••••••••••》
December 31st arrived bright and early, and Ginny was sure that not even her roommates could spoil her mood. It had been well over 20 days since Harry had asked her to the Yule Ball, and those days felt as though she was flying in the air without a broom. Not that she knew what that felt like, but still. It had to be close to this.
He had asked, and she had agreed to keep their new… situation… private. She didn't know what this was for Harry. He hadn't said anything, nor did she want to assume, but every day, when he did little things like compliment her hair, or tell her she looked nice, or every time he so much as smiled wider when he saw her, she felt a hope inside her that maybe, just maybe, there was a chance that he could see her like she saw him.
The problem was that these were all regular 'best friend' things to do as well. And right now, he was exactly that, wasn't he? Yes. So, Ginny dared not make a move. The risk was just too great. She wanted more, but not at the cost of losing his friendship.
But she figured she'd find out this evening. She and Harry hadn't talked much about the Ball, but she could tell he was excited to go, despite the fact that Harry had initially not wanted to.
She was, as always, up long before her roommates, so she quickly freshened up, cast the Animagus Spell on herself, changed into some better clothes, and left the Dormitories and the Common Room.
"Hey," Harry said, clapping her shoulders as he jumped out from behind a pillar.
"Hi," she said, turning around. She was used to this by now, really. It did get annoying on her period, but he stopped doing that then to not trouble her.
"You look great," he said as they started walking. Her heart gave a flutter, and she didn't fight the feeling like she used to. She'd stopped fighting those ages ago.
"Thanks," she replied. "New shoes?" She asked, noticing the ones he was wearing now were much cleaner than the usual ones he usually did.
"No," Harry laughed. "I just asked Kreacher to clean them for me."
She raised her eyebrows. "Isn't that House-Elf abuse?" She asked. "I'll tell Hermione."
He gasped dramatically, and placed a hand over his heart. "No!" He cried into the empty corridor. "Not her! Please! I beseech you, my Lady!"
She finally gave in to her giggles, really, he'd been acting so different these past couple of days. It was as if he didn't that he had the weight of the world on his shoulders anymore.
"Who taught you those words?" She asked teasingly, patting his cheek.
"I read, I'll have you know," he said in mock outrage.
"Oh," she said, dragging out the word as though he had just revealed a life altering fact to her. "I thought you were having secret meetings with Hermione behind my back."
He gasped again. "I would never!" He exclaimed, causing her to shush him as they were near Professor McGonnagall's Office now. "Sorry," he whispered sheepishly.
"It's alright," Ginny said. "How's the Leaf holding up?" She asked a few moments later.
Harry had had to restart his entire Potion ever since he fainted. His mixture had turned into a Black Liquid after he went to look at it, but neither of them knew whether that was because he looked at the Potion, or whether it was because he had missed his incantations. Either way, Harry didn't want to take the risk, so he'd restarted.
"I swallowed it last night," Harry replied, causing her to wince in sympathy. "It wasn't good. What's worse is that I'll have to wait for another full moon cycle."
They made their way over to the Kitchens, and had a healthy breakfast, courtesy of Dobby, who, along with the rest of the Malfoy Elves, had been freed a few days ago by the Auror Office as a penalty because Lucius Malfoy had not yet turned himself in. The Auror Office had also, apparently, seized hold of the Malfoy Estate.
Harry and Ginny spent the rest of the day playing in the snow with their friends, having a snowball fight, making a snow fort, and the like, very usual things for him and her to do, but still, today made it… special, somehow.
She'd left at 3 in the afternoon, though, giving her plenty of time to get ready for the Ball. Harry had expressed his confusion over why it would take her so long to get ready but she'd just smiled mysteriously. She wanted to look good, and if it took two hours, so be it.
She'd gone into the Den's bedroom to get ready, mostly because she wanted to avoid her roommates, but also because she wanted Harry to be there, which he wouldn't be able to do in Gryffindor Tower.
As it so happened, it didn't take her two hours to get ready, she was done in an hour and a half. She knew that Harry had also entered the Den around an hour after her, but he was, obviously, in a different room.
"Gin?" He knocked on her door. "You done?"
"Yes," she called back.
She took a deep breath and walked over to the door. She opened it, and saw Harry looking into a mirror and adjusting his hair. Merlin, she had always wanted to run her hands through that hair…
Her thoughts were cut off when he turned around, his eyes widening in surprise as he took in the black and gold dress she was wearing. He blinked once, and opened his mouth. "Wow," he said finally. "You look… beautiful."
She felt a smile and a blush creep onto her face, and she felt a warm feeling in her stomach. For fuck's sake, it was just one word, but he'd said it with such reverence that she couldn't help but blush.
Harry himself was looking very handsome with his long hair falling around his face, and down to his shoulders. His eyes practically glowed as the light of the fireplace illuminated them. He was dressed in a pair of dark Green Dress Robes that looked like they were almost black. It was a mix between the Muggle Trenchcoat and the standard Hogwarts Robes, she knew.
"Thanks," she said, smiling softly as she bit her lip. "You're looking rather dashing too. Should I bring a stick with me?"
"A stick?" He asked, furrowing his brow.
"To keep the other girls away from you, of course," Ginny said, smiling. He laughed, and she was glad that he was loosening up more.
"I should bring one of my own, then," Harry suggested. "We can fight off everyone together."
She chuckled. Oh yeah, today was about to be great.
《••••••••••••••••••••》
Harry and Ginny made their way down to the corridor outside the Great Hall, and Harry managed to not trip over and make a fool of himself in front of her. Really, it had taken all of his willpower to not kiss her right there…
Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to them as they made their way down the corridor towards their friends. "Hey," Devon said. "You guys are going together?"
"Yeah," Ginny said as Harry nodded.
"Aww," Jessica said from beside him. "That is so cute. You guys are dating now?"
"No," they said together. Harry glanced at Ginny, only to find her looking at him nervously before she looked away. "We're just here for a good time," Harry added.
Devon and Jessica nodded in understanding as Ron, and Lucien came downstairs. Lucien was going to the Ball with Tracey Davies, and Harry had managed to convince Paravti Patil to go with Ron. He was sure the poor girl had wanted to go with Harry, but after Ron's disastrous and pitiful attempt to ask our Fleur Delacour had failed… well, Harry couldn't leave him hanging like that.
Harry waved to them, and they waved back. Ron here hung back with the others though, probably since Parvati wouldn't let go of his arm.
The door to the Great Hall opened, and Professor McGonnagall stepped out, asking them all to move inside. They complied and not many could contain their gasps and their murmurs of appreciation once they stepped in.
The Great Hall looked like it was completely decorated with ice, not a single stone in sight. The candles were gone, and in their place, a massive Chandelier hung from the ceiling. Over their heads he saw that an area of lawn right in front of the castle had been transformed into a sort of grotto full of fairy lights- meaning hundreds of actual living fairies were sitting in the rose bushes that had been conjured there, and fluttering over the statues of what seemed to be Father Christmas and his reindeer.
There was a red carpet that led to the raised platform that sat the curved Staff Table. The Great Hall was expanded, Harry noticed, and there was a large dance Floor beyond the tables, and before the Staff Table. There was also a stage on the left side of the Dance Floor where the Weird Sisters would no doubt be performing.
"This is beautiful," she said.
"It is," he said as they sat down on one of the Tables with Devon and Jessica sitting next to Harry. Neville, Hannah, Demelza, Colin, and Katie Bell joined them.
Harry was surprised to see a few adults enter before he remembered that the Yule Ball was also a High Society event. Every Pureblood, every High Ranking Ministry Official, and every Half-Blood with a prominent family was invited, and most of them had come.
There were even a few reporters, Harry was sad to note. But at least their Photographers were absent, and interviews were the only thing that was allowed to be published. Anything else, and Dumbledore would come after the Newspaper companies with the best lawyers in the country.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Ludo Bagman's Magically Enchanted voice boomed. "Let's have a round of applause for our Three Triwizard Champions."
Fleur came into the Great Hall with her date, Roger Davies, attracting the attention of every single male in the room except for Harry, and, unsurprisingly, Dumbledore. She was dressed in an elegant silver gown that suited her perfectly.
Cedric and Cho were next, and Harry and Ginny waved at the couple, who waved back at them with grins on their faces. They were followed by Viktor Krum and Hermione, who looked a lot more pretty than she usually did, something that shocked pretty much everyone in the room. "Damn," Ginny said, an impressed note to her voice.
Harry turned to her questioningly. "She told us to guess her date," Ginny explained. "She said it would be a surprise. I hope he treats her okay, though."
Harry nodded in understanding, but he turned away from the Champions as they made their way up to the Staff Table. His eyes sought out Ron, who was looking at Hermione sadly. Harry's heart went out to him. He wouldn't know what he would do if he was in Ron's place, looking at Ginny with someone else…
He shook his head to clear those thoughts. Ron looked okay, and Parvati, who was already well aware of Ron's attraction to Hermione, was trying to cheer him up as best as she could.
Soon, some kind of parchment started appearing on the tables along with golden plates. "It's a menu," Jessica explained at the bewildered looks everyone was sharing at their table. "You say the name of the food you want, and it appears on your plate. A lot of high society parties have this system. It's one of the only things I like about them actually."
Harry nodded, and took the menu in his hand. It took him some time to make sense of everything, and he was successful a few moments later. There were many dishes listed there, and once again, they were mixed in cuisine, incorporating dishes from quite a few countries.
They ordered their dishes and began eating when the food appeared directly on their plates, along with the required cutlery. Tea Time passed by, faster than anyone expected, in a haze of talks, laughter, and discussions about the Tournament.
Before they knew it, Dumbledore announced the arrival of the Weird Sisters, who simply appeared on the stage in a puff of smoke, much to the awe of the audience. Dumbledore then asked the Champions to open the dance, which they did rather wonderfully. Harry suspected the School Heads or Deputy Heads must have taught the Champions.
After the first dance, Harry saw several others join the dance floor. He bit his lip in nervousness. He'd learned quite a bit from Sirius, who was a surprisingly decent teacher, but still, he couldn't help the pang of nervousness that spread through his body when Ginny looked at him.
"Am I going to have to drag you out there?" She asked with a smirk, letting him know that she was only teasing.
"No," Harry replied regardless, standing up and offering her a hand.
She had a surprised expression on her face, but she still smiled at him and placed her hand in his, allowing him to pull her up. "Do you know how to dance?" She asked.
"I do," he replied, smirking as she raised her eyebrows. "But I may have forgotten everything Sirius taught me so…"
She laughed, placing a hand on his shoulder, as the other sought his. He put his free hand on her back and started following her lead as the Weird Sisters kept playing their song.
Over the course of the song, Harry kept getting more and more confident as he kept recalling little tidbits of details that Sirius had mentioned here and there, and he even started leading in half the dances they shared later on.
Harry and Ginny were all smiles as they kept on dancing to the tune. Harry's smile suddenly turned into a smirk as he turned Ginny in a twirl, causing her to laugh. "Careful there," she said as she spun back towards him. "I don't want to fall on my bum."
Harry scoffed. "Like I wouldn't catch you before that happened," he replied.
"You would, wouldn't you?" She asked herself, a weird look in her eyes.
Harry nodded regardless. He'd do it even if he didn't like her. He suddenly decided to lead them into a dip. "See? Just like this," he said as they came up.
She just smiled wider and they continued dancing till the song was over. They didn't leave the floor for another half an hour when Ginny's feet were starting to hurt. "I should really thank Sirius," she said, smiling.
"Well, he's coming over tomorrow or the day after so you'll get your chance," he told her with a smile of his own. "Honestly, I might buy him three more Christmas Presents, this was a lot of fun."
"I'm glad you decided to come," she said.
"I'm glad you decided to come with me," he replied, causing her cheeks to go slightly pink.
"Me too," she replied.
"Your feet okay?" He asked after a few moments had passed.
"They won't kill me anytime soon," she replied. "But I doubt I'll be able to go dance again for a few more minutes."
Harry nodded. "Well, I'm going to go check on Ron," he said, looking around for a top of red hair. "I'm worried about him."
"Because of Hermione?" She asked, furrowing her brow.
Harry grimaced. "Yeah, pretty much," he said. "Any idea where he is?"
She smiled at him impishly as she gestured with her finger for him to come closer. "I saw him leave earlier with Parvati," she whispered when he complied, causing his eyes to go wide.
"You're joking," he said, pulling back and looking her in the eyes.
"Nope," she replied. "I couldn't believe my eyes. Then you led me into that dip where we almost fell."
"I caught you!" he protested, despite the fact that he knew she was joking. They'd laughed about it like little children when that happened.
Ginny only hummed as another song started playing. Jessica had come over and she and Harry danced for two songs, both of which were fast paced ones, which was what Jessica and Harry liked. Ginny danced the second song with a boy named Michael Corner, who looked like he wanted to do more, but he saw her politely decline his offer.
"Hey," she said, coming over to him. "Do you want to get some drinks and get back?"
"Sure," Harry said, before turning to Jessica. "Thanks for the dance, Jess,"
"When did you get so polite?" She asked him in faux curiosity.
"Oh, piss off," Harry said to her jokingly as Ginny snorted.
"Thank you too, by the way," Jessica told him. "I didn't know you could dance so well."
Harry gave her a bow. "Thanks," he said before he and Ginny went to the bar.
Another hour passed, and Harry and Ginny danced most of it with each other. Others had joined in, too. Colin and Neville had danced with Ginny while Harry had been left with Demelza and Hannah respectively. Despite this though, Harry had a lot more fun than he thought he would.
"Do you want to get some air?" Ginny asked after their last dance. "I'm a bit knackered."
"Sure," he replied. They made their way out of the Great Hall and went into the courtyard via the Entrance Hall. He saw that the sun was setting, and immediately turned to Ginny, who had already started running towards a clump of bushes. She wasn't wearing heels so she was quickly able to reach there and cast the Animagus Incantation over herself after Harry- who had followed in after her- cast a Powerful Confundus Charm around the area, something that would, hopefully, dissuade anyone from coming over there.
"Fuck, that was close," she said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Yeah," he replied with a chuckle as he took down his Charm. "It would suck if you missed one."
"You seemed to be having fun back there," she commented.
"I was, I am," he said, smiling. "Mostly because of you, but…" he trailed off, shrugging a shoulder. It wasn't quite what he envisioned himself doing till midnight, but still, it was fun.
She smiled at him, and seemed to hesitate about asking something. He reached out and took her hand. "What is it?" He asked.
"Will you take me to Muggle London?" She replied, biting her lip.
Harry blinked. "What? Why?" He asked. "I thought you were having fun."
"I am," she said. "I just… I don't know, you wanted to go so I thought maybe… we could go there for a while and pop back here…" she trailed off, shifting a bit. "Unless you want to go alone, which is totally fine, I'll get it-"
"Are you sure?" He interrupted her. "You'll come with me?" Hanging around Muggle London with her would be great, Harry thought. He could show her around even more than he already had.
Ginny nodded. "Yeah," she said. "I've always wondered how Muggles celebrate New Year."
"It isn't that different," Harry said. "The Fireworks probably aren't as extravagant there, but otherwise…"
She shrugged. "Then we can get back here when that happens," she said. "We'll go to a Muggle place next year for the Fireworks."
He couldn't suppress a smile at that thought. Truly, it would be great if they managed to pull that off. He also couldn't help but feel a huge surge of affection towards her for thinking that they'd still be in each other's lives till next year.
"Like I said," she continued. "We don't have to go. You can go alone if that's what you want-"
"No, no," he said. "Erm… how soon can you change?"
She smiled. "15 minutes at most," she replied.
"Alright," he replied. "Do you want to get a Pizza."
"What's a Pizza?" She asked. Harry stared at her incredulously. "What?" She asked defensively, crossing her arms.
He shook his head. "We are getting Pizza," he said firmly.
"But what is it?" She asked.
"The best thing you'll ever eat," he said. "Trust me."
《••••••••••••••••••••》
About half an hour later, Ginny had to agree with Harry's statements about the Pizza. It was the best thing she'd ever put inside her mouth. By Merlin, it was so delicious.
"That was so good," she repeated for the millionth time as they walked on the footpath, their shoulders occasionally brushing.
"I know," Harry replied around a spoonful of his chocolate ice cream. He was eating it in winter, which she thought was odd, but hey, maybe it was a Muggle thing to do.
They'd not been in the Muggle World for long, but Ginny was already starting to like it here a lot more than the Ball. The walls of the buildings were decorated with multicolored lights that ran on Electricity, and there were hordes of people roaming around, families enjoying a good time together… everything just felt so alive.
That, and this Pizza was sooo good!!
Harry hadn't been here on New Year's Eve either apparently, so this was a first for him too. Although, he was much more used to the Muggle World than she was.
"Please tell me we can come here more often," she pleaded.
"Anytime you want," he replied, an amused smile on his face.
"This isn't funny," she said, pouting. "Seriously, did you taste that?"
"I did," he replied, his shoulders shaking from suppressed laughter.
"Oh, go on," she said, rolling her eyes. "Have a laugh."
He did laugh. "Sorry," he said, still smiling. "You're just so adorable."
She gasped. He did not just call her that. "Harry James, you take that back," she said.
"Nope," he said, looking her in the eye, and taking another spoonful of his ice cream. "It's the truth," he added, tapping her nose. "So cute," he continued.
"Stop that," she told him.
He tapped her nose again, and she retaliated by trying to steal his spoon. He just raised it higher to a point where she couldn't reach it. "What now, little girl?" He taunted.
"Did you know my brothers all think you've lost your mind?" She asked, trying to change the topic. She wasn't about to climb on top of him in public, they'd both just end up falling on their arses and poor Harry would lose his ice cream.
"Well, considering one of them worked with Dragons, I doubt I'll be taking their mental health advice too seriously," Harry said.
"Oi! Charlie's perfectly sane thank you very much," she replied, huffing.
"Well, he is now," he admitted. "He still plays Quidditch like a madman, though, but hey, you do it too, so it runs in the family, I suppose."
"You're going to get it, Potter," she warned him.
"Suree," he drawled, giving her a lopsided grin. "Why do your brothers think I've lost my mind, by the way?" He asked, bringing his cup back down.
"Oh, just the fact that you're so willing to piss me off," she said.
"Well," he replied after a moment. "I suppose they're right for once. I did shoot a fucking Dragon out of the sky."
"Don't forget all the other shit we've pulled," she commented.
"Exactly," he said. "If your brothers knew any of that… well, suffice it to say that I'd be dead."
"Nah, you'd be fine," she said confidently.
"How do you know?" He asked. "Will you bribe them for me?"
"Nah, I just need to say the words 'Bat Bogey' and they fall in line," she said. "You'll see."
"Your Mum must be proud," he replied, bumping her shoulder.
"She is," Ginny bumped his shoulder back.
Harry didn't reply this time, he just bumped her shoulder again, and they continued this game until Ginny almost went sprawling into an old man. "Sorry," she and Harry said as the old man grumbled something that sounded like "children nowadays."
"Sorry," Harry said to her. "I didn't mean to-"
"It's okay," she cut him off. "I know."
He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled back at her. She went to take his spoon again and he raised it over his head again. "Just a bite," she explained.
"Oh, fine," he said, bringing it down and taking a good chunk of ice cream with the spoon. "Here," he said, bringing it to her mouth.
Okay, that was so much better than eating it by herself, she thought as he fed her the spoonful. Merlin, even the Ice Cream was as good as the one in the Magical World. They were truly missing out on some of the stuff Muggles could come up with.
Soon, their walk led them over to a building called Blockbuster where Harry stopped dead in his tracks. "Star Wars will start in an hour," he said to himself, his eyes lighting up like a beacon. She really liked that expression on him.
"What's that?" She asked, feeling a bit left out.
He turned to her and gave her a quick rundown of the movie and what it was without giving her any spoilers. Most of it went over her head, but she did understand that it was a story about 'space wizards' called Jedi with sci-fi (Science Fiction) elements in it.
"Do you want to watch it?" She asked.
He bit his lip and grimaced. "I don't know," he said. "I mean… I've watched it already, and we're probably being missed back there."
"Nah, I reckon they're used to us leaving suddenly for long periods of time," she said, knowing it was somewhat true.
"Would you like to watch it?" He asked after he thought about it for a while.
She smiled. "I'm sure I'll enjoy it," she said.
《••••••••••••••••••••》
As it turned out, she ended up loving it. It was the best thing she'd ever seen, as she kept reminding him. He thought it was extremely cute when she imitated Vader, or Old Ben/Obi Wan.
"And that ending was so good, too!" She said excitedly. "Why have we never been here before?"
"It never came up," Harry said, shrugging as he smiled.
"I'm watching every movie this summer," she declared.
"Well, that will take you longer than two months," Harry said. "There are a bit too many of them."
"How many?" She asked.
"I don't know," he said. "But there are definitely more than you can watch in two months."
"Oh," she replied, a bit disappointed.
"I can show you the other Star Wars movies if we find them this summer," he said, trying to cheer her up.
"There's more!?" She cried, causing several onlookers to turn to them.
"Quiet down," he whispered with a grin. "And yes, there are two more."
"What do I need to do to live as a Muggle?" She asked, causing him to laugh as they reached the Leaky Cauldron.
They entered the pub and pulled the hoods of their jackets over their heads. They were able to make it to Diagon Alley's Public Floos, and chose one to take them to the Den at the Room of Requirement because it was nearly time for the New Year's Fireworks now.
"Seriously, Harry," she said as he stepped out of the Floo. "We need to go there more often."
"I think I may have given you an addiction," Harry replied.
"I don't care," she responded. "Just take me there. Please," she gave him her puppy dog eyes, and he chuckled.
"Sure, sure," he said, causing her to let out a whoop and pump her fist in the air. He checked his watch and saw that there were only three minutes to midnight now.
"Shit," Ginny swore when he told her this. "Come on."
She took his hand and the two of them ran out of the Room of Requirement, closing the door behind them. They ran towards the Stairs, but when Harry wanted to go down, she tugged at his hand. "Astronomy Tower," she said. "We'll never reach in time if we go to the Great Hall."
Harry nodded in understanding and they started running again, this time to the Astronomy Tower. There was an Enchantment upon it that didn't allow anyone to pass through, but Harry drew out the Marauder's Map, and Ginny temporarily dispelled the Enchantment using its help.
They made their way to the top with a minute left. A decent time, if he was honest. The Fireworks would be above the Forbidden Forest, and the Astronomy Tower was a brilliant place for that view.
They could see pretty much the entirety of the Hogwarts grounds from where they were seated on the edge, and Harry thought that would make for a better show than being down there.
He hesitantly put his right arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She came willingly and rested her head on his shoulder, snuggling in closer and putting an arm around his waist, causing butterflies to erupt in his stomach.
"Is this okay?" She asked, peeking up at him from her spot.
This was more than okay, in fact she could do this as often as she liked, and thank you very much. It was something out of his dreams, Harry thought. Well, it was like what happened before the main parts of the dreams started, anyway…
He just nodded, though, not wanting to ruin their moment by saying anything dumb. Soon, they heard a Magically Enhanced voice from near the Great Hall. "TEN… NINE… EIGHT… SEVEN… SIX… FIVE… FOUR… THREE… TWO… ONE… HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
Multiple Fireworks shot up into the sky following the last three words, whistling as they went. They exploded in the air, forming the words 'Happy New Year' in a Golden Color.
Another Firework shot out with a sharp whistle, exploding in the centre of the words, causing them to scatter in a shower of golden sparks. The sparks then started coming together and formed the number '95' in green.
It had started snowing, but these were Magical Fireworks so it didn't matter. A few more Fireworks shot out, forming various different shapes, and turning into different creatures that roamed the sky. A Dragon even flew over the crowd and exploded near the Black Lake, all the while everyone kept cheering as Harry and Ginny watched the whole thing with a smile.
He turned his head to look at Ginny a few minutes later, only to her already looking at him with. She blushed a little at being caught but didn't tear her eyes away.
Harry suddenly started feeling much hotter than he should, considering the fact that it was snowing. There was a look in her eyes, and he found that it excited him a lot. He hoped that she would look at him like this more…
Her lips parted and she took a breath as she leaned forward. Harry couldn't stop himself- and nor did he want to- from doing the same. Slowly, the distance between them kept getting shorter until his lips were on hers.
He had imagined what kissing Ginny would feel like, he had dreamt of it, he had read novels where the characters kissed the people of their dreams, but nothing compared to the feel of actually kissing Ginny. Their lips moved against each other almost rhythmically, and Harry almost gasped when her hands went to his hair. It felt amazing, and he was certain that no other feeling would ever come close.
After several long moments, or it might have been half an hour-or possibly several moonlit nights- they broke apart. Still, their foreheads stayed connected as they stared into each other's eyes as her floral scent invaded his nose. "Hi," she whispered with a grin, letting out a small giggle.
"Hi," he replied with a smile of his own.
"I've been waiting to do that for so long," she confessed in a whisper, biting her lip.
"What!?" He whispered in shock, completely thrown by this new piece of information. "I thought-"
"It was you," she said, swallowing. "It's always been you."
"Me?" He asked, hardly daring to believe his ears, despite the kiss they'd just shared.
"Who else would it be?" She shrugged, the grin still in place.
Harry swallowed the scream of joy that was threatening to tear its way out of his body. He felt like he was on the top of the world right now, and while he did also feel like the stupidest person on the planet, he was able to 'get the girl', as people said, and really, he couldn't ask for anything more. It was Perfect.
"Can I kiss you again?" She asked, cutting off his thoughts.
Harry didn't mind in the slightest.
《••••••••••••••••••••》
A/N: Well, that happened. I really wasn't kidding when I said I got carried away.
To those who asked before, yes, Hinny was meant to happen in Chapter 60, but Harry and Ginny wanted to get together, and who am I to stop that, eh?
I don't know if Blockbuster existed in London, but you know what? It exists in my AU.
Anyway, here are some answers to a few questions I would have while reading this if it were written by someone else.
Yes, Ginny was more concerned than mad at the start.
I replaced the Yule Ball for two reasons, one of those being 'why not?'. Nothing else has changed about it. The second, well, I guess I just wanted to? The Firework scene gave me a perfect way to get them together on the Astronomy Tower instead of having them confess over the Black Lake.
If I was a cruel guy, I would make this a dream sequence, but rest assured, it is not.
I know it seems like it's a bit… early, but I honestly could not be arsed to make more reasons as to why Hinny shouldn't get together early so… I didn't. I only hope I handled it well.
I hope you enjoyed this Chapter, and please leave a review if you did. And if you are, please tell me what you thought of the whole sequence of Hinny getting together.
I'll see you guys in the next Chapter!!
Byee!!