Chapter ten
There are two hours left until the ball. Crys, Ginny and Hermione sat in the sixth year girls dorm room preparing as they had been for the past three hours. They delicately applied makeup to each other's faces, wiping and blending where needed. They only had an hour left to finish up make up and do their hair before they got dressed.
Harry and Ron sat downstairs in their normal clothes playing wizard chess. They had an hour until they had to change. They were both nervous, except Ron was the one who showed it. It became clearly evident of his nerves when he lost the chess game.
"You're out of it, mate." Harry said to him, "You should go take a nap or something."
"Take a nap?" Ron laughed at him, "Are you being serious?"
"Yes. You look like you could use some sleep."
"Well thanks." Ron said sarcastically as he walked towards his dorm to take a nap.
"Ron, wake up." Harry said to the still sleeping Ron, "Ron!"
"What?" Ron said groggily.
"The ball starts in twenty minutes!"
"What! Why didn't you wake me up sooner?" he snapped awake.
"Because I fell asleep too,"
They quickly dressed and Harry tried to tame his hair while Ron combed his out. They took one last glance in the mirror and looked at each other nodding mutely in approval before heading down to the common room to meet their dates.
Their jaws dropped as they saw Crys and Hermione come down the stairs in their dresses.
Hermione's dress was a deep red and it's sqare-necked halter bodice went perfectly with her no longer bushy but curly hair that hung halfway down her back. The hemline came down to halfway between her knees and ankles and was pushed out by several layers underneith it. She was stunning and she saw Harry blink a few times and gulp after he finally realized his mouth had been hanging open at her.
Crys' dress was a dark blue bodice beaded with clear and silver beads in intricate patterns that twisted around each other and entranced the eye. Her skirt was black and full length and flowed out away from her her slender legs perfectly. The lack of straps on her dress and her hair that was pulled into a twist with a few curly strands framing her face showed off her neck and shoulders that remaned bare. Ron reaction was quite the same as Harry's.
After they descended the staircase they each took a place next to their date and set off downstairs. Harry and Hermione's arms were linked together but Ron's arm was around Crys' waist and her fingers linked with his on her hip.
The four of them sat down at a small round table laughing, all red in the face from dancing for forty minutes straight. At fisrt the ball had been awkward, but after a few minutes they had loostened up and torn the dance floor apart.
Ron and Harry offered to go get drinks and Hermione and Crys sat at the table alone. Crys saw Malfoy approaching first in his tuxedo and she had to try hard to stifle a laugh. He walked up to the two of them with his two cronies standing behind him, their shadows cast over the girls.
"So, Malfoy," Crys began, a definate bitterness in her voice, "Where's Pansy?" a false smile spread across her lips.
Malfoy scowled at her. "That's beside the point, mudblood."
"Well, Draco, dear, I was just trying to make conversation," her voice was now as falsely sweet as her smile, "What is the point?"
"I know what you did last summer." he said bitterly.
"That's copyrighted you know." she shot back, "Is daddy not happy about a certain dark lord's fall? Right hand man not quite sure where to turn?"
He took an agressive step towards her. She stood up to look him in the eye. They glared at each other and Draco spoke.
"My father is a powerful man, Noramison."
"You're father was a powerful man, Malfoy. Money can only go so far. Face it, Voldemort's gone, and Daddy's got no one to lean on now."
Malfoy glared harder at her but gave no response. Harry and Ron looked over and saw Crys and Malfoy standing glaring at each other and started at a run back over to their dates.
Malfoy saw them coming and figured he had better wrap this thing up before they got there.
"Watch out for yourself, mudblood. There are a lot of angry Death Eaters out there right now, and you're on the top of their list."
Crys threw him a smile and said, "I'll be waiting."
Ron and Harry arrived just in time to hear Malfoys response.
"Be on your toes, whore." and he turned to leave.
Ron started after him with is hand in a fist but Crys put a hand on his arm, her eyes not once leaving the back of Malfoy's blonde head.
When he was out of sight she looked at Ron.
"Leave him alone. Poor git can't defend himself, the fight wouldn't be fair."
Ron swallowed hard and nodded, sitting down at the table. He handed Crys her drink as she sat down.
Crys all of a sudden smiled. When the other three looked at her questioningly she spoke.
"'Stay on your toes'? I'd like to see him wears heels this high." Her friends smiled and nodded without saying a word.
When they stepped outside into the brisk night air their jaws dropped at the brilliant decorations that had been put up for the ball. Their were bushes with little fairies in them like at the Yule ball but there were also a million candles flaoting over the lake. The small enchanted rowboats the first years use at the beginning of each year were set up at the water's edge for them to use. Harry and Hermione decided to go out on a boat but Ron and Crys just sat on a secluded bench surrounded by fairy-filled bushes on all sides.
"This has been an amazing night." Crys whispered, laying her head on Ron's shoulder.
"Yeah." Ron whispered back.
"Still think you wouldn't have come?"
"Nah, it was amazing."
"So better than the last one?"
"Much better."
"What happened that was so bad at the last one?"
"I ignored my date all night because I was so jealous of Krum and Hermione and the night ended in us getting into a fight."
"You and Hermione right?"
"Yeah. It was awful."
"I know."
"How do you know?"
"She came back to the dorm and cried her self to sleep that night. She really loves you two you know."
"Yeah she does doesn't she."
Crys sighed. They sat the same way for a while, her head on his shoulder just watching the little fairies socialize in the bushes.
"Ron,"
"Yes?"
"Are you ever going to kiss me?"
"I was only waiting for you to ask me."
"Sure you were."
"I was."
"Liar."
Crystal turned her head towards him and their lips met, just barely touching at first. Slowly they grew more agressive and Crys' hair fell loose down her back and her finger got lost in his hair. His hands slowly crept down the back of her gown and stopped right at the top of her thighs. They stood up together and turned in circles absentmindedly while their tounges played around between their lips. Her hands wandered up and around inside his jacket and he pulled his arms from around her only long enough for her to slide it off. She untied hie tie and trew it aside then moved on to his shirt and spent a few minutes fumbling with the buttons before pulling that off of him as well. She let her fingers run slowly in long, seductive movements up and down his bare back while Ron's hands found the zipper on the back of her gown and he slowly, playfully pulled in downwards. It got about halfway down before they heard their names being called from somewhere near the lake.
"Damn." Ron said as he pulled away from her and she sent him a look of deep longing. She picked up his jacket and waited for him to button up his shirt (which he did at full speed) to pull it over his shoulders. Just then Harry and Hermione rounded the corner and Ron and Crys turned towards them smiling, Ron blushing madly whereas Crys only had a twinge of pink barely visible in the dark of the night in her pale cheeks.
"Have you two been in here the entire time?" Harry asked.
"Yeah," Crys was quick to answer before Ron started stumbling over his words again, "We were talking."
"Oh," Hermione said, "What did you talk about?"
Crys jumped quickly to answer again, "The Yule Ball, America, Ron's family. Lots of things."
"Ah." Harry said, "And Ron's tie just happened to fly away right in the middle of this in depth conversation?" He held up Ron's navy blue tie which he must have found on the ground. Crys grinned but Ron just blushed a deeper shade of red.
"Stop it, you two." Crys laughed, "I think if you keep going on he might explode." Ron playfully glared at her.
"It's late let's go." Hermione said.
The others nodded. As Herry and Hermione turned to leave and started to walk away Ron took advantage and zipped up the back of Crys' dress as quick as he could. They all walked back to Griffindor tower and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.
