Chapter 14 – Harry Gets a Date

About a week before the ball, Harry was all alone. Ron and Hermione had a Prefects' meeting, Ginny was somewhere with Dean, and Sophie was nowhere to be found. He ate his breakfast alone, thinking of what to do. Halloween was fast approaching. He needed to think of a date – and fast.

Who were his possible options? Hermione? Nah. She might flip it and/or freak out like when she rowed with Ron. Besides, she was most probably going with Ron anyway.

How about Ginny? She did fancy him two years ago…. She was also beginning to bloom; she was beginning to look less and less like her brothers and more like his mother when he saw her in Snape's memory…. Nah. She had a boyfriend now, and, like Hermione said, she didn't fancy him anymore, though she did like him in a friendly way.

Sophie? He barely knew the girl, but she was most probably his best option. She'd be friendly with him, and she most probably wouldn't mind if they didn't dance. If he went with her, they'd probably act as though they weren't each other's date.

Just as he was thinking of this, Ginny Weasley flopped down next to him, sighing heavily. She piled as much food as possible on her plate and glared at it. After a few moments, she forked a piece of bacon and stuffed it in her mouth.

"Hey, Gin. What's eating you?" said Harry.

"Dean."

"What happened?"

"We broke up."

"What? Why?"

"He two-timed me."

"With who?"

"Parvati."

"Oh."

Harry didn't know how to comfort Ginny. She didn't look depressed, though. She just looked pissed. She forked another piece of bacon and tried to swallow it whole. That resulted in her almost choking. Harry thumped her back as she tried to swallow the wretched piece of pork.

"Gee, Gin, if you wanna kill yourself, choking on bacon won't work. Trust me, I've tried," said Harry when Ginny stopped choking and gulped half a goblet of pumpkin juice.

"I'm sorry. I just can't think straight when I'm pissed."

"I hate to be thick, but why are you pissed?"

Ginny sighed. "Fred and George gave me a pile of gold to buy myself the best dress robes in Madam Malkin's. I bought something really pretty and when Dumbledore announced that there was going to be a ball, I got really excited. I already got stuff to make me look good. Of course, I expected Dean to be my date, but since we broke up, it's kinda obvious that he's not. He'll most probably go with Parvati. I'll have to go alone, unless Neville asks me again, and even if he did, I'd say no, seeing as he's a horrid dancer. I had to spend ages trying to cure my sore toes, for Heaven's sake!" She sighed once more, than looked at Harry with woeful eyes. "Why does this always happen to me?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find a date." He barely even thought about what he was going to say next; he hadn't anticipated asking Ginny to the ball. "If Ron won't kill me, I'd volunteer."

"What do you mean if Ron won't kill you?"

"Surely you've noticed that when a bloke goes near you, he goes bonkers!"

"I hate it when he does that! I'm not a little kid anymore! I'm fifteen for Merlin's sake!"

"Listen, if I get his consent, I'll take you. That is, of course, if you want me to." He looked at her, feeling quite stupid for making decisions without her approval yet.

"Sure, Harry! Trust me, you won't need Ron's consent. You're his best mate! I'm sure he won't kill you."

"Yeah, but I'll still feel better if I asked him."

"Alright, have it your way then."

Harry's insides were bursting with relief. He finally had a date! Sure, he did have to get Ron's consent first, but he was sure that Ron wouldn't mind. Ron would like him more than Dean, especially if he found out that Dean had two-timed Ginny. Just then, Sophie sat on Harry's other side.

"Where have you been, Miss Volkova?" said Harry.

"Well, Mr. Potter, I was busy reconciling with Alexander," she replied, smiling slightly. She piled a horrendous amount of food on her plate. "Where are Miss Granger and Mr. Ronald Weasley? I should have left his first name out, though, seeing as he's the only male Weasley left."

"Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley are at a Prefects' meeting. I suppose they're deciding the places where they're supposed to do rounds."

"I suppose they chose the broom closet."

"No, I think Alyssa and Ryan already chose that one, and you know Heads get the best snogging places," said Ginny, joining in. She giggled. Sophie smiled and a small laugh escaped from her lips. She, however, did not giggle like Ginny did. Harry, however, did not at all comprehend the reason as to why this was funny. Just then, Ron and Hermione flopped down in front of them, looking thoroughly pissed.

"Alyssa Clearwater and Ryan Rodriguez are mental!" said Ron.

"What happened?" asked Harry, helping himself to some more food, seeing as a very disgruntled Ron meant more competition when it came to food.

"They're making all the Prefects patrol the entire castle while they don't patrol anywhere at all!" said Hermione who was practically shaking due to the injustice. Harry began to wolf down his bacon, just in case she ended up upending the table.

"Since we are the Heads," said Ron in a high-pitched voice that Harry assumed was supposed to be mimicry of Alyssa Clearwater's, "we have the privilege of delegating less enjoyable tasks."

"She sounds just like Snape," said Harry, remembering when Snape spoke to him the previous Christmas.

"All they do is snog every five minutes! Honestly, that's totally outrageous. They don't even help with the planning of the Halloween ball, and it's their job! Why on earth did Dumbledore leave us with such lousy excuses for Heads this year? The previous Heads were fine, and Percy and Penelope did well despite the fact that they were in a relationship! Why he gave us students like them when I'm sure there are others who would be more than willing to take the job is totally beyond my comprehension." Hermione looked as though she was going to explode as she said this, barely stopping for air.

"Well, I guess we'll have to grin and bear it." Ron sighed. "Look at it this way. We've met bigger gits. Rita Skeeter was definitely more annoying. And just last year, we had Umbridge. There's also Snape, and he's been a greasy git ever since we stepped into Hogwarts."

Hermione sighed. "I guess you're right. But you have to admit that it's pretty infuriating."

Katie Bell, who was sitting right next to them, joined the conversation. "Alyssa and Ryan may be quite infuriating, but they got the best grades in our year. Besides, there was nobody else fit for the job. I can't judge; not a Prefect, never will be, but I reckon they'll grow out of it. After a while, snogging each other senseless loses its novelty, and that's when the relationship is tested. If they really love each other, they won't break up when they get tired of kissing."

Hermione, who normally would've thought what Katie did was rather abrupt and rude, paused and thought of what Katie had said. "You're right," she said finally. "But I do hope they get tired of snogging soon. I don't think that I'll be able to do what I'm supposed to if they don't."

Ginny, however, was looking at Katie with what looked like rapt admiration. "How do you know all this?"

"Know what?"

"This."

Katie blushed; it was rather obvious that she knew because of experience, but Harry doubted that anyone was mean enough to point that out. "I dunno. I just do, I guess…" she said, trailing off.

Just then, an owl swooped down, narrowly missing Hermione's goblet of pumpkin juice. Harry thought he heard Katie say softly, "Oliver!" but perhaps he was imagining things, for it seemed that nobody else noticed – or cared, rather.

"I'd better go to the owlery," said Katie, slightly pink in the face.

"Yes, I ought to as well," said Ginny. "Mum wrote me last night. I'd better write back or she might think some sort of freakish thing like an accident happened to me. You know how she is, ever since…yeah…"

The two girls got up and left. Ron and Hermione were now less pissed and began to eat peacefully.

"Katie's going out with Oliver Wood," said Sophie, who was done with her food and began watching them eat, as though watching a mildly amusing television program, and very much not unlike Luna Lovegood.

"How'd you know?" asked Harry, who was almost done.

"I saw a bit of the letter. It seems that he's Keeper for Puddlemere United. Am I correct?"

"Yeah. He said so when we met at the Quidditch World Cup two summers ago."

"I suddenly regret not going. My cousin in Beauxbatons said it was great. Ireland won, but Bulgaria's Seeker got the Snitch, if I am not mistaken."

"Yeah. Vicky got the Snitch," said Ron, putting emphasis on Vicky.

"Shut up, Ron," said Hermione.

"Ooooh. What happened that I should know?" Sophie asked Harry, who laughed.

"I'll tell you later."

After breakfast, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Sophie headed for the dungeons, where they were going to spend a double period under Severus Snape's overtly large and greasy nose.

"Go ahead, I'll just tie my shoe," said Sophie, when Harry waited for her at the top stair leading to the dungeon entrance. Harry ran a bit to catch up with Ron and Hermione, who were almost inside.

When they entered the dungeons, Malfoy, yet again, made a beeline for them. "Hey Potty, Weasel, I heard that Katie Bell's your new Quidditch Captain. I do hope Gryffindor hasn't run out of people to feel sorry for. She should put Longbottom; he's got no brains. She should also put your sister, Weasel, you guys probably had to starve to get new books. Oh, and," he turned to Hermione, "I reckon filthy little Mudbloods should be made part of the team."

It took the full strength of Harry and Hermione to keep Ron from murdering Malfoy, who was laughing loudly with the other Slytherins. Pansy Parkinson gave a high-pitched little shriek, which was, in Harry's opinion, a pathetic excuse for a laugh. Just then, all the laughing stopped. Harry thought Professor Snape had entered the dungeon, but then, he realized, Slytherins didn't fall silent when Snape entered the room; it was deathly quiet, and Harry saw a patch of black in the corner of his eye. He turned slowly…

…and saw Sophie, giving him a look that plainly said, 'boy, you are weird!'

Harry could have laughed out loud due to relief.

"What's going on here?" asked Sophie, who looked at all the Slytherins, who looked as though they all dreaded the prospect of turning into ferrets if they were within one foot of her. Just then, behind them, Snape entered the classroom.

"Settle down, settle down. Miss Volkova," he looked at her with utmost dislike; Harry remembered that Sophie's mother was a good friend of the Marauders. "Please take your seat. Potter," Snape gave Harry his usual look of contempt (it was seriously starting to get old), "go along with her."

Harry and Sophie sat with Ron and Hermione on the farthest table from Snape.

"Good morning," said Snape in his deathly soft voice. "This is our first N.E.W.T. class. I assure all of you that I will be grading every potion and essay as though I am a N.E.W.T. examiner. Therefore, all of you should hand in no mediocre work. I can tell whether essays were done just five minutes ago or three days' prior to the submission date." He looked at Neville, who gulped.

"I also expect even the slightest improvement in your potion-brewing skills; I will not accept flagons or vials which are filled with potions that are below average." He looked at Ron and Harry.

"Or, he will not accept flagons or vials that are filled with potions handled by students that he loathes," said Sophie out of the corner of her mouth.

"Did you want to say something, Miss Volkova?"

"No, sir."

"Then why were you speaking out of turn?"

"I was merely asking Harry if he had Spellotape so that I can mend my book after class, sir."

"Then why ask him now if you plan on mending it after class?"

"So that I wouldn't have to worry about fishing it out of his bag after class. But he doesn't have Spellotape, so I guess we should proceed with the lesson, sir."

Snape looked as though he wanted to take away a hundred points from Gryffindor for Sophie's getting away with her side comment, but he just took a deep breath and went to the board.

"Today," he had his eyes on Sophie, who stared unblinkingly back, "we shall be making Veritaserum, or Truth Serum. Who knows what the key ingredients to making Veritaserum are?" Hermione raised her hand. As always, Snape didn't call on her. Harry even wondered why she bothered raising her hand; it was obvious that Snape would rather drown himself in his cauldron than call on Hermione. "No one?"

"C'mon Sophie," Harry said urgently, "raise your hand. It won't hurt."

"Harry, it's totally against my principles."

"Please do it, before Snape finds an excuse to take away fifty points per student in Gryffindor."

Sophie swallowed hard. Really, really hard. She looked like a person with fear of heights that was on the edge of a fifty-foot cliff. Slowly, she raised her trembling hand; first at eye's view, then a little higher.

"Higher, Sophie! Don't be such a drama queen."

She raised her hand high, and Snape looked absolutely appalled. "Miss Granger?" he called out. As Hermione stood and began to speak, Sophie put down her hand with a look of utmost relief.

"Drama queen," Harry teased Sophie. She poked his side before they turned to listen to what Hermione was saying.

"Jobberknoll feathers are the most important ingredient in making Veritaserum," she began, speaking, like she always did, as though she swallowed the entire library. "When mixed with the right elements, even if in uneven proportions, the drinker will be revealing all that he or she has hidden. However, the right proportions of Hellebore, ground Bezoar, powdered Erumpent horns and Murtlap essence will give the Serum the right colorless, odorless and tasteless properties when mixed with other drinks. The right proportions of the ingredients will also make it impossible for the drinker to omit any truths, whereas uneven proportions of the ingredients may cause some truths to be omitted."

When Hermione was done, Snape waved his wand and all the ingredients were on the board.

"You have the procedure. You have an hour to prove whether or not all of you are worthy to be here in my N.E.W.T. class."

Harry thought that the potions Snape gave them the previous year were immensely difficult, but they were nothing compared to the Veritaserum, which was very complex and required superior potion-brewing skills.

At the end of the class, Harry corked a vial of his potion; he wasn't so confident, but he hoped that he would be able to scrape a pass. Sure, his potion didn't have the consistency of Hermione's or Sophie's, but he was glad that at least it wasn't like Goyle's, which had the consistency and color of Troll bogies.

After Double Potions, they had Charms, History of Magic (Luckily it wasn't a double period; Harry and Ron were running out of parchment to play hangman on, and Sophie was drooling unattractively on the desk which served as a pillow for her head), and then they proceeded to Transfiguration.

"Good morning," said Professor McGonagall in her typical strict manner, "and welcome to N.E.W.T. Transfiguration. Based on your O.W.L. results, you are all capable of coping in this class. I will, however, be giving you tasks not as easy as the ones in your previous years. You have been warned."

The day's lesson was Conjuring spells. They were supposed to start small, making small fruits appear. However, Harry was very much incapable of conjuring anything. He only produced what looked like dried Doxy dung (he later learned it was supposed to be an apple seed). At the end of the class, only one quarter managed to conjure grapefruit, apple, kiwi, orange or (in some cases) cherry quarters, and only Hermione was able to conjure a fruit basket. Sophie, who could have produced a truckload full of fruits, said she didn't want to prove anything.

"I don't need to prove that I can conjure it; I already know I can," she said, peeling the banana she conjured in five seconds flat.

A few minutes before the period ended, Professor McGonagall collected what the class was able to produce, and announced something before they left.

"Before you go, I have an announcement regarding your Halloween ball," she said, looking at them, making sure they were listening. Harry and Ron, who were playing hangman, stopped to pay attention, knowing that if they didn't, they would get detention.

"The Head Boy and Girl decided to make it a masquerade ball. A masquerade ball is a type of Muggle ball wherein masks are worn so that nobody knows who is who. However, you may want to inform your dates ahead of time, because they might end up dancing with the wrong person."

After a few more notes regarding the ball (dress robes will still be worn, etc.), they were dismissed, and it was time for lunch.

"Hey, Ron," said Harry, as they sat down to eat. He thought it was best that he ask for Ron's consent now.

"Yeah?"

"Can I take Ginny to the ball?"

"Sure."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"You're not kidding?"

"Why would I be?"

"Well," Harry racked his brains for the right words; he didn't want to sound tactless, "every time a bloke goes near your sister, you freak out."

"But you're not just any bloke. You're my best mate, mate. And besides, you don't fancy her and she doesn't fancy you. So you'll just be going as friends."

"Er, right." It was true. He didn't fancy Ginny… did he?

Hermione gave him a "yeah-sure-you-don't-fancy-her-but-don't-come-running-to-me-when-you-need-advice" look. Sophie, however, seemed to want to say something, but every time she looked like she was going to talk, she stuffed her mouth with food, as if to pacify herself. Just then, Ginny sat next to Harry and began to put food on her plate.

"Hey, Gin. Ron said we can go to the ball together," Harry said.

"Great! But I think we should meet each other in the Common Room before going to the ball so that we can put on our masks together."

"Er, okay." Harry didn't know what was happening to him. When Ginny said yes and smiled, he got lost in her aura. He felt stupid because before, he never realized how beautiful she was when she smiled. Or was it just because she was blooming now, and wasn't the same Ginny he knew way back then?

Just then, Sophie stood abruptly. She had a look of what looked like rage, remorse and bewilderment all at the same time.

"Where're you going?" asked Ron thickly, through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"I'm talking to Professor Dumbledore. I… yeah…. Oh and Harry," she said, turning to Harry, "we have an Occlumency session tonight." She left, and Harry felt that odd, cold sensation he felt when Sophie and Alexander were fighting.

"Er, is something eating her?" Harry asked Hermione, wondering if all girls had this weird body language.

"I something wrong with her to begin with? I think she's just fine," said Hermione.

"Yeah, Harry. Why'd you think something was wrong with her?" asked Ginny.

"Oh, nothing," he said, but he was unaware of what he was saying; it was only now that he realized how beautiful Ginny's hazel eyes were.

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The weeks passed by, and pretty soon, it was a week before Halloween. It was also a Hogsmeade weekend. Harry was going with Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Sophie to the village so that they could buy (in Harry, Ginny and Hermione's case) robes and masks.

"Behave, Alexander," Sophie told her little brother, who was dying to visit the village. "You'll be able to go in two years. And really, it's nothing much."

"Alright," said the eleven-year-old sulkily, "but you better bring me back a ton of Honeydukes chocolate."

"I will," said Sophie, laughing.

The five teenagers made their way to the village. Their first stop was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, which had displays of masks for the upcoming ball. While Ron and Sophie were looking at masks, Harry, Hermione and Ginny were looking at dress robes.

"How about this one?" asked Hermione, holding a canary-yellow one.

"No," said Ginny. "You look like a chaser on the Hufflepuff team.

"What about me?" Harry asked, feeling very much lost. Ginny and Hermione already looked through about seventy dress robes and vetoed each one. Harry, on the other hand, didn't even know what color of robes to look for.

"I told you, Harry, get something that's a nice green. You know, like the one that you had during the Triwizard," said Ginny. She held up silver dress robes.

"You think this'll look alright on me?" she asked Hermione.

"No. Silver's not really a flattering color."

Harry wondered when Hermione took notice of these things. She rarely seemed like the type to think about which colors were flattering or not, and which robes made one look stunning. Was he as dense as Ron was, in assuming that she was not as feminine as the rest of the Hogwarts female population? He shook himself mentally and turned to Hermione.

"So, what color do you think I should get, Hermione?"

"It doesn't really matter, Harry. All the colors suit you. However, I'd suggest green. It brings out your eyes."

"I already told you, I want something different this year. I already wore green last time."

"Y'know, mate, if you really can't decide, why don't you wear your old ones? That'd make you stand out," said Ron, being his usual unhelpful self.

"Ha, ha," said Harry bleakly.

"How about this one?" Ginny asked Hermione, holding up violet dress robes.

"Wait, Gin," said Harry, suddenly remembering something. "I thought you already had robes?"

"Oh yeah! I wasted my entire time here! So I guess what I'll be wearing will be a secret," Ginny said, bursting into giggles. She was then joined by Hermione. Harry wondered when Ginny and Hermione became giggly. Both of them rarely giggled. He sighed and turned to Sophie, a girl he never heard giggle, who, at the moment, was choosing masks, and seemed like she was deliberately excluding herself from the conversation surrounding her.

"So what color do you think I should get, Sophie?"

"I don't know," said Sophie, who was concentrating on a gold mask she held, and sounding determinedly unconcerned. She looked at him coldly. "Green brings out your eyes, though," she said, before turning back to the masks.

"Fine, fine, fine, I'll get green then! You all win!"

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A/N: First and foremost, I am SO SORRY I neglected this fic, I've just been really, really busy lately. Summer's here, so I'm busy with voice lessons, and stuff like that.

I think I might delete this if no one reviews… and it's not a threat. I just think that all this thinking of a plot is completely pointless, seeing as no one reviews anymore. So, if I don't get reviews, I'm deleting this story.

If I do decide to continue this, the next chapter will be the ball. No, you will not find out why Sophie seems distant towards Harry – that is, if you haven't figured it out yet.

So, I guess it's 'til here, then. Review if you want more, don't if you want it deleted. I'm easy enough to talk to. I can take a hint.

Kristie.