Harry was rather confused after his detention with Ginny. He was supposed
to be in love with Cho, yet why did he feel so strongly about his georgous
redheaded friend? Ginny had completely ignored him the days following their
detention, which had upset Harry. They had always been such good friends
and he had blown it with one stupid mistake. He asked himself over and over
why he did kiss her, but he found that he didn't even know himself.
Harry spent the days following their detention alone. Ginny didn't want anything to do with him and Harry found that he missed her company more than anyone else's. But as much as he wanted to talk to her and explain his actions, he never did. He was too afraid that Cho would find out, or Ginny would reject him.
Setting his troubled thoughts aside for a moment, Harry continued up to his dorm, it was late on sunday night, homework was due the next day, but it would have to wait. He climbed into bed and pulled his quilt up over his head. Ginny. He said her name out loud to himself in the darkness. What did he actually feel towards her?
The next day Cho met him down in the Great hall (Cho had been away during the weekend due to family commitments) and reminded Harry of the Halloween ball- now just a week away. To Cho it was everything, although Harry could think of better things to do. He usually loved balls and parties, but his mind was wondering back to last friday night...That night.
Cho was the chief organiser this year, and apparently everything was going to wonderful. Silver and burgundy streamers, 12 etremely large pumpkin chanderliers, multicoloured velvet runners, 26 extra leather couches, a new enchanted mirrorlit dance floor, plus every kind of trick or treat ever invented.
Harry decided firmly to himself that he would kiss Cho when everyone left their table. It would be the first time he'd kiss his girlfriend since he had kissed Ginny. He wanted to kiss Cho not because he really wanted to, but to try to prove to himself that Cho was all he needed, and kissing her would also get his mind off Ginny. Well, it usually did.
"So how was your weekend Cho?" Harry asked.
"Alright. But I'm so glad I'm back here with you now, my family can be a pain in the arse at times." Cho answered. Harry thought that he had better not ask her anymore questions. He leaned over and gently kissed her. Cho responded by kissing him back.
"I've missed you." She murmered to him.
"Missed you too, babe," Harry told her, although he knew that was a lie. If the brutal truth be told, he had hardly realised Cho had been away until she'd gotten back this morning.
****
The days passed by quickly and they were fast approaching the Ball. Cho was very busy with preperations, and so she hardly had any time for Harry. Ginny avoided Harry like the plague and Ron and Hermione had no time for anyone but each other, so absorbed in each other's lips that they barely even came up for air the whole week leading up to the Ball.
Then the morning of the Halloween Ball dawned. School was cancelled that day, which gave students time to complete their costumes and prepare for the big night. It was the Slytherins' turn to help set up the Great Hall this time. Last time it had been Gryffindor for the Yule Ball and Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Harry had been run off their feet all morning, moving- in various pieces of furniture and putting up thousands of streamers with their wands. But now they didn't have to worry, and Harry even got a little pleasure from watching Crabbe and Goyle fail miserably while trying to perform simple "Wingardium Leviosa" spells. The two dumbass's even managed to set alight one of the fifty-foot long silver streamers with their faulty wands.
Harry didn't see any of his friends until the evening. All of a sudden everyone burst into Gryffindor Tower, chatting and squealing in excitement. Hermione came in through the Portrait Hole with Ron. She was carrying a long package wrapped in moroon velvet.
"This is for you, Harry. It's your costume from Cho. You'll like it, it's really great," She told him excitedly. She handed Harry the package and hurried off with Ron. Harry was about to open it when he saw Ginny walk into the Common Room. She was talking with Dean Thomas, her date for the Ball. Something sparked inside Harry, and he realised then that he didn't like that bloody Dean Thomas. He narrowed his eyes at him and watched the couple stroll past him without a glance in his direction.
Harry noticed that Ginny was making a big show of looking everywhere in the Common Room but where he was seated. He grinned to himself. Well, at least she knows I'm alive, he thought to himself. Then he remembered the costume and walked up the steps to the boys dorm. Once in, he was greeted by a racket of bellowing, excited boys changing hurriedly into their costumes and telling each other how much hotter their date was to everyone elses.
Harry went to his bed and unwrapped his costume. He put it on. Cho had done a great job of it. The costume was of Sir Lancelot, and it was as authentic as if it had been taken from a book. Soft deerskin under-tunic was covered by a tunic of long-sleeved chain-mail. Over that was a white, red and blue sleeveless tunic. This was belted at the waist by a large leather belt bearing the symbol of Camelot. Soft leather gloves met the chain mail at his wrists and he wore rather tight swede breaches with his knee-high leather Pegasus boots. All this was topped off rather impressively with an authentic sword which he strapped to his belt. He knew he looked good, and the other boys glared at him in jealousy.
He was just strolling out the door, feeling a heck of a good deal better when a sudden thought struck him suddenly. Who was it who was Lancelot's lover again? Guinevere, wasn't it? Oh, thank God. But.......wasn't Elaine in love with him too? Elaine......The Lady of Shalott......Ginny.
Shit.
****
"Harry! You look gorgeous!" Cho bounded up to him after waiting for him at the stairs. "I knew that you'd look incredible in Lancelot's costume! You look positively sexy!" She grinned at him. Cho was dressed as an Empress. She wore the authentic Chinese Princess outfit, with red embroidered silk and her hair up in complicated twists. Harry gave her an appreciative look.
"You don't look bad yourself, Cho." Harry told her. She smiled at him and took his arm, leading him down to the Great Hall.
"I don't know what everyone will think of the decorations and the food, but I hope they like them. Oh, I'm SO nervous Harry! What if everything goes wrong!?" Cho sounded a little shaky, but he reassured her that it would be the best Ball ever.
Even as they entered the beautifully decorated Hall, nothing could have prepared Harry for what he was about to see. He was amazed! He had not been down in the Great Hall since that morning. All of the Pumpkin chanderliers were up, and glittering streamers were hanging from each, some reached the ground, others seemed to be hanging from the invisable ceiling. Huge balloons were set against the walls which changed colour gradually. The moroon and silver streamers were draped all over the walls and tables (which were laden with huge plates of steaming hot food) and there was a huge dancefloor in the middle of the room for the dancers.
"Cho, you've done a fantastic job! I don't know what you were worried about, this is awsome!" Harry exclaimed to her. She smiled at him and he placed an arm around her waist and led her to the rest couches. They sat down and snuggled up together. They watched the Fancy-dressed people pour through the doors and picked out the best ones together. Malfoy came strolling smoothly in with Parvati Patil on his arm. Parvati was dressed as a Harem Girl. Colourful beads and jewellery hung from various parts around her over exposed, slightly silk-clad body. Malfoy was dressed all in black, (nothing unusual) with a hood shadowing his face and he walked past them, giving Harry a glare and Cho a smirk. Cho thought that he looked rather sexy in his alluring Dementor costume, and so Harry paid her back by telling her that Parvati Patil looked pretty hot in her Middle-Eastern costume. She whacked him on the head with a trick-or-treat wand and red stars came shooting out.
"Watch it, Cho! You almost blew my head off! And besides, I was joking! I'm not looking at anyone but you tonight." He leant over and gave her a quick kiss. Suddenly, his eyes were drawn away from his girlfriend by a flash of white and red. It was Ginny.
He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life. She was dressed in a flowing, pure white dress, the bell sleeves almost reaching the ground. She wore a woven gold belt around her hips and the white skirt of her robe swayed about her. The bodice of the dress was modest, and yet revealing at the same time, for it hung just below her shoulders. The silky fabric almost molded onto the contours of her body. Her hair was at its most glorious. It was long and rich red, and falling to her waist in lucious curls around her shoulders and down her back. Encircling her head she wore a single thin gold band, almost like a crown. Or was it a halo? Harry wasn't sure which suited her better. Harry knew that she was a perfect Elaine. The most beautiful Lady of Shalott, and he was her Lancelot.
Harry shook himself, cursing his mind of it's inability to stay focused on Cho. He knew he should not be thinking like this. He tore his eyes away from the gorgeous figure of Ginny and turned back to his girlfriend. She was chatting away to one of her 7th Grade friends. Hermione and Ron joined them soon after. Hermione appeared to be Cleopatra and Ron, Marc Antony, A perfect couple!
Just then, Lucius swept in, and a hush settled on every person gathered in the Great Hall. Harry turned back to the entrance, (glad to see that Ginny had left it) and watched the eldest Malfoy. He, like his son, was dressed in black. But he was certainly not in costume. It was what he always wore, along with his heavy black cloak. Like usual, he had his snake head cane in his right hand, and was wearing a disgusted expression. Lucius Malfoy strode through the crowd and sat himself down at the head of the Great Hall next to the other teachers.
Harry shrugged and turned back to Cho just as a tune struck up and couples began to walk out onto the dance floor.
"May I have this dance, Mi'lady?" Harry asked her formerly. She grinned and gave him her hand. They headed onto the Dancefloor and began to move to the fast beat of the music.
****
Ginny glared at Harry as he danced with that stupid girlfriend of his. Dean had already asked her to dance, but she had declined.
Suddenly, the back of her neck prickled. She whipped around in her seat and caught Draco staring at her. Her eyes widened in shock. What the hell? Draco didn't tear his gaze away from her even as she shot him a challenging look back. Ginny began to get uncomfortable under his thorough scrutiny and wriggled in her seat. Those smouldering eyes of Draco's.........
The song changed and became slower and more romantic. She turned her head away from Harry and Cho as they began to kiss slowly. She remembered the feeling of those hot lips on hers during detention and licked her own lips absent-mindedly. But then she remembered Harrys' reaction to it, and she closed her eyes in pain. His rejection was hurtful enough that it should have turned her away from him. It had, for a while. But she still loved him, and there was nothing she could do about it.
She glanced over at Malfoy. He was lounging lazily on the couch with Parvati on his lap. His hands were placed on her backside, and she was giggling like crazy. But his eyes weren't on Parvati. They were on her. Ginny glanced away and got up to grab some refreshments. Harry looked her way as she moved to the drinks table and she couldn't quite work out if the desire in his eyes was for his girlfriend or her. What is with males tonight? Ginny asked herself in annoyance. She couldn't help but feel a small tingle of delight at Harry's look, however, and she couldn't help but notice just how damned sexy he looked in his Lancelot outfit.
Harry, still watching Ginny, kissed Cho. Ginny narrowed her eyes. What was he playing at? Ginny sighed in exasperation. Bloody Harry. What was he trying to tell her? Or rather, show her?? Whatever it was, it was really pissing her off.
Ginny firmly refused Dean aother dance, and got up from her seat, her temper rising. She did NOT like being played with. Giving Harry one last murderous glare, she turned on her heel and left the Hall.
Harry's eyes followed her out.
Harry spent the days following their detention alone. Ginny didn't want anything to do with him and Harry found that he missed her company more than anyone else's. But as much as he wanted to talk to her and explain his actions, he never did. He was too afraid that Cho would find out, or Ginny would reject him.
Setting his troubled thoughts aside for a moment, Harry continued up to his dorm, it was late on sunday night, homework was due the next day, but it would have to wait. He climbed into bed and pulled his quilt up over his head. Ginny. He said her name out loud to himself in the darkness. What did he actually feel towards her?
The next day Cho met him down in the Great hall (Cho had been away during the weekend due to family commitments) and reminded Harry of the Halloween ball- now just a week away. To Cho it was everything, although Harry could think of better things to do. He usually loved balls and parties, but his mind was wondering back to last friday night...That night.
Cho was the chief organiser this year, and apparently everything was going to wonderful. Silver and burgundy streamers, 12 etremely large pumpkin chanderliers, multicoloured velvet runners, 26 extra leather couches, a new enchanted mirrorlit dance floor, plus every kind of trick or treat ever invented.
Harry decided firmly to himself that he would kiss Cho when everyone left their table. It would be the first time he'd kiss his girlfriend since he had kissed Ginny. He wanted to kiss Cho not because he really wanted to, but to try to prove to himself that Cho was all he needed, and kissing her would also get his mind off Ginny. Well, it usually did.
"So how was your weekend Cho?" Harry asked.
"Alright. But I'm so glad I'm back here with you now, my family can be a pain in the arse at times." Cho answered. Harry thought that he had better not ask her anymore questions. He leaned over and gently kissed her. Cho responded by kissing him back.
"I've missed you." She murmered to him.
"Missed you too, babe," Harry told her, although he knew that was a lie. If the brutal truth be told, he had hardly realised Cho had been away until she'd gotten back this morning.
****
The days passed by quickly and they were fast approaching the Ball. Cho was very busy with preperations, and so she hardly had any time for Harry. Ginny avoided Harry like the plague and Ron and Hermione had no time for anyone but each other, so absorbed in each other's lips that they barely even came up for air the whole week leading up to the Ball.
Then the morning of the Halloween Ball dawned. School was cancelled that day, which gave students time to complete their costumes and prepare for the big night. It was the Slytherins' turn to help set up the Great Hall this time. Last time it had been Gryffindor for the Yule Ball and Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Harry had been run off their feet all morning, moving- in various pieces of furniture and putting up thousands of streamers with their wands. But now they didn't have to worry, and Harry even got a little pleasure from watching Crabbe and Goyle fail miserably while trying to perform simple "Wingardium Leviosa" spells. The two dumbass's even managed to set alight one of the fifty-foot long silver streamers with their faulty wands.
Harry didn't see any of his friends until the evening. All of a sudden everyone burst into Gryffindor Tower, chatting and squealing in excitement. Hermione came in through the Portrait Hole with Ron. She was carrying a long package wrapped in moroon velvet.
"This is for you, Harry. It's your costume from Cho. You'll like it, it's really great," She told him excitedly. She handed Harry the package and hurried off with Ron. Harry was about to open it when he saw Ginny walk into the Common Room. She was talking with Dean Thomas, her date for the Ball. Something sparked inside Harry, and he realised then that he didn't like that bloody Dean Thomas. He narrowed his eyes at him and watched the couple stroll past him without a glance in his direction.
Harry noticed that Ginny was making a big show of looking everywhere in the Common Room but where he was seated. He grinned to himself. Well, at least she knows I'm alive, he thought to himself. Then he remembered the costume and walked up the steps to the boys dorm. Once in, he was greeted by a racket of bellowing, excited boys changing hurriedly into their costumes and telling each other how much hotter their date was to everyone elses.
Harry went to his bed and unwrapped his costume. He put it on. Cho had done a great job of it. The costume was of Sir Lancelot, and it was as authentic as if it had been taken from a book. Soft deerskin under-tunic was covered by a tunic of long-sleeved chain-mail. Over that was a white, red and blue sleeveless tunic. This was belted at the waist by a large leather belt bearing the symbol of Camelot. Soft leather gloves met the chain mail at his wrists and he wore rather tight swede breaches with his knee-high leather Pegasus boots. All this was topped off rather impressively with an authentic sword which he strapped to his belt. He knew he looked good, and the other boys glared at him in jealousy.
He was just strolling out the door, feeling a heck of a good deal better when a sudden thought struck him suddenly. Who was it who was Lancelot's lover again? Guinevere, wasn't it? Oh, thank God. But.......wasn't Elaine in love with him too? Elaine......The Lady of Shalott......Ginny.
Shit.
****
"Harry! You look gorgeous!" Cho bounded up to him after waiting for him at the stairs. "I knew that you'd look incredible in Lancelot's costume! You look positively sexy!" She grinned at him. Cho was dressed as an Empress. She wore the authentic Chinese Princess outfit, with red embroidered silk and her hair up in complicated twists. Harry gave her an appreciative look.
"You don't look bad yourself, Cho." Harry told her. She smiled at him and took his arm, leading him down to the Great Hall.
"I don't know what everyone will think of the decorations and the food, but I hope they like them. Oh, I'm SO nervous Harry! What if everything goes wrong!?" Cho sounded a little shaky, but he reassured her that it would be the best Ball ever.
Even as they entered the beautifully decorated Hall, nothing could have prepared Harry for what he was about to see. He was amazed! He had not been down in the Great Hall since that morning. All of the Pumpkin chanderliers were up, and glittering streamers were hanging from each, some reached the ground, others seemed to be hanging from the invisable ceiling. Huge balloons were set against the walls which changed colour gradually. The moroon and silver streamers were draped all over the walls and tables (which were laden with huge plates of steaming hot food) and there was a huge dancefloor in the middle of the room for the dancers.
"Cho, you've done a fantastic job! I don't know what you were worried about, this is awsome!" Harry exclaimed to her. She smiled at him and he placed an arm around her waist and led her to the rest couches. They sat down and snuggled up together. They watched the Fancy-dressed people pour through the doors and picked out the best ones together. Malfoy came strolling smoothly in with Parvati Patil on his arm. Parvati was dressed as a Harem Girl. Colourful beads and jewellery hung from various parts around her over exposed, slightly silk-clad body. Malfoy was dressed all in black, (nothing unusual) with a hood shadowing his face and he walked past them, giving Harry a glare and Cho a smirk. Cho thought that he looked rather sexy in his alluring Dementor costume, and so Harry paid her back by telling her that Parvati Patil looked pretty hot in her Middle-Eastern costume. She whacked him on the head with a trick-or-treat wand and red stars came shooting out.
"Watch it, Cho! You almost blew my head off! And besides, I was joking! I'm not looking at anyone but you tonight." He leant over and gave her a quick kiss. Suddenly, his eyes were drawn away from his girlfriend by a flash of white and red. It was Ginny.
He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life. She was dressed in a flowing, pure white dress, the bell sleeves almost reaching the ground. She wore a woven gold belt around her hips and the white skirt of her robe swayed about her. The bodice of the dress was modest, and yet revealing at the same time, for it hung just below her shoulders. The silky fabric almost molded onto the contours of her body. Her hair was at its most glorious. It was long and rich red, and falling to her waist in lucious curls around her shoulders and down her back. Encircling her head she wore a single thin gold band, almost like a crown. Or was it a halo? Harry wasn't sure which suited her better. Harry knew that she was a perfect Elaine. The most beautiful Lady of Shalott, and he was her Lancelot.
Harry shook himself, cursing his mind of it's inability to stay focused on Cho. He knew he should not be thinking like this. He tore his eyes away from the gorgeous figure of Ginny and turned back to his girlfriend. She was chatting away to one of her 7th Grade friends. Hermione and Ron joined them soon after. Hermione appeared to be Cleopatra and Ron, Marc Antony, A perfect couple!
Just then, Lucius swept in, and a hush settled on every person gathered in the Great Hall. Harry turned back to the entrance, (glad to see that Ginny had left it) and watched the eldest Malfoy. He, like his son, was dressed in black. But he was certainly not in costume. It was what he always wore, along with his heavy black cloak. Like usual, he had his snake head cane in his right hand, and was wearing a disgusted expression. Lucius Malfoy strode through the crowd and sat himself down at the head of the Great Hall next to the other teachers.
Harry shrugged and turned back to Cho just as a tune struck up and couples began to walk out onto the dance floor.
"May I have this dance, Mi'lady?" Harry asked her formerly. She grinned and gave him her hand. They headed onto the Dancefloor and began to move to the fast beat of the music.
****
Ginny glared at Harry as he danced with that stupid girlfriend of his. Dean had already asked her to dance, but she had declined.
Suddenly, the back of her neck prickled. She whipped around in her seat and caught Draco staring at her. Her eyes widened in shock. What the hell? Draco didn't tear his gaze away from her even as she shot him a challenging look back. Ginny began to get uncomfortable under his thorough scrutiny and wriggled in her seat. Those smouldering eyes of Draco's.........
The song changed and became slower and more romantic. She turned her head away from Harry and Cho as they began to kiss slowly. She remembered the feeling of those hot lips on hers during detention and licked her own lips absent-mindedly. But then she remembered Harrys' reaction to it, and she closed her eyes in pain. His rejection was hurtful enough that it should have turned her away from him. It had, for a while. But she still loved him, and there was nothing she could do about it.
She glanced over at Malfoy. He was lounging lazily on the couch with Parvati on his lap. His hands were placed on her backside, and she was giggling like crazy. But his eyes weren't on Parvati. They were on her. Ginny glanced away and got up to grab some refreshments. Harry looked her way as she moved to the drinks table and she couldn't quite work out if the desire in his eyes was for his girlfriend or her. What is with males tonight? Ginny asked herself in annoyance. She couldn't help but feel a small tingle of delight at Harry's look, however, and she couldn't help but notice just how damned sexy he looked in his Lancelot outfit.
Harry, still watching Ginny, kissed Cho. Ginny narrowed her eyes. What was he playing at? Ginny sighed in exasperation. Bloody Harry. What was he trying to tell her? Or rather, show her?? Whatever it was, it was really pissing her off.
Ginny firmly refused Dean aother dance, and got up from her seat, her temper rising. She did NOT like being played with. Giving Harry one last murderous glare, she turned on her heel and left the Hall.
Harry's eyes followed her out.