Disclaimer: Yada yada.
Chapter Six
A New Friend
She was just walking through the entrance door when she heard a shrill voice shouting from the kitchen. The sound of a phone receiver being hung up reached her ears. Her heart sank and her stomach twisted. She knew what was coming.
"Girl! Get your disgusting, lazy ass in here now!" the voice bellowed.
She reluctantly followed the voice into the dingy kitchen, finding her guardian leaning against the counter lighting a cigarette, an almost empty bottle of whiskey beside her. The woman's livid face wrinkled into a nasty grimace at the sight of the girl, as if the most foul-smelling thing was in the room, and it wasn't the burning cigarette she had placed between her lips.
"What the hell did you pull today?" the woman yelled; strings of smoke escaped through her nostrils, giving her the impression of an angry bull.
Sai hesitated. She wasn't quite sure how to put it. That day at school she had refused to follow her teacher's orders to lick the tuna fish the woman accidentally let fallen out of her sandwich off the floor. As punishment Sai was forced into a good beating with a ruler and three hours of detention after school. Her detention was to clean the entire classroom floor with a toothbrush while her teacher, a grumpy middle-aged woman, sat at her desk chatting away to her love interest on the telephone. Infuriated, Sai had somehow made the phone cord snake around her teacher's neck without being anywhere near it. After twenty seconds of choking, the teacher finally managed to pry the telephone cord off of her and began shrieking her head off at Sai. Sai wasn't sure what had happened, or how she made it happen, but this wasn't the first time strange things had occurred when she was angry or scared.
Sai was fumbling for the right words when her guardian suddenly grabbed her wrist and yanked her toward her.
"You ugly, repulsive piece of shit! You're nothing but embarrassing, sneaky filth! Always causing trouble!" She hit her hard on the cheek.
Sai's head turned sharply with the force of the blow.
"I told you not to pull anything like that again!" the woman screamed through her lips, which held the cigarette. She pulled Sai into a headlock and grabbed her by the hair to lift her head to face her. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
"I-I didn't mean to!" Sai wailed, wincing at the sudden jerk of her head.
"Liar! You did it on purpose! You're a liar! And a whore!" She let go of Sai and began shoving her shoulders. She then struck her across the face for the second time that night. Then, grabbing her shoulders again, she kneed her right in the stomach.
Sai groaned in pain as she sank to the cold kitchen floor and curled up into a ball, coughing up blood.
"Get up, girl! You're getting your filthy blood on my floor! You're going to clean that up right after I'm through with you! I said get up, you bitch!" The woman grabbed Sai by the wrist again and yanked her hard to her unsteady feet. She kept a tight, firm grip on her wrist and with her other hand she removed the cigarette from her mouth and drove the burning end of it into the palm of the girl's hand.
Sai let out an agonizing scream that filled the entire house. It pierced through the air, and rang in her own ears as the cigarette seared her flesh.
Sai bolted up from her sleep screaming vociferously, tears streaming down her face, her heart racing as if to jump through her chest.
The girls in the dormitory woke with a start and immediately turned to face Sai, who had stopped screaming but was now hyperventilating.
Hermione came rushing in from the prefects' dormitory, wand in hand.
"Omigosh, Sai!" she exclaimed, rushing over to Sai in a heartbeat. "Are you all right?"
Lavender and Parvati jumped out of their beds and joined Hermione in asking the same question. Soon the three were huddling around Sai, each with worried faces. The rest of the girls watched in both curiosity and fright.
Sai continued to breathe sharply in short, rasping gasps.
"I—I can't—I can't breathe!" she managed to get out.
"I'm getting Professor McGonagall," said Hermione, getting up for the door.
"No!" Sai grabbed Hermione's sleeve. "No, I think—I think I'm fine now," she said, her breathing slowly returning to norm.
"Okay," Hermione said hesitantly, sitting down on the bed by Sai, her eyes wide with concern. "What happened?"
"It—It was just a bad dream…" said Sai. But all of a sudden she felt extremely sick to her stomach and was rapidly getting hot in the face, instantly starting to sweat profusely. She was feeling a little dizzy when she leaned over the side of her mattress and vomited.
"S-Sai!" cried Parvati. Some of the other girls winced and gave looks of pure disgust, grimacing.
Sai gave an awful groan.
"Sai, are you ill?" Lavender asked anxiously.
"No," Sai grunted, "I'm fine…."
"No, you're not," said Hermione firmly. "You are ill, and you're going to Madam Pomfrey right away. You're not well enough to just miss classes by staying in the dormitory. You need a nurse and the extra attention! You have to go see her!"
"Nooo…."
"You're going. End of discussion." Hermione looked at the clock. "It's almost time for breakfast. Do you want me to walk you to the hospital wing now?"
Sai shook her head.
"No, I think I'll manage. Thanks," Sai managed to say, moaning.
Hermione looked at Sai questioningly, but decided not to argue. Sai was already giving in to seeing Madam Pomfrey, she was not about to give in to anything else, and Hermione could see that. She nodded.
"All right," she said, and got up. "Scourgify," she said, waving her wand. In an instant the vomit vanished into thin air.Then she announced to all the girls that the show was over. "There's nothing to see! Off with you!"
She then left to return to the prefects' dormitory and the girls got dressed into their robes. A few minutes later they headed out to the Great Hall for breakfast, leaving Sai to sit in her bed a bit longer, still feeling incredibly sick to her stomach. She finally decided to stand up, but found that was a bad idea, for she fell on the floor because she felt so dizzy and weak. The room swirled around her before her eyes as she felt like throwing up again. But she didn't. She was still sweating though, and her face burned like coals. Slowly, she managed to get on all fours and stand up, and, wobbling ceaselessly, she somehow succeeded in changing into her robes, just in case she was feeling better later in the day to go to classes.
She had to hold onto the wall while fumbling down the stairs and into the common room, and continued to lean her hand on the wall in the corridors for support. About halfway to the hospital wing, she found herself lost in a remote passageway she didn't recognize.
Just great, she thought. Suddenly she heard a voice. It was calling her name. It grew louder and louder as if the source of it was coming closer and closer…and then it laughed…a high pitched laugh so horrible and loud, Sai had to cover her ears. She was screaming again. While she screamed her vision became very blurry, and she could just make out a figure in the distance, straight ahead of her at the end of the corridor. The figure called her name, rapidly advancing toward her, and Sai only responded with another shattering scream.
Soon Harry was holding Sai by the elbows as she sank slowly to the floor, crying and appearing to be delusional, for she was yelling "Stop it! Stop it!" at the top of her lungs, brandishing her arms as if someone were attacking her.
"Sai!" Harry shouted. "Sai! It's me, Harry!" They were both on their knees.
Sai stopped squirming in Harry's grasp, and looked up at him with glazed eyes, her face stained with fresh tears.
"Haaarryyy?" she said drunkenly. "Harry Potterrr?"
"Yes, Sai," Harry answered, his voice quiet and along with his eyes filled with absolute concern. "I'm here to help you." He kept a firm hold on her arms.
Sai smiled back in a daze, still acting as if she were drunk.
"Yoouuu're helping meee?"
"Sai, we need to get you to Madam Pomfrey. You're sick."
Sai waved her hands about and swayed slightly in Harry's grip.
"Whhhyy, Harryy? Whyy are you so nice to meee when I'm sooooo meeeaaan to yoouuu?"
Harry was taken aback by Sai's question. He, himself, wasn't sure why exactly he continued being so nice to Sai when she hardly returned the favor.
"Because," he said, "I want to."
And that was the end of the discussion, for she then collapsed face first into his arms, unconscious.
"Oh my goodness!" cried Madam Pomfrey when she saw Harry rush into the hospital wing carrying the unconscious Sai in his arms. She immediately ordered Harry to lay Sai down on one of the empty beds in the hospital wing.
Madam Pomfrey left briefly to fetch a damp washcloth and to concoct a particular medicine. Harry sat beside Sai in the meantime, looking at her in wonder. Her face was covered in beads of sweat, and her face was flushed, though a rather sickly color. Her lips were a bit pale as well. Madam Pomfrey returned with the washcloth, which she placed on Sai's forehead, and a bottle of what looked to Harry like grape juice.
"Tell me what happened," Madam Pomfrey demanded, attempting to pour the purple liquid into Sai's mouth, which dribbled a little bit down her chin.
"I—I don't know," said Harry truthfully. "She was screaming and talking to herself. I think…I think she was hallucinating." Harry didn't like recalling what he saw only minutes earlier, but he had no choice. It was the only way of finding out what had happened.
"Oh, dear."
"Is…is she going to be all right? What's wrong with her?"
"Oh, well I'm not quite sure, dear. She is dreadfully feverish though," Madam Pomfrey said, feeling Sai's head. "And fevers can often cause one to be delirious, if their temperature is high enough."
Harry touched Sai's hand. Indeed, she had an incredible fever. Her hand was sickly hot and a bit of sweat rubbed off onto Harry's fingertips.
"Well, I'll take it from here. You get back to your breakfast."
But for some reason Harry didn't want to leave her.
"But—"
"No buts! Out with you!" Madam Pomfrey shooed Harry out of the hospital wing, and Harry was left to walk the corridors alone, heading back to the Great Hall, though Harry wasn't the least bit hungry. He decided to go anyway, and talk to Hermione and Ron about what he had just seen.
"Oh my," Hermione gasped when Harry had finished telling her and Ron what had happened.
"Do—d'you think she'll be okay?" asked Ron, eyes wide with horror. "I mean, that's got to be quite a fever, if you ask me."
"Well, let's hope she will," said Harry. Then he realized something. "Um, Hermione…why did you become worried about Sai all of a sudden?"
"Yeah, that's what I've been wondering, too," Ron said, taking a bite of his corned beef hash.
She gave them both a puzzled look.
"I'm not quite sure I understand you."
"Well, ever since you met her you've felt nothing but hatred toward her, am I right?" Harry asked.
"So true," said Ron.
"Oh, you two," Hermione scoffed. "Do you really think I'm that cold-hearted? Of course I never really took a liking toward her—"
"—more like you wanted to claw her eyes out," Ron butt in.
Hermione glared at him before continuing, "—but that doesn't mean I don't get worried when someone's that sick. I mean, she was throwing up! She looked and sounded deathly ill. I had to do something."
Harry and Ron raised eyebrows at her.
"Besides," she added, all of a sudden interested in her porridge, "I must say, that stunt she pulled on Malfoy—" she smiled at her food, "—it was rather pleasing."
Ron gave a snort of laughter.
"About time you came through, Hermione."
The trio was making their way to the hospital wing. Breakfast in the Great Hall had ended, and since class didn't start right away they decided to check up on Sai.
"I really do hope she's okay," said Hermione.
"Yeah, me too," Ron added.
Harry kept silent. He couldn't help but wonder what Sai had seen before she had passed out. She was screaming…she had obviously seen something terrifying. What did she see? a voice in his head kept asking.
They eventually reached the infirmary and walked right in. Madam Pomfrey was tucked away in her office, so they weren't confronted with any problems, such as her kicking them out. Sitting up in her bed, Sai was reading a copy of the Daily Prophet. She looked up with a surprised expression when they reached her and she lay the paper down. Her skin was still pallid and she definitely didn't look the healthiest, but she had stopped sweating and at least she was awake. Harry felt the tight strings in his chest loosen.
"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" she said with astonished eyes.
"Hullo, Sai. We wanted to check up on you," said Ron.
Sai's expression quickly changed into a look of shame.
"Oh," she said, fixing her eyes on her hands in her lap. "That was real nice of you, but you didn't have to."
"It was no problem at all, really, Sai. Are you feeling better?" Hermione asked.
She nodded.
Hermione gave a relieved sigh. Then she said, "Well that's good, you had me worrying there for a bit."
"Had us all worrying," Ron corrected her.
"Heh" Sai gave a small laugh. "Sorry 'bout that. Dunno what in hell happened, me getting sick all of a sudden. Weird, if you ask me. Oh, and by the way, thanks," she said, tilting her chin at Harry, "Madam Pomfrey told me you came to my rescue."
Harry was a bit startled by this—not just by Sai thanking him for something and actually acknowledging his presence, but also by the fact that Madam Pomfrey had told her he had found her and brought her to the hospital wing.
"You—you mean…you don't remember me finding you?" he asked. Ron and Hermione looked a bit confused along with him.
Sai shook her head.
"No," she admitted. "I don't."
Ron's mouth gaped.
"Well that's strange," Hermione said, furrowing her brow.
"Yeah, it is…. The last thing I remember is finding out I was lost in this random hallway and I saw—" she stopped. Harry's heart skipped.
"What? What did you see?" Ron urged her to go on.
"Er…nevermind. So, what's new?" she said, trying to avoid the subject.
"Oh, c'mon! Tell us!" But Hermione elbowed Ron in the ribs, prompting him to whimper in pain. "Ow! Hey, what was that for?"
"Clearly she doesn't want to talk about it, Ron. Anyway, we better get going. We have Care of Magical Creatures," Hermione said. "We'll see you later, Sai. Hopefully you won't be kept here too long."
Sai nodded her head and said, "Yeah, Madam Pomfrey said I could go tomorrow morning if I'm feeling better. So I'll see you then. And thanks, Hermione, for everything." She gave a small, genuine smile.
Hermione, like Harry, looked a bit surprised as well, but instantly returned the smile, saying, "You're absolutely welcome. Just don't scare us like that again, all right?"
"Deal." Sai's smile grew.
Ron looked back and forth at the two and suddenly blurted out, "That's it?"
Hermione rolled her eyes and grabbed Ron by the sleeve.
"Come on, Ron. We have to go. 'Bye, Sai!" she said while practically dragging Ron out of the wing. Ron was fussing all the way out. Harry said goodbye and was about to follow them when Sai quickly grabbed his hand, startling him.
"Wait," she said. She took a deep breath and continued, "I need…I need to ask you something…well, actually, two things…."
Speechless at the fact that she was holding his hand, Harry just nodded in reply.
"Okay," she said, releasing his hand. "First: how did you just happen to be where I was when I got lost?"
"Well," Harry answered, "Hermione came down into the Great Hall to meet Ron and me for breakfast, and she told us what happened this morning…so I, uh, got worried and, um, decided to go look for you…." He paused, not wanting to mention that he had gone up to Gryffindor Tower to see if she was there and had fished through his trunk for the Marauder's Map to find out exactly where she was. "…and I took a guess as to which hallway would lead me to you, and I just happened to guess the right one," he lied, feeling slightly guilty. He gave a smile, but it soon faded. "Then…then I heard you scream, and I followed it…and I found you…."
"…Oh…."
There was an awkward silence. Then Sai spoke again.
"Um, the second question is: why…why…" she paused and was transfixed by a spot on her sheet. She started fidgeting. Harry wondered why it was so difficult for her to ask whatever she was planning on asking. "Um…why did you—" she gulped "—why'd you do that?" she finally got out.
Harry looked at her, confused.
"Why did I do what?" he asked.
"Why did you help me? Why've you been acting so nice to me, when all I do is blow you off?" she said, looking back at him.
Just as he had been earlier in the hall, Harry was taken aback.
"I mean, I've never once acted anything near welcoming toward you. So why be nice to me?"
He stood there, thinking about how to answer this. He honestly didn't even know the answer. Then it hit him.
"Well," he said, "that's what friends do." He gave a warm smile.
Sai's eyes grew slightly wider and Harry wasn't sure if they looked a bit watery to him or if it was just the light playing tricks.
"Oh," she said, lowering her head. "Oh, all right. Thank you, Harry…."
There was a long pause before Harry broke the silence.
"…It's nice…"
She looked up.
"What's nice?"
"…that you're calling me Harry," he said, grinning.
Harry finally reached the front of Hagrid's cabin at the edge of the Forbidden Forest for Care of Magical Creatures, Ron hawking Hermione about how in the world she and Sai just made amends in a heartbeat.
"That's it? All of a sudden you two get along? I just don't get it…" but Ron stopped when they saw Harry approaching. "What took you, mate?" he asked. "Thought you were right behind us."
"I stayed behind for a bit in the hospital wing and, well, I wanted to ask Sai what she saw when she…um…was hallucinating…" he answered. Indeed, after Sai had asked her two questions, Harry thought it was only fair to ask his own. Unfortunately, he got nothing out of her.
"And?" Ron pressed.
"What did she see?" Hermione joined in.
Harry shook his head.
"She wouldn't tell me; said it was too personal."
Ron shrugged, then said, "Oh well, at least you tried."
Just then Malfoy made an appearance, shoving Ron and Hermione apart as he pushed his way through.
"What's this I hear about my girl? What the devil are you three talking about, Sai being in the hospital wing?" he said. Harry was surprised to hear a bit of concern in Malfoy's voice.
"None of your business, so shove off, Malfoy," he said through clenched teeth.
"Yeah, why should you care?" Ron added angrily.
"Of course it's my business! This concerns my date to the Halloween Ball! And I care because I do. So I'm not leaving until I get information."
Ron snorted.
"Well, if you must know," said Hermione, who was obviously frustrated by Malfoy's obnoxious presence, "Sai's not feeling well. That's all."
Malfoy made a sad, scared face.
"Oh no…my darling…I hope she'll be well enough by the time of the Ball," he said, walking back toward Crabbe and Goyle.
"What a git…" Ron grumbled, rolling his eyes. "…acting like he really cares…what a brainless git…."
Harry and Hermione nodded in agreement as Hagrid emerged from his hut and began a lesson on the notorious Blast-Ended Skrewt's cousin, the infamous Flame-Headed Skrowt.
Since that day, Harry and the others became very close friends with Sai. She seemed to open up to them more, and the four would constantly hang out together. It was a rare occasion when one saw them separated. The Gryffindors, seeing this sudden change in Sai, took this opportunity to become friendly with her. Lavender and Parvati attempted numerous times to corrupt her and bring her into their little group of squeals and giggles, but Ron warned her, and so she continued being nice to them, but never did things with them alone together. It seemed every Gryffindor (and many Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs) wanted to be Sai's friend, which Sai now allowed. Even Ginny, Dean, Seamus, and Neville became good friends with her. Dean and Neville seemed to take an especially strong liking toward her.
Harry enjoyed seeing Sai communicating with not only himself from now on, but with others as well. He was glad that she wasn't distant anymore, and was now showing her true colors. She was so natural, so fun-loving, and very spirited. He found her to be a very pleasant person to be around, and once in a while he would stay up late with her in the common room, discussing anything that seemed the least bit amusing. It was strange how rapidly they became such good friends.
The night before Halloween, Harry, Sai, Ron, and Hermione were sitting comfortably in the common room. It was late in the evening; everyone else had already gone to bed. They had just finished a debate about who was worse: Snape or Malfoy. No one won. Then Hermione popped the question.
"So, who are all of you taking to the Halloween Ball?"
Harry's stomach dropped. He had totally forgotten about the Ball. Somehow, what with all the fun he was having with Sai and the others, the Ball had completely slipped his mind and so he hadn't asked anyone to go with him. Ron looked a bit nervous as well. Sai only sat quietly on the couch. But Hermione, sitting next to her, let her jaw drop.
"Don't tell me all three of you haven't asked anyone yet? You do realize it's tomorrow night, right?"
"I forgot," Harry said sheepishly.
Ron shifted nervously in his chair.
"I, um, can't get someone to go with me…I asked at least five different girls, but they either already had a date or they just laughed at me and walked away without an answer," he said. "And what about you, Hermione? Do you have a date?"
Hermione nodded and said, "Actually, I do. His name's Garrett Johnston, a seventh year Hufflepuff. Quite cute, I might add. He asked me, you know."
Ron made a choking sound. Hermione waved him off and turned to Sai.
"What about you, Sai? Who are you going with?"
Sai shook her head, saying, "No one."
Ron's mouth gaped.
"Perfect!" he exclaimed, leaping from his chair. "You can go with me!" His eyes were wide with hope and excitement.
Sai shook her head again.
"Sorry, Ron, but I don't plan on going. Not much of a dancer. Plus, I don't like large events like these. I hate crowds."
But Ron wasn't about to give up that easily. He only whined, "Aw, please, Sai! I can't go without a date! I'll only get laughed at!"
"Oh, great, that means I'll get laughed at too," Harry said gruffly. He was starting to deeply dislike this conversation very much.
"No, you guys. Listen, I turned down Dean, Neville, and a few other guys I've never even met before—not to mention Malfoy—so you won't be the only ones without dates."
"Not true!" said Ron fervently. "Dean's going with another girl now! I heard him today talking to Seamus about it! And Malfoy's even got a date! He's going with that annoying girl who's always with him—Pansy Parkinson. I saw her ask him during Potions and he said 'okay.' And I bet you fifty galleons those other guys who asked you now have dates, too. And Neville…well, he's Neville."
Hermione smacked the back of Ron's head. Ron responded with an "Ow!"
"Maybe Sai's got the right idea here. I don't think I want to go to the Ball either," said Harry disappointedly.
"Rubbish!" Ron snapped. "If I'm going, you're going!" he said while pointing a finger at Harry. "And I'm making Sai go, too! Sai, pleeeeeeeeease go with me?" He had gotten down on his knees in front of Sai, clasping his hands together as if praying. His eyes bulged like sad, puppy dog eyes. "Pretty please, Sai?" He then started to whimper like an injured pup.
Sai laughed, rolling her eyes. She let out a sigh before saying in a tone of exasperation, "Fine, I'll go with you."
"YESSS!" Ron whooped, rising from the floor and jumping up and down in triumphant elation.
"But I'm only doing this for you 'cause I pity you, Ron! You so owe me!" Sai said, laughing. Hermione chuckled at that.
Ron still rejoiced around the common room, singing, "I got a day-ate! I got a day-ate!" Hermione had to shush him so he wouldn't wake everyone in the entire Gryffindor Tower.
Harry's heart sank. Now he was the only one without a date. Great, he thought, just great. Now what am I supposed to do? He could just picture the horrible night ahead of him, walking into the Great Hall all alone, while everyone else had a date. He could see Malfoy cackling at him.
"Harry, are you okay?"
"Huh?" he said stupidly, looking up at everyone, who was eyeing him with concern (Ron had stopped his chanting). "Uh, yeah, I'm fine," he lied.
"Don't worry," said Hermione, seeing right through him. She put a hand on his shoulder. "I know a particular someone who recently broke up with her boyfriend, so now she doesn't have a date," she said slowly, emphasizing each word. She gave a clever grin. "Does Cho Chang sound familiar?"
Harry's heart leapt.
The next day was beautiful: crisp blue skies and warm sunshine, with pearly white, wispy clouds. The air was brisk, but pleasant all the same. Many of the trees had shed most of their foliage, which made the castle grounds colorful and smell even more of autumn. Inside the castle, decorations in the spirit of Halloween adorned the corridors and classrooms, but nothing could compare to the marvelous spectacle of the Great Hall. Hagrid had carved dozens of pumpkins the size of Muggle washing machines, all of which floated above the tables, thanks to Professor Flitwick. Each one had their own tricky grin. The candles within them gave them the impression of mischievous ghosts. Hanging from the sconces on the high stone walls were clusters of bats, while some of them flew in masses beneath the enchanted ceiling. On each of the tables rested numerous centerpieces consisting of pumpkin pasties, licorice bats, cauldron cakes, and other goodies—each one arranged very scrupulously. Everything looked amazing.
At lunch, the students enjoyed their pumpkin juice and candy, more so than the regular meal. But even more than that, they enjoyed talking keenly about the Ball, which was only hours away.
At the Gryffindor table, Ron was asking everyone around him what they were going to dress up as for the Ball. Seamus was the first to answer: he was planning on going as Robin Hood. He had to explain to Ron, Ginny, and Neville that he was a legendary character the Muggles had made up long ago. Dean announced that he was going as a masked phantom. Ginny was dressing as an evil fairy queen—purple hair and all. Neville, who was going to the Ball with a bubbly Hufflepuff named Lucky, said he was dressing as a Chudley Cannon. Hermione declared that her costume was going to be a surprise, which Ron scowled at, and Sai told him she wasn't going to dress up at all, which he scowled even more at. He then announced that he was going to go as a knight ("in shining armor" he added), so he could "rescue a damsel in distress." This caused the table to laugh.
"So, what are you going as, Harry?" Seamus finally asked when the laughing subsided. All eyes were on him.
"I…uh…" he stammered, "I—"
"Ahem,"someone cleared their throat from behind him. "Excuse me…Harry?" the person said.
Harry turned around immediately. His heart gave a jolt at the sight of the person standing before him.
"Er…hi, Cho," he managed to get out nervously.
"Hi, Harry," Cho said, blushing. "Um…can I ask you a question?"
"S-sure," he stuttered.
"Well, you see, you know, the Ball's tonight and I, uh, don't have a date yet…so uh, I'm sorry this is so last minute, but, um, would you, um, want to go with me?" Cho asked, who looked just as nervous as Harry did, if not, more. She was fiddling with her hair while she spoke.
Harry was speechless. Did Cho just ask him to be his date for the Halloween Ball?
"It—it's okay if you don't want to—"
But he cut her off.
"Of course I'll go with you!" he sputtered. Cho flashed a wide smile.
"Great! I'll meet you at ten-to-seven in the entrance hall!" she said, and she skipped cheerfully off back to the Ravenclaw table, grinning from ear to ear.
Harry couldn't help but grin too. He had a date to the Halloween Ball. A date! And not just any date—Cho Chang—the girl he had been crushing on for the past three years. He had almost gotten the chance of being her boyfriend the previous year, but there were…complications…. But right now Harry pushed that out of his mind, for he was in too good a mood to think about such things. He was in incredibly high spirits.
Someone whistled to get his attention.
"Yoo-hoo! Over here, Harry."
"Earth to Harry!"
"Oy! Harry!"
He came back to his senses at Ron practically shouting in his ear.
"Yeah…yeah, what?" he said, shaking his head.
Ron chuckled.
"Harry," said Sai, grinning, "you look like every day has been arranged to be Christmas."
Yeah, I know this was looong. Hope it didn't put you to sleep. I, personally, think this was one of the better chapters. Anyway, r/r or I quit! Muahaha
Sora