Chapter 12 – Truth or Dare
James and Lily were on good terms but they avoided any kind of physical contact whatsoever. This tension between them was obvious to everyone.
So one day Ron and Hermione came with a plan.
"I'm bored!" said Ron as he, Harry, Ginny, Seamus, Dean, Lavender, Parvati, Hermione, James and Lily were in the common room one evening.
"You can do homework," said Hermione bossily.
"I don't want to," Ron whined, "how about we all play something?"
The group looked interested "You know, that's not such a bad idea," said Hermione, putting her book aside.
"How about we play truth or dare?" she suggested. Dean scowled while Lavender gave an excited squeal.
"Yeah let's play truth or dare!" she said happily.
"What's that?" asked James. Hermione winked Ron; their plan was working wonderfully.
"It's a muggle game where you spin a bottle and if the cork side of the bottle points on you people ask you 'truth or dare?'. If you say truth you have to answer a question and if you say dare, you have to do something the others give you," said Hermione.
Harry never heard of this kind of game since he was never invited to a party as a little boy. "But what if we refuse to answer the question or do the dare?"
"You have to take off a piece of clothing. Harry, didn't you grow up with muggles? You are supposed to know this game, it's very popular," said Lily and immediately regretted her question as she saw the reason in his mind.
Shit. I'll kill Petunia and her oaf of a son.
"Uh…well…" Harry started lamely.
"Never mind!" said Lily quickly "Let's play! James conjure a bottle please" James looked at her oddly and conjured a bottle with a wave of his wand.
Lily spun the bottle and it pointed on Lavender. She squealed. (again)
"Lavender, truth or dare?" asked Hermione, shooting an annoyed look to Lavender; squealing is stupid.
"Um…truth" Lavender said with a bright smile.
"Do you like Seamus?" Seamus turned red and Lavender nodded. Lavender spun the bottle.
"Hermione, truth or dare?"
"Dare" she said without hesitation.
"Kiss Harry," Ron turned red in anger but Hermione cocked an eyebrow and kissed Harry on the cheek.
"You never said where," said Hermione with a smile as Lavender scowled at her and Hermione span the bottle. It stopped in front of James. Hermione and Ron exchanged satisfied smirks.
"James truth or dare?"
"Dare" said James immediately.
"Snog Lily in a closet for 5 minutes," Hermione said quickly, no trace of embarrassment in her voice. Lily blushed while James had an inner struggle.
"Well?" said Ron. James and Lily sighed and went to the closest closet.
"Oh, and the closet won't reopen until you completed the task" James smiled embarrassedly and stepped into the closet, followed by Lily.
"Well, better get this over with," he said and pinned Lily to the closets back. He leaned forward but stopped inches from her lips.
James closed the gap between them with a soft kiss. Slowly, he slid his arms around her waist while she put her arms around his neck. After a few seconds he deepened the kiss making Lily make a strange sound from her throat.
"It's been over ten minutes, maybe someone should check on them," said Lavender hesitatingly.
"Oh no," said Hermione with a glint in her eyes "Let them come out whenever they want. It should have happened a long time ago."
The teens laughed and continued the game. "Harry, truth or dare?" asked Parvati.
"Dare," Harry said.
"Kiss Ginny," both Ginny and Harry blushed.
"No way!" protested Ron "She's my little sister!"
"RONALD WEASLEY!" yelled Ginny "I AM NOT A LITTLE GIRL ANYMORE!" Ron cowered back into his place; sometimes Ginny could be really scary.
"Well Harry?" said Parvati slyly. Harry and Ginny stood and Harry gave her a small peck on the mouth.
"You are no fun," pouted Lavender.
Harry turned the bottle "Parvati, truth or dare?" Parvati clapped her hands excitedly, making Hermione roll her eyes.
"Truth," a collective groan was heard from the group.
"Well…" said Harry "If you had the opportunity to snog someone here, who would that be?"
Parvati blushed and mumbled something "Can't hear you dear," said Hermione evilly.
"Dean," both Dean and Parvati turned red by now "Ron truth or-"
"Dare," said Ron.
"Tomorrow at breakfast go and tell Snape in front of the whole great hall that he is the best teacher at the school," said James. The grouped turned to see James who smiled evilly and Lily, whose hair was messy and her cloths were a little wrinkled but her eyes glinted happily.
"WHAT?" yelled Ron while the others were laughing and clutching their stomachs "NO BLOODY WAY IN THE WORLD!"
"Fine than, you must take off a bit of clothing," said James. Ron blushed, but took his shirt off.
The girls stopped laughing and took a good look at his muscular chest. "What?" he asked, "Harry truth or dare?"
"I already did once!"
"I don't care. Truth or dare Harry?" Harry wrinkled his nose in annoyance.
"Truth."
"Who do you like?"
"No bloody way in the world I'll tell you!"
"Take off your shirt than," said Lily and smiled. Harry sighed and pulled his shirt off. This time, some of the girls took a deep intake. Quidditch did him good. Real good.
"Right," he said "Ginny, truth or dare?"
"Dare."
"Go with a miniskirt tomorrow." Harry smirked.
"POTTER YOU PERVERT!" yelled Ron.
"Shut up Ron, I accept the dare," said Ginny devilishly. Harry's smirk grew even larger.
"What in the devil is going on in here? Mr Potter, Mr Weasley, why are you shirtless in the middle of the common room?" Professor McGonagall entered to the common room.
Harry and Ron blushed and pulled their shirts back on, much to the girls' disappointment.
"Thirty points from Gryffindor. I am very disappointed."
"But Minnie!" yelped James "It's a lot!" professor McGonagall's lips looked like a very thin line indeed and her face was flushed in anger and embarrassment.
"I asked you thousands of times not to call me that Mr Potter! Show some respect! You and Mr Black will have detention at my office tomorrow at seven," she yelled and stomped out of the common room. Everybody was quiet except of James who was rolling on the floor laughing.
"What is so bloody funny?" asked Ron.
"She said me and Sirius have to serve detention and Sirius is not even here! She is so used to give us detentions together that she forgot!" Everybody erupted in a loud laugh, though Harry's sounded rather fake. Sirius was a touchy subject for him, and probably always would be.
"We better go to sleep! It's midnight already," said Lily and the group nodded in agreement. James winked to Lily who blushed before going up to her dormitory. Ron and Hermione were sitting in one of the armchairs near the fire, deciding that they need to discuss the success of their plan.
Hermione was sitting on Ron's lap, stoking his arm. "You were brilliant Ron," she said. Ron blushed.
"Well, you were putting a nice act too."
"Hey, Ron, do you want to play Truth or Dare on our own?" she asked slyly.
"Why not?" he shrugged.
"Truth or dare?" she asked seductively Ron's body began to heat.
"Dare," he said in a hoarse whisper. Hermione giggled, aware she was driving Ron mad.
"I dare you to…" she said in near whisper in his ear, "Stop calling me Herms!" she continued sternly and walked to her dormitory quickly before breaking down laughing.
The next morning, Hermione was sitting with Lily, James, Harry, Ron and Ginny (who wore a miniskirt, much to Harry's enjoyment) in the great hall. Ron and James seemed to have an eating competition. Ron seemed the winner since James was no match for his pig-like eating habits.
Suddenly, the owls flew in. Hermione got the Daily Prophet and opened it, just like every morning.
She sprayed the pumpkin juice she was drinking all over Ron –who was in the middle of his tenth pie- as she read it.
"Yuck!" Ron said, looking at his drenched cloths.
"What's wrong Hermione?" asked James worriedly.
"Nothing!" she said in a high-pitched voice and took a glance at Harry.
Lily, who sat next to her, read the headline. Instead of the exaggerated response, she glowed.
Lily! Are you mad! You know what Harry's response to this subject is! Don't you dare bring that up!
Hermione thought, wishing that Lily would hear her. Lily did, but decided to ignore it.
"Sirius Black's name was cleared," she said loudly, smiling. The reaction it caused in the Gryffindor table was amazing.
Outrageous calls were called all over the table. Ron choked on his eleventh pie and spit it on the table, ignoring Hermione's glare. James and Ginny were grinning at each other, while Lily hugged Hermione.
Harry, however, wasn't any of that; his face was blank and the fork with mashed potatoes he was going to eat froze in midair.
He snatched the paper from Hermione's hand, dropping his fork in the way.
SIRIUS BLACK IS INNOCENT
In a surprising press conference yesterday, the temporary minister of magic, Madam Bones, announced that Sirius Black is an innocent man. Sirius Black was accused of cooperating with dark forces (You-Know-Who) and was accused of being a Death Eater after murdering 12 muggles and his good friend and schoolmate, Peter Pettigrew.
"Pettigrew was found alive and was questioned under Veritaserum," said Bones yesterday, "It seems that he is an illegal Animagus in the form of a rat. He admitted he was James and Lily Potter's secret keeper and sold the information on their location to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He also admitted killing the muggles and helping you-know-who return to his body after hiding in his Animagus form for twelve years."
The announcement overwhelmed the Wizarding world. It is rumoured that Pettigrew arrived to the ministry batted and in a bad shape, thanks to Mr Harry Potter, known more commonly as 'the boy who lived.' These Rumours have not yet been confirmed.
by Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent
Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He needed to relax. Don't rise; keep your emotions in check. He thought desperately, but couldn't stop the waves of heat that radiated from his body.
"Harry?" asked Hermione while touching his arm softly. Harry opened his eyes and Hermione gasped silently. Harry's eyes weren't emerald green as usual. They glinted red.
"So…" a bone-chilling voice was sound from Harry's throat. "You captured Wormtail and cleared your dead godfather's name, well done, Potter," James paled Lily began to shake. The hall was quiet.
"He was useless anyway," Harry's eyes flickered green again.
"Get out of my head!" he screamed. The hall was watching in silent shock. Harry's eyes flickered red again. Many gasps were now heard from the crowd and the teachers.
Harry laughed cruelly "I have an offer first, Potter," he paused dramatically, "Join me and live, your precious red-head will live and so will her family and your Mudblood,"
Harry's eyes were green again "NEVER," he roared. The eyes flickered again.
"Well than, Potter, prepare to die. And prepare your little friends too. You'd better make the best of them now, because you will not have them in the future… in my future," he said, laughing with malice.
Harry's eyes flickered green again and he fainted. Ginny dove to where Harry was lying and began crying.
"Harry!" she said, sobbing, "Harry wake up! WAKE UP," she screamed.
"Enough of that Ms Weasley," said professor McGonagall, with a deathly white face, in a stern voice. "Mobilicarpus!" she muttered and Harry floated in front of her to the infirmary, with Ron, Hermione, James, Lily and Ginny hot on her heels.
"Minerva!" said Pomfrey "What happened?" she asked while levitating Harry into a spare bed.
"Voldemort possessed him in and out for five minutes."
Pomfrey looked lost and scared; she didn't know what to do. A few seconds later, she bustled to her office only to return a couple of minutes later carrying a medium sized bottle with a sickly yellowish color. She opened the bottle and conjured a small goblet.
She measured carefully the amount of potion she put in and opened Harry's mouth. She let him swallow the potion and put a sleeping charm on him.
"He'll have a rough night," she said sadly, glancing at her patient.
"What did you give him Poppy?" McGonagall asked.
"Dreamless sleep potion with a Mind Relaxing potion," she said and went out of the infirmary followed closely by McGonagall, leaving the teenagers around Harry's bed, staring at him in a mixture of fear and awe.
A few minutes later, Madam Pomfrey returned and kicked them out of the infirmary with excuse of "he-won't-wake-anyway". The chatter stopped as they entered the common room.
"How is he?" said fearfully a second year.
"He is asleep at the moment," said James as the others didn't answer.
"How did this happen?" James and Lily shrugged but Ron and Hermione shared a concerned glance. They knew that Harry and Voldemort shared a connection but it never reached this kind of things.
The other students looked at them expectedly. Hermione sighed "He'll tell people about it when he's ready," she said although she was sure he never would.
The day passed very quickly for the students in Hogwarts. Each and every one of them (except maybe a few Slytherins) visited Harry at least once and were worried about his coma state.
Needless to say, when Dumbledore stood up at dinner to make an announcement, the students were looking quite grim.
"This morning we witnessed Voldemort's true colours," he said to the quiet crowd "Most of you did not witness or suffer from the hands of Voldemort," a shudder went through the crowd again, "But today you all saw that he does not show mercy. He will threaten the people you love the most. He will tear apart families and turn your allies into enemies,
I want you all to know that Voldemort is very strong. Oh, yes, very strong indeed. He has only one weakness- love. The love Mr Potter showed today to the ones he loves and cherish, makes him a better human than Voldemort. Each one of you is better than Voldemort. Look at the person to your right, look at the person to your left. The bond and friendship you have with them makes you human…
"Voldemort does not have friends he has allies- he doesn't know what love is. He grew up in a muggle orphanage without someone to trust, someone to love. That lack of caring, understanding, and love made him what he is today. Mr Potter also grew up hated, but look at the path he took. He became a brave young man full of life and love. I do hope that you all will take the way of happiness, the way of love and friendship, over the path of hate."
Silence rang in the hall. Some of the students looked shocked, some looked awed. The Slytherin's table looked surprisingly pensive.
McGonagall rose from her chair and began clapping. Soon, other staff members joined her. Followed closely by the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff table. Even the Slytherins joined to the applause.
When dinner was over, Ron faked a cough. Lily looked at him- something about his appearance looked oddly familiar.
"Look, guys, I think I'll go and visit Harry, alright? I don't feel like eating anymore," he said and met with disbelieving look from his surroundings. Ron sighed and got up, and just then, it hit Lily.
Ron was wearing the same cloths he wore in her premonition.
She hurried after him. "Ron wait! I'm coming with you!" she said Ron turned and he gave her a slight smile.
"So, what's on your mind?" she asked even though she could read his mind quite well.
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked.
"You were moody all through dinner," Lily said.
He sighed, "I'm just scared I think. Most of my family works against V-Voldemort and suddenly he just popped out of nowhere in the great hall."
"You do know he just used Harry's body, right?"
"Of course, but I just don't see the point of fighting against him. My entire family work against him and…I don't know -we don't even know- if he can be defeated."
Lily looked thoughtful. "Ron, after your fifth year, did you ever wonder about the prophecy Voldemort wanted so badly?" she asked.
"Yeah I did but Harry didn't say anything," he said with a shocked expression. How did she know about that?
"Did you ever think why he wanted it so badly? Why could only Harry hold it?" she asked. It was rather funny seeing his shocked expression.
"Wha-? No," he stammered.
"Boys," she muttered "always so dense."
"Hey!" he said "I resent that!"
Suddenly, a harsh, deep voice spoke behind them:
"WHEN THE FLOWER, THE STAG AND THE PROPHECY BABY WILL BE UNITED, THE POWER OF LOVE, UNITY AND THE MAYA WILL DESTROY THE DARK LORD. WHEN FLOWER, STAG AND A BABY WILL BE UNITED…"
Ron and Lily turned, they were pale and Lily looked like she's going to collapse.
"Anything wrong dears?" asked professor Trelawney in her usual misty voice.
"N-No…" mumbled Lily. She saw the premonition but was never prepared for something like that. Lily and Ron hurried to an empty classroom.
"What was that?" she demanded of Ron.
"Trelawney," he said, the panic in his voice evident, "She made another true prophesy."
"Again?"
"She did one before Harry was born and one the night Pettigrew ran away from us," he explained, still dumbfound.
The prophecy baby is Harry, James is clearly the stag but who's the flower? He wondered.
"It's me you idiot!" Lily yelled, "A lily is a flower!"
"How did you know what I was thinking about?" he demanded.
"Never you mind!" she yelled back.
"What's going on?" a voice said from the door. James, Hermione and Ginny were standing there, watching the exchange in raised eyebrows.
"Trelawney made another prophesy," said Ron. Hermione paled.
"Again?"
"What do you mean again? Why would you believe that fraud?" James asked.
"What did she say?" asked Hermione, completely ignoring James who looked quite annoyed.
"She said something about a stag, a flower and a prophecy baby… defeating the dark lord," he replied in a shaky voice. James looked flabbergasted.
"Er…" he mumbled.
"We all know you are an Animagus James," said Ginny.
"Guys, what's going on?"
"Harry!" Ginny yelled and ran to Harry, hugging him fiercely and kissing his cheek "Are you all right?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. But you don't. What happened?" he said, noticing their white faces.
"Harry…" started Hermione, "Trelawney made another prophesy."
Harry's eyes widened. "Oh! What does it say?" he said with hesitation.
"Flower, Stag, Prophesy baby to defeat the dark lord," mumbled Ron.
"Are you sure those were her exact words?" he said raising his eyebrow.
"Well of course not Harry!" said Lily.
"Were you there too?" he asked and Lily nodded "Maybe…Ron, do you still have Remus's Pensive?" Ron nodded, "Do you mind?"
"Not at all mate," he said and went to get the Pensive.
"So…I guess you two are in this with me now?" Harry said, lifting his gaze to meet James's.
"Yeah," he said. Ron returned with the Pensive and pulled a silvery substance from the tip of his wand.
Harry took a deep breath and tucked his hand into the pensive. When he came out, his face was ashen. "Right," he said. They could almost hear the wheels turning in his head.
"Right," he repeated, "We need to find what the Maya is," he said.
"Maya?" said Ron.
"Yeah, you know, 'the power of love, unity and the Maya', Hermione, any idea?" Hermione shook her head.
"I know it's a very powerful power. I think it is kind of like being a Fire Elemental. You know, that you can conjure fire in your hands that is so hot, it melts metal," looking at their awestruck faces she continued "I don't really know about it much because it only was a side remark about Freezing Spells- so we need to do research," she said.
"Hermione's right," said Harry, surprising them all with the authority in his voice, Ginny however, found it terribly sexy. She shivered. "We need to do research. Will you help me?" Ron snorted.
"We can't let you do that alone you know!" he said. Harry grinned.
"I know, it was a rhetorical question," Ron punched him lightly in the shoulder.
Harry faked a cough "Well, we'd better be going than, we have three hours till curfew."
In the following week, the six teenagers worked tirelessly on searching what the 'Maya' was and what the prophecy meant. Ron, Hermione and Lily were responsible on researching the Maya and Harry, James and Ginny were trying to crack the prophecy.
"Okay, so what do we know so far?" asked Ginny after a week and a half.
"Well," started James, "Obviously the Flower is Lily, the stag is me and the prophecy baby is Harry."
"I can't believe that's all we came up with. We are working on it for a week and a half!" Harry cried.
"What do you think the power of love and unity means?" said James. Harry and Ginny shrugged.
"WE FOUND IT!" Hermione's voice was heard and she rushed toward them. Madam Finch shot her a dirty look.
"We found what the power of the Maya is!" said Lily, smiling.
"Well?" demanded Ginny.
"The power of the Maya is a strong bonding spell between a group of people who love each other. The power allows the group to create a red burning fire that can destroy all evil," silence took over the group as they all pondered on the news and what it could mean.
"Why didn't anyone do this before? I mean, a lot of people love each other, why didn't anyone use it?" said James.
"Well," said Lily smiling at James, "To tell you the truth, this book was written about 4000 years ago,"
"Wow! That's older than Hogwarts!" exclaimed Harry.
"Yeah," said Ginny, grinning at him "But it's not only that. The potion ingredients are pretty rare and the potion takes about two weeks to brew."
"Let's do it than," said Harry immediately. Hermione quirked an eyebrow.
"How are you going to get the ingredients?" she inquired hastily.
"Well, let's just say that I have my sources," he said. Lily snooped in his mind and to see who he was going to ask.
Two days later, the Ashwinder eggs, bicorn horn powder, a dragon horn, Erumpent tail, Graphorn horn and dried nettles laid in a sack held by Harry.
"Where did you get those Harry? They're terribly expensive and rare!" Hermione shrieked when she saw the contents of the black sack in Harry's hands.
"Calm down, will you? I told the twins to bribe the apothecary's vendor."
"Harry that's illegal!" yelped Lily.
"Even if I'll have to cut my wand arm to get rid of Voldemort forever, I'll do it," Harry said in a cold voice.
"Where are we going to brew it?" Hermione asked. There was silence as they thought about it.
"Maybe we can use the empty room behind the map of Argyllshire on the second floor."
"What if someone will find us?"
"Oh, no one will find us," said James with a glint in his eyes "If Remus thought that was safe enough for snogging, I'm sure we can brew a potion there," everybody laughed.
"So how do you get into the room?" asked Ginny.
"You need to trace your finger all through Kingstein Street," said Lily without thinking.
"How did you know?" James asked her, astonished. She had read it in his thoughts but she's never going to admit it.
"Er…Well…"
"Never mind that now," Harry said, sensing Lily's discomfort "James, can you conjure a large cauldron?"
"Certainly," James replied haughtily. He wasn't the best transfiguration student in his year for nothing.
"Of course not James," said Lily. She met with James's shocked face and the other four puzzled faces.
"How do you know what I was thinking Lily?" James asked suspiciously.
Lily looked hesitating but decided to tell them "Er…well…you see, I-I can read minds," she said, looking at her feet. The statement shocked everyone but Hermione.
"You can…read minds?" said James slowly. Holy crap
"Language, James," said Lily.
"I didn't say anything!" he said, perplexed. Lily blushed.
"That happens too," she added.
"Well, as curious and shocking that is, we better focus," said Harry, once again surprising them all by the authority in his voice. "Let's go then."
"Okay, James conjure the cauldron please," Harry ordered. James easily conjured the cauldron.
"Right, what do we add first?"
"Before we start the feast, I want to welcome Mr Potter back. Welcome back, Harry," said Dumbledore in breakfast, the next day. Cheers erupted from all of the tables and Harry's face went an interesting shade of pink with embarrassment.
"Second of all, this year we will have another ball that will take place in two days before Christmas. Students who want to go home will still be able to," once again, the students cheered.
"Dress robes are necessary, and a trip to Hogsmede is scheduled in two days at two o'clock in the noon," excited murmurs ran between the girls while the boys exchanged looks or semi-horror at the prospect of asking a girl to the ball.
"Ginny would you go to the ball with me?" asked Harry with a smile.
"Of course Harry," she replied, grinning. Ron knew better than to start complaining and decided to put up his own action. He did not see the wink between Ginny and Hermione.
"Hermione, would you go to the ball with me?" asked Ron. Hermione raised a careful eyebrow.
"I don't know Ron…," she said frowning. Ron's heart sank to his knees and he looked devastated.
"Don't be a git! Of course I'll go with you!" said Hermione and everyone laughed at the sight of Ron, who did not appreciate the joke.
"That was mean," he whined.
Should I ask Lily? James thought. I really want to…will she say yes?
"Of course I will James," said Lily without thinking. James smirked, so his plan did work.
"You are a chicken for not asking aloud, James," said Lily. The others looked utterly confused as James smirked.
"Talking to yourself Lily? That's the first sign of madness you know," he said.
"Shut it. You know what I mean," Understanding crossed Ginny, Harry and Hermione's faces.
"Are you sure you're all right? He didn't say a word Lily," said Ron thickly.
The girls rolled their eyes at him "Think of what Lily told us yesterday," said Hermione in a careful tone. Ron looked thoughtful for a few seconds until-
"OH!" he exclaimed. Now, all of the gang rolled their eyes. "What? It takes me time."
"How about DVD?" said Ginny, ignoring Ron.
"Oh, it's going on well," said Hermione "I looked there at the morning," To an outsider, this conversation would be utterly confusing. The gang however, understood it perfectly.
"When are you going to use it?" inquired Ron. Harry gulped.
"When he turns up. We can keep it in the meantime, right?" he said anxiously
"Yeah," said Hermione.
DVD is the abbreviation for 'Die Voldemort, Die'. Harry didn't want to attack Voldemort until it is absolutely necessary. He wasn't scared of him he was scared to die. He was afraid that Lily or James would die and by that erase him from the world. He knew it was selfish, but he just did.
In History of Magic class, Hermione's curiosity overruled her urge to listen to professor Binns and she wrote a note to Lily. (A/N: Lily will be marked in italics and Hermione underlined)
Can you tell me why Harry wants to wait? -Hr
Lily looked up in surprise as the note landed on her notes. Hermione nodded to her to open it. She opened it and scribbled an answer.
He's afraid to die.
It was now Hermione's turn to look surprised as she raised an eyebrow.
Are you sure? Harry was never afraid of dying. He always runs into trouble without thinking of the consequences.
Well, he wasn't only scared for himself. He was scared for James and me too. He is afraid of what would happen if one of us dies.
Can you blame him? Anyway, did you cook the flobberworms in the break? We need to put it in after class.
I did. What are you going to wear to the ball?
I really don't know. I need to buy new dress robes, would you come with me? Do you have a dress robe?
I don't. Last year's one (my year) is too small. Of course I'll come!
They both grinned and the bell rang. "Hermione! I am shocked! You passed notes in class!" said Ron with a smirk.
"Shut it Ronald," she said. Ron scowled in the mention of his full name.
"Hermione, can I talk to you for a second?" asked Harry anxiously.
"Make it really fast Harry because DVD is waiting," she said as Harry pulled her aside.
"Hermione, look, I know that Ginny doesn't have enough money to buy a new dress robes so…" he took a deep breath and Hermione smiled "Can I give you money and you'll buy her the dress she wants? Without telling her it was from me? I mean…as a gift from you?"
"Harry, you're blabbing. Of course I will," a relived look crossed Harry's face.
"Thank you so much!" he said, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before running to get the books for Charms
"Hey Hermione, what do you think of this one?" asked Ginny two days later in a robes shop. She was holding a sleeveless silk white robe with small red Lilies sewn in the bottom, just above the ankle.
"Try it on Ginny," said Lily "I think we found her the right one," she added after Ginny entered the dressing cell. She emerged from there a few moments later.
"OH MY GOD!" Hermione's yell sounded all over the shop "You look amazing!" And indeed, the combination of her soft curly red hair and white robe made her look like an angel.
"It's too expensive," she said sadly looking at the price tag. Hermione waved her hand.
"Nonsense! I will pay for it! You are not leaving without it!" she said, putting up a nice act.
"But…"
"No buts Ginny! You'll take the dress!" Ginny huffed but immediately grinned and ran to hug Hermione.
"Thank you so much!" she said.
"It is no problem at all," Hermione said, smiling at her excited friend.
"It's about time you show up!" said Ron. They were all sitting in The Three Broomsticks and James went to order Butterbeers.
"How's your dress Ginny?" said Harry and leaned to look at the bag. Ginny smacked his head.
"Don't you look at the dress, Harry! You'll see it soon enough" she said as Harry rubbed his head muttering about mad redheads.
When Ginny came down the stairs two days before Christmas, Harry's brain turned to mush - She looked beautiful and he temporarily lost the ability to speak. She came closer to him.
"You look amazing," he said in awe. She giggled.
"Thank you. You look quite dashing yourself," she said with a smile.
"Shall we?"
James paced restless. This is his first ball with Lily. He didn't want to mess it up.
"You won't mess it up," Lily's voice sounded behind him. He turned and looked at her, taking in admiration every detail, every curve, every curl.
"You look fantastic Lil," he smiled and offered her his arm "Shall we, lovely lady?"
"Defiantly, good sir," she said with a bow.
When Ginny entered the hall, many heads were turned. "I told you, you look great," whispered Harry in her ears and sending shivers down her spine. "You look like an angel," Ginny smiled and kissed him for a moment.
"Thank you, but I better watch my back or someone may kidnap you away from me."
"Are you kidding? I need to watch my back so nobody will steal your heart away," he said dramatically.
"I don't think that's going to be a problem. My heart belongs to one," she said and their eyes locked.
"My heart belongs to one too," he said smoothly, but his insides were warm and fuzzy. He loved her, and he knew it now.
He put his hand on her cheek "I love you," he said sincerely.
Ginny's eyes brimmed with tears as she said, "I love you too," Harry smiled and kissed her square on the mouth.
It wasn't like any other kisses. It was warm and gentle, sent pleasant shivers all over their bodies, and warmed their insides.
"Hem, Hem," Harry and Ginny parted and looked at the smirking face of James and Lily. Harry and Ginny blushed from embarrassment.
"Shall we?" said James in a teasing voice.
"Students and teachers, welcome to the Christmas ball," announced Dumbledore and applause broke out, "I have a little surprise for you all, before the dance starts, we will have a singing contest. Any student who would like to sing, please turn to your head of house after the meal. Tuck in!"
Excited murmurs went through the crowd but were immediately hushed as the food appeared. It seems like the house elves worked themselves out with the feast- it was rather magnificent.
Suddenly, Lily smirked, though nobody but Harry saw her. He narrowed his eyes at her and she looked innocently back at him. Soon, the food began to disappear and Harry excused himself to the loo.
Harry reseated himself at the table and took a swing from his pumpkin juice as he exchanged a few words with Ron and James.
"Well, I think it is time for us to begin," said Dumbledore and vanished the table with a swish of his wand. The students gathered in the dance floor and Dumbledore coughed a bit. "Let us begin with the competition. Our first singer will be Ms Susan Bones, a seventh year Hufflepuff."
She sang, "Girls just wanna have fun," and turned out to be a very talented singer. She finished the song, after her came up Orla Quirke – a third year Ravenclaw, and to everybody's surprise, Draco Malfoy, who turned to have a deep yet pleasant voice.
"Now, our last contesters, please welcome Ron Weasley, Harry and James Potter!" cheers erupted as Harry took his stand in the middle of the stage. He did not have a deep or high-pitched voice, but a gentle tone that melted many girls' hearts on the spot.
He looked at Ginny and smiled at her shocked, yet ecstatic expression. Ron started to sing. He had a deep and calm voice. It was James's turn to sing and he seemed to have a higher tone.
As they ended the song, the hall exploded. Cheers were all over the crowd. It was so loud Harry thought he saw birds in the Dark Forest fly away in fear. He smiled and bowed to the crowed.
"Thank you. Anyone who wishes to vote, point your finger to the ceiling and think of the singer you wish to vote for. The ceiling will recognize your magical signature and count the votes. The results will be published at the conclusion of the dance." Boomed Dumbledore.
"I never knew James knew how to sing," Remus told Amy, "Least of all Harry and Ron. I bet their girlfriends are happy."
And indeed, Remus looked and saw Ginny kiss Harry passionately and saw Hermione doing the same for Ron. To his astonishment, he saw Lily peck James on the lips, slightly touching. He was used to it, but it made him miss the 'old days' all the more.
"You miss them don't you?" asked Amy gently.
"Yeah, I guess I just didn't realize how much before," he said shaking his head.
"You know, the day they died was like a breaking point for me. Everybody was celebrating while my best friend just died. I was so angry and bitter I just flew away. I went to the US for a few years."
"I came back to England and planned to stay, but one day I went into muggle London and saw Petunia hugging this huge blond boy while near her there was this skinny mini-James with Lily's green eyes."
"I just broke, I came back to the UK and lived there until Dumbledore told me about a mission he wanted me to do."
Her words hang in the air and them both silently watched Harry and Ginny dance together. Never leaving each other's arms
"Ladies and Gentleman, the ball has come to an end and I have the results of the singing competition," said Dumbledore in his booming voice.
"In third place, with 102 votes, Ms Marietta Edgecombe," cheers were sounded all over the hall.
"In second place, Mr Draco Malfoy with 317 votes," the Slytherins cheered loudly, making the others' cheering almost inaudible.
"And in the first place, with 581 votes, Messer's Harry and James Potter and Mr Ron Weasley," the hall exploded in cheers. Harry, Ron and James looked astonished. They never expected to win. It was merely a gesture to their girlfriends (and in James's case, almost girlfriend). They grinned.
"Now, I'm sure your beds are now made and as comfy as ever, if not more! Good night all!"
A/N: I am really sorry for not updating for so long, my computer is blocked 90 of the days because my parents aren't happy about my grades so it's difficult to update. Sorry about any typos and grammar, I didn't have the energ to proofread.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
The next chapter was originally an author note chapter but since forbade it, all of my old readers note: chapter 19 is going to be chapter 18 (one chapter less) ok?
Reviews:
Nightwing 509, rosiegirl, Mrs.Poynter and Mrs.Judd, Lily-900121, amrawo, Mrs.KristinePotter, Stella9876, Beloved Rose, Taeniaea, MarauderKid, IamSiriusgrl.
Annmarie Aspasia- Zayne is not hyper? Do you have fever!
Jinxeh-Well, I think JKR is being annoying by not mentioning it even once...I mean, Harry is supposed to be sad no?
Silver Warrior- I really have no idea why everybody think that Snape had a crush on Lily, but I believe it myself. Weird isn't it?
Hazel Maraa- Why thank you, I take evilness lessons from Zayne up there (Annmarie Aspasia)