Chapter 4 The Announcement

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters. They are all owned by J. K. Rowling.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The next morning when Ron woke up he had a pounding headache. He checked the clock and it was already noon. He and Harry had missed breakfast and slept through the entire morning.

"Come on Harry, wake up! It's noon!" Ron yelled at Harry now furious that he wouldn't get out of bed.

"Alright, alright, I'm up! Stop yelling, my head is killing me," said Harry, "would you mind doing that spell that gets rid of headaches for me?"

"Already tried it," started Ron, "must not work on hangovers. Come on, we better get down to lunch, I'm starving."

They took turns showering, getting dressed, and brushing their teeth. They left their dorm and went down to the common room but it was empty. They assumed that everyone was either at lunch or in Hogsmeade for the day.

They were right in assuming that everyone was at lunch. When they got to the Great Hall it was packed. Harry sat down next to Ginny and Ron next to Hermione. He could tell that it seemed a little bit awkward for her so he started by saying that he had a great time the day before and thanking her for going with him.

"No problem, it was fun Ron, I had a great time!" Hermione responded.

She noticed that he seemed to be a little bit off, Harry too.

"Hey, are you guys okay? You seem a little bit different and you slept all morning." Hermione decided to ask.

"Yea, I was just going to say the same thing," Ginny added giving Harry a concerned look.

"No, we're fine, just stayed up really late last night, that's all." Harry said as he gave Ron a look that said, 'Don't say anything!' He thought that it would be better not to tell them the whole story. He knew that it would make them mad.

"Okay, well when we are done eating let's head off to Hogsmeade." said Hermione for lack of anything else to say.

Even though Harry had said that nothing was wrong Hermione could tell by the look in Ron's eyes that they weren't telling her and Ginny something.

"So why isn't anyone in Hogsmeade yet?" asked Ron slightly confused because it was a Hogsmeade weekend and usually everyone went to the village right after breakfast.

"Dumbledore made an announcement at breakfast saying that we couldn't go until after lunch because they were opening a new shop," said Ginny, "you would have known that if you weren't sleeping." She added giving Ron a knowing look.

"Yea," Hermione continued where Ginny left off, "He said that he couldn't tell us what kind of a shop it is, just that it is a surprise and after dinner we will find out how it will benefit us."

"Hmm, I wonder what kind of a shop it is." said Ron and Harry at the same time.

After they finished eating they all went to Hogsmeade and spent the rest of the day there. The new shop that was there was a shop full of Halloween costumes. Halloween was a little over a month away, but students didn't usually dress up, so they were excited to see how the shop would benefit them.

"We better get back to the school soon so we don't miss dinner; I want to know why that shop will benefit us!" Hermione squealed excitedly as they exited the Three Broomsticks.

"Yea," added Ginny, "maybe we are going to have to dress up or something for classes on Halloween! It's on a Friday this year!"

They got back to the school and entered the Great Hall just as dinner was starting.

As the students ate their dinner there was a hint of excitement in their conversations. They were all waiting for the announcement that Dumbledore was going to make.

Finally when the plates were all cleared Dumbledore began, "If I may have your attention please," Dumbledore waited for complete silence before continuing. "As you all know everyone is still celebrating from the death or Lord Voldemort," there were loud cheers from everyone in the Great Hall; except Draco Malfoy who was scowling at Dumbledore. "So we thought that to add to the celebrations we would have a welcome back dance for all students. It will be held on Halloween and costumes are mandatory, that is how the new shop in Hogsmeade will benefit you. Also it is required that you bring a date. On Halloween all classes will end after lunch, so you have enough time to get ready for the event. The dance will start at 8 o'clock and it will end at midnight. We hope you will all enjoy yourselves. That is all."

After Dumbledore finished the students went back to their common rooms to discuss what they would dress up as and who they wanted to go with.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A/N: I know that the idea of having a dance is corny and overused in fics, but I needed it to help me out. This chapter is also a shorter one, but longer than the last! lol. Hope you enjoy it. R&R.