Disclaimer: I so do not own any of the HPverse characters. Is that clear enough for you?
Authoress' Note: I am trying my best to get this out now. If not now, prolly never. Anyway, I am kinda brain dead about how to continue the story, so if you have any ideas let me know. Here we go…
Ariel walked into the Great Hall and was taken aback. The teachers had obviously given much thought and planning to how everything would look. The entire hall was absolutely gorgeous. The decorations were tasteful, not tacky, and the house tables had disappeared to leave room to dance. Small tables were scattered around the edges, both numerous and privately arranged. You could easily have an intimate place to talk or have a group discussion, depending on your mood.
When Ariel had walked in, several people had quit talking. Many of the guys (whether they had dates or not) were openly staring at her. She saw several girls shoot daggers at her and then proceed to get the attention of their dates back. Ariel thought it was amusing and wished the girls were here already. They would have had quite a laugh about it.
She spotted Calista over at a secluded table with Draco. They were deep in conversation, their heads close. Across the room she saw Pansy Parkinson and her gang (A.K.A Draco's fanclub) glaring at Calista and Draco. I bet Cali's just way too tickled with herself, Ariel thought with an evil grin. She loves to piss Pansy off.
A few people she knew stopped her and talked, but since it was her first year here she didn't know very many. Several guys asked her to dance, most of which she turned down politely. Occasionally one would pique her interest and she would agree.
Shortly after she turned down a Ravenclaw seventh year, she saw her "group" walk in. Katie had met up with Roger somewhere and they were talking and laughing. Harry and Ginny were being all cuddly (Ariel was beginning to wonder if that's all they did). Ron and Hermione sat down at a table and began talking. Ron wasn't much of a dancer. She figured Hermione would dance with Harry or one of the twins.
Speaking of the twins, she thought as she grinned. Fred and Angelina were dancing in a flurry of arms and legs. People were backing away a little in fear of getting hit. George and Alicia were like polar opposites of Fred and Angelina. They were dancing closely, not moving around much. She knew Alicia liked George ( it was something she found out shortly after she arrived). Another thing she knew (and now she guessed Alicia did too) was that the feeling was mutual. George had confided in Ariel a few years ago that he liked Alicia. He had told her all about this girl and all the things you would only tell a close confidante. As soon as she met Alicia, she understood why George was practically in love with her. She hoped that the way those two were looking at each other was indication of what was to come. Alicia needed someone to make her happy as much as George did and she believed they could make each other very happy.
Her wondering was interrupted when she heard Skyler and Cedric arguing. They argued a lot, but they always made up in the end. It was kind of sweet really.
She felt someone behind her and was about to turn around and decline. When she turned around she was looking into a pair of brown eyes she couldn't forget.
He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "Want to dance?" She couldn't speak so she just nodded, letting him lead her out on the floor.
As if it was planned, BoyzIIMen's "I Can Love You Like That" came on and the only people on the floor were couples. Even Ron and Hermione were out there. She was pleased to see Fred and Angelina and George and Alicia out there as well. Oliver turned her toward him and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her waist as she wound her arms around his neck. They began to slowly sway to the music. Ariel put her head on Oliver's shoulder and he put his head on top of hers.
About ¼ the way through the song, Oliver moved his head and whispered, "I have no regrets when it comes to you." Ariel looked at him, her eyes wide in such an innocent way that Oliver was astounded.
"Really?" she asked hopefully.
"Absolutely," he replied. "Why would you think otherwise?" She gave him a weak smile.
"I'm not really sure. I just had this feeling that when you brought up that night, you wanted to tell me that it was all a mistake. Then you would tell me that you didn't feel anything and that you just wanted to be friends and all that other BS."
Oliver sort of looked at her, surprised that all of that had been running through her mind. No wonder she had avoided him. She thought that he was a jerk and he hadn't done anything to change her opinion. He realized why he hadn't seen her very often. Gosh, he thought, he had been so stupid.
"I know this is no consolation," he said, "but I am so sorry. There's no way to make up for it, but I wish we could start over."
"Yea," she said, "me too."
The song was about ¾ of the way through when he leaned down again. "Will you let me make it up to you?" he asked.
She looked at him. "Are you asking me out?" she inquired, baffled.
"That was the idea," he said, "but if you don't want to we can just be friends."
She looked at him strangely. "Are you crazy?" she asked.
"No," he replied, eyeing her confusedly.
She smiled. Then she leaned in and kissed him.
"Is that a 'yes'?" he asked sarcastically.
"Absolutely," she said, grinning wildly.
As the song ended, they kissed again and walked off the floor hand-in-hand, not noticing the person watching them from the shadows.