(A.N. In my first version of Chapter 1 I seemed to have made Luna a Gryffindor. My bad. But that has since been rectified. Thank you for your previous comments. Hedera xx...)
The vibrant red hair, pale skin and freckles were the only things that betrayed the new image of Ginny Weasley. She looked quite different from last year, having filled out considerably over the summer. The effect of her transformation was evident from the turning heads, causing a blush to rise into her cheeks but she appreciated the praise nonetheless.
She sat at her normal place at the Gryffindor table, getting quite mixed reactions. Seamus's mouth had dropped wide, openly displaying what he thought, Neville's eyes were wide like a puppies. Bless. Harry was grinning cheekily, something that seemed completely beyond him, until he saw the expression on Ron's face. Ah. Right. Ron. Ron's mouth was set in a tight line and he was glaring, disgustedly. Perhaps that was his reaction to the bit of makeup that she added. Nothing outrageous, just enough to accentuate her features, and she couldn't be bothered to do it every day anyway. Oh well, Ron would have to get over it. It was high time he learnt that she wasn't the 'little sister' anymore.
She flicked her hair impatiently to make her silent point to Ron, sneaking a glance to her left to see Seamus's mouth drop even wider in fascination, if that was even possible. She was soon distracted however, as Dumbledore stood, all attention now focussed on him. He raised his hands slightly, as he was inclined to do so when he spoke, and the hall fell completely silent, knowing that the future of their school year was about to be revealed.
"Welcome to yet another year of Hogwarts!"
Ginny held back a yawn. As much as she respected and admired Dumbledore, it was the same thing every year. And so it was, the usual staff appointments, special welcome for the 'newlings', grounds warnings, and even more objects banned by the infamous Filch. But then something did catch her attention, it seemed that the speech was taking a turn.
"Now before we begin the feast, I thought I'd better prepare you for the special event we have coming up. As we thought it would be good to let you experiment with other people outside your friendship groups, and as the previous Yule Ball went down so well, it is my pleasure to inform you that exactly a month from now, Hogwarts will be holding it's first Masquerade Ball!"
The hall erupted, girls were giggling and already planning their outfits and partners. Boys were groaning at the prospect of having to dance again but there were many hushed whispers and nudging as well. It seemed that even the boys were enjoying the idea of being able to ask girls out, under the cover of 'needing a partner'. Dumbledore chuckled at the excitable reaction and remained standing, though McGonagall stood to deal with the formalities. She waited impatiently for the noise to die down, which happened rather quickly, as people were dying to know more.
"Now of course, as the whole point is that you are bonding with those you wouldn't normally, there will be some rules set in place so that your identities are mostly concealed. When the feast begins, as well as your pumpkin juice and food, a few other things will appear, one set for each of you. Firstly there are vials. When you drink the contents of these, they will taint your voice so that it doesn't change dramatically, but enough to make it unrecognisable as your own. Secondly there are bottles. These contain a kind of hair product that can easily be enchanted to produce any colour hair dye. And lastly there will be glass cases, containing contact lenses that have much the same effect as the dye. For those of you who don't know what contacts are, they are small glass discs that fit onto your iris and can improve your vision or change the colour of your eyes."
Several people, obviously not in close contact with any muggles, turned white at the idea of sticking pieces of glass in their eye. Unerringly, McGonagall continued.
"Ah, and you will be informed of a way to keep your masks attached to your faces in your next charms lesson. They will be checked at the entrance to make sure they are secure, and you will not be able to remove them until the ball is over. Dance lessons will take place during your free period on Thursdays and extra lessons if needed on Tuesdays"
With the serious bit over, she sat down again and Dumbledore continued.
"Now, of course you do not have to change any of your features, though it would be much better if you did, but I'm afraid you won't be allowed into the hall without an attached mask. Yes, well, I think that's all. So let the feast begin!"
Ginny's eyes immediately flitted to the space in front of her, where the promised objects appeared in front of her eyes. She instantly picked them up and put them in her large cloak pockets, as if they would disappear if she didn't make a grab for them. The feast was great, a huge roar of noise like she hadn't heard since the announcement of the Triwizard Tournament. Hardly anyone was eating, the food disappearing much slower than usual. Everyone was too busy talking about the upcoming event, including Ginny.
"Do you think it will be the same dance as last time?"
She said to Liza, a friend she had come across during the summer holidays in the apothecary. Liza was class, to put it plainly, but on the opposite side of the spectrum to that of the Malyfoys. Liza's mother spent most of her money funding charities. It was this that convinced Ginny to give Liza a chance, before pasing her off as a 'posh snob'. She helped herself to some salad, subconsciously working at her figure to get her into the nicest dress possible.
'The waltz? Yes, that was rather enjoyable. I suppose it has to be basic for them lot."
Liza said distastefully, motioning towards the boys. When Ginny looked, Harry was talking to Ron, but kept looking over at her, smiling whenever he managed to without being caught by her protective brother. Ron was completely freaking out, typical.
"Oh god, we're going to have to do more dancing. And what the heck am I going to wear? There's no way I can wear those dress robes, and I…I can't afford to buy stuff at Hogsmead."
"I can make you something."
Liza butted in, putting a stop to his rambling. He looked at her quizzically, and a little embarrassed.
"I didn't know you could sew."
He said quietly, trying not to look at her. She nodded gently, not explaining how she knew, preferring to keep to the point.
"That's sorted then."
She said, turning back to her plate. Ginny chuckled and turned to further discuss outfits with the other girls.
The first lessons of the year were as uninteresting and mentally exhausting as ever, the only thing keeping them going through those first uneventful days and the daunting year ahead was the prospect of the ball. The corridors, however, were blazing with hushed whispers as both girls and boys discussed the first dance lesson, though for different reasons. Ginny herself could not help but get excited as the others about this, as she was told that she had excelled in the previous lessons, so had bought herself a book on the subject. She was going to go for one with complicated steps in, to add a bit of flair, but she didn't really understand then and learnt better when practising anyway. So she went for one that explained the feelings and possible scenarios to represent with different types of dance, much more up her street.
Her time in the Common Room revealed that as the dance lesson closed in on them, the subject of conversation turned to focus on a much more curious matter. Who would teach them? Last time they had just been flung in at the deep end, most just swayed and those who knew how, waltzed, but only in basic, no one knew any more than that. But now, perhaps, they were considered mature enough to learn the art properly. She was 16, after all. But back to the point, she didn't know that any of the Professors had dancing knowledge, perhaps they would get someone from outside school. She flicked the page of her dance book, lit by the fire, and tilted the book so that Liza could see better. She turned Ron and Harry, who were playing a game of exploding snap on the nearest table.
"Who do you think will teach us on Thursday?"
She didn't need to explain what she was talking about; the lessons were on the forefront of everyone's minds. Harry answered, as Ron was preoccupied with placing the next card, one eye shut, the other squinting and the tip of his tongue poking out to one side in concentration. Ginny thought it was grotesque. Liza thought was quaint.
"No idea, I heard that it was one of the staff though. Oh Gods, I hope it's not…"
He broke off, but Ginny knew what he was thinking. There was a moment's silence, before both of them burst into laughter. No chance. Snape would rather be Harry's slave-boy for a week than teach dance lessons to groups of giggling girls and hopeless boys.
"So who then?"
Ginny managed to get out, after the chuckles subsided. Harry opened his mouth to answer, when there was a ferocious BANG! When Ginny looked up again after taking cover behind the sofa, Harry was covering his face with his arms, and Ron had fallen backwards in his chair. She sighed, smiling and turned back to her book. Ah well, one more day before all her questions were answered.