PART TWO
CHAPTER NINE: SNOW FALLS ON HOGWARTS
It took Professor McGonnagal several minutes before she could get the Gryffindor fourth to seventh year students to settle down. She had separated the group in two; girls on one side and boys on the other. A huge gramophone had been brought into the Great Hall for the occasion.
"The Yule Ball," she started to say quite solemnly, "has been a Triwizard tradition ever since…"
Harry wasn't listening. He knew the speech by heart. He had heard it before. He looked around the room and his eyes fell on Hermione. She was talking to Pavarti and Lavender and seemed to be describing her dress. Everyone in the room seemed to have the same sort of exited comment about the upcoming ball. Ever since the announcement, Harry's mind had the tendency to go back to Cho and Cedric talking in the Great Hall, Ron and Hermione holding hands. He wished that he could be as happy, with not a care in the world. He was trying hard not to think about the second task, not just yet.
"You do have a date already, don't you?" Harry asked Ron casually.
Ron's ears became quite red.
"Well I suppose I ought to go with Hermione," he said flatly, "but I haven't asked her yet. I mean, we're dating already, but I think she expects that I will… I don't know… get down on my knee of something."
Harry could not help but grin broadly at the thought of Ron kneeling in front of Hermione, asking her hand in marriage. It seems so far-fetched.
"Granger, my love, my sweet Hermie," said Fred, kneeling theatrically in front of George.
"Yes, Ronnie, my darling, my little squirrel," added George in a high-pitched voice.
"Will you marry me?" asked Fred, taking George's hand and stroking it.
"Yes I will, my darling!"
And George threw himself in Fred's arms and the whole group of Gryffindor boys burst out laughing. Harry saw Ron mutter to him and cross him arms over his chest grimly, which only made Harry laugh harder.
"Mr Potter," said McGonnagal loudly to draw everyone's attention back to the matter at hand. "Join me, please."
Harry got up reluctantly. His feet were suddenly like lead. Someone whistled as he was putting his right hand on Professor McGonnagal's waist. The music began to play and Harry started to count in his mind "ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three" repeatedly.
"Very good, Potter," said McGonnagal. "You've done this before. Now, everyone, please find a partner."
Before he could realise it, Harry was pushed into the group of girls and found himself holding the waist of Pavarti Patil. The next hour was a long series of ONE-two-three punctured by the occasional swearing caused by uncontrolled feet.
Harry, along with the rest of the Gryffindor boys, was quite relieved when the hour of practice was over. On the way back to the Great Hall, they crossed a group of Ravenclaw. They had also just had a dancing lesson, apparently. A tall and black-haired Ravenclaw seventh year boy that Harry knew to be called Roger was telling the tale of how he had asked Fleur Delacour to the ball.
"She said yes, obviously," he said quite evidently. "So you can understand that I take these dancing lessons very seriously."
"Excuse me," said a girl's voice beside Harry.
He had just bumped into Cho Chang. They were standing shoulder to shoulder. Cho looked down, blushing slightly. The corridor leading to the Great Hall was packed with students arriving from all sides. They were completely surrendered by a group of Hufflepuff boys.
"Sorry," said Harry to Cho's attention. "It's one of those crazy days."
"I'm glad that someone else thinks that," replied Cho with a small smile.
Harry was uncomfortable in the crowd. He felt feverish again. Or maybe it was the presence of Cho? He couldn't tell. He could picture her in the dress that she had worn at the Yule Ball. In his opinion, she had been the prettiest, followed closely by Hermione. Perhaps this was his chance to invite her this time. He was trying hard to convince himself that she was not going with Cedric Diggory again.
"Are you… err… going to the ball with anyone?" he asked casually, looking straight in front of him.
"I'm going with Cedric Diggory," she replied. "You?"
Harry merely shrugged.
His heart sank. Cedric was not a Triwizard champion, not this time. He couldn't figure out why Cho was going with him. Had Cedric asked her that day in the Great Hall, the day that the Yule Ball had been announced? Had Cedric and Cho been together for longer than that?
They said nothing else as they walked into the Great Hall. He lost sight of Cho when she caught up with a group of Ravenclaw girls. With a sigh of relief, Harry joined Neville at the Gryffindor table. His thoughts were still on Cho. "Why?" he kept asking himself. "This is supposed to be my perfect life."
"You look pale, mate," said Neville as Harry sat down and poured himself a large glass of water.
"I'm trying to cut back on the time spent in the shower," said Harry quietly so that only Neville could hear.
Harry drank the water all at once and felt a little better. He was feeling the effects of the Dragon Fever even though a full month had passed. Water was still the best cure. Most of the time, he ended up in the shower once or twice during the day.
"Whazzup, Harry," said a voice behind him. Someone that he had not seen coming suddenly sat besides him. Neville moved a bit to make room. The other students were just staring.
"Sirius! What are you doing here?"
Sirius was already digging in the sandwiches and veggies. He looked perfectly at ease among the young Gryffindors students.
"So, Harry, did you ask her to the ball yet?" Sirius said without any preamble or explanation as to why he was at Hogwarts.
"Who?" Harry asked at once.
"The girl that you were looking for at the Quidditch World Cup."
Then Harry remembered. Sirius had whisper something to him during the match, a question about a girl. Harry had just assumed that Sirius had meant Cho Chang. Was there anyone else?
"You've got to ask her sometime soon," said Neville, joining in the conversation.
"Who?" Harry asked again. He was getting irritated now.
At that moment, Ginny appeared next to Sirius. As soon as she saw Sirius, her face lit up in a large smile.
"Sirius! How are you? It's so good to see you," she said happily as she sat opposite Harry and Neville. "What are you doing here?"
"The usual. Investigation. Hogsmead," said Sirius mysteriously.
Harry could easily tell that the other students were deeply impressed by the presence of Sirius Black. He was a tall and charismatic man with dark wavy hair and an overall look of carelessness. At the moment, he was wearing a long black jacket that reminded Harry of some hero out of an action movie. Not only was he very handsome, but he was also a well-known dark wizard catcher as far as Harry could tell.
"Oh good heavens!" said Angelina Johnson as she was passing by. She had evidently recognised Sirius. "I can't believe… I'm a real fan of your work." She extended her hand to Sirius who shook it in a very gentlemanly fashion.
"You're Sirius Black, the Auror?" said Seamus Finnigan, catching on. He was sitting nearby with Dean Thomas. "I've read about you in the Daily Prophet."
Dean nudged him on the shoulder. "Yes of course he is. There's an article about him about every week in the Prophet, mate. Try to keep up, will you?"
Sirius winked at Neville.
"You see, Nev, you're not famous as me," he said encouragingly.
At these words, Harry's forehead burst out with pain. It had burned like this before, but it was getting stronger every time now. He shifted uncomfortably on his seat, turning away from his godfather as he did so.
"Are you OK, Harry?" asked Sirius.
Ginny too seemed to have noticed his sudden distress. Harry half expected Neville to say something awkward, but Ginny was quicker to react. She quickly diverted the conversation to another topic, drawing the attention to herself by leaning closer to Sirius across the table.
"You will be glad to know," Ginny said to Sirius with the same mysterious tone that he had used earlier, "that we've made good use again of the special Christmas present you gave Harry in his first year."
Sirius grinned broadly at Ginny and seemed to forget quickly to inquire about Harry's well-being. Harry took this opportunity to flatten his fringe and drink another full glass of water.
"Is that so?" Sirius said maliciously. "You haven't by any chance broken any school rules, have you?"
Neville and Ginny exchanged a conspiring smile. "Of course we did," said Ginny quietly.
Sirius burst out laughing, clapping Harry on the back as he did so. The deep cut on Harry's left shoulder blade seared painfully, but Sirius did not see the sudden look of strain on his nephew's face. Ginny looked at Harry apologetically, but he shook his head to tell her not to say anything. She returned her attention to Sirius rather reluctantly.
Sirius stayed almost an hour sitting with them and talking merrily. He told them a funny story about how Harry's dad and he had transfigured all the school clocks into paintings, thus causing the cancellation of all classes to allow the teachers to search the school for the missing clocks. The clocks had all turned out to be funny pictures of Snape wearing all sorts of bizarre clothing, including a nightgown complete with a bonnet and bunny slippers.
After that, Sirius went to sit at the staff table where he and James Potter lowered their heads together into a long and serious conversation. Severus Snape made a short appearance in the Great Hall, but when he saw Sirius Black and James Potter sitting together, he turned his heels and left, visibly fuming.
Later that very same day, the fourth years had a study session in the Great Hall during which Fred asked Angelina Johnson to the ball, proving Harry that he was definitely in trouble since he had not asked anyone yet. Harry was coming out of the Great Hall after that period when Sirius caught up with him again.
"I've asked Ginny to send out an owl for me," said Sirius conspiringly to Harry's ear as he was dragging him away from the Great Hall. "You go to the owlery pretending to be checking on Paris, and you ask her to the ball. Get it?"
"But…" Harry started to say.
"You like this girl, Harry. Nev told me, and it's all over your face too. Now is the time to get a move on."
Seconds later, Harry was striding on the fresh snow, cold to his bones as he did not have his cloak, and walking towards the owlery with no idea as to why on earth he was supposed to ask Ginny to the ball. Well, he had thought of asking her, but he had dismissed the idea after he had remembered that Ginny was Ron's sister. He couldn't go with his best friend's sister. It was simply too odd. Besides, Ginny was his friend. It would be like going to the ball with Hermione.
Ginny Weasley was walking down the stairs of the tower when he saw her. She had snow in her hair and was wearing a dark burgundy woollen coat that her mother had probably made.
"Harry," she said in surprise, "you look positively frozen. Sirius asked me to send out a letter for him. I used Paris. I hope you don't mind."
"No," said Harry, "I was coming to check on him, that's all."
She grinned.
"Without a coat? You're not that found of Paris. What's up? Were you looking for me?"
Harry shrugged innocently. His mind was looking for the words that he was supposed to say.
"I saw your face in the Great Hall with Sirius. Your head was hurting again," she said purposely. "You know you can talk to me. Go ahead."
All that Harry could do was stare. He had never seen Ginny in this light before, as someone that he could confide in. Yet there she was, offering to hear whatever he had to say.
"I think it's a warning," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking down at his feet. "Danger is coming."
"Voldemort wants to capture Nev," she said. "Is that what it's all about? It's worrying you a lot, isn't it?"
A million things rushed into Harry's mind. Suddenly, he wanted to tell her everything, just because she had used Voldemort's name and not that annoying expression everyone else used. He wanted to tell her that Voldemort was becoming stronger, that he did not think that the tournament would end without someone dying, that his parents were not supposed to be alive, that his hurting was not a delusion but the effects of a lightning scar that Neville should not have.
He remained motionless. He was only two steps lower than where Ginny was standing but he felt such a distance between them. He could not help but think that this was not the same Ginny as the one he had always known. Or was it? Was she really different? And how different was he? What if Ginny liked the other Harry, the person he had been before? What did she really think of him now? He had to find out.
"Harry, what is it? You've been carrying this forever. Why don't you just tell me?"
"You know Neville's scar?" he started to say, looking up to her for a short moment and staring at his feet again. "It's like I have it. Not Neville. Me. I can… feel it. How weird is that?"
She seemed to think for a few seconds, and then she started down the stairs again, saying nothing as she went pass him. Harry waited a bit to follow her. He was aware that what he had just said would not make any sense to her. When he caught up with her, she was staring straight ahead. Her eyes were unfocused as though she was in deep thoughts.
"It would explain a lot of things," she finally said.
"What do you mean?"
"Your father's over-protective attitude, the fact that you can speak Parseltongue, the way that the Dementors affect you; it's all linking back to Voldemort and that night that he disappeared."
"You don't think I'm cracking up?" asked Harry quickly. It seemed almost impossible that Ginny would believe him.
"No, I don't think that, Harry. You're definitely weird, but you're not crazy. Think about this, though. The scar, it could mean that Voldemort tried to kill you thirteen years ago, not Neville," she said darkly. "It's very serious. It means that Neville is being used as a decoy. Not many people must know. I bet that Sirius doesn't even know."
"You don't think that my parents would have let Sirius in on the secret?" asked Harry indignantly, thinking about how Sirius had yelled that he would rather die than betray his friends.
"I just don't think that Sirius would have given you the Invisibility Cloak if he had known. He likes to think that you're like your father, but he wouldn't want to put you in danger. Incidentally, someone thought that you were crucial enough to need this kind of protection. I'm guessing that it's probably your parents and Dumbledore, and no one else. It's just too important."
"I don't think that my parents would have agreed to put Neville in any kind of danger, though," Harry pointed out.
Ginny merely shrugged and continued her walk towards the bottom of the stairs.
However, and regardless of that last comment, Harry did think that the story was making a lot of sense. He had wished for a normal life when he had enunciated the spell, what he had now was the appearance of a normal life. Perhaps he was as he had always been. Perhaps it was only the people around him who had changed. It would explain why he felt the lightening scar even though it was not visible.
He was wondering vaguely what other elements of his life would turn out the opposite of what he had wished for when he noticed that Ginny was now a few paces away from the tower and walking slowly towards the castle. Could it be possible that of all the people that he knew, even his parents, she was the only one who did not think that his behaviour was not attention seeking? He was not even sure that Neville would believe him. A part of him seemed to be saying that Ginny was more than just like Neville.
Presently, she was glaring back at him.
"Harry, come on! You're freezing. What are you waiting for?"
He ran quickly up to where she was, hands still in his pockets. The tip of his nose was stinging with cold now, and his toes were definitely frozen.
"You'll be alright," she said as he came to level with her. "With your parents and Dumbledore around, neither you nor Neville are in any real danger."
"It's not that," replied Harry, shaking his head.
"What is it, then?"
Harry took a deep breath.
"Are you going to the ball with anyone?" he said a little faster than what he had intended.
He felt his heart racing.
"No. Why? Are you asking me?"
"Yes," he said timidly.
"About time," she answered with a half-smile
"I mean, we can go as friends, right?"
She seemed to ponder the idea.
"Sure. As friends."
Together, they walked back to the castle. Large snowflakes were falling on their heads. As he was walking with Ginny, Harry was becoming quite convinced that he would have a terrific time at the Yule Ball this time around. After the ball, he'd concentrate on stopping Voldemort's return, but only after the ball. Right now, he was just going to enjoy himself.
