Chapter 2

The sun was slowly going down behind the gloomy grey clouds as the Gryffindor Quidditch team trudged back towards the changing rooms covered in mud and soaking in sweat, after a gruelling training session that their captain, Harry Potter, put them through.

"Did you really have to make us go through that, Harry?" asked Ginny, who tried to glare as she spoke but failed miserably thanks to irritating mud on her face.

"Of course, I had to," responded Harry, nonplussed by the various tired but angry stares he was receiving from his teammates. "We won't be having another training session for a week, with the ball happening tomorrow and the rest of the holidays after that. I want to make sure that we win the cup one last time before I leave."

Without waiting for a reply, Harry grabbed his towel and went to the nearest shower cubicle, ignoring the irritated muttering of his fellow teammates.

Nothing much was said between the remaining players afterward, and instead, they focused on cleaning themselves up, applying minor healing charms on the places that needed them, and leaving the changing rooms after saying their farewells.

Eventually, the remaining two people left in the room were Harry and Neville. The two boys talked about quidditch and their chances at winning the cup, as they made their way to the Gryffindor common room at a slow pace. Exhausted and hungry. The castle was also quiet compared to what it normally was, due to it being Hogsmeade weekend, which thanks to Harry, the entire quidditch team couldn't enjoy taking part in.

Once they had revealed the password to the Fat Lady and entered through the portrait hole, the two seventh-year students were surprised to see both of their mothers by the fire, sitting on armchairs whilst talking to each other.

"Er…" said Neville, failing to respond to the scene in front of him. The last time either of their mothers had been in the common room was to give them an earful for a certain prank they had done on the teachers.

"Look who's finally graced us with their presence," said Alice to Lily, as soon as she noticed the two boys. Lily turned her head towards the direction of the boys and gave them a small mischievous smile, which immediately put the two boys on alert.

"So, Harry, Neville, how was your day? Actually, how was your week?" asked Lily innocently. "It's been a while since we've talked to both of you outside the classroom."

"It's been going quite well. We are up to date with our homework, which has given us plenty more free time…" cautiously said Harry.

"Ah, so if you were up to date with your homework, why didn't the two of you come to our weekly family dinner yesterday?" the redhead further inquired.

"We had made both of your favorite dishes," added Alice.

Both boys' eyes immediately shot at each other, not knowing what to say. They had completely forgotten about their weekly dinner arrangements that they had, and as they tried to formulate a viable excuse, both of their mothers asked at the same time with matching smiles on their faces, "This wouldn't be because of a certain pair of Slytherins?"

Both boys immediately groaned loudly. This was not a topic that either of them wanted to talk about. It also made them realise that this was the real reason why their mothers were here and they knew that no matter how much they tried to get out of this conversation, all of their attempts would end in vain. So, they slowly walked towards the couch near the fireplace and sat on it, their hunger was long forgotten, while Lily and Alice wore matching grins on their faces.

"Ugh," said Daphne as she sat up and stretched her back. "The ball is in about 2 hours and I need to get ready,"

Harry who was still lying on the ground near the lake, enjoying the brief sunshine said, "Well I'm not even going to try to understand why you females need to get ready so early. Use men at max need about 30 minutes."

Daphne gave a light chuckle at her boyfriend's statement, as he got up from the ground and held her hand softly. They then gradually made their way back to the castle.

Ever since Harry had asked her to be his date to the ball, in an unused classroom, Daphne had been having the best time of her life. Harry and she had many things in common and also had the same goals. It was actually a surprise how much they understood each other.

Moreover, word had spread out like wildfire throughout the castle that she was Harry's date to the ball. While she was unused to the attention that she was receiving she didn't really mind it that much. The only thing that was currently irking her, was the constant advances that Harry was receiving from other females. She had also heard from Tracey that the same thing was happening to Neville. Out of all the females who were hoping that the two Gryffindors would ditch their date in favour of them, Susan and Hannah were by far the most frequent of them. However, Harry and Neville never gave them a second glance and instead remained fixated on either the work they were doing or on their dates. However, despite these small annoyances, Daphne was extremely happy.

Sooner than either of them would have liked, Harry and Daphne had made it to the castle and we're currently standing in the entrance hall. At the same time, Neville and Tracey also made it into the hall, and when they saw the other couple, they made their way towards them. After saying a few words, they all agreed to meet at the same location 20 minutes before the ball. The Slytherins, realising that they only had less than two hours until the agreed meeting time, quickly said goodbye in a couple-fashion and hastily made their way towards the dorms. Harry and Neville on the other hand decided to head to the kitchens to have a light snack to pass time.

"Where are they?" Grumbled Neville to Harry as they stood in the entrance hall. "We've been waiting for 15 minutes, and the ball is about to start in 5!" Neville then looked at Harry, waiting for his input.

"Nev, didn't we long ago agree not to try to understand women? Just chill out and relax. From the time we've already spent with them, the obvious conclusion is that they are wanting to arrive at the ball fashionably late or they've gotten into some sort of catfight that females are always in." Harry replied with mirth.

"Or we might have been late because we were spending extra time making sure we looked nothing except extraordinary for our dates," said a bubbly voice behind them.

Both boys turned around so fast that, if the girls hadn't reached out and hiked either of their arms, they would have been face-down on the floor.

"Thanks for that, girls," both boys said, trying to hide the flush of embarrassment on their faces. The girls merely chuckled at them.

Harry, who had gathered his bearings quicker than Neville, took Daphne's arm gently and said, "You look gorgeous, dear."

A hint of blush could be seen under her makeup. She was wearing a tight dress that hugged her curves not greatly but enough. Her dress was colored Navy Blue, which went well with her blonde hair and sapphire eyes.

"You don't look that bad yourself," She replied. Harry was wearing bottle-green dress robes and had somehow managed to control his messy, bird-nest hair into an elegant combover.

"Thank you," replied as she pecked him on the lips. Together they made their way towards the ball, talking to each other, while Neville and Tracey were a few metres behind them, conversing in hushed tones.

The ball had yet to start in the Great Hall when they arrived. The great hall was unrecognisable to all of the Hogwarts students except for the ones who took part in its transformation. That being the teachers, head students, and prefects.

Just like the rest of the castle, the great hall had embraced a Halloween makeover. The floating candles were enchanted to release green flames, while the enchanted ceiling was as dark as space, the only thing intruding into it was the well-known full circle of the moon. The walls and floor of the castle were also enchanted to make it look like the venue of the Ball was taking place in the middle of the forbidden forest. Slight movements could be seen in the shadows of various animals, however much to most of the students' relief and Hagrid's disappointment, they were illusions.

Animated skeletons and suits of armour were walking around with trays of alcohol-free drinks for those who were not of age. While for those who were, alcoholic drinks could be found near the teacher's table. Moreover, the teachers' table was being used, after being drenched in a black cloth, as the food table, where all the food could be located. Animated insects, made out of chocolate, were moving along the table.

Teachers could be seen chatting with each other at various different places while students filled in the gaps. The ball had yet to fully begin, and already people couldn't wait to spend the next few hours here.

"May I have all of your attention," said the loud, clear, grandfatherly voice of Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore had abandoned his vibrant colored robes and instead opted for a muggle pirate costume. He looked absolutely ridiculous.

"I would like to warmly welcome you all to the Halloween Ball! As you can see, our beloved great hall has gone through quite a transformation and a positive one at that. Could we please give a round of applause for the Head Boy and Girl, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, as well as the prefects, for outdoing themselves? Not only for this but for the Halloween changes throughout Hogwarts and the outdoor activities for those who were too young to attend tonight's event!"

Teachers and students alike gave a loud, long round of applause to the aforementioned. None of them could stop the proud smiles spreading across their faces.

Once the applause died down, Dumbledore continued, "Now I know you all wish the rambling of this old man to stop so that the ball may go underway, so without further ado, I would like you to warmly welcome tonight's entertainers, The Weird Sisters!"

People immediately began cheering for the weird sisters, but it slowly died and was replaced with murmurs of confusion as they had not appeared in the ball. But that moment of confusion was quickly forgotten when someone noticed a group of people floating above the candles and recognized them immediately as the Weird Sisters.

"Look!" said the person as he pointed towards the ceiling. Everyone looked in the direction and we're surprised to see the Sisters there. Moments later the cheering once again started and the band started the first few notes of the opening song.

Those who had dates made their way towards the centre of the hall, while those who were unfortunately without a date remained at the sides with drinks in their hands.

"May I have this dance, Miss Greengrass?" asked Harry with a charming smile from Daphne's right. His outstretched arm was inviting Daphne towards him.

Daphne smiled prettily and took his outstretched arm and let Harry guide them towards the middle.

As the dancing started, Daphne zoned out of everything that was happening around her. The couple moved with grace and precision throughout the dance. Their moves were sharp but elegant. Everyone could see how well paired they were. They moved as if they were one.

"I need a break," said Daphne breathlessly during their 5th dance as she stared at Harry's glowing emerald eyes. "My feet are hurting in these heels, and I need a drink."

"Okay. I would have said something earlier but I wasn't aware of how much you enjoyed dancing," smiled Harry while looking down towards the sapphire-eyed witch. "I too have been needing to take a break."

After the song ended the couple moved off the dance floor and moved towards the refreshment table. After refreshing themselves up, they saw Neville and Tracey sitting on a table and made their way over there. As they walked towards them, Harry saw his mother, Lily, and his aunt Alice dancing together. Both had bright smiles on their faces clearly enjoying their time.

"How are you doing mate?" Said Neville as soon as Harry sat down and their two dates started a hushed conversation in between each other. "I don't know how the two of you managed to dance for that long, myself and Tracey were done after 3."

"I would have stopped dancing after 3, but Daphne seemed to enjoy dancing more than I expected." Said Harry while smiling towards Neville.

"And you have a problem with that?" came Daphne's sharp and clear voice, evidently having heard them.

Harry winced internally as Neville and Tracey chuckled."I wouldn't have it any other way." replied Harry, hoping that it would be enough to satisfy the witch. Thankfully it was just enough.

"Hmm, just about the right answer. You're lucky I like you." Harry then gave her a peck on the cheek.

The rest of the time went by in bliss. Harry and Neville, after getting the alright from their dates, danced with Hermione and a few others. Unfortunately for Harry, Susan also managed to trick him into dancing with her, much to his chagrin. But that was nothing compared to how Daphne felt, who after immediately finding what happened, took Harry from the redhead, disgracing all etiquette, and kissed him in front of everyone at the ball including Susan. The expression on Harry's ex-girlfriend's face was priceless.

To further show her claim over Harry, Daphne made the show of grabbing Harry by the arm and all but dragged him out of the hall and towards the nearest broom closet. Nobody heard Harry complain.

The sky was pitch black as Harry sat on the bench in the courtyard with Daphne tugging under his left arm. They had just come from the ball, which was slowly trickling down to students as it got later into the night.

"Today has been one of the best days ever," said Daphne to Harry who was enjoying the warmth radiating from the girl beside him.

"It sure has," He replied softly.

Daphne gently repositioned herself so that she could look into the eyes of the person who she was falling for.

Both 7th years sat in silence, not wanting to break the silence.

Eventually, the silence was broken when one of them said, "I love you."

Both pairs of eyes immediately popped out. Daphne's because she was shocked to hear those words, while Harry's was because of what he had just said.

Before Daphne could reply, she was interrupted by Harry who, every now and then, tended to put his foot in his mouth.

"I don't love, love you. I love you more than I'd love a friend if that makes sense… Wait, that makes me sound like I love…" He was soon cut from his gibberish when a pair of lips pressed against his.

Daphne poured all of her feelings into that kiss. Yes, they weren't even 1 month into their relationship but she loved him just as much.

"I love you too," She said breathlessly after breaking the kiss.

After processing what Daphne had just said to him, Harry's only reply was to smile brightly and once again pressed his lips against hers.

None of them noticed a flash of light from the other side of the courtyard and the giggles of a redhead and brunette witch.

"One down, one to go. Now, where is Neville?" Asked the brunette.

"He's on the astronomy tower," pointed the redhead at a certain point on a piece of parchment.

"Oh, I can't wait to see their reactions tomorrow, they both hate it when we take pictures of them."

"Neither can I," said the redhead before taking her wand out, and pointing it towards the parchment, and saying,

"Mischief Managed!"

And here it is! Yes, yes I know, it has been a while but the chapter is out. I hope you enjoyed this short fanfiction. A big thanks to a good friend of mine HPfanfictioner66 for beta reading this.

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