Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no profit.
Acknowledgments: Rpeh on the beta work.
Ball
Harry walked down from the Owlery, doing his best not to slip on the ice as he descended, doing his best to ignore the rising heat he felt in his cheeks. He tried to convince himself that if he didn't look embarrassed then he wouldn't feel embarrassed. It had middling success. A small part of him knew he shouldn't feel crushed by being rejected by Cho Chang. But a larger part of him cursed himself for waiting so long to ask. And he found himself feeling rather jealous of Cedric Diggory for beating him to the punch.
He couldn't fathom a reason why he hadn't acted sooner. He'd known he needed a date for days and he'd done nothing about it. And he couldn't come up with a single reason except that he was afraid. And that was absurd! He was a Gryffindor! He was brave!
And it wasn't like he'd be a terrible date. Hermione told him so! And Angelina and Alicia teased him about it! He was good looking, nice, and kind. And he wouldn't be an utterly awful date. Any girl would be excited to go to a ball with him! All he had to do was ask!
Well, he'd asked. And she'd said no. So everything they'd told him had obviously been a lie and he wasn't going to convince anyone to go with him. Never mind the fact that five girls had already asked him to go with them. They didn't seem to have a problem with working up the courage. And all they did was giggle when he said no.
Of course now he was wondering if he should have even said no. Looking back, they all seemed like decent choices. Well, excluding the second year Hufflepuff who'd managed to muster more courage than he could. But the rest of them would have all been fine for a night, he thought.
Although, he scoffed to himself, they only wanted to go with him for his name and the fifteen minutes of fame of being on his arm. He hadn't exchanged more than two words with most of them.
But, another part of him thought, was that so bad? They'd have a night to get to know each other. What was the worst-case scenario? He was bored and annoyed for an evening? Hell, he'd spent most of the start of that year bored and annoyed as nearly everyone ignored him and he hadn't even had Quidditch as an outlet.
And then what else could happen? He might have a good time. Hell, he knew he would as long as he let himself enjoy the night. He wasn't sure why part of him thought that was a bad idea. Of course, he should spend the night working out the clue to the second task. But that didn't seem like it would be an option regardless.
He let out an annoyed sigh as he approached the common room. He gave the password and then let a second year he thought was called Vane in before him. He reminded himself that Lynch had put up the Christmas decorations already and dodged away from the mistletoe before anything got awkward.
He saw Ron looking rather dazed in the corner, a small commotion around him and he decided to see what was going on. He overheard enough of it to have a small smile on his face. Part of him would have rather seen the look on Fleur Delacour's face when Ron blurted out an invite to the dance to her. But given that he'd just been rejected that morning as well he figured he shouldn't make much of a comment on it.
"I happen to have a date," Hermione snapped as Harry approached.
"What was that?" Harry asked.
"Ronald seems shocked I have a date for the ball," Hermione said.
"Oh, with whom?" Harry asked. He did his best to not sound surprised but a few faces did pop into his head. Neville, he thought, might have worked up the courage to ask her. He spent a moment wondering why he hadn't thought to but, honestly, he figured Ron would.
"It's not you?" Ron asked, sounding shocked.
"Not me," Harry affirmed.
"With who then?" Ron demanded.
"Just because you haven't noticed I'm a girl doesn't mean no one else did!" Hermione snapped.
"So that's why you have breasts!" Harry said. Hermione turned to glare at him but when she saw the smirk on his face she threw her arms up in the air and stormed off. Harry figured he'd pay for that comment later, but it might diffuse some of the budding tension between her and Ron. Ron watched her go, looking plaintive as she left.
"Did you ask Cho?" Ron asked.
"She's going with Cedric," Harry said.
"All the good ones are taken," Ron whined. Harry nodded, mostly because he didn't feel like continuing the conversation and looked around the common room. He doubted there was truth in Ron's words. But refuting the statement felt like it would lead to an argument. His eyes scanned over the girls in there, mentally noting their dates in his head as he did. Ron said something else, but Harry wasn't paying enough attention to hear it.
The portrait hole opened and his gaze turned to Lavender and Parvati as they entered the room. They were talking together in hushed tones. Harry wondered if they were still giggling about the latest Divination lesson where Professor Trelawney had predicted one of their class would find true love based on a chance meeting. She'd looked, rather pointedly, at Lavender when she'd said it. He rolled his eyes at the absurdity of it, much as he'd done in class.
But, as far as he knew, neither of them was seeing anyone. And, despite finding them a bit trying, they were both nice girls. He took a deep breath, gathering his resolve, and started to walk toward them. His eyes flashed between the two of them and he made a decision in his head.
"Hey Parvati," he said as he approached. She turned away from her conversation with Lavender and gave him a very bright, very wide smile.
"Hi Harry," she said.
"Uh, how are you?" Harry asked, running a hand sheepishly through his hair as he approached.
"I'm fine," she said. "You?"
"Great," He said as the portrait hole swung open. "Uh, how about you, Lavender?"
"I'm fine," Lavender said, her brown eyes going wide as Harry approached. He dodged out of the way of the starting Chaser line as they stormed into the common room.
"Look, if he's too stupid to want to go with you and would rather go with that Bones cow let him," Angelina said.
"And he's blind if he thinks she's prettier than you," Alicia added. Harry's eyes followed them as they ushered a very annoyed looking Katie deeper into the common room. He paused for what he thought could have only been a moment, but it was long enough that Parvati grew annoyed enough to ask.
"Did you need something, Harry?" her lips curled back into a smile as she spoke.
"Uh, yeah," Harry said. "What chapter were we supposed to read for Divination?"
"Twelve," Parvati answered instantly.
"Okay, thanks," Harry said and moved to turn away.
"If you like I can help you with it," Parvati said.
"I think I'll be fine," Harry said.
"Are you sure?" Parvati pouted. Harry nodded.
"Yes, thanks," he said, and he moved away from her. He weaved through the Creevey brothers and toward the fire where Angelina and Alicia were still talking to Katie.
"Hey Katie?" he asked as Alicia told Katie that boys Ernie's age were all idiots, without exception. Harry doubted that was the truth but decided it best to not refute that statement, either.
"Yeah, Harry?" she said. She lifted her gaze from the fire to look at him. Harry looked back at her, and then shifted his gaze to Alicia and Angelina. Both looked away and did their best to act like they weren't paying attention.
Harry paused for a moment, swallowing and opening his mouth. At first, no words came. He wasn't quite sure what he should ask. Or how he should go about it. Or what he should say. Katie's expression darkened and he decided that he just had to say it, and damn the consequences.
"Would you like to go to the ball with me?" he asked. He kept his eyes on her face, but he did catch Alicia smirk in his peripheral vision. Katie looked at him for what felt like an hour before she responded.
"Okay."
"Cool," Harry said. "Meet you here at quarter to eight on Christmas then?"
"Okay," Katie said again, this time with a slight nod of her head.
"I, uh, have to go to class," Harry said. Katie gave him a warm smile and nodded.
"Have fun," she said. Her tone seemed to have brightened though, and she smiled at him. Harry turned to go and did his best to ignore the giggling behind him as he left for Transfiguration.
He didn't see much of Katie for the next couple of days. They exchanged the usual pleasantries in the Great Hall, and the common room, but nothing much more than that. As he thought about it, he realized that without Quidditch they actually talked rather less than they had in previous years.
Ron was rather unbearable about the entire thing. At first, he was fine. He congratulated Harry and joked with him about how attractive his date was. But when it became clear that Hermione was still otherwise engaged, and that Harry wasn't going to ask Katie if she had any friends looking for dates, he'd started to pout and mutter about how unfair things were.
Somewhere in there he became convinced that Katie dumped Ernie purely because Harry had asked her to. And that it must have been so very nice to have such sway with girls that he could get whatever he wanted. Harry made the mistake of bringing up Cho during one of those bouts and, well, Ron had claimed it proved his point.
By day two he spent more of his time with Hermione than Ron. And when they were both too annoying he'd grab his Firebolt and fly around the pitch. With the excitement from the Triwizard Tournament and the Yule Ball there was a much larger contingent staying at Hogwarts, at least until Christmas. Harry overheard that there would be trains and floo options home for students for the remainder of the holiday after the festivities.
The added number of students though, did make it so there always seemed to be time for a pickup game of Quidditch. Sometimes he found himself playing in three or four a day. Along with whatever assorted winter festivities anyone could think of. Which, most commonly, turned into snowball fights of some sort.
But Christmas came quickly enough. And, after a six-hour assault on the Hufflepuff ice castle involving far too many magical defenses for there to ever be a breach, most of the valiant attackers decided that it was perhaps time to get ready for the Yule Ball.
Harry showered and did his best to tame his hair before he figured out exactly how his dress robes were supposed to go on. Part of him felt like he maybe should have tried them on rather than just tossing them into the bottom of his trunk. But it was far too late for that.
By the time he got the robes on and looked in the mirror he was pleasantly surprised. The bottle green of the robes did bring out his eyes as Mrs. Weasley said they would. And the robes fit rather perfectly. Still, despite the mirror telling him he looked smashing, he felt a bit like a kid playing dress up.
He found himself waiting in the common room at half past seven, peering around at the other robed figures waiting for dates. He saw some girls come down from their dormitories, find their dates, and continue on their way. After about five minutes he found himself growing rather nervous that she might have him wait there all night.
He could already picture Professor McGonagall coming up to the common room to drag him down to be a puppet on strings for the opening ceremonies.
But Katie didn't make him wait. She emerged from the Fifth Year girls' dormitories, drawing quite a few stares as she did. Katie was not one to dress up much, or show off much. She never seemed to be in the group of girls sun tanning on the warm spring days, or going for swims. And her pajamas when she wore them in the common room were always rather conservative, typically consisting of flannel pants and a night shirt.
Now she wore a midnight blue ball gown with a vee neck and translucent sleeves. The bodice was embroidered with a glimmering silver fabric that sparkled as she moved, giving the illusion of starts on the night sky. She'd applied some sort of silvery glitter to her neck, chest, shoulders and arms that helped with the illusion as well.
Her chocolate brown hair was done in an elaborate braided updo. Sparkling shimmers of the same silvery glitter seemed to be applied to it as well. And, as she approached him. He noticed that there appeared to be flecks of it worked into her blush and eyeshadow.
"Uh, Harry?" she asked after a moment. Harry had to blink a few times before he realized he was staring at her.
"You look amazing," Harry stuttered for a moment, but managed to get the words out. Katie turned a darker shade of red but a smile curled onto her lips.
"Thank you," she said. "You look rather nice yourself."
"Uh, thanks," he said. He kept staring at her, wondering why someone who looked like that would want to go to anything with him. His eyes slid down her body slightly, until he realized he was staring at her chest. It was his turn to flush as he quickly brought his gaze back up to her eyes.
"Shall we head down?" she asked quietly.
"We better. If I'm late to the opening McGonagall might hex me," Harry said. He moved toward the portrait hole and stepped out through it. He reached back to take Katie's hand and help her down.
"We wouldn't want that," she said as they started to walk down to the Great Hall. It was slower going than Harry expected. And it wasn't until Katie's footing slipped on a step that decided to vanish upon impact that he realized he was still holding her hand.
He prevented her from falling, pulling her closer to him as she regained her footing.
"You okay?" he asked immediately.
"Fine," she blushed looking rather embarrassed.
"I didn't think that was a trick step," Harry said. He tried to recall if he'd ever slipped on that one himself and he couldn't think of a single instance of it.
"Only if you're wearing heels," Katie scoffed. "Angelina and Leanne both reminded me of it today and I didn't remember."
"I didn't know any of them did that," Harry said. He looked down toward her feet and saw she was wearing short blue heels that matched her dress. He let his eyes wander back up, doing some quick math in his head and realized that she should have been taller than him with the added inches but he still had a few inches on her. He wondered just how much taller he'd gotten since the end of last term.
"Just a few. I, well, I don't wear heels much," Katie said.
"Don't like them?" Harry asked.
"Oh no," Katie said. "The opposite really. They're just not very practical."
"How so?" Harry asked. Katie raised her brows at him.
"Harder to walk in, slower to get around, really unpleasant for going up multiple flights of stairs a day," Katie said.
"Ah," Harry said, feeling rather stupid but Katie didn't seem to think any less of him. "I never thought of that."
"Most boys don't," Katie said. "It doesn't help that there's little opportunity to dress up either.
"That's true," Harry said. "I was confused as to why it was suggested we even have dress robes this year."
"Well, you picked out a nice one," Katie said.
"Thanks, but I had, well, very little input into them. You picked out an amazing dress though. I really like it," Harry said.
"Thanks. Me too. I always liked astronomy and it reminded me of a clear night sky," Katie admitted.
"Really, Astronomy?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, why?" Katie asked.
"Not usually a class people say they like," Harry shrugged. "I mean it's not the worst. But I'm not sure I'll continue it past next year."
"I find the stars fascinating," Katie shrugged. "I'll go for a NEWT in it. But I'm the weirdo that will go with Creatures too."
"I'd just be afraid of what Hagrid thinks is appropriate work for a seventh year," Harry teased. Most of the members of his house knew he was friendly with the Gamekeeper. But there was very rarely warm feelings about the Professor with other students.
"I'm sure something harmless as long as you're not an idiot. Hagrid knows what he's doing," Katie said.
"He does," Harry agreed. "Although, if I'm honest, I'm not sure he's the best at…vocalizing his instructions."
"I don't know," Katie shrugged. "I think he does alright. People just tune him out. He's one of my favorite Professors."
"Really?" Harry asked. He didn't mean to sound shocked but he was given a slight glare from her he probably did. He made a mental note to invite her the next time Hagrid invited him down for tea. Maybe a Rock Cake would change her mind.
"Yes. His classes are fun. The exploding scorpions are a problem but we also did Thestrals this year and that was entertaining. Who's your favorite professor anyway?" Katie asked.
"Well, it was Lupin. Now it's probably Flitwick," Harry said. Finding himself rather surprised at how quickly the answer came. But he liked Flitwick's hands-on approach to teaching and the diminutive man was addictingly exuberant. It was hard to not leave Charms without some sense of accomplishment.
"Interesting. McGonagall is waving her arms at you. Why would she hex you for being late anyway?" Katie asked.
"The Champions are supposed to open the dancing," Harry said.
"I thought there was food first," Katie frowned.
"I hope there is, I'm starving. Skipped lunch by accident," Harry agreed.
"Potter, Bell!" McGonagall yelled. "This way please, next to Miss Granger and Mister Krum." Both Gryffindors obeyed and moved off in the direction she gestured. They were lined up next to Hermione and Viktor Krum.
"Really?" Katie asked as they approached. Hermione turned bright red but nodded very quickly.
"Uh-huh." She intoned.
"Damn," Katie said as she looked Viktor up and down. The older Bulgarian ignored her gaze, but did reach for Hermione's hand.
"I feel oddly inadequate," Harry said, dryly. But before they could comment further Cedric and Cho arrived, followed shortly by Roger and Fleur. And once they were all there, they were escorted into the Great Hall. The long tables were gone, replaced by dozens of smaller, circular ones. The Champions and their dates were escorted to one of the tables at the head of the hall. The noise in the hall was palpable as students and guests all sat at the tables.
Harry found himself sitting between Hermione and Katie as the feast started. He picked the roasted chicken with fingerling potatoes and root vegetables off of the menu while Katie went for a pistachio-encrusted halibut.
The menus disappeared and drinks appeared on the tables, along with an assortment of appetizers, breads and charcuterie. Harry was rather surprised to find bottles of wine in the middle of it. Katie grabbed a white, snatching the bottle away from Fleur and pouring herself a glass, ignoring the glare of the French girl as she did. He peered around and noticed that elves were fluttering between the tables and serving people. Hermione was glaring at them with her jaw set tightly. A few of them looked rather aghast as Katie started to serve herself.
The French champion muttered something under her breath that Harry thought had to do with lower classmen. So he assumed her annoyance was at the younger students at the table.
"Would you like some?" Katie asked. Harry's thoughts shifted back to her
"Uh, please," Harry said. His eyes lingered on the butterbeer on the table but he figured wine couldn't be that bad. She filled his glass and made the same offer to Hermione and Viktor. Harry sipped it, finding the citrus notes to feel quite refreshing.
The table seemed a bit tense for a moment. Roger and Fleur both appeared to want nothing to do with anyone else there and Viktor seemed uncomfortable in general. And the elves flailing around their table squealing at each other were distracting Hermione. But Katie saved them. She started sampling one of almost everything at the table and made sure every appetizer made the rounds.
It only took a few minutes for Cho, Cedric, Hermione and Viktor to all be chatting openly among the six of them. The smiles must have been infectious because even Fleur only managed to look dour for about ten minutes.
After about a half hour their entrees all appeared. It was even better than the normal offerings at Hogwarts. Harry figured the elves must have been going all out to impress that night. It was so good, in fact, that Harry didn't even mind Katie spearing a couple potatoes right off of his plate. He did manage to negotiate a piece of fish from her later in the meal.
Tea, coffee, and platters of miniature desserts appeared on all of the tables shortly after the entrees were cleared. Harry noticed the adult tables also gained a new assortment of wine and other drinks with their desserts. But the students, not even the champions, were that lucky.
Still, the adults at the Ball took this as a time to get up and mingle, while most of the students gorged themselves on dessert. Harry noticed most of the Ministry officials in attendance gravitated over toward the Champions. Ludo Bagman led them, and insisted on talking rather jubilantly to Harry, as if they were old friends.
Harry found the attention unearned and annoying. Thankfully, a couple of the ministry officials were more interested in Krum than Harry. And Katie distracted him by insisting he should try one of the little cakes. And then doubled down and fed some of it to him. It was rather…distracting. Even more so with the giggle that emerged when he enjoyed it.
But there wasn't a great deal of time for socializing. Harry saw a band starting to set up. And then Dumbledore asked the Champions to come to the front of the hall with their dates. Harry led Katie toward where Professor McGonagall was waiting. He turned to face Katie as they lined up. To his surprise she looked as nervous as he felt.
"Have you done this before?" she asked. One hand took his and her other rested on his arm as his own slid to her waist.
"Only in the required lessons," Harry admitted. "You?"
"Same," Katie said. She peered over his shoulder at the crowd of students gathering around the dance floor, her lips drawn tightly together.
"Can't be any more daunting than playing Quidditch in front of the whole school," Harry said with as much bravado as he could muster. Katie looked back at him and smirked.
"Well sure, but the whole school isn't watching me the entire time then," she said.
"Well, I mean, there are three other pairs to look at," Harry said.
"Comforting," Katie said. "But I think most of them will be watching us."
"And when I do something stupid they'll make fun of me for weeks," Harry said.
"Just don't step on my feet," Katie said.
"Hey, don't step on mine," Harry retorted. And then the music started. They both moved at the same time, away from each other. But Harry pulled on instinct and then she stepped toward him. His first instinct was to apologize but she only smiled and then they continued to move together.
It surprised him how easy it was. Sure, they stumbled here or there at the beginning. But by the time the rest of the attendees joined in the dancing, it all seemed second nature. The formal movements felt right.
It lasted for five or six songs. At one point they spun around Hermione and Viktor and swapped partners for part of a song. Katie was rather giggly when she wound up back in his arms. But the strings faded away after that song, replaced by a slowly building guitar, and they moved to a newly set up refreshment table.
There they ran into Justin Finch-Fletchley and his date, a Leanne that Harry vaguely recognized. She squealed and hugged Katie and immediately started to gush about the dress and the dancing and, oh My God Harry Potter! Harry and Justin exchanged a look as the two girls managed to grow progressively louder while talking faster and faster.
Harry and Justin stared until they could no longer comprehend the conversation and then instead started to talk about British League Quidditch. Apparently Falmouth upset Tutshill earlier that afternoon and Justin was shocked at the result. And shocked that Harry hadn't spent the afternoon in his common room listening to the match on the wireless. Harry, too, was shocked at the result, especially due to the shocking nature of it and the…erm…shocking…way it occurred.
All-in-all he felt like he got out of the conversation without looking like too much of an idiot. Even if he wasn't sure if the player responsible for the outcome was a Keeper, Chaser, or Seeker. Hell, there was an outside chance it was the mascot. But he wasn't going to comment further.
At some point Ernie MacMillan heard their conversation and wandered over with his date, a plump red head whose dress did rather a lot to exemplify her upper body. Harry pulled his gaze away from them almost immediately. Ernie started talking about the defensive breakdown from the Tornadoes.
Harry was about to agree with his analytics with a knowing nod of his head when he felt a hand slide into his own. The warm fingers wrapped around his and then tugged on his arm so hard he almost fell over. But he kept his feet and let himself be pulled away from the conversation, not even sure if he muttered a goodbye of any nature.
The music as they returned to the dance floor was much faster. And the dancing seemed to be more about body contact than specific moves. At first it seemed rather silly to Harry, but then Katie's body was against his and it suddenly seemed like the best way to spend an evening. Even if he didn't feel like the slight shuffling of his feet could be constituted as dancing.
It continued for a while. Harry held his hands against her hips, fighting the urge to force her to stay there as she moved against him. He lost track of it all as they danced. His mind tuning out the music, the other students, and anything that wasn't Katie Bell as they moved. He could feel her warmth wherever they touched. The warm, cinnamon touched scent of her perfume filled his nostrils. The softness of her skin made him shiver. He lost himself in the sensation of it all.
It wasn't until the music slowed and their dance turned into more of a hug with her face resting against his chest as they swayed back and forth slowly, not really in time with what music was playing. But, judging from the rest of the couples, no one was paying much attention to the music.
"I'm sorry about Ernie," Harry said as they swayed. Katie was quiet for long enough that he wondered if she heard him.
"Really?" she asked.
"You're clearly upset about it. And I'm sorry that you're upset," Harry said. Katie lifted her head from his chest and looked at him. Her dark eyes seemed oddly wet as she peered up at him. There wasn't a trace of a smile on her face.
"Maybe I just wanted to dance and my date was too busy talking about sports to notice me," Katie said. Harry bit back the urge to retort, something about being snarky felt wrong in his head.
"Well, then I'm sorry about that too," Harry said. He gave her the warmest smile he could muster in the moment. Her lips curled upward, the red coloring on them seeming to stand out the more he looked at it. She looked like she was going to say something. Her lips parted. But words didn't come for a few moments. And when they did it was just two simple ones.
"Thank you," she said quietly. She rested her head back against his chest as the next song started. It was the last of a series of slower ones. And, once it finished, Katie excused herself for a moment. He debated following her, but Hermione walked up to him before he could.
They danced for a song while Viktor went for drinks. Hermione asked him if he'd seen Ron. Viktor had said she should dance with him at least once as a peace offering. Unfortunately Harry hadn't. In fact he could not remember if Ron had even mentioned coming. He was fairly sure he'd never worked up the courage to ask another girl after Fleur. But as he gazed around the hall he saw signs that others had come alone or in larger groups. But he did not see any sign of Ron in any of them.
He was surprised when Viktor walked up to them carrying four glasses of punch. He handed two to Harry without a word and then one to Hermione as the three of them stepped off of the dance floor. He felt rather stupid carrying an extra drink and wondered why Viktor brought four until Katie appeared at his side. He handed her the extra on instinct.
"Thanks," she said and sipped it.
"Enjoying the ball?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, yourself?" Katie asked.
"Oh yes," Hermione flushed and looked over at Krum. The Bulgarian's cheeks were also, to Harry's surprise, tinged red.
"I heard Fred and George say they were going to sneak out and gather some supplies, alcohol and food. Sounds like they're planning an after party. I'm sure we could sneak your date into the common room," Katie said.
"Are Alicia and Angelina okay with them wandering off before the ball is even over?" Harry asked.
"They seem fine to me," Katie said, nodding toward the dance floor where quite a few boys were watching them dance together, rather intimately. Harry wondered how long it would be before a professor intervened.
"Ah," Harry said, doing his best not to stare.
"And it was probably their idea. What do you say Viktor, ditch the Slytherins for a night of actual amusement?" Katie asked.
"Karkaroff insists we are all back on the ship by quarter after twelve," Krum said.
"Where's the fun in that?" Harry asked.
"It is not worth the punishment," Viktor said. Hermione raised her brows and looked at him and he flushed deeper. He took a moment to finish his punch and then asked her, rather gruffly, if she would like to continue dancing. She agreed and the two of them left Katie and Harry alone.
"Did that seem a little strange to you?" Katie asked as they walked away.
"No stranger than Viktor Krum asking Hermione Granger to the ball," Harry said.
"I guess," Katie said.
"Durmstrang seems to be a bit more intense than Hogwarts," Harry shrugged.
"Or maybe Krum is less of a bad boy than people think. I mean he hangs out around in the library most of the time," Katie said.
"Gross," Harry said. Part of him wanted to ask why she'd fled from him earlier. But a smarter part of him figured there had to be a simple explanation. And she was back and looked happy to be with him. So, when he opened his mouth only one word came to him. "Dance?"
"Okay," Katie said as she took his hand. It was perhaps four songs later when Alicia Spinnet replaced Katie Bell in his arms. He saw Angelina flutter away with his date and went to protest to Alicia but she spun around, pressed her backside against him, and continued to dance. It wasn't until the song ended that she spun back around.
"After the ball ends, wait twenty minutes in your dormitory then come down to the common room," she said. And before he could even respond Katie was back in front of him, looking flustered by the entire situation.
"Did you get post-ball instructions?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Katie said. "Among other things."
"Like what?" Harry asked. But Katie's only response was to shake her head, vigorously. The music slowed and there was a brief announcement that it would be the last song of the night. Harry felt Katie press to him again, his arms wrapping around her on instinct as they once again swayed to the music.
After the song finished Professor McGonagall started shooing students out of the Great Hall. Katie and Harry joined the queue of people ambling out rather slowly. He took her hand as they walked and wondered if his stomach should have soared as she gave his a squeeze.
He lifted her over the fake step that responded poorly to heels. He didn't admit he only remembered it because he saw a girl in front of them hop it. She giggled as he did and squeezed his hand again as they ducked into the common room.
It was abuzz with activity. Harry thought the entire house must have been there. The younger students who weren't able to go to the ball wanted nothing more than to hear stories of it.
After a half hour of constant noise and excitement Harry wondered just when, if ever, anyone would go to bed. He noticed Alicia and Fred arguing in a corner, with Alicia looking rather perturbed by the entire situation.
A few minutes later, though, he got his answer. The rather distinct smell of dung bombs filled the common room. It was, well, incredibly unpleasant. A roar of complaints accompanied the scent until Sarah Lynch, one of the Seventh Year Prefects started rounding up students and moving them toward their dormitories.
Harry couldn't help but think, as he joined the herd of boys moving to the spiral staircase, that it was rather convenient she had a bubble head charm on, given that it would only protect from scent if it was cast before the bombs went off.
He debated pointing that out as he walked by her, but she stopped him with a wink and mouthed the word twenty. He raised his brows at her but nodded slightly in response. He entered the dormitory with Neville and Dean. Both of whom were talking of their dates. He tuned out the conversation and rummaged in his trunk for some sleepwear. He decided on a pair of flannel pants and a plain shirt.
He joined the conversation for a few minutes after he finished changing and then made a show of acting tired. He pulled the curtains closed on his bed and counted the remaining minutes as they ticked by. He wasn't sure how he'd manage to sneak out of the dormitory without being noticed given that the other boys continued talking. But after about fifteen minutes their words stopped.
Harry slipped from the bed and moved quietly down into the common room. He braced himself against the stench, but was surprised to find that it didn't come. Instead the natural warm scent from the fireplace assailed his nostrils as he entered the room.
"Hey Harry," George said. He was setting up a platter of food on a table near the fireplace. Fred was using magic to rearrange the furniture around the fireplace, moving the more comfortable chairs and couches closer together. Both twins were still in their clothing from the ball and Harry couldn't help but feel rather underdressed.
"How'd you get the smell out so quickly?" Harry asked.
"Trade secret," Fred said with a smile.
"Years of practice," George countered. The door to the girls' dormitory opened then and Lynch stepped through it. She wore a long-sleeved nightgown and walked over to the table of food. She moved with an odd familiarity, Harry thought, like this wasn't the first late-night party she'd attended in the common room. He wondered how common of an occurrence a gathering like this could even be. Although he did remember one of the twins wondering if they were continuing the party the night Sirius Black broke in to try to kill Pettigrew.
"What'd you get?" Lynch asked as she put a sliced bit of sausage onto a cracker and topped it with a piece of cheese. She popped the entire thing into her mouth and moved to an ice box set up away from the fireplace. She opened it and peered inside.
"Usual," George said. "Butterbeer mostly. Fred convinced the elves to give us a couple of the leftover bottles of wine. There's some firewhisky, a couple bottles of mead, one of those fruity wines the elves like, and a dragon-barreled brandy."
"And some sort of chocolate cream liquor," Fred said.
"Right, forgot about that one," George said. He finished with the food and conjured a bunch of glasses as Lynch pulled out a bottle of wine and opened it. A few moments later Angelina and Alicia emerged, both in their pajamas as well. Other students started to filter into the common room while Harry stood around feeling a bit silly.
Lynch noticed him after she finished filling wine glasses for Alicia and Angelina. She put the bottle back in the ice box and pulled out a butterbeer before walking over to Harry. She handed it to him and then guided him over to the couch wedged between the fireplace and the large Christmas tree they'd erected in the common room.
"Guest of honor," she teased as she pushed him onto the couch. He sat, blushing at the phrase and sipped the butterbeer to avoid having to respond. They'd only managed to tease him for a moment though before Alicia smirked and looked over his shoulder.
He felt a bit sour about it really. He'd been mostly ignored by the vast majority of his house after being selected as a Champion. And now they were doting on him. It felt wrong in his head. Part of him wanted to make an excuse and go to bed. He couldn't see much of a reason in staying at the party.
"Finally," Alicia teased. Harry looked over his shoulder and saw Katie emerge from the dormitory. She'd changed into pink pajama pants and a black tank top and let her hair down. It fell past her shoulders in gentle waves, silver glitter still shimmering in it. He bit his lip as he stared at her. Angelina was at her side in moments, and then Katie was on the couch next to him and the teasing resumed.
But it didn't last long. All-in-all maybe fourteen people were at the small gathering. George turned on some soft Christmas carols and started distributing drinks. But it was still a rather mellow affair. A few people would rise and dance to certain songs, but the majority of the time was spent talking. Mostly about family Christmas traditions. Harry kept quiet for most of it and Fred and George saved him from an awkward question or two through it all.
At some point Katie got up and returned with a plate of food for them to share. It was mostly cheese, crackers and some biscuits but Harry ate it happily as Katie leaned against him on the couch. A while later George served them some of the cream liquor over ice. It was rather tasty, Harry thought, reminding him of a milkshake as he drank.
Sometime in there he shifted his back against the armrest of the couch and Katie wound up laying back against him. His eyes were immediately drawn over her shoulder. He told himself he was looking at the sparkling glitter on his skin but he didn't think that was a completely honest statement.
He tried to join more into the conversation but his eyes kept being drawn back to Katie. So he instead focused on finishing his drink. But somehow that seemed to make his mind even more interested in Katie. He tried to think, focus on something, but it didn't really matter. Nothing could pull him out of his own mind until a sharp voice barked loudly.
"Potter, Bell!" Lynch snapped. Katie sat bolt upright her eyes turning toward Lynch, her expression surprised enough that Harry wondered what she'd been thinking about moments before.
"What?" she asked as a blush spread through her cheeks.
"Mistletoe!" Alicia giggled from behind them. Harry turned and saw she was holding a sprig of it above the two of them. He felt the blush rise into his cheeks. Katie sputtered something but turned to look at Harry. He looked back at her. He saw the flush on her cheeks, the glitter sparkling beneath it, her eyes were wide and shining and her lips a plump, alluring red.
So he did the only thing he could think of. He leaned toward her and kissed her. At first it wasn't much more than a brush of his lips against hers. But their softness felt so alluring on his that he pressed them back together.
She tasted of chocolate, mirroring the alcohol they'd both had. And it made him want to keep kissing her as her lips pressed back to him, as their tongues met, as his entire world dissolved into nothing but kissing her.
"Uh remember to breath," Angelina joked, loudly, pulling Harry back to reality. He lifted his lips from Katie. At some point his arms had wound up around her and he was holding her rather close to him. Rather than break away though, she pressed her face into his neck as if hiding from the other Gryffindors. She was panting against his neck, breathing like she'd just flown a rather grueling Quidditch practice. He tried to steady his own breath.
"Eh," Lynch said, interrupting the general amused snickering from the rest of the house. "Eight out of ten."
Harry blushed more deeply as most of the house laughed. But their laughter made Katie squirm closer to him and his arms tightened around her. All-in-all, he figured, a couple seconds of laughter were worth her taste and the feeling of her against him. He tilted his face down and pressed it into her hair in an attempt to hide his own blush from his housemates.
But he couldn't help but think, as he held her warm body against his, that he could get used to it. And he hoped he had the chance to.