And hello once again my dear readers! Yes, I lied about posting it in two weeks, it's only been one week, but I didn't want to get any hopes up. My writing has been going quite well lately, so I find chapters getting easier and quicker to write for the time being. Warning: I don't own anything other than the 2 OC's mentioned in this chapter and the laptop I'm currently typing this on. And without further ado, i present to you, Chapter 12 of the Triwizard Tournament: Take Two - The Yule Ball Part 1: Before the Ball
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Harry woke early the next morning, trying to remember what he had forgotten, though he quickly remembered when he realised he was staring into a huge pair of eyes, centimetres from his own face. Harry gave a yelp of surprise and fell out of bed.
"Dobby is sorry to be startling Harry Potter sir, Dobby is only wanting to be giving Harry Potter his Christmas present, sir," said Dobby, hopping off the bed and looking at Harry in worry.
"That's alright Dobby, just don't do that again please. Poke me next time or something," said Harry, picking himself up from the floor, as the others in the dorm began to wake.
"S'matter Harry, somebody attacking you?" asked Dean sleepily.
"Nah just Dobby. But you may as well wake up for the presents anyway," replied Harry.
"Good point Harry, Happy Christmas," said Seamus, yawning as he reached for his presents. Harry received all of the gifts he remembered, including the handy penknife from Sirius which had been destroyed at the end of his fifth year. But he also received a load of other gifts from new friends he'd made that year, as well as from the other champions. He was just about to start when he heard a cry of amazement.
"Harry! H-h-how did you get this?" asked Neville in shocked amazement, staring at a potted version of an Amazonian Archive plant.
"While we were in Hogsmeade that time I asked the manager at the magical plant shop to get one imported," said Harry, grinning at his friend's dumbfounded expression.
"B-b-but the Amazonian Archive is supposed to be extremely rare, it absorbs seeds from the ground to be extracted and grown by a herbologist and can absorb seeds from all over the world when it reaches adulthood! There isn't even one in the Hogwarts greenhouses!" exclaimed Neville frantically.
"Yeah, that pretty much sums it all up. Happy Christmas Neville!" replied Harry cheerfully. Neville, realising that Harry wasn't going to reconsider it, grasped his hand firmly and thanked him many times, while Harry laughed and waved it off. He knew that Neville wanted to open up a magical plant shop when he left Hogwarts, and knew this plant would help immensely with that, though he would never tell Neville just how much it cost.
"Hey Harry, cheers for the tickets mate!" called Dean, grinning as he waved the season tickets to West Ham football games.
"Harry mate, cheers for the duelling gear!" said Seamus, admiring his new duelling gloves and duelling sphere, which was meant to send out spells at a duellist for practice and could be altered to send out spells faster and more frequently. Ron also thanked Harry for the Chudley Cannons hat and the huge basket of sweets he had given him. Harry received a book on Seeker tactics and manoeuvres from Katie, a set of Seeker armour from Angelina, and his very own golden Snitch from Alicia, signed by the three of them 'from your favourite big sisters' which kept a smile on Harry's face all morning. Neville had gotten Harry a dragon hide jacket and duellist gloves designed to repel weaker hexes, Madison had sent him a packet of treacle fudge, much to Harry's delight, and Luna had sent Harry a book on Runes from Scandinavia. Finally, Harry had also received gifts from the other champions as well. From Cedric he had been given two decks of the same cards that Cedric had used in the first task, with a note explaining what each could do, Krum had sent Harry a book of obscure and powerful charms, written by someone in the Russian Revolution, and finally Fleur had given Harry a charmed sword necklace that held a real sword which could be enlarged at any point, as well as a locket with a photo the two of them had taken together earlier in the year. Dobby had almost cried when Harry had presented him with new pairs of socks, as well as a hat and jumper with Dobby's name imprinted on them. Dobby had actually cried when Harry had pulled on the socks Dobby had knitted for him, more so when Harry proudly wore them with his day gear, striding down to the Common Room still wearing them. Harry had only been down there for a few seconds when he heard a cry of joy and the sound of running feet, before Hermione appeared at the top of the stairs and ran into him, hugging him tightly.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you Harry!" she squealed, her arms still tight around her friend, who was smiling at the scene.
"I'm guessing you liked your presents then" Harry guessed, as she finally let go.
"Yes, thank you so much! The book you gave me on Alchemy 'Alchemy for Beginners and Master's Alike: An Amalgamation of All Magic' looks incredible! And the necklace you gave me is absolutely gorgeous, I'm definitely wearing it tonight!" she exclaimed excitedly, showing off her new necklace, which consisted of an emerald, a ruby and a topaz linked together by a chain that sparkled when the light caught it.
"I'm glad you liked your presents, and thank you for your presents too," replied Harry, holding up the new black trench coat Hermione had given him. "I actually have another present to give to you, but I'll give it to you in private, so I can show you how to use it properly," whispered Harry, getting an excited look from his friend, who had obviously picked up that the new present, would be teaching her something. Harry inwardly chuckled at Hermione's enthusiasm when it came to learning, as they walked down the stairs to the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry met Alicia, Angelina and Katie along the way, thanking them profusely for their gifts, while they squeezed him in a many armed hug and kissed his cheek repeatedly for the new Raika broom's Harry had imported from Japan for them, which were supposed to be just underneath a Firebolt in terms of craftsmanship and speed. The girls had walked with him and Hermione down to the Great Hall to sit with the Weasley twins, who also thanked Harry profusely for their own imported brooms, also from Japan, though their own Shichiseiken model's were more designed for quick bursts of speed, and were roughly between a Firebolt and a Nimbus 2001. The Quidditch team, plus Hermione breakfasted together, whilst admiring the elaborate Christmas decorations that were set up in the hall and all over the castle, though several times already, Peeves had been caught tying up first years and other stragglers with Christmas tinsel, and had twice dressed Mrs Norris up as a star and left her, yowling loudly at the top of the Christmas trees in the Great Hall.
Harry spent Christmas day with the Weasley clan, the three Chasers, Hermione, Neville, Madison, Luna and several others playing around in the Hogwarts grounds, visiting Hagrid, who had loved the enchanted dragon statue for Hagrid's mantelpiece, and (for the Quidditch team and several others) playing around on brooms. Alicia, Angelina, Katie and the twins had loved their new brooms, proclaiming that the Quidditch cup would be theirs again next year.
Harry excused himself at lunch, saying he wanted to spend some time with his date for the dance, earning many catcalls from the boys (though Ron had not heard and was staring dreamily at Fleur as she passed by). Harry met up with Fleur at the Beauxbatons carriage, who hugged him tightly as he approached.
"Joyeux Noel et bonne annee, Arry! Zank you so much for ze lovely necklace and ze wonderful book on Charms, you know zey are my favourite!" squealed Fleur, still hugging Harry, not that he minded being pressed against the beautiful Veela's soft bosom.
"Happy Christmas to you as well Fleur, and thank you for your gifts as well," replied Harry. He had actually placed enchantments on the necklace for protection, as well as an emergency Portkey that was phrase activated, in case of an emergency.
"Come inside, eet is freezing out zere!" she said, pulling him into the Beauxbatons carriage, and almost straight into Madame Maxime.
"What is ze Ogwarts second champion doing ere might I ask Fleur?" asked Maxime suspiciously.
"E is ere because I invited im, as my friend to celebrate ze oliday," said Fleur, determinedly staring up at her massive headmistress. Maxime stared back for a little while, still marvelling at the changes in her once frigid student, before nodding her head.
"Very well zen, I wish you both an appy oliday," she said finally, before turning to walk back to her own rooms.
"Merci Madam," thanked Harry, bowing, as Maxime turned back, surprise evident in her features, but said nothing, as she curtly bowed back and kept walking. Fleur led Harry towards her own rooms, further into the coach, drawing looks of surprise and suspicion from many of her classmates, though they were all quite shocked when Harry spoke to them in fluent French, wishing them a happy holiday and other such things. Finally they reached Fleur's rooms, which were quite large, though the inside was a little messy, which Fleur noticed quickly, waving her wand and sweeping everything from the floor into a corner of the room.
"So, shall we ave lunch?" asked Fleur, just as two house elves Apparated into the room, alongside a small trolley with several dishes on it.
"Mm, sounds good to me, I can't tell you how much I miss French cooking," said Harry, inhaling deeply, getting a whiff of his favourite risotto with pancetta and chicken, as well as ratatouille, tomatoes and some small desserts.
"Indeed, ze British cooking is alright for some, but ze French cooking I find is much tastier and less eavy," laughed Fleur, spooning out generous amounts of the risotto and tomatoes for Harry, remembering how much he had adored risotto the first time she had cooked some for him. He had eaten three plates of it and had hexed Ron's mouth off when Ron had claimed French food was terrible compared to British cooking. The memory was one of her favourites for casting a Patronus Charm. The two talked all throughout lunch bout small, meaningless things, sharing laughs at old memories of the future, telling each other jokes, and all in all just enjoying their time together. For though the future was already changing, neither knew whether they would survive it once more, not knowing what may change and what could not be avoided. They knew all of this was a possibility, no matter how small, so they were taking the time to enjoy being with each other once more.
Harry returned to his friends after lunch, hugging Fleur and promising to meet her tonight before the ball. They had all concluded the day with a massive snowball fight, with Harry, Hermione, Neville, Madison and the three Chasers, versus the four Weasley's, Dean, Seamus and Luna. They were still in the middle of the fight when Hermione and the other girls left.
"Three hours to get changed?" asked Ron loudly, copping a faceful of snow from a smirking Harry, who had just bewitched a snowman to chase after Dean, who countered by melting it. The fight only ended when Harry and the twins created a giant snowman, which promptly exploded and covered the remaining combatants in ice. The group left for their common rooms, shivering from the remains of their explosive snowman. Harry saw no sign of Hermione as he came into the Gryffindor Common Room, and a slight worry filled his mind, since Krum hadn't asked her two weeks ago. Hoping his worries were for nothing, Harry continued to the dormitories, to get changed to meet Fleur. Dean, Seamus, Neville and Ron were halfway through getting changed, though by the sounds of it, Ron hadn't acquired a date for the ball, and had been expecting that Neville wouldn't either. It was causing quite the argument, which only ended when Neville promptly conjured a flock of sparrows to dive bomb the redhead, who eventually succumbed and ran down the stairs, swearing loudly as he went.
"Ignore him mate, he's left it too long and he didn't want to be the only idiot without a partner," said Dean consolingly, while Seamus and Harry nodded their agreement.
"And think how jealous he'll be seeing you dancing with your lovely date, while he's dancing with Goyle," added Harry, causing Neville to crack a smile, while Dean and Seamus snickered at the thought of their redhead roommate dancing with the Slytherin's resident troll. The remaining four boys changed quickly, each assisting one another with their ties and helping adjust robes. Harry had forgone his original bottle green robes, in favour of a more forest green colour, while Neville had taken deep blue robes with silver lining.
"Oh, almost forgot," exclaimed Harry, pulling something out from near his four-poster bed. "Flowers for your ladies," said Harry, pulling out several corsages he had made for his friends.
"Awesome Harry!" exclaimed Seamus, accepting a corsage of tulips from his friend.
"Cheers mate, you're a lifesaver," said Dean gratefully, also accepting his corsage. Neville smiled his thanks to Harry, taking a corsage of violets for Madison. Harry smiled at his friends, before grabbing a small device from his bag, for later. Harry then made his way down to the Common Room to wait for Hermione, and for Neville to finish getting ready. Harry found Ron in the Common Room, still trying to get his robes to look less like a dress, though he seemed to be having some trouble in that regard.
"Can't believe Neville of all people has a date of all people," Ron grumbled, as Harry came nearer. "It looks like it's just us flying solo tonight Harry," he added, cutting off some more lace from his robes.
"Sorry Ron, I have a date as well," replied Harry, pulling out a bouquet of white roses and a small box to give to Fleur.
"What? With who?" said Ron in surprise.
"Sorry, that's a surprise for tonight," said Harry mischievously, as Ron grumbled. Harry had the distinct feeling that there was something in the corner of his eye, realising a Notice-Me-Not Charm was in place, and knowing exactly who it was, Harry signalled to Neville, who had just come down the stairs and was glaring at Ron's back. Harry and Neville walked out through the portrait hole, while Harry turned to look at the opposite wall.
"Didn't want Ron to notice you then?" Harry asked, making Neville give him a confused look, until Hermione's voice answered him, making Neville swivel to look where the voice was coming from, his jaw dropping as he caught sight of Hermione, the spell having been broken.
"How did you know I was here Harry?" asked Hermione, effectively breaking the spell, revealing Hermione in her periwinkle dress robes, her hair shiny and straight, twisted into an elegant bun.
"Use as many Notice-Me-Not Charms for pranking Malfoy as I do and you begin to notice how to pick up on them," grinned Harry, sweeping Hermione into a brotherly hug. "You look gorgeous Mione," he added, getting an embarrassed, yet pleased blush from the girl.
"Thank you Harry, I didn't really want to face Ron like this, he's still convinced I'm lying about having a date," she said, frowning at the last bit.
"Nah, I can't imagine you'd go through all this trouble for a lie, and do I really want to know how long that hair took?" replied Harry, grinning as she gave him a sheepish grin.
"Not really. You two look spectacular too," she complimented, getting an embarrassed look from Neville and a grin from her best friend.
"Always with the tone of surprise Mione?" asked Harry in a mock hurt voice, causing Hermione to giggle. It was then that Harry noticed something sparkling around Hermione's neck. Seeing where he was looking, Hermione smiled.
"I did say I was going to wear it tonight," she said, still smiling as she fingered the necklace Harry had given her for Christmas. Harry grinned at this, as the three of them set off for the Entrance Hall, where they were meeting up with everybody.
It was 7:15 when they arrived in the Entrance Hall, where Neville met with Madison. Madison had blushed furiously when Neville had handed her the corsage.
"Thank you Neville, and thank you Harry for the earrings you gave me for Christmas," said Madison, smiling at them both, the amethyst earrings matching her deep violet dress robes.
"And thank you for the book Madison, Harry replied, smiling brightly at her, as he looked around at others arriving in the Hall.
"Hermione, you look absolutely beautiful tonight," said a bright, cheerful voice from Harry's left. Harry turned to see who had spoken, just as Hermione walked in that direction, looking embarrassed and pleased, as well as a tad nervous. The boy who had spoken looked to be a 5th year, tall with an athletic and slim body and jet black hair that was a bit longer than usual, with a small amount covering his forehead. Harry grinned, as Hermione went to introduce him.
"Harry, Neville, and Madison this is my date, his name is Jesse O'Donnell, 5th year from Ravenclaw," she said, as Jesse walked forward, his hand outstretched to Harry in greeting.
"It's nice to meet you Harry, Hermione talks about you all the time," said Jesse, giving him a friendly smile, which Harry returned as he shook hands with the familiar man. Harry had met Jesse after Voldemort had been vanquished. He and Jesse had gotten along very well, and Jesse had been a key member in the fight against the Order of the Snake, fighting alongside him and Hermione, as he had become an Auror after Hogwarts.
"It's nice to meet you too Jesse, Hermione hasn't mentioned you I'm afraid, but that's probably just her getting back at me for not telling her who my date was," he replied, grinning as Jesse laughed at Hermione's sheepish expression, as she punched Harry in the arm.
"Vell, this is a nice scene Harry," said Krum appearing behind in his deep red dress robes. Behind Krum was, most surprisingly, Luna Lovegood, wearing sun coloured dress robes with a large yellow flower in her hair. She actually looked quite stunning.
"Hello Harry Potter," she greeted him, her dreamy voice.
"Hey Luna, nice to see you again," replied Harry, glancing across at Krum, posing the question through his raised eyebrows. Krum chuckled and waved his hand slightly, motioning that he would tell Harry later. Harry bade Hermione, Neville, Madison and Jesse goodbye, as he followed Krum and Luna towards where Cedric was standing with Cho Chang. Cho smiled kindly at Harry as he approached, while Cedric clapped both him and Krum on the back.
"Hey gentlemen, ready to dance?" said Cedric excitedly, while Luna talked to Cho, who was obviously used to the younger girl and was chatting with her.
"You sound very excited about this dance Cedric," chuckled Harry, glancing around for Fleur.
"Vell, vith vhat ve haff planned, it should prove to be quite entertaining," said Krum, smiling a little as he glanced across at Luna, who was still talking to the older Ravenclaw.
"Yeah, I can't wait to see everybody's faces," said Cedric happily, as Cho came back with Luna.
"What about everybody's faces Cedric?" she asked, leaving Cedric sweating as he tried to come up with an answer. Thankfully he was saved from answering, when many of the waiting people went silent, most of the boys looking at the doors with their jaws hanging loose. Harry didn't even need to look to know that Fleur had arrived. Harry turned around and, despite being prepared, still found it hard to believe that the stunning woman in front of him was mortal, and not a goddess. She wore an elegant silver dress that seemed to sparkle brilliantly as she moved, which matched the beautiful necklace around her neck, which was a set of five diamonds set into a pentagram design, hanging from her slender neck. Her hair was straight and shiny, hanging freely down her back. All in all, you would be hard pressed to ever find a more beautiful woman in the world. Harry grinned inwardly as he imagined the looks on everybody's faces in a moment. From the corner of his eye, Harry saw realisation dawning in both Cedric and Krum's eyes, bewilderment quickly replaced by glee, as both subtly conjured magic-resistant camera's, waiting for the inevitable Kodak moment. Nobody was disappointed, as Fleur walked towards the other champions, with the eye of every male on her, only for almost everyone in the hall to become shocked, when she stopped in front of Harry, giving him a heavenly smile, as he bowed t her and took her hand gently, kissing the back of her hand with the delicacy of holding glass.
"Bonsoir ma belle fleur," said Harry, smiling at Fleur, who smiled back, before gently kissing each cheek.
"Bonsoir Arry, vous regardez incroyable," she replied, still with that gorgeous smile on her face. Harry produced the bouquet of white roses, handing them to the stunned Fleur, before picking one out from the bunch and carefully placing it in her hair.
"Jamais une fleur plus belle," whispered Harry softly to her. Fleur's cheeks had a dusting of pink on them from Harry's words, which she knew were completely his own feelings. Suddenly the doors opened, and Professor McGonagall stepped out and began ushering the students into the Great Hall, where the house tables had been replaced by a number of smaller, circular tables, where the students began sitting at. Harry noticed Neville, Madison, Hermione and Jesse sitting at another table with Michael Corner, who was with Ginny, and Ron, who sat alone, his eyes filled with a mix of emotions, as they flicked between Hermione, where they showed betrayal, Corner where they sparked with the anger of a protective older brother, and jealousy as he stared up at Harry sitting with Fleur. Honestly Harry found it just a bit amusing, as his friend's eyes flickered all over the place while he fumed silently. Harry found that he didn't even care all that much, and was much more content talking to Fleur, enjoying himself and laughing together with her, as they talked about small, unimportant things and chatted to the other champions and their dates. Cho had expressed her surprise that Harry hadn't approached her, but was quite happy that he had found himself such a lovely date, which Harry was grateful for. Luna and Krum were somewhat detached from the rest of the group, though small parts of their conversation filtered through here and there, and Harry almost choked when he heard Krum asking all about the Aquavirus Maggots that seemed to live in the Black Lake. Harry and Fleur had been thoroughly enjoying their conversation, before Ludo Bagman, Percy Weasley and, most unfortunately, Rita Skeeter sat down at the Champions table, along with the head's of each school, with Percy seating himself right next to Harry.
"So Harry, how do you feel about the ball tonight, with the half Veela Beauxbatons Champion as your date? Excited, nervous of failure?" asked Rita straight away. All of a sudden, Rita's Quick Quotes Quill burst into flames, though Harry noticed the subtle movements of Fleur's hand under the table.
"Oh, terribly sorry Rita, it appears you might have to do this interview another time," said Harry, trying to sound sincere, though the sarcasm in his voice sounded very obvious to him.
"Oh, not a problem dear Harry, I always carry spares," said Skeeter sweetly, pulling out another acid green quill, which made Harry groan inwardly.
"I cannot wait until later tonight when we stick her in her jar," thought Harry tiredly, watching with some amusement, as Fleur 'accidentally' burned each and every quill Skeeter brought out.
And there we have it, another chapter gone. Our next chapter shall focus on the dance itself, and that which Harry and the other time-travelling champions to have up their sleeves to make the ball more interesting. Hopefully it shan't be a long wait for the next chapter, I'm part way through it now, but it shouldn't take longer than a couple of weeks. Hope to see all my readers again soon! remember, press the review button :)
P.S I'm also writing my own novel at the moment, so if there are any delays, I'll most likely be working on that. If i ever finish it and publish it online, anybody interested in reading it?
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