Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

If You Can Help Her – Chapter 29 – Preparing for Christmas

That night at dinner, Harry was anxious for Ginny to show up at his table. Since the announcement for the ball just a few hours ago, five girls had already asked him there. The last one was some blonde Ravenclaw who he thinks was named Beth. As he sat down at the table, she walked up to him and asked him out. He replied, "Er, I'm going out with someone. I'm gonna ask her."

She winked at him. "Surely someone like yourself can get somebody better than Ginny Weasley. A champion should go with someone older, who…"

Harry lost his temper. "I'M GOING OUT WITH GINNY BECAUSE I LOVE HER!" he shouted so that the whole hall heard. "I suggest you go back to the Ravenclaw table!"

As the girl marched away, he felt two arms slip around his waist from behind. He heard Ginny's voice whisper in his ear. "I love you too," before she kissed his cheek.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Ginny, it's so good to see you!"

She sat down next to him. "It's good to see you, and to hear you shouting a declaration of your love for me, but what was that about?"

"Oh, the Yule Ball. She wanted me to take her there."

"So," she asked with a smirk on her face, "is there anyone in particular that you were planning on asking?"

"Well," he answered with a grin, "There's this cute redhead Gryffindor third year I thinking of asking. Do you think you could give me advice on how I could invite her?"

She looked like she was thinking hard. "Well, I'd say that after dinner, you should drag her into a broom closet and snog her until she forgets what Christmas is, and then ask her."

"Then I'd say I need to hurry up and eat."

"Me, too."

Harry looked in his girlfriend's eyes. "There is one thing that worries me about this dance."

"Oh, what's that?"

He took a deep breath. "The champions have to start the dancing in front of everybody, and I don't know how to dance."

Ginny's ears went pink as she dropped her fork. "We have to dance in front of everybody?"

Harry smiled, "Only if you'll agree to be my date."

"I'm being serious, Harry. I, for one, don't want to make a fool of myself in front of the whole school. I can dance a bit, but not enough to be the center of attention, but if you can't dance at all, we're in trouble. We need to take dancing lessons."

"Er, all right. If you find someone to teach us, I'll go to the lessons. But do I still get to drag you into a broom closet?"

She winked at him. "Anytime, Harry. Anytime."

-IYCHH-

That Saturday morning, Ginny dragged him to the transfiguration classroom to meet with Professor McGonagall. She had agreed to give them their much needed dance lessons. "Good morning Potter, Weasley."

"Good morning, Professor," greeted Harry.

"Morning, Professor McGonagall," said Ginny.

"Well, we all know why we're here," Minerva commented as she walked over to a record player and started some ballroom music. "The first thing we should do is…."

-IYCHH-

Thirty minutes later, Ginny was leaning on Harry as he apologized. "I can't tell you how sorry I am, Ginny. I didn't mean to step on you like that."

"I know, Harry," she replied stiffly. "Just get me to the hospital wing!"

"Are you sure you don't want me to carry you?"

"I'm sure…Ow. Maybe you should!"

"Okay." He picked her up and she put her arms around his neck. "Is that better?"

"Yes," she responded, smiling as she gazed in his eyes.

"I know you don't want me to keep apologizing, but I'm so…"

She sighed. "I know you're sorry, Harry, and I'm not mad at you. It's my fault for not putting an imperturbable spell on my shoes."

Harry chuckled to himself. "Maybe I should've gone with one of those other girls. I'm sure you wouldn't have minded seeing them sent to the hospital wing."

"If you'd have agreed to go with one of them, you'd be the one needing a healer."

As he carried her through the halls of the school, they received more than one catcall, until finally they entered their destination. "Madam Pomfrey," explained Harry frantically as he set Ginny down on a bed, "I was, that is we were practicing dancing when I accidentally stepped on her foot."

Madam Pomfrey looked at Ginny's left foot closely. The middle of it was black and blue, and it was swelling. Pomfrey pointed her wand at the foot, and it glowed red. She looked at Harry with a strange expression. "Would you mind waiting outside?" she requested stiffly.

"Er, um, if I have to."

"Then, go."

As soon as Harry stepped outside the door, Madam Pomfrey pointed her wand at it, and it hit Harry's backside. The door then glowed green and the nurse looked into Ginny's eyes. "You have a hairline fracture."

"Is that serious?" asked Ginny, confused by the concerned expression on her face.

"I can heal it in a heartbeat, but I need to know, did you two have a fight? Was he mad at you?"

Ginny's face paled. "Are you asking if he purposely broke my foot?"

"I know it's hard for victims to admit being abused, especially when it's a famous person like Harry. If he has a problem, we need to help…"

Ginny started laughing out loud, "I-I'm sorry. Harry would never purposely hurt me. Honestly, Professor McGonagall saw the whole thing. She was giving us a dance lesson. He was listening to her and not paying attention. He stepped down on my foot hard, but it was completely an accident. He's been apologizing profusely while carrying me the whole way here. I swear he's just a bad dancer. Could you please let him in now? He's probably right outside the door scared to death that I'm gonna have my foot amputated. He's probably planning on offering to have his foot transplanted onto my leg.

Madam Pomfrey's expression lightened. "Very well, but let me first heal your foot." She pointed her wand at Ginny's foot. It glowed pink for a moment, and then Poppy declared the foot healed. She then released the door and Harry ran in straight to Ginny's bed and got down on his knees at the side.

"I AM SO SORRY! I'LL DO ANYTHING TO MAKE UP FOR IT! If you need me to carry you to every class you have until you graduate, I'll do it. I…"

"I'm fine, Harry," she replied, wiggling her toes with a grin as she sat up to get off the bed. "I had a hairline fracture."

"I-I don't know what to say. When she pushed me out the door, I was so scared."

"I just wanted to talk to Miss Weasley alone," clarified Madam Pomfrey, "That's all. She's free to leave now, so you can escort her to Gryffindor Tower. Make sure she takes it easy for the rest of the day. That means no dancing, running, jogging, or similar activities until tomorrow."

"Thanks, Madam Pomfrey," responded Harry. "I'm sorry I caused such trouble. I'm just so clumsy."

Harry took Ginny's hand and helped her up. Together, they walked toward Gryffindor Tower. Harry asked, "Why did she really want to see you alone? Did I hurt you worse than she said? I need to know."

"The truth is," explained Ginny, "that she asked me if you did it on purpose. She was afraid you were abusing me."

"What?" he asked, stopping dead in his tracks. He then put his head down. "I guess it does look that way. No one could believe I'm that clumsy. Are you sure you want to go to the dance with me?"

"Yes! You just need to learn how to dance properly. I'll wear protective footwear to our next lesson, and I suggest you take off your shoes for it. Maybe we can work on your egg today."

-IYCHH-

They arrived in the common room to find Ron waiting for them with Hermione looking nervous. Ron immediately started yelling, "I heard you carried my sister around half the school today! Just what are you trying to prove by that?"

Harry stared at Ron for about ten seconds before answering. "That I'm a clutz! I accidentally hurt her foot and carried her to the hospital wing."

Ron looked deflated for a second as Hermione looked relieved. Then Ron demanded, "So you hurt my sister, did you. I warned you about that!"

"AS IF YOU COULD TAKE HIM ON!" shouted Ginny. "You may not have noticed, but he took out a dragon! Charlie told me that it usually takes about five wizards to do that! He was absolutely shocked by it! Secondly, that's not the kind of hurt you were talking about! Thirdly, it was just an accident!"

Trying to diffuse the argument, Hermione inquired, "So, what were you doing when you had your accident?"

Harry looked down to the floor in shame while Ginny smirked. "Dancing lessons. McGonagall was teaching us how to dance and he accidentally stomped on my foot."

"So," questioned Hermione, smiling a bit, "Did Madam Pomfrey soak it in murtlap essence?"

"Er, actually," explained Ginny while Harry's ears went pink, "She mended the bone. It had a hairline fracture."

"You broke my sister's foot?! You could be arrested for that!"

Harry looked up with a sad expression. "And I'd deserve it. Madam Pomfrey kicked me out of the room and asked Ginny if I was abusing her. I'll see you all later." He then marched up the boys' staircase without another word.

"DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU DID, RONALD?" shouted Ginny, "He feels bad enough about this as it is! He's probably apologized fifty times by now! When Madam Pomfrey kicked him out of the room, he thought he'd seriously hurt me! When he was finally allowed back in the room he kneeled down by the bed he'd carried me to and apologized again, promising to carry me to every class I have until I graduate if he has to. Even after he'd been assured I was fine, he asked me if I was sure I wanted to go to the dance with him!" She then marched up the same staircase Harry had.

-IYCHH-

Harry was sitting on his bed feeling miserable. 'How can I be so stupid and clumsy?' he asked himself. 'What is wrong with me? Maybe I really am a freak!' He heard some footfalls and turned his head to see who had followed him. He really already knew Ginny would, but wanted to make sure before he said, "Hi Ginny. I love you. I-I never wanted to…"

"I know, Harry. You don't have to apologize again. It's no big deal."

"It is to me! How would you feel if you broke my foot?"

Ginny stood there for a moment in shock, trying to see it from a different perspective. "Pretty rotten. Kind of like I felt when I got all those people petrified."

"That was different," Harry argued. "That wasn't you. You were possessed by Tom. I was…"

"…possessed by clumsiness?" supplied Ginny with a smirk. She walked up and sat next to him on the bed. "I guess I haven't shown you that I forgive you yet." She put her arms around him, and tentatively kissed him. At first he resisted, but she was insistent and aggressive, showing him that she harbored no ill feelings toward him.

When Ron came up the stairs with Hermione, Harry and Ginny were in the middle of a full-blown snog on his bed. "Oi! Get off my sister!" Ron shouted, causing them to break apart. "I don't understand you, Ginny! He breaks your foot and then you snog him! How can you let him take advantage of you like that?"

"He's NOT taking advantage of me! You may have noticed that I came up to his bed of my own free will! It's none of your business what I do with my boyfriend! I ought to start shagging him to prove my point!" yelled Ginny.

"You're thirteen years old, Ginny," interjected Hermione, reasonably. "You really are too young for that, and even if you weren't, annoying your brother is hardly a reason to start."

"I was exaggerating, Hermione!" Ginny spit back. "But I wouldn't mind Ron thinking that I was shagging Harry! At least then he wouldn't be upset by our snogging!"

Hermione responded softly, "All right, Ginny. I was just making sure. You two have seemed a bit more…passionate lately."

Harry's face turned red at that statement. He was keeping quiet. He did not want yet another fight.

"If you mean that I've shown more concern for him since his name came out of the goblet of fire, maybe I have. I don't know. I do know that I love Harry and he loves me. The whole school knows Harry loves me. So, Ron, have you asked Hermione to the ball yet?"

Ron's ears turned pink, but Hermione answered. "Yes, he did. The day it was announced."

"And it's a good thing, too. Viktor Krum, who took Cho Chang to that party, actually asked Hermione to the Yule Ball earlier today."

"He seemed so polite when he was asking, but once I refused, he got mad and stormed off. He couldn't believe it when I told him no."

"I'd guess that he's used to girls saying 'yes' to him," remarked Harry. "He probably would have been nice and polite and all that if you'd have said 'yes.' But he may never have experienced a girl rejecting him before. Anyway, with all the girls I've seen chasing him, I'm sure he'll find a date. Hopefully he'll ask Cho Chang before she comes after me again."

-IYCHH-

Later that day, at Ginny and Hermione's insistence, the four of them were discussing Harry's egg clue.

"When you open it up, all it does is scream," commented Hermione. "That's not a useful clue."

"You mean when you open it up in here, it screams," corrected Ginny.

"What, do you want to try it in the library and see if it screams there, too?" asked Ron sarcastically.

"No…I think I know what she's trying to say," interjected Harry. "When we open it up in normal air, it screams, so maybe air is bad for it."

Hermione gasped. "Maybe it breathes something else."

"It's an egg," remarked Ron. "It doesn't breathe anything."

"So you're suggesting opening it up where there's no air," replied Harry, completely ignoring Ron.

Ron shook his head. "What are you gonna try? Opening the bloody thing underwater?"

"Actually, Ron," answered Ginny, "That's exactly what I was gonna suggest."

Ron looked at his sister like she'd grown an extra head. "You do know you're mental, don't you?"

"It can't hurt to try," remarked Harry. "I'm taking it to the bathroom and opening it in the sink to see what happens. I just wish there was a bathtub there instead of just showers."

-IYCHH-

A few minutes later, Harry and Ron (the girls couldn't go in the boys' bathroom) were filling up one of the sinks with the egg inside it silently. Once the water covered the egg, Harry stuck his hands into the sink and opened it. This time, it did not wail. A gurgling sound was coming out of it, a song whose words he couldn't distinguish through the water. "I wonder if I can get my ear in the water to listen," Harry commented as he turned his head to try. He had to put a little more water in the sink, but finally managed it. The song said,

Come seek us where our voices sound,

We cannot sing above the ground,

And while you're searching, ponder this:

We've taken what you'll sorely miss,

An hour long you'll have to look,

And to recover what we took,

But past an hour – the prospect's black,

Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.

After they'd told the girls what the song said, Hermione concluded, "It sounds like they're gonna take something important to you and hide it in the Black Lake, probably with mer-people."

"So, I'm gonna have to hold my breath underwater for an hour!" exclaimed Harry.

"There's got to be a way," reasoned Ginny. "They wouldn't have made this task if it was impossible."

Hermione suggested, "We've got plenty of time to search the library for answers. I'll start tonight. We should also find spells to fight underwater with."

-IYCHH-

The next day, Harry advised Fred to open his egg underwater and listen to the song it played. The next month passed quickly, with Hermione searching the library most of the time, although Ginny and Harry made it a point to be researching in the library during all the Slug Club meetings. They found spells that would repel things like grindylows and merpeople, but not how to breathe.

Finally, just before school was out for Christmas Break, Hermione had discovered an answer. "It's called the bubblehead charm," she explained. "You cast it and you've got a bubble of air around your head that will allow you to breathe for up to three hours."

"All right," replied Harry. "I'm sure you'll make sure I learn the charm, but I'd really like some kind of advantage over the competition."

"Hmm," remarked Ginny, "maybe you could get something to help you swim faster."

"Flippers!" shouted Hermione.

"What?" asked Ron and Ginny at the same time.

"Muggles use them as a type of shoe you can wear underwater. It extends your feet so…Oh never mind the explanation. The point is they could help Harry. If I teach Harry to transfigure his shoes into flippers once he gets there, he should be allowed to do it before the contest starts. He's allowed to wear shoes if he wants to. He should perform the bubblehead charm once the task begins. He should start practicing the spells tonight, so that he has them mastered in time to practice swimming underwater with flippers."

-IYCHH-

Hermione, Ginny, and Ron spent most of the beginning of Christmas Break working with Harry. Truthfully, Hermione was the most help, but Ron and Ginny didn't want to feel left out. Hermione had decided that it would be best to just extend the soles of his shoes, since shoes fasten much more securely than flippers anyway and are less likely to fall off. He was making some progress with both that and the bubblehead charm, and Hermione was confident Harry would have both spells mastered before the break was over. All he had to do was to keep practicing.

Ginny had gotten Harry to continue dancing lessons, and he had actually managed to dance very well by the end of their sixth lesson. No other mishaps occurred, because Harry was always watching Ginny's feet. Professor McGonagall suspected that his fear of hurting Ginny is what made him take so long to learn to dance.

Ginny and Harry also were close to discovering their animagus forms. Sirius, who they'd kept informed of their progress, was certain that, before the break was over, they'd be able to perform the animagus meditation. Once they could do that to see their forms, Sirius said it would only take a few months to be able to transform at the rate they were progressing.

Before he knew it, Harry was going to bed on Christmas Eve. He'd mail ordered most of his gifts for Ginny so that she didn't see what he bought while they were at Hogsmeade. He went to sleep nervous, hoping that his plans on giving Ginny the best Christmas of her life would succeed.

-IYCHH-

Chapter end