A/N Guess what time it is? No, not adventure time or summer time. It's time for the Yule Ball :) Oh, and ahead of time, I suck at describing clothes. Here's a link to see the girls' dresses. Y'all know what Hermione wears, if not, go watch Goblet of Fire. Flickr(dot)com/photos/xxmisscradeyxx (sorry if the address was missing earlier :)) )
Now that that dunderhead of a boyfriend Harry had finally asked me to be his date, my restless state of mind was calm. Despite the very heavy load of homework that the fourth years had been given for the holidays, I was in no mood to do homework. Was I ever? Instead I spent the rest of the week leading up to Christmas Eve enjoying my free time as much as humanly possible. I had a perfect dress and date, and was bristling with excitement for Thursday night.
Snow was falling thickly upon the castle and its grounds now. The pale blue Beauxbatons carriage looked like a large, chilly, frosted pumpkin next to the iced gingerbread house that was Hagrid's cabin, while the Durmstrang ship's portholes were glazed with ice, the rigging white with frost. The house-elves down in the kitchen were outdoing themselves with a series of rich, warming stews and savory puddings, and only Fleur Delacour seemed to be able to find anything to complain about.
"It is too 'eavy, all zis 'Ogwarts food," we heard her saying grumpily as they left the Great Hall behind her one evening. Ron had been skulking behind Harry, keen not to be spotted by Fleur. Word is the same day Harry asked me to the ball, Ron had asked Fleur. Or, rather screamed at her. It was tragically hilarious. Ron had been sulky and gloomy when anyone mentioned the dance. "I will not fit into my dress!"
"Oooh there's a tragedy," Hermione snapped as Fleur went out into the entrance hall. "She really thinks a lot of herself, that one, doesn't she?"
"Come on now, Mione. Give her the benefit of the doubt. Fitting into our dresses is important. I mean, I'm not stressing about it, but if my zipper doesn't zip up snugly, I'm going to have a total BF," I said in all seriousness, but with a hint of humor.
"Hermione - who are you going to the ball with?" said Ron. He kept springing this question on her, hoping to startle her into a response by asking it when she least expected it. However, Hermione merely frowned and said, "I'm not telling you, you'll just make fun of me."
"You're joking, Weasley!" said Malfoy, behind them. "You're not telling me someone's asked that to the ball? Not the long-molared Mudblood?"
"Scram, Malfoy," Harry said hostilely.
"Don't worry, Potter. I'm not here to hit on your pathetic excuse for a girlfriend. I've got myself a hot ticket for the ball. We'll try to steer clear of you two, y'know, as to not stir any jealousy," Draco said while turning and leaving.
"Hermione," Ron said, looking sideways at her, suddenly frowning, "your teeth..."
"What about them?" she said.
"Well, they're different...I've just noticed..."
"Of course they are - did you expect me to keep those fangs Malfoy gave me?"
"No, I mean, they're different to how they were before he put that hex on you...They're all...straight and - and normal-sized."
Hermione smiled mischievously and looked over at me.
"Well...when I went up to Madam Pomfrey to get them shrunk, she held up a mirror and told me to stop her when they were back to how they normally were," she said. "And I just...let her carry on a bit." She smiled even more widely. "Mum and Dad won't be too pleased. I've been trying to persuade them to let me shrink them for ages, but they wanted me to carry on with my braces. You know, they're dentists, they just don't think teeth and magic should mix."
"I don't blame you for not wanting to go back to braces. Four years of being a metal mouth..." I said, shuddering at the memory. "If I could have chosen magic, I would have."
The days leading up to Christmas Eve and the ball seemed to come and go in a flash. In no time at all, I found myself waking up on Thursday morning, the ball only twelve short hours away. Hermione and I met up with Harry and Ron in the Common Room, and we went down to breakfast together. We spent most of the morning in Gryffindor Tower, where everyone was raving about the dance tonight, and enjoying early presents the had received, then returned to the Great Hall for a magnificent lunch, which included at least a hundred turkeys and Christmas puddings, and large piles of Cribbage's Wizarding Crackers.
In the afternoon we headed out to the grounds; the snow was untouched except for the deep channels made by the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students on their way up to the castle. Harry, Ron, and I dicided to join in on Fred and George's snowball fight, while Hermione chose to sit by and watch.
At four o'clock, Hermione called out to me that we needed to go in and get ready.
"What, you need four hours?" said Ron, looking at her incredulously and paying for his lapse in concentration when a large snowball, thrown by George, hit him hard on the side of the head. "Who're you going with?" he yelled after Hermione, but she just waved as we disappeared up the stone steps into the castle.
Hermione and I, well mostly me, had a group planned to get together and do each others hair, nails, and make-up before the ball actually started. Inside of our dorm we found both of my sisters, Jennifer, Suze, and Riley waiting for us with garment bags and bags full of make-up and hair accessories. Suze and Sage offered to do our nails. While we waited for them to finish and our nails to dry, we gushed about who we were taking as our dates.
"We all know who Stephie's going with," Sage said as she catered to Hermione's nails. "Harry. No surprises there."
"Who are you taking then, Sage?" I asked while my nails dried.
"A Durmstrang boy, Asen," she replied with a smile. "What about the rest of you lot?"
"I'm going with Collin Allen, he's a sixth year Ravenclaw," Alexa chimed.
"Darren James. 5th year Hufflepuff," Suze said.
"Micheal Spokes. 6th year Hufflepuff," Jennifer said.
"A sixth year? Way to go for older men," Riley said with a sarcastic smile.
"Who are you taking then? Or rather who's taking you, since you are only a third year?" Jennifer prodded.
"Uhm...Draco," Riley said quietly to the ground.
"Malfoy?" the rest of us shouted looking at her incredulously.
"Yes. He's really not that bad once you get to know him. He can be a real gentleman and kind at times. I'll admit, he does have a dangerous side, and it thrills me," Riley said while heat rose into her cheeks slightly.
"Well, as long as you're happy with your date, I am, too," I said while patting her shoulder.
"You still haven't told us who you're going with, Hermione," Sage pointed out. Hermione turned just about as red as Riley just had, before she replied.
"Viktor. Viktor...Krum," she whispered. The other four girls gushed and sang with jealousy while Hermione sat by, smiling and blushing like mad.
After our nails were done, Alexa did the make-up for those we were cosmetically challenged while the rest of us did our own, and Riley, who was just as talented with a curling iron as she was a wand, did our hair. Most of the other girls ended up with simple updos, while I was given something more...outgoing. Riley had braided a section of my hair and pinned it so it lied on my head like a headband, just above where my bangs were. The rest of my hair she curled the rest, pinning sections here and there so the curls cascaded down my head onto my shoulders.
All of our dresses were gorgeous. Jennifer wore a red, sweetheart strapless dress. Sage had a short blue dress, also sweetheart strapless. The top of her dress was a dark bluish black with a blue waist belt, with the skirt poofy and blue. Riley's dress was a short, dark raspberry dress with her straps hanging off her shoulders. Her dress wasn't as short as Sage's, whose dress came about an inch or so above her knee. Instead, Riley's dress hung just a few inches below her knee. Alexa's dress was a dark, navy bluish black, with strapless again. The chest and waist were tight fitting, but the rest of her dress poofed out from her hips.
Hermione's dress was gorgeous, too. Her neck was also a sweetheart neck, but she had short silky sleeves attached. Her whole dress was a light, baby pink, and her skirt ruffled here and there. Suze and I seemed to have gotten similar, if not the same, dresses in two different colours. Both dresses had sweetheart necklines, a popular trend, I guess. Both dresses had waist belt in corresponding colours, and poofed out slightly. The only real difference was Suze's dress was orange and mine was purple.
When all if us were dolled up and polished, we made our way down the stairs, carefully, as to not trip over on our shoes. The rest of the girls left straight for the hall, seeing as I was the only one whose date was actually in my house. I scanned the common room filled with dressed up boys and girls, looking for my dressed up boy. I sighed with defeat when I couldn't find him, and decided I'd go down to the hall and wait for him.
In the hall there were only more boys and girls dressed up in their Sunday finest. Despite the large crowd, I seemed to spot Harry immediately. He was standing near the giant oak door to the Great Hall with Ron and Padma. As I descended the stairs, I noticed Ron tap on Harry's shoulder and point up the stairs to me. He turned around and locked eyes on me. I could feel heat rising slowly in my cheeks as Harry's face slowly turned into a bright smile.
"You...you look...beautiful, Stephanie," Harry said slowly, taking all of my outfit in. I smiled too, my cheeks starting to really sting now.
"Thanks. You look handsome yourself," I said, still blushing madly. I looked over at Ron and frowned. "Uhm, you look...nice, Ron." He scowled before taking Padma's hand and hurrying into the hall.
"What the heck is he wearing? Did he skin a bear and fashion the fur into his dress robes?" I asked turning to Harry.
"No," Harry said with a chuckle. "He actually cut off some of the lace before we came down here."
"There was more lace?" I asked before the two of us broke out into a laughing fit.
"Potter, you and Ms. Cradey are ready, I presume?" Professor McGonagall said as she approached us, breaking up our laughter.
"Er, ready?" I asked confused.
"To dance. It's traditional that the three champions, well in this case four, are the first to dance with their partners as an opening for the ball. Surely he told you that," McGonagall explained.
"No," I said, my eyes widening slightly as I turned to glare at Harry.
"Oh, well, now you know. Mr. Diggory, Ms. Chang," McGonagall said while hurrying off. I turned to Harry, my heart rate increasing slightly.
"You never told me we had to dance. In front of all three schools."
"It'll be fine, I promise," Harry said as he took my hand and squeezed it. I tried to squeeze back, hoping it would comfort me. It didn't help much. "If anyone has anything to worry about, it's me. I practically have two left feet." I could tell he was trying to make me feel better and lighten the mood, but I couldn't hear anything he said. All I could think about was tripping over my feet and falling flat on my face while the whole school laughed at me.
Once everyone else was settled in the Hall, Professor McGonagall told the champions and their partners to get in line in pairs and to follow her. The first couple was Roger Davies and Fleur, followed by Hermione and Krum, Cho and Cedric, and Harry and I in the back. I clutched onto Harry's arm as the champions and their dates made their way into the Great Hall, everyone applauding us as we entered and started walking up toward the large dance floor in the front.
The walls of the Hall had all been covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The House tables had vanished; instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people. Behind the dance floor at the end of the Hall was Flitwick standing in front of an orchestra, ready to conduct. We took our places on the dance floor as Flitwick raised his baton.
"Harry, I don't think I can do this," I whispered nervously. I tried to pull away, but found Harry's hands on my waist pulling me closer.
"It'll be okay, I promise. Just...concentrate on me. Just look right here," Harry said pointing to his eyes. The music started up and we began waltzing. Oh, why did I have to wear such high heels? I asked myself nervously, looking down to make sure I wouldn't trip.
"Hey," Harry whispered quietly to me. I looked up apologetically, forgetting what Harry had said. I felt my skin prickle as our eyes found each others as we continued to dance. The more we twirled and spun together, the more I felt my nerves fade away. Harry lifted me up into a turn and set me back down, a smile on my face. By the time the song had ended, the two of us were smiling and laughing. I hadn't noticed other couples, professors and students, had joined the champions on the dance floor.
"I feel a bit dizzy," I said as the main band, The Weird Sisters, came on stage and started playing. "I think I'm going to sit down."
"I'll join you," Harry said, taking my hand and leading me to a table that seemed as far away from the dance floor as possible, where Ron and Padma were seated. Both of them looked rather disgruntled.
"Rudy pumpkin head. He's really laying it on thick, isn't he?" Ron said sounding a bit jealous, his eyes glued to Hermione and Krum. His eyes were narrowed at the two of them for the better part of the song. "If it wasn't for the books they had I'd go and hide in the library."
The song ended, several couples leaving the dance floor to catch their breath, Hermione and Krum amongst them. They walked past our table a bit before he stopped and turned to her. He said something and kissed her hand before heading off towards the punch bowl. Hermione spun around and sat next to us, the biggest smile I've ever seen in my life glued to her face.
"Hot, isn't it?" she said breathlessly. "Viktor's gone to go get drinks. Would you care to join us?" I turned to answer yes, feeling like I could use a drink after the first dance, when Ron decided he would answer for all of us.
"No, we won't care to join you and Viktor," Ron mocked, aggravated.
"What's got your wand in a knot?" Hermione asked accusingly.
"He's a Durmstrang," Ron said, leaning over to talk across Harry and I to Hermione. "You're fraternizing with the enemy."
"The enemy?" Hermione repeated sounding dumbstruck. "Who was it wanting his autograph?" Ron sank back in his seat, not having an answer because she was right.
"The whole point of this tournament is international magical co-operation... to make friends," Hermione said defensively.
"I think he's got a bit more than friendship on his mind," Ron said with a sarcastic snort. Hermione and I turned to look at Ron, slightly disgusted. Even Harry looked at him, shocked at the would ever say such a thing. Well, then again, I guess if you hang out with Fred and George too much...
Hermione stood up and walked away quickly over to Krum, taking her punch from him. The mood had turned awkward and tense. I suddenly remembered the decision I had come to in Ancient Runes, and deiced now was the time to 'make my move', so to speak.
"Harry, I'm going to go for a walk. Care to join?" I asked, leaning forward slightly.
"Er ya, ya I would," Harry said standing up and taking my hand quickly. Pretending we wanted more drinks, Harry and I left Ron and Padma at the table, both of whom were looking unhappy and gloomy. We edged around the dance floor and slipped out into the entrance hall. The front doors stood open, and the fluttering fairy lights in the rose garden winked and twinkled as they went down the front steps, where they found themselves surrounded by bushes; winding, ornamental paths; and large stone statues. Here and there, people were sitting on carved benches. Several carriages were parked in the all around the courtyard. I was sure I could hear giggling from inside as we passed. Whatever was going on in those carriages was not meant for my ears, or the ears of any teenager, actually. Harry and I stopped by an archway a good distance away from other couples.
"Glad we're out of there. That was...awkward," Harry said once we'd stopped. I nodded in agreement ans shivered, the cold weather not helping my strapless dress situation. "Cold?"
"No, I'm fine," I lied, my body betraying me and shivering again.
"Here," Harry said taking off his robe that doubled as a coat, draping it around my shoulders. I smiled slightly as warmth started spreading through my body, Harry's familiar smell of a wooded forest reaching my nose. "Better?"
"Yes, thanks. Harry, there's...something I need to tell you," I said biting my bottom lip ever so slightly.
"What is it?" Harry asked, looking slightly confused. "You can tell me anything, you know."
"I know I know. I...just wanted to tell you," I started. I can't believe I'm about to tell him this. I paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "Harry, I love you."
We stood there for a few seconds, neither of us saying a word.
"Uh...what?" Harry asked confused. He looked dazed, like I'd just hit him over the head with a frying pan.
"I...I...I love you," I said again. I felt my heart falling lower and lower with each passing second that he didn't answer. "H-Harry?"
He stood there making strange sputtering sounds, like he was trying to speak but couldn't find any words. He...he doesn't feel the same way, I thought to myself slowly. Oh God, why did I decide to tell him? The reason he hadn't asked me to the ball sooner wasn't because he felt the same way, he loved or cared for me just as much and was scared to ruin things. No, he was probably contemplating dumping me! When girls upon girls came up to him asking him to the ball, he must've realized he could get any girl he wanted. He probably wanted someone with a less messed up past than me.
"It's happening again, like before," said an unpleasantly familiar voice. "Soon neither you nor anybody else will be able to deny it." Hearing Karkaroff's voice seemed to make Harry snap back to reality, forgetting everything I had just said. We turned around to the courtyard and saw Snape and Karkaroff. Harry pulled me behind him and hid behind a pillar, a great spot for eavesdropping.
"I told you already, Igor, I see no reason to discuss it," Snape said nonchalantly. He turned his head to a carriage, not too far from where Harry and I were, and ran up to it, blasting the door open. Two teens broke apart, looking morbidly embarrassed.
"Ten points from Ravenclaw, Fawcett!" Snape snarled as a girl ran past him, a boy following her. "The same for Hufflepuff, Stebbins."
"It's a sign, Severus! You know it is!"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Snape brushed off as he turned to another carriage and checked for any more teens.
"Really? Then you won't mind rolling up your sleeve," Karkaroff said, reaching for Snape's arm. He lifted it up high out of Karkaroff's reach. "Ah-ha. You are scared, Severus."
"I have nothing to be scared off, Igor. Can you say the same?" The two men stared at each other for a moment, neither of them backing down. Karkaroff stepped back and walked away towards Durmstrang's ship. Snape also stalked back to the Great Hall, probably to his dear wife.
Harry turned to head back in when he remembered I was still there and what I had said just before. He opened his mouth to speak, but I shook my head.
"Forget it. C'mon, let's go back in," I said, grabbing his hand and pulling in back inside. As we entered back inside the school, I could hear Ron and Hermione bickering about who knows what. Oh goodness, they're at it...again.
"He's using you," Ron said as he and Hermione walked quickly from the Hall.
"How dare you!" Hermione exclaimed "Besides, I can take care of myself."
"Doubt it. He's way too old."
"What? What? That's what you think?"
"Yeah, that's what I think," Ron said as Hermione started chasing him almost.
"You know the solution then don't you?" they had stopped by the stairs in the Entrance Hall.
"Go on."
"Next time there's a ball, pluck up the courage and ask me before somebody else does, and not as a last resort!" Hermione squawked, tears started slowly falling down her face.
"Well... well, that's completely off the point," Ron said, backing up the stairs. Harry and I had come close enough to the two, as Ron spotted us and said, "Harry."
Hermione turned around and saw us walking towards them.
"Where have you been?" she asked, him rather than me, fiercely. Harry was about to answer her when she cut across him. "Never mind, off to bed, both of you!"
Harry looked over Hermione's shoulder and gave Ron a questioning look as he walked towards him. They were both going up the stairs and Ron said loudly on purpose, "They get scarier as they get older, don't they?"
"Ron, you spoil everything!" Hermione yelled as she charged up the stairs a little. The two boys ran up the stairs and turned the corner. I could just about hear Harry ask Ron, "What's this about?"
Hermione sat down on the stairs and started crying, pulling of her shoes and rubbing her heels. I walked up the stairs slowly and sat next to her, tears finally starting to dot my face.
"Well, you know what my problem is," she sniffled, nodding her head back up the stairs. "What's wrong with you?"
"I think I ruined everything with Harry," I said, my jaw shaking a little.
"How so?" Hermione asked.
"Well, the two of us went for a walk after your and Ron's first little banter. When we were out there I...I told him I loved him. But he didn't say anything back. In fact he didn't do anything as to say he felt the same way. He just stood there and looked dumbfounded at me, like I just revealed I had a tail or something," I said, wiping away a few tears that had made their way all the way down my face. Hermione pulled me into another hug like she had a week ago. "Please tell me this is just him being a boy and nervous around girls, Mione."
"I'm sure it is. Now please, pray tell me why Ronald can be such an arse all the time?" Hermione asked trembling with more tears.
"Hermione Jean Granger!" I said pulling back. "I never thought I'd see the day when you called someone an arse."
"Me neither. But if it was anyone it would definitely be him," she said wiping away her own tears with the back of her hand.
"True. That, my friend, is not a question I can easily answer. For one he's jealous of you and Krum."
"I knew that. That's partly the reason I accepted Viktor's invitation, also the fact that I do like him," Hermione said blushing a bit.
"Like I told Riley, as long as you're happy," I said as Hermione rested her head on my shoulder.
"Boys," she whispered.
"'Boys'."