Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JKR…not me duh.
A/N: I thought I would be able to get this out yesterday or earlier, but it's been a busy couple of weeks. The next chapter will involve Ron's reaction to the Yule Ball and the second task. I've noticed that a few people want to know what "Fate" owes Harry and how he got the letter. This will be revealed in either an epilogue or prologue that will be written after the main story is over. There was also a question about why the bond formed on the platform – this is tied to how the note was sent.
On the Ron front: He's jealousy phase is mostly over…but he's still Ron – sensitive pride and all.
I'm going to finish GOF in the next two chapters. Speaking of which, I've written a few thousand words on the next chapter so I'm hoping to get the next chapter out by Friday.
Chapter 8: Goblet of Fire, Part IV
The next few days were among the strangest Harry had ever experienced at Hogwarts. It reminded him a little of his first few weeks at Hogwarts when people were pointing and whispering about him. This time, however, it was about the dragon's rather odd response to him. Most of the students did not seem to know how to react. They seemed to look at Harry with a mixture of awe and fear. Even the judges at the Tournament seemed not to know how to take the dragon's reaction.
Mr. Crouch had given him a perfect ten along with Dumbledore, but Madame Maxime had given him a nine on the grounds that she was not sure he had used magic in the end. Karkaroff on the other hand gave him a two because Harry supposedly did not use magic and his robe had a small rip on it that he said was from the Horntail's tail. Everyone else said the rip had been there before the start of the task. He was tired for second with Fleur. Krum was currently in the lead and Cedric was last by a couple of points. It was still a very close competition.
Of all the people, except Ginny, Ron actually seemed to take the entire incident the best – he even seemed to have warmed up to Harry and often snickered at the crowds Harry was now attracting. Hermione had practically not been seen except for meal times and classes as she was now spending all her free time in the library.
Overall, Harry found the situation much better than it was before the first task. His only real complaint was something he had never had a problem with before: Ron was spending too much time with him. Harry just figured that it was because Hermione was spending all her time in the library and if she was not there then she was discussing S.P.E.W. Ginny believed differently. She thought Ron was trying to make sure that they did not get any time alone.
After a week Harry began to think that Ginny was right. The three of them were walking back from dinner…Ron was in the middle. Ron had been assuming this position most of the time. During meals he would squeeze between Ginny and Harry and it was a miracle if the two managed to sit by each other in the common room. When Rita Skeeter's article came out announcing the results of the first task it contained another tidbit toward the end about Harry's love life. It described Hermione as his long time girl friend. This had thrown Ron off for the rest of the day and Ginny and Harry had spent a blissful day alone together. Unfortunately, Ron quickly recovered and no one, but the general public seemed to have believed Rita.
While Harry was finding Ron's behavior mostly amusing, Ginny was becoming more and more irritated. The only thing that had stopped her from confronting her stubborn brother was that Ron's behavior now was preferable to his previous idiocy.
Just as they were going through the portrait hole, Ron pushing Ginny through first, Hermione called out loudly to them. "Harry, Ron! Is Ginny around too?" Ginny pushed past Ron to show herself. "Oh good! I think I found it." Hermione had a broad grin on her face. Ron, Harry, and Ginny shared a confused look.
"It?" Ron asked, silently praying "it" had nothing to do with house elves.
Hermione's eyes narrowed at Ron's timid tone, "You know, why the dragon reacted like it did with Harry. Come on – I'll tell you down in the kitchens. I missed dinner and I've been meaning to visit them anyway."
Still suspicious that this had to do with house elves, none of the three moved, and Ron opened his mouth again, "Yeah right. You HAVE to tell us in the kitchens where the house elves just happen to be. What are we now? The House Elf Liberation Front?" Harry could not help himself and failingly tried to turn a laugh into a cough. When Ginny started laughing, he lost it and let out a real laugh.
Hermione glared at the three of them and they all shied back. She grabbed Ron and Harry and pulled them down a flight of stairs with Ginny following.
Approximately ten seconds after Hermione tickled the picture of a bowl of fruit and they all went through the portal to the kitchens, Harry was bowled over by a fast moving house elf squealing, "Harry Potter sir! Harry Potter sir!"
Harry looked down, but he only saw two bat-like ears. "Dob Dobby?" he guessed
"Yes, it is Dobby. Great Professor Dumbledore gave Dobby and his friend Winky jobs!" squealed the still very excited elf. Dobby released Harry and looked at the others, his eyes settling on Ginny. "You must be Harry Potter sir's…," said Dobby in an awed voice. Dobby looked like he wanted to say more, but was interrupted. Harry and Ginny were very grateful – somehow they were sure that the little elf had found out about their bonding or like the goblins could just sense it.
"Winky is here?" asked Hermione interrupting.
Dobby nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, Miss, but she is not…is not transitioning well." Dobby led them to a darker corner of the kitchen.
After spending nearly half an hour trying to cheer up Winky they gave up and let the house elves serve Hermione dinner and desert for the rest of them. This in itself was highly amusing as Hermione kept trying to help the elves who, in turn, took great pains to make sure she did not help. Finally, she looked up from her now empty plate and began to speak.
"You remember the information that Hagrid told us about dragons when we found out about Norbert?" Everyone nodded, including Ginny who had not physically been there. Hermione noticed and made a mental note, but continued her lecture, "Well, like Hagrid said, Dragons are not evil creatures just misunderstood." Ron and Harry gave disbelieving coughs. "Yes, I know Hagrid thinks ALL…err…fascinating creatures are misunderstood, but he is actually right in this case or at least for most dragons. You see dragons are highly magical and for the most part don't eat humans except the Vipertooth and Fireball…both of them have rather nasty habits of preferring humans…but no dragon is innately evil, they just…um…prefer to live freely.
"I found that they all have something in common. It's not well recorded and they are only a few examples, but it appears that all dragons respect creatures of fire. I'm not sure respect is the right word for it though. Salamanders are an example. There was one instance in China where a Fireball actually kept a small fire going for forty days so that the salamanders could feed off of it. Most of the examples I found were similar and mostly to do with salamanders since they are the most common fire creature.
"However, I did find a few cases that involved phoenixes. These are the most interesting and, from what I read, the most similar to how the Horntail reacted to you Harry," Ron looked like he was about to say something, but he was cut off by a foot coming down on his own. Looking around to see who had sent the offending anatomy at him, he found Ginny staring at him. He shifted his gaze from her and closed his mouth…maybe she was right. Hermione did seem to become irritated when they interrupted, not to mention the explanation always seemed to take twice as long.
"Well as I was saying, dragons respect phoenixes. They have allowed the birds to approach their nests even when eggs were in them. No one knows for sure why dragons are so differential to phoenixes, but some guesses have been made. Some think that it is not only due to the close relationship a phoenix has with fire, but also because they are creatures of the light. Others think that there is a hierarchy for magical animals and that phoenixes are at the top. I think it is closer to the first, but no one knows. Back to you Harry, there is no recorded incidence of a dragon allowing a human to approach its nest without a phoenix escort. The only thing I can figure is that somehow Fawkes left a mark or something on you since the Chamber. So what do you think?" Hermione finished and looked at them expectantly.
Harry took another pastry and silently started to eat it. Ginny just stared at Hermione trying to figure out what to say – it seemed like the older girl had said a lot to get to very little.
"Hermione, why didn't you just tell us the last part?" Ron asked innocently.
Hermione turned crimson out of embarrassment or anger no one could tell until she spoke. It turned out to be anger, "OH! YOU ARE SO FRUSTRATING! You have to know something about the background before you can just jump to conclusions. Why can't you understand that? But you probably weren't even listening anyway."
Ron seemed to realize that he had made a mistake and tried to backtrack, "But Hermione, all you had to tell us was that dragons respect phoenixes and that Fawkes might be the reason that they respect Harry. See I was listening," said Ron proudly as Hermione raised her eyes back from the floor.
You don't think…
Of course I do, Harry. I've told you before that I think Ron's liked her for awhile, but the information is still making its way to his brain.
That's kind of harsh.
I'm allowed to be harsh about Ron – he's my brother. Besides all boys are thick.
What about me? Harry asked in mock indignity, I told you how I felt.
Ginny seemed to consider this for awhile, True…but I think fate intervened.
Fate? What are you talking about – I sent the letter to myself!
How do you know?
I know…it was in my handwriting after all.
Fine. I'll give you that, but you still don't know how long it would have taken you without the letter.
The next couple of weeks went well. Harry received a letter from Sirius congratulating him on getting past the dragon, but advising him to stay cautious. They had a standing invitation from the house elves to visit the kitchens or at least three of them did. The elves had not extended the invitation to Hermione and were now avoiding her like the plague. The majority of students had gotten over their fear of Harry and decided that the dragon's reaction was simply amazing.
The last point was actually becoming a sore one with Ginny. Now that Harry was no longer seen as an upstart Champion and he had deftly, if strangely, defeated the dragon people, and more importantly to Ginny, girls were looking at him differently. The approving looks and loo conversations were slowly infuriating her. Harry, however, was nearly completely ignorant of the attention he was receiving.
Surprisingly, Ron was not ignorant and found that he was all for other girls expressing their interest in Harry. Indeed, he was encouraging it. Whenever he was asked about Ginny's relationship with Harry he would answer that they were only good friends and that Harry saw her as a little sister. While some found this suspicious as the two were hardly seen apart, most took the story at face value since it came from Ginny's brother and Harry's best friend.
To say that Ron was ecstatic when McGonagall announced that there was going to be a Yule Ball and that Harry had to have a date would have been an understatement. From Ron's point-of-view he did not even have to change his behavior. He was already keeping them apart and there were already girls eyeing Harry. Ron snickered and decided he was going to have to play a more active role – just in case. He needed to push Harry in the right direction. He would start immediately after class.
Lucky for Ron, Hermione had dragged Ginny off right after class. "Hey, Harry," said Ron when Harry exited the classroom. "Sooo, do you have any idea who are you going to ask to the Ball?" Harry gave him an odd look wondering if Ron had lost it. "I bet you could go with anyone. I mean not only are you the Boy-Who-Lived, but you're a Tri-Wizard Champion. They will be lining up." Harry blinked.
Ron continued, "Yeah, I bet they will be lining up. That Ravenclaw seeker, Cho Chang, is pretty you could ask her. She's got that great long, black hair and those perfect breasts. You could even ask Fleur," Ron's expression changed to a dreamy look before he could go on. "That would be great, huh?"
The next week was much of the same. Ron had now mentioned several other girls including Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot, and the Patils.
The night after Ron suggested Lavender Brown, Harry had gone to bed early.
Ginny! Ron is driving me nuts.
Driving you nuts? I think I'm going to kill him…slowly.
I suppose we could tell him about the bonding. The moment Harry sent the message he knew that it was a bad idea. Ron would completely lose it if he found out.
No, no, no. That is a bad idea. Ginny sent back emphatically. As much as he is infuriating me right now, I don't think there is much we can do…that is so long as you aren't planning on going with anyone but me to the Ball, Ginny's tone was playful.
Hah. No chance of that Freckles.
Shut up, Ruffles. Ginny sighed, you have no idea how much I regret allowing you to give me that name…
Harry snickered on his bed, Oh I think I do…
While Ron's new approach to force a wedge between him and Ginny surprised him, what surprised him even more was that Ron was right – girls were lining up. He had been asked out no less than six times. Ron had been with him most of the time and had been depressed each time Harry had politely rejected each girl. Ron was now driving Harry nuts. A fifth year Hufflepuff was walking dejectedly away from them when Ron began his usual diatribe.
"Harry! What is wrong with you? She looked fantastic – did you see her knockers? I mean, she looks just as good from this view…you should run after her. I don't think you could do better; well, except maybe if you asked Fleur…" Harry would have snickered at the look on Ron's face if he was not already infuriated with him.
"RON, I already asked Ginny. We are going together – get used to it," with that Harry turned around and walked away from a stunned Ron.
Ron watched Harry walk away, his frown deepening. There had to be something he could do.
Harry left to meet Ginny and Hermione in the common room. He was almost to the Fat Lady when he noticed that Ginny was feeling uncomfortable. She was embarrassed; as he concentrated, Harry realized though that she was not embarrassed for herself, but for someone else. Neville had just asked her to the Ball, apparently under the mistaken impression that she and Harry were nothing more than friends.
When Neville saw Harry walk through the portrait hole he went white and immediately began stammering, "Harry, I'm sorry. I just thought…well you know…um…Ron told me that…"
Harry cut him off and finished for him, "Ron told you that Ginny and I were not together." Rolling his eyes and shaking his head Harry made to relieve Neville of his awkward situation, "Don't worry about it. This is Ron's fault…"
At that moment Ron walked through the portrait hole and found everyone in the common room staring at him. Looking around perplexed he finally asked, "What?"
Surprisingly, it was not Harry or Ginny that started to berate him, it was Hermione. "RON WEASLEY, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? How dare you tell Neville that Harry and Ginny are not together – you know very well that they would be going to the Ball together when it was announced. You have no right to meddle. Where's your date huh? You should be happy for you best friend and sister. Instead, you have done everything you can to break them apart. If you had bothered to just pay attention, you would have noticed that they love each other. The only thing you are going to succeed in is destroying your relationship with them." Hermione stopped to take a breath and glared at Ron before continuing, "Well? Don't you have anything to say? You are hopeless."
Hermione turned, her hair flaying around with her and stormed up to her dormitory. For the second time that day Ron was left stunned.
What brought that on? Asked Harry.
I think she was hoping that Ron would have gotten up the nerve to ask her to the Ball before someone else did.
Forgetting Ron entirely now, Harry turned to the subject of Hermione's date.
So someone has asked her?
Yeah. Actually two people today. One this morning and one tonight.
Who? He could tell Ginny was enjoying keeping him in suspense.
She told me not to tell you.
… Harry tried to send the equivalent of a mental glare.
Fine, fine. The one who just asked her was Neville, but she already accepted the first offer this morning.
Who asked her this morn…Hey! Neville asked you second! Hermione's great and all, but you…well I mean…umm…Harry was shocked and was not sure how to put his feelings into words.
Thanks, Harry, but back to Hermione. She's going with Viktor Krum!
KRUM? Oh Merlin, Ron is going to explode.
Ginny stopped herself from bursting into a full laugh only through the strongest of efforts, I hadn't thought about that yet, but you're right.
…………………………………..
Ron lay awake late, thinking over what Hermione had said, no yelled at him. Frowning, Ron massaged his temples wondering why she just did not understand. Ginny was way too young and Harry, as his best friend, simply should not be looking at his sister like that. It was against the rules. What rules those were Ron was not sure, but he was certain that there were rules governing this sort of thing. He sighed loudly. There was nothing left for it. There was only one play left to play.
Harry had told them that Fleur was part veela. He would have to ask Fleur to go to the Ball with Harry; when Harry found out that Fleur had accepted, Ron was sure that Harry would not reject her. After all, it was obvious that she was able to use her veela charm and not even Harry could resist that up close…well at least Ron hoped. He would do it tomorrow, the last day of classes.
………………………………………..
The next day, deep within the bowls of the Ministry of Magic, Percy Weasley stood gazing at a room full of boxes. While most of his time was spent organizing and smoothing over the details for the Tri-Wizard Tournament, he still had other work to do. One of his larger projects was The Danger of Thick Bottomed Cauldrons. He had moved on to this topic after the thin bottomed cauldron report. Percy was certain that one of his predecessors had written a report on the subject some time ago and it had been probably moved down to this section of the Hall of Records.
Three hours later he still had not found the report. Percy was starting to feel defeated. There were just too many boxes here for him to search and still get the rest of his work done. He was just about to leave when a podium in the distance caught his attention. It was incredibly ornate and looked very old. He could tell that there was a self-writing quill sitting to the side of a large book, but could not read the entries from this distance.
Curious, he took a step forward, but was caught from going any further with the arrival of a paper airplane memo. He opened the memo; it was a letter from Mr. Crouch. Percy's eyes widened in surprise and delight at the content. It was as good as a promotion. He cast one look at the book and decided he would have to come back later; after all, he had too many things to do now. He also had the Yule Ball to prepare for and had to make sure he had the proper attire as the Ministry's representative.
……………………………………………
Harry woke to feelings of disappoint and sadness that were not his own.
What's wrong? He asked worriedly.
Nothing…I'm just trying to figure out how to improve my dress robes.
Ginny had shown him her dress robes before they had left the Burrow. Like Ron's, they were secondhand and, while they were nicer than Ron's robes, they were not very impressive.
Don't worry about it.
You're not buying me new robes! Harry sighed in his head, sending his frustration at Ginny. They were going to have to have a long talk about money. Then another thought hit him.
Who said anything about buying? he answered in a sly voice.
What are you talking about?
I would have thought that you would have remembered, Harry answered, determined to drag out the answer for as long as possible as payback for Ginny's explanation of Hermione's date last night.
Remembered? What…OH! I forgot. The Manor…
How do you do that? Queried Harry.
Harry, when are you going to learn I know your mind better than you do.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, how about we go after dinner tonight? Harry answered, really wishing he could make a disgruntled face at her.
Sounds good. Now let's get down to breakfast before Ron eats it all.
They had almost made it to the Great Hall when a yell stopped them, "Hey! Harry, I need to talk to you." It was Cedric. Harry and Ginny stopped and looked at him wondering what could be so important. Cedric smiled at them, "Your egg, Harry, I think you should take a bath with it. It will tell you all sorts of interesting things." Cedric winked at Harry and left to join the rest of the school at breakfast.
"Well that was odd," commented Ginny.
When they walked through the doors into the Great Hall a strange sight greeted them. Ron and Fleur were the center of attention. Fleur looked like she had stepped in something unpleasant and smelly, while Ron had a dazed, but determined expression.
"Fleur," he started loud enough for everyone to hear, "Will you go to the Ball with me?" Harry could not tell if Fleur or Ron was more surprised at the question. There were several snickers and Fleur's expression of disgust intensified. Ron seemed to realize what he had done, but did not run. Rather, he shook his head in an obvious attempt to clear it and said, "I mean would you go to the Ball with Harry?" Complete silence reigned through the Great Hall. Even the Slytherins were looking on with interest.
The expression on Fleur's face changed from disgust to calculating swiftly, but then changed again. "No, if the little boy cannot ask himself then I cannot answer yes."
Ron hung his head and turned to leave the Hall. That was when he saw Harry and Ginny. Harry had a betrayed expression, but Ginny's face was red and Ron knew it was not from embarrassment. The situation was not good. Ginny was going to hex him or worse embarrass him in front of the entire school...or both. Ron frantically looked for another option and decided to run for it. He only made it down two corridors, but it was thankfully vacant of observers.
Ginny was furious. If Ron had not humiliated himself in front of the entire school by asking Fleur to go with him in the first place she might not have allowed him to escape public embarrassment. The hex almost came out as a whisper, but Ron heard it and his eyes widened and mouth opened in terror as Ginny said, "bates mocos."
Harry stood over the prone figure that was now covered in bat bogeys. He could not help but feel a little pity for Ron, the hex did look painful, but he had brought it upon himself. "You know that you brought this on yourself?" said Harry, vocalizing his thoughts. Ron did not say a word he was too busy keeping his mouth shut. He did not want any winged bogeys to get in there.
Harry had thought that Ginny was done with Ron with the single hex; she was not. Her stance was very much akin to her mother's when she was angry: feet spread a shoulder's width apart and her hands on her hips. Harry thought she looked even more formidable, but that was possibly because he could feel the anger radiating off of her.
Unlike her mother, Ginny did not yell. Her voice was cool and low when she spoke, "Listen to me Ron and make sure you pay attention this time because if you don't I will make sure you really hurt. Harry and I are together. Harry is MINE. I am Harry's. If we want to snog on a stage naked you will not do anything. It is not your business and so help me," Ginny now looked like she was trying to maintain her composure, "If you ever, in any way, try to break us apart I will not rest until I hang you from the Astronomy Tower by your gonads! Do you understand me?"
Ron mutely nodded. One thing was for certain, he preferred it when Ginny yelled. He had had years of experience with his mother yelling. The calm, but angry Ginny was down right terrifying.
The rest of the day Ron avoided Harry and Ginny. Hermione seemed to have taken pity on him, although it was obvious she was disappointed in his behavior.
At the end of the day Harry and Ginny made their way to a secluded part of the castle and ducked into a secluded broom closet.
Harry could not help but find their choice of locations funny, "I wonder what Ron would think?"
Ginny glared at him and then smiled, "He better not think anything about it or he'll have more than bat bogeys to deal with." Harry did not answer, but transformed into a phoenix and waited for Ginny to join him. When she did they both burst into balls of fire and appeared at Potter Manor.
They had barely transformed back into themselves when Corfy appeared with a subdued 'pop.' "Hello, Master Harry, Mistress Ginny. Welcome home. What can I do for you? Dinny is setting up a late supper if you would care for something to eat."
Harry smiled at the aged elf. Over the summer he and Ginny and grown quite attached to the house elves of the Manor. Corfy acted almost as a parent or perhaps an old uncle to them both. "Corfy, it's good to see you again. We have a Yule Ball at Hogwarts soon and I thought we might be able to use the robes here."
Corfy nodded, considering Harry's words, while seeming to shift nervously, "I am sure you will be able to find something appropriate in the closets. Bonny will assist you; she is the most adept at these things." Harry almost laughed at the elf's response. It seemed like Corfy was rather uncomfortable with dress robes.
"Is everything alright? I would like your input as well."
There was no longer any doubt. Corfy positively squirmed, "I will help if you desire it, but I…I must warn you young Master that I am not known for my…um…taste in fine clothing."
Harry and Ginny broke out in laughter as the elf beat a hasty retreat. They were soon joined by Bonny, who was bouncing on the balls of her feet in her excitement. The female house elf led them to the large closet of dress robes and then disappeared into its depths. Several minutes later she emerged with several robes for Ginny to inspect. While Ginny was examining the displayed robes, Bonny had somehow managed to go back into the closet without either of them noticing and emerged again holding out several robes for Harry to look at too.
Several hours later they were both sitting exhausted. The first robes Bonny had brought out had turned out to be the very first in a long blitz of robes. The robes Ginny had settled on were white, but were outlined in a deep red and gold. Bonny had insisted that Harry's robes match. Consequently, he would now be wearing robes of the same color red that outlined Ginny's robes, but outlined in gold around the edges.
Looking down at the elegant robes Bonny had selected Harry felt a panic rise, "What's wrong?" asked Ginny.
"I can't dance," Harry stated simply.
Double cracks interrupted whatever Ginny was about to say; Bonny was back and she had brought Ding with her. For the next hour Bonny and Ding guided the young couple through several dance steps until they were proficient enough to avoid each others toes.
After a late night supper, how they had developed an appetite after only trying on robes and dance practice was beyond Harry, they found themselves sitting in the master suite. Harry let his gaze wonder around the comfortable sitting room. Before he had found out about Potter Manor he had believed that no place would feel more like home than Hogwarts. Potter Manor, after spending most of the summer covertly here, now felt like home. He and Ginny had explored the grounds thoroughly in their panther forms and had spent hours examining them from the sky in their phoenix forms.
The Manor itself was amazing. It was a lot like Hogwarts in that it seemed to have its own magic, which Daniel the painting had spent sometime explaining. There was also a myriad of secret passages and hidden rooms to explore. Ginny had made the mistake of comparing Potter Manor to Hogwarts once in front of Daniel. Harry had not realized that it was possible for a painting's eyes to glaze over, but Daniel's had and then he had begun a monologue about the wonders of Hogwarts and how 'she' was simply amazing and how Potter Manor, which he referred to as himself, did not deserve to be compared with such a wondrous creation.
Ginny's voice broke him out of his memory, "When are we going to tell the others about the Manor?"
Harry turned his head to look at Ginny; he was not excited about the idea of anyone else knowing about the Manor. He knew that Dumbledore did, since he had asked to there at the end of his third term, but no one else knew. It was partly for selfish reasons. After spending eleven years with the Dursleys and not having anything but Dudley's castoffs, Harry now guarded his possessions zealously. It was not like he was not generous with what he owned, Ron's many flights on his firebolt could attest to that, but a part of him was always afraid someone would come and try to take them away.
"I don't know. I guess I hadn't really thought about it. I don't suppose Dumbledore is going to allow me to stay here this summer…" Harry said dejectedly.
Ginny stood and walked over to him. She smiled as she looked down on Harry for a change, her height not often allowing that. Her brown eyes seemed to bore into his green before she half-collapsed, half-sat on top of him in the overly large chair. She gave him a crooked smile, which Harry had learned meant both mischief and a clever plan, "Who says Dumbledore can stop us."
Furrowing his eyebrows, Harry tried to figure out what she meant. Then it hit him. Dumbledore could not stop him. It did not matter how many wards or spells he put on Privet Drive. Harry was a phoenix; all he had to do was transform and flame to the Manor. The idea of disobeying Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard alive, gave Harry a small rush of excitement. But the more he thought about it he realized that he would never betray Dumbledore's trust or at least not completely he reminded himself as he thought of last summer. It was as simple as that: Dumbledore trusted him to go back to Privet Drive for awhile each summer...
Ginny had been following his thoughts and smiled mischievously again, "But Harry, Dumbledore never said if you had to spend the entire day there. I mean you spent more time here than there over the summer and nothing happened." Harry smiled at her and then looked around the room again before pledging to himself that he would never spend another night at Privet Drive. All thought of Privet Drive was driven from his mind as Ginny leaned in and kissed him.
Harry and Ginny reluctantly flamed back to Hogwarts with their robes clutched in their talons.
The next morning Harry was prodded awake by a nervous looking Ron. "Harry, wake up," he half-begged. Harry only turned and muttered something unintelligible. Harry had not gone to bed until well after midnight. Frowning, Ron tried to decide what to do. He needed to apologize. Hermione had given him a long lecture and several pieces of advice he was going to take. That and he was afraid to go downstairs without Harry…especially if he had to face Ginny. He extended his arm again and grabbed Harry's shoulder and proceeded to shake him awake.
"Wha…what?" Harry finally said as his eyes opened.
Ron tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace, "Harry…um…I need to…well…I'm sorry. I acted like a prat. I just couldn't believe that or I suppose wouldn't let myself believe that you liked Ginny for Ginny." Harry stared blearily at Ron. It was obvious Hermione had been talking to Ron, but perhaps she had penetrated his thick head.
"Just don't let it happen again," said Harry.
This time Ron smiled a real smile, "It won't. Let's go down and get something to eat." Harry sighed as Ron dragged him out of bed. Ginny was still asleep, Oh well, he thought, at least one of us gets some sleep.
They were about done with their breakfasts or at least Harry was almost done, when Harry decided it was time to make Ron pay a little for his past behavior, "So, Ron, do you have a date for the ball?"
Ron squirmed and seemed to be fighting with his own thoughts before he paled, "Oh…no, I don't." He seemed to think it over and then said, "I'll just ask Hermione."
The forkful of egg stopped halfway to Harry's mouth, "Hermione might already have a date."
The look on Ron's face would have been funny if the circumstances had been different, "Hermione have a date? Don't joke about that; I mean who would ask her. I heard about the whole Neville thing," Ron shuddered at the memory, "but she only told him she had a date to turn him down gently."
Harry shook his head, "Are you sure?" Ron, however, was too busy eating having moved on to the rather large slice of ham on his plate. When they left they table Harry kept trying unsuccessfully to convince Ron that Hermione might already have date.
Hermione was sitting on the couch reading a rather large tome. On her side were pieces of brown wrapping paper that Harry assumed the book had arrived in. She was nearly half-way through it Harry realized startled. He wondered how she read that fast. Ron made a beeline for her.
Ginny…cried Harry hopelessly.
I know…this is about to get interesting. The git deserves it if you ask me.
"Hermione," Ron sounded tentative and Hermione looked up obviously slightly annoyed at being interrupted with her new book, "Hermione, would you go to the ball with me?"
Harry took a step back – Hermione looked like she was going to explode. Her face had turned red and her hands were clenched into fists. Ron had paled and was no doubt wondering what he had done wrong.
"NO, RON! I WILL NOT GO TO THE BALL WITH YOU. I'M HAPPY YOU FINALLY REALIZED I'M A GIRL, BUT I'M GOING WITH SOMEONE ELSE."
"Oh come on, Hermione, you just said that to get rid of Neville," Harry could not believe Ron had just said that.
Oh this is going to be bad.
I hope Hermione really gives it to him.
Little vindictive don't you think.
Yes. He deserves it.
Harry agreed with her, but this was still going to be painful to watch.
"OH I DID DID I? SHOWS HOW MUCH YOU KNOW," Hermione stopped screaming and picked up her large book. Ginny and Harry were surprised. They had expected more. Then Hermione hit Ron with the book. Ron fell onto the couch dazed and Hermione stomped up to the girls' dormitory, book firmly clutched to her chest. Harry suspected she was crying.
Fun while it lasted, time to pick up the pieces now. You take Ron, I'll talk to Hermione.
Ginny disappeared up the stairs after the angry Hermione. Harry sat down gingerly on the couch besides a shocked Ron who had his head in his hand and was muttering something.
"Hermione has a date?" was what Harry barely heard. Then Ron said something else a bit louder, "How am I going to get a date with my robes?"
Harry suppressed a snicker. Ron's robes were really awful. "Err…You could use mine."
Ron's hands face fell from his face, "What?"
"I…er…got some different ones and I don't need the green ones," explained Harry.
"I don't need your robes," Ron's tone was defeated, but still quite firm.
"I know you don't need them, but if you would rather wear lace…" Harry let the statement hang.
Ron's face changed from red to green as he considered wearing his maroon, lacy robes. The green would be a huge contrast to his red hair, but the robes did not have lace. Ron's pride warred with itself before he said, "Thanks."
Normally the holidays at Hogwarts were quite and few people stayed. These holidays were the exact opposite. The castle seemed to positively bustle with activity and Harry had never seen so many people in the halls. Harry was actually looking forward to the Ball; he thought Ginny was going to look fantastic in her dress.
Unfortunately, Ron did not share Harry's view. He had not been able to find a date, but that had probably been from a lack of trying. He had spent most of his time trying to figure out who Hermione's date was. So far his efforts had proved futile; however, he had found out that Cedric was going with Cho Chang and Fleur was going out with Roger Davies. The only champion's date he did not know was Viktor Krum's. He had spent almost an entire day telling Harry how strange it was that Krum was finding it so hard to find a date since he was a famous quidditch star.
……………………………….
Dumbledore watched as he champions led their dates into the Great Hall. His twinkling eyes swept over each pair and he chuckled as he noticed the look the youngest male Weasley was giving Miss Granger. When Ron turned and walked away from Krum and Hermione Dumbledore noticed that his robes were too short for him and that green clashed horribly with his red hair. Strange, he noted, I will have to ask Molly about those robes sometime.
Percy Weasley's arrival had been unexpected and Crouch was supposedly sick. Dumbledore sighed; Crouch had never missed a day of work in his life. This was just another strange occurrence. He was worried about things. His sources informed him that Voldemort had left Albania sometime between June and July. He was not sure that the Death Eaters at the World Cup were connected, but it was a large coincidence. Then Harry's name had been put in the Goblet of Fire. He considered briefly that he should tell Harry about the prophecy, but dismissed the idea. Harry was still so young.
He turned his eyes back to Harry and Ginny. Their robes were fantastic and he could not help but notice that they were both wearing Gryffindor colors. Dumbledore had been to many dances and balls in his long life and the quality and elegance of the robes were among the finest he had ever seen. It appeared Harry was making good use out of his inheritance. The robes had to have cost a fortune. I wonder how Harry convinced Miss Weasley and Molly to allow him to spend that much.
As he watched Harry and Ginny dance he felt some of the worry he had been feeling lift, if temporarily. He doubted that anyone else in the Great Hall could see it, but around the couple was a faint aura. It took a great deal of power to be able to see auras, but it took a great deal more power to actually create a visible one. Smiling, Dumbledore reflected that love truly was more powerful than hate. He sighed, it was going to be difficult keeping the two apart this summer, but it would only be for a few weeks – the bare minimum needed to recharge the wards around Privet Drive.
Despite the unpleasant nature of the Dursleys, the protection the wards provided could prove to be a great asset to Harry should things go wrong. Other wards could be broken or bypassed, but the blood wards around Privet Drive simply did not allow that. They protected Harry from nearly all physical harm. Dumbledore was ashamed to admit it, but those wards were probably the only reason Harry had not been physically abused.
He was not looking forward to the inevitable confrontation at the end of the year. Sirius' return would add a further complication to the whole affair. In his last letter Sirius had said that he wanted to have a very serious discussion about Harry and strangely enough Ginny. He was very curious as to how Sirius had found out about Ginny and if Sirius was maintained his average traveling speed he would be near Hogwarts very soon, probably before the second task. Dumbledore chuckled; it was truly amazing how fast a lovable stray (once properly clean) could travel.