A/N hey guys, I know we haven't uploaded for a while, well...here is the next chapter! Once again, we don't own any of the characters, and we would absolutely LOVE you if you gave us a review. Thank you all, here is the story
The next morning, Harry woke up on a rather scratchy sofa in the Gryffindor common room. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, blinking and stood up. Stretching, he remembered what day it was, October 25, just less than a week from Halloween. It was also the day he would ask Severus to the Halloween festive occasion dance, no, it was a ball. He needed to remember that, ball, B-A-L-L, ball.
Harry was drawn out of his mental scolding from a knock on the window, he turned around and smiled when he saw Hedwig. He opened the window and Hedwig graciously flew in and proceeded to eat a half-eaten chocolate frog that was laying on the ground. Harry picked up the note that fell from the white owl's leg and unraveled the slightly old-looking parchment. He smelled the paper, it smelled like...raspberries...and...licorice wands.
As Harry Potter unraveled the letter all the way, it became quite clear why it smelled like candy, it was from Dumbledore.
Dear young Harry my boy,
Please be at my office for 11:03, sharp. If you arrive any later I will regrettably have to Crucio you for at least a minute straight.
P.S. (This is a postscript, Harry my boy.)
Just kidding. Don't be late though, my dear boy.
"Yes Harry, I'd love to go to the ball with you." Severus Snape said to his reflection, practice was key. He smoothed out his bottle-green and firey-red Christmas robes, they were a present from Dumbledore, the old git. As he swept out of the classroom, his heart began to...race. That was fairly new. He stumbled over the edge of his robe and as he straightened up, there was Harry Potter, strutting over to him, his hair flicking unnervingly. Snape breathed slowly and tried to make himself calm. Very calm. Yes. Nope. Not at all.
Harry smirked to himself and put his arm around Snape's shoulder and asked casually, "Go to the ball with me?" Snape started and glanced at Harry, surprised.
"Yes Potter, I mean Harry, sure." Severus exhaled and swished forward, "I have to go my little lion, see you after breakfast." and he gave a rare smile to the raven haired boy.
All during breakfast, Harry thought about what he and Snape could go as to the Hallowe'en ball. He considered pumpkins, but those were too bulky. He pondered Blast-ended skrewts, giant spiders and even pegasi. None of those ideas made any sense to Harry in the end. He decided at last that he needed some help, and who better to ask than the kings of pranks, jokes and Hallowe'en themselves, Fred and George Weasley. Harry got up and sidled down to the far end of the table where the gingers in question were sitting.
As he sat down, Fred and George asked in unison, "Hallowe'en trouble, right?"
Harry nodded glumly and Fred put an arm around the younger boy's shoulder saying, "George and I are going to the ball as each other, to really mess with the people who can't tell us apart." Harry's mood suddenly brightened, as he realised the costume potential for him and Severus.
He looked at Fred excitedly and exclaimed, "That's a great idea, mind if I copy you?"
Fred shook his head, smiling, and glanced down the table, "Oi mate, I have to go, Angelina's calling me." he winked at Harry and got up and went farther down the Gryffindor table.
Snape swallowed the rest of his cold oatmeal disgustedly. He set his spoon down with a definite clank and swished away from the table, looking forward to his meeting with Harry Potter. As he approached the doors, he noticed the young Malfoy boy cradling the apple and talking softly to it, with a loving smile on his face. Severus shuddered and forced himself to delete that horrid image. He thought of kittens instead, and rainbows, and centaurs, and autumn leaves, and Harry. Yes, Harry.
Potter was waiting for the Potions Master and was the first to speak, "Sev, I have a great idea! We'll go as each other to the ball!" Severus paused mid-step, glanced at Harry and slowly lowered his foot.
"Err….umm...ok? I mean yes, yes, that will do fine." he responded.
Harry raced down the winding steps from the divination tower, lost in thought. He imagined the Hallowe'en ball with Sev and seeing all the costumes. He could already smell all the pumpkins and the fall sweaters. He sighed happily, it was going to be absolutely wonderful, he was sure of that. As he walked, a strange and interesting idea came into his mind and he smiled quite gruesomely. The idea would surely make Snape a bit... irritated, but that was alright. Harry ran through the corridors, bumping into Hermione and Ron, knocking the pumpkin tarts out of Ron's grasp.
"What was that for, you bloody idiot?" Ron called angrily after him, after all, those pumpkin tarts HAD been straight out of the oven.
"No time to chat Ron, I'm going to ask Dumbledore to double date with me and Sev!" Harry shouted over his shoulder. Ron just stood there for a second, trying to comprehend what he had just heard.
Hermione sighed at the stupidity of her boyfriend and explained, "Harry's got himself a boyfriend, who happens to be Severus Snape."
Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, listening to Hagrid ramble on about the consistency of Dragon droppings and so on and so on. It was tremendously boring and tedious, Albus simply had zero time in his busy schedule for Hagrid listening. He glanced at the oddly shaped time keeper, or watch, on his left hand wrist. It read 11:02:56, Harry Potter had exactly four seconds before he was late, and tortured for at least a minute straight! No. Albus had said that he was joking. Darn it. When the minute changed, Harry was walking straight through the door like he owned the place, humming what seemed to be Madonna. Hagrid glanced around the room wildly, looking for the disturbance to his rambling and set his eyes upon the Potter boy. Hagrid calmed down considerably and settled himself a little more into the chair he was sitting on, petting Fawkes the Phoenix a little awkwardly.
Harry cleared his throat, "You wanted to see me, sir?" he asked.
Professor Dumbledore nodded, "Harry my boy, are you going to the ball?" he asked.
"Indeed I am, sir." the boy replied.
"Er, Professor, do you think you could...double date with me and Severus?" Harry blurted out before he had time to rethink what he was asking.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with amusement, "Of course, Harry my boy, that is a fine idea!"
Harry nodded quickly, "Is there anything else Professor?"
Dumbledore shook his head and reached into his long beard, pulling out an azure hair comb, "Take this, Harry my boy, your hair has been tangled and there are bits of Pumpkin tart in it. Better to comb that out, don't you suppose. Oh, and what are you doing for a costume this year, Potter?" Albus asked.
Harry opened his mouth to speak, and realised he had quite forgotten what they were doing, "Err...Oh! Yes! Sev and I are going as each other!"
Albus smiled and winked at Harry, "Usually I would tell you what I'm doing but this year I'm afraid you'll just have to wait and see." Harry nodded and walked out of the office, humming Madonna once again. He waited patiently on the spinning golden stairs that led to the entrance to Dumbledore's office and pushed open the heavy door. He skipped happily down the hallway, feeling very accomplished and was not looking where he was going. He stumbled and tripped, falling on the ground quite... gracefully. Someone helped him up, but he didn't know who. When he turned around and looked he saw Neville Longbottom staring back at him, appearing very glum.
"Neville, is something wrong?" Harry took a moment to look at his friend, something seemed different. Was that mascara and heavy eyeliner he spotted? It was indeed, dark makeup circled Neville's eyes. Neville had gone goth.
A/N Well, what do you think is going to happen? Give us a review and let us know!