Part 2: The Yule Ball
Hogsmeade weekend came without much event. Harry went to the village with Ron, Hermione, and Neville. Their first stop, as demanded by Hermione, was Scrivenshaft's, where they refilled their supplies of quills and parchments. They ran into Remus and Hagrid at the Three Broomsticks during lunchtime and, as usual, they got to talking about the upcoming First Task of the Triwizard Tournament. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville tried to get Remus and Hagrid to tell them something about the First Task, but they couldn't get a word out of them. At one point, Hagrid looked like he was going to give in, but Remus was firm and wouldn't let Hagrid say anything. Giving up, they instead talked about who was going to get top points among the Champions. Harry, Hermione, and Neville supported Cedric Diggory, but Ron, unsurprisingly, had his money on Viktor Krum. Of course, that caused Ron and Hermione to start bickering, prompting Harry and Neville to look wearily at each other, and Remus and Hagrid to smile amusedly at the arguing pair.
Later that afternoon, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville left Remus and Hagrid at the Three Broomsticks. They went around Hogsmeade again, going to the shops they hadn't visited that morning. They met Ginny and what looked like the rest of the third year Gryffindors at Honeydukes. The shop was too crowded and noisy, and they couldn't get a chance to talk, so she just waved in greeting at the four of them. Later on, she waved goodbye as she and the rest of the Gryffindors in her year headed out of the shop laden with what seemed like all of Honeydukes' candies.
All in all, it was just a normal Hogsmeade weekend. There was no thrill of going to the village for the first time, there were no new product lines from any of the shops, and they didn't learn anything from Remus and Hagrid. Ron and Hermione's bickering during lunchtime only emphasized the normalcy of that weekend. It was as though all the excitement was being saved up for something big.
That 'something big' was, of course, the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament, which was held on the last Wednesday of November. Harry woke up early that day, and he wasn't the only one. The Great Hall was already full of students by the time he, Ron, Hermione, and Neville got there for breakfast. Everybody was talking about the First Task, and nobody could wait for eleven o'clock to come. Ginny sat a few seats away from them, talking animatedly to her friends. From what he could hear of their conversation, Harry guessed that they were speculating about what the First Task was going to be. Fred and George were walking along the Gryffindor table again, betting against everyone who would take them on. Ron looked like he was too excited to say anything and both Hermione and Neville kept checking their watches, as though hoping that time would run faster.
Finally, at around ten-thirty, the students were ushered to an area around the edge of the Forbidden Forest. A huge tent had been erected and Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville walked around it with the rest of the students. The sight that greeted them as they cleared the tent made Harry's jaw drop without him noticing.
Three dragons, red, blue, and green in color, were thrashing wildly about in their respective enclosures. Harry silently thanked his lucky stars that he wasn't the one who had to face them. He, Ron, Hermione, and Neville headed to the stands and took their seats. Ginny, who was sitting with the third year Gryffindors a few steps below them, turned around and gave a wave.
"Dragons," she said breathlessly. She looked meaningfully at Harry, and he knew she was telling him (silently) that she had been right. He grinned at her and gave a thumbs-up, indicating that, yes, he agreed that she was right.
Presently, the judges took their seats and Ludo Bagman took his place on the commentator's podium, announcing the start of the event. The crowd let out a deafening roar of excitement and Bagman had to wait for a couple of minutes before he could be heard over the cheers. He explained that the Champions had to get past their respective dragons to get a golden egg, which was placed in the dragon's nest along with the rest of its real eggs. His explanation was broken, often interrupted by roars from the crowd. The cheering, however, was nothing compared to what Cedric Diggory got when he appeared into view with a determined look on his face.
Cedric Diggory walked inside the enclosure, faced the Swedish Shortsnout, and everyone fell silent. The sound that escaped the crowd as he transfigured a rock into a dog to distract the dragon was, at best, minimal. Hermione commented something about that being an amazing bit of Transfiguration, but she was one of the very few people who were still talking. Everyone else was too engrossed with what was going on to say anything. Diggory negotiated his way around the enclosure, trying to walk towards the dragon's nest as stealthily as possible. Minutes later, with the dragon busily going after the transfigured dog, Diggory found an opening and ran to get the golden egg. The dragon changed its mind halfway through however, and several girls in the crowd started shrieking as it turned back and went for Diggory. Thankfully, he was able to escape with the golden egg. He got burned, but he made it out in one piece. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief beside Harry.
Everyone's reaction to Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour were the same as Cedric Diggory's, only with less cheering, since they were mostly Hogwarts students. The crowd would roar when the Champion emerged into view, fall silent as they tried to get the golden egg, and roar louder as they succeeded in the task. Fleur Delacour, who was facing the Common Welsh Green, used her Veela charms (Harry had overheard Madame Maxime telling Hagrid that she indeed had Veela blood) on the dragon and it fell asleep. It started snoring though, breathing flames, and her skirt caught fire. She put it out with a wave of her wand and she managed to get the golden egg. Viktor Krum used a curse ("Conjunctivitus," said Hermione) that caused his dragon, a Chinese Fireball, to thrash wildly about. The curse had temporarily blinded the dragon, and he was able to get past it and get the golden egg. He completed the task in under the shortest time among the Champions, but the judges took marks off him for causing the dragon to break half of its real eggs.
Viktor Krum still got top points though and everyone cheered appreciatively as Ludo Bagman announced the standings. Harry knew, however, that the crowd's cheers would have been louder if it had been Cedric Diggory who got top points. They were a Hogwarts crowd after all, and they supported Cedric Diggory. That didn't include Ron of course. He was jumping up and down beside Harry, looking very pleased and gushing praises (almost girlishly) about Krum. Fred and George were walking among the Gryffindors, grinning widely as they collected their winnings. They too seemed to have their money on Krum. They approached Ginny with identical smug grins on their faces, she tried to reason with them, but there seemed to be no way out. In the end, she took some coins from her pocket and handed them to the twins, who took them triumphantly. Harry couldn't help but chuckle at their exchange. Ginny must have heard because she turned to face him. He gave her a very smug grin, and she stuck out her tongue at him before turning back to her friends. Unable to help himself, Harry burst out laughing, prompting Ron, Hermione, Neville, and the other students sitting near them to stare at him with astonished expressions on their faces.
The last days of November flew by very quickly, as though making up for those days preceding the First Task when time ran so slowly. One moment, the First Task had just ended, the next, everyone was turning their calendars to December and rainy autumn was giving way to snowy winter. Things started going back to normal, or as normal as it could possibly be in Hogwarts that year. Harry and Ginny resumed their flying sessions on Saturdays (if the weather permitted it) and everyone finally stopped talking about the First Task.
During the second week of December, however, McGonagall announced something that gave everyone something to talk about for the weeks to come. A Yule Ball was to be held at Hogwarts on Christmas day, she had said, and all fourth year students and older were "strongly encouraged" to participate. There would be dancing, of course, and they would need to get a date.
Harry had never truly realized how many girls there were in Hogwarts before the Yule Ball was announced. Now, it seemed that every room, every corner, every hallway in Hogwarts was packed with them. By Friday, their numbers seemed to have doubled—tripled even. It didn't help that everywhere he looked, he could see Cho, surrounded by her group of giggling friends. He really wanted to ask her as his date, but he couldn't get the guts to do it.
By Saturday, Dean and Seamus announced that they had already gotten dates for the ball (Dean, his fifth year girlfriend, and Seamus, Lavender Brown), increasing the pressure on Harry, Ron, and Neville to get dates already. Harry was starting to get a little desperate that he almost considered owling his Dad and Sirius for advice. He thought better of it though. He knew that if he asked just one of the grown-ups, everyone else would put their two cents in.
Even though he refrained from asking the adults, three letters of advice (all of them unsolicited) still arrived for him on Sunday morning during breakfast, one each from his Mum, his Dad, and Sirius. He read his father's letter first.
Dear Harry,
I heard that they've already announced the Yule Ball, so I thought I'd give you some words of advice. Now, I know you're quite capable of getting a date on your own, but I'm sure a couple of tricks from your old man would greatly increase your chances.
Harry could practically hear his Dad's very smug "eh?" at the end of the sentence.
I'm sure you already know who to take to the ball, so the first thing you have to do is find out what you can about her. Her likes, her dislikes, etc… Girls like it when you know stuff about them that they didn't think you knew. You'll never know, maybe you can surprise her into saying yes (not that she wouldn't say yes otherwise, of course).
Harry paused to think of what he knew about Cho. So far, he'd only got 'Ravenclaw Seeker', 'definitely a better flier than Slytherin's', and 'got her Asian background from her father'. He frowned at his Dad's advice, wondering if he really had to find out things about her. It seemed quite a hassle.
Secondly, mess your hair up. Girls love messy locks. It makes us look sexy.
Well, that's all. I'm sure you can figure the rest out on your own. And if you ever need more advice, put Hedwig to work and owl me.
When hell freezes over, Harry thought sarcastically.
Oh, and don't tell your Mum about my second advice. She hates it, for some reason (the advice, not the hair).
Love,
Dad
Harry put his Dad's letter on the table beside his plate and proceeded to open the one from Sirius.
Harry,
So, Hogwarts is holding a ball this Christmas, huh? You must be excited.
No, Harry thought firmly.
How many girls do you plan to take to the ball?
What?
I'm just kidding. I know you only plan on taking one. You're a lot like your Dad in that respect, very 'un-ambitious', for lack of better term.
Harry snorted. He knew Sirius was just joking.
I'm sure he's tried to give you advice on how to get a date. Well, I don't know what he told you, but I'll remind you that it took him four (FOUR!) years to finally get your Mum to go out with him. While I, on the other hand, had (and still have) girls going after me left, right, and center. It's quite obvious whose advice to take. Mine, of course.
Impeccable logic, Harry thought sarcastically.
Now, the first thing you have to do is to make your intentions clear. When you see the girl, smile at her in a way that makes her know that she just made your day by just simply 'gracing you with her presence'.
Harry frowned. He wasn't entirely sure what Sirius meant.
Let her catch you staring at her. And when she does catch you, smile at her, stare just a tad longer. It lets her know that you're interested in her. It flatters her, and most importantly, it catches her attention. Once you have her attention, that is when you ask, and chances are she'll agree to going with you.
That's just the basic, of course. But it still works. I could tell you more, but then, where's the fun in that? If you still feel lost though, don't hesitate to write me.
—Sirius
Harry stared at Sirius' letter, not quite sure whether his godfather had been joking or not. What did he mean by 'making his intentions clear'. Wouldn't asking a girl to the ball be 'making his intentions clear' already? Harry shook his head to clear his thoughts and put Sirius' very confusing letter on the table. He opened his Mum's letter, hoping for some bit of sanity.
Dear Harry,
I know your Dad and Sirius wrote you letters giving you 'advice' on how to get a date for the Yule Ball. I'm sure you already know this, but you shouldn't take any of what they're saying too seriously. My advice to you is to simply approach the girl you like and ask her, sincerely, to go to the ball with you. Be sincere and straightforward. Girls appreciate that.
Harry paused to think. His Mum's advice definitely made more sense than Sirius', and a lot less hassle than his Dad's.
Incidentally, do you already have a particular girl in mind? What is her name? Do I know her?
Love,
Mum
Harry frowned at his Mum's letter. She just couldn't help it, he thought. Ever since summer, his Mum (and his Dad too) had been asking him whether he fancied someone at Hogwarts. He supposed it was just one of those annoying things about parents (and adults in general). He was particularly unlucky because he had no siblings and his godfather had no children of his own. He was the only one they could bug and bother, as proven by their unasked for letters.
Harry folded his Mum's letter and made to put it with his Dad's and Sirius' letters, but when he looked down at his table, he found that the letters weren't there anymore. He looked around and saw that Ron, Hermione, and Neville had started reading his letters. Neville was looking at the letters quite seriously, but Ron and Hermione were wearing amused grins on their faces. Harry groaned in frustration, sometimes his best friends really didn't know anything about privacy.
"Hey, that's mine," he said loudly, grabbing the letters away from his friends.
"They were right there," defended Ron, pointing to his plate.
Neville noticed that Harry was holding a third letter. "Who's that from?" he asked.
"Nobody," Harry answered a little too quickly. "It's just, er…a note from this store that I ordered something from. They're out of stock."
Hermione raised an eyebrow at him and Ron grabbed his Mum's letter from his hands. Hermione and Neville read the whole letter, but Ron's eyes went directly to the signature.
"I do agree with your Mum, Harry," said Hermione.
Her comment, however, was drowned out by Ron's very smug question.
"You got one from your Mum?" he asked loudly, smirking at Harry from ear to ear.
Harry hung his head. He hated being an only child.
Later that morning, Hermione went to the library to do "some research" on house-elves. Hermione had always found reasons to spend her time in the library even when she had ran out of homework to do. She always had some project or another to work on. Ron had called them her "little obsessions". First year, it was anything and everything she could find out about the magical world. By the end of that year, Hermione had discovered several things about the magical world that Harry, Ron, and Neville hadn't known before. On second year, Hermione spent all her time in the library doing further research on their Defense professor's books. It had been her obsessive research that exposed Gilderoy Lockhart as a fraud, though it took her a month to accept it because of her 'little' infatuation (which annoyed the hell out of Ron). Hermione took all the offered subjects during third year, so she had been pretty busy with school work. However, that didn't stop her from researching old trial cases when the Malfoys sued Buckbeak for injuring Draco (though that had been Draco's own fault). With the help of Hermione's research and Harry's parents' influence, they were able to save Buckbeak from inevitable death. Now, in their fourth year, Hermione was obsessing about house-elves. She was of the opinion that house-elves shouldn't work without wages, not to mention other benefits, and had started a group called the 'Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare' (Ron and Hermione's arguments on how the group's acronym was pronounced became a permanent fixture for a few weeks).
Though they had begrudgingly agreed to be members of SPEW, Harry, Ron, and Neville weren't particularly interested in the cause and had instead gone back to Gryffindor Tower to relax.
"What's Hermione doing in the library?" Neville asked as they entered the Gryffindor common room and took the unoccupied seats under the Gryffindor banner.
Probably hoping that she'd get asked to the Ball by hiding there, Harry thought sarcastically.
"We don't have some homework that I don't know about, do we?" Neville continued worriedly.
"Nah, you know Hermione, Nev, she just loves reading stuff," said Ron fondly.
"Have either of you asked anyone to the Ball yet?" asked Harry.
At the mention of the word 'Ball', Ron's and Neville's faces fell and Harry felt a little guilty for bringing the topic up. He just wanted every input he could get though, and who knew, maybe his friends had some useful insight.
Ron gave him a withering look. "You asked us about that just this morning," he told Harry wryly. "The answer is still 'no'."
"We have to ask someone sooner or later," reasoned Harry.
"I know," said Neville, sighing sadly.
"I wish I was a girl!" Ron declared loudly, making Harry, Neville, and a group of fifth year girls near them look at him with expressions of alarm and worry. "So that I wouldn't have to be the one to ask for a date to the Ball!" he explained just as loudly, looking pointedly at the fifth year girls.
"Yeah, you'd go with Viktor Krum," joked Harry.
"That, I would," said Ron confidently, crossing his arms and putting his feet up the table.
The fifth year girls, who were still listening in on them, gave identical looks of affront then went back to talking in whispers and casting glances at Ron, prompting the three boys to explode into laughter.
"That reminds me," said Ron when he'd sobered up, "we should go to the library. Krum's been hanging out there, and I want to ask for his autograph," he added, loudly and clearly so that the fifth year girls could hear. This made Harry and Neville start laughing again.
"Seriously though," continued Ron, indeed looking quite serious. "We should get his autograph…I mean, can you imagine the look on Fred and George's faces when we get it? And who knows, maybe we can bribe a girl to go to the Ball with us for Krum's autograph," he added half-jokingly.
"As inviting as that sounds," Harry began sarcastically, "I can't go with you. I'm dropping by Professor Lupin's office later. He's gonna teach me how to fix my Sneakoscope."
Betaed by: PadfootProngs7