AN: Here is the ball! Not that I own it or anything

Chapter Four – The Yule Ball

I removed the disillusionment charm once I had left the castle. I figured it would be dark enough that I could take to the shadows. I felt like a criminal in the way I was hiding constantly but I was extremely nervous at anyone seeing me and at seeing Viktor. I managed to make my way down to his ship on the lake and saw him standing at the end of the gangway.

"Hermy-own-ninny, you look vunderful."
I blushed deeply and replied, "thank you Viktor, you look quite dashing yourself."

He took my hand and kissed it lightly again before pulling me closer to kiss me on the cheek. I was certain my face was a bright red at this point but I couldn't have cared less.

"Shall ve go to the castle?"

"Oh, yes…we should."

He took my hand in his and led me carefully up to the castle. Although I was not nearly his height, the shoes I was wearing helped to make up the difference. We kept to the shadows as we waited for the doors to the Grand Hall to open, thankfully, Viktor was not one who cared about being in the limelight often so we simply talked quietly in the shadows until McGonagall called us to the front of the pack to flank the doors.

We stood quietly, with smiles on our faces. I noticed that Viktor was actually smiling for once and that his eyes kept glancing over to me while the students entered. I smiled at Harry and Parvati and they looked at me in shock. I noticed the Slytherins shoot me looks of loathing (although that was nothing new) but I was getting looks from many girls that simply said to me they wanted to hex me until I was unbelievably disfigured.

We entered the great hall and took seats at the head table and began eating. Viktor and I talked animatedly throughout dinner. I was pleasantly surprised at how invigorating our conversations were. I had expected him to be a simpleton who only thought about Quidditch (kind of like Harry and Ron) but he actually had some pretty deep thoughts on subject matter. We talked about Durmstrang and about S.P.E.W. He actually seemed relatively interested in it. After dinner, we began to dance.

I had never danced with a boy before except at a few muggle weddings with my dad on his shoes. Viktor was a terrific dancer though and he led me across the floor with ease. I was quite unused to my shoes though and I kept tripping or twisting my ankle. However, Viktor was marvelous and saved me before anyone noticed I was falling. After about seven songs, I became tired and Viktor offered to get us drinks. I noticed Harry and Ron were sitting alone at a table and I walked over to them.

"This is fun isn't it?"

Both boys grunted in response.

"You know, dancing wouldn't kill you."

"Where has your beloved Viktor gone?" Ron shot at me scathingly.

"Viktor has gone to get us some drinks. Where are your dates gentlemen?"

"Uhhh…"

"Exactly."

"Hey, at least we chose people from the same school and not the competition." Ron rebutted.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"That means that Krum is the competition. Doesn't your loyalty lie with Harry, Hermione? What kind of Gryffindor turns her back on her friends?"

"I'm not turning my back on Harry. If anyone did that it's you, Ron. You were the one who ditched him before the first task. I stayed up all night trying to help him with his summoning charm."

"Well, clearly that's changed now that you have Viktor."

"No, I support Harry just as much as I ever do. It's not like you didn't try to ask Fleur."

"That's different."

"Why because she's a girl? Whatever Ron, goodbye."

I ran off to a corner and tried to fight back the tears that were threatening to fall from my eyes. I saw a shadow pass over me and was pleased to see it was Viktor.

"I saw you run off from your friends. Vhat is the matter?"

"Nothing…can we just get out of here?"

"Certainly. I vill take you back to my ship. I have private quarters, come."

I glanced back at Ron and remembered Ginny's warning briefly before I took Viktor's hand and followed him back to the ship.

AN: Well, I actually loved Hermione and Ron's conversation. It is short but I wanted to make it my own rather than copying what was already in the book. Come back tomorrow to see the reason that this story is rated M! Oh, and maybe throw me a review if you don't mind.