In a classroom, Ron says "This is mad, at this rate I'll be the only one in our year without a date!"
Harry says "Maybe not. Bloom didn't answer, just stared at me like she was shocked speechless."
He looks miserable, and Ron says "Harry, she probably just wasn't expecting it. When did you ask her though?"
"We were dancing, your face was about maroon I think. She said nobody would ask her because everyone's probably terrified of her."
"And then you ask her to go to the Yuletide Ball. Of course she'd be shocked."
Fred gives Ron a note that says 'Get a move on, or all the good ones will be gone.'
He crumples it up, even though it's true.
Hermione and Bloom walk in, and Bloom is looking at the floor.
Ron says "Well Hermione, you're a girl." Hermione scoffs, and says "Oh, well spotted, Ron!"
"Come on, it's one thing for a bloke to show up alone. For a girl, it's just kind of sad."
Hermione says "I won't be going alone for your information. Somebody else already asked, and I said yes."
She storms off, leaving Bloom alone with Ron and Harry.
Bloom looks at Ron, seeming to read a look on his face - then glances at Harry, turns bright red, and runs out the door without a word.
Ron asks "Is she…embarrassed?"
Harry looks at him and shrugs, until Ron says "Well, go after her, mate!"
He pushes Harry towards the door, until Harry starts moving of his own accord.
"Okay, Ron, okay. I'll go find her!"
Harry gets out the door, only to find the hallway deserted.
Bloom? Bloom! Come on, you have to talk to me at some point!
He doesn't get an answer, but he does have an idea of where Bloom has gone.
He follows the connection they share, and it goes up to the mail tower.
Cho is coming down at the same time, and Harry asks "Cho, have you seen Bloom?"
"Yeah, she just went past me. Something happen? Her face was redder than her hair."
"Maybe, I don't know."
"Well, she went up to the top. Tell her I say good luck with the next trial."
Harry nods, and goes up the steps.
He finds Bloom sitting in a window with her head in her hands.
Harry sits down next to her, and puts an arm around her shoulders.
She mumbles a spell so any potential listeners will be sorely disappointed.
"Bloom, what's wrong?"
"Harry, I just…everything! I'm in this stupid tournament that must have been thought up by three people who wanted to see which of them could die in the worst way possible. We've got this dance coming up that Hermione told me I can't hide out with Fyra in the dorm or go flying around the grounds during - and…"
She lets out a very long breath and drops her head to her knees.
Harry pulls her closer, not wanting her to fall off the tower right then.
"Bloom, where's all this coming from?"
She looks at him for a moment, then looks away.
"Harry, in Gardenia, before I knew about my powers, I was a nobody. I had red hair and blue eyes, but that was it. Even in Magix, when I was going to Alfea, there wasn't really anything special about me. Now, here, with my powers growing as I go through years I've already lived, its…"
She trails off, not knowing how to tell him how much the Dragon Flame scares her now.
She scared off a dragon just by being incredibly angry - she took some satisfaction at seeing Draco unconscious on the ground though.
"Now, it's like I'm trying to keep the Dragon Flame in at all times, and it really wants to lash out when someone gets me mad. The Horntail probably sensed it, and turned tail before I turned the power on it."
"And what about me? I know Rita's article about how we're in love is getting people talking, but you've never cared about what other people think before."
"Harry, it's…complicated. I'm supposed to protect you, keep you safe until you can beat the Dark Lord, but…"
Harry remembers what Hermione said at the end of last year - how Bloom secretly likes him.
"But?" "But it's not so simple anymore. At first, I was looking for a kid with a lightning scar on his head - Mrs. Faragonda said it would be easier because he'd be the only other person who had no clue about the terms and how things are done. I didn't even know much about magic myself when she gave me the mission, which must have made it easier for me to blend in. I was learning how to use my magic, and I had it most of the way down when it came to actually doing stuff - which I guess made me the perfect candidate. I was just supposed to keep you alive, not…get close to you."
She starts crying now, and says "Mrs. Faragonda said if I really wanted to, I could stay in this magical community and live by their rules - the part about my fairy powers being the exception to them still standing - or I could come back and do the spell in reverse and have me back to the age of my old friends. And I…I don't know. I miss my friends, but…"
Harry doesn't need her to say what else, he puts his other arm around her and pulls her away from the edge of the window and onto their feet.
"Harry, I know I sound like an idiot, or like I can't keep a straight head on my shoulders, but-" Harry interrupts her by kissing her suddenly.
When he breaks it, she's staring at him in total shock.
"I never did thank you for saving me in the dungeons. Or for saving my Godfather. Or for making the past few summers survivable. At least, I didn't thank you properly."
Bloom has tears rolling down her face, and whispers "You're not afraid of me? Even with the fact that I scared a dragon off? Or that a room could be torn apart if we argue? Or-"
Harry stops her from asking another question the answer is no to by kissing her again.
"No, I'm not. You've been literally the best friend I could ever have asked for. You kept my aunt and uncle off me for the past few summers, you saved my life more times than I can count, why would I be afraid?"
"Ron's afraid. I heard him tell Hermione I'm scary."
"That's why he wouldn't tell you to go find Hagrid? Because he was scared you'd set his hair on fire or something?"
Bloom nods, and looks away.
"Bloom, I'm not afraid. Not of you, not of the power you hold."
He hugs her again, thankful there's no flash of light to interrupt them this time.
"So, about me taking you to the Yuletide ball…"
Bloom nods her head, and says "Yes. I know I didn't answer, but, yes."
Harry grins, and then Bloom suddenly kisses him desperately.
When she breaks for air, she says "I just…I needed that Harry. You have no idea how much…you just don't."
She wipes her face, and says "Want to go scare the hell out of any potential eavesdroppers down there?"
Harry nods, and Bloom turns them both invisible.
Bloom does a levitation spell of her own to float down, and sees Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle waiting at the bottom.
She whispers "Draco and his two goons are down there. Want to make them wait forever? Or do you want to surprise them?"
Harry takes a peek, then says "Here's an idea. You go down visible, then I'll sneak up and scare them from behind. Or the other way, whichever way you want to go."
Bloom says "Alright, you go down visibly, I'll fly down and turn visible - can't wait to see the looks on their faces."
Harry smirks, and then Bloom does the incantations on him - taking the invisibility off first and then the silencing one.
She transforms then, and flies down while Harry walks down.
Draco, as expected, confronts Harry - Harry pretends to be shocked he's there.
"What are you doing here Malfoy?"
Draco smirks and says "Followed you. So, what are you doing here? Trying to ask the mysterious and powerful Bloom out to the ball? Or did you lose your nerve?"
Draco smirks, and Harry says "I have a date to the ball, thanks for the concern Draco. So, why are you here? Planning on trying to ask out the girl you've been doing nothing but anger and attempt to bully for four years now?"
Draco glares at Harry, who responds with a smirk.
Suddenly, they hear a familiar voice clear her throat and say "Looking for me, Draco?"
The three Slytherin boys whirl around and stare at Bloom in shock - she might not be transformed in a skirt and top, but they're still shocked beyond belief that she's down here and not at the top of the tower.
Draco asks "What? How…? You were at the top of the tower!"
Bloom smirks and says "Clearly, I'm not."
Crabbe says "We heard Cho tell Potter you were there."
"Again, fellas, clearly I'm not. Think up a better argument than that. Or, get to the point of why your following me around. Oh, and Draco? I don't know if I ruined the bet with your father or not. If memory serves, my trial didn't take five minutes - it didn't even take one!"
Draco turns red, and says "Has Potter here asked you to the Ball, Bloom? Or is even he too afraid of the mystery girl to risk dancing with her?"
Five minutes ago, Bloom would have gone paler than his hair and run out the tower after decking him for bringing the subject up - now, she just smirks and says "Sorry if your trying to ask me to the ball Malfoy. I already have a date though. And yes, he did ask me and not the other way around."
Draco laughs and asks "Who? Who would be brave enough to get within two feet of you?"
Harry says "Take a guess Malfoy. If that's all, we'll be seeing you at the ball."
Harry and Bloom walk out of the tower together, side-by-side and laughing internally.
When they get back to the dormitory, they see Ron looking panicked and extremely uncomfortable in some very ridiculous robes.
Harry tries not to laugh, and Bloom's jaw drops in horror for him.
"Ron, what in the world are those?!"
"They're my dress robes! They look awful! Bloody hell, I'm doomed! Especially since I'm taking Fleur!"
Bloom says "Okay, I can help here. Harry, get yours - fast. I'll do a spell to make a copy of them - but hurry! Wait, what was that about Fleur?!"
Harry runs and grabs his robes, and the three of them lay them out on a couch while Ron explains how he panicked when Fleur was walking past him and shout-asked her to go with him to the ball - and she said yes.
He was a shaking mess right after that, and had to be helped into the Gryffindor room.
Bloom focuses and hits the robes with a small burst of her magic.
There's a second copy of them, and Ron hugs her hard, saying "Bloom, you're a bloody lifesaver! I'll never be able to thank you enough!"
He and Harry run into their room to get changed, and Ron can go to the ball with his face its normal color and not the color of his hair.
Harry's robes are a lot more conventional - Ron's old ones were ancient!
AN: Yes, Bloom and Harry are dating now! Bloom was having something of a power-crisis with herself - she's so powerful that she's scaring away even her close friends now. Ron's terrified of her, she's heard him saying it, and she wasn't kidding when she said the whole school was probably afraid of her. Lucky for her, it's a little hard to be afraid of someone when they're here to protect you - and when they've made your life bearable for four years now.