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The Ministry of Magic cordially invites you to

THE YULE BALL

A commemorative event held in honour of those we lost during the Second Wizarding War

DECEMBER 21st, AT 6PM

THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC – ATRIUM

Drinks on arrival, a three-course meal with wine, charity auction and live music

Enjoy a delicious holiday feast and dance the nigh away as we raise our glasses in remembrance of those who must not be forgotten.

Tickets for you and your plus one will be held at the desk.

Kindly RSVP
The Ministry of Magic

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"This is bollocks!" Ginny growled, a look of shock and disbelief on her face as she stared at the piece of parchment in her hand.

It was the morning after the party and Ginny was sat at the Gryffindor table, grumpily picking at a piece of toast that Ron had buttered for her and trying to ignore the painful throbbing in her head. She hadn't wanted to come down to breakfast at first, seeing as she had the worst hangover in history and was feeling a little sorry for herself; but after much nudging by Ron, who had informed her that the best cure for a hangover was a hearty meal, and that it was his duty as her older brother to make sure she was alright, Ginny had finally given in and dragged herself down to the Great Hall.

To Ginny's surprise, the rest of the Gryffindor eighth years were already there, some of them looking a little worse for wear, but all of them eating and happily chatting away. It wasn't until she had let herself drop into a seat between Harry and Ron, and Hermione had pushed a small vial across the table towards her, that she understood.

Being the attentive friend Hermione was, the clever witch had prepared hangover cures for all of them, and judging by the level of animated chatter at the table, everyone else had already taken theirs.

It had been roughly fifteen minutes after Ginny had accepted the potion with a grateful smile, and had just started to feel a bit more human again, when the owl post arrived, and with it, another thing to dampen Ginny's mood. According to the letter, the Ministry of Magic was holding a commemorative Yule Ball at Christmas, to honour the people they had lost in the war, and each of them had been invited to attend it.

"But why would they invite me?" Ginny asked, still feeling perplexed and slightly irritated. She had a feeling this was going to be one of those horribly stiff and uncomfortable events, and she could think of a million other things she'd rather do.

"It's not just you." Ron informed through a mouthful of eggs. "It's the whole family." He swallowed his bite with an audible gulp and shrugged. "Something about aiding Harry in his fight to defeat Voldemort by offering our home up to him… something something emotional support. Mum sent a letter to explain."

"Ron, that's just a fancy way of saying that you are Harry's surrogate family." Hermione explained. "Think about it. If Harry's parents were still around, they would be invited too. So it only makes sense to invite the people who are closest to him."

"Hermione is right." Harry threw in. "You are the closest thing I have to a family. So if I have to go, you should too."

Ginny stared at him incredulously for a moment, before shaking her head in disbelief. "Great." She huffed, dropping her piece of toast back onto the plate and crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I've just gone from ex-girlfriend to little sister. My life is complete."

Ron nearly choked on his tea as he let out a loud snort and began to cough loudly, causing Harry to laugh.

"Oh, come on, Gin." He said, clapping his friend absentmindedly on the back. "If I remember correctly it was you who broke up with me."

His tone was light and teasing, and Ginny knew it wasn't a real accusation, but she was too grumpy to play along.

"No one broke up with anyone." She grumbled darkly. "We unanimously agreed that it was part ways. It was the right thing to do."

"I know, I'm only kidding." Harry said, casting her a warm smile. "But we can still go to the Yule Ball together if you want? Saves us both from having to look for a date."

"Date?"

"Yes it says here." Hermione interjected, holding out her own invitation for everyone to see. "'Tickets for you and your plus-one will be reserved at the desk'. Plus-one. That means they're expecting you to go with someone."

"You're kidding?" Ginny spluttered. "That's voluntary though, right? I don't have to bring someone else. Why can't I just give the extra ticket to a friend? Maybe someone who actually wants to go to the stupid thing."

"Well," Hermione mused. "I guess you could do that."

"Or…" Harry cut in. "You could take me up on my offer and go with me, and then we have two tickets spare that we can give to someone else." Ginny let out a deep sigh and averted her gaze from Harry's pleading look. Going with Harry wouldn't be a bad choice. They were good friends and she felt comfortable around him, but something in her gut told her to not make any promises just yet.

Her gaze wandered over to the Slytherin table where she knew Greg was having breakfast with his friends, and she briefly wondered what he would think if she told him she was going to the Yule Ball with her ex.

The thing was, that Ginny wasn't as innocent and naïve as everyone thought she was. Yes, she was a year younger than most of her friends, but she had seen the way Greg had looked at her when she had entered the Room of Requirements the previous night, and she knew exactly what it had meant. She had also noticed the way his gaze had kept drifting towards her while she'd been dancing with the girls and how he'd gone stiff and awkward every time she had touched him. …and then she'd had too much to drink and he had taken care of her; had made sure she got to her common room safely, had fed her sober-up potion and cuddled her, …and it had felt nice. It had felt like the beginning of something. Something more than friendship.

But then at some point during the night, long after Ginny had fallen asleep in his lap, Greg had gone back to his own common room; and when Ginny had woken up in the morning, head throbbing and stomach churning, and realised that he had disappeared, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. And now, after she'd been sitting at the Gryffindor table for almost forty-five minutes without him having as much as looked at her, the initial feeling of disappointed confusion had turned into downright distress.

She didn't know where they stood anymore, and she knew that in order to fix it she would have to talk to him. She just didn't know how.

Chewing on her lip, she pulled her attention away from the Slytherin table and directed it back at Harry who was still looking at her with expectant eyes.

"Let me think on it?" She asked, giving him a warm, slightly apologetic smile.

"Sure." Harry sad, looking a little downtrodden. "Just as long as you let me know soon? They really didn't leave us much time to find a date, and I don't know how quickly I'd be able to find someone else."

"Mate, you're literally the man who defeated the Dark Lord." Ron threw in. "You won't have trouble finding a date. What about me? Who am I supposed to take?"

"I would have thought that is rather obvious after last night." Hermione clipped, looking up from her copy of the Daily Prophet, and raising her eyebrows at Ron as if she was trying to tell him something.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, looking confused.

Hermione clicked her tongue. "Oh Ron, don't be stupid. Isn't it obvious that Luna likes you? You two were practically on top of each other all of last night."

"What?" Ron spluttered, his ears instantly turning a violent shade or red. "No, we weren't! I mean… do you really think she likes me?"

Hermione cast the redhead disbelieving look and shook her head. "Sometimes it's shocking how oblivious you are when it comes to feelings." She muttered, as she pulled a bowl of porridge towards her, before returning to reading her newspaper.

"Don't worry, mate. You'll figure it out." Harry chuckled and gave Ron a pat on the back, before turning back to Ginny. "Let me know, okay?"

Ginny let out a small giggle when she spotted her brother's incredulous look, before looking at Harry and nodding. "Yeah, I will."