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Chapter 17- The Yule Ball
After what seemed like weeks, the Yule Ball was upon them. It did take forever to come, and Harry was relieved. He wanted to put this behind him as soon as possible, and the quicker this day passed, the better it was for him to get moving on to the second task.
He had not revealed anything to Ginny, but he was not even close to finding an answer to solve his problem. He knew something important would be taken from him, but he had yet to learn what would be taken and had yet to think of a way to retrieve it in the stipulated time.
The girl would be furious if she learned that he had not found a way to complete the task, though, in his defence, it was incomplete until he knew what they would be taking from him.
That said, he turned his attention to the following evening. He was looking forward to spending time with Astoria. The girl deserved the best evening possible, and he hoped he could do his best. Narcissa had sent him new robes for the ball, and he was impressed with them despite having zero fashion sense.
He still had a lot of time for the Ball, and by then, he decided to do something about the task. He had planned to go for a swim and map out the Great Lake if possible. He had spoken to Hagrid regarding the same, but the man had no idea about how deep the lake was. He did, however, tell him about the presence of a merfolk colony deep in the lake.
The task might take place somewhere near this colony, and he wanted to scout it out rather than jump in without preparation. He had found a way to help him breathe for the duration of the task, and today, he would have to test it out to see if it was sufficient for the task.
He still thought the bubblehead charm was a decent option, but for some reason, he felt that it was not enough to win the task. The charm, when tried in a small pool that he had managed to recreate with the help of the Room of Requirement, was heavily restricting his movement. He felt he was faster swimming naturally than when under the bubblehead charm, but this spell was very effective in swimming for long durations. He could hold the charm for more than a day if necessary, and it would not be draining on his magic.
There was another way. His elemental abilities. He had yet to work out the complete extent of his abilities, but now would be the perfect way to make use of them. He had managed to create a split in the water body at his whim and had also managed to create art out of water when he used his elemental abilities for the first time. He probably could also do something with it again.
It was not long before he was standing in front of the lake, and he had come to a decision. He would see if he could come up with something better. He did have the ability to do something different, and he decided to grab it with both hands.
Up until the day of the first task, he had not considered putting effort into this tournament, but learning that the other school champions had cheated in the first task was a bitter pill to swallow. He hated cheating, and when the two were so casual about it, he decided then and there that he was going to win this whole thing.
It was why he went to such lengths in the first task. He wanted to make a statement, and that was the only reason why he tried to be flashy, knowing that it would catch the eye of the judges and people alike.
Harry looked around, and when he confirmed that he was alone, he removed his shirt and placed it under a tree not far from the lake and then wadded into the water till he was submerged. When he felt the pressure building in his lungs, he decided to try what he had been thinking.
He willed his magic to listen to his surroundings and when the familiar hum of his surroundings began to resonate in his head, he requested for proper breathing underwater. He should have not been surprised by it, but the pressure that had been accumulating in his body began to ebb away and within moments, he was breathing as normally as he did on land.
He had a long way to go before he got used to it, but the ability he held almost granted him immunity from almost all forms of natural danger. Water, air, fire and land could not get to him unless he wished for it, not that it changed much. He was still mortal when it came to common human ailments or injuries.
He had managed to get a route from Hagrid, but it was probably a guess from the big man, too, considering the merfolk didn't socialise with Hagrid despite him being friends with the entire Forbidden Forest.
He began swimming towards where Hagrid had pointed out and had to cover a lot of distance. This place was a fair distance from the surface, and he had been swimming for a while before he came across a group of merfolk swimming not far away from him in the same direction he had been swimming.
It didn't take long for them to see that there was a stranger not far away. As Harry was about to reach them, they took off at a ridiculous speed, leaving him stunned for a moment.
He tried to keep up, but keeping up with the merfolk was impossible. Within a few seconds, they had disappeared, and Harry had no choice but to follow the direction they had disappeared to.
It was almost a full half hour later, according to hi,m when he came to a clearing and Harry began to make out several stone structures laid out one next to the other. From far off, he could see that it was a big region and once more, couldn't help but wonder how big the lake was.
He began swimming closer until he heard a voice asking him to stop. As the owner of the voice swam closer to him, he could make out the close resemblance between humans and the merfolk. It was almost uncanny how the top half of them resembled normal humans.
Every feature on the face, down to the last detail like facial hair, body hair, build of the eyes, nose and mouth, was exactly like humans. The only area where they differed from the humans was the lower body which resembled the tail of a fish.
The creature approached him and stared at him sceptically for a long time, which then began to unnerve Harry. He, however, held its eye and didn't look away.
"You shouldn't be here, human. Go away." The voice was menacing, and Harry began having second thoughts about going any further, not knowing how he would be received.
He didn't know if he would be able to speak normally and tried to speak, but his mouth was flooded with water as soon as he opened his mouth. Once again, he decided to take advantage of his ability, and the next thing he knew, he watched as the water began clearing away just enough to free up around his facial area.
"I want to see what is further up." The creature was shocked when he spoke and put some distance between them, its eyes watching him closely, not believing that he could talk underwater.
"Who are you?" The creature stuttered, now fearing his presence. "You are not human. You are not human." Harry tried to console the creature, but it disappeared back towards the village, a shrill scream resonating as it left.
He began moving away, not wanting to get into trouble. He already had so much on his plate, and problems with the merfolk were not something he wanted on top of everything. He had got what he wanted for now. He wanted to know what it was that he would be against and he had managed to find it out. That was enough for now.
He wondered where the giant squid was, having not sighted the massive beast ever since he began swimming. Apart from that, he had no idea what the Black Lake housed, but he knew very well that this was not the extent of the creatures the Black Lake held and there was much more.
He pulled himself onto the bank and sat down failing to notice the presence of another not more than a few metres away from him.
BREAK—--
Solving the egg had become a problem, but after much effort, she had managed to crack the clu,e which turned out to be disappointing. Something of theirs would be taken and placed under the massive lake in Hogwarts and she and her fellow competitors were supposed to retrieve it within an hour.
Since learning about the task, she has been looking for ways to counter the challenge. She had a few ideas, but she would decide on one soon enough. What was worrying was the thing that they would be taking away. What would that be?
Madame Maxine had tried to find out more about the task, but after learning that both Durmstrang and Beaubaxtons had cheated in the first task, the happenings of the second task were kept a secret from all three schools not to mention that solving the egg would tell us exactly what the task would be according to the organisers.
Her headmistress had then tried to coax further information from Hagrid, but surprisingly, he lacked more information about the lake and the merfolk. After much deliberation, Fleur had waived off any more help from her headmistress. Snooping around anymore would only result in humiliation from the press, something she didn't want for the both of them.
There was another major reason for her apprehension to take shortcuts, and that was Potter. It shouldn't mean much, but his words stung. She didn't do anything out of the usual. The Tri-Wizard tournament has a history of such loopholes being used to benefit, but the way he made out them to be was insulting.
The boy was not a braggart. She had assumed differently when she arrived here and the things she heard from the other students, but he was different. He spoke less and that was something which she found to be very good.
Despite all of that, his performance in the task left her in surprise. The sheer magical ability on display was shocking for Fleur. It should just not be possible. Managing to throw off dragon flames with pure magical ability and then managing to trap the dragon in the ground, which to date she didn't understand how he managed to do, was not something she had been expecting from a fourth-year student.
The audacity to do something like that against a magical beast was something that should be considered both appreciative and stupid. She would certainly not be trying that anytime soon, and certainly not against a dragon, of all things.
She had wandered towards the Black Lake, her thoughts revolving around the tas,k when she almost screamed in fright as a figure stood out from within the lake. She took a few steps back, making sure to stay hidden, calming herself as she recognized the person who was walking out of the lake.
She watched as Potter dropped himself onto the ground, his breathing laboured from exertion. What was he doing swimming in the lake at this time of the day? Was it concerning the second task?
"Bloody hell!" He cursed as he regained his breath. "This seems doable." She heard him speak to himself.
"If only I knew what they would be taking, it would have been perfect. An hour though…"
She watched as the young man stood up and with a snap of his fingers, dried himself completely. The casual display of wandless magic left her remembering the day of the first task and the casual ease at which he could do magic.
Once again, she couldn't help but remember Dumbledore's words regarding the young man when they arrived at Hogwarts. Now, it didn't seem so special after what she had seen. The aged Headmaster's confidence had much merit after everything she had seen.
She didn't know how, but the boy turned back and looked straight at her, his eyes widening slightly at her presence, and just like that, he turned away, choosing to stare at the lake.
The casual dismissal of her presence did not sit right with her, but she would not fight about that with him. She began walking back to her carriage until she heard Potter call out to her.
"Did you manage to crack the clue?" Fleur shrugged, not wanting to disclose anything to the boy.
"I should hate myself for doing this after what you said during the first task, but I just can't bring myself to display my ego right now."
He pointed towards the area that he had just been to, and Fleur followed his line of vision, which was exactly towards the middle of the lake.
"There is an entire village that holds the merfolk population exactly in the centre of the lake. I was not allowed to go any further, and I didn't want to cause any trouble to them or myself. I watched from afar, and apart from that, I didn't see anything else."
"I have no idea what the lake holds apart from the giant squid and now the merfolk, but there are supposed to be many more creatures inside. I am almost certain that there are grindylows inside, but apart from that, I have nothing more to tell you."
She had been shocked into silence. Whatever it was, she did not expect this from the boy. How can he do this after last time? Here he was, revealing the details of the task, ignoring that they were supposed to be competing with each other.
"Do you have no wish to win this competition?" Fleur knew she seemed to be coming off as rude, but she had to know.
"Tell me, Delacour," He began as he turned back to face the lake. "How many of the previous Triwizard tournament winners do you remember?"
Fleur didn't have to think about it. She shook her head in the negative. She had no idea when the last tournament was held, nor did she know about any of the past winners.
"Then what is the purpose of the tournament to begin with? If you can't remember the previous winners, then what form of eternal glory are we even fighting for?"
"I won't lie when I tell you that it sounds pretty. The added tag of Triwizard champion to your name sounds attractive, but I can guarantee we will be dead by the next time the Goblet reignites."
"I would like to live. I would like all of you to live after this is over. Giving our lives for this farce is just a joke. I would rather we all walk out of this as safely as possible. We all know how wrong everything could have turned out had things gone bad."
With that being said, he nodded and turned around to walk back into the castle, having confused Fleur greatly. This boy was very difficult to understand. He keeps confusing her every time they interact and leaves planting more questions in her head than answers.
She looked back towards the direction he had told her about. She did not doubt his information. He was anything if not honourable. He would not lie, and he was not the type to do so. Now that she had some more information, she would have to do better in the task and try and win it.
She began walking back to her carriage, now intent on telling her headmistress about the conversation she just had with Potter, her thoughts a mess after speaking with the young man.
BREAK—--
He straightened his robe, making sure there were no creases visible as he looked at himself in the mirror. He had to hide a chuckle at that thought. Narcissa would never forgive him if he failed to keep these smaller details in his head.
He had managed to straighten his hair to some extent from the usual mess it always was, but he knew that spending much time on it was a waste of time. His hair was bound to be messy for the rest of his life. He did give it a try and spent a good fifteen minutes trying to get them under control, but to no avail.
He couldn't help but feel nervous. This was the first time in his life that he was attending a social event. He didn't attend any events with the Dursleys. He laughed to himself at the sheer idea of him being allowed to attend an event along with the Dursleys. His uncle would rather freeze himself to death rather than let that happen.
The added weight of a date didn't help with his nerves. He was not worried about impressing Astoria. He was going with the girl to have fun, and he knew that Astoria was looking for the same, which made it much easier to deal with. He could go out there and make a new friend. A very special friend, considering everything.
With one last look in the mirror, he made his way down, having supposed to go to the Slytherin common room to get Astoria. The castle was buzzing with excitement, and Harry could make out various couples approaching the Great Hall.
He did manage to make out a few familiar faces. Cedric Diggory had arrived with a Ravenclaw student, Cho Chang. He did make out Viktor Krum and a witch he could not place holding onto his arm. He didn't see Delacour anywhere, not that he was interested in her like Ginny said.
He arrived at the stairs leading down to the Slytherin common room entrance, the sight bringing back memories of the stunt he had pulled with Ron two years ago. The very thought made him smile as he descended the steps towards the common room entrance, the smile disappearing as quickly as it had arrived as he realised their current state today.
He hated how quickly a few different opinions pushed them apart so quickly. He wanted to make some effort to mend things, but he hoped they would, too. They had pushed him away so fast that he couldn't bring himself to make that effort anymore.
He stood outside the Slytherin common room, waiting for his date to arrive, which must be anytime now. The doors to the common room opened, and Harry watched as different couples began walking out. They noticed him standing nearby, and many expressed open hostility, not that it mattered. He continued his wait, deliberately ignoring the staring eyes, not that he expected them to do anything.
A few moments later, Astoria stepped out of the entrance, and Harry smiled as the girl approached him. Her preparations were simple. She looked just like she always did without any effort of makeup, and Harry found that pleasant. She had chosen a deep purple gown to match his black robes, a pair of earrings and a simple necklace to complete her attire.
"You look beautiful, Astoria." The girl raised an eyebrow, a small smirk on her face. "Flirting already?"
"I told you before that you are not my type, Potter." She joked, and Harry smirked.
"Well, I am not your type, and yet, you are my date for the evening. I am winning for now." He returned an exaggerated fist pump accompanying his words.
Astoria held his eyes for a few seconds before a genuine smile broke out on her lips. She shook her head as she stepped closer to the young man who held out his arm for her to take.
"Let's go then." She said as the two began walking towards the Great Hall. "We can't be late, considering we should be opening the ball."
The two arrived at the Great Hall, and Professor McGonagall was waiting at the entrance with the other champions.
"Potter." The woman sighed as he approached the group. "Right on time. Now we have to wait for Delacour, and then we will go inside."
Right on cue, the girl in question arrived with a familiar face in her hands, and Harry couldn't prevent a sharp intake of breath from escaping. Harry felt his eyes drawn to the vision of perfection standing in front of him.
Fleur Delacour had always been beautiful. He was a fool to discredit that, but nothing could have prepared him for what he was seeing right now. Her hair was tied in a bun, with a few strands decorating her face. She had no makeup on, not that she needed any. Harry would never believe that Fleur Delacour would need makeup to look beautiful. He was convinced that the girl could wake up from sleep and still look perfect.
The form-fitting silver satin dress hugged her figure like a second skin, and Harry had to try very hard to control his thoughts from straying away.
His eyes met those of the French champion as she stopped in front of the group, and the familiar urge to lose himself in her eyes was not something he could avoid.
"Very good." McGonagall's voice cut in, breaking him from his thoughts. He looked away from the young woman hastily, his face heating slightly at having been caught staring, not knowing that the young woman was reacting similarly on the other side. Something that did not escape the notice of the Slytherin standing next to Harry.
"Now that you are here, let me tell you what will be happening. The four of you, along with your dates, will be taking the main entrance and entering the hall. You will be finishing your dinner first, and the eight of you will have seats reserved for you in the middle of the hall. The dance will begin as soon as the plates are cleared, and each of you will take your place on the dance floor and will be kickstarting the event. " She instructed and nodded satisfactorily when the rest of them agreed with her.
"Very well." She said and then took a few steps back. "Mr Diggory and Ms Chang. You will be first to enter followed by Mr Krum and Ms Granger."
Harry did a double take at that, having not observed Hermione from the moment he arrived. She was here with Krum today? How did the two meet? And since when did Hermione look so different?
He failed to identify Hermione initially, and when observed closely, he understood why. The girl had managed to bring her bushy hair under control and had managed to fix her teeth, which had helped change her appearance.
"Ms Delacour and Mr Davies would follow and Mr Potter and Ms Greengrass will be the last to enter. Any questions?" When she received no objections to her instructions, she nodded satisfactorily and stepped away from the group taking her leave after reminding them again of their cue to to enter.
"Could you be any more obvious?" It was Astoria who said that grabbing his attention.
"What do you mean?" He questioned, frowning at her words, her sly expression not sitting right with him.
"I am not dumb, Potter." Astoria returned her eyes alight with mischief. "Could you want her anymore?" She questioned nodding towards Fleur Delacour.
"What is the matter with you?" Harry hissed, looking around and making sure that the girl in question heard nothing about this.
"Don't try and deny it. Not to me, Potter. I can see the appreciation in your eyes." She pointed at Harry's eyes and he could only shake his head.
"You are mental, Astoria." Harry returned, but Astoria grinned smugly.
"Appreciation? How can you not appreciate her? Look at her." His voice trailed off as his eyes sought Fleur again. He was right. He would spend every day appreciating her if it was up to him.
"You are right." Astoria shrugged. "I am not insecure to think otherwise. You would have to be foolish not to appreciate such beauty. The makeup is spot on, and it brings out her grey eyes. She looks really pretty."
"There is no makeup." Harry returned absentmindedly, failing to notice the victorious expression on Astoria's face.
"She needs no makeup, and her eyes are blue. Not grey, but blue." He added.
"Guilty," Astoria said, poking him in his ribs, to regain his attention. "You shouldn't be able to tell me that without paying attention, Potter. Very deep attention, I should add."
"Why didn't you ask her?" She questioned, and Harry groaned mentally at that.
"I had no intention to ask her out," Harry explained truthfully. "I would not have minded that, but I am honest when I tell you I had no intention of asking her out."
"She would have agreed to go with you," Astoria said confidently. "Look at her," Astoria said, shaking her head exasperatedly when Harry made to deny her words.
"Do you think she is enjoying herself?" She questioned rhetorically.
"She is keeping her distance. Her posture is closed, and her hands are shaking. She would rather be anywhere else but here. You don't close your posture when you are comfortable with somebody."
Harry observed the dynamics between Fleur and her partner, and she could see what Astoria meant. Davis was trying very hard to keep himself under control. He could see the glazed eyes of the older Ravenclaw, but he was doing slightly better than the rest of the school.
"I heard from somebody that you don't react to Veela's allure. Is that true?" Harry shrugged, having no idea what to say.
"Well if it is true, then you are an ideal partner for a veela, aren't you? I am sure that she would have thought about this before she went with Davis."
The doors to the Great Hall opened up and that was the cue for the champions to enter the hall. Harry was relieved that they were moving. These questions about Fleur Delacour were getting out of hand and he wanted to avoid them at all costs.
According to the order, the champions entered one by one, and Harry got his first look at the Great Hall decorated for the event. This room was nothing like the Great Hall that he had been used to seeing everyday.
The Great Hall was covered in a festive frost and decorated with thousands of floating candles, which lit the hall up. The tables were set with golden plates and goblets, and the hall was centered with a glittering ice sculpture based on the Brighton Pavilion. The flaming torches were painted to look like ice, and the icicles were handmade from resin. The ceiling had been turned to look velvety black dotted with stars.
"This is a nice touch," Astoria whispered, and Harry couldn't help but nod. They had managed to change the appearance of the Hall to look wonderful.
Like he had expected, the whisperings began, and Harry would have been annoyed, but it took a few moments for him to understand that these whispers were not directed at him, but the girl in front of him. To Fleur Delacour.
He observed as the girl tensed up, and he could feel the magical pull that he had associated with the girl intensify.
The champions reached the table where the judges were standing, and they took their assigned seats around the judges. The table they occupied right now was situated where the Professors usually sat during normal days, and instead of the House tables, the hall was divided into smaller round tables where the rest of the student population sat with their dates.
Dumbledore smiled at the champions as he picked up a menu placed on the table, read through it once and nodded, deciding on something.
"Pork chops." He announced, and the rest of them watched as the dish Dumbledore wished for popped into appearance. His actions were noticed by the entire hall, and one by one, the students followed suit, wishing for the dishes of their choice.
Dinner continued as Harry and Astoria made small talk until Dumbledore addressed the couple.
"I didn't know you were familiar with each other Ms Greengrass." He said, watching the two curiously.
"We didn't, Professor," Astoria answered. "I don't think we spoke to each other until a few weeks ago. It was just a chance meeting. He is a nice company, I must add."
"That we can agree on, Ms Greengrass. It is nice to spend time with friends. Too bad that I don't have many of them."
The man frowned as he said that. "I wonder where most of them are these days."
Harry had to stifle his laughter at the expression on the man's face. He couldn't for the life of him guess what the man would be thinking with each passing second. When people hear about his thoughts, they cannot guess if the man is serious or joking. To Harry, though, Dumbledore was funnily eccentric. He found the man extremely funny.
"Anyway," Dumbledore shook himself from his thoughts and smiled. "Have a great evening today, Ms Greengrass and Mr Potter." He nodded at the couple.
The man was distracted by Madame Maxine, who began speaking with him, leaving the rest of them to finish up their dinners.
"He is not mental, is he?" Astoria questioned, still bewildered by the man's words.
"Nah. The man is just eccentric. There is no person alive who is as intelligent as the man is, his antics aside." Harry praised the man as he shot a look towards the Headmaster, making sure he was not hearing their discussion.
"You don't believe that dribble that your housemates come up with, do you?" Harry was not surprised by the things the Slytherins spoke of Dumbledore when Narcissa revealed them. It had been the same from her time and probably even before her when it came to the man.
"No offence Astoria, but the majority of your housemates are hypocritical and bigoted fucks." He cursed, annoyed.
To call a man mental just because of his words and how he uses them was just not right. It reminded him of Luna and the treatment of Ravenclaws when it came to the girl.
"Not that I disagree with you, but we all don't think like that. My family respects him a lot. I just got carried away with the everyday life of being surrounded by my housemates. I am sorry."
Harry sighed as he deflated. He really should control his anger. Losing his temper was not the solution for everything and was problematic in the long run.
"Sorry." He apologised. "I am not somebody to judge others based on opinions. It is just wrong. But I can't stand it when people speak ill of somebody casually without thinking it through."
"Anyway," He said, nodding his head and smiled. "I think it's time to put it to the side. Let's do what we are here for tonight."
The young woman nodded as the plates began to clear up and tables began to disappear from view, with a small number remaining to the side of the room with glasses arranged neatly for the students if they wished to have a drink.
Dumbledore stood up, and the noise around the Great Hall died down, waiting for the man to speak up.
"It is time." He announced as the buzzing increased in the Great Hall. "If the Champions could gather in the middle of the Hall."
"Shall we?" Harry questioned as he stood up and held out his hand for the girl to take. Astoria obliged as she took his hand and stood up, joining him on the dance floor.
"I give you…" Dumbledore began dramatically and pointed towards the side of the room.
"The Weird Sisters!"
"Enjoy yourself." The Headmaster announced, clapping his hands together and sat back down in his seat along with the rest of the heads.
Harry and Astoria took their place on the floor as they waited for the music to begin. The other champions stood not far from him, each of them ready to kickstart the event.
The band began to play a tune, and Harry and Astoria began to waltz to the beat. He knew that this was a first-time experience for the girl and he wanted her to have the best time possible. It was why he paid a lot of attention to Narcissa and her classes despite having zero interest in dances.
"Not bad," Astoria said, apparently surprised by his dancing skills. "It isn't perfect, but you are close, I must say. Very smooth."
Harry smirked. "I have to impress. It wouldn't sit right with me if I had not put in a little effort after inviting you to the ball."
"Thank you," Astoria said as they finished dancing to the first song. "It was a nice experience, and it was nice of you to bring me to the ball."
"I know it might be partly out of pity. No, don't deny it. It might not be your intention, but I know that somewhere in your head, that thought would have passed through, probably pushing you into making this decision."
"That being said, I don't mind it one bit. It was an experience that I needed. I never thought things like these would affect me, but I was wrong. I am glad you thought about inviting me."
He didn't say anything, rather choosing to continue dancing with the girl. She was emotional right now, and he didn't want her to think about her future. He would try to keep her mind off other thoughts, at least for the evening.
The rest of the night was spent dancing to a few more songs, alternating between choosing to sit for a few minutes to rest and then returning to dancing again. The students were eventually allowed to enter the dance floor and were soon surrounded by couples.
As the number of couples increased in the hall, Harry and Astoria decided to finish up with their dancing and retreated towards the side of the hall where chairs were laid out for the students to take.
"Looks like she isn't having the best of times." Astoria nodded towards the corner on the other side of the room, and Harry found Fleur Delacour sitting alone, watching the event unfold. She seemed more comfortable sitting alone than she was all the with Davies.
He looked around to see if he could find out where the Ravenclaw was, and he saw him sitting in the other corner of the hall, his face sour at having been abandoned by his date.
'Serves the idiot right.' He thought, and his eyes widened slightly as he realised what he had meant.
"Forget about her," Harry said as he turned back to face Astoria. "What about you? Are you having a good time?"
"I had a wonderful time." Astoria smiled. "It was the first social event in my life that I have participated in and will probably be my last, but I had the time of my life. You helped create a memory that I will carry for the rest of my life."
"I will retire for the night." She said as she stood up. "I am tired, and I don't think I can continue anymore. It's a wonder I could dance for this long."
"Is there no way to solve your problem, Astoria?" Harry questioned, genuinely feeling sorry for the girl.
Astoria smiled as she shook her head. "This is not the time to talk about that. I will answer all your questions some other day."
"Right now, I am pretty sure that your evening isn't finished." She said, nodding towards the French champion. "Go on. I am sure she won't say no."
"Come," Harry asked the girl to follow him, and he began to lead her back to her common rook, shaking his head. "Why are you pushing me towards the girl? Forget about her, will you?"
"Then clear something for me," Astoria said as she pulled him back, asking him to stop.
"Look me in the eye and tell me if you are interested in the girl or not." She challenged, though she had no doubts about what his answer would be.
"Does it matter? The girl would have certain standards for a man of her choice, not to mention she would be back in France in a few months. It is not about my likes, Astoria. I should be an attractive prospect to the girl too, and I have nothing to suggest if I should approach the girl."
"Everything apart, wouldn't it be possible that it might be a crush and nothing more? The two began walking back towards the Slytherin common room.
"Don't bother about it. It is just a phase which would die down in a few days." He added as they reached their destination.
"If there is anything you need of me, don't forget to talk to me. Take some rest, Astoria. Thank you for a wonderful evening." He bade goodbye to the girl and began walking back as soon as she entered her common room.
The evening was done for Harry. He had no interest in going back to the Great Hall anymore now that Astoria had retired for the evening. Good for him. He had no interest in dancing anymore. A small part of his brain was telling him to follow up on Astoria's advice and try his luck with the French champion, but the rational part of his brain told him that it was not the right idea, and he agreed wholeheartedly.
With a lot of satisfaction and a hint of disappointment that he quashed away brutally, Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room, having enjoyed his evening and sure that he was walking away with a good friend.
'It was a good day.' Harry thought to himself as he walked up the stairs to his dorm. 'A very good day.'
TBC—--