|
Friends and More | ||||||
|
Category: Post-OotP Characters:All Genres: Angst, Fluff, Drama, General Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: G Reviews: 147 Summary: Harry's life is in turmoil since the death of his godfather, but realising he is in love doesn't make it any easier. This story tracks his sixth and seventh years at Hogwarts and all the problems he faces. Hitcount: Story Total: 69881; Chapter Total: 4502 |
Previous Next |
|
||||
|
Friends and More Disclaimer: see profile Chapter Sixteen: The Halloween Ball Harry leant against the wall, a slight groan escaping his lips, and looked up towards the enchanted ceiling above him. Streamers of cloud were blowing everywhere, masking the stars every so often. Around him the noise and chatter that accompanied every DA meeting was diminishing, for which he was sincerely grateful. He had the grandmother of all headaches, partly due to the copious amounts of Firewhiskey that had been forced down his throat by his roommates the night before. He felt hot and stupid, and knew that he hadn’t been up to scratch for the meeting. There was, of course, the other problem. It was already mid October, and Halloween was drawing nearer. Dumbledore told the prefects and the Head Boy and Girl at that all of them were expected to attend, with no exceptions. Harry felt his heart plummet. He didn’t want to go and thought he could enjoy a night of relative peace in the Common Room, rather than banishing himself to his office as he usually did to get some quiet. Not that he wouldn’t have gone, with the right partner. He had wondered for a while about asking Ginny, just as friends, and in a totally non-romantic way, but his hopes had been dashed. Ginny had accepted an invitation from Anthony Goldstein, one of Michael Corner’s Ravenclaw friends, and seemed very happy about the situation. Harry had more or less resigned himself to going alone, when the invitations had started. He should have expected it. He really should, especially after his experience at Valentine’s Day earlier in the year. For some reason he couldn’t fathom why girls found him totally irresistible, something that seemed to have increased with his new status as Head Boy. It disturbed him how many times he would look up from chatting to a friend over a meal and find at least one second, third or even fourth year looking at him with glazed expressions. He tried to ignore it. “Erm… Harry?” Harry looked down and into a pair of worried, deep blue eyes. He blinked a few times to gain some perspective, and look at the person rather than the eyes. The girl standing in front of him was from his year, but he didn’t know her at all, except that she was in Ravenclaw and had been brought to the DA by Padma Patil. She was tall, nearly as tall as him, and her hair was long and dark. The eyes Harry had first noticed were a very deep shade of blue, almost violet, and there was something fascinating about them. “Er… Mandy, right? Mandy Brocklehurst?” She nodded, looking away, seeming to radiate nervousness. “What can I do for you?” “I was wondering… have you got a date for the ball yet?” Harry almost sighed, but caught himself. That would be really rude, and she was being perfectly polite, even if she was clearly embarrassed. He could see a pink tinge spreading over her cheeks. In fact, Harry realised, she was very pretty. “No, I haven’t yet. Why, do you need a partner?” “Sort of. Well, no, but… it’s kind of hard to explain…” Harry smiled encouragingly, and she seemed to pull herself together as she smile back. “The thing is, I really wanted to go with Terry Boot. Do you know him?” “Yeah, I think so. Nice guy. He’s one of the new Ravenclaw Chasers too, isn’t he? Why wouldn’t he want to go with you?” Mandy blushed still deeper, reminding Harry of Ginny a long time ago. He felt a sudden pang of nostalgia for those simple days. Days when Ginny had still liked him. “I asked one of his friends, and he told me that Terry doesn’t think I’d accept if he asked me. Now he’s arranged to go with Sally-Anne Perks, so it’s all really confusing.” Harry frowned slightly. He sympathised with Mandy, but… “Sorry, I don’t mean to be thick, but how can I help? I mean, I can’t tell Terry to ask you or anything.” Mandy was scarlet by now. “Well, I thought that you probably were going alone, you see. Everyone knows that your single, and how popular you are. I thought that you might be reluctant to go with anyone because of not really liking them. But, if I went with you, you’d know I didn’t like you… in that way… oh hell, this isn’t coming out right at all…” Harry grinned. “No, it’s OK. I think I understand. And you are absolutely right. I’d be grateful to go with someone as a friend. And who knows? Maybe Terry will come to his senses. So, will you go to the ball with me, Mandy?” She beamed at him. “Oh, yes! Thanks loads, Harry, I really owe you for this.” He smiled again. “It’s no problem. I’ll meet you in the entrance hall on the night, then? Around six thirty?” “Sure. Thanks again!” She smiled once more and walked out of the great hall, almost skipping with delight. On the way out she passed Fleur… no, Professor Delacouer, who was leaning against the door and looking at Harry with an amused expression. Harry walked over to her and raised an eyebrow. “What?” Of course, in private he always called her Fleur. They had become good friends due to working together so closely. Fleur had a wicked sense of humour, something Bill had mentioned attracted him to her that wasn’t one of her Veela abilities, and she always treated him as an equal. She grinned, and turned her head ever so slightly, sending a shimmering wave down her silvery hair. “Oh, aren’t you ze noble ‘ero, ‘Arry?” She smirked. “Sacrificing your own enjoyment for ze sake of anuzzer.” He glared at her. “Better someone who’s not going to expect anything than someone who’ll hang off me all evening. With any luck, she’ll spend most of the evening with Terry, and everyone else will leave me alone. In fact, I might just have to do some matchmaking to make sure I get some peace.” She laughed out loud, the tinkling, bell-like laugh that so affected many of her students. “And she is gorgeous, of course.” Harry grinned as they began walking towards their offices, which were next door to each other, in easy companionship. “That’s a bonus. Never hurts to have a beautiful lady on your arm.” Fleur pouted. “In zat case, I am disappointed you deed not ask me, Assistant Professeur.” Harry was silent for a moment. It was sometimes difficult to tell with Fleur, but he had a strange feeling she wasn’t kidding. “I thought you might ask if Bill could come over for the evening.” She sighed, and Harry was pleased to note that it was genuine. “Bill ‘as to work. ‘Onestly, what with Gringott’s and all ‘e does for ze Order, we ‘ardly see each uzzer.” She grinned at him suddenly, her melancholy forgotten. “So I ‘oped you would step in for ‘im.” Harry paused. She really was serious. “Don’t you think it would be a bit… inappropriate? With you being a teacher and everything?” She looked at him thoughtfully. “You are a teacher too zough, ‘Arry,” she said seriously. “And, ze ball aside, I don’t zink anyone would find it too ‘inappropriate’, as you said. Everyone recognises zat ze rules are razer different for you. And of course, everyone knows you’re much better at defence zan I am.” She said this so matter-of-factly that Harry almost didn’t react. They were opening their offices by now and he turned to look at her fully. “What? What are you talking about? You’re the teacher, Fleur, I’m just a kid!” She shook her head, sending weird reflections off her hair again. “Remember, ‘Arry, I am only three years older zan you. You ‘ave much more experience zan I. I might know ze theory a leetle more, but I couldn’t ‘ope to best you in a duel.” Then she smiled seductively and leaned in towards him. “I always like powerful men, ‘Arry… are you sure you don’t want to go wiz me to ze ball?” Harry stuttered incoherently as he backed away and fled into his office, hearing Fleur laugh teasingly from behind the door. “Oh well. Maybe I shall go, ‘ow do you say? Stag. Save a dance for me, ‘Arry!” He heard her shut her own door behind her, still laughing. *** Quidditch practice had finished a long time ago, but Harry still flew in the gathering night. He left the Quidditch pitch, which was empty and dark, and went to the roof instead. For a time he sped around, testing his reflexes and the broom’s response, using the multitude of turrets, walkways, buttresses and gargoyles as obstacles to be overcome. Finally he alighted on the roof of Gryffindor tower, lying back against the steeply sloping slate tiles, watching the sunset and breathing deep of the free air. It was nearly Halloween. He thought back to the momentous occasions of his life that had occurred on the portentous day. His parents had been killed on his second Halloween. On his twelfth, just after he had started Hogwarts, he and Ron had become friends with Hermione. A year later had been the first attack by the Basilisk, something he really didn’t want to think about. Fourth year, his name had come out of the Goblet of Fire. Yes, it was a momentous occasion, but he couldn’t help but feel that the best one, the most important one, had been the year before, when he had watched as his two best friends got each other drunk, and he had looked after them. It was the most normal, ordinary event he could remember in his life, and he thought of it warmly. He just wished Ginny had been there to laugh at them with him. That would have made it perfect. The sky darkened, and the sun was now an angry, vibrant red against the dark landscape, the sky around it a shocking purple, and Harry thought forward, taking a deep breath. Somehow he knew. The attack would come, the last, worst attack, before the school year was out. By the end of the year, as things stood now, he would be dead. He accepted that, at least for now. He knew without question that, whatever his abilities, whatever his wondrous and newfound talents, there was nothing he could do that could defeat Voldemort. Wandless magic wasn’t much of a defence. Tom could do it too. Animagus form? No, it was merely a distraction, no matter how much he enjoyed roaming the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest at night. All his illusions and stealth wouldn’t mean anything to Tom. He was a skilled Legimens, and that meant he’d be able to see through anything Harry tried. Probably even Laminamancy would be no use. And Harry knew, with a certainty he couldn’t explain, that if he even could bring himself to kill Tom, to say the two words he hated more than any others, he would do no more than what he had done at the age of one: rip him from his body, maybe, but not destroy. Hagrid had been right, that first time he and Harry had met. Voldemort wasn’t human enough to die. No, he wasn’t ready. There was a lot missing, and Harry knew he didn’t have much time left to prepare. He looked down, and saw the sword pin glittered up at him. It was the reminder he always carried with him of Ginny, and the trust he held. He clasped it in his hand and concentrated, before peering through the roof of the tower and down into the dormitory below. His own. Seamus was there, with Lavender. Harry let go of the pin quickly, not meaning to spy, but smiled all the same: it was good to know that people were still able to be happy. As he lowered his hand, he felt it clunk against the slates, and he looked at the bracelet on his wrist. True to Mrs. Weasley’s request he hadn’t removed it, but he was still intrigued as to what it was, what it was for. He held it up and gazed, almost unseeing, at the green stone. As the sun sank lower and the wind picked up around him it seemed to swirl and spin, a green fire at its heart flaring brightly. He pulled his eyes away to look at the sunset again, just in time to see something fly across it. At first he thought it was a Thestral, but as he looked closer, and it changed direction and came towards him, he saw that it was, in fact, a Dragon. Or was it? Harry stood up, not even occurring to him to be afraid as the huge creature flew nearer and nearer. From the books he had on Dragons, Harry knew what most breeds looked like, and this one was completely new to him. It was smaller than most. Its body was sleek and streamlined, more so than any dragon, although not so serpentine as the Hungarian Horntail had been. It was a strange colour, its scales shifting from sky blue to slate grey over its body, and it’s wings were the sails of a storm cloud. The eyes shone with an intelligence he had not seen in the Horntail, and the ridges along its spine were elegant blades, shaped like waves, rather than the spines he had seen before. The creature stopped in mid air, beating its wings to remain level with him, and Harry thought that it was regarding him, almost inspecting him. Harry looked back, not frightened, but aware that he was being… tested, somehow. He looked back into those deep, green, sparkling eyes and hoped that he was not found wanting. And then it was gone, flying away in the direction from which it had come. Harry felt slightly disappointed, but then mounted the Firebolt again and flew down to the entrance hall. He ran straight to the Owlery, and wrote a long letter to Charlie Weasley. *** Harry woke up early on Halloween morning. He discovered he was quite looking forward to the evening. He showered and dressed before going down to breakfast with Ginny, Ron and Hermione. There was a slightly giggly atmosphere in the great hall, as anticipation for the upcoming ball filled the air. Harry was just sipping at a goblet of orange juice when two owls landed in front of him. He didn’t recognise either of them, and they both flew off straight after dropping their letters. Interested, he opened the first one and read. ‘Dear Harry, ‘I’m not entirely sure what I’m hoping to achieve by writing to you. It seems silly now. You made your feelings quite clear before I left Hogwarts. Please don’t think I’m trying to change your mind. I know you well enough to know how much you’d hate that. ‘I thought I might tell you a bit about my life post Hogwarts, though. You might not know it, but you are one of my best friends, and I’d like you to know what I’m doing. The summer after I left I was all set to start training as a Healer. It was my childhood dream. And like many dreams, I soon realised that it wasn’t to be. Well, it was, but I didn’t want it. The fact that it was my dream had blinded me to what was involved. I took a long hard look at myself and realised how unsuited I was to the profession. With all that I learnt about defence, and my enjoyment of charms work, I realised that I would probably die of boredom doing four years (four!) of training. I couldn’t tell anyone this, though. Everyone was so proud of me. I resigned myself to the job. ‘Except that that was about the time I got the letter from Dumbledore. I had hardly ever spoken to him before, except about prefect stuff and, of course, Cedric’s death. He really helped me a lot after that. Made it slightly easier to cope. But this letter was totally unexpected. He was asking me to join the Order of the Phoenix, and more than that, he’s given me a special mission. I can’t tell you much about it, I’m sorry, but I’m a long way from home and enjoying every moment of it, even if it is dangerous. It’s good to feel like I’m making a difference. That I’m helping… well, helping you. I realised something in the DA: no one, not even Dumbledore, has a better chance of defeating Voldemort (argh, it’s hard even to write the name!) than you do, Harry. It’s in you, the way to defeat him. Don’t stop looking for it, and never give up. I believe in you. Heck, most of the school believes in you. ‘My parents weren’t all that thrilled when I first told them about my change of plans. I suppose it might be unusual, but it was their dream for me to be a healer, just like it was mine. But I persuaded Dumbledore to help me talk to them, and they came around. They worry about me all the time, I know they do, but they do support me. I miss them a lot, actually. It helps that I’m so busy. Not so much time to get home sick. ‘Well, I think I’ve rambled for quite long enough. I’d better finish. But I wanted to tell you that I’ve realised something, just recently. I do still feel deeply for you, as I said, but it’s totally different from what I felt for Cedric, or any of the other boys I dated. I feel like I’m safe around you. That you won’t let anything happen to me. And I feel like you’re my friend, and always will be. I can share things with you I just… couldn’t with anyone else, not even Marietta. It may seem weird, since you’re younger than me and everything, but I think I might feel for you like I would an older brother. I wouldn’t know, I suppose, since I haven’t got any brothers or sisters, but that’s what I think. I hope you don’t mind me saying so. ‘Good luck on your NEWTs, Harry, and keep going. Don’t let it all get to you. Find a way to kill the dork and then you can get on with your life. I hope I might have some place in it, somewhere. ‘Yours, ‘Cho’ He read the letter again, smiling. It meant a lot to him. Cho was a good friend, and he had been afraid he had lost that friendship when he refused her, but he now felt closer to her than he had ever been. He decided that he would write back the next day. Then he slit open the other letter, recognising Charlie’s untidy scrawl. ‘Harry, good to hear from you mate. ‘You know, it had to happen to you, didn’t it? You’re just plain awkward. The wards around Hogwarts are supposed to keep anything like dragons out of the grounds. Also, your description doesn’t match anything I’ve ever come across before. There aren’t that many breeds of dragon in the world, as you probably know, and what you described doesn’t fit with any of them. Looks like it’s not a dragon. It might be a species we’ve not come across before, I suppose. And wouldn’t it just have to be you who discovered it without trying, rather than poor old me who slaves away with the beasts every day of the damn week? ‘That aside, this intrigues me. I’ll keep my eyes and ears open, maybe even do a little digging and see what’s out there. It might even have been one of the Dragonkin, Dragons born with extraordinary powers, but there hasn’t been a sighting since Merlin helped Arthur defeat the Afanc in his time, and that was about a millennium and a half ago. You might know the story. Didn’t my Mum persuade Ginny to give you all those books she’s forever reading? ‘Well, that’s all from me. Keep out of trouble, right? ‘Charlie’ Harry smiled and put both letters in his pocket, returning to Hermione and Ron’s discussion about the music that had been arranged for the ball. *** He ate lunch with Ginny in his office, after a very enjoyable double charms lesson. Professor Dumbledore had provided all the fourth years and above with magical picnic hampers, so that they wouldn’t disturb the younger years’ feast. Ginny was looking at him with an appraising expression. Harry suddenly felt nervous as he bit into a chicken leg. “What?” “Did you hear any of what Ron and Hermione said about the music when they were arguing this morning?” Harry shrugged, a bit confused by the question. “No, I tend to tune them out when they’re wrapped up in each other. They tend to be either arguing or on the verge of snogging, and I find both hard to deal with. Why?” Ginny chuckled at his little summary. “Well, apparently most of it’s being done by an in-school band.” “I didn’t even know there was an in-school band. What about the rest of it?” “Well, that’s the interesting thing: Dumbledore hasn’t made any declarations, but their have been hints. Some people think he wants an impromptu talent show as well as a dance.” Harry stiffened suddenly, finally realising where she was going with this. She was looking at him slightly amused now, one eyebrow raised in that way Harry found completely impossible to argue with. Almost. “Gin… no. I am not going to…” “Harry, I didn’t say anything. That’s your own conscience.” She grinned impishly at him. “I’ll just say that, if it is something like that, it would be a shame if you didn’t take part. You’re really good, but it’s wasted if, as I suspect, you and I are the only ones who ever hear you.” Harry blushed deeply at the compliment, but continued to frown. Ginny changed the subject soon though, and Harry relaxed a little, forgetting the anxiety that had settled round him briefly. It returned in full force, though, when Dumbledore knocked on his office door that afternoon. Afternoon classes had been cancelled for the upper years, but Harry had free periods anyway. The headmaster’s eyes were sparkling as usual, but there was something in them that reminded Harry forcefully and unpleasantly of the twins. “Harry, I was wondering if I could have a word.” Harry looked at him suspiciously as the Dumbledore folded his tall frame into a comfortable chair and looked at him. “You know I’m always glad for your cooperation with school events, since you are Head Boy.” Harry tensed himself for the blow. “I’m sure you’ve heard the rumours about the little concert I have planned for tonight. I was wondering if you would agree to play for it.” Harry winced and took a deep breath, covering his eyes with his hand as though suffering from a severe headache. “I don’t want to. I’d rather the ground opened up beneath me. But, I think that one of my so-called friends would be highly vexed if I didn’t and would make my life hell.” “I assume you are talking about Miss Weasley.” Harry nodded. “That makes sense. After all, it was she who asked me to approach you.” Before Harry could form a reply to that, the headmaster was at the door. He looked back at Harry. “Don’t worry about it. You’ll be right at the end.” He winked and left swiftly. Harry groaned to himself, resigned. *** The evening was drawing closer. Harry was the last in his dormitory to use the shower. He had decided it would be kinder, since all the others were more nervous about the ball than he was. When he finally got out only Ron was still there, fiddling with the collar of the midnight blue robes with silver trimming the twins had got him, true to Harry’s instruction. “Hurry up, Harry,” Ron said nervously. “I really don’t want Hermione thinking I’ve stood her up.” Harry chuckled and pulled on his own new robes. Despite not being one for ‘primping’, he found that he liked the way the metallic, dark grey material brought out the green of his eyes when he looked in the mirror. He paused, thinking, and then attached the cloak as well, since he planned to spend some time outside tonight, and away from all the chatter. He was about to leave, but Ron thrust something into his chest. Looking down, he saw that it was his sword in its scabbard. He frowned at his best friend. “Why don’t you wear it, Harry?” “What, you mean apart from how difficult it will be to dance with this thing?” “You can take it off to dance. Just wear it to go in. Everyone heard about Diagon Alley, they’ll want to see it.” “Then they can go on wanting. They’ll probably see it before too much longer anyway.” Ron frowned at him, but Harry just returned the sword to its case in his trunk. At that point he remembered his conversation with Dumbledore. Cursing under his breath he shrank the ‘cello and put it in his pocket. Ron was giving him an odd look, but Harry ignored it, and together they went down the spiral stairs. Hermione was waiting by the portrait hole, looking incredibly beautiful and elegant. She wore the same periwinkle blue robes as she had at the Yule Ball, but had draped a silvery, translucent shawl around her shoulders and twisted her unusually sleek, straight hair into a long braid with star shaped silver clips in it. Ron went bright red at the sight of her standing there, grinning nervously at them, but strode over and took her arm, leading her out of the common room, Harry following behind. Mandy was waiting for him at the bottom of the main stairway, and Harry had to admit that, if he hadn’t been head-over-heels for Ginny he could well have fallen for her. Her robes were almost the same colour as Ron’s, but sleeveless and form fitting, and the colour brought out the blue highlights in her black hair, as well as her incredible eyes. She smiled when she saw him, and Harry noticed a necklace round her neck, a star with diamonds hanging from a thin silver chain with matching diamond stud earrings. He smiled back and offered her his hand. If tonight didn’t get Terry’s attention, he didn’t know what would. They walked into the hall and found, as at the Yule Ball, that the room was filled with many round tables as well as the normal teacher’s table. Harry asked Mandy if she minded sitting with Ron and Hermione, and she smiled and said no. The four of them sat down together, and the last two seats were soon filled by Neville, who was wearing scarlet, and Eleanor who looked terrified but quite pretty anyway in robes of pale blues and greens. They talked and joked for a while, waiting for everyone to come in and the meal to start, but Harry’s attention was fixed on the door: he did not seen Ginny yet, and he was starting to get nervous. Fleur caught his eye, and they shared a wave and a grin as she sat next to tiny Professor Flitwick. She looked absolutely stunning, of course. She wore figure-hugging robes of a deep, forest green with a filmy, pale green overrobe on top. Her silvery hair was loose and wavy, reflecting the bright light of the torches around the room. Harry turned back to the doorway and gasped. There was an angel standing there, on the arm of a boy who didn’t seem to be able to believe his luck. Ginny was astonishing, and her nervous hovering, so unusual for her, meant that everyone was looking at her and Anthony, who was looking decidedly average next to her. Her robes were long and quite loose, and a fantastic white that seemed to shimmer with gold in a way that shouldn’t have been possible. The robes had no sleeves, but rather folds of the gorgeous material hung from her shoulders to her wrists, attached by strong golden threads. There was a delicate circle of gold nestled in her hair, which was plaited with more threads of gold so that it seemed to burn brighter than ever before, and Harry could see plainly, even from here, the gold bracelet on her wrist and the lion pendant round her neck. Pretty much everyone in the hall was gaping at her as she and Anthony spotted a table and went to sit down. Harry mentally substituted ‘Greek goddess’ for angel. He was aware that he had probably been staring and turned quickly back to the conversation at his table. Only Hermione seemed to have noticed his reaction, but she was looking just as gob-smacked as Harry was. He felt a light touch on his arm and turned to see Mandy’s startlingly blue eyes on his. “Harry… Terry’s over there. Just so you know.” She blushed, but Harry grinned at her and turned to look at Terry. He was talking with Sally-Anne in a friendly sort of way, but Harry noticed that his eyes kept straying towards their table and the stunningly beautiful witch sitting next to him. He smiled. Maybe this wouldn’t be so difficult after all. He leaned towards Mandy. “I have a plan.” She looked at him interestedly. “We dance the first dance, right? But we make sure we finish near them, and I propose a partner swap. After that, you need to charm him for all your worth, and I don’t mean the wand-waving variety. It shouldn’t be too hard. He can’t take his eyes off you.” She blushed again, but Harry knew she was pleased. At that moment, though, Dumbledore stood up. “Welcome to all of you to the Halloween Ball! I will not keep you long, as I’m sure you all wish to proceed with this evening of enjoyment and relaxation, but there are two things I must tell you. “The first is that this evening’s music is kindly being produced by a band of your fellow students, the highly talented ‘Furvarosa’.” There was some applause to this. Dumbledore waited until it subsided. “However, there will be a brief interlude to allow our musicians a small reprieve. During that time we have a small concert for your entertainment. Five students or groups have bravely agreed to perform for you, so I hope you will support them as much as possible.” Harry winced at this: he was trying not to think about his first performance. “The other thing I wanted to say was that to order food, as at the Yule Ball three years ago, simply make a selection from the menu,” he waved a hand and menus appeared in front of them all, ‘speak the words clearly to your plates and then enjoy.” He smiled at them all and then sat down, speaking lightly to Professor Thompson. Harry felt a pang once again at Snape’s absence. It seemed impossible that he would ever have missed the hook-nosed and unpleasant man, but it was a fact: Harry did miss him. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and ordered some food. The meal was over before long, and as the students stood and the tables were swiftly stacked out of the way, five people walked onto the stage, who seemed to be Furvarosa: They were all dressed in black, two boys and three girls, and every one of them wore a sheer half-mask in bone white that effectively concealed their identities while leaving their mouths free for singing. The three girls, one the lead vocalist, one a guitarist and the third holding a violin, wore identical black roses with silver-edged petals woven into their hair, while the two boys, a drummer and the other carrying a bass guitar, had the outlines of roses embroidered in silver on their black robes. It all looked very professional, and Harry was looking forward to hearing them. As they began to play and the first couples stepped on to the dance floor, Harry took Mandy’s hand, kissed her knuckles with a wink and led her out as well. Dancing seemed much more enjoyable now than it had three years before, Harry decided. It was probably a combination of his understanding of music through playing the ‘cello and the athletic quality and subconscious grace he had gained through his Laminamancy, although he didn’t know that of course. He just wondered at how much more fun he was having now, as he and Mandy span gently. He saw many people looking at them from the sidelines and from elsewhere on the dance floor, including, he was pleased to note, Terry Boot, while Sally-Anne seemed more interested in someone who was waiting at the side. However, more often than not Harry found his eyes straying to where Ginny was. Anthony was a better dancer than Neville had been, as he didn’t step on her toes, but that was about all that could be said for him. He seemed wholly focused on spinning slowly on the spot. Even so, Ginny looked incredible, the light from the torches glimmering on the coppery strands of her hair and the shimmering material of her gown as well as her golden jewellery, causing her to appear to be some fiery avatar. Her face glowed in ethereally beautiful, almost mythic, relief. The song ended, and Harry managed to pull off his plan perfectly. He and Mandy finished right next to Terry and Sally-Anne, and Harry immediately proposed a partner-swap. So, as the next dance started, Harry was dancing with Sally-Anne, who was very friendly and funny, pleasant to be with, while Harry kept his eyes on Mandy and Terry, who were murmuring softly to each other the whole time, and who were steadily dancing closer and closer together. Harry found himself really enjoying the Ball, and danced most dances. After Sally-Anne was whirled away by one of her friends he danced with Padma Patil who was there with Draco, with Luna when she could be drawn from Blaise’s clutches, with Hermione when Ron sat down for a song having turned around too fast and hit his head on a table as he fell over, and even with Eleanor, who seemed to have gotten over her initial fear. Soon, though, Furvarosa stopped playing, and Harry realised what was coming. Everyone applauded as they left the stage and sat down on the floor or on benches round the edge of the hall. Harry found himself sitting between Fleur on one side and Ron on the other, who was still looking a little dazed but quite happy with Hermione’s head resting on his shoulder. Dumbledore stood at the edge of the stage and beamed at them all. “So, our first extra act: The Patil Sisters, singing ‘Fly Me to the Moon’.” There was wild applause as the twins rose to the stage, looking both nervous and excited. They had wonderful voices and the song was beautiful, although Harry, who was starting to feel really nervous as his turn grew closer, didn’t appreciate it as much as he might have. After the twins there was a dance routine by some of the fourth year girls, Dennis Creevy sang a song by Frank Sinatra that had everyone cheering, and then a different band of various people came on and played a song that they had written themselves, which was funny and very enjoyable. Harry had been using some of the Occlumency techniques he knew so well to calm himself, and thankfully he felt calm and detached as he climbed onto the stage, took the ‘cello case from his pocket, enlarged it, conjured a stool to sit on and began to play, strong and confidant. And, as he played, something strange began to happen. He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them he was looking down on the hall from above, floating above hundreds of heads all glued to the stage where he could see himself playing, looking somehow unreal and blurry in the ethereal grey robes. What was really strange was that he could still feel his eyelids closed, as well as the ‘cello gripped between his knees and the bow clasped firmly in his hand, drawing it back and forth across the strings. The music floated around him as he took in the expressions on everyone’s faces. Quite a few were staring at him in astonishment, Ron and Professor McGonagall among them. Others were smiling gently, enjoying the smooth tones and melodies filling the room. But Harry sought out the one face in the room he really wanted to see. Ginny was sitting a little apart, right at the back, and gazing at him with something a little like sadness in her deep brown eyes. Harry didn’t want her to be sad, and not knowing anything else to do, he drifted closer and kissed her, very gently. He felt no contact, only a warmth spreading through him. Smoothly he was drawn back to his body, seeing in her eyes as he removed away the sadness giving way to peace. He finished the piece, and there was a slight pause before the room erupted in huge applause. Harry blushed as he stood and bowed before shrinking the ‘cello, vanishing the stool and leaving the stage. Furvarosa started again soon, and Harry danced once with Fleur before going outside for some air and then coming back in to sit at the side of the room and just watch. He couldn’t help but think that, maybe, what he had just done was the closest he would ever get to kissing the girl he loved. The evening was almost over, the last dance was starting. Harry felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up into Ginny’s radiant face. “That playing, that was really… well… wow,” she said almost breathlessly. Then she tilted her head slightly, a teasing smile on her lips. He smiled and stood, asking the question before she could. “Would you like to dance?” She beamed at him, and they strode onto the dance floor to share their first dance. As he held her by the waist and the hand she looked straight at him. “Do you like the robes?” Harry swallowed. He had been dreading the question all evening. He nodded dumbly. Ginny smiled. “Amazing really, I just found them in a parcel on my bed, addressed to me and everything. No note though. I wish I knew who got them. I need to thank them.” She sighed and rested her head against him, and Harry felt his breath catch. All too soon the band finished playing, the ball was over and Harry was lying in his bed, looking at the ceiling. His last thought before he fell asleep was, ‘You’re welcome, Ginny.’ (AN: Before I forget, thanks to Serpentspawn for her help with the name of the band: I think we decided the name means 'Dark Rose', hence the unusual uniform. Speaking of which, thanks to her as well for her help when thinking up some of the costumes. I had no clue. Thanks are, as ever, due to my wonderful betas, who continue to steer me in the right direction. Thanks, guys. I suppose it wouldn't be revealing too much to say that there are quite a few elements in this story that refer to the sequel rather than the plot of this fiction. This is deliberate, to make you want to read it. *Evil, maniacal laugh.* I do so enjoy torturing the readers... Thanks for reading. Reviews welcome! Tom) |
| Reviews 147 |
Previous Next
|
