I've said all along that you were both going to have to wait and see. I will tell you this though; you are going to be very surprised with who it is." Harry smiled at his friends' frustration. Hermione saw Harry's satisfaction with himself, and decided to get even.
"Gee, Neville, who do you think would be the most surprising person Harry could take to the Ball?" Hermione asked with a mischevious grin.
"Maybe he is taking Professor McGonagall." Neville answered, both of them trying their best not to even look at Harry while they continued their conversation.
"No, I can think of someone more surprising than that. Harry is taking Professor Snape to the Ball!" At this Hermione and Neville began laughing loudly while Harry watched angrily, but eventually even he had to admit it was funny and began to smile.
"A hundred points from Gryffindor for being prats!" Harry said in his best Snape impression. All three of them continued laughing, as well as the people sitting close enough to them to hear the conversation. After taunting Harry a few more times the topics returned to the normal Christmas ones such as what presents they had all gotten. Hermione once again thanked Harry for his gift: a fifty galleon gift certificate to Flourish & Blotts.
Hermione's thank-you's were interrupted when dozens of owls flew into the Great Hall. Almost everyone had received a letter from their families wishing them a Merry Christmas. Harry was surprised when an owl he didn't recognize landed on the table in front of him and held out its leg, waiting for Harry to pull the letter off. Curious about whom it could be from, Harry took the letter and gave the owl a piece of bacon in thanks. As the owl hooted and flew off Harry opened the letter, happily realizing that it was from Sirius.
" Merry Christmas Harry!
I wish I could be there with you, but until we find Wormtail I have to stay on the run.
On the bright side we are working on finding a place for you to stay for part of the
summer so you won't have to spend it all with those relatives of yours. It still makes
me angry to think that someone as wonderful as Lily could have a sister so dreadful.
Congratulations on getting past the Horntail! Perhaps not the method I would have
thought of but it certainly did work. Don't let those idiots who think your talents are
evil bother you, Harry. You are growing up to be a fine young man and I know your
parents would be proud of you. I know I am.
Good luck on the rest of the tournament. Remember to keep your eyes open and be
on guard at all times. If you think someone is acting suspicious let me know and we
can talk about it. You can now mail me if you want, but don't send Hedwig because
she is too easily recognizable. Take care of yourself, Harry.
Love, Sirius "
Harry read the letter a couple of times, pleased to hear that his Godfather was still safe. He wondered where Sirius was hiding this Christmas and hoped it was somewhere warm. Harry felt a bit of hope rising up inside him when he remembered that Sirius was working on finding him a place to stay at other than the Dursley's, that would be an excellent present. He had been silently thinking about the letter for a few minutes when he realized Hermione was looking at him curiously.
"The letter was from Si- Padfoot. He seems to be doing ok." Harry said. Hermione smiled, knowing how attached Harry was to his godfather.
"That's great Harry. What are you going to do for the rest of the day?"
"I think I'll go see Hagrid. Do you want to come?"
"No thanks." Hermione answered. "I've got some things to do and then I really do need to get ready for the Yule Ball." Harry was a little bit confused, just how long did it take for a girl to get ready for something like this? He had just planned on putting his dress robes on and spending a few minutes trying to get his hair to lay down, which he already knew would not be successful. Harry shrugged and decided he didn't really want to know what went into a girl's preparations for a Ball. Taking one last drink of pumpkin juice, Harry said a few quick good-byes and walked out of the Great Hall.
...
Harry spent the next few hours with Hagrid, who was surprised but very happy that Harry wanted to spend Christmas day with him. As the hours passed Hagrid seemed to be getting more and more nervous. Harry asked why and Hagrid confided that he had a bit of a crush on Madam Maxine, the Beauxbatons Headmistress. Harry smiled at his large friend's secret and wished him good luck. Hagrid then proudly showed him his outfit for the Yule Ball, which inluded a ridiculous tie that he seemed to be quite proud of. Harry assured him that Madame Maxine would love it before leaving for lunch.
After lunch Harry ended up on the third floor in the classroom he had unofficially taken over. He couldn't will himself to be interested in what he was doing however, because his mind kept drifting off to thoughts about what the night would bring. After tonight he would finally be free to talk to Daphne in public, something so basic it angered him that they were not already able to do it. In many ways, everything would change tonight and not just for him but for Daphne's family as well. Harry had wanted to tell his friends who he was going to the Yule Ball with for a long time, but Daphne had persuaded him not to. She did this not just because it would make things easier on her but so that her family could have time to ensure that they would be protected (physically, politically, and financially) if someone decided to threaten them because of their actions. Harry was still astounded that all this trouble was going to be caused by him taking Daphne to the Yule Ball, an event that in any sane world would not be a problem at all. 'Then again,' he thought, 'my world hasn't ever been sane.'
Finally it got late enough for Harry to decide to go get ready. He had bought new dress robes, as Daphne had suggested, and thought he looked pretty good in them. Far better than Ron would look in those frilly old robes his mom sent him at least. For fifteen minutes he tried to do something with his hair, but it was useless. His hair had a mind of its own and there was nothing Harry could do about that. 'Not even cutting it off would work' he thought, remember a time when he was younger and his aunt had tried just that. Finally satisfied that he wasn't going to be able to make himself look any better, Harry left the Gryffindor common room and headed towards the Yule Ball.
....
Join my P*atreon to enjoy 60+ advanced chapters.
Link: p*atreon.com/ScarletRosee (Remove the *)
Free members can get 2+ advanced chapters FOR FREE.