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Author: Bistyboo1974 Story: Helpless Rating: Young Teens Setting: Pre-OotP Status: Completed Reviews: 1 Words: 17,380
It was late as Harry sat alone in the Gryffindor common room in an armchair, watching as the fire in the grate died out. He gazed at the flickering embers as they smoldered amid the piles of ash. And then he heard footfalls – the padding of feet coming down the staircase and entering the common room. He leaned over the side of the chair to see who it was. Neville. "Er … hello there, Neville," said Harry uneasily. He didn't think Neville had come downstairs in his pajamas to challenge him to a duel – but the vacant _expression on Neville's face left Harry wondering exactly why he was seeking him out. "Hello, Harry." Neville took a seat on a pouf near Harry. "I talked to Ginny earlier," he said. Harry gulped. As much as he wanted to take Ginny to the Yule Ball, he couldn't help but feel badly for Neville. "I just want you to know," said Neville. "I'm not holding a grudge or anything – there aren't any hard feelings." Harry couldn't think of anything to say. Neville was gracefully bowing out. Harry let him continue. "I've always known how Ginny feels about you. I just didn't realize you felt the same way about her. You never really let on." He paused and took a deep breath. "Harry, you've just got to promise me one thing …" "What's that, Neville?" "That you won't hurt her." "Never in a million years," promised Harry. *** The rest of November passed by in a whirlwind of classes and Quidditch and, by the time December had arrived, preparations for the Yule Ball were in full swing. Ron had managed to be somewhat debonair in his attempt to ask Hermione to attend with him and he was rewarded with her acceptance. Others had paired off as well – Seamus was again going with Lavender, Dean had secured a date with Parvati this year and Parvati had convinced Neville to ask her twin sister, Padma. Harry overheard the Patil sisters discussing their dates one evening as they left the Great Hall after dinner. "I'm glad to go with Neville," said Padma. "Honestly – anyone's an improvement over our dates from last year!" Harry wrinkled his nose in disgust as he heard Parvati reply, "You're quite right!" Both girls giggled merrily and flounced away. *** In the common room, Ginny was sitting with Hermione. They both had schoolbooks in front of them and were scribbling away with their quills on parchment – Ginny working on a History of Magic essay and Hermione on an Arithmancy assignment. Ron walked briskly through the portrait hole, his arms full of books, parchment and a parcel. He came over to the girls immediately and asked them, "Either of you seen Harry?" "Not since dinner," said Hermione. "Is that the last time you saw him as well?" "Yeah," replied Ron. "No worries, though. We were just going to work on some stuff for Trelawney's class, but it's all just a load of rubbish anyhow. It can wait." He glanced over to Ginny as though he had just remembered something. "By the way, Ginny – Mum sent you a parcel." Ginny's eyes widened. She looked at Hermione and said, "Quick! Let's go upstairs and open it!" They bounded up the stairs to Hermione's dormitory, leaving Ron in the common room, shaking his head. Ginny opened the parcel and found a bundle wrapped in gold tissue and a letter. She opened the letter and read it aloud: Dear Ginny, I know you won't mind receiving this early Christmas gift. Bill, Charlie and Percy pitched in so that your father and I could get you the most beautiful thing Madam Malkin's had to offer. I know you will wear this gift well. Have a wonderful time at the ball. Love, Your Mum Ginny set the letter down and picked up the bundle. Gently, she tore away the tissue and gasped. "Oh, Ginny!" sighed Hermione. "Those are the most stunning dress robes I've ever seen!" Ginny held up a set of dress robes, made in a velvet fabric of the deepest violet she had ever set eyes on. "Try them on!" said Hermione enthusiastically. "You've got to see how they look on you!" Ginny agreed. She shed her threadbare old school robes and slipped on the velvety new dress ones. She delighted in the luxurious fabric and did a sort of twirl for Hermione to admire the new robes as she modeled them. "You don't think the color clashes with my hair?" Ginny asked desperately, looking at herself in the mirror. "Because I think it's a marvelous color." "Not at all," assured Hermione. "Do you think Harry will think they're nice?" she asked. "Harry will think they're amazing," promised Hermione. Ginny smiled. "I hope so." She smoothed her hands over the soft fabric and sighed. "I'll have to thank Mum and Dad – and Bill, Charlie and Percy, too! I'll have to thank them a million times! I was so afraid I'd have to wear those old robes from last year – they don't look half bad, except they're now about three inches too short! And Ron got new dress robes this year – I knew Mum and Dad couldn't afford to get me any – and I understand, it's just …" Hermione giggled. "Harry would have thought you looked fine, even if you had to wear too-short robes, Ginny! Just relax. But I have to say – he's really going to be speechless when he sees you in those!" *** Before the students of Hogwarts knew it, Christmas day was upon them. Holiday homework had taken a backseat to the excitement of presents, feasting and – the coup de grace – the Yule Ball. The day went by at an uncharacteristically slow pace for Harry. He awoke early and unwrapped his gifts with Ron, Seamus, Dean and Neville. They had breakfast shortly thereafter, but after a superb Christmas lunch in the Great Hall, he began to feel as if time was standing still. "We're going to give Seamus' new toboggan a go," said Dean enthusiastically to Harry and Ron. "Why don't you join us?" "Yeah," Seamus chimed in. "It's a Snowstorm … 600 series … it's charmed to go from zero to eighty in 1.8 seconds!" Ron's eyes bulged. "Blimey," he breathed in awe. "Cool." "All right," said Harry. He reckoned it would be a good distraction and any diversion was exactly what he needed to pass the time. They had all been milling around the common room since lunch and he feared that one more game of Exploding Snap might make him snap. Harry only went for one ride on the Snowstorm. Unlike broomstick flying, he found that he wasn't quite a natural at tobogganing. After he ended up buried in an embankment of snow, he decided it would be best to call it quits before he wound up an ice pop with glasses. Around seven o'clock, Harry decided it was time to get ready for the ball. After showering, he donned his bottle green dress robes, made a reasonable attempt at tidying up his unmanageable hair. When he had achieved a less unruly look than usual, he called it quits and made his way to the common room. On his way down, he noticed odd noises coming from the girls' dormitories – they sounded strangely close to a lot of birds, chirruping and twittering. The girls had been closed up in their dormitories at least two hours before any of the boys had made any effort to get ready for the ball. I wonder what they're doing in there? thought Harry as he sank into an armchair. Ron, wearing his new dress robes, was seated in another armchair beside him. "No lace trim this year?" said Harry jokingly, looking at Ron's new robes. "Watch yourself there, mate," said Ron. Last year's dress robes were obviously still a sore subject with him. "What time is it?" said Seamus. Harry had noticed he had a fresh bruise around his eye, no doubt from an incident with his new toboggan. "Quarter of eight," answered Neville, looking at his watch. "Wonder when the girls will be down," said Dean, glancing at the staircase. As if in answer to Dean's question, a bustling sound emerged from the dormitories of Gryffindor Tower. The girls started to materialize from their rooms, like butterflies from cocoons – all dressed elegantly in a sea of stylish fabrics and striking colors. Lavender and Parvati strolled down the staircase together. Both Seamus and Dean looked at their escorts in awe, much the way they had looked at the Snowstorm earlier that day. Lavender gave Seamus a reproving look when she saw his shiner, but soon forgot about it when Seamus bestowed her with a mass of compliments. The two couples, with Neville in tow, left shortly after, explaining that they had to meet Padma, Parvati's sister, in the entrance hall. Not long after, Hermione came down. She was attired in dress robes of shimmery silver, with her hair pulled back in much the same style as the previous year when she went to the ball with Viktor Krum. Harry thought that he'd never seen his friend look prettier. Obviously Ron thought the same thing as he watched her walk across the common room towards them. "Hermione …" Ron said quietly. "You … you look …" Hermione smiled at him, looking very pleased with herself for rendering him speechless. "You look really … brilliant," he finally managed to say. "Wait ‘til you see your sister," Hermione said teasingly, glancing over to see Harry's response to the comment. As if on cue, Ginny began to descend the staircase. And if Harry thought the sight of Hermione had floored Ron, it was nothing as to how he felt at the moment, watching Ginny. She was dressed in robes of deep violet – robes that didn't hang on a girl in quite the same way Hogwarts school robes did. These robes fit snugly in all the right places. Harry felt himself go breathless as he observed the vision of beauty walking towards him. How had he missed the moment when the little girl – the one he remembered chasing after the Hogwarts Express with tears in her eyes on his first trip to school – had transformed into the exquisite young woman before him right now? "Say something, Harry," she said softly. Harry felt his stomach do a somersault. He looked at her pale, slender neck – now revealed as her flaming red hair was swept up and clasped with a delicate enchantment of baby's breath – and gazed at the thin strand of silver that draped around her collar. He suddenly felt envious of that strand of metal, being so close to that fair skin. Harry was jogged out of his silent admiration by Ron jabbing him firmly in the back. "Say something to her … are you daft?" he whispered. "You're beautiful," Harry said in a raspy voice, not able to take his eyes off of Ginny for a second – not even to glare at Ron for prodding him. *** Arm in arm, the couples promenaded from the entrance hall into the Great Hall, which had been transformed into a glittering, enchanted wonderland of magical snowflakes. Evergreen trees were decorated with icicles and entwined with garlands of frost. Silver cherubs fluttered atop the Christmas trees, dusting the floor below with soft flurries of snow. Once again, the regular dining tables were gone and in their places were the round ones from the previous year, which seated about a dozen students. Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny found the table where Seamus, Dean and Neville had taken seats with their dates. "Wonder if they got the Weird Sisters to play again this year," said Seamus, looking at the platform that had been set up at the end of the hall, presumably for musicians. "I haven't heard," said Lavender, "but I wouldn't mind if they booked them again. They're really fantastic." Parvati and Padma nodded in agreement. "Suppose we should have a look at our menus?" said Neville, a little nervously. He glanced over to Padma. She was busy smoothing the creases in her fancy, teal dress robes, which were embroidered with intricate little flowers and accented with tiny sequins that twinkled like miniature crystals. Padma nodded her consent and the rest of the table followed suit by opening their menus after she did. Then they pronounced their orders to the silver plates set before them and watched as their meals appeared out of nowhere. *** After the last remnants of plum pudding and mince pie were magically cleared away, the mystery of the musical entertainment was solved. A group of musicians were taking positions on the stage, each holding an instrument and each, to Harry's great surprise, accompanied by an animal. "Ooohhh," said Parvati in a delighted sort of voice. "It's Menagerie! They're excellent!" She grabbed Dean by the hand, all but dragging him onto the dance floor – though, Harry noted, Dean didn't seem very upset at being under Parvati's control. Under the weight of Padma's stare, Neville caved in and, in a squeaky voice, asked her to dance. Seamus and Lavender followed them onto the dance floor, leaving Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny alone at the table with their crystal goblets of butterbeer. The lead singer of Menagerie, who had a yellow songbird perched on her shoulder, sang as her band mates accompanied her. She wore a burgundy beret and black robes with billowy sleeves. She had rings on all of her fingers and bangles on both of her wrists. Harry watched the band as he mustered the nerve to ask Ginny to dance. The song was over. Harry watched as Padma limped off the dance floor, followed by Neville, who was looking extremely sheepish. As the first chords of the next song – a ballad – began, Harry leaned toward Ginny and asked in an undertone, "If I promise not to trample your toes, would you care to have a dance?" Ginny grinned as she glanced over at Padma, who had pulled off one of her crystal-studded slippers and was massaging her foot and cringing slightly. "Of course I'd like to have a dance," said Ginny, looking back a Harry. "I thought you'd never ask." Harry held out his hand, trying very hard to keep it from shaking. He led Ginny to the dance floor and put his other hand at her waist. The soft velvet of her dress robes felt pleasant under the touch of his fingers, and her warm hand felt quite at home nestled in his own as they slowly began to rotate around among the other dancers. "You're not that bad," said Ginny, smiling at Harry as they danced. Harry had been too busy savoring her being so close to him to have concerned himself with his dancing prowess, but now that she had mentioned it, he realized he hadn't trodden her feet to a pulp. Not that he would be taking home any prizes for his dancing ability, but he felt it was a good to know that she was safe from bruised toes while she was with him. He smiled back at her and suddenly felt bold enough to pull her in a little closer – after all, the dance floor had begun to crowd with more couples, Ron and Hermione being among them. Apparently feeling bold herself, Ginny leaned her head against his shoulder in response to Harry's shift. Harry listened to the music as it throbbed in time with the beating of Ginny's heart against his chest. And then the ballad ended. Harry reluctantly stepped back and looked at Ginny, whose face had flushed crimson. "You're not a bad dancer at all," she said in a low voice. *** Ginny would have loved to reserve all of the slots on her dance card for Harry alone, but both Fred and George had managed to wheedle her into taking turns dancing with them. She quickly learned their interest in dancing with their younger sister wasn't out of brotherly love – it was more out of wanting to get in a few taunts about coming to the ball with Harry. Ginny didn't care – it's what Fred and George did. And they could make all the jokes they wanted. Ginny knew it wasn't a joke that Harry had asked her to the ball. She saw the way he looked at her now – not as if she were the sweet little sister of his best friend and not as if she were just a silly little girl. No, he looked at her from a new angle now and Ginny quite liked it. George bowed in a mocking sort of way as their dance ended and Ginny smirked at him, giving him a mock curtsy in return. He escorted her back to the table, where Harry sat waiting for her with Ron – Hermione had gone to dance with Fred. "She's all yours, Harry," said George, winking impishly at him. Ginny scowled a look that told him that he should bugger off. Hermione returned with Fred, who was giving Ron a mischievous look that nearly matched that of his twin brother. "C'mon, Hermione," said Ron, glaring at the twins. "Let's go dance before George decides to show off his dancing expertise for you, too." Fred and George exploded into a fit of laughter and wandered off to find their own dates. Ron led Hermione to the dance floor and Harry looked over to Ginny. "Do you want to dance again?" he asked. "Hmm," said Ginny, glancing out to the crowded dance floor. "I don't think so. It's getting rather stuffy in here – maybe we could go out for some air." Ginny noticed an odd look come over Harry's face – she wasn't sure how to read it - nervousness, perhaps? She hoped it wasn't revulsion at the prospect of wandering the gardens with her. "All right," said Harry hoarsely. "We can go out for some air – if you want." *** Ginny hadn't wandered outside the castle the previous year – after an evening of having her feet flattened by Neville, he accompanied her back to the common room at midnight and there they bid each other goodnight. He was very courteous and gentlemanly – and she was thankful he didn't try to kiss her at the end of the evening. If he would have, it would have been her first kiss. She knew it was silly, but for the past few years, she had dreamed of what her first kiss would be like and, though Neville Longbottom was a wonderful person, he was not the one she envisioned doing the kissing. As she and Harry walked under a canopy of frosted ivy lit with multitudes of fairy lights, she began to rub her hands together to warm them. The frost and the snow out in the gardens weren't enchanted – they were quite real and quite chilly. Harry seemed to notice and took her hands into his and said, "You're not too cold, are you? We could go in if you are." "It is a bit nippy out here," said Ginny. "But let's not go in just yet. It's so pretty under these fairy lights." She looked at the ceiling of frosted ivy and at the twinkling fairies. She glanced back down, smiling at Harry. "Yes, it is," said Harry, not looking at the fairy lights at all, but at Ginny instead. Suddenly, Ginny didn't feel the cold anymore. A burst of red and green sparkles glimmered and cascaded down over their heads, like an enchanted surge of confetti. They both stared up at the top of the canopy and saw three fairies clutching a bunch of mistletoe, directly over where they stood. Even in the dim light, Ginny could see Harry's cheeks go red and for a split second she thought for sure he might try to make a break for it or – worse – make a joke about the mistletoe that had just sprouted above them. But her worst fears were quickly laid to rest. Harry leaned in closer to her – and for an awkward moment Ginny couldn't decide where to put her nose, but thankfully instinct took over and she found that her nose knew exactly where it should be. She felt as though rockets were going off in her stomach, and a whole round of fireworks was exploding in her head. This was exactly how she dreamed her first kiss would be – and with the exact person she had envisioned that kiss to be with, too. Author's Note: A Duran Duran song inspired the whole listening-to-the-music-as-it-throbbed-in-time-to-the-beating-of-her-heart thing. My '80's self is revealed! ;-) The song, if memory serves, is called The Chauffer. Plus, I nabbed the magically appearing mistletoe from the film, The Santa Clause 2. When I saw it in the movie, I knew at that exact moment I was borrowing it for this fic. Sorry, Disney! I also need to express gratitude to Sherylyn, who not only pointed out that I gave terrible manners to Harry in the bit at the beginning with Neville, but also is keen enough to let me know when my version of the characters take on a slightly Southern inflection. Y'all should be mighty thankful for that.
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