‘Lavender – will you go with Ron? ‘She’s going with Seamus,’ said Parvati, and the pair of them giggled harder than ever.
(Ch. 22 The Unexpected Task, Goblet of Fire)
‘Lavender, wait!’ I lunge to grab her elbow just as she is following Parvati through the portrait hole.
I’ve waited twenty bloody minutes for her to come down for dinner and the common room is empty except for me. I nearly lose my nerve but at the last second I realise it’s got to be now or never. Oh no, she’s turning around. What the hell do I say now? Keep calm, Finnigan, just say it like you said it in your dormitory a hundred times this afternoon.
‘Er …’ I clear my throat. ‘Um … I mean … can I talk to you for a minute?’ Yeah, deep breath, be cool. That’s good, that’s the way girls like it.
Get lost Parvati, I think, can’t you see I want to talk to Lavender? Good, she’s leaving.
‘I’ll see you at dinner, Lavender,’ she said.
Was that a wink? She can’t bloody know already – I haven’t even asked her yet. Unless that bloody git Thomas couldn’t keep his damn mouth shut. I’ll get him. Oh wait, Lavender’s looking at me. She’s smiling, at least. Cool, cool. Come on, Finnigan, get your act together.
‘What is it, Seamus?’ She’s gazing expectantly at me.
‘Well,’ I start – she’s downright pretty; if I get this right, every other bloke in fourth year will be wanting me dead. Yeah! Now cool and smooth, Finnigan, cool and smooth. ‘Lavender, would you like to go to the ball wi–’
‘Lavender! Seamus! I’m glad I caught you before dinner.’
Damn. I thought we were alone. I planned on doing this when we were alone. But no, little Miss Know-It-All has to come with her rattling tin and her poncy speech to put the world to rights. She’s on about those bloody house-elves again. Blah, blah, blah. Thought I’d got out of that one yesterday.
‘Actually, Hermione, it’s not a good time right now,’ I say, glancing at Lavender who is smiling at me but rolling her eyes at Hermione; so I do, too. We’re sharing a secret joke; she’s bound to say yes now.
Hermione doesn’t take the hint. ‘Oh, that’s OK, Seamus, I’ll only take a minute of your time …’ She continues her spiel, saying I don’t know what, but I hear words like ‘slave labour’ and ‘basic creature rights’ far too often to be healthy.
I look at my watch – I really want to get this over and get to dinner. I don’t know how long I can keep up cool and smooth. I look at Lavender and sigh. She gives me a sweet, understanding smile. We both know what it takes to get round Hermione. Pretend you’re listening then forget all about it.
We stand there, nodding and making noises like ‘mmm’, ‘oh really’ and ‘what a shame’. Then … oh hell! I just notice that I’m still clasping Lavender’s elbow. She hasn’t moved away, so maybe she doesn’t mind. In fact, I think she’s actually edging closer towards me. It’s probably just so we can face Hermione together – strength in numbers and all that. I’ll just see what happens if I step a little closer and firm up my grip. Out of the corner of my eye I think I can see Lavender blushing and stifling a giggle. Good work, Finnigan! Keep it cool, cool and smooth.
Hermione is still talking. A minute is a bloody long time when Hermione Granger is talking at you. Who’d have thought you could fit so many words into a minute? Especially about house-elves.
‘So will you join?’ Hermione finally says. I see her tin full of badges and a couple of Knuts at the bottom and know there is no way in hell I’ll be wearing anything that says spew. She’s looking expectantly, back and forth between Lavender and me. Except I much preferred that expectant look Lavender gave me a minute ago. Damn, I’ve almost forgotten what I’m in the middle of doing – Hermione’s given me a right case of the Binns!
‘I’ll think about it,’ says Lavender, except she’s looking at me when she says it. Oh no! She’s not saying that to me, is she? Please, Lavender, don’t do this to me. I’ll be a laughing stock. OK, cool and smooth. Keep it together; it’s not too late to save the situation.
‘Yeah, Hermione, we’ll think about it, OK? But we’ve really got to get to dinner now.’ I push past Hermione and, still gripping Lavender’s elbow, drag her through the portrait hole into the corridor. Finally, I release her and look pleadingly into her eyes – I mean, I try to look cool and smooth. She’s still smiling softly, so it can’t be too bad, right?
‘Did you mean that, Lavender?’ I ask hesitantly. ‘You’ll think about it?’
‘No,’ she says, not meeting my eyes.
My stomach drops. I’ll bloody kill that Granger.
‘I don’t need to think about it, Seamus,’ she looks up, smiling into my eyes. ‘I’d love to go to the ball with you.’
YES! I could kiss her. I mean, oh God, I really could – I might get to kiss her at the ball. Will she want me to kiss her? Will she let me? Just as I’m wondering whether I could even kiss her right now, she’s already started down the corridor to dinner. Missed my chance; not that I’m complaining, mind, ’cause there’s always the ball …