Title: "T'is the Season"

Author: Emmyjean

Classification: H/G implied, Ginny POV

Summary: Ginny and Harry are forced to attend the Yule Ball together - with interesting results. Set during Ginny's fourth year and Harry's fifth.

Spoilers: Through Goblet of Fire

Rating: PG

Notes: Thanks to JK Rowling, for letting me play.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ginny Weasley sat alone at the Gryffindor house table in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. She had arrived for lunch earlier than any of her friends or brothers, and had preoccupied herself with reading the next chapter in the Muggle novel, "Pride and Prejudice". She had grown quite fond of this author they called Jane Austin in the past couple of months, and had since been reading all the novels she could find penned by her.

She was so engrossed that she barely noticed when her brothers Fred and George plopped down next to her, one on either side.

"Hey, Ginny...what's got you all tied up?" Fred asked, whipping the book out of her hands.

"Fred, give that back this instant! I'm just getting to a plot point!" she cried as she unsuccessfully tried to grab it away from him.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George!" he replied in mock horror.

Ginny rolled her eyes and made another swipe at her book, answering tartly, "That may still work on Mum, but it's no good to try it with me."

Just then, her brother Ron walked up to the table and snatched the book from Fred's hand, promptly giving it back to Ginny. She gave him a saccharine smile, and said, "I guess I don't have to go to the trouble of hexing ALL of my brothers today, do I? Thank you, Ron."

Ron shook his head and didn't answer, obviously preoccupied with something else. He sat down across from them and began to fill his plate with mashed potatoes - and only mashed potatoes.

"Hey Ron...you might want to think about adding a little variety to your diet. Too much starch'll kill you!" George said around a mouthful of broccoli.

Ron shot his brother a disgruntled look and said merely, "You've got broccoli bits in your teeth."

Ginny snorted as George began to pick his teeth. Laughing heartily, Fred asked, "What's got into you?"

Ron shook his head and said, "Nothing. I just would rather do meself in than go to potions today. Malfoy and Snape have been in top bloody form this week, and I know Snape's gonna make me stay behind again to scrape the toad guts off the tables."

"What's Malfoy got to do with it?" George asked, once he was sure he had picked all the green out of his smile.

"Oh...he's been a complete arse all week. On Wednesday, Harry and he nearly came to right blows over something or other...they didn't even bother with wands."

Fred and George laughed, but Ginny furrowed her brow at the mention of Harry's distress. She had been nursing a crush on her brother's best friend since before she even started at Hogwarts five years ago, and although it had died down in the past couple of years, it had never completely left her. Perhaps it wasn't that it had died down, but rather that she had simply become more adept at hiding it.

"Where is Harry? I thought you and he were going to go to Care of Magical Creatures together?" she asked.

Ron glanced up from his mound of potato, and replied vaguely, "Erm...he had to stop and talk with someone in the hall. Should be in anytime."

Ginny happened a glance at the door, and just then saw Harry Potter walk in with Cho Chang, the elegantly beautiful Ravenclaw seeker.

Her heart fell just a little...it seemed that with every year, her chances of being noticed by Harry shrunk tenfold. She watched as they made their parting remarks, knowing full well about Harry's infatuation with Cho. Rather than stare at Harry, as she usually very discreetly did, Ginny's eyes followed Cho to the Ravenclaw table. She could never hope to compete with her, even in the hopeful little world in which she had stored away different scenarios and ways in which Harry might actually start looking at her as more than his friend's little sister. Cho had silky blue-black hair and ivory blemish-free skin, and she looked very exotic. Ginny possessed none of those charms...she, like all the Weasleys, had bright, wavy red hair. More like orange, she thought glumly. Her nose was spattered with light freckles, and her eyes were a mere dull brown.

Completely ordinary. How sad, Ginny thought morosely.

Harry approached the table and sat down next to Ron, still smiling slightly from his encounter with Cho. He began to take food, and Ginny felt the sudden, overwhelming urge to slap him silly. He could go around talking to other girls, but did he have to gloat?

"Say Ginny...did Mum send you an owl, by any chance?" Fred broke the silence.

She shot a look at him and replied, "No, I'm not telling you what she's gotten you for Christmas."

Fred looked affronted, and protested, "I wasn't going to ask you that!"

"Of course you were, you git! You ask me every year, and every year I give you the same answer..." she said, shoving a torn piece of bread in her mouth.

"You did tell us that one time," George interrupted.

Ginny looked at him incredulously and replied, "I was four years old!"

"Yeah, well..." he trailed off.

"It was worth a try, you know," Fred concluded.

No one said anything for a minute, then Ron asked, "Ginny...does Snape like you?"

"Like me? I don't know...I reckon he tolerates me as much as he does any student...what kind of a question is that, anyway?"

"I was just wondering, you know...if he gives you a hard time because he knows you're my sister, and Harry's friend."

This was a bit of a stretch...she wasn't exactly Harry's friend. In fact, she couldn't remember one conversation they had had alone that lasted more than about ten seconds. However, she chose to ignore this point and replied, "I'm not sure either of you make that lasting of an impact, Ron."

Ron looked up at her, startled.

"What's got into YOU, now? Someone put leeches in your under…"

"Ron, I don't think you ought finish that sentence. I'm just...tired. Got kept awake all night last night by the cold," she warned.

"The cold?"

"We have a broken window in our dorm, and Filch is taking his time coming to replace it."

Ron nodded, but didn't say much. She wondered again why he bothered to ask questions if he wasn't going to react to her answers in any way whatsoever.

Just then, Hermione Granger hurried up to their table and sat down next to Harry. She was flushed and out of breath, and looked excitedly around at them all as she announced, "You'll never believe what I just overheard Parvati and Lavendar talking about!"

"Well, what is it then?" Ron demanded impatiently.

"There's going to be another Yule Ball this year!"

Ron and Harry both choked on their pumpkin juice at this news, and George demanded an explanation. Hermione cast a disparaging look at her two friends, and went on.

"I don't know all the details, but it's going to be held the weekend after this coming one."

"Why such short notice?" Fred demanded.

"Because they want to have it done with before everyone leaves on holiday."

Ron put his fork down and looked thoughtfully at Hermione.

"So...I suppose you can't go with Krum this year, eh?"

Hermione didn't look up, but replied, "Obviously not."

There was a silence in which Fred, George, and Ginny looked from Ron to Hermione and back again until finally Ron said, "So...do you want to just come with me, then?"

Hermione looked up from her lunch, almost startled by the question. Ron looked back at his plate and fiddled with his peas, his face reddening slightly.

After what seemed like ages, Hermione replied, "Alright, then, if that's really what you want."

Ron snapped, "I wouldn't have asked otherwise, would I?"

Fred and George snickered at this and tossed corn cobs at their younger brother. Ginny grinned and looked at Harry...and then let her grin fade as she realized he was looking intently at a certain person sitting at the Ravenclaw table.

"Hey Harry," George spoke suddenly, "Are you gonna try again with Cho?"

Harry sighed, and replied, "I'd like to. I don't know...I thought it might be awkward, what with everything that happened last year."

He was talking about Cedric Diggory's death, of course. Ginny recalled that night with terrifying clarity - she had never been so frightened in her life as she was when Harry and Cedric disappeared. People were whispering about the Dark Mark and Voldemort before even two minutes had passed, and she could hardly bear the never-ending hour that followed. She scowled unfairly as she thought that while she had been making herself deathly ill over the possibility of harm coming to Harry, you could bet Cho's mind was on someone else - someone who certainly wasn't Harry. Why did Cho deserve his attention now more than she did, Ginny wondered fiercely.

"Go on, Harry," Ron encouraged, "You can go just as friends, if it feels too dodgy. I'm sure she doesn't hold anything against you, and neither does anyone else."

Harry nodded slightly, looked once more at Cho, and replied, "I'll ask her after Potions today."

"Yeah, well, you'd better. She'll have promised to go with someone else if you wait too long."

Lunch was over soon after, and Ginny left the Hall with the glum realization that the chance she had been given last year to go to a dance with Harry had been a once in a lifetime thing, and she would probably end up going again with Neville...or perhaps no one at all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A couple of days later, as Ginny was leaving Transfiguration class, she heard Professor McGonagall call her back.

"Miss Weasley, may I have a moment please?"

"Yes, ma'am."

McGonagall strode to the doorway and poked her head out. After a few moments she heard her call, "Harry Potter! I need a word with you, if you please."

Ginny wondered what in the world this could be about, and she watched nervously as Harry stepped into the empty room. His eyes fell upon her, and his dark brows came together in obvious confusion even as he gave her a small smile. Her heart sped up a little, as it always did when he looked at her, and she got angry at her silly self, as she always did when that happened.

McGonagall went around to sit behind her desk and regarded them openly. She began to speak.

"I suppose you two have already heard that there is to be another Yule Ball this year. After the success of the last one, Professor Dumbledore has decided to make it an annual occasion rather than a single event," McGonagall explained, looking at them over her square-shaped glasses.

Ginny nodded, knowing full well about the upcoming dance. She hadn't believed it at first, thinking it nothing more than the usual rumors girls like Parvati Patil loved to spread, but she supposed that this was confirmation enough for her. She cringed inwardly, remembering the horrible time she'd had at the last one. She had attended with Neville Longbottom, although it wasn't entirely his fault that she hadn't enjoyed herself...even if he couldn't dance at all.

She smiled a bit to herself...her feet had been bruised two weeks afterwards.

"Now," McGonagall continued suddenly, breaking into Ginny's thoughts, "I suppose you're both wondering why I've brought you in here."

She stood, her dark green robes flowing around her as she walked around the desk to face them.

"These dances are really an excellent time for the houses to gain some schoolwide recognition. They are meant to be enjoyable, of course, but there are also certain duties some people must perform for the sake of appearance."

She paused to regard them thoughtfully, and Ginny began to feel slightly uneasy. She had no idea where this could possibly be going, but something told her it wasn't going to be altogether pleasant.

"Last year, the champions of the Triwizard Tournament brought partners and opened the dance. This year, in the absence of any such tournament, Dumbledore has asked that each house leader choose two of the best players from the house Quidditch teams and ask them to appear together to open the ball. Potter...at the risk of inflating your ego too much, I must say that you are the best player on Gryffindor's team, and the most skilled Seeker the entire school has seen in ages."

Ginny swallowed and chanced a glance at Harry, who seemed torn between looking pleased at the high praise he was being given and suspicion as to what was coming next.

McGonagall shifted her gaze from Harry to Ginny, and continued, "Miss Weasley, you are the newest player on the team, and have proven yourself a very valuable asset. An excellent Chaser. I expect you'll be a full-fledged leader on the team soon enough."

Ginny nodded, swallowing loudly as she did so. So far, she had played only two games and had done very well on both...much to her never-ending relief. McGonagall began speaking again.

"Therefore...I have brought you in here to inform you, Potter, that in representation of your House, you will be escorting Miss Weasley to the ball this year."

Ginny felt her stomach drop, and glanced at Harry. He was looking at McGonagall as if she had suddenly sprouted tentacles on her face. He turned and regarded Ginny with the same expression, but she had the sad suspicion that it was for an entirely different reason.

"Professor," he began in a matter-of-fact tone, "That's impossible. I've already arranged to go with someone else."

McGonagall cast him a knowing look and replied, "You needn't worry about Miss Chang, Potter. She has been instructed by Professor Flitwick to attend the dance with Roger Davies."

Harry shut his mouth, but the frown did not leave his face. McGonagall dismissed them, and Harry and Ginny walked out of her office together. The minute they were out of earshot and on their way back to Gryffindor Tower, Ginny prepared herself for an outburst - but it never came. Harry, as was his way, remained quietly furious. He didn't say a word to her, and seemed lost in his own thoughts, his brows still frowning and a muscle ticking in his jaw.

"Harry, it isn't all that bad," she attempted soothingly, "After all, she's right. It is nice to show a bit of team spirit on occasion…"

"Yeah, right," he suddenly interrupted, his voice quiet and bitter, "As if we don't show enough team spirit during all those games we win every single Saturday. Anyway, it's fine for you...you didn't have a date."

Now she was not only angry, but also hurt.

"How would you know if I had a date or not?"

He didn't respond, but rather began walking faster, as if he couldn't wait to get back to the Common Room and get rid of her company. She decided to drop it - after all, she supposed she'd be miffed too if she'd had to cancel a date because she was being forced to go with someone else. He didn't have to be so loud about it, however.

They got back to the Tower without further conversation, but Ginny could feel the anger radiating off Harry's stiff body. She actually, for the first time in her association with him, couldn't wait to get away. When they had gone through the portrait hole, she turned to go up to her dorm while he went to sit at the fireside with Dean and Ron. She could hear her brother ask,

"What's wrong, Harry?"

Deciding she didn't want to hear it, she went up to her room and promptly dozed off on her bed.

Hours later, she awoke with the feeling that something bad had happened, but she couldn't remember what it was. Lying there, she stared up at the red canopy above her and tried to think - then she remembered with a start. She was being forced to go to the Yule Ball with Harry Potter. If someone had told her yesterday that he would be the one taking her, she would have been lost in ecstatic disbelief. Under the circumstances, however, she felt like running far away and not coming back until next weekend was over.

She got up groggily and walked out the door and down to the common room...perhaps Hermione would be there studying, and she could tell her what to do. Not that there was anything she could do, really, except obey McGonagall's orders. Still, it would be nice to have some advice about the whole debacle.

As she approached the large meeting area, she heard voices - specifically, her brother Ron's, along with Harry's. They were talking seriously about something - it almost sounded as if they were in a fight. She wondered vaguely if they had been sitting there this entire time, and then began to catch what they were saying.

"Come on, mate...it could be worse. You could have been told you had to go with Eloise Midgen."

"Look, I don't mean to make it sound like I don't like your sister. She's alright. It's just that I had to break a date with Cho for this, and I don't think it's fair."

"Yeah...well, look at it this way. Maybe Ginny had to break a date with someone, too...you aren't the only one who is going to be upset about this."

Ginny heard Harry give a short bark of laughter, then reply, "Yeah, right. At worst, she had to break a date with Neville. It's not the same thing."

Ron and Harry laughed softly, but Ginny could barely hear it through the angry ringing in her ears. She descended the rest of the stairs soundlessly, and approached them, face hot and eyes blazing. Ron looked up and caught sight of her. Jumping up guiltily, he began, "Ginny..."

Ginny wasn't looking at Ron, however. Her eyes were fixed on Harry, daring him to move or speak. He, at least, had the decency to look properly afraid as he sat rooted to his chair.

"So, that's how it is, is it?" she began, trying desperately to keep her voice from shaking, "You got the raw end of the deal in having to break a date with Cho Chang, but I should consider myself lucky to be going with the great Harry Potter. I mean, if he's good enough for Cho, he's more than good enough for little Ginny Weasley."

"Ginny..." he interrupted, but she wouldn't allow him to say any more. Turning to her brother, who had his hands shoved in his pockets and his head down, she finished with quiet finality,

"Don't speak to me, Ron. I've heard quite enough from both of you for the time being."

With that, and without another glance at Harry, Ginny stalked with as much dignity as she could muster to the portrait hole and made her escape.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next couple of weeks passed fairly quickly, although Ginny suspected it was only because she was dreading the upcoming weekend as she had never dreaded anything in her life. She had managed to totally avoid Harry Potter since that awful night in the Common Room, but not without bringing it to the attention of her brothers. Ron, for his part, kept trying to smooth things over, but she was not entirely happy with him either, so it didn't go as well as he had probably planned.

Harry, at least, had not attempted to speak to her since that night. She sensed that he knew it would merely be applying salt to a wound if he tried to apologize, and she was oddly grateful that he chose to pretend nothing had happened. She laughed mirthlessly to herself as she considered that Harry didn't really speak to her anyway, so it wasn't exactly a chore for him to avoid doing so now.

All too soon, the night of the ball had arrived, and Ginny stood in Hermione's room getting ready.

"I would give all the gold in Gringotts not to have to attend this silly dance," Ginny commented despairingly as she attempted to fix her hair in the mirror. She could feel tears of humiliated frustration and dread welling up in her eyes, but blinked them back fiercely so that they wouldn't smear her makeup.

"Come on, now. It won't be that bad...we'll all be there. It'll be fun, you'll see!" Hermione said encouragingly, reaching to help her with her hair.

"For you, perhaps. At least you got to choose your date." Ginny said, savagely sticking the last pin in her hair.

Hermione turned and regarded Ginny's reflection in the mirror for a moment. Then she asked hesitantly,

"Ginny...I thought...I thought you fancied Harry. Wouldn't you have chosen him anyway?"

"I wouldn't go anywhere with any boy who didn't want to be there with me, Hermione. That's just humiliating. As it is, he'll probably hook up with Cho after the first dance, anyway."

"Then you simply dance with Roger!" Hermione said, but her smile faded at the look on Ginny's face. "I'm sorry...I don't mean to make light of this. If it's any consolation, Harry has been feeling quite down over the past couple of weeks."

"Yeah, because he had to break the date with Cho."

"Maybe…maybe not. Gin...you look lovely."

Ginny hadn't had enough money to buy new robes, so she simply had to content herself with wearing the ones she always wore. They were ivory-colored with lilac trim, and she loved them despite their age. She knew all the other girls would be wearing bright robes of many colors, but she preferred to be subtle. She had put her hair up, which was something that she never did, into a coil...but it looked messy still. There was nothing she could do about it except to accept the fact that her hair was naturally wavy.

"Thank you...you do, too," Ginny smiled genuinely as she commented, "Ron will be quite proud, I think."

Hermione blushed the same color as her rose robes, and after one last glance in the mirror they headed downstairs to meet Harry and Ron. The two boys were standing at the portrait hole, obviously impatient to get going. They both looked very nice, dressed in black dress robes and ties. It was obvious that Harry had attempted to do something with his hair, but it still looked wild...which was alright, as Ginny considered it one of his best features.

The two looked up as she and Hermione descended, and Ron looked thunderstruck. Ginny tried very hard to suppress a giggle as she averted her eyes from his expression...he could be so transparent.

"Er...you look nice," was his only comment, and Ginny and Hermione rolled their eyes at each other.

"Thank you...let's go."

Ginny carefully avoided Harry's eyes as she passed through the opening to the room in front of him, and the long walk to the Great Hall with Ron and Hermione chatting and Harry and she silent as stone seemed an ominous foreshadowing of the tone the evening would take. At least he didn't seem stiff or angry, she thought idly.

When they finally arrived at the entrance, everyone was lined up who was going to lead the first dance. Everyone else was already in the Hall. Ginny caught sight of Cho Chang, and suddenly felt very inadequate in her worn robes. Cho was wearing robes of deep royal blue, and they were obviously brand new. She had her hair up in a perfectly smooth, shiny french twist, and her face was flawless. Just wonderful, Ginny thought to herself. An unwanted image of her freckles popped into her mind, and she was suddenly furious at her mother for giving them to her at birth.

Ron and Hermione bid them a temporary farewell as they passed through the doors to join the rest of the school in the Hall, and Harry and Ginny were left on their own. Ginny was vaguely aware of Harry offering her his arm as the rest of the boys were doing, and as she took it she unconsciously looked up at his face. To her surprise, he was looking straight at her with his brilliant green eyes.

"Ginny...you look very pretty," he said in what seemed a sincere voice.

"Erm...thank you," was all she said as she looked back down at her front, determined not to accept his piddly attempt at making her forget what had happened, no matter how handsome he looked.

"Look," he continued, glancing quickly at the doors which were opening to let them in, "Before we have to go in there and dance with each other, I want to apologize for the things I said the other night. I would never have said them if I had known...well, I shouldn't have said them at all. I wasn't trying to insult you, is all I mean."

She looked up at him and could tell he was desperate to know what to say. She was surprised beyond words that he had actually worked up a true apology, with words and everything. Although she knew it was most likely so he wouldn't be embarrassed once they got onto the dance floor and didn't speak to each other, she still felt warmed by the attempt.

"Alright, Harry...let's just forget it."

He considered her for a moment, then asked, "You're really not mad anymore?"

"Of course I'm mad," she began, but her eyes twinkled as she said, "I just get progressively less so as the days wear on."

Harry smiled at her then, and she felt her knees go the slightest bit weak. She looked down quickly to hide the blush in her cheeks, and they moved forward with the line, through the doors. The Great Hall lay before them, decorated opulently in silver, gold, red, and green. Ginny felt self-conscious as she passed the table where her brothers were sitting with their dates...Fred and George were there with Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell. They walked out onto the dance floor, and what happened next felt as if Ginny were experiencing it in a dream.

Harry took her into his arms...well, perhaps that was a bit of an exaggeration. He placed his hand on her waist and used the other to take her hand in his. She put her other hand on his shoulder, and they began to sway to the slow music wafting from the stage. All she could think about was that Harry smelled like pine needles and soap, and that she wanted so badly to look him in the face but was too afraid to raise her eyes to his. Despite the fact that this was something she often imagined while staring blankly out the window in history of magic classes, she now felt as if she were going to lose her lunch any moment.

"Ginny?"

She started a bit, then looked up at Harry. He was looking at her with concern and just a touch of guilt.

"Are you alright?"

Silly, she thought. Now what must he think?

"Oh...yes, fine. I'm just thinking about something, that's all."

He remained silent for a moment, then asked, "You aren't upset...?"

"No...not really. We all say stupid things every once in awhile, don't we?"

There was a slight pause as he seemed to search for words, and she had the sudden irrational fear that he was going to bring up that stupid valentine she had sent him during her second year. Well, actually, it hadn't been her - it had been Fred and George playing a gag. She had nearly killed them a year later when she found out.

"I've been feeling horrible about it, you know," he said honestly out of the blue.

At that moment, the song ended, and other dancers began to get up as another song began to play. Harry did not immediately let go of Ginny, as he was still studying her face. She began to wonder if he was going to be treating her with kid gloves all night. After he apologized, she had felt the last remaining bits of anger leave her. She was still a bit embarrassed by the whole thing, but it was no reason to let the night go to waste.

"Come on...let's go find Ron," she said, stepping out of his grasp and leading the way off the floor. She didn't suppose he minded...she remembered how he had avoided dancing with Parvati at all costs last year.

When they got to the table where Ron and Hermione were sitting, Ginny found them looking at her and Harry with peculiar expressions on their faces - Hermione was smiling as if to herself, and Ron was looking at Harry as if he were trying to solve some kind of mystery. Seating herself, Ginny asked,

"Aren't you two going to dance?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and, looking at Ron, replied, "Don't ask me...I'm not the one being difficult about it."

Ron gave Hermione a scathing look, having finally pulled his eyes from Harry, and responded, "There are enough ways I could humiliate meself without going anywhere near that floor. Now...does anyone besides me want butterbeer?"

Hermione and Ginny nodded, and Harry and Ron left to get the drinks. The moment they had disappeared into the crowd, Hermione turned to Ginny and exclaimed,

"Oh, Ginny! You looked beautiful out there just now!"

Ginny blushed, and answered, "Thanks...but I think you're being too kind."

When she looked back up, Hermione had the secret smile on her face again and said merely, "Well...I know I'm not the only one here who thought so, you know."

Ginny frowned, wondering what she meant, but didn't get a chance to ask as Harry and Ron had returned. Harry sat down next to her and handed her a glass, and she mumbled a 'thank you' as she continued to stare suspiciously at Hermione. Ron and Harry began talking about the finer points of professional Quidditch, and Ginny scanned the crowd idly. She saw Cho and Roger, still dancing, and was the tiniest bit relieved to find that they seemed very wrapped up in each other. Neville was with a third year Gryffindor, and his dancing skills had seemingly improved over the past year. Her feet seemed safe.

Ginny came back to herself as a silence came upon the table. Harry and Ron were both staring at the floor now as well, and Ginny felt a slight pang of something as she realized that Harry was now watching Cho. Determined to have a better time this year than she did last year, with or without Harry's help, she stood up and grabbed Ron's hand.

"What are you doing?" he asked petulantly.

"I want a dance with my big brother," she replied, smiling.

"Go find Fred or George!" he protested.

"Nope...I want to dance with you first," she merely pulled until he gave up and went with her. The song that was playing wasn't too slow, nor too fast, so it was easy to get him into it once they were on the floor.

"See? You're not a bad dancer!" she said encouragingly.

"What's your point, then?"

Ginny rolled her eyes and said, "You should ask Hermione to dance, Ron. She's waiting for you to do it."

Ron shrugged and cast a glance over at the table, where Harry and Hermione were apparently deep in conversation about something. Harry was shaking his head slightly and shrugging, and Hermione was smiling again.

"What did you two talk about out here, anyway?" Ron suddenly demanded.

"What?"

"I mean...what did you say to him?"

"Harry?" she was completely confused, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"He looked dazed or something."

"I don't know what you mean, Ron."

"Hmm," he replied, and then after a brief silence said, "Listen, Ginny...I want to say I'm sorry for letting Harry talk about you that way."

"What?" she asked, again confused.

"Well," he struggled, "I guess that in the...in the fact that Harry is my best mate, I sometimes forget that you...that you're my only sister. I mean, we were inseparable before Hogwarts, weren't we?"

Ginny smiled wistfully. She had thought Ron had forgotten those times.

"Yes, we were."

Ron cleared his throat and finished, "Well...best mate or not, I shouldn't let him talk about you like that...much less participate in the conversation. Forgive me?"

She looked up into her favorite brother's eyes, and smiled.

"Yes, you big oaf. You are forgiven...in return for your Chudley Cannons hat."

Ron laughed at this, and replied, "I don't like you that much!"

The song ended, much to Ginny's dismay. Ron was making her feel very at ease, and she wasn't looking forward to sitting down...however, it turned out that she would not have to just yet.

"Ginny...could I have the next dance?"

She looked around...it was Neville, looking sheepish. Ginny smiled and nodded as she let go of Ron's hand and he walked back to his seat.

"I'm finishing your butterbeer," he called over his shoulder as he went.

The night flew by, and Ginny barely got a chance to sit back down. After she danced with Neville, she was approached by Fred. He swung her about the dance floor at a breakneck pace, and her feet barely touched the ground the entire time. Then George, who was only slightly more restrained than Fred. Then a sixth-year Ravenclaw boy, and then a seventh-year Hufflepuff. A few Gryffindor boys from her year followed them. Then Dean, and then Seamus. Finally, she was asked to dance by Roger Davies himself, and as she accepted with a smile, she found she had to fight to keep it there as she looked over and saw Harry dancing with Cho Chang.

After the song ended, the band announced the last song of the evening. As she walked back to her table, she suddenly felt a hand on her elbow. Turning, intending to tell whoever it was that she wanted to sit this one out, she came face to face with Harry Potter.

"Can I at least have the last dance?" he asked in what she thought was a slightly clipped tone.

"Oh...of course, Harry," she smiled, and he took her hand and led her back to the floor. She wondered at the look on his face, but didn't have long to do so.

"I guess I might as well have come alone tonight, for all I saw of you. You seem to be the most popular dance partner here," he said it jokingly, but it seemed there was something else tainting his words. Probably just her imagination.

"Oh, yeah...well, I just don't know how to say no to people. Anyway, you don't like to dance."

He looked down at her, surprised.

"Who told you that?"

She looked up, and met his eyes as she replied, "N...no one. I just assumed - I mean, you danced maybe one dance with Parvati last year, and then merely sat…"

She stopped, realizing that she was giving too much away as to what had actually occupied her thoughts during last year's Ball.

He sighed, and replied, "It's not so much that I don't like to dance - I just didn't find it very agreeable to dance with Parvati."

A realization dawned on Ginny then, and she suddenly found herself feeling horribly guilty at the way she had ignored Harry all evening. She didn't even know how to begin an apology, though, as this was something she never expected she'd have to worry about.

"Harry...I'm sorry. I would have come back to the table if I had...I mean, I just assumed I was giving you the opportunity to dance with other girls, besides the girl you were forced to bring. Who just happens to be, by the way, your best friend's annoying little sister."

He gave her an odd look then, one which she couldn't quite read, but didn't say anything in response. She looked away from his face and over his shoulder as they continued dancing. Without warning, Harry began speaking again.

"I suppose I should have asked you for a dance last year, shouldn't I?"

She looked up to find him smiling a bit as he regarded her apologetically.

"Well, I didn't expect it..."

"I know," he interrupted, "But I should have. I'm sorry now that I didn't. At least I could have given you a break from Neville and his feet."

She smiled, feeling butterflies in her stomach at his tone. She added hesitantly,

"Well...at least you finally got your dance with Cho, right?"

He looked at her for a moment before replying, just as the song ended, "You're a better dancer than she is, though."

She couldn't help the startled expression on her face, and he laughed softly at her as he led her off the floor and back over to where Ron and Hermione were standing, waiting. They all left together, Ron and Hermione leading the way and Harry and Ginny following, just as it had been when they arrived. However, now Ron and Hermione weren't the only ones talking. Harry and Ginny were having quite a good conversation - at least for them, as they had probably spoken no more than ten words to each other exclusively before tonight.

When they finally got back to the portrait hole, they gave the Fat Lady the password and she moved aside groggily, muttering about it being late. They stepped through the opening, and walked up the stairs to the dormitories. By now, Ginny felt like she could fall asleep right where she stood. Her feet were aching from the shoes she was wearing, and she felt like someone had cast a jellylegs curse on her. They arrived at the point where they had to separate, to go to the boys and girls dorms, and stood there somewhat awkwardly.

"Well," said Ron, "I guess we'll see each other at breakfast then?"

"Yes, I guess so," Hermione replied. Ginny felt a tad out of place, so she merely added,

"Goodnight, Ron. Harry, thank you for the evening, I had a lovely time."

Harry nodded mutely and smiled at her, then added his own goodnight and went off to his room. Ginny did the same, and she wondered as she climbed the stairs what was taking Hermione so long to follow.

Ginny lay awake thinking for awhile before she actually managed to fall asleep. Had it been her imagination, or had Harry seemed the slightest bit upset that she hadn't danced with him all evening? She couldn't imagine that this would be the case...after all, Harry had never before shown any special inclination to spend time with her beyond that which was necessary while he was staying at the Burrow. She supposed it was just her mind showing her something that she wanted to see, and disregarded it as wishful thinking born of a longstanding infatuation. With that, she turned her head on her pillow and drifted to sleep...not having the slightest idea that someone else was lying awake as well in the boy's dormitory, thinking about her.

FINIS

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