Rose Dursley: The Girl Who Lived

19. Some Dancing and Fun

As everyone else was dancing and enjoying themselves, Professor McGonagall walked around the edge of the room. She was scowling and muttering to herself as she walked.

McGonagall came to a stop next to Dumbledore. "Have you seen her?" she said.

"Seen who?" said Dumbledore.

"Don't play dumb with me, Albus," McGonagall hissed angrily. "You know exactly who I mean; Rose Dursley."

"Oh yes, she seems to be having a good time," said Dumbledore.

"What about the way she is dressed," said McGonagall. "She is wearing boy's robes."

"I didn't think you would have a problem with that, Minerva?" said Dumbledore.

"You know exactly why I have a problem with that, Albus," McGonagall said through gritted teeth. "It's what we did to that girl. It's getting more and more obvious as she gets older."

"It's fine, Minerva. Don't worry about it," said Dumbledore.

"Someone needs to talk to her," said McGonagall. "And if you don't, I will."

With that, McGonagall turned and walked away.

Meanwhile, Ron and Rose were sitting at one of the tables at the back of the room. They sat and quietly watched everyone else dancing. Both of them felt too awkward to ask the other to dance.

"I like your robes," said Ron. "They suit you."

"Thanks," said Rose. "Yours looks good too."

"You look really pretty," said Ron.

"Oh, umm, thanks," said Rose.

Ron took a deep breath, then turned to face Rose. She looked back at him and grinned nervously. Rose thought he was acting strangely and wasn't sure what he was doing. She was about to ask what was wrong, when Ron suddenly leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.

Rose leapt back in surprise. "Woah, what are you doing?" she said.

Ron froze awkwardly and started to blush. "Sorry, I just wanted to kiss you," he said.

"Why would you do that?" said Rose.

"Well, umm, it's just the thing you do when you're on a date," said Ron.

"What? We're not on a date," said Rose. "Why would you think that?"

"But, you came to the Ball with me," said Ron.

"That was only as friends," said Rose. "I don't have those kind of feelings for you."

Ron looked down uncomfortably. "Oh," he said.

Rose shifted awkwardly in her seat and tried to think of something else she could say to break the uncomfortable silence. Before she could think of anything, Hermione came and sat at the table.

"Hey guys. Viktor has gone to get a drink," said Hermione. "How are you two doing?"

"Do you want to dance?" said Rose.

"Umm, yeah okay," said Hermione.

Hermione stood up again and took Rose's arm. Then the two of them walked over to the dance floor. As they reached the floor, a slow song started to play. Hermione held Rose's hand and rested her other hand on Rose's shoulder. Rose put her right hand on Hermione's waist and pulled her closer. Hermione smiled as Rose started to take the lead and they danced slowly across the floor.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, it's great," said Rose.

"It looked a bit awkward between you and Ron when I came over," said Hermione. "What happened?"

"He tried to kiss me," said Rose.

"Awwww, how sweet," said Hermione.

"Ewww, no. It's not sweet," said Rose. "I don't want to kiss Ron."

"Oh, but I thought you liked him?" said Hermione.

"What, no. He's just a friend. I'm not attracted to him or anything," said Rose.

"If you don't like Ron, is there someone else you like?" Hermione asked.

Rose blushed. "Oh, umm, I don't know," she said.

At that moment, the song they were dancing to finished. The next song that started was more of a faster one. Rose took her hands away from Hermione and stepped back.

"That was nice, but I should let you get back to Viktor," said Rose.

"Okay, well thanks for the dance," said Hermione.

Then she gave Rose a quick hug and walked off to find Viktor. Rose watched her go for a moment, then she walked back to the table where she had left Ron.

When Rose got closer, she saw that Ron was not there anymore. She looked around, but he was nowhere in sight. As she looked, Rose spotted Neville nearby.

"Hey, Neville," said Rose. "Did you see where Ron went?"

"Yes. He said he was tired and he was going to bed early," said Neville.

"Okay, thanks," said Rose.

Then Rose carried on walking over to the table anyway and sat down. She sighed and looked back towards the dance floor. Hermione was there with Viktor. She was dancing around with a big smile on her face. Rose couldn't remember the last time she had seen Hermione looking so relaxed and happy.

After a while, Rose got bored of watching Hermione having fun. She looked around for someone else to talk to, but everyone else was busy enjoying themselves. So instead Rose got up and left the Great Hall. She walked up the stairs and went back to the dormitory to get an early night.

Hermione was still having too much fun that she did not realise her two friends had left. After a few more songs, Hermione stopped dancing and went to sit down. She took off her shoes and started to rub her feet. Viktor went after her, and knelt down on the floor beside her.

"Is all okay, Hermione?" asked Viktor.

"Yes, it's just that my feet are getting sore," said Hermione.

"I am sorry. I have made you dance too much," said Viktor.

"No, it's not you. I'm not used to wearing heels," said Hermione.

"Okay," said Viktor. "The time is getting late now. It is time we will stop."

"Yes, that's right," said Hermione. "But thank you for tonight, I had a wonderful time."

"No, I must thank you," said Viktor. "Without you, I would not have enjoyed this dancing."

Viktor stood up and bowed to Hermione. She blushed and nodded at him. Then Viktor turned and walked out of the Great Hall.

Hermione sat and rubbed her feet for a while longer. When they were not feeling so sore, she put her shoes back on and walked out towards the staircase.

When Hermione reached the dormitory, she opened the door quietly and sneaked in. She saw that Rose was already asleep in bed. So Hermione got undressed and put on her nightie as quietly as she could and slipped into bed without waking anyone up. Then she let out a satisfied sigh, and rolled over to go to sleep.