TOGETHER (A HARRY POTTER LOVE STORY) 4

42

MILLIE'S POV:

"Mione, have you seen Tarek anywhere? I haven't seen him all bloody day!" I half-begged the concentrating girl, who was bent over heaps of books on one of the tables in the common room. I wouldn't have distracted her, but I was becoming desperate - it was now eight 0'clock in the evening, the night before the Yule Ball, and despite the common room being perhaps the busiest I had ever seen it over Christmas, I hadn't seen Tarek anywhere.

"Have you checked the boy's dormitory?" Mione asked, looking up from her essay. "I'll come and help you look, I need a break from this, anyway..." She stood up, gesturing to the heap with a scrunch of her nose.

Thanking her repeatedly, we rushed up the stairs together hand-in-hand; shuffling in anticipation, I forced myself to wait as Mione knocked on the fourth-year boy's door, which was already slightly ajar, before poking my head round it; to my immediate amusement, I found Ron stood with his arms grudgingly on Harry's shoulders, while Harry spoke fiercely to him.

"...mate, you've got to take this seriously, please-"

"What the bloody hell's going on in here?" I asked in a teasing voice, my eyebrows raised as Mione pushed the door open, her eyes landing on the two idiots before bursting out laughing; both Harry and Ron flinched, head's whipping round to us as they jumped apart, Ron shoving Harry backwards with a yelp.

"Nothing!" Harry blurted immediately, taking a quick step back as though this would obliviate our minds of what we had just seen.

"Harry needs to learn how to da-" Ron finished his sentence very muffled, due to Harry's hand having just been planted over his mouth.

"No!" he said firmly, shooting Ron a warning look as he burst out laughing, once again shoving Harry backwards away from him.

I raised my eyebrows in an amused curiosity, snaking my arms over one another as Mione's expression dropped into one of realisation, announcing smugly, "I think I know what's going on here...Harry's finally found out what the Champions have to open the Yule Ball with."

"So clever..." Ron mused, sending Harry a comical look, who groaned loudly, flinging his head back.

"So I'm the only one in the room who doesn't know what's going on?" I asked, the playful tone in my voice completely evident. "Now, that's not fair, is it?"

"Don't laugh," Harry warned, interrupting Mione as she opened her mouth to explain, his green eyes set hard.

"No promises," I returned, shooting him a wink as I let the wooden door swing shut behind me with a soft thud. Despite his obvious misery about the situation, his mouth twitched, shaking his head once at my antics.

"It's traditional that the Triwizard Champions are the first to dance," Mione continued, with a growing smile. I titled my head curiously, glancing between the two boys, before it hit me, and my eyes widened. "Harry has to open the Ball with a dance."

"No way," I said instantly, looking at Harry for confirmation, who, to my complete and utter delight, nodded once, running his tongue across his upper teeth dully.

Mione, Ron and I erupted into rounds of laughter, with us two girls slapping each other repeatedly in excitement.

"You taking Ron or something? Why were you dancing together?" I teased, and Mione's laughter increased, and Ron shut up.

"Harry and I are boy friends," he joked, leaning in to plant a kiss on Harry's cheek, who pushed him away with a laugh.

"We're practicing," Harry said, his arms crossed like a child having a tantrum. "Don't want to look like an idiot in front of everyone, do I? I've got a reputation to protect."