Harry Potter and the Year of Surprises by erinpotter

Getting Ready

The next morning Harry and Ron woke early to talk about the girls. They needed to find a really romantic way to ask them to the ball. Even though they knew they’d say yes, (hopefully) the boys thought that they should be romantic and spontaneous once in a while. Harry devised a plan. After breakfast, they would both ‘remember’ to do a potions essay they had forgotten about. One that they got for punishment at the end of last year. They would then go to their dorm, get Harry's invisibility cloak, the marauders map and go into Hogsmeade. They would each send the girls a bunch of their favourite flowers to arrive at lunch. Then, they would send them a box of chocolates to arrive in their dorms after lunch. Then, Harry and Ron would walk in to the common room and give them a set of new dress robes and ask them to go to the ball with them. It was foolproof…

At breakfast, Ron did the dramatic bit, shouting halfway through his bacon, ‘Oh shit! Harry, I forgot to do that potions essay!’ 

Then Harry followed suit, ‘Oh fuck! So did I, we better go and do it now!’ 

Hermione stopped them, ‘You have done all your homework. I checked.’

‘No,’ said Harry. ‘This was a punishment essay from Snape.’

‘For doing what?’

‘I don't know. Just for breathing! You know Snape, he hates me and Ron. We need to get this done Hermione, let me go!’

So it wasn’t Hermione proof, but they scraped through it. 

They followed the plan perfectly and were standing in the hall, under the invisibility cloak when the flowers arrived. 
Ginny was supposed to get daisies and Hermione was supposed to get roses but the owls got mixed up and the girls had to swap, but they seemed happy. Especially since every other girl in the hall was green with envy.
When the girls left, the boys followed them and started to worry when the girls didn’t go to their dorms. About ten minutes before dinner Parvati came in and announced that she needed to fix her make up. Hermione got a little glint in her eye and turned to Ginny. ‘I think I'll go and put a bit of make up on. I had better impress Ron if I want him to ask me to the ball.’ Ron muttered something about her not needing it but Harry stood on his foot.

‘Yeah. I'll put some on too. I need to get practise for tonight because I haven’t put make up on in ages.’ said Ginny. Now it was Ron's turn to stand on Harry’s foot.

The plan was going fine. When the girls went up the girls’ stairs, Harry and Ron headed up to their dorm to get the dress robes for the girls. They were sitting on the settee beside the fire when the girls came back down five minutes later. Harry's emerald eyes met Ginny's brown ones. And Ron blushed as he beckoned Hermione over. The two girls came over and sat on the floor in font of their boyfriends. Harry handed his box to Ginny. ‘Ginny, would you do me the honour of accompanying me to the ball tonight?’ Ginny opened the box to find a set of red robes made from satin. Harry grinned, ‘I thought they would match your hair? So, what do you think?’
‘Oh Harry! They’re beautiful, of course I'll go with you!’ she jumped up onto his knee and hugged him. 
Ron blushed. He wished he had gone first. ‘Well ‘Mione. I don't know if I can top that, except to say, I love you. Will you go to the ball with me?’
Hermione opened her box and pulled out a set of glittering gold dress robes, made from silk. She looked at Ron, who thought she looked disappointed. ‘I can take them back, if they’re the wrong colour or size? All I want is for you to walk into that ball with me.’
‘Ron, they’re perfect! I love you!’ she got him into a hug that could have almost outmatched Mrs Weasley but Hermione changed it into a passionate kiss.

‘Is that a yes then?’

‘It’s a yes, then.’

The two guys beamed.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

After dinner, everyone was given one hour to get ready. Some girls moaned that it wasn’t enough time. Some boys said it was too long to wait.
The ball was to be opened by Professor Dumbledore, who would be accompanied by Professor McGonagall. Then all the teachers would come in with their partners and finally, the students would enter. The ball would begin with a dance. Everyone was to dance. Harry huffed. He remembered the Yule Ball and how Parvati had tried to make him dance. It was awful. But he was sure it would be better with Ginny.
At exactly a quarter to seven, (the ball would start at seven o clock.) Hermione and Ginny came down, dressed in their new robes. Hermione’s hair had been straightened and hung around her shoulders. Ginny’s has been put into loose curls which were half up, half down. (A/N I didn’t know how to describe that kind of hair style but it’s the one where you pull the top half your hair up into a ponytail and the rest stays down)

They both looked stunning.

Ron was the first to step forward this time so that Harry could not take the best line.

‘Hermione. You look stunning. I don't know how I got someone like you to love me.’ 

Hermione smiled. ‘I have always loved you. No matter what any of us look like, we’ll be together forever.’ Ron nodded.

Harry stepped forward and took Ginny's hand in his. ‘Ginny, you really take my breath away. I know for sure that I want to be with you forever. You are my soulmate.’

‘And you are mine, Harry. I've loved you for six years now and I am not about to throw that away. I know that we belong with each other.’

The couples walked down to the ball together hand in hand. Most people stared at them. Harry and Ron thought it was because both the girls looked beautiful. Ginny thought it was because no one could believe that she, Ginny Weasley, could pull a guy like Harry. Hermione knew better. She knew that it was because the ‘Golden Trio’ and now got a new member. Ginny Weasley.
They stood in line, waiting for the headmaster and the deputy head to start the ball. Ginny was excited. She was going to a dance with Harry Potter! Who now loved her, so she didn’t know what the big deal was. Hermione was worried. What if Ron danced silly and ruined her good girl reputation? Ron was afraid. What if he danced silly and ruined Hermione’s good girl reputation? Harry was a mixture of emotions, as usual. He was glad that he was here with someone he loved. He was angry that people thought he was too good her. He was curious to see who Petunia would bring and he was curious to see who Professor Hodges would bring. He was also praying that it wasn’t Snape because he would definitely hate DADA all year.