Harry Potter and the Black Rose

Chapter 72 | No Gryffindor Courage

There were many students gathered in the great hall for a long study period. There were books and papers scattered across the tops of the long wooden tables in the hall. Most of the students had a quill in their hands, writing down the answer to one of the questions in their classes.

The students were under the watchful eye of the potions master of the school. He walked through the aisle of tables with his hands clasped behind his back, watching over them like a hawk.

The four children were sitting on the same bench at one of the middle tables in the room. The two boys were sitting in the middle of the bench with a girl on either side of them.

Now Ron was not studying diligently like he was supposed to be. Instead, he was looking around the room. His eyes scanned over the majority of the girls in the room. He could recall how most of them already had dates to ball, which left him with no real good choices.

"This is mad," Ron exclaimed in a hushed whisper. "At this rate, we'll be the only ones in our year without dates."

For a second, Professor Snape halted in his steps and turned towards the source of the noise. He strode towards the fourth year boy, forcefully shoving the student's head towards the textbook in his hands.

Naturally, Ron grunted to himself at the forceful action. He begrudgingly lowered his head and looked down at the textbook. He rolled his eyes in slight annoyance.

"Well, us and Neville." Ron said, leaning towards Harry to whisper in his ear. They chuckled softly to themselves.

"Yeah," Harry said with a broad smile on his face. "But then again, he can take himself."

"It might interest you to know that Neville's already got someone," Hermione said with a quick glance towards the boys. Both boys seemed to frown upon hearing this. They breathed a small sigh of defeat.

"Now I'm really depressed," Ron admitted with a groan.

The Weasley twins were sitting on the far side of the table, perching on the opposite bench. In a discreet manner, Fred grabbed a piece of parchment and scribbled a few words on it. He tossed the piece of parchment to his younger brother.

Slowly, Ron reached down and grabbed the piece of parchment. He opened the folded piece of parchment, reading the words on the paper. He furrowed his eyebrows at the statement.

"Get a move on or all the good ones will have gone," Ron said in a soft whisper. He handed the piece of parchment back to his brother, tipping his head upwards in question. "Who you going with, then?" He wondered.

In that moment, Fred reached up and crumpled a piece of parchment. He turned his head and motioned to a young lady on the other side of the table. He was quick to toss the piece of crumpled parchment towards her. The little paper ball tapped her shoulder. She turned her attention to him.

"What?" Angelina whispered in slight annoyance.

"Do you wanna go to the ball with me?" Fred asked in an inaudible tone of voice. He waved his arms around in almost dancing motion. Then he pointed to himself at the end of his inaudible sentence.

"To the ball?" Angelina asked, tilting her head to the side. Her lips curved into a soft and gentle smile. She reached up and tucked a stand of hair behind her ear, nodding her head in agreement. "Yeah. Alright," Angelina agreed.

Almost instantly, Fred turned his head and looked towards his younger brother with a hint of amusement in his eyes. His lips curved into a mischievous smile, sending a playful wink towards his baby brother in a teasing manner.

For a second, Ron wondered if that same trick would work with him. He settled on his victim, directing his gaze towards Hermione who sat right next to him. He cleared his throat to grab her attention, nudging her in the side.