Normally, the idea of dating anyone would not make the trio nervous. But they were currently only fourteen, so they did not have any experience dating at all. So, Harry knowing that he now had to have a date to the Yule Ball as well as have the first dance with his date was something that made him very nervous.
He knew how to dance, plus a lot of the animals he could channel were very graceful as well, so the dance itself did not make him nervous at all. It was the idea that he had to have a date.
"Harry, you really need to relax," Krinos tells him.
"Says the Gardna that does not require a date for this ball," Harry groaned as he laid back on his bed.
The three of them were in Harry and Krinos's room in the Crystal Rose tree. The Yule Ball was approaching in a few weeks and none of them had any dates yet. But Harry was really the only nervous one since he had to have a date. And for someone that had never been on a date before, it was a daunting task.
"This is probably the only time that you would ever consider asking Eros or Aphrodite for help," Melody giggled.
"Okay, as nervous as I am for having to have a date, I will never be desperate enough to go to the god and goddess of love," Harry stated.
"Not that anyone ever even gets what they want when they pray to them," Krinos says. "Psyche comes the closest, but that's only because Eros fell in love with her."
"The Olympians are strange beings," Melody shook her head.
There was sudden thunder overhead.
"Oh, you know it's true, Zeus," Krinos yelled out. "Drama Queen!"
Harry and Melody only laughed even more as more thunder was the response to Krinos's yelling.
"Harry, I know that you are nervous, but for the love of all the gods, just ask out the twins already," Melody tells their brother.
Harry blushed bright red. Pretty much the color of the hair of both of his crushes.
"You like them, they like you, will all three of you just stop dancing around each other and date already," Krinos said.
"If you think it's so simple, how about you go and ask out Cedric, then," Harry smirked as he saw his brother blush.
"This... This is about you and not me," Krinos crossed his arms and huffed, making Harry and Melody laugh at him.
"Are you guys still hiding in here," Hawk asked as he walked into the room.
"We are not hiding," all three said at once.
"I guess since you had the door open, you probably aren't," Hawk chuckled. "But I guess the best place to hide from that creepy stalker girl would be in a tree that she can not get into."
"We have not been interacting much with other Hogwarts students that were not the twins, Cedric, Luna, and Neville," Melody says. "What has that selfish creep been doing now?"
Most of Crystal Rose knew about what had happened in their second year. None of them would ever be friends, or even acquaintances, with Ginny because of what she had done. She almost killed four people and a cat just because she was being selfish about not wanting to be expelled over a cursed diary. And they were sure that if ghosts had any type of government that could punish living people, they also would have gone after her for what she did to Sir Nickolas.
All of the trio were very popular at Crystal Rose, but Krinos was always able to find a place in the hearts of others because of his kind and caring nature. Not to mention that he also has saved many of them from demons because of his strong powers. He was generous, helpful, and kind and that was how he usually made places for himself in the hearts of others. He did not mean to, but it was just in his nature to be like that.
When they all heard how he had been petrified, and would have been killed had it not been for Luna and her mirror, they were all furious. He nearly died because one girl decided that her education meant more than the lives of everyone at Hogwarts. They thought she should have been expelled, but they did still take into account that she was only eleven. So, while they were still pissed off, they figured detention every week for her entire second year was fine given her age. They still all hated her, though.
"Well, I heard from a little birdie that she believes that Harry will ask her to the Yule Ball," Hawk tells them.
"Of all the insane and crazy things that probably go on in her head," Harry complained as he groaned. "Why would she even think that? Every time she gets even somewhat close to me, I high tail it in the opposite direction."
"Not to mention that you actually supported the idea of her being punished back in our second year," Melody added.
"It's what she deserved," Harry shrugged.
"Well, from what my little birdie told me, she thinks you either manipulated Harry or put him under a spell to get him to agree on her being punished," Hawk says. "She seems to believe that Harry is her 'knight in shining armor."
"She needs a mind healer," Krinos said.
"And do I look like a requip mage? No. I am no one's knight," Harry said. "Melody and I only even saved her because she just happened to be there and because she was Fred, George, and Percy's little sister."
"To us, it would not have mattered who was the one taken down into the chamber," Melody said. "We would have saved anyone that was down there. It was the right thing to do."
"Who is even telling you these things, Hawk," Krinos could not help but ask their friend.
"As I said, a little birdie," Hawk smirked.
A hummingbird then flew into the room and landed on Hawk's shoulder. The trio could only look at him for a second before they all laughed.
"Of course you were being literal when you said that a little birdie told you," Krinos laughed.
"I'm an animal mage as well, so I am surprised that I did not think about that," Harry also laughed.
"Well, I think because of how I am a storm mage, you all forget that I still have abilities because of my harpy heritage," Hawk reminds them. "And talking to birds is one of those abilities."
"Birds are very chatty creatures, right," Harry chuckled as he knew about how much birds love to talk.
"No kidding," Hawk groaned a little. "Especially bluejays. Those birds can talk for hours. It's why I prefer falcons and owls. They are a lot quieter than them."
"I know that Hedwig does not talk unless she wants to," Harry says. "She is quite the prideful bird, but she is really loyal and might have been my familiar if Selene had not gotten to me first."
"Familiars have always been such a great part of being magical," Krinos said. "It's a shame that it is so rare for familiars to be found in this country. Another thing that their abandonment of the old ways has taken from them."
Familiars are enchanted creatures who follow and guide new witches and wizards to protect them while they learn the craft. After their work is done, they run away to their next charge. Familiars are naturally attuned to the seasons and phases of the moon and can be helpful in teaching the young witch a heightened awareness of his or her environment.
And there have also been familiar that stay bonded with their witch or wizard for their entire lives. Such as Selene, Wolf, and Frost. These types of familiars were for more powerful mages like mystic souls that could always use the extra hand when sensing danger or just to help keep them safe and calm when all the demons and magic might take their toll on their lives. It can get hard on mages that live in the mundane world since keeping their magic secret would mess with their human lives a lot.
"They do not connect to their magical cores or to the deities of magic, and it's like magic itself is punishing them for it," Melody says.
"Well, most of them deserve it," Harry stated. "Yes, there are those that try and continue with the old ways, but this country keeps making more and more of the rituals illegal. They claim that it is 'dark magic' when really they just don't understand it."
"And what people do not understand, they fear," Krinos says. "It's how the Salem Witch Trials started. Because they saw women behaving in different ways and that made them fear it and start accusing them of being witches."
"And then all the fear and hysteria caused young witches and wizards to be so afraid that their accidental magic acted up," Hawk remembered from history class at Crystal Rose. "And that is what got them killed as well."
"That is certainly another thing to hate about this country," Harry crossed his arms. "They always downplay the threat that mundanes are to us. Dozens upon hundreds of kids, teens, and young adults died in the witch trials, and yet they act like the trials were nothing but a joke."
"I get that accepting first-generation mages is important, but the magical and mundane worlds should be completely separate from each other," Melody says.
"If the mundane world found out about us, they would hunt us down and murder us just because they fear us," Hawk had his hand over his heart. "Just look at me. I'm a half-harpy and half-human mystic soul with wings coming out of my back. I would be one of the first of our kind to be killed."
"Never have I ever been so glad to be leaving after OWLs next year," Harry mumbled, but they all heard him.
There was a couple of minutes of just awkward silence. None of them knew what next to say after such a heavy topic had been talked about.
"So, do you guys think that we will need a plan to avoid that stalker," Melody broke the silence to get back to the redheaded issue at hand.
"Well, she has not actually approached Harry, yet," Krinos said. "Since she believes that Harry will ask her to the ball, she is waiting for him to approach her."
"As if that will ever happen," Harry huffed.
"So, this could just be something that we can ignore," Hawk wondered out loud.
"Probably," Harry shrugged. "Since in her mind I am this big hero, she still seems to be shy about directly interacting with me. We can use that to our advantage."
"How are Fred, George, Percy, and Charlie even related to her," Krinos facepalmed. "Or to Ron for that matter. Those two are nothing like their brothers."
"And we have not even met their brother, Bill, yet and I have a feeling he is nothing like those two as well," Melody said.
"Well, considering that howler that their mom sent me back in our first year, those two seem to take after her," Harry rolled his eyes. "Not to mention how she acted when the Weasleys had visited Charlie at Crystal Rose."
"By the gods do I want to forget about that," Hawk groaned. "You guys have no idea how hard it was for those with wings to keep them hidden for those few days. We were all going crazy having to stay on the ground and not be in the air."
"I certainly had a similar sense of that kind of restrictions when I could not use my powers in the greenhouse," Krinos said. "When Stalker Girl tried to steal one of Lily's piano flowers, I wanted so bad to throw her out of the greenhouse with a leaf storm."
"At least when we leave next year, Fred, George, and Cedric are all graduating as well," Harry tries to light up the situation. "They might actually come with us and find a place in Greece."
That certainly made the trio smile. While they did not want to take any of them away from their families, their country was just too restricting. Especially given how with each "pureblood" in power, that made it harder for those like Fred and George since they were classified as "blood traitors" by those in power. Plus, Cedric actually had very loving parents and they would never want him to basically abandon them just so that he could have more freedom with his future.
Fred and George were probably more open to the idea given how their mother treats them. Them coming to Greece would just be the two of them following in the footsteps of their brothers. Given that Bill, Charlie, and Percy all obviously left the country to get away from her, the two of them doing the same would not be much of a surprise. It was just abandoning their dad that made it hard.
They were about to continue talking when Hedwig suddenly came flying in. In her beak was a pink letter that was sealed with a red heart sticker. It was dropped into Harry's lap.
"Ooo, looks like someone got a love letter," Krinos teased his brother.
"Shut up," Harry was blushing madly. "But I swear if this is from that stalker, I will personally vanquish her."
"Just open it and find out," Melody was giddy.
Harry opened the letter and then it shot out of his hands. It floated in the air and then changed its form. It was still a letter, but also looked like a floating mouth made from the letter.
"Come and find us in Unicorn Meadow, Harry."
The letter then turned back to normal and fell back into Harry's lap. It was not a specific voice that came out of the letter, so that was no help to know who sent it.
"Well, since that was not as creepy as Stalker Girl would be, this is more like a really romantic gesture," Melody said.
"I love love," Krinos sighed, probably would have been having hearts in his eyes if it was a cartoon. "Let's go!"
The two almost pulled Harry off of his bed as they got him on his feet.
"But we do not even know who sent it," Harry protested as they basically dragged him through the tree.
"That's what makes this even more fun," Melody giggled.
"I'm coming as well," Hawk flew after them. "No way am I missing this."
The four of them descended out of the tree on the vine swings, Harry still holding onto the letter as they did. They all then made their way to the only known safe place in the Forbidden Forest.
Unicorn Meadow was a very peaceful plain in the forest known for being a resting place for the local unicorn herd. A place that could easily have sunshine or moonlight shine down on them with the absence of a lot of trees overhead. Since unicorns were usually very private, they were never there once they sensed anyone coming toward them. And if there was one thing that all unicorns had in common, it was that they were all really fast.
As the four of them got closer to the meadow, Selene came over to them. She had probably just been with the other unicorns. But it was obvious that she was also a part of whatever was going on since she came over to them with a rose in her mouth.
"Well, at least this shows whoever is doing this is not a bad person," Krinos says. "No way that a unicorn, especially a moonlace unicorn like Selene, would ever help a bad person."
"Thank you, Selene," Harry smiled as he took the rose from his familiar.
The unicorn would have smiled if horses were able to. She then stayed with her bonded as they all finally entered Unicorn Meadow. Krinos and Melody held onto Hawk as they both nearly squealed at what they saw when they got through the trees. Unlike when Melody was being held onto during the first task, Hawk did not care much about the Gardna twins doing it to him.
The meadow had been turned into one of the most romantic sights that most of them had ever seen. There were two lines of what looked like freshly grown rose bushes. Not even just red roses, but also white, pink, and even some blue roses as well. They were on either side of a path of rose petals that were on the ground. And this all leads to an arch at the end of the path that was made from vines that were blooming with orchids, lilies, and sunflowers. Those three were Harry's favorite flowers.
And standing right under the arch were Fred and George, each of them holding bouquets of the same flowers that were making up the arch. Harry was completely speechless as he looked at the two. He probably would not have even moved if it not for Selene noticing her bonded freezing and started pushing him down the path of rose petals with her head against his back.
And this entire time, the other three were staring at the scene and all of them were trying hard not to squeal and break the romantic atmosphere that had been created.
As Harry finally made it to the two, Selene stopped pushing him. Fred and George both looked nervous, but also ready to do what they wanted to at the same time.
"Harry James Potter-Gardna," Fred started. "You came into our lives and turned our world upside-down. You opened us up to how real loving families should be when we were still a bit in denial about our mother and younger siblings. But you also showed us that families can be made and not just by being born into a family. You have shown us an acceptance that we have never felt before."
"We will forever be grateful for you and how you, Melody, and Krinos had all us Weasley brothers fitting in with you and your world of mystic souls," George took over. "We have waited so long to do this. We waited until when you were the right age for us to ask this very important question, even if this has to do with a tournament that you do not want to be a part of. But we will do our best to make at least one night of this tournament a good time for you."
They then each got on one knee and offered Harry the flowers.
"Harry James Potter-Gardna, will you go to the Yule Ball with us," they both asked at the same time.
Harry had been tearing up when their speeches started. He was probably very close to fainting and was a little shocked that he had not already. But he wanted this for a long time now and was not going to give it up.
"Yes," he nodded, so close to tears. "Yes, I will go with you."
Lily suddenly appeared next to Melody, Krinos, and Hawk. That told the three who had helped the twins set up this epic ask. With a snap of her fingers, all of the flower petals from the ground and bushes all were suddenly in the air and raining down on the three boys as Fred and George gave him the flowers.
"I'm no Aphrodite, but I know a thing or two about romantic scenes," Lily smirked as he looked at the three next to her.