Harry Potter
Why did he take me? Why couldn't someone else have asked me to this? It's not like I don't like him, I do. I think he's a great person. But... I don't want to show up there with him. Especially where everyone will see me. I'd be the center of attention. I do not want to be the center of attention. It's terrifying, all their eyes on you as you walk center stage, as if you were The Queen.
I would have to be in the center of everyone's attention because I am going to the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum. The students who were chosen for the games are the important ones and will be applauded and forced to be shown, including their dates.
I fixed my hair, tugging in the loose ends into my up-do. Ginny was in the room with me, just slipping on her shoes, ready to leave and go to the Ball. Taking in a deep breath, I looked straight into my eyes. The mirror really didn't hide anything you wanted or didn't want to see. All I could take in was fright.
"'Mione? Are you ready?" Ginny walked up to me, placing her hand on my shoulder.
Blinking, I looked over at her and smiled. She looked beautiful in her green dress, it looked like it came straight from a flower garden party.
"I suppose." I said quietly, my lips feeling heavy.
She squeezed my shoulder than walked off, out of the dorm. I shut my eyes for a moment, letting my heart stop racing and my breathing come back to a normal pace. My hands felt clammy so I wiped them on my dress, that didn't really help.
Okay, Hermione. You're going to be fine. He asked you to go with him because he wants you to go with him. You have to be fine with the people staring at you. Just forget them and focus on Viktor.
Just a few minutes later I followed Ginny's footsteps, finding myself walking through the castle and to the dining hall. Most of the students were already there, all the stairwells were pretty much empty, other than me and my loud clicking from these heels. As I got closer to the Ball, my heart began to race again. The pictures spoke around me, saying 'Beautiful', 'Oh, I love the Ball!', 'The Yule Ball is a grand tradition, isn't it?'. I smiled back at them and finally reached the stairs that lead to the hall. I could hear the music, soft and classic. A few students stood at the end of the stairwell, I suppose waiting for their dates.
I took in a deep breath, looking around for Viktor. He wasn't anywhere. Maybe I had to go down to find him. I looked over at Parvati. She had on this beautiful Indian dress, it was pink and looked like silk. It was like she was glowing as she smiled and looked over at me, our eyes met. And suddenly, her jaw dropped, making my stomach jump. I could see she was saying something, but I couldn't exactly hear her.
I started to walk down the steps, holding the sides of my dress up to not trip. I was still looking over at Parvati when I saw Harry standing next to her, him finally noticing me. There was a moment when it was just him and I, staring at each other. My heart felt heavy and too hot to keep in my chest. His smile faded as he just stared at me in... awe? I kept on walking down and reached Harry, giving him a smile.
Viktor walked up to me, I saw him from the corner of my eye. He looked handsome in this red suit. It wasn't something anyone I knew typically wore, but the people he lived with did. I couldn't keep my eyes off of him as he smiled, taking my hand and leading me to the center of the Ball.
All I was thinking was Smile, Breathe, Pretend no one is looking at you. Viktor was literally my wall at this moment, I was holding onto him so I wouldn't fall. I heard people cheering as we walked, even some people gasped. Harry was behind me and Cedric was in front of us. The music got louder as we started to dance.
Everything was wild. The music was playing, a rock band was on stage. Most of us were just dancing and singing along. My head was completely fogged up with the adrenaline this gave me. Viktor was just in front of me, dancing along with me. I didn't care how messed up my hair was or how crazy I looked, all I could do was have fun. My dress swooshed around me, making me smile at the periwinkle blue it was.
I always wanted a dress like this to wear to important events. When I was a little girl, I had even wanted my wedding dress to be periwinkle blue.
"Want something to drink?" Viktor asked me.
I nodded and he took my hand, leading me out of the hoard of people. Once we were out, I could finally breathe. The hall resembled a winter wonderland, all the silver and soft blues and whites just scattered around. I caught sight of Harry, Parvati, Ron and Padma sitting at one of the tables, bored looks shaping their faces.
Walking over to them, I couldn't stop smiling.
"Want something to drink? Viktor is grabbing some." I asked.
Harry was about to speak up but Ron cut him off. "No, we are fine." the sharpness in his voice made my smile fall.
Parvati was playing with her hair, wrapping a strand around her finger. These boys were really ruining the fun for them. I looked over at Padma and saw her giving Ron a dirty look, her eyebrows arched.
"Why aren't you dancing?" I tried again.
"Why don't you ask the boys?" Padma hissed, not intentionally.
I swallowed hard and was thankful for Viktor's arrival. He held two cups, handing me one. I smiled up at his cheeky face and took a sip, looking back at the four. Harry shifted in his spot, trying not to look at me. I placed the drink on the table behind them and pulled Viktor's arm back toward the stage.
"Have fun with Viktor," I heard Ron say with all this dread in his voice.
I stopped in my tracks, my hand leaving Viktor's. Turning on my heel, I felt this fire grow inside of me as my teeth clenched. I stormed over to Ron, standing just in front of him. He had on this smug look, as if my anger didn't bother him.
"You little brat! Instead of being rude to me and being sorry for yourself, why don't you go and have fun! Do not spoil the fun for me! I deserve to be dancing and singing and enjoying myself. Why are you so jealous?" I yelled at him.
His eyes widened, but he didn't seem to care really. Padma wasn't next to him anymore. I felt tears gather up behind my eyes, and I didn't want him to see me cry, so I ran off toward the exit. I ran my hands down my face, trying to hide the tears that were running down. My legs felt weak under me, my feet finally disagreeing with the heels.
I sat down on the stairs for a moment, letting my body relax. Tears sprang out even harder as I pulled off my heels, my cries became more obvious. My heart was racing. I looked up and saw Harry standing in front of me, his eyes, his green eyes, the ones that always brought me back to flat ground, were staring at mine. I swallowed hard, quieting my cries.
"Hermione," he said, his voice as soft as a whisper.
He walked up to me, sitting down. I rested my head on his shoulder, taking in deep breaths. He wrapped his arm around my back, squeezing. His touch stung my skin, but the sting settled, leaving just warmth.
"I don't understand..." I started to speak. "Why is he so rude to me?"
"Honestly, Mione, he's probably just having a bad day."
I sniffled, running my hand past my nose. Harry pulled his arm back and then took my hand, wrapping his fingers around mine. I just stared down at our intertwined hands, feeling my breath catch in my throat. I could hear my heart race in my ears.
"You look beautiful," he said out of nowhere.
Looking up, I saw he was looking at our hands. I felt a laugh growing in my throat, and I let it out, covering my mouth with my free hand. He looked up, an eyebrow rose. And then I shook my head.
"No," I said inbetween laughs. "That was just... random." my laughter died down once I noticed his smile coming up. "And... thank you... you made me feel better."
"That was the point." he said.
I squeezed his hand, feeling his soft skin. Viktor's hand were sort of rough and unpleasant, while Harry's were like a pillow.
The music turned back to the classic, violin's and piano's joined in symphony. A few students were walking out, laughing and tumbling through the stairs and back to their dorms. I saw Cho Chang walking out, her face squashed by Cedric's face. They were obviously okay with Public Display as they made out all the way out. I looked at Harry and noticed he wasn't even looking at Cho.
My heart stopped, he was looking at me, and the way he was looking at me.
"That's where you went Harry..." Ron started to say, than noticed me. I felt my mouth grow dry as his eyes fell on my face. A scowl beat that smile as he spoke up again. "What? Krum stood you up?"
Before I could say anything, Harry squeezed my hand. I don't know, it made me fall back on Earth and not fight back. All these words were ready to escape my mouth. My heart was beating so hard and all I wanted to do was put Ronald in his place. But Harry gave me a soft, reassuring look and stood up, reaching Ron. They started to talk to each other, I couldn't hear anything.
By the look on Ron's face, he's feeling sorry. He isn't even protesting.
I rubbed my eyes with the backs of my hands and watched Ron walk up to me, stuffing his hands into his pockets. I stood up, feeling ridiculous to be sitting down when he was coming toward me. He was too tall to sit and talk with while he stood. My legs felt wobbly as he stood in front of me, his sea blue eyes meeting mine.
"Hermione, I apologize for being a prick." he said, his voice steady. "You didn't deserve that."
I let a smile grow on my face. He relaxed a bit, smiling back.
"It's alright," I said, pulling him into a hug.
It took him by surprise, so he wrapped his arms around me just a second later, letting our bodies get comfortable. I took in a breath, taking in the smell of sweat which wasn't pleasant. Pulling away, I kept my smile on. Harry was just next to us.
"I think I'm going to go to bed guys." I admitted. "Good night."
Ron spoke up first. "Night, Mione. Want me to tell Krum you're leaving?"
I shook my head. "It's fine,"
Harry just smiled. "I'll walk you up."
Ron waved at us as we walked up. I held my heels in one hand and followed the way back to the dorms. The stairs in front of us moved, so we had to wait a minute for it to come back. Most of the paintings were asleep. The students were scattered everywhere, even the stairs weren't vacant. Suddenly, something touched my hand. I pulled it and looked next to me. It was Harry's hand. I looked up to his face and saw a smile.
"What are you thinking, Harry Potter?" I smirked.
"You want to walk a little?" he suggested.
I nodded and he led me the opposite way, towards the back of the school.