No matter Kevin’s mood, though, Sara wore a bright smile on her face wherever she went. Her classes became moments of cheer as she eagerly told them about Muggle America in the mid-1920s. The bell rang to end class and Harry made to grab his things when he noticed someone enter the room. Ginny walked up to Sara’s desk. She leaned into the professor and whispered something. Sara smiled and ushered her to follow him.
Harry kept thinking about Ginny every time he was reminded of the Christmas Ball. He desperately wanted to ask her to accompany him to the ball, but was afraid that she might refuse. She might think he was still trying to start a relationship with her, and she would be right. He stole a quick glance inside his bag to a box that contained something he had bought in Hogsmeade.
At the end of the day, Hermione split off from the others and walked off towards the library to do some more research about Hogwarts when it was first founded. Ron had been acting a bit nervous for a while and finally stepped away from Harry as well. Alone for a while, he walked the corridors waiting for dinner to be served. He didn’t realize that his movements were being closely watched.
“Up to no good again, Potter?”
Harry turned and saw Professor Snape standing behind him. He smiled as fake a smile as he could. “Professor Snape. How good to see you again. It’s been a while since we’ve crossed paths, hasn’t it?”
“Don’t patronize me, Potter,” Snape growled. “I have been working tirelessly to ensure that my students are adequately prepared for their upper level courses. Unlike my illustrious counterpart, I cannot afford to evade my work with ‘frivolities’.”
“You would call having a family a ‘frivolity’?”
Snape’s eyes narrowed to slits. “What I call it is none of your concern. Question me again and it will be detention for you, and I assure you that I will find a way to revoke your Quidditch playing abilities.”
Harry was about to call Snape on his bluff when he heard a soft growl from behind Snape. The Potions Master turned and found all four housedogs in perfect position to attack. “Pathetic beasts. If they were human, I would have them thrown out of this school.”
“But they are not human, Severus.”
Sara came walking from a side corridor. “Nor are they yours to deal with.” She snapped her fingers and the animals backed off. “I would suggest that you make no more threats towards them. They are very sensitive.”
Snape started to walk away, making a point to walk right by Sara. He lowered his voice, but Harry could still here him say, “You look so much like her. More is the pity.” He left her alone with Harry.
“What did he mean by that?” Harry asked.
Sara shook her head. “Never mind him, Harry. You better hurry, dinner will be served in a bit.” She walked towards the staff room with the dogs in close pursuit.
Harry turned himself around and walked to the Great Hall. Ron was already sitting at the table with Ginny. His head was on the table and she was patting him on the back. “It’s all right Ron. She said yes, didn’t she?”
Taking a seat across from them, Harry asked, “Who said yes?”
Ginny looked up at him and tried very hard to keep a straight face. “Ron just asked Hermione to the Christmas Ball.” She started giggling. “What makes it so funny is that, when she said yes, she said it was about time he noticed she was a girl.” Harry remembered that speech from their fourth year. In all that time, it seemed that Ron still hadn’t gotten the hint.
He reached over and patted Ron’s shoulder. “Good for you mate.”
Ron looked up at him. “Good for me? Are you mad? I have to go to the ball with Hermione Granger. The same girl that’s busted my back for the last five and a half years is going with me to the ball.” Suddenly, he smiled. “I’m going to the ball with Hermione Granger.”
Ginny rolled her eyes. “I think he just realized that he ducked another date with Luna Lovegood.”
Hermione soon joined the group at the table, giving Ron an affectionate look. Harry was going to make sure he watched these two closely.
************************************************
The last day of term finally ended, and the students made themselves ready for the Christmas Ball. Harry watched Ron nervously pace around the common room in his dress robes. It made him smile that his two best friends had finally decided to give each other a chance. Now if only he could be so lucky.
He patted a pocket inside his robes. A box was fit snugly inside with a little surprise for someone. Ron stopped pacing and looked over at him. “Well, aren’t you nervous? Who are you waiting for?”
Harry shook his head. “No one. I’m going…what did Kevin call it…oh yeah, I’m going stag.” Ron looked puzzled. “It means alone, Ron.”
“Why?” he asked. “Surely you could find someone to go with.”
“No, and I didn’t bother trying,” Harry replied. “I have something to do tonight, and I can’t be held down by a partner that won’t leave my arm.”
A door closed from upstairs and Hermione glided downstairs. Ron’s jaw dropped as far as it would go. She was wearing light blue robes and her hair was cascading down her back. Its usual curly locks were not straight, causing it to fall to the center of her back. Harry had to admit to himself that she looked incredible.
He let the two of them gape at each other, while he left the common room. Harry walked down the stone steps to the entrance to the Great Hall, where students were gathering and waiting to be let in. The doors opened, allowing the students inside. As Harry went to follow him, he saw Kevin standing to the side with Sara.
The Dark Arts professor whispered something in his wife’s ear and she walked off. He turned to the approaching student. “Are you sure about this, Harry?” he asked.
Harry nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
***********************************************
Earlier that day, Harry had stayed behind in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Kevin motioned for Harry to follow him into his office. “What’s on your mind, Harry? I can’t stay long, though. Sara and I have to make preparations for tonight.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Harry said. “I was wondering if you could help me with something…actually, someone.”
Kevin raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? Well, I’ll do what I can.”
Harry told him what he had in mind.
************************************************
The Great Hall was spectacularly decorated for the ball. Like last time, dinner was served first and then the floor was opened up for couples to dance. Ron led Hermione by the hand into the growing group of students. If it was possible, Harry thought Ron was even more nervous now that he actually had to touch her. Hermione was patient with him, and he eventually calmed down.
Harry stood off to the side, looking for someone. A few girls came up to him and asked him to dance. Harry accepted but he still kept an eye out for a mane of red hair. Finally, she came into his view. Ginny was walking a few girls in her own year, dressed in the dress robes she had been given on her birthday. Harry remembered them to be navy blue, but realized she must have used the spell Sara had taught her to make them scarlet. He didn’t care; she looked good in anything.
Suddenly, a bout of anxiety overtook Harry. He wanted more than anything to go over to her, ask her to dance, and put his plan into motion. However, his earlier feelings of confidence faded away as he looked upon the beautifully clad girl walking through the hall. This was quite possibly his last chance to show her how he felt. If this didn’t work, then he would have to accept the fact that Ginny did not feel for him what he felt for her.
After twenty minutes, Harry had still not had the courage to go up to her. Every possible answer she could give him played in his mind over and over. Unfortunately, there were only a small few that were in his favor. He walked along the walls of the Great Hall, keeping Ginny in his sight at all times. Whenever another boy had walked up to her and asked her to dance, Harry felt his insides constrict. A few of them had motioned for her to follow them out into the corridors, but she refused and went back to the group of girls.
Kevin, who until this moment had been standing near the center stage with Sara, walked over to Harry. “Time’s running out. It’s now or never.”
Harry started bouncing on the balls of his feet. “All right. Do you think you can give me something that will help?”
The older wizard patted Harry’s shoulder. “I have just the thing.” He walked back over the band, whispered something in Sara’s ear, and went up on the stage. “Students, if I may have your attention. Before you all head back to your dormitories for the evening and finish packing for that train ride tomorrow, we have one more dance for you.” He extended a hand towards his wife and helped her onto the stage. “You all know that Sara is an excellent teacher, but what you may not know is that she can sing as well. This song is one that holds special meaning to us both, and we hope it will do the same for you.”
The band retuned their instruments for a moment while Sara took a microphone. Kevin motioned to Harry with his hands and mouthed, Now. Harry put all his nervous feelings aside and walked directly up to Ginny. Ignoring the other girls, he said, “Ginny, would you like to dance?”
Ginny looked a little uneasy about taking the hand he had offered, but laid her hand in his. They walked onto the floor as a low tone started to play. He placed his left hand around her waist and she put her right on his shoulder. The music added a soft beat, and Sara started to sing:
Opinions not mine, the person they taught me to be
One night in the dark, a vision of someone I knew
And in the darkness I saw, a voice say, I’m you.
Ginny would not look at Harry’s eyes. Her head was kept down, but she wouldn’t look to her side.
Then I was alive
If you close your eyes your life, a naked truth revealed
Dreams you never lived and scars never healed
In the darkness light, will take you to the other side
And find me waiting there you’ll see if you just close your eyes.
Harry felt her hand tighten in his and her head move a bit upward. She met his eyes for a brief moment, and then put her head back down. Harry knew that she was wrestling with her own feelings. This was working.
Too close to the fire, yet cold and so numb with the pain
But the fever has broken, and the river has run to the sea
Washed to the ocean, and saved by a voice inside me.
Inside me a light was turned on
Then I was alive
Harry slipped his arm further around her waist. She didn’t object.
Dreams you never lived and scars never healed
In the darkness light, will take you to the other side
And find me waiting there you’ll see if you just close your eyes.
Ginny looked into Harry’s eyes.
This is my unanswered prayer
Defined by another, so much wasted time
Out of the darkness, each breath that I take will be mine
The music faded a bit. Ginny moved in close to Harry and laid her head on his chest. The music picked up again.
Dreams you never lived and scars never healed
In the darkness light, will take you to the other side
And find me waiting there you’ll see if you just close your eyes.
If you just close your eyes.
A last stream of music, and the hall faded to silence. The couples stopped dancing and applauded for Sara and the band, all except one couple. Harry was still holding Ginny close to him. She showed no sign of wanting to let go, but he knew he had to. He had gotten this far, but he didn’t want to do what he had to in here.
Keeping hold of her hand, they walked out of the Great Hall and down the stone steps. He led her to a window in the entryway, where they stood in silence. Harry kept touching his robes where the box was, wondering if this was such a good idea.
Ginny thought it was not. “Why are you doing this, Harry? I thought I made my feelings clear.”
Harry reached out to touch her hand. “You did. You said you couldn’t handle things ‘right now’. That was a month ago. Ginny, I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable, but I want you to know that my feelings aren’t going to go away on a whim. I care about you.”
Tears formed in Ginny’s eyes. “And I care about you, too.” She pulled out her handkerchief and dabbed her eyes. “But I’m not sure if I…” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “…love you.”
Harry put his arms around her and drew her to his chest. She leaned in to him, tears still running down her cheeks. The two stood together, the only sound between them was Ginny’s sobs. Harry was close to crying himself. This was not what I wanted, he thought. This was supposed to be either the moment when she would be smiling, or she walked away.
They stood together for a few minutes, before Harry heard footsteps from a corridor near them. Ginny looked up, also hearing the footsteps. Harry started to lead her away, but she stood still. He didn’t want to have to explain why he was standing there with a crying girl to someone like Professor Snape. “Ginny, let’s go somewhere else.”
Her face was fixed in an expression of feared excitement. He turned his head in the direction she was looking. Four black-robed wizards were standing in the corridor. They were wearing skull-like masks and staring directly at the two of them. Harry’s hand immediately went into his robes for his wand, but only found empty pockets. One of the wizards raised his right hand and brandished a familiar looking wand. “You really should take better care of your belongings, Mr. Potter.” He raised his left hand, another wand in it. “And you as well, Miss Weasley. If you both weren’t so caught up in each other, you would have realized your wands were leaving your pockets.”
The wizards placed a hand on the front of their masks and raised them. Harry couldn’t breathe for a moment. Griff, Raven, Dragair, and Sylvain were standing in the entryway, smiles on each of their faces. Griff took both the young wizard’s wands and placed them in his robe. “I hope that we weren’t interrupting anything important, but I’m afraid we are on a time constraint.” He raised his own wand and ropes shot out from the tip. They wrapped around Harry and Ginny’s arms, binding them to their backs.
Harry didn’t even know what was happening. In a matter of moments, he had been disarmed and tied up, and what was worse was that Ginny was involved as well. He couldn’t protect her. Struggling as hard as he could, Harry tried to free himself from the bonds. The four Death Eaters laughed as they watched the young wizard fight to break free. Ginny just stood in her place, fear evident in her eyes.
Raven walked over to Harry and pushed him over. Harry fell to his back, still writhing to break free. The Death Eater looked down at him. “There’s no need to struggle, Harry. Believe it or not, we are not here for you. Well, not entirely. We’re here to collect a family member.” He raised his wand and shot golden sparks at the ceiling. “Brother!” he called out.
Harry stopped moving. It confused him that he was not their primary target. The upper floor soon filled with student who had seen the sparks and heard the shout. He saw Ron and Hermione push their way to the front. When they saw Harry and Ginny tied up, they both tried to run down the stairs to help. Dragair pointed his wand at the stairs. An invisible barrier formed at the top, preventing anyone from coming down.
Students started screaming and pointing at the scene below. Teachers started moving through the crowd and pushing students away from the railing. The Death Eaters looked up, and suddenly, Sylvain’s smile got wider. “Brother! There you are!”
Harry looked up to see whom he was addressing, and he thought his heart would stop. Kevin was leaning on the railing, a look of anger on his face. Harry thought he was mistaken in that he couldn’t have seen it right.
But he was; Kevin and Sylvain were eye to eye. The other Death Eaters looked up as well. Sylvain raised his hands, palms up.
“Brother, at last! The sons of Voldemort are reunited!”
Author’s Note: The lyrics for the song I used were Waterproof Blonde’s “Just Close Your Eyes.” If you get the chance, listen to the song. You’ll understand why I chose it.
I know that you are all probably going to burn my likeness for suggesting Voldemort has sons when JK has made it clear he doesn't, but be patient. I will explain all.