The Other Black Book 4

Chapter 21 - The Impossible Task

"Potter! Weasley! Will you pay attention?" Professor McGonagall's irritated voice cracked like a whip through the Transfiguration class on Thursday, and Harry and Ron both jumped and looked up.

It was the end of the lesson; they had finished their work; the guinea fowl they had been changing into guinea pigs had been shut away in a large cage on Professor McGonagall's desk (Neville's still had feathers); they had copied down their homework from the blackboard ("Describe, with examples, the ways in which Transforming Spells must be adapted when performing Cross-Species Switches"}. The bell was due to ring at any moment, and Harry and Ron, who had been having a sword fight with a couple of Fred and George's fake wands at the back of the class, looked up, Ron holding a tin parrot and Harry, a rubber haddock. Aurora made a point of rolling her eyes.

"Now that Potter and Weasley have been kind enough to act their age," said Professor McGonagall, with an angry look at the pair of them as the head of Harry's haddock drooped and fell silently to the floor - Ron's parrot's beak had severed it moments before - "I have something to say to you all.

"The Yule Ball is approaching - a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and an opportunity for us to socialize with our foreign guests. Now, the ball will be open only to fourth years and above - although you may invite a younger student if you wish -"

Lavender Brown let out a shrill giggle. Parvati Patil nudged her hard in the ribs, her face working furiously as she too fought not to giggle. They both looked around at Harry, Professor McGonagall ignored them.

"Dress robes will be worn," Professor McGonagall continued, "and the ball will start at eight o'clock on Christmas Day, finishing at midnight in the Great Hall. Now then -"

Professor McGonagall stared deliberately around the class.

"The Yule Ball is of course a chance for us all to - er - let our hair down," she said, in a disapproving voice.

Lavender giggled harder than ever, with her hand pressed hard against her mouth to stifle the sound. Harry could see what was funny this time: Professor McGonagall, with her hair in a tight bun, looked as though she had never let her hair down in any sense.

"But that does NOT mean," Professor McGonagall went on, "that we will be relaxing the standards of behavior we expect from Hogwarts students. I will be most seriously displeased if a Gryffindor student embarrasses the school in any way."

The bell rang, and there was the usual scuffle of activity as everyone packed their bags and swung them onto their shoulders. Professor McGonagall called above the noise, "Potter - a word, if you please."

Aurora said she'd wait outside for him as Harry proceeded gloomily to the teacher's desk. Aurora did as she said; she waited outside the classroom for a few minutes until Harry re-emerged, and they walked back down the corridor.

"What did she want?" Aurora asked. "If it's about that haddock-"

"It's about the Yule Ball," Harry said. Aurora looked at him. "I have to dance because I'm one of the champions. And I have to ask someone to dance with me."

"And there's no one in the castle you'd want to ask?" Aurora asked him. "No one you have a crush on?"

Harry gave Aurora a very pointed look; she knew about his crush on Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw seeker. Cho was a year old than them and relatively popular.

"Well, if worst comes to worst and you can't find anyone, I'll probably be available," Aurora said with a shrug.

"But you're like my sister," Harry said. "It'd be weird."

***

Aurora had never known so many people to put their names down to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas; she always did, of course, because the alternative was usually going back to Privet Drive and she much preferred Hogwarts, and Harry did for the same reason, but she and Harry had always been very much in the minority before now. This year, however, everyone in the fourth year and above seemed to be staying, and they all seemed to Aurora to be obsessed with the coming ball - or at least many of the girls were.