Daughter of a Criminal

The Unexpected 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. "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 â€" Ron's parrot's beak had severed it moments before â€" "I have something to say to you all. The Yule Ball is approaching â€" 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 â€" although you may invite a younger student if you wish â€"" 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, which Harry thought was distinctly unfair, as she had just told off him and Ron. "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 â€"" Professor McGonagall stared deliberately around the class. "The Yule Ball is of course a chance for us all to â€" er â€" 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 â€" a word, if you please."
As the other three left Cedric was found wait by the overhang.
"You two go ahead, I'll catch up," Ann said to her friends before going after Cedric.
"Hey," Cedric said.
"Hey," Ann said
"So I've been wondering since you're not with Potter, and I quite like you, would you want to go to the Yule Ball with me?" He asked holding out a red rose for her.
"Yes I'd love to," Ann said accepting the rose.
"You know what that would make us?"
"Boyfriend/Girlfriend?"
"Yeah as long as you're okay with it,"
"Yeah no, let's be boyfriend girlfriend," Ann said
"Wonderful," Cedric said before kissing her hand and heading off. Ann was so happy she could've died right than and there.
Time Skip
Snape, of course, would no sooner let them play games in class than adopt Harry. Staring nastily around at them all, he informed them that he would be testing them on poison antidotes during the last lesson of the term.
"Evil, he is," Ron said bitterly that night in the Gryffindor common room.
"Springing a test on us on the last day. Ruining the last bit of term with a whole load of studying." said Ann.
"Mmm . . . you're not exactly straining yourself, though, are you?" said Hermione, looking at her over the top of her Potions notes. Ron and Ann were busy building a card castle out of Ron's Exploding Snap pack â€" a much more interesting pastime than with Muggle cards, because of the chance that the whole thing would blow up at any second.
"It's Christmas, Hermione," said Harry lazily; he was rereading Flying with the Cannons for the tenth time in an armchair near the fire. Hermione looked severely over at him too.
"I'd have thought you'd be doing something constructive, Harry, even if you don't want to learn your antidotes!"
"Like what?" Harry said as he watched Joey Jenkins of the Cannons belt a Bludger toward a Ballycastle Bats Chaser.
"That egg!" Hermione hissed.
"Come on, Hermione, I've got till February the twenty-fourth," Harry said.
"But it might take weeks to work it out!" said Hermione. "You're going to look like a real idiot if everyone else knows what the next task is and you don't!"
"Leave him alone, Hermione, he's earned a bit of a break," said Ron, and he placed the last two cards on top of the castle and the whole lot blew up, Ann dogged out of the way landing by Harry, and the explosion singed Rons eyebrows.
"Nice look, Ron . . . go well with your dress robes, that will." It was Fred and George. They sat down at the table with Ann, Harry, Ron, and Hermione as Ron felt how much damage had been done.
"Ron, can we borrow Pigwidgeon?" George asked.
"No, he's off delivering a letter," said Ron. "Why?"
"Because George wants to invite him to the ball," said Fred sarcastically.
"Because we want to send a letter, you stupid great prat," said George.
"Who d'you two keep writing to, eh?" said Ron
"Nose out, Ron, or I'll burn that for you too," said Fred, waving his wand threateningly. "So . . . you lot got dates for the ball yet?"
"Nope," said Ron.
"Well, you'd better hurry up, mate, or all the good ones will be gone," said Fred.
"Who're you going with, then?" said Ron.
"Angelina," said Fred promptly, without a trace of embarrassment.
"What?" said Ron, taken aback. "You've already asked her?"
"Good point," said Fred. He turned his head and called across the common room, "Oi! Angelina!" Angelina, who had been chatting with Katie Bell near the fire, looked over at him. "What?" she called back.
"Want to come to the ball with me?" Angelina gave Fred an appraising sort of look.
"All right, then," she said, and she turned back to Katie and carried on chatting with a bit of a grin on her face.
"There you go," said Fred to Harry and Ron, "piece of cake." He got to his feet, yawning, and said, "We'd better use a school owl then, George, come on. . . ." They left. Ron stopped feeling his eyebrows and looked across the smoldering wreck of his and Ann's card castle at Harry.
"We should get a move on, you know . . . ask someone. He's right. We don't want to end up with a pair of trolls." Hermione let out a sputter of indignation. And Ann threw one of the singed cards at Ron.
"A pair of . . . what, excuse me?" Hermoine asked
"Well â€" you know," said Ron, shrugging. "I'd rather go alone than with â€" with Eloise Midgen, say."
"Her acne's loads better lately â€" and she's really nice!" said Hermoine
"Her nose is off-center," said Ron.
"Oh I see," Hermione said, bristling. "So basically, you're going to take the best-looking girl who'll have you, even if she's completely horrible?"
"Er â€" yeah, that sounds about right," said Ron.
"I'm going to bed," Hermione snapped, and she swept off toward the girls' staircase without another word.
"Ron you're so stupid," said Ann
"What-you know what, I'm also going to bed," Ron said, grabbing his cards and going off to the boys staircase. Harry and Ann spent the last hours of the night working on their potions homework.
Time Skip
Sooner or later Harry had asked Parvti to the dance, she had said yes. And Hermoine had a date though she wouldn't say who. As did Ann, much to Harry's disappointment. And Ron was going with Parma.