Spells and Visions; A Harry Potter story

Chapter 8: The Yule Ball

At the end of our Transfiguration lesson, Ron and Harry decided to have a sword fight with Fred and George's fake wands.
"Weasley! Potter! Will you pay attention?" McGonagall said, irritated. "The Yule Ball is approaching, a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament. The ball will be open to fourth-years and above, although you may invite a younger one. Dress robes shall be worn."
Right. That explained why mum had bought us those clothes.
"The ball will start at eight o'clock on Christmas Day, ending at midnight."

~

All anyone could talk about was the Yule Ball. All the girls started to annoy me even more than before, because whenever boys passed them, they started shrieking and whispering and giggling.
Luckily there was one thing I didn't have to worry about; what to wear. The thing that I did have to worry about was who to go with. I was considering asking Cedric, but I was scared that he would turn me down.

"Jynx, you have no reason to be turned down by him," Hermione said. We were in our dormitory with the other girls and were discussing who we would go with.
"Yeah, literally everyone is jealous that he likes you," Parvati said. "Have you seen the way he looks at you?"
I couldn't deny that I did.
"But you better hurry up," Sally-Anne said. "There are loads of girls you are waiting to ask him."
"Right," I sighed. "Who are you all going with, anyway?"
Sally-Anne named a boy from Ravenclaw I didn't know.
"I'm going with Seamus," Lavender giggled, and Parvati started giggling too.
"I have no one yet," she said rather sad. "What about you, Hermione?"
Hermione tried to hide her smile.
"I'm not saying."
"Aww, come on," I pleaded.
"It's a surprise, you'll see," she grinned.

"What are you guys wearing?" Sally-Anne said.
Next came a sort of modeshow of showing our dresses to each other. I really wasn't a dress-girl, but I couldn't wait to wear this one. The others also seemed to have beautiful robes.

~

"Hey Cedric," I said nervously, finally ready to ask him.
"Jynx! Just the girl I was looking for."
"Really? Why?"
"Let's go somewhere private," Cedric said, and led me out of the Great Hall into the snow outside.
"Sooo..." he said.
"Sooo...?" I repeated.
Cedric cleared his throat.
"Jynx, will you go to the Yule Ball with me?"
On my face a smile grew instantly.
"Yeah, sure," I said casually, not letting him show how happy I was.

Later, I had heard from Neville that he even already had a date; Ginny. And now I also had a date.

A few days later, Parvati and Lavender came up to our dormitory, giggling loudly.
"What's up?" I said.
"Harry asked me to the ball," Parvati giggled. "And Ron's going with Padma, my sister."
"Nice, congratulations," I smiled.

~

On Christmas Day, I woke up very excited, and woke the other girls. We unpacked our gifts, and went downstairs to meet the boys. We had breakfast, enjoyed our gifts and had a magnificent lunch.
Then the lot of us went outside to enjoy the snow. Hermione didn't join the snowball fight, whereas Harry, Ron, Fred, George and I did. We had lots of fun, and when it was almost time for the ball, we went inside and changed into our dress robes.
Hermione was done fast, and looked stunning. Her bushy hair was now smooth and shiny, and her blue dress made her look even better. She went away, and still didn't want to say who she was going with.

The other girls said that I looked like a princess in my deep red dress... except for my hair. It was possibly just as bushy as that of Hermione, but my hair was way longer.
We found a solution, though. Sally-Anne made my hair. Half-up, half-down, with the upper part in a braid.
She, Lavender and Parvati looked very pretty as well, clothed in striking colours.
Last, I put on silver rings, a necklace and a bracelet, I wasn't that fond of gold.
I looked in the mirror and smiled. Suddenly my smile faded.
"What is it?" Lavender asked.
"I look like my mother," I said.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Parvati asked.
"Not really. My mother isn't really what you would call beautiful."
"But you are," Sally-Anne said.
"I just look so... formal. That's what me reminds me of my mother. She always looks formal, she works at the Ministry, I think that says enough."
"Doesn't sound like you like your mum very much," Parvati said.
"I don't," I said, truthfully. "That's why I like my father's looks more."
"I like how you look now," Lavender said.
"Thanks," I sighed.