Marauders - Always - Part One

CCXV: Will You Go To The Yule Ball With Me?

"It's only a dance! The way you two are acting you'd think it was the end of the world," Hermione lectured as Harry and Ron followed her down the stairs to the Great Hall for breakfast. "You seem more worried about this than you were about a dragon, Harry, honestly!"

"The ruddy dragon wasn't making me take dancing lessons," muttered Harry.

"Professor McGonagall just wants Hogwarts to be well represented, and it's never hurt a single man to know how to dance."

"I'll bet loads of blokes have died on dance floors, rather," Ron interjected.

"They haven't," Hermione answered, "Don't be so dramatic!"

"Then I'll be the first to have done by the time Malfoy sees how stupid I look when I dance," Harry added, ducking to one side as Cho Chang rushed by, his neck twisting to watch her go. "Besides, the lessons aren't even the worst part..."

Hermione's eyes followed Harry's to Cho's retreating back. "And what is the worst part, Harry?"

Harry snapped back to focusing on Hermione. "Having to have a date."

Hermione raised a brow, "What's so awful about a date?"'she asked.

"Getting one!" Ron said.

Harry nodded.

"It isn't that hard to do," Hermione said, "You just look someone in the eye - like this -" she paused suddenly and Ron nearly walked into her. He looked at her, startled, and Hermione stared into Ron's face. "And you ask them: Will you go to the Yule Ball with me?"

Ron stared back at her for several beats.

Harry raised an eyebrow.

Ron blinked, then said, "Yeah but 'Mione - that's easy enough to say when you don't mean it but when you actually want the person to go with you it isn't so easy! It's the rejection bit that's hard!"

Hermione stared a moment longer, then muttered, "Yes, I suppose I wouldn't know what that's like," she said.

Harry glanced between Ron and Hermione, but she turned and started walking again. At the top of the stairs to the Hall, Crookshanks appeared, darting out from behind a suit of armor, weaving between Harry's legs lovingly, and jumping up into Hermione's arms, purring loudly. Ron jumped in surprise at the cat's sudden appearance of the orange ball of fur, and Harry reached over to tickle the old beast behind his ear. Ever since finding out the cat had once belonged to his parents, he'd felt a connection to the manky old thing. Crookshanks rubbed his head against Harry's palm.

"It really is harder when you're the one doing the asking," Ron continued as they started down the stairs. "Us blokes have it rather hard."

Hermione snorted and looked over her shoulder as she walked, "Well maybe if you weren't so thick, Ronald, then --"

"Hemryown!"

She was interrupted by the sound of her name being called in a very distinct Bulgarian accent. She turned about to see Viktor at the foot of the staircase.

Ron scowled, "What's he want?"

"Probably to go and study," Hermione replied.

"Study, right."

Harry elbowed Ron, but Hermione was already headed down the steps ahead of them, Crookshanks jumping from her arms to the flagstone floor and out the door to the grounds, sliding between the legs of the Beauxbatons students coming in the door.

"Relax Ron, it isn't as though anything is going on with Krum, she said --"

Ron's attention caught on Fleur Delacor in the doorway. "You should ask her to the Ball."