Second Chance at Saving Them {Harry Potter}

Arrival of the Ball

I've been so excited to get to this chapter, and I hope to make it one of the best. But we'll see.

Also, I feel super bad because I forgot about Crookshanks... I'm sorry, I honestly am. At this point, I'm leaving it up to you. I could go back and add getting Crookshanks to an earlier chapter, or just bring him in now.

QOTC: "Who was Hedwig named for?"

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Harry found that the last two weeks leading up to the Yule Ball was much more enjoyable when he was actually looking forward to the Ball. It was always exciting to watch the professors transform the Great Hall, but for the Yule Ball, they were going beyond the hall. It was amusing watching people asking their crushes on dates, even if it did remind them all of their own painful experience the first time around. With a little subtle encouragement, especially from Ron and Hermione, Neville ended up asking Hannah Abbot to the Ball. The best part, however, was that there wasn't a single Gryffindor accepting food from anywhere except directly from the Great Hall in fear of one of Fred and George's Canary Creams being hidden within them. Harry had been one of the few not to have been hit yet, which Ginny said was because the twins told everyone that Harry was off limits until after Christmas, a small thanks for protecting their life savings and promising them his winnings if he won the tournament.

The day before the Yule Ball, the group of six was sitting around a fire again. This time it was a little more crowded, and there was a group of Slytherins sitting across the room. This was fine until Malfoy and the rest of his goons decided to stir things up. Ever since word got out of Ron's elaborate Yule Ball proposal to Hermione, Malfoy had taken every opportunity to mock them for it. His taunts were usually focused on a blood traitor and a Mudblood being perfect for each other, but this time was different. While he didn't say it outright, he heavily implied that the only reason Hermione accepted Ron's proposal was that he was a pureblood.

Neville, Seamus, and Dean had been sitting nearby and didn't hesitate to leap into action to help hold back Ron, Harry, and Ginny, who had all jumped up to show Malfoy what they thought of his comments. It took a few minutes, but eventually, they all calmed down enough to be released. Knowing that if they stayed, they'd end up in trouble, they decided to leave. Ron stopped next to Malfoy and stared him right in the eyes.

"Say that about my girlfriend again and you'll end up with a face not even your mother could love." 

Malfoy's face contorted and as soon as Ron turned his back, he raised his wand. Ginny noticed, however, and took great joy in turning him into a ferret. She just hoped she had done it discreetly enough to avoid both detention and the possibility of being found out (although she was sure that even McGonagall would be impressed with the transfiguration).

Luckily, she had, most likely because everyone was too focused on the sudden appearance of a pure white ferret in the middle of the room, scurrying about in a panic. It was no amazing bouncing ferret from Barty Crouch, but it was still extremely satisfying payback.

By the time a teacher showed up, everyone was either laughing or trying to catch Malfoy. Luckily for Ginny, no one was able to tell Professor Flitwick exactly who had done it, since half the room had had their wands out in anticipation of a fight that had started brewing, and so no one could be confirmed as the culprit.

When it became clear that no one was going to come forward, Flitwick had to let everyone go with a warning that if it happened again, everyone in the room would be serving five detentions or more, no exceptions. Even so, Ginny thought it was worth it, and Ron had gotten one of the best laughs he had had in a while from it.

The next morning, Harry was woken up by Dobby, standing over him with wide eyes.

"Dobby! Don't do that!"