Harry Potter and the Wrath of the Fallen

Chapter 16: Halloween

Ginny looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror and grimaced. She felt like she may have gone too far with the makeup, as she was not really used to wearing any. Using her wand, she removed the makeup and started again, trying to remember what her mother had told her years ago. Something along the lines of 'less is more', if she recalled correctly. A knock on the door caused her to jump and almost put her own eye out.

"Don't you dare come in here, Harry Potter," she snapped.

"Are you sure you're alright, Ginny?" asked Harry through the door. "You've been in there a long time."

Ginny smiled as she heard the genuine concern in his voice. He just couldn't understand why it was taking her so long to get ready, but like Harry, she could sense Minerva and Kingsley were up to something and she wanted to be ready for anything.

"I'm fine, thank you, Harry. I just need a few minutes to get this makeup right."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" asked Harry.

Ginny sighed. "Not unless you have a lot of experience applying makeup that I don't know about."

Silence came from the other side of the door, and Ginny grinned. A moment later, Harry was back.

"Erm... I don't know about putting it on, but I can tell you if it looks good," ventured Harry gamely.

My sweet Harry, always trying to help, thought Ginny. "Just wait on the sofa, Harry. I'm almost done."

Ginny applied her lipstick for what she hoped was the last time and stood back to check the results. She didn't grimace at her reflection this time, and she thought it was about as good as it was going to get no matter how many attempts she made at it.

She checked the thin silver necklace she was wearing wasn't caught up in the straps of her dress, and that the matching earrings hadn't tangled themselves in her hair. She briefly thought that she should have put her hair up, but she had always preferred to wear it down, so she had left it that way so at least one part of her felt like herself tonight.

She breathed out slowly as she adjusted her new dress. Now this was something she was pleased with. It was a beautiful white dress, sleeveless with the thin straps tying behind her neck. The fabric hugged her figure and even Ginny was surprised to find she felt sexy wearing it. She turned and saw the top half of her back was exposed by the dresses plunging lines, but her hair drifted over her back so that she never showed too much skin at one time. She was very pleased with the result and she hoped Harry would be too.

Meanwhile, Harry was pacing the room as he waited for Ginny to emerge from the bathroom. He hadn't taken her advice to sit down because he didn't want to put creases in the brand new formal black robes he was wearing; or the new suit he had on beneath the robes.

While Ginny had been trying on dresses in the muggle shops, Harry had chosen a new suit after several false starts as he tried to add a striking colour to his apparel. In the end, he had gone with a black suit over a black shirt and white tie. He had chosen the white tie to match Ginny's dress, as that was the only detail she had revealed to him regarding her dress for the Ball.

A click behind him announced that Ginny was finally coming out of the bathroom. Harry turned and took in the sight before him. His jaw dropped and he was afraid he may never be able to close his mouth again.

Ginny smiled demurely at Harry and he felt his knees go weak. As she walked slowly towards him, Harry was worried for a moment he might actually sink to the floor. His beautiful Ginny was stunning, and he would have happily spent the rest of the night just standing in their room looking at her. Harry shook his head to clear it.