The Butterfly Effect

Acht: The Yule Ball

Harry Potter, the boy who had stopped Sirius Black and Remus Lupin from becoming murderers, was about to become a massive hypocrite. It took all of his self control not to blast Ron through the window of the dorms into the dark night. For the past three hours, Ron's moping and complaining had followed Harry, even as he was trying to tame his hair (a task that proved fruitless and instead added to his ire). Ron had been groaning for days about not having a date, but in the hours before the Ball his moping had been obsessive to the point that he had complained to Harry while he was in the loo.

Finally Harry had suffered enough and snapped at Ron. "If you're so worried about not having a date try to meet someone at the ball. Just because your mother is forcing you to go doesn't mean I have to suffer through your bloody complaining. I wanted to go with Susan Bones but your sister trapped me into going with her as you very well know. I could be complaining too. Now get off your sorry arse and get dressed, and maybe you'll find that not everyone is going with a date."

With that, Harry chased Ron out of the bathroom by firing some weak stinging hexes. Harry sighed and finished up the last touches on his black dress robes. Harry wished he could have worn a tuxedo, but Professor McGonagall had snapped at him for even suggesting it, though he failed to notice her slight smile through her tirade on wizarding customs. Harry adjusted the hem of his dress robes for the fifteenth time and grudgingly admitted that there was no reason to remain in the bathroom. He slowly made his way to the Gryffindor common room. On his way out of the dorms, he snickered at the sight of an irritated Ron attempting to enter his frilly, horrendous dress robes. For once, Harry wished Colin Creevey could be there with his camera.

He was not surprised to see the common room full of dressed up guys waiting for their dates impatiently, with the exception of Neville. Harry occupied the seat next to Neville and engaged him in polite conversation while the room slowly but surely emptied itself of occupants. In the middle of a particularly cumbersome conversation about Herbology, Neville looked at the stairs of the girls' dorms and remained stunned. Harry didn't notice because he had already zoned out, but as Neville hurriedly flew off of the couch and unceremoniously tripped over a table Harry barely restrained a chuckle until he looked at the stairs.

Hermione slowly descended down the stairs as most heads turned her way. She embodied Venus as her ethereal beauty in her lavender dress captivated the attention of most of the males in the room much like a Veela allure. Whispers and whistles assured one thing: Gryffindor now knew Hermione was more than a walking dictionary. Fred and George whistled, causing her to blush. The whistles, fortunately for Neville, distracted her from seeing the boy fall flat on his face on his way to the base of the stairs. Hurriedly Neville arrived at the base of the stairs and was greeted by the biggest smile Hermione had ever given him. He was stunned, but a discreet nudge from Harry, who had crept up behind Neville to support him, prompted him to open his mouth and spew incoherent phrases involving the words" "Hermione, beautiful, wow, stunning, wow, and girl." Luckily for him, Hermione spared the boy any further embarrassment by putting a finger on his lip. She kissed his cheek and whispered to him "I know what you meant to say Neville. Thank you. You look great yourself."

Harry merely winked at Hermione as Neville took her arm. A smile from Harry conveyed all his words to his best friend, and she walked out of the commons with a smile. Soon after, Ron half-heartedly walked down the stairs and walked out alone towards the Great Hall, ignoring the sniggers and stares from the boys with dates. Harry considered following him but refrained from doing so because of the complaining he'd have to hear and because he still had to wait for Ginny who had still not come down. Harry sighed and sat down on a chair wishing he could've gone with anyone else.

Only after Lavender, Parvarti, and Angelina had descended, found their dates, and departed did Ginny finally exit the dorms. She wore a fiery red dress which accentuated her growing curves. Her hair was straightened and styled beautifully and shone as brightly as her dress. Even Harry, who did not particularly want to go to the ball with her, was impressed by the redhead's beauty. Clearly, part of the Weasleys' lottery money had been used for a good purpose. Harry stood at the base of the stairs and extended his arm towards her as she approached the bottom. Harry, trying hard to be a gentleman to not ruin her night at least, said to her honestly, "You look wonderful Ginny."