This Journey With You

To the Ball

RIP.

"Oh honestly!" Hermione swore, glaring at the fissure like tear in the hem of her floor length dress. In her mental rambling, her heal had caught on the material. This is why she never understood why dress robes were such a big deal.

She pointed her wand at the rip. With a quick, "Reparo" the threads fused back together, sealing the rip as if nothing happened. Her hands smoothed out her dark grey skirt, searching to see if there was any more rips to take care of.

With a frustrated sigh, Hermione glanced back at the chairs and tables she was finishing up with.

"You alright?" Someone called from behind her. She tilted her head and saw Harry approaching.

"Yes, I got distracted," she assured him. "Ripped my gown a bit, but I fixed it."

"You doing okay?" The corner of his mouth pulled down.

"Yeah, just my stupid coworker and the whole.. mission thing."

"Oh.. right." Harry avoided her eyes uncomfortably and instead focused on the grand, circular tables she had organized. The tables and chairs Hermione already arranged were covered with table cloths of deep violet with small, elaborate centerpieces of flowers made of ice.

"Did you finish the decorations?" Hermione asked, switching subjects.

He rubbed the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly. "It's not the prettiest thing I've ever seen, but it'll do."

They both lifted their heads to admire the soothing dark sky with stars twinkling down at them, small golden snow flakes floating overhead shimmering whenever they caught the light. The enchanted ceiling was covering an old painting on the ceiling from one the banquet hall had been a part of an older palace.

"Nice enchantment, Harry," she grinned. "That actually looks amazing."

"Thanks. You seen Drusilla?" Harry asked. Drusilla had been the only person who seemed elated to be helping out with the Congressional Ball.

"I think she had to make sure the.." Hermione swallowed uncomfortably, the wood of her wand digging into her skin as her hands fisted. "House elves... knew about the meal expectations. Although, Gerard should have it all taken care of." Gerard had been kind enough to volunteer since he decided to stay in England before leaving for his mission.

Harry gave Hermione a sympathetic look.

"I know it's not right," he said as she opened her mouth. He had witnessed her days of heading up S.P.E.W. and her continued fight for the rights of houselves. "Maybe you can talk to Kingsley about it."

"That's not a bad idea," she conceded, waving her wand so that the rest of the tables and chairs were finally arranged. She left plenty of space in the center of the large, banquet hall so that people could dance as they wished.

Harry lifted his own wand and enchanted the tables so that they matched the others.

"So," Harry started, putting his wand back in the pocket of his dress robes. "You never told me Fred's your date to the ball."

Hermione frowned, tucking a stray strand of her hair behind her ear and avoiding his gaze. "Wh-who told you?" she stammered.

"George did," Harry smiled. "He told me when I picked up some Peruvian Darkness powder at the shop today."

Since Fred never wrote back, Hermione wrote a new message on their linked parchment, erasing the old one, making sure he was still coming to the ball. He wrote back promising he'd show up with his siblings since she and Harry had to help with set up. She wondered if he saw the last message at all, but was somewhat pleased that he confirmed their plans for tonight.