Romance in the Wizarding World (A Harry Potter One-Shot Collection)

A Kiss Goodnight (Harry Potter #1)

A Kiss Goodnight

            Tonight had to be one of the most looked-forward to nights in my fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This year was full of excitement, starting with the school hosting the Triwizard Tournament. With the tournament came three tasks to watch, and of course, the Yule Ball to attend if you were a fourth year or older. Lucky me I just made the cut.

            I was one of the last girls in the Gryffindor common room checking myself over. Mostly everybody had headed down, except for Hermione Granger. She was still up in the girls' dormitory. She was just finishing up. I had looked her over before leaving the dormitory earlier. Hermione was so beautiful that she never realized it. Of course, naturally as one of her closest friends, I would shower her with compliments.

That's what friends did for each other.

            I looked out the window of the common room. The night sky looked radiant as always. I tried to look at my reflection in the mirror. The easiest thing to notice was my curly, flaming red hair framing my face, the lightly applied white eye shadow bringing out my bright blue eyes. I looked myself over once. My dress had thick straps; it was a bright white that hovered just above my knees. Where it puffed out from below my waist, it was covered in swan feathers. I couldn't believe Mum had made this herself. Even my sister's dress looked nothing like this; hers looked like something that a little girl would wear.

            "Angie, are you ready?" Hermione called. I heard her heels clack down the stairs. I turned to shake my head in awe at my friend.

Nobody had really seen Hermione dressed up so nicely before. She wasn't in Hogwarts robes nor was her hair bushy like it always was. She had a bit of makeup on, another nice change for her. It was a good change for her, it made her look so different—not to mention mature as well.

            "Mhm," I confirmed. Together, we both sauntered out of the Gryffindor common side by side. "You never did tell who your date was, you know."

            "I know. I want to keep it a surprise."

            "So when we get to the Great Hall, you're going to shoo me away so I can't see him." I sighed. "You can't keep him a secret forever, you know. I'll see him sometime."

            As we made our way to the Great Hall for the ball, my mind kept popping people next to Hermione, to find out who was her date to the ball. It certainly wasn't my brother, not after he thought that she was going alone. Those two were always at each other's throats that it amazed me neither was dead yet.

            It wasn't one of my older brothers; both had dates to the ball. It wasn't Neville Longbottom either, because he was taking my younger sister to the ball. It certainly wasn't Draco Malfoy, because he was a downright snob and despised Muggle-borns (that's what Hermione is, though Draco calls her a much fouler name every chance he can get).

Ugh, Hermione was making me paranoid. Who had asked her to the ball? You'll find out in time, be patient, I scolded myself. Besides, you need to make sure you find your date.

            Like I had predicted, Hermione let me go on ahead of her to the Great Hall. I rolled my eyes as I left her.

It was semi-crowded outside the Great Hall's doors. Students from all three schools (Hogwarts, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons) were all mingling, all looking at their best. Naturally, I was jealous of the Beauxbatons girls because they all were so thin and beautiful that it made them look like goddesses whereas I was just a mortal.