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“...Ginny?”The red-haired girl looked up from the textbook she had been studying - Professor Binns really should care to make lessons less dreadfully boring; she really couldn’t be blamed for her heavy procrastination - and was somewhat surprised to see Hermione standing at the edge of the common room stairs so late at night. Usually, the girl was never down at this time of night unless she was discussing something with Harry and her brother. Not that she herself was ever included in those discussions.What was even more unusual, she noticed, was the nervous way the brunette bit her lip and crossed her arms as she spoke.Ginny shut her book and placed it on the table in front of the sofa. “Yes?” she prompted.Hermione continued to bite her lip, and then hesitantly moved towards Ginny and rather forcefully sat herself next to her on the couch. She was silent a few minutes, and her mouth was constantly opening and closing.Admittingly, Ginny was rather curious to see what could make the great Hermione Granger so flustered. If it was a serious problem, Ginny knew that she would have gone to either Harry or Ron.Brilliantly, she concluded that this secret, whatever it may be, could not be shared with either of the two boys. This was exciting, because it meant one of two things to Ginny.One option was that one boy, or both, was the unfortunate object of anger to Hermione (and it was probably her brother too - poor git; if Hermione’s reaction towards him was anything like how she had dealt with Draco, she would have to find time in her schedule to visit him in the infirmary).The second option meant that this was something that in general could not be discussed with boys. And with the dance fast approaching, Ginny had to suppress a smile as her mind raced with possibilities of what Hermione would want to talk about. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something all week,” quipped Hermione after a few more moments of silence. “And I want to know your opinion before I commit myself to this. As you know, the Yule Ball is fast approaching and…”Finally, thought Ginny excitedly. She grinned, ecstatic to be a person that Hermione felt comfortable enough with to gab about topics that would sent other girls into obnoxious, giggling spirals.That was one reason as to how and why the girls had bonded. Over the summer, Ginny had had to share her bedroom with Hermione while the girl was visiting.It had been painfully awkward at first. Not because the girls did not enjoy each other’s company, but because during the day, they barely associated with one another; the frizzy-haired brunette was always in rooms with her best friends (and her idiot brother refused to let her join), so Ginny was left to find company elsewhere. Nightly greetings were more of a roommate formality. Having to live together, it would make sense and make things easier if the girls were to get along, after all.But more than a few small fights with Ron had eventually sent Hermione fuming into her temporary dwelling while Ginny was in the room. Since the room was theirs, it was obvious that Ginny would be the ideal person to confide in.Later, the girls had learned that they both had trouble finding close friends amongst girls in their respective years, but missed having the ability to talk about said subjects the few times they so desired. And so, the friendship formed at first out of necessity quickly became a close bond between two girls who genuinely trusted one another.Since that summer, the girls had conversed and spent time together a number of times, but Ginny was no fool. She would never be a replacement for Harry and Ron, and was really only the first choice when Hermione was in a spat with the boys, more commonly the latter. Nonetheless, girl talk was a vitality in their teenage years, and Ginny was pleased that Hermione was going to admit something that she herself had suspected a number of times. The longing looks, their constant proximity...“...and I’ve been asked. Rather unexpectedly.”Ginny blinked. He asked her? He actually had plucked up the courage to ask her? Really, now, that was fast. Granted, it had been a while since she suspected, but based on the boy’s excruciatingly slow-paced behavior, Ginny would have assumed he would not have actually asked until about one week prior to the ball.“And I said yes.”At this, Ginny’s eyes bulged and smiled at the same time.“That’s wonderful!” the red-haired girl exclaimed.“Are you positive?” Hermione asked, skeptically. “I mean, it was rather out of the blue, although I have been seeing him a lot lately when studying and....”“You’ve always seen a lot of him, Hermione. You’re just now noticing him.”“Really? I admit, I do have a tendency to lose myself in my reading, but when someone is simply staring at you for so long a person cannot help but notice…”“Yes, it is rather obvious how he stares.”Hermione giggled. “Well, I didn’t want to point it out, but-”“Anyways, I want you to know that I’m completely okay with it.”At this, Hermione looked genuinely puzzled. “Excuse me?”“It’s really not a shock, Hermione. We’ve all noticed it. Even Harry, as dense as he may be, seems to be noticing something growing. I’ve suspected since this summer but haven’t said anything-”“Wait - this summer?”“Yes - as I was saying, I didn’t say anything in case you were uncomfortable since he’s my brother and all, but I’m so glad that he finally grew into his status as a Gryffindor and asked-”“WHAT?!”Ginny jumped, staring into Hermione’s wild eyes with a curious expression. Upon realizing she had yelled, Hermione frantically looked around, as if expecting someone to come down the stairs at the sound. When she had deemed nobody else was around or coming, she turned back to Ginny.“Who exactly are you referring to?”“Um, my brother?”Hermione coughed multiple times. Ginny patted her back, still confused.Turning to her red-haired friend, Hermione said, in a calmer voice, “Ginny, Viktor Krum is the boy who asked me to the ball.”Now it was Ginny’s turn to choke, and the roles were quickly reversed.After a few minutes, Ginny turned to the other girl, and said “Well, that was unexpected.”“That’s what I was thinking! I mean, I wanted to know if it was odd, that a boy who has never so much as spoken a sentence to a girl ask her out. I’m not sure what’s the normal protocol of dating.”Ginny merely stared at Hermione for a few seconds.And a few seconds after that, she laughed. Hysterically.“Stop it! Ginny, this is not funny, by any means! I can’t ask Lavender or Parvati because they’ll spread it around and Harry and Ron would never stop making fun of me and-”“No, no,” Ginny said, wiping her eyes. “Really, Hermione, I think it’s wonderful. And adorable, that a famous Quidditch star watches you from afar without hesitation,” she teased.Hermione blushed. “...so it’s okay that I’m doing this, right? I just didn’t want to go alone, you know? And this was before Neville asked me, or else I would have agreed to go with him, too. I just want to prove to everyone that I’m a girl, too,” Hermione stated sadly, “Not that Ron seems to notice.”Ginny smiled knowingly while Hermione turned, mouth agape and eyes wide, away from her as she realized what she had just said. She turned back to her friends to say something else, but Ginny cut her off.“I knew it! Oh, Ronnie better watch out! Finding out that the girl he fancies can bag an international athlete will certainly teach him a lesson!”Hermione turned, mouth still agape.“Honestly, Hermione, you think you’re the only one who notices when a girl fancies a bloke,” Ginny said cheekily.Hermione moved her mouth into an uneasy grin. “He never would have asked me, Ginny. Maybe as a last resort, if he doesn’t find anyone, but the bloke is as shallow as they come. Should have heard the way he talked about his qualifications for dates…”Ginny rolled her eyes. “Why do you think I was so puzzled when I heard he asked you? I know my brother, Hermione, and he isn’t terribly gifted at recognizing a great thing when it’s right in front of him,” she said decidedly. “...he always does, though, eventually,” she added as an afterthought.This time, Hermione grinned. “Thank you, Ginny.”“Anytime. Hermione. Glad to be of service.”“Glad to have you. And who knows? Maybe some bloke will finally come to their senses and ask you so that you can help me with my boy dilemmas at the ball, too.”
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“...Ginny!”The girl whipped around and found herself staring at Neville Longbottom, who was running (well, if she could call it that) towards her while trying not to drop the many books and quills he was holding.She had been walking back to her dorm room after a late-night study session with Hermione - well, Hermione had been studying; she had been ranting about how she wanted to go to the ball and see her brother’s jealous, disbelieving face when her friend walked in with Viktor Krum (seeing the blush and embarrassment on Hermione’s face had made staying up late in the library completely worth it), and about how it simply was not fair for third years to be dependent on a date in order to attend.The girls had rekindled their friendship after that talk in the common room. They had missed having another girl with compatible interests to rant to about topics that they could not talk about with anyone else. And if Ginny were being honest, Hermione was in a much more desperate need for some well-needed girl talk than she was.Lost in thought, Ginny did not notice Neville calling her name and waving a shy hand in front of her face in attempts to get her attention back to who was right in front of her.“Oh! Sorry, Neville,” she said sheepishly. “What did you need?”To her mild irritation, the boy continued to just stand there, with his mouth occasionally stretching to say something but stopping midway every time.She tried to wait patiently, she really did, for what seemed like a good solid three minutes before declaring “Well, if there’s nothing you need right no-”“Wannagototheballwithme?”Ginny jumped a little bit at the sudden volume of his voice. Honestly, it is quite annoying for a person to call someone, make them wait for an eternity, and then just rapidly put together a sente-
Wait, what?
“I-I’m sorry?”
Well, this is awkward.
Meanwhile, as different thoughts and theories for what had just come out of his mouth were flying through her brain, Neville has been standing there, face down, with his hand uncomfortably placed behind his neck.“Well, I was just- wonder- maybeifyouwantedto…” he continued.Ginny gazed at him, still confused, before lighting up as the prospect of what this meant flashed through her. She looked around, smiling to herself with these thoughts.She could finally attend the ball! She could go and do and see all of the things that her idiot, immature, brothers could go do! She could doll up Hermione and actually get to see the look on her brother’s face when he-“You know what, um… nevermind. Sorry I asked.”Ginny sharply looked back at him, only to be greeting by the sight of the boy’s retrieving body. Oh right, she thought. I didn’t actually say yes yet.“Neville, wait,” Ginny called enthusiastically.He turned around, his hand reaching back over his neck from his side, and said “It’s alright Ginny. You know what? You can forget I even said anything.”She laughed. “Now why would I want to do that?”Neville seemed genuinely confused by her smile.“You mean...you wouldn’t mind going with me?”The sweet and smile, along with the hope in his eyes, made Ginny happy. Happy, that is, until she realized that he thought she actually fancied him.And then she felt like a bloody terrible human being.She shouldn’t… is it morally wrong to go to the ball with a boy when you have ulterior motives? Ginny thought it must be, especially considering that said boy seemed to have genuine feelings for her.But if she rejected him now, it might be a terrible blow to his already low self-esteem. Would it make her a terrible person for contributing to the degradation of his confidence?Argh, she thought. What do I do?If only Hermione were here. She would, of course, have a perfectly practical response, once again, of how to say no to Neville. She had done it once before, and had clearly done it in a manner that was not too painful, for he apparently had the confidence to ask another girl out so soon. She was quite perfect - sometimes annoyingly so.The smile on her face must have fell quite noticeably, for Neville’s followed. He continued to look at her nervously, before looking around - over, under, at the walls - anywhere that wasn’t at her.Realizing that she, in fact, was now doing to Neville the very irritating thing he had done to her just minutes ago, finally composed herself and spoke hesitantly.“...friends, right?”That was smooth.Ginny looked at him anxiously, certain that she had just broken his poor heart. I must have let him know too harshly.Yet much to her astonishment, he smiled brilliantly and laughed. “Of course!” he said while laughing.Ginny looked at him once more for a second, before smiling as well. “Well, that is a relief,” she started to say. “I alm-”“Now I won’t be teased! I’m not attending the ball alone!”Her gaze sharpened quite quickly at his glee. He was just using me to not look unmanly? After I had gone to so much trouble worrying over hurting him?“Argh! Can boys BE more clueless?” she nearly yelled. Neville jumped back, stunned at her sudden outburst. He was gaping his mouth open and close again, but she cut him off.“I mean, really? You don’t even mention that you only asked a girl because you needed a date? Sure, call me an idiot because you only asked me after you asked Hermione-”At this, Neville’s eyes widened and he vigorously shook his head.“Oh, don’t even try to deny it! She told me herself! What if I had fancied you, Neville? What then? Would you have just dumped me at the ne-”“Ginny!”She looked at him, heart still racing, before the guilt set in. This was Neville Longbottom, she thought. He could never hurt a fly.“I- I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s just- I wasn’t sure-”“If you’re not mad, do you mind still going with me? I didn’t mean to hurt you, Ginny. I just thought you knew…”“I do. I was just irritated, you know.”“May I ask why?”“Because up until now, nobody had asked me to the Yule Ball.”They looked at each other and smiled. After a few seconds, the purr of a cat could be heard coming close into the halls that they were in.Sigh. We know what that means.“Well, we don’t want to be caught by Filch,” Ginny said. “I’ll see you at the ball?”Neville grinned. “See you, Ginny.”
Oh, I can’t wait to tell Hermione!
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“I can’t believe this is really happening.”“It’s been three weeks since we’ve known you were going, Ginny.”“Oh, sod off, Hermione.”The girls laughed. Indeed, it had been that long since Ginny had jumped (quite literally, much to Hermione’s annoyance) on Hermione from behind in the library, informing her in rushed and excited tones that she was in fact going to be attending the Yule Ball with her, as confirmed by the events the night before.After readjusting her robes and berating her friend for startling a person in the library - honestly, it was a place meant for quiet study, and scared shrieks did not contribute to such an environment - Hermione had smiled nervously and asked her friend how exactly she planned to attend the Yule Ball.Truly, it wasn’t her fault that she was so on edge. Third years weren’t allowed to attend on their own, and after years of hearing of the boy’s schemes (Ginny was related to one, for Merlin’s sake), Hermione had gotten used to playing the role of the responsible one.Ginny clued into this tone, and grinned while chiding Hermione gently. Then, after informing her that she had made plans the night before to attend the ball the proper way, with Neville as a date, thank you very much, the girls collectively jumped up and down in silent squeals. Hermione was happy to have a friend there who would not make fun of her and ruin her evening, and Ginny was looking forward to seeing her brother’s face when Hermione walked in with Krum.Really, it was the perfect arrangement.Now, the girls were sitting on Ginny’s bed in the dormitories; her roommates were off being sulky about not attending the ball, and Hermione’s dorm was currently being drowned in dresses and accessories and makeup by her roommates. “Are you excited?” Ginny asked.Hermione sighed. “I’m not entirely sure…”“I meant that to be a question with an obvious answer, Hermione. How could you not be excited? All of the girls at Hogwarts - at all of the schools, really - would die to have your date,” replied Ginny.“Well…”“I’m not joking. I actually heard some desperate fifth-years moping and groaning about how they didn’t bag Krum in the lavatories the other da-” “Ginny,” Hermione interrupted with wide eyes and with a slightly louder voice. Then she sighed once more and lowered her tone. “It’s not that I’m not excited, I suppose - I am, I truly am. But the situation you just described is exactly what I’m worried about.”Ginny became slightly perplexed. “What do you mean?”“Viktor was being kind over the past few weeks. I don’t believe he had an ulterior motive to humiliate me or anything - but sometimes I feel like - no, I know that - he’s the only one to feel that way. Most boys and girls will see that I’m not special enough, that I’m too dull and uptight to be with Viktor Krum.”At this, Ginny’s perplexity grew, and as her perplexity grew, so did her determination. She stood up.“Hermione,” she said with confidence. “Stand up.”Now it was Hermione’s turn to be confused. “Wha-”“I said, stand up.”Hermione quickly bounced up to her feet. Ginny immediately took hold of her shoulders, pushed forward Hermione’s newly straightened hair, and guided her to the enlarged mirror by the wall. “Now,” Ginny asked straightforwardly. “What do you see?”Hermione understood where her friend was heading with this. “Ginny, I look fine now - we just spent four hours doing my hair and I just finished reducing the size of my teeth - but I meant in general. There’s no way that people will look at me the same way now versus me when I look how I look all the time.”Ginny shook Hermione’s shoulders. “But now they’ll know that you are beautiful. You always were, Hermione, people just didn’t want to see it because they envy your smarts. Well, that, and there’s the fact that you let your brain define you every second of every day.”Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but Ginny spoke first. “I’m not saying that you shouldn’t let it, Hermione. I’m just saying that if people were thinking that before, they certainly won’t be thinking of it now. If anyone thought that you weren’t good enough for him, they’ll be smart enough now to see that yes, Viktor did choose you. And nobody will dare question the judgment of the oh-so-dreamy Viktor Krum.As Ginny was saying this, she was guiding Hermione back to the bed, and at the last statement, she had laughed while uttering it while simultaneously shoving a bundle of blue in Hermione’s arms.“Now, go put on that gorgeous gown while I try and find my pink sash. Honestly, a pink sash with a green dress, what was mum thinking… swear I wouldn’t wear it if I didn’t look like I was wearing a nightgown without it...at least I didn’t get the worst outfit of the lot…”As Ginny continued muttering, Hermione laughed quietly to herself.