A lot of the younger students' eyes lit up at the thoughts of activities being set up for them while the others got to have their ball. Chatter once again ran throughout the student body. The Headmaster continued again after a minute. "I would advise all the gentlemen out there not to dally in asking for a date, or you may find that your lady of choice has already been asked. Now enjoy your desserts." And with that he sat back down and enjoyed himself watching his students.
Meanwhile, Ron was grumbling next to Harry. "Can you believe this mate?"
"It makes sense if you think about it," Harry commented after a moment. "The war is going to be starting soon, so it makes sense that Dumbledore would do something to try to convince people to stay in the safety of Hogwarts."
"That's very perceptive Harry," Hermione said with a smile.
Ron, on the other hand, continued on grumpily. "No, can you believe that we have to go through this again . I mean, it was bad enough having to find a date to the ball last time. Why does he have to go and make us do it again?"
"Oh, it's not that bad," Harry said, much to the surprise of his three friends within earshot.
"If I remember correctly," Hermione commented after she took a moment to recover from her shock, "you had quite the time of finding yourself a date last time, Harry."
Harry looked up and met Hermione's gaze unflinchingly with a smile on his face. "Yeah, and I was absolutely clueless at the time. Not to mention the fact that I was hung up on Cho. I'm not going to make the same mistakes again. This time I'm going to ask someone I know that I'll have fun with, and I'm not going to wait to do it." By the time he finished that statement, he had already decided who he planned to ask.
"Really?" Hermione asked interestedly.
"Yep," Harry replied easily.
"Prove it," Ron grouched.
"What was that?" Harry asked his friend.
"I said prove it," Ron said grumpily. "If it's so easy to get a date for the ball, then prove it. Get yourself a date." Ron looked rather impressed with himself for throwing a wrench into Harry's gears, not that Ron actually knew what either of those was.
Harry, on the other hand, looked completely nonplussed. "Alright, if you insist." He turned his head and spotted her a few seats down, speaking excitedly to her dorm mates. "Hey Ginny," he called.
She turned away from her giggling friends to spot who it was that was calling to her. Her eyes met Harry's, and she smiled. "Yes Harry?" All of her friends turned their attention towards him at that point, making him pause.
"Um…" he shook himself a little. There was really nothing to be embarrassed about. "Do you want to go to the ball with me?"
Her eyes widened considerably, as did the eyes of all her friends and Harry's friends as well. Ginny's cheeks stained pink as she realized what he had just asked, and she smiled brilliantly, which prompted another burst of giggles from her friends. After she took a moment to stare at her friends reprovingly, she turned back to Harry. "I'd love to, Harry."
"Great," he called to her. Ginny turned back to her friends who all broke out in giggles once again, and they started gossiping excitedly. Harry turned back to his friends who were all staring at him, mouths gaping and eyes still wide. "See," Harry said, "it wasn't that hard at all." He then dug into his dessert, ignoring the fact that their gazes were still on him.
Finally, after a full minute of silence, Ron broke out of his trance. "Bloody hell, mate," he cried out. "Did you just ask my little sister to the ball?"
Harry looked up from his pudding. "Yes, I believe I did. Is there a problem?"
"She's my sister," Ron barked out, as if that explained everything.
"So I've noticed," Harry replied dryly turning his attention back to his pudding.
"Just what are your intentions?" Ron questioned hotly, forcing Harry to turn back toward him.
"Excuse me?" Harry asked icily.
"What are your intentions toward my sister?" Ron repeated heatedly.
"I hardly think that's any of your business," Hermione interrupted irritably.
"Of course it's my business," Ron replied distractedly, never turning away from Harry. "She's my little sister."
"I don't know if you've noticed this, Ron" Neville piped up from across Ron, "but she is quite capable of looking after herself. And besides, you can hardly call her little any more."
This was not the most conducive thing to say in regards to Ron's temper, but Harry didn't really care at this point. Ron really was being ridiculously overprotective, and someone had to do something about it sooner or later. It wasn't fair to Ginny. "Too right, Neville," he added in for good measure.
Predictably, Ron saw red. "It's you, isn't it?" he all but shouted, causing several heads at their table to turn towards them.
"Ron, keep your voice down," Hermione reprimanded.
"What are you on about?" Harry asked civilly.
"You're the one she's been sneaking around with, aren't you?" Ron asked hotly but more quietly. "That's why you wouldn't lend me your map. You're snogging my sister in broom cupboards." His tone was definitely accusatory, as though that was a heinous crime.
Harry laughed. It was probably the wrong thing to do at that moment, but he couldn't help it. The situation was just too funny. He managed to calm himself down after a moment. He looked Ron right in the eye unflinchingly and stated very slowly and clearly, "I have never once snogged your sister. We're just friends."
Ron studied him intently for a full minute before he calmed down noticeably. "You're not just saying that, are you mate?" he finally asked, the hope evident in his voice.
"No, I'm not just saying that," Harry replied truthfully. "But you really do need to get over your overprotectiveness. Ginny's old enough to make her own decisions, and she's perfectly capable of looking after herself. If she wants to snog some guy, there's nothing you can do to stop her. I highly suggest that you think long and hard about that before you do something stupid that strains your relationship with her any further."
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