Part 2
Ron
Ron was getting very nervous now; he didn't have a date to the ball. Charles and Bianca were going together, and Hermione - whom he'd intended to ask - was going with Dean bloody Thomas.
“I suppose there’s always Moaning Myrtle,” he said gloomily, referring to the ghost who haunted the girls’ toilets on the second floor.
“Ron — you’ve just got to grit your teeth and do it,” Charles said to him on Friday morning, in a tone that suggested he was planning the storming of an impregnable fortress. “When you get back to the common room tonight, you’ll have a partner — agreed?”
Ron sighed, “Alright.”
He already had someone in sight, though he wasn't sure she'd accept... to add to his misfortune, every time he glimpsed her that day — during break, and then lunchtime, and once on the way to History of Magic — she was surrounded by friends. Didn’t she ever go anywhere alone? Could he perhaps ambush her as she was going into a bathroom? But no — she even seemed to go there with an escort of four or five girls. Yet if he didn’t do it soon, she was bound to be asked by somebody else.
He found it hard to concentrate on Snape’s Potions test and consequently forgot to add the key ingredient — a bezoar — meaning that he received bottom marks. He didn’t care, though; he was too busy screwing up his courage for what he was about to do. When the bell rang, he grabbed his bag and hurried to the dungeon door.
“I’ll meet you at dinner,” he said to Charles and Hermione, and he dashed off upstairs.
He’d just have to ask her for a private word, that was all... He hurried off through the packed corridors looking for her, and (rather sooner than he had expected) he found her, emerging from a Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.
“Er — Padma? Could I have a word with you?”
Giggling should be made illegal, Ron thought furiously, as all the girls around her started doing it. She didn’t, though. She said, “Okay,” and followed him out of earshot of her classmates.
Ron turned to look at her and his stomach gave a weird lurch as though he had missed a step going downstairs. Padma Patil was one of the more pretty girls, the Ravenclaw twin of Parvati Patil of Gryffindor in Ron's year, with long black and silky hair, nose dead-centre, eyes dark brown, lashes long and thick.
“Er,” he said.
He couldn’t ask her. He couldn’t. But he had to. Padma stood there looking puzzled, watching him.
The words came out before Ron had quite got his tongue around them. “Wangoballwime?”
Padma let out a confused breath. “Sorry?”
“D’you — d’you want to go to the ball with me?”
Why did he have to go red now? Why?
“Oh!” Padma blinked. “Oh... I-I guess, sure... I mean, I can't keep turning guys down, you know? So why not?
A wide grin spread on Ron's face, his insides writhing like snakes. "Great!"
And that was it.
In too much a bliss, Ron completely forgot about dinner - a mirace for him. He walked back up to Gryffindor Tower with a spring in his step, Padma's voice calling his name echoing in his ears.
“Fairy lights,” he said cheerfully to the Fat Lady — the password had been changed the previous day.
“Yes, indeed, dear!” she trilled, straightening her new tinsel hair band as she swung forward to admit him.
Entering the common room, Ron looked around, and to his surprise, saw Seamus sitting ashen-faced in a distant corner. Charles, Bianca, Hermione, and Dean were sitting with him, talking to him in what seemed to be a low, soothing voice.
“What’s up, Seamus?” he said, joining them.
Seamus looked up at Ron, a sort of blind horror in his face. “Why did I do it?” he said wildly. “I don’t know what made me do it!”
“What?”
“He — er — just asked Fleur Delacour to go to the ball with him,” Dean muttered. He looked as though he was fighting back a smile, but he kept patting Seamus’ arm sympathetically.
Ron blinked. “You what?”
“I don’t know what made me do it!” Seamus gasped again. “What was I playing at? There were people — all around — I’ve gone mad — everyone watching! I was just walking past her in the entrance hall — she was standing there talking to Diggory — and it sort of came over me — and I asked her!”
Seamus moaned and put his face in his hands. He kept talking, though the words were barely distinguishable. “She looked at me like I was a sea slug or something. Didn’t even answer. And then — I dunno — I just sort of came to my senses and ran for it.”
“She’s part veela,” Charles said. “You were right, Ron — her grandmother was one. It wasn’t your fault, Seamus, I bet you just walked past when she was turning on the old charm for Diggory and got a blast of it — but she was wasting her time. He’s going with Cho Chang.”
Charles' face contorted into a grimace.
“This is mad,” said Ron. "Where's Lavender?"
"She, uh..." Hermione hesitated. "She got really mad when she heard, and... uh, she's not going out with Seamus anymore."
“We’re the only ones left who haven’t got anyone," Seamus said gloomily to Ron.
"Actually," Ron smiled. "I have a date."
“What?” Charles and Hermione cried in unison, completely distracted by this startling news.
“Yeah, I know!” Ron laughed, colour rushing to his cheeks in pleasure. “I approached Padma Patil after Potions! And she said yes! Said she couldn't keep turning us boys down anymore."
Just then Harry climbed in through the portrait hole. “Why weren’t you guys at dinner?” he said, coming over to join them.
“I got a date!" Ron cried, at the same time as Charles said, "Seamus made a fool out of himself,", Hermione and Dean said together, "No reason,", and Bianca drawled, "Don't ask,", while Seamus groaned.
Harry blinked, obviously not expecting such a jumble of responses and different moods. "Uh... well, congratulations, Ron!" he finally said, smiling at the boy, and then turned to Bianca, obviously more interested in the latest piece of tragic gossip. "How did Seamus make a fool of himself, now?"
Bianca grinned and leaned forward as Harry plopped down on the ground in front of her. "He asked Fleur Delacour out in front of everybody! And totally delirious and idiotically too! And she gave him a nasty look and he ran away! She didn't even answer him!"
Harry burst into laughter, before trying - and failing - to cover it as a coughing fit. "Oh, hell, Seamus, I'm sorry," he managed. "I'm sure you'll find somebody who'll have you... assuming, that is, that Lavender broke up with you?"
Seamus sighed and nodded miserably. "Yeah..."
"Hey, you can try Eloise Midgen!" Ron suddenly said. "She'll go out with you, I'm sure."
Hermione shot him a scowl, but Seamus actually looked thoughtful. "You know, I think I will try that..."
"You do," Hermione snapped and went away, Dean quickly following her like a love-sick puppy. Ron rolled his eyes. Seriously, why could Hermione never loosen up?!
Ginny
"Ginny, come on! You need to say yes to someone!" Amy cried in frustration.
Josephine hummed in ascent, not looking up from her book. Ginny sighed. "I don't want to, alright?"
Amy raised an eyebrow. "Don't want to go to the Ball?"
Ginny didn't reply. How could she make Amy understand when she didn't understand herself? Ginny wanted to go to the Ball, more than anything else! But she didn't want it to be a meaningless date. And the guys that asked her out didn't mean anything to her... she barely knew any of them. Ginny told herself and her friends that she was just waiting for the right person, whoever that may be. They all knew, no matter how much they pretended otherwise, who the right person was.
"Joe, you try now, I'm tired," Amy said wearily.
Josephine finally kept her book aside, staring straight at Ginny. "Look, Ginevra, either accept a guy or ask Malfoy out."
"Josephine!" Amy groaned as Ginny watched the girl in astonishment.
To her credit, Josephine didn't waver. Instead, she stared at Ginny intensely. "It's what it is. Face it, Gin. You have an enormous crush on Malfoy, who we all know likes you back, but isn't man enough to approach you himself, your status and all. So, either ask him out and face the risk of rejection and humiliation which he may bestow upon you just to not show his own feelings, or ask someone else to take you."
Ginny bit her lip. Josephine was right, of course. "I..."
But before she could say further, a knock sounded on the door to their dormitory, where they were sitting. Grateful for a distraction, Ginny quickly stood up and crossed the room, to the door, and opened it. She wished instantly she hadn't.
It was Draco, in clean and fresh robes, his slightly wet hair showing he'd just had a shower, smelling faintly of lavender. His hands were behind his bag, his back straight. In his sophisticated presence, Ginny blushed, suddenly becoming acutely aware of her short knee-length nightie and uncombed hair.
His cheeks pinkened as he noticed her dress, but taking a deep breath, he cleared his throat. "Ginevra Molly Weasley, would you do me the honour of going to the ball as my partner?"
Ginny's cheeks flamed redder than her hair, and she could hear gasps coming from Amy and Josephine. Not looking back, Ginny just stared at Draco for a minute before... "I'd love to."
Her voice came out breathier than she'd intended it to, but Draco didn't seem to have noticed. He was smiling joyfully at her, and she couldn't help smiling back.
This was the happiest day of her life.