Right About Cedric | | Cedric Diggory

twenty-three - (yule ball part one)

The next morning, the common room is buzzing about the Yule Ball. Like Hermione, a lot of people have already been asked or have asked people to the ball. Tomorrow is leaving day for people who aren't staying at Hogwarts for the Christmas holiday. We have no classes today, just time to say goodbye to our friends that are leaving, who are scarce. The majority of the students who are above 3rd year are staying for the Yule Ball, besides those who were asked by older students to go as their date. Hermione fast-walks over to me from where she was just talking to Ron and Harry. I give her a puzzled look.

"Ron's fretting because he can't find a 'decent person to go to the ball with," she says in a snobbish tone.

"If only you weren't... you know... taken!" I look over her shoulder to see Harry and Ron talking. I give Harry a small wave. He smiles and waves back.

"If only." She glances back and rolls her eyes.

-

-

At lunch, we say goodbye to our friends that are leaving for Christmas break. Not many people are leaving this year, but we tagged along with Ginny so she can say goodbye to some of her friends. When we get back to the common room, we can all tell that Ron has something on his mind.

"What is it, Ron?" Harry asks abruptly. "You've been fidgeting and moving around for, like, the past fifteen minutes."

"It's just that- you know what never mind." Ron starts turning over the parchment in his hands.

"Come on, spit it out Ron, you wuss," Hermione snaps her head over to him.

"I just- the Yule Ball is in one night, and everyone has a date to the ball, and I don't have one. I just feel like nobody wants to go with me." He looks down at his feet, in the Gryffindor socks his mom knitted.

"Well, have you asked anyone?" I asked.

"Ya. In a stroke of confidence, I walked up to Fleur, and..."

"You asked Fleur Delacour to the Yule Ball!?" I gasp, stunned.

"You know she's going with Roger Davies, the Ravenclaw, right?" Hermione rolls her eyes.

"No, Hermione, I didn't. Do you think I would have asked her if I knew that?"

Hermione shrugged. "Your unpredictable sometimes,"

"Well, maybe you should ask someone you know doesn't have a date. Like Parvati Patil. She was just talking to me at lunch about how she doesn't have a date either." I suggest.

"But I don't know her that well. Oh! Hermione, you're a girl."

"Sure am. Hadn't noticed, had you? Hm." Hermione shrugs.

"No. I didn't mean it like that. But-"

"Indeed I do have a date already."

"WHO?"

"That is none of your business at this moment." She looks Ron straight in his eyes. "You were a little too late, weren't you?" She yanks my arm up and pulls me up towards our dormitory.

-

-

That night, as we're laying in our beds, I roll over to the left to face Hermione's bed, about 6 feet away from mine.

"You were great back there. Standing your ground against Ron."

"Thanks. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean that I'm always going to be an option." I could tell she was rolling her eyes, even in the dark.