The Switch (pjo/hp)

Chapter 14: The Yule Ball

Percy learned that his partner's name was Parvati Patil, and her sister, Ron's partner, was Padma Patil. They were twins, but Parvati was in Gryffindor and Padma was in Ravenclaw. So twins aren't all the same (although they look so alike, Percy was scared he might talk to her sister instead).

Percy and Ron were waiting for their partners by the doors of the Great Hall. Apparently, they had decorated it very nicely, so Percy was quite excited to see what they'd done. "Ron, where's Hermione?"

"I dunno," Ron said miserably. He was still very embarrassed about his dress robes, though Percy didn't think they were bad (who was he kidding? They were pretty bad). Percy's robes, on the other hand, were just a simple black with some green in it, which Hermione said brought out his eyes.

The Patil twins arrived, talked to them for two minutes, then went to hang out with their friends. Such great partners.

He was just trying to convince Ron that Draco was better than he thought he was, and losing the argument (because Ron was stubborn), when Ron stopped mid-sentence, mouth hanging open. Percy looked behind him to see what the matter was, only to find his own jaw drop.

Hermione arrived.

But she had a full-on makeover. Percy always found Hermione pretty, but now, he had to admit, she was knockout gorgeous. She was wearing an elegant blue dress, [yes, I'm going by the books, they were better] and she even managed to tame her hair, which impressed Percy, as he had failed to complete that task. She walked down the steps, waving excitedly at Percy and Ron. Percy got over his shock first and waved back. Ron however, was still staring.

"Ron, are you alright?" Hermione asked, which seemed to snap Ron out of his trance.

"Yeah," he said.

"Hermione, you look amazing!" Percy complemented, earning a slight blush from her.

"Thank you," she said. "You two don't look so bad yourselves."

Percy grinned, and Ron's cheeks coloured. It was so cute when they were in denial.

And guess what? Hermione's partner was Victor Krum. He came over, complimented her on her looks, and kissed her hand, taking her away. She looked at Percy apologetically, and he gave her the thumbs-up.

"That bloody show-off," Ron grumbled.

"Is someone jealous?" Percy teased, earning a glare from Ron.

"Potter!" McGonagall said in a hurry. "Come on, the Ball is about to begin."

He was very stressed about having to dance in front of the school, but at least he had some kind of idea as to what he was doing. He had asked Draco to teach him how to dance, so he now knew the basics. However he feared they weren't enough, as he had stepped on Draco's foot multiple times. Nevertheless, he walked into the Great Hall along with the other Champions, linking arms with Parvati.

The Hall was breathtaking. You couldn't even recognise it. The four long tables had been removed, replaced by numerous round tables scattered across the room. It was themed like some kind of winter wonderland. Icicles hung from the ceiling, and the walls looked frozen over. Three Christmas trees decorated the end of the hall, the middle one was huge, and the other two a little smaller. Parvati had to tug at his arm slightly as he had frozen in shock and admiration.

And so they began dancing. The good news was he had only stepped on Parvati's foot once, and that was only because he got distracted by Cedric's partner. Cho. So that's who she was talking about. All in all, the dance wasn't as bad as Percy anticipated.

People started to join around the middle of the song. Hermione looked like she was having the time of her life. McGonagall and Dumbledor danced together, which Percy didn't expect. His eyes fell on Ron for a second, who was refusing to dance with Padma. She quit after a while, instead joining some Beauxbatons boy.