Keys To My Heart {G. WEASLEY}

(Chapter 50) Preparations

"What the fu-" I began but cut myself off to not swear in front of Neville, "Merlin, you see that?"

Neville nodded, following my gaze to see Viktor Krum walking down the shore of the Black Lake, he sent a look of acknowledgment before continuing on his morning exercise with a swarm of girls trailing behind him.

I turned back to the flat boulder overlooking the lake, placing down my book bag, and snagged a seat on the rock, "What a show-off..." I muttered to myself, shivering.

"Must be nice to have admirers," commented Neville before looking back to his copy of 'Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean'. "Right then, so during winter time there has to be..."

A good hour passed by Neville and I chilling at the lake, we found the needed plant in a short span of time and examining had been far more exciting.

I looked at my pocket watch to check the time, "Let's wrap it up, lunch is in a few."

"Got it," Neville replied back, getting up from his spot on the ground and pocketed the jar of a water plant he had been examining, freshly caught from the lake. "Say, Lucinda, you don't have a date to the ball, do you? If you don't, then can we go as friends, I'm really excited for the ball and all I need is a partner."

"Me?" I raised an eyebrow and shook my head, "shouldn't you be asking a girl you like?"

Neville shook his head, "Actually, I don't fancy anyone, so I just thought I'd get a friend."

I had several reasons to decline, the top one being both Slytherin and Gryffindor would cause a spread of nasty rumors; he was going to get bullied harder by Malfoy; I was already going with Tsvetan Poliakoff who asked me.

"A guy asked me already. Why don't you ask Ginny? She also wants to go to the ball," I suggested. "I would've taken her if I didn't have a date."

"That's a good idea," he nodded.

Not a second past and footsteps began to approach the two of us, Ginny's voice hollering for us to head back to the castle for lunch. "Oh, well, she showed up herself," I lazily threw him a smile and began walking towards the red-haired girl.

"Hey, Ginny!" Neville ran up to her, "want to accompany me to the ball?"

"Sure, why not?" Ginny easily agreed, and together we walked back to the castle.

. . . .

The cold winter morning spared no expense in making everyone dress themselves in layers upon layers of outerwear, luckily for me, the white coat Malfoy had given me retained all the warmth I needed. I suppose some sort of warming charm was cast for a long-term run, and as the weather got colder it was the only coat I wore.

Stepping into the Owlery, I had a parcel and a letter for Ginger, my owl, to deliver to my parents in time for Christmas. I looked around to see the many owls, I avoided stepping in their droppings and walked up the stairs to the top.

Before I could make it to the fourth step, I gasped as I slipped on the ice, and a hand reached out in lightning speed to take my waist, hoisting me up safely.

"Sorry! Are you okay?"

"Cho," I gasped, seeing the familiar girl and thanked her for grabbing onto me before I fell.

"Careful, the ice is slippery here," she told me with a kind smile.

"I think I can speak from experience, now that I almost died there," I said, "oh, by the way, who are you going to the Yule Ball with?"

"Oh, Cedric- Cedric Diggory, he asked me," Cho answered.

"Good for you, Cho," I grinned and nudged her on the shoulder, teasingly, "Is he your boyfriend now?"