I Want to be Your First Choice, Harry Potter

Chapter Sixteen

     I give Harry a few days to figure things out but it's October 29th and Halloween is in a few days. I would need to find a date and everything. I plan on asking him about it again after Potions in the hallway. Snape announces that I won the vile of Veritaserum. I proudly walk up to the front of the class and take the vile then walk back to my seat smiling the whole time.

     Harry teases me and says, "Nerd." under his breath.

     "You're just jealous you don't have the intellectual abilities of me." I say, teasing him back.

     After class while I'm walking with Harry to our next class I ask him if he's thought about the ball. He says that after a lot of consideration he decided it would be a good idea for him to go to the ball. He says that every year he sits in his room and cries but he doesn't want to this year, he'd rather have fun then dwell on the past. I'm glad he wants to go, maybe since Halloween is in two days everyone will already have a date and he would ask me. I don't want Ginny to have to ask for me again or something pathetic. I want it to come from him, if it does at all. I should probably tell him soon about how I feel. If I can build up the courage. But I can't and I won't so for now I'll just shove all my feelings down when I'm around him, which is all the time.

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    That night in the common room I catch Seamus staring at me a few times, he quickly looks away each time I turn towards him though. Everyone is ready to head up to bed so all the girls head towards the girls dormitories and all the boys go the other direction towards their dormitories.

     "Hey Gabriella could I ask you something?" I know it's Seamus from his distinct Irish accent.

     "Sure what is it?" I ask turning around to face him. He looks nervous and I think I know what's coming.

     "If you don't already have a date I was wondering if you would want to go to the ball with me? As friends of course, I just don't have a date and you're a good friend of mine." He says. I can't turn him down, I would feel terrible considering he is one of my good friends as well and leaving him without a date just in case Harry asks me would be selfish.

     "Yeah sure, I'll see you there!" I say as joyfully as I can. Once I turn back around my smile drops. It's not that I don't like Seamus, it's just, Harry.

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    It's the night of the ball now and Hermione and I invited a bunch of girls to get ready together in our room. I already have my dress on, it's a beautiful red color and has multiple layers making it flow nicely, my masquerade mask is white with an assortment of different jewels. I had picked out the dress with Harry in mind even though I'm not going with him.

    "Who are you going with, Avira?" Ginny asks. I don't know much about Ariva but she seems sweet and I always like to include people. She has long brown hair and big green eyes and her face is covered in these beautiful freckles that I am personally very jealous of. I've always wanted freckles. She's shy though, I can tell.

    "Oh I'm going with Harry, I don't like him like that but he seems like a sweet boy so I didn't want to turn him down."  She says. I can't believe that Harry asked Avira of all people. I've never even seen him talk to her before. I guess he just asked her because nobody else is observant enough to notice her beauty. She probably was one of the last girls without a date.

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