The Yule Ball.

Seamus Finnigan sat on the window sill of the boy's dormitory, watching as the heavy rain outside pelted the window. The wind blew fiercely, and he shivered as he realized that it was quite cold in the empty room. He was supposed to be down in the Great Hall, seeing as though it was dinnertime, but he didn't quite feel like going. He stood up from his spot, stretching and yawning before the door to the room opened, revealing Neville Longbottom.

“Oh, hey Seamus,” he said, walking over to his four-poster bed and sitting down on it. He was holding Trevor; Seamus guessed that he must've misplaced the toad once again. “What are you doing up here? Aren't you hungry?” Seamus shrugged; he could feel hunger nipping at his stomach, but he didn't have the guts to go down there.

“Not really,” he lied blatantly. Neville put Trevor down, not bothering to put him in his cage (this is why he got away so easily).

“Your stomach is saying otherwise,” the taller boy pointed out. Seamus blushed slightly, hearing the loud growling noise his stomach made. “This is about Piper, isn't it?” The Irish boy blushed even further, the tips of his ears even going red. Piper Glasswell was a Hufflepuff girl whom he'd known since they were first years, and he'd developed quite a crush on her. She was best friends with Elspeth Halloway, a girl who was in his year and house, who was good friends with him and Neville.

“N-no,” he stuttered, still lying. Neville sighed, shaking his head at his friend.

“Everyone knows that you like her, Seamus,” he said as Seamus sat down on his own bed. “Just ask her out already.” He looked down, muttering something inaudibly. “What?”

“I did that already,” he said, “though I kinda, uh, said it so fast that she couldn't understand me, and then I kinda ran away.” Neville blinked once or twice.

“Um, I think you should talk to Ellie about this,” he said. “I don't really know what to say.”

--

Fifteen minutes later, Neville and Seamus were sitting in the common room by the fire, Elspeth having joined them.

“Oh, Seamus,” Elspeth said upon hearing what had happened. She shook her head, sighing.
“You obviously don't know how to talk to a girl.”

“Hey!” he said. “I do too know how to talk to a girl!” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I just don't know how to talk to Piper.” Elspeth sat quietly for a moment, a look of thoughtfulness on her face.

“Well, the Yule ball is coming up,” she started. “You could always ask her to that. And I can help you.” Seamus bit his lip.

“Alright, if you say so,” he said.

--

The next day was the day that Elspeth had told Seamus to ask Piper out. It was after Herbology when he approached her, mentally trying to calm himself down.

“Um, hey Piper,” he started, grabbing her attention. She turned around, her long, mousy light brown hair falling over her shoulders.

“Oh, hi Seamus,” she said, casting her eyes down for a moment. She looked back up, her violet eyes meeting his blue ones. “What's up?”

“Oh, nothing too much,” he said. There was a pause. “I just wanted to apologise for running off on you yesterday. I didn't mean to be so weird. I was just, uh, nervous.”

“It's okay,” she said, tucking a stand of her hair behind her ear. “I know exactly what you mean.” Seamus shoved his hands in his pockets.

“You have break right now, right?” he asked. He knew she did; they'd had morning break together all year. He was just asking for the hell of it.

“Of course,” she said. “You know that.” He shrugged.

“Take a walk with me,” he suggested. She thought of the homework that she'd already been assigned; she didn't have too much. She could do it later.

“Alright,” she said. She put her books in her bag, setting it down by the greenhouse. “I'll come back for my stuff later.” He nodded, setting his stuff down next to it. They began walking, not heading anywhere important. While they walked, they talked. They talked about almost everything, from school to the Triwizard Tournament [Seamus was rooting for Harry, obviously; although Piper thought Harry to be a good friend and he was in her year, she was for Cedric, since he was in her house]. They hadn't been paying too much attention to what they were doing, besides walking and talking, and their hands had somehow become linked during this conversation.

"This is nice," Piper said, faintly aware of the fact that her hand was firmly linked with Seamus's. Seamus nodded, mentally acknowledging the fact that he needed to ask her to the ball, and now was a good time to do it.

"You're going to the Yule Ball, right?" he asked, looking at her. She nodded, blushing slightly.

"Of course I am," she said. "I just don't know who I'm going with. Nobody's asked me yet." He inwardly let out a sigh of relief; he hadn't been completely sure of whether or not she'd had a date to the ball yet.

"I don't have a date either," he pointed out, "and it's tomorrow." There was a short silence between them, the only sound being the sound of their feet moving along the grass. "I was wondering, if maybe you'd-"

"Of course I'll go with you, Seamus," she said. "I'd love to." He grinned.

"It's a date then," he said. She raised an eyebrow at him, looking disapproving of the word 'date'. "Of course, only if you consider it to be a date."

"I'll just see you tomorrow; I'm going to be late for class," she said. She turned around, heading back towards the castle. He sighed; he felt like the next day was going to be a disaster.

--

"I don't know if I can do this, Ellie," Piper said to her best friend. It was nearly time for the ball to start; she'd been avoiding Seamus nearly all day, because she didn't know whether or not he was serious when he was saying that this was a date. Her best friend shook her head, and despite her normally cheery outlook, she seemed upset about something.

"Yes you can," she said, taking Piper's long hair and fashioning it up. "You know that you like Seamus, and I can guarantee to you that he likes you too. You need to face him and tell him how you feel." Piper turned towards her friend after she'd finished toying with her hair.

"Kinda like what you need to do with Neville?" she inquired. Her friend blushed, looking in the mirror and fixing her own hair.

"This conversation has nothing to do with me, Neville, or my feelings for him," she said. "It's about you, Seamus, and the feelings that you both obviously have for each other." She grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around. "Now go knock 'em dead." Elspeth pushed her out of the room, staying where she was.

“Oh, fine,” Piper muttered to herself, smoothing down her dress. “I'll deal with my problems myself.” She looked around, making sure no one she knew was in sight, before making her way down to the great hall.

--

“It's official; she's not coming.” Seamus sighed, leaning against the wall. Dean Thomas, who had been keeping Seamus company while he waited, placed a hand on his shoulder.

“She'll be here,” he said. “Trust me. This is Piper, she wouldn't miss something like this for the world.” He patted him reassuringly on the back before going off with his date. Seamus sighed again, checking his watch. It was nearly eight; that was when the ball started. He felt like he'd been duped. He turned to go into the Great Hall, but not before hearing someone call after him.

“Seamus,” he heard Piper call. He turned, seeing her stepping out from behind the wall. He was taken aback; she looked amazing. Her long hair was somehow all twisted up into a simple yet intricate bun, small pieces framing her slender face. She was wearing a long, elegant dress the precise colour of her eyes that puffed out slightly at the waist, coming down to the floor and covering her flat-clad feet. He swallowed, blushing slightly.

"Oh, hi, Piper," he said nervously. "You look... amazing." She blushed as well, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Thanks," she murmured. "You look really nice too." He held out his hand for her to take, not sure what to expect. She placed her hand in his, following him into the now-transformed Great Hall. The room was filled with boys in dress robes and girls in elegant dresses, and the atmosphere was... magical, for lack of a better word. Piper looked around, quickly locating Elspeth. Much to her dismay, she was there with her fellow Hufflepuff, Charlie Plunker, and not Neville. Hand still in Seamus', she somewhat dragged him over to them.

"Hey Ellie," she said. "Hi, Charlie." Charlie waved kinda, brushing a hand through his blond hair. Piper leaned in. "You're not here with Neville?" she whispered. Elspeth shook her head, sighing.

"No," she said, "he's here with Ginny." Piper let out a small 'oh'. Just then, the music began to play, and everyone turned their attention to the middle of the Great Hall, where the four Triwizard Champions and their dates had all began to dance. Soon enough, other couples joined in, including Ginny and Neville, Charlie and Elspeth, and Seamus and Piper. Piper quickly learned that Seamus wasn't the greatest dancer, since he stepped on her feet at least five times, and continually apologised for it.

Not after too long, though, the couple left the dance floor, finding it pointless if all Seamus was going to do was apologise the whole time.

"If we're not dancing, then what are we gonna do?" he asked. Piper looked around.

"Let's go take a walk," she suggested. This scenario reminded Seamus largely of yesterday afternoon after Herbology, when they walked around the snowy grounds and talked about everything and nothing all at the same time.

"Alright," he said. They exited the Great Hall, not knowing where to go.

"We can't go outside, I'll freeze to death," she thought aloud. "I'm going to go change; I can't stand being dressed up, anyways. I'll meet you here in like, ten minutes, okay?" Seamus nodded.

"Alright," he said again. "I'll go change too, while we're at it."

Ten minutes later, the two met up outside the Great Hall, wearing normal clothes, and Piper's hair back into its normal state: down, with a small braid on the left side.

"I think we're all set," she noted. "Let's go." The walked outside, immediately able to see their breath in the cold Christmas air. Piper shivered slightly, pulling her purple button-up coat closer around her and shoving her glove-covered hands into her pockets. They began to walk, making footprints in the fresh snow, talking again about the most random things.

"I'm actually glad that we skipped out on that ball," Piper said. Seamus looked at her, slightly surprised. "I wasn't planning on anyone asking me to the ball; I find it much more interesting to curl up by the fireplace in my dorm and read a nice book than go to a dance with frilly dresses and music. My mother sent me the dress because it 'complimented my eyes at the moment' and she was expecting me to go."

"I'm really surprised," Seamus said. "You know, none of us guys really wanted to go to the ball except Neville, and even there he was too thick to see that Ellie was hinting towards him to go with her. But you seem like the type who would love that kind of thing." She shrugged, slowing down slightly.

"Do you remember yesterday, when I told you that nobody'd asked me to the ball?" she said, slightly changing the subject. He nodded, slightly confused.

"Yeah, I do," he said. "Why d'you ask?" She sighed, stopping completely.

"I lied," she confessed. "At least four boys from Durmstrang, two from Beauxbatons, and five boys from here asked me. But I turned them all down."

"Why did you do that?" he asked. She laughed, a nervous edge to her voice.

"I assume you want the truth," she stated. "I turned them all down because... I was hellbent on either going with you, or not going at all." Seamus blinked, confused.

"Are you serious?" he asked. She nodded, looking down at the floor.

"I know, I'm ridiculous," she said. "But, Seamus... I really like you, and I just want you to understand that, even if you don't like me." There was a long silence, and Piper felt a warm hand on her cheek. She looked up, violet eyes meeting blue.

"I really like you too, Piper," he admitted. "I didn't think that you'd like me because I'm horrible with spells, and because we're in different houses-"

"Those things don't even begin to matter to me," she said. "You're cute, you're funny, you're nice... you're everything a girl could ask for to me." She paused. "But if they matter to you, then I guess I don't matter at all." Before she could speak again, Seamus hastily pressed his lips to hers. Piper was surprised, very surprised, but kissed him back, savouring the feeling of his lips finally on hers. He pulled away after a few moments, pressing his forehead to hers.

"Does that matter?" he asked. She nodded slightly, a smile on her lips. She kissed him softly, taking one of his hands in hers.

"Most definitely."

--

The next morning at breakfast, everyone was still on a high from the previous night, but no one so much as Piper and Seamus. Before Seamus had Divination and Piper had Arithmancy, they met in the hallway, exchanging words and a kiss before heading to class. Elspeth, who had Arithmancy with Piper, was confused.

"Piper, what just-?"

"Ellie, trust me on this, skipping the Yule Ball is a lot more fun than actually going through with it," she said. "But, you know, it doesn't really matter. All I can say is that Seamus and I are actually together now." Elspeth smiled.

"Took you two bloody long enough," she said. Piper grinned.

"Now, it's your turn."