At the Ball

Ron slammed open the ballroom doors, making the grand entrance he had promised Luna and me earlier that day. Whoever had set up the room had turned it into a winter wonderland. For someone who had come with a date they actually liked, the night could prove to be romantic and unforgettable. Unfortunately, I wasn’t one of those people.

I had come with Luna Lovegood as a last resort. Luna and I were friends so it wasn’t a huge deal, but she definitely wouldn’t have been my first pick. I had waited until the last minute to find a date, and by then all the good picks were taken. I was lucky I found Luna and hadn’t come alone like Ron.

After we entered the ball, Ron, Luna, and I engaged in extremely awkward conversation, and I decided to escape from the torture momentarily by going to get punch.

I poured some of the red punch into my plastic cup and looked around the room. There were couples dancing, people laughing, and very little else going on. My gaze would of course land on the girl who had broken my heart nearly a year ago.

Cho Chang was standing in a corner talking to the Patil sisters. I couldn’t help but wonder why she wasn’t with Cedric. She had started dating him around the time we were talking about getting together.

Actually, if I remember correctly it was exactly the time she and I were talking about getting together. I had hoped that perhaps they were no longer together. I didn’t necessarily hope it so she and I could get together, though that was one of the reasons. I still had feelings for Cho, but I had always hoped she was happy with Cedric.

Although, at that moment, a small part of me hoped that he had broken her heart like she had done to mine.

I walked back over to Ron and Luna, who were doing Luna’s strange version of dancing. Ron looked very unhappy and it appeared I had walked over at the perfect moment.

“Do either of you know why Cho isn’t here with Cedric?”

I tried not to make my motives obvious but was unsure whether or not I had succeeded. They looked at one another, neither of them apparently having the answer.

Luna looked at me and smiled, “I will go find out for you, Harry.”

“Oh, no. Luna, you don’t have to.”

She had apparently not heard me, as she had already begun walking over to Cho. Ron excused himself to go find Ginny, and I fiddled with my coat jacket, trying not to look awkward, as I waited for Luna to return.

I was only standing for a moment before Luna came skipping back to me.

“Cho said Cedric is just arriving late because he is doing something for his quidditch match, though I didn’t catch exactly what. Also, Cho would like to know why you are so concerned.”

“Tell her not to worry about it.”

“Well, ordinarily I would, but Cedric just arrived and the two of them are dancing. I would feel awful for interrupting.”

I laughed, “I was only kidding, Luna. I don’t really want you to say anything to her.”

“Oh, that makes sense,” Luna said, sounding confused.

I looked past Luna’s shoulder and saw Cho dancing with Cedric, just as Luna had said. Cedric didn’t seem to be paying much attention to Cho, but my jealousy still struck me nonetheless.

Cedric had won Cho over nearly a year ago, and ever since then it was hard to act friendly towards him. Cedric hadn’t a clue I was talking to Cho at the same time he was, so he didn’t act any differently towards me, but it must’ve been almost impossible for him not to catch onto the smart remarks I made. He probably didn’t know the reason behind the fowl temper I had when I was around him.

Luna and I stood awkwardly for a few moments before Parvati walked up to us.

“Harry, I hate to bother you, but would you like to dance. I mean, only if Luna doesn’t mind,” Parvati looked back and forth between Luna and I.

“Of course I don’t mind. Harry Potter, you go on and dance with Parvati Patil.”

I smiled at Luna and took Parvati’s hand, leading her out onto the dance floor. Parvati wrapped her arms around my neck and was starting to get a lot closer to me than I would have preferred.

Just as I was about to push Parvati away from me, I noticed Cho watching the two of us dancing. I felt kind of bad for doing it, but I let Parvati rest her head on my shoulder, just to see if I could get a rise out of Cho. Parvati lifted her head up, and looked at me.

“Harry, I need to tell you something. I feel rather bad, but I’m only dancing with you to try to make George jealous. Please don’t be mad.”

I almost laughed, “That’s alright Parvati. I understand completely.”

Parvati smiled, “Thanks, but I think you should probably get back to Luna now.”

I nodded and searched the room for Luna’s bright blonde hair. I spotted her standing by the punch bowl, and pushed my way through the dance floor to meet her.

“What have you been up to Luna?”

“Oh, you know, just trying to get the fundles out of the punch bowl. I didn’t want anybody to choke on one of them.”

“That’s completely understandable.”

Luna and I weren’t talking long before we heard the sound of a distraught girl yelling. The entire room’s attention was brought to Cho and Cedric arguing in the middle of the dance floor. Cho’s voice was inaudible from where I was standing, but it was clear she was upset about something.

Her voice became calmer and I was able to catch the last bit of their conversation.

“I am going to walk out of this room right now, and after that, I never want to see or speak to you again. Goodbye Cedric.”

Cho ran out of the ballroom crying, as the room stood in awe after watching the scene unfold.
I looked at Luna, and she stared back at me.

“Wow, Harry. This must be a sign from the weerackers.”

“What are you talking about, Luna?”

“Well, you still like Cho, and I saw her staring at you earlier. The weerackers must’ve caught on and used their magic to make Cho leave Cedric. This is your chance to go after her.”

“You know what, I think you’re right, Luna. Please excuse me.”

Luna smiled at me, as I stepped out of the ballroom into the hallway. I didn’t see her down either hallway, but I heard the sound of door shutting and followed it down the hall.

I thought my best bet would be the large door leading outside, despite the fact that it was freezing, so I pushed open the door and scanned the field, unable to see anyone moving around. I was about to shut the door, until I looked down and saw barely visible footprints in the snow. I followed the footsteps down towards the black lake and saw Cho sitting near the water.

“Cedric, I told you I didn’t want to speak to you,” she yelled at me.

“Cedric is inside, but I can go get him if you’d like.”

“Harry, what are you doing out here?”

She almost sounded happy to see me.

“I couldn’t very well let the girl who once held my heart sit outside in the snow crying by herself, could I?”

“Well, considering I did the same thing to you, I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t.”

“You didn’t leave me crying in the snow.”

“Well, all of that minus the snow part.”

I laughed, “Cho, I’m a boy. Boys don’t cry.”

“Oh right, I forgot.”

I sat down next to Cho and placed my jacket over her shoulders.

“Harry, I have something I want to tell you, but I don’t want you to think I’m only saying it because Cedric and I just broke up.”

I nodded, “I can’t promise I won’t think that, but you can try.”

“Well, a long time ago, before Cedric and I were together, you and I were talking.”

“I remember that,” I said, running my fingers through the sand.

She looked at me, “You didn’t let me finish. I nearly picked you over Cedric. Did you know that?”

“What stopped you?” I asked, moving my hands back through the sand.

“You’re a year younger than me, Harry. People would talk.”

I stared at her as she looked out at the water, “You care an awful lot about what other people talk about. If it’s not a part of your conversation, why does anything that they say matter?”

“Because what people say about you defines you. You, for example, are The Boy Who Lived, and that’s all you’ll ever be. If I were to date you, I’d be The girl Who Dates Younger Guys. It doesn’t have quite as nice of a ring to it as yours does.”

“So you chose to be Cedric’s Girl instead?”

She looked back at me, her eyes looking into mine, “Yes, but not for the reasons your thinking.”

“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. You just clearly laid out all of your reasons for me.”

“Not all of my reasons. There’s the biggest reason that I haven’t told you.”

“Well, go on then. Tell me what it is.”

“Because you’re Harry Potter.”

I laughed, “Clearly.”

“You’re not worried about You Know Who?”

“Well, of course I am. I think about Voldemort all the time, but I can’t let him stop me from living. I worry every day that he’ll hurt someone I love just to get to me, but I do everything in my power to protect them. They know all the risks of being my friend and they choose to accept them. I don’t blame you for not wanting to date me Cho. If I was in your place, I might’ve made the same decision. You don’t need to explain yourself.”

“But I do Harry. I don’t want you to think it’s because I didn’t have feelings for you. I didn’t choose Cedric over you. I chose my safety over you.”

“Let’s just drop it,” I was bored of this conversation. I had been told so many times to worry about my safety and the safety of the people around me.

“No, Harry. I don’t want to just drop it. I had forgotten all about you when I started dating Cedric, until the day we talked in the library. It was the first time you and I had spoken since Cedric and I had gotten together, and it was the moment I realized dating Cedric was the biggest mistake I had ever made. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since then. I saw you and Parvati in there dancing and it set my veins on fire. I need you to believe me, Harry. I need you to believe that every day I wish I would’ve chosen you instead.”

I paused for a moment, unsure of what to say, “I suppose if we want to get technical, we could blame this whole thing on me.”

“What do you mean, Harry?”

“Well, just a few hours before Cedric asked you to officially be his girlfriend, I had a talk with Ron about you and I. I kept insisting that I didn’t want to put you in harm’s way, abut Ron convinced me that I should let you decide that for yourself. I was actually on my way to have that talk with you, when I heard the news about you and Cedric. Basically, if I hadn’t been such a pussy and had been a little bit quicker, I might have beat Cedric to the punch and you would have been mine.”

“Too bad you missed your chance,” Cho smiled up at me.

“Missed my chance? No way.” I leaned over and placed my hand on Cho’s cheek, pulling her closer to me. Despite the freezing weather, her lips were warm enough to heat up my body.