Where'd You Go

"Potter! Weasley! Will you pay attention!?" I looked up from my parchment, glancing at the boys. They were joking around like always while the rest of us tried to get our work done. I was happy that they'd finally made up, but Ron still wasn't my favorite person. Why he thought it was okay just to turn against Harry the second something went wrong was horrible. I hadn't entirely forgiven him even though he'd apologized.

"You'd think they'd want to get a head start on their assignment," I mumbled to Hermione who was shaking her head as she scribbled in her composition book.

"Now that Potter and Weasley have been kind enough to act their age, I have something I would like to say to you all," The classroom erupted with whispers, quietly questioning what she was going to say instead of letting her talk. Professor McGonagall wasn't one to be trifled with, but the lot of students in this room seemed to forget that, "The Yule Ball is approaching. It's a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and an opportunity for us to socialize with our foreign guests. The ball will open be open to fourth years and above, but you may bring a younger student if you wish." The whispers started again, much louder this time around. I looked at Hermione, but she was staring at Ron. I smiled. Maybe they would finally realize that they liked each other.

"Are you going to ask him?"

"Probably not. I assume he's got his eye on Fleur," she said bitterly, looking back down at her work.

"Well maybe you should ask him first," I suggested, nudging her with my elbow.

"I think it'll be a waste. Are you going to ask Cedric?" I let out a sarcastic laugh, shaking my head. I hadn't spoked to Cedric since he confessed that he actually had feelings for Cho. I wasn't going to embarrass myself further by asking him to a ball.

"Absolutely not. I'm positive he's going to ask Cho." She glanced up at the boys again, this time looking in Harry's direction.

"You should probably tell Harry that." I hadn't forgotten about the fact that he liked her. I just didn't think he'd ever get the courage to actually say something.

"Do you think he's going to ask her?"

"He might. Better to save him from getting his heart broken." She was right. It was better, and I made a mental note to talk to him about it once we got back to the common room. When the bell rang, it seemed as though the news of the ball spread like wild fire. All the girls were whispering excitedly to each other about what dresses they were going to wear and who they wanted to go with.

"I still think you should ask Ron," I said as we walked into the Great Hall for bunch. It was louder than normal, buzzing with excitement from the news we all seemed to receive. There weren't many special events that happened at Hogwarts, so I knew everyone was going to be talking about the Yule Ball for quite some time.

"I'll probably end up going by myself." We sat down, and I grabbed a sandwich from the middle of the table, taking a large bite.

"That's no fun."

"Why don't you ask Harry?" I almost choked on my food.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Because he wants to go with Cho, and I don't want to be a second choice. I mean yeah, we're friends, but I think this dance is supposed to be a bit more romantic." It was definitely going to be the beginning of many relationships. Dating at Hogwarts wasn't hard, but this would give certain people the push that they needed.

"I don't think you'd be a second choice. Harry really does care for you. He just doesn't think you'd feel the same."

"Of course I care about him Hermione. He's my best friend," I said obviously, taking a sip of my water. She gave me a knowing look that I tried to ignore.

"Alex, that's not what I meant, and you know it."

"We both know that Harry's great, but-" I didn't have to finish my sentence for her to know where I was going.

"You really like Cedric."

"Yes, unfortunately."

"Well, you don't know for sure. Maybe he will ask you." I snorted, finishing off my food.

"Doubt it." My words held the same bitter tone that hers did when we were back in McGonagall's classroom. The boys appeared shortly after our conversation ended, taking seats on either side of us. Harry looked a little upset.

"Are you alright?" I asked as I watched him put two sandwiches on his plate.

"McGonagall says I have to dance at the ball." It was obvious that he wasn't happy about it, but the whole point of the ball was to dance. Surely he didn't think he was going to get out of it.

"That's sort of the point, Harry." I pointed out, watching as he stuffed food into his mouth. I made an unattractive face and wiped at the corner of his lips with a napkin.

"No, the champions have to dance first. Something about tradition or whatever." Well that did make things a little different, but he was probably over exaggerating.

"You'll be fine."

"I don't dance."

"The ball isn't for a few weeks. You have plenty of time to learn."

"I don't even have a date." He was going to come up with every excuse in the book, so I made sure he wouldn't have one.

"I'll go with you, and I'll help you with the dancing." I really hoped I wouldn't regret my decision later on.



"Harry, you know all the steps. You have to lead. I'm supposed to follow." I sighed, pushing my fingers through my hair. We'd been at this for about two hours, and we were both frustrated.

"It's so much easier when you lead."

"And you look like a girl when you don't. Come on, let's go to dinner. We can pick this up later." I dragged him down the stairs from the astronomy tower. Hermione and Ron were more than likely worried about where we were anyway.

"Thank you for doing this, Alex."

"You don't have to thank me. You don't have much luck with girls. I can only imagine who you'd have ended up going with," I joked, nudging him with my elbow. He looked serious for a long moment as we walked into the Great Hall.

"I was going to ask Cho." Regardless of the fact that I knew this already, it still left a small sting in my heart.

"Cedric is going to ask her if he hasn't already." I should have told him earlier, but I didn't see much of a point when we were already going together.

"How do you know?"

"I talked to him a while ago. He told me that he liked her, and we haven't really spoken since. I sort of just assumed," I muttered sadly, taking a seat next to Hermione.

"Lucky us, right?" He raised his eyebrows, sitting down on the other side of me. Ron was sitting across from us, Ginny at his side. She stared at Harry longingly, and I felt bad. She'd always had a crush on him, and he hadn't given her the time of day. I had to ask myself why we always overlooked the ones that loved us. It made a lot of people's lives hard.

"Shh." Hermione tapped my arm, pointing to the right. Cedric was walking over to our table, looking right in my direction. I pushed myself up, meeting him halfway. I didn't want everyone else to hear our conversation.

"Can we talk?"

"I don't see why we'd need to." I tried my best to keep my tone polite, but I was still upset. After swallowing my pride and finally admitting that I liked him, he still chose Cho.

"I heard you were going to the ball with Harry."

"Yes." I crossed my arms over my chest, staring up at him. I didn't really think it was his business, and the sooner Cedric stopped talking to me, the better I would feel. He wasn't making getting over him any easier by trying to be nice.

"I don't think that's a good idea." I rolled my eyes.

"And I don't think it's any of your concern. You're going with Cho, so what does it matter?"

"Yes, but I actually like Cho. Harry likes you, if that wasn't blatantly obvious, and I don't think you should be leading him on," I felt like I'd been slapped, and I struggled to form a sentence. My cheeks flamed with anger, and I turned to leave, but Cedric grabbed my arm, "Just think about what I said."

"I don't have to think about anything. You're daft if you really believe that he likes me as more than a friend."

"Just think about it." He released my arm and turned on his heel, walking back in the other direction. I walked back to Hermione and sat down, stuffing potatoes in my mouth.

"What did he want?" Harry asked.

"Nothing important," I muttered, stabbing at my plate. I felt a hand cover mine and looked up. Harry was staring at me, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles.

"You're going to break it." I sighed and threw down my fork.

"I'm not hungry. I'll see you back in the common room." I stood, storming out of the Great Hall and up the stairs, but instead of staying in the common room once I stepped through the portrait hole, I walked up to the dormitory and threw myself onto my bed, drawing the curtains shut. I hated life.