Harry and Neville laughed as Hermione walked away. The portrait hole opened again, and the Quidditch team entered to tumultuous applause. Their faces turned various shades of red as all the attention was fixed on the seven players.
Harry and Neville hung back as the rest of the students converged on the team. "They look a little overwhelmed," Neville commented idly after a moment.
Harry nodded, "Yeah, Katie's the only one who's really used to it. The rest haven't played more than a couple games each, and Nate and Stephanie have never gone through this before. So it's only natural they'd react that way. It takes some getting used to believe me. I don't think I've ever really gotten used to it."
"You're handling it alright this year," Neville remarked. "I mean, I know you haven't faced that this year," he gestured out toward the still cheering students, "but you've still been in the spotlight quite a bit, what with teaching your classes and all."
Harry nodded thoughtfully. "That's different, but at the same time similar. It's easier in class because I have a lesson to teach. There's a reason I'm in the center of attention. Times like this I never know what I'm supposed to do."
The two watched the team's progress. Harry watched as Ron attempted to make the rounds and play up their first win under his captaincy. Most of the students Ron approached appeared to find someone else they needed to talk to and no one approached him.
Noticing the direction of Harry's gaze, Neville commented, "It doesn't seem that the win earned him any forgiveness in the house."
Harry didn't acknowledge the statement for a moment, as they both watched Ron with Hermione at his side retreat to a corner of the room. "Have you noticed that they haven't really argued since Ron kicked me off the team?"
"They've definitely been spending quite a bit of time together, in fact they seem to be growing closer," commented Neville.
With a shrug Harry replied, "I'm not sure what to make of the whole situation at this point. My feelings about the two of them are so mixed up right now,"
"That's understandable. Maybe Ron's just been so busy being a complete prat to you that he hasn't had time to direct his pratishness at anyone else," Neville suggested.
"You know," Harry commented with a smile, "you might just be right. I think the one good thing that could come of all this is if they finally just get together."
"Yeah," Neville agreed, "but it just doesn't seem right to me. I can see why Ron would flock to Hermione right now since most of the house is mad at him, but why is Hermione just pretending that Ron didn't do anything wrong?"
"I've asked myself that same question," Harry admitted. "I think it's mainly because he's finally treating her like a girl. She's been waiting for this for years and doesn't want to blow it. I overheard her turning down Justin Finch-Fletchley in the hall the other day. She's hoping Ron will ask her to the ball, and she doesn't want to risk that over our fight."
"That's not right," Neville said with disgust. "Sometimes I just think that those two deserve each other, and not necessarily in a good way. On the other hand it should be worth a laugh or two for the rest of us as they attempt to settle into couple-hood," continued Neville as he turned to Harry with a grin on his round face.
Harry laughed out loud. "So what about you, Neville? You have a date for the ball yet?"
A small blush crept up Neville's face and neck, but it was a testament to his newly found self-confidence that he was able to respond without a single stutter. "Yes, I asked Hannah Abbot after Herbology on Thursday."
"Good on you, mate," Harry congratulated him cheerfully. "She's a cute one, and she does pretty well in HA."
"She's really good in Herbology too," Neville eagerly added.
"Even better," Harry returned. "You looking forward to the ball then?"
"Well, the ball yes, but the dancing not so much," Neville replied with a grimace.
Harry couldn't help but second the notion. In all his focus to make sure he had the right date to the ball, he hadn't even thought of the dancing aspect of it. He didn't want to end up stepping all over Ginny's toes or just sitting around the entire night. He would have to think about that more later. "Good point," Harry finally replied understandingly. "Do you want to sit with Ginny and I for dinner?"
"Yeah, that would be great," Neville answered happily. "I'll have to check with Hannah of course, but I don't think she'll mind at all."
"Great," Harry replied. "I suppose I should okay it with Ginny as well, but I can guarantee she won't have a problem with it."
"Speaking of dates for the ball…" Neville remarked gesturing back towards the corner occupied by Ron and Hermione. Sure enough, as Harry looked over he noticed the two of them in an embrace. He could see Ron's face, and it was obvious what had just happened based on the stupid grin his friend was sporting.
"Well, it's about time," Harry said after a moment, turning away from the two. He wanted to let them have their moment of privacy, and at the same time he wasn't particularly in the mood to share in their happiness.
Neville seemed to pick up on Harry's mood and let the subject drop. After a moment Neville noticed a somewhat sizeable crowd of people and commented, "I wonder what that's all about," pointing it out to Harry.
Harry looked at the crowd for a long moment. "I don't know….Wait," he said, spotting a familiar shade of red hair towards the middle. "I think I see Ginny in the middle." Seeing her brought forth a slew of emotions in Harry. The mere thought of what had nearly happened earlier in the day was enough to resurrect his anger at whoever had almost hurt her earlier. "So who was the git who knocked her off her broom?" Harry asked Neville as he continued to keep a tight reign on his emotions.
Neville looked back at him, completely shocked, "You mean you don't know?"
"I was so focused on getting her to safety that I didn't even notice who knocked her off her broom," Harry explained.
....
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