"Potter! Weasley! Will you pay attention !?" Professor McGonagall's irritated voice cracked like a whip through the Transfiguration class on Thursday, and Harry and Ron both jumped and looked up.
It was the end of the lesson; they had finished their work; the guinea fowl they had been changing into guinea pigs had been shut away in a large cage on Professor McGonagall's desk, and Neville's still had feathers on it; they had copied down their homework from the blackboard, Describe, with examples, the ways in which Transforming spells must be adapted when performing Cross-Species Switches . The bell was due to ring at any moment, and Harry and Ron, who had been having a sword fight with a couple of Fred and George's fake wands at the back of the class, looked up, Ron holding a tin parrot and Harry, a rubber haddock.
"Now that Potter and Weasley have been kind enough to act their age," Professor McGonagall said with an angry look at the pair of them as they head of Harry's haddock drooped and fell silently to the floor - Ron's parrot seeming to have severed it moments before - "I have something to say to you all.
"The Yule Ball is approaching - a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and an opportunity for us to socialize with our foreign guests, outside of the Great Hall," he gaze wandered over Jake for a moment, and he felt many other eyes upon him at that moment, "Now, the ball will be open only to Fourth Years and above - although you may invite a younger student if you wish-"
Lavender Brown suddenly let out a shrill giggle. Parvati Patil nudged her hard in the ribs, her face working furiously as she too fought not to giggle. Hermione looked at them and they had looked around at Harry, and Professor McGonagall ignored them, 'Why is she not shouting at them? Doesn't seem fair to tell off Harry and Ron and not those two...'
"Dress Robes will be worn," their Head of House continued, "and the ball will start at Eight o'clock on Christmas Day, finishing just after midnight in the Great Hall. Now then-" she stares deliberately around the class, "The Yule Ball is of course a chance for us all to - er - let our hair down," she said, in a most disapproving voice.
Lavender giggled harder than ever, with her hand pressed hard against her mouth to stifle the sound. Hermione actually saw what was funny that time: Professor McGonagall, with her hair in a tight bun, looked as though she had never let her hair down in any sense.
"But that does NOT mean," she went on, shouting a word as she did, "that we will be relaxing the standards of behavior we expect from Hogwarts students. I will be most seriously displeased if a Gryffindor student embarrasses the school in any way."
The bell rang, and there was the usual scuffle of activity as everyone packed their bags and swung them onto their shoulders.
Professor McGonagall called above the noise, "Potter - a word, if you please."
Jake and Hermione walked away from the classroom as Ron hung back and waited for Harry, "So, I was wondering when the Yule Ball would be mentioned," Jake said.
"Well, at least it's officially announced, now," Hermione said, remembering what Jake told them on the train when he figured out that it was the Triwizard Tournament they'd be hosting at the School, "Are you excited for it?"
"I am looking forward to it... I need to practice my dancing... I'm fucking horrible at dancing," Jake lamented.
"I used to have dance lessons back when I was Six and Seven. I'm sure I've gotten horrible over the years of not practicing, though..." Hermione also lamented.
The both of them sulked for a moment in misery and woe, but the moment they got to the Library to get some work done, their previous worries were forgotten as they started their homework. Hermione kept noticing that Viktor Krum, for pretty much every day of the past three and a half weeks, was in the Library, his fanclub never far away. She loathed his presence because it made things difficult when she tried to focus.
'He's not handsome, and not even good looking. Why don't they just admit that?' She thought to herself as she tried to focus, only for her attention to wander to Jake, 'I'm probably hoping way too much to ask that Jake take me to the Ball. He's shown absolutely no interest in me... he's probably going to ask Fleur...' She tapped her Quill on her parchment, 'I'd ask him myself... if I wanted to be humiliated and ridiculed for life at his rejection... oh, Hermione, what am I going to do with you?' She found herself at an impasse.
*******
"Why do they have to move in packs?" Harry asked Ron and Jake as they were standing in the corridor, Jake busy reading a book, as a dozen or so girls walked by, snickering and looked Harry and Jake, "how are you supposed to get one on their own to ask them?"
"I dunno, lasso one?" Ron suggested.
"You both are being ridiculous about it," Jake said.
"Oh yeah? Have you asked someone?" Ron asked, a triumphant smirk appearing on his face.
"As a matter-of-fact, I have," he replied nonchalantly.
This practically floored Ron, "What!? Who?" He asked quickly.
Jake chuckled, "No one, I only said that to wipe the smirk off your face. To be honest, there is no particular girl I want to go with, so I've not asked any of them yet."
"You smarmy bastard," Ron said, huffing at his own sudden embarrassment.
"Harry won't have any trouble asking someone, or one of them coming up to him, as he is a Champion, even if it's against his will, and he survived against a Hungarian Horntail," Jake commented.
"Yeah, and if I recall, you basically took care of the Peruvian Vipertooth and saved loads of people in the stands when that chunk of rock was about to kill them," Ron pointed out, "face it, you won't have a problem either. Except for girls maybe being afraid to walk up and ask you."
A curly-haired Third Year Ravenclaw girl, that none of them had ever met, suddenly walked up to them and asked Harry if he wanted to take her to the Yule Ball.
Jake was honestly surprised at how quickly Harry said no, and when he glanced up, he saw a look of hurt on the girl's face as she turned and hurried off, "Nice, Potter, you just made a Thirteen year old girl cry."
"I-I wasn't expecting it, a-and I was caught off-guard..." Harry tried to justify his actions.
"Whatever makes you feel better," Jake said, laughing as he shook his head.
The next day in pretty much every class, Neville, Seamus, and Dean all grilled Harry about his previous encounter with the Third-Year Ravenclaw girl. The day after that, two more girls had asked him; one was a Second-Year girl, which Jake thought was awfully bold of her, and a Fifth-Year girl, who was a foot taller than her, had asked him.
"Potter, you're going to have to find someone soon, regardless of why they are asking you," Jake had said after the Fifth-Year Hufflepuff girl walked away, looking rather angry.
"That's just it, I'm pretty sure it's only because I'm famous and a Champion that they are asking me," Harry said, almost disdainfully.
"That's just something you'll have to get used to," Jake looked at him, "because if you don't, you'll be mentally crushed from the stress of dealing with your own popularity."
"Are you having trouble with people knowing you as Merlin's Descendant? That you're the strongest Wizard to ever attend Hogwarts?" Harry asked him.
"No."
"Whaddya mean no?" Harry asked, looking insulted.
"Just that, no. I don't have a problem with people talking about me from a distance, gossiping. That's just what people do of someone that is of Celebrity Status. You dealt with it in First Year, and I dealt with it the tail end of last year, and pretty much since then," Jake said with a shrug, "There is nothing I can do about it, so I just accept that it's there, and move on with my life."
It was a few more days later on the weekend, when Jake found himself outside in casual Muggle clothing, looking out at the Black Lake, that a girl had finally approached him, and as he had expected, it was Fleur, " 'ello, Jereemiah."
He had heard her say that pretty much every time she approached him, "Hello, Fleur," had been his response every time.
"Do you 'ave a moment to talk?" She asked, coming to stand beside him, slightly shivering in the cold.
"Of course," he smiled at her, "what is it you want to talk about?" He had a good idea about what it was.
"I was wondering... do you 'ave a date to ze Ball?" She asked him.
"Not yet, no. I've not asked anyone, and no one has asked me yet. Ron said that it's probably because they are afraid of walking up to me," he said, laughing a bit as he did.
"I do not zink eet ees because zey are afraid of you. I zink eet ees because zey do not know 'ow to approach you," she suggested.
"I never thought of it that way..." he trailed off.
"So you 'ave no date... do you want a date?" She asked him.
"I would like to go with someone, yeah," he smiled at her.
"Well, I 'ope you do not mind eef we do not go togezer?" She asked him, and his face must've been of shock, because she explained further, "Well, I zought zat we could go wiz ozer people, so zat someone else could enjoy ze Ball? We can steel share a dance togezer, eef zat ees what you are worried about?"
"Uh... n-no, of course not..." he said, not having expected it at all from Fleur, "Well, I guess I should actively try to find a date then. Is Madeleine going with anyone?"
"She ees going wiz ze girl you saw 'er wiz at zat Tea Shop," Fleur smiled at him.
"Okay... should've figured that..." he sighed, "and I gave Harry a hard time about this... karma's a bitch..."
"Ees zere any ozer girl you zink of?" She asked him.
'I want to go with Hermione... but I already drew a line in the sand, and I can't cross that...' "Not right off the bat, no..."
"You weel find someone," Fleur smiled at him.
"So I take it you already have a date?" He asked her.
"Yes, eet eesn't easy finding a man 'oo ees not affected by ze Veela part of me," she said, sighing, "So I 'ad to settle for a guy zat ees. Zere ees no romanteec attraction zere, so eet weel just be a kind gesture, taking 'im to ze Ball."
"Well, glad you found a date," he smiled, "and I'll find someone, don't worry."
"I am never worried about you, Jereemiah," Fleur said, a suggestive smile on her face. She gently caressed his arm before she walked away, wishing him good luck.
He sighed, "What am I gonna do?"
*******
Hermione was sitting in the Library, doing homework like usual, but it was weird not having Jake there with her. He had somehow managed to completely rush getting his done and didn't even offer to help her, not that she would've accepted anyway, but that wasn't the point; the point was that he basically just left her high and dry to sit in the library alone.
It wasn't all bad, though, as she was at least able to work in peace and quiet. At least, that was what she had hoped, until the Library door opened to reveal Viktor Krum walking in like he always did, with his fangirls trailing behind him. She let out an exasperated sigh, as she continued to scratch Quill against parchment.
Something unexpected happened to Hermione in the next moment, as the chair beside her was pulled out and Viktor Krum himself sat beside her. She looked up and was just looking at him, he had just interrupted her me time. He apparently was caught slightly off-guard, as he stuttered when he started speaking, "Er - H-Her-my-own, I vas vondering if I could haff a vord vith you?"
'Was that my name he just tried to pronounce?' "Make it quick," she said, already losing interest in the conversation.
"Alright. Her-my-own-"
"Hermione. Her-my-uh-knee," she corrected him.
"Hermioninny."
"Close enough."
"Okay, Hermioninny, I vas vondering if you would go to the Yule Ball vith me?" Krum asked her.
'What? He just asked me to the Ball... as if,' she raged in her head, "Sorry, Viktor, but if I have the choice between going with you and not going at all, I will choose not going at all every time." Krum's fanclub all gasped as Hermione began packing up her things to go work in the Common Room.
"But, Hermioninny, are you going vith no one else?" Krum pressed.
"Not currently, but I sure as hell don't want to go with you," she said spitefully, slinging her bag over her shoulder and making her way out of the Library.
On her way down the corridor, she heard Krum following her, as well as his fanclub judging by the number of footsteps behind her, "Hermioninny, vait, please!"
"I told you, my answer is no!" She half turned to reiterate as much, before turning back and huffing as she continued on, not slowing down one bit.
Krum was a persistent bastard, she'd give him that. He followed her all the way to the Fat Lady's Portrait, where she whispered the password and walked in, and the Fat Lady closed quickly to not give Krum a chance at getting in. Not that it would have mattered, because she saw Jake sitting next to the fireplace, reading a book it seemed, and she knew that Jake would have sent Krum flying through a wall if he had even dared get in this Tower.
He looked up at her, "Afternoon, Hermione," he smiled.
"Afternoon, Jake," she smiled back.
"What brings you in here in a hurry?" He asked, going back to his book.
"Viktor Krum," she said, and his attention was back on her in a heartbeat.
"Alright, where is he? I'll make sure his death is painful," Jake said coldly.
Hermione was actually slightly put off by it, "Er - no, it was nothing bad... he just... asked me to the Yule Ball," she said and she thought she saw a look of hurt behind Jake's eye, but she figured she was seeing things, "I told him there was no way in hell I'd ever go with him," and just like that, Jake's face seemed to soften.
"Really?" He asked, almost sounding hopeful.
"Really. He's such a prat. It's a bit flattering that it seems to be that he has liked me for a while, but he's so stuck up and full of himself, and he slouches everywhere he goes. The only redeemable quality he has is being a good Quidditch Player, and capable of the Wronski Feint," Hermione said, walking over and sitting in one of the armchairs near Jake, "but I still think you're a better Quidditch Player," Hermione smiled at him.
"Thanks, Hermione," he smiled back and looked down at his lap.
Harry suddenly walked in looking pale as one of the Hogwarts Ghosts, "Harry? What's wrong? What happened?"
"Cho happened... I-I, I asked her to the Yule Ball..." he was having trouble finding his voice.
"And she said no?" Jake asked, getting to his feet.
"Worse than that... she's already going with Cedric..." his spirit looked crushed as he sat next to Hermione.
"Ah, cheer up, you'll find someone. With how many girls have approached you, you won't have any trouble, trust me, you just gotta say yes to one of them," Jake said, sitting across from them.
"Have you found a date yet?" Harry asked him.
"Yes," he lied. He wasn't sure why he did, but he felt compelled to say yes. When he did, both of them went wide-eyed, and Hermione looked dispirited as well.
"Who? Fleur Delacour?" Hermione asked venomously.
"No, not her. You'll see at the Ball," he smiled sadly, but Hermione didn't see it.
Jake returned to reading, turning in the chair so that the fireplace was behind him so he could read. "Hermione?" She looked up, but it wasn't Jake who spoke, she looked over and saw Harry looking at her.
"Yes? Something wrong?" She asked him.
"Er - no, I hope not at least... could you - er, could you come with me for a second?" Harry asked nervously.
Hermione was wondering what this could be about, "Sure," she said and they both stood up, Harry leading her to an isolated part of the room away from prying ears. When they stopped, she spoke up, "Did you want to talk about something?"
"Yes... DoyouhaveadatefortheBall?" He asked quickly.
"What?" Hermione was blindsided by his quickened speech.
Harry let out a sigh, "Do you have a date for the Yule Ball?" He asked at a normal pace that time.
"Oh, no, no I don't," she said, a little sadly from admitting it to him.
"Do you want to go with me to the Ball?" Harry asked, and she looked up at him with reddened cheeks.
She admired his boldness, "Sure," she smiled widely, "I'd love to go with you."
"Great," he said, and to Hermione, it looked like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
"So how well do you dance?" She asked him.
"Not well... I guess I need to practice before the Ball arrives, don't I?" He asked rhetorically.
"Might want to. I've been practicing a bit in my free time leading up to the Ball, and I think I'll be good. Does Ron have a date yet? And does he know you had any intentions at all to ask me?" Hermione asked him.
"No and no. At least, if he has found a date, he's managed to not blurt it out to me. A-And - er - don't take this the wrong way, but asking you was... spur of the moment, to see if you would even say yes... that doesn't mean I will stand you up, don't worry about that, but I didn't expect you to say yes," Harry said shyly.
"Oh Harry, don't worry about it. Oh!" Hermione exclaimed in realization, "Since you're a Champion, we will be opening the Ball with a dance. That's exciting, isn't it?"
"Not really," Harry said honestly, "but I don't get a say in the matter."
"Oh, you'll be fine, I know you will," Hermione smiled at him. She glanced back at Jake, wondering when she should tell him, 'No, he's making me wait to see who he's taking, he can wait to see that Harry and I are going together.'
*******
A few days later, just before Dinner started, Jake had to find a specific girl that he wanted to ask. If that didn't work, he only had one other fallback option. He hated to think of her as that, but it was true, otherwise he'd be going alone to the Ball, and he'd have to face Hermione's wrath, and he didn't want to face that at all.
With the Ball just two weeks out, he wondered if she'd even still be at Hogwarts when Christmas break arrived. His eye found the girl in question, and he walked up to her, "Luna?"
"Oh, hello, Jake," she smiled at him, "it's been a while since we've gotten the chance to talk like this," her voice was dreamy like usual.
"I know, I'm sorry about that," he said regretfully.
"Oh, don't worry about that. So did you need to talk about something?" She asked, looking up at him.
"Yes... this is a long shot given that you're a Third-Year, but do you want to go to the Ball with me?" He asked, a glimmer of hope in his voice.
But as expected, Luna looked a bit regretful, "Oh... Jake I'm - I'm sorry, but I'm going to be going home for Christmas... I wasn't expecting to be asked to go, so I didn't plan on staying, and I don't have a Dress anyway, it wasn't on my list to get before coming to Hogwarts."
"Right, right... it was a long shot, and I should've known you'd be going home, I'm sorry to bother you," he laughed before composing himself, "Well I hope you and your father enjoy Christmas when it arrives," he smiled at her and let her go. His face turned neutral when she walked inside the Great Hall.
It wasn't until the day after when he managed to talk to Katie, "Katie? Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure," she told her friends she'd be back in a moment. When he stopped walking, she prompted the question, "So what'd you wanna talk about?"
He turned and came right out with it, "Would you like to go to the Ball with me?"
It surprisingly hurt when he saw the look on her face, "Oh... Jake, I'm already going with someone else... I'm sorry... you've not found a date yet?" She asked, sounding surprised.
"Not yet... I shouldn't have waited for so long to find one... and not that I expected to be approached by girls wanting to go with me, but I am surprised none of them did like they've been doing with Harry..." Jake lamented his misfortune.
"I'm sure you'll find someone to go with, don't worry," Katie tried to offer him some moral support.
"I'm glad one of us is sure of that," he said, laughing spitefully at himself, "stupid idiot..."
Katie knew he wasn't talking to her, he was sure of that because of her next words, "You're not a stupid idiot, Jake, I know that for a fact..." she smiled at him and walked back to her friends. She must not have brought it up, because none of them were giggling when they looked his way, at least, not beyond the first glance when she returned to them.
Jake sighed again, "Fuck..." he turned and made his way for the Entrance Hall, and proceeded to walk outside into the freezing cold. He cast a Warmth Spell on himself and sat down on the steps outside the Castle Doors.
He looked out across the grounds and saw Fleur approaching from afar. His head hung low as she got up to him and sat beside him, shaking from the cold, "J-Jereemiah, what ees wrong?"
"Nothing important I'm just - I'm having trouble finding a date..." his voice was somber and tired sounding.
"Do you want me to 'elp you een finding a date?" Fleur offered.
"Nah, it's okay. If I can't find a date, then I'll just go alone..."
"Jereemiah, can you set your pride aside for one second and let me 'elp you?" Fleur said sternly.
"I can't let you do that, Fleur, it's not about pride... or maybe it is, I dunno..." he didn't make eye contact with her.
She grabbed his face with her hands, turned him so he faced her, and she stared into his eye, "Jereemiah, eet ees not a sign of weakness to ask for someone's 'elp... but eef you do not want eet, I weel not force you to accept eet," she let go of his face, but continued to look at him.
"I don't want to just go and ask any and every girl... desperation is not attractive," he laughed and shook his head, looking away from Fleur.
She placed her hand on his knee, "Even eef you do not go wiz anyone, I 'ope you at least 'ave fun, and we steel 'ave zat dance I said we would 'ave."
He smiled at her, "I will... but I may have told Hermione and Harry that I already had a date... I don't know why, because I'm dumb I guess... but if I show up dateless... Hermione is not going to let me live it down until at least classes start back up..."
"Zat ees not somezing I can 'elp you wiz, sorry," she said, but it was clear to Jake she wasn't sorry at all judging by the smirk on her face.
"I don't think anyone else can help with that," he laughed, standing up a moment later, "I'm still going to try, but... the closer it gets to the Ball, the worse my chance of finding a date becomes..."
"Fleur! Pourriez-vous venir ici s'il vous plaît?" A voice called out from the distance.
Jake looked and saw Gabrielle waving over to them. He waved back and Fleur stood a little in front of him, "I weel talk to you later, okay?"
"Okay," he waved as Fleur walked off. He sighed and sat back down, 'I should go ahead and get the humiliation from Hermione over with.'
He waited a few minutes to stand back up and went to find Hermione. It wasn't hard, as she was sitting in the Great Hall. Dinner started in ten minutes, so she was sitting in the Great Hall, reading her Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4 spellbook propped up against a Milk Jug.
He swallowed and walked up to her, "Um... Hermione?" His heart was pounding in his chest, and his stomach felt uneasy.
"Jake, what is it you need?" She was looking up at him.
"C-Could you come with me to talk in private, please?" He asked, trying to stay calm and keep his voice steady, and clearly failing.
"Of course," she said and stood up, following him out of the Great Hall and off to the side of the Marble Staircase, "is something wrong?"
"With me? Yes," he admitted.
"Jake... you know that's not what I meant," she said.
"I know..." he looked at her carefully, 'How does she maintain such beauty?'
"So..." she said, noticing that he was staring at her, "wh-what did you need?"
He didn't know what came over him, but he did the very thing he said he wasn't going to do, "Will you go to the Ball with me?"
Hermione's mind shut off. She stood there, completely flabbergasted, 'Wh-What?' She didn't know how to respond, she never once expected that he would ask her to the Ball. "Wait..." she had a realization, "You lied the other day... you don't have a date... why?"
He closed his eye, his face straining to break, "I don't know..."
"Did you ask me so late into the month because you're getting desperate?" She asked in a demanding voice.
"No, I-"
"You thought I'd say yes because we are best friends?" She asked, her voice getting shaky.
"No, Hermione, not at all," he looked at her, a stray tear escaping and rolling down his face.
Seeing that happen caused her hostility to disappear, "... did you just feel ashamed of not having a date?" Her voice was gentle to him.
"No... I'm just an idiot..." he was going to lose control over his emotions soon, "I'm sorry for bothering you," he walked past her and hurried up the Marble Staircase as everyone had started to come down.
Hermione lost him in the crowd as he hurried away from her, 'If I hadn't said yes to Harry... I could've gone to the Ball with Jake... I have some of the worst luck...' She walked despairingly back to her seat in the Great Hall, but had lost her appetite before the food even arrived.
Jake found himself alone in a random corridor, managing to calm himself down, and he leaned against the wall. He slid down it and sighed, "I am so pathetic..."
*******
The last week of term before the break had become increasingly boisterous as it progressed. Rumors about the Yule Ball were flying everywhere, though Jake didn't believe nor care about over half of them. One of the more far-fetched ones had been that Dumbledore supposedly bought eight hundred barrels of mulled mead from Madam Rosmerta. It seemed to be fact, however, that he had booked the Weird Sisters, a Wizard Band that Jake hadn't heard of before, and to be honest, he didn't know Wizard's had modern styled bands.
Some of their teachers, like Professor Flitwick, gave up trying to teach them much when their minds were so clearly elsewhere; he allowed them to play games in his lesson on Wednesday, and spent most of it talking to Harry and Jake; Harry about the perfect Summoning Charm he'd performed, and Jake for amazing display of Wandless and Non-Verbal magic, like he did every so often. Other teachers were not so generous about the way their class time was spent. Nothing would ever deflect Professor Binns, for example, from plowing on through his notes on Goblin Rebellions - as Binns hadn't let his own death stand in the way of continuing to teach, he supposed a small thing like Christmas wasn't going to put him off. It truly was a gift that he possessed, being able to make something bloody and action-packed like a vicious Goblin riot more boring than listening to Percy Weasley go on and on about his stupid Cauldron Report. Professors McGonagall and Moody both kept them busy up to the very last second of their class on the last day of term, not that Jake expected much different. And of course, Snape would no sooner let them play games in class than give anyone in another House even half a point. He did inform them with the most evil looking sneer he had shown them yet that he would be testing them on their antidotes during the last lesson of the term.
"Evil, he is," Ron said bitterly that night in the Common Room, "Springing a test on us on the last day. Ruining the last bit of term with a whole load of studying."
"Mmm... you're not exactly straining yourself, though, are you?" Hermione asked him, looking over the top of her Potions notes to glare at him. Ron, per usual, was procrastinating on studying by building a House of Cards with his Exploding Snap deck. She would admit that it was impressive how high he had gotten it to be, since the cards had a chance to blow up at any second.
"It's Christmas, Hermione," Harry said, despite also looking over his notes, "I know this is important, but Christmas only comes once a Year."
She merely glared at him as well, but not as scornfully as he was actually doing some studying. She figured it was probably to try and get on her good side, since that's what she and Jake were all about, studying and getting good grades, "Not until after the last day of term it's not," she pointed out haughtily. She couldn't help the smirk on her face as she looked at him, though.
She looked over to her left and saw Jake sitting alone as he did his homework, 'Probably writing for the History of Magic essay we were assigned.'
Hermione walked over to him, "You know you can sit over with us, right?"
"And have you grill me over the fact I don't have a date to the Ball? No thanks," he said quietly, not even looking at her as he spoke.
She felt mildly hurt by that, "Fine, I'm not going to try and coax you into doing something aside from what you currently are, be that way if you wanna sulk," she huffed and walked back to her seat across from Harry and Ron.
She gave him one last glance before returning to what she was previously doing.
Ron had just placed the last card on the top of the pile when it exploded, singing off his eyebrows, "Nice look, Ron, go well with your Dress Robes that will."
Fred and George had walked up and sat down on either side of Harry and Ron, "Can we borrow Pigwidgeon?" George asked.
"No, he's off delivering a letter. Why?" Ron asked.
"Because George wants to take him to the Ball," Fred said sarcastically, but also kind of hatefully.
"Because we want to send a letter, you stupid great prat," George said.
"Who d'you two keep writing to, eh?" Ron asked.
"Nose out, Ron, or I'll burn that for you too," Fred said, waving his wand threateningly. "So, you lot got dates for the Ball yet?"
"Not yet," Ron answered for them.
"Well, you better hurry up mate, or all the good ones will be gone," Fred answered.
"Who are you going with then?" Ron asked, a triumphant smirk growing on his face.
"Angelina," Fred said, no hint of embarrassment in his voice.
"What?" Ron asked, looking taken aback, "You've already asked her?"
"Good point," he said and turned around, "Oi! Angelina!" He called across the Common Room.
"What?" Angelina called back. She was currently sitting near the fire, chatting with Alicia Spinnet.
"Want to come to the Ball with me?" He asked boldly.
Angelina gave him an appraising sort of look, "Alright then."
Fred turned back to Harry and Ron, "See? Not that hard, is it?"
The Twins then got to their feet, yawning as they did, "Come on, Fred, we better use a school Owl then," and they left Gryffindor Tower.
Hermione was busy looking over her notes when Ron spoke, "We should get a move on, you know... ask someone. He's right, we don't want to go with a pair of trolls."
Hermione scoffed at him, "Excuse me? A pair of what?"
"Well, you know... I'd rather go alone than with a girl who looks... well... like Eloise Midgen," Ron kind of faltered under Hermione's glare.
"Her acne's gotten loads better... and she's really nice!" Hermione defended the poor Hufflepuff girl.
"Her nose is off center," Ron said bluntly.
"Oh, I see," Hermione said bristly, "So, basically, you're going to try and take the best-looking girl who'll have you, even if she's completely horrible personality wise?"
"Mmm... yeah, that sounds about right," Ron said, not a care in the world.
"You're horrible, Ronald!" Hermione yelled as she practically slammed her book closed, "I'm going to bed! Night, Harry," she said and stormed up the Girl's Staircase.
*******
It was the last day of term, one week until Christmas, and Jake had not been able to find a date to the Ball. He had asked a few other girls in his year, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, even Mandy Bracklehurst, a Ravenclaw girl in his year, but they all had to regretfully turn him down. He decided to just face the music, he wasn't getting a date, despite who he was, and that was quite honestly sad.
He was just walking into the Common Room when he heard Harry's voice, " You what !?"
"I don't know what made me do it!" Ron gasped, "What was I playing at? There were people - all around - I've gone mad - everyone watching! I was just walking past her in the Entrance Hall - she was standing there, talking to some older Ravenclaw bloke - and it sort of came over me - and I asked her!"
"Asked who?" Jake asked as he sat down.
"He asked Fleur to the Ball," Ginny informed him.
"Wait, you what !?" Jake was actually quite surprised.
Ron moaned and put his hands to his face and kept talking, though the words were now barely distinguishable, "She looked at me like I was a Sea-Slug or something-"
"Sounds like Fleur," Jake quickly interjected.
"-she didn't even answer... and then - I dunno - I just sort of came to my senses and ran for it." Ron finished speaking.
"She's part Veela, remember?" Harry brought up, "she was probably using it and you just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?" Harry suggested.
Ron looked up at Harry, "This is mad... at this rate, it'll be us three without dates - well, and Neville too. Hey, guess who he asked? Hermione !"
"What?" Harry said, seeming completely distracted by the startling news.
"Yeah, I know!" Ron said, some of the color returned to his face as he started laughing, and it was pissing Jake off, "He told me after Potions! Said she's always been really nice, helping him out with work and stuff - but she told him she was already going with someone. Ha! As if! She just didn't want to go with Neville... I mean, who would?"
"Don't!" Ginny said, clearly annoyed with her brother, "Don't laugh-"
Just then Hermione climbed through the portrait hole.
"Why weren't you three at dinner?" She asked, coming over to join them.
"Because - oh shut up laughing, Ron - because my git of a brother here has just been turned down by a girl he asked a while ago to the ball!" Ginny said.
That shut Ron up real quick.
"Thanks a bunch, Ginny," Ron said sourly.
"Well... you can add me to that list, Ginny..." Jake shamefully admitted, but he didn't show it, "I had just been turned down by probably the fifteenth girl I've asked, who was Eloise Midgen, honestly, and like the other fourteen or so, she's already going with someone... I was honestly quite surprised," Jake looked at Harry, "yes, I lied the other day about already having a date to the Ball, and I don't, so I'll be going alone."
Ron began laughing again, but Jake merely ignored him. Hermione, however, spoke to Ron and he stopped laughing again, "All the good-looking ones taken, Ron?" Hermione asked loftily, "Well, I'm sure you'll find someone somewhere who'll have you."
She turned away from him as she sat down, and pulled a book out to read, but Jake was watching Ron, and he was staring at Hermione, as though seeing her for the first time, "Hermione, Neville's right - you are a girl..."
'What was your first fucking clue?' Jake wanted nothing more than to strangle him at that moment.
"Oh well spotted," Hermione said acidly.
"Well - you can come with one of us!" Ron said as though his problem was solved.
"Well, for your information, Ronald, I already am going with one of you! I'm sure Harry wanted to wait until the Ball to tell you, but I'm going with him!"
Ron looked like he had just been slapped up the side of the head, "What?"
"Yeah, maybe if you hadn't waited so long, you'd have found a partner. I mean, sure, you could've asked me, Ron, but I would've said no anyway. You didn't honestly think after last year that I would have said yes , did you?" She asked him.
"Are you still holding last year against me?" He asked her.
"I do," Jake said, looking right at Ron, who shifted uncomfortably.
"Regardless, Ron, I'm already going with Harry, so you'll have to find someone else to go with you, if you can. Jake's having trouble with it, so I doubt you'll have much better luck than him..." Hermione said, realizing what she had said, "I'm sorry," she looked at him.
"Nah, it's the truth," he scratched the underside of his chin, feeling how scratchy it was starting to become. He continued his homework for a few more hours until he was too tired to stay awake. He and Hermione had been the last two up in the Common Room.
"So you weren't able to find anyone?" Hermione asked him, sounding most regretful with her tone.
"Nope... I'd have figured that I would've, given who I am because of my Ancestry, and how girls always giggled when they walked past. I guess that will teach me to stop expecting something to happen just because of that..." he laughed a bit harshly.
Hermione placed a hand on his shoulder, which caused him to look at it, then at her, "There's nothing that says you have to have a date. I know that doesn't mean much, but you can still enjoy yourself," Hermione said with a smile.
"True, even the girls who do have dates, maybe they'll want to dance with me for a song... would you like to share a dance with me at the Ball, Hermione?" He asked her, no longer feeling slightly embarrassed about talking to Hermione this way.
She felt her cheeks burning at the proposition, "I'd love to share a dance with you," she smiled gently at him, but inside she was smiling widely and gleefully.
"Okay... then I don't need a date," he smiled at her, "well, I'm exhausted, so I'm gonna go up to bed. Good night, Hermione," he said and hugged for a few seconds, which she returned, as he expected her to.
"Good night, Jake," she said back, and he made his way up the Boy's Staircase, "I love you," she said quietly, so that only she heard her own voice.