He had a point, so Harry bid the rest of his roommates goodbye and followed Neville down to the common room. Ginny was waiting, and the sight of her made Neville almost trip down the stairs. Harry steadied him, grinning.
The Weasley girl was in pastel blue dress robes with a sweetheart neckline, the cap sleeves made out of floaty sheer blue material. There was a gold pendant in the hollow of her throat, and her fiery hair was half-up in an elaborate braid, the rest hanging straight down her back. She had make-up on for the first time Harry had ever seen, her brown eyes sparkling as she turned to look at Neville. "Hi," she greeted shyly, hands behind her back.
"Hi." Neville's voice was a little breathless, and he coughed. "You look really pretty, Ginny." She grinned, giving a little twirl.
"Thanks! You look great. You too, Harry I like the hair!"
Harry resisted the urge to run a hand through his hair, undoing all of his and Dean's hard work. "Thanks, Gin. I'd better go meet Susan, but I'll see you two at the ball?" He nudged Neville closer to Ginny, clapping him on the shoulder. "Look after her." He leaned in, kissing Ginny's cheek. "Look after him." Then, with a wink, he was hurrying out of the common room.
He'd agreed to meet Susan on the stairs by the Entrance Hall, and he sped past several people in dress robes on their way to meet their own dates. When he caught sight of her, he grinned. Her dress robes were a deep burnished gold colour, tight below her bust and flaring out over the curve of her stomach and the width of her hips. They shimmered in the candlelight, the full skirt trailing all the way down to the floor, and glittering beads embroidered on like constellations. Her hair was pinned up like a bright copper waterfall, and the earrings Harry had given her for Christmas sparkled at her ears. "Not bad, Potter," she said by way of greeting, eyeing him up and down. "I think I can handle being seen with you tonight." "So glad to hear it," Harry replied dryly. "You look beautiful, by the way." If he was remotely interested in girls, he'd probably be having some very confusing feelings right about now. "Shall we?" He offered an arm, and she looped hers through it, falling into step beside him to go find McGonagall and the rest of the champions.
They found them outside the main doors to the Great Hall, gathered in a small cluster, and Cho let out a playful wolf-whistle when Harry approached. "Don't you two clean up nicely!"
She had Cedric's hand in hers, and was wearing gorgeous blue and silver dress robes that were definitely East Asian in style, her hair pinned up with a pair of silver hair sticks. Cedrics's dark blue dress robes were simple but impeccably tailored, and looking at him made Harry's pulse tick up a little.
Beside them were Fleur and Cassius Fleur looked every inch of her veela heritage in silver satin dress robes with a bodice that hugged her curves and flared out at the waist, her hair hanging loose and needle-straight like a curtain of silk. Cassius' slate grey robes had a slight sheen to the material that complimented Fleur's robes nicely, and beneath that he had a dark green shirt that was open a little at the collar. His dark hair was combed perfectly, and Harry's heart fluttered when the Slytherin smiled at him. How had he ended up surrounded by so many damned attractive people?? "You all look amazing!" he enthused. "Where's Viktor?"
"Over zere, waiting for 'is date," Fleur supplied, pointing across the hall. Viktor stood at the base of the stairs, wearing red dress robes with fur trim. He looked a little uncomfortable in such formal attire, but he was still distractingly handsome. He caught sight of something — or rather someone — that made him stand a little straighter, offering his arm out with a smile. Harry gaped at the girl who took it.
Hermione didn't look like herself at all. She wore dress robes of a floaty periwinkle blue material that shimmered with every movement, standing out against her dark brown skin, and her hair was sleek and straight, done in a very complex-looking up-do that made her look far older than fifteen. She was beaming, showing off her newly-corrected teeth, her lips painted a rosy pink and her pale blue eyeshadow glittering in the low light of the hall. Viktor bowed over her hand and kissed it, then tucked her arm through his own and walked her towards the group, looking very pleased with himself. Harry had to admit, Hermione looked stunning.
"Hi Harry, Susan," she greeted, smiling widely. "You look great!"
All Susan seemed to be able to do was stare. Harry grinned back at his friend. "You look beautiful, Hermione. Viktor, you behave yourself, alright?" he added mock-threateningly, making the Bulgarian laugh. "I haff no doubt Hermy-own will hex me if I put a foot wrong," he pointed out. He still struggled to say Hermione's name, but she certainly didn't seem to mind.
McGonagall arrived in robes of red tartan, surveying them all with a look of mild pride. "Excellent, you're all here. Are you ready?"
They got in line, Harry at the back with Susan's arm in his, and followed the deputy headmistress into the hall.
The house elves had outdone themselves with the decorations; it was hardly recognisable as the same hall they'd had lunch in, looking like a veritable winter wonderland. Harry was glad the house tables had been exchanged for smaller, round tables, with a main table up at the head of the room where the judges sat, empty seats available for the champions. Harry's eyebrows rose when he saw Percy Weasley sat where Mr Crouch should be, wearing navy blue dress robes that looked brand new. What was he doing there?
As they positioned themselves on the dance floor, Harry let his eyes sweep the crowd for a minute. Ron was staring at Hermione like he'd never seen her before, and even Ginny — who definitely knew who Hermione's date was before tonight — looked stunned. Far away from them, with Pansy Parkinson on his arm in a set of frilly pale pink dress robes, was Draco. Wearing black velvet dress robes that hugged his chest and shoulders, and made Harry immediately want to rip them off the blond boy. How dare he look that good when they were in public and Harry had to pretend to hate him?
Susan cleared her throat to get his attention, setting his hand on her waist. "You promised me you'd be good at this, Potter," she reminded him, her gaze sharp. Harry smiled at her.
"Don't worry, I've got this."
The music started, and they were off.
Draco had been right that Susan would be much taller than him in her heels, but it didn't bother Harry in the slightest as they stepped and spun. He saw the faint look of surprise on her face as he turned out to be fairly capable, before it was replaced by an exhilarated grin; Susan clearly loved dancing. Harry definitely wasn't going to get away with just dancing once. He didn't mind that so much — he was having fun, too.
The first song ended, and after a short round of applause the second one began, the dance floor filling with people. "Who taught you?" Susan asked suspiciously, settling into an easier waltz. "You're better than I thought you'd be."
Harry thought of late nights in empty classrooms with Draco's hand in his, going over the steps again and again, rewarding him with kisses every time he managed to get it right. He grinned to himself. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
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