Chapter 2

It was a few weeks later that Luna pulled Harry and Hermione into an empty class room and made the statement that made grown men quake in fear. "Harry, we need to talk."

Hermione couldn't help the giggles that burst forth from behind her hand as she stared at the look of absolute terror and fear that appeared upon Harry's face. Here was a boy who had climbed the back of a troll and stuck his wand up its nose in an attempt to save her without hesitation, and who had killed a massive basilisk and driven away hundreds of dementors with nary a pause, yet those four little words made him almost catatonic. It was only Harry's look of hurt that allowed her to get control of her giggle attack.

"Harry, calm down and breathe. I am sure that if we just listen to Luna, it will not be as bad as you think it is going to be." Hermione was making sure she locked her eyes with Harry's so that he would not continue in his panic attack. She knew that she had gotten through to him when he lost his look of flight, and he began to breathe normally again. Luna's next statement almost saw that look come back in spades.

"Harry, Professor McGonagall is going to pull you aside as your head of house within the next day or so to tell you that the school is having a Yule Ball on Christmas Day and as a champion, you will be required to have a date and open the Ball by dancing with your date." She paused as she watched Hermione first restrain Harry with a body bind, and then finally sit on his lap when he broke the spell to keep him from bolting out of the room.

"I don't know how to dance." Was Harry's first reaction, but it was quickly followed by a look of horror. "Who am I supposed to take to the Ball? I am not dating anyone, and I don't want to end up with someone who is only with me because I am The-Boy-Who-Lived." Harry dropped his head into his hands in frustration, not seeing the look that passed between the two girls who were helping him.

"I have a suggestion, and I would like for you to hear me out before you make a decision." When she got a nod from Harry, and more importantly Hermione; Luna continued. "I have been told by the Blubbering Humdingers that the Ball will be for those in fourth year and up, excluding third years like me unless we are asked to go by someone older. I would like for you to ask me to the Ball so I can go this time, and I am sure that Hermione and I can teach you how to dance by the time the Ball comes around."

What about Hermione? I do not want to leave her out; she is my best friend and the one that I thought that I should ask."

"Hermione will be asked to the Ball by someone else within the next few days, and it will allow you both to develop a long friendship with that person which will help to accomplish some of your goals in the future. Also, just because she will not be there with you does not mean that she will not be able to dance with you. By the time we are done with you, there be very few girls there that will not want to take a turn in your arms as you guide them across the dance floor."

"Who is going to ask me?" Hermione interrupted impatiently.

"That is not the way this works Hermione. I see the possibilities, but it is only with Harry that I can see the specifics. Just don't tell the red menace or his sister any of this. While Ginny is okay, Ronald is not the friend you think he is, and he will try everything he can to interfere with your happiness and enjoyment at the Ball. Don't worry about him though, I have a plan to take care of him and keep his attention off of the two of you on that night." Luna giggled as her eyes unfocussed and became more milky white than silver grey. "I think that after the ball, Ronald will be too preoccupied with the fallout from his actions to bother the two of you about anything you are doing."

"Okay Luna." Harry agreed. "You have not steered me wrong yet, and with you helping with the tactics, and Hermione helping with the spell knowledge and teaching me what she has learned from all her reading, I don't suppose I can go wrong. I just wish that I had not wasted so much time goofing off with Ron the last three years instead of preparing for the future. Imagine where I would have been if I had allowed myself to flourish instead of just wallowing in mediocrity."

Luna interrupted Harry's lament. "Harry, if you had shown what you were capable of from the beginning, the manipulation of your life would have increased tenfold by meddlesome old men both here at Hogwarts and in the broader wizarding world. It was good that you used your time while everyone else was sleeping to increase your knowledge, it will help you with what you need to do later. Now that you are studying to ensure your very survival in this silly tournament, the meddlers are sitting back and taking a hands off approach to you. That all will come to an end after the tournament is completed and you will need to be prepared to forge your own path. Now stand up, it is time for you to learn to dance."

When the day of the dance arrived, everyone was shocked to see that Harry Potter was being accompanied by the loony Ravenclaw to the Ball while his companion Hermione was escorted to the Ball by International Quidditch Star Victor Krum. They were even more surprised when Harry began dancing with Hermione after the opening dance with Luna.

Daphne Greengrass, known to one and all as the Ice Queen of Slytherin, was contemplating whether or not she should contact one of her father's associates who were primarily used for 'solving problems, ' to get rid of the body of her date after she was done with him. She had agreed to go to the ball with seventh year Slytherin Brutus Gamerton since he had not shown any real interest in a relationship with any females in their house at Hogwarts. It was only once he began drinking from the flask of Fire-Whiskey that he had brought with him that the veneer of eloquence and breeding fell. Their one dance so far had been spent with her hand on his chest to keep him from pulling them chest to chest, and he spent the entire dance staring down her cleavage. It wasn't like she had the ample blessings of girls like Susan Bones or Lavender Brown who were bigger in bra size than most seventh years by the time they were half way through their second year.

At first she was flattered that he found her décolletage to be worth looking at, but the leer that grew on his face and the fact that he never looked back up into her eyes soon found her wanting to find a nearby oubliette to dump his soon to be cold body down. It was the hand that appeared in front of her, accompanied by the request of a dance that threw her from her plans of murder. Looking up into those piercing green eyes that mesmerized all of the girls at Hogwarts, and some of the guys if they admitted it, there was only one answer available and soon the couple was spinning around the floor.

"I am surprised to find myself here in your arms Potter, and even more surprised that you would ask a Slytherin to dance since it is well known how you feel about my house."