Work Text:
Fandom: Harry Potter
Main Friendship: Halesia Potter (Harry Potter), Hermione Granger, Sally Smith, Fay Dunbar, Parvati Patil, and Lavender Brown
Side Pairings: Godric Weasley/Halesia Potter; Viktor Krum/Hermione Granger; Ron Weasley/Lavender Brown; Fay Dunbar/Padma Patil; Kieran Addams/Susan Bones; Neville Longbottom/Sally Smith; and Parvati Patil/Terry Boot
Warnings: alternate universe; male!Ginny Weasley (Godric); female!Harry Potter (Halesia); background mentions of het and femslash; pure-blood society; pure-blood culture; and original character (Kieran Addams)
Prompt: (Word) Yule
Summary: In which Halesia Potter and her roommates were excited about the Yule Ball – and they talk about dates.
Friends Like These
When Halesia Potter heard she needed to find a date for the Yule Ball, she panicked. She didn’t know anything about dating or dancing or how to dress up nicely. Overwhelmed and lost in her thoughts, she barely remembered leaving Professor McGonagall’s classroom. Her friend, Sally Smith, was waiting in the hallway for her.
The older girl took one look at Halesia before leading her to the Gryffindor common room. Following her friend, Halesia was vaguely aware of the glances other students shot them. Once they got to the common room, Sally pushed Halesia up the stairs to the fourth year girls' dorm. Their friends and roommates were following closely behind them.
“What’s wrong?” Sally demanded, shoving the youngest girl onto her bed.
Halesia opened her mouth to reply, but she found herself unable to speak. Where should she start?
“What’s going on?” asked Fay Dunbar, glancing between the pair.
“I don’t know,” Sally answered with a shake of her head. “She left McGonagall’s classroom like this.”
“Could she be failing?” Hermione Granger theorized, horror in her voice.
Lavender Brown rolled her eyes. “No,” she answered. “She ranked in the top fifteen, after the test last week.”
Hermione flushed. She didn’t remember her friends’ rankings and grades.
“McGonagall said it was something important when she asked Sia to stay after,” Parvati Patil reminded her friends.
The five girls were each lost in their own thoughts as they cast glances over at Halesia.
“I need a date to the Yule Ball,” Halesia stated, sounding lost and confused.
“What’s the Yule Ball?” Fay asked.
“ When is this ball?” Lavender added, excitement in her tone. Turning to the others, she added “I bet this is why we needed dress robes.”
“The Yule Ball is a tradition of The Triwizard Tournament,” Hermione began, recalling the book she read months ago. “It’s held on Christmas Day, and the Champions open the ball with a traditional waltz.”
Lavender and Parvati squealed in excitement and they broke into whispers while Fay nervously bit her lip. Sally was smiling as a sense of horror filled Halesia.
“I don’t know how to waltz,” she said. “I don’t know any dances.”
“Don’t worry,” Sally told her. “Neville does. I’m sure he’ll be willing to teach you.”
Halesia nodded, feeling relief. That was one problem solved. She was willing to shelf the others until tomorrow – or another day.
.
.
.
Halesia was relieved that dancing lessons began that night after dinner. It was a small group: Neville, Sally, Kieran Addams, and herself. Watching Neville and Sally, it was clear the pair were talented and practiced.
“How long have you been dancing?” Kieran Addams asked, his hazel-green eyes wide.
Neville flushed, looking down at his shoes.
“Nev started when he was six,” Sally explained, “and I started when I was eight.”
“Why so young?” Kieran asked.
Sally shrugged. “It’s a British pure-blood tradition,” she replied.
Kieran nodded, a look of determination entering his eyes. He had the biggest crush on Susan Bones. These were lessons he needed to learn now – the sooner the better.
“Come on,” Sally announced, clapping her hands. “Let’s get started.” She approached Kieran, adjusting his hands and their placement.
Taking that as her cue, Halesia approached Neville.
Slowly, he explained the hand positions and the counts.
The first lesson was a little painful. Halesia barely understood the counts and the movements, and her toes hurt. Neville kept stepping on them. She knew it was an accident, but that didn’t make it any less painful.
“That’s the last time I let you talk me into anything,” Halesia moaned as she collapsed onto her bed in the privacy of their dorm room.
Sally laughed, “You’re being overdramatic.”
“Like that’s anything new,” Fay stated, looking up from her Ancient Runes essay.
Halesia rolled her eyes from bed.
.
.
.
Halesia continued to attend dancing lessons with Neville, Sally, and Kieran. After a few lessons, she started dancing with Kieran, so Neville and Sally could correct their forms or count as needed. After two weeks' worth of lessons, Halesia had noticed an improvement in her own abilities.
“Who are you taking to the ball?” Lavender asked one night in December as they were getting ready for bed.
Halesia’s green eyes widened. She needed a date! “I haven’t asked anyone, yet,” she admitted, looking at her friends.
“Hasn’t someone asked you?” Parvati demanded.
Shaking her head, Halesia felt like her world was ending. She needed a date, and the dance was in less than two weeks.
Sally started laughing. “All those guys that keep coming up to you are trying to ask you out,” she told her best friend between laughs.
“Really?” Halesia asked in disbelief. Lots of guys had been approaching – between classes, during classes, in the Great Hall, and in the library. They would all stutter before asking a lame question about the weather or homework.
Hermione, Fay, Lavender, and Parvati joined Sally in laughing. This was a perfect example of how oblivious Halesia was.
“Don’t worry, we’ll help you,” Fay promised.
“So, who are you going with?” Halesia questioned, glancing at her roommates.
“I’m going with Neville,” Sally replied with a smile.
Halesia returned her friend’s smile. She knew there wasn’t any romantic interest between them, but they were close friends and they danced beautifully together.
“Padma,” Fay answered, stealing a nervous glance at Parvati.
“As in my twin sister?” Parvati said.
Fay blushed, nodding her head. “I asked after Runes,” she whispered.
Parvati smiled. “I hope you two have fun,” she stated, “and remember that if you hurt my sister, I know how to make you suffer.”
Fay’s eyes widened as she stared at her roommate.
“What about you, Par?” Sally asked.
“Terry Boot,” Parvati answered. “He asked before Charms.”
“You’re turn, Granger,” Fay said.
Hermione blushed, looking away from her roommates. “I-I would prefer not to say,” she whispered.
“Spill, Hermione,” Sally urged. “These two can smell a good secret.” She motioned towards Lavender and Parvati.
The pair offered wide smiles.
The bushy-headed girl turned redder. “V-Viktor,” she whispered with a squeak.
A brief silence filled the dorm room.
“As in Viktor Krum ?” Halesia asked. She had the pair interact and spend time together in the library.
Hermione nodded, her face as red as a tomato.
Squeals and whispered filled the dorm room for a few minutes.
“We should help Sia find a date,” Sally suggested. “Do we know if Ron, Dean, Seamus, or Nick have dates?”
“I’m going with Ron,” Lavender said, blushing a little.
“I think Dean asked Lisa Turpin, Seamus is going with Megan Jones, and Nick with Artemis Runcorn,” Parvati listed.
“I think Ric is dateless,” Fay suggested.
“But he’s a third year,” Parvati pointed out.
Halesia’s eyes narrowed as she tried to place the name. She assumed he was a Gryffindor since they were only talking about their Housemates and she knew he was a third year. There were six possible candidates, but none of them went by Ric as far as she knew.
“He’s tall and he does know how to dance,” Sally pointed out.
Turning to look at her best friend, Halesia shot her a confused look.
Sally smiled, shaking her head. “Godric Weasley,” she whispered.
Green eyes widened. She hadn’t thought of Ron’s little brother. He was cute with fiery red hair, blue eyes, and freckles, and according to Mrs. Weasley, he looked a lot like a younger Charlie.