The Seventh Year Soap Opera

The Seventh Year Soap Opera

RECAP OF CHAPTER FOURTEEN- Cold Shower: Ginny is furious at Malfoy for hexing her and so Harry dumps her into a cold shower, hoping it would calm her down. It didn't have the effect he planned, and he wound up with a punch in the nose. Hermione talks with Ginny and they make up. Ron finds out that he has to go with Eloise Midgen to the ball.

Chapter Fifteen- The Ball

Two days came and went and then it was the day of the ball. Only Hermione and Viktor seemed to be happy about this, however. Ginny wished she could make up with Harry and then perhaps he could take her to the ball, but that would never happen. Harry didn't love her and so they continued to avoid each other. Harry wished for the same thing as Ginny, but he couldn't let Hannah Abbott down. She seemed to absolutely love him and was even more annoying than the Creevey brothers. He was not looking forward to spending an entire evening with her. Ron was jealous of Hermione and Krum, who were quite smitten with each other, and dearly wished to break Krum's nose. Not only that, he had to go with Eloise Midgen to the ball, a fact that he still had not accepted.

The day of the ball, everyone was sitting in the common room. The girls were whispering excitedly about what they were going to wear and how they were going to style their hair. The boys were quite calm, and in Harry and Ron's case, depressed.

"That's it! I'm not going with Eloise to the ball!" said Ron jumping from his cozy armchair.

"Oh yes you are!" said Hermione firmly. You are not going to hurt her feelings, Ron."

Ron sighed and slumped back into his chair. For once he didn't feel like arguing; Hermione had that effect on him. "Harry, why can't I go with Hannah?"

Harry smiled smugly as he and Hermione played a Muggle card game called rummy. "Hannah may be obsessed with me, but I'd rather be with her than Eloise. She specifically asked for me anyway."

"Gin," said Hermione, smiling as Harry added the score, knowing she had won. "Ginny, we should go get ready for the ball now," she said, rising from her chair, and kissing Viktor quickly on the cheek. Ginny closed her Witch Weekly magazine and dashed up the stairs behind Hermione.

"Why do girls need so long to get dressed?" Ron scowled.

Viktor shrugged. "Herm-own-ninny is very pretty already," he said.

A look of jealousy tinged Ron's cheeks, but no one noticed. "Ginny's pretty too," Harry blurted out.

Ron glanced suspiciously at him. "Do you fancy my sister?" he said.

"No," lied Harry quickly, seeing the look on Ron's face.

Ron's face relaxed a bit. "Good," he said with a passive look on his face, "I wasn't looking forward to giving you the talk."

Harry laughed, but stopped when Ron gave him a very serious look. "You're serious?" Harry said, feeling his heart sink horribly. "I thought you said Ginny could take care of herself."

"I lied," said Ron. "What I mean to say is, yes, Ginny can take care of herself, but I will always watch out for her. You know, how a big brother should."

"So you gave Justin the talk then?"

Ron shook his head. "Justin's a Hufflepuff, he wouldn't hurt a fly. It's everyone else that I have to worry about." He sighed deeply and looked suspiciously at the Gryffindor boys in the room. "Everyone else I'm watching," he said, his eyes lingering on Colin, who quivered.

Harry swallowed hard.

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Draco Malfoy's jaw dropped as Pansy came downstairs. She looked so sexy in the red satin dress she was wearing--like an angel. An incredibly naughty angel though. Her blonde hair had been curled at the ends and her make-up was in place. "I guess Muggles do have fashion sense," she said, noticing Draco's reaction.

"You look--wow," said Draco said, his eyes lingering on the certain parts of her body that the dress enhanced.

"You don't look so bad yourself," she told him, eyeing the clean, crisp tux he was wearing. His pale blonde hair was slicked back and looking immaculate as usual. He smirked at her and his grey eyes twinkled.

"Let's go ruin someone's night," he said, offering her his arm.

Pansy took it, smiled and, mimicking a southern accent, said, "Why, I would be absolutely delighted, Mr. Malfoy."

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"Harry, do I look okay?" said Ron. He modeled his secondhand suit to Harry and raised his eyebrows. "Well?"

Harry straightened the tie to his own tuxedo in the mirror and turned to face Ron. He burst out laughing.

"What now?" said Ron with an irritated look.

Harry cleared his throat and tried to keep a straight face. "Well, Ron, it's not on inside out this time, but it's on backwards."

Ron glanced down at his suit and sighed. "I thought buttons were supposed to go in the back," he said in a defeated sort of tone.

"You're supposed to look like me," Harry said.

"Fine," grumbled Ron, as he began to change for the fifth time.

When he was done, and looked properly, Ron and Harry headed down to the common room. All of the Gryffindor boys crowded the room, waiting for their dates. Harry was surprised to see that none of them were wearing kilts or lime green bowler hats. Every single boy wore a suit and identical expressions of anticipation. Ron and Harry made their way toward Seamus, Dean, and Neville. "Where are all the girls?" said Ron, fidgeting in his suit, which he found very uncomfortable, probably because it was two sizes small.

"Still upstairs," Seamus said, staring at the staircase. As Harry peered around the room, he noticed that everyone, not only Seamus, was looking at the staircase as though a spell was cast upon it so you couldn't look away.

Several minutes later, a chorus of high- pitched voices broke the silence.

Girls.

None of them were visible, but their voices were loud and clear. They were arguing about who would come into the common room first. "Who cares who goes first?" Ron whispered to Harry.

Harry shook his head. "We'll never understand them."

Just then, Lavendar's voice silenced the rest of the group. "Oh, honestly!" she said shrilly. Steps were heard descending the steps...every boy held their breath in excitement...and then she appeared. She walked directly to Seamus, who looked ready to faint at the sight of his girlfriend. Harry could understand why. She was wearing a lavender dress made of a floaty material that billowed out behind her. It was decorated with several silver stars and covered in silver glitter. Her hair was in a short blonde braid and Harry thought she resembled a fairy.

"You look very pretty," Seamus told her. Every male in the room silently agreed. She kissed him on the cheek.

Following Lavendar were girls below seventh year that Harry didn't really know, but they looked nice just the same. One by one they stood by their boy of choice, unless they were meeting someone out of house, in which case they stood in a line against the wall.

Parvarti came in, her dark brunette hair falling elegantly over her shoulders. A very hot pink dress with a v-neck clung to her body, and Harry thought that it was just the color Rita Skeeter would wear. A white corset was fastened on her wrist and she gave Dean a sweet smile. They began whispering excitedly.

Some other girls came into the common room, including a rather nervous looking girl wearing a peach colored dress who walked over to Colin Creevey, who was so red he resembled Ron's hair. Harry wasn't paying attention to them, however, he was busy wondering what Ginny would look like.

Another string of voices sounded. The boys waited for silence for the next girl to enter. "Go on Hermione!" whispered voices said.

Hermione's annoyed voice drifted into the common room. "Honestly, this is so stupid! Two years in a row! Why can't we just walk in together? Is there something wrong with all of us going to--"

"Look, Hermione, we know you're nervous--"

"I am not nervous," Hermione said in a not-so convincing tone, but even so, she walked down the steps and into the common room. Ron's stomach flopped horribly and he chanced a glance at Krum, who was looking calmer by the minute.

She walked briskly over to Krum, every eye on her. Even Harry was having a hard time reminding himself that Hermione was his best friend and nothing more. Ron was staring at her openmouthed like she was a Veela, but then shifted his gaze to the comfy chair cushions. "Seamus," Lavendar warned. Seamus closed his mouth.

Hermione was dressed in a long, black dress that looked classy, elegant, and sexy. Her brown hair was out with thin, light streaks, and was straight. Perfectly straight. Gold glitter was sprinkled on her eyelids and her lips were covered in clear lip-gloss. She did appear to be very nervous and self-conscious. Harry knew that clothing and make-up was not her forte' and that she probably felt like a different person. "You look vonderful," said Viktor, and right then, the nervousness was gone. She gave him a glowing look and Ron drowned in jealously.

Harry was now very nervous as to what Ginny would look like, if Hermione looked like that. "Where's Ginny?" he said to Lavendar. Lavendar shrugged.

"Hermione, where's Ginny?" he said.

Hermione chuckled. "She's looking for her shoes. She's one of those people who can never find anything." She looked around. "Where's Hannah and Eloise?"

"They're meeting Ron and I in the entrance hall."

Hermione's glance flickered over to Ron, who was sitting in an armchair now, looking very depressed. A knot of guilt formed in the pit of Hermione's stomach, but she ignored it and clung to Viktor's arm even tighter. "Did you help him get dressed?" she asked Harry, knowingly.

Harry grinned, not taking his eyes from the staircase. "All five times," he whispered.

Just then, Professor McGonagall walked in, her lips in a firm line, wearing an ugly dress that was probably fashionable to the Amish during the sixteenth century. "Follow me," she said, leading them to the entrance hall.

Harry spotted Hannah and Eloise right away and walked over to them, Ron following glumly behind. Eloise didn't look too happy, and even though she was a bit chubby, she looked pretty. She wore a light tan dress that brought out the color in her brown eyes and hair, which was chopped into layers. "Maybe this won't be too bad after all," muttered Ron.

Hannah was wearing a lime green dress that was also something that Rita Skeeter might wear, and it was hard on the eyes. When Harry approached, a smile lit her features. "Do you want to dance?" she said the second Harry had walked to her.

"Er--" She grabbed his arm and pulled him into the hall, a Weird Sisters song playing in the background. She began to flay her arms wildly, and a vision of a penguin jumped into his mind.

"So, do you like Divination?" she said as she danced. "Because I love it. Back in 1944 there was a woman called Ariel--"

Harry tuned her out. This was going to be a long night. After a few dances, Harry begged for a break and went to the refreshment table to get two butterbeers. "Hello Potter," said a drawling voice.

Malfoy. Lord, this was going to be a long night. "How's the Weasel girl?" he asked.

Harry glared at him. "Why did you hex her anyway?" he said stonily.

Malfoy leaned against the table, opened a butterbeer bottle, and took a long drink. "Well," he said calmly, "she asked for it. I was simply minding my own business and she told me to do something that I am certain she would never say in front of her mother. It was rude, cruel, and quite frankly, uncalled for. I couldn't just let her get away with it, would you?"

Harry glared at him harder.

"Where is the little rat anyway?" said Malfoy, looking toward the doors.

"I wouldn't talk about her like that if I were you," growled Harry in a low voice, his green eyes glowing with the urge to kick Malfoy in the groin.

"Why not?" said Malfoy. "Oh, look, there she is. She looks decent for a change, you'd never know she was poor."

Harry's breath got caught in his throat and he turned around. His heart beat rapidly and his hands began to sweat. He wiped them on his tux (Hermione would not be pleased) and ran them through his messy hair. Noticing his behavior, Malfoy smirked. "Do you fancy the little Weasel?" he said. "Obviously, you're drooling. I can see the headline now. The Boy Who Lived in love with Poor Weasel Girl Who Can't Afford Anything And Has To--"

Harry turned around, knocking the butterbeer out of Malfoy's hand, and grabbed his collar. "You let her alone," he hissed, letting Malfoy go. He straightened his tux and stared at Harry in amazement.

"Shit Potter," he muttered, but he walked away to the dance floor and started dancing with Pansy Parkinson, who looked like a cheap whore in Harry's opinion.

Harry stared at Ginny as though he was hypnotized. She was standing isolated by the door wearing the most beautiful dress ever created, looking like something from out of a magazine (and considering that Ginny loves Witch Weekly, it probably was.) The dress was pale green and strapless sprinkled with delicate, velvet maroon flowers. The skirt of it lay about half a foot behind her and half a foot in front of her. A maroon sash was wrapped around her waist and draped with sophistication to the floor. Around her shoulders was a satin maroon shawl. Her flaming red hair was wild and wavy against her creamy skin and her bright brown eyes twinkled with happiness.

Harry's tongue felt like sawdust, but he didn't care. He wouldn't even care if he didn't have a tongue, as long as he had eyes to wallow in Ginny's beauty. His knees nearly buckled and he ignored the butterflies flying around without mercy in his stomach. All that mattered was she.

He took one step toward her, ready to apologize and tell her he was in love with her, but his chance flew out of the window when he saw Justin Finch-Fletchey waltz over to her. Two seconds later, Hannah ran over to him. This was going to be a really, really long night.

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Ron tried not to watch Viktor dance with his Hermione, but he couldn't help himself. She was a magnet and he was metal. He swallowed a sip of butterbeer bitterly. Always has to be famous wizards, doesn't it Hermione? He thought to himself.

Eloise spoke from the seat next to him. "Ron, let's go for a walk," she said.

He looked at her in horror. "Why?" he said nervously.

"I don't want to snog you or anything, if that's what you're thinking," Eloise said, looking exasperated. "I just want to talk."

"We can talk right here," Ron said defiantly.

"Fine," said Eloise. "My first question is this. If you love Hermione so much, why don't you just tell her?"

"What?" said Ron, completely taken off guard.

"You heard me, Ronald. So--why?"

"I already told her. She didn't care."

"She cares Ronald, she does."

"Okay, for starters, can you not call me Ronald? You sound like my mother. Second, how do you know she cares?"

"It's obvious. Besides, what would you do if you didn't tell her and find out that all this time, she loved you back and you wasted that time?"

"I-I don't know."

"Tell her Ronald--Ron. You may never get another chance."

Ron nodded and took a swig of butterbeer. He stood up proudly. He was going to tell Hermione Granger that he loved her and couldn't live without her. With all the determination inside of him, he took one step toward the dance floor.

"Only about a hundred steps left!" said Eloise sportingly.

Ron's heart gave a horrible jolt as he saw Viktor bend over Hermione and kiss her tenderly on the lips. He bowed his head, defeated and sat back down.

Eloise just stared at him. "Okay, what happened?" Her eyes were darting all around the room, as though searching for an answer.

Ron shook his head and turned to her. "I-I can't. I just...can't."

"Why the hell not?"

Ron looked down at his hands. "I've already been rejected once and I'm afraid of it happening again. I can't go through that again."

"Who isn't afraid of rejection?" said Eloise.

"But, she loves Viktor. She's never looked at anybody the way she looks at him."

"Except you."

Ron whirled to face her. "Really?" he said with a spark of hope. "She looks at me like that?" He felt like a giddy schoolboy.

Eloise laughed. "Boys are so blind. Now, go tell her."

"I'll tell her after the ball. I promise," he added, seeing the look on Eloise's face. "Now, what was your second question?"

"Oh that. I was going to say, 'Isn't this ball boring?'"

"Yes, it is." He paused. "D'you want to go to the Gryffindor common room and play Exploding Snap?"

Eloise's face lit up. "Cool!" she said. Ron grinned as they left the Great Hall, Hermione in the back of his mind.
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Ginny smiled as Justin walked over to her. "Looking good, Justin," she complicated him.

He grinned and looked her up and down. "You're looking swell," he told her. "Do you want to dance?"

"Yes...no...yes...no...what I mean is, I don't think I can dance in this dress. Sorry," she said. "Save me a slow dance though. I think I can manage that."

"Do you want me to sit with you?"

Ginny shook her head. "If we were really on a date, I'd say yes, but we're friends and I know how much you like to dance, so no."

He kissed her cheek. "You're the best, Gin," he said. He walked over to Padma Patil and asked for a dance. She shook her head sadly and looked in the direction on someone else. Ginny turned to see whom and was shocked. Padma had a thing for Neville Longbottom?

Ginny was a little surprised, but didn't think any more on it when her eyes landed on Harry. He was dancing with someone in a lime green dress. Ginny wrinkled her nose in disgust. Rita Skeeter wannabe, she thought. In her third year, Rita had come to her and asked her information about her brother, Harry, and Hermione. She was the most annoying witch on earth.

Harry looked especially handsome, but didn't appear to be enjoying himself. "Ha! Serves him right," she said, not really meaning it. Ginny walked over to an isolated table in the corner and sat down, content on watching everyone else in love--or not. She watched Neville dance with some girl, trotting on her feet, and Padma, watching his every move. "Padma, dear, you do not want to dance with Neville," Ginny said to herself, remembering the Yule Ball in her third year.

"Hey Weasley," a snobby voice said, sitting down on her right. It was Pansy Parkinson, the most conceited person Ginny had ever met. I bet she still has her pug face. She's probably hiding it with a glamour, she's so vain, Ginny thought. Malfoy sat on the other side of her.

She glared at them suspiciously. "What do you want?" she said sourly.

"Just wanted to say hello. Goodness, you and Potter are very crabby tonight," Malfoy said, relaxing in his chair, and unbuttoning the first three buttons on his dress shirt. He stretched his neck.

"Are you missing the green-eyed toad terribly?" Pansy said nastily.

Ginny stared straight away, telling herself to ignore her, but that couldn't hide the embarrassed blush that spread across her face. Malfoy ran his hands along the fabric of her shawl. "So, Weasel, what did you have to sell in order to pay for this?" he said casually.

"Oh, Draco darling, that's mean," said Pansy's silky voice, "She probably got it from her brother, Bob, I think his name is."

It's Bill, you bitch.

"He probably stole it," the older girl continued. "He works at Gringotts, you know."

"Does he? I never knew that!" said Malfoy, looking surprised. "But you're right, of course, he does seem the type. That disgusting hair and that horrid fang earring..."

Ginny was livid. They were doing this on purpose, trying to get a rise out of her. She wouldn't let that happen. She clenched her teeth.

"Where's your brother, Ginny?" said Malfoy, looking around.

"Honey, he went off with that ugly Eloise Midgen."

"Is that so? Figures, both she and Granger are whores. Cheap ones at that, because we know Weasel wouldn't be able to afford a proper lay."

Ginny bit her lip and clenched her teeth, anger mixing with her blood.

"So, Ginny, what does your brother think about becoming a daddy?" said Pansy.

"If I were stuck with a child by Granger, I'd probably drown it," Malfoy interjected.

"Now, Draco! It's probably drown itself! I know I would. Just think, sweetheart, what it would be like to be a Mudblood and poor, with bushy red hair, freckles, beaver teeth--"

Ginny stood up, her cheeks red with wrath. She had to walk away, or she would hurt someone. Isn't that what the therapist had said? Oh, count to ten. One, two, three...

"Where are you going Weasel?" came Pansy's voice. Four, five, six...

Malfoy stood up and ran over to Ginny. "Don't worry, baby, she's just taking her dress back to the thrift store," he called over his shoulder to Pansy.

Ginny took a deep breath and kept walking. Seven, eight, nine...

Malfoy grabbed her arm, and turned her around. That's it! Ginny thought. "Malfoy, I forgot to give you something," she said, bringing her face close to his.

"Little Weasel, anything you could give me probably costs less than my hair gel, so I don't want it."

TEN! "Oh Malfoy, this isn't something you can buy. It's homemade." And with that, she kneed him in the groin.

He gasped and bent over in pain. All eyes in the Great Hall were on them. Ginny stared at everyone and saw the shock on Hermione's face, the amusement on Justin's, and the admiration on Harry's. She bent over Malfoy and whispered in his ear, "You squeal like a girl, Malfoy. Not something I expected from someone like you. Oh, that's for hexing me by the way. Bye bye, my love!" She laughed and blew him a kiss in sarcasm, and then she walked triumphantly out of the hall.

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Ron and Eloise were very drunk, on Firewhisky they had sneaked from the kitchens, and were playing their fourth game on Exploding Snap when Ginny walked into the room. "Hi Ginny!" said Ron happily, waving around a bottle of Firewhisky. Then, in the Tums theme song he began to sing, "Rum, rum, rum, rum, rum!"

"Silly, we're drinking Firewhisky!" said Eloise, slurring her words.

"We are?" said Ron, adopting a puppy dog expression. "In that case, Ginny, would you like some Firewhisky?"

Ginny eyed them, shook her head disapprovingly, and muttered a 'no.' She ran upstairs to her dormitories.

Half an hour later, Harry walked into the common room to find it in complete disarray. Bottles of Firewhisky lay shattered on the floor, and the strong drink was seeping into the floor. The game of Exploding Snap continued to blow up in Eloise and Ron's faces, so both were covered in ash. "Are you drunk?" said Harry to Ron, as Ron poured Firewhisky down the front of his suit. Mrs. Weasley will not be pleased, thought Harry in the back of his mind.

"Like a skunk," said Eloise, in the manner that she was telling Harry a secret. She nodded her head and let out a deep laugh. "Like a skunk! Ha!"

Harry couldn't believe his eyes. He hoped to God Professor McGonagall would not walk in. "Great Merlin, you're drunk," he said, plopping himself into an armchair, rubbing his temples.

"Maybe," Ron said, flailing his arms around. "I-I don't really know." He looked around the room, confused.

Oh God, he's like Professor Lockheart after he lost his memory, thought Harry. Shit, why me?

"Ooh!" said Ron suddenly. "Let's play Duck-duck-goose!"

Harry stared at his best friend in disbelief. "This is not happening to me," he moaned, burying his head in his hands.

Two more people came in through the portrait hole. Harry looked up to see Hermione and Viktor. Viktor stared at Ron and Eloise in shock, then turned to Harry for answers. "They're drunk," Harry said.

"I see," said Viktor. He turned to Hermione, who was looking at Ron horrified. She turned to Viktor and they gazed at each other glowingly. Obviously seeing Ron wasted had just slipped through Hermione's mind. Both smiled the largest grins Harry had ever seen.

"Guess what!" said Hermione.

"What?" said Ron, mocking her with a sarcastic looking shocked face. He stood up from the floor, took a step toward Hermione, tripped over his own feet, and hit his chin on the floor.

"That's my boy!" said Eloise happily, taking a long drink of Firewhisky.

"I have news," Hermione said annoyed.

"Just a minute, Hermione," said Harry, having had about enough, as he got up and went to Eloise. "Let me have that," he said.

"No!" Eloise whined.

Harry tried to pry the Firewhisky bottle from Eloise's hands. The girl had a dead man's grip, that was for sure. "Come on now, Eloise," he groaned, pulling with all his might. "You don't really need to drink...oh come on Eloise...now, Eloise, don't do--that hurt!" he screamed as Eloise slapped him over the head with the bottle.

He let go of the bottle and placed his hand to his head. "For Merlin's sake!" he cried, trying to obtain the bottle once more.

"You fight him Eloise!" Ron said, not helping Harry's self-control one bit.

"Damn it Eloise!" Harry roared, yanking the bottle. "Let go!"

"Okay," said Eloise softly, letting go of the bottle and causing Harry to fall backward on his knees.

"Goodness," Harry muttered, standing up with the bottle in his hand. He faced Hermione and Viktor. "Couldn't you have helped?" he questioned.

"I have some news," said Hermione calmly, as Ron stood up and fell to the floor again. Eloise was now sucking her thumb.

"What?" said Harry, not at all interested.

She took a deep breath as though she had been wanting to tell someone this information for a while and then smiled something brilliant. "Viktor and I are engaged!"