Maybe This Time

CHAPTER TWO: THE COOL YULE MISTLETOE

HOGSMEADE

`Draco!´ yelled Ron and Harry upon seeing Draco flirting with a tall brunette, outside The Three Broomsticks. Draco turned and then grinned at his pals. He kissed the hand of the lady and then went to his friends.

`Hey!´ he said, coolly. `So Ron, how come you are not with Hermowninny?´ He and Harry laughed while Ron just rolled his eyes. `I´m surprised. You still remember my name.´

`Be nice, Drake,´ said Harry, `Ron´s finally spending quality time with his friends. We should make the most out of it...´

`Shut up you two! For your information, Krum wannabe,´ said Ron, `Hermione is out with Ginny and Padma. We´ll see each other later.´

`I knew it,´ said Harry, shaking his head. `He´s just with us to kill time.´ Draco and Harry pretended to look hurt. `But we are so glad that you could come, Ron!´ Ron grinned.

`So, is she the chosen one this year?´ Ron asked, licking his ice cream.

`Oh, Kim?´ said Draco. `Yeah, I just asked her. Potter´s the one you have to worry about--´ Harry snorted.

`Well, I would like to go with someone who´s not all over me, for a change,´ said Harry, `It gets boring when she does everything that you want.´

`I know what you mean,´ said Draco, walking towards the glass window of Quality Quidditch Supplies, `Hey look! There´s the new broomstick!´

`I know,´ said Ron, `It´s The Thunder. It´s 100 times better than The Firebolt.´ They went inside the store.

`Is it?´ asked Draco. `Impressive, then.´

`That´s what I heard,´ said Ron. `Anyway, so got any idea on whom you are taking?´

`Ginny,´ said Harry, casually. `I just want to go with a friend this year. I don´t feel like doing anything with someone. You think she´ll say yes?´

`I don´t know,´ said Ron, looking at the gloves. `Maybe, maybe not.´

`If she says no, ask someone else. Honestly, you are Harry Potter, the second most good-looking man at Hogwarts,´ said Draco, nonchalantly. He gazed at the robes. `Oh, that looks nice.´

`I suppose you are first,´ said Ron, rolling his eyes. `I like that orange one.´

`Right you are, Ron. You two tie for second,´ said Draco. `Just ask her. You two are friends. Nothing´s wrong with that. I´ll get this.´

`That´s what you are looking for, right?´ said Ron. `A friendly date, nothing romantic involved.´

`Ginny is definitely perfect,´ said Draco, `or if you want, you can always ask Hermione.´ He snickered. =============================

COMMON ROOM

`Hey Hermione and Ginny!´ said Harry, grabbing a chair and then sitting across Ginny from the table. Ginny looked at him.

`Harry,´ said Ginny, casually. `Why are you so ugly?´ Hermione giggled a little.

`Are you talking to me?´ replied Harry, casually. `Last time I checked I was---´

`Oh, shut up,´ snapped Ginny. `What do you want?´ Harry shrugged.

`Well, I was just wondering,´ said Harry, examining his glass of juice. `Would you like to go to the ball with me?´ Hermione bit her lip to keep herself from laughing.

`You what?´ said Ginny, trying her best not to smile. Is that right? He wants to go to the ball with me?! `You what? I didn´t quite hear that--´

`I said,´ said Harry, sighing. `Would you like to go to the ball with me?´

`My, my, Harry,´ said Ginny. `Don´t yell at me.´

`You were deaf,´ said Harry. `So, what now? Can we go together?´

`Everybody said no?´ she said, hiding the pain since she was just a last resort. But who cares?! Last resort or not, I´m going to the ball with him!

`What?´ said Harry, looking outraged. `No, you are the very first person that I asked. If you want to know if you are just a last resort, you are not. Quite a number of girls asked me already but I said no to them.´ Hermione couldn´t help but laugh now. But Ginny kicked her on her shin, which made Hermione glare at her.

`What´s going on with you two?´ asked Harry, looking intrigued. `So will you go to the ball with me now?´

`How unromantic, Harry,´ said Hermione. Ginny kicked her again.

`Honestly, Hermione,´ said Harry, `we are just going as friends.´ He looked at Ginny and then gave her a smile that could melt any iceberg. `Coming?´

`Okay.´

`So, that´s a yes?´

`Yes.´

`Good,´ said Harry and then flashed them his 1 million galleon smile. `I´ll just see you around.´ Hermione and Ginny waited patiently for Harry to completely leave the common room before shrieking like mad.

`I´m going to the Yule ball with him!´ shrieked Ginny while jumping up and down. `I´m going to the Yule ball with him! I´m going to the Yule Ball with him!´

`You are! You are! You are!´ shrieked Hermione as well. =========================

THE YULE BALL

`Damn him,´ said Ginny, sitting on the floor outside The Great Hall. She bended her knees, hugged her legs and then rested her chin on it. `Damn him.´

He hated Harry Potter that very moment. Saying yes to him was stupid. He totally dismissed her to dance with Marjorie of Slytherin, leaving her all alone near the punch bowl. She nearly drank all the contents of the bowl, but he´s still there, dancing cheek to cheek on a fast dance song. It drove her insane. She was his date, but she´s not the one dancing with him. She snorted. She almost wore the dress that Harry gave him, but she saw him snogging Brigitte of Hufflepuffs yesterday, Kristina of Ravenclaw and Denise of Hufflepuffs the other day... It´s just too many to mention. This is making her miserable. This is not good. This is going to make her cry. But something... someone interrupted her thoughts.

`There you are,´ said Harry, walking towards her, looking bleeding handsome on his green robe that matched his eyes and usual messy hair. She immediately stood up and then walked away, towards their Common Room. `Ginny? Where are you going?´

`I´m tired,´ was all that she managed to say. He smells good. `Go back to Marjorie and continue dancing cheek to cheek on a fast song...´ Harry raised his eyebrows.

`Oh so this is what it´s all about? Come on, Ginny. It was just a few dances.´

A few dances?! What the bloody hell was he talking about?! The Yule Ball started at 7:00 sharp. The dancing started at 8:00 sharp. It´s already 11:00. She´s been drinking that bloody tasteless punch for three hours! She peed ten times already and they were still dancing, cheek to cheek! He´s pushing it. He wanted to just give him a hard whack on the head; maybe he´ll know the difference between a few dances to three hours worth of cheek to cheek dances.

She turned around to finally face him. Great Merlin, he looks good. Help me. I need to get him out of my system. And then she heard his voice.

`Ginny,´ said Harry, looking at her with a weird expression. `Ginny!´

`Don´t yell at me,´ she snapped.

`Sorry,´ he mumbled, `I´ve been calling you for quite awhile already and--´

Oh shit! Did he just catch me staring at him, again?! She glared at him in an attempt to hide her embarrassment.

`Ginny,´ said Harry, `I´m sorry. Can we go back to the ball now?´

`No!´ she yelled, walking away from him. Harry looked scandalized.

`Ginny,´ said Harry, catching up with her. `I´m so sorry---´ He reached for her hand and that´s when it happened.

`Don´t---´ said Ginny but was interrupted when a familiar voice started to speak. It was Seamus Finnigan.

`Happy Christmas!´ said the mysterious voice. `You made physical contact under our Cool Yule Mistletoe! If you look up, you will notice that it is gone, that is because it magically transforms into a box, and you two happens to be in it, right now! The easiest way to escape this, now, Cool Yule Box, is to, of course, snog! Duh?! If you want to play it the hard way, you have to wait for someone to pull the switch for you which is located on that wall over there. WARNING: This is Magic Proof.´

Harry and Ginny looked at one another, both horrified. He can´t possibly kiss her! She is his best friend´s sister! But he couldn´t help but wonder what it would be like to kiss innocent Ginny Weasley. He, however, shrugged and tried his best to brush of the idea.

`Look what you did,´ said Ginny, `Nobody would pass here until the ball is over which won´t be until 2:00 am.´ She´s nervous, upset and scared. Harry was there, lying on the ground when they saw Draco Malfoy and Kimberly Huntington, stumbling and snogging like there´s no tomorrow. Ginny and Harry chuckled a little. Harry immediately rose from the ground and then began banging the wall.

`Thank you! Malfoy!´ said Harry. `Malfoy!´ Draco Malfoy twitched a little. He was startled. `Over here!´

`Potter?´ said Draco, with lipstick all over his lips. `What the---Weasley? Whoa! Does Ron know about this?!´ Harry wanted to punch him. He wasn´t in good terms with Ginny right now, and jokes like this are the least thing that he needed.

`Draco,´ said Harry, pointing his finger on the wall. `On that wall over there, there´s a black switch. Go on, look for it!´

`All right! All right!´ snapped Draco, while Kimberly helped him. `See it!´

`Pull it,´ said Harry. He looked at Ginny. `We are almost out, Ginny. Malfoy?! What´s taking you so long?!´

`Shut up! What do I do after?´

`You just pull it!´ said Harry, irritably.

`I already did,´ snapped Draco. `I pulled it already! It´s not working!´

`What?!´ yelled Harry and Ginny. Harry began sliding down the wall, sighing.

`Draco,´ said Ginny, `look for Seamus. Maybe he can help us. It was him who was speaking.´ Draco walked towards them.

`So, Potter,´ he teased, dangerously. `Nothing romantic, eh?´

`JUST FIND SEAMUS!´ yelled Harry.

Hours have passed but still, Draco hasn´t returned. He needed to go to the loo so bad. He buried his face in his hands, thinking of the best way to ask Ginny for a snog but nothing seems to come into his mind. He stood up and started wiggling and dancing and entwining his legs. He didn´t care anymore if he looked utterly stupid in front of her. One thing was certain; she would never ever let him kiss her.

`Where is he?´ he grumbled, while wiggling.

Ginny was looking at him as if he was dumb and then she started to laugh, which made him laugh as well.

`Ginny,´ said Harry, desperately, `don´t, please!´

`What is going on with you?´ said Ginny, laughing out loud. `What are you trying to do?´

`Please, Ginny,´ said Harry, miserably, `don´t laugh! I´m in desperate need to go to the loo right now! Please cooperate!´ This just made Ginny laugh even harder. She loved every single minute of this. It´s not everyday that you get to see Harry Potter wiggling and dancing and entwining his legs. But before she knew it, Harry was now stepping closer to her, looking very handsome in his every step that lead her to be closer to him.

`Ginny,´ said Harry, `I´m so sorry. I-I can´t hold it anymore! Please, I really need to do this--´ Ginny didn´t want to step back but she did.

`No, Harry,´ said Ginny, swallowing hard, her back now leaning on the wall. `Harry, let´s just wait some--´

`I´m so sorry.´ Before she knew it, Harry already cupped her face with his hands and then kissed her gently on the lips. Her world began spinning so fast and she felt dizzy. She had no idea how long it was but Harry´s lips were definitely the softest. Her heartbeat began to beat so fast and he felt that he was losing air. And, she liked it. It was sweet and gentle. Not bad for a first kiss. Not bad at all...

`I see the problem is solved,´ said Draco. Harry and Ginny immediately opened their eyes, looking dazed. Ginny pushed Harry away and then immediately ran towards the Common Room.

`I-I-I-I-I,´ Harry stuttered. He didn´t feel the need to go to the loo all of a sudden. `I, um, er, I---´ Seamus began to chuckle, while Draco grabbed Harry´s robe and then practically dragged him to the Great Hall.

`Seamus,´ yelled Draco, `you won´t be laughing if I tell you who´s in one of your kissing boxes---´

`Cool Yule Box,´ he corrected. `Anyway, who?´

`Whatever,´ said Draco, taking sideway glances at the distracted Harry. `Snape and McGonagall are at the one near Dumbledore´s office! The switch is broken as well!´ Seamus was horrified and then began running towards Dumbledore´s office.

`Oh, shit!´