In the Moment

Every year, the Gringotts goblins host a New Year's Eve ball. They transform one of the large vaults into a lavishly decorated ballroom and invite all of the local merchants. My father owned the largest apothecary shop in Diagon Alley, and so was always invited. I couldn't wait until I would be old enough to be invited to this glamorous social event myself. During Christmas holiday in my seventh year, my name was finally included on the guest list.

Right after my father gave me my invitation, a misty sort of smile on his face at his little girl being grown-up enough to be invited to a ball, my best friend Cassandra Vablatsky rushed into the shop brandishing her own invitation. "Did you get one?" she squealed. I nodded and she began to jump up and down. "Finally! I think I'll get Gilbert O'Malley to ask me. Who will you go with?"

My heart sank. "Oh, I-I don't know. I hadn't thought about it. I don't have to have a date, do I?" I wasn't much interested in dating; it just seemed like so much trouble.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Anna. It won't be any fun if you don't have a date. Who will you dance with, your dad?" She snorted. "Let's see," she said, looking at me speculatively. "You're not unattractive; it shouldn't be too terribly difficult to find someone who will go with you."

"Maybe I just won't go at all if it's such a big deal."

"Don't be daft. You have to go if you're invited. Otherwise, the goblins will think you're rude. I'm sure one of Gilbert's friends will ask you. He'll just have to find one who will if he wants to go with me."

"I am not a charity project," I snapped.

"Of course you aren't," she said soothingly. "Loads of boys would love to go out with you."

I snorted. "Right."

"No, really. You're prettier than most of the other girls in our year when you want to be, and you're funny and smart." She frowned. "Although not everyone really understands your sense of humor, and some people can be a little put off by a girl who thinks Arithmancy is fun, and you do seem to spend more time with books than anyone else I know." She shook herself a bit, as though remembering that she had been trying to be positive. "Some boys like that."

"Cassie, I don't care what boys like; I care what I like. I'm not going to pretend to be anything I'm not just to get a date to the dumb ball."

"All right, all right," she said, holding up her hands defensively. "Go by yourself then. I was only trying to help."

"Well, I don't need your help. I can get a date on my own, thank you very much."

"Well, of course you can."

"And don't be patronizing." I had spied a familiar tall redhead though the window, and was seized by a sudden impulse. "I can get a date right now."

I walked outside and up to Bill Weasley, who was walking out of Florian Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor with several of his friends. "Hi, Anna. Having a nice holiday?" he asked politely when I had greeted him.

"Yes, thank you." I took a deep breath and plowed ahead, determined to do this. "Will you go with me to the Gringotts Ball on New Years Eve?"

A few of Bill's friends gave snorts that could be interpreted as mocking, but Bill, although he seemed quite surprised, merely smiled. "I'd love to. What time should I pick you up?"

"Eight o'clock?" I suggested, suddenly feeling a bit lightheaded.

"Sounds wonderful. I'll see you then." Still grinning in a pleased manner, he turned back to give me a wave as he and his friends walked away.

Cassie was still gaping from the shop doorway when I went back inside. "Anna Grace Vector," she gasped, scandalized. "He was supposed to ask you. That's how it works. And whatever possessed you to choose Bill Weasley? I know he's Head Boy, but he's, oh, I don't know, a Weasley. They're not really Gringotts Ball types, you know?"

"I like Bill." I smiled serenely. "I like the rest of the Weasleys, too. If they're not Gringotts Ball types, then neither am I. But I was invited, so I have to go, and Bill is my date."

She shook her head and muttered under her breath, "Bill Weasley. Honestly."

"He likes Arithmancy, so that's perfect, isn't it?" I couldn't stop myself from grinning; it was a rare occasion when I could do something to shock Cassie, who excelled at Divination and often practiced her skills on me. Besides, I now had a date with Bill Weasley. My stomach gave a little flutter, which I was certain would not go away until after the ball.

*****

I was very nervous as I sat in the parlor waiting for my date. I couldn't quite believe that not only was I going to the Gringotts New Year's Ball for the first time, but I was going with Bill Weasley. It seemed more and more unbelievable as the old clock on the mantel began ticking off the minutes after eight o'clock.

Bill was late, and it was beginning to occur to me that perhaps he wasn't coming. I couldn't really blame him if he had changed his mind about going with me; he was not only Head Boy, but also the coolest boy in school. I was just the bookish girl everyone still felt sorry for, even though it had been over a year since my mother had been killed. He had never struck me as a cruel person before, but seventeen-year-old boys are an odd breed. Maybe he had only been joking when he had said he would take me to the ball. Maybe he hadn't intended to go with me at all. I had myself worked up into quite a state by the time the doorbell rang.

My father winked at me as he walked past on his way to answer the door. "You look fabulous, darling."

I smiled at him tensely and gave myself a quick once-over in the mirror over the mantel. "He's right, child. You fix up quite nicely," the mirror observed. "Just relax."

"Right," I muttered. "Relax." It only briefly crossed my mind that it was a bit mad to be taking dating advice from a mirror when my dad returned, an oddly bemused look on his face. "What's the matter?" I wailed. "Wasn't it Bill at the door?"

"Well, who else were you expecting?" came a jolly voice from behind him. "Am I too late? Have you already activated the reserves?"

"No. You had five more minutes before I called for a replacement." I was so relieved that he had actually shown up, it took me a moment to notice what was different about him- and the reason for my father's odd expression. Bill Weasley's normally vivid red hair was instead a violent shade of green. I gave a small gasp of surprise and his face turned the color normally reserved for his hair. He looked rather like a Christmas ornament.

"Don't you like it?" he asked, trying valiantly to cover his obvious embarrassment with bravado.

"It's green," my father murmured, as though I couldn't plainly see that for myself.

"Er, it's, erm, different," I managed, ignoring my dad. "What made you decide to go with that particular color?"

"Well, it was sort of an accident. I was trying to, er, do something else, and then I couldn't fix it in time." He was still blushing profusely, and I felt rather sorry for him.

"Oh. All right," I said. "Let's go. I want to dance."

"Me too," replied Bill. "Are you coming as well, Mr. Vector?" he inquired politely.

"In a bit," answered my father, still looking a bit dazed. "You kids go on ahead."

Bill offered me his arm, and we headed to the other end of Diagon Alley, to Gringotts and the ball.

We had a nice time dancing, although the stares and murmurs directed at Bill's new hair color quickly became tedious. "Do you want to get out of here?" I asked sometime before midnight. "There's a spot in the garden outside where we can still hear the music and the countdown to midnight and everything. I used to peek from there when I was younger."

He grinned. "Lead the way, mademoiselle."

We were soon settled on a bench in the garden outside, which was rather more deserted than one might have expected, since the goblins had enchanted it to be a comfortably warm oasis in the middle of the chilly December night. "I sort of like your hair," I confessed. "But what were you trying to do?"

"I'd rather not say," he said, pulling something from his pocket. "Have you ever had Firewhiskey?"

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" I joked.

"Only so that I can take advantage of you." He winked and took a drink from the small bottle. "Or maybe I'll just let you take advantage of me."

I took a small sip and choked. "That tastes horrible."

"Yeah," he laughed. "I'm hoping it'll grow on me." He put the bottle back in his pocket.

"Like your hair?" I teased. I couldn't believe that I had been worried about this nice boy who I had known nearly my entire life doing anything like standing me up for a date.

"I'll tell you how my hair ended up this color on one condition," he said with a wicked Weasley grin.

"And what condition would that be, Bill Weasley?" I asked suspiciously.

"Kiss me at midnight," he said simply.

"All right," I agreed. "But tell me about your hair first."

"Sorry, can't. No time." The ballroom though the window suddenly exploded; it was midnight. "You first."

I froze. I had kissed exactly one boy in my life up to this point, and it hadn't been anything I would describe as pleasant. The thought of ruining this nice night by being slobbered on again was just too much.

"What's the matter?" he asked quietly, placing a gentle hand on my cheek. "I won't bite."

"I know," I whispered. "I'm just-"

Suddenly, he was kissing me. And I liked it. A lot.

"See? Nothing to be afraid of," he murmured.

"Who said I was afraid?" I kissed him back, and it was very nice. "There. Now, tell me what you were trying to do to your hair."

"I wasn't trying to do anything to my hair," he answered sheepishly. "But Charlie found a spell in a book that was supposed to turn me into the perfect date. I don't think we did it right."

"I do," I said decisively.

He grinned. "You are an interesting girl, Anna Vector."

"Oh." I took a step away from him, deflated.

"Sorry, was that offensive? I can never remember all the things I shouldn't say to girls."

I laughed at that, and then was immediately sorry when he blushed scarlet. "No, it just depends on what you mean by 'interesting.' In my experience, that's usually just another word for 'odd.'"

His grin returned full force. "I only meant that I have very much enjoyed spending this evening with you. Not that I haven't enjoyed all the time we've put in together on our Arithmancy homework, but tonight is...special."

"Well, the Ball is much fancier than the library," I murmured, my blush rivaling Bill's.

"And you're fancier than you usually are in the library. I would suggest that you wear dress robes all the time, but then I would have to fight all the boys at Hogwarts for your attention."

I snorted.

"What? Too much?" He was still grinning.

"Just a bit. You already got me to kiss you."

"All right. I'll make a note to stop the flattery before I make girls roll their eyes at me."

I laughed. "I'm not sure if I should be insulted to be your dating test subject."

"You asked me out, remember? I shouldn't take advantage of the opportunity?" I must have given him an odd look, because he hastily added, "The opportunity to have a nice time with you, I mean. You shouldn't be insulted."

I smiled at him. "I'm not, really. I'm having a nice time, too."

"May I have another dance, Miss Vector?" he asked, his eyes twinkling.

"Certainly, Mr. Weasley. Do you want to go back inside, then?"

He shook his head and offered me his hand. I took it, and we danced under the moon and the stars to the strains of the waltz that poured through the windows.

"Do you ever wonder if the man in the moon looks the same from everywhere in the world?" Bill asked suddenly.

"I never thought about it," I answered truthfully.

"I think about it all the time," he said vehemently. "I want to travel everywhere and see for myself. What are you planning to do after Hogwarts?"

"Anything but work in an apothecary shop," I answered with equal fervor. "I want to do Arithmancy. Maybe teach. I like tutoring the younger students; it's so neat to help them understand something that they didn't before."

The smile he gave me then was a bit softer than his usual mischievous grin. "I do believe that I'm going to kiss you again, if you don't mind."

"As a matter of fact, I do mind." I saw his smile falter slightly. "I was planning to kiss you."

He beamed. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"Just waiting for the perfect moment," I answered breathlessly.

"When will that be?" he murmured, his lips already almost touching mine.

"Now."