An Unbreakable Vow ~ Harry Potter

xxv - in which harry is a horrible dancer

It was the night of the Yule Ball. Valerie was waiting anxiously by the stairs outside the dorms for Hermione to finish giving herself finishing touches. She had never seen Hermione so anxious to look good.

Hermione kept combing her hair over and over again, then carefully pulling it up out of her eyes. Valerie smiled and started fidgeting with her own hair, a bit self-conscious. Would Harry like her muggle dress? Would he like her hair, which had been neatly curled so that it was now only to the middle of her back?

Hermione was finally finished. She grabbed Valerie's arm and looped her own arm through it. "C'mon, everybody's waiting for us," she nervously smiled.

Valerie nodded and followed Hermione numbly, her feet tapping on the stone floors. Then they went down the stairs, step by step. Valerie could see Harry waiting at the bottom, but Ron was nowhere in sight.

Valerie was dressed in a pale lavender dress, with a flared skirt that went down to the floor and off-the-shoulder sleeves. Hermione was dressed in a pale pink and magenta dress with ruffles.

Harry's eyes were wide as he watched the two girls join him.

"What is it? Does it look bad?" Valerie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No! It's not that. You guys are beautiful."

Both of the girls blushed and looked at each other.

"Thanks," they said in unison.

Valerie's heart was pounding. Harry held out a hand and led her to the large doors into the Great Hall. There were already musicians playing. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cedric walking with Cho Chang.

Harry's grip on her hand tightened, and he shifted her so they were arm in arm. They both were silent as they entered into the winter wonderland that was the Yule Ball.

It took Valerie's breath away. Large icicles adorned the walls and the ceiling; a large clear ice sculpture of the castle sat grandly on a table. Dancing couples swirled about the room, dresses flowing around. The sight was amazing. She could see snowflakes falling from the enchanted ceiling. Harry's hold on her arm tightened, and she turned to him to catch his smile.

"It's truly amazing," Valerie finally breathed out.

"Is that — Ron and Loony Lovegood?" Ginny asked at Neville's side. Valerie's head sharply turned to behold a very disgruntled Ron at the side of a light blonde Ravenclaw girl.

"Why's she —"

"Well, you must know about Nargles. I'm sure that the mistletoe is infested with them," Valerie heard "Loony" Lovegood say as they whisked by the group.

"Oh," Valerie finished.

The group watched amusedly as Ron's gaze snapped to Hermione and Krum together. They could hear Ron's footsteps running towards them.

"Blimey, is that Krum and Hermione?" Ron asked, pushing in between Valerie and Harry.

"Ron..."

"What is it, Harry?" Ron asked, annoyed. "Wait —"

His gaze shifted back to Harry and Valerie, who were both rubbing their clothes off and regrouping to get ready for the champion's waltz.

"You can't be telling me that you two — what?"

"We're going as friends," Harry said.

Valerie wasn't surprised at Harry's words, but they still managed to hurt her just the same. "Just shut your big mouth anyway, Ron."

"You look nice," Ron mumbled, then fell silent.

The ravenclaw girl walked up to them. It was just then that Valerie noticed her strange attire. She was dressed in a bright green muggle dress, with an enormous skirt, and a crown of venomous tentacula leaves adorned her hair. Earrings that were the shape of chocolate frog cards hung from her ears.

"I'm Luna," she held out her hand for Valerie to shake.

Valerie obliged. As weird as this girl seemed, Valerie thought she looked really nice. Her hand was very cool, but that might have been from the fact that the ballroom was so cold.

"So, Ron, are we going to dance?" she addressed her partner, holding her arm out.

"Buzz off," Ron retorted, sitting down at the nearest table. His eyes were fixated on Hermione and Krum, who were laughing and dancing a ways away.

"Ron!" Valerie scolded him. She was about to say more, but then she heard Dumbledore's announcement.

"May the champions and their dates come to the dance floor for the traditional waltz?"

Harry gave her a nervous look and led her to the other three couples. With every step, Valerie felt her confidence wavering. What was she doing here, with Harry Potter? How on earth had they ever gotten to this point?

Valerie could feel hundreds of paris or eyes on her as she whisked into place. The music had paused, and suddenly the lights were too bright. It felt really hot, and she could feel panic rising in her chest.

"Are you okay? Are you cold?" Harry whispered in her ear, so quiet she could barely make it out.

"No, I'm not cold. Am I okay? I don't really know," Valerie laughed, making a feeble attempt at a joke. "Why didn't I pay attention to the dancing instructions?"

"Because we were too busy laughing at Ron dancing with McGonagall," Harry laughed, squeezing her hand.

Whatever Harry was doing to calm her, it was working. She was grateful to have him at this moment.

The music started, a fast-paced waltz. The violins and violas played a sweet melody, while the cellos and basses plucked a line that Valerie found herself tapping her feet to. Harry wrapped his arms around her waist and twirled her about to the music.

It was awkward at first. She could feel him struggling to keep pace with the music.

"You're beautiful, you know."

"Thank you. You too. I mean — um —"

He nodded awkwardly. "So..."

"So...?"

"I'm terrible at dancing," she admitted.

"Just focus on my face," he said. "I'm pretty bad at it, too."

"Really? I would never guess. The Boy Who Lived, the one who cast a patronus in his third year, oh, and he defeated Voldemort three times now —"

"Okay, I get it, I get it. I had help, by the way."

"Just keep dancing."

Valerie laughed and stumbled along to the waltz opposite him.

Valerie's foot slipped and stomped on Harry's. She could feel him sucking in a breath.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she whispered, clutching at his arms to steady herself.

"It's fine, really. You just had to ruin my moment, huh?"

"Really, I'm sorry!" Valerie said through her laughs.

"Don't worry about it," Harry said. He straightened her and put his hands back on her waist. "Let's figure this out. One, two, three, um... f-o–u-r —"

"I thought you were joking about not being able to dance," Valerie smiled, their feet moving to an entirely different rhythm than the music.

The music switched to a slow dance. "I'm screwed," Harry said, his hands falling in defeat.

She gently placed his hands back on her waist and leaned her head on his shoulder. He was warm. "Just be patient," she whispered.

He pressed himself closer to her, removing the distance in between them. She could barely breathe. Numbly, she let him guide her through the music.