"What happened?" Hermione Granger asked after she stepped into the Great Hall and noticed that its occupants were buzzing with excitement. There was a huge commotion at the Gryffindor table and she was determined to find out its cause. Apparently, she couldn't even spend a few hours in the library without something bad happening, but at least this time Harry seemed alive and well, although that grin had to hurt.

"It was horrible," Neville Longbottom whispered, looking very uncomfortable due to the entire situation. Just what had happened here?

"It was hilarious," George Weasley shouted before doubling over due to another burst of laughter and nearly falling of the bench.

"It was an embarrassment for Gryffindor."

Seamus Finnigan's solemn reply made her wonder if perhaps someone had slipped funny potion ingredients into the pumpkin juice. Some people couldn't even answer a simple question. However, there was one person who would tell her what she wanted to know without talking in circles. "Harry, what happened here?"

"Ron here had the great idea to ask Fleur Delacour to be his date for the Ball. Only to completely fuck things up."

"Language!"

"Sorry Hermione, but there are no other words to do his actions any justice. It was a fuck-up for the history books," Harry defended herself.

"That bad?"

"Let's see. Ron kept rubbed his crotch as he walked through the Hall. Then he shouted that she was honoured to be his date. I think he wanted to ask if she would do him the honour but messed that up. While asking he practically drowned Fleur in spit while he kept stroking his groin. He ran back here before she could answer, which might have been his only good decision today. Ron has not said a single word since his return," Harry reported and Hermione frowned. Sure, Ronald Weasley had the habit of putting his foot in his mouth and Hermione never forgave him for the eighty-nine fights he started over his supposedly dead rat, which was neither dead or a rat. But publically playing with his genitals, even through his robes, was a new low for him.

"At least he got away without the fireballs. I remember Cormac limping to the hospital wing like it was yesterday," George added.

"That's because it was yesterday," his twin pointed out before he resumed kissing Angelina Johnson.

"How many did she shoot down?" Dean Thomas wanted to know. After all, he was number nineteen on that list and if more people failed his attempt would not stand out that much.

"She had thirty-nine invitations so far and turned down forty-three guys and four girls," Lavender Brown supplied. Leave it to the gossip queen to keep track of those statistics.

"Ouch, eight preemptive rejections."

"So, who are you gentlemen taking to the ball?" Seamus wanted to know. The Irish wizard tried very hard to sound nonchalant but ended up being ridiculous.

"Not sure mate but I've got to hurry. My ugly twin already has found someone so now I'm looking bad. Maybe I'll ask Katie's friend Leanne. She's a hot one."

"What about that blonde Hufflepuff Chaser that keeps ogling you?" Harry asked the single twin while gesturing towards the table behind them.

"Blonde Hufflepuff Chaser… Do you mean Verity Richards?"

"I have no idea how she's called but she is undressing you with her eyes. It's kinda creepy, to be honest."

"Fear not my young friend, I will handle things from here."

"I wish someone would look at me like that," Lavender commented wistfully.

"Does she know?" Hermione whispered into Harry's ear as George decided to try his luck.

"That most of the boys in the school look at her exactly like that? How could she miss that?"

"So she's just fishing for compliments. I wish that girl would use her brain for more than gossip and fashion."

"You know she's on top of our year."

"Yes in Divination. You know that Divination is nothing but…" Hermione began but was interrupted by a series of wolf whistles coming from the Badger's table.

"Damn, he works fast," Harry commented as the two friends watched the twin getting thoroughly snogged by his apparent date.

"He was not even gone for twenty seconds! Maybe..."

"Weasley! Richards! Stop that disgusting display. Fifty points from both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Weasley, Johnson, twenty each. Davis, stop disgracing your House. Finch-Fletchley, another twenty from Hufflepuff."

"Damn, Snape surely knows how to ruin the mood," Harry said as the impromptu entertainment was cancelled.

"One hundred and sixty points for kissing seems a little excessive. And of course, he doesn't punish his own students."

"And to think that he was into my mum."

"WHAT? Snape and your mum?" Hermione asked loud enough to draw attention from everyone around them.

"They were childhood friends who met before Hogwarts. At some point, Snape developed a crush on her and never got over it. Then he called her Mudblood and they never spoke again. At least that's what Padfoot told me."

"Well, that explains why he hates you. You just remind him every day that he didn't get the hot bird," Seamus smirked.

"Oi, that's my mum you are talking about."

"And apparently she was hot enough that Snape is still not over her," Seamus replied and the remaining meal passed with cheerful banter and Seamus asking Lavender to be his date.

"Honestly, how can he be so insensitive?" Hermione asked as they left towards the Gryffindor tower.

"Who, Ron?"

"Well, he too. But I was talking about Seamus. Making those awful jokes about your mother, what was he thinking?" she huffed.

"Thanks to Malfoy I'm used to it."

"Malfoy is an inbred idiot who should not set the bar," Hermione pointed out before grabbing Harry's arm and pulling him through a wooden door. Her friend smirked when realised that they ended up in a storage closet.

"Hermione dear, I don't kiss before the first date."

"Shut up Harry!"

"But what about your mysterious date? You can't simply drag poor little boys into dark rooms when you already have a boyfriend, secret or not."

"My 'boyfriend' has a fiancée back at home. I'm just his companion for the evening," Hermione defended herself but immediately saw Harry's eyes go wide.

"Bloody hell!"

"What?"

"You are going with Viktor Krum. Bloody hell Hermione, way to go!" Harry cheered before hugging her tightly and spinning her around. Due to the limited space, they both hit the walls several times before he set her down again. "My little bookworm, all grown up."

"Prat!" she replied and punched his arm. "How did you figure out?"

"I know no one else who's already engaged. Well, a couple Slytherins are betrothed but that's not the same thing. And you said back home. That narrowed it down."

"But how did you know that Krum was engaged? I thought you didn't follow professional Quidditch."

"I don't. But the other night Ron was ranting about Krum not using his fame to get the hot birds but proposing to an ugly one."

"Natalia is not ugly," Hermione objected.

"Remember, Ron's words not mine. So, if you are not about to have your wicked way with me why exactly are we here?"

"To get you a date."

"I'm trying. It's not that easy."

"So, how many girls did you ask so far?"

"It's not that easy," Harry deflected. "Getting a date is not difficult. I have enough fangirls to choose from. But I don't want someone who sees me as the bloody boy-who-lived. And I don't want to give anyone from my fan club the wrong idea because they would never leave me alone afterwards. Ginny and the Creeveys are bad enough."

"I am sure Colin would love to be your date."

Harry shuddered at this thought. Sure, Colin was nice enough when he was not being an annoying fanboy, but to kiss him... He needed to change topics and he needed to do it now.

"I'm not sure whom to ask. The only girls I even consider are Katie and you but you are like a sister to me and I think that Katie is into girls. I don't know anyone else. Sure, Susan Bones looks pretty, as does Tracy Davis or Padma Patil. Hell, Romilda Vane looks great but I don't know them."

"I have the solution for your problem. Ask Fleur."

Harry stared at her for a moment before bursting out laughing. "Good one Hermione. Like I'd have a chance. We are talking about the girl who shot five guys down during dinner."

"From her point of view you are the most desirable wizard around," Hermione replied.

"And why would I be desirable, especially for someone like Fleur?"

"Because you do not drool. Everyone else does. Everyone else becomes a mindless monkey around her. But not you. And Fleur is really friendly once you get to know her."

"So that's my redeeming feature? The ability not to drool?" Harry laughed.

"It affects her a lot. She had to leave most her friends in Beauxbaton and everyone here sees her as the Veela. Girls hate Fleur because her allure turns men into drooling idiots. Men hate her because she won't spread her legs for them. No one bothers to get to know the real Fleur," Hermione explained and it sounded awfully familiar to Harry.

"You talked to her?"

"I ran into her at the library and we began talking. At one point we switched to French because I wanted to practice it a little. In the end, she asked if I already had a date because a girls night was better than a drooling idiot."

"Only you get asked out by two champions. Maybe I should ask you as well just to make it three."

"What about Cho? Didn't you ask her as well?"

"I thought about it but then she said some less than kind things to Sue Li and I decided that I really don't want to ask Cho. I only found out about her and Cedric afterwards"

"Unkind things?" Hermione asked.

"She said that Sue's family got what they deserved when they got 'put down like rabid dogs'. You understand how I feel about such statements," he spat. While quite sure that Cho was not referring to Voldemort, that kind of statement killed any romantic thoughts quicker than an ice-cold shower.

"Maybe it's better this way. I hate to say it, but you would not have been a good match."

"Says the girl that wants me to ask out Fleur Delacour."

"Harry, do you trust me?"

"With my life," Harry replied without hesitation. Really, as if their time travelling adventure last year hadn't proven that.

"Then go and ask Fleur."

"But…"

"Harry, just do it," she said forcefully.

"So you say I should simply go to her and ask her to be my date?"

"Well, giving her a rose won't hurt. Girls like flowers, you know?"

Harry let a resigned sigh escape before he turned around to leave the closest. "I'll do it. But if I make a fool out of…"

"You won't, I promise. Just don't drool."

The next morning Harry and Hermione went down to breakfast early. Harry hoped that this way he would get to ask Fleur with only a small audience. He still couldn't understand why Hermione believed that he had a chance, but so far his best friend had not steered him wrong. That was probably the only reason why he had not chickened out already. After all, Hermione's sometimes mad theories turned out true more often than not, whether it was a giant snake living in the Hogwarts sewers or Voldemort supposed right-hand man sending him an international standard broom for Christmas.

Perhaps if he could think straight Harry would find one of many good excuses why he shouldn't ask his fellow champion out, but instead, a feeling of dread overcame him, clouding his mind. And while Harry did became the boy-who-lived for doing literally nothing but crapping his nappy, being in a life or death situation was one thing he was good at. Well, that and Quidditch. Other people may freeze in fear but he charged ahead. Quite often it was not the smartest thing to do but that did not stop him. And so Harry slipped into the same mindset he had when charging a Basilisk with a sword. There was one task and one task only. Asking Fleur. Fancy words would not do for this situation and he doubted that he could say more than what was absolutely necessary.

Armed only with a single Rose Harry marched through the mostly empty Great Hall, following the Ravenclaw table. At the far end, the Beauxbaton contingent was seated, all twenty-four students already chatting cheerfully while most of the Hogwarts students were just about to wake up. Then Harry spotted his target and without sparing anyone else a second glance he walked up to the young woman Hermione persuaded him to ask.

"Fleur Delacour, would you like to go the ball with me?"

Never in his life, Harry felt as stupid as he did during the following ten seconds. And while he managed his question without stuttering, a fact that greatly surprised the Gryffindor, it came out far higher pitched than he hoped. The time seemed to slow down when Fleur eyed him sceptically before he felt all his worries washed away. The odd sense of calmness surprised him. It felt like someone had given him a warm blanket on a cold winter day. Or one of Hermione's less bone crushing hugs. And yet Harry did nothing but look at the Veela while he gauged her reaction. Then, without any warning, Fleur stood up, smiled warmly and took the flower from his hand before giving Harry a light hug.

"I would love to 'Arry. I will zee you at ze ball. Wear somezing silver, will you?" she whispered in a musical tone.

"I will," Harry croaked.

"Say 'ello to 'Ermione," Fleur said before giving Harry a peck on each cheek.

A Weasley-red but madly grinning Harry made his way back to the Gryffindor table where he took a seat next to his best friend, who immediately hugged him tightly.

"See, I told you that there's nothing to worry about."

"I'll never doubt you again, oh wise one."

Looking past Hermione's bushy mane and through the room, Harry was surprised that most boys were staring into the air with glassy eyes. A group of Hufflepuff girls were chatting in hushed tones when Harry noticed Tracy Davis saluting him with her pumpkin juice from the Slytherin table.

"What happened to the guys around here?" he wanted to know.

"Fleur blasted you with her full allure and they got caught in."

"So that was the strange feeling then. I wondered why I suddenly didn't care about anything," Harry mumbled. The feeling had been not very different from the Imperius curse Moody had cast on them earlier this year so maybe this explained why he was the only male student not affected by the Veela thrall.

"So, what did Fleur say to you?"

"That I should say hi to you. And that I should wear something silver for the ball." Harry paused for a second as the realisation hit him. "Bloody hell, Fleur Delacour is my date."

"I thought that you were aware of that, considering that you asked her two minutes ago."

"I...yes… but I don't know what to do now. I don't know how to dance. What will we do all night? I don't even know her. What should we talk about?"

Harry would have rambled on for a while if Hermione had not placed a finger on his lips.

"I can teach you how to dance. And as this is your first date simply try to get to know Fleur. That's generally the whole point of a first date. Spending time with someone to get to know him or her better. You can simply ask her questions about her family, what she wants to do after graduation, her favourite food, if she prefers cats or dogs, basically anything that comes to your mind," she explained patiently to her nervous friend.

"Thanks Hermione, you are the best," Harry replied relieved and gently squeezed her. "What would I do without you?"

"Still have no date?"