DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling.

~ Accidentally ~

Harry returned to the Gryffindor dorm after another failed attempt at getting Cho alone to invite her to the Yule Ball. The scene that he walked into was chaos, mostly caused by an utterly panicked Ron running around the room, wailing and tearing at his hair.

"RON!" Harry yelled.

Ron stopped in his tracks and his head whipped around to look at his best friend.

"HARRY!"

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?"

"Well," Ron said, now speaking in a normal tone of voice. "I just accidentally asked Viktor Krum to go to the ball with me."

Harry stared unblinkingly at his best friend for a few long moments, nonplussed.

"How do you accidentally ask someone to go to the ball with you?"

Ron shoulder jerked in an awkward kind of half-shrug as he replied, "I don't know. I went to ask him for his autograph, you know, and the wrong words just slipped out. I didn't even get the autograph. I was too embarrassed to ask after that."

He'd thought the twins had something to do with it at first, but they had been off causing mischief elsewhere. Unfortunately, it was his own deplorable social skills at fault.

"Well," Harry said. "At least it's over with and you don't have to worry about it any more, even if you did embarrass yourself in front of a famous Quidditch player."

"Harry..."

"What?" Harry asked apprehensively.

"He said, 'Yes.'"

Once more Harry was dumbstruck and spent several moments staring as Ron's expression became increasingly more distraught.

"That's good, isn't it?" Harry put forth uncertainly.

"But my dress robes," Ron howled, dropping to his knees. "They're ancient and hideous."

Harry, who had been forced to wear his overweight cousin's hand-me-downs for most of his life, honestly didn't think that the old-fashioned robes looked that bad.

"I'll trade with you."

"What."

"Our dress robes. Mine for yours. I'll trade with you."

"Really? You'd do that for me? You're the best friend ever! Thanks, Harry!"

~end~