Chapter 16

The great hall was very festively decorated with jack-o-lanterns and animated scarecrows along the sides. The roof was charmed to look like an overcast night with a full moon and bats swooped and dived against it. Already the band was on stage and playing music, which many students were dancing to. Then there was numerous tables' set up to sit at and eat food from an ever-replenishing buffet.

The girls were quickly, greeted by friends and housemates. The females wanted to know where her dress came from and the designer, and the red head noticed a fair share of the male's eyes lingering on the parts of her that the dress didn't cover.

After becoming uncomfortable with all the attention Ginny turned to Luna. "Let's go dance." She said motioning to the students gathered in front of the stage jumping along with the fast beat of a song being played by a new band that was making the wizarding charts, Full Moon Howlers.

Together she and Luna swayed and danced to the music along with the crowd. A few feet away she was glad to see that Harry and his date for the evening seemed to be having an equally good time. There was no sign of Ron or Hermione yet, but she was sure she wouldn't be lucky to go the whole evening without spotting her annoying older brother.

When the band finally took a break she tapped Luna on the shoulder and let her know that she needed a drink. The blonde nodded in agreement and they made their way through the crowd toward the refreshment table. As she was pouring herself a glass of punch Ginny finally spotted her brothers unmistakable red hair near the door.

As she had expected he was with Hermione and the pair were talking with Harry and his date for the evening. Fortunately her sibling had yet to notice her. Another familiar form caught her eye, not far from the trio. Draco had made his entrance with a Slytherin girl in Ginny's year that she wasn't familiar with. However, the dark blonde female looked stunning in a low cut silver and black dress that clung to every curve, though in a more revealing way then Ginny's own gown.

The girl couldn't help herself from looking for Blaise now that Draco had shown up. Of course it was useless with the amount of students to pinpoint a single one once they had merged with everyone else.

A moment later there was a tap on her shoulder. Figuring Blaise had finally arrived and not wanting to look to pleased at seeing him, she hid a grin with a casual smile as she turned around.

It was a fight not to loose that smile when she realized that the young man who requested her attention, was not Blaise. Instead a sixth year student from Hufflepuff stood behind her. "Yes?" She asked curiously staring up at him with a arched brow.

"I was wondering if you would like to dance?" He asked causing her to blink in surprise. Glancing over at the Luna, she saw the blonde shrug in indifference before turning back to the nicely dressed yet average looking male once more.

"Sure." She said with a polite smile allowing him to take her hand and lead her out onto the dance floor. "My names Jeremy by the way." He introduced himself as he placed a hand on her waist, and smiled down at her. "Ginny." She replied returning the friendly look as they began moving in time with the music.

It was safe to assume that Jeremy was at least a competent dancer as they moved with the other students around the floor. While at first the red head was a bit tense about dancing with the stranger, she quickly relaxed and even began to enjoy herself.

They continued on that way through two more songs before she was finally forced to stop and give her feet a break. Smiling at Jeremy she suggested they head to the refreshment table for a drink, to which he readily agreed.

After being handed a class of pumpkin juice Ginny took a long drink and scanned the crowd subtly, looking for a familiar head of dark hair, and deep blue eyes amongst the room. She felt her spirits drop slightly when once again she found there was no sign of Blaise.

Hearing Jeremy clear his throat she turned her attention back to the Hufflepuff student who was grinning down at her. "You're a wonderful dancer." He commented causing her to smile in appreciation. "Thank you." She replied before taking another drink.

"I was wondering if you'd like to take a walk with me. We could talk and get to know one another better. You seem like an interesting young woman Ginny." He said smoothly as she set her cup down.

Blushing slightly at his interest. Ginny lowered her gaze to the floor. "Actually I'm still waiting for one of my friends to arrive. Maybe we could hang out some other time." She offered lifting her eyes to his face.

The young man looked slightly disappointed and glanced around the room briefly. "It's pretty late. I'm willing to bet that whomever you're waiting would have been here already if they were going to show." He said simply causing her to frown at the idea of Blaise not coming at all.

"If your friend does come, I'm sure he or she will still be here by the time we come back. What do you say?" He persisted with a odd look on his face that Ginny thought looked a little desperate. Feeling slightly uneasy around the blonde she shook her head.

"No thanks Jeremy. Now if you'll excuse me I better find Luna, she's probably wondering why I've been gone so long." She said tilting her head in goodbye to him and turning to head across the room where she'd spotted her friend.

Her cinnamon colored eyes widened as Jeremy grabbed her arm. "Just a short walk, please?" He asked staring down at her intensely. Ginny jerked away from him and narrowed her eyes slightly. "As I said, no thanks." She would have gone on but out of nowhere Luna appeared at her side.

"Ginny you have to see this, one of the pumpkins in the display appears to be the home of a cluster of Whompygills." She said pasting a all to fake smile on her face as she glanced at Jeremy, before grabbing her friends hand and dragging her away from the thoroughly confused looking male.

As soon as they were out of earshot Ginny grinned at the blonde female beside her. "Thanks for the rescue." She said earning a nod from Luna. "No problem. It's not like he really appreciated your company anyway." She mumbled sending a glance over her shoulder to where Jeremy was trudging across the room.

"What do you mean?" Ginny questioned lifting a brow at her companion. Luna stopped and gestured with her hand in a vague direction. Following the movement the red head spotted her brother glancing from her to Jeremy who was approaching him. "I overheard Ron commenting on how Jeremy was the perfect choice to keep you away from 'the Slytherin scum' as he referred to Blaise."

Ginny's hands balled into fists as she glared across the room at her brother, who wasn't looking her way as he spoke with the Hufflepuff she'd been dancing with. She was furious once again at her sibling and about to rush over and give him a piece of her mind.

"I'm going to make myself scarce." Luna suddenly said giving Ginny a wink before slipping into the crowd before the red head could question her. Feeling someone was watching her Ginny turned to see a dark haired wizard with a familiar smile approaching, dressed in black formal wear.Hs

Ginny grinned up at his handsome face. "You look beautiful." He said before she could open her mouth to greet him. Immediately she felt her face heat up at the compliment. Ducking her head to hide her red cheeks she gave a weak laugh. "Thank you. You look pretty good yourself." She replied truthfully, forgetting all about Ron and his diversion.

"So would now be a alright time to ask for a dance?" The wizard asked smiling down at her. Lifting her gaze Ginny nodded slightly. The dance had winded down a bit after the initial excitement, and now everyone had seemed to broken into groups and were quietly talking while a only few couples had moved to the dance floor for the slower songs.

Blaise held out his hand to her and she lightly placed her own in it. Grinning the pair walked over to the dance floor and Ginny was grateful for the currently dim lights to obscure them from anyone watching. Stopping she turned to him and waited while he placed his free hand on her waist, the contact causing her to shiver lightly. Lifting her own arm she laid her hand on his shoulder.

Immediately Blaise began moving in time with the music and she easily followed his lead. She hadn't danced with anyone who held real skill since the Yule ball with Neville, whom she'd been surprised to find, was a superb dancer.

After circling the floor once Blaise tilted his head to the side slightly. "Why so tense?" He asked curiously. Ginny hadn't realized she was until he mentioned it. Of course she was dancing with a Slytherin in plain view of the entire school. Not to mention she felt foolish for falling for Jeremy's charm for a short time.

She forced herself to relax a bit in his arms. "I guess I'm just waiting for my brother to pop up and start making a scene." She said knowing that it could happen, especially since his plan had failed. Of course they she really would make a scene, far worse then when she'd given him a black eye.

A small gasp escaped her lips as Blaise's arm tightened around her waist, drawing her closer. "Stop worrying." He whispered before easing her back into a dip. It was so unexpected but Ginny couldn't help but laugh lightly as he righted her. "I'll try." She said smiling as they began dancing again.

Slowly everyone else faded from her mind until she was oblivious to the crowded room and her entire focus was on Blaise. Completely at ease she grinned as he spun her around, catching her free hand in his and lifting it until it was wrapped around his neck, closing the minimal gap between them before sliding his own arm around her waist.

The music continued on for another moment before finally coming to an end. Ginny was about to move away from the handsome wizard but his hold on her remained unyielding. "One more dance." He requested giving her a hopeful look she couldn't refuse. "I guess I can agree to that." She replied smiling up at him warmly.

As they began moving in time to the next song Ginny smiled when she spotted Luna on the dance floor, surprisingly enough with Harry, who's own partner had found someone else to dance with herself. The blonde looked surprisingly happy as she bounced around to the fast beat tune with the boy who lived.

Returning her attention to Blaise, she allowed herself to give in to the music herself and press closer against him as they moved in time with the music. An almost wicked smile pulled at her lips as Blaise leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers as they swayed together. Her reputation was going to take a hit for this one, but she couldn't care less.

When the music finally stopped she drew back almost reluctantly and watched as most of the other couples left the floor. Her heart was racing from being in such close contact with Blaise and she her cheeks flushed hotly.

"I need to step outside the hall for a moment and catch my breath." She said fanning her self with her hand. "Alright, I could use a break from the noise myself." He offered her his arm and with a grin she took it. "Such a gentleman." She joked as they made their way to the doors, earning a amused scoff from him.

There were a few people crowded outside the Hall so the pair made their way down the stairs toward the castles entrance. "I'm surprised how well this evening has gone. Though I had a bit of a rough start before you showed up. Even Luna seemed to be enjoying herself. I'm glad Harry asked her to dance, and thank goodness Hermione's kept my brothers attention on her during the last few dances." She laughed.

A moment later she froze, her gaze fixed on the upper balcony. There stood Ron looking around as though trying to find someone. She had a sinking feeling that it was her. That thought was confirmed when his gaze fell on them and a scowl covered his face. Her companion followed her line of sight as her sibling began making his way toward them.

Ginny looked around hoping for somewhere to escape from her brother's over protective wrath. Sensing her need Blaise grabbed her hand and darted down the hall that led to the dungeons. Reaching the bottom of the stairwell that brought them down Ginny gave a shiver at the drop in temperature. Her dress did little to keep her warm, and now that they were out of the crowded and warm Great Hall she was regretting not bringing a cloak along.

Her shoes were the second things she cursed as the high heels slid on the damp stone floor. "Where are we going?" She questioned the dark haired young man as he led her through a maze of twists and turns deep in the bowels of the ancient castle. "Somewhere your brother can't find us and ruin the night." He replied with a grin as he came to a stop before a statue of a gargoyle.

Muttering something under his breath the stone figure slid away revealing a dark corridor behind it. Ginny hesitated before stepping inside and waiting for Blaise to follow. Once he had the statue slid back into place leaving the pair completely in the dark. "Lumos." The young man said holding his wand up and bathing them in soft light. "Follow me." He said taking her hand and smiling as he guided her down the narrow path.