Save a dance for me.

"Oh!" said Cho, and she went red too. "Oh Harry, I'm really sorry," and she truly looked it. "I've already said I'll go with someone else."

"Oh." said Harry. "Oh okay, no problem."

"I'm really sorry." Cho said again.

"That's okay." said Harry

For a moment they stood there, looking at each other, and then Cho said "Well-"

"Yeah." said Harry

"Well, 'bye," said Cho very red.

She began to walk away when Harry gently took her hand, "Cho, uh umm, would you-"his face had gone very red at this point, "Would you save me a dance?"

Cho blushed even more at this point, "I-I would really like that Harry."

They both smiled shyly, and avoided eye contact for a few moments. Harry, noticing he was still holding her hand, let go slowly, "Er, great, yeah I- I'll see you at the Yule Ball then."

"Yeah, see you then." said Cho, she then turned and walked back toward her friends.

Harry couldn't help but smile as he watched her until she disappeared behind the door. He didn't exactly get her as a date but he would get a chance to dance with her, even if it was just for one song. That would be enough for him, for now at least.

Cho had just made it back into Ravenclaw Tower. Her heart was pounding and her head was swimming. She had been holding off on saying that she would go to the Yule Ball in the hopes that Harry Potter would ask her. She knew that he had a little crush on her, almost everyone did. What they didn't know was that she had feelings for him as well, ever since the first Quidditch match the year before.

It wasn't until her friend Marietta told her that Harry was going to the Ball with that Hermione Granger girl (the one he always hangs out with) that she decided to say yes to Cedric. That was this morning. Not even two hours later, she gets asked by Harry, only to have no choice but to say no. She wasn't the kind of girl to make plans with one boy, only to cancel them when she got a better offer (in her opinion anyway).

But when he held her hand her heart skipped a beat. When he asked her to save him a dance, butterflies erupted in her stomach. When he smiled at her and she looked into his green eyes, she felt warm and oddly safe. Now she was here, lying on her four post bed, wishing that she was not going with Cedric, but with Harry. And for that she felt guilty. Cedric was a nice guy and he was in truth, very good looking. Cho really didn't know anything else about him. She had only ever really been around him when they played against each other in Quidditch. He was a good seeker, by no means the best, but he was okay. Other than that though, they had never really interacted, except a passing wave as they walked past the other in the halls. She honestly didn't even know why he had asked her, or why she had said yes for that matter.

'I hope he won't be upset when I dance with Harry.' Cho thought a little worried, even though she had no romantic feelings for the Hufflepuff champion. She didn't want to hurt him either. Deciding to go down to the common room for a little while, she sat in her favorite seat next to the fire place; she had just opened a book, when someone walked in. It was a fourth year she had spoken with a few times, and she didn't look happy at all, she looked down right miserable as a matter of fact.

The girl walked to the chair right next to Cho and sat down, "Is everything okay Padma?" Cho asked.

"No, I don't think I'll be able to go to the Ball, no one has asked me, and the one boy I wanted to go with is going with someone else. I don't want to go without a date, I'll be laughed at." Padma said miserably.

"I'm sure someone will ask you, there's still plenty of time you know." Cho said comfortingly, just as a peck was heard on the window. A beautiful snowy white owl was right outside it, waiting to be let in. That owl seemed very familiar to both Cho and Padma. When a second year boy opened he window, the owl flew right between the two girls and lifted up its leg, a small rolled up piece of parchment was tied there, the owl looked expectantly at Padma.

When she untied the parchment Hedwig lowered her leg and waited. Padma read and reread the apparently short letter three times before, she gave a half smile and said a little less miserably, "Well looks like I have a date." She then tore a small piece of parchment off the end and wrote a quick reply, 'ok.' She then tied it to Hedwig's leg, opened the window and let her out. "Well, I suppose I'll just go to bed now." And without another word Padma ascended the stairs and was gone.

Cho looked down and saw that the letter was still lying on the table, face up. Curiosity got the better of her and she leaned over, ever so slightly to read what was written upon it.

Padma-

Guess what, I'm going to the ball and you'll never guess

with who…HARRY POTTER! This is his owl. Her names Hedwig,

isn't she gorgeous? He only just asked me! I'm so excited! Oh,

would you mind going with his friend Ron, you know the one with

the red hair? I would really appreciate it if you did. Use Hedwig to

send your answer. See you soon.

Parvati

Cho regretted reading it at once; she also felt a slight pang of jealousy. She knew that Padma had a twin sister in Gryffindor, and if Padma's looks were anything to go by, then Parvati must be just as beautiful, and she seemed to like Harry. Deciding it was better to just not think about it, she threw the letter away for the younger girl, and decided to go up to bed herself. This ball was proving to be a lot more trouble than she thought.

Harry walked up to Gryffindor tower, both elated and somewhat depressed. Yes he had asked Cho, and even though she turned him down, she had promised him a dance. That was enough to make him happy; however there was still a problem as to who he was going to take to the Ball. He figured if he couldn't take Cho, then he should take someone as friends, someone that wouldn't mind him dancing with another girl. He would ask Hermione.

As he walked through the portrait hole, he saw Ron sitting next to his sister Ginny, looking like he had just seen a Dementor. As he didn't see her he turned back around, in hopes that he might catch her on her way back from dinner. As he stepped back out of the portrait hole, he accidently stepped right into the person he had been searching for.

"Oh, sorry about that Hermione." Harry said grabbing her hands to prevent her from falling over.

"That's ok Harry." She said as straightened herself out. "Where were you running off to anyways?"

"I was actually looking for you." Harry said.

"Oh really, what for?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Oh, well, er, you see." Harry said getting nervous, he didn't know quite how to word what he wanted to say, so he just said it. "Will you go to the ball with me, Hermione?"

Hermione instantly turned a light shade of pink, "W-w-what?"

"Would. You. Go. To. The. Ball. With. Me?" Harry said slowly, grinning now. Hermione turned a little pinker, and there was a slight look of annoyance, that was gone as quickly as it appeared.

"I would love to Harry, but I'm already going with someone else." Hermione said a little shyly, "He just asked me today. And I didn't think anyone else would ask, so I said yes. I'm sorry." She finished looking rather fallen.

Harry felt his face drop, not from Hermione saying no, but from what she said after. "Why would you think no one else would ask you?" he said looking at his friend.

"Well, you know I'm not exactly pretty, not like Lavender or Parvati. And I don't have very many friends outside of you, Ron and Neville." She said sounding a little sad now. "Not to mention, not many like me. Most think that I'm some know-it-all and avoid me altogether."

"Hermione, you're very pretty. And you can't help that you're smart, they just don't know you the way that we do. Any guy should feel honored to have you as a date." Harry said with a reassuring smile on his face.

Hermione looked at Harry as though she had never truly seen him before, "Do you really mean that Harry?" She asked quietly.

"Of course I do Hermione, every word." Harry said noticing her small smile.

"Thank you Harry, that means a lot coming from you." Hermione said wrapping Harry in a small hug, "You're a good friend." She then gave him a swift kiss on the cheek, and walked through the portrait hole into the common room.

Just as Hermione walked in, two other girls walked past him as they came back from dinner. One of them gave Harry a glowing smile, one that would have been a breathtaking to any other boy. 'I might as well just ask her.' Harry thought.

"Parvati, would you like to go to the Yule ball with me?" He said for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

Parvati went into a fit if giggles. Harry waited patiently for them to subside, his fingers crossed in the pockets of his robes.

"Yes, alright then." She said blushing furiously

"Thanks." Harry said in relief.

Feeling utterly exhausted Harry sat next to his best friend. "So, did you find a date to the ball yet?" Harry asked Ron. The look of complete horror and self-disgust on Ron's face was enough of an answer for him. "It went that well huh?" Harry said, unwilling to let his mood be dragged down.

It was Ginny that answered for him. "First he asked Fluer Delacour to go to the ball with him. She didn't even give him a response. And then the prat asked Hermione. He said some pretty insulting things when she said she was going with someone else," She said heatedly. Ron made no attempt to deny any of those accusations; he simply put his face in his hands and sighed heavily.

"What am I going to do Harry, I'll be the only bloke there without a date, well except for Neville." Ron said in a moment of self-pity.

"Actually Neville won't be going alone. I already said that I would go with him, so it looks you're alone in that pity party of yours." Ginny said scathingly, before she stormed off.

"Blimey, has everyone here gone mad?" Ron said throwing his hands in the air dramatically. "Did you find a date yet?" He asked Harry as though nothing had happened.

"Yup, I'm going with Parvati Patil." Harry said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Do you think she could help me find a date?" Ron said sounding a bit desperate now.

"It couldn't hurt to ask." Harry said. "Wait here."

Harry got up and walked across the common room where Parvati was gossiping away with Lavender Brown and giggling. "Parvati, do you know anyone who would be willing to go to the Ball with Ron?" Harry said in what was almost a whisper.

"I don't know, maybe my sister Padma, you know in Ravenclaw. I could ask her if you like?"

"That would be great." Harry said with a relieved sigh, "I could give you Hedwig if would like to ask her tonight before it gets late."

"That would be fine; I'll go ahead and write her a quick letter while you go get your owl." Parvati said smiling as she reached into her bag to get out some parchment and a quill.

"Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes." Harry said, as he turned toward the boys dormitories.

Thirty minutes later Harry read Padma's short but welcome reply, and gave Ron the good news. This was apparently not good enough, because Ron was still brooding as they went to bed that night. But at least the easy part was over; now all Harry had to worry about was not making a fool of him as he danced with Cho and Parvati. Suddenly terror struck the very heart of Harry Potter. He had no idea how to dance.

"Viktor Krum huh? How did that happen?" Harry asked as he and Hermione waltzed their way around the empty classroom.

Blushing in embarrassment Hermione answered, "Well apparently he had been going to the library every day to try and ask me. Then he just did, I was so flattered that I said yes. He still has a hard time saying my name though."

"Well he's a lucky bloke. But world famous Quidditch super star or not, if he doesn't treat you right, he'll have me to answer to." Harry said in teasing way, looking down at his feet, he didn't see the slight blush creep across his friends face. When he looked back up however it was gone. "Thanks again for this Hermione, you're a life saver. I may not be the best dancer in the world, but thanks to you, I at least won't make a fool of myself at the Ball."

"What arte friends for?" Hermione said, "Besides, I don't mind getting a little practice in myself."

"Well tomorrow night is the Ball, are you nervous at all?" Harry asked. "I know I am."

"Very much so, I don't know what to expect. I just hope it will all work out okay." Hermione said.

An hour later, they walked through the portrait hall and were immediately bombarded with question from a very put off looking Ron. "Where have you two been all night?" He asked suspiciously.

"Nowhere." Harry and Hermione said in unison, and then laughed at the look of confusion on Ron's face.

Annoyed at his two friends and suspicious of their behavior Ron turned and stormed off. Harry went to follow when Hermione said his name, "Harry, um do you think you could save me a dance tomorrow night?" she asked shyly.

Taken aback by the question, Harry answered without really thinking about it. "I would love to dance with you Hermione." And for the second time Hermione gave him a swift kiss on the cheek and walked away.

Christmas night came faster than Cho thought it would. She was looking at her reflection, "You look absolutely breath taking Cho, can we go now?" Marietta said as she was trying to get down to her date already. "I'm sure Cedric will be drooling when he lays eyes on you."

Cho sighed as she turned and nodded to her friend. She had been spending the last few weeks trying to catch Harry's eye and trying to avoid Cedric as much as possible. She wasn't sure how to tell him that she only thought of him as a friend. She didn't want to hurt his feelings before the Ball, but at the same time she was hoping maybe he would call it off, if he thought she wasn't interested.

"Okay, okay, let's go then." Cho said with a sigh, "I have to meet him outside the Great Hall anyways, I shouldn't be late."

Marietta smiled and they made their way down to the common room to meet her date. Ten minutes later they made their way through the crowd bunched up in front of the doors to the Great Hall.

Cho saw Cedric before he saw her, and her heart sank. There standing next to him was none other than Harry Potter, and on his arm was a perfect replica of Padma Patil, and she was absolutely stunning. Feeling a little self-conscious, Cho straightened up and walked right up to the group.

"Hello Cedric, Harry, and you must be Parvati, I know your sister Padma." Cho said as she took her place next to Cedric. "I'm Cho." she said offering her hand to Parvati, who shook a little hesitantly. She didn't fail to notice the smile Cho gave Harry was a little brighter than the rest.

"For a moment there I almost thought you weren't going to show up, I was a bit nervous." Cedric chuckled lightly.

"I would never stand up one of my friends." Cho said, Harry didn't miss the way in which she had referred to him as a friend.

A moment later they were joined by Fluer Delacour and her date, Rodger Davies. Rodger gave everyone a warm smile and said hello, Fluer merely nodded.

There was an uncomfortable silence amongst the group until they heard the voice of Professor McGonagall yelling, "Triwizard Champions, over here please."

As they made their way over to her, Cho spotted the last Champion Viktor Krum, and a very pretty girl she didn't recognize that was his date.

It wasn't until she spotted Harry walk up to them and give said girl a small hug that really noticed who it was. Hermione Granger, only a much prettier and more elegant Hermione than she had ever seen before.

She noticed that when they talked Harry seemed much more comfortable around his friend, and she too seemed to glow in his presence. She couldn't help but think they would make an excellent couple, if they were to ever get together. As soon as that thought entered into her mind so did a slight pang of jealousy and confusion.

She had no claim to Harry, and she certainly had no right to be jealous over his friend. She was however somewhat grateful that at that moment Professor McGonagall called all champions and there dance partners to line up, as they were about to make their entrance.

Cho looked around, they were supposed to enter the Great Hall last. She was surprised to find that they were the only ones left in the entrance hall.

"Is everything okay Cho?" Cedric asked in a slightly worried tone. He had noticed just where her attention was when he attempted to engage her in conversation, and she appeared to not hear a word he had said.

"Oh, oh yes, sorry I must have spaced out for a moment there." Cho said as she placed her arm in his. "Shall we?"

The opening of the ball went a lot better than Harry thought it would. He didn't step on Parvati's feet, he didn't trip on his own, and he didn't make a fool of himself. Overall it was a good start.

Now came the tricky part. How was he going to ask Cho for a dance, then ask Hermione for one, without looking like a womanizer?

Well the answer was fairly simple: the next song was a much more casual one. He would dance to that one with Parvati, then take her to get drinks. They would have a seat and he would ask Krum and Hermione to join them. After a moment he would casually ask Hermione for a dance, then repeat the process with Cho. Easy right? Unfortunately, things hardly ever went according to plan.

As the third song ended he asked Parvati if she would like to get some refreshments. "That sounds wonderful Harry." Parvati said as she fanned her face with her hand. "I'll go sit with Padma over there." she finished pointing in the direction that Ron and Padma were sitting.

"Okay, I'll meet you over there in a moment." Harry said moving to get them drinks.

Two minutes later, Harry arrives to a scene he would rather not see. Hermione and Ron having an argument, or finishing one by the looks of it. He sat next to Parvati. "What happened?"

"I'm not certain but your friend Ron started an argument with your other friend Hermione. Something about fraternizing with the enemy or some rubbish." Parvati said, as Harry handed her drink to her.

"I'm going to go see if she's okay. Will you be okay for a little while?" Harry asked as he moved to stand. When she nodded and smiled, he left without saying a word to Ron.

Parvati meanwhile turned to Padma. "So, how's your night going?" she asked her twin.

"It isn't. He hasn't asked me to dance all night. He just sits there brooding, he hasn't even talked to me." Padma said with a heavy sigh. "How has your night been?"

Parvati didn't know exactly what to say to that. She was having a fabulous time, but she didn't want to rub that in her sisters face. So she settled for a non-committal shrug. "The night is still young, someone else might ask you to dance." she said enthusiastically, trying to lift her sister's spirits.

"You're lucky, at least the guy you're here with wants to be here with you." Padma said miserably.

"Well, not exactly. I think he wanted to come with someone else actually." Parvati said a little sadly. "Not that he said anything, but I'm pretty sure he wanted to come with that Cho girl."

"Cho Chang?" Padma asked, when her sister nodded, she continued. "I heard from some of my housemates that he asked her, but she turned him down to go with Cedric Diggory." she then lowered her voice to whisper. "I also heard that he asked his friend Hermione. But she turned him down too."

At this point Ron, who had been eavesdropping had heard enough, got up suddenly from his chair and stormed off.

Harry had just caught up with a very distraught looking Hermione. "Hermione? Are you okay?" Harry asked quietly. When she stopped and turned around he saw that she had been holding back tears.

"Yes, I'm okay Harry. Sometimes though, that Ron Weasley cam be such an insensitive jerk." Hermione said trying to calm down.

"What happened?" Harry asked trying to help her remain calm.

"Let's just say he didn't accept me coming here with Viktor as well as you did." Hermione laughed bitterly.

"Well don't let Ron ruin your night." Harry said as he held out his hand for Hermione, "May I have this dance?"

Hermione looked up a little shyly with a small smile on her face, "Yes, yes you may." she said as she put her hand in his and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor.

Cho was having a good time at the ball. She and Cedric had been dancing and talking for a majority of the night so far, and she found she really liked him, but only as a friend. It wasn't until a slow song began that she asked Cedric for a drink, and to sit down.

It was after she sat down next to her friend Marietta that she saw something that made her stomach drop. There on the dance floor was Harry Potter dancing with Hermione Granger. And the way they moved perfectly in sync with one another gave the impression that this was not their first dance.

Hermione seemed to be shining in the arms of the boy Cho had been waiting to dance with. They moved with the grace and trust of an older couple. And something in Cho knew that this girl, Hermione, might be the perfect girl for Harry. 'Still, I have to at least try.'

As the song came to an end, Cho walked over to Harry and Hermione. She tapped him on the shoulder and with a much quieter voice than what she had intended she asked, "May I cut in?" the question however was directed at Hermione.

"Oh, yes of course. Thank you for the dance Harry." Hermione said as she let go of him and stepped away so Cho could take her place. The first chord to another slow song started up, and Cho placed her hand in Harry's. He placed his other hand on her waist, and they both blushed a light shade of red.

As they danced, the room around them began to disappear until only they remained. The music became a distant sound, barely registering in either of their minds. All that was seen by either of them was the other person, nothing else mattered, nothing.

Cho was the first to speak, "She's beautiful you know. That Hermione girl." she said as she tore her eyes away from his.

"Yeah, she really is." Harry said, causing Cho to look up suddenly, when her eyes met his he smiled and she almost melted then and there. "She's also my best friend Cho, not my girlfriend."

Cho let herself have a small smile. He had seen right through her. She looked back into his eyes and allowed herself to fall into their depths. Once again they were lost in a world all their own.

Cedric who had already made his way back with drinks, saw the two dancing as if no one else existed. Admittedly he was a little upset about it, but only slightly.

"They're quite cute together." a voice from behind Cedric said quietly to him. "She fancies him, you know. She has since fourth year."

"I didn't know that." Cedric said as he turned around, and who he saw was none other than Marietta Edgecombe. "I suppose she only said yes to me to spare my feelings."

"She has a big heart, but she never would have led you on." Marietta said in a consoling tone, placing a gentle hand on his arm.

Cedric smiled at that, he felt better knowing that she was not trying to be cruel. "Well it would be shame to let these go to waste, would you like a butterbeer miss Edgecombe?"

"Yes, and thank you Mr. Diggory." Marietta said with a giggle. Cedric laughed lightly as well. They took a seat and found that they quite enjoyed each other's company.

Parvati had all but given up on waiting for Harry. He had disappeared some time ago and had yet to return. Her sister Padma was sitting next to her looking miserable, bored and irritated. "Are you even going to ask me to dance?" Padma asked to the sour looking Ron Weasley.

Without ever even looming at her he stated simply "No."

Having had enough Padma got up and stormed off, Parvati followed immediately. They walked to the other side of the room and out onto the grounds.

And just as suddenly, Padma turned on her heel and walked straight back in with a horror stricken look on her face. Parvati looked where her sister had been looking. There near a beautifully decorated rose bush, was a boy she did not recognize kissing, rather passionately, a girl she recognized as a Hufflepuff third year. She assumed the boy was from Ravenclaw. She turned to see if her twin was okay, only to find her looking completely flabbergasted. An extremely handsome boy from Beauxbatons was asking her to dance.

Blushing madly Padma accepting with barely any hesitation. Parvati walked over next to her sister, and the boy had a friend over so quickly she swore he must have used a summoning charm.

'The night is looking up.' The Patil twins thought at the same time.

Without realizing just how long they had been dancing Harry and Cho stopped when they were nearly ran over by what appeared to be a very distraught looking Madame Maxime. The very large woman ran straight through the crowd, followed minutes later by an equally upset Hagrid.

"What do you suppose that was all about?" Cho asked a moment later.

"I have no idea." said Harry as he watches the retreating figure of Hagrid disappear into the Entrance Hall. "Should we get back, our dates might think we abandoned them or something." he said in a less than enthusiastic tone.

Looking around for a moment Cho finally spoke up. "Somehow I think they may have forgotten about us." With a smile she pointed toward the other side of the room. There Cedric was laughing and dancing with Marietta. And just a few feet past them Parvati was dancing with a boy he presumed was from Beauxbatons. Neither seemed the least bit concerned with where their original dates had gone too.

Cho turned to face Harry and noticed that his smile was a great deal brighter, when he offered her his arm. "Would you care to take a walk with me Cho? He asked blushing slightly.

"I would really like that Harry." Cho said as she took his arm.