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I spin around to see Hermione stalking up to me. She grabs a fistful of clothing and pulls my head down.
"I don't care what Dobby said. You're my best friend, and you're not going anywhere. Now, go check on your something and get back down here so we can find you a date for the Yule Ball. And if we don't find you one, you're coming stag and dancing with me whether you like it or not."
I give her a small but grateful smile. "Teach me how to dance and it's a deal."
"It's a deal, then." She smiles back and pushes me back so I'm standing straight up, then wraps her arms around me with a sigh of relief. "You're not alone, William," she whispers.
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"So is it going to stay up there?" Harry's voice breaks me from my thoughts.
Lifting my head off of the bed, I look at him in a bit of a daze. "Huh?"
"The ceiling," he says gesturing up to it. "You said you were going to check on something and apparently you're checking on the ceiling. So are we still good to sleep in here?"
I let out a weak chuckle. "Looks good so far, but I'll have to keep an eye on it."
"Plenty of time for that later," he says, waving the thought away. "Ron's got a date now, so you're already missing out."
I'm surprised he worked up the nerve to ask somebody. "Really? Who'd he ask?"
"Come on, we'll talk about it downstairs," Harry says. I sit up, but he makes no move to leave.
"I heard what you told Hermione...that night I found out about the dragons. The way you showed up here...well, it makes some kind of sense that you're not a wizard. But I want you to know that it doesn't matter to me. To us." He looks at me seriously throughout, but now he grins.
"Honestly, you're bizarre enough that we should have figured that out a while ago."
I grin back. "Thanks, Harry."
"I must confess I am a little jealous," he says. "Hermione figured out something else that makes sense: your wandless magic doesn't seem to be limited to our spells. The things you do with lights and sounds – not to mention that spell you used to melt the dummy at the beginning of the year – that's not the same magic we know."
I'm stunned. "I...can't believe I never thought of it that way." Why bother casting the privacy charm with the buzzing sound when I should just be able to make it without? "This shall require testing."
"Hold on," he says, holding up a hand as if to stop me, "we have to find you a date first."
"No way," I argue, "this is more important!" Already my mind is setting up and throwing away various experiments that are hopefully not as draining as my fake ritual.
"If you say so," he says with a shrug, then he smiles. "I wonder what Hermione will say."
"Hmm, date for the dance..." I say, holding one hand up, then I move up the other. "...or unprecedented opportunity to study magic as nobody has before."
"Well, she is a girl," he says, scratching his head. "But yeah, that could be a close one. Depends on how well you sell it."
"Do you think I should make charts?"
He laughs. "Let's find out. Glad to hear you're feeling better, by the way."
"I am," I say, nodding firmly. "I'm looking forward to making up some more awesome but fake rituals that scare the pants off of Hermione."
"I don't think she'd appreciate you making jokes about her pants coming off," he says with a grin.
I laugh at that. Yeah, my humor really is rubbing off on him. "Oh ho! Good call. That's exactly what I'll do."
"Masochist," he says quietly as we exit the stairwell.
"Feeling better?" Hermione asks as we sit.
"Oh yes, Harry and I were just talking about your—ow! C'mon, both of you?" I rub my shoulder and mock glare at Harry for punching it.
Hermione chuckles. "What did he do this time, Harry?"
"William made a joke about scaring your pants off earlier this year with his fake ritual thing," he says, fighting a smile. "You can imagine where that line of thought went."
"Harry, I think you just admitted you were thinking about it, too," I point out.
"Moving on," Hermione says quickly, trying to cough to cover the blush that she now shares with Harry. "Look, Ron has a date."
I turn in the direction she indicates to find that Ron and Parvati are walking in our direction. Parvati is looking up at him, but the redness in his cheeks and stiff posture indicate he's decidedly uncomfortable.
I turn back to Hermione with my mouth open in shock. "He got a date with Parvati? She's smokin' hot, how the hell did no one ask her earlier?"
"Uh, William, you said that kinda loud," Neville says, embarrassed for me.
I grin. "Oops, did I?" I turn my grin back into a look of shock and turn back around. Sure enough both Parvati and Ron are looking at me; the former with a blush and the latter with a taunting grin. I stand up and start toward them.
"Ron, you lucky son of a—oh! My sincerest apologies, Ms. Patil, I didn't mean to be rude. I don't think we've been formally introduced. My name is William Lerner, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." I bow and kiss her hand, where I catch a whiff of her spicy perfume.
"Hey, no stealing dates!" Ron says.
"Why Ronald, as if I would do that to one of my friends," I chide. "I only wished to inquire if your date happened to have an equally attractive and equally unescorted sibling who I might ask."
I can practically hear Hermione's eye roll.
"William, we sit next to her twin in Arithmancy almost every class."
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Hey guys if u like the fanfic and want to read ahead by 27+ chapters or just want to support take a visit on my patreon.
(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
http://patreon.com/Marin_kitawaga