Chapter Fifteen<br><br>Arm in arm, the couples promenaded from the entrance hall into the Great Hall, which had been transformed into a glittering, enchanted wonderland of magical snowflakes. Evergreen trees were decorated with icicles and entwined with garlands of frost. Silver cherubs fluttered atop the Christmas trees, dusting the floor below with soft flurries of snow.<br><br>Once again, the regular dining tables were gone and in their places were the round ones from the previous year, which seated about a dozen students. Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny found the table where Seamus, Dean and Neville had taken seats with their dates.<br><br>“Wonder if they got the Weird Sisters to play again this year,” said Seamus, looking at the platform that had been set up at the end of the hall, presumably for musicians.<br><br>“I haven’t heard,” said Lavender, “but <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>I</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> wouldn’t mind if they booked them again. They’re really fantastic.” Parvati and Padma nodded in agreement.<br><br>“Suppose we should have a look at our menus?” said Neville, a little nervously. He glanced over to Padma. She was busy smoothing the creases in her fancy, teal dress robes, which were embroidered with intricate little flowers and accented with tiny sequins that twinkled like miniature Swaravski crystals.<br><br>Padma nodded her consent and the rest of the table followed suit by opening their menus after she did – then they pronounced their orders to the silver plates set before them and watched as their meals appeared out of nowhere.<br><br>After the last remnants of plum pudding and mince pie were magically cleared away, the mystery of the musical entertainment was solved. A group of musicians were taking positions on the stage, each holding an instrument and each, to Harry’s great surprise, accompanied by an animal.<br><br>“Ooohhh,” said Parvati in a delighted sort of voice. “It’s Menagerie! They’re excellent!” She grabbed Dean by the hand, all but dragging him onto the dance floor – though, Harry noted, Dean didn’t seem very upset at being under Parvati’s control.<br><br>Under the weight of Padma’s stare, Neville caved in and, in a squeaky voice, asked her to dance. Seamus and Lavender followed them onto the dance floor, leaving Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny alone at the table with their crystal goblets of butterbeer.<br><br>The lead singer of Menagerie, who had a yellow songbird perched on her shoulder, sang as her band mates accompanied her. She wore a burgundy beret and black robes with billowy sleeves. She had rings on all of her fingers and bangles on both of her wrists. Harry watched the band as he mustered the nerve to ask Ginny to dance.<br><br>The song was over. Harry watched as Padma limped off the dance floor, followed by Neville, who was looking extremely sheepish.<br><br>As the first chords of the next song – a ballad – began, Harry leaned toward Ginny and asked in an undertone, “If I promise not to trample your toes, would you care to have a dance?”<br><br>Ginny grinned as she glanced over at Padma, who had pulled off one of her crystal-studded slippers and was massaging her foot and cringing slightly.<br><br>“Of course I’d like to have a dance,” said Ginny, looking back a Harry. “I thought you’d never ask.”<br><br>Harry held out his hand, trying very hard to keep it from shaking. He led Ginny to the dance floor and put his other hand at her waist. The soft velvet of her dress robes felt pleasant under the touch of his fingers – her warm hand felt quite at home nestled in his own as they slowly began to rotate around among the other dancers. <br><br>“You're not that bad,” said Ginny, smiling at Harry as they danced.<br><br>Harry had been too busy savoring her being so close to him to have concerned himself with his dancing prowess, but now that she had mentioned it, he realized he hadn’t trodden her feet to a pulp. Not that he would be taking home any prizes for his dancing ability, but he felt it was a good to know that she was safe from bruised toes while she was with him. He smiled back at her and suddenly felt bold enough to pull her in a little closer – after all, the dance floor had begun to crowd with more couples, Ron and Hermione being among them. <br><br>Apparently feeling bold herself, Ginny leaned her head against his shoulder in response to Harry’s shift. Harry listened to the music as it throbbed in time with the beating of Ginny’s heart against his chest.<br><br>And then the ballad ended. Harry reluctantly stepped back and looked at Ginny, whose face had flushed crimson.<br><br>“You’re not a bad dancer at all,” she said in a low voice.<br><br>**********************************************<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Author's Note:</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> The whole listening to the music as it throbbed in time to the beating of her heart thing was inspired by a Duran Duran song. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :o --><img src=
http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... rassed.gif ALT=":o"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> My '80's self is revealed! <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :eek --><img src=
http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... ns/eek.gif ALT=":eek"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :lol --><img src=
http://www.uniquehardware.co.uk/server- ... /cwm27.gif ALT=":lol"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> The song, if memory serves, is called The Chauffer.<br><br>*****<br>Look for more tomorrow -- my eleven year old nephew has a holiday concert this evening and I must be a good Aunt and attend! <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=
http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br><br><br> <p><!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="color:DarkOrchid;"><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>"Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where it keeps its brain." - Arthur Weasley</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--></em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--></span><!--EZCODE FONT END--><br><!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="color:DeepSkyBlue;"><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>"D'you think we've got nothing better to do in Potions than listen to Snape?" - Ron to Hermione</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--></em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--></span><!--EZCODE FONT END--><br><!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="color:DarkOrchid;"><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>"Make way for the Heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through...." - Fred & George</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--></em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--></span><!--EZCODE FONT END--><br><!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="color:DeepSkyBlue;"><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>"Yeah, he's off to the Chamber of Secrets for a cup of tea with his fanged servant." - George about Harry.</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--></em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--></span><!--EZCODE FONT END--> <br><!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="color:DarkOrchid;"><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." - Prof. Dumbledore</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--></em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--></span><!--EZCODE FONT END--><!--EZCODE BR START--><br /><!--EZCODE BR END--><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="
http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/07 ... <!--EZCODE IMAGE END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--><br></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=
http://pub129.ezboard.com/bmajiklmoonsr ... boo1974</A> <IMG HEIGHT=10 WIDTH=10 SRC="
http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon/shield_05[1].jpg" BORDER=0> at: 12/3/02 8:30:57 pm<br></i>