Whispers and Secret Smiles

Harry and Neville were working in Greenhouse One preparing the corsages for Hermione and Ginny. Neville had Ginny's corsage almost finished and he asked "Harry, can you grab me a fern leaf from over there please?" while pointing towards a large plant in the corner.

"Sure." Harry said while heading over to the fern in the corner. When he bent down to grab a leaf, he felt something grab his thigh. "GAAHH!" he cried out while jumping away from the groping appendage, spinning around with his wand in his hand.

He found Neville howling with laughter as he pointed to the creeper vine that had grabbed Harry. "Bloody plant." Harry mumbled while giving the vine a very wide berth on the way back to their workstation.

Neville saw Harry giving the creeper a lot of room and a nasty glare and it caused him to start laughing all over again.

Fifteen minutes later both boys had finished putting together the corsages for their dates, so they headed back up to the common room to get ready for the dance.

They were both waiting anxiously for Hermione and Ginny to join them in the common room. Harry turned to Neville and asked, "Why does it take them so long to get ready anyway?"

However, Neville did not answer. He was standing ramrod straight and staring at the two beautiful girls that were coming down the stairs towards them.

Harry's breath caught in his throat when he shifted his gaze to follow Neville's' eyes.

Hermione and Ginny shared a knowing look and approached the stupefied boys.

Neville was the first to recover and he said, "Ginny, you look amazing!" while handing her the corsage. "You too Hermione." he said with a smile.

Hermione smiled at Neville's compliment but she only had eyes for Harry. He had this wistful smile on his face as he stepped towards her. She could feel his emotions pouring through their bond; and the overwhelming feeling of love made her smile truly radiant.

Harry felt like he was in a trance as he moved towards Hermione. He didn't even realize that he was broadcasting his emotions to her until he felt hers come back just as strong. He stepped close to her and tenderly cupper her cheek in his hand. "I love you." He said softly while looking deep into her eyes before leaning in for a soft kiss.

Hermione had tears at the corner of her eyes as they pulled apart. "I love you too." She said as she leaned into an embrace and whispered into his ear "My husband."

Harry's smile was threatening to split his face in half it was so big. He continued grinning the entire time as he placed the corsage on Hermione's wrist. When he took a steep back he noticed that her dress matched his robes and he figured that Winky must have done that for them, he would have to thank her later.

He shifted his gaze to Neville and Ginny and noticed that the two of them were red cheeked but smiling at them. Confused, Harry asked "What?"

Ginny couldn't help it; she broke out in a fresh set of giggles which in turn set off Neville's laughter and put a half smirk on Hermione's face.

"Do I have something on my face?" Harry asked while rubbing his cheeks.

That set everyone into even bigger fits of laughter.

Ginny finally composed herself and said "No silly. It was how you reacted to Hermione. You looked at her as if she was the only other person in the room. I can tell you really love each other." She finished saying as she blushed. She gathered herself and continued speaking, "It was like watching something private." She said in a whisper.

By now, Harry was trying to fight back his own blush and failing miserably. Giving that up as a bad job, he said; "I do love Hermione and you're right. I didn't notice anything else once I saw her." He gave Hermione's hand a squeeze and turned back to Ginny "I'm sorry that I didn't say anything to you Ginny. You look very beautiful too."

"Shall we head down then?" Neville asked while holding out his arm for Ginny.

Looping her arm through Neville's, Ginny said "Sure. Oh, I am so excited! I always wanted to go to the Yule Ball since it was announced." Turning to Neville, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and said "Thank you for inviting me Neville."

Harry and Hermione had to stifle their laughter as they followed the other couple to the Great Hall. Neville kept reaching up to touch his cheek where Ginny had kissed him.

When they arrived at the Great Hall Professor McGonagall pulled Harry and Hermione to the side and sent Neville and Ginny on their way.

"Please join the other Champions over there so we can announce you." The professor said as she pointed towards the other champions and their dates.

With a nod of understanding, Harry and Hermione joined the waiting group of champions. Once everyone had said his or her hellos, Harry whispered to Hermione, "Look at how Roger reacts to Fleur. She's part Veela; she said so during the Weighing of the Wands Ceremony before the tournament. I have noticed that she has that effect on some of the other students too. Weird, isn't it?"

Inwardly Hermione was highly amused. Harry did not realize why Veela affected some people. She leaned into Harry's side and whispered "Only people with disciplined minds or that are deeply in love aren't affected, and you are both."

"Oh." Harry said as a light blush appeared on his cheeks.

"And I love you too." Hermione said as she kissed his cheek.

Professor McGonagall returned and escorted the champions and their dates into the Great Hall.

Harry was amused and annoyed at his classmates as he kept hearing snippets about him and Hermione. A few of the snide remarks would have stopped him in his tracks if it were not for Hermione.

She was ignoring all of the whispering with a smile. Feeling Harry's irritation, she said, "They're just jealous. Ignore them, or smile at them as it will just irritate them more." Hermione spoke with a glint in her eye.

Harry could feel a bit of her irritation and sadness while people were making fun of her. He made mental notes of who was making the snide comments that hurt so he could repay them later. Outwardly, he appeared to ignore them as he kept a smile plastered on his face.

Albus Dumbledore was watching Harry Potter very closely as the pair approached the Champions table. He was surprised when he saw Hermione whisper something to him and his scowl shifted to a smile that looked almost predatory.

Seeing that smile on Harry's face sent shudders down the Headmaster's spine. He had seen a very similar smile on the face of Tom Riddle fifty-two years ago. It was over the Chamber of Secrets incident, which led to Hagrids' expulsion. Albus quickly replaced the shocked expression with a smile as the Champions drew closer.

.....

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