The air was freezing as Ginny awoke, looking around at the dark, brown grass that surrounded her. Tombstones littered the place, and she automatically remembered it from her other visions. A house loomed in the darkness. But it was a short vision, and soon was disconnected. The last thing she saw was a large cauldron big enough to fit a man inside, sitting in the shadow of a large grave marker.

///

As soon as it was around two hours till the Ball, Ginny had been kidnapped by the girls in her dorm and was dragged upstairs to her persistent taunts. Harry, although, stayed downstairs in the Common Room, talking to Ron.

Apparently the boy had asked Hermione a few days before, wether she would consider going to the Ball with him. The girl immediately said yes, and Ron had paused in his story with a dreamy smile that indicated that she had kissed him.

Harry relayed how he'd asked Ginny out, and Ron had mimed puking several times before finally raising his eyebrows.

"Still don't get the whole Bond thing. Isn't it weird though? Dating your best friend? I've noticed that with Hermione and me." Harry could imagine said girl popping up to correct her 'boyfriend's' grammar, but shook the thought away.

"I suppose it's strange, but...." He might as well get it over with, "Ron, you know that I'm in love with her, right?" The boy colored slightly, but then smiled.

"Yeah, I know. Kind of obvious, mate." Ron laughed, slapping his friend on the back. Harry chuckled, bringing his hand up to nervously rub at the back of his neck.

"Should we just go get dressed?" He suggested, seeing they had now a little less than a hour to change into their robes. Ron shrugged his reply, standing and stretching.

The day had been physically exhausting for Harry, with the long classes and the nervous energy he had bundled inside him. Sirius had sent him a dark purple bow tie the day before, one that supposedly matched Ginny's dress. She'd told Harry it's color, but not anything else. She had the image of it nestled deeply in her mind. One thing Harry already knew, however, was the Ginny looked amazing in dark colors like purple or black. The few times he'd seen her out of tee shirts and into formal attire, they'd been light colors, except for once when she'd worn a dark green sundress for a family picnic.

Harry pushed that out of his mind, still wondering how long it'd take her to get dressed and stuff. He'd already felt streams of panic rush into him from just after she'd been pulled upstairs, but all through the rest of the time she'd been up there waves of annoyance were coming from her. Harry suspected that the girls were putting makeup on his Bond Mate, which made him realize that he'd never seen her in makeup.

After changing into his robes and sprinting out of dodge from Seamus's chatterings about what the girls would look like, Harry slowly walked downstairs again, tying his bowtie quickly.

His hair was still out of place, and the black vest he had on was annoyingly itchy, but all of his complaints dissolved minutes later, when Ginny walked down the stairs.

It was ten minutes until the ball by the time they'd shoved Ginny into her dress and put light makeup on her, so she had sat on her bed watching the girls fawn over their dresses, an annoyed expression was etched over her face. She was the same height as everyone else in Fourth Year, so she didn't seem out of place or anything, but her bored look definitely set her apart.

Ginny, of course, was nervous. She could feel Harry's excitement leaking into the Bond as he waited downstairs, and with a quick flourish of her hand, Ginny notified the girls of this. They all hurriedly grabbed purses, except Hermione, that Ginny didn't really think was necessary, as they filed downstairs. She and Hermione went last.

When Ginny finally made it downstairs, Ron and Harry were sitting alone by the fire, talking. Immediately, when the two walked down the stairs, the boys stood with ultra shocked looks on their faces. Both girls colored slightly as their boyfriends looked them over. Ginny noticed with a smile that Harry had gotten a tie to match her dress, and that he'd managed to slightly tame his hair. Though not much.

"Wow... You..." Ron stuttered, walking over to Hermione, who stood awkwardly in her periwinkle dress. Her hair had been straightened and put in a bun for tonight, and makeup applied, more than Ginny's, but less than the other girls's. "Very... Very pretty." He blurted the last part, making both him and Hermione blush.

Ginny almost sniggered, but at that moment Harry walked up to her with a blush spreading over his features. She smiled instead as he looked over her. Her hair was up, small strands hanging around her face that swished around when she moved. It wasn't completely obvious that she wore makeup, instead it just slightly enhanced the beauty the girl already possessed. Her dress was long and flowing, without straps, and the fabric on the upper half crossed in the middle, making it look like it was tied up. To say the least, Harry was completely star struck.

Gin... You're gorgeous He thought, looking into her clear, chocolate eyes. Ginny smiled, blushing with him.

Thanks She muttered into his mind, taking his arm when he offered it. Her Bond Mate looked quite good as well, his suit fitted better than Ron's hand me down from Bill. Mrs Weasley supposedly was going to make him wear another set that was much more embarrassing, but when she found out he was going with Hermione she immediately wanted him to make a better impression. Harry's green eyes sparkled from behind his glasses, and he lightly kissed her cheek as they walked towards the Great Hall.

The Hall was closed off, leaving the fourth year and up students to linger around the Entrance Hall, the only younger students there were third years that clung to their older tickets to the dance, aka their dates, with nervous expressions.

When they walked in, everyone turned to look at them. Especially Ginny and Hermione. Even though Ginny was younger in years than Hermione, the Bond's maturing aspect made her seem just as curvy as her older classmate. Harry, of course, was easily marked as one of the most handsome boys there. Well, at least in Ginny's eyes he was.

The girl noticed Katrin standing in the corner, wide eyed and blushing in her long black and red dress as she stared at the group. Ginny couldn't make out who the girl was exactly looking at, but gripped Harry's arm tighter anyway. This made the other girl snap out of it and frown.

The Champions and their dates were to go out first, opening the Ball by dancing before more people were allowed to join in, so Ginny stood with Harry, looking at the other champions. Fleur held the arm of a Ravenclaw boy Ginny barely recognized, who was grinning broadly at his luck. Krum held a Slytherin girl's hand in his, smiling at her as she blushed from head to toe, but still kept herself from grinning too much. Cedric and Cho, of course, stood staring into each other's eyes. Completely unfazed by the other people in the room.

Harry moved his hand to Ginny's waist pulling her closer as time ticked by. Seconds became minutes, and passed by quickly until the doors opened and they got their first glimpse at the Great Hall.

It was decorated with long crystals and chandeliers that bounced with light, making everyone's eyes glitter. Snowflakes were suspended in the air, twirling contentedly around the ceiling. The ceiling showed a dark night, full of glimmering stars and galaxies far away. Pale blue tables held refreshments of all sorts, with glasses and platters of all sorts of treats. The very air in the room seemed different, like it'd been enchanted to have a calming aspect to it. An awe inspiring scene, for the perfect night.

Harry led Ginny into the center of the hall, taking her hand and placing his own at her waist, smiling at her as she still gazed towards the band and the decorations. He was listening to her thoughts through the Bond, joyfully hearing each description she gave everyone and everything around them. Harry didn't quite care what things looked like, only that Ginny was with him.

The music started and the two moved in perfect sync, like a well oiled machine. Harry would spin his partner, and she'd automatically reach out for his other hand he'd extend for her. They'd twirl around the floor, hardly ever breaking eye contact for more than three seconds. Everything around them faded away, until it was just two grinning kids, deeply in love, only focused on each other.

Harry'd realized it way before Ginny. He was in love with every single aspect of her. Her hair, her laugh, her eyes, her smile, even her smell practically intoxicated him. Something flowery that made his mind go dim for a second. Even her touch drove him mad, making him feel whole again. It wasn't infatuation, but something much stronger.

Love wasn't the way you felt as you looked at someone. The stirring in your stomach. It was the complete willingness to throw yourself in front of a knife to save them. And it was having the nerve to accept this, because you'd rather die a thousand times than to see them get hurt.

Harry held her closer as the dance slowed, burying his face into her hair as other couples began to make their way to the dance floor, still staring at the two sharply dressed figures in a corner of the room, eyes only for each other.

Ginny sighed slightly, keeping her arms loose around his neck as she put her face into his shoulder blade. The ball had just begun, but the two were already getting tired of the rambunctious dance they'd been doing minutes before. Harry's hands were firmly on her lower back, not moving an inch. Ginny smiled at that, knowing several boys who would have already made a dive for a bit lower down.

Harry, meanwhile, had his mind completely blank. Just listening to her emotions and her thoughts and her heartbeat. His eyes were closed as he breathed in the flowery something he'd come to love from the moment he met her. Six years ago, he realized, he'd been playing with toys in the living room and had looked up to see her walking down the sidewalk hand in hand with her mother. Then at his birthday party, with a flower crown atop his head and a beaming face, he'd looked into her eyes and felt twitching in his chest. A brown gaze that had stolen him, hook, line, and sinker.

Harry's thumb rubbed absent minded circles on Ginny's back as they danced, as far away from everyone else as they could be. They were shuffling only slightly, just content to feel their hearts beating as one. A glow had erupted from them, lining their bodies with light that could drive away any darkness in the universe. Their soul mingled between them, finally a whole after a long day of being apart. The creature in Harry's chest was purring as it guarded what it loved, and was reunited with it's own other half.

The minutes went by quickly, and soon many of the kids on the dance floor separated and went to get food and drinks. But Harry and Ginny stood there still, hardly moving, as the feeling of peace washed over them.

And Harry began his plan.

Wow guys! 51k! I remember when I freaked out over hitting 10k with this story, but wow! This is amazing! And it's all thanks to you guys! I'm so proud of where this story is going, even though it's ending soon and I'll be starting on Something Sweet and eventually the last book, the title in keeping a secret for now. Can you all guess it?

Anyway, extra long chapter for you guys because of the 51k thing. And don't worry, the Yule Ball isn't over yet! I'll probably split that into 3 whole chapters for you. Beginning, middle to end, and afterwards. So, thank you all so much and-

Peace 🤓
~Mercedes Tyler