A Night to Remember

[rosewood]

A sixth year in a rather unusual costume made her way down into the Great Hall and walked through the throngs of students in search of her date for the ball. Her long chestnut brown hair cascaded down over shoulders and reached almost to her waist, the only decoration in her hair a crown of jasmine on top of her head. Her robes were of a pale green silk, the sleeves made of a flimsy transparent fabric. The robe fit her perfectly and reached right down to her ankles. Since she was going as Mother Nature silk flowers and leaves were the decorations of her robe, around her waist and on the cuffs. Julie had been sensible enough not too spoil her delicate features by make-up, she had just brushed some powder onto her cheeks to give them a rosy colour and put on some lip gloss. She was wearing pale pink satin slippers as she had never enjoyed wearing heels, especially when she was dancing, and also Harry wasn't much taller than her, so even if she wanted too she couldn’t have worn them.

Her fellow Ravenclaws had already left. Cat, Celina and Savannah had no dates so they would be going together as a small group and Alexa had left to find Nasser and so had Dorian to find Robin. Julie felt a little self-conscious as she walked from the girl's dormitories to the Great Hall. She wondered what the scene would be like in there. She had heard a famous band had been appointed by Dumbledore to play today, but they weren't the Weird Sisters. Julie had been a bit surprised by Harry's invitation. She smiled a little as she remembered the scene outside Hagrid's hut; Harry struggling to ask her and she stammering as she said yes and then going very red. She didn’t know Harry liked her in that way. Not that his invitation meant that; maybe she was just someone he knew he could have fun with and that was the reason behind his invitation. From Julie's side she was aware of a growing attraction towards Harry, not only because she admired the heroic deeds he had done for the magical world, but also the way he modestly brushed away any credit for what he had done.

Julie tucked away a tendril of her hair behind her ear and looked around the Great Hall. Many couples had arrived, and some people were even on the dance floor. Suddenly she realized something. She had no idea what Harry was coming as. She mentally kicked herself and waited for him to find her. For all she knew he might be wearing a mask as part of his costume. She sighed inwardly and hoped he would find her soon. Her standing alone would look rather odd if Harry didn't arrive soon.

((This is for Harry, but if anybody wants to comment or if one of Julie's friends would like to post that's OK. Also, I'm sorry I didn’t post agreeing to go with you Harry in COMC, Cat's already archived the thread so I thought I'd just start this post.))

[Harry Potter]

Harry left the Gryffindor tower fully dressed. Walking down the stairs to the main hallway Harry got his share of werid looks. His costume was not an original one, but a humorous one. In preperation to his costume Harry bought a tall silver cloak which had blue steams around the bottom. Harry had to rely on his wand for alot of his looks. Hermione of course helped. She thought the costume was funny and she didnt need to be asked twice to help. Harry's hair was long and grey, it fell to his back. His face seemed a bit longer than normal. Changing his glasses, he got an square shape that fitted him well, but he most deffinatly prefered his circled glasses. On top of his head sat a tall wizards hat that was bent at the middle. It matched the cloak perfectly. Last but deffinatly not least, Harry grew. His height was a good foot taller than he normally was. 'Hopefully that wasnt a problem with Julie.' Harry thought as he made his way towards the Great Hall.

'Head Master!' Harry heard behind him as she turned around slowly. Spoken in his normal voice he said, "This is my costume, Im Harry, Not Dumbledore."He said with a forgiving smile. It was like a spitting image, weird but humorous at the same time. Walking into the Great hall the ball seemed to be a success. People were dancing and conversing and everyone seemed to be having a good time.

Walking around for less than a minute, Harry noticed Julie. She looked gorgous. Her hair seemed perfect as well as her wardrobe. Walking over to her he smiled. He waited to see her first expression before he spoke and revealed the real him. "Brilliant costume Julie. You look wonderful. You did a great job with the costume. Are those real flowers?" Harry asked. As spoke, the second the words left his mouth, she knew who he was.

[rosewood]

Julie was looking at the other students and at the band that had just arrived. She joined in the applause as they made their entrance but not very enthusiastically as she wondered where Harry had got to. She was suddenly approached by the Headmaster. Julie's heart sank as he walked towards her. She liked and respected Professor Dumbledore as much as the next student, but what did he want with her in the middle of the Halloween Ball? Julie felt confused and worried as the Professor opened his mouth and addressed her. And then, all her worries disappeared in an instant! The twinkling eyes behind the half-moon glasses were not Dumbledore's piercing blue ones, but they were the dancing green eyes of Harry.

"Harry! You had me worried there for a minute, I couldn't imagine why Dumbledore would want me now!" she exclaimed in relief. Julie tucked her arm into Harry's and looked up at him. His costume was perfect and would fool anyone. "Thanks," she said when he told her she looked wonderful. She didn't blush or feel shy around him; after all, it was not so long ago since they had been in two small adventures together that made that impossible. "The ones on my head are real," she said, "but these," she continued, touching the dark pink ones covering her chest, "are not. I can't believe it, you look exactly like Dumbledore! That must have taken some work."

Julie waited to see what Harry would want to do next. Whether he wanted to dance yet or eat or perhaps just talk with her was all the same. Julie had been shown a few dance steps by her friends before the Yule Ball and again yesterday, but she wasn't really concerned whether she would dance well today or not. She was comfortable enough around Harry to be herself and have fun in whatever way he might like.

[Harry Potter]

Laughing as Julie realized it was Harry he smiled. "It took awhile, but Im not sure how long I can stand being Dubledore. Im deffinatly not used to being this tall, let alone this old." Harry said laughing again as he listened as Julie went on and answered his question. "Well you did a very good job with your costume." he said as she heard her compliment him. "I wont take all credic, Hermione helped." Harry said raising his eyebrows.

Turning his head slightly to see behind him, he saw a few heads turn. With a smile he knew people were looking at his costume. "Okay, time to change." Harry said as he took out his wand. With a flick of his wand, his hair changed color and length. His face shape and features changed and formed Harry's face. Shrinking in size, Harry shortened into his normal height. Lastly the robe he was wearing shrunk too to fit his body perfectly. Still wearing the hat and matching robe, Harry opened his pocket. Taking off his halfmoon glasses he set the inside as he took out his normal glasses and placed them on his face.

Looking at Julie he grined. "Comfortable again." He said as he turned towards the refreshment table. "Want something to drink? Honestly Im thirsty myself." he said as he held out his arm for her to grab hold of, so they could go together.

[rosewood]

Julie smiled at Harry as he transformed into his normal self. She let him lead her inside and get them butterbeer to drink. She was happy to see he looked like he was having a good time, and smiled as she raised the glass to her lips and looked across it at him, enjoying the warmth butterbeer always filled its drinker with. The band started to play and Julie listened to the music, remembering the time Dumbledore had told them music was a magic beyond any they did at Hogwarts. "Do you recognise that music?" she asked Harry curiously. "I don’t know it but it sounds lovely," she said. Julie didn't listen to a lot of music but that didn't mean she didn't find it entertaining. Her father had once played the flute but Julie herself had never seen him play, her grandmother told her he had given it up after her mother's death. She wondered what Harry's taste in music was like as she listened to the melody and finished off her butterbeer.