Changing Ideals

Body



Disclaimer: Anyone foolish enough to believe that I own anything is crazy. Harry Potter, or anyone related to him or his books, don\'t belong to me. I do not have anything worth suing me for. So ha.

Chapter 15: Frustrations and Getting Ready

About a week had passed, and everyone was getting more and more anxious for the Halloween dance to start. People couldn\'t stop talking about their costumes and other various Halloween related issues. Harry could only get increasingly worried, wondering if his costume would go over well and what others would think of it. He had never dressed in the nature he was going to, he could only hope that people wouldn\'t get upset over it. Gathering his stuff, Harry excited the dorm rooms, not at all looking forward to the coming evening. He would much rather prefer that they let Halloween pass without anything special, meaning no dances, no cutting classes short, no feast, and most of all, no costumes. He had never had a need for a costume before and found it increasingly frustrating to come up with a good one.

Sitting at the table, Harry glared at anyone who dared attempt to wish him a Happy Halloween, or to talk to him about the dance. Starring glumly at the table, Harry just wished that the floor beneath him would kindly open up and swallow him whole. He couldn\'t deal with all these over-enthusiastic children. Didn\'t they understand that Halloween wasn\'t such a good day for him? For that matter, he thought the entire holiday could just shove itself where the sun didn\'t shine. How was he suppose to be happy on the anniversary of his parents\' death? Oh well, he supposed he would just have to suck it up. Of course, if someone told him to grin and bear it, he might just have to use an \'Unforgivable\' on that person.

"Ah, Harry! Just the person I\'ve been wanting to see!" Blaise said cheerfully while he sat down and draped his arm around Harry\'s shoulder. Harry gave him a withering look that clearly stated that he was not in the mood, and it would be in Blaise\'s best interests to fuck off, but being the blissfully ignorant friend he was, he did not heed that warning. "Ready for the dance?" Not giving him a chance to respond, he said, "Of course you are! Bet you\'ve got a great outfit and everything!"

"Blaise, why don\'t you, and your annoyingly cheerful attitude, take a long walk off a short cliff? I\'m not in the fucking mood," Harry told him in a rather irritated voice that left no room for argument.

"Woah, someone\'s not in a good mood," Pansy said. "Although, thinking about it, I guess I understand. I don\'t know how happy I could be on a day like this either. You okay with everything, Harry?"

"Yeah, sorry. I just get a little irritable on Halloween, you know, with the whole death day of my parents and everything." Understanding seemed to dawn on Blaise\'s face. Seeing an apology coming, Harry cut him off. "Don\'t worry about it, Blaise. I know that you aren\'t responsible for my bad mood, nor do I expect you to remember things like that. I\'m in a better mood now."

"Ah, good, \'cause I didn\'t mean anything bad. Just curious, you know. It\'s what I do," he said. Finishing their breakfast, they all headed off to their classes. Every single class seemed to be a free period, no one seemed to be able to concentrate on their classes, they were much too interested in talking about the dance tonight. This irritated and irked Harry to no end. He wanted to learn, damn it.

Annoying little shits. Don\'t they realize that we have to take the OWLS this year? Those can affect how well we do on our NEWTS and the type of jobs we get in the future. Well, I hope they all fail their next test. That will show them to pay more attention to their studies, not some stupid dance. Argh! So frustrating!

Gathering his books, Harry stalked towards the Great Hall, his bad mood returning full force. Throwing himself into his chair, Harry ignored all the inane chatter around him, grinding his teeth in frustration. He was liable to blow his top soon if something didn\'t happen. Looking up when some sat down across from him, Harry was startled to see Hermione.

"Hi, uh, what are you doing here?"

"Nice greeting, Harry," she replied, rolling her eyes. "I thought you could use some intelligent company. Besides, some of us still know the importance of studying, I thought you\'d like to participate in some with me." Smirking at the look on his face, she couldn\'t help but laugh at his response.

"Oh thank God! It\'s another sane person! My angel has come to save me from the incompetence of those around me!" Grabbing her arm, Harry started dragging Hermione out of the hall. "Come on, we\'ll study better in the library."

Entering the library, Harry cheerfully chirped a greeting out to Madame Pince. Heading towards a table Harry deemed as his, he plopped Hermione down at it before rushing off to find the necessary books.

"You know, I didn\'t think anyone could be in here more than you, or be more enthusiastic about the time they spend here, but I was wrong. You\'re friend," motioning towards Harry, Madame Pince continued," beats you out. He seems to spend every hour that he\'s not in class, here. He even has asked for permission to come past curfew, and he received permission! He always leaves the library in better shape than it was when he came in." Shaking her head in wonderment, she went back to what she was doing.

Shortly after she left, Harry plunked down next to Hermione, laying the books reverently on the table. Grabbing his notes, Harry started talking to Hermione about some ideas he had about potions he was working on, along with a few new charms, hexes, and curses he was coming up with. Occasionally adding comments, Hermione attempted to help her friend that seemed to have surpassed her in magical knowledge. She tried not to let this get to her, but she had always been the one with the answers, now Harry wouldn\'t need her. Thinking about that rationally, Hermione realized that Harry would still need her. He needed a study buddy that didn\'t need his help. All his other "study buddies" were more like people he was tutoring. Smiling to herself, Hermione tuned herself back into what Harry was saying, concentrating intensely on what was needed of her.

Noticing the time, Harry pulled the books to himself and replaced them. He then sat back down at the table to talk. "I want to thank you, this is exactly what I\'ve been needing all day. I thought I was going to kill someone if I didn\'t learn something useful today. You saved many people today from being unfortunate guinea pigs of these new curses and hexes. I hope I\'m never without you as a friend."

"Now, on to less serious topics," grinning, Harry couldn\'t help but scoot closer and whisper conspiratorially to the girl. "So, going to the dance with someone?"

Rolling her eyes, she replied, "Yes."

&quEALLEALLY?!?! Who?" Seeing her stubborn expression, he persisted, "Awe! Come on! You gotta tell me! Please?" Getting onto his knees, he put his hands together in a pleading manner.

"Oh, I don\'t know. I mean, you won\'t tell anyone about your costume. Why should I reveal my date?"

Taking on a scandalized expression, Harry said, "I will not be blackmailed! Besides, if I tell you I might back down." Getting a determined expression on his face, he continued, "Now spill. Come on, you know you want to tell me."

"All right, all right. Since you asked so nicely," she teased. "I\'m going with...Ron."

"Really? So you two finally admitted what everyone else already knew, and now you\'re a couple? Great!"

"What?!?" A look akin to horror made it\'s way onto her face. "No! I mean, yes. Er...No! W-we...we admitted that we both kind of like each other, but we\'re not together. Well, not yet. This is going to be our first official date."

"What are you two going as?"

"Well, I know this sounds tacky, but...I\'m going to be an angel, and he\'s going to be a demon." Looking more excited, she continued, "I found this great spell that will give us real wings! I\'ll have big feathered, white wings. He\'ll have leathery demonic wings. He\'ll be dress in black why I wear white. And, um, oh yeah! I\'m going to give him fangs and a tail! I can\'t wait!"

Laughing at her enthusiasm, Harry moved on to new topics, wanting to prolong his time with Hermione, if just to avoid thinking, or talking, about the inevitable dance. Finally noticing the time, again, Harry walked Hermione back to Gryffindor tower. "Good bye, my fair lady. I shall see you again at the dance." Bowing theatrically, Harry headed back down to the Slytherins dormitories.

Entering the common room, Harry headed up to the dorm room. Ignoring the curious looks he was receiving, he gathered the bags with his costume stuff up and headed for the bathroom. Finding an empty bathroom stall, Harry pulled out his outfit. Pulling off his outfit, Harry picked up his pants first. Blushing, he put on the tight, black leather pants, wondering how he was suppose to breath once he got them on. Not thinking about how he looked, Harry grabbed the flowing white shirt and put it on. The shirt was a good size or two too large, but Harry left it partially unbuttoned, causing it to fall from one shoulder when he leaned certain ways. It also showed tantalizing peeks at pale, unmarked skin. He was only grateful that he had remembered to cast the concealment charms already. Although the shirt was large, it didn\'t hang down very far, it only came to the waist of the pants, letting the leather pants show off his ass. Bending down, Harry laced up a pair of tight, leather boots that stopped just below his knees. They had metal guards that snapped in place around the front.

Grabbing the smaller bag, Harry pulled out the make-up he had brought with him. Lining his eyes in coal, Harry made sure to smudge it just right, giving him a mysterious look. Putting blood red-lipstick on, he left his face with his overly pale features. The only plus of his summer was the lack of sunlight, causing his features to be pale without additional make-up. Releasing his hair from the braid, Harry let his hair cascade down the middle of his back in gentle waves caused by the braid. Leaving it down, Harry then grabbed his wand, spelling his incisors to a longer length. He had decided to go as a vampire. He couldn\'t really think of anything else, and this gave him a chance to wear his make-up without fear of what people would think. If he was met without much resistance, he might start to wear it during the week as well. Painting his finger nails midnight black, Harry nodded to his reflection and threw his invisibility cloak around his shoulders.

Entering his dorm room, Harry was pleased to notice that his dorm mates had already left for the dance. Putting his clothes and other items away, Harry took the cloak off and headed towards the Great Hall, mentally preparing himself to enter.

Come on, Harry. You can do this. There is nothing to be worried about, everyone is going to be dressed in a way that they are not use to dressing. You won\'t be the only one dressed differently. Get a hold of yourself! It\'s a costumed dance! Ah! I\'m going nuts! I can\'t do this! YES I can! I just have to believe in myself.

Entering, Harry took in the decorations, ignoring the people in the room. He looked at the bats flying overhead, the floating pumpkins, and hovering candles. He took in the dancing skeletons, smirking, he was pretty sure that was Dumbledore\'s idea. Noticing the refreshment table, Harry headed over to it. Grabbing a butter beer, Harry started to observe the others there. The first person he noticed was Neville Longbottom, he came as Alexander Harmage, a famous Auror from the 19th century. (sorry, couldn\'t think of anything for Neville. That guy doesn\'t exist.) The next thing he noticed was Draco, who came as Death, with a scythe and everything. Shaking his head, Harry continued his sweep of the room, looking at the different costumes. Some made him laugh, like the Weasley twins dressed up as a couple overly cheerful Professor Snapes. Others made him look twice and wonder about peoples\' inventiveness, like Ron and Hermione. He couldn\'t believe how realistic the wings looked. He also thought Hermione looked beautiful in her pure white dress. It clung to her top and flared down, spinning out nicely around her when she spun around the dance floor. He also liked the Parvarti twins\' costumes, they had come as fairies. He wondered if Hermione had given them the spell for the wings as well. They were simply gorgeous.

Finally, Harry\'s eyes migrated to the teachers. He noticed that Remus had come as a wolf, with ears sticking out of his head, a tail, fangs, claws, and whiskers. He seemed to want to attack Professor McGonagall, who had come as a cat. He probably thought it would be funny. Looking at Dumbledore, Harry wasn\'t quite sure what he was suppose to be. He appeared to be wearing a robe made of feathers and had a mask perched on the top of his head. Seeming to know that someone was trying to figure out his outfit, he pulled the mask down onto his face, showing the intricate design on the front. Then Harry knew what he was, a Phoenix. The face that was starring at him looked just like Fawkes. Looking for his head of house, Harry felt his jaw drop when he saw him, one thought running through his head.

Oh shit!

TBC

Well, there you go. Please review! Oh, yeah, a big around of applause to jelly-bean, my beta reader. May she always continue to beta for me.