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Harry Potter And The Twists Of Fate
By bengpotter31

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Category: Alternate Universe
Characters:All, All
Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Fluff, Humor
Warnings: Extreme Language, Sexual Situations, Violence
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 475
Summary: What if the fates let Harry's parents live that night he got his scar, plus gave him a younger sister and become friends with the Weasleys, especially Ron earlier. What would be different?
Hitcount: Story Total: 323313; Chapter Total: 8113





Author's Notes:
Here's the part many of you have been waiting for - the Yule Ball. I had to split it into two chapters as it was getting long. Enjoy and please review.




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Chapter 47: McGonagall’s announcement


James had dinner beside his children in the Great Hall that night. He told Harry that he and the other Aurors were concerned over the ease with which the Horntail had broken through the shield. No one had a clue how that had happened, though Dumbledore had a few theories. Since the shields had been created by Dumbledore, Moody and James together, it seemed impossible to attribute it to a flaw in the shields themselves.

On the other hand, Charlie Weasley and the other dragon handlers were puzzled over its aggressiveness, giving chase to Harry and Rose over the forest far from the enclosure. Ordinarily, it should have been content with chasing them away.

Then, there was the seashell shaped locket that had been around Rose’s neck during the task. Harry had tried to open it after the task but failed. There was no visible seam between the two halves of the shell, preventing him from prying it open. He tried a few spells like ‘Alohomora’ but none of them worked. This baffled even Hermione and Rose.

Harry decided not to dwell on these problems for the moment and simply enjoy having survived. With the second task almost three months away, he preferred to concentrate on his studies, his training with Dumbledore and spending time with Ginny.

He and Rose thanked Ti for his attempt to help them against the dragon. Their thanks included a kiss on the cheek from Rose which caused the younger boy to blush furiously. They found out that McGonagall hadn’t been too harsh on Ti, merely docking him fifteen points and a nightly detention with her for three days.

Lily did send Dumbledore another howler the day after the first task. To spare Harry any embarrassment, she decided to send it during afternoon classes. Unfortunately, her voice was so loud, it was audible throughout the main castle, if not understandable.

Harry stayed in the common room during dinner and hid under his invisibility cloak for the rest of the night, with Ginny, of course. The house elves were all too happy to serve the bonded pair a late dinner and Ginny made sure Harry went to bed happier after a nice good snog session in an empty classroom.


A week later, on the way back from Care of Magical Creatures, Harry was at the rear of his fellow Gryffindors, anticipating a nice lunch with Ginny, when he heard someone call out, “Hey, Potter,” from behind him. Turning around, he was surprised to see Draco standing there, without his usual cronies behind him.

“What do you want, Malfoy?” Harry asked as he eyed the approaching Slytherin suspiciously.

Malfoy scowled, “Look, Potter. This isn’t easy for me to say, but I just, um, wanted t-t-to, t-t-thank you for saving Tiberius that day from that dragon.”

Harry’s eyebrows rose to his hairline. He also felt Ginny’s surprise at Draco’s statement, “What did you just say? Are you thanking me for saving someone you disowned?”

Malfoy’s scowl deepened, “What’s the matter, Potter, that dragon’s roars damage your hearing?”

Then Draco sighed, something Harry had never seen him do before, “Look, Potter, I admit I wasn’t saddened over what my Father did. In fact, I almost considered throwing a party after he disowned that blood traitor. But,” he held up a hand to cut Harry’s angry retort, “this past summer, I found it lonely at home without him there. I-I guess I missed him. Then, during the dragon thing, when I saw that beast start to head for him, well, I felt fear, fear not for myself but fear for someone who shares the same blood in my veins.”

Draco shrugged his shoulders, “Perhaps I do care for the little twit after all. But you better not tell him that. Anyway, thanks for saving his life. Whatever Father says, he’s still got the blood of a Malfoy.” Without another word, he brushed past Harry and walked back to the castle.

Harry stared after him, wondering what had gotten into his blonde rival.

“Maybe he does care about Ti after all,” Ginny said in his mind.

“I don’t know, Gin. Still, he does seem to be less hostile lately, even to me.” Harry said to her mentally, “I better keep a better eye on him.”

“We all will, Harry,”
Ginny said, “If he is changing for the better, it’ll be good for Ti. Now, hurry up and get here. I’m saving you a place and I want to start eating.”

Harry smiled both physically and mentally, “Yes, dear. Coming, dear.”


Another week passed and the Gryffindors were finishing up their Transfiguration class when McGonagall cleared her throat.

“Class, I have an announcement to make,” she said.

Once the class had quieted down, she continued, “Now, the Yule Ball, which is a tradition during the Triwizard Tournament, is fast approaching. The Ball is open to all fourth years and above, but a student in a lower year may attend if invited by one of you.”

Harry noted that Lavender Brown, Parvati and Hermione all looked at him and giggled. He guessed they knew who he would invite, since his relationship with Ginny was now well known to most of the students of his House. He also felt Ginny’s elation over the news.

McGonagall looked disapprovingly at the three girls for a moment before continuing, “Dress robes will be the attire for the Ball. It will take place on December 25th, from eight o’clock until midnight. You will be allowed to go to Hogsmeade this weekend to attend to any thing you may require for the Ball.”

She then stared at the whole class, “The Yule Ball is a way of socializing with our foreign guests. While this is an opportunity to relax and, er, let our hair down, I will expect each and every one of you to be on your best behavior. I will be very displeased if a Gryffindor embarrasses this school. Have I made myself clear?”

The bell rang just then and the class hurriedly gathered their things.

Just as he was leaving, McGonagall asked Harry to remain behind.

“Yes, Professor?” Harry asked.

“Potter,” McGonagall said, “I expect you will be inviting Miss Weasley to the Ball.”

Harry felt his cheeks flush, “Er, yes, Professor. She’d be really mad if I didn’t.”

“You better believe it, Potter,” he heard Ginny say in his mind.

McGonagall gave him a slight smile, “Then, I have to inform you that part of the Yule Ball tradition is that the champions and their partners open the Ball with a dance.”

Harry’s eyes widened, “B-b-but, Professor, I don’t dance.”

McGonagall frowned, “Then you had better learn, Potter. You wouldn’t want to disappoint Miss Weasley now, would you? It’s tradition so you have to do it.”

Harry sighed, “All right, Professor.”

Harry could hear Ginny laughing in his mind as he walked to the Great Hall for lunch. He had never liked to dance. His mum had tried to teach him muggle dancing when he was younger but it had never really interested him. It looks like he’ll have to ask his mum to teach him.

“Oh, your mum will be delighted to know that, Harry,” Ginny said, amusement in her mental voice.

“Be kind, Ginny,” Harry said, a bit annoyed, “I’m only doing this so I don’t step on your feet while we dance.”

“Okay, Harry. I’m sorry,”
Ginny said, still amused, “Come and have some lunch, love. There’s treacle tart today.”

“All right, I forgive you,”
Harry said, his mind now on his favorite dessert.


The following Saturday was the day for the Hogsmeade trip that McGonagall had announced. Harry and Ginny planned to wander around the village in the morning, meet up with Hermione, Rose, Neville, Ron and the twins at noon for lunch at the Three Broomsticks. Then they would split up to all-boys and all-girls for some late Christmas shopping before meeting again at half past three for the walk back to the castle.

Harry and Ginny met in the common room at seven o’clock in the morning since they wanted to get an early start to Hogsmeade. Ginny was excited since this would be only her second trip to Hogsmeade. They were dressed warmly since it had been snowing for the last two days and the grounds were covered with the white stuff.

When they entered the Great Hall, they found it almost empty. They had a quick breakfast and managed to get past Filch with no trouble.

They walked hand-in-hand down the path through from the school.

As they walked past the Train Station, Harry asked, “So, Ginny, where do you want to go first?”

“Why don’t we go first to Honeyduke’s Sweetshop,” Ginny said verbally before switching to talking in Harry’s mind, “There are a few things I want to get there. Then we can go to Zonko’s Joke Shop.”

“Sounds good to me,”
Harry answered mentally, a smile forming on his face.

They entered the candy shop and were greeted by the shop’s owner, Mr. Flume, who was behind the counter.

Harry allowed Ginny to lead him around the store, each of them holding a basket to fill with their favorite sweets.

As Ginny’s basket filled up faster than Harry’s, Harry struggled to keep his amusement in check. If there was one thing Ginny shared with Ron aside from red hair, freckles, their last name and parents, it was a sweet tooth. Ginny absolutely adored chocolate and sweets, which used to be Harry’s only gift to her on past Christmases and birthdays.

Finally, Ginny’s basket was filled to capacity with chocolate frogs, jelly slugs, ice mice, licorice wands, pepper imps, peppermint toads, sugar mice, sugar quills and all sorts of nonmagical chocolate and candies. Harry’s basket had less variety but almost as much.

They paid for their choices and went two doors down to Zonko’s Joke Shop. There, they replenished their supply of dungbombs, hiccup sweets and other joke items. They were a bit disappointed that there seemed to be nothing new in the store.

“When they graduate, Fred and George are going to make their own Joke shop. They’ve got ideas that’ll blow the competition away,” Ginny said to Harry in his mind as they left the store.

“You said it, Ginny,” Harry said, “Those two are great pranksters and their ideas are original. I heard them one time asking Sirius for tips on prank items.”

“Oh? And Sirius gave them some?”

“You bet. They’d probably get him as a consultant for their future store if he wasn’t an Auror.”

“I doubt that’ll stop Sirius from helping them.”

“You know, you’re probably right.”
They laughed at that.

“So,” Harry said, “Where do you want to go now, Ginny?”

The other students were now coming into the village, making the streets a little crowded.

“I think we need a little alone time, Harry,” she said to him, a wicked smile forming on her face, “I know you brought your other cloak. Let’s go toward the Shrieking Shack.”

Harry grinned, “Your wish is my command, Gin.”

They moved into an alley where Harry drew his invisibility cloak from a pocket and threw it over them. Concealed from sight, they moved to the woods near the Shrieking Shack. When they were among the trees with no one in sight, Harry threw off the cloak and spread his normal cloak on the snowy ground.

Ginny pushed him to a sitting position on the cloak and sat on his lap.

“So,” Harry said to her, “What do you plan for us to do during this alone time?”

“Oh, something like this,”
Ginny answered as she placed her arms around his neck and planted her lips on his. For an indeterminate amount of time, they lost all awareness of their surroundings. Finally, the need for air made them pull apart.

They could feel each other’s heart racing from their passion. They sat there in each other’s arms, the heat from their passion holding the cold at bay. Then, Ginny happened to glance at Harry’s watch.

“Harry! It’s fifteen past twelve! We’re late!”

They quickly brushed themselves off and hurriedly walked to the Three Broomsticks. Upon entering the pub, they looked around. When they spotted their friends, sitting in a booth along the wall, they moved there.

“Hey!” Ron said, “What took you guys so long? We’ve been waiting for hours.”

“Now, Ron,” Hermione said, “That’s not true. It’s not even half past twelve yet. We’d only just got here ourselves.”

Before his two friends could get into a row, Harry said, “Sorry, we took too long at Zonko’s. We’re here now, so let’s order our food and eat. We still have some Christmas shopping to do.”

Neville and Rose quickly agreed and called Madame Rosemerta over to take their orders.

After a nice lunch, Harry went off with Ron and Neville while Ginny went with Rose and Hermione.

As they walked down the street, Neville turned to Harry, “So, Harry, do you have any idea what to get Ginny?”

Harry nodded, “I think I do, Nev, but I can’t tell you or even think of it. I want it to be a surprise.”

“Oh, right,” Neville said, “She might find out about it because of that thing you share.”

“Still, Harry,” Ron said, “It must be nice to be able to talk to each other even when you aren’t with each other.”

“Yes, Ron,” Harry said, smiling, “It’s like we’re never really apart from each other. We really are half of a whole.”

They soon reached a shop that had only opened the previous year which specialized in jewelry and little knick knacks, both magical and nonmagical that could be given as gifts. It was called “The Little Menagerie” and was the shop where Harry had bought Ginny’s previous Christmas gift.

The boys found many gifts in the shop including Harry’s gift to Ginny. They moved on to the other stores.

They met up with the girls on time for the walk back to the castle together. They talked and joked as they trudged through the snow. All in all, it had been an enjoyable and fruitful day.


The week that followed was filled with last minute assignments and surprise tests. Before they knew it, it was the last day of the term.

Harry and Ginny were entering the Gryffindor common room after an after-dinner walk around the grounds when they noticed Ron sitting in an armchair in front of the fireplace, his face pale. Hermione was sitting beside him, a look of pity on her face. The common room was empty except for a couple of sixth year girls talking in the opposite corner.

“Ron?” Ginny asked, taking a seat on the other side of her brother, “Is something wrong?”

“I shouldn’t have done that,” Ron mumbled.

“Done what?” Harry asked as he sat beside Ginny, “What did you do, Ron?”

“Er, he asked Fleur Delacour to go with him to the Ball,” Hermione said.

Harry and Ginny’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You what?” they blurted out together.

“I don’t know what came over me,” Ron said, “I was just passing by as she was talking to that Diggory bloke when it came over me and I asked her.”

Ron moaned and put his head in his hands, “She didn’t say anything, just looked at me like I was some unsavory thing. And then, I sort of just came to my senses and ran for it.”

“That’s too bad, Ron,” Harry said, “Maybe she was trying to charm Diggory with her Veela charm and you felt it. I found out from Dumbledore that she is part Veela since her grandmother was one. Never mind. I’m sure you’ll find someone else to take to the Ball.”

“Yeah,” Ron said, dully, “I guess you and Ginny are going together, right?”

”Of course, Ron,” Ginny said, raising one eyebrow, “We are boyfriend and girlfriend, after all.”

“Well, that makes me the only one without a date,” Ron said, “Neville asked Lavender and Seamus and Dean asked Parvati and her sister in Ravenclaw, Padma.” He then looked at Hermione, “Hey, Hermione, you’re a girl.”

“Oh, well spotted, Ron,” Hermione said, acidly, “I would have thought you’d take longer to guess that.”

“Ha, ha,” Ron said, “Very funny. Anyway, how about coming to the Ball with me?”

“I’m sorry, Ron,” Hermione said, blushing, “but someone’s already asked me and I said yes.”

“Oh, come on,” Ron said, “You can’t be serious.”

“Yes, Ronald,” Hermione said, angrily, “If you haven’t noticed I’m a girl all these years, it doesn’t mean someone else hasn’t noticed.” With that, she stomped off toward the girls’ dormitories.

Ron stared after her, “Someone really asked her to the Ball?”

“Yes, Ron,” Ginny said, “someone did.”

”Who is it, Ginny?” Ron asked, “You know who it is. Come on, tell me.”

”No, Ron,” Ginny said, “It’s not my place to tell.”

Ron then slumped dejectedly down into the chair he was sitting in.

With Ron distracted, Harry pulled Ginny over onto his lap. Ginny snuggled up to him and placed her head on his chest. Harry placed his chin over her head and they wrapped their arms around each other. Ginny sighed contentedly.

Ron glanced at them, a grimace momentarily crossing his face. After a few moments of watching them, he cleared his throat.

“Harry,” Ron said, “can you do me a favor?”

“What kind of favor, Ron?” Harry asked, warily.

“Well,” Ron said, “You’re taking my sister to the ball. I think it’s fair if I take yours. Can you ask Rose for me?”

Harry’s eyes widened, “Are you daft, Ron? You want to take Rose to the Ball? Are you sure?”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea either, Ron,” Ginny said, “Is that what you really want?”

Ron shrugged, “I’ve known her for years, Ginny. You two are alike in many ways. I just figured it wouldn’t be so bad to go with her, as friends. It’ll be like taking my sister except she isn’t my sister. So, Harry, please, can you ask her for me?” He ignored the scowl that formed on Ginny’s face.

“No, Ron,” Harry said, firmly, “You want to take her to the Yule Ball, you ask her. I’m not going to be your messenger boy, especially with Rose.”

Ron deflated again, “Fine. Where is she, anyway?”

“I think she’s in the library, writing an essay for Snape,” Ginny said, “She told me so at dinner.”

“I hope she gets back here soon,” Ron said, “I’d like to ask her tonight.”

As if on cue, the portrait hole opened up and Rose stepped inside, accompanied by Ti. They seemed to be talking animatedly about something.

Harry and Ginny glanced at each other then at Ron, who was watching Rose and Ti warily.

Rose and Ti then came up to the three, smiles on their faces.

“Hey, guys,” they both said.

“What are you all doing down here this late?” Rose asked.

“Er, we were just relaxing,” Ron answered quickly, “You know last day of term. No more homework.”

Ti yawned, “Okay. I’m going to turn in. Good night, Rose, Harry, Ginny, Ron.”

“Good night, Ti,” they all said.

Rose yawned and stretched, “Snape’s essays are bloody mind twisting. I never thought I could finish it.” She flopped down on one of the couches beside them, “I’d go up myself but I need a few minutes to get my mind relaxed enough to sleep.” She then closed her eyes.

The three other Gryffindors looked at each other.

Then Harry whispered to Ron, “All right, Ron. If you really want to ask her, now’s probably a good time to do it. She’s more likely to say ‘yes’ right now than tomorrow morning.”

Ron gulped and cleared his throat a bit noisily, “Um, Rose?”

“Yes, Ron?” Rose asked, her eyes still closed.

“Wouldyougotoballwithme?” Ron said rapidly.

“What was that, Ron?” Rose said, opening her eyes, “Are you eating while talking again?”

Ron took a deep breath, “I said, ‘would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me?’”

Rose stared at him for a moment then said, “I don’t know, Ron. Is it going to be like a date, because I don’t like you like that.”

“Please, Rose,” Ron begged, “We can go as friends. We’ve known each other for years. I think we can do this without being uncomfortable with each other. Otherwise, I’ll be the only one in my year without a date.”

“Oh?” Rose asked, “Who are the others going with?”

“Well,” Ron said, “Seamus asked Parvati and her twin Padma from Ravenclaw to go with him and Dean while Neville asked Lavender yesterday to be his date.”

Only Ginny saw the momentary look of pain in Rose’s eyes when Ron told her about the other fourth year Gryffindors’ dates.

Rose looked thoughtful for a moment then shrugged her shoulders, “Er, sure, why not? No one else will probably ask me anyway.”

“Great, good,” Ron said, “Er, thanks.”

“Okay, Ron,” Rose said, getting up, “Now, I think I’ll go upstairs now. I’m starting to feel sleepy.”

“I’ll go with you,” Ginny said. She gave Harry a kiss on the cheek and he did the same.

The two redhead girls said ‘good night’ to Ron then went up the stairs to the girls’ dormitories.

After a few seconds, Harry said, “Ron, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to take Rose to the Ball, just so you can have a date. She’ll be really mad if she doesn’t enjoy herself.”

“Hey, relax, Harry,” Ron said, “It’ll be okay. As I said, I’ve known her for years. It’ll be fine.”

“All right, Ron,” Harry said, “I’m just warning you like you did when Ginny and I got together though there’s more to it. If she gets hurt, it won’t be just me you’re going to have mad at you.”

“Okay, okay,” Ron said, “I understand. I know Ginny will be pissed, too. Don’t worry.”

Harry hoped that Ron wouldn’t regret his words.

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