chapter 1;

"The what?"

"What's that?"

"So is it going to replace the final Quidditch match before the holidays? It better not! Ravenclaw is gonna beat Hufflepuff!"

As I walked to the Great Hall after my final class of the day, Potions, those were all questions I heard as I passed the bulletin board outside the Great Hall.

"What's going on, Zoe?" I asked a girl that was in my dormitory who was standing by the bulletin board, Zoe Calder.

Zoe turned around, "Oh! Hi, Rose. Look!" She pointed at the very front and center of the bulletin board.

I couldn't see what the bulletin was about as I was standing near the back and there was about 10 kids cluddering around the board to check it out, so after a few quiet excuse me's, I finally had a front and center view of what the big event was.

The bulletin was a shimmery silver colour and was outlined in a really bright and chunky red. "The Yule Ball! On Christmas Day, 8:00-midnight. All years are invited to join this memorable event!" was written on the bulletin. The Yule Ball, I thought to myself. So that was what the buzz was about.

As I managed to make my way out of the now formed mob around the bulletin board, I tried to remember if there was ever a Yule Ball at Hogwarts? I was a fourth year student, and never in my four years at Hogwarts had I heard of a Yule Ball. I had some older cousins who had gone to Hogwarts and had long graduated, and every year when they were home for the summer or holidays, they never mentioned anything about a Yule Ball.

"Hey, Rose," my cousin Lily, who was in her second year, called over to me as I made my way to the Gryffindor table. She was seated near the end of the Gryffindor table with her homework spread on the table.

"Hi, Lil. A lot of homework today?" I asked her, noticing all the books and rolls of parchments that she had out in front of her. Lily was a second year and second years didn't get a lot of homework, it was mostly once you started your third year and you took the additional two classes. For me, I took Arithmacy and Care for Magical Creatures.

"I think this is the most I've gotten since I've came here!" Lily threw her quill down in frustration, "I've finally finished my notes for Charms! And now I have Potions and History of Magic! And what's the point of History of Magic! Professor Binns can't get my name right! He calls me, 'Miss Parker!' I've been in his class for almost two years!"

I laughed. "Have you heard about the Yule Ball?" I asked her, changing the subject away from Lily's frustration about Professor Binns and how he couldn't get Lily's name right.

"Of course! It's a ball after all!" Lily exclaimed, sounding happy that I had brought up the Yule Ball. Even though Lily and I were pretty much identical looking and blood related, our personalities were anything but identical. The only thing that was similar between us in our personalities was that we both loved and were on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Lily was really girly and open with people, while I was a self-proclaimed wallflower and in my opinion, I was kind of a tomboy. I didn't like dresses or skirts and often wore jeans or a t-shirt.

"No wonder you're excited," I laughed at her. I could picture the weekends from now and until the Yule Ball: Lily and my other girl cousins debating and deciding about their dresses for the Yule Ball.

"Of course! And the most important thing of all; who are you going to go to the Yule Ball with?" Lily asked me, a mischeivous twinkle in her eye.

I froze, "You have to ask someone to go to the Yule Ball with?"

It didn't occur to me at all that you had to ask someone to the Yule Ball. Were you? But yeah, it was called a ball. Mum had read me Muggle stories when I was younger, such as Cinderella, my favourite Muggle story. There was a ball, and Cinderella had gone with Prince Charming and lived happily ever after. But I wasn't Cinderella and Cinderella wasn't me. Cinderella didn't have huge brown eyes, pale skin, and bright red hair. Cinderella didn't love playing Quidditch on a broomstick. And Cinderella wasn't a witch.

"Of course! That's what makes it fun." Lily smiled, "so tell me."

"Well, I dunno. I don't like someone..." I replied slowly. Crushes weren't something that were important to me. Friends, grades, and Quidditch were more important to me. Yeah, when I first arrived at Hogwarts I had short-lived crushes on some people, but they were never those crushes that became relationships snd stuff.

"You don't need to! C'mon, just go with someone in your year! Someone that you're friends with!" Lily begged me.

"Ugh, fine," I groaned, compromising with Lily just to make her be quiet.

"Yay!" Lily chirped, clapping her hands together. "Okay, now I need to get back to reality and do this stupid History of Magic worksheet!" Lily groaned, picking up her quill again.

"Need help?" I asked her.

"Nah. I'm pretty good with History of Magic," Lily replied, "thanks anyways."

I nodded as I got started on my Arithmacy worksheet. That was the only homework I had besides studying for a Charms quiz. I decided that I would study for my quiz after dinner so I went back to my dormitory.

"Bye, Lil," I said goodbye to my cousin once I finished my homework.

Lily looked up at me, "Oh, alright. I'll see you later."

I walked out the Great Hall and started to make my way up to the Gryffindor common room. The thought of the Yule Ball was still in my mind. It was about two weeks before Halloween, mid-October, and the Yule Ball was about two months away. What were we supposed to do for four hours? Stand there and talk? Was I supposed to come in a skirt and fancy shirt or come in a fancy gown? Did I have to go with someone?

"Hey, Rose," I heard someone call my name, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked up and noticed that I was the only one in the corridor besides the person that called my name: Scorpius Malfoy.

"Hi, Scorp," I replied. Scorpius was a Slytherin and in the same year as me and we were friends through my cousin Albus, who was also in my year.

"What's up?" he asked me, "have you heard about the Yule Ball?"

"Of course! The mob crowding around the bulletin board today, that's all anyone can talk about!" I exclaimed.

He laughed, "Are you thinking of going?"

"Um, dunno. But it seems cool though. I haven't heard about anything like this before at Hogwarts," I replied.

"Me neither. It seems kinda girly though. But I wonder what we have to do at the ball? Dance all night? I hope they'll have good food," Scorpius answered.

"Food? Is that all you can think of?" I replied sarcastically. Of all the things that he could think of about the Yule Ball, food? Really?

"Yes, Mum," he replied, equally sarcastic.

"Whatever. I'll see you later," I replied, "bye, Scorp." And continued down the corridor.

"Bye, Mum!" he called to me as he walked down the corridor, the opposite direction as me.

"Whatever!" I called.

"Fluffclaws," I said to the Fat Lady once I got to the portrait hole of the Gryffindor common room.

The portrait swung open and I made my way up to my dormitory. There was a fire in the fireplace and a few kids sitting around the common room.

I slumped down on my bed once I finally got up to my dormitory. The thought of the Yule Ball was overwhelming and I remembered what Lily had said to me, "Just ask someone in your year and that you're friends with!" and then I remembered the conversation I had shortly afterwards with Scorpius. 'No', I thought to myself, 'Anyone but Scorpius.'