Setting: in Harry's sixth year, but does not follow the plot of HBP (Ginny never dated Harry). With December comes the notorious Yule Ball...

Warnings: Two girls kissing and a touch of bad language

Disclaimer: I do not own anything you might recognize in this story. Also, Harry is free to go about the girls' dormitories as he pleases.

"Masquerade! Seething shadows, breathing lies. Masquerade! You can fool any friend whoever knew you." - Phantom of the Opera

"Ginny, for the five-hundredth time: you are going to be late!"

She shrugged, not really caring about the time and continued to apply her makeup, her face only inches away from the mirror that stood a few feet away from Hermione's bed. "Why should I care about being late, it's not like anyone's waiting for me," she said with a snort as she lined her lips with a brilliantly red shade of lipstick.

Hermione rolled her eyes and stood up, carefully turning over the book she had been reading and inserted a sheet of paper in between its pages in order to mark her place. Half a dozen textbooks from assorted classes, crumpled up bits of parchment, broken quills and empty inkbottles lay all over her bed, upset from their previous location: Hermione's desk which now held every makeup accessory known to man. She glanced at her watch and urged Ginny to leave once again, noting that she was currently fifteen minutes late.

Ginny shook her head and groaned, "I'm leaving, ok?" She fussed with the translucent scarf that hung over her shoulders for a moment before asking, "Alright, how do I look?"

Hermione contemplated her answer for a moment before letting out an exasperated sigh. "You look fine," she said bluntly without really looking over Ginny's clothes at all. She donned an elaborate-looking mask covered in gold sparkles and sequins to accent her scarlet dress, making her outfit truly flaunt the brilliance of the Gryffindor colors. "Now, leave!" Hermione said, ushering Ginny by the arm to the door of her room.

The door swung open at that second to reveal Harry, standing in the doorway looking perplexed, one arm in the air as if he was just about to knock on the door. "Er, hi?" Draped over his other arm was a garment bag which he nervously tried to hide as soon as he saw Ginny curiously peaking around the half-open door.

"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed, quickly wrapping her scarf a little tighter around her shoulders just as a lovely shade of red began to settle into her cheeks. "I was just going-" she managed to stammer out before bolting from the room as quickly as possible.

Halfway down the stairs, she turned back to see Hermione viciously yank Harry into her room and slam the door behind him. She paused, curious of what was happening behind the closed door. A loud thump resounded against the door's thin wooden form and Ginny could make out a faint, yet passionate, "Oh, Harry!"

Wonderful, she thought bitterly as she turned to head down the stairs, my friend and my crush decided to get me out of the way so they could screw each other. She shook her head in disgust as she climbed through the portrait hole, it can't get much better than this...

Ginny's gaze drifted to the dance floor where couples twirled around in perfect unison, becoming lost in a sea of swirling colors and expensive formal wear. She envied them. Each girl dancing out on the floor in the arms of their lover. And yet, not one person has asked me to dance yet, Ginny scoffed as she toyed with one of the many frills that lined her dress. She did not notice the person standing a bit to her left, arm outstretched until they beckoned to her, "May I have this dance, Ginny Weasley?"

She tore her gaze away from the dance floor and her eyes wandered across the person standing before her, taking in every aspect of his appearance. He wore a rather thin, plain white mask that covered every distinguishing part of his face stopping just above his upper lip. Although his hair seemed long, it was slicked down and pulled back into a ponytail which was tied with a bit of black ribbon at the bottom of his neck. Black gloves graced his hands and he wore equally pitch black dress robes which proved a stark contrast to the mask he wore as well as his pale complexion. He was, by Ginny's standards, devastatingly handsome.

Ginny answered him by accepting his hand and allowing herself to be guided to the middle of the dance floor where much fewer couples stood. He rested a hand on her waist and the other clasped one of her shoulders gently. Ginny relaxed into his grip and leaned her head on his shoulder, taking in his scent as they moved together in a slow waltz, bodies moving as one to the tune of an unfamiliar song. "You know who I am," Ginny said, picking her head up to meet his eyes as the song began to reach its end, "but who are you?"

The two walked away from the torrent of dancers towards the side of the dance floor to wait out the break between songs. He smiled brightly as he trailed his hand from her shoulder to a position halfway down her arm, "That I cannot say." The smile that had been making its way across her face dropped slightly. "However, I can tell you this:" He took a step back away from Ginny and placed both of his hands on her shoulders, "I've charmed my voice to make it sound this way. This is not how I would normally sound to you."

The last part struck Ginny with a sense of familiarity. Do I speak to him often? Is that why he said that? If the voice was not his, then maybe his clothing would give him away. She ran her eyes up and down his form as he regarded her with a smile, knowing he had the upper hand in this situation. His flowing black dress robes reminded Ginny of Harry's, in fact, they were almost exactly like Harry's which intrigued her. Harry kept making excuses for why he couldn't come to the ball tonight, maybe he was nervous...but why would he disguise himself like this? "So how am I supposed to figure out who you are?" she questioned after she realized that all boys looked the same in formal wear.

He laughed, "I cannot say that either, but when the time comes, I think you'll be able to figure it out for yourself." Seeing Ginny's puzzled expression, he sighed and added, "You can ask me anything you'd like about who I am, except my name." The music began to start up again; this time it was a vigorous tango with an upbeat tempo that discouraged most of the inexperienced dancers away from the floor. He smiled widely and grasped Ginny's gloved hand gently in his own, "But for now: we dance."

Ginny returned his smile and snaked an arm around his waist as he pulled her into a very passionate dance. "So, what house are you in?" she asked as she gripped his waist a little tighter, moving their bodies together gracefully with the music. Surprisingly, he did nothing to resist and allowed her to lead the dance, resting a single hand delicately on her shoulder.

He nodded his head to the side and looked her in the eyes. "Gryffindor, of course," he said as though it was obvious. He effortlessly moved his hand from her shoulder to her back, taking the lead as he carefully dipped her back. Her long red hair brushed against the floor and Ginny smiled as he pulled her back quickly, feeling safe in his arms.

"Of course," she said skeptically, though part of her agreed. If he is Harry... She thought for a moment, and then asked, "Do I have any classes with you?"

He shrugged and returned his hand to Ginny's shoulder, allowing her to take the lead again, "Not really, I'm not even in your year." With a quick spin, he allowed Ginny to dip him backwards. He shook his head and blinked after Ginny pulled him back up and sent her a reassuring smile. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered just loud enough to hear over the music, "I like you." Ginny blushed and smiled back at him. I can't believe this, I'm falling for him and I've never even seen his face.

The music died down leaving the two breathing heavily in the center of the dance floor. He offered her his arm, "Miss Weasley?" She gratefully accepted his arm by intertwining hers with his as they walked slowly away from the music and towards the windows, desperate for fresh air. He turned to her and asked cordially, "Before the night is over, would you be so kind as to honor me with one more dance?"

"It would be my pleasure," Ginny said and offered a small curtsy. "Not now though, it's like a thousand degrees in here..." she said as she walked away from him and towards the doors to the courtyard outside the Hall. He waited until her back was turned to smile broadly as he walked swiftly behind her, taking huge steps to keep up with her pace.

"Dean?"

"No."

"Seamus?"

He sighed and shook his head yet again, "No. Come on, Gin, you'll never guess who I am by picking random names."

Ginny considered for a moment before asking incredulously, "Neville?"

He shrugged and stood up, pointing through the window that separated the Great Hall from the outside patio where they sat, "That's Neville." He took her by the hand, urging her to stand up from her seat. A smile played gracefully on his face as he began swaying back and forth with her in an impromptu slow dance. "Ask some more questions," he stated simply as he took her hand and twirled her around.

Ginny sighed, her patience slowly deteriorating. They had been outside for at least half an hour and she was no closer to determining her mysterious dance partner's identity than she had been when she first met him. She had named most of the boys in Gryffindor from Harry's year and some of the seventh years as well. He's so charming and handsome and graceful and... there's no way he can be Harry, Ginny found herself thinking with a surge of relief mixed with a twinge of regret. He's like no boy I've ever met... Still, she had to be sure. "Are you good friends with Ron?" she asked, relaxing into his embrace.

He cringed slightly and moved one of his hands to pull a stray hair back behind Ginny's ear. "Most of the time, we're pretty good friends. Sometimes I hate his guts though," he admitted truthfully. Ok, that could be anyone.

Thinking about the events that had taken place earlier that evening, she said on a whim, "Are you close to Hermione?"

He flinched and for the first time that evening, began to lose his composure. "I...uh, that's kind of hard to answer..." he stuttered out, trying to find the right words.

Ginny smirked, happy with the reaction that her words elicited. "Right," it would be difficult to answer if you were banging her behind my back, she thought bitterly. She pulled away from his embrace and turned to face him, surveying his features once again in a desperate attempt to identify him as Harry. Seeing nothing particularly distinguishing and no lightening bolt scar, she let out a long breath and settled on his eyes which were barely visible beneath the mask. "I give up," she said, letting her shoulders sag in defeat. I can't think of any more questions, I have no idea who he is or even how the hell I'll figure out-

Her train of thought was stopped abruptly when she felt a hand running along her shoulder, gradually finding its way down her arm. She shivered and looked at the long, slender fingers making their way across her bare skin. The gloves that had been covering these hands had been discarded on the ground before her. Ginny's gaze drifted to the white mask that covered her partner's face.

She carefully removed her own mask and then reached over with a single hand to do the same for her partner. His hand caught hers inches from his face. "It's charmed," he said very softly, staring into her eyes intently. "It won't come off unless you speak my name." The air between the two was thick with tension and anticipation as both students eagerly awaited the other's next move.

Ginny stared at the mask for a moment, trying to get a clear view of his eyes. Her eyes fell instead on his uncovered lips and suddenly she knew how to identify the person hiding behind the mask. She slipped her hands out of her gloves, adding them to the pair of black gloves that already lay on the floor. She could feel his arm snaking around her waist and she responded by bringing a hand to his face to graze his cheek. Her partner shuddered audibly under her touch and she smiled coyly, allowing her fingers to trace his lips provocatively. He leaned his head to the side and removed her hand, clasping it tightly in his. Ginny closed the gap between them by brushing her lips against her companion's in a brief, chaste kiss. He smiled slightly and moved his free hand to the back of Ginny's neck before enveloping her in a passionate kiss. Ginny responded by gliding her tongue delicately along her partner's closed lips, begging entrance into their mouth. Her partner happily obliged, allowing her tongue to roam the inside of his mouth. A small moan escaped from the lips of one of the students, but Ginny was not entirely sure who was responsible for it.

The kiss became a hungry plea for both of them, eager to feel and taste as much of the other as was possible. Hands began to roam freely, each student allowing their hands to run through the other's hair and down their back. Ginny shivered again before forcing herself to relax beneath the other student's touch, losing herself in the serenity that it produced. The scent of her partner's perfume, the taste of their lips, the soft and gentle touch brought realization crashing down on Ginny before she had time to comprehend it completely. Ginny broke away, panting as she collected herself from the pure ecstasy she had just experienced, her face directed at the floor.

She moved back and looked up, needing no more time to think about her partner's identity. "Hermione," she said breathlessly.

Sure enough, the mask dropped from the older girl's face, landing neatly in her outstretched hands. Her hair that had been tied back loosened from the grip of the charm and restored itself to the frizzy, unkempt hair that Ginny was so familiar with. Hermione took a step back and bit her lip, unsure of what to expect from Ginny.

The younger girl just smiled and whispered into Hermione's ear, "I like you, too." Hermione grinned back at her childishly, marveling at how successful her plan had been. "Whatcha going to do about it," she said, leaning close to the older girl's lips, daring her to make a move.

Hermione took the smirk off of Ginny's face in one sweeping motion, capturing the other girl's lips delicately with her own. The two girls broke apart only when breathing became an absolute necessity. Ginny looked up and met Hermione's eyes, trying to place her reaction. The older girl winked took a step backwards, never letting go of Ginny's arms. Ginny laughed as she looked over Hermione's clothing a final time, "You know, you look absolutely ravishing in those dress robes."

Hermione chuckled, "I'll be sure to tell Harry you said so." She tugged at the younger girl, urging her to follow as she made her way to the center of the courtyard. Hermione wrapped both of her arms around Ginny's waist and let them rest loosely as she moved their bodies together to the steady rhythm of the music. Ginny looked at her quizzically, but Hermione just smiled. "You promised me one last dance," she whispered. Ginny nodded and leaned her head against Hermione's shoulder as they rocked back and forth to the distant pounding of a slow rock song. For the first time over the course of the evening, Ginny Weasley was blissfully content in the arms of a beautiful girl.

A/N: Happy New Year!! For those who didn't see that coming, I warned you! Heh heh heh. Hope you enjoyed it. The pronouns put me through hell, though. So, do you think I should make this a twoshot and do Hermione's POV in the next chapter?

If you liked it, feel free to say so in a review. I'm a review junkie.