At breakfast the following Saturday; Albus, Lucy, and I were discussing our plans for the ball. Then our conversation averted to Albus and his dilemma.

"Go over there and ask her. Get it over with." Lucy ordered.

"No." Albus said.

"Why not? You're going to run out of time. Gwen's a pretty girl; someone else is bound to ask her." Lucy said.

"Just walk over to her, say "Hi, Gwen, d'you want to go to the ball with me?" If she says yes, which I know she will, you say "Alright, see you there" and walk away. That simple." I instructed.

"Not very romantic." He said.

"Doesn't have to be. Just don't say you were "wondering" if she could go. That's way too old and overly used." I said.

"Alright. I'm going over there." Albus said heaving himself up.

"That's the spirit. Good luck." Lucy said patting his back as he walked past her.

"Are you sure Gwen will say yes?" I asked turning to Lucy.

"Of course! We read it in her diary; she wants Albus to ask her." Lucy said putting some corn flakes in her mouth.

I nodded and looked to where Gwen was sitting. She had turned her torso toward where Albus was standing behind her. She was smiling at Albus as he had his hands in his jeans pockets. Her eyes suddenly lit up and she nodded and it looked like she was saying "Yes!" a million times at once. Albus smiled, said something to her, and walk back over to sit down next to me.

"She said yes, didn't she?" I asked.

"She did! I'm going with Gwen to the ball!" he cheered.

"Good for you!" Lucy said happily.

Owls started swooping in through the windows. Mail was coming. Everyone put their hands up to catch the falling packages and letters. The Potter's owl flew down and dropped a letter in each of James, Albus, and Lily's hands. Lucy jumped when a few cards landed in front of her.

"Wonder why you didn't get anything, Rose?" Albus asked as he peeled open the letter.

"Birthday cards!" Lucy exclaimed looking at the envelopes.

"Isn't your birthday in a few weeks?" Albus asked.

"Yeah, but they're from our grandparents and my mother's parents. They never send mail at the right time." Lucy said.

Albus and I nodded in understanding.

"Rose." Lun- Professor Scamander whispered coming up behind me. She usually called us all by our first names if it was just us in ear-shot. Since we've all been to her home and know her and her husband personally, and all that.

"Professor." I said.

She took out a box. "This came in the mail for you. It was too big to carry by owl. So, I'm giving it to you."

I took the white box and examined it. How could anyone tell this was for me? It didn't have a name on it anywhere.

"Um… Thanks Professor." I said.

She winked and walked back over to the Staff Table.

"What is it?" Lucy asked.

"That's what we have to find out." I said clearing the table in front of me and setting the box down.

I took the top off the long box and looked at the letter sitting at the top first. I unfolded the parchment and read to myself.

Rosie,

We heard the Hogwarts is having a Masquerade Ball this Christmas, and I took the liberty of buying you a few things. I picked this dress up at the market and new you would love it. Also, I had the shoes and mask made to match the dress. Tell all your cousins and Hugo that Gramp and I send our love.

Hugs and Kisses,

Nana

"Nana bought me a dress." I said.

"Nana bought you a dress? She's my Nana; too, I want a dress for the ball!" Lucy said.

"She said that it reminded her of me." I shrugged.

"I don't think you want Nana to buy you a dress, Lucy." Albus said, he was gazing down at the box.

"Why?" we asked.

"Check out the dress." Albus said pointing to it.

I put the letter down and picked it up. The hem of the sky blue gown fell to the ground, there were puffy long sleeves, a sparkly corset, and it had an odd smell to it.

"I take it all back." Lucy said.

"This reminds Nana of me? It's terrible!" I said.

"It smells like Gramps's cupboard of old junk." Albus said scrunching his nose.

"Exactly! I don't smell, do I?" I asked taking a whiff at my sleeve.

"No, I think you smell wonderfully like roses." Albus said.

"You can't where that in public!" Lucy said.

I looked at the other contents of the box. The silvery heals had a strap along where my ankle slid in with sky blue gems around it and down the heal to match the color of the dress. The mask was also a silvery color, it looked like butterfly wings with sky blue gems running up the sides and one at each end of the eye-holes.

"I like the color, shoes, and the mask. The dress style is a little gaudy." Lucy said.

"A little? This looks like Aunt Fleur's living room on Christmas." I said.

"It does." Albus agreed.

Gwen walked over and glided in next Lucy opposite me and Albus.

"How's it going?- Oh. Is that your ball gown?"

"I'm not wearing this! It's awful!" I said.

"It is pretty awful, which is so unfortunate." Gwen said.

"I like the mask and the shoes, though, so I want to wear those but they only match this specific dress. What am I going to do?" I pleaded.

"I have no idea." Lucy sighed as Albus shook his head.

"I think I can help you." Gwen said.

"How can you help this?" I asked gesturing to the dress.

"Oh, let's just call it a special kind of magic." Gwen said grinning.

*****

"And… Walla!" Gwen removed the sheet draped over the mannequin.

"Gwen! It's beautiful!" I exclaimed.

"I know." She said pompously.

Our dormitory was empty at the moment, as other students were with their friends elsewhere on the grounds. Albus was waiting for us in the Common Room.

Gwen had offered to fix Nana's smelly gown for me. At the time, I thought there was nothing to be done to it. Boy, had Gwendolyn Finnigan just proved me wrong! She had shortened the length to just above the knee and it swung gracefully when it moved. The sleeves were cut off and all were left were thin straps. The sparkly corset had been removed entirely and it was sewn together in the chest area, tightening it. It was still the beautiful shade if sky blue to match the other items it came with.

"You will turn heads in that, Rose." Lucy said.

"How did you do this? It doesn't even smell." I said.

"Old fashioned tailoring. No magic at all." She said twirling a pair of scissors.

We gave her a skeptical look.

"Alright! I used a spell to get rid of the smell. That was the worst." Gwen said.

"Tell me about it." Lucy and I said in unison.

"Should we show Albus?" Lucy suggested.

"I think we should." I said.

Gwen grabbed the dress and carefully folded it over her shoulder and we walked down the stairs to the Common Room.

Albus was sitting on a sofa facing away from us stroking Phoebe's back.

Lucy snuck up behind him. "Al!"

He jumped and turned around, "what?!"

"Gwen fixed the dress." Lucy said gesturing to her.

She took it off her shoulder and flapped it in front of her.

"Tada."

"Wow. How'd you do it?" Albus asked.

"They're called scissors." Gwen said.

"And Magic Wands." Lucy said pulling Gwen's out her pocket.

Gwen angrily snatched it back and slipped it back in her pocket. I always keep mine in my back pocket when I'm not wearing my Hogwarts uniform and robes.

"Well, that's taken care of. So, what do we do now?" Lucy asked.

"Albus, Gwen, and I have Quidditch in an hour after lunch, so how about we do some homework." I suggested.

Lucy groaned.

"We have to do to do it sometime." I said sitting on the couch and pulling my Charms homework out of my bag.

She groaned again, dropped into and arm chair, and also pulled her Charms homework out.

The four of us silently did our homework until Gwen checked her watch and told us it was lunch time. We packed up and headed down to the great hall.

*****

I walked slowly with the rest of the Gryffindor Team through the front doors into the entrance hall. I shook the water from my ponytail; the rain soaked it to the root. It had started raining mid-practice while the Chasers were practicing scoring.

"Rose!" whispered- actually, I don't know.

"What?" I whispered an answer to the unknown voice stopping while the rest of the team walked on.

"Behind the armor." It said again.

I cautiously walked over to the silver suit of armor and looked behind it.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Actually, I was waiting for you. You look great." Scorpius smirked looking at my muddy Quidditch robes.

"Yeah, thanks. Why were you waiting for me?" I asked.

"Just wanted to talk."

"About?"

"Just…" he paused while I waited. "Quidditch! When's the next match for you Gryffindors?"

"Uh, next week, against Ravenclaw. Then I have another two weeks later against… You guys, I think." I said.

"Oh, what are doing?" he asked.

"I was just going to my room to do some homework. How 'bout you?" I asked.

"Same here. I still have to do Thursday's Potions essay." He said as we emerged from behind the suit of armor.

"Finished that Tuesday." I said.

"Of course you did. You are such a Weasley." He said.

"Oh? For your information I got Granger brains." I said.

He looked confused.

"My mother's maiden name was Granger." I explained.

"Oh. I knew that." He said.

"Of course." I said sarcastically putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I've got to go. See you soon?" he asked backing up towards the dungeons.

"Okay." I waved and he dashed into the dungeons.

Gwen and Albus were waiting for me outside the portrait hole on the seventh floor.

"Stopped to talk to Scorpius on the way back." I said.

"We noticed." Albus said as Gwen said the password and the Portrait opened.

We walked in and Victoire and Teddy were sitting on the sofa in front of the fire.

"You guys look like you're about to die." Victoire said.

"Thanks." Albus said.

"That was the most tiring practice… ever." Gwen groaned falling into an armchair.

Quidditch practice had been three hours long. I ached all over, my eyes were sagging, I was covered in mud, and I was exhausted!

I nodded and trudged up to my dormitory. I opened the door and walked in. Lucy was laying backwards on her bed with a book open on her chest looking very bored as Molly and Dominique were droning on and on about something or other.

"Whoa, Rosie, what happened to you?" Molly asked turning away from Lucy who looked tremendously relieved that she had stopped talking.

"Quidditch practice, Molly. Thanks for caring." I said.

She smiled sweetly and started talking to Dominique. She is totally two-faced, evil, and perky.

I got some spare clothes out of my trunk and changed in my four-poster behind the curtains. Afterwards, I pulled the curtains back and grabbed my Unfogging the Future text book for my Divination homework due on Monday. As I dipped my quill in ink and started answering questions listed on the page on Crystal Balls, I heard three simultaneous gasps.

I looked over to Lucy, who was on her feet staring at the fireplace.

"What?" I asked.

"Check out the stove, Rose." Dominique said.

I turned my head over to the stove and gasped myself.

It seemed as though it was growing out of the top. Shining there in all its glory… Was a beautiful red rose. It had a tag on it, and it said Rose Weasley.

"I think it's yours, Rose." Molly said.

"Good job, Molly." Lucy drawled.

I picked it up and smelled it. A strange kind of warmth washed over me, it felt wonderful. I smiled and read the note scripted on the back of the tag.

Fiery Red Rose,

Take this token as a good luck charm,

I heard Quidditch is a tough sport.

Your Secret Admirer

I smiled and placed it in the vase with the other roses that hadn't wilted or drooped since I got them.

School keeps me booked up, so it takes a while to type these. Especially because of all the rehearsals for the Musical. Review! Click the green button, not hard!