Several students were still mingling outside the Great Hall when Ricky made it down from the tower. He scanned the crowd for his mother, finding her with the other teachers, her arms linked with his father's. McGonagall had Mikey by the hand and was talking to the other teachers. Uncle Draco and Aunt Astoria were there, Astoria and Phoenix chattering away like old friends while Uncle Draco and George barely shared a few words. Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione were there too with Hugo. Aunt Hermione, of course, trying to ease things by chatting with Phoenix and Astoria. Ron just held Hugo's shoulder and looked around.

He spotted Cli, arms linked with Beth, being introduced to her friends. Neo and Dominique were leaning awkwardly shoulder to shoulder on one wall, waving to people they knew and smiling at friends and people who congratulated them on their Quidditch match earlier. Victoire stood closer to the bottom of the stairs with a group of girls around her, she wore a baby blue dress that fell to the floor and was decorated with white roses. He wasn't surprised to see a group of boys on the other side of the stairs drooling over her. She was the star in the midst of her friends, all of which were dressed in a more traditional Ravenclaw dark blue. Phoenix was standing next to Marcus Stonebridge, who looked more than pleased to have her as his date. He could feel from across the room that she was pulling her emotions in two different ways, trying to keep Marcus's emotions from hers and recoiling her own. Ricky passed his eyes over Natalia Brand who stood with the Ravenclaw Beater, Geoffrey Finn. Molly was with a Hufflepuff boy he'd never seen before and appeared to be extremely happy with him. Ricky couldn't help but smile and feed some of his own happiness to her, not being able to remember a time she was so happy or had her emotions bursting with confidence in her slim fitting, princess sleeved, red dress. Lucy, wearing a small white tea length dress, was laughing with James, and the other Quidditch players. Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny were there as well, Lily standing between them, bouncing excitedly. Something Uncle Harry said made the team laugh.

He saw others and smiled if they noticed him, but made no move to continue down the stairs. Up from the Slytherin Dungeon came deafening footsteps, a trembling emotion captured Ricky's attention. The noise of the crowd became a dull buzz in his ears as jeweled eyes looked around nervously, a black and green lace dress was dropped to the floor as black jeweled heels reached the last step.

Allie looked stunning, breathtaking, nervous. Ricky watched his mother appear from seemingly nowhere and gently grab Allie's shoulder. He could feel his emotions throbbing with anxiety and light-headedness. Finally Allie and his mother smiled and Phoenix looked over at him. She beckoned him over and Allie, emotions singed pink, was looking everywhere but at him.

Ricky couldn't recall a time his legs felt like jelly, not even after his first time flying, or side-apparating with someone. "Don't you look handsome?" His mother asked once he had joined them. There were no words to share between the two. Phoenix looked between Ricky and Allie. "Well," Phoenix said after a long, awkward silence, "I must go join the other teachers, I expect they'll be letting us in soon." With that, she left.

Ricky swallowed the rock in his throat, "You look nice." he said.

"So do you." Allie replied, smoother.

"Did you know that my mother," Allie cut Ricky off with the shake of her head, "Oh." "Sorry she did this."

She cut him off again with another shake, "No, don't worry. I'm glad."

"Your attention please," McGonagall spoke over the roar of the students eagerly waiting to go in, dance, and eat to their hearts desires. Ricky closed his mouth, a compliment lost on his lips, as he turned to hear what McGonagall had to say. "Welcome to the World Ball." The Great Doors opened with a creak revealing a magnificent sight inside. Five grand Christmas trees stood, one in each corner and one dead center. On the far wall where the teachers table normally sat was a stage with a band playing gentle music. Each tree had a unique crest on it, the one in the middle being the Hogwarts crest. Strands of pine colored tinsel hung from the outer four Christmas trees and connected them to the middle tree. The walls looked as though a waterfall had been frozen, ice hung in thick sheets down the sides of the wall. The ground was covered in a light dusting, but no one slipped, and no ones dresses or shoes got wet. Golden candles, lazily floating around, and paper lanterns gave the room a warm glow.

For the first hour there was mingling and food passed from table to mouth. Neo and Cli eventually met up with Ricky and Allie.

"Allie, you look stunning." Dominique complimented.

"Thank you," Allie brushed at the skirt of her dress with the back of her hand, "Ricky's mother got this for me."

"It's a perfect fit," Beth gushed. The boys looked between each other, unsure if they should join the conversation as the girls were soon pouring over their dresses and complimenting each other.

"Did your mother really get that dress for her?" Cli asked.

"Guess so." Ricky answered.

"She looks like a real girl." Neo exclaimed in quiet surprise.

It is unknown to boys, but once a group of girls get together to compliment each other, other girls will find their way to the group and join in the positive sharing. Soon, Ricky was standing with Cli, Neo, Geoffrey, Marcus, Molly's date (who turned out to be Levi Rowell, a half-blood), and several other boys who had no idea how to handle their dates.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen," the glowing candles and lanterns dimmed, "We are pleased to announce the Magic World's upcoming singing group," Several girls and a few guys looked around excitedly as the players on stage moved away and a small fog blocked the stage from view. "The Magicals." Allie excitedly pulled Ricky around the center tree to the stage, a wave of other students following.

The Magicals was a group of twenty young men and women, twelve women and eight men. One man played the piano while another man strummed a guitar. Ricky had heard of the group before, they were all either half blood or muggle born, but all of them were American. They mostly sang without music but every few songs the piano man would play or the guitar man would strum. Some songs were slow, in which Allie would grab Ricky and they'd dance a slow foxy. He felt her press her face to his neck, he rested his chin on her head.

"Just say 'I do'. There's nothing more that I'll ask you to, just say 'I do'. After you say it then I will to," A girl sang softly, her voice almost hauntingly beautiful as the rest of the group joined in harmony.

Ricky was terrified that Allie could feel his heart beating wildly, but as he searched her emotions he could only see a bright red and a content blue washing back and forth across her emotions.

"Did you get a note with your robes?" Allie asked gentle as they turned.

"Yes." Ricky answered.

"And?" Allie asked.

"Guess it's obvious now, isn't it?" He asked.

Phoenix had long since excused herself from the ball, she walked the castle alone, not believing how much time had passed since she was roaming the halls with Harry, Ron and Hermione. She was still close enough to the Great Hall that she could hear music faintly drifting through the halls. She walked without a destination in mind but soon found herself in front of the forming door to the Room of Requirement. She'd done this several times, especially early in her career as a teacher, she stepped through the door, making sure to close it behind her. "Professor." She whispered, turning to face the middle of the room.

There, in the middle of the room, sat the Mirror of Erised. In the Mirror stood Professor Snape, in all his black, greasy glory. Dumbledore stood with him, though he never got too close to the frame between them and her. She approached calmly, remembering her first experience with the mirror.

A particularly nasty student had thrown a book at Phoenix during her first month of teaching. He had cursed at her, challenging her to draw her wand. When she refused and instead gave him a detention he'd sent a rather clumsy biting jinx at her. Instead of causing her clothes to bite her, it caused her right sleeve to clamp down onto her with razor, shark-like teeth. It didn't continue to chomp or nibble, but nearly clamped on her arm in such a way it nearly tore her arm clean out her socket. She excused to class and ran. She ran to a place where she could think and get her frustrations out in peace. She needed a place to think, to see if teaching was really cut out for her, or if she should return home to her husband and son to help manage the company.

She banged on the wall on the seventh floor, "why isn't the damn room opening to me!" she was thankful classes were still going on, a professor banging on a wall while her arm hung limply at her side dripping more and more blood onto the floor would look suspicious and humiliating. But finally, a small wooden door cracked through the wall and Phoenix was inside before it was fully complete.

The room was dark, save for a spotlight that lit up the center of the room. A Mirror, with unknown words etched on the frame sat in the center of this spotlight. A chair with gauze, bandaging tape, and scissors, sat a few feet from the mirror. Phoenix, a miserable and bloody mess stumbled to the chair. She worked her outermost robe off, revealing her teaching dress underneath. The biting jinx had long since worn off, but the puncture marks and bleeding had not gone away.

Phoenix worked at cleaning her arm as best as she could, she had no way to clean the wound presently, but worked at pressing the gauze and bandaging tape around her arm. "I can survive all the unforgivable curses, but I can't take a little nibble." She winced, "I can't even control my own classroom." She laid back, her wound half dressed. When she opened her eyes, a pair of black, beady, familiar eyes, looked down at her disappointedly.

For a long time, Phoenix didn't move, she couldn't tear her gaze away from the man in the mirror. Finally, Phoenix grabbed the arms of the chair and twisted her back around. He was not behind her. She turned to face the mirror, "But there he is, plain as day." she thought.

"Professor Snape?" She glanced behind him, a shadowed figure becoming more clear as she took it in. "Professor Dumbledore?"

They could not speak to her, but she could speak to them, and she often poured her heart and frustrations out to the two lost in the Mirror. She knew it was unhealthy, she knew it was dangerous, but she was able to expel all her feelings without fear of drama or judgment. Snape for the most part looked on disapprovingly as she mentioned her hopes for her students, whereas Dumbledore looked as smitten as a kitten in a mitten with how wonderfully she'd taken to teaching.

When she came to them one day worried about Ricky's developing powers, Snape and Dumbledore shared a look of concern. Snape because he had been part of Draco's lessons, teaching him to control and overpower those connected to them. Dumbledore because he knew the history of Weather Wizards. How they were hunted for their powers, corrupted for a purpose, often slaves to their emotions and those who manipulated them.

But Ricky was exceeding Phoenix and Draco's powers. Where as they could manipulate each other and their immediate environments, Ricky was able to seek out other people's emotions and manipulate theirs. He was able to find people in a crowd based on their emotions, he could easily over power her and Draco if he took the time to learn what he could do. Since then she'd been obsessed with coming to the two professor's wanting guidance on how to raise a weather wizard, she often paced in front of the mirror worrying about her other two children.

But now, she was at ease seeing them on the other side of the mirror. Ricky was turning into a fine young man, and he was actually showing interest in learning more about his powers and family history. Before she could move before it the door opened behind her, she slipped her wand from her dress sleeve and clenched it in her fist. She turned, wand ready to be raised, but was mildly surprised to find Harry.

"How did you-"

"Neville told me the loophole to get in." Harry shoved his hands in his pockets. He didn't glance behind her, "Phoenix, that mirror is dangerous."

"I know," Phoenix admitted, not liking his tone, as if he were scolding one of his kids for being rude. She opened her mouth to say some excuse, but found nothing was coming to her lips.

"People become consumed by what they see." Harry continued, walking towards her slowly. Phoenix thought back to how often she came into the room, wanting-needing sometimes-to see Snape and Dumbledore. "It often drives them insane." He now stood in front of her, "Let's go." He said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at him and nodded, "Very well." She didn't remember if she even had a reason for coming to the room.

"Please, don't come back to the Mirror." Harry pleaded.

"I won't come back." Phoenix said, but it was an empty promise.

The closer they got to the Great Hall, the more they saw students outside in the halls and stairways, relaxing, chatting, and trying to sneak off. However, there were still plenty of students inside the Great Hall still dancing and eating.

The American band was still playing, only now they were singing about losing that perfect person. "I think," Harry said, breaking the tension that had settled in their walk back, "That my sister owes me a dance." He held out his hand to her, "For old times sake?" he asked.

Phoenix thought back to the Yule Ball, before everything went wrong, she smiled and took his hand.

"You could find another me tomorrow, and that's the hardest pill to swallow."

As the ball came to an end, people were wishing "goodnight"'s and "happy Christmas"'s. Phoenix kissed her husband on the cheek, and hugged her youngest child tightly, wishing them both goodnight. Astoria hugged her and had Draco give her a handshake. James was trying to pry himself away from his parents who were embarrassing him with a long goodbye with a tired Lily leaning on Ginny. Lucy was waiting nearby so she could walk back to Gryffindor tower with James. Ron and Hermione were wishing their nieces and nephews good night and waving goodbye to their friends as they carried a sleeping Hugo out with them. Levi gave Molly a gentlemanly kiss on the back of her hand before wishing her goodnight. Victoire walked to Ravenclaw tower, still as elegant as ever, her arms linked with her dorm mates as they chatted about their favorite parts of the ball. Cli was whispering something to Beth that made her giggle and hit him playfully. Dominique and Neo were walking arm-in-arm, her shoes dangling from his free hand as they laughed and chatted about the game that had felt like it'd happened a year ago.

Ricky had snuck off elsewhere with Allie to wish her goodnight. The emotions of his friends and family was overwhelming, his head was spinning by the time he wished Allie goodnight and snuck back up to Gryffindor tower. Even with everyone's emotions swimming in his head, Ricky couldn't help but go to sleep with a smile on his face.

Like how I snuck that "like it'd happened a year ago" in there? Considering it's been a year?

College sucks okay? Don't grow up. Lol, no, but seriously.

I realized after signing up for one degree that I actually really wanted to teach, so I guess that's why Phoenix quit managing WWW and decided to Teach (even though that was written years ago in the original story).

This chapter I had to re-do about five times over the course of a seven month period because I didn't like where it went. At all. And I still don't, but I got out some major plot points and I'm happy to move on.