I had some time to type this up yesterday so I thought I'd give you guys an update!

Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: All aspects of this story involving Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling, I only own the OC's present in this story along with any original plot line.

"Where is it?" I ask out loud, rummaging through my trunk. "I could've sworn I packed it!"

"What are you looking for?" Serene asks, looking up from her book.

"My mask," I reply. "I need it for tomorrow."

"Did you leave it at home?"

"I must have," I say, closing my trunk. "And it's too late to write my mum to ask her to send it to me. Do you have a mask I could borrow?"

"Sorry," She says.

I sigh. "Do you think Liz has one?"

"I doubt it," She shrugs. "Liz's never been a huge fan of Halloween."

I sigh as I sit on my bed.

"You could ask your sister," Serene suggests, looking back to her book. "Maybe she's got one."

I don't want to talk to Emily, but I need a mask. "That's not a bad idea," I say, standing up. "I'll be right back."

"Okay," She calls after me as I walk out of our dorm.

I walk quickly to Emily's dorm, I just to get there and back as soon as possible. The door is closed, so I have a moment of inner debate on whether or not I should knock on the door. My calming potion would've worn off a couple hours ago, and since I'm off duty tonight I haven't taken another one. I may snap at her, and there will be nothing to stop me. Sighing, I raise my hand and knock tentatively on the door.

I'm hoping no one answers, but to my dismay Emily does and she smiles when she sees me.

"Oh hey, Val," She says. "What's up?"

"Hey, Emily," I manage to get out, trying to hide my unease. "I was just wondering if you had a mask I could borrow?"

"For Slughorn's party tomorrow?" She asks, tilting her head.

"Yeah," I nod.

"Well, I'm going too," She says. "But I think I have a spare one, I'll go look." She turns around and walks over to her trunk, leaning down to open it.

I step into the room. "Thanks," I say as she pulls out a purple mask embroidered with gold flowers. "I could've sworn I packed mine."

"You mean the blue one that has the gold embroidery and patches of music sheets?" She asks, handing me the mask.

"Yeah, I probably left it at home," I say, shrugging. I'm getting over my unease; maybe that potion really is training me.

"Pity," She says. "That was a nice one. Anyways, are you taking someone to Slughorn's party?"

"No," I say, shaking my head. "I'm going alone, but I know tons of people there so it won't really matter."

She nods. "I'm taking someone."

"Really? Who?"

"Tom Riddle."

My eyes widen and I feel like I've been slapped across the face. Tom Riddle? "What?" I ask. Maybe I didn't hear her right, maybe ever since I learned that she fancies Tom Riddle all I can think about when I see her is him.

"Tom Riddle," She repeats. No, I heard her right. I feel anger bubbling up inside of me, and I know that at any minute I may explode.

"You're taking Tom Riddle?" I ask, trying to clarify. Oh my god, David was right; Emily would try to make a move on Tom.

"Yeah, he was already going anyways, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask."

"Well, why do you want to go with him?"

"Well, I, uh, heard about you and him becoming friends, so I thought it would be nice if we all became friends. That way we can all spend time together," She says. That's what she said, but really she's saying 'I fancy Tom so I asked him to Slughorn's party.'

"Oh," I say. I'm going to snap at any moment, I can feel it. I'm going to ruin everything David and I have put into place. "That's, uh, great. Anyways," I say, moving to turn around. "I've got to go."

"See you later," She says as I make it to the door.

I look back and manage a small smile at her. "Yeah, see you later." I walk out of the room as fast as I can after that, practically running back to my dorm.

She asked him to the party, and he said yes. Is this Tom's way of making me angry, or worse? Does he have an attraction to her? I have to work harder; I have to make this plan go quicker than I had hoped. I've got to get Tom's attention off of Emily and onto me. But I have to do it in my own way, I can't tell David what Emily's just told me, he'll have me work harder than ever. I have to work hard, but I have to do it my way.

I can't let my brother interfere.

The chilly autumn air nips at my skin, and I wrap my coat tighter around me to keep out the cold. I sigh as I walk towards the lake, the autumn leaves crunching under my boots. I absent-mindedly kick a pile of orange and brown leaves, laughing as they fly up into the air and the wind blows them about. I've always loved autumn, it's not too hot and not too cold. It's probably good that I'm alone outside, it'll give me the time I need to think things through in a better mood than I would be if I was stuck in my dorm.

In the corner of my eye, I see someone sitting at the base of a tree, and I turn my head towards them. It's Tom. He doesn't see me, he's too busy reading his book and eating his apple to notice I'm standing a few feet away from him. Now is probably a good time to talk to him, we're alone and I don't think very many people are going to come out by the lake when it's this cold out.

I turn my body slightly as I open my bag and rummage through it, successfully pulling out a phial of the calming potion. I still need it, especially now after he said yes to going to the party with Emily. I could kill him for that, but as soon as that thought enters my mind I'm reminded about why I need the potion. I pull off the cork and quickly down the liquid, stuffing the empty phial into my bag as I walk over to Tom.

He must've heard the leaves crunching under my feet, because he darts his head up to look at me as I get closer to him.

"Afternoon, Tom," I say, smiling slightly at him. I want to chew him out for saying yes to Emily, but I can't, so I won't. "Can I sit with you?"

He eyes me for a moment before moving over slightly and making room for me.

"Thanks," I say, sitting down. "So are you excited for tonight's party?" I ask.

"As excited as I can be, Yarrow," He says, folding a corner of the page of his book and closing it.

"I heard that you're taking my sister as your date," I say, biting my tongue.

He doesn't smirk, but he might as well have. I can see a look of victory in his eyes, he knows I'm upset. "Yes," He says. "Is that a problem?"

"No, no problem," I say, shaking my head. I'm lying, he knows it, I know it. But I can still deny it. "I just never knew you and Emily were that close."

"She asked me," He shrugs, biting into his apple. "I didn't have a date so I thought I might as well."

"When did she ask you?" I ask as casually as I can. I don't want him to know that this is valuable information to me, or else he won't give it to me.

He raises an eyebrow at me, and I try to keep my composure "Two days ago, actually," He finally answers. "A bit last minute, but I was going to the party anyways." I nod and look out at the lake. "Do you have a date?" He asks me, and I shoot my head back to him.

I'm about to answer 'no' when a plan hatches in my mind. "Actually, yes," I say. "Keller."

His eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "Keller? The same Keller you referred to as 'monkey' and 'rat?'"

"That's the one," I nod. Keller's not my date, but he's going to be soon. I need him to do what he does best, get me information. The only way I can get him into the party, however, is by having him come as my date. I'm doing a lot of things I don't want to do this year, I deserve an award.

"I never thought you'd take a liking to Keller," He says. "Let alone ask him to be your date."

"Well, it's like what I did with you," I explain. "I didn't like you, and now we're friends. I didn't like Keller, and now he's my date. I plan to do a lot of maturing this year."

"That's an interesting plan, Yarrow," He says.

I raise my eyebrow at him. "Why do you still call me 'Yarrow,' Tom? You trust me, don't you?"

An unreadable look crosses his face, and I mentally smirk. There, I've laid down the law. He can either tell me the truth right now, or we can continue on with this little chess game we're playing. I realize that we both get something out of the end of this; I get to show Emily that Tom's no good, and Tom gets to think he fooled me. It's a yes or a no, there's no way out of this. I have him cornered, and I feel victorious.

He smiles slightly at me. "Of course, Valerie."

I smile at him. He's lying, he knows it, I know it. Looks like this is going to continue.

"Good."

"I can't believe I have to pay you for this," I say, handing Keller ten galleons. "I'm your best friend's sister. Can't you cut me a break?"

"Hey, I'm risking my reputation here," He says, stuffing the galleons into his pocket. "I've got to get some payoff."

"What reputation? That you're an expensive creep?"

"Watch it," He says. "I know a lot of things about you that could get spread around."

I let out an annoyed huff. "Whatever. Do you remember what you have to do?"

He sighs. "Find out what Emily and Tom say to each other, figure out if they plan on seeing each other again, and see if Tom has an attraction to her or is just trying to irritate you."

"Good," I say, nodding once. "You have an excellent memory."

"Why do you even want me to do this anyway?" He asks as he puts on his mask.

I bite my lip. He doesn't know my plan, I'll have to lie. "Well, his is Emily's first date and I, uh, want to make sure that everything-"

He holds his hand up to silence me. "Relax, David already told me what you two are doing." I let out a breath of relief. "But he failed to mention that Emily was going with Tom to this party tonight."

I let out an annoyed huff. "That's because he doesn't know, and I don't plan on telling him."

"And what makes you think I won't?"

"How much more do you want?"

"Five."

I sigh as I reach into my clutch and hand him five more galleons. "I'm going to be bankrupt by the end of this."

He inspects the galleons before giving an approving nod and stuffing them into his pocket. "You ready to go in?"

I sigh as I put on my mask. "As I'll ever be." I grab his arm and link it to mine as we walk towards the party.

We enter a room decorated with pumpkins and bats, everyone around us dressed in formal gowns, tuxedos, and different coloured masks. A man in a burgundy coloured plague doctor's mask walks over to me and Keller, and I instantly know he's Slughorn.

"Good evening, Professor," I say as he stops in front of us. "Lovely party."

"Ah, Miss Yarrow," He says, chuckling. "Yes, I thought it was you. I'm surprised you recognized me! Oh, and you've brought along...Kendler? Ah yes, Kendler!"

"Keller, sir," Keller corrects.

"Ah yes, well, enjoy the party," Slughorn says, ignoring Keller as he looks at me. "I believe your sister's already here. Though, I don't quite remember what mask she is..."

"Oh, that's fine," I say, starting to walk away, pulling Keller along with. "I'm sure I'll find them." I pull Keller into an empty corner and sigh. "Okay, you go look for Emily and Tom, come back here when you find them."

"And what are you going to do?" He asks.

"Hey, who paid who here?" I ask. "I'll be standing right here the whole night, so once you have some information please come back and tell me."

He sighs before walking off, and I lose sight of him once he joins the crowd. I sigh as I grab as glass of punch off the table nearby, sipping it lightly. Just as I put the now empty jump back down on the table, a hand grabs my arm and pulls me behind a curtain. I quickly shake myself out of my daze to see David staring at me, holding his mask in his hand.

"Emily's come here with Riddle," He says. "When I asked her why she didn't tell anyone, she said she told you. Now I want to know why you didn't tell me!"

"Because I knew you'd flip out," I defend.

"Well, why didn't you realize that I would've found out tonight anyway?"

"Because you never come to these things, David. You can't honestly expect me to remember that you've suddenly decided to come to parties."

"That still doesn't answer my question on why you didn't tell me."

"I already told you! I didn't tell you because I knew you'd flip out and I wanted to handle it myself."

"And how exactly are you handling it?" He asks, crossing his arms.

"I didn't get mad at her, or him," I say, holding my finger up. "And I'm having Keller spy on them."

He rolls his eyes as he lets out an annoyed huff. "What that bastard won't do for a couple of galleons..."

I sigh. "How did you even know I was me? I'm in a mask."

"I recognize that dress," He replies, gesturing to my gown. "You got that from Cécile for your birthday last year."

I roll my eyes. "Whatever. I-"

"David?" The curtain opens and I see a blonde girl in a light blue dress wearing a white, feathered mask. She looks from David to me. "Who's this?" I recognize her voice, it's Marie.

I quickly take off my mask and smile at her. "Me. Hey Marie."

She smiles. "Oh, hey Valerie!" She looks over at David. "Why are the two of you here?"

"Just a private conversation," He says, and he pulls on his mask.

She chuckles and shakes her head. "Come on, David," She says, grabbing his arm. "Let's go get some punch."

I sigh as the two walk away, and I step out from behind the curtain and put on my mask. I see a man in a black plague doctor's mask and I can only guess that it's Keller since that's the mask he was wearing. Then again, there are about three different boys here with that exact same mask.

"Keller?" I ask as he stops at me.

"You got it," He says.

I sigh. "Well, what happened?"

"First off, your sister's the one in the red dress and white mask with the huge feather," He says, pointing to her. I can see her talking to a tall boy in a black mask.

"I'm guessing that's Tom then?" I ask, gesturing my head towards him.

"Sure is," Keller says.

"Okay, so what happened?"

"I have good news and bad news."

"What's the bad news?" I ask, clamping my eyes shut.

"Emily's very into Tom," He says. "She's an amazing flirt." He's right, that's bad news. First she fancies Tom and now she's good at flirting, I sometimes hate my sister.

"What's the good news?" I ask.

"Tom doesn't seem interested in her at the slightest," He says. I let out a huge breath of relief. That's a ton of weight off my shoulders. "But Emily's really persistent and charming, so there's a possibility that-"

"Don't finish that sentence," I cut him off, holding up my hand. "I'm not going to let that happen."

"Then you've got to act quickly," He says.

I sigh. "I know." I turn my head to look at Emily and Tom, and I scowl as she giggles. I turn my head back to Keller and hold out my hand. "Oh, and David knows about Emily and Tom. Give me back five galleons."

Yeah, that was a rubbish ending.

Anyway, I would be so happy if you guys gave me a review!