Disclaimer: don't own.

That's what happened last time:

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"You smell wonderful." Tom complimented her. They were dancing and the dance floor was filled with tons of people. Tom was steering perfectly. Tentative, but confident at the same time. He pulled Jana towards him. "Are you having a good time?"

"I'm having a great time, Tom." She answered. "And you are a perfect dancer." Was there anything Tom wasn't perfect at?

"Thank you, Jana. So are you." Tom smiled and leaned closer. Jana's heart beat faster. But before she could even blink or answer, someone tapped her on her shoulder.

"May I have this dance?"

On with the story:

Jana turned around and looked at Marc directly. Her face broke into a happy smile.

She was about to answer, when Tom gritted his teeth and growled menacingly. "No, you may NOT." He crossed his arms and looked at Marc challengingly.

"What?" Jana looked at Tom, shocked. "It's my brother. Of course, I'm going to have a dance with him."
She glared at Tom and smiled sweetly at her brother. "Come on."

Tom couldn't believe it. She disobeyed him. And she preferred her brother over him. What had happened? He fumed and went to the bar, helping himself to another butterbeer.

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"Jana, don't you see it? He is possessive, a control freak and quite frankly, dangerous." Marc explained, slow dancing with his sister.

"He seemed perfectly polite up until now." Jana said sadly.

"That's probably just his mask. You'd better stay away from him." Marc warned darkly.

"Come on, Marc, he is probably just jealous."

"Well… I disagree." Marc said stubbornly.

"Let's not fight about it. Who are you going with anyway?" Jana asked, genuinely interested.

"Rose McKinley." Marc answered, a smile playing his perfect lips. "A Slytherin fifth year."

"Oh." Jana answered disappointed. She had never heard of this girl. "Did you just leave her alone to dance with me?"

"No, of course not. You should know me better. She is dancing with a Ravenclaw guy called Corner or something right now. And after this dance, I will take over again." Marc explained.

"Ah. Can I meet her?" Jana asked. She had to know if this girl was good enough for her brother.

"Of course."

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Hermione and Abraxas were sitting at the bar, drinking butterbeer and laughing. Tom envied them. He could have a great time with Jana, too, but then her stupid twin brother had to come along and ruin everything. Tom sipped on his butterbeer moodily, when to his big surprise not Abraxas but Hermione turned to him.
"Are you alright?"

"Could be better." Tom snapped. He wasn't in the mood for pleasantries now.

"Something is the matter." Hermione persisted to Tom's extreme fury. How could somebody this intelligent be this annoying?
Tom didn't answer, but stared at his butterbeer, wishing he could drown.

"Ah." Hermione said curtly and smirked. Tom looked up against his better judgement.
"What?" he growled.

"Jana is dancing with her brother." Hermione stated the obvious in a would-be casual voice. "And you are jealous." she finished with a smirk.

"I am not jealous." Tom said evenly, although his voice shook a bit.

Hermione sighed, rolling her eyes. "No, of course you aren't. You are only brooding and cradling your butterbeer for the fun of it." She shook her head in mock sadness. "I hope you didn't make a scene or Jana might be angry at you."

Tom finally snapped. "I did make a scene, because I had every right to. Jana is MY date and not Marc's. Who is he to interrupt our dance and snatch her away from me?"

Hermione's smirk grew even wider. "Oh, I'm sure that he didn't snatch her away from you. I am of the opinion that Marc is a very polite person and he probably asked for the dance."

"Yes, he did." Tom conceded. "But I said no and-"

"Jana said yes." Hermione finished for him. "Yes, I can imagine. Go to her and apologize before you regret it!"

To Hermione's, Abraxas' and even Tom's utter disbelief, he stood up and followed the witch's advice, because she was right – without a doubt. He saw Marc and his beautiful angel-like twin sister in a corner, chatting with a fifth-year Slytherin girl he didn't know the name of.

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"Excuse me." All head-boy like and polite, Tom walked over to them. "Let me apologize for my behaviour." Tom continued. "Marc, I don't mind you dancing with my date."

"Oh. Well, it's okay." Marc said, shrinking away under Tom's don't-mess-with-me glare.

"Thank you." Tom said stiffly.

"Oh, Tom." Jana laughed airily. "It's quite alright. You don't have to be jealous – he is only my brother." But still, it's cute that he is jealous.

Tom sucked in a startled breath. "I am not." he managed to say.

Marc laughed disbelievingly. "If I catch you, laughing at me again, you will pay, Davies." Tom said dangerously low so that only Marc heard his threat.

Marc nodded barely audible and Jana smiled at them, oblivious to threats and misgivings. "I'm thirsty. Can we drink another butterbeer, Tom?"

Reluctantly, Tom nodded. He didn't want to face Hermione and Abraxas again. They were so lovey-dovey and extremely infuriating.

"Okay." Tom smiled and offered Jana his arm. "Let's go then." Jana waved at her annoying brother and his date and walked off with Tom. Tom couldn't help but glance triumphantly at Marc, who was watching them with suppressed anger.

"Look, Harry and Eileen are also there." Jana smiled. Tom looked at the bar and almost sighed in relief that Abraxas and Hermione were gone now.

"Hey Harry, hey Eileen." Jana smiled and her smile made Tom's heart feel all warm and fuzzy.

"Hey Jana." Eileen called out. "It's hot, isn't it?" Harry and she were sipping a red cocktail with crushed ice on top, making Jana crave for one as well. It looked delicious and refreshing.

"What are you drinking?" Jana enquired.

"Strawberry colada." Harry answered. "It's really good."

"Sounds lovely." Jana smiled.

Tom ordered two strawberry coladas and sat down with Jana. "Would you mind going outside afterwards? It's sweltering hot." he asked quietly.

"I agree with you. Of course, we will." Jana leaned closer to Tom and Tom smelled her perfume.

'This is driving me crazy.' he thought, resisting the urge to lean closer to her.

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"I can't believe that it's still so warm outside, I mean it's already autumn." Jana sighed.

"That's the way magic works." Tom smiled down at her. He took a deep breath and instead of offering her his arm, he offered her his hand. He must be getting mental… or it was the alcohol doing strange things to him.

To his utter relief, Jana took his hand.

Jana smiled. His hand felt warm, a bit dry and very strong. She could hold his hand forever and was glad that Tom had finally done the first step. Holding hands was more romantic than just holding his arm. Holding hands had a different reason.

It was indeed reasonably warm outside; the dark sky was bright with live fluttering fairies and the garden was complete with rose bushes and a fountain.
They could still hear the music.

"I'm sorry that I snapped at your brother and you." Tom apologized, squeezing Jana's hand and Jana sighed. "It's fine, but don't do it again. It's only my brother, not my boyfriend."

"Right. I just don't like the way, he bosses you around." Tom explained.

"I don't like it either, but I have to admit he was very polite tonight."

Suddenly, Tom's expression changed and he stood upright, as stiff as usual. He took out his wand and blasted – to Jana's confusion – a nearby rose bush apart, which revealed two people; a girl with red curls and a boy with black spiky hair. "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley and five points from Ravenclaw, Fawcett." Tom snarled.

Both of them lumbered out of sight, embarrassed and red-cheeked.

"Why did you deduct points?" Jana wondered. "Surely, it's not forbidden?"

"It's not directly forbidden, but Jana, we are Slytherins. Whenever there is a chance to deduct points from other houses – we use it." Tom grinned and Jana rolled her eyes.

"Are we at least leading?"

"Of course." Tom's smirk had grown. "And it has to stay that way. Would you like to dance?" Tom pointed to the fountain and Jana nodded. They could still hear the music and it was lovely outside.

Tom gently placed his hands on Jana's hips and pulled her closer. Jana breathed in his cologne and slung her arms around his neck. They softly swayed to the music, both of them enjoying the moment.

Tom looked at Jana intently. Her big grey eyes were open and looking right back into his – it made his heart beat faster.

Slowly, very slowly, their faces inched closer. Jana's breathing sped up when she felt Tom's lips brush hers. It was as soft as butterflies, but crackling with electricity.

Jana closed her eyes when Tom pulled her even closer. His kisses got more passionate and demanding. When he entered her mouth, Jana couldn't suppress a moan and pressed herself closer to Tom.

It felt like only seconds of pure bliss, although it must have been half an hour at least. Their lips were puffy and dry and both of them out of breath. When Jana pulled away, she looked into Tom's dark blue eyes and finally saw some emotion there. It was happiness, lust, desire… and also love and tenderness.

She didn't know what to say. All her dreams had come true with that kiss – the man she had fallen in love with, had given her the best kiss ever. The romantic setting made the whole situation even more perfect.

Tom pulled her closer so that her head rested on his (hard) chest and they stayed like that for a long time.

"Let's go inside." Tom said huskily.

Jana just nodded – she knew her voice would betray her feelings.

Inside, the ball was ending, and most of the students seemed to have gone to bed already. Silently, but hand in hand, Tom and Jana walked to the Slytherin common room. In front of the entrance, Tom stopped abruptly and embraced Jana. "Did you have a good time?"

"It was wonderful." Jana smiled and was satisfied that her voice was steady. "What about you?"

"The best dance in years." Tom had always gone alone, but there was no way he would admit that to Jana.

Both of them were sad that the evening was coming to an end. Tom dithered. He really wanted to ask her out, but wasn't even sure, if he seriously wanted it, but then he remembered their dance, their kisses and their conversations, her smiles and laughs. No, he would never regret his decision with Jana. Time had come for him to test his luck with this particular girl.

However, at this moment, Abraxas came tottering out of the portrait hole and Tom stopped short. Of course… Malfoy had to ruin everything… again.

"Tom, we've been looking for you for ages." Abraxas drawled and it was clear to Jana and Tom that he had had a lot to drink.

"The head girl is looking for you. There is a slight uproar in the kitchens and the elves are going havoc." Abraxas explained.

"How do you know?"

"Slughorn asked me to look for you."

"And since when is this MY job?" Tom looked at Abraxas furiously.

"Well – I don't know, but Slughorn-"

"Fine." Tom growled. "You can go back inside now."

Without a backwards glance, Abraxas stepped inside immediately. As soon as he was gone, Tom gave Jana a long kiss. "I'm sorry, I have to leave."

"I know." Jana said sadly.

"Sleep well and speak to you tomorrow. We have our project to finish anyway." Tom said stoically.

"Thank you, you too." Jana gave Tom a quick peck on the cheek and went inside the common room. On the one hand, she was happy that the evening with Tom had turned out better than anticipated, not to mention the kisses; but on the other hand, she felt sad; Tom hadn't asked her out - against her expectations – and she felt oddly let down.

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"How was your date with Abraxas?" Eileen asked grinning.

"Great. Abraxas is a real gentleman, although a bit full of himself." Hermione answered.

"And don't forget to add gorgeous." Eileen smirked.

"Yes, I cannot deny that." Hermione conceded.

"Are you together now?" Eileen asked curiously.

"Oh, I don't know. He hasn't asked me yet." Hermione answered. Jana, who was sitting on her bed, trying to read her favourite book "New Moon", perked up. Ah. So another one who wasn't asked out by her date. Interesting.

"How was your date with Harry?" Hermione wanted to know.

"Okay, actually. He is really nice and understanding, although a terrible dancer." Hermione and Eileen giggled. "However, I don't think Harry is actually Slytherin material. He seems to nice for the house of snakes."

"Well yes, the hat debated between Gryffindor and Slytherin." Hermione said after a pause.

"Really? But they are like total opposites." Eileen said thoughtfully. "Well – do you think Jana is already asleep?"

Jana decided that girly gossip was better than trying to read a book, which was impossible anyway, since Hermione's and Eileen's chatter was distracting her.

"I'm awake." Jana opened the curtains and saw that Hermione and Eileen were sitting on Hermione's bed.

"Oh. Tell me, how was your date with Tom?" Eileen asked, her eyes wide and sparkling.

"Not that bad." To her dismay, Jana blushed. And even worse, Eileen noticed.

"Aww – did you kiss?"

"Uhm… yes, we did actually." Jana said and Hermione and Eileen giggled like mad.

"Oh my gosh – and is he a good kisser?" Eileen asked eagerly.

"Yes, he is." there was no point to deny that anyway.

"Wow! And are you together now?" Hermione asked, but Jana shook her head.

"I had the same problem as you, Hermione. He didn't ask me out." Jana said sadly.

"Oh no!" Hermione said, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Oh, that's too bad, but you know Tom. It was surprising that he actually took a girl – you – to the ball. He usually went there alone." Eileen explained.

"Did he?" this thought seemed to cheer Jana up immensely.

"Oh yes. Tom is a loner – the only people he's got are his friends who go to these bloody meetings." Eileen rolled her eyes. "And I never thought Tom would kiss anyone. Just give him time, Jana. It was a big step for him today."

"Sorry, it was his first kiss?" Jana's eyes were as wide as saucers.

"Yes. And you can believe me since I'm the gossip-queen of Slytherin, if not the whole of Hogwarts." Eileen exclaimed proudly. "But it is important to know that you should watch out. Tom is dangerous and manipulating behind his façade. That's what Abraxas, Alphard and the others always say, I don't know for myself, but it's good if you take my advice."

Jana nodded. She had heard that several times before.

"You don't know for sure?" Hermione asked.

"No, Riddle can be pretty charming, Hermione. Abraxas and his friends are often going on these meetings – and they came back, scared and pale. They wouldn't tell me what these meetings were about. I wish I knew." Eileen pouted.

"Maybe it's better that you don't." Hermione said.

"Maybe. Okay, I'm off to bed, girls." Eileen yawned for effect and stumbled over to her own bed.

"Good night." Jana pulled the curtains shut and opened the book again. Within seconds, she was asleep.

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Jana awoke to loud noises and yawned. She was still terribly tired and had a splitting headache. Hermione opened Jana's curtains. "Up you get, it's lunch-time."

"Lunch?" Jana croaked.

"Yep. It's twelve o clock." Hermione grinned.

"Already? I slept for twelve hours straight and I'm still tired?" Jana wondered. Thank goodness, they had no classes today.

"That's probably your hangover. Take that, it's an aspirin." Hermione held out a white pill.

"Uhm… what's that?" Jana eyed the tablet doubtfully.

"It's a muggle medicine and helps against headaches and hangovers." Hermione explained.

"I'd rather not." Jana shook her head.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Whatever, I was only trying to help."

The girls got ready – or rather Jana got ready while Hermione and Eileen waited for her – and finally they were all set.

"Let's go, I'm starving." Hermione exclaimed.

"I wonder how Tom is going to react today… I mean, we did kiss and all that… Hopefully, he is not going to ignore me." Jana said anxiously.

"Oh, he won't." Hermione shook her head.

"But don't talk to him first, Jana. He has to approach you." Eileen said and the other girls looked at her.

"I know." Jana said at the same time, Hermione said. "What?"

"Aren't you familiar with the rules?" Eileen asked.

"Yes, I've heard of the rules, but isn't it a bit outdated?" Hermione wondered.

"Come on, of course, it isn't. Don't push your luck with Abraxas either." Eileen warned.

"Fine." Hermione shrugged. The three girls reached the Great Hall, which was already full of chattering students, and suddenly became incredibly shy. "You go first." Jana pushed Eileen to the front and they walked inside.

To their luck, there was an open space at the end of the Slytherin table and the girls headed to this spot, before they could make any eye contact with the others, especially their dates.

"Would you like to go for a walk afterwards?" Hermione asked the other two significantly. "The weather seems to be really nice."

Actually, it was the opposite. Rainy and grey. Still, the others agreed fervently. As long as they had something to do, they would be fine. The boys had to know that they weren't always available and also had their own hobbies. It would make them more interesting.

It seemed to work. A voice behind Jana made her jump. "Look Jana." a familiar voice said and sat down next to her without any invitation.