Sorry for not updating for awhile, but I got Skyrim and . . . I don't think I need to complete my sentence.

Chapter 14

Harry was very, very, very, very happy that Katherine was mad at Cedric. She refused to be in the same room with him. If he was in the Great Hall, she would eat her meal under the table. Every time Hermione opened her mouth to scold Katherine, Katherine would give her the Dumbledore look and Hermione would shut up.

After Transfiguration on Thursday, Professor McGonagall made Harry stay to tell him something.

"Potter, for the Yule Ball the champions and their partners will open the dancing." Professor McGonagall said. Harry stared at her flabbergasted.

"I don't dance." He said.

"Yes, you do." She said.

"But I don't have a date."Harry protested trying to get out of it.

"Then get one. It shouldn't be too hard; most girls are drooling over you." Professor McGonagall said.

What Professor McGonagall said appeared to be true. Many girls asked Harry, but he said no because he wanted to go with Katherine. He had more of a chance than ever since she was trying her hardest to avoid Diggory.

But every time he tried to ask her, she was not alone. She was either with Hermione and Ginny, or with Fleur and other Beauxbatons students, or with Cho Chang and other Ravenclaws, or with Malfoy. The only time he could see her was at night, but she now went to bed early or was engrossed in a book or homework. Besides, he had until Christmas Eve.

While Hermione was telling Harry that he should be working on his egg in the common room, Fred and George joined the four fourth years.

"Better ask someone before all the good ones are taken." Fred advised.

"Who are you taking?" Ron asked.

"Angelina." Fred answered.

"You asked her?" Ron asked.

"Oh, good point." Fred said as he turned around. "Angelina!"

"What?" She asked.

"Will you go to the ball with me?" Fred asked. She thought for a moment.

"Sure." She said.

"See? Easy." Fred said turning back to Ron and Harry.

Friday morning, Ron and Harry made plans to both have dates by that evening. Harry chased after Katherine as she ran to the common room right before dinner. He managed to catch her before she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Katherine," He said breathless.

"Hey, Harry. What's up?" She asked smiling.

"Willyougototheballwithme?" Harry asked as quickly as possible. Katherine stared at him.

"What?" She asked. He took a breath.

Come on, Potter, don't look like an idiot now. Harry thought.

"Will you go to the ball with me?" He felt the color in his face rising. Katherine gasped and turned red.

"Harry," Her face twisting as she tried to tell him politely. "I'm sorry, but . . . someone's already asked me."

"Oh, okay," He said lamely feeling deflated. "Who with?"

"Cedric. Cedric Diggory." She said looking down at her feet. Slowly, the gears in Harry's brain began to work.

"I thought you were mad at him?" He asked.

"We made up." Katherine said, looking like she'd rather be drowning in the Black Lake than having this conversation. "Bye, Harry."

"Oh . . . yeah . . . bye." But she was already gone.

Holy crap! Katherine thought.

Harry walked to the Gryffindor Common Room in a daze. Stupid Diggory! He just has to get in the way of everything, doesn't he? All thoughts of Katherine, however, were driven out of his mind when he saw Ron.

Ginny was with a pale, shaky Ron.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"He asked Fleur to the ball." Ginny said trying to hide her smile.

"What?" Harry said flabbergasted.

"I was walking and she was talking to Diggory. And then something came over me and I blurted it out. Then I ran." Ron explained.

"She's part veela. You couldn't help it. She was probably turning on the charm for Diggory, but she's wasting her time; he's going with Katherine." Harry said.

"How d'you know?" Ron asked.

"I just asked her." Harry muttered.

"We're going to be the only ones without dates. Well, except Neville. But guess who he asked?" Ron said. "Hermione."

"What'd she say?" Harry asked.

"She told him she was going with someone else, but she made that up so she didn't have to go with him." Ron and Harry started laughing.

"Don't laugh." Ginny said warningly.

"Listen, Ginny, you go with Harry." Ron said trying out his matchmaking skills. Ginny reddened.

"I can't; I'm going with Neville. He asked me when Hermione said no." Ginny muttered. Hermione walked in.

"Have you seen Katherine?" Hermione asked.

"Hey, Hermione, you're a girl." Ron said.

"Glad you've noticed." Hermione snarled.

"You can go with one of us." Ron said.

"I can't. I'm going with someone else." Hermione said.

"No, you're not. You only said that to get rid of Neville." Ron said.

"Just because you don't know I was a girl, doesn't mean anyone else hasn't!" Hermione snarled and left.

On Christmas morning, Katherine woke up to a pile of presents. The Malfoys had given her an heirloom necklace that perfectly matched her dress robe. Hermione had given her a new Muggle book series to read during class. Harry gave her a box of different types of sweets; Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans (with all the buttered popcorn taken out), Sugar Quills, Exploding Bon Bons, Chocolate Frogs, and what looked to be Fred and George's Canary Creams.

Not eating those. She thought.

Cedric had given her a picture of her and him. The picture version of Cedric and Katherine had their arms around each other and were in complete happiness. She thought of her present to him: a picture of and signed by all the champions.

Sirius had given her a very handy knife. It changed to whatever the user needed; whether it's a pocketknife, a letter opener, or even a sword. She couldn't wait to use it.

Katherine looked at the spot where she had left a package filled with mismatched socks, it had been removed and replaced by a crème brulee. She smiled. Hermione and Katherine spilt the crème brulee for breakfast.

Katherine got dressed for the Yule Ball. She was wearing sleeveless ivory cream dress robes that stopped just above the knee. She put on the Malfoy's necklace and twirled in front of the mirror. She smiled in anticipation.

She knocked on the bathroom door as she was about to leave. Hermione had been in there for ages.

"Hermione," Katherine called. "I'm leaving."

"Alright, this is taking longer than I thought it would." Hermione said through the door.

"Well, you need to be done there in ten minutes and remember, you don't have your Time Turner anymore, so hurry up." Katherine teased.

When Katherine walked it the Entrance Hall, Cedric appeared at her side. He was wearing ebony dress robes and smiled dazzlingly. Cedric handed her a corsage with a black striking rose. She held out his white rose boutonniere.

"I'd put it on you myself, but I might stab you accidently." Katherine said. Cedric grinned as he accepted the flower.

"Good thing, I wore two shirts." Cedric smiled.

"Yea, and one of them is a bullet-proof vest." Katherine teased.

"Champions and dates, over here please." Professor McGonagall called them over. Cedric offered his arm and she slipped her hand through the crook of his arm. Together, they went over to Professor McGonagall.

Katherine greeted Fleur and her date, Roger Davies. Davies looked as if his life was complete. He looked very dashing, but that was lost due to the fact that he was drooling.

"Chill, veela." Katherine whispered to Fleur who smiled.

Harry was with Parvati Patil and Katherine saw Ron stalk off with a reluctant Padma Patil. Harry smiled at her and scowled at Cedric.

Katherine watched amused as Harry looked at Viktor Krum and his date. Harry's jaw dropped to the floor. Hermione was on Krum's arm. She was dressed in periwinkle blue and her hair was unnaturally straight. She was smiling nervously.

"Now, you will process into the Great Hall and make your way to the Head Table." Professor McGonagall said. "Mr. Diggory, if you please."

Cedric and Katherine led the couples into the Great Hall. The other students applauded as the procession made its way to the Head Table. Katherine and Cedric sat across from Hermione and Krum. Percy Weasley made Harry sit next to him.

They ordered dinner and chatted. For once, Hermione wasn't complaining about elf labor; she was engrossed in conversation with Viktor Krum.

"Viktor, would you like to hear my theory of where Durmstrang is located?" Katherine asked. Viktor looked at her quizzically. Cedric smiled behind his hand.

"I want to hear this." Hermione said.

"I say it's in Russia. One, your uniforms. Two, your names. Three, your crest is a double-headed eagle and that was the crest of the Tsar of Russia. Four, the writing is in Cyrillic." Katherine said looking triumphant. Krum stared at her, and then slightly smiled.

"I don't know if you're right." Krum confessed.

"How do you not know where your school is?" Katherine asked.

"Ve are not allowed to know." Krum said.

"So, they tie you up and let you go when you're at school." Katherine said seriously. "What are you all? Soviets?"

Krum's face started to change into a scowl. It continued to do so, until Katherine could no longer remain serious and she started smiling. Krum, realizing that it was a joke, broke into a guffaw.

"Miss Peters, don't make Mr. Krum laugh himself to death." Dumbledore said pretending to scold her. Then he rose. "Now that we have all filled our bellies, we shall dance ourselves into painful cramps."

The four champions and their dates positioned themselves as the Weird Sisters started the first song. Cedric and Katherine were pressed as close as Professor McGonagall would allow. The first three songs passed too quickly. Katherine found herself to be very warm.

"I need a drink." Katherine said loudly because the Weird Sisters had every amp up to eleven. Cedric and Katherine walked over to a table where Harry, Ron, and the Patil twins were sitting.

A Beauxbatons boy waltzed away with Parvati and Padma wished to be with her sister. Ron had been ignoring her and spending his time glaring at Hermione and Viktor.

"Ronald, are you not going to dance?" Katherine admonished.

"I'm not." Ron muttered. Katherine rolled her eyes.

"Padma, allow me to introduce you to my friends." Katherine led Padma over to Parvati and the Beauxbatons boy conjured up one of his friends. Katherine went back to Cedric. She had barely sat down when she noticed Harry staring at her.

"Have you danced, Harry?" She asked him while taking a sip.

"Yes." Harry answered.

"Besides the first one," Katherine sighed annoyed.

"No." Harry said. Katherine rose.

"C'mon," Katherine ordered. Harry followed her to the dance floor. The Weird Sisters played a fast song. Harry and Katherine joined Ginny and Neville in the jumping up and down dancing. For the next song, Katherine stole Neville and Harry was left to dance with Ginny. They danced like two friends and Harry experienced the best part of his night.

At the end of the song, he and Katherine returned to the table. Katherine did not even get a chance to sit before Draco Malfoy appeared. He was dressed in emerald green and wearing a ring with the Malfoy crest of ravens on it.

"May I have this dance?" Draco asked offering his hand. Katherine looked at Cedric who smiled and waved her on. She walked to the dance floor on Draco's arm. The Weird Sisters did something out-of-character; they played a slow song.

Katherine recalled all the ballroom dance lessons she and Draco had to endure. Narcissa had insisted upon them because "One may never know when a deal can be closed with a nice dance."

"Shall we impress the entire dance floor?" Draco asked as they took waltzing positions.

"Yes." Katherine's eyes twinkled with mischief. The first notes started and the couples started to move. Every eye was on Draco and Katherine as they danced perfectly.

Suddenly, Dumbledore and McGonagall twirled past them. Draco and Katherine stopped and stared flabbergasted. Dumbledore and McGonagall were out dancing the two friends. Draco and Katherine looked at each other, and nodded in agreement.

Draco and Katherine walked up to the professors. The four bowed to each other as everyone backed away. The Weird Sisters started up a fast song.

The four couples were moving so fast in the dance off that students moved away in fear of being beheaded. Katherine was doing so many tricks she swore she flipped over Professor McGonagall's head.

When it was over, Katherine collapsed into Draco's arms. Professor McGonagall was leaning rather heavily on Dumbledore as they went to sit down. Draco, instead of taking Katherine back to Cedric, took her outside to the garden.

They sat down on a stone bench. Katherine shivered and Draco put his jacket on her.

"Shouldn't we go back inside?" Katherine asked.

"I want to talk to you first." Draco said.

"What about?" Katherine asked.

"Diggory," Draco said. "I rather like him."

"You do?" Katherine raised her eyebrows.

"He trusts you. He looked at us dancing only to see if we were beating Dumbledore and McGonagall."

"Cedric knows that we are friends."

"Yes, but he didn't glare at you while you were dancing with Potter."

"Ya."

"Mother will like Diggory. You should bring him home."

"I was planning on inviting him during the summer."

"I can't wait to see father's reaction."

"Why?"

"Some guy is dating his little girl."

To Harry's great relief, the Yule Ball was over. He was walking up to the Great Staircase, when Diggory called his name.

"What, Cedric?" Harry grumbled.

"Have you figured out your egg?" Diggory asked.

"Uh . . ." Harry mumbled.

"Take a bath and bring your egg. Mull things over in the hot water. Tell you what. Use the Prefect's bathroom." Cedric said and he told Harry how to get into the bathroom.

"Uh . . ." Harry sputtered confused.

"I've got to go." Diggory said looking over his shoulder at Katherine who was waiting for Diggory.

"Wait, let me get something from my dormitory." Katherine said when Cedric joined her after talking to Harry. They walked up to the Gryffindor Tower and saw Harry trying to get the Fat Lady to open up for him.

"Harry!" Katherine called. He turned around and smiled until he saw Cedric.

What'd Cedric ever do to you? Katherine thought. You're in first place!

"Yes?" Harry asked.

"Can I borrow your Cloak and the Map?" Katherine asked.

"Sure." Harry answered as the Fat Lady swung open.

"I'll wait here, Ekaterina." Cedric said. Katherine smiled at the Russian version of her name.

Katherine and Harry walked into the Common Room to see Ron and Hermione having a row.

"You can't be with Krum! He's the enemy!" Ron yelled.

"The enemy? He hasn't talked to me about Harry or to help him with the Tournament!" Hermione yelled back.

"You shouldn't have gone to the ball with him!" Ron yelled.

"You know what the answer is?" Hermione nearly screeched. "Next time there's a ball, ask me before someone else does!"

Ron sputtered about something unintelligible as Hermione stormed up to her dormitory. Katherine gave Ron a look that should have killed him.

"You just have to anger everyone this year, don't you, Ronald?" Katherine snarled.

The next morning, Katherine joined her friends at breakfast when they were halfway finished eating. She stifled a yawn as she poured herself some pumpkin juice.

"When did you get back to the Common Room?" Hermione asked.

"Let's just say the Fat Lady was so drunk she thought she could do magic." Katherine smiled as she closed her eyes.

"Six in the morning!" Hermione exclaimed. Ron looked up from his plate.

"What can you possibly do with a boy for six hours?" Ron asked with his mouth full of bacon.

"Let's just say I'm glad I brought tons of chapstick." Katherine smiled amused at Ron's expression of horror.