Okay, I hope that wasn't too long of a wait, I did have to work on my other stories and I just started college! Yay! It is so much fun and for those of you not in college yet, it is one of the most amazing things ever and I really love it! (It is hard work though, so it's not something you can just breeze through)

Moving on, there has been a lot of question about what is happening back in Konoha with Sakura and Tsunade and the others, and I want to let people know that I am planning on getting to that, but it might take a little while. I assure you that when it happens, the reason for it taking so long will be made known.

I really enjoyed reading everyone's reviews and I appreciate them so much! I would like to thank: MadnessLover, SongoftheDarkPhoenix, bored wonder, Lupanari, Draonheart0000, Zhang Sizheng, AvatardsUnite, JoshRand1982, Kakashifangirlnumber1000, Wolf05, yuroshima, dragonblack (5), Sin Saiori, frostbit, Erendhyl (7), Diamonds-r-4ever-so-am-i, Lunatic Pandora1, Moonfayth, GoldenKitsuneHime13, Utena-Puchiko-nyu, r2d2cool, Lily Yamamoto, kimcat, firedroplet, FantomoDrako, whiteinu1, Jumpingbean480, A Bibliophile, cardcaptor eternity, ArrangedloveMatch, Spirit HellFire, HelKat, Ding Dong Ding, MikoKriszty (13!), hiro15, yaoifangrl4ever, Lord Sia, Madeline Cullen, Narutoboyluver, realisticjoker, Harue Harlequin, Fox Loves Shinigami, Uzumaki Naruko14, UzumakiToba, xX Naru Fantasy Xx, jcbat21, .Weasel, DarkAmber112, GaaraxNaruto, brandiuchiha, StarDancer1234, pamellka, shadow shinobi57, Mark Uzumaki, sugarcrazedninja, DeltaKyuubi, ColorfulDesert and Starkraven Madd!

The 550th reviewer was MikoKriszty and I was going to give her chocolate chip cookies, but then I saw that she turned 20 on September 12th, so here's some birthday cake! I also want to thank her for reviewing ALL 13 chapters! She requested for an OC appearance, so look out for Kriszty during the dance.

That's about it, and on with the story!

As the night progressed, Gaara noticed that the temperature of the castle steadily decreased, more so than usual, but he simply ignored it and sat closer to the fire, contemplating about the dance.

He was debating whether or not to go, because it would most likely be the only chance he'd have for the rest of his life. Gaara tried to imagine the elders proposing a dance in Suna and almost laughed.

What . . . frightened him was that he had to ask a girl. Not that he had that much trouble talking to girls, but it seemed like asking one to a dance was a much bigger step. He knew it was only for a couple hours, but from what he "overheard" (it's not his fault if none of the people here knew how to whisper correctly!) it was something similar to a marriage proposal.

Gaara hardly knew anything about marriage, not even considered it! Who would want to marry a murderous Jinchuuriki anyway? Before his horror progressed any further, Gaara decided to glance out the window and discover the cause of why the castle was much colder than usual.

To his shock and alarm, he saw that the whole castle grounds, as far as the eye could see, was covered in some sort of white powder. It appeared perfectly smooth and the rising sun reflected off it brightly, even for his eyes, despite the fact that he had lived in a desert all his life.

Is it an attack on the castle? Some sort of genjutsu? he wondered. Seeing as how no one appeared to be alarmed within the castle, Gaara figured that either they knew it was coming and had some sort of counterattack planned, or they didn't know.

Deciding it was best to check with the local inhabitants, Gaara transported himself into Harry and Ron's room then walked to Harry's bed.

Making sure to not make any noise at all, Gaara put a hand over Harry's mouth and woke him up instantly. The young boy awoke with a start and began thrashing, but once he opened his eyes and noticed Gaara, he yawned and calmed down.

"Wha—" Gaara shushed him by putting a finger up to his mouth and gestured to the window. Honestly, did any of these students know how to be stealthy? the shinobi sighed to himself. They also seem incapable of sleeping on guard. If I were an assassin, he would be dead by now.

Harry was utterly confused. Here he was, dreaming about Cho saying yes to his proposal to the Yule Ball, and they were just about to kiss, but then someone puts a hand over his mouth! His first instinct was to grab for his wand, yet once he opened his eyes to try and find them, he saw a blurry Gaara standing above him. The boy hastily snatched his glasses to see, but when he tried to ask what was going on, Gaara shushed him.

Is there an attack? A prank? What is he doing in my room anyway?

Unable to come up with any answers, Harry simply followed Gaara to the window.

"What is it?" he whispered as quietly as possible, knowing that Gaara's sense of hearing was more acute than a normal human's. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary. All he could see was a fresh blanket of snow everywhere, and his thoughts strayed to the greatly anticipated snowball fights ahead. Ordinary fights were fine, but get involved in one with Fred and George participating, and it was unlike anything one would ever experience.

"You can't tell?" Gaara asked, so quiet Harry was afraid he had missed it. His lips didn't even move! For some reason Gaara appeared incredibly worried.

"Can't tell what?" Harry demanded, his voice becoming louder involuntarily. Maybe it was something only the shinobi could sense? Because he was getting nothing.

"That white substance covering everything," the mysterious boy answered back. He looked like he was struggling between being alarmed or doubtful of Harry's intelligence.

"What—you mean the snow?" Harry asked incredulously. He was woken up from his perfect date with Cho—because of snow?

"The snow?"

Judging by Gaara's innocent and bewildered look, Harry was able to determine the cause behind his confusion and started laughing—momentarily forgetting about his sleeping friends.

"What is it?" Gaara demanded, in an almost growl that made Harry stop immediately.

"I—it's just funny how you thought snow was something dangerous," he explained hastily, not wanting to invoke Gaara's anger on him, knowing that it would not end well in his favor. "This is a normal seasonal change here. Do they not have snow where you live?"

The shinobi frowned as he tried to recall what snow was. He remembered vaguely hearing about it from a passing shinobi who just returned from a mission, but when he turned to look at him to find out more, everyone ceased talking and froze, just like everyone did whenever he looked at them.

But that was beside the point. The point was that Harry was laughing at him, and the other boys in the dormitory would be as well. However, it was somewhat of a nice change, seeing as how other people were too afraid to laugh at him (even look at him) back in Suna, although he was unsure of whether it was because they didn't understand how he could kill them in the next second or they truly accepted him as a friend. It appeared that he had a lot more to learn.

"Wazzit?" Ron yawned, stretching and squinting at the pair of them. "Wha's going on?"

"Gaara?" Neville asked, staring at him in puzzlement. "What are you doing here?"

The shinobi simply scowled and folded his arms. Seeing that he wasn't going to answer, Harry decided to answer for him.

"He thought we were under attack because of the snow," he sniggered, unable to help himself despite the chill Gaara's stare sent down his spine. How did he do that?

"Really?" The opportunity to tease sobered Ron immediately and the grin on his face was eerily reminiscent of Fred and George's. "You thought we were under attack?"

"I—it's an honest m-m—mistake," Neville stuttered, being more perceptive to Gaara's killer intent.

"You mean you've never seen snow before?" Seamus asked, leaning on the edge of his four-poster bed.

Obviously, Gaara thought, but he slowly shook his head.

"You from a desert or something?" Dean asked. Gaara nodded, and the five boys seemed to look at him in a whole new light.

"Then how come you're so white?" Seamus asked in amazement. The shinobi frowned, never having really considered it before.

"Most likely because of my sand armor," he informed them. When it was obvious they had no idea what he meant, Gaara held out his hand and made all the sand on his arms separate into the air, exposing his untouched flesh underneath, and the wizards' eyes bugled out at the sight of it.

"So you've been covered in sand this whole time?" Harry exclaimed.

"That's bloody wicked!" Ron cheered, walking up to Gaara for a closer look. "I wish I could do that!"

Gaara wasn't sure what "bloody wicked" meant, but the intent was clear that Ron and the other boys were impressed by his abilities, and not in the sense that they were fearful of it, like other shinobi were whenever they were exposed to his jutsu. A small smile crept onto his face unwillingly and he found himself forgetting the teasing incident.

"So why do you have it?"

"Its use is mainly for battles, because—"

"IT'S SNOWING!" a loud voice proclaimed nearby.

"I think Naruto is up," Ron sniggered, provoking everyone else to do as well, save Gaara, who smiled slightly.

"Well let's make sure he doesn't break something," Harry sighed as everyone walked out of the dormitory to see how things were going.

Naruto was simply beside himself. It was snowing! Konoha was basically spring all year long, and he had only been able to experience snow during that mission in Snow Country. Now he was here at Hogwarts and there was a ton of snow!

It had been chilly and the leaves had been falling for quite some time now, but Naruto honestly paid the season no heed as he tried to absorb everything about Hogwarts. There was still a new jutsu to learn, like Kakashi had hinted at, and Naruto was going to make sure that he didn't go home without one. The problem was figuring out where to start though—he had no idea how to solve that issue.

Jutsu aside, it was snowing or, in more correct terms, it did snow.

"Calm down, Naruto," Kakashi chided. "I know you're excited but you must learn how to control your emotions better. You need to—"

"Guys! Did you know it's snowing?" Naruto yelled, addressing the wizards who were coming down the stairs. Kakashi resisted the urge to hit his own head in despair.

There are times that he's impossible to work with.

"Yeah, we noticed, Naruto," Harry smirked.

"I'm sure the rest of the castle knows as well," Ron teased as he came up to the blond.

"How long does it last?" the hopeful shinobi asked.

"A few months," Seamus answered, but joined the other wizards in stepping back slightly at the gleam in Naruto's eyes. Now, being so happy or excited you can't believe it at times is appropriate, but the joy the wizards could see in Naruto's eyes made them somewhat fearful and disgusted.

"Eh . . . who's hungry?" Ron asked, eager to break the uncomfortable silence, to which everyone hastily agreed. The wizards turned back around to get dressed, leaving the three shinobi to wait downstairs.

I'm a little fearful of the effect that hanging out with Lee is having on Naruto, Kakashi thought to himself as he watched Naruto's eyes practically glisten with stars.

The rest of the day it was apparent everyone was distracted by the snow, and they couldn't wait to finish their classes and go outside. The teachers, however, did everything they could to keep their attention.

McGonagall blackened the windows and said sternly, "Unless you want to fail this class, I suggest you mature and contain your excitement for the rest of the period."

It was unusually silent the rest of the lecture.

Finally, the last class was over and it was a mad dash onto the grounds. Snowballs were thrown this way and that while those who did not wish to participate sought refuge a good distance away and were content to make snowmen or snow angels. The three shinobi just stood in amazement.

When they first stepped onto the grounds the mayhem was already underway, because they had been held up by Peeves.

"Ickle little ninjas!" he cackled, encircling the group and slightly terrifying Naruto.

Hermione put her hand on his shoulder and whispered, "You don't have to be afraid of him—all he likes to do is play pranks."

"Would you mind?" Harry asked, slightly irritated. He really wanted to go outside. (There was a chance that he'd run into Cho)

Peeves appeared insulted. "All I wanted to do was greet the guests into this castle!"

"If you're planning to prank us, it won't work," Gaara sighed, having some previous knowledge about the troublesome poltergeist.

The ghost grinned demonically. "How do you know that?"

Not wanting to make this progress any further, Kakashi unveiled his Sharingan and stared the curious Peeves in the eyes. No one spoke as they watched the poltergeist stay frozen in place, his face an expression of absolute fear.

After about a minute had passed, Kakashi closed his eye and resumed the walk to the grounds, while Peeves screamed in pain and flew off, sobbing pathetically as he did so. Incredibly curious, the five students ran up alongside the jounin.

"Did you hurt him?" Hermione asked, finding herself concerned for Peeve's well-being.

Kakashi shrugged. "Not physically; he's a ghost, isn't he?"

"But what did you do?" Harry pleaded, curiosity getting the best of him. .

There was a slight pause as Kakashi grinned, then he said, "I simply subjected him to a full hour of dancing ponies, rainbows, and a song from a large, purple dinosaur. I read about all those things from a Muggle Studies book in the library."

Harry and Hermione burst out laughing, having a previous knowledge of what Kakashi was talking about, then spent the rest of the walk explaining it to the rest of the group.

Once they made their way outside though, the shinobi were stunned by the sheer chaos of it, and for a few seconds, the snowball battlefield gave way to a war, with the snowballs seeming like spurted blood and disembodied limbs.

"Oi—are you guys all right?" Ron asked fearfully. As soon as their eyes got adjusted to the glare of the sun, the three shinobi seemed to freeze up. Naruto clenched his fists, Gaara's eyes widened, and Kakashi gripped the door so tightly it looked like it would splinter. At the sound of his voice however, they snapped themselves out of it.

"We're fine," Kakashi smiled, though the wizards weren't completely convinced.

"Come on, Naruto," Harry said quickly, wanting to distract the boy from whatever haunted him. "Let's join the fight."

The prospect seemed to work, as Naruto cleared his head then smirked gleefully. "I can beat everyone here by myself," he said proudly, resting his hands behind his head. Due to the cold weather, Naruto was sporting an orange jacket along with his regular clothes as well as a brown scarf. (No one really knew where he found the orange jacket though)

"You and what army?" Ron asked, folding his arms challengingly.

"Tajuu: Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Those who were nearby ceased their snowball onslaught to gape at the sight of a hundred or so Naruto's popping into view with their own signature cloud of smoke.

"OI!" they all bellowed, shaking the grounds and causing a few icicles to fall from nearby trees. Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing, weaponry in hand.

"I CHALLENGE YOU ALL!" one Naruto declared, whom they all guessed must have been the original. There was a moment's pause as everyone determined his intent, then there was a universal acceptance to his challenge, and the pandemonium began, where Hogwarts bore witness to the greatest snowball fight in history.

"Do you really think this wise?" Gaara asked a few seconds later as he and Kakashi stood next to the wall while everyone else did their best to hit Naruto. The Suna shinobi wore a deep maroon jacket and gray scarf. He had abandoned the wizard cloak but had a decent amount of sand in the many pockets of his black pants, just in case he chanced to need some. "It's hardly a fair fight. Just one of him would be enough."

"I think he's taking it a little easy on them," Kakashi observed. For the weather the jounin still wore his deep-blue pants, but opted out of the jounin jacket for a silver one and added a blood-red scarf. "Besides, it's good stamina training for him without the risk of injury." He turned to Gaara. "You should join, you know."

Gaara glanced at the ground. "This . . . snow is wet, and I don't know how the Ultimate Defense would hold up against it."

"Then wouldn't that make Shukaku not willing to put up the shield and you would be free to fight?" Kakashi suggested.

"Or it would make him angry." There was silence for a few minutes, then Kakashi turned to Gaara.

"Whatever you decide to do, be sure to have some fun. I'm going to make sure no one gets seriously hurt by Naruto, and I might have a little something in store for him," he said, all too happily.

As Gaara spent a couple minutes debating whether or not he should join, one of the Narutos (Gaara was slightly unsure of whether or not he was real or a Kage Bunshin) came forward.

"Come on, Gaara! You'll never get to do this again!" he beckoned. "Or are you too afraid?" he teased, seeing the hesitant look on his face.

The Suna shinobi narrowed his eyes. "I'm not afraid."

"Then come on!" With that Naruto easily evaded a snowball thrown his way and he left Gaara to continue the fight.

Gaara sighed and walked forward, paused, then took off his sand armor, not wanting to spend the whole time having to deal with wet and soggy sand falling off him. As a snowball came hurling towards him, Gaara simply stood still to see what Shukaku would do.

As expected, the sand rushed up to protect him, but once the snowball made contact and splattered, the melting snow seeping into the sand and it fell. Gaara could feel the demon's wrath at being forced into such a weakening position, but Gaara merely tuned him out. The young shinobi then bent down and made a snowball—or at least tried to. He was momentarily surprised by how cold it was, just like ice yet it was small and individual like grains of sand. The shinobi held the deformed snowball closer to his face and examined it, determining that snow was just like sand, but instead of individual grains, they were tiny pieces of ice.

Pleased with his discovery, Gaara glanced at the person closest to him, Fred (or George. Even their "magic" signatures were so close together it was nearly impossible to identify them) and aimed the snowball for his back, relying on all his years of shuriken training to aid him. He learned quickly that throwing a ball of ice wasn't the same as throwing a heavy piece of metal, but thankfully he hit his target, just not where he anticipated.

Fred (or George) fell forward from the impact with a surprised grunt, earning a face full of snow.

"Oi! Fred—you okay?" George asked.

So I was right, Gaara thought with slight satisfaction.

George helped his twin off the ground and they turned to find the attacker, and were momentarily surprised to see Gaara there.

"Did you—"

"—throw that?" Fred finished. Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow at the twin's ability to finish each others sentence, but nodded, albeit a little hesitantly.

"Guess we have no choice but to retaliate," George said darkly.

For the rest of the fight Gaara found himself in an epic battle with the twins, getting hit more times than he ever did his entire life, and he could have sworn Shukaku was cackling at one point, but it didn't matter.

This was the greatest thing he had ever done in his life.

Meanwhile, Naruto was simply enjoying himself. Like Kakashi had surmised, he was letting his guard down slightly to give all the wizards who were participating a fighting chance, but he was still impressed with their ability. As various clones were dispelled for one reason or another, Naruto discovered quickly that the wizards were surprisingly talented in aiming, and wondered briefly how they would do with shuriken or kunai.

His thoughts were interrupted when a snowball came careening out of nowhere and collided with his face. He quickly sat up sputtering, swearing in Japanese and took a glance at the one who hit him.

For a second his heart stopped and the snowball he had prepared to inflict on the poor soul who hit him fell to the ground in a sloppy manner as he stared at the younger form of Jiraiya.

"W—what?"

Suddenly young Jiraiya appeared beside Naruto. "Calm down, it's Kakashi."

"What are you doing?" Naruto demanded.

"Playing," Kakashi chuckled, and then shoved a snowball into Naruto's face. He laughed wholeheartedly as his student sputtered and tried to wipe the snow out of his eyes.

"You're on sensei!" The fight that followed became one of the most memorable experiences in Naruto's life. He focused all his concentration on fighting, and used all manner of jutsu while still being mindful of the normal students around them. What was eerie was that Kakashi was behaving just how Naruto figured a young Jiraiya would act, but he would have never guessed that this was his sensei! It made Naruto wonder what he was like as a kid.

"Come on, Naruto! Don't tell me you're giving up?" Kakashi called out from a nearby tree that he hung from leisurely.

Naruto smirked. "I'm just getting started!" he declared before launching himself into the fight once more.

The next couple days were torturous for most of the male members at Hogwarts, who suddenly realized just how difficult the task of asking a girl could be.

"Why do they have to move in packs?" Harry asked aloud as a dozen or so girls walked past them, sniggering and staring at Harry. "How're you supposed to get one on their one to ask them?"

"Lasso one?" Ron suggested. "Got any idea who you're going to try?"

Harry didn't answer, but Ron knew who he was thinking about. With a smirk he quickly assured Harry that he'd have no problem asking a girl to a dance.

"What about you two?" Harry addressed the shinobi, trying to divert the conversation.

Gaara shrugged. "I've never danced and there is no way I'm going to ask someone." Why did he feel bad after saying that?

Naruto scowled at him. "Well, I am! I just . . . uh, need to find out the right moment," he admitted sheepishly.

"Wait, you mean you've already figured out who you're going to ask?" Ron asked in amazement. "Who?"

"I'm not going to tell you!" he exclaimed. "You'll just laugh or something."

"No we won't; just tell us," Harry prodded, but the shinobi stayed firm.

"You'll just have to find out at the dance . . . or you might find out sooner," he added as a second thought.

Figuring their best option was to wait, they continued on their way to Hagrid's.

Later on that night they were enjoying their freedom from classes—or at least, everyone but Hermione, and she fully chastised them for it, especially Harry.

"Leave him along, Hermione, he's earned a bit of a break," said Ron, then he tried to continue the game of Exploding Snap with Naruto and Gaara but it blew up and singed his eyebrows.

"Nice look, Ron . . . go well with your dress robes, that will." Their attention was then directed to the twins who had just entered the common room.

"Or you'll just end up like Gaara here," Fred said absentmindedly.

Ron felt his eyebrows to see how badly they were damaged.

"Ron, can we borrow Pigwidgeon?" George asked.

"No, he's off delivering a letter," Ron answered. "Why?"

"Because George wants to ask him to the ball," said Fred sarcastically.

"Who d'you two keep writing to, eh?" said Ron.

"Nose out, Ron, or I'll burn that for you too," said Fred, waving his wand threateningly. "So . . . you lot got dates for the ball yet?"

"Nope," Ron said solemnly.

"Well, you'd better hurry up, mate, or all the good ones will be gone," said Fred.

"Who're you going with, then?" said Ron.

"Good point." Fred appeared deep in thought for a moment, then turned to Naruto. "Would your female form mind going to the dance with me?" he asked graciously.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, then flashed a mischievous smirk as he made the necessary hand gesture.

"I'm sorry, but I've already got someone else in mind," he cooed in his Orioke form, caressing Fred's chin seductively before henging back into his normal self.

"Well, that didn't work," George teased.

"Won't stop me," Fred retorted. "Oi! Angelina!"

"What?" she called back from across the common room.

"Want to go to the ball with me?" Fred asked, motioning his intent.

She stared at him thoughtfully, then answered, "All right, then," and resumed her conversation with a small smile on her face.

"There you go," Fred said smugly. "Piece of cake."

"Let's just use a school owl, Fred," George concluded, and the pair of them left.

"Wish it was that easy," Ron mumbled, to which Harry silently agreed.

As Christmas and the Yule Ball loomed closer and closer, the Hogwarts castle experienced a rapid transformation, as all the teachers used their skills to impress the visiting schools. The shinobi were beyond impressed with all the decorations, but still had one question.

"What's Christmas?" Naruto asked one night.

"You don't know?" Ron asked incredulously, then sighed. "Man, it must really bite where you guys live."

"Anyway," Hermione continued, fearful of Ron accidentally insulting the shinobi (which was quite possible), "Christmas is the celebration of the Christian holiday . . . "

"So people actually believe that a fat, old man dressed in red comes into their house and gives them presents?" Naruto asked in disbelief once the long explanation had been given.

"You people must believe everything you hear," Gaara noted.

"Oi! It's only for little kids!" Ron protested, not going to be insulted about some of the best years of his life. "Once you get older you don't believe in it anymore!"

"Believing in foolish dreams like that when you're little can distract you from reality, which is dangerous," Gaara pointed out.

Kakashi agreed with his two students and thought the whole Christmas idea was a joke, but going with what Hermione said, it seemed to bring people closer together and they tried to be kinder with giving presents and stuff, so for all intent and purposes, the moral idea behind it was respectable. It's just that most shinobi children (especially Naruto, Gaara, and himself) led such difficult lives from the beginning that there was no room for that sort of thing.

"So this Yule Ball is on the same night as Christmas, huh?" he asked, realizing that the topic needed to be led away from where they were going, judging from the pitying look in Hermione's eyes.

"Yes," Harry answered, his heart sinking because he knew that he and Ron still didn't have dates and he had to open up the dance as a champion. Definitely not something he was looking forward to.

"Have you got dates yet?" Kakashi teased slightly, able to ascertain the meaning behind his look.

"Eh? Um—no," he answered, staring at the fire.

"You might want to do it soon," Kakashi chided. "From what Hagrid told me, you and the other champions begin the dance."

Harry groaned. "Yeah, I know."

"So are you going, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked. The jounin appeared uncomfortable for a couple seconds, then nodded slowly.

"Hagrid begged me to come," he explained.

"Isn't he going to spend the whole time with Madame Maxime?" Ron asked shrewdly.

"Yes, but—"

"So you really don't have to go then," Harry continued, seeing where Ron was going.

"Is this true, Kakashi?" George asked, coming up behind the group.

"Sure sounded that way," Fred smirked.

"What, got your eye on someone here?"

"I've always had a feeling like there was something between him and Trelawney," Fred added with a thoughtful look on his face.

Kakashi appeared incredibly uncomfortable and he glared at the twins. "No, I am not interested in any of the woman here—I just want to see how dances are held in your culture," he admitted before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Are you guys still planning on pranking him?" Ron asked.

The twins glanced at each other wickedly. "Oh yes, dear brother," Fred began.

"We most certainly are."

Friday afternoon Gaara walked in on a very peculiar sight. Ron was sitting in the common room with his younger sister who was whispering to him kindly, and the boy looked like all the victims who had witnessed his Desert Coffin for the first time. Despite the fact that Ron was his friend, Gaara was eager to find out who or what was able to scare him so badly.

"What's up, Ron?" Harry said, having entered the common room just after Gaara. As the conversation progressed, Gaara was disappointed to realize that the reason behind Ron looking so frightened was a simple girl, and he suddenly became uninterested.

Then Ron started to dig a hole with himself with Hermione, who joined them as well.

"Just because it's taken you three years to notice, Ron, doesn't mean no one else has spotted I'm a girl!"

"Okay, okay, we know you're a girl," he said in a condescending manner. "That do? Will you come now?"

Does he really believe that's going to work? The only real interaction Gaara had with females was through Temari, and even he knew not to cross them, unless you wanted to get hurt. Of course, Temari would never really want to hit him, considering his Ultimate Defense would go up and she was deathly afraid of him—at least, not anymore though. Gaara wondered how Ron had missed this vital piece of information.

"I've already told you!" Hermione said angrily. "I'm going with someone else!"

"She's lying," Ron said flatly as she stormed up the stairs.

"She's not," Ginny said quietly. Gaara rolled his eyes. I could have told him that.

"Who is it then?" said Ron sharply.

"I'm not telling you, it's her business," said Ginny.

"Right," said Ron, who looked extremely put out, "this is getting stupid. Ginny, you can go with Harry, and I'll just—"

"I can't," said Ginny, and her face went red. "I'm going with—with Naruto."

"WHAT?" Ron was simply dumbfounded, and so were Gaara and Harry.

"You don't have to sound so surprised," Ginny retorted with slightly flushed cheeks. "What's wrong with going with Naruto? He's your friend too, isn't he?"

"Y-yeah, but—" Ron struggled to come up with an answer.

"I wouldn't be able to go to the dance anyway, since I'm not fourth year, and I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions," she repeated hotly before exiting through the portrait hole.

"Did you know anything about this?" Ron demanded, rounding on Gaara, who simply shrugged.

"Ron, calm down," Harry said. "It's not like he's going to do anything."

The redhead sighed and slumped back into the couch. "I know—I know. I really like Naruto and he's a great guy, it's just that—well, Ginny's my sister and I can't help but be a little overprotective, you know?" Both boys shook their head.

"I'm an only child."

"The youngest."

At that time Naruto walked through the portrait hole, looking pleased with himself. "Hey, how did asking girls go?" he asked brightly.

The two boys shrugged. "So . . . " Ron began, not really sure what to say, "you're going with Ginny?"

Naruto paled slightly and looked embarrassed. "Uh . . yeah. You're not mad—are you? I don't really know any other girls than Hermione and Ginny, and Ginny is more my age, so I—"

"It's okay," Ron smiled. "Besides, Hermione's already going with someone, not sure who," he added, sounding slightly jealous. Just then Harry noticed Parvati and Lavender enter the common room, and he decided that it was time for drastic action.

"Wait here," he said to Ron and the shinobi.

Later on that night, the Gryffindor common room became a place impossible to concentrate in, with most of the students participating in Exploding Snap or other loud games, and so many people were bursting into feather from Fred and George's Canary Creams, with some (mainly Naruto) accepting some on purpose. Gaara decided to follow Hermione's lead and go to the library, which she did about half an hour ago.

The library was (of course) relaxing and quiet, but Gaara had to stay clear of Madame Prince, because she appeared to assume that because Gaara was a foreigner that his sole purpose in life was to desecrate and steal her books. Making sure she was nowhere around, Gaara found an isolated spot in the reference section.

While he tried to relax, he found his concentration drifting over to the dance again, causing him to grit his teeth in frustration. Why do I keep thinking about it? he asked himself. Why should I even want to go? It's going to be a waste of time! Finally, he sighed and realized that he just wanted to see what it was like. Only problem was, who should he ask? The only girl he ever really talked to was Hermione, and she was obviously going with someone. Naruto had asked Ginny, and despite what others said, he knew that he would intimidate most of the girls he'd ask, and the Jinchuuriki didn't think he could handle a rejection. All the willpower he had would last for one invitation.

Figuring the best option would be to ask someone with a similar personality, Gaara left his peaceful spot and began to walk though the aisles, trying to find a girl who was by herself and wouldn't be afraid of him. After a few minutes, he finally found the best option.

She had blond hair and was curled up in one of the armchairs, reading some newspaper (if he remembered the name correctly) and she appeared to be concentrating very hard. He remembered her from their taijutsu lessons, and she was progressing better than most. What was her name again?

As he got closer the girl peered over the top of the newspaper and smiled with a somewhat vague look.

"Hello, Gaara."

He took a slight breath. "Do you want to go to the b-ball with me?" he asked, inwardly cringing.

Her face lit up and she smiled pleasantly. "Oh, I'd love to!" She immediately rolled up her newspaper and gestured to the chair across from her. "Please sit down."

Feeling awkward, Gaara sat down and wondered what he was supposed to say.

"Did it hurt?" she asked, staring at him intently.

Gaara frowned. "Did what hurt?"

"When the Axlelics attacked you."

Now he was completely confused. "Axle-lics?"

"They are a rare type of leech that flies around and suck your eyebrows off," she explained matter-of-factly. "It's a very unfortunate thing to happen, but I've never really seen a person with such a bad case before."

"I don't think we have those kind of creatures where I'm from," he explained. He wondered if Axlelics were real or not, but considering he didn't live in this world, he could be wrong.

"Hmm, I guess not. What is it like where you're from then?" she asked kindly, giving him her full attention.

As Gaara began to explain, he found himself enjoying to talk to Luna (that was her name, wasn't it?) because she didn't seem to be afraid of him, wasn't trying to pity him, and while something seemed to be slightly off about her, in a roundabout way she reminded him of himself. He felt bad because she most likely didn't have many friends like him either, if that were the case.

At any rate, he was going to the dance.

On Christmas morning, Naruto and Kakashi were startled to see three piles of presents in their room.

"What are these doing here?" Naruto wondered aloud.

"I think they're for us," Kakashi decided as he inched closer to them, being sure to avoid any possible threats.

"OI! Gaara!" Naruto bellowed. "Come up here!" The Suna Jinchuuriki appeared in the next second, not even giving his sand time to settle as he stepped forward.

"What's wrong?" he asked in concern, scouting the area for any signs of danger.

"It is Christmas," Kakashi said slowly. "I think they're safe."

"Why would anyone give us presents?" Gaara wondered.

The other shinobi shrugged and they simply walked to their respective pile and began inspecting each present.

Naruto opened his with the greatest anticipation and received: a game of Exploding Snap from Harry, ramen from Dobby, a Gryffindor scarf from Ron, a box of prank candy from Fred and George (along with a note explaining what each of their inventions did), a green sweater with the Konoha symbol on it from a Mrs. Weasley (whom he guessed was Ron's mother, though why should would make a beautiful sweater for someone she never even met he would never know—but it was nice all the same to have a handmade sweater), a Japanese version of Quidditch Through the Ages from Hermione, Fizzing Whizbees from Hagrid, Chocolate Frogs from Neville, and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans from Ginny.

Gaara received: a set of Wizard's chess from Harry, butterbeer from Dobby, a Gryffindor scarf from Ron, a box of prank candy from Fred and George (also with a note), a red sweater with the Suna symbol on it from Ron's mother (upon realizing it was handmade he simply stared at it, having never received anything handmade before), a large book written in English and then a smaller one that said it was an English/Japanese dictionary from Hermione (along with a note that explained the bigger book was a children storybook entitled The Tales of Beetle the Bard and that it was something to keep him busy at night), Blood Pops from Hagrid, Pumpkin Pastries from Neville, and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans from Ginny.

Kakashi's pile consisted of: a set of Wizard's chess from Harry, real sake from Dobby (how the little elf was able to make it was beyond him, and he appreciated the gesture even though he had met the curious creature briefly), a Gryffindor scarf from Ron, some sort of box from the twins (though he still remembered the challenge he had given them and wasn't about to be defeated so easily; he set that one down gently), a blue sweater with the Konoha symbol on it from Mrs. Weasley (he fingered it gently, fighting back the memories of his deceased mother helping him into his own sweater as he tried to go out and train at age three), Fantastical Beasts and Where to Find Them from Hermione, gloves from Hagrid (which, according to the note, were made of dragon leather), Acid Pops from Neville (he guessed the poor boy still felt bad about bringing them here), and some Chocolate Frogs from Ginny.

The whole time the shinobi unveiled their presents it was completely silent, each of them wrapped in their own thoughts, too shocked to say anything.

Why were they doing this? They had only known these people for a few months and they were from an entirely different culture—yet they were giving them gifts!

They looked up suddenly as they heard the wizards emerge from their dormitories to go have breakfast, so they hastily pulled the sweaters over themselves and left to meet them. Harry was wearing a green sweater with a Hungarian Horntail on it and Ron's was maroon.

"Well, don't you look nice," Harry teased.

"Thank you very much," the three shinobi proclaimed politely, each bowing slightly. The wizards were taken back slightly. Sure, they were expecting a thank you, but a bow like that seemed a little overboard and it made them uncomfortable.

"Eh—don't mention it," Ron chuckled.

"We're really sorry that we do not have presents for you," Naruto informed them in embarrassment. "I guess we still don't understand this holiday."

"It's really all right," Hermione said quickly. Have they never received presents before? "You guys have already done so much for us; teaching us taijutsu—"

"—playing that trick on Malfoy—" Ron sniggered, smiling as the memory came flooding back.

"—and making a fool out of Rita Skeeter," Harry finished.

"There's no need to apologize," Neville said.

"Let's have breakfast already!" Ron complained, clutching his stomach as he did so, earning a sigh from Hermione.

"Fine, we'd better go before Ronald starts eating his sweater," she grumbled.

It was the most spectacular breakfast most of the students had ever encountered, and many walked back to their dormitories completely stuffed. After a quick nap people either stayed in their rooms or met in the common rooms to enjoy their presents, and then the lunch that day was equally magnificent, complete with turkeys and Christmas pudding, and after that everyone went onto the grounds.

There were a lot of mini snowball fights being held all over the grounds, and Naruto was content to fight without his clones and he and Gaara were currently engaged in battling the other wizards when Hermione left at five o'clock to get ready for the dance.

"What, you need three hours?" said Ron, looking at her incredulously and paid for his lapse in concentration when a large snowball, thrown by Naruto, hit him hard on the side of the head. "Who're you going with?" he yelled after Hermione, but she just waved and disappeared up the stone steps into the castle.

"Stupid girls," he muttered as he watched her leave. "I mean, who honestly needs to take three hours to get ready?"

"You'd be surprised," Gaara informed him, making a snowball as he did so. "My older sister Temari never really cares about how she looks, but when she goes on a date she spends forever getting ready."

"When has she gone on any dates?" Naruto asked, aiming for Neville.

"She went on one while we were healing in Konoha, and she kept asking me how she looked, but she wouldn't say who, but I followed her around with the Third Eye," Gaara admitted without any shame at all. "It was Shikamaru."

"Nani?" Naruto's shock caused him to throw the snowball off balance and instead of hitting Neville like he wanted it to, the ball of ice collided with a nearby tree.

"Shikamaru went on a date with Temari?" Gaara nodded. Naruto's mischievous grin crept on his face. He was going to enjoy teasing the lazy bastard about that one!

Finally, the time of the Yule Ball had finally come. Once the snowball fight was over all the boys retreated to their rooms to use the last half-hour to prepare. Not having anything to really wear, the shinobi decided to use a simple henge for the night. They each stood in front of the mirror and did their best to find a color and design that matched them best and would go along with the dresses their dates would wear.

All three had opted for a cross between dress robes and a tuxedo that Kakashi had found in a book, finding the dress robe design to be slightly ridiculous. Naruto's were black with a yellow and blue tie as well as an upturned collar (he still wore his Hitai-ate though), Gaara's were white with a red tie, and Kakashi wore a deep blue with a darker shirt underneath that matched his mask and a gray tie. Once the shinobi were thoroughly pleased with their choices, they walked to the common room to meet up with the others.

"Even they look nicer than me!" Ron wailed as they came into view. The shinobi simply stared, wondering whether or not they should consider that an insult and punish him, yet once they got a good look at his clothes, they figured he was suffering enough.

A few minutes later all the girls came down, and Ginny walked up to Naruto sheepishly, wearing beautiful cerulean robes that matched Naruto's eye color perfectly along with a deep green section of material that ran from her waist down to the end of the dress in the front. Her hair was also straightened and tied back into a half-pony and there were jewels scattered throughout the hair that was pulled back.

"You look very beautiful," Naruto blushed.

Ginny smiled warmly. "I also like your outfit; it looks better than the regular dress robes."

Feeling a burst of chivalry, Naruto held out his arm like he had seen other boys do and was delighted when Ginny looped her arm through his.

He was going to enjoy this!

Kakashi and Gaara continued on their way, since Luna was in Ravenclaw and Kakashi didn't have a formal date. They watched as Harry and Ron met up with their dates (feeling sorry for Ron as Padma looked at him in slight disbelief) and tried to search for Hermione, but were unable to. Neville was escorting a girl named Kriszty, and they had a pleasant conversation as they made their way to the Great Hall.

She was from Gryffindor and was tall with long brown hair, blue eyes, and had a slight Russian accent coupled with her English one, which she informed them was due to the fact that her mother was Russian and she had spent a couple years there before moving to England. Turns out she was partners with Neville a few times in Herbology and shared his aptitude for the subject. Needless to say, he seemed happier than usual.

"Hi, Gaara!" Luna called out happily as they neared the Great Hall. Her blond hair was in curls and pushed back slightly by a red headband, and she wore dark red robes with a lighter colored sash around her waist. The only . . . interesting thing she wore were her earrings, which were thin and gold-plated, but twisted into a very peculiar shape. When he asked her about it she said that it was a anti-Charklem charm.

"They like to be near places with a lot of dancing people, so it's best to just be on the safe side," she informed him. As they continued their walk Gaara noticed some people giving them strange looks but after being used to it his whole life didn't feel the need to care. Luna certainly didn't, so why should he?

As they waited for the Great Hall doors to open, Kakashi began to feel very self-conscious, being about a foot taller than some of the students and not having a partner, and he swore he saw a couple girls look at him and giggle, making him all the more uncomfortable. He prayed the doors would open soon so he could join Hagrid.

Finally McGonagall called all the champions over to her and the rest of the students were permitted to walk on through. All three shinobi were astonished at Hermione's appearance as they walked past the champions, never expecting to see her with Krum, but each greeted her happily and she beamed in return. Gaara, however, noticed Ron's reaction and wondered what would become of this.

Kakashi immediately went to join the other teachers, and they nodded at his presence (was it just him or was Dumbledore fighting back a laugh?). He found Hagrid and Madame Maxime and felt oddly small, just like a little kid again at the last dance. He just prayed nothing would go wrong this time.

Meanwhile, the genin sat down at a table with their dates along with Neville, Seamus, Ron, and Dean and their female counterparts. All the tables were covered in white satin and there were gold plates in front of them with matching gold utensils. What was peculiar was that there menus on the tables, but no waiters. (Gaara and Naruto easily transcribed their menus into kanji) Only when Dumbledore spoke his order to his plate did everyone else know what to do.

The dinner was very nice and pleasurable, except for the occasional glares Ron sent Hermione's way, yet she was so engrossed in her conversation with Krum that she didn't notice. Everyone was laughing and having a good time, save the occasional awkward pause after Luna said something peculiar, but on a whole the group enjoyed getting to know some new faces and discuss the tournament.

"So are you going to help out with the second task as well?" Ginny asked Naruto as she finished her salad.

The shinobi nodded, his mouth too full of ramen to speak. (Dobby was most likely the one who made it for him, seeing as how it wasn't on the menu)

"Do you know what the challenge is going to be?" Kriszty asked excitedly.

Gaara shook his head. "Kakashi hasn't told us the specifics, just that he'd need our help. I don't think he wants to get the word out accidentally."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Naruto demanded, appearing affronted.

"It means he knows that you couldn't keep your mouth shut!" Seamus teased as he cut his steak.

"I can too keep secrets!" the blond protested. "Just—not very long," he added quietly. Dean and Seamus laughed heartily.

"I wish they would hurry up and start the dance!" Dean's date, Katie whined.

The two shinobi gulped and glanced at each other. They had practically forgotten about the dancing part! "Oi, Gaara," Naruto whispered. "How do you think you'll do?"

"Horribly," he whispered back.

Naruto smirked. "It doesn't matter! Just have fun. I think I've got it down though," he said smugly. Gaara seriously doubted him.

"Right."

Finally it was time for the dance to start, and everyone watched as the champions started the dance. Ron simply looked away angrily, trying to distract him with the decorations.

Kakashi merely sat back at the table where all the teachers were sitting and amused himself with how Harry was holding up with Parvati (she was obviously leading him when it should have been the other way around) and then watched as his two students held up. Gaara nervously led Luna out to the floor and was clumsy at first, but she was patient and kindly helped him and soon they were moving eloquently. Naruto, on the other hand, led Ginny out boisterously and his dancing style wasn't too bad (he did see Ginny wince every once and a while in the beginning) and the only ones dancing more exuberantly than them were Fred and Angelina. Ginny was laughing the whole time, so at least she was enjoying herself. Naruto certainly was.

Hagrid and Madame Maxime had left to dance almost as soon as the dance began (after Dumbledore had asked her to dance and it was only fitting, seeing as how they were both headmasters) and now Kakashi was alone, and he was contemplating an escape now that he saw his students were having a good time.

However, it appeared that the gods believed he wouldn't go off so easily.

"W-would you like to dance?" Professor Trewlaney asked timidly. She had been sitting by herself on the other end of the table, wringing her hands nervously and muttering some type of nonsense words from what Kakashi could hear.

He resisted the strong urge to grimace but he smiled politely and accepted the offer, feeling foolish for once again having the girl ask him.

He wasn't able to escape for the next six songs. Teacher after teacher came up to him, asking for a dance, and he had no choice but to accept, because it would be very rude not to. The worst was dancing with Professor Sprout, who was three sizes too small for him! Thankfully most of the children were too focused on their dates to notice, but those who did sniggered at him.

Later on in the dance Naruto and Gaara sat down with their dates for some drinks, and were soon joined by Fred and George with their respective dates.

"Kakashi-sensei's dancing?" Naruto exclaimed, his expression one of clear mirth. "I didn't think he'd ask anyone!"

"He didn't," George smirked.

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

"We let it 'slip' to all the female teachers that he was very shy and really wanted to dance but wasn't sure if he could do it, being a foreigner and all," Fred explained.

"So you did just what Obito did?" the blond surmised in amazement. The twins nodded.

"All that's left is—"

"McGonagall!"

The group of eight watched as the Deputy Headmistress made her way over to Kakashi who was just about to escape and ask him to dance. Despite his cordial acceptance, the youth could see his horror and when he saw Fred and George, they merely laughed and waved back at him, and upon realizing what they did, he narrowed his eyes at them.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Fred chortled, slapping George on the back.

"That was your prank?" Angelina asked.

"Not entirely so, m'dear," George informed them. "You see, a true prankster gets their prey into a false sense of security before striking. Kakashi may think that this was our prank, but to be honest we've got an even bigger thing planned."

"What is it? Tell me!" Naruto pleaded.

The two shook their heads solemnly. "Can't tell you just yet, young apprentice. Just be sure to watch and learn."

"You're gonna want to remember it for the rest of your life," George sighed in content.

iAlly drew some fanart for this chapter! Thank you so much and I urge you all to check out her drawing! It's really good, the link can be found in my profile.

I hope you enjoyed the dancing choices! I originally wanted Naruto to go with Gabrielle, but I looked back and saw that she was about eight years old, and that obviously wasn't going to work, so I figured Ginny was the best option. For Gaara, Luna seems like the perfect choice because they have they sort of same personality, and I just think they would look cute together at the ball. No, there isn't going to be much more romance than this, because we all know Ginny is in love with Harry and as for Luna and Gaara they will continue to have a great friendship, but if you want to look into it more, then be my guest.