"Wow," Aly said looking around. "This is nice!"

The Great Hall literally looked like an igloo. The tables appeared to be made of ice, and small sculpted chairs surrounded them; there were ice sculptures of the champions. Char frowned at Cedric's statue and Aly laughed.

The traditional Hogwarts tree was up, of course; there were ribbons made of Christmas colors; little icicles hanging from the ceiling.

"There's a table!" Kylie pointed. They rushed over to it before anyone else could get it. They all sat down. Bella shivered.

"Don't worry, Bells," Hayden grinned, "I'm sure Damien will keep you nice and warm." Aly smacked Hayden on the arm.

The table roared with laughter, except for Amanda. Michael laughed half-heartedly.

"Thanks for the extra charm, Char," Aly said admiring her charm bracelet given to her two years ago. "I like the penguin."

"You're welcome," he said brightly. "I knew you'd like it." He frowned. "Thanks for the, uh, Chudley Cannons poster."

Aly laughed. "I knew you'd like it," she teased, even though Char hates the Chudley Cannons.

They continued buzzing like this for a few moments; then Dumbledore stood up, cleared his voice, and announced, "The Champions of the Triwizard Tournament and their Partners."

Everyone turned around to look at the champions. Aly grinned at Hermione, who was on Viktor's arm. Next was Cedric, who grinned at her with Cho on his arm. Char frowned. Next, Fleur walked gracefully with Roger Davies. Finally, Harry, who had Parvati on his arm, looked extremely embarrassed.

"Poor mate," Damien said sympathetically.

The champions made their way to the champion's table and sat down. Dumbledore said a few words, and then sat down. Immediately, dishes of food appeared on every table, and conversation buzzed.

"Ha!" Kylie said with excitement. "Roasted duck!"

There were soups and stews, sourdough bread, fish, mushrooms and pies. Hayden licked his lips and reached for a piece of bread. Kylie slapped his hand.

"Ladies first?" she said raising an eyebrow. Hayden rolled his eyes and waved his hand. Aly smirked.

They ate like this, talking with each other all the while.

"So, Michael," Char said, attempting for conversation, "Why did your parents send you to Durmstrang?" Michael and Amanda were very quiet the whole time; they were practically excluded.

"Well," Michael said, after swallowing his hot soup, "They thought Hogwarts wasn't much of a challenge."

"It's a challenge!" Bella protested. "My parents thought Beauxbatons wasn't good enough for me, and that's why they sent me here."

"Well, they decided the exact opposite. Besides, when I left, I was a little skinny guy." He grinned. "They thought that sending me to an all boys school would give me some more muscle."

Hayden shook his head and grinned.

"Damien," Amanda said, looking up from her soup, "Did you see Hagrid?"

"No," he said, looking up. "Why?"

Amanda grinned. "He's dating Madam Maxime!"

"Are you serious?!" Damien exclaimed, leaning forward. "Do you know how big their children would be?"

"20 tons, I reckon," she replied. Then Damien started inquiring about the blast-ended skrewts.

Aly sighed with relief on the other side of the table.

"What?" Char muttered quietly, looking up from his duck.

"At least they're making polite conversation," she said with relief.

"What?"

"They hadn't spoken a bit to each other all evening! I was worried," Aly smiled.

"He really wanted to go with her, didn't he?"

"Yeah," Aly said sadly, "But Michael already asked her and she said yes. She was actually hoping for Damien to ask her first."

"Why doesn't she say anything?"

"Well, she can see that he likes Bella, now."

"Is he doing it on purpose?" Char asked, eyeing Damien and Amanda.

"No," Aly whispered, looking at Bella. "She genuinely likes him." She eyed her date. "But you're his brother, what does Damien say?"

Char winked. "What do you think?"

"Really?" Aly asked, surprised. "He does?"

"Yep," Char said proudly.

"Well, that'll be a problem for Amanda," Aly sighed, and continued eating her soup.

Then she heard familiar choking sounds. She looked up and saw Damien choking on a mushroom. She took out her wand discreetly; she wasn't aloud to use magic in the Great Hall. "Anapneo!"

Damien's windpipe cleared instantly and he smiled sheepishly at Aly.