Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. JK Rowling does. I'm just an avid fan.

Word Count: 4395 (I'm not pulling your leg, I wrote this much)

Thank you to Lord Lovegood, for listing this fanfic under your community Betrayed Heroes. Thank you to for also listing this fanfic under your community Harry jumeau-frere. I am honored. Now enjoy chapter 29...

Chapter 29: The Yule Ball

Despite receiving tons of homework from their professors for the holidays, everyone was in no mood to work when the term ended, so they spent their week leading up to Christmas enjoying themselves as much as possible along with everyone else. Many had signed up to return home for the holidays with their family. However, others like Cadmus were looking forward to celebrating Yule at Hogwarts.

Daphne had written home to her parents requesting for a new set of dress robes the day after Cadmus asked her out to the Yule Ball. Cadmus had insisted on supplying the money, but Daphne stood firm and refused, stating that she had enough money to purchase one herself. Knowing that Daphne wasn't going to budge, Cadmus relented, but he secretly went behind her back to write a letter to Lord Greengrass explaining the circumstance. Instead of buying her dress robes, Cadmus had something much better to gift her, and he was so excited to show it to her.

Not a day after Daphne sent the letter, a parcel arrived at Hogwarts from her family, enclosing a specially tailor-made dress robe for her. Daphne had refused to show it to Cadmus when he asked because she said it needed to be a surprise for the Yule Ball. Cadmus shrugged, accepting her excuse. Daphne wasn't the only one who received new dress robes either, throughout the whole week, numerous owls flew in with packages to Hogwarts students who ordered them from catalogs.

Cadmus got one from his parents too, even though he still had a dress robe he bought before the school year. Perenell and Nicholas had found out that Cadmus and Daphne were going to the ball together, so they wanted Cadmus to have a good time without wearing a dress robe that had shrunk during his growth. The formal clothes were made of fine silk and consisted of a white collared shirt, silk dark green suit and pants, and a dark green-black tie. The clothes even came with dark brown leather shoes. They were already pressed and pinned for that night, so Cadmus didn't have to worry about ironing the suit.

Cadmus awoke very suddenly on Christmas Day by a tapping sound. Wondering what had caused his abrupt return to consciousness, he opened his eyes towards the direction of the sound and saw a faint outline of an owl outside his window.

"Hermes!" Cadmus shouted, quickly scrambling out of bed and opening the window. Hermes was the Greengrass family owl, who usually bought letters between Cadmus and Mr. Greengrass.

"Wh-What's going on?" Casper said, unable to stifle his yawn. All the other boys groggily woke up too with Cadmus' yell.

"Nothing, it's just an owl. Go back to sleep" Cadmus responded without turning around. He was busy getting the package from Hermes' leg. It was quite a small package, and it had a letter taped to it.

"Nah, presents!" Casper said, a large smile forming on his face as he rushed his way to the large Christmas tree that stood in the common room near the fireplace. Every other boy quickly followed after him, laughing and whispering excitedly.

"You coming, Cadmus?" Jacob called out before he left.

Cadmus shook his head, "I'll be right there in a second!" Jacob shrugged and dashed down the stairs, joining the large crowd of boys near the tree.

Cadmus set the parcel aside and opened the letter to read:

Dear Cadmus,

Merry Christmas. I hope you enjoy your holidays at Hogwarts; I remember the decorations are especially nice around that time. Along with this letter, you will find a small package. This is our special present for you for being a part of our family. We thank you for taking such good care of Daphne all these years, and we thought this little gift shows just how much we appreciate it. I hope Daphne's present is ready, do tell us how she reacts. Merry Christmas.

Happy Holidays,

Daniel Greengrass

Cadmus smiled softly as he folded the letter and grabbed the small parcel, he unwrapped it to find a small dark blue box. Opening it, Cadmus saw a shine of gold flash briefly before his eyes settled on the gift. It was a watch. But it wasn't just any ordinary watch, it was a traditional expensive gold watch that people gift when a wizard becomes of-age. Cadmus was supposed to receive the watch next year on his seventeenth birthday, but it seemed that Mr. Greengrass and his parents had organized it to be a lot earlier.

Cadmus made a mental note to thank the Greengrass profusely for the gift after all people don't usually walk into a store and buy an expensive watch for their daughter's friend. Cadmus was about to open a letter when he remembered that his owl was out delivering his Christmas present to the Greengrass Family. Cadmus hoped that his gifts to the family were received just as well as the past seven years.

So with nothing else to do, Cadmus headed downstairs to join in the fun of unwrapping Christmas presents, which never gets old. But before Cadmus could head downstairs, he pulled out a nicely wrapped Christmas present from under his bed and tucked it under his arms out of sight. It was a special present he was going to give to his special someone for Christmas. When he reached the bottom of the staircase, Cadmus heard the joyous laughter of boys swapping presents and eating candy. Cadmus saw Jacob, Casper, and Daphne in a corner of the large and spacious common room with a pile of presents themselves.

"Here ya go, Cadmus. Merry Christmas" Casper said as he handed a wrapped box to him. Cadmus smiled and thanked Casper, asking if he had returned Cadmus' present to him in return. Casper beamed as he held up a silver figurine of Merlin that he was missing from his collection.

"We salvaged your presents from being stampeded over" Jacob laughed as he pointed at the pile of presents on the armchair opposite of him.

Cadmus chuckled. "Thanks for doing that. I'm sure a squashed present won't make anyone happy. Have you received good presents this Christmas?" Cadmus asked as he started to unwrap the smallest present from his classmate Mike. It was a book on War Mages.

"Yeah, a good haul this year. I got lots of chocolate, want some?" Jacob replied as he offered a chocolate bar to Cadmus. Cadmus politely took one. The four of them happily talked and joked, sharing sweets and stories near the fireplace. They had a good time guessing what was inside their presents. Cadmus received a hand-knitted sweater from Aunt Petunia, a shaving kit from Uncle Vernon, and a winter hat that bore his name from Dudley.

Besides all that, Cadmus also received several books, a pair of peculiar socks, a new stationery set, a wizard chess set, and a box of fancy merchandise from Fred and George. Cadmus would have to ask the twins about the box later. Daphne's present was missing, but Cadmus didn't care if she got him something or not.

Daphne gave a discreet cough. Jacob and Casper reacted immediately and got up. "See you at breakfast mate," they said together as they left the common room, which was starting to be less crowded. Daphne grabbed the present with blue wrapping and handed it to Cadmus.

"I wanted to give you your Christmas present in person" Daphne stated as Cadmus grinned and gently took it from her hands. Daphne watched eagerly as Cadmus ripped the wrappings off and opened the top of the box. Inside was a bronze pocket watch, the typical ones you would get at a tourist store. Cadmus tapped the cover a few times, and it sprung open instantly. The inside of the cover had a small moving picture of the both of them five years ago, at Harvard Campus laughing under the blossom tree, Cadmus with his hands around Daphne's shoulder. Cadmus found himself laughing with tears of joy at their childhood together.

"Merry Christmas, Cadmus," Daphne said softly. Cadmus hugged her to show his thanks.

"I have a present for you too," Cadmus suddenly said as he withdrew the long thin box from his pocket. Daphne slowly took it in her hands, unsure of what to do. "Open it, it's for you."

Daphne tentatively opened the long thin box and gasped when she saw the prettiest shining necklace she ever knew. Almost afraid of breaking it, Daphne gingerly lifted the necklace and examined it. It was beautiful. The sort of diamond necklace you would think royalty wore, but it was simple and elegant. She looked up at Cadmus, who looked very proud.

"I-I don't know what to say...wow, i-it's beautiful" Daphne stammered out in shock and awe. Cadmus grinned brightly at the praise, he knew that he had made the right decision to get Daphne a necklace for Christmas.

"You don't have to say anything, Daphne. I am glad you like it, I spent days just trying to find the right one for you" Cadmus responded genuinely. Daphne wrapped Cadmus in a tight hug for a very long time.

Daphne withdrew from the hug and gazed back at the necklace, which sparkled with tiny diamonds. "Oh, it's lovely, thank you, Cadmus! I'm going to wear it tonight." Then she promptly leaned forward and kissed Cadmus' cheek to express her gratitude. Cadmus felt his cheek burn up from the new gesture.

Daphne blushed as well because she was just as shocked at her action as Cadmus was, "Um should we head for breakfast? They are probably worried about what is taking us so long."

"Yeah" Cadmus replied quickly as he stood up and gathered all his presents up to dump in his trunk. He would organize them later. Cadmus met up with Daphne back in the common room and headed to breakfast together. They had a fun time during breakfast playing wizards chess with Jacob and Casper, which ended up much larger with more students joining in the competition. They also had a blast trying all the British wizarding candies such as Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and Licorice Wands. They went out on the grounds in the afternoon to play in the snow but headed back to the castle after it had gotten too dark to see. As it was nearing eight o'clock, the girls decided to get ready for the Yule Ball, which prompted the boys to follow their lead and freshen up.

Cadmus wanted to give Daphne a good impression and make this evening the best she would ever have, so he made sure he showered and cleaned up extra nicely. After Cadmus put on his suit jacket and tie, he straightened his shirt sleeves and blew the dust off his shoes before he looked at himself in the mirror. He must admit he did look rather nice for a change but was slightly self-conscious about what Daphne thought.

Cadmus looked around the common room and saw that the majority of his year mates dressed similarly. Casper was wearing a dark blue suit instead of Cadmus' dark green, and the others were either going for the traditional black or dark crimson. Some fitted bow ties while others like Cadmus went with ties. As Casper was helping someone out with his tie, Cadmus pulled the top drawer in his cabinet and saw the gold watch Mr. Greengrass gifted him. Cadmus hesitated slightly, not wanting to flaunt his wealth but reached to grab it and secured around his left wrist. Cadmus checked to see if his wand was in his invisible wand holster and if his handy knife was safely tucked in his suit pocket. He didn't want anything to go wrong during the Ball, so he made sure he could protect himself and Daphne if need be.

Cadmus headed downstairs along with all his other year mates to the ground floor, where most of the students congregated and met up. Cadmus nervously fingered the single rose he managed to buy in the nearby Hogsmeade as he waited for Daphne to arrive. Many people looking for their partners edged their way past Cadmus. Before the doors to the Great Hall opened, Cadmus spotted someone appearing by the top of stairs next to the Great Hall. His jaw dropped.

It was Daphne.

But she didn't look like the Daphne he saw just a few hours ago. She had done something with her hair; it was no longer straight but had a soft curl to it, and the rest of her silky blonde hair twisted up into an elegant bun at the back of her head. She was wearing a beautiful dress made of floaty fern-green material and a silk dark green ribbon tied around her waist. The diamond necklace around her neck exemplified her beauty. She was simply breathtaking. Cadmus was at a loss of words when he made his way towards her, his shocked expression inciting a giggle from Daphne as Cadmus softly took her right hand and kissed it. Cadmus presented the white rose to Daphne, and she relished the scent before tucking it in her hair.

"Wow..you look stunning today, Daphne" Cadmus commented awestruck as Daphne blushed at his compliment.

"You look dashing as well," Daphne responded politely as she looked around at the area crowded with people with their partners. "Is it time yet? I hope I wasn't late."

"Yeah, it's almost eight," Cadmus said, as he offered his arm to Daphne in a gentlemanlike manner - "Shall we line up, Miss Greengrass?" Daphne giggled uncontrollably as she witnessed the courteous and gentle side of Cadmus.

They lined up along with the other champions and their partners in front of Professor McGonagall, dressed up in red tartan. Jamie Potter and a blonde-haired girl Hannah Abbott stationed last in line behind Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang. What shocked Cadmus next was the fact that Hermione Granger was standing next to Viktor Krum.

The other students entered the Great Hall and settled down before Professor McGonagall turned to face the champions and their partners. "Champions may enter now, Mr. Flamel, will you do the honors and lead the procession?" Cadmus bowed his head before he gave a reassuring smile at Daphne. The doors to the Great Hall opened, and Cadmus strode into the Hall with Daphne latched around his arm, as they did so, everyone in the Great Hall applauded, and some even gave whistles. The champions made their way to the top table and sat down, Cadmus caught sight of his parents' eyes tearing up slightly as they clapped along.

The Head Table was occupied by the usual staff, Professor Dumbledore, his parents, Bagman, Mad-Eye Moody, and a ginger-haired adolescent. There was also a new person, a substitute for Karkaroff by the looks of it. Dumbledore took the lead to start the feast by saying "pork chops" to his plate, and they appeared.

Cadmus shared a glance at Daphne before he whispered "lamb chops" to his plate. Immediately a plate of four lamb chops seasoned with a hint of pepper appeared. Daphne ordered a steak and some mashed potatoes. During the feast, Cadmus and Daphne talked and laughed, sharing memories of their holiday experiences. Krum was deep in a conversation with Granger describing Durmstrang, Cedric was too busy blushing whenever his partner complimented him, and Jamie Potter was awkwardly discussing with his partner about their childhoods.

During the middle of the feast, the ginger-haired adolescent made his way over to Cadmus. "How do you do, Mr. Flamel? My name is Percy. Percy Weasley. I'm representing Mr. Crouch as his assistant while he's sick. I was just wondering if I could have a quick word with you." Cadmus hesitated but agreed when Daphne allowed him to leave. Percy took Cadmus aside to a less crowded part of the Great Hall and looked around for any eavesdroppers.

"Look, Mr. Flamel. I know we have this scandal still fresh in our minds but the Ministry of Magic is kind of hoping that you can help us alleviate the matter by assuring everyone that you are ok with the issue" Percy Weasley started. Was he ok with the issue? Please.

Cadmus scoffed, "Hey Percy, I know you are just trying to look out for your Minister's wellbeing, but do you think I would be ok with someone having a higher advantage on me because they simply got away with cheating? My answer is no. Unless the organizers find some way to level the playing field for all of us and be fair, I wouldn't move a finger to support Mr. Fudge. Don't take my words badly, but I am an advocate of fairness and justice. Bagman only got a slap on the wrist and still judging the tournament, Krum's biased points from Karkaroff not evaluated, Potter's biased points from Bagman not questioned, and the non-offenders not awarded for being noble and compliant to the rules. How do you expect me to be ok with that?"

Percy Weasley stood there, listening to Cadmus point out all the factors the ministry had overlooked and thought that he had a good point. Before they could say anymore, Cadmus spotted a platform being raised and instruments set up.

"I gotta go start the ball with my partner now! See you soon, Mr. Weasley. I do hope you consider my words" Cadmus hastily said before he ran towards Daphne just in time for the champions to walk out into the open dance area cleared of tables.

Cadmus held out his arm from Daphne to grab as they walked onto the brightly lit dance floor and waited patiently for the music to start. The Weird Sisters struck up a slow, mournful tone; Cadmus softly grasped one of her hands and wrapped the other around his waist as they danced peacefully on the dance floor, gazing into each other's eyes.

It was like they were in perfect synchronization, they knew what moves they were doing next silently, they moved gracefully together as their hearts beat at the same rate. Daphne felt like she was going to melt into his arms like a snowflake in water, joining together as one. They were so lost into each other that they never noticed the breathless audience watching them dance like angels and the tears that filled up the eyes of many Harvard staff members, who watched the two grow up together.

"This is nice. I'm glad you ask me out" Daphne whispered as she leaned on his shoulder during the slow dance.

Cadmus smiled softly as he gazed at her beautiful face, "I'm glad you agreed." He looked around, the champions and their partners were no longer the only ones on the dance floor. Now many people joined in the dance, waltzing to the next romantic music that came up. Cadmus and Daphne danced until they felt a little bit tired. The next song was so fast-paced, Cadmus thought he was going to get a headache and it seems like Daphne thought that too.

"Shall I go get refreshments for the both of us?" Cadmus offered as he led Daphne out of the dancing crowd, both of them flush and beet red from dancing.

Cadmus placed a light kiss on her right hand and headed towards the direction of the fountain of fruit punch. Cadmus grabbed two glasses and was about to reach for the punch when someone said, "I vouldn't touch that if I vare you. They say it's spiked." Cadmus spun around to see Viktor Krum holding two butterbeers and an expression of amusement on his face.

"Oh, thanks Viktor" Cadmus said as he picked up two bottles of cold butterbeer himself. It was nice of Krum to warn him of the spiked fruit punch.

"You and Daf-feen dance vell" Krum suddenly remarked, unsure of what to say in the awkward moment between two rivaling champions. Cadmus smiled at the compliment.

"Well thank you Viktor, I was pretty weary of not stepping on her foot the whole time. You and Hermione danced well together too, she's a nice person" Cadmus replied in kind. Krum made a soft smile when Cadmus mentioned his partner.

"Yes, yes, she's different. Better than those fan-girls I haff to avoid in the library" Krum supplied in a dreamy state before he bid goodbye and headed towards Hermione with the butterbeers in his hands. Cadmus smiled to himself as he turned around as well and walked over to Daphne. But when he found her, Daphne was talking with Blaise Zabini and laughing carefree. Cadmus felt a twist of jealousy and anger towards Zabini for talking to his partner but he laughed to himself, he was being silly, Daphne was never the type of person to abandon someone so easily.

"Daphne, I got refreshments. Oh hey there Blaise" Cadmus greeted Blaise Zabini as he passed a butterbeer to Daphne. Blaise gave a slight inclination of his head as greeting. He quickly got up and bid goodnight to both of them. Cadmus sat down next to Daphne and stretched his tire legs.

"Anything interesting happened while I was gone?" Cadmus asked as he took a small gulp of butterbeer and felt the creamy liquid run down his throat.

"Weasley was yelling at Granger for going to the ball with Krum. He claims she was fraternizing with the enemy by dancing with a champion, which is a pretty silly notion if you ask me" Daphne said, laughing. The two of them talked for a bit before they decided to take a little stroll outside. Cadmus led her out of the entrance hall and passed the door, not without walking past Alastor Moody, who stood guard there.

"Nice wand holster, Flamel" Moody growled at him as they passed, his magical eye staring through his robes. Cadmus froze, his wand holster was invisible, how did Moody know it was there? But when they saw the fluttering fairy lights in the rose garden, Cadmus completely forgot about Moody instead took in the grandeur and decorations of the Christmas garden. Everything was majestic from the lights illuminated the garden path, large stone sculptures to the Christmas lights hanging from the roof. They peacefully walked along the garden path holding hands and looking around, admiring their surroundings.

When it started to get a little breezy, Cadmus noticed and instinctively took off his suit jacket, "Daphne, it's getting cold. Here wear my jacket to keep warm." Cadmus helped her wear his jacket, which looked big but cute on her.

Daphne appreciated the action, so she kissed him on his cheek, "Thank you, Cadmus, how thoughtful of you."

Cadmus smiled and quickly grabbed Saphne and lightly pushed her against the wall. "I can show you how thoughtful I can be if you date me," he said, his warm breath blowing onto her. In the moonlight and fairy lights, Cadmus could see Daphne's rosy cheeks.

Daphne giggled and pushed Cadmus off her chest a little. She stared passionately in his eyes and said, "Alright then, show me what you've got, Mister Handsome." Cadmus' smile lit up as he twirled her on the spot, but her foot caught the bottom of her dress, and she tripped. Cadmus quickly tipped forward and grabbed her.

"Oops, be careful my lady," Cadmus said humorously as he let her straighten up and fix herself. Daphne was fixing her bun when she looked up and gasped.

"Cadmus, look!" Daphne exclaimed, pointing to the mistletoe that hung above them. "Looks like we've been caught under the mistletoe." Cadmus looked at the mistletoe, a symbol of love in many traditions, so he held Daphne close.

Cadmus' heart beat faster as he leaned closer to Daphne's mouth and pressed his lips onto hers. It felt like a spark of happiness had gone off, suddenly both of them felt an electric-shock course through their bodies. They said your first kiss was magical. They were correct because Cadmus and Daphne had just experienced their first magical kiss.

"That was amazing," Daphne said breathlessly. Cadmus nodded in agreement.

"Do you think we should have another one just for good luck?" Daphne suggested, blushing as she brought up a childish idea. Cadmus didn't need to reply because he immediately grabbed her closer and met her lips again. The two of them stood there for three minutes in that position before they separated, sharing identical gleeful smiles at the new step into their relationship.

It was getting dark and close to curfew, those older couples remained slow dancing for a few more minutes in the Great Hall while the majority had retired to their dormitories exhausted from the night's events. That was where Daphne and Cadmus were heading towards, Harvard Tower. When they arrived at the portrait entrance of Harvard Tower, Cadmus entered the password, and the door opened, showing a somewhat empty common room. Before they could head in, Cadmus saw his mother approach him.

Daphne, knowing what he was going to say, quickly gave him a good night's kiss and thanked him for the wonderful evening dance before entering the Tower by herself. Cadmus turned to face his mother, who looked motherly at him.

"Am I going to expect any wedding invitations to arrive soon?" Perenelle joked as she patted Cadmus' hair lightly.

"Mom! We're just dating" Cadmus whined as he fixed his hair that his mom had messed up.

Perenelle sighed relief. Her Cadmus is growing up so fast, just a day ago she swore he was nine and asked for bedtime stories, and now Cadmus is sixteen and dating his best friend. "Alright, I believe you. You treat her well, you hear me, young man?"

Cadmus rolls his eyes, "I know, mum. Can I head to bed now?" Perenelle nodded, satisfied with his answer. Cadmus entered the common room with the portrait door closing behind his back. Tired, he headed up to his dorm, where the rest of his year mates were still awake and recounting their evening. Without a word, Cadmus grabbed his pajamas and walked into the showers. He emerged clean and drowsy, so he wished everyone good night and slipped into his bed, putting up silencing charms. Cadmus slipped into a wonderful sleep, dreaming of Christmas, Yule Ball, and a certain beautiful blonde-haired girl.

A/N: Awww I am so in love with their relationship...Daphne and Cadmus slowly fall in love. Ah, young love. [wipes away tears] Did I just quote Dumbledore? LOL. Well, what did you think? Leave a thought in the review section, I want to know if writing romance is my thing because it probably isn't. If you were writing this fanfic, who would you have Cadmus dating if they were best friends for years? As always, please favorite, follow, review, and share this fanfic. I appreciate all the love and support you give me. The next chapter should be about Cadmus figuring out the egg clue, if it isn't, then its probably something else I thought of at the last moment. Tell me if you want to see Rita Skeeter appear in the story.

Stay safe and happy,

mintloveme523