I had to race in order to get down to the Great Hall in time to squeeze past everyone and catch up to Hermione who was already with Viktor, and for the brief moment our eyes caught each other, we smiled, but then I hurried on in order to look for Ivan, who found me first. Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I turned around to see him standing there with his furred cloak flung over one shoulder. "Euphemia." He greeted me warmly, taking my hand to bow over it and give my fingers a light kiss. "You look very beautiful."

"Thank you, so do you." I responded naturally, breathing a sigh of relief as he then tucked my arm under his. Just in time, almost exactly at eight on the dot. "Sorry I wasn't here earlier, I was helping to fix a rather shocking wardrobe malfunction." I whispered to him and Ivan, intrigued, asked to hear all about it so I told him about Ron and his dress robes which I still adamantly believed were pulled off a dead person. When McGonagall called for the champions to come forwards, Ivan and I started towards her with Hermione and Viktor in front of us. Harry seemed to have found himself a date in one Parvati Patil, who looked exceedingly pleased with herself as she adjusted her numerous gold bangles before walking forwards and almost dragging Harry to keep up with her.

Fleur and her date, Roger Davies, were at the forefront of the line as Hermione and Viktor let us pass first, the two of them giving us a smile which Ivan and I returned before taking our own places, allowing me to lean forwards to whisper to Fleur in French that she looked utterly beautiful in her silvery satin gown. We whispered together for a moment or two before the doors to the Great Hall swung open and everyone else was permitted inside, leaving us champions for last so that once everyone was inside, we could walk almost like a parade to the top table where we were to sit with all the judges.

Surprisingly, I found myself sitting beside Dumbledore, who greeted me like we were old friends as he held out my seat for me then tucked it under me as I sat down. We then proceeded to eat, selecting our preferences off the menus provided before telling our plates what we wanted. I chose a goulash to start and the moment it appeared I picked up my spoon as Ivan had chosen the same thing, so I asked him if it tasted anything like what he has at home. A general conversation then followed, friendly and light as we moved through our courses and I occasionally caught a snippet of conversation from the others around the table.

Percy was saying that Mr Crouch was ill, which was why he was there and not his boss, though he seemed rather thrilled to be taking his place. I swear, if Percy wasn't practically in love with the guy, he'd probably be plotting his murder to take over his office. Hermione and Viktor were talking about his own school, which Karkaroff interrupted by telling Viktor not to reveal too much with a very false and pretentious laugh, which somehow progressed to Dumbledore talking about chamber pots. It was a rather varied table, in short.

"And how are you enjoying your goulash, Miss Black?"

"Delicious, professor, and might I say what a splendid looking hat you are wearing this evening." I said to him teasingly with a smile, looking up to the wizard's hat he was wearing of a rich silvery grey with a golden star dangling from the pointed tip. His eyes twinkled at me, the smooth velvet of his dress robes rather nicely set off by the snowy whiteness of his hair and beard.

"Why thank you, and I might return the compliment to your rather charming necklace. An heirloom, I might presume?" It was almost as if he knew exactly who'd sent me the necklace, and to be honest I wouldn't put it past Dumbledore to be that on top of such things. For all his quirks, there was a reason why he was said to be the greatest wizard alive. "Now, onto a different topic since all pleasantries have been addressed, may I ask how your research projects are coming along?"

"Slowly sir. I'm almost finished with my werewolf paper, it just needs some tweaking, and the other needs more time for me to fiddle with the practical aspect of the paper. I feel like I'm getting close, though, I've had more success recently with the spells." Our heads were dipped together in order to talk at a polite level, though Ivan was close enough to hear us and curiously asked about my paper, to which Dumbledore responded with great enthusiasm about the papers McGonagall had essentially forced me to show him some weeks ago after she'd read one of my later drafts. I blushed a little to hear my headmaster talking about my work, but Ivan was now deeply interested in the topic and several other heads now turned also.

"I didn't know you were writing such papers Mia, I'm pleased." Percy said to me from where he was sitting, though he seemed to be forcing himself to sit so tall and erect I had to wonder if his back was hurting yet. "I hope this means you are now avoiding any unscrupulous and wild behaviour, you should always lead by example. Perhaps Fred and George might now temper themselves if they see you working so hard."

"Oh I very much doubt Mr Fred and George Weasley shall ever lose their talent for mischief making." Dumbledore said naturally as I opened my mouth to begin with a curt and rather unladylike response. "Indeed, I rather find their antics to be quite amusing." This clearly did not suit Percy's opinion, but he smartly kept his mouth shut as not to argue with Dumbledore and instead returned to his meal. Glancing up at Dumbledore, I caught a rather mischievous wink which caused me to grin back at him.

At the end of dinner, Dumbledore rose to his feet and once everyone else had also stood, made all the tables move to the side of the room before a stage suddenly appeared against one of the walls, various instruments placed upon it which were left untouched until the band that he had hired walked in to take them, the Weird Sisters. With a laugh, I grabbed Ivan's hand in order to pull him to the now vacant dance floor as I followed Fleur, who had confidently led the way with her partner. Harry seemed rather lost and confused, stumbling after Parvati who once more dragged him forwards to keep him from falling behind.

When the lights dimmed and the slow waltz began to play, I was immediately glad and rather relieved that I had decided to practice and learn traditional dancing, because Ivan instantly began to lead me in a waltz. I probably would have stumbled and staggered my way through it if I hadn't prepared, but thankfully Ivan was a confident leader and seemed to be gauging my capability at first as he lead with slight indications of his hands, making sure to take wider steps around me so that I had plenty of space until he was sure that I knew what I was doing.

His hand rested lightly against my waist, our hands linked together as we stepped with the pulse of the music with a surprising amount of fluidity on my part, and the shock seemed to be registering on my face. "First time dancing?" Ivan asked me quietly as I kept strict count of the steps in my head.

"Is it that obvious?"

"You are doing vell, relax a little. You vill enjoy it more." Following his advice, I allowed my shoulders to ease up and just allowed Ivan to carry me, and with a sweep he turned me under his hand which he lifted upwards so I turned on the spot a few times which of course, made my dress flare out and I heard several girls gasp as it flared with the dazzling nebula which seemed to move with the fabric before we resumed the regular steps once more. Now others were beginning to join us, partners walking onto the floor in order to join the fray.

Once the tragically slow song ended, a more upbeat one followed and I was allowed to dance more my own way along with everyone else who cheered. Ivan laughed, waiting for a moment to consider whether he liked the music or not before shrugging and dancing with me anyway as he pulled my hand up and spun me out, the two of us thoroughly enjoying ourselves. We then walked around the outskirts of the dance floor in order to talk to friends from Durmstrang, Beauxbatons and Hogwarts, before going back to dancing again.

It was just at the end of that song that Hermione came storming over to me, red faced from dancing and no small amount of anger which made me stop and focus on her. She was in such a huff that she didn't even realise that Ivan was there, only began to rant about Ron and what an arse he was. "I mean, can you believe what he said? It's utter nonsense, 'fraternising with the enemy', I suppose that means he thinks the same of everyone who came with a partner outside of their own school!" She was on a roll, so I sent an apologetic look to Ivan but he took it well, leaning into me so that he could speak into my ear and not be drowned out by the music.

"I vill find Viktor for you." Thanking him, I took Hermione's hand in order to pull her away from the dance floor and towards the back of the hall so that she could calm down as she was very close to crying.

"What a prat, I should never have fixed his robes for him, he doesn't deserve it. Don't worry Hermione, I'll put a jar full of spiders in his bed tonight whilst he's sleeping. Forget what he said and just have a good time. You deserve it, he's just an idiotic boy who wants to be dating the guy you're dancing with." My flat and utterly serious sarcasm did the trick, making Hermione laugh whilst she sniffled, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief I'd transfigured out of a Christmas decoration. "I'm going to kill that boy. Wait until I get my hands on him. Oh, Viktor and Ivan have found us. Are you alright now? Shall I ask them to give us a few more minutes?"

"No, no, I'm alright now. Sorry I interrupted you, Mia, I didn't mean to intrude…" Waving her apologies away, I swiftly hid the handkerchief and quickly thumbed at her cheek to make sure that there were no more watermarks before we then returned to our dates, the both of them having fetched drinks for us all. After a while, Hermione began to pick up again, smiling as the atmosphere of the evening chased away all worries and concerns centring around Ron, though I was not happy with him.

After I danced a song with both Fred and George, I told them both that he'd upset Hermione so to make sure they leave something nasty in his bed to teach him a lesson before he goes up and they promptly vanished to do exactly that, promising Angelina and Alicia that they would be back shortly. After that I then danced with Lee, then Ivan again, and before I knew it others were also asking to dance with me. At one point Viktor and Ivan exchanged partners so that I danced a slower song with Viktor, and the quiet lull allowed us to talk with more ease whereby he asked me what had made Hermione upset earlier, worrying that he'd done something to cause it. "No not at all, one of her friends said something rather uncalled for because he's a moody prat, but don't worry, I've already put my best agents on the case."

Although Viktor looked curious, I didn't elaborate further so we just continued dancing. By this point we were now nearing halfway through the evening and I hadn't expected to actually enjoy myself this much. The girls of Beauxbatons, including Fleur, pulled me aside in order to talk, wanting to ask about where I had ordered my dress and I returned compliments because they really did all look wonderful, and I was glad for the break since my feet were starting to ache. By then I had finally managed to spot Ginny through the thinning crowds, though she didn't seem to be enjoying herself quite as much as everyone else and seemed to be rubbing her feet like they had been stepped on a hundred times, and I noticed that Neville was looking rather guilty.

So I asked Ivan for a favour, wanting him to invite Ginny to dance for another slow song whereby I then pulled Neville onto the floor to dance with him myself. Almost immediately he stepped on me, making him squeak in alarm and hurriedly apologise, but his flustering only made him all the more clumsy. "Calm down Neville, I'm not going to eat you or anything. Contrary to popular belief, I'm not actually that scary." I teased him lightly before grabbing his shoulders and making him straighten up. "Here, stand up tall and stop looking at your feet. Don't worry about them, you'll figure it out just fine. Now, off we go."

He did much better after that and by the end of the song, he was beaming and seemed to be stepping on my toes a lot less. Ginny also looked a great deal happier, smiling at Ivan who was effortlessly charming, leading her back over to us where I fussed over her with a teasing voice, acting like Molly would though she took it with a smile. She danced once more with Neville and I'm rather proud to say that he did not step on her toes once. I should know, because I was watching carefully whilst talking with Ivan and a few of his other friends.

The night continued from there with intermittent dancing and talking, the ball ending at midnight with a final slow dance where students were invited back for the final song, and as Dumbledore spoke he even joked that should they wish, the students may even invite the teachers for a dance. Seeing a golden opportunity, I grinned suddenly and gave Ivan's arm a squeeze, whispering quickly in his ear before striding up to the stage where Dumbledore was giving his closing directions before then stretching out my hand. "Professor, would you do me the honour of dancing with me?" Several people laughed, but then with a humorous chuckle, Dumbledore accepted.

So that's how I ended up dancing with Dumbledore for the final song. Following my lead, Fred and George also asked two teachers to dance too, Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout. McGonagall must have had a few tastes of some eggnog or sherry, because she accepted Fred's invitation with fairly rosy cheeks, and Sprout danced with George whilst laughing merrily. In fact, several students took Dumbledore's suggestion to heart and began to invite the teachers to dance amongst us until almost everyone was back on the dance floor for the final song.

There was no denying it, Dumbledore was a shockingly good dancer, with a smooth gait and even I felt like I was floating as I was swept up in his graceful movements. "Have you enjoyed this evening, Miss Black?"

"More than I thought I would, professor, though I can't say I'd choose to attend this kind of thing on a regular basis. Once every blue moon is more than enough for me." I responded honestly as he smiled.

"And how are you progressing with your clue to the second task?"

"Abysmally, I'm afraid. I don't suppose you'd be willing to give me a subtle hint at all?" Although hopeful, Dumbledore lightly assured me that he would do no such thing, then jokingly wondered if the only reason I had asked him to dance was to try and persuade him to give me a hint. "Of course not sir, I invited you to dance for the pure pleasure of your company."

"Well then, I am deeply honoured by your kindness, Miss Black, and if I were inclined to give you a piece of advice, I would suggest…to soak it all in." The change in his tone immediately caught my attention, my mind immediately working through the possibilities of this suggestion as I looked at him quickly, but Dumbledore had now become vastly interested in the decorations. I didn't ask him anything more about the egg, but I kept his hint at the back of my mind for later and instead, struck up a different conversation altogether, asking him if he got anything nice for Christmas this year, to which he responded that someone had anonymously sent him a rather fine glass figure of a phoenix which moved and sang with a charm which made a fire swirl and flicker within the glass.

"It is quite a wonderful example of magic, and puts me in mind of a particular gift I received some years ago, a snow-globe which still sings all of my favourite Christmas carols." The knowing look and smile he then gave me caused a grin to express itself on my own features but I said nothing about it, commenting instead that whoever had gifted it to him must be exceptionally talented. This light hearted banter continued back and forth until the final note of the sung which swelled throughout the hall before dropping altogether, signifying the end of the ball. Clasping a hand in his, Dumbledore thanked me for the dance before wishing me goodnight and pleasant dreams. So after returning to Ivan, he walked me out of the hall with Viktor and Hermione behind us whereby he bowed over my hand, kissed it, then kissed my cheek before also saying goodnight to me, thanking me for a wonderful evening.

"It really was a lovely night, thank you for inviting me Ivan. Goodnight now." Sleepy but still smiling, Hermione and I waved the two of them off before we were then joined by Ginny and we wove our arms around each other's backs in order to drag ourselves up the stairs to bed. I have no idea how I managed to wash my face, kick off my shoes and change into pyjamas with how exhausted I felt, but when I felt my familiar pillow hit my face as I dropped, I was determined not to move from my bed until the aching in my feet had completely disappeared, no matter how long that took to come to pass.