A/N: To the 100ish of you wonderful people who read the previous chapter within the first few days of posting, I added a lil paragraph to the end that you won't have seen so feel free to pop back and read that c:

Severus was lying in bed, resting up against a stack of green silk pillows and the dark wood of his headboard. He was reading A Tale of Two Cities while taking bites of the breakfast he had ordered down from kitchens. Muggle literature was somewhat of a guilty pleasure of his. It swept him into different worlds, further than any Wizarding fiction could take him. It offered a brief, sweet respite from reality.

As he turned the page, his crackling fireplace burst into green flames. Filch's rasp filled the room. Just the voice he wanted to hear on a peaceful Christmas morning.

"Severus, I'm sorry to disturb you, but it's an urgent matter."

Severus rolled his eyes, thinking how highly unlikely it was that this was truly an urgent matter.

Unable to see this, Filch continued, "Some wretched kids have meddled with a suit of armour in the Entrance Hall. Enchanted it to make all kinds of obscene gestures every time a Slytherin student walks past."

Severus sighed in exasperation and threw his book down on the bed. "I'll deal with it," he said flatly, standing up, swiping his wand from the bedside table and using it to extinguish the green flames before Filch had a chance to reply.

He dressed quickly (if grumpily), knowing how much emphasis had been put on Hogwarts being at its best for the visiting schools.

Upstairs, the Entrance Hall was bustling with people moving in and out of the Great Hall for breakfast. This was precisely where Severus didn't want to be on Christmas morning. It wasn't hard for him to identify which suit of armour had been tampered with. It was plain the prank had been carried out by some senior students and would require more than a quick fix. He performed a few diagnosing spells before starting on the process of disenchanting the armour.

He was mid-incantation when a student came streaking past him, passing so obnoxiously close that his robes fluttered from the rush of air. He lost his concentration, dropping the spell. The suit flashed its middle fingers at Montague and Flint as they strode past. Outrage boiled in Severus' blood as he spun around, ready to reprimand the culprit. He immediately identified the runner as Asha. His scowl softened to a frown as he let out the angry breath he'd inhaled. Though, he still couldn't help feeling a rush of annoyance that she was running in the corridors. But he was instantly curious as to what she was up to.

"Cedric!" he heard her call across the Entrance Hall. The moving crowd had slowed her down but she hopped and skipped between the Christmas-jumper-wearing students with the urgency of someone who was being chased.

The boy - Diggory - who was just leaving breakfast, turned to her voice and smiled wide when he caught sight of her. She grabbed the boy's sleeve and pulled him to the side of the Hall, away from his friends. The group shrugged this off and kept moving as if this were a usual occurrence.

Straining to pick their individual voices over the noise of the other students who were swarming in and out of the dining hall, Severus managed to hear Diggory say, "Hey you're finally up! Merry Christmas!"

"Yeah, yeah, Merry Christmas. Listen..." Asha began, before her voice was swallowed by surrounding chatter. Whatever they were talking about, Asha seemed very animated, though Severus had a suspicion she was whispering.

He suddenly noticed that Asha looked like she was still in her pyjamas. Well, not pyjamas as such, but he had seen her wandering the corridors enough to know what kind of clothes she typically slept in. She wore a skin-tight, long sleeve, black thermal top, tucked into grey sweatpants that seemed far too big for her. Severus smirked internally when he saw what was on her feet. She had obviously been in such a rush to see Diggorythat she had accidentally pulled on her huge snow boots instead of her slippers. Her hair was braided, but an absolute mess. Even so, she looked much less ridiculous than these Christmas-sweater wearing children.

Even from a distance, Severus could tell Asha was acting worryingly close to her authentic self. She didn't have that partially glazed-over expression she tended to slip into when around her fourth years. Instead, she was engaged and comfortable to show some genuine emotion.

Severus pursed his lips. Beside him, the suit of armour began to move again but he quickly cast a temporary stasis charm while he continued to study Asha's exchange with Diggory.

Very soon, his chest tightened. Asha had got that look on her face. It was an endearing look, but one that never failed to worry him. And irk him. And allure him. It was that furrowed brow combined with an inquisitive, daring gleam in her eyes. It concerned him to see that look on her face when she was alone with him. It concerned him significantly more to see that look on her face during a conversation with Cedric Diggory.

"Hey you're finally up! Merry Christmas!" Cedric called, loud and happy.

"Yeah, yeah, Merry Christmas," Asha dismissed with a wave of her hand. "Listen," she glanced over her shoulder to check no one was approaching them as she pulled him over to the edge of the room. "I've got something really important to tell you!"

"Actually, so do I!" Cedric grinned, "Yesterday I was –"

"No, shut up, mine's more important," Asha assured him, making no attempt to hide her excitement. "I think I figured out what you have to do with the egg! Last night I was..." She faltered, realising she probably shouldn't be telling Cedric this next bit. But her impatience got the best of her and she continued: "Well, I was out by the lake – just, don't ask – but I heardthat awful screeching sound your egg makes. It was really distant but I swear it was the same! I knew I recognised that sound from somewhere!" Asha was rattling off her discovering in an excited whisper, gripping the sleeve of Cedric's shirt as if to ensure he was listening to every word. "Listen, I think you should try opening the egg underwater."

She beamed at Cedric, waiting with anticipation for the reaction she expected. Instead, he gave a burst of laughter, then shook his head, looking at her with something akin to wonder.

"What?" she demanded.

"Ash, you're right," he smiled softly, lowering his voice further, "the sound was Siren song. I opened the egg in the Prefects' bathroom last night and I figured out the clue!"

Asha's jaw dropped – mostly because after all her excitement, he had cracked it first.

"How did you figure it out?" she exclaimed.

"Get this, Professor Moody gave me the idea!"

Asha's smile dropped and her expression turned inquisitive. "What? Explain."

"Well, yesterday in the corridor, Moody asked if he could have a word. He asked how I was going with my egg and I told him the truth. Then he suggested I try taking it with me next time I have a bath." At this, Cedric looked like he felt both guilty and immensely blessed. "I looked at him like he was crazy but then he winked at me and hit me on the shoulder... kinda hard actually," he mumbled, rubbing at the bruised spot.

Asha was frowning deeply. "Moody did that?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't that bad. Not like a bludger."

"No, Ced, not the pat on the back, you idiot! The hint!"

"Oh, right," Cedric laughed at himself. "Yeah, but the point is, now I don't have to feel guilty about cheating because you figured it out anyway," he said brightly, but became wary when he saw the look on Asha's face. The cogs in her brain were ticking over too fast for her to laugh and the irony of what Cedric had just said.

"But, why would he do that, that's a little odd don't you think?" she whispered. The bustle of the Entrance Hall had temporarily thinned out, and so had the noise.

"Ash, who cares if it's odd! His tip worked! If the old man's corrupt it's not our problem."

"Yeah..." she murmured, clearly distracted. Her mind and gut were screaming red flags. She leaned her back against the wall and absently tapped a finger against her lips, thinking.

Feeling confused and slightly annoyed by Asha's reaction, Cedric tried to snap her out of it. "I'm gonna tell Harry about it when I next see him," he said, "since he helped with the dragons."

Asha turned to him and furrowed her brow, her lips slightly parted.

"Yeah, I thought you wouldn't like that idea," Cedric commented, "but I'm pretty sure he'll need all the help he can get on this next Task."

"No, no, that's a good idea," she assured. "I was just thinking, that's..." she trailed off again.

"Hey, weirdo, what's up with you this morning?" Cedric teased.

"Ha, yeah," she replied, now staring off into the distance, lost in thought.

"Alright then, Ash," Cedric sighed, "I'll see you back in the common room."

"Alright, see ya," she replied on auto-pilot. She was feeling both curious and unsettled. Alastor Moody struck her as someone who was a stickler for laws and regulations. Then again, maybe his passion for justice didn't extend to trivial school tournaments. She had just been thinking that maybe it wasn't so odd after all – Moody might've just wanted a home win – when Cedric mentioned Potter. Exactly! Why would Alastor Moody give Cedric the hint? Surely protecting Potter was a priority. According to Dumbledore, Moody was functioning under the suspicion that someone was plotting to get Potter killed. Something just didn't feel right to her...

Turning her head, she was startled to connect eyes with Severus. He was standing at the other end of the Entrance Hall, watching her. His look gave her chills. She had an uncanny feeling he had been observing her for quite some time.

"What?" she mouthed, frowning at him. Without the slightest hint he had seen her, he turned to the suit of armour behind him and began performing some kind of incantation.

Asha suddenly forgot all about Moody and the Triwizard Tournament. Severus sucked in her attention like a funnel. Something about the way he held and moved his wand was just so sleek; confident; powerful. She wondered regretfully how juvenile her own wand movements must look to him.

Folding her arms across her chest, she studied him; the shine of his shoes; the way his cloak draped over his shoulders and down his back.

She didn't have a good view of his face from where she stood, but she could see it in the space behind her eyes. She imagined his lips barely moving as he murmured the spells in that silky hum of his.

Asha smirked sardonically and gave a punctuated exhale, somewhere between a scoff and a laugh. She rolled her eyes and leaned her head back against the cool stone. Still, she watched him out of the corner of her eye.

A few minutes later, a clink sounded as the armour assumed its usual stance. Severus swept from the Hall, back towards the dungeons, without so much as a glance in Asha's direction. She wondered if he was also being forced to go to the Ball tonight. Probably. Something about that thought made the prospect of the evening's event seem a little more inviting.

Shit. Why had she left this to the last minute?

Asha stood over her open trunk, hands on hips. The thing was, she had just sort of... put off telling anyone that she was actually going to the Ball. This meant she could minimise student gossip and keep the Ball proposals to a minimum. Though, funnily enough, since her incident with Brad, she hadn't received any further invites. She had relished the peace.

Keeping her decision quiet also meant she could avoid multiple days of her friends teasing her and bugging her about stupid things like what she was going to wear. The downside of this was that she'd had no one bugging her about what she was going to wear. So naturally, she had completely forgotten to organise a dress.

Hence, she now stood over her not-very-full but not-very-tidy trunk, hoping for a miracle. She discarded the top layer of mess, relocating it into a pile on her bed. This mainly consisted of this year's Christmas presents.

From her main circle of friends, she had received some little gifts, including plenty of chocolate. Fred and George had given her a packet of Canary Creams – Asha had helped make them. Hagrid had sent her some rock cakes along with a note that said, 'Thanks for the help with the Skrewts! Always nice chattin' to ya." Dobby had knitted her mittens with a pattern of sandwiches. And her favourite gift of all: Cedric had wrapped up a shard of the vase she had smashed during one of their duelling sessions (which she had subsequently failed to repair). His note read:

'To the best duelling partner I could've asked for,

You act all tough but I bet deep down you're sentimental as hell!

Merry Christmas

Your pal, Ced'

Most surprisingly, Asha had received a gift from Dumbledore. She hadn't expected him to send her anything and when she saw the generous sized parcel hidden in her bedside draw, she'd felt a brief wave of embarrassment that she hadn't thought to get him anything in return. Then she remembered how he had stolen her life away, manipulated her and put her through hell, and after that, she didn't feel so bad.

Wrapped in Dumbledore's neat golden paper were two books; Apparition Basics and Defensive Magic for Duelling (this one with an attached note saying 'Not to be used on students!').Accompanying these was an unlabelled scroll box. As much as she wanted to satisfy her curiosity, it could wait until she sorted out this dress predicament.

Severus, of course, had sent her no gift and she, in turn, hadn't bought him anything. This was as dictated by their unspoken rule of not acknowledging their growing closeness.

Still searching her trunk for something acceptable to wear, Asha dumped out the next top-most layer of belongings. This left behind a pool of items she hadn't seen in years. It was a collection of all the things she probably didn't need that had been tossed aside, falling to the bottom of the trunk by natural selection.

She sifted through the mess, each item of clothing igniting memories that she hadn't been able to access the last time she'd seen them.

Just when she was beginning to lose hope, she pulled out a dress. A dress! Immediately she experienced a flash of memories: wearing it as she and Crash visited the bars and nightclubs of Wellington city, her using a fake ID - their last summer together. She willed her mind blank, not wanting to cascade into remembering all their Christmases together. Today, the good memories felt more painful than the bad.

The dress was too short and low-cut to be appropriate for the Yule Ball. The black fabric was cheap and old, pilled and dotted with some questionable stains, but, with some clever magic, Asha was pretty sure she could make do. With a sweep of her wand, she dumped everything else back into her trunk and set to work. This was going to be a nice little challenge.

The Great Hall had been completely transformed into a winter wonderland. The walls sparkled silver with frost and icicles. Small circular tables, covered with black table cloths and centred with lanterns and ice sculptures, filled the room. Above, garlands of mistletoe and ivy streamed across the ceiling, through which a seen starry black sky could be seen.

At 8 pm exactly, the doors swung open. The quiet, black and silver Hall gradually became awash with noise and colour as a steady stream of girls dressed in bright, elaborate gowns and their partners moved into the room.

Severus stood beside one of the many snow-covered Christmas trees, watching students filter in and avoiding making idle chat with the judges and Ministry Officials who were mingling up by the main tables.

He plucked a drink from a tray of champagne flutes which was floating around to various staff members. Taking a sip, he continued to watch the entrance.

After around twenty minutes, the Hall seemed full to the brim and it was nearly time for everyone to be seated for the feast. Severus was getting concerned that Asha had decided not to attend after all.

Then, a final cascade of people entered the room. Immediately, his eyes were drawn to Asha and very quickly he decided that in forcing her to this Ball, Albus had made a terrible mistake. Asha might've been able to conceal her physical maturity in sweaters and school uniform, but not like this. In her loose, yet form-hugging dress, all her curves and graceful movements were accentuated. She looked nothing less than a beautiful woman.

As he had feared, a second later, the eyes of the entire Hall fell on her. Severus experienced a moment of internal horror. Then, he exhaled in relief. It wasn't Asha whom everyone was admiring, but the girl in front of her, Fleur Delacour. He still had time to extract Asha before too many people noticed her.

The Beauxbatons girl wore a shining dress of creamy, silver satin and pretended not to notice all the attention she was drawing as she glided through the room. The crowd was a parting sea as she and Roger Davies made their way up to the Champions' table.

But Severus' gaze wasn't on the couple. His eyes still followed Asha, the ghost of a smirk tugging at his lips as he took a sip of his drink. He now understood she had strategically entered the Hall in the wake of Miss Delacour, predicting the Champion would arrive fashionably late and her part-Veela blood would guarantee no one's attention would be on Asha.

Severus, in the midst of formulating a plan to get Asha to leave, scanned the room again. Confusion and unease niggled at him. Why wasn't she drawing more attention? It was true that once Delacour had passed by, many of the boys were stealing glances, but by his calculations, Asha stood out from the crowd by miles. Perhaps she had used some sort of attention-deflecting charm he hadn't heard of. He wouldn't put it past her.

As she got closer, he looked over her, sucking in every detail with a flicker of his eyes. Unlike every other girl, Asha wasn't wearing a bright colour or flashy jewellery to draw the eye. She didn't need to.

Her dress was made of flowing black silk. It brushed the floor and had a slit that revealed one of her long legs when she moved a certain way. Over her delicate shoulders were thin straps which trailed over her prominent collarbones to eventually form a V-neck. Asha's dress wasn't anywhere near the most revealing (the French really didn't seem to understand the definition of formal), but it didn't feel that way to Severus. He had never imagined seeing so much of her.

Asha moved away from Delacour's crowd, over to greet the circle of predominantly fourth year Hufflepuffs. As she did so, she turned, and for an alarming moment, Severus thought that Asha had decided to throw a big 'fuck you' to Dumbledore's request for her to blend in, and taken a razor to the entire side of her head. But on closer inspection, he realised she hadn't shaved her hair, but braided it in small rows that trailed backwards to join her unrestrained hair at the back of her head. It left one shoulder and side of her chest exposed, showcasing her relaxed, confident posture.

As she turned, he also saw the dress had a low back, exposing her supposedly blemish-free skin, where he knew a concealment charm was hiding some kind of scar. During a conversation in his office last week, Severus had finally dared to ask her about it. She had reluctantly revealed where it was, then closed up, refusing to tell him anything else about it.

He could confidently guess that the injury occurred sometime during those five years before she came to Hogwarts. He could also infer that it was a result of Dark Magic, given that Dumbledore himself had been forced to conceal it, rather than heal it. He was itching to know the truth; wishing she would open up to him.

Asha tapped Maive on the shoulder, who spun around, only to be rendered speechless. Her mouth hung agape, eyebrows jumping off her forehead. She squealed and trapped Asha in a hug.

Mid-embrace, Asha looked over Maive's shoulder and spotted Severus. He was wearing a handsome, form-fitting doublet with small buttons trailing all the way up the front. For the second time that day, his magnet eyes were already on her. Her chest fluttered.

Severus watched neutrally as Asha gave him one of her genuine but slightly mischievous half-smiles. He couldn't deny it; she was stunning. For a moment he felt drawn to her. Something inside him glowed hot. In a heartbeat, this was replaced by anger and he strode off, deciding to make idle chat with the judges and Ministry Officials after all.

Maive broke away, wondering vaguely why Asha had lingered in the hug.

Asha glanced back across the Hall, but Severus had gone. Next moment, golden plates appeared on all the tables and everyone was called to take their seats for the feast.

When the dinner was over, Dumbledore cleared the tables away to the edges of the room and conjured a raised platform where The Weird Sisters ascended the stage to enthusiastic applause. The lanterns dimmed and the dancing section of the Ball began, starting with the Champions and their partners. Soon, the floor was filled with students, dancing in a very informal fashion to much faster, upbeat music.

Asha sat at a table beside Matt and Maive (who were taking a break from dancing), sipping her glass of punch. She knew Fred and George had spiked it with knock-off Ogdens, but tragically the concentration was so weak she could barely taste it.

Before long, the twins spotted her and came boogying over.

"Asha!" George half-shouted over the music.

"You came after all!" beamed Fred with open arms.

"Brilliant!" added George

"Not really any point in coming along if you don't dance with us!" said Fred, finishing with a jazz-hand-filled twirl.

Asha smiled at their enthusiasm but opened her mouth, preparing to decline. Ever since Cole died, Asha had not been a fan of dancing. The only exceptions to this rule were if she was unquestionably alone, or occasionally with Crash. Crash. Cole. Grief swelled in her chest and she quickly pushed it away.

At the moment, she caught Dumbledore's eye. He gave her a soft smile, his half-moon glasses sparkling, and nodded gently towards the dance floor. Asha understood that, for once, he wasn't encouraging her to dance to blend in or protect her identity. He was encouraging her to dance for her.

After a moment's hesitation, she said, "Alright then," and offered her hand to Fred who pulled her to her feet. Crash also would've been disappointed in her if she hadn't danced a bit. He would've told her to embraced the experience; 'let her freak flag fly!'

As they approached the edge of the dance floor, many of the boys' eyes shamelessly roamed Asha's form. She tried to ignore them, regretting her bold decision to show so much skin. Asha knew she wasn't exactly dressing to look younger. While altering the dress, a little voice in her subconscious had urged her towards looking sexy and desirable. Besides, everyone else was playing at being grown-ups, so why shouldn't she embrace her adult figure for the evening. She wasn't planning on staying for long anyway.

Of course, Fred and George were determined to get to the centre of the dance floor. There, the lighting was so dim it was hard to tell who was who and in the sea of bouncing bodies, Asha let some of her inhibition slip away.

From his seat at one of the staff tables, Severus caught a quick glimpse of what he figured was the happy, carefree child Asha had once been.

After enjoying dancing to a few songs, Asha's smile slowly stopped feeling like her own. The room was so full of life and colour and sound, yet the world suddenly felt empty. Vast and meaningless. She felt outside of her body. Like she was simply observing herself go through the motions of dancing. She tried to ignore the feeling, but eventually signalled to George that she was going to get a drink. (Having achieved his goal of getting Asha to dance, Fred had disappeared off somewhere with Angelina).

She found Alisha near the edge of the dance floor, no doubt because more people could catch sight of her expert moves (she was a born performer). Upon seeing Asha, she started pretending to reel her in like a fish, knowing Asha would find it embarrassing. Asha rushed over and jokingly grabbed Alisha's wrists, stopping her from doing any more fake fishing. As Alisha giggled and wrestled from her grip, Asha caught a Durmstrang boy openly gazing up and down her exposed leg. She straightened up, thereby concealing her thigh beneath the fabric of her dress.

"Eyes north of the equator, thank you," she advised him.

"Vell, if you are going to be vearing something like that," he retorted. Alisha spun around in indignation.

"Oh, shut up," Asha snapped at him. "Go gawk at -" and she almost said 'someone your own age', but quickly adjusted to "-some Beauxbatons girls". Those girls were all dressed in incredible, expensive, but also quite revealing gowns. In comparison, Asha's dress was almost conservative.

After shouting some jokes and compliments at Alisha, Asha collected a fresh glass of punch and sat down by herself. It wasn't that she didn't want to make the most of the night. She was here, she may as well enjoy it. But in the background, a huge cloud of grief for Crash and Cole and her life before Hogwarts loomed within her. It was so immense and powerful, she didn't dare go near it. Instead, she pulled away in a constant, uncomfortable tension, the wind of the emotional storm licking at her back, always reminding her of its presence.

The music, dancing and incredible venue were so at odds with what she was feeling inside, she felt alienated and detached from reality. Deciding she had participated enough to make her attendance known, Asha headed out to the decorated courtyard in search of somewhere quiet. She craved a drink. A real drink.

A/N: Here's my shameful, honest truth: the more ya'll vote and comment, the more hyped and motivated I'll be to finish the next chapter, which is gonna be a goodie and a looooong one! That's right, I'm motivated by notifications, sue me. But more importantly...

Random question... what was your most memorable childhood Christmas present?

Mine was probably a toy sonic screwdriver (Eleven's). My uncle gave it to me and I was SO excited. And then I kept it by my bed because I wisely decided that if monsters became real and tried to eat me, then my sonic screwdriver would become real and be able to kill them 😂

Ooo that's another great question! Who was your 'sexual awakening'? Mine was 100% Matt Smith 🙈