Disclaimer: I don't own HP in any way. This is my birthday gift for JK and HP.

(Just FYI: I have been influenced by current headcanons, and my current image of fem!Harry is a light-brown complexion from an Indian James but slightly lighter due to Lily's influence on her genes, dark wavy hair and Lily's emerald eyes. Essentially Lily with James' colouring. Also, the 'Golden Trio' in this world is Amaryllis Potter, Neville Longbottom and Fay Dunbar, a Gryffindor girl in their year who's pretty unmentioned in canon and thus a clean slate. Ron and Hermione are minor, irritating characters. I swing from disliking them to liking them depending, and currently it's the former. Some things remain constant, however, and a hatred of Snape and love of Sirius are examples of that.)

Read, review and enjoy!

The Yule Ball

"You look amazing," George breathed, his usual joking manner having temporarily been knocked away at the sight of his date.

Amaryllis smiled at him, her cheeks gaining a light red tint at the compliment and awestruck expression on his face. George was justified in his amazement. Amy really did look utterly beautiful. She wore a Muggle style set of dress robes in a dark red tulle that went well with her light brown skin. It had a v-neckline and tiny silver beads decorated the torso with a thin silver sash combining to give it a delicate sparkle. She had added a set of delicate bangles, dangling earrings with pearls and a necklace that looped twice from her neck all made of silver and inherited from her mother, giving them significant importance to her, as well as Lavender having kindly done her make-up.

"You're not too bad yourself," she commented teasingly as she made her way to his side. George wore a pair of plain black robes with his hair brushed neatly and his shoes gleaming. It was obvious he had put effort into making himself appear 'respectable', and she had no doubt it was due to wanting her to enjoy herself. The Girl-Who-Lived was a serious and shy young woman. Her boyfriend often lightened the moods she went into, but he knew when to take things seriously and when teasing her would upset, not uplift, her. Silly and trivial as the event might seem to some, the Yule Ball, her first ball, mattered to her, especially with them having to open it.

"A flower for my flower," George declared grandly, waving his wand and conjuring (or perhaps summoning) a corsage with a dusky rose-coloured amaryllis flower attached to a white band. Her pleased smile widened as he tied it on her wrist and it changed to different colours, but not in a flashy way. Instead it gradually faded through different shades of red and pink as the band changed from white to cream to silver and back.

"That's a very cheesy thing to say," she stated fondly, kissing his cheek. "But thank you. It's beautiful."

He grinned at her and gave a dramatic bow. "Would the most beautiful witch in the castle kindly allow me to escort her to the Ball so that I might show off the fact that I have her on my humble arm?"

She snorted in amusement, emerald eyes twinkling as she gave a nod, playing along and offering her arm for him to take. "Yes Sir, you may," she teased.

They made their way down, chatting easily. The ease with which George got her to lay down her guard and made her laugh until she cried was part of why Amy loved to spend time with him and Fred. Although they were two parts of a whole, both had enough differences for Amy to look at Fred in a fraternal way and George in a romantic light. Angelina was the same in reverse, she knew. The pair might be the identical on the outside, but they were unique within, and the differences were clear for anyone who actually learned what the twins were like.

"Is that Hermione Granger?" George whispered to her, eyes wide with surprise as he indicated the beautiful brunette in light blue standing with Viktor Krum. Equally surprised, not by Hermione's appearance (they had, after all, gotten dressed in the same place at the same time), but by her date, Amy nodded.

"Yes," she murmured back. "Can't say I saw that one coming. I don't think anybody did."

"Trelawney'll be so disappointed in her students," George drawled. Amy smirked. She was relieved she hadn't chosen Divination as an elective. Everyone in the class save Lavender and Parvati complained constantly about it, and she was sure that if she were in the class, the professor would choose her to be the victim of constant death predictions instead of poor Sally-Anne Perks. The Hufflepuff was apparently miserable in the class, but didn't switch in time. After the start of the electives, you had two weeks to change to one of the other electives in that time slot before you were stuck. For whatever reason, Sally-Anne had waited too long and was now stuck with being the recipient of constant warnings of impending doom until OWLs at least.

Neville had originally been Trelawney's target, but after his upsetting first lesson and Professor McGonagall explaining the so-called Seer's habit of choosing a student to terrorize from each class, Amy and Fay, the third and last member of the 'Golden Trio', had persuaded him to ignore his grandmother and switch into Muggle Studies, though Amy and Fay, both half-bloods even if Amy was Muggle raised while Fay was mostly-magic raised save for visits with her Muggle maternal relatives, both regularly found incorrect or out-of-date topics and 'facts' on the curriculum. Amy herself did Ancient Runes, while Fay did Arithmancy, and they all took COMC. They tutored each other in the electives, aiming to take as many OWLs as they could to have as many options available as possible, a tactic advised by Fay's older cousin, Beatrice Haywood, who had gotten the same advice from her sister Penny, a popular Hufflepuff who'd graduated as Head Girl in 1991.

"Champions! Over here please!" Professor McGonagall interrupted Amy's wandering thoughts and returned her to the present. George and she wandered over to their Head of House, who was dressed in dress robes of red tartan with a frankly ugly wreath made of thistles draped over her hat. Hermione was beaming as Viktor escorted her over. Amy was pleased to see it. Hermione was not someone she considered a friend. The other girl tended to act haughty and was a know-it-all. Amy wouldn't mind if she were nicer about it, but Hermione was very competitive and blatantly resentful of anybody who outdid her or was chosen to answer in class instead of her, and she had a way of talking that made the person she was speaking to feel as they were inferior because they couldn't recite an entire chapter from the textbook off-by-heart. Despite that, Hermione wasn't a bad person, and she deserved to have a good night.

The Gryffindor Champion gave exchanged polite nods with her fellow Champion and rival Seeker, Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang, also one of her Quidditch rivals. Fleur was the last to walk up, trailed by a stunned looking Roger Davies, who seemed unable to believe that he was the beautiful French Champion's date and was gaping at her unabashedly, his eyes fixed on her and gap jawed.

"Alright, in pairs, you'll walk in one-by-one," Professor McGonagall informed them as the rest of the attendants walked past them into the Great Hall.

Amy and George whispered to one another, Amy biting back giggles as he muttered joking comments in her ear until the door opened and they hastily composed themselves. She felt as if she were walking on air as they glided into the Hall, the last of the four couples. They made their way up to the long table at the top of the Hall, Amy looking around in admiration at the decorations. Hogwarts had clearly gone all out to impress their foreign visitors. The walls of the Hall had all been covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The House tables had vanished; instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people.

"Is that Percy?" George hissed at her. "I'm not sitting next to him! I've heard enough about King Crouch for seven lifetimes. You sit next to him."

"Oh, thanks, throw me to the wolves why don't you," Amy scoffed. George was clearly about to respond with some joke, but they were too close and he had to hastily shut his mouth. She shot him an exasperated but amused expression when he pulled out her chair, ensuring out that she was beside his elder brother, who greeted her with his usual pompousness. Amy returned the greeting politely. Percy was a bit arrogant, but he had a good heart and he'd been a helpful prefect, ensuring her classmates could get around in her First Year, giving advice on the different elective options and so on.

"I'm surprised to see you here," she commented to the ex-Head Boy, who adjusted his spectacles, failing to notice his brother making faces and miming beside him.

"I've recently been promoted to be Mr. Crouch's personal assistant," he explained. "I'm here in his place."

She raised her eyebrows at that. "Is he still sick?"

"Unfortunately so," Percy sighed. "Not too surprising really. The fiasco at the Cup was very difficult, not to mention his house elf, Blinky I think her name was, being found with your wand having cast the Dark Mark, then this stress over the Tournament and you being entered, it's all been very hard on him. He's not as young as he once was. I'm glad to know he can trust me to handle things for him. Hopefully after Christmas he'll return and the holiday will have done him some good."

"I hope so," Amy agreed politely, though she'd really rather not have to deal with the man again. He'd seemed rather callous to her. At least he had worked with Madam Bones to get an investigation into how she was entered into the Tournament started after she proved her innocence in the manner by swearing a Magical Vow. Amy had no doubt that if she hadn't publicly put her life and magic in danger by doing so before the entire Hogwarts population, the reporters and the delegations from the other schools, she would vilified instead of pitied by students and Daily Prophet readers alike. She still hated being pitied, but it was better than resented for crimes she had nothing to do with.

The dinner was delicious, the conversation enjoyable, and Amy had a grin on her face the entire time, including during the fierce debate between the Quidditch players at the table. Everyone was delighted when Krum suggested a friendly game between the three schools, quickly agreed to by not just the students, but the professors (McGonagall's love of the sport was one of Hogwarts' worst hidden secrets) too. Even Hermione weighed in on the topic a bit. Eventually, the food disappeared, and it was time to dance.

"May I have this dance, my beloved flower blossom?" George asked in a dramatic voice with a low bow that went so low his forehead nearly reached the floor as he held out a hand, his other arm folded against his back.

Amy laughed yet again and accepted his hand, giving a playful curtseying. "Yes, my knight, you may," she answered teasingly. He straightened with a grin, dove in to drop a quick kiss on her lips, then led her to the floor along with the others. The Weird Sisters played a mournful tune that George cheerily mocked by whistling as they took their positions, one of his hands on her waist as she laid her own on his arm while clasping their other hands.

Honestly, they made quite a mess of the steps, only having the very basic knowledge of how to waltz. But their long clothes ensured that watchers wouldn't see that and George's joking kept Amy from feeling self-conscious at all the eyes fixed on her. She bit her lip hard to keep from bursting out in laughter at his cheeky remarks on the sight made by the headmaster and Madame Maxime. Still, she was relieved when the Champions and their dates were joined on the floor by other couples and she was no longer at the centre of attention.

George and she pointed out various couples and whispered comments on them to each other. Fred and Angelina were dancing so enthusiastically they had a foot between them their closest neighbours on both sides as people sought to avoid being hit or kicked as the two Gryffindors used their whole bodies to dance. Fay was grinning from ear-to-ear as she was twirled by her girlfriend, Ravenclaw Lisa Turpin, while Neville had a look of determination on his face as he tried to avoid stepping on Luna's toes. Luna herself appeared as serene as ever, gliding fey-like over the floor and dressed in turquoise and purple, her trademark bottle cork earrings swinging in the air to her movements. Ginny seemed happy out as she danced with Michael Corner, though Amy found it difficult to imagine enjoying any length of time with the pompous Raven. Still, if Ginny was having a good time, that was all that mattered.

"Look at Ron," George muttered, nodding over towards the wall. Amy glanced over and sighed sympathetically, though not for Ron. Her boyfriend's youngest brother had, as per usual, been lazy and idiotic about getting a date, and eventually, after making a fool of himself asking several girls insultingly and making a fool of himself in front of Fleur Delacour asking her, being sent away with a flea in his ear by them all, had finally managed to get Parvati to go with him. Amy knew from night-time dormitory gossip that she had originally wanted to go with Oliver Rivers from Ravenclaw, but his younger sister Alice, who was a second year, had asked if he would take her so she could go, and so Parvati had reluctantly agreed to go with Ron instead. Clearly, it was a decision she was regretting. Ron was busy scowling at everyone, stepping on her toes, and ignoring her. Parvati herself looked upset, and Amy had no doubt she would soon be abandoning her date to find someone who would help her have a good time. She hoped so anyway. Despite Hermione openly degenerating Parvati and Lavender as silly and shallow, Amy found them both clever in their own ways and kind. That they had different interests didn't mean their interests were anything less than others', regardless of Hermione's opinion.

"Poor Parvati," Amy replied to her boyfriend. "She wanted to go with Oliver Rivers, but he agreed to take his little sister who's a second year, so when Ron had no date, she agreed to go with him. She was worried about it, given the way he is, and it looks like she was right to worry. I don't think he even bothered to get her a corsage."

"I'll hex him for her," George promised, frowning reprovingly at his younger brother. "He didn't have to come if he didn't want to, but he does have an obligation to at least pay attention to his date and try to make sure she enjoys herself."

Amy nodded and tucked a lock of hair that had become loose behind her ear. "Let's take a break and get something to drink," she suggested. "The music is making my head hurt a bit."

"Do you want to get some fresh air?" George offered as he escorted her off the dancefloor to the snacks and drinks table, where he picked up two bottles of butterbeer and handed one over to her. She took a sip and nodded.

"Yes, please," she agreed gratefully, and they made their way out of the Hall. At the doors, they paused and George placed a warming charm on them both so the cold wouldn't turn them to ice blocks, before they headed out to wander the gardens, which had been redone completely for the Christmas season. They trotted down the front steps and soon found themselves surrounded by bushes; winding, ornamental paths; and large stone statues, near to the splashing sounds of a fountain. Here and there, people were sitting on carved benches, getting some air and chatting, or snogging in the case of many couples. George nudged Amy and indicated one of said couples, raising an eyebrow at her cheekily. Amy's cheeks went pink, but her green eyes sparkled as she nodded in agreement to his silent question. The young couple made their way down one of the winding paths through the rosebushes, hands entwined and searching for a place to have some privacy together. They had only gone a short way down the path when they heard an unpleasantly familiar voice.

". . . don't see what there is to fuss about, Igor. "

Amy and George quickly ducked behind a bush, worried that Snape, prejudiced git that he was, would see them and dock points or give them detention for loitering or whatever. It was only after that they started actually eavesdropping.

"Severus, you cannot pretend this isn't happening!" Karkaroff's voice sounded anxious and hushed, as though keen not to be overheard. Amy and George exchanged suspicious and bemused looks as they listened. "It's been getting clearer and clearer for months. I am becoming seriously concerned, I can't deny it -"

"Then flee," Snape retorted curtly. "Flee - I will make your excuses. I, however, am remaining at Hogwarts. "

The two men came stalking around the corner. Snape had his wand out and was blasting rosebushes apart, his scowl even more severe than usual. Squeals issued from many of the bushes, and dark shapes emerged from them. George quickly waved his own wand, muttering a spell too quietly for Amy to hear, and her vision went shimmery. He then pressed a finger to his lips, indicating she should stay quiet. Amy gave a slight nod.

"Ten points from Ravenclaw, Fawcett!" Snape snarled as a girl ran past him. "And ten points from Hufflepuff too, Stebbins!" as a boy went rushing after her. Amy tensed when he blasted apart the rosebush they were hiding in, but Snape, although he glared in their direction, didn't let loose his vitriolic tongue on them, much to her relief, stalking on instead. Clearly, George's spell had worked.

They waited until the two men were out of sight and earshot before George cancelled the spell and helped her back up again.

"I take it that spell is the key to your and Fred's pranking success," Amy remarked as they clasped hands again and started to walk.

"One of them," he confirmed with a grin. "It's the Disillusionment Charm. I'll teach it to you if you want."

"Definitely," Amy agreed immediately. She cast a troubled glance over her shoulder. "What do you think about that then?" She wondered.

George grimaced. "I think you ought to let your uncle know what they said," he answered. "Snape and Karkaroff were both part of the same club back in the late '70s and early '80s, remember? And Dad once mentioned that the members all had the same tattoo on their arms. I think that's what they were talking about."

Amy felt her mood darken and she nodded solemnly.

George squeezed her hand and lifted it to kiss her palm. "Cheer up Love," he urged. "It's Christmas! Think about it tomorrow. Put it out of your mind and just enjoy the rest of the night. Don't give Snape of all people the satisfaction of ruining the night for you. He might find out and smile, and then we'd all be forced to pull our eyes out to get rid of the image!"

"You're ridiculous." She rolled her eyes at him. "I'll try," the Girl-Who-Lived assented reluctantly. "But I'm definitely letting my uncle know." Having a reliable adult to confide in and get advice from was still strange, but Amy found she loved it. Sirius was the closest thing she had to a parent, and she was grateful beyond measure to have him. If only they could find a way to prove his innocence...

Her thoughts were interrupted by another voice, this one more welcome.

"Soon as I saw you, I knew," Hagrid stated. When Amy automatically looked in the direction of her friend's voice, she spotted both Hagrid and Madame Maxime, sitting together on a marble bench in an intimate position.

Again, they quickly ducked out of sight, Amy sighing softly and leaning her head against George's shoulder, trying to block out Hagrid's voice. She doubted he wanted the conversation to be overheard, and eavesdropping on men she hated such as Snape was one thing. Who knew what the supposedly ex-Death Eater was up to? But eavesdropping on her friends when they were having private conversations was quite another.

"You knew what, 'Agrid?" The Beauxbatons' Headmistress purred.

The following conversation was startling, but when she considered it, Amy found herself entirely unsurprised to learn that Hagrid was part giant. She did wonder vaguely how a giant-human pairing would work without the much tinier human being squashed, but quickly decided she didn't want to know. She felt terrible for Hagrid at his crush's reaction though. Madame Maxime stormed off, leaving him distraught. Amy understood why the woman would be so alarmed at the prospect of her heritage coming out. With the prejudice against non-humans, the revelation could seriously damage Maxime, possibly even costing her her job, the same way Remus had been forced to resign after Snape revealed his werewolf status the year before. Still, Amy resented her on Hagrid's behalf.

"Well, this has been quite a night, hasn't it?" George said at last after Hagrid had slunk off, downcast and shoulders bowed. The redhaired prankster huffed in annoyance and swatted at the bug that had been buzzing around them, sending it flying into a nearby pot for some roses. With some difficulty, the bug peeled itself off and flew away, the zigzagging pattern it made indicating it was injured.

"Yes," Amy sighed, her mood having plunged with two conversations they had overheard. George was quiet again for a moment before he determinedly rose to his feet, helping her back up.

"Come on, let's go back inside," he insisted. "It's Christmas, we're on a date, and we're not going to give Slimy Snape and Madame Racist the satisfaction of ruining our night! I demand we forget all about the conversations until tomorrow at minimum, and go and enjoy ourselves! In fact, I have something to help us forget our worries!" He pulled out a flask from his pocket with a flourish. Amy's eyebrows shot up.

"What's that then?" She demanded, taking the bottle and sniffing it. It was definitely some sort of potion, but what type she had no idea.

George smirked and tapped the side of his nose. "A genius never reveals his secrets!" He declared cheerfully, taking it back. "C'mon," he urged her, grabbing her hand and tugging her back towards the castle.

"What are you planning?" Amy asked with amused wariness.

He grinned at her, eyes sparkling with mischief. "We're going to spike the drinks," he declared gleefully. "It's a variant on the potion we use for our Canary Creams. This one will change people to random animals, matching their Patronuses. Don't worry, we've tested it all very carefully."

Amy widened her eyes. "Oh, you're terrible!" She exclaimed. Then she grinned back. She knew the care the twins took in ensuring their products wouldn't get anybody hurt, and she trusted his word when he assured her the prank would be safe. "Let's do it."

Unsurprisingly, the chaos unleashed by their little bit of devilry gave the house-elves almost a full week of work to clean everything completely. The tiny beings were overjoyed by what they considered to be their own Christmas present.

Amy, meanwhile, greatly enjoyed the remainder of her night, but the conversation she overheard lingered in the back of her mind, and she wrote a message to Sirius about it the moment she woke on Boxing Day. That wasn't the only thing, however. The Daily Prophet reported that Rita Skeeter, one of Amy's most despised 'journalists' (if you could actually call her that instead of a gossipmonger. Xenophilius Lovegood's articles were more factual than Skeeter's) had been injured in some unrevealed accident and she was in St. Mungo's recovering. Amy was guiltily pleased to know that she wouldn't have to deal with the woman for a while, even if the reporter had toned things down after Amy had threatened a lawsuit over her articles. That she took pleasure of any amount in someone's suffering, regardless of the circumstances, bothered the young witch immensely, and worry over the Tournament quickly reasserted itself with the Yule Ball over.

In short, while Amy's Ball overall was a success and an enjoyable experience, it didn't last, and turned into the high point of her fourth year, as things quickly went downhill from there.