When they had finished eating, Dumbledore stood up and asked the students to do the same. With a wave of his wand, all the tables zoomed back along the walls, leaving the floor clear, and then he conjured a raised platform into existence along the right wall. The Weird Sisters now trooped up onto the stage to wildly enthusiastic applause. The champions and their partners stood up and made their way to the brightly lit dance floor. The Weird Sisters struck up a slow, mournful tune and Jade watched, amused, as Harry walked out with his eyes on the floor. Parvati had taken his hands and placed one around her waist while the other held onto Harry's free hand. It looked fun, Jade's eyes flickered between all of the champions as they danced to the music and once the song had come to an end, it started again, an invitation for the other students to now join in. Neville and Ginny were one of the first pairs to venture out. Once everyone else watched and realized it wasn't that bad to dance in front of the rest of the school, other couples shortly followed, even most of the teachers were dancing. Draco cleared his throat and Jade looked up at him at her side. She was right about her shoes, she was still a few inches shorter than him.

"Would you like to dance?" He offered his hand and Jade noticed Blaise and Pansy had already joined the dance floor. She grabbed his hand, trying to go through the steps quickly in her head so she wouldn't mess up now. "We never practiced." He said as he placed a hand on her waist and held her other hand out slightly.

"I practiced with Pansy," Jade admitted quietly as they began moving, she glanced down at their feet for a few steps before trusting herself enough to look back up at him.

"Don't tell Blaise I told you, but he practiced with me too." He leaned in and whispered in her ear. Jade threw her head back and laughed but Draco pulled her back towards him and slid his arm around her waist, securing her firmly pressed against him. She stopped laughing at that, his face was only a few inches away from hers and dancing had left her mind, leaving it blissfully empty except for one thought.

She had always thought of grey as a sad, boring color, but now she realized how wrong she had been. Draco's eyes were like glistening pools of silver that she could get lost in, that she could drown in. Draco's hands moved and grabbed her tightly on her waist before lifting her up and spinning her. She had forgotten about the lift, she was supposed to push off the floor to help him out instead of being dead weight but he didn't seem to mind and he rose her off the ground with ease.

"Did you practice that bit too?" Jade asked, finally finding her voice when she was back on the floor, and Draco chuckled.

"I'd rather not say." He told her and she smiled knowingly. "But you weigh nothing compared to him." He added and he joined in on her laughter this time. The image of the two boys awkwardly dancing together in their room while arguing with each other and stepping on the other's toes was a sight she wished she could've seen. The band played the final note of the song too soon for Jade's liking and she reluctantly took a step back once the song ended in a round of applause.

"It was a pleasure, Mr. Malfoy." Jade giggled as she curtsied. Draco played along and bowed,

"The pleasure was mine, Miss Maddex." The second song didn't start right away, the small break gave Draco and Jade enough time to find Theo and Gretta standing next to Pansy and Blaise. The music began and the students clapped as they realized it was a quicker song, one that didn't require awkward slow dancing. They all, more or less, jumped to the music. A large crowd had formed in front of the stage and many students cheered as they danced. When the song finished, Jade was hot and her feet were beginning to hurt. She shouldn't have jumped around so much, but she'd push through it. It wasn't the first time her feet hurt in high heels and it definitely wouldn't be the last. "Would you like a drink?" Draco asked, placing a hand on the small of her back. His cheeks had flushed slightly and his perfect hair had become slightly tousled. He looked handsome, she had thought it at times before but she couldn't stop admiring him tonight. Jade fought the urge to reach up and fix the few strands that had shaken themselves loose of hair product.

"Sure, thanks." She nodded and Draco went off with Theo and Blaise to find where the refreshments were. Jade watched him go, Blaise had thrown an arm over him and was saying something to him to which he smiled. Harry, Ron, and Hermione caught her attention as Draco passed their table. She excused herself and walked over to them. As she got closer, she realized they weren't talking with each other like she had first thought, Hermione and Ron were arguing about something and Harry sat uncomfortably in the middle.

"-fraternizing with the enemy, that's what you're doing!" She heard Ron say and Hermione's mouth fell open.

"What's going on?" Jade announced and they all looked up at her. Poor Padma Patil looked miserable, her sister wasn't sitting with them.

"Jade, Ronald is-" Hermione started only to be stopped by a loud scoff from Ron.

"Me?"

"Yes! You! Don't be so stupid!" She shrilled. "The enemy! Honestly, who was the one who was all excited when they saw him arrive? Who was the one who wanted his autograph? Who's got a model of him up in their dormitory?" Hermione went on but Ron ignored this.

"I s'pose he asked you to come with him while you were both in the library?"

"Yes, he did. So what?"

"What happened? Trying to get him to join SPEW, were you?"

"Harry! Do something!" Jade hissed as he watched them go back and forth, ignoring everyone around them. Harry just shrugged at her.

"No, I wasn't! If you really want to know, he, he said he'd been coming up to the library every day to try and talk to me, but he hadn't been able to pluck up the courage!" Hermione said very quickly and blushed deeply.

"Yeah, well, that's his story," Ron sneered.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Hermione snarled back at him and Jade held her hands out between the two of them.

"Okay, seriously, stop." Jade looked at both of them as they settled back in their chairs. "What's going on?"

"Ronald is jealous that I-"

"Jealous?" Ron scoffed. "He's Karkaroff's student, isn't he? He knows who you hang around with. He's just trying to get closer to Harry, get inside information on him, or get near enough to jinx him."

"Ron, I don't think Krum has any interest in hurting Harry." Jade sighed and Harry nodded in agreement.

"For your information, he hasn't asked me one single thing about Harry, not one-" Hermione's voice shook slightly.

"Then he's hoping you'll help him find out what his egg means! I suppose you've been putting your heads together during those cozy little library sessions."

"I'd never help him work out that egg!" Hermione rose her voice again, outraged. "Never. How could you say something like that? I want Harry to win the tournament, Harry knows that, don't you, Harry?"

"You've got a funny way of showing it," Ron sneered again before Harry could say anything.

"This whole tournament's supposed to be about getting to know foreign wizards and making friends with them!" Hermione snapped.

"No, it isn't!" Ron yelled. "It's about winning!" People were starting to stare at them.

"Ron," Harry said quietly, "I haven't got a problem with Hermione coming with Krum."

"Why don't you go and find Vicky, he'll be wondering where you are," Ron said, ignoring Harry's comment.

"Vicky?" Jade asked as Hermione stood up abruptly.

"Don't call him Vicky!" Hermione stormed off towards the dance floor and Jade called after her but she disappeared into the crowd.

"Nice going, Ron." Jade sighed.

"Are you going to ask me to dance at all?" Padma asked him.

"No," Ron said, still glaring after Hermione.

"Fine," Padma snapped and she got up and went to join her sister, who she found on the dance floor talking to a pair of Beauxbaton boys.

"Vare is Herm-own-ninny?" Said a voice, they all turned around to see Draco and Krum standing at their table with butterbeers in their hands.

"No idea," Ron grumbled.

"She went that way." Jade gestured towards the dance floor, offering him a helpful smile. "Having fun, Viktor?" Jade asked and he smiled.

"Yes, you, Jade?" He asked.

"Having a splendid time." She glared at Ron who only rolled his eyes.

"Good, I'll go find Herm-own-ninny." He raised the glasses in his hands and then walked towards the other students as another song began. Draco stepped up to her side and offered her a drink.

"Thank you." She sighed before taking a long drink from the glass.

"Speaking of enemies," Ron continued. Jade thought he would've calmed down once Hermione left but apparently he had more to say. "you came with this snobby git!" Draco narrowed his eyes at Ron and opened his mouth to speak but Jade swallowed and then pointed a warning finger at the redhead.

"Don't you start with me, Ronald Weasley. The only person being a snobby git is you! And you," She took a step forward, towering over him as he sat and pouted like a child. "You are not going to ruin my night." She placed the now empty glass on the table before grabbing Draco's hand and taking him back to their Slytherin friends.

"Everything alright?" Blaise asked, casting a glance behind them at the two boys a few tables down.

"Yes," Jade replied simply, sinking into a chair next to Gretta to let her feet rest for a minute.

"You should've seen her," Draco chuckled, placing his hands on the back of her chair. "Put Weasleby in his place."

"Really? How so?" Pansy asked.

"Doesn't matter." Jade shrugged, she didn't want to get into it. She felt Draco's hands on her shoulders and they gave her a reassuring squeeze. She noticed the goosebumps rising on her arms and she stood up before anyone else saw. "So, who wants to dance?" She asked.

"Give me a minute," Pansy told her.

"Maddex!" She heard someone call her name from the dance floor and they all searched for who it could've been. Jade found them first, the Weasley twins were on the outskirts of the crowd and waving her over. Jade looked from them to her friends nervously, wondering if she should go or not. "Come over here before I come get you myself!" That was Fred, she wondered why he wasn't with Angelina. She knew he would do it, come and grab her, probably pick her up and drag her onto the floor since he knew how much she hated it unless she agreed to go willingly.

"Just one dance?" She asked Draco and he nodded, taking her seat for himself. "Thank you, he's not really giving me a choice." She sighed before joining the twins who cheered as she approached them. Draco stared after her, he wanted to object but he didn't want to deny her anything. He wanted to be by her side all night but watching her smile as she talked and laughed with the two tall brothers was enough for now.

"Bloody hell, look at you! You clean up nicely." Fred winked at her and she curtsied at the boys who were openly ogling her.

"Red looks good on you." George agreed.

"Are you two flirting with me?" She joked as they danced shamelessly next to her.

"Just giving a compliment to a beautiful girl, what's wrong with that?" George asked.

"If I was flirting with you, Maddex, you would know."

"I don't think Draco would appreciate that very much."

"Right! You came with Malfoy!" Fred chuckled.

"Speaking of dates, where are yours?" Jade asked.

"My date needed a break." Fred smiled as he spun her but it was more force than necessary and she traveled into George's arms.

"I didn't bring a date," George told her as his hands grabbed hers and started raising them to the beat.

"Why not?"

"It all seems kind of romantic, doesn't it?" His eyes signaled around the room.

"It doesn't have to be. I know plenty of people who just came as friends." That's what she had done. Right?

"Rather try and comfort the girls whose night isn't going as planned."

"Sweep in like a hero?" Jade asked and he nodded.

"Exactly." George spun her back towards Fred and she laughed when he caught her.

"You two are going to make me dizzy."

"How many fingers am I holding up?" He asked as he raised his fingers in her face and waved them quickly.

"Three, and you look ridiculous." She batted his hands away from her face.

"Me? I'm not the Slytherin twirling around in Gryffindor colors."

"This is burgundy." Jade clarified. "And I didn't realize the connection when I first saw it, I just thought I looked nice." Fred pulled her close and squeezed her hands.

"You do look nice." He told her quietly before his eyes fell down from her face. "Very nice." She barely heard him because of the music but she squeezed his hands painfully hard.

"Eyes up here, Weasley." She told him and he yanked his hands away from her.

"See you're still wearing that serpent around your neck."

"Every day."

"I'll have mum make you something more appealing to wear instead. A sweater with a giant lion on it-"

"Not a chance." She hummed as they moved to the music. "What's your brother doing here?" She asked.

"Have to be a bit more specific on which one you're asking about."

"Percy."

"He's here for Mr. Crouch. He's his personal assistant now and he's very proud of it." George nodded towards where Percy sat talking to Harry. Jade took a step away from Fred to include George but then the song ended.

"Thanks for the dance, boys." Jade smiled.

"Wait, where are you going?" Fred asked.

"I promised one dance. I have to get back to my date, so do you." She told him.

"See you later, Jade!" George called after her as she went back to her table. A slow melody began as she reached her friends but before she could say anything, Draco grabbed her hand and took her back to the dance floor.

"Another slow dance?" Jade questioned and Draco grinned.

"I wanted to grab you for myself before someone else could." He told her and Jade's stomach tightened nervously.

"I never took you for a fan of dancing."

"Well, how can I resist when you're my partner?" He spun her once and then slid an arm around her waist to hold her close to him.

"Are you trying to impress me?" She asked, gazing up at him.

"Yes." He told her honestly and she smiled. "You seemed to enjoy it when the Weasels did it."

"I didn't realize you were watching me." She blushed.

"I'm always watching you." Her stomach flipped again. She couldn't kid herself any longer. The way he was looking at her, the way her body reacted around him, the things he said,

This isn't friendship.

The thought fought its way to the front of her mind and wouldn't be swayed.

"Nice ring." His voice brought her out of her thoughts and she looked at their joined hands where the silver ring gleamed against the bright dance floor lights. "Where'd you get it?" He cocked an eyebrow and Jade smirked.

"Some guy gave it to me." She said.

"Must be some guy if you're wearing his ring."

"I seemed to remember him telling me the 'M' could stand for Maddex."

"Does it?" No. She thought.

"I'm considering both options." She told him and he grinned. "I'm surprised it took you so long to notice it."

"I noticed it when you were opening your presents." He said as they swayed to the music. Her skin was flushed and warm, inviting. "You're so beautiful." The sentence fell from his lips as he surveyed her features. He panicked for a moment, "I can say that, right? As friends?"

"As friends?" She repeated. "Is that what you want?" The question caught him off guard. Did she want something else? Something more? He did, obviously, but he hadn't been sure if she wanted it, and he didn't want to ruin their friendship if she didn't.

"What do you want?" He asked her instead. She sighed quietly, almost inaudibly. She wanted to hear him say it. The butterflies in her stomach were flying around angrily and she realized the music had stopped but he didn't let go of her. She looked over his shoulder and saw Harry and Ron talking at a table near the doors of the Great Hall and she saw it as an escape from her current situation.

"Harry needs me." She lied and Draco looked behind him at the same moment Ron glanced at them. He let her go and took a step back. "Sorry." She said quietly and he nodded. She took a large breath as she walked over to Harry and Ron, trying to get some air and clear her head. "Okay, you two." She said once she reached them. "I've danced with everyone except you."

"You want us to dance?" Harry asked. "Did you see me last time?" Jade smiled at the memory of his stiff movements and awkward steps.

"It's a fast song this time." She said signaling to the dance floor where the new song had started.

"Dance with Hermione?" Ron asked and Jade narrowed her eyes at him.

"Has your mood improved at all?" She redirected their conversation and Ron looked away for a moment before shaking his head slightly. "Well, come on, then." She grabbed each of their hands and they reluctantly got to their feet. She didn't know why she ran away from Draco, they'd have to talk about it sooner or later, but she panicked and thought of the first thing she could do to get away. It'd only been a minute since it happened and she already regretted it. She just needed to suck it up and tell him. I have feelings for you. It's not that hard. She thought.

"Jade, I don't really dance," Ron told her as they stepped onto the floor.

"None of us do, except Pansy."

"Parkinson dances?" Harry asked, looking through the crowd and finding the Slytherins all dancing together. "Hey, Jade?" Harry asked over the music and she bopped her head up and down as they moved. "I know you came to the dance with Malfoy but that's all it is, right?" He asked and Jade stopped bouncing.

"I don't know. Why?"

"It's just-" Harry started.

"We're your friends." Ron finished.

"And?" Jade pressed.

"We're just worried," Harry told her.

"Worried? About what?" Harry and Ron exchanged a look. "We would still be friends, if that's what you're worried about. Nothing would change." She said.

"You can promise that?" Ron asked.

"Of course I can. Even if Draco and I were dating, that doesn't change anything between us."

"Dating? You're dating?"

"No. I'm just saying if that were the case, it would be fine."

"No, it wouldn't be fine." Harry sighed. Jade's mood was beginning to turn sour.

"Why not?"

"Because, it's Malfoy. He's-"

"Well, what if he wasn't?" She cut him off, already knowing what he was going to say. She'd heard it all before.

"You think you could change him?" Jade didn't think he needed changing exactly. Could he be nicer to her friends? Yes.

"He would leave you alone if that's what you mean."

"Maybe she should date him." Ron joked.

"Can we change the topic, please?" She said, grabbing their hands and raising them above their heads. "And can I see some movement?" They looked very uncomfortable but started bouncing next to her and she smiled. "Thank you."

"I like your dress," Ron said.

"Thanks, my mum sent it to me."

"Your mum's got better taste than mine." Ron gestured towards his clothes and the three of them let the previous tense moment pass them and laugh.

"How is she?"

"Good, she says, Merry Christmas."

"Tell her I said hi." The song ended quicker than Jade expected but the boys looked grateful.

"They don't look too happy, do they?" Ron said, glancing over Jade's shoulder. She turned to find her Slytherin friends glaring at Harry and Ron.

"Right, see you later?" Harry asked and Jade nodded, watching the two boys hurry off the dance floor. A hand on the small of her back made her jump slightly but then Draco was at her side.

"So, what'd they want?"

"That's secret." She said teasingly and he grinned but it didn't reach his eyes. The song after was another upbeat one and she danced with her friends and talked loudly over the music but when it ended another slow tune began. The lead singer on stage announced that it would be the last song of the night and Jade's smile fell.

"You have another dance in you?" Draco asked. Her feet were very sore and she was tired but she didn't want the event to end.

"I suppose one more won't kill me." He held her differently this time, he wrapped both arms around her waist and she paused a second before wrapping her arms around his neck. She thought they were close before, now there was absolutely no room between their bodies. Even though it had been hours since he applied it, he still smelled like his cologne, she hoped she didn't smell sweaty, she didn't think she did.

"I'm sorry about what I said before." He said.

"What?" She asked.

"I crossed a line, I'm sorry."

"Oh, no, don't be sorry." She told him nervously.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." He went on.

"Draco, you didn't."

"You practically ran away from me." He chuckled.

"No, I didn't."

"A little bit."

"I just needed a minute," She said after a second of silence. "To figure out what I want." He waited patiently as they swayed together.

"What'd you come to?"

"Guess." She smiled.

"I'm awful at guessing."

"That's not true." She giggled as his cheeks blushed. "I think you already know." She added quietly. "But, what do you want?"

"I want…" He began and his eyes flicked down to her lips for a moment before returning to her warm brown eyes. "I want to be more than friends," He said steadily as his heart hammered in his chest. "I want to hold your hand and bring you flowers and…" His gaze fell on her lips once again. "I want to be lucky enough to call the most beautiful girl at Hogwarts my girlfriend." There, it was out, and yet, she didn't say anything, she was just watching him. "I think we could be bloody spectacular together if you gave us a shot." He finished. She had never seen him look more vulnerable than he did at that instant. It was what she had wanted to hear, she opened her mouth to tell him she wanted that too but applause broke out around them, shattering the special moment. The song had finished. He released his hold on her and she let her arms fall.

They didn't talk to each other as they left the Great Hall with the rest of their friends, she wanted a minute alone with him so they could talk but their friends chatted happily next to them as they traveled down through the dungeons, she wouldn't be able to talk to him until the Common Room and there would be groups of people in there as well. She grabbed his hand and quickly pulled him into an empty corridor as they passed it, hoping the others wouldn't turn around right away and wonder where they'd gone.

"Hey." She said lamely and her cheeks flushed, embarrassed. "I just wanted to tell you that I feel the same way." She blurted out quickly. "I'm sorry I didn't say it right away, I was just-" Her words were cut off by the feeling of his lips on hers. Everything seemed to fade away until there was only Draco and Jade. And their kiss. The butterflies in her stomach vanished the second his mouth touched hers. His lips were warm and soft, and they only left for a brief moment before he brought them down again to catch her lips more securely. She'd been worried at other moments when she thought he might kiss her but it'd been for nothing. It was more than she could've hoped for. It was perfect. She wasn't the one to pull away when it ended either. Draco lifted his head slightly and found her eyes.

"Was that okay?" He asked and Jade smiled.

"Yeah." She nodded and Draco relaxed into a smile before she reached her hands up behind his neck to pull him back down for another kiss. It was slow and sweet, traces of butterbeer still on his mouth.

"Happy Christmas, Jade." He whispered against her lips when they finally pulled away.