So many students had never put down their names to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas before. Or, at least it seemed that way to Avery, who was one of the few who always stayed behind over the holidays. It seemed that everyone in fourth year and above had opted to stay for the Yule Ball. Girls, and even some boys, could be seen whispering excitedly about the upcoming celebration in the corridors and exchanging descriptions of their dress robes.

It had been a few days since Avery had agreed to go to the Ball with George, and they hadn't discussed the matter since that night. When Fred returned, they went back to business, and Avery had not seen George alone since, so she did not feel comfortable bringing it up. She wasn't sure if it would bother Fred to know they had planned to go together and wondered if George had told him, or if he would simply be surprised when he saw them dancing together Christmas night.

Avery had also not seen Cedric alone since that same day she learned that he would be attending the ball with Cho. She saw him a few times in the corridors, but she made no effort to speak to him. She would wave blandly when he waved, or respond to a greeting if he offered one, but otherwise she was guarded with him. She thought that he was planning to ask her to the Ball. She thought that they had really been something for a moment. To find out that he was going with Cho was confirmation that Avery had misunderstood- that he did not care, and that she was better off pretending that she didn't care, either.

The following week was the last of the term, and with all the excitement from the Tournament and Ball, most of the teachers found it impossible to maintain the students interest long enough to teach them anything. So, most allowed the students to play games or review previously covered topics. This, of course, was not true of teachers like McGonagall, Snape, and Moody, who kept them bogged down with work to the very last moment.

On the final day of classes, Avery was enjoying her dinner next to Anne. Though Anne had very publicly asked Harry Potter to the Ball and been embarrassed by the ensuing "no," she was later invited by Wayne Hopkins, a fellow Hufflepuff, and was ecstatic to be attending.

"I'm glad I signed up to stay over the holiday!" she was saying to Avery over her shepherd's pie. "Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to say yes!"

"That's wonderful," Avery replied, somewhat absently. Some movement across the hall had caught her eye, and upon further inspection it was Cedric Diggory walking towards her. Anne followed Avery's gaze, and, upon seeing Cedric, looked back down at her plate as though she hadn't noticed.

"Hello!" Cedric said brightly from across the table.

"Hello," Avery replied with little enthusiasm. "What's up?"

"I haven't seen you since the first task. I was wondering if I could have a word?" he said, gesturing towards the entrance hall. Avery's mind immediately began to buzz. What did he want a word about?

"Yeah, alright. I'll see you later, Anne," Avery said hesitatingly, pushing herself up from the table and walking around it to meet Cedric. Together they left the Great Hall, Cedric leading the way.

"Fancy a walk around the lake?" he asked lightly.

"Um," Avery stammered. Part of her wanted to walk with him, and part of her was determined to keep her distance from him. The less she interaction she had with him, the safer her heart was. "Actually, I have quite a bit of homework to get on with. Maybe we could just talk here?"

Avery looked up at him to gauge his reaction and saw that he seemed a bit taken aback by her response.

"Oh. Alright," he said, sounding more serious than before. He gestured to a stone bench near the door leading out to the grounds. Avery walked to it dutifully and sat, straight backed. Cedric followed and sat down next to her.

"So, are you alright?" Cedric asked, looking quizzical. Avery knew that he could easily read her and that he was only asking as a courtesy. He knew that something was wrong.

"Yes," Avery lied without hesitation. "You?"

"I can tell something's wrong," he said, looking at her steadily with those stunning, grey eyes. His mouth was a hard line, and his brow was furrowed with concern. Avery felt all the different emotions she had been feeling towards Cedric bubble up inside her- anger, frustration, confusion, longing.

Honestly, what is he playing at? She thought. How can he not understand why I'm upset?

"I don't know what to tell you, Ced," Avery said honestly. "I… I mean, we haven't been on the best of terms since you accused me of entering Harry into the tournament."

"But I thought something had changed. In the tent, after the first task," Cedric replied, still looking puzzled.

"So had I!" Avery burst out, her chest searing painfully with emotion. She had thought something changed. She thought they were on their way to reconciling. She thought they would be going to the Ball together.

"Then I don't understand," Cedric said calmly. His calmness made Avery even more frustrated.

"Obviously," Avery grumbled, unable to look at him any longer. She turned her gaze across the hall and noticed Peeves the Poltergeist hovering above the entrance to the basements, holding what appeared to be an armful of eggs, no doubt waiting for an unsuspecting student to drop them on.

"Why don't you just tell me what's wrong so we can work this out?" Cedric asked, a slight hint of frustration coloring his own voice now. Avery exhaled shakily before turning to face him. She was going to tell him exactly what was wrong- that he had asked the wrong girl to the ball. That he clearly didn't care about her in the slightest, and that she couldn't verbalize to him exactly how much that hurt, because she cared about him more than she could say.

"I just think it's funny how-" she started, turning to look at him. But, upon seeing his face, she hesitated. Yes, he looked a little frustrated. But overall, he was clearly concerned. His brow was still furrowed, and he was leaning in towards her, waiting to hear what was wrong, and, if Avery knew him at all, waiting to offer his assistance in whatever matter was ailing her.

She wanted to be mad, but how could she, really? They weren't boyfriend and girlfriend. It was his right to invite whoever he wanted to the Ball. And it was clear he did care about her, just not in the way that she cared about him.

Cedric's eyes widened slightly and he tilted his head towards her, signaling for her to continue. Avery sighed again for deciding she had no right to reprimand him for asking Cho to the dance.

"I just think it's funny how you never apologized to me. For accusing me. And you just expect that we're back to being… friends," she finished uncertainly. She looked away from him again just in time to see Peeves nail a Hufflepuff first year with six or seven eggs.

"Well, that's what I was trying to do in the tent before Moody sent you away," Cedric said, sounding relieved to know what was wrong. "I wanted to ask your forgiveness. I was stupid to think that you would do something like that. I think I got caught up in the emotion of it all. But that's no excuse."

Avery's stomach twisted upon hearing that was what he had wanted to ask her. He had never intended to invite her to the Ball at all. She looked back to him, his eyes soft, searching her face.

"I really am sorry, Avery. It was so stupid of me. Can you ever forgive me?"

Avery was so overwhelmed with emotion, it took all of her focus to simply nod and not allow tears to form in her eyes.

"So we're okay?" Cedric asked hopefully. Avery nodded, forcing a half smile.

"I'm glad," he said, smiling for only a moment before his mouth was a hard line again. "I heard you're going to the Ball with George Weasley?"

Avery was taken aback by this, and the shock temporarily distracted her from her sadness. Who would he have heard this from? "Uh, yes. He asked me… And you're going with Cho?" she added quickly, almost hoping she had dreamed the whole thing up. But, he nodded, his expression unreadable.

"Well… I… I hope you have a great time," Avery said, almost meaning it.

"I hope you do too," Cedric said, still unreadable. He stood and clasped her shoulder for a moment, before he seemed to have a sudden thought.

"Will you save me a dance?" he asked earnestly. The emotions were back, and it was all Avery could do to nod a yes again. Cedric smiled in response before turning and heading towards the first year who was still trying to scrape egg yolk from their hair.

The next week leading up to Christmas passed by very quickly, indeed. She kept herself busy with homework, impersonating other students for gold, and helping the twins recreate the recipes for the skiving snackboxes. By Christmas Eve, they had successfully recreated the fainting fancies and the nosebleed nougat, much to the twins delight.

"This is excellent!" Fred said, after he had chewed the antidote portion of his chew and his nose instantly stopped bleeding.

"I still think we should have other people try them," Avery cautioned him. "Who knows if it'll work with everyone's body chemistry? The more testers we have, the better."

"Alright, alright," Fred replied, tossing up his hands, but still smiling, "you're the boss."

"That's all for tonight then," George chimed in, dusting off his hands. "I'm off to get my beauty sleep. Need to look my best for my date tomorrow," he said with a wink at Avery. Avery immediately looked to Fred to read his reaction. This was the first time that George had mentioned their date in front of Fred. But, judging by Fred's lack of reaction, George had either told him about their date prior, or simply did not care.

"Me too. Angelina won't be too happy if I show up looking haggard. I'll see you later," Fred said to her and George, before turning and leaving the room. George did not follow, but turned to Avery instead.

"So, what's the plan again?" he asked, leaning against the stone table top they had been working at.

"I'm supposed to meet Cho in a classroom on the first floor mid-way through dinner," Avery recited, as she had went over this plan in her head several times before. "We swap, and then, as Cho, I meet Cedric at the champions table. We do our little dance, then I excuse myself, meet back at the classroom, and swap back. Then I'm free for the rest of the dance."

"Sounds a bit complicated," George mused, smirking a bit. "You'd think she'd just invest her galleons in some dance lessons and avoid the whole issue."

"I don't think it's so much the dancing as her nerves. I mean, imagine having the whole school watching you waltz. Bit nerve wracking, isn't it?"

"Doesn't seem to bother you," George retorted. Avery shrugged.

"I'm a decent dancer. Besides, I'm going to be Cho. No one is really watching me."

"Well, I'll be watching you," George winked. Avery rolled her eyes, but smiled.

"So… Fred didn't mind that we're going together?" she asked, fiddling with a vial on the table.

"Nah," George replied dismissively. He looked away from her for the first time to look at the ceiling. What precisely had interested him in the stone ceiling, Avery did not know. "Well, I best be off. I'll meet you at the top of stairs around eight, then?"

"Alright, see you," Avery said. George nodded and, with a smile, left for his common room, and Avery did the same.

The next day, Avery awoke in her dormitory to find a small pile of gifts at the foot of her bed. She sleepily opened one for Anne to find a copy of Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland and one from her Aunt Andromeda containing a variety of Honey Dukes sweets. She then came upon a gift from Fred and George, which contained a variety of Zonkos products, and a pair of Detachable Cribbing Cuffs ("For your O.W.L.S next year!" the attached note explained). Avery was surprised to see that there was an additional gift, that was signed only from George.

She opened the small package and found a corsage made from magical plants and flowers, a few of which she recognized as asphodel and angel's trumpet. It also seemed to be bewitched with ever-lasting dew-drops, as the immovable drops of water shimmered when she tilted it back and forth in the light.

"Wow!" she murmured. It was a beautiful arrangement, and a thoughtful gesture from George. There was no note attached other than the one stating who it was from. Avery made a mental note to thank him later that evening.

The last gift at the bottom of her bed was from her parents. Avery also noticed there was a letter attached. She tore it open, hoping it would contain a response to the letter she sent regarding what Marilyn had told her.

Avery,

Happy Christmas. In response to your letter, there has been no mention of any Dark Activity around the ministry-

Avery scoffed audibly. Avery hadn't meant if her mother had heard anything from the ministry about Death Eaters. She meant if she had personally heard anything from her former friends. And she was sure her mother had purposefully ignored the distinction. She read on.

other than the unfortunate events at the World Cup this summer, of course. I hope you are enjoying your break at Hogwarts- it's good you decided not to come home this year. I have been overwhelmingly busy, catching up with old friends. In that vein, stay close to Marilyn. She is the best friend you've got, and there is nothing more powerful than those ties!

Love, Mother

Avery reread the letter once more and pondered. There was something about this letter that seemed.. off. Her mother wasn't one to fill her in with the details of her life, and Avery didn't know of any of her mother's old friends that weren't dark wizards. Avery also stayed at Hogwarts every year, so why would her mother say "this year"? And her mother was well aware that she and Marilyn were no longer friends. Was it possible her mother was confirming her suspicions without actually saying as much? Were the old friends she was busy with Death eaters? Did she say to stay close to Marilyn as a way to confirm that her safety depended on allying herself with dark wizards?

Regardless, the letter did nothing to soothe Avery's nerves regarding the tournament. It only created more questions, rather than answering them.

She put the letter in the drawer in her bedside table and pushed the incident from her mind. She would get clarity on this matter. But, for today, she would push it from her mind and focus on what that evening held for her.

She spent most of the day finishing up homework before she decided to prepare herself for the Ball. She also spent a significant amount of time helping Anne get ready. After over an hour of trying to tame Anne's hair, Avery never felt more grateful for being able to change her appearance any way she liked in a matter of seconds.

By 7:45, Avery was dressed in her long, navy gown. She was donning her normal appearance, with her long straw-colored hair falling in elegant waves around her face and down her back. She slipped on the corsage that George had left for her that morning, and walked up to the Great Hall with Anne and her date.

Upon reaching the entrance hall, Avery bade goodbye to Anne and climbed the grand staircase to wait for George at the top. After a few minutes, she saw the twins approached. Angelina Johnson was on Fred's arm, looking absolutely radiant in red dress robes. Fred saw her and gave her a small wave before proceeding down the stairs towards the Great Hall, while George walked directly over to her.

He was wearing a set of very smart, black robes, looking very dashing indeed. He let out a low whistle as he looked at her, and Avery laughed nervously.

"Oh stop. Thank you for the corsage, by the way!" Avery exclaimed.

"Naturally! Shall we?" George replied, holding out his arm, half bowing. The expression on his face told Avery that he was being overly-formal on purpose, trying to amuse her, and so she played along.

"Indeed, we shall!" Avery joked back, linking arms with him and making their way down the stairs and into the entrance hall.

The entrance hall was packed with students, all milling around waiting for eight o'clock, when the doors to the Great Hall would be thrown open. Many people seemed to be meeting partners from different Houses, and were edging through the crowd trying to find one another. Avery enjoyed looking around and the hall and taking in the variety of different dress robes, which were in stark contrast to the normal sea of black.

Suddenly, Professor McGongall's voice rang out from their left. "Champions over here, please!"

The chattering crowd began to part, creating a path that passed right next to Avery and George for the Champions and their partners to walk through. Fleur and her date, Roger Davies of Ravenclaw, passed her first, followed by Harry and his date, Parvarti Patil, then Viktor Krum and his date, Hermione Granger.

"Wow!" George whispered as Hermione passed. She had done something different with her hair. "She looks very pretty today!"

"She always looks pretty," Avery whispered back, "honestly. What've you got against curly hair?"

"You have to admit she looks very different!" George replied, still in hushed tones. Avery opened her mouth to respond, but in that moment, Cedric and Cho began to pass by.

Cedric looked incredibly handsome in classic black and white formal wear, and Cho was equally dazzling in her silvery blue gown. As she passed, she caught Avery's eye and gave her a nervous smile. Avery responded in kind, her heart in her stomach. George unlinked his arm from hers so that he could grab her hand and squeeze it reassuringly, before filing into the Great Hall with the rest of the students.

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.

Avery and George took a seat at a table with several other couples, including Fred and Angelina. After everyone was seated, the Champions entered the hall in procession. Avery could not help but stare at Cedric and Cho. Cedric was smiling bashfully, and Cho was growing redder by the moment. It suddenly made sense to Avery why she had been so desperate for her to perform the dance in Cho's place- she could hardly walk in front of the entire school, let alone dance.

After the champions and their partners took their seats at the head table, dinner began. There was no food as yet on the glittering golden plates, but small menus were lying in front of each of them. After examining the menu, someone figured out that you had to tell your plate what you wanted and it would magically appear, and Avery did so.

George made conversation with Avery during dinner, mostly concerning how strange it was to see everyone in dress robes. Avery agreed- she had never seen any of her peers so dressed up. It suited some people, while others simply looked awkward and uncomfortable. This brought the conversation back to when they saw Hermione in the Great Hall.

"Literally the only difference is that she put some sleeking potion in her hair," Avery told him, rolling her eyes.

"Right, but it completely changes things!"

"What are you saying? That curly hair is ugly? If I morphed my hair right now into curls would I suddenly be ugly?"

"Of course not. You couldn't be ugly if you tried," George replied dismissively. Avery looked at him for a moment, not sure how to respond. In that moment, George's expression changed to one of contemplation, before leaning over to whisper in her ear, "actually, I take that back. You were a particularly ugly Snape."

At that, Avery burst out laughing. As she did, her eyes fell upon Fred across the table. He had been looking at her, but immediately went back to looking at and talking animatedly with Angelina.

When desserts began to appear, Avery knew it was almost time. She whispered as much to George.

"Alright, go on," he said, giving her knee a squeeze. "Get it over with and come back. We'll make sure we make up for it."

Avery stood and left the hall and made her way to the first floor classroom she had arranged to meet Cho in. After a few minutes, Cho came in and closed the door quietly behind her. By this time, Avery had already morphed her features so that she looked like Cho. The only thing to do now was to switch dresses.

"Thank you so much!" was the first thing out of her mouth. She then turned around, wordlessly asking Avery to unzip her dress. Avery obliged and then turned around so that Cho could do the same for her.

"Are you having a good time so far? I'm so sorry to take you away from your date, but I don't think I could've done it! I nearly fainted just walking up to the table!"

"It's no problem," Avery lied, shimmying out of her tight gown. Cho did the same and they swapped.

Her dress was a bit big on Cho, but it was better than Cho waiting for Avery to return in her underwear. Cho's dress fit Avery like a glove, as she carefully adjusted her body to fit it's every curve.

"Thank you again! I'll see you back here, then," Cho breathed, taking a seat at one of the empty desks. Avery nodded wordlessly, and made her way, as Cho, back into the entrance hall and up to the Champions table. On her way, George caught her eye and gave her a sympathetic look.

She took her seat next to Cedric, who looked even more gorgeous in his dress robes up close. He smiled at her and seized her hand. With a surge of panic, Avery realized she had forgotten to remove the corsage George had given her. Cedric, even though he was touching it as he held her hand, seemed not to notice.

"May I have this dance?" he whispered to her, smiling. Avery did her best not to imitate his smile exactly as she breathed her response, half elated to be able to dance with him, half devastated that it wasn't as herself.