Authors' Note: Major foof coming your way! Consider yourselves warned. Also, once again asterisks signify italics. One of these days we'll figure out how to fix that problem...

Disclaimer: We own nothing. We're only borrowing the characters, and we promise to give them back when we're done...except maybe for Ron. ;)

Chapter 5: The Secret Gifts

Now that they all had dates to the Ball, Harry and his friends turned their attention back to the more pressing issue of passing their exams. Everyone felt very stressed out, especially about the dreaded Potions exam. Professor Snape's perpetually bad mood had gotten even worse since the discovery that some of his ingredients had been stolen from the dungeon, a crime for which Harry was his chief suspect. At least this time, though, he, Ron, and Hermione were innocent, and they thought Draco Malfoy the real culprit. It would have been just like the Slytherin to try to frame them.

Somehow they all survived these trials and slipped thankfully into the Christmas holidays at last. There were a few days before the Yule Ball to recover from the strain of the past few weeks, and the students used them to greatest advantage. Books and quills lay forgotten in the corners of the common rooms while their owners relaxed by the fire, challenged each other to chess tournaments, or built ice fortresses for snowball fights on the grounds outside.

One night Harry and Ron went down for a game of chess to find that the board was already in use.

"Hullo," Neville waved cheerfully. "Did you want to play a game?"

"Only if you're finished," Harry nodded.

Neville stood up and offered the seat across from Hermione. "Yeah, we're done. I've had all the ego squelching I can take for one day." He smiled sportingly at Hermione. "Thanks for the lesson. Goodnight, everyone."

"Goodnight, Neville," she smiled back as the boys waved.

"So," Ron's eyes were bright with the prospect of a challenge, "want to try for a double victory?"

Hermione looked at her watch. "I'd like to," she said, "but I'm meeting Ginny in a few minutes. I'd be happy to beat you some other time, though," she smiled sweetly at Ron.

"Ha!" he snorted. "That is *so* never going to happen!"

Harry and Hermione shared amused smiles while she got up to relinquish her seat. "What are you and Ginny up to tonight?" he asked her as she turned to go upstairs.

"Oh, nothing really," Hermione answered. "I told her I'd help her with a spell to fix her dress robes for the Ball. She's grown an inch since last year so we have to let the hem out."

"Oh." Harry scrunched his forehead thoughtfully. It had never occurred to him that Ginny would have to worry about something like that.

Hermione scratched her head, looking pensive. "I wonder if I could change the color, too," she murmured absently. She looked at Harry. "Her favorite color is green, you know." Harry didn't know, and he wondered why Hermione felt it necessary to inform him.

"Um, okay," he muttered uncertainly.

"Well let me know if the spell works, will you?" Ron asked from the sofa. "Maybe I can use one on mine." They all knew how much Ron hated his frilly hand-me-down dress robes.

"Okay," Hermione promised. "Ask me tomorrow at breakfast." She bid them goodnight and went upstairs.

"Right," Ron turned back to Harry with an excited grin. "So my pawn moves to this square here..."

Harry was still troubled over the Weasleys' dress wear dilemma when he went to bed that night. He knew that Fred and George were going to use the prize money he had given them last year to buy Ron new robes for Christmas, but he couldn't be so sure about Ginny. With a guilty frown he thought about the piles of money sitting in his vault at Gringotts and decided to take matters into his own hands. It was his money, after all, and he saw no reason he couldn't use it to save Ginny some embarrassment.

The next morning Hermione told them that the spell had been relatively successful, but she said she couldn't promise anything spectacular for Ron's robes. Harry wanted to know what she meant by "relatively."

"Well," Hermione conceded, "Ginny seemed happy with them. But she's so nice she'd never say if she hated them." She sighed and looked at Harry. "I wish there were something else I could do to help."

"Well it was nice of you to do that spell, anyway," Harry pointed out. He was now more determined than ever to go through with his plan. "Say, Hermione," he began casually, "could I borrow your owl-order catalogue? I want to get a present for Hagrid."

For some reason Hermione's eyes lit up. "Sure. Let me go get it." She vanished upstairs and returned with the catalogue a moment later. "Just give it back whenever you're done," Hermione told him. "No rush." And she left him in the common room, saying she had to meet Ron.

Harry checked to make sure no one else was around before settling down by the fire to test his idea. When he opened the catalogue he was surprised to discover that the pages displaying dress robes were already marked. In fact, several of the pictures had even been circled. He wondered if Hermione had decided to order herself a new robe. Later, after agonizing over his decision for several hours, Harry sneaked out to the owlery to place his order, crossing his fingers that it would come in time.

Christmas morning arrived at last. Harry woke early when one of the presents Ron was flinging onto his bed bounced off his forehead instead.

"Ouch!"

"Merry Christmas, Harry!" said Ron cheerfully from the floor, where he had just begun to unwrap one of Mrs. Weasley's famous maroon sweaters.

Harry dug eagerly into his own packages, but his real excitement was about the evening's Yule Ball. He and Ron both had partners whose company they actually enjoyed, they knew how to dance, they were all speaking to one another, and there was no horrible impending doom awaiting them. They couldn't possibly have a bad time.

Harry's happy thoughts were interrupted by Ron's sudden cry. "Harry!" he exclaimed, holding up long, chocolate brown robes of soft velvet and no hint of lace whatsoever. "Where on earth did they get the money for these?"

Harry hid a smile. "Fred did tell me that he and George made a killing off those Canary Cremes last year," he fibbed. "They look really nice."

Ron beamed. He hardly seemed to care about the rest of his presents, and it was only a few minutes before he and Harry were rushing down to breakfast to share the good news with the girls.

But Ginny and Hermione had some excitement of their own. Harry and Ron sat down just as the owl post began to depart, leaving behind a mysterious package for Ginny. She picked up the plain brown parcel with a curious frown.
"I wonder what this could be."

Harry tried to hide his interest as Ginny carefully unwrapped the gift, watching her eyes grow wide with surprise and joy. As if in a daze she stood and held the delicate robes against her, staring at them in disbelief. Ginny looked up amazedly at her friends and Harry saw that her lower lip was trembling. "They're beautiful!" she whispered in a choked voice.

"Who sent them?" Ron voiced the question on everyone's minds.

"There's no card," Ginny shrugged, slightly disappointed. Her gaze flickered in Harry's direction, and he feigned sudden interest in his bread pudding.

"Must be your secret admirer!" teased Hermione, giving Ginny a playful nudge. The redhead blushed and sat down again, casting a dreamy glance at the package as she picked up her fork. Harry turned and caught Hermione studying him carefully, a wide grin on her face. He ducked his head quickly.

"Ginny, you didn't tell us you had a suitor!" exclaimed Fred in mock reproach.

"Who's the lucky fellow?" George glanced around the room. "Or have you captured too many hearts to be sure?" His eyes twinkled merrily as poor Ginny's blush deepened even further, and Harry sighed as the twins amused themselves by rattling off the names of her potential admirers. So far, at least, no one seemed to suspect *him*.



Authors' Note: Ha ha--we thought we'd stall a bit! But the long-awaited Yule Ball is in the next chapter.