None of the characters in this story (except Rosemary Brooks, Kathy Weasley, Professor Clarke, and Sarah) belong to me.
They are the creations of JK Rowling.


When Harry woke up on Christmas morning a vicious blizzard was going on outside. He shivered... and then
noticed the pile of presents at the foot of his bed. As he started on the package which was obviously a Weasley jumper
(purple, this year), Ron stirred and sat up.

"Morning already, is it?" he said cheerfully, starting on his own pile. "Happy Christmas."

"You too," said Harry. "Wonder if this Christmas will be an improvement on the last one."

"I bloody well hope so," said Ron. "Not that we could make it much worse if we tried, mind. Oh, no..."

"Maroon again?" Harry asked, highly amused.

"Yeah," said Ron. "When will she learn, eh?"

***

Nearly the whole school had stayed on at Hogwarts for the holidays, as had happened the year before. The common
room and corridors felt hardly less busy than usual, and the constant crowds were beginning to get on Harry's nerves. The
fact that Draco Malfoy was still at school pleased him even less.

"Couldn't find a partner, Potter?" he said, sneering, one day in the corridor. "Had to ask your best friend's sister?
Only filth like that would go out with you..."

Ron had been about to hit Malfoy, for insulting not only Harry but his sister too, but Hermione held him back.
"Ignore him," she said. "Just pay him no attention. It's not worth it."

Harry had to admit to himself that the atmosphere around Ron and Hermione had been getting a little tense since
Ron had asked Rosemary to the ball. Especially now that Hermione had said that she was going with George. Ron had been
fuming to say the least, but Hermione wouldn't talk about it with anyone. But, after all, if Ron really liked her that much...
maybe he just didn't want things to get weird behind him and Hermione. Harry made a mental note to talk to him about it
later in the holidays.

The blizzard continued all day, ruling out any possibility of a repeat of the snowball fights they'd had the previous
year. Harry was secretly disappointed about this. Instead he had a chess tournament with Ron, Hermione, and Rosemary
(who turned out to be quite good). It ended in a brilliant checkmate of Ron's, trapping Rosemary's king in the corner of the
board. "You're not as good as you thought, are you?" the king shouted up at her.

"Perhaps not," she said smiling. "I have to go now anyway. To get ready." She stood up. "Are you coming Ginny?
Hermione?" The other two got up, and the three of them walked over to the dormitories.

"I still cannot believe that girls take over two hours to get ready!" Ron said in disbelief. "I mean, honestly, how do
they manage it?"

"Dunno," said Harry, not really listening. For once he was taking Malfoy's insults seriously. Did going with Ginny
make it look as if he hadn't been able to get a partner? Was that what people were going to think? But Ron's next comment
pushed Malfoy to the back of his mind.

"Harry... d'you think I should've gone with Hermione?"

"Yes!" said Harry, relieved. "Yes! I mean, if you really like her -"

"What gave you that idea?" Ron asked abruptly. Harry just looked at him, astonished. "All I meant," said Ron, "was
that she seemed really annoyed with me for not going with her, and now she has to go with George. I mean, why would she
want to go with him anyway?"

"Right," said Harry, noticing Ron's tone of voice and smiling slightly. "Okay." If Ron wasn't going to admit anything
now, then it would just have to wait.

***

Harry, Ron and the other boys were waiting in the common room anxiously. It was nearly eight, and all of them
were wearing dress robes self-consciously. Harry had purchased himself some in Hogsmeade the previous weekend, and he
had decided for navy-blue. Ron's new ones from the twins were dark reddish, which clashed a bit with his hair. But at least
they were frill-free.

The girls seemed to be taking a very long time to arrive. Each minute seemed an hour to Harry, who was still
slightly nervous about Malfoy's earlier comment. He was afraid that Ginny would look to young for him. When at last she
came down, Harry realized he shouldn't have worried. She was wearing very pretty robes of a very pale blue, and her hair
was twisted around her head. Harry suspected vaguely that Rosemary had had something to do with Ginny's attire, but said
nothing about it. In fact, his mind didn't even dwell on it that much, because his head was filled with the thought of how
lovely she looked.

"Er... Harry?" Ginny said.

Harry suddenly realized he'd been staring at her quite openly, and Ron was giving him a very odd look. "Um, shall
we go down then?" he said to Ginny, regaining his composure.

"Okay," she said. "Hermione and Rosemary'll be down in a minute," she said to Ron and George as she and Harry
went through the portrait hole to the Great Hall.

***

A few moments later, Rosemary arrived. Ron felt his jaw drop. She was wearing amber-coloured robes of thin, silky
material. It was quite tight, showing off a very good figure, but what got Ron was the fact that the dress had no sleeves or
straps. It was quite low-necked, and he had to wonder how it stayed up at all. Ron had a distinct feeling that Harry wouldn't
be altogether happy with what Rosemary was wearing.

"You okay?" she said, smiling.

"Yeah, um..." said Ron uncertainly. "You look great..."

"Thanks," she said cheerfully, apparently unaware that most of the boys in the Gryffindor common room were
staring at her, including both Fred and George. "Shall we go down?"

"Uh, yeah, okay," said Ron, still not quite believing his own luck. "Yeah..."

***

Hermione took longer than the other girls. When at last she did come down, she was wearing robes almost identical
to the ones she'd had the previous year, except that they were dark green. She looked very pretty, with her hair twisted up,
and her make-up very skillfully done. George thought she looked lovely... but his thoughts kept slipping back to Rosemary.
No one at Hogwarts had ever worn robes like that before... but he put that to the back of his mind as he and Hermione
made their way to join the others.

***

The music began to play, and couples came into the centre of the hall to dance. Harry and Ginny were among the
first to dance, rather inexpertly, but laughing and whispering the whole time. Ron and Rosemary stood watching for a very
long time until Rosemary said, "Shall we dance?"

"Umm..." said Ron nervously. He had been dreading this moment. "I don't really..."

"Oh come on, I don't care if you can dance or not!" said Rosemary, dragging Ron out to the middle of the dance
floor.

"But I really can't -" Ron pleaded, but she cut him off.

"It's a slow song, anyone can do this." She put her hands on his shoulders. Ron looked absolutely terrified. "Now
put your hands round my waist," she said kindly. "Now just kind of sway from side to side a bit -- see, perfect!"

For quite a while Ron was very quiet, but Rosemary was having a hard time keeping her face straight. At last she
said, "Um, Ron?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you stop looking down the front of my dress?"

"Oh, yeah. Um, sorry," he said, going rather red.

They danced for a little while longer, neither one talking, until the song ended. The next song was much faster, and
Ron stood there uselessly, with no idea of what to do.

"Come on," said Rosemary, taking his hand. "Let's go outside."

Outside they could still hear the music from the ball, and they sat down on a low wall nearby. After a while,
Rosemary said, "Why doesn't Hermione like me?"

"Dunno," said Ron. "She just... well, Hermione's a bit like that sometimes. Loved Lockhart... loved her stupid cat...
doesn't like you. Hermione just doesn't make much sense." The bitter note in his voice made Rosemary look up.

"But you really like her, right?"

"Well, she's my friend," said Ron. "I dunno, she just has a way of... you know, getting on your nerves really easily.
All that library... honestly... and you never really know what she's thinking. It's weird, that, because you always know
exactly what Harry is thinking..." He smiled. "Hermione's just... Hermione, I suppose."

"Yeah, I know," said Rosemary softly. "I know exactly what you mean."

Inside, the music changed again. "Shall we go back in?" said Ron, getting up. "It's a slow one again... and you know
how good I am at those!"

"No, let's just dance out here," said Rosemary, standing up and putting her arms around his neck. They danced
slowly for a few minutes, much closer than they had before.

At last Ron whispered, "Have you ever danced with anyone like this before?"

"Not quite like this," said Rosemary, smiling slightly. "No one dances quite like you."

"No..." said Ron quietly. He bent down quickly and kissed her. After a few seconds, Rosemary pulled back and
stepped away from him.

"What are you doing, Ron?" she asked quietly.

"What do you mean?" he said. She gave him a look. "I mean..." he tried. "I mean... I really like you... and that's why
I... um... did that," he ended lamely.

"Ron!" she shouted. "Just two seconds ago we were talking about Hermione, and then suddenly you're kissing me!"

"What?" said Ron, failing to see the connection. Rosemary stared at him.

"Oh my God..." she said. "You don't know, do you?" She laughed. "You don't actually know?"

"Know what?" said Ron, nonplused.

"Sit down, Ron," she said gently. Trying to keep a straight face, she said, "Ron, you're in love with Hermione."

"What?!" he cried. "No I'm not!"

"Yes, Ron, you are!" she said, smiling. "You've been in love with her for ages. Didn't you ever realize?"

"No!" he said. "Because I'm not in love with her!"

"You are, Ron," she said. "And she's in love with you. You blush every time the other one speaks, you argue so
much it's unreal, you insult each other for no apparent reason, you're jealous of the other's dates... what can I say, you're in
love."

"No we're not," said Ron, but with far less conviction than he had previously. The thought was just dawning on him.
Was it... could it be... true? Hermione actually in love with him? That was mad... But the more Ron thought over what
Rosemary had said, the more he realized that it was the truth. It had just never occurred to him because Hermione was...
well, Hermione. But now that he knew... Surely he'd suppressed his feelings for far too long.

Silently smiling, Rosemary got up and went inside, leaving Ron to his thoughts.

***

George noticed that Hermione was very quiet. He made no comment on it, making slightly forced conversation as
they danced, until his curiosity got the better of him.

"Hermione, what's going on?"

"Hmm?" she said, looking up. "Nothing!"

"Not buying it, Herm. What is it?"

"It's nothing..." she said quietly. "And anyway, if I told you, you'd spread it round the school in ten seconds flat."

"I'm insulted," said George dramatically. Then he said in a quieter voice, "No, seriously, Hermione, I wouldn't.
You're thinking of Fred. He's the gossipy one. Like a little old lady with blue-rinse hair, he is." Hermione smiled. "But if it's
making you this upset you should really tell someone. And, guess what? I'm right in front of you!"

"Okay..." said Hermione slowly.

"But, before you start," said George. "Is it something to do with Ron?"

Hermione gasped. "How on earth did you know?"

"George Weasley is, perhaps, more perceptive than you thought," said George proudly.

Hermione looked skeptical. "How did you know really?"

George gave up. "Rosemary might have mentioned something..." he said vaguely.

"Hmph," said Hermione.

"Tell you what I think you should do," said George, bringing the subject back to Ron and Hermione with great
enthusiasm. "Talk to him. Tell him how you feel, that kind of thing."

"Oh, yes!" said Hermione sarcastically. "What a problem-solver! Have you ever actually tried to talk to Ron?"

"Uh... no..." said George.

"Then you can't know how impossible it is. Especially since -" she broke off, staring out through the open door into
the garden.

"Ah, I see," said George. "The American."

"I mean who does she think she is, going after Ron like that?" Hermione asked, fuming. "And what on earth does he
see in her?"

"Well, she is a very nice person..." said George, feeling himself going a bit pink at the memory of what Rosemary
was wearing. "Harry's cousin and everything..."

"Exactly," said Hermione, sounding slightly triumphant for no reason at all. "His best friend's cousin. It's just
wrong!"

George cleared his throat. "Harry and Ginny seem to be having a good time."

"Yes," said Hermione vaguely, turning to look at them on the other side of the dance floor. Then she realized. "You
don't think -?"

"Yep," said George happily. "Good for Ginny, I say."

"You don't have a problem with it?" Hermione asked.

"No, why should I?" he said innocently.

"But still," said Hermione, coming back to the matter in hand. "Harry's cousin..."

"Ah, yes. A very attractive girl," said George.

"Yes," said Hermione sadly. "He likes them like that, doesn't he?"

George realized that there was a tear running down her cheek. "God, Hermione... I didn't realize that this was so...
you know, serious."

"Yes, well. No one would ever expect me to have feelings, would they?" said Hermione bitterly, trying to wipe her
eyes.

"Talk to him, Herm," said George, acting seriously for once. "You really have to if it means this much to you."


Author's Note: So! There's the ball done! God, it feels good to have that out of the way! So, what do you think? Will
something finally happen in the R/H department? Will Rosemary continue to wear dodgy clothes? Are Harry and Ginny
really having a *good time*? Has George become serious for good (God, let's hope not)? Find out soon! Also, more
poisoning next time. I feel my dark side returning... BWAHAHA. Sorry.
For the Americans among you -- yes, I know that you think it is called a Weasley *sweater* and that a jumper is
something completely different to you lot, but please humour (our spelling!) us over on this side of the Atlantic.
Emma, thanks for reviewing (three times). And yes, you're right, our teachers aren't really worth working for, but is
my name Hermione or what?
Also thank you once again to those people who have told me that Borg is an idiot. I found it very reassuring.
Last thing -- please read "How to write a Harry Potter Fanfic" by Alfie. It is seriously hilarious for anyone who has
spent any time at all in this section of the site. And, yes, I am guilty of all that she says! Well, most of it.
I still want all your ideas and opinions -- especially on who is doing all this poisoning! Please r/r!