Harry Potter and the Princesses for Magic

by Princess-Perfect

Two new students come to Hogwarts after the summer, Voldemort dies but it was not Harry who killed him, but if he's dead, who's continuing his work? A different sixth year for Harry. Now a complete story. BEWARE OF MARY SUE!

9. The Princesses' Birthday Ball

Harry Potter and the

Princesses for Magic

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and anything that belongs to anybody else in this chapter (which I only think there's Harry Potter that I'm using, but if so, I don't own it).

Author's Note: Hey readers! Yeah, this is SUPPOSED to be on Hallowe'en night (the setting of the chapter, I mean), but hey, what are ya gonna do? Anyway, this is the chapter when the Princesses have their big birthday ball, with a little surprise in it, too. PLEASE REVIEW!

Chapter 9

The Princesses' Birthday Ball

The whole entire school was getting ready in hustles and bustles for the most important party ever to be at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: Princess Glory and Princess Joy's sweet-sixteen birthday ball. The extravagant ball, which was on the mind of many people around the world, would take place on Halloween evening in the Great Hall, and because of the ball, all classes were cancelled for that day. Everyone, with frantic panic of what would be most suitable for the ball, was ordering dress robes, presents and accessories for the ball.

Harry finally decided that he would give Princess Joy a silver box with her coat of arms engraved on it, which held inside: a jewelled comb, brush, clips, pins and beautiful hair band. He was going to give Princess Glory a diary incrusted with a few crystals with a portrait of her on the front and her name engraved on it as well. It also had a golden lock with her coat of arms engraved on the side.

Ron, who was very limited for presents because of his family's "financial problems", didn't know what to give them. With Harry's help, Ron decided with the consult of his family that the Weasley would give both Princesses necklaces with a pendant of each of their initials: G and J, with a small pearl on each pendant. Though the presents were small compared to the other students' gifts, it still put a big impact on his family's vault at Gringotts Bank.

Hermione decided to give them both Fabergé eggs and a signed copy of Wizard King and Queens, the Masters of Magic.

"Couldn't you give them a break from reading and school work on their birthdays?" asked Ron.

"I think it's a good present," implied Hermione.

"Sure, that's what you think," chuckled Ron.

"Are you saying I have bad taste in gifts?"

"No, I'm saying that you're such a schooloholic that you even give school things on people's birthdays! For goodness sake, Hermione, you gave Harry and I shouting agendas! They don't call it a holiday for nothing!"

Hermione puffed in fury and turned away. Harry laughed at the situation, knowing exactly what Ron meant.

"That woman!" mumbled Ron, as he got back to his homework.

Harry knew exactly what Ron was saying. He had received one of those agendas last year, and he had abandoned it at the Dursleys, hidden under the loose board.

Ginny was getting into the spirit as well. Because she had become good friends with Princess Glory during the past two months, from the Princess showing Ginny about the computagrams, helping her with homework and telling her about the Sicilian war against Lord Voldemort, she was probably one of the most excited people in Gryffindor attending the ball. She had begged her parents that she could give a separate gift to Princess Glory, but alas, their budget did not allow it.

"She's so nice, smart, and she'll be such a great ruler!" Ginny told Ron, Harry and Hermione one night. "When I hang around her, it seems like I've known her my whole life, as if we've met before."

"That sounds lovely, Ginny," said Hermione.

"It's because of her that I want to go into the Ministry of Magic when I get out of Hogwarts," said Ginny.

"Just like Dad?" asked Ron.

"Of course not, Ron! Truthfully, I would never want to be in the department Dad's in. I want to be in the Wizengamot."

Ron had made a sharp gasp and had a dumbfounded look spread all over his face by the sound of it.

"W-wizengamot?" stuttered Ron. "The Wizengamot? My sister... wants to be... in the Wizengamot?"

"Of course!" said Ginny. "I have the grades, I'm popular... and even Princess Glory can put a good word for me in the Ministry."

"That girl's got good influences on you," said Ron, still shocked. "Has she given you some good influences for... dating?"

Ron, since last year, had been quite protective of his sister dating, and threatened to beat up anyone who tried hitting on Ginny.

"Dating? Ron, I've got a whole life to worry about that. Princess Glory's made me realize that school is more important than silly dating, and that most boys at my age don't even take dating seriously. Dating's not a pass-time, it's something important that can lead to marriage. If anyone does ask me out to the ball, they'll just be my escort, nothing more."

Ron had a glorified look on his face, and it seemed to Harry that a load of worry had just been lifted off your shoulders.

"Thank heavens for Princess Glory!" sighed Ron. "She has had good influences on you. Takes a load off my mind."

That very day, Seamus Finnigan was all hyped up to ask Princess Glory if he may escort her. He had been practicing what he would say the whole entire week and tried to outdo himself on making himself look charming when he asked. Though unfortunately, just before dinner, he returned sulking after he had asked Princess Glory to the ball.

"What did she say?" asked Ron curiously.

"She's already taken," sighed Seamus, looking as down as ever.

"By who?" asked Harry even more curiously.

"That's the problem!" said Seamus, as he plopped down on a seat in the common room. "I have no idea! If I knew, I would have punched his face in. I guess that's probably why she didn't want to tell me. She said it quite nicely though. She did say that if she was free, she would have gladly accepted."

"It was worth a try," said Ron encouragingly.

There was so much fuss of the upcoming evening for the days before. There wasn't too much concentration on work and studies those few weeks (except Hermione, Princess Glory and her gang of course). Countless times, there were messengers sent to their classes to get Princess Glory and Princess Joy out of class for so many reasons: they had to be fitted for dress robes, they had to find out what food would be served, the decorations... The list went on and on.

Harry was already getting so much in the mail from Remus, about tips on what to bring, how to act and such. An evening before the party, Harry took out the box that held his dress robe that was sitting under his four-poster bed, laid it on the bed, and opened it to examine his lovely and handsome dress robe. He glided his hand along the soft blue material, the silver buttons and the handsome neck part that was folded. He would look quite handsome in the dress robe. He would out-dress Draco no doubt, not that his previous dress robe was any good.

As Harry was about to put the box away, Ron had entered the dormitory.

"Hey, Harry!" said Ron cheerfully, closing the dormitory door behind him. "What's that?"

"It's the new dress robe I got at Diagon Alley," replied Harry. "It looks really nice. Look!"

He showed Ron the dress robe as his jaw dropped to the floor.

"Wow, Harry!" said Ron, impressed. "That's a cool dress robe. You're going to look great."

"Yeah... Did you get a new dress robe? You're not wearing that frilly one from the Yule Ball, are you?"

"What? Oh no!!!" gasped Ron in horror. "I don't have a good dress robe! I'm going to look awful compared to Joy! We'll be the worst couple at the ball! I'm ruined!"

"Didn't Joy buy you a new wardrobe?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, but we didn't have time to get a new dress robe. I wish we had. No!!!"

Harry felt extremely bad for Ron. There he would be, standing right next to the beautiful and the wonderfully-dressed Princess Joy, and him with a frilly wizard frock. Just before Ron was about to cry in agony (and the truth is, remembering how horrible that ugly frock was, Harry might have cried out in agony too), an idea popped right into Harry's head.

"Ron, why don't you wear my old green robe?" mentioned Harry. "It's still in good shape! I think it could fit you, and you can keep it too. Your mom was the one who chose it anyway."

Ron looked at Harry with great joy as if he had just offered him a hundred billion galleons.

"Thank you, Harry!" he shouted as he hugged Harry. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! How can I ever repay you?"

"Don't mention it. It's my pleasure."

Harry searched under his bed for the parcel that contained his old green dress robe. He pulled it out and handed it to Ron, who glared at it in wide-eyes.

"Thank you so much, Harry!" said Ron.

"Your welcome. Just have a great time at the ball, okay?"

*****



On Halloween night, Hogwarts held the long-time expected birthday ball. The Daily Prophet and many other wizard newspapers around the world would be at the party, taking photos and taking note about everything that would happen.

Harry always thought it would be cool to have a birthday on Halloween. The thought of getting loads of candy, and loads of presents, seemed so interesting. Of course, for the longest time with the Dursleys, he never got candy nor presents on either occasions.

Everybody was in a rush to get ready for the last minute. No one could barely hold a conversation without mentioning last-minute details about the party. Everyone of real importance was going to be at the regal ball. Every Minister for Magic would be attending, with many other delegates. Quidditch champions, wizard and witch movie stars and so many celebrities would be there as well. Harry was certain that Colin Creevey and his brother Dennis were getting their cameras ready for the big night.

It was finally the evening they'd all been waiting for. Harry headed to the Great Hall with his friends: Ron, looking quite handsome in the green dress robe, and Hermione, who was looking rather nice in a new purple dress robe and whose hair was slightly curled (not even the magic of that salon could empower Hermione's bushy hair). Hermione was quite excited about the ball, because she would meet Viktor Krum (who was now her boyfriend) at the party. Joy was not going to the ball with them, because she had to be there at a different time then they did.

With a deep breath, all three of them entered the beautiful Great Hall for the ball.

In the Great Hall, Jack-o-Lanterns were floating up near the ceiling, an ice statue of the girls were carved right in front of the pastry buffet, vivid and wonderfully-designed Halloween and birthday decorations were put up all around the castle and so much more. The Great Hall looked imperial for the occasion.

The seats in the Great Hall were specially arranged for the evening's event: benches and tables were lined up around the Great Hall with a head table at the front.

Harry glanced around the wonderful room, which looked better than the Yule Ball, and spotted Cho in the corner, who was waving at Harry and had saved a seat for both of them. Harry quickly went to Cho and sat next to her. Cho Chang was wearing a ruby red, oriental dress robe with jewellery. Harry thought she looked magnificent, and Cho Chang thought the same about him.

On their left at the same table they were sitting at, Hermione had taken a seat with her boyfriend Krum. Krum, in a dark green dress robe, was smiling sweetly to Hermione and was talking to her about this year's Quidditch season. On his right, there sat Ginny Weasley looking quite pretty in a mauve dress robe with Neville Longbottom as her escort. Poor Neville was looking quite anxious, though not at all like when he was taking his O.W.L.'s last year.

Harry wondered if Princess Joy had arrived at the party or if she would be escorted ceremoniously. As he glared around the room, he spotted Princess Joy, at the head table, looking absolutely gorgeous in a light pink embroidered robe with fur on its edges and a jewelled pin to close the robe with the shoulder showing. Underneath, she wore an extravagant dress the same colour that was embroidered as well. It was quite a slim-fitting dress (except for the fluffed-out skirt) that showed her figure well. Her hair was tied up in a swirled bun with a strip of golden hair down the side of her jolly face. She was covered in jewels from her oh-so-wonderful tiara to her amethyst-encrusted high heels. She was sitting with her hands folded in her lap in an enormous gold-and-velvet throne which had a coat of arm on top. By her side, looking nervous and out-of-place, sat Ron (who might I add, couldn't stop looking at Joy).

Harry looked around the whole entire room to find Princess Glory, but alas, he couldn't find her. He was really looking forward to seeing who would be escorting Princess Glory to her birthday ball.

"Cho, do you want to take a walk around the Great Hall?" asked Harry.

"Sure, I would love to! Especially when it looks so wonderful this evening."

Harry wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they promenaded around the room. They saw many famous stars (which Harry had no clue about), one of them being a tall, chubby blonde lady with a sapphire-coloured gown and matching jewellery. As they passed by the woman, she fell into a gaze once she spotted his unnoticeable lightning scar.

"Why, it can't be?" cried the lady. "It's...Harry Potter!"

"Harry Potter?" asked a large, strong man with a black bush beard and brown robe. "Is he here?"

"Yes, Joseph, he is!"

"My goodness, Natasha! Get a camera, I want a picture with him!"

Not this again! thought Harry to himself annoyingly. All his life things like this had happened. Sometimes he wished that he would never had done that interview for The Quibbler. Natasha looked around the room and crabbed a scrawny, little boy with mousy hair holding a large camera.

"Take a picture of us, and give us an extra of the picture!"

"Sure thing. Hi, Harry!"

Harry looked at the boy. It was Colin Creevey, as usual. He knew he would be wanting more after this one.

"Come together, Joseph and Harry Potter. You too, you pretty girl. Are you his date?" asked Natasha.

"Yes ma'am!" smiled Cho Chang.

"Well, you come along here, missy. Yes, right there. Okay! We're all set!"

"All right!" said Colin. "Now on the count of three. One, two, three!"

A large flash shot out of the camera and almost blinded most of the people there. Two photos came out of the slot. The lady grabbed one and looked at it while it was turning out.

"Why, isn't that a nice picture of all of us! Thank you for the photo."

"So, who are you anyway?" asked Harry.

The lady gasped, repulsed by the odious question.

"Excuse me?" questioned the lady. "Don't you know who we are?"

"Now relax, 'Tasha," said the man. "Remember, he was brought up by those Muggles. He doesn't know too much about the wizarding world."

"All right. I'm Natasha Zimpcough and this is my husband Joseph. We've been in so many movies, maybe your little friend can show you one. I've been in Gone With the Wingardium Leviosa, Simply Delicious, Screach 6, Blown Away and so many more. All of them were box-office hits, thank you very much."

"I was in Saving Private Ronny, Shinglestone, Lord of the Dance, and Return of the Dragons. Great films as well. Oh dear, we should go. I promised Christy Dindor we'd meet her. Ta ta!"

Both stars trotted out of their area and mingled with a chubby brunette. Colin Creevey turned around to Harry and Cho.

"Hey, Harry! How's it going?"

"OK, I guess..."

"Did you have some food?"

"No I haven't yet-"

"Anyway, you've probably been wondering where my little brother is. He's sick in the dormitory. He's been out sick for about 2 weeks now. Feel sorry for the poor little guy. He's getting better though! He'll probably be here by next week. I promised him I'd take a lot of pictures of the ball. Can I take some more pictures?"

"Well, ah-"

"Of course, that would be great!" insisted Cho.

After being blinded 500 times by the camera shots, they finally made their way across the majestic ballroom floor. There was a large orchestra up on the wide platform.

"I would have thought they would be playing something more modern," commented Cho.

"It's not quite dancing time now. It's probably just for the moment, to set the mood. I'm sure they have something extremely cool planned."

"Why don't we get something to eat?" suggested Cho. "I'm a bit hungry, and I did hear that the cocktails were quite good. Oh look, there's a waiter coming now."

The waiter, who was right next to them, wore a black robe, white shirt and black tie underneath. It was a plain, yet serious outfit.

"Would you like some cocktails?" asked the waiter, holding out the tray of delicately-made delights.

"Of course! I'll have... the tiny shish kabob here," she said as she lifted it off the plate.

"And you, sir?"

"I'll have this crusted shrimp, thank you," said Harry.

As he picked up the cocktail, Harry took a bite out of the shrimp. It was quite good! Cho liked her's as well. He wondered if someone was catering the ball, or if the house-elves were cooking them. Just when he thought of this, he noticed a scrawny, little figure with different-coloured socks near the golden punch fountain with angels squirting out various fruit juices close to them.

"Hello, Harry Potter! It's such an honour to meet you again!"

"Dobby?"

"Oh, 'tis me, sir! Me, 'tis! Wonderful evening, isn't it? And I see Harry Potter has a date!"

"Oh yes. Cho, meet Dobby."

Cho Chang shook the creature's hand, a bit scared of what it might do.

"Don't worry, Cho, he's just a house-elf."

"Sorry, it's just that I've never really met a house-elf before."

"By the way, Dobby, did the house-elves at Hogwarts make these hors d'oeuvres? They're phenomenal!"

"Oh dear no," answered Dobby. "The house-elves who made those are professionals from the Princesses' headquarters."

"Really? Are they in the kitchen now?"

"Oh yes! The kitchen is their specialty. Italian house-elves are quite famous for that. Oh, Harry Potter, guess what good news Dobby brings tonight?"

"I have no clue. Tell me."

"Princess Joy has hired Dobby to be one of her house-elves! I'll be working in their palace in Rome once they've graduated from Hogwarts! Dobby will receive anything he will need without charge while he's there, instead of a regular wage!"

"Good for you, Dobby! Have you gotten along with the Princesses' house-elves so far?"

"Oh yes, they're quite nice. Two of them are being transferred to Hogwarts for the year. The only problem is, is that they're always wanting me to eat! Today one tried to force my mouth open to shove a pot of pasta down my throat! Then they did it again 2 more times!"

"Wow!"

"I must go, Harry Potter. I'm needed back in the kitchen. So long, Harry and friend!"

"Goodbye!"

"Ah! My favourite wizard hero!" said a familiar voice from behind them. "How are you doing, Harry?"

The portly and short man, with a gray mop of hair on his head, who was behind Harry, was Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic.

"Fine, thank you," responded Harry.

"Hello, Minister," greeted Cho. "How are you doing today?"

"Oh fine! And what is your name, young lady?"

"Cho Chang, sir."

"My, you seem like a very lovely girl. Isn't it a nice party?"

"Yes, of course," said Harry. "Princess Joy and Princess Glory are extremely wonderful as well."

"Ah yes, I do agree! Two of the best witches in the world, my boy. Too bad the Ministries want to get rid of them."

"What?!?!" cried Harry. He couldn't believe his ears. "How can they do that? Why would they want to do that?"

"Well, it's just that some Ministries want the wizarding world to become a republic, such as the Ministries of Magic in America, Germany and Bulgaria. Others, like our Ministry, Canada and Italy want the monarchy. Do you see those 3 men over there, Harry and Cho?" pointed Fudge to the right.

Harry looked in the direction Fudge was pointing at. There were 3 wizards chatting together: one was tall with a pointy nose who wore a long, pointy gray hat with a matching gray robe. One was short and chubby with a bright, yellow robe. The other was a middle-aged, clean-shaven wizard with a brown robe.

"I see them," said Harry. "Who are they?"

"Those are the Ministers for Magic from Bavaria, Germany and America. They are one of the many who want the girls out."

"Then why are they here?" asked Cho.

"They just want to have some fun," responded Fudge with an irritated look, "and they want to observe more of the girls, find some other things to complain about."

"But how can they be against them?" asked Harry.

"Harry, they think that times are changing so we have to keep up with the time. Princess Joy and Princess Glory are becoming extremely powerful, and those ministries think they're getting too powerful."

"But they've been waiting their whole lives for this," said Cho. "They can't just take their powers away."

"I know, it would be impossible. We could never go against them, they're too strong. Plus, there's no one else better for the job! They would make perfect rulers, especially Princess Glory. Has she got politics rushing through her veins or what!"

"Mr. Fudge, you have to let your side win!"

"I know, I'm not going to let them win the fight. I'll fight for all I've got! Oooh, cocktails! Nice meeting you, Harry and Cho. Goodbye!"

"Bye, Mr. Fudge!"

"Bye!"

They watched him scurry to the food as they turned around to finish their conversation.

"They can't do that to them," complained Harry. "They're two of the nicest, most powerful and smartest people in the wizarding world! They can't just get rid of them."

"I know," sighed Joy. "Princess Joy is one of the most caring people I know! She mustn't be treated like that!"

"And so shouldn't Princess Glory. She's welcoming as well."

Cho Chang bit her lip once he said that.

"What? You don't like Princess Glory?"

"It's just that we don't get along in the common room. I love Quidditch, and she's against it. I love make-up, and she couldn't care less about it. I'm really popular in Ravenclaw, and she doesn't like it. She thinks books and knowledge are the most important thing in the world, and I don't. It's things like that that makes us not like each other. Plus, she can be so strict."

"She can, and she can get a bit bossy too. She's really smart as well. She's helped a lot of people with homework, from all the grades."

"She was asking if she could help me with homework once, and I said no even if I didn't get too much of it. I like it better when I try figuring things out for myself. It makes me stronger in mind. Anyway, she was offended when I said I didn't need her help."

"I guess she can be stubborn like that once in a while. We're all stubborn like that time to time. You know, I think we should go talk to Princess Joy. What do you say?"

"Of course!"

Both of them walked around the dance floor to the area around the platform, where Ron and Princess Joy were standing. They seemed to be talking to a large crowd of people, most of whom had red hair. Harry knew they were the Weasleys, and he was quite happy about that, them being his favourite family and all, but who were the other two people?

"Oh, Harry! I'm so glad you've come," said Joy with a welcoming smile. "Mom, Dad, I want you to meet my friend Harry Potter, and his date for the ball, Cho Chang."

The two people, who Harry thought were probably Joy's parents, turned around to look at them. They were both slightly tanned, of course. Princess Joy's mom looked a lot like her, with long, blonde wavy hair just like her daughter's. The only difference in both of them were that she seemed older and instead had hazel eyes. She wore a big smile, just like Joy, and was wearing a gorgeous lavender dress robe with so many jewellery that it dazzled the eyes of the person who saw her.

Her father, on the other hand, who Harry remembered had been told that he was the Minister for Magic of Italy, had chestnut hair, with a small beard and mustache, who also had a smile but which wasn't as big as Joy's or his wife's. He wore spectacles which were familiar to Dumbledore's, and under those spectacles he could see wonderful and intelligent blue eyes, which were exactly like the Headmaster's. He could see Dumbledore in his face, and yet you could also see Princess Glory's characteristics at the exact, same time. This handsome, yet respectable man, wore an olive green dress robe with a few rings, an outfit more simple than his wife.

"So, this is the famous Harry Potter I've been hearing so much about," said the father as he shook his hand heartily. "My daughters have told so much about you and your friends in their letters. I couldn't wait to meet you. I'm glad to see you finally." "I've been excited to see you too, Harry," said the mother with a large smile. "I heard you have a mentor now, a friend of your late father, am I correct? If he's able to come, I'll be glad to meet him."

"Remus never told me he was coming," said Harry truthfully with a sigh. "Maybe he couldn't make it-"

"Of course I could make it, Harry!"

Harry sped around to find Remus his loving mentor, looking quite sharp, catching up to him. Remus hugged Harry with such joy.

"I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you, Harry," excused Remus. "I guess I was so caught up about this ball that the notion of telling you just slipped my mind."

"That's okay," forgave Harry. "I guess it made a good surprise in the end."

"You can say that. So, this must be your date for the night. Hello, Cho!"

"Hello, Professor Lupin!" said Cho.

"Oh don't worry, you can call me Remus."

"And these are the Weasleys as you already know."

"Hello, Molly, Arthur, Fred, George, Percy (who was looking quite stuck-up and snobbish, might I add, and was only at the ball because the Minister was attending), Bill and Charlie!"

"Hello!" they all said back.

"And here's Princess Joy and Princess Glory's parents."

"Hello," greeted Remus with a hand shake. "I'm Remus Lupin, Harry's mentor."

"I'm Emmanuel, and this is my wife Liona."

"You both look lovely tonight, especially you, Liona."

"Why thank you!" she said with her hand fluttered at her neck.

"So, you're the Minister for Magic in Italy, Emmanuel?"

"Yes, I am," he answered, "and my wife's a fashion designer, one of the best fashion designers in our world!"

"Ah yes! I've seen your work. Amazing, I must say!"

"Thank you, I'm releasing a fashion line for men next spring," said Liona.

"I'll be glad when that comes out!"

"And this is of course Ron and Princess Joy," introduced Harry.

"Hello!" said Princess Joy. "I'm so glad to finally see you. I've heard so much from Harry about you."

"Good evening, Your Royal Highness," he greeted politely as he bowed, his nose almost touching the floor. "I have heard many lovely things about you."

"Thank you so much! And don't worry, you don't have to bow!"

"You look very beautiful tonight," remarked Remus.

"Thank you once again!" said Joy blushing. "You look quite handsome as well! By the way, where's Hermione and Ginny?"

"Here we are!" said Hermione, running to the small crowd with Ginny behind her.

"Hi, Hermione and Ginny!" said Joy, waving at them. "I'm so glad you've come."

"Wow, Joy! Nice ring!" spotted Ginny.

Harry spotted the gigantic ring as well. It was a ring with a large diamond with a silver tiara around it on a large golden band where had an engraving of her name.

"Oh, I've been meaning to not draw attention with that," said Joy shyly. "It's my own ceremonial personal ring. My sister has one almost like it, except with her name engraved. Do you like it?"

"It's beautiful!" said Hermione.

"Thank you. Have you seen Glory?"

"No," said Ginny. "I thought you would know."

"I've been wondering who she'd bring."

"You mean you don't know either?" asked Harry.

"No!" admitted Joy. "I wish I knew though."

"So Remus," said Joy's mother, "are you single?"

"Yes, unfortunately I am."

"You know, my assistant Julia is single as well. Oh Julia, come here."

A slim, pretty woman with chestnut eyes and light brown hair in a high ponytail wearing a turquoise dress robe came at the call of her name.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"I would like you to meet my daughters' friend's mentor, Remus."

Their eyes met and Harry could tell there was chemistry at that same moment. Remus stared in awe in Julia's eyes and Julia blushed.

"Hello, I'm Julia LuRollo," said the assistant, extending her hand.

"I'm Remus Lupin. Pleased to me you," he said as he kissed her hand. "Do you like the orchestra?"

"I love it! I play a bit of viola myself."

"That's funny," said Remus suspiciously, "I thought angels played harps."

Oh no! thought Harry, embarrassingly. Remus was dropping corky pick-up lines! It was very unlikely of Remus to do something like that, but he just guessed that Remus was so love-stricken that his judgment was impaired. Even so, Julia didn't mind. Harry was happy Remus might finally have love in his life. He wondered if Julia would like the idea of him being a werewolf. Joy's mother leaned close to Harry's ear.

"Leave me to do the matchmaking, huh?"

Harry smiled. Liona and Princess Joy seemed so much alike, including that Liona seemed as friendly as Joy. He really wished, though, that Princess Glory could be there.

Harry looked towards left, trying to find Princess Glory one more time. Surprisingly, he did see Princess Glory, who looked ever-so regal, with a high lace collar. She had the same ring and tiara just like her sister, but she still wore that jeweled necklace with the ruby cross. She wore an embroidered green robe/coat with an inspired old-fashion styled darker blue gown underneath. It had long sleeves which became wider at the end, a line of gems down her chest and ruffles and frills at all edges. Her hair was all kept up in a large, wide bun behind the tiara. Harry had to admit Princess Glory looked like her title, although he was so frustrated he couldn't see the boy she was holding hands with.

"Ron!" said Harry as he nudged Ron.

"What?" asked Ron.

"It's Princess Glory!"

"Where?"

"Near the punch fountain."

"Which one?"

"The one to your right!"

"Oh," Ron looked to his right, where Princess Glory was standing. "Hey, I see her!"

"What are you two whispering about?" asked Joy curiously.

"We've spotted your sister," answered Ron.

"How lovely! Where is she?"

"Near the punch fountain on your- Wait! She's gone!"

"You should have- I see my sister! She's near the orchestra, talking to the cello player. Who's she with?"

"I don't know," admitted Harry. "Oh my goodness! I saw a glance of her escort's robe!"

"What collar is it?"

"A very dark and eerie green, like the Slytherin green."

"Oh please don't let her be going with a Slytherin!"

"I had a glance of the guy too!" said Ron.

"What did you see?" demanded Joy.

"I saw his head."

"Hello, everyone!" said Hermione as she came into the group. "What are you all looking at?"

"We're trying to find out who's escorting Joy's sister."

"Let me see! What did you see so far?"

"We saw a boy in a Slytherin green-coloured robe. What were you saying, Ron?"

"That I saw his head. He's a blond."

"So, what blond Slytherin's do we know?"

"Oh no!" gasped Hermione.

"What Hermione?" asked Harry.

"I know who she's going out with!" Hermione said in fear.

"Who?"

"Yeah, who?"

"Tell us!"

"It's...It's..."

"Come on, Hermione!"

"Mom! Dad! I'm so glad to see you!"

All for of them turned around to see Princess Glory speaking to her parents.

"Hello, sweetheart!" greeted her mother.

"Nice to see you again!" said her father.

"Where's the boy who asked you to the ball?"

"Here's right behind me."

An odd shocked feeling went down Harry's back as he finally saw her escort.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Dumbledore," said the boy. "So glad to finally meet you. Princess Glory has told so much about you."

"It's Draco Malfoy!" blurted out Hermione.

"Oh no! It can't be!" cried Princess Joy. "It just can't be!"

"Well, it is, and there's nothing we can do about it."

"How can she like that horrid boy!"

It seemed to Harry and the others that Princess Joy was about to cry, but she held her tears and smiled her usual smile, greeting Malfoy with obligation.

"Hello, Malfoy," said Princess Joy reluctantly.

"Why hello, Princess Joy, wonderful to see you," he said in a stiff voice. "You look...pretty."

"Of course she does!" blurted out Ron. "She's the prettiest girl in the world!"

"Ron, stop it!" nudged Princess Joy to Ron. "You're embarrassing me and everyone else!"

"Fine...."

"I think I see Father in the back," said Malfoy. "I must bring him to see you all. It's been such a pleasure speaking with you. And I will tell you now that your daughter Princess Glory is one of the most extraordinary, wonderful and beautiful young ladies I've ever met."

"Oh Draco!" blushed Princess Glory. "You're so sweet! Don't worry, you don't have to call me `Princess' all the time."

"Thank you, Glory. Goodbye!"

Once Malfoy was out of sight, Princess Joy grabbed her sister's arm and brought her to her.

"Ow!" shouted Princess Glory in pain, rubbing her arm. "How dare you do that to me!"

"I can't believe you, Sis. What's wrong with you? Why are you with that boy!"

"There is nothing wrong with me," scowled Princess Glory, "and there is nothing wrong with him! He's a nice person who treats me with respect and I enjoy being with him."

"But why did you have to say 'yes' to him? You could have picked Seamus Finnnigan, he's a nice boy....or someone else! Do you really think he's a good date?"

"Joy, you make it seem like I just randomly picked him!"

"It sure sounds like it!"

"He's not just a date for this evening anyway!"

"What?" questioned Joy, angrily and curiously. "What are you talking about?"

"Didn't you know?"

"Know what?"

"He's my boyfriend!"

Once those words were spoken, Hermione gasped, Harry's jaw dropped and Ron spat his punch out.

"I thought you knew," stated Princess Glory.

"No, I didn't!" shouted Joy.

"He's not so bad," interrupted Ginny. "He's a really nice guy if he wants to show it."

"Ginny!" pleaded Ron to Ginny, his arms outstretched. "Ginny, what's wrong with you? He's a Malfoy! Malfoys hate Weasleys, Weasleys hate Malfoys. It's the circle of life!"

"Besides, I think he's just that way because his father wants him to be like that," said Princess Glory. "If it wasn't for him, Draco would be kinder to everyone. I'm surprised at you, Joy. You're usually not that critical about others."

It looked as if Princess Joy would explode. Her tanned skin (which became a bit lighter during the months of school) became burning red and it was as if smoke was coming out of her ears.

"I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU!" shouted Princess Joy. "What's wrong with you? If I were you, I'd dump Draco and pick someone else. I'd try and get a better dating judgment too. You don't know what you're doing!"

"Yes, I do know what I am doing, and if I were you, I'd cover myself a bit more! You've got bare shoulders! You look horrible!"

"I do not!" pouted Joy. "Just because you're afraid to show just a bit of skin, doesn't mean I have to go along with it."

"Hey! Let me get a picture of this!" shouted Colin Creevey.

"You're crazy. Put something on!" Princess Glory screamed while photos were shot.

"No!"

"Fine then! Look skimpy! What do I care! You're nothing but a bimbo anyway!"

Everyone gasped at that remark.

"How dare you call me that!" shouted Joy. "You're nothing but a little weasel who has to have everything perfect. You're a little know-it-all, you know that! You always have to be the smartest one in the world!"

"It's better than being a little know-nothing-at-all!"

"I'm not a 'little know-nothing-at-all'! I'm smart. I've got an A average. I'm at the top of my class!"

"You might be the top of your class, but that's only because you're royal, and have intelligent ancestors. Otherwise, you don't even work at it! Hermione could probably whip your butt in any exam if you weren't!"

"Can you not get me into this, please?" pleaded Hermione.

"You nerd!" shouted Princess Joy.

"You tramp!" shouted Princess Glory.

"Girls! Girls!" said her father, trying to calm them down. "You both have different points of view for guys and clothing. Let the other do what she wants, all right? Now say sorry to each other."

"Sorry, Joy," apologized Glory reluctantly.

"Sorry, Glory," apologized Joy as well.

"Good! I don't want anymore fighting between you two. Got it?"

"Yes."

"Yes, we do."

"Now you!" said Emmanuel, pointing to Colin. "What's your name?"

"Colin Creevey..." he murmured in a scared voice.

"Colin, I don't want you being a paparazzi around the girls. They've already got enough of that to deal with. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

Their father walked away proudly to a little crowd he was having a conversation with. Harry couldn't believe Princess Joy could erupt like that. He had never seen her this angry.

"I never knew sisters could fight like that!" said Cho. "And Joy! She's the sweetest person in the world! As well, Princess Glory can get into a fit, but she's never been as mad as this!"

"I can't believe Princess Glory called her a bimbo and a tramp, and that Princess Joy called her a weasel and a nerd. It's crazy! Is this normal?"

"I have no idea!"

"Oh no!" said Ron. "Here comes Malfoy and his father!"

Malfoy and his father, a greedy, odious, cold-hearted man with black robes, walked to the royal crowd where Princess Glory and Princess Joy were rosy-cheeked with embarrassment.

"Look at that!" said Lucius Malfoy, looking at Princess Glory. "Draco, is this that beautiful and wonderful young lady who you've been boasting about this past month?"

"Yes, Father. Isn't she amazing?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Royal and Most Magnificent Highness," he greeted as he bowed to her.

"Why thank you! It's been such a pleasure knowing your son. He's so sweet."

"Ah yes, but not as sweet as you, from what I heard!"

At this point, Princess Glory's cheeks blushed as red as the torches aflame around the room.

"Thank you ever so much for getting my son's grades up. You have been helping him and inspiring him immensely since he met you."

"Oh, it's my pleasure!"

"Princess Glory, I've been meaning to ask you one thing, since you're becoming so close to Draco. What are your views on Muggle-borns?"

Harry, Cho and his friends had been like flies on the wall the whole entire time. They all stood still in shock once they heard the word `Muggle-borns', and became anxious in patience for her answer.

"Mr. Malfoy," said Princess Glory, "there are just so many Muggle-borns, or Muggles in wizard families!"

"Yes, and so many infested families indeed!"

"But if all muggle-wizard families were cast out, wouldn't the wizard community be smaller?"

"Of course!"

"So wouldn't that mean, less wizards and witches in Diagon Alley and Hogwarts?"

"Indeed!"

"But if there are less wizards and witches in Diagon Alley and such stores, wouldn't there be less witches and wizards buying things?"

"Well, I guess..."

"Wouldn't that mean less prophets?"

"I guess..."

"And you're in the Ministry of Magic, of course?"

"Yes..."

"And you have an impact on that small community that are wizards and witches, don't you?"

"Well, if you put it that way..."

"And once I become 18 years of age, won't I be ruling over this small community as well?"

"Of course..."

"So, the point I'm saying, is that we need these muggle-wizard families. You see, the more muggle-borns there are in the wizard community, the bigger the wizard community is, which means the more big of a community there is, the more prophets stores will earn, the more impact you, the governors and the government have and the bigger my empire will be!"

"Well! I've....never heard it put in...that way before... Maybe if you put it that way we need them for certain things. Draco, keep an eye on this smarty. She's got a witty mind."

They all stood in shock and fear. Was Princess Glory going to the dark side? Harry had to find out. While Malfoy and his father were turned away, Harry leaned to Princess Glory's ear.

"Your Royal Highness," he said in an obligated, shy way, afraid that she could snap at any moment, "does this mean you're against Muggles and Muggle-borns?"

"Of course not!" said Princess Glory. "Muggles are great human beings. I personally think there's nothing wrong with them. I just tried to show Mr. Malfoy one way of seeing that muggles and muggle-born wizards and witches aren't so bad. As far as I'm concerned, it worked!"

Princess Glory was as helpful in a sneaky way as her mother, just like when her mother introduced Remus to her assistant. Maybe she wasn't as wicked as Harry and the rest thought she was turning out to be. Inside, she was still the kind, gentle, serious and smart person that they had always known. Or was she trying to show a nicer side to impress Harry, her sister and their friends, just like she had done to Mr. Malfoy?

"I assume these are the lucky parents of this wonderful child!" said Lucius Malfoy, approaching Emmanuel and Liona.

"Oh hello, Lucius!" greeted Emmanuel. "I've heard all about your son from my daughter. I'm Emmanuel Dumbledore and this is my wonderful wife, Liona."

"I've been wanting to meet you for so long," said Mr. Malfoy, "and so has Narcissa. She's mingling with some others right now. Ah, here she is! Narcissa, meet Emmanuel and Liona, the parents of the Princesses."

Narcissa was a pale, white-blonde lady who looked quite beautiful, probably just because it concerned her son's girlfriend, which was what Harry was thinking. Malfoy's mother shook hands with Princess Glory's parents.

"It's so nice to see you," said Mrs. Malfoy. "I've heard so many things about your daughter."

"Yes, both our daughters are wonderful. Have you met the other one, Joy?"

"No, not yet."

"Then it's time you have! Joy, come over here."

Princess Joy came to her mother from talking to a group of witches with a giant smile as she shook their hands. Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy bowed and greeted her with no feeling at all. Harry could tell they favoured her sister much more.

"So, are the girls excited for their sweet-sixteen birthday?" asked Mrs. Malfoy.

"Oh quite much! Joy more than Glory though. She's been dreaming about this party ever since she heard about such a thing."

"Your hair is so pretty, Rosa," complimented Narcissa, glaring at Liona's hair. "How do you keep the volume in it?"

"It's a family thing, but we can discuss it over some stir-fried shrimp...."

They walked off talking about the usual women things as Malfoy and Glory's fathers started to talk.

"How is it going in the Italian Ministry?" asked Lucius.

"Oh fine for the most. Cauldron and wand exports are doing beautifully. It's quite a great year for trading."

"So I've heard greatly!"

"Ah yes, but the main concern right now is the crown. I cannot believe some ministries are refusing to let my girls be Queens of Magic!"

"If only they could open their eyes and see the wonders they would be! That Princess Glory, she would be a fine leader. I've heard from Mr. Fudge before that she was 'born with political potential'."

"Cornelius is gladly sticking up for them. I hope everything turns out okay."

"Me as well. It would be a great loss if your wonderful daughter Princess Glory couldn't express those great leadership talents to the wizarding world!"

Harry almost thought for a few seconds that Mr. Malfoy seemed nice. He sure liked Princess Glory. A strange feeling came over him, as if someone was standing right behind him. He turned around and saw a wonderfully friendly face.

"Hello, Harry!" said Professor Dumbledore in a very cheery mood. "Having fun so far?"

"Yes, Professor."

"It's been so long since I've seen the girls. I've been waiting for this celebration for so long."

"Professor, did you know that the Ministry was talking about taking away Princess Joy and Princess Glory's powers to the throne?"

"Sadly, yes. I am also one of the many people who are fighting against those patriotic and rebellious ministries. If only they knew.... You see here, Harry, some ministries do not know how kind, smart and what leaders these girls are. They just think they're money-making, snobbish, isolated figures who are just too powerful. Harry, you've got to know them. They aren't like that, are they?"

"Of course not!"

"Exactly. I'm going to have a chat with my great-great grandson and Mr. Malfoy, then I will declare dinner. I am beginning to be quite hungry," he said as he winked at him.

Harry smiled as Professor Dumbledore floated away. Just as Dumbledore said, they had started the grand dinner that would await them. Harry remembered Princess Joy explaining the many courses that would be served the night when she was looking through which seemed like millions and millions of choices of food to serve.

The first course that was served was the antipasto; a serving of various delis, fruits, vegetables and pickled vegetables as well. The plates appeared before them magically, as it usually did. Harry quite enjoyed the pastrami on his plate, while Cho was becoming quite fond of the sweet, juicy melon. However, some slices of meat were a bit spicy. Neville gulped down an extremely spicy one which caused him to spit out flames of fire. Princess Glory quickly came over to give him some flame-ceasing magical water and a small spell which cured him right up.

During the whole entire time, fresh bread, sodas, wine, butterbeer and various other drinks were placed all each table and many other places. Harry could see Dean Thomas inhaling as much bread as he could eat.

The second course was a big and meaty dish of potato-filled tortellini. Harry never had tortellini, but once the food entered his mouth, he wished dearly that he could have eaten the wonderful pasta in his earlier years. It was amazing the things that Harry could observe because of the placement of the tables. He could see Remus flirting with Julia, Percy boring the Princess' father about his job and Mr. Fudge, Malfoy and Princess Glory discussing politics and the issues their fathers debated at work, Mr. Fudge stuffing his face with meatballs, the list went on and on.

The third course was a light and healthy salad. Hundreds of different kinds of dressings popped up in glass bowls on each table. Harry and Cho both tried the roasted herb ranch and bacon vinaigrette, which was quite delightful.

The fourth serving was what was called 'the main course', which seemed difficult for Harry to believe considering all the other courses. There was a juicy, thick slice of roast beef with gravy, tiny corn, green beans, roasted potatoes and carrots.

"Oh no!" cried Tootsie Forheiner, a small, blonde, third-year Hufflepuff girl.

"What is it?" asked Colin Creevey, who was sitting beside her.

"This is meat. I'm a vegetarian!"

Once Princess Joy caught her eye on the scene, rushed to Tootsie.

"What's the matter, dear?" she asked sweetly.

"I can't eat this. I'm a vegetarian. Sorry...."

"Oh, don't worry! Is there anything else you'd like?"

"Hm.....I wouldn't go wrong with a veggie burger!"

"Then that's what you'll have!"

Princess Joy took out her wand, waved it, and suddenly the roast beef turned into a mighty veggie burger.

"Thank you so much!"

"It was a pleasure. Hope you have a wonderful night!" said the Princess as she floated away (as it seemed with the dress of her's).

The night proceeded, and as it went, the courses were almost done, except for one very important course in every birthday (unfortunately, 'every birthday' doesn't quite include Harry's past birthdays).

"With great joy and happiness," spoke Professor Dumbledore, "I would like to bring forth.... the cake."

He gave a quick echoing snap of his long fingers, and immediately, the side doors opened and out came 20 waiters and waitresses carrying what seemed to be the shape of a wedding cake, but once Harry looked at the decorations, he saw that it was a Sweet Sixteen birthday cake. It said on the candles 'SWEET SIXTEEN', with figures of Princess Joy and Princess Glory in their birthday gowns. There were tons of iced sugar frills, flowers and decorations. It was a gigantic cake, in length and width. It had 10 thick, frosty vanilla layers. Everyone had to agree; it was a magnificent cake.

The waiters and waitresses laid the massive cake onto the table in front of the Princesses. Their faces were aglow in the wonderful presence of the gigantic pastry (even though they ordered it specifically the way it was).

"Happy Birthday to you!" sang all those present in the Great Hall. "Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, Dear Royal Highnesses Princess Joy and Princess Glory of the Magical Realm.... Happy Birthday to you!"

"Make a wish, dears!" said Professor Dumbledore.

Both girls closed their eyes, thought for a moment, and blew. The candles were extinguished and everyone cheered. The servants passed slices of delicious cake with vanilla icing and frosting, fruit-filling, moist bread and peach creme in-between the layers to everyone. Harry was anxious to eat the cake since he laid eyes on it. Once they were passed two slices of cake, Cho and Harry dug in. It was simply delicious.

"It's the best cake I've ever eaten!" said Harry.

"The filling is so sweet!" said Cho.

"Not as sweet as you," said Harry meaningfully.

"Thank you.... That's so kind of you," she said blushing.

Harry looked down at his feet. Cho was very sweet, as he said.

"Hey, Cho! Here!" he said as he dived a fork full of cake into Cho's mouth.

"Wow! I wasn't expecting that! Have some of this!" she said as a fork flew into his mouth. Before they knew it, they were feeding each other cake (yeah, that might seem disgusting to some people, but hey, what can you do? They're in love, and they're teenagers). Once they were done eating, Harry looked at the other couples in the Great Hall. He saw Victor giving his cake to Hermione with a pinch of her cheek. Princess Joy and Ron were playing with the cake, putting frosting on each other's nose, forehead and cheeks. Princesses Joy and Glory's parents were sharing a piece of cake. Mrs. Weasley was letting Mr. Weasley eat the icing off her cake. Princess Glory and Malfoy were feeding cake to each other as well. Harry felt strange, almost shocked and confused with an awkward feeling in his stomach once he saw them. It almost seemed 'scary' to him, seeing Malfoy flirt with Princess Glory. Even Malfoy's parents were sharing a piece of cake, which was even more frightening to Harry.

After the cake was eaten (which took a while), Professor McGonagoll made an announcement.

"It's time to open the presents!" she called out. A roar of applaud rushed throughout the students. "We don't have enough time to open all the presents, so we will just open 15."

"Just 15?" said Harry. "That's more birthday presents I've ever had in my life!"

"I know," agreed Cho. "It is a lot."

"These first ones are from... Hannah Abbot and the Abbot family! These two are for you both."

Professor McGonagoll handed both of them the wrapped box from the gigantic pile (actually, there was a table under those presents) that contained the Abbot family's gift.

"I'll read the card," volunteered Princess Glory.

"Of course," said Professor McGonagoll, handing her the card. She took it out of the envelope and read the birthday greeting:

"For two special princesses on their sweet-sixteen," read Princess Glory aloud. She then opened the card. "May on your royal sixteenth birthday, all your wishes come true for the time ahead. That's so sweet of you, Hannah!"

"My pleasure," said the Hufflepuff girl shyly.

They both ripped open the presents. They had both received a large make-up kit with many assorted lip sticks, glosses, make up, etc., with a mirror as well.

"Thank you so much!" said Princess Joy.

"Same here!" said Princess Glory.

"The next item is from....the Weasleys," said Professor McGonagoll, reading the front of the envelope attached to the present, before she passed out both presents. This time Princess Joy read the card.

"Today's a special occasion, especially for two special twins like you," read Joy, then she opened the card. "Hoping your sweet-sixteens are as sweet as you two. May all your goals be fulfilled during your 16th year. How nice, Ron, Ginny, and the rest of the Weasleys!"

"Your welcome," said Ron blushing.

They opened their presents, Princess Joy thrashing at the paper with excitement. She marveled at it as she opened the little box the necklace came in. Her face was glowing as she picked up the lovely necklace with the letter 'J' on it.

"Oh, Ron, I love it!" she said as she gave Ron a big hug and a kiss on the cheek (his ears became rosy). "You're so thoughtful!"

"How wonderful, Ron," said Glory, as she opened her present. "Thank you ever so much, and thank you too, Ginny."

"Your welcome," she said.

"Here's Harry Potter's presents," said Professor McGonagoll.

Everyone looked closely and paid great attention. What would the famous Harry Potter bring to the famous Princesses? thought the crowd. Harry's head was spinning with questions as well. Would they like it? Will it seem appropriate? Would they write about it in The Daily Prophet? He waited in anticipation. They read the card and opened the presents. Princess Joy opened hers first again and gave a large grin as her eyes sparkled at the jewelled hair accessories.

"Harry, how wonderful! Just the thing for my hair... Ooooh! A hair band! Don't have too many of those. Thank you!"

So Princess Joy loved her present. He only had to wait for Princess Glory's response. She ripped the wrapping off looking, almost as anticipated as Harry did. She fell in awe as she picked up the diary and examined it closely. A warm, joyful feeling came over her which showed.

"Why....Thank you, Harry," she said slowly, as if trying to collect words. "I don't know what to say... It's magnificent!"

Harry was extremely glad that she liked it. He just was a bit confused about how happy she was once she laid her eyes on it. With all the gold, gems and precious goods she had, how could she be so glorified over a diary?

They moved onto the next presents, which were from Hermione Granger and her family. They opened the presents which revealed 2 Fabergé eggs and two signed copies of "Wizard Kings and Queens, the Masters of Magic", one egg and one book for each of them. The Fabergé eggs were both personalized for each one. Each bared their coat of arms. They both pressed the button on theirs, which opened the eggs to reveal little framed portraits of them on all their birthdays. Their portraits waved at them happily.

"How unique!" said Princess Joy. "It's wonderful!"

"Fantastic!" said Princess Glory. "I've always admired these. I'm a great fan of Tsar Nicholas II and his family."

"Here's a present from Colin Creevey and his family!"

It was a present for both of them. It was a blown-up picture of Princess Joy, Princess Glory and Harry Potter in a pewter frame.

"How lovely!" said Princess Joy.

"Thank you ever so much, Colin!" said Princess Glory. "Now we can save a memory of our friendship with Harry."

"Here's a present from the Malfoys to Princess Joy," said Professor McGonagoll, handing her the present. "Where's the one for Princess Glory?"

"We've arranged for her present to be brought to her," said Lucius Malfoy. He quickly snapped his fingers. Out the door on the side, came a scrawny, little house-elf with a piece of sheet around him. He carried a large object, covered with a silky blanket. The little house-elf laid it in front of Princess Glory, bowing first.

"Here is Princess Glory's present from the Mafloys, ma'am," the little tortured thing said. He pulled off the blanket, revealing a beautiful porcelain doll, which was a replica of Princess Glory as she looked at that moment. It was one third of Princess Glory's size, which was actually very big for a porcelain doll like that. It stood on a platform, which said: Her Most Royal and Magnificent Highness Princess Glorificous Elizabeth Tatiana Victoria Nefertiti Dumbledore-Illiermo. The house-elf bowed once again and scurried off.

"Oh, Draco!" cried Princess Glory. "You remembered I adore porcelain dolls! It's so beautiful! It looks just like me!" Princess Glory leaned over and kissed Malfoy. Harry felt like he was going to puke.

Suddenly, the doll came alive and curtsied at her.

"May I add that this outfit for this evening was wonderfully well thought-out and looks quite majestic."

"It talks!" remarked Princess Glory. "How intriguing. I already love it."

"Believe me, Your Royal Highness," said the doll, "there wouldn't be anyone else I'd want to be a doll of."

"My goodness! Does my new present know her manners!"

"That's what we intended, Your Royal Highness," said Lucius Malfoy. "Great quality is a must for a wonderful leader like you."

"Oh, you're embarrassing me!"

"Let's go on with Princess Joy's present, shall we!" interrupted Professor McGonagoll.

Princess Joy opened her present, not as excited as she was for the other presents. It turned out to be emerald and gold bracelets, necklace, earrings and tiara in a gold jewellery box.

"Why thank you, how lovely," said the Princess humbly.

"Your welcome. You deserve every one of those fine jewels and more, Milady," said Narcissa Malfoy, with a small, almost-kind smile.

The present opening went on for about 10 minutes more. After the other presents, Dumbledore tapped his fork onto his glass, ordering attention.

"Now that my dearest and greatest granddaughters have opened a few of the many wonderful presents they have been given," showing the humongous mountains of presents that showed only a fraction of their gifts, "we may unveil the presents their parents and I have given to them."

A roar of cheer and clapping filled the room. Emmanuel and Liona stood up and walked in front of the crowd and their daughters.

"Our first present from Professor Dumbledore and us as you can see," said Emmanuel, "is the ball, the food, the decorations, the make-overs, the gowns and the rest that made up this evening."

"But our personal gifts given to our lovely and most splendid daughters," continued their mother, "are these luxury, super-sized, furnished personal yachts for each of the girls out on the lake."

Everyone ran to the glass windows of the Great Hall, as did Harry. He saw two gigantic luxury yachts. They were almost as big as Durmstrang's boat during his 4th year. Harry would have loved to have a look into those yachts. How great Princesses Glory and Joy's life must be! he thought to himself. Their parents ordered everyone to please go back to their seats as Dumbledore would announce his present to the girls.

"Thank you for your attention, students, staff and guests. Every birthday, I have tried to find the most unique and wonderful presents I can arrange. To start, I have ordered to put statues of the girls around the hallways."

A hum of clapping hands filled the room with applause.

"Yes, yes, yes. Second, I have also ordered paintings of them hung up around the school, and one giant portrait of them both."

He waved his wand and magically a flat object draped with curtains at the head of the Great Hall appeared. He pulled the curtains and there hung a giant painting of the girls in their gowns.

"How wonderful!" said Princess Joy.

"Fantastic!" said Princess Glory.

"As well, I have also gotten my great-great-great-granddaughters another token of my love to them. Hagrid, Come in!"

Hagrid came out of the entrance, dragging a long rope in each hand. Attached to the ropes which also entered the hall, were 2 jewelled, majestic carriages bearing their coat of arms. To which was pulling the carriages, were 1 unicorn for each carriage. Pulling the one with Princess Glory's coat of arms, was a black, winged unicorn. Pulling the carriage with Princess Joy's coat of arms, was an also winged, white unicorn. Everyone stood in awe, as their hands were busy clapping.

"Oh thank you, Nono!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!" shouted both the girls.

"Alas, there is something else. Unicorns!"

Both unicorns bowed, stood up straight on their 4 legs and straightened their heads and necks.

"From your great-great-great-grandfather," said Princess Joy's white unicorn, in a fairy-like female voice.

They both cleared their throats (yes, as strange as that may sound, the unicorns did clear their throats) and sang:

"Young ladies, on your 16th birthdays,

may you both have a ball of a time.

But seeing you so merry and joyful,

oh granddaughters, the pleasure is mine.

A forest of fairies nor an ocean of mermaids,

will never compare to your smiles.

How great a time it is to know you,

even if it's only for a while.

May you always be filled with laughter,

and may you always feel welcome and love.

For you 2 sweet grandchildren deserve it,

for you are angels from above.

Hoping your days are good and bright,

hoping your lives will be filled with delight.

May both of you, never be blue,

Even so, just remember, Nono Albus loves you!"

A rampage of crying, applauding and cheering came from all corners of the room. Both Princesses were crying for joy after hearing it.

"Yes, singing is the perk of having talking unicorns," said Professor Dumbledore.

"I love you so much!" cried Princess Joy, her make-up completely streaked from tears.

"Thank you so much !" sobbed Glory, trying to hold back waterfalls of tears.

"It was my pleasure, girls."

"Let's begin with the thanking, shall we?" said Professor McGonagoll, holding a tissue to her teary eye.

"I guess we shall. May Aansi, Jasmine and Family come up. Then they will thank Aardvark, Reeda and Family, and then Ablifter, Thomas and Family."

Everyone lined up as their names were called so they could be thanked by Their Royal Highnesses. Once it was Harry's turn, he stood up and lined up in the queue of people. After a long time, he finally came to them.

"Harry!" said Princess Joy. "Thank you ever so much for those hair accessories. I'm going to use them tomorrow!"

"Hey, Harry!" said Ron, who was sitting aside Joy.

"Hey, Ron! What do you think of the ball?"

"It's bloody brilliant!"

Harry walked over to Princess Glory, who was thanking Abigail Possy but soon turned her head and faced Harry with a grin.

"Why hello, Harry! Thank you so much for that diary."

"Your welcome."

"I would like to talk to you more, but I can't. The line needs to proceed. I'll talk to you soon."

"All right."

Malfoy looked away as Harry passed by him. He shook hands with their parents, telling him how glad they were that a fine young man like him would be friends with their girls as they also thanked him for coming. He as well shook hands with Dumbledore, who gave a little wink and told him to enjoy the rest of the ball.

Once he was finished being thanked, he walked to his seat where Cho Chang was gazing around the room.

"Harry, I was looking for you!" said Cho. "There are so many people up there."

"I know. When will they start dancing?"

"Probably soon."

"Uh...Prefess'r Dumbledore?" asked Hagrid, whose head was peering out of a door (he had immediately went back out after pulling in the carriages). "The royel pets er gettin' resless. May they join th' ball?"

"Of course, Hagrid," said Dumbledore. "You may let them in."

Hagrid came out of the door with the giant hippogryph and hippigryph, leashes on them, and led them to Joy and Glory's side. Harry noticed how tame they were, for such wild animals. Malfoy didn't notice this; he jumped at the first sight of Princess Glory's hippigryph. It took a long time for Princess Glory to settle him down.

Professor Flitwick, who looked like one of Santa's helpers in a red and green robe, fumbled up to the front of the hall to call everyone's attention.

"Excuse me everyone, may I have your attention, please?" he called out in his squeaky voice. Unfortunately, no one paid attention.

"May I have your attention please?!?" he called out more loudly. He still hadn't got any attention.

The little wizard, now quite frustrated, waved his wand and conjured up a spell that made appear a mega-phone. Professor Flitwick pushed the button of the mega-phone, and then a large high-pitched noise shook the room. Everyone finally paid attention to the tiny professor.

"Finally!" grunted Professor Flitwick. "It's time for Princesses Glory and Joy to have their first dances of the night."

Everyone clapped as the Princesses and their escorts walked to the center of the ball room floor. The orchestra stepped aside as Professor Flitwick spoke once again.

"Please welcome the entertainment for the night: Master-made Music!"

Everyone cheered, even though the group seemed foreign to them. They were a rock/pop band from Canada, which was also very popular in many parts of North and South America, Australia and a few parts of Europe.

The band members of Master-made Music (which were 4 people: 2 witches and 2 wizards) walked up to the platform. They wore black and blue robes, with striped ties and silver chains near their waists. The witches wore shorter robes than the boys, almost like mini-dresses. One wizard, who was at the back of the platform playing the drums, had blond spiky hair. The other wizard, unlike the other, was in the front of the platform, and had brown, gelled-back hair, and had an electric guitar in his arms. One girl was a brunette with long hair, which was flipped at the end. She had silver bracelets on each wrist, and also played an electric guitar. The other girl with short, blonde hair, who played the key-board, was the only one who didn't wear a tie, although she did wear a choker.

Once everyone was settled down, the drummer tapped his drumsticks as he counted down.

"One, two, three!"

The band started playing a beautiful slow song, which was actually a great song to Harry. Ron and Princess Joy danced as they gazed peacefully into each other's eyes. Princess Glory and Malfoy did the same, although they did it in a bit more of a stern way (I guess Malfoy and Glory weren't up for that lovey-dovey stuff Glory wasn't amused of). Harry felt he that he couldn't watch the couple, because of the fact that a nice friend of his (though at times she could get not-so-friendly) was dancing with his arch-enemy. Harry could hear sobbing noises from the back of him. Once he turned around, he found out it was Hagrid crying.

"What's wrong, Hagrid?" asked Harry.

"I's jus' so beaut'ful!" sobbed Hagrid, as he gave a huge blow of his nose in a handkerchief. "Princ'ss Joy and Princ'ss Glory, havin' a slow-dance on their sixteenth birthdays. I still remember when they w're wee. Oh, the good ol' days!"

"What kind of things do you remember?"

"Ya see, the thing tha' makes me cry the most is the mem'ry when Princ'ss Joy taught me how t' dance."

"Princess Joy taught you how to dance?"

"Oh yeah! Princ'ss Glory a bi' as well, but she helped me more on d' stuff that I missed in school. Ye know, 'istory, some spells even though I couldn't do 'em, astrol'gy, stuff like that."

"Wow! I never knew that."

"Yep! Do I ev'r love 'em!"

And then the half-giant cried even more. The song ended soon after, and everyone clapped, especially Hagrid.

"All of you may dance with your escorts," called out Professor Flitwick.

The band started again and this time it was a loud, dancing song. Everyone grabbed a partner to dance. Hagrid went up to Princess Joy just as her and Ron were going to dance again.

"Uhm...Joy?" asked Hagrid humbly.

"Yes, Hagrid?" said Joy with a big smile.

"I was wonderin'....Would ya like t' dance, like ol' times?"

"Of course, Hagrid! I would adore it! You don't mind, do you, Ron?"

"No, of course," said Ron, shaking his head. "Go on!"

Princess Joy and Hagrid started dancing. Harry was amazed at how good they were. It seemed as if Hagrid was as young as they were. They twirled, dipped, 'grooved to the beat', you name it.

After watching Hagrid and Joy dancing, Harry decided he would dance as well, even if he never liked it. He found Cho and gave her his hand.

"Would you like to dance, Cho?" he asked softly.

"Gladly."

Both of them rushed to the dance floor as they did some 'moves' of their own. Harry didn't care if he was making a fool of himself. The night was young, and as long as he was with Cho, nothing could go wrong. Waiters and waitresses were walking around, passing out hors d'oeuvres as usual. One waitress came to Harry and Cho in the middle of a great song.

"Would you like some hors d'oeuvres?" asked the waitress with a kind smile. Harry looked at the plate. There was a lot of meat treats on there. He became interested in one with some light-brown meat with stir-fried vegetables and rice on it.

"Sure, I'll try this one," he said as he picked it up. "Would you like anything, Cho?"

"No thanks. I'm full."

Harry took a bite out of the interesting finger food. It was very good, though mysterious.

"What is this, Miss?" asked Harry.

"Teriyaki Japanese pixy with stir-fried veggies and rice on top."

Harry's eyes almost popped out as he listened to those words. He would have spit out his food if it wasn't so good. He remembered in his 2nd year, when Professor Lockhart let out a batch of wild, Cornish pixies that brought absolute chaos and catastrophe to the class.

"Pixies? Those little devils?"

"Yes, Japanese pixies. They're nice and plump, very juicy and great for teriyaki."

"I eat Teriyaki pixies at home, Harry," said Cho. "They're very good for you!"

With all this explanation, Harry gulped down the last piece of pixie.

They're pesky little creatures , thought Harry. It's a good excuse to get rid of them.

The waitress went to the other guests afterwards. The band up on stage started to play another slow song. Cho went close to Harry as they danced slowly. Harry had never had so much fun at a ball in his life. Harry wished the slow dance would never end.

But alas, it did. That night the band played many songs, and all the witches and wizards there danced the night away. Everyone was dancing, even the staff of Hogwarts. Dumbledore was dancing with Professor McGonagoll, Professor Flitwick was dancing with Professor Sprout (it was more like Professor Sprout carrying him than dancing with him) and even Professor Luigi was dancing with Professor Trelawney.

Harry and Cho were dancing near Neville and Ginny. Neville was looking very nervous and stepped on Ginny's feet many times. A mouse-haired 1st year girl tapped Ginny on the shoulder. Ginny looked down at the girl as she asked Ginny something shyly.

"Excuse me," said the little girl. "Do you know where the nearest bathroom is? I'm still not sure where everything is yet."

"Oh don't worry. It's right over there," she said as she flung her arm, pointing to a door. Her arm knocked over the wine glass of Professor Luigi, which spilled all over Malfoy's robes. Malfoy looked down at his soaked robe as he looked at Ginny with burning rage. Princess Glory was looking a bit worried.

"How dare you soak my new robes!" he shouted at her. "Cheap little girls like you shouldn't go off knocking wine glasses onto expensive robes which they obviously can't afford!"

"Draco, how dare you say that to Ginny!" scolded Princess Glory in an angry, disciplinarian voice.

Ginny's eyes became all teary.

"I'm so sorry, Malfoy!" apologized Ginny. "I really didn't mean it!"

"You better be sorry!" he shouted. "I've got to wipe off this stuff on my robes. I'll be back soon, Princess."

Malfoy ran out of the hall in anger. Ginny burst out crying and laid her sobbing head on Neville's shoulders. He felt very shy, not knowing what to do next.

"Don't worry, Ginny," said Princess Glory in a sweet voice. "He didn't mean those awful things. He just gets very hot-tempered sometimes. He was really looking forward to this ball and he bought a brand new, expensive robe. He's really angry, but we all know it was an accident."

"Your Royal Highness, you're so nice to me!" she sobbed as another round of tears came out.

"I'm very sorry that happened, Ginny," said Professor Luigi. "Maybe it's better if you go sit down."

"Yes, Professor Luigi."

Both her and Neville took a seat as she tried to dry her eyes. They all watched Ginny walk away as they looked back on Malfoy's horrible behaviour.

"I feel so sorry for Ginny," said Cho sympathetically. "She didn't deserve to be yelled at like that. I wish Malfoy wouldn't have got so mad at her."

"And I wish my glass of wine didn't spill," said Professor Luigi, looking down at his now-empty wine glass disappointedly. "I liked that wine. It was really good stuff!"

They tried forgetting about the scene and continued dancing, except for Princess Glory. She just stared around the room, waiting for Malfoy to get back. It was quite a while that he was gone. Everyone got very suspicious.

"I wonder what's keeping Malfoy so long," said Harry.

"I know," agreed Professor Luigi. "I'm going to check up on him and see why he's not coming."

Professor Luigi whisked himself out of the room to the boys' bathroom.

"Harry!"

He turned around to see who called him. Remus, with a big grin on his face, was approaching him.

"Harry, how are you tonight?" asked Remus.

"Great!" said Harry. "And you?"

"Wonderful. I really like Julia. I asked her out tonight, and I'm so excited. I'm so sorry I haven't spent time with you this evening."

"It's okay, Remus. I'm having a great time."

"Oh hello, Cho!" said Remus. "Didn't see you there. How do you do?"

"Fine thank you, Remus," said Cho, shaking her hand. "I think I'm going to sit down and let you two catch up."

Cho Chang, as she said went to the tables and took a seat, while Harry and Remus started up a conversation.

"Are you having a good time with Cho?" asked Remus

"I'm having a great time! This is the best ball I've ever been to."

"Well I'm glad you're happy."

A waiter stopped by them as they were talking.

"May I offer any of you fellows some finger food?"

"Of course!" said Remus. "I'll have...this one!" He took the Teriyaki Japanese pixie, although Harry didn't think he knew what it was. "Harry, would you like anything?"

"No thanks."

"That will be all for tonight," said Remus to the waiter.

The waiter went to the next person, while Remus gulped the whole entire thing down.

"Wow, this is wonderful!" said Remus. "It doesn't seem familiar to me at all, though. What is this stuff?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yeah sure," he said as he zipped some of his wine.

"It's Teriyaki Japanese pixie."

Immediately, Remus spat out his wine, and looked at Harry in shock.

"Japanese....pixie?"

"Yes, pixie. Cho told me she eats it at home."

"My goodness....pixie....I feel....strange..... I just can't believe I ate pixie!"

"Don't worry about it. It's good, isn't it?"

"Good point, Harry. Julia's waving me to go there, so I have to go. Write me a letter, will you?"

"Sure."

"All right, good bye!"

"Bye, Remus!"

He watched as his mentor went across the room to his new sweetheart. He wondered when Professor Luigi and Malfoy would come back. He saw Ginny still crying, and then he looked at Princess Glory. She was staring at him with caring eyes, but then turned around once she knew he was looking.

Just when he was about to go sit with Cho, he felt the floor underneath him rumble. Before he knew it, everyone in the room felt it. The glasses, which a second before had been drunken out of with pleasure, were shaking, things were starting fall off the tables, and everyone present in the Great Hall were frightened. It was as if a giant earthquake was taking place. What was even more strange, was that Harry's scar burned like mad, twice as bad as when he fainted and didn't wake up for 2 days.

"What's happening?" screamed Hermione, who was close by.

Everyone was looking around. The walls shook immensely..... And then the unthinkable happened. Death Eaters, masked wizards in black robes, appeared out of the wall on black horses. Wands high up, they started attacking all the people they could find. They turned tables and destroyed everything. One Death Eater pointed at Harry, and suddenly a gang of Death Eaters were running after Harry. Terrified, he ran as fast as he could. Cho, who was under a table, caught up to Harry.

They ran and sped out of the Great Hall, with the gang still after them. They bolted through the corridors, as fast as they could. The Death Eaters were lashing curses and hurtful charms at them all at once, and all the while they were still running. Harry sped off to a fork in the hallways. He went to his left and waited for Cho to catch up.

"Cho!" he called out to her. She found out where he was, and was about to turn to her left when suddenly-

"Ah!!!!" she screamed in pain.

A Death Eater shot her in the arm with a curse.

"Cho!" cried outd Harry.

Harry helped Cho as she stumbled to him in pain. Even so, they ran through the hallway. Harry was panicking and his heart was racing. Cho and Harry turned corridors, only to look ahead and find themselves at a dead-end corridor.

"Oh no!!!!! We're doomed!!!!" Harry shouted.

"What are we going to do?" screeched Cho.

Harry looked around for an exit. There were no windows, no statues, nothing. It was a bare end of a corridor with no escape.

"Harry!!! They're coming!" shouted Cho.

Harry saw the Death Eaters, ready to battle, rushing to him. He was scared stiff.

"This can't be happening," groaned Harry in fright. "Do you have your wand?"

"No! I thought I didn't need my wand!"

Harry graveled with anger with himself.

"I wish I had brought my wand, I just didn't have any place in my dress robe to put it. We're supposed to always bring our wands with us!!!!!!!"

The Death Eaters were getting closer and closer. They both huddled together as they approached them. Their wands were raised at the scared couple. A shriek of evil laughter came out of the group of evil wizards, inches away from them. They were going to hurt them, or maybe even kill them, but then-

The Death Eaters froze, looking like statues. Behind these horrible beings were Princess Joy, Ron, Remus and his new girlfriend Julia. Princess Joy's wand was out, pointed at the Death Eaters. It was obvious she was the one who cast the spell.

"Harry! Cho! Are you both okay?"

They all ran to them and helped them get up. Cho was shrieking with pain.

"Cho, we both can't do anything about your broken arm," said Princess Joy. "It's better if Madame Pomfrey helps you. Julia, is it okay if you stay here with her and protect her?"

"Sure."

"We'll be back soon," said Remis to Julua, then he turned to Harry. "I'm sorry! I should have stayed with you."

"It's okay. I'm just glad you're here!" said Harry as he hugged Remis with all his might.

"We're going to have to defeat them ourselves with the rest of those people trying to help the students."

"But I don't have my wand, Joy!" said Ron.

"Neither do I!" said Harry. "I knew I should have brought it!"

"Hold on. Accio wands!" said Joy with a wave of her wand. From the other end of the corridor flew Harry and Ron's wands, and both of them caught them immediately in their hands.

"I might not be as strong as you are!" said Ron. "Remus is an Auror, Harry's defeated Lord Voldemort countless time and you're a Wizard Princess. Compared to all of you, I'm not too strong."

"Ron, don't put yourself down," said Harry. "I can usually beat a Death Eater or two, depending on who it is. I just do whatever's on the top of my head. Do you think I can battle an army of Death Eaters?"

"Just use the most powerful spells you know," said Joy. "I'll tell you the one I used on these Death Eaters. It's 'freezo totiormus'. Say the spell as forceful as you can, okay? And by the way, watch out for those horses. Now let's get 'em!"

With as much courage as possible, they all ran to the Great Hall, leaving Julia and Cho behind. In the Great Hall, they looked up, which what they thought they saw appeared to be a giant skull made of glittery green stars, with a snake tongue floating up high. It was the Dark Mark, the sign of Lord Voldemort. Harry remembered seeing it before at the Quidditch World Cup. But Lord Voldemort was gone. How could his mark appear?

Everyone was freaking out, and they were even more scared when they saw the Dark Mark. There were two Death Eaters terrorizing a wizard and a witch in the corner. Harry went to them, waved his wand and said, "Freezo totiormus!!!!"

The Death Eaters froze immediately. Harry peered behind the Death Eaters, where Hermione and Victor Krum sat scared on the floor..

"Hermione! Krum! Are you both all right?"

"Thanks to you!" said Hermione.

"Now that you're both free, try to use a very powerful spell on the Death Eaters to make them stop, or use 'freezo totiormus'. Say it very forcefully, okay? We need as many witches and wizards possible to fight."

"All right, 'arry," said Krum. "Ve'll try."

It was a long and terrible night for everyone. The guards, who were ordered to protect the ball and the Princesses, were battling their hearts out, and they even had to call in for back up. Many of the students were injured, and would have to go to Madame Pomfrey's the next day.

All the very important people were hurt, but the Ministers for Magic were injured the most. All delegates and ministers had to go to the nearest emergency wizard hospital, because they were in critical condition.

The Princesses' parents weren't hurt surprisingly, basically because they were saved by Princess Glory. She was helping to defeat the Death Eaters, and so was Professor Luigi near the end. Harry never saw Malfoy, however.

The royal pets, roaring loudly, were thrashing at all the Death Eaters and horses and going berserk. After the attack, Hagrid and some others had to get them out of the room with ropes. Even some of the staff were injured.

Once all the battling was over and all the Death Eaters were defeated, their still bodies were sent to Azkaban (they looked like they were petrified) and the horses, which had created such destruction in the Great Hall, were hauled away.

Harry, Hermione and Princess Joy rushed through the corridors and found Cho and sent her quickly to the Infirmary. Later, they caught up with Ron who was with Neville. They were both panicking greatly.

"What's wrong with you both?" asked Harry. "You look as if exams were just moved to tomorrow!"

"We can't find Ginny!" said Ron, gasping for air. "We looked everywhere, and we still can't find her!"

"I remember her rushing out of the Great Hall once the Death Eaters crashed the ball," included Neville. "I have no idea where she is!"

A shaking suit of armor was close by them. Suspiciously, they came closer to it. Neville pulled off the metal helmet, to reveal a shaking, ginger-haired girl.

"Ginny!" screamed Neville. "There you were! We've been looking all over for you!"

"D-d-d-d-eath Eat-t-t-ers!" she stuttered in fear. "A-ar-my o-of D-death Eat-t-t-ers. I've b-b-battled others, b-but a-an army! I-I-I w-w-will have n-n-n-ight-t-mares for a m-m-month!"

"Get out of there, dear!" instructed Princess Joy.

"Joy!" called out Princess Glory as she ran to them. "I'm glad you're here. We're going to have a brief meeting with Father and the Hogwarts professors. All of you are instructed to go to your dormitories. Ginny? What are you doing in there?"

"H-h-h-hiding!" she squeaked.

"Well, you should get out of there and go to bed."

With the help of those around her, Ginny climbed out of the suit of armor and huddled to Princess Glory.

"Princess Glory?" asked Harry. "What happened with Professor Luigi and Malfoy?"

"Malfoy had a hard time getting the stains off, and he still hasn't gotten them off. Once the castle shook and the Death Eaters came, Draco absolutely freaked out! Professor Luigi had to calm him down. Draco stayed in the washroom and Professor Luigi finally helped us with those awful Death Eaters. He's in the Slytherin common room right now."

"Wow, Malfoy's a chicken!" said Ron.

"Ron, don't you dare say that about him!" scolded Princess Glory. "We were all scared this evening. I think all of you should go to bed. Joy, follow me. I would like to get this meeting over with. My heels are aching and I'm getting headaches from all that hairspray."

"Bye, guys!" said Joy, waving goodbye to them. "Hope you don't get nightmares! Or at least, I hope they don't last for too long!"

Hurriedly, she scurried off with Princess Glory into the dark hallways.

"Princess Glory's right!" said Hermione. "We have to go to bed. It's the best thing to do right now. Ron, we should check on the other students in Gryffindor. The 1st and 2nd years are probably scared stiff."

"I don't think I'll sleep tonight after this," said Ron. "I'll be shaking the whole night."

"And you're not just speaking for yourself!" said Neville.

**************************

Everyone in the castle was scared stiff the morning after. All the students seemed very startled the whole entire day. They jumped at the smallest things, and looked around them wherever they went.

The staff wasn't in top shape either. The Professors seemed tired, probably because they didn't seem to have had any sleep from the other night. There were even a few professors with serious injuries. Professor Dumbledore suffered from a broken arm, and couldn't do magic for a while. Professor McGonagoll had a broken leg, and couldn't do too much work. Professor Trelawney had a serious concussion.

There weren't many students anyway. A lot of them were in the Hospital Wing. There were so many injured students, that they had to extend the Hospital Wing to other empty rooms in the castle.

Harry, most of all, was frightened. Just when he thought he would finally have a good year, there was that Dark Mark hovering high in the Great Hall, with Death Eaters cursing everywhere. What would happen next? Voldemort couldn't be back, could he? He didn't know at all what would happen next that year.

The story about the attack at the ball was front page on The Daily Prophet. It also reported in the very many articles dedicated to the event that all the Death Eaters that were sent to prison during the war of that summer, mysteriously vanished before the attack. Also in the newspaper, there had been a very long article about the Princesses' escorts for the evening. Ron turned red at his description in the article, while Draco Malfoy was prancing about proudly about his name mentioned in the article.

But the one the most worked up was Princess Glory. She looked absolutely awful the next day; she was so incredibly pale, with large, dark circles around her eyes and a grim expression all over her face. She wouldn't even stop shaking, and she constantly vomited. It looked like she hadn't slept in days. Surprisingly, she didn't pay attention to her lessons! She slept during her classes, having nightmares during those times of sleeping.

The last class of the day was Potions. While Professor Snape was explaining the steps for a Disease-Curing Potion, Princess Glory was tossing and turning in her sleep as she lay her head on a pile of books.

"Once you've inserted the migwillam goo... Princess Glory, are you all right?"

Princess Glory snapped and woke up immediately.

"Order soldiers aligned around the castle and put double curses surrounding Hogwarts!!!!" she screamed out.

"Your Royal Highness, what are you talking about?" questioned Snape.

"What? Where am I? Oh, no! I slept through another class! What were we discussing?"

"We were discussing Disease-Curing Potions, but that's not to be worried about. I think it's best if you go to the Infirmary. You don't look well."

"No, I have to know the lesson! It's a NEWT course!"

"Your health is more important right now," stated Snape, getting everyone in the class jealous (as if he'd say anything to that to anyone else!). "I'll tell you about the lesson later, and I'll even give you some notes. Just try and get some rest."

Princess Glory lifted herself up and walked to the door, stumbling.

"Tiffany, Ruth, Vicky and Lucy, go help Princess Glory to the Infirmary," demanded Snape.

All four of her friends rushed to the nervous wreck of what remained of Princess Glory as they helped her stand up and lead her to Madame Pomfrey. Harry was shocked at how awful Princess Glory was.

The next day, more students came out of the Infirmary. It turned out Professor Dumbledore ordered special nurses to take care of Princess Glory in her rooms. Thankfully, she was better the day afterwards. Harry was going to his first class after breakfast (which was Defense Against the Dark Arts) when Princess Glory stopped him.

"Harry, I wanted to talk to you," she told him after stopping him in the hallway.

"I'm listening," said Harry.

"I really want to thank you for that diary, Harry."

"Your welcome. But Princess Glory-"

"Don't worry, just call me Glory," she said. "We're friends, and friends don't have to call each other by titles."

"All right.... But Glory, why does that diary seem so special to you?"

"It's a long story," started Glory. "When I was younger, I had this diary that I adored more than anything in the world. I wrote everything in it. However, there was this one time, when Lord Voldemort- Do you mind me saying the word 'Voldemort'?"

"Yeah, I'm okay with it," said Harry.

"When Lord Voldemort was after my sister and I, he was sending spies after us and everything. It was so dangerous, that they had to burn my diary. I was so heart-broken, that I never took up writing again. Now that I have this diary, I can start writing. Thank you so much Harry, for giving me the courage to keep a diary."

"Your welcome," said Harry in an astonished tone. "I never knew it meant that much to you though."

"It's okay. I guess you have to go to class, don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess I do. See you!"

"See you later!"

Harry went to Defense Against the Dark Arts, where they learned about counter spells against dragon effects. After the school day ended, Princess Joy (who may I add, had immediately started to wear the necklace Ron gave her the day after the party) brought them out into the grounds. Harry had no idea why he was brought out of the castle.

"Come on, Joy!" pleaded Ron. "Tell us where you're taking us!"

"I guess you can figure it out now!" she said.

Halting to a stop, all four of them stood before the carriage and talking unicorn that Dumbledore gave Princess Joy for her birthday, with one of Princess Joy's knights was in the drivers' seat. Joy had told them that there were a few black knights, which were the official royal guards of the Princesses, stationed in a few places at Hogwarts because of the attack. His black metal hood was off, which showed a dopey face with big teeth. He looked very strange for a knight.

"Haven't you guessed it?" asked Joy. "I'm taking you on a ride in my new carriage!"

"Wicked!" said Ron.

"Have you named your unicorn yet?" asked Hermione, glaring at the beautiful unicorn as it whinnied.

"It's not official yet, but I'm think of calling it 'Cherish', because I cherish this present so much! What do you think of it, Cherish?"

"I think it's lovely," said the talking unicorn. "It was better than my other name: 'Checkerboard'!"

"Yuck, I hate that name!" criticized Joy.

"Tell me about it!" agreed the unicorn.

"What do you think about the name, George?" asked Joy to the black knight.

"I think it's a wonderful name!" agreed the knight.

"Well, let's get on with this ride," said Joy merrily.

The knight hopped off the drivers' seat and opened the carriage door for them. The carriage reminded him of a cross between Cinderella's carriage and the Queen's carriage at first, with the globe carriage and wheels (of course, a lot more majestically decorated), but once he set foot in it, the carriage looked more different than he expected from the outside.

The little space he thought was inside was actually a giant room. It looked a lot like the Gryffindor common room, except smaller with more lively colours and a cheery feeling to it. Portraits of her, her family and Dumbledore were placed around the room. She also had very nice and cheery paintings: children at the beach, fields of flowers, pictures of sisters on a bench, etc.

"Whoa, you even have a fire place!" pointed out Ron.

At the side of the room, was a large fireplace, flaming away. It was amazing, that a fire place was in a carriage, even though there was no trace of a chimney. There was a giant painting of her, her sister and Dumbledore above the fire place.

"I absolutely love it!" said Hermione. "Looks a bit like our common room, but yet it has its own personality."

"It's very nice," agreed Harry, "and it's cozy. I love how it gets bigger once you step in."

"I've fallen in love with this once I looked through it yesterday," sighed Joy. "I wanted to take my mind off the attack, and don't you just love the windows?"

Harry looked outside the room to the lush, green grass of Hogwarts. It was an interesting way of transportation. Inside it looked like a room, yet it had carriage doors and big windows that showed the outdoors.

"Sit down, pals," said Joy. "Let's get this thing starting. George, we're ready."

George gave a thumbs up from the carriage door. While everyone took their seat on the couches (yes, there were carriages), he hopped onto the drivers' seat and signaled the horse to start trotting.

The ride on the carriage was a very smooth one. Harry loved going passed the landscapes that Hogwarts had to offer. The went passed the lake, the Quidditch field, across the scenery of the Forbidden Forest and much more. They all chatted while on their ride, until Princess Joy brought something up.

"So, have any ideas of the cause of that attack?" asked Princess Joy.

Everyone was in shock with the question.

"What do you mean?" questioned Hermione.

"I mean that I want to know what you three think of the attack! I want to get this thing solved."

"Really? You do?" asked Ron confusingly.

"Of course! I've heard about all the mysteries you've solved, and I've always wished that I could be a part of them! So, what do you think caused it?"

"I'm blank with ideas!" said Harry. "Although I am very suspicious about Malfoy. He was out of the Great Hall the whole entire time the attack occurred, but Professor Luigi told us he was with him. That means he couldn't have been up to something bad."

"I think he is!" Ron interrupted. "I mean, it's so obvious it's him."

"But if Professor Luigi was there, that means he wasn't doing something bad," suggested Joy. "Or was he?"

"We were told that Malfoy was all freaking out at the ball," said Hermione. "What if it was a cover up, so that he didn't have to go in there?"

"Good point," said Harry, "but if he really was trying to stay away from the ball, why was he staying away from it in the first place?"

"I have no idea, Harry," admitted Joy. "What I'm really interested in knowing is that Dark Mark. Lord Voldemort is dead. My sister and I slew him! Why would it be up there?"

"He couldn't have come back," said Hermione. "It can't really be him doing this. It has to be someone else. Oh my goodness!"

"What is it, Hermione?"

"What if someone was trying to finish You-Know-Who's work?" implied Hermione fretfully. "What if someone who was helping him, is now trying to continue the evil he created?"

"That's a great theory, Hermione," said Joy. "But who would?"

"Isn't it obvious?" questioned Harry. "Malfoy's the one! His father was a Death Eater, and his family supported Lord Voldemort!"

"What do you mean, that Malfoy's father was a Death Eater?" questioned Joy. "We sent all the Death Eaters to jail in the summer. We had a list of names of all those on the other side. The name 'Malfoy' was not on that list!"

"He could have been helping and supporting the Dark Wizard behind the scenes," implied Hermione, "and have you read The Daily Prophet? All the Death Eaters were gone before the attack from Azkaban!"

"Now that's something else I wanted to talk to you all three about," said Joy. "It's that release from Azkaban as well! How could they have vanished?"

"I have no idea," said Harry, then an idea popped in his head. "Wait a minute! Wasn't Malfoy and Glory very late for the ball?"

"Yeah, Harry!" said Joy. "Malfoy could have gone from Hogwarts and went to Azkaban! He probably made my sister wait for him as well. Poor Glory!"

"How could he have?" enquired Hermione. "Students aren't aloud to leave without permission."

"His father could have released them!" suggested Ron. "His father could have gotten them out for them, and his son could have helped him do that, since the Dementors are, or were, with Voldemort. They're all in a scheme!"

"To think my poor sister is dating him," pouted Joy. "If only she knew!"

"By the way, wasn't it odd that all the Ministers for Magic were in critical condition?" indicated Hermione. "Thank goodness Princess Glory-"

"I think you can just call her 'Glory' now," said Harry. "She told me we could call her that. We're all friends with her."

"Thank goodness! Anyway, it was great that Glory saved your parents. Your father and mother could have been badly hurt."

"Will you believe it? They're going to be in the hospital for a month!" implied Ron. "Just to think, almost all world leaders in the magical governments are injured badly!

"And they all have a meeting about the monarchy in two weeks!" implied Joy. "They won't be able to attend!"

"Hold on!" shouted Ron. "Wasn't Lord Voldemort against you both?"

"I know! It feels strange as well. Of all the people who were famous and powerful, you'd think their goal would be to go after us, wouldn't they?"

"Some of the Hogwarts teachers were hurt as well," included Harry. "Professor Dumbledore can't do too much magic because of his broken arm, Professor McGonagoll can't get involved with too much stuff because she can't walk too well with her broken leg and Professor Trelawney can't teach with her injured head because of the concussion."

"So, in a way," said Hermione, "the school is vulnerable now, isn't it?"

"What do you mean, Hermione?"

"I mean, Harry, that without Dumbledore, McGonagoll and Trelawney, the school isn't so strong anymore. Dumbledore's the Headmaster, and without his magic the school isn't as protected in a way. And Professor McGonagoll, she's Deputy Headmistress! She can't do too much because of her broken leg!"

"Professor Trelawney can't do predictions anymore," included Joy, "because of her concussion. That means she can't see what's in for Hogwarts."

"You mean, she can't see further attacks?" asked Hermione.

"I guess not. I guess the school is weak enough to be under another attack."

"We've got you, Harry and Glory, though," said Ron. "Hogwarts is protected, isn't it?"

For a moment, there was a dead silence throughout the carriage. No one really knew is Hogwarts was protected and that the wizards and witches in it would be safe. They had injured Dumbledore, of course. Could they, whoever 'they' were, seriously hurt his great-great-granddaughters?

The silence finally broke once the flapping of wings and roars were heard through the grounds. Harry looked out the window to see what it was. He looked up high, and saw a massive creature with wings, its mane blowing in the wind. On top of it was a tall, young girl, with a majestic air to her.

"Glory!" called out Joy from the window. "Come here! George, please stop the carriage."

The carriage slowed down, and as did the creature and its rider. It was Glory and her hippigryph, taking a ride in the wind. The carriage halted, as Glory and her hippigryph stopped beside the carriage. She took off her blue helmet and hopped off her massive, regal pet. George opened the carriage door and let Harry, Ron, Hermione and Joy get out.

"What are you doing out here with Tsarina, Glory?" asked Joy.

"I needed a break from all this worrying and Tsarina was getting restless, so we decided to take a ride," replied Glory. "I see you all took a ride as well."

"Yep! I let them all see my new carriage."

"Do you all want to see my carriage?" offered Glory. "I haven't ridden in it yet, so I'm dying to try it out. It's nicely decorated though, and I love the interior."

"Yes, Nono Albus really knows what we like, doesn't he?"

"I know. It's a shame he can't do magic for a while. George, would you please get my carriage for me? Tsarina, would you fetch Tiffany, Ruth, Vicky and Lucy for me, please? I would like to show them my new carriage as well."

"You can put my carriage away while you're getting Glory's, George," included Joy. "I think we're finished with it for today."

George, with a reassuring nod, went off with the carriage into the ground to the castle, and Tsarina flapped her giant wings and flew away to the Ravenclaw common room.

"By the way, Glory, why wasn't Tiffany, Ruth, Vicky and Lucy at the ball?" asked Harry.

"Oh, they weren't feeling too well," responded Glory. "Vicky's cousin from Beauxbatons sent her a batch of cookies. Her cousin was just starting to learn how to cook and she wanted her to try her baking. Vicky and the rest of my friends ate all the cookies, but it turns out Vicky's cousin isn't too great at cooking and they all got sick. They were so disappointed they couldn't make it. I promised them we'd have our own little party in my rooms. They're all better now. By the way Hermione, I started reading that book you gave me. It's very interesting!"

"Your welcome!"

"So, what were you discussing in the carriage?"

"Uh.... Nothing, Sis!"

"Nothing?"

"Yep, nothing!"

"All right.... Oh look! There's George with my carriage!"

The black knight was driving Glory's carriage to them. It looked a lot like Joy's carriage, except that it had Glory's coat of arms instead. Soon after, Tsarina came back with Tiffany, Ruth, Vicky and Lucy. George opened the carriage as they all entered in.

It was very different from Joy's room. It looked like what would probably be like the Ravenclaw common room, except that the decor looked a lot like it was from the Elizabethan Age. Very old-fashioned mahogany furniture, with paintings of the family, an old-fashioned fire place and a book-case full of new books furnished the room. Hermione was interested in the book case, while Harry was looking at all the details that were very different to Joy's sense of style. Everyone sat down on the antique furniture as George drove off, with Tsarina flying above them.

"Glory, have you named your unicorn yet?" asked Joy. "I've already named mine 'Cherish'. Have any idea what you're going to name yours?"

"Hmm... I haven't really thought about it," said Glory. "I was thinking about the name a bit at the ball. How does Marguerite D'Hogwarts sound like?"

"Marguerite D'Hogwarts?" repeated Joy. Harry knew that she wasn't too fond of the name. "I guess that's....nice. It's an interesting name. Not quite my type of name that I like, but it's cool."

"I got it from Marguerite D'Youville. You know, that French-Canadian saint? Anyway, I like it. What do all of you think?"

"I love it!" said Tiffany. "It has so much character!"

"I agree," said Ruth. "It's creative."

"It's really nice," agreed Lucy. "That you put 'Hogwarts' in the name really corresponds to where you got the present and who gave it to you."

"I so agree with all of them," said Vicky. "A really cute title!"

"And you?" asked Glory.

"I like it as well," agreed Hermione.

"Unique," said Harry, trying to find something to describe it. It was a classy name, and it was unique. It just sounded weird for a unicorn, even if it did talk.

"Should you be giving titles to unicorns?" asked Ron. "It's not quite the name you'd give a unicorn. Most unicorns are dainty and everything."

"That's what white unicorns are like," said Glory, "not black ones. They're a lot more stern and serious, though loving. Besides, I hate being just ordinary, it's too boring. I like unique!"

They chatted even more during their ride. Harry glared out the window, once again. For some reason, he saw Tsarina flying to the castle, away from the carriage.

"Glory, why's Tsarina flying away?" asked Harry.

Glory, with a curious expression, looked through the window of the carriage.

"Wow, I don't know. Maybe she's tired."

In fact, Tsarina wasn't tired, but was actually out to do something else. After a while, Tsarina came back holding a rolled-up letter.

"Stop the carriage, George," ordered Glory. "I think Tsarina has something for us."

The carriage slowly halted, and once the carriage was steady on the ground, Glory got out to go to Tsarina. Tsarina landed on the lush grass and spat out the parchment in her mouth. Glory (who all of them had no idea how she could stand the spit) unrolled it and read it quickly.

"Joy, come here!" she called out after reading the letter.

Joy came out of the carriage, and so did everybody else.

"Read this, Joy," instructed Glory, handing her the letter (Joy wasn't too pleased with the hippigryph spit on it). "We have another meeting with the staff. We really have to talk about this attack. Everyone's shaken up. Tsarina, go up to your stable. All of you can keep on riding. Just remember to stop the ride in 10 minutes and to go up to your common rooms to do your homework. Once they get out, George, bring the carriages outback. I'll meet you in the staff room, Joy. We have to hurry up, since I have a dueling meeting with Professor Flitwick in an hour and a half. Bye, everyone!"

She immediately snapped her fingers, and suddenly, a swirl of multi-coloured fire flickered and swirled around her until it looked as if it consumed her. Once the fire ceased, she was gone.

"What happened?" asked Ron curiously.

"She disapparated, of course!" responded Joy. "You know about apparating and disapparating, don't you?"

"Yeah, five of my brothers know how, but they never do it like that. That looks more like floo powder!"

"That's how we apparate. Wizard Royalty always apparate like that. Hers is a fire effect and mine's water."

"Aren't you too young to apparate?" asked Hermione

"We already have our licenses, Hermione. In Italy, we get them earlier."

"Is it real fire and real water?"

"No, it isn't. It's almost like an illusion, but if you go too close to Glory's flames, you might get a rash. A few times, it can leave ashes. Sometimes after I disapparate, the area around me becomes a bit moist and damp. One time I left some seashells behind! Oh dear, I should go. Bye, guys!"

"Bye!" said everyone in unison.

She snapped her fingers, just like Glory, and suddenly a rush of water covered her, and once it went down, she disappeared. They all hopped back into the carriage and rode for a little while longer. After the ride, they went back to their common rooms and finished their homework.

That evening, all Harry thought about was about the cause of the attack. Every factor of that night could be a suspect for causing the attack. So many questions went through his head. What had happened? Why had it happened? Would Hogwarts be safe? Would...he be safe?

Author's Note: PLEASE REVIEW (no flames) and have a merry Christmas and a happy new year (or whatever you're celebrating)!