(A/N: Hey hey, people. It's the chapter you've all been waiting for!!!! ^_^ [Colin: Finally! I thought I was never going to get to use my camera.] -_-;; As you can see, I have Colin Creevey with me right now. I would have had Ginny, but you know, the spectators get to see the whole thing…and I don't think Ginny would have been happy with the ending…^_~ Think that gave away the winner? NOT A CHANCE!!!! ^______________^ I love tormenting you guys…jk jk…Um. I made this a little bit more detailed than the preview, so if it isn't the same, don't worry, you're not missing anything.

Naja607: The beast will be revealed…just wait. But I would've thought that you'd be able to figure it out what it is…hmmmmm…guess not. Do me a flavor when you're reading this. Do not skip to the bottom of the page to find the winner, please. Lately I've been ruining Agatha Christy (sp?) novels for myself because I read the last five pages of them, and believe me, it sucks booty!!! I don't understand why I keep doing it…must be that insatiable curiosity…Anywayz… You get your winner in this chapter, so…just read and be on the edge of your seat, and I'll be happy…^_~

[Will you please start, now? I've been waiting for this for weeks!] Of course, Creevey, of course…)

The day of the race came, and Harry was wondering at the spectacle of time moving faster when you want it to go slow, and moving slower when you want it to go fast.

Harry grabbed his broom and set out for the field without letting anyone know. He didn't want to go out there with the other four. The uncomfortable silence would have been unbearable.

Somehow, Ron got a long, bright red ribbon. The winner was to grab it, therefore breaking it. Colin was there with his camera, to take a snapshot of the finish line to judge who won. He had his cauldron out there, as well, to develop the picture as soon as it was taken. ([Quite right.] Shut up! You're not supposed to talk until this chapter is over with! [If you say so. I'm just so excited!] SHUT UP!! [*meekly* okay…]) Ginny and Ron were to be suspending the ribbon in the air.

Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Colin were there for ten minutes before Ron's impatience got the better of him. He had to go back into the castle to retrieve Elizabeth.

'There's her brave face,' thought Harry as he saw her.

"Mount!" called Ron. He and Ginny flew into place. The racers were to go around the field twice, and then fly one more lap lower in order to grab the ribbon.

They could have cut the tension with a knife. Harry and Elizabeth rose up slowly into the air above Ron and Ginny. Harry took a deep breath as they lined up right next to each other.

"Get ready!" started Ginny.

'Why am I so nervous?' thought Harry.

"Get set!"

'Don't think about what could happen if you lose. Don't think. Just don't think. O God I can't not think!' Elizabeth mused desperately.

"Go!"

And there they went. Harry was about a couple yards in front of Elizabeth. The Firebolt reached top speed quicker. What else could you expect from the world's fastest broom?

They went around the second lap. Harry mentally sighed as he realized that he had this race in the bag. He didn't relax his grip, but he didn't notice the tail of his broom was dragging until Elizabeth was a head in front of him.

"Oh no, you don't," Harry muttered. He coaxed the broom into going a bit faster. Now they were neck and neck. They flew into the third lap.

The two of them pushed their brooms to the limits. It was almost like a pattern. Elizabeth would be ahead for about two seconds, and then Harry would be ahead. It went back and forth throughout the third lap.

That pattern was going to be the demise of one of them.

(A/N: Hmmm…maybe I should just stop it here…Just kidding…^_^ Don't kill me…O.O;;)

The two of them put everything they had into their brooms as they crossed the finish line. They heard the snap of a camera as they tried to stop their brooms.

Ron and Ginny were wide-eyed with shock. Who knew Elizabeth could get so close?

"Elizabeth," Harry started. "Whoever wins, I just want you to know that you did a bang-up job. Especially for a beginning flyer."

"Well," Elizabeth paused coyly, "I still can't maneuver. If I had to do zigzags or something, I'd have crashed about half a zillion times if not more."

"It's done," Colin informed. He brought the picture to Ron, Ginny, Harry and Elizabeth.

"Bloody hell, Harry. Half an inch more and you would have beaten her."

"I won?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief.

"Looks like it," Harry replied, his face a blank canvas.

"Can't be. Let me see that." She examined it with her eyes close to the photograph. "There ain't no freaken way I beat him," she chanted.

"You did, okay? There's a fine line between modesty and stupidity, and you're very close to crossing it," Ginny retorted.

Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief at the thought of not going through the anxiety of going somewhere alone with a guy.

"I've got an idea. Tell you in the Common Room," Harry whispered to Ron. He nodded back as everyone went back into the castle.

The two of them stayed in the Common Room later then the other three. Ron shook his head. "You're really pushing it," he said. "But I'll do it."

On Halloween, Harry and Ron woke up late. They had no classes, as was the custom. They groggily walked from the dormitory to the Common Room to see Elizabeth and the first year, Annabelle Lewis, dressed in weird attire.

Elizabeth had an odd, pale dress that looked like it was from 1910 to 1920. Her hair was cursed to curl more than usual, and not to stick up. It was a dark red. Annabelle Lewis' hair was a shocking white and she had a black leather bodysuit on bearing the letter X on the chest. She also had a billowy black cloak.

Elizabeth looked up at the stairs to see Harry and Ron staring at her. A look of shock appeared as she noticed they were in regular clothes.

"What are you wearing?" Ginny came out of her dormitory just in time to see Elizabeth blush the color of her hair.

"It's Halloween, right?" Annabelle said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Uh…Yeah. I take it you guys don't wear costumes for Halloween?" Elizabeth questioned in a small voice.

"Why would we wear costumes? Our uniform is as good a costume as any. Who'd actually believe we were witches and wizards if we went out in them, especially on today?" Ron explained.

"So…I guess I should go change…" Elizabeth got up to leave when Annabelle called back to her.

"No! Stay in costume. Maybe we'll start a new tradition!"

"O God," Elizabeth whispered to herself.

"Come on!" Annabelle said as she grabbed Elizabeth's hand. She pulled her to the Great Hall, with Harry and Ron following behind, not knowing what to expect.

"Happy Halloween, Hogwarts!" Professor Dumbledore said as the students filed in. "I know today will be filled with treats…" He looked to Harry, Ron, and Elizabeth, "And tricks. I only ask that the teachers be not involved in the disorder. Enjoy your breakfast."

They ate in silence, with Elizabeth praying that no one would look at her weird. Nobody did, and she was grateful. Lord knows that was the last thing she needed.

The rest of the day passed by boringly. Not much happened. Dinner was in ten minutes and Elizabeth was trying to convince Annabelle that they should change into their regular clothes.

"Absolutely not," Annabelle replied stubbornly. "You can. But I won't. I'll be sad, and I'll be alone, but I'll get through it."

"Fine," Elizabeth sighed. "I'll stay in costume until bed."

Harry still couldn't figure out why that dress was so familiar. He'd remembered seeing it somewhere. But where?

Everyone was gathering for the magnificent feast in the Great Hall. Harry saw Elizabeth's eyes open in wonder at the jack-o-lanterns, all the candy, and the lightening and thunder on the ceiling.

Before people started eating, Dumbledore once again stood up to make an announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen. It is my sad duty to report to you the happenings outside our boundaries. Dementors have been invading slowly, as if to test our strength to hold them back. We have been able to destroy them with the help of the woodland creatures, but that is not the worst thing. Dementors could not have breached the boundary unless aided by a very powerful wizard, which leads me to believe that Voldemort himself is opening the way for them. Why? I wish I had an answer. What does this mean to you, the students? Everyone, from fifth year on up, is to learn the Patronus spell correctly by the end of the year. I would suggest putting your hearts into it, or it may mean your lives."

With this cryptic remark the feast began. Again, there were no comments on the costumes of the two Americans.

(You like? I hope so! [Now can I talk?] Of course, you can. [About the Halloween thing, I asked Ginny about it. She seemed very dark when she answered. I wonder why. Anyway. I liked the first year's costume. It was rather interesting.] Yes, yes, it was. Now, a virtual cookie to anyone who can tell me who the both of them were supposed to be! ^_^)

Preview: "Ready?" Harry whispered.

"You know, Harry, you're going to get me into real trouble one of these days," Ron sighed.

"So," Elizabeth started as she walked down the stairs from her dormitory. "Where are we going?"

"Hogsmeade," Harry replied simply.

"I know that, but where, exactly?"

"You'll just have to wait and see."