December 24

7:35 p.m.

"Where can she be?" Neville asked nervously. Harry and Ron were sitting in chairs in front of the fire, watching Neville pace back and forth in front of them. Neville was dressed in red dress robes, carrying a giant bouquet of violets. He had put a spell on them so that they would grow to three times their normal size, and last for up to a month after being picked. He had also transformed them from purple to white, insisting that whit would go better with the color of their robes. He had attempted to slick back his hair, but there were still spots where his hair stood up.

Ron looked at Harry and rolled his eyes. Ron was wearing purple dress robes, and hadn't done anything with his hair, except for combing it. He sat in his chair, drumming is fingers on the arm impatiently. Harry was sitting beside him, decked out in dark blue robes, his hair as untidy as ever, but he was waiting patiently for Luna.

Harry got tired of hearing Neville go on and on about 'where Hermione could be.' "Neville, it's only 7:38. They said that they would be ready at 7:45, so just calm down, all right? They'll be here soon."

Neville nodded and sat down on the couch beside Ron's chair. Ron was still drumming his fingers.

"Um, Ron?" Harry asked. "Could you maybe please stop that? The only good it's doing is giving me a good headache." Ron looked down at his hand, and then looked back up at Harry. "Sorry, Harry. It's just that I'm so nervous. I mean I never thought that Lavender would be going to the Christmas Ball with me. And so now I'm a nervous wreck."

"Why are you so nervous?" came a voice from behind Ron. Ron, Harry, and Neville all whipped around. The girls were standing on the staircase, looking down at them. Neville felt his heart flutter as he looked at Hermione, who was wearing blood red robes with gold edging, her hair twisted grandly up into a bun on the top of her head, soft curls framing her face. Her eyes were covered in gold powder, making them seem bigger and bluer than ever. Red lipstick was on her lips, matching her dress robes.

Ron was busy looking at Lavender. Her robes were true to her name, the softest shade of lavender that there was. Her robes were elegantly made, with a slit all the way up the left side to her hip. Her hair was sleek and straight, with a few curls here and there. She was wearing purple eye shadow, with a shiny lavender gloss.

And as beautiful as the two girls looked, Harry had eyes only for Luna. She was last out of the girls' dormitory, standing grandly behind Hermione, smiling down at him. She was wearing robes of the darkest blue, with flowing sleeves and a low neck, complete with silver edging and lining. Her hair, normally so straight and ordinary, was a massive bunch of curls fastened with a silver clip at the base of her neck. Her lips were a silvery frosty color; dark blue and silver powder was on her eyes. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement, her eyes shining brightly. Harry thought that she looked the most beautiful of all.

Of course that's what Ron thought about Lavender, and Neville of Hermione.

Lavender descended the staircase, the other two girls behind her. She went up to Ron, and looped her arm through his, then climbed out of the portrait hole. Hermione followed suit, smiling fondly at Neville as she accepted the snow-white violets he offered her, making his cheeks turn the color of his robes. Then they too climbed out of the portrait hole.

Harry and Luna were left alone in the common room. Harry cleared his throat. "You look very beautiful tonight, Luna." She beamed up at him. "You look very handsome yourself." Harry extended his arm. "Shall we?" Luna took his arm, and they climbed through the portrait hole to join their friends.

They found their friends down outside the Great Hall, waiting for the doors to open. They walked over to a group that consisted of Ron, Lavender, Hermione, Neville, Seamus, Parvati, Dean, and Ginny. Everyone was talking and laughing. When they joined their friends circle, Seamus looked at Luna and let loose a low whistle.

"Hey, Luna, looking good, looking good," he complimented her. Luna blushed, and Seamus received a sharp kick in the shin from Parvati. "You're here with me, Seamus, remember?" she hissed.

Harry chuckled, and just then the doors opened to the Great Hall. Everyone started piling in, grabbing on to their dates so that they wouldn't lose them in the mad rush toward the doors.

The Great Hall was decorated beautifully. Red and green streamers were hung festively on the walls, and Christmas confetti was falling from the ceiling. There were four huge Christmas trees, one in each corner, each one decorated differently. One had the Gryffindor colors on it, and another had Ravenclaw colors. One was decorated the Hufflepuff way, and yet another was Slytherins.

Students were milling around the giant room, talking and laughing, waiting for the music to start. Dumbledore clapped his hands, and everyone fell silent.

"Welcome to the Christmas Ball. I'm sure that you don't want to stand here listening to an old man's ramblings, so let the music begin!" With that, music began to fill the air, students looking around to find its source. In the back corner in the room, instruments were playing by themselves. Everyone laughed, and began to dance.

Harry took Luna's hand and led her out onto the dance floor. They started dancing beside Ron and Lavender. Ron's face was red as Neville's robes. Lavender was laughing and having a good time. Harry could just make out Hermione and Neville across the room, sitting on a bench and chatting merrily.

Two hours later, Ron, Lavender, Harry, Luna, Hermione, and Neville were all dancing in a group, when a slow song came on. They paired up with their dates and started dancing. Harry and Luna were dancing at a safe distance from each other, but not too far apart. Ron and Lavender were a little closer, but not much, and Ron was still blushing fiercely. Hermione was snuggled into Neville's chest, looking extremely happy, and Neville's chin was resting on her head.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" a voice sneered in Harry's ear. The group turned and found themselves face-to-face with Draco Malfoy.