"The dance is tonight Harry, and I still don't have a date." Ron moaned into his hands. "What am I going to do" He asked.
"You could always ask Monica" Harry grinned, poking fun at his friend. Ron glared at him.
"I did, she turned me down flat." He replied. Harry shrugged.
"Then stay in the tower." Harry suggested. He tugged at his dress robes, and brushed off a bit of lint. "Or you could go with Ginny."
"She's going with Neville, again." Ron buried his face in his hands.
"You don't have to have a date." Hermoine suggested. She and Monica had descended the stairs from the girls dorm. Hermoine was in a deep scarlet dress, with fairly high neckline, and a tail off the back, that didn't quite reach the floor. Monica's was bright blue, and a bit less conservative, though only because her skirt was shorter, and split, obviously meaning she intended to dance.
"And look like a loser" Ron asked. "Not bloody likely." Hermoine opened her mouth to give him a scathing retort, but Monica cut her off.
"She said: A, date." He stared at her, uncomprehending. "No reason you can't come with both of us, if you hurry. Who else will enter with two beautiful women" She asked. He blinked, and vanished up the stairs. Monica looked at Hermoine. "Is he always this dense"
"Usually." The other nodded. Harry ignored them, and moved out of the portrait, heading down the stairs to the great hall, meeting Cho near the door. She was resplendant in a dark green dress, soft lace around her collar, with a long oval cut out, revealing the valley betwen her breasts. The large, flowing skirt was ideal for dancing, as well as just standing. Harry found his breath caught in his throat. He offered his arm, and she took it with a smile. The doors to the great hall were open, and she gasped slightly as she saw the ceiling. Instead of just the sky, this time it portrayed the stars above the entire world, rotating slowly through them, each constellation lighting in sequence. Food was laid out along two of the house tables, sitting against the walls. In the center of the room, a massive fountain sat, punch gurgling up from the top, running down the sides. Music played softly from the walls.
"Would you like to dance" Harry asked nervously. Cho nodded.
"I think I'd like that." She smiled. They stepped out into the midst of the dance floor. As they slid out, six pair of eyes watched them. From the upper end of the room, Professor Sechell leaned against the wall, arms folded, keeping an eye on him. Snape was on the other end, sneering at him. A dark haired young woman watched Cho from a table against the wall. No one seemed to see her standing there, which she felt was a good thing. Monica watched both, after a grand entrance with Ron. After a moment, she felt something call her away. From the ceiling, hidden deep in the shadows, a creature watched silently, licking it's black lips, in anticipation. From across the room, with his own date smiling back at him, Draco Malfoy watched jealously. He wondered exactly how Harry managed to get the best of women for himself. He'd found himself limping, though with no real reason. Anger was palpable in the back of his mind. He hadn't been able to get rid of it since the attack, and now he found he didn't want to.
"Draco? You're hurting my arm." His date grunted, and slapped him. He snapped back to reality, and let go.
"I'm sorry, I lost my concentration." He apologized, doing his best to sound sincere.
"It's alright. I'll go get us some punch then." She smiled, and headed away. He nodded vaguely, and ignored her. The anger began to rise again even faster than before. It was still raging later when the dance ended, just after midnight. Most of the guests had left earlier, either to bed, or other pursuits, most of which the ghosts were out looking to stop. Some had left, and returned, Ron noted that the one person that hadn't reappeared, was the one person that he knew least. Monica. As they party was ended by McGonagall, Ron and Hermoine caught Harry.
"Have you seen Monica since we made our entrance" Hermoine asked. He shook his head.
"I'm worried about her." Ron confessed. Harry snorted.
"She's capable of taking care of herself." He waved. Cho had already left, and he was a bit irritated about it. "Of all the people around here, I doubt she's run a foul of anything." He grunted.
"Harry, you know how strong these things are. They hurt Dumbledore. If anything can hurt him, it wouldn't have any trouble with the rest of us, including Monica. We've got to look for her." Ron urged. Hermoine nodded.
"It got to Pansy Parkinson in the middle of the great hall, so if she wasn't there, where the entire school was watching, she's vulnerable." Hermoine added. Harry sighed.
"Fine, we'll split up." He turned and headed down a corridor. Hermoine opened her mouth to call that it wasn't a good idea, but he'd already turned a corner. She turned to Ron, but he was already gone as well. With an exasperated sigh, she spun back in the original direction she'd been facing, and stalked ahead.
-
Harry recognized exactly where he was, near the corridor's leading both to the library, and to the class room in which the mirror of Erised had been stored. Something told him to steer clear of the latter, and he headed to the library. There was no one inside, not even the librarian, and as he left, he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He slipped his wand out, aiming down the corridor.
"Lumos." Light flared at the end of the wand and he swept it slowly side to side, as he rounded the corner, something seemed to draw the light from the end of his wand. "Luminos" The light flared back, brighter than before and punched through the darkness. As he advanced, the air grew chill around him, and he pulled his robes closer, slowing down and watching as much as he could. The first thing he found was a scrap of material. It was bright blue. He gasped, and took a deep breath, then steadied himself, and advanced, knowing he was close. A larger scrap of material lay on the ground. A glance at the ceiling showed ice melting slowly away. He moved forwards, a little faster, and little more cautiously. He stepped around a corner, leading to a dead end, except for two class rooms, and leveled his wand at what ever was there. It was Monica, on the floor, curled into a ball, dress tattered around her, blood running down her entire body. Harry advanced quickly, watching for any more of the shadow creatures, and reached to check her pulse. The instant his fingers touched her throat, she opened her eyes, and he felt himself fall again, but there was no way to pull away this time. He screamed.
