A/N: Just a very short author's note here saying only that good things come to those who wait. (winks and smiles) Enjoy! Oh, and don't think you're getting off without me doing my usual ranting at the end of the chapter, so stick around.

Chapter 8

Harry examined himself in the mirror, feeling a bit self-conscious, smoothing out the wrinkles in his jacket and, after careful thought, unbuttoning the top button on the collar of his blue shirt. It wasn't tucked in, as his personal sense of style commanded him to do, giving him a more carefree and relaxed look, although his face certainly would have given away the fact that his feelings weren't quite as calm, and yet… he couldn't quite identify what was making him so jittery. It was just a vague feeling that something was going to happen, something unexpected… He turned to the side, picking a few pieces of lint off of his slacks and making sure his shoes looked all right, his socks matching.

"Ron and Hermione will be here any minute," he thought after a glance at the clock. Apparating would be too risky, and so they'd have to settle for calling a muggle taxi once they were ready to leave, he remembered, reading the invitation over again and then setting it back down on his dresser.

Hedwig gave a short hoot crossly, interrupting his preparation, picking up her food bowl and flying over to him, boldly setting it down at his feet as a little dog would.

"All right, Hedwig, I'm going, I'm going," he assured her, picking up the bowl and walking towards the kitchen, the owl flying before him to land on the counter next to the sink.

He opened a wooden cabinet door and pulled out a bag of owl food, opening the clip that he had put there to keep it tightly closed and unfolding the very top of the bag before pouring some into the medium-sized bowl. She chirped shortly in thanks, nipping his fingers gently in affection.

"We've come a long way since our days at Privet Drive, haven't we?" he murmured, gently stroking her with one hand. Smiling, he walked back to his bedroom, to stand in front of the mirror again and continue to make small adjustments.

Should he wear a tie? No, the party wasn't that formal…

A spray of cologne, straightening his collar, and he was as satisfied with how he looked as he would ever be. Walking out to his living room, he sat down on the sofa and picked up the book on Quidditch he had been reading in his spare time lately, and couldn't help but think, with a smile, that Hermione would be proud of him. Just as he had comfortably situated himself, however, the doorbell rang, and he jumped up to answer it.

Glancing through the peephole, he was pleased to see Ron waiting on the other side of the door, looking smartly dressed, which was most likely more of Hermione's doing.

"Ready?" he asked when he had opened the door.

"As ready as you are," Harry replied, smiling, and then his smile melting into a frown as he noticed that Ron was alone in the hallway. "Where's Hermione?" he asked.

"Oh, she's on the sidewalk downstairs, hailing a taxi for us. With what she has on, I'm sure she won't have a problem," Ron answered, smirking.

The smile returned to Harry's face as they walked to the elevator and he pressed the button.

"You approve of her dress, then?" he asked.

"Wait until you see her… she'll leave your mouth hanging open for a good while," was the confident answer.

"I'll take your word for it."

"Well, you won't have to for very long. You'll see her soon enough for yourself."

"I wonder how many people from this building alone were invited to New Year's parties elsewhere," he commented as the elevator doors slid open. As they walked in, both became painfully aware of the fact that the small area was packed to its fullest capacity, barely leaving room for them.

"Does this answer your question?" Ron asked as he squeezed up against the back wall beside Harry.

"I believe so… I know that this building isn't exactly the best place for large celebrations, but this is a bit ridiculous," he said in a strained voice, already beginning to feel lightheaded from the lack of open space.

Everyone groaned as the elevator stopped once again at the eighth floor.

"I'm sorry, ladies, but there's no more room," informed someone in the front. "You can probably catch it on its next time around."

"All right, it's no problem," replied a voice calmly, revealing no signs of disappointment in her tone, if she was.

"That voice…" thought Harry, a sharp sense of familiarity snatching his attention as soon as the woman spoke. He craned his neck to the left, trying to get a better view before the doors closed, but there were too many people obstructing his view, and the doors soon shut again, sending them on their way once more. They made a few more stops on the way down, the same person appointing himself notify the either eagerly or impatiently waiting people that they had no more room to accommodate them. By far, the tenant on the eighth floor had been the most polite, Harry decided, as a woman on the second floor began raising her voice, sending an assortment of vulgar language and threats echoing down the halls. Everyone exhaled sharply in relief as they reached the floor level, and Ron didn't bother to fight the urge to push and elbow his way through the crowd to get outside, Harry following likewise.

They walked across the smooth floor of the lobby quickly, immediately spotting Hermione through the clear doors. Opening the closest ones, they rushed out to where she stood, and nearly threw her into the taxi before stepping in themselves, panicking as they saw the barrage of people coming, all of them thinking that they'd be able to steal away the cab that she had saved. As the car sped away from the building, Harry and Ron breathing heavily and unevenly, Hermione only arched an eyebrow and gave them a dirty look, evidently not pleased with her rash way of being forced into the car.

"What was that about?" she queried, looking as though she would've been tapping her foot in disapproval if she had been standing.

"It's not important," Ron panted, waving his hand dismissively. Both he and Harry were still struggling to catch their breaths, not quite being used to such vigorous exercise.

She rolled her eyes, smiling, and crossed her legs, sitting back in her seat and pulling her wrap closer to her body as she crossed her arms as well.

"'Mione," said Harry suddenly, his jaw dropping in surprise as he took a more careful look at her dress; not being the flashy sort of girl, she hadn't chosen a dress that would expose nearly all of her body, but it was enough to make Ron gape at her unashamedly until she began to blush under his adoring gaze and match perfectly with the dark red of the material it was made from.

"I clean up fairly well, don't you think?" she said, smirking slightly at the look of absolute awe Harry was ogling her with.

"Well—yeah," he said, looking flabbergasted.

"Thank you," was her grateful reply.

"How long do you think it'll be until we get there?" asked Ron, finally taking his gaze off of Hermione.

"About ten more minutes, I believe," she replied, taking a quick look at her watch.

"We'll still be fairly early, then," said Ron, relaxing.

"I wonder if John's girlfriend will be at the party," Hermione mused. "He's always been so quiet and reserved about these things."

"A lot like another person we know," Harry said, staring pointedly at Ron.

"At least we know he's serious about his relationships," continued Hermione, ignoring Harry. "I know he's been seeing her for about three years now; it's a wonder he hasn't proposed yet."

"Actually… can you two keep a secret?" Harry asked quietly.

"Of course we can," said Hermione, leaning in closer.

"Well, John was talking to me yesterday after I ran into him in Diagon Alley and he said that tonight—" he paused for dramatic effect.

"Get on with it!" hissed Ron impatiently, trying to disguise his own evident discomfort on the still touchy subject of marriage proposals.

"—he's going to propose to his girlfriend. That's why he's been 'working overtime' so much lately. He's been planning out the best way to ask her at the party," finished Harry, before returning his piercing gaze to Ron, sending his friend an inescapably clear message that Hermione didn't seem to notice.

"Oh, that's so romantic!" exclaimed Hermione, looking as though she was about to keel over in sentimental happiness.

The tables turned with amazing speed and it was their turn to raise their eyebrows at her.

"Work," she said promptly, seeming to be trying with a great deal of effort not to beat herself over the head.

"Who is it?" asked Ron, turning back towards Harry.

He shrugged. "No idea. As Hermione's already said, Harvey's a secretive fellow, that's for sure."

"But he told you about his plans," interrupted Hermione.

"I had run into him while he was picking out the engagement ring."

"Oh."

"Going to a party?" asked the driver, startling them.

"As a matter of fact, we are," said Harry, recovering quickly.

"Ah, yes, to be young and going to a party," said the elderly driver, nodding. "I remember a party I went to once." He chuckled softly. "The Ministry officials had a time of it trying to modify the memories of those muggles living in the building across the street. I ask you, though, how do you possibly explain to people like that about how Filibuster's Fireworks react with dungbombs, in the right potion?"

"How?" asked Ron, leaning forward.

"Exploded. Every last one of 'em. Left a stink strong enough to stay there for a good three weeks afterwards and flashing lights bright enough to give you a tan."

"Sounds like you had a good time," said Hermione, grinning.

"I hope you three do as well," he said, turning the steering wheel to the left and parking against the curb. "Here we are. Happy New Year," he added.

"Happy New Year, and thank you," said Harry handing him a few bills.

He tipped his hat in appreciation and waited patiently until Ron had closed the door before driving off.

"He seemed like a nice man," commented Hermione.

"Yeah… you don't find that kind very often nowadays," said Ron absently, not really interested in pursuing the subject further. Taking her by the hand and beginning to walk towards the building, Harry following behind, he opened the door, led her in, and remembered, with a great deserving of praise, to wait for his friend as well, before closing it and walking towards the elevator.

"I had no idea John's building was this extravagant," Hermione said, marveling at the size of the entrance hall itself.

"If I remember correctly, he owns an entire floor," Harry said, pressing the button for the elevator.

"No wonder he's invited so many people," said Ron. "Hermione, you do have our invitation, don't you?"

"Am I supposed to?" she said indifferently.

His eyes bulged out of their sockets as he asked frantically, "You don't have it?"

"I do, I do!" she said hurriedly. "But why do we need it?"

He relaxed and replied with a shrug, "Honestly, I don't know if we do, but I thought we'd need it just in case John's hired someone to check off guests at the door."

"Well, not to worry; it's in my purse," she said, holding up her wrist on which her handbag was hanging off of.

"I doubt you'll need it… John never was one for that sort of thing," said Harry, sounding unperturbed by the whole situation.

The elevator gave a ding as it stopped and its doors opened, interrupting their conversation.

"What floor is it?" asked Hermione, preparing to hunt for the correct button amongst the sea of floor selections lining the wall.

"Floor thirty-five, I believe. What does it say on the invitation?" said Harry.

"Let's see," she muttered, pulling it out of her bag. "You're right; it's on the thirty-fifth floor." She added after reading the fine print on the bottom of the card. Pressing the button, she moved towards Harry and Ron on the glass side of the elevator to watch in interest as each floor whirled past.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Ron complained after the fifteenth floor.

"Shh… listen; do you hear that?" Hermione said suddenly.

"No," said Harry, straining his ears.

"Is that… music?" asked Ron incredulously, still looking nauseous.

"It sounds like it," replied Hermione.

"You don't think…" Harry said, trailing off.

"It can't be," said Hermione.

Loud, upbeat music blared from somewhere overhead, echoing off the walls, and certainly causing more than several of the disgruntled neighbors who evidently been planning to have a good night's sleep to come out in their robes and slippers, slamming their doors behind them (no doubt locking themselves out of their flats) to shake their fists and yell upwards or downwards in the direction of the noise. Threats of calling the authorities mingled in with other more extreme solutions rang in their ears and only added to the chaos and caused them to become increasingly nervous as they neared the thirty-fifth floor.

As the elevator came to a stop, they walked off of the elevator, astonishment newly rekindled at how the doors opened straight into the apartment and relief washing over them as they heard only the chatter of the small crowd gathered, a Silencing Charm evidently having been placed on the flat.

John spotted them from across the room and made his way toward them through a slowly accumulating crowd of people, happily chatting with each other, drinks in hand.

"So you finally made it, eh? And with a few minutes to spare; it's only 6:55, you know," he said, shaking hands with each one of them.

"Trust me, it feels like it's taken much longer than it really took us to get here," said Harry, letting out a tired sigh before collapsing on a couch, feeling as though he had already had more of an adventure than he needed.


"How do I look?" Cho asked, holding her arms out to both sides in a form of display.

"You're gorgeous, perfection," said Marietta quickly, barely looking up as she gathered her things together hastily.

"You only say that because you're in a hurry," she said, smiling and shaking her head.

"Well, we are running a bit late and you didn't help it very much by taking your time getting dressed," her friend replied, standing up and taking a last look around to check for anything she might've missed.

"We've got plenty of time, Marietta, calm yourself down. Besides, I thought you liked being 'fashionably late,' "

"Fashionably, yes, but not abominably. There is a difference, you know."

"I know, I know."

"Then why are you standing there so calm and collected, still taking your time!"

"Because you're reading the clock on the mantel." Cho replied serenely as her friend gave another panicky glance to the clock.

"What sort of an answer is that?" she snapped.

"It means you're reading the clock on the mantel." She repeated, sitting down on the couch and settling in.

Marietta looked at her with an expression that clearly indicated that she thought her friend had gone mad.

"The clock on the mantel stopped working three days ago. It stopped at about an hour ahead of the actual time it is right now."

"Oh… well you could've told me that."

"I thought I did."

"What kind of an answer is 'You're reading the clock on the mantel'? Of course I'm not going to know what you're talking about if you just stop there."

"You were too busy ranting to let me finish."

"I—you—"

"Marietta, don't hurt yourself," said Cho, putting a finger on her friend's lips to hush her. "Sit down and relax, before I force-feed you a Soothing Potion. Everything is under control. We're not late, and we'll get there on time."

"Easy for her to say…" thought Marietta. "If only I'd been able to speak to John before now… oh well, I'll just have to talk him when we get there…"

"Besides, I'm not finished getting ready," Cho said, breaking her flow of thought.

"What?"

"I still need to find something to do with my hair. That I'll leave for you to do."

"Why is that the only thing you trust me to do?" she asked, partly in complaint as she was taken by the wrist and led into the bathroom and handed a brush in addition to a variety of hair accessories.

"Because it's the only thing you can do that I'll approve of," she said, smirking.

Marietta shook her head and picked up the brush. "Sit," she commanded, pulling up a stool for her to sit on; after she was seated, she began to brush the thick, dark hair.

"So, what do plan to do if you find your soul mate tonight?" she asked, almost as a joke, after a pause, continuing to brush her friend's long hair soothingly.

"I don't know. It depends on whether or not I find him," she replied, smiling.

"I certainly wonder what he'll look like," Marietta said, knowing that she'd begun to press her luck of keeping her knowledge to herself.

"There's no telling…" she said, unaware of the small note of hesitation in her friend's voice.

"Dark hair, maybe?" she continued.

"Maybe,"

"Taller than you, of course."

"Yes."

"Clear complexion."

"That's a must."

"Well, we'll just see, won't we?" Marietta said, wisely stopping there before she gave herself away.

"I—suppose we will," Cho said warily, beginning to be ever so slightly suspicious, and then giving a sharp intake of breath as her hair was suddenly yanked on, the pain taking her mind off of her suspicions.

"Ow! Marietta!"

"Sorry, sorry," she said, hoping that her little tug had saved her from any questioning and beginning to style her friend's hair.

"Is it all right if I curl your hair?" she asked.

"Go ahead. Just don't pull on it again."

"Right, sorry again about that," she said, pulling out her wand and muttering a spell. Gathering together the softly curled hair in a half-ponytail, she picked out a silver hair clip from the assortment of hair things and snapped it in place, brushing the hair out a bit more before whispering another spell to put a bit of silver glitter into the mix before standing back to admire her work.

"Not bad if I say so myself. And I do," she said, crossing her arms and letting her friend stand up to look in the mirror, gently feeling her hair.

"It's beautiful, Marietta. Thank you," Cho said gratefully, giving her friend a hug.

"Oh, it's nothing," Marietta said modestly.

"Now, it's about time to go, don't you think?" she said after another look at her watch.

"I'm ready when you are," was the reply as Marietta picked up her purse from the bathroom counter, handing Cho hers.

"Let me see… my keys are… in here," she said, rummaging in her purse until she found them. "Let's go."

Marietta followed her out into the hallway and closed the door behind her before walking alongside her to the elevator and pressing the button.

The doors opened immediately, but the elevator was far from empty.

"I'm sorry, ladies, but there's no more room. You can probably catch it on its next time around," said a man in the front apologetically.

"All right, it's no problem," said Cho, nodding politely. He breathed a sigh of relief and pressed the button to shut the doors again.

"Now what do we do?" asked Marietta.

"We'll just have to wait. Or…"

"Or what?"

"We could use the staircase."

"Cho."

"What?"

"Have—you—gone—daft? Do you honestly think you and I can walk down those stairs wearing the shoes we're wearing?"

"Well, yes, if we're careful. It's better than waiting for the next elevator to come who knows when," she insisted as her friend threw her hands up in the air in exasperation and turned away.

"I can't believe I'm saying this… fine. Let's go and use the staircase," she said reluctantly beginning to walk towards the emergency exit sign.

"Are you sure?"

"Would you just hurry it up and walk as fast as you can without hurting yourself?" she snapped.

"All right, no need to be snippy," Cho said, walking through the door her friend held open for her.

Marietta walked in after her and took a glance down the spiraling stairs before backing away from the railing and standing against the wall. Grabbing her friend's shoulder, she said, "Cho, I just thought of something."

"What?"

"Can't we just Apparate to the bottom?"

"I… suppose so… just this once." She said haltingly, not feeling in the mood to argue, to which her friend gave a joyous squeal. "Ready? 1, 2, 3…"

A few moments later, they appeared at the bottom of the staircase, landing on their feet with two loud thumps.

"I think I broke the heel to one of my shoes," complained Marietta.

Cho shot her a glare.

"But it's nothing I can't fix," she said quickly, muttering "Reparo,"

"At this rate, we're not going to be able to make it on time," said Cho exasperatingly, with another glance at her watch.

"Cho, I know that John said no Apparating, but, do you think…?"

"Do we have any other choice?" she replied, giving up altogether and throwing her hands up in the air.

Marietta made a triumphant noise and with another two ear-splitting cracks, they had Apparated themselves into John's flat. The room had gone silent and it seemed as though pair upon pair of eyes was focused on them, and only them, almost as though they were asking who dared to make such a bold appearance.

"We—we couldn't find a taxi," said Marietta, laughing nervously.

Someone towards the back laughed as well, and the momentary tension broke as a few more people chuckled appreciatively and everyone turned away from them, continuing their conversations. They both relaxed their tensed shoulders and Marietta began to walk away, saying, "I'll be right back. I just need to speak to John about something."

"All right," said Cho, beginning to make her way towards the coat closet after her friend had walked away. Upon finding it, she opened the door and groaned when she saw how deep it stretched. Without any further delay, she began to walk into the cramped space, occasionally being poked and prodded by an outstretched hanger, wondering why everything had to be so difficult.

Meanwhile, Marietta had found the gracious host chatting with a few of his colleagues in a distant corner.

"…So like I was saying, I had gotten these fantastic seats for the very first Quidditch game of the season that the Montrose Magpies were playing when all the tickets had been sold out, and I had planned on asking my brother to go along with me when—" he said as she approached, chopping off the end of his sentence when she tapped him on the shoulder.

"Oh! Would you look at that! You finally made it; it was about time. Ron, Hermione, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Marietta Edgecombe," he said, pulling her into the small circle.

"Did you say Marietta Edgecombe?" asked Hermione, her eyes growing wide in disbelief. "My goodness," she added weakly. "It's… been forever since the last time we saw you. John, when you told us that your girlfriend's name was Marietta… you never mentioned that your Marietta was that one."

"And which one would that be?" he asked jokingly.

"The one we—" Ron began, cut short by a nudge in the ribs from Hermione.

"—went to school with," she finished, smiling. "It's nice to see you again."

"And it's nice to see you as well," she replied, grinning back, relieved to see that they seemed to be willing to bury the past. Suddenly blessed with another inspirational idea, she decided to make small talk and move from there once she had gotten the information she needed, rather than involving John in her plans.

"So, how've you been?" she asked warmly.

"Very well, thanks," Ron replied.

"That's nice to hear. I take it you two are still keeping in touch with Harry?" she said, artfully keeping herself from sounding too eager to hear about him.

"Yes, very much so. In fact, he works with us in the Auror department at the Ministry, said Hermione.

"Yeah, he's here at the party. Didn't I tell you?" said John, saying the very words she wanted to hear. "I still can't believe I managed to get the famous Harry Potter to come to my little party, when I'm sure he had so many other invitations to choose from," he said lightheartedly to Ron and Hermione, chuckling softly after he spoke.

"It's not as if you handed me a list of your guests to memorize," she teased. "Listen, I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got something very important to take care of, all right?"

"That's all right, just remember to come back," he replied, winking and dropping a quick kiss on the top of her head before turning back towards his guests.

"It was nice to see the two of you again," she added, smiling.

"It was nice to see you, too," said Hermione kindly, smiling back.

Turning to walk away, she could only thank her lucky stars that neither one of them had seemed to have kept a grudge over the years for that one mistake she had made. Now, she turned her focus towards her mission and finding Cho.

"Remember, be tactful," she thought to herself, carefully squeezing in between gaps in the crowd. Spotting Cho over by the closet, looking a bit disgruntled, she began to make her way towards her friend, having every intent of keeping her close by until she had laid eyes on Harry. Then—the rest she would just leave to fate and her improvisational skills.

"Where have you been?" she asked as soon as she was within earshot.

"Fighting my way through the jungle your boyfriend dares to call his coat closet," was the petulant reply.

"Well, come with me, and let's go and mingle."

"Hold on a moment, I'd like to go to the restroom and clean up a bit. It's down this hall to the left, right?" Cho said, shouldering her purse and pointing towards the hallway to her right.

"Yeah… how did you know that?" she asked, confused as to how her friend seemed to know the apartment so well when she had only been in it once or twice.

"The ten million times you've described this flat down to the last detail might have something to do with it," she answered cheekily, shaking her head and smirking.

"Don't plan on hiding for the entire party!" Marietta called after her friend, a touch of anxiety beginning to douse her spirits. Sighing, she walked towards the large full-length windows on the side of the apartment closest to her that made up the entire wall to wait for Cho. All along the windows, different clumps of people were arranged together, some leaning on the glass, others standing in front of it and admiring the ideal view of the city. She herself faced the window to look out at the city and took to placing her hand on the glass to absent-mindedly tap her fingers. Feeling restless, she turned away from the window again to lean against it and observe guests. As her eyes slowly swept across the room and as far as she could see, she spotted a man with dark hair talking to John, Hermione, and Ron, and she froze.

Meanwhile, Cho turned the doorknob to the bathroom and gave a small push, shutting it behind her after she had entered and found herself giving a double take to the room as she fully took in the elegance and ornate furnishings and her jaw dropped slightly in surprise.

A large mirror with a gilded frame was placed carefully above the wide sink, the richly golden taps giving a sharp contrast to the simplicity of the white marble. The counter in which the basin sank into was large and wide, with an assortment of drawers and cabinets filled with all sorts of soaps, clean fleecy white towels, and every other toiletry known to civilized society. Spotless bleached tiles lined the floor, and the tub seemed to resemble a large swimming pool, not unlike the prefects' bath at Hogwarts. A comfortable-looking lounge couch on the wall next to a bathrobe hanger or two finished off the bathroom, and, feeling a bit dizzy from such opulence, she gratefully took a seat on the sofa to recuperate from her initial shock.

Marietta had always said that John was extremely wealthy, but up until that very moment, she hadn't really had a very good idea of exactly how rich he was. Standing up again, she set her purse down on the counter in front of the large look-glass, opened it, and took out her wand, making small adjustments to make herself look presentable again, including making sure the static cling her hair seemed to have acquired inside the closet was taken care of.

Taking a look in the mirror to make sure she was satisfied when she finished, she straightened her skirt before opening the door and walking back out into the mass of people. The number of people seemed to have multiplied three times over in her short absence, and yet there was still plenty of room to spare.

"I wonder if he has an equally rich cousin I could become acquainted with," she thought jokingly to herself, spotting Marietta across the room and beginning to walk towards her.

"So, anything happen while I was gone?" she asked, standing in front of her friend. She seemed to be in shock herself, her eyes being fixed in one direction and her mouth open a bit.

"No, no, nothing at all," she said distantly, continuing to stare.

"Would you mind telling me what exactly is so interesting?" Cho asked, bewildered and beginning to become a bit annoyed. She looked over in the spot where Marietta was so fixedly gaping at and, saw only people crowded together, chatting animatedly, nobody she herself knew in particular.

"It's—it's nothing," she replied, slowly tilting her head to the side as if to look past someone blocking her view.

Snapping her fingers loudly in her friend's face, Cho finally startled her into looking away.

"Oh! Cho, I—it's just—I didn't know it was you who was talking to me! I'm so sorry," Marietta said apologetically, swearing under her breath.

"It's all right, I was just wondering what you were so fascinated with," she said.

"I just—thought I saw something…" she replied vaguely. Inside, she could hardly contain her excitement; it was all just too perfect. Cho was going to be indebted to her forever…

A smile played at the corners of her lips at the thought of playing matchmaker, and she was only snatched back to reality as she noticed her friend still craning her neck to see what she had been staring at, looking curious and puzzled, a small frown on her face. Cho mustn't see Harry until the perfect time, and ruining the surprise now would be disastrous. She needed a distraction… Marietta quickly scanned the room again and found a familiar face on the exact opposite side of the room from Harry.

"Look over there!" she said quickly, pointing in the crowd towards the person.

"What? What?" said Cho.

"Isn't that Jillian Hilton?"

"Who?"

"You should remember; she was the girl who was always asking around in class for a spare bit of parchment or an extra quill she could borrow."

"'Spare Quill Jill?'" she asked, her eyes widening. "We haven't seen her since—since our graduation from Hogwarts!"

"Bless her heart, she was the sweetest person you could ever meet, and yet the most scatterbrained," said Marietta in reminiscence.

"Ah yes, those were the golden days, weren't they? Nothing to worry about except for finishing your homework and being on time for Quidditch practice. Well, of course, there was a bit more to it than that, but you know what I mean," she added, waving a hand impatiently as her friend opened her mouth to argue.

"Well? What are we waiting for? Let's go talk to her," said her friend, grabbing her by the forearm and beginning to walk towards their friend.

"Jillian?" Cho said questioningly after they had stopped walking to stand behind her.

The young woman who had been speaking so readily to the small group surrounding her, mostly comprised of men, turned to see who had addressed her, froze for a moment, and then let out a loud squeal that pierced every eardrum within a twenty-foot radius.

"CHO! I can't believe it's you! And Marietta!" she said in disbelief.

"Shh, keep it down. It's not as if we're famous," said Marietta, having more reasons than one to keep their friend from yelling Cho's name for the world to hear.

"You look fantastic!" exclaimed Cho, giving her friend a hug.

"So do you! I can't believe it's already been, what? Three years?"

"I know. We really should've kept in touch more often. So, what have you been up to?"

"Oh, nothing much," she said casually, "I'm still single, and very much alone in my little flat."

"I believe Ms. Chang here can relate to that," said Marietta, smirking.

"Can't you leave me alone for one minute without mentioning how much I need to have a man to balance out my life?" said Cho in exasperation. "Besides, it's not as if I miss that sort of attention. It's a bit nice to know that I'm completely independent and without anyone to tie me down or restrict me."

"Right," replied her friend sarcastically before muttering to Jillian, "She's absolutely in denial, can't you tell?"

"I am not!" she said indignantly, giving Marietta a small slap on the arm. "You're just stretching the truth into something it's not."

"See? What did I tell you?" she said out of the corner of her mouth.

"Would you stop it! It's not as if I can't hear you!" Cho said, looking as though she was on the brink of exploding.

"You two haven't changed a bit," said Jillian, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh, you wouldn't happen to have a spare quill on you right now, would you? I think I may be able to solve my marital status problem as soon as I scribble down my address for this one young man… and a few others," she added, giving a small grin.

"I see you haven't changed much either, besides getting over your phobia of speaking out in conversations and, I assume, dating," said Cho, grinning back as Marietta handed their friend a quill she had dug out of the depths of her handbag.

"Well, I had to grow out of some old habits over time. It's already an uneasy world to live in, but when you limit yourself further, it just makes things worse." She explained as she wrote. She handed the scrap piece of parchment to the group of men over her shoulder nonchalantly, and pretended not to take notice as they all lunged towards it. "Let's walk over there and let them fight it out, shall we?" she said, steering her two friends towards the other side of the room."

Marietta's voice caught in her throat as panic made her heart speed up to twice its normal rate as the familiar dark head of hair came closer and closer into view when she whipped around, switching positions with Jillian and pushed her and Cho back towards the fighting mob of men, but just far away enough to keep them all comfortable.

"Like to keep close to the action? Well, if you don't mind all the yelling and bloodshed, that's just fine with me," said Jillian lightheartedly.

"No, it's just—the view is much lovelier from here, and you can see the entire city," said Marietta, gesturing towards the windows opposite them.

"You're right, it is a nicer view," said Cho, looking appreciatively at the glimmering lights down below.

"So, tell us what you've been up to for the past few years, Jill," said Marietta, breaking the meditative moment.

"Where would you like me to start?" she said, shrugging.

"After graduation, I suppose. It doesn't really matter exactly when after," she added hastily.

"When you put it that way, then, I guess I should probably begin a few months after we graduated," she began, sitting down on a sofa and gesturing for the two of them to do the same, which they did.

"I was always unsure of which profession to choose, as the two of you know. I went absolutely mad when they handed me all these pamphlets in our fifth year of careers that I could choose from once I graduated."

"I remember," said Cho suddenly. "You came back to the common room looking as though you'd just been told to figure out the meaning of human existence."

"And I might as well have been, because I had absolutely no clue as to where my life would go after school. So anyway, there I was a few months after graduation, still living with my parents, as embarrassing as that is, and unemployed. I still had a good deal of those brochures, mind you, but I still had absolutely no idea as to what to do. And then, one day, as I was shuffling through them for the final time, it hit me when my eye caught this one booklet on becoming an Auror. I had all the right grades for it, and I always thought that a bit of adventure now and then would do me good, and so I looked into it further. So, I've been working day in and day out at the Ministry with the women's Auror department and finally, after three years of hard work, I'm going to be able to go to a training camp."

"But I thought that Aurors-in-training usually only had to read files and all that sort of thing for about a year and a half or so," said Cho, frowning slightly.

"Male ones do, but women seem to have to jump a bit higher. The ladies at work aren't that bad, but you always have to, shall we say, lower your IQ a bit to be able to blend in. I myself put on this act every day at work, and so, I get along fairly well. Hermione Granger, however, has a bit more difficulty." She said, crossing her curved legs casually.

"Is that the same Hermione Granger from Hogwarts?" Cho asked, looking interested and then also a bit resentful at the same time.

"The one in Gryffindor with brown hair, extraordinarily intelligent, and who was one of Harry Potter's best friends?"

"Yes,"

"That's the very same Hermione. She's got a lot of spunk, that girl. She nearly always refuses to join in the daily nail polish check and magazine read-aloud time. I have a feeling she's beginning to give in, though. I don't blame her… anyway, if my memory serves me correctly, she's here at the party with her boyfriend," said Jillian, beginning to look around.

Cho felt the bottom of her stomach drop to her ankles.

"Harry Potter?" she asked tentatively, dreading the answer.

"Oh, goodness, no!" replied her friend, giving a small laugh. "She's dating Ron Weasley, finally, after all these years that he's been too shy to ask her. I always thought it was obvious that those two were crazy about each other during our school years."

Her stomach returned to its original spot, but no sooner than it had been restored it began clenching together in excitement and she felt her heart begin fluttering. Hadn't Harry said so himself once that he was considering being an Auror? Was it possible that he…?

"So, Jillian," she began, voice shaking slightly. Marietta took note of this and gave a mental groan, knowing that the damage had been done. "Do you know if… Harry's here at the party?"

Marietta began gesticulating wildly, behind her friend to Jillian, mouthing, "Don't tell her! Don't tell her!"

Jillian raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow slightly in questioning as she sighted Marietta before abruptly lowering it again and saying, "I… don't know, Cho, probably not. I think I might've heard that he went to another party somewhere else. I'm not sure, though."

"Oh," she said, obviously disappointed.

"Jillian, why don't you come with me to get a drink? I see your glass is empty already," said Marietta, raising both her own eyebrows as a sort of secret signal while Cho stared hard at the floor, lost in thought. "We'll be right back, all right?"

"Sure," said Cho, nodding once and looking up at the two of them once before lowering her gaze again to the ground.

Of course he wasn't there at the party. How could she be so stupid as to assume he would be? He had probably moved away to a different country, for all she knew. There wasn't much England had to offer him anymore, not anything exceptional that she could think of, at least. Even if he did still live in the area, what made her so sure that he would be working in the Auror's department at the Ministry, or single, for that matter? He was the famous Harry Potter, after all, with females in the entire wizarding world who would give up any or all of their five senses just to be able to shake his hand. Every now and then her eye would catch a tidbit of information in tabloids, but she knew better than to trust the rubbish they dared to print and call the truth.

Perhaps he had already forgotten all about her. Or even worse, if it was possible, he might already be engaged or married. She slumped down in her seat, feeling strangely upset and flustered. It was ridiculous. She hadn't even seen him for years, and here she was, feeling the same twisting sensation in the pit of her stomach just at the mention of his name. Did it mean anything? Of course not; it had all happened so long ago that it wasn't possible. But, still…

"What is it? What's the matter?" asked Jillian as soon they had reached the bar and were well out of earshot, looking concerned. "Is something wrong? I'll have another glass of white wine, please," she added to the bartender, who nodded and took her glass.

"Now, I know this may sound a bit crazy, but after loads of hints and watching Cho closely, I've come to the conclusion—that is, I believe that—what I'm trying to say is—I think she's still in love with Harry." She said, wringing her hands nervously.

"Are you sure?" her friend asked, leaning in closer to speak more softly and still be heard.

"I'm almost absolutely positive."

Jillian leaned back in her tall stool, swinging from side to side slightly in the revolving chair top and seeming to be silently contemplating what she had just been told, not even noticing when her drink had arrived.

"So, why don't you want me to tell her he's here?" she said in a low voice finally.

"I've just, and it may not even work, mind you, pieced together this plan—well, not really a plan, it's more of a vague outline, really, of what to do to get them to see each other at the right moment, and help things along from there."

"I'm all ears," said Jillian, looking more interested by the moment and starting to grin again. She gave a small start as she noticed her drink and momentarily interrupted her friend's flow of language by holding up her index finger as a sign that she would like to take a sip first. Holding the glass daintily, she held it up to her lips and took a short, but sharply taken in drink of the nearly clear liquid, soothing her parched throat, before motioning for Marietta to continue to speak.

"Well," she began, leaning in again. Catching the hint, her friend moved in as well and leaned her ear towards the words flowing easily from her mouth, carefully whispered, taking into account the possibility that Cho could come at any given moment to find them. A minute or so of this passed and the auburn-haired girl leaned back in her chair again, lifting up her wineglass thoughtfully and slowly sipping as she mused on what she had just been told.

"Not a bad plan, but it lacks a few minor details," she said finally.

"Such as…?" said Marietta, sitting back as well.

"Actual structure, definite actions. In other words, basic essential components you seem to consider small things of no real importance." Said Jillian simply, setting down her half-empty glass.

"Well, I haven't had much time to think things over, considering I only found out about Cho's ongoing crush for him yesterday," she replied defensively.

"May I make a suggestion?" she asked casually.

"By all means, please do,"

"You know of that old tradition of kissing someone at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve?"

"Yes."

"It may take a bit more ironing, nothing a good 'accidental push' can't do, but…" she trailed off dramatically with a small wave of her hand before smiling slyly and saying, "What do you think?"

"I think… that may just work. I mean, they don't even have to kiss, as long as she falls into his arms," Said Marietta, a smile creeping onto her face. "Now, all we have to do is keep the two of them from seeing each other and—"

"Keep who from seeing who?" asked a new voice curiously. Startled, they both nearly fell out of their seats in surprise, and the crystal glass on the counter had a very narrow escape from being knocked over and having its contents spill onto Jillian's lap as her hand swung haphazardly, as a reflex, to half-shield her face.

"Don't do that! You nearly scared us half to death!" fussed poor Marietta, whose face was rapidly becoming a darker shade of crimson by the minute.

"So sorry," said Cho with a smirk. "Next time I'll be sure to bring a trumpet along with me and announce myself with a royal fanfare."

"No, don't be silly," said Jillian, recovering quickly and grinning widely, flashing straight, white teeth. "You don't need to bother with a royal fanfare. Just blare out a regular one and we'll know you're coming."

"Oh, right, I forgot. I'm not quite related to royalty, am I?" she said, slapping her forehead in mock self-admonishment.

"It's all right. I'm sure we'll find some way to forgive you," replied Marietta, playing along.

"So, what have you two been plotting over here in those crafty, sly heads of yours?" said Cho, crossing her arms.

"Us? Plotting? Whatever do you mean?" asked Jillian innocently, purposely exaggerating her movement as she batted her eyelashes.

"Oh, no. Don't tell me. One of you brought Gilbert Thatch with you, and you've told him that I'd dance with him the entire time. Or you've found a 'perfect' someone that you're keeping a close eye on for me." She said, looking a bit apprehensive. "Well, whoever it is, I refuse to see him."

"That would, theoretically, make our jobs easier, then, wouldn't it?" muttered Jillian to Marietta out of the corner of her mouth as Cho looked around frantically for someone they might've hidden away in a nearby corner or somewhere.

"Not if she knew who the person was," she whispered back.

"Well, I said it theoretically," Jillian pointed out.

"What are you two whispering about now?" she said sharply, turning to face them.

"Cho, although your paranoia is infinitely amusing, we must confess something to you." Said Jillian, a hint of regret in her voice.

Marietta blinked blankly in disbelief. "And what is that?"

"We… haven't found anyone for you yet, Cho. We were discussing how to find someone for you," she lied easily, picking up her drink again, her hands shaking ever so slightly from anxiety.

"Are you sure?" she asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes. "Because if you've brought Gilbert here to torture me, I swear…"

Her voice faded in silent threat.

"No worries, Cho. Your love life is in good hands." Jillian said brightly.

"Cho! My goodness, is that really you?" called another feminine voice.

"Kirana? What are you doing here?" she said, turning with an excited squeak at the sound of the familiar voice and hugging her friend quickly; her two friends behind her relaxed visibly and breathed sighs of relief.

"I was just in the neighborhood when I bumped into John yesterday, and he invited me to come tonight, so I did!" she said frankly.

"I'm so glad to see you again! I meant to write you again the other day, because I know it's been a while since my last letter, but I haven't had any time, it seems."

"It happens to the best of us," she said, shrugging. "I haven't really had any time to read letters lately. So, what's going on with you? Date any cute men recently?"

At this question, Marietta gave a groan as Cho opened her mouth determinedly and began to speak.


"—and so now, he's promised me that he'll propose to her soon," finished Harry, motioning towards his friend.

"Good for you, mate. You two deserve each other," said John heartily, clapping a red-eared Ron on the back.

"Shh, not so loud," he hissed, hastily holding a finger to his lips, and then looking starry-eyed in the direction of his girlfriend, who was chatting enthusiastically to a colleague about her proposal on eliminating prejudice and lack of rights for werewolves.

"She always looks so gorgeous when she's arguing for something she believes in, doesn't she?" said Harry in a dreamy voice, moving to rest his chin on his friend's shoulder and pretend to stare at Hermione as well.

"Yeah, especially when that one long blue vein in the middle of her forehead begins to bulge out and throb when she gets all fired up," joined in John in mock rapture, leaning his head on Ron's free shoulder to do the same.

"Mm-hmm," agreed Ron, not hearing a single word. The two of them began to stifle laughs and only managed to sound as though they were snorting derisively and uncontrollably.

"And it's even better when she's speaking so fast, she spits on the other person until they're soaking wet."

"I couldn't agree more."

"But what really takes the cake is when she has something stuck in-between her teeth while she's talking and it's directly in the middle of her mouth, where you can see it perfectly. It's—just so attractive, isn't it?" John managed to choke out.

"What? I'm sorry, I wasn't listening," he said, snapping out of his reverie as he heard them finally laugh out loud and cause several people to stare. They finally removed themselves from their personal head rests and straightened up, only to collapse on each other in a laughing fit again.

"Have you been drinking too much?" asked a voice sharply. They looked up quickly to see Hermione standing before them, watching them have hysterical paroxysms over their feeble jokes in deep disapproval.

"You didn't happen to hear anything we said, did you?" Harry asked, looking a little anxious. Few people had the faintest inkling of how livid Hermione could become, except, perhaps, Draco Malfoy, and he had gotten the milder version of her angry side.

"No, why?"

"Nothing," Harry replied quickly.

"You probably shouldn't have any more alcohol, just to be on the safe side." She said, frowning slightly and gently pulling the glasses out of their hands, setting them down on the table.

"Hermione!" called a voice.

She turned in the direction of the voice and held out her arms in startled joy, saying in return, "Lavender!"

When they had pulled apart from their embrace, she asked, "How are you? Is Roger with you? How is he?"

"I'm doing just fine, and yes, he's here with me. I think he went to get me a drink," Lavender said, giving a quick glance towards the bar. "Yes, there he is… I see him now. I hope he remembers that I don't like my wine without ice… Harry! Ron! You're here as well!" she gushed.

The two men gave each other eyebrow raises. She had never been so happy to see them before, and didn't seem to have good reason to begin being overly pleased to lay eyes on them once more. Then again, her strategy for clinging on to her latest man seemed to be using jealousy to keep him on his toes.

"It's, er, nice to see you too, Lav," said Harry awkwardly as she took his hand and nearly shook it off of his arm.

"Be nice. She's really not that bad," he barely heard Hermione whisper to Ron before she pushed him forward to shake Lavender's hand as well.

"Yeah, it's been… a while," he said, looking uncomfortable.

"It really has been too long. Why, it was just the other day when I went to go watch Roger at Quidditch practice and somehow we began talking about the three of you, and the wedding. Oh, and Hermione told you that all three of you are invited, right? It should be set sometime in June. A summer wedding, don't you think that's lovely?" she paused to let one of them speak or to take a breath; they couldn't really tell, but were ready to bet anything that it was the latter.

"That should be wonderful. Are you going to have the wedding outside?" asked Hermione, snatching at the chance to speak.

"No, it would probably be too hot for Roger's mother. She's got a weak heart, you know, and the heat only upsets her more." She replied, giving an overly dramatic sigh.

"If I were planning a wedding, I would probably have it in the spring, so that the flowers would be fresher and more beautiful, and the weather would be ideal for a ceremony outdoors," Hermione replied, beginning to look a little lost, as if imagining the possibilities already. Harry coughed somewhat loudly and John elbowed Ron in the ribs.

"Poor Mrs. Davies. The flowers agitate her allergies, and so we can only have a few carnations and roses here and there. And it's such a shame, because I love daisies," said Lavender, adding the last sentence in a barely audible voice, almost to herself, dropping the affected tone of speech she had been using and losing herself somewhere else.

Harry could almost hear the cogs in Hermione's head, whirring and spinning at a dizzying speed, devising a plan to fill Lavender's bridal dressing room or her bachelorette party full to bursting with bouquet after bouquet of daisies.

"Roger plays for Puddlemere United, doesn't he?" asked Ron suddenly, finally finding a topic he would be interested in conversing with.

"Yes, he does," she said with a nod, coming back from her thoughts to join them. "It'll be a good while before he's promoted to the position of Head Chaser, but at least he's a chaser all the same."

She glanced around the room absent-mindedly, Quidditch not being her main point of interest.

"Is Oliver Wood still on the team?" asked Harry interestedly.

"Last time I checked, I was," said a new voice.

"Ollie! Speak of the devil!" beamed Lavender.

The tall, muscular man winced slightly at the unbecoming nickname she had dubbed him with, but managed all the same to say cheekily, "In the flesh."

"I thought you said you were going to be late," she said reproachfully, yet looking pleased.

"Well, I am," he said, shrugging.

She flushed slightly and said in self-defense, "You said you'd be here around ten."

"A few plans got changed here and there, so, here I am!" he answered, grinning.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think that you purposely invited all our old classmates for some sort of a reunion," Harry joked to John.

"People invite people, and those people invite people, I had the space, so I thought, 'Why not?' " He replied, lifting a shoulder.

"I'm not complaining," replied Harry, moving to shake his old Quidditch captain's hand.

"So, I heard that you did me proud and became the captain of the Gryffindor team after Angelina graduated," Wood said, clapping a hand down on Harry's shoulder.

His face tinged red for a moment as he replied, "Yes," modestly.

"Of course, he wasn't you, Ollie," said Lavender sweetly.

"Lavender, are you being a kiss-ass again? That really should be made illegal," said Roger playfully, wrapping his arms around her waist and handing her a drink.

"Language," she warned, managing to look huffy and pleased at the same time.

"Potter! Weasley! Miss Granger," he said, pulling away from his fiancé to give a bow to Hermione and to shake hands with Ron and Harry.

"How are things on the Quidditch field?" Ron asked.

"They're all right. We almost lost that last game we had this past week, but Wood here saved us with his superb keeping." He raised his glass to him as a sort of salute and took a deep drink.

"It wasn't much, really, just putting strategies from practice into action." Wood answered humbly. "Speaking of practice Davies, you could improve your playing by coming to one a bit more often. This one blows off training to go see his fiancé, he does," he added to the rest of them, jerking his head towards his teammate.

"And you'd understand what it's like if you went and found yourself a life," teased Roger.

"I will when you will," he retorted.

"Careful," warned Hermione. "He's already starting to get drunk, and soon he won't be able to remember his own name, let alone match your own remarks."

"Don't worry too much about him, Hermione, Davies is known for being able to hold his own while intoxicated," he said good-naturedly, giving his teammate a slap on the back.

"Hermione's right, you know," said Lavender gently. "You shouldn't overdo yourself. Think of your mother."

"She's not here, though, is she?" he said with a wink and then adding, at the worried expression that marked her face with a small frown, "I promise I won't. Happy?"

"Now, you, Lavender, could probably be done in with two glasses of vodka, with a shot or three of firewhiskey in-between," said John, grinning.

"Talking about alcohol again? Really, John, you ought to set an example for others," said Marietta in jest, appearing to join the conversation, after repeated promises from Jillian to keep Cho away from that particular crowd while she was away.

"No, my dear, I leave that to you, remember?" he said, taking her hand and kissing it.

"Well, I suppose if you want something done right… nice of you two Quidditch fanatics to join us," she added as she noticed the two new arrivals. "And you're Lavender, correct?"

"Yes, Roger's—"

"—fiancé. I know. John's told me all about the two of you. Congratulations," finished Marietta with a wise nod.

"Thank you," she replied gratefully.

"Marietta?" asked Harry, evidently in shock.

"Yes, hello, Harry," she said cordially, hoping he was as forgiving as his friends.

"She's John's girlfriend," said Hermione, diving into the conversation. She almost imperceptibly raised an eyebrow at Harry, warning him to be civil.

Marietta mentally crossed her fingers, dreading his response, not having caught the message of caution sent to him.

"It's—nice to see you," he said haltingly.

"Listen, I'm sorry for—for the trouble I caused you, I really am. I didn't have any other choice," she blurted out.

"What?" he said, looking confused.

"Back at Hogwarts. I… got you into a bit of trouble with Professor Umbridge back in your fifth year," she replied, starting to blush.

"Oh, that," he said casually. "Well, let's just leave the past buried, shall we?"

"That's the spirit, Harry! Happy endings all 'round!" said John, evidently thinking the entire thing was just a good joke, still a bit drunk.

"As long as you don't leave too much of the past buried," she thought, looking with worried eyes back towards the corner where Cho and Jillian sat chatting with Kirana.

"Listen, I've got to go and make sure I'm not neglecting all my other guests by spending the entire time with the lot of you, no offense meant, so I'll see you a bit later on, all right?" said John, taking a look at his watch before walking off to mingle with another group of his co-workers.

"Quite the social butterfly, isn't he, Marietta?" asked Hermione, smiling.

"Yes, he is. Sometimes it worries me, but I don't want to bother him with the little things like that," said Marietta, returning the gracious smile.

"You know, girls, if you don't mind too much, I'm feeling myself longing for one of those serious girl-only conversations." Lavender said unexpectedly before turning to Roger without waiting for a reply from either one of them and saying in a somewhat fondly condescending manner that he seemed to enjoy, "Roger, dear, I'll be in the dining room with Hermione and Marietta if you need anything."

And, leaving no room for them to refuse the invitation, if they wished, she swept them into the next room and situated them and herself into the two nearest chairs in a vacant corner away from everyone. A crystal chandelier hung from the middle of the high ceiling, the small illuminations resonating from each individual bulb casting dancing, multi-colored lights on the walls, and a large table stood directly beneath, heavily laden with food. However, Hermione seemed to be the only one really observing the room and its contents, since Marietta had already seen it countless times, and Lavender, at the moment, was too preoccupied by her own thoughts.

"Now, what would the two of you like to talk about?" asked Lavender, breaking the silence amongst the trio.

"I don't know. What would you like to talk about?" said Hermione indifferently.

"Do you have anything for us to talk about?" Lavender said, turning to Marietta. "Surely you've had experience in talks like these before."

"Well, yes, but it was so long ago," began Marietta uncomfortably. Three years was a lengthy period of time since the last time she had had a "serious girl-only conversation." Sure, there had been plenty of times in the Ravenclaw girls' dormitory when they had chosen nights to stay up and just talk about everything and anything, but it all seemed to fade into pleasantly vague memories, and nothing more.

"Nothing? Well, I would talk about my wedding plans, but I wouldn't want to bore you," said Lavender, pretending to unconsciously twist the engagement ring on her finger back and forth slightly.

"I personally don't mind hearing about it; everything sounds very interesting." Hermione replied kindly, seeing that her old classmate was simply dying to tell all.

"So much for the 'serious conversation,' " thought Marietta as she nodded her approval. She had a feeling that this was only another chance to show off, which was only further proved as the Gryffindor began to speak.

"As a matter of fact, I was just talking to Parvati the other day, and, naturally, she's going to be my maid of honor, and Ollie's going to be Roger's best man. Well, I had actually been discussing the possibility of having more than one bridesmaid, and I was thinking, Hermione, if it isn't too much trouble, that is, if you would honor me by being one," Lavender said, in the usual manner of not pausing except to breathe.

Seeing that she wasn't needed as an active part of the conversation, Marietta chose to comfortable drift away in her own thoughts, and became completely lost to everything surrounding her before she could hear Hermione's response to the request.

But Hermione did have a point… a spring wedding would be lovely, and Cho would be the ideal bride, draped in white and gracefully making her way down the aisle, bouquet in her slender hands, while her train was lifted behind her by the proud maid of honor…

"Marietta."

"Hmm?" she looked up instinctively.

"I asked if you knew anyone who could attend the wedding with Harry," said Lavender, evidently repeating what she had already said once before.

"I—it depends," Marietta said uncomfortably, not sure what to do. Cho's name automatically popped into her head, but as she opened her mouth to speak, she abruptly closed it again, not sure whether or not to suggest her friend.

"Well, since Ron may be taking part in the ceremony himself, and Hermione is as well, that leaves Harry by himself." Lavender said matter-of-factly.

"I do know someone, but I'm not sure if Harry would be comfortable with her," she replied carefully.

"Oh, don't worry about anything. Harry's such a versatile person, he'll get along with just about anyone smoothly," assured Hermione.

"Then I'm sure I could work something out for the two of them," said Marietta, grinning widely.


"So, she's still 'in love' with him?" asked Kirana.

"I'm being dead serious, Ana. Marietta found proof, remember?"

"Right; she found a newspaper clipping. What's that supposed to mean? It could mean anything. Who knows? Probably every other woman in the wizarding world has a picture of the man. For goodness' sake, it's Harry Potter we're talking about!" she exclaimed, keeping a close watch on their friend, who had gone to refill their drinks.

"It's possible. And it all makes sense. You weren't there earlier when she asked me if he was here at the party. There was just this—this look in her eyes. Not only that, but she hasn't seen anyone after Michael Corner, not seriously, anyway, she lives by herself, she never speaks to anyone about her love life unless she's forced to… what else do you think it means?"

"Maybe she's just a very solitary sort of person. After all the boys at Hogwarts flocking around her like heaven knows what, she probably needs some alone time."

"Look," Jillian said, her tone growing ever more serious, "we all care about her a lot, correct?"

Kirana nodded in agreement, still watching Cho at the bar.

"I'm just saying that it's very likely that she still has feelings for him and that it might be a chance for her to be happy. That's why I'm asking you to help us with our little plot. Please? Another person to help could make all the difference."

She paused to study the facial expression on her friend and held her breath until she finally said, "All right. I'm in. What do I have to do?"

"Okay, what we need you to do—Cho! Back so soon?" Jillian said, quickly cutting off her instructions.

"It took the bartender to find another bottle of that champagne you wanted, Ana, but he found some eventually," she said, distributing the glasses. "So, have the two of you had a good conversation while I was gone?"

"Yes, of course," said Kirana, tucking a stray tendril of golden hair behind her ear.

"Would you care to enlighten me, so that I can join?" Cho asked, sitting down on the couch.

"Well, we were…discussing some of the latest… Quidditch scores for… Puddlemere United," replied Jillian, making it evident that she had been thinking of what to say as she went along.

"Right," said Cho, slightly raising an eyebrow.

"Did you hear about those spectacular saves Oliver Wood made last week? Just amazing," Kirana said, stepping in to the rescue and thanking her lucky stars that she had gone to see the game. "I even heard,"—she lowered her voice—"that he might be here at the party. Cho, have you ever given any thought to the idea that he might be a good dating option?"

It was Jillian's turn to raise not one, but both eyebrows. She turned to Cho to see her reaction and was surprised to see her friend not indifferent or annoyed at the suggestion, but thoughtful.

"You know… I actually don't think that's such a bad idea, seeing as he's single," she said, stealing a sly glance at them and perplexed to see Jillian stiffen and turn to her friend.

"Kirana, may I speak to you privately?" asked Jillian, looking genuinely alarmed, although she was trying to conceal her panic.

"Sure," was the reply, and so they left Cho sitting on the couch, seeming to be in deep thought again.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked through gritted teeth as soon as they were out of earshot.

"I'm trying to keep her suspicions low."

"Well, I think you might be doing all too well. You're going to give me a heart attack."

"Don't worry. I've got it all under control."

"You call sparking her interest in Oliver Wood keeping things under control!"

"Oliver Wood was in Gryffindor, correct?"

"Yes, but I don't see how that helps us any."

"Harry was a Gryffindor. They were both on the Quidditch team."

"So?"

"Haven't you given a single thought to the fact that they might actually be talking and hanging out together here at the party?"

"The thought may have crossed my mind, yes."

"I'm thinking that we find Oliver and steer Cho in that direction. Once we get close enough, you find something or someone to distract him while I—"

"—Push her into Harry!" finished Jillian. "That's brilliant! I had originally planned for you to distract Harry while I found someone to distract Cho before pushing them into each other at the right moment, so now I don't have to go hunting down anyone."

"Exactly. We'd have to tell him about the whole thing, though, won't we?"

"I suppose so. Marietta should probably know about everything and give it her approval before we can do anything."

"You go back and talk to Cho, and I'll talk to Marietta," volunteered Kirana.

"Don't rush yourself too much; we've still got at least a good two or three hours until midnight."

"All right, I won't."

"Good luck," said Jillian, giving her friend a pat on the back.

"Thanks, I might need it," she replied.

And with that, she walked towards the large circle of people off in the distance while her friend headed back towards the small couch.

"What was all that about?" Cho asked, looking as though she was at a loss for words.

"It was nothing. Kirana just remembered that she had to tell Marietta something, and it's all just very complicated," she replied, dismissing the matter with a shake of her head. "So, what, exactly, is it that you do for a living?"

"Not very much, just a few things here and there. It's mostly just a few columns in the Daily Prophet now and then. I don't have a full contract yet, but I'm hoping that I'll get one soon after I finish this piece for the sports section," said Cho, crossing her legs.

"So, do you need to know more about that match they had last week? I'm sure I can find someone who can help you," suggested Jillian, motioning towards her fan club.

"I actually knew all about that one game Ana was talking about, seeing as I was there last week, to watch and cover the story. The only reason why I'd be interested in seeing Oliver at this point would be to interview him about the team," she replied with a laugh.

"Why did you act so interested when she brought up dating him, then?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. It must come from my never dying love of teasing my friends."

"You seemed serious to me."

"Ah, well, maybe I should pursue an acting career instead of one in journalism, hmm?"

"Perhaps…" she replied, trailing off, but relieved all the same.

"At any point, I've had a one-on-one meeting with just about every single member of the team except for him, but I wouldn't want to bother him just now about my article."

"Oh, why not? I'm sure he'd love to answer your questions."

"We'll see. Maybe I can just write him a letter; my mother's lent me Aphrodite for a while, so I have my own owl to deliver all my post."

"That must be nice," Jillian commented, picking up her glass from the table and taking a drink.

"Yes… what did Ana have to tell Marietta that's taking so long?"

"I dunno, but I think it was something about needing to know where the restroom is. I certainly didn't know, so I sent her Marietta's way." Jillian replied, her inconsistency in her explanations escaping her notice.

"Well, she could've just asked me. I know where one is," said Cho, frowning slightly. "Directions to the bathroom aren't that complicated, are they?" she thought to herself.

"It's all right; what's done is done. She should be back soon, at any rate," replied Jillian, adding in her own thoughts, "I hope."


"Marietta! Can I talk to you about something? So sorry to interrupt, but it's really very important. I'll bring her right back," said Kirana, seizing her friend by the forearm and almost literally dragging her away from the crowd, away from the curious eyes and ears eager to know what they were up to.

"What? What is it? Did Cho find out?" she asked, looking anxious.

"No, but Jill and I came up with the perfect plan, if you'll only listen."

"I'm all ears," replied Marietta.

Kirana hastily whispered the entire plan into her friend's ear, giving frequent pauses in her enlightenment as a precaution while people continually walked past her, occasionally stopping.

"So?" she asked when she had finished.

"It's perfect. Should I grab Wood now and tell him?"

"That might be best."

A flash of time presented both Marietta and him, the latter looking confused and a bit bedraggled, most likely from a hasty snatching, but also interested.

"Well, ladies, what can I do for you?" he asked with a wide grin.

"You remember Cho Chang from school, don't you? She was Seeker for the Ravenclaw team," said Marietta.

"Yes, I remember. She was an excellent player, and a tough competitor," Wood replied with a nod.

"I'm not sure if you heard, but in her sixth year, Harry's fifth, the two of them dated for a short period of time," supplied Kirana.

"I might've heard it somewhere, yeah," he said thoughtfully.

"Now, this might sound a bit crazy and far-fetched, but we think—she's in love with him. Still," Marietta added.

"Is she here?"

"Yes, over there," said Marietta, pointing towards the sofa.

"Would you like me to tell her that Harry's here?" he teased, raising his hands to either side of his mouth as if he were preparing to call her.

"No!" hissed Kirana and Marietta in unison, both clapping a hand over his mouth.

"I was just joking!" he said quickly, his voice muffled.

"Are you sure?" asked Kirana, holding on all the tighter as he tried to pry their fingers off one by one from his mouth; however, as soon as he succeeded in removing one and moved to the next, the loosened one clamped down once again.

"I promise," he said as well as he could, finally giving up and letting his hands fall by his sides.

"All right," said Marietta, removing her fingers from his mouth as Kirana did the same. "Now, what we need you to do is this…"

She motioned for him to lean in before beginning to whisper in the same frantic way that Kirana had, with many pauses and stops thrown in, while Kirana stood a little ways apart from them to stand guard.

"Can you do this for us?" she asked nervously when she had finished.

"Of course. Don't worry," he replied with another grin.

"Good." Kirana said, relaxing and taking a glance at the clock. "We've got another hour and a half, so just keep an eye on the clock and we'll make our first move in say, thirty minutes?"

"Thirty minutes sounds perfect to me. Just be sure to draw out the conversation as long as you can," replied Marietta, turning to Wood.

"Can do," he said. "I'll be talking to John and that group if you need me," he added as he walked away.

"Go check in with Jill and get any sort of information update you might need, and I'll meet you at the bar when you finish," instructed Marietta, turning to her friend.

"How will you know when I finish?"

"I'm just going to head over there now and wait for you."

"What if John asks about you?" asked Kirana.

"I've already told Oliver to cover for me, just in case. Now, go! Hurry!" she said hastily, shooing her friend back towards the couch across the room.

Running her hands distractedly through her hair, Kirana walked briskly towards the sofa, finding herself breezing in and out of countless conversations that she normally would've been interested in participating in, had she not a mission to accomplish.

"Ana!" exclaimed Cho pleasantly when she had finally reached them and sat down. "Did you find the loo all right?"

"What?" she asked, bewildered.

"You know. You went to ask Marietta where a bathroom was. Remember?" asked Jillian, pointedly putting emphasis on her last word.

"Oh, right! Yeah, I found it all right. It was, um, nice."

"I didn't know you could make a restroom so luxurious, did you?" said Cho.

"Not—not really," replied Kirana. "In fact, I don't think Jillian's seen it, have you, Jill?"

"No, but I don't have to go—"

"Wonderful! I'll go show it to you now!" she interrupted, standing up and seeming to be guiding her friend towards the hallway.

"Everyone's gone mad," thought Cho in amazement. "Here one second, gone to talk about something the next…"

She leaned back into the sofa cushions and stared out the large windows, wondering to herself about what her friends might be plotting. Seeming to have been waiting for this cue, Kirana immediately made a turn and began pushing her friend towards the bar instead, thanking her lucky stars that Cho had turned her head at that moment, since she had no idea where the restroom was.

"When I asked you to check in with Jillian, I didn't say you had to actually bring her here," said Marietta, arching an eyebrow.

"I know… it's just that the way everything worked out, she ended up here," replied Kirana, shrugging.

"Oh, well. So, Jill, anything we need to know?"

"Listen; Cho does writing every now and then for the Daily Prophet."

"I know that," said Marietta impatiently.

"Ah, but what you may not know is that her latest work is an article covering last week's game. She's interviewed just about every person—except for Oliver." Jillian said, seeming to be savoring the moment.

"This is almost too good to be true," muttered Marietta, indescribable excitement sparkling in her eyes.

"All we need to do is tell Oliver about it and set everything up," said Kirana.

"Right. Since I'm probably going his way anyway, I'll tell him about it, and you two will go back and keep Cho occupied," Marietta ordered, sounding businesslike again.

"You've kept your distance from her long enough, don't you think? It would seem awfully suspicious if you didn't go and talk to her for a while. Let me go and tell Oliver, and then I'll join the three of you," offered Kirana.

"All right. At this rate, we should probably move the time we put our plan into action later; after all, how many questions can Cho possibly ask him? Plus, being the sort of person she is, I don't think she'll want to press him too much about anything, since it's New Year's and everything. Tell him to wait for our signal before he does anything," said Marietta, standing up and brushing herself off.

"What should the signal be?" asked Jillian.

"Hmm… tell him that I'll go stand and talk with that crowd a little bit before I want him to do anything, and I'll poke him in the arm when the time is right."

"Got it," said Kirana before walking off to deliver the message.

"I would appreciate it if, for once, I wasn't left deserted somewhere with nothing to do and no one to talk to. It's almost as though you're having private conversations without—or even better—about me," said a voice dryly behind them, and the two friends still standing by the bar felt expressions mixed with panic and guilt, not to mention, surprise, creep onto their faces.

"Sorry, Cho. I got caught up with the conversation between John and his friends." Marietta replied sheepishly.

"I don't see him sitting beside you," retorted Cho cheekily, sliding into the vacant seat beside her friend.

"This had definitely be worth all this trouble," thought Marietta, glancing at her watch.


"You know what to do, right?" asked Kirana, beginning to lose her composure as she took another glance at her watch and she saw Marietta approaching them with Cho following close behind.

"Don't worry; I've got it all under control," replied Wood, giving her the thumbs-up.

"Cho, you know Oliver Wood from Hogwarts, and, of course, he remembers you. We'll just leave the two of you to talk for a while," said Marietta, giving a quick introduction before disappearing as fast as she had appeared, taking Kirana with her.

"Would you like to sit down?" asked Cho uncertainly, motioning to the latest set of chairs clustered around a table.

"If you'd prefer it that way," he replied. She smiled at his gallantry and was set more at ease as she sat down in the chair he pulled out for her before he lifted up another seat and sat down directly beside her.

"I'd like to thank you right now for taking the time to talk to me; I really appreciate it," she started earnestly. "This is your time to relax, and I just hate to be bothering you like this."

"It's nothing. I'm glad to be able to do you the favor," he said, grinning. Cho was immediately glad that she was sitting down, because her knees had gone weak all of a sudden…

"Now, I know all about your crazed Quidditch obsession, if you don't mind me referring to your love of the sport as that, but I don't know what really inspired you to play," she said in a professional tone, pulling out a quill and note pad.

"Well," he replied, making his voice playfully solemn, "I suppose it all started with that first Bludger I took to the head. Ah, yes. The hospital wing at Hogwarts seemed such a magical place, if you'll excuse the ironic cliché; I just knew that I had to keep playing."

Cho broke her sober stance to allow herself to smile and laugh a bit at Wood's slightly ridiculous joke and say, "Which should I say inspired you more, the injury or the hospital wing?"

"No, neither," he replied with a chuckle, obviously pleased with the way she played off of his words. "It had to be the first time I ever rode a broom," he began, genuinely serious.

She nodded and said, "Yes, that's about what did it for me."

"It was the most thrilling experience I'd ever had in my entire life, which, I know isn't really saying very much, as I was only about seven at the time. Just the feel of the wind in my face, and flying, away from the ground was all I needed to become obsessed. It was like—"

"Absolute freedom," she finished, deciphering the expression on his face.

"Exactly," he said, looking amazed that anyone else could feel the same way, clearly never having spoken with another person who shared his same interests and feelings.

"I remember the first time I got onto a broom," said Cho, smiling mischievously and enjoying the intent look on his face that conveyed to her that he was listening. "I was five years old, and my mother had just finished giving me the most horrible scolding I'd ever gotten for accidentally burning this letter she had been writing. I was so angry I just marched straight upstairs to my parents' bedroom, took my father's broom, packed a little bag, and just jumped out of my bedroom window on the broom."

"At five years old? How did you ever maneuver the broom?"

"Well, naturally, it was difficult at first, but then, once I had gotten the hang of it, I knew that I wanted to keep flying. So, I stayed out for about three hours, before my stomach told me to go back home, where, after my mum relieved her worries, I got a lecture on how I shouldn't stray away from home without her or my dad with me."

"My parents were proud of me for flying so well, but they didn't quite approve of me going off by myself either. They were always trying to force me to play with other children that lived near us, saying that I needed the society," said Wood, beginning to stray from the original subject.

"Honestly, I know that they always mean well, but you can't compel someone to make friends. My parents would probably try that same sort of thing now, if I let them, but… we're losing track of the interview," Cho said, abruptly switching back to their original course.

"Oh. Right," replied Wood, looking somewhat disappointed.

She noted his downcast expression and added quietly, "After this interview, I don't suppose you'd be interested in just talking, would you?"

"I'd like that," he said, grinning again.


"Marietta, it's time." Kirana muttered, sneaking another glance at her watch.

"All right," she said in a low voice. Exhaling deeply and finishing off her glass of wine, she stood up, already beginning to tremble slightly from the overwhelming knowledge that her friend's happiness depended upon the efficiency of others to carry out the plan. She visibly turned a shade paler as she took a look at the clock mounted on the wall above the back counter of the bar before firming her resolve and turning to Kirana.

"Keep a close eye on Harry," she warned. "I know that even though the two of you have never really been properly acquainted or held a conversation together, you'll manage."

"Are you sure?" asked her friend, whose nerves were beginning to feed off of Marietta's tension.

"Positive. Besides, Jill will be with you the entire time, and she's an expert at keeping a conversation going now."

"Really? She was never like that at school—"

"Yes, I know she wasn't, but I'm relatively sure she is now. She's already been over there at that table close to him and his group for about half an hour now, waiting for me to let her know when to approach him. Go over there, tell her to go ahead and begin talking to him, and you'll know when the time is right. Remember, Ana, lead him out as soon as you hear the music. Oliver already knows what to do. Let me tell John about the music we'll need and I'll let you take over from there. Unless you'd like Jillian to ask him, that is."

"I don't have a problem with it, but since she's more the flirty type anyway, I'll tell her that I volunteered her to take my place," replied Kirana, turning to leave.

"Good luck," Marietta called after her before beginning to push her way through the crowd to John.


"So, do you find it the least bit bothersome that you have to spend so much time committed to the team, or is it no real problem to you?" inquired Cho, leaning back in her chair.

"I don't really find it a problem to be so dedicated to playing and going to every practice, since I find it more of a privilege, rather than just my job," said Wood, placing his arms on the tabletop and crossing them.

"It's nice to see such enthusiasm in an athlete such as yourself, Oliver. Most Quidditch players either do it for the money, the glory, or the girls. But you, I can see that you're truly devoted to your work, and I can appreciate it," she praised, putting her heart into her words.

"Thank you, Cho," he murmured gratefully, beginning to turn slightly pink.

"Now, let's get back to the serious issues that matter just so much to the public. Do you have a girlfriend?" she asked dramatically, hoping to get a laugh out of him.

And she wasn't disappointed as he chuckled slightly and said, "No, I'm afraid I don't have time for one."

The two of them were taken aback as slow, serenading music struck up from somewhere and became magically amplified to sound throughout the entire flat. Waiting for a few seconds to pass, Wood stood up reluctantly and offered Cho a hand saying, "Could you possibly favor me with a dance? I'll finish the interview after a song or two," he added as she opened her mouth to protest.

She seemed to be contemplating it for a moment or two before she stood up, placed her hand in his, and smiled as her only reply.


"Move! Make room for people to dance!" hissed Marietta, haphazardly pulling and shoving guests out of the way.

"Come off it, woman," complained one man, "There's no one attempting to dance,"

"Yeah? Well, I don't suppose you see those two over there, do you?" she shot back, pointing towards Cho and Wood before pulling him off to the side. Soon enough, a large rectangle of smooth, finely polished wood floor appeared and, following Cho and Wood's lead, couples began to fill it up again, slowly revolving on the spot.

Wood, taking Cho by the hand, walked out to the heart of the dance floor and stopped there, placing both his hands on her waist while she rested her own arms securely around his neck.

"You can move in a bit closer you know, I'm not going to bite you," she said, smirking as he blushed faintly and stepped in towards her, leaning his head on top of hers.

She took a deep breath, hardly believing that she was dancing so intimately with someone who had been one of her largest competitors in Quidditch during school. The memory of his fury at her recovery from an injury in her fourth year caused her to sneak a smile that he couldn't see as the lights dimmed. A light smell invaded her senses as she inhaled, and she supposed that Wood had become fond of expensive colognes, now that he could afford them.

She needed to move on, she thought drowsily as she slowly closed her eyes and let the rhythm of the music move her. Everyone was saying so: her mother, Marietta, all her friends.

"But it's your life, not theirs," replied a stubborn little voice from somewhere in the depths of her mind. "Why should you conform to their commands if it's not what you want?"

And then, they appeared in her mind: emerald green eyes, looking wistful, a pair of eyes that could only belong to one person. Startled into reality, she opened her own eyes with the sudden realization that, although it was nice, dancing with Wood felt just simply, blatantly wrong. Empty. There was nothing really there.

One more dance. That was all she had promised him, and she intended on keeping her promise. But then—no more. Maybe she'd go home, and begin writing her article now that she had interviewed Wood. Surely she'd asked enough questions to be able to put together her piece… No, the unpleasant feeling of her discovery still lingered behind, hovering over her every thought and making every moment increasingly difficult.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, stepping back. "I—I feel a bit strange."

"It must be the light. I'm starting to feel a bit light-headed myself," he replied, nodding and glancing in a would-be casual manner over her shoulder and then at his watch.

"Almost time," he thought with a tinge of regret. "If I can hold out for just a little bit more…"


"Harry! There are two lovely ladies here that I want you to meet," called John, motioning for his friend to come.

"Hold this for me," he instructed Hermione, handing her his glass of water.

"Hey, Potter, this is Kirana,"—he waved in her general direction—"and this is Jillian,"

"It's nice to finally be properly introduced to the famous Harry Potter," said Jillian, smiling her bright smile and flashing her straight, white teeth.

"She could give Gilderoy Lockhart a run for his money at that Witch Weekly award," he thought automatically as he returned the smile and grasped her hand.

"Don't mind Jill, she can be an insufferable suck-up at times," chimed in Kirana, smirking and pretending to shrink back with fear as Jillian slapped her on the arm playfully.

"Ah, so you're American?" Harry asked, taking immediate notice of the lack of a British accent in her voice.

"And darn right proud of it," she replied, smiling slightly.

"You know, I actually might be stopping in the States for a month or two." He said, putting his hands in his pockets nonchalantly.

"Really?" said Kirana, sounding genuinely interested.

"Yeah, it's part of the Auror training program I'm in. I'm actually in the pre-training phase right now, just working at the Ministry, reading through files, that sort of thing. I believe you, Jillian, are in the women's Auror department, aren't you?"

"Yes. I also work with Hermione. Hermione Granger," she added unnecessarily.

"You don't say," said Harry, beginning to look a bit restless.

Feeling that they were losing his interest, Kirana nudged John who, in turn, pointed his wand towards the ceiling and muttered, "Sonorus,"

"I don't suppose you'd like to dance, would you?" asked Kirana, looking a bit shy as the music began playing.

"How can I refuse when a beautiful lady offers?" he replied, looking serious while his eyes twinkled playfully as he bowed.

As he led her out onto the dance floor, he never noticed the thumbs-up she gave behind her back.


"You dance well."

Even to her own ears it sounded panicked and strange.

"I wouldn't be able to be so graceful without a partner that is so," he replied smoothly, taking careful note of Kirana's tone of voice.

"Mm," she replied, looking around for Cho. Sighting her, she began to slowly steer him towards her, keeping a careful eye on the grandfather clock near the entrance to the dining room.

"C'mon Oliver, look up," she silently prayed. He did, and she gave a curt nod, jerking her head towards the clock. He looked down at his own watch and winked at her over Cho's shoulder.

11:45.

About fifteen more minutes until John would begin the countdown to midnight…

"So, what kind of files do you have to keep track of? Jill can't tell me everything there is to know about proper Auror training, being in the notorious women's Auror department,"

"It's a lot to do with Dark Arts related sort things. Murders, kidnappings… it's mostly just suspicious activities or noises that are reported to the Ministry. We hardly have anything to do with major crimes most of the time."

"What's the hugest case you've had to deal with?"

"Well, we don't even get to share in the actual investigation until after a bit more training, so it's mostly just filing papers now, but the most gruesome file we've had so far…"

"Yes?"

"Is one of the more classified ones that I can't talk to you about, under pain of death. My apologies," he added, smiling.

"Oh. That's all right," she replied, pretending to sound disappointed. "So, when do you start your official training?"

"In about another ten months, so I'll be around here for a long while yet."

"What I'd like to know is, why and where are you stopping in the States, if you are?"

"That's not as easy to answer, I'm afraid," he said, frowning. "I don't know much else except that we might go there for a while, and we might not. The Ministry claims to like keeping these things sort of secret, but I think they might just be saying that to cover up the fact that they're scrambling to put together everything."

"You shouldn't say that unless you're absolutely sure about your facts," said Kirana, taking even herself by surprise at this new stroke of boldness.

"Well, think about it," he began, looking reflective. "They always change the travel course of each individual group program, and then they're also trying to train a certain group at the same time. Not only that, but then you have a few Aurors-in-training complaining about reading case after case after case and then some of them having to act as office assistants to certain Aurors, brewing them coffee, etc. for an entire year. So, they have to say something to keep those specific people to keep their mouths shut."

"You included?" she interrupted, with a mischievous grin.

"Maybe, maybe not. That's not really for you to know," he replied returning the smile with a mysterious look on his face.

"Oh no, wait, don't tell me. If you told me, you'd have to kill me, right?" Kirana said sarcastically, beginning to smirk.

"Why, of course not! Only if you told someone," he exclaimed jokingly.

"What if I promised not to tell a single soul?"

"Ah, that's the thing with women. You just can't take the risk."

"Your non-biased way of thinking is very flattering Mr. Potter," she replied sardonically, rolling her eyes before sneaking a glance at her watch.

11:57.

"Have I told you about the time that Jill and I went out for a night on the town?" she began suddenly, abruptly looking back at him.

"No, you haven't," Harry said, sounding slightly bored now that he was done teasing her.

"Well, first we went to a nightclub and danced our feet off, then we went to the nearest bar in the place and got the brilliant idea to get drunk. Then, about two hours later, we were insanely inebriated and still attempting to dance. The next thing I knew, I was back in my own apartment, it was morning, and I had a headache the size of Texas." She spouted out quickly, due to nerves. "It's not as interesting as your program, of course, but I thought it was a bit amusing, seeing as neither one of us has had any trouble absorbing alcohol into our systems without getting drunk since. It'd probably take about a gallon to get us as tipsy as we were then. Even my doctor doesn't understand it…"

"No, it's fascinating, it really is," said Harry earnestly, still trying to absorb the blurb of information just thrown at him.

"Attention, ladies and gentlemen," boomed John's voice, replacing the music. "Please join me in the countdown to the New Year. Ten,"

Kirana pulled Harry closer towards Cho and Wood saying, "Let's move more towards the middle, so that we'll have more room to continue dancing when the music starts up again."

"Nine," chanted the crowd.

"Cho, I want to thank you for the good time I've had tonight," said Wood, catching one of her hands in his own and pulling her back as she was about to walk away.

"Oh, the pleasure was mine, Oliver," she replied, smiling warmly.

"Five,"

Marietta wrenched her way through the swarming mass of people towards Cho and Wood.

"Four,"

She was getting closer, closer, she could smell Kirana's perfume and see a head full of untidy jet black hair…

"Three,"

"Faster, Marietta, faster!" she thought, panicking.

"Two,"

Cho was directly in front of her, still managing to communicate with Wood although everyone was yelling at the tops of their voices.

"ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Her hands moved instictively now, and Marietta pushed her friend's back, causing her to pitch forward; Wood had already moved aside, but then—she threw out her hands and firmly grasped his strong, muscled arms, keeping herself from falling. Kirana had evidently given Harry a small push too, but he had managed to keep his balance, and he was still facing the other direction, looking as though he was about to walk away to find someone else, evidently through with his conversation and ready to go elsewhere.

Chest heaving, Cho managed to pull herself up slightly, Wood asking in a concerned tone, "Are you all right?"

But she never heard him say that, for, as she looked up, her dark brown eyes caught a pair of deep green ones, and she froze, the entire world around her and Harry becoming absolutely insignificant.


A/N: In the immortal words of Mushu the dragon, (ahem) "I LIVE!" MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Attack of the killer cliffhanger! (more evil laughter) Anyway, the chapter's finally finished! Yay! I should get my hero cookie now, right? Wow, almost what, six months since I last updated. Thank you all for not killing me! Although I'm sure you had it on your minds… patience and hard work finally paid off. Or, at least, it will, once your reviews come in. And they're going to come pouring in, right? Oh well, even if I don't, I myself feel like I've really accomplished something, and that in itself is special to me. 31 pages! Wow. This chapter can be its own little book, eh? Of course, I would never have gotten the inspiration to write this without all you wonderful reviewers, always encouraging me and keeping me on track. Thank you so much for all your support, and know that I'm eternally grateful to you for your kind words. Now, for the excuses! (there's a list for this…)

1. (and the largest reason too) I was in my high school's spring musical, FAME. It was, as Ron would say, "Bloody brilliant" (in my opinion, but I just might be biased since I was in it) and I wish you all could've seen it. I don't regret being a part of it for one minute, but it did take up a lot of my time. We had rehearsal nearly every day of the week (including Saturday mornings and late nights/afternoons after school!) and they each lasted at least two hours. When I wasn't at school for the play or for, you know, SCHOOL, I was at home either sleeping, eating, doing my homework, studying, practicing piano, or writing away like crazy on this story. Honest! But since sleep is, after all, essential to me, I had to stop writing sometime to go to bed.

2. Writer's block. It was HUGE. I'd literally sit for hours at a time, trying to think of what to type. This was pretty bad, but I think I've probably had worse. I shudder to think of the bout I might have when I start on the next chapter for my other fic, Red Roses.

3. Sleep depravation. Also huge. If there are any mistakes in this chapter, they're all due to lack of sleep, since I stayed up late typing them.

4. Not always having computer access. So there.

5. I'm currently on vacation, so that sort of ties in to the above, not to mention all the shopping, spending all that lovely quality time with family… it's not always that bad, but they always make me feel like I'm obligated to, saying that I'm leaving for college in a few years…

6. Nitpicking. I have spent so much time just reading through and tweaking, that it's just amazing.

Yep, I think that's about it… and if this chapter wasn't up to my usual standard, well, take another look at the list above and then consider all the personal pressure I put on myself to satisfy you guys. I tried, I really did, and I'm done with this chapter, because I honestly think this is the best I can do with it! On another note, who saw the new HP movie? I thought it was pretty good overall, but the way everything moved so quickly made the plot seem kinda thin, even though it really wasn't. Glitterfairyxoxo got the full force of my ranting on that subject, but if anyone else would like to discuss, feel free to email me at anytime. Also, if you'd like me to reply your review, give me your email in your review or drop me a line. If not, and you'd like me to just email you to tell you when I update (which can also be done automatically by just check it out on your personal menu page after you've logged in), I'd also appreciate you sending me your email for that reason. I won't send you junk mail or stalk you. Promise. Well, now that I'm done with my mad, almost never-ending talk, REVIEW! Please?

Unicorn13