Disclaimer: J. K Rowling owns everything and everybody in this story except for two OCs.

A/N: Hello. Tee and vicky2nd – the question isn't who, but what. A Mary Sue is a character type who isn't very popular in this fandom. She makes other characters act OOC among other things. Sugarshock and Nic6590, thanks! We'll reveal the truth about Kya in a few days.


FFF

9. Anything Goes

They entered the great hall.

"Welcome, welcome," said Professor Dumbledore. Harry realized that he had not seen the headmaster at the staff table for some time. Dumbledore looked distracted, tired, and strangely enough, almost irritable. He let none of this show in his little speech to the students before the dance opened.

The speech was mercifully short. He introduced the band, the "Crazy Crups Quartet," and said, "let the dance begin!" and that was it.

Everyone danced very badly, because of their cumbersome costumes. Ron and Hermione in particular had a difficult time. Ron, dressed as a ghoul with a chain, rattled along. Hermione couldn't get the steps right, because of the tight skirt of her mermaid costume. But they had fun anyway.

Harry and Ginny were doing better. Harry, having preferred to be more discreet, wore a tuxedo and a cape, looking very much the part of a vampire. Ginny wore a long, bright green dress, and in her hair she had fastened toy snakes, which she had animated with a spell.

Malfoy and Kya came in fashionably late. The band had just begun to play a new song, as they stepped onto the dance floor. Kya wore a long, deep purple, shimmering floor-length gown, with trailing, cobweb-like black sleeves. She had said she was going to dress up as a Black Widow, and whatever that was, Harry thought she had done a good job. Her hair was done up in ringlets that fell to her waist. Her dress went with her eyes, he mused absently.

He wondered how she could move so gracefully in that long dress. He found himself watching her movements, mesmerized. She, however, appeared to take no notice of him. He himself didn't know how he was moving. He seemed to be dancing. How odd.

When he saw Malfoy at her side, he was jerked out of his trance. He looked back at Ginny, only to see that she was also watching the two, with her mouth open. So that's alright then, he thought, and went back to looking at Kya and Malfoy.

Then he noticed something which really annoyed him. Malfoy was wearing almost the same kind of costume as himself.

Since they both were rather pale and thin, it was only natural for them to both dress up as vampires for this occasion, but that did not occur to Harry. He simply assumed that Malfoy had stolen his idea.

He looked back at Ginny, trying to calm down. Ginny also turned her gaze from Malfoy and Kya, and gave him a small smile.

"Where were we?" she said. Harry chuckled, half-heartedly.

After the entrance of Malfoy and Kya, Ginny seemed to have sunk into a gloom. She and Harry danced another couple of dances, but her heart wasn't in it. Harry saw that her gaze kept straying out into space. He thought he knew why, but he didn't want to dwell on it.

In the end they sat down and watched the others. Neville, somewhat to the surprise of his friends, was masquerading as the Red Death. He was dancing with a Ravenclaw pretending to be a hag. Luna Lovegood was wearing an impressive, lifelike Doxy costume, and she appeared to be using all of the legs when she danced. Seamus Finnigan simply wore a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt, on which was written, I'm Your Boggart. Lavender, decked out in pink satin and incredibly frilly lace, was rather put out by his lack of imagination. Then Cho Chang danced by, together with someone wrapped up in bandages. She glanced at Harry, bit her lip and looked away. She seemed to be dressed up as a banshee, but she didn't look very skeletal.

A bolt of lighting lit up the hall. Bats flew across the ceiling. The band was actually not doing too badly, Harry thought. Especially since it was supposed to be scary music.

All in all, things had worked out almost perfectly. Now, if only the night could be over, so that they could get back to their real lives. Harry had a feeling that there was something he ought to be worrying about, but he couldn't for the life of him remember what it was.

Then Kya smiled brilliantly, and all sense of vague evil left him for a time.

Ron and Hermione wandered, or, in Hermione's case, minced over to their table, perhaps seeking their company, or perhaps because that was where the drinks were. At any rate, it offered a welcome break from the uncomfortable silence that had ensued when Harry and Ginny had sat down.

"Hi," said Hermione. "How're you doing? Nice hair."

"You too," said Ginny, humourlessly.

"So, are you two alright?" there was no dampening Hermione's happy mood.

"Peachy," said Harry, glumly. There was something in Hermione's manner which made him depressed, although he couldn't say what.

"So isn't this great, or what!" she said, enthusiastically.

Ron looked at her in astonishment.

"Or what?" he repeated.

"Hey you guys, I'm going to walk over and talk to them," said Hermione, a blissful smile adorning her face. She bounced off in the direction of Kya and Malfoy.

"'Guys'?"said Harry, when she had gone. "She's never called us 'guys' before…"

"She's acting like Kya," said Ron. "She started like that when they came into the room. It's almost as if she was being brainwashed…"

Harry and Ginny bristled.

"Are you serious!" they exclaimed in unison.

"Brainwashed? You mean by Kya?" said Ginny.

"Don't be ridiculous," said Harry. "She's harmless."

"What?" Ron replied heatedly. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed how strangely she's acting."

"Acting strange? What are you talking about?" Harry was genuinely confused.

"You're the one that's been acting strange!" said Ginny. "You're jumping to conclusions and coming up with conspiracy theories! Why are you being so paranoid?"

"No, listen to me," said Ron. "Kya's perfect at everything she does. Everyone who sets eyes on her falls in love with her. Even Malfoy! Don't you think it's a bit odd?"

"So that's what this is all about, is it?" said Ginny. "You're in love with her, and you're jealous of Malfoy!"

Ron stared at her.

"I'm not in love with her, I'm in love with-"

"Who?" said Harry and Ginny at the same time. Ron's ears turned red.

Ginny calmed down noticeably.

"I'm sure Hermione's just fine," she reassured him. "She's just caught up in all of it. She'll come around."

Ron sighed, defeated.

After he had sat there with them for a while without saying anything, he got up and walked away, looking forlorn. They didn't see him again for the rest of the evening.

Harry and Ginny didn't enjoy the ball very much after that. Not that they had enjoyed it at all to begin with – or had they? Harry couldn't remember anymore. He really was terribly confused. Ginny didn't seem to be very happy either, he noted, but he could think of nothing to say to her.

He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples. He was beginning to develop a fierce headache. For a moment he thought it was his scar that was hurting, but it wasn't. It was just a plain old case of muggle migraine.

"You okay?" asked Ginny, with a note of concern in her voice.

"Yeah, I guess," said Harry.

It was good that Voldemort wasn't up to any dark activities. It was good. It was great. It was so wrong…

Matters were made worse by the fact that he could no longer ignore Cho's presence. She was sitting near his table, talking to her mummified date. Now that he had nothing else to preoccupy himself with, his gaze kept straying over to her.

Suddenly, Cho got out of her seat and walked towards them.

"Hello Harry, and… Ginny, right?"

"Yes," said Ginny. "Hello Cho."

Cho looked at Harry, seeming uncertain.

"Can we talk for a bit?" she asked him.

Harry glanced at Ginny, who was pouring herself another huge drink from the punchbowl.

"Sure," he said. "Is that alright?"

"Yeah, go ahead," said Ginny, distantly.

Harry and Cho walked off to one corner of the hall that was miraculously quiet.

Cho took a deep breath before she started.

"First of all, I wanted to say I'm sorry."

"What?" Harry was completely taken aback.

"I'm sorry. Our relationship last year was a disaster, and I know that it was at least partly my fault."

"Yeah, but why are we talking about this now?" Harry wondered. "I mean, why here?"

"Well, last year I was mad at you, and lately I haven't had much of an opportunity. Now's as good a time as any. So, I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too. How's Marietta?"

"Oh, she's okay now. The curse lifted last summer."

"Good."

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"So what's up with you and Ginny?" Cho ventured to ask after a while. "She doesn't look very happy."

Harry flushed a little.

"We're a bit worried, that's all. Her brother's been acting weird."

"Oh."

Cho looked around, spotted her mummy and used him as an excuse. "See you then," she said, and she went back to her table. Harry thought that it was probably Michael Corner under all the bandages. He went back to his table, where Ginny was having her second drink.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"I don't know. She wanted to apologize for helping to screw it up last year."

"Well, that was nice of her," said Ginny.

" I suppose so," said Harry, wearily. When he thought about it, he wasn't sure it made much of a difference. He felt neither relieved nor really sad; just apathetic, like he had done all evening. He wanted to get out of there.

"Do you feel a bit odd?" He asked Ginny.

"Yeeeaah," said Ginny in the most slurry voice she could manage.

"That's not going to help any, you know," said Harry, when he noticed that she was pouring herself a third drink.

"Are you sure? Because I heard someone spiked it."

"No, Hermione put a spell on the bowl to prevent that. It's just fruit juice. Why are you trying to get drunk anyway?"

"Felt like it," said Ginny, looking a lot more sober. "Anyway, I'm tired. I think I want to go to bed."

"Yeah," said Harry. They got up and left the great hall.


Sorry if this chapter wasn't remotely romantic.