Hey, guys! Sorry I took so long in updating, but I've had homework, the carnival's in town, and my cousins are staying here for week (since they're four and two, that means they need extra attention!). Also, I've been busy with the fic that Tekvah Ariel and I are co-writing. It's called Braids and Boils — everyone read it! It's Fred/Angelina corresponding diary entries in fifth year. Leave us a review, we love that!

This chapter is dedicated to Tekvah Ariel, my 50th reviewer!

And so, finally, the end of the Yule Ball Saga. ::wipes away tear:: It was fun, but I can't say I'm really that sad about ending, because there's still LOADS MORE TO WRITE!!!!! And I think I need a little change of pace. Requests and OotP in mind, I'm once again creating a little chart to prop up onto my desk next to the computer (just like Jo!). This story is far from ending.

Also, this is the longest chapter yet. The longest one before this was chapter ten, and that was about 41 kilobytes in document format. This one is a whopping 58kbs, so it should satisfy. Hopefully…

For those who were upset with the girly tone of the last chapter, fear not, the worst is over…this is still a little girly, which is now surprising me, as I'm not as girly as either of these chapters implies, but I suppose it's fun to let my hair down once in a while…blah, I don't even know what I'm saying anymore…or do I…oh, just read, don't make me keep talking!

Tina, Parvati, Lavender, and Ginny were waiting in the hall for their dates. Parvati and Lavender were chatting excitedly and Ginny was examining her makeup in a suit of armor.

"You know," she said thoughtfully. "It turned out quite nice."

"Of course it did," said Tina in an obvious voice. "I mean, I never wear more than a little eyeliner myself, but we did a great job. Not too much, not to little…see, it's enough to cover up that little cut on my cheek, but not enough to cover up your fabulous freckles, friend."

They laughed. At that moment, Neville came stumbling through the down the staircase, followed by the other four boys in his dormitory. Ginny looked at him sadly, and Tina could tell she was thinking mournfully of what might have been.

"He — hello, Ginny," Neville said, fumbling with the sleeves of his robes. He finally untwisted the right one then offered her his arm. Ginny raised her eyebrows at Tina looking rather impressed, and the pair of them trooped out of the portrait hole and into the entrance hall.

Dean, Seamus, Harry, and Ron came down the stairs almost immediately. Ron was wearing maroon robes with bits of white thread hanging off the ends of his neck and sleeves. He was tugging at a particularly long piece when he reached the bottom of the stairs. Harry was wearing emerald green robes as he walked over to Parvati.

"You — er — look nice," he said sounding awkward.

"Thanks," she said. "Padma's going to meet you in the entrance hall," she added to Ron.

"Right," he said. Tina had the feeling he wouldn't really care if Padma had been waiting at Durmstrang. "Where's Hermione?"

Parvati shrugged, but Tina grinned excitedly. "She's gone to meet her date," She emphasized the last words and could almost see Ron flinching at the sound.

Seamus had offered Lavender his arm, just as Neville had for Ginny, and now the two of them left (Lavender cast a gleeful look at Parvati).

"Shall we go down then, Harry?" asked Parvati.

""Okay," said Harry. Tina and Ron followed him out and Tina, no longer able to bear it, gave the long white thread dangling from Ron's sleeve a mighty tug and it came off.

Parvati found Padma with several other Ravenclaws and brought her over to Harry, Ron, and Tina. Tina saw some turquoise from the corner of her eye, but she wasn't interested in Padma; she was looking at the boy behind her. Terry Boot had just detached himself from the same crowd of Ravenclaws that Padma had been in and was making his way over to her. Tina ran a nervous hand through her hair.

"Hello, Tina," said Terry softly. Tina felt her cheeks going warm, something that didn't really happen to her much because of her complexion. Terry offered her a small white flower which she took, unable to resist a smile that depicted her ecstatic mood.

"Oh, Terry….it's beautiful," she said, beaming at him. Tina took a whiff, and it smelled like a jasmine. Perfect, she thought happily.

"You're not so bad yourself, you know," he said, examining her robes with interest. Tina was glad he had sounded a bit more casual this time; it wasn't the sort of statement that would have done as well in the soft voice he'd used earlier.

"Neither are you," she said with a grin. It was no lie; Terry was wearing robes of the same turquoise as Padma's, but they were different because they were much darker. His somewhat light brown hair was hanging over his eyes just a little, and Tina had a feeling she might faint.

"Shall we?" he asked, offering her his arm. With another delighted grin, Tina took his arm, and she, Ron, Padma, Harry, Parvati, and Terry lined up to enter the Great Hall. However, within a few minutes, Parvati and Harry detached themselves from the herd to go and stand where the champions were. Ron waved good-bye to his friend dully, but Tina yanked his arm and followed Harry and his date while Terry and Ron exchanged a bewildered look.

The champions and their partners were lined up just outside the doors of the Hall. Fleur and Roger were standing next to Cedric and Cho, and Harry and Parvati were next to none other than Hermione and Viktor Krum. Tina bit her lip in anticipation, looking from Harry, to Ron, to Hermione and waiting.

It happened all at once. Harry was simply scanning the other champions and their partners when his eyes doubled back to Hermione. His jaw dropped. Parvati gave the same reaction at the same time, but she looked a little more jealous. Even Terry looked mildly shocked, but impressed, and Tina felt a surge of pride towards him. But Ron's was the reaction she had been most anxious to see, and he didn't let her down on that account. He had been looking at the champions' partners, as had Harry, and when he saw Hermione, his mouth was nearly level with the flagged stone floor. His eyes, which had been wandering lazily, suddenly looked ready to pop out of his head and in a fraction of a second his hair color had spread throughout his entire face. It was almost as memorable a sight as Malfoy the Ferret.

After a few seconds, Ron seemed to realize what he looked like, so he dropped his drugged appearance and settled for glaring at Tina.

"What?" she said innocently. "Ron, you know you wouldn't've let her live it down if she told you."

"I…." he stuttered. "I…you….she….but….he — he's older than she is!"

"Poor excuse," Tina replied. "Though I'm still a little worried about that one myself. But still. Just do me a favor and don't give her a hard time about it, okay?"

Ron said nothing, he narrowed his eyes as Hermione and Krum walked by and through the doors into the hall. In that time Harry managed to shoot Tina a glance that clearly asked her if she had known, and she nodded vigorously, unable to hide the grin that seemed to be glued to her face. Harry smiled in turn, but he still looked somewhat numb from shock.

An added bonus reaction came for Tina, however, Malfoy and Pansy came by — looking quite frightening in pink and black; a vicar and a pug — walked by Hermione and Krum, sputtering hopelessly. Tina's grin widened, if that was possible.

She finally turned her attention away from the many people who were watching Hermione in amazement (including 'ze girls zat' follow Krum'), and focused on Terry.

"Sorry," she said to him. "But their reactions were definitely worth seeing." She glanced at Malfoy and Pansy once more and Terry laughed.

The Great Hall was no doubt at its best. The walls were covered in mistletoe and sparkling frost, and the ceiling was covered in stars of the perfect silver to match. The House tables had been replaced by a series of small tables like those at restaurants, except they seated around twelve people.

Tina, Ginny, Padma, Terry, Ron, and Neville seated themselves at a table. They were soon joined by Lisa Turpin, a girl in Ravenclaw who had golden-blonde hair and pale blue eyes, and her date, a chestnut haired boy named Anthony Goldstein who Tina knew as Terry's best friend.

However, none of the conversations lasted very long, because after taking the hint from Dumbledore, everyone in the Hall began to eat.

"Er…chicken and mashed potatoes!" Tina called to her plate. They appeared. "Cool," she said gleefully and the rest of the table seemed to feel the same way. "Can I get some gravy with those?" Tina added. The gravy appeared and right on top of the potatoes, too. After asking for a salad and dressing as well, they began to eat. Conversation during dinner was mostly amongst friends and not partners, as Padma was gossiping with Lisa and Anthony with Terry. Ron didn't seem to want to talk to Tina, so she was talking to Neville, and Tina ignored him and chatted with Ginny. Since they were the only two who had known about Hermione and Vik, they shared in the delight at everyone's reactions.

"Did you see Malfoy?" asked Ginny, shoveling pork chops into her mouth.

"Yes!" cried Tina with an equal amount of potatoes in hers. "He looked about ready to cough up a grindylow." Ginny snorted, spraying bits of pork all over the tablecloth. Tina added thoughtfully, "Not that that wouldn't've been cool, though,"

Dessert consisted of several pastries for the two girls, and the table was now sprayed with chocolate crumbs as Ginny told Tina how her recent mastering of the Bat-Bogey-Hex had gotten her six Ton-Tongue Toffees off Fred and George for free.

Then the Weird Sisters came on stage. Tina clapped with the rest; though she had never been an especially big fan of the Weird Sisters, she still liked their music a great deal. She made a mental note of their artfully ripped clothing.

They started with a slow tune, and Parvati and Harry were amongst those starting off the dancing. Parvati appeared to be steering and Harry was sort of spinning in one place as she did. Neville and Ginny then went out onto the dance floor, followed by Anthony and Lisa. Terry offered Tina his hand and placed the other on her waist as they began to dance.

They talked while they danced, moving slowly from one end of the room to the other, getting to know one another as the Weird Sisters set the mood. After the slow dance came a faster and more energetic one in which the bass player shook his mane of dirty blond hair quite a lot. Tina spotted Hermione and Krum nearby, and the latter seemed to be having a great deal of fun. Indeed, he was dancing with so much enthusiasm that his fan club looked a little scared. Tina and Terry exchanged a quick glance then walked over.

"'Sup, 'Maya?" said Tina quietly as they approached. She knew that name would get her friend's attention because she had only used it once before: when she thought of it. Tina never used it because the two of them had decided it didn't suit Hermione very much, but Tina used it this time to get her attention.

"Oh, hello," said Hermione, rolling her eyes. "Who knew Viktor liked to dance so much? You'd think he's never had any fun in his life from the way he's letting loose now."

"I doubt it'll last," said Tina, casting a mournful glance at Krum. She and Hermione grinned at each other. "Come on," she said. "Let's take a little break. Terry! Vik!"

The four of them sat down at a table, soon joined by Ginny and Neville. Terry and Neville were somewhat awestruck by Krum, but before they could say anything, another of Terry's friends came and sat at the table. Terry introduced them.

"Tina, this is Michael Corner and Mandy Brocklehurst. Michael's in third year, but Mandy's in ours." Everyone shook hands politely with Michael and Mandy, but Ginny suddenly had an odd expression on her face as she did. After she let go of Michael's hand, she seized Tina and Hermione and waited till they were a good ten feet from the table before explaining.

"What did you do that for?" said Hermione, looking utterly bewildered.

"That boy," said Ginny in a breathless voice. "That…Michael Corner…he's rather cute, don't you think?"

"Not our place to say," said Tina. "We're taken."

"Well, hold on a minute," said Hermione thoughtfully, casting a glance back at the table. "He is rather good-looking."

Tina in turn stole a look at Michael. She raised her eyebrows at Ginny. "You're right." She said, her eyebrows now on the point of disappearing into her hairline.

"Well," said Ginny. "What should I do? I mean, I came with Neville and he came with that Mandy girl, but if I could just…"

"Go for it," said Tina. Ginny stared at her. "Go…for…it." She repeated. "Well, at least talk to him tonight, so as not to hurt Neville, but make him like you. Make him want you the way you want him, and then grant his wish."

Both Ginny and Hermione were looking quite skeptical, as though Tina had just suggested they eat a mandrake for fiber content. After a few seconds Hermione looked up and nodded at Tina. "It's a plan." Ginny was still looking at the both of them, asking them with her eyes to reconsider, but Hermione shook her head. At long last, Ginny gave in.

"I'm no good at this, though," she said, straightening her robes and flattening her hair. "If I was, Harry wouldn't be dancing with Parvati…"

"Forget about Harry," said Hermione.

"Yeah," added Tina. "Look to the future." She pointed at Michael. That was perhaps what strengthened Ginny's resolve as she stood up and floated to the table, the other two following in her wake.

Tina and Hermione danced with their partners yet again, while Ginny, Neville, Mandy, and Michael remained at the table. After a few minutes, however, Hermione was fanning herself with her hand.

"Oh, it's too hot," she panted, leaning on a nearby table for support. "Viktor, would you do me a favor and get us some drinks?"

"It vould be my pleasure," he replied. "Vear are ze beverages?"

"Over there," said Terry, pointing for him. "Here, I'll go with you. Want anything, Tina?"

"Sure…get me one of those raspberry things with the little umbrella," She said with a smile. The boys nodded and left for the drink table. Tina was in the process of sitting down when Hermione grabbed her arm.

"Ginny was wrong," she said thoughtfully, looking across the Hall. "Harry isn't dancing with anyone. And neither," she added with satisfaction, "is Ron. Come on."

Hermione then took off across the Great Hall much faster than the crowds allowed. Several girls from Beauxbatons were thrown aside into a group of Durmstrang boys, and were shaking their fists at Hermione until they realized where they had landed. Tina tried to keep up but was nearly trampled by Hagrid and Madame Maxime. The good thing about this, though, was that the couple had created a clear path for her to follow. After pushing aside two Hufflepuffs, Tina finally reached the table, where Hermione was sitting looking at Ron in surprise.

"Ron, what —?"

"He's from Durmstrang!" Ron snarled. "He's competing against Harry! Against Hogwarts! You — you're — fraternizing with the enemy, that's what you're doing!"

Hermione's mouth fell open. Tina was gawking at Ron, her eyebrows forming a line of complete befuddlement.

"Don't be so stupid!" Hermione said after a bit. "The enemy! Honestly — who was the one who was all excited when they saw him arrive? Who was the one who wanted his autograph? Who's got a model of him up in their dormitory?"

Tina and Harry exchanged a raised eyebrow and pushed their seats back a little. Ron, meanwhile, chose to ignore everything Hermione had just said.

"I s'pose he asked you to come with him while you were both in the library?"

"Yes, he did," said Hermione, glowing pink. "So what?"

"Yeah, so what?" interrupted Tina, glaring at Ron.

"What happened — trying to get him to join spew, were you?"

"No, I wasn't!" cried Hermione. "If you really want to know he — he said he'd been coming up to the library every day to try and talk to me, but he hadn't been able to pluck up the courage!"

Tina drew herself up proudly and folded her arms.

"Yeah," said Ron, hesitating slightly then growing nasty once again. "Well — that's his story."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Obvious, isn't it? He's Karkaroff's student, isn't he?" He knows who you hang around with…He's just trying to get closer to Harry — get inside information on him — or get near enough to jinx him —"

"Ron!" cried Tina in outrage. "How can you say that? How can you…possibly be mean enough to suggest that — you're paranoid, that's what it is…you're too stubborn to admit that Vik does like Hermione because you never bothered to care…"

Hermione was shaking slightly. She looked as though she was near tears.

"For your information," Her voice shook as she addressed Ron. "He hasn't asked me one single thing about Harry, not one —"

But Ron acted as though he hadn't heard this and changed the subject at the speed of light.

"Then he's hoping you'll help him find out what his egg means! I suppose you've been putting your heads together during those cozy little library sessions —"

"I'd never help him work out that egg!" cried Hermione, but it was hopeless, Ron wouldn't hear unless he wanted to. "Never. How could you say something like that — I want Harry to win the tournament, Harry knows that, don't you, Harry?"

"You've got a funny way of showing it," sneered Ron.

"This whole tournament's supposed to e about getting to know foreign wizards and making friends with them!" protested Hermione.

"No it isn't!" yelled Ron. "It's about winning!"

Tina made a noise halfway between a snort and a sputter of disbelief. Winning? People nearby were staring at the scene and Tina could see Terry and Vik halfway across the room with drinks in hand.

"Ron," said Harry quietly, "I haven't got a problem with Hermione coming with Krum —"

But Ron made no effort whatsoever to listen to Harry either.

"Why don't you go and find Vicky, he'll be wondering where you are," he shouted at Hermione.

"Don't call him Vicky!" she cried shrilly.

Hermione jumped to her feet and stormed off. Tina got up too, and stared at Ron.

"I asked you one thing," she whispered. "Not to give her a hard time about it. But you couldn't do that, could you? Way to spoil everyone's night, Ron. All because you're paranoid, stubborn, and too blind to see any of it."

Then she turned on her heel to go find Hermione. It was easier said than done; Hermione was walking even faster than before and was making no effort to slow down. Tina finally reached her out in the entrance hall, and had to run in front of her to make her stop.

"Don't listen to him," she said angrily. "He has no idea what he's saying. Stupid, insensitive, stubborn, idiotic…"

"It's almost funny," said Hermione, wiping a tear from her eye. "I've never been hurt by words. I…I always managed to make insults insignificant to me. But this time…"

"You've been insulted by a friend."

Hermione gave a mighty sob and buried her head in Tina's shoulder.

"Come on," said Tina, after awkwardly patting her head for a few minutes. "Stop crying, please? Just…go out there and try to enjoy the rest of the night. Ron…Ron doesn't seem to be having such a great time with his date, seeing as she's nowhere in sight, so he's getting what he deserves. Don't look at or talk to him for the rest of the night. Besides, I saw him and Harry going outside a little while ago."

Hermione finally lifted her head and wiped her eyes on her robes. "Oh, all right," she said in a muffled voice. "I can try. But if Ron so much as looks at me and Viktor —"

"Smack him upside the head." They laughed and Hermione led the way back into the Great Hall. Terry and Vik were waiting with the drink by the door, and Hermione gladly took her pumpkin juice from her partner. Terry handed Tina her drink as well with a questioning glance at Hermione's rather red eyes. Tina shook her head at him to show that it wasn't worth discussing.

The rest of the night went smoothly enough, and Tina and Terry made arrangements to go to the Three Broomsticks together next time they were in Hogsmeade. On the whole, Tina felt that she and Hermione had made the best of the night, and removed Ron from their memories for the night. Hermione went up to bed after saying good bye to Viktor, and Tina and Terry lingered in the entrance hall.

"Well, good night," said Terry awkwardly. He was looking at the ground a bit more than usual, but finally seemed to make up his mind about something as he looked up.

"See you in Hogsmeade," he said, and kissed her on the cheek. Then he walked off towards the West Tower leaving Tina somewhat dazed where she was. She let out a small squeal then skipped halfway back to the common room. That was when she saw Harry. The odd thing in this was that Harry was talking to Cedric. Tina couldn't help but notice him go rather rigid as Cedric went to bid Cho Chang good-night.

"What was that about?" she asked Harry, making him jump as she approached.

"I…what? Oh…Cedric was just helping me out with my egg clue…"

"I thought you were done with the egg?" Tina gave him what was supposed to be a stern, questioning look, but she was still somewhat giddy from Terry's farewell.

"Oh," said Harry. "Er…right. Well, Cedric didn't know that, so he's come and given me some stupid advice that makes no sense…"

"Right," said Tina looking plainly unconvinced. "Whatever. You're lucky I'm not asking and further questions; I'd've weaseled it out of you eventually."

Harry smiled weakly in thanks and the two of them walked back to the Fat Lady in silence. He seemed to be thinking hard about something, but appeared frustrated (which made Tina think he wasn't getting anywhere with his thoughts).

When they finally reached the portrait hole, Harry yelled "Fairy lights!" several times before the Fat Lady and her friend Vi awoke. They seemed rather irritated at being woken up and Vi glared at Tina as the climbed through.

The scene in the common room came as something as a shock to Tina, though looking back on it she felt she should've known. Hermione and Ron were yelling at each other from across the room, and both were positively shaking with fury.

"Well, if you don't like it," Hermione was shouting. "You know what the solution is, don't you?" The bun that the girls had so carefully prepared was coming undone atop her head, and Tina found it rather hard to believe that Hermione had been laughing and chatting along with the rest several hours ago.

"Oh yeah?" Ron bellowed back at her. "What's that?"

"Next time there's a ball, ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort!"

Ron mouthed at Hermione, clearly at a loss for words. Meanwhile, she had turned on her heel and gone up the girls' staircase at a speed Harry's Firebolt would've envied. Tina quickly followed, giving Ron a look of triumph on the way. She could hear him speaking to Harry on her way up.

Tina was relieved to see that Parvati and Lavender had already gone to sleep, and cautiously listened to see if Hermione was sobbing yet again. However, Hermione wasn't crying this time; she had gone into the bathroom and was washing her face with a sort of mad vigor, scrubbing it so hard that the towel she had been using turned pink from makeup. She was muttering throughout all this.

"How he can say…never…fraternizing with the enemy…'I don't like that Krum bloke, he's a grouchy git'…wonder if you felt that way a week ago, Ronald…"

After several minutes of this in which Tina too had washed her face and Hermione had changed into her night clothes, Tina finally spoke.

"Let it go, man," she said dully while putting on her own. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ron doesn't know any better, okay? Come on, you know he's jealous. At least delight in that part."

"Tina!" cried Hermione, but she was rather pink. "He can't be jealous!"

Now it was Tina's turn to roll her eyes. "Yes he is," she said in an obvious voice. "Just admit it, why don't you?"

"Well, supposing he is…why?"

"We may never know," said Tina, shaking her head as she climbed into bed. "Anyway, bottom line, you know he's being stupid, and you're right. Maybe he'll come around…someday."

"Wish I knew when," Hermione muttered glumly, pulling the curtains around her bed.

"Ask Parvati," said Tina with a yawn. "She'd be happy to crystal-gaze for you."

She could almost see Hermione rolling her eyes behind the curtains.

Tada! I'm actually rather impressed with this. And now I'm moving on to more! Girliness will cease now, if it's ever too girly let me know and I will personally apologize and make Tina roll in mud in the next chapter.

Well…maybe not.

Now, this fic may have several small details here and there that don't necessarily apply to me, but under the circumstances of the books, they would. Let me give an example: once a girl dumped Pineapple Orange Faygo on my head when we were arguing. I wanted pretty badly to do the same to her, but I wasn't mad enough. Now, if Malfoy made some wisecrack about my family or something, he'd be covered in Faygo so fast it'd make his head spin. Why? Because he pushed me to that point, because he got me mad enough. That's what this fic may have in future chapters: Things I've never done because I wasn't pushed far enough, or because I wasn't angry or happy enough.

If you haven't told me a request from OotP now's the time to do so! Also, even if you already have, I'd appreciate it if you told me once again, just to refresh my memory. It's dismal sometimes.

Tekvah Ariel- Glad you liked my description in the 'getting ready' part. It was a lot easier to imagine than to write. The comparison to war was the only way I could describe Parvati's voice in my head. Hope it wasn't too extreme.

Venus725- Whew, it's good to have someone go along with the girly stuff. But I have to admit, it got pretty hard so I'm glad I don't have to stick with it for life or anything. Well, there you have it. Tina stood by Ron and Harry, as promised, and I hope the reactions were worth your while!

Anandini77- I'm absolutely thrilled with your reactions to all three of the previous chapters. I had my doubts about them. Well, I used your idea about Michael, but I wanted Ginny to spot him for herself. That makes her transformation more real; she wasn't pushed into it, she chose to do it. Good luck with work, but at least you don't have to clip articles about the election for school!

SmileGirlVMV- The HP teapot!

Padfoot Prongs and Moony- Ugh, computers can be like that. Poo. If you thought the last chapter was long you must be reeling from this one! No, Parvati could never even hope to come close to Hermione's intelligence, though I did want to show that she's more creative, and that she doesn't use that in the best ways, though. I agree, it was girly, but I couldn't help but have some fun with that. Blame Parvati and Lavender though! You got a limo for your prom? Sweet. You're explanation of how to add in chapters makes perfect sense, but I'm not sure I can do it yet as I have zero time. However, it looks like there'll be a long wait for book six and not much for me to do while waiting, so…we'll see. I don't know about Tina going with Harry and Hermione for the Tmie-Turner, I kind of felt like if I wrote that I'd be invading something. The Firebolt being sent by Sirius I agreed with when I read it, but I never believed it was jinxed. The Shrieking Shack scene is awesome, most definitely, and I'm still awestruck by the brilliance of it when I read it.

Dancer34- Cute. Interesting assessment. Thanks!

Flagstonejester- A new reviewree! And an old one in a way, as you've reviewed Braids and Boils. Yeah, I'm ashamed of the first chapter, as can be seen in the summary. But I wanted to introduce Tina in a more subtle way. Still, I have to admit I sort of grew as a writer between then and now, quite a bit actually. Yes, of course you have to keep reading, I'm so grateful to those who do!

Psycho-penguin243- Haha, I know what you mean. Keep reviewing!

REVIEW! And may the review be proportionate to the chapter it's for… (hem, hem)