Harry stood up, along with everyone else. Suddenly, through a bunch of smoke, Voldemort, along with Wormtail and Lucius Malfoy, all Disapparated.

The next day, again Dumbledore stood up. Everyone became silent, and Dumbledore began speaking.

"Thank you everyone. There are many items of note for you. Firstly, we would like to thank everyone for another successful year. I know that it is two days early, but it doesn't matter. We thank you all for a successful Year of Differences. Secondly, another final dance for the end of the Year of Differences. This dance is the going-away dance, and only is for those who were all resorted this year, meaning fifth year and up. There is another twist for this dance. The girls will do the posting. Yes, I said posting, not asking. Tonight, all of the girls in fifth year and up will all sleep in the same room. The names of the boys invited will be listed. Now, we will explain all the major details about the picking of dates tonight. Boys, you will receive a letter from us if a girl chose to ask you. Otherwise, you may not attend this dance. Tonight, at 9 o'clock, all of the girls eligible to attend MUST I repeat MUST meet here, where we will explain the details. Bed!" Dumbledore shouted, and everyone went up to their dorms.

That night, all the boys eligible to go were also allowed to sleep in a certain room. Harry and his friends were all talking about who they wanted to go with and who they thought would choose them.

"Personally, I want to go with Hermione, but Crystal would be okay. Cristy is also really nice, so she's another one that I would want to go with. However, I think that Crystal will pick me though, since we seven are the only guys she really knows. I don't think Hermione likes me, but I do think that Crystal does, and I like her too, so it's all good if she asks me," said Draco.

"I really miss Lorena," said Oliver. "I wish that she had not dumped me, but because of the age difference I am not surprised. I hope Lorena asks me--"

"You wish!" said Tom. "She likes me a lot and I think that she will ask me to this dance."

"Well, I just hope that Cho doesn't ask me. She is nice and all but she is hard to keep up with," said Oliver.

"Well, unfortunately for you, she really likes you," said Ron.

"I hope we use the Date Night couples," said Tom.

"Why?"

"Well, we never got to do it, and I was really looking forward to it, then the Quidditch Captains called the whole thing off," said Tom.

"Who do you want to ask you?" Harry asked Ron.

"Well, I really like Hermione. Megan is awesome too though. But Megan really likes you, Harry. I really think that she is going to ask you. You really are 'the apple of her eye', and same with Hermione."

"What do you mean?"
"Come on! You're telling me you don't know? Everyone thinks that Hermione has had a crush on you for like, forever!"

"No she hasn't," said Harry as he blushed.

"We'll soon find out," said Ron.

"Well, we know about Draco, Oliver, and Tom, and myself. What about you Mikeal?"

"Well, Cristy and I are getting along great, so I think she is going to put me. She's going to have to beat out my 'fan club' though. I always have girls all over me, and they are all mad that I like--no, love--someone in a year above me," said Mikeal.

"Oh. Colin, who do you think will ask you," said Harry.

"Ginny. We have put together this pact saying that all dances we will go to together. But if the girls ask the guys, I think that Ginny may ask you, Harry. So then I really have no clue."

"What about you, Harry?"

"No comment."

"Oh, come on! We all said, why won't you?"

"Because it is a secret, and I intend on keeping it that way," said Harry, before standing up and walking away, signifying the fact that he was most likely never going to tell.

Meanwhile, in the girls' room, it was almost midnight. The girls had not been allowed to talk to any of the other girls before this time, because then they may already have been arguing. At 11:50, Dumbledore went in front of everyone to speak and say the directions for the girls.

"Okay. Now, what you notice is all the boy's names hanging from the ceiling. Each name is hanging somewhere three times. You all like someone here, if I am correct. This is why we did this. If you are one of the first three to find the boy you want to go with's name, then you will be allowed to try and get that person. As soon as all three of the handles with that name on it are pulled, then you will be allowed to reach each other. Then, I will give further instructions. If I notice everyone has a handle and there are not three girls fighting over a boy, then I will end the curse I have put on them. Once you are down to the arguing over a specific person, then you will be challenged to find out who will go with who. Everyone will now have their wands removed from them, because otherwise you may just Summon the name you want to you instead of looking."

A hooded creature went right next to Dumbledore, said the Summoning Spell, Accio, and therefore was able to collect all of the wands in one try.

"Okay. In one minute, you will be allowed to try and find the guy you like's name. Ready--go!"

Immediately, the girls went out. All of the girls were running around, searching for the boy they liked. The first person to find a guy was Ginny, who found Harry's name.

Then, Crystal found the names of the two boys she liked. Knowing that one of them was most likely going to be rude, she held onto the name of the one she really liked--Draco Malfoy.

Then, Hermione and Megan were both searching. Megan suddenly let out a shriek of happiness--she obviously had found the name of the boy she liked, Harry. She grasped this handle very tightly, hoping that the other two didn't know as much about Harry as she did. She was expecting the challenge to be some sort of quiz about the person that they had chosen.

Cristy finally found Mikeal's name, and grasped the handle with his name on it very tightly.

Cho then found Oliver's name, along with Ron's. She held on to Oliver's though. She really liked him.

There was only one Harry handle remaining, which was soon filled by Hermione, who found his name among many others, very well hidden.

Lorena finally found Oliver's name, and thinking that Tom's was already most likely filled, she grasped this handle.

Five minutes later, activations were about to burst. All the girls finally found a name, and Dumbledore cured the handles of the Sticky-Stay Curse, which made them hang there unable to be taken down.

"All of you have chosen a name, very good. First of all, Senoyl nofosemaneh teruc!" said Dumbledore, and a bunch of names fell off.

"Those are the ones that only one handle with that boy's name on it was held. If you just fell, then your date is the one whose handle you are holding. Please approach you Head of House to let them know. Next, Semitow tehte vomer!" said Dumbledore, and all of the groups of two were let go and Dumbledore Summoned them. This group of people included Cristy, Lorena, and Cho.

"The competition for groups of two is simple--the first to find the remaining name of that person gets them! Go!" said Dumbledore, and this group ran all over. Only when someone found the remaining name would they stop running. As it turned out, Cho found the remaining name of Oliver, and Lorena purposely threw the competition by grabbing Tom's name. Cristy was nicknamed the 'Duplicate of Hermione,' so she easily found the remaining Mikeal name, and Mikeal's fan club slumped off, very annoyed that a sixth year was going with a fifth year to this end of the year dance. They, however, went off and grabbed the name of one of the remaining candidates for dates, and got on with it.

"For the groups of three, we have a special room for those who were chosen. At groups of thirty at a time, meaning ten names at a time up for grabs, you will be brought into this next room. Very simply, you must find the handle with the name of the boy that you want to go with. There are two of each name in here. This will narrow it down to two, and then there is another room where there is only one of the name in it, which you will also have to grab. The losers will be transported back to the main room as soon as the winner has been chosen. If you are suddenly somewhere else where you did not begin, then you obviously have been beaten. Pick the name of another person, and then leave it as is. Ready? GO!" said Dumbledore, and the girls all took off.

The next day, all seven of the group received notes, saying how they were accepted.

That night was the dance. None of the boys would be informed of their dates until the dance, and the girls were not allowed to tell, the consequences of telling were exclusion from the dance. No matter what, all of the chosen were not allowed to skip unless they were too sick to even be fixed up by Madam Pomfrey, which really meant that they all were going to this dance.

Harry and his friends were extremely happy that they all had dates. Ron did not expect to be asked by anyone.

Harry was about to scream before the dance, though. He was nervous about going on something kind of like a 'blind date.'

That night, the dates were posted inside the Hall. Harry walked up with all of his friends, and they looked at the list.

Cristy Filman and Mikeal Delsk

Cho Chang and Oliver Wood

Ginny Weasley and Colin Creevey

Megan Newgana and Ron Weasley

Lorena Corena and Tom Felchina

Crystal Comet and Draco Malfoy

Hermione Granger and Harry Potter

They didn't even stop to read the rest of the names, because that group included all of the seven boys. Harry gasped when he found out that he had been placed with Hermione. Draco was happy that he was with Crystal, Ron was mad at Harry for 'stealing his girl,' Oliver was unhappy but unsurprised as well, Mikeal was grateful, Colin was a bit surprised that Ginny had picked him, and Tom was happy that he was with his girlfriend. The boys walked in and looked around for their dates. Cristy, Lorena, and Megan were all talking by the punch bowl. Ginny and Hermione were by the DJ, and Crystal and Cho were talking to some other friends. When they saw their dates enter, they all walked up to them.

"Hey Harry," said Hermione, blushing furiously. She really hoped that he was not unhappy that she had picked him.

"Hey, Hermione! How did you guys pick your dates?"

"We are not supposed to say."

"Oh. Why not?"

"Well, okay, we can, but I don't want to say."

"Why not?"

"I just don't!"

"Okay."

"Want to get some punch?"

"Sure!"

Harry and Hermione ran over to the punch table, passing by Ron and Megan. Ron was surprised that she had picked him after what he did to her at the Halloween Ball. This arrangement was okay though. He wasn't with Hermione, who he really liked, but he was with the second best. Suddenly, an opportunity came up, and Harry took advantage of it. He was allowed to change dancing partners for a dance, so when Megan came over and asked for one dance, he agreed.

However, this was not a good thing for Hermione. Now, she and Ron were dateless, and she didn't like him as more than a friend, whereas he loved her. She agreed for one dance, though, figuring that at least he would have someone to dance with while his date was with Harry. After this one dance, however, Ginny Weasley came over and asked Harry for a dance, and he agreed. Once more, Hermione was shunned to the side, and she didn't want to dance with Colin, so she sat out for a dance. Meanwhile, Ginnyand Harry were talking.

"Hey, Harry," Ginny said.

"Hey, Ginny! What's up?"

"Nothing. Look. I heard you ask Hermione earlier how the couples were picked. Want me to explain?"

"Sure!" said Harry, extremely happy that the secret would be divulged.

"Well, the girls were locked up for three hours, and could not talk. At 11:50, Dumbledore told us the procedure. Three of each boy's name were hidden around. If we found the handle with the guy we liked on it, we grasped it and were unable to move. I was the first to find one of your three, and then Megan and Hermione found them. We moved on to the next challenge, which was two hidden names that we had to find. Megan was knocked out of the competition this time. Then, it was just Hermione and I. We had one to find. Needless to say, Hermione found it first. She was really happy. I really think that she likes you. Give her a chance," said Ginny before the song ended and she walked away. Harry walked back up to Hermione, still blushing from what Ginny had just said.

"Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"Ginny just told me how you guys chose the person you would go to this ball with."

"So?"

"Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"Because she probably left out the most important part!"

"What part?"

"Nevermind."

"Well, since we are here together we should dance--do you want to?" Harry asked Hermione.

Hermione would have dearly loved to say more, but she just said one word.

"Sure."

They walked out onto the dance floor and passed by Lorena and Oliver dancing. Lorena seemed to have said one of those famous one-dance rules. Harry walked over to the shop to see wands and other goodies that he could have sworn Fred and George had made wandering around.

Harry bought a Canary Cream to bring home for Dudley. Little did he know that at this very minute his house and everything inside it was being torn down.

That night went by too quickly for everyone's liking. Harry and Hermione had had a great time, and so had everyone else. The next day, the Year of Differences House Cup would be given out, and soon after the 'secret' that Dumbledore was hiding would be revealed. This is when Harry would find out about his house being destroyed.

The next day, Harry was in the midst of breakfast when Professor Black came byand told him the news. Harry now had two choices of where to spend summer vacation. He could either stay at Ron's or Hermione's. Harry was better friends with Ron, but he had lately been having strange feelings when he was around Hermione. He only had felt that one time before--when he started liking Cho.

Dudley was being taken to an orphanage. He did not like being schooled by the same teachers that Harry had for wizarding classes. Harry thought the goodness would never end. Boy, was he wrong.

Just as he walked out of the Great Hall, he heard Draco getting beat up by his father, who had Apparated nearby. It seemed that choosing the good side was not a good thing for the name of Malfoy. Harry was suddenly thinking about asking whoever he stayed with if Draco could stay too. Sirius was getting his own house soon, but it had not yet been built. Harry had drawn out a plan for his portion, which had five floors. One of these floors was for games, one was his bedroom and own movie theater, and the other three were for Draco, Hermione, and Ron when they came over. So far, two of these floors had been built--one for a guest and one for him. Ron came over and begged Harry to come over so they could catch up on friendships. Harry, however, was leaning towards going home with Hermione. Then, Dumbledore arose to conclude the year and divulge his secret.

"Another year, gone. The Year of Differences is over, however not totally. The first thing I need to do is award the Year of Differences House Cup. The points stand at 339 for Hufflepuff, 413 for Ravenclaw, 335 for Slytherin, and 490 for Gryffindor. All of these are final, meaning that the final scores is Gryffindor in first, followed by Ravenclaw, then Hufflepuff, and lastly Slytherin."

All of the tables erupted with applause.

"And lastly, what many of you will find surprising. We have decided that one person from each House may remain in that house if they were resorted. However, only one old Gryffindor, one old Hufflepuff, one old Ravenclaw, and one old Slytherin may remain in their new house, and only one person in each house may stay, which will not set off the balance. If you want to remain in your new house please stand," said Dumbledore.

At the Gryffindor table, Draco and Padma rose. Padma wanted to stay in Gryffindor because then she would be with her sister. Draco wanted to be with Hermione and Harry.

At the Hufflepuff table, only Neville Longbottom rose.

At the Ravenclaw table, Ernie MacMillan rose.

At the Slytherin table, no one rose up.

"Okay. We need someone from Slytherin to be willing to exchange."

"But Professor. We have two that want to stay in Gryffindor, one from Slytherin and one from Ravenclaw. We have one that wants to stay in Hufflepuff, from Gryffindor. We have one that wants to stay in Ravenclaw, from Hufflepuff. One from each old house wants to remain," said Harry.

"Well, if I remember correctly, Slytherin was ahead in students anyway. Okay, well those who rose at my proposal to remain now all are officially in their house. Changes on your robes to make it final will be made soon. Everyone enjoyed the feast, then it was time to leave.

Harry still hadn't decided who to go home with. On the train home, an event made the decision for him. Hermione asked Draco if he would want to go home with her. Her parents had said it was okay if both he and Harry went home with her, and so Harry agreed. Hermione smiled and Ron assured Harry that he didn't take the decision personally.

When they all finally arrived at the train station, Draco went over to tell his dad about his new summer home and Ron went back to his parents. Harry looked at Hermione and breathed deeply before speaking.

"Hermione? I have to ask you a question."

"What, Harry?" Hermione said dreamily, as if she was having some sort of dream that was somehow becoming reality. Harry breathed in and said his question.

"Will you go out with me?"