A/N- Finally! The dance is here! Isn't it exciting? Oh, and sorry that there's no Cho-Lucius-Cissa love triangle in this chapter. That's because the next chappy is almost ENTIRELY them! Yay!

Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were already in the Great Hall, awaiting everyone else. "You are absolutely crazy, Albus," Professor McGonagall proclaimed, thinking about what was going to happen at the dance.

Professor Dumbledore smiled sheepishly. "You know me too well, Minerva. Come on, the dance will be great. By the way, what time is it?" he asked, realizing that it might be time to cast the spell to make sure that everyone stayed with their partners.

"I really shouldn't tell you, Albus. I know what this is going to lead to. I still remember the last time you did a game show thing like this. But if you insist, it's quarter of seven," Professor McGonagall said, laughing in spite of herself at Albus' determination.

Before doing anything, Professor Dumbledore looked out of the closed doors to the Great Hall. There was a crowd of people waiting there, and he noted that all twenty-six of the contestants from Blind Date were among the people in the very front. Happily, Professor Dumbledore took his wand out of his pocket. "I guess I should cast the spell then," he said, and with that, he said the incantation.

The doors to the hall flew open, revealing the room. It looked amazing. There were Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff banners on the walls. The enchanted ceiling was lit with stars. The girls were all oohing and ahhing over the roses all around. But they stopped suddenly when the effects of Dumbledore's incantation hit them.

The thirteen girls who had taken part in the show were magically moved to be standing next to their date. For some people, this was a good thing. Angelina was looking at Fred like she couldn't be happier. But for others, this couldn't have been worse. Hermione and Draco were eyeing each other with distaste, and Narcissa Malfoy and Professor Lupin were looking at each other unhappily.

Everyone walked into the Great Hall. Hermione and Draco walked over to Ron and Pansy. "This is so unfair, Draco," Pansy said, pouting, "We definitely should have been paired together. We could have had so much fun together. But I guess now we can't."

Draco shook his head, almost wetting his pants. He absolutely hated the way he let Pansy get to him. But he couldn't help it! The low-cut, red halter mini-dress she was wearing made him want to rip the gangster sock's head off and make him re-pick the partners.

"Well Malfoy, how do you feel now?" Ron asked, almost smirking, "I guess Malfoy blood only counts for so much, eh?" Draco's upper lip curled. "You just keep on imagining that Pansy actually wants to be with you, Weasley," he said, unable to think of any better a comeback.

"Oh please, Malfoy. I'm sure she'd rather me than you," Ron shot back, glaring at him. Before Draco could attempt another one of his comebacks, Hermione broke in. "What has gotten into you, Ron?" she asked, a little shocked, "a day ago you were freaking out because you had to be with Pansy, now you seem almost happy! I thought that-" She broke off, brushing her hair out of her eyes and trying to save some face in front of Draco and Pansy, her two least favorite people.

"You thought what, Granger? That Weasley actually wanted to be with you? Keep dreaming," Draco said, laughing. Hermione looked like she was about to slap him. "You know what Malfoy, it doesn't even matter. This dance is awful. You are coming with me, and we are going to go sit in a corner and mope," she said, figuring that if her own fun was going to be ruined, Malfoy's should be too.

"Okay, well Pansy and I are going to dance," Ron said perkily, offering an arm to Pansy. She rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said unhappily, "Let's go." They walked off to the dance floor, their backs to the evil glare Draco was giving them.

"I hate Weasley," he sniffed, "Don't you?" Hermione shrugged. She really wanted to say yes, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Hey Hermione, how's it going?" Sirius asked happily, walking up to her and Malfoy with Parvati at his side. Hermione looked up at him dejectedly. "How do you think? I'm paired with this git," she said, motioning to Draco.

Parvati smiled sympathetically. "That sucks," she said, "I'm with Sirius!" Sirius laughed. "You know that you are just so lucky," he said happily. Parvati nodded. Making Hermione's mood even worse, Parvati and Sirius started kissing right in front of her and Draco. "Get a room," Draco sneered, walking away. Hermione had no choice but to follow.

On the other side of the Great Hall, Percy was having a ball (ha, yeah right) being harassed by Fred, George, and Oliver. "I hate this," Percy said in embarrassment, "Why did you guys come up with such a dumb idea?"

Fred and George grinned. "It certainly wasn't for your benefit, Perce," Fred said, looking at Angelina, who was standing next to him. George was doing the same to Alicia.

"I personally think it's a great idea," Penny said, laughing at the look on Percy's face. Even though it wasn't very nice, she thought he just looked so cute when he was nervous.

"I'm with you, Penny," Oliver said, smiling love-struck-ly at Katie, who laughed. "Alicia, Katie, don't you just love the way we make these boys' IQs go down about 50 points?" Angelina asked jokingly. Alicia and Katie started cracking up. "That's impossible," Percy said haughtily, "I don't think anyone can have a negative forty-nine IQ."

George snorted. "Percy's just jealous because when he sees Penny, his IQ drops about 100 points. I'm surprised he managed to do so well on his O.W.L.s with Penny sitting next to him," he said, causing Percy to turn a few shades redder, and Professor McGonagall to give him and Fred a stern look.

"Okay, new topic," Percy said, trying to regain composure. Everyone in that little group nodded, figuring that they had harassed Percy enough for now. There would still be plenty of time to drive him crazy later. After all, the dance had only just begun.

"You know what, Penny, let's get away from these idiots," Percy said, motioning to Penny to follow him. Penny waved good-bye to Angelina, Alicia, and Katie, and followed Percy away. "Where are we going, Perce?" she asked, brushing up against his arm. "We," he said, walking across the room, "are going to check on Ginny."

Penny rolled her eyes. "Ginny is old enough to take care of herself, Perce!" she complained, knowing how much the younger girl would hate being watched over by her brother. Percy, though, was totally stubborn. "That I doubt," he said confidently, "If she told the truth on Blind Date that she's played strip poker and gotten drunk, I don't really think that she's old enough to take care of herself."

If it had been anyone but Percy, Penny would have given up right there. But she had to admit, she liked trying to convince him of stuff. For some reason, it was just fun. "Oh, come on Percy, you know she's just going to be upset. Why don't we go do something else instead," she said, a glint in her eye.

Percy couldn't think of anything he'd rather do. But he had promised his mother that this year he would watch out for Ginny. "How about after?" he asked hopefully. Penny nodded reluctantly. That was her best argument, and she just had to hope that Ginny wouldn't be too mad.

"Where is Ginny?" Penny asked, grabbing Percy's hand as they walked across the room. Percy felt a tingle go up his arm. If it weren't for the fact that he was so responsible and smart, he would have forgotten about Ginny right then and there.

Luckily, he didn't forget about her, and continued scanning the room for his sister. "There she is," he said, pointing to the red haired girl standing under the Gryffindor banner with Harry. Penny followed Percy while he walked determinedly over to Ginny.

"Hi Ginny," Penny said before Percy could say anything, "How are you?" Ginny looked at Penny and Percy suspiciously. "I'm fine," she said warily, "how are you?" Penny shrugged. Percy began to open his mouth, and she elbowed him. She didn't want her night ruined by Percy and Ginny fighting the whole time. She wasn't in time to stop Percy's next words, though.

"I just wanted to tell you not to do anything I wouldn't do," he said pointedly, "Mom told me to look out for you." Penny winced, and Ginny rolled her eyes. "That doesn't leave me with much, does it?" Ginny laughed, not really trying to contain her disdain for Percy telling her what to do, "And for the record, I'm here at the ball with Harry, not Mom. So I really don't care what she said. Bye Percy!"

Percy frowned, but Ginny had already turned her back on him, so he and Penny had no choice but to walk away. "That went well," Penny said sarcastically, smiling at Percy. "Yeah, well, what did you expect?" Percy asked, leading her over to the refreshment table. Penny shook her head. "Loosen up, Percy. You have five other brothers. Let one of them watch out for Ginny," she said, giving him a kiss.