Disclaimer: nope, still not mine.

A/N: ok, i know you probably all hate me forever, but in an attempt to redeem myself i have finally posted the eighth chapter. i'm sorry its so uneventful, but writing it has given me some of my inspiriation back, so hopefully the next chapter won't be so far away. anyhoo, without further ado here it is - tada!

Christmas passed without incident – presents were exchanged, turkey was eaten, Harmony avoided Charlie like the plague and Charlie did likewise to Harmony. Harmony thought she handled it rather well, even when she had to watch Lori and Charlie kiss under the mistletoe, she only gagged a little.

Unfortunately, the tension between Charlie and Harmony didn't go unnoticed by her friends; no matter how discreet Harmony thought she was being. Towards the end of Christmas Day, Harmony was sat in the common room reading a book Caitlyn had given her for Christmas, when Gemma and Caitlyn came though the portrait door, their faces looking very serious. Without a word, they sat in the two armchairs across from Harmony and just stared. Slowly, Harmony closed her book and swung her legs over the edge of the couch so she was sat upright.

'What's wrong?' she asked, concerned.

'We need to talk to you,' Gemma began.

'About Charlie,' Caitlyn concluded. Harmony's heart sank. She should have known they would figure it out, no matter how much Harmony would have liked them to play dumb.

'What about Charlie?' Harmony asked with as much nonchalance as she could muster. Her two friends were obviously not fooled however, and glanced at each other, rolling their eyes.

'Yeah – how stupid do you think we are?' Caitlyn replied. Normally Harmony would have jumped in with a comeback, but she could see Caitlyn wasn't in the mood for it today.

'You like Charlie,' Gemma said bluntly, apparently tired of tip toeing around the point. The room was silent for a few seconds.

'What?' Harmony forced an unusually high pitched laugh and gave the two of them a would-be sceptical look, had it not been for the panic showing in her eyes. 'I like Charlie –' she gave her hideously fake laugh once again. '– don't be stupid! Why wouldn't I like him? Besides, he's with Lori.'

'So?' Caitlyn asked. 'Jason's with Gemma, but that doesn't mean I don't think he's cute.'

'Hands off…' Gemma said in mock warning. 'Anyway, back to you. Why are you in denial about it? We don't care if you like him or not, we're just observing, that's all…'

Harmony took a deep breath. 'Ok, maybe he is…o.k.' her statement was met by her friends' high pitched squeals and two triumphant grins.

'I knew it!' Caitlyn shrieked, bouncing up and down on the couch as she did so. 'I knew you liked him!'

Harmony felt her cheeks burning red from humiliation. She should have known they would react like this. Why, oh why had she told them? The two of them were now chattering excitedly in voices far too high pitched to be normal.

'Alright, calm do- calm-will you shut up?' the two of them ceased their chatter immediately. They weren't used to hearing the normally well mannered Harmony speak like that. Harmony sighed in relief. 'I thought you two weren't bothered, anyway?'

'That was until we knew you liked him,' Gemma answered. 'Well, I mean we already knew you liked him but now we really know, I mean, we heard it from you and –'

'But now,' Caitlyn interrupted, stemming the flow of Gemma's rant. 'When are you going to tell him?'

'What!' Harmony's voice was suddenly as high pitched as Gemma's and Caitlyn's had been moments ago.

'When are you going to tell him?' Caitlyn repeated, this time extremely slowly, as though she were speaking to a two year old.

'Don't be silly Cate,' Gemma said, a solemn look on her face. 'Harmony could never tell him, that'd only be the start of Harmony breaking her vow of celibacy, and we all know what a horror that would be.' She finally cracked a smile, being unable to hold it in any longer, and she and Caitlyn dissolved in giggles. Harmony, suddenly feeling very pissed towards her friends, stood up and walked around the back of the sofa. She picked up her books from the table behind the couch and turned towards the dormitories.

'Wait, harmony,' Gemma called. 'It was only a joke.' Harmony turned back to face them. 'But seriously, are you gonna tell him?' Harmony paused a moment before answering and then shook her head.

'No. there's no point. He's happy with Lori. I'll see you two later.' This time instead of turning to the dormitories, she made for the portrait door. As she climbed out, she heard Gemma call out;

'Happy isn't quite the way I'd put it!' followed quickly by the sound of Caitlyn shushing her.

Harmony sighed; glad to have left Caitlyn and Gemma behind to claim the sanctuary of the silent hallways. When she had left the common room, her first thought had been to head to the library and finish her book. But now, out in the empty corridors, she felt oddly free and had no desire to be locked up once again inside a stuffy library. Instead, she decided now was the time to explore the castle, while it was quiet and empty. It being the Christmas holidays, most of the students had gone home to spend the time with family, and as far as she knew, only the Gryffindor seventh years remained in the castle. Gemma and Caitlyn were, of course, in the common room, most likely still gossiping about her. The boys were down at the Quidditch pitch, trying to make full use of the extra practice time as possible, and Lori – well she had no idea where Lori was and quite frankly, she didn't care, as long as it was no where near her.

Harmony let out an exhausted sigh, which echoed strangely around the empty corridor, surrounding her with hundreds of whispering sighs that slowly faded away, leaving the corridors in silence once more. She was glad to be on her own once more, even more so now that Caitlyn and Gemma knew of her "crush". She despised calling it that, because to her it seemed like much more than that, although try as she might, she just couldn't find another way to describe it. Although in a sense, she was glad to have told them, getting it off her chest had certainly made her feel better, and later, when she was in more of a chatty mood, she would most likely be glad to have someone to talk to about "it".

Harmony suddenly realized that, without her knowing, her feet had brought her to the top of the marble staircase leading down to the entrance hall. She let out a noise of aggravation, she had wanted to explore parts of the castle she hadn't seen before, instead she hadn't ended up at a place she saw everyday. She was just about to turn away and find another route to take, when she spotted a large board which had been erected in the centre of the entrance hall. Curiosity getting the better of her, Harmony, instead began to descend the stairs. It only took a few moments for her to reach the sign and as she read it, her heart sank.

Taking place January 14th,

A ball will be held in the evening to

Celebrate our headmaster, Albus Dumbledore's

Birthday.

Please ensure you have appropriate attire

For the occasion.

Signed, Professor M. McGonagall

'Great. Just what I need,' Harmony muttered, giving the poster a look of disgust as though the paper was to blame for the ball. Harmony let her head fall backwards and stared at the gigantic crystal chandelier. For a few moments, she managed to think of nothing, she just stared in mild interest at the reflections on the ceiling caused by the tiny crystal droplets reflecting the sunlight. Harmony was just beginning to feel peaceful and calm when a quiet menacing voice came from her left.

'Something interesting up there, Smith?' Professor Snape, the much hated potions teacher, stood watching her, his usual scowl set firmly in place.

'Um, no sir. I was just reading the sign.' Harmony gestured to the board behind her.

'Funny, I was under the impression that the notice was on the ground.' Snape smirked when he got no reply from Harmony. 'I believe it is time you were back in your dormitory Miss Smith, you wouldn't want to be caught out after hours now, would you?' Harmony shook her head and sighed inwardly. Right now she wanted nothing more than to be far, far away from this annoying, greasy haired git. She turned away from him and made for the stairs. Her foot had barely connected with the first step when Snape's voice came from behind her once more.

'Oh, and Smith?' Harmony turned around slowly on the spot until she was facing the professor once more.

'Yes sir?' she answered in the politest voice she could muster.

'Five points from Gryffindor for loitering in the halls.' Harmony felt her face drop. Snape's however, held a satisfied smirk and, satisfied that his job was done; he spun around and made for the entrance to the dungeons, his long black robes streaming out behind him. Harmony gritted her teeth as she watched him leave. Why did he have to be so damn awkward? As far as Snape was concerned, it was a day wasted if he hadn't taken points from at least one Gryffindor student.

Muttering angrily under her breath, Harmony swung around once more and marched up the stairs, intent on carrying on her exploration of the castle. She needed to vent some of her energy and she could hardly do that in the library.

A/N - go on, review - you know you want to...