Snape and Lockhart were both fighting for Meg, but she liked neither of them. They found it extremely hard to believe she wouldn't give up, and ask one of them out, but she never did. The question was, who was she going to ask to the Yule Ball?

"Anyway, Sybil, I can't believe how almost everybody in my class got how to banish the pixies from the room," Meg was saying. "Even that Lockhart couldn't, the idiot, he's supposed to be the teacher…Neville Longbottom had a hard time with it too, actually, and I had to get him down from the chandelier, but he's good at Herbology, Sprout told me all about it."

"Neville has a very bad future ahead of him," said Trelawney mysteriously. "He has no idea, oh, if only he did, he would be so miserable…You should watch out for him, Meg."

"I do, I do," said Meg.

Snape and Lockhart were both listening closely. Lockhart was being sad that Meg had just insulted him, while Snape was sneering at him. Lockhart's eyes suddenly went angry, and he pulled out his wand and turned on Snape. Before he knew it, he was hanging upside down in midair by his ankle. Snape's sneer was even more pronounced now as he twirled his own wand. "Wanna duel?"

"No," said Lockhart. "Please get me down, though."

Snape released Lockhart, who fell onto the ground with a loud thump. He got up, swaying slightly, and holding his hat onto his head as if it were a windy day out. He looked angrier now, and said, "She likes you no better than me, Snape, she'll insult you someday!"

"Like I would ever believe an idiot like you," said Snape coolly. "I agree with her."

"Yeah, well, you're stupid," said Lockhart. "I bet when you ask her out, she'll scream. I mean, if you have a nose like that, who would want to date you?"

"If I had a Galleon for every brain you don't have," said Snape through gritted teeth, "I would have one Galleon."

"Hey, you're mean!" said Lockhart, angrily stuffing a spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth. "I don't like you at all. I thought we were friends!"

"How can we be friends if we hate each other?" said Snape. He turned back to Meg, watching her every move. She was still talking to Trelawney. Snape hung on her every word. She tossed her blonde hair and laughed at something Trelawney had said to her. Snape knew he would have to ask her out soon, otherwise he might accidentally trample her or something.

That afternoon at lunchtime, Snape caught Meg on her way to the lunchroom. To get her to turn around, he summoned up a couch cushion and blasted it. Meg turned around and saw Snape, who banished the cushion and pocketed his wand, smiling at Meg.

"Umm…can I help you?" said Meg. Snape thought she looked especially pretty. Her blonde hair was curling around her shoulders, the perfect shade for her brown eyes.

"Four words," said Snape. "You, me, Yule Ball, together."

"You?" said Meg incredulously, half-laughing. "I wouldn't go anywhere with you, Snape, if you were the last man on earth."

As she walked away, Snape cursed her silently but didn't take out his wand as he watched her go into the Great Hall for lunch.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Lockhart purposely arrived late to lunch. Snape was sitting next to the other three Heads of House, which meant to Lockhart that he could sit next to Meg and Snape couldn't. So he pulled out a chair and tried to look his best. Meg looked up at him strangely.

"Hello, Meg," said Lockhart. "Hey, how's about we go to the Yule Ball together?"

"Umm. Thanks, Lockhart, but…"

"Call me Gilderoy."

"As I was saying," Meg said, "thanks, but no thanks. I'm going with somebody else. I don't know who it is yet, but I definitely know it's not you."

Lockhart looked at Meg sadly as she moved to the other side of Professor McGonagall. He just wished she would go somewhere with him. Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore were going with each other, the same with Flitwick and Sprout. Lockhart wondered if Snape had already asked Meg to go with him to the Yule Ball, and what she had said. He figured if Snape was sitting with Flitwick, Sprout, and McGonagall, then she had probably told him she wouldn't. This lifted his spirits some, but his mind just kept on thinking about how Meg told him no, too.

Lockhart was eating his meal in silence when Dumbledore talked to him.

"What's the matter, Gilderoy?" he said kindly.

"Oh…I just asked Meg to go to the Yule Ball with me and she said no. I think she said the same thing to Snape, too, but I really want her to go with me."

"Find somebody else to go with," said Dumbledore, eyes twinkling. "Sybil's still free."

"I wanna go with Meg," Lockhart whined.

"Look, Gilderoy…" Dumbledore put his arm around Lockhart, who sniffed loudly. "If she thinks you're not worthy of her attention, she's not worthy of yours."

"She's pretty, Albus!" said Lockhart. "Really pretty, I mean!"

"I know that," said Dumbledore, smiling in Meg's direction. "You're right, but I think you'll just have to accept her decision. Go to the Yule Ball with Sybil."

"She's not as pretty as…well, okay," said Lockhart. "Thanks, Albus."

"Don't mention it," said Dumbledore, going back to his seat next to Professor McGonagall. "She's been having trouble finding a date, too, believe me."

So Lockhart went over to Trelawney. "Hey, Sybil."

"What do you want with me?" said Trelawney, having just been rejected by Flitwick because he said he was already going with Sprout, who clapped her hands lovingly.

"Well, I was just wondering whether you'd want to go to the Yule Ball with me," said Lockhart, deciding to be straightforward. "I mean, I've been staring at you all day. I could never hope to be as good as predicting the future as you are. You have the makings of a true Seer."

Lockhart seemed to have hit gold. Trelawney squealed. Lockhart thought he could almost see the pure love pouring out of her ears. She threw her arms around him.

"Oh, yes, Gilderoy, I love you!" Trelawney cried. "You're the best man I could ever hope for, you are, oh, I love you so much!" She started slobbering all over him.

"Hey, hey, lady, lay off it!" Lockhart shouted, but Trelawney wouldn't.

So then she turned his head and began kissing him furiously. Lockhart kissed her back, finding he actually enjoyed it, and made a mental note to thank Dumbledore once again.