I know, I know, I'm horrible for taking this long to update… As you can see I'm not dead but my computer unfortunately was. It died on me around last month and I just got it fixed. Luckily some of the chapter's draft was still there so I didn't have to start from scratch. Still I feel really bad that it took so long… Sorry. Anyway happy holidays, happy new years, and hey technically the Yule Ball is held on Christmas day so if you think about it I'm really not that late ^-^

. . . again sorry

I scanned the Entrance Hall looking for George. We had said we would meet near the entrance of the Great Hall though he had originally wanted to meet me downstairs by the common room. Knowing exactly how the others would react to that I had convinced him otherwise. Although I still stood by my decision it would have been easier to find him that way. I couldn't recall a time when I had ever seen the Entrance Hall so crowded. It looked like everyone in the entire school was attending the ball. Of course that wasn't it since most of the younger students had gone home it still looked overcrowded.

With a sigh I turned curiously back to my group. They had split off from each other as well. I couldn't place some of them but the others all looked to be with their respective dates. Blaise stood by the main staircase waiting for his, looking around the hall and most likely judging what everyone was wearing. Daphne and Theo were near the entrance. She looked around excitedly and he nodded occasionally, pretending to listen to whatever she was rambling on about. Pansy clung to Draco's arm as if she would never get the opportunity again. While that might be true she wasn't really helping her case by being so clingy. I smiled noting Draco's expression. It was a mixture of boredom and annoyance. But if she bothered him so much he shouldn't have invited her. With a shrug I turned from them and back to look for George.

"You look nice" a voice surprised me from behind. George smiled down at me, having found me first. "I like the pigtails."

"Thanks" I answered, grabbing one of them without thinking, again. I shrugged and turned back to him. "You look nice too."

"I know" George smirked, linking our arms together, making me giggle. He started and led us to a corner where it was quieter. George leaned against the wall and looked down at me. I smiled back.

Behind us the main doors opened. Chatter started up amongst the students and I turned to look. Durmstrang entered the main hall with Vik in the lead. Next to him was Hermione, looking quite pretty. They were smiling at each other sweetly; I thought they made a great pair. It looked like most everyone had found someone to attend the ball with.

"Hey, who is Fred going with?" I suddenly asked realizing I didn't know. When I turned back George was still looking at me.

"Angelina" he answered casually.

"I have no idea who that is" I replied honestly and George laughed.

"She's on our Quidditch team. A Chaser" George said and I nodded. I vaguely remembered her. The last time I had talked to his teammates was roughly a year prior. Even then I never really bothered to remember most of their names. Besides Harry and the twins I never had to interact with the others. There was only one thing that I remembered differentiating them by.

"Is it the quiet one or one of the loud ones?" I asked to clarify.

"Probably one of the loud ones" George chuckled at me.

In that moment the doors to the Great Hall opened. All the students filed in excitedly, all except the champions who would be making a later entrance. George placed a hand on my back and led us inside. By the time we found our way into the Great Hall there was already a considerable amount of people there. Everyone began to form groups much like they did during meals. That was everyone I knew at least, it was more of an assumption what the rest of the students did. George sat us down at a table with his friends. I didn't even think of arguing as I knew exactly how things would go if I lead him to the table with mine. Once glance at them told me they seemed to have remembered who my date was.

"Hey Kitty" Fred smirked at us. I smiled back at him as George pulled out my chair for me. I glance next to him to see his date, Angelina, though I still couldn't quite remember anything significant about her but I was sure I had seen her before. Fred turned from us to the rest of the table. "You all know Katerina, right?"

"The Slytherin, sure" Ron grumbled though it seemed like a decent summation of the situation looking at the others at the table who looked to be all Gryffindors. Sitting next to him was a girl who, like Fred's date, I remembered seeing but had no other recollection of her. She didn't look too happy at the moment but considering Ron was her date I wasn't too surprised.

"Lovely to see you too, Ron" I replied with an evidently fake warmth as George sat next to me.

Among the group at the table the only other person I didn't recognize was the girl sitting between Angelina and Lee Jordan, who I assumed was his date. Next to them was Neville and Ginny. And considering I didn't even know the names of two of the people at our table it was strange to note Neville looked to be the one standing out of the group. I suppose he was just there to take Ginny since she was only a 3rd year.

Once everyone was seated and ready the champions walked in, towards the large table at the top of the hall. There sat the three headmasters as well as some of the judges. I say "some" seeing as Crouch wasn't there, and in his place was one of the twins' brothers, Percy to be exact. I wasn't sure if they had noticed their brother's arrival but I didn't bring it up; out of all of the Weasleys he was probably my least favorite.

"Why aren't you clapping?" George leaned in to ask. Most of the hall had begun clapping at the champions' arrival but I didn't see the point. I shrugged at him.

"Why are you?" I smiled and he smirked back.

We all waited for the champions to sit and the clapping to subside. Looking back up at the large table I noticed Professor Karkaroff's glances at Hermione, obviously not happy to see her with Vik. Since he was a rather shy boy Karkaroff had probably assumed Vik would be attending with me when he found out it was someone from Hogwarts. But that's what he gets for assuming, he could've just asked Vik. Then again it was probably a much better idea that he hadn't. As obedient of a boy as he is Karkaroff would have had no problem convincing to cancel and I was not going to have let that happen. And with my inevitable intervention I would have only gotten in more trouble with Durmstrang and my father would want another "little talk".

"Hermione looks nice" I said sitting back against my chair.

"Who asked you?" Ron gave me a glare as if I had said something against him. I rolled my eyes; he probably hadn't even been listening.

"Jealous are we, Ronald?" Ginny said looking down at her menu with a smirk. Ron's glare turned to her as the other boys snickered. I wasn't sure if she meant jealous of Hermione or of Vik but I just shrugged it off. Either way I doubt she was serious.

It took a second for the feast to start, mostly because no one was sure of how to order their food. But after following Dumbledore's example we all called out for our meals and they appeared on our plates in an instant. There was a wide variety between the options most likely to compensate for our guests' foreign palate. Either way it was still delicious.

It didn't take long for everyone to finish their meal. It did feel strange not to have my usual company sitting next to me but at the moment it felt like the best course of action. I knew for a fact that if I turned to even glance at them they would certainly be looking my way. But once everyone was finished with their meal Dumbledore stood and asked us to do the same. He waved his wand and all the small tables flew against the walls clearing the center of the hall. Along the right wall he also conjured up a raised platform with several musical instruments set on it. The Weird Sisters made their way to it and were followed by the sound of great applause.

"Oh now you clap" George teased looking down at me. I gave him look but smiled back.

Once the band started playing, the champions made their way to the center of the hall for the first dance, as was custom. It only took a minute before the rest of the students began to join them. Couple after couple started making their way to the dance floor. Fred and Angelina were quick to jump to dance. Ginny and Neville went up a little after them and Lee left with his date not too long after that. As they did George turned from them to me.

"What? Now?" I asked George but he didn't answer, he simply held out his hand and smiled. I rolled my eyes at him and placed my hand in his. "Fine."

George pulled me up and towards the large group of students already gathered in the center of the hall. Once we stopped he spun me once and pulled me closer to him, placing his hand on my back. Gently he moved us back and forth, spinning us around occasionally. I was actually a little surprised he knew how to dance so well though that might have to do with the dance lessons we were all made to take. But I didn't think that was the case, I doubted Gryffindors could stay serious enough during a lesson like that to actually learn something.

After a beat the second song began taking me a bit by surprise; somehow it felt like more time had gone by. I began to look around as we danced. Everyone seemed overjoyed to be part of the event, aside from a handful of people. That handful looked more like they had decided to stay because their parents insisted, much like mine would have, had I not decided on coming myself. Still I understood their boredom, not much to do at this sort of thing.

"Glad you're enjoying yourself" George said with a smirk looking at my sullen expression. I giggled a little turning to look up at him.

"I told you I hated these things" I said with a sigh.

"Yeah I know, I'm glad you came anyway" he replied with a genuine smile. I nodded and smiled back. That's one of the things I liked most about him. Most people would have taken offense to something that had nothing to do with them but George wasn't like that. Instead he laughed it off and moved on.

"So far it's not so bad" I added and he spun me around once more. I smiled and continued. "I am thirsty though."

"Want me to get us some drinks?" George asked understanding what I meant and I nodded. It was probably better to get some now before everyone started queuing for some. "Be right back then."

George spun me around one last time before letting go of me and leaned forward, giving me a small sarcastic bow. I giggled as he left me, heading over to get some drinks. I sighed a little and looked around the hall. Admittedly this wasn't like some of the other events I had been to, though that might have more to do with the people allowed to attend the Yule Ball. Although, just because the company was different that didn't mean that the result wouldn't be the same. Already I was beginning to feel tired, there was never anything fun to do at this sort of event. In an attempt to distract myself I began to wander around.

Among my wandering I saw George join Fred as they both headed towards Bagman instead of where the drinks were. It looked a bit suspicious but if he wanted to tell me he would have. Besides, I'd probably just ask him about it later. A little ahead of me I saw Hermione, though it was surprising to see her alone rather than with Vik. The boy was usually unnecessarily sweet so I didn't believe he would just leave her without reason. As I approached I noticed she looked annoyed too. It was as if they had gotten into an argument but that couldn't be it.

"Why the face?" I smiled at Hermione once I reached her.

"Ugh he is so infuriating!" Hermione stomped her foot but paused when she looked at me, as if not having expected me there.

"Are you alright?" I gave her a slight laugh. She sighed and crossed her arms against her chest.

"It's Ron."

"What did he do now?" I asked having expected as much. It was common knowledge all friends had their arguments but it seemed to happen to the two of them quite a lot.

"He thinks Vicky—I mean Viktor. Ugh, now he has me doing it!" Hermione stomped her foot in frustration making me smile a little. "He thinks Viktor is just using me to get information on Harry so he can win the tournament."

"No, that doesn't sound like him" I said shaking my head. Hermione gave me a confused look making me laugh and try to clarify. "I mean it doesn't sound like Vik to do something like that. It sounds exactly like the kind of petty gossip Ron would concern himself with though."

"Yeah" Hermione mumbled with a slight frown. "I know Viktor isn't that kind of guy but it just bothers me to hear Ron talk like that."

"Oh, speaking of which" I said looking behind her.

"I found you" Vik smiled, walking up to us. He handed Hermione a drink and she gave him a shy smile in return.

"We were just talking about you" I informed him, earning me a look from Hermione

"About?" Vik asked having expected as much from me.

"Well, for one, it's not polite to leave a girl alone at a ball. Really, you should know better" I told him with a shake of my head. Vik grinned at me and shook his head too.

"So vhat is your date's excuse?"

"That I left him" I shrugged making him laugh.

I smiled at Vik as Hermione seemed to relax next to him. Ron was mad to think someone like Vik could ever do something like use a girl to get information. It seemed like exactly the sort of thing Karkaroff would suggest sure but not something Vik would follow through with. Even so Hermione still looked a tad concerned with what Ron had said. She needed a distraction to get her mind off it. Then again, isn't that what balls were made for.

"We'll talk later" I said catching both their attention. "You two go off and mingle or something. Vik you're a champion, act like it. Do you want Professor Karkaroff to look bad? Go on."

I gestured with my hands, swatting the air in front f me. Vik smirked probably guessing what I was doing and turned to Hermione. She smiled at him, nodded, and they went. Whatever Ron's problem was tonight I didn't see why he had to drag Hermione down with him. But she should know better than to let herself be affected by his irrational theories. She'd be better off without him, then again that's probably the exact same thing she thought about Draco and I.

"There you are" George found me just as the two were leaving. He smiled and handed me something to drink.

"Thank you" I told him taking a drink from it. "You took a while."

"Did you miss me?" George smiled though clearly avoiding a perfectly good time to explain why he had stopped to talk to Bagman first. He really didn't want to tell me. I shrugged in response.

"Not really, I had people to talk to" I answered, taking another sip of my drink. George's expression changed a little.

"You mean Krum?" he asked, turning to look behind him. "I saw him and Hermione leaving. So you two really are friends then."

"Did you think I was lying about that?" I smiled and he shook his head.

"Not lying, I was just thinking that maybe you weren't too clear on your relationship" he answered honestly.

"What do you mean?" I asked with a small frown. He took a drink before answering me.

"Well I've met some of your other friends" he muttered, emphasized the same word again.

"And?" I asked, still not seeing where he was going with it. George looked at me for a second then sighed.

"Forget it. I found what I needed to know is all" he smiled down at me. George took one large gulp of his drink then grabbed mine and placed them both on a nearby table.

"I wasn't done with that" I complained as he grabbed my hand.

"Let's dance" George smiled shamelessly and dragged me into the crowd.

"Again?" I asked but he had already begun. I laughed and shook my head as George wrapped an arm around my waist and spun us around.

After that George didn't much let us leave the dance floor. Whenever we neared the edge of the crowd he moved us back. Even if I "accidentally" moved too far he wasn't fooled. It was almost like a game of keep away. He stopped any attempt I made before it even begun. But it was fun. While normally I counted down the seconds before it was time to go home George made it so I wasn't even thinking of that. The entire time he was either making me laugh or spinning us around the room. That went on for a while before another song ended and just like before George stopped with an overly courteous bow. I laughed and he smirked back.

"Oi Weasley!" someone called from not too far away. George and I both turned to find a group of boys, probably his friends, all gathered around something not visible from where we were standing. The whole thing looked like an obvious misdeed but that probably only seemed to attract him more. George looked excitedly at them for a moment then paused and turned to look at me.

"Go, I'll be over here" I told him, smiling a little.

"No its okay—"

"Really, go. Whatever they're doing looks like something you should be a part of" I added noting the suspicious glances they were all giving across the hall. George laughed a little noting that too.

"Are you sure?" he asked seeming reluctant to leave me alone.

"If I wasn't I wouldn't have suggested it" I shrugged.

"You do make a lot of good points. Okay, I'll be right back" George smiled and walked over to his friends. I rolled my eyes, only imagining what they could be so interested in, and started looking around the hall.

So far most of the ball looked like your usual dance. Couples bounced back and forth, either dancing or socializing. Girls blushed and laughed rather loudly while guys pretended not to be enjoying themselves when really all of them seemed to be having a good time. And then there was that one, special, anti-social character that was always lurking around in a dark corner. The boy was clearly frowning though at nothing in particular. I shook my head and walked over to him.

"Deedee, what is with all the moping these days?" I asked making him look at me. Draco rolled his eyes but his face remained otherwise unchanged.

"Shut up, and I told you to stop calling me that" he made an attempt to scold me which only made me laugh. That, of course, made him frown even more. "Shouldn't you be off with your date?"

"Shouldn't you?" I retorted, bumping my shoulder against his. Draco gave me a look and I sighed. "Why must you always insist on making everything difficult?"

"I'm the one making things difficult?" he scoffed at me. I smiled seeing his expression change.

"Yes you are. Can't you have some fun?" I asked, shaking him a little.

"You hate these things as much as I do. Shouldn't you be here in the corner with me?" he grumbled pulling his arm away from my grip so I would stop shaking him. That was where I would usually be which would explain why he was moping more than usual, because we usually shared the sulking. I took his arm back and hugged it, he looked away.

"You are such a girl sometimes" I said honestly making his head snap to look at me.

"Shut up!" Draco yelled at me and pulled away again. I laughed and he sighed making his frown disappear.

"You should have some fun as long as you're here. Stop being such a sulk."

"Don't tell me what to do" he muttered looking back towards the far too enthusiastic crowd.

"Well that's what this is supposed to be, isn't it? Fun. I mean besides the obvious attempt to impress the other schools, what with all the food and decorations…"

I paused remembering the decorations filling the entire hall. I looked up at them wondering how I had forgotten about that. Draco was still sulking but not so much now as he had been a little while ago, I had distracted him from that. One more distraction and it would probably force him to get out of that mindset and maybe even enjoy the ball. It wasn't very likely but it was worth a try, right?

"What's with that look? What are you—hey, let go" Draco complained as I grabbed his arm. I tightened my grip and dragged him out of the shadows. Draco struggled a little but not enough to actually prevent me from taking him where I wanted to go. I stopped us under a one of the decorations he didn't seem to have noticed either. Once stopped Draco yanked his arm away. "What have I told you about—"

Draco paused as I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him down and me up towards him. I leaned against him and softly I kissed his cheek before slowly pulling away. Draco looked at me with slightly wide eyes making me giggle. He frowned again when hearing me do so but looked too distracted to be serious.

"Mistletoe" I smiled at him, pointing at the decoration above. "While I understand your hatred for this sort of event it does no good to dwell on bad spirits. Now go have some fun or you won't get your amazing Christmas present tomorrow."

"Whatever" he muttered and stalked away. Not the enthusiasm I would've preferred but it did get him to move.

I watched as he walked away, blending into the crowd. As I did I briefly noticed how, at the moment, it was difficult to differentiate the students according to their respective house. Then again I was never one to pay much attention to people I didn't care for. I shrugged to myself and saw one of the individuals in the crowd head towards me. It was George.

"Hey" he said rather curtly.

"Hey?" I replied almost like a question, not understanding the sudden change in attitude. "So what were you all looking at?"

"Nothing important. What did Malfoy want?" George asked making me understand his tone. The two really didn't like each other. He looked quite serious as he waited for my answer.

"We were just talking" I shrugged though by the expression on his face I guessed that wasn't the answer he was looking for.

"You kissed him" George said, still looking a lot more serious than I was used to seeing him.

"Well that's usually what one does under a mistletoe" I answered, pointed up at the holiday decoration. George frowned slightly and looked up. Once he saw it his frown disappeared and was replaced by a curious expression.

"Right…" he muttered to himself, still looking at it. I nodded at him.

"You know, I never did understand how this plant could be considered festive—"

My sentence was cut short and it took me a moment to understand why. George was leaning into me, pressing his lips firmly against mine. And it took yet another moment to completely understand what he was doing. George kissed me. It could only have been a couple of seconds but I felt my face getting warmer the longer he stays. After a bit longer he pulled away but I was lost for words. George smiled down at me and looked up.

"I never really got it either but it sure comes in handy doesn't it" he answered with an impish smile. George grabbed my hand and led me forward before my mind could piece itself back together. "Come on, let's dance."

Completely ignoring what he had just done George continued to act as he had the rest of the night. He and I spent a good amount of time in the center of the hall. We danced, he spun us around, and the music continued to play. It was what most would expect from a ball though not what I would have expected at all. Everything just seemed off from what I was used to at this sort of event. It wasn't necessarily bad but it all felt uncomfortably unfamiliar. Normally I sat in the corner with Draco and Lev whining about the event and waiting to leave. This time things were significantly different.

After a while we moved from the hall to get some fresh air outside. But even wandering through the field filled with rosebushes and fairy lights didn't help me clear my head. Ever since then I had noticed all of the unnecessary touching we seemed to be making. George held my hand or placed an arm around my waist even though I wasn't planning on wandering off. He was acting just like he would any other day but something just felt… different. I was getting a headache.

"We should leave" I said a little abruptly looking towards George. He was silent for a second, not having completely processed my words. We had sat on a nearby bench to relax for a bit and hadn't said anything for the past few minutes so the comment probably took him by surprise.

"Already?" he asked once he finally understood what I was saying and turned towards the castle. "It's not even midnight yet."

"I know but I'm bored" I mumbled looking at one of the fairies nearby. "Also I've been here for nearly three hours and haven't complained once which I think is a personal best for me considering the sort of event this is."

"That is true," he smiled, but after a moment George sighed. "Well alright, if you want to go..."

"I just really don't like parties," I sighed too looking around at the loud students all enjoying themselves, "had enough for one lifetime I suppose."

"Being rich sounds hard" George said with an understanding nod and I laughed.

"It has its moments" I replied making him laugh too. "You don't have to leave" I told him honestly. George shook his head and smiled again.

"No, if you want to go we can go" he said and stood up. George outstretched his hand and waited for mine. I still found it unnecessary but I took his hand and let him lead me towards the castle.

George and I walked down to the dungeon. Any Slytherins we passed on the way gave him some kind of look. He didn't seem to notice them though, or he simply didn't care. I paused at the foot of the stairs; it was true I was tired of the ball but that didn't mean I was ready to go to bed either. Next to me George gave me a curious look but didn't say anything. I turned from him to the side; there was another place we could go.

"Where are you going?" George finally said as I made my way behind staircase.

"Here" I answered, pointing at the wall into the room.

"Here" George repeated with a smile, making his way towards me. I returned it and he faced the wall, most likely curious as to what I meant. I reached down and pulled out my wand, having fastened it to my leg just to have if need be. George turned backed to me and looked over confused as I moved closer and tapped the wall.

"Retexere." In front of us the wall began to grow rough and bumpy. The vines became more visible and they began to unravel, forming a doorway for us to cross. I smiled as I turned back to George's now even more confused look. "Come on."

"I've never been here" George said softly, acting genuinely surprised. It was to be expected though, he was the reason why I knew how to get into the kitchen as well as a number of shortcuts through the castle. We stepped in and the vines tightly shut behind us. George turned to them curiously.

"I should hope not" I said catching his attention. His eyes were dilated, most likely due to the candles the kept the place lit. I stepped further into the room. "I made it."

"What?"

"Don't sound so surprise" I scolded him. George gave me an apologetic smile and I continued. "Well I got tired of only being allowed to be in a restricted number of places so I made this. The dormitory or common room get annoying after a while, you know. Hardly anyone ever even thinks of stepping behind the staircase, seeing as there was never anything here, so it was a convenient location; close enough that if something happens I can make it back in time without trouble."

"When did you do this?" George asked, looking around impressed.

"It was a little before exams last year. This gave me a place to study and helped me practice my magic, away from all the noise and people. Around that time of year even the library gets crowded" I pouted thinking of how annoying it had been to find a place to study then.

"Brilliant thing you are" George muttered, making me smile at him.

"Thank you" I replied, happy with the compliment. I noticed I had been smiling a lot. Even with the slight headache I had gotten it was still the most fun I'd had at one of those events in a long time. "Oh and thanks for inviting me."

"Thanks for coming" he replied, stepping a little closer to me.

Distracted, I began to look around the room just as George was doing. My eyes stopped on the book of fairy tales I had received last Christmas from Draco. I sighed remembering how upset he still seemed over my decision to go to the ball with George. I didn't see what his problem was though; he was going with someone I didn't like and I wasn't bothering him. The book was covered by the bookmark Draco had also given me. The single rose sat in the corner of the book just above the leaves I could pull to unravel the bookmark from the book.

"What is it?" George asked curiously as I looked down. The leaves… they had reminded me of the mistletoe form earlier. I blushed and turned away from him. That had to be the second time I had done.

"It's nothing" I mumbled still looking away.

"You know," George whispered sounding a lot closer than I remembered him, "you look really cute when you blush like that."

I looked up and found him leaning in to me. George caught me by surprise standing so close. There were only two of us and it was a fairly small space, he didn't need to shorten the distance or even whisper like that. I frowned a little in confusion.

"Why are you—?"

My sentence was cut short as George's lips moved from by my ear to my neck. I froze as he placed a kiss on it, then another, and another until he reached where the collar of my cloak rested. George pulled back and smiled at me. When I looked away I heard him chuckle. I hadn't expected George to act in such a way. Not that it was necessarily bad but… it wasn't just now, he did the same in the hall.

"George" I called looking back to him. Once I did I saw he was already looking at me.

"Hmm?"

"Why did you kiss me?" I asked genuinely curious. George blinked then smiled but didn't say anything. When he didn't I decided to elaborate. "I don't just mean this time, I mean at the Yule Ball too. It's just… Back there I had thought it was because of the Mistletoe."

"That was more of an excuse than a motive" he said softly, smiling down at me. I tilted my head to the side curiously. He tilted his opposite way and leaned in again.

"There's no mistletoe here" I said without thinking. George gave me a slight chuckle but didn't pull away. Instead he took out his wand from his dress robes and pointed it up. Slowly dark green leaves began to hang from the ceiling. Bright red berries formed in between them.

"There is now" George smiled though I was still confused. It had never occurred to me before now that George could feel that way about me. It surprised me. I looked up at the plant he had just conjured and smiled.

"George" I smiled making him stop only centimeters away.

"Yeah?" he asked not moving. I could feel his breath against my skin.

"That's holly" I giggled looking back to him. George paused and looked up only to shrug once he realized his mistake.

"Close enough" he leaned in and kissed me again.

This time the kiss was longer than the one he had given me in the Great Hall. He wrapped one of his arms around my waist, holding me closer to him, as his other hand held my face. My arms rested between us, lightly grabbing onto his shoulders. As George continued to kiss me there was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind though in that moment ignored it. But it was only a short moment before he pulled away.

"I even made you blush, and without an incantation" George grinned down at me.

"You must feel very proud" I said sarcastically and he laughed. Something was bothering me in the back of my mind but I couldn't be bothered to place it, instead I smiled back. With a sigh I turned from him to the hidden passage behind him. "It's getting late."

"I suppose it is" George sighed too. "I'll walk you to your common room?" he said though it was more like a question, waiting for my permission. I nodded at him and we headed out.

We walked out of the room and onto the corridor. The wall closed behind us, leaving no trace of where we just came from. George looked back at it still looking impressed as we made our way to the foot of the staircase. He smiled down at me the same way he would any other day but after what just happened it felt different. I looked behind him, seeing movement there. It was a group of Slytherins making their way down the steps, one of them with a very recognizable expression. And with that I realized what it was that had been bothering me in the back of my mind.

"What?" George asked noticing my face was slowly changing.

"Nothing" I said shaking my head. "Anyway, thanks again."

"Any time, literally" he smirked. "I'll see you later then."

George leaned down and kissed my cheek before leaving. I watched as he climbed up the steps, past the Slytherins making their way down. Draco turned to give him a shocked expression before turning to look at me, just noticing us. George either didn't notice his expression or didn't care, he merely went on his way out of the dungeon. I pretended not to notice his gaze either and slid into the common room before he could say anything. Just one look at his face told me I had rekindled his anger somehow and I didn't have the energy to deal with that at the moment. He would just have to wait till morning.