Chapter 33.

Magnolia and George were sat, George's arm resting on the back of her chair, watching as the Champions stood from the own chairs and moved to the empty dancefloor in the middle of all the tables. Magnolia smirked as they began to dance, watching Harry's face frowning in concentration.

George stood, holding his hand out to Magnolia, "May I have this dance, my lady?"

"Why, kind sir, yes you may." She chuckled, placing her hand in his.

George led her to the dance floor, his free hand wrapping around her waist and pulling her closer to him. Magnolia placed her hand on his shoulder, letting him lead her around the dancefloor. She was glad that Malfoy had given her extra dance lessons, but she felt so different now.

Dressed up and surrounded by all the beauty that was in the Great Hall, Magnolia felt like a completely different person. She closed her eyes for a moment, soaking up her glee. When she opened her eyes, to look back at George, she wasn't looking up at George's brown eyes.

Magnolia stepped back in shock, her dress floating around her feet, out of the arms she had been in only once before. Her heart pounded. Looking down at her, with a disappointed look on his face at the space between them, was Tom Riddle.

"What's wrong?"

Magnolia stared, frozen in fear, unable to answer.

"Don't worry," Riddle stepped toward her, his hands reaching out in front of him in a comforting way, "I'll take good care of you."

Magnolia closed her eyes again, unwilling to look into the dark eyes of the man who frequented her nightmares. She felt a soft hand on her arm, her eyes snapped open at the shock of the touch. Tom was gone. In his place, George had reappeared.

Magnolia span around; nothing had changed. The Great Hall was still the Great Hall, the Yule Ball decorations still decorated it. Her school mates were still dancing and having fun. Across the room, Malfoy was being clung onto by Pansy, but his concerned eyes were trained on Magnolia.

George slowly laid his hands on her Magnolia hips, looking down at her, his eyebrows furrowed. Magnolia rested her forehead on his chest for a moment, catching her breath from the sudden changes.

"Are you ok? What happened?"

"No- Nothing." Magnolia mumbled, "Sorry, just a bit hot. I think I'll get a drink."

Hermione was stood by the drinks when Magnolia approached, grinning giddily. She raved at Magnolia about her night so far with Krum, Magnolia couldn't help but become infected by her friend's happiness. She wouldn't let Tom Riddle ruin her evening; she could worry about why she saw him tonight another time.

It wasn't often Hermione acted like this about anything that wasn't in a book. Magnolia wasn't sure she'd ever seen Hermione this happy at all. She watched as her friend flushed when Krum joined them and asked her for a dance.

It wasn't long before Magnolia was joined by George, who apologised for how long he'd been away. The pair made their way back onto the dancefloor, George grasped her hand as the danced along to the Weird Sisters.

Magnolia was gasping for breath, laughing at George's wacky dancing, when the song turned slower. George stepped closer to her, suddenly serious again, but was interrupted when Magnolia felt a presence by her side. A hand slipped into hers, lacing through her fingers.

"Can I cut in?" Malfoy asked, his question obviously rhetorical, "After all, I did put a lot of effort into your lessons."

Magnolia rolled her eyes, as George nodded stiffly.

"I suppose. I've just got to have a word with Fred, Nola. I won't be long."

Malfoy sniggered as George walked away, wrapping an arm around Magnolia waist and bringing the hand he was holding up. He was leading her well, differently from Magnolia's earlier dancing with George.

Malfoy was a strong dance partner; he had had more practice over the years and had had to take it seriously. Malfoy had told her about his dance lessons from such a young age, Magnolia was glad that she hadn't been brought up in a Pureblood household. From what her friends had told her, it seemed incredibly rigid.

Magnolia looked up at Malfoy through her eyelashes, trying to watch him without him noticing as he swept her across the floor. This wasn't like the times he had been teaching her, this was more intimate. He was showing her off. His eyes flickered down to meet hers as he twirled her around.

"You're doing well."

He sounded proud, and Magnolia couldn't help the small blush that peppered her cheeks.

"I had a good teacher." She replied, "And, thank you by the way."

"For helping you? I couldn't have you embarrassing yourself, could I?" Malfoy smirked down at her.

"Maybe, but that wasn't what I was talking about."

"What did you mean?"

Magnolia raised her eyebrows, "You know what I mean."

Magnolia thought she saw Malfoy's own cheeks tinge pink. His hand on her back tensed and held her closer to his body. Her mind went back to the previous night, when they were both holding each other this close.

"How did you find out it was me?"

"I don't know anyone else who could afford it or would for me."

Malfoy frowned, "What are you talking about? It didn't cost me anything, Dobby was more than happy to help when I mentioned the tea was for you."

The pair had stopped moving now, they were still holding each other, but stood still looking at each other with confusion. The other students danced around them, leaving the two of them in their bubble.

"Dobby? Tea?" Magnolia thought out loud, "You were the one you got me a cup of tea this morning?"

"Isn't that what you were talking about?"

"No, I meant…"

Magnolia trailed off, she had thought that out of everyone, Malfoy would have been the one to buy her the shoes. Who else would? Who else could? Malfoy's thumb stroked the small of her back as he gazed at her.

"Sorry, I… Of course I meant the tea." Magnolia smiled, "Thank you."

Magnolia could tell that Malfoy had seen through her lie, but he let her move past it. He let go of her waist, twirling her in a circle before tucking her back close to him and leading her across the floor. The slow song ended, speeding up again.

Suddenly, Magnolia was surrounded by her House friends, all dancing together and pulling her along with them. An hour passed as she danced with her friends, all except Pansy who only glared at her. Magnolia knew she must have seen her dancing with Malfoy, something that Pansy had yet to achieve at the Yule Ball.

Tonight though, she couldn't find it in herself to care. If she wasn't going to let Tom ruin her night, she certainly wasn't going to let Pansy.

Magnolia stumbled to the drinks table, her face bright from the dancing. Helping herself to a drink, she leant against the table and looked out at the Great Hall. Cedric was walking towards the drinks table, looking as flushed as she did.

"Good night, isn't it." He grinned as he leant next to her.

"Great night!"

"You looked like you were having fun." Cedric prodded, "I didn't realise you two were together."

Magnolia frowned at him; Cedric motioned towards the Slytherins in answer to her silent question. "You looked good together."

"I'm not with anyone." Magnolia replied, perplexed by Cedric's suggestion.

Cedric smiled knowingly and nodded slightly. The two dipped into a comfortable silence, both looking out at the rest of the people in the Great Hall.

"How's Harry getting on with the egg?" Cedric asked, his voice slightly quitter so no one else would hear him.

"He's still as lost as ever."

"Oh!" Cedric look dumbfounded, "Didn't he listen to what I said?"

Magnolia straightened up, "What did you say?"

"I might have given him a small clue, only fair really. He told me about the dragons." Cedric shrugged.

"When? What did you tell him?"

"A week or so ago. He, er, he needs to take a bath with it."

Magnolia pushed off the table, placing her drink down on it and scanned the room for her brother. She spotted him and Ron walking out of the Great Hall and into the grounds. Saying a swift goodbye to Cedric, she ran after her brother, holding the front of her dress up as she went.

She managed to catch up with them in the rose garden. They were stood behind one of the large bushes, both unaware that she was storming towards them. As she got closer, she could hear voices speaking from the other side.

"It's been getting clearer and clearer for months. I am becoming seriously concerned. I can't deny it-"

"Then flee."

Magnolia paused next to Harry, who shushed her, shocked as she heard her Head of House talking with the Durmstrang Headteacher. What could they possibly be talking about? They both sounded so tense, Karkaroff sounded terrified.

"Flee. I will make your excuses. I, however, am remaining at Hogwarts."

The voices got closer to them, until the two older men appeared from behind one of the bushes. Professor Snape glared at her brother and Ron, Karkaroff's gaze was trained on Magnolia though. She squirmed under his gaze; he was almost as creepy as her Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher.

"What are you three doing?" Professor Snape asked.

"We were just getting some fresh air, Sir." Magnolia responded before Ron could.

Snape glanced at her and nodded. He roughly grabbed Karkaroff's arm, the Head teacher was still watching Magnolia, and pulled him away from the three students.

"What's got Karkaroff all worried?" Ron questioned, when they started walking further down the stone path.

Magnolia was surprised at how comfortable her shoes still were. Most of the girls had kicked their shoes off a while ago, but Magnolia didn't even feel like she had any shoes on. It felt like they had been made specifically for her.

"Momen' I saw yeh, I knew."

Magnolia was pulled out of her thoughts by Hagrid's voice. He was talking to Madame Maxime. Harry and Ron looked uncomfortable at the conversation they were overhearing, so Magnolia grabbed both their hands and pulled them away before they were found to be listening in on the conversation.

Ron was looking concerned at what Hagrid had said, but neither Magnolia nor Harry knew what was so wrong with Hagrid being a half giant. Magnolia had guessed that a few years ago. There was no other explanation for Hagrid's build.

Ron sped off inside, clearly shaken by what he'd heard, but Magnolia caught her brother's hand before he could run from her. He turned to her, wincing a little at the look on Magnolia's face. She was angry. She was angry like she hadn't been for a while.

"Why didn't you tell me Cedric gave you a clue about the egg?"

Harry shrugged, "It wasn't important."

"Not important!?" Magnolia cried, "Harry, that thing you will help you with the next Task! You have no clue! So, you should listen to any help you get!"

"What's it got to do with you?"

Magnolia winced at her twins' tone.

"You're my brother, Harry! I don't want you hurt, and this Task could kill you if you don't plan for it!"

Harry scoffed, "I'm surprised you remembered."

Harry straightened; his entire body changed. Magnolia's anger had awakened his, something he had been hiding for a while, something he had been trying to ignore.

"You think I haven't realised?" Harry's voice dropped, "You think I don't see that you're stringing George along, whilst you disappear with Malfoy! I've got Dad's map, remember. After what happened with Warrington and Montague, every now and then I check in on you. To make sure you're alright.

"I saw you on the map, walking down the corridor late at night with Malfoy. Then again, and again. All nights you told me you were doing something else. And tonight. The two of you dancing. Do you really think I don't know what's going on?"

Magnolia looked at the ground, biting her lip. She felt scolded by her twin. Like she had done something terribly wrong. But the fire in her stomach was growing again. She shouldn't feel bad. Harry had no idea what had been going on with her and Malfoy.

Malfoy had been helping her.

"You don't understand." Magnolia whispered, her voice growing as she looked back at her brother, "I wasn't stringing George along. I haven't been hiding what you think I have. Draco was helping me. He was teaching me to shut my mind to Moody. Because something is wrong with that man."

Harry threw his arms in the air and huffed. He stepped away from his sister, his eyes to the stars, before looking back at her. His face was hard, like she had never seen it before.

"There is nothing wrong with Professor Moody. He's a great teacher and he was a great Auror! You're being paranoid. Maybe that's Malfoy's influence. Using you to get to me. Sirius would be so disappointed if he knew you'd fallen for Malfoy's lies so easily."

"He's not lying to me, Harry." Magnolia spat, "You're the one who hid what Cedric told you from me."

Magnolia stopped her brother from replying to her, when she stepped towards him. She was careful to control the anger she had felt. He had no right bringing up their Godfather. No right to accuse her of hiding things from him when he hadn't told her about Cedric's help.

"I don't want to argue you with, Harry. Malfoy was the only one who saw how weird Moody was with me. He might a great teacher for you, but the man gives me the freaks." Magnolia glanced down, brushing her hands against her dress,

"Harry, I just want you to understand that damn egg. The thought of you going into the next task with no plan or idea is terrifying. You're my brother, my twin, I can't lose you. We're all we've got left."

Harry dropped his head, then slowly reached out his hand to his sisters, grasping it and squeezing. He glanced back at her, the cold look on his face had disappeared.

"I'm sorry. I'll look into the egg."

With that, he dropped her hand and walked away, leaving her in the grounds alone. Magnolia noticed he hadn't said anything else about Malfoy.

Magnolia sighed as she watched her brother walk back into the Great Hall, hoping that for once he would actually listen to her and take her advice. Running her hands down her dress, she looked up at the stars, trying to think what the next challenge could be.

"You're right to be worried you know."

Magnolia turned quickly towards the familiar voice as Malfoy appeared behind one of the trees that lined the area. She watched as he stalked towards her, wondering how much of the conversation he had heard.

"Of course you would say that. You're hoping he fails."

"Maybe, but that doesn't matter." Malfoy shrugged, "You know why the Tournament was stopped originally. People died. The tasks are meant to challenge the competitors, and he shouldn't even be competing in it."

"Harry's not alone. I'm going to help him."

"That's what I'm worried about." Malfoy murmured.

There it was. That look again. The look that spoke a thousand words, that sent electric coursing through the air surrounding the two students. The look that emptied Magnolia's mind completely. Malfoy had moved closer to her now, close enough that she almost stepped back.

"He's my brother." Magnolia's tone matched his as she fought to control her breathing.

"And as such, he should think about your wellbeing and how his actions are effecting you."

"He didn't put his name in that Goblet. My wellbeing is not as important as his life, as you said, people have died whilst taking part."

Malfoy smirked, and shook his head, "You really don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?"

Malfoy's grey eyes were staring into Magnolia's, almost questioning her, before they flickered over her head back to the Castle.

"How's your date?"

"I- what?"

The sudden change of conversation stopped Magnolia in her tracks. He did this so often, flit between conversations, and Magnolia was sure he enjoyed watching her try to keep up.

"Can't be going that well if he's left you outside, in the cold, alone."

"I'm not alone." Magnolia mumbled, "Besides, I'm sure George knew that Harry and I were talking. He just wanted to give us some space."

"Potter went inside a long time ago. If I were Weasley, I would've come out to get you by now; never know what those Durmstrang boys might do."

"They wouldn't look twice."

Malfoy laughed quietly, then looked back down at Magnolia. His eyes sparkled again; Magnolia couldn't help but think about the times they had been alone recently. He was so close to her; she would only need close the small gap between them to recreate last night in the Room of Requirement.

"Nola!"

George's voice broke their stare, and Magnolia tried to step back, but Malfoy grasped her arm and pulled her close to him as he dipped to her height. She could feel the warmth of his skin on hers and radiating through their clothes, his breath tickling her cheek and ear.

"He lied earlier, you know." Malfoy whispered in her ear, "You don't look pretty tonight."

Magnolia pulled harder, but he held her firm. She couldn't believe him. She was starting to accept her feelings towards him, starting to believe he might have some for her, and he goes and does this. Magnolia could still feel him breathing against her ear as she fought against him.

"You look beautiful."