This was actually one of the very first chapters RM and I wrote. It's seen some updates and some changes from me, but the bones of it were all her work. A round of applause for RM! *clapclapclapclapclap* Oh, I've included a little easter egg, see if you can spot it.

The Yule Ball

December 25th, 1994
Sixth Year
-

It was Christmas at Hogwarts and normally the girls would be at home reveling in holiday bliss but this year they'd decided to stay at the school.

Neither family had been thrilled; sending your daughter to magic boarding school in Scotland was one thing but not getting to see her for Christmas? That was just cruel! But they grudgingly understood, eventually.

Hogwarts was hosting a grand party and it offered an opportunity so rarely found in the normal world, the chance to dress up—to play Princess if you would—the chance to dance the night away with new friends from schools that kept their distance.

The evening of, the girls got up and ready for the ball. Jo watched as Leili spritzed something from a crescent shaped bottle. She could smell the cedar and vanilla from where she stood.

"What's that?" she asked but she knew the answer anyway.

"New perfume; Oliver sent it up. 'Claire de la Lune.' According to the box, it's meant to make me feel pretty and feminine and sexy, all the things 'the man in my life wants'."

Jo heard the derision, even if Leili didn't. Leili didn't like perfume, and yet she wore this one. Because he had sent it. "Does it?"

"Not really. But then, I don't really see why perfume is advertised for 'the man in my life', they should want me to wear it because it makes me feel pretty and sexy and feminine and whatever."

"Then why are you wearing it?"

"Because if I don't, he pouts and I hate seeing him pout."

Jo could practically taste Leili's irritation.

The champions opened the ball, Hermione and Krum were quite the picture; she was a vision in a floaty tri color dress, he was in red with black fur trim and a hip length cape over one shoulder—very dashing.

Ron was quite the picture also, though in a vastly different way. Between his sourpuss expression and his dreadful dress robes, Jo wasn't sure for whom she felt worse: Ron, or his date. Harry, however in bottle green robes almost black, looked wonderful, even his hair looked charming, in a rumpled sort of way.

All the girls looked nice but Hermione was by far the prettiest—discounting Fleur who had an unfair advantage over the others.

Her dress had a ruffled periwinkle blue top skirt, bodice and fluttering sleeves, a dark blue bow around her waist. At mid thigh, the front of the blue skirt stopped to show off a pinky lilac layer that flowed to mid shin in front, the final layer was a bright yellow, which just barely peeked out from beneath the blue and pink skirts in the back. She wore lilac flowers in her ears, and her hair was pinned half up with matching yellow sparkles.

After the floor was opened to the general population Marcus offered Jo his hand and when she took it, he swept her onto the dance floor where she brought her hands up around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

It was the kind of slow song you swayed instead of waltzing and it was the first one of the night. Jo could feel her face growing warmer by the second and she nearly jumped when he brought his mouth down to her ear.

"So, I never got the chance to thank you," Marcus whispered.

"For what?" she snorted.

"For breaking my nose."

That made her laugh, it had been two years since she'd done it and she had almost forgotten about it.

"Hey, you deserved it. Nobody makes cow eyes at me and gets away with it."

"Cow eyes?" he echoed.

"Yes, cow eyes."

"You broke my nose because I made a face at you?" Marcus asked, he'd never known her motives but he remembered that mocking eyebrow. "Isn't that a little extreme?"

"Leilani once whacked a boy over the head with a book because he pissed her off." Truth be told, Leilani had done that more than once.

"Yes, well, I fully expect that from her; she's the scary one."

That surprised Jo, usually people thought Leili the cute, innocent one and Jo the scary one.

When the song was over Jo sat down next to Leili who leaned over and whispered, "You are blushing redder than your dress."

This was a feat, considering Jo's dress was bright red under a black lace bodice. A black velvet sash and 4 inch black stiletto heels completed the outfit. Jo shot Leili a dirty look. Leili grinned, just a touch mockingly.

"Shut up," Jo said with an embarrassed grin. Jo's embarrassed grin turned gleeful when Wood came over and asked her for a dance.

"Oh no, no-no, I don't dance." Leili protested.

Oliver refused to give up.

"You do too dance! I saw Professor Sprout teaching you to waltz," Jo protested.

"Besides, you are dating him," she pointed out.

Leili and Wood had been going out for about two months now, and something about him made Jo uneasy. She'd told Leili and Leili had promised to be careful. But her unease did not mean she couldn't seize the opportunity to tease Leili mercilessly.

"This isn't waltzing!" Leilani cried.

Oliver had now taken her hand and she leaned back, farther and farther until her chair toppled over. As he and Jo helped to right Leili, the fast, jumpy dance ended and a waltz was struck up.

"Now, ye have noo excuse," Wood grinned, pulling her to the floor. "Who would ha' though' tha' one of the Hufflepuff champions was afreid?"

He used the term 'champion' loosely. Leilani had not entered the tournament and therefore was not a Triwizard champion. However, many students at the school, particularly the Hufflepuffs, heralded Jo and Leilani as 'Champions of Hufflepuffs Everywhere', more commonly referred to as simply the 'Hufflepuff Champions'.

"I have every cotton pickin' right to be afraid of things! I'm not a Gryffindor! But I am not afraid of the waltz." Leili didn't see him smile slyly as she straightened and fell into waltz frame. When he didn't move she asked, "Are you going to lead or just let me stand here?"

"I thought you'd never ask," he gathered himself into frame under her and proceeded to waltz her around the floor. Jo watched the two amusedly as Marcus seated himself in Leili's chair,

"She'll kill you if she finds you stole her seat," Jo told him. Marcus considered this, Leili was after all, quietly scary. She'd never said anything but he had every confidence that if he ever wronged Jo, Leilani would kill him and bury his body in the woods. Thus he pulled up another chair on the other side of Jo.

"…You seriously broke my nose because I made a kissy face at you?" Marcus said as he sat down, and then contemplated what she'd do to him if he kissed her.

"And don't you forget it, bub!" Jo said, eyeing him suspiciously.

When Marcus stood to get drinks for himself and Jo, Oliver returned Leili to her chair in a flurry of sparkling skirts and Marcus turned to look at him.

"Flint."

"Wood."

The girl exchanged glances and then mimicked mockingly, "Montgomery."

"Akina." Jo said, before dropping the pretense and draping herself over Leili's shoulders, doing her best impression of a sweater.

Leili laughed.

Marcus sighed, a resigned look on his face when he saw his date draped over her friend. This was undoubtedly going to turn into a double date. Privately, he liked Leilani but he also enjoyed having Jo to himself.

Wood frowned, "Can I talk to ye a minute? Preivately?" he asked Leilani.

"Can it wait?" Leili asked, placing her hand on Jo's arm.

"It really can't."

She huffed a resigned breath. Tapping Jo's arm she said, "Lemme up?"

Jo frowned and hugged Leili tighter; she didn't like it when people upset her friend. Unhappily, she obliged.

Oliver took Leilani's hand and led her a little ways away.

"What's up?"

"Do you have to sit next to her?"

"Have to? No…? I mean it's not like it's mandatory or anything, but I like sitting next to her. She's my friend."

He hissed back, "But this is supposed to be a date and she's draping herself all over you!"

"It's not exactly a date, a date would be just the two of us and not the entirety of three schools at a winter dance. You invited me to the ball and I said yes, but Marcus invited Jo, as well he should have, and Jo has every right to sit next to me as she pleases."

"That doesn't mean she has to fawn over you," he grumbled.

"She was just saying hello."

"You were gone for two minutes…"

"What's the matter with you? Is this because of what we didn't do at that dress shop a few weeks ago?" Leili asked, frowning. The juggling act of keeping her boyfriend happy while still being able to see and hang out with her best friend was demoralizing and frustrating.

Jo didn't need her spidey senses to be on fire and or be hyper focused on Leilani to know something was wrong. Walking over, she dropped a comforting hand on her best friend's shoulder.

"Everything ok?" her tone was a no argument brooking, don't-mess-with-us kind of serious. The gaze she leveled at Wood was flat and unforgiving. Standing just behind her shoulder was Marcus

Wood straightened, pulling himself to his fullest height. "Fine."

"Leili?"

"He disagrees with the seating arrangement."

"Does he, now?"

Marcus stepped forward from his position behind Jo. "Lay off, Wood. They've always been like that. No amount of complaining is going to change it. Trust me, I've tried; it gets you nowhere," he said.

In the early days of his relationship with Jo, Marcus had indeed tried to separate the two girls, just so he could have Jo to himself sometimes. It hadn't worked, the two were joined at the hip, so he'd accepted that and taken Jo's other hip. In the end, Leilani had found other places to be when asked.

"Maybe you couldna separate them, Flint," Oliver retorted with a snide sneer.

And just like that, the grin was gone. "You trying to insinuate something, Wood?" Marcus growled. Oliver walked up to Marcus, trying to puff himself up.

"If I am, Slytherin?" he asked, a nasty grin sprawling across his face.

Marcus's lip curled into a snarl, "Depends, you want me to break your nose or your jaw first, Gryffindor?" The threat in his voice was great enough to make the crowd that was gathering take a step back.

"What? You think I'm afreid of a man who can't even hang on to his geirlfriend?" Oliver said, his head tilted and eyebrow cocked, an empty smile on his lips.

Marcus finally smiled, and it was not a nice smile, "Jaw it is," and slugged Oliver right in his smug mouth.