Atria sighed as she got off the train. Albus looked sideways at her. "What?"

"I just realized this is the last time we'll be coming home for Christmas break. The next time we come home we won't be coming back." She frowned at the thought and then looked at Albus. He smiled reassuringly.

"We'll be moving on to bigger and better things." His hand brushed hers innocently but she knew he wanted to take her hand. Unfortunately, they were surrounded by other students getting off the train.

The pit in Atria's stomach grew as she registered what he had said.

This pit had been appearing more and more and she knew that soon… she was going to have to tell him. It was getting more difficult to pretend like she was happy about the future.

But she smiled anyways, "You're right."

"Now, where did Scorpius, Rose and Amanda go?" Once they were safely on the platform and away from the mass exodus of students they went in search of their families. Atria was surprised to see Ginny and Harry standing with Hermione. Normally it was only Ginny and Hermione who picked up the kids from the train.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Albus smiled and embraced his father. Ginny hugged Atria and then called out for Lily, who appeared behind them with Hugo a moment later.

Harry cleared his throat. "Well, the Auror office wanted to send a few people to watch the platform. I volunteered so I could see you, but I'm not coming home with you. The Aurors have to stay until the platform is clear and check the train."

Atria swallowed, feeling exposed, like they could read the emotions on her face. But of course, they couldn't. They hardly paid attention to her presence anymore, she was just another part of the family.

"Where is everyone else?" Hermione asked.

Albus shrugged. "We lost them in the escape." Ginny whacked her son's arm.

"There they are!" Lily began waving wildly. Scorpius's platinum blonde hair stood above the crowd. This was another example of why Atria wished she was taller. Lily was almost a half a head taller than her and she could see everything. Atria on the other hand, had to stand on her toes or jump to look through a crowd.

"Where did you lot disappear to?" Amanda huffed as she flattened her hair which was all frizzy from walking through the throng of people.

Atria folded her arms. "You were right behind us in train."

Rose hugged her mum.

"We've missed you." Ginny said and then addressed Amanda and Scor. "We're so happy you two are able to stay with us for a few days. And we're happy to hear that you'll be joining us at the ball," she told Amanda.

"Well," Lily started, "technically she's joining the cute boy who invited her."

Rose nudged Lily and Amanda blushed. "Thank you for having me."

"No problem! We have a busy few days ahead of us. Hermione will be joining us for dinner tonight. Tomorrow we'll go to Diagon Alley and do some shopping." Ginny put her arm around Lily and squeezed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Rose, come out!" Atria banged on the door to the dressing room.

"I think it might be a bit much." Rose called back. Lily was in the next dressing room trying on a fluffy blue dress with lace straps and a black satin ribbon around the waist. Amanda and Ginny were shuffling through more dresses.

"Just come out." Atria rolled her eyes. She leaned against the wall and made a ticking sound, waiting for Rose to come out.

When she finally did, Atria blinked.

True to her word Rose chose a white dress with gold trim on the ruffles of the skirt. There was a gold sash around the waist that gave the appearance of an hourglass figure. The sleeves were short and ruffled with little specks of gold all over the bodice, making Rose look like she was shimmering.

"How does it look?" Rose said nervously. She turned around and the floor-length ruffles fluffed up and Atria was sure this was what princesses looked liked.

"You are the picture of perfection." Atria nodded, confirming her own statement. Rose blushed. Amanda and Ginny came over.

"That is your dress." Amanda said automatically. "If anyone else tried to wear it you could sue them." Rose flushed with excitement.

"I really like it." She agreed. "And I have the perfect shoes to go with this."

Lily came out and clapped her hands together. "Perfect!" Lily appraised Rose.

Lily also looked spectacular with in the aquamarine dress which fell just above her knees. The blue brought out the hazel in her eyes and the fire in her hair. "Now we just need to find a dress for you two." Lily looked between Amanda and Atria.

Atria grinned and picked up the red dress she had laid across the bench outside the dressing room. Ginny's eyes widened. "That's… bold."

"I know." Atria grinned at her selection. "And now… for Amanda."

Amanda sighed. "I don't know. Nothing here is striking my fancy."

Madam Malkin appeared with several dresses in hand. "These just came in, love. Why don't you look at some of them?" She held them up and Amanda's eyes widened.

Everyone else seemed to know the dress she was looking at.

Lily nodded, "That is absolutely the dress you are going to wear."

Amanda grinned and took the gown in her hands. Silk, she thought, as the fabric slipped through her fingers.

"Well, that's settled then."

Ginny pinched her nose. "Are you girls sure these are the dresses you want?"

Rose's eyes widened, "Is it too much? I knew it!" She started to stomp back to the dressing room, but Atria stopped her.

"No, it's perfect!" Atria looked at Ginny. "We're adults now, and we all need to look gorgeous for this ball."

Amanda looked knowingly at Attie, "So who are you trying to impress?" Atria looked at her friend innocently.

"No one, but myself. Things have been so down lately, we need a pick-me-up and the best way to get things back to normal is to get dressed up and pretend like this is the most important night of our lives." Atria looked at herself in a mirror and smoothed her hands down the shimmery fabric of her dress.

Ginny sighed, "The boys will not approve."

"Who cares what they think?" Amanda rolled her eyes. Atria came up next to Amanda and then fluffed her hair up. Some pieces of her hair went red.

"Jack won't know what hit him." Atria smirked.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

James waited at the kitchen counter for his family and friends to get home. He hadn't warned his mother he was coming home, he hadn't told anyone in fact. He wanted to surprise them. Admittedly, he may have acted rashly, because he wasn't looking for this to be a happy surprise.

No, he was angry.

First, Atria had written to him once since they had been back at Hogwarts. Rose had only written three time, which was practically nothing compared to her weekly letters to other members of the family. Albus had written twice. Once to say Quidditch tryouts had started and another time to ask for girl advice.

James scoffed at Albus needing girl advice. What girl would be interested in his dopey little brother? Of course, that might explain why he did need advice. Obviously Al was lost without his older brother's wisdom.

What do I do if the girl I like refuses to admit she likes me too?

James's immediate response had been to find another girl. He thought better of it though and told Albus to tease the girl. Make her want him without words, but with actions. James never heard if Albus followed his advice or if he got the girl.

And worst of all… Amanda. They hadn't spoken since they went out for drinks for her birthday. It had been months since he had spoken her and then… how did he find out she had a date to the Christmas Ball? Through Freddie!

Because his family felt the need to inform his cousin, but not him! And to top it all off, Amanda and Scorpius were staying at their house before the ball. He was pissed off that Amanda hadn't written.

Hey James, I'm coming to stay with your family so I can go to the ball with another man.

Sincerely, Amanda

He thought sarcastically. She didn't even have the decency to tell him herself.

Female voices travelled through the house and then five women appeared in the kitchen. He was vaguely aware that his mum was barking words of surprise and Atria and Lily were laughing. They were all carrying bags.

But all he wanted to see was Amanda's face. He wanted to see the guilt for not telling him she would be here. Instead, she simply looked surprised like the rest of his family. His anger rose, but he smiled at his mum.

"Sorry, I didn't owl but I didn't know if I would be able to get off for these few days." He ran his fingers through his hair and gave them all a lopsided smile. His mum hugged him and then Lily came over.

"Does this mean you're coming to the ball?" She asked excitedly.

James ruffled her hair and she ducked under his hand. "Of course. I wouldn't miss it for the world." Atria clutched her bag close to her chest.

"Ah! You can't see our dresses. It's a surprise!" She shrieked. "We have to take them upstairs before the Albus and Scor get here." She said urgently to Amanda and Rose. Rose nodded while Amanda simply looked amused.

"I'm going to owl my friend and tell her about my dress." Lily bouncing up and down and then ran off. Atria started to exit as well.

"And we need to go hide our dresses!" She grinned and looked at Rose and Amanda expectantly. Rose gave James a hug and then followed Attie's lead. "You coming?" She asked Amanda.

"Can you take my dress? I want to grab a snack while I'm in the kitchen." Amanda handed her dress to Atria, who took it and nodded.

"Bring something up for us. We'll meet in my room." And then the two girls left.

Ginny nodded. "Help yourself to whatever you want. I'm going back to Diagon Alley to pick up the boys from the joke shop." And then she left and James looked at Amanda.

His anger deflated a bit. Actually, it went away entirely. What right did he have to be angry with her for not writing? As she pointed out once upon a time, they weren't really friends. They just happened to have some friends in common. Yet, the thought of them not being friends left a bad taste in his mouth.

Amanda went over to some cabinets and began to shuffle through them.

"Is there something in particular you wanted?" James asked.

"Do you have any strawberries? Or cereal?" she asked. James stared at her for a moment and then barked out a laugh. She looked at him questioningly over her shoulder.

James sobered, but the smile stayed on his face. He was stupid to think he could stay mad at her. "We have some cereal in the cabinet to your right." He told her and she went back to looking. When she found a brand that she liked he grabbed her a bowl from a different cabinet. "Here." She took the bowl.

"Thank you."

James rubbed the back of his neck. He felt like he should say something but he wasn't sure what he should say. "Why didn't you write?" He blurted out. He pressed his lips together and watched her eyebrows shoot up.

And then her eyes narrowed. His chest tightened. "I could ask you the same thing."

That was not the response he had expected.

When he stayed silent, she shook her head. "We were both busy. While you were off being the Quidditch hero, we had to deal with an attack on Hogsmeade and Death Eaters attacking students." She snapped. She set the bowl down so she could cross her arms, and James swallowed.

James frowned. "That's not fair. You can't punish me for not being there-"

"No, but you didn't write after that attack. You didn't ask if I was okay! So why should I check in on you? I think you have made it perfectly clear where our friendship sits on your list of priorities." She growled and it was one of the only times he had ever seen her worked up.

His temper dimmed. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking…"

"Exactly. You weren't think about me, so why should I be thinking about you?"

"But why didn't you tell me you were coming to stay here over break?"

Amanda snorted. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming home? I didn't think you would be here, so it was irrelevant whether or not I told you."

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming to the Christmas ball?"

"Again, why do you need to know?"

"Who is this Jack person anyways?" He snapped and she nodded.

"Is that what this is about? You know, not every girl is interested in your possessive caveman act. I would have thought you learned that with Atria…" She shook her head and he had no response.

James inhaled slowly. "I'm not trying to be possessive. I thought we talk about this. We are friends, whether you like it or not. And I'm simply interested in what is going on my my friend's life." He waited for her to say something… anything.

She gave him a steeled look. "We can't be friends if you don't respect my privacy."

He opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by the sound of boisterous laughter. A moment later Albus, Scorpius, and Hugo joined them in the kitchen. Amanda deflated a bit and leaned against the counter, avoiding eye contact. His mum followed in a moment later.

"James, what are you doing here?" Albus asked. James sighed.

"I just thought I'd visit but apparently no one wants to see me."

Ginny shook her head. "James, stop being dramatic, you know that's not true."

"Where is everyone?" Scorpius asked.

Amanda cleared her throat. "They're in Attie's room, and I was just going to join them." She took the cereal and didn't bother to grab the bowl James had gotten her. She paused at the doorway out of the kitchen. "Where is Atria's room exactly?"

Albus laughed. "Come on, we were just going up to my room."

And then James was alone with his mum.

"James, is everything alright?" Damn is mother's intuition.

He ruffled his hair. "Of course, I'm just a bit tired from all the practices."

His mum smiled. "I hear you're doing quite well. I'm so proud of you." She ran her hand up and down his arm comfortingly. "We are happy to see you. It's unexpected. Are you coming to the ball as well?"

James puffed up his chest. "Of course! I always come!"

"And you always complain."

He glared at his mum.

"What's wrong?"

"I feel like I'm on the outside." He admitted and looked to where his friends had disappeared to. "So much has happened and I have no clue about it. And they don't seem to want to talk to me."

His mum laughed which he thought was rather cruel. Was she happy about his pain?

"James, you've graduated and they have other things to think about."

"Yes, but-"

"You can hardly be mad at them for having their own lives." His mum reasoned. He hated when she was right. "What were you talking about with Amanda?" His mum asked casually and she began to shuffle around the kitchen, doing meaningless tasks.

James sighed. "She didn't tell me she was coming to stay here."

"Did you tell her you were coming home?"

"Well… no," he admitted.

His mother threw him a look.

James tilted his head back and blew out a long breath. "She hasn't written to me at all."

Ginny raised her eyebrows and looked at him questioningly. And then her eyes widened and he did not like the look she on her face, like she had just realized something. Then her face went impassive again and she turned away from him and starting cutting chopping carrots.

"I didn't realize you and Amanda were that close."

There is was. The casual statement that James knew he had to answer carefully.

"Yes, well after everything that's happened this year…" He started. "I mean, she was poisoned, and she's one of Atria's friends so of course I want to get along with her." Damnit, Amanda was right. The whole reason he became interested in getting to know her was because of Attie. Amanda had said something similar a last year.

"She's seems lovely. It shouldn't be difficult to get along when you're all spending time together." She shrugged casually, but he knew she was baiting him.

"But it's more than getting along. I do want to be friends." James and from the way his mum ducked her head down he knew she was smiling. "And why shouldn't we be friends? It's like she's determined to be distant, but we're friends with the same people, so why shouldn't we be friends?" He was ranting at this point.

"James, I think you need to tell her how you feel."

"I have, she's stubborn."

His mum turned around and gav him a level look that said cut the bullshit. "James, I think you need to tell her how you really feel." James stared at his mother for a good long minute.

"I have." He said finally. Ginny shook her head and went back to cutting carrots. "I'm going to go upstairs."

"I'll see you for dinner."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So what were you and James arguing about?" Albus asked as they walked up one of the back staircases. Amanda once again thought about how wealthy all of her friends were… and how big their houses were. She hadn't actually spend much time here, they usually hung out at Scorpius's house.

Usually she just stopped here to pick up Atria and then they were off.

"Nothing really. He was just being… James." She shook her head and Hugo laughed.

"You sound like Grandma."

Amanda scrunched up her nose. "Thanks."

"Here we are." They stopped on one of the platforms. Merlin, the stairs didn't even end here. "This is my room." He motioned to the first door on the left. "And that's the bathroom." Finally, they stopped at the end of the hall.

"You and Attie share a bathroom?" Amanda looked at Albus, who quickly looked away. He rapped on the door.

"Yeah, it's a bit of a disaster actually." He coughed and Amanda gave him a scrutinizing look.

"Oh, I can imagine." She muttered and Albus looked at his feet. He opened Atria's door.

"There you are." Rose grinned.

Merlin…

For some reason, Amanda had imagined Atria having a guest room of sorts. But no, her room was a spacious dream of a teenager. She had a queen sized bed and a big window letting light in all over the room. There was a dresser on the opposite wall of her bed and a large mirror. There was another mirror on the back of her door. A big blue rug lay next to the bed and on top of the bed sat lots of fluffy pillows. There were pictures of all of them hanging over her bed.

Atria and Lily were sitting on the bed and Rose was leaning against the foot of the bed.

Albus went and sat in the armchair that rested in the corner. There was another door that Amanda assumed led to a closet.

Scorpius sat down next to Rose and Amanda joined the other two girls on the bed. Hugo sat on Albus and then was promptly pushed to the floor.

"So how was shopping?" Scorpius asked. Amanda couldn't tell if he was asking all of them or just Rose, because he was only looking at the redhead.

Rose shrugged. "Uneventful."

"Did you get your dresses?" Al asked.

"Yep!" Atria chirped. "But don't ask to see them. It's a surprise."

Albus held up his hands. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Lily grinned. "I'm so excited!" She clapped her hands together and bounced on the bed.

Amanda wished she shared Lily's excitement, but after her conversation with James the ball was only making her nervous. It was clear that he didn't want her to go to the ball. But she wasn't sure if it was out of jealousy, misguided concern, or arrogant possessiveness.

"Are you guys in there?" James's voice came through the door.

For some reason everyone looked at Amanda. No one moved or said anything and it became clear they weren't going to until Amanda gave them the okay. Amanda got up and opened the door. James was raising his hand like he was going to knock. He seemed surprised that it was Amanda who opened the door.

"Yes?" She raised her eyebrows. She heard a low whistle come from Albus.

"Can I join you?" He rubbed the back of his head.

Amanda stepped aside. "Of course. You're an adult, you can do whatever you want. It's not like someone can say you can't do something just because they don't want you to." She ranted while she sat back down next to Atria.

Atria mumbled something that sounded like, "Shots fired."

James looked guilty as he sat down at the chair at the small desk next to the bed.

"So Amanda, what's the name of your boyfriend?" Hugo asked innocently and Lily chucked a pillow at him. Amanda avoided looking at James, but baised on the way Hugo was grinning she assumed he looked peeved.

"He's not my boyfriend. The ball is our first date."

"I thought you went to Hogsmeade together?" Atria asked automatically and then she quickly closed her mouth.

"We only went as friends, and that was sort of interrupted by impending doom." She replied dryly. "What about you, Al?" Amanda looked pointedly at Albus.

"Me?"

"Do you have a date?"

Albus coughed. "No," He said slowly.

James jumped in, "What about that girl you were trying to impress?" Albus's cheeks turned pink and everyone turned to look at Al.

"What girl?" Scorpius asked accusingly, probably wondering why they hadn't heard of Al's mystery girl. Amanda had a theory about why he hadn't told them.

Albus stuttered, "Just a girl I was interested in. But I've moved on." He said quickly and Amanda couldn't help but monitor Atria's reaction. Atria was smiling in the scary way, like when she was about hex someone into oblivion and she was going to enjoy it.

"Who was she?" Rose asked.

"You don't know her." Albus said through his teeth. "And you, Rosie? What's the situation with Sal?" He threw back.

Rose's face went perfectly propera and she replied primly, "I have decided that I am not going to persure that particular relationship. As friends or as more than friends."

Scorpius looked sideways at her. "Really?"

"Yes, I think we're a bit too different." She said diplomatically. Amanda and Atria both looked at each other with smiles of relief.

"Good, because you're too young to be in a relationship." James said and everyone groaned.

"Don't be a hypocrite," Atria snapped playfully.

James smirked, "I would argue that I have never been in a relationship."

"Oh, like that's any better." Amanda rolled her eyes and James had the decency to look ashamed. And he wondered why she was avoiding him? "And what about that picture of you and that fangirl in the Prophet?" She asked pointedly.

James spoke quickly, "Oh, she was just a friend of a teammate. I don't really even know her. They just happened to get a couple of pictures of us together."

"She's very beautiful." Lily said dazedly.

"I wonder what the security is going to be like at the ball." Rose blurted. Amanda glared at James for a moment long and then looked at Rose.

"What?"

Rose swallowed. "Well, there's probably going to be loads of extra security."

"Do you think it'll be boring?" Lily worried. "I mean, if we don't have as much freedom…"

Atria waved her hand dismissively. "No, it'll still be amazing, I'm sure."

"I can hardly wait!" Lily squealed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Albus stood in front of his mirror, trying to get his hair to lie flat. It was impossible.

"You should put some gel in it." Scorpius said as he straightened out his the tie around his neck. Albus made a face.

"Nah, it doesn't matter." And yet his gut clenched. Tonight was going to be a true test for him and Atria. He wasn't sure what she was wearing, but given how secretive she was being about it, no doubt it was something jaw-dropping. He hoped it wasn't too spectacular for several reasons.

One, how was he supposed to keep his cool if she looked like a goddess? It was times like this when he wished that everyone knew. Then he could stare at her for as long as he wished and if someone else stared at her for too long… he could make them back off. And that was his other reason. He didn't want all the bored men at the ball to coming looking to her.

He remembered one man, last year, who had been prowling the room. Originally, he asked how old Rose was and then he moved on to Atria. Scorpius had coldly told the man that both of them were sixth years at Hogwarts and nowhere near being old enough to get with a thirty something year old creep.

There was a knock on his door and then his dad appeared, all dressed up. Except for his hair, which looked exactly like Albus's.

"Are you boys ready?"

Scorpius put his hands in his pockets, and shrugged casually. "As ready as I'll ever be." Albus wasn't sure what his friend was talking about… as if Scorpius didn't look ready for a photoshoot at Witch Weekly.

"Albus?"

"Yes, I suppose so. Are the girls ready?" Albus asked nervously.

Harry shrugged, "No idea, your mum is checking. But we should go wait for them downstairs. James and Hugo are already down there."

Well, this was it. Albus looked at himself one last time. He shouldn't be this nervous. It wasn't the first time he had seen Attie in a dress, and she had seen his dress robes before. Yet, it seemed different this time. Like now he actually had to pay attention to how he looked and how he behaved.

James was lounging on the couch in the salon and Hugo was fiddling with the telly.

"We're meeting your parents there." Harry told Hugo.

"Ugh, why do they have to come?" He groaned.

"If our parents are coming, then yours have to as well." James smirked. Harry frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean? We're the cool parents."

Albus rolled his eyes.

"I saved the world!"

"Yes, thirty years ago." Albus mumbled.

"It was only twenty six years ago." Harry pointed accusingly at his son. "Everyone's a critic." He shook his head and James threw his head back laughing. The door of the salon opened and James's laughter cut off.

Lily came in twirling in a blue dress. "How do I look?" Ginny followed in after her daughter in a floor length green satin gown. The skirts swished around her ankles and her red hair was left down with the front pinned back.

"You look beautiful," Harry went over and kissed his wife. Lily and James made gagging noises. Albus looked at his parents and his heart jumped. Would he and Atira ever look like that?

Speak of the devil…

Albus stopped breathing. He held his breath to stop himself from gasping or saying something in front of his family.

Her dress was red and she looked too beautiful for words. It was floor length and cinched her waist and just below her butt, while the skirt below the knees flowed out. It had long sleeves and showed no cleavages, but cut straight across her collarbone.

"How do I look?" She spun around and Dear Merlin… the dress didn't have a back. He could see the skin until just above her lower back.

Scorpius frowned. "You don't think it's a bit much?"

Atria laughed. "No." She pushed her some of her red and black hair out of her face. And her hair wasn't the only difference. He was pretty sure she had made some subtle changes to her face as well. Her nose seemed thinner and more aristocratic, while her cheekbones were hollow and her lips were fuller.

The sound of clicking heels and groaning came from behind Atria.

With a flourish Atria stepped aside, to reveal Rose leaning over and adjusting her strappy shoes.

Rose looked nice. Albus wasn't sure he felt good about his cousin wearing something so… appealing, however. James, Scorpius, and Hugo clearly agreed with him because they were looking at Rose with open mouths. Scorpius looked ready to have a hernia.

He especially wasn't fond of the way her hair was pinned up showing off her neck and collarbone. But at least her back wasn't completely open.

"I'm not sure I'll be able to wear these the whole night." She muttered as she slipped back into her heels.

"You don't have to," Amanda said as she entered the room.

Albus heard someone cough. maybe James. Amanda was dressed in a shimmering gold dress that reached the floor. It had a long slit up one side reaching her midthigh. The long V showed off the top of her cleavage and the dress was held up by two thin straps.

All in all, Al wasn't sure what his mother was thinking allowed them all to buy such… attractive gowns. James and Hugo seemed to be in agreement.

"We should get going," Harry said hastily.

"How are we arriving?" Hugo asked.

"By floo. That's the only way to go… the Ministry is monitoring all arrivals. Why don't you go first?" Ginny looked at the older kids. "We'll follow behind you. Say 'Ministry of Magic'. You will automatically be directed to the ballroom. Try to behave tonight." That was directed at James and Hugo. "Try not to explode any priceless statues." James stepped into the fireplace, no doubt to get away from his mother's impending lecture.

"Ministry of Magic!" He threw down the green powder and disappeared in a explosions of flames. Scorpius followed and then Rose.

Albus glanced at Atria and then stepped into the fireplace. Atria followed him, grabbing a handful of Floo powder as she did. When he was gone from sight, she ducked into the fireplace.

"Ministry of Magic."

When she opened her eyes lights flashed around her. She saw the Minister of Magic taking photos and a reporter scribbling down every word he uttered. Albus was talking with James and Scorpius just a few feet in front of her. Rose was looking around in amazement.

"I think this is the best ball yet." She grinned excitedly as Atria came up to her.

Amanda appeared next to them. "I wonder where Jack is. Is my hair okay? I was worried the Floo might have messed it up."

Atria appraised her friend. "Nope, you're perfect. Stay with us until you see him."

James came up to them, with Albus and Scor in tow.

"Let's get some drinks." He suggested and slung his arm around Amanda.

"Actually," Amanda stepped away. "I think I see my date. I'll see you lot later." She maneuvered away from James, who looked thoroughly pissed off.

"Let's go dance." Scorpius took Rose's hand.

Rose stuttered, "I don't know…"

"Well, I do, so let's go."

Atria looked at Albus quickly and longingly. Screw it. "Al, let's go dance. If Scor is dancing, then you have to as well." She took his hand and dragged him away.

"I'll just…" James words floated away as they went to the dance floor. Unfortunately this was no club, and the music playing was classical.

"I don't suppose you know how to waltz?" Albus looked around at older couples moving slowly to the music. Floating lanterns lit the dance floor and snow was falling but disappeared before it landed on the guests.

Atria laughed, "As a matter of fact, I do." She turned to face him and pulled him closer to her. She placed one hand in his and the other on his shoulder. He took her waist and smiled down at her.

"You are full of surprises."

His eyes bore into her and all she could think about in that moment was that she wanted him to kiss her. When his eyes widened, she pulled back, not even realizing that she had moved closer to his face.

"I want to kiss you." He whispered close to her ear. She felt his nose brush her cheek before he put some space between them.

"I'd be tempted to let you."

"Why are we dancing?" Albus asked. She felt his hand squeeze her side.

Atria looked around. "I want to." She watched Rose and Scorpius twirling around. While the most Albus could do was step from side to side and occasionally front to back, Scorpius was spinning Rose around and leading her.

That was the upside of being a pureblood. Controlling parents. Restrictive schedules. But with that came forced dancing lessons. Of course, a pureblood couldn't be anything less than societably perfect.

"They look happy," Albus noted. It was true, Rose had her head tossed back in laughter.

She saw Amanda and Jack talking with an older couple that Atria didn't recognize. "I wonder if those are Jack's parents." Atria whispered to Albus. Albus maneuvered Atria around so he could look.

"That's bold… meeting the parents."

"I've met your parents."

"Not as my girlfriend."

"That's true. Can't wait for that conversation," She muttered sarcastically.

"Have you thought anymore about our living arrangements after graduation?"

Atria nodded as the song changed for a classical waltz to a modern slow song. Albus put Atria's hands around his neck and wrapped both of his arms around her.

"I was thinking… it would be best if we didn't live together yet. But if we all lived close to each other, or even in the same building, that would be great. Then maybe in the near future," She cleared her throat, "you and I could live together." She watched his face light up and felt like shit.

She had been thinking about it. But more as a dream than a reality.

"That sounds great…"

"Remember that secret I told you about?" She asked a few minutes later.

Albus smirked. "You mean when you told me you had a secret, but you couldn't tell me what is was exactly?" Atria blushed and looked away.

"Right, well I still can't tell you, but I'm hesitant to plan for the future."

Albus blinked and clutched her closer. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" He coughed. "If you're worried about something…" Atria shook her head.

He pressed his lips together tightly. He wanted to press her, but knew that would get him nowhere. But he couldn't help himself from asking, "Is it about your parents?"

Atria stiffened. This was exactly the line of questioning she wanted to avoid. But now that it was here she couldn't lie to him. "Yes."

"I thought they were… gone." He said slowly.

Atria bit her lip. "Me too. But something's come up…"

"Do you think they're alive?"

"It's complicated and I can't say too much."

Albus groaned. "I wish you trusted me."

"I do! I've told you more than I've told anyone." She hissed and then looked around consciously. She lower her voice and said, "I know it doesn't seem like much, but you can't possibly know how much you mean to me."

"I want to know."

Atria looked around determinedly. She seemed to have found what she was looking for because her eyes narrowed. "Let's go." She grabbed him and tried to pull him off the dance floor. She managed to tug him a few steps before he stopped.

"Attie, what are you doing?"

She looked back at him and then crossed her arms. "There's your parents." She nodded to them where they were talking with some high Ministry officials.

"So…"

"So let's go tell them right now," She started to march off in their direction.

He quickly grabbed her and pulled her back. "Atria," He sighed and she fought against his hold. They got some weird looks, but the music had changed and everyone soon got caught up in dancing to the new beat.

"I want them to know," She struggled against his grip.

"Atria, we can't tell them yet." He was slightly amused at her antics.

She huffed, "Well, what do you want?"

He gripped her chin and forced her to look at him. "You." He said slowly. "I knew you were crazy before we started going out, so I can hardly complain about it now." She ducked her head to conceal a grin and he smiled, happy he achieved his goal. Albus dropped his hand from her face.

"If you need me to prove-"

"I don't." He said with finality. "Do you want to take a break?"

Atria nodded. "Yes, I'd like a drink." He took her elbow to escort her to one of the tables in the back of the room. A waitress came around with champagne glasses and Albus took two and handed one to Atria.

"Would you really have told my parents?" Albus took a sip.

Atria looked at him over the rim of her glass. "Yes, I would have. I know you're tired of hiding it and so am I." She took his hand under the table. "We should tell them. Soon."

"I agree. However, I really don't feel like dealing with it tonight. Also, we would have to explain our living arrangements to them. My mum will not be okay with that and we still have another week before we go back to school."

Atria laughed. "Alright." He leaned back into his chair. "I'm a bit nervous about how our friends will take it." Atria drained her glass.

"Me too. But let's not worry about them. Besides they look happy."

Scorpius and Rose were still dancing and Amanda and Jack were talking animatedly.

A while later Albus noticed James, leaning against the wall, ignoring an older woman who was trying to speak with him. And his eyes were trained on a certain brunette who was angry with him. James was watching Amanda and Jack like a hawk and his eyes narrowed when Jack touched Amanda's arm.

"Why has he been in such a bad mood?" Atria asked. She had probably seen Al looking at his brother.

"I think it's about a girl." Albus replied vaguely.

Atria looked at him with surprise. "Did you see the Prophet from a few weeks ago?"

"Not that girl."

"Which girl, then?"

Albus didn't respond. "I think we'll find out soon enough." He replied finally.

BOOM!

A/N: Yay! Drama. Action. So exciting! Anyways, let me know what you think. - Alex