I sat down and put my arm around her. She wiped away a few tears, and rested her head on her knees.

"It's going to be okay," I told her.

She turned to face me finally, although she couldn't quite meet my eyes. "I'm so embarrassed. I've made everything such a mess."

"No," I said, even though I was just trying to comfort her. I couldn't really deny the situation was a lot messier than it had been.

"Yes," she choked. I conjured up a handkerchief and handed it to her. I wanted to say something that would make her feel better, but wasn't sure there was anything. "I've ruined everything."

"I think you need a good night's sleep," I told her. "Things will seem better in the morning, I promise. There isn't anything else you can do tonight."

"I guess you're right," she sighed. I helped her up. She must have really fancied Ron.

I walked her up to her Common Room, and said good night to her. I hoped that when I found her tomorrow morning, she would be in better spirits, and that somehow, her friendship with Ron would make it through.

Adam wasn't anywhere to be found. I knew he was done with his Prefect duties, but didn't think he had gone to bed already. He must have been angry with me for stopping with Harry and Hermione, I decided. I hated going to bed with him upset with me, but I couldn't help it sometimes.

I was beginning to feel like a lot of our relationship was pretty rocky. I still loved him and wanted to be with him, but at the same time, we hadn't been very happy with each other. I knew that he had a lot of stress going on right now, but I felt like he was taking it all out on me. I made a mental note to talk to him about it. He probably didn't even realize he was doing it, so I couldn't fault him for it yet.

His absence in the Common Room led me to go to bed early, which ended up being a good thing. When I saw him in the morning, he didn't mention the previous night, so I was confused. But I wasn't going to bring it up and have him get annoyed.

We turned in our Sedation Serum the next Potions class, and Slughorn seemed very pleased. He was going to test all of the potions that had been created. A few seemed like really good ideas, like a concentration potion, but some weren't really a potion that sounded like they followed the project's guidelines. It felt great to have the project behind us. But I felt good, because I didn't just leave the project with a potion I was proud of, but also a friend in Hermione.

I had a few exams to study for, mostly Muggle Studies, but the bulk of work before the term was over was complete. We had Slughorn's party, which almost seemed like it would be more work than the studying. But at least my dress was pretty. It had arrived yesterday, and I was really happy with it. It was worth every Galleon.

Hermione had decided, the day before the party, that she was taking Cormac up on his offer to be her date to the party. She hadn't brought Ron or the events of Saturday night up since they happened, and I didn't want to press for details.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" I asked her, as we were both working in the Library. I watched the snow fall out the window that was behind her. It was snowing hard; the whole Scottish landscape was covered in white. If the sun had been up, it would have glistened beautifully.

"Definitely," she said. "I think he will be a fine date."

I raised my eyebrows at her, but just nodded. I wasn't going to try and change her mind. She knew it wasn't going to be enjoyable. "All right," I said. I couldn't help but chuckle. At the very least, we would have a lot to laugh about later.

About twenty four hours later, we were getting ready for the party. My dress was blue, and was strapless with a full skirt. However, my favorite part was the lace overlay. I had even asked Adam to charm my shoes the same shade of blue that my dress was. I put it on, and felt great in it.

I went downstairs to look for Adam. I hadn't seen him since breakfast, but he had told me he would be ready in time for the party. I couldn't wait to see him; I thought he looked so attractive when he was wearing formal robes. And there was no reason we shouldn't have fun tonight.

I went down the stairs slowly, trying to keep balance in my high heels. I couldn't remember the last time I had worn them. I couldn't wait to see how lovely Adam looked in his fancy robes.

But when I got down to the Common Room, he was sitting in an armchair, staring off into the fire. "Adam," I said, standing in front of him. "Why aren't you ready?"

He just looked up at me then back down at the fire and sighed. I could tell something was the matter; I just had no idea what.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"I got rejected by the Aurors," he said quietly, so that other people wouldn't hear him.

"Oh," I said, feeling like my stomach suddenly was full of bricks. I felt terrible. I knew he really didn't want to be an Auror, but having that option would have made the upcoming Christmas break a lot easier on him. His family would accept it until he had something better come along. Now I knew he was in for a rough time at Christmas. "I'm so sorry."

I grasped his wrists and pulled him up so he was on my level. I wrapped my arms around him and tightly squeezed him. "I have nothing," he said to me. I could sense how tight his throat was, he was restraining tears.

"That's a lie, Adam," I told him. "You're a fantastic person. Something will come along for you, I just know it."

He just shook his head. I knew it was terribly hard for him, and I really wanted to comfort him. There was nothing I could really do, though. I wasn't able to turn back time and force him to get better grades the last few years. I couldn't magically get him a job offer. I could only be there for him, and that didn't feel like enough.

"Such a load of shit, Kat," he bit out, "I don't have anything." A fire quickly flashed through his eyes and then died down a bit. He was getting really upset.

"Hey, hey," I said, trying to curb his sudden angry mood. I was trying to comfort him here, not anger him. I glanced quickly down to my watch and knew I would be late to the party now. "This isn't my fault."

"Oh, it's mine, right?" he asked, his whole demeanor changed, his face accusatory. "Yeah, I know. You ended up with the stupid boyfriend, didn't you? Enjoy your night with your smart friends. I'm not going."

I had no idea what I had done to deserve this. I was trying to make him feel better, but this whole event was obviously exposing emotions he had been keeping hidden the last few months. "Adam," I choked out. "What do you mean? I want you to go,please."

He just shook his head. "Bye, Kat," he said.

I was determined that this party would be good for him. It would take his mind off of this and we would have fun. "You're being a git," I told him. "Now, please, go upstairs and get changed. It would be a good distraction, don't you think?"

"No," he told me. "Now, please, leave. Wouldn't want to be late."

"Why are you acting like this?" I asked him. "This is something that means a lot to me, and I wanted you to be there for me."

He didn't bother to answer; he just got up and walked away from me. I was astounded by his behavior. "Adam!" I said. "You're being an ass."

His only reaction was to shrug as he walked to the stairs to his dorm. I didn't want to make a huge spectacle out of this, we were in the Common Room, after all, and I was running really late by now. I was in a terrible mood and just wanted to go upstairs and curl up in bed. However, I knew I had to go to the party now. Plus it would be a good distraction. This row with Adam had left a terrible taste in my mouth and I didn't want to dwell on it now.

So I made my way down to the dungeons. I could hear music playing from down the hall, and that immediately lifted my mood a bit. Walking in, I was amazed by the change in the dungeons. They were decorated very tastefully and didn't really look like dungeons anymore. Looking around, I tried to spot someone I knew so that I could latch on to them. I was mostly looking for Hermione.

I finally found her on the edge of the room, looking like she was trying not to attract any attention to herself. She was with Harry.

"Hey," I said, coming up next to her.

She jumped. "Kat!" she said. "You scared me. I thought that you were Cormac."

I couldn't help but laugh. Only fifteen minutes into the party and she was already avoiding him like the plague. "Sorry," I said.

"Where's Adam?" she asked. She and Adam had never really met, and I had looked forward to introducing him to my new friend. But that wasn't going to happen now.

I sighed. "Long story," I told her. "But he's not coming."

"No?" she asked. "I'm sorry. That's too bad."

I just shrugged, not sure of the situation. "What about you two? Where did your dates get off to?"

Harry nodded in the direction of the dance floor, where Luna Lovegood was doing a very interesting dance. I suppressed a giggle out of politeness to Harry.

Hermione sighed. "I've just... slipped away from him for a bit," she said. She looked out and scanned the floor for him. He was obviously looking for her, but as we were sort of hiding behind an ice sculpture, he wasn't likely to find her.

"I see," I said. This would be an interesting night for her. "Well, this is going to be a fun night for us three."

They both chuckled, though it was very sarcastic. I was watching Cormac and saw that he had finally located her, and he was making his way over.

"You may want to duck away," I whispered to Hermione. She followed my line of vision and nodded, slipping out into the crowd.

I turned to Harry, feeling awkward because we were now without our hinge. We hadn't ever been alone before, but neither of us really wanted to be alone here, so we would stick together anyways.

Cormac had reached us at this point. "You seen Hermione?" he asked. "I could've sworn she was over here."

We both shrugged. "I thought I saw her go that way," I told him, pointing in the opposite direction of where she had gone. That would buy her a little while longer.

"Thanks!" he said.

"Good one," Harry said, laughing.

"Thanks," I said. I went and got a bowl of punch, because I was thirsty. He followed me.

"Ah, Miss Hammond, I've been looking for you," I heard Professor Slughorn say. I froze, because this didn't sound like it could be good. I turned around, putting a fake smile on my face.

"Hello, Professor," I said. Next to him, stood a younger man with darker skin. I didn't recognize him as a student.

"Have you seen Miss Granger?" he asked.

After a quick scan of the room, I came to the conclusion I had no idea where she was. "I can't say I have," I said.

"Oh, that's too bad. Mr. Potter, I'm glad you two came together," he said. Harry and I exchanged a worried look.

"Oh, no, we-" I began, but Slughorn simply waved me off.

"I wanted to introduce you, Katherine, to Duncan Shacklebolt. Head of Potions Research at St. Mungo's Hospital and nephew of Kingsley Shacklebolt."

"Oh," I said, not entirely sure why I was being introduced to him. But I shook his hand anyways. "Katherine Hammond."

"Great to meet you, Katherine" he said. "Horace has showed me the project that you and Hermione Granger worked on, about Sedation Serum. It's a brilliant product. I'm very interested in having it produced on a large scale and put into use at St. Mungo's. I think it would be a fantastic service to the hospital and I'm very interested in helping patent it. I believe it would open up a lot of opportunities for you, and of course, make a lot of money."

"Wow," I said. This was a fantastic opportunity. My mind was racing with all that this would open up for me. It would look fantastic on my resume, no matter what area of potions I pursued. "This sounds great."

"Good!" Duncan said. "Well, I will give you my contact information, and why don't you and Hermione figure out when would be a good time over the holiday and we can work out the fine print?"

"Yeah, that sounds great," I said. He handed me a business card. We made a bit more small talk, and moved on.

I was absolutely elated, though. That put a smile on my face, and I instantly forgot all about Adam's little meltdown earlier. I was proud that my work had paid off and couldn't wait to tell someone.

"Congratulations, Kat," Harry said, pulling me back to reality. "That's going to be so cool for you two. You both deserve it."

"Thank you," I said.

There seemed to be a bit of a clash around the entrance of the party. I was far back and couldn't hear what was going on, but I could see Professor Slughorn, Filch, and Draco Malfoy. There was something going on.

"I'll be right back," Harry said. "Bathroom."

"Of course," I said.

But I turned around to refill my glass of punch, and wouldn't see Harry again that night.

Author's Note: Sorry it's been awhile, guys. Been busy with school and family stuff, but I should be updating more regularly from now on. Thanks to potter-reading-coastie for betaing this chapter. Let me know what you think of the story :) I've been getting some great feedback. Thank you so much!