A/N: Had great fun writing this chapter. Please let me know what you think.

Just a reminder: Bold=Rose, Italic=Scorp, Normal=Al though Al isn't actually part of this conversation.

Disclaimer: Not really sure why I have to do this every time, I think we're all aware by now that HP isn't mine

Dances, Dates and Disasters

SCORP?

SENDING MSSGS IN CLASS ROSE? TUT, TUT.

OH SHUT UP.

WHAT IS IT?

HAVE YOU HEARD THE RUMOUR ABOUT THE YULE BALL?

WHAT YULE BALL?

THAT WILL BE NO THEN. I HEARD SOMEONE SAYING THEY MIGHT BE HAVING A YULE BALL THIS XMAS, LIKE THEY DID 4 THE TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT YEARS AND YEARS AGO.

WASN'T THAT THE BALL UR MUM WENT 2 WITH VIKTOR KRUM.

DUNNO. I TRY NOT TO LISTEN TO RUMOURS ABOUT THINGS MY PARENTS DID WHEN THEY WERE YOUNGER. IT'S A BIT WEIRD.

YH I GUESS. SO THEY'RE HOLDING ONE THIS YEAR.

WELL IT'S NOT OFFICIAL. JUST A RUMOUR. BUT I THINK SO.

U'LL BE GOING WITH DANIEL THEN? IF THERE IS ONE?

YH AND I'M SO EXCITED! WE NEED 2 FIND U A DATE.

WHY?

BECAUSE IT'S A BALL. AND THERE'LL BE DANCING. AND U HAVE TO HAVE A DATE. IT WOULDN'T BE RIGHT OTHERWISE.

I'M QUITE HAPPY TO GO ON MY OWN.

BUT WHO WILL U DANCE WITH?

I DON'T DANCE.

BUT HOW CAN U NOT DANCE? THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT!

ROSE, IT'S MONTHS AWAY, AND WE DON'T EVEN KNOW 4 CERTAIN IF IT'S HAPPENING. LET'S NOT WORRY ABOUT IT YET.

K I SUPPOSE. BUT IT'S JUST SO EXCITING! MUM BOUGHT ME THIS GORGEOUS DRESS IN THE SUMMER HOLS AND I'VE BEEN DYING 4 A CHANCE 2 WEAR IT!

I'M SURE YOU'LL LOOK GORGEOUS. DANIEL'S A LUCKY GUY.

THANKS, SCORP. BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'LL DO WITH MY HAIR.

WHY DO U NEED 2 DO ANYTHING?

COS MY HAIR IS ALWAYS A MESS. BUT IT NEEDS 2 LOOK NICE 4 THE BALL.

UR HAIR IS FINE.

UR SUCH A GUY! AL CAN NEVER UNDERSTAND HAIR PROBLEMS EITHER. THEN AGAIN, AL WLD HAV TOLD ME 2 SHUT UP BY NOW. HE WLD NEVER HAV BOTHERED LISTENING 2 ME GOING ON ABOUT DRESSES AND HAIR AND DATES. THNX SCORP.

NO PROBLEM. WHAT R FRIENDS 4?

Mum,

It's official! There is going to be a Yule Ball at Hogwarts every year from now on, open to everyone from fourth year up. So I won't be coming home for Christmas, and neither will Al. He's taking Gemma Taylor. I think their relationship is official now. You can never be sure with Al, though.

Daniel is so sweet; he came up to me in the middle of the common room a couple of days ago and asked me to the Ball, and then when I said yes he yelled to the whole room that he was going to the Yule Ball with the most beautiful girl in Gryffindor. He's just so romantic! On my birthday he bought me a massive bunch of flowers, and walked right into the middle of my Charms lesson to give them to me. The teacher wasn't too pleased, and he ended up getting detention for disrupting the lesson, but he said he didn't care because he did it for me. Isn't that adorable?

Anyway, I'm just so excited about the Ball! I'll actually get to wear that beautiful dress you bought me, but I don't know what to do with my hair. I mean, I know I'm not really the most beautiful girl in Gryffindor, but after Dan said that I want to make as much effort as possible to look pretty. Do you know a spell or something that might help?

Love, Rose

Rose,

That's wonderful news about the Yule Ball. We had one in our fourth year, and it was wonderful. Just be glad you're in such a steady relationship, though, because our Yule Ball caused a lot of fighting and confusion as people tried to get dates and couldn't go with the people they wanted to, or went with the wrong people just to make each other jealous.

When it comes to your hair, Lily would be the best person to ask. As a second year, she won't be going obviously, but Ginny tells me she's a genius with hair and I'm sure she'd be happy to help you. There was a product I used on my hair for my Yule Ball, but I can't remember what it was called now, and I'm sure there are much more up-to-date products that Lily will know about.

I hope you have a great time.

Love, Mum

Mum and Dad,

I won't be home for Christmas as I'm staying for the Yule Ball. I hope you don't mind too much, but it's a massive occasion cos it's the first one in years and it's going to become a bit of a tradition after this. I'm not really that fussed, to be honest, but my friends are insisting that I can't possibly miss it, and I like spending Christmas at Hogwarts anyway. It's nice to be with all my friends on Christmas Day. Al will probably smuggle me into his dorm like he normally does, and I can sleep in there, though I may have to sleep on the floor this year because all of fourth year are staying and there won't be any spare beds, and then I can open my presents with him and Rose in the morning.

Love, Scorpius

Dear Grandma,

The whole school's in a state of excitement about the Yule Ball that's coming up. Rose is going with Daniel, obviously, and Al is going with Gemma. Rose keeps trying to find a date for me, and gets really frustrated that I won't ask anyone. She insists that there must be at least one girl in the school that I like at least a bit, and I can hardly tell her who the girl is that I really want to ask. Sometimes I consider asking someone just to stop her going on about it, but I can't bring myself to.

To be honest, I'd rather not go to the Ball at all, but everyone's so excited about it that I can't just turn around and say I don't want to go. Everyone who's old enough is going, and even those in younger years are trying to get dates with older students so that they can go.

Oh well, I suppose it won't be that bad. I'll just sit on my own for the whole evening and watch Rose dance with the handsome, romantic Daniel Macmillan who is just so perfect in every way and can do no wrong. What fun!

Sorry for being in such a bad mood. I've just been acting happy and excited constantly for the last few weeks and I needed to moan a bit. I promise I'll be more cheerful next time I write.

Love, Scorpius

Scorpius,

There's no need to apologise. Everyone needs to moan sometimes, and listening is exactly what I'm here for.

I can't really give you much advice when it comes to dealing with your situation, except to grin and bear it. Rose is going out with Daniel, and there's nothing you can do about that, so for just now you just have to put up with her going out with him. It wouldn't hurt for you to go with somebody else, even just as friends, but if you don't want to then I won't try to pressure you into it. In a couple of weeks this will all be over, just remember that and you'll get through somehow.

Lots of Love,

Grandma

Scorp,

I'm aware that it's 3am, and that you're probably asleep, but something terrible happened and I can't sleep. I didn't know who else to go to. I completely understand if you choose to ignore this owl completely and go back to sleep, but please, please, please don't.

Rose

Rose,

What happened? Are you okay? Is that why you weren't at dinner this evening?

Scorp

Scorp,

Yeah, I just couldn't face everyone after what happened. I was walking down a corridor on the way to dinner when I saw Daniel snogging that Ravenclaw girl, Debbie Cassidy. I dumped him, obviously, after I yelled at him for a while, but I just can't believe that happened. I thought we had such a great relationship!

Rose

Rose,

That bastard! How dare he do that to you? I'll kill him!

Scorp

Scorp,

No, please don't! That's why I told you first and not Al or any of my other cousins. I knew they'd just run off and beat him up or something, and that doesn't help at the moment. I just want to talk to someone.

Rose

Rose,

I'm sorry. Of course you want to talk, and I'm here to listen. I'm just so angry with him for treating you like that.

Scorp

Scorp,

I was angry too, at first. I'm not so much anymore, or not with him. Now I'm just angry with myself, for being so naïve and innocent. I was just so dazzled by all his romantic gestures and all that crap he spouted about me being the most beautiful girl in Gryffindor that I never even considered the idea of him being anything but completely faithful to me, like I was to him. I'm so stupid!

Rose

Rose,

Most beautiful girl in Gryffindor? Is that all? If he'd said you were the most beautiful girl in the school it would still have been a ridiculous understatement.

Scorp

Thanks, Scorp, that's sweet of you. You're a great friend.

Rose

Rose,

It's the absolute truth. And don't blame yourself for what happened. The guy's a jerk, but it wasn't your fault you didn't see that. He hid it very well, and you had every right to expect him to stay faithful to you. It's no less than you deserve.

Scorp

Scorp,

Thanks. Oh no! I just realised something: the Yule Ball's tomorrow night! What am I going to do? I was supposed to be going with Daniel!

Rose

Rose,

Just go alone. It's not that big a deal. I am, and so are lots of other people.

Scorp

Scorp,

I can't go alone! You don't understand; you're a guy. A guy on his own, especially if he could have had lots of girls like you could, looks mysterious and hard-to-get. A girl on her own just looks sad. I'll just have to not go. But it'll be so embarrassing! I've been going on and on about my dress and my hair for months, and I was really looking forward to it! It'll be so depressing sitting in my dorm on my own while everyone else is having fun, and listening to the others going on and on about how wonderful it was afterwards.

Rose

Rose,

So go with me. Not as a date, but just as friends. And you can still wear your dress and look absolutely stunning and dazzle everyone, and you can dance with loads of different guys and show Daniel exactly what he just lost.

Scorp

Scorp,

With you? Are you sure you don't mind?

Rose

Rose,

Of course I don't mind! Why would I mind escorting my best friend, who also happens to be the most beautiful girl in the school, to the Yule Ball? And besides, it's not like I was planning to go with anyone else. And you certainly can't sit in your dorm on your own. That will just make Daniel think that he actually managed to hurt you. You've got to make him regret the day he chose to throw away his chance with Rose Weasley. You're worth a million of Debbie Cassidy, and after tomorrow night he'll see that, but it'll be too late for him to get you back.

Scorp

Scorp,

You're right! Daniel will rue the day he cheated on Rose Weasley. I deserve so much better than him. Thanks for listening, and for agreeing to do this for me. You're the best, Scorp.

Rose

No problem, Rose. What else are friends for?

Dear Grandma,

Merry Christmas! Thanks a lot for your present, and I hope you and Grandad had a great Christmas.

Well, I have some unexpected news. Rose and I went to the Yule Ball together. That's not what it sounds like, though. Rose caught Daniel cheating on her with some Ravenclaw slut and they broke up two days before the Ball, so I said I would go with her, just as friends.

She looked incredible. Absolutely incredible. I'm not going to try and describe how beautiful she was, because no words could do her justice. Every eye was on us as we stepped into the Great Hall, and it certainly wasn't me they were looking at. Not that it surprised me – I've always known she was the most beautiful girl in the school – but I think that it was the first time everyone else saw what I've always been able to see.

She only danced with me once, for the first dance. Not that I'm annoyed with her for that, because it was me who told her to dance with loads of different guys and make Daniel jealous. Dancing with her was great, but I loved watching her dance, too. She looked so happy. She has the most amazing smile.

Anyway, the "making Daniel jealous" plan worked. When she walked in he just stopped and stared at her. I think it was a full minute before he remembered to close his mouth. And then, halfway through the evening, he had the nerve to come up and try to apologise, and persuade Rose to come back to him. She laughed in his face, of course, but right then I could have punched him, and you know how much I hate violence. Al really did punch him, and it was lucky for him that Professor Longbottom stepped in before the entire Weasley family attacked him. Though I noticed Professor Longbottom didn't actually punish Al for the punch, and I think he might have heard what happened.

One of the guys Rose danced with, Charlie Holland, asked her to go to Hogsmeade with him next time there's a Hogsmeade weekend. I think she only said yes to annoy Daniel, but either way I'm happy for her. Charlie's a nicer guy than Daniel, and I don't think he would ever hurt her. He'd better not anyway, because I don't think I could ever forgive him if he did, and he sleeps in my dorm so that could be quite awkward for the next few years.

Well, it's certainly been an eventful Christmas.

Love, Scorpius