Upon setting eyes on Ginny in the commonroom before going down to the ball, Harry was certain of one thing. He had fought Voldemort, battled Death Eaters, slayed dragons, and killed a basilisk. He was proud of all of that. But nothing compared to how proud he felt knowing that he'd be escorting the most beautiful girl at Hogwarts to the Snowflake Ball.

She waited for him in the commonroom, wearing a satin dress the color of celery, with bell sleeves and a long skirt. Around her waist was a gold ribbon. Her hair was done up in curls, pinned to her head-- Hermione had helped her-- and crystal chandeliers dangled from her delicate ears.

"You're beautiful." Harry was breathless.

Blushingly, she smiled. "Thank you."

"Here," Harry said, remembering suddenly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gold ring with a red jewel set in it. "It was my mum's. I pulled it from the wreckage that day. I want you to have it."

"Oh," Ginny breathed, "I couldn't--"

"Please."

With a demure smile, she held her left hand out for him, and he slipped the delicate band onto her ring finger.

"It's beautiful," she said, twirling it. "Thank you."

He gave her a quick kiss. "Shall we?"

She beamed. "Let's."

They made their way down to the Great Hall, which had been cleared out and decorated magnificently. Great ice sculptures of unicorns and phoenixes and other majestic creatures dotted the floor, while little fire-fairies flitted about, lighting candles. From the ceiling, an icicle chandelier gave the room a bit of sparkle, and a faint dusting of snow covered the entire floor.

"Look," Ginny said, "there's Hermione and Neville." She waved, and they made their way over.

Harry was quite sure he'd never seen Hermione looking so radiant, either. She was in a vibrant red dress that clung to her like a second skin, with lipstick to match. Her hair was identical to Ginny's style, accentuated by sparkles. But the thing that made her glow the most was her smile. Harry was sure if all the candles went out and the chandelier lost its enchantment, Hermione's smile would still be there to light the night.

"Hi!" said Hermione merrily.

"Hey, Hermione," Ginny returned. "You look great!"

"Thanks. You too. So, did you manage to escape the Slug Club party?" Her grin was infectious, and Harry laughed.

"Yes. Ginny and I told him that we had a pressing engagement."

"Which was?" She raised an eyebrow.

Harry shrugged. "Serving detentions."

Neville and Hermione both laughed. "And what was it really?"

"Make-up time," said Ginny.

"Nap time," said Harry.

Everyone laughed.

"Let's go get punch," Hermione suggested.

They made their way over to the refreshment table.

"Let's hope Dean and Seamus didn't spike it," Ginny said.

Harry smiled. "I'll taste test it for you." He ladled himself a cup. "Seems fine to me." He set it down and got one for Ginny, who accepted it with a smile.

Padma, accompanied by Michael Corner, joined the foursome. "Hi!" she greeted them. "Michael and I decided to come-- just as friends." She stressed the last three words. "Where's Ron at?"

"Oh," Harry said, "he's up in the dormitories."

Her expression turned to one of concern. "How come?"

"He's... he's not feeling well," said Harry uncomfortably.

Just then, the Weird Sisters came out onto the stage, which was actually several large ice blocks cemented with packed snow and covered with a clear pane of glass. Without introduction, they began to play one of their more popular dance songs.

"Oooh!" Hermione set her glass down and grabbed Neville's wrist. "C'mon-- I love this song!"

Ginny and Harry laughed, following. "Is it just me," Ginny said, "or is she ten times happier since she and my brother split?"

Although he knew Ron was spending the night alone, sulking in Gryffindor Tower, he felt a smile come to his face as he watched Hermione, spinning and laughing. "She is. I think she feels-- sort of reborn, in a way." He sighed. "I just wish Ron would take it the same way."

She nodded and held out both hands. "Want to dance?"

Harry grinned and allowed her to lead him out onto the floor, but just as they started to move, the song switched to a slow ballad.

Contentedly, Ginny leaned her head against Harry's shoulder as they fell into step with the music. She watched the people around her go by. "Hey," she said, "Malfoy came."

Harry turned. Sure enough, there he was, in full black, his straw-blond hair and pale face a painful contrast to the dress robes he wore. "He must be with Millicent?"

Ginny shook her head. "Millicent is dating a Slytherin in my year," she told him.

"Maybe he came alone."

Shrugging, Ginny nestled closer to him. "Maybe he came with Neville's toad."

"Even Trevor wouldn't stoop so low."

Ginny laughed.

After the slow song ended, Professor Slughorn stepped onto the stage. "Welcome, Hogwarts students, to the Snowflake Ball! As you can see, I have invited my dear friends from the Weird Sisters to provide some of tonight's entertainment..."

Hermione edged her way through the crowd. "Talk, talk, talk," she whispered in Harry's ear, who gave her a good-natured smile.

"How did he get his head through the door?" Ginny said sardonically.

"I'm going to get punch," Neville said, walking away.

"I think that now, they'll play that fast one," Slughorn suggested, looking round at the lead singer. "Bewitched?"

The Weird Sisters struck up the song.

"Better watch the bass player," Slughorn said with a wink, and left the stage.

"Maybe," Ginny puffed as Harry twirled her, "he'll run into the centaurs."

"Why couldn't the goblins have visited his classroom?" Hermione covered her mouth. "Oh, that's a terrible thing to say..." She bit her lip, but giggled.

"Or maybe," called Harry the next time they passed her, "he'll just save us all the trouble and gorge himself on crystallized pineapple."

Laughing, Hermione spun around, and found herself face-to-face with Draco Malfoy. Her lips flattened into a thin line.

"Granger," he said acidly.

"Malfoy."

And without a word, without thinking, he set his right hand on Hermione's waist and slipped his fingers into hers. A waltz began, and they began to step to the music.

It was several seconds before either of them said a word.

"I don't blame you for anything," Hermione whispered.

Draco tightened his grip on her waist and pulled her closer. "I know."

They danced quietly, ignoring the stares of the people around them, paying no mind to the indignant stare of Ginny Weasley as she looked over Harry's shoulder in ire. As the song ended, Hermione nodded at the door, and they hurried wordlessly out into the hallway and into the courtyard, choosing to hide themselves behind a cluster of trees.

Draco's defenses went up immediately. "You're not going to get any secrets out of me, Granger, and I'm not going to tell you where Snape--"

Hermione stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his. Draco's eyes grew wide in shock; he watched her intently for a moment, then let his eyelids drop, reaching out to pull her close.

Meanwhile, Ginny was yanking her heels off in a huff. "First Dumbledore trusts Snape, and Snape kills him. Then you saw Malfoy with your own eyes, admitting to everything he's done-- the necklace, the mead-- which almost killed my brother-- the Imperius Curse on Rosmerta, letting Death Eaters into the school-- trying to murder Dumbledore-- and McGonagall says she believes he won't do anything else wrong, and lets him back into the school?" She sat down hard on a stair. "And now he's charming Hermione," she sighed. "He'll murder her, you know it."

In his mind's eye, Harry saw Draco lowering his wand as Dumbledore tried to reason with him. "He's had a tough time, Ginny," he said slowly, remembering his words in the tower. "Voldemort sent him to kill Dumbledore and threatened to kill his parents if he didn't succeed."

Ginny turned on him. "Now you're defending him?" she spat incredulously. "After all he's done?"

"Malfoy's not an angel by any means," Harry said to her, "but I do pity him a little. He's a slave to his father and to Voldemort. I doubt he's as monstrous as he tries to make himself appear."

"I always saw him as a bit of a prat," Ginny mused. "I mean, he was always talking big, but never did much to back it up."

"Until Voldemort's ultimatum."

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a moment, Ginny massaging the balls of her feet.

"Are you going over break?" she finally asked. "To look for Pettigrew?"

Harry nodded.

"I'm coming with," Ginny told him.

"Ginny..."

"Shut up," she said flatly. "If you're gone, there's no point in me being here anyway."

He turned in surprise.

"Oh, don't look so shocked," she continued, her words tumbling over one another. "You know it's always been this way for me. And it always will be, too. I love you."

Harry smoothed a lock of hair from her face. "Oh, Gin." He wrapped his arms around her. "I love you too."

The pale yellow sunrise filtered through the ice and snow before Harry and Ginny made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. He bid her goodnight with a long kiss outside the portrait hole, and they made their way up to their respective dormitories.

Everyone else was asleep in their beds already, including Neville, who had spent the remainder of his evening with Luna Lovegood after it was evident Hermione wouldn't be returning to the dance. Harry tiptoed around, trying not to wake anyone.

"How was the dance?" came a tired voice, and Harry turned to see Ron sitting up.

Harry nodded. "It was okay," he said carefully. "Padma was asking about you."

"Was she?" He shifted. "So, did Hermione and Neville get on well?"

"Actually," Harry said with a grin, "Neville spent most of the night with Luna."

Ron cracked a smile. "That," he said, "is pretty much awesome." He paused. "So who did Hermione spend most of the night with?"

Harry shrugged. "Dunno."

"What do you mean you don't know? Wasn't she with you?"

"Well, for the beginning she was..."

"Then what happened?"

"She had a dance with someone else--"

"Who?"

Harry sighed. "Malfoy."

Ron sat bolt upright. "What?"

"Yeah."

"And then what happened?"

"They went off together. I didn't see them for the rest of the--"

"Bloody hell!" interjected Ron, jumping out of bed. "And you just let her go?"

"I'm not her father, Ron," Harry said. "Besides, they were on the other side of the room. I only saw them as they were leaving."

"Bloody hell!" he said again. "Why didn't-- he could have--" His eyes blazed with fury. "Why didn't you go after her?" His tone was accusing.

Neville stirred. "What's with all the yelling?" He rubbed his eyes.

Ron turned on him. "She was your date, you could have stopped her from going off with him, but no, you had to go after Loony..."

He turned pink. "Hermione and I were there as friends," he said pointedly. "And her name," he added, "is Luna."

Angrily, Ron looked from Harry to Neville. "Forget it," he said irritably, and stomped out of the room.