Hey Lovelies! So this is the third one. I know I'm torturing you by not telling you whom the "Lady" is. There have been many guesses, and some of you are right, but I'm not telling who... I will tell you that as far as who is alive and who is dead, and all that jazz, absolutely nothing that happened in the books has changed, except obviously the epilogue, since we know our dark haired witch is obviously not Ginny... This time it's Christmas, and our "Lady" is wrapped in Red. Enjoy!

The Lady In Red

She hadn't let him see the dress that she had picked out for tonight. She had promised him that he would appreciate it, but she had left it at that. The Ministry Christmas Gala was one function that he had never had any aspirations of attending. He wasn't even going to go this year until she had promised him that he would be in for a surprise if he did.

He wasn't facing the door when she arrived, but there was no doubt that she was there. He could feel her presence before he even turned around. And when he did he was shocked. She smiled, and held her head high as she made her way into the Ministry ballroom.

She seemed to float as her crimson velvet gown billowed around her feet. The square neckline cut across the top of her collarbone and the long, fitted sleeves ended in grand, flowing openings, the bottom of which reached her knees. If the front of her dress was modest the back told an entirely different story.

With a smirk she winked at him and then turned her back to him. It took every ounce of his will power to keep his jaw from dropping. The gown was backless. The pale expanse of her skin was exposed to the entire ballroom. All forty-seven of the tiny freckles that covered the back of her shoulders were exposed.

He knew there were forty-seven because he had counted them. He knew every mark on her body in the same fashion that she knew every blemish on his. Battle scars, birthmarks and freckles were their roadmaps. They could travel the expanse of one another using only the marks as a guide.

He couldn't help but notice that he wasn't the only one staring at her. Her dress was an uncharacteristic choice, and though he knew that she had chosen it on purpose, chosen it with his reaction in mind, he couldn't help but be jealous of all the attention that she was drawing to herself.

She had done it to torture him. He was sure of it. She was playing a game that she didn't understand. He would get his revenge for the amount of teasing that she was laying on him. He knew that he couldn't touch her here. If he did he was sure that he would give them away. Their secret had made it this long; he wasn't going to risk it all now. But how dearly she would pay.

"That's an awful predatory smirk Mr. Potter."

The low whisper from his side startled him. He spun to face the owner of the voice and smiled at her. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that Andromeda…" He tried to sound threatening, but his predatory smirk had turned into a teasing one and his threat lost all of its backing.

"I didn't sneak up on you. I merely walked over here. You were lost in your staring." She let her eyes drift away from him across the Gala to where the dark haired witch stood talking to a group of her peers.

"I wasn't staring." He mumbled.

"Oh, don't give me that. Every man here started staring the moment that she walked through that door." She laughed lightly, "I haven't seen her in something that daring in years. It's a nice change."

"You think so?" He tried to keep his tone casual, but something in his voice gave him away and Andromeda tried to hide her smile.

"She hasn't been this happy in years. I think that whoever he is, he may have saved her from herself. I was worried about her for a long time. Now I don't have to worry about her anymore."

Harry simply nodded. He knew what Andromeda meant, they didn't have secrets, and he knew which of her scars weren't from battle. He was glad to hear that someone who had been concerned for her no longer felt the need to be worried.

"Harry?" Her voice drew him out of his musings.

"Yeah?" He turned to look at her and her normally warm chocolate eyes had become harsh and cold. It was a true testament to her Black heritage that she could slip on the pureblood mask so easily.

"If you break her heart you will answer to me. We have known each other for what seems like forever, and if she doesn't kill you herself for hurting her you better watch your back."

His eyes went wide. "I, I, I…"

"Don't stutter Mr. Potter. It doesn't become you." She glared at him once more and then she let the mask fall away. Once more her eyes were soft and kind. "No one had to tell me Harry, I could tell from the jealous glint in your eye the moment the Minister touched her back."

"Andromeda, we…"

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone, but that won't stop people from figuring it out." She put her hand on his arm, "Take care of her Harry, the world is ready." One more pointed look and she disappeared back into the crowd.

He let Andromeda's words sink in and he approached his dark haired beauty from across the room. "Pardon me Minister." He nodded to Kingsley as he touched her elbow and looked over at her, "I was wondering if I could borrow you for a moment?"

She smiled at the Minister, "Excuse us?"

"Of course." He leaned over and brushed a kiss across her cheek and it was all Harry could do not to growl. He was sure that his fingers had left a bruise on her elbow when he tugged her away from the group across the hall.

"Harry, what…?" He had pulled her out a set of dark paned doors and onto an even darker balcony where they wouldn't be seen. He cut off her question with a demanding kiss and when he pulled back to breathe she looked all around them before laughing. "What was that?" She raised an eyebrow, "Were you jealous?" She teased.

He gave her that cocky grin that she was all too familiar with. "Maybe. You wore that dress on purpose. You have been teasing me since the second you came in and Kingsley was touching you, and I couldn't watch it anymore."

She brushed her fingers along his jaw and he caught just a glint of mischief in her eye before she flipped her curls over her shoulders and reached for his hand. "Then don't."

His surprised showed on his face. "Are you sure?"

"I told you that you were in for a surprise tonight." She bit her lip and started to lead them back into the party.

"I thought you meant the dress…"

Okay, so we know that Hermione knows her, whether or not it's closely is not for certain, but she was invited to her wedding. She is comfortable with the Minister, and with Harry's friends, and she is a long time acquaintance of Andromeda...Not to mention she just outed them to the entire Wizarding World... Who is she? Hmmmm...