Disclaimer: Unless my Dumbledore keychain has undiscovered magical abilities, I still don't own anything significant (but I'll let you know if anything changes).

Author's Note: Sorry for the longer waiting period on this chapter—I was on vacation and didn't finish the editing in time to post it before I left. The waiting period for the next chapter may be of a similar length, as I've got another fic that needs to be updated and another one that needs to be posted. It won't be long though, I promise. As always, thanks for the reviews—they made my day (well 'days' would be a more accurate term, as I didn't get them all at the same time. But you know what I mean).

Chapter 3: Unexpected Announcements

By the end of class, I had discovered that all four of the quills in my bag had been enchanted. The enchantments grew more noticeable as I tried different quills—my last quill sprouted arms and legs and began doing a complicated tap dance across my desk. Luckily, Professor Flitwick happened to be in a good mood and was rather tickled by the entire display—he actually awarded the twins house points for performing such a clever charm.

"When do they find time to do all of this?" asked Vivian after class had ended.

"This sort of thing comes naturally to Fred and George," I replied, shoving the dancing quill into my book bag.

"Lee only encourages it," added Angelina as we exited the room.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," said Lee cheekily as he fell into step beside us, accompanied by the twins.

"Oh trust me, it is," said Angelina dryly.

"No doubt," agreed Alicia.

"Come off it, Angelina, you know you love me," grinned Lee.

"Nearly as much Filch loves Fred and George," she replied.

"Oh, he loves us," Fred assured her.

"He's just not sure how to show it," explained George.

"Then you must fancy going on a date with me, Angelina!" concluded Lee.

"Oh, not this again," sighed Angelina, rolling her eyes. She walked ahead of us in her effort to avoid Lee, who was continuing his campaign for a date. It was half-jesting, half-serious game that had been going on since our second year and it was always amusing to witness.

"How are you, Sophie?" asked Fred, falling into step beside me.

"Fred Weasley, if you really think that a rubber newt is going to change my mind, you are sorely mistaken," I replied.

"When did you get so cheeky?" inquired George.

"When my quills started tap dancing across my desk," I said, arching an eyebrow at him.

"Actually, we mainly wanted to test the reaction on unsuspecting students," explained Fred. "We decided you would be the perfect candidate."

"Fred thought maybe you'd scream in class again," added George with a rather large grin.

"That was fairly disappointing, but entertaining nonetheless," Fred informed me.

"Well, I'm glad I could amuse you," I replied.

"But as you did bring it up…" continued Fred with a grin.

"You know it's worthless, Fred," stated Viv. "She can be terribly stubborn when she has half a mind to."

"Oh, I think we can persuade her," said Fred, wiggling his eyebrows.

"You're wasting your time," I assured him. "Perhaps you ought to bother someone else. I can't be the only student with a birthday after October."

"Ah, but Sophie, it's about reputation," said George, raising an index finger in the air.

I frowned. "What?"

"We need the signatures of students of good repute," he clarified.

"Perhaps you'd be best off with Harry Potter's signature," suggested Alicia wryly.

"By 'students of good repute', we mean 'students who rarely get into trouble'," explained Fred.

"Oh, honestly," I sighed.

"How many times have you had detention?" asked Fred.

"Well…never," I admitted.

"Have you ever lost house points?" asked George.

"Yes—"

"From anyone other than Snape?" queried Fred with a smug look on his face.

"Or Filch?" added George.

"No…"

"There you are! The perfect candidate!" declared Fred. I sighed.

"It wouldn't be very convincing if only Fred, Lee, and I signed it," explained George. "You know…given our records and all."

"Is that all the signatures you've got?" asked Viv incredulously.

"No, we're up to twelve, including the three of us," said Fred.

"But we need someone with a decent reputation—" began George.

"Someone like Sophie," added Fred, nudging me with his elbow in a friendly manner.

"—to sign and give the petition legitimacy," concluded George.

"So I've been chosen for my superior moral character," I stated, a small smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.

"Precisely," said Fred.

"Well, as a person of superior moral character, I can't very well sign something I don't believe in, can I?" I replied.

The twins looked at me and then at each other.

"Well…"

"Er…"

"I think you'd best look for a new strategy," suggested Viv with a laugh, while Alicia artfully repressed a fit of giggles. "Or give up entirely."

"Never!" declared Fred.

"It's a minor setback," replied George. He sent a grin and a wink in my direction. "We'll have you yet, Sophie."

I shook my head, both amused and vaguely frightened by what they might come up with next.

Fortunately, the twins did not get a chance to rally their efforts. The very next day (on Viv's seventeenth birthday) Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrived at the castle. The subsequent welcoming feast marked the beginning of the Tournament as well as the unveiling of the Goblet of Fire, which further thwarted Fred, George, and Lee's plans.

"It's a pity, really," Vivian said to the boys in the common room after the feast. "All that effort and the judge can't even read."

"Oh, Vivian," sighed Fred, shaking his head.

"You really underestimate us, don't you?" asked George with an air of disappointment.

"You really think you'll be able to outwit the Goblet?" asked Alicia incredulously.

"'You really think you'll be able to outwit the Goblet?' she asks," chuckled Fred dismissively.

"It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of how," George said confidently.

"What about Dumbledore?" asked Alicia, raising an eyebrow.

"What about him?" countered Fred.

"The man is a genius," stated Alicia. "You're all quite clever, but you're certainly nowhere near Dumbledore."

"Your lack of confidence is very disappointing," said Fred, shaking his head.

"Indeed," agreed Lee.

"You're absurd, the three of you," declared Viv, rolling her eyes.

The boys feigned offense and got up from their seats with quite a lot of huffing and many declarations of "Well, I never!"

"And I never got that birthday gift you promised," Viv called at their retreating backs.

The three of them turned around, Fred and George smiling rather wickedly.

"Oh, you just haven't found it yet," said Fred with a terribly mischievous grin.

Fortunately for both of them, they were up the stairs and locked in their dormitory before Viv could retaliate.

Viv's gift turned out to be a major "improvement" on her Divination textbook. Whenever she opened the book, it would sing a very rude tavern song called "Sebastian the Squib". The worst part was it refused to stop until it had gone through all five verses.

"When did they get a hold of this?" Viv demanded, stuffing the book back into her bag in hopes of muffling the song. It didn't really work.

"Who knows?" I shrugged.

"You leave your bag unattended quite often enough," Alicia pointed out.

"I've got to use the book for my homework," grumbled Viv as she reached for the porridge. "They'd better put it right before Monday's class or Madam Pomfrey won't be able to bring them back from where I'll send them."

Fortunately for Fred and George, Madam Pomfrey got a hold of them before Viv would able to. Shortly after she made her threat, Fred and George's brilliant plan to fool the Goblet with Aging Potion backfired spectacularly in the form of two identical white beards sprouting on each of their faces. Viv's mood improved considerably after this.

"I can't say they didn't deserve it," said Viv with a satisfied smile as they headed up to the hospital wing with a laughing Lee.

"That was brilliant," I said, laughing. "It was almost worth all the harassment."

"I don't—"

Viv was interrupted by a loud cheer as Angelina came over to the Gryffindor table beaming.

"Looks like she's done it," I remarked as Angelina sat down with some fourth years.

"Have you put your name in yet, Viv?" asked Alicia.

"Did it last night," replied Viv, casting an annoyed look at her bag as the final muffled lines of "Sebastian the Squib" reached a loud crescendo.

"D'you think you'll get it?"

Viv shrugged. "No. I did it for a lark, really. That's why I put my name in last night—I didn't want anyone laughing at me."

"No one would laugh at you," said Alicia. "You're as qualified as anyone else."

"Well, they'd talk, and that's almost worse," replied Viv. "You know how Hogwarts is with gossip." She looked at her bag again. "I still don't know what I'm going to do without a proper Divination textbook…"

Luckily, good-looking Dan Crawford happened to be passing by at that moment.

"Viv, d'you need a book?" he asked, holding up his own copy of Unfogging the Future.

"Yes, mine's…indisposed," she replied, nudging her bag. This unfortunately resulted in the book immediately bursting into song.

"Sebastian was a Squib, but he sure knew how to use his wand…" sang the book. Viv glared at her bag.

Dan grinned. "You can borrow mine if you'd like."

Alicia and I exchanged a look, barely hiding our grins.

"Are you sure?" asked Viv, looking slightly relieved.

"Yeah, I finished the assignment this morning," he said, handing her his book. "Be careful with the chart in Chapter Six—it's rather confusing."

Viv grinned. "Thanks, Dan."

Dan flashed that irresistible grin that made the entire female population of Hogwarts weak in the knees.

"Not a problem. See you in class, yeah?"

"See you," she said as he departed.

"Viv, you're so lucky," sighed Alicia.

Viv shrugged. "I've helped him with homework before. He's probably returning the favor."

"Or not," I replied. With her curly black hair, blue eyes, and ivory complexion, Viv was nothing short of a beauty, although she didn't seem particularly aware of it. Alicia said perhaps it was just as well—otherwise she'd be intolerable.

"You're such romantics, the two of you," sighed Viv, shaking her head.

"You know you enjoyed it," said Alicia. "Perhaps you ought to be thanking Fred and George—it worked out in your favor, didn't it?"

"He'd had his way with countless witches / 'cos he just couldn't keep it in his britches…"

"Oh shut up," muttered Viv to her book.

The day passed fairly uneventfully from there and soon it was time for the champions to be announced. Angelina and Viv were naturally quite nervous and excited and kept looking up toward the faculty table throughout dinner. Fred, George, and Lee were all quite cheerful, despite the fact that their plans had been so publicly foiled.

Dinner was followed by excitement, which was quickly followed by scandal at the announcement of Harry Potter's name. In all honesty, it didn't really bother me that much at all. I suppose I was slightly curious as to how he got his name in the Goblet (and all right, it was a little bigheaded of him to put it in there in the first place), but I didn't understand why everyone had to get so fussy about the two Hogwarts champions. After all, wasn't it just a game?

However, not everybody shared my laissez-faire attitude about the two champions. Most of Gryffindor was very supportive of the idea and a congratulatory party was thrown for Harry in the common room that evening. Angelina later said that she thought it was slightly arrogant of Harry to go and put his name in, but she said it in such a way that it was more of a compliment than an insult. Viv agreed with Angelina, although she said it didn't really matter anyway, as she didn't have a chance next to Cedric Diggory.

Of course, the Slytherins responded with their usual degree of maturity. Draco Malfoy saw it fit to pass out badges that read "Support Cedric Diggory—the REAL Hogwarts Champion!" and flashed "Potter Stinks" when you pressed them. Viv made a point of rolling her eyes in derision as we passed. Malfoy noticed and smirked smugly.

"Like my badge, do you, Archer?"

"Well, obviously it's the best you can do," said Viv in a patronizing sort of way. "I don't think you're capable of anything witty."

"Vivian…" I hissed under my breath, tugging discreetly on the sleeve of her robe as Malfoy's smirk faded and his cheeks flushed slightly in anger.

"That's nice, coming from a—" he began.

"I know, I'm a cheap tart, my family's a disgrace, and my cat's a blood traitor," sighed Viv with an air of boredom. "Honestly. Let me know if you think of something original."

Malfoy's eyes narrowed. "You—"

But Viv didn't wait to hear whatever Malfoy thought she was and continued on her way to class.

"Viv! You really oughtn't to have said that!" I scolded as I ran to catch up with her.

"Oh, what's he going to do?" asked Viv, looked quite unconcerned.

"Yes, but you know how his family is," I replied. The Malfoys had been linked to Dark Arts when You-Know-Who was alive. They weren't people you'd want to anger.

"Even if what they say is true, their biggest ally is dead," stated Viv, raising an eyebrow. "Besides, I'm doing him a favor. He can't expect to win arguments using the same insults all the time." She raised an eyebrow and gave a mischievous smile.

I sighed. "Obviously you're not going to listen to me. But really, you ought to watch your tongue."

Viv laughed. "Right, as soon as Hagrid joins up with the London Ballet."

Unfortunately, not all the ill-will came from Slytherin. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were uncharacteristically chilly not just towards Harry, but the entire Gryffindor house. I suppose that you can't really blame them, but it got really annoying really fast. In Herbology, Heather Merrill, a Hufflepuff, ignored my request for the shears, which ended up resulting in another bite from one of Professor Sprout's wonderful new plants. Vivian, as she was wont to do, exchanged heated words with several members of the Ravenclaw house. This became particularly exciting when Dan Crawford came to her defense during a Divination class.

I suppose the biggest surprise was Ron Weasley's reaction. He, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger had more or less been attached at the hip since their first year. But after the announcement of the champions, Ron was seen less with Harry and more frequently with his brothers and Lee Jordan.

"What's going on?" I asked the twins one morning at breakfast after Ron had left.

Fred shrugged. "Some row about the Tournament."

"They bicker like an old married couple," sighed George. "Hermione, too. If it's not one thing, it's another."

After the announcement of the champions, the days seemed to blend together in one mess of schoolwork and classes. I remember the First Task only because the dragons terrified me.

"This is exactly why I was not keen on entering the Tournament," I said to Fred and George as Viktor Krum entered the ring. I was twisting my hands nervously in my lap. Even though we were fairly far away from the dragons, I was still exceptionally nervous.

"Oh, come off it, Sophie," said Fred. "It's just a dragon."

The crowd gasped as Krum narrowly avoided a jet of flame from the dragon's mouth.

"Oh, right. Just a dragon," I replied sarcastically. "Practically harmless."

"Sophie, you've cut off circulation to my arm," declared Angelina. I had inadvertently caught hold of her arm when the dragon breathed fire. I was still clutching her rather tightly.

"Oh, sorry," I said, letting go of her arm.

After the First Task was over, my attention went back to classes and homework, with frequent bouts of avoiding homework with the help of my friends. Ron and Harry apparently made up, as he began spending less time with his brothers and more time with Harry and Hermione. Life was as normal as it could be at Hogwarts and I was quite content with the way things were.

It was only with McGonagall's announcement that my focus sharply changed.

"I have an announcement," Professor McGonagall declared near the end of class one day. The scattered murmurs and laughter came to a reluctant halt.

"As you may know, the Triwizard Tournament includes a formal ball on Christmas evening—the Yule Ball."

There were a few excited murmurs, mostly from the girls. McGonagall silenced them with a stern look. She cleared her throat and continued.

"This gives the three schools an opportunity to mingle and socialize. Now…" She paused, her expression growing more serious. "I want you to understand while this is a social occasion, the same standards of behavior shall apply. As sixth years, I expect you especially to be on your best behavior and set a good example for the younger students."

She looked pointedly at the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan.

"Now, if there are no questions, class is dismissed."

I gathered my things, listening as Viv, Alicia, and Angelina began whispering and giggling.

"Who d'you you think you'll ask?" asked Viv in a whisper as we exited the classroom.

"Er…no one," I replied.

"Come on, Sophie, you've got to have someone in mind," insisted Alicia.

"Well…I don't really know if I want to ask someone…"

Viv sighed. "Fine. Who do you want to ask you?"

I chewed on my lip for a moment. "Er…well, I dunno if I want to go."

Viv gave an almighty sigh. "Sophie!"

"What? I'm very non-confrontational, you know that," I protested.

"This is a ball, Sophie, not a war," Angelina pointed out.

"And it's foolish to not consider going because you're worried about a date," added Alicia.

"Well, it's a rather big thing to me!" I said. "Besides, they'll probably be lined up outside the common room to get to you three."

Viv gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "Nonsense."

"You won't have any trouble, a pretty little thing like you," stated Angelina.

"You're awfully kind," I replied, with a wry sort of smile, "but I'm afraid you're mistaken."

"Just don't worry about it," advised Alicia. "It's not worth worrying about."

Try as I might, I could not take Alicia's reassurances to heart. Although I tried to put on an indifferent front, I really did want to go to the ball. Mum and I had spent nearly an entire afternoon in Diagon Alley trying to find the perfect set of dress robes. We finally settled on a pair of shimmering pale gold with beading on the waist, neck, and sleeves. I had been looking forward to wearing them and I would feel terribly guilty if the entire shopping endeavor had to go to waste.

Naturally, I spent the next few days panicking and worrying. I worried about having a date and not having a date. I worried about having to ask someone myself and being rejected and/or laughed at. I worried that I would have to go with a first year because everyone else was paired up.

"This is ridiculous," I declared one evening while sitting at a table in the common room with Viv, Angelina, and Alicia. "I'm going to go mad before Christmas."

"Really, Sophie, you're going to be fine," said Vivian looking up from her Potions essay.

"Spoken like a girl who's already got a date," I replied.

"Well, not really," said Vivian. She paused and thought for a moment. "No, well…I mean, I've been asked, but I haven't said yes so I don't quite have a date yet—"

"Someone asked you and you didn't tell us?" I exclaimed.

"Well, I haven't decided between the two of them yet…"

My jaw dropped. Angelina looked up from her Astronomy textbook and Alicia nearly knocked over her bottle of ink.

"Two?" the three of asked all at once.

"Yes," said Viv, quite unconcernedly.

"What?" I asked.

"Who are they?" Angelina wanted to know.

"Tell us everything," demanded Alicia.

"All right, all right," sighed Viv, as though this wasn't a big deal. "This boy from Beauxbatons—Adam—asked me this morning. I've seen him in the library and last week he helped me with my Transfiguration essay. But before I could give him an answer, Dan Crawford—"

Angelina's jaw dropped. "Dan Crawford?"

"Yes, Dan Crawford," said Viv.

"Dan Crawford asked you and you didn't say anything to us?" gasped Alicia.

Viv shrugged. "I didn't think it was that urgent."

"If it involves a date with Dan Crawford, it's urgent," stated Alicia.

"I'll make a note of that," remarked Viv dryly. "Anyway—Dan came up all out of breath and asked me. Poor thing—he looked so nervous." She smiled and shook her head. "Well, I didn't know what to say to either of them, so I told them I'd have to think about it and let them know tomorrow."

She shrugged and smiled slightly at the three of us, as though it were completely normal to be asked out by two boys (much less Dan Crawford) in the span of thirty seconds.

"How do you manage that?" asked Angelina.

Viv shrugged nonchalantly. "Dunno."

"Well, that's it. I'm doomed," I declared.

"You're not doomed," said Alicia soothingly.

"Don't worry Sophie—I haven't got a date, either," said Angelina, patting me on the arm. The three of us looked toward Alicia, who, as of lunch, was also dateless.

"Alicia?" I asked. She smiled.

"Er…Lee asked me in Herbology today," she confessed.

"What? When did this happen?" I demanded. "We're partners in Herbology! How could I not notice?"

"He asked while you were at the infirmary with that bite," she said. "You know, you've really got to look out for those things. What's this, the third time this term?"

"Fourth, actually," I corrected her.

"Well…all this time we thought Lee fancied Angelina!" said Viv with a mischievous smile.

"Oh, come off it, that's just a game," replied Angelina. "We both know that."

"And we're just going as friends," Alicia vowed.

"Right," replied Viv skeptically.

"It's true!" protested Alicia.

"Besides," continued Angelina, "I think your admirers are far more interesting than Alicia's, Viv."

"He's not my admirer!"

"She's got a point," I interjected. "Who are you going to choose, Viv?"

"I don't know," replied Viv dolefully. "I mean, they've both got their good points."

"Such as?" inquired Angelina.

"Well, they're both quite good-looking—"

"I dunno, Viv, I think Dan may have the advantage over Adam," said Angelina.

"You haven't even seen Adam!" protested Viv.

"Dan is the Firebolt of men," said Angelina. "Cleansweeps don't look as good next to him."

"Angelina, you know I don't understand half your Quidditch references," stated Viv.

"It means he's the best," supplied Alicia.

"Well, perhaps," mused Viv. "However, Adam is French…" She gave a devious sort of smile.

"Does he have an accent?" asked Alicia, dreamily.

"He's got a slight one, which is rather nice and all," replied Viv. "But it's rather funny because he assumes I only speak English, so he speaks to his friends thinking I don't understand him."

"Has he said anything about you?" asked Angelina.

"Well," said Viv, biting back a smile. "He told his friend that he thinks I'm quite pretty."

Alicia and Angelina gasped.

"Spending the summer with my cousins in Paris has proven to be rather advantageous," shrugged Viv. "But they're both awfully nice and all…"

I sat back and listened, occasionally making a comment or two, but mostly keeping to myself and silently worrying.

My days progressed much like this for quite a while. Toward the end of the last week of term, I had grown so tired of hearing about the Yule Ball that I immersed myself in my History of Magic textbook after dinner in order to avoid further discussion.

"You're mad," declared Viv as I painstakingly copied down notes on the goblin rebellions of the 1850s.

"I need a distraction," I replied.

"Sophie, really…"

"Viv, it's either this or wallowing in the fact that I'm the only girl who hasn't been asked," I stated. "And I despise wallowing. Besides, we have an exam the Friday we return from holiday, you know that."

Viv sighed. "You're not the only—"

I gave her a look. Almost everyone had been paired up by now. Fred had asked Angelina the previous night. Mind you, he had shouted his invitation across the common room, but a date's a date.

"Fine. If you're going to be difficult, I'll leave you to the goblins," she sighed. "Maybe you can talk some sense into her," said Viv, to George as he approached the two of us. "I'm going to go shower."

"What's she mean by that?" asked George as Viv disappeared up the girls' staircase.

"I'm studying History of Magic," I replied quickly. Although I considered George a friend, I'd rather not discuss my Yule Ball woes with him.

"Sophie…" he scolded. "Why would you ever do a thing like that?"

"Well, I missed most of today's lecture, as Viv kept passing me notes about Beret Boy, the French Wonder Date," I replied, rolling my eyes.

"She's going with that Beauxbatons boy, then?" asked George.

"Yeah…I haven't even met him and he's already irritating me."

George grinned. "So you're drowning your sorrows in History of Magic? Sophie, you've got to get some help!"

I shrugged. "I've got an exam when we get back."

"You've got loads of time to study!" George protested.

"I like to be on top of my work," I replied. This wasn't entirely untrue. "Now, are you going to continue to badger me, or would you like to make yourself useful and help me study?"

And to my surprise, he grinned and sat down in the chair directly across from me.

"All right," he agreed.

"Really?" I asked reflexively.

"Well," he said, "I am, after all, an expert of History of Magic."

I smiled. "Really…well let's see how you do."

George's remarkable skills did not fare very well under pressure, although the answers that he invented were quite entertaining.

"Who was Hargorp the Hideous?"

"Severus Snape," George promptly replied.

Eventually, I handed my book and notes over to him and had him ask some questions. Unsurprisingly, he was also able to create a plethora of questions that bordered on ridiculous.

"You certainly are knowledgeable," I said with a laugh after he asked me what color socks Angorus the Angry had been wearing when he signed the Peace Treaty of 1858. "Perhaps you ought to have continued on with History of Magic."

"Honestly, what are you learning in this class? It's common knowledge that his socks were blue with a pattern of severed dwarf heads," he sighed, flipping through the book. He stopped and glanced over a page. "Hmm…yes. All right, in 1482…"

"I thought we were doing the nineteenth century?" I asked, tilting my chair back slightly.

"Surprise review question," said George, grinning. "Got to keep you on your toes, you know."

I smiled. "All right, go on."

"In 1482, the wizard George the Great…I assume you've heard of him?"

I laughed. "Yes, I believe he was imprisoned for causing far too much trouble."

"No, that was his twin, Fred the Facetious," George replied.

"Oh right. I always get them confused."

"No, George the Great was much more noble, clever, and handsome than his brother," he informed me. "That's how you tell them apart."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Right. In 1482, George the Great asked Sophie the Splendid—you've heard of her as well, I imagine?"

I laughed again. "Of course."

"She was quite lovely, but terribly cheeky," George stated.

"Many scholars have refuted this," I said with a small smile.

"Clearly you're learning nothing but rubbish from this class," George said, shaking his head.

I laughed and waved my hand for him to continue.

"Well, in 1482," began George once again, "George the Great asked Sophie the Splendid if she'd fancy going to a ball with him. What was her answer?"

I was rather shocked to say the least. In fact, I was so shocked that my foot slipped from the table leg and my chair tipped backward, neatly depositing me on the floor in a tangled heap. I stared up at the ceiling for a moment, feeling rather foolish and slightly flustered.

"All right?" asked George, coming round the table.

"Yes, I'm fine," I replied, untangling myself.

"It's not that objectionable, is it?" he asked, offering me a hand and helping me to my feet. I gave a nervous laugh.

"No, no," I replied, straightening my robes and righting my chair. "I just have no sense of balance. You ought to know that by now."

"Sometimes I forget about your legacy as the Amazing Tree Girl," he said with a sly grin as I sat back down.

"What a pity," I said sarcastically. There was a brief pause as George sat back down in his chair.

"Well?" he asked, folding his hands across the textbook.

"'Well' what?"

"You didn't answer my question," he said with a slight grin.

"You're not serious?" I laughed, trying to keep myself from blushing.

"I'm sorry, that is incorrect," he replied.

I laughed again. "Well, she said yes, of course."

George grinned. "Excellent. Clearly you've managed to learn something in this class."

I had thought that perhaps it would be rather awkward after that, but surprisingly, our conversation continued to be easy and very amusing. Around eight o'clock, George excused himself to go play a game of Exploding Snap with Fred and Lee. I gathered my books shortly afterward and went upstairs. Viv was sitting on her bed and brushing out her hair. Angelina was buried in her Transfiguration notes and Alicia was reading a magazine.

"Have you come to your senses?" asked Viv as she worked on a particularly tangled lock of hair.

"What do you mean?" I asked, setting my books down on the bedside table and not really paying attention.

Vivian sighed. "Honestly, Sophie. Do you ignore everything I say?"

"Sometimes."

"Have you stopped worrying about the Ball, then?" she asked.

Alicia snorted and looked up from her magazine.

"Viv, it's her nature to worry," she said.

"If it's not the Ball, it's something else," added Angelina, not looking up from her notes.

"Actually," I began, slightly miffed, "I'm not particularly concerned about the Ball right now."

"Really?" Viv said, pausing to look at me through a curtain of hair. "You've finally taken my words of wisdom to heart?"

"Well…" I began, sitting down on my bed and kicking off my shoes, "not exactly."

"Then why?"

Angelina looked up from her notes and Alicia had put aside her magazine. I smiled slightly, prolonging the moment as I peeled off my socks.

"George asked me to go with him."

Alicia let out an excited squeal and a big smile broke out on Angelina's face.

"What?" asked Viv as her brush clattered to the floor.

"You needn't look so surprised. It doesn't inspire much confidence, you know," I replied.

"No, it's not like that…I just didn't expect—well, Sophie, that's wonderful!" she stammered.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" demanded Alicia.

"Didn't give me much of a chance, did you?" I replied with a smile.

"He didn't shout across the common room, did he?" asked Angelina.

"I want details!" declared Vivian.

"Now!" added Alicia for good measure.

I have to admit that it was rather nice having the three of them hang on my every word as I related the story to them. The discussions that I had been privately resenting for the past few weeks finally became fun and I could begin to see why everyone was so giggly and gossipy all the time. Suddenly, my week got a lot better and my future didn't look quite so bleak.

There was just the Ball itself to worry about…mainly the fact that I dance just about as well as I fly. The Yule Ball would certainly involve dancing. I paused for a moment as that thought crossed my mind.

Suddenly, I didn't feel quite so carefree.