The title for chapter twelve is from…Grease. Congrats to Easterly Winds and maureen is me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Wicked. I don't own Harry Potter. End of story.

More fluff-ish things. Although not as fluffy as last chapter, thank Lurline. Mostly, it's only fluffy at the end. And I had a major writer's block at the beginning of this, so it might sound a bit weird…

Chapter 13: Nothing is Too Wonderful To Be True

If you asked anyone that had attended Shiz with her, Elphaba Thropp was now decidedly different as a teacher and Order member than when she herself was a student. Over the years, she had matured a lot; although her firebrand personality was still inside her, she was now a lot less rash and (mostly) thought things through before doing them. She attempted to become a bit more social, staying behind to talk to other professors or Order members instead of scowling or being sarcastic and moody.

Although many things had changed, however, one thing had stayed the same about Elphaba: She absolutely hated parties. She had avoided them at Shiz, and she still avoided them years later in England.

Unfortunately for Elphaba, Harry knew about this little fact and took steps each year to remedy it. This Christmas was no different. For some unknown reason, and to the annoyance of Elphaba, Harry was determined to make her enjoy Christmas with him and their friends.

Thus, around the twentieth of December, Harry arrived at Hogwarts to try and 'ambush' the green woman and make sure that she was going to go to the Christmas party at the Weasleys'. However, before he found his intended target, he came across Glinda instead.

"Oh, Glinda!" he said in greeting when he saw her. "Hi."

"Hi, Harry," Glinda replied, turning to look at the Order member. "I haven't seen you around in a while."

"Nor have I seen you," Harry rebutted. "So…you never told me- are Fae and Fiyero back together again?"

Glinda squirmed uncomfortably. "Well…" She wasn't exactly sure how to tell Harry about why the plan had failed. "Uh, why don't you ask Elphie about it? After all, she should be the one telling you the…good news."

"I would," Harry looked around the corridor, "except for the tiny fact that I can't seem to find her. Do you know where she is?"

"Actually, I haven't seen her all day," Glinda admitted. "She left her rooms really early- around six thirty, I imagine."

"Well, did she say where- hold on. Why in the world would you be in Fae's rooms at six thirty in the morning?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, did I say six thirty in the morning?" Glinda stuttered. "I-I mean, I haven't seen her since…ten this morning. I think she said that she needed to talk to Albus or something like that."

Harry frowned. "Glinda, how could you not have seen Fae since ten in the morning if it's only nine thirty right now?" He looked at Glinda suspiciously. Obviously, there was something that she wasn't telling him. She was a really bad liar.

"Really?" Glinda said with a nervous laugh. "I thought it was…later than that. But anyway, as I said, Elphie is probably with Dumbledore. I can go find her with you if you'd like."

"Okay," Harry shrugged. "Dumbledore's office? Let's go, then." The two of them set off through the winding halls of Hogwarts, but before they got even close to Dumbledore's office, Harry stopped abruptly and threw out a hand, halting Glinda in her steps.

"What is it?" Glinda asked, looking around them.

"Fae's left Dumbledore's office," Harry replied, turning around and heading back the way he came. "Come on- she's outside by the lake."

"What? H-how did you know that?" Glinda was shocked.

Harry laughed. "I just saw her out the window." He led her over to a large multi-pained window and pointed out a black speck that Glinda could barely make out against the expanse of white outside.

"Are you sure that's Elphie?" Glinda sounded skeptical, squinting in order to try and make out Elphaba's green skin something within all the black. "It looks like some kind of animal."

Harry was nodding. "Exactly," he smirked. Before Glinda could ask Harry what he meant by this, Harry was already hurrying down the hallway.

"Wait!" she called, rushing to catch up to the Boy-Who-Lived. She finally was able to catch up with him as he reached the Entrance Hall of Hogwarts.

"You should stay in here," Harry looked at Glinda, readjusting his scarf. "It's terribly cold out there- you're not adequately dressed to go out right now."

"No," Glinda protested, heading for the large doors. "I'll be okay." She paused as Harry gave her a questioning look.

"You seem very close to Fae," he said, narrowing his eyes. "Almost…as if you two were…" He trailed off. "Never mind," he muttered.

Oh, sweet Oz, Glinda thought. Harry's going to figure it out before long. Think, Glinda. "Well, Elphie and I were best friends. In Oz, I mean. And I haven't seen her for five years, so-"

"Alright," Harry laughed, "I get it. It's all good." He opened the door, and the two occupants in the Entrance Hall were immediately was hit by a gust of cold air. "Well, are you coming?"

Giving a nod, Glinda followed Harry to the lake silently, hoping that if she kept her mouth shut, she would not be able to give anymore clues to him regarding her secret relationship with Elphaba. She really was bad at keeping secrets.

Soon, they had reached the frozen lake. The sun reflecting off the gleaming snow made it hard for Glinda to see anything but the fluffy whiteness covering the grounds. Luckily, Harry seemed to know where Elphaba was, and so, Glinda merely followed him.

Suddenly, Glinda stopped dead in her tracks. Sweet Oz, was that a- "Harry?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly and resisting the urge to clutch his arm. "There's a…a panther over there." She hoped that Harry would know how to fend off this gigantic black cat. The black panther, however had heard her, and turned to look at them, teeth bared in, what seemed to Glinda, a silent challenge.

Glinda's mind was going wild with fear when an abrupt and unwelcome thought came to her. Lurline, what if Elphie was attacked by that panther? After all, Harry had said she was by the lake… The other, more rational part of her mind told her that if Elphaba could fight Death Eaters on a regular basis, she should be able to hold her own against a panther, but she couldn't help worrying.

By this time, the panther had gotten up and was making its way towards the blonde and Harry. "Harry," Glinda pulled at Harry's robes, who, unprepared for this sudden force, fell backwards. "Harry, come on, let's go." She glanced up at the wild cat, who was now much closer than Glinda was comfortable with.

"Harry!" Glinda just about screamed. She bent down and started dragging Harry with her. Why didn't he understand how dire this situation was? Being attacked by a panther wasn't exactly on her agenda for today, and besides, it would completely mess up her dress.

She looked at Harry to ask him why he wasn't panicking when there was a black panther coming towards them. However, she was quite unprepared for what she saw on Harry's face. Amusement. Harry was laughing.

"You're panicking because of that black panther?" he asked once he got his breath back.

"Well…yes," Glinda said, noticing that the panther had stopped about five feet away and was now watching them. It seemed almost...amused. Probably because it's about to get two free meals, the more pessimistic side of her thought.

"Don't worry, Glinda," Harry reassured her. He got up and walked over to the panther. "Fae is completely harmless." He attempted to stroke the panther on the head, but drew his hand back when the panther gave a warning snarl.

"Completely harmless?" Glinda shrieked. "Harry, that panther just…hold on. Fae? You named that panther after Elphaba?"

"Well, not really," Harry answered. "Her name is Fae. I didn't name her."

"Then…" Glinda was totally confused. This panther…Fae…seemed totally docile now. "Then you can talk to her? Is she really a Panther? How do you know that she's named Fae?"

Before Harry could answer, the panther gave a roar of…laughter? Then, with a small 'pop', the panther disappeared. In its place stood…"Elphie?" Glinda asked, her eyes wide with shock.

"Well, to answer your question Glinda, Harry knows that I'm named Fae because I told him," Elphaba said, her eyes sparkling with mirth. "And Harry," she turned to the man beside her, "if you ever try to pet me on the head again, I will bite your hand off."

"Ah, you say that every time," Harry replied. "You know you wouldn't, Fae."

"Wait a minute!" Glinda walked closer to them. "Hold on! Elphie, you were…"

"The panther, yes," Elphaba answered. "My animagus form is a panther." Seeing Glinda's look of confusion, she elaborated. "I can turn into a panther at will." She paused. "And if you told me that would be your reaction to me, well, I would have done that a long time ago."

"Elphie, you're impossible," Glinda acted affronted. "I can't believe you!"

Harry cleared his throat, and both witches turned to look at him. "As amusing as that was," he said, "I have something to ask you, Fae. Well, two things."

"Alright," Elphaba agreed. She lead Harry and Glinda to a patch of grass she had cleared of snow and sat down, hugging her knees to her chest. "Ask away."

"Firstly, did you get the invitation to the Christmas party?" Harry asked.

Elphaba rolled her eyes. Figures. "Yes," he answered. "And before you ask, Harry, yes, I'll go. Because if I don't, you're going to guilt me into it. Or somehow find another way to drag me there."

"Good. Glad to see that my threats are finally working out." Harry looked at Glinda. "You should come too, if you like."

"A Christmas party?" Glinda questioned. "What's Christmas?" Harry gave her a funny look.

"It's like…the Lurline's celebration in Oz," Elphaba explained. "Gift giving," here, she shot a look at Harry, who shrugged, "and celebrations and the like."

"Fae?" Harry asked, more serious now. "Here's my other question. What did Dumbledore want to meet with you about?"Elphaba didn't speak for a moment.

"Fae?" Harry questioned again.

Finally, Elphaba spoke. "Albus says that Voldemort is even more bold than ever," she said. "Apparently, the new weapon that he boasted of actually does exist. The Death Eaters are much stronger than he's ever seen."

"Why did he want to talk to you about it, though?" Harry asked.

"The Grimmerie," Elphaba sighed. "He wants to see the Grimmerie, and he wants me to try to read it again. For Merlin's sake, I haven't even looked at it for the past five years. Does he think it's that easy to read?"

"Elphie-" Glinda began, but was interrupted by Harry.

"Do you want me to come with you? When does Dumbledore want to see it?" Harry frowned.

Elphaba shrugged. "I don't know. Probably sometime after the New Year. And, sure, Harry, if you want, you can come. Although…I don't think you'll be able to read it, either. Most people can't."

There was a silence. The festive mood earlier had completely been destroyed. Glinda honestly wanted to kiss Elphaba and reassure her, but now was not the time nor place to do so. Instead, she just settled on hugging her girlfriend.

"Don't worry, Elphie," she said. "Everything will be fine. You'll be fine."

A few days later...

"Elphie! Are you coming?" Glinda was currently waiting for Elphaba, who seemed determined to take as long as she could to 'prepare' for the Weasleys' Christmas party. "Hurry up, Elphie!"

"Glinda," Elphaba called from behind her bedroom door. "If you're so impatient, why don't you go first? Just use the Floo Powder by the fireplace."

"No way," Glinda adamantly refused. "If I go, you're never going to be ready. So I'm going to wait for you right here." She sat down on a couch and crossed her arms.

"You know, you're cute when you pout," Elphaba finally came out of the bedroom, realizing that there was no way for her to avoid this.

"Thanks," Glinda giggled. She drew Elphaba into a slow kiss and the two only broke apart when the clock on Elphaba's mantle chimed seven. "And when will you wear anything other than black?"

"Why bother?" Elphaba shrugged, moving over to the fireplace. "I look good in black. Here." She gave the pot of Floo Powder to Glinda. "Just throw this into the flames and say where you want to go."

Glinda gave the powder a distrustful look. "Are you sure about this, Elphie?"

"Don't worry, Glinda. I use this all the time. It's perfectly safe," Elphaba said. Although…there was that one time that I ended up a few miles south of where I was supposed to go, she added silently in her head. Well, there's no point in worrying Glinda, she decided.

"Alright, then," Glinda hesitantly took a handful of Floo Powder, shouted, "The Burrow", and disappeared, and Elphaba followed suit.

As she arrived at the Weasleys' house, she realized that she should have given Glinda more time. Glinda had just gotten up and was dusting herself off when Elphaba arrived and knocked Glinda right back over again.

"Elphie!" Glinda squealed.

"Sorry," Elphaba apologized. "I'm not very good with Floo Powder. Or Portkeys."

Before Glinda could ask what a 'Portkey' was, they were greeted by two identical red-haired men.

"Why, if it isn't-" the one on the right began.

"Our favorite green witch," the one on the left finished.

Elphaba glared playfully. "I'm the only green witch you know," she shot back. "Glad to see you two haven't changed a bit since I saw you last. Glinda, this is Fred and George Weasley."

"A beautiful lady," George (Glinda thought it was George) gasped in mock-surprise.

"That she is," Fred agreed. "Charmed." He gave a deep, exaggerated bow. Glinda laughed.

Elphaba shook her head in exasperation. "On second thought, perhaps I'm not so glad that you two haven't changed."

"That wounds me, Fae," Fred put a hand over his heart. "Wounds me something terrible."

It was at this point that Mrs. Weasley came hurrying out of the kitchen. "Fred, George, what are you two up to…oh. Fae, how wonderful to see you again. And, yes," she turned to Glinda, "Harry did say that you would be coming, Glinda. It's good to see you, too."

Glinda frantically racked her brain for this woman's name. She was sure that they had met at an Order meeting or something, but she couldn't remember who this woman was.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," Elphaba began, but she was interrupted by the emergence of Hermione and Ron.

"Fae!" Hermione greeted the green witch. "What did Harry threaten you with to make you come?"

"What makes you think I was threatened?" Elphaba raised an eyebrow.

"Because if you are like how you were at Shiz," Glinda cut in, "you'd never go to a party willingly."

Elphaba sighed. "Touché," she agreed. "Hello, Wea-Ron," she said, turning to Ron and trying her best not to glare at him.

"Thropp," Ron nodded in greeting. With another dirty look, he left the group.

"I'm sorry, Fae," Mrs. Weasley looked mortified. "I don't know what's gotten into him. I assure you, we did not raise him this way. Ronald!" she followed him into the kitchen.

"It's fine," Elphaba called after her. It wasn't as if she wasn't used to that, anyway.

"Come on, Fae," maybe-Fred pulled her into another room of The Burrow, with George and Glinda following behind. "Join us- Truth or Dare."

Elphaba pulled her arm away from Fred. "No thank you." She sat down on a couch near the group circle. "I don't play Truth of Dare. Ever."

"Oh, Elphie, please," Glinda pleaded. "For me?"

"I-" Elphaba was conflicted. "No. I'll just watch, thanks. You go."

"What's the matter, Thropp?" Ron cut in, glowering at her. "Too good for us or something?"

"Ronald Weasley!" Hermione snapped. "Mind your manners. Fae is your guest."

"No," Elphaba replied evenly. "I'd just prefer to watch."

Ron shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said before dropping into a seat. "Ginny, truth or dare?"

One and a half hours later, Hermione had left the game to sit by Elphaba and discuss the Grimmerie with her. Elphaba was trying to do so while still keeping an eye on the game, as she had promised.

"Truth or dare, Glinda?" Harry asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Um…dare?" Glinda asked hesitantly.

Harry had been waiting for this moment all night. "Okay, Glinda. I dare you to…kiss Fae. On the lips."

Glinda froze. The compromise, she thought. Then, she remembered that this was a dare, and seeing as it was, no one should get suspicious in any way. She got up and made her way over to an oblivious Elphaba.

"Elphie," Glinda said. When Elphaba turned to look at her, Glinda kissed her passionately on the mouth. Elphaba relaxed into the kiss a little before she remembered exactly where there were.

"Glinda!" she yelped, pulling back.

Harry was laughing. "Don't worry Fae. It was her dare. I dared her to kiss you."

Elphaba took a deep breath. It was okay, then. "See, this is why I don't play truth or dare," she explained to the group at large.

"Is she a good kisser?" Fred asked Glinda as she returned to the group. Both Elphaba and Glinda blushed, but luckily for them, they were saved by Mrs. Weasley calling the whole group in for dinner. The question was quickly forgotten as the group made a mad rush for the food.

Glinda followed Elphaba into the dining room. "By the way," she whispered to a very dark green Elphaba, "I never answered Fred. You are a very good kisser."

Coming up: Discussing the Grimmerie

This chapter was supposed to go a bit longer, but it's already longer than usual. Oh well…

It looks like Voldemort took a Christmas break as well. It'll be back to war business for our gang next chapter.

-Wolfie