Evie's sat up a bit disoriented Christmas morning. Looking around in confusion, it wasn't until the sleep cleared from her head she remembered exactly why she was not in her bed at home and being shaken awake by Cedric. When her eyes finally settled on the maroon curtains of the four poster bed she sighed, laid back down and closed her eyes, completely intent on stealing another hour or so of rest.

In an instant she popped back up, her eyes opening wide as the exact date screamed in her mind.

"It's Christmas," Evie whispered, a smile growing on her face. "It's Christmas!" She called louder, throwing open her curtain and nearly tripping over her feet as she rushed to throw open Hermione's curtains as well.

"Mmm," Hermione groaned, turning away from the breeze.

"Wake up," Evie shook her best friend. "Come on! How is Christmas the only day of the year you decide to sleep in?" She tugged at the blanket Hermione was holding. "When did you get so strong?"

She pulled once more, finally freeing the thick cloth but losing her balance and falling backwards. The covers fell over her head and she was shrouded in darkness. Outside the blankets she heard Hermione fuss as she finally shuffled out of bed.

"Why are you waking me so early?"

"It's Christmas!" Evie's muffled cheer called from under her friend's blanket. With a laugh, and the flash of a distant memory, she threw the quilt off of herself and jumped up. "Happy Christmas, Hermione."

"Happy Christmas, Evie." Hermione's frown had been transformed into a joyous smile. She turned quickly and picked up a wrapped rectangular object from her bedside table. "I've never been able to just hand you your present. This is exciting."

"Oh," Evie turned and grabbed Hermione's present as well. With matching smiles the two girls handed over each other's gifts and began opening their presents. Evie torn through the snowflake wrapping paper surrounding the rectangular item, which turned out to be a book. "Murder on the Orient Express," she read off the title with interest. "By Agatha Christi. Oh! We haven't got any of her books."

"I know, I thought you might like another mystery since you've finished all the Sherlock Holmes books," Hermione smiled proudly as she carefully pulled apart Evie's Christmas tree wrapping paper.

"Please just rip it? I won't be upset," Evie groaned as she watched the painstaking care Hermione was giving to unwrapping her gift.

"But it's so nicely wrapped."

"I just waved my wand at it, Hermione. It wasn't nearly as much effort as your putting in right now."

At that confession Hermione finally gave in and ripped open her present. It was a record. "The Hobgoblins?"

"They're another band. They're a bit more edgy than The Weird Sisters, but really good, especially when you're mad."

"I can't wait to listen," Hermione smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Thanks for the book. I'm very excited to start it."

"I've already read it. I'm very confident you'll enjoy it."

"I trust you." Evie answered waving her hand to banish Hermione's worries.

Suddenly a tiny huff was heard and the two girls turned to see Shadow setting fire to the bow on one of Evie's presents. Rushing forward, Evie grabbed Shadow and Hermione quickly put the fire out. The present managed to survive with nothing more than a tiny singe mark.

"Bad, Shadow," Evie scolded. Shadow stared at her completely unapologetic. "Geez, you're just like a cat. A cat that, unfortunately, makes fire." After setting Shadow on her bedside table Evie and Hermione tore into their piles of presents.

Hermione excitedly showed Evie the beautiful peacock feather quill and violet ink she received from Harry, and then offered her one of the glacial snowflakes or toothflossing stringmints she got from Ron, pleased beyond words that he remembered her favorite treats from Honeydukes.

Evie declined politely, before digging into her own gifts. Her father had sent along Aunt Perry's fruitcake, which she tossed aside with a frown. Cedric had given her a beautiful pair of tiny heart-shaped earrings, in teal. She instantly realized they would match perfectly with her dress for the ball and smiled. Her father had sent her a pair of surprisingly stylish, thick gloves, which caused Evie to laugh. She remembered distinctly the letter in which she'd told him she'd taken Cedric's and in his card he'd told her to give them back now that she had her own. Finally from Harry and Ron Evie had received a book on the Holyhead Harpies and a poster of the team flying around and waving.

Evie took the poster and stuck it to the wall beside her bed before taking a step back to make sure it wasn't lopsided. Satisfied she turned back to Hermione. "D'you think the boys will be up yet?"

"Only one way to find out."

Sure enough, Harry and Ron entered to common room at the same time the girls did. They all exchanged Christmas greetings before making their way down to breakfast.

"Oh, Evie that copy of the best plays in Chudley Cannon history is amazing," Ron praised.

"I thought you'd like it. Dad actually got Cedric the same thing for his birthday and I thought it would be perfect for you too. I mean, you two are the biggest Cannon fans I know…even if your team sucks," Evie teased.

"Yes, because all superior people are Harpies fans," Ron stated with an air of disbelief.

"Absolutely," Ginny hopped into the conversation from behind them. Evie offered her a high five for the backup and Ron just threw his hands up in defeat.

"Anyway, I am glad you like it Ron. That poster of the Harpies is pretty awesome. And the book is great too, thanks Harry." Evie smiled at both her guy friends.

"No problem," Harry chuckled lightly as the five of them entered the Great Hall for breakfast.

They sat in their usual spot and were greeted by Neville, Seamus and Lavender, the latter of which had been hanging off of an unenthusiastic Seamus since he'd asked her to the Yule Ball. Very little talking passed between any of the group for the majority of breakfast, besides Neville thanking Evie for the book on Herbology she'd gotten him for Christmas. That is, until Evie suddenly felt eyes on her.

Looking up she realized Harry and Ron were staring at her sort of funny. "What?"

"Did you do something different?" Harry asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Um, no? How d'you mean?" His question had gained the attention of the rest of their group and Evie was quite suddenly the center of a plethora of unwanted attention.

"They're right, there's something different about you," Neville agreed.

"It's your hair," Ginny concluded.

"Did you try to dye it or something?" Lavender asked with a smirk. "It looks like you tried to make it red and it didn't work."

"I haven't done anything to my hair," Evie asserted.

"But it does look sort of red," Hermione said quietly. "Not everywhere, just like here," she pointed to a spot near her neck. "And here. It's just streaked in random places. It also isn't red so much as auburn," she clarified.

"Yes, but you've been with me all morning. You know I haven't done anything."

"I know," her best friend assured her. "Has your hair ever been this color before?"

"I don't think so. I mean, no. I think I'd remember if my hair had been red at one point."

"Auburn," Hermione corrected again.

"Whatever. My point is it's always been brown."

"No it hasn't," Cedric's voice cut into their conversation. When Evie whipped around in surprise he just smiled. "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas," all of her friends chorused around her.

"Happy Christmas," Evie answered distractedly. "What did you say?"

"You said your hair was always brown, but it wasn't. You had auburn hair until you were around three or so."

"I don't remember that."

"By the time you were four your hair was completely brown, so I'm not surprised you don't remember." Suddenly Cedric chuckled.

"Why are you laughing?"

"It's like your body can't decide what you want to look like. It's the freckles all over again."

"You really are insufferable sometimes," Evie huffed.

"Your freckles have been getting more and more prominent though," Hermione noted. "I mean, you remember how light they were in first year."

Evie frowned for a moment before deciding she didn't like all the attention she was getting. "So, why did you come all the way over here? I know it wasn't just to mess with me," she stated, turning her attention back to Cedric.

"I also came to say happy Christmas, which I've done. Oh, and thank you for my gift." Cedric smiled cheekily at his exasperated sister. "Where did you find a signed Chudley Cannons jersey?"

"I'm glad you like it. It was actually pretty hard to find. I had to send Dad on a ridiculous search for it. Well, actually the jersey was easy, the signature is what he had to search for," Evie laughed. "My new earrings are lovely, thank you. I shall be wearing them tonight."

"You shall, shall you?"

"Indeed, good sir, I shall. Such a lovely gift deserves to be worn."

"Well, my lady, I shall bid you good day and see you this evening at the ball," Cedric said his goodbye with a bow and Evie finally broke character and laughed. Cedric smiled, satisfied with his sister's reaction and, with a second goodbye, walked off towards the Ravenclaw table.

After breakfast Harry, Ron, Hermione and Evie spent their morning in the Gryffindor common room. At lunch they trekked back to the Great Hal of another delicious feast, which consisted of more turkeys than Evie had ever expected to see in one place and some of the most wonderful roasted potatoes she'd ever eaten.

After lunch the little group braved the cold in order to enjoy the snow, which was practically untouched. As they walked towards a bench Hermione was determined to get to in order to see as much of the grounds as possible, a snowball smacked Evie in the back of the head. Hermione, having got a small bit of shrapnel snow, rushed forward and sat at her bench.

"Who did that?" Evie turned, seeing the only person with snow on their gloves was George. "You're going down, Weasley," she threatened with a glare.

"Oh, I'm shaking," George laughed.

Evie took the opportunity to launch a snowball right into his open mouth before running to put some distance between them and giving herself a chance to erect a small barricade to stave off future attacks. Just as she was diving behind it, a snowball caught her square in the side of the leg. The snow melted on her jeans and the cold water pierced her leg causing her to yelp and laugh all at once.

"Barricades are for girls!" She heard Ron shout.

"I thought we were friends, Ron. Is this what war has turned you into?" She questioned feigning hurt, but also positive he had been the one to hit her. As she spoke she started packing together snowballs.

"Hey!" Ron yelped.

Following his exclamation Evie heard footsteps moving towards her. She geared up a snowball to launch but paused when Fred popped up with empty hands.

"Truce!"

"State your purpose." Evie eyed him hesitantly.

"I request permission to join you."

Evie continued to eye him for a moment longer before nodding. "Granted. Welcome aboard. What's it like out there?"

"George and Ginny have erected their own fort and Harry and Ron are just hurling snowballs at anyone they see."

"Good, they'll be easy to take out," Evie smiled and popped out of the barricade to fire two snowballs at her best friends. Ducking behind it again she heard the huff and splat from Harry that told her she'd hit him, but a laugh from Ron. "One good hit," She assessed as a barrage of snowballs sailed over her barricade but missed both of its occupants.

"They'll have to come around if they want to actually hit us," Fred theorized.

"True. We'll have to watch our backs and keep them at a distance."

"You get really into this."

"Cedric and I have had full out snowball wars every winter since I was five," Evie paused and smirked at her companion. "They get a little intense sometimes."

Fred just chuckled and shook his head.

The two peered around their barricade just in time to see Ginny launch a giant snowball at Ron's head. He took it in full, having been kneeling to gather snow for his own attack. The impact caused Ron to drop all the snow he'd gathered and as Ginny laughed, Evie and Fred took the opportunity to launch more snowballs at the two youngest Weasleys.

They hit their targets, though just barely as both were more alert than they seemed. Retaliation was swift and soon the battle was in full swing. Snowballs flew from every person. Anyone else outside had decided to avoid the group for fear of getting hit by a wayward projectile.

It wasn't until five o'clock, when Hermione stood from her bench and informed Evie of the time, that the latter realized how cold she was. Standing, Evie shook the snow from her body and made her way to Hermione so they could get ready for the ball.

"Where are you two going?" Harry asked.

"We've got to get ready," Hermione explained.

"You need three hours?" Ron's voice was completely flabbergasted.

Evie and Hermione rolled their eyes at their clueless friend and, without answering him, they started back towards the castle. As they trudged away Evie caught George chastising his younger brother.

"Ron, you oaf, of course they need three hours."

"Yeah," Fred had joined in. "Girls have to do their hair and makeup and all that extra stuff."

The three hours leading up to the ball were well spent. Hermione and Evie both managed to bathe and apply decent looking makeup, though neither of them usually bothered. Hermione had chosen to go with little more than a berry pink gloss on her lips and a light dusting of periwinkle eye shadow. Evie went slightly bolder with a red gloss, but kept her shadow light as well with a sliver shimmer. She almost dared the tiniest bit of blush but felt her cheeks would be doing that naturally all night and withheld.

Hair was a bit tricky, since Hermione's needed some time for the hair potion to work and Evie could not manage to charm her own hair into place. In the end, a liberal amount of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion calmed Hermione's hair enough for Evie to do with it what she intended, an intricate knot at the back of her head with a small bit of hair hanging free of the knot, curled and draped over one shoulder. Hermione was kind enough to charm Evie's hair into the do she wanted as well, an elegant bun at her neck, with the bang left out and then swooped over into the bun. For the final effect she left a single strand of softly curled hair out of the bun, resting near her ear.

The two girls got into their dresses and, after zipping each other up, they turned and surveyed themselves. Evie smiled at her friend, proud not only of her own handiwork but also of how happy Hermione looked. The dress was made of periwinkle-blue silk and chiffon as far as Evie could tell. The bodice was a slightly formfitting silk, but the sleeves and skirt were chiffon, sheer on the sleeves and thick layers on the skirt, which probably hid more silk underneath. Her shoes, which she had yet to put on, where t-straps the same color as her dress and the heel was small, possible no more than two inches. Her only other accessory was a pair of earrings shaped like a small white flower.

"You look beautiful, Hermione." Evie smiled at her best friend.

"So do you," Hermione commented, blushing lightly.

Evie's dress was a teal and knee-length. The top portion was a satin spaghetti strap, with a floral patterned lace overlay. It was cinched at the waist with a satin belt covered in tiny silver and teal crystals before flaring slightly into the chiffon skirt, which moved with her as she walked and flared out like a lily opening when she spun. Her shoes, which she had slipped into while complementing Hermione, were velvet, teal, three inch pumps with a round toe. She, of course kept on her mother's locket, but also wore the earrings Cedric had gotten her and a vintage filigree bracelet with teal crystals.

When they were finally finished, Lavender and Parvati were only about midway through their own routines and still locked away in the bathroom. Calling out a goodbye to their roommates, they received little more than grunts in reply as they left the room and made their way through the empty common room and out of Gryffindor tower altogether.

Their shoes made a clacking sound as they walked and it echoed down the halls, drawing more attention to how desolate the large castle seemed. They walked through the halls quickly, bodies bubbling with nerves. Evie found herself wringing her hands together, trying to calm the excited butterflies dancing about in her stomach. They would not be stilled, however, and she gave up.

When a soft sigh came from beside her, she noticed Hermione was doing the same with her own hands. "Are you alright?"

The usually bushy haired girl laughed breathlessly at her friend's question. "I'm very nervous. It feels like getting ready for an exam."

"You always pass your exams with flying colors," Evie pointed out with a kind smile. "So, perhaps it's a good thing you feel that way."

"What if I step on his toes? What if he thinks I look ridiculous?"

"You look beautiful, so if he doesn't like it, that's his problem. Also, I've seen you dance, you won't step on his toes."

"Thanks, Evie," Hermione sighed. "Are you nervous?"

"A bit, but I'm pretty confident everything is going to be great." Evie smiled, but her stomach was still doing somersaults.

They parted in the entrance hall. Hermione was meeting Viktor down at the Durmstrang ship. Evie had decided to meet Zacharias near the staircase leading to the Hufflepuff hallway. She had only about ten minutes before the hall was flooded with students and she used that time to calm her breathing.

"Well, don't you look beautiful."

Opening her eyes, Evie was greeted by her brother's smiling face. "Thanks," she answered breathlessly.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm nervous. What are you doing out here so early?"

"I promised Cho I'd pick her up at the entrance to the Ravenclaw tower."

"Aw, aren't you just a hopeless romantic," Evie cooed, though it didn't hold its usual teasing tone.

"Evie," Cedric sighed before smiling at her and taking her hands in his. "You look absolutely beautiful. Zacharias with be floored when he sees you." The thought seemed to cause him to frown. "I'll have to keep my eye on him," Cedric then mumbled under his breath. Evie giggled at the reaction to his own words. "Anyway, my point is that you have no reason to be nervous. Just have fun tonight and remember to save a dance for me." He smiled and let go of her hands.

"I will, thanks." Evie smiled back.

It wasn't long after Cedric set off to meet Cho that the hall began to fill with students from all houses. Zacharias found her fairly quickly and made a point of putting his arm around her waist. Evie stiffened at the contact.

Looking around for some sort of distraction, she made eye contact with Cedric offering him and Cho small smiles. They were quite an attractive couple, she had to admit. Cho wore a traditional Chinese dress, made of cream colored silk with a floral pattern. Cedric wore the traditional black and white dress robes. They both smiled back at Evie and she turned to continue looking around the hall.

A bit away from Cedric and Cho she found Hannah and Ernie. She smiled at them both as well and continued on. More than anything, she had begun looking for a good enough reason to separate herself from Zacharias and his invasive hand.

She found her reason when a large group of Gryffindors descended the stairs and she spotted Harry and Ron. Moving forward to go greet them, Evie felt a sudden pressure on her waist as Zacharias tightened his grip on her and held her still. Turning to him, Evie frowned.

"What are you doing?"

"Where are you going?"

"I've just seen Harry and Ron. I was going to say 'hi'," Evie explained.

"If you run off now, how am I supposed to find you before we go into the Great Hall?"

Evie felt his tone changing to one she found off-putting, but she sighed since he did have a point. "You could come with me."

"But we're close to the doors here. You can see them once we get inside," Zacharias stated with an air of finality.

Evie felt herself round on him instantly. "Excuse me?"

"What?" Her date shrugged.

"Just because you're my date does not mean you can tell me-"

"Champions over here, please!" Professor McGonagall called, cutting over the rest of Evie's rant.

Breathing deep to calm her anger, Evie turned to watch the Champions gather at one side of the doors. Evie smiled as she caught a glimpse of Harry's shocked face when he saw Hermione. She was beaming as she greeted him and the raven-haired boy seemed at a loss for words. Indeed quite a few people seemed a bit shocked to see Hermione in such a state of glamour.

"Is that Hermione Granger?" Zacharias asked beside her.

Evie nodded and smiled.

Then the doors opened and the rest of the student made their way into the Great Hall. It was nearly as grandiose as the Ministry during their winter galas, and yet infinitely more cozy. The walls were covered in a silver frost, and across the starry ceiling hung hundreds of garlands of mistletoe. The dance floor was like the icy surface of a lake and small piles of snow sat around the edges of the hall. The House tables were no longer there, instead there were hundreds of smaller round ones, lit by lanterns and able to sit about a dozen people each. At the very front of the hall was another table, behind which were three large pine trees, covered in snow.

The table held the judges of the tournament, all except Mr. Crouch. His seat was taken by Percy Weasley, to Evie's surprise. Ron had not mentioned that Percy would be there and Evie thought at the very least Fred or George would have warned them Percy might try to bore them at some point in the evening. This led Evie to believe they would be just as surprised as she was.

By the time she had finished taking in the hall, Evie noticed everyone was being ushered into finding seats. After a second, much faster survey of the room she spotted at table with her friends and began moving towards it.

Once again the pressure on her waist intensified. Turning to glare at her date, she waited for him to speak.

"We're sitting over here," he pointed to where a few of his friends sat at a predominantly Hufflepuff table.

Evie glance in that direction, but shook her head. She had no problem with Hannah or Ernie, but she was not about to let Zacharias think he could tell her what to do. "You can sit there if you want, but I am sitting over there."

Twirling out of his grip, Evie reveled both in the skirt of her dress flaring out and the defeated look she caught of her date's face as he made to follow her. They took their seats just in time for the doors to open again and reveal the Champions.

The hall began clapping as the Champions and their dates filed in. Fleur and Roger Davies, the Captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, walked in first. Evie rolled her eyes as Fleur soaked up the attention. Roger, on the other hand, didn't even seem to know where he was.

"Who's that with Krum?" Ron asked over the applause.

Evie turned to stare at him in shock and noticed the whole table doing the same. "Ron," Evie started. "That's Hermione."

"Hermione who?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Granger, mate," Seamus answered with a bemused smirk on his face.

Ron's face contorted into an expression of shock first, but it was quickly followed by a look of annoyance. His eyes narrowed and followed Hermione and Krum all the way to their table. The Champions were sitting at the table at the head of the hall with the judges and Percy.

"Did you know your brother was going to be here?" Evie asked all the Weasley at the table.

They shook their heads, well three of them did. Ron was still glaring at Hermione and Viktor. Evie rolled her eyes at this and then noticed food had not appeared on her plate, as it usually did. There was a lovely little menu there and she figured she should at least find out what she wanted.

"What are you thinking of getting?" Ginny, who had come with Neville, leaned over to ask Evie.

"I'm not very hungry but the chicken sounds good." She was leaning over her own plate when she spoke and a sudden heat hit her chin. Looking down, Evie realized the very thing she'd been planning to order was on her plate. "Oh!"

"I hope Hermione doesn't notice this," Neville mumbled, reminded of the many afternoons he'd spent pinned against a wall being yelled at about House Elf rights.

After a quick glance at the Champion's table, Evie laughed. "I don't think you'll have to worry about S.P.E.W tonight, Neville."

Indeed, Hermione was eating already, and hardly seemed to care about anything other than Viktor Krum. Ginny giggled and Padma sent a particularly jealous glance in Hermione's direction, but it was nowhere near as scathing as the look Ron shot towards the couple.

"Probably should've asked her sooner, Ron," Evie mumbled as she took a bite of her chicken.

"How could she go with Harry's competition?" Ron snapped.

"Ronald Weasley, you stop that right now," Evie snapped right back. "If you ruin this evening for her I'll feed you to the Skrewts," she finished sending her fiercest glare his way. When Ron shrank back, Evie smiled. "Try the chicken, it's amazing."

The rest of the meal passed with amiable conversation, though Ron and Zacharias stayed silent. When the food was finished and cleared away, Dumbledore stood and requested that all the students do the same. Following suit, Evie waited expectantly to see what the Headmaster had planned.

With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore removed the tables from around them. They situated themselves along the walls, leaving the whole middle of the floor clear. Then he raised a platform, equipped with bagpipes, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and a drum set.

Suddenly, there they were. The Weird Sisters, trooping up the stage and getting ready to play. Evie hadn't even realized she was clapping excitedly until she felt the sting on her palms. For a moment Evie wished she could dress like the Weird Sisters, in their ripped black robes.

The hall darkened and the Champions stood, all except Harry who seemed to have forgotten he was supposed to be dancing. Evie suppressed a giggle as he stood hastily and tripped on his robes. As the Sisters began to play they walked out to the dance floor and Parvati took control for Harry.

Luckily for her awkward friend, Harry and the other Champions only danced alone for a short while. Soon others joined them on the floor. Neville asked Ginny to dance, Professor Dumbledore took Madame Maxime for a spin, and even Moody grabbed Professor Sinistra and twirled her around the floor.

"Would you like to dance?" Zacharias asked.

After only a moment of hesitation Evie nodded. Her date led her out into the crowd and she was relieved to find he was actually a pretty proficient dancer. If he held her a bit too close, perhaps she could overlook that. When he gripped her hand tighter than necessary, she shrugged it off as nerves. It wasn't until his hand began to descend that Evie finally made her reservations known.

Grabbing his hand to still it she shot him a clearly disapproving glance. "What are you doing?"

"Dancing," Zacharias shrugged.

"I meant with your hand," Evie specified.

"What? You're my date aren't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, this is what people do on dates," Zacharias explained with a tone that almost sounded like he was sad for her.

"Well, that's not what I do on dates, so keep your hands above ground or my fist will find your face," Evie explained slowly.

The song ended very quickly after that and as Evie was making her way back to the table and as far away from her date as she could get, she bumped into Hermione.

"Evie!" Hermione practically squealed, smiling from ear to ear.

Laughing at her friend's excitement, Evie brushed aside her terrible date. "Are you having fun?"

"Yes," Hermione answered breathlessly. "Dance with me, this song is amazing!"

Pausing, Evie finally caught what song it was and nodded. "This is one of my favorites," she agreed. Finally, with a little encouragement, Evie joined her best friend dancing.

They danced so jubilantly that by the time the song was over the two girls were out of breath. The two girls took in each other's red faces and dissolved into a fit of giggles. As the next song started, a slow song like the first, Viktor walked up.

"May I be taking my date to dance?" He asked Evie, to the girl's astonishment.

"Please do," she answered, smiling approvingly at Hermione before turning to head off the dance floor. She nearly bumped into Zacharias and her stomach dropped. "Oh, I didn't see you there, sorry."

"Would you like to dance?" He asked in his deceptively gentle tone.

"Um," she froze.

"Actually, if you don't mind, the lady promised me a dance."

"That's right," Evie turned to smile gratefully at her brother.

"How could I refuse Hufflepuff's Champion?" Zacharias laughed, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He turned with a tightlipped smile and made his way towards the drink table.

"My lady," Cedric called his sister's attention back to him with a teasing bow.

He offered her his hand and, with an amused roll of her eyes, she accepted. They fell into step effortlessly, spinning around the floor silently for a few seconds.

"Where did you learn to dance like this?" Evie questioned.

"I didn't learn. I'm just naturally talented," Cedric answered.

Evie snorted in response. "That I find hard to believe."

"That was exceptionally unladylike," her brother pretended to scold.

"I thought I wasn't a lady," Evie countered.

"With a snort like that you definitely aren't."

"Well, I was going to tell you that you look quite handsome tonight," Evie feigned insult. "But since you're being rude…" she trailed off and sniffed haughtily.

"I'm sorry," Cedric conceded. "And thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Are you having fun?"

"Yeah, Hermione and I just danced ourselves breathless," Evie giggled.

"And your date?" Cedric's tone took on a fierceness Evie knew all too well.

"Down, boy, he's fine," she teased though her stomach knotted slightly. "He seems to think he can tell me what to do just because he's my date, but I've put him in his place so everything's okay now."

"Good," Cedric nodded. "If you need me to make it any more clear for him-"

"I don't, Dad," Evie answered quickly. "But thanks for always looking out for me."

"That is my job. Ready for the big finish?" Cedric smirked.

Not waiting for an answer, he lifted his sister up, twirled her around and brought her back down. The second her feet hit the floor he twirled her out, pulled her back in and dipped her just as the song ended. The entire time Evie never stopped laughing.

When her laughter died down and she finally caught her breath, she beamed up at her brother. "That's definitely the best dance I've had all night."

An upbeat song started pumping through the hall and the crowd grew more dense and louder. Zacharias somehow found his way through the crowd and pantomimed to Cedric that he wanted to take his date back.

Cedric nodded before leaning down to speak directly into Evie's ear. "I'm going to go find Cho. Have fun."

"Let's dance!" Zacharias called over the music, pulling her attention away from Cedric's retreating back.

Evie was not sure she could call what he did next dancing. Zacharias grabbed her by the waist and pulled it flush against his own. He then proceeded to gyrate against her with a sort of pained expression on his face.

For her part, Evie spent the next minute and a half pushing against his chest to try to free herself from his vice like grip. Finally she stepped on his toes and when he flinched she jumped away from him, nearly bumping into the person behind her.

"I need air!" She called over the music.

Not waiting for her date to respond, Evie fled the Great Hall. In the entrance hall she saw a few students milling around. There was a distinct lack of humidity in the air and a significant drop in temperature.

Glancing around, she noticed a small group of Slytherins chatting near the stairs. Malfoy and Zabini stood out prominently in the group and, as she was already dealing with one troublesome boy, she decided going outside to avoid two others was the best course of action.

The freezing air felt like heaven against her overheated skin. Evie closed her eyes and sighed as a breeze whipped past her, ruffling her dress. She stepped down into the grotto that had been created specifically for the ball and reveled in the fairies, rose bushes and statue of Father Christmas. She was so enraptured that she didn't notice the doors to the castle opening, or the sound of footsteps approaching her.

"There you are."

"Bloody hell!" Evie yelped grasping at her chest and whirling around to see the unwelcome reappearance of her date.

"I've been looking for you," Zacharias continued as though she had not nearly died of fright.

"I told you I needed air," Evie explained as she got her breathing back under control.

"You didn't even wait for me to come with you."

The brunette kept her mouth closed, unable to find a kind way she did not want his company.

Zacharias waited a few minutes for her to respond. When she didn't, he took a step forward and smiled. "It's beautiful out here, isn't it?"

"Mmm," Evie hummed in agreement, taking a step away from him.

"Very romantic," he commented again, advancing quicker.

"I hadn't noticed," Evie lied, stepping back quicker.

Unfortunately, as she rushed to keep the distance between them, she hit a small patch of ice and slipped. Zacharias reached her quickly, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and holding her up.

"Thanks," Evie smiled tightly.

The blonde did not answer her. He stared into her confused eyes with an unwarranted intensity, before closing his own and moving his puckered lips close to her face.

The Gryffindor immediately jolted and pushed against his chest again. "Whoa, no! What are you doing?"

Her Hufflepuff companion chuckled. "I would've thought that was obvious."

"It is, but I mean why are you doing that?"

"This romantic setting, how much effort you put into your appearance tonight, how well everything has been going," he stared at her as though she was oblivious. "I realized you wanted this the second I saw you. I've just being waiting for the right moment. A moment you're doing a great job of blowing, by the way."

"Have you been on the same date I have? This is not going well at all. I've been trying to get away from you all night."

"You've already hooked me, you don't have to keep playing hard to get."

"I'm really, truly not playing. I promise you I want nothing more than to put many continents and repelling charms between us."

"Don't be such a prude," Zacharias snapped, leaning in again.

"Get off!" Evie shoved his chest again.

The blonde brought one of his arms further up her back, pulling her chest against his and successfully trapping her hands between their bodies. He puckered his lips once more and leaned in again. All Evie could do was turn her head to avoid the kiss.

"Stupefy!" Someone snapped from behind Zacharias.

Evie stumbled backwards as the boy crumbled to the ground unconscious. Looking up in bewilderment, she was even more shocked to find Blaise Zabini pocketing his wand once more. He looked up at her, his expression barely above mildly interested in what he'd just happened upon.

"Thought you'd pick your dates better, Diggory," he stated.

Looking down at her stunned date once more and then back up at the Slytherin, Evie furrowed her eyebrows. "You just helped me."

"Are you in shock or something? You're usually more intelligent than this."

"Why did you help me?" She clarified.

"The usual response is thank you," Zabini responded with a tone of amusement.

"I'm not in the mood for games, Zabini. Why did you help me?" Evie snapped.

Sighing, Zabini glanced around to make sure they were alone. "Because I need your help, too."