There was a pregnant pause in which the two just stared at each other. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Evie dissolved into a fit of laughter. Zabini raised a confused eyebrow as she continued to laugh.

"Oh, that's good," the girl gasped. "I thought…for a second…" she dissolved into giggles again. "I mean you looked so serious! You'd make an amazing actor." When her laughter subsided she actually wiped an imaginary tear from the corner of her eye, and then checked to be sure she had not smudged her makeup.

"I wasn't joking, Diggory," Zabini drawled.

"But you must be, because you're Blaise Zabini."

"I'm aware."

"Then you must also be aware that Blaise Zabini asking Evelyn Diggory for help is not in the realm of possibility." The teal clad girl's voice quickly became less amused.

"Under normal circumstances, I'd agree with you a thousand times over."

"Are you insinuating these aren't normal circumstances?"

"I am asking for your help, aren't I?"

"How about you stop being ridiculous?"

"Are you trying to make this difficult for me?"

"Under normal circumstances, I'd agree with you a thousand times over," Evie mocked. "Tonight, however, I'm not. I really do need you to stop being ridiculous."

"I'm serious, Diggory. I need your help."

"Fine, let's pretend I believe you're actually asking me for help. Let's also pretend I've forgotten you're a skivvy little Slytherin and I'm actually considering helping you. What exactly do you need my help with?"

"My parents are Pureblood Supremacist," he started. "And there have been whispers."

Evie swallowed every sarcastic quip she had. "What kind of whispers?"

"You saw what happened at the World Cup. There were whispers of something happening before that, meetings with followers leading up to it."

"By 'followers' you mean Death Eaters, right?"

The Slytherin shot her an annoyed look, but sighed and nodded none-the-less. "They're active again, just all of a sudden. I'm not stupid; I know it means they think He's coming back."

"Why?" A pit opened up in Evie's stomach.

"I don't know, and maybe they're wrong. Maybe they're all just trying to relive the 'glory days'," he air quoted the last bit. "But if they're not just being hopeful, I want to have my exit strategy ready to go."

"And your exit strategy is?"

"You," he stated simply.

Neither of them said anything for a moment as Evie waited for him to go into more detail. When he didn't, she rolled her eyes. "Okay, all this pausing for dramatic effect isn't doing anything but getting on my nerves. I'm going to need you to explain yourself better."

"I helped you so if He comes back, and my father tries to make me become a Death Eater, I can come to you. Then, you can vouch for me with Dumbledore, I can be protected, and there's one less Death Eater to worry about."

"Okay, just one question though. Are you out of your mind? Why the bloody hell would I put my life and my friend's lives on the line because you weren't a total prat once? Do you really think the two are even close to the same level of favor?" Evie snapped.

"Fine, just keep your voice down, Diggory," Zabini looked around. "What would it take for me to convince you that I'm not lying?"

There was silence as Evie racked her brain for some sort of solution. Smirking, she looked up into his eyes. "Talk to me."

"Are you trying to get me killed?"

"Now who's being slow?" She rolled her eyes again. "I don't mean just casually in the halls. I happen to like my friends, thank you very much. Write me letters. Tell me about yourself. Tell me the truth. If you do that for the rest of the year, I'll help you figure out a way to convince everyone else that you're not a Death Eater."

"What's to stop me from lying in the letters?"

"Nothing," Evie shrugged. "I'll have to take it on faith that you're being honest. But I'll comfort myself in knowing that if you're dedicated enough to this lie to write me letters, and stop insulting my friends," she added as an afterthought. "There will have been nothing else I could've done to figure out you were lying. Oh, and I've learned some things about you over the years, so I think I could catch a lie or two."

"So, tell you about myself and don't insult your friends. That's it?"

"If you can do both of those things, I'll believe you aren't like your parents and I'll help you figure out how to confront Dumbledore yourself."

Zabini considered her terms for a moment. "Alright, Diggory," he nodded. "I can do that." He turned and began to walk back towards the castle.

"Wait!" Evie called after him.

"You had something else, Diggory?" Zabini turned back to her with a look of exasperation and a quirked eyebrow.

"Two things, actually. First, if you hear anything else, let me know."

"I assumed that was part of being honest."

"Just making sure we completely understand each other."

"What's the second thing?"

"Why me?" Evie searched his eyes for the answer.

"Your opinion holds a lot of weight with Potter and his opinion holds a lot of weight with Dumbledore."

"If that's all it is you could've gone to Hermione."

"That's not all it is."

"Then," Evie sighed. "Out of all my friends, why did you come to me?"

"You're the only one who would've even considered the possibility that we're not all the same," he answered with a weird sort of certainty. He didn't give her time to question him further, turning quickly and practically running back up to the castle. Just before he opened the door he turned and revived Zacharias.

Evie turned to glance down at the groaning boy, having forgotten he was even there. She then turned back towards the castle and made her way inside as well, hoping to be gone before he completely came to.

By the time she reached the entrance hall, Evie was once again deeply immersed in her thoughts. The conversation kept playing in her head. Even though it had just happened, she couldn't help but wonder if it was a dream.

She was so engrossed she didn't notice she was about to crash into someone until it was too late. Strong, warm hands gripped her upper arms to keep her standing. Instinctively, she reached up and her hands landed on a firm chest. She righted herself and looked up.

"I'm so sor-" That's when she realized it was Malfoy.

They quickly removed their hands from each other, but neither spoke. Instead, they stared at each other for a moment. The look on Malfoy's face was unlike any Evie had seen before. It was confused, annoyed and a bit awestruck.

"What?" She asked, with much less malice than she would have usually direct towards him. For a moment she thought maybe he would indicate that he knew what Zabini had talked to her about.

"You're in my way, Diggory," he spat, his face overtaken with nothing more than annoyance.

Scoffing and shaking free from her mind the idea Malfoy might have changed, Evie braced against the coming conversation. "You bumped into me."

"Well, as your better, you should always move out of my way."

"You know what, Malfoy?" Evie smiled tightly. "I really am not in the mood to deal with you tonight." She stepped around him.

"I didn't think you were one to walk away from a fight, Diggory," he said, a hint of disappointment evident in his voice.

"Well," Evie turned to face him once more, feeling oddly satisfied with his tone. "While I'm sure this would've been the highlight of your evening, I've had a rather disappointing night and the idea of sharing that disappointment, especially with you, just fills me with joy. But, I'd savor this moment if I were you, because it's the only win you'll ever get against me." Evie smirked and turned once more.

Not two feet away she spotted Hermione on the stairs with tears in her eyes. Rushing towards her friend, Evie knelt down. "What happened?"

"Harry," Hermione sniffled. "And Ron," she hiccupped.

Evie sighed and placed an arm around her friend. "They're idiots but we knew this when we befriended them."

"They called me a traitor. He said I was fraternizing with the enemy."

Before Evie could open her mouth again, Viktor Krum came matching up.

"Hermoniny, vhy are you crying? Vhy is she crying?" He turned his question to Evie. The amount of concern in his voice made Evie smile.

"Don't worry about that, I'm handling it. But, why don't you take her for another spin on the floor? It might cheer her up."

"Oh no, I couldn't-"

"You can," Evie pressed. "Don't let them ruin this night for you. You deserve this," She added in a whisper. Then she nodded to Krum who returned the gesture and grabbed Hermione's hand.

Evie watched them go with a smile, before turning. Her face hardened instantly and she marched up the stairs to the common room with fierce purpose. There she found Harry and Ron lazing around. Seeing them look so at ease did nothing to sate her anger.

"You two!"

The boys jumped to attention instantly.

"What's wrong with you?"

"What did we do?" Ron asked and the red flashed before Evie's eyes and her nostrils flared. "Oh, this is about Hermione," he explained to Harry.

"What else would it be about? Have you just been going around ruining other people's evenings as well?"

"Evie," Harry said calmly, as though trying to talk someone from a ledge.

"Shut up!" She stomped over to both of them and glared hard. "Just because you two weren't happy with who you took didn't mean you had to ruin the ball for all of us!"

"Wait-" Ron started to protest.

"How is it fair that you ruined the ball for her?" Evie poked the two with stiffened pointer fingers, hitting them in the chest with every word. Each hit caused them to flinch and back up until they were guarding themselves from her onslaught with their backs against a wall.

"Ow, Evie stop!" Ron pleaded.

"We didn't mean to upset her," Harry defended.

"I don't care what you meant to do. Just a few months ago you were at each other's throats and now you're ganging up on my best friend and making her cry." Evie's breathing was coming out in short bursts. "Go to your room," she spoke low and dangerously.

"You can't just send us to our rooms," Harry frowned.

"Yeah, you aren't our mum," Ron rolled his eyes.

Evie began imagining terrible ways to torture them, projecting all these things through her eyes at them. The air around the trio seemed to cool.

"I'm tired," Harry whispered in fear.

"Yeah, let's go to bed," Ron agreed and began running for the boys' dorm, Harry hot on his heels.

"Boys!" Evie called after them, causing them to freeze and turn uneasily back towards her. "Tomorrow you will apologize so profusely to Hermione that even I might forgive you. If not, you'd best hope that tournament kills you Harry, because it would be a far kinder end than you'll get from me."

The fact that she spoke with absolute calm did nothing to grant the boys relief. Two audible gulps sounded before they turned and ran the rest of the way to their dorm.

Evie sighed, feeling both satisfied and exhausted. The night had really been a roller coaster of emotions and she wanted nothing more than the ball to be a distant memory. Thinking this she flopped, rather ungracefully, onto the couch and closed her eyes.

A few minutes later the portrait swung open and people clambered in. There was hushed talking and then someone walked up the stairs to the boys' dorms and someone sat on the couch opposite her.
She was not excited for the interruption, but Evie opened her eyes none-the-less. Seamus was smiling awkwardly at her.

"Are you alright?"

"It's been a long night."

"You don't sound like you enjoyed the ball."

"My date was a prat, Malfoy tried to insult me, and your roommates made Hermione cry," Evie sighed. "I just wanted to have fun tonight." She sat up and looked down at her pretty teal dress sadly. She had wanted to feel beautiful and carefree just for one night.

"Well, you look amazing," Seamus responded with a blush. "And the night's not over just yet."

Evie heard more rustling and then a pair of feet appeared in her line of sight. Looking up she saw Seamus holding out a hand to her.

"May I have this dance?"

Smiling her first true smile since her dance with Cedric, Evie accepted his outstretched hand and stood. There was no music, so she allowed Seamus to decide what speed they would go. Lucky for her, he picked something slow, almost a waltz.

"This is nice," Evie heard herself say and then blushed thinking she probably sounded stupid.

"Yeah? I'm sorry I didn't ask you to the ball sooner."

"That's alright. This is a pretty good way to make up for it," Evie laughed.

"Is it?"

"Yeah, this is in my top three dances of the night."

"Only top three?"

"I also danced with Cedric and Hermione, so…" Evie shrugged.

"Can't beat Hermione at anything," Seamus huffed in fake frustration and Evie giggled.

"She studied really hard," Evie sighed.

"I'm just too lazy fer that." Seamus twirled and dipped her and the imaginary song was over.

When they pulled apart Evie felt a little breathless, but she composed herself and smiled at her friend. "Thanks for this, Seamus."

"Anytime," he smiled and then looked down. "I should be getting to bed."

"Right," Evie nodded. "It is late."

"Are you going to bed too?"

"Hermione's still out. I think I'll wait up for her."

"Right…well, goodnight, Evie."

"Goodnight, Seamus."

She watched him move towards the staircase before turning back towards the couch.

"Hey, Evie," Seamus called her attention back to him. He was at the bottom of the stairs now, looking sort of flustered.

"Hmm?"

"Would you," he breathed. "WouldyouwanttahgowithmetahHogsmeadesometime?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Would you want to go to Hogsmeade with me some time?" He seemed to be forcing himself to enunciate.

Evie's mind went blank for a moment.

"You don't have to-"

"No, I'd love to!" Evie blushed as she realized how excited she sounded. "I mean, sorry, I was just shocked. I'd, um, I'd really like that."

"Okay…"

"Okay…"

"Goodnight."

"Yeah."

Seamus turned awkwardly and ran up the stairs. Evie watched him go, still trying to process what had just happened. She turned awkwardly around, trying to figure out what to do with herself. She wrung her hands and then started to sit, but the portrait swung open and she stood again.

It was only Lavender and Parvati. The girls had come in giggling. When they noticed Evie they smiled and waved. "Goodnight," the two called in unison, not stopping as they made their way towards their shared room.

"Hi, I mean, goodnight," Evie answered, earning a weird look but nothing else. When the two had fully disappeared Evie smacked her own forehead and then groaned at the pain. "Oh Merlin, just sit down and shut up," she chastised herself.

She sat lost in thought when the portrait swung open again. Hermione walked through with a bright smile on her face.

"Did you have fun then?" Evie caught her attention.

Sighing, Hermione flopped down next to her with an unending smile. "It was wonderful. You were right," she nudged Evie. "Thank you."

"Of course."

Hermione smiled again, her mind seemingly a million miles away. "You didn't kill them, did you?"

"Not yet. But you should expect groveling for forgiveness tomorrow. If not I'll kill them."

"I look forward to it."

"I thought you might," Evie smiled.

"What are you still doing up?"

"Waiting on you," Evie answered, biting her lip.

"You're lying."

"No I'm not." Her lip left the area between her teeth, but clearly not soon enough. Evie sighed in defeat. "I danced with Seamus, here in the common room."

"Really?" Hermione asked excitedly. "What happened?"

"He asked if I'd go to Hogsmeade with him sometime," Evie breathed out, still shocked by the night's turn of events.

"Oh, Evie," Hermione practically squealed. "You said yes, right?"

"Yes," Evie paused, gnawing at her lip again. "But I'm nervous. What if we go on a date and it's terrible?"

"It won't be terrible," Hermione assured her friend. "You're amazing, and Seamus is really nice. If he didn't like you already he wouldn't have asked you out."

"Thanks," Evie sighed as the butterflies in her stomach calmed a bit. "Are you ready to head to sleep?"

"Mmmhmm," Hermione hummed in agreement, standing from her spot on the couch.

Evie followed suit and the two made their way up to their room where Lavender and Parvati were already deep into their REM cycle. After they were situated and lying in bed Evie smiled and turns towards her friend.

"Did you kiss him?"

"What?" Hermione laughed nervously.

"Did you kiss Krum?"

"I'm not answering that."

"Was it nice? Was it like you imagined kissing a boy would be?"

Hermione smiled wide. "It was better."

"I can't believe you kissed Viktor Krum," Evie whispered as excitedly as she could.

"Me either!"

The friends giggled for a moment but quieted as Parvati shifted on her bed and groaned. After a glance to make sure she was still sleep, the two friends shared one more secret smile before drifting off to sleep.