George seemed have a compass built to find Fred. As soon as we entered the Great Hall, glowing in the magnificent candlelight and ice, George brought me over to his twin and his date, a very tall, pretty black girl. I felt very small standing next to her, in height and in looks. I wanted some sort of reassurance, but George was too busy whispering and cackling with Fred.

I didn't want to see Cedric enter. I didn't want to see Cedric happy anymore. I crossed my arms, and looked for Kim or Kelly. My frustration swallowed me whole and then, I wanted to leave.

But Fred and George weren't standing away from the crowd for a better view: slow, dreamy music signaled the parade of champions, but the twins continued their banter. My anger relaxed a little. Once the dreamy music ended, after a very long and treacherous waltz, The Weird Sisters were due to come out at any minute. The crowed seethed with excitement.

The band was greeted to louder screams than those at the First Task. Once they rolled into their first song and the crowd started jumping, Fred and Angelina disappeared into the mosh pit. George and I stood awkwardly next to each other for a few moments. There was no real definition about our current relationship, and I hated not knowing.

I wouldn't have entirely minded it if this was the beginning of our relationship. I thought of late nights in Gryffindor common room, talking in hushed voices about our futures, our relationships, our lives. Pranks pulled late at night, midday, early in the morning across Hogwarts school. Run-ins at the Three Broomsticks, passing an illegal drink or two around.

I always had a good time when I was with George, and my heart hummed with all of our pleasant memories. While Cedric could sometimes be sterile in his responses, George always made me laugh. I liked that in a guy.

"Shall we?" George leered, eyeing the crowd with a devilish glint in his eye. "I bet you we can get to the front."

"Through all of those people?" My eyes widened at the prospective task. "You're crazy."

"That's what my Mum says, anyway." I snickered. "I think we can do it."

George grabbed my hand and dove into the crowd. There were so many bodies, so many hands, so much yelling and screaming. I felt like I was apparating very unsuccessfully: my body was stretched between people, crushed beneath feet, and pushed against people I had never met before. Somewhere above me, Professor Flitwick was crowd diving.

"George!" I yelled, trying to get his attention, but he was at least three people in front of me. "I don't think this is a very good idea."

He didn't respond, so I figured my reluctance to continue his sudden stroke of brilliance didn't reach him.

"George!" I tried yelling again, my voice thin and pathetic. I couldn't tell where I was in the sea of stomping people. Finally, my date let me catch up to him. He had a devilish smirk on his face and a small, black orb between his fingers.

"Toss one of these," he insisted, "and we will have front row spots."

I had a good feeling what the black object was, but I wasn't entirely ready to join his ranks as chief prankster. Despite this nagging feeling in my gut, I did want to see The Weird Sisters, front row. At the same time, George and I casually tossed the orbs. Soon, a thick black smoke filled the area, unbeknownst to the band, and people in the front began filing away for lack of seeing.

George grabbed my hand again and suddenly, we were at the front of the stage with Fred, Angelina, and a few stragglers who didn't want to escape the smoke. My music was pounding through my skull, the vibrations making my heart shiver. Fred and Angelina were already thrashing their limbs about very violently. George smiled kindly at me, and together we copied Fred's crazy dance moves.

After an hour of thrashing, my limbs were exhausted. Even Fred and Angelina had wandered off somewhere, complaining of being sore. The night was going well, better than I had expected anyway. I was finding George to not only be a great friend, but also to be a great date. He did all of the little things I had expected from Cedric: he tucked his arm around my waist, he kept me close, he made sure I wasn't getting trampled by the thundering crowd behind us, but mostly, it was his kooky grin that attracted me. George always seemed to be in a good mood.

"I've got to get something to drink," I yelled, over the crowd. It was hot and I felt like melting. "I'll be right back?"

George didn't answer, but instead trailed me out of the jumping crowd. When George wandered over to Fred, who was talking with a very morose looking Ron, I headed over to the punch table.

I scanned the multitude of bobbing heads for any semblance of Kelly or Kim, but I couldn't pick them out against the hundreds of students. Maybe they had wandered off to find an empty corridor? I smirked at the idea, and then felt my stomach swoop when I wondered if George and I would later do the same. Was I ready for it? I checked my breath against the back of my hand, and managed to determine that I would be okay for long-term snogging, if necessary.

Out of nowhere, I spotted Kelly rotating on the dance floor with Billie. When she glanced over in my direction, I waved enthusiastically. Kelly grabbed Billie's hand and pointed at me. I couldn't wait to meet him, when-

"Hi, Michelle." It was Cedric, standing in front of me in magnificent black dress robes. His light cocoa hair was slicked back and he stood wearing an awkward grin, like he had been planning this confrontation for weeks. "How are you?"

I honestly couldn't generate a response. I felt shell shocked by the fact that he was actually talking to me. After weeks of no interaction, now seemed like the right time?

"You look great," Cedric said feebly, his conversation starters wearing away. "Very pretty."

Now I had to say something. If only my voice was louder than the hammering in my chest. "Er, thanks. How is… How is Cho?"

Cedric's face fell a little. "Oh, great. We're having a lovely time. Listen, Michelle, I'm sorry for everything."

His apology and sincerity was so abrupt, I was left speechless. Again. I didn't want to get dragged back to my pit of misery, but I could already feel the familiar sting of shame when he continued, "I still care about you, a lot."

I stood, trying not to make eye contact, tightly clutching my punch glass with both hands. Any stronger and the glass may have shattered.

"Thanks," I muttered, and oh no, I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I figured by now I could look him in the eyes again, and when I did, I saw he looked upset.

"Don't cry. I didn't mean to… I just thought that… I'm not mad at you or anything… I still like you quite a bit." Cedric reached out to pull me into an embrace, but I stepped back.

I needed an escape. I must have looked stupid, trying to force my tears away in front of my ex-boyfriend. If Cho was watching, she must have been pissed. I glanced to my left, where I had previously saw Kelly and Billie stand. Now I only have a furious looking blurry version of my best friend, approaching rapidly.

"I know," I said, only because I had to say something. "It's alright. I-I…"

I wanted to tell him that I still cared about him too, but what was the point? Cedric wasn't interested anymore. I didn't understand the point of this talk. To reignite our friendship? I had no appropriate feelings for him anymore, no semblance of any friendship still lingered in my mind.

"Michelle, I need to talk to you," Kelly said, her voice soft. She removed the punch glass from my hand, and pulled me away, her arm entwined with mine. I noticed Kelly turned around and shot Cedric a nasty look.

Kelly walked me to an isolated corner in the Great Hall, where I collapsed into her arms. When she asked me what happened, I sought solace in her empathy, and told her exactly what Cedric had told me. I glanced up, beyond Kelly's worried face, and saw Cedric still standing at the punch table, looking downtrodden. Unexpectedly, I saw George storming over to Cedric, his mouth moving rapidly, but I couldn't make out any of the words.

Kelly noticed where my eyes had fallen. Cedric now looked politely offended, one of my favorite faces, his mouth moving just as quickly.

"Don't worry about them," Kelly muttered, pushing loose strands of hair out of my face. "That was a stupid thing for Cedric to do. He should have known you would still have feelings for him."

"Yeah," I responded weakly.

Kelly smiled. "Are you having a good time with George?"

I nodded, and told her about our mischievous descent to the front of the crowd.

"Oh, man! I wish I was up there!" she lamented, which only made me feel slightly better. My mind wandered back to Cedric's sad face. He still cared about me. Was it stupid of me to still want him back? Maybe he and Cho weren't going to last…

Kelly resumed talking to me normally, trying to distract me. When I looked past her, George and Cedric had gone.

"Come on, let's get up," Kelly tugged me off the ground, and I had a sensation of déjà vu. "Let's go find our boys."

But Cedric wasn't my boy, no matter how much I wanted him to be. Part of me knew that was a beautiful thing, especially when I saw George angrily venting to Fred. I knew he was telling him about Cedric's tactless apology. I felt happy to have a guy care this much about me. On the other hand, I couldn't just forget two years of a generally happy, stable relationship. It was familiar and secure, like a childhood blanket.

Kelly led me over to George, my hand enveloped in hers. When we reached the twins, both standing with annoyed expressions on their faces, Kelly spoke, "Don't worry about it."

Telling anyone not to worry about anything was not a bright decision. And yet, Kelly commanded such a large field of respect and power that even George bitterly nodded. Kelly extended our hands to George, who took mine in his. George's hand was warm, but the unfamiliarity of the hand made me feel uneasy. Was I really starting a new relationship, right now?

It seemed my touch was like a relaxant to my date. George smiled, his face much less tense, and offered, "Let's dance."