Sorry for the delay; I'm trying to stay on top of this story as much as possible. This was a fun chapter to write, for "obvious" reasons as you will soon see ;o) also, as I was going through HP lore in preparing/writing this story, I remembered how it was revealed that Hogwarts hadn't seen a Triwizard Tournament/Yule Ball in a *very* long time, when Harry and his friends are students. So let's just say, that when the Crawley sisters and Tom and Matthew were students at Hogwarts, *that* was when the last Yule Ball was held ;o)

Thanks again for all those who have been reading and leaving reviews. I really appreciate it and am glad you are enjoying this little exploration in DA/HP!

Chapter Four

1915

Just ask her; don't be afraid, just walk up to her and say, "Sybil, would you accompany me to the Yule Ball?"

Tom swallowed the lump in his throat and momentarily ceased his pacing as he contemplated this.

"She's going to laugh in my face," he groaned, lowering his head and covering it with his hands. This was hopeless. Absolutely hopeless. And it didn't make sense! Sybil was his friend—his best friend! Something as…as simple as asking her to accompany him to the Hogwarts Yule Ball should not be causing his palms to sweat or his stomach to twist!

…And yet it was.

For weeks, Tom had been agonizing about the stupid Yule Ball. He had no idea what to expect when he heard about the Triwizard Tournament, but a ball around the Christmas holiday was the last thing he had expected.

"All students who are fourth year and higher are expected to attend!" Prof. Hughes had informed them. Tom didn't think it was fair, since he didn't have dress robes, and he was sure there were other students like him, students who came from either poor families that couldn't afford them, or muggle families that didn't know how to come by them. But Prof. Hughes had all the answers; she knew there would be students like himself in such a situation, and so had gone ahead and had special dress robes created for the occasion.

Well, there was no weaseling out of it now. Only now he was facing another dilemma; he had no partner to attend with him.

"Edna is quite keen on you," Sybil had muttered to him one evening while they were studying.

Tom made a face at the mention of the Slytherin girl. Edna wasn't posh like most Slytherins, but she was certainly ambitious! He also remembered how he had gotten thrown off his broom by a bludger in a match three weeks ago. He was in the school's medical wing, recovering from his tumble, when Edna surprised him by sauntering into the room, "cooing" over him, before plopping herself down on the bed next to him, whimpering, "oooohhhh poor Tommy…"

Sybil entered but a few seconds later, her eyes going wide at the sight of Edna cuddling his side, before turning her gaze onto him and giving him a dark glare.

She didn't speak to him for several days. It was the longest he and Sybil had gone without speaking to each other.

"I told you, I'm not interested," he had muttered back through gritted teeth. He couldn't deny he was a bit resentful of Sybil himself, refusing to let him explain and giving him the silent treatment.

Even after they had made a "truce" and began talking to each other once again, things were still rather tense between the two of them.

"I'm not going to go," Tom muttered after another long pause.

Sybil dropped her pen and when Tom glanced up, noticed she was staring at him incredulously.

"But…but you have to!"

"No I don't," he muttered, looking back down at his parchment.

"But Prof. Hughes said—"

"It's just a dance, Sybil," he groaned, before lifting his eyes again.

She didn't say anything, though he could tell there was something bothering her about his words. Then, after another long pause, she murmured, "well…maybe I won't go either; I mean, it's not like I have a partner or anything…"

The silence that hung between them suddenly felt very awkward. Tom swallowed and glanced up from his parchment to look at her, but she was looking down and writing furiously. Was she…trying to tell him something? It was hard to believe that Sybil didn't have a partner; he thought she was one of the prettiest girls in Hufflepuff…perhaps the entire school. Of course, there was more to beauty than just "good looks"; Sybil's beauty came from somewhere deeper—her kind heart, her good humor, her friendly nature, her passion for justice, her thirst for knowledge—

His face felt like it was on fire.

Why did he care if she had a partner to the Yule Ball or not? Because he couldn't deny there was a part of him…that was secretly glad when she told him that she didn't have one. But why did that matter? Why did he feel that way? Why…?

He started gathering his things then, and Sybil gasped, grabbing their shared inkwell just in time before he managed to knock it over. "Where are you going?" she asked, looking at him with both concern and confusion.

"I…" he couldn't look her in the eyes, it felt too…strange, for some reason. "I…I just remembered…I…I have something…to do…" Merlin's beard he sounded like an idiot, but he didn't care, he just made sure he had everything he had brought to the library, and without another look, hurried away from her, ignoring her voice as she called after him.

He had been a coward; he should have said something, he should have asked her right then and there, that day in the library when she had told him she didn't have a partner, if she would like to accompany him and be his partner to the Yule Ball. And why not? It wasn't uncommon for friends to go…and that's what he and Sybil were, of course! Friends…

Friends…

Just…friends?

The door that led up to the Hufflepuff girls dormitory opened, and Tom ceased his pacing, especially when the very person he had been thinking about emerged amongst a group of girls and caught his eyes.

"Um…I'll join you soon," Sybil said to her friends, who nodded their heads and continued on their way out of the room. "Tom?" she finally asked, no doubt noticing his agitated state. "Are you alright?"

"I…" oh stop it! Just ask her! DO IT! "Willyouaccompanymetotheyuleball?"

Sybil's brow furrowed. "W-w-what?"

Tom groaned and shook his head, before taking a deep breath and repeating, "will you accompany me…to…to the Yule Ball?"

Silence.

He couldn't bear to look at her, he felt so embarrassed for botching it up the first time he spoke, and even though Sybil wasn't the sort to laugh at someone, he found himself waiting for it, because heaven knows he was a complete joke—

"I'd love to…"

Tom's turned his head so quickly, he actually winced at the whiplash he had no doubt given himself. But that didn't matter, she had said she would love to! She had said—

"…But…but I promised I would go with Tom Bellasis."

The smile that had begun to spread on his face fell faster than a stone, sinking to the bottom of a lake.

"Tom…Bellasis?" he murmured, repeating the name.

Sybil nodded. "From Ravenclaw," she whispered, her eyes looking down at her feet.

He knew who Tom Bellasis was. He was a sixth year, and the seeker on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. He was also a prefect, and often hailed by several teachers as one of Hogwarts best and brightest students.

Tom had nothing against Tom Bellasis; the bloke had always been decent to him, the few times they interacted, which was more often on the Quidditch pitch than anywhere else. But suddenly…Tom couldn't help but feel an intense…dislike of the other boy.

"Oh," he finally replied.

Sybil was chewing on her bottom lip. "I…I'm sorry, he…he only asked me two days ago—"

Two days ago. The Yule Ball was taking place in three days from now. Had Sybil been holding off on saying "yes" to anyone for that long? He groaned and closed his eyes at his own stupid ego, wanting to believe that for some stupid reason, she had been holding out and waiting for him to have the courage to say something.

"Well…I…I'm glad," he answered, forcing a smile and nodding his head at her. "You deserve a good dance partner."

She was eyeing him in a way that seemed to say she doubted his words. He shouldn't be too surprised by that look—it was impossible to lie to her, she knew him far too well.

"I thought you weren't going to go?" she murmured, her eyes bashfully glancing down at her feet, before looking up at him once more.

"Well…Prof. Hughes is most insistent, and I don't want to take points away from our house by not going, so…" oh couldn't the floor just open up and swallow him?

Sybil nodded her head at his words. "Well…that was very nice of you," she finally replied. "I mean, your willingness to ask me, because I didn't have a partner."

Wait—did she think he was only asking her because he…pitied her? He repeated the words he had spoken to her in his head, and closed his eyes in frustration, as he could see why she would come to that conclusion.

"I asked you because I wanted to," he told her, the words coming out before he could stop himself. Oh God, now what?

Sybil's eyes widened at this as well, and Tom felt his stomach twist…as a smile began to spread across her face. She bit her lip and looked down again, but not before Tom could see her cheeks turning a lovely shade of pink. It was something he was starting to take more and more notice of…

"Well…maybe we can have a dance at the ball?"

Tom swallowed and found himself dumbly nodding his head. "Aye, I…I would like that," he replied, though in truth, he didn't know the first thing about dancing.

Sybil smiled at this and turned to leave…but paused, and then turned back and without warning, leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Good," she whispered, before finally turning again and practically skipping out of the common room to join her other friends.

How long he stood there, he wasn't sure. But his cheek was still tingling from where her lips had touched.

In the end, Tom did find someone to accompany him; Sybil's sister, Edith. Poor Edith did have a partner, another Ravenclaw named Michael, who was one of the participants in the Triwizard Tournament! But Michael had broken his leg in the most recent event, and naturally would not be able to dance. Because of the flying lessons Tom had given her, he and Edith had developed a bit of a camaraderie, and so when he had noticed her moping two days before the ball, he asked why, and then after hearing her story, asked if she would be "scandalized" to attend the ball with a "mere fourth year".

"I can't really dance," Tom had warned her. But that didn't matter, Edith was just happy to have a partner, even if it was "just him" (to which she apologized later) but Tom didn't care. While he would do his best to be a good partner for Edith at the ball, if truth be told, all he could think about was the chance to dance with Sybil.

On the night of the ball, Hogwarts had been transformed. While the Great Hall was always festive looking around Christmas, it looked like…well, like a fairy palace, practically! His dress robes weren't so bad (simple; a dark forest green color), but he hated the fact that he was wearing white tie like a toff. Still, just one night, he told himself over and over. Edith looked very fine, wearing a sea green gown that seemed to shimmer when she moved. Even though the two of them were each other's partners for the ball, it was clear that Edith hadn't dressed to impress him, but Michael, the boy she would have accompanied had he not broken his leg, and who would sitting in a corner, his leg in a thick cast, looking longingly at her throughout the evening.

Tom glanced around the busy room, smiling as his eyes caught those of Matthew…who was dancing with Mary, of all people. Not that this surprised Tom; like Sybil and Edith, Tom also suspected that both Matthew and Mary were keen on each other, and there really could be no denying that when you looked at them now, dancing together…and the way their eyes seemed to be locked and focused on the other.

"Oh gracious!"

Tom turned to look at Edith, wondering what it was that had caused her to gasp, and his eyes followed hers…and grew large as he took finally took in the sight of his best friend, in—

"TROUSERS!?" Edith squeaked.

Sybil was beaming, smiling at the various shocked faces that were staring at her, as she practically floated into the room, adorned in blue silk trousers, like an Arabian princess.

"Did you know she was going to be wearing that?" Edith hissed at him, but Tom shook his head, though he still couldn't take his eyes off her. "Oh just wait until Papa hears about this," Edith groaned.

Sybil grinned at him and gave a little wave, and Tom couldn't help but grin back. Wow…she…she was absolutely stunning!

"Tom?" she turned then to "the other Tom", and patted his arm. "Would you mind if we exchanged partners for the next dance?"

Tom Bellasis glanced over at Tom and Edith, and then looked back and Sybil and gave a small nod, ever polite, though Tom wondered if the other boy was a bit disappointed that Sybil was denying him their first dance. Still, Bellasis was a good lad, and even gave Edith a bow before escorting her to the dance floor where Matthew and Mary were already dancing.

Sybil grinned and didn't hesitate to float to his side. "So? Do you think I've scandalized the entire wizarding world?" she giggled, doing a little turn for him, showing off her frock and giggling as she did.

"Absolutely," Tom laughed, admiring everything about her. "It suits you perfectly."

She beamed at this, and then without warning, stepped closer to him, taking his left hand in her right, and guiding his right hand to her waist. Tom suddenly paled as he realized what she was doing, and then he swore that his heart came to a stop as suddenly, she was only a few inches away from him.

"I…I um…" he nervously looked down and then back into her eyes—which really were the most extraordinary shade of blue. "I…I don't really know the steps."

She didn't laugh, nor did she try to tease him. She just smiled and pressed her left hand into his upper arm, while her right gripped his hand a little tighter. "You don't need to," she whispered, starting to sway a little to the music that was playing, encouraging him to do the same. "We'll make our own."