I'm sorry, I know I haven't posted in a long time! This has been because I've had almost no free moments to write. But lately I've found a decent block of time and I whipped out a chapter, so I hope you enjoy this!

Four weeks passed, as did two of my friends' birthdays: Lyndsay, on December 1, and Brooklyn on the 17th. For Lyndsay's birthday I gifted her a red knit headband patterned with golden flowers. I was growing more adept at knitting, since I'd been staying up almost every night with nothing to do except clean or manipulate yarn. For this reason, Brooklyn got a green-and-black knit pouch- not big enough to carry all of her schoolbooks but large enough to hold her inkpot, quills, and scrap parchment. I smiled a real smile for the first time in a long while on the morning of December 18th when I saw her pull it out of her bag, having used it to carry just that.

And then it was Christmas. I woke up the Sunday before the twenty-fifth and felt something break inside of me when I saw the Christmas decorations in the Ravenclaw common room. Mistletoe hanging in clumps from the domed ceiling- silver garland surrounding the windows- powdery white snow dusting the bookshelves- I nearly broke down in tears once I realized I wouldn't be going home for Christmas. The train had come, no doubt, and been stopped at the barrier. Or perhaps it hadn't even come at all, knowing that none of the children would be able to leave the school. After all we'd been through- after all I'd gone through- I wouldn't even be able to see my family at Christmastime like in my first and third years?

At least Headmaster Damien knew that Christmas was a time of relaxation. He ordered the professors not to give us any homework over break, and instead let us roam the grounds freely. Granted, since we weren't allowed to go to Hogsmeade or anything there wasn't much to do except have snowball fights. Which we did have a lot of. On Tuesday, I looked out the window to see a schoolwide third-year snowball fight- Gryffindor v. Hufflepuff v. Ravenclaw v. Slytherin, what else? And a lot of the older students betted on said snowball fight- at least in Ravenclaw. I overheard three sixth-year boys exchanging friendly bets and banter on who would win, and afterward- when, to nearly everyone's surprise, Hufflepuff crushed the other three Houses- I spotted the shorter two of that group handing silver Sickles and bronze Knuts to the tallest.

So despite the serious and skittish mood that all of Hogwarts had seemed to be in for the past three and a half months, the festive Christmas spirit was settling over everyone. I could barely pass anyone in the halls without hearing "Merry Christmas!" or seeing a couple snog in the corners under some mistletoe. And as for the Christmas songs- God Rest Ye, Merry Hippogriffs and O Come, All Ye Magical seemed to be popular.

Because of all this Christmas cheer- and because I knew how much Headmaster Damien loved holidays and celebrations- I was not surprised when I found a glowing gold envelope on my pillow Tuesday night labeled Alyssa Salinger, Ravenclaw, Year 4.

Cries of surprise from behind me let me know that my roommates had also received similar envelopes. Picking mine up, I debated how to open it- I really need a good letter opener, honestly- before simply ripping it open and reading the letter that fell out.

Alyssa, Year 4 Ravenclaw:

You have been invited to the first annual Damien's Yule Ball on Friday, December 25, 2044! It is a dance and dinner from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., where we will enjoy the Christmas festivities, celebrate Christmas, and honor the Commander of our school! Since Commander Damien is aware that this ball was not planned very far in advance, he knows that no one brought dress robes for this school year. Therefore, he has generously commissioned dresses for girls and suits for boys to be made to fit every person who plans to attend. Please report to Classroom 4F (History of Magic) tomorrow- Wednesday, December 23, 2043- for the fitting of your dress. Also, please note that if you do not show up it will be taken as a refusal to attend the ball and all who decline their invitations will be punished. We hope to see you there!

Sincerely,

Finley Denton, Captain of Commander Damien's army

Beneath the official-looking, loopy script, there was a hastily scrawled note.

Aly: I helped Finley write the invitations. They look great, right? I can't wait for the ball! I'm sorry no one told you ahead of time, but you've seemed so distant lately. Maybe this will cheer you up! It ought to be really fun. –Katy

A ball?

How idiotic! We were trapped in a school that had seemed more like a prison as of late, being ruled over by a dictator who got crueler and more tyrannical with each passing hour- and we were having a ball? What was Headmaster Damien thinking? Surely he knows that this can't end well-

My eyes landed on Katy's note.

Maybe this will cheer you up!

Maybe the blonde Slytherin girl was right. Perhaps it would cheer me up. In fact, maybe it would cheer the entire school up! I knew morale had been getting low among the rebels- especially in the weeks since the murders of Carter, Lindsey and Sophie- but perchance this was the perfect thing to boost everyone's spirits and get us all back on track.

That's why I showed up to Classroom 4A the next day. That's also why I didn't have such dark, deep bags under my eyes for the first time in ages. Oh, they were still there, but the thought of a confidence-lifting dance had chased away the nightmares for a night and allowed me to get a full night's sleep and then some.

"Aly!" Katy squealed when I entered the room. It wasn't as crowded as I had originally thought it would be (it turned out later that only fourth-year girls had been sent to Classroom 4A). She waved frantically from where she was standing on the other side of the room getting her dress pinned by a suit of armor. "Well? What do you think?"

I crossed the room and examined her dress. It was short, lacy and mint green, and showed off Katy's pale shoulders and long legs. She was, in fact, very pretty in it- even without makeup and with her hair slightly messy. I nodded approvingly. "It's really cute, Katy!" I didn't even have to pretend to be excited.

She tossed her hair in thanks. "Isn't it? And to think it was just a heap of green lace fabric when I got here last hour!- just a bit shorter, I think," she ordered the suit of armor, who dutifully pinned the hem of her skirt a tiny bit higher.

"Any shorter and it'll be a shirt," said a voice from behind me. It was Maile, looking gorgeous in a satiny dark greenish-black dress with a full dancing skirt that went just past her knees. She frowned at Katy. "This isn't a nightclub from the city, you know."

"I know, but isn't this dress gorgeous?" Katy sighed happily, smoothing down her skirt. The suit of armor set the last pin in the hem of her skirt, and Katy- looking very, very satisfied- disappeared behind one of the temporary walls that had been set up near the front of the classroom. She came out in regular clothes with her dress draped over her arm, and she carefully laid the lacy fabric over a stack of dresses in the corner that still needed to be sewn, making sure not to dislodge any of the pins. Seizing a scrap of parchment from a pile nearby and a quill, she scrawled Katy Beaurepaire, Slytherin 4 on the paper and pinned it to her dress with a stray pin.

"There," she breathed, looking rather ditzy. "Perfect. Aly, what are you waiting for?"

I glanced at the decently long line of girls who were waiting for a suit of armor to be freed up so they could be fitted for their dresses. "True," I admitted. "I'd best go get in line."

I had only taken one step towards the end of the line- who happened to be Shawnee, with Lanie in front of her- when Katy seized my arm and giggled. "No, silly," she scolded. "You get to skip the line. Remember, you still get privileges since you're the Commander's protégé!"

Oh. Right. In the excitement of the moment, I'd forgotten all about the fact that we were trapped in Hogwarts being governed by a tyrant. I guess that's why he's holding the ball, I thought as Katy paraded me to the front of the line and pushed me toward the first available suit of armor.

I nearly fell into the big silver anthropomorphic figure; righting myself, I glanced up at its helmet, unsure exactly what to do.

"Just tell it your name," Katy urged. "Then it'll know what dress to make you!"

I frowned, turning to her. "Commander Damien picked out patterns already?"

"And colors, too," chirped Maile, appearing at our side in regular clothes with her dress neatly folded in one hand. "You can change it a little, though- you saw Katy making hers shorter. Stuff like that."

"Just tell it your name," Katy said, suddenly impatient. "Sami just got here and I want to see your dress color before helping her."

"Alyssa Salinger," I told the suit of armor.

It had been standing still as stone nearby, but when I uttered my name it jumped up immediately and moved toward the window, where piles of fabric in rainbow hue were strategically organized on the windowsill. I watched it move, somewhat warily. I'd never trusted the suits of armor- not since my first year, when they'd gone rogue along with the rest of Hogwarts. The fact that Headmaster Damien had enchanted them to guard his office and sew dresses for a ball and who knew what else didn't endear them to me any more.

And I found myself particularly loathing this suit of armor when it returned from the fabric junkyard carrying armfuls of a sheer, sleek, bright orange fabric.

Katy's bright smile dimmed. "Okay… and here I thought Commander Damien had decent fashion sense."

"Definitely not orange," Maile sneered, wrinkling her large nose. "Not with your eyes. Green and orange together just clash."

Since Maile wanted to be a dress-robe designer for Madam Malkin's when she grew up, I didn't even think about disagreeing with her. Plus, the orange was just plain ugly. I would've looked like pop or maybe pumpkin juice.

So I shook my head at the suit of armor. "No, no. Maybe something a bit less… bright?"

"Blue!" Katy suggested brightly.

Maile frowned. "No. Silver. Or grey. It'll bring out her eyes."

"Not grey," Katy gasped. "She's supposed to stand out! She's the apprentice, the next commander- she simply can't be in grey."

"Silver, then," Maile concluded. Katy began to argue that silver was just like grey, only shinier, but Maile just ignored her and pointedly glanced at me.

I sighed. "Silver, please," I told the suit of armor.

"She's so polite, even to suits of armor," drawled a cynical voice from behind us. It was Sami.

"I see you've finally decided to grace us with your presence instead of standing in the doorway looking lost," Maile said sarcastically, which made Katy laugh.

The suit of armor loped away to return the gaudy orange silk, and Sami slugged Maile in the arm. "Rude," she commented.

"You're rude," Maile retorted, rubbing the spot on her arm that her Gryffindor friend had punched.

"Don't hurt each other," I murmured absent-mindedly, watching the suit of armor mechanically replace the carrot-colored fabric on top of a stack of similar (although much less garish) cloth.

Sami patted me on the shoulder. "Aw, look at that," she cooed sardonically. "Aly's like our mum."

"I'm like your mum, 'cause I'm your captain," Katy corrected her. "Aly's like my mum, which makes her your grandmother."

Sami thought for a moment and then shook her head. "Nah, Kate, you're like the older sister. The bossy older sister," she added with a snide grin. Dodging a playful slap from the taller of the two Slytherin girls, she continued, "And Aly's like our mum!"

"Great," I mumbled under my breath. Even among my peers, I was thought of as a higher power. Couldn't I just be normal? When would I just get to be Aly again- the Aly I'd been for the first ten years of my life- the regular little schoolwitch?

Just then, the suit of armor stomped back up. In its arms was a stunning length of shimmering silver silk that caught the sunlight glimmering from the windows.

Maile nodded approvingly. "Oh yes, that's the color for you, Salinger."

"Shut up, Quentin," Sami pestered her. "Come on, let's go get my dress done. I'm hoping for black, but you never know-"

"Come find us when your dress is done," Katy told me, "or maybe we'll find you." And then all three were moving toward an available suit of armor across the room- pushing in front of a disgruntled Brooklyn, who looked like she'd been waiting for a while. My cousin glared daggers at her roommates and Sami, looking very much like she'd like to set them all on fire.

After what seemed like hours of cutting fabric, sewing seams and pinning hems, the dress was ready for me to try on. I slid behind the temporary walls into one of the hastily set up changing rooms and slipped into the dress, leaving my regular clothes folded neatly on a nearby desk to let everyone know that the impromptu changing room was occupied.

I took a look at myself in the mirror someone had hung crookedly on the wall, and harrumphed in distaste.

The dress was pretty, there was no doubt about it. And I was pretty in it. It had no sleeves but straps instead, and its waist was high- gathered near the bottom of my rib cage. From that down was a flurry of ruffles, and the entire thing ended about a thumb-length above my knees. It was a lovely dress- for having been made for a suit of armor- but it was wholeheartedly not my style.

It was more the style of Sami or Katy or Maile. I came out of the changing room to the last two fawning over the former, in a long, low-cut, sparkling dark red evening gown. It looked like something my mum would wear, and I had this feeling that with makeup and her hair done Sami would look like she was a child pretending to be an adult; but Maile and Katy seemed to approve of it.

…as they did of mine, too.

"About time you loosened up!" Maile shrieked when she saw me.

"Shoulders nearly bare, knees showing, ruffles…" Sami listed as she circled around me, the look on her face very much like that of a hungry shark having scented blood. "Wow, Aly, you're actually capable of having fun!"

Ouch.

Seeing the expression on my face, Katy slapped Sami hard on the arm. "Don't listen to her, Aly. You look really nice!"

But I wasn't worried about the dress. All of a sudden I'd remembered that look on Sami's face, that feeling of being played with, that tone in her voice. I remembered all of that from October 9th- the day Margaret and Arthur had died. I'd been enjoying myself- somehow- but the smile dropped from my face in that moment. Only when Katy consoled me about something she thought was bothering me did I remember that I had a role to play.

That night, the nightmares returned, and there was nothing I could do to stop them. Even the night before the ball, my sleep was filled with screaming and blood and the limp corpses of my friends.

So? How did you like it? I thought it wasn't too bad of a chapter overall, even though it was a bit rushed. Please leave your comments in the review box!