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Dumbledore wasn't pleased that Potter hadn't bothered waiting for her scores to be shown to her after she'd completed the first task. He called attention to her the next morning during breakfast and announced her scores from the Head Table for everyone in the Great Hall.

Potter didn't look at Dumbledore or her scores, keeping her eyes on her plate of eggs and bacon. When Dumbledore read the scores out loud, she turned to Granger.

"Hey, Hermione?"

"Hmm?"

"Do we have any homework due soon? I kind of haven't started on any of it yet," Potter admitted sheepishly, not even glancing at the Head Table.

Severus hid a smirk behind his coffee mug. He had to admit it, grudgingly though it was, that Potter was beginning to grow on him.

Weasley had finally apologized to Potter, Severus learned a day later, and Potter had forgiven him. They were going on as if nothing had happened, and in fact, Potter, Weasley, and Granger all looked significantly closer.

Severus was glad, of course, but he couldn't help but think of Lily and how their friendship had never recovered after his mistake. He'd apologized so many times but Lily had never forgiven him. He didn't blame her. Would he have forgiven her if their roles had been reversed? He wasn't sure. He knew he held grudges.

But Weasley had been forgiven immediately. If Lily had been in Potter's place, would she have forgiven Weasley? If Potter's father had been in her place, would he have forgiven Weasley? Severus wasn't sure about that either. Lily had been very stubborn, and James Potter had been no better. Severus had thought the girl would be the same, but now he was thinking otherwise.

Regardless of his thoughts on the matter, seeing Potter, Weasley, and Granger together again made him...pleased. Relieved. He was relieved because Potter was happy again. And that was good.

Wasn't it?

His Dark Mark was still acting up. The Dark Lord was regaining power, slowly, but surely. Severus couldn't say how he felt about it, and he could say even less about how he was going to react when the Dark Lord finally did return.

"How long has the mark been paining you?"

Honour-bound, Severus had gone to Dumbledore to fill him in on what was happening. "Since summer," he said.

Dumbledore made a thoughtful sound. "And you believe this means Voldemort will return?"

"Yes. The mark has been painless since the Potters were attacked. There is no reason for it to be acting this way unless he was regaining his power. You and I both know he never died."

"I see. Well, I do suspect you're correct in your assumption," said Dumbledore, "but there isn't much we can do about it. If there is a way to prevent his return then we should, of course, do what we can, but at present, we know too little to take action. Have you heard anything from your former colleagues?"

Severus scowled. "No."

"Keep an ear open, then," said Dumbledore. "They may have heard more rumblings on the matter."

Severus left the round office, frustrated. This was why he was so hesitant to fully trust Dumbledore. Despite everything he'd told him, Dumbledore hadn't seemed particularly concerned about any of it.

The students, meanwhile, were unaware of what was happening behind the scenes. If any of them had any suspicions, which he doubted, they were keeping it to themselves. The only thing they were focused on right now was the Yule Ball.

The damned thing had been announced barely a week ago and Severus was already sick of the tittering girls and awkward boys. And Potter was...more on the awkward side rather than the tittering one, he noted with some amusement.

As one of the four Champions, Potter had to participate in the opening dance, much to her obvious chagrin. She still wasn't making any effort to pretend as if she had any interest in anything related to the tournament, but whether she was unwilling or not didn't matter. Potter had to find a date.

She had to find a boy.

Severus was almost disgusted by how much that bothered him. Soulmate or not, he had no right to feel this way. He had no claim over her, nor would he ever.

He saw numerous boys approach Potter, asking her to go to the ball with them, but she refused them all. Severus couldn't blame her. All of these male students had been very vocal in their disdain for her being in the tournament.

Most, if not all of them had been sporting Draco's childish badge, and while some of them had been smart enough to remove them when the ball was announced, more than half of them were still wearing their badges when they asked Potter to go with them.

Was it any wonder Potter had no interest in them? Frankly, he wouldn't have been entirely against her hexing most of them. He would have even pretended to be oblivious to it if he came across that scene.

He was a little surprised when he learned that Weasley hadn't asked Potter or Granger to the ball though. At least until he realized this was Weasley, who more than likely forgot his friends were even girls half of the time. He was sure the boy would remember that fact a little too late. He hadn't seemed to have inherited the tact and charm some of his older brothers had.

While he couldn't say anything about Granger, Severus had never seen Potter show much interest in boys. The only person he'd ever seen her have any sort of reaction towards was Bill Weasley, but she could hardly have him as her date. So, what was she going to do?

Would she go with one of the twin menaces, perhaps? What about Longbottom? He knew she was at least friendly with them, and all three of them had been supporting her from the moment her name had come out of the Goblet of Fire.

But Severus knew there was one boy who had his sights set on Potter.

Draco wanted to ask her to go with him as well. He was telling the other Slytherins that Potter would never manage to refuse his charm. He told them that Potter would obviously accept his generous offer and he would ensure she never forgot the night of the ball because he was going to embarrass her.

Severus didn't believe him. To him, Draco sounded too desperate for an attempt at mere humiliation. He began to wonder whether Draco had a crush on the girl. It would certainly explain his irritating and foolish methods of attempting to gain her attention when he picked on her. Because it was Draco who nearly always instigated interactions with Potter.

"Hey, Potter!"

Severus paused where he'd been about to round the corner. He knew Potter had been walking somewhere ahead of him because he'd seen her exit the library, but he hadn't expected to hear Draco's voice.

Potter's footsteps stopped and Severus heard her groan in aggravation. "I don't know what's gotten into you recently, Malfoy, but could you please stop following me around? If I wanted my own stalker, I'd go to Colin Creevey. Or Dobby."

"Yeah, whatever. Listen, Potter, I have a proposition for you," said Draco, and Severus could hear the grin in his voice.

"A proposition," Potter repeated slowly, not sounding particularly interested.

"That's right.

"...And? What is it?"

"Go to the Yule Ball with me, Potter." Draco's words were not phrased as a request.

"Wow, you're awfully bold today, aren't you? No thank you."

"...What? You can't say no!"

"I just did. And anyway, I have no idea why you even think I'd say yes after you spent the past, what?-three and a half years treating me like crap. You're literally wearing a badge that says I stink. So, I'm flattered by your offer, but no thank you. If you're that desperate for a date, you should just ask Parkinson. She's been waiting for you."

Potter's footsteps resumed as she continued down the corridor, leaving Draco spluttering in shock behind her. Severus made sure Draco made no attempt for a cheap shot at Potter's back-something he couldn't put past him, and then turned on his heel and headed back the way he'd come.

It wasn't surprising that Potter had refused. If Draco had bothered to apologize to her for his past behaviour and asked Potter to the ball in an effort to begin anew, she may well have accepted, even if she knew he was lying. But Draco hadn't bothered, and so Potter had refused him, which meant that she still had no date.

Was she planning on getting out of having to attend the ball somehow? Or was she going to show up with no date and refuse to take part in the opening dance? Or did she already have a date that he didn't know about? It was hard to tell with Potter.

That's it for now. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!