Alright, before I go on with that particular chapter I'd like to respond to a guest review I got that pointed out that the Killing Curse can't be deflected, as it was shown in last chapter, when Julie explored the memory of the battle, and therefore in the previous story.

I'd like to defend my position about that by repeating what Wroxton said. It wasn't stopped. It was deflected! When I first read about the AK in 'Goblet of Fire', I thought the curse was absolute. And then Dumbledore stopped it in 'Order of the Phoenix' by using a statue to block it. And then, later in Deathly Hallows, one AK missed Ginny by an inch! It was something I would have thought impossible, given the unstoppable nature the curse was described as having. But it still happened.

So my reasoning is this. No one hit by the spell has survived it, except for Harry. In canon, it was first because of Lily's sacrifice, and then later because Voldemort had Harry's blood in him and Harry was a Horcrux. In my continuity, Harry's survival was also thanks to the primal magic of Lily's love, which shielded him. No Horcruxes existed in my continuity (unless we count the Diary, but no one cared once it was destroyed).

What Alexander did wasn't surviving the curse. He would not be able to do it. I placed the limit there. Chaos magic is powerful, just not that powerful. At first, in the first draft, Alexander had opposed the curse dead on, blocked it and cast it back. I found that it was way too easy, upon rereading the thing. So I chose another way. His control of Chaos allowed Alexander, at a great cost to him at the moment, to change the course of the deadly spell. Note that the spell wasn't blocked, it was pushed off target from Alexander to Waltz, while being cast by Lilia. I'm not saying that Chaoticians can or will survive the Killing Curse. They will not. Only Alexander has ever managed to alter the course of the AK. I also doubt he will ever be able to do so again.

[EDIT ,FOLLOWING YET ANOTHER REVIEW: Are we seriously arguing about this? You guys are challenging the mechanics and logics involved in a magic spell? It's freaking magic! :) That people would take me to task about my understanding of gravity or the Archimedes Principle, I could get it, really, but now, contracticting me on the fact I curved a FICTIONAL magic curse's path is pushing it into nitpicking territory. I saw a fiction claiming once that Harry would simply survive any AK thrown at him because his magic was higher than any other on a measuring scale. I never saw a review challenging that?! :D

So if people want me to go all 'authory' on them, then there they have it: CHAOS MAGIC MESSES UP THE RULE OF REGULAR MAGIC, so canon... doesn't matter on this issue. Hell, it's not like I ever claimed Alexander survived the curse! Besides, no one seemed to be bothered by the notion in the previous story, where the event ACTUALLY HAPPENED!

Finally, if people are going to post reviews that are argumentative (which I don't mind, honestly, or else I wouldn't moderate them in the reviews), at least do so by CREATING AN ACCOUNT on and not by posting as a guest, so that I can reply, without clustering the notes. It's not like the site isn't free, right? Oh, and Fred, seriously, a bit of advice. If you hate Julie so... quit reading the story, because she is still a main character and she's not going anywhere. Sorry about that.

OK, done with the short rant, on with the regular notes...]

There, Also, someone pointed out that last chapter was a little confusing as for the state of Kalindra's relationship with Julie, since Julie expressed surprise that Kallie would offer her memories. I thought I may have messed up somewhere, but I stand by what I wrote. Even if her confession eased the tension with Kalindra, Julie is still surprised that Kalindra gave her memory, which is highly personal. Besides, Wroxton took time to gather those memories and may have asked Kallie before Julie confessed, and as such, Julie would be surprised and still consider that they aren't on the best terms. One chat isn't exactly going to fix it all. But I still decided to drive the point home in this chapter.

Now that I've hopefully clarified that, here we go with a major milestone in the story: the Yule Ball. In here, Ian begins to get some hints, although he's still not sure what to do with those. Some romantic stuff ensues, and Kenneth has his first ball. This one has been heavily modified from the first draft of the story.

Warning, for slight language, and implied mild sexual situations.

Given that I'm a guy, it is highly unlikely that I am Joanne Rowling, therefore I can't be making any money off this story, because the HP universe is hers and hers alone.

Lights in the Great Hall

Despite Ian's disbelief, the details of the attack on Ichabod Lightbrown were soon out of all the heads, at least for the students. Lightbrown himself wasn't making too much about it.

If the Yule Ball had been a growing issue for many, now that it was almost time to get ready, it seemed to be all the people in this school worried about. Once more, all the students over the fourth year were now busy either choosing the way they would dress or trying to find a partner. Now the third year girls were waiting hopefully for the fourth year boy to turn to them and ask them out. That was the only way for them to get to that Ball, after all.

And the entire Castle was now constantly speaking about that. Ian even surprised a painting with three lovely women commenting on some pairings for the Ball.

"I mean, this Whitney girl," said the one on the right side of the painting. "She would be quite better with Worthington. That Ravenclaw boy looks all goofy next to her."

"How can you even judge that?" asked Ian, who had been standing in front of the frame.

He was astonished by the discussion inside the painting.

"Well, young man," said the painted woman. "I do happen to have quite a taste in that sort of things. And I saw the both of them long enough, when I was in my own frame. They used to chat right under my nose, in the Charms lesson. Which is quite reprehensible, by the way."

"And you do have an opinion on everyone, I suppose?" said Ian, sarcastically.

"Oh, we do," said her friend. "And I'd say your partner is a lovely young lady. Most of your friends have found a good match for the Ball."

"Most?" repeated Ian, half laughing.

"Well, that Miss Ribizzi," said the witch, frowning. "She could have done better than this Joel Andrews. He's just way too think of build to look good beside her."

"He's her boyfriend!" protested Ian.

"Is he now?" said the Witch. "Oh, well, I guess she doesn't have much choice in the matter, then. She couldn't go with someone else, I suppose. I didn't know they were a couple."

"But the loveliest couple of the Ball will certainly be Miss Carteret and Mister Donahue. That pair is so elegant. She showed such a perfect taste for her dress, last year, and with a face like hers, it does wonders. And Donahue, he's positively adorable."

"Donahue?" said Ian, groaning. "Adorable? That's it, I'm outta here."

"Did she say something wrong?" asked the woman on the right.

"Donahue is about anything but adorable," said Ian. "He's a contemptuous twat!"

"Oh, but he looks so handsome, and the way he walks..." said the painted witch, with something like glassy eyes, which looked very frightening, given the ambiance of the painting she came from.

"Oh, come on! How can you be even remotely right, if you focus just on how they look?" mocked Ian.

"Well, if you're talking about their true belongings," said the third witch, "I would say that Miss Carteret should consider Mister Lionheart more seriously. And as for you, you should think of a certain young lady of your own House."

"Oh shut up," said Ian, striding away from the painting, mimicking exasperation.

"What name were you about to say?" asked the witch on the right, as Ian was getting out of sight.

"I was about to mention Miss McDougall," said her friend.

"A good choice," said the witch in the middle. "Well, of course, she could do better with her hair cut, but anyway, we can't hope for everything."

"You have such a good eye for the hair cut, Vivian," said the witch on the right, on a marvelled tone.

Ian was still reeling from the annoying encounter with the painting when he suddenly walked onto a scene his instincts warned him to back out from. He took a quick step back and hid behind a pillar.

In a deserted corridor, two students, male and female, talking, that left no mystery to what they were talking about. These days, a secret conversation just had to be about the ball. No, the surprise, this time, was about the two students involved, since it was none other than Will Tyler and Jennifer Windhill, masters of teenage melodrama and bickerers extraordinaire.

Will, usually so confident, looked for a lack of better word, shy. And Jennifer had this look on her face, saying she was expecting the worst from him, once more, which probably didn't help Will act a confidently.

"So, what was so important?" asked Jennifer. "You did interrupt a conversation to drag me here, William."

"Right..." said Will. "Right. Okay, here it is. I was wondering if you would accept going to the ball with me."

Ian, hidden behind the stone pillar, didn't need to hide his gaping mouth. That was, in all aspects, surprising. The way he saw things between Will and Jennifer, they were just too busy bickering to consider dating. Where the hex did this invitation come from?

Jennifer was silent. As Will was anxiously waiting for her to react, she looked like she had just been, just like Ian, sucker-punched. She clearly didn't see that one coming.

"Jen?" asked Will. "A comment would be appreciated, here."

"Right..." said Jennifer, in a funny echo of Will, earlier. "Right. Well, yes, I mean, why not? I don't see why we couldn't go to the ball together."

"Alright," said Will, brightly. "Well, I'm glad we... settled that... Er... I'll be going, now."

Will, usually so exuberant, was acting like a shy first year, and Jennifer was now blushing like mad.

"See you," he said.

"Oh, er... see you," confirmed Jennifer. "Oh, and William?" she called after him.

"Yes?" he said, turning back to her.

"Thank you for … asking me," she said.

"Couldn't let that chance pass," said Will, with an honest shrug. "See you in class, Jen."

"Okay," said Jennifer," a little absently, as he walked away.

As Will was getting out of sight, Ian expected Jennifer to follow soon, but it seemed like the prefect girl wasn't going anywhere. Curious, Ian peaked and saw that she was still glued to the spot she had been in since the conversation had begun, looking dreamily in the direction where Will had disappeared.

Suddenly, she threw her hands in the air, with a very girly squeal that was very unlike her ladylike manner. Ian recoiled deeper into his hiding place; because there was a pretty good chance he would start to laugh, right now, which was not recommended in stealth.

Jennifer quickly composed herself before to walk ways, but there was light spring in her step as she went. She seemed so glad that she thankfully didn't notice Ian, as she passed him. Ian waited for the corridor to be clear before to get out of his hiding post, and he was heading the great hall when he walked into Kalindra.

"Any news, Master Malcolm?" she said with a pleasant smile.

"Actually, yes," said Ian, grinning. "Your glorious prefects seemed to have found dates for the ball."

"Oh, do tell, Ian," said Kalindra, with a childish excitement in her voice. "Over whom will Jennifer be furious this year?"

"Apparently, herself," said Ian. "Unexpectedly, it seems she and Will is going to the ball together."

"No way," said Kalindra. "Did she ask him?"

"Nope, he did," said Ian. "Don't know where it came from, actually. But she did seem quite elated."

"Ian, no one but Dumbledore speaks like that," said Kalindra, with a patient smile. "How do you know she was glad?"

"Well, I'd say the girly squeal did give it away," said Ian with a twisted smile. "The little excited jumps were another sign."

She chuckled.

"Well, it was time they got to it, anyway," she said, casually.

"So you knew," said Ian outraged. "You know Will and Jennifer circled each other and you kept it from me?"

"Rule number one in Hogwarts, Master Malcolm: Keep a few secrets to yourself, even from Ian," said Kalindra. "That should pacify the mood in our year, I'd say. So, I hear you have a date, too?"

"More or less," said Ian.

"Your brother is quite cross with you," said Kalindra with a smile.

"What a tragedy," said Ian. "Did he say why?"

"He says you cheated him on a bet," said Kalindra. "He thought you wouldn't get one?"

"He thought he could tell the girl I would take to the ball," said Ian. "But, honestly, had Morag not taken pity on me, I would have been forced to go there on my own."

"Hmm," said Kalindra, with a cunning twist at the corner of her mouth. "And the fact Terry is taking Kieran to the ball had nothing to do with that, I'm sure."

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Ian, suspiciously.

"Nothing," said Kalindra, with a mysterious wink. "See you later, Ian."

And she left him there, probably expecting him to be puzzled about the whole thing.

The truth was, Ian had been more aware of Kalindra's meaning than she could have imagined. Because if something had been clear since he had last talked to Ewan, it was that Ian's uneasiness about Kieran's choice of a date had very little to do with his bet with him. In truth, Ian was still a little uneasy with the very notion of Kieran going to the Ball with Terry. Right now, he had trouble facing the reason why it did bother him. He didn't want to appear possessive of his best friend, and It was not as if anything about Terry's date with Kieran for the ball was anything serious.

But here was what truly nagged at him. But what if it was?

Ian had a lot of difficulties to imagine Kieran dating Terry seriously. Beyond the fact it appeared weird to Ian, there was something in him that disliked the idea of any boy, really, dating Kieran.

Of course, he hid it the best way he could, and acted as if nothing was off. Morag had announced her intent to have a blast at the ball, with him as a partner. Ian, finding her way to voice their going together had confirmed it to his friends.

And then Kieran, having heard that, had come to find him.

"I thought you didn't want to get to that Ball," she said, voicing her surprise.

"Well, I didn't want to get there alone," said Ian, smiling.

"Oh, so Morag…"

"Invited me?" finished Ian. "Exactly. She wants to make some Hufflepuff airhead jealous. He's going with a Gryffindor friend of Terry. Why? You thought I asked her?"

"Well, yes," said Kieran, a little uneasy. "But it would have been okay if you had. Morag is a great girl."

"Hey," said Ian. "It's not a date, you know. I'm going with to dance with a friend, nothing more."

"Yes," said Kieran. "You know it's the same for me. It's Terry who invited me."

"I know," said Ian, a little puzzled. "Why do you say that?"

"Like that," said Kieran, smiling. "Just a thought…"

The conversation had been curious, Ian had to admit. It had felt as if she had been trying to tell him something or to... reassure him, for lack of a better term. This had felt very odd to him. Why was she so insistent to tell him that she wasn't dating Terry? Why would she be worried by his reaction? It's not like she wasn't free to do whatever she wanted.

Ian may be sharp on many things, without any false modesty, but if something still left him clueless, it was girls.

Anyway, days were now flying and Ian realized that he had very short time to decide how to dress. He had two dress robes in nuances of blue and one that was dark black, sewed in silver. He wondered what would match Morag's dress best. It was more difficult, given the fact he had no idea on how she would dress. He finally decided to take his Black silvery robes, as it was easier to match with any colour, at least in theory. He could tell that Joel, and to a less conspicuous degree, Edwin and Mark, were having trouble choosing something safe in that regard, too, but, finally, two days before the Ball, Ian and his friends had come up with their dressing ready.

They told the girls so, who had simply taken over the middle of the common room, which had been changed into a beauty shop for ladies, with older students helping younger to choose a way to arrange their hair. Many boxes were half open, as the girls were sometimes displaying the robes to judges the effect of the whole. But the boys were clearly not welcome in the place.

"How did you do?" asked Diana, moaning slightly, when she heard the boys were ready. "I still don't know how to arrange my hair."

"Is that so important?" asked Ian, genuinely surprised.

"Do you even know anything, Ian? Of course it's important!" exclaimed Gina, as if she was shocked that he didn't realise that. "If the hair-do doesn't match the style of the dress, then you can change the dress or the hair."

"Oh," said Ian, not really convinced of the importance of the problem.

"Don't try to reason with him, Gina," said Kieran, entering the room, her hair done in a nice, complex bred. "He's a boy, he can't understand."

"Maybe not," said Ian. "But this hair-do is nice, K."

Kieran beamed at him.

"Thanks," she said. "At least you know how to be kind when you want."

"Just saying the truth," said Ian casually.

"But if only this dress could match it," said Kieran, throwing a disgusted look at the box in front of her.

Ian didn't see the dress, as it was buried deep in the box.

"Show me, I'll tell you," he said.

"No way," said Kieran. "No boy is allowed to see our dresses before the Ball."

"Speaking of which," said Winny, the Quidditch Captain, a girl of seventh year. "You four get out of the Common Room now. Don't you see there are people trying to work here?"

And so, Ian, Edwin, Joel and Mark were kindly but firmly pushed through the passageway leading out of the Nest. In spite of their protest, the statue of the eagle closed in front of them.

"Honestly, did we invade the common room with our robes?" grumbled Mark.

"You can't understand that," said the witch in the painting Ian had spoken with about the pairings of the Ball. "You're not girls. They need time and advice from each other to decide how to please you by the way they're dressed."

"Don't get me started," said Ian with a dark look at the painting.

Soon, maybe too soon, given the reaction of the panicked girls, the evening of the Ball was here, on a Saturday Night right before the Christmas Break.

In the Gryffindor dormitory, girls had retreated to their dorms near five in the afternoon, to get ready. The fifth year dorm was full of laughter and excited chatter, mixed with the silky sound of fabric tried one last time before the party. Julie was again putting a dress that had come from France for the occasion. It had caused deep jealousy in her dormitory, when she had got it out of its parcel.

But the greatest surprise of the evening was Mandy. Last year, she had been elegant, but still in her so particular style. Tonight, though, she had made a huge effort to dress. Her dark make up wasn't on and she had only put a touch of light blue over her eyelids, and some dark rose on her lips. But it was lightening her face so much that the effect was striking.

Her dress was also sure to have its little success. She had bought a simple black dress and she had tried many spells on it before to declare herself satisfied enough to show it to her friends. The sewing was of delicate gold and blue. The whole thing was really beautiful. Mandy had done it secretly and everyone in the dorm had been truly impressed by the work she had put in that, Julie having been quite vocal about it.

Now Mandy was facing the challenge that was scaring her the most. She was wearing it in front of her friends, awaiting their judgement.

"So?" she asked shyly.

"Unbelievable," said Jennifer, stunned.

Mandy looked a little worried by this definition. Julie smiled kindly and nodded.

"You look amazing, Mandy," said Julie.

Mandy gave her a dazzling smile and turned on herself, very childishly, to show the gown to everyone. Kalindra was smiling widely. Kalindra even winked at Julie. Julie was very glad to see that. Since they had talked, Julie had felt more and more at ease around Kalindra. Granted, everything wasn't perfect, but at least, they were talking again. Julie wasn't naïve, she knew Kalindra would still give Robert hostile looks, when she wasn't looking, but she wasn't about to protest. Kalindra could still be her friend, whether she liked her boyfriend or not.

She focused on Mandy, once more.

"Thierry's eyes will pop out of his head," she said

"You think so?" asked Mandy, on a hopeful tone.

Julie smiled at her eagerness. It was obvious that Thierry had bewitched the ironic wild girl. But she wasn't sure that she realised that. Mandy knew she found Thierry cute, but she wasn't aware of all that what was going on between them.

That's pretty rich, coming from you, she told herself. You're not even able to deal with your own life…

"Alright, girls," said Kalindra. "Let's go turn their head."

"Yes, yes, yes," said Mandy, really excited.

When they headed out of their dormitories, Julie wondered if Kenneth was already gone. If she was honest with herself, she'd rather avoid that kind of confrontation just yet.

A few minutes later, Julie was walking, her arm passed in Robert's, toward the Great Hall. His reaction to her dress had pleased her very much. She was wearing a red dress, sewed in black and light gold, on the corset. The whole was completed by a silky red shawl. The dress had been a present by her Aunt, back in France. Danièle had always had a good taste in dresses.

The Prefect had made a very elegant reverence, when he had seen her and he had offered her a rose… the perfect gentleman, as usual.

They reached the stairs leading to the Great Hall and she caught a glimpse of Kenneth, who seemed to wait for somebody. She guessed that Gillian was supposed to meet him there.

"Waiting in vain, Lionheart?" called Robert.

"Would you please cut that out?" said Julie, on a low, tired tone. "I said it already, this is getting old."

"I'm sorry, Julie," said Robert with a wince, and then a gracious nod, but this did not help dispel Julie's annoyance.

"I am not the one you should be apologizing to," she said, under her breath.

"He's not waiting in vain, Robert," said a voice from upstairs.

Julie turned and raised her eyes, to see who had spoken, and a furious thrill passed in her spine. She saw that Kenneth was also looking stunned. He smiled lightly. Donahue seemed impressed.

Gillian had made her appearance. And she was absolutely gorgeous. She was wearing a blue dress, sewed in silver and with clearer reflects. Over her shoulders, she was wearing a light cloak, of transparent blue silk. Kenneth made three steps up and bowed deeply before her. She chuckled at his formalism. He offered him her arm and she took it with a grace that made Julie jealous. If only she could move like this.

She surprised herself trying to find any flaw in Gillian Crawley's outlook. But she couldn't find one. Her hair was arranged in a complex bin, with only one braid coming down her back. She looked perfect. And she was going to the Ball with Kenneth.

Julie wanted so much to be able to hate that girl, but she knew she couldn't.

You have no right to think so, Julie, she told herself. None of this is Gillian's fault.

"You're very beautiful, Gillian," she heard Kenneth say.

And somehow, that caused her little pain in the chest.

Forget about it, Julie, she told herself. It was the way you wanted it.

She followed Robert down the stairs to the Great Hall.

"Well, you're pretty dashing yourself," replied Gillian, with a smile at his compliment.

Kenneth considered his outlook. He was wearing his ceremony dress robes, the ones favoured by his clan. Red for the lion sewed on a Golden crest on his heart. The rest of the robes were red and black, with mostly black. The only difference with the ones he had worn for the duel, last year was a discrete golden trim on his collar and at the hem of his doublet. Kenneth was wearing his duelling glove, as usual and his wand sheath was strapped around his forearm.

At some point, Gillian noticed it.

"Was that really necessary?" she asked, with a teasing smile.

"Excuse me?" asked Kenneth.

"Your wand," said Gillian, nudging him with her elbow, still grinning. "You expect to be attacked in the Great Hall? You know that most of us have left our wand in our dorm."

"We never part from our wand, in my family," said Kenneth, shrugging. "We have to be ready at all time. It's either the warrior tradition or paranoia. You take your pick," he finished with a wry smile.

"I'll go with the tradition," said Gillian. "It does sound classier, doesn't it?"

"I guess," said Kenneth, dubiously.

Gillian's chuckle was infectious and he soon joined her. When he had seen her appear at the top of the stairs, he had felt his doubts about the evening being lifted somewhat. He hadn't even pushed the issue after Donahue's jibe. Tonight wasn't about Donahue or Julie. It was about Gillian.

The students made their way from the four Houses toward the Great Hall. When Kenneth, Gillian and their Gryffindor friends reached the great oak doors, they stopped at the threshold, seized by the vision offered by the ballroom. Hogwarts' hall was impressive in itself, but the decoration for the ball gave it a magnificence that had stunned them all into silence.

"Wow," whispered Gillian.

"Hey! That was my line," said Mandy, coming from behind her, Thierry looking around in awe at her side.

The whole place was decorated with ice sculptures that were reflecting the light from thousands of Candles floating near the ceiling. The rest of the place was decorated in green, golden, red, silver and blue. Trees were standing against the walls, decorated with shiny little balls. The ice sculptures looked like incredible cascades, with both golden and silver reflects

"How come they decorate this room ever more beautiful each year?" asked Gillian.

"I heard that McGonagall and Flitwick usually spend three weeks designing the whole stuff every year. It becomes a challenge to do better than the previous year," said Kalindra.

"Challenge overcome," said Kenneth.

"Yep," said Kalindra, smiling.

"Okay, people," said Mandy, taking Thierry's hand in hers, and tucking him inside the Hall. "Let's go to eat! We'll need strengths to make this party last!"

Kenneth noticed that Thierry looked a little strange. As if he was plunged into something totally new for him and didn't know how to react. They all settled at the large tables. Kenneth saw that Julie was sitting next to Donahue at the Prefect table. Jennifer was beside her, with Will on her right.

He turned to Gillian to pull her chair off under the table before she would sit. She smiled at the courtesy and took her seat with a serene look on her face.

Kenneth joined her.

Right after the Feast, Prefects were invited to open the ball. Ian looked at some of his friends stepping on the floor, some more assured than others. Eamon Clark and his date looked a little bit embarrassed, to be honest. Will Tyler, for his part did also look funny, but Ian suspected it had nothing to do with the notion of dancing, but more with who he was supposed to be dancing with. Considered honestly, Jennifer was pretty stunning in her gown, and she did look pretty happy, right now, which was, in itself a surprise.

But the biggest sensation didn't come from the star couples, not even from Julie and Donahue. To Ian's surprise, it came from Alwena Silverleaf. The fifth year prefect had showed up, on the arm of Anthony Fields, who was wearing pretty elegant robes. Alwena's dress wasn't elegant. It was smashing. It was a sleeveless, silvery white gown, with a braided golden belt high around her waist. Her honey-blonde hair was arranged in a complex bun that fell down her back into a long, golden cascade of hair. She looked… Stunning. Not for the first time, some of Ian's friends and male acquaintances had a deep, dreamy sigh at the sight of her, Mark Jevons at the first row.

And when Alwena opened the first dance with Fields, something uncanny happened. As she moved gracefully, the fabric of her dress sent out reflection of lights each time it swayed. She literally seemed to glow. She and Fields were quite graceful, too, as far as Ian could tell, since he knew nearly nothing about dancing. And if most of the boys' eyes were on Alwena as she moved across the dance floor, some girls were eyeing Fields with astonishment. Ian even heard a few admiring comments on both the boy and the girl.

The first dance ended and the others students were invited to join in. Ian and Morag were having a lot of fun dancing. They weren't really trained in this, so they were doing whatever came to their mind. Ian caught one remark from Professor Potter, who was dancing near him with Professor Weasley.

"Not so bad for beginners," he said, winking.

"Harry, that is odious!" chuckled Professor Weasley.

"I was worse for my first dance, you know," said Potter.

"Yes, you were! Witness, right over here!" said Miss Weasley, laughing as she came swinging their way, in Alexander's arms.

Ian laughed at Professor Potter's laughing protest. Then the turnings of the dance drove them away from the teachers.

They danced three more airs and then they declared a pause. They got to their chairs and Ian went to get Morag a drink. When he came back, Terry and Kieran were chatting with her. She thanked him for the drink. She sipped on it, discussing the band with Terry, saying she loved their music. The band was called Summoning, apparently. Ian didn't know them. He was into more punchy music, like the Sorcerer's Joke, a Wizard rock band, and of course, his favourite, the legendary Spelljam, whose records were far too rare (*).

Morag was having a lot of fun, so far, and he had to admit that he was really not regretting to have accepted her invitation.

Terry suddenly stood up and offered her hand to Morag with an interrogative lo to Ian.

"Come on, Longwand, as if you would need my approval," said Ian, laughing.

"Some uses to respect in a Ball, my dear half-pint," said Terry with haughtiness.

"Morag, get this idiot on the dance floor before I stand up," said Ian, warningly.

"Aye, Sir," said the young girl, dragging Terry after her.

Kieran chuckled at that. Ian took a look at her. She was really beautiful, tonight. She looked a little thoughtful for a moment. On the floor, Gina and Morag switched partners, and Morag started the next air with Edwin.

"You know, it's strange," she finally said, as they were watching Terry and Gina dance.

"What's strange?" asked Ian.

"When they said that there would be a Ball each year, I always thought I would get to my first Ball with you," said Kieran.

She had a curious smile. Ian gave it back.

"Well, I thought that, too," he said.

"How come you didn't ask me?" she asked.

"I don't know," said Ian. "I… I wasn't sure it would be a good idea. Or if you would have wanted to come… It felt a little weird."

"What do you mean by 'weird'?"

"You know, you're my best friend, and suddenly asking you to that Ball, that would have been a little awkward," said Ian. "I mean, that could change a lot of things."

"I guess you're right," said Kieran. "But what if things really change?"

"Do you want them to change?" asked Ian, suddenly tense.

"No, of course not," said Kieran quickly. "I mean, I wouldn't want us to grow apart, you know. Nor with the others. The friendship we share here is really important for me."

Ian nodded.

"Yeah, for me, too," he said. "You think that Terry wants to get closer to you?"

"I don't know," said Kieran. "Sometimes, I think he's just playing around. And other times, I feel that maybe he likes me more than just a friend."

"What about you?" asked Ian, trying to sound casual.

He must have succeeded, because Kieran didn't notice his tension.

"I don't think we could be more than friends," she said, almost absently. "Terry is great, yes, but I just can't imagine him as my boyfriend, nor as anyone's boyfriend, actually."

"Yeah, he's too much the funny boy to be considered seriously, huh?" said Ian, this time relieved to hear Kieran's opinion.

"Way too much," said Kieran. "But maybe someday someone will see him that way."

"That's certain," said Ian. "The funny ones always find someone. And so do the smart ones."

He smiled at Kieran. She blushed slightly, but smiled back. Ian stood up. He held out his hand.

"Come on," he said.

"Where?" asked Kieran, puzzled.

"On the dance floor," said Ian. "Terry wouldn't mind if I make her partner dance, would he?"

Kieran smiled a little wider.

"He'd better not," she said, getting on her feet.

Ian led her to join the dancers, and soon, they were turning in cadence with the music. Terry tried to look offended that Ian was actually leading Kieran into a dance. And he protested loudly until Gina would knock his forehead.

"It's very rude to look at other girls when you dance with me, Terry," she said.

"Oops, sorry, dear," said Terry.

"And it's very risky to call my girlfriend 'dear', Longwand," said Joel, who came next to them, leading Diana in his dancing.

He had a wide grin across his face.

"Why?" Terry began to weep. "Why everyone is so mean to me?"

They all laughed at that. Ian looked in Kieran's eyes, and her uneasiness seemed to have gone away. She was beaming.

"Now, are we having fun, or what?" asked Morag, when they crossed her, dancing with Edwin.

"We are," said Ian. "We are."

"See? I've told you," said Morag, triumphant.

"It's usually me who plays the know-it-all," said Kieran, chuckling.

"True, sorry," said Morag, with a feint wince.

Ian then realised he hadn't done something very important.

"Did I tell you that you looked fantastic?" he asked his best friend.

"No, Sir," said Kieran. "You didn't."

"Well, you do, Milady," said Ian, grinning.

"Thanks, Ian," said Kieran, blushing a little. "I hope you told the same to Morag."

"I started the evening with that," said Ian, casually.

"Good, maybe we can make a gentleman out of you, after all," said Kieran.

"You don't believe that for a second," said Ian.

"It's party time and almost Christmas," said Kieran. "When can we believe in miracles, if not right now?"

They both burst into laughing. Ian was now having a great time. He was dancing with his best friend at the first Ball of his life, and this was really a good evening. And all his friends were enjoying this, too. But at some moments, his eyes were caught by Kieran's. And later, he would surprise himself looking at her and thinking how wonderfully this gown was fitting her.

But that thought wasn't troubling him anymore.

Just enjoy the evening, he told himself. You'll think later…

Harry was taking a break from dancing, while Ginny was having quite a fun dance with Dumbledore. The Old Wizard was dancing with a discreet style but with a humorous smile across his face. He was mumbling comments to Ginny that were making her burst into laughing.

Harry smiled. He hoped that Ginny was enjoying this party as much he did.

Somebody came near him at this moment. It was Walter Amanio, the Master of the Brotherhood. He realised that he didn't know him too much.

"Professor Potter?" asked the Old man.

"Please, Sir," said Harry. "Harry."

"I wanted to seize the occasion to talk to you," said the Old man, smiling and nodding.

Harry bowed his head with a smile.

"I'd be pleased," he said.

"What do you think of our Novices?" asked the Old Master.

"Well, I can't say that I'm not pleased to have serious students, for once. Most of the Ravenclaw students are serious enough," he explained at Amanio's surprised look. "Slytherin are sharp enough, though hard to be respected by, and Hufflepuffs do their best. But teaching Gryffindors is an exhausting business. Now, I can understand what my own teachers had to go through with our bunch. So, in addition to Ravenclaws, it is nice to teach to your Pupils. They are quite savant."

"I hope so," said Amanio with a smile. "Any particular case?"

"Well, in fact, I could single out two," said Harry. "Giannetti and De Vannes."

"Ah," said Amanio with a smile. "Orlando and Thierry. They do tend to stand out. What may be wrong with them?"

"Wrong? Nothing," said Harry. "Except maybe that Orlando is curiously refraining himself. He could do wonders, if he started to trust himself a little more. As for Thierry, he is clearly one of my best students, and he has a wild side that is very refreshing."

"I'm glad to hear that, even if I'm not that surprised," said Amanio. "Thierry has a gift."

"You seem to be the only one thinking that," said Harry. "Master Anselme doesn't think very highly of him. When he arrived in Gryffindor, he warned Minerva that Thierry was a rebellious character and a very average student. I don't know if our standards are that low, but I clearly disagree with his analysis. And I'm not the only one. Hermione, Hagrid, they're all really pleased to have such a student. Even Professor Snape must recognize that Thierry is quite satisfactory, which is saying something."

"Hector has very high standards and I'm afraid his goals are not all linked to knowledge, and work. He seems to want to form the student's way of thinking as well as their gifts. I'm trying to loosen him up a little, but I guess he's a little too stiff."

"He really seems to despise Thierry," said Harry.

"I know that they often have issues," said Amanio. "But I'm not sure I should interfere, since it would challenge his authority, especially if I was to intervene on Thierry's behalf."

"Why is that?" asked Harry.

"When orphans come to us, they are usually brought in by an Initiate or a Master that went on a trip to recruit young wizards. It is widely known in the Order that I was the one to find Thierry," said Amanio. "I did my best to guide him, but I'm afraid that, along the years, I had to distance myself from him, in order not to show favouritism, and to focus on leading the Sanctuary. I entrust the education of the students to Hector and Wilhelm, and Thierry has soon shown he was able to fend off for himself. He likes to wander the woods. I encouraged these wanderings, and it's during those explorations that he met Ivoire."

"You knew about that," said Harry.

"Of course," said Amanio. "This is a great honour to be allowed contact with a Unicorn. So this is a good thing for a student like Thierry."

"Why?"

"Because, he has to feel accepted, since others are willing to reject him," said Amanio. "I do my best to be fair, but I would like to make his life easier."

"I trust Miss Williams could help him with that," said Harry with a smile.

Amanio followed his gaze to the dance floor and then saw Mandy Williams that was tucking Thierry in the middle of the dancers, and showing him the moves to dance. The Novice had a mix of bemusement and amusement across his face.

"He deserves some fun," said Amanio, with a kind smile.

Harry wondered why Amanio's tone felt a little sad, when he said that. The Old master then took his leave from Harry and went back to the Table, as Dumbledore was doing the same. Ginny was walking back toward Harry, when suddenly, applauses and whistles echoed from the dance floor. Harry looked over his fiancée's shoulder and saw that Kalindra, Angelina's cousin, was kissing Mr Drakefang with passion, applauded by all the Gryffindors around them.

Ginny turned and gasped in emotion, and then she joined the applause.

The kiss ended, before Harry would have to intervene, as the students were well aware of being watched.

Harry heard someone shout aloud.

"Well, it's about time!"

He wasn't sure, but that sounded like Ian's voice. He looked for Alexander's pupil in the crowd of dancer. He found him, standing beside Gina Ribizzi, clapping his hands enthusiastically. Ian caught his eyes and winked.

Harry chuckled lightly.

Later after that kiss that had gathered all attention, the outcome of the party was clear.

Harry and Ginny were having a wonderful evening, between dancing and patrolling the grounds to bust out the students who would have sneaked out to start make-out sessions.

Fortunately, there wasn't a lot to do in this area, as it was freezing cold outside, and thus it was dissuasive for the couples to get out. They had, however, a lot of fun, patrolling the corridors of the Castle, sending the younger students, who had tried to sneak a peek into the Hall, back to bed.

When not patrolling, they would head back to the Great Hall and have some dances, while another teacher was taking the relay for the patrols.

Compared to the last Ball, Harry was now having something near the perfect evening. Last year, Ginny had been abroad, so he hadn't enjoyed the Ball that much. Granted he had spent a nice moment with Kenneth Lionheart, getting to know Sarah's son a little better. But the Ball in itself hadn't been fun.

Tonight, he had Ginny at his side, they were engaged to be married, and the mood was excellent. Of course, the problem of the attack on Mr Lightbrown still wasn't solved, but Harry had decided to forget about it for one evening. He would get back on the matter later, with a better spirit.

Tonight, it was party time.

Ginny was in a pretty good mood, and she would often stop their patrol for a kiss. Harry was telling her that they weren't the perfect example for the students they were trying to discourage from snogging, but she shrugged it off.

"If I can't kiss my fiancé, who can I kiss, honestly?" she said.

Then she remained silent for a moment. Harry just enjoyed feeling her presence at his side.

"Have you ever thought of the names of our kids?" asked Ginny.

"Wow, you're in a prospective mood, tonight," he said.

"Just a thought," said Ginny, with a smile. "I wondered if you would like Emily for a name."

"That's nice," said Harry. "Are you trying to send a message, here?"

"Not yet, Potter," laughed Ginny. "I'm way too busy right now to get pregnant. But you know, all of this wedding plans we're starting this year, I'm beginning to think about that."

"As a matter of fact, I have, too," said Harry.

"Have you?" said Ginny. "Do tell."

"Well, more precisely on one point," said Harry. "I'd like to ask you something."

"Go on," said Ginny.

"I don't know how many children you want, but as long as you want them, I don't mind," he said. "I just would like to name our first son Sirius. Would you mind?"

Ginny looked at him a little surprised.

"Sirius?" she repeated. "Sirius Potter... That doesn't sound too bad. But are you sure you want…"

"It's a way to keep a link with the past," said Harry. "My full name is Harry James Potter. So I guess that could be Sirius Harry Potter. But I really feel like I owe this to Sirius. You know, a little like Fleur with her daughter."

Ginny nodded, with a moved smile. Fleur Weasley had chosen to name her first daughter Nymphea, in a tactful homage to Tonks, who had saved Bill's life during the final battle of the war. She had been careful not to name her Nymphadora, but she had insisted on the homage. In reaction, Tonks had fallen head over heels for the small girl, and she was visiting her often.

Ginny kissed him on the cheek.

"Sirius is fine," she said. "But that suppose that I choose the name of the first daughter we get."

"You can choose all the names of our other children," said Harry, smiling back. "Boy or girl."

"Deal," said Ginny.

"But please," said Harry, laughing lightly. "Naming one of our children Tom would be a case of divorce."

Ginny chuckled at that.

"I have a whole stock of names ready, m'love," she said. "And no Tom, Draco or Lucius."

"Glad to hear that," said Harry.

It came as no surprise that Alexander and Phyllis were among the best dancers of the Hall. They had shown their talent during last year's ball. Alexander had learned with his Mum. And Phyllis was a natural. So anywhere they were dancing, they were gathering looks of envy and admiration.

So far, the party had been flawless, free of any incident, which was enough to make Alexander happy. He had seen Ian sharing some hilarious joke with Terry, the both of them mimicking some drunken hippogriff. The meaning of the joke eluded Alexander, but the interpretation of his pupils and his best friend had been too much. He hadn't been able not to burst into laughing. It was good to see his pupil enjoying himself, this Christmas, considering last year had been a little tense.

Phyllis and he were also relieved that Christine was sleeping peacefully tonight, which meant that Waldo hadn't felt the need to burst into the Hall. The dragonet was again standing guard near the bed were the two babies were sleeping now. Dumbledore had given Hermione and Ron new apartments next to Alexander's, and curiously, they were identical to the previous they had.

There was now a common nursery for the two families, so Christine and Lily wouldn't need to fly across the place to get to each other. Phyllis was delighted by the link that was building between her daughter and Hermione's. Hermione was glad, too, although she was a little worried by the fact that her daughter could be ready to blow the whole place away if she didn't get what she wanted. Because it was clear that sooner or later she would be able to do so.

Alexander had made a promise to his friend. As soon as they would be old enough to understand, he would teach both their kids to control those gifts. He wasn't sure that she was right but that had seemed to reassure her.

Alexander and Phyllis stopped dancing at the end of the piece of sweet music, and headed to a group of teachers, that were discussing about something gathered around Harry and Minerva.

"Well, it is not the same as when the League had only thirteen teams," said Minerva. "It was much simpler to follow the scores. With all those new teams, we get lost easily."

Alexander could understand what she meant. The Quidditch League had known a large expansion during the Second War. At first, because Fudge was trying to distract attention from the public opinion from the troubles he had with Dumbledore and then to try and cheer up people during the War. So he had allowed the League to host new teams. At this time, Harry's former team, the London Falcons were still known as the Falmouth Falcons. But a second team had appeared in Falmouth and the Falcons decided to move into London. So that was a new club in the League. Add to this the teams of Brighton, Nottingham, the little unknown club from Hentown, and the Team of Shrewsbury, that was changing the whole deal. This change in the League had caused the rejuvenation of the Chudley Cannons, who were now in the top teams of the League, to Ron Weasley's delight. And of course, when the London Falcons were facing the Falmouth Falcons, the tension was really high.

The end result was that Alexander could never figure why a team was ahead of another in the ranks of the League. The only exception had been the year when he had met Harry for good, after a brief encounter in their school years. At this time, the young man was still Seeker for the London Falcons. This year, the reason for their victory had been quite simple. Harry hadn't lost one single match. So that was easy to say that London had won.

The subject had been on Harry's career, and why he had accepted the Job of Defence teacher.

"I don't know, maybe I was just more interested in that than in Quidditch," said Harry, smiling as he returned to the main point. "And that's saying something. But objectively, I think I can say that this is a vocation. I mean, even when I didn't know about the prophecy, I was already seeking trouble, to quote Professor Snape. I guess that says it all."

"You have to be a natural Defence Teacher as you were a natural flyer," said Alexander. "But still, Severus hates you for having taken his place."

"I still shiver at the thought of the Defence Classes taught by Snape," said Harry, grinning.

"Speaking of Severus," said Minerva. "I had noticed something very odd. I am fully aware of the issues that Severus has with Harry, Hermione, and even Ronald. But there's something that I don't understand. Although he appears to despise you as well, he seems to fear you quite a lot, too. Why would that be?"

"I'm not really sure if I can talk about it," said Alexander.

"I don't believe he would sue you," said Minerva, smiling lightly.

"It's not that much that he fears me, actually," said Alexander. "I did save his life, actually. But the way I did wasn't very pleasant."

"You did what?" exclaimed Professor Sprout and Harry at the same time.

"How did you end up saving Snape's life?" asked Harry. "I thought you were away during the war."

"I was," said Alexander. "I was trailing Morgenstein, as you know. While on his trail, I ran into another Death Eater. Derek Masters."

"Voldemort's top assassin?" said Sprout.

"Yes," said Alexander, nodding. "When Voldemort found out that Severus was indeed spying for the Order, he sent Masters after Severus. I got to Snape first and I faced Masters. I knew that the maniac wouldn't back out, and that he would be focused on killing Severus above all. I cast a powerful apparation spell at Severus. He emerged in Hogsmeade, quickly enough to get to the Castle. But I hear that it was far from nice. Apparating when you're not in control is bnasty business. Masters and I went on with the fight and I finally turned him into stone. He's decorating the courtyard of Azkaban, right now. Before that, I think Severus had no concrete idea of what I was able to do. When he realised it, he began to resent me. He said once that if I was to turn evil, no one could ever stop me."

"He still owes you his life," said Minerva.

"And you know that he hates those kind of debts," said Alexander. "You have to look at the way he reacted to his debt to James Potter. And being in debt with one of his former student is something really disturbing for him."

"Tell me about it," said Harry. "He was already mean enough because of his debt to my Dad. I don't want to figure what it must be with you."

"Pretty much the same," said Alexander, smiling. "With some shivering in addition."

Thierry was again dancing with Mandy. The young girl was quite happy with the look on his face. He looked positively delighted.

"How come a simple dance can have this effect on you?" she asked, laughing.

"That's something new," said Thierry, grinning. "I feel like I don't have any control whatsoever and somehow, it feels… great."

"You've never been in a party before?" asked Mandy, puzzled.

"And when would that have happened, Amandine?" he asked, with a cunning smile.

Mandy smiled at his use of her full name. He was the only one to have tried and guessed it. For anybody else, she was just Mandy. But for him she was Amandine. And she found the idea delightful.

She thought about what he had just said. Of course he was right. He had lived such a secluded life until now that a party like this one had to be like a whole new world for him. She was pleased to show him this world and that he was enjoying this so much. That made her evening even better and she wasn't about to ever regret taking the risk to ask Thierry out for this Ball.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying the party, after all, even Kenneth. Mandy had caught a glimpse of him. He was having a lot of fun with his friends, and he seemed to get along with Gillian alright. Mandy even wondered if Julie wouldn't have some reasons to worry, there. Maybe there was really something going on between Kenneth and the Ravenclaw beauty.

Not that Julie seemed to care anyway. She was obviously having fun with Donahue, as Mandy had seen. There was still something bothering her about this, really. She wasn't keen on meddling in other people's life, but she had been convinced for a long time, now that there was something very serious between Julie and Kenneth. She had seen them grow closer, despite Julie being in a couple with Donahue. And when Kenneth led the rescue of Julie in the Warlocks' lair, she had been certain they would soon be an item. She didn't know what had happened during the summer but the two had suddenly grown apart, to the point of barely talking to each other. Mandy wasn't sure what had taken place, but given what she knew of Kenneth and the fact that Julie was still in a couple with Donahue, somehow Julie had been the cause of the divide. Kalindra, who had been furious at the French girl, seemed to be ready to cut her a little more slack, recently, but it was still unclear.

Before she could go on with her thoughts her housemates' love lives, she was interrupted by a shock. They had bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry, Alan," said Thierry immediately.

Mandy saw that they had danced their way until they had bumped into Alan Colville. Mandy didn't like this guy. He was more a Slytherin than a Ravenclaw. And this idea of a Slytherin kind of guy in the Brotherhood was disturbing her. She didn't like him because he was always putting pressure on Thierry, as he was older than him. Thierry had told him that Colville was Master Anselme's favourite student. And that wasn't a reassuring thought for Mandy. If she disliked Colville, she was creeped out on a regular basis by the Novice Master.

"Not only are you behaving like a common fool," said Colville with venom in his voice, "but you also have to bump into people?"

Thierry's eyes narrowed and he held Colville's gaze for a long moment.

"I said that I was sorry," he said. "No need to get worked up like that."

"Don't you dare talk back to me like that, De Vannes!" said Colville.

"Alan," said Raphaella Di Angelo, who had been hovering nearby, on a patient tone. "Don't ruin the mood of this evening, please."

"He's misbehaving…" began Colville.

"On what standards, Alan?" asked Thierry. "Yours?"

"On the standards of the Masters," said Colville. "You won't stay in this school forever, so be careful how you act in here."

"Oh, back off, you overgrown tadpole," said Mandy, stepping between the two of them, frowning. "Stop playing the outraged virtue. You're at this Ball, too, as I can see, and you even have a date. I fail to see how Thierry could be misbehaving, since he's only having some fun. You should try that too, that would help you rid of the broomstick you've got stuck up your…"

"Amandine," said Thierry on a calming tone. "I think he got the message. It's okay, really."

Mandy harrumphed in annoyance, and threw a long disdainful to the Slytherin girl who was waiting on Colville's side, daring her to speak up. She didn't, but Colville did.

"You dare to interfere?" he said.

"Why shouldn't I?" said Mandy, her chin raised defiantly. "You're the one who is interfering with my dancing. Now beat it."

"You…" growled Colville.

"Didn't you hear the lady?" said a familiar voice said behind them.

Mandy turned to see Kenneth standing there, arms crossed over his chest, with a warning frown across his face. At his side, Gillian was smiling, although it was a little tense. The look she sent Colville did speak volumes about the way she felt about the guy who had joined her house. Colville held Kenneth's glare for a second, and then he broke eye contact, conceding the first round of the clash.

"Now, will you stop messing with this party, please?" said Kenneth.

"I find you quite presumptuous for a sixth year," said Colville, with a disdainful snigger.

"And I find you quite careless, playing tough without your walking stick," countered Kenneth, with an obvious tap of his finger on his wand sheath.

"You wouldn't dare!" said Colville.

"Try me," said Kenneth, cold as a stone, and he had a sudden, threatening smile.

Colville seemed to hesitate, and suddenly, he strode away, dragging his friends with him. Kenneth wasn't sure, but he would have sworn he had seen Wats, who had been behind Colville all the time, wink at Thierry with a little smile.

"De Vannes, again seeking trouble?" asked a dry voice.

Master Anselme had made his way toward them, an angry look across his face. But Thierry didn't lower his eyes, as usual.

"No, Master I wasn't," he said. "Alan just came over to mess with me."

"Do not talk back, De Vannes!" began Anselme.

"There, there, Hector," said Master Amanio, joining them. "I don't think this is a matter of anger. Thierry hasn't done anything wrong, as I could see. This is a party night. Why don't we all just enjoy it?"

"Master…" said Anselme.

"Hector," said Amanio. "These Novices are young and thus why don't you let them be young? I really think we should let them enjoy this party."

Anselme threw a last hostile look at Thierry before to walk away. Thierry bowed before Amanio. Mandy was relieved that the Old Master had interfered, because she knew that Anselme was just as vicious as Snape. She suspected him to hate Thierry, for whatever reason.

Kenneth exchanged one look with Thierry, and nodded. Then he asked Mandy for a Dance. Mandy accepted and Kenneth led her to the dance floor. He was a better dancer than Thierry, even if he didn't have the flair and style someone like Donahue kept throwing in everyone's face. He was just dancing for the fun of it.

"So, are you having a good time?" she asked him.

"Yes," said Kenneth, grinning. "This is fun."

"I'm glad then," she said. "You deserve some fun once in a while. How is Gillian?"

"She's great," said Kenneth, throwing a look at his partner, who was laughing lightly, while chatting with Thierry.

But he didn't sound as if he was about to melt on the spot. Mandy wondered how serious the two of them were, and she hoped that none of them would get hurt, if Kenneth's feelings for Julie got in the way. She knew Kenneth wouldn't hurt a girl willingly, but she liked Gillian. She hoped the Ravenclaw girl hadn't built up her hopes too much.

Kenneth had resumed dancing with Gillian, putting the incident with Colville behind him. He was clearly enjoying his evening far more than he had expected. Dancing with his friends, enjoying the music, simply relaxing, letting go, for one night, of everything that weighed on his mind, all of this made for a surprisingly good evening.

Being with Gillian helped, too. The Ravenclaw witch was a very sweet, funny company and she didn't know her way around a dance floor, as promised. So she had helped him with the trickiest steps. Kenneth had been touched by how beautiful she looked, tonight. He was very glad that she had offered to accompany him to the Ball.

In return, Kenneth had tried his best to make the evening all about her. It had been easier than he had expected. Of course, he would lie if he claimed that he hadn't been annoyed a few times, when he caught a glimpse of Donahue's number as the perfect date around Julie, but he found, that right now, he didn't care that much. This wasn't about Julie. Tonight, his evening was about Gillian.

So he danced, and he laughed and he talked with his friends and hers. He learned quite a lot about Gillian, that evening, from the subjects she liked most at school, to the sweetest memory of her childhood. And he found himself confiding in her, too, telling her how much he looked forward to spend the Christmas break in Lionheart Hall with his father, something he didn't get to do so often. Since his mother's death, they hadn't celebrated a lot of Christmases. Slowly, though, as he and his father were recovering, they were trying to restore the family celebration, holding on to the good memories.

Gillian was a good listener, and she showed her understanding, whenever he confided in her.

Yes, the evening was very nice.

After one of the dances, Gillian had a smile and caught his hand, to lead him toward the balcony that had been set up, a spell keeping the cold away. A few students could choose to step away from the party for a while. The teachers were vigilant, but they weren't obsessed about preventing a few couples to snog. Well, that was, if you didn't take Snape into account, naturally.

Gillian went to rest against the balcony, breathing in the crisp night air. Kenneth stood beside her, looking at her with a smile.

"I'm having a wonderful time, Kenneth," she said, at some point.

"Me too," admitted Kenneth, truthfully.

"You didn't expect it, did you?" she asked, teasingly.

"Am I so pathetically transparent?" he asked.

"You are a complex guy, Kenneth, but a few things are obvious about you," said Gillian. "I know you never seem to fully enjoy what the other students find essential. Quidditch, Hogsmeade outings, the like… There is this gravity about you. It's like you've grown up too fast."

"Some people told me so," said Kenneth, shrugging.

"There's clearly nothing wrong with that," said Gillian, smiling. "But, to be blunt, between your mother's death during the war, your legacy and the battles you've been thrown in, last year, it's no surprise you wouldn't enjoy the teenager's simple tastes."

"Well, I do tonight," said Kenneth. "The company helps, to be honest," added with a grin to her.

"Aren't you the flatterer, Lionheart," she said, her smile turning ironic. "Don't try to be charming, Kenneth, it doesn't suit you. Dignified, serious, that's the Kenneth Lionheart we know and like."

He had a snort of laughter. Well, that was honest enough. He wasn't sought out for his mastery of courtesies and general manners.

"I'm glad I could take your mind off all this heavy stuff," said Gillian. "I do enjoy your company, as well. I kinda knew I would, though. Now, if you don't mind me being bold…"

"Never stopped you before…" he began to say.

Only he was silenced by the feeling of her lips on his. His heart made a jump, and without thinking, he began to kiss back. Gillian brought her hands to cup his face, while his wrapped around her waist. The feeling was intense, unlike anything he had ever known before.

For a moment, however fleeting, it was as if they were alone in the entire world.

Julie's heart had frozen in her chest. She had never meant to spy or to pry in anyone's life. She had just been taking a break from dancing. Robert had been whisked away by Janet Spencer, and Julie had tried to find her friends. Only she had seen Mandy lost in her dancing with Thierry, and there had been no sign of Jennifer, Kalindra or even Marion. While she could guess what Kalindra was up to, right now, she wondered if Jennifer was somewhere hidden with Will or if Marion had slipped away with her date or was trying to resolve her differences with Teddy.

All of her musings had been shattered, as she had passed by the balcony. Just a quick look, to see if anyone familiar was there, and she had stumbled upon this sight.

Kenneth was kissing Gillian. It was harmless in itself. It did look pretty chaste, and certainly not about to get out of hand. There was actually something pretty sweet about the pair, right now. And it felt like a stab in her heart.

If wasn't jealousy. If she was truly honest with herself, she couldn't bring herself to hate Gillian for 'stealing' Kenneth away from her. She had ruined her chances with him, so who was she to begrudge him a little happiness? Merlin knew he deserved some. And Gillian had done absolutely nothing wrong. If one thing had been clear about Julie's relationship with Kenneth, it was that no one aside from Kalindra knew the truth of it. Gillian knew nothing of what had been going on between Kenneth and her, and she certainly wasn't interfering with anything. So it wasn't jealousy.

No, it was sadness. Because, now, right before her eyes, was the proof that she had lost Kenneth. He was moving on. She had lost him for good, just because she had been stupid and arrogant. And it tore at her heart viciously to know that she had lost her chance with a boy that, in the end, she still loved.

But it was too late, now. Now, all she could do was to try and make amends for her mistakes. She turned from the sight of the kiss and walked away, taking a deep breath, trying to be strong against the pain and deep shame she felt for having hurt Kenneth. She was glad that he had found someone to help him recover. At least, he wouldn't be hurt for too long, because of her.

Enough, this was enough. From this point on, she would do better. She would be a better friend, for many people she had failed, recently.

She didn't feel like partying, right now, so she walked to find Robert and tell him she was tired. Right now, she doubted she would be good company for him, and he, too deserved better than what she had done to him.

Something suddenly rebelled in Kenneth's heart, causing him to break the kiss. Gillian was taken aback, and looked at him, probably wondering what she had done wrong.

"Sorry," he said. "I'm..."

He couldn't find the words. The feeling had been nice, but somehow, it left a sour taste. She hadn't done anything wrong. The kiss had been sweet, and he had wanted to answer to that feeling, but... something had stopped him, as if he was feeling dishonest. Something just felt wrong.

Gillian... he liked her, he was sure of that. But, somehow, she wasn't Julie. It wasn't fair to her. She didn't need to be Julie. She could have made her own place in his heart. Only his heart wasn't ready for this.

Yes, he liked Gillian, but he loved Julie.

Merlin, how he felt pathetic, right now! He was staying faithful to a girl without having even been in a couple with her? And after she had broken her heart like that? It's not like he had any hope left, by now.

But the truth was, he still loved her and he was still hurting. And this was not fair to Gillian. In the end, he would only hurt her, and he didn't want to do that.

When he finally looked back at Gillian, he expected hurt, anger, possibly, but certainly not what he saw.

Understanding.

"Not what you were hoping for, was it?" she said, seriously.

"Gillian, I..." he began., but she stopped him with two fingers on his lips.

"It's alright, Kenneth," she said. "I mean it. You know, it wasn't my first kiss."

"It... it was mine," said Kenneth.

"Oh, I could tell," said Gillian, smiling. "I may not have kissed so many boys, but I've learned something quickly: lips don't lie. You wanted to kiss me back, but it didn't feel right, did it?"

Kenneth shook his head, unable to lie to her.

"There's someone else in there, right?" she said, pointing at his heart.

Kenneth had a deep sigh. He let go of her, slowly, before to nod.

"Yes," he said. "I'm sorry."

"Never be sorry when you're being honest," said Gillian. "So what's the problem? Were you expecting to go to the ball with her or...?"

"No," said Kenneth. "To be honest, it's pretty much hopeless, now. It's not so much about being 'faithful'.. it's more... I thought, I hoped that I was over her, and... I'm not. Not yet. And that wouldn't be fair to you."

"Hey," she said, with a pat on his shoulder. "It's not like I was falling head over heels for you, you know. Since we're being honest, you're handsome, in a mysterious, modest kind of way, and you're fascinating. I'll admit it would have been nice to date you for a while, but I wasn't falling madly in love with you. I just wanted to know if there was something, there."

Kenneth turned to the railing, leaning on the balcony, resting on his elbows.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"You keep saying that," said Gillian, coming to lean against the balcony, right beside him. "You are not breaking my heart, Kenneth. That kiss was revealing to me, too, you know. It was nice, but... it could use more fire, and you weren't the only one that wasn't completely into it. I should be alright."

Kenneth looked at her sideways for a long moment. She looked like she meant it. He had a twisted smile.

"Should I feel relieved that I didn't hurt you or should I be vexed that you can get over me so easily?" he asked.

"Aha! There he is! The strong, sarcastic guy I was interested in," chuckled Gillian. "I'm not trying to spare your feelings, Kenneth. I'm just doing what you're doing so well: I'm being honest."

"I appreciate that," said Kenneth.

He fell silent again. After a while, Gillian broke the silence, once more.

"You want to talk about it?" she asked. "the other girl, I mean."

"Wouldn't that be weird?" he said.

"I guess it would," Gillian conceded with a wince. "Alright, I'll make you a deal. How about we head back in there, have some more fun, and then you walk me back to the Nest. And after, I promise not to be mad or sad, and you promise not to feel guilty."

Kenneth tentatively smiled.

"That does sound good," he said. "You're a great girl. I'd hate to have you resent me."

"Then that's a deal," she said, before to lean closer to him and give him a peck on the cheek. "You're a decent man, Kenneth Lionheart. Whoever that girl is, I hope she comes to her senses, because if she doesn't, she's a damn fool."

She offered her hand and, after a second of hesitation, he took it, letting her drag him back to the Great Hall. She had a reassuring smile, as they made their way through the students.

They found Mandy and Thierry, and joined them for another drink. The party was coming to an end, with students filing out of the Hall in small groups. The band was playing a few soft pieces, to allow the last dancers to enjoy the evening as much as they could, but it was time to head back for the common rooms. Gillian, at some point, turned to Kenneth.

"Well, I guess this is it, then," she said.

"I guess so," said Kenneth.

"Will you walk me to the Nest?"

Kenneth nodded and offered her his arm. They walked back through the great Hall, and then headed for the Nest. Thierry and Mandy followed and the four of them were chatting friendly. At some point, Thierry and Mandy stopped to wait for Kenneth, while he was escorting Gillian to the Eagle statue that marked the entrance to the Ravenclaw Tower.

When they reached the statue, Gillian smiled.

"I still had a great evening, you know," she said. "Thanks for that."

"That was great for me, too," Kenneth replied.

"Okay, so as a friend, can I ask you one last thing?" she said.

"Whatever you want," said Kenneth.

"I don't want my evening to be a complete waste, so…"

She leaned closer and kissed him again. Softly. When she withdrew, she was smiling.

"Now, I can say that it wasn't all for nothing," she said.

Kenneth smiled. This had been sweet.

"Well, good night," he said.

She nodded.

"You too."

He walked away, leaving her to utter the password that would open the passage to the Nest. He joined Thierry and Mandy at the crossing. Mandy raised her eyebrows.

"So soon?" she said. "So you two are not…"

"No," said Kenneth simply. "That wasn't a good idea."

"Why not?" asked Mandy.

"I don't know," said Kenneth. "It wouldn't have been honest, I guess."

"Honest to whom?" asked Mandy.

"Gillian," said Kenneth.

Mandy's eyes widened again, but she then smiled.

"Goldielocks is a damned fool!" she mumbled.

Kenneth didn't get that. But Thierry did and he smiled at Mandy.

When Julie entered the common room, her mood wasn't as cheerful as most students after the party.

She had asked Robert to escort her back, and they had parted with a kiss, before the painting. But, when she had found herself ready to enter the common room, she couldn't bring herself to. So, she had walked away, going for a long stroll in the deserted castle, trying to sort out her feelings.

She wasn't sure how long she had walked, but she had regained a certain resolve. From now on, she would try and fix what she had messed up. She would make amends to Kenneth and even if she had lost his love, she would do her best to be the friend he deserved, at least.

Also, she had resolved she would be more of a friend to her housemates.

And finally, she would stop using Robert to keep away from Kenneth. If she could make her relationship with him work on its own, well, at least she would be honest to him.

She was still lost in her thoughts, most importantly, self-recrimination. She had been such a stupid cow.

She could try and reason all she could; she had acted like an idiot. Sure, she could tell herself that she had kept Kenneth's sake in mind, and that she was doing the right thing.

How is that working out for you, then? she thought, bitterly.

Because, despite everything she had told herself, she was no way nearer to a certainty, regarding Kenneth's safety. And even that argument wouldn't resist long. Did she want to keep him safe or did she just refuse to have his life on her conscience? Was it love or selfishness?

Besides, the words of Kalindra kept haunting her.

Breaking his heart won't help, I can tell you.

And she was right. Kenneth was still so damn noble that no matter how much of a bitch Julie was, he would still try and save her. Hell, she was sure that in the right set of conditions, he would save Robert's life, too.

How could she be...

"How can you be so stupid?" exclaimed a voice, cutting right through her thoughts, as soon as she entered the common room.

Julie looked up and found herself facing Mandy, still gorgeous in her black dress, looking at her, anger clear on her face and in her eyes.

"You're not even worth it," hissed the Goth girl, before to storm out of the common room, up the stairs, without giving Julie one chance to reply, and leaving her glued on the spot.

"What the hell was that?" she asked aloud.

"Er... my thoughts, coming from her mouth?" offered? Kalindra, getting up from her armchair revealing her presence near the fire. "Where the hell were you?"

"I was..." began Julie.

"Did you sleep with him?" Kalindra cut her.

"What?! No!" exclaimed Julie. "Are you crazy?"

Kalindra seemed to relax suddenly, letting out a breath Julie hadn't seen her holding. She realised her friend had been worried, and that Mandy had probably been, too. It wasn't in Kalindra's nature to worry about rules or morals, so Julie guessed her worry stemmed from somewhere else.

"Well, at least you didn't lose all of your common sense," said Kalindra. "Can you tell me why you are heading home so late, then? Were you with him?"

"No, I wasn't," said Julie. "I… I needed to think a little. Why? What did you think I… You thought that I was late because I was sleeping with Robert?"

Her outrage at that seemed to help deflate Kalindra's indignation.

"I certainly hoped you weren't," said Kalindra. "That would have been a disaster. What happened? You dropped out of sight, so everyone assumed…"

"Oh, everyone assumed, huh?" retorted Julie. "Well, maybe 'everyone' needs to mind their own business!"

"Excuse me?" Kalindra shot back. "Hey, don't get all upset with me, alright? You showed so little sense in your romantic life for most of the term, so don't be surprised if everyone got ideas when you and your boyfriend dropped out of sight! What was that about?"

"I wasn't even with him. He walked me home, and then... I just needed a moment alone," said Julie. "You got it easy, you know."

"I got it easy?" said Kalindra. "You think that was easy to kiss Rob, out of the blue, like that? I was terrified that I had read all these signs wrong. If it was that easy, I would have done it two years ago! Trust me, it was no smooth ride."

"Besides, you're deflecting," said another voice.

That's only then that Julie realised that Thierry was in the room, sitting in one of the armchairs. He looked very serious, right now.

"What happened back there? You stepped into the Ball, the picture of joy and happiness, and now, you're all messed up," he said. "I wonder what happened that made you drop the charade."

"What would you know about it?" she asked, pointedly.

"I know I have eyes," said Thierry. "Since the beginning of the year, everyone tells me you've been acting differently. I could tell that sometimes, you forced yourself to look cheerful. Tonight was no exception. You showed up at the Ball with Robert, but it was clear you wanted to convince everyone that everything was fine. And now, you even dropped that pretence, and my guess is that it has to do with Kenneth."

"It doesn't matter," said Julie. "Not any more. It's done."

"What are you talking about?" said Kalindra.

"Kenneth and Gillian," said Julie, sadly, but without any harshness.

"Damn it, Julie, you don't get to act jealous!" Kalindra shot back.

"I'm not," insisted Julie. "It's... it's fine. I'm glad for him that it's a girl like Gillian. She'll be good to him."

"Kenneth is not with Gillian," said Thierry, stunning the both of them into silence.

"He's not?" said Kalindra, as surprised as Julie.

"No," said Thierry. "He walked her back to the Ravenclaw Tower, and he walked back with Amandine and I, then he took his cloak and got back outside for a walk."

"He's not with her..." repeated Julie, shocked.

"See? Wait... wait a second, who the hell is Amandine? "She asked Thierry.

The novice laughed.

"You're really something, he said. "You don't know the real name of one of your best friends?"

Kalindra sent an astonished look to the dorm stairs.

"Amandine? Amazing," she said. "But back on you," she went on, turning back to Julie. "You disappeared because you were jealous of Gillian?"

Julie slumped on one of the couches.

"Not jealous... really. I'm... resigned?" she said weakly.

"Julie, I told you that you don't need to worry about..." began Kalindra.

"He kissed her," said Julie. "I saw him kiss her. And I know he had every right to. And I'm not angry, just... it's hard to let go."

"He kissed her?" said Kalindra, stunned. "Oh, but..."

"It didn't work," said Thierry, with a look of apology for the interruption.

"How can you know?" asked Julie.

"Kenneth said so," explained Thierry. "He says this wasn't a good idea, and that it wasn't fair to Gillian. So he just walked her home, and apparently, she was okay with it."

Julie was struck mute. So Kenneth wasn't with Gillian. What did it mean? But she couldn't do anything, no matter if this was true. But somehow, she felt better, all of the sudden. The appalling nature of her feeling came to hit her suddenly, and she hid her face in her hands.

"I'm such a selfish bitch," she sobbed.

"What? Julie, it's about..." began Kalindra.

"I can't be with Kenneth," Julie cut her, "so why am I relieved that he's not moving on? Can't I just let him be happy?"

"But you could..." insisted Kalindra.

"No, I can't," said Julie. "We talked about this, Kallie."

"Well, I have no idea why you refuse your feelings for Kenneth," said Thierry. "But I do know that you need to break up with Donahue, though."

"What?!" exclaimed Julie.

"How did we get from there to here?" asked Kalindra, amused. "Not that I disagree, of course, but..."

She was silenced by a withering look from Julie. Thierry didn't falter when Julie turned that look to him.

"Honestly, if you stay with him only so that you can pretend to be fine without Kenneth, then it's simply not a good relationship," he explained.

"It's not that simple," said Julie. "I do like Robert for himself."

"I certainly hope you do and that you don't just use him as a prop," said Thierry. "So maybe you genuinely like Donahue. I personally doubt he's worth it, but that's a matter of opinion. My point still stands. I've seen the way you disagree on many things. The tension between you… But you won't break up with him. Despite all of your differences, you're holding on to your couple because, deep down, maybe not consciously, you know it allows you to stay away from Kenneth. That is not a good reason to stay with Donahue."

Kalindra smiled.

"My robed friend is full of wisdom," she said. "You need to end this, Julie. And you need to re-evaluate that decision of yours about Kenneth. Because even if you got lucky tonight, one of these days, Kenneth will truly meet someone and get over you, and you'll lose him for good."

Julie remained silent. They both had solid points. This just wasn't right. This wasn't her. She didn't want to be like that. And surely, if she didn't change her mind, Kenneth would eventually move on.

Still, there was that awful fear that plagued her. Her restless nights lost in anguish over seeing Kenneth die before her eyes. It was messing with her mind. And even if she could see the logic in her friends' words, she couldn't face the fear.

Again outside in the cold, thought Kenneth, with a curious smile, as he realised the echo with the previous year.

But this time he had a great evening. Of course it didn't end as he had thought, but it was nice all the same.

But Gillian was right. He had to follow his own heart. And even if she was sweet and beautiful, Gillian wasn't Julie. That alone was enough for Kenneth to make up his mind. This was frustrating.

Why couldn't he resent her? Why couldn't he simply push her out of his mind, out of his life?

She had toyed with him and she was dating his nemesis, for Merlin's sake. And yet, he still longed for her? What was wrong with him?

But the facts were there. Gillian couldn't replace Julie. And Kenneth didn't want to replace Julie. There was something at the back of his mind, at the back of his heart, that told him she was the one. And no matter if it made his life a complete mess, he just couldn't get over it.

At least, Gillian had understood, even if she didn't know the "other girl" was Julie. He just hoped that this evening wouldn't hurt their friendship. Gillian was someone great, and he would be damned if his inability to have a normal life ruined a friendship with someone like Gillian.

He was still thinking about the appalling complexity of his love life, when he spotted some movement on his right, near the lake. A figure was standing there. And, actually, Kenneth wasn't that surprised to see her. He walked toward her.

"Having a good evening?" he asked sarcastically.

"What's the reason of this irony in your voice?" asked Aria Entwistle, smiling slightly.

"Well, it's just that you seem to be around anytime something happens in this school," said Kenneth. "One of our students has been attacked. So I assume you know something about it."

"There's a nuance between knowledge and comprehension," said Aria.

"Alright," said Kenneth. "I guess that one meant you won't tell me anything. Because, I presume I'm not ready to know?"

"Not exactly," said Aria. "First, this is not your task to solve this particular mystery. Nor it is mine. And second, you don't really need my knowledge on this matter."

"Maybe you could let me decide of that on my own?" he countered.

"I do not have always my say in this decision," said Aria.

"Oh yeah? That's convenient," said Kenneth. "So you can't help us, and you don't want to, anyway."

"It's not that I don't want to, Kenneth," said Aria, on an almost regretful tone. "But except telling you to be careful, I don't see what help I could be to you, in this case."

Kenneth gave her a deep look. The most troubling thing with that woman was that she seemed to mean anything she was saying. But Kenneth knew that anytime someone had met her, she had withdrawn things from them. Professor Potter, Ian, and recently Thierry, as the Novice had told the Defence teacher, and then his friends.

"So what are you doing here?" Kenneth asked. "Or more exactly, what are you appearing to do here? I'm quite sure you're not real, are you?"

"What's real? Can you tell me what is real and what isn't?" asked Aria, with a smile.

"Oh, don't give me that one," said Kenneth. "You know perfectly what I mean. You're not here. You're somewhere else, projecting your image, looking at us safely. Why?"

"Watching is the first thing to do when you want to know someone," said Aria.

"And I know you can watch without being seen," said Kenneth. "So what do you want with me?"

"A discussion is the second way to know someone," said Aria. "So I can get to know what I want."

"Now wait a second," said Kenneth. "I'm beginning to get tired of your mysterious behaviour, Miss."

"Angry and still he remains polite," said Aria, with a smile.

"And if you keep up speaking of me like I'm not here, I may not remain polite," said Kenneth. "You didn't answer my question," he insisted. "What do you want with me?"

"I want to be sure that you're on the right path," said Aria.

"The right path?" said Kenneth. "And what on earth would give you the right to decide that for me?"

"Independent," said Aria, with the same enigmatic smile on her face. "That's good. We don't want you to be blinded by beliefs."

"You're really good at that," said Kenneth. "Half-answers, distraction with riddles and mysterious come-backs," said Kenneth.

"Yes," said Aria. "The result of experience. As I see it, people cannot hear the plain truth before their time to do so comes. And your time isn't here now. But it will soon be. You have to be careful, young Lionheart, because your fate is bound from all eternity with the one of the Brotherhood. Watch your steps. They may decide of everything."

"Well, it's good to be warned," said Kenneth on an ironic tone. "Now, maybe you'll develop, or explain, or…"

Aria suddenly faded away. Kenneth sighed in exasperation.

"… or not disappear like that," he said. "I hate it when they do that."

A voice echoed in the night. A voice that was chuckling.

This is part of the fun, said Aria Entwistle's voice, sounding like an echo.

Kenneth rolled his eyes.

"She had to play the smartass," he muttered, hoping she would hear it.

Pfffff, done, finally! This was a long one. I hope I managed to do it right.

Oh, and (*) about Spelljam… more on that later. The ones who have read the start of Spelljammer chronicles will be interested to know that come guy called Alec Ramsay is involved in that band. If you liked the story, don't despair, I will get back to it. Have to, since it's part of my continuity.