Alison clipped on Cosima's last earring while Sarah wrapped her dreads into a neat bun.

"Christ, Cos. How much hair do you bloody have?"

"A lot. I know I'm sorry," Cosima said nervously as she fidgeted with rings.

"Cosima, just take a deep breath, everything will be alright."

Cosima complied as she inhaled deeply.

"What the hell are you so nervous for anyway? You see Scott everyday."

Cosima looked at her as if she were dumb, "Because Delphine's gonna be there?"

Sarah's mouth gaped open, "She is? With who?"

"What? Did I not tell you?"

"You most certainly did not," Alison added.

"Oh. I thought you guys knew!"

"We assumed she rejected you because we found you flyin' higher than the bloody clouds. We never brought it up again 'cause we thought it would be painful for you."

Cosima nodded, "Yeah, well, she's going with fucking Diggory."

"What?!"

"Fuckin' bitch…"

Alison huffed, "That's low, even for her. She seemed like a nice girl."

Cosima sighed, "It wasn't her fault though. I was kind of being a bitch to her. I hadn't talked to her in weeks, so she just made a new friend. Even though it was pretty fast…"

"But I mean, how is she just gonna jump from one Hogwarts champ to another? She might as well sleep with your best friend. She might as well have taken Scott."

The girls thought about that for a moment before simultaneously saying "No."

"That's a whole 'nother level, Sarah," Cosima laughed.

Alison just grimaced and shook her head.

"But really, Cos, I want you to go in there and charm her bloody panties off. I want her to regret even taking Sir Rosy Cheeks."

"I've been trying Sarah, clearly it isn't working."

"Bullshit, you can charm Rachel fucking Duncan. Delphine ain't nothin'."

"When have I charmed Rachel?"

"When we all first met, Remember? I swear you were the first person she even touched."

Cosima pondered, "Oh yeah… Wait, she didn't shake anyone's hand?"

"Nope," Alison said, "Just yours."

"Comin' in happier than the bloody Trix rabbit. It's a wonder you didn't kiss her right on the mouth."

Alison giggled.

"Oh come on, I was excited."

"Whatever, I'm just saying, you have the capability to spin her head around. So do it."

Cosima grinned and stood up from her desk. "Okay, I will."

"Atta girl."

Cosima puffed out her chest confidently, ready to walk out the door.

"Cosima, I'm not done with your face yet, sit down."

"Oh. Sorry," Cosima giggled, "Hey, what's a 'tricks rabbit'?"

Cosima walked down the stairs adjacent to the Great Hall, spotting Scott in his standard black dress robes at the bottom near the door where the champions were supposed to meet. She sidled over to him, "Hey, Scott."

Scott turned to her, "Hey, Co…sima…" he trailed off, looking up and down at Cosima's figure.

After watching his incessant staring for over five seconds, Cosima snapped at him, "Scott, eyes up here, bro."

"Oh!" Scott recovered, "I… uh… you look… beautiful."

Cosima smiled widely, she loves complements, even if they are from extreme nerds who still wore underwear with golden snitches on them, "Thanks, Scott. You don't look bad yourself."

"Really? These robes were my dad's once, and he ripped the bottom seam when he did this awesome split at his school dance, and-"

"Scott." Cosima said, stopping the boy's rant, "Just… cool your jets, man. I know you're nervous, but I need you to keep your hypothetical marbles."

Scott nodded seriously, as he pretended to scoop up marbles into his hand and put them in his pocket, smiling at Cosima cleverly.

Cosima shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose at his antics, "Oh my god…"

After a bit, Viktor Krum walked down and politely greeted Cosima and Scott, shaking his hand and kissing hers charmingly.

Cosima blushed slightly, but recovered as she saw Scott unconsciously stiffening and puffing out his chest, seemingly trying to stand over Viktor. But it was to no avail as Viktor was over six feet tall. After he left, Cosima chuckled and whispered to Scott, "Stand down soldier."

Scott let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and slouched comfortably, "Sorry," he said as he wiped a bead of sweat from his brow.

"Don't be, man. Look," Cosima said facing him and putting her hands on his arms, "There's like zero reason to be nervous, here. It's just me."

"Yeah, I guess," Scott said shrugging, "But I just don't want to mess this up for you, I mean, I know I'm not that cool or whatever, but I'm going to try as hard as I can to make this a fun night for you."

Cosima felt bad immediately, feeling as if she took his friendship for granted. She went to straighten his bowtie as she reassured him, "Trust me, Scott, there's a reason I chose you over Roger Davies."

Scott looked surprised, "Roger Davies asked you to this dance?"

Cosima scoffed, "Yeah, after I asked you he came up to me after a quidditch practice. But that's beside the point. I chose you because you're, like, my best friend. There's no way that you could ruin it for me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, of course. Unless you try to do the splits and rip a hole in your butt seam, I see no way you can mess anything up."

Scott chuckled as Cosima finished fixing his suit and pecked his cheek. Scott blushed and scratched his neck nervously.

"Niehaus, hey."

Cosima turned around to see Cedric and Delphine walking towards them. Cosima gawked at Delphine in her dress. She looked absolutely stunning. Her hair was rolled back into a neat, loose bun, and her face was gently made up with light eye shadow and bright red lipstick.

"H-hey guys," Cosima stuttered smiling at the pair of them.

"Bonsoir, Cosima," Delphine greeted almost nervously, "You look um… très belle," she said as she admired Cosima's dress, and Cosima herself.

"Thanks," Cosima said with a smile, "You look pretty 'tres bell' yourself."

Delphine giggled at the girl's horrendous French.

"Yup," Cedric said, trying to flatter Delphine, "I'm one lucky guy."

"You sure are…" Cosima mumbled, catching Delphine's attention.

Delphine decided that she didn't like the frown on Cosima's face, so after Cedric started talking to Viktor, Delphine mentioned "I got your gift,"

Cosima looked at Delphine nervously, "You did? Did you like it?"

Delphine nodded vigorously, almost shaking out her hair, "Oui, It was um… very soft. I was wearing it all day yesterday."

"Cool, cool," Cosima said casually, "So did I guess right?"

"Quoi?"

"That blue is your favorite color."

Delphine giggled, showing the dimples that Cosima missed most, "Oui, blue is my favorite."

Cosima clenched her fist victoriously.

"Also, you were right about your owl, he did not leave until I gave him chicken. He sat and ate with us."

"Oh did he now," Cosima said amusedly, "'Lemme guess, he also let you pet his head."

"Yes, why?"

Cosima huffed, "Little player… he didn't let me pet him for the first two years I had him. He's a sucker for a pretty face."

Delphine laughed, "That would explain why he wouldn't let Cedric pet him."

Cosima smirked smugly, "I knew he was good for something."

Delphine cocked her head, "Cedric couldn't figure out who it was from."

"But you knew."

"Oui, I knew. Right away."

McGonagall came striding over, "Champions, please come along this way."

Cedric and Scott strode over towards McGonagall, as well as Viktor who was standing with, "Hermione?"

Hermione, a girl Cosima shared Transfiguration with, looked over and waved shyly at Cosima.

Cosima eyed her pink dress, "Damn girl, you're lookin' fine."

Hermione swatted Cosima's arm with a shy smile, "Oh! Cosima, please."

Cosima giggled, Hermione and Cosima were good friends, but they didn't see much of each other outside of class. Hermione reminded Cosima of her sister in many ways. "So what's up? Who are you here with?"

"Oh, I came with-"

"Herm-own-ninny," Viktor called.

Cosima and Hermione looked towards the handsome Bulgarian, "You're kidding."

Hermione waved and sighed, "No…"

"Shit, good for you. That's quite the catch."

Hermione smiled stiffly, "Albeit foul, I'll take the complement. Who are you with?"

"Oh," Cosima pointed a thumb over her shoulder, "That dork over there with the sweaty forehead," she said with a smile.

"Oh! Aw…" Hermione cooed, "He looks like he could use some comfort."

"Yeah, I better go check and see if his underwear's clean. Hey, have fun with the Viktor Krum. I know girls are mad jeally."

"Yes, whatever that means," Hermione said with a smile. "I'll see you out there."

The girls parted with a hug as they went to their respective partners. Cosima approached Scott with a bright smile, one that was barely returned by the overly nervous boy.

"Scottie, calm down," Cosima reassured with a chuckle, "It's just a dance."

"But what if I mess up? What if I step on your toes?"

"Did you step on them last time?"

Scott looked down, "No, but-"

"No you didn't, because I told you I'd end your life if you did. That still stands, by the way."

Scott chucked nervously.

"So, take a deep breath with me okay?" Cosima said inhaling deeply, Scott doing the same.

As he exhaled, Cosima clapped his cheeks, "You can do this. You're a friggin' wizard chess champion. A dance ain't nothin'."

"Yeah!" Scott said with a genuine smile.

"Alright, let's do this shit."

"See? That wasn't so bad," Cosima said serving her and Scott some punch after the traditional songs were over.

"I stumbled four times," Scott answered as he plopped on the nearest seat and took the punch gratefully, chugging it in three gulps.

"So? You weren't the worst out there believe me," Cosima said soothingly, "You should have seen Cedric's face. He looked like he was gonna shit himself. And he stepped on Delphine twice."

"He did?"

"Yeah," Cosima said sitting down and patting Scott's back. "So I looked good in comparison."

"What about Viktor and Fleur?"

"Viktor was practically marching, and Fleur is a ballet friggin' princess so of course they were the best."

"Oh."

"Cosima!"

Cosima looked up to see Delphine sauntering over to her and Scott.

"Heyy mademoiselle," Cosima said with a bright smile, "How are your toes after that massacre?"

Delphine looked embarrassed, "You saw?"

"Hell yeah!" Cosima exclaimed, "Scott danced better than that."

"I did…" Scott said more to himself than Delphine.

"He did," Cosima said with a nod. "Hell, I can dance better than rosy cheeks over there, she finished, gesturing over to Cedric, who was currently dancing with an Asian Ravenclaw girl.

"Can you?" Delphine challenged.

"Why, is that a challenge, madame?"

"Perhaps."

Cosima tossed back her punch and slammed the plastic cup on the table, "You're on," she said rising out of her seat, "Scott, I will return,"

"Take your time," Scott said, exhausted.

Cosima grabbed the girl's soft hand and moved towards the bustling group of students. After they arrived around the middle of the floor, Cosima let Delphine go and started moving her body about rhythmically. After Delphine started loosening up, both of the girls started jumping around and dancing to the Wicked Sister's music sloppily. After a couple of minutes, Delphine's cheeks started to hurt from laughing so much. Cosima's arms waved about rhythmically as she began swinging Delphine around and under them. The two danced for what seemed like hours before the music started to die down, and the crowd started to disperse.

"Milady."

Delphine turned.

"May I have this danse," Cosima said with a faux French accent and an eyebrow arched.

Delphine threw her head back in laughed before containing herself, "Bien sûr."

"I'll take that as a yes," Cosima said as she put her hands on Delphine's waist.

Delphine put her arms on Cosima's shoulders with a chuckle, "You are very short, mon amie."

"Au contraire, madame, you're just tall as hell." Cosima said smoothly.

Delphine laughed again, "Stop it, you are making my cheeks hurt."

"I can't help it, it just comes out," Cosima said with a toothy smile.

After small talking and swaying for a few minutes, and after Delphine finally calmed down, she bravely said, "I have so much fun with you."

Cosima glanced up at Delphine, who was already looking back down at her. Her mouth twitched, "That's how it was supposed to be from the beginning."

Delphine frowned slightly, "What… do you mean?"

Cosima looked back down, biting her lip, "…I wouldn't have stepped on your toes," she mumbled.

Delphine looked at her sadly, "Cosima…"

"I know, I know." Cosima said, keeping her head down.

Delphine sighed and brought Cosima into a hug, feeling it being returned immediately.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" Cosima said, muffled by Delphine's shoulder.

"For everything. That I ignored you, that I didn't come here with you… for everything."

Cosima squeezed Delphine slightly, "It's okay."

"I consider you one of my best friends, you know."

Cosima smiled slightly. "Ditto… obvs."

Delphine giggled.

"Plus, I don't know how I would have lifted you up back there. I'm strong but I'm not that strong."

"Are you calling me fat?"

Cosima backtracked quickly, releasing Delphine, "What- NO! No, of course not. No you're very, very um… healthy. Very. Yeah."

"Fat people can be healthy too, non?"

"No, but- wait, are you messing with me?" Cosima said as she saw Delphine's dimples appear in full force.

"Yes, Cosima."

"Oh, god. I thought I royally fucked up," Cosima said, beginning to fan herself, "Christ, woman, you're making me sweat…"

"Désolée," Delphine managed through yet another giggling fit.

"Hello ladies."

The girls turned to see Cedric walking towards them.

"Bonjour," Delphine greeted. Cosima gave a curt nod.

"May I steal this woman for a dance?" Cedric asked Cosima politely. Cosima raised her hands.

"Sure," she said brushing past Delphine whispering, "Watch your toes."

Delphine giggled once more as Cosima smugly returned to where Scott was sitting with his friends.

"Dude, if your knight moves too far, then he could just be taken out by the rook. That's a stupid idea," Scott argued.

"Not if your king is up that high, then he's blocking the way," another Ravenclaw argued.

"You guys do realize that you're talking about wizard chess, at a dance, with no chess board," Cosima said approaching the group of boys.

"Cosima great timing, tell these guys how great I am at wizard chess," Scott requested.

Cosima addressed the Ravenclaws, "Now listen here, you dorks, my Scottie is the wizard in wizard chess. He'll chop your king's head off in the blink of an eye," she finished as she turned to Scott, "Come."

Cosima pulled Scott away from his friends to the dance floor where slow songs continued to play. She used Scott as a shield as she watched Cedric dance with Delphine.

"Do you like her?"

Cosima looked at Scott in disbelief, "What? Scott, don't be stupid."

"I see the way you look at her, Cosima. You laughed more than I've ever seen when you were dancing with her."

"Yeah. She's funny. So?"

"Cosima, I'm a Ravenclaw," Scott pointed out.

Cosima sighed and shrugged.

"That's why you were so upset that day, when you asked me out. Did she say no?"

"No, no- well kinda. She told me Cedric already asked her."

"Figures."

"I didn't ask you because she said no, Scott. I was gonna ask you anyway. But I guess a part of me hoped that she would say yes. And a part of me was pissed off that someone else beat me to her."

Scott chuckled, "Must've been a big part."

Cosima laughed, "It was actually."

"Hey, uh… Niehaus?"

Cosima let go of Scott, hoping Cedric hadn't heard any of what they were talking about.

"I'm getting ready to go, but about the egg…"

"Yeah?"

"Just, take it with you when you're feeling a bath. Mull things over in the hot water," Cedric said backing up and turning out of the hall.

Cosima squinted after him and shook her head, "What?"

"I think he meant-"

"I know what he meant, Scott, I mean what the hell is he so cryptic for? Like it's some damn secret. 'Put it underwater and listen to it.' 'Thanks Cedric, I'll get right to it.' Boom. Done."

Scott laughed.

"Come on Scott, let's blow this sugar quill stand."

"Cosima!"

Cosima stopped and turned around as Delphine walked over to her.

"Are you about to- what are you doing?" Delphine asked as the girl bent down before her.

"Just checking to see if you have any toes left." Cosima said as she slightly lifted Delphine's dress and counted the toes.

Delphine laughed and playfully swatted at Cosima, "Stop that, silly girl."

Cosima laughed and straightened up. Scott came up behind her.

"I'll leave you two to it," he said, hugging Cosima with one arm, "Go get her," he whispered with a wink.

"Scott, I love you, but I will fucking kill you," Cosima said through her teeth nervously, hoping Delphine didn't see him wink.

Scott laughed and turned away.

"Now, what's up with this, Diggory didn't walk you to your dorm?"

"Non, I told him I wanted to stay."

"Oh, cool. Well-"

"Cosima!"

"Oh, for f-" Cosima name had been called too many times for her liking. She turned to see a well-dressed Justin Finch-Fletchley jog up to her.

"Hey, me and a few others are gonna go stargaze if you want to join."

"Ooh, this 'stargazing' sounds fun," Delphine commented.

"Not that kind of stargazing, sweetness," Cosima corrected. "And no thank you, Justin, we were planning something else tonight."

"Alright, suit yourself. Just thought I'd yell ya."

"Thanks," Cosima said as he jogged off.

"What kind of things did you have planned?"

"Nothing, I just didn't want to go with them. You said stargazing sounded fun?"

Delphine nodded in excitement.

Cosima took her hand, "Let's go really stargaze."

Cosima and Delphine arrived, giggling, at the door to Ravenclaw Tower. Cosima knocked on the door with the bronze knocker.

We hurt without moving.

We poison without touching.

We bear the truth and the lies.

We are not to be judged by our size.

What are we?

"The eagle… talked?" Delphine said curiously inspecting the knocker.

Cosima laughed, "You are way too cute for your own good."

"How do you get in?"

"You gotta answer him. Can you do it?"

Delphine thought back to the words of the eagle. "Uh… Je ne sais pas," she said with a shrug.

"Mm," Cosima said with a smile. "Words."

The door to the tower pulled open.

Delphine gaped, "How- that was very hard!"

"I'm a Ravenclaw, Delphine." Cosima said tapping her temple with a smug look. Delphine just shook her head.

Cosima ushered Delphine up to a mostly forgotten about alcove in the tower. Sitting on the large windowsill, she patted the space next to her. Delphine jumped onto the windowsill next to Cosima and wrapped her arms around her knees so that they were facing each other.

"This is where I come to actually stargaze. All the perks, none of the cold."

"Mm. C'est vrai," Delphine said, peeking up at all of the stars. "France does not have stars like this."

"Well, they do, but you can't see them. Light pollution and shit."

A giggle from Delphine.

"Besides, we are in the middle of nowhere after all." Cosima said, picking something off her dress.

"They are beautiful."

Cosima looked up at Delphine, her face glowing from the moonlight, her expression that of pure relaxation and her eyes were lit with awe as she gazed up at the stars.

"You're beautiful."

Delphine looked down at Cosima, who continued staring at her. Delphine smiled softly and took Cosima's hand in hers, playing with her fingers and rings.

"Your hands are bigger than mine."

"Get the fuck out," Cosima said, looking at their hands flattened against each other. "Wow."

"I know."

"Well you know what they say about big hands," Cosima said wiggling her brows.

"Oui, mais I do not think that… applies to you."

Cosima shrugged, "I can make up for it."

Delphine blushed and giggled nervously.