*Violet's POV*

It was finally happening. The Yule Ball, in all its entirety. My mother had sent me the most beautiful dress. I twirled in front of a mirror in the dorm. My strapless dress was ombre, going from white to light blue, to a very deep blue at the bottom. It was the most gorgeous thing I had ever worn, and every Ravenclaw girl couldn't help but giggle in excitement.

"So, are you going with Cedric?" Cho asked, as she started to assemble my curls into wonderful cascades down my back and shoulders.

"Yes, how about you?"

"Harry Potter. He seemed quite sad when we asked though." I gulped, not wanting to tell her that I was the reason. "Just warning you, Cedric can be a bit awkward at big events like these."

"Really? How did you know?"

"We did date, didn't you know?" I couldn't help but blink as she applied mascara to my eyes. I had completely forgotten about Cho and Cedric, a romance that randomly died out sometime late last school year. Cho pat my shoulder and grinned, "You look stunning, Violet." I thanked her endlessly, did a quick twirl, then rushed to the Great Hall.

Many eyes stayed trained on me, which was quite a different sensation, since I usually tried to blend in with everyone else. Having attention…well, I didn't really strive for that too often. Then, I saw him, up on the Grand Staircase. Cedric. He wore a white suit with golden stripes along his sleeves and his side. He wore black shoes, and his hair was brushed to one side, but looked like gold had melted into his hair to make it so shiny. Cedric's eyes traveled down to me, and I could tell he gasped. Without hesitation, he rushed down the stairs, abruptly stopping directly in front of me.

"Violet, you look…" His mouth was wide open, and so were his eyes.

I smiled, "The handy-work of Cho Chang. Now close your mouth, before you catch a fly."

He shook his head and gave a sudden nod, a little red in the cheeks, "So are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." I said, not so sure of myself. He held out his hand and I placed mine in his. He guided me to the Ball, which was packed with people. I spotted Rachelle, a Ravenclaw girl in my Astronomy class sitting with, Ron? I found myself laughing, I didn't know she had a soft spot for him. She wore a silver dress that went to her knees and flat shoes with three silver flowers on the strap. Ron wore a maroon suit and his hair was gelled back almost elegantly.

The candles started to dim so they only glowed on the dance floor. I watched Viktor and Hermione walk to the floor, hand in hand. Hermione placed both hands around his neck, blushing at him. Fleur and Roger Davies were dancing together, slowly and coordinated. I also didn't know my Quidditch captain had gotten to know Fleur. Then, my eyes landed on Harry. He was twirling Cho, but he looked robotic and stiff, like he was afraid. Cho seemed like she was enjoying yourself, but sometimes with Cho, you never know if she's lying in your face or not.

"So, do you want to dance?" Cedric asked. I nodded and smiled.

"I thought you'd never ask." I laughed. I grabbed his hands and we danced slowly to the song being played.

"So, are you nervous?" He asked, breaking the silence between our careful dancing.

"About what?" I finally looked into his amber eyes. He looked happy, he was enjoying this.

"The Tri-Wizard Tournament is ending soon."

I shook my head, "Why would I be nervous? I have complete faith in you." He laughed and I hugged him, giggling to myself. I twirled around and leaned back into his arms. We twisted and turned, gracefully following each other's movements as the song's pace got stronger and faster. I spun quickly then wrapped my arms around him and watched as some couples walked onto the dance floor. One of them was Danni.

She looked so beautiful, like an angel. Her dress was rose-colored and down from the waist were sparkles. Her golden hair was up in a high ponytail. She wore a bit of lip gloss, which shone brightly in the candlelight. Her black high heels did not affect her dancing skills. Her skin was flawless, and her neck had a black beaded necklace around it. I craned my neck to catch a glimpse of Draco. I saw him twirling her around. I smiled. He wore a black suit with a striped light green and dark green tie. Never in a million years would I expect those two together.

"Did I tell you how nice you look?" Cedric asked me, getting my attention again.

I glanced down at my dress and shrugged, "Yes, about a million times. It's only a dress." He kissed my forehead and whispered, "Well, I'm still going to tell you. You look amazing." I pulled up my dress, because it was slipping a little from dancing.

"Cedric, I wanted to ask you something," I murmured.

He spinned me and then pulled me close, "What is it? Is something bothering you?"

The music was drowning out my thoughts, but then I spoke louder, "You dated Cho last year, correct?" He nodded, and signaled for me to continue, "Why did you two, break up?" I found myself asking. He looked away from my face, thinking of how to answer.

He then turned back to me and explained, "We just weren't interested in the same things. We started going our separate ways, she started to like someone else and that was it." I nodded and stopped dancing suddenly. "What's wrong?" Cedric asked, his dancing ending.

"Oh, nothing. I just need a drink. I'll just…"

Cedric rested his hand on mine and shook his head, "I'll get something. You stay here, okay?" I sat down on a bench and waved. He made his way toward the refreshments, bumping past throngs of people. I placed my head in my hands and mumbled, "What is wrong with you, Violet? You make it sound like you're not interested!" I then thought of Harry. Is this how he felt? Every time I talked to him, I would shut him down. Now I was doing it to Cedric. "What is wrong with me?" I grumbled again.

Then I heard someone tell me, "Hello Violet." I looked up to see Draco.

"Oh, hi Draco." I mumbled. He took a seat next to me, and observed me carefully.

"I presume everything with Cedric is going a bit terribly?"

"How could you tell?"

"I'm very good at reading faces."

"Yeah, well I decided to ask about his past girlfriends and it made things awkward."

Draco chuckled, "Well, that's certainly an awful icebreaker. I doubt the twit really cares. One look at you, and he'll completely forget about anything you said." Draco's eyes slowly ran down me, and I shifted uncomfortably.

I cleared out my throat and quickly asked, "So, uh, where's Danni?"

"She's talking to Ron. That's actually why I was going to talk to you. Do you agree to the terms I offered you? About finding your attacker?" Draco explained. I fiddled with my thumbs, still not sure why he wanted her to trust him. Maybe he genuinely liked her. I couldn't tell.

"Yes, I'll do it. We can meet during free period."

Draco smirked, and shook my hand. "Now, if you excuse me, I must go find Danni." With a quick bow, Draco disappeared into the crowd. As if on cue, Cedric came waltzing up, two glasses clenched in both fists. Cedric handed me my glass full to the brim of a red fruit punch.

"Thanks Cedric." I smiled.

He sat next to me in silence then inquired, "Am I doing something wrong?"

I glanced at him and raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"

He sighed and stared down at the ground, "You act different when you're with me. It's like you're shy or scared of me or what I'll do. But with Harry, you're as happy as can be."

My eyes widened. "Cedric, it isn't like that." I exclaimed.

His eyes narrowed, "Oh really? Prove it to me." I looked away from him. I wasn't even sure what I felt anymore. I knew I definitely liked Cedric, and that he felt the same for me, but this past week with Harry, it muddled things up.

"Cedric, don't be that way. If I liked Harry, I doubt I'd be here sitting with you."

He nodded and rubbed his face, "You're right. I shouldn't be so protective."

"Let's not ruin this night, okay?" I whispered, leaning in. Cedric smiled and kissed me. I felt numb, every nerve tingling. There was something about his kiss, it had a different connection than Harry's.

"By the way, I didn't want to tell you, but Harry wanted to see you. Ask him to dance or something, he's been all mopey. I'll just go hang out with the boys for a bit." Cedric murmured. I kissed his lips again, and lifted myself from the seat. I turned and waved at him, and he smiled his dazzling smile. I felt so ashamed of my thoughts. I knew it was only me he was after, and compared to him, I was completely disloyal.

After sliding through the couples, I found Ron sitting by an empty chair. He had a couple kiss marks on his cheeks. I smiled and called out, "Rachelle having fun with you?" Ron faced my direction and his eyes widened. His expression went from boredom to amazement.

"Whoa, Violet, you look…wow."

I blushed and rubbed the back of my neck. "So…Rachelle?" He nodded and kept staring at me.

"She's an amazing girl. I can't believe I've never met her. She went out to talk with Cho." I grinned and took notice of his suit and gelled hair.

I touched his hair and laughed, "You actually decided to do your hair."

Ron shrugged, "Ginny did it. Insisted it." Finally he took his eyes off my dress and gazed into my face. He smirked, "Mind if we dance?" He held out his hand and I backed away. Ron never treated me this way.

"Actually, I was looking for Harry."

Ron pointed over to the refreshments. "You'll find him over there." I thanked him and rushed off. Ron called out, "If you want to dance, I'll be here!"

I finally found Harry, sipping a drink. "Hey Harry!" Harry slowly turned and spit his drink out.

"V-V-Violet? Is that you?"

I blushed a deep red and glanced down at my shoes. "Yes, it is. You didn't recognize me?"

He wiped his mouth off with a napkin and nodded, "You look so…different." He stared at me like Ron did and he rubbed his glasses as if he didn't believe it was me.

"I'm real, Harry." I smirked, and couldn't help but notice how cute his hair was when it was sticking out in all sorts of direction. Stop thinking that, you only like Cedric, I hissed in my mind.

He laughed and widened his eyes, "Cedric is a really lucky guy. He may not realize it, but he is."

I itched my neck and spoke awkwardly, "Speaking of Cedric, he told me you wanted to talk to me." He averted his eyes away from mine and rocked back and forth on his heels. I loved it when he did that. Oh brother, you are ridiculous, I scolded myself.

"Oh, I just wanted to see you. And, I'm sorry that I asked you to the dance. That was Cedric's job, and I know you didn't want me to."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Harry, it doesn't matter! I would have said yes, but Cedric and I…"

He bit his lip, and shrugged, "I'm not your dream guy, and I'm sure that's what you wanted for the Ball."

I smiled, gave him a tight hug and whispered, "You're my friend, and my best one, at that. Stop being so down on yourself."

He huffed, "Friend, yeah, I know."

I pulled away from him and shook my head, "Please, don't bring that up again. It's the Yule Ball, we should be happy."

He frowned. "Yeah, but it's hard to be happy when the girl you like chooses a sixth year that will leave next year over you." He backed away from me, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore." He turned around and pushed his way into the crowd.

"Harry, wait!" I ran into the crowd and found him, walking over to the bathroom. "Harry!"

He twisted around and stopped walking. "What?"

I grabbed both of his hands and murmured, "What is it that you can't do?"

"I can't do this. Being with you, but not the way I want."

I sighed and let go of his hands, "Would you at least dance with me?"

Harry raised an eyebrow, "Wait, what?"

"Do you want to dance with me?" I asked. Instant regret surged through me, frustrated with my rash decision. He nodded and led me to a place to dance.

"What if Cedric sees?" He asked. I glanced down at his pants and saw a piece of cloth poking out of his pocket. I yanked it out and it was the Invisibility Cloak.

"There, you happy?"

He smiled and threw the Cloak over us. I placed both of my arms around his neck and his around my waist. He inhaled deeply, like he was trying to wake up out of a dream, or a nightmare. "What's wrong?" I questioned, trying to calm him down.

"What if Cedric finds us? What if he wants you?" I stared straight into his eyes, since he was about my height when I had heels.

"Harry, calm down. He asked me to dance with you. He said you looked, sad." He pulled his hand away from me and played with his collar, embarrassed. "Who did you go to the Ball with anyway?" I questioned, trying to make some small talk to fill the awkward silence, even though I already knew the answer.

"Cho. But it's awkward, even though she's nice and all."

"How could you be upset with Cho? She's a lot of fun." I stated.

He shrugged, "That's like you going to the dance with Ron. You like him as a good friend, but if you see Cedric with a girl, you tend to be…jealous and upset."

"Harry, I just wish you'd stop making this so hard." I whispered, staring at into his green eyes.

He sighed, "I don't think you understand, how I feel,"

"But I do! When we were on the train, I admired you so much."

Harry stopped in his tracks, his grip loosening, "You admired me?"

"Why wouldn't I? You're Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. My Mum talked about you all the time. It was a dream come true." I exclaimed, noticing the joy in his eyes.

"Why don't you anymore, like you did?" Harry asked, the light dimming from his eyes.

I shook my head, "Harry, it's not like that. I do admire you, just in different sorts of ways."

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but closed his mouth up. The music slowed down and someone said loudly, "This is a couples' dance, so singles, you better start mingling!"

I glanced into Harry's concerned face and he stammered, "I-I-I should g-go. Cedric is your d-date." I bit my lip. He was right, Cedric was my date. But how could I just leave Harry all alone? Chances were Cho went to dance with someone else already.

"Harry, Cedric and I got a dance all to ourselves. I'll stay with you." He looked thankful. Part of me kept thinking Cedric would be upset, but the other part demanded I stay with Harry. My dress swayed around Harry's feet, along with the Cloak. I rested my head against his shoulder as the dance soon got very slow. I opened my eyes and saw Cedric dancing with Cho. "Harry, can we stand by Cedric? I want to know what he's saying." Harry looked down at me and nodded. He guided me to Cedric, and we swayed back and forth, listening.

"You haven't seen Violet, have you?" He asked Cho.

He twirled her into his arms and she shook her head, "No, and Harry hasn't come back yet."

"You don't think they're together, do you?" He asked curiously.

She shrugged, "Maybe she used the bathroom and Harry is still by the refreshments." Cedric grabbed her waist and danced slowly with her. His expression looked bored and unsatisfied.

"Okay, Harry. We're good."

He pulled me away and looked into my brown eyes. His green eyes looked like they were full with a million years of sorrow. "Violet, I think you should go." My lip quavered. And leave you with a girl you can't get a conversation started with? I thought.

"Okay." I nodded. He was right. Cedric didn't deserve to dance with his ex-girlfriend. That was as awkward as it gets, really.

"Violet, before you go…" I managed to smile at him one last time before I left, "Just, enjoy tonight." I hugged him and went to leave when he kissed me. He pressed them against mine for the longest time, and the weird part was, I kissed back. He then stopped, still hugging me.

"Harry," I murmured and we kissed again, not letting go. I felt ounces of weight falling off my head, all that trouble and confusion crumbled to the ground, along with the Invisibility Cloak. But, I did not know at the time that happened. He ran his hand through my hair and pulled away. He took a breath and muttered, "Violet, I love you."

I was in complete shock and sudden horror. Did the music just…stop?

Whispers filled the room, "Is that Cedric Diggory's girlfriend?" One person murmured.

Another whispered intently, "I didn't know Harry Potter liked a Ravenclaw, besides Cho Chang at least." Harry's eyes widened and his face went the reddest I had ever seen. I stepped away and looked apologetically at Harry. He had already started sweating sheets of perspiration. Cedric then emerged from the crowd, running.

First he went to me, and he pointed his finger at me, "I just asked you to hang out with him for a bit so he wasn't upset, not kiss him until midnight!"

I grabbed his hand, tears already pouring out of my eyes, "I don't know what came over me!"

Cedric shook his head, and pulled away from my grip, "I trusted you, and you did this to me!" I kicked off my shoes so I could move quicker, and then raced over to him.

I hugged him and cried, "Cedric, please!" He bit his lip, avoiding yelling, but I could tell he was hurt, immensely.

"Violet, I can't believe you kissed him. Do you like him more? Am I doing something wrong?" Now the whole room was quiet, everyone focusing on us.

"Cedric, I,"

"Violet, I was going to ask you to date me tonight. When I met you, I thought you'd be different from the other girls. I was wrong." A heavy flow of tears exited my eyes.

"No! Cedric, I'm sorry!" I made a last attempt to grab his hand, but it was pulled away. Harry had yanked it away.

He made Cedric face him, and he explained, "Cedric, please, don't blame her. I made her stay dancing. I kissed her without asking her." Cedric inhaled deeply and then, chaos began. He swung his arm and cracked Harry right in the jaw, sending him to the ground.

"You were my friend!" He shouted. "This is what you do to your friends?" Cedric lifted Harry up by the collar, snarling in his face, "You'll regret this."

Harry's face was bruised, and he muttered, "Cedric, she had nothing to do with it." Cedric threw him on the ground and Harry stood up, wiping blood from his mouth. "Alright, I am not just going to take beatings from you!" He lunged at Cedric and they both toppled on the floor, brawling, kicking and punching.

Cedric grabbed Harry's glasses and smashed them on the ground, shattering them. Harry blindly kicked Cedric in the stomach. I looked around helplessly. Where are the teachers? I thought. I realized they were at the back of the crowd, so either they couldn't see what was going on, or they were pushing and shoving through the students to reach the fight. I had to take matters into my own hands.

"Cedric! Harry! Stop! Please!" I ran over to them, and tried to separate them, pushing them apart. Cedric went to punch Harry, but I got in the way, the punch hitting my jaw. An explosion of pain erupted on my chin. I crumpled on the ground, grabbing my jaw. The bitter taste of blood filled my mouth.

Harry realized what happened and yelled, "You hurt her!" Cedric was in complete shock. He held his fist, staring at me. Harry grabbed his face and kicked his stomach again. Cedric howled in pain. I sat up, and felt my blood roll off my chin and onto the floor. I made a feeble attempt to stop them again, crawling.

"Pleath thop!" I garbled, and hit Cedric. He stopped attacking. I slapped Harry across the face and felt tears come again. "You two are both unbelievable! I-I-I," I couldn't manage to say the words. I stood up and turned on my heels, but Harry's foot was on the corner of my dress. The bottom three layers of my dress ripped and I was standing in front of a crowd in the top half of my dress with raggedy pieces hanging down just enough to cover my underwear. I drop of blood trickled down my neck and rolled down my dress, leaving a red line. "Cedric, I'm glad we didn't end up together. And Harry, don't ever speak to me again." Harry opened his mouth, and Cedric looked away.

Tears exploded out of me, and I raced out of the Great Hall and to my Common Room. I stopped in the bathroom, sobbing. My hair was frizzy, and sticking out everywhere, and mascara was trickling down my cheeks, making me look like a hot mess. I let out a wail and sunk down on my knees. That was the worst night of my entire life.

So there you guys have it! That was a bit of a longggg chapter. All the Harry/Violet fans got their little moment, but it didn't quite end well for either side. This is part one of the Yule Ball, so Danni's POV of the whole thing will probably be out next Sunday, so stick around for that.

As always, review or message me, it helps! Also, check out my update for Ignition, where you'll find out all the info you need to know about the story now. Next chapter, I'll show you guys a little form to fill out in case you want to submit a character. I'll have more information on that also next week. So, stay awesome, Gotham!