Hi there, sorry I skipped last week. In my defense, I forgot.

"Seven horcruxes or split in seven sections?" Hermione asked, fighting off her training dummies while Harry and Ron watched. Char was technically watching too but was listening to a cassette so loud it could be heard through her headphones to keep the Trio's conversation private.

"Seven sections, six horcruxes," said Harry. "He believes it's the strongest magical number. What do you think?"

"I think he's a sack of shit. Raping, eating, and murdering six people? Knowing him, he probably did more per artifact hoping it would strengthen the horcruxes." Hermione sliced the head off one of the dummies and kicked the one behind her in the chest, spinning her scythe around her body. "I hate how everyone talks about it though. 'Killing splits the soul'. My papí killed a horcrux-maker, how on earth does that make him the same? I killed eight Death Eaters. Spells and run 'em over. You think my soul is fractured because I wanted to protect my family? Some who would suffer fates worse than death at their hands?"

"No," said Ron. "And I'm not just saying that because you have a soul-destroying weapon."

Hermione huffed and hit the base of her scythe to the ground, sending the training dummies flying back.

"Well, we got four," said Harry. "The diary, the locket, the diadem, and me. Which leaves two left."

"I have suspicions for what they are," said Hermione. "Where is the question. I think he'd keep them in the U.K. The three he meant to make were anyway. Diary was with Duckie's father, locket was in a cave before Regulus retrieved it, diadem was here in the castle."

"Would he go anywhere else?" asked Ron.

"Unlikely. The thing with serial killers is that there's always a trend. Something that they compulsively do."

"How do you know that?" asked Harry.

"True Crime network." The training dummies were obliterated and would need a couple days to pull themselves together, so she put her scythe away and hoisted herself onto the chin-up bar to blow off some extra steam. "So I suspect Hufflepuff's Cup might be one. Not sure about the sixth. He didn't have a lot so… maybe that ring? That Peverell thing?"

"It makes sense, doesn't it?" said Ron. "It was the only important thing he had and didn't you say those things had to be made from things with historic or personal value? I can't really see him picking something personal from his adulthood."

"Hm." Hermione looked over at Char and waved at her to remove her headphones.

"Yes?"

"You like History, yeah?" she asked.

"More than the average Ravenclaw," Char replied. "What's up?"

"Would there be any historical artifacts tied to this school?" Hermione asked. "Something super famous?"

"Mm… just the Founder's objects," said Char. "Maybe Merlin's ring or Morgan le Fay's staff, but those were knowingly destroyed. There are numerous artifacts, but none tied to the school itself. Teens don't typically make those things."

Hermione clicked her tongue. "Mmkay. Thanks. We'll just have to keep looking, boys. Keep our ears to the ground and talk this over with the Coven. Assuming I don't have a hit out for me the second I leave the grounds."

"I mean, technically you already have a hit out on you," said Harry. "How are we going to get you out?"

Hermione hummed and pulled herself up so she could hang upside down. "Not sure. Bug's gotten a color change, but still. I guess I'll apparate to your house, Harry. Or maybe I'll leave the country until we can plan better. You two might want to leave until we have a set plan."

"If we get out, how would we get back in?" asked Ron.

"Illegally. Duh." Hermione swung around and landed on her feet. "Can you imagine if I met myself? I mean, when I was eleven and a prissy little rule-follower."

"I'm sure she's still in there somewhere," said Harry. "The rules just have to change into something that isn't stupid."

"That probably won't happen unless there's a progressive majority in the Wizengamot which, unfortunately, is equivalent to the House of Lords and those assholes aren't gonna do anything about the current state of things because of how many are either on Morty's side or "neutrals," which is just another way of saying they're comfortable with the way things are and don't want change."

"I understand this is an important tangent, but I think we have more immediate matters to worry about," said Harry.

"Yeah, fine." Hermione rubbed her face in her hands. "Do you have any other lessons with Dumbledore?"

Char took that as a sign to continue listening to the tape.

"Not sure, but I don't think he quite understands the nature of horcruxes. Or, at least, he thinks Morty was careless with the diary. You know… that he would let it be given away so he could release the Basilisk and take credit for opening the Chamber and killing Myrtle. And that was an indication that he was making more."

"But that wasn't him," said Hermione, growing agitated and punching at Bob (who thankfully hasn't spoken since the incident on Antidote Day). "I don't think he actually wanted his diary to be used like that. I mean, yes, he wanted it used so he could resurrect but Mr. Malfoy wasn't supposed to give it to just anyone; he was probably meant to use it himself or even make Draco use it. He messed up by using it as a means of… not revenge but… to hurt the person he hated the most, meaning your Dad, Ron."

"Huh…" Ron fidgeted with one of the wooden weapons from the umbrella stand. "Then he really messed up."

"Mmhm."

"But then why would Tom Riddle try and open the Chamber again?"

"Because that's what the original was doing when he made it," Hermione replied. "Horcruxes are an imprint. If the soul resurrects then it will pick up where it left off, memories and all. When he was killed, He-Who-Must-Be-Forgotten haunted Esperanza until she moved in with my dad and mom because his unfinished business was to kill her. Tom Riddle only knew about you because Ginny told him all about you. Had it been anyone else, save for Draco, I doubt he would have learned as much."

"You don't know that," said Harry.

"Ron, tell me about Harry as if I had never met him nor heard of him."

Ron looked surprised. "Er, well, he's my best mate. Yeah, we fight sometimes but you know, he's always got my back. He's a flying prodigy. Never saw anyone take to flying like he did. Not even Charlie. When he—Charlie I mean—started learning, he kept sliding right off the end. You know, I think if they made wings that work Charlie would be the first to use them. Considering how much he likes dragons, he'd piss himself at the chance to fly like them."

"I rest my case," said Hermione. "Ron rambles. That's not a bad thing, you just have thought trains like I do. If it had been given to me, I would have thrown it away because I could feel that it was dark magic."

"How come you didn't take it from Ginny then?" Ron demanded.

"She never let me touch it. Crookshanks attacked it, remember? And since then, she wouldn't use it around me. I didn't know it was dark until it came to Harry and why would I associate the two?"

"Fair point," said Harry. "Either way, I agree with you Nia, Morty's plan was to keep them as safe as possible and the diary just… failed because he didn't tell Mr. Malfoy why it was important. The locket was retrieved by Regulus and the diadem was in the Lost and Found. Me, he never meant to make."

"Maybe one is in Gringotts," said Ron. "I mean, sure, he broke in, but I bet he'd keep it in one of the really, really old vaults. Like, the first dozen in the depths. The kind guarded by curses and dragons."

"That could be," said Hermione. "I do have someone searching for the whereabouts of the Cup. It only makes sense, he stole it with the locket. But the sixth one…" She furrowed her brow. "I guess it's the ring. It's only logical. Harry, see if Dumbledore knows where it is or has some ideas of the whereabouts of the last two."

"I'll try."

"Good man."

~o0o~

As May progressed, Hermione and Draco worked quickly finishing their set up. Hermione herself was so distracted, she couldn't focus long enough to study for final exams. Part of it felt… futile in a way. She put on a good front for her friends, spouting her old spiel about how she was sure to fail everything and be put on display as the school fool, complete with a dunce cap and personalized sash.

Her mind was so addled, she almost missed the last Quidditch game of the season. Had she not been roommates with Daphne, she might have.

"Come on, Nia," she said. "You can play Rocky later, we've got Quidditch Players to heckle."

Hermione paused in putting on her armor.

"It's Friday, innit?"

"No, Saturday."

"Huh." Hermione stared at the ground.

"Nia?"

"Hm?"

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Mm." Hermione changed into her most purple outfit. "Got a lot on my mind."

She twisted her locs into buns, charming one blue and the other red.

"How do I look?" she asked.

"Like you're going to a funeral and aren't dressed the part," said Daphne.

Hermione clicked her tongue and sighed. "I'm sure I'll perk up once we get to the pitch. What are the odds of Char dumping me after the game?"

"Depends on who wins, how sore of a loser she is, and how much you heckle her."

"Well, I know how to play the part of the lovesick fool." Hermione grabbed her case.

They headed down to the Pitch and set up their station. The teachers filed in, along with a few scouts for various team members. Hermione still set up her video camera. She had sent copies of every game to her family and this one would be no different. She had been told that her commentary on McLaggen's incident made Manuia laugh so hard he passed out. Viktor sent her a letter to the effect that McLaggen would never work in Quidditch even as a towel boy because he was sure to muck that up too.

Thankfully, Ron had healed and was in full form for this game. Didn't matter that his first one was won with the help of a placebo, after the Hufflepuff game he had all the confidence he deserved to have.

Not that it would stop Hermione and Daphne.

"I notice you don't talk to Harry as much," said Hermione.

Daphne snorted and patted Crookshanks as he walked across the desk. "Yeah, well, if a boy kisses you and it's just so he won't get in trouble, that kind of makes a girl less attracted to him. It's not a good time to start a relationship now anyway. School ends soon and that's the worst time because I know this one girl, not naming any names, who dated a boy before summer holiday and then she went to surprise him and found out he was dating three other girls."

"Ooh," Hermione hissed. "Speaking of gossip. Did you hear about these two bitches who talk shit about everyone else?"

"No, who are they?"

"US!" Her voice echoed around the Pitch, signaling they were live the entire time as Crookshanks was leaning against the button.

Daphne threw her head back and cackled.

"You birds are alright," said one of the Quidditch scouts, leaning onto their chairs. "What year are you in?"

"Jail bait," said Daphne.

"My girlfriend is the Seeker."

"For which team?"

"The team where the Seeker is a girl, genius," said Daphne. "Now back off, you're gunking up our funky flow."

"Ah! I knew funky flow would catch on!" said Hermione, clapping her hands gleefully. "Looks like the stadium is mostly filled up. Now come on Hogwarts, how we feeling this morning?"

There were some scattered cheers.

"Aw, come on, that was WEAK!" she yelled. "I said, HOW ARE YOU FEELING HOGWARTS?!"

The entire stadium roared.

"Better," said Daphne. "This is the last game of the season and will determine the Quidditch Cup winner this year. Our forerunners are Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, neck and neck with a margin of one hundred points. It seems pretty big, but if Gryffindor catches the Snitch before Ravenclaw can nab six goals, then they win. You'd think for the last game, Nia and I would be bringing out the big guns, but after the last Gryffindor game fiasco we simply cannot top ourselves."

"But we'll certainly try," said Hermione. "There was talk in Slytherin of making up a mean song about certain people in Gryffindor, but I told them if they did I would announce who wrote the song and tell everyone they had a crush on the song's subject. It wouldn't have been true, but since when do teenagers care about the truth? We might be pack animals, but we're also hormonal monsters carrying weapons in our pockets, trapped together in one school, in the same classes, with the same people for seven years."

"You'd think we'd learn to get along better," said Daphne.

"Yeah. Go figure."

"Oh, before the game begins, I want to show off a little gift my super wonderful girlfriend Charmian Cho-Chang gave me." Hermione rummaged around her purse. "Evidently Michael Corner, you know, the Beater, has some beef with us and might be planning on 'accidentally' sending a few bludgers our way. So she gave me…"

"A helmet!" she and Daphne squealed, causing feedback in the microphone.

"Which is super thoughtful." Hermione set it on Crookshanks who had curled up in the sun and now looked like a very fluffy turtle. "And this offering pleases us, so Char will be spared from heckling today. You don't like it? You should have given us offerings."

"There's always next year," said Daphne.

They laughed and sighed in unison.

"There's Madam Hooch!" Daphne continued. "The chest is in the middle of the field and now, for the last time this year… your players!"

Hermione played an upbeat jam for both teams as they came out and flew around the Pitch. She danced in her chair and waved at Char as she passed by.

The game was about as exciting as any final game of the season was. There were plenty of cheers, jeers, and snappy comments from Hermione and Daphne.

"The snitch has been spotted!" Hermione yelled. "Potter and Cho-Chang are both in pursuit. Char is closer, but Harry has the advantage of money on his side. Whoopsie! He veered off course. He and Char are scuffling and…"

Harry pushed Char away and shoved his hand in the air to show off the snitch. His ex made a rude gesture and flew down. Had there not been scouts watching, Hermione was sure she would throw her broom in a fit of rage.

"Well, there you have it," said Daphne. "Gryffindor has won the house-cup. Smashing year for Harry Potter as his first year as Team Captain. I imagine there will be much partying."

"As a consolation prize to the losing teams," said Hermione. "I am offering an exclusive, free showing of the movie Jumanji. I've never even seen it yet, but I hear it was good. Anybody who's up for it can convene to the Great Hall."

About half the students of the remaining Houses went to the Great Hall to watch the movie. Hermione set up Jumanji and settled next to the projector as she normally did. Char and Marietta set up next to her.

"Thanks for not heckling me this round," said Char. "I knew I wouldn't win against the Firebolt."

"Well, we planned to break up on the last day of school, I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that."

She huffed and rested her head on her shoulder. "Got a date to that dance in a couple weeks?"

"Yeah. You." Hermione paused. "You, right?"

Char giggled. "Of course."

"Is Luna here?"

"Nah, she—xe said xe was going to the Gryffindor party with Ginny."

"Ah, fair enough."

"I don't have a date to the dance," Marietta sighed. "It's sad if a girl goes alone."

"No it's not. Boys just tell you that so you'll lower your standards and go out with them. Be your own woman, Marietta, you're cool."

"Nobody's ever forgotten that I talked," she muttered.

"Come on, so you dropped a tip to help out your Mamá. People will forget about it."

"No we won't!" Someone called.

"SHUT UP!"

The girl turned around. "Make me!"

Hermione pointed at her, successfully casting the silencing charm, and laughed as she gestured angrily.

"Sit down," she said. "The trailers are over. Please be quiet and courteous and silence all pagers."

She put an arm around Char and sat back as the movie began. The table along the wall appeared with fresh popcorn and drinks for the students to grab at their leisure.

"Want anything?" Marietta whispered.

"Yeah, I'll take some popcorn," said Hermione. A cup of juice appeared at her hip. "They got me covered for drinks."

"I'll take pumpkin juice," Char whispered.

"Not if we're going to snog later," said Hermione.

"Apple juice."

The movie was pretty well-received. Hermione was glad she didn't show it to Ron, she was pretty sure he'd hate the spider scene no matter how cheesy and fake they looked. When it ended, she put the tape away in its case.

"Anybody up for one more or are we gonna study like good little students?" she asked.

"I vote for one more!" said Padma.

There were murmurs of agreement. Hermione grabbed the first tape in her bag and set it up. They likely wouldn't get to finish it before dinner, but it was better than sitting around staring at flash cards and absorbing absolutely nothing.

It ended up being Little Shop of Horrors. When Audrey II appeared, Professor Sprout sat down on the end of one of the rows appearing very interested. As much as the teachers complained about the new form of media corrupting the youth in the form of fodder for jokes that weren't funny the hundredth time or a change in attitudes or even the distraction from valuable study time, Hermione knew they liked the movies just as much as the students. Why else would they stand along the back wall for every showing they had the time for? She heard Professor McGonagall shriek with laughter when she showed Singin' in the Rain and Lina Lamont spoke for the first time and had it on good word that Snape spit out his drink during Clue.

"You know, George and Lee were going to perform this before Umbridge shut down the theater club," Marietta whispered.

"Yeah? That's cool."

The Dentist song began and halfway through, Char sat up and looked at Hermione.

"Aren't your parents dentists, Nia?" she said a little too loudly.

"Sure," Hermione replied as Orvin Scrivello D.D.S. twisted the instrument in the kid's mouth while the poor child screamed in pain. "They are a success."

"Well, you suddenly make sense," said Blaise, as the reminder shot up through the rows.

Hermione cackled at the same time with the same cadence the character did. She knew dentists weren't really like that, but as wizards weren't likely to go to a real dentist (which really they should since she knew too many wizards who let their teeth get bad despite the readily available spells) she didn't correct that Orvin Scrivello D.D.S. was just a sadist who would have likely been sued for malpractice and arrested for abusing nitrous oxide.

"Alright, let's stop for now," said Professor McGonagall, raising the lights to the groans of the students. "We can finish the film after dinner."

Hermione disconnected it and the wheels on the tape stopped spinning. She suddenly felt a surge of anxiety and fussed with her things while the Great Hall was put back in order for dinner.

"Are you alright, Nia?" Char asked.

"I… I'm alright I think… maybe I will do a little studying during dinner."

"Want me to quiz you?"

"Th-that's alright, I… I'll just read to myself." Hermione sat with her usual group of friends, though the Gryffindors were unsurprisingly absent, no doubt sugaring up with junk food. She read through flashcards, but thought more about what would go down the last day of Finals. The testing ended at 5. The Death Eaters were meant to come after curfew started. Hermione and Draco would be out on patrol that evening, so it wouldn't be too suspicious if they were caught.

So much could go wrong…

No. She was accounting for everything. She had plans A-Z. This was the best possible way. Nobody would get hurt. There would likely be a showdown between the teachers and the Death Eaters but they were all capable and Hermione didn't actually plan for them to get away, and if they tried to throw Draco under the bus she'd cover for him.

It would work.

It had to work.

It just had to.

~o0o~

The upcoming formal was a much needed distraction. Hermione let Draco know she hadn't forgotten, but was probably not going to discuss anything except this dance. It helped her feel… not normal, her life would never be normal, but it was good to focus on something where the worst case scenario was that nobody would have fun.

Char, of course, was in charge. Quidditch was over, so she was able to fill the normal practice slots with studying to make room for party planning.

There were about twelve people on the committee in charge of decorations, arranging music, and letting everyone know the date and time.

Hermione held a mask making party and talked about Venice Carnival. Origins, variations, types of masks.

Over half the school attended the mask making party. At the door they were allowed to pick either a Colombina or a Volto. These blanks were plain white linen and a few of the more apt wixen moved around to help resize them for people's faces. The tables were filled with baskets of feathers, rhinestones, silk flowers, and fabric scraps. There was also paint and glue. The Journalism Club provided pictures of venetian and masquerade masks to give inspiration.

It was a good way to spend the break before finals and Hermione was excited for the dance.

"Do we want to do matching masks?" she asked Char once the majority was settled into making their masks. "What will you wear? I was thinking of wearing this yellow cocktail dress I've got. Long dresses make it hard to dance."

"I've got a suit coming in a few days," said Char. "Is pink alright?"

"You'll look amazing in pink."

"I'll be wearing royal purple myself," said Shaylyn.

"That reminds me, we need to collect votes for King and Queen," said Char. "And remind everyone that King and Queen is fifth year and up and Prince and Princess will be students years one through four."

"What's the purpose of a King and Queen again?" asked Shaylyn.

"It's a popularity contest," said Hermione. "However, we're letting people write names in rather than nominate and campaign. I don't care if the winners are McGonagall and Hagrid, I think that's more fair than making girls and boys feel like they're under scrutiny or that they have to ass-kiss to the population in order to win."

"We did agree to that at the meeting," said Char. "Did we ever pick someone to count out the votes?"

"Parvati and Lavender volunteered, but you're announcing the King, Queen, Prince, and Princess."

"That's right. I figure we'll have an early dinner served in the dorms to give us time to decorate the hall." Char looked at Hermione. "And you're sure you're alright manning the music?"

"Yeah, you can just come up and dance with me on the stage," said Hermione, tickling her cheek with one of the feathers. "I've been practicing my set. I'm planning on going into the slower songs after we announce the royalty. Of course the royal couple will get to pick whatever song they want to dance to. I doubt we'll get a couple as King and Queen."

"Well, you and Char could win," said Padma. "You're both really popular."

"Could be," said Hermione. "I'm not entirely discounting it, but I won't get my hopes up. Besides, most people will either vote for themselves or their best friend. I was just gonna vote for Shaylyn and Kelsie since they're the Heads. It just makes sense."

Shaylyn smiled. "Thanks, Nia! I'm honored to have gotten a vote, even if I don't win."

Hermione nodded and used a drying charm on the glue. Her mask was a pretty gold with red silk roses. She might've been taking the Beauty and the Beast theme pretty far, but they had watched it the other day, so it was fresh in her mind. She put it on, using the same sticking charm on her eyepatch and turned to Char.

"What do you think?"

"I love it! Oh, but you covered up that other eye."

"Yeah, I can't see out of it anyway, so I figured more room for decoration."

"Makes sense to me," said Daphne, meticulously painting designs on her mask. "You know, Astoria is really excited for this ball. I think she feels like it's a debut since she's been cured. She's been talking my ear off on how she's going to dance all night. I told Draco that if he ditches her at any point he'll be in a world of pain."

"Did they ever figure out how the curse was broken?"

She shook her head and smiled slightly. "They're calling it a miracle. That perhaps after so long the curse just fizzled out."

"Well, there is so much unknown about curses." Hermione slid a tray over to Char. "The faux pearls would look beautiful clustered around that, I think."

Char smiled. "Oh, yeah, good idea."

The day of the ball quickly arrived. Hermione changed into her dress and styled her hair so it was out of her face. She put on the mood-changing lipstick she bought from Fred and George and colored one eyelid gold so it would match the mask. It felt a little silly to only have it on one eye but she didn't want to sweat the other off under the mask. She put the mask on last and turned to Daphne.

"How do I look?" she asked.

"You're the Belle of the ball," said Daphne.

"Thanks! See you in a few hours."

Hermione stashed her lipstick into her pocket and took her soundboard with her to the Great Hall. Char was already there, dressed in a pale pink suit with a black shirt and pink bowtie, her hair twisted back and held with an ornate hair stick. She was wearing her mask too, which was pink and black with the pearls and feather on one side.

Not much had started, not even the whole committee was there. The room looked massive without the tables there and Hermione sensed them in the Room of Things.

"Hola hermosa," said Hermione. "Where do you want me to set up?"

Char beamed and kissed her.

"Teacher's platform," she said. "We're setting up a stage."

"Gotcha. Consider me on it!" Hermione hurried over and raised her hands, constructing a secure stage that would be about chest high for the average student. She made sure there was a staircase to get up there.

By then, the rest of the committee had arrived (with Professor Flitwick supervising) and they got to work smoothing the floor out and covering the walls with white sheets. At first, it almost looked like they were copying the Yule Ball, until they added lights of magenta, violet, turquoise, and emerald along in tall beams that sparkled off the long, glittering sheets hanging from the ceiling. Professor Sprout brought in white trees, which they covered with warm twinkle lights. Along one side was the punch and snack table, which would soon be filled with treats, along with rows of bleachers for people to sit in for breaks.

Hermione's DJ stage would be lit up with color changing charms.

They blew up and tossed about balloons and set up a table with solid-colored, plastic masks just in case someone's broke or they forgot or just didn't make one.

"Does it need a little more light?" Char asked anxiously, noting that it was still a little dark, even with the chandeliers recycled from the Yule Ball, which had been sitting in the Room of Things this whole time. "Or maybe more balloons?"

"Don't worry," said Hermione. "I'm using Esperanza's light spell on the dance floor. Also, we got the confetti and glitter cannons."

"You filled them with the seaweed glitter, right?"

"Of course."

"I must say, I've never seen anything quite like this," said Professor Flitwick. "You all have done a marvelous job on this ball."

"Thank you, sir," said Char.

Blaise entered with a case. They looked amazing in long black robes that sparkled in the light. They wore a metal mask that hardly hid their features and long earrings brushed their shoulders.

"I've got the crowns, sash, and scepter," they said, opening up the case. "Don't worry, the gems are glass and it's only 14k gold."

"Ah, cool," said Hermione. "Still, where did we have this in the budget?"

"Don't worry about it."

They placed the crowns, sash, and scepter on Hermione's DJ booth so they'd be in full view. There was pushback about having to decide so soon on the royalty, so the ballot box, which was being manned by Professor Lupin, would officially close at ten o'clock and the winners would be announced at eleven to give Parvati and Lavender time to count.

Those who didn't want to attend would get a movie marathon in one of the dueling halls.

"Okay, I'm going to test the music now," said Hermione. "I hope you appreciate how hard I worked to self teach myself deejaying despite never having seen it done. I mean, I saw a DJ at this teen club I went to once with Robbie, but it wasn't like I could stand behind him and get a lesson in deejaying."

"You'll be great," said Char.

Hermione went to her booth and put her headphones around her neck. Even though she prepared a set, she still had to be ready to take requests. The soundboard made it easier to blend songs together so there was no lull or drastic beat change. Her cassettes were connected in a loop like what Cedric had set up in the common rooms and she could mix them up with the soundboard.

"LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!" she yelled and queued up the first song.

"Blue (Da Ba Di)" flooded the room at a slightly faster beat than the original. Hermione cast the light spell, which pulsed and danced with the music, lighting up the floor.

She held the headphone to her ear and used a fancy bit of spellwork to queue up "Tiburon" (using the spell for her Arithmancy Project). She listened to it and used the knobs on her soundboard to change the bpm (an adaptation she submitted for Ancient Runes), then when the song climaxed for Blue, she hit another button and it switched to the next one. It took her hours to figure it out, but now she was sure she couldn't get it wrong.

Hermione lowered her headset and cut the music.

"All good?" she asked. "Not too quiet? Not too loud?"

"I think it's perfect," said Char. "If we're ready we can let people in now."

"Sounds good to me."

Hermione kicked it back up and danced in place as people flooded in. Most lingered around as if they weren't sure they should start dancing. When the place was at 60% capacity, Hermione cast her spell and set up "Gonna Make You Sweat," she hit the song repeat key on the keyboard (marked with tape) so the "Everybody" repeated. She mashed the key until she had attention and then let the first line scream out.

Hermione held her wand to her throat.

"One more little competition tonight people," she said. "We have an award for dancing! The judges, whom will not be named, will be watching tonight to see who has the sweetest moves! The winner will be deemed the Dancing Queen and will receive their own crown! It's a good thing I'm your deejay because let's be honest, I would wipe the floor with you. Now let's Bust A Move!"

She spotted her friends run out onto the floor to dance. Part of her wished she was with them, but this was fine, too. There would be other times to dance.

Despite a couple hiccups (hidden by clever sound effects), the deejaying went pretty smoothly. The crowd was dancing anyway and she wasn't booed off the stage.

Char came up with some punch for her (this time made with lemonade and lime sherbet).

"Having fun?" Char asked.

"Loads! Even more now that you're here." Hermione sipped the punch and set it on the tray next to her. "You?"

"Definitely!"

Char stayed with her for a while before going to dance with Marietta.

There were plenty of wallflowers, but much more were dancing. Hermione let loose one of the confetti cannons to get the confetti and glitter in the air when she was blasting the "Macarena."

Char came up on stage and danced her way over to Hermione with the envelope containing the names of the winners. Hermione grinned and let the beat fade out.

"Alright, alright!" she said, amplifying her voice. "Listen up, we're about to name the royalty of the evening." She hit a royal fanfare sound effect.

Everyone crowded around the stage, a few hopefuls crossing their fingers. Char opened the envelope and took out the list.

"Your Dancing Queen of the night is… Luna Lovegood!"

"Come on and claim your crown, Dancing Queen!" said Hermione, playing the ABBA song.

Luna skipped up the stairs and accepted xyr crown, standing off to the side once it was placed on xyr head. Hermione knew xe wasn't showing how surprised xe was.

"Your Prince and Princess for the evening are… Gracie Yi and Dennis Creevey! Come on up and get your crowns!"

Gracie beamed as she made her way to the stage and Dennis took some coaxing in his shock.

"Do you guys want to share a dance or just pick a song?" asked Hermione.

"A dance?" Dennis squeaked.

"I don't mind dancing," said Gracie, shyly.

"If Dennis is too shy, I'll dance with you Gracie," said Luna serenely.

Dennis spluttered and turned to Hermione, who simply shrugged.

"Settle down," said Char. "I still have to announce your King and Queen. The votes were overwhelming. This year's King, yes King, is none other than Herminia Lotulelei-Sanchez y Granger!"

Hermione pumped her fists in the air and strode over, gagging when her headphones pulled her back. She quickly took them off and hurried over to get her crown and sash while her friends cheered wildly for her.

"And your Queen is… Blaise Zabini!"

Blaise glided to the stage and graciously accepted the crown, sash, and scepter.

"I know the blokes just voted for me to be mean," they said to Hermione. "Joke's on them, I wanted this crown."

"And there you go!" said Char. "There's still plenty of time to party, but we'll let the Royals have their dance. Luna, you can pick a partner if you'd like."

Hermione turned around to her booth and set up the slow songs. She'd pick it back up in a few with "Heaven on Earth."

"I don't want to dance," said Blaise, conjuring a throne. "I wish to be witnessed. Char, will you dance in my place?"

Char grinned. "Sure, no problem!"

Hermione led her down to the floor while Esperanza's Spanish cover of "Andante, Andante" played. She didn't look at anyone else, only into Char's dark eyes.

"Having fun?" she asked.

"More so now that I get to dance with you."

They kept it simple. Dennis and Gracie swayed and Luna and Ginny danced nearby.

Hermione said nothing else, embracing the perfect moment.