Over the next few days, Harry started to get into a bit of a routine with the egg. Every morning he would tuck it gently into his book bag for classes, making sure it was securely wrapped in a couple scarves or a sweater with a heating charm. When he couldn't bring it with him, he would leave it in the dorm with Monty as a babysitter. The snake grumbled about it a bit at first, but by the end of the first day the snake was as enamored with the egg as Harry himself was. Which was strange, considering it was… well, an egg, but still. It was their egg.

And, in the evenings, Harry would return to the dorm just a little bit earlier to relieve Monty from babysitting duty and deliver dinner. While the snake was eating, he would close the curtains on his four-poster, and then just… talk. He knew it was silly, and that the egg probably couldn't hear or understand him, but something about it just felt right. He would tell the egg about his day, or about random thoughts that he'd had, or sometimes even children's stories.

Of course, after Neville heard him telling the tale of Cinderella out loud to himself in the dorm, Harry learned to use a silencing charm. The other Gryffindor was still looking at him funny for that one. Oh well.

"I want four feet on the dangers of Transfiguring living creatures into inanimate objects, due one week from today." Professor McGonagall announced at the end of the fourth years' Transfiguration class. The Gryffindors all grumbled. The Professor raised a brow, "Would you care to make it five?" The room went silent. "That is what I thought. Now, before you go, I do have an… announcement of sorts."

Harry furrowed his brow. McGonagall looked rather annoyed, her face set in an expression which she usually saved for Hogsmeade Weekends and the Weasley twins.

The stern woman continued, "As a part of the Triwizard Tournament, Hogwarts will be hosting a time-honored tradition known as the Yule Ball." Whispers immediately broke out around the room. The professor cleared her throat and a hush fell over the students. "The Yule Ball will take place on December 25th, and is open to those in fourth year and above. Third year students may attend if they are asked by an older student, and you may invite non-students only if they are approved by the Headmaster. This ball will provide an opportunity for students from all three schools to let their hair down, so to speak, but I also remind you that at this event you will be representing the noble house of Gryffindor. A house with a respected reputation of nearly 1000 years, which I will not have you besmirch in one evening by acting like a careless, clumsy cohort of clowns!"

Harry fought the urge to laugh.

"The headmaster will be making a formal announcement this evening with more specific information regarding the event, but I wanted to make this clear beforehand. Also, there will be lessons open to any and all Gryffindors who wish to learn a few simple, traditional dances so as not to embarrass themselves at the event. The details will be posted in the common room." At this point, the whispers had returned and the level of restlessness in the room had reached its peak. McGonagall seemed to have realized this, and she gave up on any further lecturing. "That is all for today, you are dismissed."

The whole room burst into chaos as students started chatting and rushing to get out and spread the news. Harry turned to Hermione as he packed his bag, "Have you ever heard of Hogwarts hosting a dance before?"

"Well, according to Hogwarts: A History, dances used to be quite common, but there was an incident in the 1920s involving gangster decorations turning into real rival gang members, and-"

"My apologies for interrupting, Miss Granger, but I requite a word with Mr. Potter." McGonagall interrupted as they were halfway to the door.

"Oh, of course, Professor." Hermione replied. "Harry, do you mind if I meet you at the library? Luna will be waiting there, and I don't want her to think we've stood her up."

Harry nodded and the bookworm quickly made her way out of the room. He refocused his attention on his head of house, "Whatever it is, Professor, I promise you I had nothing to do with it and it was probably Fred and George."

"You are not in trouble, Mr. Potter." She looked at him in amusement, "Though I do wonder how Messrs. Weasley would react to your throwing them under the bus." He gulped and she smiled. "No, I simply wanted to inform you that the dance lessons will be especially important for you. The champions and their partners traditionally open the Yule Ball with a waltz, so-"

Harry's eyes widened, "They do what?" He flushed at her stern look. "Professor, I'm sorry for interrupting, but I'm not even going to be at Hogwarts for the break, let alone dancing in front of hundreds of people! I'm going to be spending part of the break with the Lovegoods and then with the Grangers." Luna had just invited him a few days previously, and he was beyond excited to experience a Lovegood-style wizarding Christmas. Hermione had been invited as well, of course, but unlike Harry she had a loving and supportive family who actually wanted to see their child more than once a year. At the Grangers' reluctance to miss their daughter, a compromise of splitting the break between houses had been reached, and the trio had only just sorted out the details.

"I understand wanting to spend the holidays with loved ones, Mr. Potter, but this is not optional." Her eyes softened somewhat as she looked at him. "You are not the only student to have concerns about missing their family, however, and there will be a late train leaving the school at noon on Boxing Day for those who wish to attend the ball and still go home."

Harry sighed. "I understand, I just wish I-" He paused. When she said it wasn't optional, what exactly exactly did that mean? "Say, Professor, is attending the ball required in the same way that participating in the tasks is? As in, will I lose my magic if I don't go?"

She startled, "No, of course not, Potter. The magical contract only applies to the tasks themselves."

"Then pardon my boldness, but I don't really see why I have to go. I'm not even a real champion. Actually, I think my attendance would be a break in tradition, considering that there are supposed to be three champions in the first place. It's not like the judges can give me detention. And I don't see how they can keep me here against my will over the break, so-" The professor cleared her throat, and Harry paused, grinning sheepishly at her. "Sorry, Professor, I got a bit ahead of myself. I understand that you don't actually have anything to do with it."

"Yes, you would do well to remember not to shoot the messenger. You are excused."

Oh crap, she sounded mad. "Yes Professor." He turned started toward the door. Just before he left, though, she spoke again.

"Mr. Potter, allow me to be perfectly clear. Whatever half-baked nonsense you've gotten into your head, I have nothing to do with it. But, theoretically, if you were to confront the Triwizard Committee with the arguments that I most certainly did not just hear, I might not mind being present to witness the spectacle of such a conversation. Theoretically of course."

He gaped at her.

"Theoretically, Potter, theoretically. And close your mouth, you're going to catch flies."

While Harry was conversing with Professor McGonagall, Hermione made her way to the library. As she entered her favorite part of the castle, however, she was intercepted by one Ginny Weasley. "Hullo, Hermione! Luna just got held back after class by Snape. She asked me to let you know that she'd be late."

Hermione blinked. "You have potions with the Ravenclaws?"

Ginny grinned. "Yup, double potions twice a week. Snape's an absolute nightmare, but his reaction to Luna's 'unorthodox' methods is almost worth it. Well, sometimes."

"Unorthodox?" Hermione shook her head. "Actually, scratch that. I don't think I want to know. Thanks for telling me."

"No problem. See you later."

"Bye." And the redhead was gone as quickly as she had arrived. Hermione wasn't sure what exactly Luna had done to anger the Potions professor, but she knew it would be awhile before the blonde girl would resurface from the dungeons. That was okay, though. Not only did she have an essay to start, but she also had some independent research on Draconi Amici (Latin plurals were actually quite fun!) and the laws regarding their 'ownership' of dragon eggs to do.

The brunette made her way to the usual secluded area in the back of the muggle studies section, but was surprised to see a figure sitting at one of the tables. Upon closer inspection, she recognized the figure as Viktor Krum. The table he was at happened to be directly next to the one which she and Harry and Luna usually occupied, but she didn't let that stop her from taking her usual seat. At the sound of her chair scraping the floor, Krum's eyes glanced up at her, and she sent him a quick smile. To her surprise, the usually surly boy smiled back. "Hello."

Hermione's brows lifted at the greeting, but she returned it nonetheless. "Hello. It's a bit quieter today, isn't it?"

He grinned, and she was struck with how much less intimidating he seemed when he wasn't glaring at everyone. He seemed younger, somehow, and far more friendly. "Yes. I haff been wanting to thank you. Girls haff been less… scary last few days."

She grinned back. "I'm glad to hear it, though I wouldn't get too comfortable." He furrowed his brow in confusion. "They're announcing the Yule Ball this evening, and even at the end of class everyone was going absolutely insane."

The Durmstrang student nodded as comprehension dawned. "Yes, Karkaroff told us about ball last week. You say whole school vill know today?"

She nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid so. Headmaster Dumbledore is going to announce the specific details."

"Hmm. Maybe I sleep in library."

She laughed. "Maybe." After that, they settled into a comfortable silence, only interrupted by the occasional scratching of a quill or the turn of a page. Hermione finished a rough draft of her Transfiguration paper, but decided to write the final copy after Luna and Harry proofread it. Harry was quite good at pointing out where she became too caught up in small details and at catching run-on sentences, and Luna typically had some sort of interesting detail to add which Hermione wouldn't normally think of. It was a rather nice system. Anyway, rather than continue on Transfiguration, Hermione decided to find a book regarding Britain's laws on Dragon Friends. She found a few texts in the Care of Magical Creatures section regarding creature laws, which seemed as good a place to start as any. On her way back to the table, she ran into Harry.

"Harry! What did Professor McGonagall need? She certainly kept you for a while."

"Well, she didn't actually keep me for that long, I just decided to swing by the tower and grab my dream journal for Divination." Hermione snorted at the mention of her favorite subject. "But McGonagall basically told me that I have to go to the Ball because I'm a stupid champion."

"Can they actually do that?"

"I dunno, but I'm gonna do my best to get out of it. Also, did you know that McGonagall is kind of a prankster?"

"Don't be absurd, Harry, she's our head of house."

And with that the two returned to their usual table. When Harry spotted Krum, he glanced at Hermione questioningly. She shrugged in response. Huh. Okay. Well, it wasn't like the Bulgarian was hurting anyone.

The two settled down to work, managing to get a reasonable amount done. That is, until Luna walked in with green hands and a small beak in place of her nose.

Harry did a double take. "Er, Luna, you've got a bit of something on your- well, uh."

She smiled serenely. "Oh, this will wear off in an hour or so. Professor Snape didn't seem to like his as much, though."

Hermione choked, "You mean- Professor Snape has the same?"

"Oh no, his beak was much more impressive."

As the trio made their way to the Great Hall for dinner that evening, they ran into Malfoy. Rather than start a fight or trade insults though, the blond boy just smirked at them, muttering "You'll get what's coming to you, Potter." Before entering the Hall ahead of them.

Harry stared after him in confusion. "Was that supposed to be… intimidating?"

"I think so," Hermione said, equally befuddled, "Though it mostly came across as creepy."

"I think he was going for dark and sinister." Luna commented. "But I agree with you, Hermione. Definitely creepy."

"Any idea as to what he meant?" Harry asked.

"Not a clue." Luna replied.

"Maybe he was just trying to throw you off?" Hermione suggested. "Creep you out, make you feel paranoid for no reason?"

Harry nodded slowly. "That could be it. I dunno, though. Why would he do that so randomly?"

"Well, it makes no sense to worry about it until we have to." Luna smiled. "And also, I'm hungry."

The three friends settled at the Gryffindor table just as the food appeared. After the students had served themselves, Headmaster Dumbledore stood up. "Attention, please, students and friends! My apologies for interrupting your vital vittles, however, I have an announcement which I am sure that many of you have already heard rumors about. I am delighted to confirm that yes, we are fortunate enough to be hosting a Yule Ball this year!" He went on to iterate all the information which McGonagall had told them during Transfiguration, along with some added details including start and end times, sign-up sheets for staying at Hogwarts, the second train, etc. "I believe that that is all I have to say on the matter, and there will be information sheets posted in all of the common rooms. Now, let us all dig in!" The old man sat down with a flourish, and Harry rolled his eyes at the theatrics.

After what happened next, however, Harry was amazed that he had ever considered Dumbledore's speech theatric.

There was a loud bang from the Gryffindor table, and suddenly Fred and George Weasley were decked out in bright red suits and very large sunglasses. The lighting in the Great Hall dimmed until there were two spotlights, one focused on Fred and the other on… Professor McGonagall?

George conjured a saxophone, and he proceeded to pretend to play it with extreme vigor. And, even though his playing was quite obviously fake, real music started to play from an invisible source. Fred pulled out a microphone, and then he started to sing to Professor McGonagall.

"Whenever I see you, my heart starts to hurt!

Tempting me with that Tartan skirt

No man on earth could ever deserve ya

Love of my life, oh my Minerva"

As he sang, the young man made his way down the hall toward the head table.

"You're my professor

But I knew you were hot

When I saw you pound

That 11th shot"

Dumbledore leaned over to the Professor, "Was that true? I thought that was just a rumor." She glared at him. The serenade continued.

"Every day

My love grows bigger

My heart is yours

To have and Transfigure

When you're not with me

It's like I was shot by Big Bertha

You're meant for me

Oh sweet sweet sweet sweet sweet sweet sweet Minerva"

Hermione turned to Harry in horror. "How-how does he even know what Big Bertha is?"

She was shushed by Dean Thomas, "Hermione, shut it, we're missing the show!"

"Some people say this is kind of sappy

But lady you're my favorite tabby (cat!)

I'm asking you here, in the Great Hall

Will you be my date to the Yule BAAAALLLLLL?"

He landed in front of McGonagall on one knee, holding a newly-transfigured and absurdly large bouquet. The Hall was dead silent as everyone stared at the professor waiting for any sort of reaction. Her lips were pursed in a thin line and her face was like stone. "Mr Weasley." She paused, "Is that a bouquet of miniaturized broomsticks and… catnip?"

"…Yes?"

She twitched. "Regrettably Mr. Weasley, I am going to have to decline your invitation. I can, however, grant you detention with Filch, tomorrow at 8. For both of you." She turned and strode toward the doors at the front of the Hall. She paused just before opening them and turned around, calling out in a loud voice which silenced the frantic whispers that had started to fill the room. "Oh, and Mr. Weasley?"

"…Yes Professor?"

She grinned like the Cheshire cat. "I'll save you a dance." And as she strode out the door, the hall erupted in chaos. Upper years from all four houses swarmed the Weasley twins and lifted them up on their shoulders, chanting "WEASLEY, WEASLEY." It went down as the most epic proposal in all of Hogwarts History.

No one noticed that Snape had fainted.

A/N:...This chapter is too long, and not necessary at all to the plot, and I really should've held off that entire Fred scene until the next update, but I couldn't help myself.

Also, I'm not going to lie, Hermione/Viktor is one of my favorite pairings, and I am super tempted to change this to H/L and Hr/VK, but I'd like to hear what you guys would think of that. Nothing is certain, and for now the story is still H/Hr/L, but I was also significantly younger when I decided on that pairing and didn't realized how complex and difficult developing a relationship with one person is, let alone two.

Anyway, let me know what y'all think, and I'll see you next week!